Love has the last word
Series: LEVITICUS || FREE TO BE HOLY
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 11th March 2017
Passage: Leviticus 26:1-46
00:00:00 --> 00:00:08 It was a time when the pursuit of powered, piloted flight, everyone was kind of into it.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 And Langley had all the ingredients of success.
00:00:13 --> 00:00:19 He was given $50 by the United States War Department, another $20 by the Smith's
00:00:19 --> 00:00:25 Odeon Institute to figure out how to get someone to fly in a flying machine thing.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 And he was the guy to do it.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 He held a seat at Harvard.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 He was connected to all the great minds of the USA.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:39 He employed the best people that money could buy to be on his team to build this flying
00:00:39 --> 00:00:39 machine thing.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:46 And the interest in his progress was so great that the New York Times followed him everywhere
00:00:46 --> 00:00:46 and everything he did.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:51 He was kind of a celebrity trying to build this flying machine thing.
00:00:51 --> 00:00:59 A few hundred kilometres away in Dayton, Ohio, were Orville and Wilbur Wright.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:06 They, on the other hand, paid for their dream of powered, piloted flight from the proceeds
00:01:06 --> 00:01:07 of their bicycle shop.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:14 Not a single member of their team had a college degree, including the Wright brothers.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:19 And the New York Times virtually hardly knew they even existed and certainly didn't follow
00:01:19 --> 00:01:20 them around.
00:01:21 --> 00:01:26 Langley was driven by the results of success.
00:01:27 --> 00:01:33 He wasn't as interested in the goal as he was in the product of the goal.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 That is fame and fortune, personal fame and fortune.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:41 The Wright brothers were driven by a purpose, a cause, a belief.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:48 They were convinced that powered, piloted flight would change the course of the world.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:53 It was the significant technology that needed to be nailed.
00:01:53 --> 00:02:00 And their team that they managed to form around them believed in this cause too, not in the
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 paycheck that would arrive at the end of the week.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:10 Each time they went out to do a test flight, they carried five sets of parts with them because
00:02:10 --> 00:02:14 that's how many times they crashed each day trying to get this thing to work.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:15 And still they kept on.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:23 And eventually, the Wright brothers, if you know history at all, took flight on the 17th
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 of December, 1903.
00:02:26 --> 00:02:34 And that very same day, Samuel Pierpont Langley quit the pursuit.
00:02:35 --> 00:02:41 He didn't even offer his team or his resources to sharpen the technology of the Wright brothers.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 He simply walked away.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:44 That was it.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:49 You see, motivation was the key to the Wright brothers' success.
00:02:49 --> 00:02:53 They were able to answer the question, why?
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 Not how and what, but why?
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 Why do you do what you do?
00:03:05 --> 00:03:06 Is it a paycheck?
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 Is it the honor of a memory?
00:03:09 --> 00:03:13 Is it because I can't do what I want to do?
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 Why do you do what you do?
00:03:16 --> 00:03:17 Why do anything at all?
00:03:17 --> 00:03:20 In fact, you made a choice to be here tonight.
00:03:20 --> 00:03:21 You make a choice every day.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:22 You made a choice to be here tonight.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:23 Why?
00:03:23 --> 00:03:33 To be able to answer the why question will make all the difference in your ability to face what comes tomorrow,
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 whatever it is that you do.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 And that's the question that's right in front of us.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 As we come to the end of Leviticus.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 Why would we follow this God?
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 Why?
00:03:46 --> 00:03:46 Why?
00:03:46 --> 00:03:55 Why would we want our lives to be conformed by this God, be conformed by his word and all these laws and regulations?
00:03:55 --> 00:03:58 You see, it's not a popular option nowadays in the secular West,
00:03:58 --> 00:04:05 especially when the Christian faith touches on anything to do with sexual ethics or any kind of morality,
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 and especially the stuff that we've seen here in Leviticus.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:16 To be a proponent of the sexual ethics of Leviticus is to put your head on the chopping block in this society.
00:04:16 --> 00:04:25 The English actor, Sir Ian McKellar, he's famous for playing Gandalf in Lord of the Rings.
00:04:26 --> 00:04:30 He is an outspoken gay rights activist.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:36 And he is on the record of saying that whenever he gets his hand on a Bible,
00:04:36 --> 00:04:41 he turns to Leviticus chapters 18 to 20, grabs hold of them and rips them out and throws them in the bin.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:45 Goes and stays in a hotel, pulls out the Gideon Bible out of the drawer,
00:04:45 --> 00:04:49 turns to Leviticus 18 to 20, rips them out and throws them in the bin.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:55 He is so offended by the historical Christian teaching on homosexual practice.
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 That's the mood of our society.
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 He might not literally do that every time, but that's the mood of our society.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 Why would we want to follow this God?
00:05:05 --> 00:05:10 Why would we want to live lives by his word with all its limitations and restrictions?
00:05:14 --> 00:05:15 That's verse 3.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 It's the chapter of Leviticus 26.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:22 It's the one core issue of this chapter, the one core command.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 And in fact, for all Leviticus, it's a summary here.
00:05:25 --> 00:05:29 Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my commands.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 Verses 1 and 2 talk about total loyalty to God.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:38 Abandon all other loyalties and have total loyalty to this God.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:42 Why would you do that in Australia in 2017?
00:05:42 --> 00:05:47 You see, the highest value in our society is freedom.
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 You see this everywhere on social media.
00:05:49 --> 00:05:57 I should be free to live life as I see fit, so long as I don't harm anyone else.
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 Who cares what anyone else thinks?
00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 I should be allowed to do whatever I want to do as long as it doesn't harm anyone else.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:09 Choice is seen as a good thing in life, even the ultimate thing.
00:06:10 --> 00:06:14 And we have this view that the more choice we have, the happier we will ultimately be.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:18 The greatest level of freedom, the happier we will be.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 And that's true.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:29 But in our society, all authority is regarded as inherently suspect.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:34 Nobody should have the right to tell others what to think or behave.
00:06:34 --> 00:06:38 In much of our society, Christianity is seen as the arch enemy of freedom.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 It is seen as restricting and even enslaving people.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:49 And so, is the choice that's before us today, as we get to the end of Leviticus,
00:06:49 --> 00:06:53 a choice that we need to make between freedom or faith?
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 Faith, freedom.
00:06:55 --> 00:06:56 Freedom, faith.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:57 Is that the choice that's before us?
00:06:59 --> 00:07:00 Now, don't get me wrong.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:04 The idea of individual freedom in which society has done a great deal of good.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:09 It has led to, I believe, a far more just and fair society,
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 and especially for minority groups.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:13 But that shouldn't surprise us.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:19 Because the concept of individual freedom is a byproduct of the Christian gospel.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 It did not exist before Christianity existed.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 Individual freedom didn't exist before Christianity.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:35 However, freedom has become to be defined as the absence of any limitations.
00:07:35 --> 00:07:40 Modern freedom is the freedom of self-assertion.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:41 And it doesn't work.
00:07:42 --> 00:07:42 It can't work.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:48 If freedom is to be able to do whatever I want,
00:07:49 --> 00:07:54 what happens when my personal wants are in conflict with each other?
00:07:55 --> 00:07:55 What happens then?
00:07:55 --> 00:08:01 For instance, imagine I'm a 75-year-old gentleman,
00:08:02 --> 00:08:03 not quite there yet,
00:08:03 --> 00:08:10 who has two major wants, desires, and passions in life.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:12 The first is,
00:08:12 --> 00:08:16 I want to spend the most amount of time possible with my grandchildren.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:22 And the other second major passion in my life is to eat KFC three times a day.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:29 I would either have to accept the limitations of my eating,
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 or the limitations of my health.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 You can't have freedom in both directions.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 You've got to choose a limitation.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 At some point, my doctor is likely to mention to me
00:08:45 --> 00:08:49 that my want, my desire, my passion for KFC
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 is going to get in the way of my want to spend time with my grandchildren.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 Because of heart attacks and whatever else.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 You've got to accept one limitation over against the other.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:07 We all have to choose which freedoms we will sacrifice for others.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 We all have to make that choice.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 And the real question is,
00:09:15 --> 00:09:19 which freedom is the most liberating freedom?
00:09:19 --> 00:09:25 What we should be looking for are the right freedoms,
00:09:25 --> 00:09:28 the most liberating constraints is another way to look at it,
00:09:28 --> 00:09:32 the most liberating constraints that fit our design as human beings.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 Christianity says that we're all created by God
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 so that absolutely everything that we have is a gift from Him.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 Christianity says that the problem of this world,
00:09:42 --> 00:09:47 every one of them is all linked to human beings' rejection of their creator God.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 But this same God has come into His world
00:09:51 --> 00:09:55 in order to rescue and redeem His rebellious creation.
00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 And not just rescue, but someday He's planning to renew it all.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:04 And Christianity says that this life, therefore, is not the only life.
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 It's only part of life.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:13 It claims that this life is, in fact, a relatively small part of our entire existence.
00:10:15 --> 00:10:20 And that story shapes everything for the Christian.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 There is not an area of your life, not an area of your existence,
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 that that story does not touch, that does not shape, that does not inform.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 And that's what we've seen right through Leviticus.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:32 God gets right down the nitty-gritty details of His new people
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 as He forms a new community.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 Right down the very, very nitty-gritty details.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:43 God calls His people to live as He has called them to live.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:50 And when you do, what you discover is life in abundance.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:56 And Leviticus 26, if you've got your Bibles, turn to that now,
00:10:56 --> 00:10:59 we have given three motivations here.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:06 Three whys, three reasons as to why we would follow this God in Australia in 2017.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:09 Verses 4 to 13 give us the first motivation.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 It's the motivation of hope.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 God doesn't promise some vague blessing.
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 He spells it out in detail.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:17 It's important to understand that these blessings
00:11:17 --> 00:11:21 were not blessings that were earned because of their obedience.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:26 These are blessings that God was under no obligation whatsoever
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 to give His people as part of His adoption of them.
00:11:29 --> 00:11:34 And in verses 11 to 12, God's own presence is promised amongst His people.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:40 All aspects of God's blessings in these verses
00:11:40 --> 00:11:44 echo the promises of God to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 right at the beginning of the Bible.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:55 That is, there is one core key to all of God's blessings,
00:11:55 --> 00:11:57 and it's in verse 12.
00:11:57 --> 00:12:01 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:07 The land is abundant because God is there.
00:12:07 --> 00:12:13 Where the source of life is, life flourishes.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 That's the point.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 God's not there.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 It equals death.
00:12:19 --> 00:12:23 You see, abundant life and peace is only possible with the presence of God.
00:12:24 --> 00:12:27 God has rescued these people from slavery to be His people,
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 and He calls them to be distinct people,
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 and promises the ultimate blessing to His distinct people,
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 and that is His presence.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 I will be there with you.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 You see, hope shapes our lives.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 Every one of us, whether you're Christian or not, hope shapes your life.
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 Whatever our hope is,
00:12:45 --> 00:12:48 determines the particular constraints
00:12:48 --> 00:12:51 that we are prepared to take on in our lives.
00:12:51 --> 00:12:56 You can tell by what you do with your time,
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 what values you want to instill in your kids,
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 and what you do with your money,
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 and what you dream about,
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 and spend time talking about,
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 and what you think about your vocation,
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 and what you do with your leisure.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 You can draw all of those lines out,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 and make the connections,
00:13:10 --> 00:13:14 and it all points to what your hope is.
00:13:15 --> 00:13:17 In our secular West,
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 generally, our hope is a secure,
00:13:20 --> 00:13:21 secure retirement.
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 Secure retirement until we die.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 That's our hope.
00:13:25 --> 00:13:25 Not the die bit,
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 but the secure retirement until we die.
00:13:27 --> 00:13:29 Everything focuses on that.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:36 The Christian hope shapes every aspect of our lives too.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:40 Although, the Christian hope is a certain hope.
00:13:40 --> 00:13:43 Too often, we associate the word hope with,
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 you know, I wish kind of thinking,
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 sort of like aspiration, you know.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 I really hope so.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 You know, as we're sort of doubtfully unsure
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 about what the outcome's going to be.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 That's what we usually mean by hope.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 And these words are meant to inspire
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 a different kind of hope for us.
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 Not a hope that is an uncertain wish,
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 but a kind of hope that is dependent
00:14:02 --> 00:14:05 upon the reliances on the promises of God.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 And that's why this section ends in verse 13,
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 saying,
00:14:10 --> 00:14:23 That's what it's saying.
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 And this is a reminder to the people here,
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 that God's promises were no mere aspirations.
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 The hope that they have is no mere wish.
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 It's a certain expectation that God will act
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37 towards his people as he promises.
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 He's as good as his word.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 That's the first motive, hope.
00:14:41 --> 00:14:46 Second motive is a motive of fear.
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 It begins with a six-point description
00:14:49 --> 00:14:53 of disobedience in verses 14 and 15.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 But if you will not listen to me
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 and carry out all these commands,
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 and if you reject my decrees
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 and abhor my laws
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 and fail to carry out all of my commands,
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 and so violate my covenant,
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 what's the result?
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 God's going to bring disaster upon the land.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 Notice the description here.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 Not listening, not carrying out,
00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 rejecting, abhorring, failing, violating.
00:15:13 --> 00:15:16 It all brings disaster.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 There's disease in verse 16.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 There's enemies in verse 17.
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 Their refusal to listen
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 means that God breaks their pride
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 through agricultural failure
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 in verses 19 and 20.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 And the hostility towards God
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 brings disaster in land in verse 22
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 through the wild animals.
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 God unleashes the wild animals.
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 That's, you know, for us,
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 we're sitting here in Chatsworth,
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 that doesn't kind of mean a whole lot for us.
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 We're kind of more used in the Western society
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 to protecting the animals from us
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 than us being protected from the animals.
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 So that's generally the way, you know,
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 unless, of course,
00:15:44 --> 00:15:46 there's some sort of rampant possum on the run
00:15:46 --> 00:15:46 or something like that.
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 But that's about the worst
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 we could kind of hope for, I think,
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 you know, in our society.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 But imagine, you know,
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 you're heading out this afternoon.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 You've got to get some milk from here
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 to get down to the corner store.
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 And what you're doing the whole time
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 is dodging lions and hyenas
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 and every other thing
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 that wants to chew on your leg
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 and bite your head off.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 I mean, imagine that.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 That's the picture here.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:06 The picture here is
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 you will not get to the corner store
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 and get back again with your milk.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 Your kids get out in a play on the trampoline
00:16:14 --> 00:16:18 and one's taken by a leopard sitting in the tree.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 It's disaster.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 It's fear everywhere in the land.
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 It says a little bit later,
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 there'll be a rustling of a leaf
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 because of a breeze that's come through
00:16:29 --> 00:16:32 and you're off we go.
00:16:33 --> 00:16:35 It's just fear everywhere.
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 Verses 25 and 26 go
00:16:40 --> 00:16:43 in the terrible description of disaster in the land.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 Verse 29 is shocking.
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 It says you will eat the flesh of your sons
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 and the flesh of your daughters.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 If you think this is a veiled threat here by God
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 to see that, you know,
00:16:55 --> 00:16:58 this actually happened in history.
00:16:58 --> 00:17:05 2 Kings 6, Jeremiah 19, Lamentations 2, Lamentations 4, Ezekiel 5,
00:17:06 --> 00:17:09 we see this wretchedness being worked out
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 in the history of Israel.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:15 The real heart of their rebellions in verse 25,
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 the breaking of the covenant, as it says,
00:17:19 --> 00:17:22 this is not a list of individual sins and infractions.
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 This is a sustained attitude towards God,
00:17:24 --> 00:17:26 a deliberate choice to go against his word
00:17:26 --> 00:17:29 and the consequence of their hostility toward God
00:17:29 --> 00:17:32 is God meteering out his punishment towards his people.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 So fear is the second motive here.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:44 And in our day, fear is regarded as probably the lowest motivation for actions.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:49 American writer H.A. Overstreet suggested
00:17:49 --> 00:17:52 that to fear is to be psychologically ill.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:57 It is in fact the consuming illness of our time, he suggested.
00:17:57 --> 00:18:01 Franklin Roosevelt said that the only thing we need to fear
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 is fear itself.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 Now, there are some fears that we want to work to overcome.
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 You know, the fear of flying.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 You know, the Wright brothers sorted that one for us.
00:18:12 --> 00:18:16 Closed spaces and ghosts and thunderstorms and darkness
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 or what others think of me or what others might do to me.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:22 These are the kind of fears that are false
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 and they need to be overcome.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:26 But what if the fear is something real?
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 What if it's a genuine and a true fear?
00:18:32 --> 00:18:34 Are they not God-given guides for our good?
00:18:35 --> 00:18:39 You see, I do not want an entirely fearless heart
00:18:39 --> 00:18:43 any more than I want an entirely fearless child
00:18:43 --> 00:18:45 that would be happy to play out there
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 on the traffic at Fuller's Road this afternoon.
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 I don't want that.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:56 The judgment of God that he threatens to in this passage was real.
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 All you need to do is read the rest of the Old Testament to see that.
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 The very things that are threatened here
00:19:01 --> 00:19:04 are what happened in space and time.
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 God was found to be good as his word.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 He warned them and it happened.
00:19:11 --> 00:19:15 Right fear can be an appropriate motive.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:21 But we get a sense of what is behind these warnings
00:19:21 --> 00:19:24 in Exodus 20-20 where it says,
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 Do not be afraid.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 God, again speaking to Israel, do not be afraid.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 God has come to test you
00:19:29 --> 00:19:33 so that the fear of God will not be with you
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 to keep you from sinning.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:39 In other words, my translation of Exodus 20-20,
00:19:39 --> 00:19:42 fear God so that you don't have to fear God.
00:19:45 --> 00:19:51 See, the fear of God does not sit by itself as a motivation.
00:19:52 --> 00:19:55 The Bible tells us that his grace and his mercy
00:19:55 --> 00:20:01 allows himself to be a place of refuge.
00:20:02 --> 00:20:05 Proverbs 14-26 is, I think, quite remarkable.
00:20:06 --> 00:20:06 It says,
00:20:06 --> 00:20:10 Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress
00:20:10 --> 00:20:14 and for their children it will be a refuge.
00:20:14 --> 00:20:18 The fear of the Lord is a secure fortress
00:20:18 --> 00:20:20 and a place of refuge.
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24 Now, that might be a decision
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 that some of you need to make tonight.
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 You've heard this word of warning.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 It might be time for you to hear it
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 as Israel was meant to hear it
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 and turn back to God,
00:20:36 --> 00:20:38 to repent, to come back to him
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40 and find refuge in him, in his love and his mercy.
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 You see, this is not just a word of warning to Israel
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 a few thousand years ago.
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46 We see the same sort of stuff in the New Testament.
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49 In Acts 17, the Apostle Paul gets up and says,
00:20:49 --> 00:20:52 Now he commands all people everywhere to repent
00:20:52 --> 00:20:56 for he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 by the man he has appointed.
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 He has given proof of this to everyone
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 by raising him from the dead.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:05 Maybe that's a choice you need to make tonight
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 is to actually turn away from your rejection of God,
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 turn towards him,
00:21:09 --> 00:21:12 repent and find refuge in him.
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 And if that is you, then please,
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 I would love to talk to you after the service.
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 So the second motive is fear,
00:21:21 --> 00:21:24 but fear that's meant to drive us to him in refuge.
00:21:24 --> 00:21:26 And that leads me to the third motive,
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 and that is the love of God.
00:21:27 --> 00:21:30 His grace has the last word here.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:36 Now the word punish in verses 18 and again in 28
00:21:36 --> 00:21:39 can be understood to mean the word discipline.
00:21:39 --> 00:21:43 You know, the discipline in the middle of this chapter
00:21:43 --> 00:21:47 is not evidence that God has finally gotten fed up
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 with his people,
00:21:48 --> 00:21:51 but in fact it's the exact opposite of that.
00:21:51 --> 00:21:54 His discipline is part of his careful love of his people,
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 it's part of his covenant love.
00:21:55 --> 00:21:59 His discipline is designed to bring his people to repentance.
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 Now every parent knows
00:22:02 --> 00:22:04 that we don't stop loving our children
00:22:04 --> 00:22:06 when we discipline them.
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 Our discipline of them
00:22:08 --> 00:22:11 is another expression of our love for them.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:13 It's one of the most difficult ways
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 that we love our children,
00:22:14 --> 00:22:16 but it is still love for our children.
00:22:18 --> 00:22:23 And if you look at verses 18, 21, 23, 24, 27, sorry,
00:22:23 --> 00:22:27 you'd notice that the purpose of all of these punishments
00:22:27 --> 00:22:31 was to get the people to finally turn back to God
00:22:31 --> 00:22:33 and away from the road of destruction.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:36 God sends them discipline
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 in the hope that they will turn around
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 and they ignore it
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 and he sends them another discipline
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 in the hope they'll turn around,
00:22:40 --> 00:22:43 but they ignore it again and again and again.
00:22:43 --> 00:22:46 The phrase that is used here over and over
00:22:46 --> 00:22:49 is listen to God, listen to me.
00:22:49 --> 00:22:54 See the same thing in the New Testament.
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 Jesus says in Luke 8
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 that those who are part of his family
00:22:57 --> 00:23:01 are those who hear God's word and obey.
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 The difference between the wise man
00:23:04 --> 00:23:06 who built his house on the rock
00:23:06 --> 00:23:08 and the foolish man who builds his house on the sand
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 is the difference between those who hear the word of God
00:23:10 --> 00:23:15 and those who hear the word of God and do it.
00:23:15 --> 00:23:18 Jesus says,
00:23:19 --> 00:23:19 if you love me,
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 this is how you show your love for me.
00:23:22 --> 00:23:24 You keep my commandments.
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 So in verse 44,
00:23:27 --> 00:23:31 we see God's response to those who finally turn back.
00:23:32 --> 00:23:35 They've finally heeded God's warnings,
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 his discipline,
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 they've turned back
00:23:36 --> 00:23:38 and these are the ones who have been humbled,
00:23:38 --> 00:23:40 they're turned back in repentance
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 and he says,
00:23:40 --> 00:23:42 yet in spite of all of this,
00:23:42 --> 00:23:44 when they're in the land of their enemies,
00:23:44 --> 00:23:46 I will not reject them or abhor them
00:23:46 --> 00:23:49 so as to destroy them completely.
00:23:50 --> 00:23:53 Why would God be so loving
00:23:53 --> 00:23:57 and so long-suffering?
00:23:57 --> 00:24:00 You see, the pressing question of Leviticus
00:24:00 --> 00:24:03 is not how can a loving God
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 possibly send anyone to hell.
00:24:06 --> 00:24:09 It's actually how can a holy God
00:24:09 --> 00:24:12 possibly ever allow anyone into heaven.
00:24:14 --> 00:24:16 That is the issue of Leviticus.
00:24:18 --> 00:24:21 Why is this God so patient with rebellion?
00:24:21 --> 00:24:24 There is no other answer but his love.
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 All the covenant language
00:24:26 --> 00:24:30 of these last verses of Leviticus 26
00:24:30 --> 00:24:32 is not the language of a detached,
00:24:33 --> 00:24:35 cold negotiating table in a courtroom.
00:24:35 --> 00:24:39 It is the heated language of love.
00:24:40 --> 00:24:43 This God commits himself in love to his people
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 like a marriage relationship.
00:24:45 --> 00:24:47 And the Old Testament is, if you like,
00:24:47 --> 00:24:50 the panorama of God's patient,
00:24:50 --> 00:24:53 gracious, merciful, long-suffering.
00:24:53 --> 00:24:57 His passion to love his people.
00:24:59 --> 00:25:02 Before she married media mogul Ted Turner,
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 Jane Fonda said,
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 for two people to live together
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 for the rest of their lives
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 is almost unnatural.
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 As it turns out,
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 that marriage didn't last long.
00:25:11 --> 00:25:16 But there's a bucket of truth in that,
00:25:16 --> 00:25:16 is it not?
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 I mean, it's one thing to say
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 that, you know,
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 love at first sight.
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 That's kind of understandable.
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 But how do you explain love
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 when you've been looking at each other
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 for 20 years?
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 Or 52 years,
00:25:27 --> 00:25:29 as my parents celebrated this week.
00:25:29 --> 00:25:32 this sense of the difficulty
00:25:32 --> 00:25:35 of being faithful to someone else,
00:25:36 --> 00:25:39 especially when that someone
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 has faults and failings,
00:25:40 --> 00:25:43 let alone that someone
00:25:43 --> 00:25:45 who is actively hostile towards you.
00:25:48 --> 00:25:50 That's such an important aspect
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 of the love of God.
00:25:52 --> 00:25:54 The tenacious love of God
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 is always the basis
00:25:55 --> 00:25:57 of his relationship with his people.
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 As 1 John 4 says,
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 this is love.
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 Not that we loved God,
00:26:00 --> 00:26:03 but that he loved us.
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 That's love.
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 And frankly,
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 you're not easy to love.
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 Neither am I,
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 but, you know,
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 I just want to drive the point home.
00:26:12 --> 00:26:14 You're not easy to love.
00:26:15 --> 00:26:17 As long as we think of ourselves
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 self-righteously,
00:26:19 --> 00:26:21 as long as we think of ourselves
00:26:21 --> 00:26:23 as people that are easy to love,
00:26:24 --> 00:26:26 then we can never, ever
00:26:26 --> 00:26:29 understand the good news
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 of Jesus Christ.
00:26:30 --> 00:26:33 You might be the founding member
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 of the Pharisee Society,
00:26:35 --> 00:26:37 but you cannot be a Christian
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 until you understand
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 that you are not easy to love.
00:26:40 --> 00:26:45 only when we understand
00:26:45 --> 00:26:47 how difficult we are to love
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 because of our sin
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 and our hostility towards God
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 can we begin to understand
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 what God has done for us.
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 And if you doubt
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 God's love for you
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 and you doubt
00:26:55 --> 00:26:57 the consequence of your sin,
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 look at the cross,
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 you see them both collide there.
00:26:59 --> 00:27:06 Why would we follow this God?
00:27:07 --> 00:27:09 2 Corinthians 5 says,
00:27:09 --> 00:27:12 for Christ's love compels us.
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 Christ's love compels us
00:27:14 --> 00:27:16 because we are convinced
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 that one died,
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 talking about Jesus,
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 one died for all
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20 and therefore all died
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 and he died for all
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 that those who live,
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 that's talking about us now,
00:27:23 --> 00:27:25 should no longer live for themselves
00:27:25 --> 00:27:27 but for him who died for them
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 and was raised again.
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 Why would we follow this God?
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 Because his love compels us.
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 The New Testament declares
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 that the creator God
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 came to earth
00:27:39 --> 00:27:41 to die for our sins on the cross.
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 God says in the Bible,
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 cursed is anyone
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 who's hung on a tree
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 and here we have in Jesus,
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 God himself,
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 God placing himself,
00:27:50 --> 00:27:52 willingly placing himself
00:27:52 --> 00:27:54 under his own curse.
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 He forsakes his son,
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 he turns his back on his son
00:27:57 --> 00:28:00 so that we might get the blessing
00:28:00 --> 00:28:02 of being drawn close to him
00:28:02 --> 00:28:05 and being in relationship with him.
00:28:06 --> 00:28:08 You see, Jesus is the one Lord,
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 he's the one master,
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 he's the one boss
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 who when we fail him
00:28:11 --> 00:28:13 will not punish us
00:28:13 --> 00:28:15 but in fact forgive us.
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 You see, if you serve your career,
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 if you serve your family,
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 if you serve other relationships
00:28:19 --> 00:28:21 and if you fail them,
00:28:22 --> 00:28:25 it will crucify you internally
00:28:25 --> 00:28:27 internally with self-loathing.
00:28:29 --> 00:28:31 But Jesus was crucified for you.
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 Every single one of us,
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 the same as every single person
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 in this world,
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 every single one of us here tonight,
00:28:37 --> 00:28:39 it lives for something.
00:28:40 --> 00:28:42 And that something is your Lord,
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 it is your master,
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 it is your boss
00:28:43 --> 00:28:47 and it constrains your behavior.
00:28:47 --> 00:28:50 You are not free.
00:28:51 --> 00:28:53 Whatever it is that you live for
00:28:53 --> 00:28:56 puts constraints on your behavior.
00:28:57 --> 00:29:01 If you live to be an Olympic gold medalist,
00:29:01 --> 00:29:04 you don't eat KFC three times a day.
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 Three times a week,
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 you don't eat it probably.
00:29:08 --> 00:29:10 If you live for Olympic gold,
00:29:10 --> 00:29:12 if you live for a successful career
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 or art or politics
00:29:13 --> 00:29:15 or a boyfriend or a spouse,
00:29:15 --> 00:29:20 they all put limits on your choices.
00:29:20 --> 00:29:23 There are things that you will not do.
00:29:23 --> 00:29:25 You are not free.
00:29:25 --> 00:29:32 Therefore, the question is not,
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 am I free?
00:29:34 --> 00:29:34 But rather,
00:29:35 --> 00:29:37 how do I know
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 if I'm taking on
00:29:38 --> 00:29:42 liberating constraints
00:29:42 --> 00:29:44 rather than the constraints
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 that will crush me
00:29:45 --> 00:29:47 and abuse me?
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 That's the more appropriate question.
00:29:50 --> 00:29:53 What constraints am I taking on?
00:29:53 --> 00:29:56 And the answer of Christianity,
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 the answer of the Bible,
00:29:57 --> 00:29:57 the answer of Leviticus
00:29:57 --> 00:30:00 is that if we are living
00:30:00 --> 00:30:02 for the one who both created us
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 and redeemed us
00:30:03 --> 00:30:05 and loves us,
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 then by definition,
00:30:08 --> 00:30:12 whatever he calls us to do
00:30:12 --> 00:30:14 is a liberating constraint.
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 It's where true,
00:30:19 --> 00:30:22 true freedom is found.
00:30:23 --> 00:30:26 in the same way
00:30:26 --> 00:30:29 that you get a boat
00:30:29 --> 00:30:33 and put up its sail
00:30:33 --> 00:30:35 and let it go
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 in the water,
00:30:38 --> 00:30:40 providing it doesn't hit any rocks
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 or anything out,
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 it is truly free.
00:30:42 --> 00:30:44 It's doing what it was designed to do.
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 Take that boat,
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 put it out in the desert
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 and plant it on a sand hill
00:30:49 --> 00:30:51 and put the sail up,
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 wind comes along,
00:30:53 --> 00:30:55 it's not truly free.
00:30:56 --> 00:30:58 It's not doing what it was designed to do.
00:30:58 --> 00:31:05 We were made to know,
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 to serve,
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 to love God
00:31:06 --> 00:31:08 and if we try to live for anything else
00:31:08 --> 00:31:10 it leads to slavery.
00:31:12 --> 00:31:14 Anything else leads to slavery.
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 When we live for God
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 and follow his will,
00:31:18 --> 00:31:20 we find that we are actually becoming
00:31:20 --> 00:31:22 who we are meant to be.
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 You see,
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 the Christian offer
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 is not merely
00:31:24 --> 00:31:26 complying with the regulations
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 of a creator
00:31:27 --> 00:31:29 out of a mere duty.
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 It consists of
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 a new,
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 growing,
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 inward passion
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 to love
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 and be close
00:31:35 --> 00:31:37 to our God and Saviour.
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 You see,
00:31:38 --> 00:31:38 when a Christian
00:31:38 --> 00:31:40 grasps
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 how Jesus
00:31:40 --> 00:31:42 saves them
00:31:42 --> 00:31:44 at infinite cost
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 to himself,
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 how he emptied himself
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 of his glory
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 and took a humble
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 form
00:31:48 --> 00:31:50 to serve
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 our best interest,
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 what it does,
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 it creates
00:31:53 --> 00:31:55 a grateful joy
00:31:55 --> 00:31:57 and it would move
00:31:57 --> 00:32:00 for us to please him
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 and to know him
00:32:01 --> 00:32:03 and resemble him
00:32:03 --> 00:32:05 to be holy
00:32:05 --> 00:32:09 because he is holy.
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 Our happiness
00:32:10 --> 00:32:12 gets put into his happiness
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 and serving him
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 becomes our perfect liberation.
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 That is why
00:32:16 --> 00:32:18 we follow this God
00:32:18 --> 00:32:21 even when it's not popular.
00:32:21 --> 00:32:25 And the call
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 to God's people now,
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 if you're a Christian,
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 the call to God's people
00:32:28 --> 00:32:28 right now
00:32:28 --> 00:32:30 is still the same
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 as it was
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 to the first recipients
00:32:32 --> 00:32:32 of Leviticus.
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 Be holy
00:32:34 --> 00:32:36 because I am holy.
00:32:37 --> 00:32:37 1 Peter 1
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 quotes that
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 call to holiness
00:32:39 --> 00:32:39 from Leviticus
00:32:39 --> 00:32:41 when he exhorts Christians
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 to look forward
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 to the hope
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 that they have
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 of Christ's return.
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 And in looking forward
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 to that hope,
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 he calls us
00:32:48 --> 00:32:50 to be distinct now
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 no matter how difficult
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 it gets.
00:32:52 --> 00:32:52 He calls us
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 not to be conformed
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 to the evil desires
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 we once had.
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 He calls us
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 to love one another deeply.
00:32:57 --> 00:32:57 Why?
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 Because that's
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 the character of God.
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 That's who we're becoming.
00:33:03 --> 00:33:05 Love one another deeply.
00:33:06 --> 00:33:06 To be holy
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 as he is holy.
00:33:07 --> 00:33:09 To get rid of everything
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 that is not characteristic
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 of a person who loves.
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 He says,
00:33:12 --> 00:33:12 get rid of things
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 like malice
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 and deceit
00:33:14 --> 00:33:14 and hypocrisy
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 and envy
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 and slander.
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 Christians are called
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 to be distinct
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 from everyone else.
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 And as a church,
00:33:20 --> 00:33:20 we're going to set
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 a core value
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 just on the outside
00:33:22 --> 00:33:22 of that wall
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23 that you'll see them
00:33:23 --> 00:33:23 over supper.
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 Turn to them,
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 have a look at them.
00:33:26 --> 00:33:28 And those core values
00:33:28 --> 00:33:29 show a number of ways
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 that we in this place
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 are looking to be distinct.
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 We hold a course.
00:33:34 --> 00:33:36 We heard about it
00:33:36 --> 00:33:36 just a moment ago,
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 Pathways.
00:33:38 --> 00:33:38 And that course
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 is about membership
00:33:39 --> 00:33:41 in this Christian community.
00:33:41 --> 00:33:43 It's how our Christian
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 distinction gets worked
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 out here
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 at St. Paul's Chatswood.
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 I don't care how long
00:33:48 --> 00:33:48 you've been here
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 in this church.
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50 If you've never been
00:33:50 --> 00:33:50 to Pathways,
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 get to Pathways.
00:33:53 --> 00:33:53 There's one on
00:33:53 --> 00:33:57 on the 19th of March.
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 Sign up for it
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 tonight
00:34:01 --> 00:34:01 just out there
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 on the Connect Desk.
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 Why would we want
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 to do that?
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 Why would you want
00:34:05 --> 00:34:05 to be distinct?
00:34:06 --> 00:34:08 Why be constrained
00:34:08 --> 00:34:08 by God's word?
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 Why go against
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 the tighter society
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 and be holy
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 because I am holy?
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 Hebrews 12, 14
00:34:14 --> 00:34:14 says this,
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 make every effort,
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 every effort,
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 really work at it,
00:34:19 --> 00:34:20 really, really work at it
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 to live at peace
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 with everyone
00:34:22 --> 00:34:24 and to be holy
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 because without holiness
00:34:25 --> 00:34:27 no one will see
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 the Lord.
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 Why does holiness matter?
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 Because we get God back.
00:34:34 --> 00:34:36 We get to be
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 in his presence.
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39 That's the goal of Leviticus.
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 That's the goal
00:34:40 --> 00:34:40 of the whole Bible.
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 That's the goal
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 of history in fact.
00:34:42 --> 00:34:45 Revelation 21,
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 this is the end of it.
00:34:46 --> 00:34:46 This is our hope.
00:34:46 --> 00:34:48 This is what Peter
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 calls us to look forward to.
00:34:50 --> 00:34:50 Then I saw
00:34:50 --> 00:34:51 a new heaven
00:34:51 --> 00:34:51 and new earth
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 for the first heaven
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 and the first earth
00:34:53 --> 00:34:53 had passed away
00:34:53 --> 00:34:55 and there was no longer
00:34:55 --> 00:34:55 any sea.
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 I saw the holy city,
00:34:56 --> 00:34:57 the new Jerusalem
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 coming down out of heaven
00:34:58 --> 00:34:58 from God,
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 prepared as a bride,
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 beautifully dressed
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 for her husband.
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03 And then I heard
00:35:03 --> 00:35:04 a loud voice
00:35:04 --> 00:35:04 from the siren
00:35:04 --> 00:35:05 saying,
00:35:05 --> 00:35:05 look,
00:35:06 --> 00:35:07 look,
00:35:07 --> 00:35:07 look,
00:35:07 --> 00:35:11 God is there.
00:35:11 --> 00:35:13 it says something
00:35:13 --> 00:35:14 like that.
00:35:14 --> 00:35:14 It says,
00:35:14 --> 00:35:15 God's dwelling place
00:35:15 --> 00:35:17 is now amongst
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 his people
00:35:18 --> 00:35:21 and he will dwell
00:35:21 --> 00:35:21 with them.
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 They will be his people
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 and God himself
00:35:25 --> 00:35:26 will be their God
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 and he will be with them.
00:35:27 --> 00:35:28 He will wipe away
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 every tear.
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 There'll be no more death
00:35:30 --> 00:35:30 or mourning
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31 or crying or pain.
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 To the thirsty,
00:35:32 --> 00:35:32 I will give water
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33 without cost
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 from the spring
00:35:34 --> 00:35:34 of the water of life
00:35:34 --> 00:35:36 and those who are victorious
00:35:36 --> 00:35:38 will inherit all of this
00:35:38 --> 00:35:39 and they will be
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40 with their God
00:35:40 --> 00:35:42 and they will be
00:35:42 --> 00:35:43 my children.
00:35:44 --> 00:35:46 That's the goal.
00:35:49 --> 00:35:51 But hear the warning.
00:35:53 --> 00:35:54 But the cowardly,
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 the unbelieving,
00:35:57 --> 00:35:58 the vile,
00:35:58 --> 00:35:58 the murderers,
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 the sexually immoral,
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00 those who practice
00:36:00 --> 00:36:01 magic arts,
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 the idolaters
00:36:02 --> 00:36:03 and all liars,
00:36:04 --> 00:36:05 those who refuse
00:36:05 --> 00:36:06 to listen,
00:36:06 --> 00:36:09 they will be consigned
00:36:09 --> 00:36:10 to the fiery lake
00:36:10 --> 00:36:12 of burning sulfur.
00:36:12 --> 00:36:13 That is the second death.
00:36:13 --> 00:36:14 There is no coming back
00:36:14 --> 00:36:15 from that.
00:36:17 --> 00:36:19 And so hear
00:36:19 --> 00:36:20 the warning of God
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 tonight
00:36:21 --> 00:36:23 and find refuge
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 in his mercy.
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 If this is a decision
00:36:26 --> 00:36:26 you need to make,
00:36:26 --> 00:36:27 speak to me.
00:36:27 --> 00:36:28 Please, please, please
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 speak to me
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 after this service.
00:36:31 --> 00:36:31 Choose today
00:36:31 --> 00:36:32 the blessing
00:36:32 --> 00:36:34 of God's presence forever
00:36:34 --> 00:36:34 or the curse
00:36:34 --> 00:36:35 of being cast away
00:36:35 --> 00:36:36 from him forever.
00:36:36 --> 00:36:37 The 17th century
00:36:37 --> 00:36:38 Puritan preacher
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 Thomas Goodwin
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 once said,
00:36:41 --> 00:36:43 if I were to go
00:36:43 --> 00:36:43 to heaven
00:36:43 --> 00:36:45 and find that
00:36:45 --> 00:36:46 Christ was not there,
00:36:47 --> 00:36:48 I would leave
00:36:48 --> 00:36:49 immediately
00:36:49 --> 00:36:50 for heaven
00:36:50 --> 00:36:51 would be hell
00:36:51 --> 00:36:53 without Christ.
00:36:55 --> 00:36:56 Goodwin understood
00:36:56 --> 00:36:58 that the joy
00:36:58 --> 00:36:59 of our salvation,
00:37:00 --> 00:37:01 the joy
00:37:01 --> 00:37:02 of our hope
00:37:02 --> 00:37:03 is not the promise
00:37:03 --> 00:37:05 of a certain place,
00:37:05 --> 00:37:06 but in fact
00:37:06 --> 00:37:06 a restoration
00:37:06 --> 00:37:08 to a relationship
00:37:08 --> 00:37:10 with our glorious
00:37:10 --> 00:37:11 creator
00:37:11 --> 00:37:12 through the self-sacrifice
00:37:12 --> 00:37:13 for us
00:37:13 --> 00:37:14 of our great
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 and glorious
00:37:15 --> 00:37:15 redeemer.
00:37:15 --> 00:37:16 The heart
00:37:16 --> 00:37:17 of the Christian gospel
00:37:17 --> 00:37:19 as expressed
00:37:19 --> 00:37:20 throughout the Bible
00:37:20 --> 00:37:21 and these closing
00:37:21 --> 00:37:22 bits of Leviticus
00:37:22 --> 00:37:24 is the promise
00:37:24 --> 00:37:25 of eternal,
00:37:25 --> 00:37:26 joy-filled,
00:37:27 --> 00:37:28 totally free
00:37:28 --> 00:37:29 communion
00:37:29 --> 00:37:29 communion
00:37:29 --> 00:37:31 with God
00:37:31 --> 00:37:32 our creator.
00:37:34 --> 00:37:35 That is why
00:37:35 --> 00:37:37 we are who we are
00:37:37 --> 00:37:38 and we do
00:37:38 --> 00:37:39 what we do.
00:37:39 --> 00:37:40 you
00:37:40 --> 00:37:41 or
00:37:57 --> 00:37:58 you