New Hope - GOOD FRIDAY
Series: Vision Series 2024 - New Life
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 29th March 2024
Passages:
00:00:00 --> 00:00:07 George Herbert Wells, known as H.G. Wells in all of history, was an English writer popular
00:00:07 --> 00:00:11 at the end of the 19th century through 20th century.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 He was prolific in many genres.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 He wrote more than 50 novels and dozens of short stories.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:27 He was someone who started life sympathetic towards God and religion, but ended life self-confessing
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 as an atheist.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:38 He started life as someone who was hopeful, particularly hopeful that humanity would eventually
00:00:38 --> 00:00:45 solve all of its problems, but ended life despondent and in fact, really near the end
00:00:45 --> 00:00:49 of his life, declaring that he was close to suicide.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:57 We see this transition for him in his short history of the world.
00:00:57 --> 00:01:27 He wrote,
00:01:27 --> 00:01:41 What an optimistic view of humanity in 1937.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:49 Nine years later, after the awful carnage of World War II and just before he died, he
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 wrote this in his final work,
00:01:51 --> 00:01:59 The cold-blooded massacres of the defenceless, the return of deliberate and organised torture,
00:01:59 --> 00:02:05 mental torment and fear to a world from which such things had seemed well nigh banished,
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 has come near to breaking my spirit altogether.
00:02:08 --> 00:02:24 It's hard to avoid the conclusion that there is something fundamentally wrong with our world.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:29 If you have not yet come to that conclusion, there's nothing I can do for you, I'm afraid.
00:02:29 --> 00:02:44 Every worldview and philosophy from Christianity through to secular atheism has to come to terms with that issue.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 What is fundamentally wrong with our world?
00:02:48 --> 00:02:52 H.G. Wells goes from a person of hope to hopelessness.
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 Christianity, on the other hand, goes from hopelessness to hope.
00:02:57 --> 00:03:07 These days, what we tend to do in struggling with the difficulty of our world is we have a tendency to look outside of ourselves
00:03:07 --> 00:03:25 and we tend to blame the world's issues on institutions, on governments, on other people, on particular races, on lack of education, religion itself.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:33 According to the Christian faith, it's been mentioned multiple times, we've just sung about it multiple times,
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 the problem is sin.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:41 It's not outside of ourselves, it's something that's inside of us.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:48 It's a concept that is often viewed as ludicrous today and even offensive.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:54 And although Christianity declares that sin is the big problem, it also reveals the solution,
00:03:54 --> 00:04:02 which in turn gives us a new hope as we navigate this life with all its ups and downs.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:08 So there's three things I want to get to this morning from those Bible passages that Aidan read out to us.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:10 What is this problem?
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 What's the new solution to it?
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 And what is this new hope?
00:04:15 --> 00:04:16 So first of all, the old problem.
00:04:16 --> 00:04:29 The first three verses of Ephesians 1, which were just read out to us, are a comprehensive panoramic picture of the human condition outside of God.
00:04:30 --> 00:04:34 We are dead in transgressions and sins.
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 That's pretty devastating for the human condition.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:42 Death in Ephesians 1 is not a figure of speech.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:47 These people that are referred to here are dead.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:57 He's not describing here some decadent, depraved segment of society.
00:04:57 --> 00:05:01 He's describing all of humanity from top to bottom.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:04 What is sin?
00:05:05 --> 00:05:08 This thing that is leading to death of all of humanity.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:16 It's a whole lot more than just breaking some moral code, which is the common view nowadays.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:17 It's just breaking a moral code.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:31 The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard saw it as a despairing refusal to find our deepest identity in our relationship and service to God.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:33 The God who made us.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:46 Another way of putting that is it is creating an identity for ourselves apart from our creator.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:54 Another way of putting that, in the words of 5th century philosopher and theologian, St. Augustine,
00:05:56 --> 00:06:04 sin is not just doing bad things, it's making good things into ultimate things.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:12 Whatever those things are that we get our identity from, they are not God.
00:06:12 --> 00:06:22 And that will mean, according to Augustine, will ultimately enslave us, because those things can never be God for us.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:28 They can never, ever satisfy the deepest longing of the heart.
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 And so look back there in Ephesians chapter 1.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:34 Notice the words followed.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 It's used in verses 2 and verse 3.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:53 That word followed there, which is used in verse 2 and 3,
00:06:54 --> 00:06:58 comes from a word that means mastered by.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:02 To be controlled by.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:11 The reason the writer of the Ephesians here describes these people as dead in transgression and sin
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 is that they are helpless.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:17 They are controlled.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 They're as helpless as a dead body.
00:07:21 --> 00:07:22 Completely controlled.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:24 Totally mastered.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 Unable to move or to act on their own.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 And the key idea is, verse 3,
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 gratifying the cravings of our flesh
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 and following its desires and thoughts.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:40 The term our flesh in verse 3
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 doesn't mean, you know, this stuff.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 Human flesh and bones.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 It's referring to self-centered human nature.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 The things that drive us,
00:07:52 --> 00:07:53 master us, control us.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 According to the Bible,
00:07:55 --> 00:07:56 according to the Christian faith,
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 the reason we are slaves to sin
00:08:00 --> 00:08:07 is because the human heart is profoundly self-centered.
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 Profoundly self-centered.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 The 16th century church reformer and theologian,
00:08:14 --> 00:08:14 Martin Luther,
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 put the condition of the human heart quite succinctly.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:23 He described it as curved in on itself.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 Curved in on itself.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 Absorbed in itself.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:32 Looking into itself.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:34 Self-centered.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:39 That is what it means to be human apart from God.
00:08:39 --> 00:08:46 Luther said that our nature is so deeply curved in on itself.
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 He described it as wickedly,
00:08:49 --> 00:08:54 curvedly and viciously seeks to use all things,
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 even God himself,
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 for our own sake.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:03 Our hearts and our minds
00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 are constantly analyzing
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 every person,
00:09:08 --> 00:09:09 every object,
00:09:10 --> 00:09:11 every interaction,
00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 every event,
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 every setting.
00:09:16 --> 00:09:17 Constantly analyzing
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 what is in this for me.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 And when we don't get what we want,
00:09:24 --> 00:09:25 we get angry
00:09:25 --> 00:09:28 and we blame it on someone else.
00:09:29 --> 00:09:33 Everything is being analyzed
00:09:33 --> 00:09:36 by how it benefits my happiness,
00:09:36 --> 00:09:37 my glory,
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 my reputation,
00:09:38 --> 00:09:39 my comfort,
00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 my control of things.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 How does it help me?
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 How does it fit with my interests?
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 How does this make me happy?
00:09:47 --> 00:09:48 And everyone else
00:09:48 --> 00:09:51 who does not provide the filling up
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 of my sense of self,
00:09:55 --> 00:09:59 I have to tear them down.
00:09:59 --> 00:10:04 It's obvious to most of us
00:10:04 --> 00:10:05 that self-centeredness
00:10:05 --> 00:10:06 can make you a pretty cruel person.
00:10:07 --> 00:10:07 You know,
00:10:07 --> 00:10:08 look at history
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 and all the tyrants of the world.
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 More often though,
00:10:11 --> 00:10:12 self-centeredness
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 makes you a moral person.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:18 More often than not,
00:10:18 --> 00:10:18 self-centeredness
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 will make you into a good person.
00:10:20 --> 00:10:23 If everything is about my need
00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 to feel good about myself,
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 then there is no better way
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 for me to feel good about myself
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 than to be a good and moral person.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 Self-centeredness drives most people
00:10:35 --> 00:10:36 into being good,
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 trying hard to serve the needy,
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 being a good child to parents
00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 and even being a good parent
00:10:44 --> 00:10:44 to my children.
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 A good friend
00:10:47 --> 00:10:48 who assists
00:10:48 --> 00:10:49 whenever I am asked.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:52 And what lies beneath
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 is a self-centeredness
00:10:54 --> 00:10:54 where ultimately
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 I'm doing it for myself.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 I'm helping for my sake.
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 I want my kids
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 to be compliant
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 for my sake.
00:11:05 --> 00:11:10 We do good things
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 to be noticed by people
00:11:11 --> 00:11:13 to receive the applause of others.
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 It's so we can feel like
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 we've got a meaningful life
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 and feel like a good person.
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 Now I suspect most of you
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 would remember
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 one of the greatest Hollywood classics
00:11:28 --> 00:11:29 of the last century,
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 the movie Rocky,
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 starring Sylvester Stallone.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 He's an underrated actor
00:11:36 --> 00:11:36 who should have won
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 an Academy Award by now.
00:11:43 --> 00:11:46 His love interest
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 in the movie
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 asked him,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:49 Rocky,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 why are you fighting
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 the world champion?
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 It was a spectacle fight
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 that he was not meant to win.
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 Why are you fighting
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 the world champion?
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 And his reply
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 was profound
00:12:04 --> 00:12:05 for Sylvester Stallone.
00:12:06 --> 00:12:09 I just want to go the distance
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 and then I'll know
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 I'm not a bum.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 Deep down inside,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:20 if we ever allow ourselves
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 to go there
00:12:21 --> 00:12:22 and I would invite you
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 to go there
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 this Good Friday,
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 we all feel like bums.
00:12:27 --> 00:12:31 we're all trying
00:12:31 --> 00:12:31 to do something
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 to convince the world
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 and ourselves
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 that we are good
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 and that we are worthy.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 Yeah, sure,
00:12:37 --> 00:12:37 self-centeredness
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 can make you into a tyrant,
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 but self-centeredness
00:12:40 --> 00:12:42 can make you a really good
00:12:42 --> 00:12:43 and moral person.
00:12:43 --> 00:12:44 But self-centeredness
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 and beware of this
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 of those who are gathering online
00:12:47 --> 00:12:47 and here to now,
00:12:48 --> 00:12:48 self-centeredness
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 can also make you
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 a very religious person.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 We can devote ourselves
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 to obeying God
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 and turning up to church
00:12:56 --> 00:12:56 and reading the Bible
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 and praying and giving,
00:12:58 --> 00:12:58 doing the sorts of things
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 that we're doing now,
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 all good and right things to do.
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 But how do I know
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 when I'm doing it all for me?
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 One of the answers to that is
00:13:13 --> 00:13:16 you just do the bare minimum
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 to make you feel good
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 about yourself.
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 And when things aren't going well
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 in your life,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 you start pulling away
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 from those good things.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 And it's because
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 we're doing these things
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 to use God.
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 We do good things
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 and expect God
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 to come through for us
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 in the ways that we want him to.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 And so when things aren't going well,
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 he doesn't appear
00:13:40 --> 00:13:40 to be coming through
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 in the way we want him to.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:45 Well, then we start pulling back.
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 And that means it's all about us.
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 Just trying to paint a picture here
00:13:52 --> 00:13:54 that self-centeredness clings to
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 every single thing in our lives.
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 Verse 3 uses the word craving
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 to describe it.
00:14:02 --> 00:14:04 It's a word in the original language
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 means an inordinate desire.
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 It means that our egos
00:14:09 --> 00:14:12 are so, so addictive.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:17 It means that we are living
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 for our own glory.
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 It means that we will never be enough.
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 No amount of praise
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 will ever be enough.
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 Our hearts and our minds
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 are in overdrive,
00:14:30 --> 00:14:32 running evaluations consistently
00:14:32 --> 00:14:35 about no amount of glory,
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 no amount of acclaim,
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 no amount of recognition,
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 no amount of comfort,
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 no amount of good experiences,
00:14:42 --> 00:14:45 no amount of material possessions
00:14:45 --> 00:14:49 will ever, ever be enough.
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 No amount of cocaine
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 is ever enough for an addict.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 It's addictive.
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 Our egos are so addictive,
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 but they're never satisfied.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 And it makes us miserable.
00:15:04 --> 00:15:08 I think it's profound
00:15:08 --> 00:15:11 that wealthy countries
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 in the West
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 have a lower, lower,
00:15:15 --> 00:15:18 lower satisfaction in life
00:15:18 --> 00:15:20 than the poor people of Bangladesh.
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 That is profound.
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 C.S. Lewis, the Oxford professor,
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 wrote that there is nothing more
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 enslaving and miserable
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 than self-centeredness.
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 He wrote that it is a hell begun in us
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 that will eventually take us to hell.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 That is what he's saying.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:42 There is a desire to live for ourselves
00:15:42 --> 00:15:46 will ultimately be handed over to us forever.
00:15:50 --> 00:15:53 The framework that every human being begins with
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 without Jesus is that
00:15:55 --> 00:16:00 you, God, give your life for me.
00:16:00 --> 00:16:05 You, people, give your life for me
00:16:05 --> 00:16:08 because it's ultimately about me.
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13 The Bible's view of sin
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 is that every part of the human condition
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 is tainted.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:20 The consequence at the end of verse 3
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 is so shocking to our modern context
00:16:23 --> 00:16:26 that assumes that we can just do
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 whatever we like
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 without any consequences.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:33 We are not only dead in our sin
00:16:33 --> 00:16:35 but we're also condemned.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 Like the rest,
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 we were by nature deserving of wrath.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 The concept of wrath
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 is so offensive in our day and age
00:16:46 --> 00:16:50 and yet the Bible's concept of God's anger
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 is not like your anger
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 where you are just ticked off.
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 It's not like my anger
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 where I just get ticked off with someone.
00:16:57 --> 00:17:00 God's anger is not a bad temper.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 It is not spite.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 It is not malice.
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 It is not animosity.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 It is not revenge.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 It's not arbitrary.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 It is not governed by mood.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 It's not governed by whim.
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 It is God's personal,
00:17:17 --> 00:17:17 righteous,
00:17:18 --> 00:17:21 constant hostility to evil,
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 to injustice,
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 and sin.
00:17:24 --> 00:17:27 It is his settled refusal
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 to compromise with it
00:17:29 --> 00:17:32 and his resolution to condemn it.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 And it's this wrath
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 that we need rescuing from.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 And that is what makes this good day,
00:17:42 --> 00:17:42 Good Friday,
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 a great day.
00:17:43 --> 00:17:47 The amazing news
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 of Good Friday
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 and Christianity
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 is simple
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 but is profound
00:17:52 --> 00:17:55 and that we have a substitute
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 who has stood in for us.
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00 It's a substitute
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 who has rescued.
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 God has done something amazing
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 in Jesus Christ.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 1 Peter 3, verse 18,
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 which Aidan read out to us,
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 puts it so succinctly,
00:18:11 --> 00:18:14 for Christ also suffered
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 once for sins,
00:18:16 --> 00:18:18 the righteous for the unrighteous
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 to bring you to God.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 Ephesians 2 unpacks
00:18:22 --> 00:18:24 the implications for us.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 Because of his great love for us,
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 talking about Jesus on the cross,
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 God who is rich in mercy,
00:18:30 --> 00:18:32 made us alive with Christ
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 even when we're dead
00:18:33 --> 00:18:33 in transgressions.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 It is by grace
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 you've been saved
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 and God raised us up
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 with Christ
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 and seated us with him
00:18:40 --> 00:18:42 in the heavenly realms
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 in Christ Jesus.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 Verse 6 says
00:18:46 --> 00:18:48 that God has raised us up
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 with Christ
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 and seated us
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 in the heavenly realms.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 Now this was first of all
00:18:55 --> 00:18:57 written into the first century
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 Middle Eastern context.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 It was the Roman world
00:19:00 --> 00:19:02 and in the Roman world
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 the conquering warrior
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05 who returned from
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 a great victory
00:19:06 --> 00:19:08 was given the greatest place
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 of honour
00:19:09 --> 00:19:12 upon their return
00:19:12 --> 00:19:12 to the capital.
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 And the greatest place
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 of honour
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 on return to the capital
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 was they were seated
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 at the right hand
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 of the Caesar
00:19:20 --> 00:19:24 for all people to see.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 This man is to be greatly honoured.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:30 Jesus died,
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 was raised again
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 and given the place
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 of greatest honour.
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 The seat
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 at the throat
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 right hand of God
00:19:38 --> 00:19:40 in the heavenly realms
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42 it is the most honourable seat
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 in the universe.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 And verse 6 tells us
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 verse 6 is a past tense.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 It's saying that the Christian
00:19:49 --> 00:19:51 is already seated there
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 with Jesus.
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 Legally
00:19:55 --> 00:19:57 seated there with Jesus.
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 When we trust
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 in Jesus Christ
00:20:00 --> 00:20:02 all our sins
00:20:02 --> 00:20:04 all our self-centeredness
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 is so hidden
00:20:05 --> 00:20:07 so covered
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 so forgiven
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10 that we are treated
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 as if we have done
00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 everything that Jesus
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 has done.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 That is astonishing.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 Through Jesus
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 and his achievement
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 on the cross
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 God delights
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 and honours
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 and accepts
00:20:26 --> 00:20:26 and rejoices
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 over us
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 in the way
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 that he outdoes
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 his own son.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:35 how can that be
00:20:35 --> 00:20:38 when we have
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 been so
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 self-centered
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 when we've
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 treated him
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 so badly
00:20:43 --> 00:20:46 verse 7
00:20:46 --> 00:20:46 is the key
00:20:46 --> 00:20:48 he might show
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 the incomparable
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 riches
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 of his grace
00:20:51 --> 00:20:53 expressed in his
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 kindness
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 to us
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 in Christ Jesus.
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 kindness
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 the word
00:20:57 --> 00:20:57 kindness
00:20:57 --> 00:21:01 is a lot
00:21:01 --> 00:21:01 more than
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 the we would
00:21:02 --> 00:21:02 generally say
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 he's a kind
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 person
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 it's not
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 it's a lot
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 it actually means
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 costly action
00:21:08 --> 00:21:11 the first three
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 verses tells us
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 the essence of sin
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 is putting ourselves
00:21:15 --> 00:21:15 where only God
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 should be
00:21:16 --> 00:21:18 the centre
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 of our lives
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 on the throne
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 of our lives
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 in control
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 of our lives
00:21:21 --> 00:21:23 sin
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 is us
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 putting ourselves
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 where only God
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 deserves to be
00:21:27 --> 00:21:29 salvation
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 is God
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 putting himself
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 where only
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 we deserve
00:21:34 --> 00:21:34 to be
00:21:34 --> 00:21:37 dying
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 because of
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 our sin
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 and that is
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 what Good Friday
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 is all about
00:21:41 --> 00:21:44 Jesus Christ
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 took the
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 just punishment
00:21:46 --> 00:21:46 from God
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 that we deserve
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 by putting
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 ourselves
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 in the place
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 where only God
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 belongs
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 at the centre
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 of our lives
00:21:53 --> 00:21:56 I'll say it again
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58 one person
00:21:58 --> 00:21:58 has put it
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 really succinctly
00:21:59 --> 00:21:59 the essence
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 of sin
00:22:00 --> 00:22:00 is us
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 substituting
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 ourselves
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 for God
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 while the
00:22:03 --> 00:22:03 essence
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 of salvation
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 is God
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 substituting
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 himself
00:22:06 --> 00:22:06 for us
00:22:06 --> 00:22:08 that
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 is what
00:22:09 --> 00:22:09 Good Friday
00:22:09 --> 00:22:11 is all about
00:22:11 --> 00:22:13 Jesus
00:22:13 --> 00:22:15 saved us
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 by doing
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 the absolute
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 opposite
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 of us
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 he saved
00:22:21 --> 00:22:21 us
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 through the
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 most
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 radically
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 unselfish
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 thing
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 anyone
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 has
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 ever
00:22:27 --> 00:22:27 done
00:22:27 --> 00:22:29 though
00:22:29 --> 00:22:29 equal
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 with God
00:22:30 --> 00:22:30 the Father
00:22:30 --> 00:22:32 he emptied
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 himself
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 of his
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 glory
00:22:33 --> 00:22:33 he came
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 down
00:22:34 --> 00:22:34 and took
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 the place
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 of a
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 servant
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 he traded
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 his life
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 for ours
00:22:38 --> 00:22:40 and the
00:22:40 --> 00:22:40 contrast
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 in these
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 verses
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 in Ephesians
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 2
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 is startling
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 the very next
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 words after
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 telling us
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 in verse 3
00:22:47 --> 00:22:47 that we are
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 deserving of
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 God's wrath
00:22:49 --> 00:22:49 we read
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 but because
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 of his
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 great love
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 for us
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 God
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 who is
00:22:53 --> 00:22:53 rich
00:22:53 --> 00:22:53 in mercy
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 made us
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 alive
00:22:55 --> 00:22:55 with Christ
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 even when
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 we were
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 dead
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 in transgressions
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 it is by
00:22:59 --> 00:22:59 grace
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 you have
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 been saved
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 the God
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 who is
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 rich
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 in mercy
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 has intervened
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 our condition
00:23:06 --> 00:23:06 was hopeless
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 but God
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 intervened
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 in grace
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 from hell
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 to heaven
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 bondage
00:23:12 --> 00:23:12 to freedom
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 gloom
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 to light
00:23:14 --> 00:23:14 despair
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 to hope
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 wrath
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 to glory
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 death
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 to life
00:23:17 --> 00:23:20 that is
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 the greatness
00:23:21 --> 00:23:21 of Good
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 Friday
00:23:22 --> 00:23:24 the glory
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 of Good
00:23:25 --> 00:23:25 Friday
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 his
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 selflessness
00:23:27 --> 00:23:30 has overcome
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 our selfishness
00:23:31 --> 00:23:34 and when we
00:23:34 --> 00:23:34 see him
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 doing that
00:23:35 --> 00:23:37 his mercy
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 his love
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 his grace
00:23:38 --> 00:23:40 then it
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 finally helps
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 us to see
00:23:41 --> 00:23:43 that our
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 sense of
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 self
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 our egos
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 are finally
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 filled up
00:23:46 --> 00:23:48 by him
00:23:48 --> 00:23:50 we have
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 all the
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 acclaim
00:23:51 --> 00:23:53 in Jesus
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 all the
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 honour
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 all the
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 approval
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 all the
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 acceptance
00:23:57 --> 00:23:57 we could
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 ever want
00:23:58 --> 00:24:02 the Christian
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 faith declares
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 paradoxically
00:24:04 --> 00:24:04 that we are
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 more sinful
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 and flawed
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 than we ever
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 realise
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 and more
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08 loved and
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 accepted
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 than we
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 could possibly
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 imagine
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 or dream
00:24:11 --> 00:24:13 at exactly
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 the same
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 time
00:24:13 --> 00:24:18 and so
00:24:18 --> 00:24:18 therefore
00:24:18 --> 00:24:18 Good
00:24:18 --> 00:24:18 Friday
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 is about
00:24:19 --> 00:24:19 this new
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 hope
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 a whole
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 new life
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24 and this
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 is what
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 this life
00:24:25 --> 00:24:25 brings us
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 into
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 verse 8
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 for it
00:24:28 --> 00:24:28 is by
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 grace
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 you've
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 been
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 saved
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 through
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 faith
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 and this
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 is not
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 from
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 yourselves
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 this is
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 a gift
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 from God
00:24:33 --> 00:24:33 not by
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 work
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 so that
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 no one
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 can boast
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 for we
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 are God's
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 handiwork
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 created in
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 Christ Jesus
00:24:39 --> 00:24:39 to do good
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 works which
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 God prepared
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 in advance
00:24:42 --> 00:24:42 for us
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 to do
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 his salvation
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 is a gift
00:24:45 --> 00:24:48 the new
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 life
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 is a gift
00:24:50 --> 00:24:50 hope
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 is a gift
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 and once
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 we get
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 this gift
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 we start
00:24:54 --> 00:24:54 seeing everything
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 in life
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 as a gift
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56 the life
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 that God
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 wants us
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 to have
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 is a life
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 where we
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 see
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 everything
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 as a gift
00:25:01 --> 00:25:03 a Christian
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 therefore
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 is a person
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 who's at rest
00:25:06 --> 00:25:08 they're
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 characterised
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 by what
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 verse 9
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 says
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 no longer
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 boasting
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 the Christian
00:25:12 --> 00:25:12 life brings
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 an end
00:25:13 --> 00:25:13 to placing
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 confidence
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 in our
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 fickle
00:25:16 --> 00:25:16 personal
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 hope
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 everything
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 every single
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 one is
00:25:19 --> 00:25:19 looking around
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 for something
00:25:20 --> 00:25:20 to boast
00:25:20 --> 00:25:20 in
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 to have a
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 confidence
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 in
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 to have a
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 trust
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 in
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 to rest
00:25:23 --> 00:25:23 in
00:25:23 --> 00:25:23 to face
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 life
00:25:24 --> 00:25:24 something
00:25:24 --> 00:25:24 that will
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 help them
00:25:25 --> 00:25:25 face
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 the complexities
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 of life
00:25:27 --> 00:25:30 for H.G.
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 Wells
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 it was
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 the hope
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 of humanity
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 and science
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 and other
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 things
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 to eventually
00:25:34 --> 00:25:36 educate humanity
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 in such a way
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 that we will
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 improve our lives
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 for future generations
00:25:40 --> 00:25:42 what is it that you
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 put your hope in
00:25:43 --> 00:25:47 some of us
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 look to careers
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 some to
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 our salary
00:25:50 --> 00:25:50 some to
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 moral decency
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 some to
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 religious performance
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 a life
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 a life
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 looking for
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 things
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 to boast
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 in
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 is a
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 life
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 of
00:25:57 --> 00:25:57 scrambling
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 constantly
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 for identity
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 scrambling
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 for self
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 worth
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 and it
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 is
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 exhausting
00:26:04 --> 00:26:06 the new
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 life that God
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 offers us
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 is a gift
00:26:08 --> 00:26:10 and because
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 it is a gift
00:26:11 --> 00:26:11 from God
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 we are set
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 free
00:26:13 --> 00:26:15 liberated
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 from trying
00:26:16 --> 00:26:16 to find
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 a boast
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 a confidence
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 from within
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 ourselves
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 to pin
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 our hopes
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 on
00:26:21 --> 00:26:23 verse 10
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 is a wonderful
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 vision of this
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 new life
00:26:25 --> 00:26:27 we are God's
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 handiwork
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 created in
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 Christ Jesus
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 to do good
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 works
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 which God
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 prepared in
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 advance for us
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 to do
00:26:32 --> 00:26:35 God's
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 handiwork
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 his artwork
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 his
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 masterpiece
00:26:39 --> 00:26:41 no longer
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 dead
00:26:42 --> 00:26:44 but remade
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 and set free
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 to do good
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 works
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 without the
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 constant
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 calculation
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 of whether
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 I've done
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 enough
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 to get
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 the
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 applause
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 that I
00:26:52 --> 00:26:52 so
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 desperately
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 desire
00:26:53 --> 00:26:57 God's
00:26:57 --> 00:26:57 greatest
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 masterpiece
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 is not
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 the Swiss
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 Alps
00:27:00 --> 00:27:02 or the
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 vastness
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 of the
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 depths
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 of the
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 ocean
00:27:04 --> 00:27:06 God's
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 greatest
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 masterpiece
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 is humanity
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 saved
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 from
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 condemnation
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 made
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 alive
00:27:12 --> 00:27:14 set free
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 from
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 slavery
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 set free
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 to serve
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 and love
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 with free
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 abandon
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 and the
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 message of
00:27:21 --> 00:27:21 good
00:27:21 --> 00:27:21 Friday
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 is that
00:27:22 --> 00:27:22 whatever
00:27:22 --> 00:27:22 you've
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 done
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 whatever
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 you've
00:27:25 --> 00:27:25 become
00:27:25 --> 00:27:27 Jesus
00:27:27 --> 00:27:29 is your
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 substitute
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 so that
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 you might
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 have new
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 life and a
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 new hope
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 in him
00:27:33 --> 00:27:35 and so I
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 want to
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 encourage you
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 this day
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 to make
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 this good
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 Friday the
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 day that
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 you come
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 to Jesus
00:27:40 --> 00:27:42 and experience
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 his grace
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 his mercy
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 his love
00:27:45 --> 00:27:47 make this
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 the day you
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 go from
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 hell to
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 heaven
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 from bondage
00:27:50 --> 00:27:50 to freedom
00:27:50 --> 00:27:52 from gloom
00:27:52 --> 00:27:52 to light
00:27:52 --> 00:27:54 from despair
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 to hope
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 from wrath
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 to glory
00:27:56 --> 00:27:58 from death
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 to life
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 the essence
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 of salvation
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 is God
00:28:02 --> 00:28:04 substituting
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 himself
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 for us
00:28:05 --> 00:28:07 this is the
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 glory of
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 good Friday
00:28:08 --> 00:28:10 and it is the
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 hope of
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 humanity
00:28:11 --> 00:28:15 in reality
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 you