The Gospel and Thanksgiving
Series: Gospel Life
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 21st September 2025
Passage: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
00:00:00 --> 00:00:08 In 1644, the cloud of emotional darkness descended on the Puritan minister, Richard Baxter.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:14 ! There are a number of colliding factors as to why life got so hard for him.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:24 ! There was a civil war that had basically shut down what was a very successful parish ministry.
00:00:24 --> 00:00:34 He was shunned as an army chaplain by the nation's leadership because he was, in their words, too spiritual.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:42 Close friends of his, dear friends of his life in the civil war.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:46 His own father at that point was a political prisoner.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:57 His health also broke down, rendering him very ill and weak and thinking at the age of 31 that he was near death.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:06 And as all those factors collided and his despair of life set in,
00:01:06 --> 00:01:21 Baxter wrote what became one of the most professional books for generations called The Saints' Everlasting Rest in 1650.
00:01:22 --> 00:01:35 Baxter, in his book, he calls Christians to contemplate our eternal heavenly rest as a way of life now, in the moment.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:43 As an ongoing practice of daily life, constantly recalling the heavenly rest.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:49 He exhausts us not to seek our promised rest and comfort here in earth,
00:01:49 --> 00:01:57 but to keep the new heavens and the new earth at the forefront of our minds, reflecting on it consistently.
00:01:57 --> 00:02:06 And he says that, in fact, that is what fuels a life of faith, love and hope now.
00:02:08 --> 00:02:20 Baxter's book, quite famous even to this day, really is echoing the Apostle Paul in the letters to the Thessalonians.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:27 The moment Paul started this church, as we know from the first letter, there was persecution.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:33 In fact, this young, small church in Thessalonica had never known a time of peace at all.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:46 And so Paul's first letter to them was designed to strengthen a church under pressure and to encourage a church that was immature and vulnerable amongst that pressure,
00:02:46 --> 00:02:52 in order that they would continue to make progress as believers in the Lord Jesus.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:59 Paul urged them, as we know from one of the first letters, to turn away from their sinful life,
00:03:00 --> 00:03:07 to walk obediently to God's word and to set their minds and their hearts and their hopes on the return of the Lord Jesus
00:03:07 --> 00:03:12 and the future glory and joy that awaits for them in that moment.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:18 And so as we open to Thessalonians, we see their trials have not diminished.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:24 Paul again strengthened them by pointing them to the glorious end of all things.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:27 And that is when Jesus returns.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:38 And he also encourages them with the perspective of what it means to live the Christian life until the day of Jesus' return.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:44 And what he says is, you will always be at war in one way or another.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:45 There will always be a battle.
00:03:45 --> 00:03:49 It will always be a struggle in one way or another.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:57 Their trials and their sufferings, crucially, are not a sign that God is not powerful, that he's not good,
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 or that God had abandoned them.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:05 But it's how God is gloriously changing them.
00:04:05 --> 00:04:11 Their hardship is how God is gloriously changing them.
00:04:11 --> 00:04:15 So as we open up to Thessalonians, we've got three points there.
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 Apologies for those of you who have got the handouts.
00:04:20 --> 00:04:28 It's mostly there in those handouts, but I've had some more recent inspiration very early this morning.
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 Anyway, so three points.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 First of all, thanksgiving for past grace.
00:04:37 --> 00:04:44 So in his first letter, Paul remembered gratefully the Thessalonians, particularly for three things,
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 their faith, their love, and their hope.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:52 The trinity of a healthy Christian life, faith, hope, and love.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:57 And the fact that they were productive in their faith, in their hope, and their love.
00:04:57 --> 00:05:06 And now, however, he emphasizes that these qualities from the first letter to the second letter have actually been increasing and growing.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:13 So the persecution that they've been experiencing has not been a hindrance to that at all.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:14 At all.
00:05:14 --> 00:05:20 The original language here, in fact, means that their faith is growing like a plant in the tropics.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 You just can't stop it.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 And their love for all is overflowing.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:33 The language is like the floodgates of the dam have been opened and just flooding everywhere.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:42 And although he does not mention hope, he does refer to their perseverance and endurance,
00:05:43 --> 00:05:51 which in 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 3, he says perseverance and endurance is inspired by hope.
00:05:51 --> 00:05:59 It's a hope, he says, that he boasts about to other churches.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:08 And it was flourishing even amongst the persecution and trials which they were enduring.
00:06:09 --> 00:06:13 And so when he jumps into verse 5,
00:06:13 --> 00:06:26 what he's saying here in verse 5 is that growth in faith, in love and hope is not just evidence of God's grace in their lives,
00:06:26 --> 00:06:33 but it's also evidence that God's judgment is right.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:48 That is, the combination of their trust in Jesus with their current trials, hardships, persecutions they're facing,
00:06:49 --> 00:07:00 it's those things together which are producing great, growing faith, growing love, growing hope.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:07 And God is right in not just calling them to himself,
00:07:08 --> 00:07:16 but he is right in them facing those persecutions, in God gifting them with those persecutions.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:29 What Paul is celebrating here in the first few verses is what you would call healthy Christians and a healthy church.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:39 Now, Western Christians tend to celebrate the growth of programs and facilities and budgets and staff and attendance and energy,
00:07:40 --> 00:07:45 the worship, quality of the worship as signs of church health.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 Not Paul, necessarily.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:56 Paul boasts here of their growing faith, their increasing love for each other,
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 and their hope in the face of hardship.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:06 Those things may flow over into progress in other things, but they may not.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:20 And the fact that there are growing budgets and so on and so forth are not necessarily a sign that the church is growing in faith or love or hope.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:27 And Paul is very keen for them for this growth that they're seeing to continue.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:34 And once again, what he does is he gets them to fix their eyes on the hope of their future glory,
00:08:35 --> 00:08:39 which is the section, the most of this chapter.
00:08:39 --> 00:08:51 And we're launching into a topic that our world society does not like the Christian to talk about.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:57 And unfortunately, way too many Christians are embarrassed by.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:02 That is the concept of future judgment.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:09 All religions in the world believe in some concept of judgment.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:13 Or for some, it's the idea of karma.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:16 For others, Christians, it's a judgment day.
00:09:17 --> 00:09:25 That is, all religions have this concept of a reckoning of some description or accountability of some description.
00:09:25 --> 00:09:33 That is, every person will have a day in a cosmic court, face their record,
00:09:34 --> 00:09:42 and to satisfy the demands of an eternal absolute justice of some degree, whatever it might be.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:48 The secular worldview, however, which is dominant in our society at the moment,
00:09:48 --> 00:09:55 rejects the concept of a final judgment because it asserts there is no moral absolutes.
00:09:56 --> 00:10:03 And so you cannot have a cosmic judgment if there are no moral absolutes that all people must comply with.
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 So there is no final reckoning.
00:10:06 --> 00:10:12 For instance, Sam Harris, a prominent atheist, begins his book, Free Will,
00:10:13 --> 00:10:24 by recounting a set of callous crimes committed by two men against an innocent family.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:29 And if you read it, it is stomach-churning stuff, awful stuff.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:44 And he concludes that while we might seek some level of restorative justice to stop those people doing that again,
00:10:46 --> 00:10:53 he says you cannot hold those people morally accountable, however.
00:10:56 --> 00:10:59 Sam Harris, secularism.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:05 And Western civilization generally hates the idea of judgment.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:11 Why would we want to believe and embrace the Bible's teaching on Judgment Day?
00:11:12 --> 00:11:18 There are multiple reasons, and I just need to exercise the spiritual gift of superficiality this morning
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 and just mention two.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 It's not a spiritual gift.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 Don't need to look that one up.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:25 Give me that gift.
00:11:25 --> 00:11:33 First of all, because the Bible's teaching on Judgment Day is actually good news.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 That's the first reason.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:45 The problem with removing a final Judgment Day is it doesn't just mean that moral wrongs are never made right.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 That in itself is a problem.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:58 But it also means that no act or life of moral courage is rewarded either.
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 It means both of those things.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:07 Not just that there's no accountability for wrong, but there's no reward for right.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:13 In fact, removing of Judgment Day means there's nothing at all.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 Nothing at all.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:24 So if you want to remove the concept that, well, I don't like the idea God's going to judge me,
00:12:24 --> 00:12:29 but I don't want him to reward me, you remove both when you remove a Judgment Day.
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 You've gotten rid of both.
00:12:33 --> 00:12:41 Judgment Day means that every sacrifice we make for others actually matters nothing in the end.
00:12:41 --> 00:12:46 It means that no one notices it at all in the end.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 Those sacrifices are forgotten.
00:12:52 --> 00:12:56 But Judgment Day means that those sacrifices will never be forgotten.
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 That there is a reward.
00:12:58 --> 00:13:02 There is someone who sees and so everything means something.
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 Everything means something.
00:13:05 --> 00:13:12 If, on the other hand, there is no Judgment Day, there is no judge in the end,
00:13:12 --> 00:13:17 and human suffering and injustice goes on until the sun burns out and history ends,
00:13:18 --> 00:13:23 and that means, according to the Nealist, nothing means anything.
00:13:25 --> 00:13:29 There are only two, ultimately, views of life.
00:13:29 --> 00:13:33 Either everything means something or nothing means anything.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:38 And the difference between the two is Judgment Day.
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 That's the difference.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:48 You see, the big secular thinkers of history, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Bertrand Russell,
00:13:49 --> 00:13:54 all explained away this concept of a final Judgment Day,
00:13:54 --> 00:14:00 and all of them were honest enough to suggest that when you do,
00:14:00 --> 00:14:03 it takes away all meaning in history.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 At least they were honest enough to say that.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:13 Jean-Paul Sartre once said that atheism is a long, hard, cruel business.
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 And he says, I've lived it to the end.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 I'm not sure what he was celebrating in that moment,
00:14:19 --> 00:14:24 but Judgment Day is good news.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:28 But it also is good news because it means that forgiveness is possible.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 Have a look at verse 6 there.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 God is just.
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37 Now, when you read that, you go, hang on a bit.
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 That seems really harsh.
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 But it's actually liberating.
00:14:41 --> 00:14:45 It's meant to be liberating for the Thessalonian Christians.
00:14:47 --> 00:14:50 The liberation here is God is just.
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 He's the one who pays back.
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 You don't have to.
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 You Thessalonians, you Christians,
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 don't need to be in the position of judge of humanity.
00:14:58 --> 00:15:06 Being the judge of someone else when they've wronged us
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 is a job that we are not qualified for.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:16 Potentially, you know the experience of being in a job
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 that you're not qualified to do.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:23 I've known that experience myself when I first became the minister here
00:15:23 --> 00:15:28 and other, for instance, when I first became a dad.
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 It's like, what do I do now?
00:15:32 --> 00:15:36 This is the ultimate job we are not qualified for.
00:15:37 --> 00:15:40 You see, if we keep putting ourselves in the role of judge,
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 jury and sentencer of other people,
00:15:43 --> 00:15:48 then we are the ones who become imprisoned in our own bitterness.
00:15:49 --> 00:15:54 It destroys us, not them, when we are the judge.
00:15:54 --> 00:16:00 And the reality is, some of us just cannot get past the wrongs
00:16:00 --> 00:16:02 that have been perpetrated against us
00:16:02 --> 00:16:06 because ultimately we don't believe in judgment day.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:09 It's not close on the forefront of our minds.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 Or we haven't understood it.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:18 We're not constantly reflecting on it right now.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:25 The more the good news of judgment day goes deep into our hearts,
00:16:26 --> 00:16:30 ultimately what it means is the more patient and loving
00:16:30 --> 00:16:33 and forgiving we will be.
00:16:33 --> 00:16:42 The Christian who is harsh in their proclamation of the gospel condemning humanity
00:16:42 --> 00:16:45 has not understood judgment day.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 They've not understood it.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 It hasn't penetrated to the depths of their hearts.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:57 Now, the second reason to believe in this final judgment day
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 is that Jesus tells us so.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:02 He reveals the reality of it.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:06 Judgment day is good news, but we also need to believe it.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:10 In order to believe it, we need evidence for it.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:16 And like millions and millions of people throughout history,
00:17:16 --> 00:17:23 I myself came to believe in who Jesus is and what he did
00:17:23 --> 00:17:29 because of the facts about him, the facts of who he is.
00:17:31 --> 00:17:35 You see, when you look at the person of Jesus Christ,
00:17:35 --> 00:17:42 you see this combination that you don't see in anyone else in human history.
00:17:44 --> 00:17:53 He's incredibly confident and centred on himself
00:17:53 --> 00:17:56 and who he is and what he declares about himself,
00:17:56 --> 00:18:01 and yet you've never met anyone who is at the same time more humble.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:05 He combines both the confidence and the humility.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:12 He combines courage to death and incredible tenderness
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 for the sinner and the sufferer.
00:18:16 --> 00:18:20 People become overwhelmed by his moral perfection
00:18:21 --> 00:18:24 and attracted by his love.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:31 And yet it is Jesus who talks about judgment day
00:18:31 --> 00:18:34 more than any other biblical writer,
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 more than any of them put together.
00:18:37 --> 00:18:40 You see, what we read in the Gospels
00:18:40 --> 00:18:44 is that Jesus has come to us not just as a saviour
00:18:44 --> 00:18:47 and as a friend, but as a judge.
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 He said that.
00:18:50 --> 00:18:56 His salvation absolutely means nothing without judgment.
00:18:58 --> 00:19:02 What the Bible says about judgment day is, however, quite distinctive
00:19:02 --> 00:19:05 and is often misunderstood
00:19:05 --> 00:19:10 and it has massive implications for how we live right now.
00:19:11 --> 00:19:15 And the first distinctive compared to other religions
00:19:15 --> 00:19:19 is the nature of God's judgment.
00:19:19 --> 00:19:21 Have a look there at verses 8 and 9.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 It says,
00:19:24 --> 00:19:26 He will punish those who do not know God
00:19:26 --> 00:19:30 and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:33 They'll be punished with everlasting destruction
00:19:33 --> 00:19:36 and shut out from the presence of the Lord.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:39 Now, sentences like that
00:19:41 --> 00:19:44 stir up an emotional response.
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 I could stand on the street corner in Chatswood
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 and talk about God's love
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 and people walk past and go,
00:19:50 --> 00:19:52 you know, I'll ignore you, but that's okay.
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 Read this, however,
00:19:55 --> 00:19:57 and you're going to get a response of some description.
00:19:59 --> 00:20:05 It should, in fact, stir up an emotional response.
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 And, in fact, if you're a Christian
00:20:08 --> 00:20:11 and it doesn't stir up an emotional response,
00:20:11 --> 00:20:17 it means you need to understand judgment day a bit deeper.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:24 The reality is there's no nice way to smooth over words
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 like everlasting destruction.
00:20:26 --> 00:20:31 What is important here
00:20:31 --> 00:20:36 is to see what this everlasting destruction actually is.
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 Notice the statement.
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 It's actually described for us.
00:20:42 --> 00:20:45 Shut out from the presence of the Lord.
00:20:46 --> 00:20:48 In other words, everlasting destruction
00:20:48 --> 00:20:55 in biblical terms is the removal of God's presence.
00:20:58 --> 00:21:03 To not have God is to be eternally destroyed.
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 The presence of the God, of God,
00:21:07 --> 00:21:11 is the source of all life and love and beauty,
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 of all goodness,
00:21:12 --> 00:21:16 whether we realise it or not.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:19 You see, a person walking in the countryside
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21 on a beautiful sunny day
00:21:21 --> 00:21:26 is living off the presence of the sun in the sky.
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 They feel it.
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 They experience it.
00:21:29 --> 00:21:29 They know it.
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 They can see it.
00:21:32 --> 00:21:34 But in that exact same moment,
00:21:34 --> 00:21:37 a person working in a mine shaft
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 three kilometres under the ground
00:21:39 --> 00:21:43 is also living off the presence of the sun
00:21:43 --> 00:21:45 even though they don't experience it.
00:21:46 --> 00:21:46 They can't feel it.
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 They can't see it.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 They don't know it.
00:21:51 --> 00:21:54 They're both living off the presence of the sun.
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58 If in that moment,
00:21:58 --> 00:22:01 the sun disappeared,
00:22:01 --> 00:22:04 the sun ceased to exist,
00:22:05 --> 00:22:08 both of them would freeze to death
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 instantaneously.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 It matters not whether you are
00:22:12 --> 00:22:14 three kilometres under the ground
00:22:14 --> 00:22:18 or you're walking in the countryside.
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 It matters not.
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 You're both done.
00:22:23 --> 00:22:25 It's not where you are
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 on the face of the earth
00:22:26 --> 00:22:28 because you are both
00:22:28 --> 00:22:31 living off the sun's presence.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 You see, what the Bible tells us
00:22:35 --> 00:22:37 is that every person in history
00:22:37 --> 00:22:40 has lived off the presence of God
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 while they have lived,
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 whether they know it or not,
00:22:42 --> 00:22:44 whether they acknowledge it at all.
00:22:45 --> 00:22:47 It matters not whether you have sought
00:22:47 --> 00:22:50 and trusted and followed him
00:22:50 --> 00:22:55 or you instead have existed in darkness
00:22:55 --> 00:22:57 and you've rejected him
00:22:57 --> 00:22:59 and gone your own way in life.
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 It matters not.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:04 Now, every person has breathed his air,
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 drunk his water,
00:23:06 --> 00:23:08 lived off his gracious presence.
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 And if God's presence goes,
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 everything goes.
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 There is no life.
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 There is no joy.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 There is no beauty.
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 There is no good.
00:23:22 --> 00:23:27 And so the Bible's teaching
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 on God's judgment day
00:23:29 --> 00:23:34 is the thing that all of humanity
00:23:34 --> 00:23:37 actually want deep inside of their hearts.
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 Perfect justice.
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 It's what we want.
00:23:46 --> 00:23:48 Perfect justice in the sense
00:23:48 --> 00:23:52 that the punishment truly fits the crime.
00:23:54 --> 00:23:59 The Bible often uses imagery of fire
00:23:59 --> 00:24:01 for eternal destruction.
00:24:01 --> 00:24:03 Lake of fire, burning fire,
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 Jesus here coming in, blazing fire.
00:24:07 --> 00:24:10 It is figurative language.
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 It's figurative language.
00:24:13 --> 00:24:17 Now, number one,
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 stick with me in case you think
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 I'm moving into heresy here.
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 Secondly,
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 if you think,
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 oh, phew, great.
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 It's only figurative.
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 Figurative language in the Bible
00:24:30 --> 00:24:32 is always used
00:24:32 --> 00:24:35 to explain something that is far worse.
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40 So figurative language is not better.
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 It's actually far worse.
00:24:43 --> 00:24:46 It's symbolic of something
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 that's so much more worse.
00:24:49 --> 00:24:57 So the picture of everlasting destruction
00:24:57 --> 00:24:59 that you have in the Bible
00:24:59 --> 00:25:03 is not God poking people with pitchforks
00:25:03 --> 00:25:07 or employing people to do pitchfork poking.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:11 It is far worse than that.
00:25:11 --> 00:25:14 It is his presence removed.
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 Far worse.
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 It's his presence removed.
00:25:20 --> 00:25:23 There is only two ways to live in this life.
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 It's either God's will be done
00:25:26 --> 00:25:28 or it's my will be done.
00:25:31 --> 00:25:33 There's only two ways to live.
00:25:33 --> 00:25:35 It's either facing God
00:25:35 --> 00:25:38 or it's turning your back
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 and facing away from God.
00:25:39 --> 00:25:41 That's only two ways to live.
00:25:42 --> 00:25:45 And the person here described,
00:25:46 --> 00:25:48 destined for eternal destruction,
00:25:48 --> 00:25:51 are getting what they have chosen
00:25:51 --> 00:25:53 and what they have wanted
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 for all of their life.
00:25:56 --> 00:25:58 Existence without God.
00:25:58 --> 00:26:01 God throughout their life
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 has been facing them,
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 facing them,
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 facing them
00:26:03 --> 00:26:05 and they have turned their back
00:26:05 --> 00:26:07 and faced the opposite direction
00:26:07 --> 00:26:11 and then when they eventually
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 on the judgment day
00:26:12 --> 00:26:14 turn to face God's ability
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 for their life,
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 God will turn his face from them.
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 Perfect judgment.
00:26:20 --> 00:26:25 And as C.S. Lewis wrote
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 in his book,
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 The Great Divorce,
00:26:28 --> 00:26:31 once they get what they want
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 on that moment,
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 on the day of judgment,
00:26:34 --> 00:26:36 when they receive it,
00:26:37 --> 00:26:40 they still won't change their mind.
00:26:40 --> 00:26:43 They still won't change their mind.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:48 They will still have for eternity
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 the very thing that they wanted
00:26:49 --> 00:26:51 and they will not change their mind.
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 You see,
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 what this means is,
00:26:56 --> 00:26:58 this is really important,
00:26:59 --> 00:27:01 the Christian teaching on judgment day
00:27:01 --> 00:27:03 is not about good and bad
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 at all.
00:27:05 --> 00:27:07 It's not about whether I've done enough good
00:27:07 --> 00:27:09 and it balances out my bad.
00:27:09 --> 00:27:11 It's got nothing to do with
00:27:11 --> 00:27:13 good or bad at all.
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 Judgment day gives us
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 what we have been after
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 all of our life.
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 That's what judgment day is.
00:27:24 --> 00:27:26 If we have sought communion with God
00:27:26 --> 00:27:28 or we have sought distance
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 from God in life,
00:27:29 --> 00:27:31 then we will get that
00:27:31 --> 00:27:33 on judgment day.
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 It's what we have chosen
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 in relation to God.
00:27:38 --> 00:27:40 It's unbelievably just.
00:27:41 --> 00:27:43 And the confirmation of this
00:27:43 --> 00:27:47 is Jesus Christ on the cross.
00:27:48 --> 00:27:50 That's the confirmation of it.
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 That's the evidence for it.
00:27:52 --> 00:27:55 And that's why the Christian teaching on this
00:27:55 --> 00:27:57 is so distinctive.
00:27:58 --> 00:28:01 Because Jesus is the only person
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 in history
00:28:02 --> 00:28:05 who has ever gone through judgment day.
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 The only one
00:28:08 --> 00:28:10 who's ever gone through
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 the judgment day
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12 that's described here.
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 He's the only one in history
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17 to be abandoned by God
00:28:17 --> 00:28:20 in the most final way.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:23 And when Jesus Christ
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 was being crucified,
00:28:24 --> 00:28:26 there was no sulfur,
00:28:26 --> 00:28:28 there was no burning fire,
00:28:28 --> 00:28:30 there was no pitchforks,
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 what happened
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 is God
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 turned his back
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 on him.
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 In fact,
00:28:40 --> 00:28:43 his ultimate
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 cry
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 of dereliction,
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 the thing that caused him
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 to scream
00:28:48 --> 00:28:50 from the cross
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 was not
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 the spear in the side,
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 was not the nails,
00:28:53 --> 00:28:55 it was not the crown of thorns,
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 the thing that called him
00:28:56 --> 00:28:58 to scream
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 from the cross
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 is,
00:29:00 --> 00:29:00 my God,
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 my God,
00:29:02 --> 00:29:04 why have you forsaken me?
00:29:05 --> 00:29:07 The cry of dereliction
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 as his father
00:29:08 --> 00:29:10 turns his face away.
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 Judgment day.
00:29:16 --> 00:29:16 The hell
00:29:16 --> 00:29:18 that Jesus experienced
00:29:18 --> 00:29:18 on the cross
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 was deeper
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 than any hell
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 than anyone
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 will ever experience
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 in life
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 or the afterlife.
00:29:25 --> 00:29:27 on the cross
00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 Jesus faced God.
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 You see,
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 Jesus
00:29:30 --> 00:29:32 in his entire
00:29:32 --> 00:29:34 perfect life
00:29:34 --> 00:29:34 lived the life
00:29:34 --> 00:29:36 facing God
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 in perfection.
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 Perfect
00:29:39 --> 00:29:41 obedience.
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 He obeyed
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 his father
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 all the way
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 to the cross
00:29:45 --> 00:29:47 facing God
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 in obedience
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 all the way.
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 His father
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 turned his back
00:29:53 --> 00:29:53 on him.
00:29:55 --> 00:29:59 and that
00:29:59 --> 00:30:01 will never happen
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 to another person
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 in human history.
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 That will never
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 happen
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 to a Christian
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 who looks
00:30:08 --> 00:30:10 facing to Jesus
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 in all of their life
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 when judgment day
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 come
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 and that's the
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 confirmation here
00:30:14 --> 00:30:16 for the Thessalonians.
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 Jesus,
00:30:16 --> 00:30:18 your life
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 of suffering
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 in this moment
00:30:20 --> 00:30:20 is not
00:30:20 --> 00:30:22 a wasted life
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 because when judgment
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 day comes
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 your father
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 will not
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 turn his face
00:30:26 --> 00:30:26 from you
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 and the confirmation
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 he will not
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 turn his face
00:30:29 --> 00:30:29 away from you
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 is because
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 he turned it
00:30:31 --> 00:30:31 away from his son.
00:30:31 --> 00:30:38 Jesus is the only
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 one who
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 experienced
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 the presence
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 of God
00:30:41 --> 00:30:41 perfectly.
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 He obeyed God
00:30:43 --> 00:30:43 perfectly
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 and on the cross
00:30:44 --> 00:30:46 the sun
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 went out
00:30:46 --> 00:30:48 for him.
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 He was
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 facing God
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 and God
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 turned his back
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 at him.
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 His hell
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 was deeper
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 than anyone's
00:30:55 --> 00:30:58 and his hell
00:30:58 --> 00:31:00 pays for all
00:31:00 --> 00:31:02 of our sin
00:31:02 --> 00:31:04 and guarantees
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 that God
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 will not
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 turn his face
00:31:05 --> 00:31:07 away from me
00:31:07 --> 00:31:07 on judgment
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 day.
00:31:09 --> 00:31:09 No matter
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 who I am
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 no matter
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 what I've done
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 in my life.
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 See the Bible's
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 teaching on
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 judgment day
00:31:18 --> 00:31:20 is justice.
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 The punishment
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 fits the crime
00:31:23 --> 00:31:26 it explains
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 the cross
00:31:26 --> 00:31:28 judgment day
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 explains the cross
00:31:29 --> 00:31:31 and the cross
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 explains what
00:31:32 --> 00:31:32 happens on
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 judgment day
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 and it is
00:31:34 --> 00:31:36 profoundly good
00:31:36 --> 00:31:36 news
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 to those
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 who face
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 Jesus now.
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 Turn their
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 face to him
00:31:41 --> 00:31:44 and the
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 encouragement
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 here
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 for the
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 Thessalonians
00:31:48 --> 00:31:50 is you
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 need to keep
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 your eye
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 on that
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 end.
00:31:53 --> 00:31:53 in the
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 midst
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 of
00:31:55 --> 00:31:55 suffering
00:31:55 --> 00:31:57 temptations
00:31:57 --> 00:31:57 sin
00:31:57 --> 00:31:59 in this
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 world.
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 Verse 10
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 is the
00:32:06 --> 00:32:06 perspective
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 the good
00:32:07 --> 00:32:07 news
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 the outcome
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 if you like
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 on that
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 day he
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 comes to
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 be glorified
00:32:12 --> 00:32:12 in his
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 holy people
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 and to
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 be marveled
00:32:15 --> 00:32:15 at among
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 all those
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 who have
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 believed.
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 There's a
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 little word
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 in that
00:32:20 --> 00:32:20 verse
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 that's so
00:32:21 --> 00:32:21 easy to
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 miss
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 but it's
00:32:23 --> 00:32:23 absolutely
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 essential
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 it's very
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 crucial
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 in fact
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 the way
00:32:27 --> 00:32:27 it's put
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 together here
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 in the
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30 original language
00:32:30 --> 00:32:30 is so
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 unique
00:32:31 --> 00:32:31 it's only
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 used two
00:32:32 --> 00:32:32 times
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 in the
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 New Testament
00:32:34 --> 00:32:34 here in
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 verse 10
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 and again
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 in verse 12
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 two verses
00:32:38 --> 00:32:38 later
00:32:38 --> 00:32:40 and it's
00:32:40 --> 00:32:40 so unique
00:32:40 --> 00:32:42 it's
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42 it's the
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42 word
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 in
00:32:43 --> 00:32:45 in
00:32:45 --> 00:32:47 what it's
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 saying here
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 is that
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 when Jesus
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 comes on
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 that judgment
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 day
00:32:51 --> 00:32:53 Jesus will
00:32:53 --> 00:32:53 not be
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 glorified
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 among
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 his holy
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 people
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 as if
00:32:58 --> 00:32:59 they will
00:32:59 --> 00:32:59 be the
00:32:59 --> 00:32:59 stadium
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 in which
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 he appears
00:33:01 --> 00:33:04 neither
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 is it
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 by them
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 as if
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 they will
00:33:08 --> 00:33:08 be
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 spectators
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 who applaud
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 him
00:33:11 --> 00:33:11 for his
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 glory
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 everyone look
00:33:13 --> 00:33:13 at his
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 glory
00:33:14 --> 00:33:14 kind of
00:33:14 --> 00:33:14 thing
00:33:14 --> 00:33:16 neither
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 is he
00:33:17 --> 00:33:17 glorified
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 through
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 them
00:33:19 --> 00:33:19 as if
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 they are
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 the mirrors
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 reflecting
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23 his glory
00:33:23 --> 00:33:25 he will be
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 glorified
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 in
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 them
00:33:28 --> 00:33:31 in that
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 sense
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 his
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 people
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 are like
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 a filament
00:33:36 --> 00:33:36 in a
00:33:36 --> 00:33:38 light globe
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 which
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40 itself
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 glows
00:33:41 --> 00:33:43 with light
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 and heat
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 when the
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 electrical
00:33:46 --> 00:33:46 current
00:33:46 --> 00:33:48 passes
00:33:48 --> 00:33:48 through it
00:33:48 --> 00:33:50 you see
00:33:50 --> 00:33:50 a
00:33:50 --> 00:33:53 stadium
00:33:53 --> 00:33:55 is
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 never
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 itself
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 changed
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 by
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 the
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 activity
00:34:01 --> 00:34:01 of the
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 stadium
00:34:02 --> 00:34:02 a
00:34:02 --> 00:34:02 theatre
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 is
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 never
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 changed
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 by
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 the
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 play
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 that's
00:34:08 --> 00:34:10 played
00:34:10 --> 00:34:10 there
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 whatever you
00:34:11 --> 00:34:11 call it
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 in there
00:34:12 --> 00:34:12 performed
00:34:12 --> 00:34:14 in the
00:34:14 --> 00:34:14 theatre
00:34:14 --> 00:34:16 an
00:34:16 --> 00:34:16 audience
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 is never
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 necessarily
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 changed
00:34:19 --> 00:34:20 by the
00:34:20 --> 00:34:20 drama
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 in the
00:34:21 --> 00:34:21 theatre
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 itself
00:34:22 --> 00:34:24 a
00:34:24 --> 00:34:24 mirror
00:34:24 --> 00:34:24 is
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 certainly
00:34:25 --> 00:34:25 not
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 changed
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 by the
00:34:27 --> 00:34:27 image
00:34:27 --> 00:34:27 it
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 reflects
00:34:28 --> 00:34:28 in
00:34:28 --> 00:34:28 that
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 moment
00:34:29 --> 00:34:32 in
00:34:32 --> 00:34:32 any
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 moment
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 the
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 mirror
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 of my
00:34:34 --> 00:34:34 home
00:34:34 --> 00:34:34 is
00:34:34 --> 00:34:34 going
00:34:34 --> 00:34:34 to
00:34:34 --> 00:34:34 get
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 me
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 one
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 moment
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 not
00:34:36 --> 00:34:36 the
00:34:36 --> 00:34:36 next
00:34:36 --> 00:34:36 and
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 the
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 mirror
00:34:38 --> 00:34:38 is
00:34:38 --> 00:34:38 still
00:34:38 --> 00:34:38 the
00:34:38 --> 00:34:38 same
00:34:38 --> 00:34:41 but
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 a
00:34:42 --> 00:34:42 filament
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 in a
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 light
00:34:44 --> 00:34:44 bulb
00:34:44 --> 00:34:44 is
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 changed
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 dramatically
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 it's
00:34:47 --> 00:34:47 actually
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 changed
00:34:48 --> 00:34:50 when
00:34:50 --> 00:34:50 the
00:34:50 --> 00:34:50 electricity
00:34:50 --> 00:34:52 flows
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 through
00:34:53 --> 00:34:53 it
00:34:53 --> 00:34:53 and
00:34:53 --> 00:34:54 it
00:34:54 --> 00:34:54 glows
00:34:54 --> 00:34:56 you
00:34:56 --> 00:34:56 see
00:34:56 --> 00:34:56 when
00:34:56 --> 00:34:57 Jesus
00:34:57 --> 00:34:57 revealed
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 in
00:34:58 --> 00:34:58 his
00:34:58 --> 00:34:58 glory
00:34:58 --> 00:34:58 on
00:34:58 --> 00:34:59 judgment
00:34:59 --> 00:34:59 day
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 he
00:35:00 --> 00:35:00 will
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 be
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 glorified
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03 in
00:35:03 --> 00:35:03 his
00:35:03 --> 00:35:03 people
00:35:03 --> 00:35:07 we
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 will
00:35:08 --> 00:35:08 not
00:35:08 --> 00:35:08 only
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 see
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 his
00:35:10 --> 00:35:11 glory
00:35:11 --> 00:35:11 but
00:35:11 --> 00:35:11 we
00:35:11 --> 00:35:11 will
00:35:11 --> 00:35:12 in
00:35:12 --> 00:35:12 fact
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13 share
00:35:13 --> 00:35:13 his
00:35:13 --> 00:35:14 glory
00:35:14 --> 00:35:16 that's
00:35:16 --> 00:35:16 what
00:35:16 --> 00:35:16 it's
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 saying
00:35:17 --> 00:35:17 we
00:35:17 --> 00:35:17 will
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 share
00:35:18 --> 00:35:18 his
00:35:18 --> 00:35:18 glory
00:35:18 --> 00:35:20 and
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 much
00:35:21 --> 00:35:21 more
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 than
00:35:22 --> 00:35:22 a
00:35:22 --> 00:35:22 light
00:35:22 --> 00:35:22 globe
00:35:22 --> 00:35:22 where
00:35:22 --> 00:35:23 the
00:35:23 --> 00:35:23 filament
00:35:23 --> 00:35:23 glows
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 temporarily
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 but
00:35:25 --> 00:35:25 it
00:35:25 --> 00:35:25 only
00:35:25 --> 00:35:25 becomes
00:35:25 --> 00:35:26 dark
00:35:26 --> 00:35:26 and
00:35:26 --> 00:35:26 cold
00:35:26 --> 00:35:26 again
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 once
00:35:27 --> 00:35:27 the
00:35:27 --> 00:35:27 electricity
00:35:27 --> 00:35:28 stops
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 the
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 Christian
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 will
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 be
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 radically
00:35:30 --> 00:35:30 and
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31 permanently
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 changed
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33 into
00:35:33 --> 00:35:33 his
00:35:33 --> 00:35:33 the
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 best
00:35:34 --> 00:35:34 example
00:35:34 --> 00:35:34 of
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35 this
00:35:35 --> 00:35:35 I
00:35:35 --> 00:35:35 think
00:35:35 --> 00:35:35 in
00:35:35 --> 00:35:35 the
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 Bible
00:35:36 --> 00:35:36 is
00:35:36 --> 00:35:36 the
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 transfiguration
00:35:37 --> 00:35:37 of
00:35:37 --> 00:35:38 Jesus
00:35:38 --> 00:35:39 where
00:35:39 --> 00:35:39 on
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40 that
00:35:40 --> 00:35:40 occasion
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 Jesus
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 was
00:35:42 --> 00:35:43 glorified
00:35:43 --> 00:35:43 in
00:35:43 --> 00:35:43 his
00:35:43 --> 00:35:44 physical
00:35:44 --> 00:35:44 body
00:35:44 --> 00:35:47 his
00:35:47 --> 00:35:48 face
00:35:48 --> 00:35:49 just
00:35:49 --> 00:35:50 radiated
00:35:50 --> 00:35:50 like
00:35:50 --> 00:35:50 the
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 sun
00:35:51 --> 00:35:51 his
00:35:51 --> 00:35:52 skin
00:35:52 --> 00:35:52 and
00:35:52 --> 00:35:53 clothing
00:35:53 --> 00:35:54 gleamed
00:35:54 --> 00:35:54 became
00:35:54 --> 00:35:54 as
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 white
00:35:55 --> 00:35:55 as
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 light
00:35:56 --> 00:35:58 in
00:35:58 --> 00:35:58 other
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 words
00:35:59 --> 00:35:59 his
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00 body
00:36:00 --> 00:36:01 became
00:36:01 --> 00:36:01 a
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 vehicle
00:36:02 --> 00:36:02 for
00:36:02 --> 00:36:02 his
00:36:02 --> 00:36:03 glory
00:36:03 --> 00:36:04 and
00:36:04 --> 00:36:05 that's
00:36:05 --> 00:36:05 the
00:36:05 --> 00:36:05 best
00:36:05 --> 00:36:06 picture
00:36:06 --> 00:36:07 in
00:36:07 --> 00:36:07 the
00:36:07 --> 00:36:07 New
00:36:07 --> 00:36:07 Testament
00:36:07 --> 00:36:08 that
00:36:08 --> 00:36:08 we
00:36:08 --> 00:36:09 can
00:36:09 --> 00:36:09 find
00:36:09 --> 00:36:09 what
00:36:09 --> 00:36:09 will
00:36:09 --> 00:36:10 happen
00:36:10 --> 00:36:10 on
00:36:10 --> 00:36:10 the
00:36:10 --> 00:36:10 day
00:36:10 --> 00:36:10 when
00:36:10 --> 00:36:11 Jesus
00:36:11 --> 00:36:11 comes
00:36:11 --> 00:36:12 we
00:36:12 --> 00:36:12 will
00:36:12 --> 00:36:12 be
00:36:12 --> 00:36:13 transfigured
00:36:13 --> 00:36:14 by
00:36:14 --> 00:36:14 the
00:36:14 --> 00:36:14 glory
00:36:14 --> 00:36:14 of
00:36:14 --> 00:36:15 Christ
00:36:15 --> 00:36:16 eternally
00:36:16 --> 00:36:17 everything
00:36:17 --> 00:36:17 that
00:36:17 --> 00:36:18 attracts
00:36:18 --> 00:36:18 a
00:36:18 --> 00:36:19 person
00:36:19 --> 00:36:19 to
00:36:19 --> 00:36:19 the
00:36:19 --> 00:36:20 person
00:36:20 --> 00:36:20 of
00:36:20 --> 00:36:20 Jesus
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 will
00:36:21 --> 00:36:21 become
00:36:21 --> 00:36:22 ours
00:36:22 --> 00:36:25 it
00:36:25 --> 00:36:25 will
00:36:25 --> 00:36:25 be
00:36:25 --> 00:36:25 ours
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 because
00:36:26 --> 00:36:26 verse 10
00:36:26 --> 00:36:27 says
00:36:27 --> 00:36:28 we are
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 marvelling
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 at
00:36:29 --> 00:36:29 him
00:36:29 --> 00:36:31 now
00:36:31 --> 00:36:33 stick
00:36:33 --> 00:36:33 with me
00:36:33 --> 00:36:33 here
00:36:33 --> 00:36:35 because
00:36:35 --> 00:36:35 this is
00:36:35 --> 00:36:35 the
00:36:35 --> 00:36:36 really
00:36:36 --> 00:36:36 really
00:36:36 --> 00:36:37 important
00:36:37 --> 00:36:37 bit
00:36:37 --> 00:36:40 what
00:36:40 --> 00:36:40 is it
00:36:40 --> 00:36:41 we are
00:36:41 --> 00:36:42 marvelling
00:36:42 --> 00:36:42 at
00:36:42 --> 00:36:46 in
00:36:46 --> 00:36:47 particular
00:36:47 --> 00:36:48 what
00:36:48 --> 00:36:49 we are
00:36:49 --> 00:36:49 marvelling
00:36:49 --> 00:36:50 at
00:36:50 --> 00:36:51 is
00:36:51 --> 00:36:51 the
00:36:51 --> 00:36:52 love
00:36:52 --> 00:36:52 of
00:36:52 --> 00:36:52 God
00:36:52 --> 00:36:53 for
00:36:53 --> 00:36:53 us
00:36:53 --> 00:36:54 displayed
00:36:54 --> 00:36:54 what
00:36:54 --> 00:36:54 Jesus
00:36:54 --> 00:36:55 done
00:36:55 --> 00:36:55 for
00:36:55 --> 00:36:55 us
00:36:55 --> 00:36:56 on
00:36:56 --> 00:36:56 the
00:36:56 --> 00:36:56 cross
00:36:56 --> 00:36:58 to
00:36:58 --> 00:36:59 marvel
00:36:59 --> 00:37:00 is
00:37:00 --> 00:37:00 not
00:37:00 --> 00:37:01 just
00:37:01 --> 00:37:01 to
00:37:01 --> 00:37:01 go
00:37:01 --> 00:37:02 that
00:37:02 --> 00:37:02 was
00:37:02 --> 00:37:02 good
00:37:02 --> 00:37:04 as
00:37:04 --> 00:37:04 you
00:37:04 --> 00:37:04 might
00:37:04 --> 00:37:04 as
00:37:04 --> 00:37:05 a
00:37:05 --> 00:37:05 spectator
00:37:05 --> 00:37:07 in
00:37:07 --> 00:37:07 a
00:37:07 --> 00:37:07 stadium
00:37:07 --> 00:37:08 watching
00:37:08 --> 00:37:09 something
00:37:09 --> 00:37:09 before
00:37:09 --> 00:37:09 you
00:37:09 --> 00:37:09 or
00:37:09 --> 00:37:10 in
00:37:10 --> 00:37:10 a
00:37:10 --> 00:37:10 theatre
00:37:10 --> 00:37:11 watching
00:37:11 --> 00:37:11 something
00:37:11 --> 00:37:11 before
00:37:11 --> 00:37:12 you
00:37:12 --> 00:37:12 go
00:37:12 --> 00:37:12 that
00:37:12 --> 00:37:13 was
00:37:13 --> 00:37:13 good
00:37:13 --> 00:37:13 I
00:37:13 --> 00:37:14 admire
00:37:14 --> 00:37:14 that
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 they
00:37:15 --> 00:37:15 did
00:37:15 --> 00:37:15 that
00:37:15 --> 00:37:15 well
00:37:15 --> 00:37:17 to
00:37:17 --> 00:37:18 marvel
00:37:18 --> 00:37:18 is
00:37:18 --> 00:37:18 so
00:37:18 --> 00:37:19 much
00:37:19 --> 00:37:19 more
00:37:19 --> 00:37:19 than
00:37:19 --> 00:37:19 that
00:37:19 --> 00:37:20 it
00:37:20 --> 00:37:20 is
00:37:20 --> 00:37:20 to
00:37:20 --> 00:37:21 have
00:37:21 --> 00:37:21 our
00:37:21 --> 00:37:22 expectations
00:37:22 --> 00:37:23 our
00:37:23 --> 00:37:24 desires
00:37:24 --> 00:37:24 our
00:37:24 --> 00:37:25 imagination
00:37:25 --> 00:37:27 explode
00:37:27 --> 00:37:28 exceedingly
00:37:28 --> 00:37:30 that's
00:37:30 --> 00:37:30 what it
00:37:30 --> 00:37:30 means
00:37:30 --> 00:37:30 to
00:37:30 --> 00:37:31 marvel
00:37:31 --> 00:37:32 it
00:37:32 --> 00:37:32 means
00:37:32 --> 00:37:32 to
00:37:32 --> 00:37:33 have
00:37:33 --> 00:37:34 our
00:37:34 --> 00:37:34 heart
00:37:34 --> 00:37:35 and
00:37:35 --> 00:37:35 our
00:37:35 --> 00:37:36 mind
00:37:36 --> 00:37:38 overflow
00:37:38 --> 00:37:39 beyond
00:37:39 --> 00:37:40 comprehension
00:37:40 --> 00:37:42 and
00:37:42 --> 00:37:43 Jesus
00:37:43 --> 00:37:43 will
00:37:43 --> 00:37:43 be
00:37:43 --> 00:37:44 glorified
00:37:44 --> 00:37:44 in
00:37:44 --> 00:37:44 the
00:37:44 --> 00:37:45 Christian
00:37:45 --> 00:37:45 on
00:37:45 --> 00:37:46 judgment
00:37:46 --> 00:37:47 day
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47 because
00:37:47 --> 00:37:49 we
00:37:49 --> 00:37:49 are
00:37:49 --> 00:37:50 marveling
00:37:50 --> 00:37:50 at
00:37:50 --> 00:37:51 him
00:37:51 --> 00:37:54 one
00:37:54 --> 00:37:54 of the
00:37:54 --> 00:37:54 most
00:37:54 --> 00:37:55 unpalatable
00:37:55 --> 00:37:55 !
00:37:55 --> 00:37:56 teachings
00:37:56 --> 00:37:58 of the
00:37:58 --> 00:37:58 Christian
00:37:58 --> 00:37:59 faith
00:37:59 --> 00:37:59 in our
00:37:59 --> 00:38:00 modern
00:38:00 --> 00:38:00 day
00:38:00 --> 00:38:01 is
00:38:01 --> 00:38:01 what
00:38:01 --> 00:38:01 we
00:38:01 --> 00:38:02 have
00:38:02 --> 00:38:02 just
00:38:02 --> 00:38:02 looked
00:38:02 --> 00:38:02 at
00:38:02 --> 00:38:03 here
00:38:03 --> 00:38:03 in
00:38:03 --> 00:38:03 the
00:38:03 --> 00:38:04 God
00:38:04 --> 00:38:04 as
00:38:04 --> 00:38:05 judge
00:38:05 --> 00:38:05 and
00:38:05 --> 00:38:05 there
00:38:05 --> 00:38:05 being
00:38:05 --> 00:38:06 a
00:38:06 --> 00:38:06 judgment
00:38:06 --> 00:38:06 day
00:38:06 --> 00:38:09 many
00:38:09 --> 00:38:09 in
00:38:09 --> 00:38:09 our
00:38:09 --> 00:38:10 society
00:38:10 --> 00:38:11 are
00:38:11 --> 00:38:12 very
00:38:12 --> 00:38:12 willing
00:38:12 --> 00:38:12 to
00:38:12 --> 00:38:13 accept
00:38:13 --> 00:38:13 a
00:38:13 --> 00:38:14 God
00:38:14 --> 00:38:14 of
00:38:14 --> 00:38:15 love
00:38:15 --> 00:38:17 a
00:38:17 --> 00:38:17 God
00:38:17 --> 00:38:18 of
00:38:18 --> 00:38:19 love
00:38:19 --> 00:38:20 not
00:38:20 --> 00:38:20 a
00:38:20 --> 00:38:21 God
00:38:21 --> 00:38:22 reject
00:38:22 --> 00:38:22 Jesus
00:38:22 --> 00:38:22 the
00:38:22 --> 00:38:23 cross
00:38:23 --> 00:38:23 judgment
00:38:23 --> 00:38:23 just
00:38:23 --> 00:38:23 a
00:38:23 --> 00:38:24 God
00:38:24 --> 00:38:24 of
00:38:24 --> 00:38:24 love
00:38:24 --> 00:38:26 and
00:38:26 --> 00:38:27 unfortunately
00:38:27 --> 00:38:28 way
00:38:28 --> 00:38:28 too
00:38:28 --> 00:38:28 many
00:38:28 --> 00:38:29 churches
00:38:29 --> 00:38:30 want
00:38:30 --> 00:38:30 to
00:38:30 --> 00:38:30 just
00:38:30 --> 00:38:30 talk
00:38:30 --> 00:38:31 about
00:38:31 --> 00:38:31 a
00:38:31 --> 00:38:31 God
00:38:31 --> 00:38:32 of
00:38:32 --> 00:38:32 love
00:38:32 --> 00:38:33 in
00:38:33 --> 00:38:33 the
00:38:33 --> 00:38:34 end
00:38:34 --> 00:38:34 what
00:38:34 --> 00:38:34 that
00:38:34 --> 00:38:35 means
00:38:35 --> 00:38:35 is
00:38:35 --> 00:38:35 a
00:38:35 --> 00:38:35 God
00:38:35 --> 00:38:36 that
00:38:36 --> 00:38:38 reinterpreted
00:38:38 --> 00:38:39 as I
00:38:39 --> 00:38:39 see
00:38:39 --> 00:38:39 love
00:38:39 --> 00:38:40 a
00:38:40 --> 00:38:40 God
00:38:40 --> 00:38:40 who
00:38:40 --> 00:38:40 just
00:38:40 --> 00:38:41 approves
00:38:41 --> 00:38:41 of
00:38:41 --> 00:38:41 me
00:38:41 --> 00:38:42 a
00:38:42 --> 00:38:42 God
00:38:42 --> 00:38:42 whose
00:38:42 --> 00:38:43 face
00:38:43 --> 00:38:43 is
00:38:43 --> 00:38:43 towards
00:38:43 --> 00:38:44 me
00:38:44 --> 00:38:44 and
00:38:44 --> 00:38:45 my
00:38:45 --> 00:38:45 face
00:38:45 --> 00:38:46 is
00:38:46 --> 00:38:46 away
00:38:46 --> 00:38:46 from
00:38:46 --> 00:38:47 him
00:38:47 --> 00:38:47 and
00:38:47 --> 00:38:47 he
00:38:47 --> 00:38:47 just
00:38:47 --> 00:38:47 says
00:38:47 --> 00:38:47 well
00:38:47 --> 00:38:48 that's
00:38:48 --> 00:38:48 okay
00:38:48 --> 00:38:49 that's
00:38:49 --> 00:38:49 alright
00:38:49 --> 00:38:51 I
00:38:51 --> 00:38:51 want
00:38:51 --> 00:38:51 to
00:38:51 --> 00:38:52 affirm
00:38:52 --> 00:38:52 that
00:38:52 --> 00:38:53 person's
00:38:53 --> 00:38:53 choice
00:38:53 --> 00:38:53 in
00:38:53 --> 00:38:54 life
00:38:54 --> 00:38:58 a
00:38:58 --> 00:38:58 God
00:38:58 --> 00:38:59 who
00:38:59 --> 00:38:59 doesn't
00:38:59 --> 00:38:59 mind
00:38:59 --> 00:38:59 if
00:38:59 --> 00:39:00 I
00:39:00 --> 00:39:00 live
00:39:00 --> 00:39:00 life
00:39:00 --> 00:39:00 my
00:39:00 --> 00:39:01 way
00:39:01 --> 00:39:04 and
00:39:04 --> 00:39:04 God's
00:39:04 --> 00:39:04 love
00:39:04 --> 00:39:05 becomes
00:39:05 --> 00:39:05 about
00:39:05 --> 00:39:05 what
00:39:05 --> 00:39:06 I
00:39:06 --> 00:39:06 want
00:39:06 --> 00:39:06 him
00:39:06 --> 00:39:06 to
00:39:06 --> 00:39:07 be
00:39:07 --> 00:39:07 not
00:39:07 --> 00:39:08 about
00:39:08 --> 00:39:08 who
00:39:08 --> 00:39:08 he
00:39:08 --> 00:39:08 is
00:39:08 --> 00:39:09 and
00:39:09 --> 00:39:10 so
00:39:10 --> 00:39:10 therefore
00:39:10 --> 00:39:11 if
00:39:11 --> 00:39:11 you
00:39:11 --> 00:39:12 look
00:39:12 --> 00:39:12 at
00:39:12 --> 00:39:12 those
00:39:12 --> 00:39:12 people
00:39:12 --> 00:39:13 and
00:39:13 --> 00:39:13 you
00:39:13 --> 00:39:13 look
00:39:13 --> 00:39:13 at
00:39:13 --> 00:39:14 those
00:39:14 --> 00:39:14 churches
00:39:14 --> 00:39:15 and
00:39:15 --> 00:39:15 look
00:39:15 --> 00:39:15 at
00:39:15 --> 00:39:15 those
00:39:15 --> 00:39:16 people
00:39:16 --> 00:39:16 who
00:39:16 --> 00:39:16 want
00:39:16 --> 00:39:16 to
00:39:16 --> 00:39:16 downplay
00:39:16 --> 00:39:17 the
00:39:17 --> 00:39:17 judgment
00:39:17 --> 00:39:17 of
00:39:17 --> 00:39:17 God
00:39:17 --> 00:39:18 what
00:39:18 --> 00:39:18 you
00:39:18 --> 00:39:18 see
00:39:18 --> 00:39:19 is
00:39:19 --> 00:39:20 no
00:39:20 --> 00:39:20 change
00:39:20 --> 00:39:21 in
00:39:21 --> 00:39:21 their
00:39:21 --> 00:39:22 life
00:39:22 --> 00:39:23 at
00:39:23 --> 00:39:24 all
00:39:24 --> 00:39:28 at
00:39:28 --> 00:39:28 all
00:39:28 --> 00:39:29 there
00:39:29 --> 00:39:29 is
00:39:29 --> 00:39:29 no
00:39:29 --> 00:39:30 change
00:39:30 --> 00:39:30 change
00:39:30 --> 00:39:33 because
00:39:33 --> 00:39:33 the
00:39:33 --> 00:39:33 love
00:39:33 --> 00:39:34 of
00:39:34 --> 00:39:34 God
00:39:34 --> 00:39:34 does
00:39:34 --> 00:39:35 not
00:39:35 --> 00:39:37 exceed
00:39:37 --> 00:39:38 their
00:39:38 --> 00:39:38 expectations
00:39:38 --> 00:39:40 their
00:39:40 --> 00:39:40 desires
00:39:40 --> 00:39:41 or their
00:39:41 --> 00:39:41 imagination
00:39:41 --> 00:39:42 there is
00:39:42 --> 00:39:42 no
00:39:42 --> 00:39:43 marvelling
00:39:43 --> 00:39:44 and so
00:39:44 --> 00:39:44 there is
00:39:44 --> 00:39:45 no
00:39:45 --> 00:39:45 change
00:39:45 --> 00:39:46 Christian
00:39:46 --> 00:39:48 it
00:39:48 --> 00:39:49 is
00:39:49 --> 00:39:49 the
00:39:49 --> 00:39:50 marvelling
00:39:50 --> 00:39:52 at
00:39:52 --> 00:39:52 the
00:39:52 --> 00:39:52 gospel
00:39:52 --> 00:39:53 that
00:39:53 --> 00:39:53 brings
00:39:53 --> 00:39:54 change
00:39:54 --> 00:40:00 the
00:40:00 --> 00:40:00 marvelling
00:40:00 --> 00:40:00 of
00:40:00 --> 00:40:00 the
00:40:00 --> 00:40:01 gospel
00:40:01 --> 00:40:03 I
00:40:03 --> 00:40:03 want
00:40:03 --> 00:40:03 to
00:40:03 --> 00:40:03 ask
00:40:03 --> 00:40:04 you
00:40:04 --> 00:40:04 do
00:40:04 --> 00:40:04 you
00:40:04 --> 00:40:04 as
00:40:04 --> 00:40:04 a
00:40:04 --> 00:40:05 Christian
00:40:05 --> 00:40:05 do
00:40:05 --> 00:40:05 you
00:40:05 --> 00:40:05 see
00:40:05 --> 00:40:06 that
00:40:06 --> 00:40:06 your
00:40:06 --> 00:40:06 life
00:40:06 --> 00:40:06 is
00:40:06 --> 00:40:07 changing
00:40:07 --> 00:40:08 are
00:40:08 --> 00:40:09 you
00:40:09 --> 00:40:09 seeing
00:40:09 --> 00:40:09 that
00:40:09 --> 00:40:09 you're
00:40:09 --> 00:40:09 becoming
00:40:09 --> 00:40:10 more
00:40:10 --> 00:40:10 compelling
00:40:10 --> 00:40:11 as
00:40:11 --> 00:40:11 a
00:40:11 --> 00:40:12 Christian
00:40:12 --> 00:40:13 people
00:40:13 --> 00:40:13 noticing
00:40:13 --> 00:40:13 the
00:40:13 --> 00:40:14 glory
00:40:14 --> 00:40:14 of
00:40:14 --> 00:40:14 Christ
00:40:14 --> 00:40:15 being
00:40:15 --> 00:40:16 in
00:40:16 --> 00:40:16 you
00:40:16 --> 00:40:16 right
00:40:16 --> 00:40:16 now
00:40:16 --> 00:40:23 there
00:40:23 --> 00:40:23 is
00:40:23 --> 00:40:23 so
00:40:23 --> 00:40:23 much
00:40:23 --> 00:40:24 pressure
00:40:24 --> 00:40:24 in
00:40:24 --> 00:40:24 our
00:40:24 --> 00:40:25 world
00:40:25 --> 00:40:25 to
00:40:25 --> 00:40:25 conform
00:40:25 --> 00:40:26 to
00:40:26 --> 00:40:26 the
00:40:26 --> 00:40:27 values
00:40:27 --> 00:40:27 of
00:40:27 --> 00:40:27 this
00:40:27 --> 00:40:28 world
00:40:28 --> 00:40:28 and
00:40:28 --> 00:40:29 to
00:40:29 --> 00:40:29 reject
00:40:29 --> 00:40:29 things
00:40:29 --> 00:40:30 that
00:40:30 --> 00:40:30 are
00:40:30 --> 00:40:30 unpalatable
00:40:30 --> 00:40:31 even
00:40:31 --> 00:40:32 in
00:40:32 --> 00:40:32 good
00:40:32 --> 00:40:32 churches
00:40:32 --> 00:40:33 the
00:40:33 --> 00:40:33 gospel
00:40:33 --> 00:40:33 of
00:40:33 --> 00:40:33 the
00:40:33 --> 00:40:33 Lord
00:40:33 --> 00:40:34 Jesus
00:40:34 --> 00:40:34 Christ
00:40:34 --> 00:40:35 has
00:40:35 --> 00:40:35 become
00:40:35 --> 00:40:36 an
00:40:36 --> 00:40:36 accessory
00:40:36 --> 00:40:37 to
00:40:37 --> 00:40:37 middle
00:40:37 --> 00:40:38 class
00:40:38 --> 00:40:38 values
00:40:38 --> 00:40:38 where
00:40:38 --> 00:40:38 it
00:40:38 --> 00:40:39 affirms
00:40:39 --> 00:40:39 my
00:40:39 --> 00:40:39 choices
00:40:39 --> 00:40:40 in
00:40:40 --> 00:40:40 life
00:40:40 --> 00:40:42 where
00:40:42 --> 00:40:43 we
00:40:43 --> 00:40:43 are
00:40:43 --> 00:40:43 culturally
00:40:43 --> 00:40:44 captive
00:40:44 --> 00:40:45 to
00:40:45 --> 00:40:46 consumerism
00:40:46 --> 00:40:46 and
00:40:46 --> 00:40:46 convenience
00:40:46 --> 00:40:47 and
00:40:47 --> 00:40:47 comfort
00:40:47 --> 00:40:49 and
00:40:49 --> 00:40:49 maybe
00:40:49 --> 00:40:49 we're
00:40:49 --> 00:40:50 not
00:40:50 --> 00:40:50 seeing
00:40:50 --> 00:40:50 the
00:40:50 --> 00:40:51 growth
00:40:51 --> 00:40:51 in
00:40:51 --> 00:40:52 faith
00:40:52 --> 00:40:52 we
00:40:52 --> 00:40:52 are
00:40:52 --> 00:40:53 not
00:40:53 --> 00:40:53 increasing
00:40:53 --> 00:40:53
00:40:53 --> 00:40:54 in our
00:40:54 --> 00:40:54 love
00:40:54 --> 00:40:54 for
00:40:54 --> 00:40:55 all
00:40:55 --> 00:40:55 and
00:40:55 --> 00:40:55 we're
00:40:55 --> 00:40:56 not
00:40:56 --> 00:40:56 enduring
00:40:56 --> 00:40:56 with
00:40:56 --> 00:40:57 hope
00:40:57 --> 00:40:57 and
00:40:57 --> 00:40:57 we're
00:40:57 --> 00:40:58 not
00:40:58 --> 00:40:58 seeing
00:40:58 --> 00:40:59 evangelistic
00:40:59 --> 00:40:59 fruit
00:40:59 --> 00:41:00 because
00:41:00 --> 00:41:00 as
00:41:00 --> 00:41:01 churches
00:41:01 --> 00:41:03 we are
00:41:03 --> 00:41:03 not
00:41:03 --> 00:41:04 looking
00:41:04 --> 00:41:04 much
00:41:04 --> 00:41:04 different
00:41:04 --> 00:41:05 to the
00:41:05 --> 00:41:05 world
00:41:05 --> 00:41:05 around
00:41:05 --> 00:41:06 us
00:41:06 --> 00:41:10 this
00:41:10 --> 00:41:10
00:41:10 --> 00:41:10 is
00:41:10 --> 00:41:10 the
00:41:10 --> 00:41:11 consequence
00:41:11 --> 00:41:11 of
00:41:11 --> 00:41:12 redefining
00:41:12 --> 00:41:12 God's
00:41:12 --> 00:41:13 love
00:41:13 --> 00:41:13 as
00:41:13 --> 00:41:14 him
00:41:14 --> 00:41:14 being
00:41:14 --> 00:41:14 the
00:41:14 --> 00:41:14 great
00:41:14 --> 00:41:15 permission
00:41:15 --> 00:41:15 giver
00:41:15 --> 00:41:16 this
00:41:16 --> 00:41:16 is
00:41:16 --> 00:41:16 the
00:41:16 --> 00:41:17 consequence
00:41:17 --> 00:41:17 of
00:41:17 --> 00:41:18 taking
00:41:18 --> 00:41:18 our
00:41:18 --> 00:41:19 eyes
00:41:19 --> 00:41:19 of
00:41:19 --> 00:41:20 judgment
00:41:20 --> 00:41:20 day
00:41:20 --> 00:41:21 being
00:41:21 --> 00:41:22 embarrassed
00:41:22 --> 00:41:22 by
00:41:22 --> 00:41:23 judgment
00:41:23 --> 00:41:23 day
00:41:23 --> 00:41:25 there
00:41:25 --> 00:41:25 is
00:41:25 --> 00:41:26 no
00:41:26 --> 00:41:27 glory
00:41:27 --> 00:41:28 without
00:41:28 --> 00:41:28 a
00:41:28 --> 00:41:28 cross
00:41:28 --> 00:41:30 there
00:41:30 --> 00:41:31 is
00:41:31 --> 00:41:31 no
00:41:31 --> 00:41:32 glory
00:41:32 --> 00:41:32 without
00:41:32 --> 00:41:32 a
00:41:32 --> 00:41:32 cross
00:41:32 --> 00:41:33 there
00:41:33 --> 00:41:33 is
00:41:33 --> 00:41:33 no
00:41:33 --> 00:41:34 good
00:41:34 --> 00:41:34 there
00:41:34 --> 00:41:34 is
00:41:34 --> 00:41:34 no
00:41:34 --> 00:41:35 grace
00:41:35 --> 00:41:35 without
00:41:35 --> 00:41:36 judgment
00:41:36 --> 00:41:37 it
00:41:37 --> 00:41:38 is
00:41:38 --> 00:41:38 the
00:41:38 --> 00:41:38 marvelling
00:41:38 --> 00:41:39 at
00:41:39 --> 00:41:39 the
00:41:39 --> 00:41:40 wonder
00:41:40 --> 00:41:40 of
00:41:40 --> 00:41:40 the
00:41:40 --> 00:41:41 gospel
00:41:41 --> 00:41:41 of
00:41:41 --> 00:41:41 the
00:41:41 --> 00:41:41 Lord
00:41:41 --> 00:41:42 Jesus
00:41:42 --> 00:41:42 Christ
00:41:42 --> 00:41:43 where
00:41:43 --> 00:41:43 justice
00:41:43 --> 00:41:44 and
00:41:44 --> 00:41:45 mercy
00:41:45 --> 00:41:45 meet
00:41:45 --> 00:41:46 that
00:41:46 --> 00:41:47 brings
00:41:47 --> 00:41:47 transformation
00:41:47 --> 00:41:48 in
00:41:48 --> 00:41:48 life
00:41:48 --> 00:41:51 if
00:41:51 --> 00:41:51 we
00:41:51 --> 00:41:51 don't
00:41:51 --> 00:41:52 see
00:41:52 --> 00:41:52 what
00:41:52 --> 00:41:52 it
00:41:52 --> 00:41:52 costs
00:41:52 --> 00:41:53 God
00:41:53 --> 00:41:53 to
00:41:53 --> 00:41:53 love
00:41:53 --> 00:41:53 us
00:41:53 --> 00:41:54 we
00:41:54 --> 00:41:55 have
00:41:55 --> 00:41:55 nothing
00:41:55 --> 00:41:55 to
00:41:55 --> 00:41:55 marvel
00:41:55 --> 00:41:56 at
00:41:56 --> 00:41:58 which
00:41:58 --> 00:41:58 brings
00:41:58 --> 00:41:58 me
00:41:58 --> 00:41:58 to
00:41:58 --> 00:41:59 my
00:41:59 --> 00:41:59 third
00:41:59 --> 00:41:59 point
00:41:59 --> 00:42:00 Paul
00:42:00 --> 00:42:01 ends
00:42:01 --> 00:42:01 this
00:42:01 --> 00:42:02 section
00:42:02 --> 00:42:03 by
00:42:03 --> 00:42:04 praying
00:42:04 --> 00:42:04 and let
00:42:04 --> 00:42:04 me be
00:42:04 --> 00:42:05 very quick
00:42:05 --> 00:42:05 here
00:42:05 --> 00:42:07 he
00:42:07 --> 00:42:08 prays
00:42:08 --> 00:42:09 he
00:42:09 --> 00:42:09 doesn't
00:42:09 --> 00:42:10 just
00:42:10 --> 00:42:10 give them
00:42:10 --> 00:42:11 a vision
00:42:11 --> 00:42:11 of their
00:42:11 --> 00:42:12 future
00:42:12 --> 00:42:13 glorification
00:42:13 --> 00:42:14 he
00:42:14 --> 00:42:15 prays
00:42:15 --> 00:42:15 that
00:42:15 --> 00:42:15 that
00:42:15 --> 00:42:16 future
00:42:16 --> 00:42:17 glorification
00:42:17 --> 00:42:17 will be
00:42:17 --> 00:42:18 starting
00:42:18 --> 00:42:18 in them
00:42:18 --> 00:42:19 now
00:42:19 --> 00:42:19 that
00:42:19 --> 00:42:20 the
00:42:20 --> 00:42:20 power
00:42:20 --> 00:42:20 from
00:42:20 --> 00:42:21 God
00:42:21 --> 00:42:21 to be
00:42:21 --> 00:42:22 changed
00:42:22 --> 00:42:22 now
00:42:22 --> 00:42:24 he
00:42:24 --> 00:42:24 does
00:42:24 --> 00:42:24 that
00:42:24 --> 00:42:24 in
00:42:24 --> 00:42:24 verses
00:42:24 --> 00:42:25 11
00:42:25 --> 00:42:26 and
00:42:26 --> 00:42:26 12
00:42:26 --> 00:42:27 he
00:42:27 --> 00:42:27 gives
00:42:27 --> 00:42:28 thanks
00:42:28 --> 00:42:28 for their
00:42:28 --> 00:42:28 growth
00:42:28 --> 00:42:29 and he
00:42:29 --> 00:42:29 prays
00:42:29 --> 00:42:29 that it
00:42:29 --> 00:42:30 will
00:42:30 --> 00:42:30 continue
00:42:30 --> 00:42:31 growth
00:42:31 --> 00:42:32 in
00:42:32 --> 00:42:33 faith
00:42:33 --> 00:42:33 love
00:42:33 --> 00:42:34 and hope
00:42:34 --> 00:42:35 he
00:42:35 --> 00:42:35 wants
00:42:35 --> 00:42:36 them
00:42:36 --> 00:42:36 to
00:42:36 --> 00:42:36 see
00:42:36 --> 00:42:36 them
00:42:36 --> 00:42:37 grow
00:42:37 --> 00:42:37 in
00:42:37 --> 00:42:37 that
00:42:37 --> 00:42:38 way
00:42:38 --> 00:42:40 and so
00:42:40 --> 00:42:40 let me
00:42:40 --> 00:42:40 just
00:42:40 --> 00:42:41 leave you
00:42:41 --> 00:42:41 with
00:42:41 --> 00:42:41 a
00:42:41 --> 00:42:42 very
00:42:42 --> 00:42:42 quick
00:42:42 --> 00:42:43 challenge
00:42:43 --> 00:42:43 it
00:42:43 --> 00:42:44 could
00:42:44 --> 00:42:44 be
00:42:44 --> 00:42:44 unpacked
00:42:44 --> 00:42:44 in
00:42:44 --> 00:42:45 so
00:42:45 --> 00:42:45 many
00:42:45 --> 00:42:45 ways
00:42:45 --> 00:42:46 !
00:43:15 --> 00:43:16 is the
00:43:16 --> 00:43:17 marveling
00:43:17 --> 00:43:17 at
00:43:17 --> 00:43:17 the
00:43:17 --> 00:43:18 love
00:43:18 --> 00:43:18 of
00:43:18 --> 00:43:18 God
00:43:18 --> 00:43:19 displayed
00:43:19 --> 00:43:19 in
00:43:19 --> 00:43:20 the
00:43:20 --> 00:43:20 cross
00:43:20 --> 00:43:20 of
00:43:20 --> 00:43:21 Christ
00:43:21 --> 00:43:21 that
00:43:21 --> 00:43:22 transforms
00:43:22 --> 00:43:23 us
00:43:23 --> 00:43:24 now
00:43:24 --> 00:43:26 now
00:43:26 --> 00:43:30 if
00:43:30 --> 00:43:31 there
00:43:31 --> 00:43:31 is no
00:43:31 --> 00:43:32 marveling
00:43:32 --> 00:43:33 there's
00:43:33 --> 00:43:33 no
00:43:33 --> 00:43:34 change
00:43:34 --> 00:43:36 and
00:43:36 --> 00:43:36 in
00:43:36 --> 00:43:37 a
00:43:37 --> 00:43:37 day
00:43:37 --> 00:43:37 when
00:43:37 --> 00:43:37 we
00:43:37 --> 00:43:38 are
00:43:38 --> 00:43:38 bombarded
00:43:38 --> 00:43:39 with
00:43:39 --> 00:43:40 competing
00:43:40 --> 00:43:41 objects
00:43:41 --> 00:43:42 of focus
00:43:42 --> 00:43:42 in our
00:43:42 --> 00:43:43 lives
00:43:43 --> 00:43:43 email
00:43:43 --> 00:43:44 social
00:43:44 --> 00:43:44 media
00:43:44 --> 00:43:46 breaking
00:43:46 --> 00:43:47 news
00:43:47 --> 00:43:47 all the
00:43:47 --> 00:43:48 time
00:43:48 --> 00:43:48 millions
00:43:48 --> 00:43:49 of
00:43:49 --> 00:43:49 other
00:43:49 --> 00:43:50 things
00:43:50 --> 00:43:50 in
00:43:50 --> 00:43:50 our
00:43:50 --> 00:43:51 lives
00:43:51 --> 00:43:52 there
00:43:52 --> 00:43:52 has
00:43:52 --> 00:43:52 never
00:43:52 --> 00:43:52 been
00:43:52 --> 00:43:53 a
00:43:53 --> 00:43:53 greater
00:43:53 --> 00:43:54 need
00:43:54 --> 00:43:54 to
00:43:54 --> 00:43:55 lift
00:43:55 --> 00:43:55 our
00:43:55 --> 00:43:56 eyes
00:43:56 --> 00:43:56 to
00:43:56 --> 00:43:56 the
00:43:56 --> 00:43:57 gospel
00:43:57 --> 00:43:57 of
00:43:57 --> 00:43:57 the
00:43:57 --> 00:43:57 Lord
00:43:57 --> 00:43:58 Jesus
00:43:58 --> 00:43:58 Christ
00:43:58 --> 00:43:59 consistently
00:43:59 --> 00:44:01 day
00:44:01 --> 00:44:01 in
00:44:01 --> 00:44:01 day
00:44:01 --> 00:44:01 out
00:44:01 --> 00:44:02 moment
00:44:02 --> 00:44:02 by
00:44:02 --> 00:44:02 moment
00:44:02 --> 00:44:03 to
00:44:03 --> 00:44:03 fix
00:44:03 --> 00:44:03 our
00:44:03 --> 00:44:04 eyes
00:44:04 --> 00:44:04 on
00:44:04 --> 00:44:04 the
00:44:04 --> 00:44:05 gospel
00:44:05 --> 00:44:05 and
00:44:05 --> 00:44:05 the
00:44:05 --> 00:44:06 eternal
00:44:06 --> 00:44:07 hope
00:44:07 --> 00:44:07 of
00:44:07 --> 00:44:08 glory
00:44:08 --> 00:44:08 that
00:44:08 --> 00:44:08 awaits
00:44:08 --> 00:44:09 all
00:44:09 --> 00:44:09 those
00:44:09 --> 00:44:09 in
00:44:09 --> 00:44:10 him
00:44:10 --> 00:44:16 you
00:44:16 --> 00:44:17 we
00:44:17 --> 00:44:18 us
00:44:18 --> 00:44:19 Christians
00:44:19 --> 00:44:19 will
00:44:19 --> 00:44:20 never
00:44:20 --> 00:44:20 see
00:44:20 --> 00:44:21 change
00:44:21 --> 00:44:21 in
00:44:21 --> 00:44:22 our
00:44:22 --> 00:44:23 lives
00:44:23 --> 00:44:26 while
00:44:26 --> 00:44:26 ever
00:44:26 --> 00:44:26 we
00:44:26 --> 00:44:26 have
00:44:26 --> 00:44:27 dust
00:44:27 --> 00:44:28 forming
00:44:28 --> 00:44:28 on
00:44:28 --> 00:44:29 our
00:44:29 --> 00:44:29 Bibles
00:44:29 --> 00:44:32 this
00:44:32 --> 00:44:33 with
00:44:33 --> 00:44:33 that
00:44:33 --> 00:44:34 future
00:44:34 --> 00:44:34 glory
00:44:34 --> 00:44:35 this
00:44:35 --> 00:44:35 tells
00:44:35 --> 00:44:35 me
00:44:35 --> 00:44:36 there
00:44:36 --> 00:44:36 should
00:44:36 --> 00:44:37 be
00:44:37 --> 00:44:37 dust
00:44:37 --> 00:44:37 on
00:44:37 --> 00:44:38 our
00:44:38 --> 00:44:38 technology
00:44:38 --> 00:44:39 but not
00:44:39 --> 00:44:39 on
00:44:39 --> 00:44:40 our
00:44:40 --> 00:44:40 Bibles
00:44:40 --> 00:44:42 that's
00:44:42 --> 00:44:42 what
00:44:42 --> 00:44:43 this
00:44:43 --> 00:44:43 is
00:44:43 --> 00:44:43 telling
00:44:43 --> 00:44:43 me
00:44:43 --> 00:44:47 and
00:44:47 --> 00:44:48 if
00:44:48 --> 00:44:48 it
00:44:48 --> 00:44:48 is
00:44:48 --> 00:44:48 not
00:44:48 --> 00:44:49 happening
00:44:49 --> 00:44:49 we
00:44:49 --> 00:44:49 are
00:44:49 --> 00:44:49 being
00:44:49 --> 00:44:50 captive
00:44:50 --> 00:44:51 to
00:44:51 --> 00:44:52 the
00:44:52 --> 00:44:52 culture
00:44:52 --> 00:44:52 of
00:44:52 --> 00:44:52 our
00:44:52 --> 00:44:53 age
00:44:53 --> 00:44:54 we
00:44:54 --> 00:44:55 need
00:44:55 --> 00:44:55 to
00:44:55 --> 00:44:55 be
00:44:55 --> 00:44:55 walking
00:44:55 --> 00:44:56 with
00:44:56 --> 00:44:56 God
00:44:56 --> 00:44:56 in
00:44:56 --> 00:44:56 prayer
00:44:56 --> 00:44:57 we
00:44:57 --> 00:44:57 need
00:44:57 --> 00:44:58 to
00:44:58 --> 00:44:58 be
00:44:58 --> 00:44:58 lifting
00:44:58 --> 00:44:58 our
00:44:58 --> 00:44:59 voices
00:44:59 --> 00:44:59 to
00:44:59 --> 00:44:59 him
00:44:59 --> 00:44:59 in
00:44:59 --> 00:45:00 worship
00:45:00 --> 00:45:00 and
00:45:00 --> 00:45:01 we
00:45:01 --> 00:45:01 need
00:45:01 --> 00:45:01 the
00:45:01 --> 00:45:01 fellowship
00:45:01 --> 00:45:02 of
00:45:02 --> 00:45:02 brothers
00:45:02 --> 00:45:02 and
00:45:02 --> 00:45:02 sisters
00:45:02 --> 00:45:03 consistently
00:45:03 --> 00:45:04 pointing
00:45:04 --> 00:45:04 us
00:45:04 --> 00:45:04 to
00:45:04 --> 00:45:05 the
00:45:05 --> 00:45:05 gospel
00:45:05 --> 00:45:06 and
00:45:06 --> 00:45:06 to
00:45:06 --> 00:45:06 the
00:45:06 --> 00:45:06 future
00:45:06 --> 00:45:07 glory
00:45:07 --> 00:45:07 and
00:45:07 --> 00:45:08 so I
00:45:08 --> 00:45:08 commend
00:45:08 --> 00:45:09 to
00:45:09 --> 00:45:09 you
00:45:09 --> 00:45:10 our
00:45:10 --> 00:45:10 next
00:45:10 --> 00:45:10 steps
00:45:10 --> 00:45:11 here
00:45:11 --> 00:45:11 as a
00:45:11 --> 00:45:11 church
00:45:11 --> 00:45:13 pursue
00:45:13 --> 00:45:13 them
00:45:13 --> 00:45:14 and be
00:45:14 --> 00:45:15 changed