back to index2018-07-08 The Gospel and the Faithfulness of God Part 2
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Turn with me to Romans chapter 15, 8, to verse 13. 00:00:07.840 |
We're going to finish up the sermon we started last week. 00:00:14.840 |
"For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness 00:00:21.280 |
in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles 00:00:28.860 |
As it is written, 'Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing to your name.' 00:00:32.640 |
And again it is said, 'Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.' 00:00:35.800 |
And again, 'Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the people extol him.' 00:00:40.440 |
And again Isaiah says, 'The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the 00:00:47.740 |
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power 00:01:04.360 |
Thank you for the things that we are aware of, and even the things, Lord, that you are 00:01:11.260 |
We know, Father God, that you love us, that you're working all things together for good 00:01:17.260 |
for those who have been called according to your purpose. 00:01:20.500 |
Help us, Lord God, to take our eyes off of what is happening around us, that we may give 00:01:33.280 |
The text that we're looking at this morning, as I mentioned, it started last week. 00:01:36.680 |
The first point of the message was that all that Paul has been saying about Christ and 00:01:42.660 |
his sacrifice in chapters 1 through 15 is to prove his faithfulness, that God's salvation 00:01:48.860 |
plan was not plan B. Paul mentions these various passages and is talking about how Israel is 00:01:56.140 |
lifted up and is glorified to bring glory to God, and then the Gentiles and then the 00:02:04.180 |
And then we're now in a period where the Gentiles have taken the front seat, and then sometime 00:02:09.720 |
in the future he's going to use the Gentiles to stir up jealousy among the Jews and then 00:02:14.920 |
have them restored so that God's kingdom may be restored in proper worship. 00:02:22.960 |
Before we get into the second and third point of this text, I can't emphasize enough how 00:02:30.860 |
And this is not to nullify all the other texts that we were in before, but as I mentioned, 00:02:36.300 |
Romans chapter 1, he began the presentation of the gospel by basically trying to convince 00:02:43.100 |
that there was a need for a savior because all have sinned and fall short of the glory 00:02:47.540 |
So he's been systematically arguing the necessity of Christ and his sacrifice. 00:02:52.200 |
And then we get to chapter 9 through 11, we look at the history of how God's been working 00:02:56.020 |
with Israel and what his plan is for them for the future. 00:02:58.700 |
And then chapter 12 through 15, the text that we're at, which is going to end in verse 13 00:03:03.460 |
today, is the conclusion, not only of the imperative section from chapter 12 through 00:03:09.260 |
15, but really is a conclusion of everything that he's been saying is beginning from chapter 00:03:14.660 |
So if you remember, he said that God's intent, he starts in chapter 1 by saying that all 00:03:21.780 |
have sinned and then all are sinned and is condemned, whether you are under the law or 00:03:27.980 |
Chapter 15, at the end of verse 13, ends with all will be saved, whether Gentiles or Jews. 00:03:39.340 |
And obviously why this text is so important for us to understand is because this is the 00:03:46.780 |
We still have a chapter and a half to go where Paul is going to conclude his message and 00:03:51.880 |
he's going to be a lot more personal about why he's coming there and he's hoping to get 00:03:58.660 |
But his main thesis is coming to a conclusion. 00:04:02.860 |
So if you've ever taken public speaking, you probably were taught that introduction is 00:04:09.380 |
If you stand in front of people and you're trying to present something and you start 00:04:13.820 |
out with the boring story or you go into your thesis and you just lose the people. 00:04:20.500 |
And so I noticed that whether it's sitcom or movies, they're all like that. 00:04:24.980 |
So if you watch a movie, that big explosion to get your attention and then it kind of 00:04:28.540 |
goes into the story and then it ends with some kind of a cliffhanger to kind of keep 00:04:34.380 |
So whenever you're presenting something, whether it's from speech or cinema, you have to really 00:04:39.960 |
pay attention to what's happening in the beginning and how it concludes because that's where 00:04:46.460 |
That's what the writer is hoping that you'll understand. 00:04:50.580 |
So verse 8 through 13 is the conclusion of 15 chapters of Paul's dissertation of the 00:04:59.320 |
So if there's any text that you really, really should know, it's all the Bible, obviously, 00:05:03.920 |
but then if you really need to focus on the book of Romans, you need to understand that 00:05:11.140 |
Like I told you, I've been preaching on this for the last three years. 00:05:18.300 |
So again, I can't emphasize enough how important this text is. 00:05:23.680 |
The first point we looked at last week was that Christ's sacrifice proves God's faithfulness. 00:05:30.500 |
The text says in verse 8, "For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised 00:05:36.580 |
And the reason why he did that is that in order to confirm the promises given to the 00:05:41.200 |
Again, that was our point last week, that everything God has done, it proves that God, 00:05:47.180 |
what he had promised in Genesis chapter 3, that all of what we study in Old Testament, 00:05:54.860 |
New Testament is a fulfillment of that promise. 00:06:01.180 |
The end conclusion is not, "Well, God is faithful." 00:06:04.720 |
God is a God that we can trust, which is true. 00:06:09.120 |
But the end, end conclusion we see in verse 9, "In order that the Gentiles might glorify 00:06:19.140 |
The point that he makes in verse 9 isn't one of many points. 00:06:26.980 |
So if you miss this, if you have a very loose understanding or application of this, it's 00:06:33.020 |
kind of like running a marathon and you ran 25 miles and on the 26th mile you decided 00:06:37.980 |
to go eat sushi buffet and then you never finished the race. 00:06:41.620 |
So you ran a great race, but you just didn't finish. 00:06:45.800 |
So you can understand everything about Christianity. 00:06:51.420 |
And if you miss this, then you've missed the whole point of your salvation. 00:07:02.220 |
So the second point that I want to convey, at least the title wise, that Christ's sacrifice 00:07:10.300 |
Or if you want to say it another way, the end conclusion of the gospel is restoration 00:07:16.900 |
2 Corinthians 1.20 says, "For all the promises of God, find their yes in him." 00:07:26.800 |
That is why it is through him that we utter our amen to God for his glory. 00:07:33.140 |
In other words, Christ fulfilled all the promises and because he fulfilled all the promises, 00:07:39.420 |
it leads us to say amen to God for his glory. 00:07:45.820 |
Worship is the end conclusion of our salvation. 00:07:50.500 |
It's not simply to keep us from going to hell. 00:07:54.180 |
In some circles, salvation is you're having a hard life and God's going to take away your 00:08:02.120 |
Or you're having financial troubles and God's going to answer your prayers and it's going 00:08:06.340 |
You're raising children and God's going to answer your prayers so that your children 00:08:17.320 |
In fact, some of us are sick because God wants us sick. 00:08:24.840 |
Some of us are poor because God causes us to be poor. 00:08:28.960 |
Some of us go through all kinds of trials, all for the purpose of causing us to become 00:08:35.000 |
better worshipers because his end goal is not our health, is not our wealth, is not 00:08:44.600 |
So if making you wealthy hinders you from worshiping God, then the worst thing that 00:08:54.360 |
If becoming healthy and strong causes you to be hindered in your worship of God, the 00:08:59.720 |
worst thing that can happen to you is to be healthy and strong. 00:09:06.880 |
That's why God says to Moses at the beginning of the nation of Israel, he tells Moses to 00:09:12.360 |
go tell Pharaoh in Exodus 7, 16 and about 10 other passages where he repeats the exact 00:09:19.160 |
same phrase, "The Lord, the God of Hebrews, sent me to you saying, 'Let my people go, 00:09:23.680 |
that they may serve me in the wilderness, but so far you have not obeyed.'" 00:09:29.640 |
Now the word for serve here, some of your translation says worship. 00:09:34.160 |
The reason why it's translated worship because the Greek equivalent to that word serve here 00:09:43.000 |
And subomai, again in the New Testament, it means to serve in a physical sense, whether 00:09:48.200 |
it's at the temple and other sense, physically to serve God as an act of worship. 00:09:55.680 |
So God says repeatedly to the nation of Israel to go tell Moses so that you can be separated 00:10:01.920 |
and be set free for the purpose of worshiping him. 00:10:07.280 |
That was the primary reason why they needed to be free, not simply to end their suffering, 00:10:13.240 |
not simply so that they can be free and be a great nation, so that they can be free to 00:10:21.020 |
If you remember in John chapter 4, he has a conversation with a Samaritan woman and 00:10:25.240 |
they go back and forth and Jesus draws her out from her sins and she's kind of throwing 00:10:31.320 |
up a smoke screen saying, "Well, you Jews worship there and we worship here and, you 00:10:37.240 |
And Jesus says, "It doesn't matter one way or the other because what God is looking for 00:10:40.920 |
are people who will worship him in spirit and in truth." 00:10:46.480 |
You and I know, you've been a Christian long enough to know that worship isn't just something 00:11:03.960 |
You probably have heard this quote many times before, but I want to read it again from John 00:11:07.800 |
Piper from the book, "Let the Nations Be Glad." 00:11:11.160 |
And I want to read that quote for you because it pretty much sums up the point of the sermon 00:11:18.440 |
Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. 00:11:32.520 |
When this age is over, the countless millions of redeemed fall on their faces before the 00:11:39.600 |
It is temporary necessity, but worship abides forever. 00:11:46.600 |
I don't know about you, but when you read that out of context, and you say, "Well, John 00:11:54.640 |
And so I hear this, like worship exists because, or evangelism exists because worship doesn't. 00:12:00.920 |
It's a great quote, and I've seen it on Facebook so many times, and I've heard you guys quote 00:12:09.120 |
Other than John Piper said it, it must be true. 00:12:17.360 |
So what I want to do this morning is look through the scriptures and find out where 00:12:22.720 |
this is coming from, and why this is so crucial to not only understanding, but practice of 00:12:28.760 |
our Christian faith, because this is the end goal. 00:12:34.800 |
The word worship in English comes from a Latin word called "viar scipe," and literally it 00:12:40.000 |
means to give worship, to give worth to something. 00:12:44.200 |
So by definition of this word worship, it requires a sense of adoration, because that's 00:12:54.840 |
Only in our Christian circle, we've made worship something that we do Sunday morning. 00:13:00.480 |
You come, you clock in and you clock out, you give, you serve, and so that has become 00:13:06.720 |
But the general understanding of what worship is, is when you have given your heart, your 00:13:11.200 |
time, your energy, your thought to something because you adore it. 00:13:15.880 |
So when you are obsessed with money, what do they say? 00:13:22.100 |
If you are obsessed with Lakers, you're a Lakers worshiper. 00:13:28.480 |
You worship Kobe Bryant, you worship this, you worship travel. 00:13:32.360 |
And we use that to describe something or someone who is completely given. 00:13:37.560 |
You're so enamored by an individual or product or money, whatever it may be. 00:13:44.700 |
Because the very definition of the word worship means that you give supreme value to that 00:13:54.200 |
So by definition, worship is not something that we do from determination, but worship 00:14:06.480 |
By definition of the word worship, worship is not something that you do from determination. 00:14:12.040 |
It is something that you do from inspiration. 00:14:15.140 |
Because it requires not simply your physical activity, but your adoration. 00:14:20.000 |
That's why the scripture says the greatest command is to love the Lord your God with 00:14:25.760 |
And it's another way of describing the command to worship Him and to Him alone. 00:14:31.780 |
To give the greatest value to God and God alone. 00:14:36.780 |
So the very definition of worship requires us to be enamored by Him. 00:14:44.540 |
Not just to say, "Yeah, you know, He's valuable," or to be marginalized. 00:14:51.560 |
Everything that we do is to come before God and to see who He is. 00:15:00.320 |
And that's why He says everything that He has done to fulfill His promise in order that 00:15:12.480 |
The point of the cross, the end product of the cross is worship. 00:15:22.640 |
We were freed from condemnation that we may enter the throne of grace with confidence. 00:15:27.820 |
Because with sin, you can't enter to worship. 00:15:31.920 |
It wasn't just you're freed from sin to go do whatever you want. 00:15:34.820 |
You're freed from sin so that you can come and fellowship with God for the purpose of 00:15:40.780 |
And you're going to hear me say that about a hundred times before this sermon ends. 00:15:46.100 |
It is central to our understanding of our salvation. 00:15:50.500 |
I want you to turn your Bibles with me to Revelations chapter 4. 00:15:55.540 |
And I know the passage is going to be up here and you can look at that. 00:15:58.260 |
But if you have your physical Bibles, turn with Revelations chapter 4, 1 through. 00:16:02.440 |
And I'm just going to give you a heads up that we're going to be reading chapter 4 and 00:16:10.820 |
And the reason why I'm doing that is because again, I want to emphasize the importance 00:16:18.860 |
Revelation chapter 4 is the beginning of the revelation that God is giving to John about 00:16:24.740 |
the redemptive plan of God that's going to unfold through these three specific visions 00:16:29.820 |
of the seal judgments, the trumpet judgments, and then the bowl judgments. 00:16:34.180 |
And through these specific visions, it's basically outlining God's redemptive plan. 00:16:41.900 |
But before he begins this vision, he takes John up and he shows him the throne of God. 00:16:53.060 |
And he who sat there and had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne 00:16:57.660 |
was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 00:17:01.000 |
Around the throne were 24 thrones, and seated on the thrones were 24 elders, clothed in 00:17:05.080 |
white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 00:17:08.200 |
From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder. 00:17:11.680 |
And before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God. 00:17:16.520 |
And before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal. 00:17:23.600 |
Now we can go into like, what are the crystals? 00:17:30.840 |
But the point that I want to make here is not to tell you what all of these glasses 00:17:36.960 |
Other than the fact that when John saw the image of the throne, he saw something majestic. 00:17:44.760 |
And so every little detail, instead of scrutinizing what it means, is for us to take a step back 00:17:50.480 |
and look at this majestic picture that John sees. 00:17:53.360 |
And he's doing his best to describe the details, but what we are to see is the big picture. 00:18:03.280 |
And he says, "And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures 00:18:08.600 |
And the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the 00:18:11.760 |
third living creature like a face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle 00:18:17.680 |
Four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, 00:18:21.360 |
and day and night they never cease to say, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, 00:18:31.320 |
This is the same vision that Isaiah saw in Isaiah chapter 6. 00:18:38.440 |
As he was being prepared to be the spokesperson for the nation of Israel, God opens his eyes 00:18:44.440 |
to see the throne, throne of God, and he sees these creatures surrounding, and what's happening 00:18:51.880 |
24/7, these holy creatures are in his presence, worshiping God, "Holy, holy, holy." 00:19:00.600 |
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who's seated on 00:19:04.240 |
the throne, who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before him who is seated 00:19:10.760 |
on the throne, worship him, who lives forever and ever. 00:19:15.160 |
They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, 00:19:20.760 |
to receive glory, honor, and power, for you created all things, and by your will they 00:19:27.000 |
You see how in their worship, what is the first thing that they say? 00:19:33.160 |
And that is, again, the very definition of the word worship is to give the highest value 00:19:41.440 |
And so these elders who are crowned representing kings, they lay it down in surrender before 00:19:48.800 |
something greater than them, and so the whole throne, the vision that John sees, is this 00:20:04.120 |
If you notice, something is missing in chapter 5, or chapter 4. 00:20:11.600 |
This vision of God, these holy creatures who are surrounding him in worship, as majestic 00:20:18.840 |
as it is, the complete picture is shown in Revelation chapter 5. 00:20:27.240 |
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within 00:20:31.720 |
and on the back, sealed with seven seals, and I saw strong angels proclaim with a loud 00:20:36.320 |
voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seal?" 00:20:40.680 |
The scroll he's referring to, he records redemptive history, from the need for Christ, the judgment, 00:20:47.360 |
and the restoration, and that's what the seal represents, and he says, "Who," again, that 00:20:52.080 |
"Who is worthy, who is of value to be able to open this?" 00:20:56.760 |
And no one in heaven or on earth, or under the earth, was able to open the scroll or 00:21:02.280 |
And he began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to 00:21:09.560 |
And this is the description that John gave, or Paul gave, in Romans chapter 1, 2, and 00:21:16.440 |
That this is the state of mankind, that no one is worthy. 00:21:22.920 |
The sin reigns over mankind and they have no power over it. 00:21:27.240 |
And so they said they are weeping, and in verse 5, "And one of the elders said to me, 00:21:32.040 |
Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can 00:21:42.360 |
The Lion of Judah," remember we talked about that last week, the Root of David, not the 00:21:45.960 |
Fruit of David, but the root that upholds David has come and he has conquered. 00:21:55.040 |
And then when they look to see this Lion, what do they see? 00:21:58.360 |
"Between the throne and the four living creatures, among the elders, I saw the Lamb standing, 00:22:03.880 |
as though it had been slain, with seven horns, with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits 00:22:11.540 |
And this is where you've heard the phrase, "The Lion of Judah coming as a lamb to be 00:22:16.880 |
It comes from the second, one of my favorite passages in the Bible, because you see this 00:22:20.580 |
strong lion figure who had every right to reign and receive glory, gives that up and 00:22:27.820 |
he appears as a lamb who is slain, all for the purpose of redeeming sinners. 00:22:35.420 |
And as a result of that, verse seven is that, "He went and took scrolls from the right hand 00:22:41.220 |
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and twenty-four elders fell 00:22:47.980 |
As they fell down before the throne of God, now before the Lamb, they all fall down and 00:22:53.340 |
bow in worship, each holding a harp, golden bowls of full incense, which are the prayers 00:23:01.280 |
The prayers of the saints are not mentioned in chapter four. 00:23:05.380 |
The Lamb, because of his sacrifice, he begins to involve us in worship, and in verse nine, 00:23:20.120 |
They added this new song because of his mercy. 00:23:28.280 |
Even the holiest of creatures were bowing down in reverence and honor. 00:23:32.640 |
But because of Jesus' sacrifice and his mercy, the prayers of the saints arise and we all 00:23:48.780 |
"Blessed are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you are slain, and by 00:23:52.460 |
your blood you ransom people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 00:23:59.980 |
And you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." 00:24:07.060 |
We didn't exist in chapter five, at least chapter four in worship, but in chapter five, 00:24:12.440 |
because of what Christ has done, we become vital parts of this worship. 00:24:15.740 |
In verse 11, "Then I looked and I heard around the throne the living creatures and the elders, 00:24:19.940 |
the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands upon thousands, saying 00:24:25.860 |
with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and 00:24:30.940 |
wisdom and might and honor, glory and blessing.' 00:24:34.780 |
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and 00:24:38.440 |
all that is in them saying, 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing 00:24:43.500 |
and honor and glory and might forever and ever.' 00:24:46.180 |
And the four living creatures said, 'Amen,' and the elders fell down and worshipped." 00:25:03.300 |
When we think of heaven, we think of all the wildest dreams that we couldn't fulfill on 00:25:08.980 |
So if you're short, when you're in heaven, you're going to be tall. 00:25:13.540 |
If you have a small house, you're going to have a mansion. 00:25:16.460 |
If you're unathletic, you're going to be a star player. 00:25:19.580 |
And we imagine that whatever dreams that we couldn't fulfill here is going to be dreamt 00:25:30.020 |
The Bible describes as a place where we are, we join the hosts and angels to worship God. 00:25:40.020 |
What you and I could not do because of our sins, Christ transforms that so that we can 00:25:59.220 |
It's not because without him, I have some illness that only God can fix. 00:26:06.340 |
Does it mean that God doesn't care about all of that? 00:26:10.820 |
When Israel was called to draw near to the tabernacle, what was it for? 00:26:22.820 |
When God told Israel to come to him, what was it for? 00:26:29.200 |
So when the scripture says that the gates of heaven has been opened to enter the throne 00:26:33.780 |
of grace to draw near to him with confidence, it is a call to worship what you and I could 00:26:46.580 |
Everything that we do is for the purpose of restoring God. 00:26:55.420 |
Now some of us may look at that and say, "Well, that sounds unfair." 00:27:01.740 |
In any other context, if we say we glorify something, we mean we exaggerate. 00:27:05.660 |
Only in the context of God do we see that that's orthodox and necessary. 00:27:13.180 |
Everything that he calls us to do is for the ultimate purpose of worship. 00:27:18.900 |
But you have to understand it in the context of who we are and who he is. 00:27:24.460 |
God created us not to be the object of worship, but to be worshipers. 00:27:35.740 |
Instead of worshiping God, Romans chapter 1, it says we refused to worship him and we 00:27:40.060 |
decided to worship the images made by human hands, ultimately to put us at the center 00:27:49.500 |
Instead of putting him as Lord, even sometimes in the church, we use him so that we could 00:27:58.860 |
It goes against everything about what the gospel teaches. 00:28:03.660 |
Paul himself says in Philippians chapter 3, 2 to 10, again, this is another passage that 00:28:12.740 |
Look out for those who mutilate the flesh, for we are the real circumcision. 00:28:17.420 |
Who worship God, who worship by the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no 00:28:22.920 |
In other words, Paul is saying those guys think that they're worshiping God because 00:28:26.500 |
of their circumcision, because of their background, because they're Jews and obeying the law. 00:28:31.620 |
All they are doing is mutilating their flesh. 00:28:33.740 |
In other words, it's sacrifice for no benefit. 00:28:38.500 |
We are the true worshipers, talking about Christians. 00:28:42.920 |
But in verse 4, if you want to go head to head, if you're going to nullify me saying 00:28:47.420 |
that, oh, maybe Paul is saying that because he wasn't an obedient Jew. 00:28:54.340 |
Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also, if anyone else thinks he 00:28:58.580 |
has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more. 00:29:02.500 |
Circumcised on the eighth day, a people of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, Hebrew of Hebrews, 00:29:06.340 |
as to the law of Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the 00:29:18.620 |
Paul either was already sitting in the Sanhedrin or he was very close to sitting in the Sanhedrin. 00:29:24.300 |
He would have basically been one of the 70 senators of a whole nation of Israel. 00:29:34.640 |
He kept the law in his own recognition perfectly. 00:29:40.180 |
So if you think that somehow that is going to cause you to be a better worshiper, and 00:29:45.460 |
the reason why I'm going against that is because I wasn't a faithful Jew, that's not the reason 00:29:50.460 |
Verse 7, "But whatever gain I had," and again, he's not talking about the world versus Christ. 00:29:57.020 |
He's talking about Jews who are obeying the law, who are disciplined, who are sacrificing. 00:30:03.860 |
"Whatever gain I had, I count as lost for the sake of Christ. 00:30:09.020 |
Indeed, I count everything as lost because," and here's the reason, "in comparison to all 00:30:16.700 |
the work that he did to be worshiper of God," he says, "I counted all as lost the surpassing 00:30:28.100 |
So all the work that he did to be a good Jew, to be a good worshiper, in light of meeting 00:30:42.740 |
The very definition of worship requires inspiration more than determination because it requires 00:30:50.980 |
your heart, it requires your devotion, it requires love. 00:30:56.900 |
God is not calling us to people who didn't come to church to come to church. 00:31:01.180 |
If you somehow read the Bible more than the other people, that if you sacrifice more, 00:31:05.700 |
if you gave more, if you evangelize more, that you are a better worshiper. 00:31:09.780 |
Better worship begins when we are giving the highest value to God. 00:31:18.180 |
With all the effort that he made to keep the law in comparison to when he met Christ became 00:31:28.420 |
That's exactly how the Bible describes non-Christians where the God of this age blinds the minds 00:31:33.940 |
of the unbeliever so they do not see the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:31:38.660 |
Because when they are exposed to the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ, they are changed, 00:31:48.940 |
So he doesn't say he blinds them so that they are immoral and they do bad things. 00:31:52.860 |
He says no, what initiates all of that is they do not see or understand the glory that 00:32:02.760 |
And that's why he says he was faithful to prove his faithfulness to Israel but in order 00:32:09.120 |
that the Gentiles might come and give glory for what? 00:32:14.440 |
The purpose of the gospel is to restore proper worship. 00:32:19.880 |
And the reason why we evangelize is to bring people who have been separated from God so 00:32:26.140 |
Not people who didn't go to church to come to church. 00:32:29.200 |
The purpose of it, people who didn't read the Bible to read the Bible. 00:32:32.680 |
People who weren't generous to become generous. 00:32:43.160 |
You notice here Paul says in verse 7, "But whatever gain I had I counted as loss for 00:32:47.640 |
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ 00:32:52.040 |
Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have suffered loss of all things. 00:32:55.880 |
I count them all rubbish in order that I may gain Christ." 00:32:59.480 |
Not only does he see Christ, not only does it transform him to be a better worshiper, 00:33:13.880 |
He saw the worth of Christ in verse 10, "that I may know him and the power of his resurrection 00:33:17.600 |
and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, by all means that he may 00:33:27.480 |
Paul is describing a man who is separated from God because of his sin and is properly 00:33:40.040 |
Worship isn't simply because we're determined. 00:33:43.880 |
When we see the glory of who Christ is, you can't help to be changed. 00:33:51.780 |
If you see Christ and then you place that on all the temptations in the world, the only 00:34:00.160 |
thing that can save you from the temptation of the world is because you saw the glory 00:34:08.000 |
And the world became rubbish in light of that. 00:34:11.880 |
But if you don't see the glory of the gospel, you don't see the glory of his mercy, how 00:34:16.320 |
will you fight the temptation to want to rest, to want to have nice things, to want to find 00:34:25.080 |
peace, want to have all the things that the world is offering, all the things that the 00:34:30.200 |
world is tempting, and you just are determined, "I'm not going to do it." 00:34:50.080 |
And then you come to church and then you're determined, "I'm not going to do it. 00:34:56.200 |
There's a reason why the Bible says, "Don't make promises." 00:35:04.440 |
The only power to save us from our sins is the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:35:12.500 |
And that is why the goal of our salvation is Christ. 00:35:20.560 |
Not just to dabble in Christ, not just a marginalized version of Christ, but to be so consumed as 00:35:30.600 |
Paul is sitting in prison saying, "I'm willing to die if I get more of Him. 00:35:34.880 |
I'm willing to suffer if I can have more of Him." 00:35:38.460 |
He was tempted with Christ and everything else became rubbish in light of that. 00:35:48.300 |
Knowing Jesus was more important to him than anything else. 00:35:52.320 |
And all that effort that he put in light of knowing Jesus was nothing. 00:35:57.260 |
That's why Jesus says at the end, He's going to separate those people and say, "Well, when 00:36:05.160 |
And the way Jesus describes the unbelievers, He says, "I never knew you." 00:36:21.220 |
Salvation is described as a relationship with Christ, as cliche as it is. 00:36:25.280 |
See, that's why it says in Isaiah 48, verse 9 through 11, "For my name's sake, I defer 00:36:34.040 |
"For my name's sake, for the sake of my praise, I restrain it for you that I may not cut you 00:36:40.080 |
Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. 00:36:42.880 |
I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. 00:36:45.560 |
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it for how should my name be profaned. 00:36:55.480 |
We may look at that and say, "Well, God is egotistical. 00:36:58.600 |
He tells us to be humble, not to be self-centered. 00:37:02.500 |
And yet, when He describes Himself, He says, "I will not share my glory to another. 00:37:10.380 |
In every other instance, when we say glorify, we mean to exaggerate something. 00:37:15.420 |
But when we say we glorify God, we basically mean to display who He is. 00:37:22.020 |
And the reason why only God, only God of all beings that have ever been created, only God 00:37:36.100 |
Everything else that God created was for the purpose of giving worship. 00:37:40.540 |
Whether it is the earth, whether it is the galaxy, whether it is the oxygen, the water, 00:37:44.780 |
the animals, the plants, and in particular, human beings that He made in His own image 00:37:50.460 |
and put His own breath in, our whole existence was for the purpose of giving Him the glory. 00:37:59.740 |
Nothing and no one else was made for the purpose of being worshipped. 00:38:07.180 |
At the core of human rebellion is wanting attention. 00:38:12.840 |
The way we dress, what we buy, what car we drive, why we work so hard, why we move into 00:38:18.220 |
big homes, why we do everything that we do, if we're not careful, flies exactly the opposite 00:38:42.420 |
All with hidden hope to touch some of that glory. 00:38:48.740 |
And the end result leads to nothing but condemnation. 00:38:59.300 |
The greatest damage that sin has done is that we couldn't worship. 00:39:09.180 |
Why do people, why do you and I pay hard-earned money to go to places and see things that 00:39:25.340 |
People don't pay money to see middle-aged men play basketball. 00:39:34.220 |
You watch them play and the first thought you have is, "I could probably do better than 00:39:44.100 |
You pay money to watch guys who are beyond your height, beyond your ability. 00:39:52.440 |
They're shooting through the ball like a magician. 00:39:55.020 |
I mean, it's just, whatever it is, it is beyond you. 00:40:02.620 |
Nothing as trivial as basketball or baseball because these guys are fantastic. 00:40:07.500 |
You happen to like baseball and these guys hitting a 95 miles per hour, you know, fastball 00:40:13.820 |
It's like, wow, because in your wildest imagination, that will never happen in your life. 00:40:19.940 |
Why do you pay money to travel to places where you have huge mountains and huge bodies of 00:40:30.180 |
Why do you feel alive when you're in the presence of something majestic that you can't possibly 00:40:43.500 |
Why do you go and travel to far distant places so that you can just be in the presence of 00:40:47.340 |
something beyond you and just be awed and that's it, and take nice pictures and put 00:41:00.540 |
Because at the core of who we are, God created us to be worshipers. 00:41:21.540 |
And the world is easily amused, easily distracted, giving glory to man's creation rather than 00:41:41.820 |
No amount of talking, no amount of convincing, no amount of hard work would have saved us 00:41:49.500 |
from the temptation of this world, from this imitation that Satan has created around us. 00:41:57.060 |
Only a direct gaze at his beauty, only in the presence of his glory will everything 00:42:14.180 |
There's nothing that human beings have created. 00:42:17.540 |
No amount of human determination will separate us from this temptation other than the glory 00:42:30.020 |
I've been a Christian for over 30 years, and I'm amazed even to this day, studying through 00:42:35.700 |
Revelation and Leviticus and various parts of the Bible, how little I knew of his mercy. 00:42:46.920 |
But every time I open the Bible, I see puzzles coming together. 00:42:59.740 |
I've been talking about the love of Christ, but I've only been going an inch deep. 00:43:05.820 |
I knew that he was merciful, but I didn't understand to what degree. 00:43:13.180 |
I knew I was sinful, but I didn't understand how deeply corrupt my heart was. 00:43:21.100 |
And the more I dig, the more I understand, the more the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes 00:43:35.840 |
Even as we talk about the love of moms over the children, every Mother's Day we talk about 00:43:40.220 |
how mothers love their children, that's the closest thing that we can get to the love 00:43:43.780 |
But the more I see the love of Christ, the love of moms does not compare. 00:43:56.060 |
And the more I dig, the more I see, the distance becomes further and further. 00:44:04.180 |
And the more I understand this, the more the world becomes foolish, so trivial, so stupid, 00:44:21.340 |
so easily distracted, so easily consumed, so easily tempted, all because we've taken 00:44:37.360 |
To have the greatest gift, to have the greatest gift, to taste His goodness, to have confessed, 00:44:49.700 |
to have opened the eyes to see His glory, and then to be amused with this world, there's 00:45:03.140 |
And that's why the Bible talks about dogs returning to vomit, as grotesque as that is, 00:45:10.360 |
in comparison to God's glory, and the best and the most beautiful thing that can be offered 00:45:17.260 |
In comparison, vomit seems like an understatement. 00:45:25.020 |
That's why He concludes everything by saying, "May the God of hope fill you with joy and 00:45:30.140 |
peace, and believing that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." 00:45:36.780 |
See this hope, because of His mercy, leads to joy and peace. 00:45:49.140 |
Philippians 4, 4, "Rejoice in the Lord always." 00:45:52.740 |
Because the word rejoice is used as an equivalent to live. 00:46:08.060 |
So the word rejoice is just another word for live. 00:46:11.740 |
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes 00:46:15.240 |
in Him shall not perish but have everlasting rejoicing. 00:46:21.740 |
He wants us to live the great because rejoicing is at the core of worshiping. 00:46:30.020 |
Rejoicing and peace is the foundation in which we stand to worship. 00:46:34.580 |
So you cannot worship God when you're not rejoicing. 00:46:38.940 |
So when He says do not grumble, it's just another way of saying worship. 00:46:47.140 |
God came to restore worship, to give hope, to give life, to give peace. 00:46:57.740 |
The greatest witness to the world is not your ability to articulate the gospel, is not your 00:47:06.460 |
generosity with money, is not the organization, is not koinonia, is not fellowship, is not 00:47:13.780 |
community, because what the world lacks more than anything else is to be in the presence 00:47:23.700 |
So the greatest witness that you and I can give to the world is worship. 00:47:31.000 |
When non-Christians see a group of people where worship, hope, joy, and peace is restored, 00:47:40.660 |
they immediately recognize that they don't have this. 00:47:49.780 |
So above everything else that you and I strive for, more than anything else, is there an 00:47:56.940 |
affection for Christ at this root of your worship? 00:48:01.460 |
And I'm not talking about some charismatic experience, I'm not talking about some gnostic 00:48:13.000 |
Every Christian is a genuine Christian because he confesses that his eyes were opened to 00:48:20.460 |
Is that something that you just confessed in the past? 00:48:24.100 |
Or is that something that drives you to worship? 00:48:28.460 |
Is that just some doctrinal statement that you sign? 00:48:31.980 |
Or is that what's compelling you to read your word, to pray, to be merciful? 00:48:39.140 |
Let me conclude with the reading of this text in Isaiah 40, 26-31. 00:48:49.740 |
He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his 00:48:53.260 |
might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing. 00:48:58.580 |
Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord and my right 00:49:11.820 |
The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. 00:49:20.900 |
He gives power to the faint and to him who has no might, he increases strength. 00:49:27.280 |
Even youth shall faint and be weary and young men shall fall exhausted. 00:49:33.100 |
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. 00:49:46.020 |
I want to lead us in prayer and then our worship team will take over. 00:49:51.460 |
But would you close your eyes in prayer with me? 00:49:55.300 |
Then after I pray, again, I encourage you guys to take some time to pray for yourselves.