WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:05.759 My name is uh David Russ, and I'm one of the elders here at uh Christ the Redeemer. 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:16.160 Uh for bonus confusion, my last name is Russ, and our pastor's first name is Russ, but so I'm not the if you came here expecting to see Russ Masterson, I'm not the Russ you you came here for. 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:18.800 Um I'm not a pastor, I'm an engineer. 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:24.239 Uh so if you ask me what I do for a living, I'll give you an answer that's incomprehensible and boring. 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:27.839 Uh and I'm definitely not a professional Christian. 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:34.079 Uh I found as I was preparing this message, this message is for me as much as it is for anyone here. 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:42.240 So so being an engineer and thus a geek, uh, one of my favorite books and movies is Lord of the Rings. 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:47.679 And hopefully, I hope most of y'all have seen this because this illustration is gonna go completely over your heads if you haven't seen it. 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:57.119 Um, in the in the in the book Lord of the Rings, there's this massively evil creature called Sauron, and he's made this ring of power, and this ring of power is gonna conquer the world. 00:00:57.359 --> 00:00:59.679 And so they have to destroy the ring of power. 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:05.840 And of course, as you might guess in the story, come to find out the ring is pretty much indestructible, so they've got a dilemma. 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:12.319 So the only way to destroy the ring is to carry it into the land of Mordor and drop it into the flames of Mount Doom. 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:14.000 Okay, I didn't make these names up. 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:15.599 Jared Tolkien made these names up. 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:16.079 Okay. 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:26.000 And and so I everything, so there's these little these little guys call hobbits, and one of the hobbits named Frodo, it's his job to carry the ring into Mordor and drop it into uh Mount Doom. 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:45.519 They've decided that rather than send the whole army to do this, they're just going to send these two little hobbits, and everything else that happens in the book, there's wars, there's uh defeats, there's victories, there's love, there's romance, everything else that happens is really a diversion to distract Sauron from the fact that these two little hobbits are sneaking in to destroy the ring. 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:53.040 So one of the hobbits, the guy who gets to carry the ring is named Frodo, and he's got a companion named Sam, Sam Gamgee, or Sam Wise Gamge. 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:57.920 And and um, so Frodo, you know, pretty much gets top billing, right? 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:03.040 It's his job to carry the ring, and he's the ring bearer, and everybody's focused on him, everybody's rooting for him. 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:07.439 And there's this guy standing next to him who just kind of disappears in the shadows named Sam. 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:10.000 And what's cool is that Sam is perfectly happy. 00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:13.039 He's quite happy not to be carrying the ring, okay? 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:15.199 And he's quite happy not being the center of attention. 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:17.439 He doesn't want to be the center of attention, okay? 00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:19.439 And yet he's completely fearless. 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:23.280 A giant spider shows up, Sam attacks it, orcs show up, Sam attacks it. 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:25.280 He's completely fearless, okay? 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:33.439 And what I think is cool about it is we think of humility and fearlessness as being total opposites, right? 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:36.960 We think of humility like Mother Teresa humility, right? 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:41.199 We think of fearlessness like uh Jason Bourne is being fearless, right? 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:42.400 We think of them as opposites. 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:48.080 But Sam is both humble and fearless at the same time, okay? 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:57.759 And our our passage today, uh, but and by the way, uh Tolkien himself, Gerard Tolkien himself said that he thought that Sam was actually the chief hero of the book. 00:02:57.919 --> 00:02:58.240 Okay. 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:06.000 So we're gonna we're gonna look at that today in the passage that we have that uh Sam uh read for us. 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:16.240 Um and um this passage that we're gonna look at talks about reconciliation through humility, and then it talks about fearlessness through prayer. 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:26.719 So we're gonna talk about those things, and then we're gonna circle back because there's a danger if you if you look at it just uh what it says in isolation, there's a danger that it's just more law, more checklist. 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:30.319 We'll circle back and look at those themes in the in the light of the gospel. 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:35.039 So we're gonna start by looking at uh reconciliation through humility. 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:44.479 Um Paul begins in our passage today by asking Euodia and Syndecchi to agree in the Lord. 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:47.599 Now, these are two very close companions to Paul. 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:54.479 Um the church in Philippi was started among a group of uh women that met down by the riverside. 00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:58.879 Okay, so it's it's a safe bet that these women were part of that group that met down by the riverside. 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:03.280 So these are these are founding members of the church, and they're also leaders in the church. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:05.599 Paul says they're fellow laborers in the gospel. 00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:12.719 And by the way, for a first century man to talk about women as being fellow laborers with him is an astounding show of love and respect. 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:14.719 We don't know why they're fighting. 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:19.600 In fact, uh they will forever be known as the two ladies in Philippi who were fighting. 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:23.920 When we meet them in heaven, it'll be interesting talking to them because that's all we know about them, is that they're fighting. 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:26.399 They have something, they have a conflict of some kind. 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:30.879 But Paul says some things about them that are going to help their situation. 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:31.360 Okay. 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:37.519 When Paul says, I entreat you to agree in the Lord, he actually says, I entreat you to be of the same mind. 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:39.600 Okay, that's what he means by agree. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:47.360 Earlier in this book, in Philippians chapter 2, Paul says that believers should be of the same mind. 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:52.160 And in 2.5, he said, believers should have the same mind, which is the mind of Christ. 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:59.279 And when he talks about the mind of Christ in Philippians 2, there's that passage where Christ emptied himself. 00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:07.600 What the mind of Christ means is to empty yourself of claims of privilege, empty yourself in humility and service to others. 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:10.560 And that's how you then become exalted in the gospel. 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:15.360 And so what Paul says here, uh, he says that they should be of the same mind. 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:21.600 And then in verse 5, he says, uh, let your reasonableness be evident to all. 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:22.560 Okay. 00:05:23.439 --> 00:05:29.279 You know, one of the things you do when you're an amateur like me and you're preparing for a sermon is you look all the words up in the Greek, okay? 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:33.199 So I got my logos app out on my phone and I looked up all the words in the Greek, okay? 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:34.639 And this one's really cool. 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:37.600 Most of the time you look up the word and it just means the same thing, you know? 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:38.639 This one's really cool. 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:50.879 The word reasonableness here says uh it means in the Greek not being unduly rigorous, being satisfied with less than one's due, forbearance, okay? 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:55.360 It means I deserve this, but I'm gonna choose to settle for less. 00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:58.959 I deserve to win the argument, but I'm gonna choose to lose the argument. 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:02.959 I deserve to have the last word, but this time I'm gonna let somebody else have the last word. 00:06:03.040 --> 00:06:05.439 That's what forbearance means, or reasonableness. 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:18.319 If there's anything that characterizes Jesus' life on earth, it's that: giving up all his privilege, giving up everything that he deserved so that he could come to earth as a servant and be a servant to others. 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:21.120 Now, I need to I need to hear this, okay? 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:25.360 You uh Davis talked about uh his grandson learning how to share, okay? 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:26.399 We we cling to stuff. 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:28.959 We cling to stuff just to cling to it, right? 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:38.560 We we have so many new parents here in our church, and the the first words that kids learn are dada and mama, and the next word they learn is my, okay? 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:46.720 And uh that that's all of it, that's why I need to hear this, that giving up, giving this up is an option, okay? 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:50.399 And it's such a huge part of reconciliation and living with others. 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:55.600 But Paul doesn't just stop there, he brings in another powerful resource, which are mutual friends. 00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:58.079 Okay, he encourages his loyal companion. 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:00.800 Some translations have that as a name, Syzyus. 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:02.399 Uh, and he also talks about Clement. 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:05.120 He asks mutual friends to come in and help them. 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:07.279 Okay, we live in a community. 00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:12.399 We live in a community of people who are who can share our burdens and share our perspective. 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:15.759 We live in a community of people who can come and help us when we have conflicts. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:16.720 I forget that. 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:24.480 I'm a not only am I a guy, okay, I'm an engineer, so I absolutely want to fix it myself and tell others how they can fix their problems, right? 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:30.639 But but this is about living and loving in the community and and and counting on resources of people around us. 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:38.879 Um in fact, the whole thrust of the letter to Paul, living in unity and harmony is like his highest priority for the church. 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:42.879 The word unity occurs all over the place in this letter. 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:49.519 And it's almost like in Paul's mind, if we have unity as a church, we can face just about anything. 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:53.680 But if we don't have unity, if we have conflict, we're lost before we start. 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:58.959 And so uh bringing others in can help with uh conflict. 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:10.000 Now I'm the last person who should tell a positive story about themselves in a in a sermon, but I had something happen in my life that really taught me this lesson very, very hard. 00:08:10.160 --> 00:08:10.399 Okay. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:18.560 Um years ago, when I lived in Florida, I worked for a company and they had uh reserve parking spaces if you were at a certain management level. 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:23.759 A lot of companies don't do that anymore, but but that was a big thing back in the day was to have a reserve parking space. 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:31.360 So I had this reserve parking space that was, say, 20 spaces from the front door, and my boss, he he not only did he have a Corvette, he had the best spot. 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:33.679 He had he was like right next to the front door, okay? 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:38.879 So my boss retired, and the person in charge of parking spaces gave me my boss's parking space. 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:40.879 So I'm I'm like, ooh, I'm I'm cool with that. 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:44.080 I'm parking in the spot next to the closest to the door, that's awesome. 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:47.360 About two weeks go by, and this guy shows up. 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:50.799 And this guy, you gotta know, he's he's that guy, okay? 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:54.399 He's the guy that instantly, when you walk into a room, my blood pressure went up. 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:56.879 He just every time I interacted with this guy, he made me furious. 00:08:57.120 --> 00:08:58.080 You know who I'm talking about. 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:00.240 You you have that guy in your life. 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:05.279 This guy, he he shows up and he says, You need to give me your parking space. 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:12.559 Your boss promised that when he ever left, he would give me his parking space, and now he's left, you need to give me his parking space. 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:16.240 Now I can tell you what I thought about doing, okay? 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:17.120 I can tell you. 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:19.200 I thought about telling him to go pound sand. 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:21.600 I thought about telling him, I'll help you park on the moon. 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:22.399 How about that? 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:22.799 You know? 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:24.399 That's what I thought about saying. 00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:25.360 I really did. 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:34.720 And for reasons that I don't know to this day, it just occurred to me if I argue with him about our parking place, I am becoming him. 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:39.200 I'm going to turn into that guy if I if I fight this. 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:40.879 And I don't even know why. 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:44.639 I can't, I to this day I can't tell you why, because it's not my nature at all. 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:48.320 I just said, fine, you can have the parking space. 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:53.120 I got his parking space, was maybe ten from the front door, and he got the big parking space. 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:55.360 But what really brought the lesson home was this. 00:09:55.600 --> 00:09:58.639 Word got around our whole company what this guy had done. 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:01.679 And everybody's like, oh, you wouldn't believe what this guy's pulled now. 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:08.399 And so they hid a camera in our head lawyer's office, and he called the guy in and demanded his parking space. 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:12.399 And they recorded this and played it at the next all hands meeting. 00:10:12.480 --> 00:10:12.799 Okay. 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:14.399 That really happened. 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:18.320 But what that showed me is you're you're gonna be known. 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:22.480 Your reputation's gonna be defined by how you act in those situations. 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:22.960 Okay. 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:29.840 That's uh that's a lot to live up to, and I get that, but I I really I learned that lesson loud and clear. 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:33.279 So, the first part's about reconciliation to humility. 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:36.559 Now we're gonna talk about fearlessness through prayer, okay? 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:42.639 In uh, and I forgot to uh put this here so I can go back to the original passage. 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:50.320 Um, Paul says, um, the Lord is at hand, uh, be anxious, do not be anxious about anything. 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:53.919 If you just stop there, the Lord is at hand, do not be anxious about anything. 00:10:54.080 --> 00:10:55.600 That's a tall order for me. 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:56.960 Do not be anxious about anything. 00:10:57.039 --> 00:10:57.279 That's it. 00:10:57.360 --> 00:10:58.480 That's a tall order. 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:01.279 The phrase, uh, do not be anxious about anything. 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:03.200 Again, I had to look this up, you know. 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:10.000 The phrase uh in the Greek forbids the continuance of an action already habitually going on. 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:10.639 Okay? 00:11:11.039 --> 00:11:15.440 And what I mean by that is Paul, the the Philippians weren't just anxious about one thing. 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:20.879 Okay, the Philippians were anxious as a habit over a long period of time, okay? 00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:25.039 Um, and uh I that's me, right? 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.919 I'm anxious as a habit over a long period of time, right? 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:33.759 To steal a phrase from a Christmas story, I work in worry pretty much like Picasso worked in oils, okay? 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:36.559 Um and Paul gets right to it. 00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:41.440 The cure for habitual anxiety is habitual prayer, okay? 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:43.600 It really is not rocket science. 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:45.519 And I would know if it was. 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:48.080 Um He uses three different words here. 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:54.399 He says, uh, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. 00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:58.879 By prayer is just a religious term meaning worship or devotion. 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:06.159 So prayer, the word prayer here means uh thanking God for who he is or reflecting on who God is and how great he is. 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:10.080 Um the last part with thanksgiving, uh, that means thanksgiving. 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:11.200 That means gratitude. 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:20.080 And gratitude, just by itself, just gratitude alone, is a powerful cure for both anxiety and pessimism. 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:29.039 If I get to the place where I can thank God for my circumstances, then I've already gotten to the place where I'm seeing God's hand and orchestrating my circumstances. 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:33.120 And by supplication is just talking about personal needs. 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:39.360 Asking God to, asking the God of the universe to come down into our lives and intervene in something that's going on in our lives. 00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:41.279 That's what that's what supplication means. 00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:44.720 This principle is so simple and so direct. 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:55.600 And and uh some people think that uh supplication, that maybe adoration is a higher form of prayer, and supplication is a lower form of prayer, and maybe you should spend all your time in adoration. 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:57.440 Um but it's interesting. 00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:05.519 Um Jesus, when he when Jesus was facing the greatest crisis of his life and he was in the Garden of Gethsemane, he offered up a prayer. 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:08.559 And the prayer that he offered was a prayer of supplication. 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:09.120 Okay? 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:15.039 So there's nothing wrong with supplication, there's nothing wrong with thinking that you need to have more adoration in your life than supplication. 00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:19.600 The other thing is we think maybe we should only bring big requests to God. 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:21.759 You know, God's got a whole universe to run. 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:30.799 So maybe we should only, like, if somebody's help, you know, somebody's life, somebody's marriage, but but like finding a parking place, maybe that's kind of like below his radar or something. 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:32.639 Well, I was reading uh C. 00:13:32.799 --> 00:13:32.879 S. 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:36.720 Lewis's book about prayer, Letters to Malcolm, chiefly concerning prayer, and C. 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:36.960 S. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:45.759 Lewis said this: Perhaps, as those who do not turn to God in petty trials will have no habit or such resource to help them when great trials come. 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:52.159 So those who have not learned to ask him for childish things will have less readiness to ask him for great ones. 00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:57.039 Paul says, in everything, present your requests to God. 00:13:57.200 --> 00:13:58.720 It's pretty straightforward. 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:03.360 And it's healthy for us to put whatever is in our hearts before God. 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:06.879 That's healthy for us, whether we think it's big or small. 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:13.440 Because when we're putting everything before God in supplication, it's actually a statement of radical dependence. 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:20.639 It's saying that I'm depending on God to find the parking place, no less than depending on God to help me uh in my marriage. 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:28.159 So Paul's saying we should reflect on who God is, we should thank him for what he's done, and in that context, we should bring requests before him. 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:31.919 The principles are actually pretty straightforward to understand. 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:33.919 Uh, what happens when you do that? 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:38.000 Uh does God sort of magically answer the prayer and everything's good? 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:42.240 No, no, actually, that's not that's not what God is promising here. 00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:46.080 Um the Philippians had anxiety as a habit. 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:49.440 It's something they were doing over a period of time, okay? 00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:53.519 And what God promises here is something that's gonna be with us. 00:14:53.919 --> 00:15:00.559 Uh what's promised here is uh you will have the peace of God that will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:04.320 Guard your heart like a troop of soldiers guarding a place of importance. 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:07.919 So that peace is is gonna last and have duration. 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:08.480 Okay? 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:13.440 Um God doesn't promise an answer to prayer, but he does uh promise peace. 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:19.279 In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus prayed, Father, take the cup from me, God didn't answer his prayer. 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:24.240 But God did give him the peace and the courage to face the trial that he was about to face. 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:29.600 So now I need to come up for air for a second, okay? 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:35.279 You really don't need me to stand up here and tell you that you should worry less and pray more, okay? 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:40.960 I don't need me to stand up here and say I should be humble more and I should pray more and all this kind of stuff, right? 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:46.639 If you're like me, I've got this voice that tells me every single time when I'm being a jerk and when I'm being gutless. 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:50.399 Okay, I don't need somebody to stand up and say you're being a jerk and you're being gutless. 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:51.039 I get it. 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:51.600 Okay? 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:54.240 The danger here, there's a huge danger here. 00:15:54.399 --> 00:16:06.480 If you just take the words we've talked about and just look at this passage by itself, what you have is more obligation, more law, more checklist stuff, more things you have to do, more things on your to-do list. 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:06.960 Okay? 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:10.080 The gospel is not a to-do list. 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:13.600 The gospel is an already done list, okay? 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:35.440 Um, Paul says in this in this context, again, in this same, in this very letter, Paul says back in Philippians 3, for Christ's sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law. 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:48.399 That is not depending on a checklist for self-salvation, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith, depending by faith on Christ's finished work for salvation. 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:52.720 The Christian life is not about becoming righteous. 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:56.720 The Christian life is about being declared righteous. 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:01.360 It's not about doing something to earn salvation. 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:07.359 It's about already being saved and living your life out of gratitude for what's already happened. 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:12.799 Anything that sounds like a command in Paul's letters is in the context of grace. 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:16.559 It's not something you have to do to be saved, it's gratitude for having been saved. 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:21.200 And even more than that, God actually gives us the resources. 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:26.559 God gives us the power to do whatever sounds like a command. 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:32.880 And one of the founding principles of our church, we state that grace does not motivate spiritual growth. 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:35.839 Grace animates spiritual growth. 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:41.279 And an English revivalist put it this way, and this is such a great, great little poem. 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:43.039 It's in the bulletin. 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:50.160 He said, um, run, John, and work, the law commands, yet finds me neither feet nor hands. 00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:55.680 But sweeter news the gospel brings, it bids me fly and lends me wings. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:56.240 Okay? 00:17:56.559 --> 00:18:01.359 So the gospel gives us the power to carry out what's in Scripture. 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:11.440 When we focused on Jesus' finished work on the cross, when we focus on that, we see that we are sinners and that we can't possibly change ourselves. 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:15.680 And by the way, that guy at work, he's pretty much in the same boat, right? 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:18.480 He's also a sinner and he can't change himself. 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:24.720 The gospel forces us to see our helplessness and it forces us to take our eyes off ourselves and put them on someone else. 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:31.680 I can let go of what I think I deserve because God's already given me everything I could possibly need. 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:41.440 When we focus on Jesus' finished work on the cross, we know that we've authoritatively been declared righteous in his sight and declared his children. 00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:46.559 And that declaration supersedes any other declaration we could possibly have in our life. 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:56.559 When the world declares, you're ugly, the gospel says, that God says in the gospel, I'm declaring you righteous and I love you. 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:04.240 When the boss says, you're useless, God says, I'm declaring you righteous and I love you as my adopted child. 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:12.880 When we see it like that, when we have that status, that declaration that the world cannot reverse, we're playing with the house's money. 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:14.720 We're totally playing with the house's money. 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:15.440 We can't lose. 00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:17.599 We're way ahead of the game, okay? 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:20.559 Fear no longer constrains us. 00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:25.680 Fear no longer forces us to act in self-protection because we have nothing to lose. 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:26.240 Okay? 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:30.559 I'm trying really hard here not to lay on a guilt trip. 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:34.240 It's almost impossible to preach through this passage and not lay on a guilt trip. 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:36.160 And I'm trying really hard not to do that. 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:39.200 Because all this stuff is so much easier said than done. 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:45.759 You know, putting others ahead of ourselves, constantly praying, living a life of fearlessness, it's just not easy to do. 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:48.160 Our lives are so curved inward. 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:52.880 Our whole life is not going to be enough to get that uncurled and get outward. 00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:56.319 So, so, you know, I let's let's try it like this. 00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:59.200 Don't try thinking, I have to be humble. 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:05.200 Try thinking, in Christ, I can allow the other person to win this time. 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:08.240 Don't try thinking, I have to stop worrying. 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:14.160 Try thinking, in Christ, I can present what's on my heart to a loving father who wants to hear me. 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:14.640 Okay? 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:19.599 In the gospel, it's not I've got to pray, it's I get to pray. 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:20.160 Okay? 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:23.359 That's the power the gospel provides. 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:30.960 Um and now I've gotten my pages all shuffled up here, and I've got to find the right page because this one I do need to read. 00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:36.480 Um, there's a great scene in uh book two of Lord of the Rings. 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:45.920 Um, and it's where uh Frodo and Sam uh are talking about it so the book is a story, right? 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:51.519 And in the middle of the story, these two characters are talking about what would happen if their story ever becomes a story. 00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:52.960 It's pretty it's pretty interesting. 00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:53.920 It's an interesting scene. 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:57.200 They're talking about what would happen if what we're doing ever gets written into a book. 00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:04.000 And so Sam, the I who I think is the big hero, says, I wonder if we'll ever be put into songs or tales. 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:07.440 I wonder if people will ever say, Let's hear about Frodo and the Ring. 00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:09.920 And they'll say, Yes, that's one of my favorite stories. 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:12.160 Frodo was really courageous, wasn't he, Dad? 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:14.400 Yes, my boy, the most famous of habits. 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:16.799 That's it, the most famousest of hobbits. 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:18.480 And that's saying a lot. 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:24.720 So Frodo says, You've left out one of the chief characters, Sam Wise the Brave. 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:26.000 I want to hear more about Sam. 00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:28.720 Frodo wouldn't have gotten very far without Sam. 00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:33.680 Frodo's reaction, I mean, Sam's, Sam's reaction is funny. 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:34.400 Now, Mr. 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:36.079 Frodo, you shouldn't make fun. 00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:37.599 I was being serious. 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:40.240 And Frodo says, so was I. 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:43.119 What's so great about this part of the story is this. 00:21:43.359 --> 00:21:46.079 Sam is so focused on helping Frodo. 00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:54.000 Sam is so focused on their mission, so focused on what they've got to do and how he can take care of his friend that he's not thinking of himself at all. 00:21:54.240 --> 00:22:00.880 In fact, he thinks that uh Frodo's joking and being rude when Frodo says that he wouldn't have gotten far without Sam. 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:02.079 But we know it's true. 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:04.880 Frodo really would not have gotten far without Sam. 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:07.759 And that's when I wish I was more like Sam. 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:16.400 So focused on helping others, so focused on the mission, so focused on what God's called me to do, that I've forgotten all about my self-protection, my agenda. 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:21.119 In that state, when I'm when I'm focused outwardly like that, I can face anything. 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:24.880 I can face Mount Doom, I can face whatever trials are in my life. 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:27.839 Now, does that start to sound like someone else? 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:30.240 I hope that starts to sound like someone else. 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:33.119 Someone who gave up everything to become nothing. 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:39.839 Someone who was so focused on redeeming his people that he was willing to accept death, even death on the cross. 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:47.119 Because humility combined with fearlessness is the very essence of Christ-likeness. 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:51.680 And through the power of the gospel, we can have that power in our own lives. 00:22:52.400 --> 00:22:53.839 So let's pray. 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:04.960 Father God, we thank you that you had a plan from eternity past to send your Son. 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:11.599 And Lord Jesus, we thank you that you gave up everything to become nothing, to become a servant. 00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:17.279 We thank you that when you lived here on earth, you constantly put others ahead of yourself. 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:23.759 At the same time, you depended on your Heavenly Father day by day, hour by hour, and you were fearless. 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:31.279 You spoke truth to power without worrying about the consequences, knowing that it was to achieve your mission, which you accomplished. 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:39.920 We thank you that you've risen from the dead to prove that you have the power, that you have power over death, and you have power in our lives to help us with whatever we're facing. 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:55.119 We pray that the truth of the gospel, that we would, we pray that we could meditate on that, marinate in that, and as we focus on your finished work on the cross, we would see uh humility and fearlessness taking root in our own lives. 00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:58.079 In your most holy and precious name we pray. 00:23:58.319 --> 00:23:58.880 Amen.