WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:05.280 All right, we are going to be in the book of First Timothy as we get into our sermon message this morning. 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:09.439 So if you have a Bible, go ahead and open it to First Timothy. 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:12.320 If you don't have a Bible, we'd love to give you one as a gift. 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:15.439 We have some Bibles back at the welcome desk. 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:19.760 They're full Old Testament and New Testament Bibles we'd love to give to you. 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:23.920 First Timothy is in the New Testament, if you're not familiar with where that is. 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:27.120 It's actually almost to the end of the Bible. 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:29.920 It's just a little bit left after First Timothy. 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:32.640 And it's a letter from the Apostle Paul. 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:39.840 So go ahead and try to discover that in your scriptures, or you can open your app and find it that way, however is convenient for you. 00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:44.000 We do have here at Mystio something called sermon notes that we use. 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:49.600 So if you haven't downloaded our app, it's available on every platform for your mobile device. 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:59.039 You can download the Mystio Day app, and then when you click on sermons and find the North Sermon page, you can actually check out the fill-in notes that we'll have. 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:02.000 So there'll be some words on the screen that are in yellow. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:03.600 That's where you can fill those out. 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:10.159 You can actually archive these notes that you can use them for further study in your relationship with the Lord. 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:14.079 And so we encourage you to take those notes and follow along this morning. 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:18.000 But today we're going to be in 1 Timothy chapter 1. 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:26.560 We're going to read verses 1 and 2, just the greeting and introduction of this letter as we start this new sermon series this morning. 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:28.879 So let's read this together. 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:49.840 This is the word of the Lord. 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:55.519 May God bless the reading and the proclamation of his promises. 00:01:56.560 --> 00:01:58.799 So let's start off with setting the scene. 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:04.879 We're going to be opening and going through this whole book verse by verse over the next several weeks. 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:11.520 And so we want to kind of paint the picture of what's happening as Timothy is receiving this letter from this guy named Paul. 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:15.039 So let's ask the question: first off, who is Timothy? 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:15.520 Right? 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:21.680 Timothy is the primary elder of this church in a city called Ephesus. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:30.960 He's been appointed by Paul, who's writing him this letter, to be a pastor, shepherd, overseer over this church. 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:33.280 He's not the only pastor. 00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:45.840 There's other places throughout the scriptures where we see the other elders of Ephesus being mentioned and talked about, but we would consider him to be what we call the first among equals. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:48.159 He's the one that Paul constantly addresses. 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:51.360 He's the one that Paul holds accountable to the health of the church. 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:54.080 And so at Missio, we practice this as well. 00:02:54.319 --> 00:03:03.840 We are governed by a plurality of elders who are equal in authority but distinct in role and responsibility. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:08.000 I hold the position as that primary among equals. 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:16.319 We have two other elders who are on staff, or one is on staff with us, one is a lay elder, but we are a governed body by a plurality of elders. 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:23.280 We see that as scriptural, as what is given to us by God's word to how the church should be cared for. 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:29.919 And so we're trying to model what we see even here in this letter in the church of Ephesus. 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:32.400 Now, Timothy is a young pastor. 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:40.240 See, he's a young pastor who's finding himself here and now in the midst of a church that's actually kind of starting to get out of control. 00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:46.879 There are false teachers creeping in, teaching false doctrines and a false gospel. 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:50.879 There are people in the church who are living out of step with the commands of God. 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:59.039 And Timothy seems to be a bit overwhelmed at the task to bring health and order back to the church. 00:03:59.439 --> 00:04:00.719 Now, who is Paul? 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:04.560 Well, as we just read just a few seconds ago, Paul's an apostle. 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:05.759 Well, what's an apostle? 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:07.280 What does that even mean? 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:13.520 An apostle was one who was an eyewitness to Jesus after his resurrection. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:23.439 He had to have been chosen by the Holy Spirit and directly commissioned by Jesus himself, and had to have ministered with miraculous signs and wonders. 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:32.639 So, Paul, when he says Paul an apostle, he's establishing a high level of authority for what he's about to write and say. 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:39.360 He's not just some guy who is self-proclaimed, who has exalted himself to some type of false office. 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:57.600 No, Paul is saying, not only have I been an eyewitness to the risen, resurrected Lord, not only have I been commissioned and commanded by him directly through the power of the Holy Spirit, but I have also proven the genuineness of this calling by ministering with miraculous signs and wonders. 00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:13.439 You see, this office, which Myssio holds the position, has ceased to exist for the church today, was what the church then was founded upon for authoritative teaching along with the office of the prophet. 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:17.279 So at Mysio, we try to distinguish between office and gift. 00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:19.600 There's a lot of people who have giftings. 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:23.759 You might be a gifted teacher, but you might not hold a position of a teacher. 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:27.279 We try to separate this even with the office of apostle. 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:30.079 You might be a have the gift of being apostle. 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:43.199 Usually this is seen by like someone who's an entrepreneur, a self-starter, a church planter, somebody who's a go-getter, somebody who can oversee uh big projects and tasks with uh with efficiency and productivity. 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:44.879 There might be a gifting. 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:54.319 And we might even affirm and acknowledge an apostolic gifting in an individual, but we would not call them or dare to call them an apostle. 00:05:54.639 --> 00:06:02.000 I tell people all the time: if you know someone who says that they are an apostle, you should probably watch out. 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:06.720 If you know someone who says that they are a prophet, maybe you should watch out as well. 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:14.720 Because what we see is that these offices have ceased to exist because this is what the New Testament church was built upon. 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:23.759 The writing of the scriptures tells us that the church is built on the foundation of the prophets and the apostles. 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:32.639 These two offices establish for us what we call the infallible, authoritative, inspired word of God. 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:40.639 And since we have the scriptures closed from Genesis to Revelation, those offices are no longer in operation for the church today. 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:43.360 We cannot add to this book. 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:48.639 But we would recognize and affirm giftings and individuals. 00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:53.600 However, Paul is unique because he holds the office. 00:06:54.240 --> 00:07:02.480 Paul is also a loving spiritual father to Timothy, who's writing to strengthen him, to shepherd the church well. 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:04.160 So let's start to break this down. 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:10.079 First one, it says this Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by command of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus our hope. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:22.639 Paul's correction of the church through Timothy is not by his own intrinsic authority, something fabricated or self-created, but it's by the authoritative revelation entrusted to him by God. 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:24.160 What do I mean by that? 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:31.439 God has given to Paul the sacred riches and treasure of the message of the gospel. 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:39.680 Paul has been given to him through the Holy Spirit the revelation of who is Jesus and what has he accomplished to us. 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:46.160 He holds this treasure, and this has been authoritative in establishing him for this work. 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:50.959 He's establishing now Timothy as an authoritative mouthpiece. 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:58.639 It's kind of like Paul saying, All right, Timothy, I'm gonna have you go and address this church, but it's me speaking through you. 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:05.680 And so my authority now becomes your authority as you go to shepherd and correct this church. 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:11.920 Now, this is one of few personal letters that Paul ever writes. 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:14.240 And he writes two to Timothy. 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:15.839 We're just in the first one. 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:28.879 Now, while the audience is an individual, its intended purposes are to be communicated and bring correction to the church in Ephesus, of which Timothy has been established as the primary overseer, something that we already talked about. 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:32.080 Now, where's Paul's authoritative position coming from? 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:42.879 We kind of laid a groundwork here, but Paul in the first verse speaks very clearly of these two aspects or positions of where his apostleship comes from. 00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:46.559 One is from God, our Savior. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:51.360 Now, this would have been a very common and comforting phrase to Timothy. 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:55.679 You see, Timothy was discipled and raised by two Jewish women. 00:08:55.840 --> 00:09:06.799 One was his mother and one was his grandmother, who were saved and had accepted Jesus and put their trust in his gospel, and they started to disciple young Timothy in the word of God. 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:28.559 But this Jewish customary phrase of God our Savior is rooted in the story of the Exodus narrative, where God our Savior came and delivered his people, the Israelites, out of the oppressive slavery of Egypt to establish them as his people, to give them his promised land that he had promised for them. 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:46.399 And this phrase, God our Savior, would have been constantly used by Jewish people in liturgy, in prayer, in different services, as this comforting refrain of God, who is mighty to save, who delivered us with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:48.879 Truly He is God our Savior. 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:50.399 What does that speak to? 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:53.120 It speaks to that God is present with us, right? 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:55.120 With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. 00:09:55.279 --> 00:10:00.960 God is not so distant from us that he can't see us in our sufferings and our trials and tribulations. 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:18.000 No, in fact, what we see continually throughout the scriptures is that God is near to us, that he knows what we're going through, and he at times has this empathetic posture to establish mercy and grace and peace in the midst of our hardships. 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:24.159 So with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, God is also powerful enough to do something about it. 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:30.480 Not only is he present, not only is he near, but God is powerful enough to actually do something about it. 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:33.440 And God delivered his people from the hand of Pharaoh. 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:40.639 And ultimately, what we'll see is that God delivered his people from the hand of sin and death. 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:50.159 Now, the second part of how Paul establishes his authority is from this phrase, Christ Jesus our hope. 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:56.320 Now, this would be a phrase used to strengthen and comfort young pastor Timothy. 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:04.639 Paul was assuring Timothy not simply of the authority of the office, but also of the assurance of the outcome of the church. 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:10.960 For though Timothy was a pastor of the church in Ephesus, surely Jesus was the senior pastor. 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:13.039 You see, it's Jesus' church. 00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:21.120 It's his blood that had purchased it, and it is his victorious resurrection that has assured her glorious outcome. 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:24.799 Jesus is not going to let his church fail. 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:30.960 Jesus is not going to be distant from his church or too weak to be able to intervene to help her. 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:39.679 No, Christ's blood not only purchased his church, but his victorious, glorious resurrection assured her outcome. 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:44.799 So Christ, Jesus, our hope. 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:50.879 Think of the strength that hopefully flooded Timothy's soul when he read these words. 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:57.039 And then in verse 2, the first part he says to Timothy, my true child in the faith. 00:11:57.120 --> 00:12:01.200 We're going to start to dive in to who is this person, Timothy, a little bit deeper. 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:10.080 You see, Paul's greeting of Timothy is very affectionate, and he seeks to establish him as a legitimate representation for the task at hand. 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:13.840 You see, Timothy had a lot going against him. 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:17.440 He was born of a Greek father and a Jewish mother. 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:22.559 And so to the Jewish community, Timothy was actually an illegitimate child. 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:25.600 He wasn't counted as one of his people. 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:30.320 He was outcasted and he was removed from fellowship and community. 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:42.639 I'm sure that he had to battle many slanders and gossip about who he was and his mother who had given herself to this Greek Gentile man. 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:51.120 Coming to faith and being disciple by his mother and grandmother, he becomes a partner in the gospel with Paul. 00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:59.840 But then Paul radically comes and tells Timothy, hey, look, I preach that you don't have to be circumcised to be saved, Timothy. 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:02.799 But your ministry is going to be to the Jewish people. 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:07.360 And because your father's a Greek and your mother's a Jew, they already consider you as illegitimate. 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:17.919 So here's what we're going to do: we're going to circumcise you so that you can have a more effective witness to the Jewish people that I'm calling you to minister to. 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:27.200 So as a man, Paul calls for Timothy to lay down parts of his life to be able to minister to the Jews. 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:28.639 No, you guys didn't get that, did you? 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:29.919 Do you know what circumcision is? 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:30.720 I'll go ahead. 00:13:30.799 --> 00:13:32.639 If I need to give a lesson, I can. 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:37.679 But nonetheless, he was circumcised so that he could be a minister and witness to the Jews. 00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:41.519 He's installed as the primary elder at the Church of Ephesus at a young age. 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:49.120 In fact, when we read this scripture, it's probably young Timothy's about early 30s to mid-30s. 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:54.799 Timothy has frequent physical ailments that in this letter Paul addresses. 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:57.840 Timothy's young, frail. 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:02.320 But Timothy also had a lot of accomplishment, accomplishments, too. 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:08.720 He was a very strong ministry traveling partner with Paul. 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:11.440 He traveled on many missionary journeys with Paul. 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:20.240 And you'll also see if you study throughout the New Testament that he was a co-writer of many of the letters that we have today for our faith. 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:28.080 And so here was here we see Paul addressing this timid young leader as a father to his child. 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:32.559 And he's declaring, Timothy, you are a true son. 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:42.799 In the second part of this verse, Paul ends his greeting with this phrase: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father in Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:46.720 For the most part, this is a typical conclusion to a greeting from Paul. 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:52.879 However, there's one word added this time around that's not found very common. 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:54.240 Mercy. 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:56.639 Mercy. 00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:00.320 Paul's asking that mercy be given to Timothy. 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:01.679 Mercy is what? 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:03.759 And it's an unmerited gift. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:11.200 But here, it's not simply an unmerited gift, it's an unmerited gift that's rooted directly in relationship. 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:21.360 It's because of Jesus and his covenant with true sons and true daughters that mercy can be requested for the task at hand. 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:26.159 You see, where we are weak, his strength breaks breaks through. 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:29.120 He gives us mercy. 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:35.440 And so, what's the main idea that we want to pull from these two, three short sentences? 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:36.320 It's it's this. 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:38.399 This is what I want you to understand. 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:52.000 We have an assured hope, not in foolish contradiction to our circumstances, but in confident expectation of what Christ has accomplished for us. 00:15:52.799 --> 00:16:01.759 When the scripture says, Christ our hope, our hope is guaranteed and assured in Jesus. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:07.840 You see, there's times that we as Christian people, or we as people in general, we want to have a positive attitude. 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:12.320 We want to be optimistic, or sometimes we just shroud that as faith. 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:14.960 And sometimes it's foolish. 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:28.320 It's actually foolish to the contradiction that we see in front of us, where the outcome or what our surroundings portray is that you're losing, you're being defeated, things aren't working out well for you. 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:38.639 And what the scriptures don't call us to is some type of you know, magic trick or gimmick or some type of superstition where we say, no, no, no, no. 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:41.840 Everything might be going bad, but really it's gonna be good. 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:52.639 And at the end of that phrase, what we understand or what we're conscious, subconsciously portraying, is that this is going to turn around to work in my favor to give me what I want. 00:16:53.840 --> 00:17:02.799 Where the very thing we want might be the very thing that God is trying to keep us from having because it's gonna distract us from communing with Him. 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:15.920 And so what we do have assurance of is not that God will always give us what we want, but that God has given us everything we could ever think or imagine we need in Christ Jesus, our hope. 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:24.720 As I said before, his victorious resurrection has assured for us a glorious outcome. 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:30.559 Church, we need more of Him. 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:51.359 Too many times we approach Jesus, too many times we approach religion like some cosmic giant claw machine, and we think that if we just do good enough, if we say enough prayers, if we find enough favor with God, that hand will come down and pick up that little sparkly treasure that we really want and drop it for us. 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:58.319 When what we understand is that the greatest treasure is to have Christ in Him alone. 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:05.119 And so when we look at this assurance of hope, we find our hope is assured in two ways. 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:10.160 One, it is assured to us because the outcome is determined by the accomplishments of Jesus. 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:14.960 You see, our outcome isn't determined by us, it's determined by him. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:16.880 This is his church. 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:20.079 He is the king of all heaven and earth. 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:24.880 He orchestrates and controls every molecule in Adam. 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:29.839 There is not one stretch of creation that he does not govern or is Lord over. 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:39.920 All the enemies and all the cosmos has been placed at his feet as a footstool because he is the reigning king of kings. 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:50.960 And so it is assured to us, this outcome that we will be participants in is determined by the accomplishments of Jesus. 00:18:51.279 --> 00:19:01.440 And secondly, we understand of our assurance by this that it's a gracious gift given to us in spite of both our failures and our successes. 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:12.160 You see, it's his kingdom, and nothing, nothing we can do can inhibit him from seeing it fully established. 00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:19.599 We love and have great assurance in the definite work of Christ. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:35.200 Christ did not come recklessly to die on a cross, to give his blood, and be buried and resurrected for just some type of chance, some type of hope, some type of possibility. 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:43.279 No, heaven went bankrupt so that it could purchase fully and definitely all that it sought to accomplish and do. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:57.200 And that means the church, that means those whom he would save, and that means the outcome of this fallen world to have a new heaven and a new earth established where Christ the Lamb reigns as king. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:01.039 But what is our story? 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:08.720 We don't believe this, we struggle with this, we don't live like this is actually true all the time. 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:15.039 And I'm a big part of this, and I hope to show you where I fall dramatically short in this. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:20.240 But for some of us, some of us, we place our hope in other things. 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:23.839 We place our hope in other things. 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:30.400 Like the people of Ephesus, we too can be tempted and led to place our hope in other things rather than Jesus. 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:39.039 You see, the Ephesians were being led astray by false teaching, where they were trying to put their hope in the law. 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:49.440 They were trying to put their hope of salvation and favor with God or right standing with God back into the law by fulfilling the commands of God's. 00:20:50.000 --> 00:21:08.000 You see, when we don't see God's law as a joyous pursuit of ultimate life, and his law begins to feel like a taskmaster under whose weight we are being crushed, we can certainly guarantee that our hope is in the wrong thing. 00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:18.160 When we see God's law as this taskmaster that seems so heavy we can't carry it, that we're actually being crushed under it because we know we can't live up to it. 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:21.039 We know that we fail day after day. 00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:25.519 We know that it's something that we can never aspire fully to. 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:33.839 When we feel that weight, we are putting our hope in that the obedience of that law gives us right standing with God. 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:40.480 And so we claw and scrape and strive to make God love us, to make God like us. 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:48.559 You see, we get so easily distracted from communing with God, where our obedience becomes a response of love and delight. 00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:52.079 And yet we find ourselves in a place where we feel distant from him. 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:58.720 And we convince ourselves that we have to perform a series of tasks to get him to even like us again. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.119 Many of you struggle with that? 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:16.720 If you don't read your Bible for a while, if you don't come to church for a while, if you don't pray for a while, and you find yourself believing and convincing yourself, if I do X, Y, and Z, and then I can show God that, hey, look, I'm coming towards you. 00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:18.640 Will you come to me? 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:21.519 And God declares, I've come to you. 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:25.119 I've come to you in the person and work of Jesus. 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:31.759 And everything that you're striving to do to get me to like you, I love you in spite of all of it. 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:34.319 And I show it to you on the cross. 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:39.680 You see, for us, God's law is not actually a pursuit of life. 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:44.400 We don't believe that the obedience of God's law is life. 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:47.440 We see it as this wicked taskmaster. 00:22:49.200 --> 00:23:01.680 Most of us, if we really ask ourselves some hard questions and are willing to give honest and vulnerable answers, we will begin to discover where our hope really resides. 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:04.160 I have a few questions for you to think about. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:08.720 Where do you run to hear news of relief? 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:16.880 When you feel anxious, when you feel turmoil in your heart, where do you run to hear news of relief? 00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:22.400 Where do you look to discover peace of mind? 00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:31.920 When your mind is racing with fear and doubt and questions and you can't seem to stop it, where do you look to discover peace of mind? 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:37.440 Where do you escape to find your sense of worth? 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:49.200 Where do you escape to find your sense of worth when somebody hasn't been showing you the affection that you desire when your kids don't want to hang out with you anymore? 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:58.160 When your spouse is too busy working and not giving time and attention to you, when people at work are getting more recognition than you are? 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:01.279 Where do you escape to find a sense of worth? 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:07.200 And finally, where in when your world is wrecked, where do you turn for remedy? 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:15.920 The answer to those questions will show you the idol that you have and the thing that you're placing your hope in. 00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:22.079 When I do counseling with people, I use this kind of little graphical example, right? 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:31.119 And I draw these three columns, and in one column I put hell, and in the far column I put heaven, and I draw a cross in the middle. 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:33.279 And this helps you identify your idols. 00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:34.880 This is a wonderful practice. 00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:41.039 If you guys want to go home and try this on a napkin at lunch or you know, with your spouse or friends, I highly encourage it. 00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:42.160 But this is what I do. 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:45.839 I have my hell column, my cross column, my heaven column. 00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:58.640 The reason I do this is because the ultimate goal, and I'll say this, an aspect of the ultimate goal of a savior, the cross, is to get us out of hell and into heaven. 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:01.200 The cross accomplishes that for us, right? 00:25:01.599 --> 00:25:14.880 For many of us, though, our hell is not joy-filled communion with the God of us because we've been reconciled by Jesus, right? 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:18.480 That that's not that's not our uh, what did I say? 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:19.200 I'm lost. 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:20.720 Here, it's not our hell. 00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:26.400 The hell is our hell is not an absence of joy-filled communion eternally with God. 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:32.079 And our heaven is not to have eternal joy-filled communion with God. 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:36.960 So Jesus, for most of us, is not our functional savior. 00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:41.440 For me, my hell is not getting glory. 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:44.240 My hell is not getting recognition. 00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:48.720 My hell is not having you look at me and say, You are awesome. 00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:52.880 My heaven is the praises of men. 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:54.480 I love getting glory. 00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:55.759 I love getting recognition. 00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:59.200 I love people telling me, dude, you are killing it. 00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:02.880 And so, do you know what my functional savior is? 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:04.720 Overwork. 00:26:05.839 --> 00:26:08.160 My functional savior is productivity. 00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:13.039 My functional savior is what can I do today to get someone to notice me? 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:21.200 So many times I find myself pursuing idols and putting my hope in other things. 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:25.200 And if we're honest with ourselves, we're all this way to some measure. 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:31.920 We all have a hell, we all have a heaven, and we all worship a functional savior that gets us out of one and into the other. 00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:39.680 Some of us though, some of us hope in the midst, some of us lose hope in the midst of hard circumstances. 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:43.119 Some of us lose hope in the midst of hard circumstances. 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:50.319 It's not too hard to look out at the landscape of our culture and wonder how is this going to get better? 00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:53.279 I have this story about my sweet grandmother. 00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:55.519 She passed away two years ago. 00:26:55.839 --> 00:27:10.799 But as I told you before, we have four children, and every time we had a kid and we found out we were pregnant, we would we would call family members and tell her, and my sweet grandmother, every time, just responded with such disappointment. 00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:17.119 Not disappointment that we were having a kid, but disappointment that we were bringing a child into this world at this time. 00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:21.519 And she would say, Oh, Justin, this world's such a bad place. 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:23.599 How are you doing this? 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:27.599 And and it's so funny because we we do that, right? 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:35.519 We look at the landscape of our culture, we look at the landscape of the world around us, and we say, How is this going to get better? 00:27:37.359 --> 00:27:48.240 For a lot of us, it's not even the looking across the landscape of our culture, it's just us looking in the mirror and seeing the bumps and bruises that life is dishing out to us. 00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:55.359 You see, we have to set our eyes on the author and finisher of our faith. 00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:58.319 We have to see that the story isn't over. 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:06.240 Jesus is our hope because his finished work has both began the making of all things new, but has also assured for us its completion. 00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:15.039 You see, this is what the Bible says that he is the author, that means beginner, starter of our faith, and he is the finisher of that faith. 00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:23.599 The Bible says that he who began a good work in you is faithful and sure to see that good work finished. 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:33.599 The Bible tells us that there is nothing, not even our own hellish wills, that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:44.319 He has purchased us, he has given us new life, and he has victoriously resurrected so that that new life will see completion in glory. 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:49.599 You see, our end is determined by him. 00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:54.799 Our end isn't determined by me, by you, or this world. 00:28:55.839 --> 00:28:58.079 And this is the beauty of the gospel. 00:28:59.119 --> 00:29:05.200 That when we were without hope, Jesus became our hope for us. 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:14.559 We were a people striving to satisfy God in our obedience, and we were being crushed under the weight of its demands. 00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:18.640 But Jesus came and he perfectly fulfilled the law. 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:29.359 Then he died as if he had failed to uphold even one aspect of it, and then rises to new life, giving the victory over the grave to us. 00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:35.759 You see, Jesus is our hope because he has perfectly obtained the glorious outcome. 00:29:37.839 --> 00:29:55.599 Colossians 1 27, second half of that verse says this God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 00:29:55.839 --> 00:29:57.039 The hope of what? 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:11.279 There it is, glory, the hope of glory, this glory that we get to be beneficiaries of because Jesus has victoriously received it and graciously poured it out onto us. 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:12.880 Our hope is Christ. 00:30:13.039 --> 00:30:20.480 It's a sharing of his glory, it's a realized and actual uniting of us to the glorious King of Kings. 00:30:20.720 --> 00:30:30.319 When Jesus is the substance of our hope, we can stand and declare with David the psalmist: the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:34.400 The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:46.400 Not my circumstances, not this culture, not this world around us, not my failures, not my victories, but my seated place in Christ Jesus because of what he's accomplished on the cross. 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:59.359 I don't have to battle a loss of hope to my circumstances because in faith I know that Jesus, my hope, will see my circumstances transformed to a reflection of his glory. 00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:06.720 I don't have to bend a knee to anyone but Christ the King. 00:31:09.519 --> 00:31:15.200 See, that's that's the beauty of this gospel that we declare that we hold so tightly to. 00:31:15.359 --> 00:31:18.480 You know, I've been talking a lot this week about politics, right? 00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:24.079 And politics is probably one of the things that all of us can find grave frustration about. 00:31:24.799 --> 00:31:31.039 No matter what side of the spectrum you stand on, you are probably frustrated with it. 00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:37.039 But the gospel inherently in itself is a political message. 00:31:37.599 --> 00:31:56.400 There is a king, he reigns over all of creation, and your knee will bow to him, either enjoy a submission now that leads to life, or forced in obedience to recognize who he is as his wrath is being poured out on you. 00:31:57.519 --> 00:32:02.799 But you will bow, you will declare, because he is king of kings. 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:14.400 As we start to close this sermon, I want to draw us to this end of the introduction that Paul gives us. 00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:19.599 He ends this introduction of this letter to his true son in the faith, Timothy. 00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:26.720 So I want to send you out with these hoped-for blessings from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:29.759 The first one is this he says, Grace. 00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:31.599 Grace. 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:33.359 What is grace? 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:38.720 Grace is a one-word summary of God's saving work in Jesus. 00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:42.640 Grace is a one-word summary of God's saving work in Jesus. 00:32:42.799 --> 00:32:52.559 May you rest, church, in your identity as a son or daughter of the King because of his grace. 00:32:53.119 --> 00:33:01.920 When your hope seems so deferred, remember that it was his grace that came and radically changed you. 00:33:02.480 --> 00:33:08.960 There's a lot of times when I look with doubt or hope deferred on the circumstances around me. 00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:31.119 And the remembrance of who I was, rebellious, running from him, breaking his commands, striving to be fed and indulged in my own lusts and desires, when I wanted nothing to do with him, he chased me down and he showed me grace. 00:33:32.079 --> 00:33:34.640 He showed me grace. 00:33:36.640 --> 00:33:41.119 If he can change me, man, he can change anything. 00:33:42.720 --> 00:33:50.160 Who are people around you that you can remember and celebrate the grace that's been given to them? 00:33:50.319 --> 00:33:57.519 Whose lives have you been around to see transformation, to see grace at work, that you can encourage and strengthen? 00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:00.240 Look what God has done in you. 00:34:01.200 --> 00:34:02.640 You were bound for hell. 00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:04.559 You were a sinner. 00:34:04.880 --> 00:34:10.559 You were one who hated and despised God and his commands. 00:34:10.880 --> 00:34:12.559 But he caused you to love him. 00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:14.880 He changed your life. 00:34:15.360 --> 00:34:20.000 Remembering our change through grace should cause our hope to be renewed. 00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:23.920 Secondly, we see this word mercy. 00:34:25.119 --> 00:34:28.639 Mercy is a display of good gifts to undeserving people. 00:34:29.760 --> 00:34:37.840 Church, as we have desired mercy, as we have received mercy, so let us extend mercy. 00:34:38.880 --> 00:34:41.920 Who are people around you that could use mercy? 00:34:42.400 --> 00:34:46.400 Who are people around you that could use this undeserved gift? 00:34:47.440 --> 00:34:52.480 How can we approach our relationships or our city with mercy? 00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:58.880 It's so funny that when we have done wrong, we greatly desire mercy. 00:34:59.440 --> 00:34:59.840 Right? 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:06.400 When your kid messes up, if you're a parent and your kid messes up, my kids know what gets them a spanking. 00:35:06.480 --> 00:35:10.880 There are two things in my household that will cause automatic spanking, no questions, no asks. 00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:13.039 You tell a lie, you get spanked. 00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:15.519 You talk back to your mother, you get spanked. 00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:19.840 Every time they do one of those things, they plead for mercy. 00:35:20.079 --> 00:35:27.039 And when I bend them over my knee to gently correct them with a SWAT, they freak the mess out. 00:35:28.079 --> 00:35:30.639 And they want mercy. 00:35:31.599 --> 00:35:39.679 But then I see in my own children, and I see this even in my own heart, when one of their siblings have wronged them, they want revenge. 00:35:40.320 --> 00:35:42.079 They want justice. 00:35:43.199 --> 00:35:45.119 They want the wrath of God. 00:35:48.159 --> 00:35:51.679 Who in your life have you not extended mercy to? 00:35:52.559 --> 00:35:56.159 Where in your city are you not extending mercy? 00:35:58.800 --> 00:36:00.719 And lastly, peace. 00:36:01.760 --> 00:36:04.639 So grace, mercy, peace. 00:36:05.119 --> 00:36:10.800 Peace is not a state of tranquility, it's a status of reconciliation. 00:36:12.559 --> 00:36:17.039 You see, we often seek peace without realizing we're right in the midst of it. 00:36:17.519 --> 00:36:26.239 If you have put your trust in Jesus and the gospel that has been given to you, then you are at peace with God. 00:36:26.960 --> 00:36:34.239 It is not a state of tranquility, it's not some synthesizing calm that rushes over your body. 00:36:34.320 --> 00:36:52.000 No, it declares this: you were an enemy of God, you were at war with him, and because of Christ Jesus and his work, he has been equipped to be able to extend mercy to you that you might have peace. 00:36:53.360 --> 00:37:01.599 You see, peace comes by knowing we are reconciled with God through Jesus. 00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:04.400 Do we have peace? 00:37:05.920 --> 00:37:13.360 Do we express peace in our relationships, in our community with one another? 00:37:13.599 --> 00:37:20.320 Not some sensation or mood, but the deep-rooted knowledge that we are actually for the good of one another. 00:37:20.639 --> 00:37:21.679 You see, that's the thing. 00:37:21.840 --> 00:37:30.079 We don't believe Romans 8, where God declares to us through the Holy Spirit that he works all things for the good of those who love him. 00:37:30.320 --> 00:37:31.519 You see, we don't trust that. 00:37:31.679 --> 00:37:34.559 We don't trust that God is actually for our good. 00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:37.360 And so therefore, we often don't have peace. 00:37:37.519 --> 00:37:40.320 You see, he wasn't for your good at first. 00:37:40.480 --> 00:38:01.119 You were an enemy of his, he was for your destruction and his demise, but in his patience and in his kindness, he allowed to be see those things overpassed through time so that the fullness of Christ could come, and through his finished work of his perfect life, his death and glorious resurrection, we could have peace with him. 00:38:05.280 --> 00:38:11.039 And that means that that peace dictates all of his actions are for our good. 00:38:11.440 --> 00:38:13.599 Do we even trust that church? 00:38:14.960 --> 00:38:25.519 Or are we so much like Adam and Eve, our first parents, where God created all things and said, You can have the fullness of all of it. 00:38:25.760 --> 00:38:36.239 Everything that your eye can see and touch, taste and smell is yours, but this one tree, just this one tree, don't touch it. 00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:46.239 And the lie that crept into their heart was you don't love us, you're not for our good, and you're actually trying to keep good things from us. 00:38:47.440 --> 00:38:49.840 I believe that lie every day. 00:38:50.079 --> 00:38:57.119 And I need to be reminded of the peace I have with God because of Jesus, which dictates all things. 00:38:57.360 --> 00:38:59.280 All things are for my good. 00:39:00.480 --> 00:39:13.119 God's ability to be for our good is only possible by the fact that by grace, that by grace, He extended mercy to us so that we might have peace with Him. 00:39:13.360 --> 00:39:20.159 May you both obtain and display grace, mercy, and peace, church.