1 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:07,280 One year from now, you'll wish you began today. 2 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,160 Either you change or your life stays the same. 3 00:00:12,120 --> 00:00:14,960 At some point, pain becomes the purpose. 4 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:19,160 Nobody cares. Work harder, start today. 5 00:00:19,240 --> 00:00:23,600 Get up, rise and grind. Be relentless. 6 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:30,680 Are you feeling motivated yet? These are all common sayings or 7 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:34,360 phrases that get repeated in many motivational videos. 8 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,280 You you see these videos online, whether it's fitness, business, 9 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,920 or self improvement. A lot of them, they share the 10 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:43,120 same structure or these same tropes. 11 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:46,200 If you've watched any of these videos, you'll probably quickly 12 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,920 pick up on the similarities. They'll start with an emotional 13 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,480 hook and dramatic music and then they introduce the problem, 14 00:00:53,480 --> 00:00:55,760 something that's wrong with modern people. 15 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:58,640 Then comes the pivot, the identity change. 16 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,480 You'll hear phrases like winners don't do what winners do what 17 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,600 losers won't. The then following there's a 18 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:09,480 montage of people running, working late, early sunrises. 19 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,880 And there comes the call to responsibility and 20 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,800 self-reliance. This lone wolf mentality, alone 21 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,800 in the gym, alone studying, alone suffering. 22 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,880 And then finally, it's a call to action, something more to do. 23 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:26,520 And to be honest, it's a pretty good structure. 24 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,960 I watched a few of these videos for examples, and by the end of 25 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:32,680 it I was amped up to start living my best life. 26 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:37,280 Now, not really. But in honesty, I'm not hating 27 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,040 on motivational videos. I think they have their place. 28 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,760 But a better question is why do they work or why don't they 29 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:46,720 work? I think part of the reason that 30 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,920 they do work is because most of the good advice that they give, 31 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:53,160 they borrow from scripture. But even beyond that, these 32 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:56,480 videos attempt to make you feel worthy of something that you are 33 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,360 not. In my current condition, I am 34 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:03,840 not worthy to win a marathon race, but after watching a few 35 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:06,000 motivational videos, I sure feel like I am. 36 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,199 Which therefore I believe it. There lies attention. 37 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:14,520 Many of these videos contain a genuinely good idea and like I 38 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:16,800 mentioned, even things you'll find in Scripture like the 39 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:19,120 importance of discipline, responsibility, and 40 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:21,960 perseverance. But many of these videos, they 41 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,040 also move toward a performance based identity or an obsession 42 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,800 with personal achievements or viewing rest as a weakness. 43 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,480 And these are all things that the Bible speaks against. 44 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,920 As Christians, we're not always going to feel motivated. 45 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,000 And if we go online, the overwhelming attitude of these 46 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,840 videos seem to be they seem to give the message that real 47 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:46,440 Christians, they're always crushing it spiritually. 48 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,440 But as a Christian, you'll know that's not the case. 49 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:51,920 There are times of doubt and fear. 50 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:55,000 And in particular, there are times when you simply feel 51 00:02:55,280 --> 00:03:00,800 unworthy to be saved by Jesus. Times when you wonder, why would 52 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:04,360 Jesus save me? If you will, please open your 53 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:09,600 Bibles to Ephesians chapter 3. What I don't want to do this 54 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,040 morning is give a motivational speech on why you're good 55 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:14,800 enough. I don't think that alone is 56 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,400 sufficient, but what I do want to do is I want to look at the 57 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:21,320 1st 13 verses of chapter 3 to attempt to answer the question, 58 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:24,600 what do we do when we feel unworthy? 59 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,640 And so with that as our backdrop, let's read Ephesians 60 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:34,040 chapter 3 verse 1 to 13. For this reason, I, Paul, a 61 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:37,920 prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles, assuming 62 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:40,360 that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that 63 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:43,680 was given to me for you, How the mystery was made known to me by 64 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:46,000 revelation, as I have written briefly. 65 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:49,200 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the 66 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,480 mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men 67 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,720 and other generations, as it has now been revealed to His holy 68 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:57,640 apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 69 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,480 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, 70 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,040 members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in 71 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:07,760 Christ Jesus. Through the gospel of this 72 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:10,840 gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's 73 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:15,160 grace, which was given to me by the working of His power to me, 74 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:17,480 though I am the very least of all the Saints. 75 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,640 This grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable 76 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,920 riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone what is the 77 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:28,760 plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all 78 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:32,280 things, so that through the Church the manifold wisdom of 79 00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:35,720 God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities and 80 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:38,440 the heavenly places. This was according to the 81 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,600 eternal purpose that He has realized in Christ Jesus our 82 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:45,120 Lord, and whom we have boldness and access with confidence 83 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:48,480 through our faith in Him. So I ask you not to lose heart 84 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:51,680 over what I am suffering for you, which is Your glory. 85 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:55,440 In the previous weeks, we've been going through the book of 86 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:59,880 Ephesians and we've seen Paul. He lays out this foundation of 87 00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:02,880 theology. Paul writes about knowing and 88 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:05,800 living in the identity of who you are in Christ. 89 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:08,600 And specifically he talks about the blessings in Christ, both 90 00:05:08,840 --> 00:05:11,920 for the individual believer and for the body of believers. 91 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,280 And last week we heard how through Christ, though through 92 00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:18,760 Christ, those who are far off from Christ have been brought 93 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,480 near the Christ has broken down the dividing wall and reconciled 94 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,840 us to God the Father. In this passage today, Paul is 95 00:05:25,840 --> 00:05:29,000 still laying on that foundation while taking a bit of a step 96 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,320 back to explain his own mission. In all of this, we see in the 97 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:35,640 passage Paul admitting that he doesn't consider himself worthy 98 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:38,440 to preach, but it has been given the tasks to do so. 99 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:42,880 Paul doesn't give a motivational speech on five things to do to 100 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:46,680 become worthy, but instead I believe he provides areas of 101 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:50,040 grace for what to do when you feel unworthy. 102 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:53,920 Ultimately, when we feel unworthy of the cost, we must 103 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:56,400 accept that Jesus paid the price. 104 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:01,360 By myself, I am unworthy. By yourself, you are unworthy. 105 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:03,840 But through Jesus, we are accepted. 106 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:06,760 We don't become worthy because of what we do. 107 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:09,560 We are accepted because of what Jesus did. 108 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:13,360 And so when we feel unworthy to be saved by Jesus, we must 109 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:15,200 acknowledge our identity in Christ. 110 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:19,160 We must act as a servant of Christ, and we must approach the 111 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:23,120 throne of Christ to combat. To combat this feeling of being 112 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,120 unworthy, we must first and foremost acknowledge our 113 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:30,080 identity in Christ. This is important because as I 114 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:32,840 just mentioned, that by ourselves, without Christ, we 115 00:06:32,840 --> 00:06:36,400 would be unworthy to be saved. And so it's not helpful to 116 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:39,200 pretend that we aren't sinners or that we have some kind of 117 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,480 merit to make us worthy. We must start with the truth of 118 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,000 our old identity, that we were sinners in need of a Savior. 119 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,800 And when we start with that, it provides the proper appreciation 120 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:53,360 for our new identity. It helps us see the need for 121 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:55,520 Jesus and appreciate the price that he paid. 122 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,200 This passage starts off by Paul. He gives an identity statement. 123 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:03,800 He says for this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ, prisoner 124 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:07,120 of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles, Paul called himself a 125 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:09,880 prisoner of Christ Jesus. And this could take a double 126 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:11,680 meaning. For one, he was an actual 127 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,640 prisoner on house arrest in Rome when he was writing this to the 128 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:17,840 church in Ephesus. And because of his boldness for 129 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:20,760 the faith and out of fear for their own traditions, the Jews 130 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,640 had Paul arrested and through many trials Paul would end up in 131 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:26,400 Rome. Ironically, what they were 132 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:29,680 accusing Paul of was bringing Greeks into the temple and 133 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:33,160 defiling the holy place. This was not true, but it 134 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:36,880 foreshadows what Paul reveals in this passage about the Gentiles 135 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:39,920 being brought into the body. Many of the Jewish leaders. 136 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:42,800 They were also concerned about their identity, but their 137 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:46,040 identity was wrapped up in their good works, not in the good 138 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:49,240 works of Jesus. By calling himself a prisoner of 139 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,560 Christ, Paul is also saying that he has surrendered his life for 140 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:56,640 the sake of Christ, not that he is being kept against his will, 141 00:07:56,760 --> 00:07:59,000 but that he is primarily concerned with spreading the 142 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:01,800 gospel, particularly to the Gentiles. 143 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:04,880 Remember the previous verses that Pastor Jake spoke on last 144 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:07,000 Sunday? Paul talks about how Jesus 145 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:09,960 removed the dividing wall and that those who are far off from 146 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,680 Christ have been brought near. And Paul says for this reason he 147 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:17,040 is a prisoner of Christ. On multiple occasions in the 148 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:20,360 book of Acts, God calls Paul to bring the message of the gospel 149 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,080 to the Gentiles. Paul and Barnabas speaking to 150 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:27,280 the Jews in Acts 13. They say it was necessary that 151 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:31,000 the word of God be spoken first to you, since you thrusted aside 152 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,360 and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life. 153 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:37,120 Behold, we are turning to the Gentiles, for so the Lord has 154 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:39,360 commanded us, saying, I have made you a light for the 155 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,480 Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the 156 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:45,560 earth. Paul finds his identity not as 157 00:08:45,560 --> 00:08:48,680 someone who is bound to his own will, but as someone who is 158 00:08:48,680 --> 00:08:52,520 bound to the will of God. In First Corinthians 9, Paul 159 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:55,160 surrenders his own rights and effort that the gospel may be 160 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:57,920 brought to more people. He says, For if I preach the 161 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:01,880 gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting, for necessity is 162 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:04,760 laid upon me. Woe to me if I don't preach the 163 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:07,800 gospel. Paul leans into this identity in 164 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:09,720 Christ. He doesn't focus on himself. 165 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:13,120 He admits that he can't even boast about his identity because 166 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:16,640 it has been laid upon him similar. 167 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:19,600 Similarly, as Christians we should take the same approach. 168 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,960 Our new identity is something given to us by Jesus. 169 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:26,800 We each have a role to fill in this king in the Kingdom of God. 170 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:29,880 And Paul elaborates on this continuing at verse 2. 171 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:33,200 He says, assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of 172 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:36,360 God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was 173 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,720 made known to me by revelation. As I have written briefly, when 174 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:42,440 you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of 175 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,640 Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men and other 176 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,200 generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles 177 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:53,120 and prophets by the Spirit. Paul states that his identity as 178 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:57,320 a prisoner of Christ and as a steward of Christ stewardship 179 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:00,800 here, that means management. What Paul is saying is that he 180 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:04,400 is not the one who came up with this message or who owns it, but 181 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:06,320 rather that he is simply managing it. 182 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:08,280 He's managing what has been given to him. 183 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:11,760 It's not a message to it's not his message to change or to 184 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:15,560 alter to better suit him. And he writes it has been given 185 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:17,760 to him for the benefit of the Gentiles. 186 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,160 Again, not claiming his own identity to be great, but that 187 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:23,160 it was revealed to him through revelation. 188 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,480 Paul is acknowledging his identity in Christ by stating 189 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:29,440 that it was the Holy Spirit that revealed these things to him. 190 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:33,640 In verse 4, Paul is basically saying based on what you've seen 191 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:37,720 so far, see for yourself the insight that I have been given. 192 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,840 He's not arguing to prove that he has greater knowledge because 193 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,240 he's more special, but that the insight he has written about to 194 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:46,200 this point has been given to him. 195 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:50,760 Verse 5 Paul says there was not made known in previous 196 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:54,480 generations as it has been made made now, made known now. 197 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,400 It's mentioned in the Old Testament when God tells Abraham 198 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,680 that all nations will be blessed through him, and Isaiah speaks 199 00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:04,880 of the Gentiles coming to the light, but it had not been made 200 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:08,240 as clear as it had now through Paul and the other apostles. 201 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:11,480 Paul could have thought much of himself for possessing this 202 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:13,480 knowledge, but he doesn't do that. 203 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:18,480 He focuses on his task of being a steward of the gospel, and 204 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:19,960 this should give us an example to follow. 205 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:23,840 When we feel unworthy about what we've been given, we can 206 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:27,360 reflect, internalize, and analyze until our head spins 207 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:29,520 about why we've been given grace. 208 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,440 But I think what Paul is exemplifying is that a better 209 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:36,320 use of your time is not to overthink your position and and 210 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,080 rather focus on stewarding what you have been given. 211 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:43,680 Steward the gift of grace well so that others can also hear of 212 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:47,120 Jesus and believe. Manage what you have been given 213 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:49,680 to the glory of the one who has given it. 214 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,040 And verse 6, Paul gets to the heart of his message. 215 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:56,120 He has stated his identity as a prisoner of Christ and as a 216 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:59,400 steward of Christ, and now he lays out the identity of all who 217 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:03,280 trust in Christ as heirs of Christ, Verse 6 reads. 218 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:07,200 The mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the 219 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:11,080 same body and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through 220 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:14,200 the Gospel. Paul saying that the Gentiles, 221 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:17,640 they're fellow members of the same body and this was 222 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:20,240 blasphemous for the Jewish leaders to hear. 223 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,200 Remember, this was the reason the Jewish leaders had him 224 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,240 arrested in the temple. They falsely accused him of 225 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:28,960 telling Jews to forsake their heritage. 226 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:32,640 But inwardly they were proud and they hated that Paul preached 227 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:36,000 things like we read last week in Ephesians 2 where we're all one 228 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:38,800 in Christ. The Jewish leaders held on to 229 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:42,480 their identity as morally superior, while Paul 230 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:46,520 acknowledged his identity in Jesus as being one in Christ. 231 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:50,080 He says the Gentiles are now fellow heirs, that they share 232 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:53,240 the inheritance of God's people, that they are members of the 233 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:57,760 same body belonging equally to Christ's global church, and that 234 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:00,560 they are partakers of the promise, sharing in the 235 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:04,680 blessings that Jesus brings and forgiveness and reconciliation 236 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:08,080 to God and receiving the Holy Spirit and adoption and 237 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:10,840 ultimately an eternal life for those that believe. 238 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:13,360 And that applies to us today as well. 239 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,920 When we feel unworthy to be saved, we must remember our 240 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,400 identity in Christ, that we are prisoners of Christ, stewards of 241 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:24,240 Christ, and heirs of Christ. Through the gospel, through the 242 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:27,240 good news of Jesus, our identity is secure in him. 243 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,640 When you first meet someone you haven't met before, what do you 244 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:34,200 normally do? You give them a brief overview 245 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:36,720 of who you are, right? Hi, my name is Joel. 246 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:39,480 I work at so and so. My parents are such and such. 247 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:42,280 I live in this town. In other words, you give them a 248 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,320 part of your identity. Maybe you try to say as little 249 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:48,320 as possible in hopes that you won't have to talk too long, but 250 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:50,120 normally you at least give them your name. 251 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,280 And as nervous as you may be to talk to a stranger, I don't 252 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:57,480 think anyone has ever questioned is if they feel worthy to tell 253 00:13:57,480 --> 00:13:59,600 the person they are meeting their own name. 254 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:02,680 Why not? I mean, it sounds kind of crazy, 255 00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:05,240 but who are you to say what your name is? 256 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:07,320 Who are you to claim that identity? 257 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:09,240 You didn't give yourself that name. 258 00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:12,080 It was given to you, and now you're just going to tell people 259 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:15,520 about it. In the movie Gladiator, the main 260 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:19,080 character is fighting in this arena, and the emperor demands 261 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:21,400 to know his name. This is the same emperor that 262 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:23,680 has killed this main character's family. 263 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:28,000 And in dramatic fashion, the gladiator turns to the emperor 264 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,880 and says, my name is Maximus Decimus Boridius, commander of 265 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:34,520 the armies of the north, general of the Felix Legions, loyal 266 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:38,160 servant to the emperor, the true Emperor Marcus Aurelius, father 267 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:40,280 to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. 268 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,000 And I will have my vengeance in this life or the next. 269 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:44,600 Now, that's just a fictional movie. 270 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:47,160 I'm not condoning the movie or the vengeance part of it. 271 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:51,200 But what I think the scene portrays well is the confidence 272 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:53,600 of the gladiator in his identity. 273 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:58,080 Not as a slave, not as a meager gladiator, but as a loyal 274 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:00,800 servant. His identity, as it were, is 275 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:05,120 rooted in allegiance to someone else and something greater than 276 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:08,280 himself. I wonder how our attitudes would 277 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:12,440 change if every time someone would ask us who we were, we 278 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:16,240 would answer them with My name is Joel Guisbrecht, prisoner and 279 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:20,400 steward of Christ, fellow heir, member of the body, and partaker 280 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:22,840 of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. 281 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:26,600 Nice to meet you. You might not talk much more to 282 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:28,040 them. They might turn around and run. 283 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:30,360 But obviously I say that in jest. 284 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:32,920 But the point is that our identity should be found in 285 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:35,680 Christ. When we feel unworthy to be 286 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:38,600 saved by Jesus, it's often because we're still holding on 287 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:42,160 to that old self, that part of our life that we feel ashamed 288 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:45,160 of, that part of our life that we wish we could redo. 289 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,000 But because our identity is in Christ, we don't need to hold on 290 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,400 to that former life. In Galatians 2, Paul says, I've 291 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,560 been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but 292 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:58,600 Christ who lives in me and the life that I now live in the 293 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:00,360 flesh. I live by faith in the Son of 294 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,640 God who loved me and gave himself for me. 295 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:07,280 Christ gave himself so that we could be presented justified to 296 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:10,160 the Father. When we feel unworthy, we must 297 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:13,280 acknowledge our identity in the risen Christ. 298 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:16,760 And when we acknowledge our identity in Christ, we must then 299 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:20,600 act as a servant of Christ. Feelings don't always tell us 300 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:24,320 the truth and anxiety it lives for the what ifs. 301 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:28,360 But one of the best anecdotes to anxiety is action. 302 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,480 When we feel unworthy to be saved by Jesus, we can start 303 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:33,960 going down the rabbit trail of what ifs. 304 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:37,320 We are told by Paul in Second Corinthians to examine ourselves 305 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,560 to see if we were in the faith. But if we have done that, then 306 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:43,480 as we just saw, we need to. We need to rest in that new 307 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:47,920 identity that we have in Christ. Rest doesn't mean do nothing 308 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:49,360 though. Just like you don't buy a new 309 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,120 pair of shoes and you leave them in the closet, we must proceed 310 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:56,080 to act as a servant of Christ. Paul is a servant of Christ and 311 00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:58,920 from his writing we can observe what attributes of a servant of 312 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:01,840 Christ should be. In verse 7, Paul continues. 313 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:05,200 He says of this gospel, I was made a minister according to the 314 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:07,640 gift of God's grace which was given to me by the working of 315 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:10,920 his power. That word minister or diaconos 316 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:15,079 is where we get the term Deacon. Paul is saying that he was made 317 00:17:15,079 --> 00:17:18,960 a servant, A Deacon if you will, according to the gift of God's 318 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:22,240 grace which was given to him by the working of God's power. 319 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,680 Paul is not taking credit for this ministry and he's also, 320 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:28,440 he's not shying away from it. He calls it a gift. 321 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,800 We can see one of the attributes of being a servant of Christ is 322 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:35,000 humility. In Paul's eyes it is a gift to 323 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:38,640 be a servant of Christ, not a burden placed on him, and also 324 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,400 at the same time not something which he uses to make himself 325 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:45,280 seem more important. One definition for a Deacon is a 326 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:48,640 leader or a servant in the church who is committed to serve 327 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:52,200 God through meeting the needs of the church, characterized by a 328 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:55,520 personality of humility and self sacrifice. 329 00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:58,920 Here at LEMC this coming Saturday, we're going to be 330 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:01,680 voting on new deacons to serve the church body. 331 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:05,360 It's a big responsibility and it requires sacrifice. 332 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:08,240 And so I want to encourage you to pray for John and Katie 333 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:12,440 Friesen and Lisa Giesbrecht this week as well As for LEMC that 334 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:14,800 God's will will be done here as a church body. 335 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:18,720 Deacons, They serve others, but more importantly, they serve 336 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,160 God. In Ephesians 1, Paul uses the 337 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,360 word church to refer to all believers and he says that the 338 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:28,120 church is the body of Christ. So serving the church means 339 00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:31,480 serving Christ. Those two aren't separate things 340 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:33,640 and serving others with humility. 341 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,280 You are acting as a servant of Christ. 342 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:39,080 Paul continues in verse 8 through 9. 343 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:42,440 He says to me, though I am the very least of all the Saints. 344 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:46,440 This grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable 345 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:49,720 riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone what is the 346 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:52,920 plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all 347 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:56,160 things Paul. Again he shows humility, saying 348 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,320 that he is the very least of the Saints. 349 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:02,320 Although by this point Paul has done many miraculous things, he 350 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:05,640 still considers himself no better than anyone else. 351 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:08,280 If there was someone that could boast about himself, it would be 352 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:10,400 Paul. He was highly educated, 353 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:14,280 intelligent, expert in Jewish law, a Roman citizen by birth, 354 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:16,560 teacher, missionary, mentor and author. 355 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:19,920 But even with all those accolades, Paul does not claim 356 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:22,920 them as a reason for his revelation or for the revelation 357 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:25,760 that was given to him. He says this grace was given to 358 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:29,400 me, not earned. I don't think Paul felt unworthy 359 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:32,040 of his position out of a sense of doubt, but I think he 360 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:35,200 correctly understood the position he was in relative to 361 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:37,480 Christ. Paul admits in a letter to 362 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:41,240 Timothy that he was formerly A blasphemer, A persecutor, and an 363 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:44,760 opponent to God, but that doesn't stop him from being 364 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:47,480 faithful now. And that's important for us to 365 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,160 see as well, that even though he is humble and he claims that he 366 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:54,280 is the least of the Saints, he's also faithful with what he has 367 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:58,280 been given, whether which is another attribute we see as a 368 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:01,080 servant of Christ. A servant of Christ is faithful. 369 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:05,120 Unlike the parable of the lazy servant who takes the talent he 370 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:08,000 has received and he buries it and does nothing with it. 371 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,440 Paul doesn't do that. He is faithful with what he has 372 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:14,000 been, with what has been revealed to him, and he goes and 373 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,280 shares it to the Gentiles. The Scriptures The scriptures 374 00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:20,800 say that that he has been given the gift of preaching the 375 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:24,480 unsearchable riches of Christ and to share the plan that God 376 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:28,320 has in store for all people. Can you imagine if Paul wasn't 377 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:32,200 faithful with that message? Of course, God being God, he 378 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:34,960 would have still gotten the message out through another way, 379 00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:38,160 but it would have been a big missed opportunity for Paul. 380 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:41,880 Acting as a servant of Christ means being faithful with what 381 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:45,960 we have been given. It also means being an example 382 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:49,480 for other people. In verse 10, Paul says so that 383 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:52,840 through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made 384 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:54,960 known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly 385 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:57,840 places. Part of the reason for the 386 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:00,320 mystery being revealed is that Jews and Gentiles would be 387 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:04,080 converted and become jointly become joint members of the body 388 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:06,520 of Christ and therefore grow the church. 389 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:10,360 This is an example for those looking on of God's power and 390 00:21:10,360 --> 00:21:13,440 grace that different people groups can come together and be 391 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,960 united under Christ. That word manifold, that means 392 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,080 many sided or greatly different colors. 393 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:23,120 It's the same root word that was used in the Greek translation 394 00:21:23,120 --> 00:21:26,400 when it refers to Joseph's coat of many colors that was given to 395 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,480 him by Jacob. And like the many colors of that 396 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:32,720 coat, the church reflects the many parts of the body of 397 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:35,320 Christ. John Stott, he puts it this way. 398 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:38,840 He says the church as a multiracial, multicultural 399 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:41,480 community is like a beautiful tapestry. 400 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:45,520 Its members come from a wide range of colorful backgrounds. 401 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:49,160 As servants of Christ, we are an example not only to other 402 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,520 people, but even to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly 403 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:55,720 places. In other words, to the angelic 404 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:58,320 beings. The angelic beings are not like 405 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:00,960 God and that they know all things, but that as Peter puts 406 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:04,680 that they long to look on what is being revealed through 407 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:08,000 Christ. And so God's plan and his wisdom 408 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,960 are not known by the angels, but revealed to them by the church 409 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,400 itself. There's no other human 410 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:18,400 institution or community that can replace or replicate what 411 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:24,480 God has created in His church. In Acts chapter 2, God confirms 412 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:27,160 His plan for the church by sending the Holy Spirit. 413 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:30,920 The Holy Spirit comes down with power and a mighty rushing wind 414 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,840 and empowers the believers to speak in different languages. 415 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:37,800 But beyond that, the role of the Spirit would be to be the 416 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:40,600 presence of Jesus in the lives of believers. 417 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:44,120 Historically, Pentecost was known as the Feast of Weeks, and 418 00:22:44,120 --> 00:22:47,560 it was also tied to get the giving of the law to Moses on 419 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,080 Mount Sinai. But for Christians today, 420 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:53,200 Pentecost is a celebration of the outpouring of the Holy 421 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:56,280 Spirit and the start of God's universal church. 422 00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,720 God has ordained for believers, under the guidance of the 423 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:02,280 Spirit, to act as servants of Christ. 424 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:05,920 And shortly after the events on the day of Pentecost, we see the 425 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:09,560 formation of the office of Deacon as servants for the body 426 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:12,480 of Christ. But being a servant of Christ is 427 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:16,680 not reserved for deacons only. It's a responsibility of every 428 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:19,160 believer. Servants of Christ need to be 429 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:21,280 humble, they need to be faithful, and they need to be 430 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,120 good examples. But what does it actually look 431 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:28,120 like to be a servant of Christ? One way is to serve the church. 432 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:31,560 Remember, when you serve the church, you are serving Christ. 433 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:34,640 So serve using your talents that you have been given. 434 00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:38,280 Be faithful with the abilities and strengths that God has given 435 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:40,200 you. Don't write those off. 436 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,760 I think something that often gets in the way of us serving is 437 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:46,560 not real humility, but false humility. 438 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:48,840 What's the first thing we do when someone gives us a 439 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:51,040 compliment? Oh, that's nothing. 440 00:23:51,120 --> 00:23:54,920 Anyone can do that I that were that didn't really require much 441 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:57,520 work. It's uncomfortable because we 442 00:23:57,520 --> 00:23:59,840 don't feel like we're worthy of that compliment. 443 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:03,920 But when we realize that every good gift comes from God and by 444 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,960 His grace He has given it to us, then we don't need to worry 445 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:10,200 about our worth because the gifting isn't tied to us, it 446 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,480 comes from God. Everyone has different talents 447 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:15,560 and abilities. We're not all going to play the 448 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:18,960 guitar well or lead a Bible study well, but we do need to be 449 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:20,960 faithful with what we have been given. 450 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:24,200 Your gifting is what comes easiest to you or what others 451 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,880 say you do well, so be receptive to the trusted input of the 452 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:32,000 believers around you. To be a follower of Jesus is to 453 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:36,160 serve Jesus and the church and acting as a servant of Christ in 454 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:39,360 humility and faithfulness. We don't need to worry if we are 455 00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:42,680 worthy because it is God that has given us the gift through 456 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:45,840 his grace. And so when we feel unworthy to 457 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:48,280 be saved by Jesus, we acknowledge our identity in 458 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:51,800 Christ, we act as a servant of Christ, and just as importantly, 459 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,280 we approach the throne of Christ. 460 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,360 Let's continue reading verses 11 to 13. 461 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:00,160 This was according to the eternal purpose that He has 462 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:03,480 realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness 463 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:06,000 and access with confidence through our faith in him. 464 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:09,600 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for 465 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:13,440 you, which is your glory. This plan of God to bring all 466 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:16,240 people together in Christ was not something that He came up 467 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:18,760 with on the fly. Paul says that it was God's 468 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:22,280 eternal purpose, something that he something that from the 469 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:24,960 beginning of time God had planned to accomplish through 470 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:27,520 Christ. I heard one commentator mention 471 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:29,960 that the Jewish people, they knew the scriptures well. 472 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:33,320 They knew that in multiple areas of the Old Testament where it 473 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:35,400 speaks of God blessing all nations. 474 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:38,200 But they suppose that it would be through everyone converting 475 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:42,480 to Judaism that the only way non Jewish people would become saved 476 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:45,680 was by becoming Jewish and following their strict rules and 477 00:25:46,120 --> 00:25:49,080 traditions. But this mystery, it was hidden 478 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:51,720 from them. It was hidden from Abraham and 479 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:54,560 Isaiah, and it was only now revealed to Paul and the 480 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:57,640 apostles. When we feel unworthy or 481 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:00,840 insignificant, we remember the mean that the means of our 482 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:03,880 salvation rests in God's eternal purpose. 483 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:08,280 It wasn't random, it wasn't accidental, it was on purpose 484 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:11,240 for a purpose. And Paul reveals that because of 485 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:14,280 this former mystery that has now been revealed, that through the 486 00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:17,560 plan God had from the beginning of time, we can now approach 487 00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:20,880 Christ with confidence and with courage. 488 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,720 Verse 12 says in Jesus, whom we have boldness and access with 489 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:29,360 confidence, what an amazing God we serve, that He is not far 490 00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:32,760 off, but that He is accessible to His people by His Son through 491 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:35,480 faith in Him. We can be bold then when 492 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:37,880 approaching God. We don't need to be scared of 493 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:41,200 God as someone that is just waiting to strike us down, but 494 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:44,520 as a loving Father who wants His children to come to Him. 495 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:48,560 Obviously we still need to show proper reverence and honor, but 496 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:51,360 we have freedom to bring all our cares, our doubts and our 497 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:54,520 worries to Him. We have access to the Father 498 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:56,760 through the Son. As we heard last week, the 499 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,920 dividing wall is torn down. We don't need any other 500 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,080 intercessors. Jesus is now our High Priest. 501 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:07,000 We can enter into God's presence knowing that we are, knowing 502 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,680 that we are unworthy, but trusting in the worthiness of 503 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:13,120 Christ. And we have confidence in Jesus, 504 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:16,600 knowing that Jesus was the fulfillment of God's plan from 505 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,360 before time, that although we may feel unworthy to come near 506 00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:23,600 God, we have confidence that he will not turn us away. 507 00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:28,920 I have a 2 year old son at home now and I tell you it's got to 508 00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:31,200 be one of the coolest things watching him grow up. 509 00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:34,280 This week in particular, he was pretty happy when I came home 510 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:36,960 and one day I opened the door and he's just running and 511 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:40,200 shouting and out of joy to see me, which was really cool in 512 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:42,720 itself. But he jumps into my arms and he 513 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:46,360 boldly and with confidence he says daddy go mow the lawn. 514 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:51,240 He loves riding the lawn mower with me and that moment he 515 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:53,400 didn't feel unworthy to be my son. 516 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:58,440 Although he can do nothing for me that I can't do myself, he 517 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:07,520 knows that I'm his dad. He knows that I love him. 518 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:11,520 And so he boldly approaches me and he has confidence that he 519 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:13,640 has access to me. And he's right. 520 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:19,040 His worth is he's his worth. As my son isn't based on what he 521 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:23,120 can do for me. How much more than should we not 522 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:25,600 have confidence to approach the throne of Christ? 523 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:29,040 Jesus talks about a similar thing in Matthew 7. 524 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:32,440 He says, if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts 525 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,480 to your children, how much more will your Father who is in 526 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:38,200 heaven give good things to those who ask him? 527 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,560 This ties back to where our identity lies. 528 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:45,440 If our identity is as a child of God, then our worth comes from 529 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:49,160 Christ and we can approach His throne with confidence. 530 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:51,920 We can also approach His throne with courage. 531 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:56,480 Paul says to those in Ephesus to not lose heart, that even though 532 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,760 Paul was stuck suffering in prison, he commends them to take 533 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:03,520 heart, to have courage. This was part of God's plan. 534 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:07,440 Paul being in prison and writing the many letters he did was all 535 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:11,160 part of God's plan. Paul says that his tribulations 536 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:15,280 are for the Gentiles, for their glory, which is a hard thing to 537 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:18,600 reconcile. How can suffering be glory for 538 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:21,360 other people? But Paul doesn't want the church 539 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:24,040 to become discouraged or to turn away from Jesus. 540 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:26,880 It would be easy to do so in the midst of suffering. 541 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:31,120 But Paul reassures them that even this is part of God's plan. 542 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:34,520 He didn't want his present suffering to cause the church to 543 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:37,400 fear. So he says, take heart, approach 544 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:40,960 God with courage, because even through suffering, God will work 545 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:44,440 out his plan. What does that mean for us? 546 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:48,520 One thing we know is that we are not immune to suffering. 547 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:52,080 The that suffering for Christ isn't a question of if, but 548 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:54,520 when. And when we do, we can have 549 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,640 confidence that we can approach Christ in prayer boldly and 550 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:01,400 present our requests, that we can share our deepest worries 551 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:03,760 and our fears. And he hears them and he cares 552 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:06,600 about them. It's not just a ritual to feel 553 00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:10,360 better or a life hack. The act of praying to God is a 554 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:14,080 real and important discipline. And this means that we can have 555 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:17,440 courage in this life, that God's eternal purpose will be worked 556 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:19,560 out and we get to be a part of it. 557 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:23,880 I struggled to say the phrase God has a purpose for your life 558 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:27,680 because unfortunately it's very common with Christian jargon and 559 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:30,640 I believe it's lost a bit of its oomph because of how often it's 560 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:33,480 overused. But it's not just an idiom we 561 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:35,920 say to make us feel warm and fuzzy inside. 562 00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:39,520 It's a scriptural truth that we are here for a purpose. 563 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:43,040 Remember, we are examples and image bearers of God. 564 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:47,360 To the angelic beings, that alone is already a meaningful 565 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:49,840 purpose. And so when the feeling of 566 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:52,480 unworthiness comes, when you feel like you aren't worth 567 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:55,600 serving in the Kingdom, bring those feelings to Christ in 568 00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:58,160 prayer. Tell them your insecurities and 569 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:01,240 your shortcomings, confess your sins and repent of them. 570 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:05,120 And then focus on Christ. Focus on the work he has done, 571 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:09,400 focus on His worthiness. And in Thanksgiving, go boldly 572 00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:12,800 forward with confidence and courage, knowing that you are a 573 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:17,560 part of God's eternal plan. At the beginning I mentioned I 574 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:20,760 didn't want to simply give a motivational speech on why 575 00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:23,120 you're good enough or on why you're worthy enough. 576 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,480 See, the difference between most motivational speeches and the 577 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:30,040 proper exposition of Scripture is that the motivational videos 578 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:34,440 and speeches, they focus on you. It's all about doing more, doing 579 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:36,960 better. What we see from Scripture that 580 00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:40,640 is not about your works, as someone put it, you are saved by 581 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:43,880 works, just not yours. You're saved by Jesus work. 582 00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:47,400 I don't know where you are at with your in your walk with 583 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:50,280 Jesus, but maybe you're struggling with assurance. 584 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,760 Maybe you feel like Jesus could never accept a Sinner like you. 585 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:57,320 You may feel like you don't do enough for Jesus. 586 00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:00,840 You don't know enough about Jesus, so why would he take you? 587 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:04,760 In the Gospel of John Chapter 9, we find the story of Jesus and 588 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:07,680 his disciples coming across a man that's been blind since 589 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:11,080 birth and the disciples assuming someone must have sinned for 590 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:13,400 this to happen, either the man or his parents. 591 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:15,800 And they asked Jesus, but Jesus corrects them. 592 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:18,000 He says that this man's blindness, it's not a 593 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:21,000 punishment, but instead it's an opportunity for God's power to 594 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:23,960 be displayed. Jesus then restores the sight of 595 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:26,720 this blind man to the astonishment of the people. 596 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:30,240 They even begin to debate if this man is really the same man 597 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:32,520 that they had seen used to sit and beg. 598 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:35,600 And when they asked him how he was healed, he says the man 599 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:39,280 called Jesus healed him. The religious leaders and 600 00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:41,520 Pharisees, they start investigating this miracle 601 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:43,920 because Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath. 602 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:46,800 And some are angry because they believe Jesus broke their 603 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:50,600 Sabbath rule, while others ask how can a man who is a Sinner do 604 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:53,280 such a thing. They question the healed man 605 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:56,320 multiple times and even bring him to his parents, confirm that 606 00:32:56,320 --> 00:33:00,040 this man really was born blind. And at first the healed man says 607 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,760 the man called Jesus healed him. And then he says Jesus is a 608 00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:06,000 prophet. And finally, when the Pharisees 609 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:09,400 keep pressing him, basically interrogating him and telling 610 00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:13,320 him that Jesus is a Sinner, that Jesus is a Sinner, the healed 611 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:16,880 man, he gives this reply. He says whether he is a Sinner, 612 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:20,480 I do not know. One thing I do know that though 613 00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:25,400 I was blind. Now I see, you see, the former 614 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:28,560 blind man, he didn't know all the facts and the reasonings 615 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:32,360 behind what Jesus did. He didn't know why Jesus came to 616 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:34,240 him in particular on that Sabbath. 617 00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:37,360 He didn't have any reason for Jesus to heal him. 618 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:40,560 And if you could ask him, I'm sure he didn't feel worthy to be 619 00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:43,280 healed. But when asked by the leaders of 620 00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:45,160 that day, he gave him the honest answer. 621 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:48,040 He said I was blind, but now I see. 622 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:52,080 And the man goes on to tell the leaders that Jesus must be God 623 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:55,000 because if he wasn't, he couldn't do the miracles that he 624 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:57,480 was doing. This makes the Pharisees 625 00:33:57,480 --> 00:33:59,160 furious. And they say to him, you were 626 00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:02,000 born in utter sin, and would you teach us? 627 00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:05,360 And they proceed to throw the healed man out of the synagogue. 628 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,840 The Pharisees, in their pride, they couldn't accept that this 629 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:12,000 lowly man had knowledge that they did not possess. 630 00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:15,120 They couldn't grasp the mystery that was in front of them. 631 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:17,600 They told the man that he was born in sin. 632 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:19,880 And to a certain degree they were right in so far as we're 633 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:22,520 all born in sin. But that wasn't his final 634 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:25,760 identity, Jesus. When Jesus approaches him after 635 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:29,360 the Pharisees questions, Jesus reveals who he is to this man, 636 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:33,239 and the man believes and he worships Jesus, the healed man. 637 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:36,520 The healed man's new identity was in Jesus. 638 00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:40,120 He was now acting as a servant of Christ and had confidence in 639 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:42,360 Christ. Though he wasn't worthy to be 640 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:45,600 saved, Jesus showed compassion and saved him. 641 00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:50,239 But maybe you're here today and you've never taken that step of 642 00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:52,719 faith in Christ. Maybe you're feeling like you 643 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:56,000 don't deserve grace, that you don't deserve to be saved. 644 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,600 Well, the truth is that you don't deserve it, and neither do 645 00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:01,960 I, and neither does any other Christian. 646 00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:04,560 But grace is being given something that you don't 647 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:07,400 deserve, and that's what Jesus is offering you. 648 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:10,840 He's offering you grace when you repent of your sins and turn to 649 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:13,800 Him in faith. If you continue to put it off 650 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:17,000 until you perfectly understand it, you will never reach it. 651 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:20,120 Faith is more than intellectual agreement. 652 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:23,120 And lastly, I want to encourage you here this morning. 653 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:25,880 If you're feeling unworthy, look to Jesus. 654 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:29,160 He is worthy. We don't need 7 steps to get to 655 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:31,480 Jesus. There's nothing we can do to add 656 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:34,640 to our salvation. If you have trusted in Jesus for 657 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:38,600 your salvation, you have a new identity, you have a new purpose 658 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:42,240 as a servant of Christ, and you have access to the One who knows 659 00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:44,040 you better than you know yourself. 660 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:48,880 Let's pray. I want to close in prayer from 661 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:54,080 Psalm 51. Create in me and clean heart, oh 662 00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:57,600 God, and renew a right spirit within me. 663 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:02,560 Cast me not away from Your presence and take not your Holy 664 00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:06,280 Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your 665 00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:10,000 salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. 666 00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:13,960 Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for sending Your Son to 667 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:15,760 bring us into relationship with You. 668 00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:19,080 That the mystery is no longer hidden, but that we are 669 00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:22,320 partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 670 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:26,480 I pray that we will live in the light of your grace to not let 671 00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:29,280 our feelings control us, but to acknowledge our identity in 672 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:33,600 Christ, To act as a servant of Christ and boldly approach the 673 00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:38,040 throne of Christ by ourselves. We are not worthy, but we thank 674 00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:40,920 you that Jesus is. It's in his name we pray. 675 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:41,840 Amen.