1 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:10,440 All right, so today's a bit of a, I'm kind, I need to kind of 2 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,000 thread the needle here like I got I'm I'm toeing the line as 3 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:15,880 best as I can. I think it's, it's a very 4 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:18,120 difficult time to be a Christian lately. 5 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,880 I think we have Christians on both ends of our political 6 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:27,040 spectrum that think one side is wrong and this side is right. 7 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:29,600 And I think we have a lot of brothers and sisters here that 8 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,640 are afraid to bring these topics up for fear that we become 9 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,280 divided because we see that's what's happening to our nation. 10 00:00:38,160 --> 00:00:41,720 Overall, there seems to be a lot of confusion today about what 11 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:44,800 Christians stand for, what side they're meant to be on, what 12 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:48,880 values were meant to have. And our passage today, I think, 13 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,600 gives us a lot of insight into that the church in Thessalonica 14 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:56,440 was dealing with. They were fighting to stand firm 15 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,480 in their faith in a context that was confusing. 16 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:01,880 You see, I think most of us would look at the Thessalonian 17 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,120 church and see the Thessalonian culture as well. 18 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:07,840 They're idolatrous and they're they're wrong because of that. 19 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:13,080 And while that is true, they did worship other gods, there is a 20 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:15,360 conflict that the Thesalonians are facing. 21 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:19,840 You see, the Thessalonians saw their worship of other gods as 22 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:22,800 appeasing them to avoid tragedies and problems their 23 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:25,640 town would face. So it was almost with this heart 24 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,120 of community service. You do these things, you follow 25 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,840 these things that are not only part of your culture, but it's a 26 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:34,280 service to your town and to your people. 27 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:38,400 And Christians would refuse. So when bad things happen in 28 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,880 their town, this fishing boat sank or this drought hits their 29 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,840 crops, Christians are dealing with this cultural expectation 30 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:49,040 and this bitterness that's building up in their town. 31 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:52,840 Thessalonians are saying Christians are being selfish. 32 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:54,840 They're the problem with our society. 33 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:57,280 They're not peace loving. They're not good functioning 34 00:01:57,280 --> 00:01:59,560 members of our society. They're problems. 35 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:04,120 And you can imagine the moral conflict that this and confusion 36 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,280 this would cause to Christians. They have to wrestle with this. 37 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:11,720 And I think Christians today are wrestling a lot with our society 38 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,680 at the moment. We have a leader that seems to 39 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,800 push Christian agendas but does so in a way that doesn't appear 40 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:19,960 Christ like. And then we have an opposing 41 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:23,080 party that's long held disdain for Christian values. 42 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,080 And we have our faith taking center stage in a way we never 43 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,760 imagined. And we're not sure if we should 44 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:33,200 be proud or embarrassed. We're not sure if we should 45 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,280 speak out or stand in support. We're not sure if we're actually 46 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,880 seeing our faith at work and God working or if we're seeing 47 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:44,680 Christ misrepresented. So I think now more than ever in 48 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:48,080 a time like this, it is very important for us to establish 49 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,400 who are we? What are we supposed to be 50 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,840 doing? So that's my question for today. 51 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,760 What does a church sure of its identity look like? 52 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,080 And my first point is going to be it's a church that isn't 53 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,160 moved by the world but stands firm. 54 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:07,200 It's a church that isn't moved by the world that stands firm. 55 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:12,200 Let's go to verses 13 to 15. Second Thessalonians, chapter 2, 56 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:25,760 verse 13 to 15. So it reads. 57 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:32,280 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters, 58 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:36,680 loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you 59 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,440 for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and 60 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:45,280 through belief in the truth. He called you to this through 61 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:49,360 our gospel so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord 62 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:53,280 Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, 63 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:57,880 stand firm and hold to the traditions you were taught, 64 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:02,520 whether by what we said or what we wrote. 65 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:11,320 OK, so Paul is getting, I want to and I want to focus on verse 66 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:16,320 15, the beginning of verse 15. Paul is getting at standing 67 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,440 firm. He tells the church in their 68 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,960 time of persecution, remember the teachings of Jesus. 69 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,400 And I know most of what I talked about earlier was about moral 70 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,560 conflict in politics, but I think this idea of identity 71 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:32,240 spans so much more in our society today. 72 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,760 We make our whole identity a political party, a sexual 73 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:40,440 orientation, a race, a gender. We pour our identity into how 74 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:43,680 righteous we are or how active we are in social justice. 75 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:47,840 We pour our identity into work, how much we make, how high of a 76 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:51,200 position we hold, what kind of home we live in with the kinds 77 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,080 of vacations we take, the kind of people we you know, we put 78 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:56,800 our identity in physical appearance, how fashionable we 79 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:59,240 look, how attractive we are, how fit we can be. 80 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:02,600 Whatever trend, whatever current event, whatever most relevant 81 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:07,280 thing comes up, our culture and society, this dictates when, 82 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:10,560 where and what we should be focusing on. 83 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,920 And rather than stand firm, Christians are tempted to be 84 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:19,640 pushed and pulled in whatever direction society dictates. 85 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:24,800 One of the most in my face experiences I had with this was 86 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:27,600 when we were visiting one of the orphanages our church sponsors 87 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:30,240 and I was talking with our missionary about how what's 88 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,600 what's going on in Myanmar is, is crazy. 89 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:37,320 It is the longest ongoing civil conflict, civil war conflict 90 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:42,440 like it, it's been going on for 8:00, almost 8 decades. 91 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:45,800 And I asked him why I've never heard of this. 92 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:48,280 Why have I never heard of what's going on here? 93 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:52,480 This conflict is is like twice older than I am. 94 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:58,680 And the cynical response was because people only care about 95 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:01,800 Syria right now. Those are the cool refugees. 96 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,960 And even now, as I say this, who's even talking about Syria 97 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,880 anymore? Like compassion is 98 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:12,920 commercialized. Empathy for people suffering 99 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:14,520 isn't based on someone's well-being. 100 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,080 It's whether or not it's trending and we can talk about 101 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:21,480 it today, but the next moment it's old news and we move on 102 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,160 because the public gets tired of hearing about it or they move on 103 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:26,640 to some new trend. Give it enough time, people will 104 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:29,880 move on. Expectations shift and values 105 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:35,280 change, and this is what I'm getting at with placing our 106 00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:37,800 identity in the societal expectations. 107 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:42,000 The problem with all of these is that none of these are a firm 108 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:43,880 foundation to build your life on. 109 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:48,760 They will fluctuate, they will change, they will pivot or do 110 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:51,080 complete one 80s in another direction. 111 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:54,560 If you put your identity in worker possessions, it's a very 112 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:58,560 common understanding that generational wealth your your 113 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,280 wealth is lost by the 3rd generation even if you even hold 114 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:02,480 on to it by the end of your life. 115 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:04,720 Putting your identity and physical appearance. 116 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:06,920 I think we all know how that ends right? 117 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:10,560 If bodies get old, they break down if you don't first have 118 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:13,960 like a career ending injury, putting our identity and being 119 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:16,760 right in politics or whatever moral causes trending. 120 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:21,280 This is constantly changing and the next generation always acts 121 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,440 like they're enlightened and completely different from the 122 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:28,200 mistakes of their predecessors the 2020 years ago where we're 123 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:30,760 totally different, right? Someone will be saying the exact 124 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:34,400 same thing about our current movements, our party, our 125 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,040 choices 20 years later down the line and why we were wrong for 126 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:42,040 believing what we did. We live our lives being pulled 127 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,400 in all these directions, how we should act, what we should 128 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,320 value, what's noble, what's our life's purpose. 129 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:53,320 And the goal post keeps moving. Doing one 80s and shifting and 130 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:56,080 who you are and what you're meant to stand for should shift 131 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,440 with it. Or you're on the wrong side of 132 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:01,440 history. Or you find yourself on the out. 133 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:07,240 And if you've known me for any amount of time, you'll know I'm 134 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:11,960 a very dramatic person. I mean, a lot of you felt it. 135 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,240 I have a tendency to overreact to everything. 136 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:22,440 Like one time my roommate cut his hand trying to set up his 137 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:24,400 guitar pedal board. It was a deep cut. 138 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:25,560 He was, he was bleeding everywhere. 139 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:28,680 And and I'm like, Oh my gosh, do we do we call mine? 140 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:31,440 What do we do? And and he's, you know, standing 141 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:33,720 over the sink, letting the blood drain out of him. 142 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:36,799 And he's telling me, dude, calm down, you're scaring me. 143 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:42,840 It it doesn't help that, you know, one of my family members 144 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:45,760 is kind of like a a doomsday prepper conspiracy theorist. 145 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,200 And Pastor Tim has seen me get texts where I'm like, I'm 146 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:50,520 leaving right now. I got to go to Costco. 147 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:55,040 I need water and toilet paper. Like I just, you know, I'm 148 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:56,560 working on it. I'm working on it. 149 00:08:57,400 --> 00:08:59,960 But after getting tossed and turned and pulled in this 150 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:03,880 direction and that direction for a while, I've started to see 151 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:08,440 that what our world needs most in times of crisis are level 152 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:14,080 headed, non anxious, wise, understanding leaders. 153 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:18,160 People that aren't at the mercy of their circumstances. 154 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:23,160 They're unshaken anchors, People that are sure of who they are 155 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,320 and what they're meant to do. While everyone else is 156 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:28,880 regurgitating whatever is being peddled as true knowledge at 157 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:33,760 whatever given time, there need to be people that stand firm, 158 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:38,360 know what they believe, and are rock steady under pressure. 159 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:45,680 These people will be anchors in a world filled with worry and 160 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:51,640 anxiety. For the Christian, your goal 161 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:57,600 posts should never move. For the Christian, your beliefs 162 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:01,240 should never change. The foundation that we build our 163 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:05,120 life's goal on our values, our life's purpose should never 164 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:07,040 shift. It should always be firmly 165 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:10,120 planted in the same place. No matter what circumstances 166 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:12,400 change, no matter what happens next. 167 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:19,880 Verse 15, we stand firm and when everyone tells us that the world 168 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:22,280 is ending or World War 3 is happening or everything's going 169 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:25,280 wrong and these are dark times because of this market, this 170 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:27,960 policy, or that political party or this nation over there. 171 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:31,480 When everyone else is busy getting pulled around, panic 172 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:33,800 buying, dropping everything because of this or that, 173 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:39,920 Christians stay the course. We know what we're living for. 174 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:44,280 We know what we're about. We know who's in control and we 175 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:49,960 know how it ends when the world seems shaken. 176 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:55,440 It's in that time we need to know who we are and what we 177 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,760 believe. Because it's time to stand firm, 178 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:03,480 dig our heels in, and remain unchanged in who God calls us to 179 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:04,400 be. Amen. 180 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:11,080 Sounds great. How do you do that? 181 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,360 Like sure, it sounds macho, sounds awesome not to be moved, 182 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:17,000 but but how do you not get swayed? 183 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:22,600 What's the secret sauce? So second my that brings me to 184 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:25,080 my second point. What does a church sure of its 185 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,160 identity look like? It's a church that acts out of 186 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:30,320 full assurance of God's love for them. 187 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:34,000 Church that acts out of full assurance of God's love for 188 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:39,560 them. Let's go to verse 13, verse 13. 189 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:46,920 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters 190 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:52,080 loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you 191 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:55,960 for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and 192 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,520 through belief in the truth. OK, what are we getting at here? 193 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:03,840 The relationship between these words is important. 194 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:06,520 This is why we're talking about identity here. 195 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:10,040 Verse 13. Brothers and sisters, loved by 196 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:13,480 the Lord, they're already loved, chosen for salvation. 197 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:16,800 They were chosen to be saved. Paul does not say at the end of 198 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:19,800 verse 13, because you were sanctified. 199 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,480 You were chosen because you believed in the truth. 200 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:25,680 God called you sons and daughters. 201 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:31,080 No, in other words, the anchor for the Christian being sure of 202 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:35,400 their identity is for them to be sure of God's love for them. 203 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:39,120 What allows you and me to stand firm as an anchor in any 204 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:41,200 circumstances? Whatever criticism, whatever 205 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:45,640 hardship or season we're going through, if we stay assured of 206 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:50,760 our identity in Christ, that God has chosen us, that God calls us 207 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:52,680 beloved, then we will stand firm. 208 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:56,680 OK, this is part of the gospel that is the most offensive, but 209 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:01,280 also the most awesome. You are not loved by God because 210 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:04,520 you're a great person. You're not chosen by God because 211 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,240 of your good works. You're not chosen by God because 212 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:09,680 you nailed it this week, because you're killing it at work, 213 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:11,280 because you're winning in your family. 214 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:18,640 And conversely, you're chosen by God despite you messing things 215 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:22,400 up with your friend. You're still chosen by God, even 216 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:28,440 though you were caught sinning, even though you felt like a 217 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:33,280 failure this week. Even when you make pivotal 218 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:37,280 errors that you feel like you can't come back from, your 219 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:42,920 identity is set in Christ. The one thing that defines you 220 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:46,400 is this gospel truth. God chose you, Christ died for 221 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:48,400 you, and now His Spirit is working in you. 222 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:53,280 You are a work in progress. You will make mistakes, you will 223 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,680 stumble and fall. You will still sin at times, but 224 00:13:55,680 --> 00:14:00,920 your identity remains the same. Brothers and sisters, loved by 225 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:05,640 God, chosen by God, being sanctified by God. 226 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:12,240 There is incredible freedom that comes from knowing you are known 227 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:15,680 and loved, right? Like, like, what are you like 228 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:19,840 when you're in that group of friends that really know who you 229 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:21,360 are and just cherish your friendship? 230 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:24,640 How do you speak when you're with somebody that just gets 231 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:27,680 you, like you don't feel the need to explain everything 232 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:29,920 you're saying? Like you're able to be your true 233 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:32,440 self, right? I've noticed this when I talk 234 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:34,880 with Esther, there's a lot of things I can say where if I'm, 235 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:38,120 if I'm saying it with anyone else, I, I have to like preface 236 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:41,280 things, you know, like you ever say a sentence where immediately 237 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:43,920 you're like, OK, hang on, that sounds messed up, but let me 238 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:47,120 explain, right? Like, let me preface it with 239 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:48,960 this. But with her, it's just like, 240 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,240 no, I get you. I know what you're saying. 241 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:54,680 We're free to have this conversation and be in an 242 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:57,320 understanding and I'm free to act myself because I know she 243 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:01,520 knows me and she loves me. And because of that security and 244 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:04,320 love in our relationship, I can speak freely without fear of 245 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:07,000 being looked at differently or have my worth changed in the 246 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:08,880 relationship or have my image ruined. 247 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,800 Having that kind of security is like a home base for me to come 248 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,280 back to. Even if I get rejected 249 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:18,800 elsewhere, even if I'm overlooked out there, even if 250 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:20,720 I'm no, I'm dropping the ball out there. 251 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:25,320 I have this assurance to come home and know that I am loved. 252 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:29,200 And it's this kind of loving assurance that we can find in 253 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:35,440 friends, in family, in church, but most importantly in God. 254 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:39,640 That's the kind of assurance we're meant to have when we live 255 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:43,760 for Christ. Rather than pursuing moving goal 256 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:46,920 posts and gaining shadow, not shallow knowledge of everything 257 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:51,640 that's relevant, Christians like this have focused their whole 258 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:56,080 lives on one thing. To grow as a Christian. 259 00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:59,120 To pursue real wisdom that only comes from God. 260 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:04,200 To understand their place in the world, To put their identity and 261 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:09,760 their worth completely in Christ, and the stability and 262 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:13,400 the restful assurance that comes with that is irreplaceable, 263 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:19,720 especially in a world that's being tossed and turned and 264 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:24,840 pulled in every direction. See, our society defines your 265 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,880 goodness and worth by what causes you follow, what trends 266 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:30,080 you keep up with your cultural relevancy. 267 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,080 And those goal posts are going to keep moving. 268 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:37,240 Your actions, your emotions, your values are only good if 269 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:40,040 they're based on these constantly moving set of ideas. 270 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:45,400 While Christians believe there is nothing more noble, more 271 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:49,800 beautiful, more worth living for than this gospel truth. 272 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:54,520 I am loved by God and everything I do is not to be accepted. 273 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:57,360 But it's a response to His love. Amen. 274 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:00,840 I am free to believe differently. 275 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:04,440 I am free to act independently of anyone else's opinion. 276 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:07,520 I am free to be misunderstood and misjudged. 277 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:11,280 I am free to live this way because I know who I am in God. 278 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,240 I am not pining for anyone's acceptance of me. 279 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:16,680 I am fully known and fully loved by God already. 280 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:25,680 Our church will stand firm and be unmoved in these convictions. 281 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,840 We believe in God's truth and we will preach it because we 282 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:33,480 believe God is working in us by His Spirit to bring that word to 283 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:36,840 life. In other words, while most of 284 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:40,920 the world is busy pushing its new agenda, what new inside or 285 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:43,680 its new goal post? Christians are going to be busy 286 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:47,880 doing what we always have. I'm not living for the world's 287 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:50,560 validation. I live out of God's affection. 288 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:52,680 I'm not living to chase the world's approval. 289 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:55,280 I am free to disagree with public opinion, to live 290 00:17:55,280 --> 00:18:00,520 differently for God. So what's that look like? 291 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:03,520 Right? We've, we've, we've answered 292 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:05,400 the, we've answered the stand firm. 293 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,960 We've answered the how. But what does it look like in 294 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:13,560 our world, especially now? I think we're living in a time 295 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:16,720 where people are becoming increasingly hostile towards 296 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:19,800 each other for what they believe, for what political 297 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:21,960 party they back, for what religion they hold, for what 298 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:24,960 values they have. And we've seen this hostility 299 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:28,640 play out on TV's with people getting shot, with protests 300 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,120 getting violent, with federal agents breaking into people's 301 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:33,160 homes, with proxy wars being funded. 302 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:34,960 And the temperature just keeps rising. 303 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:38,920 And if we try to stand firm in our current culture, but we're 304 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:41,960 unsure of the gospel, then we'll buckle under pressure. 305 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:45,320 If we try to show compassion without truth, we're going to 306 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:48,240 compromise our values because we're being told our our beliefs 307 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:52,600 are unloving. And furthermore, if we say we're 308 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,680 unsure of the gospel and or if we say we're sure of the gospel, 309 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:59,800 but our response is to withdraw from society, then what good is 310 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:03,240 your faith because you were told to love your neighbor, right? 311 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,000 How can we say we know the gospel when we ignore the 312 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,560 greatest commandment where Jesus says to love God and love your 313 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:11,480 neighbor? OK, So what? 314 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:12,680 What's the answer here? What do we do? 315 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:15,800 Back when I was a youth pastor, I had a student asked me about 316 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:18,880 how we should react to someone who's openly part of the LGBTQ 317 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:23,000 community because it felt like to them, being told that 318 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:26,560 homosexuality was a sin was a charge for Christians to start 319 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:29,880 hating this community. And so we brought the student 320 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:33,600 back to Genesis 126. When God was creating the world 321 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:35,640 and he was creating mankind, he said this phrase. 322 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:39,200 Let us make mankind in our image. 323 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,040 Let us make mankind in our image. 324 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:48,880 That verse shows us all human life is created in the image of 325 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:51,920 God. So the reason Christians treat 326 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:55,560 all human life with respect and dignity is because they're made 327 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,440 in God's image. Regardless of how different your 328 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:02,760 beliefs are, regardless of how you feel about them, our beliefs 329 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:07,280 tell us that every single person was made by God and deserves to 330 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:08,640 be treated with love and respect. 331 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:14,120 So this is what I'm getting at. How you treat people is not 332 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:18,400 based on what they believe. How you treat people is based on 333 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:23,040 what you believe. How you treat people is not 334 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:25,280 based on what they believe. Because that will breed 335 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:27,720 hostility and anger and resentment. 336 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,600 You think you need to react to what they believe? 337 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:35,960 No, for the Christian, how you treat people is based on what 338 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:39,280 you believe. You treat people with dignity 339 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:41,560 and respect because you believe they're made in God's image. 340 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:44,800 You love those who disagree with you because you believe in 341 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:46,640 Christ teaching to treat them that way. 342 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:49,840 You treat other people better than they deserve because God 343 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:53,120 did that for you when he hung on a cross for your sins. 344 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:58,680 When everyone else is looking at what divides us, Christians are 345 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:01,000 meant to be peacemakers. When the world is busy 346 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,200 characterizing the other side, judging the other side, 347 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:07,720 Christians should see human beings on both sides made in the 348 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:11,560 image of God, respectfully treating all life that way. 349 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:15,440 It's the reason why we see the president of Chick-fil-A meeting 350 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:19,960 with the head of the LGBT community in 2013 to discuss the 351 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:22,480 definition of marriage. It's it's why Martin Luther King 352 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,120 civil rights protests of non violence were so powerful. 353 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:29,680 In this time of chaos and anxiety, Christians are called 354 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:36,720 to be stable, understanding, patient, unhurried, non anxious. 355 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:42,080 We're to cultivate fruits of a life that's unshaken when people 356 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:44,920 get shaken up and everyone's panic buying or conspiracy 357 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:48,760 theorizing or doom scrolling. Christians need to be wise, 358 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:55,480 decisive, loving, respectful and dignified, and this is only 359 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:59,400 possible if you are sure of what you believe in. 360 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:04,360 This is only sustainable if you know you're loved by God. 361 00:22:04,360 --> 00:22:07,840 In the gospel, it is about your identity. 362 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:18,600 So church, remember who you are. Stand firm, Remember the 363 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:21,800 teachings of Christ. Believe in the truth. 364 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:26,680 Be sanctified by God's Spirit, especially right now. 365 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,880 Be a people defined by God's love. 366 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:36,000 Amen. So what does the church serve 367 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,400 its identity look like? My main point is this. 368 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:43,320 It looks like a people unshaken by circumstances because they 369 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:45,080 are anchored in God's love.