1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,000 Lord, thank you for joy. And something Chris said at the 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:09,880 marriage morning which really resonates with me is there's 3 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:15,440 something very honest about joy. I know I just feel really joyful 4 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:21,320 and I know that's something that you give freely without 5 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:24,000 judgement. You just give us joy because you 6 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:29,800 are joy and it's honest. And so we receive that gift 7 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:33,440 today. We receive what Peter says, the 8 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:36,920 inexpressible joy of the good news. 9 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,360 And I just bless Bill as I kind of have this picture of another 10 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:45,360 piece in the jigsaw puzzle. I bless him today as he brings 11 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:49,280 that piece to bring more and more clarity as to that cosmic 12 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:56,960 event of in history, in our material experience of the life, 13 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:02,400 the death and the resurrection of the Son of God that changed 14 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:06,680 us and changed everything forever changed our experience 15 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:11,240 of material reality. We just bless us to have one 16 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:15,080 more piece in the jigsaw puzzle of the mystery that Paul says is 17 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:20,360 now revealed in Christ. The mystery of your love and 18 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:24,120 your goodness and your kindness and your welcome into the 19 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:27,360 fellowship of the Father, Son and Spirit. 20 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:36,480 And we just learn from God through Bill today. 21 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:41,440 Amen. Amen. 22 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:46,280 No pressure, hopefully. Thanks, Alice. 23 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:50,640 I'm going to start with a question. 24 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:56,160 What's Christianity all about? What's Christianity? 25 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:58,880 All it's it's a rhetorical question. 26 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:02,920 OK, I asked lots of rhetorical questions and I know people like 27 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:08,080 Andrew and Peter love to answer them, but really, really shut 28 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:12,240 up. Only kidding. 29 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:14,880 OK, so what's Christianity all about? 30 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:19,320 This is what I I became a Christian when I was 16. 31 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:23,360 This is what I thought before I became a Christian. 32 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:27,200 OK, This was my impression of what Christianity was all about 33 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:32,760 before I became a Christian. It was about rules. 34 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:38,560 It was about morality. It was about keeping the rules 35 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:43,640 and not breaking the rules. And it was about rewards and 36 00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:46,560 punishment. Rewards for keeping the rules. 37 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:48,680 Punishment for breaking the rules. 38 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:53,360 And so my picture of God was he was fundamentalist. 39 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:59,960 His job description was to be a judge, OK, to adjudicate the 40 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:03,760 rules, the laws, the regulations, to decide who's 41 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,000 good, who's bad, who's in, who's out. 42 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:11,160 And that was my perception based on very little knowledge. 43 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:16,280 That was just my, the impression I got about what Christianity 44 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:21,000 was all about. Then at age 16, I, I actually 45 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,400 met him, I met God. Long story. 46 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:29,200 But fundamentally my perception changed of what Christianity is 47 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:32,680 all about. And I can remember very early on 48 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:37,800 someone said to me, but Bill, it's all about a relationship. 49 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,880 It's all about a relationship with God. 50 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:46,520 It's about love, it's about mercy. 51 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:53,400 And the picture of God changed in my mind from judge to father. 52 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,240 OK. And I guess one or two of us 53 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:00,640 can, can identify with that shift. 54 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:06,920 It, it really was a transition. It was a, a transformation of 55 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:10,840 understanding. And it's, it almost felt like 56 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:16,440 opposites moving from one extreme to another going on that 57 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:23,360 journey. And and that transformation in 58 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:28,240 my mind was echoed by my experience, my experience of 59 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,760 God. He seemed to me much more like a 60 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:38,800 loving, merciful father than a kind of impersonal, distant, 61 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:43,640 objective judge. But here was my here. 62 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:48,680 Here's the thing I noticed right from the start when the subject 63 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:55,920 turned to the gospel and understanding the gospel and 64 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:01,080 listening to people explaining the gospel, it felt like we were 65 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,160 back on the left hand side, your left. 66 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:10,040 That the articulation of the gospel was all about breaking 67 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:15,680 rules, doing things wrong, and it was about judgement and 68 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,800 punishment and the fact that we deserve punishment. 69 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:24,040 And So what are we going to do about that deserving of 70 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,640 punishment? How are we going to solve that 71 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:29,560 problem? It was expressed in those terms. 72 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:33,480 Now I know I'm speaking in broad brush terms, but do you get what 73 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:35,520 I'm saying? Do you understand? 74 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:43,400 OK, And you may say, but that's a terribly crude generalisation, 75 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:48,960 this either or thinking it's that's that's really simplistic. 76 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,960 I agree. OK, I agree with you. 77 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:56,160 That is a very crude generalisation and that's very 78 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:58,280 simplistic. But here's the thing. 79 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:05,320 There's a big argument going on in Christianity Today, both 80 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:10,360 academic theologians and also church leaders, about what is 81 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:12,800 the Gospel. The reason I'm doing this series 82 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:18,000 is because that argument is going on and it centres around 83 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:21,560 this question of what happened at the crucifixion. 84 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:27,400 You know, why did Jesus die? What did it achieve and how did 85 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:30,760 it achieve it? How does it bluntly, how does 86 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:35,160 the crucifixion work? To put it crudely, the technical 87 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:38,720 term is atonement. How does the atonement actually 88 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:41,560 work? How should we understand it? 89 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:47,880 And what I notice is that this argument, if you listen to 90 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,480 churchy people and academic theologians having this 91 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:59,320 argument, it sounds like that that's the tone of the argument. 92 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:01,720 That's what the argument feels like. 93 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:07,960 OK, now I know I'm speaking in big, broad brush strokes, but 94 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:11,760 that's my perception of the argument in very good terms. 95 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:19,200 And my problem is that my experience of God is on the 96 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:23,600 right of that picture. That's what Christianity feels 97 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:27,920 like to me. But I'm a Bible person. 98 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:33,560 My passion is the Bible and I want to understand Scripture and 99 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:37,760 I noticed that most of the arguments on the people on of 100 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:40,680 the people on the left are biblical arguments. 101 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:45,040 They tend to be Bible people. They quote lots of verses. 102 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:50,120 And so my experience puts me on the right hand side, but my kind 103 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:55,120 of orientation, my, the way I think what I'm interested in 104 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:59,480 kind of puts me on the left or it should do because I'm that 105 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:02,240 kind of person. Do you see what I mean? 106 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:08,560 So that's kind of, it's not really a question, but that's 107 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:11,320 the question I want to ask this morning, how to make sense of 108 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:15,400 that situation. And paradoxically, is there 109 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:19,040 anything the Bible tells us that helps us to make sense of this 110 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:23,240 situation? That's my my question. 111 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:28,400 And specifically, the way I'm going to do it is I'm going to 112 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:33,480 look at a couple of verses, because there are certain key 113 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:39,440 verses which are used again and again and again by the people on 114 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:42,880 the left of this argument to put together that argument. 115 00:08:43,159 --> 00:08:46,360 And they tend to be an awful lot of them are in Paul's letters, 116 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:49,600 and an awful lot of them are in Romans, which happily is what 117 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:51,000 we're looking at. OK. 118 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:54,400 So I'm going to just take a couple of verses from Romans, 119 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:59,200 which really are, they're kind of central to this argument, 120 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,760 along with some others. And I'm what I want to ask is 121 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:08,160 what do they really mean? OK, what do they really mean? 122 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:10,000 Is that all right? Does that make sense? 123 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:15,560 So here we go. Here are the 2 verses, Romans 124 00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:19,960 321 and 22. Now this really is the hinge 125 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:24,360 point in the first bit of Roman. Basically, Paul spent a couple 126 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:30,160 of chapters laying out the problem, the problem of SYN as 127 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:34,720 he calls it. And it's at this point that he 128 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:38,160 changes tack and starts to talk about the solution. 129 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:41,680 So this is his introduction to the solution. 130 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:44,280 OK. And what he says is this. 131 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:48,520 And now I've chosen the NRSV, the new revised standard 132 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:50,360 version. Normally when I speak on a 133 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,920 Sunday morning, I use the NIV because it's just easier. 134 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:59,040 It's easier English. The NRS feeds slightly clunkier, 135 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,080 but that's because it follows the Greek more closely. 136 00:10:03,680 --> 00:10:07,720 OK, It's closer to a word for word Greek translation, 137 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:10,120 translation of the Greek. And so that's that's why I've 138 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,800 chosen it this morning. So here we go. 139 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:21,240 This is what Paul says. But now, but now, OK, now as a 140 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:26,080 result of the death and resurrection of Jesus, but now, 141 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:30,560 irrespective of the law, the righteousness of God has been 142 00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:34,800 disclosed and is attested by the law and the prophets, the 143 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:38,960 righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ. 144 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:43,520 For all who believe this familiar territory, some of us 145 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:47,840 familiar with these verses. OK, So what I want to do is take 146 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:54,480 a closer look at these verses. Now, clearly what Paul is saying 147 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:58,920 here is we all need some righteousness. 148 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:03,560 We've all fallen below the required standard, and that's a 149 00:11:03,560 --> 00:11:05,280 problem. We're all guilty. 150 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:11,400 But now, as a result of the death and resurrection of Jesus, 151 00:11:11,680 --> 00:11:16,200 this righteousness of God is available, and we can have some 152 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:23,000 of it, and we can, if we have faith in Jesus, we can get some 153 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,600 of that righteousness of God for ourselves. 154 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,680 And the guilty will be declared not guilty. 155 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:35,840 We'll be free of condemnation. Clearly that is what Paul is 156 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:44,360 saying here, is it not? You're wise not to answer, but 157 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:46,760 that's often the argument that's put to me. 158 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,640 It as though saying these verses settles it. 159 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:53,960 You know, you don't need to go into it anymore. 160 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:58,120 It's clear as day. This righteousness is what the 161 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:00,840 the death and resurrection of Jesus gets us. 162 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:04,120 We just have to believe and we'll get it. 163 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:08,840 God will declare not not guilty, the judge will set us free, 164 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:15,480 etcetera, etcetera. Yeah, Yeah, right. 165 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:24,720 So the keyword in these two verses, it happens twice, is 166 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:26,920 righteousness. And in a way what I want to ask 167 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,160 this morning is what does righteousness mean? 168 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:32,880 What does the word righteousness mean? 169 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:39,080 I mean for a start, in this picture, where would you put 170 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:42,600 righteousness? Is it more a left hand side 171 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:45,800 question or a right? Is it a pink question or a blue 172 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:48,360 question? A blue word? 173 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:53,440 More blue? You really. 174 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:57,320 It's all right. These are rhetorical questions. 175 00:12:57,560 --> 00:12:58,880 Don't you worry, I'll answer them. 176 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:07,080 OK, here's my first question. OK, that line down the middle, 177 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:14,320 how much is it a solid line? How much is it an either or 178 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:20,840 situation? For example, just in our 179 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:28,000 everyday lives, is it not the case that some laws are about 180 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:31,560 relationships? You know, if you think about 181 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:36,200 important relationships like a business partnership, is there 182 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:41,600 not a legal aspect to a business partnership or an international 183 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:45,680 treaty between two nations? That's a relationship at 184 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:48,960 national level. But is there such a thing as 185 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:52,280 international law governing those relationships? 186 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:56,320 Yes, there is. What about marriage? 187 00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:01,200 Marriage is one of our most important relationships. 188 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:06,560 Does marriage have a legal aspect already? 189 00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:10,560 We see that maybe that line down the middle isn't quite as solid 190 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:14,320 as the picture suggests. It's slightly fuzzy. 191 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:21,960 There seems to be a both and in the middle of those two blocks 192 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:27,000 of colour. In fact, is it not the case that 193 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:33,120 our most important relationships can often be expressed in legal 194 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:37,320 terms? And that's that's kind of a 195 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,120 measure of how important they are. 196 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:45,240 They often have a legal aspect. So even in our everyday lives, 197 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,360 there does seem to be some overlap between the left hand 198 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:51,800 side and the right hand side. Now here's my question. 199 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:59,360 Might God's rules, might God's laws, be that kind of law? 200 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:04,760 Might they be laws about relationships? 201 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:11,640 Well, what we find is they're exactly that kind of law, 202 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:15,880 exactly those kind of rules. And it's a bit of a surprise 203 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:19,560 because most of us, I think, assume that if this is God's 204 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:24,760 law, then surely that means it's universal and unchanging. 205 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:31,840 These are unchanging standards and rules that apply to all 206 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:34,680 people at all times and all places because they're God's 207 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:36,040 laws. It's obvious, isn't it? 208 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:40,680 Well, no, it's not. If you look at how the rules are 209 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:45,320 framed, they're an expression of the relationship between God and 210 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:47,840 his people. It's a contract. 211 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:53,640 It's a deal. God invites Israel to be his 212 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:56,440 people and to be different from all the other people. 213 00:15:57,080 --> 00:15:59,560 And they agree, and they say, yeah, we're up for that. 214 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:01,960 And he says, OK, well, this is how it's going to work. 215 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:05,480 Basically, these are the commitments I'm going to make to 216 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:07,520 you. Solemn promise. 217 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:10,840 This is what me being your God involves. 218 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:15,600 And I'm going to give you these rules in order to help you to be 219 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:19,560 my people, to guide you about what being my people looks like. 220 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:26,080 This document, these laws, they will govern, they'll guide, 221 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:29,120 they'll strengthen, they'll reinforce our relationship. 222 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:35,320 That's exactly what God's laws are all about. 223 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:44,640 How did Jesus summarise all the Old Testament law in Matthew 22? 224 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:47,720 Someone says to him what are the greatest commands, and he says 225 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:51,240 there are two of them. Love the Lord your God and love 226 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:56,000 your neighbour as yourself. And then he says all of the law 227 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:01,240 and the prophets, all of the Old Testament hangs on those two 228 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:03,440 commands. Now, what are those two commands 229 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:05,280 about? They're about relationships. 230 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:08,359 They're about a good relationship with God, and 231 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:11,400 they're about a good relationship with our neighbour. 232 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:16,240 We're in that middle ground. We're squarely in that middle 233 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:20,079 ground. Here's the picture I would 234 00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:22,359 suggest. In fact, I think that's a very 235 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:26,160 good definition, at least a working definition to begin 236 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:28,560 with, of what righteousness looks like. 237 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:35,640 We're in the Bothan territory. Let me give you an example. 238 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:37,680 Marriage. Emma's going to enjoy this. 239 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:43,720 Marriage is one of Paul's favourite metaphors for the 240 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,880 relationship between Jesus and the church, the relationship 241 00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:52,280 between a husband and a wife. Now if I said I have a perfect 242 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:56,480 marriage, which of course I do, but if I said I have a perfect 243 00:17:56,480 --> 00:17:59,040 marriage and you said to me, what do you mean by that? 244 00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:03,320 Well, thanks, Andrew, that's very good of you. 245 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,960 It's a good question. And I'll tell you what I mean by 246 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:12,240 that is I stick to the rules. I have never committed adultery. 247 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,680 Absolutely. Would you not agree that that is 248 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:22,600 a perfect marriage? Because I've stuck, Because I've 249 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:26,400 stuck to the rules and you'd say you're an idiot? 250 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,600 Surely it's more than that, you know. 251 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:33,960 Where is love, as Emma often said? 252 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:42,680 But we know, don't we, that marriage is a lot more than 253 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:47,640 keeping the rules. So then if I said, well, we love 254 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:52,000 one another, we love one another and it's not about the rules, so 255 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,920 I can sleep with whoever I like. What would you say to me then? 256 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:02,360 You're an absolutely. You're an idiot if you think 257 00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:05,640 like that. You either don't understand 258 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:10,760 relationships and love, or you don't understand morality. 259 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:16,720 You don't understand the rules. They work together in any 260 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:21,000 healthy relationship, both are pulling in the same direction. 261 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:25,360 They work together. That's how you know it's 262 00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:27,360 working. It's what righteousness looks 263 00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:30,960 like. OK, so next question. 264 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:37,280 Is it a 5050 partnership between rules and relationship, between 265 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:42,800 morality and love? Are they kind of equally strong, 266 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:47,800 equally important, or is 1 central and one in a supporting 267 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:54,320 role? Well, what about the Pharisees? 268 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:59,760 What was the distinguishing characteristic of the Pharisees? 269 00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:02,480 What did their religion consist of? 270 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:04,600 What was the most important thing to them? 271 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:07,880 The rules? Absolutely. 272 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:14,120 They made the rules central. That's what it was all about. 273 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:16,800 How did Jesus get on with the Pharisees? 274 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:23,160 Not well, it has to be said. But here's the really 275 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:27,560 interesting thing. When they fell out, what? 276 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:32,840 What did they fall out about? What kind of situation, what 277 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:38,840 kind of conflict sparked off that argument between Jesus and 278 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:42,560 the Pharisees? It was exactly this situation 279 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:48,440 when you've got love on one hand and the rules on the other, 280 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:53,400 which gives way. As far as the Pharisees were 281 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:58,240 concerned, the rules come first and Jesus said you don't know 282 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:01,640 what you're talking about. The the classic example is 283 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:04,720 healing on the Sabbath. There are 7 different examples 284 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:09,760 of a clash about healing on the Sabbath, and it's obvious to 285 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:16,160 Jesus that the loving thing to do in this situation is to heal 286 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:19,880 the guy or the girl. It's not at all obvious to the 287 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:24,360 Pharisees. And so I would suggest that in 288 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:29,400 this relationship between rules and in this relationship between 289 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:33,920 rules and relationship, it's relationship that comes first, 290 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:41,360 that if they clash, if they conflict, then the central thing 291 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:48,000 is love, because love is the foundation for all the laws. 292 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,840 In Matthew 5, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says to all 293 00:21:56,840 --> 00:22:00,120 these people sitting there on the mountainside that their, 294 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:05,080 their righteousness needs to exceed that of the Pharisees. 295 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:09,000 And it probably blew their minds because no one was more serious 296 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:11,200 about righteousness than the Pharisees. 297 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:14,400 And I can see them thinking, what are you saying? 298 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:18,760 That we have to work harder at the rules than the Pharisees do? 299 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:22,280 Well, that's impossible. Jesus, for a start, they're the 300 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:24,320 experts. And we're, you know, look at us. 301 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,360 But I don't think that's what Jesus is saying at all. 302 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:33,880 What he's inviting people to do is to rethink what righteousness 303 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:37,240 really means, what righteousness really looks like. 304 00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:41,240 I think he's still inviting people to think that today. 305 00:22:46,630 --> 00:22:49,950 So here's my working summary, my brief summary. 306 00:22:50,470 --> 00:22:56,750 Righteousness, I would suggest, is about being a good person, 307 00:22:58,150 --> 00:23:02,270 being a good person. And central to being a good 308 00:23:02,270 --> 00:23:07,440 person is loving God and loving your neighbour as yourself. 309 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:12,760 But here's the thing. If you are truly a good person 310 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:19,160 who loves God rightly and loves your neighbour rightly, it will 311 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:25,240 look like keeping the rules, but it'll be keeping the rules just 312 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:30,240 like a fruit, like fruit from a tree, like a by product. 313 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,880 It'll be obvious. I might even suggest it. 314 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,600 It'll be easy. It'll be natural. 315 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:42,560 If you love, it's like the rules are like the scaffolding around 316 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:45,000 a building. You know, if you're building a 317 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,000 building, it's useful to have the scaffolding. 318 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,080 There's no building there. What's the point in the 319 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:52,920 scaffolding? But it's it's the building 320 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:55,160 that's important. It's the relationship that it's 321 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:57,920 that's important. It's the love that matters. 322 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:03,760 If we find that the rules are saying one thing, that morality 323 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:08,240 is saying one thing and love is saying another, If we experience 324 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:12,240 a tension between the two, then it's time to start asking 325 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:16,560 questions. What is this asking us about our 326 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:21,560 understanding of morality? What's it asking us about our 327 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:25,960 understanding of love and what God thinks love looks like? 328 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:31,840 It might be an early warning sign that something is is out of 329 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:38,880 out of line. One more example on this, and 330 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:44,440 probably my favourite in Matthew's telling of the 331 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:51,280 Nativity story. In Matthew chapter 1, Joseph 332 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:55,080 discovers that his fiance Mary is pregnant. 333 00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:04,760 And Matthew says because Joseph was a righteous man, he resolved 334 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:12,600 to separate from Mary quietly. Now, The thing is, if Joseph was 335 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:18,080 a stickler for the rules, then discovering that if your fiance 336 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:22,960 is pregnant, what's the law say? What does the Old Testament law 337 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:27,400 say? Yeah, it's public humiliation 338 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:30,760 and shame at the very least. You know, if you want to keep 339 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:34,320 the rules, it's not, you know, keeping it on the lowdown. 340 00:25:35,360 --> 00:25:39,280 It's public humiliation for his fiance. 341 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:46,240 And so Bible translators cannot get their heads around this 342 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,160 because they think that righteousness means keeping the 343 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:53,800 rules. So what does the poor old NIV 344 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:59,720 say? It says because Joseph, her 345 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,480 husband, was faithful to the law. 346 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:08,160 And then it adds 2 words that don't exist in Matthew, that 347 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:13,920 don't exist in the Greek. It says and yet he did not want 348 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:15,840 to expose her to public disgrace. 349 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,240 He decided to separate from her quietly. 350 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,960 There's no and yet in Matthew. And so the NIV has to add a 351 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:30,000 little footnote and give the real Greek down below, but they 352 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:35,120 have to add and yet in order to reverse the meaning, because 353 00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:38,640 what Matthew says is because Joseph, her husband, was 354 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:41,760 faithful to the law, because he was a righteous man. 355 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:48,840 Matthew says he loved her. Yes, he thought she'd betrayed 356 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:51,920 him. Yes, he thought she'd let her. 357 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:59,480 She'd let him down, and so he was within his right, legally to 358 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:06,120 make her publicly humiliated. And yet he chose not to do that. 359 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:09,720 Why? Because he was a good man, and 360 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:15,320 so he didn't exercise the law. The NIV can't cope with that 361 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:19,160 because it has a different understanding of righteousness. 362 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:23,360 The NIV righteousness is all about keeping the law. 363 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:26,920 Matthew understands righteousness better than the 364 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:30,160 NIV does. It's quite. 365 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:33,560 Do you see what I mean? I love that. 366 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:40,480 It's interesting, isn't it? Joseph is truly righteous. 367 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:46,600 He's a good man. Even though Mary, Mary he thinks 368 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:50,840 has betrayed him, he still wants to do the best for her. 369 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:54,920 He's merciful. He's merciful because he's 370 00:27:54,920 --> 00:28:01,440 righteous. So back to Romans 3. 371 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:09,040 There's one more thing twice here it says the righteousness 372 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:12,640 of God. OK, we're back in in Romans back 373 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:15,680 to Paul and Paul talks about the righteousness of God. 374 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:21,160 Now just in in kind of linguistic terms that can have 375 00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:25,240 two meanings. Technically it's either a 376 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:29,680 subjective genitive or an objective genitive. 377 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:34,720 And so sorry, I'll explain it was frowning at me. 378 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:41,520 It it can mean it can mean a righteousness that God creates 379 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:47,640 that he manufacturers that he gives no a righteousness that he 380 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:50,960 makes happen something that he produces. 381 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:56,880 But it can also mean equally valid in grammatical terms is 382 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:01,040 the righteousness of God being a description of what God is like 383 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:06,200 a characteristic of God, God's righteousness, his personal 384 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:10,680 righteousness, like the wisdom of Alice, the foolishness of 385 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:15,600 Bill, the righteousness of God. It's a quality that he so so 386 00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:20,440 grammatically it can be either. Both are entirely valid 387 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,120 translations of the righteousness of God. 388 00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:29,600 Most English translations say, well, of course it's obvious 389 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:33,320 that it's the former because why is anyone interested in the 390 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:36,760 righteousness of God? Because we know God's righteous. 391 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:39,000 That's not for that. He makes the rules. 392 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,120 He's bound to keep them. It's just not interesting. 393 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:51,880 But here's the thing. What does Paul actually say? 394 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:56,200 He says now, irrespective of the law, the righteousness of God 395 00:29:56,200 --> 00:30:01,480 has been disclosed and is attested by the law and the 396 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,120 prophets. Now what is the law and the 397 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:09,480 prophets? It's the Old Testament, OK? 398 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:13,920 What Paul is saying here is we've read about the 399 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:18,320 righteousness of God in the Old Testament, OK? 400 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:21,920 Now if you look in the Old Testament and look for the 401 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:26,400 phrase the righteousness of God, what's it talking about? 402 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:34,160 Most of the time it's talking about who God is, God's 403 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:37,480 righteousness. Righteousness is a quality of 404 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:39,880 God rather than something he manufacture. 405 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:43,840 In fact, the idea of something he manufacturers, something he 406 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:46,840 makes. Righteousness is quite rare in 407 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:50,440 the Old Testament. So why? 408 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:53,680 Where does it come up in the Old Testament? 409 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:56,120 What's the idea that's often expressed? 410 00:30:56,160 --> 00:31:04,200 Well, here's a perfect example. Psalm 143 Lord, hear my prayer. 411 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:09,240 Listen to my cry for mercy in your, in your faithfulness and 412 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:14,080 righteousness come to my relief. Do not bring your servant into 413 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:18,360 judgement, for no one living is righteous before you. 414 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:22,080 So what's the the psalmist saying? 415 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:28,840 What he's saying is I've failed. I deserve judgement. 416 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,480 I've let you down. I've not kept my side of the 417 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:39,800 relationship. And so he asks God to be 418 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:44,280 righteous. He asks him to be faithful and 419 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:46,880 righteousness, faithful and righteous. 420 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:52,160 And what that will look like is having mercy, forgiving him. 421 00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:56,880 So as far as the psalmist is concerned, that the psalmist 422 00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:59,560 question is, will God be righteous? 423 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:03,880 Will he love live up to his side of the contract? 424 00:32:05,320 --> 00:32:07,600 I've let him down. I've walked away from the 425 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:11,200 relationship. Will he stick to his promises 426 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:15,640 and continue to be faithful to me, continue to love me, 427 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:19,800 continue to treat me as one of his people and be merciful, 428 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:23,360 'cause that what? That's what righteousness will 429 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:26,280 look like. Does that make sense? 430 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:32,200 So what the psalmist isn't saying here is please obey the 431 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:35,360 law. Please stick to the law because 432 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:39,760 that will mean judgement. He's asking for righteousness. 433 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:44,200 What he's doing is asking God to remember the relationship, to 434 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:51,360 remember his promises. Do you see the parallel with the 435 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:56,320 Joseph and Mary example? It's exactly the same principle. 436 00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:59,400 Righteousness means having mercy. 437 00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:03,280 And the question is, will this person be righteous? 438 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:06,400 Will they put relationship above rules? 439 00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:19,720 So here's my understanding of what these verses mean. 440 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:24,280 A key thing to understand is that at this point in Romans, 441 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:27,520 Paul is talking to Jewish Christians. 442 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:32,480 From the context, we know that he's talking to members of the 443 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:35,960 church in Rome, but in particular the members of the 444 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:39,280 church in Rome who come from a Jewish background, a Jewish 445 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:42,400 context. And he's addressing them in 446 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:45,960 particular. And I think what he's saying to 447 00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:49,400 them is, you know, the righteousness of God, question 448 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:53,880 whether God is still faithful to his people. 449 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:59,680 And that was the big question for all Jews at that time. 450 00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:04,200 They knew that they had failed. They knew that they'd been 451 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:07,840 exiled. And since the exile, there'd 452 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:11,960 been radio silence. The big question was, has God 453 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:15,320 forgotten us? Has he also walked out on the 454 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:18,000 relationship, like we walked out on him? 455 00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:22,080 Or is he faithful? Is he true? 456 00:34:22,639 --> 00:34:26,120 Is he righteous? That was the question the Jews 457 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:30,360 were asking. And what Paul's saying is, look 458 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:33,560 at the death and resurrection of Jesus. 459 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:38,159 There's your answer. God is still in business. 460 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:42,639 He hasn't forgotten us. It's still possible to be God's 461 00:34:42,639 --> 00:34:45,040 people. It's still possible to enjoy a 462 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:48,239 relationship with him, His righteousness. 463 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:52,480 The opportunity of that relationship is available and we 464 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:55,360 know it's available because of the death and resurrection of 465 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:57,680 Jesus. And we can have it. 466 00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:03,080 We can say yes and be restored to right relationship with him 467 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:08,080 through faith in Jesus. I think that's what Paul is 468 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:12,480 saying in these verses. But that's very, very, very 469 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:16,400 different from the interpretation that I was always 470 00:35:16,400 --> 00:35:30,800 taught. Final thought, if you're online 471 00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:35,840 a lot, if you're one of these people who lives on Twitter, 472 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:39,920 then there's lots and lots of talk about narratives. 473 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:44,480 And one of the biggest insults you can lob at someone is you 474 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:51,200 only think that because you have this narrative going on in your 475 00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:53,080 head. That's the way you understand 476 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:55,760 the world. You've got this narrative, For 477 00:35:55,760 --> 00:36:00,760 example, immigrants crossing the channel in small boats. 478 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:04,600 Who are they? They're all criminals. 479 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:09,200 You only believe in that because you believe a right wing 480 00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:12,120 narrative. Who are they? 481 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:16,240 Well, they're all genuine asylum seekers and refugees. 482 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:19,720 Well, you only think that because you believe a left wing 483 00:36:19,720 --> 00:36:21,280 narrative. OK, get it? 484 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:26,360 So the story that's playing in your head affects the way you 485 00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:30,640 read the news, basically, and it acts like a lens, like a 486 00:36:30,640 --> 00:36:34,200 philtre. You take in and accept and 487 00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:37,880 absorb the stuff that agrees with your beliefs, and you 488 00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:43,560 reject the stuff that doesn't. And the The thing is, we're 489 00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:46,840 always brilliant at spotting other people's narratives. 490 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:50,440 Yeah. You only think that because 491 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:52,960 you've signed up to this terrible narrative. 492 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:57,120 Whereas me, I have a deep and clear understanding of the 493 00:36:57,120 --> 00:37:00,760 reality of the situation. I think you'll find. 494 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:08,440 But it's human nature. We all have these narratives. 495 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:12,440 It's the way we believe stuff, it's the way we make sense of 496 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:16,120 the world. It's just we all do it, or it's 497 00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:21,000 very, very hard not to. You got to work really hard not 498 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:23,440 to. Now here's my question. 499 00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:27,960 Do you think that applies to Christians or are we somehow 500 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:33,720 exempt? So if you've been told a story 501 00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:39,320 of this is what the gospel is and this is how the gospel 502 00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:46,840 works, my question is, how much does that narrative affect the 503 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:51,560 way you read Scripture? How much does it act like a 504 00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:56,680 philtre or a lens? That means we read something, 505 00:37:56,680 --> 00:37:59,680 especially something familiar, and we say, yeah, I know what 506 00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:05,120 that means. It's just a question. 507 00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:11,120 Are we at least open to the possibility that we might be 508 00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:15,920 doing that? Are we willing to read Scripture 509 00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:18,240 again and maybe take a fresh look? 510 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:35,470 Alice. Yeah, I think anthropologists 511 00:38:35,470 --> 00:38:39,920 might say we're storied creatures, so we're formed 512 00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:44,000 through the stories we believe because ultimately there is a 513 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:49,960 story that is reality. And our conversion or 514 00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:54,520 repentance, which is continual change of mindset, is, is living 515 00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:56,840 into the reality of the actual story. 516 00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:59,080 That's true. CS Lewis called it the true 517 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:02,640 myth. So for every single one of us, 518 00:39:03,160 --> 00:39:08,880 what I'd love us to do now is to humble ourselves before God and 519 00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:15,720 and repent, as in have a change of mindset about the thing God 520 00:39:15,720 --> 00:39:19,040 wants us to see more clearly about the story. 521 00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:23,640 Like I loved Bill talked about his original conversion was the 522 00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:27,520 nature of God as judge to the nature of God as Father. 523 00:39:27,720 --> 00:39:31,720 So that's a conversion, but we have multiple conversions. 524 00:39:31,720 --> 00:39:34,280 In fact, we're continually transformed by the renewing of 525 00:39:34,280 --> 00:39:40,000 our mind, but that because of our agency in Romans 12, that 526 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:43,320 happens because we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. 527 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:47,560 So the he respects our agency. He's non coercive by nature. 528 00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:49,400 He's relational and Invitational. 529 00:39:49,720 --> 00:39:53,160 So in order to have a repentance, there are absolutely 530 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:56,000 times where it feels like we didn't give God permission at 531 00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:57,080 all. He broke in. 532 00:39:58,360 --> 00:40:02,400 But even then, even with Paul's Damascus Rd experience, I would 533 00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:06,320 say there was a zeal in Paul that God was respecting. 534 00:40:07,120 --> 00:40:09,280 He was respecting A genuine search. 535 00:40:09,920 --> 00:40:13,960 And So what I'd love us all to do now is, is humble ourselves 536 00:40:13,960 --> 00:40:17,440 and say we just don't know what we don't know. 537 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:21,160 We don't know what we don't know. 538 00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:26,640 And this continual kind of revelation available for us. 539 00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:33,640 So let's. Let's wait on God and ask Him to 540 00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:38,160 show us the thing, the next thing about the reality, the 541 00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:44,320 real story, the true myth we live in that will impact how we 542 00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:51,160 sorry, just name that. Let's just name the joy and 543 00:40:51,480 --> 00:40:54,320 slight strangeness of what's going on there. 544 00:40:56,920 --> 00:40:59,960 Lord, I thank you that, you know, I just think of Paul's. 545 00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:06,080 So many of Paul's prayers in the New Testament are that our eyes 546 00:41:06,080 --> 00:41:09,800 will be enlightened and opened and that revelation will come 547 00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:14,400 that we may know you or we may know the width and the depth and 548 00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:15,960 the height and the length of your love. 549 00:41:16,240 --> 00:41:20,800 It's like we just need this continual unveiling, you know, 550 00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:24,800 we need to move from darkness into light in so many areas of 551 00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:26,920 our lives. We need the lights to go on. 552 00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:32,600 But we do see that you respect our agency. 553 00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:35,360 You know, as, as Bill was speaking, I just thought about 554 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:41,920 what we call the, you know, I think slightly actually, I think 555 00:41:41,920 --> 00:41:46,160 we get it wrong with the, the prodigal son, but the, the, the 556 00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:49,080 father respects the lostness of both sons. 557 00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:58,000 He just respects it. He doesn't try and fix or 558 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:01,240 rescue. He just lets people go, lets 559 00:42:01,240 --> 00:42:04,480 people go to be hard, to be righteous just outside the 560 00:42:04,480 --> 00:42:09,000 house, but bitter. And he lets people go to rock 561 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:14,200 bottom because he has valued that the fact He's given us 562 00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:17,520 delegated authority to rule. And he will not take that back 563 00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:24,080 unless we want to go back to partnership with him. 564 00:42:25,040 --> 00:42:32,800 And so, Lord, we just welcome you to reveal reality to us, to 565 00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:38,760 reveal the righteousness of God, which is instinctively, innately 566 00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:43,080 going to be gentle and kind and merciful and pursuing and 567 00:42:43,080 --> 00:42:48,680 compassionate and hopeful. There is only going to be the 568 00:42:48,680 --> 00:42:52,760 joy of the Father that welcomes home the child. 569 00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:57,840 There is only going to be a celebration and elevation to 570 00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:04,000 that song to be a Prince. There is only ever going to be a 571 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:11,560 banquet table laid before the one who just just in their heart 572 00:43:11,560 --> 00:43:13,920 just says, yes, I want this and I want you. 573 00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:17,240 That's who you are. You can't violate that. 574 00:43:17,240 --> 00:43:20,080 You can't do anything else or respond in any other way. 575 00:43:20,080 --> 00:43:23,400 Even if we are faithful, we, we literally break faith. 576 00:43:23,400 --> 00:43:26,720 We are faithless. You remain faithful because you 577 00:43:26,720 --> 00:43:32,240 cannot deny your very nature, which is full of has said 578 00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:36,000 unending, loving, loyal kindness towards us. 579 00:43:38,240 --> 00:43:41,360 And so we just want to wait for a minute. 580 00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:43,520 We just really, we just, we need healing. 581 00:43:44,280 --> 00:43:48,320 We need healing of mindsets, healing of of lies. 582 00:43:48,320 --> 00:43:52,120 We've been told stories we've believed about your nature. 583 00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:59,360 Now I love that that thing in the nice in Creed that the you 584 00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:04,360 are, that you are first of all our heavenly Father in the 585 00:44:04,360 --> 00:44:06,760 Lord's Prayer. You're first of all, our 586 00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:11,760 Heavenly Father before you are almighty, Creator of all things 587 00:44:11,760 --> 00:44:14,480 holy. Everything is mediated through 588 00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:22,200 that towards us. And so we pray you heal us and 589 00:44:22,200 --> 00:44:26,240 we pray you speak to us. So I'm just going to have a 590 00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:29,720 little bit of silence now to just wait on God for that. 591 00:44:29,720 --> 00:44:34,960 The weightiness of the healing that comes when we encounter Him 592 00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:41,360 as He actually is. I, you know, this is my kind of 593 00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:44,480 interpretation of Jesus's very famous saying, you will know the 594 00:44:44,480 --> 00:44:46,440 truth and the truth will set you free. 595 00:44:46,640 --> 00:44:48,640 Know an experience of the same things. 596 00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:50,600 Truth and reality are the same things. 597 00:44:50,600 --> 00:44:55,440 So what Jesus is saying is you will experience reality and 598 00:44:55,440 --> 00:45:00,480 reality will liberate you. Reality being the nature of God, 599 00:45:02,800 --> 00:45:07,560 a righteousness that is by nature merciful and kind and 600 00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:13,400 gentle and longing and pursuing forgiveness and grace and mercy. 601 00:45:13,640 --> 00:45:17,080 And we need to have that change of mindset, that repentance 602 00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:20,560 about reality. That is what you, you are like. 603 00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:23,600 That is who you are. You are reality. 604 00:45:25,800 --> 00:45:29,160 And the enemy is constantly lying to us about your nature. 605 00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:36,720 Did God really say, is he really that good? 606 00:45:36,720 --> 00:45:39,400 Is He really that abundant? Is He really that kind? 607 00:45:39,400 --> 00:45:42,200 Is He really that protecting? Will He really come through for 608 00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:46,160 us that that is the perpetual temptation of the human 609 00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:51,600 condition every single day? And we say as a body and as a 610 00:45:51,600 --> 00:45:55,640 community, yes, He is. He is that kind. 611 00:45:55,640 --> 00:45:58,480 He is that faithful. He is that merciful, He is that 612 00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:00,800 good. He does pursue us relentlessly. 613 00:46:02,920 --> 00:46:18,570 He does invite us in. So what I'd love everyone to do 614 00:46:18,570 --> 00:46:24,890 now is we've, if you need to pick up your children, please 615 00:46:24,890 --> 00:46:26,210 do. But if you want to pray with 616 00:46:26,210 --> 00:46:28,930 each other, if there's something that's come up that you just 617 00:46:28,930 --> 00:46:34,050 know you don't, you need, you need to have more clarity on 618 00:46:34,050 --> 00:46:37,840 what God's actually like. Pray with each other, or you can 619 00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:43,720 come up here and be prayed for. But this is the biggest wrestle 620 00:46:43,760 --> 00:46:45,840 of our life. If we build everything on a 621 00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:50,120 faulty foundation, we believe lies about the nature and the 622 00:46:50,120 --> 00:46:52,320 reality of God. Essentially, we can't live in 623 00:46:52,320 --> 00:46:56,400 the garden with him. We can't live with him because 624 00:46:56,400 --> 00:47:00,600 we're not in reality. So we need continually to be 625 00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:02,680 transformed by the renewing of our mind. 626 00:47:03,680 --> 00:47:06,320 And so if there's anything that's come up for us where 627 00:47:06,320 --> 00:47:10,720 we're like, oh, there's something in me that that still 628 00:47:10,720 --> 00:47:13,840 doubts his goodness and his nature. 629 00:47:14,040 --> 00:47:17,840 And but I want to change that is bringing it into the light. 630 00:47:17,840 --> 00:47:22,280 Pray with each other, pray with someone, me up front, elders, 631 00:47:22,280 --> 00:47:27,440 anyone to just get breakthrough into the reality of that heaven 632 00:47:27,440 --> 00:47:28,400 on earth space.