1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,040 So when I was in high school, I was what they call a band nerd. 2 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:04,400 Are there any band nerds in the room? 3 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:09,600 A handful of band nerds, yeah. So we went on a marching band 4 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:13,080 trip to Arizona. We, we marched in the fiestival 5 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:14,960 parade. It was it was a just definitely 6 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:16,800 a highlight of my high school career. 7 00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:19,600 But we were supposed to go see the Grand Canyon while we were 8 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:21,840 in Arizona. And so we got on the tour buses 9 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:23,960 and we started making our way towards the Grand Canyon. 10 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:28,480 And believe it or not, we got stopped by a Blizzard in 11 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:30,040 Arizona. It's just like wide out. 12 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:32,920 And so we had to turn around and go back home when they're back 13 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:35,840 to the hotels. We we couldn't, we couldn't make 14 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:37,880 it to the Grand Canyon. And to this day, I've still 15 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:43,240 never seen the Grand Canyon. But, you know, I've seen a lot 16 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,960 of pictures of it though, and I've even seen videos of it. 17 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:50,360 I've heard a lot of stories about it from people that have 18 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:51,640 been there. I even know some people that 19 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,320 have like hiked it and stuff. And so in a way, maybe you could 20 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:56,920 say I do know the Grand Canyon, right? 21 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:01,880 I mean, I've seen pictures and imagine, imagine for a moment 22 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:04,000 that I even went and like learned a bunch of facts about 23 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,000 the Grand Canyon. Like I had memorized this 24 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,520 latitude and longitude and depth and history and width and all 25 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:11,480 that stuff. Like I just knew everything 26 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:13,040 there is to know about the Grand Canyon. 27 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,240 Let me ask you, would I then know the Grand Canyon? 28 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,680 I mean, in a way I would, right? But in another way, I'd have no 29 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,280 clue. Every time I ever cease talk to 30 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,400 somebody who's been to the Grand Canyon, all I ever can say is 31 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,080 like, dude, pictures cannot do it justice. 32 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:34,360 They can't do it justice. In other words, listen, there is 33 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:38,200 a big difference between knowing about the Grand Canyon and 34 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:40,520 encountering the Grand Canyon. And am I right? 35 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:44,280 And the reason I bring this up is because I believe that this 36 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:46,960 distinction between knowing something and knowing about 37 00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:50,160 something gets to the heart of what Paul's talking about in our 38 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:53,160 passage in Ephesians today. Now, Ephesians, of course, 39 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:55,440 there's a letter that was written by the apostle Paul. 40 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:59,920 In our passage today, Paul has two very clear distinctions. 41 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:02,720 He's going to talk about what life looks like for those 42 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,600 outside of Christ, and then he's going to talk about the 43 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,919 transformation that happens when we encounter Christ. 44 00:02:09,479 --> 00:02:14,160 And so in verses 17 to 19, Paul summarizes the life of those who 45 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:18,720 are outside of Christ, right? People who live however they 46 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:20,720 want. He says that their hearts are 47 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:23,680 hard toward God, and so they live in darkness. 48 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:27,040 They are separated from God. They're driven by their senses 49 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:29,920 and by their greed and by impurity and all that stuff. 50 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:33,560 But then in verses 20 and 21, Paul makes a very definitive 51 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:34,800 break. Here's what he says. 52 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,000 He says that, however, is not the way of life you learned when 53 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,480 you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with 54 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:46,400 the truth that is in Jesus. So Paul is making very clear 55 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:48,160 break a very clear distinction here. 56 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,640 They live like this, but you live like this. 57 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,840 Why? Because you quote heard about 58 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,560 Christ. He says now in that phrase, 59 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:00,920 there's a very key point that I want you to notice. 60 00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:04,720 I need you to lock in just for a second with me here because this 61 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:08,800 matters for my sermon today. Listen, that word about you 62 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:13,160 heard about Christ. That word about is not actually 63 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:17,240 in the Greek text. My NIV translation says that 64 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,680 this is not the life of way of life you learned when you heard 65 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:25,280 about Christ. But that's actually, that word 66 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:29,200 is actually something that English translators added to 67 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:30,440 help us make sense of the passage. 68 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,440 In fact, other translations don't have that word in it. 69 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:36,960 The NASB says you have heard him. 70 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:43,040 The King James Version, Old English, ye have heard him. 71 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:48,040 My simple point here is that strictly speaking, the Greek 72 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:49,920 does not say you heard about Christ. 73 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:55,600 It says you heard Christ. There's a New Testament scholar 74 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:57,920 named Lynn Kohic, and she thinks this is important. 75 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,680 She says that Paul's not simply saying that when the Ephesians 76 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,760 heard the gospel, they were merely hearing about Jesus. 77 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:06,120 Paul's telling them that they heard it. 78 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,720 She says Paul's unusual expression captures the reality 79 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:15,440 that Christ Jesus is alive and in relationship with his church 80 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:20,680 and individual believers. And so here's where I'm going 81 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,200 here in this in the passage, Paul is talking about this 82 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:28,800 incredible transformation that happens in a Christian. 83 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:35,320 He he says that that is how the the pagans lived, the Gentiles. 84 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,280 But here's the transformation that you can have in Christ. 85 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:42,560 He even compares it to taking off an old self and putting on a 86 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,400 new self. It's complete transformation 87 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:46,800 here. But how does it happen? 88 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,800 Well, it doesn't happen by a bunch of stuff about Jesus. 89 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:52,640 It doesn't happen by knowing a bunch of stuff about Jesus. 90 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:56,280 It happens by encountering him. To the Ephesians. 91 00:04:56,280 --> 00:04:58,040 They didn't just hear about Jesus. 92 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:02,000 They heard Jesus when the gospel was preached to them by Paul or 93 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:05,320 whoever it was. It wasn't just some man's voice 94 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:07,760 that they heard. They had an encounter with the 95 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:11,000 living Christ in that presentation of the gospel. 96 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:13,120 He was there. He was in it. 97 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,120 The real presence of Christ was there. 98 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:20,360 Listen, I don't care how many facts you know about the Grand 99 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:23,600 Canyon, OK? All that is meaningless compared 100 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:25,520 to encountering the Grand Canyon. 101 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:28,560 We're talking about two very different kinds of knowledge 102 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:32,200 here, aren't we? Now listen, Whether or not Paul 103 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:35,280 would have meant for us to put the word about in our English 104 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:37,640 translations, I don't really know. 105 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,600 But there is no doubt in my mind that he would agree that we 106 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,960 can't just know about Jesus. We got to know Jesus. 107 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:48,720 It's the difference between knowing the measurements of the 108 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:51,800 Grand Canyon and encountering the Grand Canyon. 109 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:57,040 One of my favorite philosophers. I like to read dead people. 110 00:05:58,040 --> 00:05:59,760 I don't read. A lot of people are still alive. 111 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:04,600 One of my favourites is a guy named Zorn Kierkegaard, and he 112 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:10,160 was a 19th century Danish writer and thinker and Kierkegaard had 113 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:13,400 a very interesting life. A lot of people today actually 114 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:16,920 misunderstand him. A lot of that's his fault. 115 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:20,160 He was hard to understand sometimes, but one of the key 116 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:23,520 areas of his thought was what he called objective thinking versus 117 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:27,760 subjective thinking, Objective thinking and subjective 118 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:30,320 thinking. Objective thinking is where we 119 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:34,800 think about stuff, something outside of me that I can study 120 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:36,960 and measure and that sort of thing. 121 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:40,840 It's when we treat things as an object that we observe. 122 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,920 Subjective thinking, on the other hand, is is is where that 123 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:49,440 it matters for how I live. So objective is inside as 124 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:52,680 outside of me. Subjective involves me. 125 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:56,000 So here's an example. It's like the difference between 126 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:01,520 using math to solve an equation versus using math to design A 127 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:03,640 bridge that I'm going to have to drive over. 128 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,360 OK, now it involves me, right? That's the difference between 129 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,200 objective and subjective thinking. 130 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,200 The math isn't objective, it's subjective. 131 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:16,680 When I'm designing a bridge, I'm not just thinking about the 132 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:18,760 numbers. I'm thinking about my life and 133 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:21,280 my loved ones and my neighbors who are going to have to make it 134 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:25,440 safely across that bridge. See, knowing facts about the 135 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:27,680 Grand Canyon is objective knowledge. 136 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,160 Being at the Grand Canyon, that is subjective knowledge. 137 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:34,960 Kierkegaard looked around at 19th century Denmark and he 138 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:37,520 noticed that there were a lot of people who called themselves 139 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:40,240 Christians, but really they just knew about Jesus, didn't really 140 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:42,600 know Jesus. And, and we're talking about a 141 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:46,120 time in history where in order to be a Danish citizen, you had 142 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,360 to 1st be baptized into the Danish Lutheran State Church. 143 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:51,680 That that's what we're talking about here. 144 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:54,960 I mean, they took their Christianity very seriously on 145 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:59,320 one-on-one hand, in one sense, but in another way, like they 146 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:03,040 didn't actually know Jesus. In fact, Kierkegaard tells a 147 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,880 parable about a man who started to doubt his faith. 148 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,800 This Danish guy and, you know, grew up in church his whole 149 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:10,960 life, was baptized and everything. 150 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:13,040 But he starts to doubt his faith and he it troubles him. 151 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,240 He goes to his wife and he says, honey, I'm not sure I'm a 152 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:19,200 Christian anymore. And she laughs at him. 153 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:21,480 And it says, honey, don't be silly. 154 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:23,560 Of course you are. You're Danish, aren't you? 155 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:29,280 And so that's kind of the that's the kind of world that he was 156 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:30,920 living in. He lived in a time where 157 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:34,400 historical scholars started raising objections about the 158 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:36,400 truth of the Bible. We're kind of making like, 159 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:39,039 textual discoveries. And people were starting to say, 160 00:08:39,039 --> 00:08:43,159 hey, maybe this isn't so inspired after all, or maybe 161 00:08:43,159 --> 00:08:46,040 it's not so accurate after all these sorts of things. 162 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:49,720 And so and so the theologians of the time were rushing to build a 163 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:53,800 defense of the Bible, trying to prove, no, actually it is true. 164 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:56,320 We can demonstrate its inspiration or its accuracy 165 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:58,520 through like historical arguments and these sorts of 166 00:08:58,520 --> 00:08:59,680 things. Of course, we still do this 167 00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:01,480 today. And Kierkegaard, he saw all of 168 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:05,280 the all of this happening. And he would say, hey, you know, 169 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,080 that's nice. But just remember that knowing 170 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:11,240 facts about Jesus doesn't mean you know Jesus. 171 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:13,880 And that was essentially his entire authorship. 172 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:17,720 What's that phrase right there? In fact, he said, imagine the 173 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:21,560 theologians were successful, that somehow they they solved 174 00:09:21,560 --> 00:09:25,120 every Riddle and they proved that the Bible was completely 175 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:29,640 trustworthy, not a trace of error or contradiction. 176 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:32,880 And Kierkegaard asks, he says, well, if that were to happen, 177 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:35,880 have we come any closer to actual faith, though? 178 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:41,240 And he says no, because you still only know about the Bible, 179 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:47,280 not the God it points to. And so listen, there's a big 180 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:50,080 difference between knowing about Jesus and encountering Jesus. 181 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:53,880 And I just want to ask you the question, when was the last time 182 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:57,920 you went to the Grand Canyon? You know what I'm asking, right? 183 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:03,440 The last time you encountered Christ, Like when was the last 184 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,920 time you were in a room And you were like, I ain't the only one 185 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:11,400 here. Because unfortunately, I worry 186 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:16,640 sometimes that a lot of a lot of us, a lot of Christians, we, we 187 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:21,080 just don't expect it anymore. We come to church and we think, 188 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:22,760 well, I'm going to learn about God today. 189 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:32,400 No, I mean, sure, but let that not be all we expect throughout 190 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:34,240 the New Testament. When you look at the moments 191 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,920 where people come to faith in Christ, it's often surprisingly 192 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:41,160 abrupt. People are often just kind of 193 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:44,200 minding their own business and then bam, blinding light on the 194 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:47,480 side of the road, right? And now I got to deal with that. 195 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:51,320 You're just minding your own business. 196 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:54,320 A strange man walks up to you and says, hey, do you want to be 197 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:56,840 made well? And your life's about to change 198 00:10:56,840 --> 00:10:58,640 or you're just, you know, trying to see this guy. 199 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:01,240 So you climb up in a Sycamore tree and then he looks at you 200 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:04,360 and he says, I'm coming over and your life is about to change. 201 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,480 That's encounter. He singles you out, and now your 202 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:10,200 entire paradigm changes. You just had an encounter. 203 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:11,920 You just went to the Grand Canyon. 204 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:15,720 Folks, I'm worried that in the church today, we are much too 205 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:19,280 happy with forms of discipleship and formation that emphasize 206 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:22,520 knowing about instead of emphasizing encounter. 207 00:11:22,680 --> 00:11:26,400 We memorize propositions instead of pursuing in God's presence. 208 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:28,520 Amen. And the problem with that is 209 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:31,320 that it has nothing to do with the life of faith. 210 00:11:31,680 --> 00:11:34,480 James even says it. He says, you believe that there 211 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:35,880 is one God. Good. 212 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:38,000 Even the demons believe that and shudder. 213 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,640 What he's saying here is like, oh, you know, a little doctrine. 214 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:44,200 Nice. You know, so do the demons. 215 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:47,520 Apparently the devil might know more doctrine than me. 216 00:11:48,680 --> 00:11:50,840 The point is that if it's just objective knowledge, if it's 217 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:54,280 just knowing about it, if it lacks encounter, it is not, It 218 00:11:54,280 --> 00:12:00,120 is not the fullness of faith. I'm not opposed to knowledge, 219 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:02,160 objective knowledge, knowing about things. 220 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:04,680 I mean, I'm, I've already told you a little bit, I'm a nerd, 221 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:07,600 right? I'm the Greek and theology and 222 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:08,680 all that. I love that stuff. 223 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:13,200 I'm just saying, let's not fool ourselves and think that that 224 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,680 means I know God. It's not the same thing as 225 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:20,640 encounter because like I said so often in the New Testament 226 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:27,120 conversion, it's like a rupture. You know, it's not this slow 227 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:32,360 cognitive kind of thing. It's like not something you just 228 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,400 figure out on your own. It's something that happens to 229 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:41,720 you, God shows up and you're not the same anymore. 230 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:45,880 And so this is the point of my sermon today. 231 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:47,800 I have a habit. I just, I, I really don't want 232 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:49,600 anyone ever to hear me preach and be like, what was the point 233 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:51,920 of that? And so at the very least, I'm 234 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:53,800 going to tell you, I'm not going to be subtle about it. 235 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:57,320 Here's the point of my sermon. We must not settle until we 236 00:12:57,320 --> 00:12:59,240 encounter the real Jesus for ourselves. 237 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:03,840 Amen. Because why, what's at stake? 238 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:07,240 Why does that matter? Well, let's get back to our 239 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:11,800 text, verse 22. He says you were taught with 240 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:15,040 regard to your former way of life to put off your old self, 241 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:19,200 which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, to be made 242 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:23,760 new in the attitude of your minds and to put on the new self 243 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:27,600 created to be like God and true righteousness and holiness. 244 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:32,560 So Paul is using some very strong language in this passage. 245 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:36,280 He says that this transformation that he's talking about, it's 246 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:41,720 like getting a whole new self. Listen, the church where I 247 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:45,680 pastor, table Church and the church that you all attend, 248 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:48,120 presence Church. I already said this. 249 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,960 We're friends, but we're actually family too. 250 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:54,880 We're part of the same denomination. 251 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:57,840 I've heard Ben already mentioned it once today, the Wesleyan 252 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:01,520 Church. And you, you may not know much 253 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:04,920 about what that means. That's totally fine, by the way. 254 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:08,400 I don't blame you at all. We're kind of a small tribe, but 255 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:12,560 mighty, I think, in the Lord. But I want to tell you something 256 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:14,360 about Wesleyans this morning, if that's OK. 257 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:18,520 And it's this, Wesleyans believe in the power of the Holy Spirit 258 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:22,120 to transform your life. We believe in the power of the 259 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:23,600 Holy Spirit to transform your life. 260 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:25,680 Look, I'm not saying other denominations don't. 261 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:28,480 I'm just saying this is what we hang our hat on. 262 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:30,960 This is like, this is like our thing as Wesleyans. 263 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:33,080 This is the thing that we are, this is the hill that we are 264 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:37,080 going to die on, that the Holy Spirit can transform you way 265 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:40,440 more than you think, right? Like we have a high view of the 266 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,440 power, and we could like to call it an optimistic view of the 267 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,040 power of the Holy Spirit to transform your life. 268 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,040 We believe that when Paul says that you can be made new, like 269 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:54,320 he says in our text verse 23, he's not bluffing. 270 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:58,480 He's not being hyperbolic, he's not being symbolic. 271 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:01,640 You can be made new. We believe that Paul really 272 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:05,040 means that through an encounter with Christ, you can be made 273 00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:07,640 new. The Gentiles live like this, but 274 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:10,480 you heard Christ, you've been transformed. 275 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:15,000 And so listen, what that means is that when God saves us, our 276 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,680 sins are forgiven, right? Amen. 277 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:20,640 Hallelujah. But did you know that's only 278 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:23,080 half of what it means when God saves us? 279 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:26,000 Sometimes I put it like this. I put it like this. 280 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,840 I say salvation happens in two places. 281 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:32,680 It happens in the courtroom and it happens in the hospital. 282 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:35,560 OK, So what happens in a courtroom? 283 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:40,480 In a courtroom, you've got a a defendant who's on trial and at 284 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:43,680 some point the lead juror is going to stand and they're going 285 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:46,560 to declare that defendant either guilty or not guilty, right? 286 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:48,120 That's what happens in a courtroom. 287 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:51,520 Listen, when God Forgives your sin, it's like the moment that 288 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:55,200 the lead juror stands up and they say not guilty, it's 289 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:57,760 incredible. You didn't deserve it, but the 290 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:01,080 blood of Jesus is shed for you. And so your sins are forgiven, 291 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:03,720 were declared innocent. That's the courtroom. 292 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:08,120 But here's the thing, I can be declared not guilty and still be 293 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:12,200 kind of a scoundrel, right? I can be declared innocent and 294 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:13,800 still be kind of an awful person. 295 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:16,840 That's why we don't just need a courtroom, we also need the 296 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:19,120 hospital. Because listen, the courtroom is 297 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:21,720 where you're forgiven, but the hospital is where you're healed. 298 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:26,800 The hospital is the part of God's work in you, where you are 299 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:28,880 made new. It's where you put on the new 300 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:31,960 self. The Greek word for self is just 301 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:35,080 the word for human. It's like Paul's just saying 302 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:37,360 you're putting off putting off the old person, you're getting a 303 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:39,960 new person. You're stepping into the healing 304 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:42,280 and the wholeness that comes not just from knowing about Christ, 305 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:46,640 but from knowing him. Looking, listen, everything that 306 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:50,520 I've said this morning, you guys already know this, your 307 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:55,240 presence, Church. Like my point is that the 308 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:57,240 presence of Christ is what transforms us. 309 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:03,640 So are you pursuing that? I felt it this morning. 310 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:07,200 I'm down here worshipping, and I don't know if it's just that I 311 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:09,079 got to get out of my usual environment or maybe there's 312 00:17:09,079 --> 00:17:10,960 just something special here, but I felt it. 313 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:15,640 So are we chasing him through prayer and worship and scripture 314 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:17,800 and community? One of the things I love about 315 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:21,319 the way that Pastors Ben and Patrick are leading this church 316 00:17:21,319 --> 00:17:25,440 is that this is a community that is committed to deep formation. 317 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:27,160 Ben's already talked about it this morning here. 318 00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:30,160 What I mean is that you want to be a church that pursues the 319 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:34,440 deeper things of God, the hospital, the place where our 320 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:37,560 hearts are mended and we are transformed and our souls are 321 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:40,440 healed. And I know that Pastor Ben has 322 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:44,760 emphasized getting into bands. Is that familiar language to you 323 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:46,040 all? If you're not new here today, 324 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:49,800 getting into bands, I imagine he's mentioned that a few times. 325 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:54,760 That is how we encounter Christ. It is in relationships of trust 326 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:57,000 and vulnerability in the context of the gospel. 327 00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:00,480 That's how we're transformed. Jesus even says where two or 328 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:02,600 more are gathered in my name, there I am with them. 329 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:07,040 That's how you move from knowing about Jesus to knowing Jesus. 330 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:10,480 And so listen, if you're here today and yeah, you've heard all 331 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:12,560 this stuff that I'm saying about encountering Christ and you're 332 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:15,720 gone, if I'm real honest, I'm not sure I've ever had that. 333 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:20,840 If I'm really honest, I'm not sure that maybe you grew up in 334 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:22,880 the church. Maybe you know the Bible forward 335 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:24,720 and backward and you're going. I'm not sure that I've been to 336 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:28,560 the Grand Canyon before. Well, I've got good news for 337 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:30,320 you. You go to the right church. 338 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:33,400 They're going to help you in that. 339 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:38,800 And so my advice to you is just to lean in, lean into the 340 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,560 discipleship processes and growth processes that they've 341 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:45,840 laid out. Sign up for a band, get on the 342 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:48,320 prayer team. I don't even know what all you 343 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:50,800 got going on here. Dig in. 344 00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:56,920 Don't settle for knowing about pursue an encounter with Christ 345 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:00,360 because that's where the transformation happens. 346 00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:04,560 When I was younger, when I was in high school, I, I was a 347 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,680 musician, as already mentioned, and but I was also a follower of 348 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:10,920 Jesus And I, I kind of felt like something in my heart was saying 349 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:14,200 that maybe God was calling me to be a pastor and to go into 350 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:19,040 ministry, but I kind of ignored it and said, no, I, I want to be 351 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:21,240 a musician. That was what I wanted to do. 352 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:24,800 And I ended up going to a large university and got a scholarship 353 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:27,880 for music and stuff. And I felt pretty cool. 354 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:29,760 You know, I was a trumpet player. 355 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:31,760 I was going to be like a jazz musician or something. 356 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:37,120 And my first night of college, I fell and broke my arm and I 357 00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:39,840 couldn't play anymore. Spent most of the semester just 358 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:44,080 kind of sitting around. But God spoke to me in that 359 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:45,920 time. Not only did that happen, but it 360 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,960 was also, I was kind of in a place where people were kind of 361 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:51,560 hostile towards me as a Christian and towards faith and 362 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:53,520 stuff like that. And so I was feeling kind of 363 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,360 lousy. And I remember one night in 364 00:19:56,360 --> 00:19:59,320 particular, I was kind of at a low and I was just like, I'm 365 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:03,800 just going to read my Bible. I was reading Exodus, and 366 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:06,480 something in my heart told me to turn to the book of James. 367 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:11,400 Now you may not know your Bible as well as you know a pastor, 368 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:15,000 but Exodus and James are pretty far apart in the Bible. 369 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:19,280 But what happened was it was one of those moments where I was 370 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:23,240 like, OK, and I flipped right to it in one turn of the page, OK, 371 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:27,680 just kind of fell open to James. And the first verse that my eyes 372 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:31,000 fell on was James. 112. Blessed is the man who 373 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,400 perseveres under trial because when he has withstood the test, 374 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,360 he will be given the crown of life that God promises to those 375 00:20:37,360 --> 00:20:39,040 who love him. The blessed is a man who 376 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:41,560 perseveres under trial. Man, I was going through a trial 377 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:44,120 for 18 year old Phil, right? It was a trial. 378 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:47,960 OK, I know some of y'all have suffered worse than that, but I 379 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:51,040 mean there I was just feeling kind of down and bad for myself 380 00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:53,680 and, and boy did God meet me in that moment in that dorm room. 381 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:57,560 He was there. I mean if I can, I mean I grew 382 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:01,920 up in the church and I knew about God, but in that moment I 383 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:05,160 met him. I met him and it and it changed 384 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:08,040 my life and I transferred from there and went to a place where 385 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:10,200 I could study for ministry and the rest is history. 386 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:16,880 And so don't settle for anything less than encountering the real 387 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:17,400 Jesus.