WEBVTT 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:06.799 Hey all, Pastor John here. Thanks for tuning 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:09.980 in to the weekly sermon podcast. We pray this 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:12.740 message encourages you, strengthens your faith, 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:15.359 and helps you to take your next step with Jesus. 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:18.359 If this content blesses you and you'd like to 00:00:18.359 --> 00:00:20.500 be a part of helping us continue to bring the 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:22.960 gospel to life, we'd love for you to consider 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:26.079 supporting the ministry of village. Your generosity 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:28.579 makes it possible for us to keep creating and 00:00:28.579 --> 00:00:31.670 sharing resources like this podcast. You can 00:00:31.670 --> 00:00:35.770 give safely and easily by visiting sacvillage 00:00:35.770 --> 00:00:39.390 .org slash give or by heading to our website 00:00:39.390 --> 00:00:43.350 at sacvillage .org. Thanks again for listening. 00:00:43.990 --> 00:00:54.200 Now let's dive into this week's message. Amen. 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:56.460 Well, we're going to hop into our series. We've 00:00:56.460 --> 00:00:59.840 been in a series called True and Better. And 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:03.539 today we're talking about covenant, not consent. 00:01:03.659 --> 00:01:06.459 Now, if you thought you came to a church where 00:01:06.459 --> 00:01:08.340 they're going to just agree with you on everything 00:01:08.340 --> 00:01:10.659 and you're going to walk away feeling really 00:01:10.659 --> 00:01:13.659 coddled and affirmed, you're at the wrong place. 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:16.200 That's not what we do every day of week. What 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:19.609 we do is we go to the Word. And we submit ourselves 00:01:19.609 --> 00:01:21.849 to the word and we let the word form us and shape 00:01:21.849 --> 00:01:24.689 us. And sometimes even in myself, that means 00:01:24.689 --> 00:01:29.629 I don't like it, but it's true. Amen. And that's 00:01:29.629 --> 00:01:31.069 kind of what we're talking about today. All right. 00:01:31.450 --> 00:01:34.290 So let's go there today. True and better. We 00:01:34.290 --> 00:01:38.349 live in a world that is shaped by a powerful 00:01:38.349 --> 00:01:40.969 assumption and it quietly kind of governs the 00:01:40.969 --> 00:01:45.010 way that we think, how we relate and how we decide 00:01:45.010 --> 00:01:48.569 really what is real. real in this world. And 00:01:48.569 --> 00:01:51.930 that assumption is this, that nothing is truly 00:01:51.930 --> 00:01:57.049 binding unless I personally choose it. Nothing 00:01:57.049 --> 00:02:01.010 is truly binding unless I personally choose it. 00:02:02.430 --> 00:02:06.590 And in our cultural imagination, legitimacy flows 00:02:06.590 --> 00:02:11.629 from consent. Authority is valid only if I grant 00:02:11.629 --> 00:02:15.110 it. Commitments matter only as long as they serve 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:18.759 and identity is real only if it aligns with my 00:02:18.759 --> 00:02:24.759 inner psychological self. Even truth itself is 00:02:24.759 --> 00:02:29.099 treated this way, isn't it? We don't ask what 00:02:29.099 --> 00:02:31.960 is truth or is it true. What we say is things 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:34.319 like, oh wow, that really resonates with me. 00:02:35.879 --> 00:02:40.860 Or does this feel authentic? I'm not sure. Or 00:02:40.860 --> 00:02:44.080 does this affirm who I understand myself to be? 00:02:44.969 --> 00:02:47.590 And if the answer is no to any of those, well, 00:02:47.870 --> 00:02:50.770 even if there is a long history, even if it has 00:02:50.770 --> 00:02:53.610 deep roots, even if it claims divine authority, 00:02:53.689 --> 00:02:56.710 we feel justified in setting it aside if we say, 00:02:56.710 --> 00:03:01.110 you know, it's not for me. Because in the modern 00:03:01.110 --> 00:03:05.629 world, choice is not just a freedom, choice has 00:03:05.629 --> 00:03:11.930 become a moral authority. To choose is to validate. 00:03:12.229 --> 00:03:15.750 To withhold consent is to delegitimize. And that's 00:03:15.750 --> 00:03:18.469 why phrases like my truth feel natural to us 00:03:18.469 --> 00:03:20.569 in this day and in this moment, because we're 00:03:20.569 --> 00:03:22.610 not just people who make choices. We are people 00:03:22.610 --> 00:03:26.009 who assume our choices give us the right to decide 00:03:26.009 --> 00:03:30.509 what counts, what matters. And this doesn't stop 00:03:30.509 --> 00:03:34.430 with just lifestyle choices or lifestyle preferences. 00:03:34.550 --> 00:03:41.340 It reaches all the way into belief itself. For 00:03:41.340 --> 00:03:45.780 many, belief is no longer a response to reality. 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:51.800 It is an act of self -expression. It's something 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:55.060 I own. It's something I control. It's something 00:03:55.060 --> 00:04:00.139 no one else has a right to question. Belief becomes 00:04:00.139 --> 00:04:02.520 important to us, not because it is true, but 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:07.259 because it is mine. And this didn't come about 00:04:07.259 --> 00:04:10.319 from nowhere. This way of thinking grew out of 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:13.659 real concerns, real concerns about abuse of power, 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:17.120 about coercion, about manipulation, about forced 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:22.779 conformity. There's a good reason to reject domination 00:04:22.779 --> 00:04:26.860 and cruelty. But somewhere along the way, our 00:04:26.860 --> 00:04:29.319 culture didn't just reject abuse of authority, 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:34.879 it rejected authority itself. Specifically, it 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:38.279 rejected the idea that truth could make a claim 00:04:38.279 --> 00:04:43.720 on us at all. And so we arrive at a place where 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:46.800 the highest good is not faithfulness, it's not 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:49.819 obedience, it's not actual truth, it's autonomy. 00:04:53.420 --> 00:04:56.199 And into that world scripture continues to speak 00:04:56.199 --> 00:05:01.480 a very different word. Not choose for yourself. 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:04.740 and then reality will form around you, but that 00:05:04.740 --> 00:05:08.600 there is a reality that is already given to us. 00:05:10.100 --> 00:05:13.680 A reality already given and you and I are invited 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:19.060 to live faithfully within it. And that's where 00:05:19.060 --> 00:05:22.120 we turn first. If you're taking notes, the first 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:23.800 of five points, we'll move through them fairly 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:26.699 quickly today, is number one, God governs reality 00:05:26.699 --> 00:05:31.399 by covenant. God governs reality by covenant. 00:05:33.660 --> 00:05:36.540 To understand how different scripture's vision 00:05:36.540 --> 00:05:39.100 really is of all of this, we have to continue 00:05:39.100 --> 00:05:42.040 to rewind to the very beginning. The Bible doesn't 00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:46.800 start with choice, does it? It starts with creation. 00:05:47.959 --> 00:05:51.819 Before anyone consents, God speaks, let there 00:05:51.819 --> 00:05:55.459 be, and reality responds. Light does not go, 00:05:55.500 --> 00:05:57.560 you know what, I'm gonna take a vote as to whether 00:05:57.560 --> 00:06:02.180 I wanna shine or not. And the sea doesn't negotiate 00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:05.019 with God where the boundaries will fall. The 00:06:05.019 --> 00:06:07.459 land doesn't ask permission whether life will 00:06:07.459 --> 00:06:10.920 sprout out of it. God names, God orders, God 00:06:10.920 --> 00:06:16.240 declares what is good. And finally, human beings 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:19.839 arrive on the scene and we wake up into a given 00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:25.100 world. A given world, already ordered, already 00:06:25.100 --> 00:06:29.920 meaningful, already governed. And so scripture's 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:33.279 first assumption is not autonomy, it is creature 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:37.699 -hood. If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you 00:06:37.699 --> 00:06:40.560 to turn to Psalm 24. It will be up on the board 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:42.720 as well. We're just gonna read the first two 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:47.620 verses of Psalm 24 right now. Psalm 24 verse 00:06:47.620 --> 00:06:53.199 one says, the earth and everything in it. What's 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:57.839 included in everything? The earth and everything 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:03.069 in it. The world and its inhabitants belong to 00:07:03.069 --> 00:07:08.329 the Lord. For He laid its foundations on the 00:07:08.329 --> 00:07:11.589 seas and established it on the rivers. The earth 00:07:11.589 --> 00:07:15.410 and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants 00:07:15.410 --> 00:07:18.970 belong to the Lord. You know what that is? That 00:07:18.970 --> 00:07:22.839 is a claim of ownership. That is a claim of ownership 00:07:22.839 --> 00:07:25.519 and a declaration of authority. And from the 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:28.180 very beginning, God relates to his creation, 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:31.500 not through contracts, but through covenant. 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:35.180 What do I mean by covenant? Well, marriage is 00:07:35.180 --> 00:07:36.980 a good illustration that shows the difference 00:07:36.980 --> 00:07:41.259 between the two. A contract says, I'll stay as 00:07:41.259 --> 00:07:43.720 long as the terms work out for me. and maybe 00:07:43.720 --> 00:07:46.500 down the road we'll renegotiate ever so often 00:07:46.500 --> 00:07:48.639 so I can make the terms work or maybe I've got 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:51.060 an exit strategy on that, right? That's a contract. 00:07:52.459 --> 00:07:56.680 A covenant says, I bind myself to you and that 00:07:56.680 --> 00:08:00.060 bond between you and I now define the reality 00:08:00.060 --> 00:08:04.560 in which I will live out my life. You see the 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:09.439 difference? You don't renegotiate marriage every 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:12.889 morning, do you? As I had this in thought, we 00:08:12.889 --> 00:08:15.389 were driving home last night after our disciple 00:08:15.389 --> 00:08:18.490 group, and I was thinking about the sermon. It 00:08:18.490 --> 00:08:20.889 was kind of ruminating in my head. The car was 00:08:20.889 --> 00:08:22.449 quiet. Everyone was quiet. And I turned to my 00:08:22.449 --> 00:08:25.170 wife, and I said, let's stay married one more 00:08:25.170 --> 00:08:29.829 day, at least. She looked at me, and she said, 00:08:30.610 --> 00:08:34.889 you're weird. And then we just drove on, right? 00:08:35.330 --> 00:08:37.809 And so I'm providing her a little context this 00:08:37.809 --> 00:08:41.259 morning. We don't renegotiate and go, you know, 00:08:41.340 --> 00:08:44.879 let's give it another day. Maybe tomorrow we'll 00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:47.100 do it a little different, but you know, let's 00:08:47.100 --> 00:08:50.220 renegotiate. No, the covenant creates a reality 00:08:50.220 --> 00:08:55.779 you now live within. And scripture says that 00:08:55.779 --> 00:08:59.480 this is how God governs the world. Not by waiting 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:02.480 for our consent, but by establishing covenant, 00:09:02.919 --> 00:09:07.159 claiming his people and calling them to faithfulness. 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:10.460 Biblical covenant all always begins with God's 00:09:10.460 --> 00:09:14.919 initiative. I made you, I rescued you, I brought 00:09:14.919 --> 00:09:19.980 you out, I chose you, and only then do commands 00:09:19.980 --> 00:09:24.179 follow. And this is the pattern throughout scripture. 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:28.309 Before Israel ever heard the first of 10 commandments. 00:09:28.690 --> 00:09:31.429 What did God say to them in Exodus chapter 20 00:09:31.429 --> 00:09:34.029 verse 2? Before he gave them the 10 commandments 00:09:34.029 --> 00:09:36.149 that were probably most of us are all familiar 00:09:36.149 --> 00:09:38.750 with, God said something to them. He said, I 00:09:38.750 --> 00:09:41.450 am the Lord your God who brought you out of the 00:09:41.450 --> 00:09:49.149 land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. Grace 00:09:49.149 --> 00:09:53.409 first. I brought you out. I delivered you. I 00:09:53.409 --> 00:09:56.830 chose to move. I initiated, I moved in and I 00:09:56.830 --> 00:10:01.950 saved you. Then obedience comes. Therefore have 00:10:01.950 --> 00:10:06.549 no other gods before me. It's not obedience to 00:10:06.549 --> 00:10:09.769 earn belonging. It's obedience because belonging 00:10:09.769 --> 00:10:14.570 has already been given. And that's why biblical 00:10:14.570 --> 00:10:18.049 obedience is never presented as arbitrary control. 00:10:18.309 --> 00:10:22.190 It's always framed as covenant faithfulness. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:28.600 remaining faithful to the covenant. That's what 00:10:28.600 --> 00:10:32.460 Nick made reference to earlier in Psalm 18. David 00:10:32.460 --> 00:10:35.820 is not touting the glories of his accomplishments, 00:10:35.879 --> 00:10:38.379 so God goes, woo, all right, I want you on my 00:10:38.379 --> 00:10:41.620 team, right? What David is saying is, you made 00:10:41.620 --> 00:10:45.299 a covenant with me, and you laid out in the covenant, 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:50.700 in fact, where's my Bible? In fact, I think, 00:10:51.049 --> 00:10:55.090 If we just went back to Psalm 24, right? Let's 00:10:55.090 --> 00:10:57.789 go there really quick. Let's just go off the 00:10:57.789 --> 00:11:02.129 rails. Let's just go for the ride. Psalm 24, 00:11:02.889 --> 00:11:05.669 what does it say? Who may ascend the mountain 00:11:05.669 --> 00:11:09.070 of the Lord? That's the very next part. Who can 00:11:09.070 --> 00:11:11.350 stand in his holy place? The one who has clean 00:11:11.350 --> 00:11:15.490 hands and a pure heart, who has not appealed 00:11:15.490 --> 00:11:19.279 to what is false. or has not sworn deceitfully, 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:24.139 what will happen to that man? He will receive 00:11:24.139 --> 00:11:26.759 blessing from the Lord and righteousness from 00:11:26.759 --> 00:11:29.759 the God of his salvation, such as the generation 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:33.139 of those who inquire. When David says, because 00:11:33.139 --> 00:11:34.799 of my righteousness, he's not saying again that 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:36.820 he earned it. What he's saying is I have remained 00:11:36.820 --> 00:11:39.259 faithful to the covenant and your covenant told 00:11:39.259 --> 00:11:41.480 me what to do, but it also told me what the result 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:44.399 would be. You would deliver me from my enemies 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:48.559 and you done it. I was faithful and you did your 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:51.500 part. You made the covenant. I was faithful, 00:11:51.740 --> 00:11:57.100 you delivered me. The Bible always frames obedience, 00:11:57.340 --> 00:12:00.379 not as some sort of arbitrary controller, some 00:12:00.379 --> 00:12:02.799 mean daddy in the sky who just tells you things 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:06.419 to do. It was always framed as covenant faithfulness. 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:12.600 God initiating, humans responding, God fulfilling 00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:18.409 the covenant promises. for faithfulness. God, 00:12:18.889 --> 00:12:21.529 in all of his faithfulness, fulfilling the covenant 00:12:21.529 --> 00:12:24.830 curses for lack of faithfulness, because God 00:12:24.830 --> 00:12:30.669 is the same. It's living in alignment with reality 00:12:30.669 --> 00:12:35.070 that God has already established. And this is 00:12:35.070 --> 00:12:37.070 where scripture confronts the modern assumption 00:12:37.070 --> 00:12:39.970 head on, because in the Bible, reality does not 00:12:39.970 --> 00:12:46.049 become binding when you consent to it. Reality 00:12:46.049 --> 00:12:49.450 is binding because God is ultimate. You don't 00:12:49.450 --> 00:12:52.370 choose gravity, yet gravity governs you, right? 00:12:52.750 --> 00:12:55.789 You don't negotiate your very existence, and 00:12:55.789 --> 00:13:00.590 yet here you are living. As scripture says, moral 00:13:00.590 --> 00:13:03.409 and spiritual reality works the very same way. 00:13:03.730 --> 00:13:07.070 God's authority is not validated by our agreement. 00:13:09.049 --> 00:13:16.180 God's truth does not wait for our approval. We 00:13:16.180 --> 00:13:19.840 don't bring any meaning into this world. I said 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:21.340 that in the first service, I said, man, I'm really 00:13:21.340 --> 00:13:26.200 sorry for the flowers out here. But hear this, 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:32.480 we don't bring any meaning into the world. We 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:37.779 are invited to receive it and to live under it 00:13:37.779 --> 00:13:44.259 and into it. It's available for all of us. But 00:13:44.259 --> 00:13:48.200 we're not the center. And that's why covenant 00:13:48.200 --> 00:13:52.200 is such a threatening idea to the modern self 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:55.200 because covenant says you are not self -owned 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:59.279 or self -defined or self -authorized. You belong 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:03.080 to a creator who is good, who is wise, who is 00:14:03.080 --> 00:14:05.620 loving, but who does not surrender his throne. 00:14:09.659 --> 00:14:12.200 The question for you and I is will I live as 00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:19.789 a creature? or insist on being my own God. We've 00:14:19.789 --> 00:14:22.330 been in this passage as well, but turn over to 00:14:22.330 --> 00:14:24.830 Romans chapter one. The second point is when 00:14:24.830 --> 00:14:28.610 choice becomes authority. Romans chapter one, 00:14:29.230 --> 00:14:33.470 it will not be up on the screen, but I'll read 00:14:33.470 --> 00:14:36.429 it either way and you can read along or just 00:14:36.429 --> 00:14:39.549 listen. Romans chapter one and beginning in verse 00:14:39.549 --> 00:14:52.120 21. Romans 1 .21 says, for though they knew God, 00:14:52.960 --> 00:14:55.399 for though they knew God, they did not glorify 00:14:55.399 --> 00:15:00.059 him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their 00:15:00.059 --> 00:15:02.580 thinking became worthless and their senseless 00:15:02.580 --> 00:15:05.440 hearts were darkened, claiming to be wise, they 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:08.620 became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal 00:15:08.620 --> 00:15:12.769 God for images resembling mortal man birds, four 00:15:12.769 --> 00:15:15.970 -footed animals, and reptiles. Therefore, God 00:15:15.970 --> 00:15:18.789 delivered them over in the desires of their heart 00:15:18.789 --> 00:15:21.690 to sexual impurity so that their bodies were 00:15:21.690 --> 00:15:24.789 degraded among themselves. They exchanged the 00:15:24.789 --> 00:15:28.450 truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served 00:15:28.450 --> 00:15:31.129 what had been created instead of the creator 00:15:31.129 --> 00:15:38.470 who is praised forever. Amen. Scripture never 00:15:38.470 --> 00:15:42.750 treats choice as a problem itself. The choice 00:15:42.750 --> 00:15:47.690 is a gift and personal agency matters. But something 00:15:47.690 --> 00:15:51.769 subtle has happened in the modern world. The 00:15:51.769 --> 00:15:56.789 choice has quietly kind of changed jobs. Whereas 00:15:56.789 --> 00:16:00.710 choice was given and meant to be a means, choice 00:16:00.710 --> 00:16:04.190 was given as a means, a way of responding faithfully 00:16:04.190 --> 00:16:08.730 within God's world. It has now become an end. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:13.320 The thing that now authorizes what is real, what 00:16:13.320 --> 00:16:17.659 is good, what is true is my own personal choice. 00:16:20.340 --> 00:16:23.720 In other words, choice no longer serves reality. 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:29.799 Reality is now expected to serve choice. Freedom 00:16:29.799 --> 00:16:33.259 used to mean the ability to live well within 00:16:33.259 --> 00:16:36.690 an ordered world. And now freedom is defined 00:16:36.690 --> 00:16:42.470 as the power to determine the order itself. And 00:16:42.470 --> 00:16:46.309 once that shift happens, the self moves to the 00:16:46.309 --> 00:16:48.669 center. What do I mean by the self? The self 00:16:48.669 --> 00:16:53.149 is what emerges when the human desire replaces 00:16:53.149 --> 00:16:56.830 God's word as the governing authority of life. 00:16:58.070 --> 00:17:02.179 When the human desire replaces God's word, as 00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:04.700 the governing authority, the highest authority 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:09.640 of life, the inward authority of the self, we 00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:13.900 begin to trust, to define us, to direct us, to 00:17:13.900 --> 00:17:16.400 show us how we ought to live or how we want to 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:20.339 live. We allow the inner light to guide us instead 00:17:20.339 --> 00:17:24.539 of the external, true, never -changing, unshakable 00:17:24.539 --> 00:17:28.910 Word of God. That's what I mean by self. And 00:17:28.910 --> 00:17:32.089 the modern self does not primarily ask what is 00:17:32.089 --> 00:17:35.289 true or even what is good. The modern self asks, 00:17:35.650 --> 00:17:42.990 how do I feel about it? How do I feel about it? 00:17:44.970 --> 00:17:49.250 Identity now flows inward out from feeling and 00:17:49.250 --> 00:17:53.849 desire and self -perception. As scripture gives 00:17:53.849 --> 00:17:57.900 us a sobering warning to this, When human beings 00:17:57.900 --> 00:18:00.940 take upon themselves the authority to define 00:18:00.940 --> 00:18:04.819 reality, the result is not freedom. The result 00:18:04.819 --> 00:18:09.880 is fragmentation. The self, the human desire 00:18:09.880 --> 00:18:12.420 that replaces God's word as the governing authority 00:18:12.420 --> 00:18:15.380 of our life was never designed to carry the weight 00:18:15.380 --> 00:18:21.990 of that position. The desire to move from living 00:18:21.990 --> 00:18:25.250 under God's word to standing over God's word 00:18:25.250 --> 00:18:30.470 as its judge. That same move shows up again and 00:18:30.470 --> 00:18:35.490 again in scripture. Whenever people insist on 00:18:35.490 --> 00:18:37.970 defining good and evil for themselves, the language 00:18:37.970 --> 00:18:39.829 that shows up in the Bible over and over again 00:18:39.829 --> 00:18:44.170 is almost always the same. Everyone did what 00:18:44.170 --> 00:18:50.559 was right in their own eyes. Everyone did what 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:54.799 was right in their own eyes. And friends, that 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:59.720 is not describing some liberating freedom. The 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:03.079 modern self would say, that sounds like freedom. 00:19:03.160 --> 00:19:06.460 That's the goal, is that everyone would do what 00:19:06.460 --> 00:19:08.940 is right in their own eyes. But the scripture 00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:12.500 says that's not freedom. That is describing collapse. 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:15.000 That is describing chaos. That is describing 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.079 fragmentation that leads to destruction. That 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:22.559 is describing Walmarts on Black Friday, right? 00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:29.000 That's describing driving in Uganda where everyone 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:32.160 did what was right in their own eyes. And there 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:34.720 was no governing authority that anyone wanted 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:43.259 to submit to. And here's a part that we can miss. 00:19:45.680 --> 00:19:49.880 This doesn't just happen. out there in culture. 00:19:52.660 --> 00:19:54.519 Some of us can like go, oh, there it is. Man, 00:19:54.519 --> 00:19:56.839 I'm gonna wave my fist and say, yeah, those people 00:19:56.839 --> 00:19:59.400 out there, everything you said so far, preacher 00:19:59.400 --> 00:20:07.180 man, that describes them. It happens in us. Whenever 00:20:07.180 --> 00:20:13.019 God's commands feel like we can negotiate them, 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:16.500 they're negotiable. They're not authoritative. 00:20:18.029 --> 00:20:23.329 Whenever we say, I'll follow God as long as it 00:20:23.329 --> 00:20:29.609 aligns with me. What we're really saying is I 00:20:29.609 --> 00:20:34.250 reserve the right to rule. I reserve the right 00:20:34.250 --> 00:20:38.910 to rule. And once choice becomes authority, belief 00:20:38.910 --> 00:20:43.349 itself is no longer about truth, it's about control. 00:20:46.619 --> 00:20:52.619 Number three, belief is not neutral. One of the 00:20:52.619 --> 00:20:55.700 most, or the more common things you might hear 00:20:55.700 --> 00:20:59.680 people say today is, you know, I'm just a skeptic. 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:02.940 I'm just trying to follow the evidence, right? 00:21:03.579 --> 00:21:06.119 Yeah, I hear all that you said. I've heard all 00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:09.720 of your case. I've read the Bible or I've had, 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:12.059 you know, I've gone to a church that would preach 00:21:12.059 --> 00:21:14.259 the word. I've seen all that, but I'm just trying 00:21:14.259 --> 00:21:17.730 to follow the evidence, right? And again, this 00:21:17.730 --> 00:21:21.589 sounds humble, this sounds reasonable, it sounds 00:21:21.589 --> 00:21:25.470 open -minded, but the Bible actually kind of 00:21:25.470 --> 00:21:27.710 tells something a little bit more, a story that's 00:21:27.710 --> 00:21:31.990 a little bit more unsettling. The Bible does 00:21:31.990 --> 00:21:36.230 not treat belief as a purely intellectual act. 00:21:37.049 --> 00:21:43.230 It treats belief as a moral act. In other words, 00:21:43.589 --> 00:21:46.109 believing or refusing to believe is not just 00:21:46.109 --> 00:21:50.470 about information, it's about allegiance. Where 00:21:50.470 --> 00:21:55.049 is the allegiance of your heart? So how does 00:21:55.049 --> 00:21:57.569 scripture talk about unbelief? Well, it doesn't 00:21:57.569 --> 00:22:03.009 say that people lack truth. You know what the 00:22:03.009 --> 00:22:05.950 Bible says in Romans? It doesn't say people lack 00:22:05.950 --> 00:22:08.509 truth, but in Romans one, it says that people 00:22:08.509 --> 00:22:15.150 suppress the truth. And the Bible doesn't say 00:22:15.150 --> 00:22:18.250 in John that the light of the gospel, the light 00:22:18.250 --> 00:22:20.670 of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ was 00:22:20.670 --> 00:22:23.849 just a little too dim for some people to see. 00:22:27.329 --> 00:22:36.289 John says people loved darkness. People loved 00:22:36.289 --> 00:22:41.660 darkness. It doesn't say that truth was not available. 00:22:41.859 --> 00:22:43.980 Man, if it was just more resources, more truth 00:22:43.980 --> 00:22:47.119 available, it says that truth was not welcomed. 00:22:49.819 --> 00:22:53.059 And that tells us something. That tells us that 00:22:53.059 --> 00:22:56.099 the issue is not always is there enough evidence. 00:22:56.359 --> 00:22:59.680 The issue is what would this truth require of 00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:06.299 me if I accepted it? In Romans chapter one, Paul 00:23:06.299 --> 00:23:09.259 says that what can be known about God is evident 00:23:09.259 --> 00:23:13.079 among all people, but the truth is intentionally 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:15.799 suppressed. Why? Because acknowledging God as 00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:18.920 God means surrendering the right to self -rule. 00:23:22.019 --> 00:23:25.440 In John's gospel, Jesus says that people intentionally 00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:28.500 avoid the light of truth. Why? Because it exposes, 00:23:28.779 --> 00:23:31.779 truth reveals, it confronts, it disrupts our 00:23:31.779 --> 00:23:37.599 illusion of control. And that's why belief always 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:40.660 carries a cost. To believe something is true 00:23:40.660 --> 00:23:45.140 is not merely to agree with it. It is to place 00:23:45.140 --> 00:23:49.119 yourself under it. Let's say that one more time. 00:23:49.380 --> 00:23:52.460 To believe something is true is not merely to 00:23:52.460 --> 00:23:55.240 agree to it or mental assent or intellectual 00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:58.259 acknowledgement. It is to place yourself under 00:23:58.259 --> 00:24:00.460 it. And that is exactly what the modern self 00:24:00.460 --> 00:24:04.319 resists. We have been formed to think of belief 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:10.259 as something we own it's mine But scripture says 00:24:10.259 --> 00:24:16.660 belief shapes obedience belief directs desires 00:24:16.660 --> 00:24:22.380 Placing yourself under God's word can change 00:24:22.380 --> 00:24:27.660 your desires You hear what I'm saying Just think 00:24:27.660 --> 00:24:30.339 about all the things that you hear in the modern 00:24:30.339 --> 00:24:34.799 world That's not what you're hearing. You're 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:37.460 not hearing that place yourself under God's word 00:24:37.460 --> 00:24:39.960 and your desires will change. You're saying you 00:24:39.960 --> 00:24:43.579 have those desires. We need to affirm them. We're 00:24:43.579 --> 00:24:45.619 going to ally with you. We're going to affirm 00:24:45.619 --> 00:24:47.700 those and we're going to let you pursue those 00:24:47.700 --> 00:24:50.000 desires to whatever degree you want to pursue 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:55.000 them. And even if I see destruction, even if 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:57.640 I see chaos and fragmentation in you, I'm just 00:24:57.640 --> 00:24:59.839 going to keep leaning in and help you pursue 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:12.839 those. The scripture says of people, not that 00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:16.259 they didn't know, but that they did not love 00:25:16.259 --> 00:25:24.119 the truth. They did not love it. Truth in the 00:25:24.119 --> 00:25:25.759 Bible is not just something you acknowledge. 00:25:26.099 --> 00:25:28.619 It's something you bring yourself under. It's 00:25:28.619 --> 00:25:31.559 something that you submit to or you resist and 00:25:31.559 --> 00:25:36.329 reject it. So here's a question beneath all of 00:25:36.329 --> 00:25:39.089 this. Is it possible that when we say, I just 00:25:39.089 --> 00:25:42.990 can't believe that what we might be saying is 00:25:42.990 --> 00:25:50.150 I won't submit to that because to believe what 00:25:50.150 --> 00:25:56.109 is true may cost us control over our own lives. 00:25:56.819 --> 00:26:00.220 abdicating the throne of self -rule, the approval 00:26:00.220 --> 00:26:03.099 of others, certain desires that we have grown 00:26:03.099 --> 00:26:07.359 attached to, the right to name ourselves on our 00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:12.759 own terms. Belief becomes selective. We resist 00:26:12.759 --> 00:26:15.799 it. We accept truth. Even as believers, we accept 00:26:15.799 --> 00:26:20.539 truth that comforts us. We resist truth that 00:26:20.539 --> 00:26:25.259 commands us. We embrace grace as forgiveness. 00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:29.900 It's like, oh, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound 00:26:29.900 --> 00:26:35.599 that saved an undeserving wretch like me. And 00:26:35.599 --> 00:26:37.700 then as we'll see in Titus, when that grace comes 00:26:37.700 --> 00:26:41.160 and says, I'm going to teach you how to be godly. 00:26:41.819 --> 00:26:44.519 I'm going to teach you how to let go of those 00:26:44.519 --> 00:26:47.000 ungodly desires. We go, oh, I don't want that 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:50.619 grace. I don't want grace as lordship. I want 00:26:50.619 --> 00:26:52.400 grace as forgiveness, but I don't want grace 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:57.859 as lordship. And scripture will not let us separate 00:26:57.859 --> 00:27:03.160 the two. Because the same truth that saves us 00:27:03.160 --> 00:27:07.259 also governs us. The same Christ who welcomes 00:27:07.259 --> 00:27:11.079 us also reigns over us. Which means belief is 00:27:11.079 --> 00:27:14.359 never neutral. It is either an act of surrender 00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:21.099 or it is an act of resistance. Number four, grace 00:27:21.099 --> 00:27:30.940 without governance. Yes. I agree. Once belief 00:27:30.940 --> 00:27:34.220 becomes an act of self authorization, it reshapes 00:27:34.220 --> 00:27:39.559 our faith. As believers, we don't abandon Christianity 00:27:39.559 --> 00:27:44.619 outright. But when we adopt that frame of reference, 00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:49.119 when we lean more into the definitions of the 00:27:49.119 --> 00:27:52.460 modern self, it reshapes our faith. We don't 00:27:52.460 --> 00:27:55.460 outright say, oh, I reject Christ. We begin to 00:27:55.460 --> 00:27:59.440 reframe what Christianity looks like. God is 00:27:59.440 --> 00:28:03.339 no longer the one who defines reality. God is 00:28:03.339 --> 00:28:11.789 the one who supports my version of it. So we 00:28:11.789 --> 00:28:14.609 begin to relate to God selectively. Like, I'll 00:28:14.609 --> 00:28:17.230 receive forgiveness, I'll receive comfort, I'll 00:28:17.230 --> 00:28:19.690 receive hope, I'll receive peace, I'll receive 00:28:19.690 --> 00:28:24.670 purpose, but command, but authority? Things get 00:28:24.670 --> 00:28:29.230 uncomfortable, don't they? And so without ever 00:28:29.230 --> 00:28:31.430 saying it out loud, many of us adopt kind of 00:28:31.430 --> 00:28:37.130 a consent -based spirituality. God is welcome 00:28:37.130 --> 00:28:40.569 as savior as long as he does not insist on being 00:28:40.569 --> 00:28:47.049 Lord. Grace becomes therapeutic rather than transformative 00:28:47.049 --> 00:28:51.890 in our life. Jesus becomes a companion rather 00:28:51.890 --> 00:28:56.289 than a king, and faith shifts from covenant faithfulness 00:28:56.289 --> 00:29:00.869 to personal preference. We follow Christ where 00:29:00.869 --> 00:29:05.710 it aligns with us. We interpret him or we reinterpret 00:29:05.710 --> 00:29:08.490 him or his words whenever it challenges us. I 00:29:08.490 --> 00:29:12.490 love this Soren Kierkegaard's crack that he wrote 00:29:12.490 --> 00:29:14.569 down one time. It came to mind as I was preparing. 00:29:15.349 --> 00:29:18.069 Soren Kierkegaard said, the Bible is very easy 00:29:18.069 --> 00:29:23.990 to understand. The Bible is very easy to understand, 00:29:24.450 --> 00:29:27.690 but we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. 00:29:30.359 --> 00:29:34.740 We pretend to be unable to understand it because 00:29:34.740 --> 00:29:37.799 we know very well that the moment we understand, 00:29:38.059 --> 00:29:47.019 we are obligated to act accordingly. In the Bible, 00:29:47.319 --> 00:29:51.079 grace is never opposed to obedience. The amazing, 00:29:51.339 --> 00:29:55.369 forgiving grace of God is never opposed to obedience. 00:29:55.630 --> 00:29:59.009 In fact, grace is the root and obedience is the 00:29:59.009 --> 00:30:01.630 fruit. Listen to what Titus 2, 11 through 12 00:30:01.630 --> 00:30:06.329 says. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing 00:30:06.329 --> 00:30:10.930 salvation for all people. Woohoo, right? Grace, 00:30:10.950 --> 00:30:14.549 let's give it, amen. Bringing salvation for all 00:30:14.549 --> 00:30:19.470 people, verse 12. Instructing us, that's Lordship 00:30:19.470 --> 00:30:23.029 language. We went from forgiveness language, 00:30:23.190 --> 00:30:25.819 redemption language, to Lordship language right 00:30:25.819 --> 00:30:28.900 there, like in two seconds, right? He appeared, 00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:31.440 he brought salvation to all people and he instructed 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:36.579 us to deny godlessness and worldly lust and to 00:30:36.579 --> 00:30:40.339 live in a sensible, righteous and godly way in 00:30:40.339 --> 00:30:47.960 the present age. Will we resist? Or will we live 00:30:47.960 --> 00:30:53.089 life under that reality? Jesus never said, come 00:30:53.089 --> 00:30:57.569 to me and remain exactly who you are. He says, 00:30:58.630 --> 00:31:03.309 follow me, take up your cross, deny yourself, 00:31:04.029 --> 00:31:07.250 lay it down and follow me, which means movement. 00:31:07.269 --> 00:31:10.990 It means reorientation. It means surrender. And 00:31:10.990 --> 00:31:15.990 yet God's authority is not cruel. Biblical covenant 00:31:15.990 --> 00:31:21.890 is not about God does not rule by force or coercion. 00:31:22.170 --> 00:31:27.890 He rules by truth, love, and faithfulness. His 00:31:27.890 --> 00:31:30.869 commands are not arbitrary. All of his commands 00:31:30.869 --> 00:31:38.269 are ordered toward life. But they are still commands. 00:31:41.960 --> 00:31:44.319 And I think some of us, we hear a command in 00:31:44.319 --> 00:31:46.220 the word, maybe something that has been preached 00:31:46.220 --> 00:31:47.720 or something read from here or something you 00:31:47.720 --> 00:31:50.359 read in your Bible. And you know it flies in 00:31:50.359 --> 00:31:52.740 the face of what you have chosen or how you've 00:31:52.740 --> 00:31:54.680 chosen to live, what you've placed your life 00:31:54.680 --> 00:31:57.240 under and what you're submitting to. And we read 00:31:57.240 --> 00:31:59.700 it and for some of us, we think, man, that is 00:31:59.700 --> 00:32:07.079 so not who I am. And we make a decision about 00:32:07.079 --> 00:32:13.089 whether or not. We will listen to his commands 00:32:13.089 --> 00:32:17.470 and trust that they are ordered toward true life 00:32:17.470 --> 00:32:22.750 or in their place or in his place. We will ascend 00:32:22.750 --> 00:32:25.890 to the throne, place the crown on our heads and 00:32:25.890 --> 00:32:32.750 we'll say, I know better. And don't hear me say 00:32:32.750 --> 00:32:35.769 that somehow that's easy or somehow that feels 00:32:35.769 --> 00:32:39.190 good. or anywhere along the part from the moment 00:32:39.190 --> 00:32:41.670 you decide that, for a long time that anywhere 00:32:41.670 --> 00:32:43.990 you go, yeah, that was a great choice, right? 00:32:45.410 --> 00:32:48.049 But that's what trust and faith is, is that I'm 00:32:48.049 --> 00:32:50.269 putting my trust and faith in a faithful and 00:32:50.269 --> 00:32:53.890 trusting God who continues to initiate his love 00:32:53.890 --> 00:32:56.130 for me, keeps to, you know, what was he saying? 00:32:56.289 --> 00:32:58.670 His goodness is running after me. It's constantly 00:32:58.670 --> 00:33:01.690 running after me. That's a good God. And maybe 00:33:01.690 --> 00:33:03.930 I can trust and reorient my life around that 00:33:03.930 --> 00:33:07.910 truth. and believe and hope and trust that good 00:33:07.910 --> 00:33:14.230 is coming. It's aiming me toward true life. But 00:33:14.230 --> 00:33:16.730 we oftentimes want grace without the governance. 00:33:16.829 --> 00:33:19.569 We want to belong without obedience. A savior 00:33:19.569 --> 00:33:25.109 who never tells us no. But a God who never contradicts 00:33:25.109 --> 00:33:31.539 us can never truly save us. Why? Because salvation 00:33:31.539 --> 00:33:38.559 means God rescues us from ourselves. And so a 00:33:38.559 --> 00:33:41.180 God who never contradicts us can never truly 00:33:41.180 --> 00:33:44.299 save us because salvation means a God who rescues 00:33:44.299 --> 00:33:47.079 us from ourselves, from our false autonomy, from 00:33:47.079 --> 00:33:49.579 our self -authored identities, from the crushing 00:33:49.579 --> 00:33:55.279 weight of having to be our own authority. Covenant 00:33:55.279 --> 00:33:58.019 faith says I no longer decide what is true. I 00:33:58.019 --> 00:34:00.619 no longer decide what is good. I no longer decide 00:34:00.619 --> 00:34:07.160 who I am I receive those things From the one 00:34:07.160 --> 00:34:14.739 who made me And that's not oppression That's 00:34:14.739 --> 00:34:22.340 rest That's rest The self was never meant to 00:34:22.340 --> 00:34:27.239 rule reality And when we stop demanding that 00:34:27.239 --> 00:34:30.139 God submit to us and we finally discover the 00:34:30.139 --> 00:34:34.760 freedom of submitting to Him, we begin to live 00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:39.739 out that reality. Number five, last point. Where 00:34:39.739 --> 00:34:44.260 does this all show up? If all of this stays kind 00:34:44.260 --> 00:34:47.500 of abstract, it's easy to just kind of nod at 00:34:47.500 --> 00:34:53.980 it and keep it at arm's distance. So let's bring 00:34:53.980 --> 00:34:58.809 it in. It shows up in how we understand our bodies. 00:35:00.190 --> 00:35:02.230 We're gonna actually talk about this next week. 00:35:03.530 --> 00:35:06.329 We're gonna talk about our bodies and God's design 00:35:06.329 --> 00:35:09.869 for our bodies. What he lays out in scripture 00:35:09.869 --> 00:35:15.550 is true for our bodies. In a consent -based world, 00:35:16.389 --> 00:35:19.989 the body is just raw material. Something I own, 00:35:20.590 --> 00:35:23.949 something I manage, something I can define or 00:35:23.949 --> 00:35:28.070 redefine at will. But scripture treats the body 00:35:28.070 --> 00:35:34.190 as a gift. Scripture even calls the body a temple 00:35:34.190 --> 00:35:39.829 of the Holy Spirit. Scripture treats the body 00:35:39.829 --> 00:35:46.929 as a stewardship, not disposable, not self -designed, 00:35:48.750 --> 00:35:52.989 but made by God and claimed by God. And so where 00:35:52.989 --> 00:35:56.300 does this show up? It shows up. in our view of 00:35:56.300 --> 00:36:00.960 our body. It shows up in community. In a consent 00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:04.119 -based world, community exists to affirm me. 00:36:05.619 --> 00:36:11.480 And when it stops affirming me, I leave. But 00:36:11.480 --> 00:36:18.199 covenant says community exists to form me, to 00:36:18.199 --> 00:36:23.650 shape me in truth. To love me enough to stay 00:36:23.650 --> 00:36:26.730 even when I get crazy and for me to love enough 00:36:26.730 --> 00:36:36.010 to stay even when they get crazy It shows up 00:36:36.010 --> 00:36:40.409 in commitment Consent says I stay as long as 00:36:40.409 --> 00:36:45.369 this works for me Covenant says I remain faithful 00:36:45.369 --> 00:36:50.469 because I was made for faithfulness by the faithful 00:36:50.469 --> 00:36:56.380 God And that difference can reshape marriages. 00:36:58.300 --> 00:37:01.300 That difference can reshape friendships and relationships. 00:37:01.659 --> 00:37:04.039 That difference can reshape how we view our job, 00:37:04.440 --> 00:37:07.460 our vocation, our purpose on this world. It shows 00:37:07.460 --> 00:37:14.400 us how even to respond to suffering. Consent 00:37:14.400 --> 00:37:17.019 -based logic says, if this hurts man, something 00:37:17.019 --> 00:37:20.909 must be wrong. Something must be wrong. This 00:37:20.909 --> 00:37:23.130 situation, this circumstance, whatever I'm going 00:37:23.130 --> 00:37:25.190 through, I don't like it. I want to get away 00:37:25.190 --> 00:37:27.269 from it. That's what consent pays. I don't consent 00:37:27.269 --> 00:37:34.670 to this, God. No, no, no, no, no. But in a covenant 00:37:34.670 --> 00:37:41.590 logic, it says, wait, God may be sending me something 00:37:41.590 --> 00:37:47.530 to receive here. In this suffering, God may be 00:37:47.530 --> 00:37:51.349 sending me something to receive. He may be forming 00:37:51.349 --> 00:37:54.610 me. He may be refining me. He may be deepening 00:37:54.610 --> 00:37:57.550 my trust in him in this circumstance. I don't 00:37:57.550 --> 00:38:00.690 want to look past this suffering and say it's 00:38:00.690 --> 00:38:04.269 for nothing and just escape. Oh my God, I want 00:38:04.269 --> 00:38:07.590 you to give me stronger arms to bear up underneath 00:38:07.590 --> 00:38:14.320 and through this. Don't hear me say all suffering 00:38:14.320 --> 00:38:24.320 is good. But God does not waste any of it. And 00:38:24.320 --> 00:38:27.119 he will use it to form and shape and conform 00:38:27.119 --> 00:38:32.059 you to the image of Christ. It can show up in 00:38:32.059 --> 00:38:35.880 the way that we relate to the church. Do we approach 00:38:35.880 --> 00:38:41.360 the church as a spiritual vending machine? A 00:38:41.360 --> 00:38:45.480 place where My needs are met a place where that 00:38:45.480 --> 00:38:50.619 must match my preferences. Oh, I don't like the 00:38:50.619 --> 00:38:53.920 way we do that. I don't like the way that's done. 00:38:53.960 --> 00:38:57.699 I don't like the way he looks. Thanks a lot. 00:38:57.840 --> 00:39:03.099 No, just kidding. Do we approach it as a place 00:39:03.099 --> 00:39:05.219 that meets my needs? And I only consent to be 00:39:05.219 --> 00:39:07.599 a part of this church if it meets my needs and 00:39:07.599 --> 00:39:13.280 it matches my preferences. or as a covenant family? 00:39:14.780 --> 00:39:17.300 Do we see it as a covenant family where we are 00:39:17.300 --> 00:39:19.780 shaped, where we are corrected, where we are 00:39:19.780 --> 00:39:23.059 discipled, informed, and sent out by the word 00:39:23.059 --> 00:39:25.699 of God week after week through the good times 00:39:25.699 --> 00:39:27.539 and the bad times, through all the struggles, 00:39:27.820 --> 00:39:30.320 through the strife and the disagreements, that's 00:39:30.320 --> 00:39:35.099 a shaping process, God can use all of it. Now 00:39:35.099 --> 00:39:37.300 don't hear me say any of this, that you're supposed 00:39:37.300 --> 00:39:42.750 to stay in an abusive situation. or when there's 00:39:42.750 --> 00:39:46.590 clearly unbiblical things being taught or demonstrated, 00:39:46.909 --> 00:39:48.849 you should correct those. You should stand up 00:39:48.849 --> 00:39:51.190 against those. And then, if they're not listened 00:39:51.190 --> 00:39:53.909 to, you should, in a biblical way, walk through 00:39:53.909 --> 00:39:58.429 the process of continuing the correction or leaving 00:39:58.429 --> 00:40:02.019 in a Christ -like way. If we're talking about 00:40:02.019 --> 00:40:04.260 the church, or even in relationships. I am not 00:40:04.260 --> 00:40:06.820 talking about abuse, I am not talking about anything 00:40:06.820 --> 00:40:08.960 domineering it, but don't hear me say, somehow 00:40:08.960 --> 00:40:15.480 I just gave you an out for everything. None of 00:40:15.480 --> 00:40:18.480 these areas, community, relationships, church, 00:40:19.300 --> 00:40:25.260 body, none of these are neutral. Everyone asks 00:40:25.260 --> 00:40:28.380 the same kind of underlying question. Am I living 00:40:28.380 --> 00:40:33.559 as a self authorized person or individual? Or 00:40:33.559 --> 00:40:41.039 am I living as a covenant? Bound disciple. When 00:40:41.039 --> 00:40:45.320 truth confronts us, do we lean in or do we pull 00:40:45.320 --> 00:40:49.340 away and run? When scripture challenges us, do 00:40:49.340 --> 00:40:52.920 we receive it as life, even if we don't like 00:40:52.920 --> 00:40:55.900 it? Remember, what's the modern self say? How 00:40:55.900 --> 00:41:00.559 do I? feel about this? That's not a very good 00:41:00.559 --> 00:41:07.380 question. Good question is, is it true? Because 00:41:07.380 --> 00:41:12.059 truth can form and shape our feelings and desires. 00:41:18.519 --> 00:41:20.679 Covenant faithfulness isn't about getting everything 00:41:20.679 --> 00:41:24.739 right either. But it is about at a base level, 00:41:25.039 --> 00:41:30.500 who we allow to define reality. And so I'm gonna 00:41:30.500 --> 00:41:37.800 move into the conclusion. Who has the right to 00:41:37.800 --> 00:41:39.480 define reality? Well, the modern self answers, 00:41:39.519 --> 00:41:43.780 I do. Scripture says God does. And the difference 00:41:43.780 --> 00:41:47.500 between life and flourishment and fragmentation 00:41:47.500 --> 00:41:51.500 and destruction is in which one you live under. 00:41:54.119 --> 00:41:58.360 The gospel is not the announcement that God finally 00:41:58.360 --> 00:42:03.500 agrees with us. The gospel is the announcement 00:42:03.500 --> 00:42:08.000 that God in love has come to reclaim us, that 00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:11.219 in Jesus, God enters our reality, he takes on 00:42:11.219 --> 00:42:13.780 flesh, he submits to suffering, he bears the 00:42:13.780 --> 00:42:17.000 cost of our rebellion, and he rises from the 00:42:17.000 --> 00:42:21.940 dead, not as a suggestion maker, but as Lord. 00:42:24.610 --> 00:42:27.949 Which means covenant faithfulness is God rescuing 00:42:27.949 --> 00:42:31.010 us from the impossible burden of ruling ourselves. 00:42:31.050 --> 00:42:32.750 Do you understand that, right? When you say that 00:42:32.750 --> 00:42:36.969 he rises as Lord, what you're saying is, I needed 00:42:36.969 --> 00:42:40.769 a Lord. The Lord I had before was not a good 00:42:40.769 --> 00:42:43.869 Lord. I needed a Lord to govern my life. He rises 00:42:43.869 --> 00:42:45.590 as Lord on all who put their faith in him and 00:42:45.590 --> 00:42:49.010 see him as Lord. You know who was Lord before 00:42:49.010 --> 00:42:54.030 him? You were. You were Lord of your own life. 00:42:54.670 --> 00:43:04.210 You are the reason you needed him. Scripture 00:43:04.210 --> 00:43:06.829 calls us to repent. It says lay down your throne. 00:43:08.090 --> 00:43:10.849 Stop insisting on being the final authority over 00:43:10.849 --> 00:43:15.110 what is good, true, and real. Receive your life 00:43:15.110 --> 00:43:20.409 back from the very one who made it. Identity 00:43:20.409 --> 00:43:23.050 was never meant to be negotiated by preferences. 00:43:23.369 --> 00:43:26.170 Truth was never meant to be ratified by consent. 00:43:26.550 --> 00:43:29.630 Freedom is found in faithful alignment with God 00:43:29.630 --> 00:43:37.130 -defined reality. That's where freedom is. And 00:43:37.130 --> 00:43:40.489 reality is governed not by our choices, but by 00:43:40.489 --> 00:43:44.380 a good and gracious King. And so the invitation 00:43:44.380 --> 00:43:46.699 of the gospel is not merely to believe something 00:43:46.699 --> 00:43:52.119 about God. It is to trust Him enough to live 00:43:52.119 --> 00:43:58.260 your life under His truth. And friends, that's 00:43:58.260 --> 00:44:03.940 not loss. That is true in eternal life. Amen.