WEBVTT 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:06.679 Hey all, Pastor John here. Thanks for tuning 00:00:06.679 --> 00:00:09.759 in to the weekly sermon podcast. We pray this 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:12.519 message encourages you, strengthens your faith, 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:15.080 and helps you to take your next step with Jesus. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:18.239 If this content blesses you and you'd like to 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:20.339 be a part of helping us continue to bring the 00:00:20.339 --> 00:00:22.739 gospel to life, we'd love for you to consider 00:00:22.739 --> 00:00:25.739 supporting the ministry of Village. Your generosity 00:00:25.739 --> 00:00:28.339 makes it possible for us to keep creating and 00:00:28.339 --> 00:00:31.510 sharing resources like this podcast. You can 00:00:31.510 --> 00:00:35.250 give safely and easily by visiting sacvillage 00:00:35.250 --> 00:00:39.090 .org slash give or by heading to our website 00:00:39.090 --> 00:00:43.130 at sacvillage .org. Thanks again for listening. 00:00:43.310 --> 00:00:54.990 Now let's dive into this week's message. Leviticus 00:00:54.990 --> 00:00:59.359 1445. For I am the Lord who brought you up out 00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:03.320 of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:07.340 therefore be holy, for I am holy. Let's pray. 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:10.239 Heavenly Father, your name be honored as holy. 00:01:11.819 --> 00:01:13.939 These words that I've written down on this paper, 00:01:14.019 --> 00:01:17.239 they are meaningless without your spirit. We 00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:21.060 pray that your spirit would be present and active 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:23.879 and moving, that we would trust him, that we 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:30.260 would rely on him. to speak to us. That we would 00:01:30.260 --> 00:01:32.659 be able to live out of the reality that there 00:01:32.659 --> 00:01:35.519 is a God in the universe who cares so deeply 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:40.319 about us that he will be present with us. In 00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:44.900 Jesus' name, amen. Nobody from first service, 00:01:44.939 --> 00:01:49.579 give this away. Can you guess the largest practice 00:01:49.579 --> 00:01:53.739 religion in America? You've heard it preached. 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:56.560 I know you have because it's all over your feeds. 00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:00.680 It's all over the morning news. It's on a bunch 00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:02.879 of church, not even church, but just counselors, 00:02:03.180 --> 00:02:05.680 their couches. You will hear it consistently 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:10.620 proclaimed. It is not Christianity, but it gets 00:02:10.620 --> 00:02:13.819 along with Christianity just fine. Many Christians 00:02:13.819 --> 00:02:17.819 even say it's true. This religion, it plays nice 00:02:17.819 --> 00:02:21.469 with about every religion. except those people 00:02:21.469 --> 00:02:23.610 who are like really fanatical, it doesn't like 00:02:23.610 --> 00:02:27.469 those people. Its claims are easy to understand, 00:02:27.590 --> 00:02:30.830 easy to adopt. It offers love and fulfillment. 00:02:31.129 --> 00:02:35.789 It encourages the shame and the guilty. Its followers 00:02:35.789 --> 00:02:38.389 are some of the most kind, welcoming people you 00:02:38.389 --> 00:02:41.669 could meet. As long as you don't disagree with 00:02:41.669 --> 00:02:45.949 them. It has a major, it's been a major driving 00:02:45.949 --> 00:02:48.770 force in our culture for decades. It's actually 00:02:48.770 --> 00:02:52.370 the culture that I grew up with. Have you guessed 00:02:52.370 --> 00:02:58.430 it? Moral therapeutic deism. Most people who 00:02:58.430 --> 00:03:00.710 practice it don't even know it because its marketing 00:03:00.710 --> 00:03:04.669 is so good. You hear it spoken and it just makes 00:03:04.669 --> 00:03:08.530 sense, you know? But moral therapeutic deism 00:03:08.530 --> 00:03:11.090 is the most practiced belief system in America. 00:03:12.140 --> 00:03:14.860 It's actually statistically validated. This is 00:03:14.860 --> 00:03:17.120 not me guessing it or making up stats. But moral 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:19.419 therapeutic deism, it's really more of a descriptor, 00:03:19.419 --> 00:03:21.039 right? Could use a little bit of marketing on 00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:25.580 its name. Moral therapeutic deism means believing 00:03:25.580 --> 00:03:28.599 you should be moral. Good. You should feel good 00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:31.439 about yourself, okay? And there's a God who exists. 00:03:32.979 --> 00:03:36.280 Moral therapeutic deism may be a new term, but 00:03:36.280 --> 00:03:38.840 its beliefs are not. Just this week, I heard 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:41.699 it preached by Christians and ex -Christians. 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:45.500 I saw it on social media, and I saw it on, like, 00:03:45.500 --> 00:03:48.280 advertising for basic household goods. Like, 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:50.439 cleaning supplies should make you feel good about 00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:53.919 yourself kind of thing. Commercials, really. 00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:56.280 It's surprising how they get it everywhere. But 00:03:56.280 --> 00:03:59.240 it has five core tenets. Let's see how many you 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:04.860 agree with. One, there is a God. Two, God ordered 00:04:04.860 --> 00:04:08.250 the world and watches over it. God wants you 00:04:08.250 --> 00:04:11.770 to be a good person. God doesn't demand to be 00:04:11.770 --> 00:04:14.729 in your life day to day, but you can turn to 00:04:14.729 --> 00:04:19.310 him when things go bad. And five, good people 00:04:19.310 --> 00:04:23.529 go to heaven. Does it sound familiar now? Like, 00:04:23.529 --> 00:04:25.769 doesn't it ring? Just, it's right there. This 00:04:25.769 --> 00:04:27.529 police system is everywhere, and it sounds really 00:04:27.529 --> 00:04:30.509 good. This system even uses a lot of Christian 00:04:30.509 --> 00:04:34.709 vocabulary, but it is not Christian. Its followers 00:04:34.709 --> 00:04:37.759 get along with Christians as long as what? We're 00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:41.199 not too Christian. The claims aren't completely 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:44.759 wrong, but they are incomplete. And that's the 00:04:44.759 --> 00:04:48.439 core problem with it. What it says is fine. It's 00:04:48.439 --> 00:04:52.560 palatable. It's easy, but it's incomplete. It 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:54.660 will always lead you astray because it will never 00:04:54.660 --> 00:04:57.819 actually reveal who God is. Let's take a little 00:04:57.819 --> 00:04:59.920 test. You weren't expecting a quiz, but here 00:04:59.920 --> 00:05:01.639 we go. Let's see how many you can get right on 00:05:01.639 --> 00:05:06.259 this. Do you believe God cares more about how 00:05:06.259 --> 00:05:10.439 you act than what you believe about him? Do you 00:05:10.439 --> 00:05:12.439 avoid thinking about sin because it brings down 00:05:12.439 --> 00:05:16.180 your self -worth? Do you ever act like prayer 00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:18.579 is like an Amazon wish list for your life's needs? 00:05:20.699 --> 00:05:23.199 Do you act like reading an inspirational quote 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:25.339 on social media is equal to reading the Bible? 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:30.160 Or maybe you believe that sharing a Bible verse 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:35.120 online is your form of evangelism. Is your vision 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:38.339 of bearing one another's burdens just listening 00:05:38.339 --> 00:05:40.459 to your neighbor's medical history for 20 minutes 00:05:40.459 --> 00:05:44.980 because you were too polite to walk away? Is 00:05:44.980 --> 00:05:48.199 your intercessory prayer for the next young generation 00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:51.480 mostly just asking God for them to get off their 00:05:51.480 --> 00:05:53.319 screens and go outside so they're not around 00:05:53.319 --> 00:05:58.439 you anymore? Do you assume the book of life is 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:00.779 mostly just a list of people who remember to 00:06:00.779 --> 00:06:05.509 live, laugh, and love more? How many did you 00:06:05.509 --> 00:06:12.370 get right? They're jokes, right? Mostly. We all 00:06:12.370 --> 00:06:15.129 know this though, that the lies that are the 00:06:15.129 --> 00:06:17.009 most pervasive are the ones that have a little 00:06:17.009 --> 00:06:21.689 truth in them. Moral therapeutic deism sounds 00:06:21.689 --> 00:06:24.009 great and can look like Christianity at first 00:06:24.009 --> 00:06:27.689 glance, but moral therapeutic deism is not Christianity. 00:06:27.889 --> 00:06:30.649 It is Christianity with Christ still in the grave. 00:06:32.620 --> 00:06:34.779 It's Christ still in the grave because you don't 00:06:34.779 --> 00:06:39.300 need Christ to get to God. And this isn't a problem 00:06:39.300 --> 00:06:44.300 out there. It's not that. It's in here. Moral 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:47.060 therapeuticism is and was taught in youth groups 00:06:47.060 --> 00:06:50.420 and churches across the nation. Again, it is 00:06:50.420 --> 00:06:52.819 what I learned when I was growing up. I went 00:06:52.819 --> 00:06:55.860 to a Christian church. I was in a Christian family, 00:06:55.920 --> 00:06:58.339 but this was the culture that I was steeped in. 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:01.259 Well -meaning church leaders tried to make Christ 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:03.759 more palatable to generations of young people, 00:07:03.860 --> 00:07:06.399 but all they did was set us on a trajectory to 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:11.160 remove Christ altogether. John has been using 00:07:11.160 --> 00:07:13.800 a creation story as we walk through this series, 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:15.680 True and Better, and we're going to turn to Exodus 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:19.540 19 and see the creation of the nation of Israel. 00:07:20.300 --> 00:07:22.639 God is going to come down to Israel and make 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:24.879 a covenant with them. He has just redeemed them 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:27.420 out of Egypt, slavery in Egypt, and he's brought 00:07:27.420 --> 00:07:30.399 them to Mount Sinai to enact this covenant with 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:33.160 his people. And Exodus 19 is going to be on the 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:36.899 screen. But what we need to know as we set the 00:07:36.899 --> 00:07:40.240 story is that God gives Israel this message. 00:07:40.740 --> 00:07:43.500 If you will carefully listen to me and keep my 00:07:43.500 --> 00:07:46.670 commands, you will be my possession. And out 00:07:46.670 --> 00:07:48.529 of all the peoples of the earth, the whole earth 00:07:48.529 --> 00:07:49.930 is mine, but you're going to be my possession. 00:07:50.470 --> 00:07:52.389 And you will be my kingdom of priests and my 00:07:52.389 --> 00:07:54.550 holy nation. And all of Israel says, yep, we're 00:07:54.550 --> 00:07:57.290 going to do it. We will obey the word of the 00:07:57.290 --> 00:08:00.750 Lord. And then this is what God is going to explain 00:08:00.750 --> 00:08:04.689 to Israel, starting in verse 9. The Lord said 00:08:04.689 --> 00:08:06.949 to Moses, I'm going to come down to you in a 00:08:06.949 --> 00:08:09.329 dense cloud so that the people will hear when 00:08:09.329 --> 00:08:11.850 I speak with you and will always believe you. 00:08:12.469 --> 00:08:14.629 Moses reported the people's words to the Lord 00:08:14.629 --> 00:08:17.389 and the Lord told Moses, go to the people and 00:08:17.389 --> 00:08:20.009 consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must 00:08:20.009 --> 00:08:22.810 wash their clothes and be prepared by the third 00:08:22.810 --> 00:08:25.769 day for on the third day, the Lord will come 00:08:25.769 --> 00:08:28.769 down on Mount Zion in the sight of all the people. 00:08:29.389 --> 00:08:32.409 Put boundaries for the people all around the 00:08:32.409 --> 00:08:34.690 mountain and say, be careful that you do not 00:08:34.690 --> 00:08:37.409 go up on the mountain or touch its base. Anyone 00:08:37.409 --> 00:08:39.870 who touches the mountain must be put to death. 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:44.820 No hand may touch him. Instead, he will be stoned 00:08:44.820 --> 00:08:47.679 or shot with arrows and not live, whether animal 00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:51.360 or human. I think I read an extra verse. And 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:53.919 then jumping down to verse 16. On the third day, 00:08:53.940 --> 00:08:56.940 when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, 00:08:57.080 --> 00:08:59.860 a thick cloud on the mountains, a very loud blast 00:08:59.860 --> 00:09:02.360 from a ram's horn, so that the people in the 00:09:02.360 --> 00:09:05.580 camp shuddered. Then Moses brought the people 00:09:05.580 --> 00:09:09.600 out of the camp to meet God. And they stood at 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:12.320 the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was completely 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:14.899 enveloped in the smoke because the Lord came 00:09:14.899 --> 00:09:18.000 down on it in fire. Its smoke went up like the 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:20.200 smoke of a furnace and the whole mountain shook 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:23.080 violently. As the sound of the ram's horn grew 00:09:23.080 --> 00:09:25.500 louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered 00:09:25.500 --> 00:09:28.519 him in the thunder. The Lord came down on Mount 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:31.899 Zion at the top of the mountain. Then the Lord 00:09:31.899 --> 00:09:33.559 summoned Moses to the top of the mountain and 00:09:33.559 --> 00:09:36.049 he went up. The Lord directed Moses, go down 00:09:36.049 --> 00:09:38.690 and warn the people not to break through to see 00:09:38.690 --> 00:09:42.049 the Lord. Otherwise, many of them will die. Even 00:09:42.049 --> 00:09:45.629 the priests who come near the Lord must consecrate 00:09:45.629 --> 00:09:48.409 themselves or the Lord will break out in anger 00:09:48.409 --> 00:09:52.149 against them. Moses goes down and then he warns 00:09:52.149 --> 00:09:53.950 the people again. So he did that same cycle. 00:09:54.029 --> 00:09:55.269 And then he goes back up the mountain and what 00:09:55.269 --> 00:09:58.809 does he get? The 10 commandments. And this is 00:09:58.809 --> 00:10:01.110 the people's response after they see all of this. 00:10:02.129 --> 00:10:04.990 Exodus 20, verse 18. All the people witnessed 00:10:04.990 --> 00:10:07.169 the thunder and lightning, the sound of the ram's 00:10:07.169 --> 00:10:09.289 horn, and the mountains surrounded by smoke. 00:10:09.710 --> 00:10:12.549 When the people saw it, they trembled and stood 00:10:12.549 --> 00:10:16.370 at a distance. You speak to us and we will listen, 00:10:16.429 --> 00:10:19.789 they told Moses, but don't let God speak to us 00:10:19.789 --> 00:10:30.509 or we will die. What are you going to do with 00:10:30.509 --> 00:10:32.610 God's holiness? That's my first point this morning. 00:10:33.740 --> 00:10:36.940 What will you do with God's holiness? These people 00:10:36.940 --> 00:10:39.480 experienced the holiness of God and they feared 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:43.240 for their lives. They saw it and their response 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:48.500 was, oh, this is not healthy for me. We are in 00:10:48.500 --> 00:10:51.500 the exact same position. It's not a distant reality 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:55.759 for us. God's holiness is our biggest problem. 00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:59.940 God's love and power and mercy and truth and 00:10:59.940 --> 00:11:02.860 justice. Those are not our problems because those 00:11:02.860 --> 00:11:05.799 are the things that we call on to help us with 00:11:05.799 --> 00:11:09.740 our problems. But holiness, that's a problem. 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:13.000 Throughout the Bible, anyone who experiences 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:15.059 the holiness of God's presence, immediately, 00:11:15.240 --> 00:11:19.259 everything about them changes. Isaiah captures 00:11:19.259 --> 00:11:24.799 it well. I am ruined. So how do we humans deal 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:26.519 with this problem? It's an ever -present problem 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:29.960 for us. We create a new reality to explain God's 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:33.710 holiness. There's simple denial, just fill our 00:11:33.710 --> 00:11:35.549 lives up with something, focus on something. 00:11:35.870 --> 00:11:38.029 God doesn't exist, he's not holy, therefore I 00:11:38.029 --> 00:11:39.470 don't have to worry about him. We just kind of 00:11:39.470 --> 00:11:44.330 block it out altogether. But most of us, we rationalize 00:11:44.330 --> 00:11:48.350 it in some way. We can bring God's holiness down 00:11:48.350 --> 00:11:51.509 to our level, or we can raise ourselves up to 00:11:51.509 --> 00:11:54.769 be equal with the Lord. The most common way, 00:11:54.830 --> 00:11:58.070 I think, is to bring God's holiness down. And 00:11:58.070 --> 00:12:01.000 that's what moral therapeutic deism does. To 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:03.179 make God less holy, make God less transcendent. 00:12:03.179 --> 00:12:06.080 Remove his separateness and thus make him about 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:12.240 me. You know, he accepts me for who I am. He 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:16.059 just wants me to be getting better. He wants 00:12:16.059 --> 00:12:19.519 me to be fulfilled. Great, you made God about 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:24.779 your life plans. Or you can bring yourself up 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:28.720 to be equal with his holiness. And sure, nobody's 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:30.340 going to say it out loud. Nobody's going to say 00:12:30.340 --> 00:12:33.820 those words. But you ever heard this one? The 00:12:33.820 --> 00:12:35.740 self -righteous, their actions, they reveal the 00:12:35.740 --> 00:12:37.940 heart, you know? You know, I'm always just always 00:12:37.940 --> 00:12:40.799 looking to serve other people. If it wasn't for 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:42.120 me, this whole place would be falling apart. 00:12:44.299 --> 00:12:48.299 This is replacing a holy God with yourself. You 00:12:48.299 --> 00:12:50.399 are now responsible for it to keep the world 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:54.779 spinning. You put yourself on his throne. And 00:12:54.779 --> 00:12:58.639 if you look inside you all, And reinterpret God's 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:02.539 holiness to make it more palatable for you. And 00:13:02.539 --> 00:13:05.059 I do it too because we're sinners. And that's 00:13:05.059 --> 00:13:10.200 what sin is. So what is it? What's this thing 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:13.639 that I keep describing? God's holiness. How do 00:13:13.639 --> 00:13:15.559 we understand something that is literally defined 00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:18.159 as separate? That's an easy definition to get. 00:13:18.259 --> 00:13:19.639 It's separate. It's different. It's otherness. 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:22.399 It's transcendent. It's like I'm he, me, they're 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:26.960 different. So I want to use a different definition. 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:30.220 It's a little bit hard. This is my definition 00:13:30.220 --> 00:13:33.919 for us. The manifestation of the chief affection 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:38.940 God has for the Godhead. The manifestation of 00:13:38.940 --> 00:13:42.159 the chief affection God has for the Godhead. 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:45.019 And I'm going to keep changing some of the words 00:13:45.019 --> 00:13:46.659 in that definition because it's not about the 00:13:46.659 --> 00:13:49.080 words. So you'll hear a whole bunch of different 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:50.860 words. I'm just going to highlight it now. I'm 00:13:50.860 --> 00:13:52.720 going to use joy and delight and satisfaction. 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:54.620 And I'm just going to keep changing those words 00:13:54.620 --> 00:13:59.399 because we all know the feeling. Here's Psalm 00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:03.340 96, 8 and 9. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due 00:14:03.340 --> 00:14:06.039 his name. Bring an offering and come into his 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:08.700 courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his 00:14:08.700 --> 00:14:12.940 holiness. Tremble before him all the earth. The 00:14:12.940 --> 00:14:15.360 worshipers are commanded to worship the Lord. 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:21.960 Why? Because it is due him. Worship the splendor 00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:26.139 of his holiness. This isn't some lame, dull worship 00:14:26.139 --> 00:14:30.600 set. This is like the whole band is there. Everybody's 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:32.379 on fire tonight. They're just feeling it, and 00:14:32.379 --> 00:14:34.940 you got it too, and you're just like, I got to 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:39.179 just express this thing. The command is to enjoy 00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:44.500 the Lord's holiness. Worship necessitates that 00:14:44.500 --> 00:14:49.179 you find the object worthy, and if worthy, enjoyable. 00:14:50.889 --> 00:14:54.129 These verses show the command to follow God's 00:14:54.129 --> 00:14:57.909 example. We are commanded to follow his example, 00:14:58.110 --> 00:15:02.730 which is enjoy the Godhead in its perfection. 00:15:03.830 --> 00:15:06.730 So when the angels are singing, holy, holy, holy 00:15:06.730 --> 00:15:10.129 is the Lord almighty in Isaiah 6, they are saying 00:15:10.129 --> 00:15:14.769 their chief satisfaction is in the Lord, which 00:15:14.769 --> 00:15:16.669 is exactly what God is doing in the Trinity, 00:15:16.830 --> 00:15:20.059 right? God, three persons in one. He's expressing 00:15:20.059 --> 00:15:22.100 joy and fulfillment and delight and satisfaction 00:15:22.100 --> 00:15:23.799 and affection and love. And again, fill whatever 00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:25.980 word you want in there. You got your preference 00:15:25.980 --> 00:15:28.519 of word? Great, use that word. That's what he's 00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:31.100 doing to the other members of the Godhead. Perfectly, 00:15:31.100 --> 00:15:34.000 all of the time. The angels are just trying to 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:37.580 use their words. And when Isaiah sees the Lord 00:15:37.580 --> 00:15:40.899 in this same vision, he immediately sees how 00:15:40.899 --> 00:15:44.639 sinful and different he is from God. Woe is me, 00:15:44.740 --> 00:15:50.710 I am ruined. Why? Because Isaiah doesn't have 00:15:50.710 --> 00:15:55.029 the same level of affection for God as God has 00:15:55.029 --> 00:15:59.289 for himself. Or when the Israelites saw the Lord 00:15:59.289 --> 00:16:01.309 descend on the mountain, cover the mountain in 00:16:01.309 --> 00:16:05.129 cloud and lightning and power and fire, why couldn't 00:16:05.129 --> 00:16:09.389 they come close? Because a God that is singularly 00:16:09.389 --> 00:16:13.210 focused, chiefly focused on loving the Godhead 00:16:13.210 --> 00:16:16.129 will not allow sin or anything that looks like 00:16:16.129 --> 00:16:18.990 death come near him. It's an act of judgment 00:16:18.990 --> 00:16:22.389 on me. It's an act of honor and righteousness 00:16:22.389 --> 00:16:27.509 for him. He is loving the Godhead and protecting 00:16:27.509 --> 00:16:30.409 the Godhead. That is what he should be doing, 00:16:30.429 --> 00:16:34.690 and I should be doing the same. So when God is 00:16:34.690 --> 00:16:37.649 set apart, because at the core of his being, 00:16:37.750 --> 00:16:43.470 he is chiefly, fully delighted in loving, celebrating, 00:16:43.669 --> 00:16:47.460 enjoying the other members of the Trinity. Which 00:16:47.460 --> 00:16:51.620 means as much as we delight in God, we become 00:16:51.620 --> 00:16:56.700 holy. As much as you delight in the Father, you 00:16:56.700 --> 00:16:58.720 become holy. As much as you delight in the Son, 00:16:58.820 --> 00:17:00.980 you become holy. As much as you love the Spirit, 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:04.700 you become holy. But if we do not delight in 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:07.700 Him, if we say He is unworthy of our affection, 00:17:08.059 --> 00:17:13.279 who are you to say that to Him? He is the Holy 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:16.789 Trinity. He is worthy, but you said he's not. 00:17:17.250 --> 00:17:19.549 And if you don't recognize him every minute of 00:17:19.549 --> 00:17:23.690 every day, that he is that way, you have failed 00:17:23.690 --> 00:17:26.529 him. You have failed to correctly honor him, 00:17:26.569 --> 00:17:30.369 and you are worthy of his judgment. And I know 00:17:30.369 --> 00:17:32.769 I'm cutting against the grain here. I'm well 00:17:32.769 --> 00:17:36.890 aware of that. God is not like that. He's like, 00:17:37.049 --> 00:17:43.009 no, no, my God is, I wish a God was. We know 00:17:43.009 --> 00:17:44.970 the words. You have them in your head. I know 00:17:44.970 --> 00:17:49.349 you do. Think about this. Why is it so important 00:17:49.349 --> 00:17:51.630 that God is not singularly focused on delighting 00:17:51.630 --> 00:17:54.329 in God? Why do you want to change that? I change 00:17:54.329 --> 00:18:01.809 it. I know I do. I sin. We are commanded to love 00:18:01.809 --> 00:18:04.349 and worship him. Why do you want him to be focused 00:18:04.349 --> 00:18:06.869 on anything else? Which leads me to my second 00:18:06.869 --> 00:18:17.660 point. Why do you want to go to heaven? We all 00:18:17.660 --> 00:18:20.220 think about it. Actually, I think it's a great 00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:22.019 trick the Bible pulls on us, that it doesn't 00:18:22.019 --> 00:18:25.000 really describe heaven. So then we are forced 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:27.900 to fit in whatever we wanted in the place of 00:18:27.900 --> 00:18:31.799 heaven. And so then it really exposes who we 00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:34.559 are. Actually, my hope is in having this. My 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:38.460 hope is in having that. You ever notice that 00:18:38.460 --> 00:18:40.559 all the world religions and cults, they all choose 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:42.000 something that's good down here and then just 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:46.009 make it better in heaven? And celebrities, they 00:18:46.009 --> 00:18:48.029 love to talk about heaven and they all assume 00:18:48.029 --> 00:18:51.849 they're going. Oprah said this, heaven is going 00:18:51.849 --> 00:18:54.009 to be a place where you do what you love with 00:18:54.009 --> 00:18:57.170 the people that you love. I have so many questions 00:18:57.170 --> 00:19:01.410 about that. I don't want to be locked in her 00:19:01.410 --> 00:19:07.549 heaven. So what's your reason? Less pain? Good 00:19:07.549 --> 00:19:10.509 food and drink? Finally get all your answers? 00:19:10.730 --> 00:19:15.190 See your loved ones? Those are good things. Listen 00:19:15.190 --> 00:19:20.230 to this, 1 John 3, 2. We know that when he appears, 00:19:20.410 --> 00:19:23.650 we shall be like him because we shall see him 00:19:23.650 --> 00:19:28.789 as he is. Philippians 1, 21. For to me, to live 00:19:28.789 --> 00:19:35.089 is Christ and to die is gain. The reason to go 00:19:35.089 --> 00:19:39.049 to heaven is to be like Christ. If living is 00:19:39.049 --> 00:19:42.650 Christ, what do you get by dying? If your life 00:19:42.650 --> 00:19:45.400 here is defined by Christ, what would be the 00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:49.420 prize in the afterlife? It's the Sunday school 00:19:49.420 --> 00:19:57.359 answer. Jesus. More Jesus. Paul is saying heaven 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:00.579 is how we get more Christ. Heaven is about Christ 00:20:00.579 --> 00:20:03.059 being with him and being like him, which means, 00:20:03.140 --> 00:20:07.660 use our definition, being chiefly satisfied in 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:12.369 him. I got feedback from somebody. I'm just going 00:20:12.369 --> 00:20:14.690 to try to keep twisting like this diamond because 00:20:14.690 --> 00:20:16.809 it's hard to put your mind around it. And I get 00:20:16.809 --> 00:20:19.049 that. I've been meditating on this for weeks. 00:20:19.349 --> 00:20:21.549 So I'm just going to keep trying to change it. 00:20:21.609 --> 00:20:23.930 But don't get hung up on one definition or one 00:20:23.930 --> 00:20:26.410 word or that kind of thing. Keep rotating it. 00:20:26.430 --> 00:20:30.109 Keep mulling around in your head. John Piper 00:20:30.109 --> 00:20:32.069 says this about heaven. Could you be satisfied 00:20:32.069 --> 00:20:37.420 in heaven if Christ were not there? Because heaven 00:20:37.420 --> 00:20:40.440 is ultimately about being satisfied and delighting 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:43.460 in Christ. Which sounds exactly like our definition. 00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:47.299 The manifestation of the chief affection that 00:20:47.299 --> 00:20:51.619 God has for the Godhead. So in heaven, we are 00:20:51.619 --> 00:20:53.839 just finally able to experience it completely 00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:56.279 and fully with no separation, no division, no 00:20:56.279 --> 00:20:59.420 distractions whatsoever. We get to do the thing 00:20:59.420 --> 00:21:03.579 that's the most satisfying. And if you keep trying 00:21:03.579 --> 00:21:05.700 to put something else in there or keep trying 00:21:05.700 --> 00:21:10.420 to add something to that idea of heaven, it's 00:21:10.420 --> 00:21:15.740 real bad. Just to tie these things together. 00:21:18.460 --> 00:21:21.400 If you bring God's holiness down, you're also 00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:23.000 going to bring heaven down because it's going 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:26.779 to lose its splendor real quick. Because heaven, 00:21:27.019 --> 00:21:29.440 if you think of heaven just like retiring early 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:32.779 with infinite money, you're going to get bored 00:21:32.779 --> 00:21:35.359 real quick because it's all about you. The whole 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:37.299 thing revolves around what is your passion and 00:21:37.299 --> 00:21:41.559 desire for that time, that day. And if you do 00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:43.599 the opposite, raise yourself up and make yourself 00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:47.299 equal with the holy God and make him some part 00:21:47.299 --> 00:21:49.180 of your affection that he should be giving you 00:21:49.180 --> 00:21:50.900 some, you're just going to create a little throne 00:21:50.900 --> 00:21:53.420 next to his. Well, I should get some of it. You 00:21:53.420 --> 00:21:55.559 get most of it, but I get some of it. We'll split 00:21:55.559 --> 00:22:01.009 it. Heaven is where God's holiness It's fully 00:22:01.009 --> 00:22:04.410 on display. And we participate in the enjoyment 00:22:04.410 --> 00:22:06.390 of it. And again, if you keep adding anything 00:22:06.390 --> 00:22:08.329 else to it, you're going to be really surprised 00:22:08.329 --> 00:22:10.390 when you get there. You're not going to be disappointed, 00:22:10.650 --> 00:22:15.789 but you're going to be really surprised. Moral 00:22:15.789 --> 00:22:17.589 therapeutic deism, what does it say about heaven? 00:22:17.730 --> 00:22:19.990 It says there is a heaven. And it says good people 00:22:19.990 --> 00:22:23.029 go to heaven. The Bible makes it abundantly clear. 00:22:24.130 --> 00:22:27.509 Justified people go to heaven. God is the one 00:22:27.509 --> 00:22:30.660 who justifies us, not our good works. Good works 00:22:30.660 --> 00:22:33.460 are not an end of themselves. It is the response 00:22:33.460 --> 00:22:37.759 of a justified heart. And that order is so, so 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:40.440 important. And it leads me to my last point. 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:46.220 How will you be formed? Point one is... Actually, 00:22:46.259 --> 00:22:49.900 I forget what it is. What is it? What will you 00:22:49.900 --> 00:22:54.819 do with God's holiness? Second point. Why do 00:22:54.819 --> 00:22:58.299 you want to go to heaven? Third point. How will 00:22:58.299 --> 00:23:03.230 you be formed? So here's the application part, 00:23:03.329 --> 00:23:05.329 right? Like, okay, Nick, team me up. Give me 00:23:05.329 --> 00:23:08.730 the application. Give me the three steps. That 00:23:08.730 --> 00:23:12.230 goes against what I'm trying to say. I could 00:23:12.230 --> 00:23:14.369 say, yeah, don't smoke, drink, or chew, or go 00:23:14.369 --> 00:23:21.490 with those who do. But I've been saying it's 00:23:21.490 --> 00:23:25.250 not about the outward stuff. And sure, like, 00:23:25.269 --> 00:23:27.190 the actions should be there. They should follow. 00:23:27.509 --> 00:23:29.990 They need to be there. The Bible expects them. 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:35.039 But the Bible commands first that our affections 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:38.500 be aligned correctly. The thing God wants is 00:23:38.500 --> 00:23:42.019 your holiness. He's not impressed with your rags 00:23:42.019 --> 00:23:47.140 of righteousness. And your holiness is you having 00:23:47.140 --> 00:23:51.160 affection that is found in him. That order cannot 00:23:51.160 --> 00:23:53.940 be ignored. The thing we have to fight for every 00:23:53.940 --> 00:23:56.640 day is doing the right things from the right 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:58.940 joy. Or if you need to hear it differently, from 00:23:58.940 --> 00:24:02.329 the right motivation. Our culture, the air we 00:24:02.329 --> 00:24:05.849 breathe, the sauce that we're baked in, takes 00:24:05.849 --> 00:24:09.029 a scalpel to Christianity, acts like God's holiness 00:24:09.029 --> 00:24:11.789 does not exist, that it's the cancer that needs 00:24:11.789 --> 00:24:15.549 to be removed. But in reality, they're just operating 00:24:15.549 --> 00:24:18.789 on themselves, cutting out their lungs, and are 00:24:18.789 --> 00:24:20.910 surprised that they're out of breath whenever 00:24:20.910 --> 00:24:24.609 they search for joy or satisfaction. Every time. 00:24:25.130 --> 00:24:28.849 Why didn't that leave me more fulfilled? I saw 00:24:28.849 --> 00:24:32.890 a comedian. He was talking about how wanting 00:24:32.890 --> 00:24:34.890 is the fun thing and having is really, really 00:24:34.890 --> 00:24:37.309 lame. And it's like this, like he didn't even 00:24:37.309 --> 00:24:39.130 like say really clear words. It's just everybody 00:24:39.130 --> 00:24:42.130 knows that I wanting is like this, I want to 00:24:42.130 --> 00:24:43.829 be fulfilled. And then having is like, I don't 00:24:43.829 --> 00:24:46.230 know, I have, like whatever. I can move on past 00:24:46.230 --> 00:24:50.950 it. It doesn't mean anything. So moral living 00:24:50.950 --> 00:24:54.130 pursued primarily to be a better person and love 00:24:54.130 --> 00:24:58.990 people. That's not Christianity. It goes by many 00:24:58.990 --> 00:25:02.569 names though. Codependency, radical compassion, 00:25:02.970 --> 00:25:06.009 tolerance, and the religion of our day, moral 00:25:06.009 --> 00:25:10.190 therapeutic deism. Doing actions to be moral 00:25:10.190 --> 00:25:12.630 will always leave you filling the hole in your 00:25:12.630 --> 00:25:15.490 heart with people and experiences and disappointed. 00:25:16.450 --> 00:25:20.829 But be careful. Living focused on being more 00:25:20.829 --> 00:25:23.630 like Christ through effort and personal sacrifice. 00:25:25.079 --> 00:25:27.299 more spiritual disciplines, that's all I need. 00:25:27.339 --> 00:25:30.339 I just need more discipline in my life, often 00:25:30.339 --> 00:25:33.940 turns into legalism and white knuckling for Christ. 00:25:35.220 --> 00:25:38.019 It has the right language, the right outward 00:25:38.019 --> 00:25:40.259 appearance and probably some good intentions 00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:43.019 in there, but often turns into a Christian that 00:25:43.019 --> 00:25:46.339 is disappointed in Christ. There is no passion. 00:25:46.519 --> 00:25:49.799 There's very little joy. You shame the name of 00:25:49.799 --> 00:25:51.839 Jesus because that is literally the definition 00:25:51.839 --> 00:25:55.140 of losing your first love. You're just saying 00:25:55.140 --> 00:26:03.420 I can be like him if I work harder. Your affections 00:26:03.420 --> 00:26:07.319 form you. A saying in a book that I'm working 00:26:07.319 --> 00:26:13.480 through is you are what you love. The affections 00:26:13.480 --> 00:26:16.019 form a person into something that's greater if 00:26:16.019 --> 00:26:19.640 they are in Christ. It's not your actions, it's 00:26:19.640 --> 00:26:22.140 not your goals that form you. It's the things 00:26:22.140 --> 00:26:23.920 that you are willing to give up other things 00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:27.859 for because you love them. You are what you love. 00:26:29.380 --> 00:26:32.140 I'm going to try to use this example. It came 00:26:32.140 --> 00:26:33.640 from this morning. I was listening to a podcast. 00:26:34.440 --> 00:26:36.180 And I didn't even mean to. I just stumbled up. 00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:38.240 And this is this guy. He was a senator for 10 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:40.420 years. Three months ago, he was diagnosed with 00:26:40.420 --> 00:26:42.779 stage four pancreatic cancer. He's got like 90 00:26:42.779 --> 00:26:46.299 days to six months to live. Just life hit him 00:26:46.299 --> 00:26:50.980 hard, right? And he was speaking. It's not a 00:26:50.980 --> 00:26:52.920 Christian podcast, but he was just speaking in 00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:57.420 this way, in this tone, that he just loved Jesus. 00:26:57.539 --> 00:26:59.960 He actually sounded like somebody who believed 00:26:59.960 --> 00:27:02.720 moral therapeutic deism. He had those outward 00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:05.279 trappings. But I could just hear in his heart, 00:27:05.339 --> 00:27:07.640 in his speech, that no, no, no, there was so 00:27:07.640 --> 00:27:11.940 much more there. And I highlight this because 00:27:11.940 --> 00:27:14.539 we all know those people who are really holy. 00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:19.319 And they just sound different, right? You come 00:27:19.319 --> 00:27:20.920 at them with an attack, and they're like Teflon. 00:27:20.920 --> 00:27:22.559 They don't even try to defend it. It just rolls 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:26.099 off of them. You come out with a complaint, and 00:27:26.099 --> 00:27:27.519 they're just like, man, I'm so sorry. And they 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:29.180 just won't gossip with you. And you're just like, 00:27:29.240 --> 00:27:30.460 I just want to gossip here. And they're like, 00:27:30.500 --> 00:27:32.500 no, I don't want to. But they do it in the most 00:27:32.500 --> 00:27:35.180 loving, kind, inviting way. That they're willing 00:27:35.180 --> 00:27:37.559 to listen to your problems because they love 00:27:37.559 --> 00:27:40.279 you, but they're not willing to be dishonoring 00:27:40.279 --> 00:27:44.539 to other people. Again, fit in whatever example 00:27:44.539 --> 00:27:47.819 you want to. You can hear that the person's love 00:27:47.819 --> 00:27:51.480 and affection have formed them into being something 00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:55.900 that is not of this world. And then you have 00:27:55.900 --> 00:27:59.099 the other people. It could be yourself. It could 00:27:59.099 --> 00:28:01.160 be somebody you know. They have all the outward 00:28:01.160 --> 00:28:05.460 trappings. None of the inside. And they're always 00:28:05.460 --> 00:28:08.039 doing the thing that they disagree with. And 00:28:08.039 --> 00:28:09.500 you don't know why they have so many problems. 00:28:09.700 --> 00:28:15.779 And now you do. So when you have true joy, True 00:28:15.779 --> 00:28:20.940 delight. When Christ calls you, hey, come on, 00:28:20.960 --> 00:28:24.099 let's go. Deny yourself, pick up your cross, 00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:28.519 follow me. Let's go die. You're not sad. You're 00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:31.019 not fearful. You're not doubting. You are saying, 00:28:31.099 --> 00:28:34.220 this is going to be hard, but my affections are 00:28:34.220 --> 00:28:37.460 for you, and so I'm going to expect good. I'm 00:28:37.460 --> 00:28:40.259 going to expect more joy in the end of this. 00:28:40.619 --> 00:28:45.809 Hard, yes. Joy, yes. And if you want to live 00:28:45.809 --> 00:28:48.990 this out with holiness, you must be formed into 00:28:48.990 --> 00:28:51.630 it. Your affections, your heart, your joy, your 00:28:51.630 --> 00:28:54.650 delight. Again, pick the word that's best for 00:28:54.650 --> 00:28:59.309 you. And that has to be the thing. And anything 00:28:59.309 --> 00:29:02.509 that's not that, that's not towards Christ, that's 00:29:02.509 --> 00:29:06.369 not towards the Godhead, you have to submit that. 00:29:06.490 --> 00:29:13.230 You have to let it go. Romans 12 .2 says, do 00:29:13.230 --> 00:29:15.549 not be conformed to this age, but be transformed 00:29:15.549 --> 00:29:20.630 by the renewing of your mind. I, for the longest 00:29:20.630 --> 00:29:23.710 time, read this verse like, oh, my mind being 00:29:23.710 --> 00:29:26.910 renewed is transformation. That's not what it 00:29:26.910 --> 00:29:30.950 says. It says, be transformed by the renewing 00:29:30.950 --> 00:29:33.890 of your mind. You are transformed in the whole 00:29:33.890 --> 00:29:36.950 person that comes through the renewing of your 00:29:36.950 --> 00:29:41.750 mind. So your body, your personhood, your psyche, 00:29:41.950 --> 00:29:46.450 your spirit, your soul, your love, your actions, 00:29:46.450 --> 00:29:48.430 they're all transformed and that comes through 00:29:48.430 --> 00:29:52.269 renewing of the mind. And I have two points written 00:29:52.269 --> 00:29:53.849 down, but a third one actually has come to me 00:29:53.849 --> 00:29:57.710 this morning. The two things the Bible really 00:29:57.710 --> 00:30:01.470 calls us to consistently are scripture and community. 00:30:01.630 --> 00:30:02.970 And the third one this morning that really hit 00:30:02.970 --> 00:30:09.670 me was prayer. Transformation comes through many 00:30:09.670 --> 00:30:11.750 experiences, trials, and learnings, but the primary 00:30:11.750 --> 00:30:14.349 way are those three things because they renew 00:30:14.349 --> 00:30:19.690 our mind. Scripture, community, and prayer. Scripture, 00:30:19.750 --> 00:30:22.990 what happens to the person who meditates on Torah 00:30:22.990 --> 00:30:27.029 in Psalm 1? They become a tree, a well -watered 00:30:27.029 --> 00:30:30.829 tree. They change the person. And community, 00:30:30.970 --> 00:30:37.730 it's the proven ground, isn't it? It forced us 00:30:37.730 --> 00:30:40.430 to be something different. And prayer does the 00:30:40.430 --> 00:30:43.009 same thing where we submit our desires for the 00:30:43.009 --> 00:30:46.509 future to the Lord. We submit our plans. We submit 00:30:46.509 --> 00:30:48.450 everything kind of about where we're gonna go. 00:30:49.009 --> 00:30:51.269 And we express our desires. And if those desires 00:30:51.269 --> 00:30:55.049 are misaligned to him, then we're gonna be misaligned 00:30:55.049 --> 00:30:57.549 with him. And that means our affections are misaligned 00:30:57.549 --> 00:31:01.970 with him. So here's my example to try to like 00:31:01.970 --> 00:31:04.609 flesh this out. What does it look like? Anybody 00:31:04.609 --> 00:31:07.819 here have a successful workout plan? Anybody 00:31:07.819 --> 00:31:10.240 here give up on their workout plan for the year? 00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:15.400 Working out is one of those things that you have 00:31:15.400 --> 00:31:17.940 to plan for. You have to think about it. You've 00:31:17.940 --> 00:31:20.579 got to put it into practice. But if you start 00:31:20.579 --> 00:31:22.380 working out with any of the earlier preparations, 00:31:22.579 --> 00:31:25.759 you feel sick. You feel yucky. Or you have to 00:31:25.759 --> 00:31:27.779 work harder because you're contradicting yourself 00:31:27.779 --> 00:31:31.420 in another area by eating too much. But if you 00:31:31.420 --> 00:31:34.480 work out more, do you just get the ability to 00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:36.849 work out more? Is that all that happens? No, 00:31:36.890 --> 00:31:39.890 it changes all of you, your desires. You physically 00:31:39.890 --> 00:31:41.950 want to work out more because you get more endorphins 00:31:41.950 --> 00:31:44.230 and your body changes shape. Isn't that nice? 00:31:45.589 --> 00:31:48.250 And you want to eat different foods because they 00:31:48.250 --> 00:31:50.950 make you feel good. You make plans, you change 00:31:50.950 --> 00:31:53.490 your plans, you sacrifice for things. Working 00:31:53.490 --> 00:31:56.670 out changes your emotions, your habits, your 00:31:56.670 --> 00:32:02.029 outward appearance, your psyche, all of it. The 00:32:02.029 --> 00:32:04.849 same thing goes for spiritual formation. It changes 00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:08.640 All of us. All the way down. But it's also like 00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:09.880 working out a little bit. Maybe there's some 00:32:09.880 --> 00:32:12.140 ups and some downs, some spurts and starts, some 00:32:12.140 --> 00:32:15.380 failures and some successes. It's not a clean 00:32:15.380 --> 00:32:21.019 track record. But we know, and you have to submit 00:32:21.019 --> 00:32:25.539 to it, the primary locus of spiritual formation 00:32:25.539 --> 00:32:30.420 isn't inside of you. It's the church, it's scripture, 00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:36.000 and it's prayer. And the thing about community 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:39.420 in particular, the church, is that in this place, 00:32:39.460 --> 00:32:42.220 you will be known and accepted. And we all want 00:32:42.220 --> 00:32:47.019 that. But that means you will be known and you 00:32:47.019 --> 00:32:51.200 must be accepting. But there's no substitute 00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:54.779 for these. Over and over and over, scripture 00:32:54.779 --> 00:32:59.250 says, pray, read me, and go to church. There's 00:32:59.250 --> 00:33:01.230 no conference, there's no experience, there's 00:33:01.230 --> 00:33:03.210 no author, there's no friend group. Whatever 00:33:03.210 --> 00:33:05.750 you want to put in there, it will not be as informative 00:33:05.750 --> 00:33:11.190 as these. And 2 ,000 years of martyrs and discipleship 00:33:11.190 --> 00:33:14.789 and worldwide growth is a really good track record. 00:33:17.450 --> 00:33:21.349 So what does this look like in practice? Think 00:33:21.349 --> 00:33:24.950 about your disagreements. Think about how, if 00:33:24.950 --> 00:33:27.710 your affections are focused on Christ, and on 00:33:27.710 --> 00:33:29.490 him and delighting in him and being satisfied 00:33:29.490 --> 00:33:32.029 in him, what is that going to mean for your disagreements 00:33:32.029 --> 00:33:34.569 with people? What is that going to mean for your 00:33:34.569 --> 00:33:36.049 parenting with kids? Like your kids won't even 00:33:36.049 --> 00:33:40.430 recognize you anymore. What about your boss or 00:33:40.430 --> 00:33:42.410 your coworkers? Your emails are going to be like 00:33:42.410 --> 00:33:44.809 the nicest, no passive aggressive emails there 00:33:44.809 --> 00:33:47.609 could be. And you will actually want to help 00:33:47.609 --> 00:33:50.609 them. Everything just starts to trickle out of 00:33:50.609 --> 00:33:53.009 this. And you will see new things that you need 00:33:53.009 --> 00:33:55.150 to work on and then you can work on them and 00:33:55.150 --> 00:33:59.819 you can keep being formed. I'm going to end here. 00:34:00.599 --> 00:34:04.140 If the Spirit is putting something on your heart 00:34:04.140 --> 00:34:06.980 this morning, please listen. Pause whatever you 00:34:06.980 --> 00:34:11.079 are doing and listen. Because repentance is simply 00:34:11.079 --> 00:34:13.059 acknowledging that you've had disordered love. 00:34:14.940 --> 00:34:17.139 Which if we use our definition, I'm going to 00:34:17.139 --> 00:34:18.840 keep coming back into it. I need you guys to 00:34:18.840 --> 00:34:22.179 know this. Our definition of holiness is the 00:34:22.179 --> 00:34:25.079 chief manifestation of God's satisfaction in 00:34:25.079 --> 00:34:27.900 himself. Which means God loves himself. above 00:34:27.900 --> 00:34:29.739 everything else, and you are commanded to do 00:34:29.739 --> 00:34:33.000 the same. And if you haven't, repent. Just say, 00:34:33.079 --> 00:34:35.340 that was not my love, and I want it to be my 00:34:35.340 --> 00:34:39.679 love. So if you see actions, attitudes, lifestyles, 00:34:39.679 --> 00:34:42.699 whatever, repent. Because my hope this morning 00:34:42.699 --> 00:34:44.780 is that I've just pulled back that curtain just 00:34:44.780 --> 00:34:47.320 a smidge, just so you can see the Lord a little 00:34:47.320 --> 00:34:50.019 bit better. And when that happened to Isaiah, 00:34:50.179 --> 00:34:53.900 when he saw the Lord clearly, he repented. Woe 00:34:53.900 --> 00:34:56.280 is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of 00:34:56.280 --> 00:34:59.079 unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean 00:34:59.079 --> 00:35:01.780 lips, because my eyes have seen the King, the 00:35:01.780 --> 00:35:05.940 Lord of armies. And what is God's response? Forgiveness. 00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:09.679 God's holiness moves him to forgiveness because 00:35:09.679 --> 00:35:13.340 it brings him joy, and our response should be 00:35:13.340 --> 00:35:13.559 worship.