WEBVTT 00:00:00.110 --> 00:00:04.450 I consider everything a loss, compared to the 00:00:04.450 --> 00:00:07.330 surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, 00:00:07.509 --> 00:00:12.250 my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. 00:00:12.769 --> 00:00:18.210 I consider them rubbish. That I may gain Christ 00:00:18.210 --> 00:00:21.989 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness 00:00:21.989 --> 00:00:25.890 of my own that comes from the law, but that which 00:00:25.890 --> 00:00:29.350 is through faith in Christ. the righteousness 00:00:29.350 --> 00:00:35.590 that comes from God and is by faith. This week, 00:00:36.109 --> 00:00:38.729 Los Angeles burned and all America smelled the 00:00:38.729 --> 00:00:43.229 smoke. I would suppose that every one of us, 00:00:43.229 --> 00:00:46.009 at some time, have seen over the past months 00:00:46.009 --> 00:00:49.850 the 81 seconds of video tape that showed the 00:00:49.850 --> 00:00:53.409 beating of Rodney King by the LA police officers. 00:00:56.039 --> 00:00:58.799 No one who looks at that tape can think anything 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:02.939 other than that it's sickening It's horrifying 00:01:02.939 --> 00:01:09.079 and it's brutal Because we saw the tape over 00:01:09.079 --> 00:01:11.420 and over again I suppose most of us like most 00:01:11.420 --> 00:01:16.340 of America made up our minds That these officers 00:01:16.340 --> 00:01:22.930 were guilty of a crime And yet it was given to 00:01:22.930 --> 00:01:25.930 a small group of men and women, including people 00:01:25.930 --> 00:01:31.390 of color, to look not only at 81 seconds of videotape, 00:01:31.450 --> 00:01:33.989 but to hear a great deal of testimony and see 00:01:33.989 --> 00:01:41.250 other evidence that took weeks to present. If 00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:43.769 you've ever been on a jury, you know that that 00:01:43.769 --> 00:01:47.930 is not an easy task, and I think few people ever 00:01:47.930 --> 00:01:50.890 take it lightly. the kind of decision that must 00:01:50.890 --> 00:01:54.510 be made. And I believe those people took their 00:01:54.510 --> 00:01:59.290 job seriously. And after seeing the tape and 00:01:59.290 --> 00:02:01.689 putting it into the context of everything else 00:02:01.689 --> 00:02:03.849 that they heard over the weeks of testimony, 00:02:05.450 --> 00:02:10.370 they concluded that the prosecutor had not proven 00:02:10.370 --> 00:02:15.310 guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, which is what 00:02:15.310 --> 00:02:21.360 was required by the system. Perhaps you were 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:25.439 shocked, you were outraged as were many other 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:29.539 people upon hearing what the jury had concluded. 00:02:30.860 --> 00:02:36.460 The anger in LA in particular overboiled and 00:02:36.460 --> 00:02:41.620 LA burned. Why did Los Angeles burn this week? 00:02:44.539 --> 00:02:47.319 There are several politically correct answers 00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:51.740 to that question. One answer is that it burned 00:02:51.740 --> 00:02:56.740 because of the trial's outcome, because we had 00:02:56.740 --> 00:02:59.159 concluded they were guilty. How dare the jury 00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:05.939 conclude otherwise? Los Angeles burned because 00:03:05.939 --> 00:03:10.039 of poverty, which is so acute, especially in 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:13.919 the south central section of Los Angeles. Los 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:17.400 Angeles burned because of unemployment, especially 00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:22.310 among young black men. Los Angeles burned because 00:03:22.310 --> 00:03:26.509 of disadvantage caused by years of prejudice. 00:03:27.550 --> 00:03:30.270 Los Angeles burned because of racial discrimination 00:03:30.270 --> 00:03:37.849 and oppression. I would say that in all of these 00:03:37.849 --> 00:03:41.389 responses there can be found some truth, undoubtedly 00:03:41.389 --> 00:03:44.930 some truth. But I want to suggest to you this 00:03:44.930 --> 00:03:51.210 morning that these are but contributors. external 00:03:51.210 --> 00:03:59.830 contributors as to why Los Angeles burned. I'd 00:03:59.830 --> 00:04:02.330 like for you to think with me about what I believe 00:04:02.330 --> 00:04:09.409 are the causes for Los Angeles burning. The contributors 00:04:09.409 --> 00:04:17.029 are external and partial. The causes are internal. 00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:23.279 and all consuming. I believe that we can isolate 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:29.800 at least three of them. All three deal with the 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:35.199 heart. All three deal with attitudes, with ideas, 00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:40.959 and motives. The first cause for Los Angeles 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:45.019 burning is the sinfulness of the human condition. 00:04:47.180 --> 00:04:50.420 I know that doesn't play well in some churches, 00:04:51.959 --> 00:04:57.019 in some groups, but I'm not concerned about that 00:04:57.019 --> 00:05:00.420 this morning. We need to evaluate it in the light 00:05:00.420 --> 00:05:07.319 of what God says. The human heart is depraved. 00:05:08.779 --> 00:05:12.000 The will, the mind, the emotions of man are twisted 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:17.060 and perverted by sin. The reason that Los Angeles 00:05:17.060 --> 00:05:20.079 burned this week in the first place is because 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:25.060 of the sinfulness of the human heart. Secondly, 00:05:26.259 --> 00:05:31.300 Los Angeles burned because of the pain of alienation. 00:05:34.300 --> 00:05:38.579 This last week I was privileged to be a part 00:05:38.579 --> 00:05:43.819 of a briefing in Washington, which was sponsored 00:05:43.819 --> 00:05:47.100 by the National Association of Evangelicals. 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:49.399 It was an interesting week to be in Washington. 00:05:51.779 --> 00:05:54.399 We had a number of speakers from the government. 00:05:57.660 --> 00:06:01.459 One of them was Ed Meese, who was the Attorney 00:06:01.459 --> 00:06:03.639 General of the United States under most of Reagan's 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:07.560 years. He spoke to us the morning that Los Angeles 00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:11.750 was in flames the day after the decision. and 00:06:11.750 --> 00:06:16.050 said that the riots that were caused there could 00:06:16.050 --> 00:06:22.290 be laid to the feet of leftists, committed leftists, 00:06:23.069 --> 00:06:27.329 who are manipulating the whole situation. Well, 00:06:27.350 --> 00:06:29.310 I don't doubt that there are leftists involved 00:06:29.310 --> 00:06:33.970 in that. But I don't think that Ed Meese spoke 00:06:33.970 --> 00:06:37.589 to the real cause. I became closer to hearing 00:06:37.589 --> 00:06:40.540 the cause in another one of the speakers. who 00:06:40.540 --> 00:06:44.199 was chaplain of the U .S. Senate, Dr. Halverson. 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:48.879 Dr. Halverson said that in his thinking over 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:51.259 recent months regarding the variety of social 00:06:51.259 --> 00:06:55.279 problems in America, that behind most of these 00:06:55.279 --> 00:06:59.899 problems he found the problem of alienation. 00:07:00.980 --> 00:07:04.860 Whether it be homelessness or gangs, drugs or 00:07:04.860 --> 00:07:09.420 divorce, abuse or abortion. At the root of these, 00:07:09.579 --> 00:07:14.699 in his thinking, is alienation. I believe that 00:07:14.699 --> 00:07:17.259 what exploded in Los Angeles this week was the 00:07:17.259 --> 00:07:25.399 pain of alienation. And thirdly, Los Angeles 00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:28.579 burned this week because of a hunger in the human 00:07:28.579 --> 00:07:35.199 heart for significance. Every person wants to 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:38.069 count. wants to mean something, wants to make 00:07:38.069 --> 00:07:43.009 a difference in the world. This week, in some 00:07:43.009 --> 00:07:45.709 cases in some very wrong ways, and in some cases 00:07:45.709 --> 00:07:49.069 in some very wonderful, heroic ways, there was 00:07:49.069 --> 00:07:54.170 a hunger for significance. And I want to say 00:07:54.170 --> 00:07:56.730 to you this morning that the only solution to 00:07:56.730 --> 00:08:00.110 what caused Los Angeles to burn this week is 00:08:00.110 --> 00:08:05.319 the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only 00:08:05.319 --> 00:08:08.600 the gospel of Jesus Christ that addresses the 00:08:08.600 --> 00:08:14.680 internal causes for what caused Los Angeles to 00:08:14.680 --> 00:08:22.319 burn. Our politicians, our government, the constitutional 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:29.019 systems, the programs, none of those address 00:08:29.019 --> 00:08:34.629 the causes. They try and they try sincerely to 00:08:34.629 --> 00:08:39.250 address some of the contributions. But only God 00:08:39.250 --> 00:08:42.389 and only the gospel that He has given to us in 00:08:42.389 --> 00:08:47.909 His Son Jesus Christ goes to the heart, to the 00:08:47.909 --> 00:08:54.330 root causes which are internal. Paul has something 00:08:54.330 --> 00:08:59.460 to say about that gospel. You see in the midst 00:08:59.460 --> 00:09:03.600 of loss, in the midst of adversity, in the midst 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:10.419 of pain, in the midst of injustice and oppression, 00:09:11.960 --> 00:09:16.820 there is only one way to find real joy. To find 00:09:16.820 --> 00:09:22.299 real joy. And that is through the eternal gain 00:09:22.299 --> 00:09:29.070 that we have in our salvation. It is that eternal 00:09:29.070 --> 00:09:32.250 gain that provides a foundation for life even 00:09:32.250 --> 00:09:36.990 when it seems to be in rubble. Paul, in the verses 00:09:36.990 --> 00:09:39.490 that we've read this morning, points to the value 00:09:39.490 --> 00:09:44.750 of eternal gain which every believer has in his 00:09:44.750 --> 00:09:48.350 salvation. And he gives two very instructive 00:09:48.350 --> 00:09:53.429 insights regarding eternal gain. You'll notice 00:09:53.429 --> 00:09:56.049 in the first place he gives us this insight. 00:09:57.819 --> 00:10:03.500 Beware of what can rob you of eternal gain. And 00:10:03.500 --> 00:10:06.159 as Paul thinks about what can rob us of eternal 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:09.100 gain, he points to a couple of things in this 00:10:09.100 --> 00:10:15.600 context. The first is false religion. False religion 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:20.539 can rob a person of salvation and eternal gain. 00:10:21.899 --> 00:10:24.159 In Paul's case, the false religion was coming 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:28.440 from the Judaizers. a fanatic cult of Jews professing 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:32.419 to be Christians, who followed Paul around, especially 00:10:32.419 --> 00:10:36.799 in his later ministry. They would come to converts, 00:10:37.580 --> 00:10:42.539 gentile converts especially, and try to teach 00:10:42.539 --> 00:10:45.120 them that in order to truly be saved, they had 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:47.519 to do more than to simply believe in Christ. 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:52.159 They had to also submit to the law of Moses, 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:56.549 especially that part of it that relates to circumcision. 00:10:58.570 --> 00:11:01.450 They said the males have to be circumcised as 00:11:01.450 --> 00:11:05.190 prescribed as a sign for the Abrahamic covenant 00:11:05.190 --> 00:11:10.350 in order to be saved. That's necessary in addition 00:11:10.350 --> 00:11:15.570 to believing in Christ. Paul evaluates what's 00:11:15.570 --> 00:11:20.110 happening as these Judaizers, these false teachers, 00:11:20.629 --> 00:11:24.690 spew forth their teaching. He evaluates those 00:11:24.690 --> 00:11:29.090 who teach this kind of stuff. He uses several 00:11:29.090 --> 00:11:32.970 phrases to describe them. He says they are dogs. 00:11:33.690 --> 00:11:38.889 Beware of the dogs. Now you could not call a 00:11:38.889 --> 00:11:42.610 Jewish person much worse than a dog. Dog was 00:11:42.610 --> 00:11:46.549 unclean. He's talking about scavengers, wild 00:11:46.549 --> 00:11:51.769 dogs that run in packs. And so he turns a term 00:11:51.769 --> 00:11:55.909 on these Judaizers that they used for Gentiles, 00:11:56.350 --> 00:12:00.049 because they called Gentiles dogs. And he says, 00:12:00.169 --> 00:12:04.950 in fact, they are the dogs. They're the scavengers 00:12:04.950 --> 00:12:10.500 who root around trying to find something. Undoubtedly, 00:12:10.500 --> 00:12:12.659 he's talking about the fact that they come to 00:12:12.659 --> 00:12:15.320 the ministries he's established, to the churches 00:12:15.320 --> 00:12:18.559 he's planted, and they begin to root around scavenging 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:21.700 there and destroying them by their false teaching. 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:24.700 He says they're evildoers. They're busy doing, 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:27.580 but what they do is in opposition to the Gospel. 00:12:28.500 --> 00:12:33.440 So they're evildoers. And he says they are mutilators 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:37.039 of the flesh. He does a play on words here that 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:39.500 some English translations pick up on. He says 00:12:39.500 --> 00:12:43.399 they're the concision, we're the circumcision. 00:12:45.659 --> 00:12:48.419 The word concision, as it is in some translations 00:12:48.419 --> 00:12:53.039 in the NIV, is mutilators of the flesh. He does 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:56.620 a parody on their insistence of circumcision 00:12:56.620 --> 00:13:01.840 for salvation. He says they are nothing but mutilators 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:06.080 of the flesh. And in contrast to them, he says, 00:13:06.700 --> 00:13:09.820 are we who are the true circumcision of God. 00:13:11.320 --> 00:13:14.580 Here he's talking about not physical circumcision 00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:18.059 of flesh. He's talking about circumcision of 00:13:18.059 --> 00:13:21.820 the heart and the cutting away and removal of 00:13:21.820 --> 00:13:26.580 sins. He says we're the true inward spiritual 00:13:26.580 --> 00:13:31.519 circumcision. Who? Well, he describes those who 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:33.679 believe this way. He says, we who worship by 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:38.039 the Spirit of God, that is, who don't follow 00:13:38.039 --> 00:13:42.700 vain traditions and rituals, but who worship 00:13:42.700 --> 00:13:46.639 God out of the Spirit, being enabled by the Holy 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:53.899 Spirit. We who glory in Christ Jesus, who have 00:13:53.899 --> 00:13:58.259 their hope in Him alone, who do not worship using 00:13:58.259 --> 00:14:01.000 rituals and the external demands of the law, 00:14:01.340 --> 00:14:05.960 but who boast in a living Savior. He says, we 00:14:05.960 --> 00:14:10.299 who put no confidence in the flesh and what the 00:14:10.299 --> 00:14:13.740 flesh can produce in terms of attempting its 00:14:13.740 --> 00:14:18.240 own righteousness before God. We put no confidence 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:25.039 in that sort of thing. False religion will rob 00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:31.299 one of eternal gain. False religion has no message 00:14:31.299 --> 00:14:37.620 for Los Angeles. False religion is any system 00:14:37.620 --> 00:14:40.759 of beliefs, values, and actions which circumvents 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:45.940 the cross of Jesus Christ or which adds to the 00:14:45.940 --> 00:14:51.559 simplicity of the cross work of Jesus Christ 00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:55.960 for our sins. Anything that circumvents the cross 00:14:56.090 --> 00:14:59.190 or seeks to add to the work of Christ at the 00:14:59.190 --> 00:15:06.070 cross is false religion. Paul makes no bones 00:15:06.070 --> 00:15:08.929 about it. False religion does not have an answer 00:15:08.929 --> 00:15:13.210 and indeed false religion can rob a person of 00:15:13.210 --> 00:15:21.649 salvation. It is tragically, sadly true that 00:15:21.649 --> 00:15:26.450 hell today is populated by people. who were religious 00:15:26.450 --> 00:15:30.490 in this life, and who thought they were doing 00:15:30.490 --> 00:15:35.269 what God wanted them to do, who listened to religious 00:15:35.269 --> 00:15:38.610 teachers and religious doctrine that was false, 00:15:40.590 --> 00:15:47.450 and it robbed them of eternal gain. False religion 00:15:47.450 --> 00:15:53.750 leads to eternal ruin, not gain. And if you be 00:15:53.750 --> 00:15:56.309 a part of a religion today that adds anything 00:15:56.309 --> 00:15:59.830 to the work of Jesus Christ, to the simplicity 00:15:59.830 --> 00:16:04.889 of the gospel, through simple faith in what He 00:16:04.889 --> 00:16:08.330 did on our behalf at the cross, flee that religion. 00:16:09.669 --> 00:16:14.250 Flee that church. Flee that denomination. Have 00:16:14.250 --> 00:16:18.549 nothing to do with it. It's false. And false 00:16:18.549 --> 00:16:24.309 religion is a thief. It robs people. of eternal 00:16:24.309 --> 00:16:29.490 gain. Secondly, Paul points to self -righteousness 00:16:29.490 --> 00:16:32.929 and that flows right out of false religion because 00:16:32.929 --> 00:16:36.669 in false religion so often a person is called 00:16:36.669 --> 00:16:41.129 upon to do something, to contribute toward his 00:16:41.129 --> 00:16:46.649 own salvation. It may be some church prescribed 00:16:46.649 --> 00:16:54.370 ritual or it may be some hybrid idea that the 00:16:54.370 --> 00:16:57.250 person has in his own mind, if I do this, it 00:16:57.250 --> 00:17:01.769 will please God. The point is that something 00:17:01.769 --> 00:17:04.970 is done by the person to help his salvation along. 00:17:05.410 --> 00:17:09.049 He makes a contribution toward it, and it builds 00:17:09.049 --> 00:17:13.130 towards self -righteousness, which does not save. 00:17:15.450 --> 00:17:17.970 Paul says if you want to talk about works religion, 00:17:19.130 --> 00:17:21.170 if you want to talk about something to boast 00:17:21.170 --> 00:17:25.000 in, If you want to talk about self -righteousness, 00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:30.079 listen to me. And he begins to pile up over here 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:34.339 all the things that he can boast in about himself. 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:40.099 If somebody can boast in who they are and what 00:17:40.099 --> 00:17:43.660 they've done, Paul can beat any of them or at 00:17:43.660 --> 00:17:47.079 least match them. And he piles up layer upon 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:51.910 layer of language. describing his advantages, 00:17:52.369 --> 00:17:57.009 his benefits, what he could boast in. Paul here 00:17:57.009 --> 00:17:59.289 outlines the very heart of man -made religion. 00:18:00.390 --> 00:18:02.809 In the first place, it denies the sufficiency 00:18:02.809 --> 00:18:07.470 of Christ's sacrifice for our sins, and it adds 00:18:07.470 --> 00:18:12.329 to it human works of one sort or another. And 00:18:12.329 --> 00:18:15.690 secondly, it promotes self -righteousness. by 00:18:15.690 --> 00:18:18.589 appealing to the religious and fleshly nature 00:18:18.589 --> 00:18:21.650 of man that wants to do something to impress 00:18:21.650 --> 00:18:26.609 God and believes it can. That kind of religion 00:18:26.609 --> 00:18:31.890 robs the soul of eternal gain and it condemns 00:18:31.890 --> 00:18:39.609 its followers before God to hell. Beware of what 00:18:39.609 --> 00:18:46.569 can rob you of eternal gain. Paul gives us a 00:18:46.569 --> 00:18:51.690 second insight regarding the joy of eternal gain 00:18:51.690 --> 00:18:56.049 and salvation. He says, not only beware, but 00:18:56.049 --> 00:19:00.690 be aware of what can assure you of eternal gain. 00:19:02.250 --> 00:19:05.930 Be aware of what can assure you, guarantee to 00:19:05.930 --> 00:19:10.869 you salvation, eternal gain. What is that? Well, 00:19:10.869 --> 00:19:13.029 Paul expresses it a couple of ways. He says in 00:19:13.029 --> 00:19:15.920 the first place, It's the knowledge of Christ 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:19.460 Jesus, the Lord. He says, I look at all of these 00:19:19.460 --> 00:19:22.680 things in this pile of self -righteousness, and 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:25.759 He says, I want you to know they mean nothing. 00:19:28.920 --> 00:19:31.740 He says, in fact, I count all of these things 00:19:31.740 --> 00:19:37.319 but dung, rubbish. He uses even a stronger term 00:19:37.319 --> 00:19:42.970 for human excrement. He says, that's what all 00:19:42.970 --> 00:19:49.369 of that stuff amounts to compared to knowing 00:19:49.369 --> 00:19:58.490 Jesus Christ, my Lord. It's possible to think 00:19:58.490 --> 00:20:03.250 one knows Jesus Christ without knowing Him. Because 00:20:03.250 --> 00:20:05.309 the kind of knowledge that Paul has in mind here 00:20:05.309 --> 00:20:08.880 is not merely intellectual knowledge. It is the 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:11.980 kind of knowledge that comes by experience and 00:20:11.980 --> 00:20:18.039 by relationship. We were honored this week to 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:23.160 be allowed a time at the Supreme Court with Justice 00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:27.799 Clarence Thomas. He has not given any speeches 00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:31.359 in all these months that he, after he's been 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:34.180 appointed to the court, affirmed to the court 00:20:34.180 --> 00:20:37.279 by the Senate. But he has had a few meetings, 00:20:37.299 --> 00:20:40.259 I suppose, with people he perceives to have been 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:44.359 supporters of his. And in the hour or so that 00:20:44.359 --> 00:20:46.940 we had with him, he talked about what he went 00:20:46.940 --> 00:20:51.079 through and what's happened to his life since 00:20:51.079 --> 00:20:57.440 last fall, last October. At the end of it, someone 00:20:57.440 --> 00:20:59.660 asked if we might have our pictures made with 00:20:59.660 --> 00:21:02.960 him. And there was just an intimate little group 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:08.910 of 85 of us. So, he kindly consented to do that 00:21:08.910 --> 00:21:11.630 and we went up in groups to stand by him while 00:21:11.630 --> 00:21:13.329 someone took a picture if they had a camera. 00:21:14.910 --> 00:21:16.809 And everybody that went up there shook his hand, 00:21:17.289 --> 00:21:21.309 right there, shook his hand. I can say today, 00:21:21.470 --> 00:21:26.390 I know Clarence Thomas. Please don't ask him 00:21:26.390 --> 00:21:31.529 if he knows me. But I can say I know Him in one 00:21:31.529 --> 00:21:33.829 sense. I mean, I knew Him before I shook His 00:21:33.829 --> 00:21:35.690 hand because when He came into the room, I recognized 00:21:35.690 --> 00:21:38.910 Him. I'd seen Him on television. And I'd heard 00:21:38.910 --> 00:21:44.089 His voice, that rather monotone, deep voice with 00:21:44.089 --> 00:21:47.990 a certain dignity to it. I recognized His voice 00:21:47.990 --> 00:21:50.430 and I can even say I've shaken His hand. I know 00:21:50.430 --> 00:21:54.230 Him, but I don't know Him in the sense that Paul 00:21:54.230 --> 00:21:57.880 was talking about knowing Jesus here. There are 00:21:57.880 --> 00:22:00.099 a lot of people who say, well, I know what Jesus 00:22:00.099 --> 00:22:04.200 said. I know Jesus came to the world. I know 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:06.220 He died on the cross. I know He rose from the 00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:11.400 dead. I know all of that. I know Jesus. But they 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:14.920 haven't experienced Him in a personal relationship. 00:22:19.690 --> 00:22:22.990 Be aware of what can bring you eternal gain. 00:22:23.309 --> 00:22:26.690 It is a personal relationship with God through 00:22:26.690 --> 00:22:30.549 Jesus Christ. Paul says, I count all the advantages 00:22:30.549 --> 00:22:34.470 of my life but a pile of rubbish compared to 00:22:34.470 --> 00:22:38.029 knowing Christ personally. Do you know him personally? 00:22:40.690 --> 00:22:43.029 Has there been a point in your life where you 00:22:43.029 --> 00:22:47.029 have acknowledged your sinfulness? And you've 00:22:47.029 --> 00:22:49.750 opened your heart and received Him as an act 00:22:49.750 --> 00:22:53.190 of faith, asking Him to forgive your sins and 00:22:53.190 --> 00:22:59.650 to give you eternal life. It's that which introduces 00:22:59.650 --> 00:23:03.009 us, which establishes a relationship that then 00:23:03.009 --> 00:23:07.690 goes on to grow. Paul puts it a different way. 00:23:07.869 --> 00:23:13.029 He says, that I may gain Christ and be found 00:23:13.029 --> 00:23:18.369 in Him. that I may be found in Him. Paul says 00:23:18.369 --> 00:23:21.109 my identity in the past that's identified with 00:23:21.109 --> 00:23:23.589 all of these things, it doesn't mean anything. 00:23:24.049 --> 00:23:26.450 The only thing that counts is that I be found 00:23:26.450 --> 00:23:35.789 in Him. That He be my identity. Los Angeles burned 00:23:35.789 --> 00:23:40.890 this week. It burned because of the sinfulness 00:23:40.890 --> 00:23:45.369 of the human heart. Is there an answer? Praise 00:23:45.369 --> 00:23:49.869 God, yes. There is an answer to the will and 00:23:49.869 --> 00:23:53.029 to the emotions, to the mind that is affected 00:23:53.029 --> 00:23:59.329 and twisted by sin. The answer is Jesus Christ. 00:24:01.509 --> 00:24:05.930 He changes the heart with all of its corrupt, 00:24:06.630 --> 00:24:10.190 bigoted, prejudiced attitudes. He changes the 00:24:10.190 --> 00:24:15.680 heart. Los Angeles burned this week because of 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:20.259 the pain of alienation. Is there an answer? Yes. 00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:26.700 To be found in Christ. To know Him. To no longer 00:24:26.700 --> 00:24:29.960 be alienated from God makes it possible for me 00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:38.200 to be restored to others. Los Angeles burned 00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:41.940 this week because of the hunger for significance. 00:24:45.420 --> 00:24:48.700 Is there an answer for that hunger? Only one. 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:53.059 Really, only one. And that is to be identified 00:24:53.059 --> 00:24:58.180 with Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory. He brings 00:24:58.180 --> 00:25:02.019 significance to one's life for this world and 00:25:02.019 --> 00:25:05.000 for the world to come. That's why I'm saying 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.119 to you today that the only answer to what made 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:12.880 Los Angeles burn this week is the gospel of the 00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:17.769 Lord Jesus Christ. But it's possible to be right 00:25:17.769 --> 00:25:19.769 here in this room and to have never done anything 00:25:19.769 --> 00:25:24.690 like what happened in Los Angeles. To have a 00:25:24.690 --> 00:25:27.650 fire burning inside of you of the same kind of 00:25:27.650 --> 00:25:34.890 pain and hunger and sinfulness that was overtly 00:25:34.890 --> 00:25:38.789 expressed so tragically this week. You may not 00:25:38.789 --> 00:25:42.089 have acted it out in the same way, but it's there 00:25:42.089 --> 00:25:46.710 inside and you know that. And what you need is 00:25:46.710 --> 00:25:53.430 Jesus. He is the only answer to the emptiness 00:25:53.430 --> 00:25:56.950 and to the hurt and to the pain inside of you 00:25:56.950 --> 00:26:03.130 caused by sin. And today you can have Him. Today 00:26:03.130 --> 00:26:09.690 you can know Him. You can gain Christ. You have 00:26:09.690 --> 00:26:12.029 to lose everything else you're depending on. 00:26:13.130 --> 00:26:18.109 But do you mind laying down garbage to pick up 00:26:18.109 --> 00:26:27.269 Jesus Christ? Let's pray together. I don't know 00:26:27.269 --> 00:26:29.589 what you may have been trusting in in the past, 00:26:29.829 --> 00:26:35.009 whether it be religion or works, good works even. 00:26:37.170 --> 00:26:39.769 But understand that all of that means nothing. 00:26:40.650 --> 00:26:45.819 It is less than zero. compared to the eternal 00:26:45.819 --> 00:26:48.940 gain that you can have by coming to know Jesus 00:26:48.940 --> 00:26:53.299 Christ and gaining Him as the Lord and Savior 00:26:53.299 --> 00:26:56.440 of your life. And right where you're seated, 00:26:56.680 --> 00:26:59.079 in the quietness of your own heart, you can open 00:26:59.079 --> 00:27:04.180 the door and let Him come into your life by simply 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:06.720 acknowledging before Him, in whatever words you 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:10.640 choose to use, the fact that you know you're 00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:15.000 a sinner. acknowledging your need for Him and 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:18.660 for forgiveness and receiving Him, asking Him 00:27:18.660 --> 00:27:22.779 to come in and to bring cleansing, to bring healing 00:27:22.779 --> 00:27:27.400 and wholeness, to bring eternal gain. And He 00:27:27.400 --> 00:27:34.759 will do that. He will. For you. Right now. Will 00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:39.680 you let Him do it? Will you let Him do it as 00:27:39.680 --> 00:27:43.880 He knocks on your heart's door? Dear friend, 00:27:43.900 --> 00:27:47.779 if you will, if that is your internal sincere 00:27:47.779 --> 00:27:52.079 desire, let him know it. And let me know it by 00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:54.839 lifting your hands so that I can pray for you 00:27:54.839 --> 00:27:57.180 before we go. I'm not going to call you up. I'm 00:27:57.180 --> 00:27:59.500 not going to embarrass you or point you out. 00:28:00.299 --> 00:28:05.019 But as a tangible indication, an outward action 00:28:05.019 --> 00:28:09.500 of your inward faith, right where you're seated, 00:28:09.660 --> 00:28:12.809 will you just lift a hand so I can see it? Acknowledge 00:28:12.809 --> 00:28:18.690 it. Is there someone? Today, I receive Jesus 00:28:18.690 --> 00:28:26.369 Christ and I desire to know Him. Is there one? 00:28:29.750 --> 00:28:33.869 Would you stand together with me please? Father, 00:28:33.890 --> 00:28:37.329 I pray that today all of us who name Jesus Christ 00:28:37.329 --> 00:28:41.670 and who would profess as Paul did here to be 00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:47.720 found in him and to know him that all of us would 00:28:47.720 --> 00:28:51.460 be taking this gospel to a world that is crumbling 00:28:51.460 --> 00:28:58.019 around us into fiery rubble because of its need 00:28:58.019 --> 00:29:03.019 for this message. Open our mouths, Lord. Give 00:29:03.019 --> 00:29:06.299 us the words, give us the courage to share this 00:29:06.299 --> 00:29:10.549 message this week with those whose lives are 00:29:10.549 --> 00:29:15.529 on fire and being destroyed by sin. We bless 00:29:15.529 --> 00:29:19.769 you for the grace that is evident at the cross 00:29:19.769 --> 00:29:24.390 and for the simplicity of the saving message 00:29:24.390 --> 00:29:43.480 of the gospel. Amen. that saved a wretch like 00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:59.519 me. I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind, 00:29:59.579 --> 00:30:07.500 but now I see. Amen. God bless you.