April 20, 2025 • 39 mins
Philippians 3:1-14 - Easter Sunday 2025. Message by Dale Meredith at The Red Door Community Church. For more information on the Fremantle Easter event visit www.atthecross.live
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So today is Resurrection Sunday,and today Dale is gonna stick to her
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notes because Bingo depends on it.
All right, so today we rememberand we celebrate the good
news declared by the angels.
In the passage that beautiful Iris readfor us a little while ago, he has risen
three little words that are full of aneternity of meaning and significant street
little words that truly mean the world.
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Three little words that are the good news.
So the phrase, good news, it's onewe're all pretty familiar with.
In church circles, the gospel ofJesus Christ is called the Good News.
And what is news?
What is news?
News is an announcement, isn't it?
That something has happened thatmakes a difference in the world.
Something has happened thatnow change is how things are.
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The angels made an announcementto the women who came to the tomb.
He, they made theannouncement of what he is.
Risen, even though the women wouldn'thave fully comprehended it at the time.
This was the very best announcement.
This was the most good of all the goodnews, and so to help explain this a
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little bit more, and I thought to helpour younger folks stay a little bit
engaged throughout this as well, I'm gonnaallow our friends from the Bible project
to teach us a little bit more about.
The good news and the goodnews specifically of today.
Are we good, Sarah?
Thank you.
Have a look to the screens.
If you know any Christians or if youhappen to be one, you've probably
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heard the word gospel as a kindof summary of Christian belief.
Connected to phrases like God lovesyou, or Jesus died for your sins,
but over time, religious words likegospel can lose their power and
meaning by becoming too familiar.
So let's take a moment to rediscoverwhat this important word gospel meant
to the people who wrote the Bible.
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Gospel translates the Old TestamentHebrew verb beir and the noun rah.
The Greek New Testament equivalentis gelian, which is a compound word.
You means good, andgelian means announcement.
All of these words mean good news,but what kind of news well in Hebrew
be is what we might call nationalnews or a royal announcement.
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Like when King David hears a messengerbeir, that his army was victorious in
battle, that means he still rules onhis throne over the people of Israel.
And after David dies, his throneis passed on to Solomon his son,
and when he was inaugurated as kingin Jerusalem, a Herald spreads the
rah that a new ruler is in charge.
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But after Solomon's death came a bunchof bad news kings whose corruption led
their nation into self-destruction.
This is why the prophet Isaiahannounced the good news that one day.
The God of Israel would come asthe cosmic king to confront all
corrupt and violent kingdoms andrestore his rule over all nations.
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And so when Jesus of Nazareth hit thepublic stage, he continued Isaiah's gospel
when he went around announcing the YuangGallian of God's kingdom, Jesus claimed
that God was restoring his reign overhis people, Israel and over all nations,
and he was the one bringing it all about.
Now the Yuan Gallian about a new kingin charge means a new way of life.
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Jesus said that living in God'skingdom meant following him by
putting down the sword and seekingpeace through radical forgiveness and
generosity even toward your enemies.
His good news requiredpeople to make a decision.
This is why Jesus took his yuan gallianto Jerusalem to confront the corrupt
and violent kingdoms of his day.
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But he challenged them in a surprisingway with the power of God's generous love.
As Jesus was being executed byhis enemies, he received his crown
and was mocked as a fake king.
But he displayed true royal authorityby forgiving his tor mentors.
Jesus was the one in charge that daygiving his life for the sins of others.
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And then a few dayslater, everything changed.
Jesus rose from the dead as the trueking whose love is stronger than death.
He appeared to hundreds of hisfollowers and told them to spread the
Yung Gallian, that all authority inheaven on earth now belongs to him,
and they did share this good news.
All over the ancient world.
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They did it by writing the four accountsof Jesus' life that are the gospel.
That is, they tell the story of howJesus brought God's kingdom, how he
lived for others and died for theirsins, and then was raised from the dead.
Jesus' followers also shared thegood news by simply talking about it.
This is why Peter and Paul, orPriscilla and Aquila traveled all
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around sharing the royal announcement.
While it might look like the rulersof our world are in charge and can
do whatever they want, the goodnews is that the crucified and risen
Jesus is the true Lord of the world,the real king of all creation.
And in Jesus' kingdomthings are different.
It's where the real leaders are theservants, because the last are first and
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the first go to the back of the line.
It.
Beautiful.
Thank you Sarah.
That is good news, isn't it?
So good.
So the good news we rememberand we celebrate today, is that
the risen Jesus is now king.
So as many of you would know, we've beenin a series in Philippians and after
this somewhat extended introductionthis morning, we're gonna continue,
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actually continue in our series today,because as Providence would have
it, the passage scheduled for todayactually centers on the resurrection.
Praise the Lord.
So this series is about joy.
Yeah.
Defiant in joy.
And as we focus on the resurrectiontoday, the good news of the empty
tomb, may we find our joy deepenedand widened and expanding joy, that
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expels or fear or shame, and expandingunshakeable joy that fills our hearts.
Settling our hearts ina posture of freedom.
Free to love and serve the onewho sacrificed his life for us.
And so may we rejoice greatly this morningas the apostle Paul calls us to do right
from the beginning of this passage inPhilippians three verses one to 14.
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Let's have a read of it now further.
My brothers and sistersrejoice in the Lord.
It is no trouble for me to writethe same things to you again.
And it is a safeguard for you.
Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh
for it is we who are the circumcision?
We who serve God by his spirit,who boast in Christ Jesus and who
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put no confidence in the flesh.
Though I myself has reasonsfor such confidence.
If someone else thinks theyhave reasons to put confidence
in the flesh, I have more.
I was circumcised on the eighth dayof the people of Israel, of the tribe
of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrewsin regard to the law of Pharisee
as zeal persecuting the church.
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As for righteousness, based on thelaw, I was faultless as Paul, but
whatever were gains to me, I nowconsider loss for the sake of Christ.
Yeah.
When we hear the word Christ there, Ijust wanna pause there for a moment.
You know the word Christ isn'tjust another name for Jesus.
Christ means king.
Christ means anointed one.
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And so when Paul is using thisphrase, he's saying, king Jesus.
Yeah, so he just don't just hearChrist as interchangeable for Jesus.
It's a description of whohe is, that he is king.
So for whatever reason, again,to me, I now consider loss for
the sake of King Jesus of Christ.
What is more?
I consider everything a loss forthe surpassing worth of knowing
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Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whosesake I have lost all things.
I consider them garbage, that I may gainChrist and be found in him not having
a righteousness of my own that comesfrom the law, but that which is through
faith in Christ, the righteousness thatcomes from God on the basis of faith.
I want to know Christ, yes, to knowthe power of his resurrection and
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participation in his sufferingsbecoming like him in his death,
and so somehow attaining to theresurrection from the dead, not that
I have already obtained all this.
Or have already arrived at my goal,but I press on to take hold of that
for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers and sisters, I do not considermyself yet to have taken hold of it,
but one thing I do, forgetting what isbehind, straining towards what is ahead.
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I press on toward the goal towin the prize for which God
has called me heavenward InChrist Jesus, all of us, them.
Who are mature should takesuch a view of things.
All right, so quick overview ofwhat Paul is talking about here.
Firstly, he issues a deep warning to thechurch in Philippi and to us here today.
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But then he also declares a deep wanting.
And so we're gonna explore both ofthese because both of these actually
connect deeply to the resurrection.
And so firstly, what is the warning?
What's the context of this warning thatPaul is issuing here to this church
that he so dearly loves and cares for?
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So there is this bunch of folksthat are on the scene at this time
in history called the Judaizers.
And they are teaching adistortion of the gospel.
They've already hit the GalatianChurch pretty hard, and Paul's kind
of concerned they're gonna be comingfor the Philippian church as well.
And so they're teaching these judaiseyes as a teaching that in order
to be right with God, trusting thegood news about Jesus is not enough.
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There is other stuff that you haveto do, and specifically in this
context that what they're teachingis you need to be circumcised.
And Paul's like, do notfall for it to do so.
It's just to have your body mutilated.
It's the equivalent of justhaving your body mutilated.
That was the old covenant marker.
The new covenant markeris now the Holy Spirit.
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You trust in the good news, youdeclare your allegiance to king Jesus.
And the marker sealing thatcovenantal relationship is the spirit.
You do not need to goslicing up your body.
And so how is this warning relevant to us?
'cause it's probably not a lot of folks.
Male folks in particular sittinghere this morning wrestling over
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whether to get circumcised or notin order to be pleasing to God.
Sorry, you probably did not come tochurch expecting to have a conversation
on that particular topic thismorning, but hey, welcome to church.
Welcome to the Bible.
So how is this warning relevant to us?
Paul says, is an act of righteousness.
This is worthless.
And so what is righteousness?
It's a really important word,particularly in light of today.
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Righteousness is right.
Belief and behavior that leads toright relationship, specifically.
It's right belief and behavior thatleads to right relationship with.
God.
So the old Covenant had as a partof the law, and what was the law?
It was the established and agreedupon behaviors and practice that
enabled the Israelite people tobe in right relationship with God.
If they obeyed the law, there was thepromises of blessing and peace and
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prosperity, but also that they would bea kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
What did that mean?
It meant they would be a light.
They were intended to be a light tothe world around them, to the gentile
world around them, a source of God'sblessing to the world, and circumcision
was a sign and a seal of that covenant.
It marked them as covenant people, peoplein a covenant relationship with God.
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And the sacrificial system that was apart of the law was the way that the
people of God were able to stay in rightrelationship with God when they inevitably
broke the terms of the covenant.
And so Paul here says that he keptthe law perfectly, but now in light
of the good news of King Jesus, hisrighteousness earned through obedience
to the law is now less than worthless.
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What he's saying here is to putfaith in obedience to the law
as a source of righteousness.
It's not just worthless,it's actually a liability.
It's a loss.
So Paul goes on to list his Jewishcredentials, his heritage, he's
zeal, he righteousness under the law.
Paul isn't denying their value, but he'ssaying they do not define him anymore.
What matters now is that he is in Christ.
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That is what defines him.
So Paul's argument is essentially this.
If you wanna play the game of boastingin the flesh, I can beat you all.
But I've left that whole way ofmeasuring value behind because I
have seen the Messiah and everythingelse is garbage in comparison.
So the good news is thatJesus has done it perfect.
Righteousness is now ours by faith.
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It is absolute garbage rubbage.
Rubbish dung poo poo is what he's saying.
It's a pretty intense word heactually uses in the Greek here.
So he's saying it is dung.
It is absolute doodoo.
Do trust in your own obedienceto be right with God.
To behave this way is toenslave oneself all over again.
Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf.
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Now it's by grace alone through faithalone in the finished work of Christ
Alone, that we now stand in rightrelationship with our Heavenly Father.
And that is very good news.
So Paul's warning here is about falseteachers whose dodgy theology if
followed, will prevent those who arepart of this church that he dearly loves
from experiencing the kind of joy that.
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Fills Paul, even in chains.
Remember, Paul is in prisonwhen he is writing this.
Yet Paul is expressing the deepest andprofound as joy throughout this letter.
Why?
Because of the good news thathe is free and he's now in
right relationship with God.
And this is a freedom that surpasseschains, that surpasses prison itself.
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A beautiful and eternal and liberatingfreedom that comes from being.
And a relationship of peace with God.
His death and his resurrectionhas brought us peace with God.
It is such a blessing to have peacein our relationships, isn't it?
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You can have everything inthe world if you don't have
peace in your relationships.
It's done, isn't it?
You can have everything.
You can have everything this worldcan offer, but if you have no peace in
your relationships and how much more sorelationship with our Heavenly Father.
But the good news is today is we now havepeace through faith in the finished work
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of Christ, we now have peace with Godand we didn't earn this and so nothing
we can do can actually maintain it.
It is all by faith.
It is an act and a gift of sheer grace.
Paul had a deep joy that came fromthe freedom that he now had no longer
burdened by securing his righteousness,a righteousness of his own.
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Because to live thatis such a heavy burden.
Always wondering, have I done enough?
Are my works good enough?
Have I sacrificed enough?
Have I obeyed enough?
We are free from that bondage now.
We now have the yoke of Christ, whichhe says, my yoke is easy and my burden.
It's like, come to me,all you who are weary.
Take that old yoke off.
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And so Philippians three,it's actually three nine.
I've got three 10 there.
That's wrong.
It's three nine.
And he says, not having a righteousnessof my own that comes from the law,
but that which is through faith inChrist, the righteousness that comes
from God on the basis of faith.
We now.
Stand in a new covenant, boughtand ratified by the blood of
Jesus, the perfect sacrifices thatcovers sin now and forevermore.
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We now have peace with God.
A performance free relationship withthe assurance of complete and total
forgiveness, the guilt of every sinnow covered by the blood of Jesus, a
resurrection, the vindication, the proofof the sufficiency, the perfection,
and the power of his sacrifice.
Friends, are you still strivingto earn what Christ died to give
you as a gift of sheer grace?
Peace with God.
It comes by faith.
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It does not come by works.
And that is what Paul is saying here,and this, this is a warning we must
heed in hear because we fall prey toit just as much as the early church,
not around the issue of circumcision,but in a myriad of other ways.
Different ways, different thingsthat we look to in order to earn
our right standing before God.
And it's amazing the things thatwe will turn into the gospel.
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Good things like do you, do youtreat your Bible reading as a gospel?
Yeah, I need to read my Biblemore in order to be okay with God.
That's a workspace.
Righteousness.
I need to pray more inorder to be right with God.
That's a workspace, righteousness.
That's the equivalent ofwhat Paul's saying here.
Circumcision.
'cause what?
When have you read enough of your Bible?
When have you prayed enough?
Where is there enough?
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Where is this magical line of enough?
If you are using that as your goodnews, as your gospel, okay, yes,
you should pray, and yes, you shouldread your Bible not to earn approval
before God, but because you alreadyhave it, and that's how you enter
in and deepen your relationship.
The peace you already have, your Biblereading, your good works, your giving.
All of these things are notgonna get you that peace.
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That comes by faith and trust in thework of Jesus Christ and everything
that this weekend represents.
But yes, we pray and yes we serveand yes, we give and we read our
scriptures so that we can know him,and that's where we come to next.
So in a very passionate way, Pauldeclares the deepest desire of his heart.
In this passage, and he practicallyshouts it through these words
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Here, I want to know Christ.
I want to know King Jesus.
And you know what?
Whether you know it or not, this isthe deepest desire of every heart here,
because this is the reality in whichevery human soul was created to exist.
As Jesus says in John 17, eternal life is.
Knowing God, this isour heart's true home.
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Not a place, but a relationship.
Everything you are pursuing in thislife is ultimately trying to fulfill
the deepest longing of your heart, yourheart, finding your heart's true home,
your soul's true home, and that is with.
God.
And you know what?
Because of Easter, the way is nowclear, the veil is torn by the spirit.
We now dwell in the presence ofGod, not by our righteousness of
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our own, but by that of Jesus.
So Hebrews 10, 19 to 22 says, it's so.
Beautifully and clearly, thereforebrothers and sisters, since we have
a confidence to enter the most holyplace by the blood of Jesus, by a
new and living way opened for usthrough the curtain, that is his body.
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And since we have a great priest overthe house of God, let us draw near to
God with a sincere heart and with thefull assurance that faith brings, we can
now draw it near, freely, all banged up.
And as broken as we are, in allthe ways that you have fallen short
this week, none of them prohibityou from drawing near because of the
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completed work of Jesus Christ becausehis blood has made the way clear.
We don't have to settlefor just knowing about him.
We don't have to settle forlearning about him through a priest,
through a sacrificial system.
We can know him.
Do you wanna know him?
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Do you want to know him?
Does your heart echo andresonate with the cry of Paul?
I wanna know Christ.
I wanna know King Jesus.
Of course you wanna know him.
Everybody wants to know the personwho saves their life, don't they?
Imagine you're driving along a road oneday and a critter of some description
jumps out in the road and you swerve.
You go off the road, you're in a river,your car's filling up with water.
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You're stuck.
You're unable to save yourself,you're going to drown, but suddenly a
face of the window of your submergedcar, they wrenched the door open.
They pull you out.
They get you to the river bank where abunch of onlookers have now gathered.
You'll savior, make sure you'reokay, and the next thing you
know, he's gone from your sight.
Do you think in that scenario you wouldwant to know the person who saved you?
One of the onlookers mightsay, oh, that's Josh King.
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Do you think you're gonna besatisfied with just having a name?
No, you're gonna wanna knowthe one who saved your life.
It's because Jesus loved me and gavehimself for me that I want to know him.
For Paul, this was his all consumingdesire and passion, and in light of who
Jesus is and what he did, this reallyis the only true and right response,
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especially when it cost him so much tomake the way clear for us to know him.
Know him, not just know about him.
Too many professing Christians settlefor a life of knowing about Jesus and
not pursuing as Paul displays here inthis passage, a pursuit of actually
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knowing personally, king Jesus.
Imagine, you know, you, your life haslived in a cave and you've read all
about this amazing thing called the Sun.
And you know, there's a certaindegree of wonder, right?
And just understanding how the sunworks and what it is and that it exists.
Like there's a certain degree of wonderin that, and you could marvel over that.
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But it's a very different thingto actually stand in the presence
of the sun and experience the sun.
We are way too easily satisfied churchwith a life of knowing about Jesus.
Than actually pursuing a life of deep andabiding relationship with him, and only
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one will truly satisfy the deep desiresof your soul because this horrible thing
happens when we just settle for a life ofknowing about, and that is what we pursue.
Knowledge puffs up.
That's what the Bible talks about.
Hey, and we become prime to becomejoyful Pharisees in this life.
Based on a self-righteousness, not thefreedom and the joy of just knowing
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him and abiding freely in his presence.
So do you know him?
Do you know him?
If you do not, I invite you tojust breathe a silent prayer now.
Lord, help me to know you.
Help me to truly know you.
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You know, Jesus says to Philipone of his disciples, don't you
know me, Philip, even after I havebeen among you such a long time?
And I wonder if he might not saythe same to some of us here today.
And the more you know him, you know whathappens the more you wanna know him.
So my friends do not be satisfiedwith the secondhand knowing.
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Don't be satisfied with knowingabout all that knowledge about Jesus
without actually truly knowing him.
Only puffs us up.
At the end of the day, thereis no true lasting deep joy
and life to be found there.
Consider this in Revelations three 14 tothe church in Laia that was neither hot
nor cold, but lukewarm, such that the goodLord wanted to spit them out of his mouth.
What was the Lord's curefor their lukewarmness?
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Was it doctrine?
Was it a biography of his own good self?
Was it a set of instructions?
No.
It was his presence, wasn't it?
Those I love.
I rebuke, I discipline.
Be earnest and repent.
Here I am.
Here I am.
I stand at the door, I knock.
If anyone hears my voice opensthe door, I'll come in and eat
with that person and they with me.
His presence was the cure.
The company of Christ is the curefor the deepest need of our souls.
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And he stands at the door and he knocks.
And the resurrection means that the wayto our hearts true home is now clear.
Good news, good news of great joy indeed.
And so I could stand here and I couldencourage you and implore you to pursue a
life of knowing, but I think it would beremiss to not actually present a practical
element to this and go, she go, well, how?
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How do we know him wanting hisone thing, but actually how?
How do you know him?
Well, first it beginswith what I just said.
First, you must want to first, you mustwant to, and how do you stir up a wanting?
How do you tap into thatdesire that is in you?
It is there.
I think Psalm 27, verse four, Psalm 27,is one of my favorite Psalms, but says
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in verse four, one thing I ask fromthe Lord this only do I seek that I may
dwell in the house of the Lord or thedays of my life to gaze on the beauty of
the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
Gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.
See the face of the Lord looking atyou with eyes of love and devotion.
See him as beautifuland you will be hooked.
Your heart will be eternallycaptivated because we love
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being in the presence of beauty.
Oh, could we just take that down, Sarah?
I'm not quite there yet.
Gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.
I challenged, I challengedyou on this a few weeks ago.
You know, it's that temptationfor Jesus just to become useful,
but Jesus must stay beautiful.
Yes.
In terms of what he has done,there is a sure, in a practical
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sense, there's a usefulness to it.
But if you do not see what he hasdone for you, if you not see the way
he loves you as beautiful, your heartwill not be captivated to pursue him.
Do you see him as beautiful?
So how do you know him?
Second, you must settle that he wantsto be with you, that he wants to be
known by you, that the deepest andmost intimate of relationships is
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what he desires to have with you.
So how do you know him?
The same way you know anyone.
You dwell and you abide in their presence.
You be with them, you listen to them.
You give them your attention.
You direct the focus of yourheart and your mind toward them.
The brother Lawrence, the 17thcentury CARite Monk in his book,
the Practice of The Presence of God.
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Who's read it?
You ready?
Oh, there's so not enoughhands just went up of that.
Okay.
I'm pretty sure it's like freeand the, what do you call that
thing when books become free?
You know, that thing, whatever thatword is, that phrase is, I'm pretty sure
you can just access it for free, if notlike a dollar on Kindle or something.
It's a, it's a beautiful,beautiful little book.
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So, brother Lawrence, the 17th centuryCARite monkey's book, practice of
the presence of God lived a lifein the pursuit of a rested, abiding
in God's presence in every moment.
And this is how he teaches, we canpractice God's presence in daily life.
Let's have a look.
Let's go through these just quickly.
Make it a habit to talkwith God constantly.
Seek a continuous, informal conversationwith God throughout the day.
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Do you live in conversational relationshipwith God or are you stuck in that
horrible mode of just your prayer?
Life is just all one way where youjust tell God your problems and
your wants, and that's not that.
That's not, that's not valid, right?
But you can't know somebody unless youactually have a conversation with them.
A natural turning of the heart andthe mind toward God, whether you are
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doing the dishes, you're walking,you're working, whatever it is.
So Brother Lawrence says here, thereis not in the world a kind of life
more sweet and delightful than thatof a continual conversation with God.
All right, next.
Number two, turn ordinarytasks into acts of love.
See that no task is too smallor too secular to be sacred.
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I love that.
Washing pots and pans, mending shoes.
Probably not many people here aremending shoes, but you know, put
in changing nappies or something.
Do everything for the loveof God, and that intention
transforms the task into worship.
We ought not to be weary of doing littlethings for the love of God, for God, God
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regards, not the greatness of the work,but the love with which it is performed.
Isn't that beautiful?
That is so.
That is so good.
Number two, I mean, number three, developan ongoing awareness of God's presence.
Practicing God's presence meanstraining yourself to remain aware
that God is always with you.
As it say at the end of Matthew'sGospel when he gives the great
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commission, I am with you always.
I am with you.
Always gently turn yourattention back to God.
Each time your mind wanderswithout guilt or frustration.
I. Again, the temptation here, to goback to Paul's warning at the beginning
is that you start to use this as anotherworkspace, righteous of righteousness,
and then you come to the end of the dayand you go, oh my gosh, I did such a
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terrible job of being with the Lord today.
I'm such a bad Christian.
All right, then you've missed the point.
Okay.
You are now trying to usecondemnation again, the old way
to bring you in to God's presence.
And it won't work.
So when you fail and you will, youjust quietly return, quietly return.
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So the most holy and necessary practice inour spiritual life is the presence of God.
That means finding constantdelight in his divine company.
Oh, how lovely.
Number four, begin with times ofset prayer, but don't stop there.
Formal prayer is a starting point.
The goal is not just to pray atset times, but to become prayer.
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To be in a state of connection withGod at all times, we ought to act
with God in the greatest simplicity.
Speak to him frankly and plainly andimplore his assistance in our affairs.
Beautiful.
Number five, stay humbleand gentle with yourself.
Don't over overanalyze failures orspiritual dryness when you fall short.
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Simply acknowledge it beforeGod and move on in peace.
The key is love and trust, not perfection.
When we fail, we must only humbleourselves before God and ask his
forgiveness, but not be discouraged.
We must take heart and go on.
Beautiful.
So Brother Lawrence's practiceis deeply deceptively simple.
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Turn your heart to God in every moment.
Offer him your love in every task, andlive as if he's right there because he is.
It's a spirituality of simplicity,humility and devotion, a
spirituality of knowing him and you.
What happens when you live this way?
When you live in the presenceof the sun, you become the moon.
And what does that mean?
The moon has no light of its own.
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The moon reflects the light of the sun.
And so remember in all of this, thisisn't about just your own selves, right?
Your own joy, your ownpeace and satisfaction.
It's about you fulfilling what hasalways been your purpose, to be
the moon, to be an image bearer,to be one who reflects the light
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of the sun to the world around us.
There is nothing more joyful thanbeing in the presence of a true moon.
Go with me on this one.
All right.
Somebody who simply reflects not theirown light, but the light of the sun.
They are the most.
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Peaceful, joyful, encouraginglife-giving people to be around
the world needs more moons.
It doesn't need more fake sons.
There is one son is doing a stellar job.
Doesn't need help.
Yeah.
We all just need toresolve to become moons.
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It's just a shame.
The word moon has beenso corrupted, isn't it?
Anyway, purify your minds.
Um, but be a moon.
Think about that as one whose solejob is to reflect the light of the
sun, to bring light into the darkness.
Why are we given the moon to bringshine light into the darkness?
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Why do we even being called tobe image bearers, to be his?
We sang that song.
You know, I'm no longer a slave.
I'm a child of God.
Well, that's great for you.
Yeah.
And that is great for you.
But there's a world out there that needsto know and needs to see that truth
reflected, that they would come to knowthe goodness of God and the glory of God.
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All right.
That was off script, so back on script.
All right.
Practical, practical ways to begin.
I wanna kick us.
I, I'm doing this because, youknow, last Sunday Luke preached
such a great message, right?
And the practical elementof it was just so good.
It's like, oh yeah, weneed more practical stuff.
Like, how do we actually do this stuff?
It's one thing to.
Preach about it thing.
How do we actually apprehendit and, and bring it to bear?
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So start the day with intention.
Before you check your phone orstart your task, take a moment to
simply say, God, today is yours.
Help me walk with you through it all.
You know, I just wonder how many of youdo not actually begin your day with God
because you had this idealistic notionin mind of what a devotional time at the
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beginning of the day should look like,and you go, this must be, well, at least
if I can't do at least an hour, wellthen what's the point if all you've got.
You know, moms of small children,busy, overwhelmed people, is a
few minutes to breathe a prayer.
Do that and see what the good Lordwill do with your little offering
of loaves and fishes to sustainyou and to make his presence real
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with you throughout that day.
Don't set these idealistic goals thattend to become crushing weight that
you then just go, oh, beat yourselfup with at the end of the day.
If this is how you startyour day, brilliant.
Today is yours, Lord, help me walkwith you through it all and then
set reminders through the day.
Little cues you find buzzes.
There's a specific sound or atask like washing your hands.
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News them as a reminders to pauseand acknowledge God presence.
To direct your heart's,focus towards him next.
Bring God into mundane tasks.
You're cooking, you're cleaning,you're driving, replying to emails.
Inwardly say something like, I do thiswith you, Lord, be with me in this.
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Check in throughout the day.
Pause now and then evenfor a breath, and ask Lord.
You here with me?
Yes.
You are here with me.
What would you have me notice right now?
That is such a great question.
You know, word and why this week?
You know, we were talking about, um,this, um, the passage that actually
was part of Luke's passage from lastweek when he talks about Paul talks.
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People aren't, um, they don't havethe interests of Christ in mind, and
we were wrestling with that question.
What are the interests?
Of Jesus.
And what if in any given moment throughoutthe day, what if when you go out in your
day, the lunches that you go to, thedinners that you go to, whatever you are
doing, what if you to pause and go, Jesus,what are your interests in this moment?
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What do you want me toknow about this moment?
And you're inclining your ear.
All right, next end the dayin gratitude before sleep.
Replay the day in your mind, andthank God for being present through
it all, you know, even if youforgot to draw your attention to
him, which you will fail to do.
And here is just some simple, shortprayers that can help keep your
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heart towards him throughout the day.
My God, here I am all for you.
Help me to stay nearto you in this moment.
I am yours.
Do with me as you.
Please.
Thank you for being with me.
Even when I forget.
Let this task be done in love for you.
Let this task be done in love for you.
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Imagine conversations thatyou go into during the day.
Let this conversation bedone in love for you, Lord.
How does that changeyour posture in things?
A few little words that can just shifteverything, more of you and less of me.
So Brother Lawrence said, we shouldn't trytoo hard or get discouraged if we forget
God a hundred times, we simply return101 quietly, peacefully, and with love.
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All right, so as I bring thishome, so Paul presses on, he says
he forgets what's behind and he'sstraining towards what is ahead.
He's not chasing perfectionin his own strength.
He's pursuing a person.
He's running after Jesus, the onewho has already taken hold of him.
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And here's the joy for us, becauseof the resurrection, we're not
trying to earn God's approval.
We already have it.
Jesus rose from the dead to makeus right with God, not with the
righteousness of our own, but with his.
And that changes everything.
This means we don't have to hide anymore.
We don't have to strive.
We don't have to pretend.
The resurrected Jesus has opened theway to truly know God, to walk with
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him, to talk with him, to enjoy him, andto reflect his light into a dark world
that so desperately needs to know him.
And that's a source of our joy, not inour achievements, not in our religious
resume, but in him in knowing Christ.
And more than that, in being known by him.
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So church, we press on, not toprove ourselves, but to take hold
of the one who already holds us.
And in that we rejoice.
Amen.
Now, how about you bow your headsand let's pray as the team comes up.
Lord, my prayer for us all this morning isthat deep cry of I want to know you, Lord.
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Would you stir every heart herethis morning in that direction?
And Lord, for those who are bow,still bound up in this work of
self-righteousness trying toearn right relationship with you.
Holy Spirit, would you come bringyour illumination, your revelation,
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and would you set free those whoare in those chains of bondage?
But Lord, would you set all of ourhearts a blaze this morning with a
deepening understanding of what the,what this day means, the significance
of it, that the tomb was empty.
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That you rose, that you defeated ourgreatest enemy, what separates us
from the one who is life himself?
Our creator, God, you defeateddeath on our behalf that we would
now stand guilt free before you.
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Lord, may this truth pierce our heart.
May this truth change how we goout those doors this morning.
And Lord, would you set in usa desire to wanna reflect your
heart to the world around us.
That, yes, you did this for our ownsake, but you did this so that we
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would be brought back to a place ofbeing able to fulfill the purpose
for which we were always created.
To shine your light, to bear your image,
to share the glory of who you arewith those who don't yet know.
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What may we bear the truth and thebeauty and the wonder of your good news
in simple, yet powerful and profoundways throughout this day, Lord,
lead us in the paths of knowing you.
In deeper and deeper ways, may our heartsjust be full with an inexpressible joy.
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We are home.
We are home in you.
We are at peace with you.
What a gift,
what a life altering,blessing, reality, and truth.
Amen.
Hi, church.
How.
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Stand, let us worship.
So today is Resurrection Sunday,and today Dale is gonna stick to her
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notes because Bingo depends on it.
All right, so today we rememberand we celebrate the good
news declared by the angels.
In the passage that beautiful Iris readfor us a little while ago, he has risen
three little words that are full of aneternity of meaning and significant street
little words that truly mean the world.
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Three little words that are the good news.
So the phrase, good news, it's onewe're all pretty familiar with.
In church circles, the gospel ofJesus Christ is called the Good News.
And what is news?
What is news?
News is an announcement, isn't it?
That something has happened thatmakes a difference in the world.
Something has happened thatnow change is how things are.
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The angels made an announcementto the women who came to the tomb.
He, they made theannouncement of what he is.
Risen, even though the women wouldn'thave fully comprehended it at the time.
This was the very best announcement.
This was the most good of all the goodnews, and so to help explain this a
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little bit more, and I thought to helpour younger folks stay a little bit
engaged throughout this as well, I'm gonnaallow our friends from the Bible project
to teach us a little bit more about.
The good news and the goodnews specifically of today.
Are we good, Sarah?
Thank you.
Have a look to the screens.
If you know any Christians or if youhappen to be one, you've probably
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heard the word gospel as a kindof summary of Christian belief.
Connected to phrases like God lovesyou, or Jesus died for your sins,
but over time, religious words likegospel can lose their power and
meaning by becoming too familiar.
So let's take a moment to rediscoverwhat this important word gospel meant
to the people who wrote the Bible.
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Gospel translates the Old TestamentHebrew verb beir and the noun rah.
The Greek New Testament equivalentis gelian, which is a compound word.
You means good, andgelian means announcement.
All of these words mean good news,but what kind of news well in Hebrew
be is what we might call nationalnews or a royal announcement.
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Like when King David hears a messengerbeir, that his army was victorious in
battle, that means he still rules onhis throne over the people of Israel.
And after David dies, his throneis passed on to Solomon his son,
and when he was inaugurated as kingin Jerusalem, a Herald spreads the
rah that a new ruler is in charge.
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But after Solomon's death came a bunchof bad news kings whose corruption led
their nation into self-destruction.
This is why the prophet Isaiahannounced the good news that one day.
The God of Israel would come asthe cosmic king to confront all
corrupt and violent kingdoms andrestore his rule over all nations.
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And so when Jesus of Nazareth hit thepublic stage, he continued Isaiah's gospel
when he went around announcing the YuangGallian of God's kingdom, Jesus claimed
that God was restoring his reign overhis people, Israel and over all nations,
and he was the one bringing it all about.
Now the Yuan Gallian about a new kingin charge means a new way of life.
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Jesus said that living in God'skingdom meant following him by
putting down the sword and seekingpeace through radical forgiveness and
generosity even toward your enemies.
His good news requiredpeople to make a decision.
This is why Jesus took his yuan gallianto Jerusalem to confront the corrupt
and violent kingdoms of his day.
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But he challenged them in a surprisingway with the power of God's generous love.
As Jesus was being executed byhis enemies, he received his crown
and was mocked as a fake king.
But he displayed true royal authorityby forgiving his tor mentors.
Jesus was the one in charge that daygiving his life for the sins of others.
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And then a few dayslater, everything changed.
Jesus rose from the dead as the trueking whose love is stronger than death.
He appeared to hundreds of hisfollowers and told them to spread the
Yung Gallian, that all authority inheaven on earth now belongs to him,
and they did share this good news.
All over the ancient world.
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They did it by writing the four accountsof Jesus' life that are the gospel.
That is, they tell the story of howJesus brought God's kingdom, how he
lived for others and died for theirsins, and then was raised from the dead.
Jesus' followers also shared thegood news by simply talking about it.
This is why Peter and Paul, orPriscilla and Aquila traveled all
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around sharing the royal announcement.
While it might look like the rulersof our world are in charge and can
do whatever they want, the goodnews is that the crucified and risen
Jesus is the true Lord of the world,the real king of all creation.
And in Jesus' kingdomthings are different.
It's where the real leaders are theservants, because the last are first and
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the first go to the back of the line.
It.
Beautiful.
Thank you Sarah.
That is good news, isn't it?
So good.
So the good news we rememberand we celebrate today, is that
the risen Jesus is now king.
So as many of you would know, we've beenin a series in Philippians and after
this somewhat extended introductionthis morning, we're gonna continue,
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actually continue in our series today,because as Providence would have
it, the passage scheduled for todayactually centers on the resurrection.
Praise the Lord.
So this series is about joy.
Yeah.
Defiant in joy.
And as we focus on the resurrectiontoday, the good news of the empty
tomb, may we find our joy deepenedand widened and expanding joy, that
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expels or fear or shame, and expandingunshakeable joy that fills our hearts.
Settling our hearts ina posture of freedom.
Free to love and serve the onewho sacrificed his life for us.
And so may we rejoice greatly this morningas the apostle Paul calls us to do right
from the beginning of this passage inPhilippians three verses one to 14.
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Let's have a read of it now further.
My brothers and sistersrejoice in the Lord.
It is no trouble for me to writethe same things to you again.
And it is a safeguard for you.
Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh
for it is we who are the circumcision?
We who serve God by his spirit,who boast in Christ Jesus and who
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put no confidence in the flesh.
Though I myself has reasonsfor such confidence.
If someone else thinks theyhave reasons to put confidence
in the flesh, I have more.
I was circumcised on the eighth dayof the people of Israel, of the tribe
of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrewsin regard to the law of Pharisee
as zeal persecuting the church.
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As for righteousness, based on thelaw, I was faultless as Paul, but
whatever were gains to me, I nowconsider loss for the sake of Christ.
Yeah.
When we hear the word Christ there, Ijust wanna pause there for a moment.
You know the word Christ isn'tjust another name for Jesus.
Christ means king.
Christ means anointed one.
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And so when Paul is using thisphrase, he's saying, king Jesus.
Yeah, so he just don't just hearChrist as interchangeable for Jesus.
It's a description of whohe is, that he is king.
So for whatever reason, again,to me, I now consider loss for
the sake of King Jesus of Christ.
What is more?
I consider everything a loss forthe surpassing worth of knowing
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Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whosesake I have lost all things.
I consider them garbage, that I may gainChrist and be found in him not having
a righteousness of my own that comesfrom the law, but that which is through
faith in Christ, the righteousness thatcomes from God on the basis of faith.
I want to know Christ, yes, to knowthe power of his resurrection and
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participation in his sufferingsbecoming like him in his death,
and so somehow attaining to theresurrection from the dead, not that
I have already obtained all this.
Or have already arrived at my goal,but I press on to take hold of that
for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers and sisters, I do not considermyself yet to have taken hold of it,
but one thing I do, forgetting what isbehind, straining towards what is ahead.
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I press on toward the goal towin the prize for which God
has called me heavenward InChrist Jesus, all of us, them.
Who are mature should takesuch a view of things.
All right, so quick overview ofwhat Paul is talking about here.
Firstly, he issues a deep warning to thechurch in Philippi and to us here today.
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But then he also declares a deep wanting.
And so we're gonna explore both ofthese because both of these actually
connect deeply to the resurrection.
And so firstly, what is the warning?
What's the context of this warning thatPaul is issuing here to this church
that he so dearly loves and cares for?
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So there is this bunch of folksthat are on the scene at this time
in history called the Judaizers.
And they are teaching adistortion of the gospel.
They've already hit the GalatianChurch pretty hard, and Paul's kind
of concerned they're gonna be comingfor the Philippian church as well.
And so they're teaching these judaiseyes as a teaching that in order
to be right with God, trusting thegood news about Jesus is not enough.
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There is other stuff that you haveto do, and specifically in this
context that what they're teachingis you need to be circumcised.
And Paul's like, do notfall for it to do so.
It's just to have your body mutilated.
It's the equivalent of justhaving your body mutilated.
That was the old covenant marker.
The new covenant markeris now the Holy Spirit.
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You trust in the good news, youdeclare your allegiance to king Jesus.
And the marker sealing thatcovenantal relationship is the spirit.
You do not need to goslicing up your body.
And so how is this warning relevant to us?
'cause it's probably not a lot of folks.
Male folks in particular sittinghere this morning wrestling over
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whether to get circumcised or notin order to be pleasing to God.
Sorry, you probably did not come tochurch expecting to have a conversation
on that particular topic thismorning, but hey, welcome to church.
Welcome to the Bible.
So how is this warning relevant to us?
Paul says, is an act of righteousness.
This is worthless.
And so what is righteousness?
It's a really important word,particularly in light of today.
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Righteousness is right.
Belief and behavior that leads toright relationship, specifically.
It's right belief and behavior thatleads to right relationship with.
God.
So the old Covenant had as a partof the law, and what was the law?
It was the established and agreedupon behaviors and practice that
enabled the Israelite people tobe in right relationship with God.
If they obeyed the law, there was thepromises of blessing and peace and
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prosperity, but also that they would bea kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
What did that mean?
It meant they would be a light.
They were intended to be a light tothe world around them, to the gentile
world around them, a source of God'sblessing to the world, and circumcision
was a sign and a seal of that covenant.
It marked them as covenant people, peoplein a covenant relationship with God.
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And the sacrificial system that was apart of the law was the way that the
people of God were able to stay in rightrelationship with God when they inevitably
broke the terms of the covenant.
And so Paul here says that he keptthe law perfectly, but now in light
of the good news of King Jesus, hisrighteousness earned through obedience
to the law is now less than worthless.
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What he's saying here is to putfaith in obedience to the law
as a source of righteousness.
It's not just worthless,it's actually a liability.
It's a loss.
So Paul goes on to list his Jewishcredentials, his heritage, he's
zeal, he righteousness under the law.
Paul isn't denying their value, but he'ssaying they do not define him anymore.
What matters now is that he is in Christ.
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That is what defines him.
So Paul's argument is essentially this.
If you wanna play the game of boastingin the flesh, I can beat you all.
But I've left that whole way ofmeasuring value behind because I
have seen the Messiah and everythingelse is garbage in comparison.
So the good news is thatJesus has done it perfect.
Righteousness is now ours by faith.
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It is absolute garbage rubbage.
Rubbish dung poo poo is what he's saying.
It's a pretty intense word heactually uses in the Greek here.
So he's saying it is dung.
It is absolute doodoo.
Do trust in your own obedienceto be right with God.
To behave this way is toenslave oneself all over again.
Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf.
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Now it's by grace alone through faithalone in the finished work of Christ
Alone, that we now stand in rightrelationship with our Heavenly Father.
And that is very good news.
So Paul's warning here is about falseteachers whose dodgy theology if
followed, will prevent those who arepart of this church that he dearly loves
from experiencing the kind of joy that.
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Fills Paul, even in chains.
Remember, Paul is in prisonwhen he is writing this.
Yet Paul is expressing the deepest andprofound as joy throughout this letter.
Why?
Because of the good news thathe is free and he's now in
right relationship with God.
And this is a freedom that surpasseschains, that surpasses prison itself.
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A beautiful and eternal and liberatingfreedom that comes from being.
And a relationship of peace with God.
His death and his resurrectionhas brought us peace with God.
It is such a blessing to have peacein our relationships, isn't it?
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You can have everything inthe world if you don't have
peace in your relationships.
It's done, isn't it?
You can have everything.
You can have everything this worldcan offer, but if you have no peace in
your relationships and how much more sorelationship with our Heavenly Father.
But the good news is today is we now havepeace through faith in the finished work
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of Christ, we now have peace with Godand we didn't earn this and so nothing
we can do can actually maintain it.
It is all by faith.
It is an act and a gift of sheer grace.
Paul had a deep joy that came fromthe freedom that he now had no longer
burdened by securing his righteousness,a righteousness of his own.
(14:35):
Because to live thatis such a heavy burden.
Always wondering, have I done enough?
Are my works good enough?
Have I sacrificed enough?
Have I obeyed enough?
We are free from that bondage now.
We now have the yoke of Christ, whichhe says, my yoke is easy and my burden.
It's like, come to me,all you who are weary.
Take that old yoke off.
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And so Philippians three,it's actually three nine.
I've got three 10 there.
That's wrong.
It's three nine.
And he says, not having a righteousnessof my own that comes from the law,
but that which is through faith inChrist, the righteousness that comes
from God on the basis of faith.
We now.
Stand in a new covenant, boughtand ratified by the blood of
Jesus, the perfect sacrifices thatcovers sin now and forevermore.
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We now have peace with God.
A performance free relationship withthe assurance of complete and total
forgiveness, the guilt of every sinnow covered by the blood of Jesus, a
resurrection, the vindication, the proofof the sufficiency, the perfection,
and the power of his sacrifice.
Friends, are you still strivingto earn what Christ died to give
you as a gift of sheer grace?
Peace with God.
It comes by faith.
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It does not come by works.
And that is what Paul is saying here,and this, this is a warning we must
heed in hear because we fall prey toit just as much as the early church,
not around the issue of circumcision,but in a myriad of other ways.
Different ways, different thingsthat we look to in order to earn
our right standing before God.
And it's amazing the things thatwe will turn into the gospel.
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Good things like do you, do youtreat your Bible reading as a gospel?
Yeah, I need to read my Biblemore in order to be okay with God.
That's a workspace.
Righteousness.
I need to pray more inorder to be right with God.
That's a workspace, righteousness.
That's the equivalent ofwhat Paul's saying here.
Circumcision.
'cause what?
When have you read enough of your Bible?
When have you prayed enough?
Where is there enough?
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Where is this magical line of enough?
If you are using that as your goodnews, as your gospel, okay, yes,
you should pray, and yes, you shouldread your Bible not to earn approval
before God, but because you alreadyhave it, and that's how you enter
in and deepen your relationship.
The peace you already have, your Biblereading, your good works, your giving.
All of these things are notgonna get you that peace.
(16:44):
That comes by faith and trust in thework of Jesus Christ and everything
that this weekend represents.
But yes, we pray and yes we serveand yes, we give and we read our
scriptures so that we can know him,and that's where we come to next.
So in a very passionate way, Pauldeclares the deepest desire of his heart.
In this passage, and he practicallyshouts it through these words
(17:05):
Here, I want to know Christ.
I want to know King Jesus.
And you know what?
Whether you know it or not, this isthe deepest desire of every heart here,
because this is the reality in whichevery human soul was created to exist.
As Jesus says in John 17, eternal life is.
Knowing God, this isour heart's true home.
(17:30):
Not a place, but a relationship.
Everything you are pursuing in thislife is ultimately trying to fulfill
the deepest longing of your heart, yourheart, finding your heart's true home,
your soul's true home, and that is with.
God.
And you know what?
Because of Easter, the way is nowclear, the veil is torn by the spirit.
We now dwell in the presence ofGod, not by our righteousness of
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our own, but by that of Jesus.
So Hebrews 10, 19 to 22 says, it's so.
Beautifully and clearly, thereforebrothers and sisters, since we have
a confidence to enter the most holyplace by the blood of Jesus, by a
new and living way opened for usthrough the curtain, that is his body.
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And since we have a great priest overthe house of God, let us draw near to
God with a sincere heart and with thefull assurance that faith brings, we can
now draw it near, freely, all banged up.
And as broken as we are, in allthe ways that you have fallen short
this week, none of them prohibityou from drawing near because of the
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completed work of Jesus Christ becausehis blood has made the way clear.
We don't have to settlefor just knowing about him.
We don't have to settle forlearning about him through a priest,
through a sacrificial system.
We can know him.
Do you wanna know him?
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Do you want to know him?
Does your heart echo andresonate with the cry of Paul?
I wanna know Christ.
I wanna know King Jesus.
Of course you wanna know him.
Everybody wants to know the personwho saves their life, don't they?
Imagine you're driving along a road oneday and a critter of some description
jumps out in the road and you swerve.
You go off the road, you're in a river,your car's filling up with water.
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You're stuck.
You're unable to save yourself,you're going to drown, but suddenly a
face of the window of your submergedcar, they wrenched the door open.
They pull you out.
They get you to the river bank where abunch of onlookers have now gathered.
You'll savior, make sure you'reokay, and the next thing you
know, he's gone from your sight.
Do you think in that scenario you wouldwant to know the person who saved you?
One of the onlookers mightsay, oh, that's Josh King.
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Do you think you're gonna besatisfied with just having a name?
No, you're gonna wanna knowthe one who saved your life.
It's because Jesus loved me and gavehimself for me that I want to know him.
For Paul, this was his all consumingdesire and passion, and in light of who
Jesus is and what he did, this reallyis the only true and right response,
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especially when it cost him so much tomake the way clear for us to know him.
Know him, not just know about him.
Too many professing Christians settlefor a life of knowing about Jesus and
not pursuing as Paul displays here inthis passage, a pursuit of actually
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knowing personally, king Jesus.
Imagine, you know, you, your life haslived in a cave and you've read all
about this amazing thing called the Sun.
And you know, there's a certaindegree of wonder, right?
And just understanding how the sunworks and what it is and that it exists.
Like there's a certain degree of wonderin that, and you could marvel over that.
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But it's a very different thingto actually stand in the presence
of the sun and experience the sun.
We are way too easily satisfied churchwith a life of knowing about Jesus.
Than actually pursuing a life of deep andabiding relationship with him, and only
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one will truly satisfy the deep desiresof your soul because this horrible thing
happens when we just settle for a life ofknowing about, and that is what we pursue.
Knowledge puffs up.
That's what the Bible talks about.
Hey, and we become prime to becomejoyful Pharisees in this life.
Based on a self-righteousness, not thefreedom and the joy of just knowing
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him and abiding freely in his presence.
So do you know him?
Do you know him?
If you do not, I invite you tojust breathe a silent prayer now.
Lord, help me to know you.
Help me to truly know you.
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You know, Jesus says to Philipone of his disciples, don't you
know me, Philip, even after I havebeen among you such a long time?
And I wonder if he might not saythe same to some of us here today.
And the more you know him, you know whathappens the more you wanna know him.
So my friends do not be satisfiedwith the secondhand knowing.
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Don't be satisfied with knowingabout all that knowledge about Jesus
without actually truly knowing him.
Only puffs us up.
At the end of the day, thereis no true lasting deep joy
and life to be found there.
Consider this in Revelations three 14 tothe church in Laia that was neither hot
nor cold, but lukewarm, such that the goodLord wanted to spit them out of his mouth.
What was the Lord's curefor their lukewarmness?
(22:35):
Was it doctrine?
Was it a biography of his own good self?
Was it a set of instructions?
No.
It was his presence, wasn't it?
Those I love.
I rebuke, I discipline.
Be earnest and repent.
Here I am.
Here I am.
I stand at the door, I knock.
If anyone hears my voice opensthe door, I'll come in and eat
with that person and they with me.
His presence was the cure.
The company of Christ is the curefor the deepest need of our souls.
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And he stands at the door and he knocks.
And the resurrection means that the wayto our hearts true home is now clear.
Good news, good news of great joy indeed.
And so I could stand here and I couldencourage you and implore you to pursue a
life of knowing, but I think it would beremiss to not actually present a practical
element to this and go, she go, well, how?
(23:20):
How do we know him wanting hisone thing, but actually how?
How do you know him?
Well, first it beginswith what I just said.
First, you must want to first, you mustwant to, and how do you stir up a wanting?
How do you tap into thatdesire that is in you?
It is there.
I think Psalm 27, verse four, Psalm 27,is one of my favorite Psalms, but says
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in verse four, one thing I ask fromthe Lord this only do I seek that I may
dwell in the house of the Lord or thedays of my life to gaze on the beauty of
the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
Gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.
See the face of the Lord looking atyou with eyes of love and devotion.
See him as beautifuland you will be hooked.
Your heart will be eternallycaptivated because we love
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being in the presence of beauty.
Oh, could we just take that down, Sarah?
I'm not quite there yet.
Gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.
I challenged, I challengedyou on this a few weeks ago.
You know, it's that temptationfor Jesus just to become useful,
but Jesus must stay beautiful.
Yes.
In terms of what he has done,there is a sure, in a practical
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sense, there's a usefulness to it.
But if you do not see what he hasdone for you, if you not see the way
he loves you as beautiful, your heartwill not be captivated to pursue him.
Do you see him as beautiful?
So how do you know him?
Second, you must settle that he wantsto be with you, that he wants to be
known by you, that the deepest andmost intimate of relationships is
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what he desires to have with you.
So how do you know him?
The same way you know anyone.
You dwell and you abide in their presence.
You be with them, you listen to them.
You give them your attention.
You direct the focus of yourheart and your mind toward them.
The brother Lawrence, the 17thcentury CARite Monk in his book,
the Practice of The Presence of God.
(25:10):
Who's read it?
You ready?
Oh, there's so not enoughhands just went up of that.
Okay.
I'm pretty sure it's like freeand the, what do you call that
thing when books become free?
You know, that thing, whatever thatword is, that phrase is, I'm pretty sure
you can just access it for free, if notlike a dollar on Kindle or something.
It's a, it's a beautiful,beautiful little book.
(25:32):
So, brother Lawrence, the 17th centuryCARite monkey's book, practice of
the presence of God lived a lifein the pursuit of a rested, abiding
in God's presence in every moment.
And this is how he teaches, we canpractice God's presence in daily life.
Let's have a look.
Let's go through these just quickly.
Make it a habit to talkwith God constantly.
Seek a continuous, informal conversationwith God throughout the day.
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Do you live in conversational relationshipwith God or are you stuck in that
horrible mode of just your prayer?
Life is just all one way where youjust tell God your problems and
your wants, and that's not that.
That's not, that's not valid, right?
But you can't know somebody unless youactually have a conversation with them.
A natural turning of the heart andthe mind toward God, whether you are
(26:16):
doing the dishes, you're walking,you're working, whatever it is.
So Brother Lawrence says here, thereis not in the world a kind of life
more sweet and delightful than thatof a continual conversation with God.
All right, next.
Number two, turn ordinarytasks into acts of love.
See that no task is too smallor too secular to be sacred.
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I love that.
Washing pots and pans, mending shoes.
Probably not many people here aremending shoes, but you know, put
in changing nappies or something.
Do everything for the loveof God, and that intention
transforms the task into worship.
We ought not to be weary of doing littlethings for the love of God, for God, God
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regards, not the greatness of the work,but the love with which it is performed.
Isn't that beautiful?
That is so.
That is so good.
Number two, I mean, number three, developan ongoing awareness of God's presence.
Practicing God's presence meanstraining yourself to remain aware
that God is always with you.
As it say at the end of Matthew'sGospel when he gives the great
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commission, I am with you always.
I am with you.
Always gently turn yourattention back to God.
Each time your mind wanderswithout guilt or frustration.
I. Again, the temptation here, to goback to Paul's warning at the beginning
is that you start to use this as anotherworkspace, righteous of righteousness,
and then you come to the end of the dayand you go, oh my gosh, I did such a
(27:44):
terrible job of being with the Lord today.
I'm such a bad Christian.
All right, then you've missed the point.
Okay.
You are now trying to usecondemnation again, the old way
to bring you in to God's presence.
And it won't work.
So when you fail and you will, youjust quietly return, quietly return.
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So the most holy and necessary practice inour spiritual life is the presence of God.
That means finding constantdelight in his divine company.
Oh, how lovely.
Number four, begin with times ofset prayer, but don't stop there.
Formal prayer is a starting point.
The goal is not just to pray atset times, but to become prayer.
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To be in a state of connection withGod at all times, we ought to act
with God in the greatest simplicity.
Speak to him frankly and plainly andimplore his assistance in our affairs.
Beautiful.
Number five, stay humbleand gentle with yourself.
Don't over overanalyze failures orspiritual dryness when you fall short.
(28:49):
Simply acknowledge it beforeGod and move on in peace.
The key is love and trust, not perfection.
When we fail, we must only humbleourselves before God and ask his
forgiveness, but not be discouraged.
We must take heart and go on.
Beautiful.
So Brother Lawrence's practiceis deeply deceptively simple.
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Turn your heart to God in every moment.
Offer him your love in every task, andlive as if he's right there because he is.
It's a spirituality of simplicity,humility and devotion, a
spirituality of knowing him and you.
What happens when you live this way?
When you live in the presenceof the sun, you become the moon.
And what does that mean?
The moon has no light of its own.
(29:32):
The moon reflects the light of the sun.
And so remember in all of this, thisisn't about just your own selves, right?
Your own joy, your ownpeace and satisfaction.
It's about you fulfilling what hasalways been your purpose, to be
the moon, to be an image bearer,to be one who reflects the light
(29:53):
of the sun to the world around us.
There is nothing more joyful thanbeing in the presence of a true moon.
Go with me on this one.
All right.
Somebody who simply reflects not theirown light, but the light of the sun.
They are the most.
(30:14):
Peaceful, joyful, encouraginglife-giving people to be around
the world needs more moons.
It doesn't need more fake sons.
There is one son is doing a stellar job.
Doesn't need help.
Yeah.
We all just need toresolve to become moons.
(30:36):
It's just a shame.
The word moon has beenso corrupted, isn't it?
Anyway, purify your minds.
Um, but be a moon.
Think about that as one whose solejob is to reflect the light of the
sun, to bring light into the darkness.
Why are we given the moon to bringshine light into the darkness?
(30:57):
Why do we even being called tobe image bearers, to be his?
We sang that song.
You know, I'm no longer a slave.
I'm a child of God.
Well, that's great for you.
Yeah.
And that is great for you.
But there's a world out there that needsto know and needs to see that truth
reflected, that they would come to knowthe goodness of God and the glory of God.
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All right.
That was off script, so back on script.
All right.
Practical, practical ways to begin.
I wanna kick us.
I, I'm doing this because, youknow, last Sunday Luke preached
such a great message, right?
And the practical elementof it was just so good.
It's like, oh yeah, weneed more practical stuff.
Like, how do we actually do this stuff?
It's one thing to.
Preach about it thing.
How do we actually apprehendit and, and bring it to bear?
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So start the day with intention.
Before you check your phone orstart your task, take a moment to
simply say, God, today is yours.
Help me walk with you through it all.
You know, I just wonder how many of youdo not actually begin your day with God
because you had this idealistic notionin mind of what a devotional time at the
(32:03):
beginning of the day should look like,and you go, this must be, well, at least
if I can't do at least an hour, wellthen what's the point if all you've got.
You know, moms of small children,busy, overwhelmed people, is a
few minutes to breathe a prayer.
Do that and see what the good Lordwill do with your little offering
of loaves and fishes to sustainyou and to make his presence real
(32:27):
with you throughout that day.
Don't set these idealistic goals thattend to become crushing weight that
you then just go, oh, beat yourselfup with at the end of the day.
If this is how you startyour day, brilliant.
Today is yours, Lord, help me walkwith you through it all and then
set reminders through the day.
Little cues you find buzzes.
There's a specific sound or atask like washing your hands.
(32:50):
News them as a reminders to pauseand acknowledge God presence.
To direct your heart's,focus towards him next.
Bring God into mundane tasks.
You're cooking, you're cleaning,you're driving, replying to emails.
Inwardly say something like, I do thiswith you, Lord, be with me in this.
(33:10):
Check in throughout the day.
Pause now and then evenfor a breath, and ask Lord.
You here with me?
Yes.
You are here with me.
What would you have me notice right now?
That is such a great question.
You know, word and why this week?
You know, we were talking about, um,this, um, the passage that actually
was part of Luke's passage from lastweek when he talks about Paul talks.
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People aren't, um, they don't havethe interests of Christ in mind, and
we were wrestling with that question.
What are the interests?
Of Jesus.
And what if in any given moment throughoutthe day, what if when you go out in your
day, the lunches that you go to, thedinners that you go to, whatever you are
doing, what if you to pause and go, Jesus,what are your interests in this moment?
(33:53):
What do you want me toknow about this moment?
And you're inclining your ear.
All right, next end the dayin gratitude before sleep.
Replay the day in your mind, andthank God for being present through
it all, you know, even if youforgot to draw your attention to
him, which you will fail to do.
And here is just some simple, shortprayers that can help keep your
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heart towards him throughout the day.
My God, here I am all for you.
Help me to stay nearto you in this moment.
I am yours.
Do with me as you.
Please.
Thank you for being with me.
Even when I forget.
Let this task be done in love for you.
Let this task be done in love for you.
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Imagine conversations thatyou go into during the day.
Let this conversation bedone in love for you, Lord.
How does that changeyour posture in things?
A few little words that can just shifteverything, more of you and less of me.
So Brother Lawrence said, we shouldn't trytoo hard or get discouraged if we forget
God a hundred times, we simply return101 quietly, peacefully, and with love.
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All right, so as I bring thishome, so Paul presses on, he says
he forgets what's behind and he'sstraining towards what is ahead.
He's not chasing perfectionin his own strength.
He's pursuing a person.
He's running after Jesus, the onewho has already taken hold of him.
(35:24):
And here's the joy for us, becauseof the resurrection, we're not
trying to earn God's approval.
We already have it.
Jesus rose from the dead to makeus right with God, not with the
righteousness of our own, but with his.
And that changes everything.
This means we don't have to hide anymore.
We don't have to strive.
We don't have to pretend.
The resurrected Jesus has opened theway to truly know God, to walk with
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him, to talk with him, to enjoy him, andto reflect his light into a dark world
that so desperately needs to know him.
And that's a source of our joy, not inour achievements, not in our religious
resume, but in him in knowing Christ.
And more than that, in being known by him.
(36:12):
So church, we press on, not toprove ourselves, but to take hold
of the one who already holds us.
And in that we rejoice.
Amen.
Now, how about you bow your headsand let's pray as the team comes up.
Lord, my prayer for us all this morning isthat deep cry of I want to know you, Lord.
(36:38):
Would you stir every heart herethis morning in that direction?
And Lord, for those who are bow,still bound up in this work of
self-righteousness trying toearn right relationship with you.
Holy Spirit, would you come bringyour illumination, your revelation,
(37:01):
and would you set free those whoare in those chains of bondage?
But Lord, would you set all of ourhearts a blaze this morning with a
deepening understanding of what the,what this day means, the significance
of it, that the tomb was empty.
(37:25):
That you rose, that you defeated ourgreatest enemy, what separates us
from the one who is life himself?
Our creator, God, you defeateddeath on our behalf that we would
now stand guilt free before you.
(37:49):
Lord, may this truth pierce our heart.
May this truth change how we goout those doors this morning.
And Lord, would you set in usa desire to wanna reflect your
heart to the world around us.
That, yes, you did this for our ownsake, but you did this so that we
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would be brought back to a place ofbeing able to fulfill the purpose
for which we were always created.
To shine your light, to bear your image,
to share the glory of who you arewith those who don't yet know.
(38:31):
What may we bear the truth and thebeauty and the wonder of your good news
in simple, yet powerful and profoundways throughout this day, Lord,
lead us in the paths of knowing you.
In deeper and deeper ways, may our heartsjust be full with an inexpressible joy.
(38:57):
We are home.
We are home in you.
We are at peace with you.
What a gift,
what a life altering,blessing, reality, and truth.
Amen.
Hi, church.
How.
(39:17):
Stand, let us worship.
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