Grace for the Walking Dead

Father, this is your word, and in many ways, your word to us this morning is a great offense to us.

And so, Father, we ask that the Holy Spirit would move deeply in our hearts

to pause us in our offense or dismissing of your word.

And, Father, we ask that the Holy Spirit would bring your word very deep into our hearts,

the center of whom we are, that we might, Father, understand and be gripped by the gospel,

this almost unimaginable good news that you offer to people like us.

And all this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Please be seated.

Amen.

So, in morning prayer, we get to begin the sermon with the sound of children singing,

which is sort of an interesting thing.

I don't know how many of you paid attention to Matt when he was reading the text at the beginning of the service,

but if you were listening, it's a very, very offensive text.

It's a text of the Bible that says you're all dead, you're by nature children of wrath,

by nature you follow hostile spiritual forces, and you follow a spirit of rebellion,

and it's a very, very hard text, a text that people often turn away from.

And I don't like offending people.

I'm very Canadian, so I don't like offending people.

But one of the things we do here in this church is we preach through the Bible.

We preach through whole books of the Bible, and we don't try to hide things or avoid things

or pretend that certain things aren't here.

And so, what we're going to do is we're going to walk towards this problem,

and what you have to understand is that this is, in a sense,

a red pill and a blue pill moment for each of us.

Many of you instantly get the analogy.

There's a famous movie from some 20 years ago or whatever called The Matrix,

and in it, early on in the movie, there's this moment where a man named Morpheus

speaks to a man named Neo, and he holds out his hands,

and he said there's a red pill and a blue pill.

The choice is yours.

If you take the blue pill, you just continue to live your life the way it is right now,

and you just live thinking the things that are thought and going the way that things go.

But if you take the red pill, if you take the red pill, you'll know the truth,

and your life will be completely changed.

And as those of us know, this isn't a spoiler or anything like that in the movie

for those who haven't actually seen it, the red pill reveals a very, very harsh and uncomfortable truth

that everybody in the world is living a delusion.

They're, in fact, in real life, they're hooked up to a machine,

and basically a world of machines is sucking the energy out of them to fuel the machines,

and to stop human beings from disconnecting themselves to the machines.

They basically work in the brains of human beings to create an illusory world

where they're all happy and going about and free.

And Neo, in the movie, chooses the red pill, not the blue pill.

He chooses the pill that's going to be uncomfortable, but it's true.

And that's what the Bible is doing for us here today.

The last two weeks, as we've been looking through chapter 1,

it's told us spectacular promises and truths about what it means to be in Christ.

And now the text is going to take a step back and says,

I want you to understand what's going on, what's really going on,

what the choice is, what the before story is before these wonderful promises.

And that's what we're going to look at right now.

So here's how we begin.

If you have your Bibles, you can follow along.

And I'll also have the text up there on the screen.

In a couple of cases, you'll notice that the translation,

I'm basically using the ESV a couple of times.

There's going to be a slight difference in some of the wording,

and that's just you can thank a man whose last name is Baugh, B-A-U-G-H,

who's a Greek scholar.

And sometimes I've changed it to be a little bit less grammatical,

but to actually bring home the underlying language better.

And here's how the text begins.

And you were dead in the transgressions and sins in which you once walked.

Remember, this is a red pill moment.

And you were dead in the transgressions and sins in which you once walked.

Think if you're using the ESV, it says trespasses.

The word transgressions means that there's a sense of the rightness of the world,

and there's the sense of moral laws and rightness of the world,

and that at different times in your life, you specifically go against what you know is the right thing to do.

You fail to do the good that you should, or you do something that you know is wrong.

And that's this idea behind transgression.

It's consciously going against things which you know are right.

And sins is a more personal word, in a sense, getting right in God's face

or saying something to God about how you're going to turn your back on him.

You don't like him.

You don't want him present.

It's a very God-centered word.

But here's the thing.

The word dead actually means dead.

In fact, here's my point connected with it.

By nature, you are dead.

That's what the Bible is saying.

By nature, you are dead.

Now, the things which are going on in these first three verses of the text,

it deeply offends, especially contemporary Canadians,

where we believe that fundamentally we're good,

and we don't like to think about death or talk about death

or think about death's finality.

We like to amuse ourselves and think about anything other than death.

But this text, when it says dead,

it really means if you go to a funeral home

and you see the bodies in the caskets,

that's us.

And that's a bit of a shocking thing to say about human beings.

Now, actually, interestingly enough,

it's actually empirically true.

If you think about it for a second,

it's actually empirically true.

From the moment that you're conceived in your mother's womb,

when you become a zygote,

if I'm pronouncing that word correctly,

from that moment,

and you become, in a sense,

you, in a real sense,

you become you at that moment.

Your DNA is all there.

The basic things as to whether you'll have certain illnesses,

whether, like,

I have my mother's father's hairline,

for instance.

You know, I have,

if you know,

I have, like,

I have a true nose.

I mean,

it's a real nose.

My mother's maiden name was True,

T-R-E-W.

I have a true nose.

I have the same type of nose as my mother's dad.

All those things are sort of programmed into you

right from the moment you become a zygote.

You know what else is also true from the moment you become a zygote?

You'll die.

You'll die.

Like, isn't that true?

That's empirically true.

You know,

death isn't something that

you're going to live forever,

live forever,

live forever.

Dang, you made a mistake.

You know,

it's not like

you live forever,

live forever,

live forever,

you know,

you eat the wrong food,

now you're going to die.

No.

From the moment you're a zygote,

the moment you become you,

you're also going to die.

It's actually empirically true.

There's,

you might notice that there's

three dozen roses

at the front of the church,

and they're here today

as a symbol

or as a sort of an illustration.

After the service,

I invite every adult

in the room

who wants one

to take a rose.

You bring it home,

it's just our gift to you this morning.

But here's the thing.

This, in a sense,

is a symbol

and a metaphor

and image

of what every human being

here is in the room.

This rose is beautiful,

isn't it?

I mean, many of us,

some of us are as beautiful

as the rose.

All of us wish we could be

as beautiful as the rose.

But this rose

is a cut flower.

It's a cut flower.

And the biblical message is

that we were designed

to be connected

to God forever.

But we've separated ourselves

from God.

We've, in a sense,

cut ourselves off

from the ground,

from the source of nutrients,

from ongoing life.

And every human being

that's born

is born

a cut rose.

And, um,

it must be true

because I looked it up

on the internet.

Um,

but once that rose is cut,

you can't do anything.

Like, it's,

it's doomed.

You can't reconnect it

to a plant

so that it'll live

because it's a cut plant.

And that's what the Bible

is saying here.

We are

a cut flower.

It gets worse.

Look at the next text.

It's the, uh,

second part of verse 2.

Chapter 2.

So we began with

chapter 2, verse 1.

And you were dead

in the transgressions

and sins

in which you once walked.

Now the rest of the verse 2

goes like this.

Following the course

of this world,

following the prince

of the power of the air,

the spirit

that is now at work

in the sons

of disobedience.

And, um,

it's saying something else.

It's saying now,

it's getting even deeper

into our problem.

By nature,

you love acts of rebellion

against the living God.

See, that's,

that's what the text

is trying to say.

Um,

the first analogy

is that we're all

walking a life

and the natural,

the, the, the, the sense,

the natural way

we're bent

is to, in a sense,

be on the same side

as any human being

or any spiritual being

that also rebels

against God

and desires

to be a God themselves

and chart their own path

and their own way forward.

And so,

this image

of the ruler

of the spirit

of the air

is this,

this image

of,

of demons,

of hostile

spiritual forces.

And then the other one

isn't a spirit thing.

It's, it's saying that,

in fact,

if we think about it,

human life is organized,

not always in rebellion

against God,

but there's always

a bit of a flavor

of it

against the presence

of the living God.

And that that's,

in a sense,

what animates

social life

and social institutions.

That there's always

just something in there

which likes to be

in rebellion

against God.

And that's the side

that we naturally

side with

as human beings.

Once again,

this is actually

offensive to us

because we believe

that we're basically good.

But once again,

it's actually

empirically true

if you think about it

for a second.

It's empirically true.

I've used this analogy

before.

Some of you

might remember it.

But when you watch a movie

or you read a story

and in the movie

or in the story

it looks as if

there's a perfect society,

a perfect place,

a utopia.

What do we all

instantly know?

At root,

there's something evil.

That's what we all know.

It's just obvious.

Nobody goes and says,

oh, look at that.

This is a betrayal

of a perfect society,

a perfect world.

No.

We know there's

something going on.

We know there's

some powerful force

manipulating people.

We know that somehow

or another

they might be food.

We know that something

else is going on.

We instinctively

both long for utopias

and often many people

are suckers for them.

But at the same time

when we see it

very plainly put forward,

we know,

we know,

we know,

we know,

we know

that there's something

not right going on there.

See,

it's a very interesting thing

that in this text,

on one hand,

when we think about it

and reflect upon it,

it offends us.

On the other hand,

if we actually think about it

a bit more,

we realize that what offends us

is that which is actually

empirically known

to be true.

And it gets worse.

Look at verse 3,

chapter 2,

verse 3.

So it just said

how we follow

basically the devil

and we follow up

and we naturally

are aligned

with the spirit

that is work in society.

In verse 3,

among whom

we all once lived

in the passions,

or another way to put it

would be lusts,

of our flesh.

That doesn't mean

our body.

it means that there's

a part of us

that likes to rebel

against God,

carrying out the desires

of the body

and the mind

and we're by nature

children of wrath

like the rest

of the human race.

By nature,

children of wrath

like the rest

of the human race.

You know,

once again,

this is something

which is empirically

true.

if we think about it.

Can you just imagine

for a second

if one of your friends

or one of your nephews

or your own child

had a baby

and as they're holding

the baby

and looking at it

and if they were

to say to you,

do you know,

do you think

this will be

the first child

that never does

anything wrong

in their entire life?

I think this is the child.

I think this child,

just like my previous one,

will never,

ever,

ever,

ever,

ever,

ever,

ever,

do anything wrong

and if you watch

that person say that,

you'd think they were joking.

If it became obvious

that they were serious,

you'd go,

that's what you do,

isn't it?

Oh,

good grief.

How stupid

is this person?

How,

isn't that what we all do?

Like empirically,

that's what we do.

Nobody believes that

even though we also

at the same time

believe that we're all

basically fundamentally good.

Like why is it

that that goes on

within us?

Why are we offended

by the word of God?

You see,

by nature,

do I have the right thing?

Here's my,

here's my third point.

By nature,

with middle finger

raised at him,

you stay the course

away from the living God.

I tried to pick

a very graphic image.

This description covers

the religious

and the irreligious.

It covers the spiritual

and those who want to have

nothing to do with spirituality.

It covers me and you.

It covers Bill Gates

and it covers

the most broken

street person

that you could ever meet.

And why does the text say wrath

but I don't use wrath

in my text?

Well,

if you think about it

for a second,

imagine that you did

come across somebody

that,

they're really,

a really great person.

Let's say you,

you grew up with somebody

and,

okay,

your mom wasn't very good.

I don't know,

your mom was terrible

and this person's mom

was fantastic.

Like,

just fantastic.

You know,

she made cookies,

she made your lunch,

she was a good listener,

she was always kind,

she always gave you

good advice,

she was all,

she was just great.

In fact,

you and all your friends

would say,

I wish that mom,

I wish your mom

was my mom.

Like,

you have such a great mom.

But then,

if you have this person

who,

you know,

humanly speaking,

is just a spectacular mom,

but all of the time,

your friend,

we'll call him Bob,

every time Bob

is at his mom's,

where his mom wants

to come and talk to Bob,

Bob yells,

Bob turns his back on her,

he hangs up on her,

he never answers her texts.

When she starts to speak to him

or give him a gift,

he rolls his eyes,

he just,

it just visually shows

he doesn't want to have

anything to do with her,

that doesn't like her,

that he hates her,

that he just wants

to live his own life

and have her nowhere.

And everybody else,

all of Bob's friends

is saying,

your mom is great.

Like,

she just,

she just wants to,

she's just great.

Like,

what's going on?

Why are you always

giving her the finger?

The finger.

And then finally,

the mom says,

gets mad at Bob,

and then Bob goes around

everywhere.

Why on earth

is my mom mad at me?

That's why I don't like my mom.

She's always getting mad at me.

And what will you say to Bob?

You'll say,

but Bob,

like,

your mom's unbelievably patient

with you.

You're basically giving her

the finger all the time.

And she turns the other cheek.

Why are you surprised

that she's mad at you?

That's what's going on

in the text.

God is unfailingly good.

He's unfailingly kind.

He's unfailingly loving.

Unfailingly merciful.

And we don't want him

in our lives

unless we're stuck.

And then we'd like him

to be like a genie

that we rub the bottle,

we make our wish,

he fixes the problem,

then he goes back in the bottle

and lets me live

my own life

on my terms.

And whether that is

saying the rosary

and going to church,

whether it's

doing yoga,

you know,

whether it's just

singing praise courses

or something like that

just because it's

something spiritual

that we happen to like,

whether it's drinking

Jack Daniels,

whatever it is,

it can have a religious form

and irreligious form.

It can have a secular form

and a spiritual form.

But bottom line

is what we don't want

is we want what we want

when we want it

in the way that we want it.

And we don't want God

getting in there,

the true and living God

messing things up.

Thank you very much.

Finger extended

back to him.

That is what we are

by nature.

It is what we are

by nature.

This is the red pill.

Religion or spirituality

that says

you just follow these rules

and then God will

be your God

and he'll accept you.

How does that work?

Well, it works exactly the same

as going into the funeral home

and speaking to all the bodies

in the caskets

and say just start

improving your diet

and you will live longer.

How does that work?

It doesn't work at all.

This is very, very, very,

very tough and bad news.

It's very counter-cultural

bad news.

But I would suggest

it's the red pill.

It's the red pill.

But

it reveals to us

that we need

a true and greater Morpheus.

We need a true

and greater Neo.

It reveals to us

that you are not the hero

that you have been waiting for.

You are not the hero

the world has been waiting for.

There is nothing

in this world

that is the hero

that you have been waiting for.

This is me.

This is us.

But this very, very stark

bad news

is a way to introduce

spectacular good news.

Look at how

the very next verse begins.

Notice how it begins

with the word

but.

It's going to tell us

that there is a true

and greater hero.

That there is, in fact,

a longing

and a dream

made flesh.

Let's read it.

But God,

this is where my translation

is just going to be

a little bit different

to bring out

the original force

of the original language.

But God,

being rich in mercy

because of the great love

with which he loved us.

This is verse 4.

But God,

being rich in mercy

because of the great love

with which he loved us,

even when we were dead

in our transgressions,

co-made us alive

with Christ.

By grace,

you have been saved.

And co-raised us

with him.

And co-seated us

with him

in the heavenly places

in Christ Jesus.

Look at verse 4 again.

Verse 4 goes,

but God,

being rich in mercy

because of the great love

with which he loved us.

Here's the beginning

of the good news.

God is rich in mercy

and he's rich in love.

Our hope

doesn't flow

from anything

within ourselves

or anything

within our world.

Our hope

has to come

from God

being rich in mercy

and rich in love.

Our hope

comes in a sense

from outside of the world

but present in the world.

There might be

some of you here

this morning

who are feeling

deeply unloved.

What this Bible text

is telling you,

this isn't just me

having a Maya Angelou moment.

What the text

is telling you

is there has never

been a time

in your life

that you have been unloved.

Never.

And if you're sitting here

right now feeling unloved,

you are not unloved.

There is a God

who does exist

who right now

loves you

and has always loved you.

And whatever good news

is going to emerge

is going to originate

out of God

who really does exist,

the living God,

the true and living God.

It is going to come

not out of the fact

that you were able

to wink

or accomplish something

or learn how to say

the rosary

or learn how to be good

or learn how to do yoga

or learn how to do

or, you know,

do all the Islamic prayers

or just be very successful

in life.

Whatever hope you have

is not going to emerge

out of anything you do

or anything you can accomplish.

It's going to emerge

out of God himself

being unfailingly loving

and unfailingly merciful.

That is where hope

is going to emerge out of.

But you might say,

but how can he help

a cut flower?

How can he help

a cut rose?

Look at what he says

in verse 5 and 6.

Look at what he says there

again.

Remember, he loves us.

He loves us not

when we've accomplished things,

but he loves us,

verse 5,

even when we were dead

in our transgressions.

And what does he do?

He co-made us alive

with Christ.

By grace,

you have been saved.

And co-raised us with him.

And co-seated us with him

in the heavenly places

in Christ Jesus.

Co-made, co-raised, co-seated.

Here's what the text

is trying to bring out.

The living God,

united you to Jesus,

and in him,

you have been co-made alive,

co-raised,

and co-seated

in the highest heaven.

You see, what happens is

Jesus is described

as Emmanuel,

as God with us.

God, the Son of God,

sets aside his glory

and his splendor

and his divine prerogatives

in appearance as God.

And remaining God

comes and is born

amongst us

and lives amongst us.

We have a hard time

thinking about that.

Just think a little bit more

about being a zygote.

Remember I told you

that if you see me,

you're seeing my grandfather's nose.

You're seeing a true nose.

See my hairline?

That's my grandfather's hairline.

You know,

I have asthma.

That's my mom's asthma.

You know,

my eyesight

didn't get that from my mom,

got that from my dad.

You know,

you can go on.

Then there's other things

that people wonder

where it comes from.

That's what happens

when you just, you know,

bang all those things together,

the DNA of two people

into a blender.

But here's the point.

If you went and saw

a baby picture of me at one,

you might say,

look at that,

that's George.

I can look at that.

I can see his nose

is cuter then,

but that's George.

I can tell from his eyes

just the way he looks, right?

But you look at a zygote,

if there was able

to go back in time

and there was able

to be a camera

that could take a picture

of you as a zygote,

you don't look like that at all.

Zygots don't have noses.

But everything that makes you you

is right there

in that second,

that moment

when you become a zygote,

when you become you.

Doesn't look like you.

Doesn't have your power.

Doesn't have your intellect.

Doesn't have your charm.

Doesn't have your wit.

But it's you

with nothing left.

It's you.

And if we understand that

as a human level,

then we understand

that God does something

the very same thing

with his son.

That God,

the son of God,

sets aside his divine prerogatives,

his appearance as God,

but remaining still

by nature,

God takes into himself

our human nature

and lives

and walks amongst us.

And he lives a life

where he is not

in rebellion against God.

He is not

in separation from God.

He is in complete

harmony and obedience

to God

in love of God

and in love of us.

He came and dwelt among us

out of love.

He dwelt among us.

And in time

and in history,

he is betrayed.

He is condemned

and he dies upon the cross

and there is a charge

put about him

as he dies on the cross.

And his death

upon the cross

happens in history

just as he spends

three days in the grave

and then on the third day,

the grave is empty.

The body is gone.

He is risen.

He has defeated death

and he appears

to prove

that he is physically alive

and has defeated death

in a wide range

of resurrection appearances

over 40 days

in many different locations

to very, very many

different people

privately in groups,

different locations.

He is alive.

But that death

upon the cross

happened in history.

But because

he is not just

the man,

Jesus Christ,

but also God,

the Son of God

made flesh,

his death

upon the cross

is not just

something that happens

in time,

but something that happens

outside of time

in eternity.

Outside of time,

which means

it can be present

and available

at any time

to any person.

And what this text

is saying

so powerfully

is this.

God,

by the Holy Spirit,

moves and works in you.

We'll see this

in a moment,

by which

you come to realize

that God the Father

is calling to you

in your state of rebellion

and calling to you

in your state of death

and saying,

come to me.

I long to have you

as mine.

And as you,

with the help

of the Holy Spirit,

say, yes,

Jesus,

be my Savior

and Lord.

What actually happens

is that,

is as if

God,

the Son of God,

Jesus,

who has died

upon the cross

to take your place,

He has identified

so completely

and utterly

with you

and He is

your substitute,

He is your act

of exchange

and He comes

and He unites

with you,

with you.

And so,

by this profound

act of identification,

substitution,

and exchange

that both

happened in history

but because

He is God,

the Son of God

is also outside

of history,

that even though

I live

1900,

22,000

some years

after He died

and rose from the dead

but because

it's outside of time

when I put my faith

and trust in Jesus,

God,

Jesus,

embraces me

and unites with me

so that on the cross

He died with me

and I died with Him.

And on Easter Sunday

He is still so united

with me

and is so united

with you

that He rose

from the dead

and you rose

from the dead.

and just as He

has ascended

into heaven

and is seated

at the right hand

of God,

so are you

because you are

united with Him.

Profound

act,

miracle

that only

God

can do

and He did it

for you

and for me.

It's all grace.

All grace.

This image

of the seated

in a sense

that's already true

but in another sense

it's not true.

I live in the already

not yet

because obviously

I'm not sitting there

right now.

But I wonder

just 15 years ago

I tried to do the math

15 years ago

there was a man

that Louise and I knew

and he wanted to do

a fundraiser

at the National Arts Center

and this is 15 years ago

we had a $500

a seat

$500 a plate meal.

$500

15 years ago

I don't know what that is

like what's that

like that

$2,000

like going to a $2,000

a plate meal today.

Let me just tell you

Louise and I

don't normally go

to meals like that.

In fact we would never

go to a meal like that.

We wouldn't spend the money

we don't have the money

but this fellow

we'll call him Bob

he said I'd like you

to come to this

and we were actually

a bit nervous

because I don't know

like how exactly

like we just think

we don't hang out

with a crowd like that

like how do you

hold the wine glass

how do you do this

how do you do that

we don't really have

the clothes for it

we got some clothes

not nearly at their level

or anything like that

we go to this

but here's the thing

we go there

we know nobody

we don't know people

who go to $2,000

a plate meals

unless one of you folks

go to them

and I just don't realize

you go to meals like that

then I guess I do know somebody

and it would have been

a bit of a shock

you know

almost as big of a shock

as the first time

I ever went to jail

the very first time

I ever went to jail

to visit somebody

to my shock

and another person's

was another person

from my church

he was really shocked

when I walked in the door

and I was pretty shocked

to see him

and I would be

almost as shocked

if I walked into

a $2,000 plate meal

and one of you were there

I'd go wow

but here's the thing

here's the thing

about the co-seated

right

Bob paid for the plates

Bob paid for Louise and me

he gave us the tickets

and what's more

he also said

don't worry about

where you're sitting

you're sitting

at the head table

with me

we didn't have to find our seat

and we went into

that reception

what did we know

we'd be sitting

with

actually I'll say his name

he's with the Lord

we were sitting with Tom

as his guests

at the head table

united with Christ

that is you

that is what awaits you

when you die

and it's no longer

the already

not yet

it is the already

you feel unloved

you feel no hope

you feel rejected

listen to what God says

listen to what the text

of scripture continues

to teach

look at verses

7 through 9

remember he said

he seated us with Christ

in the heavenly places

verse 7

so that in the coming ages

why does God do this

why does God unite us

with Jesus

in the power of the Holy Spirit

why does he do this miracle

within us

that we cannot do

by our own power

so that in the coming ages

any age that might come

he might show

the immeasurable riches

of his grace

in kindness

toward us

toward us

in Christ

Jesus

look at that verse again

so that in the coming ages

any age that you will face

he might show

the immeasurable riches

of his grace

and kindness

towards us

in Christ

Jesus

and it continues

he just wants to drive

the point home

for by grace

you have been saved

through faith

and this is not

your own doing

it is the gift of God

not a result of works

so that no one

may boast

look how he brings it home

he reminds us again

how has this happened

has it happened

because George is white

has it happened

because he's well educated

has it happened

because he's a Canadian

does it happen

because he's a priest

no

by grace

I have been saved

by grace

you are saved

saved means

we were lost

by grace

you have been saved

how does this happen

only by faith

only by accepting

only by accepting

what God

has completely

and utterly

done for you

with nothing else

it isn't

you have to be good

until you can have faith

it isn't

you have to go to church

before you have faith

it isn't

you have to become successful

it isn't

you have to become married

it doesn't have to have children

it doesn't have to have

your sexuality dealt with

or anything like that

it has nothing to do

with what you have to do

or what you can accomplish

because

you are

a cut rose

and so am I

so was I

you are saved

by God's action

received by faith

and to make it clear

it's not your own doing

is it become

because I've worked hard

and it's like my wages

no

it is the gift of God

to remind us again

not a result of works

why

so no one

no one

no one

may boast

look at me

look how successful I am

look at me

I can say the liturgy

really well

I can sing praises well

I know bible verses

I have things memorized

no boasting

none

it is a foolish

delusion

to boast

before the Lord

it is wisdom

to learn

to humbly boast

in

the Lord

there is an obvious

problem

of proud Christians

of which I am one

one of the things

for us to take

from this

when we

get bent out

of shape

because of our pride

it is

all grace

it is all

a gift

so it is a foolish

delusion

to boast

about anything

that I have done

when the Lord

is present

it is wisdom

to learn

to humbly

boast

in him

it is all

his doing

it is none

of mine

we will just

finish the text

in verse

10

oh by the way

just one other

thing here

just

almost finished

you see one of

the things here

which is so important

this is just like

a bit of a time

thing

for a Christian

we need to get

our identity

from this text

and not

from nature

I'm not a white

Christian

there's no black

Christians

there's no white

Christians

there's no gay

Christians

there's no heterosexual

Christians

if you're a Christian

your identity

comes from Christ

not from your nature

you're not a conservative

Christian

you're not a liberal

Christian

if you're a Christian

your identity

my identity

has to come

not from nature

but from this new reality

that God

has won for me

and given me

in Christ

just bringing it to a close

did I put verse 10 up there

no I haven't

let's put it up here

just to bring it to a close

how shall we then live

this is really interesting

how shall we then live

if this is all true

does this mean

that we've been raised

and co-seated with Christ

so we rule

so that we think

we're better than others

so that we become

the elite

would the true

Christian

would the true

best society

be one

where only Christians

are elected

so that we can have power

because we are

the elite

no

no

look at verse 10

for we are

his workmanship

created in Christ Jesus

for good works

which God prepared

beforehand

that we should walk in

not that we rule

but that as the gospel

grabs us

as it becomes

the way that we understand

our identity

as it becomes

the place on which we stand

the air with which

we breathe

the food with which we eat

the covering over our head

the center of our identity

of who we are

it starts to push us

and ground us

to show compassion

to be generous

to forgive

to seek to serve

to seek the common good

to not care

if we rule

as we seek

the common good

to be faithful

in our marriages

to treat people

with dignity

and respect

and integrity

as the gospel

grips us

as it grounds us

as we breathe it

as we eat it

as it surrounds us

as it covers us

as we live in it

as we see

that the story

of our lives

is the story

of the gospel

as that grounds us

then we learn

to face adversity

in a different way

we learn to show compassion

we learn to seek

the good

of our city

and the good

of our workplace

and the good

of the world

we learn to be generous

we learn to be generous

we learn to be generous

just want to wrap it all up

with a challenge

here's the first one

if you are here

and you have not yet

given your life

to Jesus

the Bible

is not proposing

an hypothesis

the living God

is making a proposal

to you

this morning

he's making a proposal

to you

and here's what

he's proposing

to you

it's a proposal

will you let me

come to you

with grace and mercy

unite you with Christ

and make you alive

the Bible here

isn't something

that we can win

debates with Dawkins

or we can win

debates with a Hindu

or a Muslim

it's not about that

if the Bible

and the gospel

doesn't grip us

so we have compassion

and love

for real people

if it just becomes

debating points

we haven't actually

heard it

God himself

this morning

if you have not

given your life

to Christ

God himself

is saying to you

will you let me

come to you

with grace and mercy

will you let me

unite you with Christ

will you let me

make you alive

for those of us

who are in Christ

the Bible

is not proposing

an hypothesis

Jesus is asking you

and he's asking me

have you forgotten

that you are

united to me

that you have

been made alive

raised and seated

with me

it's the proposition

that Jesus is saying

to each one of us

this morning

have you forgotten

have you forgotten

that you are united

with me

have you forgotten

that you've been

made alive with me

have you forgotten

that you've been

raised with me

have you forgotten

that you're co-seated

with me

in the high heavens

is this truth becoming your identity

in the way you see the world

in the way you understand who you are

is this helping you understand

your failures and your successes

your trials and your successes

and your tribulations

have you forgotten this

please stand

if you are here

and you do not

have not given your life to Christ

that proposal was very serious

that's what

that's what God's word

is saying to you

not George

God's word is saying to you

and I encourage you to take the moment

to ignore the rest of my words

and just call out to Jesus

and say yes

I would like to accept that proposal

I'd like to have Jesus united with me

I would like that

I say yes

take the time to do it

like just do it now

but for the rest of us

and then after you've said that prayer

you join with this

Father

thank you that

that your word isn't just

so we can be clever in arguments

or witty in conversation

but that Father

you make this proposal to us

that you

that Jesus himself

is asking us

if we remember

who we are in him

and what he has done for us

and so Father

you know how easy it is

for us to forget

you know how easy it is

for us to get sidetracked

and still you love us

and we thank you Father

for this time

when your words

directly speak to us

and Father

we ask that you help us

to remember

and that you help us

to live out of this

true and real identity

that has been one in history

and is true for all eternity

for every age

that we might face

that we might live

out of this identity

in Christ

knowing we are united

with him

made alive

co-made alive

with him

co-raised with him

and will one day

see face to face

what is now only true

in longing and hoping

that we will be seated with him

that that is the final word

about us

and help us Father

to live generous

compassionate

forgiving

lives

ground in that truth

and all God's people said

Amen