How the Gospel Changes Us

In Romans 1 we read,

Great. Thank you, Victoria.

Will you join me as we pray?

Let's come before our Father.

And just, if you're new, this is something we do every week.

This isn't me praying.

This is us as a church praying.

So agree with me.

Join in me.

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, gracious Lord,

we come before you this morning to adore you and to worship you.

We come before you to sing your praises,

to remind ourselves, to remind one another of your greatness and your grace,

of your majesty and your mercy.

We come to proclaim your worth, God, that there's no one like you.

There's none in all creation that even comes close to being compared to you.

God, you are majestic and sovereign and glorious and wonderful.

And God, you are tender and gracious and gentle and so patient and so forgiving and so kind.

God, where could we go to find one like you?

God, we come to worship you and adore you this morning,

to find rest for our hearts and peace, God, in troubled times.

Father, thank you for your word that speaks to our hearts.

God, thank you for the wonder of the scriptures that aren't just good advice,

but it's your proclamation of good news to us, Lord.

Lord, and as we look at this passage in Romans 1 again today,

and as we consider the gospel,

Lord, we pray that for us as a church,

you'll calibrate our hearts or recalibrate our hearts with the truth of the gospel.

God, won't you realign our hearts to your hearts?

Jesus, come and do a deep work in us, I pray.

Fathers, over these weeks, we consider the good news of the gospel.

We pray that you set us free.

We pray, God, that you arrest our insecurities and our fears.

We pray, God, that you humble us of our pride.

And Jesus, come and make us more like you.

God, we really do want to be a gospel-centered church,

and so we ask you to come and do that in our midst.

But God, as the gospel goes deeper into us,

we pray also that the gospel will go through us to this great city,

that many people will come to know you,

come to know the life and the truth and the wonder of Jesus

because of ordinary people like us.

God, we pray that our friends and our family and our neighbors and our colleagues

and those we play sports with and those we interact with,

that God, some way we'll be able to share the wonderful news of Jesus with them.

We pray this Chinese New Year, God, as we get together with family

and as we are reunited, we pray, God, for opportunities to share the wonder of Jesus.

God, we pray that the gospel will go through us.

Father, we pray also for our great continent of Asia,

billions and billions of people that do not know you.

Father, we want to pray for churches and missionaries across Asia,

those that are in China and Korea and Japan and Mongolia and Indonesia and Bangladesh

and Pakistan and Myanmar and Malaysia.

God, we pray that across Asia a revival of the gospel will spread.

We pray for those that don't know you, God,

and we pray for our brothers and sisters across this continent that do know you.

Pray this morning you encourage them and strengthen them.

We pray for this great continent of ours.

Lord, we want to pray for Amelia, our sister in Taiwan.

We pray today, won't you encourage her and strengthen her.

Flood her with your love this morning, God.

Finally, God, we want to pray this morning for our friends Chris and Fiona

in the final weeks of sabbatical.

As they come back at the end of this month, we pray for them.

As they're spending good time with their family in the UK,

we pray that it will be a rich time, a rewarding time.

So I want you to be with them.

Pray for Chris and Fiona and little Etienne.

Encourage them and strengthen them.

We pray that they come back to Watermark so full of faith and courage, God.

And so be with our friends, we pray.

We pray these things in your wonderful and your powerful name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Okay.

We are in a series called Watermark Essentials.

And we are looking at the Watermark values,

these things that we talk about all the time.

And just like banks and schools and corporations and any NGO,

it's very easy for the values, the things that we talk about,

the things that are on the website and on posters and that,

just to merely be theoretical or aspirational,

things that we hope we will one day become.

But as a church, these values that we talk about,

gospel, community, and mission,

these are things that we don't just want to be theoretical.

We want them to be actual.

We want them to be the reality of our lives and our church.

And so we're taking a couple of weeks to talk through these

and to explain them and to dive back into the scripture

and to look at these things.

And we are starting off by looking at this thing called the gospel.

And the question we're asking is,

what is the gospel and what's the big deal about it?

Why is it that at Watermark,

we are always talking about the gospel?

What does gospel-centered actually mean anyway?

Why is it so special?

And why do we not shut up about this thing called the gospel?

Now, if you weren't here last week,

we started off last week and we said that the gospel

is the announcement of God's good news.

Not just his good advice about how to live your life.

That's one of the most important distinctions.

The gospel isn't just good advice how to become a nicer person.

It's the announcement of God's good news.

And we said that this good news, it leaks from our hearts.

Or we forget it.

Now, we don't forget the data points.

But its vividness, its potency leaks from our hearts.

And when that happens,

we lose some of the power of the gospel to transform us.

And so at Watermark,

one of the things we try to do is we want to be a church

that isn't only referencing the gospel

or considering the gospel.

We want to be a church that really,

our lives and as a church,

we are centered on the gospel.

We are empowered by the gospel.

So another way of saying that is,

as a church,

we really do believe that the commands

and the instructions that Jesus gives us,

all the things we find in the Bible,

these are good things.

These are important things.

We really do want to follow Jesus.

We really do want to live lives that honor Him

and glorify Him.

Jesus said,

Be holy as I am holy.

We want to do that.

But at the same time,

we want to be empowered by the gospel.

And we've realized the only way we can live the lives

that God has called us to

is from deep meditation,

deep reflection,

and deep heartfelt response

to who God is

and the good news of the gospel.

And so that's one of the things that,

as a church,

we're passionate about.

And that means that,

as a church,

we don't just want to consider the gospel

the way into the Christian life.

It's the way of the Christian life.

It's not just the way you become a Christian.

It's the way that you grow as a Christian

and become the Christian

that God has called us to be.

And so today,

I want us to explore that a little bit further.

And in order to do that,

let's just go back and recap

what exactly is the gospel.

And so one of the things we said last week

is this good news announcement

of the good news.

And the reason it's good news

is because there was prior to that

some bad news.

And the bad news is our sin, right?

And sin is not just the bad things we do,

like lying or stealing

or being dishonest

or having an affair.

Okay, that is a bad thing.

We shouldn't do that.

Okay, don't do those things.

That's not good.

But sin is actually far more than that.

Sin is the orientation of our hearts

that says,

I want to be my own God.

I want to live for myself.

At its essence,

sin is a rejection

of the one true God

and His role

as being Lord of the world

and Lord of my life,

God of the world

and God of my life.

And at its essence,

sin is saying,

I want to be my own God.

I want to be my own Lord.

I want to be in control of my life.

And ever since sin entered the world,

that has been the default position

of every human being.

It's the root cause

behind everything else

that goes wrong.

It's the infection

behind the fever, right?

It's the cancer

behind the headache.

It's the underlying issue.

And so every horizontal

and human problem

we see in the world

is symptomatic

of a deeper real issue,

which is that our lives

are out of sync

with the God that made us

to be in relationship with Him

because we want to be

our own gods.

And to this problem,

the stunning announcement

of the good news

of the gospel

rushes in

with incredible force

that says,

Jesus lived the life

that we should have lived.

Jesus,

by dying the death

that we should have died,

took the punishment

for our sin

upon Himself.

God poured it out

upon Jesus

as our substitute.

He took our punishment

in our place.

And the reason He did this

is because of

His profound love for us.

His incredible love for us.

That's the essence

of the gospel.

Okay, did you get that?

Does that make sense?

Okay, this is going

to be hard work.

Okay.

And so,

in light of that,

what I'm trying

to persuade us of

in these couple of weeks

is that this

stunning announcement

of good news

is not just

the power

to save us,

it's also the power

that changes us.

Well, another way

of saying that is

it's not only necessary

to believe

and respond to the gospel

in order to become

a Christian.

Okay, that is important.

You do need to do that.

But if our lives

are ever going to become

anywhere close

to the kind of lives

that the Bible describes

or anywhere close

to the kind of lives

that Jesus wants us to have,

we need to be those

that are continually

being shaped

and formed

according to that

good news announcement

of the gospel.

And more and more

and more

as the years go by,

not less

and less and less.

Okay, that's what

I'm trying to do

these couple of weeks.

And that's why

the New Testament

is absolutely full.

The apostles

are constantly

hammering home to us

that every instruction

they give us,

everything they ask us

to do,

always comes back

to the gospel.

That's why Paul says

in Romans chapter 1,

Romans 1 · chapter mention

what Victoria read

to us this morning,

he says,

you Christians in Rome,

I want to come to you,

I want to strengthen you,

I want to impart

some spiritual gift to you,

I want to remind you

of the gospel.

I'm not ashamed

of the gospel,

it's the power of God

for salvation.

But not only for salvation,

but also to change us.

It's why Paul writes

in Corinthians,

he says,

now I want to remind you,

brothers and sisters,

of the gospel.

That Jesus died

as the scripture said,

that he rose again

as the scripture said

he would.

It's why

when Paul in 2 Corinthians 8

wants to encourage

the Christians

to be generous

with their money,

he comes back

to the gospel.

He says,

remember how

God left heaven

and became poor

for your sake

and said you can be

rich in Jesus.

Your riches aren't found

in your bank account,

it's found that you're

in Jesus.

It's why

when Peter writes

to the Christians

and says,

I want you to share

the gospel

with those that don't know it.

But don't do it arrogantly.

Don't do it like

you're superior

or better than them.

Do it humbly.

Do it gently.

Why?

Because Jesus died for you

and you didn't have it

all together.

Every single thing

the Bible says

comes back

to this gospel.

Okay,

so that's what

we're trying to do.

Now today,

I want us to look

at this question,

how does the gospel

actually change us?

And by the way,

I'd produced some

very beautiful

PowerPoint slides.

They were amazing.

And I uploaded

the wrong ones

to the website.

And so,

Henry and Christina

put some slides together

and so,

I'm sorry,

some of the quotes

that aren't there today.

You just kind of

have to pay extra attention

to listen to me.

Okay,

so maybe I should

do that more often.

So,

how does the gospel

change us?

Well,

three ways.

The gospel gives us

a new identity

that is not based

on performance.

The gospel drives,

it gives us,

how do I say,

it gives us

humility

that drives out pride.

And the gospel

gives us a love

that drives out fear

and insecurity.

Okay,

so firstly,

the gospel gives us

a new identity.

500 years ago,

there was this German monk

called Martin Luther

and he was grappling

with the gospel.

And in fact,

the verse that Victoria

read to us,

Romans chapter 1,

Romans 1:17

verse 17 and 18,

was the verse

that changed his whole life.

He was meditating

on this verse

and he suddenly realized

the gospel.

And Martin Luther

then went

and was sharing

the gospel with others

and he lit a bomb

in Europe.

He didn't light

a physical bomb.

But as he shared

the gospel,

the whole of Europe

was turned on its head.

Now,

Martin Luther summarized

the Christian life

as this.

Okay,

you ready for a little

Latin lesson?

This is what he said.

The Christian

is simul justus

e precator.

Did you get that?

Okay.

Simultaneously,

sinful,

and yet accepted.

The Christian life

is somebody

who is simultaneously

at one and the same time

sinful,

broken,

flawed.

They don't have it

all together.

And yet at the same time,

loved,

and accepted,

and cherished by God

because of who Jesus is

and what he's done

on the cross.

So Tim Keller

very famously

says a simile.

He says,

the gospel tells us

that if I am in Christ,

at one and the same time,

I am both more broken

and sinful

than I could possibly

think I am.

In other words,

my heart is more

self-centered,

self-orientated.

There's more pride

in my heart

than I realize.

And yet at the same time,

I am more loved,

more accepted,

more acceptable

to God

than I could ever

dare,

possibly,

even hope

to be possibly true.

You see, friends,

apart from the gospel,

your identity

and your self-worth

is always going to be

based on some kind

of performance,

on how well you think

you're doing,

either in God's eyes

or in the world's eyes

or in your parents' eyes

or maybe in your own eyes.

But in the gospel,

we are given an identity,

a sense of self-worth

that says you're loved

and accepted

and acceptable

despite your flaws

and your shortcomings.

And it is an identity

which is not earned

or achieved

through hard work.

It's not earned

or achieved

through some kind

of performance.

It is freely given to you

because Jesus died

on the cross.

And friends,

that changes everything.

It changes the way

that you relate

to yourself.

It changes the way

that you relate to God.

But it also changes

the way that you relate

to every other person

in your life.

So Richard Lovelace,

who is a seminary professor

in the U.S.,

he said it like this.

This is one of the quotes

I'm meant to have up there.

So you're going to have

to listen.

He says,

for most Christians,

we intellectually know

that God's acceptance of us

is because of what Jesus

did on the cross.

Okay?

We know that

in our heads.

But in our actual

day-to-day existence,

most of us still rely

on our performance

as good Christians

to assure us

of God's love

and acceptance.

We rely on either

our spiritual sincerity

or our past experience

of conversion

or maybe our recent

religious performance

or the relative infrequency

of our conscious sin.

Okay?

So saying,

we believe in our heads,

yes, Jesus died for me,

I know He loves me,

but actually,

in the day-to-day

trenches of life,

Monday to Friday,

what gives me confidence

or assurance

that God loves me

is that I think

I'm not such a bad person.

Now, friends,

can I just say,

up until a few years ago,

that absolutely

described my life.

Absolutely.

If I had a good week,

I did my devotions,

I led a Bible study,

I led some meeting

and it went well,

I felt good about myself.

God must really love me.

He must be so thankful

that I'm on His side.

I mean,

I wouldn't say that,

but somewhere in the back

of my mind,

I thought that.

And sure,

a tinge of self-righteousness,

right?

But if I had a bad week,

some sin,

didn't do my devotion

so well,

oh,

felt miserable.

What Richard Loveless

is saying,

how easy it is

for his Christians

to believe

that we need the gospel

to become a Christian,

but from there on out,

we operate

by a different principle,

which is that

we look inside of ourselves.

Yesterday,

I was walking in the street

and I walked past a lady

who wore a t-shirt

and it said,

look for the inner peace

inside of yourself.

And I wanted to grip her

and say,

no, no, no,

don't do that.

That's a terrible idea.

What Richard Loveless

then goes on to say

is this.

Listen up,

this is so important.

It says,

Christians who are not sure

of God's love

and that God accepts them

in Jesus,

apart from some spiritual performance,

are subconsciously

radically insecure persons.

Oh my goodness.

Friends,

am I the only one

that that describes?

I think not.

Friends,

until I understood the gospel

clearly a few years ago,

I was radically,

radically insecure.

Now,

as a Christian,

I would do all the right things.

I acted like a fantastic Christian,

but deep inside,

I was so radically insecure

because I wasn't assured

of the,

despite the fact that I'm sinful,

God loves me.

So what does that actually mean?

Friends,

in the gospel,

you and I are given

the truth

that while it's true,

we are flawed and broken.

At one and the same time,

we are unbelievably loved.

Not because of what we've done,

but because of what Jesus

has done for us

in the gospel.

So what does that mean?

Many,

many years ago,

there was a guy called

Jonathan Edwards,

one of America's greatest

theologians and pastors.

He was a theologian

at Yale University.

And he wrote this book

about 300 years ago

called

The Nature of True Virtue.

Virtue means morality or ethic,

the nature of good behavior.

And in this book,

he says that

for most of us,

the motivation that we have

for it to be moral

or ethical or virtuous

is we appeal to either

pride or fear.

And he gives an example.

He says,

how do we teach people

to be honest

or to be truth-telling?

How do we teach our children

to tell the truth?

Well,

we often say something like,

you know,

you really should tell the truth.

Don't lie

because one day

somebody will catch you

and then

bad things are going to happen.

Then nobody will trust you anymore.

Okay?

So we appeal to a sense of fear.

Don't lie

because the consequences

will be bad.

Now,

we do this in contemporary

Christianity as well.

We say to people things like,

don't have sex

outside of marriage.

Don't sleep with your girlfriend

because,

you know,

someone may fall pregnant

and then,

you know,

you may drop out of college

or out of high school

and then you won't get the job

that you want

and your life will just be difficult.

So don't sleep around

outside of marriage.

Okay?

Or don't sleep around

outside of marriage.

You might contract some disease.

So we use fear

as a motivation.

Or,

we use pride

as a motivation.

We say,

don't lie,

don't be dishonest

because one day

somebody will catch you out

and then everyone will know

that you're a liar.

No one will trust you anymore.

You'll bring shame

on your family.

Then your reputation

will be gone.

So we appeal

to some kind of pride.

We think,

don't do that

because you're better than that.

That's not what Murphys do.

Right?

I remember my dad

growing up saying,

Murphys,

we don't lie.

Right?

We're better than that.

Those guys down there,

maybe.

But us Murphys,

we don't do that.

Now,

motivating somebody

out of fear

and pride

isn't necessarily wrong,

but it's just ineffective.

It doesn't change

the inner driver

or the motivation

of my heart.

Now,

it's not necessarily wrong

to warn somebody

of the consequences

of their actions,

but just think about this.

If I tell somebody,

don't lie,

don't be dishonest

because one day

they're going to catch you out,

that can stop me lying,

but it doesn't make me

love truth.

It doesn't make me

love honesty.

If I tell somebody,

don't sleep around

because there might be

bad consequences,

I might constrain

or restrain

their behavior,

but that doesn't deal

with the lust in the heart.

That doesn't deal

with the addictions

in my heart.

It might restrain

my behavior

so I act like

a good Christian

and do the right things,

but the sin

and the self-centeredness

of my heart

is still intact.

In fact,

if anything,

it's strengthened

because I appeal

to my self-centeredness.

I say,

you want to live

a good life?

Well,

then don't do this,

don't do this,

don't do this.

You'll have a successful life.

I look to my own interests

to think of myself

as a better person

and I strengthen

the self-centeredness

in my heart.

I can stop somebody lying,

but that doesn't make them

love truth and honesty.

I can stop somebody

sleeping around,

but that doesn't dismantle

the lust or the addiction

in our hearts.

So how are we really

going to change?

The Bible says

that the gospel

needs to get hold

of our hearts.

The gospel needs

to get hold of our hearts.

In the book of Titus

in the New Testament,

the Apostle Paul

writes to the readers

and he says this,

I want you to say no

to ungodliness

and worldly passions

and to say yes

to self-controlled,

upright,

godly lives.

Okay,

so that's a good thing.

As Christians,

if you're a believer

this morning,

that's what we want.

No to ungodliness

and worldly passions.

Yes to a self-controlled,

upright,

godly life.

Okay?

Now think about this.

Think about all the

different ways

that you can tell yourself

to say no

to ungodliness

and worldly desires.

You can say no

because it'll make me

look bad.

You can say no

because then I'll be

excluded from certain

social circles

that I want to belong to.

You can say no

to doing the wrong things

because then God

will not give me

health and wealth

and happiness.

You can say no,

I'm not going to do

those bad things

because then one day

I'll go to hell.

You can say no

because then I'll hate

myself in the morning

and my self-esteem

will go down.

All of those things

appeal to a self-centeredness

and they keep

the self-centeredness

of my life still intact.

But look at how Paul

calls Christians

to change.

Paul says

it's the grace of God

in the salvation

of Jesus

that teaches us

or trains us

or coaches us

to say no

to ungodliness

and worldly desires

and yes

to self-controlled,

upright,

godly lives.

You see what he's saying?

He's saying

it's the grace

of God

in Jesus

that coaches

or trains our hearts

that reorientates

our hearts

away from

a self-centeredness

to saying yes

to God,

yes to loving

those around me

and yes to the life

that God wants me to.

And how does he define

this grace of God

and salvation?

Well in chapter 3

he goes on and says

God saved us

not because of

righteous things

we've done

but because of

his mercy.

See another way

of saying that is

it's God's profound

love for us

expressed in the gospel

that gives our hearts

such a security

such a peace

and a confidence

that it changes

not only our behavior

it changes the inner

workings of my heart.

It makes me the kind

of person that wants

to tell the truth.

It makes me the kind

of person that wants

to say no to lust

and addiction.

It makes me the kind

of person that wants

to be the person

that Jesus wants me to be.

Not just somebody

that behaves

in a Christian way

but actually reorientates

the inner workings

of my heart.

Paul is saying

friends if you want

true change

you must let the truth

of the gospel

train our hearts.

Say no to ungodliness

yes to him

let the grace of God

that brings salvation

train us

to say no to ungodliness.

Friends when we let

our hearts to be trained

by the gospel

through deep meditation

and reflection upon it

two things happen.

The first is

it gives us a humility

that drives out pride.

See the gospel

gives us a new

kind of humility.

A humility

that dislodges us

from being the center

of our lives

because the gospel

tells us

Kevin

you're more sinful

than you realize.

You're actually not all

that you think you are.

And that dislodges

the pride in my heart.

I remember a few years ago

reading Scotty Smith

if you've never read him

he's an amazing blogger

find Scotty Smith.

I remember a few years ago

reading an article

by Scotty Smith

in which he talks

about the way

that the Apostle Paul

updates his

professional resume

throughout the New Testament.

Anybody here

updated your resume

recently?

If your boss

is sitting next to you

don't raise your hand.

Water marks off

don't raise your hand.

Anyone?

Okay.

The Apostle Paul

throughout the New Testament

updates his

professional resume.

Look at what he says.

In 57 AD

he says

I'm the least

of all the apostles.

1 Corinthians 15.

3 years later

in 60 AD

he says

I am the least

of all of God's people.

Ephesians 3.

3 years later

63 AD

he says

I am the chief

of sinners.

Now if you know

anything about

the Apostle Paul

this humility

that the gospel

produced in him

wasn't because

he is a naturally

humble person.

Okay.

In Ephesians

in the Philippians

it tells us

what an arrogant

self-centered person

he was

before he encountered

Jesus.

He was bent

on destroying

anyone that

disagreed with him.

He went to the courts

and said

got a court order

to arrest

and persecute

and throw in jail

anybody

that wanted

to follow Jesus.

Anyone that wasn't

like him

that disagreed

with him

he hated them

he wanted them

in jail

he wanted nothing

to do with them.

But when he

encounters the grace

of God

in the gospel

what happens?

Something changes

inside of him.

He doesn't just

put on Christian

behavior

he doesn't just say

I guess I better

act humble now.

Something inside

the inner driving

of his life

changes.

The gospel

gave him

a humility

that drove out

the pride

of his life

and continued

to do so

as he got

older and older.

The more

that he grew

in the gospel

the more humble

he became.

The gospel

friends

produces

a different

kind of person

a genuine

gentleness

and a humility

humility

because such

a person

is seen

inside

their own

heart

and knows

what it is

that they've

been saved

from.

Remember the

famous C.S. Lewis

quote?

He says

being humble

isn't thinking

less of yourself

it's thinking

about yourself

less.

Okay?

So you might

begin to think

I'm a really

humble person

because I'm

just

I think of

myself

so miserable

I'm such a

sinner

I'm such a

loser

no one could

ever love me

woe is me

friends that's

not a humble

person

that's a proud

person

you're still

thinking about

yourself all

the time

a genuinely

humble person

is someone

that's forgotten

about themselves

all together

and the gospel

does that

because it says

yes you're a

sinner

yes you're

broken

but at the

same time

you loved

in Jesus

and you're

perfectly

acceptable

by him

so you don't

need to think

of yourself

as a miserable

loser

you're loved

by Jesus

you have an

identity

that's found

in him

I'm sure

my parents

won't mind

me sharing

this

but if they

do

maybe they'll

never find

out

so let's

just keep

this between

the 200

of us

okay

my parents

are the

greatest parents

in the entire

world

honestly

I'm sure

you have

wonderful

parents

I've got

the best

parents

in the whole

world

and growing

up

the greatest

mom and dad

my dad

was a businessman

for most of his

life

fairly

successful

and when my

dad turned

50

my parents

felt God

called them

to move

to Asia

so they

moved to Asia

first to

Malaysia

Jehor

Baru

and then

Singapore

and then

they were there

for 6 or 7

years

and when my

dad was

about 57

they felt

God calling

them to move

to Vietnam

and so they

moved to

Ho Chi Minh

City

and after a

year

coincidentally

or by God's

leading

my dad became

the pastor

of this church

and they

led that church

fantastically

this church

just grew

massively

led it for

6 or 7

years

and then they

moved back

to Singapore

and they were

in Singapore

for 2 or 3

years

and they were

and during

that time

they joined

a church

that was

so crystal

clear on

the gospel

what the gospel

is and how

it changes

you

and so for

2 or 3

years my

parents were

part of this

church and

then they

moved back

to South

Africa

one of the

things that

was so

incredible

for me

is to

see my

parents

then in

their mid

60s

these incredible

incredible

people who

had loved

us so well

and loved

God so well

these people

who are my

biggest heroes

in their

mid 60s

soften

become more

gentle

more gracious

more generous

more humble

my friends

what makes

a 65 year

old man

that has been

successful in

business

successful in

ministry

CEO of

large corporations

what's going to

make someone like

that grow in

humility in their

mid 60s

most men

get more

agitated

and more

grumpy

and more

cantacorous

as they get

older

ladies

don't

nudge

your husbands

you can talk

about this

at home

but honestly

most men

the older we

get the more

grumpy we

become

what's going to

make a 65

year old man

more humble

more gracious

more generous

friends I'll tell you

what it was

it was a deep

heartfelt reflection

and revelation

and meditation

on the gospel's

penetrating

proclamation

that yes I'm

simultaneously

sinful

and yet loved

and accepted

you see friends

often we look

at Christians

people look at

Christians as

judgmental and

bigoted right

and if I'm honest

I look back on my

life with such

embarrassment and

shame oh my

goodness that was

me I wish I could

go back in the

years and change

that and when I

look back at the

kind of Christian I

was I was so

judgmental and

bigoted arrogant

I did all things

that Christians were

meant to do but

man if I'm honest I

was such a dork

about it I knew

how to act the

part I looked

down on those that

weren't as good

as me or I

didn't think they

could get their

lives together

friends what's the

antidote to that

kind of arrogance

what's the antidote

to that kind of

judgmentalism it's

not following Jesus

less it's not

becoming less

committed to Jesus

it's getting the

truth of the gospel

deeper into my

heart it's more of

Jesus not less of

Jesus it's more

humility and

following him not

less following him

it's more realization

of the sinfulness of

my heart and the

love of Christ that

he poured out for

me that's what's

going to change my

heart and if I

dare am allowed

to say I've

seen it probably

still arrogant and

still judgmental but

I know I'm less so

now than I was a

few years ago

friends when my

identity and self

worth are centered

on how good I am

on my performance I

can't help but look

down at those that I

think are weaker

than me or not as

good as me of

course I'm going to

feel superior to

others but when my

identity and self

worth are centered on

the one who went to

the cross for me who

died for me because I

was unable to rescue

and save myself I

can't look down to

those who are

different at me I

can't look down on

those who practice

something different to

me or treat or

believe something

different to me because

everything that I have

is by grace and grace

alone see that the

gospel gives us a new

identity that isn't

based on performance and

it gives us a new

humility that drives

out pride third thing

and final thing how does

the gospel change us it

gives us a love that

drives our fear and

insecurity I know we

spoke about this a lot

but the gospel gives

us a real honest

assessment of

ourselves we're

broken we're sinful

our hearts are

disorientated that's

true but friends if

that's all that you

think the Bible says

about you you haven't

understood the gospel

and you haven't

understood Christianity

because the gospel

says that while that

is true at the same

time we are so

extravagantly I'm

trying to think of

adjectives to describe

this super extravagantly

abundantly loved and

accepted not because of

what we've done but

because of what Jesus

has done over and

against us the gospel

screams at us it's a

loud halo it says God's

extravagant love for you

and I his radical

acceptance and pleasure

at us God's love for us

isn't based on anything

that I've done but based

purely on what Jesus

done God's love for us

friends isn't based

because of what's found

in my life or my

heart or my performance

it's based solely because

of what's found in his

heart and that's never

going to change if I'm

honest I think up until

a year and a half ago I

didn't fully understand

this I remember about a

year and a half ago

saying I was praying a

prayer and I remember

saying God I know you

love me because that's

your job but I don't

know if you really like

me I don't know if you

really please with me and

as I was praying and I

felt like God just say

to me Kevin do you

think I love you because

of what's in your heart

or because of what's in

my heart and I

realized God's love for

me his acceptance of me

is not based because of

what's in my heart my

heart is rotten and

sinful it's based because

of what's in his heart

and his heart is rock

solid and steadfast and

it's never going to

change friends that is

going to change us forever

I don't know if any of

us have ever been in a

relationship where the

doesn't need to be a

romantic relationship

could be your relationship

with your boss maybe your

parents maybe a friend

maybe a spouse a

relationship where you

never feel like you're

good enough everything

you do you just feel

like they're going to

criticize me I'm going

to try my absolute best

and for some reason it's

not going to be good

enough you know how that

feels does that soften

your heart does that

make you want to be

generous does that make

you want to be gracious

does that make you

want to be servant

hearted and loving

friends when you're in

a relationship and you

are never good enough

what happens our heart

closes over we become

hard-hearted to protect

ourselves we become

more defensive in the

gospel Jesus tells us no

matter what you do I

love you and my love

for you is not going to

change Romans Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1 Jesus says

this his love for us or

it says this God is

in his love for us he

predestined us for

salvation before the

foundation of the world

before you done a single

thing right or a single

thing wrong God in his

love chose to set his

love upon you

Ephesians chapter 2 says

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

because of his great love

for us Jesus went to the

cross for us

friends in Romans in John

John 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15 Jesus says

this as the father has

loved me so I have loved

you

is that not astounding

as God the father loves

Jesus Jesus loves you and

I

Claire and I once knew a

young lady in Cape Town

who always struggled not to

be in a romantic

relationship she was

forever in a romantic

relationship didn't always

last long but as soon as

the one ended within a week

or two she was in another

one and these romantic

relationships were always

a mess she was always

getting herself in trouble

and just they didn't end

well right I remember one

day she said to us this is

bad news I've got to stop

this I've decided no more

dating and no more dating

good news but then pretty

soon she started drinking

quite a lot every day a

bit more and one weekend

she went away to a music

festival with some friends and

the week after she told us she

said you know on Sunday

often you know realized I

couldn't remember anything of

the festival it's just one

big blur my drinking is

really getting out of hand

I've got to stop this

drinking so she signed up

for AA join the club got

clean got sober right but

when she stopped drinking she

couldn't stop spending money

she always get herself into

debt credit card debts she

buy expensive bags and shoes

and nice clothing and

accessories she get

herself in credit card debt

she then realized this is bad

she'd save her pay off her

debts and as soon as she paid

off her debts she'd spoil

herself with a big splurge

right go and buy a nice

handbag as a reward for

paying off her debts what was

happening there what is

happening friends all those

things were symptoms of a far

deeper insecurity you see what

is happening was even though

she'd call herself a Christian

and served in church in many

ways unfortunately she had no

concept that she was loved and

accepted by the one person in

the universe whose opinion

really counts and so initially

she'd throw herself at boys

wanting to be loved and wanting

to feel loved and lovable wanting

to feel acceptable by the boys in

her life she'd throw herself and

give herself foolishly to these

guys and they would just take

advantage of her and then she

realized this isn't good and so

she'd try and numb the pain with

alcohol and then realized this

isn't good and so she'd try and

buy expensive bags and shoes and

clothing to make herself feel

loved and lovable friends all those

things were mere symptoms of a far

deeper insecurity Richard Lovelay

said this Christians who are not

sure that God loves and accepts

them in Jesus are subconsciously

radically insecure persons friends do

you know the deeply profound profound

love of God has it arrested your

hearts has it brought about a deep

security which is not only humbling

you but also drawing you near softening

your heart friends that's what the

gospel does and that's why we must be

a community which is continually being

shaped by the good news of Jesus now

there are a thousand applications of

this but I want to just land with one

of them pointing out the obvious when

this gets in our hearts this will make

us a completely new kind of community of

course this church won't be perfect of

course we will still make mistakes why

because we still sinners we still

flawed right the gospel doesn't deny

that so we won't be a perfect community

we will let each other down there'll be

misunderstanding of course but you know

what the gospel will make us a

community which is gracious and not

judgmental because we know that we're

just as flawed as the person next to us and

so we'll have to offer grace to them just

as we've been offered grace when we see

someone has let us down we're not on a

high horse judging them but we see

ourselves just as much in need of grace

as them friends this will make us a

forgiving and not a resentful community

because as we meditate on the

forgiveness of God towards us our hearts

will be softened with love to forgive

those around us it'll make us a

vulnerable and not a defensive community

you'll be able to come to church and

don't have to have this squeaky clean

image of perfect lives you'll come and

we can just be real this is who I am

this is the kind of week I've had

because we know that everyone in the

church is in the same position we don't

have to show up put our best foot

forward we can be full of weakness and

fear and we people challenge us we

don't need to get defensive because we

will be secure in God's love friends

those will make us a community which is

real and not fake because the gospel

gives us a security that allows us just

to be ourselves can I just say one of

the things that I love the most about

watermark church as we've been here two

years this is an incredibly real church

one of the things that actually amazes

me I've never encountered a church that

is as real as watermark people can

confess sin really people are just real

this is who I am this is the kind of

week I've had it's an incredible thing

and that's the gospel that's at work

within us the reason watermark is like

that is because of for 10 years Tobin

for six years the elders for years off

that have been sharing the gospel with

this community it'll make us real and

not fake and finally it'll make us a

community which is giving and not

taking we don't need to look to others

to get a whole lot of stuff on

affirmation we're securing God we're

able to give ourselves away friends

we're only beginning to scratch the

surface of what the gospel is and what

it means to be a gospel center church

Paul writes to Romans and he says I

long to be able to come to you to

share the gospel with you to encourage

you and you to encourage me I long to

come and share the gospel to you for

indeed I'm not ashamed of it it's the

power of God for salvation for

everyone who believes friends whatever

we do let's continue to make sure that

we are church that doesn't just talk

about the gospel but loves trust obeys

the Jesus of the gospel and as a

result of that are being changed into

his image from one degree to the next

let's pray together

Lord Jesus we so thankful for

so many things God we thank for God for

simply who you are that you're glorious

and majestic thank you Jesus for your

for who you are but God not only who you

are but also what you've done for us on

the cross Jesus thank you that when we

were far gone from you when we were at

our worst you loved us enough to go to

the cross and die for us God I pray for

each one of us as a church each one of

us here this morning God I pray Lord

Jesus that the truth and the reality of

the gospel won't just be things that we

talk about but it really will get deep

inside of our hearts it really will

change us and transform us God I pray

that we father will become more humble

more gracious more gentle more generous

more loving and kind as the gospel

changes and transforms us God I pray

that at the same time we'll be more

secure Lord God oh father God come and

wash us and flood us in the good news of

Jesus God I pray that our identity be

rooted in this and that though we are

sinful and flawed that God your love for

us covers over a multitude of sins

Jesus I pray that these won't just be

words father but these will be the deep

reality of our hearts God come and cause

revival to take hold of each one of us

revive us we pray God revive our hearts

Lord

father come and renew us I pray

father for those of us that still look to

our spiritual performance for some kind of

confidence or assurance God won't you

humble us

won't you humble us God

God for those of us that feel

unloved unlovable

for those of us that feel God insecure

Christ come and change us come and give us a

new identity come and let your love change

our hearts God

father we don't just want to be religious

people going through the motions we don't

just want to do the Christian thing we

want to be those that are in the deepest

recesses of our hearts being changed by

you

are becoming more like you

because we secure in our relationship

with you we are obeying you and trusting

you and loving you

Christ come have your way I pray

God bless you we are志 mate for'?

Jesus Christ come and wondering how is his

Father you and having done our relationship is

with you He để need you to be in the

guild was this wholeäm разм old Oh He has a

heartние

Lord, can we take care of you?

For the tej into saya

Lord, can we take care of You can

let Him rebuild you

drink it

Seth and Lord of theIVIS