A Life Pleasing to God

Thank you, Nathan. Wow, what an exciting day. It was just so, so good. And just to see the four of you make that just public declaration. I pray that it's the start of something extremely special.

Um, we're going to jump into the word of God now. And as we gather, that's, that's what I want to ask you. What's, what's the thing that you live for? What's the thing that you live for? And has becoming a Christian changed that at all? Is there a before and after for you? Is there a before and after for you? And we've been going, we had last, we had last month, we went through missions in terms of just thinking about it.

Thinking about what, how we gather and how we scatter. We're going to go back into the book of Thessalonians now. Uh, if you have forgotten, this was a series that we started just prior to the missions month. And we were just going through this book and just to rewind your mind again, this is a small church he's talking to. This is a church that he started two years ago. And then because of some issues, he had to leave. But then this church kept growing. And chapter one, he talked about, Hey, I, I've heard of your labor of love. I've heard of your faith and I've heard of your steadfastness in hope.

And it is great. And you are a model church, man. You are doing well. And actually the rest of Asia is starting to hear about you and they want to copy you. This is a good thing. You are a model church.

And then the question that I asked was, Hey, if someone modeled after your life, if someone tried to pattern their lives against your life, Wesley, if someone looked at your life and said, I'm going to follow and be like Wesley, would that person end up looking more like Christ?

That's the question that we asked. If someone looks at over here and looks at Z-Way and goes, wow, I love the way Z-Way lives. I want to be more like Z-Way.

Will that lead her to being more like Christ? That was the first question. And then the second chapter, Paul was talking about the motives of a leader.

He was saying, Hey, there are some of you who have heard some bad stuff about me. People are spreading rumors and lies and scandals about me.

I want you to remember what I was like when I was with you, that I was a leader. There was one that actually was accountable to God, that I was not here for my own personal gain, but I poured out my life for you.

And then chapter three, he talks about, Hey, you're going to be mistreated. You're going to be mistreated being a Christian because you're going to be different to the world.

They're going to look at you differently and they're going to mistreat you. And your business plans are not going to go as well as you want to.

Your family plans are not going to go as well as you want to because you're identifying with me. Stay strong. Stay the course.

And that's what he was talking about. And now we move into one Thessalonians four, which is actually really packed.

And so we're going to split it into two weeks. So this week I'll do the first half and then the second week, next week, we'll do the second half of chapter four.

So right now, as always, if you're here for the first time, what I do now is we're going to read the word of God.

I'm going to invite you to stand because we truly believe this word, this book here, these letters here have the capacity to speak into every circumstance in our lives and they give life.

And if we model ourselves after this book, we will live fruitful lives that make us more like Christ.

So can I invite you to stand for the word of the Lord?

So Lord, we open up your word now. We read.

So may these words just come to life and speak life into ourselves.

One Thessalonians chapter four.

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you receive from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.

Not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God, that no one transgression wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things.

As we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you, for God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

Therefore, whoever disregards this disregards not man, but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Now, concerning brotherly love, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.

For that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia.

But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more and to aspire to live quietly and to mind your own affairs and to work with your hands as we instructed you,

so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

This is the word of the Lord.

Please take a seat.

Please take a seat.

So Paul does this a lot.

He writes this letter to this group of people that he knows, and then he basically just drops theological bombs.

He's just telling them who Jesus is.

He's telling them who they are.

And then towards the end of every letter, he then says, finally.

And you all know, you've been there when you've signed sermons, and when the preacher says, oh, finally.

That's when you usually wake up, oh, finally, he's finishing.

And so he says, finally.

And what nearly always happens when he says, finally, is, hey, I've taught you about theology.

I've taught you about God, and your heads are now filled with theological truth.

Now, finally, I want to show you how to live it out.

This is when theology turns practical.

And you all know people.

You all know people.

I know people who are so filled with head knowledge, who grew up in the church, who understood all the Bible stories, who memorize scripture, but they look nothing like Jesus.

Have you met those people?

Can you just nod if you've seen someone like that before?

Who just knows the Bible inside out, but just looks nothing like Jesus?

That's why Paul, each time as he writes a letter, he says, finally, now I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of what I've just taught you.

Basically, what he's saying is, hey, you've got to live out what I'm teaching you.

Just because you have this head knowledge doesn't mean that actually you're doing it.

Just because you know the Bible story doesn't mean you're a Christian.

Or doesn't just because you come to church and listen to someone talk to you about the Bible that you've actually done it.

Doesn't that happen in church a lot?

Right?

So you hear a preacher talk about the Bible and talk about Jesus and you're like, oh, yeah, yeah, that's good.

And then you pretend you've assumed that you've done it yourself.

And Paul here says, chapter four, follow along in your Bible.

He says, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that as you receive from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

The book of James says, hey, don't be just doers.

Don't be just hearers of the word.

Be doers.

Actually live it out.

If an alien dropped into your life and did an audit on your life right now, who would that alien think that you're living for?

Who are you trying to please?

If they looked at the way you behave, where you spend your time, the way you spend your money, who are you trying to please?

Who's the most important person in your life?

Maybe there's a boyfriend and a girlfriend here and if someone dropped into your life, they'd be able to see that actually everything that you do is trying to please your girlfriend or boyfriend.

Or maybe if they drop into your life and they look at how you work, they're like, everything that that person is about is about pleasing his or her boss.

He's saying here, hey, walk in a way where the only one you are pleasing is God, that you have an audience of one.

Galatians 1.10, Paul asks that question.

Am I here for the approval of man or of God?

And now, if we're all honest with ourselves, if we really dig deep and ask why, but why, but why, so often it's actually, we want to please people.

We want to please people, but why do we want to please people?

Have you thought about that?

I usually pick on Gaps first, so I'm going to pick on him again.

Why do you think we are so obsessed with pleasing people?

Because we're fearful of rejection.

Because we're fearful of rejection.

So true.

But actually, we want to please them so that we will be accepted into that community.

And one of the perks of when you get accepted into a community or a club,

you experience pleasure.

Because you get to do the, like, I've been wanting to be Ken's friend for the longest time.

Because Ken loves food.

And so I know if I become his friend, he'll take me to these nice places to eat this glorious food,

just as he did yesterday evening.

They say, actually, since the beginning of time, the chief end of humanity has been to take pleasure in life.

If you think about just every generation of mankind, what have we been trying to do just to get pleasure in life?

But Paul says something different.

He says, hey, it's not about that.

The catechism actually says the chief end of humanity should be to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

Is your will, is your bottom line, is your motive to really to please God and to glorify him and to enjoy him forever?

Only you will know the answer to that question.

But if we're honest, as Kenneth was honest with us, none of us are really that good people.

We all have selfish desires.

We are all still selfish, looking for pleasure in our own lives.

Paul's saying, hey, put your money where your mouth is.

Live in a different kind of way.

So the question I want to ask you is, are you any different?

Are you any different?

If you looked at your life, other than how you spend your Sunday morning, are you any different to if you were a non-Christian?

Have a think.

Other than how you spend your Sunday morning, where you go, or maybe your midweek evening group, are you any different at all?

Have you changed?

Because sometimes I think the church is guilty of actually selling the same product that the world sells.

If you think about why people go to church, they're like, okay, come to church.

Why?

Oh, because there's great coffee there in the morning.

Come to church.

It's such a nice vibe.

There's nice coffee.

And there's someone who's really good at singing, who is going to sing a few songs and lead us in karaoke.

And it's just nice.

And then you get to hang out with some people.

And then you get the warm fuzzies because people start to know you.

And then you get to hang out.

And then you go to wine tasting.

And then you go BJJ.

And then it is just so good.

And then the speaker comes.

And he's usually quite short.

Not in height, guys.

Just in the talk.

And then.

And it's like a TED talk.

And the TED talk makes you feel warm and fuzzy because it tells you you are loved.

You're a good person.

But there is purpose and there is meaning in your life.

And everything's okay.

And then you sing one more song just to kind of cement what he just said to you.

And then you all leave.

And then you go and grab lunch together.

It's such a fun time.

Whew.

Has the church let the values of the world, the pleasures of the world, seep in?

So I ask again, why are you here?

And how are you different?

So if you weren't a Christian at all, is there anything that's different?

Verse 3 says this, for this is the will of God for your sanctification.

What does the word sanctification mean?

Francis, what does the word sanctification mean?

Made clean.

It's definitely a part of it.

The process of sanctification is being made clean, being changed.

Changed to what?

What are we supposed to look like as we are being transformed?

What's the ultimate goal here, Sam?

Sorry, someone like Christ.

Genesis 1.26, from the very beginning, the Trinity, the Godhead, says, let us make man in our image.

We're supposed to look like him.

But somewhere along the line, we make decisions and we look nothing like him anymore, even those of us who are sat in the church.

Romans 8.29 says this, that we were predestined to be conformed to the image of his son.

Is this a room filled with people who look like Jesus?

Now, in a family, you all look at baby MJ and you all look at him and then you go, oh, looks just like you.

Clearly, you're just influenced by the hairstyle.

And of course, just by the way, that really confuses me because I stand next to him.

And then you go to him and then you say, oh, you're so cute.

You're so beautiful.

You look just like your dad.

Can you just spare a moment just to have a think how that makes me feel?

It's just so many mixed, confused messages there.

My head is already quite big.

I just got to be careful when you compliment my son and then you tell him he looks just like me.

But if we're children of God, do we look anything like our fathers, our father in heaven?

If we looked at your life, do you look like God?

That's his will.

It says here, for this is the will of God, your sanctification.

And then he goes into, and then he drops some real bombs.

Because he's like, okay, so you're like, okay, I'm a Christian.

I want to be more like Christ.

What does that even look like?

Where do I even start?

And then Paul says, let me tell you where it starts.

Let's talk about sex.

And then I'm like, oh, this week I have to talk about sex.

Because this is what the word of God says.

And so we're going to just, let me just read it to you again and let God himself speak.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality.

That each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,

not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.

That no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter,

because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

For God has not called us for impurity and in open holiness.

Therefore, whoever disregards this disregards not man, but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

He's talking about sex.

He's like, I want you to look more like Christ, but you don't look like Christ.

And how do I know that you don't look like Christ?

Because of the way you deal with sex.

And this is one of the topics that, hey, church pastors do not like to talk about.

I assure you, it's not what I really want to talk about today.

But here it is.

And I realize there is a message for us here.

But let me just give you a little bit of context.

The Greco-Roman world that he was writing this in.

This world was, in some ways, a very sexual liberal world.

Sexually liberal world.

It was very different.

Men had unlimited rights when it came to sex.

So just have a think about a person, okay?

He's a businessman.

He's in finance.

And he has different things going on in his life.

And he travels for work.

And he has a wife that looks after his household.

But he also has a concubine where, when he's a bit tired of his wife nagging,

he can go and stay with his concubine.

And that's completely okay.

And then when his concubine is getting a little bit annoying,

then he'll say, well, actually, I've got a mistress.

So when I'm away for work, I'm going to go hang out with my mistress.

And then after that, if he's a little bit bored of that

and he wants something completely different,

he'll then go to the brothel and then meet someone else there.

I just wanted to imagine that context.

That the men had unlimited rights when it comes to this issue of sex.

Now, imagine that man meets Jesus,

commits his life to Christ,

and then sits in this room.

Of course, we stop there and we think,

oh, that man's going to live happily ever after.

And he's just going to be more and more like Christ

because he's going to go on this journey of sanctification.

No.

Can you imagine all the dilemmas that he has to go through?

Because all the things that he's used to doing

on a Saturday night, on a Wednesday night, on a Thursday morning,

now has to change.

He's got to suddenly be like, wait, oh, wait, that's not okay?

Wait, wait, that's not okay?

And can you imagine from a woman's perspective,

in that kind of society,

where you are treated in such a way,

where your chief end is to be the one that pleasures man,

and that's it.

Can you imagine what that is like?

Every context that a woman walks into,

she's just wondering,

how do I protect myself?

How do I hide from attention?

How do I not get myself abused again?

That would have been the norm in the culture that he was writing to.

And just before you go, well, that was then,

and now is different.

And yeah, on some levels, it is different.

But if you ask yourself seriously, deep in your heart,

is it that different?

There's no kids here now.

Is the addiction to pornography,

the industry that that is?

Isn't it really just doing and saying the same thing?

If you forget what you find on the internet,

what about just what you find on the MTR?

The adverts?

What message is that giving to our society?

What are we valuing here?

We're valuing how someone looks,

how someone stays young,

how someone attracts as much attention as possible.

I think about my sons,

I think about my daughter.

What, if they walk through the MTR,

which they do every day,

and they see these adverts,

what is the world telling them is important?

And so we may not be as explicit as a society

in how we deal with sex,

but in our hearts,

you know there is a ton of problem.

The question here is this,

are the people here in this room different?

Are the people here in this room different?

Paul is saying,

please be different.

Why?

How do I know that?

In verse 7 he says this,

for God has not called us for impurity,

but in holiness.

That word holiness,

Aidan,

what's the word holy mean to you?

Set apart.

Set apart.

What does the word set apart mean to you?

Something that,

say something sacred.

It feels like it has importance.

Yeah.

Something sacred.

Something that is important.

Something that is different.

What Paul is doing here is,

he is casting a vision for a community where,

hey,

do you think we can be a place

where women can feel safe coming into this community?

Where they don't feel as though there are predators all around.

Can we come into a place,

can we be a community

where men are respectable

and respectful?

That we treat one another

with the highest regard.

Why?

Because that brother

and that sister sat next to you

is made in the image of God.

Can we be that kind of group?

Can we be that kind of people?

I was talking to my son recently.

As you've all noticed,

my son is undergoing some transformations himself.

He's going to be taller than me

probably within the next 12 months.

And I asked him a question

and I ask a lot of young people this question.

Tell me about sex.

Tell me,

what do you know about sex?

And he's like,

oh,

actually,

the reason why is,

Christina and I,

we've been doing this

since our kids have been young.

Literally six.

Because we believe in something called

the law of first mention.

Which is,

if you're the first one

that mentions something,

you have authority on that subject.

You all know where you heard about sex from.

I heard about it

from my grade six friend at school.

And he,

I have now since found out,

is not the authority on sex.

But he was the one that told me about it.

And it's funny,

because where you hear it first,

you will go,

subconsciously,

you will go back to that source

for reference,

for information.

So we try and beat the crowd,

we try and beat the world,

and we,

so we will start first.

And they had no idea

what we were talking about,

but I was like,

you know what,

the only thing that you need to remember

is that I got there first.

So whenever you have any question,

you come to me first.

But isn't that true?

Because if we don't disciple

the next generation,

the world will.

Because they will have questions,

just like you and I had questions,

but if they don't come to us

for the answers,

and they go somewhere else,

then they will tell something different.

And he said something interesting,

he said,

oh,

well,

it can be used for bad.

I was like,

yes and no,

that is,

that is so true.

But my goodness,

it is not a bad thing.

Sex is not a bad thing.

But yes,

what we've used it to become,

what we've twisted it to become,

is now a wicked thing.

Actually,

interestingly,

the word wicked,

the Anglo-Saxon,

kind of just,

the background of that word,

the word wicked simply means twisted.

If you think about a candle wick at the top,

it's just something that's twisted.

So there's no such thing as darkness

there's no such thing as evil,

it's just good that has been twisted.

Interestingly,

the word judgment simply means to straighten out.

And so what you have here is,

we've taken something that God has created

that is beautiful,

that is good,

and then we have twisted it.

We have weaponized it.

What's your relationship like with sex?

Do you have a high view of sex,

or do you have a low view of sex?

Because,

God knows,

if we've grown up in the church,

and there's the whole purity thing,

culture that went around,

maybe in the 90s and the early noughties,

as Christians growing up,

you've been conditioned to think that sex is a bad thing.

Now,

everyone's thinking about it,

and behind the scenes,

we're doing all kinds of things,

but in church,

in any other context,

we don't talk about it.

We've simply twisted.

We've simply twisted

what is supposed to be a good thing.

There's a couple of really interesting quotes

that I wanted to read you.

Our sexualities,

our capacity to love,

and be loved,

is intimately related to our creation

in the image of God.

What a high view of sexuality.

Sexuality,

our sexuality,

sex,

was created for our pleasure,

and for procreation.

I won't linger on this point too much,

but we are all sat here,

products,

of two people having sex.

Procreation.

But there is pleasure in it as well,

but we have twisted it.

And what we think now to do

is just to kind of just

keep it under the rules

and don't talk about it,

don't think about it,

pretend it doesn't exist,

pretend it doesn't happen.

When in reality,

the quote continues,

and I love this,

but it says,

notice that the biblical stress

upon relationship

helps to enlarge our understanding

of human sexuality.

And here's,

just pay attention to this next line.

The problem with the topless bars

and the pornographic literature

of our day

is not that they emphasize

sexuality too much,

but that they do not

emphasize it enough.

The problem with the topless bars

and the pornographic literature

of our day

is not that they emphasize

sexuality too much,

but that they do not

emphasize it enough.

We've reduced sex

to something which is simply

just a physical thing

when it should be so much more.

As children of God

who bear his image

for procreation

and for pleasure purposes,

it's supposed to be

this incredibly beautiful,

indescribable thing,

yet we turn it into

a series of images

that we scroll through

on our phones.

The problem isn't

that we have too low

a view of sexuality,

it's that we don't have

a high enough one

to what it is supposed to be.

We have turned something good

and we have twisted it.

I've often said,

Richard Foster is the one

who said the three

big idols of the world

are money, sex, and power,

which per se

are not necessarily

wrong things.

Money is not a bad thing.

The love of money

is the root of all evil.

Sex was a good thing

that has been twisted.

Power, authority, dominion

was what he gave mankind

and it was supposed to be good,

yet we have abused it

for our own good.

Are we any different

in the church?

We've taken something

as beautiful as love.

Now, the biblical interpretation

of love is

what you can give,

what you can sacrifice.

John 15,

there is no greater love

than this,

that someone would lay down

his own life.

That is love.

But now we've reduced

the word love

to what we can take.

When I love something,

it's what it can give me.

All right?

We've twisted that word again.

And it's interesting

and it's fascinating.

And you hear a lot about this

amongst the next generation

that are struggling

with the issue of pornography

and of loneliness.

And so they've given up

on relationship altogether.

Why do I need

to go through

this whole process

of courting

and relationship

and friendship

when I can just find

satisfaction by myself

at home

without any trouble

from any people?

And so you know,

you can see now,

there are tons and tons

of the next generation

who have just basically

given up on engaging

in relationship,

in friendship

with other people

because they thought,

well, that is so much trouble,

I'm just going to stay

at home myself.

But then the problem is

it hasn't really satisfied us.

Loneliness is at

an all-time high.

Suicide rates

are at an all-time high.

We thought,

we cracked the code

that we can have

the friends

with the benefits

and without any of

the challenges

that come with it

and yet somehow

it's left us more lonely.

Have you thought about that?

Somehow,

it has left us

more lonely.

We've simply twisted

something that God

created for good,

tried to do a shortcut

and we realized

we've run into a dead end.

That is where we're at.

And of course,

one of my favorite verses,

only just for comedic value,

is verse six,

the Lord is an avenger.

That's it.

Just,

the Lord is an avenger.

Just,

just,

just,

just interpret that,

take it where you will.

But it speaks to something,

which is this.

James,

leave me alone.

The stuff that I do

in my own time,

it's not hurting anybody.

It's not affecting anybody.

Just leave me alone.

What we've done

is we've separated sexuality

from spirituality,

which is something

that the people

in this day did

and that was a group

that was called

the Gnostics,

which were basically saying,

hey,

you can do anything you want

with your physical body

and it won't affect your soul.

It won't affect your spirituality.

So go ahead

and do whatever you want

in this life.

It won't affect your next life.

Go ahead

and do whatever you want

in your own time.

It won't affect the other people

because they'll never know.

And somehow,

and somehow,

what we need

to really understand

is man,

sexuality and spirituality

are connected.

And every time

we think

about someone

in a way

that God doesn't want us

to think about,

it's taking something

from them

and they've not even

agreed to it.

And when you

give yourself

to someone

in a way

that you shouldn't

give yourself to,

you're giving,

you're taking yourself

away from someone

in your future

who is going to be

your future spouse.

You're taking something

away from them

as you give yourself

to something else

and someone else.

What it's saying here

is that sexuality,

spirituality

and community

are all intertwined.

And the Lord

is an avenger,

which means

he sees.

the conversation

with the young person

will go,

well,

sex is kind of

like a bad thing.

I was like,

oh,

why is it so bad?

Oh,

well,

because people,

okay,

well,

so what do you do

with it then?

Well,

just avoid it.

Don't really talk

about it

and just leave it.

clearly that's not

the solution.

And then you say,

well,

what is bad?

Oh,

well,

you're not supposed

to have sex

before marriage.

Oh,

well,

why is that?

Oh,

because God said so.

Why am I not

allowed to do this?

Oh,

because God said so.

And really,

actually,

that's what Paul

is kind of saying here.

He's saying,

for God has called us

not for impurity

but in holiness.

Therefore,

whoever disregards this

disregards not man

but God

who gives his Holy Spirit

to you.

You see,

sometimes you go into church

and you say,

I don't want to be a Christian.

I don't want to go to church

because people have

such conservative values here

and you're not allowed

to do this

and you're not allowed

to do that.

And Paul's saying,

hey,

it's not about what

we tell you not to do.

God tells you not to do it.

It's different.

This isn't just a person

trying to have authority

over you.

This is God telling you

not to do it.

And God isn't doing it

in a way just because

he's a stickler,

just because he's here

to ruin your pleasure.

Why does God tell you

not to do those things?

Because he knows

that they're bad for you.

Because he knows

that if you go down

this path,

it doesn't end well.

Because he knows

that if you just choose

your own pleasure

and ignore everyone else,

sadly,

you won't get that pleasure

that you're looking for.

And we've all been there.

And I'm not here to say

as your pastor,

I've been completely,

completely with a perfect record.

But so I can tell you

that I know

and I know that you know

every time you choose

something for yourself

and you know

it's not God wants

and it might be nice

for that moment,

but you know the feeling

that happens afterwards.

I don't need to convince you

of that.

What God is saying is,

I don't want you to do it

because this hurts you.

Don't have sex

with someone before marriage

because when you,

when you,

when you connect

with someone

at that deepest,

most vulnerable level,

but you're not even sure

whether you're going to commit

to each other in the future,

then you will hurt one another.

That sex was created

for a place,

so there's a place

where two people

can feel completely known,

completely loved,

and completely safe.

And it's only then

will you enjoy

all the pleasures

that I created,

that he created.

So before we just kind of say,

well, we're not allowed

to do this,

that or the other

because God says no,

think about why he says no.

Think about why

I as a parent

don't let my children

eat McDonald's

three times a day.

As much as,

well, it's because

my wife wouldn't let me.

Because it's not good for me.

It's not healthy.

And then he carries on,

and this is where

we're going to kind of

quickly fly through.

Verse 9 to 12,

he jumps into something else.

He says,

now concerning brotherly love,

you have no need

for anyone to write to you.

For you yourselves

have been taught by God

to love one another.

So he jumps into

a second part,

and he's talking about

brotherly love.

The word he uses there

is Philadelphia.

Okay, so that's where

we're here,

the city of brotherly love.

And so he moves

into a second part,

and he says,

hey, I want you to be

different when it comes

to sex.

I want you to be

different as a community,

and recognize that

actually,

sexuality and spiritually

are not enemies,

they are friends.

And then he moves

into a second part,

which is this,

hey, you guys,

can you love one another

as though you are siblings?

Of course,

if you have a sibling,

you're like,

actually,

I don't love my sibling

in a good way.

But love each other

in a way where

you're not here

to kind of just

satisfy your own

personal agenda.

live in a way

that is different.

Now, here's another

problem that I think

we in the church

have really struggled

with.

When we preach

from the pulpit,

what we're actually

doing constantly

is we're trying

to help you feel

better about yourself.

And this is not,

this should not be

our own goal,

our only goal.

But what happens here,

and this is a quote

that maybe sums it

up way better than I,

most of our pulpits,

Protestant and Catholic

alike,

have read scripture,

but then preached

a psychological

personalism for decades

with sin as a

psychological dysfunction

and salvation as

inward good feeling.

What it's saying here

is it's too long.

We've taken this book

that keeps telling you

love one another,

that you cannot separate

spirituality from community.

And yet what we've done

is we've basically

just preached the gospel

where, hey,

sin is bad,

it's making you feel down.

And so, hey,

you're saved.

So feel better about yourself.

Have some warm fuzzies

on your own,

and that's it.

But what he's saying here

is love one another together.

You can't do life,

your spiritual life,

on your own.

I look at Ken,

and I'm thinking,

I don't know

if I can imagine

a life here in Hong Kong

without the friendship

of him and Hillary.

I look at him

and his group,

which I won't share you

the name of his group

because it's...

Anyway.

And I saw the picture

of them this morning.

I'm like,

I don't know

if Ken can do

his spiritual life

without his brothers

around him.

I look at Joyce

and I see the group

of girls

that is now around her.

I'm like,

this is the only way

to do spiritual living,

to have people around.

I look at Sigmund

and I'm like,

how did Sigmund

even get to churches

because there were people

around him

that bore him

who are now with him.

I look at Ebenezer

and go,

man,

I love that man.

and I can see

other men

that love him too.

Let us not separate

spirituality

from community.

Let us live

in a way

that actually

knows that they are

intertwined,

that we need

each other.

Not in a dependent,

needy kind of way,

but that we wouldn't be

where we are right now

without the people

around us.

And just a shout out

to Victor and Mavis

for your different strategies

of just relentlessness

over the years

of praying

and just inviting

and then at the right time

dropping words of wisdom.

And then it says

something really interesting

and this is where

I'm going to finish

just in case

you're keeping track of time.

Verse 11,

and to aspire

to live quietly

and to mind

your own affairs

and to work

with your hands

as we instructed you.

Something was happening

in the church

as they were growing

in hype,

as they were growing

in number

and they were like,

Jesus is coming back.

So straight away

if you're a kind of

lazy person,

you'd be like,

oh, well if Jesus

is coming back,

then I kind of don't

really need to work anymore.

I'm just going to hang out.

I'm just going to hang out

and get my Jesus on

and pray and sing

and just going to be here.

And Paul's saying,

no.

Don't do that.

Be the best worker

that you can be

and live a life

that is worthy

of the calling.

Be different.

So here's my second question

to you.

Maybe especially

in your workplace

or in your school,

do people look at you

and go,

man, that person,

that person is different.

It says live quietly

and work hard

is what it's saying.

I think the challenge here

is can you be

the best worker

that you can be?

If you're a teacher,

can your colleagues

look at you

and go,

you know what?

That person

is such a good teacher.

She works so hard

and she loves the Lord

so much

and the kids

love her so much

that is so good.

It's what Jesus says

in Matthew 5,

let others see

your good works

and see your light

and give thanks

to your Father in Heaven.

And I know this is convicting

for some of us

because we're like,

hey, look,

work is just work.

It's just a job.

I don't need to be great at it.

I just need to be good

because Jesus is the center

of everything

and I'm saying,

he's going to come back anyway

so it's all going to be okay.

I know what Paul is saying,

what Jesus is saying,

be the best person

that you can be at work.

If you're in finance,

can you be

the hardest worker

in finance

that still maintains

a healthy work-life balance

that makes deals

that are

with integrity

and with honesty?

If you sell houses,

can you sell

the most houses

in the history of mankind?

But people look at you

and go,

there's something different

about you.

There is a humility

and a diligence about you

that can only come

from Christ.

If you are someone

who's at home

looking after kids,

can people look at you

and go,

man,

that dad or that mom

just loves their kids

in just this godly,

holy way.

Can people look at us

and go,

wow,

they are different?

And I'll share with you

and Ken was being

over-flattering and kind

when he says,

James just seems to have

this peace about him

and I'll tell you this

and this is just a little

opening of the window,

I rarely feel peace.

I rarely feel peaceful.

When I was training

as a school teacher,

the analogy that was given

to me was,

you've got to be like a swan

where on the top

you're just floating

and regal

but under the water

you're just flapping.

So maybe you need

to hear it from me,

hey,

it's okay that you're

not perfect.

Sanctification is a progress.

We are a work

in progress

but God is good

and he can take

what you're flapping

underneath

and still bless others

on the outside.

Can you be

that person

in your workplace

and I'm going to

here to challenge you

because some of you

are working

in really tough environments

with really tough colleagues

with really annoying bosses.

Can you,

because of Christ,

live in a different way?

So when others

look at you

and you go,

oh,

Jay has a really

annoying boss

but my goodness,

Jay just treats her

in such a supernaturally

different way.

Why?

Because he trusts in God

because he knows

that someone else

is in control,

not his boss.

And live quietly

and you might ask,

what does living quietly mean?

I don't know

what living quietly means.

I think for those of us

who live on social media,

living quietly

is kind of

counterintuitive

to what social media

is about

because social media

is kind of like

living as loud

as you possibly can

to show everyone

the latte that you're drinking,

the party that you're going to,

the holiday you're going to.

But how can you live

in a way

where people don't know

what you're up to?

That you may be

the most successful

in your field

but on a Sunday morning

they know that you're

ushering at church,

doing something

completely quiet,

filled with humility,

filled with integrity.

Maybe we look at

the way we even manage

our social media accounts,

who we're following.

Scripture says,

live a quiet life

because actually

if God is for you,

he will be the one

that promotes you.

My mom used to tell me this,

she said,

I think,

correct me if my Chinese is wrong,

I think it just means

that actually flowers,

if they are just,

they smell nice,

they would just naturally

just exude this aroma.

You don't need to

promote it out.

You don't need to

shout about it

all the time.

Live a quiet,

humble,

hardworking life

and people will notice

that you are different.

Can we be people

who are heavenly minded

but also earthly good?

What he's not saying here is,

hey,

when you follow Jesus,

move out into the desert

and just live a life

of recluse on your own

because people are annoying,

the world is on fire,

so stay in your little gathering

with your warm fuzzies

and your karaoke

and your TED talk

and just feel better

about yourself.

He's saying,

you have to be in this world

but not of this world.

Even,

there was a group of people

called the Desert Fathers

who were so disillusioned

and so disappointed

with the way the world

and with the way

the church would go.

They moved out

into the desert

and they're like,

we don't want anything

to do with this

but even then,

they would spend time

praying for the world.

We cannot be heavenly minded

but not earthly good.

We have to live in a way

where our eyes are on heaven

but we are,

we are the best event planner,

we are the best actor,

we are the best financer,

we are the best teachers.

I think that's Paul's vision.

That he sees a group of people

standing up who are different,

who are the best at what they do

but live quietly,

live with integrity,

live with purity,

live with holiness.

And you,

this is my final thing,

you might go,

well that's impossible.

That's too hard.

And this is my final message to you.

It's not about you.

Jesus is the one

that's going to do it.

You think Ken saved himself?

You think Joyce

decided to save herself?

The whole message of Christianity

is that we can save ourselves.

That we can't become the people

we want to become.

That's why God needed to intervene

and send his son down

to save us.

the whole message of Christianity

is let go and let God.

Even that process of sanctification,

Jesus will do.

Philippians 1, 6 says this,

and he will bring to completion

the work that he started.

Hebrews 12 says this,

Jesus is the author

and perfecter of your faith,

not you.

Would you let him?

Because one thing is true

in John 2,

it says this,

Jesus knows the heart of man.

Jesus knows your heart.

He knows the challenges

that you're going through.

He knows how wicked you are.

He knows how twisted you are

in all the things.

But thank God,

thank God,

that even though he knows

all of that,

Romans 7,

that what we should do,

we don't do,

and what we don't do,

we do do,

what wretched people we are.

But thank goodness

that even though he sees

how we've twisted everything,

he then takes to the cross

to straighten it all out.

That he takes on

all of the judgment for us.

And through that,

we are now made right.

We have now been

straightened out.

So if you're sat here going,

I don't even know

where to start,

well then just start

with your hands wide open.

And say what the word

in Galatians 2 says,

it is no longer I

who live,

but Christ

who lives

in me.

Let's pray.

We're going to move

into a time of communion now.

So as we

close our eyes

and

just respond to the word

in our hearts,

can we ask,

can we together

as a family ask God,

what is there

that has been good

that we've twisted?

What is the wickedness

inside us?

How have we

ended up looking

exactly like

the world outside?

As I invite the stewards

to help distribute

the elements,

let's just spend

a few moments

just to reflect on that.

Lord Jesus,

as we

hear your word,

that you call us

to live lives

of purity,

restore to us

a higher view

of what sexuality is,

a higher view

of who you are.

as you call us

to live

quiet lives,

diligent lives,

lives with integrity,

humility.

We sit here this morning

and this afternoon

and we

confess

that we fall short.

That we have twisted

what you intended

sex to be.

We have twisted

what you intended

community to be.

we have twisted

what you intended

work to be.

And the truth is

we've gotten to a point

where we can't

untwist ourselves.

So if the Lord

is revealing

to you

anything

that you

have twisted,

would you bring

that to him now?

And would you

surrender it

to him?

Actually,

with all eyes

closed and heads bowed,

if you know

there is something

that's twisted

in your own heart

and in your own life

and you would like

to just confess it,

would you join me

in just raising your hand

if that's one of you,

if that's you,

if you're one of those people

that have

twisted something

that isn't

what God intended,

would you raise

your hand with me

and just,

just as a sign

of confession.

confession.

And this is not

to embarrass

one another

in any way,

this is simply just

there is freedom

in repentance,

there is kindness

in repentance.

It's just a way

of saying,

Lord,

would you help

me untangle

and untwist

and we sit here,

we stand here

as a community

of broken people,

wicked people

who couldn't

save ourselves,

but around this table,

we take the bread,

we take the bread

as a symbol

of your body,

Lord,

broken for us.

You paid

the wages of sin.

you allowed

your body

to be broken,

nailed to the cross,

straightened out

for us.

And so we take

this body now

in remembrance

of you.

and then around

the table,

you took this cup

and you raised it

and you said,

this cup is a symbol

of the new covenant,

that the debt

has been paid,

that he straightened

everything out

and this new covenant

with him

and with each other

is now available

and accessible

to each of us

and we seek

as a community

together

to look more

like him.

Let's take

this cup

in remembrance

of him.

Let me say

a final prayer.

So Lord Jesus,

would you continue

to work in us?

We are not done.

We know we're not done.

We are a work

in progress.

And your will

to make us

more like you,

we know it's slow,

but we pray

that it would

just keep moving,

that we would

keep growing

to be more like you,

that we here

in this community

would be part

of a mosaic

that bears your image,

that each one

of us here

plays a role

as a part

of your body,

that points people

to you.

We seek

to be holy,

set apart,

sacred,

different,

bearing your image,

declaring your name.

Show us how

to love one another

and then remind us

to love one another.

And when we forget,

remind us again.

Thank you for this day.

Thank you for the sun

that is breaking

through the darkness

and the cloud.

allow this community

here as we finish

this gathering,

as we scatter out

to be children

of light

in a dark,

twisted,

crooked world,

declaring that

there is a savior.

There is hope,

there is joy,

there is peace.

Thank you,

Lord.

It's in your name,

your precious name

we pray.

Amen.

So this is the end

of our time here.