1 Timothy 1:15.

KJ Washington

[0:00] Good morning, Village. It’s good to be together to worship Jesus together this morning. [0:06] I’m KJ and I serve on staff here at Village Church as a church planning apprentice, [0:10] and I’m grateful for our opportunity together this morning to be able to open up God’s word, [0:15] to learn from what he has for us, and for we can walk in faith and obedience to Jesus. [0:21] And so this morning we’re going to continue our series that we’ve been in for the past few weeks [0:25] called Anchors, and what we’ve been doing is that staff members from Village have been walking

[0:29] through anchor verses in their lives. And so this morning we’re going to walk through anchor [0:35] verses that’s been that for me, and so I’m thankful for this text, and so I look forward [0:40] to diving into this together this morning. So something that I have noticed is that facts [0:46] help to cement the trustworthiness of news. So any type of news that you’ve received, [0:53] we interact with facts that helps us to be able to commit to the information that we received. [0:58] We can affirm it as being true. So when we receive news, we desire to always receive

[1:04] factual information. We know when we are interacting with facts, we can be assured of [1:09] the truthfulness of the source from where our information is coming from. News is constantly [1:14] breaking around us, and we all have to fact check the sources that we’re receiving information from [1:22] because they might be accurate or they may be inaccurate. So consider this past year and think [1:26] about all the incorrect information that you may have received, and you might have needed [1:31] clarification on because of the source. So for some people that might be BuzzFeed. I mean you’re

[1:36] you’re listening to BuzzFeed too much or you’re on Facebook, you see it’s archa like, hey man, [1:39] this is true when it’s inaccurate. But regardless of that, we’re constantly seeking to find truth [1:47] in sources and information in the news that we’re hearing. That’s why we’re going back and forth [1:52] between news stations trying to figure out, okay, is this true or is this not? So what we know is [1:59] that the technology and media-driven age that we’re in is kind of written with a bunch of [2:07] overflow of information that kind of has spewed out into different areas and that we’re trying

[2:12] to decipher what is true and what is not true based on that information. So the best way for [2:18] us to decipher whether the information we received is true is by checking the sources. [2:23] And so our passage this morning is a hinge verse to the fact check of this text. And so what we’ll [2:29] see here is that in our verse this morning that Paul is using himself as a case study to prove [2:33] the trustworthiness of the gospel, and there are many false teachings lurking in the church that [2:39] were driving people away from faith in Jesus because the teachings were built on inaccurate

[2:45] information. See, gospel clarity mattered to Paul and should matter to us. And so even [2:50] though these false teachings were lurking, Paul wanted to seek after, to have a clear view and [2:57] perspective of what the gospel was so they can combat against the false teachings that were [3:02] going around. He didn’t want people to swerve from the faith because they were hearing the gospel [3:08] taught unfaithfully. See, the people were familiar with Paul in his life and so there was no excuse [3:14] for them to not trust this message since they were interacting with a reputable source. But Paul

[3:19] moves far beyond just him being the reputable source, but he moves on to point them to the [3:23] God of the universe who is the most reputable source and how his plan of redemption works [3:30] on our behalf for that God can redeem for himself a people. So what we see in this text is that [3:36] Paul is pointing to the most reputable source of them all, the God of the universe and his plan [3:41] to save sinners and he’s trying to affirm for us why this message is trustworthy.

[3:48] So 1st Timothy chapter 1 verse 15 reads as this, [3:52] the saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world [3:57] to save sinners of whom I am the foremost. Pray for me this morning.

[4:04] Father, I pray that that we will be able to realize how trustworthy your word is [4:12] Lord that we would be able to realize how good you are despite our own sinfulness. [4:17] Lord, I pray that you will just continue to reaffirm for us why we need to [4:21] cling to the gospel message and the gospel message alone, Lord. [4:25] Father, I pray that you be merciful to a sinner as we open up your word today. Your name we pray. [4:31] Amen. This leads us to point number one this morning. There is no message more trustworthy

[4:36] than the gospel. See, Paul is advocating for the trustworthiness of the gospel in this passage. [4:41] Clearly, he felt the need to emphasize the effects of the gospel and its implications in the lives [4:46] of believers. He was hoping to reinforce to his audience that faith in Jesus is not only the [4:52] foundation to our lives, but the most trustworthy news that we have ever heard. The saying that Paul [4:57] wanted the church to really to understand and to trust was the gospel. That’s the saying. It’s [5:06] permeating the minds of the Christians. So naturally, we wouldn’t see a need for Paul

[5:12] to emphasize to the church the gospel. We naturally wouldn’t think about that. We wouldn’t [5:18] think that Paul would need to share with them, hey, this is the gospel. This is what you need [5:22] to hold on to. This is what you need to cling to. Actually, we think the exact opposite of that. [5:27] We would expect the church of Jesus Christ to understand what the gospel is or was in that [5:32] context. But he cared for them. He wanted to make sure that they were stewarding the gospel well.

[5:42] It’s crazy to think that as Christians, the main aspect of our faith, we could get that incorrect.

[5:48] It’s apparent here that Paul heard rumors of false teachings coming into the church [5:51] and the surrounding areas and his initial statement to Timothy in this letter was a [5:55] charge for Timothy to contend against false doctrines that were diverging away from the [6:00] gospel. The church of Ephesus was a people who heard the gospel preach. They had responded [6:05] to the gospel message and now were being engaged by other teachings. This sounds familiar. [6:11] There are various possibilities for the types of teachings they may have been experiencing,

[6:16] but we cannot guarantee what type of teaching that was. But whatever they were hearing was in [6:21] opposition to the gospel. It’s necessary to know that the message they may have been hearing might [6:27] have been slightly off from the gospel, but that doesn’t matter because even if it’s slightly off, [6:32] it’s still off. It doesn’t matter if you add a little bit or take away a little bit. If it’s [6:36] all from the gospel, it’s not the gospel. And this is what Paul was seeking to hone in on [6:43] in this text here. He wanted them to understand the gospel basics. He wanted them to understand

[6:52] what it meant to have faith in Jesus and to steward this gospel message well. [6:57] See, people were distorting the gospel by allowing their worldview to infiltrate their [7:01] perspective of the good news as if their newfound gospel had the possibility to hijack the gospel [7:09] that they had heard from the beginning. Paul found it necessary to elaborate on how trustworthy [7:14] the gospel is because people were drifting and submitting to false teachings. He refused these [7:19] teachings by using himself as a case study here. They knew the good news of the gospel was about

[7:23] God saving sinners who have transgressed against him by sending his own son on their behalf to die [7:29] for them, to bear the wrath that they had deserved, but for them to be reconciled to God.

[7:36] There was nothing good these people had done, but God was being rich in his mercy, [7:41] as he always has been, when he withheld his wrath from them and poured it out on his son. [7:47] They’d heard that gospel message. To help them understand, he used himself as an illustration [7:52] to show how far God was willing to go in order to save sinners. He know the type of man that he was [7:59] and how God still chose to save him and to use him for his glory. No other gospel or teaching [8:05] could do such a thing. No message this world has to offer would take a man who was persecuting God’s

[8:11] people and redeem him so that he could join God’s people. The gospel is the only message worth [8:16] trusting friends. It’s trustworthy because it’s not based on our ability to save ourselves, [8:22] but it’s based on God and our need for him to intervene into our lives and to die on our behalf.

[8:29] The other worldviews that the world has to offer are man-centered and bound for destruction. And [8:35] anytime a worldview can be altered by the feelings and the emotions of mankind, it will always lead [8:41] to a hopeless worldview. But thankfully, the gospel isn’t about us. When someone has a gospel [8:49] center perspective, you realize that the world isn’t centered around you, but it’s centered [8:55] around the one who can redeem us. But oh, how easy it is for us to drift away towards other messages. [9:05] Even though we’ve heard the facts about the death, the burial, and the resurrection, even if we have

[9:10] seen lives transformed by the gospel, we still find ourselves drifting at times. See, as believers, [9:18] we have to be honest about the various worldviews that are in culture, the false gospels that are [9:23] within the church, and acknowledge how detrimental they are to the bride of Christ. See, most of the [9:28] time, we would like to think the former is easier to combat in comparison to the latter, but both [9:34] false teachings that run rampant in the midst of each of them. Let me explain. Broader culture [9:41] is driven by postmodernism, secularism, and humanism, and the church is called to be rooted in

[9:47] the gospel, which is in opposition to each one of those other worldviews. Sadly, what we have seen [9:54] is churches that have been influenced by mainstream culture, where worldviews that are pertinent [10:00] within culture are infiltrating the minds of the people within the church, which is leading them [10:08] away from faith in Jesus. People are literally choosing postmodernism, secularism, and humanism [10:16] over the gospel, and when anyone chooses any of those other options previously mentioned over the [10:23] gospel, they’re actually denouncing the gospel. That’s a big struggle for some of us in here right

[10:32] now, because you’re struggling with clinging to some of those other worldviews that you’re hearing [10:39] in culture, and not realizing that you’re outright denouncing the gospel. This is why Paul here is [10:47] trying to reinforce for them that the gospel is trustworthy. The gospel is what you should be [10:53] saturating your life in, and church culture should be centered on and rooted in the gospel, [10:59] but what we see is broader culture coming in and infiltrating the minds of the people within the [11:04] church, because they have started to cherish the worldviews of broader culture over the gospel.

[11:11] Friends, the point is this is that false teachings don’t rise up out of nowhere.

[11:17] I think some of us are naive enough to believe that false teachings just kind of spring up out [11:21] where, you know, one day a church is being really faithful to the gospel, and then three months [11:25] later they’re teaching false gospels. It’s when the world is just pushing in on the body of Jesus [11:32] Christ and continuing against the gospel message that they flake, that they then succumb to the [11:40] pressure, and then they commit to those other teachings and ultimately dilute the gospel.

[11:51] And this is what was happening in the church of Ephesus. The culture was loud and certain people [11:56] attempted to dilute the gospel, and Paul wasn’t going to put up with it, and neither should we. [12:01] See, our stumbling block is this, is that we believe that we can be neutral in a world that is not so [12:07] neutral while submitting our lives to a not so neutral gospel. I’m gonna repeat that. Our [12:12] stumbling block is this, that we believe we can be neutral in a world that is not so neutral [12:16] while submitting ourselves to a gospel that is not neutral.

[12:22] When we are confronted with Jesus’ demands for our lives, we will realize that all other world [12:27] views are incompatible with the gospel. There’s no way you can affirm postmodernism. There’s no way [12:33] you can affirm secularism. There’s no way that you can affirm humanism and still live in submission [12:38] to the gospel, and the same is true for false gospels. There’s no way that you can affirm the [12:42] prosperity gospel. There’s no way that you can affirm a works-based gospel, and there’s no way [12:46] you can affirm universalism and still live in submission to King Jesus as Him being the one who

[12:52] saves and redeems sinners. Friends, this is what you’re hearing in culture and within mainstream [13:00] Christian circles. This is what you’re hearing. You’re being compelled by these teachings and [13:06] world views to affirm them, and you have to fight back against these world views and heretical [13:12] theological positions. Friends, trust the gospel. I know culture is seeking to convince you of a [13:18] bunch of propaganda that is harmful to your souls, but I want to encourage you to embrace the gospel.

[13:26] I know the struggle is real with that. I know that’s what you’re hearing from culture [13:30] in a loud manner. Commit to these world views. Submit your life to them, [13:38] but this is why Paul here saying the gospel is trustworthy. Trust this message. Trust this foundation.

[13:49] So what is stopping you from embracing the gospel with full acceptance?

[13:57] What is stopping you? You’re claiming that you have faith in Jesus. You’re claiming that you’re [14:03] clinging to the cross, but your life isn’t adding up. There’s contention in your own heart. You’re [14:17] wrestling with these other world views and submitting your life to them. See, people embrace [14:22] the gospel when they realize who they are in light of God’s creation and realize their need [14:27] for a savior. See, it’s impossible to embrace the cross when we are convinced of humanity’s ability [14:33] to redeem itself. See, the central truth of the gospel is built on man’s need for God to intervene

[14:40] in their lives in order to make mankind or actually to give mankind the ability to be reconciled to God.

[14:50] See, when someone begins to tamper with the narrative of God’s divine grace, [14:54] they will always move towards a man-centered theology and away from the gospel. So the moment [15:00] you start tampering, the moment you start dabbling in these other world views, you will get back [15:05] towards a man-centered gospel, which isn’t a gospel. See, it’s always good for us to be constantly [15:12] saturating ourselves in the gospel. See, believers embrace the gospel when they live in submission [15:17] to the authority of the gospel and saturation is necessary for them to live in submission to that

[15:23] authority. See, Paul’s proposing that the gospel influences and changes everything in the life of [15:29] a believer and when we embrace the transforming power of the gospel in our lives, we will begin [15:35] to declare to others how trustworthy the gospel is. So I really believe here that Paul is making [15:41] a very compelling case in 1 Timothy chapter 1 of why the gospel is trustworthy. He goes on to share [15:47] his heart in this in 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 5 when he says this, the aim of our charge is love [15:53] the issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Paul’s desire to confront

[15:59] false teaching was necessary for the preservation of the gospel message and it was the most loving [16:05] action possible. He longed to see the fruition of the gospel real lives and the lives of the church [16:11] of Ephesus, which is actually a great attribute of a leader. See, good leaders reject false teaching [16:17] so that their hearers will be able to embrace and saturate their lives in the true message of the [16:24] gospel. See, the people that actually saturate their lives in the gospel message have gospel [16:29] clarity and gospel clarity is present in the life of a believer when the foundational elements of

[16:34] the gospel is based on the exaltation of the Christ and the glorification of the father. [16:39] I’m gonna say that again. The gospel clarity is present in the life of a believer when the [16:44] foundational elements of the gospel is based on the exaltation of Christ and the glorification [16:49] of the father. When someone has gospel clarity, they know that there is nothing else that is [16:55] better than the gospel. So does your life show a lifestyle of gospel clarity?

[17:05] Or does your life reflect the mingling of conflicting messages?

[17:12] See, remember this wasn’t only a critique of people’s lack of submission to the gospel [17:16] but it’s actually Paul as well acknowledging that God has spared him by his grace from a similar [17:22] mentality. It wasn’t like Paul’s just picking on them for not trusting the gospel. He’s like, [17:27] hey, I’ve been there. I’m still contending with these other worldviews. I’m actively fighting [17:32] back against these other worldviews. Paul understands the struggle.

[17:40] See, you’re either in one of two predicaments today. You’re someone who’s being swayed by the [17:47] gospel or you have been submitting to the gospel message. See, gospel clarity is the [17:53] difference between these two parties. This is why Paul is so adamant about them finding [17:58] the gospel as trustworthy. See, gospel clarity leads to saturation because you realize you [18:05] actually can’t function without the gospel. So when people saturate their lives in the gospel, [18:10] they trust and believe that only Jesus himself can bring about redemption. This leads us to point

[18:17] number two this morning, that only Jesus can bring about redemption. So Paul is making a clear case [18:24] here for redemption actually being rooted in the gospel and not being rooted in a worldview [18:29] or other false teachings. He draws lines of distinctions here between the teachings circulating [18:33] in Ephesus and God’s gracious act in saving sinners. See, everyone in the world longs for [18:40] redemption and all of us naturally try to find redemption in any place that we can. [18:45] We’re actually on the lookout for anything that might bring about redemption in our lives.

[18:51] This is why people like to cling to anything that they believe that will bring about this redemption. [18:57] And most of us try to find redemption in hopeless places and get frustrated [19:01] when they don’t experience a holistic type of redemption and just get really frustrated. [19:08] It’s tough. The reason why people get frustrated is because they aren’t receiving atonement out of [19:14] their source of redemption. See, redemption is closely linked to atonement. When someone is [19:18] seeking after redemption and hopeless fantasies, they’re seeking after someone or something

[19:22] that cannot possibly bring about atonement for them. See, Christians can have security when it [19:31] is found in Jesus and that is not bankrupt. See, many of us get frustrated when we give our lives [19:38] to these lackluster plans of redemption and they fail us. We become deflated until we move on to [19:46] our next plan of redemption, which ultimately will lead us back to another hopeless place.

[19:55] For Christians, there’s no need for us to seek after other plans for redemption when Jesus is [20:00] all that we need. See, many of you have been trying to fix your life for a long time and you’re [20:05] getting tired. You’ve been listening to all these other messages that the world has to offer or the [20:11] gospels that you have heard and you’re feeling depleted. You should feel depleted. You should [20:17] feel exposed and hopeless there. For a long time, you’ve been trying to find redemption in other [20:22] places and it’s wearing you out. See, Paul’s aim here is to remind the church of Ephesus,

[20:29] there’s only one source of redemption and only one source of atonement.

[20:35] And Paul points back to that by looking back at his own life and sharing about how God was really [20:40] gracious to him in saving him and how the blood of Jesus applied to him in his life. [20:46] That it was only through God’s blood, through his son, that Paul could be redeemed. This [20:52] plan was central for his life. See, the reason Paul had to point back to the trustworthiness [20:58] of the gospel was because people were neglecting to trust the blood of Christ alone. See, it was [21:03] as if Christ’s redemption is only a partial redemption and that we needed to bring something

[21:07] to the table to complete his redemption. That’s what we’re doing when we’re continuing with other [21:13] worldviews and trying to add it to the gospel. What you’re saying is that Christ’s death on the [21:18] cross, that his blood that was shed for you was not enough and that you have to add something to it [21:25] so that his plan of redemption can be complete. How foolish is that?

[21:32] What you’re really saying there is that God needs you. He needs your perspective to fulfill his plan.

[21:42] See, Christ doesn’t only initiate redemption, but he is the perfector of redemption. [21:48] And there’s nothing that we can add to what he has accomplished. [21:53] So my encouragement for you is to fight back against adding anything to the gospel. [21:58] Fight back against these other world views because when you do that, [22:03] you’re living a life that is antithetical to the gospel. That is what you’re doing if you’re doing [22:09] that. See, Paul realized that he knew that he would not be a Christian, he would not be an

[22:17] apostle without God’s grace. And he knew that redemption was only found in Christ. See, [22:24] Romans chapter 3 verse 23 through 24 says this, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory [22:29] of God and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. [22:36] See, it’s impossible to save ourselves. Only Jesus could bear the weight of our transgressions [22:40] against God and justify us and unite us in fellowship with the Father. See, redemption [22:44] is for the purpose of the glory of God being displayed and not for our own glory being displayed.

[22:51] See, many of us have struggled to find rest in the redemption that’s found in Christ. [22:56] And those of us that are struggling simply have chosen our own glory over God’s glory. [23:03] See, when someone is seeking their own glory over God’s glory, they will always be searching [23:07] for the next plan of redemption in their lives. And when Christians are seeking after God’s glory [23:12] in redemption, they will forever be able to find rest in the gospel and that God’s [23:17] glory is being displayed through his plan of redemption. Those are two big differences there.

[23:23] See, redemption through Jesus provides assurance of the trustworthiness of the gospel. [23:28] See, the moment we lack trust in the redemption found in the gospel, we are starting to trust [23:32] another gospel. So since the gospel is true, you must disregard any idols we’ve been trying to [23:39] find in our lives or to find redemption in and focus our attention towards Jesus. [23:46] You will only be able to begin to acknowledge those idols when you actually have a clear [23:51] understanding of the gospel. For you to have a clear understanding, you must realize who you are,

[23:58] though in light of the gospel, because you’ll never be able to, which leads us to point number [24:03] three. You’re the worst sinner that you know.

[24:11] So what we must realize is this, is that grace isn’t clearly perceived until our sinfulness [24:19] is properly understood. That’s why we can be okay with this point, because grace isn’t clearly [24:27] perceived until our sinfulness is properly understood. See, people believe that Paul is [24:35] actually being arrogant here by sharing his resume to his readers here in 1 Timothy. I fully disagree [24:41] with that, but I really believe that Paul here is trying to be humble and genuine and honest with [24:47] the depths of his sinfulness in this text. See, he previously mentions the depths of his sinfulness

[24:52] to expose who he is without Jesus. See, one of the best ways for him to explain the power of the [24:58] gospel was him being honest about himself and who he is without Jesus. See, Paul points to the [25:06] redemption found in Jesus here, and he does this by saying, hey, look at my life. Look what God has [25:13] done. Look how he saved a sinner like me. His statement as well reaffirms that God has the power [25:20] to save despite who you were previously or who you are currently. See, throughout scripture, [25:26] Paul doesn’t shy away from his past life and the work that God has done in his life. He describes

[25:31] his former life in Galatians chapter 1 verse 13 as this. He says, for you have heard of my former [25:36] life in Judaism and how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. See, [25:42] I believe that we can say here that Paul had an accurate view of his sinfulness and a comprehensive [25:47] view of God’s grace. See, think about it. This man became content talking about his past in light [25:54] of the gospel. See, he had no issues discussing with others what he had done in the past. He knew [25:59] how wicked of a man he was, and he knew how merciful God was to him despite him persecuting

[26:05] his church and going against his kingdom. See, regardless if Paul would have been persecuting [26:11] his church or not, the fact is that Paul would have been just as sinful.

[26:18] See, for us, we have a different struggle than Paul. We tend to compare our lives to men like [26:22] Paul when we consider how sinful we are. We respond, God, I didn’t persecute your people. [26:28] I’m not as bad as them. I’m not the Hitler type of person. I’m not a terrorist. I’m not like them. [26:33] I don’t have as wicked thoughts. See, our tendencies that have a higher view of our sinfulness than we

[26:41] have to. Where we acknowledge our sinfulness because we need to be saved, but we don’t have [26:48] the type of perspective to discuss the depths of our sinfulness. See, it’s easy for us to compare [26:55] our sinfulness to other people. Honestly, it’s really easy. See, it’s easy for you to look at [27:01] your colleagues at work and to say to them, man, you’re awful. You’re an awful person. It’s easy [27:07] for you to look at your spouse and say, man, you’re the center in the situation. You’re the one [27:11] that’s wrong. It’s easy for you to look at your kids and like, man, you’re just a dirty little

[27:14] center from birth. The infant’s coming out crying to the glory of God. You’re like, oh, man, this [27:19] is awful. But regardless of the fact is this is that we like to look at other people and say, [27:24] you are the center in the situation. That’s our struggle. See, and I don’t think Paul had this [27:32] I think Paul was willing to look at himself in the mirror. He’s willing to acknowledge that I am the [27:38] worst sinner in this room. I fully believe that if Paul was in this room today and he was standing [27:42] before all of us, he would look at us and say, I am the foremost of sinners. He wasn’t being arrogant

[27:48] here. He’s been humble to say that I need God’s grace. See, what the issue is for some of us is [27:54] that we need to stand and look at ourselves in the mirror and point at ourselves and say, I am the [27:59] worst sinner that I know.

[28:03] That’s what we need to do. And that’s our issue.

[28:09] That many of us in here aren’t willing to do that. You’re too good in your own perspective [28:16] to identify yourself as the worst sinner that you know because you’re not as bad as the rest of them.

[28:25] And you will never trust the gospel if that’s your perspective.

[28:30] Never. You have to be able to to look at yourself in the mirror.

[28:36] When we have a high view of ourselves, we will not trust God’s plan of redemption. [28:40] And every time it comes down to trusting his plan of redemption, you will always defer to your own [28:46] plan, which we all know that will never work. See, Romans chapter 1 verse 21 through 23 helps us [28:54] understand who we are without faith in Jesus and how we drift towards ourselves and our own glory [29:01] and not honoring God. It reads as this, for although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or [29:08] give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened.

[29:14] Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images [29:18] resembling mortal man, birds and animals, and creeping things. See, people who follow Jesus, [29:25] who don’t follow Jesus, don’t honor God. Actually, their lives are in complete opposition to God and [29:31] his decrees. See, earlier in Romans 1, Paul tells us that the unrighteous, the people who have not [29:36] been redeemed by the blood of Christ, are people who suppress truth. It doesn’t matter of who you [29:41] are or who you were before Christ. You were a suppressor of truth. So if you’re not a father

[29:46] of Jesus right now, you are somebody that suppresses truth. You’re in opposition to God’s decrees.

[29:55] You’re denying honor to the God of the universe. See, this former life of ours, if you’re a [30:01] follower of Jesus, we did this by exchanging the glory of God for idols that resemble this world. [30:08] This is the depths of our sinfulness. It doesn’t matter about how the outward implications of your [30:12] sin look like. We all didn’t honor God even though there’s a clear case here [30:20] for his existence from the beginning. So it’s not like you, it’s like, oh, you have to hear the [30:26] gospel. No, there’s a clear case here that the God of the universe is here. We just got to look

[30:30] outside and look at his beautiful creation. Look how intrinsic his creation is. There’s calls. We [30:42] were even more convinced before Jesus were pursuing our own desires living in opposition to him.

[30:53] See, it’s not until we realize that we are the people who are gravitating towards [30:56] worshiping the creation over the creator that we will boast in the glory of God.

[31:03] You won’t even start that process until you realize that. See, your sinfulness will [31:07] what impeded your relationship with the Father. See the largest blockade in our [31:11] lives is that it matters when it comes to faith is that in Jesus is that when [31:15] we we struggle to understand our own sinfulness. That’s the biggest roadblock [31:20] for us. So when we struggle to understand our own sinfulness, we will [31:24] struggle to come to faith in Jesus. See the people who have a wider perspective

[31:28] of their sin have a more Christ exalting perspective of the gospel. See without a [31:33] perspective of your sin you will always find yourself constantly trying to save [31:37] yourself and see yourself moving towards another message that sounds [31:42] good to your ears. See when your sinfulness is understood, the weight of [31:47] the gospel, sorry the weight of your sin actually comes off your shoulders, you’re [31:50] able to submit yourself to the gospel. See when we realize our need we will

[31:54] only trust the gospel message more. See our sinfulness implies a need for [31:59] redemption, redemption that is actually found in Jesus alone. See friends it’s [32:05] okay to be open and honest about our sinfulness. See we know who brings about [32:09] redemption. It’s okay for us to be open and honest, but the fact is he still [32:13] wants to redeem us, he still wants to do a work on our behalf. And see that we [32:17] know this day that King Jesus is the only one who could provide atonement on

[32:22] our behalf to bring about this type of redemption that we need. But if we’re [32:28] looking for redemption in false gospels or worldviews, you will never find rest [32:34] in the redemptive work of the cross. You will never be okay with noting your [32:38] sinfulness because you have no hope in redemption. See with this hope and [32:44] redemption through Jesus you will be able to be honest about your need for [32:48] God and the gospel will always be relevant for you. See some believe the

[32:51] gospel was only relevant enough to save them but not to sustain them. Those [32:55] people believe a deluded gospel. See the gospel is always relevant and God is [32:59] always sanctifying his people through his redemptive plan. Friends we never [33:04] outgrow the gospel and our sinfulness is what reminds us of that. See Paul shares [33:12] all this to his readers with the hope that they would trust the gospel, that [33:18] they would embrace it with full acceptance. See what other worldviews and

[33:22] have to offer. What they do is this they expose the heart of mankind in this need [33:28] for atonement without making, sorry with actually making mankind pay reparations [33:34] for that. So there’s different from the gospel and other worldviews. So the [33:37] gospel says you don’t have to pay reparations for your sins, for your [33:41] actions. Another worldview said you have to pay reparations for your actions. So [33:46] all the other worldviews that you might be going after and seeking to submit

[33:49] your life to, you’re always struggling to make yourself better. You’re always [33:53] struggling to work harder to to fully embrace the perspective. But what the [33:58] gospel offers here for us is that we just need to embrace Jesus. He’s all [34:03] that we need which causes us to not be afraid of our sinfulness but it calls us [34:09] to trust God to grow us despite our sinfulness. See God isn’t done working in [34:14] lives of sinners. I’m thankful that God has pardoned us and he has saved us but

[34:20] he wants to continue to work to fulfill his plan of redemption. So as we reflect [34:26] back on this we can just think about how sweet God’s grace is. That we can we can [34:31] know that we’re the worst sinner in the room but that God still redeems us, [34:35] that God still uses us, and that we can cling to the gospel message for the rest [34:39] of our lives. That that’s gonna be the only constant thought process, the most [34:47] constant truth to reassure us for the rest of our lives. See friends my prayer

[34:52] for you this morning is that you would trust the gospel message over any other [34:56] message the world has to offer. See my hope is that you acknowledge the reality [35:00] of those other messages and saturate yourself in the life of the gospel. See [35:05] when you do that you will remember that only Jesus can save you and bring about [35:09] his plan of redemption. You remember that who you are in light of God’s plan [35:12] and only that he can bring about the redemption that you long for and that

[35:16] you desire for God’s glory. So as the band comes forward this morning today we [35:23] have the opportunity to respond together to the trustworthiness of the gospel [35:27] by taking communion together. See for us we can we can reflect on this message we [35:32] can know how trustworthy it is but it’s up to us to then to identify with this [35:40] message. So reclaiming that man Jesus all that we need that we need to cling to [35:46] him but we showed this by but coming to the table which the bread represents

[35:53] his body which was was broken for us on our behalf to provide redemption for us [35:58] and his blood which was poured out for us to fulfill that plan of redemption [36:03] as well. So as we come to the table and partake of communion we’re saying that [36:08] I identify with Jesus we’re saying that this gospel message is all that I need [36:12] that this is the most trustworthy thing in my life that is steadfast it’s [36:16] immovable it’s unshakable that the other world views don’t matter but that Jesus

[36:22] is all that I need. And if you’re not a believer today my encouragement for you [36:29] is to to go out into the foyer have a conversation one of the pastor staff [36:34] members out there they would love to have a conversation with you about what [36:37] it looks like to have faith in Jesus about what it looks like to to have your [36:41] worldview filtered only through a gospel lens for you to have gospel [36:45] clarity and to walk in faith and obedience to Jesus. So your opportunity

[36:51] this morning to respond in faith is to go have a conversation about taking [36:55] those steps in faith. So as you come to the table this morning come with [37:01] allegiance to the gospel message knowing that is the most trustworthy news that [37:06] you’ve ever heard in your life and that it will never change and it will sustain [37:11] you for forever more. Come to the table this morning.