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Hi there Mars Hill Church

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and the extended family
of Mars Hill Global.

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I'm pastor Sutton Turner
here in Dilla, Ethiopia

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and I wanted to take
a moment and explain

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what the extended family
of Mars Hill Global is.

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I was a podcaster
when I was living in the Middle East

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and consuming
those podcasts every week,

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participating, really one way, 
from Mars Hill Church.

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I was really a consumer.

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So what we're doing is setting up

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the extended family
of Mars Hill Global and saying,

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"Come, be a part of what Jesus Christ
is doing in and through our church."

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So what does Mars Hill Global do?

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Well, Mars Hill Global is doing
and participating in church planting

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here in Ethiopia and also in India.

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Also, we're doing church planting
in the United States as well.

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We're doing all of that
because in Mars Hill Church

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we believe that Jesus has called us
to make disciples and plant churches.

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So I want to ask you to be a part.
I want to as you to be a part

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of the extended family
of Mars Hill Global.

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Sign up today.

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Become a member
of the extended family,

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start participating online with us,

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and let's see what Jesus Christ
is going to do,

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not only in the United States,
but to the ends of the Earth.

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[music]

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[laughing]

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Hi, I'm Holly.

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I'm Caleb.
Joshua.

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I decided to open
up my own agency.

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I'm a lawyer.

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I'm a colorist
in the fashion industry.

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Some days I help
out in our lumber mill.

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I'm a professional
boy wrangler.

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I work in
commercial real estate.

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I'm a seasoned human
resources professional.

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Yeah, I am a baseball fan.

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And I lost the house
that I cherished.

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A typical day is
waking up next to my wife.

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Couldn't get
her out of my head.

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[laughing]

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I'm the tallest
person in my family.

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I like to make comic books.

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I got a tattoo of a tree.

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I love--I love that.

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Yeah, so that's
all I think about.

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Who do you think--
Who do you think you are?

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Genesis chapter 6,
verses 5 and 6:

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"The Lord saw how great man's
wickedness on the earth

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"had become, and that every
inclination of the thoughts

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"of his heart was only
evil all the time.

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"The Lord was grieved that he
had made man on the earth,

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and his heart
was filled with pain."

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Leviticus 26:27--28:

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"If in spite of this you
still do not listen to me

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"but continue to be hostile
toward me,

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"then in my anger I
will be hostile toward you,

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"and I myself will punish
you for your sins

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seven times over."

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Jeremiah 17:9:

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"The heart is deceitful above
all things, and desperately sick;

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who can understand it?"

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Psalm 11, verses 4 and 5:

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"The Lord examines
the righteous,

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but the wicked and those who
love violence his soul hates."

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Romans chapter 2, verse 5:

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"Because of your stubbornness
and your unrepentant heart,

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"you are storing up wrath
against yourself

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"for the day of God's wrath,

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when his righteous
judgment will be revealed."

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Ephesians 2:3 says
we are, quote,

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"by nature children of wrath."

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Colossians 3:6 promises, quote,
"the wrath of God is coming."

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And in Revelation 14:10-11,

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we read of those who
are unrepentant of their sin,

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"He also will drink
the wine of God's wrath,

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"poured full strength
into the cup of his anger,

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"and he will be tormented
with fire and sulfur

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"in the presence
of the holy angels

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and in the presence
of the Lamb."

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There is Jesus.

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"And the smoke of their torment
goes up forever and ever,

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and they have
no rest, day or night."

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More than 300 times, the Bible
speaks of people

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insofar as being sinners.

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Over 600 times with
a constellation of more than

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20 words, the Bible speaks
of the wrath of God

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burning against sinners.

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We hear language: greed, pain,
anger, hostility, punishment,

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hatred, judgment, torment.

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Wrath from God is
what befalls sinners

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who do not turn to God.

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Some of you say,
"I have never heard this."

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It's because people love
lies and they pay well

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for professionals
to proclaim them.

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And in a therapeutic culture
where you are a good person,

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you need to love yourself,
and esteem yourself,

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and embrace yourself so you
can actualize your potential,

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and God exists
to give you glory,

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it's all nonsense
and all burns in the end.

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Morality is not
determined by majority;

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it's determined by the Lord.

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You will die
and you will give an account,

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and it will not be
to a mirror.

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It will be to
the maker of all things,

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and he is holy and you are not.

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And it does not matter what
the therapist tells you,

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what the professor tells you,
what the philosopher tells you,

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what the spiritual leader tells
you, what your mother tells you,

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what your friend tells you.

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It is what he declares
that stands forever.

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Let God be true
and every man a liar.

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For those of you
who are non-Christians,

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I warn you that you are living
in the path of the wrath of God.

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You are a sinner by
nature and choice.

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My job is to tell the truth,
your job is to make a decision.

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For those of you
who are Christians,

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for those of you
who are in Christ,

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here's my question to you: is
that how God primarily sees you?

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Is that how God
primarily identifies you?

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Is that primarily how God
relates to you, as sinner,

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yes or no?

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We'll pick it up in a moment.

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That will be our
discussion today.

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That will be our question today.

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How does God see the believer,

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and how should the believer
see themselves?

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We're in the book of Ephesians,
chapter 1, verses 1 and 2.

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"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus
by the will of God."

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God picks the leaders,
the true leaders.

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"To the saints."

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We're going to have
to talk about that.

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"Who are in Ephesus," an ancient
city, "and are faithful."

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Are you?

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"In Christ Jesus:
Grace to you and peace."

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That sounds pretty good
after what I just read, amen?

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The good news always sounds
a little better

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after the bad news.

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"Grace to you and peace from
God our Father," not our enemy,

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"and the Lord Jesus Christ."

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As we examine
the book of Ephesians,

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and we'll be in it for
quite a while, a few months,

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because we love going
through books of the Bible,

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it starts off by telling
us, as most letters do,

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who the author is: Paul.

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He's one of the most important
men in the history of the world.

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He's one of the most brilliant
men in the history of the world.

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He's in the same category
as a man like Moses.

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Presidents and politicians,
they come and go,

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but a man like Paul, we've
been talking about him

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for 2,000 years.

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He's a man who is responsible
for the majority of

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the New Testament.

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He wrote, perhaps, 13 books
of the New Testament.

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No one is sure
who wrote Hebrews.

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Some would argue that perhaps he
did, pushing that number to 14.

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Acts chapter 13 through 28
pretty much just focuses on his

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missionary journeys, so even
though he didn't write that,

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it's in large part about him.

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He contributes
the second most content,

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just by number of verses,
in the New Testament

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to a man named Luke.

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Well, Luke was also his
doctor, good friend,

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and traveling companion,

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and so the majority
of the New Testament

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is inextricably connected
directly to this man, Paul.

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He is a man
who was an unbeliever,

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and was a murderer
of Christians,

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and a very devout religious man
until he himself met

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the Lord Jesus.

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And as soon as he
met the Lord Jesus,

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his life was forever
altered and changed.

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He's a man who, over the course
of his missionary journeys,

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he walked upwards
of 20 miles every day.

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How committed are you to Jesus?

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If our parking was bad and we
added a block to your walk,

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would it be over?

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Twenty miles a day
over rugged, rough terrain.

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And he would preach,
and teach,

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and he was often alone.

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We have no indication that,

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at least at that season
of his life,

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he had a wife or children,
so no one to comfort him.

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He was very lonely.

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He would pull into major urban
cities and he would preach.

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And ultimately, because people
violently defend their idols,

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he would preach against
their sin and idolatry,

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and they would want to kill him.

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This man was responsible
for a number of riots.

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He was one who was beaten
repeatedly, left for dead,

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shipwrecked,
adrift on the open sea,

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and he says, quote, "I bear
the marks of Jesus on my body,"

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meaning if you saw him,

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you would see a man covered
in scars from the beatings

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he endured for
the Lord that he loved.

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Some of his letters,
likely including Ephesians,

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were written while
he was in jail.

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This man wouldn't even
waste his jail time.

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He would invest it
for the kingdom of God

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without complaining.

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He's an amazing man, and he's
writing to a church in Ephesus.

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And Ephesus is a city,

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you can read about it
in Acts chapter 19,

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that he pulled in
on a missionary journey.

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It was a magnificent city,
kind of like a Chicago

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or an L.A. in our day.

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Sometimes when you
pick up the Bible,

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if you're not familiar with it,
you think of the rural rhythms

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of the life and ministry
of Jesus around Galilee,

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and think it's, oh, farmer,
fishermen, and sheep.

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Well, not by the time
you get to Paul.

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He's moving into urban areas,

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and he's traveling
through major urban centers

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as a missionary
planting churches.

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He's doing the exact same
thing that we're doing.

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We're trying to follow
the missionary methods

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of the Apostle Paul: pull
into a major urban center,

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see people meet Jesus, plant
a church, and then from there,

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the gospel rings out into
the suburban and rural areas.

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And so Ephesus,
at the time of Paul,

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was a city of about
a quarter million people,

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so big city.

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It was on a harbor and it was
the beginning of the equivalent

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of their highway system,
the Roman roads.

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It was a major banking center
with the Temple of Artemis,

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one of the seven great
wonders of the world,

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a place of demonism,
and divination, and paganism.

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It's why the book of Ephesians
talks a lot about powers,

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principalities, spirits,
and demons

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more than any other book
of the New Testament.

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These were
highly spiritual people,

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but they were not God's people.

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When Paul showed up
in that town and he preached,

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he literally did start a riot,
and it moved into an enormous

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ancient amphitheater that
seats upwards of 25,000 people.

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It's a stadium.

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I've been to this
city three times.

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It's no longer
an inhabited city;

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it's now an archeological dig,

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and it's one of the most
significant archeological digs,

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I believe, on the earth today.

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It gives us a lot of indication
of how the church started,

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and what the original cities
that God reached through men

244
00:12:47,917 --> 00:12:50,250
like Paul were like.

245
00:12:50,333 --> 00:12:52,375
So, as he's writing
to people in Ephesus,

246
00:12:52,458 --> 00:12:54,625
know that he's writing
to people like us.

247
00:12:54,708 --> 00:12:58,250
We tend to be a church that is
in more urban areas:

248
00:12:58,333 --> 00:13:02,250
Seattle, Bellevue, moving into
Tacoma, Lord willing,

249
00:13:02,333 --> 00:13:04,542
high concentration of people
in Orange County,

250
00:13:04,625 --> 00:13:06,250
Portland, Albuquerque.

251
00:13:06,333 --> 00:13:08,250
It's a city;
there's a lot of people.

252
00:13:08,333 --> 00:13:09,625
There's density and diversity,

253
00:13:09,708 --> 00:13:11,417
and because it's
on a trade route,

254
00:13:11,500 --> 00:13:13,583
there's people coming
and going, so lots of cultures,

255
00:13:13,667 --> 00:13:15,625
lots of religions,
lots of spirituality,

256
00:13:15,708 --> 00:13:17,750
lots of complexity.

257
00:13:17,833 --> 00:13:20,625
I want you to know that
the people he's writing to

258
00:13:20,708 --> 00:13:23,750
are a lot like us, and when Paul
would pull into a city,

259
00:13:23,833 --> 00:13:25,250
sometimes he'd be there
for minutes

260
00:13:25,333 --> 00:13:26,750
because they're trying to kill him

261
00:13:26,833 --> 00:13:29,167
and he'd be on the run,
sometimes hours, days, weeks.

262
00:13:29,250 --> 00:13:31,042
In Ephesus, he was
there for years.

263
00:13:31,125 --> 00:13:32,917
Three years he
stayed in Ephesus.

264
00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:34,833
He set up a training center,

265
00:13:34,917 --> 00:13:37,958
and from there
he sent out church planters

266
00:13:38,042 --> 00:13:40,667
and the church grew.

267
00:13:40,750 --> 00:13:43,542
And so we've tried to,
in as much as we're able,

268
00:13:43,625 --> 00:13:46,417
set up Mars Hill kind of
like Paul set up Ephesus,

269
00:13:46,500 --> 00:13:48,875
and Seattle's
kind of like our Ephesus.

270
00:13:48,958 --> 00:13:51,417
It's our headquarters
and things go out from there,

271
00:13:51,500 --> 00:13:53,250
and we do teaching
and training.

272
00:13:53,333 --> 00:13:55,458
And we do that formally with
something called Re:Train,

273
00:13:55,542 --> 00:13:57,458
and he did that formally
with something called

274
00:13:57,542 --> 00:13:58,875
the Hall of Tyrannus.

275
00:13:58,958 --> 00:14:02,917
And we send out church planters,
and that's what he did.

276
00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,917
And it became the hub
of early Christian mission.

277
00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,125
And I've got a list here, but
we read that Priscilla, Aquila,

278
00:14:09,208 --> 00:14:11,750
Apollos, Paul himself,
Timothy, John,

279
00:14:11,833 --> 00:14:15,042
and Luke all worked there
or resided there at some point.

280
00:14:15,125 --> 00:14:18,333
Luke's tomb is still there
and John's tomb may be there.

281
00:14:18,417 --> 00:14:21,917
It was an epicenter
for early Christianity.

282
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:26,250
So, that's who Paul is
and that's who he is writing to.

283
00:14:26,333 --> 00:14:29,458
And he planted the church
there, and in all likelihood,

284
00:14:29,542 --> 00:14:31,750
at this point he's in prison.

285
00:14:31,833 --> 00:14:33,458
He can't be with his church.

286
00:14:33,542 --> 00:14:36,958
Imagine me unable to be with you
on a Sunday

287
00:14:37,042 --> 00:14:39,750
because I'm in jail again.

288
00:14:39,833 --> 00:14:42,583
I've never been in jail,
but Paul was in jail frequently.

289
00:14:42,667 --> 00:14:45,083
Imagine your pastor is
in jail again.

290
00:14:45,167 --> 00:14:47,167
Complex, right?

291
00:14:47,250 --> 00:14:48,583
Your leader, your writer,

292
00:14:48,667 --> 00:14:50,167
the one
with the apostolic gifting.

293
00:14:50,250 --> 00:14:52,583
I'm not saying I'm equal
to Paul in any way,

294
00:14:52,667 --> 00:14:54,958
but I have
some similar functions.

295
00:14:55,042 --> 00:14:56,667
I was in jail again.

296
00:14:56,750 --> 00:14:59,375
Imagine that I was going to
write you a letter,

297
00:14:59,458 --> 00:15:01,625
because they didn't have
video cameras in that day.

298
00:15:01,708 --> 00:15:04,333
I think Paul would have used
one had he had one.

299
00:15:04,417 --> 00:15:07,042
Nonetheless,
I'm writing you a letter.

300
00:15:07,125 --> 00:15:10,917
Now, imagine you're sitting in
a city where you are a minority,

301
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,750
an opposed, possibly
even persecuted minority,

302
00:15:13,833 --> 00:15:17,417
and that the church is young and
just kind of getting its feet

303
00:15:17,500 --> 00:15:22,750
under it, and there's
opposition against it.

304
00:15:22,833 --> 00:15:24,542
Your preaching pastor,

305
00:15:24,625 --> 00:15:27,417
your founding pastor
is in prison.

306
00:15:27,500 --> 00:15:29,083
You need to hear from him.

307
00:15:29,167 --> 00:15:30,458
How's he doing?

308
00:15:30,542 --> 00:15:32,583
What does he have to say?

309
00:15:32,667 --> 00:15:35,083
Imagine you heard
a letter was written.

310
00:15:35,167 --> 00:15:36,833
My letter would
just be a letter.

311
00:15:36,917 --> 00:15:38,917
His letter is divinely
inspired Bible.

312
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:40,333
It's perfect.

313
00:15:40,417 --> 00:15:43,583
It's not just a word from Paul,
it's a word from God through

314
00:15:43,667 --> 00:15:47,083
Paul, so it's better than any
letter I could ever write.

315
00:15:47,167 --> 00:15:52,167
And imagine on a Sunday
you gathered as the church.

316
00:15:52,250 --> 00:15:55,083
Attendance would
probably be fairly high,

317
00:15:55,167 --> 00:15:57,083
you've got a letter from Paul.

318
00:15:57,167 --> 00:15:59,083
So, this Sunday,
one of the other elders

319
00:15:59,167 --> 00:16:02,625
is going to read what
the pastor has to say.

320
00:16:02,708 --> 00:16:04,917
It's an important day, right?

321
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:06,417
And that's what
would have happened.

322
00:16:06,500 --> 00:16:08,750
The church would have gathered,
one of the elders

323
00:16:08,833 --> 00:16:11,042
would have stood up, probably
the second in command,

324
00:16:11,125 --> 00:16:13,542
and he would have read
this letter to the church.

325
00:16:13,625 --> 00:16:17,125
Here's my question to you: in
light of all these circumstances

326
00:16:17,208 --> 00:16:19,292
and the teaching of the Bible,

327
00:16:19,375 --> 00:16:22,542
where do you think Paul
should start?

328
00:16:22,625 --> 00:16:24,583
Oftentimes, when it
comes to a letter,

329
00:16:24,667 --> 00:16:27,083
we sort of blow through
the beginning and move on.

330
00:16:27,167 --> 00:16:29,250
"Blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, next.

331
00:16:29,333 --> 00:16:32,167
To, from, yay, go."

332
00:16:32,250 --> 00:16:35,750
Slow down and ask:
where should he start?

333
00:16:35,833 --> 00:16:37,458
Where would you start?

334
00:16:37,542 --> 00:16:40,583
Where would you hope
that I would start?

335
00:16:40,667 --> 00:16:43,958
And what he is seeking to do
in his letter to the church

336
00:16:44,042 --> 00:16:49,667
at Ephesus and for us is
establish an identity.

337
00:16:49,750 --> 00:16:54,167
See, you need to know who you
are so that you'll know

338
00:16:54,250 --> 00:16:58,250
what to do with your whole life.

339
00:16:58,333 --> 00:17:02,292
And if you don't know who you
are, you won't know what to do.

340
00:17:02,375 --> 00:17:05,708
So, more than 30 times
in various ways, Paul uses,

341
00:17:05,792 --> 00:17:08,042
"in Christ, in him,
in the Beloved,"

342
00:17:08,125 --> 00:17:11,750
and he is establishing
an identity for God's people.

343
00:17:11,833 --> 00:17:14,042
Well, if that's where
Paul is going to start,

344
00:17:14,125 --> 00:17:20,542
that's where we need to start,
that's where I need to start.

345
00:17:20,625 --> 00:17:23,083
If you were going to explain
yourself to someone--if someone

346
00:17:23,167 --> 00:17:26,417
came up to you and said,
"Tell me about yourself,"

347
00:17:26,500 --> 00:17:29,333
you may start with
aspects of your life.

348
00:17:29,417 --> 00:17:31,083
"Here's what I do for a living.

349
00:17:31,167 --> 00:17:32,458
"I'm married.
I'm single.

350
00:17:32,542 --> 00:17:33,875
"I have kids.
I don't.

351
00:17:33,958 --> 00:17:35,583
I'm retired.
I'm just starting my career."

352
00:17:35,667 --> 00:17:38,333
Whatever it is, those things
may explain you,

353
00:17:38,417 --> 00:17:39,958
but they do not define you.

354
00:17:40,042 --> 00:17:42,542
Let's say that it was
an unbeliever, or a friend,

355
00:17:42,625 --> 00:17:45,083
or family member, or coworker,
and they were pressing you,

356
00:17:45,167 --> 00:17:50,083
"No, as a Christian, explain
to me how you see yourself."

357
00:17:50,167 --> 00:17:52,958
Where would you begin?

358
00:17:53,042 --> 00:17:55,875
Let's say there was a friend
who was living somewhere else

359
00:17:55,958 --> 00:18:00,833
and they wanted to know
the answer to that question.

360
00:18:00,917 --> 00:18:03,833
Let's say that you did something
pretty old school and sat down

361
00:18:03,917 --> 00:18:06,250
to write them a letter.

362
00:18:06,333 --> 00:18:10,917
Where would you start your
explanation of how God sees you

363
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,417
in Christ and how
you see yourself?

364
00:18:13,500 --> 00:18:16,250
Let's say you were talking
to a new Christian

365
00:18:16,333 --> 00:18:19,333
that had come from a life
of sincere, significant,

366
00:18:19,417 --> 00:18:22,792
serious sin and they knew they
were a sinner

367
00:18:22,875 --> 00:18:26,125
and they were trying to figure
out what the rest of their life

368
00:18:26,208 --> 00:18:27,917
means in Christ.

369
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:29,458
How would you speak to them?

370
00:18:29,542 --> 00:18:30,958
What you would say to them?

371
00:18:31,042 --> 00:18:32,458
What would you e-mail them?

372
00:18:32,542 --> 00:18:33,958
What would you write to them?

373
00:18:34,042 --> 00:18:35,375
Where would you begin?

374
00:18:35,458 --> 00:18:37,875
It's very important because
where you start sets everything

375
00:18:37,958 --> 00:18:40,833
on a trajectory and on a course.

376
00:18:40,917 --> 00:18:43,125
So, let's read it again.

377
00:18:43,208 --> 00:18:44,667
Here's the question.

378
00:18:44,750 --> 00:18:46,083
The question is:

379
00:18:46,167 --> 00:18:50,042
Is a Christian's identity
as sinner or saint?

380
00:18:50,125 --> 00:18:53,875
Ephesians 1:1, "To the," what?

381
00:18:53,958 --> 00:18:58,250
"Saints who are
in . . . Christ Jesus."

382
00:18:58,333 --> 00:19:03,250
Now, here's our
identity: "in Christ."

383
00:19:03,333 --> 00:19:07,333
And because of our
position in Christ,

384
00:19:07,417 --> 00:19:12,583
practically we are saints.

385
00:19:12,667 --> 00:19:16,292
How many of you
wouldn't start there?

386
00:19:16,375 --> 00:19:21,208
"To the saints."

387
00:19:21,292 --> 00:19:24,250
Do you think they had any
bad people in their church?

388
00:19:24,333 --> 00:19:26,417
Do you think it's just ours?

389
00:19:26,500 --> 00:19:28,875
Do you think there was anybody
there that was annoying,

390
00:19:28,958 --> 00:19:32,583
a gossip, somebody showed up
Sunday hung over again with

391
00:19:32,667 --> 00:19:34,125
their pregnant girlfriend?

392
00:19:34,208 --> 00:19:36,750
Do you think that
never happened?

393
00:19:36,833 --> 00:19:39,583
Do you think these were all
people who sort of had

394
00:19:39,667 --> 00:19:43,083
a radiation, nuclear glow around
them because of the glory of God,

395
00:19:43,167 --> 00:19:46,458
with halos, sort of floating
in on clouds, plinking harps,

396
00:19:46,542 --> 00:19:49,250
just quoting
Deuteronomy from memory?

397
00:19:49,333 --> 00:19:54,083
I mean, were these
all amazing people?

398
00:19:54,167 --> 00:19:58,375
No, they were people
like you, people like me.

399
00:19:58,458 --> 00:20:00,250
They're people like us.

400
00:20:00,333 --> 00:20:03,167
Some of them are, you know,
living a pretty decent life.

401
00:20:03,250 --> 00:20:05,875
Some of them need
some real work.

402
00:20:05,958 --> 00:20:08,375
And he looks at the whole
church, the good ones,

403
00:20:08,458 --> 00:20:10,458
the bad ones,
the faithful Christians,

404
00:20:10,542 --> 00:20:12,583
the unfaithful Christians,
the people who've tithed,

405
00:20:12,667 --> 00:20:15,417
and the people who tithed
the casino, and he says,

406
00:20:15,500 --> 00:20:20,958
"You're saints.
You're saints.

407
00:20:21,042 --> 00:20:27,667
To the saints
who are in Christ Jesus."

408
00:20:27,750 --> 00:20:30,708
Here's the question:
Is a Christian's identity

409
00:20:30,792 --> 00:20:34,375
primarily as sinner or saint?

410
00:20:34,458 --> 00:20:36,083
Where do you start?

411
00:20:36,167 --> 00:20:38,375
Where does he start?

412
00:20:38,458 --> 00:20:40,167
Saint.

413
00:20:40,833 --> 00:20:42,917
Saint.

414
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:49,542
He doesn't start off, "Dear
guilty, vile kindling," right?

415
00:20:53,083 --> 00:20:57,583
"To the saints
who are in Christ."

416
00:20:57,667 --> 00:20:59,583
Now, let me explain this.

417
00:20:59,667 --> 00:21:03,583
We come from a theological
tradition of Protestantism.

418
00:21:03,667 --> 00:21:06,125
We tend to be
in the Reformed stream.

419
00:21:06,208 --> 00:21:09,583
If you don't know what this
means, just hang in there.

420
00:21:09,667 --> 00:21:12,250
And there's something called
the five points of Calvinism,

421
00:21:12,333 --> 00:21:15,542
and they're a response to
the five points of Arminianism.

422
00:21:15,625 --> 00:21:19,583
But it starts, the first
point, it's T-U-L-I-P, tulip.

423
00:21:19,667 --> 00:21:22,667
I don't know why we picked
a flower, but I wasn't there,

424
00:21:22,750 --> 00:21:24,375
I didn't vote,
it's not my fault.

425
00:21:24,458 --> 00:21:30,250
Anyways, the T is
total depravity, okay?

426
00:21:30,333 --> 00:21:32,458
Now, that doesn't
mean utter depravity.

427
00:21:32,542 --> 00:21:34,458
We're not as bad as we could be.

428
00:21:34,542 --> 00:21:37,458
God has laws around us,
and a conscience in us

429
00:21:37,542 --> 00:21:39,417
to restrain us to some degree.

430
00:21:39,500 --> 00:21:42,167
But total depravity means
the totality of our being

431
00:21:42,250 --> 00:21:45,250
is infected and affected by sin,
that we don't think

432
00:21:45,333 --> 00:21:48,750
God's thoughts, we don't
desire God's will,

433
00:21:48,833 --> 00:21:52,958
we don't speak God's words,
we don't do what God would

434
00:21:53,042 --> 00:21:58,333
have us to do because we're not
who God made us to be.

435
00:22:01,500 --> 00:22:05,125
But, and this is a major course
correction I need to make today

436
00:22:05,208 --> 00:22:08,833
at Mars Hill Church, some of you
who are Christians think that

437
00:22:08,917 --> 00:22:12,042
that's where your
identity begins as well.

438
00:22:12,125 --> 00:22:14,000
It doesn't.

439
00:22:14,917 --> 00:22:16,750
It doesn't.

440
00:22:16,833 --> 00:22:20,792
There's even a bit of a debate
right now among theologians,

441
00:22:20,875 --> 00:22:23,625
and scholars, and pastors,
some of them--some of whom are

442
00:22:23,708 --> 00:22:26,125
friends of mine, genuinely
people I really do appreciate

443
00:22:26,208 --> 00:22:29,083
and enjoy, and there's a debate.

444
00:22:29,167 --> 00:22:32,458
Is a Christian's primary
identity as sinner or saint?

445
00:22:32,542 --> 00:22:35,458
But it's very important.

446
00:22:35,542 --> 00:22:37,083
It's very important.

447
00:22:37,167 --> 00:22:39,250
That's why Paul puts it where?

448
00:22:39,333 --> 00:22:42,167
The first verse.

449
00:22:42,250 --> 00:22:44,750
He puts it
all the way at the top.

450
00:22:44,833 --> 00:22:47,583
Let's start here, because if
you don't know who you are,

451
00:22:47,667 --> 00:22:50,667
you won't know what to do,
and when you know who you are,

452
00:22:50,750 --> 00:22:52,667
then you know what to do.

453
00:22:52,750 --> 00:22:54,583
So, we're talking here
about your identity.

454
00:22:54,667 --> 00:22:57,750
In secular culture, they'll
talk about your self-esteem,

455
00:22:57,833 --> 00:23:00,250
they'll talk about
your self-image,

456
00:23:00,333 --> 00:23:02,042
they'll talk about
your self-confidence.

457
00:23:02,125 --> 00:23:07,417
The problem is always self.

458
00:23:07,500 --> 00:23:11,333
It's living not "coram deo,"
which means in the face of God,

459
00:23:11,417 --> 00:23:17,583
it's living coram mirror,
in the face of me.

460
00:23:17,667 --> 00:23:20,042
How many of you were
raised Catholic?

461
00:23:20,125 --> 00:23:21,500
Okay, welcome to our mass.

462
00:23:21,583 --> 00:23:23,042
My name is Father Mark.

463
00:23:23,125 --> 00:23:25,250
We'll have the Eucharist
in a short while, okay?

464
00:23:25,333 --> 00:23:27,042
I can always tell
the Catholic visitors.

465
00:23:27,125 --> 00:23:29,042
"Father Mark,
that was a good mass."

466
00:23:29,125 --> 00:23:32,125
Oh, you're welcome,
good to see you.

467
00:23:32,208 --> 00:23:35,750
I was raised Irish Catholic,
long line of Irish Catholic.

468
00:23:35,833 --> 00:23:38,458
I've been back to Ireland
to the old country,

469
00:23:38,542 --> 00:23:44,125
and we are Catholic
as far back as we can trace.

470
00:23:44,208 --> 00:23:47,875
Irish, devout,
O'Driscoll, Catholic,

471
00:23:47,958 --> 00:23:51,750
including my grandmother who
was--after my grandfather died,

472
00:23:51,833 --> 00:23:55,750
she joined a lay order
of Catholic nuns,

473
00:23:55,833 --> 00:23:59,542
and she spent her
final years as a nun.

474
00:23:59,625 --> 00:24:04,042
Very devout, Catholic family, so
I was baptized as a little boy

475
00:24:04,125 --> 00:24:06,917
in the Catholic Church, and I
grew up in the Catholic Church.

476
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,417
I went to Catholic
school for a few years.

477
00:24:09,500 --> 00:24:13,083
I was an altar boy assisting the
priest with the mass every week,

478
00:24:13,167 --> 00:24:16,542
and we talked
a lot about saints.

479
00:24:16,625 --> 00:24:20,417
Actually in our home, we had
pictures of various saints.

480
00:24:20,500 --> 00:24:25,625
And so for me, I thought
saints were like superheroes.

481
00:24:25,708 --> 00:24:28,625
They're normal people
endowed with amazing,

482
00:24:28,708 --> 00:24:33,750
superhuman abilities, like
Chastity Man, or Aquaman,

483
00:24:33,833 --> 00:24:35,375
or Superman.

484
00:24:35,458 --> 00:24:36,958
I mean, that's what I thought.

485
00:24:37,042 --> 00:24:39,167
Like, Superman could fly,
and Aquaman could breathe

486
00:24:39,250 --> 00:24:41,583
underwater, Chastity Man could
keep his hands to himself.

487
00:24:41,667 --> 00:24:44,083
These are like superheroes.

488
00:24:44,167 --> 00:24:46,167
These are like superheroes.

489
00:24:46,250 --> 00:24:50,833
They're like us,
but they have special powers.

490
00:24:53,333 --> 00:24:59,083
And then Paul throws this
word out: "To the saints."

491
00:24:59,167 --> 00:25:01,792
Wow.

492
00:25:01,875 --> 00:25:03,292
I don't know about you.

493
00:25:03,375 --> 00:25:07,292
How many of you woke up
today and felt like, "Saint"?

494
00:25:07,375 --> 00:25:10,417
How many of you now are going
to make people at work

495
00:25:10,500 --> 00:25:11,917
start referring to you by that?

496
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:13,417
"What's your name?"

497
00:25:13,500 --> 00:25:15,083
"I'm Saint Jack."

498
00:25:15,167 --> 00:25:16,750
"I'm Saint Hank."

499
00:25:16,833 --> 00:25:19,042
"Really?"

500
00:25:19,125 --> 00:25:20,917
"Yes."

501
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:25,542
There is a process
in Catholicism--

502
00:25:25,625 --> 00:25:27,917
and I love Catholics,
I don't hate Catholics.

503
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,458
And the sainthood in
Catholicism, it started off,

504
00:25:31,542 --> 00:25:35,375
interestingly, where people who
loved Jesus would get martyred,

505
00:25:35,458 --> 00:25:38,750
and then they would be honored.

506
00:25:38,833 --> 00:25:41,083
Well, that's not
necessarily bad,

507
00:25:41,167 --> 00:25:44,250
but then over time it got very
political and very complicated,

508
00:25:44,333 --> 00:25:49,625
and so papal leadership
put together sort of rules.

509
00:25:49,708 --> 00:25:52,917
Some guys in hats had a meeting,
it was all very official,

510
00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:54,875
and somebody wrote it down,
okay?

511
00:25:54,958 --> 00:25:57,917
And Father James Martin, he lays
out a ten-step process

512
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:00,250
to become a Catholic saint.

513
00:26:00,333 --> 00:26:02,708
Number one: be Catholic.

514
00:26:02,792 --> 00:26:05,042
You're like, "I'm out.
It didn't take long."

515
00:26:05,125 --> 00:26:06,625
Right?

516
00:26:06,708 --> 00:26:08,083
Like, "That's it."

517
00:26:08,167 --> 00:26:10,542
Number two: die.

518
00:26:10,625 --> 00:26:14,417
Well, you can't really
enjoy your sainthood then.

519
00:26:14,500 --> 00:26:18,542
Number three: a local devotion
grows up around your memory.

520
00:26:18,625 --> 00:26:21,000
So, you die, and then
people make a memorial,

521
00:26:21,083 --> 00:26:23,917
and they talk about you, and
think about you, and honor you,

522
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:27,000
and maybe start to venerate you.

523
00:26:27,083 --> 00:26:28,875
Number four:
your life is investigated.

524
00:26:28,958 --> 00:26:31,167
So, guys in hats
show up with clipboards.

525
00:26:31,250 --> 00:26:33,917
"What was his life like,
or her life like?

526
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,167
"What did they do?
What did they not do?

527
00:26:36,250 --> 00:26:38,042
What kind of person
truly were they?"

528
00:26:38,125 --> 00:26:39,583
And then a case is made.

529
00:26:39,667 --> 00:26:41,958
So, somebody puts
all of this in a folder.

530
00:26:42,042 --> 00:26:44,958
Number five:
it goes to the local bishop.

531
00:26:45,042 --> 00:26:48,250
The local bishop investigates
the case for sainthood.

532
00:26:48,333 --> 00:26:50,750
And then it goes
all the way to the Vatican.

533
00:26:50,833 --> 00:26:52,250
It's got to go to Rome.

534
00:26:52,333 --> 00:26:53,667
Guys with bigger hats.

535
00:26:53,750 --> 00:26:57,875
You can always tell who's in
charge by the size of the hat.

536
00:26:57,958 --> 00:27:01,583
And then people start praying
for a postmortem miracle,

537
00:27:01,667 --> 00:27:04,417
that you would heal somebody
or do something miraculous from

538
00:27:04,500 --> 00:27:07,083
heaven, that you would show up
on earth

539
00:27:07,167 --> 00:27:09,083
through the answering
of a prayer.

540
00:27:09,167 --> 00:27:11,917
So, somebody gets healed
in your name or some miracle

541
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,417
happens in your honor.

542
00:27:14,500 --> 00:27:18,125
Number seven: then the Vatican
investigates the miracle.

543
00:27:18,208 --> 00:27:22,083
So, the guys with the big, big
hats and the clipboards show up.

544
00:27:22,167 --> 00:27:24,792
They're trying to authenticate
that a real miracle happened

545
00:27:24,875 --> 00:27:28,667
in your memory and honor
after your death.

546
00:27:28,750 --> 00:27:32,083
Now, if it all is confirmed,
then the eighth step is

547
00:27:32,167 --> 00:27:35,167
they declare you blessed.

548
00:27:35,250 --> 00:27:37,958
We're going to look at
this in verse 3 next week.

549
00:27:38,042 --> 00:27:39,958
Paul says we're
saints and blessed,

550
00:27:40,042 --> 00:27:43,750
so it doesn't take
a huge committee to figure out

551
00:27:43,833 --> 00:27:45,375
the blessing of God.

552
00:27:45,458 --> 00:27:47,875
But a committee comes together
in the Catholic process

553
00:27:47,958 --> 00:27:50,167
and declares you blessed.

554
00:27:50,250 --> 00:27:53,667
So, then people start
praying for another miracle.

555
00:27:53,750 --> 00:27:56,375
You've gotta do a lot of
miracles after you die, alright?

556
00:27:56,458 --> 00:27:58,375
So there's a lot to be done.

557
00:27:58,458 --> 00:28:00,833
And then if another miracle
happens to confirm your

558
00:28:00,917 --> 00:28:04,292
sainthood, they take
a vote, you're a saint.

559
00:28:04,375 --> 00:28:06,083
You're a saint!

560
00:28:06,167 --> 00:28:10,000
Then you can be venerated, then
schools can be named after you,

561
00:28:10,083 --> 00:28:11,792
and churches
can be named after you.

562
00:28:11,875 --> 00:28:16,250
You might even get a festival
day, like a Saint Patrick's Day.

563
00:28:16,333 --> 00:28:18,583
You may get one of those!

564
00:28:18,667 --> 00:28:21,833
And so whatever your name is,
it becomes the name of a school

565
00:28:21,917 --> 00:28:23,250
or a church.

566
00:28:23,333 --> 00:28:25,250
I was watching "Moonshiners"
recently, and there's like,

567
00:28:25,333 --> 00:28:26,750
Tickle, and Popcorn,
and Jim Bob.

568
00:28:26,833 --> 00:28:28,125
Very rural.

569
00:28:28,208 --> 00:28:31,167
Any time you get two first
names, you know it's very rural.

570
00:28:31,250 --> 00:28:33,167
So you could have, like,
the Tickle Tabernacle.

571
00:28:33,250 --> 00:28:34,583
You could have Popcorn Parish.

572
00:28:34,667 --> 00:28:36,750
You could have
Jim Bob Junior High.

573
00:28:36,833 --> 00:28:40,583
They'd name things after you
if you made it to sainthood.

574
00:28:40,667 --> 00:28:44,833
You made it!

575
00:28:44,917 --> 00:28:49,375
Now, Paul makes it really
simple, doesn't he?

576
00:28:49,458 --> 00:28:52,750
One step, no money,
no committee,

577
00:28:52,833 --> 00:28:55,083
nobody with a clipboard,
nobody with a hat,

578
00:28:55,167 --> 00:28:58,458
you don't have to die,
you don't have to do a miracle.

579
00:28:58,542 --> 00:29:00,042
One thing, what is it?

580
00:29:00,125 --> 00:29:02,542
To be a saint,
what's required, Mars Hill?

581
00:29:02,625 --> 00:29:06,042
In Christ Jesus.

582
00:29:06,125 --> 00:29:09,417
Are you in Christ Jesus?

583
00:29:09,500 --> 00:29:12,792
If so, you're a saint.

584
00:29:12,875 --> 00:29:14,333
You're a saint.

585
00:29:14,417 --> 00:29:16,583
Now, I know for some
of you right now,

586
00:29:16,667 --> 00:29:21,833
your mind just exploded, okay,
because you have thought,

587
00:29:21,917 --> 00:29:26,625
"The more sinful I think I
am, the closer to God I am.

588
00:29:26,708 --> 00:29:31,083
"The more I focus on my sin,

589
00:29:31,167 --> 00:29:36,750
the more pleased
God is with me."

590
00:29:36,833 --> 00:29:40,875
God is not honored by
self-esteem in the secular world

591
00:29:40,958 --> 00:29:43,625
and God is not honored
with self-condemnation

592
00:29:43,708 --> 00:29:45,458
in the spiritual world.

593
00:29:45,542 --> 00:29:48,542
God is honored when our thoughts
and our focuses are primarily on

594
00:29:48,625 --> 00:29:52,583
Jesus Christ, that our identity
is not in how much we love

595
00:29:52,667 --> 00:29:55,375
ourself or how much we hate
ourself, but who he is,

596
00:29:55,458 --> 00:30:00,375
and what he's done, and what
it means to be in Christ.

597
00:30:00,458 --> 00:30:03,375
See, some of you think that
the best sermons are the ones

598
00:30:03,458 --> 00:30:05,042
where I beat you up.

599
00:30:05,125 --> 00:30:07,542
You think that the best Bible
studies are where others

600
00:30:07,625 --> 00:30:10,167
beat you up.

601
00:30:10,250 --> 00:30:13,167
Jesus already took the beating.

602
00:30:13,250 --> 00:30:17,833
There's no need for you
to add to what he has done.

603
00:30:17,917 --> 00:30:21,833
In fact, it would be
wrong of you to do so.

604
00:30:21,917 --> 00:30:26,250
Some of you are confused,
as I am, and you would ask,

605
00:30:26,333 --> 00:30:30,417
"Pastor Mark, should we not
see ourselves as a sinner?"

606
00:30:30,500 --> 00:30:35,000
You should, but your primary
focus should not be on the fact

607
00:30:35,083 --> 00:30:40,458
that you are sinner,
but that you have a Savior.

608
00:30:40,542 --> 00:30:46,667
See, over 300 times, the Bible
speaks of people as sinners.

609
00:30:46,750 --> 00:30:48,292
As I told you,

610
00:30:48,375 --> 00:30:51,083
more than 600 times
it speaks of the wrath of God,

611
00:30:51,167 --> 00:30:55,417
and the wrath of God
is for sinners.

612
00:30:55,500 --> 00:30:58,083
And some would say, "I'm not
experiencing the wrath of God

613
00:30:58,167 --> 00:30:59,500
"in my life.

614
00:30:59,583 --> 00:31:01,250
It's all going well."

615
00:31:01,333 --> 00:31:04,417
I read the verse where he says
that you are, in Romans 2,

616
00:31:04,500 --> 00:31:06,583
"storing up wrath."

617
00:31:06,667 --> 00:31:10,458
It's like there is a dam,
and behind it the wrath of God

618
00:31:10,542 --> 00:31:14,542
is backing up,
and on the day of your death,

619
00:31:14,625 --> 00:31:16,958
you will be flooded
with the wrath of God

620
00:31:17,042 --> 00:31:19,083
in the conscious, eternal
torments of hell forever.

621
00:31:19,167 --> 00:31:20,917
You're getting
away with nothing.

622
00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:25,250
You're just stacking
up everything.

623
00:31:25,333 --> 00:31:27,250
However, when it
comes to the Christian,

624
00:31:27,333 --> 00:31:30,625
when it comes to the believer,
when it comes to the one who is

625
00:31:30,708 --> 00:31:34,625
positionally in Christ, only
maybe three times does the Bible

626
00:31:34,708 --> 00:31:38,875
refer to us, insofar as our
identity goes, as sinner.

627
00:31:38,958 --> 00:31:43,542
And those three occasions
are debated, highly debated,

628
00:31:43,625 --> 00:31:47,250
and it is entirely possible
that those three occasions

629
00:31:47,333 --> 00:31:49,417
are referring not even
to a Christian

630
00:31:49,500 --> 00:31:51,750
but to a non-Christian.

631
00:31:51,833 --> 00:31:57,875
My point: the Bible does
not primarily speak of you,

632
00:31:57,958 --> 00:32:04,250
if you are a Christian,
with an identity as sinner.

633
00:32:04,333 --> 00:32:09,125
The Bible sees those who are
not in Christ positionally as

634
00:32:09,208 --> 00:32:15,125
sinner, and for those who are
in Christ positionally as saint,

635
00:32:18,500 --> 00:32:24,417
because when you meet
Jesus, everything changes.

636
00:32:24,500 --> 00:32:27,500
You receive a new nature.

637
00:32:27,583 --> 00:32:29,625
Paul says elsewhere
to the Corinthians,

638
00:32:29,708 --> 00:32:31,750
"You become a new
creation in Christ,"

639
00:32:31,833 --> 00:32:33,458
that "Old things
have passed away

640
00:32:33,542 --> 00:32:35,167
and all things have become new."

641
00:32:35,250 --> 00:32:37,625
Here's the good news,
friend: if you are in Christ,

642
00:32:37,708 --> 00:32:39,667
you're not just
a guilty, wicked,

643
00:32:39,750 --> 00:32:41,750
vile sinner who's forgiven.

644
00:32:41,833 --> 00:32:45,583
You're a new creation in
Christ with a new identity,

645
00:32:45,667 --> 00:32:49,542
and a new biography,
and a new eternity.

646
00:32:49,625 --> 00:32:54,583
All things have become new.

647
00:32:54,667 --> 00:32:57,417
Some of you say,
"I don't feel that."

648
00:32:57,500 --> 00:33:03,500
That's why you have
to believe that.

649
00:33:03,583 --> 00:33:06,417
See, once we believe
what God has said,

650
00:33:06,500 --> 00:33:12,583
we start to feel as
God feels toward us.

651
00:33:14,333 --> 00:33:17,125
I'll give you some
ways of seeing this.

652
00:33:17,208 --> 00:33:20,542
Sin may explain some
of your activity,

653
00:33:20,625 --> 00:33:27,417
but does not define your
entire identity in Christ.

654
00:33:27,500 --> 00:33:31,083
You will sin some of the time,
but you are a saint

655
00:33:31,167 --> 00:33:36,083
all of the time in Christ.

656
00:33:36,167 --> 00:33:39,875
Sin is some of what you
do, but not the totality

657
00:33:39,958 --> 00:33:44,083
of who you are in Christ.

658
00:33:44,167 --> 00:33:47,083
There is a difference
between having sin

659
00:33:47,167 --> 00:33:51,583
and being sin in Christ.

660
00:33:51,667 --> 00:33:55,458
Because you have
a new identity as a saint,

661
00:33:55,542 --> 00:34:02,125
you can have a new victory
over sin in Christ.

662
00:34:02,208 --> 00:34:06,208
As a sinner, you have
a dark past, but as a saint,

663
00:34:06,292 --> 00:34:12,000
you have a bright
future in Christ.

664
00:34:13,792 --> 00:34:16,500
Some of you are stuck because
your primary identity is in

665
00:34:16,583 --> 00:34:20,542
your sin and not in your Savior.

666
00:34:20,625 --> 00:34:23,833
You're unable to move beyond
your past because of shame,

667
00:34:23,917 --> 00:34:27,250
and guilt, and conviction,
and condemnation.

668
00:34:27,333 --> 00:34:29,583
God has forgiven you,
if you are in Christ,

669
00:34:29,667 --> 00:34:32,083
for things that you
would say to this point,

670
00:34:32,167 --> 00:34:35,333
"I just can't forgive
myself," which sounds cute,

671
00:34:35,417 --> 00:34:38,083
but it's blasphemous.

672
00:34:38,167 --> 00:34:40,125
Because if what
you're saying is,

673
00:34:40,208 --> 00:34:42,542
"God forgives me
but I can't forgive myself,"

674
00:34:42,625 --> 00:34:43,917
what you're saying is,

675
00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:47,625
"There's a God above Jesus with
my name, and though the lesser,

676
00:34:47,708 --> 00:34:50,167
"lower God named Jesus
forgives me, the higher,

677
00:34:50,250 --> 00:34:55,583
greater God with my
last name cannot."

678
00:34:55,667 --> 00:35:00,250
Some of you have wrongly thought
that if you will obsess

679
00:35:00,333 --> 00:35:06,917
over your sin more, God will
be more pleased with you.

680
00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:12,625
Some of you have taken your sin
on as your primary identity,

681
00:35:12,708 --> 00:35:15,750
and the only difference you
would see between a Christian

682
00:35:15,833 --> 00:35:18,500
and a non-Christian is
a non-Christian is a guilty,

683
00:35:18,583 --> 00:35:22,750
evil, vile, wicked sinner,
and a Christian is a guilty,

684
00:35:22,833 --> 00:35:26,333
evil, vile, wicked sinner
who's forgiven.

685
00:35:26,417 --> 00:35:33,042
No difference in who you are,
no change in your nature,

686
00:35:33,125 --> 00:35:35,833
no alternation in your
identity whatsoever,

687
00:35:35,917 --> 00:35:38,250
that the Christian and
the non-Christian are the same,

688
00:35:38,333 --> 00:35:41,167
and the only difference is one
is forgiven, the other is not,

689
00:35:41,250 --> 00:35:43,958
but neither are changed.

690
00:35:44,042 --> 00:35:46,167
See, in Christ,
one theologian says,

691
00:35:46,250 --> 00:35:51,083
"We are genuinely new
though not completely new."

692
00:35:51,167 --> 00:35:53,083
You are genuinely new,

693
00:35:53,167 --> 00:35:54,875
and through the course
of your life,

694
00:35:54,958 --> 00:35:56,417
there's something called
progressive sanctification

695
00:35:56,500 --> 00:35:58,333
where, in Christ, you're
growing, and learning,

696
00:35:58,417 --> 00:36:02,125
and changing by
the power of the Holy Spirit.

697
00:36:02,208 --> 00:36:05,708
Until one day, you're in
the eternal resurrected state,

698
00:36:05,792 --> 00:36:08,500
sin is gone,
and you are with Jesus,

699
00:36:08,583 --> 00:36:12,042
and then you
will be totally new.

700
00:36:12,125 --> 00:36:15,250
But let me say, the moment you
receive Christ is the moment you

701
00:36:15,333 --> 00:36:18,125
become genuinely new and you're
on the path to becoming

702
00:36:18,208 --> 00:36:20,583
totally new forever.

703
00:36:20,667 --> 00:36:22,583
And I tell you this,
Mars Hill,

704
00:36:22,667 --> 00:36:24,333
because if you don't
understand this,

705
00:36:24,417 --> 00:36:26,917
you will have a false view
of the good news

706
00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:28,333
of the gospel of Jesus,

707
00:36:28,417 --> 00:36:31,458
and that is: give your sin
to Jesus and you go to heaven

708
00:36:31,542 --> 00:36:36,167
when you die, and there's
no help in the meantime.

709
00:36:36,250 --> 00:36:41,333
Give your sin to Jesus, receive
a new identity in Christ,

710
00:36:41,417 --> 00:36:44,958
and start to live
a new life in Christ,

711
00:36:45,042 --> 00:36:50,042
and then enjoy a new
eternity with Christ.

712
00:36:52,333 --> 00:36:56,875
This also changes the way we
interact with one another.

713
00:36:56,958 --> 00:37:01,417
If you are dealing with
a brother and sister in Christ,

714
00:37:01,500 --> 00:37:03,542
you need to remind
them of who they are.

715
00:37:03,625 --> 00:37:05,750
When they're sinning,
you need to say,

716
00:37:05,833 --> 00:37:08,125
"You do not have to
continue to choose sin.

717
00:37:08,208 --> 00:37:12,417
In Christ, you're a saint."

718
00:37:12,500 --> 00:37:15,250
I can't get into
this in great detail,

719
00:37:15,333 --> 00:37:17,917
but as a tangential study
in the Scriptures recently,

720
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:21,417
I was looking at what Jesus
did when he was tempted.

721
00:37:21,500 --> 00:37:24,792
See, the Bible says in Hebrews 4
that he was tempted in every way

722
00:37:24,875 --> 00:37:26,500
as we are, yet without sin.

723
00:37:26,583 --> 00:37:29,458
Well, how did the Lord Jesus
resist all sin and temptation?

724
00:37:29,542 --> 00:37:31,583
How did he say no every time?

725
00:37:31,667 --> 00:37:34,958
You look at places like Luke 4
and Matthew 4 where Satan comes,

726
00:37:35,042 --> 00:37:37,750
and let's just say that our
temptation is not as severe

727
00:37:37,833 --> 00:37:41,250
as Jesus', that he was
in the wilderness fasting

728
00:37:41,333 --> 00:37:43,333
for 40 days and 40 nights,

729
00:37:43,417 --> 00:37:46,375
he is hungry,
he's isolated, he's tired,

730
00:37:46,458 --> 00:37:49,958
and let me say that the enemy
will hit you when you're hungry,

731
00:37:50,042 --> 00:37:52,583
isolated, and tired.

732
00:37:52,667 --> 00:37:54,875
And that's when
he comes to Jesus,

733
00:37:54,958 --> 00:37:59,458
and what's interesting is
when he tempts the Lord Jesus,

734
00:37:59,542 --> 00:38:02,917
he speaks to his identity.

735
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:08,000
He says this: "If you
are the Son of God."

736
00:38:08,083 --> 00:38:10,333
That's a question.

737
00:38:10,417 --> 00:38:14,250
See, under all temptation
is a question of identity.

738
00:38:14,333 --> 00:38:16,792
"If you are the Son of God."

739
00:38:16,875 --> 00:38:18,833
What does Jesus say?

740
00:38:18,917 --> 00:38:22,417
"You shall not put the Lord
your God to the test."

741
00:38:22,500 --> 00:38:25,042
Satan comes to Jesus
and the temptation is,

742
00:38:25,125 --> 00:38:27,125
"I want to question
your identity."

743
00:38:27,208 --> 00:38:29,583
Jesus says,
"I will not give into sin

744
00:38:29,667 --> 00:38:31,375
"because I know who I am.

745
00:38:31,458 --> 00:38:34,458
I am the Lord your God."

746
00:38:34,542 --> 00:38:36,667
Jesus knows who he is.

747
00:38:36,750 --> 00:38:40,125
Because Jesus knows who he
is, he knows what to do.

748
00:38:40,208 --> 00:38:42,083
Once you know who
you are in Christ,

749
00:38:42,167 --> 00:38:45,083
you'll know what
to do for Christ.

750
00:38:45,167 --> 00:38:47,083
Once you know who
you are in Christ,

751
00:38:47,167 --> 00:38:49,667
you'll know what
to do with Christ.

752
00:38:49,750 --> 00:38:51,250
Once you know who you are,

753
00:38:51,333 --> 00:38:56,042
you'll know what life looks like
in Christ.

754
00:38:56,125 --> 00:38:57,750
Do you see that?

755
00:38:57,833 --> 00:39:00,000
Does that make sense?

756
00:39:00,083 --> 00:39:03,292
See, if your primary identity
is as sinner,

757
00:39:03,375 --> 00:39:05,750
and then you are tempted to sin,

758
00:39:05,833 --> 00:39:07,833
your identity
will determine your activity.

759
00:39:07,917 --> 00:39:10,250
"I'm a sinner, I guess
I'm going to sin."

760
00:39:10,333 --> 00:39:11,625
No!

761
00:39:11,708 --> 00:39:14,417
"I'm a saint, I don't have to.

762
00:39:14,500 --> 00:39:19,542
"I'm a new creation, I don't
have to go back to old ways.

763
00:39:19,625 --> 00:39:23,917
"I'm genuinely new and that
means that the decisions

764
00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:28,333
that I make and the ways that
I live, they're new in Christ."

765
00:39:28,417 --> 00:39:30,333
Amen?

766
00:39:30,417 --> 00:39:33,167
So, this is what I want
you to know, Mars Hill.

767
00:39:33,250 --> 00:39:36,833
I don't want you to get stuck in
the trap of "I can't change" or

768
00:39:36,917 --> 00:39:38,250
"I can change myself."

769
00:39:38,333 --> 00:39:41,167
Instead, I want you to know,
"I can change in Christ.

770
00:39:41,250 --> 00:39:43,667
"I can resist
temptation in Christ.

771
00:39:43,750 --> 00:39:45,750
"I can be obedient in Christ.

772
00:39:45,833 --> 00:39:49,083
"Because I am positionally
righteous in Christ,

773
00:39:49,167 --> 00:39:51,958
"I can start to live more
practically righteous

774
00:39:52,042 --> 00:39:56,042
out of the righteousness
that I find in Christ."

775
00:39:56,125 --> 00:39:57,875
I love you.

776
00:39:57,958 --> 00:40:01,250
This is one thing that can
change everything for you.

777
00:40:01,333 --> 00:40:03,667
And for those of you
who are navel-gazers,

778
00:40:03,750 --> 00:40:07,375
and self-condemners, and those
who think that the worse you

779
00:40:07,458 --> 00:40:12,542
feel the holier you are,
it's time to look up and out,

780
00:40:14,542 --> 00:40:17,458
and to not just see your
sin but see your Savior,

781
00:40:17,542 --> 00:40:21,875
and to see yourself
as a saint in Christ.

782
00:40:21,958 --> 00:40:27,583
And let me say this: a saint
is remorseful over sin.

783
00:40:27,667 --> 00:40:29,875
I want to unpack this for you.

784
00:40:29,958 --> 00:40:33,292
Paul elsewhere talks
about his own sin.

785
00:40:33,375 --> 00:40:35,375
He does.

786
00:40:35,458 --> 00:40:37,708
Philippians 2, he talks
about his own sin,

787
00:40:37,792 --> 00:40:42,375
he talks about the things that
he has remorse for in his life,

788
00:40:42,458 --> 00:40:46,000
chief of sinners,
persecutor of the church.

789
00:40:46,083 --> 00:40:49,167
He's remorseful.

790
00:40:49,250 --> 00:40:53,583
But let me say, because I want
to speak now for a moment--see,

791
00:40:53,667 --> 00:40:56,708
when I started, I wanted to
speak to those of you who

792
00:40:56,792 --> 00:40:59,958
don't have much of a conscience.

793
00:41:00,042 --> 00:41:03,333
I started real strong for those
of you who don't have a really

794
00:41:03,417 --> 00:41:07,667
well-functioning conscience,
try to get your attention.

795
00:41:07,750 --> 00:41:11,333
Now, for those of you
with a tender conscience,

796
00:41:11,417 --> 00:41:14,583
maybe you're more
like my daughters.

797
00:41:14,667 --> 00:41:17,458
I have two daughters that
are more tender-conscienced.

798
00:41:17,542 --> 00:41:22,042
I don't need to say a lot
to get a response, alright?

799
00:41:22,125 --> 00:41:25,667
They want--because of
the Holy Spirit in them,

800
00:41:25,750 --> 00:41:28,875
they want to know the truth and
they want to do what's right.

801
00:41:28,958 --> 00:41:31,625
I wasn't a kid like that,
so I can't use myself

802
00:41:31,708 --> 00:41:33,083
as an illustration.

803
00:41:33,167 --> 00:41:34,750
I didn't know the Lord,

804
00:41:34,833 --> 00:41:37,458
and I had a hard heart
and a stiff neck,

805
00:41:37,542 --> 00:41:40,375
and the whole of Scripture
is true about me as well,

806
00:41:40,458 --> 00:41:43,333
until I met Christ
and he gave me a new heart.

807
00:41:43,417 --> 00:41:45,167
Some of you are
like that though,

808
00:41:45,250 --> 00:41:48,167
you're tender-conscienced.

809
00:41:48,250 --> 00:41:51,250
If somebody points out sin
in your life, you receive it,

810
00:41:51,333 --> 00:41:54,667
you're devastated by it,
you grieve it, and you hate it,

811
00:41:54,750 --> 00:41:56,875
and you want to change it.

812
00:41:56,958 --> 00:41:59,250
You're tender-conscienced.

813
00:41:59,333 --> 00:42:02,792
Some of you are like that.

814
00:42:02,875 --> 00:42:05,000
The Lord doesn't
need to yell at you;

815
00:42:05,083 --> 00:42:07,417
he whispers and that's good.

816
00:42:07,500 --> 00:42:10,500
He doesn't need to push you;
he just needs to show you

817
00:42:10,583 --> 00:42:13,250
the direction to go and that's
where you want to go.

818
00:42:13,333 --> 00:42:16,292
My fear is for those of you
who have a tender conscience,

819
00:42:16,375 --> 00:42:18,833
you will not understand
what it means that a saint

820
00:42:18,917 --> 00:42:23,125
is remorseful, and so I want to
show you the difference between

821
00:42:23,208 --> 00:42:28,583
conviction and condemnation.

822
00:42:28,667 --> 00:42:32,583
Conviction is from God,
but condemnation is from Satan.

823
00:42:32,667 --> 00:42:36,875
Conviction leads to life, but
condemnation leads to despair.

824
00:42:36,958 --> 00:42:42,333
Conviction ends in joy,
condemnation ends in sorrow.

825
00:42:42,417 --> 00:42:45,125
Conviction makes
us want to change,

826
00:42:45,208 --> 00:42:48,917
condemnation makes us
believe we can't change.

827
00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:52,042
Conviction leads to
a new identity in Christ,

828
00:42:52,125 --> 00:42:55,875
condemnation leads to
an old identity in sin.

829
00:42:55,958 --> 00:42:59,833
Conviction brings specific
awareness of a sin,

830
00:42:59,917 --> 00:43:03,750
condemnation brings vague
uncertainty about sin.

831
00:43:03,833 --> 00:43:08,917
Conviction looks to Jesus,
condemnation looks to self.

832
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:13,333
And conviction is a blessing,
condemnation is a burden.

833
00:43:13,417 --> 00:43:19,292
He starts by saying this:
"Grace and peace to you

834
00:43:19,375 --> 00:43:22,125
from God our Father."

835
00:43:22,208 --> 00:43:24,792
I want you to see the difference
between conviction

836
00:43:24,875 --> 00:43:28,208
and condemnation is really
the difference between

837
00:43:28,292 --> 00:43:31,458
the character of God the Father
and the character of Satan,

838
00:43:31,542 --> 00:43:34,875
his enemy and our adversary.

839
00:43:34,958 --> 00:43:38,542
Satan wants your identity
to be in your sin.

840
00:43:38,625 --> 00:43:41,750
He wants you to never be able
to leave it or escape it.

841
00:43:41,833 --> 00:43:44,542
He wants you to have
no hope for your future.

842
00:43:44,625 --> 00:43:47,125
He wants to shame you,
he wants to remind you,

843
00:43:47,208 --> 00:43:51,125
he wants to condemn you,
he wants to destroy you.

844
00:43:51,208 --> 00:43:55,375
He wants the worst day of life
to be the defining aspect of

845
00:43:55,458 --> 00:43:57,750
every day of life.

846
00:43:57,833 --> 00:44:00,542
Sometimes, if you've
not done anything wrong,

847
00:44:00,625 --> 00:44:02,792
he'll just want to give
you general, vague,

848
00:44:02,875 --> 00:44:04,833
uncertain conviction.

849
00:44:04,917 --> 00:44:08,833
It's really condemnation
masquerading as conviction.

850
00:44:08,917 --> 00:44:11,125
Some of you will
feel that God is far,

851
00:44:11,208 --> 00:44:13,333
and he's angry against
you, and he hates you,

852
00:44:13,417 --> 00:44:16,750
and he's mad at you, and he's
just waiting to drop a hammer on

853
00:44:16,833 --> 00:44:19,750
your head, and you're not sure
what you've done so you become

854
00:44:19,833 --> 00:44:21,542
obsessed, and you start
investigating your life.

855
00:44:21,625 --> 00:44:22,917
"Where are my idols?"

856
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:24,333
and "Where is my sin?"

857
00:44:24,417 --> 00:44:25,917
and "What have I done wrong?"

858
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:27,292
and "What are my motives?"

859
00:44:27,375 --> 00:44:29,750
and "I can't find anything big.
Maybe it's something small."

860
00:44:29,833 --> 00:44:32,542
And you obsess, and you become
worried, and you become anxious,

861
00:44:32,625 --> 00:44:34,542
and you become discouraged,
and God seems far,

862
00:44:34,625 --> 00:44:37,833
and you seem hopeless.

863
00:44:41,833 --> 00:44:44,042
And for those of you
with tender consciences,

864
00:44:44,125 --> 00:44:48,042
you know exactly what
I'm talking about.

865
00:44:48,125 --> 00:44:50,417
You become like
the Old Testament Jews

866
00:44:50,500 --> 00:44:53,375
who are trying to cleanse
their house,

867
00:44:53,458 --> 00:44:55,125
and they're looking
under the rug,

868
00:44:55,208 --> 00:44:56,667
and they're looking
under the lamp,

869
00:44:56,750 --> 00:44:58,167
and they're looking
under the bed,

870
00:44:58,250 --> 00:45:00,042
and they're dusting
out the corners,

871
00:45:00,125 --> 00:45:02,042
and they're trying
to get it all clean.

872
00:45:02,125 --> 00:45:07,083
You're like that with your life.

873
00:45:07,167 --> 00:45:10,750
And it seems holy, it seems
righteous because you'll talk

874
00:45:10,833 --> 00:45:13,917
about your sin, and how awful
you are, and how evil you are,

875
00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:15,750
and all the bad
things you've done.

876
00:45:15,833 --> 00:45:19,125
And you'll share your story, and
you'll talk about how terrible

877
00:45:19,208 --> 00:45:22,333
you feel, and others will
applaud you and how brave

878
00:45:22,417 --> 00:45:26,250
and authentic you are, but it's
still all the attention to you,

879
00:45:26,333 --> 00:45:31,375
all of the focus to you,

880
00:45:31,458 --> 00:45:35,583
and everybody's looking at you,

881
00:45:35,667 --> 00:45:41,167
nobody's looking at him.

882
00:45:43,333 --> 00:45:46,083
God is a Father.

883
00:45:46,167 --> 00:45:49,458
He's a Father who comes up to
his kid who's in sin and says,

884
00:45:49,542 --> 00:45:51,750
"Okay, first, let me
specifically name the sin,

885
00:45:51,833 --> 00:45:54,375
"so you know exactly what
I'm talking about.

886
00:45:54,458 --> 00:45:56,875
"Just not going to
yell at you in general

887
00:45:56,958 --> 00:45:59,458
and make you figure it out."

888
00:45:59,542 --> 00:46:01,500
And he'd put an arm around you.

889
00:46:01,583 --> 00:46:04,583
"I love you.
You're my child.

890
00:46:04,667 --> 00:46:08,042
"This, this is not acceptable.
So here's what I'm going to do.

891
00:46:08,125 --> 00:46:09,583
"I'm going to help you.

892
00:46:09,667 --> 00:46:12,583
We're going to stop this, okay?
We're going to do it together."

893
00:46:12,667 --> 00:46:14,583
This is the dad
who smiles at you,

894
00:46:14,667 --> 00:46:17,792
gives you a kiss on the head,
and keeps his arm around you

895
00:46:17,875 --> 00:46:20,542
as he's helping walk you away
from the sin and temptation.

896
00:46:20,625 --> 00:46:22,000
God's a Father like that.

897
00:46:22,083 --> 00:46:23,833
When he points out
sin, it's conviction.

898
00:46:23,917 --> 00:46:25,250
Like, "Really, Dad?
Thanks.

899
00:46:25,333 --> 00:46:26,625
"I appreciate the help.

900
00:46:26,708 --> 00:46:28,625
"You love me, so that
doesn't cause me

901
00:46:28,708 --> 00:46:30,458
"to be kicked out
of the family?

902
00:46:30,542 --> 00:46:32,250
"Oh.
And you're not done with me?

903
00:46:32,333 --> 00:46:33,667
"You love me,

904
00:46:33,750 --> 00:46:36,417
"and you're going to help
me, and you're here for me,

905
00:46:36,500 --> 00:46:40,083
"and you see that who I am going
to be is not who I've been,

906
00:46:40,167 --> 00:46:42,083
"and you're going to
help me get there?

907
00:46:42,167 --> 00:46:43,458
"Wow!
What a Dad!

908
00:46:43,542 --> 00:46:44,875
What a Dad!"

909
00:46:44,958 --> 00:46:47,917
That's your Father.

910
00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:50,542
Conviction is different
than condemnation.

911
00:46:50,625 --> 00:46:54,667
Do you understand that?

912
00:46:54,750 --> 00:46:57,083
Conviction is different
than condemnation.

913
00:46:57,167 --> 00:47:00,000
Jesus said he would send
the Holy Spirit to convict

914
00:47:00,083 --> 00:47:01,708
God's people of sin.

915
00:47:01,792 --> 00:47:04,917
Paul says in Romans 8:1, "There
is now no condemnation for those

916
00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:06,417
who are in Christ."

917
00:47:06,500 --> 00:47:09,125
Jesus tells us that believers
will get conviction,

918
00:47:09,208 --> 00:47:14,625
and Paul tells us that believers
will not get condemnation.

919
00:47:14,708 --> 00:47:17,750
So, number one, a saint
is remorseful over sin.

920
00:47:17,833 --> 00:47:20,833
You can look back and say,
"Boy, that was sin and I'm

921
00:47:20,917 --> 00:47:23,583
"really grieved that that was
what I said, or did,

922
00:47:23,667 --> 00:47:25,083
or failed to say or do."

923
00:47:25,167 --> 00:47:26,583
Paul does.

924
00:47:26,667 --> 00:47:29,083
He says he's the chief of
sinners, and a hypocrite,

925
00:47:29,167 --> 00:47:32,250
and he's very clear
elsewhere about his own sin.

926
00:47:32,333 --> 00:47:34,458
It may explain some
of what he does,

927
00:47:34,542 --> 00:47:37,250
but it doesn't define who he is.

928
00:47:37,333 --> 00:47:41,375
Number two, a saint
is powerful over sin.

929
00:47:41,458 --> 00:47:43,833
I know we're only
hammering two verses today,

930
00:47:43,917 --> 00:47:46,750
but they're good verses, amen?

931
00:47:46,833 --> 00:47:49,833
"To the saints."

932
00:47:49,917 --> 00:47:53,875
Now, when you are
dealing with a believer,

933
00:47:53,958 --> 00:47:58,583
remind them of who they are.

934
00:47:58,667 --> 00:48:01,625
"To the saints who
are in Ephesus,

935
00:48:01,708 --> 00:48:05,417
and are faithful
in Christ Jesus."

936
00:48:05,500 --> 00:48:07,542
How many of you
would not say that?

937
00:48:07,625 --> 00:48:09,250
Faithful.

938
00:48:09,333 --> 00:48:11,583
How many of you
would not say, "Hi!

939
00:48:11,667 --> 00:48:13,833
I'm a saint and faithful."

940
00:48:13,917 --> 00:48:16,125
Because immediately, people
would start asking questions.

941
00:48:16,208 --> 00:48:17,542
"How much do you tithe?"

942
00:48:17,625 --> 00:48:19,250
"Oh, not enough."

943
00:48:19,333 --> 00:48:20,750
"How many verses
have you memorized?"

944
00:48:20,833 --> 00:48:22,542
"Very few."

945
00:48:22,625 --> 00:48:25,042
"How many sandwiches have
you made for the poor?"

946
00:48:25,125 --> 00:48:28,333
"I ate all the sandwiches."

947
00:48:28,417 --> 00:48:32,042
Not been super faithful.

948
00:48:32,125 --> 00:48:36,667
Not been super faithful.

949
00:48:36,750 --> 00:48:39,875
Do you want to be faithful?

950
00:48:39,958 --> 00:48:42,750
Do you want to be faithful?

951
00:48:42,833 --> 00:48:45,583
Saints want to be faithful.

952
00:48:45,667 --> 00:48:48,917
Because God is faithful to us,
we want to be faithful to him.

953
00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:51,167
It's why the Bible says,
"Even when we're faithless,

954
00:48:51,250 --> 00:48:54,958
he's faithful."

955
00:48:55,042 --> 00:48:57,583
How are you going to be faithful
to the God

956
00:48:57,667 --> 00:48:59,833
who's faithful to you?

957
00:48:59,917 --> 00:49:02,000
Are you going to try harder?

958
00:49:02,083 --> 00:49:03,625
Are you going to feel worse?

959
00:49:03,708 --> 00:49:05,417
No.

960
00:49:05,500 --> 00:49:07,042
He tells us: grace.

961
00:49:07,125 --> 00:49:09,000
Ah!
There it is.

962
00:49:09,083 --> 00:49:12,583
My wife's name, one of
the best words ever, grace.

963
00:49:12,667 --> 00:49:14,917
Oh!

964
00:49:15,000 --> 00:49:18,417
"Grace to you and peace."

965
00:49:18,500 --> 00:49:21,083
Now, if you're not a Christian,
let me be clear:

966
00:49:21,167 --> 00:49:23,125
you have no peace with God.

967
00:49:23,208 --> 00:49:26,250
You are a sinner,
you need a Savior.

968
00:49:26,333 --> 00:49:28,958
You're living in the path
of the wrath of God.

969
00:49:29,042 --> 00:49:32,458
You're storing up wrath
for the day of judgment.

970
00:49:32,542 --> 00:49:36,958
You may not believe
in hell, but you will.

971
00:49:37,042 --> 00:49:38,750
Let me be clear.

972
00:49:38,833 --> 00:49:44,458
Let me not preach peace
where there is no peace.

973
00:49:44,542 --> 00:49:49,583
You need Jesus and you
need him right now.

974
00:49:49,667 --> 00:49:53,250
For those of you who
are in Christ: peace.

975
00:49:53,333 --> 00:49:55,875
Doesn't that sound good?

976
00:49:55,958 --> 00:49:58,375
Because all of the wrath
was poured out on Jesus,

977
00:49:58,458 --> 00:50:02,375
and all of the blessings
poured out on us.

978
00:50:02,458 --> 00:50:07,542
God is not angry for
those who are in Christ.

979
00:50:07,625 --> 00:50:10,250
He's very loving
and compassionate.

980
00:50:10,333 --> 00:50:13,083
In fact, not only does
he have peace with us,

981
00:50:13,167 --> 00:50:19,583
he gives grace to us, grace
to forgive us when we sin,

982
00:50:19,667 --> 00:50:22,667
grace to change who we are,
and grace to empower us

983
00:50:22,750 --> 00:50:24,625
to live a new life.

984
00:50:24,708 --> 00:50:26,583
Do you know how you
could be faithful?

985
00:50:26,667 --> 00:50:28,792
By the grace of God.

986
00:50:28,875 --> 00:50:31,667
See, Christians tend to think
of the saving grace of God.

987
00:50:31,750 --> 00:50:33,583
There's also
the empowering grace of God.

988
00:50:33,667 --> 00:50:35,875
The saving grace of God forgives
all the sins

989
00:50:35,958 --> 00:50:37,417
that we have committed.

990
00:50:37,500 --> 00:50:40,167
The empowering grace of God
helps us to stop committing

991
00:50:40,250 --> 00:50:41,958
those sins.

992
00:50:42,042 --> 00:50:45,875
It's wonderful.

993
00:50:45,958 --> 00:50:47,500
That's the presence,
and the person,

994
00:50:47,583 --> 00:50:50,500
and the power of the Holy Spirit
at work in the life

995
00:50:50,583 --> 00:50:52,083
of the believer.

996
00:50:52,167 --> 00:50:55,250
Deep down, they say,
"I want to be faithful."

997
00:50:55,333 --> 00:50:57,792
And here's how theologians
would explain all of this:

998
00:50:57,875 --> 00:50:59,750
they would say
that the indicatives

999
00:50:59,833 --> 00:51:02,250
precede the imperatives.

1000
00:51:02,333 --> 00:51:06,375
Here's how I would simplify it:

1001
00:51:06,458 --> 00:51:10,875
who you are determines
what you do.

1002
00:51:10,958 --> 00:51:13,333
See, Mars Hill, we don't start
with: read your Bible,

1003
00:51:13,417 --> 00:51:15,583
pray, serve, give.

1004
00:51:15,667 --> 00:51:18,750
We start with Jesus.

1005
00:51:18,833 --> 00:51:21,167
Jesus.

1006
00:51:21,250 --> 00:51:23,583
He's perfect for those
who are imperfect.

1007
00:51:23,667 --> 00:51:25,917
He's faithful for those
who are unfaithful.

1008
00:51:26,000 --> 00:51:28,083
He's righteous for those
who are unrighteous.

1009
00:51:28,167 --> 00:51:30,167
Do you see who he is?

1010
00:51:30,250 --> 00:51:34,167
Do you see what he's done?

1011
00:51:34,250 --> 00:51:39,250
Do you see who he has made you
to be in Christ and the grace

1012
00:51:39,333 --> 00:51:43,875
that he's given you to live
out of that new identity?

1013
00:51:43,958 --> 00:51:47,375
So, Mars Hill, the reason we
give is because God so loved

1014
00:51:47,458 --> 00:51:49,667
the world he gave his only Son.

1015
00:51:49,750 --> 00:51:53,083
The reason we serve is
because God serves us.

1016
00:51:53,167 --> 00:51:55,958
The reason that we forgive
others is because in Christ,

1017
00:51:56,042 --> 00:51:58,250
God has forgiven us.

1018
00:51:58,333 --> 00:52:02,417
The reason that we pour
ourselves out is because

1019
00:52:02,500 --> 00:52:06,750
our great God and Savior
poured himself out.

1020
00:52:06,833 --> 00:52:09,750
So, what we do is not so
that God would love us,

1021
00:52:09,833 --> 00:52:11,250
but because in Christ he has.

1022
00:52:11,333 --> 00:52:13,583
It's not so that we would
achieve an identity,

1023
00:52:13,667 --> 00:52:15,333
but because we've
received one in Christ.

1024
00:52:15,417 --> 00:52:18,000
It's not so that God
would be pleased with us,

1025
00:52:18,083 --> 00:52:21,042
it's because we're so
pleased to be in Christ.

1026
00:52:21,125 --> 00:52:26,583
This makes life a blessing
and not a burden.

1027
00:52:26,667 --> 00:52:31,250
This is life lived in light
of our identity in Christ,

1028
00:52:31,333 --> 00:52:34,750
and that means that we get
the joy, and he gets the glory,

1029
00:52:34,833 --> 00:52:37,250
and others get the good.

1030
00:52:37,333 --> 00:52:43,042
That being said, let me close
with a bit of a summary.

1031
00:52:43,125 --> 00:52:45,250
How's our faithfulness?

1032
00:52:45,333 --> 00:52:48,125
How's your faithfulness?

1033
00:52:48,208 --> 00:52:50,167
When we talk
"our faithfulness,"

1034
00:52:50,250 --> 00:52:52,167
you can hide.

1035
00:52:52,250 --> 00:52:53,875
When we talk
"your faithfulness,"

1036
00:52:53,958 --> 00:52:55,750
you've got to
think about that.

1037
00:52:55,833 --> 00:52:58,750
We just finished a year
and started a new one,

1038
00:52:58,833 --> 00:53:02,417
so I want to give a brief report
on the faithfulness of God to

1039
00:53:02,500 --> 00:53:06,333
Mars Hill and the faithfulness
of Mars Hill in Christ.

1040
00:53:06,417 --> 00:53:09,125
We had our biggest year ever.

1041
00:53:09,208 --> 00:53:12,292
More people,
more baptisms than ever.

1042
00:53:12,375 --> 00:53:15,500
Lots of people to love and to
serve, and we rejoice in that.

1043
00:53:15,583 --> 00:53:18,083
Insofar as financial
giving goes,

1044
00:53:18,167 --> 00:53:22,000
about 1/3 of our church
last year gave nothing,

1045
00:53:22,083 --> 00:53:26,042
the largest category was
$500 or less for the year.

1046
00:53:26,125 --> 00:53:31,125
The vast majority was
$1500 for the year or less.

1047
00:53:31,208 --> 00:53:34,542
And as you can see $100,000
or more, just 3 people.

1048
00:53:34,625 --> 00:53:39,875
We don't have a lot of very
wealthy givers in our church.

1049
00:53:39,958 --> 00:53:44,042
We have a heavy load
to bear financially,

1050
00:53:44,125 --> 00:53:48,417
and so everybody needs
to carry their portion.

1051
00:53:48,500 --> 00:53:52,167
We don't have anyone who's able
to carry a very large portion.

1052
00:53:52,250 --> 00:53:56,250
I don't know of a church
of our size, personally,

1053
00:53:56,333 --> 00:54:00,292
that doesn't have someone giving
a million dollars plus a year,

1054
00:54:00,375 --> 00:54:04,292
and we're just not there, so
everybody's in it together,

1055
00:54:04,375 --> 00:54:10,625
and there's no
large-giving person

1056
00:54:10,708 --> 00:54:12,625
to make up the difference

1057
00:54:12,708 --> 00:54:14,333
for those who aren't faithful.

1058
00:54:14,417 --> 00:54:17,125
That's where we find ourselves.

1059
00:54:17,208 --> 00:54:23,000
The good news is this: we
didn't quite meet our budget

1060
00:54:23,083 --> 00:54:26,250
expectation for the year,
we fell short about $500,000.

1061
00:54:26,333 --> 00:54:28,042
That's not the good news.

1062
00:54:28,125 --> 00:54:30,833
The good news is we also,
in the grace of God,

1063
00:54:30,917 --> 00:54:34,625
stewarded the resources
well and we spent $700,000 less

1064
00:54:34,708 --> 00:54:37,750
than we projected, so we
ended the year about even.

1065
00:54:37,833 --> 00:54:39,417
About even.

1066
00:54:39,500 --> 00:54:42,042
And I would say right now,
in this fiscal climate,

1067
00:54:42,125 --> 00:54:44,083
even feels pretty good, amen?

1068
00:54:44,167 --> 00:54:47,250
If the government could get to
broke, it'd be pretty fantastic.

1069
00:54:47,333 --> 00:54:50,750
So that's where we are.

1070
00:54:50,833 --> 00:54:53,458
We're even, okay?

1071
00:54:53,542 --> 00:54:56,583
As well, we have three major
projects I want to set

1072
00:54:56,667 --> 00:54:58,375
before you this year.

1073
00:54:58,458 --> 00:55:01,417
We were hoping to end the year
very strong financially with

1074
00:55:01,500 --> 00:55:05,208
a bit of excess so that we could
then open Mars Hill Downtown,

1075
00:55:05,292 --> 00:55:07,542
Mars Hill Everett,
and Mars Hill Tacoma.

1076
00:55:07,625 --> 00:55:09,750
We didn't receive that excess.

1077
00:55:09,833 --> 00:55:12,917
Now, let me say this as well:
in the grace of God,

1078
00:55:13,000 --> 00:55:15,625
we missed our own
fiscal cliff this year.

1079
00:55:15,708 --> 00:55:19,625
We had, in years past,
financially budgeted per

1080
00:55:19,708 --> 00:55:22,917
an annual budget, but a lot of
our money came in in December,

1081
00:55:23,000 --> 00:55:25,917
which means we'd run a cash
deficit and then pay off

1082
00:55:26,000 --> 00:55:28,417
the proverbial credit
cards in December.

1083
00:55:28,500 --> 00:55:31,417
Well, this year, the decision
was made from your

1084
00:55:31,500 --> 00:55:34,833
executive pastor Sutton Turner,
and Kerry Dodd, your CFO,

1085
00:55:34,917 --> 00:55:36,667
and your executive elders,

1086
00:55:36,750 --> 00:55:38,833
"No, we're going to live
within our means.

1087
00:55:38,917 --> 00:55:42,125
"We're going to not wait for
the end of the year to have

1088
00:55:42,208 --> 00:55:44,333
"a big bonus to pay off
our deficit.

1089
00:55:44,417 --> 00:55:47,875
"If we get that bonus, we can
always invest it in ministry,

1090
00:55:47,958 --> 00:55:49,875
but if we don't,
we'll be viable."

1091
00:55:49,958 --> 00:55:53,750
It's the thing that
the government didn't do.

1092
00:55:53,833 --> 00:55:56,083
It's the thing that
the government didn't do.

1093
00:55:56,167 --> 00:55:59,583
So, in the grace of God, we made
that hard decision midpoint of

1094
00:55:59,667 --> 00:56:04,917
last year, and so we're not
driving off our own fiscal cliff

1095
00:56:05,000 --> 00:56:06,750
right now.

1096
00:56:06,833 --> 00:56:09,833
And so God was gracious to
us and we rejoice in that,

1097
00:56:09,917 --> 00:56:12,333
and he gave us wise counsel
through his people,

1098
00:56:12,417 --> 00:56:14,125
and we rejoice in that.

1099
00:56:14,208 --> 00:56:17,125
So what that means is going into
this year, we're basically even,

1100
00:56:17,208 --> 00:56:19,750
but we're needing to go above
and beyond to get

1101
00:56:19,833 --> 00:56:22,625
Mars Hill Downtown
formally relocated.

1102
00:56:22,708 --> 00:56:24,625
They're currently meeting
in their building.

1103
00:56:24,708 --> 00:56:27,542
They've raised $1.2 million of
the total $2 million goal

1104
00:56:27,625 --> 00:56:29,042
that we need.

1105
00:56:29,125 --> 00:56:31,750
Some of you know this is
the oldest church in Seattle.

1106
00:56:31,833 --> 00:56:33,750
It's going to come under
great persecution, opposition,

1107
00:56:33,833 --> 00:56:36,958
and criticism, in large part
because of things that I say,

1108
00:56:37,042 --> 00:56:39,250
and so you can pray for them.

1109
00:56:39,333 --> 00:56:42,958
And it's an older building,
it's a beautiful building,

1110
00:56:43,042 --> 00:56:46,750
but the electrical is
not up to what we need,

1111
00:56:46,833 --> 00:56:49,083
and things like
there's not bathrooms.

1112
00:56:49,167 --> 00:56:51,250
I know some of you are
like, "You megachurches,

1113
00:56:51,333 --> 00:56:52,667
you just waste money."

1114
00:56:52,750 --> 00:56:54,250
We need a bathroom.

1115
00:56:54,333 --> 00:56:58,250
Like, it's--and it's not like
gold rims on our third SUV,

1116
00:56:58,333 --> 00:57:00,500
I mean, we need a bathroom.

1117
00:57:00,583 --> 00:57:03,750
And so right now, the porta
potties are outside for

1118
00:57:03,833 --> 00:57:05,708
Mars Hill Downtown.

1119
00:57:05,792 --> 00:57:07,083
I was there recently.

1120
00:57:07,167 --> 00:57:12,333
It was cold and something
to pray about, okay?

1121
00:57:12,417 --> 00:57:15,417
So, things like bathrooms.

1122
00:57:15,500 --> 00:57:17,625
So, we're trying to
raise the rest of that.

1123
00:57:17,708 --> 00:57:19,250
We'd encourage you
to be faithful.

1124
00:57:19,333 --> 00:57:21,750
Mars Hill Everett has been
setting up and tearing down

1125
00:57:21,833 --> 00:57:23,125
in a school.

1126
00:57:23,208 --> 00:57:25,125
We don't have enough
space for the children

1127
00:57:25,208 --> 00:57:26,542
and it's not really working.

1128
00:57:26,625 --> 00:57:28,750
This armory that we are
finishing the purchase of

1129
00:57:28,833 --> 00:57:31,333
actually is, financially,
a very, very, very good deal

1130
00:57:31,417 --> 00:57:33,875
for us, but it
will take some money.

1131
00:57:33,958 --> 00:57:36,833
We are trying to raise
$750,000 to get the bathrooms,

1132
00:57:36,917 --> 00:57:38,542
and the kids' space,
and the electrical,

1133
00:57:38,625 --> 00:57:41,417
and everything up to speed,
and we're about $126,000

1134
00:57:41,500 --> 00:57:42,917
of the way there.

1135
00:57:43,000 --> 00:57:45,417
And so we praise God
for those who have given,

1136
00:57:45,500 --> 00:57:47,917
and we'd ask you to be giving
generously this year

1137
00:57:48,000 --> 00:57:50,667
and be faithful so we can
get that opened up here

1138
00:57:50,750 --> 00:57:52,083
in the next few months.

1139
00:57:52,167 --> 00:57:54,958
And then lastly, our third goal
this year is Mars Hill Tacoma,

1140
00:57:55,042 --> 00:57:58,250
one of the oldest churches in
Tacoma, a very strategic area.

1141
00:57:58,333 --> 00:58:01,125
Everett's a good place to set up
a base to reach

1142
00:58:01,208 --> 00:58:03,125
the North Puget Sound;

1143
00:58:03,208 --> 00:58:05,250
Tacoma's a great place
to push out to

1144
00:58:05,333 --> 00:58:06,833
the South Puget Sound.

1145
00:58:06,917 --> 00:58:09,208
A beautiful old building
that God has provided us,

1146
00:58:09,292 --> 00:58:11,208
but it has a lot of
deferred maintenance,

1147
00:58:11,292 --> 00:58:14,208
so it totally needs a new roof,
again it has no bathrooms.

1148
00:58:14,292 --> 00:58:16,625
I don't know, for some reason
we find beautiful buildings

1149
00:58:16,708 --> 00:58:20,125
with no bathrooms, and they
tend to be inexpensive,

1150
00:58:20,208 --> 00:58:23,042
but they tend to need some
work to bring them back

1151
00:58:23,125 --> 00:58:24,417
to functionality and viability.

1152
00:58:24,500 --> 00:58:27,417
And so it needs a roof, it needs
bathrooms, it needs electrical,

1153
00:58:27,500 --> 00:58:29,875
and our hope is to officially
move in and start

1154
00:58:29,958 --> 00:58:31,667
Mars Hill Tacoma this fall.

1155
00:58:31,750 --> 00:58:34,750
And so those are the three
things that I would say please

1156
00:58:34,833 --> 00:58:36,875
pray, and give, and care.

1157
00:58:36,958 --> 00:58:40,667
And I'll just say this: I
believe you will be faithful.

1158
00:58:40,750 --> 00:58:43,042
I believe you will be faithful.

1159
00:58:43,125 --> 00:58:45,917
God has been faithful to you,
he's always been faithful to us,

1160
00:58:46,000 --> 00:58:48,875
and I believe that you will
be faithful to him with us.

1161
00:58:48,958 --> 00:58:51,875
And so to that end,
how to give in 2013.

1162
00:58:51,958 --> 00:58:55,042
You can go to MarsHill.com
and open up a Connect account.

1163
00:58:55,125 --> 00:58:57,750
That'll allow us to know what
you're planning on doing this

1164
00:58:57,833 --> 00:59:01,708
year financially, and that will
also allow you to be giving

1165
00:59:01,792 --> 00:59:04,417
regularly, cheerfully,
sacrificially.

1166
00:59:04,500 --> 00:59:07,542
And one thing I'd set before
you: when God saved me at

1167
00:59:07,625 --> 00:59:10,792
the age 19, every year a goal
of mine and ours has been,

1168
00:59:10,875 --> 00:59:15,042
as a family, to give more
than we did the year before.

1169
00:59:15,125 --> 00:59:17,625
And when we started,
we were college students,

1170
00:59:17,708 --> 00:59:20,542
and God has been gracious
to answer that prayer now

1171
00:59:20,625 --> 00:59:22,583
23 years in a row.

1172
00:59:22,667 --> 00:59:25,292
And so we would ask you,
"Where was I last year

1173
00:59:25,375 --> 00:59:27,125
and where will I be this year?"

1174
00:59:27,208 --> 00:59:33,500
But in closing, let me say
that this is all in Christ.

1175
00:59:35,833 --> 00:59:38,875
Christ has given
to us, so we give.

1176
00:59:38,958 --> 00:59:40,958
Christ has loved us,
so we love.

1177
00:59:41,042 --> 00:59:43,250
Christ has served us,
so we serve.

1178
00:59:43,333 --> 00:59:46,458
Christ has gotten to know
us, so we get to know others.

1179
00:59:46,542 --> 00:59:48,083
Amen?

1180
00:59:48,167 --> 00:59:50,667
And all it is is it's reflecting
who Jesus is

1181
00:59:50,750 --> 00:59:52,333
to the watching world.

1182
00:59:52,417 --> 00:59:56,083
And so even in our service, we
set it up so that you hear about

1183
00:59:56,167 --> 00:59:59,750
Jesus and then respond with
tithes, offerings, Communion,

1184
00:59:59,833 --> 01:00:03,250
singing, and the like,
and it's an opportunity for you

1185
01:00:03,333 --> 01:00:06,750
to be faithful by
the grace of God to the God

1186
01:00:06,833 --> 01:00:08,625
who's been faithful to you.

1187
01:00:08,708 --> 01:00:12,125
And so Lord Jesus, I thank you
for the great honor that I have

1188
01:00:12,208 --> 01:00:14,125
of teaching the Bible
at Mars Hill Church.

1189
01:00:14,208 --> 01:00:15,542
I really love these people;

1190
01:00:15,625 --> 01:00:18,167
I really love my,
quote unquote, "job";

1191
01:00:18,250 --> 01:00:21,250
and I love the opportunity
to open the Bible,

1192
01:00:21,333 --> 01:00:23,083
and to dig into the Scriptures,

1193
01:00:23,167 --> 01:00:25,375
and to help people,
by your grace,

1194
01:00:25,458 --> 01:00:27,958
know who you are
and who they are.

1195
01:00:28,042 --> 01:00:31,583
And so, Lord Jesus, I pray right
now for those who are not in

1196
01:00:31,667 --> 01:00:34,500
Christ, that, Holy Spirit, you
would bring them the gift of

1197
01:00:34,583 --> 01:00:36,792
repentance and a new nature.

1198
01:00:36,875 --> 01:00:39,292
Lord Jesus, for those
of us who are in Christ,

1199
01:00:39,375 --> 01:00:44,000
we may know that theologically,
but we forget it practically.

1200
01:00:44,083 --> 01:00:47,083
Help us this week to remember
who we are and help us

1201
01:00:47,167 --> 01:00:51,292
to remind one another of who
we are in Christ, amen.

1202
01:00:53,125 --> 01:00:56,000
Each year, over 10 million
Mars Hill church sermons

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are downloaded
worldwide for free.

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This ministry is generously supported

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by Mars Hill church members
and listeners like you.

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If you'd like to support our efforts
to preach Jesus to the world,

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Please consider making
a tax-deductible donation

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by visiting marshill.com/give.