1 00:00:00,333 --> 00:00:01,625 Howdy, pastor Mark here. 2 00:00:01,667 --> 00:00:04,125 Let me just take a few moments of your time 3 00:00:04,167 --> 00:00:07,000 before we get into the latest sermon in Ephesians. 4 00:00:07,042 --> 00:00:09,875 I want to tell you about what's coming up for Easter. 5 00:00:09,958 --> 00:00:14,708 We will have 42 services across 14 of our churches 6 00:00:14,792 --> 00:00:20,167 scattered across 4 states and we'll also be live-streaming everything online. 7 00:00:20,667 --> 00:00:24,792 We only do this historically once a year and that's on Easter. 8 00:00:24,833 --> 00:00:27,833 And so I'll be preaching live at Mars Hill downtown 9 00:00:27,875 --> 00:00:32,333 and we'll be simulcasting to all of our locations as well as the internet. 10 00:00:32,375 --> 00:00:36,625 You can go to marshill.com/easter to find out more 11 00:00:36,667 --> 00:00:40,833 and to register to watch what God will be doing on Easter Sunday. 12 00:00:40,875 --> 00:00:43,708 And I know many of you are part of Mars Hill Global 13 00:00:43,792 --> 00:00:47,125 you pray for our chuch, some of you have even given to our church 14 00:00:47,167 --> 00:00:49,917 and the extended mission and ministry of Mars Hill. 15 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,667 I wanna say thank you for that and before we get into Ephesians now, 16 00:00:53,750 --> 00:00:55,917 I want to introduce you to Pastor Sutton Turner, 17 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,667 my friend, our excecutive pastor, to let you know 18 00:00:58,750 --> 00:01:02,042 some of the things that your generosity has been accomplishing. 19 00:01:03,833 --> 00:01:05,375 Hi there Mars Hill Church 20 00:01:05,458 --> 00:01:08,375 and the extended family of Mars Hill Global. 21 00:01:08,458 --> 00:01:11,667 I'm pastor Sutton Turner here in Dilla, Ethiopia 22 00:01:11,750 --> 00:01:13,667 and I wanted to take a moment and explain 23 00:01:13,708 --> 00:01:17,667 what the extended family of Mars Hill Global is. 24 00:01:17,750 --> 00:01:21,667 I was a podcaster when I was living in the Middle East 25 00:01:21,750 --> 00:01:25,500 and consuming those podcasts every week, 26 00:01:25,542 --> 00:01:29,500 participating, really one way, from Mars Hill Church. 27 00:01:29,542 --> 00:01:31,292 I was really a consumer. 28 00:01:31,333 --> 00:01:32,833 So what we're doing is setting up 29 00:01:32,917 --> 00:01:36,542 the extended family of Mars Hill Global and saying, 30 00:01:36,625 --> 00:01:42,375 "Come, be a part of what Jesus Christ is doing in and through our church." 31 00:01:42,458 --> 00:01:44,292 So what does Mars Hill Global do? 32 00:01:44,333 --> 00:01:49,500 Well, Mars Hill Global is doing and participating in church planting 33 00:01:49,542 --> 00:01:51,792 here in Ethiopia and also in India. 34 00:01:51,833 --> 00:01:54,750 Also, we're doing church planting in the United States as well. 35 00:01:54,833 --> 00:01:56,958 We're doing all of that because in Mars Hill Church 36 00:01:57,333 --> 00:02:01,833 we believe that Jesus has called us to make disciples and plant churches. 37 00:02:01,917 --> 00:02:05,750 So I want to ask you to be a part. I want to as you to be a part 38 00:02:05,833 --> 00:02:07,583 of the extended family of Mars Hill Global. 39 00:02:07,667 --> 00:02:08,958 Sign up today. 40 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,667 Become a member of the extended family, 41 00:02:11,750 --> 00:02:14,292 start participating online with us, 42 00:02:14,333 --> 00:02:16,833 and let's see what Jesus Christ is going to do, 43 00:02:16,917 --> 00:02:19,833 not only in the United States, but to the ends of the Earth. 44 00:02:20,542 --> 00:02:33,458 [music] 45 00:02:41,083 --> 00:02:42,667 [Laughing] I'm Joshua. 46 00:02:42,750 --> 00:02:44,500 I'm Spencer. Hey, I'm Jonathan. 47 00:02:44,542 --> 00:02:46,333 I'm a lawyer and I'm a mom. 48 00:02:46,375 --> 00:02:48,000 I'm a colorist in the fashion industry. 49 00:02:48,083 --> 00:02:49,708 I don't know how to not smile. 50 00:02:49,792 --> 00:02:51,125 I am a strategist. 51 00:02:51,167 --> 00:02:52,625 I work in commercial real estate. 52 00:02:52,667 --> 00:02:54,333 Yeah, I'm just trying to figure out 53 00:02:54,375 --> 00:02:55,833 how to phrase my work. 54 00:02:55,875 --> 00:02:58,000 People are always coming up to me with, like, 55 00:02:58,083 --> 00:02:59,417 creative ideas. 56 00:02:59,500 --> 00:03:02,500 I carry around a baseball that reminds me of my dad. 57 00:03:02,542 --> 00:03:07,042 I lost my home, my car, my retirement. 58 00:03:07,125 --> 00:03:09,833 Most days look pretty, kind of crazy. 59 00:03:09,917 --> 00:03:12,292 [Laughing] 60 00:03:12,333 --> 00:03:14,583 Being a wholesaler, we have a big warehouse space. 61 00:03:14,667 --> 00:03:16,250 I like to think through things. 62 00:03:16,333 --> 00:03:17,958 I got a tattoo of a tree. 63 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:19,333 I love--I love that. 64 00:03:19,417 --> 00:03:21,958 Who do you think-- Who do you think you are? 65 00:03:26,125 --> 00:03:27,917 Alright, when you know who you are, 66 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,333 then you know what to do. 67 00:03:30,375 --> 00:03:33,333 When you know who you are, then you know what to do, 68 00:03:33,417 --> 00:03:36,333 and that's the big idea in our study of Ephesians 69 00:03:36,375 --> 00:03:39,250 as we ask the question, who do you think you are? 70 00:03:39,333 --> 00:03:42,250 And one of the most encouraging things for me is hearing 71 00:03:42,333 --> 00:03:45,292 the stories and the testimonies of people who are coming 72 00:03:45,333 --> 00:03:49,292 to understand their identity in Christ and then experiencing 73 00:03:49,333 --> 00:03:52,500 the life transformation that ensues. 74 00:03:52,542 --> 00:03:55,458 And I got one not too long ago from a young woman. 75 00:03:55,500 --> 00:03:58,667 She gave me permission to share her story, 76 00:03:58,750 --> 00:04:01,042 and without divulging her name, 77 00:04:01,125 --> 00:04:03,833 I wanted to share it with you because I think it, 78 00:04:03,875 --> 00:04:07,833 in many ways, encapsulates what I want for you and for people 79 00:04:07,875 --> 00:04:11,250 that haven't even showed up at Mars Hill or met Jesus yet. 80 00:04:11,333 --> 00:04:12,833 But be praying for them, 81 00:04:12,917 --> 00:04:14,750 hopefully they join us on Easter. 82 00:04:14,833 --> 00:04:17,542 She says this: "I have listened to the first three sermons 83 00:04:17,625 --> 00:04:21,333 on identity, and this was a great encouragement to me." 84 00:04:21,417 --> 00:04:24,667 She goes on to say that God saved her when she was 17. 85 00:04:24,708 --> 00:04:28,833 She became a Christian as a high school young woman. 86 00:04:28,917 --> 00:04:32,333 At the age of 21, she says that she was working for a Christian 87 00:04:32,417 --> 00:04:36,250 company with what was supposed to be a Christian boss, 88 00:04:36,333 --> 00:04:38,667 and that man sexually assaulted her. 89 00:04:38,708 --> 00:04:41,375 And it was a small town, and he denied it 90 00:04:41,458 --> 00:04:43,083 and said that she was lying, 91 00:04:43,167 --> 00:04:46,250 and that made her life very difficult as a young woman 92 00:04:46,333 --> 00:04:50,792 who was not only violated, but then violated again 93 00:04:50,833 --> 00:04:53,000 by being lied about. 94 00:04:53,042 --> 00:04:55,583 It made her life very hard. 95 00:04:55,667 --> 00:05:00,125 She continues, "The whole thing turned me away from church. 96 00:05:00,167 --> 00:05:03,000 "Shortly after, I was sexually assaulted again by a guy 97 00:05:03,083 --> 00:05:05,333 "I met during school. 98 00:05:05,417 --> 00:05:08,167 "I couldn't handle it anymore, and I turned to drinking. 99 00:05:08,208 --> 00:05:10,833 "I became an undercover alcoholic. 100 00:05:10,875 --> 00:05:13,625 "Then again, about a year later, I was sexually assaulted again 101 00:05:13,667 --> 00:05:16,458 "by three more guys. 102 00:05:16,500 --> 00:05:18,833 "I was assaulted by different guys over the course 103 00:05:18,917 --> 00:05:21,167 "of about 3 years. 104 00:05:21,208 --> 00:05:23,833 "Last time it happened was 2012, 105 00:05:23,875 --> 00:05:27,542 right before I moved and started attending Mars Hill." 106 00:05:27,625 --> 00:05:30,667 Praise God, we're glad she's here with us. 107 00:05:30,708 --> 00:05:34,000 "I saw myself as even more worthless than I already had 108 00:05:34,083 --> 00:05:36,958 "prior to these things happening. 109 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,333 "My mother and father chose drugs over me, 110 00:05:39,417 --> 00:05:41,875 "so I have struggled with worthlessness 111 00:05:41,958 --> 00:05:44,333 "since a very early age. 112 00:05:44,417 --> 00:05:48,000 My identity was found in being sexually assaulted." 113 00:05:48,042 --> 00:05:49,875 It's an important line. 114 00:05:49,958 --> 00:05:52,292 "My identity was found in being sexually assaulted. 115 00:05:52,333 --> 00:05:54,833 "My identity was found in guys abusing me. 116 00:05:54,917 --> 00:05:56,583 "I saw myself as a person 117 00:05:56,667 --> 00:05:58,667 "who guys just used for their pleasures. 118 00:05:58,708 --> 00:06:01,542 "This became my whole identity, and I started to use it 119 00:06:01,625 --> 00:06:04,333 "to my advantage. 120 00:06:04,417 --> 00:06:06,833 "Once I knew guys only saw me as an object, 121 00:06:06,917 --> 00:06:10,625 "I decided that if I needed something from them that 122 00:06:10,667 --> 00:06:14,125 "I would do it for them. 123 00:06:14,167 --> 00:06:16,167 "I saw that as normal. 124 00:06:16,208 --> 00:06:19,042 "I was disgusted with myself, so I had no problem doing this. 125 00:06:19,125 --> 00:06:24,333 "Each time, I went to more and more alcohol, and I would burn 126 00:06:24,375 --> 00:06:28,250 "myself nightly just to feel physical pain 127 00:06:28,333 --> 00:06:30,750 because the emotional pain was too much." 128 00:06:30,833 --> 00:06:33,542 And here's a very key statement: 129 00:06:33,625 --> 00:06:37,833 "My identity was a worthless, disgusting, 130 00:06:37,875 --> 00:06:42,042 self-burning object, who was an undercover alcoholic." 131 00:06:42,125 --> 00:06:43,750 Young woman in her 20s. 132 00:06:43,833 --> 00:06:46,583 You start to think that for the rest of her life, 133 00:06:46,667 --> 00:06:51,083 if that's who she thinks she is, imagine what she'll do. 134 00:06:51,167 --> 00:06:54,583 Imagine what she'll allow others to do to her. 135 00:06:54,667 --> 00:06:58,583 Again, once you know who you are, then you know what to do. 136 00:06:58,667 --> 00:07:02,042 If you don't rightly understand who you are, 137 00:07:02,125 --> 00:07:05,750 then what you do will be wrong and what you will allow others 138 00:07:05,833 --> 00:07:09,958 to do to you will be wrong. 139 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,000 "Last year, I thought I had gotten over that, and I thought 140 00:07:13,083 --> 00:07:15,167 "I didn't view myself this way anymore. 141 00:07:15,208 --> 00:07:17,958 "A few months ago, I started running into the second guy 142 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,750 "who assaulted me, and I realized that my identity was still 143 00:07:20,833 --> 00:07:22,833 "being found in what had happened. 144 00:07:22,875 --> 00:07:26,042 "The way I had viewed myself all came back once I saw him, 145 00:07:26,125 --> 00:07:30,000 "and once again, my identity was found in what happened. 146 00:07:30,083 --> 00:07:34,333 "I started to turn back to alcohol to forget. 147 00:07:34,417 --> 00:07:36,625 "Since I started listening to this sermon series, 148 00:07:36,667 --> 00:07:39,958 "God is showing me so much about how I still find my identity 149 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,833 "in being disgusting, worthless, an object, 150 00:07:42,917 --> 00:07:47,500 "starting to become an alcoholic undercover once again. 151 00:07:47,542 --> 00:07:51,167 "I literally could not stare at myself in the eyes 152 00:07:51,208 --> 00:07:53,500 "when I looked in the mirror in the morning 153 00:07:53,542 --> 00:07:57,875 "because I felt so disgusting and ashamed of who I was. 154 00:07:57,958 --> 00:08:02,625 But" —here's the good news— "I am seeing that I am in Christ." 155 00:08:02,667 --> 00:08:04,833 New identity. 156 00:08:04,917 --> 00:08:09,208 "I see that I am made alive in Christ. 157 00:08:09,292 --> 00:08:11,250 I am a new creature in Christ!" 158 00:08:11,333 --> 00:08:13,833 Lots of exclamation points. 159 00:08:13,917 --> 00:08:16,167 "I see now that all of the death, shame, 160 00:08:16,208 --> 00:08:18,958 "and condemnation that I deserved went to Jesus, 161 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,042 and all the forgiveness, love, and grace is given to me!" 162 00:08:22,125 --> 00:08:24,167 Lots of exclamation points. 163 00:08:24,208 --> 00:08:26,042 That's the good news of the gospel. 164 00:08:26,125 --> 00:08:30,750 "I am loved, blessed, and embraced like Christ is." 165 00:08:30,833 --> 00:08:32,750 Is that true? 166 00:08:32,833 --> 00:08:34,458 It is. 167 00:08:34,500 --> 00:08:36,208 That's her identity. 168 00:08:36,292 --> 00:08:40,042 "I am seeing that I am free from shame and condemnation. 169 00:08:40,125 --> 00:08:42,167 "I am starting to see my identity 170 00:08:42,208 --> 00:08:45,042 "is truly rooted in Christ. 171 00:08:45,125 --> 00:08:48,750 "It truly amazes me that Christ chose me. 172 00:08:48,833 --> 00:08:53,333 In Christ, I am not dirty; I am clean." 173 00:08:53,417 --> 00:08:55,333 Big identity statement. 174 00:08:55,417 --> 00:08:58,167 "That is probably one of the most powerful sentences 175 00:08:58,250 --> 00:09:00,625 I have ever heard." 176 00:09:00,667 --> 00:09:04,500 When you know who you are, then you know what to do. 177 00:09:04,583 --> 00:09:09,458 And when you know who you are, it changes how you live. 178 00:09:09,500 --> 00:09:13,333 Mars Hill, I love you, I'm very glad to teach the Bible, 179 00:09:13,375 --> 00:09:15,500 and I want this series to be, for you, 180 00:09:15,583 --> 00:09:18,333 not just information but transformation, 181 00:09:18,417 --> 00:09:21,667 not just truths for others to hear from you, 182 00:09:21,708 --> 00:09:25,042 but truths for you to first believe for yourself. 183 00:09:25,125 --> 00:09:29,458 And the big idea today is that "In Christ, I am new." 184 00:09:29,500 --> 00:09:34,458 And so if you've got a Bible, go with me to Ephesians 4:17-24, 185 00:09:34,500 --> 00:09:37,333 and first we're going to look at the old you, okay? 186 00:09:37,417 --> 00:09:40,375 Bad news before good news, okay? 187 00:09:40,458 --> 00:09:45,083 We're looking at the old you, and if you're not a Christian, 188 00:09:45,167 --> 00:09:48,000 this is just you, okay? 189 00:09:48,042 --> 00:09:50,583 And if you're a Christian, this is the old you, 190 00:09:50,667 --> 00:09:52,958 and if you became a Christian 15 minutes ago, 191 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:56,250 this is the old you 16 minutes ago, okay? 192 00:09:56,333 --> 00:09:58,375 Here's what God says through Paul, 193 00:09:58,458 --> 00:10:03,792 Ephesians 4:17-19, "Now this I say and testify in the Lord, 194 00:10:03,833 --> 00:10:07,792 that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do." 195 00:10:07,833 --> 00:10:10,875 In the Bible, the Gentiles are the people who don't know God, 196 00:10:10,958 --> 00:10:13,375 don't obey God, don't love God, they're not filled with 197 00:10:13,458 --> 00:10:15,792 the Holy Spirit, they're not in relationship with God. 198 00:10:15,833 --> 00:10:19,042 Gentiles, Gentiles. 199 00:10:19,125 --> 00:10:21,875 He says, "You can't walk like that anymore." 200 00:10:21,958 --> 00:10:26,042 And what Paul is going to use is this metaphor of walking 201 00:10:26,125 --> 00:10:28,375 in chapters 4, 5, and 6. 202 00:10:28,458 --> 00:10:31,667 In chapters 1-3, he talked a lot about who Jesus is, 203 00:10:31,708 --> 00:10:35,083 and what Jesus has done, and in chapters 4, 5, and 6, 204 00:10:35,167 --> 00:10:40,292 he talks a lot about how we walk in light of those truths. 205 00:10:40,333 --> 00:10:43,500 When's the last time you went for a walk? 206 00:10:43,583 --> 00:10:45,500 When we go for a walk, 207 00:10:45,583 --> 00:10:52,375 it's amazing how quickly we cover ground. 208 00:10:52,458 --> 00:10:55,625 Some of you have been non-Christians for a long time. 209 00:10:55,667 --> 00:10:58,208 Some of you were non-Christians for a short time, 210 00:10:58,292 --> 00:11:02,292 but you were running toward sin and trouble, 211 00:11:02,333 --> 00:11:04,500 and you got far away from the Lord. 212 00:11:04,542 --> 00:11:06,792 The people you're walking with— 213 00:11:06,833 --> 00:11:10,833 they reinforce your sin and lifestyle. 214 00:11:10,917 --> 00:11:12,792 He says, "When you become a Christian, 215 00:11:12,833 --> 00:11:15,500 you can't walk in that direction anymore." 216 00:11:15,542 --> 00:11:17,292 Things need to change. 217 00:11:17,333 --> 00:11:20,750 Now that you're new, you need to live a new life. 218 00:11:20,833 --> 00:11:25,583 Are you still walking in the path that you used to walk? 219 00:11:25,667 --> 00:11:28,667 Same habits, same sin, same beliefs, 220 00:11:28,750 --> 00:11:31,167 maybe even same relationships, 221 00:11:31,208 --> 00:11:33,333 some of which aren't really helpful. 222 00:11:33,417 --> 00:11:35,167 You're not strong enough to endure them. 223 00:11:35,208 --> 00:11:37,583 You're going to get yourself in trouble, so dump him. 224 00:11:37,667 --> 00:11:39,917 I'll give you a minute. 225 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:42,167 Alright, okay, there we go. 226 00:11:42,250 --> 00:11:44,833 Now that we've had some breakups, okay, 227 00:11:44,875 --> 00:11:48,083 you can't walk in that direction anymore, 228 00:11:48,167 --> 00:11:50,333 because that's a direction away from Jesus, 229 00:11:50,375 --> 00:11:53,583 away from holiness, away from obedience. 230 00:11:53,667 --> 00:11:57,208 It's a path that leads to death, not life. 231 00:11:57,292 --> 00:12:00,792 So, if you're a Christian, you're not supposed to walk like 232 00:12:00,833 --> 00:12:02,250 the non-Christians. 233 00:12:02,333 --> 00:12:04,458 Your life is supposed to look distinguishable and different. 234 00:12:04,500 --> 00:12:07,458 And in our day you may be picked on, made fun of, 235 00:12:07,500 --> 00:12:08,833 scorned, ashamed. 236 00:12:08,917 --> 00:12:11,875 That's just the way that it is. 237 00:12:11,958 --> 00:12:13,500 "In the futility of their minds." 238 00:12:13,542 --> 00:12:15,667 Now immediately, some of you are going to think, 239 00:12:15,750 --> 00:12:17,375 "I don't think it's a big deal." 240 00:12:17,458 --> 00:12:18,792 Because your mind is futile! 241 00:12:18,833 --> 00:12:20,792 "Alright, well, I don't think that, you know, 242 00:12:20,833 --> 00:12:23,292 this is such a prob--" Because your mind is futile! 243 00:12:23,333 --> 00:12:28,000 "Well, I've been studying it; I read a book"— 244 00:12:28,042 --> 00:12:31,042 written by a guy whose mind was futile! 245 00:12:31,125 --> 00:12:33,667 "I talked to my friends and they said--" 246 00:12:33,750 --> 00:12:36,458 Because their mind is futile! 247 00:12:36,500 --> 00:12:38,333 This is offensive. 248 00:12:38,417 --> 00:12:40,750 I'm not apologizing for that; I'm just pointing it out. 249 00:12:40,833 --> 00:12:42,667 This is very offensive. 250 00:12:42,750 --> 00:12:44,667 The guy writing this, where is he? 251 00:12:44,750 --> 00:12:49,042 Prison. Now you know why, now you know why. 252 00:12:49,125 --> 00:12:53,458 He's saying, "Their head is broken. 253 00:12:53,500 --> 00:12:56,458 Their mind doesn't work." 254 00:12:56,500 --> 00:13:00,833 See, we're supposed to think God's thoughts after him, 255 00:13:00,917 --> 00:13:03,542 but if we don't know God, we're not connected to God, 256 00:13:03,625 --> 00:13:05,750 we're not filled with the Spirit of God, 257 00:13:05,833 --> 00:13:08,667 we don't have the mind of God, our thinking is futile. 258 00:13:08,708 --> 00:13:12,667 It doesn't mean you're stupid, just wrong, just wrong. 259 00:13:12,708 --> 00:13:15,417 Now some of you here, you're like, "That is very offensive." 260 00:13:15,500 --> 00:13:16,833 Eventually, they're going to kill him. 261 00:13:16,917 --> 00:13:18,250 Now you know why, okay? 262 00:13:18,333 --> 00:13:21,333 Because we live in a world that wants to hear, 263 00:13:21,417 --> 00:13:24,958 "You're smart. You're very insightful. 264 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,208 "That case you've made is airtight. 265 00:13:27,292 --> 00:13:30,333 "The friends you've chosen—all brilliant. 266 00:13:30,375 --> 00:13:32,250 "And God agrees with you, 267 00:13:32,333 --> 00:13:35,417 and he's here to give you what you want." 268 00:13:35,500 --> 00:13:37,917 And then a guy like Paul shows up and says, 269 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:41,750 "Actually, your mind is not thinking God's thoughts, 270 00:13:41,833 --> 00:13:46,375 and your thoughts are futile." 271 00:13:46,458 --> 00:13:52,333 He goes on: "They are darkened in their understanding." 272 00:13:52,417 --> 00:13:55,042 When's the last time you were in the dark? 273 00:13:55,125 --> 00:13:57,583 Do you know what you see clearly in the dark? 274 00:13:57,667 --> 00:14:00,750 Nothing, nothing. 275 00:14:00,833 --> 00:14:05,833 It's really dark, I don't see clearly. 276 00:14:05,917 --> 00:14:08,250 If you're walking away from Jesus, 277 00:14:08,333 --> 00:14:09,958 if you're living as a non-Christian, 278 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:12,333 if you're not connected to the life of God, 279 00:14:12,417 --> 00:14:15,042 your thinking is futile, and your understanding is dark. 280 00:14:15,125 --> 00:14:17,167 You say, "Well, I see it like this." 281 00:14:17,208 --> 00:14:19,958 That's what people in the dark say, 282 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,500 but you're not seeing clearly. 283 00:14:22,583 --> 00:14:24,958 Your understanding is darkened. 284 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:27,625 And see, we live in a day where we'll repackage. 285 00:14:27,667 --> 00:14:30,417 Oh, it's "tolerance," "diversity," "pluralism," "perspectivalism"— 286 00:14:30,500 --> 00:14:32,042 all these words, right? 287 00:14:32,125 --> 00:14:36,042 Throw an "ism" on the end, so it feels legit, alright? 288 00:14:36,125 --> 00:14:37,833 He says, "No, no, no, they're darkened 289 00:14:37,917 --> 00:14:40,167 in their understanding." 290 00:14:40,208 --> 00:14:45,458 Christians and non-Christians should not share the same mind 291 00:14:45,500 --> 00:14:49,000 or mindset. Darkened— 292 00:14:49,042 --> 00:14:52,583 how many of you—your thinking is dark, the way you see God, 293 00:14:52,667 --> 00:14:57,833 yourself, life—it's dark, it's depraved, it's wrong, 294 00:14:57,917 --> 00:15:01,500 it's corrupted? 295 00:15:01,583 --> 00:15:05,125 See, worshiping God is not just our moral activities; 296 00:15:05,167 --> 00:15:07,125 it's our mental activities as well. 297 00:15:07,167 --> 00:15:09,833 It's not just what we do, but it's how we think. 298 00:15:09,875 --> 00:15:12,542 That's why some of you would say, "I'm a good person," 299 00:15:12,625 --> 00:15:14,542 even though your mind is hostile to God— 300 00:15:14,625 --> 00:15:16,542 that you won't submit your thoughts to God, 301 00:15:16,625 --> 00:15:18,625 that you won't take every thought captive 302 00:15:18,667 --> 00:15:20,625 to the obedience of Christ. 303 00:15:20,667 --> 00:15:25,167 Part of worshiping God is loving him with all your mind. 304 00:15:25,208 --> 00:15:29,042 Part of the change that can come in your life is by not being 305 00:15:29,125 --> 00:15:31,917 conformed to the pattern of the world but being transformed 306 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:35,750 by the renewing of your mind. 307 00:15:35,833 --> 00:15:42,667 Problems of activity start with problems in the mind. 308 00:15:42,750 --> 00:15:44,583 You think you're right. You're wrong. 309 00:15:44,667 --> 00:15:47,292 You think it's light. It's dark. 310 00:15:47,333 --> 00:15:52,583 You think it's okay. It's not. 311 00:15:52,667 --> 00:15:56,167 Futile minds, darkened understanding. 312 00:15:56,208 --> 00:15:58,458 And what happens, then, is people come together, 313 00:15:58,500 --> 00:16:00,500 and they reinforce one another. 314 00:16:00,583 --> 00:16:02,500 "Well, it all looks that way to us. 315 00:16:02,583 --> 00:16:03,917 "That's what we all think. 316 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:05,667 "That's what we all want to do. 317 00:16:05,708 --> 00:16:08,333 We took a vote—we're the majority—it must be true." 318 00:16:08,375 --> 00:16:14,417 No, no, not if God shows up and says, 319 00:16:14,500 --> 00:16:18,958 "It's dark, and it's futile, 320 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:24,958 and the whole view of reality is corrupted." 321 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,000 Why is that? 322 00:16:27,083 --> 00:16:31,542 Well, because they're "alienated from the life of God." 323 00:16:31,625 --> 00:16:34,542 They've disconnected themselves from the God who made them, 324 00:16:34,625 --> 00:16:37,958 the source of life, and light, and truth. 325 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,000 Alienated—that means that they're citizens 326 00:16:42,042 --> 00:16:46,375 in another kingdom at war against a great King. 327 00:16:46,458 --> 00:16:50,000 It means that they've wandered away from their homeland; 328 00:16:50,042 --> 00:16:53,750 now they're strangers. 329 00:16:53,833 --> 00:16:57,000 Some of you would say, "I am a good person." 330 00:16:57,042 --> 00:17:00,667 I would say, "If you're living your life alienated, 331 00:17:00,708 --> 00:17:04,625 "separated from God, that's the root of all sin. 332 00:17:04,667 --> 00:17:06,458 That's the worst sin of all." 333 00:17:06,500 --> 00:17:09,625 This is like a guy who says, "I walked out on my family, 334 00:17:09,667 --> 00:17:11,250 "I abandoned my wife and children, 335 00:17:11,333 --> 00:17:13,625 "but I pay my taxes, and I don't jaywalk. 336 00:17:13,667 --> 00:17:15,458 I live a good life." 337 00:17:15,500 --> 00:17:18,750 No, you have abandoned the loving relationship 338 00:17:18,833 --> 00:17:22,958 that you were called to, and your whole life 339 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,750 since that decision is separated, 340 00:17:26,833 --> 00:17:29,500 which means, whether or not you do good or bad things, 341 00:17:29,583 --> 00:17:32,542 the whole of your life is in the direction of that 342 00:17:32,625 --> 00:17:34,750 which is wrong. 343 00:17:34,833 --> 00:17:38,458 See, when we sin, we turn our back on God, and we live a life 344 00:17:38,500 --> 00:17:40,083 alienated from God. 345 00:17:40,167 --> 00:17:41,875 And it doesn't mean you're not spiritual. 346 00:17:41,958 --> 00:17:43,292 Many of you are spiritual. 347 00:17:43,333 --> 00:17:46,500 Spirituality is what guilty people do to pretend that 348 00:17:46,542 --> 00:17:50,667 they're not alienated from God. 349 00:17:50,708 --> 00:17:56,167 "Because of the ignorance that is in them." 350 00:17:56,250 --> 00:17:58,042 They don't know that Jesus is God, 351 00:17:58,125 --> 00:18:01,042 they don't know what he said, they don't know that he died 352 00:18:01,125 --> 00:18:04,458 and rose, they don't know that hell is coming, 353 00:18:04,500 --> 00:18:07,125 and that salvation is a gift. 354 00:18:07,167 --> 00:18:11,625 They don't know. 355 00:18:11,667 --> 00:18:16,750 But it's not that they are just merely 356 00:18:16,833 --> 00:18:21,417 victims lacking information. 357 00:18:21,500 --> 00:18:26,250 "Due to their hardness of heart." Their hardness of heart. 358 00:18:26,333 --> 00:18:28,875 Do you have a hard heart? 359 00:18:28,958 --> 00:18:30,875 When the Bible talks about the heart, 360 00:18:30,958 --> 00:18:33,208 it speaks of the heart more than 900 times. 361 00:18:33,292 --> 00:18:36,875 It's the seat, the sum, the center of who you are. 362 00:18:36,958 --> 00:18:39,500 A heart that's tender toward God says, "Tell me the truth. 363 00:18:39,583 --> 00:18:41,500 "I want to change. I want to learn. 364 00:18:41,583 --> 00:18:42,917 I want to grow." 365 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:44,375 A hard heart says, "No!" 366 00:18:44,458 --> 00:18:48,000 And it says it like that. 367 00:18:48,083 --> 00:18:50,500 "No, it's not what you want; it's what I want. 368 00:18:50,583 --> 00:18:52,708 "It's not what you think; it's what I think. 369 00:18:52,792 --> 00:18:55,500 "It's not what you see; it's what I see. 370 00:18:55,542 --> 00:18:57,292 "You want me to change? 371 00:18:57,333 --> 00:19:00,167 While we're at it, I think you should change," 372 00:19:00,250 --> 00:19:03,042 and that's the heartfelt conversation with God— 373 00:19:03,125 --> 00:19:04,958 hardhearted. 374 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:07,083 You ever met anybody hardhearted? 375 00:19:07,167 --> 00:19:10,042 They interpret all data negatively. 376 00:19:10,125 --> 00:19:14,083 They always spin it, so that they are innocent and you are guilty. 377 00:19:14,167 --> 00:19:17,167 They always turn it to where you are a victim--they are a victim, 378 00:19:17,250 --> 00:19:19,292 rather—and you owe them. 379 00:19:19,333 --> 00:19:20,875 And people do this with God. 380 00:19:20,958 --> 00:19:22,292 "I'm right. You're wrong. 381 00:19:22,333 --> 00:19:23,792 "You've failed. I've not. 382 00:19:23,833 --> 00:19:26,000 "You owe me. I disagree. You need to change. 383 00:19:26,042 --> 00:19:29,000 "Maybe even that Book you wrote— we need to edit that thing 384 00:19:29,042 --> 00:19:33,167 because I found some errors in that Book you wrote." 385 00:19:33,250 --> 00:19:36,417 And along comes a parade of teachers and authors 386 00:19:36,500 --> 00:19:38,500 and professors and pastors who say, 387 00:19:38,583 --> 00:19:44,333 "Well, we have decided that futile minds 388 00:19:44,375 --> 00:19:48,500 "and darkened understanding leads to a good income stream 389 00:19:48,583 --> 00:19:50,375 "because there's a huge market 390 00:19:50,458 --> 00:19:52,708 for those with hardness of heart." 391 00:19:52,792 --> 00:19:55,417 It's the world we live in. 392 00:19:55,500 --> 00:20:01,167 Is your heart hard toward God? 393 00:20:01,250 --> 00:20:03,333 Is your heart hard toward God? 394 00:20:03,375 --> 00:20:04,875 Are you angry at him? 395 00:20:04,958 --> 00:20:08,167 Are you frustrated with him? 396 00:20:08,250 --> 00:20:10,000 "They have become callous." 397 00:20:10,042 --> 00:20:12,500 Have you ever become callous? 398 00:20:12,583 --> 00:20:14,792 Any of you play guitar or play an instrument? 399 00:20:14,833 --> 00:20:17,792 Any of you swing a hammer, you're a tradesman, tradeswoman, 400 00:20:17,833 --> 00:20:21,833 you're into gardening, you're a cook, a chef, an artist, 401 00:20:21,875 --> 00:20:23,875 you work with your hands a lot? 402 00:20:23,958 --> 00:20:27,917 What happens is, prolonged pressure upon a point over time 403 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:31,833 leads to a callus, and what used to hurt, all of a sudden, 404 00:20:31,917 --> 00:20:37,083 it doesn't hurt anymore because it's become calloused. 405 00:20:39,208 --> 00:20:42,333 "They have become callous." 406 00:20:42,375 --> 00:20:45,167 Say, "You know, when I started doing this, 407 00:20:45,208 --> 00:20:46,833 "it really bothered me. 408 00:20:46,917 --> 00:20:49,208 "It doesn't bother me that much anymore. 409 00:20:49,292 --> 00:20:51,750 "I used to feel really guilty after I did that, 410 00:20:51,833 --> 00:20:55,000 "and now maybe God's okay with it 411 00:20:55,083 --> 00:20:56,667 because I don't feel guilty anymore." 412 00:20:56,708 --> 00:20:58,750 No, it's not that God's okay with it; 413 00:20:58,833 --> 00:21:01,708 it's that you've developed a callus. 414 00:21:01,792 --> 00:21:04,125 You've become dead. 415 00:21:04,167 --> 00:21:06,333 I mean, a callus is, as I understand it, 416 00:21:06,375 --> 00:21:08,375 oftentimes, literally, just a collection 417 00:21:08,458 --> 00:21:10,500 of, essentially, dead skin. 418 00:21:10,583 --> 00:21:13,917 Is there a dead spot on your soul to where, 419 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:16,125 "That doesn't hurt anymore. It doesn't bother me. 420 00:21:16,167 --> 00:21:18,667 "I'm not convicted by it. I don't want to change. 421 00:21:18,750 --> 00:21:21,000 "I don't think it's wrong. 422 00:21:21,083 --> 00:21:25,208 Maybe it's not a big deal, or maybe God doesn't care." 423 00:21:25,292 --> 00:21:27,917 He does; you're just calloused. 424 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:31,167 You're just calloused. 425 00:21:31,208 --> 00:21:32,833 You're not going to change there. 426 00:21:32,875 --> 00:21:35,542 You'll say things like, "That's the way I am." 427 00:21:35,625 --> 00:21:37,625 It's not the way you're supposed to be. 428 00:21:37,667 --> 00:21:39,958 "I need to be true to myself." 429 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:46,000 That's never a good idea. 430 00:21:49,375 --> 00:21:53,417 "And have given themselves up." 431 00:21:53,500 --> 00:21:59,417 Have you just given up, just given up? 432 00:21:59,500 --> 00:22:02,000 You're like, "You know what? I'm going to do this. 433 00:22:02,042 --> 00:22:04,708 "I'm going to do that. I'm going to think this way. 434 00:22:04,792 --> 00:22:07,125 "I'm going to justify myself. I'm going to vindicate myself. 435 00:22:07,167 --> 00:22:08,917 "I'm going to explain myself, excuse myself. 436 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:10,917 I'm just, you know, I'm a victim." 437 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:12,375 You do this, right? 438 00:22:12,458 --> 00:22:14,375 "Oh, I'm a teenager; I've just given up. 439 00:22:14,458 --> 00:22:17,500 "I'm in my 20s; I've given up. I'm in college; I've given up. 440 00:22:17,583 --> 00:22:19,708 "We're newly married. Yeah, we yell at each other. 441 00:22:19,792 --> 00:22:21,125 "Yeah, but, you know? 442 00:22:21,167 --> 00:22:24,125 "Well, we just had a kid, and now it's a hard season, 443 00:22:24,167 --> 00:22:25,875 "so I've just sort of given up. 444 00:22:25,958 --> 00:22:28,917 Oh, midlife crisis. Oh, I get to give up." 445 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:30,917 And we give up, and we give in. 446 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,333 We give in to all kinds of sin and temptation 447 00:22:33,375 --> 00:22:36,500 because we've just given up. 448 00:22:36,542 --> 00:22:38,542 Is that you? 449 00:22:39,167 --> 00:22:41,833 Is that you? 450 00:22:41,875 --> 00:22:44,583 If so, you may not even be a Christian. 451 00:22:44,667 --> 00:22:46,833 God knows your heart; I don't. 452 00:22:46,875 --> 00:22:48,625 But if you're reading this list saying, 453 00:22:48,667 --> 00:22:50,208 "Wow, this sounds familiar," 454 00:22:50,292 --> 00:22:53,417 he's talking about non-Christians. 455 00:22:53,500 --> 00:22:56,375 And truth be told, Christians can fall into some of these 456 00:22:56,458 --> 00:23:00,583 habits and behaviors, but a Christian is the one 457 00:23:00,667 --> 00:23:05,250 who still has a tender heart and says, "I know it's wrong; 458 00:23:05,333 --> 00:23:07,667 "I want to change. 459 00:23:07,750 --> 00:23:10,583 "I'm not right with God, 460 00:23:10,667 --> 00:23:16,083 and things are bothering me." 461 00:23:16,167 --> 00:23:17,833 For the non-Christian, they're callous, like, 462 00:23:17,917 --> 00:23:21,833 "It doesn't really bother me." 463 00:23:21,917 --> 00:23:24,500 "They've given themselves up to"— 464 00:23:24,542 --> 00:23:30,667 oh, look at that! What?— 465 00:23:30,750 --> 00:23:34,500 "Sensuality, greedy to practice impurity." 466 00:23:34,583 --> 00:23:36,417 Oh, oh, oh! 467 00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:39,208 See, we're highly evolved, highly developed. 468 00:23:39,292 --> 00:23:42,667 You know, these guys are four back on the evolutionary charts. 469 00:23:42,750 --> 00:23:45,000 Sloped heads, right? 470 00:23:45,042 --> 00:23:48,500 We're 2,000 years later; we're so evolved, advanced. 471 00:23:48,583 --> 00:23:51,667 We all went to college; we studied sociology, psychology; 472 00:23:51,750 --> 00:23:55,125 we got degrees; we got self-help; we got spirituality. 473 00:23:55,167 --> 00:23:57,500 We've highly evolved. 474 00:23:57,583 --> 00:24:02,875 No, we've not, because you know where it ends up? 475 00:24:02,958 --> 00:24:07,292 They're naked, greedy, and doing naughty things. 476 00:24:07,333 --> 00:24:12,208 Ah-ha, sound familiar? 477 00:24:13,542 --> 00:24:19,750 Naked, greedy, doing naughty things. 478 00:24:19,833 --> 00:24:22,833 That's it, because you know what? 479 00:24:22,917 --> 00:24:26,167 Oftentimes it's not that people don't know the truth; 480 00:24:26,250 --> 00:24:29,583 it's that they don't like the truth. 481 00:24:29,667 --> 00:24:32,708 That's the truth. 482 00:24:32,792 --> 00:24:36,000 Like, if I told you, "Hey, you're drunk driving— 483 00:24:36,042 --> 00:24:38,708 there's a cop," you wouldn't say, "I don't believe in him." 484 00:24:38,792 --> 00:24:42,292 You would say, "I don't like him," okay? 485 00:24:42,333 --> 00:24:46,792 We read this, and some people say, "I don't like it," but see, 486 00:24:46,833 --> 00:24:50,875 that sounds sort of rebellious, and so what instead they say is, 487 00:24:50,958 --> 00:24:52,875 "Well, I don't know if I believe that. 488 00:24:52,958 --> 00:24:55,375 "I have a different ideology. I have a different philosophy. 489 00:24:55,458 --> 00:24:56,875 "I have a different spirituality. 490 00:24:56,958 --> 00:24:58,667 "I have a different perspective. 491 00:24:58,750 --> 00:25:01,583 "I think maybe this is primitive. 492 00:25:01,667 --> 00:25:04,083 "You know, new psychological insights indicate, 493 00:25:04,167 --> 00:25:06,250 "new sociological insights indicate, 494 00:25:06,333 --> 00:25:07,958 "new anthropological insights 495 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,250 "indicate that this is very negative. 496 00:25:10,333 --> 00:25:12,167 "This is not very tolerant and diverse. 497 00:25:12,250 --> 00:25:16,042 "This is very judgmental. This is very critical. 498 00:25:16,125 --> 00:25:18,500 "This could really hurt someone's psyche. 499 00:25:18,542 --> 00:25:21,542 "Imagine what this would do to their self-esteem, God forbid, 500 00:25:21,625 --> 00:25:23,875 "because we all know that self-esteem is 501 00:25:23,958 --> 00:25:27,000 "the source of life. 502 00:25:30,833 --> 00:25:36,333 "Yeah, this is hate speech. 503 00:25:36,375 --> 00:25:41,500 "This is intolerance. 504 00:25:41,542 --> 00:25:47,292 "The people who heard this— they were very offended. 505 00:25:48,833 --> 00:25:52,708 "It's become a real news story. 506 00:25:52,792 --> 00:25:56,792 "Some of the professors indicate that this should be outlawed, 507 00:25:56,833 --> 00:26:02,583 "because in a tolerant, diverse, pluralistic society, 508 00:26:02,667 --> 00:26:07,167 these kinds of things are fairly antiquated and offensive." 509 00:26:07,208 --> 00:26:11,792 So, Paul goes to jail, and he won't shut up, so they kill him. 510 00:26:11,833 --> 00:26:16,458 That did it. 511 00:26:16,500 --> 00:26:19,583 And what do you want to do with this? 512 00:26:19,667 --> 00:26:25,042 Okay, like, it's sort of offensive, right? 513 00:26:25,125 --> 00:26:27,000 Can we just--even if you disagree with everything 514 00:26:27,042 --> 00:26:33,167 I've said—can we now agree that that...it's fairly offensive? 515 00:26:33,250 --> 00:26:35,833 Like, let's say it's your mom, okay? 516 00:26:35,875 --> 00:26:37,708 "Now I say and testify in the Lord, 517 00:26:37,792 --> 00:26:40,333 "that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, 518 00:26:40,375 --> 00:26:41,833 "in the futility of their minds. 519 00:26:41,875 --> 00:26:43,667 "They are darkened in their understanding, 520 00:26:43,750 --> 00:26:46,167 "alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance 521 00:26:46,250 --> 00:26:48,625 "that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 522 00:26:48,667 --> 00:26:50,917 "They have become callous; they've given themselves up to 523 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:54,333 sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity." 524 00:26:54,375 --> 00:26:58,333 You'd never put that on a birthday card, right? 525 00:26:58,375 --> 00:27:02,958 Happy birthday! 526 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:05,375 Now, I know what some of you are thinking. 527 00:27:05,458 --> 00:27:09,583 You're thinking, "I don't see myself like that." 528 00:27:09,667 --> 00:27:12,375 Well, that's what I'd expect from a "Gentile 529 00:27:12,458 --> 00:27:13,792 "with a futile mind, 530 00:27:13,833 --> 00:27:15,958 "darkened understanding, alienated from the life of God, 531 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:19,500 marked by ignorance, hardness of heart, callousness-ness." 532 00:27:19,542 --> 00:27:24,542 Yes, I threw in another "ness-ness" just to emphasize 533 00:27:24,625 --> 00:27:27,167 the horror of it all. 534 00:27:27,250 --> 00:27:29,792 Some of you say, "I don't see myself that way," 535 00:27:29,833 --> 00:27:33,625 but you should because God does. 536 00:27:33,667 --> 00:27:35,417 Got you. 537 00:27:35,500 --> 00:27:38,333 At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter what we 538 00:27:38,375 --> 00:27:39,792 think about ourselves. 539 00:27:39,833 --> 00:27:42,000 We're not going to die, stand before a mirror, 540 00:27:42,042 --> 00:27:44,417 and give an account with an eternal consequence. 541 00:27:44,500 --> 00:27:46,500 We're going to die and stand before God, 542 00:27:46,542 --> 00:27:49,500 and he's going to render a verdict as to how he sees 543 00:27:49,542 --> 00:27:53,292 who we are and what we've done or failed to do. 544 00:27:53,333 --> 00:27:55,500 We need to live our lives, friends, "coram Deo." 545 00:27:55,583 --> 00:28:00,667 That means "in the face of God." 546 00:28:03,667 --> 00:28:05,167 Is this your team? 547 00:28:05,208 --> 00:28:07,583 Is this the direction of your life? 548 00:28:07,667 --> 00:28:09,167 Is this the way you think? 549 00:28:09,208 --> 00:28:10,583 Is this the way you act? 550 00:28:10,667 --> 00:28:13,333 Even right now, are you thinking, "Why did I come today? 551 00:28:13,417 --> 00:28:14,750 I disagree with this guy"? 552 00:28:14,833 --> 00:28:16,583 Feel free to disagree with me. 553 00:28:16,667 --> 00:28:21,958 I would say, don't disagree with Paul. 554 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,375 It's bad news, right? 555 00:28:24,458 --> 00:28:26,083 Very negative. 556 00:28:26,167 --> 00:28:28,167 "Where's the hope, Mark? Where's the happiness? 557 00:28:28,250 --> 00:28:31,125 Where's the joy? Where's the encouragement?" 558 00:28:31,167 --> 00:28:34,000 Well, it's not in you. 559 00:28:34,083 --> 00:28:39,917 It ain't in you, friend. Nope. 560 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:42,583 How about we talk about Jesus? How about we do that? 561 00:28:42,667 --> 00:28:44,083 Okay, new you. 562 00:28:44,167 --> 00:28:46,333 Old you, new you. Old you, new you. 563 00:28:46,375 --> 00:28:50,333 The old you needs to die, not get self-improved. 564 00:28:50,375 --> 00:28:54,417 Alright, the new you is the you in Christ. 565 00:28:54,500 --> 00:28:58,375 Ephesians 4:20-24, "But"— but, but, but, but, but! 566 00:28:58,458 --> 00:29:00,167 Good news, right? 567 00:29:00,667 --> 00:29:02,083 Good news, right? 568 00:29:02,167 --> 00:29:04,167 Okay, yeah, two of you are fired up. 569 00:29:04,208 --> 00:29:07,292 It's a start. It's a start. 570 00:29:07,333 --> 00:29:08,667 "But," alright, 571 00:29:08,750 --> 00:29:10,958 you read the whole first part, you're like, "Hmm." 572 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:12,333 "But--" 573 00:29:12,417 --> 00:29:15,167 "Okay, okay, hope— here comes the hope." 574 00:29:15,250 --> 00:29:17,167 We're smiling again, yay! 575 00:29:17,250 --> 00:29:21,542 Okay, "But that is not the way you learned Christ!" 576 00:29:21,625 --> 00:29:23,542 Now we're talking about Jesus Christ. 577 00:29:23,625 --> 00:29:25,292 Christ means the anointed one of God. 578 00:29:25,333 --> 00:29:26,667 It's about Jesus. 579 00:29:26,750 --> 00:29:29,833 He's--oh, it's all about Jesus. 580 00:29:29,917 --> 00:29:33,500 Old you, apart from Christ. 581 00:29:33,583 --> 00:29:38,417 New you, with Christ. 582 00:29:38,500 --> 00:29:39,833 It's amazing, isn't it? 583 00:29:39,875 --> 00:29:42,333 We live in a world— everybody wants to change. 584 00:29:42,375 --> 00:29:45,625 Self-help, self-improvement, self-actualization, self-esteem, 585 00:29:45,667 --> 00:29:52,208 magazines, books, trends, talk shows, counseling. 586 00:29:52,292 --> 00:29:54,417 You can change things you do; 587 00:29:54,500 --> 00:29:58,333 only Jesus can change who you are. 588 00:29:58,375 --> 00:30:00,417 You can change things you do; 589 00:30:00,500 --> 00:30:04,000 only Jesus can change who you are. 590 00:30:04,042 --> 00:30:08,917 And once he changes who you are, that changes what you do. 591 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:12,000 "Assuming that you have heard the truth about him 592 00:30:12,083 --> 00:30:14,375 and were taught in him." 593 00:30:14,458 --> 00:30:16,375 This requires teaching. 594 00:30:16,458 --> 00:30:20,375 None of us is born a Christian; none of us is born with 595 00:30:20,458 --> 00:30:26,000 an innate knowledge of Jesus, right? 596 00:30:26,083 --> 00:30:28,333 You have to learn that. 597 00:30:28,375 --> 00:30:31,000 The second member of the Trinity, who created the heavens 598 00:30:31,083 --> 00:30:33,417 and the earth, took upon himself human flesh, 599 00:30:33,500 --> 00:30:36,000 entered into history through the womb of Mary 600 00:30:36,083 --> 00:30:38,333 as the God-man Jesus Christ. 601 00:30:38,417 --> 00:30:41,708 He lived without sin, he said he was God, he died on the cross, 602 00:30:41,792 --> 00:30:45,417 he substituted himself in our place for our sins. 603 00:30:45,500 --> 00:30:50,250 Our death went to him; his life came to us. 604 00:30:50,333 --> 00:30:52,333 Three days later, he rose from death, 605 00:30:52,375 --> 00:30:55,042 he's ascended into heaven, he's ruling and reigning. 606 00:30:55,125 --> 00:30:58,833 He's Lord, God, King, returning to judge the living and the dead, 607 00:30:58,917 --> 00:31:03,208 and to establish a kingdom that will never end, okay? 608 00:31:03,292 --> 00:31:05,917 You just don't wake up on a Tuesday and be like, 609 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:08,000 "I thought of that. 610 00:31:08,083 --> 00:31:10,417 "I thought of that when I was eating oatmeal. 611 00:31:10,500 --> 00:31:13,917 "I thought, 'That's it,' and I'd never heard that before. 612 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:16,292 "I just—the oatmeal— we just figured it out, 613 00:31:16,333 --> 00:31:17,792 me and the--" 614 00:31:17,833 --> 00:31:19,417 You don't just figure this out. 615 00:31:19,500 --> 00:31:20,917 You don't just make this up. 616 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:22,875 Somebody's got to teach you. 617 00:31:22,958 --> 00:31:27,000 So thanks, thanks for letting me teach you, okay? 618 00:31:27,042 --> 00:31:28,833 But you need to learn. So friends, 619 00:31:28,875 --> 00:31:33,333 what this means is Christianity requires humility to say, 620 00:31:33,375 --> 00:31:39,583 "I don't know, and my speculation won't help. 621 00:31:41,292 --> 00:31:46,250 God's revelation with instruction—that'll help." 622 00:31:46,333 --> 00:31:48,667 See, nobody just starts with a good theology 623 00:31:48,708 --> 00:31:50,417 or a good Christology. 624 00:31:50,500 --> 00:31:53,417 They don't know who God is, or who God is in Christ. 625 00:31:53,500 --> 00:31:54,833 I didn't. You don't. 626 00:31:54,875 --> 00:31:56,625 Somebody teaches me. People teach you. 627 00:31:56,667 --> 00:31:58,667 I have the joy of teaching you. 628 00:31:58,708 --> 00:32:01,000 You've got to be taught. 629 00:32:01,042 --> 00:32:03,625 Lately, I just sense this is a bunch of rants, 630 00:32:03,667 --> 00:32:05,083 and I'm feeling it today. 631 00:32:05,167 --> 00:32:07,417 Let me just go with this for a minute. 632 00:32:07,500 --> 00:32:09,417 People will come to Mars Hill, they're like, 633 00:32:09,500 --> 00:32:11,125 "Why do you talk for an hour?" 634 00:32:11,167 --> 00:32:13,292 Well, because I have a lot to say, 635 00:32:13,333 --> 00:32:15,292 and I want you guys to learn something. 636 00:32:15,333 --> 00:32:18,417 Like, I figure if you're going to get up, and brush your teeth, 637 00:32:18,500 --> 00:32:21,625 and get in the car, and drive all the way to Mars Hill, 638 00:32:21,667 --> 00:32:24,417 and sit there, we may as well learn something. 639 00:32:24,500 --> 00:32:28,500 We may as well learn something, because I want you to know 640 00:32:28,583 --> 00:32:30,792 who Christ is and who you are in Christ, 641 00:32:30,833 --> 00:32:33,875 and then I want that to change your whole life with Christ, 642 00:32:33,958 --> 00:32:37,000 and it means it's going to take a little while. 643 00:32:37,042 --> 00:32:40,500 So, thanks for letting me teach. 644 00:32:40,542 --> 00:32:42,917 "Assuming you've heard about him and were taught in him, 645 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:46,625 as the truth is in"—who? 646 00:32:46,667 --> 00:32:48,792 "Jesus," okay? 647 00:32:48,833 --> 00:32:50,625 The truth is in Jesus. 648 00:32:50,667 --> 00:32:55,500 So, anything that's not connected to Jesus 649 00:32:55,583 --> 00:32:59,500 is not ultimately the total truth. 650 00:32:59,583 --> 00:33:05,000 So, parenting, suffering, marriage, dating, sexuality, 651 00:33:05,042 --> 00:33:09,333 finances, whatever. The truth about everything 652 00:33:09,417 --> 00:33:11,750 and anything is in Jesus. 653 00:33:11,833 --> 00:33:16,000 It's connected to Jesus; it's all about Jesus. 654 00:33:16,042 --> 00:33:18,167 There may be other truths through general revelation 655 00:33:18,250 --> 00:33:19,667 and common grace, 656 00:33:19,750 --> 00:33:22,500 and you can learn a lot of things, but ultimately, 657 00:33:22,542 --> 00:33:24,875 the truth for us is all connected to the person 658 00:33:24,958 --> 00:33:27,875 and the work of Jesus. 659 00:33:27,958 --> 00:33:32,625 "To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner 660 00:33:32,667 --> 00:33:38,292 of life and is corrupt." 661 00:33:39,792 --> 00:33:42,833 See, we love it in our day when there's a corrupt politician, 662 00:33:42,875 --> 00:33:45,500 or someone in leadership that's-- 663 00:33:45,583 --> 00:33:47,000 "Oh, they're corrupt!" 664 00:33:47,083 --> 00:33:49,833 He says everybody's corrupt. 665 00:33:49,875 --> 00:33:54,667 Some people just don't make the news. 666 00:33:54,750 --> 00:34:01,250 Your way of life is corrupt apart from a new life in Christ. 667 00:34:01,333 --> 00:34:03,083 "Through deceitful desires." 668 00:34:03,167 --> 00:34:04,542 Let's unpack that. 669 00:34:04,625 --> 00:34:08,458 We could spend a month on that. 670 00:34:08,500 --> 00:34:13,833 Apart from the Holy Spirit, our desires are deceitful. 671 00:34:15,958 --> 00:34:17,875 "Pastor Mark, I really want to date her." 672 00:34:17,958 --> 00:34:20,083 Deceitful desire. 673 00:34:20,167 --> 00:34:22,167 "Pastor Mark, I really want to date him." 674 00:34:22,250 --> 00:34:24,292 Deceitful desire. 675 00:34:24,333 --> 00:34:27,083 "Pastor Mark, I really want to walk out on my marriage." 676 00:34:27,167 --> 00:34:28,500 Deceitful desire. 677 00:34:28,542 --> 00:34:31,208 "Pastor Mark, I really want to click on that website." 678 00:34:31,292 --> 00:34:32,625 Deceitful desire. 679 00:34:32,667 --> 00:34:37,208 We have lots of deceitful desires, and they're deceitful 680 00:34:37,292 --> 00:34:39,833 because they lie. 681 00:34:39,875 --> 00:34:44,375 They promise something that they can't deliver. 682 00:34:44,458 --> 00:34:46,125 I'll give you an example with alcohol. 683 00:34:46,167 --> 00:34:51,708 Not all alcohol consumption is a sin; Jesus made wine. 684 00:34:51,792 --> 00:34:54,083 But what happens is some people struggle with— 685 00:34:54,167 --> 00:34:56,125 we'll call it alcoholism, right? 686 00:34:56,167 --> 00:35:01,500 It's a deceitful desire that involves alcohol. 687 00:35:01,542 --> 00:35:06,042 They really desire it, but it's deceived them. 688 00:35:06,125 --> 00:35:07,750 See, the bottle then says, 689 00:35:07,833 --> 00:35:10,375 "Drink me, and I'll help you relax. 690 00:35:10,458 --> 00:35:13,000 "Drink me, and I'll take the edge off. 691 00:35:13,042 --> 00:35:15,375 "Drink me, and I'll help you forget. 692 00:35:15,458 --> 00:35:19,875 "Drink me, and I'll help you sleep better. 693 00:35:19,958 --> 00:35:24,167 Drink me, I'll put you in a good mood." 694 00:35:24,250 --> 00:35:29,583 Deceitful desires, because the bottle never delivers 695 00:35:29,667 --> 00:35:33,583 what it promises, right? 696 00:35:33,667 --> 00:35:36,208 That's why in Ephesians 5, the very next chapter, 697 00:35:36,292 --> 00:35:38,083 he's going to say, "Don't get drunk; 698 00:35:38,167 --> 00:35:42,333 be filled with the Holy Spirit." 699 00:35:42,375 --> 00:35:45,292 Don't get drunk and be filled with alcohol; 700 00:35:45,333 --> 00:35:47,917 be filled with the Holy Spirit. 701 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:51,292 Only God can meet the deepest desires of the human soul, 702 00:35:51,333 --> 00:35:55,333 and only God delivers on his promises. 703 00:35:55,375 --> 00:35:57,708 The rest is all deceitful desires. 704 00:35:57,792 --> 00:36:00,375 And see, guys, we live in a culture that 705 00:36:00,458 --> 00:36:06,500 has insane statements like, "Follow your heart." 706 00:36:06,542 --> 00:36:09,167 See, the Bible would say it this way: 707 00:36:09,208 --> 00:36:12,292 "Follow your deceitful desires." 708 00:36:12,333 --> 00:36:14,583 It sounds different, doesn't it? 709 00:36:14,667 --> 00:36:16,542 Right? 710 00:36:16,625 --> 00:36:18,500 But if your heart has deceitful desires, 711 00:36:18,542 --> 00:36:20,083 and you follow your heart, 712 00:36:20,167 --> 00:36:22,500 you're following deceitful desires. 713 00:36:22,542 --> 00:36:25,875 And this is why we live in community, 714 00:36:25,958 --> 00:36:28,167 and we have other people speak into our lives, 715 00:36:28,208 --> 00:36:30,292 and why children should have parents, 716 00:36:30,333 --> 00:36:32,125 and why parents should have pastors, 717 00:36:32,167 --> 00:36:34,833 and why pastors should have pastors— 718 00:36:34,875 --> 00:36:37,625 that we all need a little counsel, because at times 719 00:36:37,667 --> 00:36:40,000 our desires deceive us. 720 00:36:40,042 --> 00:36:42,917 And it looks right to us, and then someone comes along 721 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:47,875 who has wisdom and says, "Whoa, that's a deceitful desire. 722 00:36:47,958 --> 00:36:50,333 "Don't follow your heart; guard your heart. 723 00:36:50,375 --> 00:36:55,250 Don't do what you want; do what he wants." 724 00:36:58,375 --> 00:37:02,375 "And to be renewed in the spirit of your minds." 725 00:37:02,458 --> 00:37:05,667 Change, repentance, transformation— 726 00:37:05,708 --> 00:37:09,500 it starts in the mind with how you think. 727 00:37:09,542 --> 00:37:12,083 If you think something is okay and God doesn't, 728 00:37:12,167 --> 00:37:15,000 you need to change your mind. 729 00:37:15,042 --> 00:37:17,750 You need to change your mind. 730 00:37:17,833 --> 00:37:20,292 It takes a change of mind, 731 00:37:20,333 --> 00:37:23,542 and that will start to change your activity. 732 00:37:23,625 --> 00:37:27,083 But first, it's your thought process. 733 00:37:27,167 --> 00:37:28,500 How do you think? 734 00:37:28,542 --> 00:37:30,083 And some of you, 735 00:37:30,167 --> 00:37:32,000 you have a very corrupted thought process. 736 00:37:32,042 --> 00:37:34,417 It's very perverted, it's very dark, it's very suspicious, 737 00:37:34,500 --> 00:37:36,208 it's very judgmental. 738 00:37:36,292 --> 00:37:38,417 Whatever the case may be, it's very self-righteous; 739 00:37:38,500 --> 00:37:44,708 it's not holy, or helpful, or healthy. 740 00:37:44,792 --> 00:37:48,500 And he says your mind needs to be surrendered to God. 741 00:37:48,583 --> 00:37:54,583 Not just your body, but your mind. 742 00:37:54,667 --> 00:37:57,625 Do you think God's thoughts after him? 743 00:37:57,667 --> 00:38:02,375 When you and God disagree, do you change your mind? 744 00:38:02,458 --> 00:38:05,667 Do you love the Lord your God with your mind? 745 00:38:05,750 --> 00:38:09,958 Do you take your thoughts captive to obedience to Christ? 746 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:15,667 Are you transformed by the renewing of your mind? 747 00:38:15,750 --> 00:38:20,375 If not, you're going to have a lifestyle 748 00:38:20,458 --> 00:38:25,083 that walks away from Jesus. 749 00:38:25,167 --> 00:38:27,042 "And to put on the new self, 750 00:38:27,125 --> 00:38:28,542 created after the likeness of God." 751 00:38:28,625 --> 00:38:30,667 There's your identity. 752 00:38:30,750 --> 00:38:35,333 Highlight it, circle it, underline it, memorize it. 753 00:38:35,375 --> 00:38:37,000 Those two words, what are they? 754 00:38:37,042 --> 00:38:39,708 "New self." 755 00:38:39,792 --> 00:38:42,875 We're not talking about self-help, self-improvement, 756 00:38:42,958 --> 00:38:46,083 self-actualization, where it's the same old you with some 757 00:38:46,167 --> 00:38:50,667 new techniques to try and manage the problems in your life. 758 00:38:50,750 --> 00:38:56,083 We're talking about a totally, completely, thoroughly new you, 759 00:38:56,167 --> 00:38:58,208 born again. 760 00:38:58,292 --> 00:39:01,792 The Bible uses the language of born again, regeneration, 761 00:39:01,833 --> 00:39:07,250 new creation, new person, new man, new life, 762 00:39:07,333 --> 00:39:11,833 new self, new you. 763 00:39:11,917 --> 00:39:15,375 You're genuinely new in Christ. 764 00:39:15,458 --> 00:39:19,792 Not yet totally new—God's going to keep working on you, 765 00:39:19,833 --> 00:39:24,583 but your identity is as a new person. 766 00:39:24,667 --> 00:39:27,500 And this is so radical when this happens in the Bible 767 00:39:27,542 --> 00:39:31,000 that sometimes people get new names. 768 00:39:31,083 --> 00:39:33,833 Abram becomes Abraham, and Sarai becomes Sarah, 769 00:39:33,875 --> 00:39:36,375 and Cephas becomes Peter, and Saul becomes Paul, 770 00:39:36,458 --> 00:39:38,417 and sometimes people just get a new name 771 00:39:38,500 --> 00:39:42,000 because they're just a different person. 772 00:39:42,042 --> 00:39:44,792 Alright, it's like you went to bed, that person died, 773 00:39:44,833 --> 00:39:48,500 you woke up, somebody with the same driver's license 774 00:39:48,583 --> 00:39:51,667 is there, but from the inside out 775 00:39:51,750 --> 00:39:57,708 you are new and in the process of being made new. 776 00:39:57,792 --> 00:39:59,792 For some of you, this explains your life. 777 00:39:59,833 --> 00:40:01,625 I was talking to a guy recently. 778 00:40:01,667 --> 00:40:03,708 He struggled with addiction for decades. 779 00:40:03,792 --> 00:40:05,375 I said, "Well, how's it going?" 780 00:40:05,458 --> 00:40:07,375 He said, "I haven't done anything in years." 781 00:40:07,458 --> 00:40:08,792 I said, "Why?" 782 00:40:08,833 --> 00:40:12,500 He said, "I met Jesus and," quote, "I don't want to." 783 00:40:12,542 --> 00:40:15,917 He said, "I just don't want to." 784 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:18,000 That's new. 785 00:40:18,042 --> 00:40:21,333 Grace and I recently celebrated 25 years since our first date. 786 00:40:21,375 --> 00:40:23,000 We've been married for 20 years. 787 00:40:23,083 --> 00:40:25,000 I had a guy come up, he's like, 788 00:40:25,083 --> 00:40:27,500 "How do you stay faithful to her for 20 years?" 789 00:40:27,583 --> 00:40:30,000 I was like, "I want to." 790 00:40:30,042 --> 00:40:32,958 That helps, 791 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:34,333 right? 792 00:40:34,417 --> 00:40:36,167 I want to. 793 00:40:36,208 --> 00:40:39,333 Like, I'm a new person. 794 00:40:39,375 --> 00:40:44,833 That means that I get to live a new life 795 00:40:44,917 --> 00:40:48,542 and that God has given me new desires, 796 00:40:48,625 --> 00:40:50,250 and that's what I want to do. 797 00:40:50,333 --> 00:40:53,000 I want to get old with her, and hold her hand, 798 00:40:53,083 --> 00:40:55,625 and be her friend. 799 00:40:55,667 --> 00:41:00,167 See, the old Mark—that was not what he was-- 800 00:41:00,250 --> 00:41:02,375 I was going to say— "probably going to do." 801 00:41:02,458 --> 00:41:05,333 What I mean by that is, that is certainly not what he 802 00:41:05,375 --> 00:41:07,000 was going to do, okay? 803 00:41:07,042 --> 00:41:11,292 But the new— yeah, yeah, 804 00:41:11,333 --> 00:41:17,208 that's who I am, and that's what I want to do. 805 00:41:17,292 --> 00:41:21,333 But that's the new self. That's the new self. 806 00:41:21,375 --> 00:41:23,333 Have you experienced that? 807 00:41:23,375 --> 00:41:26,583 Have you tasted that? 808 00:41:26,667 --> 00:41:29,708 "After the likeness of God in true righteousness 809 00:41:29,792 --> 00:41:31,625 and holiness." 810 00:41:31,667 --> 00:41:33,708 Isn't it amazing he puts righteousness and holiness 811 00:41:33,792 --> 00:41:35,750 at the end of the thought? 812 00:41:35,833 --> 00:41:37,625 See, religion usually starts there. 813 00:41:37,667 --> 00:41:39,167 "You should be righteous! 814 00:41:39,208 --> 00:41:40,958 You should be holy!" 815 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:43,250 You're like, "Okay, I feel guilty; I'll try." 816 00:41:43,333 --> 00:41:46,333 He says, "No, here's who you were, here's who you are, 817 00:41:46,417 --> 00:41:48,417 "here's what Jesus is doing. 818 00:41:48,500 --> 00:41:52,542 "And if you think rightly, you'll walk obediently, 819 00:41:52,625 --> 00:41:54,333 and you'll live holy." 820 00:41:54,417 --> 00:42:00,625 It's a result of a relationship with Jesus. 821 00:42:00,667 --> 00:42:06,833 And he says it's like changing your clothes. 822 00:42:06,875 --> 00:42:09,125 Put off, put on. 823 00:42:09,167 --> 00:42:10,625 You see that? 824 00:42:10,667 --> 00:42:12,417 Put off, put on. 825 00:42:12,500 --> 00:42:15,208 So, this morning, you got up, took your pajamas off. 826 00:42:15,292 --> 00:42:17,292 At least I hope you did, okay? 827 00:42:17,333 --> 00:42:19,208 I saw a guy at the airport recently. 828 00:42:19,292 --> 00:42:21,208 I saw this little kid in his jammies. 829 00:42:21,292 --> 00:42:24,208 I thought, "That's cute," and then his dad was in his jammies. 830 00:42:24,292 --> 00:42:26,708 I was like... 831 00:42:26,792 --> 00:42:28,500 I threw up in my mouth. 832 00:42:28,542 --> 00:42:32,208 That is not cute, alright? 833 00:42:32,292 --> 00:42:35,625 So, let's assume that you woke up this morning, and you put off 834 00:42:35,667 --> 00:42:39,500 your pajamas, and you put on your clothes. 835 00:42:39,583 --> 00:42:41,625 We do that every day, 836 00:42:41,667 --> 00:42:44,083 and here's what I want you to do starting tomorrow. 837 00:42:44,167 --> 00:42:47,667 Every day, Mars Hill, as you clothe yourself physically, 838 00:42:47,750 --> 00:42:51,500 I want you to remember that Jesus has also clothed you 839 00:42:51,583 --> 00:42:54,875 spiritually, okay? 840 00:42:54,958 --> 00:42:59,083 This woman's testimony—she really encapsulates the gospel 841 00:42:59,167 --> 00:43:03,000 well when she says, basically, Jesus wore her sin 842 00:43:03,042 --> 00:43:04,958 and went to the cross. 843 00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:08,500 He took it on and then he clothed her 844 00:43:08,542 --> 00:43:10,667 in his righteousness. 845 00:43:10,750 --> 00:43:17,000 So, he takes all of her filthy rags and gives her all of his 846 00:43:17,042 --> 00:43:19,875 robes of righteousness. 847 00:43:19,958 --> 00:43:23,250 That's the gospel; that's what Jesus does. 848 00:43:23,333 --> 00:43:27,333 And so as Jesus has done that for us spiritually, 849 00:43:27,417 --> 00:43:30,167 we need to do that mentally. 850 00:43:30,250 --> 00:43:35,708 We need to remember this every day, so that our identity 851 00:43:35,792 --> 00:43:39,917 determines our activity. 852 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:42,083 And this is what we do, right, friends? 853 00:43:42,167 --> 00:43:45,208 Like, when there's a major transition in your life, 854 00:43:45,292 --> 00:43:49,667 you change your clothes, right? 855 00:43:49,750 --> 00:43:54,917 So, when you graduate from college, let's say, 856 00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:57,208 what do you wear? 857 00:43:57,292 --> 00:43:59,625 How can you know who the college graduate is? 858 00:43:59,667 --> 00:44:03,083 They're wearing a ridiculous dress with a hat that doesn't 859 00:44:03,167 --> 00:44:05,583 stay on anyone's head, okay? 860 00:44:05,667 --> 00:44:08,083 And you can say, 861 00:44:08,167 --> 00:44:09,958 "Oh, because they were a student, 862 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:12,292 "but now they're an unemployed person 863 00:44:12,333 --> 00:44:14,333 with massive debt," okay? 864 00:44:14,417 --> 00:44:18,792 So, their life has changed, okay? 865 00:44:18,833 --> 00:44:24,667 And to mark that change, we dress them up, right? 866 00:44:24,750 --> 00:44:27,958 Similarly, let's say you join the military, right? 867 00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:33,000 You walk in in flip flops, a pair of shorts, long hair, 868 00:44:33,083 --> 00:44:39,833 hope, and then that all changes, right? 869 00:44:39,875 --> 00:44:43,667 They dress you--oh, shaved head, uniform. 870 00:44:43,750 --> 00:44:50,208 Now, you look like someone who is going to walk in a new life. 871 00:44:50,292 --> 00:44:54,333 You were a civilian; now you're a soldier, right? 872 00:44:54,375 --> 00:44:56,708 That's why we don't see guys running around the battlefield 873 00:44:56,792 --> 00:45:01,792 in flip flops and capri pants, trying to express themselves, 874 00:45:01,833 --> 00:45:03,792 right? 875 00:45:03,833 --> 00:45:08,583 "I'm an artist," right? 876 00:45:08,667 --> 00:45:13,958 So, the clothing indicates-- oh, we see who they are. 877 00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:17,792 Similarly, on your wedding day—right, ladies?— 878 00:45:17,833 --> 00:45:24,042 you wear a gown and a thing on your head, okay? 879 00:45:24,125 --> 00:45:26,792 A "veil," I think they call it. 880 00:45:26,833 --> 00:45:30,500 I've lived 42 years "veil"-free. 881 00:45:30,542 --> 00:45:32,417 I think it's a veil. 882 00:45:32,500 --> 00:45:38,208 And what happens then is you walk in as a single woman, 883 00:45:38,292 --> 00:45:41,833 you walk out as a married woman. 884 00:45:41,875 --> 00:45:45,625 Literally, the dad walks you down the aisle, and this is 885 00:45:45,667 --> 00:45:50,000 the beginning of a whole new life journey, 886 00:45:50,042 --> 00:45:54,167 and we mark that with a white dress. 887 00:45:54,250 --> 00:45:59,000 You put off. You put on. 888 00:45:59,042 --> 00:46:03,083 New identity. Once you know who you are, 889 00:46:03,167 --> 00:46:07,167 then you know what to do. 890 00:46:07,250 --> 00:46:10,375 When you wake up tomorrow, as you're clothing yourself 891 00:46:10,458 --> 00:46:13,792 physically, remind yourself of how Jesus Christ, 892 00:46:13,833 --> 00:46:18,000 if you are a Christian, has clothed you spiritually. 893 00:46:18,042 --> 00:46:20,333 I am not guilty; I'm forgiven. 894 00:46:20,417 --> 00:46:22,667 I'm not hated; I'm loved. 895 00:46:22,708 --> 00:46:25,292 I'm not far away; I'm brought near. 896 00:46:25,333 --> 00:46:29,042 I'm not alienated; I'm reconciled. 897 00:46:29,125 --> 00:46:33,500 God is not against me; he's for me. 898 00:46:33,542 --> 00:46:38,792 God's not angry with me; he loves me. 899 00:46:38,833 --> 00:46:43,125 I don't need to pay God back; Jesus already paid my debt. 900 00:46:43,167 --> 00:46:45,833 I don't need to clean myself up; 901 00:46:45,875 --> 00:46:49,833 I need to remember who Jesus is, and what he's done, 902 00:46:49,875 --> 00:46:52,708 and live out of the new identity 903 00:46:52,792 --> 00:46:55,375 that he's given me. 904 00:46:55,458 --> 00:46:58,208 And I want you to, every morning, as you clothe yourself 905 00:46:58,292 --> 00:47:00,792 physically, remind yourself of how Jesus 906 00:47:00,833 --> 00:47:03,167 has clothed you spiritually. 907 00:47:03,250 --> 00:47:06,000 And then as you walk out the door, remember, 908 00:47:06,042 --> 00:47:08,500 "I'm walking with him as I'm going to work, 909 00:47:08,542 --> 00:47:09,875 "as I'm going to school. 910 00:47:09,958 --> 00:47:14,167 "Wherever it is that I am going, this is now my Christian walk. 911 00:47:14,250 --> 00:47:17,833 "And I'm in my new identity; I'm clothed in the righteousness, 912 00:47:17,917 --> 00:47:19,875 "and the love, and the friendship 913 00:47:19,958 --> 00:47:21,292 "of Jesus Christ, 914 00:47:21,333 --> 00:47:26,958 and I get to walk in a manner worthy of that relationship." 915 00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:29,667 And that's all of Paul's language here. 916 00:47:29,750 --> 00:47:35,000 And I really, desperately want that for you, practically. 917 00:47:35,083 --> 00:47:38,500 I want that for you. 918 00:47:38,583 --> 00:47:43,333 Now, some of you are going to struggle with this. 919 00:47:43,375 --> 00:47:46,208 There are five kinds of people that are going to hear this. 920 00:47:46,292 --> 00:47:48,500 Some of you are loosely religious and you assume, 921 00:47:48,542 --> 00:47:50,208 "I'm already good enough. 922 00:47:50,292 --> 00:47:54,125 "I don't need this whole, 'Old me dies, new me rises, 923 00:47:54,167 --> 00:47:58,583 "'take off my old life, put on a new life, come to Christ.' 924 00:47:58,667 --> 00:48:01,875 "I'm a pretty good person. 925 00:48:01,958 --> 00:48:04,833 "This seems like a bit of an overreaction or something 926 00:48:04,917 --> 00:48:07,750 "for the wicked people seated around me, 927 00:48:07,833 --> 00:48:13,375 the people who really need it, those messed up people." 928 00:48:13,458 --> 00:48:15,333 You're not good enough. 929 00:48:15,417 --> 00:48:17,875 God doesn't see people in terms of good and bad, 930 00:48:17,958 --> 00:48:19,792 but perfect and imperfect. 931 00:48:19,833 --> 00:48:23,083 Guess which bucket you're in? 932 00:48:23,167 --> 00:48:26,292 Jesus says, "Be perfect." 933 00:48:26,333 --> 00:48:29,583 That's God's standard. 934 00:48:29,667 --> 00:48:36,125 God sees everyone and Jesus— imperfect, perfect. 935 00:48:36,167 --> 00:48:42,708 Simply being religious, moral, decent citizen— 936 00:48:42,792 --> 00:48:46,667 that's not acceptable in God's sight. 937 00:48:46,750 --> 00:48:50,125 The whole first list of people that we looked at under 938 00:48:50,167 --> 00:48:54,167 the category of the old you— he's talking to some people 939 00:48:54,250 --> 00:48:59,208 who are loosely religious, moral, law-abiding, tax-paying, 940 00:48:59,292 --> 00:49:04,292 decent citizens who are alienated from Christ, 941 00:49:04,333 --> 00:49:07,583 futile in their thinking, darkened in their understanding, 942 00:49:07,667 --> 00:49:12,375 hardened in their heart, calloused in their soul. 943 00:49:12,458 --> 00:49:15,667 Number two, some of you are going to be secular-religious. 944 00:49:15,750 --> 00:49:18,833 You don't have a religion, but you have a religious zeal 945 00:49:18,917 --> 00:49:21,667 for some cause. 946 00:49:21,708 --> 00:49:26,333 And your basic assumption is, "The world is in a bad place, 947 00:49:26,417 --> 00:49:30,708 "but I'm a good person, and I'm here to make a difference. 948 00:49:30,792 --> 00:49:34,500 "So, I'm going to pick a cause, and I'm going to put it on my 949 00:49:34,583 --> 00:49:37,125 "bumper sticker, wear a t-shirt, we're going to have bracelets, 950 00:49:37,167 --> 00:49:40,000 "and I'm going to champion my cause, our cause, 951 00:49:40,083 --> 00:49:42,500 "because we're the good people. 952 00:49:42,542 --> 00:49:45,292 "We're here to help, we're here to save, 953 00:49:45,333 --> 00:49:47,083 "we're here to make a difference. 954 00:49:47,167 --> 00:49:50,000 "We don't believe in Jesus, but we believe that maybe 955 00:49:50,083 --> 00:49:52,167 "we're kind of like him. 956 00:49:52,250 --> 00:49:54,500 We're here to save the day." 957 00:49:54,583 --> 00:49:59,292 That's the whole Pacific Northwest, okay? 958 00:49:59,333 --> 00:50:01,792 Just to make sure that everyone's offended, 959 00:50:01,833 --> 00:50:05,167 let me just say that it's not just--because we believe 960 00:50:05,250 --> 00:50:06,708 in inclusion; 961 00:50:06,792 --> 00:50:10,125 we believe in including everyone in the offense of the gospel, 962 00:50:10,167 --> 00:50:12,417 okay?— 963 00:50:12,500 --> 00:50:15,667 that this is a whole generation that has walked away from 964 00:50:15,750 --> 00:50:20,375 Christian faith but has walked toward self-righteous causes. 965 00:50:20,458 --> 00:50:24,125 They would say, "Yes, the world is filled with sin and evil, and 966 00:50:24,167 --> 00:50:27,083 "it's a good thing we're here with our organized group to fix it 967 00:50:27,167 --> 00:50:29,208 and make a difference." 968 00:50:29,292 --> 00:50:30,958 It's self-righteous, it's haughty, it's proud, 969 00:50:31,000 --> 00:50:35,208 and, just so you know, you're not the first person to think that. 970 00:50:35,292 --> 00:50:38,000 Because the problem isn't just out there, it's in here, 971 00:50:38,083 --> 00:50:41,500 and the problem's not just in them, it's in me. 972 00:50:41,583 --> 00:50:44,167 And more than causes, we need Christ. 973 00:50:44,208 --> 00:50:47,833 There are some you who are--you're not Christian, 974 00:50:47,917 --> 00:50:50,458 but you're very spiritual. 975 00:50:50,500 --> 00:50:53,250 And your thing is, "Yes, we do need to change, Mark. 976 00:50:53,333 --> 00:50:56,458 We need to evolve into higher states of consciousness." 977 00:50:56,500 --> 00:50:58,042 You'll say stuff like that. 978 00:50:58,125 --> 00:51:01,208 I don't even know what it means. I went to college. 979 00:51:01,292 --> 00:51:04,167 And then you're going to be the person who's-- 980 00:51:04,250 --> 00:51:07,375 you ever see anybody out butterfly-catching? 981 00:51:14,667 --> 00:51:19,917 Okay, you're like that with spiritual trends, okay? 982 00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:22,583 "Oh, there's a new book out on, you know, 983 00:51:22,667 --> 00:51:24,583 "how to feng shui your house. 984 00:51:24,667 --> 00:51:27,083 "And you know, the problem is the energy's all going 985 00:51:27,167 --> 00:51:28,500 "the wrong direction. 986 00:51:28,542 --> 00:51:32,333 "That's why you're a jerk, because the plant's where 987 00:51:32,417 --> 00:51:36,125 "the table's supposed to be. 988 00:51:36,167 --> 00:51:38,167 "That's why you're a jerk. 989 00:51:38,208 --> 00:51:44,042 Swap them—all better, okay?" 990 00:51:44,125 --> 00:51:45,833 "Oh, you need to drink decaf." 991 00:51:45,917 --> 00:51:47,625 "Oh, okay." 992 00:51:47,667 --> 00:51:49,458 "Have you tried the acacia berries?" 993 00:51:49,500 --> 00:51:51,250 "No, I haven't." 994 00:51:51,333 --> 00:51:54,542 "Yeah, acacia berries— they cleanse, detox. 995 00:51:54,625 --> 00:51:57,417 "Breathe deep, drink decaf, listen to tape sounds of 996 00:51:57,500 --> 00:52:01,125 running water—your whole life's going to change." 997 00:52:01,167 --> 00:52:03,208 "Oh, coffee enema, what?" 998 00:52:03,292 --> 00:52:10,167 No, okay, we probably should edit that out, 999 00:52:10,250 --> 00:52:12,875 but it's a true thing, so maybe we won't. 1000 00:52:12,958 --> 00:52:16,708 Okay, so, but you become--you just chase all these-- 1001 00:52:16,792 --> 00:52:19,000 "Oh, there's a new book, there's a new guru. 1002 00:52:19,083 --> 00:52:21,500 "Oh, look, there's a guy— he's from an Eastern country, 1003 00:52:21,583 --> 00:52:23,708 "he's got facial hair, he's wearing a diaper. 1004 00:52:23,792 --> 00:52:27,000 "He can sit in a position that Pastor Mark 1005 00:52:27,042 --> 00:52:29,625 "could never even conceive of, 1006 00:52:29,667 --> 00:52:34,667 and it sounds--well, let's try that." 1007 00:52:36,042 --> 00:52:38,083 And it's--here's what it is--it's a marketing gimmick 1008 00:52:38,167 --> 00:52:41,333 and game to just sell you products that don't work 1009 00:52:41,375 --> 00:52:43,500 until you die and go to hell. 1010 00:52:43,583 --> 00:52:48,000 And that's in the lotus position with an acacia berry, right? 1011 00:52:48,083 --> 00:52:53,917 Like, so—okay, 1012 00:52:54,000 --> 00:52:58,583 "his karma and chakra are woefully off." 1013 00:53:04,958 --> 00:53:07,500 Some of you, number four— you're devoutly religious, 1014 00:53:07,542 --> 00:53:09,083 and you would say, 1015 00:53:09,167 --> 00:53:11,167 "Yes, I need to be more self-disciplined. 1016 00:53:11,250 --> 00:53:13,167 "I need to be more self-organized. 1017 00:53:13,208 --> 00:53:15,375 "I need to feel the way to my sin. 1018 00:53:15,458 --> 00:53:21,792 "I need to get more self-ability to govern my life. 1019 00:53:21,833 --> 00:53:23,375 I need to obey." 1020 00:53:23,458 --> 00:53:25,375 And you know what? 1021 00:53:25,458 --> 00:53:31,417 You say the word "you" a lot, and you don't say 1022 00:53:31,500 --> 00:53:35,625 the name of Jesus as much. 1023 00:53:35,667 --> 00:53:40,833 You don't say things like, "Jesus, thanks for changing me. 1024 00:53:40,875 --> 00:53:43,125 "Jesus, thanks for clothing me. 1025 00:53:43,167 --> 00:53:45,333 "Jesus, thanks for hearing me. 1026 00:53:45,375 --> 00:53:48,375 Jesus, could you help me?" 1027 00:53:48,458 --> 00:53:53,000 It's like you're performing for God as if God 1028 00:53:53,083 --> 00:53:57,792 should be disappointed or impressed with you. 1029 00:53:57,833 --> 00:54:00,250 That's not the kind of relationship that the Father has 1030 00:54:00,333 --> 00:54:02,000 with his kids. 1031 00:54:02,042 --> 00:54:05,583 He's there to help them. 1032 00:54:05,667 --> 00:54:10,083 And lastly, some of you just have no hope at all. 1033 00:54:10,167 --> 00:54:12,375 "Mark, look, I've tried a lot of things. 1034 00:54:12,458 --> 00:54:14,583 "I've tried to fix my life. 1035 00:54:14,667 --> 00:54:21,458 "Look, I just don't think it's for me. 1036 00:54:21,500 --> 00:54:25,500 "The things I've done, I don't know how I can undo them. 1037 00:54:25,542 --> 00:54:30,667 "The life I've lived—look, you got me. I know it's foolish. 1038 00:54:30,750 --> 00:54:32,417 "I just need to accept my fate. 1039 00:54:32,500 --> 00:54:35,333 "I've made my bed; I've got to lie in it. 1040 00:54:35,375 --> 00:54:39,333 I've made my pile; I just need to rub my nose in it." 1041 00:54:39,375 --> 00:54:46,292 No, you don't, you don't, you don't. 1042 00:54:50,000 --> 00:54:54,000 In fact, here's what Paul says in Philippians 3, 1043 00:54:54,083 --> 00:54:57,333 the man who writes this. 1044 00:54:57,375 --> 00:54:59,500 Philippians 3:5-6, he says, 1045 00:54:59,583 --> 00:55:01,542 "I was circumcised on the eighth day, 1046 00:55:01,625 --> 00:55:04,000 "of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, 1047 00:55:04,042 --> 00:55:06,833 "a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 1048 00:55:06,917 --> 00:55:09,458 "as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; 1049 00:55:09,500 --> 00:55:12,458 as to righteousness under the law, blameless." 1050 00:55:12,500 --> 00:55:14,833 I don't know what your identity is coming in here. 1051 00:55:14,917 --> 00:55:16,833 "I'm a good person. I'm a bad person. 1052 00:55:16,917 --> 00:55:18,833 "I'm a strong person. I'm a weak person. 1053 00:55:18,917 --> 00:55:20,333 "I'm a winner. I'm a loser. 1054 00:55:20,417 --> 00:55:21,750 "I'm desirable. I'm undesirable. 1055 00:55:21,833 --> 00:55:24,792 "I think I'm okay with God. 1056 00:55:24,833 --> 00:55:27,958 I don't think God's okay with me." 1057 00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:33,333 You need to first name your current, present identity. 1058 00:55:33,375 --> 00:55:35,208 Paul does that. 1059 00:55:35,292 --> 00:55:38,500 "Jewish family, good boy, great school, knew Hebrew, 1060 00:55:38,542 --> 00:55:41,708 "circumcised on the 8th day, great family bloodlines, 1061 00:55:41,792 --> 00:55:45,083 "very zealous, very committed, tithed 10%, 1062 00:55:45,167 --> 00:55:47,000 "checked all the boxes. 1063 00:55:47,083 --> 00:55:50,000 "My identity was great, moral, devout, accomplished, 1064 00:55:50,042 --> 00:55:52,000 religious person." 1065 00:55:52,042 --> 00:55:55,208 What's your identity? 1066 00:55:55,292 --> 00:55:58,333 Now, this will shock some of you. 1067 00:55:58,375 --> 00:56:02,833 After he meets Jesus, after he gets a new mind, 1068 00:56:02,917 --> 00:56:04,500 he sees things different. 1069 00:56:04,542 --> 00:56:08,500 After he gets a new heart, after he gets new desires 1070 00:56:08,542 --> 00:56:11,250 and a new power through the person of the Holy Spirit, 1071 00:56:11,333 --> 00:56:13,292 here's what he says. 1072 00:56:13,333 --> 00:56:15,833 Chapter 3, verse 8 of Philippians, 1073 00:56:15,917 --> 00:56:19,083 he says, "And all of this I consider rubbish." 1074 00:56:19,167 --> 00:56:25,250 Some will translate it trash; some will translate it dung. 1075 00:56:28,500 --> 00:56:30,458 Next time you take the trash out, remember, 1076 00:56:30,500 --> 00:56:34,708 identity apart from Christ...boom. 1077 00:56:34,792 --> 00:56:41,083 Next time you're out for a walk, and somebody's dog left a pile, 1078 00:56:41,167 --> 00:56:43,792 and it's graphic, 1079 00:56:43,833 --> 00:56:48,125 identity apart from Christ, 1080 00:56:48,167 --> 00:56:51,417 identity apart from Christ. 1081 00:56:51,500 --> 00:56:55,667 You could say, "Oh, well, look how nicely stacked the pile is. 1082 00:56:58,292 --> 00:57:01,042 "Their pile is bigger than the other pile. 1083 00:57:01,125 --> 00:57:06,792 That's the biggest pile I've ever seen." 1084 00:57:06,833 --> 00:57:12,333 Identity apart from Christ— that's what Paul is saying. 1085 00:57:12,417 --> 00:57:16,958 And we're all trying to create an identity, 1086 00:57:17,000 --> 00:57:21,167 and then defend an identity. 1087 00:57:21,250 --> 00:57:27,000 Old you, new you. 1088 00:57:27,042 --> 00:57:31,500 Who you were apart from Christ; who you are in Christ, right? 1089 00:57:31,583 --> 00:57:33,625 Take the old identity off. 1090 00:57:33,667 --> 00:57:35,208 Say, "You know what? 1091 00:57:35,292 --> 00:57:37,625 I'm not like that anymore." 1092 00:57:37,667 --> 00:57:39,000 Put the new identity on. 1093 00:57:39,083 --> 00:57:41,208 "Okay, this is who I am in Jesus now." 1094 00:57:41,292 --> 00:57:45,500 And the identity is Christ, not you, amen? 1095 00:57:45,583 --> 00:57:48,500 You can't make him love you any more; 1096 00:57:48,542 --> 00:57:50,792 you can't make him love you any less. 1097 00:57:50,833 --> 00:57:55,292 You can't be any more forgiven than totally forgiven. 1098 00:57:55,333 --> 00:58:02,333 You can't be any newer than made thoroughly new. 1099 00:58:04,333 --> 00:58:07,583 I want you to, number one, receive that. 1100 00:58:07,667 --> 00:58:09,667 Have you met Jesus and been born again? 1101 00:58:09,750 --> 00:58:11,500 Are you new? 1102 00:58:11,542 --> 00:58:14,292 Number two, I want you to understand your new identity, 1103 00:58:14,333 --> 00:58:17,167 so that, unlike this young woman, you don't spend years 1104 00:58:17,250 --> 00:58:20,500 as a Christian without knowing your identity. 1105 00:58:20,542 --> 00:58:24,000 And then, number three, I want you walk in it, alright? 1106 00:58:24,042 --> 00:58:26,500 Start making very, very, very, very, 1107 00:58:26,542 --> 00:58:30,708 very practical decisions: what you eat, what you drink, 1108 00:58:30,792 --> 00:58:35,000 where you live, what you wear, who you date, who you marry, 1109 00:58:35,042 --> 00:58:37,500 how you raise your kids, how you spend your money, 1110 00:58:37,542 --> 00:58:40,000 what you watch, what websites you click. 1111 00:58:40,083 --> 00:58:44,708 All of that, right, that's all part of the walk. 1112 00:58:44,792 --> 00:58:47,667 And some of you would say, "Man, I've walked so far away 1113 00:58:47,750 --> 00:58:49,500 from Jesus." 1114 00:58:49,542 --> 00:58:52,417 Here's the good news: if you stop and turn around, 1115 00:58:52,500 --> 00:58:56,000 you will find that he's been following you the entire time. 1116 00:58:56,083 --> 00:58:58,208 He's not far away. 1117 00:58:58,292 --> 00:59:01,875 He's not far away. 1118 00:59:01,958 --> 00:59:03,583 So, here's what we're going to do. 1119 00:59:03,667 --> 00:59:06,042 We're going to call you to respond. We respond. 1120 00:59:06,125 --> 00:59:08,083 See, God initiates; we respond. 1121 00:59:08,167 --> 00:59:10,458 God changes us, so we change how we act. 1122 00:59:10,500 --> 00:59:12,958 God changes our minds, so we change how we think. 1123 00:59:13,000 --> 00:59:16,750 God changes our desires, so we change what we long for. 1124 00:59:16,833 --> 00:59:18,667 Alright, we're going to respond now. 1125 00:59:18,750 --> 00:59:22,875 So, God has given us Christ and a new identity, and we respond. 1126 00:59:22,958 --> 00:59:26,000 We respond with giving, we respond with Communion, 1127 00:59:26,042 --> 00:59:28,167 we respond with singing. 1128 00:59:28,250 --> 00:59:31,417 And so as the financial stewards are coming forward to collect 1129 00:59:31,500 --> 00:59:34,000 our tithes and offerings, let me say, if you're new, 1130 00:59:34,042 --> 00:59:35,500 let us know who you are. 1131 00:59:35,542 --> 00:59:38,500 Put the visitor card in, so we could follow up with you. 1132 00:59:38,542 --> 00:59:40,333 And as they are collecting the offering, 1133 00:59:40,375 --> 00:59:43,000 let me explain to you the biggest weekend of the year. 1134 00:59:43,042 --> 00:59:44,625 It's coming. What is it? 1135 00:59:44,667 --> 00:59:46,208 It's Easter! 1136 00:59:46,292 --> 00:59:48,833 The day we celebrate the victorious resurrection 1137 00:59:48,875 --> 00:59:51,583 of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. 1138 00:59:51,667 --> 00:59:53,708 For us at Mars Hill, this is it. 1139 00:59:53,792 --> 00:59:55,625 This is the big day. 1140 00:59:55,667 --> 00:59:59,500 We're praying for 20,000 people, 42 services, 14 locations, 1141 00:59:59,583 --> 01:00:04,125 4 states, live simulcast all connected together, 1142 01:00:04,167 --> 01:00:07,167 one big epic church family. 1143 01:00:07,250 --> 01:00:11,292 And what we show is the difference that Jesus makes, 1144 01:00:11,333 --> 01:00:13,625 and we show that through baptism. 1145 01:00:13,667 --> 01:00:16,500 As people are baptized, they're saying, "Jesus was alive. 1146 01:00:16,583 --> 01:00:19,500 "He died for my sin, he rose to give me new life, 1147 01:00:19,583 --> 01:00:23,417 and I'm publicly identifying myself with him." 1148 01:00:23,500 --> 01:00:25,833 So, be praying for family, friends, neighbors, 1149 01:00:25,875 --> 01:00:27,917 coworkers to come to church with you. 1150 01:00:28,000 --> 01:00:30,375 Invite them; pray that they would meet Jesus. 1151 01:00:30,458 --> 01:00:32,042 And if you've never been baptized, 1152 01:00:32,125 --> 01:00:34,542 go ahead and sign up, so we can baptize you. 1153 01:00:34,625 --> 01:00:37,542 And I want to show you what it's going to look like, 1154 01:00:37,625 --> 01:00:39,708 so you can get excited, okay? 1155 01:00:43,000 --> 01:00:48,000 [Music] 1156 01:00:48,833 --> 01:00:52,917 "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven." 1157 01:00:56,875 --> 01:01:01,792 "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." 1158 01:01:04,375 --> 01:01:05,875 "Take heart. 1159 01:01:05,958 --> 01:01:10,333 Get up; Jesus is calling you." 1160 01:01:10,375 --> 01:01:12,417 "I have said these things to you, 1161 01:01:12,500 --> 01:01:14,917 "that in me you may have peace. 1162 01:01:15,000 --> 01:01:17,500 "In the world you will have tribulation. 1163 01:01:17,583 --> 01:01:21,583 But take heart; I have overcome the world." 1164 01:01:22,583 --> 01:01:33,500 [Music] 1165 01:01:41,625 --> 01:01:44,333 Well, you could clap for that. 1166 01:01:44,375 --> 01:01:45,750 It's going to be great. 1167 01:01:45,833 --> 01:01:48,417 We're praying for a big Sunday, so be praying for us 1168 01:01:48,500 --> 01:01:49,917 all of Easter weekend. 1169 01:01:50,000 --> 01:01:52,917 And what we're going to do now is we're going to partake 1170 01:01:53,000 --> 01:01:54,333 of Communion. 1171 01:01:54,375 --> 01:01:56,333 This is where we remember the broken body, 1172 01:01:56,375 --> 01:01:57,708 shed blood of Jesus, right? 1173 01:01:57,792 --> 01:02:00,417 That in Christ we are made new. 1174 01:02:00,500 --> 01:02:03,667 And as you partake, if you are a Christian or become one today, 1175 01:02:03,750 --> 01:02:07,208 you're publicly identifying yourself with Jesus. 1176 01:02:07,292 --> 01:02:10,000 And I want you to look, as others partake of Communion, 1177 01:02:10,083 --> 01:02:12,708 at all the people who've received a new life 1178 01:02:12,792 --> 01:02:14,500 and a new identity in Christ, 1179 01:02:14,583 --> 01:02:19,000 and how personally Jesus has loved so many. 1180 01:02:19,083 --> 01:02:21,417 And then we're going to sing because we have 1181 01:02:21,500 --> 01:02:23,167 much to celebrate. 1182 01:02:23,250 --> 01:02:25,125 We have someone to celebrate. 1183 01:02:25,167 --> 01:02:27,000 Some of you say, "I don't sing." 1184 01:02:27,083 --> 01:02:29,375 Well, that was the old you. 1185 01:02:29,458 --> 01:02:34,125 The new you is a vocalist, so please stand, and I'll pray. 1186 01:02:34,167 --> 01:02:37,417 Father God, thank you so much for an opportunity to go through 1187 01:02:37,500 --> 01:02:39,833 the great book of Ephesians together. 1188 01:02:39,875 --> 01:02:42,833 God, we know that because it's a timeless word, 1189 01:02:42,875 --> 01:02:45,333 it's always a timely word. 1190 01:02:45,375 --> 01:02:47,833 And God, in our day, when, from social media, 1191 01:02:47,875 --> 01:02:50,292 to the clothes we wear, to the car we drive, 1192 01:02:50,333 --> 01:02:53,833 to the way we present ourselves, we are all about identity 1193 01:02:53,875 --> 01:02:57,708 formation and preservation, thank you for the great, 1194 01:02:57,792 --> 01:03:01,542 timeless, helpful, practical, biblical truth, 1195 01:03:01,625 --> 01:03:05,583 that there's simply the old and the new 1196 01:03:05,667 --> 01:03:11,375 and that with Christ we have become a new person. 1197 01:03:11,458 --> 01:03:16,375 Lord Jesus, help us to remember that and to walk in that 1198 01:03:16,458 --> 01:03:19,083 practically and daily. 1199 01:03:19,167 --> 01:03:21,875 And God, I pray that for my friends. 1200 01:03:21,958 --> 01:03:24,792 And Lord Jesus, I thank you for the young woman who was 1201 01:03:24,833 --> 01:03:27,458 bold enough to even share her testimony, that she was 1202 01:03:27,500 --> 01:03:30,000 a Christian for years and didn't know that 1203 01:03:30,042 --> 01:03:32,000 and didn't walk in that. 1204 01:03:32,083 --> 01:03:35,708 And I pray particularly today, Lord God, for those like her. 1205 01:03:35,792 --> 01:03:39,708 They are a Christian, but they don't know who they are, 1206 01:03:39,792 --> 01:03:42,000 and so they don't know what to do. 1207 01:03:42,042 --> 01:03:45,875 Holy Spirit, help us to never forget who we are. 1208 01:03:45,958 --> 01:03:48,167 In Jesus' name, amen. 1209 01:03:51,250 --> 01:03:54,167 Each year, over 10 million Mars Hill church sermons 1210 01:03:54,250 --> 01:03:57,292 are downloaded worldwide for free. 1211 01:03:57,333 --> 01:03:59,875 This ministry is generously supported 1212 01:03:59,958 --> 01:04:02,583 by Mars Hill church members and listeners like you. 1213 01:04:02,667 --> 01:04:06,167 If you'd like to support our efforts to preach Jesus to the world, 1214 01:04:06,208 --> 01:04:09,167 Please consider making a tax-deductible donation 1215 01:04:09,208 --> 01:04:12,042 by visiting marshill.com/give.