sermons – Page 25 – Christ the Truth

Passover sermon – Exodus 11-12 6

GlenOctober 10, 20106 Comments

It doesn’t matter what’s on the inside, it’s what’s on the outside that counts.

It’s not the interior – it’s all about the blood on the doorposts. It’s not about the LORD inspecting your house. It's ONLY about the blood outside.

It’s not even about how much faith you have in the blood. If the blood is applied at all, you’re saved. Strong faith in the blood and wavering faith in the blood lead to exactly the same outcome. Because it’s not faith IN the blood that saves - it’s the blood.

People say to me, “I don’t have very strong faith.” And I say “Me neither. But thank God we’re not saved by how strong our believing feelings are! Thank God we are saved, not so much by our faith in Christ’s blood, thank God we’re saved by Christ’s blood!”

...It’s not about the quality of your living, speaking, acting, praying. It’s not even about the quality of your own faith. It’s only about the blood. It’s the quality of His death, not the quality of your life. Your salvation has nothing to do with YOU – and everything to do with HIM. Nothing to do with your performance and everything to do with His performance.

People so often worry that their sins have cost them their relationship with God. Well you can’t out-sin the Blood of God can you?! Think about your sins. No matter what they are. Is your sin bigger than the blood of God?? Nonsense. You have not out-sinned the blood of Jesus. You cannot out-sin the blood of Jesus. Impossible! It’s about His blood outside – not your heart inside...

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Three Thoughts on Money from Doug Wilson

GlenSeptember 26, 2010Leave a comment

Just three little tidbits that struck me from this sermon.

1) Romans is a fundraising letter!

If our fundraising letters don't look like Romans (and they don't) it's a sign that we don't think about money or the gospel the way Paul does.

2) Galatians 6:6-9 is about giving

Check the context - v5 and v10 are clearly about contributing to the needs of others. Therefore financial giving is a way of sowing to the Spirit. It's investing in Spirit-life (i.e. word-life; gospel-growth) and not flesh-life (i.e. this-world life; gratifying-my-selfish-cravings life).

3) Philippians 4 - the joy of gospel partnership through giving.

Financial giving is 'partnering' (v14 - an important word in Philippians - 1:5; 2:1; 3:10) in gospel ministry. To partner with Paul in this way is even more for the congregation's sake than for his. (v17)

Sinners, Slaves or Sons? 2

GlenSeptember 21, 20102 Comments

Luke 15: Younger Brother sermon here

Luke 15: Older Brother sermon audio here

The world is naturally divided into sinners and slaves. Sinners seek freedom. Slaves seek reputation. And they hate each other. Sinners think the world would be so much better without the slaves. Slaves think the world would be so much better without the sinners. We all exist somewhere along this spectrum.

Jesus comes and says - You're both wrong. You're both wretched. You're both equally far from heaven's banquet. That's the meaning of Luke 15.

Jesus comes to bring a new kind of humanity. Not half-way in between but something else. Not sinners, not slaves but sons.

Sinners wish God dead by taking His stuff and leaving.
Slaves wish God dead by despising His grace.
Sons are brought from death to life in His embrace.

Sinners are strangers to God in the far country.
Slaves are strangers to God in the field.
Sons are sinners in the Father’s arms.

Sinners seek freedom yet find deeper slavery.
Slaves seek righteousness yet find deeper sin.
Sons seek Christ and find both freedom and righteousness.

Sinners are wretched in their rebellion.
Slaves are wretched in their righteousness.
Sons are wretched in His robes.

Full sermon text below....

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An overview of James – sermon by Paul Blackham

GlenSeptember 21, 2010Leave a comment

Download here.

Answering self-doubt – Exodus 4-7 sermon 3

GlenSeptember 20, 20103 Comments

Sermon audio

"Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3:11)

Here is Moses full of self-doubt. So what does Moses need? Ask anyone today and they’ll tell you: the solution to self-doubt is self-confidence. That’s the modern cure-all for whatever ails you. Have more confidence in yourself.

That’s what the world says. What does the LORD say?

Verse 12: I will be with you

Do you see what the LORD is doing? Not trying to instill self-confidence, but God-confidence. “I will be with you.” The LORD doesn’t say “Moses, don’t do yourself down. You were such a beautiful baby, and a powerful prince, and you’re in my top three all-time shepherds. I think you’ve got what it takes.”

The LORD doesn’t turn Moses’ eyes back on himself.

Do you ever do that when someone’s full of self-doubt? We often say, “Have more confidence in yourself, you’re so talented, you’re brilliant…” But if someone’s fishing for compliments, how many compliments are enough? The WORLD is not enough to fill our need for affirmation. Just speaking for myself: the WORLD could not satisfy my black hole of self-obsession. If you get me started, I’ll never be satisfied.

Which is why God does something very different. He fights self-doubt with GOD-confidence. Essentially the LORD says, “Who are you?? Who are you?? That’s not the point Moses. I will be with you.”

There used to be a saying in tennis that the greatest doubles team imaginable was John McEnroe and anyone. John McEnroe and anyone could win Wimbledon.

Well imagine if you were that anyone. Imagine if you were John McEnroe’s partner going into the Wimbledon final and you spent the whole pre-match press-conference saying “Who am I to win a tennis match? Who am I to win Wimbledon? I am not a brilliant tennis player!!”

What would John McEnroe say? Apart from ‘You cannot be serious?’ He’d say, “I will be with you. I will be with you. Enough about yourself, really it’s irrelevant.”...

...In a deep sense Moses is going to be just like that staff in his hand. The staff by itself is nothing. We call it a staff, that’s just fancy name for a stick. But through that stick, miracles would be wrought. Through that stick the plagues would fall. Through that stick the Red Sea would be divided. By that stick the Rock would be struck and the waters would come out. Why, because it’s such a great stick? Because the qualities inherent in the stick can call forth the powers of heaven?? No it’s nothing to do with the stick and everything to do with the eternal I AM who uses the stick.

He can use a stick to unleash the powers of heaven, He can use an octogenarian shepherd to defeat the most powerful man in the world. Later in the bible He uses a bunch of fishermen to turn the world upside down. Because where does the great I AM really show His power? On the cross. (John 8:28) The great I AM bleeds and dies on a rugged wooden cross, and that’s the power that saves the world. Can He deal with weakness? Can He use weakness? That’s His speciality. 2 Corinthians 12 verse 9, the Lord says to a weakened Paul, “My power is made perfect in weakness."

Full script below

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Motivation for Mission – Mike Reeves

GlenSeptember 17, 2010Leave a comment

An extraordinary recent talk from Mike on John 20:19-23: Join the sending love of God.

And if you missed this one from four years ago, listen now: Why Go?

Pigsty Christianity 11

GlenSeptember 14, 201011 Comments

Sermon audio - Luke 15 LINK NOW WORKING

"Here we have a son devising a speech and a repayment plan to get his life back. And what he is proposing is self-redemption. He wants to stop being a younger brother type and to start being an older brother type. He’s given up on the freedom lark, now he’ll try slaving. But this is NOT the way back to Jesus. The pigsty is NOT the turning point.

So often I hear evangelistic talks and they go something like this: “You’ve made a mess of your life haven’t you? You realize you can’t do life on your own don’t you? Well then come to your senses. Pick yourself up out of the pigsty, make some resolutions to try really hard for God. And return to Him using this prayer that is guaranteed to win God’s favour. You’ll have to promise to behave, and you’ll have to make this speech word perfect which is why I’m going to feed it to you line by line and you can parrot it back.”

Does that sound vaguely familiar as the way the gospel gets taught? But what’s the problem here? Well that would make the younger son into his own Saviour.

But think about those other stories Jesus tells. The lost sheep doesn’t come to its senses and decide to come home and make good! Can you imagine the film "Flossy comes home"? Can you imagine the lost sheep trotting back up the front drive in slow motion, the music swelling, the shepherd on the porch, tears in his eyes??? No! It needs the shepherd to go out and save it IN its lostness. And when the shepherd finds the sheep he can't even trust the sheep to follow him home. He's got to hoist the stupid thing onto his shoulders, so wayward is the sheep. Jesus says we're like sheep. We go astray, we each turn to our own way (Isaiah 53:5). We DON'T come home. That's not our nature. We're like lost sheep who need saving. This younger son is like a sheep, he's not returning to the fold under his own steam. This is not him saving himself. Not even close. The pigsty is not the turning point.

But so much of Christianity is pigsty Christianity. So much is about coming to your senses, resolving to do better, and impressing God with how sorry you are. Pigsty Christianity. It’s filth. That’s not the gospel! The gospel is a running father who embraces, kisses, clothes, honours, celebrates and eats with an evil conniving son, still stinking of pig. That's the gospel."

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Exodus 1-3 sermon

GlenSeptember 12, 2010Leave a comment

"Here is a bush that is burning. Burning, but not consumed. And, wonder of wonders, the Angel of the LORD, has come down INTO the bush - into the furnace of His people's affliction.

...That has ALWAYS been His nature. It has always been His nature to COME DOWN, to enter in, to suffer alongside, to suffer at our Head, and to rescue!

Sermon audio

Powerpoint slides

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