1 00:00:00,190 --> 00:00:02,690 And so we pray Lord how we need 2 00:00:02,690 --> 00:00:06,410 you tonight as we start this journey into 3 00:00:06,410 --> 00:00:08,250 Lent, how we need you always. 4 00:00:10,250 --> 00:00:14,430 Honor and glory belong to you and so 5 00:00:14,430 --> 00:00:16,970 receive us as we offer ourselves to you 6 00:00:16,970 --> 00:00:18,890 in Jesus' name. 7 00:00:19,990 --> 00:00:20,330 Amen. 8 00:00:25,900 --> 00:00:26,500 Good evening. 9 00:00:27,700 --> 00:00:30,180 I'd like to make my appeal tonight to 10 00:00:30,180 --> 00:00:32,660 you from this text in Joel. 11 00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:35,260 And so if you've got Bibles and can 12 00:00:35,260 --> 00:00:39,040 find Joel, one of the minor prophets, I 13 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,120 would like to appeal to this text with 14 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:42,400 you. 15 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:47,060 Joel always reminds me of John the Baptist. 16 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:50,840 The same flavor and often the same tone 17 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,200 that we find in the Baptist. 18 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:56,040 Because you hear and just as you heard 19 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,680 read today, the sound coming out of Joel, 20 00:01:00,060 --> 00:01:04,420 the sound of the trumpets, this cry that 21 00:01:04,420 --> 00:01:06,820 the day of the Lord is at hand, 22 00:01:07,140 --> 00:01:09,160 a day of darkness and gloom, a day 23 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:11,000 of clouds and thick darkness. 24 00:01:11,580 --> 00:01:13,820 So much so that in chapter 2 of 25 00:01:13,820 --> 00:01:16,780 Joel in verse 11, for the day of 26 00:01:16,780 --> 00:01:20,080 the Lord is great and awesome, who can 27 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:20,740 endure it? 28 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:23,960 And you get this sense of the ground 29 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:27,840 shaking, the trumpet blowing, that we're suddenly standing 30 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,000 in the presence of the Lord and the 31 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,540 condition of our soul is now before him. 32 00:01:34,100 --> 00:01:35,240 Can we stand? 33 00:01:35,420 --> 00:01:35,980 Can we endure? 34 00:01:37,100 --> 00:01:40,560 And then comes this interlude of just utter 35 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:42,940 compassion and kindness. 36 00:01:43,700 --> 00:01:46,620 This interlude where the Lord invites us in 37 00:01:46,620 --> 00:01:50,040 verses 12 to 14 to return to him, 38 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,640 to return with all our heart, with fasting 39 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,740 and weeping, with mourning, to rend our hearts 40 00:01:56,740 --> 00:01:58,180 and not our garments. 41 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:01,000 For the Lord is gracious. 42 00:02:01,500 --> 00:02:03,560 Return to the Lord your God, for he 43 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,880 is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and 44 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:08,720 abounding in loving-kindness. 45 00:02:09,220 --> 00:02:12,060 And he relents over disaster. 46 00:02:13,300 --> 00:02:15,680 And then you have this sense that as 47 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:17,680 we do this, as we return to him, 48 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:20,580 as we rend our hearts, that he may 49 00:02:20,580 --> 00:02:25,300 just indeed relent of this wrath for us 50 00:02:25,300 --> 00:02:27,140 and pour out blessing. 51 00:02:28,220 --> 00:02:30,100 This is an appeal to the well-being 52 00:02:30,100 --> 00:02:33,200 of our soul, the care and nurture and 53 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:34,440 well-being of our soul. 54 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:37,740 And what simply is fascinating to me is 55 00:02:37,740 --> 00:02:39,540 that the moment you and I have an 56 00:02:39,540 --> 00:02:42,200 ache or a pain, a headache too strong, 57 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,160 something going wrong, boom, we're at the doctor's. 58 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,340 We need to make sure that our bodies 59 00:02:49,340 --> 00:02:49,900 are well. 60 00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:52,640 But when it comes to the issues of 61 00:02:52,640 --> 00:02:57,600 the soul, it's like, I got this. 62 00:02:59,260 --> 00:03:00,780 We don't know what to do, we just 63 00:03:00,780 --> 00:03:02,220 stuff it in and say, you know, we 64 00:03:02,220 --> 00:03:03,920 can handle it, we can fix it, it's 65 00:03:03,920 --> 00:03:04,560 gonna be okay. 66 00:03:04,900 --> 00:03:07,400 Even though we know something is wrong, we 67 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,560 still have that thing inside us that we 68 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:10,240 can handle it. 69 00:03:10,380 --> 00:03:13,200 And that pride just kind of sneers its 70 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,280 ugly face and says, I don't need help. 71 00:03:17,620 --> 00:03:20,280 And we somehow just accept the condition of 72 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:20,820 our soul. 73 00:03:21,180 --> 00:03:23,800 We resign that it's not going to change. 74 00:03:24,140 --> 00:03:27,820 And we turn into apathy, that cold, uncaring, 75 00:03:28,300 --> 00:03:29,720 it's just the way it is. 76 00:03:30,420 --> 00:03:32,020 And if it hurts too much, we'll just 77 00:03:32,020 --> 00:03:34,440 medicate it and numb it out and put 78 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:36,800 up a stoic face for no one to 79 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,660 see what's really going on inside of me. 80 00:03:41,060 --> 00:03:43,040 And so the question becomes, what does it 81 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:43,420 take? 82 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:46,140 What does it take to actually get help 83 00:03:46,140 --> 00:03:48,180 for the well-being of our soul? 84 00:03:48,620 --> 00:03:51,520 Not just palliative care that we're just simply 85 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,720 taking care of symptoms, but allowing the Lord 86 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:57,640 to do the real work, the real journey 87 00:03:57,640 --> 00:03:59,920 of the soul, for Him to touch us 88 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:00,860 deep within. 89 00:04:01,300 --> 00:04:04,040 What does it take for Him to do 90 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:05,900 that work inside of us? 91 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:08,860 And so this is the context that we're 92 00:04:08,860 --> 00:04:09,240 in. 93 00:04:09,420 --> 00:04:11,580 Because to be able to say that and 94 00:04:11,580 --> 00:04:14,220 say, I need help, immediately it puts us 95 00:04:14,220 --> 00:04:16,260 in the presence of the Lord. 96 00:04:16,980 --> 00:04:19,160 It puts us under the government of the 97 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:20,620 authority of His Word. 98 00:04:21,380 --> 00:04:23,540 And it puts us in the body of 99 00:04:23,540 --> 00:04:26,420 Christ, where the Spirit of God can minister 100 00:04:26,420 --> 00:04:30,680 powerfully to us and allow the medicine of 101 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:34,780 the gospel, like an intravenous drip, come into 102 00:04:34,780 --> 00:04:35,520 our souls. 103 00:04:36,220 --> 00:04:39,200 There is medicine for the soul, like you 104 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:41,020 hear from the medicine of the doctors that 105 00:04:41,020 --> 00:04:43,140 can cure the body, which, by the way, 106 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:45,560 at the end of the day, you're going 107 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,600 to hear it tonight, turns to dust. 108 00:04:50,420 --> 00:04:53,340 But the soul, it lasts forever. 109 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:55,140 The soul given by God. 110 00:04:55,420 --> 00:04:57,260 Why the nurture of it, the care of 111 00:04:57,260 --> 00:04:59,400 it, isn't more essential than everything? 112 00:04:59,820 --> 00:05:01,620 The medicine comes into us. 113 00:05:02,380 --> 00:05:04,900 And the first wisp, first taste of that 114 00:05:04,900 --> 00:05:07,860 medicine, and suddenly we who could not believe 115 00:05:07,860 --> 00:05:11,040 that we could be changed within, receive faith 116 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:12,400 to believe it's possible. 117 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:19,460 We receive power to believe that what has 118 00:05:19,460 --> 00:05:22,360 so held us in bondage, we can be 119 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:23,020 free from. 120 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,440 Power to receive new life from above. 121 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:32,880 Power to persevere in this life, free, always 122 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:33,320 free. 123 00:05:34,540 --> 00:05:37,080 And the grace to believe that one day 124 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:39,200 it'll be over and we will be home 125 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:39,820 with the Lord. 126 00:05:40,900 --> 00:05:42,920 These are the things that belong to us. 127 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:44,120 How is it possible? 128 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:47,580 It's possible because of this person born in 129 00:05:47,580 --> 00:05:50,980 Bethlehem, who lived a sinless life, under the 130 00:05:50,980 --> 00:05:54,160 law, obeying the law, yet without sin, who 131 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:56,360 goes to the cross of Calvary on our 132 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,680 behalf, who raised on the third day and 133 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:00,780 ascends to his Father. 134 00:06:01,100 --> 00:06:02,780 He's the one that made it possible. 135 00:06:02,900 --> 00:06:04,620 If you take that medicine bottle and you 136 00:06:04,620 --> 00:06:06,840 look at the fine print underneath, oh, it's 137 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:09,280 got all these big terms, terms that you 138 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:12,100 just have to unpack someday, but the medicine's 139 00:06:12,100 --> 00:06:13,940 got the medicine for salvation. 140 00:06:14,700 --> 00:06:18,440 It's got the medicine for justification, medicine for 141 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:23,920 sanctification, medicine for redemption, and medicine for glorification 142 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:24,520 one day. 143 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:26,880 Oh, yes, this medicine of the gospel's got 144 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:30,450 power in it. 145 00:06:30,510 --> 00:06:31,690 But you're not going to want to go 146 00:06:31,690 --> 00:06:32,530 the journey, are you? 147 00:06:32,550 --> 00:06:34,110 You're going to want the quick fix, aren't 148 00:06:34,110 --> 00:06:34,330 you? 149 00:06:35,630 --> 00:06:37,350 And so what we often do is we 150 00:06:37,350 --> 00:06:40,630 don't talk about the bad news, good Friday. 151 00:06:41,410 --> 00:06:44,210 We all want to sail into Easter morning, 152 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,820 but our forebears gave us a process for 153 00:06:50,820 --> 00:06:52,260 the well-being of our soul. 154 00:06:52,860 --> 00:06:54,180 They gave us a pattern. 155 00:06:54,740 --> 00:06:57,500 They outlined for us a five-step, I'm 156 00:06:57,500 --> 00:06:59,280 going to use that language, they didn't say 157 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:02,160 it this way, but a process to go 158 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:03,840 through for the well-being of the soul, 159 00:07:04,420 --> 00:07:07,240 and it all starts for the willingness to 160 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:09,020 submit to the process itself. 161 00:07:09,540 --> 00:07:12,600 Point number one, the process to submit. 162 00:07:13,180 --> 00:07:15,720 Submit to the process that the Lord wants 163 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:18,240 to do with us, which is why what 164 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:20,420 our forebears called this is the the 40 165 00:07:20,420 --> 00:07:23,900 days, the 40 before we get to Good 166 00:07:23,900 --> 00:07:26,700 Friday and Easter, the 40 days. 167 00:07:27,500 --> 00:07:30,640 Not Sundays, every other day, but Sundays, the 168 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:33,460 40 days to walk through a process. 169 00:07:34,420 --> 00:07:36,080 Who is it that should enter the process? 170 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:40,400 Well, always back centuries, it's been the time 171 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:42,400 when those who are coming to faith in 172 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,760 Christ would prepare for baptism on Easter Vigil. 173 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:49,820 That preparation of what it means to be 174 00:07:49,820 --> 00:07:53,380 a Christian, to enter into that process of 175 00:07:53,380 --> 00:07:56,600 what it means to go through, leaving back 176 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:58,520 our old self and allowing the born-again 177 00:07:58,520 --> 00:07:59,840 life to come into us. 178 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,240 Second, it was for people who are having 179 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:05,860 a notorious sin in their life. 180 00:08:05,860 --> 00:08:08,000 They know they've sinned and they don't know 181 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:10,260 what to do with that sin, and there's 182 00:08:10,260 --> 00:08:12,820 a process for healing of the soul that 183 00:08:12,820 --> 00:08:16,120 leads us to the reconciliation come Good Friday 184 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:16,700 and Easter. 185 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:20,460 For the rest of us, it is the 186 00:08:20,460 --> 00:08:24,480 normal chronic conditions of the soul that we 187 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,040 just don't want to deal with, and we 188 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:28,200 just keep pushing down. 189 00:08:29,300 --> 00:08:32,000 Or it's those traumas in life, those hard 190 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,380 moments in life that have, rather than shaping 191 00:08:34,380 --> 00:08:36,640 us, they've defined us and turned into a 192 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:38,140 bitterness inside our soul. 193 00:08:39,659 --> 00:08:42,140 Or maybe it's just areas of captivity that 194 00:08:42,140 --> 00:08:43,360 the devil's got us. 195 00:08:44,020 --> 00:08:47,640 These great addictions or bondages that he's got 196 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:49,820 us held captive in, and we simply live 197 00:08:49,820 --> 00:08:51,700 in it, and we never deal with it. 198 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:54,060 Well, this is the process to deal with 199 00:08:54,060 --> 00:08:54,280 it. 200 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:57,320 The Lord's inviting us, and that's the Lenten 201 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:57,740 process. 202 00:08:58,040 --> 00:08:59,720 It's Ash Wednesday that begins it. 203 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:02,820 Let's enter into the process for the well 204 00:09:02,820 --> 00:09:06,180 -being of the soul, our relationship with the 205 00:09:06,180 --> 00:09:08,760 Lord, our relationship with each other. 206 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:11,780 Let's enter into the process, and it begins 207 00:09:11,780 --> 00:09:13,440 with ashes. 208 00:09:14,980 --> 00:09:17,680 Ashes are a perfect sign because ashes take 209 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:20,580 us back to Genesis 3, and you'll hear 210 00:09:20,580 --> 00:09:22,540 these words said over you tonight. 211 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:26,380 You are dust, and to dust you shall 212 00:09:26,380 --> 00:09:26,860 return. 213 00:09:28,100 --> 00:09:30,280 Well, why are we dust, and why shall 214 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:31,680 we return to dust? 215 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:32,840 Well, it's because of this. 216 00:09:33,180 --> 00:09:36,020 The Lord intended us for life, but because 217 00:09:36,020 --> 00:09:38,820 of sin, and because of disobedience, and because 218 00:09:38,820 --> 00:09:40,480 of rebellion, we fell. 219 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:43,160 And the life, the eternal life that was 220 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:47,360 removed, now we enter into death, and death 221 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:48,460 has now got us. 222 00:09:49,740 --> 00:09:51,980 But listen to how the ashes are put 223 00:09:51,980 --> 00:09:52,500 on us. 224 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,920 First of all, in these early traditions versus 225 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:58,900 later traditions, these ashes have actually come from 226 00:09:58,900 --> 00:10:00,940 the palm branches of last Palm Sunday. 227 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:04,480 The palms were actually burned, and those are 228 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:06,460 the ashes that you'll have on your forehead 229 00:10:06,460 --> 00:10:07,660 from Palm Sunday. 230 00:10:07,980 --> 00:10:10,200 The palms that were waved, why were they 231 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:10,500 waving? 232 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:11,880 For the glory of the King. 233 00:10:12,860 --> 00:10:15,540 Well, were we crying out, Hosanna, Lord save 234 00:10:15,540 --> 00:10:15,960 us. 235 00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:18,540 Lord, only you can save us. 236 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:23,720 But second, most importantly, we're using those ashes 237 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:27,200 not just to blob your head, but to 238 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:29,020 make over you the sign of the cross. 239 00:10:29,980 --> 00:10:31,400 The sign of the cross. 240 00:10:32,220 --> 00:10:33,880 How is it that we can be rescued 241 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:34,760 from our mortality? 242 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:36,820 How is it we can be rescued from 243 00:10:36,820 --> 00:10:37,480 this dust? 244 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:39,600 Who will rescue us, and who will save 245 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:39,940 us? 246 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:42,900 And so, my dear friends, I say to 247 00:10:42,900 --> 00:10:44,440 you, this is a, this is the way 248 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:45,760 we begin this process. 249 00:10:46,220 --> 00:10:49,260 Here we are, willing to submit to what 250 00:10:49,260 --> 00:10:50,740 the Lord wants to do with us. 251 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:51,260 Are you willing? 252 00:10:52,060 --> 00:10:53,460 Do you want him to not just rend 253 00:10:53,460 --> 00:10:54,660 your garment, your outside? 254 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:56,920 I know many of us will do something 255 00:10:56,920 --> 00:10:57,620 as a pattern. 256 00:10:57,820 --> 00:11:00,680 We'll stop some normative routine. 257 00:11:00,900 --> 00:11:03,940 We'll give up something, or we'll take on 258 00:11:03,940 --> 00:11:04,460 something. 259 00:11:04,860 --> 00:11:05,560 That's fine. 260 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:07,240 Let it be a sign. 261 00:11:07,620 --> 00:11:10,360 A sign of letting God do his work 262 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,220 in your heart to bring the curative measures 263 00:11:13,220 --> 00:11:14,960 of his power to your life. 264 00:11:17,900 --> 00:11:19,600 And so, that brings us to point two. 265 00:11:20,020 --> 00:11:22,800 Point one, submit yourself to the process. 266 00:11:23,260 --> 00:11:26,460 Point two, we submit ourselves to the Holy 267 00:11:26,460 --> 00:11:30,640 Spirit, whose first job is always the conviction 268 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:31,900 of the soul. 269 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:34,580 He convicts us of sin. 270 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:36,740 He convicts us, does he not? 271 00:11:37,060 --> 00:11:37,960 Do you know what that's like? 272 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:40,720 That, that, that moment he, he begins to 273 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:42,960 reveal to us what's really going on. 274 00:11:43,500 --> 00:11:45,840 Immediately, perhaps, we find it in symptoms. 275 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:50,020 I read from Psalm chapter 32, when David 276 00:11:50,020 --> 00:11:52,740 no doubt was dealing with the issues of 277 00:11:52,740 --> 00:11:55,940 Uriah and his death and, and Bathsheba and 278 00:11:55,940 --> 00:11:56,880 that great sin. 279 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:00,080 He said as a symptom, when I kept 280 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:04,420 silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning 281 00:12:04,420 --> 00:12:05,260 all day long. 282 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:07,420 Day and night, your hand was heavy upon 283 00:12:07,420 --> 00:12:07,620 me. 284 00:12:07,780 --> 00:12:09,820 My strength was dried up by the heat 285 00:12:09,820 --> 00:12:10,240 of summer. 286 00:12:10,500 --> 00:12:13,480 When I kept silent about my sin, when 287 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:15,700 I kept silent, I had these symptoms begin 288 00:12:15,700 --> 00:12:16,520 to appear. 289 00:12:17,220 --> 00:12:18,700 And that's what happens to us. 290 00:12:19,020 --> 00:12:21,980 You can feel the restlessness inside when the 291 00:12:21,980 --> 00:12:23,600 conviction of the Spirit begins. 292 00:12:24,740 --> 00:12:25,720 And what happened to David? 293 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:28,480 He couldn't keep it silent, could he? 294 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:31,680 The Spirit of God moved the prophet Nathan 295 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:35,380 to come to David, and suddenly David's secret 296 00:12:35,380 --> 00:12:36,940 sin was secret no more. 297 00:12:37,560 --> 00:12:39,740 Nathan looked at him and said, David, you 298 00:12:39,740 --> 00:12:40,940 are the man. 299 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:44,360 And that word pierced his heart, and he 300 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:45,760 was utterly convicted. 301 00:12:47,060 --> 00:12:49,220 And that's the word that comes to it. 302 00:12:49,460 --> 00:12:51,540 When the Spirit of God convicts, what do 303 00:12:51,540 --> 00:12:52,080 we cry out? 304 00:12:52,340 --> 00:12:53,920 Lord, what do I do? 305 00:12:55,060 --> 00:12:57,400 Just as it was when John preached and 306 00:12:57,400 --> 00:12:59,520 people heard the word, they said, what shall 307 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:00,220 I do? 308 00:13:00,900 --> 00:13:03,120 Just like on Pentecost Day, when the Word 309 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:05,840 of God and Jesus was preached, people cried 310 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:07,880 out under the conviction of the Spirit, what 311 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:08,860 shall I do? 312 00:13:10,820 --> 00:13:13,500 Can you allow that convicting process of the 313 00:13:13,500 --> 00:13:16,660 Spirit of God to let his word pierce 314 00:13:16,660 --> 00:13:17,360 your heart? 315 00:13:17,780 --> 00:13:18,580 That's my friend. 316 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:21,080 I might have lost you already. 317 00:13:21,180 --> 00:13:22,020 Who wants that? 318 00:13:24,710 --> 00:13:27,230 When he authentically does that work of conviction, 319 00:13:27,570 --> 00:13:30,210 it leads to point three, and that is 320 00:13:30,210 --> 00:13:30,790 confession. 321 00:13:31,790 --> 00:13:33,330 Which is why you've got in the next 322 00:13:33,330 --> 00:13:36,950 verse of Psalm 32, I acknowledged my sin 323 00:13:36,950 --> 00:13:37,470 to you. 324 00:13:37,810 --> 00:13:39,750 I did not cover my iniquity. 325 00:13:39,990 --> 00:13:41,590 I confess my sin. 326 00:13:42,090 --> 00:13:44,650 I acknowledge it to the Lord, and I 327 00:13:44,650 --> 00:13:46,370 would suggest to you not to contain it 328 00:13:46,370 --> 00:13:46,670 alone. 329 00:13:46,830 --> 00:13:49,090 We go, just like James says, and confess 330 00:13:49,090 --> 00:13:51,230 to a safe brother, a safe sister. 331 00:13:51,510 --> 00:13:53,350 I've got to deal with, I'm dealing with 332 00:13:53,350 --> 00:13:53,550 something. 333 00:13:53,690 --> 00:13:56,150 I need help to confess. 334 00:13:56,430 --> 00:13:57,430 What does confess mean? 335 00:13:57,990 --> 00:14:00,770 To confess means to say exactly what he's 336 00:14:00,770 --> 00:14:01,090 saying. 337 00:14:01,770 --> 00:14:03,810 It's to put the amen behind it. 338 00:14:04,670 --> 00:14:05,950 It's not to try to justify. 339 00:14:06,150 --> 00:14:07,130 It's not try to argue. 340 00:14:07,430 --> 00:14:08,710 It's not try to defend. 341 00:14:08,850 --> 00:14:10,610 It's not try to weasel out of, well, 342 00:14:10,910 --> 00:14:12,770 it's not as bad as the conviction really 343 00:14:12,770 --> 00:14:13,150 feels. 344 00:14:13,330 --> 00:14:14,270 No, it's that bad. 345 00:14:15,090 --> 00:14:15,630 I promise. 346 00:14:16,410 --> 00:14:16,930 Amen. 347 00:14:17,530 --> 00:14:18,010 So be it. 348 00:14:18,210 --> 00:14:19,570 Lord, you're right about me. 349 00:14:21,230 --> 00:14:23,630 So much so that what it always leads 350 00:14:23,630 --> 00:14:26,210 to is we ask, which is what we're 351 00:14:26,210 --> 00:14:27,950 about to hear in Psalm 51. 352 00:14:28,210 --> 00:14:30,630 When David came before the Lord, he began 353 00:14:30,630 --> 00:14:33,090 to ask, Lord have mercy upon me. 354 00:14:33,290 --> 00:14:36,190 Oh God, according to your steadfast love, according 355 00:14:36,190 --> 00:14:39,350 to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions. 356 00:14:39,990 --> 00:14:41,490 You see what he's saying is, I can't 357 00:14:41,490 --> 00:14:42,390 do this on my own. 358 00:14:42,650 --> 00:14:44,010 I need you to do what I cannot 359 00:14:44,010 --> 00:14:44,250 do. 360 00:14:44,590 --> 00:14:45,490 Mercy upon me. 361 00:14:45,770 --> 00:14:47,710 Blot out, wash me clean. 362 00:14:48,790 --> 00:14:50,490 Purge me from these things. 363 00:14:51,470 --> 00:14:53,230 Create in me, Lord, a new heart. 364 00:14:53,470 --> 00:14:54,810 Renew a right spirit. 365 00:14:55,070 --> 00:14:57,590 Here I am, a broken and contrite heart, 366 00:14:57,690 --> 00:14:59,310 a broken and contrite spirit. 367 00:14:59,410 --> 00:15:00,250 Lord, here I am. 368 00:15:01,170 --> 00:15:03,550 Can you see the utter inability in our 369 00:15:03,550 --> 00:15:03,970 confession? 370 00:15:04,630 --> 00:15:06,830 So we must wait upon the Lord to 371 00:15:06,830 --> 00:15:08,030 do what only he can do. 372 00:15:10,090 --> 00:15:13,510 This is what separates this medicine from all 373 00:15:13,510 --> 00:15:15,810 the religions and philosophies of the world. 374 00:15:16,230 --> 00:15:19,510 It is this, it is this medicine. 375 00:15:20,550 --> 00:15:24,050 It is this gospel where we wait upon 376 00:15:24,050 --> 00:15:25,510 the Lord to give it. 377 00:15:26,610 --> 00:15:28,570 And that's called process. 378 00:15:29,030 --> 00:15:33,190 It's allowing Jesus to get deep inside and 379 00:15:33,750 --> 00:15:38,950 give us and grant us repentance, which is 380 00:15:38,950 --> 00:15:40,530 the fourth principle behind it. 381 00:15:40,950 --> 00:15:42,410 First is to submit to the Lord. 382 00:15:42,730 --> 00:15:44,910 Second is to allow the convicting work of 383 00:15:44,910 --> 00:15:45,490 the Holy Spirit. 384 00:15:45,950 --> 00:15:49,250 Third is to make confession, to acknowledge it, 385 00:15:49,610 --> 00:15:51,070 to ask the Lord for mercy. 386 00:15:51,590 --> 00:15:54,330 And four, to ask him to give us 387 00:15:54,330 --> 00:15:55,950 the gift of repentance. 388 00:15:56,530 --> 00:15:58,190 Why do I say the gift of repentance? 389 00:15:58,470 --> 00:16:02,150 Because we, in our own strength, cannot repent. 390 00:16:02,670 --> 00:16:05,150 We cannot, in our own strength, get out 391 00:16:05,150 --> 00:16:05,750 of the mess. 392 00:16:06,210 --> 00:16:09,630 I'm reading from Romans chapter 7, when suddenly 393 00:16:09,630 --> 00:16:14,570 Paul realizes this conviction, this confession, that the 394 00:16:14,570 --> 00:16:15,770 principle is inside him. 395 00:16:15,830 --> 00:16:17,370 Something's wrong inside of him. 396 00:16:18,450 --> 00:16:19,390 There's a bondage. 397 00:16:19,450 --> 00:16:20,050 There's a captivity. 398 00:16:20,830 --> 00:16:22,930 And he finally cries out, wretched man that 399 00:16:22,930 --> 00:16:25,070 I am, I can't do anything about this. 400 00:16:26,090 --> 00:16:27,450 I can't do anything about this. 401 00:16:28,530 --> 00:16:30,590 Who will set me free from this? 402 00:16:32,050 --> 00:16:35,070 Now, I'm sorry, I'm probably taking too much 403 00:16:35,070 --> 00:16:36,350 time, but I'm going to say this to 404 00:16:36,350 --> 00:16:36,550 you. 405 00:16:37,470 --> 00:16:39,950 It isn't enough to be open and transparent 406 00:16:39,950 --> 00:16:40,810 about our sin. 407 00:16:42,510 --> 00:16:45,250 Sometimes I feel like in our culture, like 408 00:16:45,250 --> 00:16:47,950 transparency is like the highest summit anybody can 409 00:16:47,950 --> 00:16:48,810 ever arrive at. 410 00:16:49,350 --> 00:16:52,010 We say it, I've got a problem. 411 00:16:52,730 --> 00:16:55,090 And everybody goes, oh, it's just so beautiful. 412 00:16:56,750 --> 00:16:58,290 Well, let me tell you, it is beautiful. 413 00:16:58,410 --> 00:17:00,590 Holiness, transparency, go for it. 414 00:17:01,170 --> 00:17:03,310 But there's an indignation inside of me that 415 00:17:03,310 --> 00:17:05,089 says, dear brother, you've been transparent. 416 00:17:05,230 --> 00:17:06,390 Dear sister, well done you. 417 00:17:07,130 --> 00:17:08,970 Now we're going to stand by your side 418 00:17:08,970 --> 00:17:12,569 until we see you set free from what 419 00:17:12,569 --> 00:17:13,530 has held you captive. 420 00:17:14,569 --> 00:17:16,650 We're going to not leave you where you 421 00:17:16,650 --> 00:17:17,869 are in your transparency. 422 00:17:18,190 --> 00:17:20,510 We're going to ask Jesus to set you 423 00:17:20,510 --> 00:17:22,990 free from whatever the bondage is, whatever the 424 00:17:22,990 --> 00:17:24,810 captivity is, whatever the burden is. 425 00:17:25,069 --> 00:17:26,230 Do you believe that's possible? 426 00:17:27,450 --> 00:17:28,910 I believe it's possible. 427 00:17:29,450 --> 00:17:29,690 Why? 428 00:17:29,790 --> 00:17:31,610 Because in repentance what we find? 429 00:17:31,830 --> 00:17:32,950 We find Good Friday. 430 00:17:33,570 --> 00:17:35,410 We find the Lord taking us to Good 431 00:17:35,410 --> 00:17:37,650 Friday where the washing happens. 432 00:17:37,890 --> 00:17:38,570 What kind of washing? 433 00:17:38,810 --> 00:17:40,710 The washing in the blood of the Lamb. 434 00:17:41,550 --> 00:17:43,810 The washing that can cure our souls. 435 00:17:44,190 --> 00:17:45,610 Don't race to Easter, dear friend. 436 00:17:45,690 --> 00:17:46,010 No, no. 437 00:17:46,410 --> 00:17:49,770 The old man goes down into baptism, and 438 00:17:49,770 --> 00:17:52,390 oftentimes he keeps us down for a season. 439 00:17:52,750 --> 00:17:53,350 Why is that? 440 00:17:53,490 --> 00:17:55,130 To let the old man die. 441 00:17:56,510 --> 00:17:58,430 The Lord can do a work inside of 442 00:17:58,430 --> 00:18:01,070 us that can literally separate us from the 443 00:18:01,070 --> 00:18:02,010 bondage of the sin. 444 00:18:02,430 --> 00:18:04,050 The language of the Bible is to come 445 00:18:04,050 --> 00:18:06,470 out of Egypt, not stay in it and 446 00:18:06,470 --> 00:18:07,770 say, well, I'm open, I'm transparent. 447 00:18:08,070 --> 00:18:09,630 Really bad life here. 448 00:18:10,670 --> 00:18:11,330 No, no. 449 00:18:11,330 --> 00:18:13,210 He wants you to see it and know 450 00:18:13,210 --> 00:18:14,850 it and know the bitterness of the slavery. 451 00:18:15,010 --> 00:18:15,470 Absolutely. 452 00:18:15,630 --> 00:18:19,150 He wants to take you out and lead 453 00:18:19,150 --> 00:18:19,650 you to. 454 00:18:20,570 --> 00:18:22,370 And that's the joy of Good Friday. 455 00:18:23,390 --> 00:18:27,470 I believe the Holy Spirit who convicts us 456 00:18:27,470 --> 00:18:30,410 and brings us to confession takes us to 457 00:18:30,410 --> 00:18:34,750 Calvary so that the power of the Lord 458 00:18:34,750 --> 00:18:38,610 can deliver us from whatever sin, whatever bondage, 459 00:18:38,910 --> 00:18:40,750 whatever the devil is doing in us and 460 00:18:40,750 --> 00:18:41,810 set us free. 461 00:18:43,230 --> 00:18:45,710 For I believe the Baptists have it. 462 00:18:46,850 --> 00:18:47,850 There's power. 463 00:18:49,130 --> 00:18:49,710 Power. 464 00:18:51,070 --> 00:18:53,210 Wonder-working power. 465 00:18:56,180 --> 00:18:57,360 There's some Baptists here. 466 00:18:58,620 --> 00:19:01,540 In the blood of the Lamb. 467 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:01,900 No, no. 468 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:03,680 We don't dodge Good Friday. 469 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:06,340 Good Friday is where it all happens. 470 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:10,060 For it says the word of the cross 471 00:19:10,060 --> 00:19:12,420 is to those who are perishing, foolishness. 472 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,320 To us who are being saved, the word 473 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:17,340 of the cross is the power of God. 474 00:19:18,180 --> 00:19:20,160 Which leads us to number five. 475 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:23,720 Once we've come out of Egypt, out of 476 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:26,840 the bondage, out of the waters, the Lord 477 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:29,540 brings us to the promised land and Easter 478 00:19:29,540 --> 00:19:32,360 morning comes and the Spirit of God comes 479 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:34,320 and we can be born again in Christ. 480 00:19:34,660 --> 00:19:36,580 We can be set free and know what 481 00:19:36,580 --> 00:19:39,060 that freedom is really like because where the 482 00:19:39,060 --> 00:19:40,980 Spirit of the Lord, there is freedom. 483 00:19:42,100 --> 00:19:45,060 You and I in Jesus have been given 484 00:19:45,060 --> 00:19:48,020 the medicine that saves the soul. 485 00:19:49,020 --> 00:19:51,540 And when we've got it and know it, 486 00:19:51,740 --> 00:19:54,360 we get to come alongside others and help 487 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:55,920 them know it and be set free. 488 00:19:57,220 --> 00:19:59,240 No Christian should be under the bondage of 489 00:19:59,240 --> 00:19:59,880 the evil one. 490 00:20:01,420 --> 00:20:03,760 No Christian should step back and say, no, 491 00:20:03,820 --> 00:20:05,720 no, I'll never change. 492 00:20:05,940 --> 00:20:07,020 It's got me. 493 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:08,960 I'm always like this. 494 00:20:09,020 --> 00:20:10,140 I've always been like this. 495 00:20:10,180 --> 00:20:11,780 It's the way it's always going to be. 496 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:13,660 No. 497 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:18,740 That is a lie from the pit of 498 00:20:18,740 --> 00:20:19,120 hell. 499 00:20:21,290 --> 00:20:23,310 And so our forefathers gave us Lent. 500 00:20:24,430 --> 00:20:27,350 There's a process, dear friends, where we can 501 00:20:27,350 --> 00:20:28,090 be set free. 502 00:20:28,730 --> 00:20:30,830 There's a process to come to Good Friday. 503 00:20:32,230 --> 00:20:35,570 Down in the waters of baptism where the 504 00:20:35,570 --> 00:20:37,030 old man dies. 505 00:20:37,270 --> 00:20:40,710 The blood of Jesus washes us clean and 506 00:20:40,710 --> 00:20:41,910 then he brings us up. 507 00:20:42,350 --> 00:20:45,150 He brings us out into new life. 508 00:20:46,970 --> 00:20:52,920 Do not let this moment pass you by. 509 00:20:54,100 --> 00:20:56,600 If you've got a chronic condition of your 510 00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:01,080 soul that you've allowed to stay there, this 511 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:02,020 is your time. 512 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:06,480 Those ashes, that begins the journey. 513 00:21:07,820 --> 00:21:10,860 Submit yourself to it and let the Spirit 514 00:21:10,860 --> 00:21:14,500 of God have you so that we can 515 00:21:14,500 --> 00:21:17,420 go to Good Friday together and watch the 516 00:21:17,420 --> 00:21:21,720 Spirit of God wash us, cleanse us, and 517 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:24,200 create in us a new heart. 518 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:26,520 In Jesus' name. 519 00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:31,000 Let us hear now the words of exhortation.