1 00:00:00,690 --> 00:00:03,670 I think it is possible to come each 2 00:00:03,670 --> 00:00:10,390 Sunday and still feel in your heart, but 3 00:00:10,390 --> 00:00:12,570 what does God want of me? 4 00:00:14,820 --> 00:00:16,660 What does God want of me? 5 00:00:20,510 --> 00:00:23,850 What really is the heart of this gospel 6 00:00:23,850 --> 00:00:26,570 that we're talking about? 7 00:00:26,890 --> 00:00:30,310 And what is the response God wants from 8 00:00:30,310 --> 00:00:31,150 me to it? 9 00:00:32,430 --> 00:00:35,430 So that's what today's verse explains. 10 00:00:38,230 --> 00:00:42,170 Before talking about the gospel, it might be 11 00:00:42,170 --> 00:00:47,050 good to establish clearly what the basic problem 12 00:00:47,050 --> 00:00:49,590 is in God's eyes. 13 00:00:51,690 --> 00:00:54,210 And it's important to do that because it's 14 00:00:54,210 --> 00:00:58,830 very different from the basic problem that is 15 00:00:58,830 --> 00:01:06,410 so often discussed or highlighted by sociologists, by 16 00:01:06,410 --> 00:01:10,770 magazine and newspaper writers, even by the authors 17 00:01:10,770 --> 00:01:12,330 of inspirational books. 18 00:01:14,830 --> 00:01:17,510 Most of them seem to zero in on 19 00:01:17,510 --> 00:01:23,960 mankind's greatest problem is guilt, a sense of 20 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:24,320 guilt. 21 00:01:25,340 --> 00:01:30,620 Or the 20th century's greatest difficulty is loneliness. 22 00:01:33,390 --> 00:01:36,850 Or man's great problem today is a loss 23 00:01:36,850 --> 00:01:37,970 of self-esteem. 24 00:01:41,550 --> 00:01:47,310 Well, really, God alone can see what mankind's 25 00:01:47,310 --> 00:01:50,390 greatest problem is because He alone is not 26 00:01:50,390 --> 00:01:51,670 part of that problem. 27 00:01:52,490 --> 00:01:55,490 And His diagnosis is very different from all 28 00:01:55,490 --> 00:01:56,490 those, loved ones. 29 00:01:56,490 --> 00:01:58,610 And so, would you look at it with 30 00:01:58,610 --> 00:01:58,830 me? 31 00:01:59,470 --> 00:02:04,230 It's in Genesis chapter 6 and verse 7, 32 00:02:06,700 --> 00:02:07,979 verse 5. 33 00:02:08,340 --> 00:02:10,500 Genesis 6 and verse 5. 34 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:14,580 It's page 5 in that Revised Standard Version. 35 00:02:15,580 --> 00:02:18,180 Genesis 6 and verse 5. 36 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:28,460 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man 37 00:02:28,460 --> 00:02:32,880 was great in the earth and that every 38 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,540 imagination of the thoughts of his heart was 39 00:02:36,540 --> 00:02:38,320 only evil continually. 40 00:02:40,230 --> 00:02:43,510 That's what our Maker says is our greatest 41 00:02:43,510 --> 00:02:44,030 problem. 42 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:50,920 The wickedness of man is great on the 43 00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:54,540 earth and every imagination of the thoughts of 44 00:02:54,540 --> 00:02:57,300 his heart is only evil continually. 45 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:00,980 And then, if you want to find the 46 00:03:00,980 --> 00:03:05,520 solution that God had for that, just look 47 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,360 about two verses down to verse 7. 48 00:03:09,740 --> 00:03:12,820 So the Lord said, I will blot out 49 00:03:12,820 --> 00:03:16,140 man whom I have created from the face 50 00:03:16,140 --> 00:03:19,500 of the ground, man and beast and creeping 51 00:03:19,500 --> 00:03:22,620 things and birds of the air, for I 52 00:03:22,620 --> 00:03:24,040 am sorry that I have made them. 53 00:03:26,510 --> 00:03:32,090 And you know us with our soft hearts, 54 00:03:32,190 --> 00:03:34,890 we like to think they are, and our 55 00:03:34,890 --> 00:03:38,930 woolly mindedness, we say there has to be 56 00:03:38,930 --> 00:03:41,030 some other solution besides that. 57 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:46,700 And of course, our error today is that 58 00:03:46,700 --> 00:03:49,420 we think there are all kinds of other 59 00:03:49,420 --> 00:03:52,900 solutions, you know, besides the one that God 60 00:03:52,900 --> 00:03:53,460 found. 61 00:03:54,580 --> 00:03:59,560 God saw that the evil in our hearts 62 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:03,340 was continual and He determined He would blot 63 00:04:03,340 --> 00:04:05,040 us out, He would destroy us. 64 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:08,540 And our error today is we think we 65 00:04:08,540 --> 00:04:10,960 can find some other answer, just hold it, 66 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:13,020 give me time, give me time and I'll 67 00:04:13,020 --> 00:04:13,920 find another answer. 68 00:04:14,380 --> 00:04:16,420 Now, if we have some encouragement from our 69 00:04:16,420 --> 00:04:18,540 peers, that will kind of do it. 70 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:21,340 Or if we can tame this evil, or 71 00:04:21,340 --> 00:04:23,780 we can train it, or we can treat 72 00:04:23,780 --> 00:04:24,740 it in some way. 73 00:04:25,700 --> 00:04:27,840 And loved ones, that's why we end up 74 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:31,260 with such a mixture of greys in our 75 00:04:31,260 --> 00:04:32,360 society today. 76 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:33,620 And you know that. 77 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,480 We don't have any blacks or whites, we 78 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,640 don't have any rights or wrongs, and it's 79 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,620 interesting, as a result we don't actually have 80 00:04:43,620 --> 00:04:47,640 any reliable hearts that are trustworthy, isn't that 81 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:47,920 so? 82 00:04:48,740 --> 00:04:49,860 That's the funny thing. 83 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:54,820 We're so easy on the evil that is 84 00:04:54,820 --> 00:04:58,520 here, and we attempt to ameliorate it in 85 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:01,800 so many unsatisfactory ways, that we end up 86 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,360 with a world where it's very hard to 87 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:08,460 find a trustworthy heart, or a reliable heart. 88 00:05:10,650 --> 00:05:15,290 And of course, God kept on saying the 89 00:05:15,290 --> 00:05:18,130 same thing for 2,000 years. 90 00:05:18,130 --> 00:05:21,110 He kept on saying, look, there's only one 91 00:05:21,110 --> 00:05:21,950 answer to this. 92 00:05:22,390 --> 00:05:23,790 There is only one answer. 93 00:05:24,650 --> 00:05:26,070 Jeremiah said it, you know. 94 00:05:26,370 --> 00:05:30,070 He said, the sinful soul, it must die. 95 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:34,240 And old Paul said it years later when 96 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:37,520 he said, the wages of sin is death. 97 00:05:37,980 --> 00:05:39,800 The only way to get rid of this 98 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:41,680 stuff is to destroy. 99 00:05:41,980 --> 00:05:45,220 You cannot separate the sinner from his sin. 100 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:47,960 You have to destroy both to get rid 101 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:48,340 of it. 102 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:54,480 And really, years later, it was one of 103 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,740 his prophets that said the same thing. 104 00:05:58,500 --> 00:06:01,220 The real evil in the world is the 105 00:06:01,220 --> 00:06:08,200 heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately 106 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:08,700 wicked. 107 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:10,340 Who can know it? 108 00:06:11,220 --> 00:06:12,300 That's it, loved ones. 109 00:06:13,420 --> 00:06:16,400 And for 2,000 years, God kept on 110 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:17,760 saying that through his prophets. 111 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:21,620 The basic problem of mankind is that the 112 00:06:21,620 --> 00:06:26,100 heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately 113 00:06:26,100 --> 00:06:26,540 wicked. 114 00:06:27,100 --> 00:06:27,900 Who can know it? 115 00:06:28,780 --> 00:06:30,960 And the only answer to it is to 116 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:32,860 destroy, to destroy. 117 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:38,420 And you remember, that's exactly what God did. 118 00:06:38,420 --> 00:06:45,270 If you look at Genesis 7, and verse 119 00:06:45,270 --> 00:06:45,910 19. 120 00:06:56,360 --> 00:07:00,120 And the waters prevailed so mightily upon the 121 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,540 earth, that all the high mountains under the 122 00:07:02,540 --> 00:07:03,600 whole heaven were covered. 123 00:07:04,100 --> 00:07:07,860 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them 124 00:07:07,860 --> 00:07:09,040 15 cubits deep. 125 00:07:09,420 --> 00:07:11,800 And all flesh died that moved upon the 126 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:15,420 earth, birds, cattle, beasts, all swarming creatures that 127 00:07:15,420 --> 00:07:16,360 swarm upon the earth. 128 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,380 And every man, everything on the dry land 129 00:07:19,380 --> 00:07:21,520 in whose nostrils was the breath of life, 130 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:22,040 died. 131 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:24,560 He blotted out every living thing that was 132 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:25,820 upon the face of the ground. 133 00:07:26,220 --> 00:07:29,000 Man and animals and creeping things and birds 134 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,020 of the air, they were blotted out from 135 00:07:31,020 --> 00:07:31,420 the earth. 136 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:37,860 And the reason was that immediately we began 137 00:07:37,860 --> 00:07:42,600 to try to live without trusting our Creator 138 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,280 to show us why he put us here. 139 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:47,840 The moment we did that, the moment we 140 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:50,200 decided we're not going to trust him to 141 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:52,220 tell us that, we're not going to depend 142 00:07:52,220 --> 00:07:54,640 upon him, we're going to depend upon ourselves, 143 00:07:55,080 --> 00:08:00,740 that moment we became overwhelmingly fearful. 144 00:08:01,140 --> 00:08:02,380 We did, loved ones. 145 00:08:02,580 --> 00:08:03,560 There was no other way. 146 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:05,780 There was no way in which God avoided 147 00:08:05,780 --> 00:08:06,060 it. 148 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:10,240 Suddenly we realized I'm one of billions of 149 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,620 people spinning through space on a sphere that 150 00:08:13,620 --> 00:08:15,340 has no visible means of support. 151 00:08:15,900 --> 00:08:17,320 This is madness. 152 00:08:18,340 --> 00:08:20,400 And no wonder we were filled with a 153 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:23,180 neurosis of insecurity and fearfulness. 154 00:08:23,900 --> 00:08:26,240 And you know immediately that happened. 155 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:29,260 We began to try to deal with our 156 00:08:29,260 --> 00:08:32,480 insecurity and we started to grab everything we 157 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:34,320 could as fast as we could. 158 00:08:35,140 --> 00:08:38,980 At the same time, trying to prevent anybody 159 00:08:38,980 --> 00:08:40,980 from knowing that that's what we were doing. 160 00:08:41,799 --> 00:08:43,600 And so of course we were all doing 161 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:43,880 that. 162 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,620 We were all like fearful neurotic little kids 163 00:08:47,620 --> 00:08:50,660 grabbing everything we could, grabbing all the money 164 00:08:50,660 --> 00:08:52,520 we could, all the possessions we could, and 165 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:54,620 at the same time trying to let nobody 166 00:08:54,620 --> 00:08:56,020 else know that we were doing it. 167 00:08:56,340 --> 00:08:59,680 So the whole relationships of the whole world 168 00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:03,420 were filled with dishonesty and deception and greed 169 00:09:03,420 --> 00:09:04,460 and avarice. 170 00:09:04,860 --> 00:09:07,220 And actually there wasn't a part of our 171 00:09:07,220 --> 00:09:10,480 personalities that was left untainted by that. 172 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:11,000 Really. 173 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:15,080 The theologians call it total depravity. 174 00:09:15,940 --> 00:09:18,600 And it means that while there was still 175 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,300 a little light from God in the center 176 00:09:21,300 --> 00:09:24,120 of our beings, there was not one part 177 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:27,000 of our personalities, not one part of our 178 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:29,040 bodies, not one part of our minds, our 179 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:31,760 emotions, or our wills that were not tainted 180 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:33,760 with selfishness. 181 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:37,720 This great disease that we develop within us 182 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:40,400 once we stop depending upon God. 183 00:09:41,180 --> 00:09:43,100 And that's what total depravity means, you know. 184 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:45,500 It means that there isn't one part of 185 00:09:45,500 --> 00:09:48,080 you or one part of me that is 186 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:50,920 not touched in some way with selfishness. 187 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:53,800 And so our hearts were filled with envy 188 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:58,020 and hatred and anger and violence and resentment 189 00:09:58,020 --> 00:09:59,020 and criticism. 190 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:02,020 And God looked at that mess and he 191 00:10:02,020 --> 00:10:03,700 determined there is only one way to deal 192 00:10:03,700 --> 00:10:04,040 with it. 193 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:05,440 I will destroy it. 194 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:07,400 And that's what he did. 195 00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:10,900 Now is that the gospel? 196 00:10:11,500 --> 00:10:13,580 No, it's part of the gospel. 197 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,500 The gospel actually begins in that verse that 198 00:10:18,500 --> 00:10:20,480 we were reading, if you look at it. 199 00:10:21,300 --> 00:10:24,840 It's Genesis 7 and verse 23. 200 00:10:28,390 --> 00:10:29,270 See it. 201 00:10:29,970 --> 00:10:33,850 The Bible runs, he blotted out every living 202 00:10:33,850 --> 00:10:35,250 thing that was upon the face of the 203 00:10:35,250 --> 00:10:35,630 ground. 204 00:10:37,010 --> 00:10:38,770 Chapter 7 and verse 23. 205 00:10:39,350 --> 00:10:41,730 Man and animals and creeping things and birds 206 00:10:41,730 --> 00:10:43,710 of the air, they were blotted out from 207 00:10:43,710 --> 00:10:44,150 the earth. 208 00:10:44,690 --> 00:10:46,310 And then the second half of the verse 209 00:10:46,310 --> 00:10:47,790 is the beginning of the gospel. 210 00:10:48,730 --> 00:10:52,390 Only Noah was left and those that were 211 00:10:52,390 --> 00:10:53,570 with him in the ark. 212 00:10:56,300 --> 00:10:57,820 That's the beginning of the gospel. 213 00:10:59,100 --> 00:11:02,200 It continues in chapter 9, if you like 214 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:03,460 to look at verse 8 there. 215 00:11:04,220 --> 00:11:05,900 Genesis 9 and verse 8. 216 00:11:08,980 --> 00:11:11,580 Then God said to Noah and to his 217 00:11:11,580 --> 00:11:15,240 sons with him, Behold, I establish my covenant 218 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:17,520 with you and your descendants after you. 219 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:19,940 And with every living creature that is with 220 00:11:19,940 --> 00:11:22,580 you, the birds, the cattle and every beast 221 00:11:22,580 --> 00:11:24,460 of the earth with you, as many as 222 00:11:24,460 --> 00:11:26,540 came out of the ark, I establish my 223 00:11:26,540 --> 00:11:29,880 covenant with you that never again shall all 224 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:32,020 flesh be cut off by the waters of 225 00:11:32,020 --> 00:11:34,700 a flood and never again shall there be 226 00:11:34,700 --> 00:11:36,280 a flood to destroy the earth. 227 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:38,940 And God said, This is the sign of 228 00:11:38,940 --> 00:11:40,940 the covenant which I make between me and 229 00:11:40,940 --> 00:11:42,960 you and every living creature that is with 230 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:44,800 you for all future generations. 231 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:47,540 I set my bow in the cloud and 232 00:11:47,540 --> 00:11:49,120 it shall be a sign of the covenant 233 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:50,400 between me and the earth. 234 00:11:50,780 --> 00:11:52,620 When I bring clouds over the earth and 235 00:11:52,620 --> 00:11:54,420 the bow is seen in the clouds, I 236 00:11:54,420 --> 00:11:56,740 will remember my covenant which is between me 237 00:11:56,740 --> 00:11:58,520 and you and every living creature of all 238 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:01,020 flesh and the water shall never again become 239 00:12:01,020 --> 00:12:02,720 a flood to destroy all flesh. 240 00:12:02,940 --> 00:12:04,840 When the bow is in the clouds, I 241 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:06,960 will look upon it and remember the everlasting 242 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,480 covenant between God and every living creature of 243 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:11,380 all flesh that is upon the earth. 244 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,060 God said to Noah, This is the sign 245 00:12:14,060 --> 00:12:16,020 of the covenant which I have established between 246 00:12:16,020 --> 00:12:18,040 me and all flesh that is upon the 247 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:18,280 earth. 248 00:12:20,340 --> 00:12:21,220 That's the gospel. 249 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:24,960 But God determined he would never again destroy 250 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:26,400 us all like that. 251 00:12:29,110 --> 00:12:29,350 Why? 252 00:12:32,220 --> 00:12:35,120 Because he thought that there was some other 253 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:38,200 way to destroy sin. 254 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,460 There's only one way to destroy guilt, and 255 00:12:43,460 --> 00:12:44,580 that's destroy sin. 256 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:46,580 And there's only one way to destroy the 257 00:12:46,580 --> 00:12:48,340 sin, and that's to destroy the sinner. 258 00:12:51,940 --> 00:12:54,680 But God found another way to destroy the 259 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:54,900 sinner. 260 00:12:54,900 --> 00:13:00,620 He found a way to free us from 261 00:13:00,620 --> 00:13:04,540 our evil hearts that are so desperately wicked 262 00:13:04,540 --> 00:13:08,840 and deceitful without destroying us physically. 263 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:13,360 How did he do it? 264 00:13:14,700 --> 00:13:16,560 Christ died for us. 265 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:22,300 Christ was the flood. 266 00:13:24,810 --> 00:13:29,430 God put our hearts into the flood and 267 00:13:29,430 --> 00:13:30,550 destroyed them there. 268 00:13:31,130 --> 00:13:31,570 That's it. 269 00:13:34,420 --> 00:13:39,360 When he cried out, it was because he 270 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,660 had your heart in himself and he was 271 00:13:42,660 --> 00:13:45,000 feeling the pain of its destruction. 272 00:13:45,940 --> 00:13:46,720 That's it. 273 00:13:49,980 --> 00:13:51,640 Remember the way Paul put it. 274 00:13:53,900 --> 00:13:56,260 He said in Galatians 2 and 20, remember, 275 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:01,400 I have been crucified with Christ and it 276 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,720 is no longer I that live but Christ 277 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:06,100 that lives within me. 278 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:08,520 That's it. 279 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:17,080 God took your heart and my heart and 280 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:18,160 put it into his Son. 281 00:14:19,100 --> 00:14:22,800 And instead of flooding us out physically as 282 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:26,580 he had done originally, he put us into 283 00:14:26,580 --> 00:14:30,740 the flood of Christ and he destroyed our 284 00:14:30,740 --> 00:14:35,080 evil, deceitful, wicked hearts in his Son Jesus. 285 00:14:39,610 --> 00:14:43,710 That's what baptism, you know, meant in the 286 00:14:43,710 --> 00:14:44,510 first century. 287 00:14:45,990 --> 00:14:49,490 When a person was immersed, that's what the 288 00:14:49,490 --> 00:14:50,650 Greek word means. 289 00:14:51,030 --> 00:14:53,350 It means to be immersed in Christ. 290 00:14:54,810 --> 00:14:57,610 And when you were immersed in the water, 291 00:14:57,990 --> 00:15:01,530 as you went down, you realized that you 292 00:15:01,530 --> 00:15:03,870 were being cut off from the world that 293 00:15:03,870 --> 00:15:04,370 you knew. 294 00:15:04,790 --> 00:15:06,650 As far as you were concerned when you 295 00:15:06,650 --> 00:15:08,770 were under that water, there was no world 296 00:15:09,330 --> 00:15:11,150 and you were cut off from it. 297 00:15:11,390 --> 00:15:12,430 You were dead. 298 00:15:13,310 --> 00:15:14,690 And when you came up out of the 299 00:15:14,690 --> 00:15:18,350 water, you then were given a Christian name, 300 00:15:18,950 --> 00:15:22,170 a new name, because you were being raised 301 00:15:22,170 --> 00:15:24,390 in Jesus as a new creation. 302 00:15:24,990 --> 00:15:29,210 And that's what God did instead of sending 303 00:15:29,210 --> 00:15:29,690 a flood. 304 00:15:30,450 --> 00:15:34,350 He destroyed our evil hearts in Jesus and 305 00:15:34,350 --> 00:15:37,430 recreated us with new hearts in his resurrection. 306 00:15:39,070 --> 00:15:41,590 There's an interesting verse, I don't know if 307 00:15:41,590 --> 00:15:44,990 you've ever noticed it, in Peter, that makes 308 00:15:44,990 --> 00:15:46,690 that truth clear. 309 00:15:46,950 --> 00:16:08,070 It's 1 Peter 3 and 310 00:16:08,070 --> 00:16:08,930 verse 20. 311 00:16:12,010 --> 00:16:14,610 It's page 1060. 312 00:16:15,990 --> 00:16:18,230 1 Peter 3 and verse 20. 313 00:16:21,910 --> 00:16:24,830 And it's talking about what Jesus did when 314 00:16:24,830 --> 00:16:28,570 he was raised or between his death and 315 00:16:28,570 --> 00:16:29,090 resurrection. 316 00:16:29,530 --> 00:16:31,650 And then in verse 20, to the spirits 317 00:16:31,650 --> 00:16:35,030 in prison who formerly did not obey when 318 00:16:35,030 --> 00:16:37,590 God's patience waited in the days of Noah 319 00:16:37,590 --> 00:16:40,290 during the building of the ark in which 320 00:16:40,290 --> 00:16:43,010 a few, that is eight persons, were saved 321 00:16:43,010 --> 00:16:43,810 through water. 322 00:16:44,690 --> 00:16:48,350 Baptism, which corresponds to this, you see, to 323 00:16:48,350 --> 00:16:51,110 the ark and the flood, now saves you 324 00:16:51,110 --> 00:16:52,910 not as a removal of dirt from the 325 00:16:52,910 --> 00:16:55,210 body but as an appeal to God for 326 00:16:55,210 --> 00:16:58,070 a clear conscience through the resurrection of Jesus 327 00:16:58,070 --> 00:16:58,610 Christ. 328 00:16:59,750 --> 00:17:01,370 Jesus is the flood. 329 00:17:05,300 --> 00:17:06,740 What does God want us to do? 330 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:12,099 Well, loved ones, it's Romans 12 and verse 331 00:17:12,099 --> 00:17:12,460 1. 332 00:17:13,500 --> 00:17:15,040 It's really simple. 333 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,260 Romans 12 and verse 1. 334 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:23,300 It's page 986. 335 00:17:26,220 --> 00:17:30,480 I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the 336 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:34,000 mercies of God, to do what? 337 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,460 To present your bodies as a living sacrifice. 338 00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:45,680 As if you had gone to a specialist 339 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:50,520 with some pains in your abdomen and he 340 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:54,160 had diagnosed cancer. 341 00:17:55,180 --> 00:17:57,900 Cancer throughout the whole of your body. 342 00:17:58,980 --> 00:18:01,040 There isn't an organ in your body that 343 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:02,780 is not touched with cancer. 344 00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:06,420 And so you have at the most six 345 00:18:06,420 --> 00:18:07,240 weeks to live. 346 00:18:09,660 --> 00:18:13,980 That's what God says about our sin and 347 00:18:13,980 --> 00:18:17,120 our selfishness and the evil within us. 348 00:18:19,070 --> 00:18:21,330 And you know what you say to the 349 00:18:21,330 --> 00:18:21,690 doctor. 350 00:18:23,030 --> 00:18:25,390 You say, can you do anything? 351 00:18:26,550 --> 00:18:29,450 And he says, the only hope is radiation. 352 00:18:30,070 --> 00:18:31,550 Massive doses of radiation. 353 00:18:32,090 --> 00:18:33,030 You know what you say. 354 00:18:34,030 --> 00:18:35,370 You say, what do you want me to 355 00:18:35,370 --> 00:18:35,570 do? 356 00:18:36,890 --> 00:18:40,750 He says, you come here, you lie on 357 00:18:40,750 --> 00:18:45,150 that table and you allow us to give 358 00:18:45,150 --> 00:18:47,050 you massive doses of radiation. 359 00:18:48,250 --> 00:18:51,890 You don't cavil, you don't hesitate, you don't 360 00:18:51,890 --> 00:18:55,430 debate, you don't say, would exercise do it 361 00:18:55,430 --> 00:18:55,990 instead? 362 00:18:56,930 --> 00:18:59,650 If I eat a little more or take 363 00:18:59,650 --> 00:19:02,470 a little more care of myself, or if 364 00:19:02,470 --> 00:19:05,090 I obey certain rules and laws, will that 365 00:19:05,090 --> 00:19:05,550 do it? 366 00:19:06,050 --> 00:19:07,710 Or would it be enough if I just 367 00:19:07,710 --> 00:19:09,990 put my arm under the radiation? 368 00:19:11,310 --> 00:19:12,970 I mean, you know what you do. 369 00:19:13,410 --> 00:19:15,430 You present your body. 370 00:19:16,230 --> 00:19:20,890 You just say, whatever you say, whatever you 371 00:19:20,890 --> 00:19:22,450 want, you do. 372 00:19:23,110 --> 00:19:24,810 I'm going to be dead in six weeks 373 00:19:24,810 --> 00:19:25,190 anyway. 374 00:19:25,790 --> 00:19:28,410 If you can do anything for me, you 375 00:19:28,410 --> 00:19:29,290 do what you want. 376 00:19:30,010 --> 00:19:31,230 That's what God says. 377 00:19:32,430 --> 00:19:36,070 Except that is a bit more poignant, His 378 00:19:36,070 --> 00:19:37,470 appeal to us than that. 379 00:19:38,570 --> 00:19:43,310 Because Jesus has already borne the radiation. 380 00:19:47,770 --> 00:19:54,550 He has already borne the death-destroying rays 381 00:19:54,550 --> 00:19:58,070 of God's wrath that were leveled upon you 382 00:19:58,070 --> 00:19:59,530 and me in Him. 383 00:19:59,890 --> 00:20:02,690 And when He cried out, My God, My 384 00:20:02,690 --> 00:20:05,890 God, why hast thou forsaken Me? 385 00:20:07,270 --> 00:20:11,430 It was because He felt all the destruction 386 00:20:11,430 --> 00:20:15,330 of that burning wrath of God destroying your 387 00:20:15,330 --> 00:20:16,870 selfish heart in Him. 388 00:20:19,470 --> 00:20:22,950 And so actually, Christ has already borne that 389 00:20:22,950 --> 00:20:23,970 for you. 390 00:20:26,060 --> 00:20:28,580 That's what that verse you remember at Corinthians 391 00:20:28,580 --> 00:20:29,340 means. 392 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:33,760 God made Him to be sin who knew 393 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:34,440 no sin. 394 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:40,500 God made Christ what you are or what 395 00:20:40,500 --> 00:20:41,160 you were. 396 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:46,830 And then He destroyed that in His own 397 00:20:46,830 --> 00:20:47,210 Son. 398 00:20:49,100 --> 00:20:56,140 And so, when you plead, well, is there 399 00:20:56,140 --> 00:20:57,140 some other way? 400 00:20:59,370 --> 00:21:02,070 There is a dear person who has already 401 00:21:02,070 --> 00:21:03,550 borne the pain for you. 402 00:21:05,130 --> 00:21:09,230 And here you are saying, well, maybe I 403 00:21:09,230 --> 00:21:12,430 don't need to put that arm into the 404 00:21:12,430 --> 00:21:12,750 flood. 405 00:21:13,230 --> 00:21:15,290 Maybe I don't need to put this mind 406 00:21:15,290 --> 00:21:17,430 or this part of my brain or this 407 00:21:17,430 --> 00:21:19,710 part of my life into the flood. 408 00:21:19,710 --> 00:21:22,250 Maybe I can get away without that part 409 00:21:22,250 --> 00:21:23,110 being destroyed. 410 00:21:23,630 --> 00:21:25,390 It's pitiful, isn't it? 411 00:21:27,690 --> 00:21:29,410 Hamlet, you remember, once said, oh, what a 412 00:21:29,410 --> 00:21:31,210 rogue and peasant slave am I. 413 00:21:31,770 --> 00:21:34,190 When he saw the agony of an actor 414 00:21:34,190 --> 00:21:38,010 over the imagined death of his father and 415 00:21:38,010 --> 00:21:40,870 he thought, my father is really dead and 416 00:21:40,870 --> 00:21:41,890 I feel none of that. 417 00:21:42,250 --> 00:21:43,890 Oh, what a rogue and peasant slave are 418 00:21:43,890 --> 00:21:44,170 we. 419 00:21:45,130 --> 00:21:48,150 If we stand back now and say, is 420 00:21:48,150 --> 00:21:50,730 there some way in which I can get 421 00:21:50,730 --> 00:21:53,790 away from presenting my body, my whole body, 422 00:21:53,910 --> 00:21:57,370 my whole personality, my whole life for God 423 00:21:57,370 --> 00:21:59,010 to make this rail in me? 424 00:21:59,890 --> 00:22:02,870 Well, it's after the fact, isn't it? 425 00:22:03,530 --> 00:22:07,090 The dear guy has already died. 426 00:22:08,210 --> 00:22:09,650 He's already borne the pain. 427 00:22:10,590 --> 00:22:13,130 Here we are wanting to know, can we 428 00:22:13,130 --> 00:22:15,990 hold on to something of what he died 429 00:22:15,990 --> 00:22:22,180 to destroy, present as a sacrifice? 430 00:22:22,820 --> 00:22:28,420 That is, to regard yourself, your life, in 431 00:22:28,420 --> 00:22:32,280 reality, as slaughtered, already slaughtered in Jesus. 432 00:22:32,460 --> 00:22:33,760 That was the only thing God could do 433 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:34,360 with you or me. 434 00:22:34,940 --> 00:22:37,220 That was the only thing we were worth, 435 00:22:37,700 --> 00:22:38,480 slaughtering us. 436 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:42,120 Regard our lives as slaughtered and destroyed so 437 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:44,540 that only the smoke now is rising up 438 00:22:44,540 --> 00:22:45,060 to God. 439 00:22:45,380 --> 00:22:48,080 That's what it means to present your bodies 440 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:50,420 as a living sacrifice. 441 00:22:51,460 --> 00:22:52,940 You put it on there. 442 00:22:53,100 --> 00:22:54,840 You say, Lord, you did this for me. 443 00:22:55,140 --> 00:22:55,840 Here I am. 444 00:22:56,780 --> 00:22:57,960 You make it rail. 445 00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:01,220 See the fruits of your work and suffering 446 00:23:01,220 --> 00:23:03,500 and be satisfied wherever you want. 447 00:23:03,620 --> 00:23:04,860 Do whatever you want with me. 448 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:05,580 Here I am. 449 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:08,180 I regard myself as already a dead man, 450 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:10,680 already somebody who has been destroyed. 451 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:15,680 I present myself to you and you raise 452 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:20,000 up what you want because radioactivity destroys good 453 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,340 cells as well as bad, as you probably 454 00:23:22,340 --> 00:23:22,700 know. 455 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:26,800 But in order to be healed, you have 456 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:27,380 to be willing. 457 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:28,900 Lord, you make the judgment. 458 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:31,300 You decide what has to be taken from 459 00:23:31,300 --> 00:23:31,800 my life. 460 00:23:32,100 --> 00:23:32,780 You decide it. 461 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:34,020 I'm not going to argue. 462 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:37,200 And you raise up what you want. 463 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:40,400 That's why it means present your bodies as 464 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:43,420 a living sacrifice, a sacrifice that has already 465 00:23:43,420 --> 00:23:46,780 been destroyed and that God will make alive 466 00:23:46,780 --> 00:23:49,820 again according to his own best judgment. 467 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:52,660 That's what God wants of his loved ones. 468 00:23:53,180 --> 00:23:53,700 That's it. 469 00:23:55,990 --> 00:23:58,970 Parastasi is the verb present. 470 00:23:59,950 --> 00:24:02,730 It's in what is called in Greek the 471 00:24:02,730 --> 00:24:03,370 aorist. 472 00:24:04,210 --> 00:24:07,150 And the aorist is the part of the 473 00:24:07,150 --> 00:24:11,470 verb that expresses an instantaneous, complete act. 474 00:24:11,870 --> 00:24:12,230 That's it. 475 00:24:12,450 --> 00:24:13,050 You do it. 476 00:24:13,130 --> 00:24:13,590 It's done. 477 00:24:13,590 --> 00:24:15,170 That's what it means. 478 00:24:15,950 --> 00:24:19,170 To present your bodies means not bit by 479 00:24:19,170 --> 00:24:22,450 bit, not struggle by struggle, but now you 480 00:24:22,450 --> 00:24:23,110 present it. 481 00:24:23,390 --> 00:24:24,570 I see what you've done, Lord. 482 00:24:24,810 --> 00:24:26,290 You've destroyed me in Christ. 483 00:24:26,630 --> 00:24:27,450 He is the flood. 484 00:24:27,930 --> 00:24:28,630 Here I am. 485 00:24:29,150 --> 00:24:29,350 There. 486 00:24:30,210 --> 00:24:31,190 That's only reality. 487 00:24:31,310 --> 00:24:31,930 Here I am. 488 00:24:32,490 --> 00:24:34,570 Make this real in whatever way you please. 489 00:24:35,170 --> 00:24:36,590 It's a definite act. 490 00:24:36,970 --> 00:24:39,430 That's why for many of us, decision for 491 00:24:39,430 --> 00:24:43,910 Christ has been a momentary, instantaneous action, you 492 00:24:43,910 --> 00:24:45,930 see, that we've done at a service like 493 00:24:45,930 --> 00:24:46,270 this. 494 00:24:46,930 --> 00:24:48,830 We've just done it because it can be 495 00:24:48,830 --> 00:24:49,730 to present. 496 00:24:50,790 --> 00:24:53,310 To present your bodies that way is the 497 00:24:53,310 --> 00:24:56,210 final admission that there is no other way. 498 00:24:56,970 --> 00:24:59,350 And that's what it means to actually become 499 00:24:59,350 --> 00:25:00,330 a child of God. 500 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:06,710 It's an admission that everything has to be 501 00:25:06,710 --> 00:25:09,830 changed in my life, not just the things 502 00:25:09,830 --> 00:25:11,910 that I see wrong, everything. 503 00:25:12,490 --> 00:25:15,070 It's an admission that you're willing to let 504 00:25:15,070 --> 00:25:16,630 everything be changed. 505 00:25:17,110 --> 00:25:18,710 That's what real repentance is. 506 00:25:19,350 --> 00:25:23,150 Real repentance is stating everything has to be 507 00:25:23,150 --> 00:25:25,110 destroyed and the whole thing has to be 508 00:25:25,110 --> 00:25:26,010 created anew. 509 00:25:26,470 --> 00:25:28,810 That's what presenting your body as a living 510 00:25:28,810 --> 00:25:29,850 sacrifice is. 511 00:25:30,690 --> 00:25:32,770 And that's what God requires of us. 512 00:25:33,290 --> 00:25:35,070 That's what He wants of us. 513 00:25:36,390 --> 00:25:38,410 Not our efforts, you know. 514 00:25:38,770 --> 00:25:41,070 Not our endless attempts at cooperation. 515 00:25:41,750 --> 00:25:43,090 Not all our trying. 516 00:25:43,850 --> 00:25:47,350 But just our recognition that He destroyed us 517 00:25:47,350 --> 00:25:50,210 and remade us in His Son and that 518 00:25:50,210 --> 00:25:54,190 we've to mirror that and reflect that by 519 00:25:54,190 --> 00:25:57,590 presenting ourselves as people who have been destroyed, 520 00:25:57,790 --> 00:26:00,530 who only deserve to be destroyed and Lord, 521 00:26:00,770 --> 00:26:03,890 You raise up in me whatever You want. 522 00:26:03,890 --> 00:26:07,710 That's what God requires of us. 523 00:26:08,830 --> 00:26:13,390 A bit like the man who owned an 524 00:26:13,390 --> 00:26:18,610 old shack on the edge of town that 525 00:26:18,610 --> 00:26:20,830 a developer wanted to buy. 526 00:26:23,410 --> 00:26:27,790 And the developer came to this man and 527 00:26:27,790 --> 00:26:29,830 the man, of course, thought the shack was 528 00:26:29,830 --> 00:26:32,150 worth maybe $2,000 at the most. 529 00:26:32,550 --> 00:26:34,810 And the developer said, I'll offer you $25 530 00:26:34,810 --> 00:26:35,910 ,000 for that. 531 00:26:37,940 --> 00:26:39,140 And the man was overwhelmed. 532 00:26:41,120 --> 00:26:43,960 And it was arranged that in a month's 533 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,100 time he would move out and the developer 534 00:26:46,100 --> 00:26:47,380 would take over. 535 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,520 And the man began to think to himself, 536 00:26:50,700 --> 00:26:54,520 Oh, this is ridiculous giving me $25,000 537 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:55,440 for this place. 538 00:26:55,580 --> 00:26:56,400 It's not worth it. 539 00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:59,000 Well, I'd better take some of that money 540 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,320 and at least make it look reasonable. 541 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:04,500 And so he began to go down to 542 00:27:04,500 --> 00:27:07,360 the hardware stores and he began to buy 543 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:10,320 new windows and new nails and he began 544 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:12,260 to work on the shack and began to 545 00:27:12,260 --> 00:27:14,620 get paint and painted up and all that 546 00:27:14,620 --> 00:27:16,000 kind of thing so that in a month's 547 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,580 time the shack was really a transformation as 548 00:27:18,580 --> 00:27:19,620 far as he was concerned. 549 00:27:20,220 --> 00:27:23,220 And the developer came that day and the 550 00:27:23,220 --> 00:27:25,300 guy, of course, couldn't make out what he 551 00:27:25,300 --> 00:27:27,980 was doing with that massive bulldozer on the 552 00:27:27,980 --> 00:27:31,860 road and he said, Look, isn't the house 553 00:27:31,860 --> 00:27:32,340 beautiful? 554 00:27:32,620 --> 00:27:34,580 And the developer said, Yeah, yeah, yeah. 555 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:36,600 It is, it is, thank you. 556 00:27:36,740 --> 00:27:37,760 Here's your $25,000. 557 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:40,580 And the guy said, What are you going 558 00:27:40,580 --> 00:27:41,200 to do with it? 559 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:43,140 And he said, Oh, that bulldozer, I'm going 560 00:27:43,140 --> 00:27:44,420 to bulldoze it right off the site. 561 00:27:44,660 --> 00:27:45,980 I just want the site, you see. 562 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:46,860 I don't need the house. 563 00:27:48,360 --> 00:27:48,980 That's it. 564 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:52,380 God doesn't need your house. 565 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:55,000 He doesn't need your life. 566 00:27:55,180 --> 00:27:55,680 He doesn't. 567 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:57,320 You may think, I mean, I think you're 568 00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:57,600 lovely. 569 00:27:57,980 --> 00:27:58,960 I think we're all great. 570 00:27:59,500 --> 00:28:01,860 But really, it's nothing to God. 571 00:28:01,980 --> 00:28:02,880 God doesn't want that. 572 00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:06,240 God has already determined there's nothing I can 573 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:07,520 do with you as you are. 574 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,440 I have to destroy you, bulldoze you right 575 00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:12,120 off the site and start again. 576 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:15,020 And that's what conversion is. 577 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:19,540 And that's what faith in Christ's death is. 578 00:28:19,860 --> 00:28:22,320 And that's what being baptized into Jesus is. 579 00:28:22,460 --> 00:28:22,960 That's it. 580 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:26,760 It's a total and absolute admission Lord, I 581 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,200 agree with your diagnosis of the problem. 582 00:28:29,700 --> 00:28:32,680 My heart is deceitful above all things and 583 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:33,720 desperately wicked. 584 00:28:34,740 --> 00:28:36,740 And there is only one way to fix 585 00:28:36,740 --> 00:28:37,280 me up. 586 00:28:37,940 --> 00:28:39,660 And that is do what you did in 587 00:28:39,660 --> 00:28:40,240 Noah's day. 588 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:45,020 Just destroy me absolutely and start again and 589 00:28:45,020 --> 00:28:46,640 make me what you want me to be. 590 00:28:47,660 --> 00:28:49,700 That's what God wants from us. 591 00:28:51,930 --> 00:28:54,590 Now, you can do it this morning. 592 00:28:54,590 --> 00:28:57,850 I did it one day in Sunday school 593 00:28:57,850 --> 00:28:59,930 in Ireland one afternoon. 594 00:29:00,410 --> 00:29:03,950 It doesn't require a special evangelistic service. 595 00:29:04,290 --> 00:29:06,190 You can do it at this moment. 596 00:29:06,410 --> 00:29:06,770 You can. 597 00:29:07,370 --> 00:29:09,570 And I would suggest that if you've never 598 00:29:09,570 --> 00:29:12,410 done that, if you've never given your life 599 00:29:12,410 --> 00:29:15,350 to God like that, for Him to do 600 00:29:15,350 --> 00:29:18,190 whatever He wants with and to make real 601 00:29:18,190 --> 00:29:21,810 in you the mighty destruction and salvation that 602 00:29:21,810 --> 00:29:24,290 He worked in you in Jesus, the miracle 603 00:29:24,290 --> 00:29:25,550 is it's already done, you see. 604 00:29:25,930 --> 00:29:26,550 That's the miracle. 605 00:29:26,850 --> 00:29:27,830 It's already done. 606 00:29:28,490 --> 00:29:30,610 All you're doing this morning is saying, Lord, 607 00:29:31,250 --> 00:29:32,330 that's what I want. 608 00:29:32,830 --> 00:29:35,070 What you've already done in me, that's what 609 00:29:35,070 --> 00:29:35,490 I want. 610 00:29:35,870 --> 00:29:37,670 Will you begin by your Holy Spirit to 611 00:29:37,670 --> 00:29:39,250 make it real from this day forward? 612 00:29:40,050 --> 00:29:42,370 And if you say that honestly, loved ones, 613 00:29:43,030 --> 00:29:45,190 and are willing for Him to touch whatever 614 00:29:45,190 --> 00:29:47,470 needs to be touched in your life and 615 00:29:47,470 --> 00:29:49,890 to burn out whatever of cancer there is 616 00:29:49,890 --> 00:29:53,130 there, then this will be the beginning of 617 00:29:53,130 --> 00:29:54,350 eternal life for you. 618 00:29:55,030 --> 00:29:57,570 And it's the beginning of your life. 619 00:30:05,980 --> 00:30:08,080 Dear God, I would ask you to listen 620 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:12,180 to my brothers and sisters as they pray 621 00:30:12,180 --> 00:30:12,620 to you. 622 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:16,140 And Lord, I know you will take us 623 00:30:16,140 --> 00:30:17,720 at our word. 624 00:30:20,210 --> 00:30:24,730 Lord, we would give you everything you see 625 00:30:24,730 --> 00:30:32,460 needs to be liberated, everything that you see 626 00:30:32,460 --> 00:30:36,480 you had to destroy in Christ, we would 627 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:37,280 give you it all. 628 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:42,060 Now as you point the things out to 629 00:30:42,060 --> 00:30:44,680 us, Lord, we would not hold back. 630 00:30:49,790 --> 00:30:51,610 We would see that everything we give to 631 00:30:51,610 --> 00:30:57,270 you will be cleansed and will be made 632 00:30:57,270 --> 00:31:03,250 worthwhile and will be able to be used 633 00:31:03,250 --> 00:31:04,090 in this life. 634 00:31:07,070 --> 00:31:11,150 So Lord, we lay ourselves before you and 635 00:31:11,150 --> 00:31:13,990 tell you, will you do with us what 636 00:31:13,990 --> 00:31:14,590 you want? 637 00:31:15,250 --> 00:31:18,810 We present our bodies to you as a 638 00:31:18,810 --> 00:31:23,050 living sacrifice, as something that, as far as 639 00:31:23,050 --> 00:31:26,650 we are concerned, is no longer ours to 640 00:31:26,650 --> 00:31:29,830 use, but is now done with. 641 00:31:30,470 --> 00:31:32,990 We no longer hope for anything from it. 642 00:31:33,470 --> 00:31:35,650 It is now burned on the altar. 643 00:31:35,650 --> 00:31:38,310 It is something that is finished with. 644 00:31:39,350 --> 00:31:41,270 Now Lord, you do what you want with 645 00:31:41,270 --> 00:31:41,470 it. 646 00:31:41,910 --> 00:31:43,810 And if you do care to raise any 647 00:31:43,810 --> 00:31:45,310 of it up, that is up to you. 648 00:31:46,070 --> 00:31:47,870 And if you care to make any use 649 00:31:47,870 --> 00:31:49,290 of any of it, that is up to 650 00:31:49,290 --> 00:31:49,530 you. 651 00:31:51,330 --> 00:31:54,870 And if meanwhile any happiness or peace should 652 00:31:54,870 --> 00:31:57,470 come to us, we'll be grateful, but we 653 00:31:57,470 --> 00:31:59,370 will not at all demand it. 654 00:32:00,190 --> 00:32:03,230 But we'll present our bodies as a living 655 00:32:03,230 --> 00:32:07,150 sacrifice to you this day and yield them 656 00:32:07,150 --> 00:32:07,970 to you forever. 657 00:32:11,530 --> 00:32:14,090 And now the grace of our Lord Jesus 658 00:32:15,010 --> 00:32:18,750 and the love of God and the fellowship 659 00:32:18,750 --> 00:32:22,230 of the Holy Spirit be with each one 660 00:32:22,230 --> 00:32:24,910 of us, now and evermore. 661 00:32:26,470 --> 00:32:26,870 Amen.