Transcript
One of the things I think this topic teaches me is in the face of lust, in the face of debt-inducing materialism, in the face of fear of man, in the face of "you're in my way" daily irritation and impatience, I need something dramatically more than strategies for self-reformation. I need more than "this is seven steps to do better".
The Bible Does Not Give You Seven Steps
The Bible doesn't give you seven steps to do better. I think what this topic confronts me with is what scripture offers me with all of its wisdom and with all of its practical guidance. You're not left with a system of redemption. You're left with a Redeemer and for all of the strategy, when your sin is exposed, when your weakness is exposed, it's never an accident. It's never an interruption. It's always grace.
When that is exposed, what it's meant to produce in me is what the Puritans called importunity, poverty, where I begin not to say, "How do I fix this? What can I do with this? How can I control this? How can I strategize with this?" It's meant to bring me to cry out and say, "I have nothing. In the face of my lust, God, I have nothing. I just lust for more and oh, wretched man that I am. The good I want to do, I don't do and what I don't want to do, I do," and cry out. I don't think we weep enough, we mourn enough. I don't think we feel that poverty enough and we try to strategize our way out of things that only grace can produce in us.
Now, I want to say something about that. That's a community project. I need people in my life who help me with that, who remind me of that, who guide me in and through that because my walk with God is a community project, because no one swindles me more than I do. No one deceives me more than I do and so, I need people who love me enough to interrupt my private conversation and provide intervention for me; and I would say it this way.
God Makes His Invisible Grace Visible
God makes His invisible grace visible by sending people of grace to give grace to people who need grace. God makes His invisible grace visible by sending people of grace to give grace to people who need grace. I needed in the last eleven months more than I've needed in a long time, people who would come and visit me and not say it'll be okay, but would interview me and in interviewing me, get my struggle and begin to preach the gospel in a contextualized way to me in my struggle.
There's a whole bunch of people who I feel like are sitting behind me in this moment, who have been part of that for me in the last year. I need that because I need to embrace my poverty so I'll run to the riches that are present in my Savior.
