This is an interesting topic that I believe Oscar recommended.

It was, yeah, yeah, Oscar's into knowing himself.

That's his passion in life.

But this might sound weird to the ears of some of our friends.

Like what do you mean?

Know yourself?

It sounded weird to me.

I had to call you and say what's this about?

Yeah.

So, Oscar, why don't you introduce this subject to us?

Yeah, help us.

What do we mean?

by know thyself.

Yeah, I think it's a valuable subject because, while you know, depending on what generation you grew up in, that might not be that appealing to you, that idea, but the younger generations are definitely asking that question how do I know myself?

You may hear people talk about it as the authentic self to become who you were meant to be.

It's a pursuit that many young people are taking on now, and we can listen to that language and reject it entirely, or we can listen to that language and recognize the longing of their heart and redirect that longing to knowing God.

This generation, this generation of this modern time modernity is the word that Oscar used that they cannot escape.

Even when they fall asleep, they will ask these questions what is going on?

Is it really us versus them, and why?

If there's no meaning, well then why is it us against them?

And then it just becomes a yelling match.

You know You'll never understand your identity until you start with your origin.

Well then, why is it us against them?

And then it just becomes a yelling match.

You'll never understand your identity until you start with your origin.

And this is where Genesis 127 comes in.

So God created man in his own image.

You were created with a purpose and with a plan to know your maker.

This is nothing new.

This has been argued and discussed since the beginning of time.

This has been argued and discussed since the beginning of time.

Augustine he said in his book Soliloquies, or book one, he said, grant Lord, that I may know myself, that I may know thee.

In other words, you cannot truly know who God is until you recognize who you are.

And that's where the law of God, the commandments, come into play.

Have you ever come into the place where you said, god, the commandments come into play.

Have you ever come into the place where you said, man, I can't believe I did that sin?

Or when we hear of a pastor falling into sexual sin, or he dipped into the benevolent fund, we begin to think how dare he?

Paul Washer said the only reason why there's not eight billion Adolf Hitlers walking this planet is because of God's grace and mercy.

You and I are both capable of doing the exact same thing, or much worse, when you get to realize that there's no good thing that dwells within you, that your heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things.

You are capable of that and much worse.

Why haven't you God's sustaining grace upon a society that has snubbed its nose against God?

You want to know yourself.

You must know yourself in light of the commandments, and then you turn to Christ and you can live.

That's the ultimate solution.

I love it, mark.

Do you know that that Augustine quote is the reason why, after reading that, I texted EZ and was like we need to do a podcast on knowing yourself?

Oh, is that really.

Yeah, that's the one that was resonating in my mind too.

This is what I have to say that we're living in incredibly dark times where we look at news items of people committing suicide that are an absolute success and popular and good-looking and young and they take their lives.

And if any time in history the church needs to step up to the plate, it's now, because we're not Very few Christians share their faith with a sense of urgency, which was a long time ago.

There was a song called Is that All there Is.

Any of you guys heard of it?

It was the most hopeless, sad song and it was a hit.

Can you sing it for us.

The words yeah, I won't sing it, but I could if I was alone.

Is that all there is, my friend?

Then let's keep dancing, let's bring out the booze and have a ball.

And it just starts off this lady talking.

Her name was Peggy Lee and she says when I was a little girl, my daddy loved me and I ran to him and hugged him and then, as I grew up, I did this and I did that, and it just comes back to is that all there is, my friend?

Then let's keep dancing, let's bring out the booze and have a ball.

Yeah, it's ecclesiastes.

And the futility of life when death is coming, the hopelessness of having no hope in your life or reason to live, and no hope in your death.

And it's coming closer and closer and it's haunting, as Hebrews says.

I think what's happened to this generation is what happened to me in my testimony.

I actually grew old prematurely.

I had attained everything in life at the age of 20, absolutely everything.

I had attained everything in life at the age of 20, absolutely everything.

Not the degree of Solomon, but a smaller degree Own home, beautiful wife, made a kid, money go surfing when I wanted just everything I wanted.

I thought what?

do I do next?

And this generation has seen the world via its phone.

It's had sex and done everything via the phone and there's nothing left.

It's just is that all there is, and they take their lives.

So they're in darkness, they're like groping blind men and we've got to get an urgency in our heart as Christians and say Lord, take away my fears, let me live daily for the lost and be concerned about them and not myself.

What firefighter would ever stand around while people are burning to?

death concerned about them and not myself.

What firefighter would ever stand around while people?

are burning to death.

So we have this incredible obligation that we must fulfill, amen.

So let's get a little practical and get into knowing ourselves as it relates to our temperament, our weaknesses.

You mean?

as a Christian, yeah, as believers.

Now I'd love to hear from you guys on some of those sorts of things and maybe how you can encourage people Like how do you examine yourself?

How do you get others involved in helping you to know yourself?

I think Paul Tripp's a huge help here.

I can't remember what book he says this in, he's probably said it multiple times, but I think you know a path forward.

I call it the three D's discern, dismantle and desire.

And so the first one is definitely Paul Trippian, if I can say that, which is discerning our idols.

He points out that every strong emotion that we have, whether it's anger, fear or anxiety, what it's actually doing is revealing something we love most.

Like you're interacting with your family and your spouse says something, your kids do something, a situation happens and out of you comes fear, anxiety, anger.

What Tripp points out is that, ultimately, what's happening is, when somebody puts one of your idols in danger, you respond out of anger and fear and anxiety.

And so, instead of like there's something wrong with them, that's a sign there's something wrong with me.

I need to discern what is the idol of my heart in this moment.

Is it comfort?

Is it reputation?

Is it power?

What could it be?

And once you discern your idol, then you have to dismantle it.

You have to ask yourself what lie am I believing?

What truth of the gospel am I not believing?

How is Christ on the throne, the true fulfillment of my deepest desires, where I will find true humility and grace.

And then, finally, is to desire Christ Ultimately, how do we repent?

It's when we come to desire him above all else, as Thomas Chalmers calls it, the expulsive power of a new affection.

True, deep repentance is when we see Christ as so great that our idols simply no longer make sense and they melt away.

Wow.

That's so good.

I mean, it really is a good thing to examine yourself, it's a good thing to recognize that you are decrepit, because if you're decrepit, you need help.

Yeah, and you're without hope, and Christ is both our help and our hope.

Yeah Right, psalm 139, search me and try me.

Oh, you just stole it.

That's where I was heading.

I was thinking they're going to praise me for this when I mentioned that verse Search me, oh God.

Right right, right, it was a humble revelation Carry on Mark.

I've got it in front of me here, so do I.

Yeah, yeah, boy, carry on.

Go ahead, carry on.

You ruined my day there's liberty, and there's freedom in handing God a flashlight and saying check out any hidden areas of my heart.

Right, Search me, right.

Have you ever lost something that's valuable to you?

It's like you want everybody to help you find it.

This is the most important thing.

And everybody pulls out their phone, they turn on the flashlights, full speed, full brightness, and you're down on your hands and feet and you're looking for that.

Ultimately, our identity is to be found in Christ.

Paul put it best in Galatians 2.20,.

I've been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh.

I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

You know those again that try to claim that the Bible is just this made up, fabricated thing.

You hear words like that.

This is a human being who was transformed and revolutionized.

These are not human words.

I have been crucified with Christ.

It's no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, the life that I live in the flesh.

I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

I mean, oh, as Christians like, we resonate with that, you know, and that's the ultimate in how we know ourselves.

This is who I am.

I am now the crucified one with the crucified one.

I'm now the resurrected one with the resurrected one, and his life now is manifested through me.

I live to magnify Christ who's living in me and through me.

And ultimately, ray, to tie it in with what you said, that I mentioned is the heartbeat to our ministry, that God now, through Christ Galatians, 2 Corinthians 5, he now wants to plead through us to the world be reconciled to God.

And so let that Christ who's in you, who now defines you as you learn who you are and know yourself, let him now plead through you to the world to be reconciled to God.

Amen.

Amen.

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