WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.339 Father, we're very grateful that we are able to be in your presence this morning to receive from you. 00:00:07.339 --> 00:00:14.580 Father, you know which ones of us need, in a sense, Jesus to give us that look to stop us from what we're doing. 00:00:15.740 --> 00:00:21.000 And you know, Father, which ones of us really need Jesus to pick us up. 00:00:21.820 --> 00:00:27.679 And you know which ones, Father, need Jesus to put an arm of encouragement and affection around them. 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:35.039 And so, Father, we come here in different states together to receive grace from you this morning. 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:42.200 And we ask that the Holy Spirit would make Jesus real to us, that your word would have a powerful place in our lives, 00:00:42.920 --> 00:00:48.439 and that we might respond in a way which is truly worthy to the great grace that you offer us. 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:52.480 And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:53.820 Please be seated. 00:00:57.679 --> 00:01:02.759 So, when I was growing up, Sunday was the worst day of the week. 00:01:03.039 --> 00:01:03.859 I hated Sunday. 00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:06.980 I grew up in a very religious home. 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:11.319 And obviously, there were very good things about my background. 00:01:11.500 --> 00:01:17.159 And it's a very easy thing in Canadian and North American culture just to dump on your parents. 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:20.920 And I don't say this so that my kids can't dump on me. 00:01:20.920 --> 00:01:26.099 There's things I did that I have done that, of course, are not Christ-honoring or perfect. 00:01:26.359 --> 00:01:32.219 But I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood in an area of Montreal. 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:34.200 So, we were like the only Gentile. 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:38.620 I was the only Gentile kid, the only non-Jewish kid on the street and in the whole neighborhood. 00:01:38.620 --> 00:01:47.780 And so, I grew up in a type of home where on Sundays, you went to Sunday school, then you went to church, and then at night, you went to the evening service. 00:01:47.880 --> 00:01:49.820 And that's the world I grew up in. 00:01:50.240 --> 00:01:55.540 And I grew up in a home where you weren't allowed to play road hockey on days like today. 00:01:55.659 --> 00:01:56.900 You weren't allowed to ride your bike. 00:01:57.380 --> 00:01:58.659 You weren't allowed to play games. 00:01:59.140 --> 00:02:00.460 You just had to be quiet. 00:02:00.459 --> 00:02:03.659 And I hated it. 00:02:05.079 --> 00:02:06.119 I really did. 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:10.900 And it was especially hard, of course, because all of my Jewish friends were out there. 00:02:11.039 --> 00:02:17.759 You know, on a day like today, they would have been playing road hockey or, you know, throwing a football around or just having fun. 00:02:18.359 --> 00:02:20.780 And I was stuck going to these things. 00:02:21.060 --> 00:02:26.419 And when I wasn't there, just stuck having to be quiet all day. 00:02:26.419 --> 00:02:32.780 And my memory is getting, I was probably not as quiet a kid as I should have been, and getting dirty looks from my parents. 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:33.939 And I hated Sundays. 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:34.679 I really did. 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:41.279 It was, in fact, that type of an upbringing was, in many ways, one of the primary barriers to me becoming a Christian. 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:44.399 And I mention this for two reasons. 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:52.419 One is that part of what, I don't know about you where you are in terms of things, or those of you who are watching online, 00:02:52.419 --> 00:02:57.059 but for many people in our culture, that's one of the reasons they don't want to become a Christian. 00:02:58.119 --> 00:03:01.699 Because it's just religion, and it's just oppressive rules. 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:05.899 And, you know, Christians have their own, you know, problems and stuff like that. 00:03:05.979 --> 00:03:11.439 And, you know, if you go towards Islam, well, I don't know, if you go towards Islam, then if you're really into Islam, 00:03:11.739 --> 00:03:17.199 you know, if you're men, you wear pants that are a bit short, because, you know, Muhammad wore pants that were short, 00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:20.719 and you have to grow a certain type of facial hair and wear, you know, funny clothes, 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:25.419 and women maybe have to get themselves all covered up, and then maybe you're not allowed to go to school 00:03:25.419 --> 00:03:28.419 or go to dance or, you know, whatever, dance or have art. 00:03:28.419 --> 00:03:31.979 And it's the same thing if you're really into Buddhism, you have to wear robes. 00:03:32.099 --> 00:03:37.819 And, you know, if you're really into Judaism, you know, then you have to wear a kippah. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:41.859 And then there's all these rules about what you can do and not do, and rules, rules, rules, rules. 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:42.759 And it's just crushing. 00:03:43.459 --> 00:03:45.099 And who on earth wants that? 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:53.339 The text that we're going to look at today is a very, very powerful text of freedom 00:03:53.339 --> 00:04:01.500 and a rebuke to those who want to turn Christianity into a religion of a whole pile of rules. 00:04:01.679 --> 00:04:03.399 It's a very, very powerful text. 00:04:03.839 --> 00:04:09.439 It gets there at a bit of a circuitous or convoluted route, and it would be very helpful for you and for me 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:11.000 if you open your Bibles for yourself. 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:18.959 And let's look and see what goes on in the text and how it speaks to those people who want to pile rule upon rule upon rule 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:23.360 as a sign of the spiritual life or the religious life. 00:04:23.579 --> 00:04:24.980 And here's how the story goes. 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:30.399 On sort of just a bit of a context, it's Mark 8, verses 1 to 23 we're looking at today. 00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:37.299 And Mark is, if you're maybe watching this for the first time or you haven't watched it in a while, 00:04:37.859 --> 00:04:43.319 Mark is an ancient eyewitness-based history, biography of Jesus. 00:04:43.539 --> 00:04:47.279 It was written by a man who would have been an eyewitness for some of the events. 00:04:48.159 --> 00:04:54.639 He based everything he writes on eyewitness testimony, and the gospel or the biography is written 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:57.620 when many eyewitnesses were around to correct it. 00:04:57.620 --> 00:05:04.699 So we're reading, in a sense, an eyewitness document of the things that went on in Jesus' life. 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:08.959 And what's just happened before this in the story, 00:05:09.660 --> 00:05:13.699 partially because I didn't get much time to preach on the last little bit. 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:18.759 I focused, those of you who were here last week, on the encounter between Jesus and the pagan woman. 00:05:19.220 --> 00:05:22.160 But what we're seeing is that Jesus and his disciples, 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:27.000 Jesus has led us, the disciples, into a 120-kilometer walking journey 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:35.320 through the areas near the majority Jewish areas, but they're all pagan-majority areas. 00:05:36.020 --> 00:05:39.900 And this is towards the end now of his 120-kilometer walking, 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:46.580 mainly walking, but not exclusively, tour of these overwhelmingly pagan areas. 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:48.400 And here's how the story continues. 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:50.359 Verse 1. 00:05:50.359 --> 00:05:56.799 In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, they had nothing to eat. 00:05:57.439 --> 00:05:59.939 He called his disciples to him and said to them, 00:06:00.539 --> 00:06:06.319 I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 00:06:06.819 --> 00:06:10.879 And if I send them away, hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way, 00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:13.719 and some of them have come from far away. 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:16.420 Now, just sort of pause here for a second. 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:19.380 There's sort of two things which are interesting to help you understand the story. 00:06:19.460 --> 00:06:21.440 The first is the word compassion. 00:06:22.460 --> 00:06:26.680 And if you go back and you read the four ancient biographies that we have of Jesus, 00:06:27.220 --> 00:06:29.000 you will see that time and time again, 00:06:29.560 --> 00:06:35.940 the character trait that is most often connected to him is compassion. 00:06:35.939 --> 00:06:40.860 And in this text as well, it's not just a character trait, 00:06:41.019 --> 00:06:44.800 but it's something which is a very deeply held emotional trait as well. 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:47.899 In the original language, it's saying that there's something, 00:06:48.399 --> 00:06:53.040 his compassion when he sees their need is gut-wrenching. 00:06:53.899 --> 00:06:59.019 It is gut-wrenching compassion that he has for the crowd. 00:06:59.019 --> 00:07:01.899 The other thing which is going on in this story is, 00:07:02.339 --> 00:07:04.379 if you've read the little bit just before that, 00:07:04.479 --> 00:07:06.519 you'll see that they're in the region of the Decapolis. 00:07:07.180 --> 00:07:10.139 And if you go back several chapters to chapter 5, 00:07:10.259 --> 00:07:14.359 there's a story which is sort of infamous in Christian circles 00:07:14.359 --> 00:07:19.299 of Jesus healing the man who had a legion of demons inside of him. 00:07:19.599 --> 00:07:22.439 And it's often referred to as the Gadarene demoniac. 00:07:22.439 --> 00:07:28.240 And that story of when Jesus, as a man who's possessed by many demons, 00:07:28.360 --> 00:07:30.779 he casts the demons out into the pigs. 00:07:31.420 --> 00:07:34.639 And the man asks to go with Jesus, and Jesus says to him, 00:07:34.660 --> 00:07:35.680 no, you can't come with me. 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:40.699 I need you to go to your home and tell everybody that you meet 00:07:40.699 --> 00:07:42.680 what I've done for you. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:48.659 But the people from the community have come to Jesus, 00:07:48.740 --> 00:07:51.180 and they want Jesus to leave because they're terrified 00:07:51.180 --> 00:07:52.879 of what they've just seen. 00:07:53.340 --> 00:07:54.780 And so the interesting thing is we don't know, 00:07:54.900 --> 00:07:57.060 because Mark doesn't do time markers, really. 00:07:57.120 --> 00:07:58.879 He just goes from incident to incident. 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:01.060 So we don't know if this is six months later, 00:08:01.139 --> 00:08:03.000 or a year later, or a year and a half later, or whatever. 00:08:03.540 --> 00:08:05.840 But Jesus is now in the same region 00:08:05.840 --> 00:08:11.300 where the healing of the deliverance of the Gadarene demoniac happened. 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:13.519 So it's very, very striking. 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:17.500 They so don't want Jesus there, they ask him to leave. 00:08:17.500 --> 00:08:21.360 The Gadarene demoniac has given this test, this task. 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:25.160 This pagan has given this task of telling people what Jesus has done. 00:08:25.379 --> 00:08:28.420 And now, whether it's six months or a year or whatever later, 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:32.659 as we'll see in a moment, over 4,000 people want to hear about Jesus. 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:36.360 That's the transformation which has happened. 00:08:36.460 --> 00:08:37.720 It doesn't directly link it. 00:08:38.059 --> 00:08:40.799 It just links it indirectly through the name tags. 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:46.679 So God bless that man's witness to Jesus, that nameless man. 00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:50.459 And so now we have this very, very large crowd, 00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:52.979 and they've wanted to be with Jesus for three days. 00:08:53.139 --> 00:08:55.899 They've run out of their food, and they're hungry. 00:08:56.519 --> 00:09:00.039 So this next bit, believe it or not, 00:09:00.139 --> 00:09:04.819 this next little bit is something that has caused lots of debate amongst scholars. 00:09:05.439 --> 00:09:07.659 What is it that's caused this debate amongst scholars? 00:09:07.740 --> 00:09:08.459 Let's look and see. 00:09:08.460 --> 00:09:09.620 Verse 4. 00:09:10.259 --> 00:09:12.320 So Jesus says, you know, what are we going to do with this crowd? 00:09:12.460 --> 00:09:12.920 Send them home. 00:09:13.019 --> 00:09:14.259 And his disciples answered him, 00:09:14.460 --> 00:09:18.300 how can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place? 00:09:18.980 --> 00:09:21.820 Now here's the thing which has puzzled all these commentators. 00:09:21.960 --> 00:09:23.540 They write lots of stuff about it. 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:29.480 Is, like, duh, don't they remember the feeding of the 5,000? 00:09:29.480 --> 00:09:35.560 Like, why don't they just say, you know, like, what's going on here with the text? 00:09:35.740 --> 00:09:37.879 Well, there's several things which are going on in the text, 00:09:37.940 --> 00:09:39.680 which I think are very significant. 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:44.060 The first thing is, one of the arguments, very powerful arguments, 00:09:44.060 --> 00:09:48.240 for the historical credibility of this text 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:53.440 is the fact that it does not show the leadership of the Christian movement in a good light. 00:09:53.440 --> 00:10:03.320 Not normally the way, if you're going to doctor things, you know, like, okay, I'm going to be bipartisan. 00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:08.220 The next election, the conservatives are going to make sure that they try to make, 00:10:08.520 --> 00:10:12.920 that underestimate anything that they did bad in the past will be sort of covered up, 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:14.840 and they'll emphasize the things they got right. 00:10:15.520 --> 00:10:17.540 The liberals will do the exact same thing. 00:10:17.620 --> 00:10:19.380 The NDP will do the exact same thing. 00:10:19.379 --> 00:10:22.279 That's just human nature, so that when you're retelling the past, 00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:28.740 you try to kick under the carpet anything which was, you know, like, evil or stupid, 00:10:28.740 --> 00:10:31.399 and you try to emphasize those times when you're bright. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:34.019 And so one of the things which is very powerful about the Gospels 00:10:34.019 --> 00:10:37.740 is it doesn't do that for Peter or the apostles or the disciples. 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:40.360 It does not paint them in good light. 00:10:41.419 --> 00:10:45.019 But the other thing is actually sort of a more important point in it, 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:46.879 because it may be obvious to many of us. 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:48.700 We go, well, why don't they remember the 5,000? 00:10:48.700 --> 00:10:50.259 But here's the thing. 00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:54.180 It's an important thing about the Christian life, 00:10:54.680 --> 00:10:58.879 is that Jesus is restoring us to full humanity. 00:10:59.160 --> 00:11:00.980 When you put your faith and trust in Jesus, 00:11:01.720 --> 00:11:05.180 it isn't that now all of a sudden he wants you to pretend that you're an angel 00:11:05.180 --> 00:11:08.280 or that you don't have any human needs or you don't have emotions. 00:11:09.680 --> 00:11:12.180 He's restoring you to what it means to be human. 00:11:12.540 --> 00:11:17.000 And from a Christian point of view, the profound text about that is Genesis 1 and 2. 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:22.980 And so it's not the case in the Christian life that, like at the 8 o'clock service, 00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:24.799 I don't know how many people had breakfast before they came. 00:11:24.899 --> 00:11:27.120 Probably most of you have had breakfast before you came. 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:32.039 But it wasn't the case that a devout Christian wakes up on a Sunday morning and says, 00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:41.299 Lord, today I want to place my order and I'd like you to provide, you know, toast and coffee and yogurt for breakfast. 00:11:41.839 --> 00:11:45.399 I'd like you to provide a coffee and a cookie in the mid-morning. 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:47.759 And then for lunch I'd like this. 00:11:47.860 --> 00:11:49.319 And in the afternoon I'd like this. 00:11:49.419 --> 00:11:50.659 And then for supper I'd like this. 00:11:50.819 --> 00:11:53.759 And then you just sit and pray until God magically provides it. 00:11:54.500 --> 00:11:55.719 That's not the Christian life. 00:11:55.720 --> 00:12:03.899 See, he's restoring you to humanity, full humanity. 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:07.759 And that means there's a dignity to work. 00:12:08.259 --> 00:12:10.279 There's a dignity to prayer. 00:12:11.060 --> 00:12:17.680 There's a dance that we are to master and learn between prayer and work. 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:30.500 It means that the Lord is wanting us to figure out the resources that we have and to use those in a way which are wise for creativity, for productivity, to meet your needs. 00:12:30.539 --> 00:12:37.939 But he's also going to constantly put before you things that need to be done that he's calling you to do that are beyond your resources 00:12:37.939 --> 00:12:43.579 because he wants us to know the one who controls all the resources and from whom all our resources come. 00:12:43.580 --> 00:12:52.480 And there's to be this dance between, well, I have short sleeves, rolling up your sleeves and getting the job done. 00:12:53.820 --> 00:12:58.060 And at the same time the Lord's going to call, like, here's a bit of an aside. 00:12:58.120 --> 00:12:59.160 I don't know if he's here today. 00:13:02.120 --> 00:13:07.360 I might be bringing before you in a short while whether we should plant a church in Seoul, South Korea. 00:13:10.300 --> 00:13:11.980 Do we have the resources for that? 00:13:13.580 --> 00:13:13.980 No. 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:14.500 No. 00:13:16.020 --> 00:13:18.780 Not even a fraction. 00:13:21.100 --> 00:13:22.420 I'm not making this up. 00:13:23.080 --> 00:13:28.360 I'm in a conversation with somebody as to whether we should, I've done a little bit of research on whether we should, 00:13:29.020 --> 00:13:31.840 God should use us to help plant a church in Seoul, South Korea. 00:13:31.879 --> 00:13:33.139 We don't have the resources for that. 00:13:33.220 --> 00:13:34.660 Not even close. 00:13:34.659 --> 00:13:44.000 If you come here on the last Sunday of April, probably there'll be a bit of a presentation 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:50.860 because we're going to have a bit of a role in seeing whether God is calling a church like ours to be planted in Charlottetown. 00:13:50.860 --> 00:13:55.399 Not as far away as Seoul, South Korea, but it's 1,350 kilometers away. 00:13:55.460 --> 00:13:57.019 We don't have the resources to do that. 00:13:57.019 --> 00:14:01.840 But we know one who has the resources to do it. 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:09.660 So the disciples here aren't rebuked for saying to Jesus, 00:14:09.820 --> 00:14:11.960 well, Jesus, I know the answer to this question. 00:14:12.360 --> 00:14:13.340 Do your stuff. 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:13.780 Do a minute. 00:14:13.780 --> 00:14:15.500 No, they're not rebuked for it. 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:16.879 Right? 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:19.919 They're not rebuked. 00:14:20.740 --> 00:14:22.399 So what happens? 00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:26.460 It's similar and different to those of you who are familiar with the story of the feeding of the 5,000. 00:14:26.539 --> 00:14:27.799 Look what happens in verse 5. 00:14:28.379 --> 00:14:30.159 He asked them, how many loaves do you have? 00:14:30.220 --> 00:14:31.120 They said seven. 00:14:32.580 --> 00:14:37.399 And he directed them to sit down on the ground. 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:42.419 And he took the seven, well, actually, just pause there for a second. 00:14:42.539 --> 00:14:45.139 He directed them to sit, the crowd to sit down on the ground. 00:14:45.139 --> 00:14:49.179 Now, if you really want me to hear my explanation of the miracle, 00:14:49.939 --> 00:14:55.080 most of the, if you go back to, I think it's chapter 5. 00:14:55.620 --> 00:14:56.799 No, it's chapter 6. 00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:00.620 Chapter 5 is the healing of the deliverance of the gathering demoniac. 00:15:00.740 --> 00:15:02.220 Chapter 6 is the feeding of the 5,000, 00:15:02.220 --> 00:15:03.379 has the feeding of the 5,000, 00:15:03.879 --> 00:15:07.419 where I sort of really go in depth to the miracle and what it signifies. 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:13.720 But the main thing we want to see here is that the whole story is setting up the miracle. 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:17.560 Including this important aspect of sitting down, 00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:19.540 because if they're all sitting down, they can see. 00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:23.320 If it was just a big crowd of 4,000 people, 00:15:23.620 --> 00:15:28.920 most people might not know whether the disciples had brought in 10 wagon loads of fish and bread. 00:15:29.340 --> 00:15:31.759 But when they're all sitting down, they can see there's nothing. 00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:35.480 All there is is Jesus' prayer and is passing out this stuff. 00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:39.980 And so by the end of this miracle, there is more matter in the universe than there was before. 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:43.820 And it's all set up in the story. 00:15:44.500 --> 00:15:46.340 Verse 6 again. 00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:48.500 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. 00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:54.139 And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, 00:15:54.220 --> 00:15:57.159 he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. 00:15:57.700 --> 00:15:59.259 And they set them before the crowd. 00:15:59.659 --> 00:16:00.899 And they had a few small fish. 00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:01.500 Just pause. 00:16:01.940 --> 00:16:04.679 It's a different word than in the feeding of the 5,000 for fish. 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:07.840 So the other one would have been like, I don't know, fish this big or this big, 00:16:07.899 --> 00:16:08.919 however, you know, like that. 00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:11.039 These are like sardines. 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:11.940 Okay? 00:16:11.980 --> 00:16:13.000 Little tiny fish. 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:14.039 Sardines. 00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:19.519 And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:22.879 And they ate and were satisfied. 00:16:23.599 --> 00:16:26.779 And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 00:16:27.199 --> 00:16:29.299 And there were about 4,000 people. 00:16:30.659 --> 00:16:34.360 So from seven loaves and a handful of sardines, 00:16:35.159 --> 00:16:39.959 they fed 4,000 people and had seven baskets of food left over. 00:16:40.599 --> 00:16:43.159 In verse 9, there were about 4,000 people. 00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:43.879 And he sent them away. 00:16:43.959 --> 00:16:45.959 And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples 00:16:45.959 --> 00:16:48.699 and went to the district of Dalmanutha. 00:16:50.139 --> 00:16:56.339 Now, I don't know how many of you have ever had conversations with Baha'is 00:16:56.339 --> 00:16:59.939 or with our Muslim friends, our Baha'i friends or our Muslim friends. 00:17:00.519 --> 00:17:03.439 But in both cases, our Jehovah Witnesses friends, 00:17:04.039 --> 00:17:08.639 they will try to make a talk about how Jesus never claims to be God. 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:11.860 And especially if you're talking to some of your Muslim friends, 00:17:11.940 --> 00:17:16.160 they have a deep suspicion about Paul and John. 00:17:16.360 --> 00:17:21.080 But they like the Gospel of Mark because the Gospel of Mark is the earliest of the Gospels. 00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:24.060 They will often say it's the least corrupted of the Gospels. 00:17:25.020 --> 00:17:28.820 And they'll say that in the Gospel of Mark that Jesus never claims to be God. 00:17:28.900 --> 00:17:33.400 And that's not true, as we've looked at in different texts already and we'll see later on. 00:17:33.400 --> 00:17:38.100 And there are times that Jesus, very specifically in the Gospel of Mark, does claim to be God. 00:17:38.700 --> 00:17:40.780 But what is also true... 00:17:40.780 --> 00:17:43.820 So first of all, it's not true that he never claims to be God in the Gospel of Mark. 00:17:44.660 --> 00:17:48.320 And this is more important than the claim. 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:51.660 He acts like God. 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:55.840 And he does things that only the triune God can do. 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:58.679 And that's what we see here. 00:17:59.139 --> 00:18:04.039 We see here Jesus acting as only the triune God can act. 00:18:04.699 --> 00:18:09.839 He does not act like the gods of the pagans and the gods and the goddesses of the pagans. 00:18:09.939 --> 00:18:11.559 He does not act like Allah. 00:18:12.019 --> 00:18:20.079 And he does not act like the God of Krishna or Buddha. 00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:25.459 He acts in a way that only the triune God acts. 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:32.480 Because he is revealed in this miracle as doing something that only the creator and sustainer of the universe could do. 00:18:34.179 --> 00:18:39.139 He does something that only the creator and the sustainer of the universe can do. 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:47.879 And so what we see here is that Jesus is revealed as the creator and sustainer of his fallen creation present in the flesh. 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:52.039 And doing what only the creator and the sustainer of all things can do. 00:18:52.039 --> 00:18:55.680 And this is very, very, very important. 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:59.099 Because at the same time that we see him doing this, he's revealed. 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:04.099 Remember I said that what begins this is gut-wrenching compassion. 00:19:05.539 --> 00:19:08.039 He's revealing the God that truly exists. 00:19:09.099 --> 00:19:14.759 And the God that truly exists is a God of gut-wrenching compassion. 00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:18.619 And it's also important because this is all one story. 00:19:18.619 --> 00:19:24.920 And if you follow from this to the next to the next to the next, eventually you come to the point where Jesus dies upon the cross. 00:19:25.099 --> 00:19:34.039 And when we get to that, we'll talk about the different things like the institution of the Lord's Supper and his temptation and his prayer in the garden. 00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:37.339 And his words from the cross and what all of those things mean. 00:19:37.339 --> 00:19:46.539 But what's being set up here is that who's dying on the cross, who's dying on the cross is the creator and sustainer of all things come in the flesh. 00:19:47.439 --> 00:19:56.240 And that is tremendously important because it's only if the creator and sustainer of all things, the God who is revealed as a God of gut-wrenching compassion, 00:19:56.659 --> 00:20:01.459 if he dies on the cross, then only he can truly stand. 00:20:01.579 --> 00:20:05.519 Only his death can stand for all human beings if they accept what he's done. 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:09.539 And he's revealed here as he's concerned for the pagans. 00:20:09.660 --> 00:20:12.819 This is a miracle for the pagans in pagan land. 00:20:13.139 --> 00:20:16.139 He doesn't just die for Jewish people, for insiders. 00:20:16.259 --> 00:20:17.639 He doesn't just die for Christians. 00:20:17.799 --> 00:20:20.119 He dies for those in Saudi Arabia. 00:20:20.299 --> 00:20:22.000 He dies for those in North Korea. 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:31.339 He dies for those in Rwanda and Uganda and Argentina and Manhattan and the Glebe and Oxford and Cambridge. 00:20:31.559 --> 00:20:34.119 He dies for all and he can stand for all. 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:37.719 Why? Because he is the creator and sustainer of all things. 00:20:38.139 --> 00:20:45.500 And it's not just that when he dies on the cross, he merely pays a debt because his life matters in two senses. 00:20:45.500 --> 00:20:52.140 You see, if you go back and you read the Old Testament, what our Jewish friends call the Tanakh, and you read it, 00:20:52.200 --> 00:20:57.000 you'll see that when there is a sacrifice, there's a very important symbolic act. 00:20:57.059 --> 00:21:02.660 Whether it's the priest acting on behalf of all of the people or whether it's the person offering the sacrifice themselves, 00:21:03.500 --> 00:21:08.660 there's the animal that's to be sacrificed is to be a perfect animal. 00:21:08.660 --> 00:21:12.019 And in a sense, as we know it, looking at animals, an innocent animal. 00:21:13.700 --> 00:21:19.880 I mean, it's part of the reason that we have, North Americans have a problem with the idea of killing animals, 00:21:20.019 --> 00:21:24.940 especially those of us in cities like Ottawa who think that meat is produced by a factory 00:21:24.940 --> 00:21:30.680 and comes out all wrapped in styrofoam and plastic rather than some animal had to die. 00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:35.880 But for those who are in the country and are those who like to hunt, they know that an animal had to die. 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:40.600 But there is, in a sense, what happens in every sacrifice with the laying of the hands, 00:21:41.120 --> 00:21:49.820 there is this sense that my shame, my wrongdoing, my lack of covenant faithfulness, 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:52.720 the many things that I fail to do that I should, 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:56.680 the ways that I have wanted to keep God at a distance or put him far away, 00:21:56.680 --> 00:21:59.380 the ways that I have wanted to be a God myself, 00:21:59.799 --> 00:22:02.340 and all of the consequences should fall upon that. 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:06.220 In a sense, when the priest or when the person lays their hands on the animal, 00:22:06.580 --> 00:22:12.060 they're transferring, they're saying that this animal is going to bear the punishment 00:22:12.060 --> 00:22:13.660 to pay the debt that I owe. 00:22:14.380 --> 00:22:17.279 But there's something else that happens when you put your hand on the animal. 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:27.539 And that is that, in a sense, the innocence of the animal becomes yours. 00:22:29.160 --> 00:22:34.539 Now, part of the great mystery of the Christian faith is that, as Jesus said, 00:22:34.599 --> 00:22:36.059 salvation comes from the Jews. 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:40.480 Is it now that we are to understand that after his death and resurrection, 00:22:40.700 --> 00:22:43.819 when we call out to Jesus and put our hand in the hand of Jesus, 00:22:43.819 --> 00:22:47.879 when you do that for the first time and become a Christian, 00:22:48.220 --> 00:22:51.059 there is something that happens. 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:56.859 There is that goes from you to him, the creator and sustainer of all things, 00:22:57.939 --> 00:23:06.859 the darkness, the brokenness, the hatred, the prejudice, the lust, the gluttony, 00:23:06.859 --> 00:23:14.899 the sloth and laziness that has made up your life and past, present, and future is laid on him. 00:23:16.019 --> 00:23:18.939 And his death covers the consequences of that. 00:23:19.939 --> 00:23:25.039 But as we see here, he's also, in a sense, the very perfect creator and sustainer of all things, 00:23:25.159 --> 00:23:27.099 the man of gut-wrenching compassion. 00:23:27.919 --> 00:23:30.179 And when you put your hand in the hand of Jesus, 00:23:30.959 --> 00:23:33.919 his sinlessness covers you. 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:46.360 His purity and compassion in his love and his unbroken connection with the Father covers you. 00:23:46.500 --> 00:23:50.880 There is this profound exchange when you put your hand in the hand of Jesus. 00:23:54.019 --> 00:23:55.519 Is it fair? No. 00:23:56.279 --> 00:23:57.480 Is it just? Yes. 00:23:57.880 --> 00:23:58.759 Is it compassionate? 00:23:59.600 --> 00:24:00.700 Unbelievably so. 00:24:00.700 --> 00:24:08.080 Every single one of us is vastly worse than we've ever dreamed 00:24:08.080 --> 00:24:12.519 and vastly more loved than we've ever imagined. 00:24:13.460 --> 00:24:16.640 And that's what's communicated when you see this story 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:19.920 and know that this is the man who will die on the cross for you. 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:28.840 How does religion see Jesus? 00:24:29.300 --> 00:24:33.920 I began this by telling the story of the fact that on Sundays, the way I grew up, 00:24:34.320 --> 00:24:38.500 you had to go for Sunday school, then you had to go to church, 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:42.000 and then you came home and you did nothing all day, 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:45.800 and then you went to church at night, and then you came home and you went to bed, 00:24:45.799 --> 00:24:48.740 and you woke up the next morning, in my case, saying, 00:24:48.940 --> 00:24:50.220 thank God it's Monday. 00:24:51.819 --> 00:24:54.700 So how does religion meet this? 00:24:54.859 --> 00:24:56.259 Well, let's look and see what happens. 00:24:56.440 --> 00:24:58.099 Look at Numbers at the end of verse 10, 00:24:58.519 --> 00:25:00.859 and immediately he got into the boat with his disciples 00:25:00.859 --> 00:25:02.740 and went to the district of Dalmanutha. 00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:06.440 So basically what he's done is he's taken the boat. 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:08.899 Sorry, I'm looking at it from my point of view. 00:25:08.900 --> 00:25:11.400 From your point of view, he's on this side, 00:25:11.780 --> 00:25:16.140 and he's now come back to the Jewish side of the Sea of Galilee. 00:25:16.880 --> 00:25:18.759 And when he gets there, the Pharisees, 00:25:18.860 --> 00:25:21.320 which are like a denomination within Judaism, 00:25:22.700 --> 00:25:25.420 the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:28.340 seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. 00:25:28.660 --> 00:25:29.960 And just sort of pause here. 00:25:30.340 --> 00:25:31.980 All of these words are very good, 00:25:31.980 --> 00:25:36.819 and it would be impossible to take the original language 00:25:36.819 --> 00:25:39.079 and translate it just word for word into English. 00:25:39.539 --> 00:25:41.740 You'd really have to add extra stuff 00:25:41.740 --> 00:25:43.579 to try to capture what's going on here. 00:25:43.940 --> 00:25:48.059 When you think, come and began to argue or discuss, 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:51.220 think of what Russia has been doing to the Ukraine. 00:25:52.319 --> 00:25:53.500 And I'm not exaggerating. 00:25:54.940 --> 00:25:56.160 And the fact of the matter is, 00:25:56.180 --> 00:25:59.500 is that the word came is a word from the military, 00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:04.140 and it's the word used when military leaves rank on rank 00:26:04.140 --> 00:26:04.980 to go to battle. 00:26:05.980 --> 00:26:07.980 That's the word that's being used for came. 00:26:08.680 --> 00:26:10.779 And when it says that they, 00:26:11.079 --> 00:26:12.799 losing my place in my notes here, 00:26:12.920 --> 00:26:13.680 when it says, 00:26:16.400 --> 00:26:17.339 do, do, do, do, do, do, do. 00:26:20.839 --> 00:26:22.539 Oh yes, when it comes to say argue, 00:26:22.700 --> 00:26:24.579 it means to dispute and oppose. 00:26:25.059 --> 00:26:26.259 Not to have a bit of an argument 00:26:26.259 --> 00:26:27.799 where you can come to a conclusion, 00:26:27.799 --> 00:26:31.299 but an argument that will lead you beaten into submission 00:26:31.299 --> 00:26:34.539 because you want to oppose everything that they say 00:26:34.539 --> 00:26:35.940 and you want to make sure that you win. 00:26:36.379 --> 00:26:37.599 And when it says seeking, 00:26:37.859 --> 00:26:40.460 it doesn't mean seeking truth or seeking understanding. 00:26:40.599 --> 00:26:42.619 It means seeking to gain control. 00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:46.099 And when it says test, 00:26:46.359 --> 00:26:49.099 it doesn't just mean a test to see what's happening. 00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:52.139 It means setting up obstacles to discredit. 00:26:52.140 --> 00:26:56.500 It is Russia invading the Ukraine. 00:26:58.500 --> 00:27:01.100 So the Pharisees came and began to argue with him, 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:03.759 seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. 00:27:05.140 --> 00:27:06.560 And he sighed deeply. 00:27:07.180 --> 00:27:08.880 This is another emotional word. 00:27:09.140 --> 00:27:09.860 It's a deep, 00:27:10.680 --> 00:27:12.700 from the center of who he is, 00:27:12.840 --> 00:27:13.880 a sighing 00:27:13.880 --> 00:27:17.020 of dismay. 00:27:20.900 --> 00:27:23.160 So he has this deep sigh of dismay 00:27:23.160 --> 00:27:24.840 and said, 00:27:24.940 --> 00:27:26.800 why does this generation seek a sign? 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:29.780 Truly I say to you, 00:27:29.800 --> 00:27:31.660 no sign will be given to this generation. 00:27:32.700 --> 00:27:34.400 And he left them and got into the boat again 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:35.840 and went to the other side. 00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:38.840 So what's going on here? 00:27:38.839 --> 00:27:41.319 In fact, actually, 00:27:41.579 --> 00:27:46.199 the original language emphasizes the refusal 00:27:46.199 --> 00:27:48.799 in Jesus' response. 00:27:49.799 --> 00:27:50.959 I mean, we can see it here. 00:27:51.059 --> 00:27:52.059 Truly I say to you, 00:27:52.159 --> 00:27:53.879 no sign will be given to this generation. 00:27:54.019 --> 00:27:54.859 But in the original language, 00:27:54.959 --> 00:27:56.339 it's even more emphatic. 00:27:56.919 --> 00:27:58.000 So what's he doing? 00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:07.539 I will not bow down to your criteria. 00:28:07.539 --> 00:28:09.779 today or ever. 00:28:13.779 --> 00:28:14.899 He said, 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:15.680 with compassion, 00:28:16.200 --> 00:28:18.259 he is dismayed. 00:28:18.879 --> 00:28:21.619 I will not bow down 00:28:21.619 --> 00:28:24.000 to your criteria 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:27.940 today or ever. 00:28:30.759 --> 00:28:31.359 Because, see, 00:28:31.399 --> 00:28:32.359 that's what they're trying to do. 00:28:33.980 --> 00:28:35.399 They want Jesus 00:28:35.400 --> 00:28:38.720 to fit into their criteria. 00:28:41.340 --> 00:28:42.200 And this 00:28:42.200 --> 00:28:44.060 is a deeply human 00:28:44.060 --> 00:28:44.840 thing. 00:28:46.580 --> 00:28:47.440 The world, 00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:50.240 if Jesus doesn't have 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:51.040 my views on 00:28:51.040 --> 00:28:53.000 LGBTQ plus things, 00:28:53.080 --> 00:28:53.620 and how on earth 00:28:53.620 --> 00:28:54.300 could he be God? 00:28:55.460 --> 00:28:56.360 For Muslims, 00:28:56.480 --> 00:28:57.100 if he doesn't have 00:28:57.100 --> 00:28:57.960 my criteria 00:28:57.960 --> 00:28:58.980 about honor 00:28:58.980 --> 00:29:00.720 and the right things, 00:29:00.940 --> 00:29:02.380 he cannot be God. 00:29:02.920 --> 00:29:04.100 And on and on 00:29:04.099 --> 00:29:04.919 and on and on. 00:29:05.439 --> 00:29:06.539 That we human beings, 00:29:06.959 --> 00:29:08.759 if those of us 00:29:08.759 --> 00:29:09.599 who are more scientific, 00:29:09.839 --> 00:29:11.279 if his stories 00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:12.099 don't sort of match 00:29:12.099 --> 00:29:12.919 with our understanding 00:29:12.919 --> 00:29:13.619 as a science 00:29:13.619 --> 00:29:14.759 and all of that type of thing, 00:29:14.980 --> 00:29:16.199 which isn't actually science, 00:29:16.359 --> 00:29:17.679 it comes down to our philosophy. 00:29:17.819 --> 00:29:19.500 If he doesn't 00:29:19.500 --> 00:29:19.980 tick off 00:29:19.980 --> 00:29:20.719 all of the boxes 00:29:20.719 --> 00:29:21.740 in my philosophy 00:29:21.740 --> 00:29:23.159 and in my theology, 00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:24.740 in my ideology, 00:29:25.039 --> 00:29:26.099 if he doesn't 00:29:26.099 --> 00:29:26.599 tick off 00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:27.599 all of those boxes, 00:29:27.859 --> 00:29:30.359 then no, 00:29:30.480 --> 00:29:31.259 he's not God. 00:29:31.259 --> 00:29:32.039 And Jesus says, 00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:33.539 I will not bow down 00:29:33.539 --> 00:29:34.539 to your criteria. 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:35.900 Good grief, 00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:36.779 he just created matter 00:29:36.779 --> 00:29:37.299 out of nothing. 00:29:39.619 --> 00:29:41.000 And how could he be God 00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:42.420 if he meets your criteria, 00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:43.259 your criteria, 00:29:43.420 --> 00:29:44.059 your criteria, 00:29:44.180 --> 00:29:44.839 your criteria? 00:29:45.059 --> 00:29:46.000 And even if he met 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:46.779 our criteria, 00:29:47.400 --> 00:29:47.599 well, 00:29:47.660 --> 00:29:49.140 all the people in Saudi Arabia 00:29:49.140 --> 00:29:50.200 would hear our criteria 00:29:50.200 --> 00:29:50.500 and say, 00:29:50.579 --> 00:29:52.039 your criteria sucks. 00:29:52.539 --> 00:29:53.779 Our criteria is better. 00:29:54.359 --> 00:29:55.059 And all of the people 00:29:55.059 --> 00:29:55.640 in Manhattan 00:29:55.640 --> 00:29:56.059 would say, 00:29:56.119 --> 00:29:57.279 your criteria sucks. 00:29:57.400 --> 00:29:58.099 Mine's better. 00:29:58.319 --> 00:29:59.259 And all of the people 00:29:59.259 --> 00:29:59.900 in North Korea 00:29:59.900 --> 00:30:00.299 would say, 00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:01.500 your criteria sucks. 00:30:01.619 --> 00:30:02.299 Mine's better. 00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:08.140 How could he be God 00:30:08.140 --> 00:30:09.539 if he has to bow down 00:30:09.539 --> 00:30:10.640 to your criteria? 00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:14.640 The fact of the matter is, 00:30:14.680 --> 00:30:15.839 is that some of our criteria 00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:16.519 are fine, 00:30:16.640 --> 00:30:17.339 but most of us 00:30:17.339 --> 00:30:18.119 need to be delivered 00:30:18.119 --> 00:30:19.119 from our criteria. 00:30:24.519 --> 00:30:25.500 I have a friend, 00:30:26.440 --> 00:30:28.039 and he was in his late 30s 00:30:28.039 --> 00:30:28.980 and still never married 00:30:28.980 --> 00:30:29.700 a single guy. 00:30:30.359 --> 00:30:30.980 And one day, 00:30:31.059 --> 00:30:32.000 one of his friends said, 00:30:32.059 --> 00:30:32.799 your problem is 00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:34.319 you have non-Christian criteria 00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:35.619 about dating and marriage. 00:30:36.859 --> 00:30:38.059 My friend was a minister. 00:30:40.759 --> 00:30:41.519 And at first, 00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:42.399 he was really mad, 00:30:42.460 --> 00:30:43.039 and then he realized 00:30:43.039 --> 00:30:44.059 he was cut to the heart. 00:30:44.920 --> 00:30:45.500 He was married 00:30:45.500 --> 00:30:47.000 nine months after that. 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:54.319 I have two kids 00:30:54.319 --> 00:30:55.180 still together. 00:30:57.819 --> 00:30:58.420 Most of us 00:30:58.420 --> 00:30:59.140 have to be delivered 00:30:59.140 --> 00:31:00.420 from many of our criteria, 00:31:00.660 --> 00:31:01.460 and Jesus will not 00:31:01.460 --> 00:31:02.299 bow down to them. 00:31:03.039 --> 00:31:04.079 He will not bow down 00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:04.440 to them. 00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:08.859 Jesus would have played 00:31:08.859 --> 00:31:10.000 road hockey on Sunday, 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:13.319 and my church 00:31:13.319 --> 00:31:14.960 that I grew up in 00:31:14.960 --> 00:31:15.519 might have thought 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:16.220 that he was not 00:31:16.220 --> 00:31:16.819 a Christian. 00:31:22.339 --> 00:31:23.620 And my Muslim friends, 00:31:23.700 --> 00:31:24.440 he'll wear pants 00:31:24.440 --> 00:31:24.920 that are long. 00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:25.960 He might wear them short, 00:31:26.059 --> 00:31:26.600 but if he does, 00:31:26.660 --> 00:31:27.079 it's just because 00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:27.960 he feels like it. 00:31:29.440 --> 00:31:30.160 Maybe he'll wear 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:31.299 short pants one day 00:31:31.299 --> 00:31:32.000 and long pants 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:32.480 the next day 00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:33.160 just to show you 00:31:33.160 --> 00:31:33.600 have freedom 00:31:33.600 --> 00:31:34.319 to wear your pants 00:31:34.319 --> 00:31:35.600 any length you want. 00:31:37.220 --> 00:31:37.880 Maybe he'll grow 00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:38.720 a big, long beard, 00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:39.500 and then the next day 00:31:39.500 --> 00:31:39.880 shade it. 00:31:39.940 --> 00:31:40.180 Why? 00:31:41.480 --> 00:31:42.140 It's free. 00:31:43.180 --> 00:31:43.720 For freedom, 00:31:43.839 --> 00:31:44.460 Christ has come 00:31:44.460 --> 00:31:45.600 to set us free. 00:31:49.360 --> 00:31:50.259 And this becomes 00:31:50.259 --> 00:31:51.120 even more important 00:31:51.120 --> 00:31:52.500 as we see this text 00:31:52.500 --> 00:31:53.519 all come to an end, 00:31:53.559 --> 00:31:54.620 at least in terms 00:31:54.620 --> 00:31:55.740 of this particular Sunday. 00:31:55.900 --> 00:31:58.860 Look what Jesus says, 00:31:58.900 --> 00:32:00.140 to bring home my story 00:32:00.140 --> 00:32:01.079 and all, 00:32:01.779 --> 00:32:03.100 and the danger there, 00:32:03.240 --> 00:32:04.539 and to make it 00:32:04.539 --> 00:32:06.180 a far more human connection. 00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:07.120 Look what he does 00:32:07.120 --> 00:32:08.420 in verses 14. 00:32:09.059 --> 00:32:10.120 So they get into a boat, 00:32:10.200 --> 00:32:11.299 and they go to the other side, 00:32:11.299 --> 00:32:11.980 but here they just, 00:32:12.079 --> 00:32:12.220 I mean, 00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:13.339 the lake is sort of shaped 00:32:13.339 --> 00:32:14.119 like this, 00:32:14.200 --> 00:32:15.339 and so they've gone 00:32:15.339 --> 00:32:16.419 to the pagan area. 00:32:16.559 --> 00:32:17.299 Sort of all reverse 00:32:17.299 --> 00:32:17.960 this for you. 00:32:18.259 --> 00:32:19.240 The pagan area, 00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:20.599 now it's the right way 00:32:20.599 --> 00:32:20.879 for you. 00:32:20.919 --> 00:32:21.359 Now they've come 00:32:21.359 --> 00:32:22.059 to the Jewish area. 00:32:22.119 --> 00:32:22.579 Now they go down 00:32:22.579 --> 00:32:23.099 to another part 00:32:23.099 --> 00:32:23.759 of the Jewish area. 00:32:23.899 --> 00:32:24.619 They get in a boat. 00:32:25.099 --> 00:32:26.159 And now they're in the boat. 00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:26.759 If those of you 00:32:26.759 --> 00:32:28.500 have good visual imaginations, 00:32:28.680 --> 00:32:30.519 you could be screenwriters 00:32:30.519 --> 00:32:32.639 or cinematographers 00:32:32.639 --> 00:32:34.619 or directors for plays. 00:32:35.160 --> 00:32:36.700 There's 13 men in a boat, 00:32:38.119 --> 00:32:39.759 Jesus and his 12 disciples. 00:32:40.220 --> 00:32:41.000 They're rowing. 00:32:41.119 --> 00:32:41.920 Some of them are rowing. 00:32:43.579 --> 00:32:45.680 And it's a long time, 00:32:46.200 --> 00:32:47.700 and it's maybe a nice day, 00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:49.759 and they're just sitting there 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:51.519 rowing across the lake. 00:32:51.879 --> 00:32:52.559 Verse 14, 00:32:53.119 --> 00:32:53.940 now they had forgotten 00:32:53.940 --> 00:32:54.579 to bring bread, 00:32:55.579 --> 00:32:57.079 and they only had one loaf 00:32:57.079 --> 00:32:57.819 with them in the boat. 00:32:57.819 --> 00:33:00.399 And Jesus, 00:33:00.759 --> 00:33:01.639 so he's just there. 00:33:02.099 --> 00:33:02.779 I don't know how long 00:33:02.779 --> 00:33:03.700 they've been out rowing, 00:33:04.119 --> 00:33:05.139 looking around, 00:33:06.159 --> 00:33:06.939 everybody thinking 00:33:06.939 --> 00:33:07.839 their own thoughts. 00:33:08.179 --> 00:33:09.240 Maybe if you were doing a movie, 00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:11.500 there'd be little voiceovers, 00:33:11.799 --> 00:33:11.939 you know, 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:13.559 one guy thinking about himself 00:33:13.559 --> 00:33:14.019 and saying, 00:33:14.679 --> 00:33:16.859 boy, they really had good hummus 00:33:16.859 --> 00:33:17.399 over there. 00:33:18.859 --> 00:33:20.220 I wonder if I could make it 00:33:20.220 --> 00:33:21.679 like that at my home. 00:33:22.679 --> 00:33:23.839 And another one's thinking about, 00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:26.259 what did my wife want me to bring 00:33:26.259 --> 00:33:27.299 when I came back? 00:33:27.819 --> 00:33:30.740 And maybe another one's thinking about, 00:33:31.559 --> 00:33:31.839 you know, 00:33:31.899 --> 00:33:33.619 I'm a better rower than these guys. 00:33:33.700 --> 00:33:33.960 Who knows? 00:33:34.039 --> 00:33:34.179 You know, 00:33:34.200 --> 00:33:35.259 they're just thinking, okay? 00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:36.460 They're just thinking. 00:33:37.879 --> 00:33:39.279 And in the middle of that thinking, 00:33:39.379 --> 00:33:39.960 all of a sudden, 00:33:40.059 --> 00:33:40.859 Jesus says, 00:33:41.220 --> 00:33:41.839 verse 14, 00:33:41.939 --> 00:33:42.679 and he cautioned them 00:33:42.679 --> 00:33:43.200 or warned them, 00:33:43.279 --> 00:33:43.480 saying, 00:33:43.639 --> 00:33:44.139 watch out, 00:33:44.779 --> 00:33:45.659 beware of the leaven 00:33:45.659 --> 00:33:46.559 of the Pharisees 00:33:46.559 --> 00:33:47.759 and the leaven of Herod. 00:33:48.519 --> 00:33:48.740 Okay? 00:33:48.819 --> 00:33:49.319 Watch out. 00:33:49.879 --> 00:33:50.679 Beware of the leaven 00:33:50.679 --> 00:33:51.460 of the Pharisees 00:33:51.460 --> 00:33:52.359 and the leaven of Herod. 00:33:52.359 --> 00:33:52.399 bread. 00:33:54.859 --> 00:33:55.939 So now they look around 00:33:55.939 --> 00:33:58.779 and they begin discussing 00:33:58.779 --> 00:33:59.500 with one another 00:33:59.500 --> 00:34:00.159 the fact 00:34:00.159 --> 00:34:01.979 that they had no bread. 00:34:03.419 --> 00:34:04.259 Now, by the way, 00:34:04.559 --> 00:34:04.759 I mean, 00:34:04.819 --> 00:34:05.679 basically they're wondering 00:34:05.679 --> 00:34:07.419 if Jesus is passive-aggressive. 00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:08.480 You know, 00:34:08.539 --> 00:34:09.519 passive-aggressive people 00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:10.420 don't want to tell you off 00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:11.299 because you didn't bring the bread. 00:34:11.500 --> 00:34:12.239 So they raise up 00:34:12.239 --> 00:34:13.000 something like that. 00:34:13.059 --> 00:34:13.659 It's passive, 00:34:13.779 --> 00:34:14.639 but it's really aggressive. 00:34:15.539 --> 00:34:16.219 And Jesus, 00:34:16.379 --> 00:34:16.879 aware of this, 00:34:16.960 --> 00:34:17.420 said to them, 00:34:18.119 --> 00:34:19.400 why are you discussing 00:34:19.400 --> 00:34:21.159 the fact that you have no bread? 00:34:22.759 --> 00:34:23.159 Now, 00:34:23.500 --> 00:34:25.199 from here on in the text, 00:34:25.279 --> 00:34:26.579 because we're just wrapping this up, 00:34:26.799 --> 00:34:27.900 what we are going to see here 00:34:27.900 --> 00:34:29.859 is four or five or six questions. 00:34:30.500 --> 00:34:31.339 If you're a Christian, 00:34:31.460 --> 00:34:32.139 these are questions 00:34:32.139 --> 00:34:33.159 for the rest of your life 00:34:33.159 --> 00:34:34.379 to examine your conscience. 00:34:35.619 --> 00:34:36.839 One of the wonderful things 00:34:36.839 --> 00:34:37.719 about all Christians 00:34:37.719 --> 00:34:38.659 is this phrase 00:34:38.659 --> 00:34:40.019 of examining your conscience, 00:34:40.259 --> 00:34:41.179 that sometimes we need 00:34:41.179 --> 00:34:42.679 to ask ourselves some questions. 00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:44.239 You know, 00:34:44.239 --> 00:34:46.399 maybe it's early in the morning 00:34:46.399 --> 00:34:47.639 or maybe it's on a retreat 00:34:47.639 --> 00:34:48.479 or, you know, 00:34:48.519 --> 00:34:49.279 maybe it's at a, 00:34:49.459 --> 00:34:49.599 you know, 00:34:49.599 --> 00:34:50.239 because some people, 00:34:50.339 --> 00:34:51.779 the countryside's the right place 00:34:51.779 --> 00:34:52.219 to do this. 00:34:52.279 --> 00:34:52.659 For others, 00:34:53.299 --> 00:34:55.079 a countryside just terrifies them. 00:34:55.119 --> 00:34:56.239 It has to be a cafe 00:34:56.239 --> 00:34:57.539 on a busy street 00:34:57.539 --> 00:34:59.719 with the hub behind them. 00:34:59.799 --> 00:35:00.439 But they just, 00:35:00.539 --> 00:35:01.500 you ask yourself 00:35:01.500 --> 00:35:02.239 some searching, 00:35:02.419 --> 00:35:03.319 penetrating questions. 00:35:03.879 --> 00:35:04.979 And here's what we see 00:35:04.979 --> 00:35:06.079 is that Jesus asks 00:35:06.079 --> 00:35:07.479 these penetrating questions. 00:35:07.659 --> 00:35:08.319 For those of us 00:35:08.319 --> 00:35:08.859 who are Christians, 00:35:09.079 --> 00:35:09.979 it's questions 00:35:09.979 --> 00:35:11.259 for the rest of our lives. 00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:12.979 And it reveals 00:35:12.980 --> 00:35:14.599 two great dangers, 00:35:14.760 --> 00:35:16.219 but it also reveals 00:35:16.219 --> 00:35:16.699 it in, 00:35:16.900 --> 00:35:17.719 to their contrast, 00:35:17.860 --> 00:35:19.480 this profound vision 00:35:19.480 --> 00:35:20.960 of what the Christian life is. 00:35:21.139 --> 00:35:22.460 And the Christian life 00:35:22.460 --> 00:35:23.400 is not either 00:35:23.400 --> 00:35:24.480 piling on rules 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:25.179 upon rules 00:35:25.179 --> 00:35:26.119 upon rules, 00:35:26.539 --> 00:35:27.260 nor is it 00:35:27.260 --> 00:35:27.960 you're taking out 00:35:27.960 --> 00:35:28.619 all of the things 00:35:28.619 --> 00:35:29.139 in the Bible 00:35:29.139 --> 00:35:30.000 that you don't like. 00:35:30.400 --> 00:35:32.340 But the Christian life 00:35:32.340 --> 00:35:33.119 is that you're gripped 00:35:33.119 --> 00:35:33.940 by the gospel 00:35:33.940 --> 00:35:35.139 and you're called 00:35:35.139 --> 00:35:35.980 time and time 00:35:35.980 --> 00:35:36.380 and time 00:35:36.380 --> 00:35:37.059 and time again 00:35:37.059 --> 00:35:38.519 to remember the gospel 00:35:38.519 --> 00:35:41.159 and then to be 00:35:41.159 --> 00:35:42.500 propelled forward 00:35:42.500 --> 00:35:45.800 in creativity 00:35:45.800 --> 00:35:47.500 and insight 00:35:47.500 --> 00:35:48.420 and wisdom 00:35:48.420 --> 00:35:50.099 to grow out of that 00:35:50.099 --> 00:35:50.900 which you remember. 00:35:51.039 --> 00:35:51.960 It's this dance 00:35:51.960 --> 00:35:53.159 between remembering 00:35:53.159 --> 00:35:54.559 and holding fast 00:35:54.559 --> 00:35:55.860 and questions 00:35:55.860 --> 00:35:57.400 which propel you 00:35:57.400 --> 00:35:58.219 into growth 00:35:58.219 --> 00:36:01.699 and self-awareness. 00:36:02.940 --> 00:36:03.460 Listen. 00:36:04.179 --> 00:36:04.860 So why are you 00:36:04.860 --> 00:36:06.280 thinking about no bread? 00:36:06.280 --> 00:36:07.720 here's the question. 00:36:07.880 --> 00:36:08.500 Do you not yet 00:36:08.500 --> 00:36:09.760 perceive or understand? 00:36:15.860 --> 00:36:17.320 Are your hearts hardened? 00:36:18.660 --> 00:36:18.860 I mean, 00:36:18.960 --> 00:36:20.640 it's a good thing 00:36:20.640 --> 00:36:21.740 for me to say to myself, 00:36:21.860 --> 00:36:22.420 am I really 00:36:22.420 --> 00:36:23.540 understanding 00:36:23.540 --> 00:36:24.500 what's going on? 00:36:24.600 --> 00:36:25.320 Am I really doing it? 00:36:25.800 --> 00:36:26.620 It's a good thing 00:36:26.620 --> 00:36:27.440 to ask myself, 00:36:27.560 --> 00:36:28.220 is my heart 00:36:28.220 --> 00:36:29.220 becoming hard? 00:36:32.840 --> 00:36:33.760 Having eyes 00:36:33.760 --> 00:36:34.620 do you not see 00:36:34.620 --> 00:36:35.460 and having ears 00:36:35.460 --> 00:36:36.260 do you not hear? 00:36:37.120 --> 00:36:38.440 And do you not remember? 00:36:40.280 --> 00:36:40.540 I mean, 00:36:40.560 --> 00:36:40.920 we all know 00:36:40.920 --> 00:36:42.019 one of the common problems 00:36:42.019 --> 00:36:43.220 is as soon as we've left church 00:36:43.220 --> 00:36:43.780 we've forgotten 00:36:43.780 --> 00:36:44.580 all we've learned 00:36:44.580 --> 00:36:47.260 and all of our commitments. 00:36:48.640 --> 00:36:49.200 In a sense, 00:36:49.300 --> 00:36:50.040 the church is just 00:36:50.040 --> 00:36:50.720 to help a way 00:36:50.720 --> 00:36:51.260 to remember 00:36:51.260 --> 00:36:52.900 that we need 00:36:52.900 --> 00:36:54.060 to remember together. 00:36:54.920 --> 00:36:55.620 It's one of the reasons 00:36:55.620 --> 00:36:56.280 why things like 00:36:56.280 --> 00:36:57.000 small groups 00:36:57.000 --> 00:36:58.180 and mentoring relationships 00:36:58.180 --> 00:36:59.140 are so important 00:36:59.140 --> 00:37:00.060 because we need help 00:37:00.060 --> 00:37:01.120 to remember together 00:37:01.120 --> 00:37:03.140 and ask questions 00:37:03.140 --> 00:37:04.060 out of remembrance 00:37:04.060 --> 00:37:05.140 together. 00:37:05.139 --> 00:37:08.279 do you not remember? 00:37:08.579 --> 00:37:09.000 And what do you have 00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:09.379 to remember? 00:37:09.699 --> 00:37:09.920 Well, 00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:11.099 when I broke the five loaves 00:37:11.099 --> 00:37:11.920 for the five thousand, 00:37:12.039 --> 00:37:12.699 how many baskets 00:37:12.699 --> 00:37:13.719 full of broken pieces 00:37:13.719 --> 00:37:14.559 did you take up? 00:37:15.480 --> 00:37:16.279 They said to him, 00:37:16.339 --> 00:37:16.579 twelve. 00:37:16.739 --> 00:37:17.239 And the seven 00:37:17.239 --> 00:37:18.099 for the four thousand, 00:37:18.179 --> 00:37:18.859 how many baskets 00:37:18.859 --> 00:37:19.799 full of broken pieces 00:37:19.799 --> 00:37:20.639 did you take up? 00:37:20.639 --> 00:37:21.719 And they said to him, 00:37:21.799 --> 00:37:22.079 seven. 00:37:22.619 --> 00:37:23.179 And he said to them, 00:37:23.480 --> 00:37:24.839 don't you yet understand? 00:37:27.500 --> 00:37:28.519 So on one hand, 00:37:28.859 --> 00:37:30.420 this is very frustrating 00:37:30.420 --> 00:37:32.279 because we'd want, 00:37:33.159 --> 00:37:33.859 okay, Jesus, 00:37:35.059 --> 00:37:35.940 you don't have a pen, 00:37:36.219 --> 00:37:36.759 have a pen. 00:37:37.199 --> 00:37:38.159 I want you to write 00:37:38.159 --> 00:37:38.960 the things down 00:37:38.960 --> 00:37:39.539 right now. 00:37:39.699 --> 00:37:39.980 Okay? 00:37:40.980 --> 00:37:41.219 Dum, 00:37:41.359 --> 00:37:41.519 dum, 00:37:41.659 --> 00:37:41.799 dum, 00:37:41.900 --> 00:37:42.039 dum, 00:37:42.099 --> 00:37:42.219 dum. 00:37:42.219 --> 00:37:43.299 got it. 00:37:44.459 --> 00:37:45.199 The problem is 00:37:45.199 --> 00:37:45.799 when we write it down 00:37:45.799 --> 00:37:46.239 and get it, 00:37:46.579 --> 00:37:47.459 we close the book, 00:37:48.679 --> 00:37:49.799 throw it behind us 00:37:49.799 --> 00:37:50.859 and go on with our life. 00:37:50.860 --> 00:37:54.440 The opening thing 00:37:54.440 --> 00:37:55.300 was the key thing. 00:37:55.500 --> 00:37:56.900 Beware of the leaven 00:37:56.900 --> 00:37:58.920 of the Pharisees 00:37:58.920 --> 00:38:00.380 and of Herod. 00:38:02.720 --> 00:38:03.700 What do you need to do 00:38:03.700 --> 00:38:04.880 to beware of these things? 00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:05.220 You know where, 00:38:05.539 --> 00:38:06.180 we need to, 00:38:06.220 --> 00:38:07.440 you need to ask yourself, 00:38:07.539 --> 00:38:08.460 am I thinking right? 00:38:08.579 --> 00:38:09.599 Am I looking at things 00:38:09.599 --> 00:38:10.200 the right way? 00:38:10.260 --> 00:38:11.220 Am I understanding? 00:38:11.620 --> 00:38:12.440 Am I remembering 00:38:12.440 --> 00:38:13.380 the great truths 00:38:13.380 --> 00:38:14.120 of the faith? 00:38:14.860 --> 00:38:16.599 And am I understanding? 00:38:17.340 --> 00:38:17.700 Right? 00:38:17.840 --> 00:38:19.019 And we need others 00:38:19.019 --> 00:38:19.559 to do this. 00:38:19.599 --> 00:38:20.420 That's why we need church 00:38:20.420 --> 00:38:21.440 and we need small groups 00:38:21.440 --> 00:38:22.599 and we need Christian friends 00:38:22.599 --> 00:38:23.159 and mentoring 00:38:23.159 --> 00:38:24.039 and discipleships 00:38:24.039 --> 00:38:25.659 and good Christian books 00:38:25.659 --> 00:38:26.619 to help us to remember, 00:38:26.740 --> 00:38:27.200 to understand, 00:38:27.340 --> 00:38:27.820 and to be propelled. 00:38:27.900 --> 00:38:29.139 And the two types of leavens, 00:38:29.320 --> 00:38:30.720 what he's warning you about here 00:38:30.720 --> 00:38:32.680 is that there's things 00:38:32.680 --> 00:38:33.460 which are very, 00:38:33.579 --> 00:38:34.159 very small, 00:38:34.280 --> 00:38:34.840 like yeast. 00:38:34.960 --> 00:38:37.579 Like if you make a sourdough loaf 00:38:37.579 --> 00:38:39.579 or a big loaf of bread, 00:38:39.619 --> 00:38:40.680 you don't need very much yeast. 00:38:40.760 --> 00:38:42.420 You don't need much sourdough 00:38:42.420 --> 00:38:44.900 to make a sourdough bread. 00:38:45.480 --> 00:38:47.019 But yet that little tiny bit, 00:38:47.260 --> 00:38:48.440 when it comes in 00:38:48.440 --> 00:38:49.539 and it's kneaded in 00:38:49.539 --> 00:38:50.300 and everything like that, 00:38:50.300 --> 00:38:52.300 it ends up transforming everything. 00:38:52.960 --> 00:38:53.580 And that, 00:38:53.700 --> 00:38:54.420 and he's saying, 00:38:54.780 --> 00:38:55.900 in a sense what he's saying 00:38:55.900 --> 00:38:56.420 is he's saying, 00:38:56.539 --> 00:38:58.800 beware of religion 00:38:58.800 --> 00:38:59.980 and irreligion. 00:39:01.320 --> 00:39:03.160 Beware of religion 00:39:03.160 --> 00:39:04.780 and worldliness. 00:39:06.640 --> 00:39:07.840 It's the Pharisees, 00:39:08.320 --> 00:39:09.560 the ones who want to add 00:39:09.560 --> 00:39:10.180 and add and add. 00:39:10.200 --> 00:39:10.640 Let me tell you, 00:39:10.660 --> 00:39:11.580 I can tell you this right now. 00:39:11.640 --> 00:39:12.360 I don't know how many times 00:39:12.360 --> 00:39:12.940 I've read the Bible 00:39:12.940 --> 00:39:13.660 from cover to cover, 00:39:13.740 --> 00:39:14.320 50 times. 00:39:14.680 --> 00:39:16.060 There is nowhere in the Bible 00:39:16.059 --> 00:39:17.880 that says you can't enjoy 00:39:17.880 --> 00:39:18.940 a sunny day 00:39:18.940 --> 00:39:20.699 by playing a game outside. 00:39:22.699 --> 00:39:24.239 Now, I will stand rebuked 00:39:24.239 --> 00:39:25.559 and I will repent next week 00:39:25.559 --> 00:39:26.659 if you show me a text 00:39:26.659 --> 00:39:27.299 that says that 00:39:27.299 --> 00:39:28.420 between now and next Sunday. 00:39:28.500 --> 00:39:29.519 But it's not there. 00:39:31.840 --> 00:39:33.019 It's not there. 00:39:33.019 --> 00:39:35.500 And you see, 00:39:35.579 --> 00:39:36.920 religion wants to add 00:39:36.920 --> 00:39:38.400 and add and add and add 00:39:38.400 --> 00:39:39.239 and before you know it, 00:39:39.259 --> 00:39:40.019 it's adding things 00:39:40.019 --> 00:39:40.759 where we've looked at this 00:39:40.759 --> 00:39:41.199 in other weeks 00:39:41.199 --> 00:39:42.199 that are just kooky, 00:39:42.380 --> 00:39:43.639 that they're the opposite 00:39:43.639 --> 00:39:45.039 of what the Bible says. 00:39:46.000 --> 00:39:46.280 Right? 00:39:46.599 --> 00:39:47.659 Like the fact of the matter is, 00:39:47.699 --> 00:39:48.980 is if you look at Sabbath keeping, 00:39:49.119 --> 00:39:50.460 Sabbath keeping is the day 00:39:50.460 --> 00:39:51.400 where you set it aside 00:39:51.400 --> 00:39:52.079 for the Lord. 00:39:52.460 --> 00:39:53.360 You trust that you, 00:39:53.480 --> 00:39:54.340 the work you need, 00:39:54.400 --> 00:39:55.559 you think you need to do work, 00:39:55.800 --> 00:39:56.920 seven days worth of work, 00:39:57.019 --> 00:39:58.019 but Jesus says, 00:39:58.139 --> 00:39:58.619 trust me, 00:39:58.619 --> 00:39:59.659 you can get your work done 00:39:59.659 --> 00:39:59.980 in six, 00:39:59.980 --> 00:40:00.779 you can get seven days 00:40:00.779 --> 00:40:02.239 of work done in six days. 00:40:03.039 --> 00:40:04.899 And you trust me with a day 00:40:04.899 --> 00:40:06.480 and you spend it 00:40:06.480 --> 00:40:07.940 to gather with other believers 00:40:07.940 --> 00:40:09.519 to remember and to rejoice 00:40:09.519 --> 00:40:10.799 and to receive grace. 00:40:10.980 --> 00:40:12.019 And then the rest of the day, 00:40:12.059 --> 00:40:13.000 yeah, we'd like you to rest, 00:40:13.079 --> 00:40:14.460 but we'd also like you to feast. 00:40:16.000 --> 00:40:16.219 You know, 00:40:16.239 --> 00:40:17.159 it's completely forgotten 00:40:17.159 --> 00:40:18.039 for those who are really, 00:40:18.119 --> 00:40:19.159 really, really into Lent. 00:40:19.219 --> 00:40:19.879 If you add up 00:40:19.879 --> 00:40:21.199 the numbers of days of Lent, 00:40:21.279 --> 00:40:22.420 you'll see it doesn't add up right. 00:40:22.519 --> 00:40:22.739 Why? 00:40:23.099 --> 00:40:24.019 Well, because the Sundays 00:40:24.019 --> 00:40:24.859 were excluded. 00:40:25.920 --> 00:40:27.019 The Sabbath is a day 00:40:27.019 --> 00:40:27.739 of celebration 00:40:27.739 --> 00:40:28.599 and to feast 00:40:28.599 --> 00:40:29.379 and to rejoice 00:40:29.380 --> 00:40:30.260 and to relax 00:40:30.260 --> 00:40:31.420 and to have people over 00:40:31.420 --> 00:40:33.019 and have a bit of a party, 00:40:33.800 --> 00:40:34.160 you know, 00:40:34.320 --> 00:40:35.480 to be generous, 00:40:36.019 --> 00:40:38.960 not to have long faces 00:40:38.960 --> 00:40:42.119 and act like you're a vampire 00:40:42.119 --> 00:40:43.519 afraid of the sun. 00:40:48.260 --> 00:40:49.539 And so the religious 00:40:49.539 --> 00:40:51.000 want to add and add 00:40:51.000 --> 00:40:52.240 and add and add and add 00:40:52.240 --> 00:40:53.519 and the world, 00:40:53.660 --> 00:40:54.800 Herod wants to take away 00:40:54.800 --> 00:40:56.700 and I don't like that teaching 00:40:56.700 --> 00:40:57.720 about sex, 00:40:57.980 --> 00:40:58.980 so snip that away 00:40:58.980 --> 00:41:00.019 and I don't like this 00:41:00.019 --> 00:41:01.039 and I don't like that 00:41:01.039 --> 00:41:03.619 and I don't really approve of that 00:41:03.619 --> 00:41:04.400 and take that away. 00:41:04.699 --> 00:41:06.460 And those are the two types of leaven 00:41:06.460 --> 00:41:08.119 that can get into your soul 00:41:08.119 --> 00:41:10.480 and you think you're a Christian, 00:41:10.639 --> 00:41:11.119 but you've made, 00:41:11.240 --> 00:41:13.059 you're something completely different. 00:41:16.659 --> 00:41:17.820 Here's the thing in closing, 00:41:17.960 --> 00:41:18.780 if you could put it up, 00:41:19.559 --> 00:41:19.920 Claire. 00:41:21.300 --> 00:41:22.039 It's a prayer. 00:41:22.039 --> 00:41:22.440 Lord, 00:41:22.440 --> 00:41:22.480 Lord, 00:41:22.599 --> 00:41:23.360 grow in me 00:41:23.360 --> 00:41:24.739 a penitent, 00:41:25.259 --> 00:41:25.880 humble, 00:41:26.539 --> 00:41:27.159 loving, 00:41:27.960 --> 00:41:28.539 obedient, 00:41:29.300 --> 00:41:29.940 available, 00:41:30.820 --> 00:41:31.500 teachable, 00:41:32.179 --> 00:41:33.699 trusting heart 00:41:33.699 --> 00:41:34.940 towards you. 00:41:38.300 --> 00:41:39.539 I've organized them 00:41:39.539 --> 00:41:39.860 in a way 00:41:39.860 --> 00:41:40.619 so that it sort of says 00:41:40.619 --> 00:41:41.199 float 00:41:41.199 --> 00:41:43.860 with lots of 00:41:43.860 --> 00:41:44.719 apologies 00:41:44.719 --> 00:41:45.460 to English 00:41:45.460 --> 00:41:46.300 language. 00:41:47.079 --> 00:41:48.360 That's how I remember it 00:41:48.360 --> 00:41:49.039 in my prayers. 00:41:49.039 --> 00:41:50.579 It's actually a prayer 00:41:50.579 --> 00:41:51.480 that I try to pray 00:41:51.480 --> 00:41:52.159 every day. 00:41:54.079 --> 00:41:54.880 That to you, 00:41:55.159 --> 00:41:55.400 Lords, 00:41:55.500 --> 00:41:56.079 towards you, 00:41:56.179 --> 00:41:56.820 that I might have 00:41:56.820 --> 00:41:57.779 a penitent heart, 00:41:58.000 --> 00:41:58.739 that I might have 00:41:58.739 --> 00:41:59.579 a soft heart 00:41:59.579 --> 00:42:00.139 for the things 00:42:00.139 --> 00:42:00.579 that I've done 00:42:00.579 --> 00:42:01.139 that are wrong. 00:42:02.400 --> 00:42:03.320 And that I might be 00:42:03.320 --> 00:42:04.380 humble before you, 00:42:04.500 --> 00:42:05.480 that I know you don't have 00:42:05.480 --> 00:42:06.059 to bow down 00:42:06.059 --> 00:42:06.980 to my criteria, 00:42:07.199 --> 00:42:07.920 I need to learn 00:42:07.920 --> 00:42:08.940 to bow down to you. 00:42:09.860 --> 00:42:11.039 And it's not about me, 00:42:11.119 --> 00:42:11.820 it's about you. 00:42:12.139 --> 00:42:12.739 And I am not 00:42:12.739 --> 00:42:13.639 the center of the universe. 00:42:13.639 --> 00:42:13.839 universe. 00:42:17.859 --> 00:42:18.960 And I want to 00:42:18.960 --> 00:42:20.519 not just have 00:42:20.519 --> 00:42:21.980 a cold relationship 00:42:21.980 --> 00:42:22.420 with you 00:42:22.420 --> 00:42:23.119 or a white-knuckle 00:42:23.119 --> 00:42:24.119 relationship with you, 00:42:24.199 --> 00:42:25.400 I want there to be love, 00:42:25.460 --> 00:42:26.559 I want there to be affection, 00:42:27.219 --> 00:42:28.519 I want there to be 00:42:28.519 --> 00:42:29.039 delight. 00:42:31.759 --> 00:42:32.619 And I want to be 00:42:32.619 --> 00:42:33.859 obedient to your word, 00:42:34.319 --> 00:42:35.900 I want to remember 00:42:35.900 --> 00:42:36.480 your word 00:42:36.480 --> 00:42:37.559 and be obedient 00:42:37.559 --> 00:42:38.199 to it. 00:42:39.799 --> 00:42:40.599 And I want to be 00:42:40.599 --> 00:42:41.759 available to you, 00:42:41.760 --> 00:42:44.420 not just thinking 00:42:44.420 --> 00:42:45.280 that you're sort of 00:42:45.280 --> 00:42:46.620 an addition to my life 00:42:46.620 --> 00:42:47.540 where I run my life, 00:42:47.580 --> 00:42:48.340 I want to be available 00:42:48.340 --> 00:42:49.000 to you 00:42:49.000 --> 00:42:50.680 because you are my savior 00:42:50.680 --> 00:42:51.860 and you are my Lord. 00:42:52.460 --> 00:42:53.720 And I want to be teachable 00:42:53.720 --> 00:42:54.580 because I don't know 00:42:54.580 --> 00:42:55.040 everything 00:42:55.040 --> 00:42:56.280 and I'm wrong 00:42:56.280 --> 00:42:57.240 about a lot 00:42:57.240 --> 00:42:58.440 and I need to keep 00:42:58.440 --> 00:42:59.580 being taught by you. 00:43:00.640 --> 00:43:01.980 And I want to trust you. 00:43:03.900 --> 00:43:05.100 I want to trust you. 00:43:10.140 --> 00:43:11.000 That's the world 00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:11.940 that Jesus asks us 00:43:11.940 --> 00:43:12.559 to enter into 00:43:12.559 --> 00:43:14.320 when we trust him 00:43:14.320 --> 00:43:15.340 as our savior 00:43:15.340 --> 00:43:15.840 and our Lord. 00:43:16.320 --> 00:43:17.159 I invite you to stand. 00:43:25.079 --> 00:43:25.860 Let's bow our heads 00:43:25.860 --> 00:43:26.300 in prayer. 00:43:29.340 --> 00:43:29.739 Father, 00:43:29.880 --> 00:43:31.199 you know those, 00:43:31.619 --> 00:43:32.900 you know the ways, 00:43:33.039 --> 00:43:33.579 some of us, 00:43:33.659 --> 00:43:33.880 Father, 00:43:33.980 --> 00:43:34.539 might not be 00:43:34.539 --> 00:43:35.619 at all attracted 00:43:35.619 --> 00:43:36.119 about anything 00:43:36.119 --> 00:43:36.539 in the world 00:43:36.539 --> 00:43:37.639 but there's stuff 00:43:37.639 --> 00:43:38.260 about religion 00:43:38.260 --> 00:43:39.080 we really like. 00:43:40.440 --> 00:43:42.160 And all of us 00:43:42.160 --> 00:43:42.920 probably have 00:43:42.920 --> 00:43:44.040 Father traditions 00:43:44.040 --> 00:43:44.920 and other types 00:43:44.920 --> 00:43:45.580 of things 00:43:45.580 --> 00:43:47.000 that we think 00:43:47.000 --> 00:43:47.740 are from the Bible 00:43:47.740 --> 00:43:48.520 but a lot of them 00:43:48.520 --> 00:43:49.260 are just us 00:43:49.260 --> 00:43:50.920 and they might be 00:43:50.920 --> 00:43:51.860 very good for us 00:43:51.860 --> 00:43:52.640 because of the state 00:43:52.640 --> 00:43:54.280 of our disorder 00:43:54.280 --> 00:43:54.920 and chaos 00:43:54.920 --> 00:43:56.440 but they're just for us. 00:43:56.580 --> 00:43:57.520 They're things 00:43:57.520 --> 00:43:58.360 that you've given us 00:43:58.360 --> 00:43:59.960 to help your lordship 00:43:59.960 --> 00:44:01.000 come into our lives. 00:44:01.180 --> 00:44:01.840 They're not meant 00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:02.440 to be imposed 00:44:02.440 --> 00:44:03.120 on everybody 00:44:03.120 --> 00:44:03.900 as a rule. 00:44:03.900 --> 00:44:05.000 And you know 00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:05.579 those things 00:44:05.579 --> 00:44:06.099 that we sort of 00:44:06.099 --> 00:44:06.639 like to kick 00:44:06.639 --> 00:44:07.420 under the carpet, 00:44:07.680 --> 00:44:07.860 Father, 00:44:07.940 --> 00:44:08.460 that we don't really 00:44:08.460 --> 00:44:09.579 like about your word. 00:44:10.500 --> 00:44:11.139 And you know 00:44:11.139 --> 00:44:11.760 those ways 00:44:11.760 --> 00:44:13.360 that we like 00:44:13.360 --> 00:44:13.800 to appear 00:44:13.800 --> 00:44:14.400 more righteous 00:44:14.400 --> 00:44:14.800 than others. 00:44:14.940 --> 00:44:15.099 Father, 00:44:15.220 --> 00:44:17.099 we are so thankful 00:44:17.099 --> 00:44:17.680 that Jesus 00:44:17.680 --> 00:44:18.380 knows everything 00:44:18.380 --> 00:44:18.920 about us 00:44:18.920 --> 00:44:19.800 and still he loves us 00:44:19.800 --> 00:44:20.519 and still he died 00:44:20.519 --> 00:44:20.960 for us. 00:44:21.119 --> 00:44:22.300 And we thank you, 00:44:22.420 --> 00:44:22.579 Father, 00:44:22.639 --> 00:44:23.360 that we don't come 00:44:23.360 --> 00:44:24.079 before you 00:44:24.079 --> 00:44:25.820 giving you a long list 00:44:25.820 --> 00:44:26.740 of the perfect things 00:44:26.740 --> 00:44:27.720 we've done 00:44:27.720 --> 00:44:28.539 but we can come 00:44:28.539 --> 00:44:29.079 before you 00:44:29.079 --> 00:44:29.820 as your children 00:44:29.820 --> 00:44:30.680 and we know 00:44:30.680 --> 00:44:31.360 the final word 00:44:31.360 --> 00:44:31.900 about us 00:44:31.900 --> 00:44:32.539 and you see 00:44:32.539 --> 00:44:33.380 that we're clothed 00:44:33.380 --> 00:44:34.240 with the righteousness 00:44:34.240 --> 00:44:35.220 and compassion 00:44:35.220 --> 00:44:35.940 of Christ 00:44:35.940 --> 00:44:39.220 and that he has paid 00:44:39.220 --> 00:44:39.740 the debt 00:44:39.740 --> 00:44:41.380 that we owe. 00:44:42.260 --> 00:44:43.039 And we know, 00:44:43.280 --> 00:44:43.360 Lord, 00:44:43.440 --> 00:44:44.320 that you desire us 00:44:44.320 --> 00:44:45.760 to grow into the clothing 00:44:45.760 --> 00:44:47.480 that we've been clothed 00:44:47.480 --> 00:44:48.220 with in Jesus. 00:44:49.240 --> 00:44:49.639 And so, 00:44:49.740 --> 00:44:49.900 Father, 00:44:49.980 --> 00:44:51.380 we ask that your Holy Spirit 00:44:51.380 --> 00:44:52.559 would help us 00:44:52.559 --> 00:44:53.220 to be gripped 00:44:53.220 --> 00:44:54.000 by the gospel 00:44:54.000 --> 00:44:55.139 and to remember your word 00:44:55.139 --> 00:44:55.880 and that you would grow 00:44:55.880 --> 00:44:56.940 within each one of us 00:44:56.940 --> 00:44:58.300 hearts that are penitent 00:44:58.300 --> 00:44:58.900 before you, 00:44:58.980 --> 00:44:59.559 that are humble 00:44:59.559 --> 00:45:00.220 before you, 00:45:00.300 --> 00:45:00.940 that are loving 00:45:00.940 --> 00:45:01.880 before you, 00:45:01.960 --> 00:45:02.639 that are obedient 00:45:02.639 --> 00:45:03.500 to you, 00:45:03.559 --> 00:45:04.260 that are available 00:45:04.260 --> 00:45:04.820 to you, 00:45:04.880 --> 00:45:05.720 that are teachable 00:45:05.720 --> 00:45:06.300 by you, 00:45:06.400 --> 00:45:07.380 that trust you. 00:45:07.440 --> 00:45:07.760 And Father, 00:45:07.820 --> 00:45:08.539 we ask that you would 00:45:08.539 --> 00:45:09.659 grow us 00:45:09.659 --> 00:45:10.840 into such a people 00:45:10.840 --> 00:45:11.260 like that 00:45:11.260 --> 00:45:11.700 and that you would 00:45:11.700 --> 00:45:12.840 grow us as a church 00:45:12.840 --> 00:45:14.380 into such a people 00:45:14.380 --> 00:45:14.780 as that. 00:45:15.400 --> 00:45:16.079 And we ask this 00:45:16.079 --> 00:45:16.900 in the name of Jesus, 00:45:17.039 --> 00:45:17.460 your Son 00:45:17.460 --> 00:45:18.079 and our Savior. 00:45:18.079 --> 00:45:19.179 Amen.