WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.519 Yes, we do. That's exactly what we do. We've been studying this all the last several weeks. 00:00:11.580 --> 00:00:16.320 ! Would y'all take a look at the screen for a minute here? I'll read it to you if it's a little hard. 00:00:18.460 --> 00:00:26.400 Why can't I stay up late? Calvin says. You guys can. It's not fair! 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:36.019 The world isn't fair, Calvin. I know, but why isn't it ever unfair in my favor? 00:00:37.539 --> 00:00:44.599 How many of y'all liked Calvin and Hobbes? Anybody? All right. How many of y'all ever feel like life 00:00:44.599 --> 00:00:50.399 is just not fair and you've accepted that, but maybe like Calvin here, you feel like it's always 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:58.159 unfair against you? Like the odds are just always stacked against you. Sometimes we feel that way. 00:00:58.299 --> 00:01:01.960 Life has a way of pulling that out of us. 00:01:01.960 --> 00:01:13.500 When did you first learn the lesson that life wasn't fair? Anybody? What's that? 00:01:15.079 --> 00:01:24.200 What? Building fence with your dad. That's fine. Is it dads that find their way into these stories 00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:30.740 often? I don't know what it is when we're kids and that's not fair. Life isn't fair, son. 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:41.180 Just how it works. Usually we're forced into learning that lesson pretty early, I think. 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:50.520 Sometimes relationships force us to realize that life isn't fair. Sometimes jobs or promotions 00:01:50.519 --> 00:01:55.359 make us realize that life isn't fair make us realize that life isn't fair. Watching someone 00:01:55.359 --> 00:02:06.060 do the wrong thing and seemingly still get ahead. It's hard as Christ followers to turn on the news, 00:02:07.199 --> 00:02:15.079 see strife, see suffering, see injustice everywhere, and try to figure out who's right and who's wrong. 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:25.620 And that feels almost impossible. But we know that injustice is everywhere. Life is not fair. 00:02:26.640 --> 00:02:33.300 At some point, all of us have to learn that truth, that this life under the sun will never be fair. 00:02:34.060 --> 00:02:39.640 And that's what the teacher in Ecclesiastes is teaching us here. The question is not whether we'll 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:45.519 notice that. It's when we'll notice it and then what we do with it when we notice it. And that is 00:02:45.519 --> 00:02:52.359 exactly where Ecclesiastes is teaching us next, is taking us next. So if you would go ahead, for some 00:02:52.359 --> 00:03:00.099 reason this thing isn't working. There we go. Thank you. Did you do that or did I do that? You did that. 00:03:00.379 --> 00:03:07.259 All right. Well, that's bad news. If you'll take your copy of the Word of God and turn with me to 00:03:07.259 --> 00:03:11.579 Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Let's go to Ecclesiastes chapter 3. We've been in this book for the last 00:03:11.579 --> 00:03:16.479 several weeks. If you want to catch up, you can always go to our YouTube page at FBC Henrietta. 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:23.280 You can get caught up on all the lessons before this from Ecclesiastes. This is a fascinating book. 00:03:23.379 --> 00:03:29.139 It's unlike any other book in the Bible. The Bible is comprised of 66 books written across 00:03:29.139 --> 00:03:35.899 generations, across geographical locations, not all from the same area, spread around the world from 00:03:35.900 --> 00:03:41.599 different writers who shared very little in common often and were written over centuries and centuries 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:48.500 apart from each other. And it's all compiled into this precious gift that God gave us we call the 00:03:48.500 --> 00:03:54.040 Bible. This book of Ecclesiastes is so different from all the others. And the theme here that we've 00:03:54.040 --> 00:03:59.620 drawn from it is catching smoke. Hard to catch smoke, isn't it? You think you've got it in your hand and 00:03:59.620 --> 00:04:04.439 you open your hand, there's nothing there. It's not something you can grasp or hold on to. And that is 00:04:04.439 --> 00:04:11.000 what life is like. The teacher who we understand is Solomon, King Solomon, the wisest and wealthiest 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:17.699 man in recorded history, wrote this down, these powerful lessons for us at the end of his life. 00:04:18.019 --> 00:04:23.639 Let's not miss it. If we value the wisdom from Solomon in the book of Proverbs, let's value his 00:04:23.639 --> 00:04:30.220 end of life lessons as he reflects back on all his success. And he writes to us in chapter three. 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:35.540 We covered the first part of chapter three last Sunday. Let's pick it up in verse 16 and we'll 00:04:35.540 --> 00:04:43.560 read down through the beginning of chapter four. So in setting up this point, Ecclesiastes 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:53.860 is teaching us by the teacher the meaning of pleasure, success, time, seasons of life. We've looked at all 00:04:53.860 --> 00:05:02.920 these things and now he lifts his eyes and what he sees, he's not just frustrated with, he sees systemic 00:05:02.920 --> 00:05:11.639 injustice ingrained into the fabric of our lives, our cultures. Chapter three, verse one. I'm sorry, 00:05:11.780 --> 00:05:19.139 verse 16. I also noticed, verse 16, I also noticed that under the sun, there is evil in the courtroom. 00:05:19.139 --> 00:05:28.599 Even the courts of law are corrupt. Does that surprise anybody here? The courts of law are corrupt? 00:05:29.459 --> 00:05:36.079 Anybody have absolute faith in the justice system? No, of course not. We're grateful for the justice 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:42.560 system. We're grateful for the judges and the attorneys who try to fight for justice in a system 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:48.599 that often seems stacked against them. Sometimes corruption can make its way even through those 00:05:48.600 --> 00:05:59.100 places and those jobs that are supposed to be defending those who are oppressed. So there is, 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:05.000 of course, evil in the courtroom. Even the courts of law are corrupt. Solomon says to himself, by the way, 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:10.400 this is an ancient problem. It's not just a modern day problem. It's always been this way. And the 00:06:10.400 --> 00:06:16.080 reality is it's because people are corrupt. And so wherever people go, corruption will be there. 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:23.359 In due season, he says, I said to myself, God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their 00:06:23.359 --> 00:06:31.060 deeds. I also thought about the human condition. Boy, that could write a series of books and has 00:06:31.060 --> 00:06:37.899 over all time, writing about the human condition. But I'd like to see what Solomon has to say about the 00:06:37.899 --> 00:06:42.759 human condition. Because if anyone understood it, Solomon seemed to have wrapped his head around it 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:47.980 with this wealth of wisdom that God had given him. He says, I thought about the human condition, 00:06:48.099 --> 00:06:59.439 how God proves to people that they are like animals, beasts. You realize that? We're all like animals. 00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:06.139 And God proves that to us again and again. Solomon watched it. 00:07:06.139 --> 00:07:08.719 Verse 19. 00:07:08.719 --> 00:07:16.099 For people and animals share the same fate. Both breathe. Both must die. So people have no real 00:07:16.099 --> 00:07:22.719 advantage over the animals. How meaningless. Both go to the same place. They came from dust and they 00:07:22.719 --> 00:07:29.659 return to dust. For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down 00:07:29.660 --> 00:07:38.360 into the earth. Hold on to that for a minute. Verse 22. So I saw that there is nothing better for people 00:07:38.360 --> 00:07:46.780 than to be happy in their work. That is our lot in life. And no one can bring us back to see what 00:07:46.780 --> 00:07:57.140 happens after we die. You and I are all powerless against death. We can't. We can't go back and change what 00:07:57.139 --> 00:08:03.959 we did. We can't go back and undo what's been done. We can't go back and fix things that we did wrong or 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:11.819 others did wrong. And after our time on this earth is done and we're laid to rest, that's it. That's the 00:08:11.819 --> 00:08:18.439 end of the story. And we don't get to go and adjust public opinion of us. We don't get to go see what 00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:24.019 happened to the life that we live, what happened to the legacy that we left behind. It's over. And Solomon is 00:08:24.019 --> 00:08:32.139 hit with this realization. Chapter 4, verse 1. Again, I observed all the oppression that takes 00:08:32.139 --> 00:08:38.960 place under the sun. Oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:45.360 with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power and their victims are helpless. 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:57.700 So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. Verse 3. But most fortunate of all 00:08:57.700 --> 00:09:07.340 are those who are not yet born, for they have not yet seen all the evil that is done under the sun. 00:09:07.340 --> 00:09:19.940 Do you feel uplifted this morning? This is hard, isn't it? This is hard reading. But if we value 00:09:19.940 --> 00:09:28.560 this whole book, and if we believe what it has to say, if we value what it teaches us, 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:35.800 that we can't skip over these parts. We've got to dive into them. What is he teaching us? 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:44.779 What is so valuable from the wisest and wealthiest man who ever lived? How does he end up here? 00:09:45.599 --> 00:09:55.099 Let's get into it. He lifts his eyes. He's not just frustrated by what he sees. He realizes this is a 00:09:55.099 --> 00:10:02.139 systemic problem across the world. Of all people groups, all governments, all countries, 00:10:02.139 --> 00:10:10.039 they're fraught, they're riddled, it's baked into what they are, oppression and injustice. 00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:19.860 Life is not fair. This is not just rebellion against God. This is refusing 00:10:19.860 --> 00:10:25.059 to do anything kind for anyone else. 00:10:25.059 --> 00:10:32.679 And often when you see kindness, if you dig underneath it, you realize it doesn't come from 00:10:32.679 --> 00:10:40.519 a place of true kindness anyway. There are motivations, reasons for why they're doing the 00:10:40.519 --> 00:10:46.019 good they seem to be doing. I'm not trying to make you more cynical than you already are. 00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:55.379 It's easy to read the book of Ecclesiastes and come away as a cynic. Forget it, man. What's the use? 00:10:56.460 --> 00:11:02.500 And that, apart from looking above the sun, is exactly the conclusion that we would come to. 00:11:03.480 --> 00:11:07.399 But if you continue on and you read through the entire book, and we're going to get there 00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:11.319 in just a couple of weeks when we conclude our series in Ecclesiastes, 00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:18.500 when you read to the end, you realize that Solomon gets to the place that we all have to get to, 00:11:18.640 --> 00:11:25.320 because there's no other place to arrive to find meaning under the sun. You realize it's all 00:11:25.320 --> 00:11:33.040 catching smoke. It's all pointless. There's really no meaning to any of it until we look above the sun. 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:41.559 We look above, beyond this world to see the God who created it all, to see the God who made us, 00:11:41.819 --> 00:11:46.879 to see the God who left his heavenly throne, came down to this earth to live among us, 00:11:46.959 --> 00:11:56.179 and he brought the meaning. He brought the value. And he sees the oppression. He sees the injustice. 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:59.539 And that's what we're going to talk about today. So truth number one. 00:11:59.539 --> 00:12:06.719 By the way, we read Ecclesiastes 3, 16 through chapter 4 and verse 3. I meant to have that on 00:12:06.719 --> 00:12:09.819 the board when we read just a moment ago, but that's all right. You guys listened and you got 00:12:09.819 --> 00:12:14.860 there. So thank you. Verse number one in your notes, if you're taking notes, looking above the sun 00:12:14.860 --> 00:12:23.559 means seeing injustice below the sun. You can't just fix your eyes on heaven and say, I'm only going to 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:27.639 think about God and the things of God. I'm not going to think about the things going on around me. 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:34.960 It doesn't work that way. Jesus said to his disciples, lift up your eyes and look on the, 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:42.379 anybody know? Fields. This was right after he had talked to the Samaritan woman, the woman at the 00:12:42.379 --> 00:12:48.659 well. He had talked to her. He engaged her, someone who was completely opposite of his social status, 00:12:49.159 --> 00:12:53.980 someone who didn't merit his time in that part of the world, in that culture. The Samaritans were 00:12:53.980 --> 00:13:00.100 seen as below the Jews. Why would he be talking to her? She as a woman was seen as below him as a man. 00:13:00.759 --> 00:13:07.080 That's how things were. It's the system that God came to change. And so as a Samaritan and a woman, 00:13:07.259 --> 00:13:14.340 why would Jesus stop at this well and engage her? And not only did he engage her, he taught theology 00:13:14.340 --> 00:13:22.120 with her. He cared for her soul and he introduced himself as the Messiah, the promised one, the savior of 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:29.960 the world to her. And so this was a powerful moment that Jesus had. And he sees her come to faith in him 00:13:29.960 --> 00:13:37.419 and she changes on the inside. And then she goes in to the city and starts telling everyone who will 00:13:37.419 --> 00:13:45.560 listen, I just met the Messiah. I met the one sent from God. You got to come meet him. While all this is 00:13:45.560 --> 00:13:51.299 happening, Jesus' disciples comes back. They've been off trying to see if there was a McDonald's in town 00:13:51.299 --> 00:13:56.479 and find some food because they were hungry. The ancient version of McDonald's, whatever that was. 00:13:57.120 --> 00:14:03.359 And they come back and they said, Pastor, there's no food in this town. We can't find anything. 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:11.759 And Jesus says, guys, I got food that you're not even aware of. And they're like, what? Who gave you? 00:14:11.819 --> 00:14:17.519 Where'd you find food, Jesus? Were you going to tell us? He says, no, I'm not talking about that. 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:24.419 He says, I have meat to eat that you don't know about. And they said, lift up your eyes and look 00:14:24.419 --> 00:14:30.659 around you. Look on the fields because they are white, ready to harvest. If you've ever harvested 00:14:30.659 --> 00:14:35.340 wheat or harvested crops, you know that when they turn white at the top, they're ready to be harvested. 00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:41.779 And so Jesus is saying, listen, there are people all around, just like this Samaritan woman that I 00:14:41.779 --> 00:14:48.059 just talked to. There are people all around you searching for God, searching for hope. They don't 00:14:48.059 --> 00:14:54.100 even know necessarily that they need Jesus, but their souls know it. Their souls crave it. 00:14:55.240 --> 00:15:02.600 He says, guys, lift up your eyes and look around. There's a harvest to be had. But he had to see her 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:09.399 first. He had to care that she was oppressed. As a woman, as a Samaritan, he had to care enough 00:15:09.399 --> 00:15:17.000 to get past the injustice that was baked into their society and see her. 00:15:21.340 --> 00:15:28.000 So you got to look where Jesus is looking. You got to see what Jesus sees. If you're going to call 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:33.340 yourself a follower of him, it's not enough just to look at God. If you're looking at God, you got to 00:15:33.340 --> 00:15:39.319 see what's he looking at. Oh, he's looking over there. He sees that person that I wouldn't have noticed. 00:15:39.399 --> 00:15:46.079 He sees that situation that I don't have an immediate solution to, and so I'm just going 00:15:46.079 --> 00:15:52.279 to ignore it. Listen, that's my go-to. Some people, some of you are wired to be empathetic. 00:15:52.779 --> 00:16:01.720 Some of you are wired to go beyond sympathy, which is, I feel for you. I'm sorry you're going through a 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:07.379 hard time. I feel for you. I'm sympathetic to your condition. Then there's this idea of empathy, 00:16:07.379 --> 00:16:16.820 which is, I'm going to feel with you. I'm going to step down into your life, and I'm going to feel 00:16:16.820 --> 00:16:22.419 the pain you're feeling. I'm going to be a part of it. Do you realize that we don't just serve a 00:16:22.419 --> 00:16:28.299 sympathetic God? We serve an empathetic God. He left heaven's throne. He saw our fallen condition, 00:16:28.299 --> 00:16:37.639 and he came and lived among us. He walked with us. He hurt with us. He was tempted like we are. 00:16:37.979 --> 00:16:43.359 He went through the fatigue, the hunger, the fear. Everything that you and I experienced, 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:50.639 Jesus went through. He was empathetic for us. Just like anything, the world can take these things, 00:16:50.699 --> 00:16:54.779 and they can abuse them. And sometimes you'll hear the word empathy thrown around as a buzzword, 00:16:54.779 --> 00:17:00.399 and it'll get abused by those who have, once again, their own motivations, their own purposes 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:05.639 for trying to take something good and turn it, warp it for their own agenda. 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:15.680 But the reality that God is empathetic is real. He feels not just for us. He feels with us, 00:17:15.740 --> 00:17:23.240 and he calls us to do the same. So you've got to look where Jesus is looking and see what he sees. 00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:29.339 When we only look under the sun, the injustice around us can be overwhelming. 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:39.819 It can harden us, or it can hollow us out. It can leave us feeling empty because we give more than 00:17:39.819 --> 00:17:46.420 we have to give, or it can just harden us and say, I can't really fix any of it. I can't fix all of it, 00:17:46.460 --> 00:17:52.059 so I'm not going to fix any of it. You ever feel that way sometimes? But you know the story of the 00:17:52.059 --> 00:17:57.440 kid on the beach, all the starfish laying there, and he's throwing them one by one back into the 00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:02.139 ocean so they can live a little longer. And the old man says, son, you're never going to save all 00:18:02.139 --> 00:18:05.740 these starfish. And he says, yeah, I know, but I can save this one, and I can save this one. 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:13.960 So of course, we can't solve the problem of lack of food. We can't solve the problem of people not 00:18:13.960 --> 00:18:19.140 having enough. We can't solve the problem of the injustice system stacked against people, 00:18:19.340 --> 00:18:27.180 but we can help one. And then maybe we can help another one. And when God's people see what Jesus 00:18:27.180 --> 00:18:36.519 sees, that's how he changes this world. And that's how he's chosen to bring his kingdom to this earth 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:45.019 is through his people, through his church. Let the church be the church that God called it to be, 00:18:45.619 --> 00:18:50.559 that God designed it to be. But to do that, we have to see where Jesus is looking. 00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:59.240 The teacher says it plainly. He saw. He says, I saw all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. 00:18:59.460 --> 00:19:04.379 I saw the tears of the oppressed with no one to comfort them. That's what Jesus sees. 00:19:04.380 --> 00:19:11.060 The psalmist writes about it this way, oh, Lord, why do you stand so far away? 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:18.560 The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor. He was seeing the injustice around him. 00:19:19.660 --> 00:19:24.260 Some of it was affecting him. Some of it was affecting his men, his people that would follow him. 00:19:25.260 --> 00:19:30.420 And he says, God, why are you not intervening? Why are you not stepping in for the oppressed? 00:19:30.420 --> 00:19:37.320 Christ, he's taking that cry to God because he knows down here on this earth, there's going to be very little help. 00:19:38.120 --> 00:19:42.960 But when you turn to God, when you look above the sun and say, God, I see what you're seeing, 00:19:43.720 --> 00:19:46.940 will you intervene? Will you step in? Will you help? 00:19:46.940 --> 00:19:55.880 And then over in Habakkuk, the prophet writes this, God, why do you make me look at injustice? 00:19:57.120 --> 00:20:02.860 You ever feel that way when you turn on Fox News or CNN or whatever your go-to news channel is? 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:06.340 I'm not sure any of them are all that reliable, but regardless, 00:20:08.340 --> 00:20:13.220 do you see anything on there that just makes you say, God, why do you make me look at this injustice? 00:20:13.220 --> 00:20:18.839 It's all around, everywhere, regardless of who's right and who's wrong. 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:21.160 Remember what we said in sermon one of this series? 00:20:21.660 --> 00:20:24.519 Being right doesn't always fix it. 00:20:26.220 --> 00:20:29.500 You can be real proud that you're right and you think you figured it out. 00:20:30.539 --> 00:20:31.900 That doesn't fix the problem, does it? 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:38.860 So going beyond who's right and who's wrong, say, God, why do you make me see this injustice? 00:20:39.019 --> 00:20:42.240 The law is paralyzed. Justice never prevails. 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:46.620 No matter who wins, justice never prevails. 00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:50.740 Faith doesn't require silence. 00:20:51.259 --> 00:20:54.099 It believes God enough to say the truth. 00:20:55.720 --> 00:21:00.579 Looking above the sun does not mean pretending everything around you is fine. 00:21:01.180 --> 00:21:03.120 It doesn't mean hardening yourself off. 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:07.859 It means trusting God enough to name what is broken. 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:11.440 Ecclesiastes chapter 4, we read it a moment ago. 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:14.500 I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. 00:21:15.120 --> 00:21:18.360 But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. 00:21:18.700 --> 00:21:20.519 That is a hard verse to read. 00:21:21.360 --> 00:21:22.880 Be better if you've never been born. 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:28.940 Jesus said that. 00:21:29.300 --> 00:21:29.720 Do you remember? 00:21:33.300 --> 00:21:40.240 He said it would be better if they'd never been born than if they hurt one of these little ones. 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:49.160 It would be better if a big old stone was tied around their neck and they were thrown into the water. 00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:55.819 If you went a little further, it would be better if they'd never been born than if they hurt one of these little ones. 00:21:56.420 --> 00:21:57.240 You know what that is? 00:21:57.240 --> 00:21:59.620 Injustice. 00:22:01.620 --> 00:22:02.640 The oppressed. 00:22:03.700 --> 00:22:04.680 The helpless. 00:22:05.299 --> 00:22:05.960 The vulnerable. 00:22:07.339 --> 00:22:12.779 Society will always prey on the oppressed, the helpless, the vulnerable. 00:22:12.779 --> 00:22:30.899 And those who are not out to do evil too often turn a blind eye to when society prays on the helpless, the oppressed, and the vulnerable. 00:22:30.900 --> 00:22:35.680 And that's why the law is paralyzed and justice never prevails. 00:22:37.620 --> 00:22:40.580 Jesus modeled this perfectly for us. 00:22:41.120 --> 00:22:42.060 How do we respond? 00:22:42.220 --> 00:22:42.880 We go to Jesus. 00:22:43.100 --> 00:22:43.780 What did he do? 00:22:44.320 --> 00:22:45.320 Mark chapter 10. 00:22:45.740 --> 00:22:48.019 Jesus stopped a blind beggar named Bartimaeus. 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:53.280 And he helped him when everyone else tried to silence him or even just ignored him. 00:22:54.220 --> 00:22:57.300 And he called out, Jesus, master, help me. 00:22:57.299 --> 00:23:00.659 And Jesus stopped and he healed the blind man that everyone else ignored. 00:23:01.460 --> 00:23:06.119 In John chapter 8, Jesus stopped the justice system in its tracks. 00:23:06.740 --> 00:23:16.579 The righteous justice system that said a woman who was caught in adultery would be guilty, would be sentenced to death by stoning. 00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:18.960 The law required it. 00:23:19.019 --> 00:23:21.639 And Jesus stopped the justice system in its tracks. 00:23:21.640 --> 00:23:28.240 And freed her by showing the religious leaders of the day the bigger point. 00:23:28.660 --> 00:23:30.160 None of you are without sin. 00:23:30.460 --> 00:23:32.820 None of you can actually condemn her. 00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:34.520 Even though she was guilty. 00:23:35.140 --> 00:23:35.980 A guilty person. 00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:39.700 Jesus stopped the justice system in its tracks. 00:23:41.280 --> 00:23:45.020 These are the kinds of people that Jesus so often gravitated toward. 00:23:45.640 --> 00:23:48.560 The sinful, the hurting, the outcasts of society. 00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:50.859 They're who he stopped for. 00:23:51.139 --> 00:23:52.099 They're who he noticed. 00:23:52.740 --> 00:23:54.139 They're who he saw. 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:59.960 So, looking above the sun means seeing the injustice below the sun. 00:24:00.019 --> 00:24:00.919 And this leaves us here. 00:24:01.559 --> 00:24:02.740 Faith does not look away. 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:06.059 We look away. 00:24:07.500 --> 00:24:08.500 But Jesus doesn't. 00:24:08.500 --> 00:24:11.680 So, if we want to follow him. 00:24:12.039 --> 00:24:13.380 If we want to be like him. 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:16.039 If we want to truly be his church. 00:24:17.319 --> 00:24:19.039 Remember a couple years ago. 00:24:20.680 --> 00:24:24.559 I'm not expecting you to remember all the sermons that I preached for the last two years. 00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:26.640 But if I throw this reminder out. 00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:28.579 We don't just go to church. 00:24:28.779 --> 00:24:28.940 We. 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:30.519 Look. 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:31.839 See, y'all do remember, man. 00:24:32.220 --> 00:24:33.279 Pat yourself on the back for that. 00:24:33.339 --> 00:24:33.839 That was great. 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:37.539 If you don't just want to be somebody who goes to church. 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:40.220 But you want to actually be the church of Jesus. 00:24:40.699 --> 00:24:42.099 Then you can't look away either. 00:24:42.859 --> 00:24:44.099 And I can't look away either. 00:24:45.379 --> 00:24:47.059 I'm not wired like that. 00:24:47.179 --> 00:24:48.039 Some of you are. 00:24:48.299 --> 00:24:50.000 Some of you are empathetic people. 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:50.759 Like we said before. 00:24:50.899 --> 00:24:52.159 Some of you are just wired. 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:53.799 I want to go help whoever I can. 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:56.299 You know who I want to help? 00:24:56.439 --> 00:24:57.659 You know who I really care about? 00:24:58.319 --> 00:24:59.659 The people I care about. 00:24:59.660 --> 00:25:01.360 My people. 00:25:02.040 --> 00:25:02.440 Me. 00:25:03.120 --> 00:25:04.259 Those three down there. 00:25:05.080 --> 00:25:08.680 And if you happen to get close enough to me that I start caring about you too. 00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:11.580 That sounds really bad, doesn't it? 00:25:12.620 --> 00:25:13.480 Really does. 00:25:14.259 --> 00:25:15.340 But I'm sorry, y'all. 00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:16.160 That's just true. 00:25:16.259 --> 00:25:16.920 That's just me. 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:17.920 That's how I'm wired. 00:25:19.980 --> 00:25:24.440 So if God wants to use me, then he's going to have to change me, right? 00:25:25.140 --> 00:25:26.240 Well, he's been doing that. 00:25:27.580 --> 00:25:29.240 He's been changing me. 00:25:30.220 --> 00:25:34.440 Now, I try, but that doesn't work very well. 00:25:34.860 --> 00:25:39.820 So God's training me to care about who he cares about. 00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:41.300 And that's all y'all. 00:25:42.259 --> 00:25:44.080 And that's the people out there. 00:25:45.540 --> 00:25:48.880 Now I have to care about people that I don't just naturally care about. 00:25:51.140 --> 00:25:52.759 You've got to go against your nature. 00:25:53.900 --> 00:25:56.000 You've got to let God change your nature. 00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:02.759 You ever heard somebody say, or maybe the words have escaped your lips, that's just how God made me. 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:04.839 No. 00:26:05.400 --> 00:26:06.759 Don't blame that on God. 00:26:06.759 --> 00:26:08.579 God, that's what sin has done to you. 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:12.599 That's what this broken world has manifested itself in your life. 00:26:12.839 --> 00:26:14.879 That is your sin nature. 00:26:15.420 --> 00:26:16.799 God made you perfectly. 00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:23.639 And he wants to restore you through his spirit to have a big role in his kingdom. 00:26:24.879 --> 00:26:26.299 Building his kingdom here. 00:26:26.299 --> 00:26:29.339 That means you've got to let him change you. 00:26:29.819 --> 00:26:31.779 That means you've got to let him make you nice. 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:36.599 It means you've got to let him make you care about people you don't naturally care about. 00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:40.200 They want to help people you don't naturally want to help. 00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:42.720 Because it's like, man, I don't have any extra right now. 00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:45.740 I can't go buy that guy asking for money a burger. 00:26:46.700 --> 00:26:47.539 Come on now. 00:26:48.019 --> 00:26:49.559 I can't go fill up their gas. 00:26:49.620 --> 00:26:51.420 It's all I can do to put gas in my own car. 00:26:52.900 --> 00:26:57.680 But you let God change you and you trust him to take care of you. 00:26:58.940 --> 00:27:00.720 And then you point those people to Jesus. 00:27:01.559 --> 00:27:03.740 Say, listen, I can't fix everything in your life. 00:27:03.740 --> 00:27:07.160 But I'll do whatever I can for you right now. 00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:10.920 And I want to introduce you to someone who's a good father. 00:27:11.339 --> 00:27:12.660 Who will provide for you. 00:27:12.900 --> 00:27:13.900 He will take care of you. 00:27:14.819 --> 00:27:15.920 That's what we're called to do. 00:27:16.200 --> 00:27:17.400 We're not called to look away. 00:27:17.980 --> 00:27:18.420 Number two. 00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:21.940 Looking through the eyes of Jesus means being loved. 00:27:22.980 --> 00:27:25.339 I'm sorry, being moved by the multitudes. 00:27:26.359 --> 00:27:31.319 Looking through the eyes of Jesus means being moved by the multitudes. 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:33.599 Before we get there, can I back up? 00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:34.519 I want to give you this quote. 00:27:36.099 --> 00:27:38.799 One of my favorite Christian writers is a man named Tom Wright. 00:27:38.939 --> 00:27:39.740 He goes by N. 00:27:39.799 --> 00:27:40.899 His initials N.T. 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:41.779 N.T. Wright. 00:27:42.839 --> 00:27:47.659 And there's nobody in this world that I agree with 100% of the time, starting with myself. 00:27:47.759 --> 00:27:49.579 I don't agree with myself 100% of the time. 00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:52.599 I agree with myself a lot, though. 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:56.740 I'm sure you all agree with me most of the time, right? 00:27:59.259 --> 00:28:03.039 But I do agree with N.T. Wright quite a bit in his writing. 00:28:03.039 --> 00:28:04.180 And I want to share this with you. 00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:04.759 This quote. 00:28:05.399 --> 00:28:10.899 The line between justice and injustice, between things being right and things not being right, 00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:14.299 can't be drawn between us and them. 00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:15.920 Now, it is, right? 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:19.759 In any issue out there, it's always us versus them. 00:28:20.299 --> 00:28:24.579 Whichever us or them you happen to line up with, that's how lines are drawn. 00:28:25.460 --> 00:28:28.639 N.T. Wright is saying, as a Jesus follower, that can't be how it is. 00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:34.100 The line between justice and injustice, it's not an us versus them thing. 00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:38.320 He says, instead, it runs right down through the middle of each one of us. 00:28:38.820 --> 00:28:39.340 Why? 00:28:40.980 --> 00:28:46.020 Because this world is so fallen, this world is so broken, none of us are right anymore. 00:28:46.740 --> 00:28:47.720 We're all wrong. 00:28:48.820 --> 00:28:49.640 We're all wrong. 00:28:49.880 --> 00:28:51.640 And God's trying to show us that. 00:28:51.640 --> 00:28:54.920 There's not much difference between us and the animals. 00:28:55.740 --> 00:29:02.120 The difference is, God gave us a soul, and the Holy Spirit can change that soul. 00:29:03.840 --> 00:29:06.100 And so he has to change you. 00:29:07.020 --> 00:29:08.259 What does he mean by this? 00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:10.560 When he says it runs right down the middle of each one of us. 00:29:10.980 --> 00:29:12.420 He goes on to explain it. 00:29:12.420 --> 00:29:22.759 The conviction of the Christian faith is that the one true God revealed in and through Jesus has come to sort things out in this present world. 00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:29.140 But what's more is he's promised to come again to make all things right in the end. 00:29:29.140 --> 00:29:35.259 However, the point for us is not to wait patiently until we escape. 00:29:36.160 --> 00:29:43.040 Escape from this world and escape from all the brutalities, the inequities, the corruption caused by those who oppress and dominate others. 00:29:43.580 --> 00:29:46.800 Instead, the God of justice calls his followers. 00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:48.560 That's you and me. 00:29:49.100 --> 00:29:52.440 Because I'm taking you, most of you I know have identified as Jesus followers. 00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:54.180 If you haven't, that's okay. 00:29:54.280 --> 00:29:55.320 Hang out with us long enough. 00:29:55.440 --> 00:29:56.540 You might make that decision. 00:29:56.539 --> 00:30:00.819 But I'm taking you at your word that you're a Jesus follower. 00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:06.899 So it said, what it means for us is God has called us to be the justice bringers right now. 00:30:07.700 --> 00:30:14.960 What we find throughout John's gospel, read the book of John, is the putting right of humans. 00:30:16.099 --> 00:30:18.099 Sorting out the mess that humans are in. 00:30:19.859 --> 00:30:24.200 And the invitation to join the ongoing project of Jesus. 00:30:24.200 --> 00:30:29.840 Jesus calls us to be bringers of God's justice by following him. 00:30:30.740 --> 00:30:38.819 John 20, 21, he said, as the father sent me, right after he raised from the dead, right after he performed the greatest miracle this world has ever seen. 00:30:39.140 --> 00:30:40.400 Jesus coming back to life. 00:30:41.580 --> 00:30:46.019 He said, now, as the father has sent me, so I am sending you. 00:30:46.019 --> 00:30:58.099 By the spirit, those who follow Jesus are commissioned and equipped and sent out to be people who promote God's new creation. 00:30:59.119 --> 00:31:00.099 Justice people. 00:31:01.220 --> 00:31:02.180 Hope-giving people. 00:31:03.319 --> 00:31:05.839 To places where injustice still reigns. 00:31:06.299 --> 00:31:06.980 And that's everywhere. 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:10.200 So this leads us to truth number two. 00:31:10.859 --> 00:31:14.619 Looking through the eyes of Jesus means being moved by the multitude. 00:31:14.619 --> 00:31:16.259 You can't just see them. 00:31:17.759 --> 00:31:20.419 You then have to be moved to help. 00:31:21.419 --> 00:31:22.799 First, you have to notice. 00:31:23.099 --> 00:31:24.039 You can't just ignore. 00:31:25.679 --> 00:31:29.779 But then the spirit of God has to move you to step into it. 00:31:31.159 --> 00:31:32.899 Seeing clearly is the first step. 00:31:32.979 --> 00:31:38.219 If we stop there, we run the risk of becoming observers and never servants. 00:31:39.179 --> 00:31:41.299 That's why we don't just look above the sun. 00:31:41.299 --> 00:31:44.519 We learn to look through the eyes of Jesus. 00:31:44.859 --> 00:31:57.200 Matthew tells us in chapter 9 and verse 36, when he saw the crowds, Jesus, when he saw the crowds, Jesus had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. 00:31:57.559 --> 00:32:00.839 The Greek word, by the way, reminder, the New Testament wasn't written in English. 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:02.279 It was written in Greek originally. 00:32:02.279 --> 00:32:09.299 And so the Greek word that has that word harassed there, the translation in English, it could also be translated confused. 00:32:09.500 --> 00:32:12.519 But either way you look at it, harassed or confused. 00:32:14.259 --> 00:32:15.819 They didn't know what was going on. 00:32:15.920 --> 00:32:24.920 They were confused, harassed, tormented, led astray by a justice system, a religious justice system, by the way. 00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:30.180 Rome was less oppressive in some ways than their own religion was. 00:32:33.180 --> 00:32:34.360 That's who Jesus saw. 00:32:35.019 --> 00:32:36.259 People are harassed. 00:32:36.440 --> 00:32:37.160 They're helpless. 00:32:37.380 --> 00:32:37.960 They're confused. 00:32:38.380 --> 00:32:39.480 They don't know what's right. 00:32:39.560 --> 00:32:40.380 They don't know what's wrong. 00:32:40.620 --> 00:32:41.440 You turn on the news. 00:32:41.560 --> 00:32:43.400 You see the stuff going on at the border. 00:32:43.500 --> 00:32:44.900 You see the stuff going on in Minnesota. 00:32:45.200 --> 00:32:46.720 You see, just pick a year. 00:32:46.860 --> 00:32:47.360 Pick a year. 00:32:47.740 --> 00:32:48.660 Pick a time of year. 00:32:49.620 --> 00:32:50.279 Turn on the news. 00:32:50.279 --> 00:32:57.639 There'll be all kinds of issues going on that are dominating the talk radio waves and the talk shows on TV. 00:32:57.819 --> 00:32:58.960 And everybody's got an opinion. 00:32:59.079 --> 00:33:00.539 And everybody says, here's who's right. 00:33:00.619 --> 00:33:01.339 Here's who's wrong. 00:33:01.899 --> 00:33:03.240 They're all confused. 00:33:05.859 --> 00:33:10.819 Justice will never prevail on this earth till God makes it new again. 00:33:11.099 --> 00:33:12.680 Till God restores it all. 00:33:13.319 --> 00:33:14.639 And Jesus sees this. 00:33:15.500 --> 00:33:17.359 That's why the truth runs down the middle. 00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:22.219 Jesus says, I came to heal all of you who are broken. 00:33:23.959 --> 00:33:26.299 And I came to use my people to do it. 00:33:27.479 --> 00:33:28.699 They're sheep without a shepherd. 00:33:29.740 --> 00:33:31.500 Guess who the shepherds are supposed to be? 00:33:32.719 --> 00:33:33.159 Us. 00:33:34.659 --> 00:33:35.979 Jesus is the good shepherd. 00:33:37.079 --> 00:33:39.539 And then he calls you to shepherd somebody else. 00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:43.159 Some he calls to be shepherds of a church. 00:33:43.160 --> 00:33:50.140 And that's who we give this term pastor to, which comes from the idea of shepherding sheep. 00:33:51.540 --> 00:33:54.420 Some he calls to be shepherds of families, parents. 00:33:55.720 --> 00:33:59.040 Some he calls to be shepherds of classes, teachers. 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:02.600 Whether it's in the school system, whether it's in Sunday school. 00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:05.640 Some he calls to shepherd a life group. 00:34:06.180 --> 00:34:06.980 We've got the Canadiens. 00:34:07.060 --> 00:34:07.980 We've got Wade. 00:34:08.059 --> 00:34:08.599 We've got Penny. 00:34:08.700 --> 00:34:09.300 We've got others. 00:34:09.300 --> 00:34:14.280 Because God shepherds through his people. 00:34:15.680 --> 00:34:17.600 The sheep need a shepherd. 00:34:17.780 --> 00:34:19.180 Otherwise, they're harassed. 00:34:19.340 --> 00:34:20.039 They're helpless. 00:34:20.460 --> 00:34:21.340 They're confused. 00:34:23.039 --> 00:34:27.780 And then over in Zechariah chapter 7, the prophet Zechariah speaks of the heart of Jesus. 00:34:28.460 --> 00:34:32.000 When he writes in Zechariah 7.10, do not oppress the widow. 00:34:33.039 --> 00:34:34.320 Don't oppress the fatherless. 00:34:34.320 --> 00:34:35.740 The sojourner. 00:34:36.420 --> 00:34:38.900 One who's traveling from their homeland away. 00:34:39.900 --> 00:34:40.980 You could say refugees. 00:34:41.840 --> 00:34:42.340 The poor. 00:34:43.320 --> 00:34:46.640 Let none of you devise evil against another in your heart. 00:34:47.400 --> 00:34:49.480 Hey, we can grab onto that last part, right? 00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:50.780 Well, yeah, that's right. 00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:55.280 I shouldn't go out and make up evil plans against somebody else in my heart. 00:34:55.360 --> 00:34:57.160 But take it in the context of what he's saying. 00:34:58.519 --> 00:35:01.780 Don't oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, the poor. 00:35:01.780 --> 00:35:04.240 How do you oppress those people? 00:35:05.400 --> 00:35:07.320 Number one, by never helping them. 00:35:07.320 --> 00:35:13.000 And then often you can take it a step further by hurting them. 00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:18.559 And sometimes we see systems stacked against these people. 00:35:18.559 --> 00:35:26.940 The children of God should never, never be guilty of that. 00:35:27.559 --> 00:35:28.820 We should be different. 00:35:28.820 --> 00:35:32.340 It shouldn't come down to politics for us. 00:35:33.120 --> 00:35:35.440 It should come down to these are people. 00:35:35.860 --> 00:35:37.740 These are image bearers of God. 00:35:38.220 --> 00:35:41.180 And we're going to do everything we can to show compassion to them. 00:35:41.179 --> 00:35:45.359 Even though they might be wrong, we remember they're confused. 00:35:45.919 --> 00:35:47.359 We remember they're helpless. 00:35:47.919 --> 00:35:49.859 We remember they're sheep without a shepherd. 00:35:50.179 --> 00:35:52.039 I'm going to go be a shepherd for somebody. 00:35:53.419 --> 00:35:57.440 And I'm going to pray that God would send shepherds to those sheep who need them. 00:35:58.819 --> 00:36:01.579 Ecclesiastes helps us see reality clearly. 00:36:01.579 --> 00:36:07.440 But then Jesus shows us how to respond to that reality rightly. 00:36:07.880 --> 00:36:08.819 That's the shift. 00:36:09.099 --> 00:36:10.699 We don't explain suffering away. 00:36:11.279 --> 00:36:14.000 We don't wait until everything makes sense in our minds. 00:36:15.019 --> 00:36:20.360 We let what breaks God's heart begin to shape our heart. 00:36:21.840 --> 00:36:24.940 And when your heart changes, what follows after that? 00:36:25.539 --> 00:36:28.019 When your heart changes, what else changes? 00:36:28.019 --> 00:36:31.380 Think about it. 00:36:32.619 --> 00:36:35.659 When your heart changes, what follows next in your life? 00:36:37.420 --> 00:36:38.320 Your actions. 00:36:40.039 --> 00:36:41.039 Your relationships. 00:36:42.039 --> 00:36:44.400 It starts affecting what you do. 00:36:45.759 --> 00:36:48.099 Romans 12, 2, we were talking about it in our class this morning. 00:36:48.699 --> 00:36:50.860 God changes the way we think. 00:36:51.119 --> 00:36:54.579 When he changes the way we think, then everything else starts to change. 00:36:55.039 --> 00:36:56.900 So this leaves us with this idea. 00:36:56.900 --> 00:37:00.300 Seeing like Jesus always leads to compassion. 00:37:01.500 --> 00:37:10.460 100% of the time, when we see through the eyes of Jesus, it will result in compassion in us. 00:37:12.260 --> 00:37:15.440 It doesn't always mean we're going to go give people what they're asking for. 00:37:16.700 --> 00:37:17.700 They're confused. 00:37:18.360 --> 00:37:20.079 They don't always ask for the right thing. 00:37:20.079 --> 00:37:28.380 We can't meet every single request that comes through this church and we refer it to our benevolence committee. 00:37:28.579 --> 00:37:30.199 Or, you know, people ask for help all the time. 00:37:30.360 --> 00:37:32.739 We can't give everyone what they're asking for. 00:37:33.539 --> 00:37:34.880 Sometimes it wouldn't help them. 00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:36.779 Sometimes we truly don't have it to give. 00:37:36.780 --> 00:37:41.280 But what we can do is have compassion on them. 00:37:42.180 --> 00:37:45.040 And that will lead us to do something. 00:37:45.620 --> 00:37:46.560 It will lead us to pray. 00:37:47.160 --> 00:37:49.620 It will lead us to refer them to wherever they can find help. 00:37:50.180 --> 00:37:55.080 It will lead us to do what we can because we see them truly not as an inconvenience, 00:37:55.079 --> 00:38:00.639 not as an irritation, but we see them like Jesus does and we care. 00:38:01.500 --> 00:38:02.340 And we have compassion. 00:38:03.219 --> 00:38:04.279 That's what we've got to do. 00:38:04.539 --> 00:38:05.960 That's what I've got to get better at. 00:38:06.579 --> 00:38:10.219 God's brought me a long way from the guy who's like, 00:38:10.299 --> 00:38:11.579 man, I don't care about the rest of y'all. 00:38:11.679 --> 00:38:12.840 I'm taking care of me and mine. 00:38:14.500 --> 00:38:15.920 God's changed me a ton. 00:38:16.920 --> 00:38:17.860 He can change you too. 00:38:19.019 --> 00:38:19.799 He's got to. 00:38:19.800 --> 00:38:22.820 The church has to be different. 00:38:24.140 --> 00:38:27.840 So here's an application for us. 00:38:28.920 --> 00:38:36.460 A church that prioritizes the kingdom of God moves toward and welcomes the outsider, 00:38:37.260 --> 00:38:39.420 the overlooked, and the oppressed. 00:38:41.400 --> 00:38:44.500 So let's forget about national news for a minute, okay? 00:38:45.019 --> 00:38:47.900 Let's bring it down here to Henrietta, Texas in Clay County. 00:38:49.800 --> 00:38:51.980 Who is the outsider? 00:38:53.820 --> 00:38:57.120 Who's the outsider who feels like they don't fit in in First Baptist Church? 00:38:58.560 --> 00:39:03.720 Y'all, I've heard many testimonies of people who eventually walked through these doors, 00:39:03.960 --> 00:39:06.280 but they thought they didn't fit in here. 00:39:07.060 --> 00:39:08.380 They weren't wealthy enough. 00:39:08.440 --> 00:39:09.720 They didn't have their life all together. 00:39:09.820 --> 00:39:11.019 They were too sinful. 00:39:11.860 --> 00:39:13.380 They felt like they were outsiders. 00:39:14.400 --> 00:39:16.640 How can we move toward them? 00:39:16.639 --> 00:39:19.440 How can we welcome them to say, no, no, no. 00:39:20.319 --> 00:39:24.219 This church cares about you because Jesus cares about you. 00:39:25.719 --> 00:39:27.379 How can, who is the overlooked? 00:39:28.679 --> 00:39:32.179 Who's the people that we just walk past every day and we don't think about them a second time? 00:39:32.940 --> 00:39:34.639 God cares about those people. 00:39:35.219 --> 00:39:36.460 And who are the oppressed? 00:39:37.199 --> 00:39:39.139 Who is our system stacked against? 00:39:41.099 --> 00:39:41.779 Who's hurting? 00:39:41.780 --> 00:39:44.760 Talk to the people who know. 00:39:45.360 --> 00:39:46.860 Talk to our local government officials. 00:39:47.060 --> 00:39:49.740 Talk to Ms. Clark and those in the school system. 00:39:50.900 --> 00:39:52.360 They know who the oppressed are. 00:39:54.360 --> 00:39:56.019 Talk to our sheriff's department. 00:39:56.900 --> 00:39:58.040 They know who the oppressed are. 00:39:59.120 --> 00:40:00.780 They know who the people who are hurting, 00:40:01.460 --> 00:40:04.380 who don't seem to have a chance in life to really succeed. 00:40:04.380 --> 00:40:08.300 How can we go show compassion to those people? 00:40:09.340 --> 00:40:14.559 How can we let Jesus step into their life and put it on a completely different track than it's been on? 00:40:15.840 --> 00:40:18.160 That's what the church is here to do. 00:40:18.940 --> 00:40:20.960 We're not here to have a nice social club. 00:40:21.980 --> 00:40:23.480 We love being around each other. 00:40:23.599 --> 00:40:24.140 We need that. 00:40:24.220 --> 00:40:29.099 We need the community of God's people getting together and feeding off each other and building each other up. 00:40:29.500 --> 00:40:30.280 Life is hard. 00:40:30.280 --> 00:40:34.039 The devil is always throwing attacks at us because he doesn't want us to do those things. 00:40:34.500 --> 00:40:37.619 He wants us to forget about the outsider, the overlooked, and the oppressed. 00:40:37.840 --> 00:40:40.019 He doesn't care about showing compassion to anybody. 00:40:40.220 --> 00:40:44.300 So the church has to do that and say, nope, that's exactly what we're going to do. 00:40:44.519 --> 00:40:47.420 We're going to step into the gap that no one else is standing in. 00:40:48.340 --> 00:40:50.920 Ecclesiastes does not rush us past injustice. 00:40:51.240 --> 00:40:57.720 It makes us stop and wait and look at it and stare at it and say, what can I do? 00:40:58.340 --> 00:41:00.519 What can God do through me? 00:41:00.900 --> 00:41:03.840 Jesus doesn't stand far away from injustice. 00:41:03.840 --> 00:41:06.820 He moves toward it and makes a difference there. 00:41:07.079 --> 00:41:10.940 And he can do it in your life and he can do it through you in someone else's life. 00:41:11.019 --> 00:41:16.820 So together they can teach us to see clearly, to feel deeply, to move compassionately. 00:41:17.320 --> 00:41:18.620 So what do we do, church? 00:41:19.340 --> 00:41:24.920 When we see suffering, when we see injustice, we don't have an option. 00:41:24.920 --> 00:41:29.240 If we're going to move toward Jesus, remember our theme for 2026? 00:41:29.680 --> 00:41:31.059 It's not a year of perfection. 00:41:31.300 --> 00:41:33.240 It's a year of direction. 00:41:33.519 --> 00:41:34.059 Look, y'all knew. 00:41:34.519 --> 00:41:35.119 Let's say it again. 00:41:35.180 --> 00:41:36.180 It's not a year of perfection. 00:41:36.400 --> 00:41:38.139 It's a year of direction. 00:41:38.139 --> 00:41:46.579 If we're going to obey, then this is directional obedience to show compassion like Jesus does in the face of injustice. 00:41:47.179 --> 00:41:47.859 So what do we do? 00:41:47.920 --> 00:41:48.940 We don't turn a blind eye. 00:41:49.539 --> 00:41:51.400 We don't feel obligated to take a side. 00:41:51.940 --> 00:41:53.799 We cry out to the God who sees. 00:41:53.800 --> 00:41:57.740 It's the same answer to the question we've been asking every week. 00:41:58.140 --> 00:41:59.300 How do we live under the sun? 00:42:00.019 --> 00:42:01.160 We look above the sun. 00:42:01.539 --> 00:42:02.180 One more time. 00:42:02.240 --> 00:42:03.440 How do we live under the sun? 00:42:03.660 --> 00:42:05.400 We look above the sun. 00:42:05.720 --> 00:42:07.060 Would you bow your heads with me right now? 00:42:08.600 --> 00:42:12.700 God, let us lift the eyes of our hearts right toward you right now. 00:42:15.760 --> 00:42:18.960 In the quiet of this moment, I pray that you would convict us. 00:42:20.900 --> 00:42:22.780 Show us where we have turned a blind eye. 00:42:23.800 --> 00:42:33.019 Show us where we have felt obligated to choose a side and figure out who's right and who's wrong and campaign against those who are wrong. 00:42:34.100 --> 00:42:35.060 Get online. 00:42:35.240 --> 00:42:35.980 Say our peace. 00:42:37.080 --> 00:42:38.480 Whatever our issue is. 00:42:40.060 --> 00:42:41.320 Maybe we've just ignored. 00:42:41.680 --> 00:42:43.019 Maybe we've just turned a blind eye. 00:42:44.920 --> 00:42:47.880 God, let us lift our eyes toward the heavens and above them. 00:42:48.740 --> 00:42:51.080 Let us see the one who sees everything. 00:42:52.080 --> 00:42:53.220 You see the hurting. 00:42:53.219 --> 00:42:54.199 You see the oppressed. 00:42:54.319 --> 00:42:55.019 You see the poor. 00:42:55.379 --> 00:42:57.279 You see the ones who are struggling to pay their bills. 00:42:57.419 --> 00:42:59.519 You see the ones who are struggling to put food on their table. 00:42:59.939 --> 00:43:03.879 You see the ones who are facing medical problems that there's no answer to. 00:43:04.399 --> 00:43:06.759 You see the ones crippled by fear and anxiety. 00:43:07.359 --> 00:43:13.359 You see the ones who, maybe because of the color of their skin or their social status, the system is stacked against them. 00:43:13.619 --> 00:43:14.899 You see all of it, God. 00:43:14.900 --> 00:43:22.539 You see the product of this broken, wicked world who for generations has oppressed each other, has hurt each other. 00:43:22.539 --> 00:43:25.699 And you're the answer, God. 00:43:25.699 --> 00:43:31.799 God, we need to try to vote the best way we can according to what you value. 00:43:31.800 --> 00:43:40.740 We need to try to make a difference in our communities politically when we can according to what you instruct us to do. 00:43:41.180 --> 00:43:48.500 But most of all, God, we've got to turn to you and ask you for help and then be willing to let you inconvenience us to go help somebody. 00:43:48.500 --> 00:43:54.880 More than legislation will ever do, your people can do. 00:43:55.880 --> 00:44:03.739 In small towns like Henrietta and beyond, the outlying areas, you can do so much. 00:44:05.260 --> 00:44:09.619 A group of people like this, there's no limit to what you can accomplish. 00:44:12.320 --> 00:44:13.679 Open up our hearts to it. 00:44:13.679 --> 00:44:18.759 But don't let us be hardened against you or against those who need us. 00:44:21.279 --> 00:44:22.659 Let us see who you see. 00:44:24.639 --> 00:44:34.219 In the stillness of this moment, before we dismiss, would you look inwardly and ask yourself, 00:44:35.219 --> 00:44:38.339 what am I doing about injustice? 00:44:40.480 --> 00:44:41.899 I know life isn't fair. 00:44:43.679 --> 00:44:48.500 But I have faith that God cares anyway. 00:44:52.099 --> 00:44:54.879 He cares about people I maybe don't naturally care about. 00:44:56.980 --> 00:44:59.500 He can use me to change them. 00:45:01.039 --> 00:45:05.739 You know, when you go help somebody, that gives you the best opportunity 00:45:05.739 --> 00:45:10.199 to point them to the one who can help them the most. 00:45:10.199 --> 00:45:16.359 It's been said a million times. 00:45:17.699 --> 00:45:20.319 People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. 00:45:20.320 --> 00:45:29.400 I'll ask this question before we dismiss. 00:45:30.480 --> 00:45:33.840 If there's someone here who says, maybe I've had a different picture of God. 00:45:34.380 --> 00:45:38.000 Maybe I haven't always seen him as the God who cares, the God who has compassion. 00:45:39.500 --> 00:45:40.780 Or maybe it's something else. 00:45:40.840 --> 00:45:43.400 But whatever it is, I've never placed my faith in Jesus. 00:45:43.400 --> 00:45:48.180 But the Jesus I heard about today, I want to follow him. 00:45:49.660 --> 00:45:51.460 I believe he died on the cross for me. 00:45:51.559 --> 00:45:52.820 I believe he rose from the dead. 00:45:53.320 --> 00:45:57.840 I want to put my faith in him to forgive me and make me a child of God. 00:45:59.139 --> 00:46:01.240 If that's you right now, would you slip your hand up? 00:46:01.559 --> 00:46:02.940 I'd love to talk with you in a moment. 00:46:02.940 --> 00:46:06.179 Thank you. 00:46:08.900 --> 00:46:10.179 I'll follow up with this question. 00:46:10.280 --> 00:46:13.559 If there's something that you need prayer for, would you slip your hand up now? 00:46:15.400 --> 00:46:16.340 Anything at all? 00:46:16.440 --> 00:46:16.860 Thank you. 00:46:17.139 --> 00:46:17.519 Thank you. 00:46:18.679 --> 00:46:21.920 God, you see the hands, but you know what's going on in each heart. 00:46:21.920 --> 00:46:24.480 I pray that you would speak clearly. 00:46:25.180 --> 00:46:34.280 You would remind them of your mercy, your compassion, and use us as vessels of mercy and compassion to those around us. 00:46:34.760 --> 00:46:35.860 It's in Jesus' name we pray. 00:46:36.360 --> 00:46:36.599 Amen.