WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.100 Let's bow our heads in prayer for a moment. 00:00:05.419 --> 00:00:13.380 Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would gently but powerfully move in us this morning, 00:00:13.780 --> 00:00:15.660 in the very center of who we are. 00:00:16.740 --> 00:00:23.420 And Father, one of the things we ask is that you would awaken, that you would inflame the 00:00:23.420 --> 00:00:29.019 true longings and yearnings that we have within us, the longings and yearnings to know you 00:00:29.019 --> 00:00:31.699 and to be known by you, to be in your presence. 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:38.579 Father, please awaken and inflame these yearnings and desires in us. 00:00:39.019 --> 00:00:42.340 And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. 00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:43.000 Amen. 00:00:43.719 --> 00:00:44.460 Please be seated. 00:00:46.100 --> 00:00:51.679 So often when I tell you stories about what happens at coffee shops or other places, I 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:56.500 mix up a whole pile of the details just in case one of the people who've been talking 00:00:56.500 --> 00:00:58.799 to me listens and they wouldn't necessarily know that it was them. 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:01.179 But today I'm going to do something a little bit different. 00:01:02.259 --> 00:01:09.560 So yesterday I go into my local coffee shop in the morning, as I usually do on a Saturday 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:11.299 to do a bit of work on my sermon. 00:01:12.039 --> 00:01:18.280 And as soon as I come in, one of the guys that's a friend of mine is there and he says, 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:19.879 oh, I really wanted to talk to you about something. 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:21.579 And he buys me a coffee. 00:01:22.199 --> 00:01:23.959 And we go off to the side. 00:01:24.459 --> 00:01:32.140 And he says, George, what about that Kenyan death cult? 00:01:33.099 --> 00:01:34.920 That's a Christian thing, isn't it? 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:41.120 Like, what do you think about all those Christians out there in Kenya starving themselves to death? 00:01:41.479 --> 00:01:44.699 Now, of course, I've been thinking deeply about this on my way over there. 00:01:44.700 --> 00:01:45.700 No, I'm just joking. 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:50.439 So just anyway, a little bit of a shout out to my friend if you happen to be watching either 00:01:50.439 --> 00:01:51.640 now or downstream. 00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:53.100 Thank you for being my friend. 00:01:53.240 --> 00:01:54.719 Thank you for asking great questions. 00:01:55.240 --> 00:01:58.120 Thank you for buying me coffee as well. 00:01:58.120 --> 00:02:02.520 And so I gave him a bit of an answer. 00:02:03.320 --> 00:02:05.460 And the conversation moved in different ways. 00:02:05.540 --> 00:02:06.980 We talked for 10 or 15 minutes. 00:02:07.340 --> 00:02:13.680 And then as soon as he left, I realized that the text that we're going to look at in Ezra 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:15.520 today talks directly. 00:02:15.580 --> 00:02:20.040 Like, if he had asked me to show him in the Bible where those two or the three types of 00:02:20.040 --> 00:02:24.659 things I basically said to him, I realized afterwards I could have shown them in Ezra. 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:32.819 How Ezra responds to a Christian critique of a Kenyan death cult that claims to be Christian. 00:02:33.579 --> 00:02:35.819 So we're going to look at it. 00:02:35.900 --> 00:02:37.340 I encourage you to get your Bibles. 00:02:37.859 --> 00:02:40.340 We're going to be looking at Ezra chapter 7 and 8. 00:02:40.939 --> 00:02:43.919 And just so you know, it's 68 verses long. 00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:48.099 And that's way too many verses for me to read all of them in the text. 00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:53.960 So basically, chapter 7 and 8 tells you one long story and just a little bit of a geeky 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:55.900 type of moment to place what's happening. 00:02:56.659 --> 00:02:59.280 Here's the big story of Ezra and Nehemiah. 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:03.020 Like, every week we can look at it and you can see all the trees and not notice that there's 00:03:03.020 --> 00:03:03.500 a forest. 00:03:04.100 --> 00:03:11.040 But in chapters 1 to 6, it tells the story of this astounding thing that happens that 00:03:11.040 --> 00:03:12.340 nobody would have predicted. 00:03:12.819 --> 00:03:15.000 The Babylonian Empire gets defeated. 00:03:15.260 --> 00:03:18.040 It's replaced by the mighty Persian Empire. 00:03:18.039 --> 00:03:28.759 And Cyrus, the pagan emperor of this mighty empire, he says, I would like Jewish people 00:03:28.759 --> 00:03:31.060 to go back and build the temple. 00:03:31.859 --> 00:03:33.259 Well, good grief. 00:03:33.419 --> 00:03:34.579 Who saw that coming? 00:03:35.099 --> 00:03:36.599 Like, how on earth did that happen? 00:03:37.939 --> 00:03:39.819 So Cyrus declares this. 00:03:39.819 --> 00:03:43.799 And then if you read chapters 1 to 6, you know, they go back. 00:03:43.859 --> 00:03:45.239 A whole group of them go back. 00:03:45.340 --> 00:03:47.099 Not all of them, but a whole group of them go back. 00:03:47.259 --> 00:03:53.319 The Jewish people had been taken out of their homeland like 60, 50, 60 years earlier. 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:59.560 And they've settled in the center of Babylon and Persia primarily. 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:01.120 They have a new life there. 00:04:02.019 --> 00:04:06.840 You know, 60 some odd years after, or 50 some odd years, that's like a long time. 00:04:07.180 --> 00:04:08.819 Hardly anybody would even remember. 00:04:09.500 --> 00:04:12.280 Like, I mean, just, I'm not going to ask for a show of hands, but if I was to, if we 00:04:12.280 --> 00:04:14.740 were to talk about something, how many of us were even alive 50 years ago? 00:04:14.799 --> 00:04:15.379 Well, I was. 00:04:15.419 --> 00:04:16.219 I'll put my hand up. 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:18.079 But many of you weren't even alive 50 years ago. 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:23.500 Like, why on earth would you want to make this journey to a place of rubbles that you've 00:04:23.500 --> 00:04:24.279 never heard of? 00:04:24.819 --> 00:04:29.099 And it's a Persian emperor who says, let's do it. 00:04:29.219 --> 00:04:31.000 And not only does he say, let's do it. 00:04:31.019 --> 00:04:34.919 He says, by the way, here's a whole pile of stuff from your temple that you can use. 00:04:35.159 --> 00:04:36.500 Here's a whole pile of money. 00:04:36.860 --> 00:04:40.419 And here's a whole pile of instructions for people to respect you. 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:46.019 And then what happens in the rest of chapters 1 to 6 is there's all this pushback from the 00:04:46.019 --> 00:04:48.919 locals who hate them, hate the Jewish people. 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:53.740 And it ends up, they rebuild the altar so they can worship, but they can't actually build 00:04:53.740 --> 00:04:59.359 the temple because there's so much blowback and pushback and hatred and hating on them. 00:04:59.799 --> 00:05:05.139 And then, lo and behold, after the work stopped for 17 years, another Persian emperor by the 00:05:05.139 --> 00:05:08.079 name of Darius says, I want you to finish the temple. 00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:09.759 Who saw that coming? 00:05:11.719 --> 00:05:13.139 Like, who saw that coming? 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:15.079 I want you to finish the temple. 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:16.279 Well, here's the orders. 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:21.979 Tell all those haters to step down and get in line and let them build the temple. 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:23.099 And the temple's built. 00:05:24.339 --> 00:05:31.339 Now, chapters 7 to 10 takes place 57 years after the temple has been built and dedicated. 00:05:31.459 --> 00:05:33.259 57 or 58 years depends a little bit. 00:05:33.939 --> 00:05:35.579 Numbering is a bit loose back then. 00:05:35.659 --> 00:05:37.000 57, 58 years later. 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:42.439 So in terms of us, if you just think about it for a second, 57 years ago, that's 50, 00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:43.339 let's say 58 years. 00:05:43.339 --> 00:05:44.540 That's 1965. 00:05:45.819 --> 00:05:48.079 So it's as if the story's gone to 1965. 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:51.600 Once again, I don't know how many of you were even alive in 1965. 00:05:51.980 --> 00:05:53.079 Most of you weren't. 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:55.779 And now the story continues. 00:05:56.180 --> 00:05:58.740 And this story is even more astounding. 00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:01.319 And that's what's going to be told in 7 and 8 and then 9 and 10. 00:06:01.319 --> 00:06:09.959 Because all of a sudden, another Persian emperor named Artaxerxes, 57, 58 years later, says, 00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:17.379 I want that whole region around the temple, I want them to all live their lives by the Torah. 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:18.719 What? 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:20.879 Who saw that coming? 00:06:21.540 --> 00:06:23.000 Nobody saw that coming. 00:06:23.480 --> 00:06:29.600 A Persian emperor who's pagan says, I want everybody to live under the Jewish law who lives in that region. 00:06:30.339 --> 00:06:35.319 And he doesn't just sort of say it because he was in the bathroom one day and the idea popped into his head. 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:38.279 And then like a lot of us, we have ideas pop into our head in the bathroom. 00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:40.379 And 24 hours later, we forget about them. 00:06:40.379 --> 00:06:45.219 But no, if you go back and you're like this, chapter 7, verses 1 to 10 sort of gives you the big picture. 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:47.300 Then it fills in the details. 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:51.540 And it even gives you the letter because Artaxerxes, he puts money in the game. 00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:54.819 He picks this guy named Ezra. 00:06:55.699 --> 00:06:59.740 And by the way, in Ezra, you'll see in a moment, it says he does his cry. 00:07:00.339 --> 00:07:03.199 But actually, the literal translation is secretary. 00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:12.219 And what that means is it isn't like secretary when we think that like a big shot, you know, boss, she has a secretary to do her. 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:13.000 No, no, no, no, no. 00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:17.199 That's like the secretary of the exchequer in Britain. 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:20.939 It's like the homeland secretary in Britain. 00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:24.279 It's like the secretary of defense in the United States. 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:25.319 That's the secretary. 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:28.939 So this guy is like a high-level bureaucrat. 00:07:29.079 --> 00:07:30.219 He's also a priest. 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:31.800 He's also a scholar. 00:07:32.360 --> 00:07:41.420 And so this emperor says, good grief, you know, I think all the people in that region should live under the Jewish law. 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:44.079 So I'm going to send my secretary. 00:07:44.659 --> 00:07:45.740 He's going to go. 00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:49.620 And he's going to, and I'm going to give him a whole pile of gifts. 00:07:49.699 --> 00:07:51.039 I'm going to give him these three letters. 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:56.420 And these three letters say, here's all this money for Ezra to do this. 00:07:56.720 --> 00:08:01.040 And by the way, Ezra, all of the priests in the future aren't taxed. 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:03.080 Aren't taxed. 00:08:03.980 --> 00:08:09.100 And by the way, he gets to set, train everybody and set up the judges. 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:16.960 And so that as long as the basic law, my basic law is met, I want them all to live under the Jewish law. 00:08:17.140 --> 00:08:18.500 Who saw that coming? 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:23.279 How on earth does something like this remarkable happen? 00:08:23.779 --> 00:08:28.740 Three Persian emperors all going ahead and making decisions like this. 00:08:28.839 --> 00:08:30.839 Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes. 00:08:32.019 --> 00:08:35.899 And so chapter 7 and 8 is talking about this. 00:08:36.539 --> 00:08:39.360 And so now you're saying, okay, George, well, that's sort of interesting. 00:08:39.460 --> 00:08:41.919 But how on earth does this fit in with the Kenyan death cult? 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:46.399 And by the way, you know, when my friend asked this, he's too polite. 00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:48.639 But there's a, you know, there's a subtext to it. 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:51.559 And the subtext to it is this. 00:08:53.219 --> 00:08:55.799 You know, people who become Christians are kooky. 00:08:58.740 --> 00:09:04.419 And, you know, Christianity, from my point of view, often seems to be more on the side of death. 00:09:04.419 --> 00:09:11.360 And I'm sort of curious to see, George, how you argue Christianly that it's wrong. 00:09:11.839 --> 00:09:18.519 I can understand how if you listen to the view, Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy. 00:09:18.819 --> 00:09:22.659 You listen to the view or you listen to CNN or CBC. 00:09:22.860 --> 00:09:24.959 I could see that if you listen to them, you want to condemn it. 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:27.379 But if you just listen to your Bible, how are you going to speak to it? 00:09:28.379 --> 00:09:29.899 Well, let's look. 00:09:30.539 --> 00:09:32.059 And so we're going to, I'm just going to jump around. 00:09:32.139 --> 00:09:34.480 I've told you the basic story of chapter 7 and 8. 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:38.139 And part of that early thing, verse 6 of chapter 7, here's what it says. 00:09:38.200 --> 00:09:38.939 If you can put it up. 00:09:39.419 --> 00:09:41.019 Sometimes, I hope it's going to be on the screen. 00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:42.159 If not, that's fine. 00:09:42.220 --> 00:09:44.659 You can just listen to me or I read it from the Bible or have your own Bible. 00:09:45.139 --> 00:09:47.120 And so look what it says here in verse 6. 00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:50.179 This Ezra, it's given the long list of his lineage. 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:53.539 This Ezra went up from Babylonia. 00:09:53.860 --> 00:09:56.799 He was a scribe, skilled in the law of Moses. 00:09:57.379 --> 00:10:02.299 That the Lord, the God of Israel, had given and the king granted him all that he asked. 00:10:02.340 --> 00:10:02.860 That's Ezra. 00:10:02.980 --> 00:10:05.039 For the hand of the Lord his God was on him. 00:10:05.299 --> 00:10:06.600 We're going to look at that phrase in a moment. 00:10:06.980 --> 00:10:08.419 But notice this thing. 00:10:08.679 --> 00:10:11.539 Because you think, okay, that's weird, George. 00:10:11.639 --> 00:10:14.580 Like how on earth do you get anything to do about the Kenyan death cult from that? 00:10:14.659 --> 00:10:16.019 Look again at verse 6. 00:10:16.620 --> 00:10:19.159 Here's this statement about the scriptures. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:22.600 He was a scribe, skilled in the law of Moses. 00:10:23.179 --> 00:10:24.279 Okay, that's the law of Moses. 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:27.139 That the Lord had given. 00:10:28.699 --> 00:10:33.539 And it's this classic description of what Christians understand the Bible to be. 00:10:33.659 --> 00:10:35.759 And by the way, why do we understand the Bible to be this? 00:10:36.039 --> 00:10:38.299 That's because we learned it from Jesus. 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:41.600 And I'm not going to give you an argument for it. 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:46.680 Other than to say that I think it's a very reasonable thing to believe. 00:10:47.100 --> 00:10:51.519 That if Jesus predicted he was going to die by crucifixion and rise from the dead. 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:52.100 And he did. 00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:53.420 It vindicates him. 00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:56.360 Like that's a reasonable thing to believe. 00:10:56.460 --> 00:10:57.379 It vindicates him. 00:10:57.440 --> 00:10:58.740 And it vindicates what he said. 00:10:58.860 --> 00:11:01.120 And that's what he teaches about the Bible. 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:03.720 He teaches on one hand it's the words of a human being. 00:11:03.860 --> 00:11:07.200 But at the end of the day, it's words that God wanted to have done. 00:11:07.520 --> 00:11:09.080 And that's why it has authority. 00:11:09.259 --> 00:11:10.940 That's why we listen to it. 00:11:11.400 --> 00:11:12.360 And so here's the thing. 00:11:12.420 --> 00:11:14.400 If you could put up the first point, that would be very handy. 00:11:14.440 --> 00:11:15.280 I'm not sure if you have them. 00:11:15.300 --> 00:11:16.480 But if you could, that would be great. 00:11:16.820 --> 00:11:17.240 Here it is. 00:11:17.240 --> 00:11:25.300 The true God has revealed himself in an open, public way through his word written. 00:11:25.299 --> 00:11:27.819 Now, you see, here's the thing I said. 00:11:27.899 --> 00:11:33.479 First thing I said to them about the Kenyan death cult is I, and I said, I almost said 00:11:33.479 --> 00:11:35.120 my friend's name, but I'll say it's Bob. 00:11:35.240 --> 00:11:35.879 I say Bob. 00:11:36.219 --> 00:11:40.019 So the first thing you have to understand that what's going on here is a common human problem. 00:11:41.079 --> 00:11:44.339 It's a human problem that we see in lots of areas of life. 00:11:44.379 --> 00:11:48.039 And it's caused lots of heartache and turmoil throughout the world. 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:55.959 And I said, what it is, I said, there are people who come to believe that they know the future 00:11:55.959 --> 00:12:02.419 and that where the future is going is good and that we need to get with the program. 00:12:02.419 --> 00:12:06.559 And it's basically, some of them times they'll have a very religious thing that it came from 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:13.099 a law or that it came from, you know, it came from the Buddha or it came from Krishna or it 00:12:13.099 --> 00:12:17.419 came from the Bible or God of the Christians. 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:19.719 But it has a secular form as well. 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:25.259 Like Marxism, I'm going to upset some people here today, and I will. 00:12:25.439 --> 00:12:26.259 That's all I can say. 00:12:26.299 --> 00:12:27.639 I don't like upsetting people, but I will. 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:34.919 At its very heart, Marxism believes that the universe has downloaded into Marx where history 00:12:34.919 --> 00:12:37.919 is going and that it's a good thing that everybody should go. 00:12:38.179 --> 00:12:44.960 Well, one moment, February 15, 2020, nobody predicted the lockdowns for three years. 00:12:45.439 --> 00:12:49.279 Why does any human being think that they somehow know the future and that the future is good 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:50.120 and you have to do it? 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:55.179 Almost all progressive thought is the same type of thought as the Kenyan death cult. 00:12:55.179 --> 00:12:57.959 Not that it's going to cause deaths like that. 00:12:59.659 --> 00:13:05.599 But somehow or another, ordinary human beings think, whoa, the universe has told me how history 00:13:05.599 --> 00:13:06.299 is going to move. 00:13:06.339 --> 00:13:09.919 It's going to move in this direction, and we need to get with the program, and we need 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:10.479 to do that. 00:13:11.059 --> 00:13:11.459 What? 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:14.159 Well, that's what this guy thought. 00:13:14.239 --> 00:13:16.019 He thought he had a pipeline to God. 00:13:17.959 --> 00:13:21.099 And he suckered a whole pile of people into thinking about it. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:21.939 It's a human problem. 00:13:21.940 --> 00:13:23.860 But notice what has just been said. 00:13:23.940 --> 00:13:25.340 I don't know if that first point is up here. 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:28.840 Here's the thing which makes Christianity radically different. 00:13:30.360 --> 00:13:33.100 God's word written is open and public. 00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:35.480 It's not secret. 00:13:36.800 --> 00:13:40.900 I mean, when Matt was saying the reason we have the creed is that, in a sense, it's to 00:13:40.900 --> 00:13:41.780 hold me accountable. 00:13:41.940 --> 00:13:45.360 And it's to hold me accountable because you folks can look at the Bible and say, George, 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:48.160 you know, you said this and you said this, but look at the Bible. 00:13:48.280 --> 00:13:48.780 It says this. 00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:49.280 It says this. 00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:50.380 It doesn't say those things. 00:13:50.420 --> 00:13:51.460 It's an open truth. 00:13:51.460 --> 00:13:52.680 It's a public truth. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:54.820 Open to all. 00:13:55.460 --> 00:13:58.300 Anybody can go online and get a copy of the Bible. 00:13:58.420 --> 00:14:00.639 Anybody can go to a bookstore and get a copy of the Bible. 00:14:00.759 --> 00:14:01.220 It's open. 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:01.720 It's public. 00:14:01.820 --> 00:14:07.420 It's the complete opposite of a Gnostic, secret, private revelation about where things 00:14:07.420 --> 00:14:07.900 are going. 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:20.139 But I could see my friend thinking, aren't sort of Christians ones who just believe in faith, 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:20.799 not reason? 00:14:21.799 --> 00:14:27.559 And don't you, in a sense, if you want to be a Christian, sort of have to kiss your mind 00:14:27.559 --> 00:14:31.379 bye-bye or at least hold it in suspension for a period of time? 00:14:32.819 --> 00:14:34.519 And yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:14:34.620 --> 00:14:36.679 You know, you can say all that. 00:14:36.679 --> 00:14:41.339 And the fact of the matter is, if people say that, they've met Christians who act that way. 00:14:42.419 --> 00:14:46.079 There was a group of Christians that I was involved with about a year or so, two years 00:14:46.079 --> 00:14:47.239 after I became a Christian. 00:14:47.239 --> 00:14:50.500 And I was having severe intellectual doubts about the Christian faith. 00:14:50.899 --> 00:14:54.199 And when I tried to talk about it with them, they said, you just need to pray more. 00:14:54.200 --> 00:14:59.960 Well, okay, I always need to pray more. 00:15:00.780 --> 00:15:02.259 I mean, that's true. 00:15:03.700 --> 00:15:10.340 But I'd actually like an answer, like, in terms of reason or evidence as to why, you know, 00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:12.400 this doubt, how I can handle this doubt. 00:15:12.600 --> 00:15:13.879 So, I mean, there's something. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:19.120 But you see, when they say this, Christians who say this are often very, very well-meaning, 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:20.040 but they're wrong. 00:15:20.259 --> 00:15:21.560 They're not speaking as Christians. 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:26.179 Well, why, look at what comes up in verse 10, chapter 7, verse 10, if you could put 00:15:26.179 --> 00:15:26.459 it up. 00:15:26.939 --> 00:15:29.679 And this is the end of that part that Monique read earlier on. 00:15:30.500 --> 00:15:40.079 And it sort of here encapsulates the basic biblical message from Genesis 1 to the end of the book 00:15:40.079 --> 00:15:40.659 of Revelation. 00:15:41.199 --> 00:15:50.359 And it describes Ezra, verse 10, for Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:55.360 and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. 00:15:55.980 --> 00:15:57.039 Notice what it says. 00:15:57.659 --> 00:16:04.840 Ezra has set his heart to study God's word written and to do it. 00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:07.240 He's not studying it to find loopholes. 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:10.419 He's not studying it to make it look ridiculous. 00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:16.019 You know, anybody with an IQ above 60 can try to make things look ridiculous. 00:16:16.019 --> 00:16:21.639 Like, it's amazing how many, I've had so many conversations with people who, with a big, 00:16:21.779 --> 00:16:27.039 proud, self-satisfied smile, try to make something about the Bible or the Christian faith ridiculous. 00:16:27.199 --> 00:16:28.399 And they just look ridiculous. 00:16:28.860 --> 00:16:31.559 Like, it's easy to do that about anything. 00:16:31.720 --> 00:16:35.399 It doesn't take very much intelligence or very much thoughtfulness to do that. 00:16:35.399 --> 00:16:38.539 And it's very easy to be self-satisfied about it. 00:16:39.019 --> 00:16:43.059 And, in fact, actually, especially when it comes to things like the Bible, it's, in fact, 00:16:43.539 --> 00:16:46.159 sort of seen as a virtue to interrogate the text. 00:16:46.259 --> 00:16:50.939 And by interrogating the text, it means nitpicking over it to make it look like it's colonialist 00:16:50.939 --> 00:16:54.079 and oppressive and a whole pile of bad things. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:56.819 But, you know, what they actually don't do is actually listen to it. 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:03.019 They don't stop to think there must be some reason why this book is still being read 2,000 years later, 00:17:03.019 --> 00:17:07.559 where the words of my professor or the academic article or the newspaper article that I read 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:10.740 that's teaching me to do this, it'll be forgotten in five minutes. 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:14.839 Like, they never sort of stop and think about that. 00:17:16.139 --> 00:17:18.599 And so here's the point. 00:17:18.639 --> 00:17:20.119 If you could put it up, that would be great. 00:17:20.259 --> 00:17:24.359 The true God desires, okay? 00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:27.500 It's a feature, not a bug. 00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:34.279 The true God desires that you bring the best of your mind and heart to bear on understanding 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:37.359 his word written and how you shall then live. 00:17:37.619 --> 00:17:39.920 It means to bring your intellect. 00:17:40.220 --> 00:17:41.380 It means to bring your learning. 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:43.920 It means to bring those rational faculties. 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:45.559 It means to bring your creativity. 00:17:46.119 --> 00:17:48.319 It means to bring your imagination. 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:53.519 It means to bring your will and your attention to try to understand the word. 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:56.539 And some of us have very, very high IQs. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:17:59.139 Just a bit of an aside. 00:17:59.460 --> 00:18:01.879 Some of you know the apologist David Woods. 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:04.139 He's sort of an odd duck. 00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:05.960 He has an IQ of 185. 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:08.879 That's the stratosphere. 00:18:09.940 --> 00:18:11.740 So some of us have very high IQs. 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:13.480 Some of us don't have high IQs. 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:13.940 That's fine. 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:17.900 The Bible doesn't say people with high IQs are better than people with low IQs. 00:18:18.359 --> 00:18:20.940 It's just a thing indifferent to God on one level. 00:18:20.940 --> 00:18:25.240 But the point is that to the best of your imagination, the best of your ability to read, 00:18:25.340 --> 00:18:29.080 the best of your ability to remember and to think, the best of your creativity, 00:18:29.220 --> 00:18:33.259 or to bring it to bear to hear and understand the word and then to do it. 00:18:33.420 --> 00:18:34.920 That's what God desires. 00:18:35.860 --> 00:18:37.380 You see, it's the complete opposite. 00:18:37.559 --> 00:18:43.000 You see, once again, at the end of the day, when you have people who believe that somehow or another 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:47.720 the universe or God has dropped into their mind where history is going, 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:54.200 and how somehow or another we have to overlook normal morality and jump on this new morality 00:18:54.200 --> 00:18:54.920 and go there. 00:18:55.100 --> 00:19:00.460 And whether it's something secular like we see in much of first world thought, 00:19:00.519 --> 00:19:05.640 or whether it's this Kenyan death cult leader, what they want you to do is stop thinking. 00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:12.460 And the Bible says that's not ever God's plan. 00:19:14.940 --> 00:19:17.300 I say that not because CNN says that. 00:19:17.380 --> 00:19:19.680 In fact, I don't even know if CNN says that most of the time. 00:19:20.580 --> 00:19:22.820 I think they just want us to accept what they say. 00:19:24.520 --> 00:19:30.340 I mean, there's a reason why there's a huge desire going on in the world right now to control information, 00:19:30.340 --> 00:19:32.560 and there's a reason why there's pushback against it. 00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:37.619 I know there's complexity issues and all that, and that's fine. 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:45.359 But at the end of the day, the Bible wants us, and not just to that, but in general, 00:19:45.700 --> 00:19:48.419 God wants me to use my mind. 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:50.079 He wants you to use your mind. 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:54.019 Wherever vocation he's called you to be in. 00:19:54.019 --> 00:20:01.180 Now, it's weird, you know, because when I was in my conversation with my friend, 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:05.680 we ended up getting into, I ended up getting into the reality of evil in the world, 00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:11.839 and how I said to him that there's one thing about the Christian faith which only the Christian faith holds, 00:20:12.460 --> 00:20:16.859 and it's empirically provable time and time and time again, 00:20:16.940 --> 00:20:18.920 and people don't sort of recognize it. 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:22.259 And that is the fact, not that every single thing a human being does is evil, 00:20:22.779 --> 00:20:25.700 but that no human being can go very long without doing some evil. 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:27.140 None of us can. 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:28.759 None of us can. 00:20:28.920 --> 00:20:29.519 I can't. 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:32.380 And if you think you can, you're deluded. 00:20:32.980 --> 00:20:33.340 Sorry. 00:20:33.339 --> 00:20:38.519 And if you were to say with a straight face, actually, I don't do anything wrong, 00:20:38.579 --> 00:20:41.879 all the people around you would go, oh, yeah, they don't think they do anything wrong. 00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:46.539 That sure doesn't pass the smell test. 00:20:47.419 --> 00:20:51.099 And, you know, I said to him, and, you know, even at an institutional level, 00:20:51.199 --> 00:20:54.119 there's, you know, you can, there's a, you know what I mean by the whiff of sulfur, 00:20:54.299 --> 00:20:55.439 and that's where we got into demons. 00:20:55.899 --> 00:20:58.019 And I said, surely you see that even in the world, 00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:00.639 there's the whiff of sulfur about a lot of things that go on. 00:21:00.639 --> 00:21:02.740 There's something demonic about what goes on. 00:21:03.339 --> 00:21:07.959 And, and, and, and, and, and, and he, you know, and I said to him, 00:21:08.659 --> 00:21:10.799 you know, here's the thing, if you read the Bible, 00:21:10.919 --> 00:21:13.959 the Bible tells you to feed people, not starve people. 00:21:14.879 --> 00:21:17.079 That's what the Bible tells you, feed people. 00:21:18.359 --> 00:21:20.139 The Bible has feasts. 00:21:21.220 --> 00:21:23.659 There's times when you fast, but it's called to feast. 00:21:23.779 --> 00:21:27.220 It's called to feed the poor and to work hard. 00:21:27.299 --> 00:21:30.099 You know, when the Bible says, give us this day our daily bread, 00:21:30.099 --> 00:21:32.419 in a sense what you're doing is you're praying for farmers, 00:21:32.420 --> 00:21:35.120 and you're, and you're praying for truckers, 00:21:35.120 --> 00:21:37.660 and you're praying for grocery store workers. 00:21:37.660 --> 00:21:39.600 You're praying for all of those that those, 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:45.160 that the coffee shops will do their work so that you can have a coffee and a muffin afterwards. 00:21:45.460 --> 00:21:47.700 That's what Jesus teaches you to preach. 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:50.900 And, and the whole thrust of the Bible is towards, 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:53.120 this is what I try to tell him, is towards life. 00:21:53.360 --> 00:21:54.800 It's towards light. 00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:57.039 It's to be against the demonic. 00:21:57.460 --> 00:21:59.639 It's to be in favor of goodness. 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:03.200 Well, let's look what Ezra, let's look what Ezra says. 00:22:03.259 --> 00:22:05.740 If you just, just jump down a little bit more in chapter 7, 00:22:05.819 --> 00:22:07.200 and you have this wonderful prayer, 00:22:07.740 --> 00:22:10.079 and, and it's, it's, it's verses 27 to 28. 00:22:10.779 --> 00:22:11.480 And one of the things, 00:22:11.980 --> 00:22:14.319 which is really cool about the book of Ezra, by the way, 00:22:14.379 --> 00:22:15.680 if, if you go back later on, you, 00:22:15.740 --> 00:22:17.359 you can look later and you'll see the, 00:22:17.819 --> 00:22:19.159 they give a copy of the, 00:22:19.259 --> 00:22:21.599 of the decree that Artaxerxes wrote. 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:23.579 And you don't know this in English, but in the original language, 00:22:23.699 --> 00:22:24.719 it's in Aramaic, 00:22:25.219 --> 00:22:30.699 which is the language of diplomacy in Babylon and Persia at the time. 00:22:30.779 --> 00:22:32.679 And it's actually in Aramaic. 00:22:32.839 --> 00:22:34.919 We don't know that because it's just all translated in English. 00:22:35.319 --> 00:22:37.559 And then it goes back chapter 7, 8, 9, 10, 00:22:37.639 --> 00:22:41.959 all keep going back to me and I language because it's Ezra's memoirs. 00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:44.099 And here we see Ezra's prayer. 00:22:44.619 --> 00:22:47.039 And in Ezra's prayer, remember I said, 00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:48.539 who saw that coming? 00:22:48.539 --> 00:22:54.119 Then Cyrus says, I want Jewish people to go back and build the temple and worship their God. 00:22:54.519 --> 00:22:56.480 Who saw coming that Darius would say, 00:22:56.599 --> 00:22:58.599 stop the haters, I want them to finish the temple. 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:00.980 Who saw that Artaxerxes would say, 00:23:01.159 --> 00:23:05.960 I want Ezra to go and have all the people in that region live under the Jewish? 00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:07.200 Who saw that coming? 00:23:07.659 --> 00:23:09.980 Well, Ezra tells you why it happened. 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:12.000 Look at verses 27 and 28. 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:16.259 And this fits back the third point that I tried to communicate to my friend about the Kenyan death cult. 00:23:16.259 --> 00:23:18.220 And listen to what he says. 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:21.000 Chapter 7, verse 27, 28. 00:23:21.640 --> 00:23:25.400 Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, 00:23:25.700 --> 00:23:30.500 who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king 00:23:30.500 --> 00:23:35.019 to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. 00:23:35.859 --> 00:23:38.879 And who extended to me, this is the Lord, 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:46.700 extended to me his steadfast love, his chesed, his unfailing, his covenant love. 00:23:47.080 --> 00:23:49.980 And he extended it to me before the king and his counselors, 00:23:50.280 --> 00:23:52.660 and before all of the king's mighty officers. 00:23:52.860 --> 00:23:53.920 I took courage. 00:23:54.420 --> 00:23:54.860 Why? 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:58.620 For the hand of the Lord my God was on me, 00:23:58.940 --> 00:24:02.740 and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. 00:24:03.500 --> 00:24:04.779 Now, look how it begins. 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:07.480 It says, blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers. 00:24:07.620 --> 00:24:08.559 And by the way, you can look. 00:24:08.940 --> 00:24:10.880 That phrase, blessed be the Lord, 00:24:11.420 --> 00:24:14.160 that's all the way through the Old Testament. 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:17.160 It's a regular feature of what I call the Old Testament. 00:24:17.240 --> 00:24:19.079 My Jewish friends call the Tanakh or the Torah. 00:24:19.359 --> 00:24:20.380 It's all the way through. 00:24:20.900 --> 00:24:24.680 And here's what, in the Bible, God blesses. 00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:30.240 And when God blesses, it means to cause, to thrive, or to flourish, 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:36.779 in a way, in keeping with goodness and beauty and love and justice and mercy. 00:24:37.100 --> 00:24:37.200 Okay? 00:24:37.539 --> 00:24:41.080 So it's not helping, let's say, the drug dealer flourish 00:24:41.080 --> 00:24:46.720 so that he can kill his rivals and addict more people to drugs. 00:24:47.380 --> 00:24:49.900 I mean, when I was walking here between the services, 00:24:50.180 --> 00:24:54.140 you know, I saw a guy smoking crack just a block up from here. 00:24:54.980 --> 00:24:57.840 Well, God's not causing him to thrive by smoking crack. 00:24:59.420 --> 00:25:03.360 It has to be the thriving is in keeping with creation, 00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:05.880 God's original intention, creation, 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:08.080 and with his intention in the new creation, 00:25:08.200 --> 00:25:09.259 the new heaven and the new earth. 00:25:09.660 --> 00:25:12.140 And so it means it's to be in keeping with his goodness, 00:25:12.360 --> 00:25:15.320 his beauty, his justice, his love, his mercy, 00:25:15.500 --> 00:25:17.780 that God causes you to thrive. 00:25:18.920 --> 00:25:21.320 Now, when we say, blessed be God, 00:25:21.319 --> 00:25:24.240 well, here's the thing. 00:25:24.579 --> 00:25:28.139 It's actually a phrase, and in fact, in the original language, 00:25:28.259 --> 00:25:31.619 it implies that I kneel when I say it. 00:25:32.159 --> 00:25:34.740 It implies that I kneel before God 00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:40.399 and acknowledge the reality of the world as it really exists, 00:25:40.599 --> 00:25:42.259 in the world as it really exists. 00:25:42.859 --> 00:25:43.619 God is blessed. 00:25:43.619 --> 00:25:46.799 That doesn't mean that he does good things. 00:25:46.899 --> 00:25:47.979 It means he is good. 00:25:48.179 --> 00:25:49.799 It doesn't mean that he does loving things. 00:25:49.859 --> 00:25:51.739 He does, but it means that he is love. 00:25:52.199 --> 00:25:53.899 It means that he is beauty, 00:25:54.139 --> 00:25:55.539 that he is justice. 00:25:55.819 --> 00:25:56.899 He is mercy. 00:25:57.459 --> 00:25:58.619 He is life. 00:25:59.019 --> 00:26:00.139 He is light. 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:01.979 He is freedom. 00:26:02.619 --> 00:26:05.219 He is these things in his very nature, 00:26:05.399 --> 00:26:07.619 and we're humbly acknowledging that 00:26:07.619 --> 00:26:10.599 when we say, blessed be God, 00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:15.379 that he is that in and of himself. 00:26:18.139 --> 00:26:20.039 And if you think about it for a second, 00:26:21.459 --> 00:26:24.459 when in a sense it says that God blesses me, 00:26:24.739 --> 00:26:26.339 it's trying to get at, 00:26:26.459 --> 00:26:27.819 and I don't know if I'll have time. 00:26:27.839 --> 00:26:29.259 I won't probably have time to develop it, 00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:31.419 but here's the thing. 00:26:31.420 --> 00:26:34.240 Most human thought, 00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:37.060 other than very depressed thought, 00:26:37.600 --> 00:26:38.800 thinks that there's, in a sense, 00:26:38.840 --> 00:26:40.680 a spark in human beings, 00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:43.940 a type of light in human beings. 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:47.880 And so your religion, your spirituality, 00:26:48.279 --> 00:26:50.800 your means of human technology changing, 00:26:51.019 --> 00:26:53.400 you know, through the self-help gurus, 00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:54.640 is, in a sense, 00:26:54.740 --> 00:26:57.140 always to try to get that light to shine brighter, 00:26:58.300 --> 00:27:01.039 that George has to get his light shining brighter. 00:27:02.279 --> 00:27:05.960 But actually, the Bible teaches something very different. 00:27:07.560 --> 00:27:09.580 And in a sense, on one level, 00:27:09.640 --> 00:27:10.840 it's very counterintuitive, 00:27:11.140 --> 00:27:12.640 but if you think about it for a second, 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:14.160 it's actually more realistic. 00:27:15.800 --> 00:27:18.300 I do not have a divine light within me, 00:27:19.900 --> 00:27:21.779 in and of myself. 00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:24.960 I am not a flashlight 00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:27.860 who just needs to learn your techniques 00:27:27.860 --> 00:27:29.220 of religion and ritual 00:27:29.220 --> 00:27:30.820 so that I can get better batteries 00:27:30.819 --> 00:27:31.559 and more power 00:27:31.559 --> 00:27:32.599 and shine more brightly. 00:27:33.740 --> 00:27:34.639 I'm a mirror. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:38.659 And I'll be honest with you, 00:27:38.779 --> 00:27:39.799 because of my sin, 00:27:40.339 --> 00:27:42.519 my mirror is a bit warped, 00:27:42.899 --> 00:27:44.460 a bit cracked, 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:46.919 and it's missing a few pieces. 00:27:46.920 --> 00:27:52.380 And that's all I am. 00:27:53.220 --> 00:27:54.800 And no light comes from a mirror 00:27:54.800 --> 00:27:58.400 unless the mirror is angled to the light. 00:27:59.560 --> 00:28:01.300 And as the light hits the mirror, 00:28:01.400 --> 00:28:02.580 if it's properly angled, 00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:04.700 the light that comes into the mirror, 00:28:05.300 --> 00:28:06.640 as warped and cracked 00:28:06.640 --> 00:28:09.000 and missing pieces as it is, 00:28:09.140 --> 00:28:11.320 flows into the room of darkness. 00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:14.139 Every human being is a mirror. 00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:18.539 None of us are flashlights. 00:28:20.399 --> 00:28:21.700 Only God is blessed. 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:24.159 And when he blesses me, 00:28:25.319 --> 00:28:26.759 it's that in some small way, 00:28:26.879 --> 00:28:28.839 the light and the life that comes from him 00:28:28.839 --> 00:28:30.240 is reflected from the mirror 00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:31.659 into a dark world. 00:28:31.660 --> 00:28:35.800 In a sense, salvation is, 00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:38.440 when it's as if this was a mirror, 00:28:39.580 --> 00:28:40.779 it's a stopwatch, 00:28:41.580 --> 00:28:43.000 and that's me. 00:28:44.140 --> 00:28:45.200 Salvation is a sense 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:46.680 when I stop running from God 00:28:46.680 --> 00:28:50.300 and let God pick up the mirror. 00:28:52.300 --> 00:28:53.180 And now, 00:28:54.060 --> 00:28:56.380 God's light fills the mirror. 00:28:58.820 --> 00:28:59.740 That's salvation. 00:28:59.740 --> 00:29:07.539 But listen to this verse again. 00:29:07.880 --> 00:29:08.759 Blessed be the Lord, 00:29:08.859 --> 00:29:09.960 the God of our fathers, 00:29:10.059 --> 00:29:11.319 who put such a thing as this 00:29:11.319 --> 00:29:12.400 into the heart of the king 00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:14.460 to beautify the house of the Lord 00:29:14.460 --> 00:29:15.380 that is in Jerusalem 00:29:15.380 --> 00:29:16.980 and who extend it to me. 00:29:17.940 --> 00:29:18.839 Here's the thing. 00:29:20.519 --> 00:29:22.640 The God that is blessed, 00:29:22.880 --> 00:29:24.420 that we believe is really, 00:29:24.539 --> 00:29:25.680 really, really true, 00:29:25.779 --> 00:29:27.779 and has spoken to us by his word, 00:29:27.779 --> 00:29:30.180 he moves empires. 00:29:34.180 --> 00:29:36.460 He moves empires. 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:38.160 Let me tell you, 00:29:38.759 --> 00:29:39.759 this week, 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:42.099 I have been terribly convicted 00:29:42.099 --> 00:29:44.279 of how puny my prayers are. 00:29:45.160 --> 00:29:46.539 There are large, 00:29:46.660 --> 00:29:48.740 systemic evils in this world 00:29:48.740 --> 00:29:50.319 that I think are too big 00:29:50.319 --> 00:29:51.500 for God to handle, 00:29:51.639 --> 00:29:53.440 and I do not pray against them. 00:29:53.440 --> 00:29:55.820 And brothers and sisters, 00:29:55.820 --> 00:29:56.900 could you pray 00:29:56.900 --> 00:29:59.299 that this will convict me? 00:29:59.779 --> 00:30:01.539 It might be that we as a church 00:30:01.539 --> 00:30:03.220 have to pray for decades 00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:06.019 against some of the systemic evils 00:30:06.019 --> 00:30:07.400 that go on in our world. 00:30:07.860 --> 00:30:09.400 But we are called to pray 00:30:09.400 --> 00:30:11.100 against these systemic evils, 00:30:11.480 --> 00:30:12.759 the systemic death, 00:30:13.200 --> 00:30:14.740 the systemic idolatry, 00:30:14.840 --> 00:30:16.700 the systemic darkness and evil, 00:30:16.700 --> 00:30:18.819 that God in his mercy 00:30:18.819 --> 00:30:19.980 would stop it 00:30:19.980 --> 00:30:24.160 and that there would be 00:30:24.160 --> 00:30:25.220 human flourishing 00:30:25.220 --> 00:30:27.519 as designed and created 00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:29.279 by God in intention. 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:32.180 And so you have this wonderful picture 00:30:32.180 --> 00:30:33.140 of on one hand, 00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:35.299 there's a God who moves empires, 00:30:35.860 --> 00:30:37.500 but he's the same God 00:30:37.500 --> 00:30:39.100 who has covenant love 00:30:39.100 --> 00:30:41.340 to a guy like me 00:30:41.339 --> 00:30:43.500 whose mirror is warped, 00:30:44.639 --> 00:30:45.059 cracked, 00:30:45.539 --> 00:30:46.619 and missing pieces. 00:30:47.939 --> 00:30:49.859 And you have this wonderful phrase 00:30:49.859 --> 00:30:51.899 that the same hand of God 00:30:51.899 --> 00:30:53.139 that can move an empire 00:30:53.139 --> 00:30:56.899 will rest on my shoulder and yours. 00:30:58.919 --> 00:31:00.819 Sometimes when I'm helping a person 00:31:00.819 --> 00:31:02.000 who's struggling with preaching 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:02.559 or teaching, 00:31:02.659 --> 00:31:03.879 I say one of the things you can do 00:31:03.879 --> 00:31:04.819 that's really helpful 00:31:04.819 --> 00:31:07.639 is imagine that when you come to speak, 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:10.480 Jesus is standing right beside you 00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:11.900 and he has his hand on you. 00:31:14.120 --> 00:31:15.660 He has his hand on you. 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:18.700 It's such a close 00:31:18.700 --> 00:31:19.860 and intimate gesture. 00:31:20.480 --> 00:31:21.799 We all know that we don't like 00:31:21.799 --> 00:31:23.160 inappropriate touch. 00:31:23.319 --> 00:31:24.980 We don't want to be touched by people 00:31:24.980 --> 00:31:26.779 unless we've given permission. 00:31:27.860 --> 00:31:28.720 And here we have this 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:30.360 deeply intimate picture 00:31:30.360 --> 00:31:32.339 of the God who can move empires 00:31:32.339 --> 00:31:35.339 will put his hand upon you. 00:31:35.460 --> 00:31:36.339 Could you put up the point 00:31:36.339 --> 00:31:37.259 that goes with this, please? 00:31:37.299 --> 00:31:38.099 That would be very helpful. 00:31:38.799 --> 00:31:39.339 Here's the thing 00:31:39.339 --> 00:31:40.939 I want to challenge you with. 00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:42.240 I want to challenge you, 00:31:42.359 --> 00:31:43.740 especially if you're watching this 00:31:43.740 --> 00:31:44.740 and you're not quite sure 00:31:44.740 --> 00:31:45.819 about the Christian faith, 00:31:46.959 --> 00:31:48.519 you have a yearning 00:31:48.519 --> 00:31:49.899 for the one 00:31:49.899 --> 00:31:52.319 who can move empires 00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:55.159 yet can put his strong hand of love 00:31:55.159 --> 00:31:56.740 upon the real you. 00:31:58.859 --> 00:32:00.579 You have a deep yearning for that. 00:32:00.579 --> 00:32:03.960 And that yearning is only answered 00:32:03.960 --> 00:32:05.859 by the gospel, 00:32:06.819 --> 00:32:08.699 by the person and work of Jesus. 00:32:08.859 --> 00:32:10.119 And you understand the message 00:32:10.119 --> 00:32:10.699 of the Bible 00:32:10.699 --> 00:32:11.960 in light of who Jesus is 00:32:11.960 --> 00:32:12.559 and what he's done. 00:32:12.599 --> 00:32:13.879 You have a yearning and a longing 00:32:13.879 --> 00:32:17.119 to connect with the God 00:32:17.119 --> 00:32:18.419 who can move empires, 00:32:18.599 --> 00:32:20.419 but also will put his hand, 00:32:20.519 --> 00:32:22.240 his strong hand of love upon you. 00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:26.539 And we have to wrap up 00:32:26.539 --> 00:32:27.779 over the next couple of minutes. 00:32:29.099 --> 00:32:30.880 And the obvious question is, 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:31.980 does this mean that Christians 00:32:31.980 --> 00:32:33.039 never screw up? 00:32:33.220 --> 00:32:33.960 Well, we do. 00:32:35.059 --> 00:32:35.819 We do. 00:32:35.819 --> 00:32:39.259 And this text beautifully portrays 00:32:39.259 --> 00:32:42.579 this human frailty 00:32:42.579 --> 00:32:45.079 and the fact that it's God's goodness, 00:32:45.240 --> 00:32:46.200 not our perfection. 00:32:47.819 --> 00:32:50.200 That it's his hand of love upon us 00:32:50.200 --> 00:32:53.599 helping us amongst the trials 00:32:53.599 --> 00:32:54.599 and tribulations 00:32:54.599 --> 00:32:56.319 and changes and chances 00:32:56.319 --> 00:32:57.339 of this fleeting world. 00:32:58.200 --> 00:33:00.159 You know, he's described the letters 00:33:00.159 --> 00:33:02.539 and he's described how he gets more people 00:33:02.539 --> 00:33:04.359 and then they come to the point in time 00:33:04.359 --> 00:33:05.200 where they're going to leave 00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:06.400 to go to Jerusalem 00:33:06.400 --> 00:33:08.000 and they will end up being successful. 00:33:08.200 --> 00:33:08.900 But they have this, 00:33:09.340 --> 00:33:10.440 they have this, you know, 00:33:10.539 --> 00:33:11.600 it's so funny 00:33:11.600 --> 00:33:13.600 because in literature 00:33:13.600 --> 00:33:14.920 or in TVs and movies, 00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:15.860 they probably describe 00:33:15.860 --> 00:33:17.440 as they have a come to Jesus moment. 00:33:18.019 --> 00:33:18.740 And it's so funny 00:33:18.740 --> 00:33:19.860 because when people in movies 00:33:19.860 --> 00:33:20.920 say come to Jesus moment, 00:33:20.980 --> 00:33:22.019 it means you have to be honest. 00:33:22.420 --> 00:33:23.340 It's really sort of funny. 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:24.539 It's a backhanded compliment 00:33:24.539 --> 00:33:25.319 about Christians. 00:33:25.759 --> 00:33:27.160 You're having a come to Jesus moment. 00:33:27.259 --> 00:33:28.180 It means you have to confess 00:33:28.180 --> 00:33:28.779 and be honest. 00:33:29.380 --> 00:33:31.319 And Ezra has a come to Jesus moment. 00:33:31.480 --> 00:33:32.279 Look at what happens 00:33:32.279 --> 00:33:33.039 in chapter 8, 00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:36.299 verses 21 to 26 to 23. 00:33:37.039 --> 00:33:38.399 And the text goes like this. 00:33:39.359 --> 00:33:41.519 Then I proclaimed a fast there. 00:33:41.639 --> 00:33:42.819 They've all gathered. 00:33:42.980 --> 00:33:44.039 They're about to leave. 00:33:45.599 --> 00:33:47.359 I proclaimed a fast there 00:33:47.359 --> 00:33:48.379 at the river Ahava 00:33:48.379 --> 00:33:51.420 that we might humble ourselves 00:33:51.420 --> 00:33:52.920 before our God 00:33:52.920 --> 00:33:55.740 to seek from him 00:33:55.740 --> 00:33:57.200 a safe journey 00:33:57.200 --> 00:33:58.240 for ourselves, 00:33:58.240 --> 00:33:58.900 for ourselves, 00:33:59.180 --> 00:33:59.779 our children, 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:00.740 and all our gods. 00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:03.480 It's about a 1,400-kilometer trip. 00:34:05.319 --> 00:34:05.859 And why? 00:34:06.700 --> 00:34:07.640 Verse 22, 00:34:07.839 --> 00:34:09.239 For I was ashamed. 00:34:11.739 --> 00:34:13.000 I was ashamed 00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:14.579 to ask the king 00:34:14.579 --> 00:34:16.280 for a band of soldiers 00:34:16.280 --> 00:34:17.000 and horsemen 00:34:17.000 --> 00:34:17.920 to protect us 00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:18.780 against the enemy 00:34:18.780 --> 00:34:19.400 on our way. 00:34:19.920 --> 00:34:20.280 Why? 00:34:21.179 --> 00:34:22.159 Well, since we, 00:34:22.300 --> 00:34:23.340 but he means me, 00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:26.139 since we had told the king, 00:34:26.139 --> 00:34:27.219 the hand of our God 00:34:27.219 --> 00:34:27.839 is for good 00:34:27.839 --> 00:34:28.859 and all who seek him 00:34:28.859 --> 00:34:30.199 and the power of his wrath 00:34:30.199 --> 00:34:31.039 is against all 00:34:31.039 --> 00:34:32.199 who forsake him. 00:34:34.199 --> 00:34:35.339 So we fasted 00:34:35.339 --> 00:34:35.920 and implored 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:37.460 our God for this. 00:34:38.139 --> 00:34:38.539 And then, 00:34:38.679 --> 00:34:39.039 thank goodness, 00:34:39.159 --> 00:34:40.719 he listened to our cry. 00:34:41.579 --> 00:34:41.819 Now, 00:34:41.879 --> 00:34:43.299 it's a very puzzling text. 00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:44.219 It's a little bit, 00:34:44.440 --> 00:34:45.819 and I guess what I'd like to say, 00:34:45.920 --> 00:34:47.039 it's a fine line 00:34:47.039 --> 00:34:48.119 between presumption 00:34:48.119 --> 00:34:48.759 and faith. 00:34:49.440 --> 00:34:51.179 And much of what 00:34:51.179 --> 00:34:52.359 he said is true. 00:34:52.360 --> 00:34:53.780 But the problem is, 00:34:54.240 --> 00:34:54.440 though, 00:34:54.559 --> 00:34:54.800 that, 00:34:55.880 --> 00:34:59.980 you know, 00:35:00.059 --> 00:35:00.740 when we left 00:35:00.740 --> 00:35:02.220 the Anglican Church of Canada 00:35:02.220 --> 00:35:03.360 in 2008, 00:35:05.180 --> 00:35:06.300 I think you could, 00:35:06.500 --> 00:35:07.860 you could bet $100 00:35:07.860 --> 00:35:09.300 that the Diocese of Ottawa 00:35:09.300 --> 00:35:10.380 didn't think we'd last 00:35:10.380 --> 00:35:11.079 three months. 00:35:12.120 --> 00:35:13.039 Fifteen years later, 00:35:13.099 --> 00:35:13.539 here we are. 00:35:15.120 --> 00:35:16.340 Are we a megachurch? 00:35:16.440 --> 00:35:16.680 No. 00:35:18.260 --> 00:35:19.700 Are we big and mighty 00:35:19.700 --> 00:35:20.700 and bigger than the diocese? 00:35:20.780 --> 00:35:21.019 No. 00:35:21.019 --> 00:35:22.739 Are we a failure? 00:35:23.259 --> 00:35:23.599 No. 00:35:24.159 --> 00:35:24.639 We're here. 00:35:25.460 --> 00:35:26.259 We've borne witness 00:35:26.259 --> 00:35:27.980 consistently for 15 years. 00:35:28.940 --> 00:35:29.139 You know, 00:35:29.159 --> 00:35:30.059 if you haven't seen it, 00:35:30.119 --> 00:35:30.920 it's really neat 00:35:30.920 --> 00:35:31.519 to go and watch 00:35:31.519 --> 00:35:33.320 the Giannis interview, 00:35:34.199 --> 00:35:36.059 the star for the Milwaukee Bucks 00:35:36.059 --> 00:35:37.000 after they were eliminated 00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:38.179 by the eighth-place team, 00:35:38.259 --> 00:35:39.239 and a sports reporter 00:35:39.239 --> 00:35:40.300 asked him whether he thought 00:35:40.300 --> 00:35:40.980 he was a failure. 00:35:41.259 --> 00:35:41.559 And it's a, 00:35:42.019 --> 00:35:42.179 you know, 00:35:42.199 --> 00:35:43.259 normally interviews 00:35:43.259 --> 00:35:44.400 with players afterwards 00:35:44.400 --> 00:35:45.219 are sort of like 00:35:45.219 --> 00:35:45.880 a waste of time 00:35:45.880 --> 00:35:46.360 to listen to, 00:35:46.420 --> 00:35:47.679 but he's really profound 00:35:47.679 --> 00:35:48.920 about why he's not a failure. 00:35:48.920 --> 00:35:50.639 And one level 00:35:50.639 --> 00:35:51.460 from the eyes of the world, 00:35:51.619 --> 00:35:52.159 I mean, 00:35:52.240 --> 00:35:52.780 on one level, 00:35:52.940 --> 00:35:54.019 they thought we'd just be, 00:35:54.099 --> 00:35:55.780 we'd be disappeared by now, 00:35:55.900 --> 00:35:56.659 and on the other hand, 00:35:56.700 --> 00:35:57.220 they might even say, 00:35:57.280 --> 00:35:57.320 oh, 00:35:57.360 --> 00:35:57.420 well, 00:35:57.420 --> 00:35:58.019 they're just tiny 00:35:58.019 --> 00:35:58.659 and they're just like 00:35:58.659 --> 00:35:59.579 a little ginger group 00:35:59.579 --> 00:36:00.619 and they have no impact. 00:36:01.180 --> 00:36:01.460 Well, 00:36:01.980 --> 00:36:02.340 hello, 00:36:02.539 --> 00:36:03.079 GAFCON. 00:36:03.880 --> 00:36:05.360 But the point of matter, 00:36:05.539 --> 00:36:06.159 here's the point, 00:36:06.200 --> 00:36:06.619 if you could put up 00:36:06.619 --> 00:36:07.019 the point, 00:36:07.360 --> 00:36:07.880 Anderson, 00:36:08.019 --> 00:36:08.740 that would be great. 00:36:09.320 --> 00:36:10.760 The true and living God 00:36:10.760 --> 00:36:11.920 is untamed, 00:36:12.340 --> 00:36:13.180 untameable, 00:36:13.500 --> 00:36:15.080 and pure goodness and love. 00:36:17.640 --> 00:36:18.180 You see, 00:36:18.260 --> 00:36:18.980 to sort of say 00:36:18.980 --> 00:36:19.780 that you'd make this 00:36:19.780 --> 00:36:21.000 correct doctrinal statement, 00:36:21.140 --> 00:36:22.320 therefore this type of success 00:36:22.320 --> 00:36:23.100 is going to happen to me, 00:36:23.120 --> 00:36:24.200 that implies that God 00:36:24.200 --> 00:36:25.480 is sort of like a labradoodle. 00:36:27.400 --> 00:36:27.980 You know? 00:36:28.680 --> 00:36:29.440 Something you can have 00:36:29.440 --> 00:36:30.760 nice Instagram posts with, 00:36:30.780 --> 00:36:31.900 they always do what you like. 00:36:33.360 --> 00:36:34.280 But God 00:36:34.280 --> 00:36:35.720 isn't a tame lion. 00:36:36.680 --> 00:36:37.640 He's not tamed, 00:36:37.800 --> 00:36:39.180 he's completely untameable, 00:36:39.340 --> 00:36:39.900 and fortunately, 00:36:39.980 --> 00:36:40.400 he's good. 00:36:40.760 --> 00:36:41.900 And here's the thing, 00:36:41.960 --> 00:36:42.860 our God is playing 00:36:42.860 --> 00:36:43.580 the long game 00:36:43.580 --> 00:36:44.380 and the deep game. 00:36:45.380 --> 00:36:46.880 He's playing the deep game 00:36:46.880 --> 00:36:47.760 because he's trying 00:36:47.760 --> 00:36:49.180 to turn his children 00:36:49.180 --> 00:36:50.920 into a very different person, 00:36:51.080 --> 00:36:52.360 one who's fit for eternity. 00:36:53.020 --> 00:36:54.760 And sometimes setbacks 00:36:54.760 --> 00:36:56.320 help fit you for eternity. 00:36:57.140 --> 00:36:58.460 Sometimes diminishment 00:36:58.460 --> 00:37:00.100 helps fit you for eternity. 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:02.200 And he's playing 00:37:02.200 --> 00:37:03.420 the long game for eternity, 00:37:03.560 --> 00:37:05.020 he's playing the deep game in you. 00:37:05.740 --> 00:37:06.680 And so you can't be, 00:37:06.920 --> 00:37:08.900 and we take these doctrines 00:37:08.900 --> 00:37:09.860 as if somehow or another 00:37:09.860 --> 00:37:10.900 God is going to give us 00:37:10.900 --> 00:37:12.180 exactly what we want 00:37:12.180 --> 00:37:12.700 right now. 00:37:12.780 --> 00:37:13.740 No, no, no, no, no, 00:37:13.740 --> 00:37:14.640 he's not tamed. 00:37:15.079 --> 00:37:16.099 He's untameable, 00:37:16.220 --> 00:37:16.800 but he's good. 00:37:20.019 --> 00:37:21.500 And here's the other thing. 00:37:21.559 --> 00:37:22.640 Do you notice what it said? 00:37:23.380 --> 00:37:24.820 It's a bit of a scary thing. 00:37:25.760 --> 00:37:26.960 Look at what he says 00:37:26.960 --> 00:37:29.039 in verse 22 again. 00:37:29.039 --> 00:37:29.820 He says, 00:37:29.820 --> 00:37:31.240 For I was ashamed 00:37:31.240 --> 00:37:31.980 to ask the king 00:37:31.980 --> 00:37:33.420 for a band of soldiers 00:37:33.420 --> 00:37:34.559 and horsemen 00:37:34.559 --> 00:37:35.240 to protect us 00:37:35.240 --> 00:37:35.880 against the enemy 00:37:35.880 --> 00:37:36.380 on our way 00:37:36.380 --> 00:37:37.559 since we had told the king 00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:38.440 the hand of our God 00:37:38.440 --> 00:37:39.039 is for good 00:37:39.039 --> 00:37:40.000 and all who seek him 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:41.720 and the power of his wrath 00:37:41.720 --> 00:37:42.500 is against all 00:37:42.500 --> 00:37:43.820 who forsake him. 00:37:45.580 --> 00:37:46.400 And in a sense, 00:37:46.460 --> 00:37:47.039 it describes 00:37:47.039 --> 00:37:48.280 that all human beings, 00:37:48.760 --> 00:37:50.340 apart from grace, 00:37:50.400 --> 00:37:51.539 that we have forsaken 00:37:51.539 --> 00:37:53.559 the true and living God. 00:37:53.559 --> 00:37:57.199 And it's a very powerful thing 00:37:57.199 --> 00:37:57.840 here to hear 00:37:57.840 --> 00:37:58.920 that his wrath 00:37:58.920 --> 00:37:59.880 is against us. 00:38:01.179 --> 00:38:01.880 But you know, 00:38:01.980 --> 00:38:02.659 for those of us 00:38:02.659 --> 00:38:03.380 who are Christians, 00:38:04.179 --> 00:38:05.860 what do two gospels say 00:38:05.860 --> 00:38:06.639 that Jesus said 00:38:06.639 --> 00:38:07.500 upon the cross? 00:38:08.539 --> 00:38:10.159 My God, my God, 00:38:10.679 --> 00:38:14.279 why have you forsaken me? 00:38:16.799 --> 00:38:17.739 What's my hope? 00:38:17.980 --> 00:38:19.000 If you could put up the point. 00:38:21.299 --> 00:38:22.340 When you and I 00:38:22.340 --> 00:38:23.100 had forsaken 00:38:23.100 --> 00:38:24.280 the true and living God, 00:38:25.200 --> 00:38:26.559 Jesus came to die 00:38:26.559 --> 00:38:28.579 forsaken by God 00:38:28.579 --> 00:38:31.660 so that you could truly live 00:38:31.660 --> 00:38:33.640 as his adopted child. 00:38:35.300 --> 00:38:36.760 That's the hope of the gospel. 00:38:38.660 --> 00:38:40.480 When I had forsaken God, 00:38:41.460 --> 00:38:44.039 Jesus came to be forsaken by God 00:38:44.039 --> 00:38:45.880 that you and I 00:38:45.880 --> 00:38:46.760 might truly live. 00:38:47.340 --> 00:38:48.900 That's what the gospel is. 00:38:49.700 --> 00:38:50.840 That's what we receive, 00:38:50.940 --> 00:38:52.280 the personal work of Christ. 00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:54.340 And it's in that context, 00:38:54.440 --> 00:38:55.160 just in closing, 00:38:55.300 --> 00:38:57.039 how we are to understand humility. 00:38:57.600 --> 00:38:59.039 Because humility doesn't mean 00:38:59.039 --> 00:39:00.120 thinking bad thoughts 00:39:00.120 --> 00:39:00.780 about ourselves. 00:39:00.920 --> 00:39:01.400 It doesn't mean 00:39:01.400 --> 00:39:02.460 belittling ourselves. 00:39:02.700 --> 00:39:03.420 It doesn't mean 00:39:03.420 --> 00:39:04.039 saying, 00:39:04.140 --> 00:39:04.840 I'm so stupid. 00:39:04.920 --> 00:39:05.620 I'm so stupid. 00:39:05.700 --> 00:39:06.400 I'm so stupid. 00:39:06.500 --> 00:39:07.100 I hate my... 00:39:07.100 --> 00:39:08.200 That's not humility. 00:39:08.880 --> 00:39:09.880 That's the devil. 00:39:11.880 --> 00:39:12.740 If you could put up 00:39:12.740 --> 00:39:13.519 the last point, 00:39:13.579 --> 00:39:14.240 that would be good. 00:39:14.940 --> 00:39:16.180 As the person and work 00:39:16.180 --> 00:39:17.200 of Jesus becomes 00:39:17.200 --> 00:39:18.820 more real to your heart, 00:39:18.820 --> 00:39:20.240 his presence 00:39:20.240 --> 00:39:21.320 and his word 00:39:21.320 --> 00:39:23.820 help you to de-flatter. 00:39:24.080 --> 00:39:25.480 I just made that word up. 00:39:25.980 --> 00:39:28.039 De-flatter yourself 00:39:28.039 --> 00:39:29.640 and live authentic 00:39:29.640 --> 00:39:31.360 and free in the real world. 00:39:32.500 --> 00:39:33.920 See, what's the Bible doing? 00:39:34.640 --> 00:39:36.220 I, in my pride and vanity, 00:39:36.340 --> 00:39:36.780 like to think 00:39:36.780 --> 00:39:37.860 I'm a source of light. 00:39:38.019 --> 00:39:39.059 I'm a source of blessing. 00:39:39.280 --> 00:39:40.400 I'm a source of wisdom. 00:39:40.840 --> 00:39:42.100 I'm a source of power. 00:39:42.320 --> 00:39:44.000 I'm a source of all of these things. 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:46.000 No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 00:39:47.119 --> 00:39:48.079 George, you're not 00:39:48.079 --> 00:39:49.800 a spark of the divine, 00:39:50.699 --> 00:39:52.300 blazing bright 00:39:52.300 --> 00:39:54.719 that everybody should marvel at. 00:39:55.320 --> 00:39:56.360 You're a warped, 00:39:56.519 --> 00:39:57.400 cracked mirror, 00:39:57.559 --> 00:39:58.579 missing pieces. 00:40:01.000 --> 00:40:02.159 And all the light 00:40:02.159 --> 00:40:03.059 that comes through you 00:40:03.059 --> 00:40:04.059 has come from me. 00:40:04.960 --> 00:40:05.519 And you know what? 00:40:05.579 --> 00:40:06.239 To learn that 00:40:06.239 --> 00:40:07.579 is to be in the real world. 00:40:08.860 --> 00:40:10.000 That's to be humbled. 00:40:10.340 --> 00:40:10.980 It's to be humbled 00:40:10.980 --> 00:40:12.579 by the truth of God's word 00:40:12.579 --> 00:40:14.299 and humbled in a way 00:40:14.299 --> 00:40:15.500 that I don't have to be, 00:40:15.639 --> 00:40:17.019 I don't have to try to pretend. 00:40:17.299 --> 00:40:18.259 I start to learn 00:40:18.259 --> 00:40:19.139 not to pretend, 00:40:19.699 --> 00:40:21.199 not to think more of myself 00:40:21.199 --> 00:40:23.019 because I can remember 00:40:23.019 --> 00:40:24.519 that Jesus cried 00:40:24.519 --> 00:40:26.039 from the cross for me 00:40:26.039 --> 00:40:27.519 who had forsaken God, 00:40:27.960 --> 00:40:29.000 that out of love for me 00:40:29.000 --> 00:40:29.960 he called out, 00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:31.340 my God, my God, 00:40:31.440 --> 00:40:33.099 why have you forsaken me? 00:40:33.500 --> 00:40:34.779 So I can become his child 00:40:34.779 --> 00:40:36.019 by adoption and grace. 00:40:36.659 --> 00:40:37.960 And as that becomes more real, 00:40:38.699 --> 00:40:39.840 I can allow the work 00:40:39.840 --> 00:40:40.619 and the person 00:40:40.619 --> 00:40:41.559 and the word of Jesus 00:40:41.559 --> 00:40:43.259 to deflatter myself 00:40:43.259 --> 00:40:44.059 by the truth. 00:40:45.059 --> 00:40:46.719 It is very freeing 00:40:46.719 --> 00:40:47.799 to know that you are 00:40:47.799 --> 00:40:48.360 but a mirror. 00:40:51.099 --> 00:40:52.299 That Christ points 00:40:52.299 --> 00:40:52.900 to himself 00:40:52.900 --> 00:40:53.719 and into the world. 00:40:54.279 --> 00:40:55.860 That is so freeing. 00:40:56.539 --> 00:40:57.799 The burden, 00:40:58.059 --> 00:40:58.719 pride, 00:40:59.179 --> 00:41:01.480 pride crushes you. 00:41:02.659 --> 00:41:04.000 Always being right 00:41:04.000 --> 00:41:05.340 crushes you. 00:41:06.340 --> 00:41:07.619 Never doing wrong 00:41:07.619 --> 00:41:09.099 crushes you. 00:41:09.099 --> 00:41:12.119 building your own identity 00:41:12.119 --> 00:41:13.559 crushes you. 00:41:14.559 --> 00:41:15.900 It is freeing 00:41:15.900 --> 00:41:17.880 to know that you are a mirror 00:41:17.880 --> 00:41:20.980 in the hands of the living God. 00:41:21.839 --> 00:41:22.779 Please stand. 00:41:23.420 --> 00:41:24.339 Close in prayer. 00:41:24.340 --> 00:41:31.340 Just bow our heads 00:41:31.340 --> 00:41:31.760 in prayer. 00:41:31.920 --> 00:41:32.220 Father, 00:41:34.500 --> 00:41:34.940 Father, 00:41:35.039 --> 00:41:35.800 if there are any here 00:41:35.800 --> 00:41:36.160 who, 00:41:36.860 --> 00:41:37.940 they've been searching, 00:41:38.180 --> 00:41:38.900 they've been watching, 00:41:39.100 --> 00:41:40.280 trying to figure things out, 00:41:40.500 --> 00:41:41.100 and Father, 00:41:41.240 --> 00:41:41.960 this is spoken, 00:41:42.140 --> 00:41:42.360 you're, 00:41:43.039 --> 00:41:43.920 if there are any here 00:41:43.920 --> 00:41:44.720 listening to this 00:41:44.720 --> 00:41:45.840 as I pray to you, 00:41:45.920 --> 00:41:46.140 Father, 00:41:46.280 --> 00:41:46.940 and they conceal 00:41:46.940 --> 00:41:48.380 a pull 00:41:48.380 --> 00:41:49.260 that they know 00:41:49.260 --> 00:41:50.460 they do have that longing 00:41:50.460 --> 00:41:51.320 and that yearning 00:41:51.320 --> 00:41:53.120 and they want to set down 00:41:53.120 --> 00:41:54.559 the burden of their pride 00:41:54.559 --> 00:41:56.760 and actually to finally 00:41:56.760 --> 00:41:57.900 be authentic and free, 00:41:58.080 --> 00:41:58.300 Father, 00:41:58.900 --> 00:41:59.680 help them to know 00:41:59.680 --> 00:42:00.840 that it is you, 00:42:01.039 --> 00:42:01.860 it is your son 00:42:01.860 --> 00:42:02.700 knocking at the door 00:42:02.700 --> 00:42:03.380 of their heart, 00:42:03.460 --> 00:42:03.860 and Father, 00:42:03.960 --> 00:42:04.920 help them even now 00:42:04.920 --> 00:42:07.600 to turn to Jesus, 00:42:08.180 --> 00:42:09.340 to imagine 00:42:09.340 --> 00:42:10.019 and to say, 00:42:10.160 --> 00:42:11.059 I open the door 00:42:11.059 --> 00:42:11.640 of my heart 00:42:11.640 --> 00:42:12.360 and I ask that you 00:42:12.360 --> 00:42:12.960 would come in 00:42:12.960 --> 00:42:13.800 and that you would come in 00:42:13.800 --> 00:42:15.580 as my Savior and Lord 00:42:15.580 --> 00:42:16.380 and I give you 00:42:16.380 --> 00:42:17.580 the run of the whole place 00:42:17.579 --> 00:42:19.139 and I want to know 00:42:19.139 --> 00:42:20.559 your love 00:42:20.559 --> 00:42:21.259 and your freedom 00:42:21.259 --> 00:42:22.980 and please be my Savior 00:42:22.980 --> 00:42:23.639 and my Lord 00:42:23.639 --> 00:42:25.340 and Father, 00:42:25.420 --> 00:42:26.279 for all of us 00:42:26.279 --> 00:42:27.559 who've already 00:42:27.559 --> 00:42:28.960 maybe had that moment 00:42:28.960 --> 00:42:29.679 or realize 00:42:29.679 --> 00:42:30.799 that we've had that moment 00:42:30.799 --> 00:42:32.119 or grown into that moment, 00:42:32.239 --> 00:42:32.920 we ask, Father, 00:42:33.039 --> 00:42:34.659 that the Holy Spirit 00:42:34.659 --> 00:42:35.360 would help us 00:42:35.360 --> 00:42:37.599 to so remember Jesus 00:42:37.599 --> 00:42:40.279 and so trust his word 00:42:40.279 --> 00:42:41.059 and his goodness 00:42:41.059 --> 00:42:43.139 and his untamable 00:42:43.139 --> 00:42:44.880 goodness and love 00:42:44.880 --> 00:42:46.659 that we might trust 00:42:46.659 --> 00:42:48.319 his hands upon us 00:42:48.319 --> 00:42:49.579 and his hands on our life 00:42:49.579 --> 00:42:51.259 that he is always 00:42:51.259 --> 00:42:53.299 turning us towards you 00:42:53.299 --> 00:42:55.399 that your light 00:42:55.399 --> 00:42:55.920 and goodness 00:42:55.920 --> 00:42:56.519 and beauty 00:42:56.519 --> 00:42:57.119 and justice 00:42:57.119 --> 00:42:57.679 and mercy 00:42:57.679 --> 00:42:59.039 might shine into the world 00:42:59.039 --> 00:43:00.619 and so, Father, 00:43:00.679 --> 00:43:01.659 we ask that your Holy Spirit 00:43:01.659 --> 00:43:02.759 would do that wonderful work 00:43:02.759 --> 00:43:03.719 of grace within us 00:43:03.719 --> 00:43:05.079 and we ask this 00:43:05.079 --> 00:43:05.960 in the name of Jesus 00:43:05.960 --> 00:43:07.659 and all God people said, 00:43:08.579 --> 00:43:08.859 Amen.