WEBVTT

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 Father, we ask that you would lead us and guide us into all truth.

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 Father, lead us and guide us into all truth.

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 Father, you know, some of us this morning, Father, we might be very sleepy.

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 It's going to be hard to seek all truth, Father, because we're really tired.

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 Some of us may be, Father, very deeply distracted with some worries or some concerns,

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 or just maybe with some excitement about something that will happen very soon.

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 And it's hard for us, Father, in these states.

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 You know how hard it is for us to seek the truth and to know the truth.

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 So, Father, we ask that you would gently but deeply pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.

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 Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us so that we might long and yearn to know the truth.

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 Father, we confess that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life,

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 that you are the true and living God, that you are true.

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 So, Father, pour out your Holy Spirit. Pour out your Holy Spirit.

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 This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

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 Please be seated.

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 Last week, my phone died as I was doing the sermon.

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 And so when I can't see the time, that either means I'm going to be shorter than usual or way longer.

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 So we'll see if my phone doesn't die.

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 I'm not being blasphemous about this, but I'm going to do something in a few minutes that Jesus can't do.

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 And I don't mean I'm going to sin, but I'm going to do something in a few minutes that technically Jesus can't do.

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 I'm going to preside at the Lord's Supper.

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 And you might say, well, why couldn't Jesus do that?

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 And I can tell you, in Anglican polity, an unordained man cannot preside at the Lord's Supper.

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 However, in fact, Jesus couldn't be the rector of this parish.

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 He was homeschooled.

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 No offense to homeschoolers, but he was homeschooled.

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 He never went to a proper institution to be trained to be a pastor.

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 He doesn't have a university degree.

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 He didn't go to college.

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 And by Anglican rules, actually, he wouldn't be allowed to be the pastor of this church.

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 Now, granted, hopefully, Bishop Charlie, if I called him up and said, Charlie, I have a bit of a conundrum for you.

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 Jesus is showing up this morning, and he wants to preach and lead communion, but he's not ordained.

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 What should I do?

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 And I think Bishop Charlie would say, well, if Jesus actually showed up, George, you should let him do those things.

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 And if other people are really mad at you, I'll take the – I mean, I think he would actually say that.

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 But technically, by Anglican rules, Jesus couldn't, you know, homeschooled, not university educated, et cetera.

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 He couldn't preside at the Lord's Supper, and he couldn't be the rector of this parish.

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 And in fact, I'm also trying to – we're starting a theological college.

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 Jesus wouldn't be able to teach at the college, by the way, because he doesn't have a PhD.

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 So, you see, actually, on one hand, the issue that provokes this discussion that ends up going into judgment is actually sort of an interesting question,

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 and it's not a completely irrelevant question.

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 I mean, the man who invented numbers wouldn't be allowed to be a chartered accountant.

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 I could go on and on.

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 You know, the man who – the person who designed the universe wouldn't be allowed to be an engineer.

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 Like, it's sort of actually an interesting type of question.

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 And it's sort of – it's funny, like a lot of conversations, that it begins with something which is sort of curious

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 and ends up going in very surprising places.

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 So, let's look again at what it is that Jesus said.

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 What is it that the community leaders, the advice leaders, and sort of the spiritual leaders, as they all come together,

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 what is it that they were asking Jesus, and why is it that the conversation went south so badly?

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 So, if you have your Bibles, turn to Luke 20, verse 1, and we'll look at this text and sort of see,

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 on one hand, they ask a very, very legitimate and valid question of Jesus, but then it starts to go south.

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 And here's how the text goes.

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 Luke, chapter 20, verse 1.

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 And just – it begins by saying one day.

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 Just so you sort of understand the flow of the book, right, because the book of Luke is a book,

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 and Luke is telling a story, a true story of Jesus.

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 And Jesus has been predicting since chapter 9 that he's going to Jerusalem to die.

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 Last week in chapter 19, Jesus entered Jerusalem, and now Jesus is in Jerusalem.

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 And so we don't know if this is the Monday of that week or the Tuesday or the Wednesday,

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 but what we do know is that as this is going on, within less than a week, within four or five days,

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 maybe even just two or three days, Jesus will have died upon the cross.

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 And Jesus knows this.

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 Others don't, but Jesus knows as this conversation is going on.

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 And so verse 1,

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 one day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel,

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 the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him –

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 and just sort of pause, put your finger there –

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 this is sort of a group of three people who don't necessarily like each other.

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 And so what – you know what's that saying?

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 The enemy of my enemy is – no, sorry.

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 The enemy of my enemy – yeah, something like that.

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 Yeah, you all know the quote better than me.

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 I should have written it down, right?

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 I only have sort of notes.

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 And so this is a – what unites these three groups is that they don't like Jesus,

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 and they find him a threat, okay?

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 Because normally sort of the elders would be like the political –

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 because in older days, the categories that we had to divide people up doesn't –

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 they don't quite work the same way.

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 So think of elders as, in a sense, you know, Mayor Jim Watson –

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 I'm not picking on him –

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 and, you know, the local billionaires

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 and the local power brokers in the community,

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 the backroom boys and girls.

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 And think of the – what they call scribes

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 as the people who are both the guys and gals who have PhDs

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 and are lawyers and give advice.

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 Like, so they write the advice column.

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 And then the chief priests, think of the people who are exemplary people

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 in terms of spiritual and religious matters.

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 And however you understand spiritual or understand religious,

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 whoever you understand as being sort of the pinnacle of representing

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 whatever it means to be religious or however you understand spiritual,

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 these are the people who are your guides, who help you with the path.

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 And these three different groups come together

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 and have come to ask Jesus a question.

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 And so verse 2, and the question is, they said to him,

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 tell us by what authority you do these things

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 or who it is that gave you this authority.

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 And, you know, because Jesus is just – just before this,

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 he's kicked the money changers out of the court of the Gentiles.

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 He's part of the temple.

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 He's been doing all sorts of teaching.

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 So they say, Jesus, we don't think you're a rabbi.

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 We understand you come from a questionable background,

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 maybe an illegitimate birth, probably an illegitimate birth.

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 You've just been homeschooled.

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 No offense to homeschoolers, by the way.

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 I'm just giving how they're sort of thinking about it.

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 You haven't been properly trained.

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 Like, what gives you any authority to do this?

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 And then in verse 3, Jesus answered them,

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 I will ask you a question.

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 Now tell me, was the baptism of John the Baptist from heaven or from man?

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 Now just so you understand here, Jesus is not blowing smoke at them.

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 Okay, so this isn't like in question period.

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 I'm not insulting politicians, just making an observation.

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 If there's any MPs here.

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 You know how often in question period, you know,

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 why did the government do this?

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 And then they get up and they – I don't know.

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 They talk about their laundry list or how much they love their mom

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 or how the Leafs are doing.

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 And then they say, and you guys are doing all this, you know.

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 And you don't really have a conversation.

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 You just have people trying to show how good they are and clever they are

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 and how sort of bad the other guy is.

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 And I know I'm really stereotyping, but that's often a little bit how –

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 and not only in politics, that's often how conversations work in bars and homes,

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 in universities, et cetera, as well.

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 You just try to score points.

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 And Jesus here isn't just trying to score points.

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 You see, the fact of the matter is that John the Baptist was homeschooled.

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 And he also wasn't a rabbi.

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 And so in a sense, Jesus is saying, okay, well, just before I answer your question,

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 just answer this.

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 Was John the Baptist – like, what about John the Baptist?

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 Where did his authority come from?

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 Now, just so you know, John the Baptist is known in historical circles

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 outside of the New Testament record.

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 Jewish and other historians refer to John the Baptist,

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 and the people did think he was a prophet.

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 Okay?

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 So Jesus asks a very sort of appropriate question.

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 In fact, what you see here is that Jesus, once again, goes to the heart.

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 Okay?

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 He goes to the heart of the questioners.

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 He's trying to find out what's going on in their heart.

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 Are they asking an honest question, or is something else going on here?

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 What's going on in their heart?

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 You see, we often just talk about superficial things.

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 Jesus regularly goes at what's actually at the very center of who you are.

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 Jesus wants you to understand who you are at the very center of who you are,

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 and to understand who you are at the center of who you are in the context of the living God.

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 And that's where he goes with this question.

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 And you might think, well, why is that going to be a question that gets at the heart,

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 the center of who I am in the context of the living God?

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 Well, you see it by how they react.

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 Verse 4, sorry, verse 5.

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 And they discussed it with one another.

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 Imagine the little, like, not a group hug, but a huddle.

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 And they discussed it with one another, saying,

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 if we say from heaven, hmm, he will say, why did he not believe him?

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 And that's because John the Baptist told everybody that Jesus was the Messiah.

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 And, like, being the Messiah, like the person who fulfills all the promises of God,

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 that means you actually have some authority because God gave you the authority, right?

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 But if we say, verse 6, from human beings,

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 all the people will stone us to death,

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 for they are convinced that John was a prophet.

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 So they answered that they, so what did they say to Jesus?

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 They answered that they did not know where the authority of John the Baptist came from.

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 Now, right, they're lying.

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 They're not being honest.

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 They're dissembling and cloaking.

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 And so Jesus says to them,

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 neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

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 In fact, actually, there's no place in their head to hear Jesus' answer.

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 There's no place in their head to hear Jesus' answer.

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 Now, here's, let's sort of unpack this

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 and try to understand why this is relevant to us.

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 If you could put up the first point, Andrew, that would be great.

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 It might be a surprising point,

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 but God gave me a mind to seek, know, love, and live the truth.

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 Our minds were not made to avoid truth and exalt the self.

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 Say it again.

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 God gave me a mind to seek the truth,

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 know the truth, love the truth, live the truth.

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 Our minds were not made to avoid truth

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 and instead to exalt the self or serve the self and its projects.

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 That's sort of, I have to understand, that's why God gave us minds.

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 And in a sense, it tells us that not only is that in God's original intention and creation,

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 that's how he created it,

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 that's why he put a mind in us to do these things.

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 And it's also very comforting to know that in redemption,

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 when we come to Jesus,

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 that one of the ways that the Holy Spirit will try to convict us of sin

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 will also be to try to get us back to this original creational intention.

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 That the Holy Spirit and the Bible won't work in our lives to say,

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 oh, okay, now that the Holy Spirit's in my life,

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 you're going to love fantasies,

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 you're going to love delusions,

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 you're going to turn away from the truth,

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 you're going to only believe things,

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 or only twist things in such a way that they serve your...

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 No, no, that's not what the Holy Spirit will do in your life.

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 That's not what Jesus will do in your life.

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 He'll bring you back,

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 try to start to unbend,

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 straighten you out,

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 and bring you back to what God created you originally to do and to know.

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 There's a certain whole realm of epistemology,

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 it's sort of how people know,

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 and it's some type of postmodern thinkers

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 will tend to talk as if all knowledge

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 is actually just masking pursuit of power.

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 That, in fact, all claims to know

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 are really actually claims manipulating language

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 so that one group or I will have power over other people,

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 and that that's the claim.

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 And, in fact, of course, it's ultimately one of those...

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 It's like a lot of ideas that sound actually very compelling,

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 but actually it sort of doesn't make any sense.

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 It's because, you know, on one hand,

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 if what they're saying is true,

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 then you shouldn't believe what they say

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 because they're just trying to have power.

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 But if they actually are saying this because it's true,

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 then they've contradicted themselves, right?

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 So it's like a lot of ideas that...

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 And it actually sort of doesn't really line up.

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 But they are on to something,

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 is that, in fact, much of what goes on in my head

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 and in your head and most people's head

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 is actually just using our mind for utilitarian purposes,

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 for purposes to satisfy ourselves.

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 We get the bad news, we think of a fantasy.

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 We get a bad...

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 You know, we get some bad news that we don't like.

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 We sort of just pretend that it's not there,

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 that we get into an argument

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 and we're more concerned about winning the argument

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 rather than actually saying,

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 wow, that's a really good idea.

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 I never thought about that.

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 Many, many years ago,

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 there was a woman that myself and another fellow

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 that we'd witnessed to her quite a few times.

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 We had quite a few discussions around things about apologetics.

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 And then she stopped coming to the fellowship.

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 And about a year later, I go to a church

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 or another Christian event, and she was there.

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 And she told me that she'd actually become a Christian

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 about a year ago,

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 but she didn't want to acknowledge to us

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 that we were right.

00:14:30.580 --> 00:14:32.420
 So on one hand, that's not good.

00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:33.580
 On the other hand, the good thing was

00:14:33.580 --> 00:14:35.759
 that she became a Christian and went to another church.

00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:36.680
 I mean, it's sort of funny,

00:14:36.800 --> 00:14:38.480
 but, you know, God redeemed it, right?

00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:41.280
 So the fact is that many of our thinking

00:14:41.280 --> 00:14:42.940
 is just like the scribes and the Pharisees.

00:14:43.040 --> 00:14:44.620
 You see, what they were consumed with

00:14:44.620 --> 00:14:48.780
 was they just wanted to get some information from Jesus,

00:14:48.780 --> 00:14:50.900
 and whatever the information was,

00:14:50.899 --> 00:14:53.759
 they were going to use it to further their own agenda,

00:14:54.299 --> 00:14:56.959
 to serve their self, to exalt themselves.

00:14:57.600 --> 00:14:59.199
 That's how their minds worked.

00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:04.519
 And Jesus is teaching us something here

00:15:04.519 --> 00:15:07.000
 very, very wise and profound.

00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:09.919
 It's not the case that all thinking,

00:15:10.220 --> 00:15:15.000
 inevitably, is always about utility for ourselves

00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:16.179
 or serving ourselves.

00:15:16.179 --> 00:15:18.699
 that we understand,

00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:20.779
 or at least at times we understand,

00:15:20.899 --> 00:15:22.339
 that some things are just true,

00:15:23.099 --> 00:15:25.779
 and sometimes we realize

00:15:25.779 --> 00:15:27.039
 that we're turning away from it.

00:15:27.099 --> 00:15:28.839
 I'll just show you one thing from my own life.

00:15:28.959 --> 00:15:30.339
 Some of you have heard this story before.

00:15:31.500 --> 00:15:32.599
 A long time ago,

00:15:32.739 --> 00:15:35.219
 I got paid to do sociological research.

00:15:35.859 --> 00:15:37.879
 I've taken all these courses in statistics

00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:39.859
 and methodology a long, long time ago.

00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:41.719
 Anyway, I had a job to do that,

00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:44.759
 and so part of my job was I was working for a professor,

00:15:45.399 --> 00:15:47.420
 and we were doing this project

00:15:47.420 --> 00:15:50.080
 analyzing the effect of,

00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:53.120
 I think we were looking at 20 different OECD nations,

00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:55.560
 and we were looking at the impact

00:15:55.560 --> 00:15:57.100
 of different government policies

00:15:57.100 --> 00:15:59.120
 on income distribution,

00:15:59.820 --> 00:16:02.240
 and whether the government policies

00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:05.560
 sort of made income distribution worse,

00:16:06.220 --> 00:16:09.320
 or sort of ended up making it a bit more equal,

00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:10.000
 or level.

00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:11.740
 And as I was doing this,

00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:13.539
 I was the primary one running the numbers

00:16:13.539 --> 00:16:14.240
 in the project,

00:16:14.740 --> 00:16:16.860
 and as I was doing the different tests

00:16:16.860 --> 00:16:18.679
 and the different statistical analysis,

00:16:19.139 --> 00:16:20.179
 I'd get the results,

00:16:20.259 --> 00:16:21.000
 and I'd think to myself,

00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:22.200
 that just doesn't look right.

00:16:22.279 --> 00:16:23.379
 That just doesn't look right.

00:16:24.279 --> 00:16:25.080
 And so, you know,

00:16:25.179 --> 00:16:26.899
 I was reasonably clever,

00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:27.320
 and I thought,

00:16:27.379 --> 00:16:28.740
 well, maybe if I control for this

00:16:28.740 --> 00:16:29.639
 or try doing this

00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:30.580
 or use this variable,

00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:31.820
 and then I'd run it,

00:16:31.860 --> 00:16:32.659
 and then I'd think to myself,

00:16:32.740 --> 00:16:33.299
 no, you know what?

00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:34.559
 The results just don't look right.

00:16:35.379 --> 00:16:36.220
 And then one day,

00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:38.580
 it was as if the Holy Spirit spoke to me

00:16:38.580 --> 00:16:38.960
 and said,

00:16:39.060 --> 00:16:39.580
 George,

00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:41.920
 your problem is

00:16:41.920 --> 00:16:45.580
 you want the United States of America

00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:46.759
 to show up the worst.

00:16:47.940 --> 00:16:49.320
 And they keep showing up

00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:50.160
 in about the middle.

00:16:51.160 --> 00:16:53.780
 And you keep looking for new ways

00:16:53.780 --> 00:16:54.900
 to move the data

00:16:54.900 --> 00:16:58.440
 so the U.S. will be the worst.

00:16:58.440 --> 00:17:01.000
 I was very left-wing.

00:17:02.340 --> 00:17:04.140
 I disliked,

00:17:04.220 --> 00:17:04.440
 in fact,

00:17:04.500 --> 00:17:05.420
 I hadn't even been aware

00:17:05.420 --> 00:17:06.220
 until that moment,

00:17:06.299 --> 00:17:07.259
 I had not been aware

00:17:07.259 --> 00:17:07.820
 of the fact

00:17:07.820 --> 00:17:10.420
 of how much my hatred,

00:17:10.860 --> 00:17:11.820
 how much of a hatred

00:17:11.820 --> 00:17:12.840
 there was of Americans

00:17:12.840 --> 00:17:13.580
 and Americans

00:17:13.580 --> 00:17:15.960
 as the preeminent capitalist country,

00:17:16.600 --> 00:17:17.660
 that's how I would have put it,

00:17:17.720 --> 00:17:18.759
 in the world at the time,

00:17:18.840 --> 00:17:20.360
 how much that drove me

00:17:20.360 --> 00:17:21.680
 in terms of how I thought.

00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:23.299
 It was one of those,

00:17:23.340 --> 00:17:23.580
 in fact,

00:17:23.620 --> 00:17:24.779
 if somebody the day before

00:17:24.779 --> 00:17:25.080
 had said,

00:17:25.120 --> 00:17:25.320
 George,

00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:26.200
 you know what your problem is?

00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:27.740
 That you are driven

00:17:27.740 --> 00:17:29.240
 by a hatred of the Americans

00:17:29.240 --> 00:17:30.500
 and a hatred of capitalism.

00:17:30.700 --> 00:17:31.439
 I would have denied it.

00:17:31.439 --> 00:17:32.399
 I would have been insulted

00:17:32.399 --> 00:17:34.159
 that they said that about me.

00:17:34.259 --> 00:17:36.599
 I was a fearless seeker

00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:37.659
 of the truth.

00:17:38.119 --> 00:17:38.480
 Not.

00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:40.399
 Not.

00:17:41.679 --> 00:17:42.980
 And it was as if

00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:43.919
 God just spoke to me

00:17:43.919 --> 00:17:44.119
 and said,

00:17:44.179 --> 00:17:44.359
 George,

00:17:44.419 --> 00:17:45.139
 that's what you're doing.

00:17:45.819 --> 00:17:46.980
 You just have to acknowledge

00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:47.919
 they're above the middle.

00:17:48.019 --> 00:17:49.019
 They're not the worst.

00:17:49.439 --> 00:17:50.500
 Not the best either.

00:17:51.159 --> 00:17:52.279
 Just around the middle

00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:53.539
 at that time.

00:17:53.700 --> 00:17:54.119
 I don't know

00:17:54.119 --> 00:17:54.819
 what it would be like now.

00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:56.039
 So, you see,

00:17:56.419 --> 00:17:57.379
 here's the thing,

00:17:57.519 --> 00:17:58.399
 is that it's, in fact,

00:17:58.500 --> 00:18:00.079
 a common human problem.

00:18:01.339 --> 00:18:02.799
 And Jesus, in this,

00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:03.859
 is trying to,

00:18:03.980 --> 00:18:04.799
 is pushing us

00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:05.599
 to remember

00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:06.259
 and understand

00:18:06.259 --> 00:18:06.960
 the context

00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:08.119
 to understand this story

00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:10.460
 is what did God desire

00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:11.159
 in creation

00:18:11.159 --> 00:18:12.039
 for our minds?

00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:13.740
 What are our minds,

00:18:14.220 --> 00:18:15.819
 can our minds possibly do?

00:18:15.919 --> 00:18:16.539
 And what is it

00:18:16.539 --> 00:18:17.579
 that God wants to do

00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:18.759
 when he redeems us?

00:18:19.220 --> 00:18:19.439
 Well,

00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:21.240
 God's intention

00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:22.259
 is that we would

00:18:22.259 --> 00:18:23.200
 seek the truth,

00:18:23.619 --> 00:18:24.439
 know the truth,

00:18:24.440 --> 00:18:25.720
 love the truth,

00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:26.840
 live the truth,

00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:28.220
 that we would know

00:18:28.220 --> 00:18:29.400
 what is real.

00:18:31.019 --> 00:18:31.299
 Now,

00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:33.320
 some of you might say,

00:18:33.380 --> 00:18:33.620
 hey, George,

00:18:33.660 --> 00:18:34.700
 that's actually sort of a,

00:18:34.940 --> 00:18:35.840
 I hadn't thought of it

00:18:35.840 --> 00:18:36.380
 in those terms.

00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:37.580
 I was thinking of the text

00:18:37.580 --> 00:18:38.360
 in more narrow,

00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:39.740
 confrontational,

00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:40.779
 religious terminology.

00:18:41.559 --> 00:18:42.820
 But you said,

00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:43.180
 I mean,

00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:43.580
 George,

00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:44.320
 isn't,

00:18:44.440 --> 00:18:44.680
 doesn't,

00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:45.440
 don't you think,

00:18:45.940 --> 00:18:46.740
 don't you think,

00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:47.180
 George,

00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:49.160
 that this idea

00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:49.980
 at the end

00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:50.579
 of the text

00:18:50.579 --> 00:18:51.200
 that you read

00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:52.019
 of God

00:18:52.019 --> 00:18:53.539
 being like a big stone

00:18:53.539 --> 00:18:54.839
 that crushes people,

00:18:55.299 --> 00:18:55.559
 like,

00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:55.940
 George,

00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:57.380
 that surely can't be true.

00:18:57.940 --> 00:18:58.180
 Like,

00:18:58.299 --> 00:18:58.640
 surely,

00:18:58.819 --> 00:18:59.079
 George,

00:18:59.120 --> 00:18:59.960
 that is something

00:18:59.960 --> 00:19:01.480
 that Christians

00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:02.059
 are doing

00:19:02.059 --> 00:19:03.240
 to try to create fear

00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:04.420
 and it can't possibly,

00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:05.759
 that can't possibly

00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:06.279
 be true.

00:19:06.779 --> 00:19:06.940
 Well,

00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:07.380
 let's look.

00:19:07.700 --> 00:19:08.440
 Let's keep reading

00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:09.740
 verse 9.

00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:12.759
 And Jesus began

00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:13.559
 to tell the people

00:19:13.559 --> 00:19:14.380
 this parable.

00:19:15.180 --> 00:19:16.519
 A man planted a vineyard

00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:17.559
 and let it out

00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:18.099
 to tenants

00:19:18.099 --> 00:19:20.160
 and went into another country

00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:21.039
 for a long while.

00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:22.720
 When the time came,

00:19:23.059 --> 00:19:23.660
 the owner

00:19:23.660 --> 00:19:25.220
 took a servant

00:19:25.220 --> 00:19:26.559
 and sent a servant

00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:27.400
 to the tenants

00:19:27.400 --> 00:19:28.940
 so that the tenants

00:19:28.940 --> 00:19:30.279
 would give the servant,

00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:30.819
 the owner,

00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:31.339
 ultimately,

00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:31.940
 some of the fruit

00:19:31.940 --> 00:19:32.420
 of the vineyard.

00:19:32.920 --> 00:19:33.900
 But the tenants

00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:34.960
 beat the servant

00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:36.000
 and sent him away

00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:36.700
 empty-handed.

00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:38.480
 So the owner

00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:39.420
 sent another servant.

00:19:39.740 --> 00:19:40.880
 But the tenants

00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:42.640
 also beat that servant

00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:44.299
 and treated him shamefully

00:19:44.299 --> 00:19:45.740
 and sent the servant

00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:47.259
 away empty-handed.

00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:49.039
 So the owner

00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:51.140
 sent a third servant

00:19:51.140 --> 00:19:52.960
 and this third servant,

00:19:53.380 --> 00:19:53.980
 the tenants,

00:19:54.200 --> 00:19:54.660
 also,

00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:56.279
 they wounded

00:19:56.279 --> 00:19:57.259
 and cast out.

00:19:57.339 --> 00:19:57.799
 And just sort of

00:19:57.799 --> 00:19:58.400
 pause here.

00:19:59.180 --> 00:19:59.859
 It's not as obvious

00:19:59.859 --> 00:20:00.380
 in English,

00:20:00.500 --> 00:20:01.599
 but in the original language,

00:20:01.700 --> 00:20:03.859
 there's escalating violence.

00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:05.779
 And in fact,

00:20:06.059 --> 00:20:07.599
 this third case,

00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:08.720
 if you sort of try

00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:09.220
 to unpack

00:20:09.220 --> 00:20:10.339
 the original language,

00:20:11.100 --> 00:20:12.900
 this third case

00:20:12.900 --> 00:20:13.480
 of violence

00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:14.960
 is so severe

00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:16.180
 that it's,

00:20:16.660 --> 00:20:18.180
 he needs a trauma word,

00:20:18.460 --> 00:20:20.559
 that it's traumatizing violence.

00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:22.480
 It's not only violence

00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:23.860
 that is traumatic

00:20:23.860 --> 00:20:24.500
 to the body,

00:20:24.600 --> 00:20:25.120
 but traumatic

00:20:25.120 --> 00:20:25.960
 to the soul.

00:20:26.620 --> 00:20:27.620
 And if it happened here,

00:20:27.740 --> 00:20:27.980
 we would,

00:20:28.259 --> 00:20:28.400
 you know,

00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:29.860
 the first one might be,

00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:30.000
 you know,

00:20:30.019 --> 00:20:30.600
 you come back

00:20:30.600 --> 00:20:31.440
 and you got a black eye,

00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:32.640
 a couple of black eyes,

00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:34.120
 maybe a bruised rib.

00:20:34.180 --> 00:20:34.839
 The second guy,

00:20:34.920 --> 00:20:35.839
 maybe they broke their leg.

00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:36.659
 The third care,

00:20:37.019 --> 00:20:37.859
 the third fellow,

00:20:38.199 --> 00:20:39.959
 he's been so badly beat up,

00:20:40.099 --> 00:20:41.399
 the person would be rushed

00:20:41.399 --> 00:20:42.459
 in the ambulance

00:20:42.459 --> 00:20:43.519
 and go right through

00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:44.299
 the waiting line

00:20:44.299 --> 00:20:45.159
 and go right into

00:20:45.159 --> 00:20:46.099
 the trauma unit

00:20:46.099 --> 00:20:47.159
 for the severity

00:20:47.159 --> 00:20:47.919
 of the injuries.

00:20:48.179 --> 00:20:49.299
 And in the original language,

00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:51.220
 there's escalating violence.

00:20:52.679 --> 00:20:56.179
 Verse 13.

00:20:56.180 --> 00:20:59.700
 Then the owner of the vineyard said,

00:20:59.779 --> 00:21:00.140
 in a sense,

00:21:00.200 --> 00:21:01.000
 said to himself,

00:21:01.259 --> 00:21:02.039
 what shall I do?

00:21:02.220 --> 00:21:04.140
 I will send my beloved son.

00:21:05.100 --> 00:21:06.560
 Perhaps the tenants

00:21:06.560 --> 00:21:07.620
 will respect him.

00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:09.480
 But when the tenants

00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:10.820
 saw the beloved son,

00:21:11.380 --> 00:21:12.920
 the tenants said to themselves,

00:21:13.320 --> 00:21:14.320
 this is the heir.

00:21:15.220 --> 00:21:16.420
 Let us kill him

00:21:16.420 --> 00:21:18.380
 so that the inheritance

00:21:18.380 --> 00:21:19.580
 may be ours.

00:21:20.580 --> 00:21:21.519
 And so the tenants

00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:22.860
 threw the beloved son

00:21:22.860 --> 00:21:23.740
 out of the vineyard

00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:25.000
 and killed him.

00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:27.380
 So this is the end

00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:28.000
 of the parable.

00:21:28.680 --> 00:21:29.359
 So now Jesus

00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:30.819
 turns to the people

00:21:30.819 --> 00:21:31.579
 and says,

00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:33.839
 what then will the owner

00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:34.460
 of the vineyard

00:21:34.460 --> 00:21:35.019
 do to them?

00:21:36.359 --> 00:21:37.359
 And he says,

00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:38.480
 the owner will come

00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:39.140
 and destroy

00:21:39.140 --> 00:21:40.500
 these tenants,

00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:41.279
 those tenants,

00:21:41.500 --> 00:21:42.380
 and give the vineyard

00:21:42.380 --> 00:21:42.940
 to others.

00:21:43.940 --> 00:21:45.299
 When the people heard this,

00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:45.740
 they said,

00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:46.380
 surely not.

00:21:46.740 --> 00:21:48.000
 You could also translate

00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:48.440
 that as,

00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:49.420
 no way.

00:21:50.779 --> 00:21:51.619
 No way.

00:21:51.619 --> 00:21:53.939
 But Jesus looked

00:21:53.939 --> 00:21:54.799
 directly at them

00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:55.219
 and said,

00:21:55.379 --> 00:21:56.339
 what then is this

00:21:56.339 --> 00:21:56.879
 that is written?

00:21:57.619 --> 00:21:58.699
 The stone that the builders

00:21:58.699 --> 00:21:59.739
 rejected has become

00:21:59.739 --> 00:22:00.500
 the cornerstone.

00:22:00.619 --> 00:22:02.479
 This is very interesting.

00:22:02.679 --> 00:22:03.939
 Just a little bit earlier,

00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:04.859
 maybe the day before

00:22:04.859 --> 00:22:05.739
 when Jesus had come

00:22:05.739 --> 00:22:06.419
 into Jerusalem,

00:22:06.639 --> 00:22:07.739
 the crowd quoted

00:22:07.739 --> 00:22:09.000
 Psalm 118,

00:22:09.099 --> 00:22:09.939
 verse 25,

00:22:10.639 --> 00:22:11.359
 about the king

00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:11.979
 coming in.

00:22:12.379 --> 00:22:13.159
 And now Jesus

00:22:13.159 --> 00:22:13.839
 quotes to them

00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:15.000
 Psalm 118,

00:22:15.139 --> 00:22:15.879
 verse 22.

00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:18.580
 And he says,

00:22:19.240 --> 00:22:20.300
 the stone that the builders

00:22:20.300 --> 00:22:20.940
 rejected

00:22:20.940 --> 00:22:22.120
 has become

00:22:22.120 --> 00:22:23.160
 the cornerstone.

00:22:24.380 --> 00:22:25.560
 Everyone who falls

00:22:25.560 --> 00:22:26.340
 on that stone

00:22:26.340 --> 00:22:27.380
 will be broken

00:22:27.380 --> 00:22:28.080
 to pieces,

00:22:28.560 --> 00:22:29.260
 and when it falls

00:22:29.260 --> 00:22:29.820
 on anyone,

00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:30.680
 it will crush him.

00:22:31.320 --> 00:22:31.900
 The scribes

00:22:31.900 --> 00:22:32.700
 and the chief priests

00:22:32.700 --> 00:22:33.760
 sought to lay hands

00:22:33.760 --> 00:22:34.260
 on Jesus

00:22:34.260 --> 00:22:35.360
 at that very hour

00:22:35.360 --> 00:22:36.560
 for they perceived

00:22:36.560 --> 00:22:37.620
 that Jesus had told

00:22:37.620 --> 00:22:38.880
 this parable against them,

00:22:39.340 --> 00:22:40.040
 but they feared

00:22:40.040 --> 00:22:40.540
 the people.

00:22:40.539 --> 00:22:42.420
 So,

00:22:43.379 --> 00:22:48.779
 is this wise,

00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:50.659
 or is it just unjust?

00:22:50.940 --> 00:22:51.980
 Is it just needlessly

00:22:51.980 --> 00:22:52.960
 bloodthirsty?

00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:54.779
 Well,

00:22:54.879 --> 00:22:56.019
 we need to actually

00:22:56.019 --> 00:22:57.059
 ponder this text

00:22:57.059 --> 00:22:57.720
 a little bit more

00:22:57.720 --> 00:22:58.379
 before we make

00:22:58.379 --> 00:22:59.539
 a hasty decision.

00:23:00.119 --> 00:23:00.779
 And the first thing

00:23:00.779 --> 00:23:01.259
 is this.

00:23:02.059 --> 00:23:02.839
 If you could put

00:23:02.839 --> 00:23:03.619
 the next point

00:23:03.619 --> 00:23:05.379
 to understand this text,

00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:07.299
 is that God made me

00:23:07.299 --> 00:23:09.899
 to be morally sane.

00:23:10.539 --> 00:23:12.779
 God made me

00:23:12.779 --> 00:23:13.720
 and you

00:23:13.720 --> 00:23:16.460
 to be morally sane.

00:23:17.460 --> 00:23:17.940
 In fact,

00:23:17.980 --> 00:23:18.420
 I would say

00:23:18.420 --> 00:23:19.259
 that at the end of the day,

00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:20.079
 the Bible

00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:21.059
 is an outline

00:23:21.059 --> 00:23:21.940
 of sanity.

00:23:22.980 --> 00:23:23.700
 The Bible

00:23:23.700 --> 00:23:24.319
 is an outline

00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:25.240
 of intellectual,

00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:26.299
 moral,

00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:28.839
 spiritual sanity.

00:23:30.359 --> 00:23:30.759
 And you say,

00:23:30.839 --> 00:23:31.039
 George,

00:23:31.099 --> 00:23:32.200
 that's an odd thing

00:23:32.200 --> 00:23:32.659
 to say

00:23:32.659 --> 00:23:33.899
 about a text like this.

00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:34.480
 Well,

00:23:34.579 --> 00:23:35.220
 here's the thing,

00:23:35.799 --> 00:23:36.420
 and I actually

00:23:36.420 --> 00:23:37.399
 struggled a fair bit

00:23:37.399 --> 00:23:39.559
 to try to figure out

00:23:39.559 --> 00:23:40.460
 how to put this down

00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:40.799
 and I don't know

00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:41.539
 if this has helped.

00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:42.299
 But,

00:23:42.620 --> 00:23:42.799
 you know,

00:23:42.819 --> 00:23:43.519
 just as I said

00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:44.140
 for the mind,

00:23:44.220 --> 00:23:45.200
 remember how I described

00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:45.980
 that with the mind

00:23:45.980 --> 00:23:46.759
 that God gave me

00:23:46.759 --> 00:23:47.559
 a mind to seek,

00:23:47.700 --> 00:23:47.860
 know,

00:23:47.980 --> 00:23:48.160
 love,

00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:49.000
 and live the truth

00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:49.600
 and our minds

00:23:49.600 --> 00:23:50.120
 were not made

00:23:50.120 --> 00:23:50.819
 to avoid truth

00:23:50.819 --> 00:23:51.600
 and exalt the self?

00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:52.759
 In the same way,

00:23:52.840 --> 00:23:54.360
 God gave me a will

00:23:54.360 --> 00:23:56.480
 to seek the good,

00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:57.940
 know the good,

00:23:58.299 --> 00:23:59.319
 love the good,

00:23:59.579 --> 00:24:00.740
 and live the good.

00:24:01.160 --> 00:24:02.059
 And not just good

00:24:02.059 --> 00:24:02.740
 because goodness

00:24:02.740 --> 00:24:03.380
 and justice

00:24:03.380 --> 00:24:05.100
 are at one with God.

00:24:05.220 --> 00:24:05.940
 That they're not at all,

00:24:05.980 --> 00:24:07.000
 they never contradict

00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:07.539
 each other.

00:24:07.640 --> 00:24:08.420
 That you could also say

00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:09.160
 that God gave me

00:24:09.160 --> 00:24:10.560
 a mind to seek the just,

00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:12.200
 to know the just,

00:24:12.380 --> 00:24:13.600
 to love the just,

00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:15.279
 and to live by justice.

00:24:15.620 --> 00:24:16.380
 And since goodness

00:24:16.380 --> 00:24:16.920
 and justice

00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:17.980
 are at one with God,

00:24:18.259 --> 00:24:19.400
 that that's how God

00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:20.779
 made me.

00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:22.080
 He made me

00:24:22.080 --> 00:24:22.759
 to will

00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:23.500
 the good

00:24:23.500 --> 00:24:24.600
 and the just.

00:24:25.500 --> 00:24:26.000
 And

00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:27.259
 he made me

00:24:27.259 --> 00:24:28.300
 not to have

00:24:28.300 --> 00:24:29.140
 my will

00:24:29.140 --> 00:24:30.480
 when it's confronted

00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:31.580
 by what's just

00:24:31.580 --> 00:24:32.660
 or what's confronted

00:24:32.660 --> 00:24:33.620
 by what's good

00:24:33.620 --> 00:24:34.820
 to turn away

00:24:34.820 --> 00:24:35.380
 from it.

00:24:35.640 --> 00:24:36.340
 And in fact,

00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:37.240
 believe things

00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:38.940
 that only serve myself

00:24:38.940 --> 00:24:39.940
 and the projects

00:24:39.940 --> 00:24:40.640
 of myself.

00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:41.599
 And you see,

00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:42.759
 that's another way

00:24:42.759 --> 00:24:43.859
 to describe

00:24:43.859 --> 00:24:45.079
 actually seeking

00:24:45.079 --> 00:24:45.779
 the good

00:24:45.779 --> 00:24:46.539
 and the just

00:24:46.539 --> 00:24:47.779
 and loving it

00:24:47.779 --> 00:24:48.940
 and living it,

00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:49.980
 knowing it,

00:24:50.099 --> 00:24:51.339
 and not avoiding it.

00:24:51.579 --> 00:24:52.900
 What you've just described

00:24:52.900 --> 00:24:55.099
 is moral sanity.

00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:57.539
 Wouldn't you agree?

00:24:58.579 --> 00:25:01.079
 That's what morally sane is.

00:25:01.779 --> 00:25:02.700
 Lots of things.

00:25:02.980 --> 00:25:03.539
 Now you might say,

00:25:03.620 --> 00:25:03.799
 George,

00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:04.319
 that's really good.

00:25:04.339 --> 00:25:04.620
 Are you saying

00:25:04.620 --> 00:25:05.279
 that only Christians

00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:06.039
 are morally sane

00:25:06.039 --> 00:25:07.180
 and that non-Christians

00:25:07.180 --> 00:25:07.420
 are morally sane?

00:25:07.420 --> 00:25:08.079
 No, I'm not saying

00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:08.480
 that at all.

00:25:08.700 --> 00:25:10.500
 This is a human problem.

00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:12.539
 A human problem.

00:25:13.619 --> 00:25:14.399
 I've shared with you

00:25:14.399 --> 00:25:15.359
 before that one of the things

00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:16.319
 I'm not very good at

00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:17.399
 is telling people off.

00:25:17.460 --> 00:25:18.099
 I'm not very good

00:25:18.099 --> 00:25:18.960
 at rebuking people.

00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:20.059
 And one of the things

00:25:20.059 --> 00:25:20.980
 I've discovered in life,

00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:21.619
 I've shared with you

00:25:21.619 --> 00:25:21.940
 before,

00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:23.000
 I can share it again,

00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:24.279
 is that when I come,

00:25:24.440 --> 00:25:25.200
 and I finally have it,

00:25:25.240 --> 00:25:25.359
 you know,

00:25:25.379 --> 00:25:26.119
 Louise will tell you,

00:25:26.159 --> 00:25:27.240
 I've had a sleepless night

00:25:27.240 --> 00:25:27.859
 the night before,

00:25:27.960 --> 00:25:29.039
 maybe two sleepless nights.

00:25:29.119 --> 00:25:30.139
 I'm really bad at this.

00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:31.220
 And so finally,

00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:32.279
 I come to try to say

00:25:32.279 --> 00:25:32.839
 to a person

00:25:32.839 --> 00:25:33.619
 that what they've been doing

00:25:33.619 --> 00:25:34.119
 is wrong.

00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:35.179
 And I can tell

00:25:35.179 --> 00:25:36.439
 within two seconds

00:25:36.439 --> 00:25:37.599
 whether this conversation

00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:38.679
 is going to go well

00:25:38.679 --> 00:25:39.319
 or badly.

00:25:40.179 --> 00:25:41.179
 Is the person

00:25:41.179 --> 00:25:41.679
 going to have

00:25:41.679 --> 00:25:42.679
 a tender heart

00:25:42.679 --> 00:25:44.379
 where they say,

00:25:44.699 --> 00:25:45.659
 oh, you know,

00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:47.619
 I'm really sorry.

00:25:48.359 --> 00:25:49.439
 Will you forgive me?

00:25:50.399 --> 00:25:51.139
 Or will they

00:25:51.139 --> 00:25:52.659
 come right back

00:25:52.659 --> 00:25:53.259
 and say,

00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:54.799
 how dare you say that?

00:25:55.139 --> 00:25:56.559
 You're completely out of line.

00:25:56.639 --> 00:25:57.699
 You're completely wrong.

00:25:57.779 --> 00:25:58.919
 I'm completely blameless.

00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:00.199
 How dare you accuse me?

00:26:00.399 --> 00:26:01.559
 I can tell within two seconds

00:26:01.559 --> 00:26:02.559
 by their body language

00:26:02.559 --> 00:26:03.579
 and the feel whether

00:26:03.579 --> 00:26:04.279
 this is going to go well

00:26:04.279 --> 00:26:05.299
 or whether it's going to go bad.

00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:07.019
 I mean,

00:26:07.079 --> 00:26:08.299
 how many of us,

00:26:08.599 --> 00:26:09.980
 maybe even earlier on

00:26:09.980 --> 00:26:10.539
 in the service

00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:11.220
 when I'm praying

00:26:11.220 --> 00:26:11.799
 about the fact

00:26:11.799 --> 00:26:12.419
 that some of us

00:26:12.419 --> 00:26:13.279
 are too distracted

00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:14.259
 to know and hear the truth,

00:26:14.679 --> 00:26:15.659
 how many of us

00:26:15.659 --> 00:26:16.899
 are maybe too distracted

00:26:16.899 --> 00:26:18.119
 to know and hear the truth

00:26:18.119 --> 00:26:19.339
 because we're thinking,

00:26:19.700 --> 00:26:20.599
 how dare my mother

00:26:20.599 --> 00:26:21.419
 say that to me

00:26:21.419 --> 00:26:22.059
 on the way in?

00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:23.759
 How dare my husband

00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:24.799
 say that about me?

00:26:25.159 --> 00:26:26.319
 How dare my wife

00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:27.200
 say that about me?

00:26:27.460 --> 00:26:28.759
 How dare my boss

00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:29.619
 say that about me

00:26:29.619 --> 00:26:30.899
 last Wednesday?

00:26:30.900 --> 00:26:31.060
 Wednesday.

00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:33.060
 It's still beating me up

00:26:33.060 --> 00:26:34.060
 that my boss

00:26:34.060 --> 00:26:34.880
 said that about me.

00:26:34.920 --> 00:26:36.000
 How dare my brother

00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:37.019
 say that about me

00:26:37.019 --> 00:26:37.740
 or my sister?

00:26:38.080 --> 00:26:39.280
 How dare my friends

00:26:39.280 --> 00:26:39.860
 say that?

00:26:40.080 --> 00:26:40.960
 And we're still

00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:42.800
 anxious and beat up

00:26:42.800 --> 00:26:45.140
 and rebelling

00:26:45.140 --> 00:26:46.040
 against it.

00:26:47.120 --> 00:26:47.660
 That never happened

00:26:47.660 --> 00:26:48.100
 to anybody here,

00:26:48.120 --> 00:26:48.400
 I'm sure.

00:26:48.500 --> 00:26:49.140
 Nobody ever

00:26:49.140 --> 00:26:51.019
 has had that experience.

00:26:51.540 --> 00:26:52.480
 If you say that,

00:26:52.900 --> 00:26:53.960
 the confession time

00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:54.680
 is for later on

00:26:54.680 --> 00:26:55.259
 in the service

00:26:55.259 --> 00:26:56.460
 is just for you

00:26:56.460 --> 00:26:57.420
 and for me

00:26:57.420 --> 00:26:58.960
 because, of course,

00:26:58.960 --> 00:26:59.880
 we do say that.

00:27:01.019 --> 00:27:02.200
 Of course we say that.

00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:03.380
 You see,

00:27:03.660 --> 00:27:04.539
 we might not say

00:27:04.539 --> 00:27:05.019
 that we've ever

00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:06.000
 actually been a tenant

00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:07.220
 where God

00:27:07.220 --> 00:27:08.360
 has sent people,

00:27:08.680 --> 00:27:09.160
 but you see,

00:27:09.220 --> 00:27:09.620
 in a sense,

00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:10.460
 if we understand

00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:12.039
 that how many times

00:27:12.039 --> 00:27:13.039
 has conscience

00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:14.380
 awoken within us

00:27:14.380 --> 00:27:15.420
 to convict us

00:27:15.420 --> 00:27:15.900
 of something

00:27:15.900 --> 00:27:16.980
 that we've done

00:27:16.980 --> 00:27:17.420
 that's wrong?

00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:18.500
 How many has

00:27:18.500 --> 00:27:19.579
 an external conscience

00:27:19.579 --> 00:27:20.420
 like a wife

00:27:20.420 --> 00:27:21.559
 or a boss

00:27:21.559 --> 00:27:22.600
 said that we've

00:27:22.600 --> 00:27:23.559
 done something wrong?

00:27:23.960 --> 00:27:25.000
 How often

00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:25.980
 has it been

00:27:25.980 --> 00:27:26.700
 that the Bible

00:27:26.700 --> 00:27:27.380
 has said

00:27:27.380 --> 00:27:28.099
 that we're doing

00:27:28.099 --> 00:27:29.019
 something wrong

00:27:29.019 --> 00:27:30.480
 and rather than

00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:30.940
 us having

00:27:30.940 --> 00:27:32.180
 a tender heart

00:27:32.180 --> 00:27:34.180
 to live in a way

00:27:34.180 --> 00:27:34.680
 that is good

00:27:34.680 --> 00:27:35.259
 and just,

00:27:35.920 --> 00:27:36.700
 have we raged

00:27:36.700 --> 00:27:37.360
 against it?

00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:39.599
 And all we can do

00:27:39.599 --> 00:27:41.039
 usually in raging

00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:41.640
 against it

00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:42.319
 is just it's all

00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:42.960
 inside of us,

00:27:43.019 --> 00:27:43.539
 but sometimes

00:27:43.539 --> 00:27:44.160
 it can be that

00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:45.200
 we get right

00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:46.339
 in that boss's face,

00:27:46.420 --> 00:27:47.000
 we get right

00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:47.940
 in the mom's face,

00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:48.539
 we get right

00:27:48.539 --> 00:27:49.420
 in the dad's face,

00:27:49.539 --> 00:27:50.539
 we get up close

00:27:50.539 --> 00:27:51.120
 and personal

00:27:51.120 --> 00:27:53.059
 and we rage

00:27:53.059 --> 00:27:53.640
 at them.

00:27:53.640 --> 00:27:56.900
 How many of us

00:27:56.900 --> 00:27:57.320
 in fact

00:27:57.320 --> 00:27:58.440
 maybe in the work world

00:27:58.440 --> 00:27:59.000
 know that there's

00:27:59.000 --> 00:27:59.520
 a person

00:27:59.520 --> 00:28:00.300
 in the cubicle

00:28:00.300 --> 00:28:01.120
 next door

00:28:01.120 --> 00:28:02.680
 that nobody likes

00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:03.320
 to ever say

00:28:03.320 --> 00:28:04.000
 anything bad

00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:04.540
 about them

00:28:04.540 --> 00:28:05.020
 because they don't

00:28:05.020 --> 00:28:05.560
 want to have to

00:28:05.560 --> 00:28:06.480
 deal with the fallout?

00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:10.060
 How many of you

00:28:10.060 --> 00:28:11.120
 are that person?

00:28:15.900 --> 00:28:17.180
 This is a human

00:28:17.180 --> 00:28:17.759
 problem

00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:19.480
 that Jesus

00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:20.120
 is addressing

00:28:20.120 --> 00:28:21.120
 in this story.

00:28:21.620 --> 00:28:21.960
 So you see

00:28:21.960 --> 00:28:22.540
 the first thing

00:28:22.540 --> 00:28:23.400
 is all of a sudden

00:28:23.400 --> 00:28:24.019
 that we realize

00:28:24.019 --> 00:28:24.620
 that at first

00:28:24.620 --> 00:28:25.240
 this story

00:28:25.240 --> 00:28:25.740
 looks like

00:28:25.740 --> 00:28:26.340
 it's just maybe

00:28:26.340 --> 00:28:27.540
 a very judgmental

00:28:27.540 --> 00:28:28.100
 story,

00:28:28.320 --> 00:28:29.200
 but actually

00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:30.140
 Jesus is putting

00:28:30.140 --> 00:28:30.680
 his finger

00:28:30.680 --> 00:28:31.380
 on something

00:28:31.380 --> 00:28:32.140
 in the human

00:28:32.140 --> 00:28:32.680
 heart,

00:28:33.120 --> 00:28:34.259
 not just for

00:28:34.259 --> 00:28:34.920
 the hearers

00:28:34.920 --> 00:28:35.400
 back then,

00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:36.360
 those nasty

00:28:36.360 --> 00:28:37.420
 chief priests

00:28:37.420 --> 00:28:38.500
 and scribes,

00:28:38.580 --> 00:28:39.160
 oh, they're so

00:28:39.160 --> 00:28:39.800
 nasty,

00:28:39.960 --> 00:28:40.860
 they're so bad.

00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:42.019
 Jesus is putting

00:28:42.019 --> 00:28:42.580
 his finger,

00:28:42.980 --> 00:28:43.780
 this text is

00:28:43.780 --> 00:28:44.720
 speaking to my

00:28:44.720 --> 00:28:45.220
 heart.

00:28:46.300 --> 00:28:47.000
 How often

00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:47.740
 do I choose

00:28:47.740 --> 00:28:48.820
 moral insanity?

00:28:50.460 --> 00:28:50.680
 I mean,

00:28:50.700 --> 00:28:51.440
 the great comfort

00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:53.259
 is what I can

00:28:53.259 --> 00:28:53.860
 just tell you

00:28:53.860 --> 00:28:54.580
 is that as we

00:28:54.580 --> 00:28:55.400
 get closer to

00:28:55.400 --> 00:28:55.720
 Jesus,

00:28:55.720 --> 00:28:56.460
 as the Holy

00:28:56.460 --> 00:28:57.160
 Spirit has a

00:28:57.160 --> 00:28:57.640
 deeper role

00:28:57.640 --> 00:28:58.320
 in our lives,

00:28:58.740 --> 00:28:59.480
 as the Bible

00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:00.740
 forms our minds,

00:29:01.140 --> 00:29:02.240
 it will form us

00:29:02.240 --> 00:29:03.820
 to moral sanity.

00:29:04.299 --> 00:29:04.680
 Here are just

00:29:04.680 --> 00:29:05.340
 two sort of

00:29:05.340 --> 00:29:06.100
 brief takeaway

00:29:06.100 --> 00:29:06.640
 points.

00:29:07.059 --> 00:29:07.400
 By the way,

00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:08.019
 if you can't get

00:29:08.019 --> 00:29:08.640
 them written down,

00:29:08.779 --> 00:29:09.380
 they'll all be on

00:29:09.380 --> 00:29:10.160
 the webpage later

00:29:10.160 --> 00:29:11.039
 on tomorrow,

00:29:11.420 --> 00:29:11.840
 they'll be on

00:29:11.840 --> 00:29:12.200
 the webpage,

00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:13.039
 but here's sort

00:29:13.039 --> 00:29:13.580
 of very two

00:29:13.580 --> 00:29:14.420
 quick takeaways.

00:29:15.340 --> 00:29:15.880
 To say to

00:29:15.880 --> 00:29:16.340
 ourselves,

00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:16.900
 to make a

00:29:16.900 --> 00:29:17.580
 commitment before

00:29:17.579 --> 00:29:17.939
 God,

00:29:18.019 --> 00:29:18.720
 I will humbly

00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:19.319
 seek the

00:29:19.319 --> 00:29:20.539
 truth and

00:29:20.539 --> 00:29:21.639
 humbly change

00:29:21.639 --> 00:29:22.839
 my mind to

00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:23.199
 know the

00:29:23.199 --> 00:29:23.500
 truth.

00:29:24.019 --> 00:29:24.480
 I didn't word

00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:25.179
 that very well,

00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:25.980
 but basically it's

00:29:25.980 --> 00:29:26.599
 a willingness to

00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:27.439
 change your mind,

00:29:28.199 --> 00:29:29.079
 to acknowledge

00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:29.799
 that I'm wrong.

00:29:31.159 --> 00:29:32.019
 Dang it all,

00:29:32.539 --> 00:29:33.099
 the United States

00:29:33.099 --> 00:29:34.000
 wasn't the worst

00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:35.399
 at affecting

00:29:35.399 --> 00:29:36.720
 income distribution.

00:29:37.779 --> 00:29:38.699
 That's the truth.

00:29:38.759 --> 00:29:39.419
 I got to change

00:29:39.419 --> 00:29:40.039
 my mind.

00:29:41.259 --> 00:29:42.000
 And boy,

00:29:42.179 --> 00:29:42.960
 I didn't realize,

00:29:43.099 --> 00:29:43.279
 God,

00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:43.919
 that my mind

00:29:43.919 --> 00:29:44.579
 was motivated

00:29:44.579 --> 00:29:45.500
 in those days

00:29:45.500 --> 00:29:46.299
 so much by

00:29:46.299 --> 00:29:46.919
 hatred of

00:29:46.919 --> 00:29:47.759
 capitalism and

00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:48.799
 a hatred of

00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:49.480
 the United States

00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:50.079
 of America.

00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:50.980
 I didn't realize

00:29:50.980 --> 00:29:51.759
 that's what

00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:52.319
 drove me.

00:29:53.139 --> 00:29:53.639
 So make a

00:29:53.639 --> 00:29:53.859
 commitment.

00:29:53.940 --> 00:29:54.039
 See,

00:29:54.099 --> 00:29:54.539
 this is why

00:29:54.539 --> 00:29:55.180
 it matters.

00:29:55.379 --> 00:29:55.859
 It matters

00:29:55.859 --> 00:29:56.220
 when we go

00:29:56.220 --> 00:29:56.799
 back to our

00:29:56.799 --> 00:29:57.359
 work and

00:29:57.359 --> 00:29:58.319
 if we're a

00:29:58.319 --> 00:29:58.619
 lawyer,

00:29:58.799 --> 00:29:59.180
 if we're an

00:29:59.180 --> 00:29:59.680
 economist,

00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:00.220
 if we're a

00:30:00.220 --> 00:30:00.859
 mom with the

00:30:00.859 --> 00:30:01.399
 kids or a

00:30:01.399 --> 00:30:02.019
 dad with the

00:30:02.019 --> 00:30:02.319
 kids,

00:30:02.779 --> 00:30:03.680
 if we're a

00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:04.359
 social worker,

00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:05.119
 the truth

00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:05.919
 matters.

00:30:06.099 --> 00:30:06.480
 Make a

00:30:06.480 --> 00:30:06.799
 commitment

00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:07.720
 before God

00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:08.579
 to develop

00:30:08.579 --> 00:30:09.879
 a habit of

00:30:09.879 --> 00:30:10.519
 seeking the

00:30:10.519 --> 00:30:10.919
 truth and

00:30:10.919 --> 00:30:11.419
 being willing

00:30:11.419 --> 00:30:11.960
 to say,

00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:12.259
 you know

00:30:12.259 --> 00:30:12.460
 what,

00:30:12.500 --> 00:30:13.019
 I used to

00:30:13.019 --> 00:30:13.440
 think that

00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:14.059
 and I was

00:30:14.059 --> 00:30:14.399
 wrong.

00:30:14.919 --> 00:30:15.419
 This is

00:30:15.419 --> 00:30:15.879
 actually

00:30:16.299 --> 00:30:17.279
 more true.

00:30:18.339 --> 00:30:18.700
 And a

00:30:18.700 --> 00:30:19.220
 corresponding

00:30:19.220 --> 00:30:19.799
 thing in

00:30:19.799 --> 00:30:20.159
 terms of

00:30:20.159 --> 00:30:20.839
 moral sanity.

00:30:21.019 --> 00:30:21.339
 Make a

00:30:21.339 --> 00:30:21.639
 commitment

00:30:21.639 --> 00:30:22.259
 before God

00:30:22.259 --> 00:30:22.579
 to say,

00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:22.940
 I will

00:30:22.940 --> 00:30:23.359
 humbly

00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:23.980
 seek the

00:30:23.980 --> 00:30:25.319
 good and

00:30:25.319 --> 00:30:25.700
 humbly

00:30:25.700 --> 00:30:27.019
 repent and

00:30:27.019 --> 00:30:27.500
 seek to

00:30:27.500 --> 00:30:28.579
 choose to

00:30:28.579 --> 00:30:29.240
 change my

00:30:29.240 --> 00:30:30.180
 life according

00:30:30.180 --> 00:30:30.779
 to the

00:30:30.779 --> 00:30:30.919
 good.

00:30:30.980 --> 00:30:31.319
 That's the

00:30:31.319 --> 00:30:31.579
 next,

00:30:31.720 --> 00:30:32.519
 the second

00:30:32.519 --> 00:30:33.519
 walk,

00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:34.279
 takeaway point.

00:30:34.359 --> 00:30:34.619
 I will

00:30:34.619 --> 00:30:35.299
 humbly seek

00:30:35.299 --> 00:30:36.519
 the good and

00:30:36.519 --> 00:30:37.519
 humbly repent

00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:39.059
 and seek to

00:30:39.059 --> 00:30:39.700
 change my

00:30:39.700 --> 00:30:40.960
 life according

00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:41.539
 to the good.

00:30:42.180 --> 00:30:42.759
 Repentance and

00:30:42.759 --> 00:30:43.240
 amendment of

00:30:43.240 --> 00:30:43.500
 life.

00:30:44.180 --> 00:30:44.659
 It's a thing

00:30:44.659 --> 00:30:45.019
 that we can

00:30:45.019 --> 00:30:45.519
 take away

00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:46.440
 from it.

00:30:46.980 --> 00:30:49.700
 Some of

00:30:49.700 --> 00:30:49.960
 you might

00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:50.480
 be saying,

00:30:50.779 --> 00:30:51.279
 George,

00:30:51.379 --> 00:30:52.500
 I don't

00:30:52.500 --> 00:30:52.799
 know if I

00:30:52.799 --> 00:30:53.619
 entirely believe

00:30:53.619 --> 00:30:53.799
 you.

00:30:54.379 --> 00:30:55.519
 Maybe somebody's

00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:56.279
 here or they're

00:30:56.279 --> 00:30:56.839
 listening to it

00:30:56.839 --> 00:30:57.480
 online and

00:30:57.480 --> 00:30:57.779
 they're saying,

00:30:57.859 --> 00:30:58.200
 I know what you

00:30:58.200 --> 00:30:58.940
 think about

00:30:58.940 --> 00:31:00.099
 abortion and a few

00:31:00.099 --> 00:31:00.619
 other issues.

00:31:00.680 --> 00:31:01.019
 I don't know,

00:31:01.119 --> 00:31:01.980
 George, if you're

00:31:01.980 --> 00:31:02.500
 really morally

00:31:02.500 --> 00:31:02.920
 sane.

00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:03.819
 I don't know if the

00:31:03.819 --> 00:31:04.539
 Bible's morally

00:31:04.539 --> 00:31:04.940
 sane.

00:31:05.379 --> 00:31:05.859
 But it's at least

00:31:05.859 --> 00:31:06.460
 comforting to

00:31:06.460 --> 00:31:07.059
 know that that's

00:31:07.059 --> 00:31:08.039
 what you think

00:31:08.039 --> 00:31:09.059
 that God wants

00:31:09.059 --> 00:31:09.619
 to do in your

00:31:09.619 --> 00:31:09.960
 life.

00:31:10.420 --> 00:31:11.079
 Because it's hard

00:31:11.079 --> 00:31:11.720
 to argue

00:31:11.720 --> 00:31:12.799
 against moral

00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:13.399
 sanity.

00:31:14.500 --> 00:31:15.359
 It's hard to

00:31:15.359 --> 00:31:16.319
 argue against

00:31:16.319 --> 00:31:16.899
 that as being

00:31:16.899 --> 00:31:17.480
 a worthy

00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:17.980
 goal.

00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:19.939
 But surely,

00:31:20.159 --> 00:31:20.659
 George, this

00:31:20.659 --> 00:31:21.279
 whole thing

00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:21.720
 about the

00:31:21.720 --> 00:31:22.699
 stone and

00:31:22.699 --> 00:31:23.240
 everything like

00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:23.939
 that, surely

00:31:23.939 --> 00:31:24.579
 that's a

00:31:24.579 --> 00:31:26.220
 problem text,

00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:26.539
 isn't it?

00:31:26.599 --> 00:31:27.099
 Isn't that going

00:31:27.099 --> 00:31:27.740
 beyond this?

00:31:27.879 --> 00:31:28.639
 I sort of

00:31:28.639 --> 00:31:29.319
 understand this

00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:30.259
 idea of moral

00:31:30.259 --> 00:31:31.539
 sanity and I'm

00:31:31.539 --> 00:31:31.899
 going to make

00:31:31.899 --> 00:31:32.519
 that commitment.

00:31:33.139 --> 00:31:33.619
 But surely

00:31:33.619 --> 00:31:34.839
 this text goes

00:31:34.839 --> 00:31:35.059
 beyond.

00:31:35.119 --> 00:31:35.379
 Well, let's

00:31:35.379 --> 00:31:36.919
 look again at

00:31:36.919 --> 00:31:37.659
 verse 16 and

00:31:37.659 --> 00:31:38.019
 17.

00:31:38.139 --> 00:31:38.639
 Let's look at

00:31:38.639 --> 00:31:39.079
 them and sort of

00:31:39.079 --> 00:31:39.639
 have it fresh in

00:31:39.639 --> 00:31:40.299
 our minds as we

00:31:40.299 --> 00:31:40.819
 think about it

00:31:40.819 --> 00:31:41.059
 again.

00:31:41.639 --> 00:31:42.059
 And remember

00:31:42.059 --> 00:31:42.879
 earlier on in

00:31:42.879 --> 00:31:43.639
 verse 15,

00:31:43.720 --> 00:31:43.859
 you know,

00:31:43.879 --> 00:31:44.559
 earlier on it's

00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:45.819
 the owner sends

00:31:45.819 --> 00:31:46.759
 the beloved son,

00:31:46.899 --> 00:31:48.059
 his beloved son,

00:31:48.159 --> 00:31:48.700
 and the beloved

00:31:48.700 --> 00:31:49.539
 son is killed by

00:31:49.539 --> 00:31:49.980
 the tenants.

00:31:50.539 --> 00:31:51.200
 And then Jesus

00:31:51.200 --> 00:31:52.079
 says, you know,

00:31:52.119 --> 00:31:52.619
 what will the

00:31:52.619 --> 00:31:53.319
 owner do?

00:31:53.379 --> 00:31:53.819
 And he says,

00:31:53.899 --> 00:31:54.379
 verse 16,

00:31:54.439 --> 00:31:54.980
 he will come and

00:31:54.980 --> 00:31:55.559
 destroy those

00:31:55.559 --> 00:31:56.099
 tenants and give

00:31:56.099 --> 00:31:56.659
 the vineyard to

00:31:56.659 --> 00:31:56.960
 others.

00:31:57.519 --> 00:31:58.039
 And when the

00:31:58.039 --> 00:31:58.759
 crowd hears this,

00:31:58.799 --> 00:31:59.099
 they say,

00:31:59.179 --> 00:31:59.819
 no way.

00:32:00.519 --> 00:32:01.079
 But Jesus

00:32:01.079 --> 00:32:01.720
 looks at them

00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:02.179
 directly and

00:32:02.179 --> 00:32:02.579
 said, what

00:32:02.579 --> 00:32:03.939
 then is this

00:32:03.939 --> 00:32:04.539
 that is written?

00:32:04.639 --> 00:32:05.240
 The stone that

00:32:05.240 --> 00:32:05.679
 the builders

00:32:05.679 --> 00:32:07.079
 rejected has

00:32:07.079 --> 00:32:07.779
 become the

00:32:07.779 --> 00:32:08.539
 cornerstone.

00:32:08.539 --> 00:32:11.000
 And you'll

00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:11.480
 notice in

00:32:11.480 --> 00:32:12.220
 some of your

00:32:12.220 --> 00:32:12.759
 texts that

00:32:12.759 --> 00:32:13.200
 there's a

00:32:13.200 --> 00:32:13.680
 little note

00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:14.659
 with cornerstone

00:32:14.659 --> 00:32:16.599
 and it says

00:32:16.599 --> 00:32:17.079
 head of the

00:32:17.079 --> 00:32:17.379
 corner.

00:32:17.559 --> 00:32:18.639
 And some of

00:32:18.639 --> 00:32:19.079
 your versions

00:32:19.079 --> 00:32:19.599
 might say

00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:20.279
 capstone.

00:32:21.079 --> 00:32:22.559
 And actually,

00:32:22.759 --> 00:32:23.420
 in the original

00:32:23.420 --> 00:32:24.039
 language,

00:32:24.899 --> 00:32:25.980
 this one word

00:32:25.980 --> 00:32:26.519
 can sort of

00:32:26.519 --> 00:32:27.399
 mean two

00:32:27.399 --> 00:32:28.180
 different types

00:32:28.180 --> 00:32:28.759
 of stones.

00:32:28.759 --> 00:32:28.839
 stones.

00:32:29.660 --> 00:32:30.819
 And you

00:32:30.819 --> 00:32:31.220
 have to sort

00:32:31.220 --> 00:32:31.640
 of tell from

00:32:31.640 --> 00:32:32.240
 the context

00:32:32.240 --> 00:32:32.779
 which one

00:32:32.779 --> 00:32:33.640
 it might be

00:32:33.640 --> 00:32:34.200
 more likely

00:32:34.200 --> 00:32:34.619
 to be.

00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:36.400
 But the

00:32:36.400 --> 00:32:36.740
 fact of the

00:32:36.740 --> 00:32:37.099
 matter is,

00:32:37.160 --> 00:32:38.059
 I wonder if

00:32:38.059 --> 00:32:38.980
 Jesus chose

00:32:38.980 --> 00:32:40.079
 a word that

00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:40.960
 intentionally had

00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:41.460
 two different

00:32:41.460 --> 00:32:41.720
 meanings,

00:32:41.819 --> 00:32:42.059
 but they're

00:32:42.059 --> 00:32:42.660
 very similar.

00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:43.879
 And if some

00:32:43.879 --> 00:32:44.099
 of your

00:32:44.099 --> 00:32:44.720
 versions say

00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:45.319
 capstone,

00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:45.920
 it's back in

00:32:45.920 --> 00:32:47.059
 the days when

00:32:47.059 --> 00:32:47.379
 they made

00:32:47.379 --> 00:32:48.420
 natural arches

00:32:48.420 --> 00:32:49.859
 without mortar.

00:32:50.619 --> 00:32:51.200
 And I guess

00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:51.500
 they'd have,

00:32:51.559 --> 00:32:51.799
 I don't know,

00:32:51.900 --> 00:32:52.279
 a wooden

00:32:52.279 --> 00:32:52.920
 structure or

00:32:52.920 --> 00:32:53.319
 whatever as

00:32:53.319 --> 00:32:53.839
 the stones

00:32:53.839 --> 00:32:54.359
 are placed.

00:32:54.539 --> 00:32:55.019
 And then at

00:32:55.019 --> 00:32:56.140
 the final top

00:32:56.140 --> 00:32:57.220
 of the arch,

00:32:57.299 --> 00:32:57.799
 they'd put a

00:32:57.799 --> 00:32:58.919
 stone that

00:32:58.919 --> 00:32:59.819
 fits perfectly

00:32:59.819 --> 00:33:00.440
 with all the

00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:00.799
 others.

00:33:01.399 --> 00:33:01.859
 And then they'd

00:33:01.859 --> 00:33:02.659
 remove the

00:33:02.659 --> 00:33:03.960
 wooden scaffolding

00:33:03.960 --> 00:33:04.460
 and that

00:33:04.460 --> 00:33:05.519
 capstone at

00:33:05.519 --> 00:33:06.119
 the top

00:33:06.119 --> 00:33:07.279
 meant that

00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:07.680
 now the

00:33:07.680 --> 00:33:08.220
 shapes of

00:33:08.220 --> 00:33:08.639
 the stone

00:33:08.639 --> 00:33:08.859
 and the

00:33:08.859 --> 00:33:09.139
 arch,

00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:09.879
 that gravity

00:33:09.879 --> 00:33:10.460
 holds the

00:33:10.460 --> 00:33:10.879
 whole arch

00:33:10.879 --> 00:33:11.279
 together.

00:33:11.399 --> 00:33:12.079
 The capstone

00:33:12.079 --> 00:33:13.180
 holds the

00:33:13.180 --> 00:33:13.879
 whole arch

00:33:13.879 --> 00:33:14.299
 together.

00:33:14.839 --> 00:33:15.180
 And the

00:33:15.180 --> 00:33:15.879
 other image

00:33:15.879 --> 00:33:16.700
 of this

00:33:16.700 --> 00:33:17.460
 text is a

00:33:17.460 --> 00:33:18.579
 foundation stone,

00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:20.599
 sort of a

00:33:20.599 --> 00:33:20.980
 bit different

00:33:20.980 --> 00:33:21.259
 than a

00:33:21.259 --> 00:33:21.960
 cornerstone,

00:33:22.159 --> 00:33:22.339
 and it

00:33:22.339 --> 00:33:23.039
 would be in

00:33:23.039 --> 00:33:23.960
 building large

00:33:23.960 --> 00:33:24.759
 stone buildings,

00:33:24.879 --> 00:33:25.299
 a very,

00:33:25.399 --> 00:33:25.619
 very,

00:33:25.740 --> 00:33:26.460
 very large

00:33:26.460 --> 00:33:27.220
 and substantial

00:33:27.220 --> 00:33:28.680
 stone that

00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:29.180
 would be

00:33:29.180 --> 00:33:29.839
 where two

00:33:29.839 --> 00:33:30.960
 walls meet.

00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:32.600
 And so this

00:33:32.600 --> 00:33:33.720
 large stone

00:33:33.720 --> 00:33:34.279
 would have to

00:33:34.279 --> 00:33:35.059
 be so strong

00:33:35.059 --> 00:33:35.519
 that it could

00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:36.240
 support the

00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:36.980
 weight of two

00:33:36.980 --> 00:33:38.000
 different walls

00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:39.120
 with gravity

00:33:39.120 --> 00:33:39.720
 wanting to move

00:33:39.720 --> 00:33:40.440
 those walls in

00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:41.279
 different directions.

00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:41.920
 And so it was

00:33:41.920 --> 00:33:43.400
 absolutely essential

00:33:43.400 --> 00:33:44.400
 to have a large,

00:33:44.620 --> 00:33:45.980
 solid foundation

00:33:45.980 --> 00:33:47.420
 stone to keep

00:33:47.420 --> 00:33:47.960
 the building

00:33:47.960 --> 00:33:48.539
 together.

00:33:49.200 --> 00:33:49.860
 And so that's

00:33:49.860 --> 00:33:50.640
 what Jesus is

00:33:50.640 --> 00:33:50.900
 saying.

00:33:51.360 --> 00:33:52.200
 Jesus is saying

00:33:52.200 --> 00:33:53.279
 the stone that

00:33:53.279 --> 00:33:53.740
 the builders

00:33:53.740 --> 00:33:55.460
 rejected has

00:33:55.460 --> 00:33:56.480
 become this

00:33:56.480 --> 00:33:58.140
 central piece

00:33:58.140 --> 00:33:59.340
 to the entire

00:33:59.340 --> 00:34:00.299
 integrity of

00:34:00.299 --> 00:34:00.779
 the building.

00:34:01.259 --> 00:34:02.120
 So here's what

00:34:02.120 --> 00:34:02.840
 Jesus is saying.

00:34:02.900 --> 00:34:03.500
 We'll just unpack

00:34:03.500 --> 00:34:04.240
 it very briefly.

00:34:04.860 --> 00:34:05.759
 The person and

00:34:05.759 --> 00:34:06.600
 work of Jesus

00:34:06.600 --> 00:34:07.579
 of Nazareth

00:34:07.579 --> 00:34:08.820
 is central to

00:34:08.820 --> 00:34:10.139
 salvation and

00:34:10.139 --> 00:34:11.420
 to life in the

00:34:11.420 --> 00:34:12.139
 kingdom of God.

00:34:13.240 --> 00:34:14.800
 The person and

00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:15.599
 work of Jesus

00:34:15.599 --> 00:34:16.699
 of Nazareth is

00:34:16.699 --> 00:34:17.460
 central to

00:34:17.460 --> 00:34:18.539
 salvation and

00:34:18.539 --> 00:34:19.940
 to life in the

00:34:19.940 --> 00:34:21.000
 kingdom of God.

00:34:21.639 --> 00:34:22.300
 The Bible

00:34:22.300 --> 00:34:23.199
 describes Jesus

00:34:23.199 --> 00:34:24.500
 as the power

00:34:24.500 --> 00:34:25.239
 of God for

00:34:25.239 --> 00:34:25.759
 salvation.

00:34:25.980 --> 00:34:26.399
 In other words,

00:34:26.500 --> 00:34:27.239
 God sends a

00:34:27.239 --> 00:34:27.919
 power for

00:34:27.919 --> 00:34:29.179
 salvation and

00:34:29.179 --> 00:34:30.139
 this power for

00:34:30.139 --> 00:34:31.939
 salvation is

00:34:31.939 --> 00:34:33.099
 that Jesus and

00:34:33.099 --> 00:34:33.699
 his death upon

00:34:33.699 --> 00:34:34.219
 the cross.

00:34:34.599 --> 00:34:34.939
 In fact,

00:34:35.279 --> 00:34:36.199
 this sense of

00:34:36.199 --> 00:34:37.359
 the stone being

00:34:37.359 --> 00:34:38.219
 rejected, there's

00:34:38.219 --> 00:34:38.980
 two different

00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:40.119
 senses that work

00:34:40.119 --> 00:34:40.299
 here.

00:34:40.379 --> 00:34:40.759
 It's a very,

00:34:40.879 --> 00:34:42.419
 very cleverly

00:34:42.419 --> 00:34:43.319
 written piece of

00:34:43.319 --> 00:34:44.939
 literature because

00:34:44.939 --> 00:34:45.699
 on one hand,

00:34:45.799 --> 00:34:46.539
 what Jesus is

00:34:46.539 --> 00:34:47.480
 saying is that

00:34:47.480 --> 00:34:48.799
 the actual

00:34:48.799 --> 00:34:50.939
 rejection of

00:34:50.939 --> 00:34:51.980
 the stone is

00:34:51.980 --> 00:34:53.079
 actually part of

00:34:53.079 --> 00:34:53.800
 what makes the

00:34:53.800 --> 00:34:54.699
 stone essential.

00:34:55.740 --> 00:34:56.440
 There's a story

00:34:56.440 --> 00:34:57.179
 at the end of

00:34:57.179 --> 00:34:58.079
 Genesis where

00:34:58.079 --> 00:35:00.440
 Joseph, his

00:35:00.440 --> 00:35:01.000
 brothers had

00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:01.519
 sold him into

00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:02.179
 slavery and

00:35:02.179 --> 00:35:03.079
 eventually Joseph,

00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:04.559
 God used that,

00:35:04.820 --> 00:35:05.920
 Joseph being sold

00:35:05.920 --> 00:35:06.820
 into slavery by

00:35:06.820 --> 00:35:07.539
 his brothers, God

00:35:07.539 --> 00:35:09.059
 used that terrible

00:35:09.059 --> 00:35:11.159
 evil thing to

00:35:11.159 --> 00:35:12.240
 actually keep the

00:35:12.240 --> 00:35:12.940
 nation of Israel

00:35:12.940 --> 00:35:13.599
 safe.

00:35:14.280 --> 00:35:15.320
 And in Genesis

00:35:15.320 --> 00:35:17.619
 50, Joseph says

00:35:17.619 --> 00:35:18.380
 to his brothers,

00:35:18.820 --> 00:35:19.639
 you meant it for

00:35:19.639 --> 00:35:21.619
 ill, but God

00:35:21.619 --> 00:35:22.239
 used it for

00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:22.500
 good.

00:35:23.699 --> 00:35:24.619
 And in a sense

00:35:24.619 --> 00:35:25.960
 here, the people

00:35:25.960 --> 00:35:26.579
 who are going to

00:35:26.579 --> 00:35:27.500
 kill the beloved

00:35:27.500 --> 00:35:29.279
 son, they meant

00:35:29.279 --> 00:35:31.079
 it for evil, but

00:35:31.079 --> 00:35:31.980
 God used it for

00:35:31.980 --> 00:35:32.219
 good.

00:35:32.920 --> 00:35:33.759
 It became the

00:35:33.759 --> 00:35:35.460
 means by which

00:35:35.460 --> 00:35:36.839
 humanity, those

00:35:36.839 --> 00:35:37.599
 very same

00:35:37.599 --> 00:35:39.239
 tenants, could

00:35:39.239 --> 00:35:40.159
 possibly be

00:35:40.159 --> 00:35:40.960
 redeemed and

00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:41.779
 reconciled to

00:35:41.779 --> 00:35:42.039
 God.

00:35:43.400 --> 00:35:44.299
 And that's on

00:35:44.299 --> 00:35:45.039
 one hand what

00:35:45.039 --> 00:35:46.199
 it's saying here

00:35:46.199 --> 00:35:47.059
 about the text.

00:35:47.059 --> 00:35:47.099
 Christ.

00:35:47.759 --> 00:35:48.480
 But some of

00:35:48.480 --> 00:35:49.039
 you might say,

00:35:49.119 --> 00:35:49.599
 okay, George,

00:35:49.639 --> 00:35:50.299
 that's very,

00:35:50.420 --> 00:35:51.179
 very interesting.

00:35:53.420 --> 00:35:54.480
 If it's true

00:35:54.480 --> 00:35:55.079
 that in fact

00:35:55.079 --> 00:35:56.559
 God, that we,

00:35:56.759 --> 00:35:57.380
 that these human

00:35:57.380 --> 00:35:58.299
 beings meant the

00:35:58.299 --> 00:35:58.840
 killing of the

00:35:58.840 --> 00:35:59.639
 beloved son for

00:35:59.639 --> 00:36:00.480
 evil, but God

00:36:00.480 --> 00:36:01.920
 used it for good,

00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:02.500
 that it would be

00:36:02.500 --> 00:36:03.719
 the power of God

00:36:03.719 --> 00:36:04.500
 for salvation.

00:36:05.159 --> 00:36:06.259
 And this power of

00:36:06.259 --> 00:36:07.059
 God for salvation

00:36:07.059 --> 00:36:07.759
 means that the

00:36:07.759 --> 00:36:08.360
 death of Jesus

00:36:08.360 --> 00:36:09.239
 upon the cross and

00:36:09.239 --> 00:36:09.900
 his resurrection,

00:36:10.059 --> 00:36:10.799
 his death for you

00:36:10.799 --> 00:36:12.079
 and me, that it's

00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:12.880
 the means by which

00:36:12.880 --> 00:36:13.699
 we become God's

00:36:13.699 --> 00:36:14.860
 adopted child or

00:36:14.860 --> 00:36:15.480
 we become born

00:36:15.480 --> 00:36:16.179
 again or we

00:36:16.179 --> 00:36:17.039
 become justified.

00:36:17.480 --> 00:36:18.159
 It's also the

00:36:18.159 --> 00:36:18.800
 means by which

00:36:18.800 --> 00:36:19.500
 we become more

00:36:19.500 --> 00:36:20.159
 Christ-like.

00:36:20.259 --> 00:36:20.840
 It's also the

00:36:20.840 --> 00:36:21.400
 means by which

00:36:21.400 --> 00:36:22.380
 we are glorified

00:36:22.380 --> 00:36:23.500
 so that we can

00:36:23.500 --> 00:36:24.320
 be in the new

00:36:24.320 --> 00:36:24.840
 heaven and the

00:36:24.840 --> 00:36:25.460
 new earth, which

00:36:25.460 --> 00:36:26.279
 one day, Lord,

00:36:26.380 --> 00:36:27.239
 may it be soon,

00:36:27.679 --> 00:36:28.860
 God will bring

00:36:28.860 --> 00:36:30.800
 into effect when

00:36:30.800 --> 00:36:31.679
 Jesus returns.

00:36:33.440 --> 00:36:34.779
 So you might

00:36:34.779 --> 00:36:35.159
 say, okay,

00:36:35.199 --> 00:36:36.019
 George, I sort of

00:36:36.019 --> 00:36:36.739
 still understand

00:36:36.739 --> 00:36:37.239
 that, but what

00:36:37.239 --> 00:36:38.079
 about this crushing

00:36:38.079 --> 00:36:38.619
 aspect?

00:36:40.279 --> 00:36:41.119
 That's actually a

00:36:41.119 --> 00:36:41.920
 really interesting

00:36:41.920 --> 00:36:42.940
 turn that Jesus

00:36:42.940 --> 00:36:44.679
 is saying on one

00:36:44.679 --> 00:36:45.019
 hand.

00:36:45.179 --> 00:36:45.679
 You see, this is

00:36:45.679 --> 00:36:46.360
 all part of knowing

00:36:46.360 --> 00:36:47.140
 the truth, by the

00:36:47.140 --> 00:36:47.500
 way, right?

00:36:47.559 --> 00:36:47.980
 I mean, one of the

00:36:47.980 --> 00:36:48.620
 things we can leave

00:36:48.620 --> 00:36:49.260
 today is to say,

00:36:49.340 --> 00:36:50.920
 God, please create

00:36:50.920 --> 00:36:52.059
 within me a hunger

00:36:52.059 --> 00:36:53.380
 and longing to know

00:36:53.380 --> 00:36:55.599
 the true, the good,

00:36:55.700 --> 00:36:56.740
 and the beautiful.

00:36:57.400 --> 00:36:58.720
 Father, create within

00:36:58.720 --> 00:37:00.039
 me a passion, a

00:37:00.039 --> 00:37:02.280
 desire, the habits of

00:37:02.280 --> 00:37:04.240
 knowing and seeking the

00:37:04.240 --> 00:37:05.539
 true, the good, and the

00:37:05.539 --> 00:37:05.760
 beautiful.

00:37:05.860 --> 00:37:06.500
 And that doesn't mean

00:37:06.500 --> 00:37:07.160
 that we look at the

00:37:07.160 --> 00:37:08.240
 world through rose-colored

00:37:08.240 --> 00:37:08.700
 glasses.

00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:10.320
 It means that we'll also

00:37:10.320 --> 00:37:11.500
 seek and know what is

00:37:11.500 --> 00:37:11.960
 real.

00:37:11.960 --> 00:37:14.079
 but we'll see and

00:37:14.079 --> 00:37:15.179
 understand the real in

00:37:15.179 --> 00:37:16.280
 terms of the bigger

00:37:16.280 --> 00:37:17.099
 picture of truth.

00:37:17.280 --> 00:37:18.679
 We'll understand the

00:37:18.679 --> 00:37:20.039
 reality of evil in the

00:37:20.039 --> 00:37:21.539
 context of good and the

00:37:21.539 --> 00:37:22.740
 defeat ultimately of

00:37:22.740 --> 00:37:22.940
 evil.

00:37:22.940 --> 00:37:24.320
 We'll understand the

00:37:24.320 --> 00:37:25.260
 things which are just

00:37:25.260 --> 00:37:27.119
 ugly and completely and

00:37:27.119 --> 00:37:28.340
 utterly disgusting and

00:37:28.340 --> 00:37:28.820
 revolting.

00:37:29.220 --> 00:37:30.400
 And we'll see that, but

00:37:30.400 --> 00:37:31.119
 we'll see it and

00:37:31.119 --> 00:37:32.260
 understand it within the

00:37:32.260 --> 00:37:33.240
 context of the

00:37:33.240 --> 00:37:34.579
 beautiful and the

00:37:34.579 --> 00:37:36.679
 triumph of God who is

00:37:36.679 --> 00:37:37.400
 the true, the good, and

00:37:37.400 --> 00:37:37.820
 the beautiful.

00:37:37.960 --> 00:37:39.059
 And Jesus who came from

00:37:39.059 --> 00:37:39.840
 the true and the good

00:37:39.840 --> 00:37:40.800
 and the beautiful to

00:37:40.800 --> 00:37:42.280
 die upon the cross to

00:37:42.280 --> 00:37:43.920
 redeem those of us who

00:37:43.920 --> 00:37:46.260
 are addicted to lies and

00:37:46.260 --> 00:37:50.380
 evil and that which is

00:37:50.380 --> 00:37:51.340
 completely and utterly

00:37:51.340 --> 00:37:52.160
 disgusting and

00:37:52.160 --> 00:37:52.720
 despicable.

00:37:52.960 --> 00:37:54.039
 And those of us who on

00:37:54.039 --> 00:37:54.900
 one hand have an

00:37:54.900 --> 00:37:56.600
 addiction to those things

00:37:56.600 --> 00:37:58.059
 and cannot turn from it

00:37:58.059 --> 00:37:59.660
 yet at the same time know

00:37:59.660 --> 00:38:01.420
 in some sense that there

00:38:01.420 --> 00:38:02.800
 is a true, there is a

00:38:02.800 --> 00:38:03.740
 good, there is a

00:38:03.740 --> 00:38:04.960
 beautiful that we should

00:38:04.960 --> 00:38:06.180
 long for, but we do not

00:38:06.180 --> 00:38:07.680
 have the power to do that

00:38:07.680 --> 00:38:09.059
 in and of ourselves all of

00:38:09.059 --> 00:38:10.079
 the time because we

00:38:10.079 --> 00:38:12.119
 slip back to our choice

00:38:12.119 --> 00:38:14.059
 of using our mind for

00:38:14.059 --> 00:38:14.980
 our own utility and

00:38:14.980 --> 00:38:16.440
 using our will to choose

00:38:16.440 --> 00:38:17.400
 the bad rather than the

00:38:17.400 --> 00:38:18.920
 good or the just or the

00:38:18.920 --> 00:38:20.699
 loving or the fine.

00:38:22.500 --> 00:38:25.019
 That's, that's, God, God

00:38:25.019 --> 00:38:28.519
 uses this evil thing for a

00:38:28.519 --> 00:38:29.960
 good thing and when we

00:38:29.960 --> 00:38:30.920
 seek the true and the

00:38:30.920 --> 00:38:31.679
 good and the beautiful it

00:38:31.679 --> 00:38:32.840
 means we'll see the world

00:38:32.840 --> 00:38:34.699
 as it really is but not on

00:38:34.699 --> 00:38:35.659
 the world's terms.

00:38:36.860 --> 00:38:37.900
 Isn't that a thing to

00:38:37.900 --> 00:38:38.539
 long for?

00:38:39.960 --> 00:38:41.079
 To seek, to give your

00:38:41.079 --> 00:38:41.700
 lives to?

00:38:42.740 --> 00:38:43.380
 But some of you are

00:38:43.380 --> 00:38:43.760
 going to say, George,

00:38:43.820 --> 00:38:44.400
 okay, so what about

00:38:44.400 --> 00:38:45.079
 this crushing?

00:38:45.180 --> 00:38:46.380
 It just seems so extreme.

00:38:46.920 --> 00:38:47.619
 Let's look at that

00:38:47.619 --> 00:38:48.780
 verse again, verse 18,

00:38:48.980 --> 00:38:49.860
 just very briefly.

00:38:50.820 --> 00:38:52.780
 Everyone who, verse 18,

00:38:52.900 --> 00:38:54.119
 everyone who falls on

00:38:54.119 --> 00:38:54.800
 that stone.

00:38:54.940 --> 00:38:55.119
 Remember?

00:38:55.220 --> 00:38:55.740
 So I remember I said

00:38:55.740 --> 00:38:56.599
 there's sort of two very

00:38:56.599 --> 00:38:57.519
 interesting senses.

00:38:57.740 --> 00:38:58.619
 It's a very subtly

00:38:58.619 --> 00:39:00.760
 written text that part of

00:39:00.760 --> 00:39:01.900
 it is this Genesis 50

00:39:01.900 --> 00:39:02.220
 sense.

00:39:02.340 --> 00:39:03.240
 It's rejected but the

00:39:03.240 --> 00:39:04.400
 actual rejection God

00:39:04.400 --> 00:39:05.599
 uses for good, he uses it

00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:06.319
 for salvation.

00:39:07.519 --> 00:39:08.259
 But look at it,

00:39:08.339 --> 00:39:09.380
 everyone who falls on

00:39:09.380 --> 00:39:10.279
 that stone will be

00:39:10.279 --> 00:39:11.259
 broken to pieces and

00:39:11.259 --> 00:39:12.299
 when it falls on anyone

00:39:12.299 --> 00:39:13.179
 it will crush him.

00:39:14.279 --> 00:39:15.279
 Like how can this

00:39:15.279 --> 00:39:16.500
 actually possibly make

00:39:16.500 --> 00:39:17.019
 sense?

00:39:18.819 --> 00:39:22.500
 Well, it's, we sort of,

00:39:22.779 --> 00:39:23.779
 the way we understand

00:39:23.779 --> 00:39:24.679
 that this text can

00:39:24.679 --> 00:39:26.980
 possibly make sense is

00:39:26.980 --> 00:39:28.799
 by thinking about love

00:39:28.799 --> 00:39:30.319
 actually.

00:39:30.320 --> 00:39:33.519
 It's about thinking

00:39:33.519 --> 00:39:38.500
 about love and just

00:39:38.500 --> 00:39:39.460
 to think about love.

00:39:41.240 --> 00:39:42.220
 The church fathers,

00:39:43.000 --> 00:39:44.059
 and actually thinking

00:39:44.059 --> 00:39:44.740
 about reality.

00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:46.580
 Lost my place in the

00:39:46.580 --> 00:39:46.840
 notes.

00:39:47.680 --> 00:39:48.680
 Think about reality and

00:39:48.680 --> 00:39:50.059
 think about love and if

00:39:50.059 --> 00:39:50.840
 we think about that we'll

00:39:50.840 --> 00:39:51.760
 see how this text makes

00:39:51.760 --> 00:39:51.980
 sense.

00:39:52.080 --> 00:39:53.760
 The church fathers, I

00:39:53.760 --> 00:39:54.760
 can't remember which one,

00:39:55.180 --> 00:39:55.980
 they use a very, very

00:39:55.980 --> 00:39:57.059
 interesting analogy.

00:39:57.840 --> 00:39:59.400
 Let's say you have a

00:39:59.400 --> 00:40:01.340
 crystal vase, you know,

00:40:01.380 --> 00:40:02.700
 very fine, or China,

00:40:02.860 --> 00:40:04.400
 very fine China vase.

00:40:05.039 --> 00:40:05.960
 You have a very, very

00:40:05.960 --> 00:40:08.220
 large, solid, hard rock.

00:40:09.300 --> 00:40:10.980
 If you throw the China

00:40:10.980 --> 00:40:12.680
 vase against the rock,

00:40:13.240 --> 00:40:15.720
 ends up badly for the

00:40:15.720 --> 00:40:16.340
 China vase.

00:40:17.180 --> 00:40:19.099
 You throw the rock against

00:40:19.099 --> 00:40:21.260
 the China vase, it ends

00:40:21.260 --> 00:40:22.660
 up badly for the China

00:40:22.660 --> 00:40:23.660
 vase, right?

00:40:24.220 --> 00:40:25.139
 Doesn't matter in a sense

00:40:25.139 --> 00:40:26.079
 if you throw the rock,

00:40:26.200 --> 00:40:27.680
 the rock against the vase,

00:40:27.679 --> 00:40:28.960
 or the vase is thrown

00:40:28.960 --> 00:40:29.779
 against the rock.

00:40:30.059 --> 00:40:31.759
 In both cases, doesn't

00:40:31.759 --> 00:40:33.480
 change the rock, bad for

00:40:33.480 --> 00:40:33.919
 the vase.

00:40:34.759 --> 00:40:36.359
 Here's the thing which is

00:40:36.359 --> 00:40:37.759
 behind this analogy for

00:40:37.759 --> 00:40:39.139
 Jesus, from Jesus.

00:40:39.559 --> 00:40:40.980
 We have one more point to

00:40:40.980 --> 00:40:41.539
 go to help us to

00:40:41.539 --> 00:40:42.639
 understand the truth of

00:40:42.639 --> 00:40:43.179
 this text.

00:40:43.659 --> 00:40:44.199
 Here it is.

00:40:44.279 --> 00:40:44.799
 If you put it up,

00:40:44.879 --> 00:40:46.919
 Andrew, one day the true

00:40:46.919 --> 00:40:48.819
 and living God will be

00:40:48.819 --> 00:40:49.879
 unfailingly,

00:40:50.619 --> 00:40:51.719
 unavoidably,

00:40:52.359 --> 00:40:53.539
 unchangeably,

00:40:53.539 --> 00:40:55.420
 unstoppingly,

00:40:55.820 --> 00:40:58.059
 and undeniably present

00:40:58.059 --> 00:40:58.800
 and real.

00:41:00.179 --> 00:41:01.179
 I'm not saying that God

00:41:01.179 --> 00:41:02.059
 isn't real now, I'm not

00:41:02.059 --> 00:41:02.860
 saying he's not present

00:41:02.860 --> 00:41:04.119
 now, but what I would say

00:41:04.119 --> 00:41:05.199
 is that God is always

00:41:05.199 --> 00:41:07.059
 veiled to us right now.

00:41:07.800 --> 00:41:09.259
 We have some sense of

00:41:09.259 --> 00:41:10.380
 him and some of us, we

00:41:10.380 --> 00:41:11.460
 have a very deep sense of

00:41:11.460 --> 00:41:12.380
 his reality, but it's

00:41:12.380 --> 00:41:13.980
 nothing compared to what

00:41:13.980 --> 00:41:14.820
 it will be like in the new

00:41:14.820 --> 00:41:15.619
 heaven and the new earth

00:41:15.619 --> 00:41:16.800
 when we see God face to

00:41:16.800 --> 00:41:18.480
 face and he sees us face

00:41:18.480 --> 00:41:18.940
 to face.

00:41:18.940 --> 00:41:20.960
 One day,

00:41:21.780 --> 00:41:23.200
 the true and living God

00:41:23.200 --> 00:41:24.320
 will be unfailingly,

00:41:24.539 --> 00:41:25.220
 unavoidably,

00:41:25.420 --> 00:41:26.200
 unchangeably,

00:41:26.380 --> 00:41:27.260
 unstoppingly,

00:41:27.360 --> 00:41:29.059
 and undeniably present

00:41:29.059 --> 00:41:29.659
 and real.

00:41:30.960 --> 00:41:32.440
 And so what we see here

00:41:32.440 --> 00:41:34.500
 is a dual image of

00:41:34.500 --> 00:41:34.940
 judgment.

00:41:35.940 --> 00:41:37.559
 Because surely we also

00:41:37.559 --> 00:41:39.559
 understand how it is

00:41:39.559 --> 00:41:40.700
 that a complete and utter

00:41:40.700 --> 00:41:41.960
 denial of reality,

00:41:42.340 --> 00:41:43.220
 a complete and utter

00:41:43.220 --> 00:41:44.280
 denial of reality,

00:41:44.400 --> 00:41:45.340
 even on this side of the

00:41:45.340 --> 00:41:46.840
 grave, ends badly for us.

00:41:47.380 --> 00:41:48.179
 Like, isn't that one of the

00:41:48.179 --> 00:41:48.820
 things which is so

00:41:48.820 --> 00:41:51.180
 tragic about drug addicts

00:41:51.180 --> 00:41:53.460
 or alcoholics,

00:41:53.800 --> 00:41:54.820
 is that until they hit

00:41:54.820 --> 00:41:55.980
 bottom, and hitting

00:41:55.980 --> 00:41:56.880
 bottom means they

00:41:56.880 --> 00:41:58.100
 finally realize that

00:41:58.100 --> 00:42:00.340
 they've hit a rock that

00:42:00.340 --> 00:42:01.220
 shatters them.

00:42:02.800 --> 00:42:04.039
 But as reality, you know,

00:42:04.059 --> 00:42:05.460
 reality makes them want to

00:42:05.460 --> 00:42:06.340
 do drugs more.

00:42:06.960 --> 00:42:08.340
 Reality makes them do all

00:42:08.340 --> 00:42:09.820
 sorts of horrible things

00:42:09.820 --> 00:42:11.860
 because reality just keeps

00:42:11.860 --> 00:42:13.120
 driving them to this.

00:42:13.519 --> 00:42:14.600
 And we look at them from

00:42:14.600 --> 00:42:15.900
 the outside and we just

00:42:15.900 --> 00:42:17.720
 see that the reality is

00:42:17.719 --> 00:42:18.919
 that reality is leading

00:42:18.919 --> 00:42:20.259
 them to drink, and the

00:42:20.259 --> 00:42:22.459
 other hand, that response

00:42:22.459 --> 00:42:24.239
 to reality is ruining

00:42:24.239 --> 00:42:24.480
 them.

00:42:24.579 --> 00:42:25.679
 It's breaking them up.

00:42:25.980 --> 00:42:26.899
 It's killing them.

00:42:28.399 --> 00:42:29.480
 How many of us have

00:42:29.480 --> 00:42:30.500
 looked at people who are

00:42:30.500 --> 00:42:31.799
 having some type of debt

00:42:31.799 --> 00:42:33.259
 problem, and that rather

00:42:33.259 --> 00:42:34.500
 than humbling themselves

00:42:34.500 --> 00:42:35.500
 like a little child and

00:42:35.500 --> 00:42:36.439
 acknowledging that they

00:42:36.439 --> 00:42:37.299
 have a problem and maybe

00:42:37.299 --> 00:42:39.980
 have to tear up all of

00:42:39.980 --> 00:42:40.839
 their credit cards or do

00:42:40.839 --> 00:42:41.899
 other types of things,

00:42:42.079 --> 00:42:43.019
 but the fact of the matter

00:42:43.019 --> 00:42:44.579
 is, is that somehow as they

00:42:44.579 --> 00:42:45.860
 face, as they get the bill

00:42:45.860 --> 00:42:47.599
 in, the way they respond

00:42:47.599 --> 00:42:49.000
 to the bill is by wanting

00:42:49.000 --> 00:42:50.039
 to spend money because

00:42:50.039 --> 00:42:51.480
 spending money is just, it

00:42:51.480 --> 00:42:52.360
 gives them a rush, it

00:42:52.360 --> 00:42:53.420
 helps them to feel better

00:42:53.420 --> 00:42:54.819
 in the face of reality, but

00:42:54.819 --> 00:42:57.139
 all it's doing is they are

00:42:57.139 --> 00:42:59.380
 just banging against reality

00:42:59.380 --> 00:43:01.579
 and reality wins and they're

00:43:01.579 --> 00:43:02.299
 getting crushed.

00:43:04.759 --> 00:43:06.819
 And so what if it is that

00:43:06.819 --> 00:43:10.360
 one day, one day, for every

00:43:10.360 --> 00:43:12.099
 single person who's ever been

00:43:12.099 --> 00:43:14.259
 born, the veil will be

00:43:14.259 --> 00:43:16.799
 lifted, and God who's always

00:43:16.799 --> 00:43:18.279
 been present and always be

00:43:18.279 --> 00:43:20.579
 real, he is in a sense right

00:43:20.579 --> 00:43:22.119
 completely and utterly before

00:43:22.119 --> 00:43:25.960
 us, unfailingly, unavoidably,

00:43:26.860 --> 00:43:30.440
 unchangeably, unstoppingly, and

00:43:30.440 --> 00:43:31.380
 undeniably.

00:43:32.779 --> 00:43:34.839
 And on one level, if that

00:43:34.839 --> 00:43:37.900
 happens, and I just want him

00:43:37.900 --> 00:43:41.519
 gone, I just can't, I don't

00:43:41.519 --> 00:43:45.680
 want him here, get away, but

00:43:45.680 --> 00:43:48.440
 he's real, and I attack him.

00:43:49.180 --> 00:43:50.000
 I'm only going to add badly

00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:50.460
 for me.

00:43:52.619 --> 00:43:54.260
 It falls on me, bad for me.

00:43:55.139 --> 00:43:56.380
 See, in fact, what this is

00:43:56.380 --> 00:43:58.720
 describing is just what happens

00:43:58.720 --> 00:44:01.380
 when us and our refusal to know

00:44:01.380 --> 00:44:02.579
 the truth, the good, and the

00:44:02.579 --> 00:44:04.119
 beautiful actually meets the

00:44:04.119 --> 00:44:04.340
 real.

00:44:04.340 --> 00:44:09.400
 And in a sense, you see, it

00:44:09.400 --> 00:44:11.360
 also actually describes a dual

00:44:11.360 --> 00:44:12.720
 action of God and something

00:44:12.720 --> 00:44:14.120
 about how real things and

00:44:14.120 --> 00:44:15.260
 valuable things work.

00:44:15.660 --> 00:44:16.860
 Because if you think about it

00:44:16.860 --> 00:44:18.360
 for a second, isn't partly our

00:44:18.360 --> 00:44:20.079
 experience of knowing truth?

00:44:20.720 --> 00:44:21.780
 Like when we actually remember

00:44:21.780 --> 00:44:23.260
 those times, maybe as a child,

00:44:23.360 --> 00:44:25.420
 maybe just last week, maybe just

00:44:25.420 --> 00:44:26.660
 yesterday or this morning, and

00:44:26.660 --> 00:44:28.680
 we learned some new truth, and

00:44:28.680 --> 00:44:29.500
 it's so exciting.

00:44:29.820 --> 00:44:31.059
 And isn't it in some way like

00:44:31.059 --> 00:44:31.860
 this dual action?

00:44:31.980 --> 00:44:34.079
 Don't we somehow almost feel as

00:44:34.079 --> 00:44:35.739
 if truth is entered into our

00:44:35.739 --> 00:44:36.139
 heads?

00:44:36.380 --> 00:44:37.440
 Doesn't it at the same time

00:44:37.440 --> 00:44:38.480
 almost feel as if we've

00:44:38.480 --> 00:44:39.380
 entered into truth?

00:44:40.199 --> 00:44:41.360
 Like, isn't that how it works

00:44:41.360 --> 00:44:42.319
 when we fall in love?

00:44:42.559 --> 00:44:44.119
 Don't we have a sense, excuse

00:44:44.119 --> 00:44:45.819
 me, somehow, another, as if

00:44:45.819 --> 00:44:47.539
 somehow, another, that we

00:44:47.539 --> 00:44:48.699
 actually have fallen in love,

00:44:48.719 --> 00:44:49.719
 and that other person loves

00:44:49.719 --> 00:44:49.900
 us?

00:44:49.920 --> 00:44:51.159
 And don't we have some type of

00:44:51.159 --> 00:44:53.659
 sense that this person has let

00:44:53.659 --> 00:44:55.079
 me into their life?

00:44:55.819 --> 00:44:57.079
 And don't we have some other

00:44:57.079 --> 00:44:58.960
 sense that this person, that I

00:44:58.960 --> 00:45:00.460
 have let them into my life?

00:45:00.460 --> 00:45:02.639
 And can't that be scary to

00:45:02.639 --> 00:45:04.300
 have a sense of another person

00:45:04.300 --> 00:45:05.639
 who loves you coming into our

00:45:05.639 --> 00:45:07.920
 lives, and into your life, and

00:45:07.920 --> 00:45:08.320
 viewing it?

00:45:08.519 --> 00:45:09.559
 Don't you see that that's

00:45:09.559 --> 00:45:11.380
 actually how human beings work?

00:45:12.199 --> 00:45:13.340
 That the true, the good, and the

00:45:13.340 --> 00:45:14.619
 beautiful is something that we

00:45:14.619 --> 00:45:17.019
 both enter into, and enters into

00:45:17.019 --> 00:45:17.400
 us?

00:45:17.619 --> 00:45:20.099
 And so it is, that if it is, that

00:45:20.099 --> 00:45:21.699
 we finally see the real, because

00:45:21.699 --> 00:45:23.720
 God is completely and utterly

00:45:23.720 --> 00:45:26.460
 real, that we will not only, if we

00:45:26.460 --> 00:45:28.500
 do not, if we actually have a rage

00:45:28.500 --> 00:45:30.320
 and a hatred against God, that on

00:45:30.320 --> 00:45:31.760
 one hand, what will be described

00:45:31.760 --> 00:45:34.059
 as we attack that God and

00:45:34.059 --> 00:45:35.659
 shatters, and that God comes into

00:45:35.659 --> 00:45:36.840
 us and shatters us.

00:45:38.840 --> 00:45:40.280
 And the Bible is just described

00:45:40.280 --> 00:45:42.159
 in what we accept with truth and

00:45:42.159 --> 00:45:43.360
 love, and don't you have the

00:45:43.360 --> 00:45:44.719
 sense with beauty that somehow we

00:45:44.719 --> 00:45:45.659
 enter into it?

00:45:46.099 --> 00:45:47.579
 That, you know, if you listen to

00:45:47.579 --> 00:45:48.739
 something, if you like Baroque

00:45:48.739 --> 00:45:50.159
 music, and you hear it well played,

00:45:50.199 --> 00:45:51.579
 and you have this sense that somehow

00:45:51.579 --> 00:45:53.360
 it enters into you, and then you

00:45:53.360 --> 00:45:54.500
 think of all the movies, like

00:45:54.500 --> 00:45:56.360
 Shawshank Redemption, and they play

00:45:56.360 --> 00:45:58.360
 those beautiful parts by Mozart, and

00:45:58.360 --> 00:45:59.760
 the guy says it was worth being in

00:45:59.760 --> 00:46:01.579
 solitary because the music is in

00:46:01.579 --> 00:46:01.880
 here.

00:46:02.420 --> 00:46:03.120
 It's in here.

00:46:06.420 --> 00:46:10.140
 Jesus is outlining sanity.

00:46:12.120 --> 00:46:15.180
 Some of you might say, George, I'm not

00:46:15.180 --> 00:46:16.200
 special like you.

00:46:18.260 --> 00:46:19.400
 I don't know what to say.

00:46:19.500 --> 00:46:21.120
 I didn't know that you have this

00:46:21.120 --> 00:46:22.599
 ability that you can actually stand

00:46:22.599 --> 00:46:24.900
 before God, and you're looking

00:46:24.900 --> 00:46:26.920
 forward to having God be present and

00:46:26.920 --> 00:46:28.440
 real, and I'm not like you.

00:46:29.639 --> 00:46:31.240
 I've done some really bad things.

00:46:31.480 --> 00:46:32.840
 You know what?

00:46:32.880 --> 00:46:34.340
 I start to think that way, and then I

00:46:34.340 --> 00:46:35.920
 get caught up with vengeful thoughts.

00:46:36.019 --> 00:46:37.039
 I'm not like you, George.

00:46:37.119 --> 00:46:38.720
 I can't possibly do that.

00:46:38.740 --> 00:46:39.500
 I'm not like you.

00:46:40.360 --> 00:46:41.800
 I'm not special like you.

00:46:41.900 --> 00:46:43.340
 All I can say to you is this.

00:46:43.720 --> 00:46:46.700
 I am not special.

00:46:47.900 --> 00:46:49.940
 See, what this text tells us is

00:46:49.940 --> 00:46:51.720
 something even more remarkable.

00:46:51.820 --> 00:46:53.280
 Remember I said that the way to

00:46:53.280 --> 00:46:55.200
 understand this text is ultimately

00:46:55.199 --> 00:46:57.119
 to understand in the context of love.

00:46:57.239 --> 00:46:58.419
 Andrew, if you could put up this

00:46:58.419 --> 00:46:59.819
 final slide, it would be this.

00:47:00.299 --> 00:47:02.919
 Jesus knew me to my depths, and

00:47:02.919 --> 00:47:07.419
 still in love, he died for me.

00:47:08.239 --> 00:47:09.500
 What does this text reveal?

00:47:10.399 --> 00:47:12.759
 Jesus says, you know what, Sinclair?

00:47:12.919 --> 00:47:14.039
 You know everyone who's here?

00:47:14.159 --> 00:47:16.219
 I know the fact that you don't always

00:47:16.219 --> 00:47:17.759
 choose what's true.

00:47:18.000 --> 00:47:18.359
 You know what?

00:47:18.399 --> 00:47:20.219
 I know that you use your mind to

00:47:20.219 --> 00:47:22.059
 avoid reality, to avoid the truth.

00:47:22.299 --> 00:47:22.980
 You know what, George?

00:47:22.980 --> 00:47:25.860
 I know that you can be bent out of

00:47:25.860 --> 00:47:27.500
 shape for a long time because your

00:47:27.500 --> 00:47:29.039
 conscience has attacked you, or your

00:47:29.039 --> 00:47:32.320
 wife, or your boss, or a parishioner

00:47:32.320 --> 00:47:33.900
 has said something that's true, and you

00:47:33.900 --> 00:47:34.420
 don't like it.

00:47:34.480 --> 00:47:35.980
 And I know that's what you're like,

00:47:36.099 --> 00:47:36.500
 George.

00:47:37.039 --> 00:47:39.199
 I know you don't always choose moral and

00:47:39.199 --> 00:47:40.099
 intellectual sanity.

00:47:40.280 --> 00:47:41.960
 I know that that's what's going on in

00:47:41.960 --> 00:47:42.079
 you.

00:47:42.320 --> 00:47:43.900
 I know that there's times that you

00:47:43.900 --> 00:47:45.619
 just rage against that and reject that.

00:47:45.820 --> 00:47:47.960
 And I know that you cannot stop that.

00:47:47.960 --> 00:47:51.000
 And I knew all of that about you, and I

00:47:51.000 --> 00:47:54.139
 died on the cross for you.

00:47:57.019 --> 00:48:01.340
 I am the power that's come from God for

00:48:01.340 --> 00:48:04.840
 your salvation that you are to accept by

00:48:04.840 --> 00:48:05.300
 faith.

00:48:06.280 --> 00:48:09.960
 And when you accept in a weak, haltering,

00:48:10.179 --> 00:48:12.559
 faltering way that this is what the

00:48:12.559 --> 00:48:14.740
 gospel is, that this is what Jesus has

00:48:14.739 --> 00:48:17.659
 done for you, then you know that there's

00:48:17.659 --> 00:48:19.839
 nothing in your past, nothing in your

00:48:19.839 --> 00:48:22.899
 present, and nothing in your future that

00:48:22.899 --> 00:48:25.599
 will surprise Jesus and make him turn his

00:48:25.599 --> 00:48:28.119
 face from you, because when he grips you,

00:48:28.979 --> 00:48:31.000
 it is from the moment of your conception to

00:48:31.000 --> 00:48:31.979
 the moment of your death.

00:48:33.519 --> 00:48:36.779
 That is why, I'll say it very quickly, but

00:48:36.779 --> 00:48:38.459
 if you want to turn to Romans 5, I'm just

00:48:38.459 --> 00:48:39.859
 going to end with these two things just

00:48:39.859 --> 00:48:40.539
 from the Bible.

00:48:41.039 --> 00:48:43.419
 That's why Paul says in Romans chapter 5,

00:48:43.420 --> 00:48:45.820
 verses 6 through 11, he says this,

00:48:46.280 --> 00:48:48.200
 For while we were still weak, at the

00:48:48.200 --> 00:48:51.099
 right time, Christ died for the ungodly.

00:48:51.559 --> 00:48:53.740
 For one will scarcely die for a righteous

00:48:53.740 --> 00:48:56.460
 person, though perhaps for a good person one

00:48:56.460 --> 00:48:57.639
 would dare even to die.

00:48:58.000 --> 00:49:00.539
 But God shows his love for us in that

00:49:00.539 --> 00:49:03.059
 while we were still sinners, Christ died

00:49:03.059 --> 00:49:03.680
 for us.

00:49:04.159 --> 00:49:06.500
 Since therefore we have now been justified

00:49:06.500 --> 00:49:09.440
 by his blood, much more shall we be saved

00:49:09.440 --> 00:49:11.180
 by him from the wrath of God.

00:49:11.179 --> 00:49:14.019
 For if while we were enemies, we were

00:49:14.019 --> 00:49:15.960
 reconciled to God by the death of his

00:49:15.960 --> 00:49:18.779
 son, much more now that we are reconciled

00:49:18.779 --> 00:49:20.639
 shall we be saved by his life.

00:49:21.059 --> 00:49:23.759
 More than that, we also rejoice in God

00:49:23.759 --> 00:49:26.179
 through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom

00:49:26.179 --> 00:49:28.899
 we have now received reconciliation.

00:49:29.579 --> 00:49:32.719
 It's because Jesus knows us deeply and still

00:49:32.719 --> 00:49:35.539
 he dies for us that Paul, at the end of

00:49:35.539 --> 00:49:38.099
 chapter 8 of Romans, Romans chapter 8, verses

00:49:38.099 --> 00:49:39.480
 31 to 39.

00:49:39.839 --> 00:49:41.159
 This is what Paul says.

00:49:41.159 --> 00:49:43.119
 The final word goes to the Bible.

00:49:43.940 --> 00:49:45.619
 What then shall we say to these things?

00:49:46.000 --> 00:49:48.599
 If God is for us, who can be against us?

00:49:48.960 --> 00:49:51.460
 He who did not spare his own son, but gave

00:49:51.460 --> 00:49:54.420
 him up for us all, how will he not also

00:49:54.420 --> 00:49:56.839
 with him graciously give us all things?

00:49:57.119 --> 00:49:59.259
 Who shall bring any charge against God's

00:49:59.259 --> 00:49:59.480
 elect?

00:49:59.759 --> 00:50:01.500
 It is God who justifies.

00:50:01.940 --> 00:50:03.059
 Who is to condemn?

00:50:03.440 --> 00:50:05.139
 Christ Jesus is the one who died.

00:50:05.239 --> 00:50:06.619
 More than that, who was raised.

00:50:06.619 --> 00:50:08.339
 Who is at the right hand of God.

00:50:08.539 --> 00:50:10.179
 Who is interceding for us.

00:50:10.519 --> 00:50:12.799
 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

00:50:13.199 --> 00:50:16.679
 Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution,

00:50:17.299 --> 00:50:20.980
 or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

00:50:21.219 --> 00:50:23.900
 As it is written, for your sake we are being

00:50:23.900 --> 00:50:25.179
 killed all the day long.

00:50:25.259 --> 00:50:27.139
 We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

00:50:27.380 --> 00:50:30.559
 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors.

00:50:30.819 --> 00:50:33.179
 Through him who loved us.

00:50:33.179 --> 00:50:39.919
 For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present,

00:50:40.239 --> 00:50:46.679
 nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation

00:50:46.679 --> 00:50:51.919
 will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

00:50:51.920 --> 00:50:56.380
 That is not a Martin Luther King moment.

00:50:57.019 --> 00:50:58.059
 That's the Bible.

00:50:58.659 --> 00:50:59.280
 Let's stand.

00:51:00.079 --> 00:51:01.240
 Andrew, the final point.

00:51:02.340 --> 00:51:06.599
 This is why we have to pray to begin the Christian life and to walk the Christian life.

00:51:06.980 --> 00:51:11.920
 Dear God, please make me a disciple of Jesus, gripped by the gospel, living for your glory.

00:51:11.920 --> 00:51:15.900
 That's what motivates us to live the Christian life.

00:51:16.579 --> 00:51:18.099
 To face reality.

00:51:18.539 --> 00:51:20.860
 To try to learn what the true and the good and the beautiful is.

00:51:20.940 --> 00:51:23.220
 Because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross.

00:51:23.800 --> 00:51:24.720
 Let's bow our heads in prayer.

00:51:32.720 --> 00:51:36.960
 Father, we thank you that you do not look for special people, but for ordinary people.

00:51:36.960 --> 00:51:42.679
 You do not look, Father, for people who have some special gifts or special genes that allow

00:51:42.679 --> 00:51:45.039
 them to always pursue the true and the good and the beautiful.

00:51:45.619 --> 00:51:51.460
 But you look for ordinary people who've sometimes done just ordinary sins and sometimes have

00:51:51.460 --> 00:51:54.720
 extraordinary bad things that they've done or that they desire.

00:51:55.260 --> 00:52:00.480
 Father, we give you thanks and praise that you knew at times how dark our mind can be,

00:52:00.599 --> 00:52:06.000
 how dark our heart can be, how dark our will can be, how dark our life can be.

00:52:06.000 --> 00:52:11.719
 And knowing all that about us, still knowing clearly that you died upon the cross, Jesus,

00:52:11.900 --> 00:52:12.460
 for us.

00:52:12.860 --> 00:52:17.699
 And that in your death upon the cross, you are that power of God for salvation.

00:52:17.860 --> 00:52:22.239
 We thank you, Father, that when we turn to you and receive what only you can give through

00:52:22.239 --> 00:52:27.139
 Jesus, that you take us as your own and that nothing will surprise you.

00:52:27.840 --> 00:52:32.280
 We give you thanks and praise that that salvation is something that comes from you as a gift that

00:52:32.280 --> 00:52:32.800
 we receive.

00:52:32.800 --> 00:52:36.440
 Father, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.

00:52:36.840 --> 00:52:41.340
 Make us disciples of Jesus, gripped by the gospel, who live for your glory.

00:52:42.080 --> 00:52:43.400
 In Jesus' name we pray.

00:52:43.900 --> 00:52:44.240
 Amen.