WEBVTT 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:05.879 Well, good morning, everyone. Are we well? Excellent. Great to see you. Why don't we 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:12.220 just pause for a minute and let's just pray and let's commit ourselves to our Heavenly 00:00:12.220 --> 00:00:14.800 Father this morning as we turn to His Word. Let's pray together. 00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:24.000 Father, we thank you so much for those truths and those songs that we've been singing about, 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:31.039 the truths about you, that you are faithful and you are strong and you never change. 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:36.100 And so it's onto you that we throw ourselves this morning as we come to your Word. Father, 00:00:36.140 --> 00:00:43.179 I'm so aware that my words have got no power. Father, I'm so aware that your Word is life-giving 00:00:43.179 --> 00:00:49.960 and we pray, Father, that you would speak deep into our lives this morning by your Spirit, 00:00:49.960 --> 00:00:56.380 through your living words and that it would be for your glory and for our good as your people. 00:00:56.480 --> 00:01:01.780 And this is our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, maybe you want to turn back to that passage 00:01:01.780 --> 00:01:06.840 in Luke chapter 12, if you have it there. So vital that we have God's Word open in front of us this 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:12.120 morning as we turn to it. But I thought we'd begin this morning just by having a little quote. So 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:19.500 here's my quote for you as we kick off. There's only two types of people in the world. The ones 00:01:19.500 --> 00:01:24.420 that entertain and the ones that observe. Anybody got any ideas? 00:01:28.079 --> 00:01:30.420 So those were the words of Britney Spears. 00:01:32.579 --> 00:01:35.519 See, if the students and the teenagers were here, we would have gone mental for that. 00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:40.859 These are the words of Britney Spears. I wonder if I asked you to complete that sentence this morning, 00:01:40.920 --> 00:01:47.519 how you would complete it. Now, there's only two types of people in the world. Now, I don't know 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:53.420 about you, but I've heard an awful lot of people in my time, which isn't really an awful lot, but 00:01:53.420 --> 00:01:59.439 for a lot of people tell me how they would finish that sentence. I've had people tell me that am I 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:07.079 a Marmite person? Am I not a Marmite person? I've had people ask me, are you a cat person? Are you a dog 00:02:07.079 --> 00:02:12.800 person? I've had people ask me, are you a morning person? Are you an evening person? And people who know 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:18.280 me will know the answer to that question. But what we're going to think about this morning is 00:02:18.280 --> 00:02:26.020 how Jesus would answer that question. How would Jesus answer that question? Now, we've been in Luke's 00:02:26.020 --> 00:02:32.100 gospel for quite a while now, and we've been in this section where the big question that we've been 00:02:32.100 --> 00:02:38.280 thinking through is what does it mean to follow this king? So it's been a lesson in the school 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:46.860 of discipleship. What does it mean to follow Jesus? And we've seen Luke, as he presents us with 00:02:46.860 --> 00:02:56.139 this man Jesus, what he did, what he taught, he's been building up for us this picture of what life 00:02:56.139 --> 00:03:05.199 as a disciple looks like. And Jesus has been spelling it out, spelling out exactly what it means to follow 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:12.079 in his footsteps. And we've noticed it as we've gone along. As he's done that, he's also been rebuffing 00:03:12.079 --> 00:03:20.819 and exposing the life and the values of the world. And we've seen just how different those two 00:03:20.819 --> 00:03:27.759 life choices are. So backtrack with me just for a moment, and maybe if you've got your Bible you want 00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:32.419 to flick the last couple of chapters. What have we seen Jesus teach his followers? 00:03:34.419 --> 00:03:40.579 In a world that doesn't fear God, that doesn't acknowledge him but rather shakes the fist at him, 00:03:40.819 --> 00:03:48.079 what is Jesus teaching his followers? That you need to fear God rightly as your creator. 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:55.820 In your world where people worship money, you, you seek first the kingdom of God. 00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:03.820 In a world that worries and it doubts, you can trust that your heavenly father will provide 00:04:03.820 --> 00:04:10.340 everything that you need. In a world that doesn't believe I'm coming back, Jesus says, as we saw last 00:04:10.340 --> 00:04:18.240 week, that you need to live in light of my return and be ready for your master's coming. Now I don't 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:24.540 know how you felt as we've gone through those last couple of chapters, but as I've been processing it 00:04:24.540 --> 00:04:32.379 in my head, it's really struck me that as I seek to follow after this man, as I seek to live as he's 00:04:32.379 --> 00:04:39.339 telling me to live in my circles, I invite you just now to think about the people in your circles. 00:04:40.159 --> 00:04:47.159 As we try to live this out, you and I are going to look very different from the world around us. 00:04:49.259 --> 00:04:56.500 I felt that a few Sundays ago, Sunday evening. Got the bus up to church, got my seat, thought I'd 00:04:56.500 --> 00:05:04.199 get ahead with the reading for the evening, turn to Psalm 73, was reading it on the bus, happy as Larry. 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:12.139 Psalm 73 comes to the bit, for behold, those who are far from you will perish, and you put an end to 00:05:12.139 --> 00:05:20.000 everyone who is unfaithful to you. So I'm reading this on the bus, and I become very aware that the guy 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:26.459 sitting next to me is having a read of it as well. I wonder what he was thinking. And I bet 00:05:26.459 --> 00:05:30.620 he wasn't thinking. I really fancy that verse on the bumper sticker of my car. 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:40.620 There's a difference. To walk with this king, to have his word at the center of our lives, is to go 00:05:40.620 --> 00:05:48.019 against the grain of the world, not with it. There's a difference. And what we're going to see in these 00:05:48.019 --> 00:05:56.439 verses this morning is Jesus bring home the reality of that difference. If you've got it, 00:05:56.459 --> 00:06:06.839 there, see it in verse 49. Strong language. Jesus talking about how he has come to cast fire on the 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:16.060 earth. So not only has he come to be the one who brings salvation, but in doing so, he has come to 00:06:16.060 --> 00:06:24.319 be the fire that divides, meaning that people will stand on one side or the other based on their 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:33.540 rejection or their acceptance of him. The big idea for us to grasp this morning is that Jesus identifies 00:06:33.540 --> 00:06:43.100 himself here as the most divisive figure in human history. To follow him is to follow the divisive 00:06:43.100 --> 00:06:47.079 king. And let's be honest, it's a toughie this morning. 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:54.939 For many of us, I'm sure as we heard it read there, it probably maybe fell into the category of, 00:06:55.039 --> 00:07:02.259 I really wish Jesus hadn't said that. So here's my question to you. What do you do with tough words 00:07:02.259 --> 00:07:08.860 from Jesus? I guess we've got three options, don't we? We can run. I have nothing to do with it. We can 00:07:08.860 --> 00:07:15.939 hide, pretend they're not there, or we can digest. Remember when I was young, my mum, 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:20.660 it's dad's day today, isn't it? But I'll tell you about my mum. She used to make sure that me and my 00:07:20.660 --> 00:07:26.199 brother every morning had a cod liver oil tablet. Now, if you've ever had one of these tablets, 00:07:26.280 --> 00:07:30.639 you learn very quickly, don't you, that you don't chew a cod liver oil tablet. But she used to give us 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:37.100 one of these things every morning. And it didn't taste nice, but it was good for us. I want to suggest 00:07:37.100 --> 00:07:45.100 that that is how we should approach these words of Jesus here. That Luke wants Theophilus to know 00:07:45.100 --> 00:07:58.680 these words. That God wants his people to know these words. And God wants us to know these words of our 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:05.600 Saviour and our Lord. This is what it means to follow him. These words are hard to hear, 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:11.600 that these are good words for us to know. Now, do you remember Sesame Street? 00:08:13.740 --> 00:08:16.500 The sermon this morning brought to you in association with two words, 00:08:17.860 --> 00:08:27.360 division and decision. Division and decision. Verses 49 to 53, Jesus turns to his disciples 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:37.940 and he tells them to expect division. Verses 54 to 59, Jesus turns to the crowd and he calls them to 00:08:37.940 --> 00:08:43.220 make a decision. So in the time we have reading this morning, really I want us to see four quick 00:08:43.220 --> 00:08:52.000 things from these verses. Firstly, I want us to see the heart. See the heart of Jesus as we read about 00:08:52.000 --> 00:09:00.600 him in these verses. Remember the context. Here is Jesus journeying to Jerusalem. Now he's not booked 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:07.000 an Airbnb and he's not in for a bit of sightseeing in this city. He is journeying to Jerusalem with a 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:16.220 purpose. Now how is he feeling on this journey? Do you notice it there in verse 50? If you've got an ESV, 00:09:16.220 --> 00:09:21.220 the word is distressed. If you've got an NIV, the word is constraints. The Greek word there meaning 00:09:21.220 --> 00:09:32.500 that on this journey he was gripped by a severe emotional stress. Now why? Because he knows what's 00:09:32.500 --> 00:09:38.560 ahead of him in Jerusalem. The baptism reference there is him referring to his death. 00:09:39.500 --> 00:09:44.560 So he's going to Jerusalem to accomplish the work which his father gave him to do, 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:52.119 to hand himself over to sinful men, to face being humiliated by his enemies, to endure the agony of 00:09:52.119 --> 00:09:58.459 a slow death and lay down his life to carry out the divine plan of God to save sinners. 00:10:00.479 --> 00:10:08.079 And he doesn't walk this road lightly. This is what we need to see. This is a costly journey for Jesus. 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:15.379 Here is our Savior this morning. I invite you to take a fresh look at him. 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:20.900 In our world, I don't know if you've noticed it, all the talk at the minute, what is it of? 00:10:21.639 --> 00:10:25.460 It's for the need of strong and stable leadership, isn't it? You hear it everywhere at the minute. 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:28.120 Well here is King Jesus. 00:10:29.580 --> 00:10:31.620 Here is a man full of conviction. 00:10:31.620 --> 00:10:34.740 And here is a man full of compassion. 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:42.320 Here is a man, as John would write, who is full of grace and full of truth. 00:10:42.460 --> 00:10:45.340 This is the heart of our King this morning. 00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:49.679 And that's the backdrop to what he says next. 00:10:49.799 --> 00:10:51.980 Verse secondly, we need to see the reality. 00:10:52.419 --> 00:10:53.100 Verse 51. 00:10:54.360 --> 00:10:58.120 Look at the question that he asks his disciples. 00:10:58.120 --> 00:10:59.960 What is he asking? 00:11:00.060 --> 00:11:02.360 Do you think I've come to bring peace on earth? 00:11:04.460 --> 00:11:08.360 I wonder how you would answer that question. 00:11:10.659 --> 00:11:12.159 How does Jesus answer it? 00:11:13.820 --> 00:11:15.740 No, I tell you, but division. 00:11:17.240 --> 00:11:18.299 And it's strong language. 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:27.360 Imagine that there's many in our world today that would say that surely peace on earth is the whole point of Jesus. 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:30.240 I mean, did he not come to start some kind of global group hug? 00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:36.580 Surely it would be better for everyone if Jesus hadn't said that. 00:11:38.139 --> 00:11:41.539 And we think of the lyrics, don't we, that John Lennon penned all those years ago. 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:42.740 Imagine there's no countries. 00:11:42.860 --> 00:11:43.860 It isn't hard to do. 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:47.500 Nothing to kill or die for and no religion to. 00:11:47.700 --> 00:11:50.800 Imagine all the people living life in peace. 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:54.940 So what is he talking about here? 00:11:54.940 --> 00:12:01.360 I don't think he's encouraging his followers to grab their pitchforks and to go in a march. 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:03.940 He's come on a rescue mission to save sinners. 00:12:04.100 --> 00:12:08.280 He's come to bring peace with God to all who would trust in him. 00:12:08.620 --> 00:12:13.700 But the reality here in these verses this morning is that not all will accept him. 00:12:14.540 --> 00:12:18.980 And because not all will accept him, there will be division here and now. 00:12:18.980 --> 00:12:29.320 And he goes on, doesn't he, to spell out and to picture how that division is going to manifest itself. 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:31.139 And do you see the picture that he gives? 00:12:31.220 --> 00:12:31.940 It's of a family. 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:34.539 You can imagine them, can't you? 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:36.220 They're living all under one roof. 00:12:36.220 --> 00:12:40.120 And the picture is that blood unites them. 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:44.160 But their take on Jesus, it very much divides them. 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:44.899 Do you see it there? 00:12:45.180 --> 00:12:46.320 Dads against sons. 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:48.120 Sons against dads. 00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:49.240 Mums against daughters. 00:12:49.399 --> 00:12:50.480 Daughters against mums. 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:52.620 Mother-in-law against daughter-in-law. 00:12:53.100 --> 00:12:54.960 Daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. 00:12:54.960 --> 00:13:04.160 Well, here is Jesus spelling out that this division, on account of him, is going to penetrate even to the heart of the most intimate of relationships. 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:13.560 I heard it said recently that in the Muslim world, that you shouldn't be preaching Jesus unless you've got a spare room in your house. 00:13:15.580 --> 00:13:22.280 When people turn to follow him, it means that it's often followed by being disowned by their family and their friends. 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:27.400 And we think about it in our lives, don't we? 00:13:27.460 --> 00:13:29.700 That we might not face that level of persecution. 00:13:30.160 --> 00:13:36.100 But on some level, we know the reality of this division, do we not? 00:13:36.700 --> 00:13:37.820 Think about your own life. 00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:44.200 You share a room at work with someone who thinks that your faith in Jesus is nonsense. 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:54.100 Someone in your university class who thinks that your views on certain subjects as you hold to biblical truth have no place in modern thinking. 00:13:54.100 --> 00:14:02.519 Someone in your family who thinks that your choices in life because you trust in Jesus are holding you back rather than pushing you on. 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:09.159 And I'm sure many of us, we know the pain of that division. 00:14:09.159 --> 00:14:20.519 So my question this morning, and the question I've been wrestling with for the last few weeks, is what do we do when we experience the pain of that division? 00:14:21.579 --> 00:14:22.379 What do we do? 00:14:24.299 --> 00:14:30.879 Well, if you're still awake this morning, let me offer you one encouragement and let me offer you two incentives. 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:32.219 Does that sound okay? 00:14:32.299 --> 00:14:32.860 One and two? 00:14:33.079 --> 00:14:34.519 It's the easiest football formation ever. 00:14:34.659 --> 00:14:35.079 One, two. 00:14:35.980 --> 00:14:36.839 One encouragement. 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:37.600 Keep going. 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:40.940 Keep going with Jesus. 00:14:41.060 --> 00:14:42.440 It's worth it in the end. 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:47.820 We have to remember, don't we, that our king is not negotiating power in a hung parliament. 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:50.300 Our king is on his throne. 00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:54.019 God has exalted him and he is ruling and he is reigning now. 00:14:54.460 --> 00:14:57.659 And one day his rule and his reign will be seen by all. 00:14:58.899 --> 00:15:01.259 So we keep going with our king. 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:02.700 Two incentives. 00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:03.560 That's the encouragement. 00:15:03.800 --> 00:15:06.519 Two incentives to keep going. 00:15:06.519 --> 00:15:10.539 Firstly, that we have a king who knows. 00:15:12.439 --> 00:15:13.779 We have a king who knows. 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:18.799 We have a king who knows the pain of walking this divisive road. 00:15:18.860 --> 00:15:20.159 Even deeper than that. 00:15:21.139 --> 00:15:28.399 We have a flesh and a blood king who knows what rejection and division in his own family feels like. 00:15:29.199 --> 00:15:30.620 We see it in the gospels. 00:15:30.620 --> 00:15:31.759 You can check it out afterwards. 00:15:31.899 --> 00:15:36.060 John would tell us that not even his own brothers believed in him. 00:15:37.419 --> 00:15:46.679 Matthew would tell us that Jesus said about his own that a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household. 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:53.440 Mark would tell us that at one point Jesus' own brothers claimed that he was out of his mind. 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:57.680 Imagine how difficult that must have been for him. 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:05.819 And isn't it amazing that his own family living with him for 30 years still didn't have a clue who he was. 00:16:06.379 --> 00:16:07.019 It's incredible. 00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:16.079 But I think as we think about that, that we have both a great example and a great encouragement. 00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:27.720 Because these same brothers who mocked eventually went on to become not only the followers of Jesus, but actually the leaders and the martyrs in the early church. 00:16:28.360 --> 00:16:30.340 And I take great heart from that. 00:16:30.980 --> 00:16:41.820 And I take great encouragement for that to keep praying for and keep witnessing to my friends and my family who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their king and savior. 00:16:41.820 --> 00:16:45.100 So this is the first incentive. 00:16:45.260 --> 00:16:46.379 We've got a king who knows. 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:49.840 Second incentive is we've got a family who cares. 00:16:51.580 --> 00:16:56.960 God in his goodness and in his wisdom, he hasn't saved us so that we can live out the Christian life in isolation. 00:16:58.100 --> 00:17:03.640 But he saved us so that we can live it out in community with a new spiritual family. 00:17:05.120 --> 00:17:08.340 I don't know if you remember a few weeks ago we had a church lunch in the upstairs hall. 00:17:08.440 --> 00:17:09.299 Everyone loved the lift. 00:17:09.299 --> 00:17:16.359 But somebody joked to me that Grace, our little daughter, must get home and wonder who her parents are. 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:24.099 And it was a nice compliment because they were noticing that the fact that every time they turned around someone else was playing with our little daughter. 00:17:25.159 --> 00:17:26.619 And I must say I love that. 00:17:26.619 --> 00:17:38.939 Because I want my girl to grow up to know that she has numerous spiritual aunts and numerous spiritual uncles in this church family who love her and who care for her. 00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:46.419 That she's got many spiritual mums and dads in this congregation who are praying for her and who love her. 00:17:46.420 --> 00:18:00.940 And it encourages me to know that I have many brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, grandpas and grandmas in this church family who care, who pray for and who love me. 00:18:00.940 --> 00:18:04.360 I've just felt it the last few weeks as I've come to church. 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:06.440 I've left and I've commented to a few people. 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:09.019 It's just been good for me to be here today. 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:13.340 You see the beauty of what God has done through his son Jesus Christ? 00:18:13.420 --> 00:18:16.960 He's created a new spiritual family. 00:18:17.120 --> 00:18:18.380 This is what he's birthed here. 00:18:18.380 --> 00:18:25.780 And on a side note, this will be next month's Pastor's Pen, so act surprised when it comes out. 00:18:25.900 --> 00:18:30.200 But do we not have a wonderful opportunity here as we look out at the world? 00:18:31.360 --> 00:18:32.700 Everything that's going on at the minute. 00:18:33.180 --> 00:18:39.780 As we look out in a world that is divided and it's fractured and it's hurting. 00:18:39.779 --> 00:18:47.980 What a wonderful opportunity that we have as a family here this morning to put on display the glory of God. 00:18:48.420 --> 00:18:52.759 As people look in here and they see unity in diversity. 00:18:54.259 --> 00:18:58.379 And we can showcase the glory of what God has done in the gospel. 00:18:58.619 --> 00:19:05.519 That he has broken down the man-made walls that divided us through his son Jesus Christ. 00:19:05.940 --> 00:19:06.500 It's incredible. 00:19:09.779 --> 00:19:15.000 And I wonder, as we function as a family here this morning, I wonder if some of us need a family hug. 00:19:15.940 --> 00:19:16.180 Right? 00:19:16.220 --> 00:19:21.440 Maybe that's something you could do after we finish the services by way of application. 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:22.980 As we function as a family. 00:19:23.480 --> 00:19:24.779 Because it's tough, is it not? 00:19:24.819 --> 00:19:26.039 It's tough following Jesus. 00:19:28.019 --> 00:19:29.599 But we're not doing it in isolation. 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:30.579 We're doing it together. 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:33.579 So let's live that out. 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:35.720 Especially for those as we think about it. 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:39.319 And we pray that God would save many in our city to himself. 00:19:39.319 --> 00:19:41.139 That we come and be part of this church family. 00:19:42.579 --> 00:19:45.419 And as many count the cost for following Jesus. 00:19:45.419 --> 00:19:48.439 Who may well face rejection in their own family. 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:53.299 Is it not so important that we step up as the spiritual church family? 00:19:54.659 --> 00:19:55.700 Fill that void. 00:19:56.339 --> 00:19:56.980 Embrace them. 00:19:57.200 --> 00:19:57.619 Love them. 00:19:57.619 --> 00:20:00.299 We've got a king who knows. 00:20:00.919 --> 00:20:02.459 We've got family who cares. 00:20:04.199 --> 00:20:06.639 And with this, the third thing to see. 00:20:06.759 --> 00:20:10.379 And with this we transition from the word division to the word decision, if you remember that. 00:20:10.639 --> 00:20:12.719 Is to see the significance. 00:20:13.579 --> 00:20:15.659 It's the third thing that we need to see from these verses. 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:19.899 And we need to notice who Jesus is addressing here. 00:20:19.900 --> 00:20:26.460 Because he turns from addressing his disciples to addressing the crowds. 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:29.500 Now we've been thinking about the crowd, haven't we, over the last few weeks. 00:20:30.460 --> 00:20:38.280 These people who are following Jesus, who are watching him, who are listening to him, are trying to suss him out. 00:20:38.820 --> 00:20:41.759 And yet they remain uncommitted to him. 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:48.059 And Jesus calls on the crowd to see the significance of who he is. 00:20:49.420 --> 00:20:50.579 And do you notice it there? 00:20:50.660 --> 00:20:53.200 He appeals to their sense of logic. 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:57.700 And he appeals to their knowledge of the weather. 00:20:57.799 --> 00:21:00.500 Now that's something that we can relate to. 00:21:00.539 --> 00:21:01.819 We love to talk about the weather. 00:21:02.279 --> 00:21:05.200 We're not the only generation that love to talk about the weather. 00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:05.980 Here is one. 00:21:06.099 --> 00:21:11.059 And the logic is, it's a kind of you know what happens next kind of logic. 00:21:11.059 --> 00:21:12.659 So follow it through with him. 00:21:12.679 --> 00:21:13.579 What does he say, Jesus? 00:21:13.679 --> 00:21:16.119 You see a cloud rising in the west. 00:21:17.259 --> 00:21:19.899 These clouds full of rain that would blow in off the meds. 00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:21.759 You see those clouds, says Jesus. 00:21:22.539 --> 00:21:24.819 And you know fine well to expect rain. 00:21:26.579 --> 00:21:29.079 You see the south wind blowing in off the desert. 00:21:29.259 --> 00:21:31.179 You know fine well it's going to be a scorcher. 00:21:32.679 --> 00:21:35.299 I was thinking about this last night as I was taking out the bins. 00:21:36.039 --> 00:21:38.859 How would we describe the weather last night? 00:21:39.579 --> 00:21:40.339 It was muggy. 00:21:40.339 --> 00:21:42.559 It's a good Scottish word there, muggy. 00:21:43.339 --> 00:21:45.339 And what happened next when there was muggy weather? 00:21:46.359 --> 00:21:47.019 It's a bit of rain. 00:21:47.980 --> 00:21:52.899 And I felt clever because I could have predicted that there was rain coming after this muggy weather. 00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:54.439 It's the same kind of logic, isn't it? 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:57.939 And Jesus is saying to this crowd, you are good at reading the signs. 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:04.079 So why won't you use that same logic when it comes to reading me? 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:06.339 Now here's the logic. 00:22:06.339 --> 00:22:16.359 The significance of the arrival of Jesus is God making good on his promise that he will one day act to save his wayward and sinful people. 00:22:16.439 --> 00:22:17.019 How will he do it? 00:22:17.019 --> 00:22:17.980 He will send his king. 00:22:17.980 --> 00:22:20.980 And you'll know he's coming. 00:22:20.980 --> 00:22:24.240 He will be one who goes ahead of him. 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:28.279 He will be a voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way for this king. 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:29.539 Prepare the way for the Lord. 00:22:29.539 --> 00:22:32.599 And you'll know this king is coming. 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:36.139 He's here because he will be one who opens the eyes of the blind. 00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:38.059 He will be one who heals the sick. 00:22:39.139 --> 00:22:42.700 And we've seen it, haven't we, that Luke's been spelling it out for us. 00:22:42.700 --> 00:22:50.559 As he's telling the events of Jesus' life and his teaching that this saving king, God's king, is here. 00:22:51.340 --> 00:22:55.640 And the hour of salvation is here in the coming of this king. 00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:58.799 The day of salvation, the day of grace. 00:22:59.960 --> 00:23:03.420 To get right with God by bowing the knee to his son. 00:23:03.860 --> 00:23:07.480 This moment of salvation history is now. 00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:15.920 Because this same king, Jesus, is the king whom God will exalt and through whom one day he will judge the world. 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:26.599 What Jesus is driving at here with this crowd is not so much their inability to join the dots in order to see the full picture of who he truly is. 00:23:26.680 --> 00:23:35.099 What he's getting at is their stubbornness and their refusal to act upon the picture that those joined up dots have created for them. 00:23:37.480 --> 00:23:41.819 And here is Jesus effectively asking the crowd, where do you stand? 00:23:43.180 --> 00:23:45.279 Where do you stand in relation to me? 00:23:47.319 --> 00:23:49.960 I wonder if some of us see ourselves in this crowd. 00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:55.099 You've been following, you've been here for the last little while, maybe even been here for years. 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:59.519 You've been following Luke's gospel as we've gone through it and you always identify with the crowd. 00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:04.139 You're watching on, you're looking on, you're trying to suss this man Jesus out. 00:24:04.200 --> 00:24:07.519 Well, here is the call this morning from the lips of Jesus. 00:24:09.059 --> 00:24:11.960 To see who he really is and to bow the knee to him. 00:24:12.700 --> 00:24:16.220 And to come and receive life in him. 00:24:16.379 --> 00:24:20.740 Will you see the significance of who this man Jesus really is? 00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:26.339 And that takes us to the fourth and the final thing to see and it's to see the offer. 00:24:27.940 --> 00:24:30.000 Jesus, the master storyteller. 00:24:30.420 --> 00:24:31.160 Do you notice it here? 00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:33.740 He tells this crowd a parable about debt. 00:24:35.400 --> 00:24:38.079 And we get debt, don't we, in our culture. 00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:44.480 Someone told me recently that we are the generation who wakes up each morning and sings, 00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:48.120 I owe, I owe, it's off to work, I go. 00:24:48.119 --> 00:24:55.039 We get debt, mortgages, we get student loans, we get debt. 00:24:55.479 --> 00:24:57.899 And here is a generation who get debt. 00:24:59.579 --> 00:25:08.519 And Jesus here helps this crowd see that they need to settle that debt with their accuser before it is too late. 00:25:09.500 --> 00:25:11.259 Follow the logic, follow the sequence. 00:25:11.819 --> 00:25:13.319 You've got a debt, settle. 00:25:13.439 --> 00:25:16.019 Because if you don't, he'll take you to court. 00:25:16.019 --> 00:25:22.319 And once you're in court, if you've not settled that debt, the judge will find you guilty and he'll throw you in prison. 00:25:22.440 --> 00:25:25.680 And you won't get out until you've paid the last penny. 00:25:28.180 --> 00:25:30.039 Greek word there for penny, lepton. 00:25:30.299 --> 00:25:35.720 The smallest, the most valuable, sorry, the smallest and the least valuable coin of this day. 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:39.799 Worth about six minutes of an average daily wage. 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:47.099 And so Jesus says in the same way that time is running out for you to get right with your accuser, 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:51.139 time is running out for you to get right with God. 00:25:52.799 --> 00:26:01.720 So the offer that Jesus is making to this crowd is to come to him and to get right, get peace with God. 00:26:01.720 --> 00:26:07.200 And I guess the gospel, wouldn't it, it would tell us two things about this debt, our debt. 00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:12.960 It would firstly tell us that our debt of sin, our rebellion against a holy God, it is big. 00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:15.480 The sin. 00:26:17.819 --> 00:26:21.160 We've accumulated a sizable sin debt. 00:26:21.160 --> 00:26:25.800 And I deserve prison because of my sin. 00:26:25.900 --> 00:26:28.220 I deserve prison because of my debts. 00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:31.980 Because it's a debt that I am unable to pay. 00:26:33.580 --> 00:26:35.820 It's the first thing the gospel would tell us. 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:43.040 But second thing the gospel would tell us is that Jesus, as he travels to Jerusalem and to his death, 00:26:43.800 --> 00:26:49.460 and this is glorious this morning, that he is on his way to take the prison sentence that you and I deserve, 00:26:49.460 --> 00:26:53.079 to trade places with us so that you and I through him can go free. 00:26:55.240 --> 00:27:00.240 Jesus is the only way for my debt to be paid. 00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:05.279 He is on the way to Jerusalem to the cross to pay my debt. 00:27:05.400 --> 00:27:07.299 And that's why I can sing, 00:27:07.799 --> 00:27:14.460 Oh, praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the debt. 00:27:17.120 --> 00:27:18.440 J.I. Packer, 00:27:19.460 --> 00:27:20.299 He writes this, 00:27:20.380 --> 00:27:28.059 Grace means God moving heaven and earth to save sinners who could not lift a finger to save themselves. 00:27:30.819 --> 00:27:34.640 The day of grace is today, says Jesus. 00:27:36.539 --> 00:27:39.519 And life is on offer to us this morning 00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:43.920 through this quite magnificent Savior. 00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:50.700 And so as we close our time together this morning, let me take you back to that initial question. 00:27:50.800 --> 00:27:51.360 Do you remember Brittany? 00:27:53.080 --> 00:27:55.160 She's talking about two types of people in the world. 00:27:56.140 --> 00:27:57.160 And what were we thinking about? 00:27:57.240 --> 00:27:59.580 We're thinking about how Jesus would answer that question. 00:27:59.579 --> 00:28:03.740 Well, here's what C.S. Lewis famously said. 00:28:04.699 --> 00:28:05.259 He said, 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:07.299 There are two kinds of people. 00:28:08.039 --> 00:28:09.319 Those who say to God, 00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:11.019 Thy will be done. 00:28:11.019 --> 00:28:14.400 And those to whom God says, 00:28:14.500 --> 00:28:15.059 All right then, 00:28:15.680 --> 00:28:16.460 Have it your way. 00:28:17.940 --> 00:28:21.579 I think Jesus would have found Lewis's answer pretty on the money. 00:28:21.579 --> 00:28:26.839 Actually, there are only two types of people in this world, says Jesus. 00:28:27.019 --> 00:28:31.599 Those who will bow the knee to him and accept him as Savior, receive life. 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:32.919 And those who won't. 00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:38.679 We've seen Jesus present himself as the most divisive figure in all of human history. 00:28:38.680 --> 00:28:45.220 Let me close where the passage closes this morning and ask you where you stand in relation to him. 00:28:47.420 --> 00:28:48.680 Will you come to him? 00:28:49.600 --> 00:28:53.940 Will you come to the one who's offering to pay your debt, who's paid your debt on the cross? 00:28:54.299 --> 00:28:59.840 The one who is offering you life in his name and peace with God your creator. 00:29:01.660 --> 00:29:08.660 Just before I pray, I realize and I feel the way of the hard words of Jesus. 00:29:08.680 --> 00:29:10.360 This morning, and I wonder if you do too. 00:29:10.519 --> 00:29:13.140 So why don't we just pause just before we pray. 00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:19.560 Maybe there's some stuff that you want to pray about this morning as you think about the challenge that God's words brought to us. 00:29:20.259 --> 00:29:23.920 So why don't we just have a few moments of quiet and then I'll pray as we close. 00:29:31.340 --> 00:29:33.259 So Father, we thank you for this morning. 00:29:35.200 --> 00:29:37.000 And we thank you for your words. 00:29:38.680 --> 00:29:47.320 Father, we pray and ask you to help us to be those who, like Jesus so wonderfully modeled for us, 00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:52.960 walk our lives and live our lives full of grace and truth. 00:29:52.960 --> 00:30:06.400 Father, would you help us as we experience the reality of this division to know the peace and the presence of your Holy Spirit we ask. 00:30:07.039 --> 00:30:10.740 Because we ask through and in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. 00:30:11.259 --> 00:30:11.579 Amen. 00:30:11.579 --> 00:30:14.539 Amen. 00:30:14.539 --> 00:30:16.619 Amen. 00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:35.119 Amen. 00:30:35.359 --> 00:30:35.599 Amen. 00:30:35.599 --> 00:30:36.759 Amen.