WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.339 Well, again, let me welcome you to Church of the Advent. 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:10.080 My name is Tommy. 00:00:10.540 --> 00:00:15.580 If you haven't been with us previously, we've been in a series all summer looking at the 00:00:15.580 --> 00:00:21.940 book of Acts, and it has just been, at least for me, a wonderful and rich study. 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:27.900 I mean, I've been so blessed by every passage and the opportunity just to spend a lot of 00:00:27.900 --> 00:00:28.980 time reflecting on it. 00:00:28.980 --> 00:00:33.640 But this is a wild passage that we come to this morning, and I'm really excited to look 00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:34.079 at it. 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:41.079 You know, nearly everyone in this city would agree that the world isn't the way that it 00:00:41.079 --> 00:00:46.140 should be, you know, that there's a lot wrong with this world, that there's things like injustice 00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:49.980 and poverty and oppression, corruption. 00:00:50.400 --> 00:00:55.040 You know, we've all been glued, probably many of us, to what's happening in Afghanistan right 00:00:55.039 --> 00:01:01.200 now, and just lamenting all of the brokenness and pain in the world and our sense of powerlessness 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:04.159 to really do anything about it. 00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:08.439 Nearly everyone believes that we should be doing what we can to try to make the world a 00:01:08.439 --> 00:01:08.900 better place. 00:01:08.980 --> 00:01:10.180 We all agree up to that point. 00:01:10.260 --> 00:01:12.180 I think that's where we begin to disagree. 00:01:12.299 --> 00:01:16.379 There's a lot of disagreement over how to make the world a better place. 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:17.739 Where should we start? 00:01:17.739 --> 00:01:21.679 You know, some people want to focus on political change. 00:01:21.759 --> 00:01:26.259 That's what brings a lot of people to the district if they didn't grow up here. 00:01:26.899 --> 00:01:32.539 Some people want to focus on things like education and advocacy. 00:01:32.540 --> 00:01:39.020 Some people really want to focus on personal development and self-improvement. 00:01:39.560 --> 00:01:43.200 And what the Bible would say is that all of those things are good. 00:01:44.140 --> 00:01:45.080 They're great. 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:48.500 But by themselves, they're simply insufficient. 00:01:49.180 --> 00:01:54.420 The Bible would say that those approaches are helpful, but they're like band-aids for a 00:01:54.420 --> 00:01:55.100 broken world. 00:01:55.099 --> 00:02:03.079 The real issue, what you might think of as the cancer at the heart of the world, is the 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:04.519 issue of idolatry. 00:02:05.060 --> 00:02:08.620 And that's what we've been looking at, and that's what we're going to look at again this 00:02:08.620 --> 00:02:09.019 morning. 00:02:09.139 --> 00:02:13.219 It's a theme that runs throughout the Bible, and particularly in the book of Acts. 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:21.740 As the gospel spreads out across the world, it confronts idols in individuals and in cultures. 00:02:21.740 --> 00:02:27.820 So we're going to look at this and how it unfolds in Acts chapter 19 through Paul's ministry 00:02:27.820 --> 00:02:30.939 in Ephesus, and we're going to see this in three parts. 00:02:31.640 --> 00:02:38.020 The centrality of religion, the centrality of religion, the problem of idolatry and why 00:02:38.020 --> 00:02:39.040 it is so pernicious. 00:02:39.939 --> 00:02:42.060 And then finally, the power of the gospel. 00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:43.640 Let's pray. 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:51.239 Lord, thank you for your word, and thank you that even as we come to your word with our 00:02:51.239 --> 00:03:00.939 expectations or our biases, our hopes, our cynicism, Lord, that you come to us with your 00:03:00.939 --> 00:03:05.979 own agenda, your own plan and desire for the way that you want to use your word in us. 00:03:05.979 --> 00:03:11.060 And Lord, may your will prevail as we know it will. 00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:17.959 May you do your work in us through your word that we would be a people who glorify you, who 00:03:17.959 --> 00:03:20.679 put your radiance on display for the world to see. 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:23.459 We pray this in your son Jesus' name. 00:03:23.780 --> 00:03:24.099 Amen. 00:03:24.099 --> 00:03:32.259 So the first thing I want to focus on in this passage is the centrality of religion, and 00:03:32.259 --> 00:03:37.919 by that I mean the centrality of religion in society, in culture, in human life. 00:03:38.379 --> 00:03:44.299 I realize that when I say that idolatry is the source of all that is wrong in the world, 00:03:44.299 --> 00:03:49.819 that probably sounds like a massive overstatement to many people, because a lot of people would 00:03:49.819 --> 00:03:53.879 say, well, I'm sure this kind of thing matters if you're a religious person. 00:03:54.099 --> 00:03:57.719 I'm sure this kind of thing matters if you live in a religious or a more traditional 00:03:57.719 --> 00:03:58.299 culture. 00:03:59.219 --> 00:04:01.500 But what about if you're a non-religious person? 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:03.539 What about if you live in a more secular culture? 00:04:03.639 --> 00:04:08.659 How can you possibly say that idolatry has anything to do with what's wrong in a society 00:04:08.659 --> 00:04:09.199 like that? 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:12.299 And that's why I want to look carefully at what's happening in Ephesus. 00:04:12.939 --> 00:04:19.659 If you walk through the chapter, chapter 19 of the book of Acts, it is filled with conflict 00:04:19.659 --> 00:04:21.399 and upheaval. 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:26.659 In verse 9, Paul is facing public slander and criticism. 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:33.759 In verses 11 through 20, you have a demon-possessed man physically attack and humiliate a group 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:35.659 of Jewish exorcists. 00:04:35.779 --> 00:04:38.620 I mean, this is an amazing scene in and of itself. 00:04:39.259 --> 00:04:45.139 There's a reference to God doing extraordinary miracles through Paul so that even handkerchiefs 00:04:45.139 --> 00:04:48.139 and garments that had touched Paul were healing people. 00:04:48.259 --> 00:04:54.719 By the way, that does not give us license to sell pieces of cloth to you so that you 00:04:54.719 --> 00:04:56.459 can go home and do miracles with them. 00:04:56.779 --> 00:04:59.459 This is not meant to be a normative practice in the church. 00:04:59.539 --> 00:05:02.860 It's meant to illustrate this is the kind of thing that was happening. 00:05:02.979 --> 00:05:03.879 It was extraordinary. 00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:05.199 It was not normative. 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:08.539 In other words, there was a massive spiritual conflict underway. 00:05:09.339 --> 00:05:14.120 The power of God was so evident that this kind of thing was happening. 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:16.180 It was extraordinary even for them. 00:05:17.039 --> 00:05:21.199 We have people burning books in the streets. 00:05:21.620 --> 00:05:27.360 We have in verses 21 to 41 a riot breaking out and things almost getting out of hand. 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:33.800 So filled with conflict and upheaval, and we need to ask, why is all of this happening? 00:05:34.360 --> 00:05:37.139 I mean, Ephesus is just sort of being turned upside down here. 00:05:38.460 --> 00:05:42.100 It is a ripple effect of Paul's ministry. 00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:49.480 In verse 26, it says, not only in Ephesus, this is Demetrius talking about Paul, not only 00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:56.040 in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many 00:05:56.040 --> 00:06:00.340 people saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 00:06:01.340 --> 00:06:07.480 The more Paul said that, and the more people believed it, the more it turned the entire 00:06:07.480 --> 00:06:09.240 society upside down. 00:06:09.379 --> 00:06:10.820 That was the core of his ministry. 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:13.580 And of course, we're talking here about idols. 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:16.340 Gods made with human hands. 00:06:16.540 --> 00:06:18.020 Gods that are not gods. 00:06:18.379 --> 00:06:19.180 False gods. 00:06:19.520 --> 00:06:23.240 Things that we create and then worship in the place of God. 00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:30.319 And the more Paul confronts idolatry, the more he disrupts culture and society. 00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:32.939 And you say, well, why? 00:06:33.340 --> 00:06:37.600 Why would this not just affect the religious people who worship those particular idols? 00:06:37.840 --> 00:06:41.800 And we would say, well, this gives us a clue into how culture works. 00:06:41.939 --> 00:06:45.259 If you've been around Advent, you've heard this before, but I think we just need to hear 00:06:45.259 --> 00:06:45.939 it again and again. 00:06:46.280 --> 00:06:49.400 The word culture comes from two root words. 00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:55.839 The word cultus, which means religious worship, and the word kolere, which means to cultivate 00:06:55.839 --> 00:06:59.939 or to plow or till or make something out of the world, right? 00:07:00.159 --> 00:07:06.359 And you take those two words together, religious devotion and making things out of the world, 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:09.879 hold those together and you get a sense of what culture is. 00:07:09.879 --> 00:07:15.719 You have something at the very center of society or a collection of things. 00:07:16.339 --> 00:07:20.360 And that society agrees that these are the most important things. 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:24.439 These are the ideals and the values that we most cherish and worship. 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:25.540 They're the ultimate things. 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:27.159 That sits at the center. 00:07:27.500 --> 00:07:29.259 And then everything flows out of that. 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:34.579 Everything that we build, everything that we make, everything that we create reflects that, right? 00:07:34.579 --> 00:07:41.060 So in Paul's world, those central things might be things like family and honor and fertility 00:07:41.060 --> 00:07:43.800 and glory and agriculture, right? 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:45.819 Made sense for the kind of world they lived in. 00:07:46.039 --> 00:07:48.579 What might it look like in our world? 00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:51.299 Comfort, right? 00:07:51.779 --> 00:07:53.339 Achievement, depending on where you're from. 00:07:53.799 --> 00:07:57.959 Football, freedom, status, right? 00:07:58.019 --> 00:07:59.799 These are the things that sit at the center of society. 00:07:59.879 --> 00:08:00.539 We all agree. 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:01.659 We all want that. 00:08:01.660 --> 00:08:07.680 And then everything, our institutions, our beliefs, our behaviors, our values, our art, 00:08:07.780 --> 00:08:12.740 our politics, our economics, all of that flows out of those central values. 00:08:14.440 --> 00:08:16.900 And whatever sits at the center, that's our idol. 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:18.860 Those are our gods made with human hands. 00:08:19.300 --> 00:08:24.180 So in the words of Henry Van Til, culture is religion externalized. 00:08:25.700 --> 00:08:27.620 It's religion externalized. 00:08:29.140 --> 00:08:30.960 This is a very important point. 00:08:32.379 --> 00:08:37.019 It's a very important point because a lot of people in the modern West think of religion 00:08:37.019 --> 00:08:40.460 as merely one aspect of culture, right? 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:41.820 You have your sort of culture. 00:08:42.440 --> 00:08:45.660 And then maybe over here you have your public institutions. 00:08:45.899 --> 00:08:48.120 And here you have your values and your norms. 00:08:48.379 --> 00:08:49.759 And here you have your economy. 00:08:49.920 --> 00:08:50.879 And here you have your politics. 00:08:51.160 --> 00:08:53.779 And then kind of down here you have your religion, right? 00:08:53.779 --> 00:08:58.620 And it's just a kind of peripheral aspect of culture. 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:03.439 And so we think that some cultures are more religious. 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:06.799 You know, that religion piece is bigger in some cultures. 00:09:07.199 --> 00:09:08.919 And in other cultures they're more secular. 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:12.100 And so that religion piece is sort of further off to the side. 00:09:12.179 --> 00:09:14.480 And a lot of people see that in our culture. 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:18.580 They say, well, in the postmodern West or in the late modern West, depending on how you want to say it. 00:09:19.100 --> 00:09:22.080 You know, religion is getting smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller. 00:09:22.259 --> 00:09:23.840 There's atrophy happening here. 00:09:23.940 --> 00:09:25.180 And so it's less and less important. 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:26.259 Right? 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:27.779 That's how we like to see it. 00:09:27.779 --> 00:09:35.699 But the truth is, I think what the Bible would say is that religion is not just one aspect of culture over here. 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:41.360 Religion sits at the very center of all cultures and all societies. 00:09:41.799 --> 00:09:50.259 All of culture is religious because it's the externalization of whatever it is we worship at the center. 00:09:51.939 --> 00:09:52.379 Right? 00:09:52.439 --> 00:09:56.220 And I think, by the way, I think that we are having to learn this the hard way. 00:09:56.220 --> 00:10:01.840 We, and by we, I mean we in the West and the United States, as we look at what's happening in Afghanistan. 00:10:02.700 --> 00:10:06.440 You know, there's a lot we could say about it, and I don't want to oversimplify it, 00:10:06.460 --> 00:10:09.920 but it strikes me again and again and again as I watch the news every day. 00:10:10.460 --> 00:10:14.180 We thought that we could go in with our money and our power and our ideals, 00:10:14.560 --> 00:10:19.759 and that a liberal democracy with universal human rights and equality would just naturally emerge. 00:10:21.460 --> 00:10:25.100 That it would just naturally happen, because anybody with common sense would want that. 00:10:25.100 --> 00:10:29.399 And I think that we underestimate the fact that our entire culture has, 00:10:29.940 --> 00:10:33.019 that their entire culture has grown out of Islam. 00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:37.620 And our entire culture has grown out of Christianity and Judaism. 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:40.019 You know, Jürgen Habermas says, 00:10:40.019 --> 00:10:47.340 universalistic egalitarianism from which sprang the ideals of freedom and a collective life and solidarity, 00:10:47.980 --> 00:10:50.740 the autonomous conduct of life and emancipation, 00:10:51.259 --> 00:10:55.559 the individual morality of conscience, human rights, democracy. 00:10:56.019 --> 00:11:02.059 He says all of that is the direct legacy of the Judaic ethic of justice and the Christian ethic of love. 00:11:03.139 --> 00:11:03.539 Right? 00:11:03.539 --> 00:11:05.719 Listen, now, I'm not saying that our culture is perfect. 00:11:05.860 --> 00:11:06.399 Far from it. 00:11:06.419 --> 00:11:08.500 And we're going to get into that in just a little while. 00:11:08.659 --> 00:11:10.799 But here's the point I'm wanting to make about culture. 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:16.519 If culture is the fruit, religion is the root. 00:11:17.559 --> 00:11:20.959 Religious devotion is the root of every culture. 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:26.040 You can't have the fruit of a tree without having the roots of that tree. 00:11:26.180 --> 00:11:30.360 I look at the Middle East and all of the efforts to try to establish, you know, 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:34.160 the kind of society and culture that we have here over there, 00:11:34.220 --> 00:11:38.980 and it's like expecting an orange tree to produce apples just by calling it an apple tree. 00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:41.660 And it's not that simple. 00:11:41.659 --> 00:11:47.219 Because religious devotion sits at the very heart of culture and society. 00:11:47.219 --> 00:11:51.360 Only by beginning to change those central objects of worship 00:11:51.360 --> 00:11:57.659 can you begin to meaningfully and in a lasting way shift and change a culture. 00:11:58.600 --> 00:11:58.799 Right? 00:11:58.939 --> 00:12:00.360 So that's the first point. 00:12:00.679 --> 00:12:02.459 The centrality of religion. 00:12:02.620 --> 00:12:03.500 It's not out here. 00:12:03.740 --> 00:12:05.759 It's at the very heart of every culture and society. 00:12:06.039 --> 00:12:08.039 Even if they claim to be a secular society, 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:13.079 there's always something that is worshipped and upheld as ultimate. 00:12:13.219 --> 00:12:17.279 Now, the second thing we want to look at here is the problem of idolatry. 00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:19.099 If that is true, what I just said about culture, 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:24.639 that begins to help us understand why idols could be such a big deal. 00:12:25.379 --> 00:12:28.500 The first problem that we have with idolatry that we see in Ephesus 00:12:28.500 --> 00:12:31.459 is that idolatry permeates the culture. 00:12:33.259 --> 00:12:34.779 It permeates the culture. 00:12:34.779 --> 00:12:36.819 You know, you drop a teabag in some hot water, 00:12:36.820 --> 00:12:40.260 and in a few minutes that tea has infused everything. 00:12:40.400 --> 00:12:41.200 That's what an idol does. 00:12:41.280 --> 00:12:45.360 It infuses every nook, cranny, and crevice of the culture. 00:12:45.580 --> 00:12:47.520 So you can't just go into a culture, 00:12:47.920 --> 00:12:50.640 replace the idol, and expect everything to go smoothly. 00:12:51.560 --> 00:12:52.680 Oh, don't care about this anymore. 00:12:52.820 --> 00:12:53.500 Care about this now. 00:12:54.700 --> 00:12:56.600 Paul is traveling throughout the region, 00:12:56.740 --> 00:13:00.340 and he's confronting the idols at the center of this culture, 00:13:00.520 --> 00:13:02.180 and a riot breaks out. 00:13:02.500 --> 00:13:04.380 I mean, in response to what Paul's doing, 00:13:04.379 --> 00:13:08.200 people gather in the streets, and for hours they shout, 00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:10.240 Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:12.439 Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:14.500 Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! 00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:15.600 And you say, what's that about? 00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:19.320 Idolatry permeated the culture. 00:13:20.439 --> 00:13:23.279 And idolatry, the things that they worshipped at the center, 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:28.039 represented in Artemis of the Ephesians. 00:13:29.019 --> 00:13:32.279 You know, Artemis, the goddess of childbirth and fertility, 00:13:32.500 --> 00:13:34.779 these are things that were very central in their society. 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:39.199 Idolatry permeated the culture, 00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:41.959 and so it was wrapped up in all of the economic, 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:44.240 and political, and cultural activity in the city. 00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:47.379 In other words, there's nothing that you could do in that society 00:13:47.379 --> 00:13:50.039 that wasn't in some way connected to the idolatry. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:51.819 It was all infused with it. 00:13:51.820 --> 00:13:55.220 So if you just look at society there, 00:13:55.500 --> 00:13:59.100 the selling of images, both of the false gods and their temples, 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:00.379 that's what Demetrius did. 00:14:01.580 --> 00:14:02.620 Shrines to Artemis. 00:14:02.700 --> 00:14:04.940 They're little figures of Artemis, made out of silver, 00:14:05.400 --> 00:14:08.240 or little images of Artemis' temple. 00:14:09.540 --> 00:14:11.240 The selling of things like that 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:13.860 had made people like Demetrius extremely wealthy. 00:14:14.020 --> 00:14:17.640 Entire industries of craftsmen had grown up around that. 00:14:17.639 --> 00:14:21.899 Cult prostitution, often involving minors, 00:14:22.319 --> 00:14:25.080 brought in huge sums of money to the temples. 00:14:26.860 --> 00:14:28.980 Cult prostitution involving minors, 00:14:29.779 --> 00:14:32.699 huge amounts of money came in through that 00:14:32.699 --> 00:14:34.319 to keep the temples wealthy. 00:14:34.860 --> 00:14:37.559 There were many civic and public events 00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:40.220 that included, as just part of the liturgy, 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:44.460 a dedication sacrifice to one of the gods or goddesses. 00:14:44.460 --> 00:14:49.300 And then later, as emperor worship became more and more normative and expected, 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:52.220 you would have a dedication sacrifice to the emperor, 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:54.500 who was seen as God. 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:58.680 A lot of the meat that you would go buy in the marketplace 00:14:58.680 --> 00:15:01.759 came from pieces of meat that were left over 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:04.840 after other parts of that animal had been sacrificed. 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:06.460 So you had most of the meat, 00:15:06.580 --> 00:15:08.759 the more available, affordable meat, 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:12.040 was from meat that had been sacrificed to idols. 00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:14.620 And because of all of these things, 00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:18.839 Ephesus had become the financial center of the Roman Empire. 00:15:20.500 --> 00:15:20.899 Right? 00:15:20.980 --> 00:15:22.199 So again, I think, you know, 00:15:22.259 --> 00:15:24.219 we in the secular progressive West 00:15:24.219 --> 00:15:27.019 like to think of religion as a secondary add-on, 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:28.659 as something very peripheral, 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:31.079 but what we see here is the opposite. 00:15:32.539 --> 00:15:33.679 What you've got to understand is, 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:36.120 as Paul confronts the idols of this culture, 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:40.099 he is confronting their entire way of life. 00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:42.659 All civic life, politics, economics, 00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:45.000 everything was bound up in idolatry. 00:15:45.779 --> 00:15:50.440 So Paul and his message represent an existential threat 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:52.639 to the Ephesian way of life. 00:15:53.460 --> 00:15:55.379 You challenge the idols of a culture, 00:15:55.740 --> 00:15:57.920 you challenge the very integrity of that culture, 00:15:58.100 --> 00:15:59.620 and you will get pushback. 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:03.420 So we say, okay, well, what does this look like in our culture? 00:16:03.419 --> 00:16:06.339 We can't imagine, you know, shouting, 00:16:06.579 --> 00:16:10.339 great is Artemis of the Ephesians in the middle of the streets. 00:16:10.439 --> 00:16:12.599 Most of us don't do that on the weekends. 00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:16.579 And we say, well, just because our culture grew out of Judaism and Christianity, 00:16:16.579 --> 00:16:18.959 does that mean that we're immune from this kind of thing? 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:20.919 Absolutely not. 00:16:22.219 --> 00:16:23.099 Absolutely not. 00:16:24.279 --> 00:16:27.599 So then we have to ask, well, what gods do we make with our hands? 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:36.180 You know, and I think maybe one of the quintessentially kind of Western American U.S. gods 00:16:36.180 --> 00:16:38.860 would be the god of freedom. 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:40.480 Right? 00:16:40.620 --> 00:16:42.360 Freedom, which is very core to our identity. 00:16:42.940 --> 00:16:44.040 It's very core to who we are. 00:16:44.139 --> 00:16:48.040 People on the left and the right, we all agree on the value of freedom, 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:51.060 although I think we tend to define it in different ways. 00:16:52.180 --> 00:16:52.379 Right? 00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:54.200 Freedom is a very good thing. 00:16:54.259 --> 00:16:55.399 I'm very pro-freedom, 00:16:55.399 --> 00:17:00.860 but I also believe that we've turned freedom into a god that we have made with our hands. 00:17:02.220 --> 00:17:06.400 You know, you have people on the right, politically and socially, 00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:11.740 who complain about all of the progressives who feel free to redefine things like marriage 00:17:11.740 --> 00:17:13.279 or gender identity. 00:17:13.339 --> 00:17:14.819 And they say, you're not free to do that. 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:16.599 You're not free to make that kind of call. 00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:20.359 And then you have people on the left who complain about conservatives 00:17:20.359 --> 00:17:24.740 who do things like adamantly refusing to wear masks under any circumstances. 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:28.740 And they say, your personal freedom shouldn't put other people at risk. 00:17:29.900 --> 00:17:32.220 And so we have this happening on both sides, 00:17:32.220 --> 00:17:36.660 but it's all the same god that we are worshiping, the god of personal freedom. 00:17:36.660 --> 00:17:43.160 And if you were to go in and challenge that kind of thing on the left or challenge that kind of thing on the right, 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:48.960 you would represent an existential threat because people feel like you are threatening their very freedom. 00:17:49.320 --> 00:17:50.840 If you were to challenge those things. 00:17:50.920 --> 00:17:53.340 And so you would hear the same response from both sides. 00:17:53.600 --> 00:17:55.840 How dare you impinge on my personal freedom? 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:59.519 My body, my choice. 00:18:00.579 --> 00:18:02.740 Great is Artemis of the Ephesians. 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:07.679 We don't say that, but we have different ways of saying the same thing. 00:18:08.339 --> 00:18:11.720 Don't challenge this ultimate value. 00:18:12.379 --> 00:18:13.179 How dare you? 00:18:14.179 --> 00:18:15.799 Great is Artemis of the Ephesians. 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:20.159 And if you think about our culture writ large, right, that's just one example. 00:18:20.299 --> 00:18:21.220 Freedom is one example. 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:25.319 But think about the role that comfort plays in our culture. 00:18:25.460 --> 00:18:26.039 Or sex. 00:18:26.500 --> 00:18:27.279 Or status. 00:18:27.980 --> 00:18:30.539 Or expressive hyper-individualism. 00:18:30.740 --> 00:18:31.680 Or outrage. 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:33.159 Or achievement. 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:33.639 Right? 00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:35.839 And then, so think about those things. 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:38.740 And then think about our politics. 00:18:39.559 --> 00:18:40.819 Think about our institutions. 00:18:41.659 --> 00:18:42.919 Think about our economy. 00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:45.259 Think about our way of life. 00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:47.000 And try to make the connections. 00:18:48.620 --> 00:18:48.720 Right? 00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:52.620 How much of our political life is driven by fear-mongering? 00:18:54.080 --> 00:18:57.160 And people's idolatrous desire for safety. 00:18:58.259 --> 00:19:06.100 You know, we've said before, if you as a politician can define the problem that makes people feel threatened and then define an enemy. 00:19:06.900 --> 00:19:11.240 And then make the promise that you're going to do whatever necessary to overcome that enemy and keep people safe. 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:13.140 They will vote for you because people want to be safe. 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:22.579 Think about the outrage industrial complex online and how much ad revenue is generated through clicking. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:27.480 Because we crave outrage in a weird kind of way. 00:19:27.900 --> 00:19:33.240 Think about the porn industry or the sex trafficking industry driven by our idol of sexual gratification. 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:34.120 Right? 00:19:34.180 --> 00:19:37.059 This is happening in the ancient world through cult prostitution. 00:19:37.220 --> 00:19:38.120 It's happening today. 00:19:38.119 --> 00:19:39.579 It's always been there. 00:19:40.199 --> 00:19:42.559 We just have different names for the same thing. 00:19:43.299 --> 00:19:49.039 Think about all of the economic injustice and environmental degradation that results from the idol of overconsumption. 00:19:49.619 --> 00:19:52.119 Think about all the money spent on premium brands. 00:19:53.159 --> 00:19:56.659 All the school debt racked up because of the idol of status. 00:19:58.859 --> 00:19:59.339 Right? 00:20:00.219 --> 00:20:02.319 Think about all of the hours that we work. 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:04.899 Think about the friendships that we neglect. 00:20:05.019 --> 00:20:10.019 The families that we neglect because of the idols of productivity and success. 00:20:10.119 --> 00:20:13.519 Because you know if you don't put in the hours over the weekend to get that thing done, 00:20:13.819 --> 00:20:15.779 there's a hundred other people who would love your job. 00:20:17.179 --> 00:20:21.119 You know, we could keep going all day, but the point I hope is clear by now. 00:20:21.339 --> 00:20:22.960 Idolatry permeates our culture. 00:20:23.339 --> 00:20:25.000 Just like it permeated the ancient world. 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:29.559 We call ourselves a secular society increasingly. 00:20:29.559 --> 00:20:31.440 But we're not. 00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:32.799 Right? 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:34.200 We're just... 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:37.359 What we're doing is we're deciding that we no longer want to use religious language. 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:39.960 But we're every bit as religious. 00:20:40.599 --> 00:20:42.039 We just have different words for it. 00:20:42.500 --> 00:20:46.539 So that's the first problem is that idolatry permeates the culture. 00:20:46.779 --> 00:20:51.379 The second problem is even arguably worse. 00:20:51.919 --> 00:20:54.960 That idolatry represents spiritual evil. 00:20:54.960 --> 00:21:00.620 A lot of times, and I'm very guilty of this, when we talk about idolatry, we can talk about 00:21:00.620 --> 00:21:03.400 it in very intellectual, sociological kinds of ways. 00:21:04.140 --> 00:21:09.660 And I think we do ourselves a great disservice by not remembering regularly that idolatry represents 00:21:09.660 --> 00:21:11.440 actual spiritual evil. 00:21:11.900 --> 00:21:12.039 Right? 00:21:12.100 --> 00:21:17.680 Not only does Paul face intellectual opposition, political opposition, economic, social opposition, 00:21:18.059 --> 00:21:19.960 he faces demonic opposition. 00:21:19.960 --> 00:21:24.660 And we should not make the mistake, we should never make the mistake of reading the Bible 00:21:24.660 --> 00:21:28.559 and saying, oh, well, we'll take into account the political or the economic stuff, but the 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:30.660 demonic, we just sort of, we're not going to think about that. 00:21:31.019 --> 00:21:34.079 We do ourselves a great disservice by doing that. 00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:36.519 Because this is what sits behind it all. 00:21:37.700 --> 00:21:39.759 Idols are not spiritually neutral. 00:21:40.440 --> 00:21:40.640 Right? 00:21:40.740 --> 00:21:44.400 It can start out as a good thing, something that God made, because that's the nature of 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:44.600 evil. 00:21:44.700 --> 00:21:45.860 Evil isn't generative. 00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:46.900 It can't create. 00:21:47.360 --> 00:21:49.480 What evil can do is twist and distort. 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:55.180 And so we can take something that is good, that God gave us, that God made for our enjoyment, 00:21:55.799 --> 00:22:01.220 and we can begin to imbue it with a significance that it was never meant to have. 00:22:01.460 --> 00:22:03.000 We begin to lift it up above God. 00:22:03.059 --> 00:22:09.460 And when that happens, when that happens, it begins to accumulate a kind of spiritual power, 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.799 a kind of malevolent force that stands opposed to God and his creation. 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:18.319 And it's a power that seeks to destroy everything that God has made. 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:25.579 So when you take something like freedom or status, those are nothing more than ideas. 00:22:25.740 --> 00:22:27.099 Those are constructs. 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:27.399 Right? 00:22:27.619 --> 00:22:29.679 They don't actually exist physically. 00:22:30.419 --> 00:22:34.919 But you take something like freedom or status and you worship it. 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:42.620 When you turn it into an ultimate thing, a thing that you can't live without, it takes on a spiritual power in your life. 00:22:43.560 --> 00:22:46.100 And that power is destructive. 00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:49.279 So, you know, we talked about this already. 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:59.820 Freedom becomes a destructive force that begins to break down communities by pitting people against each other as everyone obsesses over their rights. 00:22:59.819 --> 00:23:09.960 Status becomes a destructive force that breeds envy and resentment and shame and inferiority and snobbery. 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:10.279 Right? 00:23:10.500 --> 00:23:16.319 And in the West, we typically think of things like this in psychological or sociological terms. 00:23:16.599 --> 00:23:19.220 We don't think of things like this as demonic. 00:23:19.700 --> 00:23:20.740 We are wrong. 00:23:20.740 --> 00:23:21.339 We are wrong. 00:23:22.339 --> 00:23:23.539 We are wrong. 00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:34.440 We are absurdly naive not to recognize the form that spiritual attack most often takes in our society. 00:23:35.299 --> 00:23:42.039 And it is people spending money they don't have so that they can look down their noses at people who don't have that money to spend. 00:23:42.039 --> 00:23:46.720 So that they can have the brand name thing rather than the generic thing. 00:23:47.259 --> 00:23:53.799 So that they can have a certain degree or a certain kind of car or a certain kind of job that tells the world there is somebody rather than a nobody. 00:23:55.259 --> 00:23:57.779 And having an economy driven by that kind of thinking. 00:23:59.420 --> 00:24:00.700 That's spiritual attack. 00:24:01.639 --> 00:24:03.180 That is not of the Lord. 00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:04.480 That is satanic. 00:24:04.899 --> 00:24:06.359 And we need to recognize that. 00:24:07.879 --> 00:24:08.299 Right? 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:09.720 So here's where we are so far. 00:24:09.720 --> 00:24:11.779 Religion is the root of all culture. 00:24:12.839 --> 00:24:15.279 It sits underneath every culture and society. 00:24:16.139 --> 00:24:21.000 And the religion under every culture and society, including ours, involves idol worship. 00:24:21.720 --> 00:24:24.960 Which is worshiping gods that we have made with our own hands. 00:24:26.099 --> 00:24:29.619 And then idols represent spiritual evil. 00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:34.420 Destructive malevolence seeking to tear down everything that God has made. 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:37.839 And our entire culture is defined by idols. 00:24:38.680 --> 00:24:40.960 And if that is true, what does that mean? 00:24:42.039 --> 00:24:43.940 It means there is no neutral ground. 00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:46.139 It means there is no opt-out. 00:24:46.639 --> 00:24:49.180 It means you can't say, I'm going to be an irreligious person. 00:24:50.339 --> 00:24:55.740 Because the entire culture that you live in conspires to keep you enthralled to idols. 00:24:57.740 --> 00:25:06.480 Everywhere you go, everything that you do, every institution you engage with, it all conspires to keep you enthralled to idols. 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:08.960 Because it flows out of idol worship. 00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:13.299 And so it takes something tremendously powerful to set people free. 00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:15.480 Tremendously powerful. 00:25:16.480 --> 00:25:18.019 The power of the gospel. 00:25:18.920 --> 00:25:19.880 Our final point. 00:25:21.339 --> 00:25:29.160 Despite everything that we just said, all throughout Ephesus and the surrounding region, people are being set free in droves. 00:25:29.160 --> 00:25:38.940 And so many people are being transformed by the gospel that it begins to impact patterns of consumption and destabilize the economy. 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:40.480 How incredible is that? 00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:47.080 You have so many people repenting of their idols and following Jesus that the economy begins to wobble. 00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:48.120 Right? 00:25:48.180 --> 00:25:49.660 There's cracks in the foundations. 00:25:49.660 --> 00:25:54.480 And this is because of three things if you look at Paul's ministry. 00:25:55.980 --> 00:26:02.680 The first thing that's happening, it says in the text, is that the name of Jesus is being extolled. 00:26:03.360 --> 00:26:05.420 The essence of Paul's message was this. 00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:08.220 The God made with hands are not God's. 00:26:08.600 --> 00:26:09.460 They're empty. 00:26:09.620 --> 00:26:10.320 They're worthless. 00:26:10.800 --> 00:26:11.600 They're powerless. 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:13.480 They can never deliver on their promises. 00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:19.320 And so the more you worship them, the more you're going to give to them, and they're never going to have anything back to you. 00:26:20.080 --> 00:26:21.880 And you're going to live your life as a slave. 00:26:23.100 --> 00:26:25.640 And so Paul would say, but Jesus Christ has come. 00:26:25.900 --> 00:26:29.580 He's the only one who you can worship who will set you free. 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:37.580 He's proven his desire for you to be free by giving his life for you on the cross to set you free from sin and death. 00:26:37.980 --> 00:26:39.279 He wants you to be free. 00:26:40.840 --> 00:26:43.560 And so Paul would announce that good news, but here's the thing. 00:26:43.560 --> 00:26:48.500 In order to be free, you can't just invoke the name of Jesus like a magic charm. 00:26:49.660 --> 00:26:52.680 That's what those Jewish exorcists did. 00:26:53.880 --> 00:26:55.480 And you see how that turned out. 00:26:57.200 --> 00:26:57.600 Right? 00:26:57.680 --> 00:27:00.560 My friend used to say he got beaten like a rented goalie. 00:27:00.900 --> 00:27:02.920 And I think about that every time I see this. 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:04.500 I don't even exactly know what that means. 00:27:04.800 --> 00:27:07.840 Maybe it's a sports analogy, but I always think of that line when I see this text. 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:10.300 This dude gets rocked. 00:27:10.299 --> 00:27:16.059 All of them get beaten, stripped naked, and sent out into the street humiliated. 00:27:16.519 --> 00:27:17.879 And it's meant to show us something. 00:27:17.980 --> 00:27:29.859 If you just think that you can invoke the name of Jesus like a magic charm, like you're at middle school Christian summer camp, and you're around the fire, and they do the altar call, and you say, yeah, I give my life to Jesus. 00:27:29.859 --> 00:27:30.939 And then that's it. 00:27:30.979 --> 00:27:33.299 And then you just go on living your life like nothing has changed. 00:27:34.659 --> 00:27:39.139 You know, your idols are going to beat you and humiliate you in your life. 00:27:39.459 --> 00:27:44.639 You're going to be sent out in the street, stripped of everything that means anything to you. 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:45.579 Right? 00:27:45.639 --> 00:27:46.279 A thrall. 00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:49.199 You know, it's not just a magic charm. 00:27:49.819 --> 00:27:50.059 Right? 00:27:50.379 --> 00:27:53.039 Jesus' name has to be extolled in your life. 00:27:53.099 --> 00:27:56.019 That means it has to be given the place of greatest prominence. 00:27:56.799 --> 00:27:58.879 That you have to praise it above all other names. 00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:01.440 It means Jesus has to take the throne of your life. 00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:07.180 The only way to be free from idols is if Jesus displaces them and takes the throne of your life. 00:28:07.760 --> 00:28:09.280 His name has to be extolled. 00:28:10.800 --> 00:28:17.200 The next thing that we see is the word of God is being proclaimed, and it's being taught, and it's being... 00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:21.220 They're making sure that people understand it so that they can live by it. 00:28:21.240 --> 00:28:25.620 It says in verse 20, the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. 00:28:25.800 --> 00:28:28.300 Look at the passage and just ask these questions. 00:28:28.299 --> 00:28:39.000 Why is it necessary at the end of chapter 18 for Priscilla and Aquila to correct Apollos to make sure his teaching of God's word was accurate? 00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:39.460 Right? 00:28:39.599 --> 00:28:42.839 He's this great orator, but they're like, his theology's off. 00:28:43.059 --> 00:28:44.379 He's good on the Old Testament. 00:28:44.500 --> 00:28:46.359 He needs some adjustment when it comes to the New Testament. 00:28:46.740 --> 00:28:51.419 So it's noteworthy, by the way, that Priscilla is mentioned before Aquila, so she probably took the lead in this. 00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:55.019 Hey, Apollos, we need to correct your theology so that you're teaching accurately. 00:28:55.019 --> 00:28:55.900 Why would that matter? 00:28:56.859 --> 00:29:04.500 Why would Paul spend two years, as it says in verse 10, making sure that all the residents of Asia hear the word of God? 00:29:04.579 --> 00:29:07.559 Why not just write down the number of conversions and send it back to Jerusalem? 00:29:08.660 --> 00:29:15.639 You know, we got 1,372 conversions in Ephesus, and I'm going on, right? 00:29:15.779 --> 00:29:19.240 He stays there for two years, teaching the word of God to them. 00:29:19.240 --> 00:29:26.120 Why do many of the new believers pile up their occult pagan books and burn them in the street? 00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:27.339 This is not prescriptive. 00:29:27.380 --> 00:29:28.920 We shouldn't force people to burn books. 00:29:28.980 --> 00:29:30.220 They do this of their own accord. 00:29:30.299 --> 00:29:31.019 They want to. 00:29:31.460 --> 00:29:31.759 Why? 00:29:31.940 --> 00:29:37.559 Why have they suddenly devalued their own words so highly or so lowly? 00:29:39.099 --> 00:29:45.620 Why are Paul's last words to the leaders in the church at Ephesus, and this is in chapter 20, right? 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:47.420 His last words, he's never going to see them again. 00:29:47.420 --> 00:29:50.620 He thinks he's going to his death, and he basically says two things. 00:29:51.860 --> 00:29:54.660 Teach the word of God, and then guard it. 00:29:55.560 --> 00:29:59.779 Make sure nobody comes in to distort the teaching of the word of God. 00:30:00.019 --> 00:30:01.580 It's the only thing he basically says. 00:30:03.420 --> 00:30:06.560 The reason that all of these things are true is this. 00:30:06.620 --> 00:30:08.960 It's because the way of God's word is the way of freedom. 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:15.240 Do you want to know what a life lived in total freedom looks like? 00:30:15.240 --> 00:30:17.539 What does a free human being look like? 00:30:18.440 --> 00:30:22.120 Well, it's a life lived out in complete obedience to God's word. 00:30:23.140 --> 00:30:25.640 And you say, well, what does that entail in a nutshell? 00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:26.839 Somebody asked Jesus that. 00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:28.339 Well, could you just kind of summarize that? 00:30:28.380 --> 00:30:29.220 What does that actually mean? 00:30:30.259 --> 00:30:32.339 And Jesus says it's a person who loves God. 00:30:33.700 --> 00:30:37.420 It's a person who loves God with all of her heart, all of her soul, and all of her mind. 00:30:37.420 --> 00:30:40.720 And it's a person who loves her neighbor as herself. 00:30:42.519 --> 00:30:43.019 That's it. 00:30:43.140 --> 00:30:44.220 That's a free human being. 00:30:44.980 --> 00:30:46.240 That's a summary of the word. 00:30:49.019 --> 00:30:53.080 If you want to know what your idols are, if you want to know kind of what does this look like in my life, 00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:54.880 start reading. 00:30:54.980 --> 00:30:59.480 I was talking to David just before the service, and he was just talking about, sorry to put you on the spot, David, 00:30:59.480 --> 00:31:04.400 but he was talking about just this experience that he and a group of people have had reading through God's word, 00:31:04.779 --> 00:31:06.339 reading through the Bible in a year together. 00:31:06.680 --> 00:31:10.059 And it's something that I would actually love to see our whole church commit to doing this year. 00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:12.420 So maybe we'll be able to do that. 00:31:13.720 --> 00:31:20.620 But if you start reading Scripture regularly and you start trying to put into practice the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, 00:31:20.619 --> 00:31:26.199 it is not going to take very long for you to come to a place in Scripture that you find offensive, 00:31:27.119 --> 00:31:28.479 that you find challenging, 00:31:28.959 --> 00:31:30.219 that you find bewildering. 00:31:30.299 --> 00:31:32.759 You will get to entire pages, entire chapters, 00:31:32.919 --> 00:31:33.959 that you just want to skip. 00:31:34.759 --> 00:31:36.579 And that's one of the beauties of doing a reading plan, 00:31:36.579 --> 00:31:37.679 is you can't skip it. 00:31:39.219 --> 00:31:40.500 But that's what we need. 00:31:40.579 --> 00:31:43.839 We need to read through God's word and get to a place where we're reading and reading and reading, 00:31:44.039 --> 00:31:46.699 and all of a sudden we're like, oh, mmm, you know, 00:31:46.819 --> 00:31:49.659 and you start to feel that sense of offense rising up in you. 00:31:49.660 --> 00:31:51.960 That is your idle detector beeping. 00:31:54.540 --> 00:31:57.580 And you need to dig in and figure out, why do I not want to read this? 00:31:58.019 --> 00:31:59.320 Why am I being troubled by this? 00:31:59.360 --> 00:32:01.900 I guarantee you, if you follow that thread, 00:32:02.340 --> 00:32:08.940 you will find something that is robbing you of the ability either to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, 00:32:09.100 --> 00:32:11.480 or to love your neighbor as yourself. 00:32:14.519 --> 00:32:14.880 Right? 00:32:15.080 --> 00:32:16.720 So this is the second thing. 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:19.940 The word of God is being, so Jesus' name is being extolled. 00:32:19.980 --> 00:32:21.339 The word of God is being proclaimed. 00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:24.519 The third and final thing, the body of Christ is being built up. 00:32:25.880 --> 00:32:26.980 Paul's not just teaching. 00:32:27.140 --> 00:32:27.920 He's not just preaching. 00:32:28.100 --> 00:32:29.440 He's not just instructing. 00:32:29.579 --> 00:32:31.440 He is baptizing as he goes. 00:32:31.500 --> 00:32:32.980 And he's making sure that people are baptized, 00:32:32.980 --> 00:32:34.640 not just with the baptism of John. 00:32:34.900 --> 00:32:35.980 This is at the beginning of the chapter. 00:32:35.980 --> 00:32:39.660 But in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 00:32:39.660 --> 00:32:41.339 that they receive the Holy Spirit. 00:32:41.740 --> 00:32:43.759 And he's grafting people into the church. 00:32:44.039 --> 00:32:50.500 And before he leaves, he makes sure that there are godly leaders in place to continue caring for the flock in Ephesus. 00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:53.460 And this is the same pattern that he follows everywhere he goes. 00:32:53.700 --> 00:32:55.559 So this is not just about making converts. 00:32:55.740 --> 00:32:56.980 It's about starting churches. 00:32:56.980 --> 00:33:03.400 If your entire society and culture has grown out of idol worship, 00:33:03.900 --> 00:33:07.759 and if your entire culture is infused with idolatry, 00:33:08.360 --> 00:33:11.940 when you begin to live a life out of step with that, 00:33:13.099 --> 00:33:15.099 you will meet massive opposition. 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:17.400 You cannot do it alone. 00:33:18.180 --> 00:33:21.360 You need a countercultural community of people around you 00:33:21.360 --> 00:33:24.700 to make that kind of life possible over the long haul. 00:33:24.700 --> 00:33:27.920 Otherwise, you may not become an unbeliever. 00:33:29.240 --> 00:33:30.880 Arguably, you'll become something worse. 00:33:31.759 --> 00:33:32.200 Nominal. 00:33:33.960 --> 00:33:34.400 Lukewarm. 00:33:36.340 --> 00:33:40.960 The kind of person that Jesus talks about spitting out of his mouth in Revelation, right? 00:33:42.299 --> 00:33:45.779 So you need a community around you so that you can live counterculturally 00:33:45.779 --> 00:33:47.620 and thus keep your freedom. 00:33:48.799 --> 00:33:50.140 So I want to pull all this together. 00:33:50.500 --> 00:33:51.840 We're out of time. 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:55.599 Do you want to be part of making the world a better place? 00:33:56.439 --> 00:33:57.559 I assume you do. 00:33:58.799 --> 00:34:02.419 Start by getting freedom from the idols in your own life. 00:34:03.319 --> 00:34:04.659 That is where you start. 00:34:05.679 --> 00:34:06.899 Give yourself to Jesus. 00:34:07.879 --> 00:34:09.380 Devote yourself to his word. 00:34:10.239 --> 00:34:11.940 And commit yourself to his church. 00:34:11.940 --> 00:34:18.099 And then, I would love to imagine this kind of thing happening in D.C. 00:34:18.619 --> 00:34:18.820 Right? 00:34:18.920 --> 00:34:22.700 Imagine so many people in D.C. lowering their consumption 00:34:22.700 --> 00:34:25.139 so that they can give more money away. 00:34:26.579 --> 00:34:31.940 Imagine so many people replacing outrage with grace and forgiveness. 00:34:33.220 --> 00:34:36.720 Imagine so many people refusing to work on the Sabbath, 00:34:37.380 --> 00:34:40.139 refusing to work when they're with their friends or family. 00:34:40.139 --> 00:34:44.500 Imagine so many people spending less time on their devices 00:34:44.500 --> 00:34:46.799 and more time talking to their neighbors. 00:34:47.159 --> 00:34:49.440 Imagining this happening on such a scale 00:34:49.440 --> 00:34:52.279 that it actually begins to reshape the economy, 00:34:52.719 --> 00:34:54.739 that it begins to reshape the politics, 00:34:54.980 --> 00:34:56.500 that it begins to reshape the culture. 00:34:56.500 --> 00:35:01.239 That is a beautiful vision, in my opinion. 00:35:02.260 --> 00:35:02.920 Let's pray. 00:35:04.300 --> 00:35:06.199 Lord, we thank you for your word, 00:35:06.280 --> 00:35:07.639 and we thank you that it sets us free. 00:35:08.639 --> 00:35:10.340 I thank you that you're the kind of God 00:35:10.340 --> 00:35:11.760 who desires freedom for your people. 00:35:12.920 --> 00:35:14.619 You desire for us to be free, 00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:17.480 to walk in the open air, 00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:20.039 to feel your light on our faces. 00:35:21.099 --> 00:35:23.219 Lord, people who have been set free to love you 00:35:23.219 --> 00:35:24.259 with everything we have, 00:35:25.379 --> 00:35:27.299 people who have been set free to give ourselves 00:35:27.299 --> 00:35:29.259 to loving one another with everything we have. 00:35:30.539 --> 00:35:32.239 Lord, I pray that we would, 00:35:32.339 --> 00:35:34.059 that all of your people in this city 00:35:34.059 --> 00:35:36.219 would embrace that freedom. 00:35:37.799 --> 00:35:40.179 And that, Lord, as your free people 00:35:40.179 --> 00:35:41.579 live that freedom out, 00:35:41.679 --> 00:35:43.159 I would love, Lord, 00:35:43.219 --> 00:35:44.659 how magnificent would it be 00:35:44.659 --> 00:35:47.539 for this culture to have to adjust 00:35:47.539 --> 00:35:49.639 to that new reality 00:35:49.639 --> 00:35:54.359 of the mass presence of spiritually free people 00:35:54.359 --> 00:35:56.920 living out their freedom for your glory. 00:35:57.579 --> 00:35:59.119 It's in your son's name that we pray. 00:35:59.299 --> 00:35:59.519 Amen. 00:35:59.519 --> 00:35:59.659 Amen. 00:35:59.659 --> 00:36:00.019 Amen. 00:36:00.019 --> 00:36:00.519 Amen. 00:36:00.519 --> 00:36:01.019 Amen. 00:36:01.019 --> 00:36:01.519 Amen. 00:36:01.519 --> 00:36:02.519 Amen. 00:36:02.519 --> 00:36:02.579 Amen. 00:36:02.579 --> 00:36:02.960 Amen. 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:03.019 Amen. 00:36:03.019 --> 00:36:03.079 Amen. 00:36:03.079 --> 00:36:03.579 Amen.