WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.020 So, as I said a moment ago, this is Palm Sunday. 00:00:04.660 --> 00:00:10.240 We have also been in a series in our church focusing on the theme of emotionally healthy 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:14.839 spirituality, talking about the fact that when we are called to follow Jesus, Jesus 00:00:14.839 --> 00:00:20.660 wants every part of us, and asking ourselves what that means when it comes to our emotional 00:00:20.660 --> 00:00:21.559 maturity. 00:00:21.719 --> 00:00:26.120 You can't be spiritually mature if you remain emotionally immature. 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:29.019 And so, we're going to continue that series. 00:00:29.019 --> 00:00:34.119 One of the things that is worth noting is that any time you talk about growth, any time 00:00:34.119 --> 00:00:39.359 you talk about progress, any time you talk about developing as a human being, I think 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:46.859 many of us often have this idea of a kind of line graph going up and to the right. 00:00:47.019 --> 00:00:54.179 And we like to imagine that our lives are kind of more or less making steady progress up and 00:00:54.179 --> 00:00:54.560 to the right. 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:59.600 Now, there might be a few setbacks here and there, but generally, we like to imagine ourselves 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:01.820 as progressing up and to the right. 00:01:03.120 --> 00:01:09.620 And what's interesting is this idea of progress is probably more inspired by corporate America 00:01:09.620 --> 00:01:16.140 and American culture and values than it is a Christian vision of life and progress. 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:20.820 In Christian tradition, there's a different image that we use to talk about making progress 00:01:20.819 --> 00:01:23.759 in life and it's the image of the labyrinth. 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:29.539 And a labyrinth is not a line graph going up and to the right. 00:01:29.619 --> 00:01:32.839 A line graph, I mean, a labyrinth has a lot of twists. 00:01:33.199 --> 00:01:34.479 It has a lot of turns. 00:01:35.819 --> 00:01:39.719 In a labyrinth, you sort of start out on your journey. 00:01:39.719 --> 00:01:44.480 But then as you look at the labyrinth, over time, you're going to circle back. 00:01:45.099 --> 00:01:48.079 And you're going to circle back almost to the beginning of your journey. 00:01:48.219 --> 00:01:49.579 And then you'll move away from it again. 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:52.539 And then you'll circle back almost to the beginning of your journey. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:57.439 And every time, if you're not prepared for that, I can feel like I'm no longer making progress. 00:01:57.980 --> 00:01:59.900 I'm moving backwards in my life. 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:05.079 But the key point of the labyrinth is actually a very important spiritual principle. 00:02:05.079 --> 00:02:07.120 And you see this all around. 00:02:07.420 --> 00:02:11.900 You even see it kind of hijacked in commercials and things like that. 00:02:12.180 --> 00:02:13.319 But the point is this. 00:02:13.939 --> 00:02:16.859 Sometimes we have to go back in order to actually move forward. 00:02:18.199 --> 00:02:21.520 Sometimes the only way to make progress in your life is to be willing to go back. 00:02:22.060 --> 00:02:24.079 And that's what we're going to focus on this morning. 00:02:24.199 --> 00:02:26.840 We're going to look at Galatians chapter 1, verses 11 to 17. 00:02:27.939 --> 00:02:30.520 Going back in order to move forward. 00:02:30.620 --> 00:02:32.259 We're going to see this in Paul's life. 00:02:32.659 --> 00:02:33.900 So first we're going to look at this passage. 00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:34.740 What does it mean? 00:02:35.020 --> 00:02:37.659 And then we'll talk most of our time about what it means for us. 00:02:37.760 --> 00:02:38.159 Let's pray. 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:41.960 Lord, we thank You for Your Word. 00:02:42.040 --> 00:02:45.420 And we thank You for its inherent objective power. 00:02:46.340 --> 00:02:54.280 That there is a way that we open Your Word and do our best to interpret it faithfully in accordance with tradition. 00:02:54.520 --> 00:02:56.159 And yet we also know it's a living Word. 00:02:56.280 --> 00:03:02.560 And Your Holy Spirit can use this Word in mighty, powerful ways, independent of anything that we say. 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:06.420 And so I pray that that would be what happens right now. 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:14.680 I pray that as we are here, even though we're distracted by our masks and maybe some of us with our kids and some of us with things that we have to do after the service, 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:22.280 that, Lord, amid all these distractions, that we would be attuned to the voice and the leading of Your Holy Spirit. 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:26.379 And I pray that that would happen through Your Word, Lord, for our good and for Your glory. 00:03:26.480 --> 00:03:27.800 In Your Son's name, amen. 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:27.960 Amen. 00:03:30.120 --> 00:03:32.140 So first of all, let's look at this passage. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:35.300 Let me give you a little context so we understand what's going on here. 00:03:35.420 --> 00:03:43.240 Paul had come into Galatia with a very, very, very disturbing message for many people. 00:03:43.320 --> 00:03:44.860 For some people, it created a lot of hope. 00:03:44.939 --> 00:03:47.020 For other people, it was very disturbing. 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:49.180 His message was essentially this. 00:03:49.180 --> 00:03:59.980 Jesus Christ, who suffered and was crucified, died and was buried, has risen from death. 00:04:00.020 --> 00:04:02.340 This is what we're going to celebrate in just a week. 00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:09.100 And he says that because Jesus rose from the grave and because the Holy Spirit has come upon God's people, 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:14.520 Jesus is calling into existence a new worldwide family. 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:21.519 He's establishing one great new multi-ethnic, multicultural, worldwide family. 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:27.620 So people no longer have to become Jewish in order to know God. 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:32.340 Now knowing God isn't dependent on your ethnicity or your cultural identity. 00:04:32.860 --> 00:04:38.160 All people who trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sin can become a part of this new family. 00:04:38.280 --> 00:04:42.300 And so a lot of Jews, a lot of very faithful Jews, were objecting to this. 00:04:42.300 --> 00:04:47.579 And they were challenging Paul and saying, you're no real apostle. 00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:50.139 This isn't legitimate. 00:04:51.100 --> 00:04:58.360 So in verses 11 and following, Paul describes his encounter with Jesus and how that encounter changed everything about him. 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:01.300 And he says, starting in verse 13, 00:05:02.100 --> 00:05:04.199 For you've heard of my former life in Judaism. 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:05.300 He's talking about his past. 00:05:05.860 --> 00:05:09.560 How I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:14.639 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people. 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:16.579 And then here's the key phrase. 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:21.840 So extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 00:05:21.939 --> 00:05:23.060 That's what we want to hone in on. 00:05:23.139 --> 00:05:29.779 Because Paul says, in my former life, I was completely defined by the traditions of my fathers. 00:05:30.040 --> 00:05:32.340 These are traditions that he had been born into. 00:05:32.459 --> 00:05:33.980 He was born into a way of life. 00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:35.360 Born into a particular culture. 00:05:35.840 --> 00:05:38.360 Born into an entire array of assumptions about the world. 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:41.100 Then he says in verse 15, 00:05:41.819 --> 00:05:47.860 But when he who had set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace was pleased to reveal his son to me, 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:50.100 in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, 00:05:50.259 --> 00:05:55.379 I did not immediately consult with anyone, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me. 00:05:56.379 --> 00:05:57.639 Next thing we want to focus on. 00:05:58.340 --> 00:06:00.759 But I went away into Arabia. 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:06.360 Now I have to confess, I read this passage for years and just skipped right over that part. 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:09.399 Okay, Arabia, then Damascus, then on to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. 00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:09.920 Okay, great. 00:06:11.259 --> 00:06:15.719 That's a very important little verse that is very easy to skip over. 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:23.160 Because you need to stop reading and you need to ask, what could possibly be in Arabia? 00:06:23.380 --> 00:06:25.920 Why did Jesus encounter Paul? 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:32.180 Paul recognizes that everything that he was persecuting is actually legitimately of God. 00:06:32.260 --> 00:06:33.020 Everything has changed. 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:34.640 He realizes Jesus is the son of God. 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:35.520 He rose from death. 00:06:36.860 --> 00:06:38.360 First thing he does is go to Arabia. 00:06:38.360 --> 00:06:38.480 Arabia. 00:06:41.900 --> 00:06:47.480 Commentators tell us that Arabia is the place where Mount Sinai is located. 00:06:48.840 --> 00:06:55.819 Sinai was the birthplace of Paul's spiritual family that he was born into, the Jewish culture, right? 00:06:56.160 --> 00:07:01.259 Mount Sinai is the place where God defined his relationship with his people. 00:07:01.520 --> 00:07:03.660 He set them free from slavery. 00:07:03.780 --> 00:07:04.860 He brought them out in the wilderness. 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:06.220 He brought them to Sinai. 00:07:06.220 --> 00:07:09.740 And this is where God defines the terms of their relationship. 00:07:10.520 --> 00:07:19.480 So this is where God gives them the law, which if you've been in our foundations class, you know the law is all about teaching people how to live as free human beings in the world. 00:07:20.280 --> 00:07:22.500 And then he gave them basically their identity. 00:07:22.640 --> 00:07:23.640 This is who you are. 00:07:23.740 --> 00:07:25.480 This is who I am in relation to you. 00:07:26.860 --> 00:07:27.560 And so think about this. 00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:34.720 The first thing that Paul does after he encounters the risen Jesus is to take a spiritual pilgrimage back to Sinai. 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:37.600 The birthplace of his spiritual family. 00:07:38.440 --> 00:07:45.580 And the reason is that Paul is coming to terms with the fact that Jesus is building a new spiritual family. 00:07:46.140 --> 00:07:50.540 Unlike the Jews, this new family is not defined by their ability to keep God's law. 00:07:51.520 --> 00:07:54.500 They're defined, as verse 15 says, by grace. 00:07:54.500 --> 00:07:57.839 So here's what Scott McKnight says in his commentary. 00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:02.959 He says, Paul seems to have stayed there in Sinai for three years. 00:08:04.259 --> 00:08:11.819 And in this period of withdrawal, as he meditated on the Old Testament Scriptures, on the facts of the life and the death of Jesus that he already knew, 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:18.819 and on his experience of conversion, the gospel of the grace of God was revealed to him in its fullness. 00:08:18.819 --> 00:08:21.759 So that's what it says. 00:08:21.819 --> 00:08:22.560 What does it mean? 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:24.579 Well, here's what it means. 00:08:25.860 --> 00:08:33.799 Paul has to go back before he can go forward in his life of following Jesus. 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:35.259 He meets Jesus. 00:08:35.419 --> 00:08:36.460 He believes the gospel. 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:38.659 But then he has to go back to Sinai. 00:08:38.659 --> 00:08:49.779 What this means is that Paul realizes that he has to reevaluate all of the ways and traditions of his old spiritual family in light of the gospel. 00:08:50.059 --> 00:08:56.019 He has to break away from the traditions of his fathers, to use his phrase. 00:08:56.219 --> 00:09:00.659 And what we need to understand is we often see this, and we only think in religious terms. 00:09:01.459 --> 00:09:07.120 The theology of fulfilling the law versus the theology of grace. 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:09.440 And certainly that's at the very center of it. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:16.879 But we don't want to make the mistake of separating the religious from every other aspect of life because Paul wouldn't have made that mistake. 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:21.299 And as you read the New Testament letters, which is essentially the fruit of this pilgrimage, 00:09:21.720 --> 00:09:25.560 what you see is that Paul is rethinking every aspect of his life. 00:09:25.960 --> 00:09:30.299 Not just the religious traditions that he was born into, but the social traditions. 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:32.200 The emotional traditions. 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:33.580 The psychological traditions. 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:35.039 The political traditions. 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:36.779 The cultural traditions. 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:40.500 So Paul, as we see later in this letter, he's rethinking race. 00:09:40.620 --> 00:09:43.240 He's rethinking ethnicity and ethnic identity. 00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:44.940 He's rethinking gender. 00:09:45.320 --> 00:09:49.379 He's rethinking socioeconomic class and how we think about people of different classes. 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:53.560 He's rethinking who can associate with whom. 00:09:54.379 --> 00:09:57.080 Who can visit which house. 00:09:57.700 --> 00:10:01.060 Who can I eat with when I sit down to eat food. 00:10:01.060 --> 00:10:03.799 What kind of food is it okay to eat. 00:10:03.799 --> 00:10:07.000 He's rethinking clean versus unclean. 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:13.799 He's rethinking what relationships should look like between husbands and wives, between parents and children, 00:10:14.100 --> 00:10:19.200 between employers and employees, between subjects and their government leaders, right? 00:10:19.220 --> 00:10:23.799 He's rethinking every corner of life in light of the gospel. 00:10:25.179 --> 00:10:31.480 Only then is Paul able to move forward as part of the new spiritual family of Jesus Christ. 00:10:31.539 --> 00:10:36.980 He has to break away from the traditions of his fathers in order to move forward into the new traditions of Jesus Christ. 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:38.879 That he's received through the gospel. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:43.320 The implications of this are fairly straightforward. 00:10:44.059 --> 00:10:47.759 This is something every Christian needs to do. 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:49.759 Every Christian. 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:56.700 As soon as we begin to come to an understanding of the gospel, whether you became a follower of Jesus as a young child, 00:10:57.139 --> 00:11:00.000 or you became a follower of Jesus a year ago, 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:06.100 as we come to understand the gospel, it is more and more and more important for us to go back 00:11:06.100 --> 00:11:13.259 and to rethink and to reevaluate the traditions of our mothers and fathers that we have inherited, 00:11:13.259 --> 00:11:20.059 and to see all of them through the lens of the gospel as we move forward following Christ. 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:21.259 Right? 00:11:21.319 --> 00:11:25.360 So every Christian, all of you, those of you who are Christians, we all have two families. 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:27.720 There's the family that you were born into, 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:33.800 and there's the new family of God that you have been reborn into through faith and your baptism. 00:11:33.960 --> 00:11:37.440 That's your birth certificate for God's family. 00:11:38.540 --> 00:11:38.740 Right? 00:11:38.820 --> 00:11:43.580 So like Paul, we've all been profoundly shaped by the traditions of our fathers and mothers, 00:11:43.700 --> 00:11:44.720 our families of origin, 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:48.139 and we bring all of that with us into the family of God. 00:11:48.139 --> 00:11:57.159 You know, you bring all kinds of assumptions and traditions and ways of thinking into the church family. 00:11:58.220 --> 00:12:04.779 And to be totally frank, some of those things are compatible with following Jesus, 00:12:05.299 --> 00:12:11.139 and some of those things that you have brought into the church are incompatible with the gospel. 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:16.500 And we need to do the hard work of figuring out what needs to be stripped away, 00:12:16.500 --> 00:12:17.840 what we need to break away from. 00:12:18.740 --> 00:12:21.120 So I want to apply this in a couple of ways. 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:24.879 Going back and moving forward. 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:27.779 First, let's talk a little bit more about how to go back. 00:12:28.319 --> 00:12:33.220 How to go back to Sinai, so to speak, in our own lives, 00:12:33.299 --> 00:12:35.600 the birthplace of the culture that we were born into. 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:43.639 In order to go back, you need to take some time to reflect on your past, 00:12:44.299 --> 00:12:47.419 your own childhood, your upbringing, your parents, your siblings. 00:12:48.139 --> 00:12:49.860 What your childhood home was like. 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:53.939 So I want you to think about your childhood home, your childhood environment, 00:12:54.059 --> 00:12:56.639 your primary caregivers, who was in the home. 00:12:57.199 --> 00:13:02.360 And I want you to just ask all kinds of questions about your upbringing. 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:05.480 What did you learn about money? 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:09.039 What did you learn about money and what money represents? 00:13:09.379 --> 00:13:11.620 For some people, money represents security. 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:14.320 For some people, money represents power. 00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:19.700 For some people, money represents influence or importance or control. 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:20.820 What did money represent? 00:13:21.080 --> 00:13:22.700 Did your parents even ever talk about it? 00:13:23.080 --> 00:13:24.720 Did you know how much your parents made? 00:13:26.020 --> 00:13:28.000 Were you expected to help pay the bills? 00:13:29.620 --> 00:13:31.379 How was money treated in your home? 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:34.280 How did your family define success? 00:13:34.279 --> 00:13:39.559 Was it nothing less than an Ivy League education will do? 00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:41.740 Right? 00:13:41.819 --> 00:13:43.539 Some families are okay with C's. 00:13:43.659 --> 00:13:46.259 Some families see anything less than an A plus as a failure. 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:50.139 Was success getting married and having lots of kids 00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:53.899 and staying within 10 miles of where you were born? 00:13:55.819 --> 00:14:00.639 Was success just doing whatever made you happy as long as you're happy? 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:00.939 Right? 00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:02.159 Right? 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:03.159 How was success defined? 00:14:04.699 --> 00:14:08.179 Were people in your childhood home open about their feelings? 00:14:08.819 --> 00:14:12.220 Did people express all their feelings, the good, the bad, and the ugly? 00:14:12.740 --> 00:14:15.960 Or were only certain feelings allowed in your home? 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:18.360 If other feelings got expressed, you got in trouble. 00:14:21.240 --> 00:14:24.179 If you had two parents in your home, two primary caregivers, 00:14:25.620 --> 00:14:28.059 whose approval did you crave the most? 00:14:28.059 --> 00:14:32.659 And then, very important, what did you have to do in order to earn it? 00:14:35.379 --> 00:14:39.659 Was sex a topic for open discussion in your family? 00:14:40.579 --> 00:14:42.839 Or was that kind of a taboo topic? 00:14:43.099 --> 00:14:46.479 Were there other taboo topics that you just don't talk about in our family? 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:52.259 How was conflict handled in the house you grew up in? 00:14:52.419 --> 00:14:54.159 Did people get angry and yell? 00:14:54.439 --> 00:14:55.479 Did people throw things? 00:14:55.559 --> 00:14:56.519 Did people slam doors? 00:14:56.519 --> 00:15:00.039 Was there abusive behavior, physical, emotional abuse? 00:15:01.460 --> 00:15:05.659 Or were you expected to keep the peace at all costs? 00:15:06.019 --> 00:15:07.139 Nobody ever raised their voice. 00:15:07.460 --> 00:15:10.340 And if you got mad, you went and you got mad in a room by yourself. 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:14.559 Was conflict handled indirectly, passive aggressively? 00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:15.659 Right? 00:15:15.939 --> 00:15:20.059 Were there mountains, cauldrons of resentment under the surface 00:15:20.059 --> 00:15:21.960 that you knew were just simmering away? 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:27.660 How were politics handled in your home? 00:15:28.060 --> 00:15:31.040 Was politics something that was openly discussed? 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:34.580 Did you have to conform to a particular political ideology 00:15:34.580 --> 00:15:36.500 in order to fit into your family? 00:15:38.040 --> 00:15:41.980 Are you a black sheep in your family because you've broken away from that now? 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:49.379 Was your family super close and enmeshed where everybody was always up in everybody else's business? 00:15:49.940 --> 00:15:53.759 Or was your family more disconnected where everybody kind of does their own thing 00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:56.539 and maybe as adults you're spread all around the world? 00:15:58.320 --> 00:15:58.460 Right? 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:01.480 Were gender roles fixed? 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:04.519 Men do this? 00:16:04.700 --> 00:16:05.379 Women do this? 00:16:05.460 --> 00:16:06.320 That's the way it is? 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:08.200 Or were they more flexible and interchangeable? 00:16:09.820 --> 00:16:12.039 If you grew up in a Christian home, 00:16:12.100 --> 00:16:14.800 what was the attitude toward the surrounding culture, 00:16:15.860 --> 00:16:18.740 toward secular music, toward movies, toward books? 00:16:19.879 --> 00:16:20.120 Right? 00:16:20.180 --> 00:16:22.840 Was there any difference or was there a barrier? 00:16:23.019 --> 00:16:26.700 Were there certain things that you're not allowed to read, watch, or listen to? 00:16:26.700 --> 00:16:32.620 What attitude did you inherit toward people from other racial backgrounds 00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:34.280 or other ethnic backgrounds? 00:16:34.980 --> 00:16:38.000 What attitudes were held in the home that you picked up on? 00:16:38.580 --> 00:16:38.800 Right? 00:16:38.920 --> 00:16:40.259 I know there's a lot of questions, 00:16:41.040 --> 00:16:45.240 but what I want to get across to you is that we have to pepper our childhood 00:16:45.240 --> 00:16:48.879 with many, many, many, many questions like this 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:55.060 in order to begin to get a sense of what traditions we have inherited 00:16:55.059 --> 00:16:57.139 from our mothers and fathers. 00:16:58.079 --> 00:17:00.739 So all of these factors shape us in ways that we're largely unaware of. 00:17:01.099 --> 00:17:04.700 In addition, all of those questions will help you understand 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:07.419 how you think about the world around you and people around you, 00:17:07.639 --> 00:17:11.919 but we also gain traditions that shape how we think about ourselves, 00:17:12.019 --> 00:17:13.839 that actually shape our very personalities. 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:18.599 We all have these kind of unconscious childhood messages 00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:21.859 that we have internalized that shape our personalities. 00:17:21.859 --> 00:17:22.339 Right? 00:17:23.619 --> 00:17:26.199 And I say unconscious because you could be sitting here, 00:17:26.439 --> 00:17:28.839 you know, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years old 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:30.919 and have no idea that they're in there. 00:17:32.219 --> 00:17:32.659 Right? 00:17:32.719 --> 00:17:34.799 So let me give you a couple examples of what this might look like. 00:17:35.819 --> 00:17:37.779 Maybe you're the oldest in your family, 00:17:38.299 --> 00:17:40.919 and maybe you had several younger siblings, 00:17:41.500 --> 00:17:44.139 and maybe your house was fairly chaotic, 00:17:44.140 --> 00:17:47.020 and so your parents always praised you 00:17:47.020 --> 00:17:50.340 for being the one sibling that they could count on 00:17:50.340 --> 00:17:53.960 to hold everything together to help with the younger siblings. 00:17:54.420 --> 00:17:56.440 And your parents always said things to you like, 00:17:56.800 --> 00:17:58.300 I can always count on you. 00:17:58.840 --> 00:18:01.220 You're the one sane one in this family. 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:03.980 I can always, you know, rely on you. 00:18:04.120 --> 00:18:05.900 And they gave you lots of responsibility, 00:18:06.120 --> 00:18:09.600 and you were operating like another parent from a very early age. 00:18:10.280 --> 00:18:10.420 Right? 00:18:10.440 --> 00:18:11.380 Maybe that was your childhood. 00:18:11.380 --> 00:18:14.700 And even though your parents didn't mean it, 00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:17.800 maybe the way you internalized that 00:18:17.800 --> 00:18:19.440 is that you learned as a child, 00:18:19.780 --> 00:18:22.080 it's not okay for me to have needs. 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:24.900 It's not okay for me to be a child. 00:18:25.380 --> 00:18:27.340 It's not okay for me to be overwhelmed. 00:18:27.540 --> 00:18:29.560 I'm the one my parents are counting on 00:18:29.560 --> 00:18:32.740 to be the anchor for all the other people 00:18:32.740 --> 00:18:34.720 who are freaking out and have needs. 00:18:35.340 --> 00:18:37.140 And so maybe what you began to learn is, 00:18:37.280 --> 00:18:38.920 it's not okay for me to have needs, 00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:42.560 and the way I earn the love and approval of other people 00:18:42.560 --> 00:18:43.600 is by helping them. 00:18:44.700 --> 00:18:45.100 Right? 00:18:45.180 --> 00:18:46.480 It's not okay for me to have needs. 00:18:46.580 --> 00:18:47.360 I need to help. 00:18:47.500 --> 00:18:49.440 And the more I help, the more helpful I am, 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:52.340 the more love and approval and attention I will get. 00:18:53.180 --> 00:18:54.800 And then you take that into adulthood. 00:18:54.900 --> 00:18:56.019 You don't even realize you did. 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:57.519 But what you realize is, 00:18:57.900 --> 00:19:01.080 that message gets carried with you, 00:19:01.620 --> 00:19:03.140 and then you start to become someone 00:19:03.140 --> 00:19:04.880 who doesn't even know what you need. 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:07.580 You've lost touch with your needs. 00:19:08.040 --> 00:19:10.060 You certainly don't know how to express your needs 00:19:10.060 --> 00:19:11.860 or wants or preferences to other people. 00:19:12.180 --> 00:19:13.600 When people say, what do you want for dinner? 00:19:13.660 --> 00:19:16.340 You're like, I truly don't know. 00:19:17.560 --> 00:19:18.860 I truly don't know. 00:19:19.820 --> 00:19:21.260 You know, what do you want to do on the weekend? 00:19:22.520 --> 00:19:24.160 I have no idea what I want to do. 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:26.060 I've never thought about it before, right? 00:19:27.060 --> 00:19:28.120 And then you're the kind of person 00:19:28.120 --> 00:19:29.600 who ends up going above and beyond 00:19:29.600 --> 00:19:30.800 to help the people in your life, 00:19:30.860 --> 00:19:31.920 and it's partly because you're helpful, 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:33.400 but it's also partly because you think 00:19:33.400 --> 00:19:34.980 that's the only way they're going to love you. 00:19:35.620 --> 00:19:37.100 And if you're not helpful to them, 00:19:37.840 --> 00:19:41.140 they may abandon you, right? 00:19:41.300 --> 00:19:43.080 So this is just one example 00:19:43.080 --> 00:19:44.720 of how this thing can happen. 00:19:44.779 --> 00:19:45.680 Let me give you one more example 00:19:45.680 --> 00:19:46.420 for the sake of time. 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:49.700 Maybe you grew up with a parent 00:19:49.700 --> 00:19:51.300 who always made you feel like 00:19:51.300 --> 00:19:52.320 you were just falling short. 00:19:53.900 --> 00:19:55.039 Good job on the A minus. 00:19:55.220 --> 00:19:56.840 Should have been an A plus, right? 00:19:57.759 --> 00:19:59.740 And maybe anything less than straight A's 00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:00.980 was failure in your home. 00:20:00.980 --> 00:20:03.120 And so what you learned as a child 00:20:03.120 --> 00:20:05.059 is it's really not okay to make mistakes. 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:08.220 You internalize this sense 00:20:08.220 --> 00:20:08.940 that there's perfection, 00:20:09.319 --> 00:20:10.339 and then there's failure. 00:20:10.900 --> 00:20:13.000 And anything less than perfection is failure. 00:20:13.660 --> 00:20:14.920 And what you begin to realize 00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:17.120 is you feel like you're not quite ever meeting 00:20:17.120 --> 00:20:19.000 the standard that your parents set for your life. 00:20:19.700 --> 00:20:21.079 Unless I'm perfect, I'm worthless. 00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:24.120 And that's the message that you internalize. 00:20:25.740 --> 00:20:27.440 See, this can happen in all kinds of ways. 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:28.819 Let me just give you a few more examples 00:20:28.819 --> 00:20:29.960 of internal messages. 00:20:30.139 --> 00:20:32.960 Just see if any of these resonate with you. 00:20:33.879 --> 00:20:35.279 Some of us grow up feeling like 00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:37.460 it's not okay to have my own feelings, 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:38.179 my own identity. 00:20:38.859 --> 00:20:39.619 That's not okay. 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:42.240 Some of us grow up thinking 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:44.319 it's not okay to be too functional 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:45.859 or too happy. 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:48.679 I mean, some people grow up 00:20:48.679 --> 00:20:49.839 and it's never okay to be happy. 00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:51.019 If you're happy, you're naive. 00:20:51.399 --> 00:20:52.460 Somebody's gonna take advantage of you. 00:20:53.460 --> 00:20:54.700 Some people grow up saying 00:20:54.700 --> 00:20:56.420 it's not okay to be 00:20:56.420 --> 00:20:58.100 too comfortable in the world. 00:20:59.539 --> 00:21:00.500 Some people grow up 00:21:00.500 --> 00:21:01.360 internalizing the message 00:21:01.360 --> 00:21:02.799 it's not okay to trust yourself. 00:21:03.579 --> 00:21:05.340 You really should get a second opinion. 00:21:05.740 --> 00:21:06.960 You can't trust your own judgment. 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:09.299 Some people grow up 00:21:09.299 --> 00:21:10.220 internalizing the message 00:21:10.220 --> 00:21:13.299 it's not okay to depend on anyone 00:21:13.299 --> 00:21:13.940 for anything 00:21:13.940 --> 00:21:15.100 because if you depend on people, 00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:16.240 they're gonna let you down. 00:21:16.460 --> 00:21:17.539 They're not gonna be there for you. 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:19.980 Some people grow up with the message 00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:21.420 it's not okay to be vulnerable. 00:21:22.819 --> 00:21:23.980 It's not okay to be vulnerable. 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:24.700 If you're vulnerable, 00:21:24.840 --> 00:21:25.539 people will hurt you. 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:26.519 You gotta be strong. 00:21:27.840 --> 00:21:29.220 Some people internalize the message 00:21:29.220 --> 00:21:30.799 it's not okay to assert yourself. 00:21:30.900 --> 00:21:31.880 If you assert yourself, 00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:33.079 you're gonna push people away. 00:21:33.180 --> 00:21:34.039 Nobody wants to hear. 00:21:36.100 --> 00:21:37.319 Right, so these are all examples 00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:38.759 and there are myriad other examples. 00:21:38.900 --> 00:21:39.960 So these are just a few. 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:42.539 There are a couple of helpful tools 00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:43.740 for people who wanna go deeper 00:21:43.740 --> 00:21:44.900 and try to get a sense 00:21:44.900 --> 00:21:46.140 of what's in the past. 00:21:46.779 --> 00:21:48.279 What we've brought into the church. 00:21:49.460 --> 00:21:50.860 One, if you're in a core group, 00:21:50.940 --> 00:21:51.680 if you're new to our church 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:52.580 and you're not in a core group, 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:53.900 I'd strongly encourage you to join. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:54.700 That's where we do 00:21:54.700 --> 00:21:57.440 a lot of the day-to-day discipleship 00:21:57.440 --> 00:21:59.039 and application of some of the things 00:21:59.039 --> 00:21:59.759 we talk about here. 00:22:00.180 --> 00:22:01.400 This week in our core groups, 00:22:01.500 --> 00:22:02.700 we're gonna be focusing on 00:22:02.700 --> 00:22:04.019 and are using a tool 00:22:04.019 --> 00:22:06.920 that helps you kind of map out 00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:08.440 unconscious childhood messages, 00:22:08.660 --> 00:22:09.519 cumulative messages 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:10.279 that you've received 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:12.320 and also kind of earthquake events 00:22:12.320 --> 00:22:14.720 in the life of your family growing up 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:16.400 and ways that those have impacted you. 00:22:16.460 --> 00:22:17.620 So that's one opportunity. 00:22:17.619 --> 00:22:19.059 But another opportunity 00:22:19.059 --> 00:22:20.519 is to sit down 00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:22.439 and to do what's called a genogram. 00:22:23.699 --> 00:22:24.899 A genogram is a tool 00:22:24.899 --> 00:22:26.500 that I used to use as a counselor 00:22:26.500 --> 00:22:27.319 and I still use it 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:28.399 when I do premarital 00:22:28.399 --> 00:22:29.939 and marriage counseling sometimes. 00:22:30.879 --> 00:22:32.879 But a genogram is a very helpful tool. 00:22:33.439 --> 00:22:35.239 I don't have time to explain 00:22:35.239 --> 00:22:37.679 all of the genogram to you right now. 00:22:37.919 --> 00:22:38.579 The good news is 00:22:38.579 --> 00:22:39.339 if you go online 00:22:39.339 --> 00:22:40.779 and you Google the word genogram, 00:22:41.159 --> 00:22:42.959 there are tons of online tools 00:22:42.959 --> 00:22:44.119 that make it a whole lot easier 00:22:44.119 --> 00:22:45.379 for you to do a genogram. 00:22:45.380 --> 00:22:47.740 All you need is the information. 00:22:48.260 --> 00:22:49.520 But a genogram is essentially 00:22:49.520 --> 00:22:52.360 a way of mapping your family history 00:22:52.360 --> 00:22:54.920 with an emphasis on things 00:22:54.920 --> 00:22:55.700 that are gonna be relevant 00:22:55.700 --> 00:22:56.260 to the questions 00:22:56.260 --> 00:22:57.360 that we're asking this morning. 00:22:57.960 --> 00:23:00.960 Questions like history of mental illness, 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:03.560 substance abuse or addiction, 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:05.940 the spiritual condition 00:23:05.940 --> 00:23:07.400 of various people in your family, 00:23:07.500 --> 00:23:08.720 who was a believer, 00:23:09.080 --> 00:23:10.820 who was part of another religious tradition, 00:23:10.940 --> 00:23:11.660 who wasn't a believer, 00:23:12.020 --> 00:23:13.140 when people came to faith, 00:23:13.240 --> 00:23:14.300 when they lost their faith, 00:23:14.300 --> 00:23:15.260 if they left the faith, 00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:17.240 you can track, 00:23:18.180 --> 00:23:19.020 you know, as I said before, 00:23:19.140 --> 00:23:20.660 mental illness, mood disorders, 00:23:21.220 --> 00:23:22.860 patterns of abuse, 00:23:23.020 --> 00:23:23.760 emotional abuse, 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:25.400 sexual abuse, physical abuse. 00:23:25.480 --> 00:23:26.440 You can track those things. 00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:28.120 The more information you have, 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:28.900 the more you can put 00:23:28.900 --> 00:23:29.560 into your genogram, 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:31.140 and then you can begin 00:23:31.140 --> 00:23:32.560 to see patterns here. 00:23:32.660 --> 00:23:33.520 So in this example 00:23:33.520 --> 00:23:37.680 of Julia's genogram, 00:23:37.940 --> 00:23:40.240 this is a fictitious family 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:41.380 that I created, by the way. 00:23:41.420 --> 00:23:42.400 This is not a real family 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:42.880 in the church. 00:23:43.320 --> 00:23:44.980 But you see some clear patterns. 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:46.080 There's a pattern 00:23:46.080 --> 00:23:47.280 of heart disease, right? 00:23:47.340 --> 00:23:48.540 There's a pattern 00:23:48.540 --> 00:23:50.000 of alcoholism 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:51.040 and substance abuse. 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:52.440 There's maybe even 00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:55.460 a pattern of emotional abuse. 00:23:55.580 --> 00:23:56.880 There's certain trends 00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:57.540 that you see, 00:23:57.580 --> 00:23:58.120 and you realize, 00:23:58.560 --> 00:23:59.420 when the Bible talks 00:23:59.420 --> 00:24:00.600 about generational sin, 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:03.760 there's really something to that. 00:24:05.520 --> 00:24:06.200 Generational sin 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:06.720 that is passed 00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:07.420 from one generation 00:24:07.420 --> 00:24:07.840 to the next, 00:24:07.880 --> 00:24:08.220 to the next, 00:24:08.220 --> 00:24:08.600 to the next, 00:24:08.660 --> 00:24:09.000 to the next. 00:24:09.700 --> 00:24:10.339 Do a genogram, 00:24:10.460 --> 00:24:10.900 you'll see it. 00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:11.859 You'll see it in your own family. 00:24:11.880 --> 00:24:13.700 I see it in my family, right? 00:24:13.819 --> 00:24:15.019 There are clear things 00:24:15.019 --> 00:24:15.740 that I've inherited 00:24:15.740 --> 00:24:17.160 that Laura and I 00:24:17.160 --> 00:24:17.859 need to be aware of 00:24:17.859 --> 00:24:18.440 as we're parenting 00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:21.259 our own children, right? 00:24:21.299 --> 00:24:22.240 So we need to go back. 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:23.079 We need to understand 00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:23.799 the culture 00:24:23.799 --> 00:24:24.759 that we were born into, 00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:25.819 the family traditions 00:24:25.819 --> 00:24:26.440 that we inherited. 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:27.980 But we don't stay there. 00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:29.160 We're Christians, 00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:30.240 and so ultimately, 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:31.319 we know that our hope 00:24:31.319 --> 00:24:32.940 is in the new family, 00:24:33.099 --> 00:24:33.759 God's family, 00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:35.880 established in Jesus Christ. 00:24:35.880 --> 00:24:38.220 And so moving forward 00:24:38.220 --> 00:24:39.600 means taking all of these 00:24:39.600 --> 00:24:41.120 unconscious childhood messages 00:24:41.120 --> 00:24:43.020 and then re-examining them 00:24:43.020 --> 00:24:44.800 in light of the gospel, right? 00:24:44.840 --> 00:24:46.200 So maybe you grew up 00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:47.280 being told 00:24:47.280 --> 00:24:48.420 it's not okay 00:24:48.420 --> 00:24:49.300 to make mistakes. 00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:50.920 But then the gospel 00:24:50.920 --> 00:24:51.660 comes along, 00:24:51.820 --> 00:24:53.040 and the gospel tells you, 00:24:53.260 --> 00:24:53.460 listen, 00:24:53.760 --> 00:24:55.320 your worth is not based 00:24:55.320 --> 00:24:56.620 in your performance. 00:24:58.360 --> 00:25:00.200 It's okay to make mistakes 00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:01.240 because your security 00:25:01.240 --> 00:25:02.440 is not found there. 00:25:03.340 --> 00:25:04.880 Your worth is secure 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:05.700 because it's based 00:25:05.700 --> 00:25:06.740 in God's love 00:25:06.740 --> 00:25:07.860 and delight 00:25:07.860 --> 00:25:09.020 in who you are. 00:25:09.120 --> 00:25:09.660 It's not based 00:25:09.660 --> 00:25:10.600 in anything that you do. 00:25:11.780 --> 00:25:12.960 Or maybe you learned 00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:13.760 that it's not okay 00:25:13.760 --> 00:25:14.580 to be vulnerable 00:25:14.580 --> 00:25:15.440 with anyone 00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:16.720 because if you're vulnerable, 00:25:16.920 --> 00:25:17.880 that means you're weak, 00:25:18.040 --> 00:25:19.060 and people will hurt you 00:25:19.060 --> 00:25:20.220 and take advantage of you. 00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:21.760 But then the gospel tells you, 00:25:22.400 --> 00:25:22.760 Jesus, 00:25:23.300 --> 00:25:24.980 the most powerful being 00:25:24.980 --> 00:25:25.700 in existence, 00:25:26.340 --> 00:25:27.860 was willing to make himself 00:25:27.860 --> 00:25:29.300 utterly vulnerable 00:25:29.300 --> 00:25:31.140 on the cross, 00:25:31.460 --> 00:25:32.240 and he did it 00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:33.000 for your sake. 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:35.279 And so if there's anybody 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:35.880 in the universe 00:25:35.880 --> 00:25:36.779 that you can trust 00:25:36.779 --> 00:25:38.140 with your own vulnerability, 00:25:39.339 --> 00:25:39.940 it's him. 00:25:41.660 --> 00:25:42.059 Right? 00:25:42.119 --> 00:25:43.220 So you begin to rework 00:25:43.220 --> 00:25:44.700 everything in light 00:25:44.700 --> 00:25:45.140 of the gospel. 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:46.140 Now I realize 00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:46.940 that some of you 00:25:46.940 --> 00:25:48.180 may be hearing this 00:25:48.180 --> 00:25:48.940 and thinking, 00:25:49.299 --> 00:25:49.500 you know, 00:25:49.579 --> 00:25:50.380 this sounds a lot 00:25:50.380 --> 00:25:51.880 like a psychology lecture, 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:53.279 and this is a church, 00:25:53.619 --> 00:25:54.500 and we should really 00:25:54.500 --> 00:25:55.259 be talking about 00:25:55.259 --> 00:25:55.740 what it means 00:25:55.740 --> 00:25:56.619 to follow Jesus, 00:25:56.740 --> 00:25:58.680 especially on Palm Sunday, 00:25:58.819 --> 00:25:59.680 and here's the point 00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:00.480 I want to make to you. 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:02.539 That's exactly 00:26:02.539 --> 00:26:03.559 what we're talking about. 00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:04.940 That's exactly 00:26:04.940 --> 00:26:05.799 what we're talking about. 00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:07.440 The point that we often 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:08.500 overlook as Christians 00:26:08.500 --> 00:26:09.819 is that you can 00:26:09.819 --> 00:26:11.539 consciously follow Jesus 00:26:11.539 --> 00:26:12.940 with one part of yourself, 00:26:13.539 --> 00:26:15.160 and at the very same time 00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:16.440 be unconsciously 00:26:16.440 --> 00:26:18.019 following someone 00:26:18.019 --> 00:26:19.460 or something else 00:26:19.460 --> 00:26:20.519 with another part 00:26:20.519 --> 00:26:20.920 of yourself. 00:26:21.299 --> 00:26:22.360 And so most of us 00:26:22.360 --> 00:26:23.460 remain disconnected 00:26:23.460 --> 00:26:24.880 in our lives. 00:26:25.180 --> 00:26:25.980 We are conscious 00:26:25.980 --> 00:26:26.860 followers of Jesus, 00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:27.759 but unconsciously 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:29.299 I am following 00:26:29.299 --> 00:26:29.980 the things 00:26:29.980 --> 00:26:31.000 that my family 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:31.700 taught me 00:26:31.700 --> 00:26:32.519 about the way 00:26:32.519 --> 00:26:33.319 the world works 00:26:33.319 --> 00:26:34.579 when I was six years old. 00:26:35.819 --> 00:26:37.119 And there is a disconnect. 00:26:38.339 --> 00:26:39.319 And what we need to do 00:26:39.319 --> 00:26:40.119 if we truly desire 00:26:40.119 --> 00:26:40.859 to follow Jesus 00:26:40.859 --> 00:26:41.639 with heart, soul, 00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:42.480 mind, and strength 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:43.339 is to bring 00:26:43.339 --> 00:26:44.539 all of that together, 00:26:45.099 --> 00:26:46.460 to align all parts 00:26:46.460 --> 00:26:47.159 of ourself 00:26:47.159 --> 00:26:48.399 with the gospel. 00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:50.099 Speaking of being 00:26:50.099 --> 00:26:51.379 aligned with the gospel, 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:52.859 there's a great example 00:26:52.859 --> 00:26:53.919 of this very point 00:26:53.919 --> 00:26:55.440 later in Galatians. 00:26:55.440 --> 00:26:59.080 Paul comes to Galatia 00:26:59.080 --> 00:27:00.460 and he confronts Peter 00:27:00.460 --> 00:27:01.799 over his racism. 00:27:03.539 --> 00:27:04.420 You know, and today 00:27:04.420 --> 00:27:06.160 people are very happy 00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:07.140 to confront other people 00:27:07.140 --> 00:27:07.740 about racism 00:27:07.740 --> 00:27:08.680 and people get called out 00:27:08.680 --> 00:27:09.559 all the time online 00:27:09.559 --> 00:27:11.000 and in person, 00:27:11.160 --> 00:27:12.259 but you very rarely 00:27:12.259 --> 00:27:12.860 see somebody 00:27:12.860 --> 00:27:14.120 confront racism 00:27:14.120 --> 00:27:14.799 in the way 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:15.840 that Paul does it. 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:17.700 Here's what Paul says 00:27:17.700 --> 00:27:19.000 in chapter 2, verse 14. 00:27:19.340 --> 00:27:19.740 He says, 00:27:20.120 --> 00:27:21.140 the reason that racism 00:27:21.140 --> 00:27:21.640 is wrong 00:27:21.640 --> 00:27:22.360 is because it is 00:27:22.360 --> 00:27:23.900 not in step 00:27:23.900 --> 00:27:24.840 with the gospel. 00:27:27.160 --> 00:27:28.380 So what he's telling Peter 00:27:28.380 --> 00:27:28.720 is this, 00:27:28.780 --> 00:27:30.080 Peter, you know better. 00:27:31.019 --> 00:27:32.680 You were in Cornelius' home. 00:27:32.900 --> 00:27:34.100 You saw the Holy Spirit 00:27:34.100 --> 00:27:35.140 fall on the Gentiles. 00:27:35.860 --> 00:27:36.820 You know better, 00:27:37.640 --> 00:27:38.380 but what's happened? 00:27:39.180 --> 00:27:40.740 Peter has fallen back 00:27:40.740 --> 00:27:41.940 in the traditions 00:27:41.940 --> 00:27:42.620 of his fathers. 00:27:43.560 --> 00:27:44.940 Peter has fallen back 00:27:44.940 --> 00:27:45.800 into the culture 00:27:45.800 --> 00:27:46.960 and the traditions 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:48.060 he was born into. 00:27:48.420 --> 00:27:49.940 He has started to operate 00:27:49.940 --> 00:27:52.200 out of that childhood messaging 00:27:52.200 --> 00:27:53.180 that he received 00:27:53.180 --> 00:27:54.580 instead of the gospel. 00:27:54.940 --> 00:27:55.880 And so Paul has to come 00:27:55.880 --> 00:27:56.120 and say, 00:27:56.380 --> 00:27:57.539 this is not in line 00:27:57.539 --> 00:27:58.299 with the gospel. 00:27:59.180 --> 00:28:00.420 You need to go back, 00:28:01.560 --> 00:28:02.820 you need to rethink 00:28:02.820 --> 00:28:05.160 what you believe 00:28:05.160 --> 00:28:06.120 about the Gentiles 00:28:06.120 --> 00:28:08.100 in light of the truth 00:28:08.100 --> 00:28:08.680 of the gospel 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:10.560 and then you'll understand 00:28:10.560 --> 00:28:12.060 that this racism 00:28:12.060 --> 00:28:13.100 is incompatible 00:28:13.100 --> 00:28:14.580 with Jesus Christ. 00:28:14.860 --> 00:28:15.799 It's incompatible. 00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:17.340 It had a place 00:28:17.340 --> 00:28:18.100 in the old family. 00:28:18.740 --> 00:28:19.700 It does not belong 00:28:19.700 --> 00:28:20.880 in the family of God 00:28:20.880 --> 00:28:21.640 and Jesus Christ. 00:28:21.640 --> 00:28:21.700 Christ. 00:28:22.320 --> 00:28:22.600 Right? 00:28:23.380 --> 00:28:24.480 So we have to do this 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:25.640 again and again and again 00:28:25.640 --> 00:28:26.920 because Jesus wants 00:28:26.920 --> 00:28:27.540 all of us. 00:28:28.759 --> 00:28:29.060 And you know, 00:28:29.180 --> 00:28:29.900 following Jesus 00:28:29.900 --> 00:28:31.840 means asking this question 00:28:31.840 --> 00:28:33.060 about every aspect 00:28:33.060 --> 00:28:33.660 of our lives. 00:28:33.780 --> 00:28:34.880 Is this in step 00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:35.960 with the gospel or not? 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:36.780 So like the labyrinth, 00:28:37.020 --> 00:28:37.900 you have to go back 00:28:37.900 --> 00:28:38.840 and then you go forward 00:28:38.840 --> 00:28:39.780 and then you go back 00:28:39.780 --> 00:28:40.660 and then you go forward 00:28:40.660 --> 00:28:41.460 and then you go back 00:28:41.460 --> 00:28:42.420 and that is progress 00:28:42.420 --> 00:28:43.400 in the Christian life. 00:28:45.520 --> 00:28:46.660 We have to circle back 00:28:46.660 --> 00:28:47.520 again and again and again. 00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:49.320 And the last point 00:28:49.320 --> 00:28:49.940 I want to make is this. 00:28:49.940 --> 00:28:50.759 The good news is, 00:28:50.860 --> 00:28:51.059 friends, 00:28:51.120 --> 00:28:52.140 we don't have to do this alone. 00:28:53.180 --> 00:28:54.180 As I said before, 00:28:54.279 --> 00:28:54.920 every Christian 00:28:54.920 --> 00:28:56.019 has two families, 00:28:56.080 --> 00:28:57.279 the family you were born into 00:28:57.279 --> 00:28:58.220 and the family 00:28:58.220 --> 00:28:59.620 that you have been reborn into 00:28:59.620 --> 00:29:01.140 in Jesus Christ. 00:29:01.340 --> 00:29:02.299 And that is meant 00:29:02.299 --> 00:29:03.380 to be true. 00:29:03.519 --> 00:29:03.940 In other words, 00:29:04.100 --> 00:29:04.539 you're not meant 00:29:04.539 --> 00:29:05.080 to do this alone, 00:29:05.140 --> 00:29:05.700 you're meant to do this 00:29:05.700 --> 00:29:06.960 in a community, right? 00:29:06.980 --> 00:29:07.539 That's why it's great 00:29:07.539 --> 00:29:08.460 that we can be together 00:29:08.460 --> 00:29:09.019 here in person, 00:29:09.080 --> 00:29:09.900 those of us who are here. 00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:12.019 We're meant to do this together. 00:29:13.360 --> 00:29:14.700 And I think the family 00:29:14.700 --> 00:29:15.720 of God at its best, 00:29:15.779 --> 00:29:16.880 I think a church like ours 00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:18.140 can be like a laboratory. 00:29:19.380 --> 00:29:20.540 It's like a laboratory 00:29:20.540 --> 00:29:21.900 where we can all 00:29:21.900 --> 00:29:22.880 take risks, 00:29:24.080 --> 00:29:25.400 fail if we need to, 00:29:25.840 --> 00:29:27.400 but ultimately relearn 00:29:27.400 --> 00:29:28.780 how to be human beings 00:29:28.780 --> 00:29:29.900 who are in step 00:29:29.900 --> 00:29:31.360 with the gospel, right? 00:29:31.380 --> 00:29:32.240 We can celebrate 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:33.180 the good things 00:29:33.180 --> 00:29:33.860 that we inherited 00:29:33.860 --> 00:29:34.920 from our mothers 00:29:34.920 --> 00:29:35.540 and our fathers. 00:29:36.220 --> 00:29:37.760 We can unlearn 00:29:37.760 --> 00:29:39.240 the ungodly, 00:29:39.380 --> 00:29:39.860 unbiblical, 00:29:40.080 --> 00:29:41.060 dysfunctional things 00:29:41.060 --> 00:29:41.840 that we learned 00:29:41.840 --> 00:29:42.340 from our mothers 00:29:42.339 --> 00:29:43.019 and our fathers. 00:29:43.459 --> 00:29:44.480 Some of us, frankly, 00:29:44.619 --> 00:29:46.179 need to be reparented. 00:29:47.379 --> 00:29:48.679 We need to be reparented. 00:29:49.399 --> 00:29:50.480 Some of us need to learn 00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:51.579 what a healthy family 00:29:51.579 --> 00:29:52.019 looks like. 00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:52.959 Some people come 00:29:52.959 --> 00:29:53.339 into the church, 00:29:53.439 --> 00:29:54.459 they have never been part 00:29:54.459 --> 00:29:56.000 of a healthy family ever. 00:29:57.379 --> 00:29:58.419 And that's why things 00:29:58.419 --> 00:29:59.279 in churches can get 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:00.519 really, really, really messy. 00:30:00.639 --> 00:30:01.379 People come into church 00:30:01.379 --> 00:30:02.539 and people are fighting 00:30:02.539 --> 00:30:03.539 and talking behind 00:30:03.539 --> 00:30:04.220 each other's backs 00:30:04.220 --> 00:30:04.919 and slandering, 00:30:05.079 --> 00:30:06.459 and there's divisions, 00:30:06.759 --> 00:30:07.639 and they say, 00:30:07.699 --> 00:30:08.359 man, this is a really 00:30:08.359 --> 00:30:08.859 toxic church. 00:30:08.939 --> 00:30:10.199 No, it's a lot of people 00:30:10.199 --> 00:30:10.659 who came out 00:30:10.659 --> 00:30:11.740 of really toxic environments 00:30:11.740 --> 00:30:13.039 who are simply 00:30:13.039 --> 00:30:14.019 doing what they know. 00:30:14.900 --> 00:30:15.440 And so the church 00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:16.539 needs to be a space 00:30:16.539 --> 00:30:18.160 where we can take risks 00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:19.259 and relearn how to be 00:30:19.259 --> 00:30:20.220 a family together. 00:30:21.019 --> 00:30:21.420 Right? 00:30:21.480 --> 00:30:21.920 Because listen, 00:30:22.779 --> 00:30:23.819 this church is not just 00:30:23.819 --> 00:30:24.480 made up of people 00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:25.079 in the pews, 00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:26.279 and it's not just made up 00:30:26.279 --> 00:30:26.700 of the people 00:30:26.700 --> 00:30:27.839 who are joining us online. 00:30:29.019 --> 00:30:30.700 Each person sitting here 00:30:30.700 --> 00:30:31.859 is an entire community 00:30:31.859 --> 00:30:32.420 of people. 00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:33.480 Right? 00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:34.740 You're sitting there, 00:30:35.380 --> 00:30:35.960 but guess what? 00:30:35.980 --> 00:30:36.839 Even though you can't see them, 00:30:37.180 --> 00:30:37.920 your mom's there, 00:30:38.220 --> 00:30:39.019 your dad's there, 00:30:39.160 --> 00:30:40.039 your uncles are there, 00:30:40.220 --> 00:30:41.140 your siblings are there, 00:30:41.140 --> 00:30:42.440 their parents are there, 00:30:42.640 --> 00:30:43.240 your grandparents, 00:30:43.420 --> 00:30:43.940 great-grandparents, 00:30:44.060 --> 00:30:44.940 great-great-great-parents, 00:30:44.980 --> 00:30:45.640 all the way back, 00:30:45.720 --> 00:30:46.660 they're all sitting there 00:30:46.660 --> 00:30:46.940 with you. 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:48.200 This church is super crowded. 00:30:48.460 --> 00:30:49.300 It doesn't feel like it, 00:30:49.420 --> 00:30:50.140 but it's packed. 00:30:50.860 --> 00:30:51.840 Standing room only. 00:30:52.980 --> 00:30:54.300 All your friends and family 00:30:54.300 --> 00:30:55.160 are sitting here with you. 00:30:56.300 --> 00:30:56.540 Right? 00:30:57.040 --> 00:30:59.280 We bring family dysfunction 00:30:59.280 --> 00:31:00.360 into the church 00:31:00.360 --> 00:31:01.940 like you track mud 00:31:01.940 --> 00:31:02.580 into the house 00:31:02.580 --> 00:31:03.400 on a rainy day. 00:31:04.520 --> 00:31:05.640 It just happens. 00:31:07.440 --> 00:31:08.200 And so the thing 00:31:08.200 --> 00:31:09.200 that we need to recognize 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:10.460 is to be the kind 00:31:10.460 --> 00:31:11.460 of laboratory 00:31:11.460 --> 00:31:12.400 that we need to be 00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:12.840 as a church, 00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:14.080 we need enormous amounts 00:31:14.080 --> 00:31:14.580 of grace. 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:17.039 And the main thing 00:31:17.039 --> 00:31:17.759 that Paul learned 00:31:17.759 --> 00:31:19.059 at Sinai was this, 00:31:19.360 --> 00:31:19.819 chapter 3, 00:31:19.840 --> 00:31:20.519 verse 26, 00:31:21.519 --> 00:31:22.660 for in Christ Jesus 00:31:22.660 --> 00:31:24.200 you were all sons of God, 00:31:24.360 --> 00:31:25.100 you're all part 00:31:25.100 --> 00:31:25.920 of this new family 00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:27.480 through faith. 00:31:27.720 --> 00:31:28.960 So what God doesn't say 00:31:28.960 --> 00:31:29.420 is this, 00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:30.519 you need to deal 00:31:30.519 --> 00:31:31.400 with all your past, 00:31:31.480 --> 00:31:32.039 you need to deal 00:31:32.039 --> 00:31:32.720 with your dysfunction, 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:33.720 go to a therapist, 00:31:34.180 --> 00:31:34.779 get better, 00:31:34.860 --> 00:31:35.720 and then you can be 00:31:35.720 --> 00:31:36.519 a part of my family. 00:31:36.700 --> 00:31:37.779 That's not what God says. 00:31:38.220 --> 00:31:38.960 It's the opposite. 00:31:40.039 --> 00:31:40.599 He says, 00:31:40.940 --> 00:31:41.700 come as you are, 00:31:42.740 --> 00:31:43.639 track all the mud 00:31:43.639 --> 00:31:44.539 you want into my house, 00:31:45.500 --> 00:31:46.420 I'm the one 00:31:46.420 --> 00:31:47.200 who's going to wash you 00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:47.859 and make you clean. 00:31:48.779 --> 00:31:49.559 I'm the one 00:31:49.559 --> 00:31:50.299 who's going to give you 00:31:50.299 --> 00:31:50.940 a new identity. 00:31:52.859 --> 00:31:53.680 And knowing 00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:54.559 that we are loved 00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:55.079 and accepted 00:31:55.079 --> 00:31:56.160 as God's children, 00:31:57.039 --> 00:31:57.839 here and now, 00:31:58.599 --> 00:31:59.720 knowing that our identity 00:31:59.720 --> 00:32:01.299 is secure in Christ, 00:32:01.740 --> 00:32:02.559 knowing that we are 00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:03.740 members of this family, 00:32:04.220 --> 00:32:04.899 objectively, 00:32:05.379 --> 00:32:06.299 for all time, 00:32:06.299 --> 00:32:07.500 that's, I think, 00:32:07.539 --> 00:32:08.099 what gives us 00:32:08.099 --> 00:32:09.019 the courage we need 00:32:09.019 --> 00:32:10.099 to go back 00:32:10.099 --> 00:32:11.519 to deal with our past 00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:12.379 so that we might 00:32:12.379 --> 00:32:13.379 move forward together 00:32:13.379 --> 00:32:14.139 as God's family 00:32:14.139 --> 00:32:14.599 in the world. 00:32:16.220 --> 00:32:16.819 Let's pray. 00:32:19.259 --> 00:32:20.220 Lord, we thank you 00:32:20.220 --> 00:32:20.819 for your word 00:32:20.819 --> 00:32:21.440 and we thank you 00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:22.039 for the gospel 00:32:22.039 --> 00:32:22.899 and we pray 00:32:22.899 --> 00:32:24.139 that as we celebrate 00:32:24.139 --> 00:32:24.899 your passion 00:32:24.899 --> 00:32:26.139 today 00:32:26.139 --> 00:32:28.000 and this week, 00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:28.500 Lord, 00:32:28.519 --> 00:32:29.059 as we celebrate 00:32:29.059 --> 00:32:29.720 your entry 00:32:29.720 --> 00:32:30.700 into Jerusalem 00:32:30.700 --> 00:32:32.980 and where that road 00:32:32.980 --> 00:32:33.960 would ultimately lead, 00:32:33.960 --> 00:32:35.259 Lord, 00:32:35.299 --> 00:32:35.779 I pray that you 00:32:35.779 --> 00:32:36.299 would give us 00:32:36.299 --> 00:32:37.559 gospel vision 00:32:37.559 --> 00:32:39.600 to see those parts 00:32:39.600 --> 00:32:40.259 of our past 00:32:40.259 --> 00:32:41.360 that need to be ended, 00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:43.500 the generational sin 00:32:43.500 --> 00:32:44.140 and brokenness 00:32:44.140 --> 00:32:45.440 that needs to be halted 00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:46.740 and I pray that you 00:32:46.740 --> 00:32:47.620 would give us a vision 00:32:47.620 --> 00:32:48.819 for what a new life 00:32:48.819 --> 00:32:49.600 looks like 00:32:49.600 --> 00:32:51.019 as sons and daughters 00:32:51.019 --> 00:32:51.620 of the King 00:32:51.620 --> 00:32:53.340 in the new worldwide family 00:32:53.340 --> 00:32:53.799 that you're building 00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:54.240 in the world 00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:55.519 and I pray that all 00:32:55.519 --> 00:32:56.079 this would happen 00:32:56.079 --> 00:32:56.700 in the power 00:32:56.700 --> 00:32:58.120 of your Holy Spirit 00:32:58.120 --> 00:32:58.819 in the name of your 00:32:58.819 --> 00:32:59.579 Son Jesus Christ 00:32:59.579 --> 00:33:00.740 and for your glory. 00:33:01.360 --> 00:33:01.579 Amen. 00:33:01.579 --> 00:33:01.680 Amen.