WEBVTT

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 You guys sound fantastic tonight.

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 You know, congregational worship is different than a lot of other styles of music.

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 The most important instrument in congregational music is your instrument.

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 And so our sound people do a really great job at keeping the instruments out of the way.

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 And you guys are up to the challenge tonight. It sounds really great.

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 Just saying.

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 Today is our sixth and final Sunday meditating on Psalm 23.

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 And it feels like it's been just the right time to be doing this sermon series.

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 As this psalm has been intensifying verse after verse in its expression of intimacy with God.

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 And culminating today with verse 6.

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 Which is as concise an explanation of hope as you can find.

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 So also has this summer been drawing to a close.

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 A summer which might teach us to do anything but hope.

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 We live in an age of cynicism.

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 And just like you learn certain behaviors and safeguards after getting your fingers burned.

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 So can we become more deeply cynical after a summer like the one we've had.

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 And what a summer it's been.

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 Now for those of you who are visiting and haven't been aware of what's going on in our congregation.

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 You should know that for many of us it was a summer of sickness and even death.

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 Extended stays in hospitals.

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 Death of parents.

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 Relationships sick and shattered.

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 And I don't mean to sound flippant when I say this.

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 But it's enough to make you actually believe in the underlying message of a zombie film.

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 Zombie films teach us that death is constantly pursuing us.

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 Climbing through windows to get to us.

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 And over walls to grab us.

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 Bursting from the ground to snatch at our ankles.

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 Death always having the final word.

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 A cynical take on this summer could be that surely sickness and death will pursue me all the days of my life.

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 For many of us it was the headlines that we'll remember.

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 Things happening in our country and our world that feel unprecedented to us.

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 Or at the very least things happening the likes of which few can remember.

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 Surely anger and disappointment will follow me all the days of my life.

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 And I will dwell in a world of fragmentation forever.

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 There's a man in the Bible whom none would fault if he had become a cynical person.

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 David, who wrote this psalm, faithfully served his king as a young man.

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 And then he married the king's daughter and became best friends with the king's son.

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 But when David's father-in-law became jealous of him,

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 Saul tried to kill him.

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 King Saul drew him into exile and hunted him like a dog.

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 Later when David became king, he would lose an infant son to death.

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 Later in life, one of David's sons, Amnon, would sexually assault David's daughter, Tamar.

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 And another of David's sons, Absalom, murdered Amnon in revenge.

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 A while later, the same son, Absalom, would rebel against David and try to usurp the throne from him.

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 And once again, David was driven into exile.

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 David would survive this coup d'etat but would see yet another one of his sons killed.

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 At the end of his life, at the end of David's life, yet another son, Adonijah,

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 didn't even wait for David to die to set himself up as king.

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 So you can imagine the cynicism that David must have felt tempted to

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 about family and relationships and love and closeness.

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 And yet David didn't really need to look outside the confines of his own heart to be made cynical, did he?

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 Early in David's reign as king, from his palace, he sees a beautiful woman bathing,

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 decides that he must have her, so he seduces her, he gets her pregnant,

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 and then to cover this all up, he has her husband killed, and then he quickly marries her.

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 And in reflecting on this episode, in deep remorse and regret,

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 David very correctly would write,

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 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

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 Yet history would not remember David as a bitter cynic,

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 but as a man after God's own heart.

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 In spite of everything that happened in David's life,

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 David's refrain was,

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 Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life,

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 and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

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 So let's look more closely at the hope found in this verse,

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 and then we'll look briefly at cynicism,

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 and then we'll talk about how we might replace cynicism with this hope.

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 Let's pray.

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 Father, we're acutely aware that as we talk about hope,

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 we're sitting in a dry sanctuary in full safety,

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 while many people are facing catastrophic flooding and devastation.

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 They need to know your hope.

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 They need to know your presence.

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 Would you provide?

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 Would you protect?

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 Would you rescue?

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 Would you be with the ones who are doing the rescuing?

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 And God, through all of this, would your church shine?

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 Would your church come to the aid of many?

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 Would your church show mercy and be generous?

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 All for your glory, Lord.

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 Help us in these next few minutes to also learn about hope.

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 Replace our hope, replace our cynicism with hope, Lord.

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 We really would love to hope.

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 We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

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 If you were here last week, you may remember the tone of this psalm shifting

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 from David talking about a shepherd and his sheep

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 to God being a gracious host.

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 And in verse 6, we shift back to the familiar imagery of being a sheep and a flock.

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 We find the shepherd at the front of the flock.

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 And there we see his staff in his hand.

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 We hear the familiar sound of his voice that we are following.

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 But what's behind us?

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 What's in the back?

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 What might be coming up from behind, lurking in the shadows?

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 With many flocks, we would find predators.

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 Predators standing back, waiting for that one sheep to lag behind,

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 perhaps to get lost, perhaps to get caught.

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 And there, a predator would find his supper.

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 But David doesn't have that anxiety in this verse.

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 David pictures there being a rear guard to this flock.

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 God's own goodness and mercy, personifications of two of God's most essential attributes.

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 The word goodness is a translation of the Hebrew word tof.

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 And you've probably heard this word before when you've heard the Hebrew expression for congratulations.

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 Mazel tov, right?

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 At the end of each day in the creation account of Genesis 1,

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 God declares the things he has made to be tof, to be good.

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 The shepherd's tof, his goodness, is demonstrated in his abundant care,

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 in his order of things, in his promises, in his blessings.

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 Now, the word for mercy here is the English translation of the Hebrew word chesed.

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 And it's often translated as loving kindness.

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 God's chesed, his love, is his covenantal commitment

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 to love and bless his people with his own goodness.

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 In Exodus 34, when God describes himself, he uses this word a couple of times.

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 The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in chesed,

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 abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands,

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 forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.

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 Now, cynicism teaches us to look over our shoulder,

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 because surely there's something pursuing us.

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 Surely the world isn't as it seems.

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 Surely there's something in the darkness that's lurking for me.

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 Surely God doesn't have his eye on every single thing.

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 But David tells us,

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 sometimes God leads us beside quiet waters.

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 Sometimes he leads us through a valley of deepest shadow.

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 But what remains the same is God's steadfast love and his goodness,

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 always hemming us in behind and before,

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 always having our back.

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 For that reason, David can say that he will dwell in the house of the Lord for the length of days.

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 In other words, every day of my life, I can experience God's presence.

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 Every day I can experience intimacy with him.

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 Every day is defined by the reality of redemption and salvation.

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 Every day, what is more real than the deluge of media and noise and fragmentation,

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 is the nearness of God.

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 And now, 3,000 years later, after David wrote this,

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 we have a fuller understanding of God's goodness and loving kindness,

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 demonstrated to us in his son, Jesus Christ.

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 Chesed is God's faithfulness, his covenantal commitment to love us.

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 Well, we have an obligation in this covenant, and we couldn't keep it.

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 So God himself came and kept that part of the covenant for us,

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 so that we can experience intimacy and nearness of the Father.

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 Plus, Jesus died and rose again, destroying death and sin,

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 so that we can dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

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 So this intimacy that we know here, in the here and now,

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 we can experience and know through eternity.

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 This seems to me to be the very definition of hope.

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 Being hemmed in by God's goodness and love,

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 knowing his presence every day of our lives.

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 But a person who has this kind of hope today,

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 let's be honest, would seem rather peculiar.

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 Like, very attractive to run across a person like this.

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 But still, peculiar.

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 Because in our culture, we are all immersed

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 in an amniotic fluid that's made of cynicism.

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 So let's shift to cynicism.

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 And let me just briefly, just paint a picture of cynicism for us, okay?

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 Cynicism tells you to look over your shoulders,

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 and when you do, you will really see the reality

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 of what's going on in this world.

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 Cynicism is constantly looking for threats.

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 It's constantly looking through people and institutions

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 to get their angle.

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 So while cynicism makes us feel in the know,

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 at the same time, it destroys intimacy.

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 Because it breeds isolation.

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 The cynical person can't find the joy in things.

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 Cynicism makes us feel like we are hyper-aware,

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 preventing us from really trusting or hoping.

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 Cynicism makes us feel energized at times.

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 But what it really is,

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 it's just a concoction of indifference

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 and apathy and discontentment.

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 There's a guy named Paul Maxwell.

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 He describes it as an emotional rocket launcher

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 mounted on a lazy boy.

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 Cynicism gives us a feeling of superiority.

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 That's right, it's intoxicating.

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 Paul Miller writes,

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 since the fall,

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 that's the fall of man.

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 Since the fall of man,

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 evil feels omnipresent,

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 making cynicism an easy sell.

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 Because cynicism sees what is really going on,

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 it feels real, authentic.

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 That gives cynicism an elite status,

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 since authenticity is one of the last remaining public virtues in our culture.

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 Cynicism teaches us not to pray,

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 because nothing is going to change.

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 And if I pray about something,

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 and it does change,

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 well, that probably means it was just going to change anyway.

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 Lastly, because cynicism is the spirit of the age,

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 then cynicism is our great temptation.

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 It's more than a disposition.

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 Cynicism is a sin.

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 And I must confess,

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 it is one of my big besetting sins,

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 and it always has been.

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 I would like to think,

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 well, it's just part of my calling card as a Gen Xer.

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 But it's more than that.

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 And I've always wrestled with it.

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 I remember being in elementary school,

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 and I went to get my pictures taken.

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 I don't know what I said to the photographer,

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 but he said,

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 go ask your parents what the word cynicism means.

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 Like, cynicism?

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 I was like, yes,

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 you are very cynical.

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 So I went home,

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 like,

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 Mom,

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 the photographer called me a Seneca.

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 Like,

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 what's a Seneca?

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 Oh,

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 you mean,

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 he said you were cynical.

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 So she told me what it is.

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 And so from that point,

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 I just kind of thought,

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 oh,

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 that's just my disposition.

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 That's just the way I am.

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 That's fine,

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 right?

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 Like being,

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 I didn't know these words back then,

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 but it's like being like sanguine,

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 right?

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 Or melancholy.

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 It's just a disposition,

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 right?

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 But it's not.

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 It's not.

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 But cynicism is a sin

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 because at the root of cynicism

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 is questioning the goodness of God

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 on our behalf.

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 It's doubting God when he says he loves us.

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 It's the original sin.

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 Adam and Eve doubting God

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 and his trustworthiness

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 and his love

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 and his protection.

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 Cynicism

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 is disbelieving

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 that goodness and love

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 are following you

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 all the days of your life.

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 So what are we to do?

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 So we've talked about hope

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 and we've talked about cynicism.

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 How do we replace one

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 with the other?

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 If Psalm 23 verse 6

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 tells us that we're to have hope,

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 but if the spirit of the age

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 is constantly telling us

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 and calling us to cynicism,

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 then what are we to do?

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 So I think the answer is

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 a liturgical one.

00:16:35.340 --> 00:16:35.519
 Okay?

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 When I say liturgical,

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 I mean that we're to address

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 the habits and rituals

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 that shape our imaginations.

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 It starts by realizing

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 that our cynicism

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 is shaped

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 by a liturgy,

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 by a posture.

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 It's not like

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 isolated outbursts

00:16:57.119 --> 00:16:57.899
 of emotions

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 here and there,

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 but it's the constant,

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 subtle reactions

00:17:02.839 --> 00:17:04.579
 to the things around us.

00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:06.799
 The rolling of the eyes.

00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:09.159
 The snarky tweet.

00:17:11.019 --> 00:17:12.679
 The Jim Halpert

00:17:12.679 --> 00:17:14.720
 smirk and raise eyebrow.

00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:16.480
 Combo.

00:17:17.559 --> 00:17:21.220
 It's a constant fixation

00:17:21.220 --> 00:17:22.779
 that excludes

00:17:22.779 --> 00:17:23.319
 the presence

00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:23.879
 of the shepherd.

00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:27.259
 In his book,

00:17:27.339 --> 00:17:28.019
 The Praying Life,

00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:29.700
 Paul Miller takes Psalm 23

00:17:29.700 --> 00:17:30.879
 and he crosses out

00:17:30.879 --> 00:17:31.619
 all references

00:17:31.619 --> 00:17:32.460
 to the good shepherd

00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:33.339
 and everything

00:17:33.339 --> 00:17:34.419
 that the good shepherd does.

00:17:34.740 --> 00:17:35.899
 And this is what is left.

00:17:37.059 --> 00:17:38.079
 I shall be in want.

00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:39.539
 Me.

00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:41.319
 Me.

00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:43.119
 My soul.

00:17:44.220 --> 00:17:44.579
 Me.

00:17:44.579 --> 00:17:44.679
 Me.

00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:46.660
 I walk through the valley

00:17:46.660 --> 00:17:47.700
 of shadow of death.

00:17:48.900 --> 00:17:50.060
 I fear evil.

00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:51.740
 Me.

00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:53.400
 Me.

00:17:54.100 --> 00:17:55.220
 Me in the presence

00:17:55.220 --> 00:17:56.080
 of my enemies.

00:17:56.820 --> 00:17:57.759
 My head.

00:17:58.840 --> 00:17:59.500
 My cup.

00:18:00.779 --> 00:18:01.779
 Me all the days

00:18:01.779 --> 00:18:02.380
 of my life.

00:18:05.180 --> 00:18:06.420
 Cynicism ignores

00:18:06.420 --> 00:18:07.019
 the presence

00:18:07.019 --> 00:18:07.680
 of the shepherd

00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:09.320
 and all we're left

00:18:09.320 --> 00:18:10.220
 with is ourselves.

00:18:10.220 --> 00:18:12.539
 Therefore,

00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:13.660
 to move from cynicism

00:18:13.660 --> 00:18:14.380
 into hope,

00:18:14.660 --> 00:18:15.400
 I would suggest

00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:16.759
 that we practice

00:18:16.759 --> 00:18:17.720
 the presence

00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:18.579
 of God.

00:18:20.019 --> 00:18:21.299
 He's always present,

00:18:21.400 --> 00:18:22.660
 but we have to practice that.

00:18:23.380 --> 00:18:24.539
 St. John of the Cross

00:18:24.539 --> 00:18:25.200
 tells us

00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:26.279
 that human health

00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:27.000
 consists

00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:28.600
 in the continuous

00:18:28.600 --> 00:18:29.940
 and conscious

00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:30.819
 experience

00:18:30.819 --> 00:18:31.819
 of God's presence.

00:18:32.819 --> 00:18:33.740
 Human health

00:18:33.740 --> 00:18:34.480
 consists

00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:35.860
 in the continuous

00:18:35.860 --> 00:18:37.140
 and conscious

00:18:37.140 --> 00:18:38.100
 experience

00:18:38.099 --> 00:18:39.480
 of God's presence.

00:18:40.599 --> 00:18:41.019
 This is why

00:18:41.019 --> 00:18:41.659
 the philosopher

00:18:41.659 --> 00:18:42.259
 and author

00:18:42.259 --> 00:18:43.439
 Dallas Willard

00:18:43.439 --> 00:18:44.279
 meditated on

00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:45.099
 Psalm 23

00:18:45.099 --> 00:18:46.039
 every day.

00:18:46.539 --> 00:18:47.059
 In his book

00:18:47.059 --> 00:18:48.319
 The Divine Conspiracy,

00:18:48.879 --> 00:18:49.859
 Dallas Willard wrote,

00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:51.699
 the 23rd Psalm

00:18:51.699 --> 00:18:52.799
 is an exquisite

00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:53.919
 summary of life

00:18:53.919 --> 00:18:54.619
 in the kingdom.

00:18:55.740 --> 00:18:56.259
 The mind

00:18:56.259 --> 00:18:56.899
 of the disciples

00:18:56.899 --> 00:18:57.419
 should have it

00:18:57.419 --> 00:18:58.759
 prominently displayed

00:18:58.759 --> 00:18:59.399
 within

00:18:59.399 --> 00:19:01.379
 to always foster

00:19:01.379 --> 00:19:02.000
 the joy

00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:02.480
 and peace

00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:03.119
 of the kingdom

00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:04.319
 as well as

00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:04.859
 to orient

00:19:04.859 --> 00:19:05.679
 all of his

00:19:05.679 --> 00:19:06.519
 or her actions

00:19:06.519 --> 00:19:07.740
 within it.

00:19:08.099 --> 00:19:08.980
 This is an essential

00:19:08.980 --> 00:19:09.740
 part of any

00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:10.240
 curriculum

00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:11.299
 for Christ-likeness.

00:19:12.419 --> 00:19:13.339
 Positive engagement

00:19:13.339 --> 00:19:14.179
 with these scriptures

00:19:14.179 --> 00:19:15.179
 will bring kingdom

00:19:15.179 --> 00:19:16.019
 order into our

00:19:16.019 --> 00:19:17.219
 entire personality.

00:19:18.459 --> 00:19:19.219
 We really come

00:19:19.219 --> 00:19:19.740
 to think

00:19:19.740 --> 00:19:21.219
 and believe

00:19:21.219 --> 00:19:21.719
 differently

00:19:21.719 --> 00:19:23.399
 and that changes

00:19:23.399 --> 00:19:24.339
 everything else.

00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:28.059
 So what I recommend

00:19:28.059 --> 00:19:28.679
 for us

00:19:28.679 --> 00:19:29.699
 at this end

00:19:29.699 --> 00:19:30.719
 of our study

00:19:30.719 --> 00:19:31.779
 of Psalm 23

00:19:31.779 --> 00:19:33.099
 is very simple.

00:19:33.779 --> 00:19:34.719
 It's to memorize

00:19:34.719 --> 00:19:35.799
 Psalm 23.

00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:38.200
 Memorize it

00:19:38.200 --> 00:19:38.899
 and return

00:19:38.899 --> 00:19:39.539
 to it

00:19:39.539 --> 00:19:40.000
 often.

00:19:41.839 --> 00:19:42.480
 As Dallas Willard

00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:42.839
 says,

00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:43.899
 a constant awareness

00:19:43.899 --> 00:19:44.980
 of God's presence

00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:45.839
 and our place

00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:47.079
 within his kingdom

00:19:47.079 --> 00:19:48.079
 shapes the way

00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:48.740
 we think

00:19:48.740 --> 00:19:49.379
 and believe

00:19:49.379 --> 00:19:50.319
 and feel

00:19:50.319 --> 00:19:51.639
 and respond.

00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:53.099
 It pushes out

00:19:53.099 --> 00:19:53.700
 cynicism

00:19:53.700 --> 00:19:54.700
 and it gives us

00:19:54.700 --> 00:19:56.000
 a childlike faith.

00:19:57.779 --> 00:19:59.180
 Hope is different

00:19:59.180 --> 00:20:00.440
 than naive optimism.

00:20:01.579 --> 00:20:02.839
 It doesn't blind us

00:20:02.839 --> 00:20:03.579
 to the realities

00:20:03.579 --> 00:20:04.319
 of the world.

00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:05.939
 If anything,

00:20:06.059 --> 00:20:06.500
 we see them

00:20:06.500 --> 00:20:07.460
 more realistically

00:20:07.460 --> 00:20:08.639
 as we did before

00:20:08.639 --> 00:20:09.659
 but we don't despair

00:20:09.659 --> 00:20:11.179
 because we know

00:20:11.179 --> 00:20:12.059
 that King Jesus

00:20:12.059 --> 00:20:13.000
 is intent

00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:13.939
 on crushing

00:20:13.939 --> 00:20:14.799
 all those things

00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:15.559
 that set themselves

00:20:15.559 --> 00:20:16.519
 up in opposition

00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:17.279
 to his kingdom.

00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:18.179
 Hatred,

00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:19.179
 hostility,

00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:20.379
 brokenness,

00:20:21.019 --> 00:20:21.399
 sin,

00:20:22.059 --> 00:20:22.659
 and death.

00:20:23.619 --> 00:20:24.359
 We become

00:20:24.359 --> 00:20:25.460
 more realistic

00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:26.439
 than a cynic

00:20:26.439 --> 00:20:27.359
 and we become

00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:29.000
 more optimistic

00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:29.899
 and hopeful

00:20:29.899 --> 00:20:31.799
 than the idealist

00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:32.779
 and this is what

00:20:32.779 --> 00:20:34.240
 gives us our fuel

00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:37.039
 and our power

00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:38.180
 to actually go

00:20:38.180 --> 00:20:38.779
 into the world

00:20:38.779 --> 00:20:40.299
 and to make a difference,

00:20:40.399 --> 00:20:41.839
 to join in God's mission

00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:42.940
 of recovering

00:20:42.940 --> 00:20:44.180
 and redeeming

00:20:44.180 --> 00:20:45.639
 a broken world,

00:20:46.839 --> 00:20:47.799
 sunken

00:20:47.799 --> 00:20:49.180
 in cynicism.

00:20:52.700 --> 00:20:53.299
 Now,

00:20:53.379 --> 00:20:54.519
 if you're a skeptic,

00:20:55.019 --> 00:20:55.500
 that is,

00:20:55.579 --> 00:20:57.339
 if you don't

00:20:57.339 --> 00:20:58.359
 fully believe

00:20:58.359 --> 00:20:58.960
 all the things

00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:00.539
 that we're saying here,

00:21:00.539 --> 00:21:01.659
 if you don't believe

00:21:01.659 --> 00:21:02.920
 what Jesus said

00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:04.159
 about himself,

00:21:05.539 --> 00:21:06.519
 then memorizing

00:21:06.519 --> 00:21:06.960
 the Bible

00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:07.879
 might seem

00:21:07.879 --> 00:21:09.279
 a little much

00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:09.659
 to you

00:21:09.659 --> 00:21:10.399
 or a little weird.

00:21:13.559 --> 00:21:14.579
 Let me just explain

00:21:14.579 --> 00:21:15.399
 that a little bit.

00:21:15.480 --> 00:21:16.200
 Christians memorize

00:21:16.200 --> 00:21:16.899
 the Bible

00:21:16.899 --> 00:21:17.619
 because we believe

00:21:17.619 --> 00:21:18.480
 it's the very word

00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:19.159
 of God, right?

00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:19.700
 So,

00:21:20.220 --> 00:21:21.299
 you know how

00:21:21.299 --> 00:21:22.240
 when you really

00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:22.879
 love somebody

00:21:22.879 --> 00:21:23.740
 you hang on

00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:24.599
 their every word,

00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:25.279
 right?

00:21:25.460 --> 00:21:25.720
 Well,

00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:26.319
 that's what we do.

00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:28.680
 That's what we do.

00:21:28.819 --> 00:21:29.379
 We hang on

00:21:29.380 --> 00:21:30.260
 as every word

00:21:30.260 --> 00:21:30.880
 and we read

00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:32.160
 scripture all the time

00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:33.360
 and we memorize it.

00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:35.780
 But if you're

00:21:35.780 --> 00:21:36.240
 a skeptic

00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:36.940
 of Christianity,

00:21:37.520 --> 00:21:38.040
 maybe instead

00:21:38.040 --> 00:21:38.820
 of memorizing

00:21:38.820 --> 00:21:39.840
 this passage,

00:21:40.360 --> 00:21:41.020
 maybe just start

00:21:41.020 --> 00:21:41.820
 with this.

00:21:42.140 --> 00:21:42.800
 Just start with this.

00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:44.060
 Just be open

00:21:44.060 --> 00:21:44.880
 to the idea

00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:45.840
 that cynicism

00:21:45.840 --> 00:21:47.300
 in its truest form,

00:21:47.560 --> 00:21:49.180
 in its purest form,

00:21:49.420 --> 00:21:50.060
 in its most

00:21:50.060 --> 00:21:51.320
 consistent form,

00:21:51.500 --> 00:21:53.340
 is an impossible project.

00:21:56.120 --> 00:21:57.080
 C.S. Lewis

00:21:57.079 --> 00:21:58.679
 explains it this way.

00:21:59.939 --> 00:22:01.179
 You can't go on

00:22:01.179 --> 00:22:02.179
 seeing through

00:22:02.179 --> 00:22:03.199
 things forever.

00:22:03.919 --> 00:22:04.519
 The whole point

00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:05.059
 of seeing through

00:22:05.059 --> 00:22:05.559
 something

00:22:05.559 --> 00:22:06.179
 is to see

00:22:06.179 --> 00:22:06.819
 the thing

00:22:06.819 --> 00:22:07.720
 through it.

00:22:08.439 --> 00:22:09.339
 To see through

00:22:09.339 --> 00:22:10.299
 all things

00:22:10.299 --> 00:22:11.419
 is the same

00:22:11.419 --> 00:22:12.720
 as not seeing

00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:13.099
 at all.

00:22:15.579 --> 00:22:16.019
 Now,

00:22:16.119 --> 00:22:16.919
 once you agree

00:22:16.919 --> 00:22:17.480
 to that,

00:22:18.220 --> 00:22:18.879
 that the purpose

00:22:18.879 --> 00:22:19.599
 to see through

00:22:19.599 --> 00:22:20.119
 something

00:22:20.119 --> 00:22:21.099
 is to see

00:22:21.099 --> 00:22:21.740
 a something

00:22:21.740 --> 00:22:22.659
 on the other side,

00:22:23.299 --> 00:22:23.759
 then I'd say

00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:24.259
 the next thing

00:22:24.259 --> 00:22:24.700
 to do

00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:26.160
 is to look

00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:26.940
 at the thing

00:22:26.940 --> 00:22:27.500
 that Christians

00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:28.519
 base their hope on.

00:22:29.079 --> 00:22:29.980
 That's the resurrection

00:22:29.980 --> 00:22:30.980
 of Jesus Christ

00:22:30.980 --> 00:22:31.519
 from the dead.

00:22:32.900 --> 00:22:34.099
 Start with the eyewitness

00:22:34.099 --> 00:22:34.599
 accounts.

00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:35.480
 We call those

00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:36.680
 the Gospels.

00:22:36.819 --> 00:22:37.339
 We read those

00:22:37.339 --> 00:22:38.039
 every Sunday

00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:38.500
 in worship.

00:22:38.500 --> 00:22:39.680
 And I read

00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:41.920
 from John chapter 20

00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:43.539
 tonight.

00:22:45.940 --> 00:22:47.019
 Those eyewitness

00:22:47.019 --> 00:22:47.700
 accounts

00:22:47.700 --> 00:22:49.079
 tell

00:22:49.079 --> 00:22:51.039
 Jesus' testimony

00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:52.259
 about himself

00:22:52.259 --> 00:22:54.179
 from eyewitness

00:22:54.179 --> 00:22:54.919
 perspectives.

00:22:57.039 --> 00:22:57.879
 And if you want

00:22:57.879 --> 00:22:58.839
 to go from there,

00:22:58.960 --> 00:22:59.519
 ask me

00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:00.159
 or Tommy

00:23:00.159 --> 00:23:00.879
 and we'd be happy

00:23:00.879 --> 00:23:01.539
 to direct you

00:23:01.539 --> 00:23:02.000
 further

00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:03.159
 in your investigation.

00:23:03.819 --> 00:23:04.480
 If you are

00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:04.960
 a Christian,

00:23:05.619 --> 00:23:06.899
 then choose

00:23:06.899 --> 00:23:07.500
 to remember

00:23:07.500 --> 00:23:08.679
 this summer

00:23:08.679 --> 00:23:10.339
 as the summer

00:23:10.339 --> 00:23:10.879
 of the shepherd.

00:23:12.179 --> 00:23:12.779
 Remember it

00:23:12.779 --> 00:23:13.220
 as the summer

00:23:13.220 --> 00:23:13.759
 of the shepherd.

00:23:14.159 --> 00:23:14.859
 Does that sound

00:23:14.859 --> 00:23:15.559
 cheesy to you?

00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:16.079
 It's because

00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:16.740
 you're being cynical.

00:23:19.079 --> 00:23:21.819
 Jane Olson

00:23:21.819 --> 00:23:22.379
 gave us

00:23:22.379 --> 00:23:23.339
 the psalm challenge

00:23:23.339 --> 00:23:23.819
 at the beginning

00:23:23.819 --> 00:23:24.500
 of this summer.

00:23:24.699 --> 00:23:24.779
 Like,

00:23:24.859 --> 00:23:25.740
 memorize a psalm

00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:26.720
 and then video

00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:27.220
 record it

00:23:27.220 --> 00:23:27.579
 and perhaps

00:23:27.579 --> 00:23:28.480
 put it on Instagram.

00:23:29.639 --> 00:23:30.220
 I won't ask

00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:30.699
 for hands.

00:23:30.939 --> 00:23:31.619
 People who did that,

00:23:31.699 --> 00:23:32.379
 I did not do it.

00:23:33.539 --> 00:23:34.500
 But it's not too late

00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:35.599
 to memorize a psalm

00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:36.500
 and make it this one.

00:23:37.339 --> 00:23:38.259
 Make it this psalm.

00:23:39.319 --> 00:23:40.659
 And once it's memorized,

00:23:40.859 --> 00:23:41.720
 let it give you hope.

00:23:42.539 --> 00:23:43.299
 Let it give you hope.

00:23:44.299 --> 00:23:45.519
 I think you will go on

00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:46.500
 remembering this summer

00:23:46.500 --> 00:23:47.639
 as it really was,

00:23:47.799 --> 00:23:48.839
 full of challenge,

00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:50.319
 and sadness

00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:51.740
 and disappointment.

00:23:52.659 --> 00:23:53.980
 But if you do it right,

00:23:54.059 --> 00:23:54.759
 you'll remember

00:23:54.759 --> 00:23:56.259
 most of all

00:23:56.259 --> 00:23:57.199
 the presence

00:23:57.199 --> 00:23:58.059
 of the shepherd

00:23:58.059 --> 00:23:59.220
 as he led you

00:23:59.220 --> 00:24:00.659
 beside both quiet waters

00:24:00.659 --> 00:24:02.039
 and as he led you

00:24:02.039 --> 00:24:02.799
 through a valley

00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:03.799
 of deepest shadow.

00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:06.319
 You'll remember

00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:07.220
 that he fed you

00:24:07.220 --> 00:24:08.319
 and that he sustained you.

00:24:09.399 --> 00:24:10.079
 You'll remember

00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:11.439
 that he restored your soul.

00:24:13.399 --> 00:24:14.179
 You'll remember

00:24:14.179 --> 00:24:15.199
 that he spread a table

00:24:15.199 --> 00:24:15.799
 before you

00:24:15.799 --> 00:24:16.740
 and threw a party

00:24:16.740 --> 00:24:17.159
 for you.

00:24:17.160 --> 00:24:19.460
 You'll remember

00:24:19.460 --> 00:24:20.100
 that his goodness

00:24:20.100 --> 00:24:20.880
 and mercy

00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:21.980
 had your back

00:24:21.980 --> 00:24:23.680
 and that they'll

00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:24.640
 continue to follow

00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:25.420
 and pursue you

00:24:25.420 --> 00:24:26.040
 all the days

00:24:26.040 --> 00:24:26.620
 of your life.

00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:28.820
 The Father

00:24:28.820 --> 00:24:29.860
 is present.

00:24:32.540 --> 00:24:33.820
 Jesus is with you.

00:24:35.240 --> 00:24:36.400
 The Holy Spirit

00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:37.360
 is near.

00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:39.060
 In the name

00:24:39.060 --> 00:24:39.660
 of the Father

00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:40.440
 and of the Son

00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:41.420
 and of the Holy Spirit.

00:24:41.420 --> 00:24:42.080
 Amen.

00:24:42.080 --> 00:24:42.180
 Amen.