WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.939 In the movie Memento, you may have seen it, it's about a man named Leonard Shelby who has a head injury. 00:00:09.599 --> 00:00:21.600 And because of the head injury, he has a type of amnesia that makes it impossible for him to remember anything new for more than a few minutes, including his own identity. 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:31.660 So the whole plot of this movie Memento essentially hinges on Leonard investigating his own identity. 00:00:31.660 --> 00:00:38.260 He's trying to figure out who he is, he's trying to piece together the story of who he is, where he came from. 00:00:38.900 --> 00:00:46.460 And there are various people along the way who try to manipulate Leonard's condition for their own gain. 00:00:46.460 --> 00:00:53.700 They try to use his amnesia against him, and they tell him lies about who he is. 00:00:53.899 --> 00:01:05.540 And as the story builds to a climax, there comes a series of revelations about Leonard that lead him to start to question this identity that he's built for himself. 00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:07.780 And I won't tell you how it ends. 00:01:08.379 --> 00:01:09.519 You need to go out and watch it. 00:01:09.540 --> 00:01:10.480 It's a phenomenal movie. 00:01:10.980 --> 00:01:15.579 But the Bible would say that this is really a picture of the human condition. 00:01:16.459 --> 00:01:20.280 That something has gone wrong. 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:24.739 We have a kind of spiritual injury. 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:28.839 And as a result of that, we've forgotten who we are. 00:01:29.599 --> 00:01:36.699 And so we live our lives trying to fill in the blanks by placing our identity in all kinds of things. 00:01:36.700 --> 00:01:43.359 And just like in the movie, there are a lot of voices trying to tell us who we are. 00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:48.500 And not all of those voices have our best interest in mind. 00:01:48.500 --> 00:01:54.200 This passage in Mark chapter 1 is all about identity. 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:59.700 And it shows us this, that if we want to know the truth about our own identity, 00:02:00.700 --> 00:02:04.920 we first have to understand the truth about Jesus' identity. 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:12.860 If we want to know the truth about our identity, we will find it in the truth of Jesus' identity. 00:02:13.020 --> 00:02:17.939 So we're going to look at Mark chapter 1, Jesus' identity, and then our identity. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:19.039 Let's pray. 00:02:19.979 --> 00:02:21.639 Lord, we thank you for your word. 00:02:21.780 --> 00:02:26.080 And every week we call upon you to speak through your word. 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:28.800 You know us as we prayed earlier. 00:02:29.060 --> 00:02:31.380 You know each of our needs and each of our weaknesses. 00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:34.400 You know our unique struggles and temptations. 00:02:35.160 --> 00:02:40.340 You know where we are most in need of your care, Lord. 00:02:40.580 --> 00:02:45.800 And so we pray that in your word, through your word, you would minister to your people. 00:02:46.460 --> 00:02:50.880 We pray this for our good, but ultimately that you would be glorified, Lord. 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:52.420 And we pray this in Jesus' name. 00:02:52.620 --> 00:02:52.820 Amen. 00:02:52.819 --> 00:02:52.939 Amen. 00:02:54.239 --> 00:02:59.759 So first of all, we see something in this passage about Jesus' identity. 00:03:00.219 --> 00:03:05.299 Have you ever had somebody, you know, and they talk a whole lot and they use a lot of words, 00:03:05.799 --> 00:03:09.799 but then they get done talking and you're thinking, they didn't really actually say anything. 00:03:10.819 --> 00:03:13.680 You know, a lot of, if my wife were here, she'd be like, all the time, Tommy. 00:03:15.620 --> 00:03:17.419 They use a lot of words and they don't really say anything. 00:03:18.439 --> 00:03:19.840 Mark is the exact opposite. 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:21.879 He uses very few words. 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:26.759 And yet he packs an enormous amount into these few words. 00:03:26.900 --> 00:03:29.620 This short passage packs a serious punch. 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:34.639 Verse 10, Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan River. 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:44.879 And it says in verse 10, when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:51.119 Now, we've read that passage a million times, some of us, and we just go right on past it. 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:56.199 But it's worth stopping and asking, why would Mark describe the Spirit in this way? 00:03:56.199 --> 00:04:00.579 What's the origin of the description of the Holy Spirit being like a dove? 00:04:02.579 --> 00:04:12.879 Well, it turns out, Mark is deliberately pointing us to the one other place where the Holy Spirit is described as a dove. 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:24.339 In the Targums, these are translations of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic, which was the language that everybody in Jesus' day, including Jesus, spoke. 00:04:24.339 --> 00:04:32.319 So it's a translation of the Hebrew Bible into the lingua franca, the common tongue that Jesus and his disciples spoke. 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:38.939 And if you go to the creation account in the Targums, Genesis chapter 1, it would say this. 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:42.300 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:46.399 The earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep. 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:50.139 And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 00:04:50.259 --> 00:04:52.519 That's the original Hebrew text. 00:04:53.180 --> 00:04:57.019 But the word hovering really means something like fluttering in the Hebrew. 00:04:57.899 --> 00:05:00.699 It's meant to convey the image of a kind of bird. 00:05:00.699 --> 00:05:12.459 And so the rabbis, when they would translate this into Aramaic, for the sake of clarity, they would say the Spirit of God was fluttering over the face of the waters like a dove. 00:05:13.620 --> 00:05:15.899 So it comes from the Targums. 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:25.779 And so what we see here is that Mark is deliberately pointing us back to the creation story that they would have been familiar with in the Aramaic. 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:29.899 And if you know of the creation story, in creation we have God. 00:05:29.899 --> 00:05:35.519 We have the Spirit of God fluttering over the waters, which represent chaos. 00:05:36.339 --> 00:05:38.519 And then we have the Word of God. 00:05:38.799 --> 00:05:45.579 God speaking and bringing order to the chaos, bringing light and life and beauty and all that is into being. 00:05:46.839 --> 00:05:48.199 Okay, so what is Mark saying? 00:05:48.819 --> 00:05:51.099 By making this reference, what is he saying? 00:05:51.100 --> 00:05:52.100 He's saying this. 00:05:52.100 --> 00:05:54.040 He's saying this. 00:05:54.820 --> 00:06:10.980 Just as the Spirit once hovered over the waters at creation, so now that same Spirit once again hovers over the waters of baptism and over the Word of God, the Son of God. 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:21.860 What Mark is telling us is that this baptism of Jesus, the coming of Jesus, heralds a new creation event. 00:06:22.759 --> 00:06:28.180 Just as God once created all things, now God is going to recreate. 00:06:29.259 --> 00:06:30.480 He's going to renew. 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:32.640 He's going to restore. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:37.920 And not only us, but the entire world, the cosmos. 00:06:38.819 --> 00:06:40.379 This is a new creation event. 00:06:41.080 --> 00:06:42.600 Now I told you it packs a punch. 00:06:43.400 --> 00:06:45.600 That's not all that's going on in this passage. 00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:49.920 In the original creation, Adam and Eve face temptation. 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:51.379 And what happens? 00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:52.780 Eventually they fail. 00:06:52.779 --> 00:06:56.199 And as a result, all humanity fell into sin. 00:06:56.279 --> 00:06:58.659 Our relationship with God has been broken. 00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:03.859 Then God comes to Abraham and he announces his plan for salvation. 00:07:04.239 --> 00:07:06.259 To raise up Abraham's descendants. 00:07:07.419 --> 00:07:09.079 They will become the nation of Israel. 00:07:09.299 --> 00:07:15.279 And then God intends to use them as a means to bring his blessing and salvation to the ends of the earth. 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:22.899 Even though the Israelites emerge in captivity in Egypt, God sets them free. 00:07:23.539 --> 00:07:26.000 This wondrous Exodus event. 00:07:26.219 --> 00:07:28.639 And then God sends them into the wilderness on a journey. 00:07:29.179 --> 00:07:38.459 Now that journey should have taken them through the waters of the Jordan River into the promised land where they would there fulfill God's plan. 00:07:38.459 --> 00:07:48.659 But Israel ends up wandering in the wilderness for 40 years where they face temptation. 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:50.639 And they fail. 00:07:51.500 --> 00:07:55.639 Instead of being a blessing to the nations, they become like the nations. 00:07:56.459 --> 00:08:00.819 Instead of worshiping God, they worship the idols of the nations. 00:08:02.479 --> 00:08:04.259 Now look what Mark tells us. 00:08:04.259 --> 00:08:10.240 When Jesus is baptized, he's not just baptized anywhere. 00:08:11.159 --> 00:08:13.399 He's baptized in the Jordan River. 00:08:14.039 --> 00:08:16.939 He's passing through the waters of the Jordan River. 00:08:17.480 --> 00:08:18.779 And then where does he go? 00:08:18.860 --> 00:08:20.839 He is driven by the Holy Spirit. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:23.279 Driven conveys a sense of urgency. 00:08:23.800 --> 00:08:28.079 It's very urgent that right then and there the next thing he does is to go into the wilderness. 00:08:29.219 --> 00:08:30.420 And what happens in the wilderness? 00:08:30.420 --> 00:08:33.879 He spends 40 days being tempted by Satan. 00:08:34.259 --> 00:08:44.039 And yet, where Adam failed, where Eve failed, where Israel failed, Jesus is victorious. 00:08:45.259 --> 00:08:54.819 So in these few verses, Mark is summarizing the entire Old Testament and he's revealing the true identity of Jesus. 00:08:54.820 --> 00:09:03.980 Mark is telling us that Jesus is the one through whom God plans to recreate and renew this world. 00:09:04.400 --> 00:09:07.060 That Jesus is the true and better Adam. 00:09:07.460 --> 00:09:10.160 That Jesus is the true and better Israel. 00:09:10.540 --> 00:09:13.820 That Jesus is able to do what they failed to do. 00:09:14.580 --> 00:09:18.580 And that all of God's promises are fulfilled in him. 00:09:18.580 --> 00:09:24.639 This is the true identity of Jesus according to the gospel writers. 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:29.400 And this is the message that Mark wants to convey in just a few verses. 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:40.980 So when people say that Jesus was just a really great teacher, a source of inspiration for the Western imagination, 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:46.259 a social reformer who paved the way for future social reformers. 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:53.299 When people say that and they believe that's all Jesus represents, they are missing the whole point. 00:09:53.299 --> 00:09:58.639 Jesus did not come to tell us how to live a perfect life. 00:09:59.259 --> 00:10:02.859 There's plenty of people out there who will tell you how to do that. 00:10:03.819 --> 00:10:07.879 Jesus came to live a perfect life himself. 00:10:09.419 --> 00:10:13.740 And that's very important because with every other religious founder, religious leader, 00:10:13.979 --> 00:10:19.179 you have to separate their teaching from their lifestyle in certain ways. 00:10:19.179 --> 00:10:24.120 There are certain truths about their life that people wish were not there. 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:32.459 They may have had great things to say, but they're also very flawed and in some cases did atrocious things. 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:37.699 You see this in other religions, people like Joseph Smith or the prophet Muhammad. 00:10:37.899 --> 00:10:44.459 You see murder and rape and enslavement and genocide and things that people really wish weren't true. 00:10:44.899 --> 00:10:47.179 You see this in the Christian church as well. 00:10:47.179 --> 00:10:52.839 If you look at the history of some of the popes throughout the centuries, they were notoriously evil. 00:10:53.659 --> 00:10:58.879 Some of my greatest theological heroes said and did horrible things. 00:10:59.819 --> 00:11:05.739 Martin Luther, the great theologian of the Protestant Reformation, said awful things about the Jews. 00:11:06.939 --> 00:11:12.379 Jonathan Edwards, regarded as one of the most brilliant theologians in the history of our country, 00:11:12.379 --> 00:11:15.159 if not the world, owned slaves. 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:23.539 And in all these cases, you focus on the teaching, but not so much the lifestyle. 00:11:24.620 --> 00:11:29.419 And you kind of have to tolerate the lifestyle as best you can, 00:11:29.779 --> 00:11:34.159 so that you can mine the great ideas that come from these leaders. 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:39.819 In all these cases, that's what we have to do, but not so with Jesus. 00:11:41.379 --> 00:11:42.539 Not so with him. 00:11:44.059 --> 00:11:46.079 There are no skeletons in his closet. 00:11:47.039 --> 00:11:51.199 There are no gaffes, no cover-ups, no scandals. 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:52.660 There are no people in his closet. 00:11:52.660 --> 00:11:57.580 He was a public figure who was wildly popular with the common people, 00:11:57.580 --> 00:12:04.440 and the entire religious establishment was bent on using every resource at their disposal 00:12:04.440 --> 00:12:07.240 to do one thing, to discredit him. 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:13.700 And the best they could come up with was to say that the miracles Jesus performed 00:12:13.700 --> 00:12:18.000 must have been attributed to Satan and not to God. 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:23.980 They couldn't even deny that the miracles happened because there were too many eyewitnesses. 00:12:24.580 --> 00:12:26.519 So the best they could do is to say, 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:31.159 when he healed that little girl who was dead and she came back to life again, 00:12:31.340 --> 00:12:33.259 that must have been Satan who did that. 00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:35.659 They couldn't do it. 00:12:35.659 --> 00:12:40.959 Every other religion has a founder who offers their teachings. 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:50.179 Only Jesus Christ offers himself, his perfect life, his very identity. 00:12:51.339 --> 00:12:54.759 Jesus came to offer us his identity. 00:12:56.539 --> 00:12:58.500 Now, what does that have to do with our identity? 00:12:59.899 --> 00:13:01.139 Well, let me ask you this question. 00:13:01.399 --> 00:13:02.679 Why did Jesus get baptized? 00:13:02.679 --> 00:13:07.500 I mean, that's a common question that people ask, and it's a good one. 00:13:08.479 --> 00:13:13.139 John is baptizing people who are sinners who want to repent. 00:13:14.039 --> 00:13:17.739 Why would a person who lived a perfect life, as we just said, 00:13:18.019 --> 00:13:21.079 no skeletons in his closet, no sins to confess, 00:13:21.359 --> 00:13:24.299 why would such a person need to get baptized? 00:13:25.479 --> 00:13:26.579 Doesn't make sense. 00:13:26.580 --> 00:13:33.020 We find the answer a few chapters later in Mark's gospel, in Mark chapter 10, 00:13:33.680 --> 00:13:35.300 where Jesus says to his disciples, 00:13:35.520 --> 00:13:39.320 the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:44.420 and to give his life as a ransom for many. 00:13:45.540 --> 00:13:49.879 This is the moment when Jesus reveals his true purpose in coming, 00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:52.920 and the reason that he lived a perfect life. 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:56.979 It is so that he could offer himself as a ransom, 00:13:56.979 --> 00:14:00.099 so that he could take the place of sinners 00:14:00.099 --> 00:14:03.519 and take the punishment they deserve onto himself. 00:14:05.139 --> 00:14:09.659 This is saying that Jesus came to live the life that we should have lived, 00:14:10.199 --> 00:14:13.579 and then to die the death that we deserve to die, 00:14:14.099 --> 00:14:17.199 in order to set us free and to reconcile us to God. 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:20.000 So we come back to that question, 00:14:20.100 --> 00:14:21.879 well, why did Jesus get baptized? 00:14:22.980 --> 00:14:27.720 Well, in Jesus' baptism, he identifies himself with sinners. 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:32.220 He stands in the place of sinners. 00:14:32.640 --> 00:14:35.180 And this is where identity comes into play. 00:14:35.580 --> 00:14:37.800 When Jesus is baptized, 00:14:38.500 --> 00:14:40.759 he identifies with us in our sin. 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:43.840 When we get baptized, 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:48.019 we identify with Jesus in his righteousness. 00:14:50.419 --> 00:14:53.939 Our sin becomes Jesus. 00:14:54.379 --> 00:14:57.059 His righteousness becomes us. 00:14:58.419 --> 00:15:00.240 In other words, if you have been baptized 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:02.139 and you have put your faith in Jesus, 00:15:02.259 --> 00:15:05.019 it means that everything that is true about Jesus 00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:07.240 is now true about you. 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:11.740 You have taken on that identity. 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:14.980 His identity is yours. 00:15:15.740 --> 00:15:18.120 Just as the identity of your old self, 00:15:18.659 --> 00:15:20.620 the unreconciled sinful self, 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:22.220 was put on him, 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:24.659 where it then was put to death, 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:27.259 and no longer lives. 00:15:28.340 --> 00:15:29.440 Only Christ, 00:15:30.259 --> 00:15:31.340 the identity of Christ, 00:15:31.500 --> 00:15:33.480 now lives in you. 00:15:33.480 --> 00:15:37.139 And this is hugely important 00:15:37.139 --> 00:15:39.139 because as we said at the beginning, 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:42.379 we are all like Leonard Shelby 00:15:42.379 --> 00:15:43.899 in Memento, right? 00:15:43.940 --> 00:15:47.060 We are born into a massive identity crisis. 00:15:47.320 --> 00:15:49.500 We have forgotten who we are. 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:50.820 We spend our lives 00:15:50.820 --> 00:15:52.960 trying to put the pieces together, 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:55.500 trying to construct and build 00:15:55.500 --> 00:15:58.800 a consistent sense of self, 00:15:58.980 --> 00:16:02.259 a coherent narrative of identity. 00:16:02.259 --> 00:16:03.779 in the world. 00:16:03.899 --> 00:16:06.240 And there are all kinds of voices out there 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:07.700 speaking into that, 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:09.639 trying to tell us who we are, 00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:13.279 and not all of them have our best interest in mind. 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:15.500 There are the outside voices, 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:17.460 the voices that tell you 00:16:17.460 --> 00:16:18.960 you are a constituent, 00:16:19.819 --> 00:16:21.319 you are a consumer, 00:16:21.620 --> 00:16:22.519 first and foremost. 00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:24.460 But some, 00:16:25.059 --> 00:16:27.379 there are groups that are saying, 00:16:27.500 --> 00:16:28.960 you are your race, 00:16:29.460 --> 00:16:30.580 you are your class, 00:16:30.580 --> 00:16:31.700 you are your gender, 00:16:32.160 --> 00:16:33.480 you're your orientation. 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:35.960 For one reason or another, 00:16:36.580 --> 00:16:37.680 all of these voices 00:16:37.680 --> 00:16:39.160 want us to identify ourselves 00:16:39.160 --> 00:16:40.960 primarily by this or that 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:41.920 or the other thing. 00:16:42.680 --> 00:16:43.460 But I would say, 00:16:43.560 --> 00:16:44.280 if you're anything like me, 00:16:44.340 --> 00:16:45.860 some of the most harmful voices 00:16:45.860 --> 00:16:47.280 actually come from within. 00:16:49.160 --> 00:16:50.180 These are the voices 00:16:50.180 --> 00:16:51.680 that we've internalized, 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:55.080 maybe when we were still young children. 00:16:55.080 --> 00:16:59.440 Maybe it was an offhand comment 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:00.259 by a teacher 00:17:00.259 --> 00:17:01.580 or a coach 00:17:01.580 --> 00:17:02.879 or a parent, 00:17:03.740 --> 00:17:04.340 a bully. 00:17:05.779 --> 00:17:08.140 These voices that we internalize 00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:11.140 that speak continually to us. 00:17:12.819 --> 00:17:14.019 You're a failure. 00:17:17.019 --> 00:17:18.299 You're a disappointment. 00:17:18.299 --> 00:17:22.399 You're nothing. 00:17:24.180 --> 00:17:25.180 You're trash. 00:17:27.099 --> 00:17:28.019 You're worthless. 00:17:30.599 --> 00:17:31.659 You're unlovable. 00:17:33.879 --> 00:17:34.899 You're disgusting. 00:17:37.700 --> 00:17:38.639 You're tainted. 00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:43.180 If you have been baptized, 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:47.040 if you've put your faith in Jesus, 00:17:48.300 --> 00:17:51.180 every single time 00:17:51.180 --> 00:17:53.460 one of those voices speaks, 00:17:54.540 --> 00:17:57.020 every single time 00:17:57.020 --> 00:17:58.800 the heavens are torn open 00:17:58.800 --> 00:18:02.800 and a voice speaks and says, 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:03.559 no, 00:18:04.159 --> 00:18:06.720 this is my beloved child 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:08.259 in whom I'm well pleased. 00:18:09.899 --> 00:18:11.339 Every single time. 00:18:12.940 --> 00:18:14.759 Baptism is God's gift 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:17.799 to remind you who you are 00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:20.099 every time you forget. 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:26.440 In the movie Blood Diamond, 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:28.919 Danny and Solomon 00:18:28.919 --> 00:18:30.740 have been looking for the site 00:18:30.740 --> 00:18:32.599 where this priceless diamond 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:33.299 is buried. 00:18:34.179 --> 00:18:35.659 And at this point in the story, 00:18:35.859 --> 00:18:37.119 Solomon's son, 00:18:37.379 --> 00:18:37.599 Dia, 00:18:38.039 --> 00:18:39.339 has been kidnapped. 00:18:39.719 --> 00:18:41.159 And he has been forced 00:18:41.159 --> 00:18:42.740 into being a child soldier. 00:18:43.719 --> 00:18:44.659 And they've sort of 00:18:44.659 --> 00:18:46.919 reprogrammed him 00:18:46.919 --> 00:18:49.980 so that that's who he is 00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:51.679 and what he believes himself to be. 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:54.039 And so Danny and Solomon 00:18:54.039 --> 00:18:55.359 are digging up the diamond. 00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:56.639 And once they get the diamond, 00:18:56.740 --> 00:18:57.559 they turn around 00:18:57.559 --> 00:18:58.859 and there's Dia, 00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:01.119 Solomon's son. 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:02.919 And he's pointing a gun at them. 00:19:04.419 --> 00:19:06.639 And listen to what Solomon 00:19:06.639 --> 00:19:07.779 says to his son. 00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:09.459 He says, 00:19:09.579 --> 00:19:09.799 Dia, 00:19:10.139 --> 00:19:11.599 what are you doing? 00:19:12.639 --> 00:19:13.459 Look at me. 00:19:13.679 --> 00:19:14.439 What are you doing? 00:19:15.659 --> 00:19:17.559 You are Dia Vandy 00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:19.799 of the proud Mende tribe. 00:19:20.500 --> 00:19:21.479 And then Dia points 00:19:21.479 --> 00:19:22.479 the gun at his father. 00:19:22.739 --> 00:19:23.019 He says, 00:19:23.099 --> 00:19:24.079 you are a good boy 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:26.039 who loves soccer and school. 00:19:26.239 --> 00:19:27.959 And he starts walking up to Dia, 00:19:28.039 --> 00:19:28.959 even though Dia's pointing 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:29.579 the gun at him. 00:19:29.779 --> 00:19:30.180 And he says, 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:31.920 your mother loves you so much 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:33.220 she waits by the fire 00:19:33.220 --> 00:19:34.299 making plantains 00:19:34.299 --> 00:19:35.620 and red palm oil stew 00:19:35.620 --> 00:19:36.980 with your sister Nyanda 00:19:36.980 --> 00:19:37.819 and the new baby. 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:39.500 And tears start to stream 00:19:39.500 --> 00:19:40.860 down the father's cheeks. 00:19:41.259 --> 00:19:41.680 And he says, 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:42.920 the cows wait for you. 00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:43.740 And Babu, 00:19:43.840 --> 00:19:44.600 the wild dog 00:19:44.600 --> 00:19:46.200 who minds no one but you. 00:19:46.759 --> 00:19:48.140 And tears are now streaming 00:19:48.140 --> 00:19:49.340 down Dia's cheeks. 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:50.720 And the gun is trembling. 00:19:51.140 --> 00:19:52.240 And Solomon continues, 00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:54.100 I know that they made you 00:19:54.099 --> 00:19:55.339 do bad things. 00:19:56.259 --> 00:19:57.879 But you are not a bad boy. 00:19:58.919 --> 00:20:00.399 I am your father 00:20:00.399 --> 00:20:01.599 who loves you 00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:03.379 and you will come home with me 00:20:03.379 --> 00:20:04.659 and be my son again. 00:20:05.619 --> 00:20:07.199 And then Dia puts the gun down 00:20:07.199 --> 00:20:08.980 and Solomon just embraces it. 00:20:10.399 --> 00:20:13.459 Every single time we sin, 00:20:13.959 --> 00:20:15.740 what that means is that 00:20:15.740 --> 00:20:16.459 for that moment 00:20:16.459 --> 00:20:17.379 we have forgotten 00:20:17.379 --> 00:20:18.899 who we really are. 00:20:19.619 --> 00:20:21.000 And God looks at us 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:21.579 and he says, 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:23.960 I know that you have done 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:24.640 bad things 00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:26.180 but that is not who you are. 00:20:27.180 --> 00:20:28.920 You are no longer that person. 00:20:29.859 --> 00:20:31.180 I am your father 00:20:31.180 --> 00:20:32.180 who loves you. 00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:34.220 Come home with me 00:20:34.220 --> 00:20:35.500 and be my child again. 00:20:38.299 --> 00:20:39.000 Let's pray. 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:44.339 Lord, may we know 00:20:44.339 --> 00:20:46.380 the love of our father. 00:20:47.900 --> 00:20:49.259 May we know your love. 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:53.319 Not as a theological truth. 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:55.799 But as something 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:57.640 that speaks 00:20:57.640 --> 00:20:59.819 to our innermost parts 00:20:59.819 --> 00:21:01.900 and silences 00:21:01.900 --> 00:21:03.779 the harmful voices 00:21:03.779 --> 00:21:06.119 and rebuilds 00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:07.380 and reconstitutes 00:21:07.380 --> 00:21:09.200 a true self. 00:21:11.180 --> 00:21:13.220 The identity 00:21:13.220 --> 00:21:14.519 that we have 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:15.480 through your son Jesus. 00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:16.420 May that be 00:21:16.420 --> 00:21:17.539 who we really are. 00:21:18.180 --> 00:21:19.259 May we know that truth 00:21:19.259 --> 00:21:20.740 and may it set us free 00:21:20.740 --> 00:21:21.839 to live in the life 00:21:21.839 --> 00:21:22.740 and the life 00:21:22.740 --> 00:21:24.019 of your love. 00:21:24.859 --> 00:21:26.019 And for those here 00:21:26.019 --> 00:21:28.160 who have those harmful voices, 00:21:28.839 --> 00:21:30.039 I pray that those voices 00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:30.539 and the power 00:21:30.539 --> 00:21:31.279 of the Holy Spirit 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:32.240 would be silenced 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:33.200 once and for all. 00:21:34.259 --> 00:21:35.259 And I pray that 00:21:35.259 --> 00:21:36.539 your words of love 00:21:36.539 --> 00:21:37.140 and delight 00:21:37.140 --> 00:21:38.400 would be the only voice 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:38.759 they hear. 00:21:39.400 --> 00:21:40.220 We pray this 00:21:40.220 --> 00:21:41.119 in Jesus' name. 00:21:41.299 --> 00:21:41.500 Amen. 00:21:41.500 --> 00:21:41.640 Amen. 00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:41.779 Amen. 00:21:41.779 --> 00:21:42.119 Amen. 00:21:42.119 --> 00:21:42.500 Amen. 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:42.619 Amen. 00:21:42.619 --> 00:21:42.720 Amen. 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:43.140 Amen. 00:21:43.140 --> 00:21:43.200 Amen. 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:43.559 Amen. 00:21:43.559 --> 00:21:43.579 Amen. 00:21:43.579 --> 00:21:43.619 Amen. 00:21:43.619 --> 00:21:43.680 Amen. 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:44.619 Amen. 00:21:44.619 --> 00:21:45.619 Amen. 00:21:45.619 --> 00:21:45.640 Amen. 00:21:45.640 --> 00:21:45.660 Amen. 00:21:45.660 --> 00:21:45.680 Amen. 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:45.700 Amen.