WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.640
 Father, every single person here probably needs to say sorry to somebody,

00:00:08.099 --> 00:00:11.839
 and every single person here needs to forgive somebody.

00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:17.460
 Father, we confess before you that we flatter ourselves too much

00:00:17.460 --> 00:00:20.620
 to understand the true state of our soul

00:00:20.620 --> 00:00:23.699
 and the true state of our mind and our heart and our will.

00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:28.260
 So, Father, we ask that your word has challenged us around forgiveness

00:00:28.260 --> 00:00:32.520
 and other matters. We ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would gently

00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:35.539
 but deeply fall upon us. Fall upon us, Father.

00:00:36.100 --> 00:00:39.900
 And as your Holy Spirit falls upon us, help us, Father, to realize

00:00:39.900 --> 00:00:44.799
 the true state of our souls and our affections, who we need to forgive.

00:00:45.480 --> 00:00:48.620
 And, Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would help us to forgive.

00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:53.020
 Father, we thank you that we can come to you in prayer,

00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:56.960
 that we can call out to you for the freedom of forgiveness.

00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:01.640
 So, Father, we call out for such freedom that we might forgive.

00:01:01.980 --> 00:01:06.519
 We call out and ask you to pour out your Holy Spirit upon us as we hear your word.

00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:11.000
 And all this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

00:01:11.740 --> 00:01:12.659
 Please be seated.

00:01:12.659 --> 00:01:13.659
 Thank you.

00:01:13.659 --> 00:01:13.920
 Thank you.

00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:21.679
 So, if you're a guest here, you might not know this about me,

00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:25.879
 but Louise and myself, we've been blessed with nine children.

00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:31.099
 And our kids are all, we only have three left at home.

00:01:31.900 --> 00:01:36.000
 And so this, what I'm about to tell you, hasn't happened to us in quite a while.

00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:38.420
 But it used to be the case.

00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:44.319
 I think it mainly happened when it was just Louise with the kids in a grocery store or someplace,

00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:50.420
 that some complete and utter stranger would come up to Louise and give her a lecture on birth control.

00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:53.420
 I'm not making this up.

00:01:53.460 --> 00:01:54.760
 It was a regular occurrence.

00:01:55.879 --> 00:01:59.319
 In fact, actually, there was a fellow in the congregation who,

00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:01.900
 when it was announced that we were expecting our ninth child,

00:02:01.900 --> 00:02:04.580
 he was a very gruff and outspoken guy.

00:02:04.940 --> 00:02:05.859
 He's now with the Lord.

00:02:06.760 --> 00:02:10.200
 And he told me, he said, George, don't you know about birth control?

00:02:10.420 --> 00:02:12.599
 Like, what are you doing having nine kids on your salary?

00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:14.939
 And I didn't say anything.

00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:15.920
 I just turned the other cheek.

00:02:17.379 --> 00:02:20.360
 Then our child was born, and it was a boy.

00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:23.540
 And the man who had said this to me, his name was Tom.

00:02:24.040 --> 00:02:26.120
 And we named our son Tom.

00:02:26.980 --> 00:02:31.300
 And now we named our son Tom not because it was Tom who'd said this to me,

00:02:31.300 --> 00:02:37.100
 but, in fact, Tom, or Thomas, had been, like, on the list for every one of our boys.

00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:39.300
 And it just, we ended up choosing another name.

00:02:39.380 --> 00:02:43.340
 But we'd always liked the name, and we finally just went with Thomas, Thomas Elijah.

00:02:44.280 --> 00:02:51.480
 And, but the man who told me off when he heard that we'd named our son Tom,

00:02:51.900 --> 00:02:54.220
 he thought it was the funniest thing in the world

00:02:54.220 --> 00:02:59.939
 that I had showed him what I thought of his rebuke by naming my son after him.

00:02:59.939 --> 00:03:05.039
 And I never told him that it had nothing to do with his name,

00:03:05.139 --> 00:03:06.939
 that if, you know, he'd been called, you know, Bilbo,

00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:08.419
 we wouldn't have called our son Bilbo.

00:03:08.520 --> 00:03:11.840
 Well, Bilbo's sort of a neat name, but we wouldn't have called Tommy Bilbo.

00:03:12.340 --> 00:03:17.180
 Anyway, so it happens inside the church, but outside of the church especially.

00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:21.039
 I mean, I think that was the only time anybody in the church ever gave, you know,

00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:23.240
 was, like, bold enough to come and straight out say,

00:03:23.340 --> 00:03:25.819
 have you heard about birth control and you should be practicing it,

00:03:25.819 --> 00:03:26.840
 you're having too many kids.

00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:29.360
 But it would happen to my wife quite often.

00:03:30.200 --> 00:03:33.700
 A short lecture from a complete and utter stranger.

00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:39.259
 Now, one of the things that people complain about religious people

00:03:39.259 --> 00:03:45.939
 is that religious people, spiritual people, are intrusive, busybodies

00:03:45.939 --> 00:03:52.740
 who look for opportunities to intrude in your life and tell you off.

00:03:52.740 --> 00:03:56.620
 In fact, actually, one of the things that for many people that they would make

00:03:56.620 --> 00:04:01.000
 as a distinction between being religious, like a Christian or a Muslim,

00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:05.780
 and being spiritual is that they would say to themselves at least,

00:04:05.879 --> 00:04:09.120
 that religious people are intrusive, busybodies,

00:04:09.340 --> 00:04:12.660
 intruding in stuff that is not their business, but spiritual people don't.

00:04:13.300 --> 00:04:16.259
 Although I'm guessing that many of the people who spoke to us about birth control

00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:17.939
 were probably spiritual, not religious.

00:04:17.939 --> 00:04:23.259
 As often would happen in the Glebe, not exactly a home of fervent Christianity.

00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:28.139
 And, sorry, I'm not putting anybody down from the Glebe.

00:04:28.860 --> 00:04:31.540
 Louise and I have lived in the Glebe at different times over the years.

00:04:32.100 --> 00:04:37.920
 So is it, in fact, the case that the Bible encourages us to be busybodies?

00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:40.420
 Some of you who might remember what I just read a few moments ago

00:04:40.420 --> 00:04:43.080
 when it talks about rebuking might say,

00:04:43.500 --> 00:04:48.800
 Aha, that is why Christians are such intrusive, busybodies.

00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:53.220
 Jesus tells them to be intrusive, busybodies.

00:04:53.340 --> 00:04:54.060
 Well, is that the case?

00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:57.280
 Well, let's have a look and see what it is that Jesus actually tells us

00:04:57.280 --> 00:04:59.800
 and what he tells us to do and what he doesn't tell us to do.

00:05:00.080 --> 00:05:03.220
 So if you have your Bibles, please turn to Luke chapter 17.

00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:05.060
 Luke 17.

00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:08.259
 And we'll begin reading at the first verse.

00:05:08.740 --> 00:05:10.360
 We're going to look at all 19 verses,

00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:13.480
 obviously some parts of it a little bit in more depth than others.

00:05:13.939 --> 00:05:16.279
 And as you're turning to Luke chapter 17,

00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:19.579
 what we do at this church is we preach through books of the Bible.

00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:22.199
 So if you're wondering what we're going to talk about next week,

00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:24.519
 you can just read verses 20 to the end of the chapter

00:05:24.519 --> 00:05:26.019
 and we just go through the Bible.

00:05:26.920 --> 00:05:31.319
 And so the Gospel of Luke was written before the year 70,

00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:33.000
 probably in the mid-60s.

00:05:33.399 --> 00:05:37.439
 And it was written by a pagan who had become a follower of Jesus.

00:05:38.259 --> 00:05:41.060
 And this pagan who had become a follower of Jesus

00:05:41.060 --> 00:05:43.680
 was a very well-educated man.

00:05:44.060 --> 00:05:49.099
 And he did piles and piles of research with eyewitnesses.

00:05:49.379 --> 00:05:54.639
 And he compiled this true history, this true biography of Jesus.

00:05:55.420 --> 00:05:57.680
 And, you know, it doesn't look like we're reading something

00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:00.539
 that was written, let's say, in the year 67 or 68,

00:06:01.060 --> 00:06:03.680
 because it's, you know, in my case it all looks fancy.

00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:06.300
 But that's actually what we're reading when we're reading this.

00:06:06.900 --> 00:06:10.759
 And so Luke claims that he has done the research

00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:14.120
 and this is something that Jesus actually said and actually did.

00:06:14.459 --> 00:06:15.920
 It's how we know about Jesus.

00:06:16.600 --> 00:06:18.840
 So what is it that Jesus said about being a busybody?

00:06:18.939 --> 00:06:22.199
 Was he encouraging us to be busybodies?

00:06:22.620 --> 00:06:24.079
 Luke 17, verse 1.

00:06:24.819 --> 00:06:25.960
 And he said to his disciples,

00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:29.680
 so Jesus is speaking to his followers at this particular case,

00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:34.079
 temptation to sin, temptations to sin are sure to come.

00:06:34.500 --> 00:06:35.939
 Just sort of pause here for a second.

00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:37.860
 This should be very, very humbling.

00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:40.560
 It's very, very definite in the English,

00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:42.920
 but in the original language it's even more definite.

00:06:43.500 --> 00:06:46.379
 That if anybody thinks that as a follower of Jesus

00:06:46.379 --> 00:06:50.720
 a time will come when they neither sin nor are even tempted to sin,

00:06:51.379 --> 00:06:52.780
 they're not listening to Jesus.

00:06:52.779 --> 00:06:57.099
 Until we die or until Jesus comes and we see him face to face,

00:06:57.279 --> 00:07:01.419
 every follower of Jesus, like every other person on the planet,

00:07:02.219 --> 00:07:04.939
 will regularly have to struggle with temptations.

00:07:05.779 --> 00:07:10.579
 I tell some guys who are my age, you know,

00:07:10.659 --> 00:07:13.979
 that there's certain things that they might not be as tempted to

00:07:13.979 --> 00:07:15.019
 as when they were 22,

00:07:15.479 --> 00:07:17.399
 and it's not necessarily because of godliness,

00:07:17.500 --> 00:07:18.559
 it's just because of age.

00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:23.459
 And that there's other things they're going to be tempted by,

00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:25.240
 often maybe that they're blind about.

00:07:26.180 --> 00:07:27.780
 So this is a very, on one level,

00:07:27.860 --> 00:07:29.500
 it's sort of a sobering passage,

00:07:29.500 --> 00:07:31.620
 and it's an interesting thing as we're going to start looking

00:07:31.620 --> 00:07:33.579
 about what Jesus says about being busybodies.

00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:36.300
 He begins by just telling us,

00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:39.980
 if you think you will ever have a time in your life

00:07:39.980 --> 00:07:43.019
 when you aren't tempted and aren't struggling with things,

00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:45.319
 you don't understand your heart.

00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:48.139
 You don't understand your heart.

00:07:48.139 --> 00:07:50.199
 George, he's saying to me,

00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:52.479
 I don't understand my heart if I ever start to think that.

00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:54.240
 Let's read verse one again.

00:07:54.719 --> 00:07:56.079
 And Jesus said to his disciples,

00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:59.039
 temptations to sin are sure to come,

00:07:59.639 --> 00:08:01.939
 but woe to the one through whom they come.

00:08:02.919 --> 00:08:05.319
 It would be better for him or her

00:08:05.319 --> 00:08:08.339
 if a millstone were hung around their neck

00:08:08.339 --> 00:08:10.560
 and they were cast into the sea

00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:14.099
 than that they should cause one of these little ones to sin.

00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:17.259
 Sort of another sort of a very sobering thing.

00:08:17.259 --> 00:08:18.899
 It would be better to have a gruesome,

00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:21.719
 a gruesome, horrific death

00:08:21.719 --> 00:08:25.120
 than be the one who leads other people into sin.

00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:28.779
 Now, here comes to the part sort of more

00:08:28.779 --> 00:08:30.339
 that we're going to spend more time on.

00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:31.639
 Pay attention, verse three.

00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:33.399
 Pay attention to yourselves.

00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:36.100
 If your brother sins, rebuke him.

00:08:36.539 --> 00:08:38.860
 And if he repents, forgive him.

00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:42.279
 And if he sins against you seven times in the day,

00:08:42.779 --> 00:08:45.579
 in other words, if he sins against you time and time and time again

00:08:45.579 --> 00:08:46.939
 during that same day,

00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:50.120
 and every time after he's done the same thing

00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:51.419
 or she's done the same thing,

00:08:51.779 --> 00:08:52.919
 they turn to you and say,

00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:53.659
 I repent,

00:08:53.659 --> 00:08:55.159
 Jesus says,

00:08:55.799 --> 00:08:58.120
 you must forgive that person.

00:08:59.439 --> 00:08:59.699
 So,

00:09:00.500 --> 00:09:04.919
 it's sort of a very, very stark type of text.

00:09:05.699 --> 00:09:07.419
 And what I'm going to do is,

00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:09.179
 Andrew, if you could put the first point up

00:09:09.179 --> 00:09:11.819
 and then we'll sort of look into the text

00:09:11.819 --> 00:09:13.360
 and see what's going on here.

00:09:14.100 --> 00:09:16.100
 What I decided to do today

00:09:16.100 --> 00:09:17.620
 in terms of summaries

00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:21.899
 is to write four short prayers for you.

00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:23.460
 I mean, I think,

00:09:23.860 --> 00:09:24.879
 generally speaking,

00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:27.000
 one of the things I can help people with most

00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:28.860
 is just help them to learn how to pray.

00:09:30.220 --> 00:09:33.299
 And one of the most important things we can do

00:09:33.299 --> 00:09:34.500
 is to learn from Jesus,

00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:36.360
 learn from the word,

00:09:36.360 --> 00:09:37.980
 what it is that we are to pray for.

00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:40.019
 And so I'm trying to,

00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:42.440
 each of these parts as we go through Luke 17,

00:09:42.659 --> 00:09:44.120
 I've written a short prayer

00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:45.700
 that tries to capture the point

00:09:45.700 --> 00:09:47.220
 and turns it into something

00:09:47.220 --> 00:09:48.400
 that we can both understand

00:09:48.400 --> 00:09:50.500
 and also that we can pray for ourselves.

00:09:51.379 --> 00:09:51.800
 And so,

00:09:51.940 --> 00:09:53.060
 here's the first thing,

00:09:53.340 --> 00:09:54.780
 and I'll unpack it,

00:09:54.840 --> 00:09:56.000
 why it's a worthwhile thing

00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:57.020
 for many of us to pray.

00:09:58.560 --> 00:09:59.340
 Dear God,

00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:00.740
 please grow in me

00:10:00.740 --> 00:10:03.480
 a deep and humble trust in you

00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:05.560
 and free me up

00:10:05.560 --> 00:10:07.879
 to speak to the wrongdoer

00:10:07.879 --> 00:10:10.320
 of the wrong they did to me

00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:11.680
 and to forgive them.

00:10:12.620 --> 00:10:13.280
 And as you know,

00:10:13.379 --> 00:10:14.660
 I try as often as possible

00:10:14.660 --> 00:10:15.520
 to put points

00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:17.259
 so that it's me praying

00:10:17.259 --> 00:10:18.399
 so that if you write it down

00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:19.799
 to meditate upon it

00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:20.840
 and to maybe try to pray it,

00:10:21.139 --> 00:10:21.259
 it's,

00:10:21.659 --> 00:10:22.019
 it's,

00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:23.139
 you're saying me.

00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:24.279
 And,

00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:24.879
 and here's,

00:10:24.980 --> 00:10:26.039
 this is I think what Jesus

00:10:26.039 --> 00:10:27.620
 is trying to get at in this text.

00:10:28.340 --> 00:10:29.939
 He's wanting us to turn to God

00:10:29.939 --> 00:10:30.299
 and say,

00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:31.179
 please grow in me

00:10:31.179 --> 00:10:33.340
 a deep and humble trust in you

00:10:33.340 --> 00:10:35.439
 and free me up

00:10:35.439 --> 00:10:37.019
 to speak to the wrongdoer

00:10:37.019 --> 00:10:38.819
 of the wrong they did to me

00:10:38.819 --> 00:10:40.179
 and to forgive them.

00:10:40.939 --> 00:10:41.039
 Now,

00:10:41.100 --> 00:10:41.299
 you see,

00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:42.100
 the very first thing

00:10:42.100 --> 00:10:43.259
 about this text is it's,

00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:44.980
 if you look at the verses three and four,

00:10:44.980 --> 00:10:46.240
 it's not talking about us

00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:47.200
 being busy bodies

00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:49.100
 and it's not talking about us

00:10:49.100 --> 00:10:50.300
 being easily offended,

00:10:50.460 --> 00:10:50.639
 you know,

00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:50.899
 by,

00:10:51.740 --> 00:10:51.980
 you know,

00:10:52.019 --> 00:10:53.480
 if we have nine children,

00:10:53.639 --> 00:10:54.980
 we're not sinning against

00:10:54.980 --> 00:10:57.000
 that person in Loblaws

00:10:57.000 --> 00:10:58.800
 or the natural food store

00:10:58.800 --> 00:11:00.500
 or something like that.

00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:02.060
 We're not sinning against them,

00:11:02.120 --> 00:11:02.300
 right?

00:11:02.740 --> 00:11:02.940
 And,

00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:04.399
 and look at it in verse three and four.

00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:05.159
 Look at them together.

00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:06.259
 Pay attention to yourselves.

00:11:06.379 --> 00:11:07.100
 If your brother sins,

00:11:07.220 --> 00:11:07.700
 rebuke him.

00:11:07.800 --> 00:11:07.920
 Now,

00:11:07.940 --> 00:11:09.500
 it sounds as if it can just be anything.

00:11:09.800 --> 00:11:10.860
 And if he repents,

00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:11.879
 forgive him.

00:11:11.879 --> 00:11:13.080
 But just the mere fact

00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:14.000
 that if he repents,

00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:14.700
 forgive him,

00:11:15.100 --> 00:11:17.120
 implies that they've sinned against you.

00:11:17.220 --> 00:11:18.340
 It's not just sin in general.

00:11:18.439 --> 00:11:19.960
 It's not that you're to go around

00:11:19.960 --> 00:11:21.399
 to the grocery stores

00:11:21.399 --> 00:11:22.659
 and the coffee shops

00:11:22.659 --> 00:11:24.620
 looking for people doing bad things

00:11:24.620 --> 00:11:25.860
 and then attacking them

00:11:25.860 --> 00:11:26.340
 and telling them

00:11:26.340 --> 00:11:27.439
 they're doing something bad

00:11:27.439 --> 00:11:28.639
 because you don't,

00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:29.939
 you don't forgive them

00:11:29.939 --> 00:11:30.919
 if they've done something bad

00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:31.799
 against another person.

00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:32.620
 You forgive them

00:11:32.620 --> 00:11:33.620
 if they've done something wrong

00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:34.299
 against you.

00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:35.980
 And Jesus makes it clear

00:11:35.980 --> 00:11:36.740
 in verse four.

00:11:36.740 --> 00:11:38.840
 And if he sins against you

00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:40.419
 seven times in the day

00:11:40.419 --> 00:11:41.799
 and turns to you seven times

00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:42.000
 saying,

00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:42.480
 I repent,

00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:43.700
 you must forgive him.

00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:45.320
 So the first thing is

00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:45.960
 that this text

00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:46.360
 is very,

00:11:46.460 --> 00:11:47.620
 very clearly saying,

00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:48.539
 George,

00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:49.860
 don't be a busy body.

00:11:49.980 --> 00:11:50.919
 Don't be intrusive

00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:51.779
 in people's lives.

00:11:51.899 --> 00:11:52.820
 Don't go around

00:11:52.820 --> 00:11:54.899
 like you're the morality police

00:11:54.899 --> 00:11:56.519
 and the spirituality police

00:11:56.519 --> 00:11:57.879
 jumping on people

00:11:57.879 --> 00:11:59.139
 when they fall short

00:11:59.139 --> 00:11:59.940
 of your standards.

00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:00.940
 That's not what Jesus

00:12:00.940 --> 00:12:01.639
 is telling us,

00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:02.940
 telling me to do at all.

00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:04.580
 He's telling me two things

00:12:04.580 --> 00:12:05.480
 and there is a very,

00:12:05.620 --> 00:12:07.240
 very wise teaching of Jesus.

00:12:08.020 --> 00:12:09.080
 And for some of us

00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:09.920
 here in this room,

00:12:10.379 --> 00:12:11.480
 especially some of us

00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:12.040
 who've been really

00:12:12.040 --> 00:12:13.300
 beaten down in life,

00:12:13.639 --> 00:12:14.660
 we need to hear

00:12:14.660 --> 00:12:16.860
 that Jesus is encouraging us

00:12:16.860 --> 00:12:18.460
 to have the strength

00:12:18.460 --> 00:12:19.440
 and the freedom

00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:20.580
 to come to him

00:12:20.580 --> 00:12:21.820
 to be built up

00:12:21.820 --> 00:12:22.639
 and have the strength

00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:23.180
 and the freedom

00:12:23.180 --> 00:12:24.420
 to rebuke somebody

00:12:24.420 --> 00:12:25.120
 who's wronged us

00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:25.960
 because some of us

00:12:25.960 --> 00:12:26.960
 have a deep trouble,

00:12:27.139 --> 00:12:28.680
 have a deep problem with that.

00:12:30.040 --> 00:12:31.660
 And for others of us here,

00:12:32.340 --> 00:12:33.220
 our deep problem

00:12:33.220 --> 00:12:34.440
 is that we're far too

00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:36.180
 quick to attack.

00:12:37.260 --> 00:12:38.940
 And Jesus is challenging

00:12:38.940 --> 00:12:40.420
 that as well,

00:12:41.380 --> 00:12:42.740
 as I'll show you.

00:12:43.260 --> 00:12:44.080
 He's challenging

00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:44.880
 that as well.

00:12:45.620 --> 00:12:47.320
 So the first thing is,

00:12:47.400 --> 00:12:47.860
 look at it again,

00:12:47.900 --> 00:12:48.880
 verses three and four.

00:12:49.760 --> 00:12:50.880
 Pay attention to yourselves.

00:12:51.020 --> 00:12:51.880
 If your brother sins,

00:12:52.040 --> 00:12:52.560
 rebuke him.

00:12:52.940 --> 00:12:53.820
 And if he repents,

00:12:53.940 --> 00:12:54.500
 forgive him.

00:12:54.920 --> 00:12:56.120
 And if he sins against you

00:12:56.120 --> 00:12:57.160
 seven times in the day

00:12:57.160 --> 00:12:57.820
 and turns to you

00:12:57.820 --> 00:12:58.560
 seven times saying,

00:12:58.640 --> 00:12:59.140
 I repent,

00:12:59.500 --> 00:13:00.660
 you must forgive him.

00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:02.340
 Here's the big thing

00:13:02.340 --> 00:13:04.220
 which makes it so different

00:13:04.220 --> 00:13:05.540
 than attacking a person

00:13:05.540 --> 00:13:07.460
 is that we rebuke

00:13:07.460 --> 00:13:08.700
 in the hope

00:13:08.700 --> 00:13:09.840
 of repentance.

00:13:11.379 --> 00:13:12.560
 We rebuke

00:13:12.560 --> 00:13:13.940
 in the hope

00:13:13.940 --> 00:13:15.000
 of repentance.

00:13:16.040 --> 00:13:16.440
 In fact,

00:13:16.700 --> 00:13:17.580
 you can really take it

00:13:17.580 --> 00:13:18.240
 from the text.

00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:20.040
 If you don't hope

00:13:20.040 --> 00:13:21.060
 for repentance,

00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:22.940
 don't rebuke.

00:13:25.040 --> 00:13:26.279
 If you don't hope

00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:27.160
 that the person

00:13:27.160 --> 00:13:27.639
 will repent,

00:13:27.800 --> 00:13:29.480
 you might worry

00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:30.340
 that they won't.

00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:31.060
 You might be pretty

00:13:31.059 --> 00:13:32.219
 convinced inside of you

00:13:32.219 --> 00:13:33.399
 that they're not going to.

00:13:34.079 --> 00:13:35.059
 That's one thing.

00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:36.879
 But you need to try

00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:38.219
 to frame the rebuke

00:13:38.219 --> 00:13:39.019
 and everything

00:13:39.019 --> 00:13:40.079
 about the encounter

00:13:40.079 --> 00:13:40.919
 in the hope

00:13:40.919 --> 00:13:41.799
 and in the prayer

00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:43.500
 that after the person

00:13:43.500 --> 00:13:44.379
 has been rebuked,

00:13:44.819 --> 00:13:45.959
 they will want to repent.

00:13:46.959 --> 00:13:48.239
 And if you don't have

00:13:48.239 --> 00:13:49.039
 that hope,

00:13:49.399 --> 00:13:50.759
 then all you're doing

00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:51.679
 is attacking.

00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:53.719
 And the Bible

00:13:53.719 --> 00:13:54.459
 is not giving us

00:13:54.459 --> 00:13:55.059
 any encouragement

00:13:55.559 --> 00:13:56.939
 for a moral

00:13:56.939 --> 00:13:57.879
 and spiritual

00:13:57.879 --> 00:13:58.879
 and theological

00:13:58.879 --> 00:13:59.580
 attack

00:13:59.580 --> 00:14:01.120
 against another person.

00:14:01.820 --> 00:14:02.740
 And the other thing

00:14:02.740 --> 00:14:03.240
 that we see

00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:04.080
 in this text

00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:05.700
 is that the Bible

00:14:05.700 --> 00:14:07.500
 is unbelievably wise

00:14:07.500 --> 00:14:08.960
 because not only

00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:09.960
 is it telling me

00:14:09.960 --> 00:14:11.639
 that I am to rebuke

00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:12.519
 in the hope

00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:13.259
 of repentance,

00:14:14.059 --> 00:14:15.059
 the text is also

00:14:15.059 --> 00:14:15.639
 telling me

00:14:15.639 --> 00:14:16.720
 to be culturally

00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:17.580
 sensitive

00:14:17.580 --> 00:14:18.639
 and wise.

00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:19.559
 You say,

00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:19.899
 George,

00:14:20.059 --> 00:14:20.860
 how on earth

00:14:20.860 --> 00:14:21.639
 is this text

00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:22.299
 telling me

00:14:22.299 --> 00:14:23.039
 to be culturally

00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:24.220
 sensitive and wise?

00:14:25.379 --> 00:14:26.200
 I've only been

00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:27.740
 to Israel once,

00:14:28.580 --> 00:14:29.080
 I was able,

00:14:29.220 --> 00:14:29.840
 I was blessed,

00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:30.379
 I was able to go

00:14:30.379 --> 00:14:31.700
 to Jerusalem in 2008

00:14:31.700 --> 00:14:32.879
 and on the,

00:14:33.439 --> 00:14:34.360
 and it was in the airport

00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:35.399
 which is in Tel Aviv

00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:36.220
 and I'm going to Jerusalem

00:14:36.220 --> 00:14:37.360
 which is where my hotel is

00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:37.879
 and there's a group

00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:38.700
 of us all together

00:14:38.700 --> 00:14:40.299
 and we arrange

00:14:40.299 --> 00:14:41.279
 a bus

00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:42.580
 that's going to take us

00:14:42.580 --> 00:14:43.860
 from the airport

00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:44.460
 in Tel Aviv

00:14:44.460 --> 00:14:45.139
 into Jerusalem

00:14:45.139 --> 00:14:46.500
 and on the bus

00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:47.700
 are two men

00:14:47.700 --> 00:14:50.299
 and let me tell you,

00:14:50.820 --> 00:14:51.659
 from my

00:14:51.659 --> 00:14:52.879
 white,

00:14:53.059 --> 00:14:54.240
 Anglo-Saxon,

00:14:54.379 --> 00:14:54.840
 Protestant,

00:14:55.059 --> 00:14:56.500
 Canadian perspective,

00:14:56.500 --> 00:14:58.360
 they yelled

00:14:58.360 --> 00:14:59.100
 and screamed

00:14:59.100 --> 00:14:59.799
 at each other

00:14:59.799 --> 00:15:01.240
 for the entire ride.

00:15:02.139 --> 00:15:02.379
 I mean,

00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:03.159
 their voices

00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:04.259
 were raised,

00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:05.960
 they were doing

00:15:05.960 --> 00:15:07.279
 this at each other,

00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:09.059
 they were unbelievably

00:15:09.059 --> 00:15:09.700
 energetic

00:15:09.700 --> 00:15:11.080
 and if you came

00:15:11.080 --> 00:15:11.700
 into my house

00:15:11.700 --> 00:15:12.399
 and my wife

00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:13.419
 and myself

00:15:13.419 --> 00:15:14.059
 were talking

00:15:14.059 --> 00:15:14.559
 to each other

00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:14.940
 like that,

00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:15.460
 you would think

00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:16.080
 we desperately

00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:17.000
 needed marriage

00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:17.559
 counseling.

00:15:20.059 --> 00:15:21.500
 But Israeli Jews

00:15:21.500 --> 00:15:22.139
 don't talk

00:15:22.139 --> 00:15:22.720
 to each other

00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:23.059
 the way

00:15:23.059 --> 00:15:23.340
 white,

00:15:23.379 --> 00:15:24.139
 Anglo-Saxon,

00:15:24.259 --> 00:15:24.559
 Protestant,

00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:25.119
 Canadians

00:15:25.119 --> 00:15:26.139
 talk to each other.

00:15:27.359 --> 00:15:28.259
 So here's the thing

00:15:28.259 --> 00:15:29.139
 which is so wise

00:15:29.139 --> 00:15:29.919
 about the Bible.

00:15:31.079 --> 00:15:32.500
 The Bible says

00:15:32.500 --> 00:15:33.659
 I am to rebuke

00:15:33.659 --> 00:15:34.219
 in the hope

00:15:34.219 --> 00:15:34.839
 of repentance

00:15:34.839 --> 00:15:36.799
 and then it's silent

00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:38.379
 because it creates

00:15:38.379 --> 00:15:39.039
 space

00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:40.759
 for cultural,

00:15:41.179 --> 00:15:41.639
 ethnic,

00:15:42.059 --> 00:15:43.659
 racial differences

00:15:43.659 --> 00:15:45.319
 in how you do that.

00:15:47.199 --> 00:15:48.099
 Isn't the Bible

00:15:48.099 --> 00:15:48.919
 really wise?

00:15:49.659 --> 00:15:50.419
 Like Paul could have,

00:15:50.679 --> 00:15:51.519
 Jesus could have said

00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:52.079
 more things,

00:15:52.199 --> 00:15:53.219
 Jesus was in a Jewish

00:15:53.220 --> 00:15:53.639
 culture,

00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:54.240
 he could have said

00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:54.759
 a whole pile

00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:55.440
 of other things

00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:57.379
 about how to do this

00:15:57.379 --> 00:15:58.519
 but he doesn't

00:15:58.519 --> 00:16:00.320
 and the implication

00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:02.340
 is that we have

00:16:02.340 --> 00:16:02.840
 to learn,

00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:04.240
 this is a radical

00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:05.040
 thing for a lot

00:16:05.040 --> 00:16:05.660
 of conservative

00:16:05.660 --> 00:16:06.340
 Christians,

00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:08.620
 we have to be

00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:09.779
 culturally sensitive

00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:10.540
 and wise.

00:16:11.500 --> 00:16:12.399
 Jesus is telling

00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:13.139
 us to do that.

00:16:14.779 --> 00:16:14.920
 I mean,

00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:15.440
 in a sense

00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:15.840
 it would mean

00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:16.340
 that if I was

00:16:16.340 --> 00:16:17.080
 to go to Israel

00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:17.860
 as a missionary,

00:16:18.220 --> 00:16:19.040
 I would have to

00:16:19.040 --> 00:16:19.960
 learn how to

00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:20.500
 rebuke

00:16:20.500 --> 00:16:22.200
 appropriate

00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:23.639
 in Israel.

00:16:23.800 --> 00:16:24.200
 If I was

00:16:24.200 --> 00:16:24.800
 to go to Kenya,

00:16:24.900 --> 00:16:25.160
 if I was

00:16:25.160 --> 00:16:25.820
 to go to China,

00:16:26.200 --> 00:16:26.940
 I would have

00:16:26.940 --> 00:16:27.560
 to learn

00:16:27.560 --> 00:16:28.879
 and in a sense

00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:29.680
 if a missionary

00:16:29.680 --> 00:16:30.540
 came from

00:16:30.540 --> 00:16:31.600
 another place

00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:31.820
 to here,

00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:32.220
 they would have

00:16:32.220 --> 00:16:32.960
 to learn that

00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:34.660
 and we can't

00:16:34.660 --> 00:16:35.500
 just baptize

00:16:35.500 --> 00:16:36.440
 our own culture

00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:37.040
 in terms of

00:16:37.040 --> 00:16:37.540
 how to do it

00:16:37.540 --> 00:16:38.000
 because there's

00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:38.500
 different ways.

00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:38.940
 I mean,

00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:39.440
 I'll just give you

00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:40.500
 two pieces of advice.

00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:41.620
 I'm very bad

00:16:41.620 --> 00:16:42.220
 at rebuking,

00:16:42.280 --> 00:16:42.580
 by the way,

00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:43.060
 it's one of my

00:16:43.060 --> 00:16:43.460
 weaknesses,

00:16:43.700 --> 00:16:44.139
 but I'll give you

00:16:44.139 --> 00:16:44.740
 just two little

00:16:44.740 --> 00:16:45.440
 pieces of advice

00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:46.500
 that I try to practice

00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:47.919
 and the two pieces

00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:48.559
 of advice is

00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:49.460
 always clarify

00:16:49.460 --> 00:16:50.679
 before you rebuke

00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:53.320
 because otherwise

00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:53.919
 a lot of times

00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:54.460
 you're rebuking

00:16:54.460 --> 00:16:54.940
 for something

00:16:54.940 --> 00:16:55.679
 that didn't happen

00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:56.440
 that somebody else

00:16:56.440 --> 00:16:56.919
 did that you

00:16:56.919 --> 00:16:57.399
 misunderstood

00:16:57.399 --> 00:16:58.500
 and really

00:16:58.500 --> 00:16:59.259
 in an embarrassing

00:16:59.259 --> 00:16:59.720
 way,

00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:00.940
 you tell a person

00:17:00.940 --> 00:17:01.539
 off for doing

00:17:01.539 --> 00:17:02.200
 something and then

00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:03.039
 they remind you

00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:03.740
 that you told

00:17:03.740 --> 00:17:04.660
 them six months

00:17:04.660 --> 00:17:05.640
 earlier to do

00:17:05.640 --> 00:17:07.500
 that and then

00:17:07.500 --> 00:17:08.059
 you got mad

00:17:08.059 --> 00:17:08.539
 at them,

00:17:08.660 --> 00:17:08.859
 right?

00:17:08.940 --> 00:17:09.640
 That's really

00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:10.180
 embarrassing,

00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:10.960
 so clarify.

00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:12.000
 And the second

00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:12.339
 thing,

00:17:12.500 --> 00:17:13.359
 just from cultural

00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:14.559
 perspective of Canada

00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:16.359
 is always go

00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:17.319
 after the action

00:17:17.319 --> 00:17:18.399
 or the behavior,

00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:19.240
 not the person.

00:17:20.819 --> 00:17:21.419
 Don't go

00:17:21.419 --> 00:17:22.259
 after intent.

00:17:22.419 --> 00:17:23.139
 Intent is hard

00:17:23.139 --> 00:17:23.980
 to understand.

00:17:24.619 --> 00:17:25.240
 Don't accuse

00:17:25.240 --> 00:17:25.779
 of intent

00:17:25.779 --> 00:17:26.519
 as often as

00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:26.960
 possible,

00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:27.539
 but go after

00:17:27.539 --> 00:17:28.179
 the behavior

00:17:28.179 --> 00:17:30.119
 and not go

00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:30.819
 after the intent

00:17:30.819 --> 00:17:31.579
 or the person.

00:17:31.859 --> 00:17:32.220
 And from a

00:17:32.220 --> 00:17:33.139
 Canadian cultural

00:17:33.139 --> 00:17:33.819
 perspective,

00:17:34.359 --> 00:17:34.899
 that's how

00:17:34.899 --> 00:17:35.799
 rebukes are more

00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:36.500
 likely to be

00:17:36.500 --> 00:17:38.099
 effective if the

00:17:38.099 --> 00:17:39.419
 goal is

00:17:39.419 --> 00:17:40.059
 repentance.

00:17:41.539 --> 00:17:41.879
 If you don't

00:17:41.879 --> 00:17:42.259
 care about

00:17:42.259 --> 00:17:43.579
 repentance,

00:17:43.779 --> 00:17:44.200
 tell them that

00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:44.799
 they're a mean,

00:17:45.120 --> 00:17:45.460
 evil,

00:17:45.860 --> 00:17:46.220
 stupid,

00:17:46.660 --> 00:17:47.740
 foolish person

00:17:47.740 --> 00:17:48.840
 and they only

00:17:48.840 --> 00:17:49.420
 mean,

00:17:49.840 --> 00:17:50.140
 stupid,

00:17:50.360 --> 00:17:50.680
 foolish,

00:17:51.059 --> 00:17:51.340
 ignorant,

00:17:51.539 --> 00:17:52.259
 evil things.

00:17:53.340 --> 00:17:54.160
 And that sure

00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:54.960
 leads lots of

00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:55.819
 people to repent,

00:17:55.940 --> 00:17:56.539
 let me tell you.

00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:57.319
 It really works

00:17:57.319 --> 00:17:58.559
 every time.

00:17:59.220 --> 00:17:59.460
 You know,

00:17:59.500 --> 00:18:00.120
 it just creates

00:18:00.120 --> 00:18:00.740
 a fight,

00:18:01.100 --> 00:18:01.400
 right?

00:18:02.200 --> 00:18:02.940
 Or flight,

00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:04.340
 avoidance.

00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:07.880
 And so that's,

00:18:08.200 --> 00:18:08.440
 you know,

00:18:08.620 --> 00:18:09.080
 but you know,

00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:09.779
 you read some

00:18:09.779 --> 00:18:10.220
 things from the

00:18:10.220 --> 00:18:10.620
 Middle Ages

00:18:10.620 --> 00:18:11.279
 and Calvin

00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:11.759
 and the Roman

00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:12.160
 Catholics,

00:18:12.259 --> 00:18:12.640
 they called

00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:12.960
 each other

00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:13.500
 all sorts of

00:18:13.500 --> 00:18:13.720
 names.

00:18:13.720 --> 00:18:14.120
 It was a

00:18:14.120 --> 00:18:14.460
 culturally

00:18:14.460 --> 00:18:15.279
 different time.

00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:15.740
 See,

00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:15.980
 that's why

00:18:15.980 --> 00:18:16.420
 the Bible

00:18:16.420 --> 00:18:16.839
 is so wise.

00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:17.160
 One of the

00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:17.860
 many reasons

00:18:17.860 --> 00:18:18.720
 why I believe

00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:19.079
 the Bible

00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:19.420
 is the word

00:18:19.420 --> 00:18:19.779
 of God

00:18:19.779 --> 00:18:20.420
 is because

00:18:20.420 --> 00:18:20.860
 of what's

00:18:20.860 --> 00:18:21.640
 not in it.

00:18:24.059 --> 00:18:24.579
 And here

00:18:24.579 --> 00:18:24.960
 the Bible

00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:25.660
 is very wise.

00:18:25.819 --> 00:18:26.100
 It gives

00:18:26.100 --> 00:18:26.440
 very,

00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:27.019
 very wise

00:18:27.019 --> 00:18:27.420
 advice,

00:18:27.600 --> 00:18:28.400
 rebuke

00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:29.240
 in the hope

00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:29.860
 of repentance

00:18:29.860 --> 00:18:30.819
 and that

00:18:30.819 --> 00:18:31.600
 leaves us

00:18:31.600 --> 00:18:32.640
 to figure out

00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:33.200
 culturally

00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:33.880
 how we do

00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:34.600
 that for

00:18:34.600 --> 00:18:35.160
 our culture,

00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:35.839
 our time,

00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:36.559
 in our

00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:37.120
 context.

00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:38.440
 And see,

00:18:38.500 --> 00:18:38.900
 that's why

00:18:38.900 --> 00:18:39.960
 I put the

00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:40.480
 point this

00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:40.839
 week is,

00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:41.259
 dear God,

00:18:41.259 --> 00:18:41.879
 please grow

00:18:41.879 --> 00:18:42.460
 in me

00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:43.420
 a deep

00:18:43.420 --> 00:18:43.879
 and humble

00:18:43.879 --> 00:18:44.599
 trust in

00:18:44.599 --> 00:18:45.519
 you and

00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:46.339
 free me

00:18:46.339 --> 00:18:46.740
 up.

00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:47.559
 That's for

00:18:47.559 --> 00:18:47.960
 those of us

00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:48.279
 who have a

00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:48.700
 hard time

00:18:48.700 --> 00:18:49.099
 doing it.

00:18:49.220 --> 00:18:49.920
 Free me up

00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:50.579
 to speak to

00:18:50.579 --> 00:18:51.379
 the wrongdoer

00:18:51.379 --> 00:18:52.259
 of the wrong

00:18:52.259 --> 00:18:53.200
 they did

00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:53.819
 to me

00:18:53.819 --> 00:18:54.859
 and to

00:18:54.859 --> 00:18:55.440
 forgive them.

00:18:56.180 --> 00:18:56.539
 I'm not going

00:18:56.539 --> 00:18:56.980
 to say much

00:18:56.980 --> 00:18:57.640
 about forgiveness

00:18:57.640 --> 00:18:58.299
 right now

00:18:58.299 --> 00:18:59.319
 other than to

00:18:59.319 --> 00:18:59.879
 tell you,

00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:00.420
 I'm going to say

00:19:00.420 --> 00:19:00.779
 two things.

00:19:00.819 --> 00:19:01.240
 The first thing

00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:01.759
 is this week

00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:02.519
 in my blog,

00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:03.140
 it's in your

00:19:03.140 --> 00:19:03.579
 bulletins.

00:19:03.660 --> 00:19:04.019
 I've written,

00:19:04.359 --> 00:19:04.519
 I think,

00:19:04.599 --> 00:19:05.619
 14 theses

00:19:05.619 --> 00:19:06.480
 around forgiveness.

00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:08.120
 Hopefully that

00:19:08.120 --> 00:19:08.519
 will help

00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:09.140
 some of you

00:19:09.140 --> 00:19:10.039
 to understand

00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:10.440
 a little bit

00:19:10.440 --> 00:19:11.019
 what forgiveness

00:19:11.019 --> 00:19:11.640
 is and what it

00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:11.900
 isn't.

00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:12.700
 I also preached

00:19:12.700 --> 00:19:13.120
 a couple of

00:19:13.120 --> 00:19:13.640
 sermons on it.

00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:14.059
 I think last

00:19:14.059 --> 00:19:14.700
 spring I preached

00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:15.240
 one on choose

00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:16.240
 forgiveness or

00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:16.700
 the spiritual

00:19:16.700 --> 00:19:17.299
 discipline of

00:19:17.299 --> 00:19:17.640
 forgiveness.

00:19:18.220 --> 00:19:18.460
 So I'm going

00:19:18.460 --> 00:19:18.799
 to say,

00:19:19.339 --> 00:19:20.380
 I just encourage

00:19:20.380 --> 00:19:20.759
 you to look

00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:21.000
 at that.

00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:21.440
 But here's

00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:21.700
 the other

00:19:21.700 --> 00:19:22.000
 thing,

00:19:22.299 --> 00:19:22.779
 that for a

00:19:22.779 --> 00:19:23.299
 follower of

00:19:23.299 --> 00:19:23.559
 Jesus,

00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:24.339
 this all has

00:19:24.339 --> 00:19:24.900
 a specific

00:19:24.900 --> 00:19:25.420
 type of

00:19:25.420 --> 00:19:25.779
 cast.

00:19:26.259 --> 00:19:26.920
 Because the

00:19:26.920 --> 00:19:27.279
 way the

00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:27.839
 gospel of

00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:28.140
 Luke is

00:19:28.140 --> 00:19:28.779
 written is

00:19:28.779 --> 00:19:29.319
 that in Luke

00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:30.200
 chapter 9,

00:19:30.660 --> 00:19:31.380
 Jesus tells

00:19:31.380 --> 00:19:32.000
 his disciples,

00:19:32.220 --> 00:19:32.680
 I'm going to

00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:33.140
 Jerusalem,

00:19:33.500 --> 00:19:33.860
 I'm going to

00:19:33.860 --> 00:19:34.339
 be betrayed,

00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:34.880
 I'm going to

00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:35.140
 die,

00:19:35.220 --> 00:19:35.500
 I'm going to

00:19:35.500 --> 00:19:36.040
 rise again.

00:19:36.520 --> 00:19:37.160
 And everything

00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:37.840
 now from the

00:19:37.840 --> 00:19:38.780
 book of Luke,

00:19:39.020 --> 00:19:40.240
 from 9 on to

00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:40.500
 9,

00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:41.500
 when he gets

00:19:41.500 --> 00:19:41.980
 crucified,

00:19:42.180 --> 00:19:42.780
 it's all about

00:19:42.780 --> 00:19:43.540
 Jesus going to

00:19:43.540 --> 00:19:44.120
 Jerusalem to

00:19:44.120 --> 00:19:44.420
 die.

00:19:45.080 --> 00:19:45.420
 And you see,

00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:45.860
 here's the

00:19:45.860 --> 00:19:46.040
 thing,

00:19:46.420 --> 00:19:47.140
 I try to

00:19:47.140 --> 00:19:47.660
 describe that

00:19:47.660 --> 00:19:48.140
 our mission

00:19:48.140 --> 00:19:49.280
 is to make

00:19:49.280 --> 00:19:50.140
 disciples of

00:19:50.140 --> 00:19:50.800
 Jesus gripped

00:19:50.800 --> 00:19:51.500
 by the gospel

00:19:51.500 --> 00:19:52.040
 who live for

00:19:52.040 --> 00:19:52.500
 his glory.

00:19:53.120 --> 00:19:53.560
 And what

00:19:53.560 --> 00:19:54.160
 happens in

00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:54.740
 the cross?

00:19:55.780 --> 00:19:56.020
 You see,

00:19:56.120 --> 00:19:56.720
 for Jesus,

00:19:57.320 --> 00:19:58.100
 it's not as if

00:19:58.100 --> 00:19:58.740
 he says this

00:19:58.740 --> 00:19:59.740
 morality thing

00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:00.260
 and this

00:20:00.260 --> 00:20:01.360
 wisdom type of

00:20:01.360 --> 00:20:01.840
 thing and is

00:20:01.840 --> 00:20:02.440
 completely and

00:20:02.440 --> 00:20:03.100
 utterly divorced

00:20:03.100 --> 00:20:03.740
 from him going

00:20:03.740 --> 00:20:04.360
 to the cross.

00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:06.079
 what happens

00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:06.699
 in the cross?

00:20:06.779 --> 00:20:07.679
 In the cross,

00:20:08.439 --> 00:20:10.579
 God reveals

00:20:10.579 --> 00:20:11.919
 and rebukes

00:20:11.919 --> 00:20:12.479
 sin.

00:20:14.779 --> 00:20:15.119
 In fact,

00:20:15.219 --> 00:20:15.559
 one of the

00:20:15.559 --> 00:20:15.859
 things that

00:20:15.859 --> 00:20:16.439
 happens as we

00:20:16.439 --> 00:20:16.779
 grow in the

00:20:16.779 --> 00:20:17.319
 Christian life

00:20:17.319 --> 00:20:17.719
 is that we

00:20:17.719 --> 00:20:18.279
 don't really

00:20:18.279 --> 00:20:19.259
 understand the

00:20:19.259 --> 00:20:19.819
 depth of our

00:20:19.819 --> 00:20:21.159
 sin until we

00:20:21.159 --> 00:20:21.919
 follow Jesus

00:20:21.919 --> 00:20:22.839
 and realize just

00:20:22.839 --> 00:20:23.959
 how, in a

00:20:23.959 --> 00:20:24.719
 sense, bad

00:20:24.719 --> 00:20:25.439
 and deadly

00:20:25.439 --> 00:20:26.759
 and pervasive

00:20:26.759 --> 00:20:28.019
 sin is that

00:20:28.019 --> 00:20:28.879
 Jesus had to

00:20:28.879 --> 00:20:29.099
 die.

00:20:29.199 --> 00:20:29.679
 He had to

00:20:29.679 --> 00:20:30.379
 leave heaven to

00:20:30.379 --> 00:20:30.959
 die upon the

00:20:30.959 --> 00:20:31.819
 cross for us.

00:20:31.819 --> 00:20:34.779
 It's a direct

00:20:34.779 --> 00:20:35.839
 confrontation,

00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:37.079
 revealing and

00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:37.740
 rebuking of

00:20:37.740 --> 00:20:38.839
 sin and it's

00:20:38.839 --> 00:20:40.019
 also a profound

00:20:40.019 --> 00:20:40.740
 act of

00:20:40.740 --> 00:20:41.220
 forgiveness.

00:20:43.539 --> 00:20:44.399
 And that's what

00:20:44.399 --> 00:20:45.099
 happens in the

00:20:45.099 --> 00:20:45.579
 cross.

00:20:46.700 --> 00:20:47.939
 Jesus is going

00:20:47.939 --> 00:20:48.980
 to Jerusalem to

00:20:48.980 --> 00:20:49.339
 die.

00:20:49.460 --> 00:20:50.119
 He's going to

00:20:50.119 --> 00:20:50.759
 Jerusalem to die

00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:51.619
 not for himself

00:20:51.619 --> 00:20:52.339
 but for you and

00:20:52.339 --> 00:20:52.939
 me and for all

00:20:52.939 --> 00:20:53.500
 the people who

00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:53.980
 are listening.

00:20:55.059 --> 00:20:55.859
 And on the

00:20:55.859 --> 00:20:56.960
 cross, he will

00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:57.879
 deal with sin.

00:20:58.039 --> 00:20:58.939
 He reveals that

00:20:58.939 --> 00:20:59.639
 sin exists.

00:20:59.640 --> 00:21:00.520
 He deals with

00:21:00.520 --> 00:21:01.340
 it and it's a

00:21:01.340 --> 00:21:02.320
 profound act of

00:21:02.320 --> 00:21:02.720
 forgiveness.

00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:04.360
 And so it is

00:21:04.360 --> 00:21:05.180
 that as we're

00:21:05.180 --> 00:21:06.040
 gripped with what

00:21:06.040 --> 00:21:06.880
 Jesus did for us

00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:07.500
 on the cross,

00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:08.780
 there's the

00:21:08.780 --> 00:21:09.720
 possibility for us

00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:10.440
 to start to be

00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:12.000
 freed up and to

00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:14.140
 understand that

00:21:14.140 --> 00:21:15.920
 there is a

00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:16.540
 time in our

00:21:16.540 --> 00:21:17.100
 lives where we

00:21:17.100 --> 00:21:17.940
 have to confront

00:21:17.940 --> 00:21:18.660
 the wrong that

00:21:18.660 --> 00:21:19.580
 was done to us.

00:21:21.100 --> 00:21:22.180
 But mindful of

00:21:22.180 --> 00:21:23.940
 the cross, we

00:21:23.940 --> 00:21:24.840
 are to confront

00:21:24.840 --> 00:21:25.920
 in such a way

00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:27.700
 that there is a

00:21:27.700 --> 00:21:28.040
 hope of

00:21:28.040 --> 00:21:28.759
 forgiveness, that

00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:29.559
 they will repent

00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:30.660
 and that we

00:21:30.660 --> 00:21:31.160
 will forgive

00:21:31.160 --> 00:21:31.440
 them.

00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:33.619
 And as I say

00:21:33.619 --> 00:21:33.960
 in the little

00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:34.759
 thesis, sometimes

00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:35.539
 we need to pray

00:21:35.539 --> 00:21:36.539
 for decades to

00:21:36.539 --> 00:21:37.339
 forgive a person,

00:21:37.859 --> 00:21:38.819
 but the journey

00:21:38.819 --> 00:21:39.519
 and the road to

00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:40.759
 forgive is always

00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:41.339
 worth it.

00:21:43.619 --> 00:21:44.440
 And that's why

00:21:44.440 --> 00:21:45.700
 the prayer that

00:21:45.700 --> 00:21:46.379
 Jesus, I think,

00:21:46.420 --> 00:21:47.099
 is calling us to

00:21:47.099 --> 00:21:47.680
 pray is, dear

00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:48.599
 God, please grow

00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:49.700
 in me a deep and

00:21:49.700 --> 00:21:50.839
 humble trust in

00:21:50.839 --> 00:21:52.599
 you and free me

00:21:52.599 --> 00:21:54.119
 up to speak to

00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:55.019
 the wrongdoer of

00:21:55.019 --> 00:21:55.879
 the wrong they did

00:21:55.879 --> 00:21:57.140
 to me and to

00:21:57.140 --> 00:21:57.700
 forgive him.

00:21:57.700 --> 00:21:59.940
 But some of

00:21:59.940 --> 00:22:00.480
 you might say,

00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:03.340
 George, well,

00:22:03.360 --> 00:22:04.000
 that sounds sort

00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:04.640
 of interesting,

00:22:04.840 --> 00:22:05.860
 but I think, I

00:22:05.860 --> 00:22:06.400
 don't know if

00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:07.240
 you're really quite

00:22:07.240 --> 00:22:08.019
 understanding the

00:22:08.019 --> 00:22:08.740
 words of Jesus.

00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:09.940
 I mean, you know,

00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:10.500
 one of the things,

00:22:10.660 --> 00:22:11.340
 George, I think about

00:22:11.340 --> 00:22:11.980
 religious and

00:22:11.980 --> 00:22:12.940
 spiritual people is

00:22:12.940 --> 00:22:13.480
 that it's really

00:22:13.480 --> 00:22:14.539
 ultimately all about

00:22:14.539 --> 00:22:15.039
 power.

00:22:15.720 --> 00:22:16.840
 And, you know,

00:22:16.900 --> 00:22:17.400
 even if they

00:22:17.400 --> 00:22:18.200
 forgive a person,

00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:18.940
 it's really a way

00:22:18.940 --> 00:22:19.380
 of trying to get

00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:20.380
 power over them.

00:22:21.019 --> 00:22:21.779
 Them being busy

00:22:21.779 --> 00:22:22.720
 bodies is all about

00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:23.140
 power.

00:22:23.360 --> 00:22:23.840
 And, George,

00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:24.600
 wasn't there a thing

00:22:24.600 --> 00:22:25.500
 that comes immediately

00:22:25.500 --> 00:22:26.359
 after that that

00:22:26.359 --> 00:22:27.099
 talks about how

00:22:27.099 --> 00:22:27.839
 if you have faith,

00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:29.240
 you can move, you

00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:30.200
 know, sycamine trees

00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:31.160
 and mulberry trees.

00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:32.359
 And isn't that all

00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:33.240
 about Jesus just

00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:33.900
 telling us to have

00:22:33.900 --> 00:22:34.319
 power?

00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:35.000
 Like, aren't you

00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:36.039
 sort of misunderstanding

00:22:36.039 --> 00:22:36.880
 and misreading the

00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:37.180
 text?

00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:38.519
 Don't you really think

00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:39.720
 that Christians are

00:22:39.720 --> 00:22:41.099
 still just one form of

00:22:41.099 --> 00:22:41.759
 trying to get a type

00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:43.059
 of cultural power over

00:22:43.059 --> 00:22:43.859
 other people and that

00:22:43.859 --> 00:22:44.920
 Jesus is encouraging

00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:46.380
 this by talking about

00:22:46.380 --> 00:22:47.359
 having the faith to

00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:48.559
 move these objects?

00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:50.160
 Like, George, don't

00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:50.880
 you think that's what's

00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:51.359
 going on?

00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:52.519
 Well, let's look.

00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:53.940
 What is it that Jesus

00:22:53.940 --> 00:22:54.940
 says immediately after

00:22:54.940 --> 00:22:55.119
 that?

00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:56.000
 I don't think he

00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:57.059
 contradicts himself at

00:22:57.059 --> 00:22:57.200
 all.

00:22:57.259 --> 00:22:58.559
 In fact, I think what

00:22:58.559 --> 00:23:00.139
 happens is that the

00:23:00.139 --> 00:23:02.740
 natural human religion

00:23:02.740 --> 00:23:03.980
 and natural human

00:23:03.980 --> 00:23:05.440
 spirituality is about

00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:05.900
 power.

00:23:07.059 --> 00:23:08.319
 And because, and even

00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:11.480
 Christians, affected

00:23:11.480 --> 00:23:12.460
 just as much as

00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:13.379
 everybody else by

00:23:13.379 --> 00:23:14.420
 natural human religion

00:23:14.420 --> 00:23:15.240
 and natural human

00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:16.220
 spirituality, that when

00:23:16.220 --> 00:23:17.279
 we read the text, we

00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:19.259
 bring the natural, the

00:23:19.259 --> 00:23:21.059
 fleshly, to interpret

00:23:21.059 --> 00:23:21.960
 the words of Jesus

00:23:21.960 --> 00:23:22.799
 rather than letting

00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:23.660
 the words of Jesus

00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:26.059
 come to the heart of

00:23:26.059 --> 00:23:26.559
 who we are.

00:23:27.120 --> 00:23:28.319
 Look at verses five

00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:28.860
 and six.

00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:30.779
 The apostle said to

00:23:30.779 --> 00:23:32.480
 the Lord, increase our

00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:32.880
 faith.

00:23:33.120 --> 00:23:33.980
 Maybe after he told

00:23:33.980 --> 00:23:34.440
 them they had to

00:23:34.440 --> 00:23:35.200
 forgive, he said, I'm

00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:35.559
 going to need a lot

00:23:35.559 --> 00:23:37.180
 more faith if I can

00:23:37.180 --> 00:23:37.680
 forgive.

00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:39.019
 Let me tell you.

00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:41.059
 Increase our faith.

00:23:41.340 --> 00:23:42.380
 And the Lord said, if

00:23:42.380 --> 00:23:43.360
 you had faith like a

00:23:43.360 --> 00:23:44.460
 grain of mustard seed.

00:23:44.980 --> 00:23:46.079
 In Jewish times, it

00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:47.039
 was proverbial for

00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:48.240
 very, very, very tiny.

00:23:49.360 --> 00:23:50.700
 If you had faith like a

00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:51.700
 grain of mustard seed,

00:23:51.700 --> 00:23:52.440
 you could say to

00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:54.440
 this mulberry tree, it's

00:23:54.440 --> 00:23:56.440
 a tree that, in the

00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:57.360
 original language, it's

00:23:57.360 --> 00:23:58.059
 a tree that would grow

00:23:58.059 --> 00:23:59.759
 to about 20 feet and it

00:23:59.759 --> 00:24:00.680
 was known for having a

00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:01.940
 very large root system.

00:24:03.660 --> 00:24:05.860
 So if you had faith like

00:24:05.860 --> 00:24:06.799
 a grain of mustard seed,

00:24:06.860 --> 00:24:07.779
 you could say to this

00:24:07.779 --> 00:24:09.059
 mulberry tree, be uprooted

00:24:09.059 --> 00:24:11.200
 and planted in the sea and

00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:11.940
 it would obey you.

00:24:13.059 --> 00:24:15.360
 So is this text just

00:24:15.360 --> 00:24:16.460
 talking to us about a

00:24:16.460 --> 00:24:17.759
 type of spiritual power?

00:24:17.759 --> 00:24:17.819
 more.

00:24:19.319 --> 00:24:21.079
 Is this text a rebuke of

00:24:21.079 --> 00:24:23.039
 our congregation because

00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:24.059
 we don't have a building

00:24:24.059 --> 00:24:24.619
 of our own?

00:24:25.960 --> 00:24:27.259
 And if we had more faith,

00:24:28.180 --> 00:24:28.940
 we have a building.

00:24:31.099 --> 00:24:32.259
 Is this text telling us

00:24:32.259 --> 00:24:32.740
 we're all sinners?

00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:33.900
 Well, it does tell us we're

00:24:33.900 --> 00:24:35.059
 sinners, but not in that

00:24:35.059 --> 00:24:35.839
 particular way.

00:24:36.420 --> 00:24:37.019
 I'm going to put it up.

00:24:37.079 --> 00:24:38.019
 If you could put up the

00:24:38.019 --> 00:24:39.259
 next point here in terms of

00:24:39.259 --> 00:24:39.960
 how it's going to work as

00:24:39.960 --> 00:24:40.359
 a prayer.

00:24:40.839 --> 00:24:41.920
 And by the way, if you're

00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:42.660
 worrying this is going to be

00:24:42.660 --> 00:24:43.980
 an 80-minute sermon, the

00:24:43.980 --> 00:24:44.980
 longest point was the

00:24:44.980 --> 00:24:45.720
 first one and it'll get

00:24:45.720 --> 00:24:46.079
 shorter.

00:24:47.259 --> 00:24:49.299
 But here's, I think, what

00:24:49.299 --> 00:24:50.640
 Jesus is asking us to do.

00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:53.380
 Dear God, please grow in

00:24:53.380 --> 00:24:55.000
 me a humble, trusting

00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:56.019
 walking.

00:24:57.120 --> 00:24:58.980
 And I say walking, the

00:24:58.980 --> 00:25:00.319
 Bible uses the image of

00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:01.559
 walking as a way to

00:25:01.559 --> 00:25:03.180
 understand how we live

00:25:03.180 --> 00:25:04.599
 our 24-7 day.

00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:07.680
 How do we live our 365 days

00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:08.920
 a year 24-7?

00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:10.900
 Well, we walk from spot to

00:25:10.900 --> 00:25:12.200
 spot to spot to spot.

00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:13.380
 And I'm trying to capture

00:25:13.380 --> 00:25:14.820
 that biblical idea in

00:25:14.820 --> 00:25:16.220
 terms of a prayer, in

00:25:16.220 --> 00:25:17.660
 terms of just how we live

00:25:17.660 --> 00:25:19.540
 our lives, how we go to

00:25:19.540 --> 00:25:21.160
 Starbucks, how we buy our

00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:22.300
 groceries, how we do at

00:25:22.300 --> 00:25:23.480
 work, how we are with our

00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:25.340
 family and our friends, how

00:25:25.340 --> 00:25:26.360
 we are with our leisure.

00:25:27.180 --> 00:25:28.060
 It's walking.

00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:29.120
 We go from one thing to

00:25:29.120 --> 00:25:29.340
 another.

00:25:29.960 --> 00:25:31.020
 And I think the text is

00:25:31.020 --> 00:25:32.000
 encouraging us to pray,

00:25:32.120 --> 00:25:33.220
 Dear God, please grow in

00:25:33.220 --> 00:25:34.540
 me a humble, trusting,

00:25:34.820 --> 00:25:37.020
 walking, knowing of the

00:25:37.020 --> 00:25:38.660
 greatness and glory and

00:25:38.660 --> 00:25:40.820
 grace of the person and

00:25:40.820 --> 00:25:42.640
 work of Jesus Messiah.

00:25:43.380 --> 00:25:45.340
 I think that's a great

00:25:45.340 --> 00:25:46.140
 prayer that you could

00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:46.980
 pray every day.

00:25:47.120 --> 00:25:48.280
 I could pray every day

00:25:48.280 --> 00:25:49.680
 for the rest of my life.

00:25:51.500 --> 00:25:52.980
 Dear God, please grow in

00:25:52.980 --> 00:25:54.400
 me a humble, trusting,

00:25:54.680 --> 00:25:56.460
 walking, knowing of the

00:25:56.460 --> 00:25:58.040
 greatness and glory and

00:25:58.040 --> 00:26:00.320
 grace of the person and

00:26:00.320 --> 00:26:02.100
 work of Jesus Messiah.

00:26:03.040 --> 00:26:03.780
 Some of you might say,

00:26:03.840 --> 00:26:04.620
 George, how on earth do

00:26:04.620 --> 00:26:05.360
 you get that from the

00:26:05.360 --> 00:26:05.700
 text?

00:26:06.900 --> 00:26:08.240
 Well, the problem is,

00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:09.840
 remember I said how

00:26:09.840 --> 00:26:11.080
 natural human religion and

00:26:11.080 --> 00:26:12.340
 natural human spirituality

00:26:12.339 --> 00:26:13.500
 does turn it into all being

00:26:13.500 --> 00:26:14.119
 about power?

00:26:15.579 --> 00:26:17.039
 Faith always has an object.

00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:21.179
 Faith isn't an emotion.

00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:23.359
 Faith isn't a type of

00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:24.399
 self-talk.

00:26:25.220 --> 00:26:26.879
 Faith has an object.

00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:28.959
 We have faith in something

00:26:28.959 --> 00:26:30.000
 or someone.

00:26:31.579 --> 00:26:33.319
 So when we turn it into

00:26:33.319 --> 00:26:35.519
 about power, we turn it

00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:36.419
 into something that if I

00:26:36.419 --> 00:26:37.319
 have the right type of

00:26:37.319 --> 00:26:39.139
 willpower, the right type of

00:26:39.140 --> 00:26:41.040
 emotion, the right type of

00:26:41.040 --> 00:26:43.240
 ritual, the right type of

00:26:43.240 --> 00:26:45.680
 church connection, the right

00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:48.620
 team of people praying, if I

00:26:48.620 --> 00:26:52.520
 get these things right, I will

00:26:52.520 --> 00:26:54.280
 accomplish this.

00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:57.800
 We rarely are so publicly

00:26:57.800 --> 00:27:01.880
 bold to say that because we

00:27:01.880 --> 00:27:03.100
 start to check ourselves and

00:27:03.100 --> 00:27:04.060
 say, no, no, no, no, no, that's

00:27:04.059 --> 00:27:06.379
 sin, but in our hearts,

00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:09.559
 murmuring, the voice murmuring

00:27:09.559 --> 00:27:12.700
 into our ears is I get my

00:27:12.700 --> 00:27:15.099
 willpower or my emotion and I

00:27:15.099 --> 00:27:16.539
 get this and I get my

00:27:16.539 --> 00:27:19.079
 techniques and I get the right

00:27:19.079 --> 00:27:21.419
 principles and I get this

00:27:21.419 --> 00:27:24.700
 straight and I get to do this

00:27:24.700 --> 00:27:26.339
 powerful thing.

00:27:27.879 --> 00:27:31.019
 But Jesus, he's standing there.

00:27:31.019 --> 00:27:33.119
 And it's so cool.

00:27:34.099 --> 00:27:36.079
 Judas is standing there, the

00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:36.900
 man who's going to betray

00:27:36.900 --> 00:27:37.099
 him.

00:27:38.379 --> 00:27:39.799
 Jesus knows that he's going to

00:27:39.799 --> 00:27:41.579
 Jerusalem to die, giving you

00:27:41.579 --> 00:27:42.819
 away the story if you haven't

00:27:42.819 --> 00:27:44.279
 read the story, but every one of

00:27:44.279 --> 00:27:45.639
 his disciples is not going to

00:27:45.639 --> 00:27:47.359
 have faith in him when the time

00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:48.359
 comes when he's arrested.

00:27:48.639 --> 00:27:50.059
 They all abandon him and leave

00:27:50.059 --> 00:27:50.259
 him.

00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:53.299
 And he knows that Judas is going

00:27:53.299 --> 00:27:53.920
 to betray him.

00:27:55.639 --> 00:27:56.819
 And he knows that he's going to

00:27:56.819 --> 00:27:58.240
 Jerusalem to die on the cross

00:27:58.240 --> 00:28:01.160
 to reconcile people to God.

00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:03.859
 And he knows that he's doing

00:28:03.859 --> 00:28:05.220
 this because God has been

00:28:05.220 --> 00:28:07.240
 faithful to his word and God

00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:09.400
 promised a mighty deliverer and

00:28:09.400 --> 00:28:10.660
 God promised redemption.

00:28:12.180 --> 00:28:14.240
 And Jesus has done his entire

00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:18.420
 life on earth as God, the son of

00:28:18.420 --> 00:28:20.819
 God and also the son of Mary.

00:28:21.480 --> 00:28:23.180
 And he's done it in obedience to

00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:23.700
 the father.

00:28:24.019 --> 00:28:25.579
 And he knows the father is

00:28:25.579 --> 00:28:26.000
 faithful.

00:28:27.619 --> 00:28:30.220
 And he's asking the disciples to

00:28:30.220 --> 00:28:31.259
 have faith in him.

00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:35.579
 And if we take this prayer and try

00:28:35.579 --> 00:28:37.359
 to pray about how we can do great

00:28:37.359 --> 00:28:42.179
 things, very subtly our focus

00:28:42.179 --> 00:28:44.960
 becomes on willpower or emotion in

00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:47.659
 ourselves or our techniques or our

00:28:47.659 --> 00:28:49.379
 membership because evangelicals do

00:28:49.379 --> 00:28:51.099
 things better or Anglicans do things

00:28:51.099 --> 00:28:52.599
 better, Roman Catholics do things

00:28:52.599 --> 00:28:54.099
 better, Pentecostals do things

00:28:54.099 --> 00:28:56.059
 better or Charismatics do something

00:28:56.059 --> 00:28:56.399
 better.

00:28:58.139 --> 00:28:59.879
 And he's asking us to focus on

00:28:59.879 --> 00:29:00.219
 Jesus.

00:29:01.259 --> 00:29:02.859
 He's asking them to have faith in

00:29:02.859 --> 00:29:03.139
 him.

00:29:05.779 --> 00:29:07.480
 And then if in a sense they have

00:29:07.480 --> 00:29:10.179
 that faith in him, in the context

00:29:10.179 --> 00:29:12.139
 of this ever deepening personal

00:29:12.139 --> 00:29:15.339
 relationship with him, requests

00:29:15.339 --> 00:29:16.339
 emerge.

00:29:16.339 --> 00:29:20.319
 And those requests that emerge come

00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:22.359
 from a very, very tiny little bit of

00:29:22.359 --> 00:29:23.139
 faith within them.

00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:25.299
 But Jesus can do, God can do amazing

00:29:25.299 --> 00:29:25.799
 things.

00:29:29.980 --> 00:29:36.019
 You know, it's all about Jesus is

00:29:36.019 --> 00:29:37.500
 calling them to trust in him.

00:29:38.539 --> 00:29:40.740
 And the increasing of the faith, the

00:29:40.740 --> 00:29:42.819
 adding to the faith is adding faith to

00:29:42.819 --> 00:29:44.879
 faith to faith to faith, a deepening in

00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:48.060
 trust, not adding willpower, emotion,

00:29:48.540 --> 00:29:53.060
 technique, mind control, church

00:29:53.060 --> 00:29:57.040
 allegiance, or any other type of thing,

00:29:57.480 --> 00:29:58.580
 proper ancestors.

00:29:59.880 --> 00:30:02.320
 Not adding anything like that, but just

00:30:02.320 --> 00:30:04.780
 a deepening into a walk with him.

00:30:04.779 --> 00:30:08.160
 And that's why I say that Jesus is

00:30:08.160 --> 00:30:09.920
 calling us to call out to him and pray,

00:30:10.039 --> 00:30:11.819
 Dear God, please grow in me a humble,

00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:14.079
 trusting, walking, knowing of the

00:30:14.079 --> 00:30:15.839
 greatness and glory and grace of the

00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:19.079
 person and work of Jesus, Messiah.

00:30:20.680 --> 00:30:22.299
 But then some of you might say, George,

00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:25.019
 that's, here's the thing, here's the

00:30:25.019 --> 00:30:26.720
 problem I have with Jesus is teaching.

00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:28.819
 Because, you know, I've been looking

00:30:28.819 --> 00:30:30.139
 around at the Bible while you're talking,

00:30:30.220 --> 00:30:31.319
 I'm still listening, but I'm also

00:30:31.319 --> 00:30:31.859
 looking around.

00:30:31.859 --> 00:30:33.779
 But, George, in a few moments, Jesus is

00:30:33.779 --> 00:30:35.740
 going to tell us to call my, he's going

00:30:35.740 --> 00:30:37.639
 to tell me to call myself unworthy.

00:30:38.740 --> 00:30:40.439
 And, George, let me just tell you, I

00:30:40.439 --> 00:30:45.000
 have enough people stepping on me and

00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:47.000
 making me feel unworthy.

00:30:47.319 --> 00:30:48.779
 You know, I have people who make catty

00:30:48.779 --> 00:30:50.659
 comments about how I dress or my

00:30:50.659 --> 00:30:53.000
 weight or, you know, I have, I go on

00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:54.719
 Facebook and it just seems like everybody

00:30:54.719 --> 00:30:56.699
 else is way, they have, you know, they

00:30:56.699 --> 00:30:58.699
 have kids, I'd like to have kids, or I

00:30:58.699 --> 00:31:00.639
 have kids and my kids are just like so-so.

00:31:00.640 --> 00:31:02.100
 I mean, I never tell my kids that because

00:31:02.100 --> 00:31:03.160
 I love them and they're mine.

00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:05.420
 But everybody else's kids seem to become

00:31:05.420 --> 00:31:08.759
 rocket scientists, Olympic athletes, you

00:31:08.759 --> 00:31:11.180
 know, popular, you know, all that type of

00:31:11.180 --> 00:31:11.480
 stuff.

00:31:11.540 --> 00:31:13.100
 And I already feel unworthy.

00:31:13.220 --> 00:31:14.860
 Like, how on earth does Jesus think I'm

00:31:14.860 --> 00:31:16.880
 going to accomplish anything if I have to

00:31:16.880 --> 00:31:18.580
 say to him that I'm unworthy?

00:31:19.240 --> 00:31:20.920
 If I have to try to feel unworthy?

00:31:21.920 --> 00:31:24.860
 Like, do I just sort of, George, think

00:31:24.860 --> 00:31:26.480
 that Jesus is greater and greater and

00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:28.700
 greater and therefore I am, you know,

00:31:28.700 --> 00:31:33.059
 more worm-like and terrible and bad?

00:31:33.319 --> 00:31:34.480
 And is that how it works, George?

00:31:34.519 --> 00:31:35.799
 If that's how it works, like, I don't

00:31:35.799 --> 00:31:38.079
 want to do that because there's enough

00:31:38.079 --> 00:31:38.259
 thing.

00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:39.000
 You know, that's the thing about

00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:39.400
 religion.

00:31:39.579 --> 00:31:41.180
 It keeps telling me I have to grovel.

00:31:41.539 --> 00:31:43.380
 In fact, George, you have a perfect thing

00:31:43.380 --> 00:31:43.940
 right here.

00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:46.400
 Religion is all about balancing

00:31:46.400 --> 00:31:48.200
 groveling and power.

00:31:49.940 --> 00:31:53.140
 Moving mulberry trees and sane and

00:31:53.140 --> 00:31:53.400
 unworthy.

00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:54.500
 Grovel and power.

00:31:54.640 --> 00:31:55.380
 Grovel and power.

00:31:55.500 --> 00:31:55.920
 Grovel and power.

00:31:55.920 --> 00:31:56.740
 I don't like the dance.

00:31:56.820 --> 00:31:58.240
 I'd rather just have a drink and watch

00:31:58.240 --> 00:31:58.960
 the football game.

00:32:00.360 --> 00:32:01.360
 And that's how a lot of people

00:32:01.360 --> 00:32:02.759
 understand and hear the words.

00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:03.720
 Well, what does Jesus say?

00:32:03.800 --> 00:32:04.220
 Let's look.

00:32:05.140 --> 00:32:05.720
 Verse 7.

00:32:06.880 --> 00:32:08.220
 So remember, he just said, be uprooted

00:32:08.220 --> 00:32:09.360
 and planted in the sea that will obey

00:32:09.360 --> 00:32:09.519
 you.

00:32:09.560 --> 00:32:10.040
 Verse 7.

00:32:10.560 --> 00:32:11.900
 Well, any one of you who has a

00:32:11.900 --> 00:32:13.940
 servant, and I'm just going to pause

00:32:13.940 --> 00:32:14.320
 here.

00:32:14.980 --> 00:32:17.140
 And the word servant, some of you have

00:32:17.140 --> 00:32:19.060
 heard this before, that the word in

00:32:19.060 --> 00:32:20.480
 Greek, and I don't usually like using

00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:21.840
 Greek words, but the word in Greek

00:32:21.840 --> 00:32:22.519
 is doulos.

00:32:23.400 --> 00:32:26.340
 And the problem is that doulos means

00:32:26.340 --> 00:32:27.220
 something different.

00:32:27.460 --> 00:32:29.200
 And some of your English versions say

00:32:29.200 --> 00:32:30.400
 slave, some say servant.

00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:31.940
 And the problem is that there's no

00:32:31.940 --> 00:32:34.519
 English word that captures doulos.

00:32:35.080 --> 00:32:37.420
 When you use the word slave, you think

00:32:37.420 --> 00:32:38.360
 of what happened to that.

00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:39.740
 You know, if you haven't seen the movie,

00:32:39.780 --> 00:32:41.519
 it's a very powerful movie, 12 years

00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:42.000
 a slave.

00:32:42.120 --> 00:32:43.400
 Very powerful movie.

00:32:44.660 --> 00:32:46.640
 And so you see the word slave, our

00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:48.060
 minds instantly go to something like

00:32:48.060 --> 00:32:49.019
 12 years a slave.

00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:51.120
 But you see the word servant, our

00:32:51.120 --> 00:32:52.680
 minds, at least if you're of my age, you

00:32:52.680 --> 00:32:54.200
 instantly think of the Fresh Prince of

00:32:54.200 --> 00:32:56.240
 Bel-Air, where the only competent,

00:32:56.420 --> 00:32:57.700
 reasonable person in the entire

00:32:57.700 --> 00:32:58.940
 household was the servant.

00:32:59.940 --> 00:33:00.340
 Right?

00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:02.420
 And the Bible, and so in our culture,

00:33:02.560 --> 00:33:04.400
 we think of, you know, people with,

00:33:04.560 --> 00:33:07.000
 you know, who are just servants who are

00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:08.700
 really the only competent, sane person

00:33:08.700 --> 00:33:09.960
 in the household, actually does

00:33:09.960 --> 00:33:10.360
 anything.

00:33:11.019 --> 00:33:12.860
 So we either think of servant or we

00:33:12.860 --> 00:33:13.759
 think of slave in it.

00:33:14.220 --> 00:33:15.840
 Doulos means something very, very

00:33:15.840 --> 00:33:16.299
 different.

00:33:16.299 --> 00:33:19.000
 Because in the ancient world, I mean,

00:33:19.119 --> 00:33:21.419
 a doulos could end up, like if you go

00:33:21.419 --> 00:33:25.379
 in the book of, if you go in the book

00:33:25.379 --> 00:33:27.720
 of Acts, you'll see that there's a

00:33:27.720 --> 00:33:29.299
 meeting of a person who's the treasurer

00:33:29.299 --> 00:33:30.960
 of an entire country, and he would have

00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:31.639
 been a doulos.

00:33:33.139 --> 00:33:36.579
 So it means that you belong to somebody,

00:33:37.359 --> 00:33:39.379
 and you can't control yourself.

00:33:39.980 --> 00:33:42.099
 You are, in a sense, are under orders,

00:33:42.099 --> 00:33:43.279
 and you belong to them.

00:33:43.339 --> 00:33:44.799
 But it doesn't necessarily, it doesn't

00:33:44.799 --> 00:33:46.539
 mean the degradation of slavery the way

00:33:46.539 --> 00:33:48.740
 we think of it, and it doesn't mean

00:33:48.740 --> 00:33:50.819
 the type of snarkiness that we think

00:33:50.819 --> 00:33:53.139
 of with servant, but it does convey

00:33:53.139 --> 00:33:56.059
 the idea of belonging to another and

00:33:56.059 --> 00:33:57.519
 under their authority and command.

00:33:58.159 --> 00:33:59.980
 Like maybe a better analogy would be

00:33:59.980 --> 00:34:01.039
 if they're in the soldier, they're

00:34:01.039 --> 00:34:01.579
 private.

00:34:03.259 --> 00:34:05.119
 Don't think general, think private.

00:34:05.799 --> 00:34:06.000
 Okay?

00:34:06.079 --> 00:34:08.579
 Maybe corporal or something, but even

00:34:08.579 --> 00:34:09.900
 then that doesn't get quite right,

00:34:09.980 --> 00:34:11.500
 because in a sense a colonel is under

00:34:11.500 --> 00:34:12.300
 a general as well.

00:34:12.420 --> 00:34:14.000
 So it's just, I'm going to use the word

00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:15.480
 doulos in the point in a moment.

00:34:15.639 --> 00:34:16.679
 But let's, sorry, verse 7.

00:34:17.079 --> 00:34:19.179
 Will any of you, any one of you who has

00:34:19.179 --> 00:34:22.179
 a doulos, plowing or keeping sheep,

00:34:22.380 --> 00:34:23.920
 say to him when he has come in from

00:34:23.920 --> 00:34:26.039
 the field, come at once and recline at

00:34:26.039 --> 00:34:26.360
 table?

00:34:26.800 --> 00:34:28.420
 Will he not rather say to him, prepare

00:34:28.420 --> 00:34:30.719
 supper for me and dress properly, and

00:34:30.719 --> 00:34:32.320
 serve me while I eat and drink, and

00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:33.559
 afterward you will eat and drink?

00:34:34.219 --> 00:34:36.239
 Does he thank the servant because he did

00:34:36.239 --> 00:34:37.199
 what he was commanded?

00:34:37.800 --> 00:34:38.820
 See, all of these things, it's

00:34:38.820 --> 00:34:39.300
 rhetorical.

00:34:39.380 --> 00:34:40.559
 He's expecting you to agree.

00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:43.239
 No, you wouldn't come in and serve the

00:34:43.239 --> 00:34:43.519
 servant.

00:34:43.579 --> 00:34:44.539
 The servant serves you.

00:34:44.679 --> 00:34:46.559
 That's how the world works.

00:34:46.920 --> 00:34:47.079
 You know?

00:34:47.420 --> 00:34:48.920
 Would the servant ask the word thank

00:34:48.920 --> 00:34:50.320
 because the servant's done their duty?

00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:52.119
 No, the servant wouldn't particularly

00:34:52.119 --> 00:34:52.940
 expect thanks.

00:34:53.039 --> 00:34:55.099
 It's not encouraging us to be rude to

00:34:55.099 --> 00:34:58.320
 staff at Starbucks or Target while it

00:34:58.320 --> 00:34:59.320
 still exists in Canada.

00:34:59.639 --> 00:35:02.900
 It's just talking, trying to understand

00:35:02.900 --> 00:35:04.019
 this is the way the world works.

00:35:04.880 --> 00:35:07.739
 And then in verse 10, so you also, when you

00:35:07.739 --> 00:35:09.719
 have done all that you were commanded, say, we

00:35:09.719 --> 00:35:11.199
 are unworthy servants.

00:35:12.839 --> 00:35:15.559
 We have only done, or we are unworthy

00:35:15.559 --> 00:35:15.959
 doulos.

00:35:16.059 --> 00:35:17.599
 We have only done what was our duty.

00:35:18.119 --> 00:35:20.000
 So here's the prayer, and then I'll just

00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:21.059
 briefly explain it.

00:35:21.599 --> 00:35:25.939
 Dear God, by grace, I am your doulos.

00:35:26.679 --> 00:35:29.379
 Please grow in me a deep, obedient, and

00:35:29.379 --> 00:35:32.739
 humble trust in you as my master who commands

00:35:32.739 --> 00:35:33.019
 me.

00:35:33.019 --> 00:35:52.320
 See, here's what the text is talking about.

00:35:53.179 --> 00:35:55.960
 We sort of come at it from a wrong type of way.

00:35:55.960 --> 00:36:05.800
 If I was to tell you that, you know, one of the

00:36:05.800 --> 00:36:12.000
 single women here, that in 10 years' time, you're

00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:13.980
 going to be, there's going to be a man who

00:36:13.980 --> 00:36:16.780
 structures your life that helps to determine when

00:36:16.780 --> 00:36:19.619
 you come home and how much money you spend on

00:36:19.619 --> 00:36:21.679
 clothes and all of that type of stuff.

00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:25.000
 If I just said there'll be a man like that, people

00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:27.579
 might, women might feel very deeply resented about.

00:36:27.679 --> 00:36:29.559
 Same thing for if I said to a man about a woman

00:36:29.559 --> 00:36:30.019
 doing that.

00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:34.760
 But I can tell you right now that for 33 years, I've

00:36:34.760 --> 00:36:36.940
 not made my own decisions about a whole pile of

00:36:36.940 --> 00:36:40.019
 things, and I've had someone tell me what I'm

00:36:40.019 --> 00:36:43.800
 going to have for supper and contribute to where

00:36:43.800 --> 00:36:45.639
 we're going for holidays and all sorts of things, and

00:36:45.639 --> 00:36:48.179
 that's been a real blessing for me to be married to

00:36:48.179 --> 00:36:49.480
 Louise for 33 years.

00:36:49.480 --> 00:36:55.159
 You see, the problem is that we often mistake the

00:36:55.159 --> 00:36:58.599
 problem of authority with the problem of authority is

00:36:58.599 --> 00:37:02.579
 ultimately a problem of intimacy and of love and of

00:37:02.579 --> 00:37:02.940
 trust.

00:37:04.179 --> 00:37:07.920
 And so many of us have been in organizations like

00:37:07.920 --> 00:37:10.780
 churches or corporations where there is no trust, where

00:37:10.780 --> 00:37:12.719
 they don't care about, they only care about the bottom

00:37:12.719 --> 00:37:14.219
 line, they don't care about the employees.

00:37:14.219 --> 00:37:18.000
 And many of us maybe have been in marriages that have

00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:21.559
 broken down or have been very abusive and haven't broken

00:37:21.559 --> 00:37:25.119
 down, and so we tend to interpret the entire world through

00:37:25.119 --> 00:37:27.500
 the lens of rights and stuff like that.

00:37:27.599 --> 00:37:30.139
 But Jesus here, even though when he's using the slave, you

00:37:30.139 --> 00:37:33.159
 see, this is why the slave and servant thing doesn't really

00:37:33.159 --> 00:37:33.439
 work.

00:37:33.519 --> 00:37:35.799
 There could be real affection between the doulos and the

00:37:35.799 --> 00:37:36.159
 master.

00:37:37.079 --> 00:37:41.980
 And it's not, we have to think in terms of intimacy and trust.

00:37:41.980 --> 00:37:45.320
 You see, once again, remember, Jesus is telling us about

00:37:45.320 --> 00:37:45.800
 this.

00:37:46.360 --> 00:37:48.960
 And who is the man who's telling us?

00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:49.860
 What is the gospel?

00:37:50.300 --> 00:37:54.079
 The gospel is that Jesus is the second person of the

00:37:54.079 --> 00:37:54.340
 Trinity.

00:37:55.440 --> 00:37:59.280
 And the Father says to the second person of the Trinity that

00:37:59.280 --> 00:38:03.320
 the only way that human beings can be reconciled to me, they

00:38:03.320 --> 00:38:04.500
 cannot do it themselves.

00:38:05.159 --> 00:38:06.980
 They are spiritually dead.

00:38:06.980 --> 00:38:09.980
 And only I can do something.

00:38:10.460 --> 00:38:13.460
 Only we can do something because they cannot save themselves.

00:38:14.300 --> 00:38:17.820
 And the nature of sin and the nature of our rebellion is such

00:38:17.820 --> 00:38:22.980
 that the Father says to his son, you need to become human.

00:38:23.840 --> 00:38:27.480
 You need to set aside your glory and divine prerogatives and

00:38:27.480 --> 00:38:29.659
 your power and set all of that stuff aside.

00:38:29.659 --> 00:38:33.599
 And all you leave is your very nature and you're going to be

00:38:33.599 --> 00:38:33.960
 born.

00:38:34.579 --> 00:38:36.480
 I know you created the planets.

00:38:36.639 --> 00:38:38.500
 I know you hold all things in existence.

00:38:39.440 --> 00:38:42.319
 And I know that your hands that have formed the planets and the

00:38:42.319 --> 00:38:45.399
 stars and the galaxies, that I'm asking you to have a little

00:38:45.399 --> 00:38:50.079
 tiny baby's hand that can't even reach your mother's nose.

00:38:50.699 --> 00:38:53.359
 But I'm asking you to set aside all your glory and power and

00:38:53.359 --> 00:38:57.639
 divine prerogatives, your splendor and remaining God to be born and

00:38:57.639 --> 00:39:01.500
 take into yourself human nature and to be born, to be in a womb and

00:39:01.500 --> 00:39:05.059
 to be born and to walk amongst the created order.

00:39:06.019 --> 00:39:09.359
 And then to continue to humble yourself until death upon the cross.

00:39:10.779 --> 00:39:15.279
 And as you die upon the cross, you die not for your own sins, but you

00:39:15.279 --> 00:39:19.299
 will actually bear and taste upon your very person the sin and the

00:39:19.299 --> 00:39:23.019
 rebellion of these human beings who are crucifying you.

00:39:23.019 --> 00:39:30.579
 And that is the means by which my power to save will enter into the

00:39:30.579 --> 00:39:34.440
 created order so that all who put their trust in you can be

00:39:34.440 --> 00:39:35.400
 reconciled to me.

00:39:37.440 --> 00:39:39.940
 And that's the person who's telling us this.

00:39:42.400 --> 00:39:45.079
 That's the one who's telling us this.

00:39:45.739 --> 00:39:51.179
 See, as the gospel grips us, there is this possibility that we will

00:39:51.179 --> 00:39:55.559
 have new desires and new ways of understanding these challenges.

00:39:58.599 --> 00:40:04.879
 And so it's not that Jesus is telling us not to have any type of self-esteem,

00:40:05.019 --> 00:40:09.219
 but he's telling us in a sense not to keep our eyes on ourselves while we're

00:40:09.219 --> 00:40:11.039
 trying to navigate these things.

00:40:11.639 --> 00:40:15.119
 You know, many people of us, I find myself sometimes walking around as if the

00:40:15.119 --> 00:40:19.059
 weight of this church rests on me or the weight of some other organization

00:40:19.059 --> 00:40:21.900
 rests on me. And it is such a gracious moment in heaven.

00:40:22.019 --> 00:40:25.940
 Maybe I'll find out that just as that is seeming to bear me down as I'm walking

00:40:25.940 --> 00:40:29.759
 along like this, and maybe I will find in heaven that the reason that this

00:40:29.759 --> 00:40:32.799
 thought comes into my head is because one of you or somebody else has been

00:40:32.799 --> 00:40:35.039
 praying for me that very, very second.

00:40:36.099 --> 00:40:39.820
 And it's as if sometimes, and may it come more and more and more, it's as if God

00:40:39.820 --> 00:40:43.440
 speaks to me and says, George, you do not carry the weight of your family.

00:40:43.579 --> 00:40:45.340
 You do not carry the weight of your marriage.

00:40:45.340 --> 00:40:46.960
 You do not carry the weight of the church.

00:40:47.300 --> 00:40:49.240
 You do not carry the weight of evangelism.

00:40:49.360 --> 00:40:52.579
 You do not carry that weight.

00:40:53.620 --> 00:40:57.220
 My son, Jesus, he carries that weight and he carries you.

00:40:59.420 --> 00:41:01.019
 It's my work, not yours.

00:41:02.360 --> 00:41:05.539
 And it's my work, and as part of my work, you're my servant.

00:41:06.280 --> 00:41:07.280
 I carry that weight.

00:41:07.940 --> 00:41:12.380
 Jesus carried the weight of the sins of the world on his shoulders and his person.

00:41:12.900 --> 00:41:13.780
 He carries you.

00:41:13.780 --> 00:41:15.400
 You're his doulos.

00:41:17.140 --> 00:41:21.080
 You see, this text is inviting us to understand that God is big and I am small,

00:41:21.140 --> 00:41:22.240
 and that's a really good thing.

00:41:22.620 --> 00:41:26.320
 And you know how it is, like, if you come to our office and you park in the back

00:41:26.320 --> 00:41:28.460
 and you want to get out, the walls are very close.

00:41:28.560 --> 00:41:31.280
 And the way you understand how you get through something which is very close,

00:41:31.340 --> 00:41:33.700
 if you spend all your time looking at yourself or looking at the walls,

00:41:33.780 --> 00:41:34.500
 you'll hit the walls.

00:41:35.820 --> 00:41:39.040
 You look between all those things and away from yourself at the end,

00:41:39.060 --> 00:41:40.280
 and then you go through it.

00:41:40.280 --> 00:41:44.040
 And that's what Jesus is telling us about here is we keep our eyes on the master.

00:41:46.200 --> 00:41:47.720
 We keep our eyes on God.

00:41:49.100 --> 00:41:50.560
 And we listen to his direction.

00:41:50.920 --> 00:41:55.740
 Just as if you're trying to navigate a parking spot and the walls are really bad,

00:41:55.960 --> 00:41:58.960
 and you have a person at the end and they're going like this and they're going like that,

00:41:59.000 --> 00:42:00.920
 and you keep your eyes on them and you get through it.

00:42:00.920 --> 00:42:05.539
 That's what Jesus is telling us about.

00:42:05.639 --> 00:42:10.920
 That's why we are to pray, dear God, by grace, I am your doulos.

00:42:11.720 --> 00:42:13.700
 By grace, I am your doulos.

00:42:14.260 --> 00:42:15.180
 You are the master.

00:42:15.320 --> 00:42:16.519
 It is your work to save.

00:42:16.579 --> 00:42:18.260
 It is your work to carry the church.

00:42:18.420 --> 00:42:20.420
 It is your work to carry the churches in the city.

00:42:20.480 --> 00:42:21.800
 It's your work to carry Anik.

00:42:21.800 --> 00:42:26.579
 It's your work to carry my children and their spouses and their future spouses

00:42:26.579 --> 00:42:28.000
 and my grandchildren.

00:42:28.200 --> 00:42:29.159
 It's your work.

00:42:29.159 --> 00:42:30.739
 I am your doulos.

00:42:31.000 --> 00:42:33.219
 By grace, thank you, Jesus.

00:42:33.440 --> 00:42:34.819
 I do not have to carry that.

00:42:36.039 --> 00:42:37.319
 I do not have to carry that.

00:42:37.399 --> 00:42:38.000
 Neither do you.

00:42:40.839 --> 00:42:42.799
 By grace, I am your doulos.

00:42:43.000 --> 00:42:48.159
 Please grow in me a deep, obedient, and humble trust in you as my master who commands me.

00:42:50.059 --> 00:42:51.539
 Just one final thing.

00:42:51.639 --> 00:42:53.319
 Some of you might say, George, that's all right for you.

00:42:53.379 --> 00:42:54.819
 You have these religious affections.

00:42:54.899 --> 00:42:56.139
 You have these religious emotions.

00:42:56.299 --> 00:42:57.539
 I'm just an ordinary person.

00:42:57.699 --> 00:42:58.899
 I find this strange.

00:42:59.599 --> 00:43:03.559
 You know, sometimes when I'm at work and people at work talk about this and that,

00:43:03.639 --> 00:43:05.579
 and I wish I could have that type of faith.

00:43:05.659 --> 00:43:07.460
 I wish I could have those types of things.

00:43:07.819 --> 00:43:09.259
 But I just don't have those emotions.

00:43:09.399 --> 00:43:10.759
 Can you tell me how to get those emotions?

00:43:10.879 --> 00:43:12.259
 I can't tell you how to get emotions.

00:43:12.379 --> 00:43:13.519
 I'm not talking about willpower.

00:43:13.519 --> 00:43:18.900
 All I can do is time and time and time and time again tell you about Jesus and the cross.

00:43:18.900 --> 00:43:23.200
 And that says, you hear about Jesus and the cross.

00:43:23.200 --> 00:43:23.820
 And it grips you.

00:43:23.880 --> 00:43:25.579
 You hear about what he does for us.

00:43:26.680 --> 00:43:30.280
 That maybe we have the courage to pray this prayer.

00:43:30.360 --> 00:43:34.340
 And for some of us, when we pray any one of these three prayers in the next one that I'm going to give you,

00:43:34.340 --> 00:43:42.500
 for some of us, it's the invitation at the same time for Jesus to plant faith in us and then to grow it.

00:43:42.600 --> 00:43:45.700
 But for all of us, even for those who have now put our faith and trust in Jesus,

00:43:46.100 --> 00:43:48.700
 remember Jesus has told us we should ask him to grow our faith.

00:43:49.039 --> 00:43:51.620
 That's why all of these prayers are in terms of growing.

00:43:51.619 --> 00:43:55.219
 So just one final text.

00:43:55.279 --> 00:43:56.359
 We're going to read the final parable.

00:43:56.480 --> 00:43:58.380
 But before we do, I'm going to give you the point.

00:43:58.460 --> 00:44:00.839
 I'm going to read verses 11 to 19 in closing.

00:44:01.619 --> 00:44:06.500
 But Andrew, if you could put up the final prayer to help us understand this final story.

00:44:07.039 --> 00:44:11.559
 Dear God, please grow in me a deep, humble, thankful trust in Jesus,

00:44:12.059 --> 00:44:16.799
 who has healed my deepest wound and saved me by his death upon the cross.

00:44:16.800 --> 00:44:22.019
 Dear God, please grow in me a deep, humble, thankful trust in Jesus,

00:44:22.480 --> 00:44:26.360
 who has healed my deepest wound and saved me by his death upon the cross.

00:44:26.700 --> 00:44:32.500
 Every miracle of healing in the gospel points to the fact that on the cross,

00:44:33.240 --> 00:44:39.160
 Jesus deals with our deepest wound, a wound which is fatal, which has made us dead.

00:44:40.500 --> 00:44:44.880
 And that God heals the wound, brings life, that we can be his child.

00:44:44.880 --> 00:44:49.160
 And that's why the healing miracles in the gospel are so important,

00:44:49.160 --> 00:44:54.980
 because it points to this profound, deep wound, the deepest wound we have,

00:44:55.059 --> 00:44:58.500
 which is our separation from the living creator of all things,

00:44:58.559 --> 00:45:01.960
 the true creator and sustainer and end of the whole created order.

00:45:02.200 --> 00:45:04.039
 And we are alienated from him.

00:45:04.619 --> 00:45:09.660
 And on the cross, Jesus brings life and heals the wound at the same time.

00:45:09.880 --> 00:45:11.280
 And that's what salvation is.

00:45:11.559 --> 00:45:12.960
 And we see it here in this story.

00:45:12.960 --> 00:45:19.000
 Verse 11, on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.

00:45:19.679 --> 00:45:26.059
 And some scholars have problems with that because Jesus is not a type A driven individual

00:45:26.059 --> 00:45:32.000
 who wants to get from where he is to Jerusalem in the shortest possible time.

00:45:32.720 --> 00:45:36.240
 People be set aside.

00:45:36.380 --> 00:45:37.240
 I almost said a bad word.

00:45:37.239 --> 00:45:44.519
 And Jesus doesn't take the direct fast route that ignores people.

00:45:44.959 --> 00:45:52.319
 He takes the compassionate route, which means he takes all these detours to deal with people.

00:45:53.319 --> 00:45:56.000
 It's not a problem in the text, just not understanding Jesus.

00:45:56.179 --> 00:45:59.979
 Verse 11, on the way to Jerusalem, he was passing between Samaria and Galilee.

00:45:59.980 --> 00:46:05.240
 And as he entered a village, he was met by 10 lepers who stood at a distance.

00:46:06.119 --> 00:46:09.559
 And in all cultures, I mean, lepers, they would be missing limbs.

00:46:10.380 --> 00:46:11.980
 They would be quite disfigured.

00:46:13.639 --> 00:46:16.000
 They would be social outcasts, unclean.

00:46:16.539 --> 00:46:17.800
 And so they're keeping their distance.

00:46:17.900 --> 00:46:18.740
 They call out to Jesus.

00:46:18.840 --> 00:46:19.420
 We have no idea.

00:46:19.500 --> 00:46:20.599
 They've probably heard he does miracles.

00:46:20.780 --> 00:46:21.059
 They don't know.

00:46:21.260 --> 00:46:23.599
 It's not really clear what on earth they think he's going to do.

00:46:23.800 --> 00:46:25.079
 But what do they do when they see him?

00:46:25.079 --> 00:46:27.279
 They say, Jesus, master, have mercy on us.

00:46:28.019 --> 00:46:31.380
 And Jesus, when he sees them, says, go and show yourselves to the priests.

00:46:32.480 --> 00:46:36.460
 And, you know, the Bible doesn't tell us what goes through their mind.

00:46:37.019 --> 00:46:43.380
 But maybe they're mindful of the story of Naaman the Syrian, from Syria in the Old Testament,

00:46:44.019 --> 00:46:47.880
 where part of Naaman's healing was to go to do something.

00:46:48.099 --> 00:46:50.420
 And so they just say, OK, well, we'll go.

00:46:50.420 --> 00:46:56.000
 All their faith was was just to go, to follow this word of what Jesus told them to do and to go.

00:46:57.260 --> 00:46:59.320
 And as they went, they were cleansed.

00:47:00.139 --> 00:47:02.420
 Now, what this means here is it means they were healed.

00:47:03.220 --> 00:47:04.920
 And I don't know what that means entirely.

00:47:05.139 --> 00:47:07.720
 You know, one of the things about it is that health is natural.

00:47:09.220 --> 00:47:12.059
 And because health is natural, we don't usually feel health.

00:47:12.139 --> 00:47:12.860
 We feel pain.

00:47:13.480 --> 00:47:17.619
 And I don't know if it means that as they were walking around along and they're walking there

00:47:17.619 --> 00:47:21.359
 and they're walking like this and all of a sudden, without them realizing it,

00:47:21.539 --> 00:47:23.440
 their fingers have grown back out.

00:47:24.279 --> 00:47:28.960
 But they don't realize it because it's natural to have fingers.

00:47:29.719 --> 00:47:34.079
 And they're walking along and maybe their toes, which have been missed, all of a sudden are back.

00:47:35.199 --> 00:47:38.259
 And then maybe as they're walking like this, one of them happens to look and says,

00:47:38.839 --> 00:47:42.099
 Joseph has toes.

00:47:42.099 --> 00:47:46.119
 And then they looked and they realized they pointed with a finger.

00:47:46.739 --> 00:47:47.839
 And they didn't used to have a finger.

00:47:51.940 --> 00:47:55.619
 And they realized they've been healed in a most dramatic way.

00:47:59.980 --> 00:48:02.279
 And the text goes on.

00:48:03.619 --> 00:48:06.119
 And then one of them, verse 15, when he saw that he was healed,

00:48:07.019 --> 00:48:10.779
 turned back, goes back to Jesus, praising God with a loud voice.

00:48:11.460 --> 00:48:12.940
 This isn't a time to go to a priest.

00:48:13.019 --> 00:48:13.860
 It's time to go to God.

00:48:16.680 --> 00:48:17.740
 Not time to go to church.

00:48:17.840 --> 00:48:18.519
 Time to go to God.

00:48:21.040 --> 00:48:22.640
 And he fell on his face at Jesus.

00:48:22.840 --> 00:48:25.200
 He prostrated at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks.

00:48:25.300 --> 00:48:28.000
 And he was a Samaritan, which means he didn't believe the right things.

00:48:28.100 --> 00:48:31.360
 He was all confused about the Bible, all confused about God.

00:48:32.200 --> 00:48:36.680
 And he wasn't part of the people of promise by the flesh.

00:48:37.360 --> 00:48:39.140
 Then Jesus said, we're not 10 clans.

00:48:39.240 --> 00:48:39.840
 We're the nine.

00:48:39.840 --> 00:48:43.280
 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?

00:48:43.860 --> 00:48:45.579
 You know what's so wonderful about that word foreigner?

00:48:46.140 --> 00:48:46.920
 It says stranger.

00:48:47.100 --> 00:48:50.300
 I mean, a few folks, some of you are here and you think you're foreign,

00:48:50.559 --> 00:48:53.660
 and it's foreign and strange to talk about having this faith and trust in Jesus.

00:48:53.659 --> 00:49:00.139
 All I can do is tell you that when Jesus looks at you, he looks and he speaks to this man with the eyes of love,

00:49:00.179 --> 00:49:01.099
 and he calls him foreigner.

00:49:01.259 --> 00:49:01.980
 And it's so neat.

00:49:02.079 --> 00:49:03.199
 The man's at Jesus' feet.

00:49:03.259 --> 00:49:04.039
 He's praising God.

00:49:04.480 --> 00:49:05.940
 Jesus has obviously accepted him.

00:49:05.980 --> 00:49:10.119
 In a moment, he's going to tell him that not only was he physically healed, but he was spiritually saved.

00:49:10.599 --> 00:49:15.179
 And the word foreigner is the word that in the temple would be a big word.

00:49:15.179 --> 00:49:18.859
 If you are a foreigner, you cannot go any closer into the temple.

00:49:19.039 --> 00:49:21.339
 We are keeping you away from God.

00:49:21.340 --> 00:49:27.140
 And Jesus used that word to say that the man was saved.

00:49:29.340 --> 00:49:38.740
 No one is too foreign or too strange or too broken or too absent of religious affections or religious willpowers

00:49:38.740 --> 00:49:42.980
 that Jesus cannot save you and welcome you as his own.

00:49:44.940 --> 00:49:46.980
 And he said to him, rise, go your way.

00:49:47.160 --> 00:49:48.240
 Your faith has saved you.

00:49:48.239 --> 00:49:55.379
 And so we are invited to pray, dear God, please grow in me a deep, humble, thankful trust in Jesus,

00:49:55.839 --> 00:50:00.279
 who has healed my deepest wound and saved me by his death upon the cross.

00:50:00.459 --> 00:50:01.000
 Please stand.

00:50:06.539 --> 00:50:08.079
 Just bow our heads in prayer.

00:50:08.079 --> 00:50:23.420
 Father, for some of us, as we pray these prayers, we don't know if we have had faith in you,

00:50:23.519 --> 00:50:25.219
 but we want you to give us that faith.

00:50:26.940 --> 00:50:30.840
 We want you to give us that faith and we want you to grow it in us, Father.

00:50:30.940 --> 00:50:31.699
 Grow it in us.

00:50:31.699 --> 00:50:38.219
 For all of us here, Father, it's the cry of our heart, even for those of us who have had faith in Jesus for many years,

00:50:38.299 --> 00:50:48.539
 that you would grow that faith in us, that you might grow a humble, yearning, longing, walking, knowing, trust in us.

00:50:49.079 --> 00:50:55.819
 Grow a trust in us and a longing and a yearning and a resting and an availability and a thankfulness in you,

00:50:55.820 --> 00:51:02.740
 for Jesus, the Messiah, for what you've done upon the cross for us and who you are, for your love for us.

00:51:03.360 --> 00:51:05.080
 Father, grow that within us.

00:51:05.420 --> 00:51:07.220
 And this we ask, grow that within us.

00:51:07.340 --> 00:51:10.620
 Make us disciples gripped by the gospel who live for your glory.

00:51:11.039 --> 00:51:14.620
 And all this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior.

00:51:15.140 --> 00:51:15.500
 Amen.