WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.480 Well, again, let me welcome you, those of you who are coming back, those of you who are joining us for the first time. 00:00:06.179 --> 00:00:12.019 My name is Tommy. I'm a pastor here, and so I hope to meet you if we haven't already. 00:00:12.580 --> 00:00:22.240 One of the things that we've been doing over the past few weeks during this time of our service is reflecting on the nature of the church and what it means to be the church. 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:32.599 And for those of us who are part of this community, we're reflecting on this because we want to be in this neighborhood what we feel the church is called to be, which is a family. 00:00:33.259 --> 00:00:42.399 We want to be the kind of family that we heard about in the psalm that we read together, a family into which God places the lonely and the solitary. 00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:50.980 We want to be the kind of family that is an open family that's able to welcome and to receive and to embrace and to love all who come. 00:00:50.979 --> 00:00:59.079 So we've been talking about that, looking at different places in God's word where we can learn more about what that looks like. 00:00:59.599 --> 00:01:08.759 And of all these things that we have learned about what we're called to be, one of the things that we've learned is that as a community, we're called to be unified. 00:01:10.219 --> 00:01:13.079 A unified family, unified around this hope. 00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:24.579 And that requires special attention because, and you've probably figured this out, most of you are old enough to have realized, that division seems to be the thing that comes most naturally to us. 00:01:25.959 --> 00:01:26.379 Right? 00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:35.239 I even try to explain what denomination we're a part of and after a while and enough acronyms, I see people's kind of, you know, eyes just sort of fade out, you know. 00:01:35.239 --> 00:01:39.399 And so division is the thing that comes most naturally. 00:01:41.479 --> 00:01:48.199 Unity, you know, a unified community is supernatural. 00:01:49.019 --> 00:01:54.399 It's not something that we can manufacture just by strategy or willpower. 00:01:55.859 --> 00:01:57.859 A unified community is supernatural. 00:01:57.859 --> 00:02:07.939 And one of the things that you see with the gospel, which is the good news at the heart of the Christian faith is, the gospel isn't just about repairing our relationship with God. 00:02:08.020 --> 00:02:12.620 It has a lot to do with restoring our relationships with one another. 00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:17.439 And so it's what you might call the cruciform nature of the gospel. 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:20.879 It deals with both this relationship and these relationships. 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:32.019 And one of the things that makes Christian community unique, the church unique, is that our relationships with one another are directly shaped by our relationship with God. 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:35.159 And so that's the theme that we're going to explore tonight. 00:02:35.219 --> 00:02:40.199 And we're going to do that by looking at Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 19 through 22. 00:02:40.199 --> 00:02:47.500 This is a letter, the letter that we call Ephesians is a letter that Paul wrote to the churches in Asia Minor. 00:02:47.500 --> 00:02:51.319 It was most likely a letter that was meant to be circulated. 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:54.979 But it was dealing with an issue that was happening in these churches. 00:02:55.099 --> 00:02:56.120 It was a very serious issue. 00:02:56.300 --> 00:02:57.159 It was an issue of division. 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:01.020 And these churches, some of them were on the verge of splitting. 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:05.199 And so Paul is attempting to speak into that. 00:03:05.580 --> 00:03:11.740 And so what we'll see as we look at this passage is a potential cause for division, something that is every bit as much a threat to us. 00:03:11.740 --> 00:03:20.240 And then we'll see how the gospel overcomes this cause for division, how the gospel overpowers it. 00:03:20.540 --> 00:03:22.439 So let's pray for the Lord to lead us. 00:03:23.600 --> 00:03:27.340 Father, we do ask, as you promised to do, we ask that you would speak to us. 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:36.640 Lord, we truly say, heaven help us if we have only the words of mere human beings to rely on. 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:37.480 Lord, we need you. 00:03:37.600 --> 00:03:39.260 I need to hear from you tonight. 00:03:39.259 --> 00:03:40.739 We all do. 00:03:40.979 --> 00:03:51.299 And we ask that through these spoken words that you would open your living word to us and that your living word would reveal, or your written word would reveal to us your living word. 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:54.219 That we would encounter Jesus face to face. 00:03:54.399 --> 00:03:56.319 That we would be changed because of that. 00:03:56.500 --> 00:03:57.799 And we pray this in your son's name. 00:03:57.959 --> 00:03:58.219 Amen. 00:03:59.919 --> 00:04:03.699 First of all, a potential cause for division. 00:04:03.699 --> 00:04:09.939 I say that because in the very first verse of our passage, you see a reference to division. 00:04:10.119 --> 00:04:10.839 What does Paul say? 00:04:10.939 --> 00:04:18.759 He says, so then, he says to his readers, you are no longer strangers and aliens. 00:04:20.099 --> 00:04:23.620 Now those words right there connote division. 00:04:24.539 --> 00:04:25.039 Right? 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:29.740 You don't call somebody a stranger or an alien unless there's some kind of barrier between you. 00:04:29.740 --> 00:04:32.960 So we've got to figure out what Paul's talking about. 00:04:33.660 --> 00:04:43.840 The Ephesian church was made up, like a number of churches in the first generation church, was made up largely of Gentile converts. 00:04:44.180 --> 00:04:46.199 So these are people who had never been Jewish. 00:04:46.699 --> 00:04:47.980 They had never been circumcised. 00:04:48.180 --> 00:04:50.699 They had never lived under the law of Moses. 00:04:51.240 --> 00:04:52.519 But they had heard about Jesus. 00:04:52.660 --> 00:04:53.439 They wanted to be baptized. 00:04:53.699 --> 00:04:54.620 They wanted to become Christians. 00:04:54.620 --> 00:04:59.740 And so they had sort of gone straight past Judaism into Christianity. 00:05:01.220 --> 00:05:04.560 And a lot of the Jews were very shaken up by this. 00:05:04.819 --> 00:05:09.740 And the big question was, do you need to become Jewish before you can become Christian? 00:05:09.840 --> 00:05:13.560 Now you may not understand all of the nuances of that kind of thing. 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:18.220 But one of the things that we need to understand is, for the average Jew, Gentiles were unclean. 00:05:19.139 --> 00:05:20.500 You didn't associate with them. 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:22.459 You certainly didn't eat with them. 00:05:22.459 --> 00:05:36.000 And so you have Peter, the Apostle Peter, who wrote a couple of books in the New Testament, at one point refused to eat his food at the same table with Gentiles. 00:05:36.479 --> 00:05:37.259 Gentile Christians. 00:05:38.579 --> 00:05:44.479 So you had all these Gentiles going to church and feeling very much on the outside and wondering what had happened. 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:54.759 And feeling as though even though God had reconciled them, or so they had been told, to himself, they were still treated like strangers and aliens. 00:05:56.240 --> 00:06:02.319 Now some of this cultural stuff, again, may not translate directly to us today. 00:06:02.400 --> 00:06:03.220 Some of it does. 00:06:03.960 --> 00:06:12.080 But I do believe that underneath the kind of culture and the theology is a reality or a dynamic that we will all immediately understand. 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:16.339 It's something that is rooted in sin. 00:06:16.479 --> 00:06:17.819 So it's not culturally bound. 00:06:17.899 --> 00:06:21.479 It's something that exists today as much as it did in this day. 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:29.180 And what you begin to see is, this is somewhat about theology, but a lot of it is about sociology. 00:06:29.180 --> 00:06:39.920 And all too often, we see theology used to justify that which is, in reality, sociology. 00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:42.920 And I think that that's some of what's going on here. 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:45.519 I think that's some of what motivated perhaps even Peter. 00:06:46.500 --> 00:06:47.680 It's hard to pinpoint. 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:52.639 But there's an underlying dynamic that exists in all societies. 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:57.180 In society, there are visible systems, visible hierarchies. 00:06:57.180 --> 00:06:57.699 Hierarchies. 00:06:57.800 --> 00:07:01.100 So you go to work and hopefully you kind of know the rank. 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:04.420 You know who the vice president is and you know who the CEO is and you know what the board does. 00:07:04.660 --> 00:07:06.379 Hopefully you know kind of where you are. 00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:16.280 In the military, they have a very laid out system and you can get a little red book and open it and read and know what a colonel is and what a major is and what a general is. 00:07:16.379 --> 00:07:18.139 And you can know how they all stack up. 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:22.519 And it stays relatively stable across time. 00:07:22.519 --> 00:07:29.019 But there's another parallel system, a parallel dynamic that is much harder. 00:07:29.139 --> 00:07:33.019 You'll never find a book that lays it out because the rules are constantly in flux. 00:07:33.859 --> 00:07:35.120 It's very hard to pinpoint. 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:38.620 But it's what C.S. Lewis calls the inner ring. 00:07:39.939 --> 00:07:40.939 The inner ring. 00:07:42.359 --> 00:07:46.919 And it's defined not so much in terms of a hierarchy but in terms of just two categories. 00:07:47.899 --> 00:07:50.139 Insiders and outsiders. 00:07:50.139 --> 00:07:59.199 And this is that which determines where that line falls and who sits on which side. 00:08:00.500 --> 00:08:02.680 And it exists at every level of society. 00:08:03.039 --> 00:08:14.319 There are clear dividing lines, ones that we're all more or less aware of, like race, like class, like socioeconomic status, like education level, like gender. 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:20.680 And all of the kind of privilege and access that goes along with those categories. 00:08:22.259 --> 00:08:29.279 So those are the ones that we read a lot about and hear a lot about that cause an enormous amount of hurt and injustice in the world. 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:34.339 But there are also other ways of thinking about this. 00:08:34.419 --> 00:08:35.740 There are stages of life. 00:08:36.860 --> 00:08:38.559 You know, we experience this a lot in our church. 00:08:38.559 --> 00:08:50.599 You know, you sort of have married people talking about marriage and making references that convey the attitude that, oh, if you're single, you just wouldn't understand. 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:55.379 Or there are single people talking about the challenges and uniqueness of being single. 00:08:55.500 --> 00:08:58.259 And it's just something that if you're married, you can't speak into. 00:08:58.359 --> 00:08:59.739 You just couldn't possibly understand. 00:08:59.740 --> 00:09:06.419 There are people that talk about having kids and they have this sort of knowing eye role with the other people who have kids. 00:09:06.759 --> 00:09:09.060 And they say, oh, well, just appreciate your freedom. 00:09:09.180 --> 00:09:10.740 You just don't know what it's like to have kids. 00:09:11.940 --> 00:09:14.740 Or you have the people that are maybe divorced. 00:09:16.620 --> 00:09:22.820 And they look around and they say, well, man, is there anybody that I can identify with in this church? 00:09:23.560 --> 00:09:23.720 Right? 00:09:23.720 --> 00:09:33.860 There are people who, because of their life stage, there's a grouping and there's an immediate sense that unless you're a part of that life stage, you just don't get it. 00:09:34.620 --> 00:09:34.899 Right? 00:09:35.620 --> 00:09:47.960 Most of us encounter the sense of the inner ring through very subtle experiences that show us that there's some circle of relationships and that we're not a part of it. 00:09:48.700 --> 00:09:50.139 At least not in the same way. 00:09:50.139 --> 00:09:58.500 So this could be something as simple as sitting in a room full of people and there's a knowing look that is passed between two people. 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:03.379 You know, somebody just kind of goes, hmm, to somebody else. 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:06.199 And you say, what are you talking about? 00:10:07.419 --> 00:10:08.860 Or an inside joke. 00:10:10.419 --> 00:10:15.480 You know, somebody says a random word like Stanley and the other person busts out laughing. 00:10:16.259 --> 00:10:18.220 And you're like, well, what are you talking about? 00:10:18.860 --> 00:10:20.000 And you don't get it. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:21.519 You're not in on it. 00:10:21.940 --> 00:10:23.399 And they have a connection that you don't. 00:10:23.580 --> 00:10:23.879 Why? 00:10:24.700 --> 00:10:26.799 It could be things that are a little more obvious. 00:10:27.299 --> 00:10:32.240 You know, maybe somebody texts you and they say, hey, are you going to be there tonight? 00:10:33.860 --> 00:10:36.779 And you have no idea what's happening that night. 00:10:38.279 --> 00:10:42.899 I mean, so I was thinking this morning, you know, how do you handle that situation? 00:10:42.899 --> 00:10:45.919 You know, do you say, remind me where it is again? 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:48.139 Or do you, what do you say? 00:10:48.379 --> 00:10:48.559 You know? 00:10:49.199 --> 00:10:52.379 Or somebody, you know, you see pictures on Facebook. 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:54.620 And you see some of your really good friends. 00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:58.199 And they're doing something all together last weekend. 00:10:58.759 --> 00:10:59.959 And they look like they're having fun. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:01.579 And you had no idea they were going to do that. 00:11:02.120 --> 00:11:03.100 You were just sitting at home. 00:11:03.980 --> 00:11:06.699 And you wonder, well, why didn't they invite me? 00:11:07.699 --> 00:11:08.759 What was it about me? 00:11:08.759 --> 00:11:10.340 Did they purposely do this without me? 00:11:11.620 --> 00:11:13.879 You know, I was thinking about the experience of walking into a church. 00:11:13.939 --> 00:11:18.899 If any of you were here for the first time, no matter what we do as a church to try to create a welcoming space, 00:11:19.259 --> 00:11:21.059 walking into a church for the first time is terrifying. 00:11:21.059 --> 00:11:25.500 Because you feel like you're the only one that doesn't know what's going on. 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:26.939 And everybody else knows each other. 00:11:28.019 --> 00:11:29.000 It's not true. 00:11:30.620 --> 00:11:37.799 Even when, you know, even when you're in a small community where it feels like that. 00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:40.279 Where you assume everybody knows everybody. 00:11:40.459 --> 00:11:41.319 It's not true. 00:11:41.359 --> 00:11:42.399 But it sure feels that way. 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:45.319 Maybe if you're a part of a church. 00:11:45.459 --> 00:11:47.339 And we do small groups here in our church. 00:11:47.539 --> 00:11:51.839 And maybe, you know, you have that experience at the end of a small group where you have, you know, 00:11:51.859 --> 00:11:53.659 the official kind of thing ends. 00:11:53.719 --> 00:11:54.919 And people are going to go their separate ways. 00:11:55.079 --> 00:11:56.359 And two or three people group up. 00:11:56.379 --> 00:11:58.819 And they get ready to, and they're going to go out for drinks. 00:11:59.699 --> 00:12:02.079 And then there's that whole awkward thing where you're like, well, 00:12:02.579 --> 00:12:03.459 they're going out. 00:12:03.479 --> 00:12:05.319 And it's not really an official small group thing. 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:08.020 And they're going out, but they're not really inviting me. 00:12:08.180 --> 00:12:09.680 But can I just go? 00:12:09.800 --> 00:12:10.660 Or would I be imposing? 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:13.400 But we were just all sharing our hearts and praying for each other. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:16.140 And yet, I just don't feel like I can, I'm welcome. 00:12:16.220 --> 00:12:17.260 But why wouldn't they want me to come? 00:12:17.379 --> 00:12:18.860 And then you're like, well, I guess I won't come. 00:12:19.280 --> 00:12:21.180 But then it just needles away at your brain. 00:12:22.180 --> 00:12:27.200 And you're just thinking, well, do they, what, is this like a, it's the inner ring. 00:12:28.379 --> 00:12:29.280 It's the inner ring. 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:32.240 These are all examples of the inner ring. 00:12:32.679 --> 00:12:35.879 And what Lewis says is that our social world is like an onion. 00:12:36.259 --> 00:12:38.759 It's rings within rings within rings within rings within rings. 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:43.939 So every church, every office, every school, every friend group, every workplace, everything, 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:48.319 each social arena has its own rings within rings within rings. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:52.159 And there's this sense, and this is what the inner ring is all about, 00:12:52.339 --> 00:12:54.059 there's this sense that there are those who are in the know. 00:12:54.339 --> 00:12:56.659 I've had so many people tell me, well, I just feel like at Advent, 00:12:56.659 --> 00:12:59.159 there are those people who are just kind of in the know. 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:02.459 They kind of know what's going on, and there are other people who are not. 00:13:02.740 --> 00:13:05.959 I've had people tell me, I've been coming for months, 00:13:06.039 --> 00:13:09.279 and I just, I don't feel like I can kind of break into that kind of inner ring. 00:13:10.919 --> 00:13:14.839 And sometimes I say, well, I kind of feel like I haven't broken into the inner ring yet either. 00:13:17.100 --> 00:13:20.079 But there's a sense that there are those people who are in and those people who are out. 00:13:20.139 --> 00:13:20.959 That's the inner ring. 00:13:20.959 --> 00:13:22.179 And here's the point. 00:13:23.259 --> 00:13:25.659 Our first instinct when we say this, 00:13:26.659 --> 00:13:30.319 you know, my first instinct in literally saying this 00:13:30.319 --> 00:13:33.579 is to say, we've got to do away with all these rings, people. 00:13:34.279 --> 00:13:35.419 We've got to do away with them. 00:13:36.259 --> 00:13:37.899 But then you begin to think, and you realize, 00:13:37.980 --> 00:13:40.419 well, actually, these rings are kind of unavoidable, 00:13:40.559 --> 00:13:44.199 and to some extent, rings are necessary and can even be good. 00:13:45.019 --> 00:13:46.759 You know, leadership teams are necessary. 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:51.360 If you didn't have leadership teams, no decisions would ever get made, right? 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:54.579 Working groups and committees are necessary. 00:13:54.580 --> 00:13:56.200 Those are rings. 00:13:57.240 --> 00:14:01.560 Your group of friends is inherently to some extent exclusive, and that's good. 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:03.960 Friendship is inherently exclusive. 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:05.120 It's just a part of friendship. 00:14:06.500 --> 00:14:06.639 Right? 00:14:06.700 --> 00:14:07.800 Aristotle talked about that. 00:14:10.040 --> 00:14:14.120 There are some, your family is a good example of an inner ring that's good. 00:14:14.800 --> 00:14:18.120 So rings exist, and they're not necessarily inherently evil. 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:20.120 In fact, they can be quite good. 00:14:22.340 --> 00:14:25.340 So the direction we go is not to say rings are evil. 00:14:25.500 --> 00:14:27.720 If we look at the direction that Paul is going, 00:14:28.419 --> 00:14:31.639 and I believe this is really what he's addressing in places like Ephesus. 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:36.539 Rings themselves are not evil. 00:14:36.860 --> 00:14:40.980 It is our desire to be on the inside. 00:14:40.980 --> 00:14:43.440 That is what does the damage. 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:45.940 Our desire to be insiders. 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:48.560 Lewis calls it being an inner ringer. 00:14:49.899 --> 00:14:52.840 And it's the desire that causes the problem. 00:14:52.899 --> 00:14:56.720 Because listen, if you're on the outside of what you perceive to be an inner ring, 00:14:57.500 --> 00:15:00.100 then that's going to bring up all kinds of insecurity in you, 00:15:00.139 --> 00:15:01.980 and you're going to wonder about it, and you're going to wonder, 00:15:02.100 --> 00:15:03.420 why didn't those people invite me? 00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:05.500 Why didn't I get asked to be a part of that thing? 00:15:06.299 --> 00:15:08.179 What was that look that they were passing? 00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:12.179 You know, why does my boss, whenever my boss is talking to my co-worker, 00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:13.899 they always seem to laugh and be jovial, 00:15:14.179 --> 00:15:17.120 but then whenever I talk to my boss, it feels formal and awkward. 00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:18.759 What is that? 00:15:18.820 --> 00:15:20.559 What do they have that I'm not a part of? 00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:22.539 And those kinds of things will eat away at you. 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:26.600 And what you'll do is, the more it eats away at you, 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:30.399 the more you will be willing to do whatever it takes to get on the inside. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:33.320 I'll tell you a story about myself. 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:37.940 I first came aware of the inner ring dynamic when I was in fourth grade. 00:15:38.680 --> 00:15:40.560 Maybe everybody else had figured it out by then. 00:15:40.600 --> 00:15:41.020 I don't know. 00:15:41.460 --> 00:15:43.280 But I remember, maybe I was on the outside of that. 00:15:43.680 --> 00:15:47.140 But I remember, I remember in fourth grade, there was a cool kid, 00:15:47.680 --> 00:15:50.320 and he was kind of the ringleader, so to speak. 00:15:50.800 --> 00:15:54.260 And then he had his kind of like, you know, sort of circle of cronies. 00:15:54.680 --> 00:15:57.200 And I was not even, I was not a cool kid, 00:15:57.260 --> 00:15:59.440 so I was not even a part of that outer circle. 00:15:59.620 --> 00:16:00.740 So I wasn't even in the orbit. 00:16:00.820 --> 00:16:02.580 I was in like a neighboring solar system. 00:16:02.580 --> 00:16:06.139 And so I just wanted to be in the orbit of the cool kid. 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:09.639 And so there was this one day when they were all kind of laughing, 00:16:09.780 --> 00:16:10.900 and I could tell they were up to something, 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:13.740 and one of them turns to me and says, hey, Tommy, come on. 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:16.580 And I thought, this is my chance. 00:16:17.560 --> 00:16:20.700 You know, the door, this titanium wall, 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:23.420 there's been a crack and the door is opened, you know? 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:26.600 And it's like, and the door, and I went running through it. 00:16:26.620 --> 00:16:28.240 And I was like, yes, I'm on the inside. 00:16:28.440 --> 00:16:29.900 And then we're going out of the classroom. 00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:31.559 Okay, where are we going, you know? 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:32.740 And then we go down the hall. 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:33.220 Where are we going? 00:16:33.399 --> 00:16:34.980 And then we go into the guy's bathroom. 00:16:35.079 --> 00:16:37.179 And I'm thinking, oh, this is kind of weird, but okay. 00:16:37.340 --> 00:16:38.480 This is what they do. 00:16:38.600 --> 00:16:41.980 And then we go in there, and then there's this other kid who's in there. 00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:44.879 And he's not in the ring. 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:46.939 He's in a totally different ring. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:51.299 And then they, all of a sudden, we're grabbing him. 00:16:51.299 --> 00:16:55.719 And they're all laughing, but he's not laughing. 00:16:56.339 --> 00:16:58.959 And we pull him into this stall. 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:01.359 And a couple of the guys kind of grab him, 00:17:01.419 --> 00:17:03.319 and they stick his head down in the toilet, and they flush it. 00:17:04.299 --> 00:17:06.839 And they laugh, and they say, we just gave him a swirly. 00:17:09.879 --> 00:17:13.720 And it happened just like that. 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:19.779 And I would like to say that I made a heroic stand and got between him and them 00:17:19.779 --> 00:17:24.460 and fought him off with my bare hands, but I was on the inside. 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:26.019 It felt really good. 00:17:27.380 --> 00:17:31.339 And I remember in the aftermath thinking, what have I done? 00:17:31.339 --> 00:17:36.279 It may also be the first time I really remember feeling deep remorse. 00:17:36.980 --> 00:17:38.500 And we got paddled. 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:41.459 This is way back when you could still get paddled at school. 00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:47.299 And the paddle had holes in it for reducing air resistance. 00:17:47.879 --> 00:17:49.339 And the vice principal did it. 00:17:49.679 --> 00:17:53.480 And it was the 80s, so I had a zipper on my back pocket. 00:17:53.659 --> 00:17:56.819 And so he, because the 80s. 00:17:56.819 --> 00:18:01.200 And I remember he took a moment to zip, 00:18:01.399 --> 00:18:03.519 which also felt inappropriate in a weird way, 00:18:03.659 --> 00:18:06.439 to move the zipper over to the far right 00:18:06.439 --> 00:18:08.399 so the paddle wouldn't cause any kind of welt. 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:11.639 And then bam, bam, bam, you know, gave me with my hands on his desk. 00:18:11.960 --> 00:18:14.599 The whole thing, you know, I guess that's illegal now. 00:18:14.659 --> 00:18:16.000 The whole school would get shut down. 00:18:16.700 --> 00:18:19.279 But it happened back then. 00:18:19.619 --> 00:18:23.599 And that wasn't the worst part. 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:27.459 The worst part, other than having to face that kid again, 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:31.279 was my fourth grade teacher, after everybody had left, 00:18:31.339 --> 00:18:32.019 asked me to stay. 00:18:32.139 --> 00:18:34.279 And she had this kind of stoic look on her face. 00:18:34.339 --> 00:18:36.639 And then after everybody was gone, she just broke down sobbing. 00:18:37.719 --> 00:18:39.480 And she said, Tommy, how could you? 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:42.419 And she said, you're not that kind of person. 00:18:43.980 --> 00:18:50.939 And then she said that whatever you thought you were doing, 00:18:50.939 --> 00:18:53.139 whatever you thought was worth it, it wasn't worth it. 00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:57.879 And she said, I'm so disappointed in you. 00:18:58.359 --> 00:19:00.599 And it absolutely crushed me. 00:19:00.699 --> 00:19:03.379 And I remember being pierced at that moment 00:19:03.379 --> 00:19:05.740 with the realization of the power 00:19:05.740 --> 00:19:09.099 that I couldn't articulate at the time of the inner ring 00:19:09.099 --> 00:19:12.740 and how I would do anything at that moment 00:19:12.740 --> 00:19:14.740 if I let myself to be a part of it. 00:19:15.699 --> 00:19:16.839 See, that's what happens, 00:19:16.839 --> 00:19:20.159 and that's what Lewis warns us against if that desire takes over. 00:19:20.919 --> 00:19:22.259 But here's the flip side of this. 00:19:22.259 --> 00:19:24.799 If you are, in fact, on the inside of whatever ring 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:26.500 you are caring about at that moment, 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:27.900 if you are an insider, 00:19:28.579 --> 00:19:30.799 and this desire has taken hold, 00:19:30.859 --> 00:19:31.599 then what's going to happen? 00:19:31.779 --> 00:19:33.660 Well, you're going to reinforce the boundaries. 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:34.740 Right? 00:19:34.740 --> 00:19:36.579 And why are you going to do that? 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:37.599 Simple economics. 00:19:38.200 --> 00:19:39.000 Supply and demand. 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:40.380 Right? 00:19:40.420 --> 00:19:41.700 If you are on the inside, 00:19:42.259 --> 00:19:43.880 the harder it is to get in, 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:45.319 the more valuable your membership. 00:19:46.620 --> 00:19:48.039 So you're going to do whatever you can 00:19:48.039 --> 00:19:49.120 to keep other people out. 00:19:51.339 --> 00:19:52.299 So either way, 00:19:52.339 --> 00:19:53.799 if that desire takes hold of us, 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:55.519 which it will, 00:19:56.259 --> 00:19:57.440 if left unchecked, 00:19:57.500 --> 00:20:00.559 it's going to create destruction. 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:03.359 So C.S. Lewis says, 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:05.119 unless you take measures to prevent it, 00:20:05.379 --> 00:20:08.179 this desire is going to be one of the chief motives of your life. 00:20:08.179 --> 00:20:09.319 Not only in your vocation, 00:20:09.379 --> 00:20:09.899 in your job, 00:20:10.579 --> 00:20:11.940 but in all spheres of life. 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:14.720 So the desire to be insiders, 00:20:14.899 --> 00:20:18.039 to be included in whatever local rings exist around us, 00:20:18.159 --> 00:20:20.740 that's the root of snobbery, 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:23.500 of exclusivism, 00:20:24.339 --> 00:20:26.059 of lots of forms of division. 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:27.940 And unless we do something about it, 00:20:27.940 --> 00:20:28.980 it's going to dominate us. 00:20:29.059 --> 00:20:31.580 And so what Paul's wanting to do here 00:20:31.580 --> 00:20:32.240 is to show us 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:35.420 how does the gospel overcome this desire in us? 00:20:35.500 --> 00:20:38.740 What hope do we have to stamp this out 00:20:38.740 --> 00:20:42.259 before we find ourselves shaking our heads 00:20:42.259 --> 00:20:42.799 and thinking, 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:44.440 what have I done? 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:47.460 Paul's answer is this. 00:20:47.700 --> 00:20:48.059 He says, 00:20:48.140 --> 00:20:51.080 the more we understand what Jesus has accomplished for us, 00:20:51.180 --> 00:20:54.299 the more this desire will be reduced in us. 00:20:54.779 --> 00:20:57.880 The more we understand the meaning of the death of Jesus, 00:20:57.940 --> 00:21:01.460 the more we will experience the death of this desire. 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:03.660 And so you can imagine Paul, 00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:07.000 this is the context of Ephesians 2, 19 to 22. 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:10.080 You can imagine Paul taking the Ephesians by the shoulders 00:21:10.080 --> 00:21:11.460 and looking in their eyes 00:21:11.460 --> 00:21:13.380 and fixing them with his gaze 00:21:13.380 --> 00:21:15.000 and saying, 00:21:15.140 --> 00:21:16.740 you need to understand who you are. 00:21:17.380 --> 00:21:19.500 You need to understand what Jesus has done for you 00:21:19.500 --> 00:21:21.680 and what that means about you. 00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:24.519 What has changed? 00:21:25.240 --> 00:21:26.019 So he says, 00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:27.920 he gives them these three images 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:30.339 to help them understand these three metaphors. 00:21:30.980 --> 00:21:31.460 He says, 00:21:31.619 --> 00:21:34.200 so then you're no longer strangers and aliens, 00:21:34.339 --> 00:21:35.759 you're fellow citizens. 00:21:36.940 --> 00:21:37.740 With the saints, 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:38.700 you've been made citizens. 00:21:39.059 --> 00:21:39.619 And then he goes on, 00:21:39.660 --> 00:21:39.900 he says, 00:21:39.960 --> 00:21:42.119 and you're members of the household of God, 00:21:42.980 --> 00:21:44.819 built on the foundation of the apostles 00:21:44.819 --> 00:21:45.579 and the prophets, 00:21:46.039 --> 00:21:48.200 Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone 00:21:48.200 --> 00:21:50.720 in whom the whole structure being joined together 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:53.440 grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:54.200 In him, 00:21:54.259 --> 00:21:55.840 you are also being built together 00:21:55.840 --> 00:21:58.880 into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 00:21:59.580 --> 00:22:00.920 So these three metaphors, 00:22:01.220 --> 00:22:01.600 citizens, 00:22:02.180 --> 00:22:03.120 family members, 00:22:03.740 --> 00:22:04.519 temple stones, 00:22:04.660 --> 00:22:05.039 interesting. 00:22:06.299 --> 00:22:07.360 What's he saying here? 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:09.400 Each 00:22:09.400 --> 00:22:12.480 is like a concentric circle 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:13.920 of belonging. 00:22:14.840 --> 00:22:15.600 So he says, 00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:17.279 at the outermost level, 00:22:17.380 --> 00:22:18.779 you've become citizens. 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:22.539 So there's no longer Jew and Gentile. 00:22:23.560 --> 00:22:25.600 There's no longer Roman citizen 00:22:25.600 --> 00:22:27.360 and non-citizen. 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:27.779 See, 00:22:27.820 --> 00:22:28.539 that was a big deal. 00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:30.039 Paul is proud of his Roman citizenship. 00:22:30.820 --> 00:22:31.420 But he says, 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:31.620 no, 00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:32.860 there's something even more important. 00:22:33.100 --> 00:22:34.640 You're citizens of the same kingdom, 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:35.200 which means 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:36.680 before God, 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:38.640 you have all of the same rights and privileges. 00:22:39.360 --> 00:22:40.019 Jew or Gentile, 00:22:40.080 --> 00:22:40.580 doesn't matter. 00:22:40.980 --> 00:22:42.799 You have all of the same benefits. 00:22:43.819 --> 00:22:45.299 You have the same assurance. 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:48.399 He says, 00:22:48.639 --> 00:22:49.059 in other words, 00:22:49.099 --> 00:22:50.859 you've come into the inner ring of citizenship. 00:22:51.559 --> 00:22:53.179 That's been done for you by Jesus. 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:55.399 But he says, 00:22:55.439 --> 00:22:56.319 it doesn't stop there. 00:22:58.279 --> 00:22:59.599 It gets a lot more intimate. 00:23:00.019 --> 00:23:01.559 Not only are you co-citizens, 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:04.159 but you're members of the same family. 00:23:06.859 --> 00:23:08.679 They're your members of the same family 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:10.740 in the sense that you now have the same father. 00:23:11.180 --> 00:23:12.259 You're brothers and sisters. 00:23:12.680 --> 00:23:12.900 You know, 00:23:12.940 --> 00:23:13.900 there's that amazing place 00:23:13.900 --> 00:23:15.019 where the disciples come to Jesus 00:23:15.019 --> 00:23:15.600 and they say, 00:23:15.860 --> 00:23:16.000 hey, 00:23:16.080 --> 00:23:17.680 your mom and your brothers, 00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:19.160 they're here and they want to see you. 00:23:19.340 --> 00:23:19.840 And Jesus says, 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:21.600 who are my mother and my brother and my sisters? 00:23:21.779 --> 00:23:23.259 And he gestures to all of his disciples. 00:23:23.700 --> 00:23:24.000 And he says, 00:23:24.060 --> 00:23:25.500 everyone who does the will of my father, 00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:27.039 those are my mother and my brother 00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:27.920 and my sisters. 00:23:29.960 --> 00:23:31.080 He's clearly saying, 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:33.120 I have come to establish a new family. 00:23:34.180 --> 00:23:34.420 You know, 00:23:34.460 --> 00:23:35.539 we talk about in Genesis, 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:37.660 when God talks about marriage, 00:23:37.660 --> 00:23:39.600 Adam leaves his father and mother 00:23:39.600 --> 00:23:41.320 and holds fast to his wife. 00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:43.800 That's what's happening in Matthew 12, 00:23:43.880 --> 00:23:44.300 by the way. 00:23:44.800 --> 00:23:46.960 Jesus is leaving his father 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:48.360 and his earthly mother 00:23:48.360 --> 00:23:50.740 and he's cleaving to his wife. 00:23:52.300 --> 00:23:53.140 The church. 00:23:54.220 --> 00:23:55.680 The bride of Christ, right? 00:23:57.519 --> 00:23:58.660 A new family. 00:23:59.140 --> 00:24:00.660 So this is why they call the Christians 00:24:00.660 --> 00:24:01.759 the third race. 00:24:01.860 --> 00:24:02.320 You're not Jewish, 00:24:02.420 --> 00:24:03.019 you're not Gentile, 00:24:03.259 --> 00:24:04.820 you're something new, right? 00:24:04.819 --> 00:24:07.339 You're natural born citizens, 00:24:07.539 --> 00:24:09.559 you're natural born family members. 00:24:10.779 --> 00:24:12.319 But it doesn't stop there. 00:24:12.619 --> 00:24:13.480 Paul goes on. 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:14.740 He says, 00:24:14.819 --> 00:24:16.139 in order to overcome your insecurity 00:24:16.139 --> 00:24:17.099 and your snobbery 00:24:17.099 --> 00:24:20.159 and your exclusivity 00:24:20.159 --> 00:24:20.879 and your division, 00:24:21.559 --> 00:24:23.000 it's all rooted in this desire 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:24.179 we have for the inner ring. 00:24:24.379 --> 00:24:25.679 You have to understand that, 00:24:25.779 --> 00:24:26.259 in Jesus, 00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:27.460 you're citizens. 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:29.299 More than that, 00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:30.200 you're family members. 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:31.299 But there's one last piece, 00:24:31.339 --> 00:24:31.759 he says, 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:34.200 it's even more intimate. 00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:37.519 You're stones in the same temple. 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:38.799 And I say, 00:24:38.859 --> 00:24:39.799 well, citizens check, 00:24:39.980 --> 00:24:40.819 family members check, 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:41.420 stones, 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:44.259 it just seems to be a departure. 00:24:45.900 --> 00:24:46.700 But it's not. 00:24:46.740 --> 00:24:47.559 It's not a mixed metaphor. 00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:52.359 This is the most intimate image 00:24:52.359 --> 00:24:53.660 that he could give us. 00:24:53.980 --> 00:24:55.140 Because what is he saying? 00:24:55.759 --> 00:24:57.759 You are built together 00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:59.359 with all of your brothers and sisters 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:02.619 into one united dwelling place 00:25:02.619 --> 00:25:04.779 for the God of the universe. 00:25:05.699 --> 00:25:07.179 And this conveys the idea 00:25:07.179 --> 00:25:08.339 of what theologians call 00:25:08.339 --> 00:25:10.419 the interpenetration of God, 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:13.019 where God is dwelling in us 00:25:13.019 --> 00:25:13.740 as a community 00:25:13.740 --> 00:25:16.000 and we are dwelling in God 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:16.879 at the same time. 00:25:16.979 --> 00:25:19.079 There is a mutual indwelling 00:25:19.079 --> 00:25:20.199 that is occurring. 00:25:20.299 --> 00:25:20.740 In other words, 00:25:20.959 --> 00:25:22.799 you have been made a part of that 00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:24.759 which is God's holy dwelling 00:25:24.759 --> 00:25:25.779 on earth, 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:27.179 no longer a temple 00:25:27.179 --> 00:25:28.419 of stone and mortar, 00:25:28.420 --> 00:25:29.400 but rather a temple 00:25:29.400 --> 00:25:30.600 of human beings 00:25:30.600 --> 00:25:31.580 and human souls. 00:25:33.860 --> 00:25:34.519 He says, 00:25:34.600 --> 00:25:35.340 you're built together 00:25:35.340 --> 00:25:36.220 into this dwelling place. 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:37.120 So what's he saying? 00:25:37.360 --> 00:25:37.720 He's saying, 00:25:37.779 --> 00:25:38.380 don't you see, 00:25:38.500 --> 00:25:39.180 don't you realize, 00:25:39.460 --> 00:25:40.980 Ephesians who were so caught up 00:25:40.980 --> 00:25:42.080 trying to get into this 00:25:42.080 --> 00:25:43.480 or that inner circle, 00:25:43.560 --> 00:25:44.340 don't you understand 00:25:44.340 --> 00:25:44.920 what's happened? 00:25:45.360 --> 00:25:46.440 You've been given access 00:25:46.440 --> 00:25:49.519 to the ultimate inner ring. 00:25:50.019 --> 00:25:51.640 The ultimate inner ring. 00:25:53.220 --> 00:25:54.259 Jesus brought you 00:25:54.259 --> 00:25:55.000 into the inner ring 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:55.580 of citizenship 00:25:55.580 --> 00:25:56.440 and then he brought you 00:25:56.440 --> 00:25:57.140 into the inner ring 00:25:57.140 --> 00:25:57.759 of family 00:25:57.759 --> 00:25:59.100 and now he's brought you 00:25:59.100 --> 00:26:00.460 into the ultimate inner ring 00:26:00.460 --> 00:26:02.759 of the Trinity. 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:05.800 The Trinity. 00:26:05.980 --> 00:26:06.980 When we talk about God, 00:26:07.080 --> 00:26:08.660 God is a Trinity of beings, 00:26:08.820 --> 00:26:09.900 Father, Son, and Spirit. 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:11.740 The ultimate inner ring 00:26:11.740 --> 00:26:13.140 that has existed perfectly 00:26:13.140 --> 00:26:14.920 in love for all eternity. 00:26:15.640 --> 00:26:16.880 And what the Bible tells us 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:17.960 is we were made 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:20.000 to have a relationship 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:21.780 within that ring. 00:26:21.779 --> 00:26:24.299 to live our life 00:26:24.299 --> 00:26:25.899 alongside the members 00:26:25.899 --> 00:26:26.680 of the Trinity 00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:28.000 in God. 00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:30.579 But it tells us 00:26:30.579 --> 00:26:31.660 that because we would rather 00:26:31.660 --> 00:26:32.539 be gods 00:26:32.539 --> 00:26:33.680 than be with God, 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:35.399 we were cast out. 00:26:35.399 --> 00:26:37.059 The Bible uses this imagery 00:26:37.059 --> 00:26:37.819 of a cherubim 00:26:37.819 --> 00:26:39.200 and a flaming sword 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:40.559 guarding the entrance 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:41.740 to this place of fellowship. 00:26:41.740 --> 00:26:43.759 We were cast out 00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:44.380 of that ring. 00:26:46.440 --> 00:26:47.660 And what the Bible says 00:26:47.660 --> 00:26:48.579 is that we spend 00:26:48.579 --> 00:26:49.779 all of our lives 00:26:49.779 --> 00:26:51.279 trying to get back in. 00:26:53.059 --> 00:26:54.000 And so when I look 00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:54.539 at what I did 00:26:54.539 --> 00:26:55.299 to that kid 00:26:55.299 --> 00:26:57.299 and I try 00:26:57.299 --> 00:26:58.180 to understand it 00:26:58.180 --> 00:26:59.700 and when we try 00:26:59.700 --> 00:27:00.339 to understand 00:27:00.339 --> 00:27:01.380 the gnawing 00:27:01.380 --> 00:27:02.279 persistence 00:27:02.279 --> 00:27:03.620 of this desire 00:27:03.620 --> 00:27:04.279 in us, 00:27:04.740 --> 00:27:05.500 I believe 00:27:05.500 --> 00:27:06.740 what it really is 00:27:06.740 --> 00:27:08.319 is it is ultimately 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:09.559 the good desire 00:27:09.559 --> 00:27:11.859 to be in that 00:27:11.859 --> 00:27:12.859 ultimate inner ring 00:27:12.859 --> 00:27:13.399 of the Trinity. 00:27:14.519 --> 00:27:15.200 But I believe 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:15.899 it's been twisted. 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:17.740 And I believe 00:27:17.740 --> 00:27:19.159 that what we do instead 00:27:19.159 --> 00:27:20.279 is we subsist 00:27:20.279 --> 00:27:21.299 on what you might think 00:27:21.299 --> 00:27:22.619 of as false trinities. 00:27:23.839 --> 00:27:24.839 And that's what 00:27:24.839 --> 00:27:25.419 the inner ring 00:27:25.419 --> 00:27:26.339 really is. 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:28.039 It's a false trinity. 00:27:28.379 --> 00:27:29.240 It's an illusion. 00:27:30.179 --> 00:27:31.059 It promises 00:27:31.059 --> 00:27:33.379 but the minute 00:27:33.379 --> 00:27:34.139 you get inside 00:27:34.139 --> 00:27:34.759 you realize 00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:35.839 that it doesn't deliver 00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:36.879 and so many people 00:27:36.879 --> 00:27:37.980 spend their whole lives 00:27:37.980 --> 00:27:39.339 peeling that onion 00:27:39.339 --> 00:27:40.639 back one layer 00:27:40.639 --> 00:27:41.259 at a time 00:27:41.259 --> 00:27:42.259 and finally you get 00:27:42.259 --> 00:27:42.919 to the end of it 00:27:42.919 --> 00:27:43.419 and you realize 00:27:43.419 --> 00:27:44.779 there's nothing here. 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:49.500 So what is the gospel? 00:27:49.659 --> 00:27:50.379 What is the good news 00:27:50.379 --> 00:27:51.000 of the gospel? 00:27:51.259 --> 00:27:52.399 That Jesus Christ 00:27:52.399 --> 00:27:53.779 was the ultimate insider, 00:27:54.679 --> 00:27:55.699 a member of that 00:27:55.699 --> 00:27:56.619 innermost ring 00:27:56.619 --> 00:27:58.619 and yet because 00:27:58.619 --> 00:27:59.339 he looks at you 00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:00.119 and he looks at me 00:28:00.119 --> 00:28:00.899 and he sees 00:28:00.899 --> 00:28:02.019 that we are lonely 00:28:02.019 --> 00:28:03.259 and that we are strangers 00:28:03.259 --> 00:28:04.199 and that we are aliens 00:28:04.199 --> 00:28:05.279 and that we are cut off, 00:28:06.639 --> 00:28:08.599 he left that inner ring 00:28:08.599 --> 00:28:10.259 came here, 00:28:10.899 --> 00:28:12.599 became the ultimate outcast, 00:28:13.459 --> 00:28:14.119 not only 00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:16.119 cast out by us 00:28:16.119 --> 00:28:17.559 but at the end of the day 00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:18.039 on the cross 00:28:18.039 --> 00:28:19.099 the real pain of the cross 00:28:19.099 --> 00:28:20.199 wasn't the physical pain, 00:28:20.299 --> 00:28:21.119 it was that his father 00:28:21.119 --> 00:28:22.219 turned his back on him 00:28:22.219 --> 00:28:24.839 and Jesus experienced 00:28:24.839 --> 00:28:26.179 that outer darkness 00:28:26.179 --> 00:28:27.619 of alienation 00:28:27.619 --> 00:28:29.099 in a way that we never have 00:28:29.099 --> 00:28:29.740 and God willing 00:28:29.740 --> 00:28:30.319 never will. 00:28:31.480 --> 00:28:32.439 But he did it 00:28:32.439 --> 00:28:33.379 so that what? 00:28:33.459 --> 00:28:35.179 He could forgive our sin 00:28:35.180 --> 00:28:36.700 and invite us 00:28:36.700 --> 00:28:38.299 all the way in 00:28:38.299 --> 00:28:40.120 to the innermost ring 00:28:40.120 --> 00:28:40.799 of the Trinity 00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:42.000 to be what we were 00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:42.840 made to be. 00:28:45.140 --> 00:28:47.060 So as we consider this 00:28:47.060 --> 00:28:49.060 and we consider 00:28:49.060 --> 00:28:51.279 what it might look like 00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:52.620 for us to forego 00:28:52.620 --> 00:28:54.980 that empty promise 00:28:54.980 --> 00:28:56.120 of the false Trinity 00:28:56.120 --> 00:28:58.759 and embrace the true Trinity, 00:28:58.759 --> 00:29:01.099 I believe the more 00:29:01.099 --> 00:29:02.819 we hear this story 00:29:02.819 --> 00:29:03.259 and the more 00:29:03.259 --> 00:29:04.180 that this story 00:29:04.180 --> 00:29:06.579 becomes embedded 00:29:06.579 --> 00:29:07.339 in our hearts, 00:29:07.379 --> 00:29:08.379 the more we reflect 00:29:08.379 --> 00:29:09.059 on the fact 00:29:09.059 --> 00:29:10.299 that we are in fact 00:29:10.299 --> 00:29:13.420 in the innermost 00:29:13.420 --> 00:29:14.660 ultimate ring 00:29:14.660 --> 00:29:16.980 through Jesus, 00:29:17.180 --> 00:29:18.099 the more that will 00:29:18.099 --> 00:29:20.200 extinguish this desire 00:29:20.200 --> 00:29:20.680 in us 00:29:20.680 --> 00:29:22.900 and it will begin 00:29:22.900 --> 00:29:23.619 to change us. 00:29:24.220 --> 00:29:25.200 The more that our 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:26.240 relationships are defined 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:26.839 by the story 00:29:26.839 --> 00:29:27.400 of the gospel, 00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:29.640 the less we will need 00:29:29.640 --> 00:29:30.960 that false promise 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:32.680 of the inner ring 00:29:32.680 --> 00:29:33.680 in our social circles. 00:29:35.059 --> 00:29:36.240 So if you find yourself 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:36.940 on the outside 00:29:36.940 --> 00:29:37.460 and the gospel 00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:38.500 has really taken root 00:29:38.500 --> 00:29:39.259 in your life, 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:41.400 if you find yourself 00:29:41.400 --> 00:29:42.039 on the outside, 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:43.700 it won't eat away 00:29:43.700 --> 00:29:44.620 with you, 00:29:44.700 --> 00:29:45.319 the insecurity 00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:46.920 won't gnaw away at you 00:29:46.920 --> 00:29:47.880 and if it does, 00:29:47.940 --> 00:29:48.380 you'll have a way 00:29:48.380 --> 00:29:49.579 of answering the insecurity. 00:29:49.759 --> 00:29:50.299 You can preach 00:29:50.299 --> 00:29:51.240 to yourself and say, 00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:52.660 I've been given access 00:29:52.660 --> 00:29:53.900 to the ultimate inner ring, 00:29:53.980 --> 00:29:55.019 the only one 00:29:55.019 --> 00:29:55.740 that matters, 00:29:55.740 --> 00:29:56.519 the very source 00:29:56.519 --> 00:29:57.500 of light and life 00:29:57.500 --> 00:29:58.720 and love. 00:29:59.460 --> 00:30:00.339 If I have that, 00:30:00.440 --> 00:30:01.240 why do I need this? 00:30:02.700 --> 00:30:04.200 And if you do find yourself 00:30:04.200 --> 00:30:05.200 on the inside, 00:30:06.259 --> 00:30:08.019 you'll be the opposite 00:30:08.019 --> 00:30:08.759 of the person 00:30:08.759 --> 00:30:09.599 who tries to keep 00:30:09.599 --> 00:30:10.620 everybody out 00:30:10.620 --> 00:30:13.059 because you don't need 00:30:13.059 --> 00:30:13.920 that to give you 00:30:13.920 --> 00:30:14.519 any value. 00:30:14.759 --> 00:30:15.980 You already have that 00:30:15.980 --> 00:30:17.480 in God himself. 00:30:17.799 --> 00:30:18.500 And you know 00:30:18.500 --> 00:30:19.519 you've met those people 00:30:19.519 --> 00:30:20.779 who are really 00:30:20.779 --> 00:30:21.819 not that important 00:30:21.819 --> 00:30:22.599 but they go out 00:30:22.599 --> 00:30:23.160 of their way 00:30:23.160 --> 00:30:24.019 to make sure 00:30:24.019 --> 00:30:25.019 you know how important 00:30:25.019 --> 00:30:25.779 they are. 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:28.420 Reinforcing the boundaries. 00:30:30.019 --> 00:30:30.839 And then occasionally 00:30:30.839 --> 00:30:31.599 you meet somebody 00:30:31.599 --> 00:30:33.079 who maybe is very important. 00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:33.799 You know, 00:30:33.819 --> 00:30:35.139 maybe they are pretty elite 00:30:35.139 --> 00:30:35.960 and maybe they are 00:30:35.960 --> 00:30:37.319 a pretty high level person 00:30:37.319 --> 00:30:38.400 and maybe they really 00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:39.599 don't have a lot of time 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:40.319 and maybe they really 00:30:40.319 --> 00:30:41.799 have access to people 00:30:41.799 --> 00:30:42.660 and to social circles 00:30:42.660 --> 00:30:44.099 that I could never 00:30:44.099 --> 00:30:44.859 dream of having. 00:30:45.539 --> 00:30:46.759 And yet when you meet them 00:30:46.759 --> 00:30:47.579 they have a kind of 00:30:47.579 --> 00:30:48.019 openness 00:30:48.019 --> 00:30:49.279 and warmth 00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:50.680 and magnanimity 00:30:50.680 --> 00:30:51.819 and a kind of 00:30:51.819 --> 00:30:52.859 a welcoming spirit 00:30:52.859 --> 00:30:54.579 and you have these encounters 00:30:54.579 --> 00:30:55.000 and you're like 00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:55.720 wow, I just met 00:30:55.720 --> 00:30:56.740 and I thought they would be 00:30:56.740 --> 00:30:57.700 so standoffish 00:30:57.700 --> 00:30:59.079 but that was amazing. 00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:00.379 Just in that moment 00:31:00.379 --> 00:31:01.160 I felt like I was 00:31:01.160 --> 00:31:02.059 the only one in the room. 00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:04.180 You know these encounters 00:31:04.180 --> 00:31:06.200 and you meet somebody 00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:06.599 like that 00:31:06.599 --> 00:31:06.859 and you think 00:31:06.859 --> 00:31:07.720 where does that kind of 00:31:07.720 --> 00:31:09.019 open magnanimity 00:31:09.019 --> 00:31:09.460 come from? 00:31:09.460 --> 00:31:10.319 That's the fruit 00:31:10.319 --> 00:31:11.799 of what the gospel can do. 00:31:12.940 --> 00:31:14.200 And so what you began to see 00:31:14.200 --> 00:31:15.600 as this story takes hold 00:31:15.600 --> 00:31:17.920 is the reversal 00:31:17.920 --> 00:31:19.340 of the inner ring dynamic. 00:31:19.740 --> 00:31:20.559 So when Christians 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:21.620 talk about charity 00:31:21.620 --> 00:31:23.759 that's the reversal 00:31:23.759 --> 00:31:24.460 of this dynamic. 00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:25.579 When we talk as Christians 00:31:25.579 --> 00:31:26.559 about hospitality 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:28.200 do you know that hospitality 00:31:28.200 --> 00:31:29.620 is the polar opposite 00:31:29.620 --> 00:31:30.400 of the inner ring? 00:31:31.140 --> 00:31:32.100 Rather than casting 00:31:32.100 --> 00:31:33.000 other people out 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:34.120 so that you can feel good 00:31:34.120 --> 00:31:36.579 it's welcoming 00:31:36.579 --> 00:31:37.480 other people in 00:31:37.480 --> 00:31:38.460 and making them feel 00:31:38.460 --> 00:31:39.140 like family. 00:31:39.460 --> 00:31:41.900 It's the exact opposite. 00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:43.500 So Advent, friends 00:31:43.500 --> 00:31:44.799 brothers and sisters 00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:46.100 this is my prayer for us 00:31:46.100 --> 00:31:46.880 is that the gospel 00:31:46.880 --> 00:31:48.000 would take more and more 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:49.440 and more hold of us 00:31:49.440 --> 00:31:50.559 in our own lives 00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:51.319 and as a church 00:31:51.319 --> 00:31:52.740 that we would more 00:31:52.740 --> 00:31:53.340 and more and more 00:31:53.340 --> 00:31:54.660 be this kind of family 00:31:54.660 --> 00:31:56.059 who can welcome others in 00:31:56.059 --> 00:31:57.160 just as Jesus Christ 00:31:57.160 --> 00:31:58.819 has welcomed us in 00:31:58.819 --> 00:32:00.100 to the fellowship 00:32:00.100 --> 00:32:01.480 with God himself. 00:32:01.860 --> 00:32:02.319 Let's pray. 00:32:04.319 --> 00:32:05.120 Heavenly Father 00:32:05.120 --> 00:32:06.039 we recognize 00:32:06.039 --> 00:32:07.200 that these are words 00:32:07.200 --> 00:32:07.559 that 00:32:07.559 --> 00:32:11.179 to the extent 00:32:11.179 --> 00:32:12.119 that they reflect 00:32:12.119 --> 00:32:13.759 you and your will 00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:14.859 have power 00:32:14.859 --> 00:32:16.119 and so we pray 00:32:16.119 --> 00:32:16.799 that your spirit 00:32:16.799 --> 00:32:17.759 would embed that 00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:18.659 which is from you 00:32:18.659 --> 00:32:19.879 in our hearts 00:32:19.879 --> 00:32:20.879 that they would produce 00:32:20.879 --> 00:32:21.919 this kind of fruit. 00:32:22.119 --> 00:32:22.839 If anyone here 00:32:22.839 --> 00:32:24.839 is particularly beset 00:32:24.839 --> 00:32:25.399 by this 00:32:25.399 --> 00:32:26.559 or if this has brought up 00:32:26.559 --> 00:32:28.119 any wounds 00:32:28.119 --> 00:32:28.720 or hurt 00:32:28.720 --> 00:32:30.139 or guilt 00:32:30.139 --> 00:32:30.859 or insecurity 00:32:30.859 --> 00:32:32.779 that rather than 00:32:32.779 --> 00:32:33.779 burying those things 00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:34.440 we would see this 00:32:34.440 --> 00:32:35.140 as an opportunity 00:32:35.140 --> 00:32:36.960 to interact 00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:37.740 with you 00:32:37.740 --> 00:32:38.759 through the gospel 00:32:38.759 --> 00:32:40.279 to have your gospel 00:32:40.279 --> 00:32:41.580 speak healing 00:32:41.580 --> 00:32:42.440 into these places 00:32:42.440 --> 00:32:43.080 in our lives. 00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:43.820 We pray this 00:32:43.820 --> 00:32:45.140 for our good 00:32:45.140 --> 00:32:45.920 and for your glory 00:32:45.920 --> 00:32:46.820 in your son's name. 00:32:47.360 --> 00:32:47.779 Amen.