WEBVTT 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:02.720 Well, my name is Greg. If we've never met, I 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:04.500 would love to meet you. Now is the time of the 00:00:04.500 --> 00:00:06.919 service where we draw attention to praying for 00:00:06.919 --> 00:00:08.500 our neighborhood. Our neighborhood is called 00:00:08.500 --> 00:00:11.279 Greenbush. It is directly south of us. We've 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:14.500 broken it into 26 different blocks. I think there's 00:00:14.500 --> 00:00:17.000 a, there we go, 26 different blocks. And then 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:19.480 on the back wall, it says prayer for Greenbush. 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:21.539 And each of those, that bottom row tells you 00:00:21.539 --> 00:00:23.660 what the different borders are of each of the 00:00:23.660 --> 00:00:25.980 26 regions. So if you're ever just like, oh, 00:00:26.019 --> 00:00:27.940 hey, I want to go drive around or walk around 00:00:27.940 --> 00:00:30.660 a spot after service today. We're going to do 00:00:30.660 --> 00:00:32.880 something special in the lobby, but then you'll 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:34.880 also have the option of going on a prayer walk 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:37.840 if you'd like to. But we invite different people 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:40.679 up every week to pray for Greenbush because we 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:42.060 all have different things that are on our hearts, 00:00:42.119 --> 00:00:44.359 different things that we remember to pray about. 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:48.659 And so we please welcome Marissa Cantu to pray 00:00:48.659 --> 00:00:55.560 for Greenbush. I was trying to come in like I 00:00:55.560 --> 00:01:01.890 was at a boxing event. The crowd goes wild. All 00:01:01.890 --> 00:01:07.269 right. Well, we get the honor of praying for 00:01:07.269 --> 00:01:11.290 our community. And I am praying for blocks 5 00:01:11.290 --> 00:01:16.209 1⁄2 to 6th Avenue and 28th Street to about 30th 00:01:16.209 --> 00:01:18.730 Street. And it's right at the light over here, 00:01:18.769 --> 00:01:20.730 so it's literally you could walk over there. 00:01:20.790 --> 00:01:23.870 It's a block over and like the three blocks that 00:01:23.870 --> 00:01:27.170 way. A big Catholic church kind of surrounds 00:01:27.170 --> 00:01:30.329 the area. There's a couple of Midwest Motors 00:01:30.329 --> 00:01:33.590 right on 38th Street. And so then the rest of 00:01:33.590 --> 00:01:37.590 it is just neighborhoods. And I do pray that 00:01:37.590 --> 00:01:42.489 you get to go on a walk there. And as I was looking 00:01:42.489 --> 00:01:44.989 at different ways to pray for our neighborhood 00:01:44.989 --> 00:01:47.750 and blocks, there was this thing that I came 00:01:47.750 --> 00:01:51.150 across online that's called Bless. So if we want 00:01:51.150 --> 00:01:54.450 to bless our neighborhoods, it's praying for 00:01:54.450 --> 00:01:57.189 their physical bodies, that they have good health. 00:01:58.079 --> 00:02:01.019 praying for labor and work, praying for their 00:02:01.019 --> 00:02:03.780 emotional well -being, their social wellness, 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:06.239 and their spiritual wellness. So that's something 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:10.099 super easy. It's called BLESS. Body, labor, emotional, 00:02:10.180 --> 00:02:13.060 social, and spiritual well -being. And so just 00:02:13.060 --> 00:02:16.219 join me as we pray for our block and our neighborhood 00:02:16.219 --> 00:02:19.800 as a congregation and also pray that we be the 00:02:19.800 --> 00:02:22.900 hands and feet to ever provide if there's a need. 00:02:25.139 --> 00:02:28.300 Father God, we just... Pray for our community 00:02:28.300 --> 00:02:30.659 that you've placed right across the street from 00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:34.139 us. I lift up our neighbors, asking for your 00:02:34.139 --> 00:02:38.139 peace to fill their homes and for safety in that 00:02:38.139 --> 00:02:41.280 community. I pray that you bless their work, 00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:44.819 strengthen their physical bodies. I pray for 00:02:44.819 --> 00:02:47.699 their families, that you provide for their needs. 00:02:48.099 --> 00:02:51.180 Help us to be a beacon of light in this community. 00:02:51.300 --> 00:02:55.620 Help us to be kind. and supportive and compassionate 00:02:55.620 --> 00:02:58.379 as a body of Christ. In Jesus' name we pray. 00:02:59.020 --> 00:03:04.219 Amen. All right, like I said, good morning. My 00:03:04.219 --> 00:03:05.879 name's Greg. If we've never met, we'd love to 00:03:05.879 --> 00:03:07.979 meet you. Buy you a coffee sometime if you're 00:03:07.979 --> 00:03:10.979 down for coffee or a soda. Whatever you enjoy, 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:12.539 we'd love to talk to you, get to know you a little 00:03:12.539 --> 00:03:15.819 bit. We are in our third week of a series that 00:03:15.819 --> 00:03:20.379 we're calling Control Alt Delight. I'm guessing 00:03:20.379 --> 00:03:23.180 that most of us have used a computer. Some of 00:03:23.180 --> 00:03:25.500 us might even use computers on a daily basis. 00:03:26.120 --> 00:03:29.539 I remember, gosh, the first computer that I owned, 00:03:29.620 --> 00:03:31.539 my grandmother helped me buy it. It was in my 00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:35.699 dorm room at Judson College, now Judson University. 00:03:35.740 --> 00:03:38.500 I remember the first laptop I bought myself. 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:42.280 I was working at Lone Star Steakhouse as a server, 00:03:42.439 --> 00:03:48.590 you know? Anyone? Peanuts on the floor. I think 00:03:48.590 --> 00:03:50.289 they were the peanuts on the floor originator, 00:03:50.330 --> 00:03:52.789 maybe. But it was up near Chicago, off Randall 00:03:52.789 --> 00:04:00.789 Road. And I made enough that I paid $1 ,400 for 00:04:00.789 --> 00:04:05.490 a 10 -inch screen, a Toshiba satellite. It was 00:04:05.490 --> 00:04:09.969 pretty sweet. Now, it's amazing to think about 00:04:09.969 --> 00:04:12.370 how much computers cost now by comparison, because 00:04:12.370 --> 00:04:15.789 that little thing was barely bigger than this. 00:04:16.459 --> 00:04:19.939 And it cost, yeah, that's a ridiculous amount 00:04:19.939 --> 00:04:22.480 of money to spend on something that did almost 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:28.459 nothing. But I'm guessing that most of us that 00:04:28.459 --> 00:04:30.019 use computers have also had something freeze 00:04:30.019 --> 00:04:32.779 up on us, and we've had to figure out how to 00:04:32.779 --> 00:04:35.860 get it to stop being frozen. And at least on 00:04:35.860 --> 00:04:38.500 a PC, one of the main things that you can do 00:04:38.500 --> 00:04:43.529 is hit Control, Alt, Delete. We're talking about 00:04:43.529 --> 00:04:45.209 this because for a lot of people, there's something 00:04:45.209 --> 00:04:49.290 inside of Christianity in the formatting of the 00:04:49.290 --> 00:04:53.050 faith that feels controlling, that feels like 00:04:53.050 --> 00:04:56.069 it is freezing things up, and like it needs to 00:04:56.069 --> 00:05:00.329 be deleted. So let's talk about it. A couple 00:05:00.329 --> 00:05:02.189 weeks ago, we started with the topic of money, 00:05:02.250 --> 00:05:04.509 how churches and religion can be controlling 00:05:04.509 --> 00:05:08.550 about our finances, but God isn't trying to control 00:05:08.550 --> 00:05:10.870 our money. God is asking us to be responsible 00:05:10.870 --> 00:05:13.740 for our... own finances. That's all that churches 00:05:13.740 --> 00:05:16.680 should ask, that whatever you've decided after 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:19.220 prayer and in your mind, that is what you are 00:05:19.220 --> 00:05:21.779 committed to, not something that a church twists 00:05:21.779 --> 00:05:25.899 your arm into giving. Pray, think, give. That's 00:05:25.899 --> 00:05:28.399 it. Last week, Pastor Jen talked about relationships, 00:05:28.699 --> 00:05:31.740 that the marriage isn't the only path. Sometimes 00:05:31.740 --> 00:05:34.660 I think historically, people, churches have kind 00:05:34.660 --> 00:05:36.040 of set it up like, oh, you have to be married 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:38.420 and you have to be in this kind of marriage. 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:43.629 But framing marriage, as the only choice diminishes 00:05:43.629 --> 00:05:45.490 all the other kinds of relationships that we 00:05:45.490 --> 00:05:49.949 have. There's a kind of belonging that we can 00:05:49.949 --> 00:05:53.509 experience no matter what relationship path we 00:05:53.509 --> 00:05:55.990 choose. Next week, we're going to talk about 00:05:55.990 --> 00:05:59.730 letting go of the way that guilt and shame get 00:05:59.730 --> 00:06:04.089 used to control us. But today, we're going to 00:06:04.089 --> 00:06:08.629 talk about the afterlife. All right, so way back. 00:06:09.240 --> 00:06:11.779 Way back before I was born, because as old as 00:06:11.779 --> 00:06:15.060 I have gotten, I'm still not that old. 1973, 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:19.459 there was a movie called A Thief in the Night. 00:06:19.540 --> 00:06:22.480 Show of hands if you've heard of A Thief in the 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:25.040 Night, the movie. Yes, okay. So we're talking 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:27.759 Midwest people over here, people that grew up 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:32.279 in the church. And this film was entireed on 00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:35.240 location in Iowa, less than three hours from 00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:37.459 here. So I don't know if maybe that's part of 00:06:37.459 --> 00:06:38.860 the reason that some of us that grew up in the 00:06:38.860 --> 00:06:40.959 church around here had heard of it, but it was 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:44.819 filmed near Des Moines. And I'm going to, oh, 00:06:44.860 --> 00:06:47.379 you were in for a treat. I'm going to read to 00:06:47.379 --> 00:06:51.500 you the entire Wikipedia plot synopsis of A Thief 00:06:51.500 --> 00:06:55.379 in the Night. Everyone ready? Patty Myers awakens 00:06:55.379 --> 00:06:57.439 to a radio broadcast announcing the disappearance 00:06:57.439 --> 00:07:00.139 of millions around the world. The radio announcer 00:07:00.139 --> 00:07:02.959 suggests that this might be the rapture of the 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:05.920 church spoken of in the Bible. Patty, a member 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:08.980 of a liberal church, finds that her husband, 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:11.319 a born -again Christian, has also disappeared. 00:07:11.620 --> 00:07:13.980 The United Nations sets up an emergency government 00:07:13.980 --> 00:07:16.540 system called the United Nations Imperium of 00:07:16.540 --> 00:07:20.240 Total Emergency, or UNITE, and declares that 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:22.060 anyone who does not receive the mark of the beast, 00:07:22.180 --> 00:07:25.379 identifying them as with UNITE, will be arrested. 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:28.779 Several flashbacks occur to times in Patty's 00:07:28.779 --> 00:07:31.240 life before the rapture. The story begins with 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:34.149 Patty and her two friends who... All have different 00:07:34.149 --> 00:07:36.810 destinies. Her friend Jenny considers Jesus Christ 00:07:36.810 --> 00:07:39.370 her savior. Her other friend Diane is more worldly 00:07:39.370 --> 00:07:41.790 minded. Patty considers herself a Christian because 00:07:41.790 --> 00:07:43.709 she occasionally reads the Bible and goes to 00:07:43.709 --> 00:07:46.470 church regularly. However, her pastor is shown 00:07:46.470 --> 00:07:50.529 to be an unbeliever. She refuses to believe the 00:07:50.529 --> 00:07:52.230 warnings of her friends and families that she 00:07:52.230 --> 00:07:55.649 will go through the great tribulation if she 00:07:55.649 --> 00:07:58.149 does not put her faith. In Christ. Meanwhile, 00:07:58.250 --> 00:08:00.290 her husband has been attending another church 00:08:00.290 --> 00:08:03.509 and has accepted Jesus. The next morning, Patty 00:08:03.509 --> 00:08:05.389 awakens to find that her husband and millions 00:08:05.389 --> 00:08:07.569 of others have suddenly disappeared. Patty's 00:08:07.569 --> 00:08:10.649 conflicted. She refuses to trust Christ, yet 00:08:10.649 --> 00:08:13.170 she also refuses to take the mark. She desperately 00:08:13.170 --> 00:08:16.970 tries to avoid Unite and the mark, but is eventually 00:08:16.970 --> 00:08:20.589 captured. She escapes. Remember, this is being 00:08:20.589 --> 00:08:25.360 filmed near Des Moines. She escapes. But after 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:27.980 a chase, she is cornered by Unite on a bridge 00:08:27.980 --> 00:08:30.860 and falls from the bridge to her death. Patty 00:08:30.860 --> 00:08:33.700 awakens and realizes it has all been a dream. 00:08:34.620 --> 00:08:38.460 She's relieved. But her relief is short -lived 00:08:38.460 --> 00:08:41.580 when the radio announces that millions of people 00:08:41.580 --> 00:08:44.840 have in fact disappeared. Horrified, Patty practically 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:47.299 searches for her husband, only to find he is 00:08:47.299 --> 00:08:50.340 missing too. Patty realizes that the rapture 00:08:50.340 --> 00:08:53.659 has actually occurred and she has been left. 00:08:54.539 --> 00:08:58.220 You know the next word, right? Behind. I don't 00:08:58.220 --> 00:09:01.399 think that I could exaggerate just how obsessed 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:03.700 so much of the American church was with the concept 00:09:03.700 --> 00:09:07.799 of the rapture and tribulation for about 30 or 00:09:07.799 --> 00:09:12.799 40 years. The concept was mostly formulated by 00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:14.679 a guy, well, actually completely formulated and 00:09:14.679 --> 00:09:16.860 then adopted by others, but formulated by a guy 00:09:16.860 --> 00:09:22.159 named John Darby in the 1830s and 1840s. 70 years 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:26.570 later. In 1909, one of the most popular Bibles, 00:09:26.590 --> 00:09:29.950 the Schofield Reference Bible, included Darby's 00:09:29.950 --> 00:09:33.990 idea about the rapture and the tribulation, not 00:09:33.990 --> 00:09:37.730 just in a side commentary, but in the Bible next 00:09:37.730 --> 00:09:42.909 to the scriptures. In the 1920s, the Dallas Theological 00:09:42.909 --> 00:09:46.450 Seminary started teaching generations of pastors 00:09:46.450 --> 00:09:50.669 about... The rapture. In 1957, the president 00:09:50.669 --> 00:09:53.070 of the seminary wrote a book called The Rapture 00:09:53.070 --> 00:09:54.950 Question, but it was less of a question and more 00:09:54.950 --> 00:09:59.289 of a conclusion. 20 years later, in 1978, Charles 00:09:59.289 --> 00:10:02.389 Ryrie, and I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing it, 00:10:02.470 --> 00:10:07.250 R -Y -R -I -E, Ryrie, a strong believer in the 00:10:07.250 --> 00:10:10.470 rapture and author of a book called Dispensational 00:10:10.470 --> 00:10:14.769 Today, also included these ideas in his published 00:10:14.769 --> 00:10:21.269 study Bible. shaping sermons preached in pulpits. 00:10:21.830 --> 00:10:25.129 But it wasn't only in the pulpit. In 1970, a 00:10:25.129 --> 00:10:27.149 man named Hal Lindsey wrote a book called The 00:10:27.149 --> 00:10:31.070 Late Great Planet Earth, and it sold 10 million 00:10:31.070 --> 00:10:34.929 copies in the first 10 years, 30 million total. 00:10:35.809 --> 00:10:39.470 The idea of a rapture, of millions of people 00:10:39.470 --> 00:10:43.289 being snatched up, became a part of American 00:10:43.289 --> 00:10:46.710 church culture. But not just American church 00:10:46.710 --> 00:10:51.330 culture, it became a part of social consciousness. 00:10:52.710 --> 00:10:56.830 Fast forward to 1995, and the first of the Left 00:10:56.830 --> 00:11:00.070 Behind books was published. The series would 00:11:00.070 --> 00:11:03.649 go on to sell 80 million copies, including movies 00:11:03.649 --> 00:11:07.350 and merchandise. We're talking about $1 .5 billion 00:11:07.350 --> 00:11:12.700 in revenue. So how does one unweave an idea that 00:11:12.700 --> 00:11:15.539 has been so purposefully sewn into the fabric 00:11:15.539 --> 00:11:19.879 of our modern Christianity? Because today's scholars 00:11:19.879 --> 00:11:23.019 and theologians have broadly discredited Darby's 00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:25.940 ideas, not because we don't believe that Jesus 00:11:25.940 --> 00:11:29.580 is going to return, but because the concept of 00:11:29.580 --> 00:11:32.539 the rapture is a hodgepodge of verses that didn't 00:11:32.539 --> 00:11:37.000 belong together. It's a conspiracy that sells 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:42.970 because nothing sells like Fear. So let's talk 00:11:42.970 --> 00:11:46.649 about deleting a bad idea and delighting in the 00:11:46.649 --> 00:11:50.070 Lord. Let's open up our Bibles. We're going to 00:11:50.070 --> 00:11:54.929 Luke 13. Luke 13 is in what's called the New 00:11:54.929 --> 00:11:57.450 Testament. It goes Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, 00:11:57.529 --> 00:12:01.370 Acts. If you don't have a Bible, there's blue 00:12:01.370 --> 00:12:04.009 ones on the table, and you can take one from 00:12:04.009 --> 00:12:05.909 the bookshelf out in the lobby home if you'd 00:12:05.909 --> 00:12:07.669 like it. Otherwise, download one from any of 00:12:07.669 --> 00:12:11.519 the digital app stores. We're going to be in 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:14.600 Luke chapter 13, and we have a tradition when 00:12:14.600 --> 00:12:16.500 the scriptures are read in the context of the 00:12:16.500 --> 00:12:18.919 sermon to give it our full attention. You can 00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:20.740 do that any way you see fit, but if you'd like 00:12:20.740 --> 00:12:22.960 to stand with me as you are able, you are welcome. 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:31.000 This is Luke 13, starting with verse 22. 13, 00:12:31.100 --> 00:12:34.159 22. Jesus went through one town and village after 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:36.500 another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:40.080 And someone asked him, Lord, will only a few 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:43.299 be saved? And he said to them, strive to enter 00:12:43.299 --> 00:12:45.820 through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, 00:12:45.860 --> 00:12:49.259 will try to enter and will not be able. Once 00:12:49.259 --> 00:12:51.299 the owner of the house has got up and shut the 00:12:51.299 --> 00:12:54.019 door and you begin to stand outside and to knock 00:12:54.019 --> 00:12:56.580 at the door saying, Lord, open to us. Then in 00:12:56.580 --> 00:12:58.679 reply, he will say to you, I do not know where 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:01.919 you came from. Then you will begin to say, We 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:03.779 ate and drank with you, and you taught in our 00:13:03.779 --> 00:13:06.120 streets. But he will say to you, I do not know 00:13:06.120 --> 00:13:08.740 where you came from. Go away from me, all you 00:13:08.740 --> 00:13:11.120 evildoers. There will be weeping and gnashing 00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:14.539 of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob 00:13:14.539 --> 00:13:16.759 and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:19.960 you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come 00:13:19.960 --> 00:13:23.559 from east and west, from north and south, and 00:13:23.559 --> 00:13:26.279 take their places at the banquet in the kingdom 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:30.000 of God. Indeed, some are last who will be first. 00:13:30.649 --> 00:13:35.090 Some are first, who will be last. Let us pray. 00:13:38.889 --> 00:13:41.129 God of every tribe, every tongue, every color, 00:13:41.190 --> 00:13:43.990 every nation, we thank you for the scriptures 00:13:43.990 --> 00:13:46.110 that we still have them to read, that they have 00:13:46.110 --> 00:13:49.629 persisted throughout the millennia. And I pray 00:13:49.629 --> 00:13:51.330 that whatever we have to learn today, that you 00:13:51.330 --> 00:13:55.549 would make it stick, that our faith would become 00:13:55.549 --> 00:13:57.889 stronger, as we become more like your son, Jesus. 00:13:58.929 --> 00:14:01.519 In your name. Amen. Thanks, y 'all. You can have 00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:04.679 a seat. All right, so the first question that 00:14:04.679 --> 00:14:09.519 we should ask is, what do they mean by saved? 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:16.240 When these Israelites come to Jesus, their brother 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:19.639 in nationality and ethnicity and location, and 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:23.019 said, will many be saved or only a few? What 00:14:23.019 --> 00:14:24.519 do they mean by saved? First of all, in the Jewish 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:27.299 context, they're not talking. about heaven and 00:14:27.299 --> 00:14:29.059 hell the way that much of modern Christianity 00:14:29.059 --> 00:14:32.460 has described it, okay? They had a concept of 00:14:32.460 --> 00:14:34.379 the afterlife, but it wasn't what modern Christians 00:14:34.379 --> 00:14:36.860 might imagine. They're not talking about pearly 00:14:36.860 --> 00:14:40.960 gates or the fires of hell, but they are thinking 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:43.639 of a kingdom that would last forever, that was 00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:47.379 eternal. They're also thinking of how that kingdom 00:14:47.379 --> 00:14:50.490 might begin now. how there might be something 00:14:50.490 --> 00:14:53.269 that happens here on earth, that a Messiah might 00:14:53.269 --> 00:14:56.169 come and overthrow the powers of this earth. 00:14:56.230 --> 00:14:59.929 And they're asking whether later or now will 00:14:59.929 --> 00:15:04.389 we all be in or will only a few be a part of 00:15:04.389 --> 00:15:07.129 that kingdom. So this passage is kind of a two 00:15:07.129 --> 00:15:10.990 -in -one. They're asking about eternity, but 00:15:10.990 --> 00:15:15.590 they're also asking about today. Either way... 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.059 This is the pill that's hard to swallow. His 00:15:18.059 --> 00:15:22.919 answer isn't easy to hear. There's not a lot 00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:25.980 of comfort that he offers to them in that moment 00:15:25.980 --> 00:15:29.840 when he gives the answer because he doesn't say 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:33.000 all of you automatically will experience that. 00:15:33.019 --> 00:15:35.159 Actually, he warns them that they could end up 00:15:35.159 --> 00:15:37.279 standing outside and seeing people that aren't 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:41.539 even a part of Israel welcomed in. It says from 00:15:41.539 --> 00:15:46.039 the east and west, north and south. In other 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:50.480 words, what is that saying? Everywhere. Everyone 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:53.779 from everywhere is going to come here to be a 00:15:53.779 --> 00:15:58.720 part of this kingdom. Now, each of the gospel 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:01.120 writers tend to have a theme that they're trying 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:03.899 to communicate. We didn't read from Matthew, 00:16:03.940 --> 00:16:06.620 but in Matthew, Matthew's theme is this idea 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:09.940 that there is this diaspora, that there are tribes 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:12.240 of Israelites that have not yet come back and 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:16.110 experienced being part. of the homeland again. 00:16:16.629 --> 00:16:19.690 And Matthew goes to great extents to show that 00:16:19.690 --> 00:16:22.169 Jesus cares about these people that are lost, 00:16:22.289 --> 00:16:25.230 that he has come first for the Israelite, he 00:16:25.230 --> 00:16:28.889 says, and then for everybody else. But in Luke, 00:16:28.950 --> 00:16:31.970 Luke's message, he writes it much later. Luke 00:16:31.970 --> 00:16:34.070 is actually commissioned by someone that's probably 00:16:34.070 --> 00:16:37.330 not Jewish to write the book of Luke. And so 00:16:37.330 --> 00:16:40.769 Luke's emphasis is not the same as Matthew's. 00:16:41.769 --> 00:16:45.070 Luke's emphasis... The main message is that Jesus 00:16:45.070 --> 00:16:50.690 is making room for the outsider. Jesus wants 00:16:50.690 --> 00:16:52.529 all of his people to know God fully. Of course, 00:16:52.549 --> 00:16:56.429 he does not want anybody left out, but he also 00:16:56.429 --> 00:16:58.970 wants them, the people that are talking to him 00:16:58.970 --> 00:17:01.990 in the land in that moment, to understand that 00:17:01.990 --> 00:17:05.009 their family name, their nationality, or where 00:17:05.009 --> 00:17:08.049 they are from shouldn't cause them to take their 00:17:08.049 --> 00:17:13.559 place in the kingdom for granted. That what might 00:17:13.559 --> 00:17:16.519 happen later should not distract them from what 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:21.200 is happening right now. When you go to Matthew, 00:17:21.420 --> 00:17:25.380 the example is how people came to him and said, 00:17:25.539 --> 00:17:28.619 Lord, Lord. And he said, I did not know you. 00:17:28.660 --> 00:17:29.880 And they said, what do you mean you didn't know 00:17:29.880 --> 00:17:32.160 us? And he says, well, when I was in prison, 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:35.380 you didn't visit me. And when I needed water, 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:39.000 you did not give me something to drink. He connects 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:42.579 this idea that what you do here on earth. communicate 00:17:42.579 --> 00:17:46.019 something about how you know me. It's not saying 00:17:46.019 --> 00:17:47.920 that your works get you into heaven. It means 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:50.940 that you're paying attention to the kingdom here 00:17:50.940 --> 00:17:56.579 on earth. Does that make sense? Either way, him 00:17:56.579 --> 00:17:59.359 saying this to them in that moment probably sounded 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:02.299 scary to them. Now, I don't think that Jesus 00:18:02.299 --> 00:18:05.920 uses heaven and hell to scare us into believing 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:09.160 in him, but I do think that there is a very narrow 00:18:09.160 --> 00:18:13.000 place for this kind of confrontation. I think 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:15.420 Jesus uses this kind of argument wherever he 00:18:15.420 --> 00:18:17.779 finds a sense of entitlement that has caused 00:18:17.779 --> 00:18:19.720 people to think they should get what they want 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:25.099 automatically. I told this story years ago. So 00:18:25.099 --> 00:18:27.240 maybe a handful of you have heard this before. 00:18:27.400 --> 00:18:30.759 My dad will remember this. And I was probably, 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:33.660 I might have been a junior or senior in high 00:18:33.660 --> 00:18:36.759 school. I don't know. What year do you get Letterman 00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:38.380 jackets in high school? Do you all remember that? 00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:44.160 So whatever year that was. back in the late 1900s. 00:18:44.380 --> 00:18:49.740 I told my parents, I played tennis, and I was 00:18:49.740 --> 00:18:51.599 like, I don't see a lot of tennis players walking 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:53.900 around with letterman jackets. And so I was like, 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:55.920 I would rather have something else. And so we 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:57.660 went through the mall, and I remember the name 00:18:57.660 --> 00:18:59.259 of the, there was like a leather goods store, 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:01.279 and it had like lots of leather jackets, really 00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:05.640 fancy ones. What? Yeah, Wilson's. Yeah, so Wilson's. 00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:06.819 And I was like, well, let's go to Wilson's. Maybe, 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:08.460 could I get something from Wilson's instead? 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:12.930 And so I picked the most, what now would be considered 00:19:12.930 --> 00:19:17.849 the most gaudy, six -color Bears leather jacket 00:19:17.849 --> 00:19:22.109 that you could ever imagine. And I thought it 00:19:22.109 --> 00:19:26.150 was sweet. The trouble is that we went, and they 00:19:26.150 --> 00:19:29.109 let me be a part of choosing it before Christmas. 00:19:30.170 --> 00:19:33.170 And so Christmas morning comes along, and I'd 00:19:33.170 --> 00:19:35.829 been a little snot probably for a couple weeks. 00:19:36.289 --> 00:19:38.829 And Christmas morning comes along, and we open 00:19:38.829 --> 00:19:43.710 all the presents. Where's the jacket? I don't 00:19:43.710 --> 00:19:46.369 know, Greg. You've had a pretty bad attitude. 00:19:46.769 --> 00:19:51.009 What do you mean I've had a bad attitude? It's 00:19:51.009 --> 00:19:55.029 Christmas. That's mine. You can't have a gift 00:19:55.029 --> 00:20:00.289 and then not give it to me. There's something 00:20:00.289 --> 00:20:02.130 that happens in us when we have something that 00:20:02.130 --> 00:20:06.630 we think should be automatic. There's a sense 00:20:06.630 --> 00:20:11.180 of entitlement that was in me. That needed to 00:20:11.180 --> 00:20:15.319 be checked. I needed to be reminded what Christmas 00:20:15.319 --> 00:20:17.980 was about. We need to be reminded sometimes what 00:20:17.980 --> 00:20:23.180 the kingdom is about. Where our hearts should 00:20:23.180 --> 00:20:28.680 be. Now, I think there's another important distinction 00:20:28.680 --> 00:20:30.720 to be made here. Because I don't think that this 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:32.700 is the kind of confrontation that Jesus has for 00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:35.599 everyone. I think that when you read the scriptures, 00:20:35.720 --> 00:20:37.559 you see this happen. You particularly see it 00:20:37.559 --> 00:20:40.660 happen with religious leaders or scholars or 00:20:40.660 --> 00:20:43.259 people that might be experiencing or expressing 00:20:43.259 --> 00:20:46.579 some kind of entitlement. But I do not think 00:20:46.579 --> 00:20:48.880 that this is the way that Jesus expresses a call 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:52.279 to the kingdom or a sense of following him towards 00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:55.799 everyone. Think about it like this. Okay, back 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:59.859 in my family, early 20s, not 1920s, in my early 00:20:59.859 --> 00:21:04.160 20s. I don't remember what it was, but my mom 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:06.000 was joking with me. Well, I guess I'll write 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:08.059 you out of the will. And I was like, I'm fine. 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:11.299 And she said, well, I guess your sister will 00:21:11.299 --> 00:21:13.740 get the antiques then. And I was like, yeah, 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:19.960 I'm good. Listen, you cannot fear someone into 00:21:19.960 --> 00:21:23.720 something that they do not care about. You cannot 00:21:23.720 --> 00:21:27.380 scare someone into something when they don't 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:30.869 think that it's there in the first place. You 00:21:30.869 --> 00:21:33.849 cannot use a sense of fear of losing this if 00:21:33.849 --> 00:21:39.690 they didn't know it was even an option. People 00:21:39.690 --> 00:21:44.109 have no fear of not getting something they don't 00:21:44.109 --> 00:21:50.269 believe is there in the first place. In Luke, 00:21:50.329 --> 00:21:55.509 the outsiders, the non -Jews didn't know that 00:21:55.509 --> 00:21:59.450 God had a kingdom. They didn't know that God 00:21:59.450 --> 00:22:05.069 had a kingdom. So Jesus wasn't, no one should 00:22:05.069 --> 00:22:07.190 bother trying to scare them into the kingdom 00:22:07.190 --> 00:22:10.269 by saying, you might not get this. You might 00:22:10.269 --> 00:22:16.130 end up in Gehenna. You might end up in the valley 00:22:16.130 --> 00:22:22.250 of Himon, burning for all eternity. They had 00:22:22.250 --> 00:22:26.150 no fear of that. It was not a concept that existed 00:22:26.150 --> 00:22:34.029 for them. No, they are coming because Jesus is 00:22:34.029 --> 00:22:38.650 drawing them in with hope and with love and with 00:22:38.650 --> 00:22:41.190 delight. The thing that they wanted just as much 00:22:41.190 --> 00:22:45.750 as anyone else was to not be oppressed, was to 00:22:45.750 --> 00:22:50.390 not be ruled with an iron fist, was to believe 00:22:50.390 --> 00:22:54.849 that someone, maybe a God, could love them no 00:22:54.849 --> 00:22:58.490 matter what they had done. Today millions of 00:22:58.490 --> 00:23:00.869 people keep hitting control alt delete on Christianity 00:23:00.869 --> 00:23:03.470 and Jesus because there's too much fear coming 00:23:03.470 --> 00:23:08.210 out of the Christian faith. We need to delight 00:23:08.210 --> 00:23:12.569 in the person of Jesus. And we need to introduce 00:23:12.569 --> 00:23:16.849 people to a Jesus that is delighted in them. 00:23:20.089 --> 00:23:22.829 Not a Jesus just waiting to punish them if they 00:23:22.829 --> 00:23:27.859 don't believe. We should ask ourselves, Does 00:23:27.859 --> 00:23:30.180 God sound more like an abusive, manipulative 00:23:30.180 --> 00:23:34.859 husband? Or does he sound like a God that is 00:23:34.859 --> 00:23:39.500 love? Because when Christianity says, if you 00:23:39.500 --> 00:23:42.500 don't believe in Jesus, he will punish you forever. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:49.480 That sounds like control. When Christianity says, 00:23:49.579 --> 00:23:52.500 if you were born in the wrong country and you 00:23:52.500 --> 00:23:54.680 die having never heard of Jesus, he will punish 00:23:54.680 --> 00:24:00.390 you forever. That sounds like control when Christianity 00:24:00.390 --> 00:24:03.549 says if you were abused by Christians, hurt by 00:24:03.549 --> 00:24:07.490 churches, manipulated by pastors, and come to 00:24:07.490 --> 00:24:10.210 the natural conclusion that Jesus must not be 00:24:10.210 --> 00:24:13.569 real because the real life examples you had were 00:24:13.569 --> 00:24:22.950 abusive, God's going to punish you forever. That 00:24:22.950 --> 00:24:27.380 sounds like control. And when we say if you care 00:24:27.380 --> 00:24:30.359 for your neighbors, if you serve selflessly, 00:24:30.619 --> 00:24:33.880 if you lift the poor from poverty and the endangered 00:24:33.880 --> 00:24:36.140 from their danger, but you didn't do it because 00:24:36.140 --> 00:24:41.519 you knew Jesus, God will punish you forever. 00:24:43.299 --> 00:24:47.000 That sounds like control. That sounds more like 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:50.559 an abusive husband or a dictator that bombs countries 00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:58.259 that won't do what they want them to do. Years 00:24:58.259 --> 00:25:02.980 ago, I hit delete on believing in a version of 00:25:02.980 --> 00:25:06.900 a God that sounds exactly like an abusive husband 00:25:06.900 --> 00:25:12.779 or father. The kind of person that would kill 00:25:12.779 --> 00:25:18.180 and hurt us if we don't fall in line. And instead, 00:25:18.259 --> 00:25:20.279 I believe in a God that is willing to die for 00:25:20.279 --> 00:25:25.019 us. Willing to be killed and hurt so that we 00:25:25.019 --> 00:25:37.279 can fall in love. Jesus wants everyone from the 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:41.579 east and from the west, from the north and from 00:25:41.579 --> 00:25:43.779 the south, and he does not want us, if we are 00:25:43.779 --> 00:25:45.900 already here, to take for granted the kingdom 00:25:45.900 --> 00:25:53.119 that we are in. He's longing for us not to fall 00:25:53.119 --> 00:25:59.299 in line, but to fall in love. With the God that 00:25:59.299 --> 00:26:03.259 is love. But there is no greater command than 00:26:03.259 --> 00:26:07.119 this. To love the Lord your God with all your 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:09.779 heart, with all your soul, and with all your 00:26:09.779 --> 00:26:12.140 strength. And the second command is like it. 00:26:12.940 --> 00:26:21.480 To love your neighbor as you love yourself. So 00:26:21.480 --> 00:26:23.539 many people that we know are so close to hit 00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:28.420 and control, delete on all this altogether. And 00:26:28.420 --> 00:26:34.819 maybe, maybe, just maybe, we can put aside using 00:26:34.819 --> 00:26:39.759 a fear tactic and we can come with a love tactic. 00:26:43.900 --> 00:26:46.920 I think people are tired of trying to fall in 00:26:46.920 --> 00:26:54.000 line. And they need to meet the Jesus that delights 00:26:54.000 --> 00:27:14.660 in them. Amen? Let us pray. God, the scriptures 00:27:14.660 --> 00:27:16.700 are not always easy to understand because we 00:27:16.700 --> 00:27:24.660 are living in 2026. Not decades, not centuries, 00:27:24.700 --> 00:27:27.660 but millennia. from when they were said and when 00:27:27.660 --> 00:27:31.099 they were written. And I pray that we come to 00:27:31.099 --> 00:27:36.119 them with a sense of humility. The truth is that 00:27:36.119 --> 00:27:38.319 I do not know exactly what happens after this 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:41.359 life, but my greatest hope is that we will get 00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:46.400 to be with you. And I pray that we can carry, 00:27:46.440 --> 00:27:49.619 that at least I will carry the sense of eternity 00:27:49.619 --> 00:27:52.480 in the presence of your fullness of love, that 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:54.420 I can carry that with me each day in this life. 00:27:56.490 --> 00:28:00.450 That I can be conscious of your kingdom here 00:28:00.450 --> 00:28:04.589 in this place. And that that will cause me to 00:28:04.589 --> 00:28:10.049 carry a sense of delight. Not a message of destruction. 00:28:16.069 --> 00:28:18.690 I pray this church would exist to invite people 00:28:18.690 --> 00:28:23.009 in to call prodigals home. To adopt the spiritually 00:28:23.009 --> 00:28:27.940 homeless. to offer rest, a place to live and 00:28:27.940 --> 00:28:31.059 work, and a great house because no one should 00:28:31.059 --> 00:28:36.200 be left out. And I pray that in our lifetimes, 00:28:36.200 --> 00:28:40.059 that we will see a strong and undeniable sense, 00:28:40.200 --> 00:28:44.640 a shift from spiritual homelessness to a strong 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:48.539 sense of spiritual family. Not just in this church, 00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:51.900 but in churches and in our cities, across our 00:28:51.900 --> 00:28:55.930 region, our county, our state. It would emanate 00:28:55.930 --> 00:29:04.049 out. You are the God that loves and that you 00:29:04.049 --> 00:29:08.250 love us. You desire that none should perish, 00:29:08.450 --> 00:29:14.069 but that all should have eternal life. Help us 00:29:14.069 --> 00:29:19.049 be a beautiful part of that process. Amen.