1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,040 Again, my name is Greg if I haven't mentioned that yet. I'm one of the pastors here at the house and we are in a series called 2 00:00:06,560 --> 00:00:08,280 the first 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:12,160 Gospel the first gospel is the gospel according to mark 4 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:14,480 It's not the first as you open the the scriptures 5 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:20,720 But it is the first one that was written and so that is why we are going through this 6 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:22,720 And so we're just gonna jump right into the scriptures 7 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:28,500 Scott it's funny that you mentioned how the sermon should go today because I was telling someone before the service 8 00:00:28,500 --> 00:00:30,500 I got a real 9 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:35,400 Heady heady sermon for you today with all the kids present so can't wait to see how it goes 10 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,600 So let's open up the scriptures to the book of Mark 11 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:43,800 It goes Matthew mark Luke John if you don't have one of your own Bibles 12 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:48,360 we have copies hard copies out on the bookshelf you can take one of those home with you and 13 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,520 otherwise just download it from a digital app store and 14 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:56,920 It goes Matthew mark Luke John X Romans. See any of those you're in the right neighborhood 15 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:02,520 We're gonna be in mark 3 and we have a tradition of giving these scriptures our full attention while we read them 16 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:03,840 We can do that any number of ways 17 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:09,080 But if you'd like you can stand with me as you are able as we read from the scriptures 18 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:13,520 This is mark chapter 3 starting in verse 13 19 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:20,480 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted and they came to him 20 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:26,720 He pointed 12 that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and have authority to drive out 21 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,800 Demons these are the 12 he appointed Simon to whom he gave the name Peter 22 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:35,280 James son of Zebedee and his brother John to them. He gave the name moon air 23 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:42,520 Jays went which means sons of thunder Andrew Philip Bartholomew Matthew Thomas James son of Alpheus Thaddeus 24 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:45,480 Simon the zealot and Judas Iscariot who? 25 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:52,600 Betrayed him then Jesus entered a house and again a crowd gathered so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat 26 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:59,640 When his family heard about this they went to take charge of him for they said he is out of his mind and the teachers 27 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:05,260 Of the law who came down from Jerusalem said he is possessed by Beelzebul by the prince of demons 28 00:02:05,260 --> 00:02:06,640 He is driving out demons 29 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,200 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables 30 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:17,320 How can Satan drive out Satan if a kingdom is divided against itself that kingdom cannot stand if a house is divided against itself 31 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:21,400 That house cannot stand and if Satan opposes himself and is divided 32 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:24,440 He cannot stand his end has come in fact 33 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:30,080 No one can enter a strong man's house without first tying him up then he can plunder the strong man's house 34 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:34,720 Truly I tell you people can be forgiven all their sins in every slander 35 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:40,520 They utter but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. They are guilty of an eternal sin 36 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:45,960 He said that he said this because they were saying he has an impure spirit 37 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:54,240 Then Jesus his mother and brothers arrived standing outside. They sent someone in to call him a crowd was sitting around and they told him 38 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:58,600 Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you. Who are my mother and my brothers? 39 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:05,400 He asked then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said here are my mother and my brothers 40 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:11,360 Whoever does God's will is my brother sister and mother. Let us pray 41 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:15,080 God of every tribe every tongue every color every nation 42 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:21,040 We thank you for the scriptures that we have them that they've been put together that they have persisted throughout the millennia 43 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:23,560 That we can read them that we can learn from them 44 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:26,800 And today I pray that whatever you have for us to learn and pray that it would stick 45 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:34,800 That it would become a part of the framework of our faith that our faith would become stronger as we become more like your son Jesus 46 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,280 Amen. Amen. Thanks. Y'all can have a seat if you were standing 47 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:46,440 All right, so in the space of 10 verses between verse 13 and verse 23 we have five 48 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:49,080 firsts 49 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:57,720 five firsts in 10 verses verse 13 the first mention of a mountain verse 14 first mention of the 12 disciples 50 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:04,320 Verse 19 first mention of betrayal verse 21 first mention of his family verse 23 51 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:08,840 first mention of teaching in parables and 52 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:12,680 Here's here's the deal. I'm only going to talk about two of those 53 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:18,560 So today might be one of those days where you might have more questions at the end than you did at the beginning 54 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:21,760 Because I'm not going to address most of what I read 55 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:26,760 But I wanted to make sure that I read so that you can see the context of what's happening 56 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:31,600 He there's so much happening and if I don't cover all of it, you can just blame Mark for that 57 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:38,640 Shove in too much into small sections when we look at how dense this section is how much mark is 58 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,880 Packing in again. We're reminded that he's an author 59 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:51,040 He's trying to communicate things with the way that he is writing and whether we mention that every week or not 60 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,120 I don't want us to lose track of that mark is an author 61 00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:59,040 Mark is an author. He's thinking about how he's telling us 62 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:02,320 He's thinking about how he's telling this story 63 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:09,260 He's writing things next to each other and crafting this story intentionally. He's building motifs layers 64 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:11,200 themes 65 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:19,000 One way he does this is that sometimes he'll take similar events that may have actually happened days or weeks 66 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:23,040 Or months apart and he'll put all of those together 67 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:27,040 Okay 68 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:33,040 For instance last week when pastor Jen read five stories of conflict 69 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:35,440 It would be easy for us in our modern mind to think man 70 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:41,200 Like just every single thing that happened to Jesus on that day was just all about conflict man 71 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,200 That sounds like a really bad day 72 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:47,840 But if you read if you take your time if you slow down and you read 73 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:50,400 intentionally 74 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:53,200 intentionally 75 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:57,600 Mark makes it clear that these things did not all happen in the same day 76 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:03,360 He actually writes this he says he tells the first story and then he says a few days later 77 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:06,560 And then he says once again 78 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,520 Then he says one Sabbath 79 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:12,880 And then he says another time 80 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:20,480 There's space between these stories and he's grouping them together to do something that authors do 81 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:23,040 to build themes 82 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:23,920 tension 83 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,440 momentum a sense of movement in this story 84 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,480 And today's section is no different 85 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:37,680 He stacks all these firsts on top of each other so that we feel like this ball that just started rolling 86 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:40,880 Isn't slowing down 87 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,960 Wants us to feel like everything is happening all at once 88 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:48,560 Like it's building speed 89 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:54,400 And going deeper with every single verse and so he stacks events another way that he does this is with 90 00:06:54,960 --> 00:07:00,560 Stacking of meaning with the layering of stories. Okay, it's a common bible writing technique 91 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:04,240 It's kind of what I was talking about the first week of this series 92 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:09,600 It's common when you read the scriptures especially scriptures that were written in the first week 93 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:13,280 Especially scriptures that were written with a jewish background 94 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:19,600 For the story that you're reading to be intentionally calling back to other stories that you've already read 95 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:24,160 Or that they expect for you to know one of the ways he does this in today's passage 96 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:26,640 Is when he mentions a mountainside 97 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:30,400 And the 12 disciples for the first time 98 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:32,960 I'll read that part again. It says this 99 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:38,240 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted and they came to him 100 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:40,240 And he appointed 101 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:42,240 12 102 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:45,440 All right, so we're thinking about mark like an author 103 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:50,080 We're thinking about how authors have editors. Yeah, like we think okay 104 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:55,360 I want to I want to make the best decisions with every word that I use when mark wrote this 105 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:58,800 He doesn't have to say it this way 106 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:07,360 Mark doesn't have to mention a mountainside if he doesn't want to he could have just said and then on tuesday jesus selected his team 107 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:12,160 He could have said that but he doesn't he points out where they are 108 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:18,400 For a reason and he does mention the 12 and he does mention a mountainside. And so we should ask 109 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:21,840 Why why is he saying jesus went up? 110 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:25,360 Mountainside now, let's think like we are a first 111 00:08:25,980 --> 00:08:27,280 century 112 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:29,120 israelite, okay 113 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:30,800 2000 years ago 114 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:32,960 Let's jump into our way back machine 115 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:37,360 If we lived back then and we were reading this for the first time and we see 116 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:42,960 A spiritual leader going up a mountain mountainside who might we think of maybe david? 117 00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:50,160 Hiding in the mountainside from king saul jesus. We know this from the line of david. Maybe we could think of elijah 118 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:54,480 Meeting god on the mountainside after he ran for his life from jezebel 119 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:59,120 We know that john the baptist is like in elijah that was coming before as a forerunner 120 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,820 Maybe we think of abraham taking isaac up the mountainside 121 00:09:03,660 --> 00:09:07,140 Wondering how god was going to provide a replacement 122 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:12,500 To save his son from being sacrificed, but the strongest connection 123 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,080 Would be moses 124 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:18,160 Why? 125 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:22,100 Because moses is the one that led the israelites 126 00:09:22,100 --> 00:09:28,660 out of egypt and before they built the tent of meeting which is where moses would meet or the 127 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:34,660 Tabernacle which is where all the priests would meet moses would do what he would go up the mountainside 128 00:09:35,460 --> 00:09:37,460 to meet with god 129 00:09:38,580 --> 00:09:40,340 and the mountain 130 00:09:40,340 --> 00:09:43,140 Is where he would get the law from god 131 00:09:43,940 --> 00:09:45,940 Bring it back down and teach 132 00:09:46,340 --> 00:09:47,780 his people 133 00:09:47,780 --> 00:09:52,420 And so when we see this idea that jesus goes up the side of the mountainside he chooses 12. He says I give you 134 00:09:52,500 --> 00:09:54,500 Authority to go down the mountainside 135 00:09:54,580 --> 00:10:01,780 We're getting this motif from the old testament of moses receiving the law and then giving it to the people the same law 136 00:10:02,660 --> 00:10:08,020 These people had been following for the 1300 years leading up to that moment 137 00:10:09,540 --> 00:10:15,940 So if you're a first century jew and you read that a spiritual leader went up a mountainside moses is probably on your mind now 138 00:10:15,940 --> 00:10:17,940 It doesn't mean 139 00:10:17,940 --> 00:10:23,620 That mark is making this up just so that we'll think of moses. That's not what we're saying. Okay 140 00:10:24,180 --> 00:10:27,940 Jesus went up the mountainside. He's not pretending like he did 141 00:10:28,180 --> 00:10:33,880 But if all this is about is information if all the bible is about is giving us information 142 00:10:34,420 --> 00:10:39,220 About jesus having disciples then mark doesn't have to tell us how and where he chose them 143 00:10:40,340 --> 00:10:42,340 He just has to say that he chose them 144 00:10:43,300 --> 00:10:45,300 He adds the detail 145 00:10:45,300 --> 00:10:49,780 A because it happened and because it leads the reader deeper 146 00:10:50,340 --> 00:10:51,620 into 147 00:10:51,620 --> 00:10:53,620 The story does that make sense? 148 00:10:54,260 --> 00:10:55,460 Yeah 149 00:10:55,460 --> 00:10:56,500 Okay 150 00:10:56,500 --> 00:11:02,340 So then when mark says that he chose 12 disciples, what might that remind us of? 151 00:11:04,020 --> 00:11:08,820 He had 12 tribes of israel, right? 152 00:11:08,820 --> 00:11:14,100 If any point mark wrote down and then jesus bought a dozen donuts 153 00:11:14,500 --> 00:11:16,740 He wants us to think of 12 tribes of israel 154 00:11:17,460 --> 00:11:20,740 If if any gospel writer refers to something as 12 155 00:11:21,300 --> 00:11:25,380 The point is that this is somehow a reference to the 12 156 00:11:25,780 --> 00:11:28,020 tribes because israel having 12 tribes is a 157 00:11:28,500 --> 00:11:33,940 Core element of who they are and who they were and so now 158 00:11:34,420 --> 00:11:36,420 Mark shows these two things 159 00:11:36,420 --> 00:11:38,420 together the mountain 160 00:11:38,980 --> 00:11:40,980 and the 12 161 00:11:41,460 --> 00:11:42,980 I think 162 00:11:42,980 --> 00:11:46,580 Because moses was the first person to lead 163 00:11:47,140 --> 00:11:49,140 the 12 tribes 164 00:11:49,940 --> 00:11:53,620 Moses is the one that led the 12 tribes out of egypt 165 00:11:53,940 --> 00:11:59,940 Out of slavery and he lived with them for the next 40 years on their way to the promised land 166 00:12:00,260 --> 00:12:05,060 And mark is showing how jesus is leading these people 167 00:12:05,060 --> 00:12:07,060 into a new 168 00:12:07,380 --> 00:12:09,380 promised land 169 00:12:09,380 --> 00:12:11,460 But wait, there's more 170 00:12:12,660 --> 00:12:18,660 Because if you read the bible if you're familiar with it or if you're thinking like a first century 171 00:12:19,140 --> 00:12:22,660 Israelite, maybe you remember that while moses led them out of egypt 172 00:12:23,380 --> 00:12:28,980 That moses didn't get to lead them through the jordan river and into the promised land. Do you guys remember that? 173 00:12:28,980 --> 00:12:34,900 Moses gets to the end of his life. He dies. He hands over authority and leadership to joshua 174 00:12:35,940 --> 00:12:38,340 And joshua is the one that gets to lead them 175 00:12:38,900 --> 00:12:39,940 into 176 00:12:39,940 --> 00:12:43,700 The land moses was the first one to lead the 12 but joshua was their leader 177 00:12:44,340 --> 00:12:47,540 When they stepped into the land and received their inheritance 178 00:12:48,660 --> 00:12:57,140 When for the first time listen think about this when for the first time in the history of this people that all 12 tribes had a hundred 179 00:12:57,140 --> 00:12:59,220 people that all 12 tribes had a home 180 00:13:00,180 --> 00:13:02,660 And a land to call their own 181 00:13:04,660 --> 00:13:06,980 Because the 12 tribes started as what? 182 00:13:08,020 --> 00:13:10,020 It started started as brothers 183 00:13:10,740 --> 00:13:13,460 They just started as the children of jacob, right? 184 00:13:14,740 --> 00:13:16,740 They were the brothers of joseph 185 00:13:17,300 --> 00:13:21,940 And they went to egypt as one large family because of a famine 186 00:13:21,940 --> 00:13:29,460 And 400 years later they lead as tribes of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people 187 00:13:30,980 --> 00:13:32,980 So when joshua 188 00:13:33,060 --> 00:13:35,060 Takes them into the land 189 00:13:35,220 --> 00:13:42,420 It is the first time that they get to step into the fullness of who they are 190 00:13:42,420 --> 00:13:50,020 It's the first time that as tribes they get to realize their freedom 191 00:13:50,740 --> 00:13:54,660 It's the first time as tribes they get to step into their identity 192 00:13:57,300 --> 00:13:59,620 It's the first time that happens in history 193 00:14:00,340 --> 00:14:05,140 Of their family and if you are a first century jew you're thinking of moses 194 00:14:05,780 --> 00:14:11,460 You're thinking about the exodus you're thinking about the 12 tribes you're thinking about joshua you're thinking about the 195 00:14:11,460 --> 00:14:14,020 joshua you're thinking about the promised land 196 00:14:15,780 --> 00:14:19,860 And if you're reading this back then 197 00:14:21,860 --> 00:14:23,860 You're thinking 198 00:14:23,860 --> 00:14:25,940 That you would not be calling jesus 199 00:14:27,060 --> 00:14:29,060 jesus 200 00:14:30,100 --> 00:14:32,100 Stay with me 201 00:14:32,500 --> 00:14:35,300 If you are a jew in the first century and you're reading this 202 00:14:35,300 --> 00:14:40,980 You're thinking that if you're jewish you would have said his name a little differently 203 00:14:43,540 --> 00:14:50,260 And when you said his name and when you read this story it would have connected the dots differently than it does for us english 204 00:14:50,820 --> 00:14:52,420 Speakers, what do I mean? 205 00:14:52,420 --> 00:14:54,420 See we call jesus jesus 206 00:14:54,820 --> 00:14:55,620 right 207 00:14:55,620 --> 00:14:57,620 Everyone's familiar with that 208 00:14:58,020 --> 00:15:00,020 Because during translations 209 00:15:00,660 --> 00:15:02,660 His hebru name had a shh 210 00:15:02,660 --> 00:15:04,660 In the middle of it 211 00:15:04,980 --> 00:15:09,620 Had a shh sound but greek didn't have a shh in their alphabet 212 00:15:10,580 --> 00:15:14,100 And so in the greek when it's translated the shh became a ss 213 00:15:15,140 --> 00:15:16,660 Okay 214 00:15:16,660 --> 00:15:20,660 And then his name in hebru ends with an uh sound 215 00:15:21,300 --> 00:15:26,500 But in greek it was considered feminine to put the uh sound at the end of a word 216 00:15:26,500 --> 00:15:36,020 And so they put in ss sound at the end of the word because that was the masculine way of saying it and they didn't want to confuse people about who he was 217 00:15:37,220 --> 00:15:38,660 and then 218 00:15:38,660 --> 00:15:46,580 In hebru his name starts with a yuh sound but later in german their j also made a yuh sound 219 00:15:47,460 --> 00:15:53,620 And so it often got transliterated as a j but we english speakers the j's 220 00:15:53,620 --> 00:16:00,280 Sounds make so what sound a juh sound and when you put all that together we end up in english saying jesus 221 00:16:03,620 --> 00:16:07,160 But in the first century they called him yeshua 222 00:16:11,300 --> 00:16:13,300 And everywhere 223 00:16:14,100 --> 00:16:16,100 Everywhere else in the bible 224 00:16:16,340 --> 00:16:19,060 That we find the name yeshua 225 00:16:20,020 --> 00:16:22,020 That name is called jesus 226 00:16:22,020 --> 00:16:23,140 yeshua 227 00:16:23,140 --> 00:16:25,140 That name is translated 228 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:28,160 joshua 229 00:16:29,620 --> 00:16:32,500 In this one moment that mark has written down 230 00:16:33,460 --> 00:16:38,180 Mark shows us a spiritual leader go up a mountainside like moses 231 00:16:39,540 --> 00:16:42,040 And then like joshua yeshua 232 00:16:43,540 --> 00:16:48,180 Point them into the promised land that is the new kingdom of god 233 00:16:48,180 --> 00:16:53,620 Do we need to get the mop for anybody's brains like guys it's two verses 234 00:16:54,980 --> 00:16:56,980 It's two verses 235 00:16:58,500 --> 00:17:00,500 So what do we do with this 236 00:17:00,500 --> 00:17:02,500 How do we participate with this? 237 00:17:02,820 --> 00:17:07,140 I'm gonna keep it short and simple because we got the kids with us and it's already been pretty heady 238 00:17:08,500 --> 00:17:10,500 guys be curious 239 00:17:11,540 --> 00:17:13,540 Just be curious 240 00:17:13,540 --> 00:17:16,340 Like I would not recommend everybody to do this 241 00:17:16,340 --> 00:17:21,780 Like I would not recommend everybody watch this show. It's called ted lasso has a lot of swearing in it 242 00:17:23,300 --> 00:17:25,140 But there's this scene 243 00:17:25,140 --> 00:17:26,420 where 244 00:17:26,420 --> 00:17:29,860 Ted's in a pub and he's with the owner of the soccer club 245 00:17:30,740 --> 00:17:36,120 And she's intimidated by her ex that that had owned the club previously 246 00:17:36,580 --> 00:17:41,460 And he's trying to manipulate the situation and so ted says hey if I beat you in darts 247 00:17:41,460 --> 00:17:46,980 Then you have to I think he says you can't show up to any of the games the rest of the season if I remember it correctly 248 00:17:47,780 --> 00:17:48,900 and so 249 00:17:48,900 --> 00:17:53,060 Ted doesn't look like he plays darts very much and this guy is 250 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:54,820 pompous 251 00:17:54,820 --> 00:17:57,540 And he just starts hitting everything that he wants to hit 252 00:17:58,180 --> 00:18:03,860 And it gets down to this point where ted needs an exact number of points on the dartboard in order to win 253 00:18:04,020 --> 00:18:07,060 And he goes into this monologue and he said, you know 254 00:18:08,180 --> 00:18:10,180 When I was a kid, I was bullied a lot 255 00:18:10,180 --> 00:18:16,340 And one day I remember driving and I saw this quote by walt woodman. It said be curious 256 00:18:18,180 --> 00:18:24,120 He said and I realized that all those people that gave me such a hard time they just weren't curious 257 00:18:25,700 --> 00:18:29,940 Because if they were curious if people like you were curious and he hits a bull's eye 258 00:18:31,220 --> 00:18:34,340 He says you might ask me a couple questions like hey ted 259 00:18:35,140 --> 00:18:37,140 Do you play darts much? 260 00:18:37,780 --> 00:18:39,780 And then he hits another one 261 00:18:39,780 --> 00:18:43,220 And then he says and I would have told you yes every sunday 262 00:18:43,940 --> 00:18:45,940 Until I was 16 263 00:18:46,020 --> 00:18:48,020 He hits the winning shot 264 00:18:49,220 --> 00:18:52,340 We need to be curious when we look at the scriptures 265 00:18:53,140 --> 00:18:55,060 We need to ask 266 00:18:55,060 --> 00:18:57,380 Something as simple as why did he mention the mountainside? 267 00:18:58,660 --> 00:19:00,660 Why does he say that there's a boat? 268 00:19:01,380 --> 00:19:04,820 Why does he say that his family came to get him and thought that he was out of his mind? 269 00:19:04,820 --> 00:19:09,220 Why does it say that the religious leaders came down? Why does it say? 270 00:19:10,100 --> 00:19:12,100 be curious 271 00:19:12,100 --> 00:19:14,100 Because when this was written 272 00:19:14,100 --> 00:19:20,820 There was so much more packed into it than we would see with our english-speaking american eyes today 273 00:19:21,620 --> 00:19:23,620 But it's there 274 00:19:23,620 --> 00:19:25,620 If you will look 275 00:19:25,620 --> 00:19:28,500 And the holy spirit of god will help you see 276 00:19:28,980 --> 00:19:30,340 Amen 277 00:19:30,340 --> 00:19:32,340 Let's pray 278 00:19:32,340 --> 00:19:35,380 God again, I thank you for your scriptures 279 00:19:36,180 --> 00:19:38,180 That they are so full of who you are 280 00:19:39,460 --> 00:19:44,820 They are constantly pointing us to who you are but not just who you were in that year and in that day 281 00:19:44,900 --> 00:19:47,780 But to who you've always been throughout the whole story 282 00:19:50,180 --> 00:19:52,180 That we call existence 283 00:19:52,180 --> 00:20:00,180 Would you soften our hearts in such a way that our minds would want to know more? 284 00:20:03,780 --> 00:20:09,140 And I pray that you would move in our hearts that we would always look for the work that you are doing 285 00:20:10,580 --> 00:20:12,580 We would always want to participate with it 286 00:20:14,180 --> 00:20:16,180 That your yes would always be our yes 287 00:20:16,180 --> 00:20:20,180 Amen