1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,840 Hey, I'm Matt Brownell. 2 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:10,480 And I'm Van Owens. 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:12,160 And I'm Tim Adams. 4 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:18,120 Welcome to Climbing the Mountain, where we dive into the scriptures and discuss themes, 5 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:21,280 connections, and real life application. 6 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:24,960 We're kicking off a series here where we're going to examine the Sermon on the Mount and 7 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:34,600 discuss implications for this teaching for Christians today. 8 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,240 If you've been with us from the beginning of this podcast series, you may have noticed 9 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:43,760 that we didn't start the Sermon on the Mount from the beginning, from the Beatitudes. 10 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:45,240 That was deliberate. 11 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:50,560 Instead, we started at Matthew 5:17. 12 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:55,280 We're going to end with the Beatitudes after we're done with everything here. 13 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:57,640 We're going to circle back to them. 14 00:00:57,640 --> 00:00:58,640 That was intentional. 15 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:00,080 But I want to read Matthew 17. 16 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:04,240 Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. 17 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:08,800 I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. 18 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:16,760 So as we're reaching the end of this first section, and the Bible with its chapter markings 19 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:21,200 don't always do a great job of ending it right where the thought ends, but this is actually 20 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:23,800 a pretty good ending to a thought. 21 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:29,120 To refresh, Jesus has taught us that we must not be like the teachers of the law who had 22 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:33,520 relaxed God's holy, perfect commands. 23 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:39,000 If our righteousness doesn't surpass theirs, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:44,160 Jesus gives six examples of the kind of relaxed teaching that was in his day, the legalism 25 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:49,920 that it created loopholes for wiggling out of really following the law. 26 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:53,800 He's now summing up this entire section of teaching with the following verses. 27 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:57,840 I'm going to read Matthew 5:46-48. 28 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:03,920 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? 29 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:06,280 Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 30 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:10,600 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? 31 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,360 Do not even the pagans do that? 32 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:19,800 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect. 33 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:26,280 Jesus is summing up not only this example of the loving your enemies, but also the rest 34 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:30,000 of his teaching that began in verse 17. 35 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,280 It's a breathtaking statement. 36 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:36,800 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect. 37 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:39,600 What do you think he means by perfect? 38 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:48,880 Well, you know, when I first read this a long time ago as a young Christian, I thought, 39 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:50,840 well, why am I doing this then? 40 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,400 Because I'm never going to get there. 41 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:59,120 It's sort of like there's a famous standup routine that Steve Martin did early in his 42 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:03,680 career where he said, I'm going to tell you how to make a million dollars and never pay 43 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:04,840 taxes. 44 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:07,080 Step number one, get a million dollars. 45 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:14,000 Step number two, and the scripture feels like that to me. 46 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:15,000 It's like, be perfect. 47 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:16,000 Come on. 48 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,440 I mean, I'd like to think so. 49 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:23,360 You know, I think, but there's no way I'm ever going to get there in a million years. 50 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:33,280 I think what it means is that you don't get there on this side of eternity and that, you 51 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:40,560 know, perfection is obviously something that is beyond the human ability to achieve. 52 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:45,560 But that means that we keep, we keep striving for it. 53 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:52,400 We keep going after it and that we continue that and that it never stops. 54 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:59,200 We never get to the point where, OK, I have achieved the degree in human perfection or 55 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:05,280 I have risen to this level and I'm perfect now and I don't have to, I don't have to continue 56 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:11,320 to try that the moment we stop trying is the moment when we're lost again. 57 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,600 And so that's what I think it means. 58 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:15,600 Yeah. 59 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:17,880 It's tough because it's a command. 60 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:18,880 Yeah. 61 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:25,040 I mean, that's like, I think why it can feel that, oh, it's just give up. 62 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,080 He didn't say try to be perfect. 63 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:28,080 Yeah. 64 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:29,080 Right. 65 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:34,840 It definitely sounds similar to like in Leviticus where God says, be holy as I am holy. 66 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:35,840 Right. 67 00:04:35,840 --> 00:04:43,520 And Peter brings that up in 1 Peter as well when he's calling us to imitate God. 68 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:53,280 But yeah, it's interesting because Jesus is easy to kind of dismiss in some ways because 69 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:54,360 we're like, oh, he's God. 70 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:57,400 But like, he was fully man. 71 00:04:57,400 --> 00:04:59,360 And he was perfect. 72 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:05,480 And so in one sense, I mean, still, I think we talked about, we quote, C.S. Lewis a fair 73 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:06,480 amount in these. 74 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:10,040 But C.S. Loewis said something kind of like, well, it's going to be easier for the teacher to 75 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:12,800 know how to do things than the student. 76 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:19,880 So Jesus being God and knowing, just being God completely, like, it's going to be easier 77 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:23,480 for him, but he still was fully man and was perfect. 78 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:30,160 So that to me is enough to at least not dismiss, well, I'm never going to get there, right, 79 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:32,160 and to embrace the journey. 80 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:40,000 It can't mean if you're not fully perfect, this side of eternity, then you're doomed 81 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,880 because there's so much grace throughout the scriptures. 82 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:48,360 And there is no one perfect we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 83 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:53,160 And 1 John talks about when you sin, how there's an advocate who speaks, the father 84 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:54,280 of God, or our defense. 85 00:05:54,280 --> 00:05:56,880 And anyone who claims to be without sin is a liar. 86 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:57,880 Yeah. 87 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:00,560 So that can't be what it means. 88 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:07,840 But I think what it means is, I mean, it definitely includes try. 89 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:14,160 But I kind of take a step back and say, like, God really wants us to be like him, right? 90 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:17,960 Like be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect. 91 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:21,880 God wants us to be like him, and he wants all of us to be like him. 92 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:30,480 There's no facet of our life which does not fall under this statement, which, I mean, is it 93 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:37,160 why it's such a great summary of the verses that we have spent so much time digging into. 94 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:38,160 Yeah. 95 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:43,320 I love what you're just saying there, because I think that is, that's where, I think that 96 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,440 follows the argument that he's making here, right? 97 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:50,440 And when I was thinking about this, I struggled because I'm a perfectionist, and I know no 98 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:54,560 matter how hard I try, it's not going to turn out perfect. 99 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:57,000 Nothing in life is perfect. 100 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,840 And I have a hard time with that. 101 00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:05,840 And I can burn myself out trying and on my own strength. 102 00:07:05,840 --> 00:07:12,240 But I think there's a quality here where we, it's like we, I think we need to rely on God's 103 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:14,840 strength to get there. 104 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:18,800 But more, I think what you were saying about it, there is an argument he's making, which 105 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:28,240 I think we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us that we may be children 106 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:29,520 of our Father in heaven. 107 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:33,000 And I think the argument he's making is that we should be like our Father. 108 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:38,280 We should imitate God who sends the rain and on the righteous and the unrighteous farmer 109 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:39,280 who need it. 110 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:44,320 Well, let me back up though and say, I don't think that he's saying there's some kind of 111 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:51,800 performative aspect here where acting so much like God will mean we qualify to be his children. 112 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:56,040 I think he's saying, no, you are his children, you're just not acting like it. 113 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:57,040 You should act like him. 114 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:01,480 And I think it reminds me a little of what we were talking about with the, about honesty 115 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:06,720 and oaths and vows and how some of the other podcasts where we could either imitate God 116 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:09,360 and or we could imitate the Father of lies. 117 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:15,560 And so I think it's in that kind of vein of thinking. 118 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:22,960 Yeah, I think that I think the, the trying, as you said, Tim is definitely a part of it, 119 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:24,760 but it's, it's not just the trying. 120 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:28,920 And I also think the how, how we try is very important. 121 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:34,960 You know, you think the, the, the church is the body of Christ. 122 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:42,280 And so there's a, the, the operative word in all of this of what we're saying is we, 123 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:50,560 there is a perfection that can be achieved among us as the church that we cannot achieve 124 00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:52,400 individually. 125 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:58,040 And I think even some of the conversations that we've had, that we've had even here during 126 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:07,240 this podcast have, have, uh, have further solidified that for me, that I feel safer in 127 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:13,840 some of these big controversial things that I'm not sure how I should think about it or 128 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:18,920 what I should do or how, how can I, how can I implement these things? 129 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:27,920 I feel safer in being able to talk them through with my brothers and sisters in Christ. 130 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:35,200 I feel like, you know, I say to my, to my buddy at work, um, during the pandemic, we 131 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:40,280 were the only two people there and we talk about all kinds of things and we come up with 132 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:42,360 these grand ideas. 133 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:46,640 And I said, I said to her once, you know, together we're a genius. 134 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:55,800 And, and, but I think that that is absolutely true of the church as individuals we're, we're 135 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:58,480 stumbling, bumbling sinners. 136 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:04,640 We cannot, there's not much we can do about that, but in our unity, we're, we're a genius 137 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:13,040 and in our unity, we can be perfect, but it depends upon our unity and the, the unity and the 138 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:18,360 love and the, the mutual respect and honor and care that we give each other. 139 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:22,960 I think is crucial to being able to fulfill this command. 140 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:28,800 It's a really good insight where the rubber meets the road, uh, how we need each other. 141 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:32,160 Well, maybe picking up on that, how we need each other. 142 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:37,400 I think one of these things, um, that we were saying before is that this is hard and 143 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:39,080 that we need Jesus. 144 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:45,560 And so I guess how, how does Jesus help us be perfect? 145 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:47,960 Like God, our father. 146 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:48,960 Yeah. 147 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:55,440 I think I'm still learning that, um, because I, I'm trying to tap into Jesus more and more. 148 00:10:55,440 --> 00:11:04,680 But the, the short answer I have for this is Jesus didn't just tell us, he showed us 149 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:10,680 and he didn't, I don't know. 150 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:19,680 He, we can follow not just his teachings, but his example of life and the, the contours 151 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:26,840 of the decisions he made, um, to, to see practically, like, okay, what does it look 152 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:30,200 like to, to, to be perfect, to be like God. 153 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:39,400 Um, and for this whole past year, um, we're recording this at the beginning of 2023. 154 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:45,880 So it's, you know, thinking about 2022, um, so much of what I've been trying to do is 155 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:52,440 like, I just want to be closer with Jesus on like a, a, a moment by moment basis. 156 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:58,800 If I, if I adopt Jesus's lifestyle, if I, if I do the things that he did, the habits 157 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:05,200 that he had, you know, he's going to, to work on my heart. 158 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:10,680 Um, and he's going to change me in ways that I can't change just by trying to like muscle 159 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:11,680 through. 160 00:12:11,680 --> 00:12:12,960 Um, so I don't know. 161 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:20,640 I feel like, yeah, that's, that's not like a concrete answer, but it feels like, because 162 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:23,280 I'm like so in the middle of trying to figure this out. 163 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:27,120 And like my working hypothesis is like, am I just trying to stay as close to Jesus as 164 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:28,120 I can 165 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:35,480 then, you know, he's, he's, there's a, there's no madness in the, in the method, 166 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:36,480 right? 167 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:39,800 It's very intentional and, and he's going to work on me. 168 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:41,120 He's going to make me perfect. 169 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:42,120 Yeah. 170 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:46,920 I think that he, so we have, like you were saying, Tim, we have the example of Jesus 171 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:48,520 from the scripture. 172 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:55,040 We can, we can read the gospel and we can see how he, how he lived, how he reacted, what 173 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:57,080 he did, what he said. 174 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:00,600 We also have as Christians, the indwelling of the Holy spirit. 175 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:07,120 So we have the, we have the Holy spirit who, who will guide us and who will help us to 176 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:08,120 make those decisions. 177 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:13,240 I was thinking, I was thinking about it as I was driving home, there was a, there was 178 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,000 a night this week where the weather was pretty bad. 179 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:17,000 I was driving home. 180 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:24,160 I was super tired and part of me thought this is the night that I don't make it because 181 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:29,240 I'm just, I'm just, I'm exhausted and I thought if I don't pull over, I'm not going to make 182 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:30,240 it. 183 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:36,480 And then I was, I, I have for the first time in my life a relatively newer, a relatively 184 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:38,560 late model car. 185 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:45,480 So it's got, you know, it's got GPS and it's got the driver assisted thing that tells me 186 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:51,200 when I'm going off, when I'm just going to veer out of a lane and it's got a little thing. 187 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:53,440 I just discovered it that night. 188 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:55,280 It's got a little thing that pops up on my screen. 189 00:13:55,280 --> 00:14:00,800 It was a little coffee cup with steam coming out of it and it said, driver attention is 190 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:01,800 low. 191 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:02,800 Whoa. 192 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:04,960 And I said, whoa. 193 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:07,920 And so, you know, I pulled over, I got myself a cup of coffee. 194 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:13,360 I turned my music up a little louder and I thought this is, this is part of the way that 195 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:15,480 Jesus helps us to be perfect. 196 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:23,280 Now all that stuff that's added to my car is not going to keep me from having an accident. 197 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:32,800 If I am not, if I'm not making my best effort in a situation like that, but it will push 198 00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:33,800 me. 199 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:38,520 You know, when I start to veer off a lane, my steering wheel doesn't forcefully push 200 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:39,520 me back. 201 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:40,520 It nudges. 202 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:41,520 I can, I can feel it. 203 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:44,320 And I think, oh, I have to get over. 204 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:48,960 I could say sometimes it doesn't when I'm getting off the highway. 205 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:54,320 When I cross that line, it tells me you're crossing the line and I can force it because 206 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:56,360 I'm doing it intentionally. 207 00:14:56,360 --> 00:15:03,560 And I think that that's the way that, that's the way that in my clumsy analogy, the Holy 208 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:06,400 Spirit operates for me sometimes. 209 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:11,120 It's that little nudge that says, no, you're veering a little bit here. 210 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:14,280 And I can, in my will, decide, yes, I am veering. 211 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:18,840 I need to get back on the road or I can decide, no, I'm going to veer. 212 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:26,000 And I think the, the, the perfection comes from listening to the Holy Spirit, from doing 213 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:33,080 exactly what you said to him, staying as close to Jesus as I can, staying as close to him 214 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:42,000 in my mind, in my, in my meditative life, in my prayers, in my reading, in my example, 215 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:47,720 that old trope as flawed as it is as of what would Jesus do. 216 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:48,720 Okay. 217 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:50,120 And what did he do? 218 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:51,120 We've got that. 219 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:52,120 Yeah. 220 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:53,120 We've got that here. 221 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:56,720 Let's go back to the scripture and let it dwell on our hearts richly. 222 00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:02,560 And when you were talking about the driving example, it reminded me of, so we, we have 223 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:04,520 different sources that we can listen to. 224 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:07,720 And I think it's really important because I think what we're talking about is the process 225 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:12,880 of sanctification that we keep going back to the scripture and we keep letting it renew 226 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:17,680 our minds because there is an alternative voice that's out there. 227 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:21,320 The world is acting on us, sinful nature, all of that. 228 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:27,360 And it reminded me of a friend who told me in college, hey, you know, we're talking about 229 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:32,880 driving and, you know, I was, we were talking about driving when you're tired and he was 230 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:34,800 like, oh yeah, here's what you do. 231 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:36,600 You roll down the windows, you get some fresh air. 232 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:38,360 I was like, oh yeah, I'm with you. 233 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:41,440 You know, you drive, you get some coffee like you were saying. 234 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:43,160 These are all good things to do. 235 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:48,880 And then the third thing he said, which gave me pause was, and then you drive really fast. 236 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,680 I was like, wait, what? 237 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:53,320 What did you just say? 238 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:55,600 I heard you have the first two things and then what? 239 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:56,600 What was that? 240 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:57,600 You drive really fast. 241 00:16:57,600 --> 00:16:58,600 Yeah. 242 00:16:58,600 --> 00:16:59,600 Oh yeah. 243 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:03,760 You know, the adrenaline starts pumping and then you, you know, and I, and I thought, I, 244 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:08,680 I don't know if that sounds like a good idea. 245 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:10,840 But I tried it one time. 246 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:17,080 Thankfully a police officer was not far behind me and pulled me over right away. 247 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:19,120 I didn't, I don't know how fast I was going. 248 00:17:19,120 --> 00:17:21,080 I was falling asleep. 249 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:22,920 He thought I was drunk or something. 250 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:24,320 I was, I was falling asleep. 251 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:26,040 I had already rolled the window down. 252 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:28,840 I had turned the, the, the radio up loud. 253 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:29,840 I was singing. 254 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:35,240 I was drinking whatever coffee was left and, and I was tired and I was starting to fall 255 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:42,640 asleep and then the, and I remember the sirens going on and, and like it was not real. 256 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:45,720 Like I didn't even realize what was happening. 257 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:49,880 I was so close to dying at that point. 258 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:57,600 Like, so thankfully God sent that police officer to save my life, but we should be listening 259 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:06,320 to the Bible because the lies around us are, they, they might have a, a bit of truth to 260 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:11,520 them and then I'll, something that will kill you. 261 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:18,800 And so I think for me, that's this process of sanctification is keep coming back to Jesus, 262 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:20,560 keep listening to him. 263 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:24,120 The Holy spirit will take that word and write it on our hearts. 264 00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:28,800 And I think the other thing that this, this sermon does is it breaks me and I think it 265 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:35,120 drives me back to the beatitudes, blessed are the poor in spirit. 266 00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:42,600 And I think that when we are, when we see how much we need Jesus, that's another thing. 267 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:46,800 It's that gratitude that will keep us going. 268 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:55,480 So as we look back at each of these six antitheses, it's a funny word. 269 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:58,880 What patterns emerge for you? 270 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:04,800 Yeah, it's funny because part of me wants to like rehash everything we've said before, 271 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:09,920 but I don't want to, you know, I don't want to do that. 272 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:11,920 24 more episodes. 273 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:13,920 Here we go. 274 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:21,640 So, the, what I, when I think about the patterns or, you know, these kind of big themes that 275 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:30,600 we're seeing, really, I'm seeing like live life in the sight of God and live life conscious 276 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:34,120 of God to, to be like him. 277 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:39,960 And that kind of is how I put it all together, you know, think about the oaths, right? 278 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:45,880 The whole thing about oaths is that the heaven, heaven is God's throne and the earth is his 279 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:48,040 footstool, right? 280 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:53,160 That he's got, you can't make your hair white or black, but like God can. 281 00:19:53,160 --> 00:20:03,720 And so just be a person of integrity or the, you know, thinking about anger, you know, 282 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:05,920 and the call to reconcile. 283 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:14,040 Like we're called to reconcile quickly with, with our neighbor and the example of that is, 284 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:17,200 is God who's always reconciling with his people. 285 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:22,800 And also he's, you know, when, what's the trigger for us to reconcile? 286 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:25,000 It's when we go to the sacrifice, right? 287 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:29,000 It's when we come to the altar and we're, we're coming to God, living life in the sight 288 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:30,000 of God. 289 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:31,880 Oh, I'm not, I'm not good, right? 290 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:35,000 I have to, I have to go reconcile with my brother. 291 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:41,880 So I think of it like the analogy is just like, you know, if you think about just light, 292 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:45,760 just like permeating every corner of the room. 293 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:50,560 And when that's happening, you know, you, you live, you live differently. 294 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:52,880 Like everything's exposed. 295 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:54,800 And you just go, Oh, I see the dust there. 296 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:56,040 I'm going to clean that up. 297 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:59,720 I see this, you know, this mess that has kind of been hidden in the shadows. 298 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:01,040 I'm going to clean that up. 299 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:08,480 Um, in the same way like God is God is, and Jesus through these teachings is beaming light 300 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:13,800 into like every corner of our life and saying, um, I see this, right? 301 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:17,360 And, and we want to be like our heavenly father. 302 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:20,920 And so these are the ways we can be like our heavenly father. 303 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:21,920 Yeah. 304 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:22,920 Yeah. 305 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:31,080 And I see it, the sort of the, uh, the pattern that emerges from me in the course of these 306 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:43,120 verses is that there's no, um, there's no differentiation between what I do and what 307 00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:53,800 motivates me that, that these things are, are, are intricately and, and inextricably 308 00:21:53,800 --> 00:22:00,560 connected there, that, that the motivation is what matters because the motivation is 309 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:01,560 what's true. 310 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:08,360 Uh, you know, if you look at a woman lustfully, you've committed adultery with her in your 311 00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:16,040 heart and you know, if you're angry with your brother, then you're a murderer. 312 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:22,600 And it's, it's talking about how what's inside of us, what, what's inside of us is 313 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:25,480 what, who we really are. 314 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:31,360 Despite of how we act, because we can act, we can try to look a certain way. 315 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:39,360 We can, we can think of our lives as, as something that we're acting out as if we were in a 316 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:43,600 movie reading a script, but there's no differentiation. 317 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:47,160 We are what's inside of us. 318 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:48,560 Yeah. 319 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:55,560 I think for me, it's, uh, that I think the first thing I think is maybe related back 320 00:22:55,560 --> 00:23:00,000 to what I was saying before about seeing my need for, for God. 321 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:05,560 Um, the, the thing that he's doing here, the first pattern I see is that he's taking away 322 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:16,440 all the loopholes, uh, and God's standards feel impossibly high and that, uh, that this 323 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:17,720 is really, really tough. 324 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:23,480 And I bet that he stunned his audience because if the more we look at this, I feel stunned 325 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:30,520 and, uh, I don't measure up to any standard of God and I see my need for him. 326 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:37,320 And I think there's, um, there's an, in a sense that there's also this, um, this hope 327 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:42,040 of grace in that Jesus says he's going to fulfill this. 328 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:49,160 He's the one who is perfect when I, I need his, and I need his righteousness, um, to 329 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:54,520 clothe me, um, because I get angry. 330 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:55,520 I lust. 331 00:23:55,520 --> 00:24:00,280 I thankfully am not divorced, but that's only because of Jesus in the first place. 332 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:01,560 I'm dishonest. 333 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:03,440 I, I, I retaliate. 334 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:07,800 My flesh is, uh, I don't, I don't naturally want to love people who mistreat me. 335 00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:15,120 This is all stuff that I don't want to do, but that Jesus did and I need to stay with 336 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:17,120 him and I need him. 337 00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:26,640 And so I, I think that's, that's where we can even experience this, this blessing of 338 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:34,600 in seeing our need and then understanding how God is there to meet our need. 339 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:40,600 But is, so is there an overall theme that connects each of these, these six examples 340 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:46,960 that he gives, you think? It's hard to, it's hard to. 341 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:55,040 It's hard to say it as an overall theme, but I think that, I think that it does rest in 342 00:24:55,040 --> 00:25:02,400 the fact that, uh, that this is really hard. 343 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:12,040 It seems impossibly hard, but it's doable within the context of our faith. 344 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:20,560 Um, I don't know if you'd call that a theme, but that's, that's what happens to me as I 345 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:21,960 read these passages. 346 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:29,960 I think I, you know, he often starts with what the law said and the law was hard. 347 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:35,040 The law was, wow, that's a, that's a tough row to hoe right there. 348 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:36,040 Jesus. 349 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:39,800 And then he says, well, if you think that's tough, how about this? 350 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:41,920 And then you say, well, that one was tough. 351 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:44,560 This one is impossible. 352 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:49,400 And but it, but it's not only, it's not only possible. 353 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:58,400 It is, uh, it is imminently doable, um, within the context of our faith. 354 00:25:58,400 --> 00:25:59,400 So faith. 355 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:00,400 Yeah. 356 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:01,400 Yeah. 357 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:02,400 I think that's one of the big three, right? 358 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:04,200 Mercy, faith, justice. 359 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:06,360 Uh, how about you, Tim? 360 00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:07,360 Yeah. 361 00:26:07,360 --> 00:26:11,880 I struggled to kind of put it all in a one theme. 362 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:19,800 Um, you know, Jesus starts the section by talking about how righteousness needs to surpass 363 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:22,760 that of the Pharisees and the ends with be perfect. 364 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:28,880 So like those feel, but what is he doing? 365 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:37,160 He's proclaiming the kingdom of God and he's, this is, this is the sermon where he starts 366 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:41,520 it by saying, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God. 367 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:48,320 And all throughout, um, you know, he's, he's showing the kingdom way. 368 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:55,200 He's showing us what it looks like to be a part of, of his under his rule. 369 00:26:55,200 --> 00:27:00,360 So I'd say, you know, that's probably how I, the theme, right? 370 00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:05,600 It's, this is, these are, this is a painting of what the kingdom life looks like. 371 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:12,120 Um, and in all of its facets and, you know, in all these different examples. 372 00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:17,680 For me, I was thinking about one of our conversations we had, uh, a while ago where we were talking 373 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:22,400 about what does it mean to fulfill the law and how we said love, you know, faith acting 374 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:28,640 through love and that love in each of these examples, there's some kind of breakdown of 375 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:36,320 love, uh, you know, anger, judging others, like othering other people and, um, lying 376 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:43,680 and, and I think that, or dishonoring each other in lust or breaking our, our, our vows. 377 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:51,080 I think the, um, the thing that, that threads it through for me is this, this aspect of love 378 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:58,680 culminating in an appeal to love like God does, who loves his enemies that in somehow, 379 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:02,720 I mean, this is, I don't think this is a quote from the, the Old Testament at all, but, but 380 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:06,440 it's a, a good summary. 381 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:14,000 He's, I think he's saying of the law that you would love your enemies because that's 382 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:15,760 what God does. 383 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:18,080 That's what God does for all of us. 384 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:19,080 Yeah. 385 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:20,080 Um, okay. 386 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:24,800 So last question, we're coming in for a landing here on this. 387 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:26,600 I think we can just carry it through. 388 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:32,000 Um, we talked a little bit about the semantic field here that existed in Jesus's day with 389 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:37,120 terms like raca carrying salvic salvific weight. 390 00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:38,600 That's another fun word. 391 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:46,240 Uh, anyway, this, this, uh, word meaning like, you know, uh, I think hypocrisy would be another 392 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:47,240 one. Its akin to heresy. 393 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:55,480 And Paul uses it, um, when he calls false teachers, hypocritical liars in 1st Timothy 394 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:56,480 four. 395 00:28:56,480 --> 00:29:00,880 So as we're wrapping up chapter five and we're transitioning now into chapter six, there's 396 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:07,440 several examples of hypocritical, hypocritical actions that Jesus talks about in that chapter, 397 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:11,600 which we're going to consider before we do, though, I want to consider the weight of these 398 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:16,680 kind of hypocritical teachings that Jesus exposes here in chapter five. 399 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:21,920 How do we guard against veering into hypocrisy in what we teach or believe or what we hear 400 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:23,280 about the word of God? 401 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:27,680 How do we know if we've got blinders on or earmuffs to God's word? 402 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:35,920 Well, so, you know, I think that the, the most reliable way, um, I, I'm reading, uh, 403 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:42,680 I'm reading a novel, um, about medieval times and there's a, there's a section where the 404 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:54,520 hero of the novel meets his estranged father and his brothers and he is describing them 405 00:29:54,520 --> 00:30:01,520 and he describes one of his brothers as looking, looking how he thinks he looks. 406 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:04,280 And I thought it was a really weird thing to say. 407 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:07,640 And then I thought, Oh, we're talking about medieval Europe. 408 00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:13,520 This is a man who's in his forties at this point or his, his late thirties and he's probably 409 00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:17,440 never seen a reflection of himself in the mirror. 410 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:23,200 So he doesn't really know exactly what he looks like. 411 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:28,520 And I, and as I was reading that, I thought, and then I read this question and I thought 412 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:34,200 the way to guard against hypocrisy is to know what you look like. 413 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:39,800 And the only way to know what you look like, I'm going back to the fact that we're a church, 414 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:44,200 we're a brotherhood, we're a fellowship, we're a community. 415 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:49,400 And sometimes you need somebody else to tell you what you look like. 416 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:50,400 Yeah. 417 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:58,080 And it's, it's really the only way to guard against hypocrisy because otherwise you'll 418 00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:04,000 just think you look great and you think you're doing fine and you think you've got it all 419 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:09,080 down, but you need somebody else to tell you, Hey, buddy, there's some, you know, you got 420 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:12,080 something hanging out of your nose there. 421 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:16,920 You know, you need the community to help you to avoid hypocrisy. 422 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:17,920 Yeah. 423 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:23,080 It's like the, do you remember the naked gun movies or I think there's police squad was 424 00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:26,840 the, the TV show Leslie Nielsen. 425 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:31,280 There's one episode where there's this like seven foot tall lab tech. 426 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:32,560 You can't even see his face. 427 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:36,640 And so the gag is he's like, Hey, you got something on your face and you just do, and 428 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:41,440 then like half a banana falls off onto the table. 429 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:44,720 Oh, that was on there. 430 00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:47,840 Not something small, but something big. 431 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:48,840 That's funny. 432 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:49,840 Yeah. 433 00:31:49,840 --> 00:31:54,640 I, I, I think I totally agree with that. 434 00:31:54,640 --> 00:32:01,240 And the other part, I mean, you're talking about, you know, hearing the word of God and 435 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:07,840 a big part of that, you know, as we've been doing these lessons, for instance, or these 436 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:16,360 discussions, you spend all this time thinking about other people and what they should do. 437 00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:21,240 And that's a great way to get into a hypocritical mindset, right? 438 00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:26,400 But what I've always had to, you know, the challenge and what I've been trying to wrestle 439 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:30,080 with the past six months is like, okay. 440 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:39,200 Let me just sit with this, you know, let me just sit with the scripture and allow the 441 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:47,200 word of God to come into my life and wash over my life. 442 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:54,960 And yeah, I mean, if, if my goal, I think of my goals to be, my goals to like muscle 443 00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:57,480 through and be perfect myself, right? 444 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:04,840 It's going to be really easy to look for exceptions for me because it's hard and it's scary. 445 00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:05,840 Yeah. 446 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:06,840 Yeah. 447 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:09,960 And maybe they don't apply to other people, you know, for me, right? 448 00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:10,960 Yes. 449 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:14,680 That's exactly what we do. 450 00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:20,360 But yeah, but if I, if my goal is to just be with God, right? 451 00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:27,200 I am a son of God and he wants me to be like him and to be with him and to be with him 452 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:31,120 forever and I just keep on moving towards that. 453 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:39,200 Then I think that helps me to be able to approach the word of God with a lot more honesty and 454 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:48,120 confidence that I can, I can come and really be cut and convicted and shown to be in the 455 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:50,640 wrong. 456 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:53,880 And that, that's okay. 457 00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:57,040 Because God just wants to continue working on me. 458 00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:02,560 But really, you know, you can always wonder, do I have, do I have a blinder? 459 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:07,320 And I feel like that's just, I just got to pray and say, I don't want a blinder. 460 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:13,120 If there's a blinder on me, take it off and just kind of trust because ultimately I don't 461 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:14,440 know what I don't know. 462 00:34:14,440 --> 00:34:15,440 So yeah. 463 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:19,880 And isn't there a section where Paul's like basically says, well, you know, you have your 464 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:24,360 beliefs and, you know, pray that God reveals it to you, you know? 465 00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:25,360 So there is that. 466 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:28,760 And he says that at one point he's like, my conscience is clear. 467 00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:30,240 He's like, but even that my conscience is clear. 468 00:34:30,240 --> 00:34:31,760 He doesn't mean that I'm good. 469 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:32,760 Right. 470 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:34,840 It just, God's going to judge. 471 00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:38,040 So that's, that could be scary. 472 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:43,920 That would have been scary to me a year ago. 473 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:45,240 It was scary to me a year ago. 474 00:34:45,240 --> 00:34:49,360 It's a little less scary now because it's like, God's a good judge. 475 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:51,760 So yeah, there is that aspect. 476 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:59,240 I like what you're saying there where it is tough to come into the light and, and, but 477 00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:06,280 it's, but what I'm also hearing is that we can trust God, that God, God loves us when 478 00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:07,280 we were sinners. 479 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:08,280 Yeah. 480 00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:09,960 He sent Jesus to die for us. 481 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:12,040 How much more now even, right? 482 00:35:12,040 --> 00:35:19,440 That he, that, that we have his Holy Spirit in us, that he's, he's accepted us and put, 483 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:21,000 set his love upon us. 484 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:22,000 Right. 485 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:23,000 Yeah. 486 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:29,160 I think, you know, I think of what you said earlier, Tim, about fine being with and staying 487 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:31,680 as close to Jesus as possible. 488 00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:36,640 And I think about the scene at the last supper when he tells them all, one of you is going 489 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:38,840 to betray me. 490 00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:43,280 And one at a time they always, they go to him and say, is it me? 491 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:44,280 Surely not. 492 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:45,760 I Lord, is it, is it me? 493 00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:50,240 But they all, yeah, go to him and say, anything after I said, sure. 494 00:35:50,240 --> 00:35:51,240 How about I? 495 00:35:51,240 --> 00:35:54,400 They all go to him and say, is it me? 496 00:35:54,400 --> 00:35:59,120 I used to read that and think, boy, these guys are just, they're so clueless. 497 00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:01,760 What are, are they just trying to justify themselves? 498 00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:08,800 Are they, but I think that they were all understanding that there's something in me that could be 499 00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:11,200 the betrayer. 500 00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:13,320 I think they all realized that. 501 00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:17,920 I think that I used to think of it as just kind of, they were kind of dumb, but now I 502 00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:24,520 think of it more as I think they were probably just really humble and saying, oh, one of 503 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:27,440 us is a betrayer. 504 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:29,080 Is it me Lord? 505 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:30,080 Is it me? 506 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:38,800 And so, and the way we, the way we act upon that is staying as close to Jesus as we can. 507 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:43,400 Being as transparent to each other as we can be. 508 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:50,960 Being just being in the fellowship, just being somebody who volunteers in the fellowship 509 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:55,240 with that, is it me attitude? 510 00:36:55,240 --> 00:37:00,280 You know, something else you said, Van resonated with me and it reminds me about what we're 511 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:05,360 doing here right now is wrestling with the word in community. 512 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:07,560 And I think that's really important to do. 513 00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:12,520 And Tim, something you reminded, something you said a few episodes ago where you were 514 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:18,320 saying, yeah, you know, sometimes the books that I read, the commentaries are the best 515 00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:20,240 ones are from dead people. 516 00:37:20,240 --> 00:37:26,160 And it reminded me of a CS Lewis quote where he basically says the same thing, you know, 517 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:34,960 it's better to read from people in a different context historically than you. 518 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:40,400 Because they're, you know, I'm paraphrasing him, but they basically their blind spots 519 00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:44,440 are different than your blind spots and you can see theirs and they can see yours. 520 00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:45,640 Yeah, that's true. 521 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:51,520 And that's true for, and that's why the body of Christ is such an amazing place that we 522 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:59,880 can help each other to watch our life and doctrine closely and persevere in them. 523 00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:01,120 Amen. 524 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:03,640 Amen to that. 525 00:38:03,640 --> 00:38:04,920 This is awesome, guys. 526 00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:06,600 I'm so grateful for this. 527 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:07,600 Thank you. 528 00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:08,600 Thank you. 529 00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:09,600 Yeah.