WEBVTT 00:00:01.229 --> 00:00:03.950 Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton, 00:00:04.129 --> 00:00:07.269 the official podcast of Cross Christian Fellowship, 00:00:07.290 --> 00:00:10.769 Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 00:00:10.990 --> 00:00:14.150 where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:19.230 here. We're starting to wind down our misquoted 00:00:19.230 --> 00:00:21.190 series. Basically, we're talking about things 00:00:21.190 --> 00:00:23.829 that are commonly taken out of context or used 00:00:23.829 --> 00:00:26.620 to you know, twisted and used towards other things 00:00:26.620 --> 00:00:29.239 that they shouldn't be, you know, out in the 00:00:29.239 --> 00:00:31.219 world and in other churches. So we're basically 00:00:31.219 --> 00:00:35.399 setting the record straight there, which is good, 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:38.320 you know. And it's important to run through all 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:40.979 this and know it in its proper context. That 00:00:40.979 --> 00:00:43.320 way when something comes up, we can know, hey, 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:45.719 that's not right. And we can adjust back, you 00:00:45.719 --> 00:00:49.000 know what, let's talk about this because you're 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:51.840 not. putting this out there the way it needs 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:53.759 to be put. We've all heard the term, context 00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:56.479 is king. I've been saying it for the last few 00:00:56.479 --> 00:00:58.479 weeks. We need to be like the Bereans, studying 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:00.679 the word for ourselves so that we understand 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:05.159 it when things happen. Again, I encourage everybody, 00:01:05.400 --> 00:01:08.879 when you leave here today, take notes or whatever 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:11.799 you need to do. When you go home, study everything 00:01:11.799 --> 00:01:13.739 that we've been going over as well because I'm 00:01:13.739 --> 00:01:16.120 human. I'm not impervious to making mistakes 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:23.799 as well. I've made my fair share. With that said, 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:26.599 we're going to open our Bibles to the book of 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:34.859 Luke. So Luke chapter 6, verses 20 through 26. 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:37.379 And this is really going to be the heart of the 00:01:37.379 --> 00:01:39.219 message today. This is what I want everybody 00:01:39.219 --> 00:01:41.079 to keep in the back of their mind as we go through 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:45.840 all this today. I'm sure many of you noticed 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:47.799 the last few weeks have been slightly different. 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:51.459 Version of preaching for me. That was intentional 00:01:51.459 --> 00:01:54.459 to challenge myself as well. So I hope I haven't 00:01:54.459 --> 00:01:57.079 been too all over the place. So again, it's Luke 00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:10.180 chapter 6. Verses 20 through 26. All right. And 00:02:10.180 --> 00:02:13.439 it says, then he lifted up his eyes towards his 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:17.900 disciples and said, blessed are you poor. For 00:02:17.900 --> 00:02:21.460 yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:25.979 who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed 00:02:25.979 --> 00:02:31.340 are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed 00:02:31.340 --> 00:02:34.639 are you when men hate you and when they exclude 00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:38.819 you and revile you and cast out your name as 00:02:38.819 --> 00:02:44.199 evil. For the son of man's sake, rejoice in that 00:02:44.199 --> 00:02:48.139 day and leap for joy. For indeed, your reward 00:02:48.139 --> 00:02:52.240 is great in heaven. For in like manner their 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:56.599 fathers did to the prophets. But woe to you who 00:02:56.599 --> 00:02:59.879 are rich, for you have received your consolation. 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:03.960 Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. 00:03:05.379 --> 00:03:09.620 Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn 00:03:09.620 --> 00:03:15.620 and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well 00:03:15.620 --> 00:03:18.810 of you. For so did their fathers to false prophets. 00:03:20.750 --> 00:03:24.330 So there's a narrative in the world today that 00:03:24.330 --> 00:03:28.210 says social justice is a distraction from the 00:03:28.210 --> 00:03:31.569 gospel. That it's something that the church shouldn't 00:03:31.569 --> 00:03:34.490 be focused on. You know, some people even go 00:03:34.490 --> 00:03:36.870 so far as to say, hey, we need to separate church 00:03:36.870 --> 00:03:44.569 from state. You know, it's not uncommon. You 00:03:44.569 --> 00:03:46.360 know, and this is... Social justice is one of 00:03:46.360 --> 00:03:48.020 those things when they say separate it all and 00:03:48.020 --> 00:03:50.099 they like to toss it into the hat, leave it to 00:03:50.099 --> 00:03:56.500 the politicians. But as a country, based on Christian 00:03:56.500 --> 00:04:00.719 ideals, this is very dangerous. It's very dangerous. 00:04:01.020 --> 00:04:02.960 So we need to watch out for it. We need to remember 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:07.039 Jesus was constantly taking care of those who 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:09.139 were on the edge of society, those people who 00:04:09.139 --> 00:04:11.639 had been cast out and were looked down upon as 00:04:11.639 --> 00:04:16.339 being less than. He spoke up. He was a voice 00:04:16.339 --> 00:04:23.480 for the voiceless. Sadly, the suggestion that 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:29.680 social justice isn't a gospel issue, it's made 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:32.379 by those who are afraid that it's going to get 00:04:32.379 --> 00:04:35.899 in the way of teaching people about Jesus and 00:04:35.899 --> 00:04:40.579 saving souls. That tells you something right 00:04:40.579 --> 00:04:42.829 there. A lot of these people who are saying this 00:04:42.829 --> 00:04:46.009 actually are some of the biggest voices that 00:04:46.009 --> 00:04:49.709 scream to disclude social justice are coming 00:04:49.709 --> 00:04:54.589 from within the church. We need to hamper that 00:04:54.589 --> 00:04:59.370 and educate them. Like, no, you're wrong. We're 00:04:59.370 --> 00:05:02.310 called to love our brothers, not ignore them. 00:05:04.069 --> 00:05:06.329 You know, it's a far cry from what Jesus had 00:05:06.329 --> 00:05:09.250 to say on the matter. You know, here in the U 00:05:09.250 --> 00:05:11.310 .S. especially, we're... we're pretty comfortable. 00:05:11.370 --> 00:05:13.310 We get real comfortable with certain things, 00:05:13.509 --> 00:05:16.410 especially things like the Sermon on the Mount. 00:05:16.810 --> 00:05:18.569 The Sermon on the Mount is real comfortable. 00:05:18.649 --> 00:05:23.670 It's real easy to hear, right? In fact, we'll 00:05:23.670 --> 00:05:27.230 just skip over to Matthew 5, verse 3 here real 00:05:27.230 --> 00:05:31.569 quick. So in Matthew 5, verse 3, Jesus said, 00:05:31.750 --> 00:05:35.350 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is 00:05:35.350 --> 00:05:39.230 the kingdom of heaven. This is from that section. 00:05:39.790 --> 00:05:42.250 The sermon that the church likes to refer to 00:05:42.250 --> 00:05:47.170 as the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are beautiful. 00:05:47.509 --> 00:05:49.750 Each of them, they tell us how we can be blessed 00:05:49.750 --> 00:05:54.310 by God. These verses are actually a part of our 00:05:54.310 --> 00:05:57.689 code of ethics as Christians. A foundation of 00:05:57.689 --> 00:05:59.810 what's right and how we should be acting and 00:05:59.810 --> 00:06:03.910 how we should be treating each other. They contrast 00:06:03.910 --> 00:06:10.250 the kingdom of God versus the world. They contrast 00:06:10.250 --> 00:06:14.009 what Jesus commands versus what Satan and his 00:06:14.009 --> 00:06:20.170 ministers command. They also demonstrate how 00:06:20.170 --> 00:06:24.930 the Old Testament is to be fulfilled in the kingdom. 00:06:26.230 --> 00:06:28.269 That's something a lot of us forget about. You 00:06:28.269 --> 00:06:30.009 know, a lot of people that like to go out there 00:06:30.009 --> 00:06:31.089 and say, yeah, we're living in New Testament 00:06:31.089 --> 00:06:33.449 times. Everything from the Old Testament is gone. 00:06:33.930 --> 00:06:39.079 It's not. It's really not. We still see things 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:41.459 from the Old Testament being fulfilled today. 00:06:42.899 --> 00:06:45.259 And there's still things there that have yet 00:06:45.259 --> 00:06:50.639 to be fulfilled that will be fulfilled. So it's 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:53.079 not a moot point. It's very important that we 00:06:53.079 --> 00:06:57.480 understand that. So when we hear this accounting 00:06:57.480 --> 00:07:00.560 from the Sermon on the Mount, it feels good, 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:03.899 doesn't it? It sounds good. Like, ooh, yes. This 00:07:03.899 --> 00:07:06.730 is what I want my Bible to say. This is good 00:07:06.730 --> 00:07:10.709 stuff. Yes. Speech it. Amen. Right? You'll get 00:07:10.709 --> 00:07:12.689 people out there, especially in some of these 00:07:12.689 --> 00:07:15.529 really big churches, and they'll go through a 00:07:15.529 --> 00:07:18.430 verse like this and just a big round of applause. 00:07:21.870 --> 00:07:25.930 Let's take it a little further in the script, 00:07:26.009 --> 00:07:28.730 though. Let's change it up a little bit. Let's 00:07:28.730 --> 00:07:34.879 go over to Luke chapter 4. So Luke chapter 4, 00:07:34.980 --> 00:07:43.819 verse 18 specifically. So Luke chapter 4, verse 00:07:43.819 --> 00:08:06.410 18, Jesus says, Who are oppressed. That's not 00:08:06.410 --> 00:08:12.470 so comfortable, is it? That's work. Some of us 00:08:12.470 --> 00:08:14.310 like to say work is a four -letter word, don't 00:08:14.310 --> 00:08:21.949 we? And sometimes it can be. What's that? Yes. 00:08:22.610 --> 00:08:27.649 Yes, this last week, absolutely. But when we 00:08:27.649 --> 00:08:29.930 hear things like this, it brings to light, oh, 00:08:29.949 --> 00:08:32.710 hey, we need to be taking a look at this. We 00:08:32.710 --> 00:08:34.639 need to be. looking at our brothers and sisters 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:37.159 who are impacted like this, and it takes us out 00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:43.340 of our feel -good zone, right? All of a sudden, 00:08:43.340 --> 00:08:47.179 it's really real. It's this very serious thing. 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:52.679 The humor is gone. In fact, when we look throughout 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:57.019 the Old Testament, there's a repeated promise 00:08:57.019 --> 00:09:01.080 that the anointed one would also preach to the 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:08.000 poor. So here's the kicker. When Jesus said this, 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:12.519 Jesus was actually quoting Isaiah 61, verses 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:16.860 1 and 2. That was his reference point for this. 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:26.120 Prophecy fulfilled. And throughout his ministry, 00:09:26.220 --> 00:09:30.679 he had a heart for the poor, for refugees, for 00:09:30.679 --> 00:09:34.679 orphans, for widows, for those with... Various 00:09:34.679 --> 00:09:40.379 calamities, right? The blind. And come on, we 00:09:40.379 --> 00:09:44.059 even see a group of people going lower a friend 00:09:44.059 --> 00:09:47.039 through the ceiling of a house so he could be 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:52.159 healed. The guy wasn't just sick. He was bedridden 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:55.320 in almost the worst possible way. Worst possible 00:09:55.320 --> 00:09:57.840 way most people could imagine, of course, would 00:09:57.840 --> 00:09:59.480 be to be dead. He wasn't quite there yet, but 00:09:59.480 --> 00:10:06.029 he was well on his way. He was healed. You know, 00:10:06.029 --> 00:10:10.429 casting out demons. So, you know, it's important 00:10:10.429 --> 00:10:13.710 because when Jesus did this and when he said 00:10:13.710 --> 00:10:16.850 this, he was proclaiming himself as the anointed 00:10:16.850 --> 00:10:22.450 one who was being spoke of. And the Jews and 00:10:22.450 --> 00:10:26.570 the Pharisees, they all understood this. When 00:10:26.570 --> 00:10:28.149 they heard this, that's part of why they gasped 00:10:28.149 --> 00:10:31.389 like, ooh, blasphemy, right? Like, who's this 00:10:31.389 --> 00:10:34.820 guy? And you think about it today. Somebody goes 00:10:34.820 --> 00:10:39.159 like, oh, I'm Jesus. Some of us are going to 00:10:39.159 --> 00:10:42.480 kind of snicker. And the rest of us are probably 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:44.740 going to be like, this guy needs to be in mental 00:10:44.740 --> 00:10:50.500 health getting help. Right? Very few people are 00:10:50.500 --> 00:10:52.019 actually going to stop to do the biblical thing, 00:10:52.059 --> 00:10:57.279 though, and pray over them. Pray for their healing. 00:10:59.460 --> 00:11:02.120 Pray that if there's a demon in them, that's... 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:04.360 affecting them mentally that that demon be cast 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:13.080 out. What most of the time we do is, okay, yeah, 00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:18.120 sure, pal. Versus, how can I help this guy? How 00:11:18.120 --> 00:11:22.360 can I help my brother? And all of us are guilty 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:28.179 of that at some point, are we not? And I have 00:11:28.179 --> 00:11:29.820 to be the first to admit, sometimes you get... 00:11:30.239 --> 00:11:33.019 You know, we get some of these people, they do 00:11:33.019 --> 00:11:35.159 their circuits. And for the most part, they're 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:36.740 good people. They come in. They're cool. Some 00:11:36.740 --> 00:11:39.659 of them, they get a little rowdy sometimes. And 00:11:39.659 --> 00:11:41.740 every once in a while, I'll see one of these 00:11:41.740 --> 00:11:46.960 people that I recognize. And unfortunately, I'm 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:50.340 not always in the mindset that I should be. And 00:11:50.340 --> 00:11:52.440 sometimes I'm thinking, oh, boy, here comes this 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:54.580 guy again. I wonder what the story is this time. 00:11:57.360 --> 00:11:59.340 It's not right, though. It's not the way I should 00:11:59.340 --> 00:12:00.720 think about it. It's not the way any of us should 00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:05.799 think about it. But it happens. We're all guilty. 00:12:07.019 --> 00:12:08.299 So that's something that we all need to pray 00:12:08.299 --> 00:12:11.039 on and work on ourselves, right? Something we 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:13.379 should all go to the Lord with. Now, as a church, 00:12:13.379 --> 00:12:16.600 as Christians, we need to have a firm ham, hand, 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:20.019 yeah, ham, blah, blah, blah, blah. Not ham, hand. 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:23.299 This guy right here with five fingers. We need 00:12:23.299 --> 00:12:26.610 to have a firm hand. on social justice and the 00:12:26.610 --> 00:12:28.769 social justice system. And I'm going to give 00:12:28.769 --> 00:12:33.950 you a good reason. As I alluded to earlier, we're 00:12:33.950 --> 00:12:36.730 called to love others just as we would love ourselves, 00:12:37.090 --> 00:12:45.289 right? But to say that, it's not enough. It's 00:12:45.289 --> 00:12:49.669 just not. Why else should we be concerned with 00:12:49.669 --> 00:12:53.649 social justice? Let's go over to 2 Corinthians 00:12:53.649 --> 00:13:07.269 5, verse 20. So 2 Corinthians 5, verse 20. Apologize 00:13:07.269 --> 00:13:08.929 if I'm going a little fast there. I know that's 00:13:08.929 --> 00:13:13.730 something I have to work on. So 2 Corinthians 00:13:13.730 --> 00:13:19.029 5, verse 20, Paul writes, Now then, we are ambassadors 00:13:19.029 --> 00:13:22.279 for Christ. As though God were pleading through 00:13:22.279 --> 00:13:27.340 us, we implore you on Christ's behalf to be reconciled 00:13:27.340 --> 00:13:34.340 to God. Ooh. What's an ambassador? What's an 00:13:34.340 --> 00:13:37.639 ambassador? That's a great question, right? I'm 00:13:37.639 --> 00:13:42.879 glad you asked. They're a person who is or acts 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:47.080 as a representative or a promoter of a particular 00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:51.960 body or activity. So an ambassador is also defined 00:13:51.960 --> 00:13:57.179 as an accredited diplomat sent by a country as 00:13:57.179 --> 00:14:01.279 its official representative in foreign lands. 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:04.799 That's really more applicable to us as Christians. 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:09.039 Because as Christians, yeah, sure, we might live 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:10.700 in the U .S. Somebody listening out there or 00:14:10.700 --> 00:14:13.480 following us online might live in Canada or Uganda 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:16.940 or France or any of these other places. But as 00:14:16.940 --> 00:14:20.320 Christians. While we might live someplace earthly, 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:24.059 we're all ambassadors for Christ. Because we 00:14:24.059 --> 00:14:26.340 don't belong here. We don't belong to this country. 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:28.840 We do not belong to this earth. We belong to 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:33.100 the kingdom of God. Plain and simple. And we 00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:36.240 are here as his ambassadors to proclaim the gospel 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:41.220 of Jesus Christ for all to hear. Whether we like 00:14:41.220 --> 00:14:43.259 it or not. That's part of being a Christian. 00:14:44.360 --> 00:14:47.600 If you've accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:50.100 guess what? You're an ambassador. You've been 00:14:50.100 --> 00:14:51.740 tasked with this. This is part of fulfilling 00:14:51.740 --> 00:14:58.960 the great commission. Plain and simple. So let 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:01.539 me ask it to you this way. Are you a Christian? 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:06.200 Because you are, right? So guess what? You're 00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:09.120 an ambassador. As followers of Christ, we're 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:11.980 all ambassadors. We all represent Christ. We 00:15:11.980 --> 00:15:15.059 all represent the kingdom. I've said it several 00:15:15.059 --> 00:15:18.539 times. For many people, you are all they are 00:15:18.539 --> 00:15:21.679 ever going to see or read of the Bible. So make 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:29.379 sure you represent it well. A lot of us, unfortunately, 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:34.500 are ineffective as ambassadors. And it's because 00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:40.320 of our own bias. Our own prejudice gets in the 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:44.220 way. Like I said, every once in a while, I'll 00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:46.179 see somebody coming, and I'm like, oh, boy, it's 00:15:46.179 --> 00:15:50.179 this guy again. But first, to admit, my little 00:15:50.179 --> 00:15:54.379 brother calls. It doesn't happen often. But his 00:15:54.379 --> 00:15:56.240 name comes up on the caller ID, and the first 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:58.580 thing I'm thinking is, man, how much has he had 00:15:58.580 --> 00:16:05.659 to drink this time? It's not a good way of thinking. 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:09.379 But when something happens often enough, unfortunately, 00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:14.460 we get skewed. It's something I have to work 00:16:14.460 --> 00:16:22.019 on. I've done better, but it still happens. Matter 00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:23.899 of fact, we were just commenting on that last 00:16:23.899 --> 00:16:28.080 night, weren't we? Or this morning, I believe 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:31.220 I heard a comment about it. That's right, guilty. 00:16:32.740 --> 00:16:37.179 It's a prayer. None of us is perfect. These are 00:16:37.179 --> 00:16:38.980 the things that we take before the throne and 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:42.039 we leave at the feet and let the Holy Spirit. 00:16:42.490 --> 00:16:45.149 Work on that conviction that's in us to continue 00:16:45.149 --> 00:16:48.190 to improve us and mold us into the people we 00:16:48.190 --> 00:16:57.570 should be. See, what happens is, like I said, 00:16:57.590 --> 00:16:59.149 all these biases, these prejudices get in the 00:16:59.149 --> 00:17:03.590 way. We have to learn to get rid of them. Easier 00:17:03.590 --> 00:17:05.750 said than done sometimes, especially when you've 00:17:05.750 --> 00:17:12.259 been raised a certain way. Right? Parents have 00:17:12.259 --> 00:17:14.220 a big impact on their kids. Grandparents have 00:17:14.220 --> 00:17:16.740 a big impact on their kids. Especially today, 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:20.119 the things on media that we allow our families 00:17:20.119 --> 00:17:23.279 to watch and listen to and interact with all 00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:26.519 have a profound impact on the way people see 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:30.819 each other. Just look at the way people dress 00:17:30.819 --> 00:17:35.440 and the comments people make on that. I'm the 00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:37.980 first to say, I'm not a fan of the big nails 00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:39.539 that some of these ladies go out and get. To 00:17:39.539 --> 00:17:41.799 me, they look tacky. But you know what? If they 00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:45.900 like it and it helps them to feel good, you know, 00:17:45.940 --> 00:17:47.799 it's something that they appreciate, okay, good 00:17:47.799 --> 00:17:51.380 on them. But then you get other people who make 00:17:51.380 --> 00:17:53.779 some not so healthy comments about it. Like, 00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:56.079 gee, I wonder how they take care of themselves 00:17:56.079 --> 00:18:00.279 when they go to the restroom. Right? Not appropriate. 00:18:01.209 --> 00:18:03.109 Unfortunately, people put that stuff out there, 00:18:03.170 --> 00:18:05.089 and you hear it a lot. You know who else hears 00:18:05.089 --> 00:18:13.029 it a lot? Our kids. And they learn. Jokes that 00:18:13.029 --> 00:18:16.809 really probably aren't the most appropriate for 00:18:16.809 --> 00:18:19.549 adults, but as adults, we say them anyway, right? 00:18:20.970 --> 00:18:22.829 And then who happens to be in the next room, 00:18:22.930 --> 00:18:26.130 or maybe even in the same room? And they're hearing 00:18:26.130 --> 00:18:29.450 it. So they're growing up thinking, hey, this 00:18:29.450 --> 00:18:37.140 is okay. Things like domestic violence are so 00:18:37.140 --> 00:18:40.319 regular in so many houses that we have children 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:43.539 growing up thinking, hey, it's perfectly acceptable 00:18:43.539 --> 00:18:46.859 for me to do the same. My daddy does it to my 00:18:46.859 --> 00:18:50.160 mom. My daddy does it to my auntie. Why can't 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:55.539 I do it to the girls at school? It also happens 00:18:55.539 --> 00:18:56.819 the other way around. There's a lot of women 00:18:56.819 --> 00:18:58.539 that flip that script and do the same thing as 00:18:58.539 --> 00:19:06.130 well in other ways, right? Our hate takes control, 00:19:06.410 --> 00:19:09.849 and we have to learn to get rid of it. Summed 00:19:09.849 --> 00:19:13.690 up short, it's because we dehumanize other people. 00:19:14.670 --> 00:19:21.950 We have to learn to humanize them again. We have 00:19:21.950 --> 00:19:25.069 to see people as people. We have to see people 00:19:25.069 --> 00:19:30.230 as we see ourselves. Because it doesn't matter 00:19:30.230 --> 00:19:33.460 what walk of life they're in. there's always 00:19:33.460 --> 00:19:36.839 something that we can connect with. And that 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:39.980 connection is all that you need, that one little 00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:42.519 thing, to start seeing them as a human again. 00:19:43.460 --> 00:19:48.700 Because it's the first building block. As followers 00:19:48.700 --> 00:19:51.819 of Christ, we have to lead the charge, and we 00:19:51.819 --> 00:19:54.180 have to demonstrate this to the rest of the world. 00:19:57.720 --> 00:19:59.460 And I know I'm kind of hammering on this, and 00:19:59.460 --> 00:20:01.079 it's because it's important. Well, why is it 00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:03.319 important? Well, let's just go back a couple 00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:05.960 more chapters in 2 Corinthians. So 2 Corinthians 00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:19.920 8, verse 9. So 2 Corinthians 8, verse 9. So 2 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:33.859 Corinthians 8, verse 9. That through his poverty, 00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:39.240 he might become rich. In order to fully see people 00:20:39.240 --> 00:20:43.079 as people, we have to rehumanize them. We need 00:20:43.079 --> 00:20:46.279 to be able to identify with them. We need to 00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:50.480 be able to relate to them. There's a reason why 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:52.660 certain people only open up to certain people. 00:20:52.980 --> 00:20:56.059 Veterans open up to veterans. Teachers open up 00:20:56.059 --> 00:20:59.779 to teachers. nurses to nurses, doctors to doctors, 00:20:59.859 --> 00:21:02.059 police to police, construction workers to construction 00:21:02.059 --> 00:21:06.200 workers, so on and so forth. Why? Because common 00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:11.019 ground. It could be a total stranger, but hey, 00:21:11.180 --> 00:21:13.859 now I've met this person, I know their name, 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:16.039 I know what field that they work in, they're 00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:19.240 now a brother or sister, or simply put, they're 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:24.660 a fellow warrior with skin in the game. Now I 00:21:24.660 --> 00:21:28.730 can talk to them. We need to do that for everyone 00:21:28.730 --> 00:21:33.230 we run into, especially when it's hard. And let's 00:21:33.230 --> 00:21:35.970 face it, we meet some people, it's real hard 00:21:35.970 --> 00:21:42.390 to connect with. You don't have to like them, 00:21:42.430 --> 00:21:50.730 you have to love them. That's the command. You 00:21:50.730 --> 00:21:53.150 can't love them if you don't see them as a human 00:21:53.150 --> 00:21:59.299 being. It's impossible. You just can't do it. 00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:07.000 So to do this, we have to emulate Jesus. We have 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:09.799 to emulate Jesus who defied the status quo, who 00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:12.259 went out and identified with those who were deemed 00:22:12.259 --> 00:22:18.039 as less than human. And we have to do this to 00:22:18.039 --> 00:22:21.940 demonstrate the morals that we value so highly. 00:22:23.299 --> 00:22:27.049 To say that morality Because this is an issue 00:22:27.049 --> 00:22:30.230 of morality. So to say morality is not an issue 00:22:30.230 --> 00:22:34.670 of the gospel is just wrong and is a lie. To 00:22:34.670 --> 00:22:38.809 say social justice is not a gospel issue is wrong. 00:22:38.910 --> 00:22:47.170 It's a lie. Because without the gospel, morality 00:22:47.170 --> 00:22:53.450 boils down to nothing more than legalism. Nothing 00:22:53.450 --> 00:22:57.130 more than legalism. What did Jesus call out the 00:22:57.130 --> 00:23:01.190 Pharisees and the Sadducees for? Legalism, right? 00:23:03.710 --> 00:23:06.210 Social justice without the gospel perverts it 00:23:06.210 --> 00:23:10.190 and turns it into an unbiblical religion. Boy, 00:23:10.329 --> 00:23:11.869 we see a lot of those out there today, don't 00:23:11.869 --> 00:23:17.369 we? Last I checked, the Bible warns us not to 00:23:17.369 --> 00:23:20.589 add or remove anything from the Bible. But if 00:23:20.589 --> 00:23:23.529 we take the gospel out of social justice, what 00:23:23.529 --> 00:23:27.319 are we doing? We're creating a whole new system 00:23:27.319 --> 00:23:35.000 not founded on biblical values. And those biblical 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:37.039 values are what drive our society and tell us 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:42.400 what's right and what's wrong. So we'll go down 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:44.579 a little bit simple. In the military, this is 00:23:44.579 --> 00:23:46.099 what we like to say. Right here is what I'm going 00:23:46.099 --> 00:23:48.339 to break it down Barney style for you. Right? 00:23:48.460 --> 00:23:50.240 We're going to simplify it. Who knows the golden 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:54.160 rule? Ha -ha. Here's my Sunday school student 00:23:54.160 --> 00:23:58.759 right here. What's the golden rule, Brian? That's 00:23:58.759 --> 00:24:01.099 right. Do unto others as you'd have them do unto 00:24:01.099 --> 00:24:03.420 you. And I'm going to tell you exactly where 00:24:03.420 --> 00:24:09.140 you can find it. Matthew 7, verse 12. Depending 00:24:09.140 --> 00:24:11.200 on the translation, you might get exactly the 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:13.920 way Brian just said it. Go to the New King James 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:17.319 Version, you're going to see it like this. Matthew 00:24:17.319 --> 00:24:21.579 7, verse 12. Jesus said... Therefore, whatever 00:24:21.579 --> 00:24:25.579 you want men to do to you, do also to them, for 00:24:25.579 --> 00:24:34.920 this is the law and the prophets. Just a few 00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:39.119 chapters later, we see Jesus refer to it another 00:24:39.119 --> 00:24:45.000 way. So we'll just flip back to Matthew 25, verse 00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:51.890 40. So turning to Matthew 25, verse 40. Jesus 00:24:51.890 --> 00:25:12.849 says, Bottom line, you need to treat people lovingly. 00:25:13.529 --> 00:25:15.670 In order to treat people lovingly, you have to 00:25:15.670 --> 00:25:20.349 see them as human. We need to stop marginalizing 00:25:20.349 --> 00:25:22.670 people. We need to stop casting them to the side, 00:25:22.809 --> 00:25:26.230 treating them like dirt, right? Using them as 00:25:26.230 --> 00:25:28.430 stepping stones to get where we want to be in 00:25:28.430 --> 00:25:31.130 life. Because then we're doing things in our 00:25:31.130 --> 00:25:36.950 own will instead of in God's. The world loves 00:25:36.950 --> 00:25:40.670 to create a system where it's us versus them. 00:25:40.849 --> 00:25:45.950 The world loves to use this to divide us. It's 00:25:45.950 --> 00:25:49.380 a smokescreen. That's the reason why the enemy 00:25:49.380 --> 00:25:51.339 likes to do this. It creates a smoke screen. 00:25:51.400 --> 00:25:53.940 When that divide is there, guess what? Where 00:25:53.940 --> 00:25:57.660 are our eyes? Not on Jesus. We're focused on 00:25:57.660 --> 00:26:00.559 the perceived problem. So when we look at the 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:02.240 news or we listen to it, what do we hear all 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:06.500 the time? All the ugly stuff. Very, very rarely 00:26:06.500 --> 00:26:08.859 anymore do you get that feel -good story, right? 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:10.799 And when you do, it's usually a feel -good story 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:14.000 of the week. Not the day, the week. As if nothing 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:16.640 else good happens throughout. Anyone else's day 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:19.500 that's worthy of being reported on. I beg to 00:26:19.500 --> 00:26:21.319 differ. There's a lot of wonderful things out 00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:24.279 there happening. But you know what? It doesn't 00:26:24.279 --> 00:26:28.400 divide people and it doesn't make money. So they 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:31.900 don't like it. About the only time you're going 00:26:31.900 --> 00:26:34.579 to hear a feel -good story of the day is when 00:26:34.579 --> 00:26:36.240 you turn on one of the Christian radio stations. 00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:39.970 K -Love is really good about that. I will give 00:26:39.970 --> 00:26:41.569 them credit. That's one thing they are really 00:26:41.569 --> 00:26:43.690 good about. Here's your feel -good story of the 00:26:43.690 --> 00:26:47.109 day. You can hear it every morning and throughout 00:26:47.109 --> 00:26:54.730 the day. That's one of those times when I say 00:26:54.730 --> 00:26:56.490 that they're very true to their slogan of being 00:26:56.490 --> 00:26:59.549 positive and encouraging. And as Christians, 00:26:59.829 --> 00:27:03.309 we should all be the same, positive and encouraging. 00:27:03.470 --> 00:27:06.579 There's enough negative, horrible stuff. going 00:27:06.579 --> 00:27:09.759 on in this world. Guess what? We're called to 00:27:09.759 --> 00:27:12.240 be ambassadors. We should be projecting the light 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:17.980 of Christ. Like, you know what? Yes, you're in 00:27:17.980 --> 00:27:20.779 a dark place. This is horrible. But you know 00:27:20.779 --> 00:27:27.160 what? Let's focus on something beautiful. Because 00:27:27.160 --> 00:27:28.839 you take a seed, you plant it. Where does it 00:27:28.839 --> 00:27:34.700 start? Underground, in the darkness. But then 00:27:34.700 --> 00:27:36.799 with some love and some care that recognize, 00:27:36.980 --> 00:27:39.319 hey, here's a seed. It needs love to grow. It 00:27:39.319 --> 00:27:42.900 needs to be nurtured. It starts to grow. It starts 00:27:42.900 --> 00:27:46.539 pushing up through that soil. Things start to 00:27:46.539 --> 00:27:48.900 become a little easier for it, right? And then 00:27:48.900 --> 00:27:51.279 what happens? Eventually, it breaks through to 00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:54.900 the other side, and there's the light. And then 00:27:54.900 --> 00:28:02.289 it really flourishes. That's how we... should 00:28:02.289 --> 00:28:06.349 be helping other people to grow. Recognizing, 00:28:06.349 --> 00:28:08.789 hey, they're down in that dark place. They need 00:28:08.789 --> 00:28:11.049 to be loved. They need to be nurtured so that 00:28:11.049 --> 00:28:15.910 they can come to the light. We're that catalyst 00:28:15.910 --> 00:28:17.549 that brings them to the light. The light, of 00:28:17.549 --> 00:28:21.269 course, being Jesus. And once they come to the 00:28:21.269 --> 00:28:23.470 light, guess what? Boom, just like the rest of 00:28:23.470 --> 00:28:26.410 us. They have that chance to grow in the spirit. 00:28:28.910 --> 00:28:33.740 That's what our mission is. You know, like I 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:35.720 said, the enemy, it likes to use that smoke screen 00:28:35.720 --> 00:28:38.740 to divide us to say, hey, you're less than. You're 00:28:38.740 --> 00:28:42.680 unlovable. You're undesirable. And unfortunately, 00:28:42.940 --> 00:28:45.599 people listen to this and they hear it enough 00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:49.460 times that they fall victim to what we call illusory 00:28:49.460 --> 00:28:52.680 truth effect. Right? I've told you about this 00:28:52.680 --> 00:28:54.859 before. Illusory truth effect is that phenomenon 00:28:54.859 --> 00:28:57.240 where you hear something over and over and over 00:28:57.240 --> 00:28:59.640 enough times that even though it's a lie, the 00:28:59.640 --> 00:29:01.920 fact that you hear it so much, you start to believe 00:29:01.920 --> 00:29:06.279 it. You start to understand it as being truth, 00:29:06.380 --> 00:29:09.579 even though it's not. And you get snared up by 00:29:09.579 --> 00:29:14.759 that trap. And unfortunately, when somebody hears 00:29:14.759 --> 00:29:18.319 that they're unlovable, that they're undesirable, 00:29:18.380 --> 00:29:23.180 that they're worthless, over and over and over 00:29:23.180 --> 00:29:28.119 again, eventually, they start to believe it. 00:29:30.880 --> 00:29:35.299 It's not the way it should be. It's not the Christian 00:29:35.299 --> 00:29:38.920 way. When we see that person who's marginalized, 00:29:38.920 --> 00:29:40.920 we should be going over, giving them a hand and 00:29:40.920 --> 00:29:46.160 be like, hey, I see you. I hear you. You matter. 00:29:47.680 --> 00:29:51.720 And more importantly, Jesus sees you. Jesus hears 00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:56.000 you. And you matter to him. So much so that he 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:59.160 went to the cross, died for you, rose again, 00:29:59.319 --> 00:30:06.480 and is coming back for you. That's what we should 00:30:06.480 --> 00:30:09.859 be doing as ambassadors. Lifting each other up. 00:30:11.059 --> 00:30:15.059 Not just the people we sit in pews with, but 00:30:15.059 --> 00:30:17.180 everybody that we come in contact with. Every 00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:20.420 single person we come in contact with is an opportunity 00:30:20.420 --> 00:30:27.450 to share the light and the love of Christ. Jesus 00:30:27.450 --> 00:30:29.829 came so that we would know better. Jesus came 00:30:29.829 --> 00:30:32.490 to teach us so that we can do better, so that 00:30:32.490 --> 00:30:34.529 we can live better, so we can project things 00:30:34.529 --> 00:30:37.450 better and point the way to him, so that we can 00:30:37.450 --> 00:30:42.589 be reunited with the Father, so that we wouldn't 00:30:42.589 --> 00:30:46.269 be turned away for eternity to the place of gnashing 00:30:46.269 --> 00:30:52.329 teeth, right, and pain, to be separated from 00:30:52.329 --> 00:30:54.390 God. He paved the way so we could be reunited. 00:30:58.700 --> 00:31:01.720 So the gospel itself has a huge implication in 00:31:01.720 --> 00:31:06.119 how we should be treating others. And it has 00:31:06.119 --> 00:31:09.420 huge implications for matters such as morality 00:31:09.420 --> 00:31:28.650 and social injustice. Justice in all of its forms 00:31:28.650 --> 00:31:32.809 is a gospel issue. Not just social injustice. 00:31:34.650 --> 00:31:36.430 There's a lot of things that go on. A lot of 00:31:36.430 --> 00:31:39.069 things that the government and the world tries 00:31:39.069 --> 00:31:41.450 to take over. Say, just bring it here. We'll 00:31:41.450 --> 00:31:45.069 deal with it for you. Right? Different countries 00:31:45.069 --> 00:31:46.529 and different places have different ways of doing 00:31:46.529 --> 00:31:51.789 it. But at the heart of the matter, we as Christians 00:31:51.789 --> 00:31:55.170 should be involved. We as Christians have a voice 00:31:55.170 --> 00:31:59.200 and we should be using it. To make sure that 00:31:59.200 --> 00:32:01.519 the right thing is being done, or at least to 00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:03.359 the best ability that we can here on this earth. 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:13.559 Plain and simple. It's not just a form of, or 00:32:13.559 --> 00:32:16.460 I should say, as being Christians, we're not 00:32:16.460 --> 00:32:18.920 called to just sit and read a Bible and be preached 00:32:18.920 --> 00:32:22.420 at. We're called to take it out. Jesus didn't 00:32:22.420 --> 00:32:26.720 say, come and sit on your butt. He said, go. 00:32:30.480 --> 00:32:36.200 He gave us a mission. And to anyone who says 00:32:36.200 --> 00:32:37.920 otherwise, obviously they haven't gone through 00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:40.339 and they haven't read this Bible. Or they have 00:32:40.339 --> 00:32:43.339 and they've chosen to ignore the word. We can't 00:32:43.339 --> 00:32:47.160 ignore it. We're not allowed to. We don't get 00:32:47.160 --> 00:32:49.200 to pick and choose. It's an all or nothing thing. 00:32:50.740 --> 00:32:52.579 Like I was talking about last week, we don't 00:32:52.579 --> 00:32:55.220 get to recreate Jesus in the image that fits 00:32:55.220 --> 00:32:59.430 us and fits our narrative. That's what... That's 00:32:59.430 --> 00:33:02.089 what Satan's tried to do. He likes to take it 00:33:02.089 --> 00:33:08.509 and twist it and pull it. Our work here is to 00:33:08.509 --> 00:33:11.710 carry the word out to the world, to tell people 00:33:11.710 --> 00:33:15.630 about Jesus, plain and simple. Brings us back 00:33:15.630 --> 00:33:18.630 to the heart of our message today. Luke 6, verses 00:33:18.630 --> 00:33:22.710 20 through 23. Then he lifted up his eyes toward 00:33:22.710 --> 00:33:26.630 his disciples and said, Blessed are you, poor. 00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:31.660 For yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are 00:33:31.660 --> 00:33:35.859 you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. 00:33:36.819 --> 00:33:40.519 Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 00:33:42.099 --> 00:33:45.940 Blessed are you when men hate you and when they 00:33:45.940 --> 00:33:50.259 exclude you and revile you and cast out your 00:33:50.259 --> 00:33:55.980 name as evil for the son of man's sake. Rejoice 00:33:55.980 --> 00:33:59.420 in that day. And leap for joy, for indeed your 00:33:59.420 --> 00:34:03.779 reward is great in heaven. For in like manner 00:34:03.779 --> 00:34:08.119 their fathers did to their prophets. I just want 00:34:08.119 --> 00:34:15.699 to point out here, your reward in heaven. Not 00:34:15.699 --> 00:34:20.780 here. Prosperity preachers like to omit that. 00:34:22.360 --> 00:34:24.199 Say be good to people and you'll be rewarded 00:34:24.199 --> 00:34:26.969 here and now. No. The word specifically says, 00:34:27.150 --> 00:34:31.769 your reward is great in heaven. And really, that's 00:34:31.769 --> 00:34:34.250 where we should be looking forward to seeing 00:34:34.250 --> 00:34:38.190 it. We're all going to face hardships in life. 00:34:38.269 --> 00:34:43.070 We're all going to face triumphs. We're all going 00:34:43.070 --> 00:34:44.809 to get knocked down. We're going to have to get 00:34:44.809 --> 00:34:48.309 back up. We're all going to have to face those 00:34:48.309 --> 00:34:50.610 things that knock us down so hard that we get 00:34:50.610 --> 00:34:54.130 up and we have to dust ourselves off. But yet 00:34:54.130 --> 00:34:56.090 in each and every single one of these things, 00:34:56.210 --> 00:34:59.730 we have to remember we are blessed. We are so 00:34:59.730 --> 00:35:04.090 blessed. And we're blessed because in our sin, 00:35:04.090 --> 00:35:08.949 in our inequity, God still saw value in us. So 00:35:08.949 --> 00:35:11.650 much so that he sent his son for each and every 00:35:11.650 --> 00:35:15.809 one of us. You know, like I just said a little 00:35:15.809 --> 00:35:18.110 bit ago, he came, he lived a sinless life. He 00:35:18.110 --> 00:35:22.960 lived that perfect example for each of us. And 00:35:22.960 --> 00:35:24.480 then he paid the price that none of us could 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:26.840 pay. And he went to that cross and he died for 00:35:26.840 --> 00:35:29.960 every single one of us. For our sins, for our 00:35:29.960 --> 00:35:34.880 misdeeds, for the things that we do wrong. And 00:35:34.880 --> 00:35:37.460 then he rose from the dead. He ascended to heaven 00:35:37.460 --> 00:35:39.760 with the promise of coming again for his bride, 00:35:39.900 --> 00:35:46.000 for the church. And he did this because he loves 00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:48.659 you and sees value in you more than anything 00:35:48.659 --> 00:35:57.150 else. The Father loves you and sees value in 00:35:57.150 --> 00:36:02.150 you more than anything else. Who can love you 00:36:02.150 --> 00:36:06.989 greater than the Creator? Nobody. Absolutely 00:36:06.989 --> 00:36:11.750 nobody. So when the world knocks you down, get 00:36:11.750 --> 00:36:14.710 back up and remember, hey, I've got a great Father 00:36:14.710 --> 00:36:18.829 who loves me and cares about me, and I value 00:36:18.829 --> 00:36:22.469 His opinion more than anyone else's. Plain and 00:36:22.469 --> 00:36:27.300 simple. And that will bring you joy. Once you 00:36:27.300 --> 00:36:30.860 eternalize it and you believe it, it will bring 00:36:30.860 --> 00:36:36.159 you joy. And that's that unexplainable joy that 00:36:36.159 --> 00:36:42.400 doesn't come from anywhere else. You just have 00:36:42.400 --> 00:36:44.440 to open your heart and let Jesus in. He's sitting 00:36:44.440 --> 00:36:47.280 there knocking, but you have to invite him in. 00:36:47.880 --> 00:36:50.880 You have to invite him into your life. You have 00:36:50.880 --> 00:36:52.480 to open up your heart to him. You have to repent 00:36:52.480 --> 00:36:55.900 of your sin. and accept him and proclaim him 00:36:55.900 --> 00:36:59.360 as your Lord and Savior. And on that note, let 00:36:59.360 --> 00:37:03.019 us pray. Father, we thank you for bringing us 00:37:03.019 --> 00:37:05.539 all together here today. We thank you for this 00:37:05.539 --> 00:37:08.260 reminder of studying your word, but more importantly, 00:37:08.340 --> 00:37:10.460 we thank you for all that you've done for us 00:37:10.460 --> 00:37:12.679 and all that you're going to do for us, all that 00:37:12.679 --> 00:37:16.360 you've promised us. We know that we face a lot 00:37:16.360 --> 00:37:18.159 of hardship in this life. We ask that you lift 00:37:18.159 --> 00:37:22.199 us up and you remind us of exactly what's important. 00:37:23.369 --> 00:37:27.230 We ask that you use us as your tools, as your 00:37:27.230 --> 00:37:30.090 ambassadors to carry your light and your word 00:37:30.090 --> 00:37:33.369 out into this dark world so others can come to 00:37:33.369 --> 00:37:36.590 know you and find a seat at the table as well. 00:37:38.849 --> 00:37:41.969 We thank you. We love you in Jesus' name. Amen 00:37:41.969 --> 00:37:46.929 and amen. Thank you for joining us at Healing 00:37:46.929 --> 00:38:07.699 Scars with Pastor Burton. Until next time, take 00:38:07.699 --> 00:38:09.260 care and God bless.