1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:02,160 My name is Kaylin. 2 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:05,920 Today's scripture reading is from Psalm 8, 1 through 9, 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:09,700 page 459 in the Bibles in the back of the pews. 4 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:13,660 Lord our Lord, how magnificent is your name 5 00:00:13,660 --> 00:00:14,800 throughout the earth. 6 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,380 You have covered the heavens with your majesty. 7 00:00:17,380 --> 00:00:20,340 From the mouths of infants and nursing babies, 8 00:00:20,340 --> 00:00:22,160 you have established a stronghold 9 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,120 on account of your adversaries 10 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:28,000 in order to silence the enemy and the avenger. 11 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,880 When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, 12 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:35,400 the moon and the stars, which you set in place, 13 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,360 what is a human being that you remember him, 14 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:40,720 a son of man that you look after him? 15 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:43,720 You made him a little less than God 16 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:45,920 and crowned him with glory and honor. 17 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:48,760 You made him ruler over the works of your hands. 18 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:50,840 You put everything under his feet, 19 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,820 all the sheep and oxen, as well as the animals in the wild. 20 00:00:54,820 --> 00:00:57,600 The birds of the sky and the fish of the sea 21 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,200 that pass through the currents of the seas. 22 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:02,680 Lord our Lord, how magnificent is your name 23 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:03,880 throughout the earth. 24 00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:06,080 This is God's word. 25 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:08,080 Thank you. 26 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:08,920 Thank you. 27 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:09,760 Thank you. 28 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:10,600 Thank you. 29 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:11,440 Thank you. 30 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:19,160 Out of all the things that God hath made, 31 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:24,160 there is but one who could gaze into the heavens 32 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,760 and ponder even his own existence. 33 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:31,760 And through some peculiar twist of irony, 34 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:36,480 it is the rest of creation staring back at the man 35 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:41,480 that testifies of the glory, the splendor, 36 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:46,600 the majesty and the beauty of the divine creator. 37 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,200 For thousands of years, 38 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:56,120 man has sort of clumsily bobbled about the earth, 39 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,600 searching for answers to questions which at first glance 40 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,120 might seem way above his pay grade. 41 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:07,240 But in reality, they're so simple, 42 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:11,960 even a small child could understand. 43 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:18,160 Books have been written, 44 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:23,160 poetry has been written, songs have been sung, 45 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:27,520 movies have been made, paintings have been painted, 46 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:32,520 sculptures have been sculpted, podcasts have been recorded, 47 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:36,280 celebrities interviewed, all of these things 48 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,320 at once happening trying to answer the question, 49 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,000 what is the meaning of life? 50 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,080 What is the meaning of life? 51 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:54,080 I would even argue that the proud atheist 52 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:57,440 in his darkest, loneliest moment, 53 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,360 perhaps after an event of heartbreak 54 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:02,960 or the sudden loss of a loved one, 55 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:07,400 that even he would lay in his bed 56 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,400 and look up to the ceiling 57 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:12,880 and in some dark place in his heart, 58 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,200 he would reluctantly whisper, why? 59 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:18,040 Why? 60 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:23,360 But alas, in a moment, his pride would sweep him away 61 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:28,360 for he is after all his own God made in his own image. 62 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:33,960 And he will one day die 63 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:38,960 and he will return to the dirt, oblivion. 64 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:47,720 Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name 65 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:49,280 throughout the earth. 66 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,520 You have covered the heavens with your majesty. 67 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:57,920 Who is David talking to? 68 00:03:57,920 --> 00:03:59,800 Why the redundancy here? 69 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:01,520 Why the redundancy here? 70 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,600 Is he perhaps being poetic? 71 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:08,600 Is he just saying it that way to sound cool? 72 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:12,120 Lord, our Lord, maybe he's channeling 73 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:15,560 some inner future Walt Whitman. 74 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:17,040 Oh, Captain, my Captain. 75 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:19,600 Oh, Lord, our Lord. 76 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:21,320 Kind of has a nice ring to it. 77 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:27,520 Now, David is addressing God appropriately. 78 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:29,120 He is addressing God in a way 79 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:31,840 that is not just addressing God appropriately. 80 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:35,160 He is addressing God not just on a personal level, 81 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:37,880 but on a cosmic, royal scale. 82 00:04:39,280 --> 00:04:44,280 Yahweh, our King, much in the same way Psalm 24 declares, 83 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,800 the earth and everything in it, 84 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,640 the world and its inhabitants, who do they belong to? 85 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:53,960 They belong to the Lord 86 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:58,280 because he laid its foundation on the seas 87 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:00,240 and established it on the rivers. 88 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:06,640 David here, he's not just talking about any old deity, 89 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:09,640 just a random, obscure God, 90 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:14,680 a man-made, feeble-minded, anxious pagan God 91 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,720 that was created for the sole purpose 92 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,640 of filling some temporal void 93 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:23,640 in man's sinful, treacherous heart. 94 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:28,120 David, he's talking to the Genesis 1-1 God, 95 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:31,400 in the beginning, that God. 96 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:38,320 He's talking to the Exodus chapter three God, 97 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:41,520 Moses, he was commissioned by God 98 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:43,720 to go stand before Pharaoh 99 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,880 and demand the release of the Israelites. 100 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,480 And he said, who do I say sent me? 101 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:52,200 What do I do? 102 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:56,800 And God said, you tell them, Yahweh, I am, 103 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:58,880 the great I am has sent you. 104 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:03,080 In one brief couple of words here, 105 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:05,880 David is rightfully addressing God 106 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:10,880 as the infinite, majestic, divine, faithful, 107 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:17,080 everlasting creator, the great I am. 108 00:06:16,840 --> 00:06:20,800 The source and the reason for all that ever was 109 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:25,800 ever was, ever will be, Yahweh, our Adonai. 110 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:29,960 He is our King. 111 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:34,040 He is our master. 112 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,520 He is sovereign over all things, 113 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,640 and he is enthroned above all things. 114 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,200 He is the one that we bow to, the God of the universe. 115 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,440 He is the one that we surrender to. 116 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:52,360 He is the one that we pledge our allegiance to, 117 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:57,280 the one that we call our King, our earthly King. 118 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:02,480 When he speaks, we can offer nothing, 119 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:08,840 nothing in return, but a humble majesty, 120 00:07:08,840 --> 00:07:13,520 thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 121 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:18,520 O Captain, my Captain, Creator, our Master, 122 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:23,520 Yahweh, our Adonai, or simply Lord, our Lord. 123 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:31,040 Moving on to verse two, David says, 124 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,000 from the mouths of infants and nursing babes, 125 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,200 you have established a stronghold 126 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:39,040 on account of your adversaries 127 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,360 in order to silence the enemy and the enemy 128 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:43,680 and the avenger. 129 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:51,560 In other words, the Lord's prepared a safe place, 130 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:56,080 a strong place, a fortress that he would be praised, 131 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:02,400 where the weak, the marginalized, the afflicted ones, 132 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:06,840 where they can freely come and love the Lord 133 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,600 and worship him with all their heart, 134 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:12,400 their soul, their mind, and their strength. 135 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:16,760 We actually see this sort of play out in the New Testament. 136 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:18,920 When Jesus came, he went into the temple, 137 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:20,560 you guys remember he went into the temple 138 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:22,440 and he cleared it. 139 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,320 And he quoted an Old Testament scripture, 140 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:27,200 and it said that the house of prayer 141 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:29,920 has become a den of thieves, a den of robbers. 142 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:31,640 And he was very upset. 143 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:35,080 He turned over the tables, he chased everybody out. 144 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:40,080 And who was it that came in shouting at the top 145 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:44,640 of their lungs saying, Hosanna to the son of David? 146 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:46,680 Who was it that came in? 147 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:50,920 Probably realistically for the first time ever, 148 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,640 he probably had never been in the temple before. 149 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:54,920 Who was it? 150 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:59,920 It was the kids, the little ones, the defenseless ones. 151 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:02,720 And what did they do? 152 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:05,120 They came to Jesus and they said, 153 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:09,080 do you hear what these kids are saying? 154 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,480 Do you hear these obnoxious little kids? 155 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:14,760 You hear what they're saying to you? 156 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:15,600 Stop them. 157 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:20,560 Stop them, they're getting out of hand, Jesus. 158 00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:22,440 And he said, have you never read 159 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,240 from the mouths of infants and nursing babes? 160 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:30,040 You have prepared praise. 161 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:31,120 He quotes that. 162 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:36,120 See, God uses the weak to humble the strong. 163 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:37,160 We know this. 164 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:42,160 He uses the insignificant to confound the proud. 165 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:46,640 The despised, what the world despises 166 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:48,040 and looks on as foolish. 167 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:51,520 He uses the fool to shame the wise. 168 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,960 Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes. 169 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:57,520 He uses the praise of his people 170 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:01,080 like a weapon to strike fear in the heart of the enemy. 171 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:08,120 In the book of Luke, Jesus, he made his entry 172 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:11,880 into Jerusalem and he came riding in on his war horse 173 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:14,120 or his donkey, actually. 174 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:19,120 He comes in and there were people worshiping God 175 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:24,600 and they were crying out, they were crying out, 176 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,760 blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. 177 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:31,760 They were shouting this just like the kids. 178 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:34,520 Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. 179 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:37,280 And again, we see the Pharisees, 180 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:39,040 the religious leaders, the scribes, 181 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:40,640 they came to Jesus and they said, 182 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,360 dude, your people are getting out of hand. 183 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:44,200 Rebuke them. 184 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:47,920 Stop this, this is foolishness. 185 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,000 And Jesus said something really interesting here. 186 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:53,520 He says, I'm gonna tell you something. 187 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:58,520 He says, if they don't cry out, if they don't worship God, 188 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:03,800 if they remain silent, the rocks will cry out. 189 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:10,280 In other words, the Lord, the God of the universe 190 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:16,080 that David's talking to is so worthy of praise, 191 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:18,880 is so worthy of worship, is so worthy 192 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:20,800 and deserving of everything 193 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:22,400 that it can't be stopped. 194 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:24,720 Nothing can stop it. 195 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:27,440 If we don't, the rocks will cry out. 196 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:32,080 Nature, everything testifies to God's glory, right? 197 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:37,480 Moving on in verse three. 198 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:46,520 When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, 199 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:51,520 the moon and the stars which you set in place, 200 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:55,760 what is a human being that you remember him? 201 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:59,040 A son of man that you look after him? 202 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:01,680 And here we come to it. 203 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:06,320 The ancient, timeless question. 204 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:08,960 What is man? 205 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:13,920 If you read Genesis, if you read the Bible, 206 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:17,360 if you read Genesis, if you read the creation story 207 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:21,000 in Genesis, you'll notice something really interesting. 208 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,440 You'll notice a lot of let there be's, right? 209 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:26,000 Let there be, we all know that. 210 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:30,080 Let there be light, let there be water, 211 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:32,720 let there be plants, let there be animals, 212 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:37,720 let there be fish, ew, fish, I don't like fish. 213 00:12:38,680 --> 00:12:40,840 Let there be trees, let there be bugs, 214 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:42,520 let there be all of these things. 215 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:44,360 Let there be, let there be, let there be. 216 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:48,640 And then finally on day six, God says something different. 217 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:52,600 He says, let us make. 218 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:54,040 Let us make. 219 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:00,600 By the way, the us in that, 220 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:02,120 a lot of people get hung up on that. 221 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:04,880 It's not talking about some divine counsel 222 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:05,960 of the gods or anything. 223 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:08,160 It's just an early reference to the Trinity, 224 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:13,040 God being the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 225 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:14,400 Don't get caught up on that. 226 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:18,960 Let us make man in our own image. 227 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:27,040 Out of all the things God made, there's only one, 228 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:31,120 there's only one that holds the special privilege 229 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:38,120 of being intimately crafted and delicately created by God. 230 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:42,280 God said, let us make man in our own image, in a mago day. 231 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:48,040 Let us create something that will stand as a reflection 232 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:53,040 to my glory, my majesty, my beauty, and even my character. 233 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:58,040 Genesis chapter two says, the Lord God formed the man 234 00:13:57,800 --> 00:13:59,280 out of the dust of the ground, 235 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:03,960 and then he breathed the breath of life. 236 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:06,520 He breathed into his nostrils, 237 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,080 and the man became a living being. 238 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:15,680 He breathed life into the nostrils of man. 239 00:14:15,680 --> 00:14:17,480 Think about that for just a second. 240 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:19,560 He breathed life into the nostrils of man. 241 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:23,200 Think about that for just a second. 242 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,240 This act of creation was so intimate, 243 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:29,160 it was so close, face to face, 244 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:37,080 almost like a kiss from God, from the divine creator himself 245 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:38,400 on the lips of man. 246 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:41,360 Very intimate, very close. 247 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:46,360 Man was not just brought poof into existence. 248 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:48,680 Man was not one of the many things 249 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:51,040 that God said, let there be. 250 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:56,720 As the psalmist says, it was you, God. 251 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,960 You created my inward parts. 252 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:04,400 You knit me together in my mother's womb. 253 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:10,640 Man was held close in the arms of God. 254 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:13,000 He was touched on the lips by Yahweh. 255 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,280 He was touched on the lips by Yahweh. 256 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:21,480 God breathed his own breath into the lungs of man. 257 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:25,400 God gave a part of himself 258 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:31,480 to give life to the newly formed man. 259 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:36,200 He didn't want him to just be alive, let there be man. 260 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:38,720 He didn't want him to just be alive. 261 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,120 He wanted him to have life. 262 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:42,960 From the beginning, God, 263 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:48,120 giving of himself to those he loves 264 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:52,320 and those he cherishes in order that they may have life. 265 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:56,320 Doesn't that sound familiar? 266 00:15:57,720 --> 00:15:58,840 It should. 267 00:15:58,840 --> 00:15:59,920 We should all know this. 268 00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:01,320 We all know that scripture. 269 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:07,320 For God so loved the world that he did what he gave. 270 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:09,920 He gave his only son and whoever believes in him 271 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:13,240 shall not perish, but they'll have eternal life. 272 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:17,920 See, man is, it's the crown of creation. 273 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:23,920 We are the reflection of the divine creator. 274 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:27,480 We are the glory of the hands of God. 275 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:31,720 Crowned with glory and honor and given dominion, 276 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:35,240 by the way, over every single one of us. 277 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:37,840 By the way, over everything that God 278 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:40,120 had previously called good. 279 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:43,680 Everything God made, he said, it is good, it is good, 280 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:46,280 it is good, and then he made man. 281 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:48,920 And he said, all of the things I call good, 282 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:50,120 you have dominion over. 283 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:52,360 How peculiar. 284 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:58,960 And it would be really cool if the creation story 285 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,320 ended right there, wouldn't it? 286 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:02,360 It would be awesome. 287 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:05,960 But unfortunately, that's not where it ends. 288 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:08,400 Unfortunately, there's more to the story. 289 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,080 Unfortunately, there was another prowling 290 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:13,280 and slithering around in the garden 291 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:17,400 who would seek to rob man of his reflective nature. 292 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:20,680 Who would seek to bring him back down to the dirt 293 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:25,680 alongside him and crawl in the dirt for eternity. 294 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,280 The same dirt that he was formed out of 295 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:34,520 that he was formed out of, the same dirt he will return to 296 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,400 and the same dirt he will spend the rest of his life 297 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:41,520 trying to wash off himself and make himself clean. 298 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:48,720 Adam, banished from paradise, 299 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:52,960 fated to walk the long, lonely plank of life 300 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:59,400 to an unfamiliar end called death. 301 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:01,720 There's a book by A.W. Tozer, 302 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:03,800 it's called Whatever Happened to Worship, 303 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:09,640 and he sums up the fall of man perfectly with this quote. 304 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:16,720 It says, man created to be more like God 305 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:20,720 than any other creature has become less like God 306 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,120 than any other creature. 307 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:28,120 Created to reflect the glory of God, 308 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:31,440 instead he is retreated sullenly into his cave 309 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:35,400 and now reflects only his own sinfulness. 310 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:42,240 You see, rarely do we pause to really consider 311 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:45,400 the gravity of the fallen condition of man. 312 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,200 Man created to be the reflection of God, 313 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:51,200 to be the image bearer of God, but what has he become? 314 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:55,000 He has become broken, distorted. 315 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,520 His Imago Dei has become twisted and perverted. 316 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:03,760 No longer are we driven to pursue what is right, 317 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:05,560 what is good, what is holy. 318 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:11,240 Instead, we are driven and compelled by greed, 319 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:13,680 by envy, by jealousy, by envy. 320 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:18,680 By greed, by envy, by jealousy, by lust, anger. 321 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,960 In the book of James, he says each person is tempted 322 00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:31,800 when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. 323 00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:36,600 By his own evil desire, and when desire is conceived, 324 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:41,560 it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, 325 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:44,800 it grows up, it gives birth to death. 326 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:49,320 So instead of cherishing and loving 327 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:51,080 what is made in the image of God, 328 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:58,080 instead of recognizing the majesty, the glory, our job, 329 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:08,080 instead, we arrive at the altar of self-preservation. 330 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:10,400 And we stand at the altar of self-preservation, 331 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:14,440 and just like Cain, we pick up the rock 332 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:16,520 and we bludgeon our brother to death. 333 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:23,120 Over and over again, we do this, 334 00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:28,120 destroying, mutilating the Imago Dei, the image of God. 335 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:31,800 Paul, in the book of Romans says, 336 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:35,520 they exchange the truth of God for a lie. 337 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:38,680 And they worship and they serve the created thing 338 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:43,680 instead of the creator, who is to be praised forever. 339 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:47,320 We do this over and over again. 340 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:50,680 You see, this whole passage in Psalm eight 341 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:55,680 is really just David recognizing his place in the universe, 342 00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:59,200 his place in the world. 343 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:00,720 It's very simple. 344 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:05,480 God, the creator, is the creator 345 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:07,880 of the world, you made me. 346 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:11,240 You made everything, in fact. 347 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,760 Your majesty and your glory, they're so big, 348 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:17,200 they're bigger than eternity. 349 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:21,160 And you created me and you care for me. 350 00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:25,400 And you delicately knit me together in my mother's womb. 351 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:31,040 Blessed are the poor in spirit, right? 352 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,360 Jesus says that, blessed are the poor in spirit. 353 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:35,920 Blessed are those who understand 354 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:38,440 just how dependent they are on God. 355 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:44,880 That the very breath in their lungs is a gift from God. 356 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:49,280 I have been intimately crafted and delicately created 357 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:52,320 by the God of the universe. 358 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:57,520 What an honor that such a God would be mindful of me. 359 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:02,520 What an honor that he would even notice me, 360 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:04,320 he would take a second look at me. 361 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:13,160 My family and I, we recently went out to lunch together. 362 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:18,960 And we wanted a good burger, so we went to The Habit. 363 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:23,720 And we ordered our food, we sat down, 364 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,080 hanging out, telling jokes to each other, 365 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:30,200 just goofing off, playing rock, paper, scissors. 366 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:32,920 It was really fun. 367 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:35,120 Three way rock, paper, scissors, by the way, 368 00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:37,040 which is really weird, but it was fun. 369 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,320 We were hanging out, waiting for our food. 370 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:47,320 And this family of five people comes in. 371 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:50,520 It was a dad, and it was just four kids. 372 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:54,960 He had two older children, a boy and a girl, 373 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:56,480 and then the two young children, 374 00:22:57,640 --> 00:22:59,560 younger boy and then a young girl. 375 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:01,880 They came walking in, they ordered their food, 376 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:03,840 and then they sat down at their table 377 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:05,160 and waited for their food. 378 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:11,440 And they retreated into their cell phones. 379 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:15,520 And I don't mean they retreated into their cell phones 380 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:17,640 like they were having casual conversations, 381 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:19,200 and every now and then they would pick up their phone 382 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,960 and check a tweet or an Instagram or a text message. 383 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:25,760 I mean, they were sitting around a table about this big, 384 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:27,320 and they may well have been 385 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:31,560 a thousand miles away from each other, inside their phones, 386 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:34,280 ignoring each other. 387 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:39,880 It was the dad and his three kids just sitting there, 388 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:41,880 oblivious to each other. 389 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:44,760 And you're probably thinking, wait, you said four kids. 390 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:45,800 Where's the other kid? 391 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:50,280 Well, she, this little girl, she was probably 11. 392 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,320 She was not old enough to have a cell phone. 393 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:56,280 So what do you think she did? 394 00:23:56,280 --> 00:24:01,280 She just sat there, bored, out of her mind. 395 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:06,120 I could see it, I could feel it. 396 00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:08,240 She was sitting four feet from us. 397 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:13,080 It was hard to watch, because I have a daughter 398 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:15,280 who's getting close to that age. 399 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:20,360 I don't wanna project or assume anything, 400 00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:23,200 but I'm just gonna assume she probably doesn't have 401 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,800 the greatest relationship with her dad. 402 00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:29,960 The only time she came alive was when the food came 403 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:31,760 and they had to all, they were forced 404 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:33,640 to put their phones away. 405 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,800 And they all had to eat and look at each other. 406 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:41,000 But she just sat there, bored, lonely, inside. 407 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:45,880 Nobody's even looking at me, nobody's talking to me. 408 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:48,440 I'm useless. 409 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:53,440 That is an amago de issue. 410 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:58,960 That is an issue of the love between a parent 411 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:03,320 and their child is just, it's nonexistent. 412 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:04,480 She's not there. 413 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:06,800 I don't know them personally, I don't wanna assume anything, 414 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,360 but society would tell us differently. 415 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:14,360 Statistically, we spend, what is it, close to three hours, 416 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:17,320 every day, doom scrolling on our phones. 417 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,320 Just oblivious to the world around us. 418 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:25,320 We live in our devices, we live in self-absorption. 419 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:27,360 That is an issue of amago de. 420 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:32,360 That is an issue of we are exchanging the truth of God 421 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:37,320 and we are instead worshiping what has been created 422 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:42,800 instead of creator God. 423 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:44,920 Because if we really worshiped and we really faithfully 424 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:47,720 served the creator God, we would be overflowing 425 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:52,720 with pure love, pure joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, 426 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,720 and we would see just how precious life is 427 00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:59,640 and how beautifully and wonderfully made 428 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:03,640 even the barista that got your order wrong, 429 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:07,640 how wonderful it is that they have breath in their lungs. 430 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:10,040 We would see how precious life is 431 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,600 of the man or woman who unfortunately has to spend 432 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:18,600 their nights outside cold in the rain, hungry. 433 00:26:19,120 --> 00:26:23,120 We would see how precious the life is of the small child 434 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:26,280 about the age of my daughter who is up here. 435 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:30,280 How precious that child who has to spend their days 436 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:35,280 slaving away in a mine in the Congo, mining the land, 437 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:39,200 which by the way is used to create our cell phones, 438 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:42,520 the batteries, how precious is that life? 439 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:48,120 But instead we arrive at our sinful idolatrous altar 440 00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:52,680 with our rocks in our hand and we try to disfigure 441 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:56,200 and mutilate the amago de, the image of God 442 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,200 over and over again, exchanging the truth of God 443 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:02,200 and we are just worshiping what has been created. 444 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:05,640 We are just worshiping the image of God over and over again, 445 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,880 exchanging the truth of God for a lie. 446 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:13,000 So what do we do? 447 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:18,240 That's great, the world is broken, 448 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:21,000 humanity is spiraling out of control. 449 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:22,720 What do we do? 450 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,640 Do we just cue the sad music, the curtains close, 451 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:27,640 we walk away, there's no hope, 452 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:30,440 we can't come back from this, what do we do? 453 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:35,440 Well, the hope is actually found in verses five and six. 454 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:44,040 He says, you made him little less than God 455 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:46,000 and crowned him with glory and honor. 456 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:51,520 You made him ruler over the works of your hands 457 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:54,440 and you put everything under his feet. 458 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:58,600 I mean, sure, David was reflecting on creation, 459 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:02,120 he was reflecting on the garden and paradise 460 00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:07,120 and how God had designed the order of everything, sure. 461 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:11,320 But whether he knew it or not, he was also looking ahead. 462 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:15,120 He was looking ahead to what Paul would call 463 00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:18,880 the second Adam or the last Adam. 464 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:22,880 In First Corinthians, Paul says, it is written, 465 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:26,880 the first man, Adam, became a living being. 466 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:31,880 The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 467 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:36,080 The last Adam, the second Adam, 468 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:39,280 just as sin and death have entered the world 469 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:44,120 through one man, Adam, in his choice, 470 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:49,120 eternal life, salvation and restoration back to the Father 471 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:53,320 have entered the world through one man, Jesus Christ. 472 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:58,640 The Son was given to set the captive free. 473 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:01,640 The Messiah King promised to David, 474 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:06,280 the one who would come to reign and rule 475 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:09,240 and finally bring peace to the world, 476 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:12,240 the Son of God, the Son of God, 477 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:16,440 and finally bring peace to a fallen and broken world, 478 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:20,240 the one who would finally do what Adam could never do, 479 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:23,240 perfectly bear the image of God 480 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:25,760 and reflect his glory forever. 481 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:31,720 On the cross, the love of God, 482 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:36,560 the mercy of God, the justice of God, 483 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:40,000 the goodness of the character of God, 484 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:44,000 all intersected and the image of God, 485 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:47,400 the Imago Dei, was finally restored. 486 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:57,600 Hebrews chapter two says, he was not subjected to angels, 487 00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:01,600 he is not subjected to angels of the world to come 488 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:03,600 that we are talking about, 489 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:06,000 but someone somewhere has testified, 490 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,400 what is man that you remember him 491 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,000 or the Son of Man that you care for him? 492 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:16,200 You made him lower than the angels for a short time. 493 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:18,400 You crowned him with glory and honor 494 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:21,200 and subjected everything under his feet. 495 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:24,200 For in subjecting everything to him, 496 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:26,800 he left nothing that is not subject to him. 497 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:31,000 As it is, we do not see everything subjected to him, 498 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,400 but we do see Jesus. 499 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,200 Made lower than the angels for a short time 500 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:40,800 so that by God's grace, he might taste death for everyone. 501 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:44,600 Crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death. 502 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:49,000 Jesus Christ, the perfect image of God, 503 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:52,800 the Imago Dei finally restored in Christ. 504 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:57,800 Jesus Christ lived a life that we could never live 505 00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:01,600 in order to die the death that we should have died. 506 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:07,200 Matthew chapter 22, Jesus commands us 507 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:12,800 to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. 508 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:15,200 That is the first and greatest commandment. 509 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:18,200 The second is just like it, he says, 510 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:19,800 love your neighbor as you love yourself. 511 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,200 So what do we do to love the Lord? 512 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:24,200 We love him. 513 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:28,000 He says, love your neighbor as you love yourself. 514 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:29,000 So what do we do? 515 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:34,200 You're probably thinking, where's your point? 516 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:36,400 Every sermon needs a point, right? 517 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:41,000 Number one, we need to remember. 518 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:46,600 Remember that like David remembered, 519 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,200 that you were intimately created and crafted 520 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:56,200 by the hand of God, that you were delicately knit together. 521 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:57,800 Have you ever tried to knit? 522 00:31:57,800 --> 00:31:58,800 It's frustrating. 523 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:05,800 You were delicately knit together by the hand of God. 524 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:13,200 God held you in his arms and he breathed 525 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:15,800 the breath of life into your lungs. 526 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:20,800 He gave a part of himself so that you could have life. 527 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:27,200 And he did the same for your neighbor, 528 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:30,200 your frustrating neighbor. 529 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:35,200 He did the same thing for the barista 530 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:38,600 that is half paying attention to your order 531 00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:40,800 and doesn't get it right and you've gotta go 532 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:42,400 because you've got an appointment 533 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:45,800 and they're just holding up your day. 534 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:50,800 He did the same thing for the guy standing outside 535 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:54,400 the Safeway, barking at you as you walk in, 536 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:58,400 who wants you to sign some ridiculous peace treaty 537 00:32:58,400 --> 00:32:59,800 or something. 538 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:01,400 What is this man saying? 539 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:04,800 I don't know, I'm with my family, just leave me alone. 540 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:06,600 He did the same thing for that guy. 541 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:08,400 He did the same thing for that guy. 542 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:17,000 He did the same thing for the aborted baby. 543 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:21,200 He did the same thing for the mother 544 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:25,000 who has to, in her heart and in her world, 545 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:29,400 make that hard decision. 546 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:30,300 Do I go in? 547 00:33:31,300 --> 00:33:32,100 Where do I go? 548 00:33:32,100 --> 00:33:33,000 What do I do? 549 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:34,400 I'm losing my mind. 550 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:35,800 I don't know if I can do this. 551 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:39,000 And she stands at the altar of self-preservation 552 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:40,600 and she doesn't know what to do. 553 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:43,800 God did the same thing for her. 554 00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:45,800 He did the same thing for the atheist 555 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:47,600 who says in his heart, there is no God. 556 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:52,600 1 John chapter four. 557 00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:59,800 If anyone says, I love God and yet hates his brother, 558 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:03,600 he's a liar, he's a liar. 559 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:06,600 For the person who does not love his brother or sister 560 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:12,200 whom he has seen cannot say they love God 561 00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:13,400 whom he has not seen. 562 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:16,400 And we have this command from him. 563 00:34:16,400 --> 00:34:21,400 The one who loves God must also love his brother 564 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:22,200 and sister. 565 00:34:22,200 --> 00:34:27,200 See, you can't hate those created in the image of God. 566 00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:32,200 And claim to love God whose image they were created in. 567 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:34,800 It doesn't work. 568 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:40,600 Number two, reflect. 569 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:46,600 Reflect his glory in all that we do, 570 00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:48,800 even down to our speech. 571 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:55,800 Yeah, even the things we say should be reflected 572 00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:57,400 in the glory of God. 573 00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:01,000 James says, with the tongue, we bless our father 574 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,400 and with it we also curse those 575 00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:07,600 who are made in God's likeness. 576 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:12,000 You can't reflect the image and the glory of God 577 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:16,000 if you're going around spewing hate, spewing poison, 578 00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:21,000 just overflowing with horrible speech 579 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:22,800 towards your brothers and sisters. 580 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:27,800 Colossians says, whatever you do in word or deed, 581 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:30,400 do it as unto the Lord. 582 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:36,400 To fill yourself with the word of God 583 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:38,800 because out of the overflow of the heart, 584 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:40,800 the Bible says, the mouth speaks. 585 00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:44,800 Lastly, reach. 586 00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:49,400 Reach is the word of God. 587 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:53,800 Reach, reach. 588 00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:58,600 We are the body of Christ. 589 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:01,200 You knew that, right? 590 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:03,400 We're the body of Christ. 591 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:05,000 We are made in the image of God. 592 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:08,800 We were designed to reflect his glory 593 00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:11,800 in all that we do in word or deed. 594 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:17,200 We were designed to reflect the goodness 595 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:19,800 of the character of God in all that we do. 596 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:24,200 So reach, reach out. 597 00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:26,400 Do something. 598 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:31,400 This actually goes straight to our mission here at Village. 599 00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:35,000 Our mission, if you know it, say it with me. 600 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:38,200 Our mission is building a kingdom fellowship 601 00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:40,400 of Christ-honoring disciples 602 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:43,000 equipped to bring the gospel to life. 603 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:47,000 I did it. 604 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:50,000 So we reach out, we reach. 605 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:52,000 What does that mean? 606 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:55,600 In the lobby out there, there's love in the bags. 607 00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:00,000 There's Alternatives Pregnancy Center information. 608 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:02,200 Grab the love in the bag. 609 00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:05,000 Get involved with Alternatives Pregnancy Center. 610 00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:07,000 Join a small group. 611 00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:10,000 Talk to the barista. 612 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:12,000 Talk to the barista. 613 00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:16,000 They're stressed for a reason. 614 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:20,800 Talk to the guy that says, 615 00:37:20,800 --> 00:37:24,800 I just need 74 more cents and I can catch the bus 616 00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:27,400 and I can get across town, please. 617 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:30,400 There's a guy by the Starbucks that we go to. 618 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:32,000 He sits outside on the sidewalk 619 00:37:33,300 --> 00:37:36,000 and every time we drive by, my wife goes, 620 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:37,200 he's reading his Bible. 621 00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:39,800 He's not saying anything to anybody. 622 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:41,400 He's just sitting on the sidewalk. 623 00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:44,800 Homeless, he's clearly homeless. 624 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:46,200 He has a little dog with him 625 00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:47,800 and he's just sitting there reading his Bible 626 00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:48,800 and he's highlighting it. 627 00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:51,600 I don't know how he got there. 628 00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:54,000 I don't know what in his life happened to get him there, 629 00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:55,800 but he's there. 630 00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:04,400 As I get to the end here, 631 00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:06,200 whether we like to admit it or not, 632 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:14,000 there's somebody in our life that we go, 633 00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:18,000 they need Jesus, but I really hope 634 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:20,000 it's not me that has to bring him to them. 635 00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:26,200 Like Jonah, go preach. 636 00:38:26,200 --> 00:38:30,200 And he was like, nope, not me. 637 00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:35,200 A complicated family member, a boss 638 00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:38,800 that frustrates you to no end, 639 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:40,600 that doesn't understand, 640 00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:43,800 I have to make it to my kid's birthday party. 641 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:45,200 I have to. 642 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:46,800 I can't work that day. 643 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:48,800 Maybe it's a 644 00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:54,000 a couple of days later, 645 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:57,000 I'm gonna be able to make it to my kid's birthday party. 646 00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,800 I'm gonna be able to make it to my kid's birthday party. 647 00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:01,400 A coworker, a neighbor. 648 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:04,400 You drive up and down 58th Street, 649 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:09,200 you'll see, you'll start to see the ideology in the flags 650 00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:11,000 and in the things that people post. 651 00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:16,000 Maybe it's the political, the politician 652 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:20,200 who is ideologically opposed to you in every way. 653 00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:22,600 There's no way I would ever vote for him. 654 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:23,400 There's no way. 655 00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:26,200 He was made in the image of God. 656 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:29,600 Whether you like that or not, 657 00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:32,600 he was created and crafted and knit together 658 00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:33,800 in his mother's womb. 659 00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:40,600 Matthew chapter 25 says, 660 00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:47,400 Jesus talking, says, I was hungry 661 00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:50,800 and you gave me something to eat. 662 00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:55,800 I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. 663 00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:59,400 I was a stranger and you took me in. 664 00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:03,800 I was naked and you clothed me. 665 00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:09,600 I was sick and you took care of me. 666 00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:13,600 I was in prison and you visited me. 667 00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:17,800 Truly, I tell you, 668 00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:21,000 whatever you did for the least of these, 669 00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:23,800 the marginalized, 670 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:28,800 the insignificant, the defenseless, 671 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:31,400 whatever you did for them, 672 00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:59,400 you've done for me.