1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,760 Hello everyone and welcome to Trinity Sermons. 2 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:10,680 Here at Trinity Church, Streetsville, we would like to share with you sermons that inspire 3 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:15,180 and encourage you in your faith journey as together we're learning to love Jesus, live 4 00:00:15,180 --> 00:00:17,840 like Jesus and lead others to Jesus. 5 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:23,640 And today we are beginning a brand new sermon series and it is called Playing With Fire. 6 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:27,440 Please make sure to follow our podcast so you don't miss any of our upcoming episodes 7 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:29,320 and we hope you enjoy this sermon. 8 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:35,760 God bless. 9 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:39,840 A reading from Psalm 37 verse 1 to 11. 10 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,040 Do not fret because of those who are evil, or be envious of those who do wrong. 11 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:49,160 For like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. 12 00:00:49,160 --> 00:00:53,840 Trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 13 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:57,780 Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. 14 00:00:57,780 --> 00:01:01,720 Make your way to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will do this. 15 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:05,480 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday 16 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:07,040 sun. 17 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,040 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. 18 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:14,600 Do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes, 19 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:16,900 refrain from anger and turn from wrath. 20 00:01:16,900 --> 00:01:19,700 Do not fret, it leads only to evil. 21 00:01:19,700 --> 00:01:23,320 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit 22 00:01:23,320 --> 00:01:24,320 the land. 23 00:01:24,320 --> 00:01:27,160 A little while, and the wicked will be no more. 24 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:32,000 Though you look for them, they will not be found, but the meek will inherit the land 25 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,240 and enjoy peace and prosperity. 26 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:36,800 This is the word of the Lord. 27 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:41,520 We've just come through the Christmas season, and that means we've been singing songs like 28 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:43,360 Silent Night. 29 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:49,240 Silent Night, Holy Night, All is Calm, All is Bright, Round Yon Version, Mother and Child, 30 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:51,280 Sleep in Heavenly Peace. 31 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:57,040 It paints a beautiful picture of Jesus, the child, meek, and mild. 32 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:03,280 This image of the baby Jesus sometimes actually affects our image of the grown up Jesus. 33 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:10,160 And we start to imagine that the grown up Jesus was also calm and no crying he makes, 34 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:16,360 and he's this moderate, unexcitable, you know, just, he's not going to, an unoffensive man 35 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:18,440 who doesn't want to cause a ruckus. 36 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:20,480 I didn't come here to make any trouble. 37 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:21,880 This is Jesus. 38 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:28,840 God once said that Christianity is a mild-mannered religion led by a mild-mannered Messiah who 39 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:34,280 is trying to make people like you and me more mild-mannered. 40 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:38,760 But if that is the case, then how do we understand pieces of scripture like this? 41 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:47,480 Jesus said, I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning. 42 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:49,600 That does not sound so mild-mannered. 43 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:53,380 You know, a lot of people would say, you know, Jesus, Jesus was never harsh. 44 00:02:53,380 --> 00:02:57,680 But then you look at some of the scathing rebukes he gave to the Pharisees, you brood 45 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:02,740 of vipers, you son of a snake is essentially what that means, right? 46 00:03:02,740 --> 00:03:04,480 Or some say, oh, Jesus was never angry. 47 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:05,880 Jesus was never violent. 48 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:11,080 But look, he once made a whip out of cords and he turned over the tables and he caused 49 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,660 a small riot in the temple. 50 00:03:14,660 --> 00:03:18,080 People say, oh, Jesus, he was always peaceful. 51 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:22,640 But you know that Jesus would often, you know, he would answer his hecklers. 52 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:30,240 And once he stared down an angry mob who was ready to stone an adulterous woman, he was 53 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:32,440 a force to be reckoned with. 54 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:35,220 People say, oh, Jesus, yeah, he was always friendly, always compliant. 55 00:03:35,220 --> 00:03:40,740 But once when a army, a detachment of soldiers rather, came to arrest Jesus, he wouldn't 56 00:03:40,740 --> 00:03:41,740 have any of it. 57 00:03:41,740 --> 00:03:44,140 He gave them an earful and he sent them back. 58 00:03:44,140 --> 00:03:47,320 And they went back saying, man, no one has ever spoken to us like this guy did. 59 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:50,640 You know, they came back empty handed. 60 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:52,960 And Jesus, oh, Jesus is timid. 61 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:53,960 Jesus is meek. 62 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:54,960 Jesus is mild. 63 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:55,960 No. 64 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:57,760 And Jesus even gave orders to demons. 65 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:01,800 He would say, sit down and shut up, you deaf and dumb spirit. 66 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:02,800 Right? 67 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,080 So, so sleep in heavenly peace. 68 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:06,080 No way. 69 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:07,080 No way. 70 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:08,680 That's not the Jesus we're talking about. 71 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:13,320 Today we're beginning a new teaching series called Playing With Fire. 72 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:19,560 And we're going to see that Jesus was anything but meek and mild. 73 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:25,640 And of all the controversial and all the contentious things that Jesus did, the thing that got 74 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:34,320 him in the most hot water was that he disrespected some of Israel's most cherished symbols and 75 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:35,320 traditions. 76 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,160 Now, you guys know you're not supposed to mess with people's symbols and traditions, 77 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:40,240 the religious symbols, the political symbols. 78 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:41,240 You're not supposed to do that. 79 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:43,440 You can make fun of Donald Trump. 80 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:44,720 You can make fun of Joe Biden. 81 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,080 You can call Justin Trudeau all the names you want. 82 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:53,440 But if you burn a flag, now you're playing with fire. 83 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:54,600 Something's got to be done to you. 84 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:56,800 You have gone too far. 85 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:01,200 If you ever wonder why Jesus died, you got a few theories. 86 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:06,160 You could say, well, he was politically dangerous to the Romans, so they wanted him executed. 87 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:09,400 You could say he was just betrayed by someone who he thought was a friend. 88 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:15,760 You could say that, but the real thing that did him in was that he implicitly and explicitly 89 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:23,800 attacked some of the treasured sacred symbols of Israel's traditions. 90 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,160 And the saying goes that when you play with fire, Jesus, when you play with fire, you're 91 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:28,960 going to get burned. 92 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:31,560 Sometimes when I read the Bible, I'm like, Jesus, don't say that. 93 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:32,560 And then he says it. 94 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:34,020 You're like, Jesus, don't go there. 95 00:05:34,020 --> 00:05:35,060 But he goes there, right? 96 00:05:35,060 --> 00:05:36,240 He's always crossing the line. 97 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:40,680 He's always like things that were out of bounds, things that were taboo, things that he shouldn't 98 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:46,280 have said he said, and controversy followed him wherever he went. 99 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:50,040 And I want you to know, I'm not just talking about past tense with you this morning. 100 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:54,720 Jesus still pushes people's buttons, or at least he should if you understand what he's 101 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:55,720 saying. 102 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:57,880 He still pushes you and challenges your traditions. 103 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:02,240 And some of the things you hold most sacred, Jesus might have a word or two to say about 104 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:03,240 that as well. 105 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:09,200 So if we're going to understand what that means for us here today in 2024, we are going 106 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:16,080 to first have to teleport ourselves back 2000 and some odd years ago to the time when Jesus 107 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:21,600 was living on this earth in first century Israel. 108 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:26,200 And over the next five weeks, we're going to do this by looking at the scriptures and 109 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:33,160 how Jesus messed with, challenged, and reinterpreted five key symbols that got him in a load. 110 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:34,480 of hot water. 111 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,080 Here's what we're going to look at over the weeks ahead. 112 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:40,280 We're going to see how Jesus reinterpreted scripture. 113 00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:43,720 Jesus, you can't do that, but he did it. 114 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:44,720 Okay. 115 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:49,680 And now we're going to look at how Jesus called out Israel's attachment to the temple. 116 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:54,600 Jesus, that's a big no-no, but for Jesus, he went after that as well. 117 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:59,400 Thirdly, Jesus critiqued their idea of family. 118 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:03,320 And you don't mess with the family, Jesus, but Jesus still did. 119 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:04,360 He messed with the family. 120 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:05,400 He went there. 121 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:11,320 And then fourthly, we're going to look at how Jesus really caused his contemporaries 122 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:13,960 to rethink what the Sabbath was all about. 123 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:19,760 And the Sabbath was this cherished, cherished symbol of Israel's identity. 124 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:25,320 So he touched and pushed all these buttons, got into a ton of hot water as he did. 125 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:29,800 But today we're going to start with one of the biggest hot button issues back in his 126 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,780 day and in our own day too. 127 00:07:32,780 --> 00:07:40,060 And that is how Jesus challenged and reinterpreted what Israel thought about the land. 128 00:07:40,060 --> 00:07:46,280 And I'm talking about what some would call the holy land, the holy land. 129 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:48,880 So I wanted to say, you know, talk about playing with fire. 130 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:57,560 I'm well aware that as we sit here today, there is an ongoing and just tragic conflict 131 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:00,760 in the land, the land of Palestine, the land of Israel. 132 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:04,360 Every week here at Trinity, we're praying for that conflict. 133 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:09,280 We are praying for a peaceful resolution and for peace to triumph over violence. 134 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:14,360 So I want you to know today, my intention is not to wade into the political ins and 135 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:15,960 outs of that conflict today. 136 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:23,280 But we still need to talk about the land because Jesus poked and touched on the land as a big 137 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:24,520 issue in his own day. 138 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:26,280 And there's lots we can learn about it today. 139 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:31,640 So we're going to delicately move in that direction and see what we can learn together. 140 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:35,680 But maybe one of the best ways to think about it is for me just to ask you a question. 141 00:08:35,680 --> 00:08:42,160 What is your, I should say most, what is your most valued possession? 142 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:43,160 Your most valued. 143 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:48,080 The one thing you own that you value above all other things. 144 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:53,000 If you can hold that in your mind this morning, that'll be helpful because if you had asked 145 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:58,800 that question to a first century person living in Palestine, they would have said, well, 146 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:02,400 it was of course their land, their land. 147 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,440 Now let's talk about this land. 148 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:06,840 What land are we referring to? 149 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:08,860 I found this little animation online. 150 00:09:08,860 --> 00:09:09,860 I am not a historian. 151 00:09:09,860 --> 00:09:13,600 I'm going to try to walk you through it in like two minutes, but this is the land that 152 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:15,400 we're talking about. 153 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:17,640 This land was originally occupied by a group of people. 154 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,400 I think you would just call it Canaanites, right? 155 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:26,360 Eventually those Canaanites were kind of ruled by the Egyptian empire, which bordered on 156 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:27,360 the Hittite empire. 157 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,360 And there were lots of Hittite people who lived in that land too. 158 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:34,080 Now what happened was Israel eventually was released from slavery in Egypt. 159 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:36,520 They came and they inhabited that land. 160 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:41,680 However, Assyria rose up and they conquered most of the world, including Israel, and they 161 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:43,560 exiled the 10 Northern tribes. 162 00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:47,960 Then Babylon came and conquered Assyria and they took away the Southern tribes and exiled 163 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:48,960 them. 164 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:52,440 The Persian empire defeated Babylon and let some of the exiles go back home. 165 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:56,080 And then eventually, of course, Alexander the Great rose to power and he took over most 166 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:58,520 of the known world, the Macedonian empire, the Greeks. 167 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:02,320 Then the Roman empire, the time that Jesus lived, they were the ones that kind of ruled 168 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:05,620 the known world, including this land, this holy land. 169 00:10:05,620 --> 00:10:08,120 And eventually, Constantine became a Christian. 170 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:11,680 Eventually the Roman world split East and West, the Byzantine empire. 171 00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:16,480 And then, of course, you had the rise of various Islamic kingdoms and empires. 172 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:19,240 And Caliphate would take control of that area. 173 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:24,040 And then the Seljuk Turks usurped power from the Caliphate and they took over the area. 174 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:25,280 Then came the Crusades. 175 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:28,960 The Pope in Rome sent crusaders into the holy land. 176 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:34,960 But Muslim leaders like Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt, and Syria, they reconquered the 177 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:36,840 holy land from the crusaders. 178 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:40,720 Genghis Khan, apparently, Genghis Khan from the East came in. 179 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:47,080 He came very close to conquering the holy land and briefly controlled some key points. 180 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:51,160 But for several hundred years after that, the Ottoman Empire owned and occupied the 181 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:52,240 land. 182 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:53,780 The Ottoman Empire fell. 183 00:10:53,780 --> 00:10:59,640 And then came the British protectorate that was set up around Israel. 184 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:04,600 And then in 1948, Israel became an independent nation. 185 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:09,880 And there was an armistice, which delineated the green line, right? 186 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:12,680 It delineated where the borders of Israel would be. 187 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:17,840 Then in 1967, there was the Six-Day War, which happened. 188 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:21,520 And that expanded the territory even more. 189 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:23,080 And of course, we could go on and on. 190 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:27,960 But in recent history, in the past decades, there has been an ongoing conflict in that 191 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:28,960 area. 192 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:33,680 And that is an over, over, oversimplified picture of the history there. 193 00:11:33,680 --> 00:11:35,960 But I only show it just to give you an idea. 194 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:38,680 This is the land that we're talking about. 195 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:44,120 How many millions of people have died to possess this land or retake this land? 196 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:45,160 Who knows? 197 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:51,400 But the question we need to ask is, what is so special about this land? 198 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:53,560 What does the Bible say is so special about this land? 199 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:58,480 And why did Israel think this land was so sacred and important? 200 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:03,280 Well, there's five words that begin with P that will help you understand the answer to 201 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:04,280 that question. 202 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:06,920 The first is the word promise. 203 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:09,360 The land was a sign of God's promise. 204 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:11,240 They called it the promised land, right? 205 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:15,960 When God called to Abraham, the first promise he made to Abraham, he says, Abraham, to you 206 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:22,200 and to your descendants, I will give this land. 207 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:26,400 And once God's people had been kicked out of Eden, they had lost their land. 208 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:27,720 They had lost their home, if you will. 209 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:32,360 But now God is promising them a chance to come back to a land, a chance to be at home 210 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:33,360 again. 211 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:36,240 And God says, I will be your God and you will be my people. 212 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:40,680 And the sign and the seal of that promise will be this land. 213 00:12:40,680 --> 00:12:46,360 So the land represented the promise and the promise was sacred. 214 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:47,480 That's why it's so important. 215 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:51,840 But secondly, the land also represented provision, right? 216 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:55,240 When God brought the Hebrews out of Egypt, he said, you know what? 217 00:12:55,240 --> 00:13:00,840 I'm going to take you to a land that is flowing with milk and honey. 218 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:04,520 And then when they got to the edge of the land, Joshua sent some spies in to check out 219 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:05,520 the land. 220 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:10,560 They came back with a huge cluster of grapes that was so heavy they had to carry it with 221 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:12,320 two men. 222 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:16,640 And the idea was this land was going to provide everything that Israel needed, milk and honey 223 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:19,000 and grapes and fruit. 224 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,680 All they needed was here in this place. 225 00:13:21,680 --> 00:13:23,560 It was God's provision for Israel. 226 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:26,280 That's why it was so important to them. 227 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:27,660 So it was the land of promise. 228 00:13:27,660 --> 00:13:32,320 It was the land of provision, but it was also the land of possession. 229 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:36,520 God said to Israel, I want you to take charge of this land and possess it. 230 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,120 I want you to take care of it. 231 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:40,120 Don't exploit it. 232 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:41,120 Take care of it. 233 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,200 In fact, God even says, if you don't take care of it and treat it properly, I will scatter 234 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:45,920 you back to the nations. 235 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:51,200 And some think that's actually what was happening when Babylon swept in and exiled Judah back 236 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:52,200 to Babylon. 237 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:57,100 But anyways, it became, this possession became an inheritance. 238 00:13:57,100 --> 00:14:01,760 It became something that was passed down from generation to generation to care for and to 239 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:08,960 sustain every family and every generation, allowing them to prosper in Israel. 240 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:14,040 So it was a possession for them, but more than that, fourthly, the land was a place 241 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:15,040 of peace. 242 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:19,400 I mean, Israel at times of being attacked left, right and center, especially when they 243 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:23,800 had no home and they're wandering in the wilderness, they were very, very vulnerable. 244 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:29,200 But here in this land, they would have protection, they would have safety and they would have 245 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:30,200 peace. 246 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:31,560 Listen to the Psalm we read this morning. 247 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:36,360 Dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 248 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:38,040 For those who are evil will be destroyed. 249 00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:45,220 The meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. 250 00:14:45,220 --> 00:14:50,680 Another word that the Bible uses to talk about this peace is the word rest. 251 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:55,460 In the land, Israel was going to have rest from all her enemies. 252 00:14:55,460 --> 00:14:58,480 And like Joshua said, right when they were going into the land, he said, the Lord your 253 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:04,440 God will give you rest by giving you this land. 254 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:10,600 So are you beginning to see why this land was such a treasure and why it was so sacred 255 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:11,600 to Israel? 256 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:12,600 It was their promise. 257 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:13,600 It was their provision. 258 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:14,600 It was their possession. 259 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:16,560 It was their peace. 260 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:21,880 But there's even one more thing that made this land absolutely sacred and untouchable. 261 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:25,800 And that was it was the place. 262 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:26,800 What place? 263 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:27,800 What do you mean the place? 264 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:29,560 I'm talking about the place, not any place. 265 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:31,400 It was the place. 266 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:33,200 It was God's place. 267 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:35,160 It was where God lived. 268 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:37,960 It was where God reigned. 269 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,760 All the nations around them had kings that ruled over their territories. 270 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:43,560 And this was God's kingdom. 271 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:49,520 It was the kingdom of God, where God lived, where God reigned, where God ruled. 272 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:52,200 I watched a movie a while ago. 273 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:54,560 The name of the movie was called The Kingdom of Heaven. 274 00:15:54,560 --> 00:16:01,080 And the movie was all about the battle between the crusaders and some of the Islamic kingdoms 275 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:03,700 about fighting over this land. 276 00:16:03,700 --> 00:16:05,200 And the movie was called The Kingdom of Heaven. 277 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:07,800 It was understood this was the kingdom of God. 278 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,960 This was where God lived. 279 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:16,680 And in fact, some scholars say that's the primary reason why it's ever called the Holy 280 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:23,160 Land is because it was the earthly dwelling of the God of Israel. 281 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:29,040 So in Jesus' day, to get the land back would mean getting the kingdom back. 282 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:33,080 It would mean getting God back and placing God back where God belongs. 283 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:35,880 And they felt, I think in Jesus' day, they were so close to this goal. 284 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:41,440 Yes, they were occupied by the Romans, but just one more revolt, just one more war, and 285 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:45,280 you could push those Romans out and you could fortify your borders. 286 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:47,180 And once again, God could live here. 287 00:16:47,180 --> 00:16:48,320 God could reign here. 288 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:52,560 His kingdom would come on earth. 289 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:57,000 That is why actually some of Jesus' own followers carried swords with them, right? 290 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:00,000 Jesus himself talked a lot about the kingdom of God. 291 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:01,320 And they thought, ah, Jesus gets it. 292 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:02,400 Jesus understands it. 293 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:03,960 He knows how important this land is. 294 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:05,760 He's going to reestablish the kingdom. 295 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:07,160 Jesus understands the promise. 296 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:08,240 He understands the provision. 297 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:10,040 He understands this is our possession. 298 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:11,800 He understands this is our protection. 299 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,080 This is how we get our peace. 300 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:23,860 But they were sorely disappointed and highly offended because Jesus had a very, very different 301 00:17:23,860 --> 00:17:28,200 view of the land. 302 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:32,680 One of the biggest arguments for this is actually the argument from silence. 303 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:36,440 In the Old Testament, you hear about the land over and over and over again, thousands of 304 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:38,400 times the land is mentioned. 305 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:39,560 You get to the New Testament. 306 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:40,880 It's like the trail disappears. 307 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:42,320 It's like it's gone. 308 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:44,200 No one's talking about land anymore. 309 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:45,400 No one's talking about territory. 310 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:50,520 No one's talking about this promised piece of geographical area. 311 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:51,520 What is going on? 312 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:57,680 And I think all we can conclude is that for Jesus and for those very first Christians, 313 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:03,880 the land just wasn't important to them in the same way anymore. 314 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:10,120 But though the New Testament didn't talk about land much, Jesus still did make some pretty 315 00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:15,280 sharp pointed comments, especially if you can read between the lines of what he's saying. 316 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:17,800 Reading this 2,000 years later, we may not notice it. 317 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:21,760 But he took, you have to understand, he took that sacred symbol of land and what he said 318 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:22,800 and what he did. 319 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:26,120 He totally flipped it on its head. 320 00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:33,760 And he had the audacity, the audacity to kind of say to Israel, to say, you need to surrender 321 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,420 your passion and surrender your commitment. 322 00:18:36,420 --> 00:18:38,840 Give up your passion for this land. 323 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:44,480 And instead you need to replace it with a passion for me. 324 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:54,600 I mean, can you actually imagine just how volatile of a statement that would be? 325 00:18:54,600 --> 00:19:00,720 Let me show you how Jesus totally redefined the promise, the provision, the possession, 326 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:05,600 the peace and the place of God in his own ministry. 327 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:08,440 Just keep in mind, this is playing with fire. 328 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:09,440 Okay? 329 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:10,440 Okay. 330 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:14,360 The first thing, Jesus redefines the promise that God gave to Israel. 331 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:15,360 It's true. 332 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:18,880 Yes, the land was promised to Abraham dating way back. 333 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:20,600 But Jesus says, you know what? 334 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:23,240 Now I am the promise. 335 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:28,560 It's in me actually that that promise has been fulfilled. 336 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:32,080 In fact, Jesus will say things like, I'm going to go and prepare a place for you. 337 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:33,080 It's not this place. 338 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:38,520 I'm going to go and prepare a place for you so that where I am, there you can be also. 339 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,760 This is the new promise, right? 340 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:44,160 This is where the story was always going. 341 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:47,800 Jesus says that it wasn't going to some geographical land somewhere. 342 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:48,800 That wasn't the promise. 343 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:50,920 The promise was to be with me. 344 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:53,560 The promise was to be with Jesus. 345 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:55,160 It's crazy talk. 346 00:19:55,160 --> 00:20:04,160 But even Paul says, no matter how many promises God has made, they all find their yes in Jesus. 347 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:07,240 Jesus made a new promise to us. 348 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:13,960 And in Jesus, all of God's promises and that must include the promise of land, find their 349 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:14,960 fulfillment. 350 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:15,960 Crazy. 351 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:17,800 I know, you know, he's asking for it. 352 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:19,320 Absolutely dangerous, dangerous words. 353 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:21,000 Jesus is playing with fire. 354 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:22,000 Big time. 355 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:23,000 Okay? 356 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:25,060 But secondly, not only does he offer another promise. 357 00:20:25,060 --> 00:20:28,280 He offers another way of provision. 358 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:29,280 The land. 359 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:31,760 Yes, the land was supposed to provide everything that they needed. 360 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:33,680 Remember the vineyard, right? 361 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:39,800 In fact, the Holy Land was actually called a vineyard in many of the Old Testament scriptures. 362 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:45,640 But here comes Jesus in John 15 and he says, you know, actually, I am the vine. 363 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:46,640 You're the branches. 364 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:47,640 I'm the vine. 365 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:52,680 Remain in me and you will have everything you need. 366 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:53,680 What's Jesus saying here? 367 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:55,000 Let's think this through. 368 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:59,560 He's saying that the vineyard God is now cultivating the new vineyard. 369 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:02,080 There's only one life giving vine in it and it is Jesus. 370 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:06,920 It is me, he says, and attaching to me, attaching to me alone. 371 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:08,480 That's the way you get the life. 372 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:15,680 The life that was once promised through the land now flows through me to you. 373 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:16,680 Paul said it this way. 374 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:19,960 He said, my God will supply every need of yours according to what? 375 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:23,280 The fertility of the land, the harvest of the land. 376 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:24,280 No. 377 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:28,560 It is riches in Christ Jesus. 378 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:33,920 God, Jesus has a goal to say the real way God is going to provide for you now is that 379 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,560 he provided me. 380 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:38,960 Jesus says, God provides for you. 381 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,960 Yes, he planted you in this land once he did. 382 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:42,960 Yes. 383 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:44,080 And that was a provision where provision flow. 384 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:49,640 But now by grafting into me, that is where the true life comes from. 385 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:52,200 And that is how God is going to supply your every need. 386 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:53,200 Good grief. 387 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:54,200 These are fighting words. 388 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:56,480 I hope you're understanding how contentious these words are. 389 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:58,200 But guys, it doesn't end there. 390 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:04,640 I already told you, Israel understood that land as their possession, their possession. 391 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:08,560 And I understand it as well that it was a big part of people's inheritance. 392 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:09,740 It was passed down. 393 00:22:09,740 --> 00:22:14,240 But Jesus offers people, he basically goes around and says, I got a better possession 394 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:15,240 for you. 395 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:17,960 I've got an even greater inheritance and that is me. 396 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:19,440 Take a look at this example. 397 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:24,920 Someone in the crowd that said to Jesus, teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance 398 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:26,320 with me. 399 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:31,360 And Jesus said, take care, be on your guard against greed for one's life does not consist 400 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:33,820 in an abundance of possessions. 401 00:22:33,820 --> 00:22:40,520 This guy wanted Jesus to arbitrate who gets the possessions from the father's estate. 402 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:43,140 You can read in possessions there, land. 403 00:22:43,140 --> 00:22:44,760 Land was the most valuable possession. 404 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,280 Jesus says, I don't really care. 405 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:48,320 Be careful, Jesus says. 406 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:51,640 Don't get caught up in all this pursuit of possessions. 407 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:53,960 I'm an even greater possession for you. 408 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:58,000 Or once a young man wanted to follow Jesus and Jesus says to him, okay, you can follow 409 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:03,400 me, but first go and sell what you own, give the money to the poor and then come and follow 410 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:04,400 me. 411 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,920 And we're told that he went away sad. 412 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:07,920 Because why? 413 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:12,280 Because he owned so much property. 414 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:16,040 Jesus says, you can sell it all, come and follow me. 415 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:19,440 But he couldn't because he was tied up with this possession of land. 416 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:21,700 Jesus says, I'm an even greater possession. 417 00:23:21,700 --> 00:23:24,960 Or Luke, Luke just comes out and says, he says, none of you can be my disciples if you 418 00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:26,840 don't give up your possessions. 419 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:29,080 And again, you can read land in there. 420 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,920 If you don't give up on that, you can't be my disciple. 421 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:35,480 Jesus himself was so valuable, so valuable. 422 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:37,080 He was the pearl of great price. 423 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:41,600 He was worth selling everything for in order to have just him. 424 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:42,760 So you see what he's doing. 425 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:44,520 He redefines the promise. 426 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:46,720 He redefines what provision looks like. 427 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:52,500 And now he's even redefining what the ultimate possession is for God's people. 428 00:23:52,500 --> 00:23:54,100 What about peace though? 429 00:23:54,100 --> 00:23:55,320 What about peace? 430 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:59,600 The land was supposed to be that place where Israel could finally rest and could finally 431 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:00,800 have peace from their enemies. 432 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:05,160 But Jesus says, come to me and I will give you rest. 433 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:11,420 He says, I'm gentle and I'm lowly in heart and you will find rest for your soul. 434 00:24:11,420 --> 00:24:14,240 Not over there, not over there, but right here. 435 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:19,720 The rest and protection that God promised is no longer centered in a geographical territory. 436 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:22,200 It is found in Jesus. 437 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:24,040 It's given by Jesus. 438 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,320 Jesus goes ahead and he just says, peace. 439 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:27,500 I'm offering peace. 440 00:24:27,500 --> 00:24:28,500 Peace I give to you. 441 00:24:28,500 --> 00:24:29,500 Peace I offer to you. 442 00:24:29,500 --> 00:24:31,280 It is not the kind of peace that the world is offering. 443 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:36,240 It is not a peace with borders and boundaries and guards and armies to defend the peace. 444 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:38,320 I'm offering you a more lasting peace. 445 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:44,000 I'm offering you a deeper kind of rest. 446 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:50,240 But perhaps Jesus most controversial statement concerned the place of God. 447 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,920 Where was God's kingdom? 448 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:54,840 Where did God live? 449 00:24:54,840 --> 00:25:00,840 And Jesus just taking his life in his hands, he says, God's place, God's kingdom. 450 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:05,560 It is not really here in this territory. 451 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:09,640 It's not in this land because it's another kind of kingdom. 452 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:11,640 It's a different kind of place. 453 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:12,640 God's kingdom. 454 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:14,760 Jesus once said, you know, when is the kingdom coming? 455 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:17,800 And Jesus said, it's not coming like you think it's coming. 456 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:19,240 It's not something you can observe. 457 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:20,720 It doesn't have a line around it. 458 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:24,200 It doesn't have boundary markers and territories. 459 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:29,120 Even if people say, oh, here it is or there it is, Jesus says, no, he says the kingdom 460 00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:31,300 is among you. 461 00:25:31,300 --> 00:25:36,960 That is a radical reinterpretation of the kingdom of God. 462 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:40,940 And I think besides that, Jesus would probably say, well, listen, you know, don't we also 463 00:25:40,940 --> 00:25:43,320 know that God is the God of all the earth? 464 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:44,320 Right? 465 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:48,480 Is God's reign limited to one little patch of land in one particular place? 466 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:49,480 No. 467 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:55,080 God is the king of the whole world, of the whole cosmos, the great biblical story. 468 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:59,800 Yes, it started with one group of people coming to possess one holy strip of turf, but it 469 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:05,640 ends with the liberation of the whole universe with all God's people from every race, every 470 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:12,680 creed, every tribe, every tongue, all inheriting the promise of God through Israel, through 471 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:18,440 Christ, through baptism, through the Holy Spirit. 472 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:24,520 When Jesus spoke about the kingdom, he pointed at something much bigger and much different 473 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:26,400 than a piece of land. 474 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:31,480 It was all the world for all of God's people. 475 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:34,480 My gosh, what is Jesus doing here, everybody? 476 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:37,000 He's redefining what holy land is. 477 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:41,560 While everyone's clamoring to get back onto this piece of property, Jesus says, you will 478 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:46,480 never be home until you find your home in me. 479 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:48,580 The kingdom of God is not geographical. 480 00:26:48,580 --> 00:26:50,880 It is relational. 481 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:54,400 And you will know you've entered the holy land, not when you cross a border or not when 482 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:59,000 you cross a river, but you will know you've entered it when you have gathered around me. 483 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,480 That's the holy land. 484 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:03,640 Jesus is interested in restored land. 485 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:06,800 He's interested in a restored people. 486 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:10,840 So that's what it means actually to come home. 487 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:13,600 Instead of coming home to a place, you come home to a person. 488 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:17,360 Jesus is the fulfillment of the land. 489 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:18,360 He is the promise. 490 00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:19,360 He is a provision. 491 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:20,360 He is a possession. 492 00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:21,360 He is a piece. 493 00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:23,040 He is the place. 494 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:29,720 What Israel had once through land, we now have, we all have through Jesus. 495 00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:33,720 And that would have absolutely infuriated Jesus' enemies. 496 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:39,400 There is no doubt this was a big reason why Jesus was arrested and crucified in the end. 497 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:49,120 He was challenging and reinterpreting the cherished symbol of land, a symbol of national 498 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:52,360 and religious identity. 499 00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:54,600 So just to close, what does all this mean? 500 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:58,360 Let's go back to that question I asked you at the beginning. 501 00:27:58,360 --> 00:28:01,200 What is your greatest possession? 502 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:03,180 What is the thing that's most important to you? 503 00:28:03,180 --> 00:28:08,000 Maybe today, the thing you need to take away from this message, which was certainly a long 504 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:16,560 and winding message, is that things and possessions are not what is most important in your life. 505 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:21,700 Are your possessions holding you back from following Jesus? 506 00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:27,680 Would you be open to having fewer possessions if it meant you could have more of Jesus? 507 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:32,680 Maybe that's just, maybe that's the one thing some of us need to take away today. 508 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:37,400 Secondly though, maybe we need to redefine our concept of home. 509 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:38,400 You know, where do you call home? 510 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:42,320 Is it a certain address, a certain driveway, a certain lawn? 511 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:48,080 Is it a certain apartment building, a certain floor, a certain unit in that building? 512 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:52,840 None of these things are Jesus' definition of home. 513 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:55,440 Coming home for Jesus isn't pulling into a driveway. 514 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:57,800 It's gathering around Him. 515 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:03,840 And so my question is, have you come home to Jesus? 516 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:12,440 Because when we do, we realize that He is our promise, that He is our provision, that 517 00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:15,920 He is the greatest possession. 518 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:19,800 He is the one who offers us peace and rest. 519 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:22,560 He is our place. 520 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:28,320 May God help us to hear these words today, which were challenging and still are challenging. 521 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:36,640 And as we hear them, may we not run or resist them, but return to our true home and our 522 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:39,480 true rest in Jesus Christ. 523 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:40,480 Amen. 524 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:45,040 Thank you so much for joining us today, and we hope that you found this sermon something 525 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:47,600 that you will take with you all week long. 526 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:51,880 Make sure to come back again next week, and thanks again for listening. 527 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:59,160 Today's sermon was taken from the 11-15 service on January 7, 2023 at Trinity Church, Streetsville 528 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:26,400 in Mississauga, Ontario.