WEBVTT 00:00:00.940 --> 00:00:06.519 Let us pray. The grass withers and the flower 00:00:06.519 --> 00:00:09.119 fades, O God, but Your Word will stand forever. 00:00:10.099 --> 00:00:12.179 So as we hear Your Word, we pray that by the 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:14.599 power of Your Spirit we might hear Your voice. 00:00:14.619 --> 00:00:20.000 Speak to us, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Our 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:23.359 second reading is from Acts chapter 20, starting 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:26.679 with verse 17. Let us listen together now for 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:31.980 God's Word to us. From Miletus, Paul sent a message 00:00:31.980 --> 00:00:34.340 to Ephesus asking the elders of the church to 00:00:34.340 --> 00:00:37.100 meet him. When they came to him, he said to them, 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:39.820 you yourselves know how I lived among you. The 00:00:39.820 --> 00:00:42.320 entire time from the first day that I set foot 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:45.600 in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:48.700 with tears, enduring the trials that came to 00:00:48.700 --> 00:00:51.780 me through the plots of the Jews, I did not shrink 00:00:51.780 --> 00:00:54.520 from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the 00:00:54.520 --> 00:00:57.060 message to you and teaching you publicly and 00:00:57.060 --> 00:01:00.630 from house to house. as I testified to both Jews 00:01:00.630 --> 00:01:03.149 and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith 00:01:03.149 --> 00:01:06.569 toward our Lord Jesus. And now, as a captive 00:01:06.569 --> 00:01:09.930 to the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not 00:01:09.930 --> 00:01:13.129 knowing what will happen to me there. Keep watch 00:01:13.129 --> 00:01:15.989 over yourselves and over all the flock of which 00:01:15.989 --> 00:01:19.349 the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd 00:01:19.349 --> 00:01:21.450 the church of God that He obtained with the blood 00:01:21.450 --> 00:01:24.670 of His own Son. I know that after I have gone, 00:01:24.750 --> 00:01:27.170 savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing 00:01:27.170 --> 00:01:30.269 the flock. Some even from your own group will 00:01:30.269 --> 00:01:33.689 come, distorting the truth in order to entice 00:01:33.689 --> 00:01:37.269 the disciples to follow them. Therefore, be alert, 00:01:37.489 --> 00:01:40.269 remembering that for three years I did not cease 00:01:40.269 --> 00:01:43.590 night or day to warn everyone with tears. And 00:01:43.590 --> 00:01:45.549 now I commend you to God and to the message of 00:01:45.549 --> 00:01:48.409 His grace, a message that is able to build you 00:01:48.409 --> 00:01:50.469 up and to give you the inheritance among all 00:01:50.469 --> 00:01:53.670 who are sanctified. I coveted no one's silver 00:01:53.670 --> 00:01:57.310 or gold or clothing. You know yourselves that 00:01:57.310 --> 00:01:59.349 I worked with my own hands to support myself 00:01:59.349 --> 00:02:02.650 and my companions. In all this, I have given 00:02:02.650 --> 00:02:05.290 you an example that by such work we must support 00:02:05.290 --> 00:02:08.430 the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, 00:02:08.469 --> 00:02:12.009 for He Himself said, It is more blessed to give 00:02:12.009 --> 00:02:16.610 than to receive. The Word of the Lord. Thanks 00:02:16.610 --> 00:02:24.560 be to God. So today's the last of our series, 00:02:24.740 --> 00:02:26.539 summer road trip, where we have been following 00:02:26.539 --> 00:02:30.020 the travels of Paul in the book of Acts, starting 00:02:30.020 --> 00:02:33.439 with Acts chapter 13 and now through Acts chapter 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:37.460 20. He's been to Cyprus and Antioch, Iconium, 00:02:37.539 --> 00:02:40.879 Lystra, Derbe, Jerusalem for a council of the 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:43.639 church, and then Macedonia, Thessalonica, Athens, 00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:46.759 Corinth, Ephesus, Troas, Miletus, and then he 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:50.699 will go again to Jerusalem. And on these journeys, 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:52.879 he has confronted a number of challenges. He 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:55.599 had a confrontation with a magician, a fortune 00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:58.840 teller. He had to deal with the intramural dispute 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:02.099 over circumcision with other leaders of the Christian 00:03:02.099 --> 00:03:05.099 church. He's had to contend with pagan deities 00:03:05.099 --> 00:03:08.180 and the devotion and practices that surround 00:03:08.180 --> 00:03:11.080 those other deities. He's had conflicts with 00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:15.240 Jews. There have been mobs and riots. He's been 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:18.719 to prison. He has suffered beatings. There have 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:22.159 been assassination plots. And he has lived and 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:24.740 traveled and worked under the constant threat 00:03:24.740 --> 00:03:28.900 of death. After this point in the story, Acts 00:03:28.900 --> 00:03:31.879 goes on for several chapters following him as 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:34.099 he goes to Jerusalem. But there, there's another 00:03:34.099 --> 00:03:37.360 mob. He gets arrested. He stands trial. Even 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:40.199 standing trial, he proclaims the good news of 00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:43.780 the gospel. He appeals to the Roman emperor and 00:03:43.780 --> 00:03:49.520 so then has to travel to Rome. will be wrecked, 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:52.740 and they almost all perish, but he will eventually 00:03:52.740 --> 00:03:57.639 make it to Rome. In all these places, and through 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:01.439 all of these challenges, to many different people, 00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:05.039 and in response to a variety of different kinds 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:09.840 of situations and demands, Paul steadfastly proclaimed 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:14.469 the gospel. I think we should just pause and 00:04:14.469 --> 00:04:18.790 consider how remarkable a thing it is that Paul 00:04:18.790 --> 00:04:21.490 did this, that the gospel that Paul preached 00:04:21.490 --> 00:04:25.350 remained the same through all of these things. 00:04:26.350 --> 00:04:28.569 There's a song lyric I heard a while back that 00:04:28.569 --> 00:04:31.069 I love, and it's this, have you ever seen an 00:04:31.069 --> 00:04:36.310 idealist with gray hairs on his head? Time and 00:04:36.310 --> 00:04:39.009 experience, especially experiences that are difficult 00:04:39.009 --> 00:04:41.629 and challenging, they have a tendency to grind 00:04:41.629 --> 00:04:48.230 away at our ideals and even sometimes our principles. 00:04:49.089 --> 00:04:52.389 When I finished seminary, now almost 20 years 00:04:52.389 --> 00:04:55.449 ago, I had all kinds of big ideas about the church. 00:04:55.670 --> 00:04:58.569 What the church was, what the church should be. 00:04:58.649 --> 00:05:01.110 I was so full of ideas. In fact, I was full of 00:05:01.110 --> 00:05:07.259 only ideas. Ideas that needed testing. They needed 00:05:07.259 --> 00:05:12.019 proving. I'm going to need to do this a lot this 00:05:12.019 --> 00:05:15.939 morning, sorry. Ideas that needed recalibrating. 00:05:15.959 --> 00:05:25.860 Ideas that needed contact with reality. Just 00:05:25.860 --> 00:05:31.319 in time for that one. Some ideas even that needed, 00:05:31.399 --> 00:05:35.870 perhaps, My sense of the church over the course 00:05:35.870 --> 00:05:39.790 of my time in ministry has changed. It has changed 00:05:39.790 --> 00:05:43.769 in ways that it probably needed to. It has probably 00:05:43.769 --> 00:05:46.689 also changed in ways that maybe it shouldn't 00:05:46.689 --> 00:05:49.610 have. That maybe I have let go of some of those 00:05:49.610 --> 00:05:53.949 ideals, those big ideas that I should have held 00:05:53.949 --> 00:05:57.839 on to. This process of change isn't necessarily 00:05:57.839 --> 00:06:01.579 a corruption of ideals. It's a negotiation. It's 00:06:01.579 --> 00:06:04.819 a constant, ongoing negotiation as our ideals 00:06:04.819 --> 00:06:09.620 and reality come together between the world as 00:06:09.620 --> 00:06:12.339 we imagine it and the world as it really is. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:15.379 But in this kind of negotiation, in this kind 00:06:15.379 --> 00:06:17.779 of process, there is always a danger that our 00:06:17.779 --> 00:06:23.879 ideals, our principles, will give way to reality. 00:06:25.709 --> 00:06:29.050 To the possible. And that those things that we 00:06:29.050 --> 00:06:32.410 should hold on to, the things that keep us anchored, 00:06:32.550 --> 00:06:35.449 the things that keep us centered, they are gradually 00:06:35.449 --> 00:06:43.310 given up or ignored. And we drift. At so many 00:06:43.310 --> 00:06:47.290 junctures in Paul's ministry, it is easy to imagine 00:06:47.290 --> 00:06:53.269 Paul choosing to just slightly adjust. his outlook, 00:06:53.370 --> 00:06:57.750 to just slightly recalibrate his principles, 00:06:57.949 --> 00:07:04.490 compromise just a little his ideals. He gets 00:07:04.490 --> 00:07:07.129 embroiled in conflict with his fellow Christian 00:07:07.129 --> 00:07:11.569 leaders over Gentiles and the question of circumcision. 00:07:12.069 --> 00:07:15.990 I can imagine him just softening his position 00:07:15.990 --> 00:07:19.689 a little bit to keep the peace of the church. 00:07:21.959 --> 00:07:24.579 These fledgling Christian communities try to 00:07:24.579 --> 00:07:27.620 make their way when no one has done this before. 00:07:28.100 --> 00:07:30.939 He tries to help them get out of their own way 00:07:30.939 --> 00:07:33.839 and all of the problems that they bring. The 00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:37.379 Corinthians. The Galatians. I can imagine Paul 00:07:37.379 --> 00:07:41.019 being tempted to soften his position a little 00:07:41.019 --> 00:07:44.750 bit. To ease up on the whole notion of divisions 00:07:44.750 --> 00:07:47.610 within the church, that maybe divisions are okay. 00:07:47.730 --> 00:07:50.310 Maybe there are different classes of Christians, 00:07:50.410 --> 00:07:52.370 just like there are different classes of people 00:07:52.370 --> 00:07:55.970 in society. Paul works throughout his ministry 00:07:55.970 --> 00:07:59.910 to earn his own keep. He's a tent maker. It's 00:07:59.910 --> 00:08:02.029 not because the church doesn't offer to support 00:08:02.029 --> 00:08:05.850 him. It's because he refuses the offer of support. 00:08:05.930 --> 00:08:08.029 And I can imagine Paul along the way thinking, 00:08:08.149 --> 00:08:11.550 you know, my back is tired. and I want to preach 00:08:11.550 --> 00:08:16.389 the gospel, but he doesn't. He endures mobs and 00:08:16.389 --> 00:08:19.410 riots and the constant threat of death, and I 00:08:19.410 --> 00:08:22.790 can imagine Paul saying to himself, maybe I should 00:08:22.790 --> 00:08:25.730 present the gospel in a more affable way, in 00:08:25.730 --> 00:08:28.329 a way that doesn't cause people to get angry 00:08:28.329 --> 00:08:31.029 and all exercised and want to come out to the 00:08:31.029 --> 00:08:35.629 streets and throw stones. Any one of these challenges 00:08:35.629 --> 00:08:38.620 would be enough all by itself. Maybe just to 00:08:38.620 --> 00:08:42.759 nudge Paul a little bit. Just nudge him slightly 00:08:42.759 --> 00:08:46.059 off course. But you put them all together and 00:08:46.059 --> 00:08:49.120 it amounts to a kind of irresistible pressure 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:53.059 to change, to accommodate all these different 00:08:53.059 --> 00:08:59.120 challenges, to compromise, to lose his center. 00:09:00.360 --> 00:09:05.860 But he doesn't. And the reason that Paul doesn't 00:09:05.860 --> 00:09:12.250 bend or break as he proclaims the gospel is that 00:09:12.250 --> 00:09:15.710 the gospel that Paul preaches has a rock -solid 00:09:15.710 --> 00:09:20.350 core. The gospel he preaches is built around 00:09:20.350 --> 00:09:26.450 an unchanging, immovable idea. And here in Acts 00:09:26.450 --> 00:09:29.750 20, which is more or less the end of his missionary 00:09:29.750 --> 00:09:32.009 journeys, though as I said, you can't stop him 00:09:32.009 --> 00:09:34.669 from proclaiming the gospel no matter where he 00:09:34.669 --> 00:09:38.149 goes. Here at the end of his ministry, his journeys, 00:09:38.190 --> 00:09:43.470 Paul says farewell to some of the leaders of 00:09:43.470 --> 00:09:47.809 the church for two reasons. He gives them rather, 00:09:47.909 --> 00:09:50.710 he reminds them, he uses this opportunity to 00:09:50.710 --> 00:09:53.980 remind them. what the core of the gospel is, 00:09:54.259 --> 00:09:58.659 so that they can continue to preach it faithfully, 00:09:58.679 --> 00:10:02.259 but also so that they can recognize those who 00:10:02.259 --> 00:10:06.000 don't. Now, this is a question that has confronted 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:08.700 the church throughout the ages, from its very 00:10:08.700 --> 00:10:11.080 beginning. Maybe it was less of a problem when 00:10:11.080 --> 00:10:14.460 the church was truly Catholic, meaning universal. 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:18.639 This idea that there are true and false Gospels. 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:21.779 But even when the church was more or less Catholic 00:10:21.779 --> 00:10:24.740 in that universal sense, there were different 00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:28.200 ideas about Jesus and the work of salvation that 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:30.960 He brought about. There were heresies. There 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:33.759 was orthodoxy. But since the Protestant Reformation 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:38.159 500 years ago, there have been a wide variety 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:41.620 of expressions of the Christian faith. A wide 00:10:41.620 --> 00:10:46.440 variety of ways of articulating the truth of 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:49.340 the gospel. And these different expressions of 00:10:49.340 --> 00:10:52.259 the church are not just competing for adherence 00:10:52.259 --> 00:10:55.740 so that they can grow and endure, but also they 00:10:55.740 --> 00:11:00.279 are presenting competing views of the gospel. 00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:03.980 Leading the church throughout the ages to ask, 00:11:04.139 --> 00:11:08.320 what is the true gospel? And what is the false 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:12.590 gospel? So this question is as important today 00:11:12.590 --> 00:11:16.769 as it has ever been. How do we know what the 00:11:16.769 --> 00:11:20.269 true gospel is? And how can we recognize a false 00:11:20.269 --> 00:11:23.330 gospel? How can we spot what Paul calls the savage 00:11:23.330 --> 00:11:29.809 wolves who distort the truth in order to entice 00:11:29.809 --> 00:11:34.019 us to follow? And Paul's answer to this question 00:11:34.019 --> 00:11:37.720 begins with a few reminders for his leaders about 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:41.159 how he carried out his own ministry. He says 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:43.759 that he lived among the people, serving the Lord 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:46.740 with all humility and with tears and enduring 00:11:46.740 --> 00:11:50.320 trials. He says he did not shrink from doing 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:54.100 anything helpful. He did not count his life of 00:11:54.100 --> 00:11:58.679 any value to himself. He says he coveted no one's 00:11:58.679 --> 00:12:03.850 silver or gold. or clothing. He worked with his 00:12:03.850 --> 00:12:06.669 own hands to support himself and his companions. 00:12:06.909 --> 00:12:09.649 He offered an example so that those who emulate 00:12:09.649 --> 00:12:12.970 him would live in such a way that they support 00:12:12.970 --> 00:12:17.669 the weak. And then, when he boils it all down, 00:12:17.730 --> 00:12:22.909 and he quotes the words of Jesus, it is more 00:12:22.909 --> 00:12:26.909 blessed to give than to receive. Now, this is 00:12:26.909 --> 00:12:29.929 a familiar phrase, such a familiar phrase that 00:12:29.929 --> 00:12:33.919 it is, a little bit trite, but if we reflect 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:37.080 on it for a moment, we realize how profound it 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:41.039 is, how revolutionary it is. For one thing, it 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:43.779 runs completely counter to our basic human inclinations. 00:12:43.779 --> 00:12:46.940 We would rather receive than give. I think we 00:12:46.940 --> 00:12:49.659 can all admit, but it's much deeper than that. 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:53.059 It's deeper even than the shape of Paul's own 00:12:53.059 --> 00:12:57.620 selfless ministry, of God's many actions in the 00:12:57.620 --> 00:13:00.480 world. Of all the things that Scripture tells 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:03.100 us that God has done, the one that is most self 00:13:03.100 --> 00:13:05.940 -revelatory, the one that tells us the most about 00:13:05.940 --> 00:13:09.399 God's nature, the one that shows us God's character 00:13:09.399 --> 00:13:14.840 most clearly is the incarnation, Jesus taking 00:13:14.840 --> 00:13:17.700 on flesh, God coming to be among us. It is an 00:13:17.700 --> 00:13:23.179 act of sacrificial self -giving. When Jesus describes 00:13:23.179 --> 00:13:26.110 His own ministry to others, When he tells them 00:13:26.110 --> 00:13:28.710 what he is up to, he says, the Son of Man came 00:13:28.710 --> 00:13:33.289 not to be served, but to serve and to give. His 00:13:33.289 --> 00:13:37.009 life is a ransom for many. When Jesus invites 00:13:37.009 --> 00:13:39.389 people to follow him, he says, whoever wants 00:13:39.389 --> 00:13:43.190 to save their life will lose it. But whoever 00:13:43.190 --> 00:13:46.909 loses their life, whoever gives their life for 00:13:46.909 --> 00:13:51.139 my sake, will find it. And when His ministry 00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:54.179 comes to an end, when Jesus is staring death 00:13:54.179 --> 00:13:57.179 in the face, if there was ever for a time, if 00:13:57.179 --> 00:13:59.899 there was ever a time for Him to choose to receive 00:13:59.899 --> 00:14:04.399 rather than give, to receive, help, protection, 00:14:04.820 --> 00:14:07.639 rescue, power from on high, if there was ever 00:14:07.639 --> 00:14:11.720 a time for Him to receive rather than give, this 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:16.820 was it. But He gave fully all the way to the 00:14:16.820 --> 00:14:20.519 end. He gave all that he had to give because 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:25.659 giving is the heart of the gospel. And if at 00:14:25.659 --> 00:14:29.059 the last he decided that there was a limit, yes, 00:14:29.059 --> 00:14:32.039 it's extreme, but here there is a limit to what 00:14:32.039 --> 00:14:35.080 he was willing to give, then he would have undermined, 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:37.519 he would have undone, he would have erased his 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:41.080 ministry and his purpose. He would have hollowed 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:44.059 out the call that he issued to his disciples 00:14:44.059 --> 00:14:48.269 and to us. And he would have contradicted the 00:14:48.269 --> 00:14:52.590 very heart of God. You see, it is more blessed 00:14:52.590 --> 00:14:55.289 to give than to receive is not a cute message 00:14:55.289 --> 00:14:58.750 for a Hallmark card. And it is certainly not 00:14:58.750 --> 00:15:03.610 a fundraising slogan. It is the key that unlocks 00:15:03.610 --> 00:15:08.070 the gospel. It is the acid test that helps us 00:15:08.070 --> 00:15:12.450 to know the real thing when we see it. And helps 00:15:12.450 --> 00:15:15.850 us to see the cheap imitators. for what they 00:15:15.850 --> 00:15:20.149 are. It's the true north in our journey toward 00:15:20.149 --> 00:15:23.629 truth and goodness and beauty and faithfulness. 00:15:23.710 --> 00:15:27.070 It is who God is, and it is how God is, and it 00:15:27.070 --> 00:15:33.090 is how Jesus has called us to live. There's a 00:15:33.090 --> 00:15:35.950 story told of a rabbi in a little Russian village. 00:15:36.070 --> 00:15:39.269 There were fantastic rumors told about this rabbi. 00:15:39.870 --> 00:15:45.299 During each morning of the high holidays, was 00:15:45.299 --> 00:15:48.019 nowhere to be found, and his followers took to 00:15:48.019 --> 00:15:52.179 claiming that he was, every morning, ascending 00:15:52.179 --> 00:15:56.539 to heaven to be with God. But there was a skeptic 00:15:56.539 --> 00:15:59.940 in this town who didn't believe the hype, and 00:15:59.940 --> 00:16:02.639 he decided to put an end to this silly story 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:05.580 about a rabbi ascending into heaven, so he took 00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:10.080 it upon himself to investigate. The skeptic sneaked 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:13.950 into the rabbi's home. and hid under his bed 00:16:13.950 --> 00:16:18.350 one evening. And by morning, when the rabbi woke, 00:16:18.470 --> 00:16:20.809 this was the time that he was supposedly supposed 00:16:20.809 --> 00:16:25.049 to ascend to heaven, the rabbi gets up, recites 00:16:25.049 --> 00:16:28.210 his morning prayers, and then he goes to his 00:16:28.210 --> 00:16:31.190 closet. He takes out an old jacket, worn trousers 00:16:31.190 --> 00:16:34.809 and boots, and puts them on. Then he took an 00:16:34.809 --> 00:16:37.970 axe and an old sack from the closet. He looked 00:16:37.970 --> 00:16:40.970 like a woodcutter. about to set out for the forest. 00:16:41.230 --> 00:16:44.309 The rabbi left the house, and the skeptic followed 00:16:44.309 --> 00:16:46.909 him at a safe distance. Eventually, they came 00:16:46.909 --> 00:16:49.950 to the forest at the edge of town, where the 00:16:49.950 --> 00:16:52.730 rabbi gathered some wood, chopped it, filled 00:16:52.730 --> 00:16:56.309 his sack, and then he walked deeper into the 00:16:56.309 --> 00:17:01.009 forest. And the skeptic followed. The rabbi came 00:17:01.009 --> 00:17:04.930 to a small house. He knocked, and the weak voice 00:17:04.930 --> 00:17:07.349 of an old woman could be heard behind the door 00:17:07.349 --> 00:17:11.599 saying, Who is it? It's the woodcutter, answered 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:15.099 the rabbi. Oh yes, said the voice, but I can't 00:17:15.099 --> 00:17:18.240 get out of bed. Never mind, said the rabbi, I'll 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:21.539 bring the wood in. Could you light the fire too, 00:17:21.779 --> 00:17:25.740 the voice asked. I suppose, answered the rabbi. 00:17:26.019 --> 00:17:29.019 And the skeptic saw him light a fire and heard 00:17:29.019 --> 00:17:33.000 him recite the morning prayers. The rabbi left 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:34.980 the forest, left his woodcutter's clothes at 00:17:34.980 --> 00:17:37.680 home, and went about the normal activities of 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:42.029 the day. Then an amazing thing happened. The 00:17:42.029 --> 00:17:45.150 skeptic showed up at the synagogue for worship. 00:17:45.569 --> 00:17:50.029 He joined the congregation. Whenever anyone would 00:17:50.029 --> 00:17:53.009 tell the story of the rabbi ascending to heaven, 00:17:53.069 --> 00:17:57.289 the skeptic no longer laughed. He would add quietly, 00:17:57.569 --> 00:18:06.220 yes, if not, even higher. As complicated As religion 00:18:06.220 --> 00:18:10.859 gets, and it gets complicated, it tends to remain 00:18:10.859 --> 00:18:14.680 very simple at its core. This is the reason for 00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:17.299 the enduring beauty of the words from the prophet 00:18:17.299 --> 00:18:20.859 Micah that we heard before. What does God want? 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:25.079 What sort of religion is pleasing to God? What 00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:29.099 sacrifice, or if you like, what doctrine, what 00:18:29.099 --> 00:18:33.769 denomination, what gospel? God has told you what 00:18:33.769 --> 00:18:36.289 is good, and what does the Lord require of you 00:18:36.289 --> 00:18:39.670 but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk 00:18:39.670 --> 00:18:44.970 humbly with your God? This is, in fact, the heart 00:18:44.970 --> 00:18:51.910 of the gospel, self -giving love, love of God, 00:18:52.089 --> 00:18:56.130 love of neighbor, expressed through a humble 00:18:56.130 --> 00:19:01.859 willingness to give of ourselves. And this gospel 00:19:01.859 --> 00:19:08.079 can be found in many forms, in many places, many 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:13.960 expressions, Christian or otherwise. And anyone 00:19:13.960 --> 00:19:16.960 who claims otherwise, anyone who claims to be 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:22.640 in sole possession of the true gospel is, as 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:28.099 Paul says, distorting the truth. So which is 00:19:28.099 --> 00:19:31.750 the true gospel today? Is it the gospel of the 00:19:31.750 --> 00:19:34.529 American church or is it the gospel of the church 00:19:34.529 --> 00:19:36.769 in the parts of the world that are growing the 00:19:36.769 --> 00:19:40.650 fastest? Which one's the true gospel? Is it the 00:19:40.650 --> 00:19:43.630 gospel of the evangelical church or is it the 00:19:43.630 --> 00:19:46.430 gospel of the mainline church? Which one is the 00:19:46.430 --> 00:19:50.190 true gospel? Is it the gospel of the conservative 00:19:50.190 --> 00:19:52.930 church or is it the gospel of the progressive 00:19:52.930 --> 00:19:57.650 church? Is it the gospel of the mega church or 00:19:57.650 --> 00:20:02.150 the gospel of the small church? None of the above. 00:20:03.450 --> 00:20:09.309 And all of the above. And more. Because at the 00:20:09.309 --> 00:20:11.349 end of the day, the gospel is not the possession 00:20:11.349 --> 00:20:17.549 of any one tradition, any one theology, even 00:20:17.549 --> 00:20:21.750 any one religion. The gospel is found wherever 00:20:21.750 --> 00:20:28.150 people live lives of self -giving love, wherever 00:20:28.150 --> 00:20:33.529 people embody The truth that it is more blessed 00:20:33.529 --> 00:20:39.029 to give than to receive. So may the gospel be 00:20:39.029 --> 00:20:45.130 found here. May the gospel be found in us. May 00:20:45.130 --> 00:20:55.279 it work through us. Let us pray. God, remind 00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:58.339 us that it is more blessed to give than to receive. 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:01.000 Remind us of that again and again because we 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:05.200 want to receive. We're not so interested all 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:09.160 the time in giving. But remind us that in giving 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:11.160 of ourselves, we give expression to something 00:21:11.160 --> 00:21:13.960 much greater than ourselves, you and your love 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:16.539 that has been poured out on this world, the very 00:21:16.539 --> 00:21:21.019 good news of your gospel. May we bear living 00:21:21.019 --> 00:21:24.670 witness. to that gospel. In Jesus' name we pray. 00:21:24.970 --> 00:21:25.450 Amen.