WEBVTT 00:00:09.419 --> 00:00:14.300 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.300 --> 00:00:16.579 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand 00:00:16.579 --> 00:00:19.800 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.100 --> 00:00:23.000 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:27.199 you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:31.039 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:35.850 by this week's sermon. Today and this week as 00:00:35.850 --> 00:00:38.770 we look at World Refugee Day and week is an opportunity 00:00:38.770 --> 00:00:42.609 for us to ask God, what are you saying to me? 00:00:43.270 --> 00:00:47.609 And so the title of today is when justice becomes 00:00:47.609 --> 00:00:50.429 worship because those things are intricately 00:00:50.429 --> 00:00:53.200 combined. And the hope is that we would move 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:55.320 from people who are just proximate to something 00:00:55.320 --> 00:00:57.759 that we see, and that we'd actually move into 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:00.380 participation with the community that's around 00:01:00.380 --> 00:01:03.619 us. And so we'll look at Ezekiel chapter 3, Isaiah 00:01:03.619 --> 00:01:07.980 58, and Matthew chapter 25. But first, good morning. 00:01:13.099 --> 00:01:17.640 It's been a long, long week. And to come into 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:21.239 this space on Sunday for some of us is potentially 00:01:21.239 --> 00:01:26.739 one of the only safe places that we have to be 00:01:26.739 --> 00:01:29.840 throughout the course of the week. And so welcome 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:34.359 to our refugee brothers and sisters. Welcome 00:01:34.359 --> 00:01:37.239 to those who have faced uncertainty this week 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:41.060 at multiple different levels of life. And welcome 00:01:41.060 --> 00:01:45.239 to you who might feel like, that's not me. You're 00:01:45.239 --> 00:01:47.519 not on the outside, you're part of that. And 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:50.439 so this is a moment where the global church is 00:01:50.439 --> 00:01:56.340 invited to stop, to pray, and then to act. And 00:01:56.340 --> 00:02:00.799 I like that it starts with stop, leads to prayer, 00:02:00.980 --> 00:02:07.540 and then into action. There are over 114 million 00:02:07.540 --> 00:02:11.770 people displaced worldwide. And if you watched 00:02:11.770 --> 00:02:14.169 the news in the last week, you know that that 00:02:14.169 --> 00:02:16.330 number only continues to grow. And amidst that 00:02:16.330 --> 00:02:20.150 number, over 35 million are refugees. And like 00:02:20.150 --> 00:02:23.449 I said, that number is growing daily. And right 00:02:23.449 --> 00:02:27.270 here in Bangkok, there are urban refugees that 00:02:27.270 --> 00:02:29.509 are part of our city, part of our neighborhoods, 00:02:29.610 --> 00:02:31.629 part of our schools, part of our church. You 00:02:31.629 --> 00:02:33.629 pass them walking up the stairs. They're helping 00:02:33.629 --> 00:02:35.830 mentor and disciple our students. They're playing 00:02:35.830 --> 00:02:38.650 instruments on the stage. Some of them are your 00:02:38.650 --> 00:02:44.449 neighbors. We are it. Some are awaiting resettlement, 00:02:44.569 --> 00:02:48.030 some are appealing denied claims, others have 00:02:48.030 --> 00:02:51.009 lived here for over a decade, and they're waiting 00:02:51.009 --> 00:02:53.830 for private sponsorship after exhausting every 00:02:53.830 --> 00:02:58.530 possible legal path they could. But let me say 00:02:58.530 --> 00:03:02.069 this clearly to us today. This is not a message 00:03:02.069 --> 00:03:05.789 for them, it's a message for all of us. This 00:03:05.789 --> 00:03:08.370 isn't an us and them, this is a we, this is an 00:03:08.370 --> 00:03:11.879 us thing. For those with much to give, this is 00:03:11.879 --> 00:03:14.379 a message for you. For those who are already 00:03:14.379 --> 00:03:17.099 going and serving, this is a message for you. 00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:20.419 For those who are experiencing injustice, this 00:03:20.419 --> 00:03:24.979 is a message for you. For those unsure or why 00:03:24.979 --> 00:03:28.919 they should respond, this is a message for you. 00:03:30.099 --> 00:03:33.580 We're all sinners. Let's start there. We are 00:03:33.580 --> 00:03:38.199 all sinners saved by grace and we follow a savior. 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:44.439 A Savior who deserved justice, but received the 00:03:44.439 --> 00:03:50.020 cross so that we, so that the world might live. 00:03:50.889 --> 00:03:54.210 And so this is a message of invitation. It's 00:03:54.210 --> 00:03:57.310 a message of conviction. It's a message of grace. 00:03:57.610 --> 00:04:00.550 And so today we'll hear scripture. We'll reflect 00:04:00.550 --> 00:04:03.330 on the suffering Christ. We've already seen a 00:04:03.330 --> 00:04:05.530 short video from one of our sisters. And we'll 00:04:05.530 --> 00:04:09.270 be invited to consider what our role in the work 00:04:09.270 --> 00:04:14.360 of justice is. When you head out or maybe when 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:16.839 you came in this morning, you walked past a table 00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:18.839 where they were selling samosas and they were 00:04:18.839 --> 00:04:21.040 selling handbags and there's an opportunity to 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:23.120 scan a QR code to see if you wanted to be part 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:25.100 of a team that went and visited those who are 00:04:25.100 --> 00:04:27.480 in the detention centers. So we're highlighting 00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:30.399 our partner Life Raft as well, but we're also 00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:32.639 inviting you to potentially consider joining 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:35.240 being part of a team that visits refugees and 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:40.839 those in detention. So Lord, We want to hear 00:04:40.839 --> 00:04:43.959 you, we want to see you, and we want to respond 00:04:43.959 --> 00:04:48.560 to you. Thank you, Holy Spirit, that you lead 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:50.920 us to truth. And so as we jump into different 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:53.319 portions of Scripture, Holy Spirit, would you 00:04:53.319 --> 00:04:57.060 help all of that make sense to each of the individuals 00:04:57.060 --> 00:04:59.000 that are here? Those who would say, I don't even 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:02.319 know Jesus, but somebody invited me. Help your 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:04.660 word get into a part of their mind and heart. 00:05:05.069 --> 00:05:06.889 that maybe they've never allowed your word to 00:05:06.889 --> 00:05:09.470 go. Those of us who know you, who have heard 00:05:09.470 --> 00:05:11.949 you, but have distanced ourselves from the idea 00:05:11.949 --> 00:05:14.290 of justice and have let it be somebody else's, 00:05:14.290 --> 00:05:17.290 Lord, would you lead us closer to responding 00:05:17.290 --> 00:05:22.269 in a way that honors you, we pray. Amen. All 00:05:22.269 --> 00:05:26.970 right. So there's this guy named Ezekiel. And 00:05:26.970 --> 00:05:31.069 he's a priest that has turned into a prophet. 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:35.519 And he's writing during one of the darkest chapters 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:41.439 of Israel's history. It's about 597 BC, and he's 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:44.939 been taken into exile in Babylon, along with 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:49.500 about 10 ,000 other people, nobles, artisans, 00:05:49.500 --> 00:05:54.839 leaders. And they've left behind a nation that 00:05:54.839 --> 00:06:01.550 is in spiritual and political ruin. from a place 00:06:01.550 --> 00:06:05.389 of privilege, but from a place of pain, from 00:06:05.389 --> 00:06:09.629 a place of displacement. And he's living in a 00:06:09.629 --> 00:06:12.889 refugee -type camp of sorts near to the Kibar 00:06:12.889 --> 00:06:17.029 River in Babylon, and he's surrounded by disillusioned, 00:06:17.029 --> 00:06:20.829 by traumatized people who had lost their land, 00:06:21.050 --> 00:06:23.949 they'd lost their temple or their church, and 00:06:23.949 --> 00:06:28.439 they had lost their hope. And Ezekiel here says, 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:33.040 and I sat where they sat for seven days overwhelmed. 00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:39.160 And so God calls Ezekiel the prophet from not 00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:44.819 a pulpit, but from the dirt of exile. And what's 00:06:44.819 --> 00:06:49.199 his first assignment? His first assignment is 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:58.839 not to speak, not to act, but to sit. I sat where 00:06:58.839 --> 00:07:05.339 they sat for seven days, overwhelmed. In Hebrew, 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:07.939 the word shemem is used and it's translated as 00:07:07.939 --> 00:07:11.910 overwhelmed or astonished. Have you ever? Being 00:07:11.910 --> 00:07:14.470 in an environment or in a place where you sit 00:07:14.470 --> 00:07:18.029 and you are, it can also mean desolate, to feel 00:07:18.029 --> 00:07:21.649 desolate, to be laid waste, to be stunned into 00:07:21.649 --> 00:07:24.529 silence. Have you ever been in a moment where 00:07:24.529 --> 00:07:26.670 you've seen, heard, or experienced something 00:07:26.670 --> 00:07:32.730 that made you stunned into silence? It's not 00:07:32.730 --> 00:07:37.709 a polite emotion. It's the wreckage of compassion. 00:07:38.779 --> 00:07:42.379 And so Ezekiel literally sits in their suffering 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:48.480 until it breaks him. And I think this has deep 00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:53.560 relevance for us. So today, as we reflect on 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:57.040 refugees and injustice, some of us might feel 00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:01.360 the impulse to just do something big or fix something 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:07.180 fast. But Ezekiel reminds us. Before you speak, 00:08:07.300 --> 00:08:11.060 before we speak, before I speak to a hurting 00:08:11.060 --> 00:08:16.360 world, you have to sit in it. Before you claim 00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:20.740 to understand, you must first be willing to be 00:08:20.740 --> 00:08:27.000 undone. And that is where justice begins. Not 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:30.939 from a distance, somebody else's responsibility. 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:38.240 but from sitting in somebody else's pain. And 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:42.840 so we continue reading Isaiah, which it wrote 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:46.960 about 100, 150 years prior to this. And Isaiah 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:51.779 writes, is not this the kind of fasting I have 00:08:51.779 --> 00:08:54.899 chosen? to loose the chains of injustice, to 00:08:54.899 --> 00:08:57.659 set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 00:08:57.679 --> 00:09:00.139 Is it not to share your food with the hungry 00:09:00.139 --> 00:09:03.679 and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter? 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:08.399 And so Isaiah here is a prophet during a time 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:12.759 of spiritual showmanship and social injustice. 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:19.389 What? Spiritual... Showmanship and social injustice, 00:09:19.730 --> 00:09:22.409 looking like everything's good on the outside, 00:09:22.509 --> 00:09:25.110 but what's actually going behind scenes is not 00:09:25.110 --> 00:09:30.690 okay. And so these people are religiously active, 00:09:30.870 --> 00:09:35.570 but they're spiritually disconnected. Religiously 00:09:35.570 --> 00:09:40.190 active, but spiritually disconnected. See, they 00:09:40.190 --> 00:09:43.850 had returned from exile and the churches reopened 00:09:43.850 --> 00:09:47.250 or the temple rituals had resumed. The fasting 00:09:47.250 --> 00:09:51.269 had resumed. The prayers had resumed. And as 00:09:51.269 --> 00:09:54.429 all of these good outward things are resuming, 00:09:54.470 --> 00:09:59.429 oppression was on the rise. Neglect of the poor 00:09:59.429 --> 00:10:02.210 was on the rise. And corruption in the workplace 00:10:02.210 --> 00:10:05.450 and even within the temple was on the rise. And 00:10:05.450 --> 00:10:08.269 so these people were outwardly faithful. Everything 00:10:08.269 --> 00:10:11.870 looked good and polished out here, but they were 00:10:11.870 --> 00:10:15.870 inwardly fractured. They sought God in worship, 00:10:15.970 --> 00:10:21.289 but they ignored him in the street. And God calls 00:10:21.289 --> 00:10:25.809 it out. Isaiah 58 reads a bit like a courtroom 00:10:25.809 --> 00:10:28.929 scene. God comes and he brings an indictment 00:10:28.929 --> 00:10:31.070 against his people, and he doesn't just say, 00:10:31.110 --> 00:10:35.509 stop fasting. He says, you've misunderstood what 00:10:35.509 --> 00:10:41.399 it's for. He said, is not this kind of fasting 00:10:41.399 --> 00:10:44.379 I have chosen to loose the chains of injustice, 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:47.259 to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 00:10:47.299 --> 00:10:50.960 Is it not to share? Is it not to share your food 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:54.559 with the hungry and to provide poor wanderer 00:10:54.559 --> 00:10:57.919 with shelter? And so this idea of fasting in 00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:00.720 this moment comes from this idea of abstaining 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:03.720 from food. But Isaiah is not using it here like 00:11:03.720 --> 00:11:08.019 as a don't eat food. It's symbolic. It's a bit 00:11:08.019 --> 00:11:10.779 of an abstract thought. Because what God is essentially 00:11:10.779 --> 00:11:13.360 saying here is you think that you're getting 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:17.440 my attention by skipping a meal. But I don't 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:20.980 want you to skip a meal. I want you to skip apathy. 00:11:22.059 --> 00:11:26.080 And so true worship, God says, must be integrated. 00:11:26.379 --> 00:11:29.779 What happens in the temple, in the church, should 00:11:29.779 --> 00:11:32.240 shape how we treat our neighbor. What happens 00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:35.039 in the temple should shape how we treat our neighbor. 00:11:35.259 --> 00:11:40.950 I want you to skip apathy. Tim Keller, an American 00:11:40.950 --> 00:11:43.789 minister who writes extensively on this idea 00:11:43.789 --> 00:11:47.029 of social justice, reflecting on what this might 00:11:47.029 --> 00:11:50.009 look like in Isaiah's time, paraphrases Isaiah 00:11:50.009 --> 00:11:53.809 as this. If you don't have a relationship, if 00:11:53.809 --> 00:11:55.809 you don't have a relationship with the poor and 00:11:55.809 --> 00:11:57.590 oppressed, then you don't have a relationship 00:11:57.590 --> 00:12:03.610 with Jesus. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, World War II. 00:12:04.470 --> 00:12:08.379 You may have read... His text, The Cost of Discipleship, 00:12:08.379 --> 00:12:11.179 he's lamenting what's taking place in the church 00:12:11.179 --> 00:12:14.120 at this time as Jews are being dragged off to 00:12:14.120 --> 00:12:16.620 concentration camps and are being murdered. And 00:12:16.620 --> 00:12:19.580 he says, only those who cry out for the oppressed 00:12:19.580 --> 00:12:23.320 are permitted to sing. So why are people who 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:27.500 are singing these worship songs to God not equally... 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:31.720 praying out and calling out for God to release 00:12:31.720 --> 00:12:34.539 the oppressed. And so what he's essentially saying 00:12:34.539 --> 00:12:37.919 here is, if you're not crying out for the oppressed, 00:12:37.960 --> 00:12:40.120 then you shouldn't be singing worship songs. 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:44.440 Which makes me think, would we have a quiet church? 00:12:47.740 --> 00:12:52.059 And so, here's where it hits me today. Here's 00:12:52.059 --> 00:12:56.700 where it hits us today. We're, I'll just say 00:12:56.700 --> 00:12:58.519 me. because I don't want anyone to throw something. 00:12:58.659 --> 00:13:03.899 I am prone. I am prone to lift my hands in worship, 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:07.899 but sometimes I pass, or I might even scroll 00:13:07.899 --> 00:13:13.379 past suffering. I sing songs of injustice, but 00:13:13.379 --> 00:13:15.460 sometimes I don't even make room for the stranger. 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:20.659 Sometimes I fast my screen, or I fast a meal, 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:23.399 but maybe what I need to be fasting is greed 00:13:23.399 --> 00:13:28.299 or busyness. And for me, and for you, for we, 00:13:28.440 --> 00:13:32.039 God's rebuke in this moment isn't to shame us. 00:13:32.220 --> 00:13:35.080 It's actually an opportunity to recalibrate what's 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:39.019 happening in us. Because Isaiah 58 ends not in 00:13:39.019 --> 00:13:41.759 condemnation, but with a promise. As they begin 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:45.600 to wake up to their apathy, he says, if you pour 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:48.440 out yourself for the hungry and satisfy, he continues, 00:13:48.779 --> 00:13:51.899 then your light will rise in the darkness. The 00:13:51.899 --> 00:13:54.559 Lord will guide you always, and you will be like 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:58.139 a well. watered garden, if you pour yourself 00:13:58.139 --> 00:14:03.500 out. And so justice isn't about disobedience. 00:14:03.500 --> 00:14:06.379 It's actually about how we get our soul back. 00:14:07.139 --> 00:14:10.000 Justice isn't about our obedience. It's about 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:13.179 how we get our soul back. It's about alignment. 00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:19.220 And so this is the kind of integrity that Jesus 00:14:19.220 --> 00:14:22.379 will affirm and then he begins to confront in 00:14:22.379 --> 00:14:26.639 Matthew chapter 25. And so let's read it together. 00:15:01.320 --> 00:15:06.379 So let's step into the scene for a moment. This 00:15:06.379 --> 00:15:08.679 is coming at the end of Jesus' public ministry. 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:12.320 So this is pre -Easter, just before he's arrested. 00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:15.679 And he's hanging out with his disciples, speaking 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:21.220 privately to them. And he launches into this 00:15:21.220 --> 00:15:24.320 discourse days before the cross, where he begins 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:27.279 to teach about the end times. He begins to teach 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:30.399 about judgment. and what kind of life matters 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:33.500 in the kingdom of God. And then he tells them 00:15:33.500 --> 00:15:36.299 this stunning parable. So a parable is like a 00:15:36.299 --> 00:15:38.419 teaching that helps reveal a deeper spiritual 00:15:38.419 --> 00:15:42.039 reality. So he has this final teaching moment 00:15:42.039 --> 00:15:45.360 to begin to describe how God will judge the nations. 00:15:46.059 --> 00:15:50.100 And what's shocking is it's not based on religious 00:15:50.100 --> 00:15:54.559 status. His judgment is not based on doctrinal 00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:58.690 correctedness. It's not even on miracles or achievements. 00:16:00.610 --> 00:16:06.690 The criteria is, did you feed me when I was hungry? 00:16:09.110 --> 00:16:14.610 Did you give me something to drink? Did you welcome 00:16:14.610 --> 00:16:22.350 me when I was a stranger? Did you visit me when 00:16:22.350 --> 00:16:28.019 I was in prison? And here's the surprise. Both 00:16:28.019 --> 00:16:31.840 groups, the righteous and those who had turned 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:38.200 away, are like confused. And Jesus answers, whatever 00:16:38.200 --> 00:16:42.240 you did for one of the least of these brothers 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:48.139 and sisters of mine, you did for me. And if we 00:16:48.139 --> 00:16:55.419 pause on that phrase, the least of these, It 00:16:55.419 --> 00:17:00.279 might rise a question in our hearts. See, this 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:03.340 idea of least of these in Greek means the smallest, 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:08.519 the lowliest, the overlooked. This isn't just 00:17:08.519 --> 00:17:14.160 economically poor, but the socially invisible. 00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:19.839 The ones that culture often passes over for any 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:25.170 number of reasons. And notice that Jesus doesn't 00:17:25.170 --> 00:17:33.750 say, they reminded me of me. He says, that was 00:17:33.750 --> 00:17:41.069 me. And so Jesus fully identifies with the vulnerable. 00:17:41.309 --> 00:17:45.609 He places himself in their place. And I think 00:17:45.609 --> 00:17:50.250 this should reshape how we see the world. Because 00:17:50.250 --> 00:17:53.430 it means that the people we're most likely to 00:17:53.430 --> 00:17:58.910 ignore are often the places that Jesus is most 00:17:58.910 --> 00:18:04.609 powerfully present. The places that we most likely 00:18:04.609 --> 00:18:08.190 ignore are often the places that Jesus is most 00:18:08.190 --> 00:18:11.769 powerfully present. And so when we watch the 00:18:11.769 --> 00:18:14.009 video of our refugee sister today, who spent 00:18:14.009 --> 00:18:18.410 months in an immigration center in... we're not 00:18:18.410 --> 00:18:22.809 just hearing about her story. We're actually 00:18:22.809 --> 00:18:28.309 encountering Christ in her story. We're not just 00:18:28.309 --> 00:18:31.990 hearing about her story. We're actually encountering 00:18:31.990 --> 00:18:36.130 Christ in her story. And if we tune that out, 00:18:36.329 --> 00:18:41.869 not just emotionally, but spiritually, Jesus' 00:18:42.069 --> 00:18:47.960 warning is really clear. And so this passage 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:53.299 is not just about humanitarian action. It's actually 00:18:53.299 --> 00:18:57.920 about spiritual perception. Spiritual perception 00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:01.420 moves us to humanitarian action, but this passage 00:19:01.420 --> 00:19:04.440 is not about humanitarian action. It's about 00:19:04.440 --> 00:19:07.559 spiritual perception to perceive how you see 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:10.200 something. It's about whether or not that we've 00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:14.839 actually really allowed grace to truly rewire 00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:19.700 how we see others and ultimately how we let grace 00:19:19.700 --> 00:19:27.450 rewire how we see him. So Jesus didn't only identify 00:19:27.450 --> 00:19:32.710 with the poor and the vulnerable. The God of 00:19:32.710 --> 00:19:39.910 the universe became one. It's different, right? 00:19:40.089 --> 00:19:43.269 I can identify with. He didn't just identify 00:19:43.269 --> 00:19:47.089 with the poor. He became one. And that's where 00:19:47.089 --> 00:19:52.430 we go next. Jesus didn't just die for us. He 00:19:52.430 --> 00:19:57.480 died with us. And so, again, just pause for a 00:19:57.480 --> 00:20:00.000 moment and take a look at Jesus, not just as 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:05.359 Savior, but as the suffering servant. So sometimes, 00:20:05.640 --> 00:20:09.349 if you're like me, We talk about Jesus or we 00:20:09.349 --> 00:20:12.049 think about Jesus as though he arrived on earth 00:20:12.049 --> 00:20:15.670 in a clean white robe and he never got his hands 00:20:15.670 --> 00:20:18.269 dirty. When I was growing up, I saw pictures 00:20:18.269 --> 00:20:22.009 of Swedish Jesus, blonde hair, blue eyes, robe 00:20:22.009 --> 00:20:25.349 kind of flowing. And then when he talks in movies, 00:20:25.470 --> 00:20:28.130 it was in a way that nobody ever talked, but 00:20:28.130 --> 00:20:30.029 it was Jesus. So that must have been how he would 00:20:30.029 --> 00:20:36.390 talk. But the incarnation, meaning Jesus, God 00:20:36.390 --> 00:20:40.950 in flesh, incarnation, is far messier and far 00:20:40.950 --> 00:20:45.029 more profound than Swedish Jesus. Think about 00:20:45.029 --> 00:20:49.710 it. Jesus was born in poverty, not in a palace, 00:20:49.930 --> 00:20:54.589 but in a feeding trough. He became a refugee 00:20:54.589 --> 00:20:58.089 in Egypt. He was fleeing state violence under 00:20:58.089 --> 00:21:01.430 King Herod. He was homeless during his public 00:21:01.430 --> 00:21:05.809 ministry. And he said the son of man has no place 00:21:05.809 --> 00:21:13.650 to lay his head. He was betrayed. He was unjustly 00:21:13.650 --> 00:21:18.029 accused. He was tortured by the state. And he 00:21:18.029 --> 00:21:25.410 was executed alongside criminals. And all of 00:21:25.410 --> 00:21:30.670 this, all of this was done. Not because he lacked 00:21:30.670 --> 00:21:35.029 power, but because he refused to save himself 00:21:35.029 --> 00:21:42.289 in order to save us. The king of glory emptied 00:21:42.289 --> 00:21:48.109 himself not just to serve, but to suffer. And 00:21:48.109 --> 00:21:52.630 so God doesn't just care about the poor. He became 00:21:52.630 --> 00:21:58.160 poor. And this is the scandal, the upside down 00:21:58.160 --> 00:22:01.140 nature, the like, what? That really can happen? 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:05.819 That God didn't just say from above, this cosmic 00:22:05.819 --> 00:22:08.880 genie staying out of the mess, and oh, look at 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:11.180 those people just messing things up, and maybe 00:22:11.180 --> 00:22:13.400 I'll sprinkle a little bit of this there, do 00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:16.420 something. No, no, no, no. He stepped under the 00:22:16.420 --> 00:22:20.410 weight of human pain. And so to follow Jesus 00:22:20.410 --> 00:22:23.650 is not only to worship the risen Christ, it's 00:22:23.650 --> 00:22:27.109 actually to walk the road of the crucified one. 00:22:27.250 --> 00:22:29.890 It means that we don't just acknowledge suffering 00:22:29.890 --> 00:22:33.109 from afar and abdicate responsibility to somebody 00:22:33.109 --> 00:22:35.670 else or just say, I've given my money and that's 00:22:35.670 --> 00:22:40.910 enough. It means that we choose, in love, to 00:22:40.910 --> 00:22:55.920 get close. So it means something incredibly personal. 00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:03.660 If you're hurting, if you've forgotten, if you 00:23:03.660 --> 00:23:07.619 feel rejected, or if you feel treated unjustly, 00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:15.799 know this. Jesus has been there. He stands with 00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:21.960 you, and he bears it with you. And he invites 00:23:21.960 --> 00:23:25.579 all of us. whether we're on the mountaintop or 00:23:25.579 --> 00:23:29.000 whether in the valley of life, to meet him in 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:37.319 the margins. So what does this mean for our worship, 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:41.720 which is how we give ourselves to God? We turn 00:23:41.720 --> 00:23:46.900 back to Isaiah 58. If you spend yourself on behalf 00:23:46.900 --> 00:23:52.019 of the hungry. We earlier heard about God's rebuke. 00:23:52.460 --> 00:23:54.400 of this performative faith looks good on the 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:57.019 outside, but what's really going on. But what's 00:23:57.019 --> 00:23:59.539 neat is that chapter doesn't end in confrontation. 00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:02.200 If you read it, it's kind of cool. It turns into 00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:05.900 this most hope -filled vision of worship and 00:24:05.900 --> 00:24:09.279 justice in all of scripture. God says, if you 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:11.660 spend yourself on behalf of the hungry and satisfy 00:24:11.660 --> 00:24:14.240 the needs of the oppressed, you will become. 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:17.460 And this idea of becoming, it means to give something, 00:24:17.640 --> 00:24:20.619 but to give your breath, to give your soul, to 00:24:20.619 --> 00:24:23.559 give yourself, to satisfy the needs. If you spend 00:24:23.559 --> 00:24:26.099 yourself, if you give your breath, your soul, 00:24:26.279 --> 00:24:31.589 yourself, not just something. Because he's not 00:24:31.589 --> 00:24:34.789 asking for shallow gestures. He's calling us 00:24:34.789 --> 00:24:38.829 to a life of, get this, integrated worship, where 00:24:38.829 --> 00:24:42.309 what happens in our hearts flows out into the 00:24:42.309 --> 00:24:44.990 streets, the spaces that go beyond this. Where 00:24:44.990 --> 00:24:47.690 worship isn't just what happens in a church building, 00:24:47.849 --> 00:24:51.930 it's how we respond to the image of God in the 00:24:51.930 --> 00:24:55.269 streets, to my neighbor, to the person behind 00:24:55.269 --> 00:24:58.170 me, to the person in front of me, to the person 00:24:58.170 --> 00:25:01.839 beside me. And here's what's radical about it. 00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:04.940 Justice isn't when you worship. Justice isn't 00:25:04.940 --> 00:25:08.380 a detour from discipleship. It's actually a sign 00:25:08.380 --> 00:25:11.019 that you're on the right road. Or in other words, 00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:13.940 justice is not the alternative to worship. It's 00:25:13.940 --> 00:25:17.279 actually the fruit of worship. Justice is not 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:19.819 the alternative to worship. It's the fruit. So 00:25:19.819 --> 00:25:23.039 we're not called to balance worship and justice. 00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:28.079 We're called to embody both because they're inseparable 00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:32.980 in the kingdom of God. So Isaiah continues and 00:25:32.980 --> 00:25:36.680 God promises, then your light will rise in the 00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:39.940 darkness. The Lord will guide you always. You 00:25:39.940 --> 00:25:43.160 will be like a well -watered garden. And this 00:25:43.160 --> 00:25:46.390 isn't a punishment. This is an invitation. God 00:25:46.390 --> 00:25:50.250 is saying, come and experience my presence, not 00:25:50.250 --> 00:25:54.390 just in song, but in sacrifice, not just in silence, 00:25:54.529 --> 00:26:00.099 but in solidarity. And so hear me. We don't do 00:26:00.099 --> 00:26:03.559 justice to earn salvation. We do justice because 00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:06.940 salvation has already transformed us. And it's 00:26:06.940 --> 00:26:09.400 the outflow of this, the outflow of salvation, 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:12.859 acknowledging Christ our risen Savior has died 00:26:12.859 --> 00:26:15.839 for my sin, for your sin. The outflow of this 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:19.039 is worship. And the outflow of worship is justice 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:21.220 because they're inseparable in the kingdom of 00:26:21.220 --> 00:26:29.660 God. And so we go back to Ezekiel. where we left 00:26:29.660 --> 00:26:33.420 him off sitting and feeling overwhelmed by what 00:26:33.420 --> 00:26:36.509 was going on. And we discover there's a bit of 00:26:36.509 --> 00:26:40.170 a unique pattern for us here to move from proximity 00:26:40.170 --> 00:26:43.289 to participation. And I remember a number of 00:26:43.289 --> 00:26:47.609 years ago, I was watching a sermon that was online 00:26:47.609 --> 00:26:49.309 on YouTube when it first came, and there was 00:26:49.309 --> 00:26:51.789 this guy named Rich Villotis who began teaching 00:26:51.789 --> 00:26:53.490 about this, and I thought, that's fantastic. 00:26:53.890 --> 00:26:57.049 And so as I was preparing for today, I remembered, 00:26:57.250 --> 00:26:59.789 like, oh, this is great. So I went back to it. 00:26:59.829 --> 00:27:01.609 So this isn't mine. I stole it from somebody, 00:27:01.710 --> 00:27:04.029 or I'm borrowing it, okay? And you should go 00:27:04.029 --> 00:27:05.690 online. and watch the message about it because 00:27:05.690 --> 00:27:07.150 it's way better than what I'm going to give you 00:27:07.150 --> 00:27:11.049 in the next five minutes, okay? So remember, 00:27:11.230 --> 00:27:16.849 before Ezekiel even speaks a word, he's led by 00:27:16.849 --> 00:27:19.710 the Spirit to sit among the exiles for seven 00:27:19.710 --> 00:27:23.289 days, overwhelmed. So what's our pathway to move 00:27:23.289 --> 00:27:26.109 from proximity to participation? Number one. 00:27:26.779 --> 00:27:29.660 We're spirit -led. This thing that we're going 00:27:29.660 --> 00:27:31.380 to talk about, it's a bit more than a detail. 00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:33.799 There's a unique pattern here. And you might 00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:36.559 want to refer to it as your justice formation 00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:38.859 journey. So how do you move towards justice, 00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:41.559 this journey? So here's five movements that we 00:27:41.559 --> 00:27:44.500 can take from Ezekiel's experience and Jesus' 00:27:44.660 --> 00:27:48.519 life as we try to move from awareness to action. 00:27:49.220 --> 00:27:53.589 So number one, he's spirit -led. In Ezekiel 3 00:27:53.589 --> 00:27:56.650 .14, we read, the Spirit lifted me up and it 00:27:56.650 --> 00:27:59.150 took me away. For those of you who don't know 00:27:59.150 --> 00:28:01.250 Jesus, or this is your first time here, you might 00:28:01.250 --> 00:28:05.509 be thinking, the Spirit lifted somebody up and 00:28:05.509 --> 00:28:07.589 took them away? You should start getting into 00:28:07.589 --> 00:28:09.430 this stuff. There's even crazier things that 00:28:09.430 --> 00:28:13.049 happen in there. But what's unique is that God's 00:28:13.049 --> 00:28:17.309 Holy Spirit can inspire thought within us. He 00:28:17.309 --> 00:28:20.339 can lead us. There's something we feel compelled 00:28:20.339 --> 00:28:22.500 in. I need to go this direction. I don't know 00:28:22.500 --> 00:28:24.819 why, but I feel compelled. Paul talks about, 00:28:24.859 --> 00:28:27.220 I felt compelled by the Holy Spirit. And sometimes 00:28:27.220 --> 00:28:29.400 there's people in this room who feel compelled 00:28:29.400 --> 00:28:31.480 to do something because the Holy Spirit leading 00:28:31.480 --> 00:28:34.759 them towards something. And so Ezekiel's movement 00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:38.440 towards justice starts with the Spirit. He doesn't 00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:41.759 just volunteer or create some strategy, but he's 00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:44.440 actually carried by God, inspired by God. And 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:46.980 likewise, Jesus says, the Spirit of the Lord 00:28:46.980 --> 00:28:49.319 is upon me because he's anointed me to proclaim 00:28:49.319 --> 00:28:50.920 the good news to the poor. So Jesus didn't just 00:28:50.920 --> 00:28:53.359 show up and do something because he thought this 00:28:53.359 --> 00:28:56.400 would be good. He was also inspired by the Spirit. 00:28:56.660 --> 00:29:00.220 And so we don't act out of guilt. We act because 00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:03.859 we are led. And so here's a series of questions 00:29:03.859 --> 00:29:06.240 that are attached to each of these questions. 00:29:06.640 --> 00:29:09.539 Pathways or movements. Number one, when we think 00:29:09.539 --> 00:29:13.119 about being spirit -led, what would it look like 00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:19.240 for you to ask God, where are you already moving 00:29:19.240 --> 00:29:25.339 and how can I join you there? God, where are 00:29:25.339 --> 00:29:27.559 you already moving and how can I join you there? 00:29:27.700 --> 00:29:30.220 So you would begin with being spirit -led. You 00:29:30.220 --> 00:29:32.839 haven't even acted yet. No action. The only action 00:29:32.839 --> 00:29:37.609 is God. Where are you? Already moving. And how 00:29:37.609 --> 00:29:42.410 can I join you there? Number two, sit. Ezekiel 00:29:42.410 --> 00:29:46.670 says, I came to the exiles and I sat where they 00:29:46.670 --> 00:29:50.890 sat for seven days. So justice, I would suggest 00:29:50.890 --> 00:29:55.250 to us, begins with presence, not pronouncements 00:29:55.250 --> 00:29:59.109 or announcements. And so just like Jesus, God 00:29:59.109 --> 00:30:02.980 and Jesus made his dwelling among us. We're invited 00:30:02.980 --> 00:30:06.960 to enter into other people's worlds. And that 00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:12.299 means we need to ask ourselves, whose pain am 00:30:12.299 --> 00:30:18.259 I close enough to feel? Whose pain am I close 00:30:18.259 --> 00:30:24.039 enough to feel? And then there's silence. Allow 00:30:24.039 --> 00:30:27.609 for silence to begin to reshape you. Ezekiel 00:30:27.609 --> 00:30:29.970 says, I sat there among them for seven days, 00:30:30.029 --> 00:30:33.589 overwhelmed. Ezekiel says nothing for a week. 00:30:33.690 --> 00:30:37.529 That would be a miracle of God in my life. Jesus, 00:30:37.630 --> 00:30:42.789 too, responded with silence in the face of accusation 00:30:42.789 --> 00:30:46.170 and then even in suffering. And some of us need 00:30:46.170 --> 00:30:50.009 to hear this. Silence isn't in action. It's a 00:30:50.009 --> 00:30:53.819 spiritual discipline of making space. Silence 00:30:53.819 --> 00:30:56.559 isn't in action. It's a spiritual discipline 00:30:56.559 --> 00:30:59.920 of making space. Why do I say that? Because some 00:30:59.920 --> 00:31:04.400 of us are just good at making noise. So ask, 00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:08.700 when was the last time I let somebody else's 00:31:08.700 --> 00:31:14.279 story reshape me? What do you mean? Well, in 00:31:14.279 --> 00:31:17.240 order to be silent and let somebody else's story 00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:20.960 reshape you, you need to ask, what's your story? 00:31:22.920 --> 00:31:33.559 What's your story? Sorrow. As Ezekiel sits, he's 00:31:33.559 --> 00:31:37.279 led to sorrow. He's grieved. Scripture told us 00:31:37.279 --> 00:31:42.140 he's overwhelmed. He feels so deeply. And in 00:31:42.140 --> 00:31:45.440 the same way we read that Jesus wept, and in 00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:48.500 Lamentations we hear how God had streams of tears 00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:50.839 flow from his eyes because he was overwhelmed 00:31:50.839 --> 00:31:53.279 at what he saw happening to his people. My people 00:31:53.279 --> 00:31:57.319 are destroyed. Ezekiel was overwhelmed. Jesus 00:31:57.319 --> 00:32:00.720 grieved at tombs. He grieved over cities. Jesus 00:32:00.720 --> 00:32:04.319 grieved in the garden. And so justice for me 00:32:04.319 --> 00:32:08.319 and for us isn't just about our courage. It's 00:32:08.319 --> 00:32:12.420 actually about our compassion. So grief, if you've 00:32:12.420 --> 00:32:14.900 ever experienced it, or if you are in it right 00:32:14.900 --> 00:32:20.720 now, it shapes us to not act from anger, but 00:32:20.720 --> 00:32:25.400 from love. And so maybe you need to ask the question, 00:32:25.640 --> 00:32:31.099 have I let the weight of brokenness move me? 00:32:31.700 --> 00:32:35.799 Have I let the weight of brokenness move me? 00:32:37.640 --> 00:32:41.180 And so here we are at the end of his seven days, 00:32:41.259 --> 00:32:44.079 and the word of the Lord comes to him, and he 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:46.259 says, Son of man, I have made you a watchman. 00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:49.299 A watchman is to stand guard and warn. And so 00:32:49.299 --> 00:32:56.200 only after being led, sitting, listening, and 00:32:56.200 --> 00:33:03.059 grieving, does Ezekiel speak. Jesus, too, slow 00:33:03.059 --> 00:33:06.549 to speak. but very clear and very courageous 00:33:06.549 --> 00:33:11.829 when he did. And the older I get, and the less 00:33:11.829 --> 00:33:15.769 I try to talk, the more I realize that my voice 00:33:15.769 --> 00:33:20.950 only has weight when shaped by love and proximity. 00:33:23.049 --> 00:33:27.150 Our voice has weight only when shaped by love 00:33:27.150 --> 00:33:33.369 and proximity. And so perhaps you need to ask, 00:33:34.029 --> 00:33:39.089 What is mine to say and what is mine to act? 00:33:41.549 --> 00:33:44.029 Think the irony or the humor in it, and Rich 00:33:44.029 --> 00:33:46.089 points this out in his sermon, is that we often 00:33:46.089 --> 00:33:51.309 go in reverse. We speak, we say something, and 00:33:51.309 --> 00:33:54.529 then we're like, oh, that was pretty bad. Probably 00:33:54.529 --> 00:33:57.170 shouldn't have said that. I'm going to be quiet. 00:33:57.990 --> 00:33:59.769 Probably shouldn't have said that. And then after 00:33:59.769 --> 00:34:02.410 quiet, we think, man, I should probably sit down. 00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:06.880 and ask God to speak to me and forgive me. But 00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:09.079 what we're suggesting is instead of starting 00:34:09.079 --> 00:34:11.119 with action and something, that you'd actually 00:34:11.119 --> 00:34:14.000 start on the opposite. You'd be led by the Spirit. 00:34:14.119 --> 00:34:18.579 What do I got to say? Nothing. Sit. Listen. Allow 00:34:18.579 --> 00:34:23.360 for silence. Experience the emotion of the people 00:34:23.360 --> 00:34:28.460 that are around you. It's called empathy. And 00:34:28.460 --> 00:34:32.769 then speak only after being formed. and broken 00:34:32.769 --> 00:34:39.090 open. Some closing thoughts then. We don't do 00:34:39.090 --> 00:34:42.630 this. We don't do justice. We don't do worship 00:34:42.630 --> 00:34:46.449 because we're saviors. It's like, we can do it 00:34:46.449 --> 00:34:51.889 all. No. We do this because we're saved. We do 00:34:51.889 --> 00:34:56.889 this because he sat where we sat. We do this 00:34:56.889 --> 00:35:00.389 because he bore our pain. We do this because 00:35:00.389 --> 00:35:06.710 he gave himself fully, not just for us, but with 00:35:06.710 --> 00:35:12.869 us. And now he says, whatever you do for the 00:35:12.869 --> 00:35:19.869 least of these, you do for me. In summary, then, 00:35:20.010 --> 00:35:25.690 let's let our worship be more than words. Let 00:35:25.690 --> 00:35:30.889 it be justice. Let it be love. Let it be Christ. 00:35:31.949 --> 00:35:34.730 Because all of us have to ask ourselves the question, 00:35:34.969 --> 00:35:39.650 what do I need to do to respond now that I've 00:35:39.650 --> 00:35:43.329 been informed, now that I've been inspired to 00:35:43.329 --> 00:35:46.570 look inside? There's an invitation to respond. 00:35:47.329 --> 00:35:49.769 And so some of you might feel like I need to 00:35:49.769 --> 00:35:53.619 give. I've never given. I had no idea that there 00:35:53.619 --> 00:35:56.820 were people around me who needed me to give my 00:35:56.820 --> 00:36:00.239 time, my energy, my resources. Some of you might 00:36:00.239 --> 00:36:02.260 think, I need to grow in understanding what's 00:36:02.260 --> 00:36:04.019 going on in this community. I've really had no 00:36:04.019 --> 00:36:06.039 idea. I've just heard, but I need to grow in 00:36:06.039 --> 00:36:08.239 knowledge and understanding. Some of you know, 00:36:08.400 --> 00:36:10.000 but you're like, I've always wanted to visit, 00:36:10.019 --> 00:36:11.920 but I really never knew how I could do that. 00:36:12.099 --> 00:36:18.099 So let's be people who sit, who listen far before 00:36:18.099 --> 00:36:22.070 we speak. And may the voice of God be louder 00:36:22.070 --> 00:36:24.610 than the voice of the world and lead us to be 00:36:24.610 --> 00:36:38.619 people who respond. Amen? Whether near or far, 00:36:38.880 --> 00:36:42.079 if you are looking for community or are in need 00:36:42.079 --> 00:36:45.440 of prayer, we welcome you to engage by sending 00:36:45.440 --> 00:36:51.039 us an email to office at ecb .asia. If God is 00:36:51.039 --> 00:36:53.659 calling you to support our ministries, you will 00:36:53.659 --> 00:36:57.420 find giving options on our website. And remember 00:36:57.420 --> 00:37:00.199 to join us next week. God bless you.