WEBVTT 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:36.490 This morning I'm aware of being thankful of a 00:00:36.490 --> 00:00:40.100 couple of things. One of them is the... gift 00:00:40.100 --> 00:00:42.240 of being able to take time this week and just 00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:48.189 dive deeply into such a significant and beautiful 00:00:48.189 --> 00:00:51.950 passage of God's word. But I'm also thankful 00:00:51.950 --> 00:00:54.369 to be able to look out at this point as we've 00:00:54.369 --> 00:00:58.049 gathered around the one who we love, Jesus, and 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:03.229 see faces I know, names I know, the honor of 00:01:03.229 --> 00:01:06.469 knowing many of your stories and your journeys. 00:01:06.650 --> 00:01:10.879 And so may this be a place where we are shaped 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:15.359 and formed once again into the likeness of Jesus 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:20.349 Christ. If you are joining us for the first time, 00:01:20.409 --> 00:01:23.609 we have been in a series looking back because 00:01:23.609 --> 00:01:26.909 we are celebrating 60 years of God planting ECB 00:01:26.909 --> 00:01:29.250 as a church. And so we've taken quite a bit of 00:01:29.250 --> 00:01:31.769 time to look at stories and the different shapings 00:01:31.769 --> 00:01:34.409 and things, the people who helped to found this 00:01:34.409 --> 00:01:38.480 church community. But now we've shifted and we're 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:41.340 looking more ahead and we're asking, Lord, if 00:01:41.340 --> 00:01:43.920 you've planted us here, would you please display 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:47.579 your splendor in and through us? And we draw 00:01:47.579 --> 00:01:51.879 those words from the prophet Isaiah, one of these 00:01:51.879 --> 00:01:55.879 Old Testament authors who captures in Isaiah 00:01:55.879 --> 00:02:02.400 61 this incredible poem of wrestling through 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:05.379 with... Lord, you're going to come and make everything 00:02:05.379 --> 00:02:08.900 that is wrong right again. Start doing that now, 00:02:08.979 --> 00:02:11.659 and we want to see this good life that is coming. 00:02:11.819 --> 00:02:15.520 And so he writes this. He says, they will be 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:17.719 called, talking about the people that had been 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:21.199 called to God. They will be called oaks of what? 00:02:22.419 --> 00:02:25.060 Righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the 00:02:25.060 --> 00:02:29.620 display of his splendor. Now, this word righteousness 00:02:29.620 --> 00:02:32.319 isn't typically a word we use, right? We don't. 00:02:32.590 --> 00:02:34.870 Even if you're a native English speaker, if it's 00:02:34.870 --> 00:02:38.009 your first or second language, you don't usually 00:02:38.009 --> 00:02:42.310 use this word. I have a history of being a snowboarder 00:02:42.310 --> 00:02:44.310 and we did use this word, right? If you did something 00:02:44.310 --> 00:02:46.750 awesome, you'd be like, that's totally righteous, 00:02:46.990 --> 00:02:50.710 man. This is not what God is meaning by righteousness, 00:02:50.889 --> 00:02:54.099 although there's some connection to it. So what 00:02:54.099 --> 00:02:57.849 does righteousness mean? Righteousness in the 00:02:57.849 --> 00:03:00.770 most easy sense for us to understand is about 00:03:00.770 --> 00:03:04.840 right relationship with God. and right relationship 00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:08.800 with one another. Right relationship, God, and 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:10.520 right relationship with one another, which can 00:03:10.520 --> 00:03:13.139 include how we engage with the world around us 00:03:13.139 --> 00:03:17.689 as well. And when God speaks of us being oaks 00:03:17.689 --> 00:03:19.830 of righteousness to display his splendor, what 00:03:19.830 --> 00:03:22.689 he is saying is that we actually reflect him, 00:03:22.889 --> 00:03:26.550 the nature of who he is, the significance of 00:03:26.550 --> 00:03:28.930 his character to the world around when we live 00:03:28.930 --> 00:03:32.729 in right relationship with him and with each 00:03:32.729 --> 00:03:36.610 other. Another way to consider this is to say 00:03:36.610 --> 00:03:40.590 that this is the good life. Living the good life. 00:03:41.259 --> 00:03:44.060 Now this is a phrase that we may use and we know, 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:49.300 right? This is, to me, a picture of the good 00:03:49.300 --> 00:03:51.979 life. This is not an AI -generated image. This 00:03:51.979 --> 00:03:54.319 is an image simply taken from pulling the car 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:56.879 over on the side of the road and pulling out 00:03:56.879 --> 00:04:00.039 the camera and taking a picture of God's incredible 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:03.750 creation in the Andes Mountains. I think this 00:04:03.750 --> 00:04:07.479 is where the good life is for me. And we were 00:04:07.479 --> 00:04:09.960 on this journey a number of years ago. We had 00:04:09.960 --> 00:04:12.360 taken some time as a family with some friends 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:15.319 and had gone out away from the city of Quito 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:17.939 where we lived, up into the mountains, and we 00:04:17.939 --> 00:04:22.269 took about a week of vacation. Now, as the time 00:04:22.269 --> 00:04:24.889 went on, it was raining and raining and raining, 00:04:25.050 --> 00:04:27.589 which is not necessarily typical, especially 00:04:27.589 --> 00:04:32.389 in this time of the year. As our time at the 00:04:32.389 --> 00:04:37.470 place came to an end, we... very, me, strategically, 00:04:37.870 --> 00:04:42.620 carefully planned out how to get home. Why? Because 00:04:42.620 --> 00:04:45.360 we had young kids in the car, and we wanted to 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:47.160 make sure that they were napping and sleeping 00:04:47.160 --> 00:04:49.879 as much as possible for their own health. Actually, 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:53.220 that's not true. It was for my own peace. So 00:04:53.220 --> 00:04:55.480 strategically thinking, how do we get from point 00:04:55.480 --> 00:04:57.480 A to point B? We've got a number of people in 00:04:57.480 --> 00:04:59.319 the car. They get car sick, and you've got this 00:04:59.319 --> 00:05:01.660 windy mountain roads, and I want to just enjoy 00:05:01.660 --> 00:05:06.009 this good life. So I've strategically thought 00:05:06.009 --> 00:05:08.879 through, okay, how are we going to do this? We 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:11.800 left at the exact right time and everything was 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:14.759 going according to plan. The kids fell asleep. 00:05:14.939 --> 00:05:17.660 The angels started singing and we're going along. 00:05:18.779 --> 00:05:22.019 And then we come around the corner and the weather 00:05:22.019 --> 00:05:24.959 changes. And there's this man standing on the 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:28.759 side of the road in plain clothes, holding a 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:32.709 handkerchief and simply. Doing this, waving us 00:05:32.709 --> 00:05:35.730 in the direction of that little tiny mountain 00:05:35.730 --> 00:05:42.779 path or road. Just doing this. Cars are going 00:05:42.779 --> 00:05:45.160 by us, keeping on going down the lane. And I'm 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:48.339 sitting here and I'm like, this is a costly interruption. 00:05:49.290 --> 00:05:53.129 Do I or do I not follow this man's direction? 00:05:53.550 --> 00:05:56.269 I think this is the right way to go, but he's 00:05:56.269 --> 00:05:59.850 sending me in a way that looks contrary to what 00:05:59.850 --> 00:06:03.689 the life I know and was planning. It's a costly 00:06:03.689 --> 00:06:10.120 interruption. Why should I follow? Jesus comes 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:14.360 and brings a costly interruption. You don't add 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:18.199 him on to your life as an accessory. You become 00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:21.399 the one who changes based on what he has brought 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:25.899 and the good life that he has initiated. And 00:06:25.899 --> 00:06:28.139 in that way, you could think about it being like 00:06:28.139 --> 00:06:30.740 Jesus standing on the side of the road and we're 00:06:30.740 --> 00:06:32.819 going along with all of our plans and we know 00:06:32.819 --> 00:06:34.759 what things should be and how they should be 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:37.819 going forward. And he's simply saying, hey, head 00:06:37.819 --> 00:06:39.579 in this other direction. And the direction he 00:06:39.579 --> 00:06:42.720 points us to looks contrary to the good life 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:47.100 that we may think and know. And this is how Matthew, 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:50.360 when he writes in the gospel according to Matthew, 00:06:50.420 --> 00:06:53.480 describes the coming of Jesus. He says he goes 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:55.819 out and he's tempted and then he goes into the 00:06:55.819 --> 00:06:57.759 region of Galilee, which Pastor Pablo mentioned 00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:01.500 last week, and he's performing these significant 00:07:01.500 --> 00:07:06.439 reversals, healing the sick. freeing people from 00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:09.839 demonic oppression and so many other things in 00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:13.500 these crowds of people. And then he says the 00:07:13.500 --> 00:07:17.300 following. He says, from that time on, as Jesus 00:07:17.300 --> 00:07:22.600 was doing this, he said what? Repent, for the 00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:25.800 kingdom of heaven has come near. It's another 00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:28.000 word we don't use often. If you use this with 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:29.639 your friends, we need to have a chat about this 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:32.480 after. Repent is not a typical word, but what 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:35.379 does it mean? Repent simply means in its easiest 00:07:35.379 --> 00:07:37.600 sense, a turning of direction. We are going in 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:40.259 one way and we're turning direction and we're 00:07:40.259 --> 00:07:43.180 going to go in a different direction. So Jesus 00:07:43.180 --> 00:07:46.319 comes and he asks for a costly interruption. 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:49.160 He says, you were heading in one way and I'm 00:07:49.160 --> 00:07:51.860 inviting you to turn and go to a different direction. 00:07:52.040 --> 00:07:58.589 And after this, he outlines in 2000 words, about 00:07:58.589 --> 00:08:03.889 111 verses, the most. comprehensive selection 00:08:03.889 --> 00:08:06.870 of his teaching and what we call the Sermon on 00:08:06.870 --> 00:08:11.110 the Mount. It's this call to turn into a different 00:08:11.110 --> 00:08:13.750 direction, to live in right relationship with 00:08:13.750 --> 00:08:17.800 God and one another. Now, I want you to think 00:08:17.800 --> 00:08:20.360 if the crowds that he's been drawing to himself 00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:23.040 are the sick, the needy, the poor, those who 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:25.160 are injured, those who are needing to be free. 00:08:25.910 --> 00:08:28.910 When he is giving this message, they have drawn 00:08:28.910 --> 00:08:32.370 around him, right? Because he's promising the 00:08:32.370 --> 00:08:34.629 good life and they're listening. What is the 00:08:34.629 --> 00:08:37.169 good life? And this sermon, it's as though Jesus 00:08:37.169 --> 00:08:40.500 invented the sermon. It's quite classic in its 00:08:40.500 --> 00:08:43.500 form. You have the beginning, the introduction, 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:46.039 where he gives some kind of a way of drawing 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:48.799 you in. And then he sets a vision for where he's 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:51.039 going. And then in the middle part, it's the 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:53.019 chunk of the main part of what he's going to 00:08:53.019 --> 00:08:55.620 be calling us to the good life. And then what's 00:08:55.620 --> 00:08:58.649 going to come at the end? an invitation or application. 00:08:58.950 --> 00:09:01.049 He's going to say, hey, now make a decision based 00:09:01.049 --> 00:09:03.750 on this. And so I want you to keep that framework 00:09:03.750 --> 00:09:08.230 in mind as we continue to go forward. So imagine 00:09:08.230 --> 00:09:11.690 all these people are flocking to Jesus. They're 00:09:11.690 --> 00:09:16.100 coming around him. And it begins by saying the 00:09:16.100 --> 00:09:18.559 following. When Jesus saw the crowds, he went 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:20.539 up on the mountain and then he sat down. And 00:09:20.539 --> 00:09:23.419 after his disciples came to him, he began to 00:09:23.419 --> 00:09:26.879 speak and he taught them saying. And now he begins 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:29.279 his sermon, right? So you've got this group of 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:31.659 people that are all sitting around him and they're 00:09:31.659 --> 00:09:33.600 like, okay, what's this good life that you're 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:37.629 promising? Now, what he starts with is what we 00:09:37.629 --> 00:09:42.669 would call nine beatitudes, nine blessings. But 00:09:42.669 --> 00:09:45.049 this isn't a way to say, bless you, I'm speaking 00:09:45.049 --> 00:09:48.269 favor upon you. Actually, the word that Jesus 00:09:48.269 --> 00:09:50.509 would have used either in Hebrew or probably 00:09:50.509 --> 00:09:52.769 Aramaic at that point would have been ashray. 00:09:52.850 --> 00:09:56.639 Can you say that? Ashray. I don't speak Aramaic 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:58.899 or Hebrew, so I probably just totally led you 00:09:58.899 --> 00:10:01.799 astray, but at least you sounded good. Asherah, 00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:06.330 what does this mean? Well, to understand what 00:10:06.330 --> 00:10:09.549 this means, let's look at another rabbi who lived 00:10:09.549 --> 00:10:12.570 around the same time as Jesus, also by the name 00:10:12.570 --> 00:10:16.309 of Yeshua, who gave a bunch of lists of things 00:10:16.309 --> 00:10:19.389 that he called Asherah are these people, which 00:10:19.389 --> 00:10:22.230 is essentially saying the good life belongs to 00:10:22.230 --> 00:10:24.799 these people. All right, so let's listen to some 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:28.799 of these. Here's his list of things. He says 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:31.720 the good life or asherah belongs to the one who 00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:34.440 finds joy in their children, right? Does that 00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:37.220 make sense? It's a good life. If somebody has 00:10:37.220 --> 00:10:39.980 kids and they're like, oh, why? Kind of like 00:10:39.980 --> 00:10:41.659 I was just complaining about them being awake, 00:10:41.740 --> 00:10:45.820 right? Asherah is the one who finds joy in their 00:10:45.820 --> 00:10:48.909 children. That makes sense. What about lives 00:10:48.909 --> 00:10:51.490 to see the downfall of their enemies? Asherah 00:10:51.490 --> 00:10:53.409 is the one who sees the downfall of their enemies. 00:10:53.529 --> 00:10:56.429 Park Jesus for a moment. Stop being so holy. 00:10:56.970 --> 00:11:01.049 Do you want your enemies to be brought to justice 00:11:01.049 --> 00:11:05.350 in their downfall? Yes. So Asherah, that. Lives 00:11:05.350 --> 00:11:08.389 with a sensible spouse. Now I changed this. He 00:11:08.389 --> 00:11:11.269 actually says with a sensible wife because he 00:11:11.269 --> 00:11:13.990 thought, it doesn't matter if I'm sensible. Asherah 00:11:13.990 --> 00:11:15.649 is the person who lives with a sensible wife. 00:11:17.110 --> 00:11:19.190 Asherah is the one who doesn't sin with his tongue 00:11:19.190 --> 00:11:27.769 or doesn't serve an inferior. Should I serve 00:11:27.769 --> 00:11:30.909 an inferior? Asherah is the one who doesn't serve 00:11:30.909 --> 00:11:34.070 his inferior. He goes on, he says, Asherah is 00:11:34.070 --> 00:11:37.250 the one who does not plow with mismatched animals. 00:11:37.710 --> 00:11:40.149 Okay, now we're like, you lost me. I don't understand 00:11:40.149 --> 00:11:42.470 this one. I think what he's getting at is to 00:11:42.470 --> 00:11:44.750 say that if I'm plowing with mismatched animals, 00:11:44.889 --> 00:11:46.990 it's going to be awkward. It's probably going 00:11:46.990 --> 00:11:50.159 to be crooked lines in the fields. And it probably 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:52.240 means that I only have two animals to choose 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:55.500 from. But if I have a bunch to choose from, I 00:11:55.500 --> 00:11:58.659 can line them up exactly perfectly. So Asherah 00:11:58.659 --> 00:12:01.899 is the one who's wealthy. Asherah is the one 00:12:01.899 --> 00:12:03.919 who finds a true friend. This one makes sense. 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:07.559 I really like number eight. Asherah is the one 00:12:07.559 --> 00:12:12.559 who speaks to attentive listeners. Asherah is 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:15.039 the one who attains wisdom. Are you getting the 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:17.240 concept of Asherah? It's basically saying if 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:19.840 I'm walking by those people over there, if this 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:22.399 is what is about them, They've got the good life. 00:12:23.990 --> 00:12:28.870 So now 150 or so years later, Yeshua, Jesus comes 00:12:28.870 --> 00:12:33.789 along and he gives a different list. He says, 00:12:33.830 --> 00:12:38.639 Asherah are the poor in spirit. Asherah are those 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:41.690 who mourn. Asherah are the meek or the gentle 00:12:41.690 --> 00:12:44.870 or those on the margins. Asherah are those who 00:12:44.870 --> 00:12:47.830 hunger and thirst for righteousness. The good 00:12:47.830 --> 00:12:51.429 life belongs to the merciful, the pure in heart. 00:12:52.009 --> 00:12:54.330 the peacemaker, the persecuted, those who are 00:12:54.330 --> 00:12:57.529 reviled and those who have been spoken evil against 00:12:57.529 --> 00:13:04.820 them on behalf of my name. What? I kind of like 00:13:04.820 --> 00:13:09.009 the last list better. How is this evidence of 00:13:09.009 --> 00:13:12.700 the good life? But you see, Jesus is speaking 00:13:12.700 --> 00:13:15.259 to these people and he's looking out upon them. 00:13:15.299 --> 00:13:18.799 And what he says on the second part is more of 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:23.759 his blessing upon them. And he says, blessed. 00:13:24.549 --> 00:13:29.470 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom 00:13:29.470 --> 00:13:33.679 of heaven is theirs. Blessed are those who mourn, 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:38.350 for they will be comforted. Blessed are those 00:13:38.350 --> 00:13:40.590 who are gentle, for they will inherit the earth. 00:13:42.090 --> 00:13:45.110 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 00:13:45.409 --> 00:13:49.929 for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, 00:13:50.149 --> 00:13:56.789 for they will receive mercy. See God, blessed 00:13:56.789 --> 00:13:59.269 are the peacemakers for they will be called children 00:13:59.269 --> 00:14:01.250 of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted 00:14:01.250 --> 00:14:05.149 for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed 00:14:05.149 --> 00:14:07.330 are you when people speak horrible things against 00:14:07.330 --> 00:14:10.309 you on behalf of my name because your reward 00:14:10.309 --> 00:14:13.769 in heaven is great. See how he's flipped things 00:14:13.769 --> 00:14:17.090 around and what he said is to enter into this 00:14:17.090 --> 00:14:20.429 way of life with Jesus, you and I need to have 00:14:20.429 --> 00:14:23.529 a posture where we want a different journey forward. 00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:27.940 If I have heaven on earth, why would I look for 00:14:27.940 --> 00:14:34.139 heaven? And then he gives a vision and he says, 00:14:34.179 --> 00:14:38.149 you are the salt of the earth. What good is salt 00:14:38.149 --> 00:14:40.230 if it's lost its taste? It's good for nothing 00:14:40.230 --> 00:14:42.250 to be dethroned out and tossed underfoot, right? 00:14:42.370 --> 00:14:44.129 And then he says, you're the light of the world. 00:14:45.139 --> 00:14:48.000 A city on a hill can't be hidden. No one lights 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:50.299 a lamp and places it under a bushel basket and 00:14:50.299 --> 00:14:52.120 hides it. No, you put it on a stand and you want 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:57.460 it to shine out for the world to see. What he's 00:14:57.460 --> 00:15:00.730 talking about with these two symbols. is things 00:15:00.730 --> 00:15:02.850 that if you were sitting in that crowd, you would 00:15:02.850 --> 00:15:05.759 have known. Salt is a symbol of the covenant, 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:09.200 the everlasting connection between us as people 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:12.120 and God who said, I will make sure that you and 00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:14.539 I are together forever. Just like food is preserved 00:15:14.539 --> 00:15:19.019 with salt, you will be the symbol of my foreverness 00:15:19.019 --> 00:15:21.789 with you. And not only that, but you're going 00:15:21.789 --> 00:15:24.559 to also reflect. My character, like a light goes 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:26.360 out into the darkness and you're going to reflect 00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:28.820 that. So what Jesus has done is he set a vision 00:15:28.820 --> 00:15:31.240 at the end. He said, this is how you enter into 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:33.360 the kingdom. And this is what it's going to look 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:36.710 like at the end. So the question we want to ask 00:15:36.710 --> 00:15:39.809 ourself is, have you entered into that good life? 00:15:39.889 --> 00:15:44.299 And here's a small tip. The way you enter is 00:15:44.299 --> 00:15:47.539 the way you continue on the journey. You continue 00:15:47.539 --> 00:15:52.220 in that same posture. of being slowly and carefully 00:15:52.220 --> 00:15:54.899 brought into, in a surrendered position to say, 00:15:54.940 --> 00:15:59.590 Jesus, I want this new life. So now Jesus gets 00:15:59.590 --> 00:16:02.590 into the main bulk. It's this big chunk of teaching, 00:16:02.649 --> 00:16:05.049 and it's really divided into three sections. 00:16:05.450 --> 00:16:09.590 If you have our app, at the end, there's a link 00:16:09.590 --> 00:16:13.110 to the Bible Project's exploration of this, and 00:16:13.110 --> 00:16:17.039 he goes into so much detail on this. And I've 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:19.960 drawn a lot of my own understanding from the 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:21.960 Sermon on the Mount from that. But the question 00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:23.799 that Jesus is trying to address at the beginning 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:26.519 is, how do you and how do I live the good life? 00:16:26.580 --> 00:16:28.500 How do I live in right relationship with God 00:16:28.500 --> 00:16:31.419 and with one another? So we're going to keep 00:16:31.419 --> 00:16:33.720 that question in mind as we go forward. And here's 00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:36.559 how he starts. For I tell you that unless your 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:39.480 righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and 00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:43.259 the Pharisees, you will what? Never enter the 00:16:43.259 --> 00:16:47.259 kingdom of heaven? Okay, Jesus, I'm going to 00:16:47.259 --> 00:16:50.580 walk quietly around your sermon and wait for 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:52.799 you to say something a little bit easier for 00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:56.850 me to hear. This is what we do. We domesticate 00:16:56.850 --> 00:16:58.769 it. We take his sermon and we're like, it's not 00:16:58.769 --> 00:17:00.470 really meant for us. We're going to talk about 00:17:00.470 --> 00:17:03.830 that in a little bit here. But what he's saying 00:17:03.830 --> 00:17:06.829 is if the entire point of what you and I were 00:17:06.829 --> 00:17:09.089 created for is to live in perfect unity with 00:17:09.089 --> 00:17:11.490 God and in right relationship with one another. 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:15.140 The scribes and the Pharisees that had developed 00:17:15.140 --> 00:17:19.279 an entire system of living in a way that looked 00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:22.519 right was not going to cut it. And you're going 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:25.920 to see how Jesus begins to undo that. Not to 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:28.759 erase it, but to actually build it into something 00:17:28.759 --> 00:17:31.720 more than we would have ever thought from before. 00:17:33.089 --> 00:17:35.210 So the way he's going to do that is he's going 00:17:35.210 --> 00:17:38.339 to say, That I didn't come to abolish the law 00:17:38.339 --> 00:17:40.720 and the prophets, but I came to fulfill them. 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:43.559 In fact, not one part of it is going to be erased 00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:45.640 until everything has been accomplished under 00:17:45.640 --> 00:17:49.609 my name. And what Jesus then does is he says, 00:17:49.630 --> 00:17:52.109 you have heard that it was said, this whole part 00:17:52.109 --> 00:17:54.450 of scripture, the whole Old Testament part, you've 00:17:54.450 --> 00:17:57.619 heard that it was said back there. And he goes 00:17:57.619 --> 00:17:59.640 to list some things, but then he says, but I 00:17:59.640 --> 00:18:02.420 say to you, and what does he do? He takes it 00:18:02.420 --> 00:18:05.279 up a step. So let's look at a couple examples 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:07.500 of these. He says, you have heard that it was 00:18:07.500 --> 00:18:10.599 said that you shall not murder. Hey, we all agree 00:18:10.599 --> 00:18:13.130 with this. Do you like that one? Don't tell me 00:18:13.130 --> 00:18:18.420 if you don't. But I say to you, says Jesus, if 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:21.859 you're even angry with your brother or sister, 00:18:22.490 --> 00:18:28.279 you're liable to the courts. If you call your 00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:32.190 brother a fool or you have contempt for them, 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:38.619 you're liable to the fires of hell. So Jesus 00:18:38.619 --> 00:18:40.920 says, it's not just about this outward behavior. 00:18:40.940 --> 00:18:44.440 It's about a heart that is actually transformed 00:18:44.440 --> 00:18:48.599 from the inside out. He's ratcheted up there. 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:51.160 And then he goes on and he's going to talk about 00:18:51.160 --> 00:18:54.990 our sexuality. What does it look like to live 00:18:54.990 --> 00:19:01.329 in a honoring, integrous relationship in our 00:19:01.329 --> 00:19:04.049 sexuality? In the context of marriage, a man 00:19:04.049 --> 00:19:06.880 and a wife. And he says, If you've heard that 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:08.740 it was said you shouldn't commit adultery, and 00:19:08.740 --> 00:19:11.920 we're like, yeah, we agree with that. But then 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:15.140 Jesus says, but I say to you, that if you even 00:19:15.140 --> 00:19:17.579 look at another person with lust, you have already 00:19:17.579 --> 00:19:21.160 committed adultery with them in your heart. Oh, 00:19:22.349 --> 00:19:24.109 it's taking it down to a whole different level. 00:19:25.809 --> 00:19:29.309 If you see another human being as simply a commodity 00:19:29.309 --> 00:19:33.460 in order for your own pleasure, you've already 00:19:33.460 --> 00:19:36.880 committed adultery with them in your heart. Man. 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:39.339 Jesus' teaching is significant, right? And then 00:19:39.339 --> 00:19:42.579 what about retaliation and enemy love? He goes 00:19:42.579 --> 00:19:44.079 back and he says, you heard that it was said, 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:46.099 an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. This 00:19:46.099 --> 00:19:48.039 is how you repay somebody who has done something 00:19:48.039 --> 00:19:50.339 to you. But I say to you, turn the other cheek. 00:19:51.569 --> 00:19:54.730 Jesus, this is extreme. Or love your enemies. 00:19:55.089 --> 00:19:57.549 It says even the pagans love their friends. So 00:19:57.549 --> 00:19:59.849 what good is that? You actually have to take 00:19:59.849 --> 00:20:02.829 it a step further and love those who have caused 00:20:02.829 --> 00:20:07.240 you great harm. So what Jesus has done is he 00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:09.480 hasn't erased what has come before. He's instead 00:20:09.480 --> 00:20:11.400 taken it and he's brought it down to an even 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:14.839 deeper level of significance of inner heart transformation. 00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:18.859 And then he ends that section with this, be perfect 00:20:18.859 --> 00:20:23.849 as your heavenly father is perfect. Whoa, that's 00:20:23.849 --> 00:20:30.109 a lot of perfectness. And it's helpful to think 00:20:30.109 --> 00:20:32.329 about this in the relationship to right relationship 00:20:32.329 --> 00:20:35.130 with God and others because if I am designed 00:20:35.130 --> 00:20:37.410 to live in a certain way, you know what? I have 00:20:37.410 --> 00:20:42.190 not arrived and you have not either. And the 00:20:42.190 --> 00:20:46.130 ironic reality about following Jesus is the longer 00:20:46.130 --> 00:20:49.369 we journey forward, if we entered the way that 00:20:49.369 --> 00:20:54.920 he invited us to, the larger the gap of between 00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:58.420 us and Jesus is actually going to be. Now we 00:20:58.420 --> 00:21:00.759 would think the longer I go, I'm going to close 00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:04.240 the gap, right? It's not that I'm getting worse. 00:21:04.779 --> 00:21:07.440 It's that the more I get to know Jesus, the further 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:09.980 and the more righteous he is and the more humble 00:21:09.980 --> 00:21:13.480 I'm going to be at journeying forward because 00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:16.869 he didn't stop at anything less than perfection. 00:21:17.930 --> 00:21:20.170 Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. 00:21:20.670 --> 00:21:22.890 Then he goes and he talks to us church folks 00:21:22.890 --> 00:21:26.049 and he says, beware of practicing your piety, 00:21:26.130 --> 00:21:28.250 your religious practices. Beware of doing that 00:21:28.250 --> 00:21:31.559 before others in order to be seen by them. My 00:21:31.559 --> 00:21:35.099 daughter and I were running in outskirts of Manila 00:21:35.099 --> 00:21:37.519 in the Philippines a couple years ago. And each 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:39.660 day we were trying to get our time just a little 00:21:39.660 --> 00:21:43.059 bit down and pushing ourselves. And we were running 00:21:43.059 --> 00:21:46.079 up in this forested, hilly region where we almost 00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:50.279 never saw anybody when we were running. Halfway 00:21:50.279 --> 00:21:52.920 through our time there, one of our runs we got 00:21:52.920 --> 00:21:55.220 there and we came around this corner and there's 00:21:55.220 --> 00:21:58.710 a group of people and all of a sudden we speed 00:21:58.710 --> 00:22:02.599 up. You know this because you do this too. Don't 00:22:02.599 --> 00:22:06.779 deny it. We sped up. And then as soon as we turn 00:22:06.779 --> 00:22:08.880 the corner again and there's no people, you slow 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:12.119 back down again, right? And you can watch it 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:15.480 tracked on the app. Wow, look at what we did 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:19.289 in that place. You see, we're actually built 00:22:19.289 --> 00:22:22.769 for an audience. But that audience is meant to 00:22:22.769 --> 00:22:26.329 be an audience of one, God himself. And so Jesus 00:22:26.329 --> 00:22:28.109 comes and he says, hey, the way that you are 00:22:28.109 --> 00:22:31.589 going to be practicing your religious, your rhythms 00:22:31.589 --> 00:22:34.490 of disciplines, fasting and prayer and all that, 00:22:34.569 --> 00:22:38.049 it needs to be with me in mind, not with how 00:22:38.049 --> 00:22:39.950 other people see you. And so he's going to talk 00:22:39.950 --> 00:22:43.430 about the secrecy and generosity. Don't let one 00:22:43.430 --> 00:22:45.250 hand know what the other hand is doing. In other 00:22:45.250 --> 00:22:48.849 words, be so like habituated in your generosity 00:22:48.849 --> 00:22:51.859 that you're not like. Hey, guess how much I gave 00:22:51.859 --> 00:22:55.140 ECB last Sunday? Instead, you're just simply 00:22:55.140 --> 00:22:57.680 giving it as an expression. I was talking with 00:22:57.680 --> 00:22:59.720 a life group leader last week and his efforts 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:01.480 to help with the flood damage. And I was like, 00:23:01.500 --> 00:23:03.119 tell me some stories. What have you been doing? 00:23:03.480 --> 00:23:05.819 And he was struggling and he's like, we've just 00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:08.339 been passing out food and we've been taking some 00:23:08.339 --> 00:23:10.559 medicine to these people and we've been helping 00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:12.619 them clean their homes. And I was like, yeah, 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:14.539 those are the stories. And he's like, I didn't 00:23:14.539 --> 00:23:16.759 even really think about them. They were just, 00:23:16.859 --> 00:23:20.970 why would you do anything different? His expression 00:23:20.970 --> 00:23:23.509 of loving others was just flowing out of him. 00:23:24.019 --> 00:23:26.079 It's a little bit of what Jesus is talking about 00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:30.250 here. What about prayer? We like to think of 00:23:30.250 --> 00:23:35.220 prayer as this, oh Lord, let me say amazing things 00:23:35.220 --> 00:23:37.240 in front of these people so that they can be 00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:42.220 impressed by what I have said. Amen. And Jesus 00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:44.720 comes and he says, prayer is this special, intimate 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:48.039 gift between you and me that helps to form you. 00:23:48.539 --> 00:23:50.759 And it does happen in the corporate spaces, but 00:23:50.759 --> 00:23:53.420 make sure that you're not doing it as a way to 00:23:53.420 --> 00:23:57.970 appear righteous in front of other people. And 00:23:57.970 --> 00:24:00.470 it's formational because in the prayer that he 00:24:00.470 --> 00:24:02.910 provides, it actually gives the entire gospel 00:24:02.910 --> 00:24:05.190 there, that he is king, that we are to surrender 00:24:05.190 --> 00:24:07.589 to that, that we have been forgiven, we are to 00:24:07.589 --> 00:24:10.799 forgive, and he goes on and on. What about fasting? 00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:15.460 I'm fasting today, sorry, I can't eat, right? 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:18.220 We do this, and then people are like, oh, okay. 00:24:18.819 --> 00:24:20.859 And Jesus is like, no, no, no, comb your hair. 00:24:21.710 --> 00:24:25.710 Wash your face and allow this internal movement 00:24:25.710 --> 00:24:28.829 within you to be aware of your need for God just 00:24:28.829 --> 00:24:31.730 as you're aware of your need for food to be a 00:24:31.730 --> 00:24:35.109 gift that carries you on in your practice. So 00:24:35.109 --> 00:24:37.130 Jesus is talking about these different forms 00:24:37.130 --> 00:24:40.589 of religious practice. How are we doing with 00:24:40.589 --> 00:24:44.339 that? Then he switches and he talks about kind 00:24:44.339 --> 00:24:46.119 of the framework of how it interacts with one 00:24:46.119 --> 00:24:48.279 another and he says, do not store up for yourself 00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:52.390 treasures on earth because I'm going to function 00:24:52.390 --> 00:24:55.720 with a scarcity mindset. But God says, allow 00:24:55.720 --> 00:24:59.579 me to open that and realize that I am a generous 00:24:59.579 --> 00:25:02.079 God who has ultimate resources. And your life 00:25:02.079 --> 00:25:05.779 here on earth is really short. Practice an eternal 00:25:05.779 --> 00:25:09.440 perspective with how you live your life. Therefore, 00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:12.019 I tell you, do not worry about your life, what 00:25:12.019 --> 00:25:14.519 you eat or you drink. And he goes on to say, 00:25:14.759 --> 00:25:17.900 I care for everything around you, the lilies 00:25:17.900 --> 00:25:20.480 in the field and all these things. Can't I also 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:23.079 care for you, my most important creation? Now, 00:25:24.859 --> 00:25:29.299 what are we doing? We are taking a 30 ,000 -foot 00:25:29.299 --> 00:25:33.240 flight from Bangkok all the way up to Chiang 00:25:33.240 --> 00:25:35.799 Mai over the Sermon on the Mount. There's a lot 00:25:35.799 --> 00:25:38.200 of stuff that we are passing over, but I want 00:25:38.200 --> 00:25:40.940 you to get the general framework of this sermon 00:25:40.940 --> 00:25:44.700 because it has got a lot of rich teaching in 00:25:44.700 --> 00:25:47.940 it. And Jesus ends with what we would call a 00:25:47.940 --> 00:25:51.579 mic drop, this section. A mic drop, if you don't 00:25:51.579 --> 00:25:53.420 know what it is, is you're speaking and you finally 00:25:53.420 --> 00:25:55.980 say something that nothing else needs to be said 00:25:55.980 --> 00:25:59.079 after and you just drop the mic. And it's as 00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:01.440 though Jesus says, hey, I'm going to kind of 00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:04.359 end this with the ultimate, the golden rule. 00:26:04.859 --> 00:26:07.299 In everything due to others as you would have 00:26:07.299 --> 00:26:10.420 them do to you. For this is the law and the prophets. 00:26:10.619 --> 00:26:13.119 Remember how he started this main body? It was 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:15.500 about the law and the prophets. Go forward and 00:26:15.500 --> 00:26:17.660 he ends this main section with the law and the 00:26:17.660 --> 00:26:20.079 prophets. He says, everything that I'm telling 00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:22.259 you here is about right relationship with God 00:26:22.259 --> 00:26:25.619 and others. And if you really want to know how 00:26:25.619 --> 00:26:29.220 to do it, be proactive about doing good to others, 00:26:29.299 --> 00:26:31.400 bringing the goodness, the beauty, and the life 00:26:31.400 --> 00:26:34.380 of Christ into the life of others. Now what's 00:26:34.380 --> 00:26:36.220 interesting about the golden rule is this is 00:26:36.220 --> 00:26:39.299 not completely uncommon around the world, but 00:26:39.299 --> 00:26:43.420 often it's done in a reserved way. Only do to 00:26:43.420 --> 00:26:45.119 others what they have done to you or something 00:26:45.119 --> 00:26:47.500 along those lines. But Jesus reframes it and 00:26:47.500 --> 00:26:50.569 he says, actively looking to do good to others. 00:26:53.029 --> 00:26:56.200 So are you living the good life? When that guy 00:26:56.200 --> 00:26:58.119 is standing on the side of the road and he points 00:26:58.119 --> 00:27:00.539 in a direction that seems so contrary to where 00:27:00.539 --> 00:27:03.599 our heart would naturally go, are you living 00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:08.809 the good life? There's a brother who I've shared 00:27:08.809 --> 00:27:11.369 a number of conversations with about the Sermon 00:27:11.369 --> 00:27:13.890 on the Mount, one of our ECB brothers and his 00:27:13.890 --> 00:27:17.269 wife. And I reached out to him this week and 00:27:17.269 --> 00:27:19.049 I just said, hey, I know this has been an important 00:27:19.049 --> 00:27:22.279 text to you for... 30 plus years of your life 00:27:22.279 --> 00:27:24.599 and it's helped to shape and form you. And what 00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:27.099 does it actually look like in your life? And 00:27:27.099 --> 00:27:29.920 I was saying, you know, we like to domesticate 00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:31.680 it. We like to kind of avoid it and do these 00:27:31.680 --> 00:27:34.259 different things with it. What does it look like 00:27:34.259 --> 00:27:35.680 for you to wrestle through with it? And this 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:39.380 is what he wrote back to me. He says, the language 00:27:39.380 --> 00:27:41.799 and the content of the Sermon on the Mount are 00:27:41.799 --> 00:27:44.940 all relational, not only to God, but to the community. 00:27:45.869 --> 00:27:48.150 and even our adversaries. We're to be merciful 00:27:48.150 --> 00:27:51.349 and peacemaking and to be persecuted for righteousness' 00:27:51.450 --> 00:27:54.269 sake, to love our enemies. We're called to be 00:27:54.269 --> 00:27:56.950 salt and light and to bear fruit, to bless others 00:27:56.950 --> 00:27:59.589 with our lives so they can glorify God. To do 00:27:59.589 --> 00:28:01.650 so, we have to go out from our comfort zone, 00:28:01.750 --> 00:28:03.769 to go through the small gate and the narrow road, 00:28:03.829 --> 00:28:06.829 to where there are hurts and injustice and comfort 00:28:06.829 --> 00:28:09.549 and heal and make peace and act justly for his 00:28:09.549 --> 00:28:13.990 kingdom's sake. Growing up by nature, He's reflecting 00:28:13.990 --> 00:28:16.569 back. He says, I was completely the opposite, 00:28:16.690 --> 00:28:20.710 self -absorbed, ignorant, deceitful, but by God's 00:28:20.710 --> 00:28:23.170 grace, I was saved by what Jesus has done on 00:28:23.170 --> 00:28:25.950 the cross for me and empowered by his word and 00:28:25.950 --> 00:28:30.359 the Holy Spirit. And it changed me. Not overnight, 00:28:30.539 --> 00:28:32.799 but God gave me many good mentors. Little by 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:34.759 little, God used them to help me see what he 00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:37.279 sees and feel how he feels. Then he literally 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:39.519 pushed me out of my comfort zone again and again. 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:42.039 But he always provided me with the necessary 00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:44.880 resources, including these mentors, people with 00:28:44.880 --> 00:28:47.859 deeper insight, courage, knowledge, skill, and 00:28:47.859 --> 00:28:53.099 experience to lead and guide me on. When I have 00:28:53.099 --> 00:28:56.230 somebody that I am speaking with and I realize 00:28:56.230 --> 00:28:58.609 that they need to dive into the good life that 00:28:58.609 --> 00:29:00.730 God has given them, I send them to Stephen Lowe. 00:29:01.579 --> 00:29:03.680 Because I know that Stephen Lowe will journey 00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:05.880 along with them because he has already been going 00:29:05.880 --> 00:29:09.829 in this direction for a very long time. And Stephen 00:29:09.829 --> 00:29:12.630 and Sung have had multiple impact as being planted 00:29:12.630 --> 00:29:15.309 as oaks of righteousness, where multiple generations 00:29:15.309 --> 00:29:17.630 have come to know Christ, and there's impact 00:29:17.630 --> 00:29:23.890 there in how that looks. Things that we often 00:29:23.890 --> 00:29:26.349 will do when we see the Sermon on the Mount. 00:29:26.890 --> 00:29:32.789 And I want to invite you to be willing to listen 00:29:32.789 --> 00:29:36.819 to what your heart is doing with this. And maybe 00:29:36.819 --> 00:29:39.799 you'll find yourself in one of these three. Do 00:29:39.799 --> 00:29:42.000 you typically avoid the Sermon on the Mount? 00:29:42.609 --> 00:29:45.509 And you see it and you're like, I'm going to 00:29:45.509 --> 00:29:50.109 walk around it. There's a lot in there. Or maybe 00:29:50.109 --> 00:29:53.269 we avoid it by doing this. We say, Jesus set 00:29:53.269 --> 00:29:56.029 the bar this high because he knew I was going 00:29:56.029 --> 00:29:58.930 to fail. And therefore, it's just a constant 00:29:58.930 --> 00:30:01.430 reminder of the grace that I need and to point 00:30:01.430 --> 00:30:05.869 to the cross. That's actually partially accurate. 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:08.759 But he also calls you to that standard. He's 00:30:08.759 --> 00:30:10.900 not just saying, hey, here's a standard. I'm 00:30:10.900 --> 00:30:12.539 setting something that is completely impossible 00:30:12.539 --> 00:30:15.299 for you to do for no reason except to simply 00:30:15.299 --> 00:30:18.630 ask you to come and say, I'm sorry. He's actually 00:30:18.630 --> 00:30:22.279 inviting you into the good life. So we can avoid 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:25.559 it in different ways. We can also strive to achieve 00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:29.190 it. What does this look like? Communities have 00:30:29.190 --> 00:30:31.670 shaped their entire way of life around this. 00:30:32.420 --> 00:30:35.720 And oftentimes if a person is trying really hard, 00:30:35.900 --> 00:30:37.839 okay, I'm going to invite you to do this. Take 00:30:37.839 --> 00:30:40.470 your fist, clench them really hard, and then 00:30:40.470 --> 00:30:43.809 grit your teeth together. We're going to love 00:30:43.809 --> 00:30:48.480 other people, right? Do you feel loved when I 00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:52.509 do that? I had a person very close to me tell 00:30:52.509 --> 00:30:55.809 me when I was calling this person to love another 00:30:55.809 --> 00:30:59.269 person to say, it feels like you're suffocating 00:30:59.269 --> 00:31:05.089 me with your righteousness. This is a symbol 00:31:05.089 --> 00:31:08.569 of me. striving with everything inside of me 00:31:08.569 --> 00:31:10.450 to be righteous and you're going to get that 00:31:10.450 --> 00:31:14.319 flavor on me when you interact with me. So there's 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:17.210 lots of ways that we can go around the sermon 00:31:17.210 --> 00:31:19.210 on the route. Another one is to admire it from 00:31:19.210 --> 00:31:24.359 a distance. Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi wrestled 00:31:24.359 --> 00:31:27.420 with whether or not Jesus was Lord and Savior 00:31:27.420 --> 00:31:29.799 and whether or not he would gift his entire life 00:31:29.799 --> 00:31:32.849 to him and ultimately he decided no. But instead, 00:31:33.009 --> 00:31:36.150 he took this passage, these three chapters, and 00:31:36.150 --> 00:31:39.329 he said it was incredible. So he formed a rhythm, 00:31:39.390 --> 00:31:43.130 reading it twice a day for 40 to 45 years of 00:31:43.130 --> 00:31:46.869 his life. He was an admirer of the Sermon on 00:31:46.869 --> 00:31:49.769 the Mount. And it changed a lot of how he lived 00:31:49.769 --> 00:31:54.480 his life. But he refused to go on the journey 00:31:54.480 --> 00:31:57.579 with the one who is the Sermon on the Mount, 00:31:57.740 --> 00:32:01.079 Jesus Christ. And there's a difference there. 00:32:02.410 --> 00:32:06.859 So will you choose this good life? And this is 00:32:06.859 --> 00:32:09.480 where Jesus lands the sermon. And he knows exactly 00:32:09.480 --> 00:32:12.440 what you and I typically do when we come to something 00:32:12.440 --> 00:32:16.000 that is impossible for us. Just like the Beatitudes 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:18.460 at the beginning. You come to this thing that 00:32:18.460 --> 00:32:22.910 we can't find our way out of. And he says, I 00:32:22.910 --> 00:32:24.829 know that's what it's going to be like. So let 00:32:24.829 --> 00:32:27.690 me give you these symbolic understandings of 00:32:27.690 --> 00:32:31.609 these different choices. He talks about these 00:32:31.609 --> 00:32:34.269 two roads, a wide gate and a narrow gate, and 00:32:34.269 --> 00:32:37.150 then these open up to different ways going forward. 00:32:37.250 --> 00:32:40.990 So then the road analogy makes sense. The way 00:32:40.990 --> 00:32:43.410 that we would rationally think about life seems 00:32:43.410 --> 00:32:46.369 like a wide open road. Let's just go. But Jesus 00:32:46.369 --> 00:32:49.190 says, hey, let me take you down this other slower 00:32:49.190 --> 00:32:52.430 journey with me, and I promise it is going to 00:32:52.430 --> 00:32:55.950 be the good life. Then he gives the example of 00:32:55.950 --> 00:32:58.589 two trees. Now how are two trees related to this? 00:32:58.630 --> 00:33:00.609 One is a tree of good fruit and one is a tree 00:33:00.609 --> 00:33:03.410 of bad fruit. And what he's essentially saying 00:33:03.410 --> 00:33:06.450 is be careful who you allow to speak truth into 00:33:06.450 --> 00:33:10.059 your lives. Because they may be promising things 00:33:10.059 --> 00:33:13.099 that this sermon does not actually call you to. 00:33:14.029 --> 00:33:16.630 Avoid those because those are bad fruit trees. 00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:20.359 Put yourself under those who mentor you just 00:33:20.359 --> 00:33:22.859 as Stephen Lowe had reflected on of somebody 00:33:22.859 --> 00:33:25.880 who says this is the good way of life. Let me 00:33:25.880 --> 00:33:28.519 surrender to it again and again. And then probably 00:33:28.519 --> 00:33:30.539 the most famous one, the two houses, right? We 00:33:30.539 --> 00:33:32.819 know this. There's a guy who built it on the 00:33:32.819 --> 00:33:34.839 rock on a firm foundation and then there's a 00:33:34.839 --> 00:33:37.400 guy who built it where? On the sand. And then 00:33:37.400 --> 00:33:39.900 the storm, the flood came up. Storms came. This 00:33:39.900 --> 00:33:41.640 is a little too soon to have this story in here. 00:33:41.740 --> 00:33:44.819 Came forward and things hit and one of the houses 00:33:44.819 --> 00:33:48.059 did not survive. From the beginning, these houses 00:33:48.059 --> 00:33:51.140 looked exactly the same. From the outside, we 00:33:51.140 --> 00:33:54.519 can appear a certain way. But where are you and 00:33:54.519 --> 00:33:58.150 I actually putting our 100 % complete trust? 00:33:59.049 --> 00:34:02.390 Is it in Jesus and is in his good way of life? 00:34:03.789 --> 00:34:08.849 Or am I adding him on to something for me? This 00:34:08.849 --> 00:34:11.309 is actually what this man was trying to help 00:34:11.309 --> 00:34:15.539 me avoid. This is not an AI picture. You see, 00:34:15.559 --> 00:34:17.400 this is the road that we had traveled on a week 00:34:17.400 --> 00:34:19.320 before. We had made it up there and when we were 00:34:19.320 --> 00:34:21.179 turning around and coming back, because of the 00:34:21.179 --> 00:34:24.099 rain, a part of the mountain had come flying 00:34:24.099 --> 00:34:27.079 down in a landslide and severed the very road 00:34:27.079 --> 00:34:30.289 right in half. And there was a 15 to 20 meter 00:34:30.289 --> 00:34:34.800 drop off on the road there. And this man dressed 00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:38.320 in ordinary clothes, waving us on, was not waving 00:34:38.320 --> 00:34:40.920 us on to ruin my life, although it felt like 00:34:40.920 --> 00:34:44.420 a frustrating distraction, a costly disruption. 00:34:45.179 --> 00:34:48.079 He was actually leading me to the path that would 00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:51.630 get me home. And he knew this because this was 00:34:51.630 --> 00:34:55.570 his area. He had been here. He knew exactly where 00:34:55.570 --> 00:34:58.409 things had gone wrong. And he said, hey, let 00:34:58.409 --> 00:35:02.860 me invite you into a new journey forward. And 00:35:02.860 --> 00:35:05.739 so the question for us is, are we choosing that 00:35:05.739 --> 00:35:08.530 life? And I want to invite you to have grace 00:35:08.530 --> 00:35:11.070 with yourself because you know what? This is 00:35:11.070 --> 00:35:13.730 more what it looks like. Not, okay, I was heading 00:35:13.730 --> 00:35:15.869 in this direction and I did a U -turn and now 00:35:15.869 --> 00:35:20.099 look. it actually usually looks a little bit 00:35:20.099 --> 00:35:22.079 like this. I'm heading in this direction and 00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:24.039 I repented and I took a U -turn and I'm like, 00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:33.150 and it becomes this journey that we go on because 00:35:33.150 --> 00:35:35.730 it's not what we were on before and it's not 00:35:35.730 --> 00:35:37.889 what we're used to and so it changes and forms 00:35:37.889 --> 00:35:41.550 us over time. And that's okay because every time 00:35:41.550 --> 00:35:45.130 you do that, you say, Lord, I'm sorry. I didn't 00:35:45.130 --> 00:35:46.929 live in right relationship with you or others. 00:35:47.820 --> 00:35:50.219 Thank you for your righteousness that has already 00:35:50.219 --> 00:35:52.099 been given to me and I want to continue on in 00:35:52.099 --> 00:35:55.070 this journey. He does it again and again. And 00:35:55.070 --> 00:35:56.909 the best part about it is that we don't live 00:35:56.909 --> 00:36:00.940 this good life alone. We live this good life 00:36:00.940 --> 00:36:02.559 with the one who promised that he will never 00:36:02.559 --> 00:36:06.079 leave us and forsake us. And we live this good 00:36:06.079 --> 00:36:09.280 life not left to our own abilities or our own 00:36:09.280 --> 00:36:12.039 strength, but instead his power in and through 00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:16.980 us. Isaiah ends this chapter 61 with this beautiful 00:36:16.980 --> 00:36:19.719 picture using another metaphor garden. We've 00:36:19.719 --> 00:36:22.159 got a lot of metaphors for you today. For as 00:36:22.159 --> 00:36:25.059 the earth brings forth its shoots and as a garden 00:36:25.059 --> 00:36:29.619 causes what it's sown in to spring up, so the 00:36:29.619 --> 00:36:32.119 Lord God will cause righteousness, right relationship 00:36:32.119 --> 00:36:35.199 with him and others, and praise to spring up 00:36:35.199 --> 00:36:38.550 before all nations. How are we an oak of righteousness 00:36:38.550 --> 00:36:42.030 to display his splendor? By sticking close to 00:36:42.030 --> 00:36:45.010 the one who is righteous. The one who has accomplished 00:36:45.010 --> 00:36:48.710 all of that for us. We just sang about from Philippians 00:36:48.710 --> 00:36:51.110 2, he came and humbled himself, not thinking 00:36:51.110 --> 00:36:53.190 of equality with God as something to be grasped, 00:36:53.230 --> 00:36:56.670 but instead took on the form of a slave and emptied 00:36:56.670 --> 00:37:00.170 himself on your and my behalf. You and I were 00:37:00.170 --> 00:37:03.590 his enemies and he loved us. Rather than retaliating 00:37:03.590 --> 00:37:05.809 against us, he gave his very life in order that 00:37:05.809 --> 00:37:10.670 we may have that life. And then he... journeyed 00:37:10.670 --> 00:37:12.929 forward in what would have had to have been poor 00:37:12.929 --> 00:37:16.010 in spirit in the garden when he's weeping before 00:37:16.010 --> 00:37:19.369 God and saying, my God, would you please take 00:37:19.369 --> 00:37:23.900 this cup from me? Or my God, my God, why have 00:37:23.900 --> 00:37:26.880 you forsaken me? His spirit was crying out and 00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:29.059 he did all of this, not because he's sitting 00:37:29.059 --> 00:37:31.719 there saying, hey, go this direction. He's actually 00:37:31.719 --> 00:37:34.420 journeyed it with before us and he's journeying 00:37:34.420 --> 00:37:37.699 it with us. That's the kind of God that we are 00:37:37.699 --> 00:37:40.789 invited to live this good life with. And what 00:37:40.789 --> 00:37:43.090 he has started, he will continue within you. 00:37:43.250 --> 00:37:48.019 So here's the invitation for us. We've just sat 00:37:48.019 --> 00:37:51.579 through Jesus's most powerful, comprehensive 00:37:51.579 --> 00:37:56.320 teaching in these three chapters. But as I said, 00:37:56.340 --> 00:38:00.190 we flew over it. And I have a crazy friend who 00:38:00.190 --> 00:38:02.590 actually rode his bike from Bangkok to Chiang 00:38:02.590 --> 00:38:06.969 Mai. And I want to invite you to do that with 00:38:06.969 --> 00:38:11.050 a Sermon on the Mount. I want to invite you to 00:38:11.050 --> 00:38:16.510 go through it section by section, slowly. allowing 00:38:16.510 --> 00:38:19.309 every single part and piece of it to be Jesus 00:38:19.309 --> 00:38:22.650 shaping you and forming you. We just did that 00:38:22.650 --> 00:38:26.630 flyover. Now is your turn to come and do it slowly. 00:38:27.960 --> 00:38:30.480 Yeshua will be there with you throughout the 00:38:30.480 --> 00:38:34.360 entire journey, causing things to spring up within 00:38:34.360 --> 00:38:36.860 you as he has done with so many that have come 00:38:36.860 --> 00:38:39.570 before us. So I want to invite you right now 00:38:39.570 --> 00:38:44.289 to actually take time with God. You say, Lord, 00:38:44.409 --> 00:38:48.130 what are the things that resonate with me? And 00:38:48.130 --> 00:38:50.780 what are the things that I'm resisting? Would 00:38:50.780 --> 00:38:52.380 you bring those to light with me? And it's going 00:38:52.380 --> 00:38:54.519 to be an awkward couple minutes of silence in 00:38:54.519 --> 00:38:58.940 here for you to just pray. So go ahead and take 00:38:58.940 --> 00:39:17.429 time to do that. We do not earn our way into 00:39:17.429 --> 00:39:20.989 the good life. We are gifted it through the righteousness 00:39:20.989 --> 00:39:29.809 of Jesus. But we have been invited, honored to 00:39:29.809 --> 00:39:32.980 actually participate in this life with him. And 00:39:32.980 --> 00:39:35.739 may we do so that we could be oaks of righteousness 00:39:35.739 --> 00:39:38.900 to display his splendor increasingly with one 00:39:38.900 --> 00:39:41.789 another and the community around. And may we 00:39:41.789 --> 00:39:50.550 do so for the glory of God. Thank you for tuning 00:39:50.550 --> 00:39:54.710 in to the ECB sermon podcast. 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