WEBVTT 00:00:00.910 --> 00:00:08.710 Well, hi. Okay, so before I forget, before I 00:00:08.710 --> 00:00:11.230 forget, there's something really, really sweet 00:00:11.230 --> 00:00:13.490 happening today that we have to celebrate, okay? 00:00:14.089 --> 00:00:19.660 So our Pauldin location drove to Baghdad. To 00:00:19.660 --> 00:00:22.379 be with the Baghdad location. And it gets better. 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:25.420 The Baghdad location cooked breakfast for the 00:00:25.420 --> 00:00:28.339 Pauldin location. And they are doing church together 00:00:28.339 --> 00:00:36.280 out there. Welcome. We love you. Some of you 00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:38.119 are like, I didn't know that. We can go to other 00:00:38.119 --> 00:00:41.060 locations. Yes, you can. Yes, you can. You can 00:00:41.060 --> 00:00:43.869 go and hang out. But yeah, we love you. We're 00:00:43.869 --> 00:00:45.350 glad you're there. We're glad you're doing that 00:00:45.350 --> 00:00:48.270 together. Those of you online, so fun. I actually 00:00:48.270 --> 00:00:51.070 have been online ever since I left. I thought 00:00:51.070 --> 00:00:53.390 I would be here and then this weird social anxiety 00:00:53.390 --> 00:00:55.929 thing hit and that's a whole nother conversation 00:00:55.929 --> 00:00:59.609 for a different day. But I've got to sit on the 00:00:59.609 --> 00:01:02.369 online family for my entire time. Why? Because 00:01:02.369 --> 00:01:04.629 this is my church. I get to be a part. It's a 00:01:04.629 --> 00:01:07.109 family. I'm like you, like I need to be fed. 00:01:07.510 --> 00:01:11.450 And so. Online, we love you. We're glad you're 00:01:11.450 --> 00:01:14.909 there. Miss Patty, hello, hello, hello. It's 00:01:14.909 --> 00:01:18.590 good to see you. Okay, so I just gotta slow down 00:01:18.590 --> 00:01:22.090 for a minute before I take off and just say, 00:01:22.230 --> 00:01:28.230 you guys, thank you. Thank you for a gift, okay? 00:01:28.290 --> 00:01:32.530 Thank you for being a church family. Thank you 00:01:32.530 --> 00:01:36.230 for being a church family that goes, hey, we 00:01:36.230 --> 00:01:41.879 really value. And there are so many things I 00:01:41.879 --> 00:01:43.299 could tell you about sabbatical. I'm sure they'll 00:01:43.299 --> 00:01:45.500 bleed out over the next months. We'll talk about 00:01:45.500 --> 00:01:47.939 some today, but I just wanna say thank you to 00:01:47.939 --> 00:01:50.799 our elders, that our elders have a vision of, 00:01:50.859 --> 00:01:56.280 yes, we want. pastors, and we want them to do 00:01:56.280 --> 00:01:58.680 what they do, but we don't want to just use them 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:00.680 and see them roll on somewhere else. We want 00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:03.900 to see them use their gifts in this family and 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:06.859 have longevity for the family and build something 00:02:06.859 --> 00:02:09.159 together for the kingdom, right? And so thank 00:02:09.159 --> 00:02:12.159 you to the elders. Thank you to especially Pastor 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:16.699 Todd. Todd took on the mantle of, he picked up 00:02:16.699 --> 00:02:22.659 extra weeks. He picked up extra weeks, but on 00:02:22.659 --> 00:02:25.099 top of that, he also helped organize the other 00:02:25.099 --> 00:02:27.099 communicators. And if you know anything about 00:02:27.099 --> 00:02:29.879 Pastor Bob, he takes a lot of organizing. I'm 00:02:29.879 --> 00:02:32.520 just kidding. Pastor Bob's amazing. I thought 00:02:32.520 --> 00:02:34.699 Pastor Bob's message, you guys, was one of the 00:02:34.699 --> 00:02:37.979 best. I've heard him speak a lot. We did youth 00:02:37.979 --> 00:02:39.819 together for a lot of years. I thought what he 00:02:39.819 --> 00:02:42.800 spoke here was one of the best I've ever heard 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:46.819 him do in a just mature sense, in a beautiful 00:02:46.819 --> 00:02:50.620 way. And Pastor Ben picked up extra ones. And 00:02:50.620 --> 00:02:52.539 it's just beautiful. It's beautiful to see the 00:02:52.539 --> 00:02:55.500 church staff family that picked up extra roles 00:02:55.500 --> 00:02:58.180 that were all of a sudden there. It's hard when 00:02:58.180 --> 00:03:02.460 you have three people. So myself, Kathy Peaches 00:03:02.460 --> 00:03:05.039 out, Austin Turner's out on sabbatical. And so 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:07.400 three of us gone at the same time. That's a lot 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:10.120 to pick up and to see the staff family do that. 00:03:10.259 --> 00:03:12.800 And so I just want to say massive thank you to 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:16.219 our church family, to you, but also to the layers 00:03:16.219 --> 00:03:20.199 that go along with that. sabbatical, people have 00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:22.979 asked me, well, how was sabbatical? You guys, 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:25.960 I need about four weeks to tell you how sabbatical 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:29.300 was. Like, there's just so much and it's from 00:03:29.300 --> 00:03:31.639 the beautiful to the painful and everything in 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:34.759 between. And we'll talk about that more, but 00:03:34.759 --> 00:03:37.659 I just don't want us to miss something real quick, 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:44.199 okay? You realize what a gift this is. Where 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:47.500 we can come into a space with other people who, 00:03:48.090 --> 00:03:53.110 have seen Jesus in the way he should be and stepped 00:03:53.110 --> 00:03:56.210 into relationship with him, right? And then to 00:03:56.210 --> 00:03:58.770 be in a space together where we get to encourage 00:03:58.770 --> 00:04:02.610 one another, that we get to step in and go, man, 00:04:02.710 --> 00:04:06.270 not only do I see you, but I get to see God in 00:04:06.270 --> 00:04:09.729 you. I mean, how beautiful that we get to take 00:04:09.729 --> 00:04:12.770 this time and be together. And hopefully what 00:04:12.770 --> 00:04:15.770 happens is, as we open God's word and whatever, 00:04:16.230 --> 00:04:19.050 you walk out of here and you get to see God in 00:04:19.050 --> 00:04:22.829 a whole different way. You get to see an aspect 00:04:22.829 --> 00:04:25.589 of him that might be new, that he wants to do. 00:04:25.709 --> 00:04:28.810 Do you know this, right? Like right now, God 00:04:28.810 --> 00:04:35.790 wants to do a work in you. Like that might not 00:04:35.790 --> 00:04:40.089 sound like much. The God of heaven who is keeping 00:04:40.089 --> 00:04:42.290 everything going, including the earth spinning, 00:04:42.569 --> 00:04:46.790 sees you right here, right now, knows that you 00:04:46.790 --> 00:04:50.250 are here right now, sees the very things going 00:04:50.250 --> 00:04:52.529 on inside of you. And he goes, I want to be in 00:04:52.529 --> 00:04:54.769 the middle of that and have a conversation with 00:04:54.769 --> 00:05:05.269 you right now. That's unfathomable, y 'all. And 00:05:05.269 --> 00:05:09.410 beautiful. And not in my notes. And so we're 00:05:09.410 --> 00:05:11.250 going to be here a really long time if I keep 00:05:11.250 --> 00:05:15.870 going on tangents. So we've been in a collection, 00:05:16.029 --> 00:05:19.029 right? And the collection being Galatians and 00:05:19.029 --> 00:05:20.990 walking through the book. We do this often in 00:05:20.990 --> 00:05:23.449 the summer if you've been around. We walk through 00:05:23.449 --> 00:05:28.230 a book intentionally. And today I got 29 verses. 00:05:28.709 --> 00:05:30.730 Okay, so just to put it in perspective, I have 00:05:30.730 --> 00:05:34.069 roughly about 30 minutes and 29 verses. There's 00:05:34.069 --> 00:05:36.670 no way I'm doing this on time, right? Or we're 00:05:36.670 --> 00:05:40.189 shifting something. But it can be really disorienting 00:05:40.189 --> 00:05:44.730 to read sections and break them up. And so today, 00:05:44.889 --> 00:05:47.750 one of the practices of my sabbatical has been 00:05:47.750 --> 00:05:52.089 really anchoring in and enjoying reading the 00:05:52.089 --> 00:05:54.730 Bible with no verse numbers, right? Like I have 00:05:54.730 --> 00:05:56.569 a Bible that has no verse numbers, that has no 00:05:56.569 --> 00:05:59.870 breaks with subheadings. And what I found is 00:05:59.870 --> 00:06:03.459 that it... It puts the whole thing together in 00:06:03.459 --> 00:06:06.579 a way that by having verse numbers and stuff, 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:10.540 I catch my brain like stopping or breaking down. 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:12.819 And so when you think about the early church, 00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:14.720 the early church would have received this letter. 00:06:14.779 --> 00:06:17.000 And the way this letter would have been given 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:20.879 to the early church is there was a copy and somebody 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:23.420 read that copy to the church. So I'm gonna ask 00:06:23.420 --> 00:06:25.759 you to do something. I'm gonna ask you to not 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:30.339 read along. Like avoid opening your Bible to 00:06:30.339 --> 00:06:32.319 try and track along for a minute, which you're 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:34.600 like, you're a speaker telling us, a pastor telling 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:36.600 us to not open our Bibles. Yeah, that's what 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:39.180 I'm telling you, right? And what I want you to 00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:42.620 do is just let the word of God be in its entirety. 00:06:43.379 --> 00:06:47.139 It's chapter three and let it wash over you and 00:06:47.139 --> 00:06:49.360 just see what the Holy Spirit does and what he 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:52.480 shows you as we go through it, okay? And so if 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:54.339 you would, would you welcome Pastor Noah, who's 00:06:54.339 --> 00:07:02.970 gonna read it to us. A reading from Galatians 00:07:02.970 --> 00:07:07.949 3. You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? 00:07:08.529 --> 00:07:11.790 Before your very eyes, Christ was clearly portrayed 00:07:11.790 --> 00:07:14.930 as crucified. I would like to learn just one 00:07:14.930 --> 00:07:18.050 thing from you. Did you receive the spirit by 00:07:18.050 --> 00:07:21.329 the works of the law or by believing what you 00:07:21.329 --> 00:07:25.389 heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by 00:07:25.389 --> 00:07:27.829 means of the spirit, are you now trying to finish 00:07:27.829 --> 00:07:30.920 by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:34.839 much in vain if it really was in vain? So again, 00:07:34.899 --> 00:07:38.459 I ask, does God give you his spirit and work 00:07:38.459 --> 00:07:41.439 miracles among you by the works of the law or 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:45.079 by believing what you heard? So also Abraham 00:07:45.079 --> 00:07:48.839 believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. 00:07:50.100 --> 00:07:53.339 Understand then that those who have faith are 00:07:53.339 --> 00:07:56.689 children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God 00:07:56.689 --> 00:07:59.730 would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced 00:07:59.730 --> 00:08:02.850 the gospel in advance to Abraham. All nations 00:08:02.850 --> 00:08:06.269 will be blessed through you. So those who rely 00:08:06.269 --> 00:08:09.610 on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the 00:08:09.610 --> 00:08:13.029 man of faith. For all who rely on the works of 00:08:13.029 --> 00:08:15.930 the law are under a curse as it is written, cursed 00:08:15.930 --> 00:08:18.990 is everyone who does not continue to do everything 00:08:18.990 --> 00:08:22.399 written in the book of the law. Clearly, no one 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:24.800 who relies on the law is justified before God 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:28.519 because the righteous will live by faith. The 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:31.459 law is not based on faith. On the contrary, it 00:08:31.459 --> 00:08:33.940 says the person who does these things will live 00:08:33.940 --> 00:08:36.919 by them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of 00:08:36.919 --> 00:08:40.379 the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:43.299 written, cursed is everyone who is hung on a 00:08:43.299 --> 00:08:46.409 pole. He redeemed us in order that the blessing 00:08:46.409 --> 00:08:49.509 given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through 00:08:49.509 --> 00:08:53.110 Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive 00:08:53.110 --> 00:08:56.370 the promise of the Spirit. Brothers and sisters, 00:08:56.490 --> 00:09:00.070 let me take an example from everyday life. Just 00:09:00.070 --> 00:09:03.669 as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant 00:09:03.669 --> 00:09:06.750 that has been duly established, so it is in this 00:09:06.750 --> 00:09:09.970 case. The promises were spoken to Abraham and 00:09:09.970 --> 00:09:12.850 to his seed. Scripture does not say, and to seeds, 00:09:13.029 --> 00:09:15.889 meaning many people, but to and to your seed, 00:09:16.049 --> 00:09:19.429 meaning one person who is Christ. What I mean 00:09:19.429 --> 00:09:23.330 is this, the law introduced 430 years later does 00:09:23.330 --> 00:09:26.129 not set aside the covenant previously established 00:09:26.129 --> 00:09:29.909 by God and thus do away with the promise. For 00:09:29.909 --> 00:09:32.990 if the inheritance depends on the law, then it 00:09:32.990 --> 00:09:36.330 no longer depends on the promise. But God in 00:09:36.330 --> 00:09:38.850 his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. 00:09:39.529 --> 00:09:43.090 Why then was the law given at all? It was added 00:09:43.090 --> 00:09:45.690 because of the transgressions until the seed 00:09:45.690 --> 00:09:49.370 to whom the promise referred had come. The law 00:09:49.370 --> 00:09:52.950 was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 00:09:53.129 --> 00:09:56.629 A mediator, however, implies more than one party, 00:09:56.730 --> 00:10:01.830 but God is one. Is the law therefore opposed 00:10:01.830 --> 00:10:05.590 to the promises of God? Absolutely not. For if 00:10:05.590 --> 00:10:07.850 a law had been given that could impart life, 00:10:08.090 --> 00:10:10.389 then righteousness would certainly have come 00:10:10.389 --> 00:10:13.519 by the law. But scripture has locked up everything 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:16.539 under the control of sin so that what was promised 00:10:16.539 --> 00:10:19.580 being given through faith in Jesus Christ might 00:10:19.580 --> 00:10:23.159 be given to those who believe. Before the coming 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:25.840 of this faith, we were held in custody under 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:28.879 the law, locked up until the faith that was to 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:32.419 come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian 00:10:32.419 --> 00:10:35.360 until Christ came that we might be justified 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:38.840 by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are 00:10:38.840 --> 00:10:42.299 no longer under a guardian. So in Christ Jesus, 00:10:42.519 --> 00:10:46.059 you are all children of God through faith. For 00:10:46.059 --> 00:10:48.840 all of you who are baptized into Christ have 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:52.039 clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:56.679 Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor 00:10:56.679 --> 00:11:00.200 is there male and female. For you are all one 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:04.659 in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then 00:11:04.659 --> 00:11:08.440 you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to 00:11:08.440 --> 00:11:22.190 the promise. Let me ask you, where does your 00:11:22.190 --> 00:11:34.009 value come from? Where does your worth come from? 00:11:36.289 --> 00:11:48.629 What makes you relevant? How does... Your life 00:11:48.629 --> 00:11:57.870 matter. My sabbatical started in a way that I 00:11:57.870 --> 00:12:02.570 didn't expect. I was so excited to have this 00:12:02.570 --> 00:12:04.830 time. I was so intentional that I wasn't gonna 00:12:04.830 --> 00:12:10.210 waste any of it. And I intentionally began sabbatical 00:12:10.210 --> 00:12:14.129 going, okay, day one, here we go. And I woke 00:12:14.129 --> 00:12:18.419 up day one. And I felt like doing nothing. Nothing 00:12:18.419 --> 00:12:21.480 sounded good. No food sounded good. No activity 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:24.220 sounded good. And so I was like, okay, that's 00:12:24.220 --> 00:12:27.879 an anomaly. I'm just tired. Like day two, nothing. 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:31.960 Day three, nothing. And so you can imagine, I 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:33.600 was a pleasure to be around. My wife was like, 00:12:33.659 --> 00:12:38.559 I'm so glad you're home, right? And so as this 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:44.750 continued, I realized that What was gonna be 00:12:44.750 --> 00:12:48.789 true was for me to be here at Watson Lake on 00:12:48.789 --> 00:12:52.470 Easter with the church family, that was not going 00:12:52.470 --> 00:12:56.509 to be healthy for you or for me. And so what 00:12:56.509 --> 00:12:59.830 I realized was is I planned, I kind of left it 00:12:59.830 --> 00:13:01.990 open. I didn't put anything on calendar really 00:13:01.990 --> 00:13:05.950 and just went, God, as this thing goes and you 00:13:05.950 --> 00:13:08.389 lead, I'm gonna put something on. And so I knew 00:13:08.389 --> 00:13:10.210 kind of in the back of my head, my parents are 00:13:10.210 --> 00:13:12.250 in Montana. I wanna go to Montana and visit my 00:13:12.250 --> 00:13:16.679 parents. And so I also knew that God was leading 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:20.440 me to have times of silence and solitude, which 00:13:20.440 --> 00:13:23.039 I realized, you know, we're really not that quiet. 00:13:23.179 --> 00:13:26.440 I found that I'm by myself in silence and I'm 00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:28.919 singing and whistling and all kinds of stuff. 00:13:28.940 --> 00:13:31.259 I was like, oh, I don't do real well with this, 00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:35.899 right? But so I go to Montana. and Easter morning 00:13:35.899 --> 00:13:38.580 hits, right? And so I'm excited. There's a church 00:13:38.580 --> 00:13:40.360 up there. If you're familiar with Fresh Life 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:44.120 Church, Levi Lusko, I was excited. I've wanted 00:13:44.120 --> 00:13:46.740 to go forever, and Montana's a long ways away, 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:49.620 so never had. And I show up Easter Sunday at 00:13:49.620 --> 00:13:53.019 their main location, and I'm just excited to 00:13:53.019 --> 00:13:54.500 be there. I'm like a kid in a candy store, right? 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:57.679 And I get in their main room, and I don't know 00:13:57.679 --> 00:13:59.539 how many it holds. I'm just guessing, but roughly 00:13:59.539 --> 00:14:04.120 like 450 people. And if you know the influence 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:07.919 of that church within the nationwide Christian 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:12.440 circles and even beyond, I watched Levi come 00:14:12.440 --> 00:14:15.980 into a room of 425 people and you would have 00:14:15.980 --> 00:14:18.860 thought he was talking to the entire world, which 00:14:18.860 --> 00:14:20.620 I realize there's a camera, I get that part. 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:26.960 But deep in my soul, this question bubbles up. 00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:32.460 John, would you give your all if it was 425 in 00:14:32.460 --> 00:14:37.539 a room on Easter? Would you be satisfied? And 00:14:37.539 --> 00:14:39.100 I was like, oh, that doesn't taste very good. 00:14:39.139 --> 00:14:41.769 Let's keep that one out of the way, right? And 00:14:41.769 --> 00:14:43.509 so I planned because kind of being a church nerd, 00:14:43.610 --> 00:14:45.129 I was like, okay, they've got another location 00:14:45.129 --> 00:14:47.110 25 minutes away. It's a new building. I'm going 00:14:47.110 --> 00:14:49.230 to go to that location later in the morning. 00:14:49.610 --> 00:14:52.730 And so I go to the second location and I get 00:14:52.730 --> 00:14:55.330 there on time and I get to their building and 00:14:55.330 --> 00:14:58.809 it's new. And I go in and the room holds about 00:14:58.809 --> 00:15:03.309 125. And it's a remote location, right? So it's 00:15:03.309 --> 00:15:08.940 on screen. And I slide into my seat. And being 00:15:08.940 --> 00:15:10.899 the introvert I am, I pick the one on the end 00:15:10.899 --> 00:15:13.620 next to the window. The row in front of me is 00:15:13.620 --> 00:15:17.000 empty. The row I'm in is empty. And the row behind 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:21.059 me is empty. I am literally alone on Easter Sunday. 00:15:22.139 --> 00:15:25.580 And wouldn't you know, sitting there, watching 00:15:25.580 --> 00:15:28.120 clouds roll over the mountains on this side and 00:15:28.120 --> 00:15:32.080 church inside the room, all of a sudden my phone 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:36.120 starts pinging. And it's people from the Heights 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:40.529 family. And guess what they're doing? Easter's 00:15:40.529 --> 00:15:47.789 amazing. And you're not here. True story, direct 00:15:47.789 --> 00:15:56.470 quote. This is the best Easter ever. And I would 00:15:56.470 --> 00:16:00.169 love to tell you what happened was I respond 00:16:00.169 --> 00:16:06.639 and my responses were what? I truly believe in 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:10.379 my head, right? Like that's what we've been working 00:16:10.379 --> 00:16:13.159 towards. It's not dependent on a person that 00:16:13.159 --> 00:16:15.840 the church family and the gifts that God's given 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:18.580 that no matter who's where and what God's gonna 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:22.159 move and God's gonna work. And I wrote that back. 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:26.259 That's so great to hear. I'm so excited for you. 00:16:27.299 --> 00:16:30.220 But in the moment of my lips saying something, 00:16:30.299 --> 00:16:34.340 my heart is betraying me. My soul is betraying 00:16:34.340 --> 00:16:38.220 me. Because inside what's happening, I'm going, 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:45.559 God, am I still valuable? If I'm sitting next 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:50.320 to a window by myself on Easter Sunday, and I'm 00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:53.860 not using my gifts in the kingdom, and no one 00:16:53.860 --> 00:16:58.279 can see me and no one knows, God, do I still 00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:06.809 matter? Am I irrelevant? To the kingdom? Am I 00:17:06.809 --> 00:17:14.150 not needed? And so as I'm sitting there and there's 00:17:14.150 --> 00:17:21.089 this turmoil happening inside, I think there's 00:17:21.089 --> 00:17:23.730 something that throughout sabbatical, I was reading 00:17:23.730 --> 00:17:25.910 another book and I've kind of come to grips with 00:17:25.910 --> 00:17:28.230 this phrasing that I found. It's in a book by 00:17:28.230 --> 00:17:32.329 Tyler Stanton. But it's this, that the story 00:17:32.329 --> 00:17:37.170 you live in The story you live in is the story 00:17:37.170 --> 00:17:42.349 you'll live out. The story you live in is the 00:17:42.349 --> 00:17:45.589 story you will live out. Hey, here's what I mean, 00:17:45.650 --> 00:17:50.109 just in a simple sense. That if you believe, 00:17:50.450 --> 00:17:53.720 if you believe. That the way that you become 00:17:53.720 --> 00:17:57.660 successful is that you grind, you open the right 00:17:57.660 --> 00:18:01.160 doors, you do the work, you put in the time, 00:18:01.319 --> 00:18:04.299 you sacrifice everything, right? And you're going 00:18:04.299 --> 00:18:06.319 to attain that. Then guess what? You're going 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:08.200 to live out. If that's the story you believe 00:18:08.200 --> 00:18:10.180 that success is dependent on you, then guess 00:18:10.180 --> 00:18:12.119 what's going to happen? You are going to live 00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:14.700 like success is what? Dependent on you. And you're 00:18:14.700 --> 00:18:16.740 going to sacrifice everything on the altar of 00:18:16.740 --> 00:18:18.920 what? Of success. Why? Because the story you're 00:18:18.920 --> 00:18:21.059 inside of, the story you're living inside of 00:18:21.059 --> 00:18:25.150 is one where where it's dependent on you, right? 00:18:25.230 --> 00:18:29.049 The story, the story that you live in is what's 00:18:29.049 --> 00:18:33.390 going to come out. What you truly believe is 00:18:33.390 --> 00:18:36.460 what you are going to live out. And that's the 00:18:36.460 --> 00:18:40.339 same, that concept of the story and which story 00:18:40.339 --> 00:18:42.960 you're living in is what Paul is getting at in 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:45.920 Galatians chapter three, when he starts with, 00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:49.380 you foolish Galatians, right? Nice warm start. 00:18:49.500 --> 00:18:51.880 I should have come back. You foolish. No, I'm 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:55.279 just kidding. But he starts with, he starts with, 00:18:55.299 --> 00:18:57.599 because he wants their attention. He wants them 00:18:57.599 --> 00:19:01.490 to know how serious this is. How serious the 00:19:01.490 --> 00:19:04.869 story you are living in, that is going to determine 00:19:04.869 --> 00:19:08.170 what you do with your life. And so he begins 00:19:08.170 --> 00:19:16.750 super strong. Who, who, who has bewitched you? 00:19:17.549 --> 00:19:22.539 That who is singular. Why does that matter? Because 00:19:22.539 --> 00:19:24.859 what it's believed to be pointing to and what 00:19:24.859 --> 00:19:27.180 commentaries and people that are interpreting 00:19:27.180 --> 00:19:29.579 the Bible, what they will point back to is that 00:19:29.579 --> 00:19:32.359 this is actually what Paul is referencing is 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:37.220 Satan himself. Maybe just pausing for a second, 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:39.480 you realize, right, that you have an enemy today? 00:19:40.440 --> 00:19:43.420 There's an enemy of your soul today, right here, 00:19:43.500 --> 00:19:47.599 right now. The fact that you are in church today, 00:19:47.740 --> 00:19:50.420 the fact that you are sitting here today, the 00:19:50.420 --> 00:19:54.160 enemy is not happy about. You're in a war. Did 00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:59.079 you know that? Okay. A lot of heads nodding. 00:19:59.079 --> 00:20:02.299 This is where it's important. The story you live 00:20:02.299 --> 00:20:06.640 in is a story I'll live out. The story you live 00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:08.579 in is there is an enemy that's after your soul. 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:12.359 And so you sitting here, he's doubling down on 00:20:12.359 --> 00:20:16.460 you. The more steps you take to live by faith 00:20:16.460 --> 00:20:19.279 in the person of Jesus, the more the enemy is 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:22.599 coming. And what does he say here? He is trying 00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:25.339 to bewitch you. Isn't that fascinating? Bewitched 00:20:25.339 --> 00:20:28.920 is this word that is to be put under a spell. 00:20:29.700 --> 00:20:31.940 Think about the enemy for a second, right? You 00:20:31.940 --> 00:20:33.720 go back to the beginning of Genesis. How did 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:38.460 he start? He changes the story. He changes the 00:20:38.460 --> 00:20:40.619 story of what God's been writing and telling 00:20:40.619 --> 00:20:44.410 them. And they believe this false story, and 00:20:44.410 --> 00:20:47.250 therefore what they live out is a different story. 00:20:48.210 --> 00:20:50.930 And it has massive consequences even to you and 00:20:50.930 --> 00:20:53.329 me sitting here today. Why? Because we are born 00:20:53.329 --> 00:20:55.549 outside of the Garden of Eden. We weren't supposed 00:20:55.549 --> 00:20:58.769 to be born outside of the Garden of Eden. But 00:20:58.769 --> 00:21:01.150 the enemy changed the story. So what is he saying 00:21:01.150 --> 00:21:05.309 here? Hey, church in Galatia, the enemy has bewitched 00:21:05.309 --> 00:21:09.319 you, is what he's saying. Before your eyes, the 00:21:09.319 --> 00:21:11.779 rest of verse one, before your very eyes, Jesus 00:21:11.779 --> 00:21:15.200 was clearly portrayed as crucified. What is he 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:18.779 saying? The story that you got, because Paul 00:21:18.779 --> 00:21:21.480 knows how they stepped into faith with Jesus, 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:24.480 is he goes, you were given a very clear truth 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:27.680 about Jesus being crucified. You were given a 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:29.920 clear truth that he is the Messiah, the promised 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:32.460 one that showed up. He has rescued you. He has 00:21:32.460 --> 00:21:34.579 saved you. He has redeemed you by the cross and 00:21:34.579 --> 00:21:37.180 the empty tomb, right? Like this is true of you. 00:21:37.420 --> 00:21:40.960 is your story. And so he goes, okay, that's how 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:43.440 you started. Who's pulled you sideways? Verse 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:46.099 two, I would like to learn just one thing from 00:21:46.099 --> 00:21:50.900 you. Did you receive, did you receive, did you 00:21:50.900 --> 00:21:55.619 acquire, did you come into possession of the 00:21:55.619 --> 00:22:00.240 spirit by the work of the law or by believing 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.900 what you heard? Did you inherit the spirit of 00:22:04.900 --> 00:22:10.369 God? Did you inherit the Spirit by something 00:22:10.369 --> 00:22:19.089 you did to impress God? Did you get the gift 00:22:19.089 --> 00:22:23.190 of the Holy Spirit because you just happened 00:22:23.190 --> 00:22:29.069 to do the right thing? And God goes, oh, here 00:22:29.069 --> 00:22:33.630 you go. That's what he's getting at. Or, or. 00:22:34.250 --> 00:22:36.789 Is it what you believe? It's interesting, part 00:22:36.789 --> 00:22:39.730 of my sabbatical, and this will probably flesh 00:22:39.730 --> 00:22:41.849 out in weeks and months and years to come, but 00:22:41.849 --> 00:22:44.230 part of my sabbatical, you can sum up the Bible 00:22:44.230 --> 00:22:47.569 in one word, at least for me coming out of it, 00:22:47.650 --> 00:22:52.150 trust. Every story in the Bible is about trust. 00:22:53.450 --> 00:22:55.569 Everything it points to is about trust. Will 00:22:55.569 --> 00:23:00.789 you trust God and what he says? Will you trust 00:23:00.789 --> 00:23:05.299 God and the story he is writing? Okay, you realize 00:23:05.299 --> 00:23:08.740 you don't have a typewriter? Or some of you are 00:23:08.740 --> 00:23:11.279 like, what's a typewriter? Okay, you don't have 00:23:11.279 --> 00:23:13.339 a pen in your hand. You don't have a keyboard. 00:23:14.839 --> 00:23:19.460 You're not the author. So when we talk about 00:23:19.460 --> 00:23:23.420 which story you're living in, God is the author 00:23:23.420 --> 00:23:26.559 of the story that we are talking about, right? 00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:28.640 Like that we're diving into. God's the author. 00:23:29.629 --> 00:23:32.549 which means that if I'm going to live in his 00:23:32.549 --> 00:23:36.410 story, then it's by trust in that story. It's 00:23:36.410 --> 00:23:39.710 trust in what he says. It's trust in what, so 00:23:39.710 --> 00:23:42.630 it's me, it's me giving. And so in this context, 00:23:42.809 --> 00:23:46.750 right? Paul's going, hey, did you do something 00:23:46.750 --> 00:23:51.809 or did you get it by trusting? Verse three, he 00:23:51.809 --> 00:23:53.410 kind of doubles down as he goes through this. 00:23:53.509 --> 00:23:57.460 Are you so foolish? After beginning, after beginning 00:23:57.460 --> 00:24:00.220 by means of the spirit, you are now trying to 00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:02.640 finish by the means of the flesh. What is the 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:04.960 flesh? It's what you inherited being human. What 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:07.539 did you inherit? Well, what you have is opposed 00:24:07.539 --> 00:24:10.039 to God, right? Like you are born opposed to God. 00:24:10.180 --> 00:24:12.519 How do I know that? I got to hang out with my 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:16.079 grandbaby an awful lot. And you know what? It 00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:18.200 is the best season. You know why? Because you 00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:21.259 get to enjoy cuddles. You get to enjoy laughter. 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:23.640 You get to enjoy all that. And then you go, here 00:24:23.640 --> 00:24:27.450 you go. Go do the work, right? And you get to 00:24:27.450 --> 00:24:32.609 fall asleep, it's great. What I know hanging 00:24:32.609 --> 00:24:35.509 out with my grandson is when he doesn't get his 00:24:35.509 --> 00:24:39.049 way, you better believe he's gonna let you know. 00:24:40.410 --> 00:24:42.470 And he will let you know, and he will let you 00:24:42.470 --> 00:24:45.490 know until what? Until you do what he wants you 00:24:45.490 --> 00:24:48.630 to do. That's what we're all born with. It's 00:24:48.630 --> 00:24:51.769 cute in an eight month old, not so cute when 00:24:51.769 --> 00:24:55.190 we get old. Right? When we're still crying like 00:24:55.190 --> 00:24:57.930 a baby because we're not getting our way. And 00:24:57.930 --> 00:24:59.910 what he's saying here, that's the flesh, right? 00:24:59.990 --> 00:25:03.230 That we're born with this. I'm born opposed to 00:25:03.230 --> 00:25:06.750 what God wants. I'm born where it's like, I can 00:25:06.750 --> 00:25:10.170 do this. I can pull myself up. I can just be 00:25:10.170 --> 00:25:12.910 what I need to be, right? And God will honor 00:25:12.910 --> 00:25:16.390 me. And what he's saying here is, wait, how did 00:25:16.390 --> 00:25:19.369 you start? How did you start? This might be a 00:25:19.369 --> 00:25:21.210 bad picture. I don't know. We'll do it anyways. 00:25:24.420 --> 00:25:26.460 The idea of start and finish reminds me of a 00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:31.099 race. And when it comes to running a marathon, 00:25:31.299 --> 00:25:35.380 right? Which I am more than happy to cheer my 00:25:35.380 --> 00:25:37.759 kids on doing. That's my marathon activity. You 00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:39.940 know what I mean? Like they can go do it. I'll 00:25:39.940 --> 00:25:43.400 cheer you on. I'll sit with my grandson. But 00:25:43.400 --> 00:25:46.740 when it comes to a marathon, if you start running 00:25:46.740 --> 00:25:49.200 and then as you're running, you notice people 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:51.329 are getting ahead of you. And so you decide, 00:25:51.509 --> 00:25:53.529 I'm not gonna run anymore. I'm gonna get in a 00:25:53.529 --> 00:25:57.230 Formula One car and finish this race. For those 00:25:57.230 --> 00:25:59.789 of you that don't know, Formula One is by far 00:25:59.789 --> 00:26:03.170 one of the fastest ways to travel on this planet 00:26:03.170 --> 00:26:09.950 without leaving the planet, right? So what would 00:26:09.950 --> 00:26:13.829 happen? They would not allow you to run in the 00:26:13.829 --> 00:26:18.069 race anymore, right? So flip it because this 00:26:18.069 --> 00:26:21.339 is actually more true. When you said yes to Jesus, 00:26:21.359 --> 00:26:24.839 when your trust is in Jesus, you are put into 00:26:24.839 --> 00:26:28.420 a Formula One car, right? Like you are given 00:26:28.420 --> 00:26:30.940 the Holy Spirit. This is like, and you begin 00:26:30.940 --> 00:26:33.519 a Formula One race, right? Like you are going 00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:37.480 in the power of the Spirit. And all of a sudden 00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:39.279 you decide, I don't feel like driving a Formula 00:26:39.279 --> 00:26:46.539 One car. I'm gonna start running. Are you gonna 00:26:46.539 --> 00:26:51.579 win the race? No, not a chance. In fact, in fact, 00:26:51.579 --> 00:26:55.740 you wouldn't even be allowed. If you pull up 00:26:55.740 --> 00:26:58.279 to a marathon in a Formula One car, they're gonna 00:26:58.279 --> 00:27:03.180 be like, you're at the wrong race. Or vice versa, 00:27:03.259 --> 00:27:06.119 if you show up to a Formula One race and you're 00:27:06.119 --> 00:27:07.819 like, I'm just gonna run, they won't even allow 00:27:07.819 --> 00:27:10.680 you on the track. Why? Because those are two 00:27:10.680 --> 00:27:13.880 different events. Do you realize that those are 00:27:13.880 --> 00:27:16.180 two different stories that he's talking about? 00:27:17.740 --> 00:27:22.059 He's not comparing things that are alike. It's 00:27:22.059 --> 00:27:24.019 like comparing a marathon runner to a Formula 00:27:24.019 --> 00:27:28.240 One car. They're not even alike. And what he's 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:31.539 saying is when you stepped in, when you began, 00:27:31.799 --> 00:27:35.519 you began by trust. And if you think somehow, 00:27:35.660 --> 00:27:39.039 some way that, yes, I can come. And when I come 00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:42.559 to Jesus and I'm so needy and I'm in like, if 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:44.559 you think that's how you come to Jesus, right? 00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:47.220 Like, like we all come the same way where we 00:27:47.220 --> 00:27:50.619 recognize we need a savior. And then somehow 00:27:50.619 --> 00:27:54.299 you started that way. And now all of a sudden 00:27:54.299 --> 00:27:57.200 you're like, but I'm going to switch to. I'm 00:27:57.200 --> 00:28:01.519 gonna do the work. I'm gonna switch to, I'm gonna 00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:06.380 gain something more. Paul's going, it's not even 00:28:06.380 --> 00:28:08.519 comparable, you guys. It's not even the same 00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:12.980 activity. So which then he goes on to say in 00:28:12.980 --> 00:28:17.940 verse six, or sorry, verse four. Have you experienced 00:28:17.940 --> 00:28:19.559 so much in vain because they were going through 00:28:19.559 --> 00:28:21.740 suffering? Was it in vain that you went through 00:28:21.740 --> 00:28:24.400 suffering? If now you can. Carry on by yourself. 00:28:24.519 --> 00:28:26.759 So verse five. So again, I ask, does God give 00:28:26.759 --> 00:28:29.900 you his spirit and work miracles among you by 00:28:29.900 --> 00:28:32.579 the works of the law or by believing what you 00:28:32.579 --> 00:28:36.299 heard? Does God work miracles among you? I love 00:28:36.299 --> 00:28:41.240 that this is where he goes. You ever seen a miracle? 00:28:43.299 --> 00:28:45.980 You ever been a part or heard a story of someone's 00:28:45.980 --> 00:28:50.240 miracle that God did? How foolish would it be 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:52.559 to be like that person? They just did the right 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:55.019 thing. And because they did the right thing, 00:28:55.160 --> 00:28:58.819 God gave them the miracle. That's not how it 00:28:58.819 --> 00:29:01.900 works. And that's what he's getting at. He goes, 00:29:01.960 --> 00:29:04.920 you've seen it, Galatian church. You've seen 00:29:04.920 --> 00:29:08.380 God move and work. And how did that happen? It 00:29:08.380 --> 00:29:12.339 was by belief. It was by trust in that God, that 00:29:12.339 --> 00:29:15.740 savior, the trust that the Holy Spirit was working, 00:29:15.880 --> 00:29:18.140 that the Holy Spirit was gonna do what the Holy 00:29:18.140 --> 00:29:20.819 Spirit does, right? Like it was in trust in that. 00:29:20.900 --> 00:29:23.299 And now here you are trying to switch to get 00:29:23.299 --> 00:29:24.940 something else. Well, what were they trying to 00:29:24.940 --> 00:29:29.440 get? Verse six says this. So also Abraham believed 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:31.599 and it was credited to him as righteousness. 00:29:31.720 --> 00:29:35.480 So he now brings Abraham into it, right? Father 00:29:35.480 --> 00:29:37.799 Abraham, if you go back to the Old Testament, 00:29:37.960 --> 00:29:39.819 right, like you go back to the beginning, Father 00:29:39.819 --> 00:29:43.200 Abraham had many sons, had many sons, did Father 00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:46.680 Abraham, don't leave me hanging, and I am, and 00:29:46.680 --> 00:29:51.480 so are, man, we, you know why this makes me happy? 00:29:52.680 --> 00:29:54.940 You hear how many old school church people are 00:29:54.940 --> 00:29:57.880 singing right now? Yeah? That means there's a 00:29:57.880 --> 00:29:59.660 lot of you that have no clue what I'm even talking 00:29:59.660 --> 00:30:02.400 about. And that's amazing. That's amazing, right? 00:30:02.660 --> 00:30:05.819 And because here's the thing, right? Abraham, 00:30:06.099 --> 00:30:09.640 Abraham was the father of the faith for the Jews. 00:30:10.360 --> 00:30:13.920 And so what happens in this context is it says, 00:30:13.980 --> 00:30:17.380 so Abraham, the father of the faith, he believed, 00:30:17.420 --> 00:30:21.420 he trusted God. What was he trusting? God's story. 00:30:21.700 --> 00:30:24.819 What was God's story? Hey, Abraham, through you 00:30:24.819 --> 00:30:28.180 and your lineage, I'm gonna bring a savior that 00:30:28.180 --> 00:30:30.769 will bless the entire world. And what does it 00:30:30.769 --> 00:30:33.250 say that Abraham hung on to? He hung on to what? 00:30:33.670 --> 00:30:36.230 God's word, God's promise. He trusted that. And 00:30:36.230 --> 00:30:38.609 what came out of that is it says that it was 00:30:38.609 --> 00:30:42.930 credited. It was added to Abraham, a right standing 00:30:42.930 --> 00:30:46.990 with God. By faith, Abraham was made right with 00:30:46.990 --> 00:30:49.410 God, which is then why in verse seven, it says, 00:30:49.470 --> 00:30:53.529 understand then that those who have faith are 00:30:53.529 --> 00:30:57.349 children of Abraham. Now to us, we might be going 00:30:57.349 --> 00:31:00.390 like, John, why are we talking about children 00:31:00.390 --> 00:31:02.329 of Abraham? What does this have to do with anything, 00:31:02.569 --> 00:31:05.930 right? Well, remember, it's written to a church 00:31:05.930 --> 00:31:08.549 in a real place at a real time. These are real 00:31:08.549 --> 00:31:11.569 people. And they were in a church in an area 00:31:11.569 --> 00:31:15.069 of Galatia. And in Galatia, what happened, there 00:31:15.069 --> 00:31:17.069 was a group of people known as the Judaizers. 00:31:17.690 --> 00:31:20.490 And the Judaizers were Jewish Christians, meaning 00:31:20.490 --> 00:31:22.750 they had the heritage of being Jewish and they 00:31:22.750 --> 00:31:24.930 had come to know Jesus. They were Jewish Christians. 00:31:25.109 --> 00:31:27.809 And what the Judaizers were doing is they were 00:31:27.809 --> 00:31:31.170 trying to say to everybody else, the laws that 00:31:31.170 --> 00:31:34.190 we're still keeping, you need to keep. And so 00:31:34.190 --> 00:31:37.509 just because of the context and who's in the 00:31:37.509 --> 00:31:40.190 room and who's listening, one of those would 00:31:40.190 --> 00:31:41.529 have been circumcision. That's all I'm going 00:31:41.529 --> 00:31:44.569 to say about it, right? Can you imagine I come 00:31:44.569 --> 00:31:46.569 back from sabbatical and I'm like, guys, I got 00:31:46.569 --> 00:31:57.250 a great idea. But they also had things they were 00:31:57.250 --> 00:31:59.089 eating. And so you had to eat those things. And 00:31:59.089 --> 00:32:03.490 here's what the promise was. Hey, Gentiles who 00:32:03.490 --> 00:32:08.089 aren't Jewish, who earlier were separated and 00:32:08.089 --> 00:32:11.059 outsiders. They were saying, hey, if you want 00:32:11.059 --> 00:32:13.920 to become the true sons of Abraham, if you want 00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:17.339 to get a better Christianity, if you want a closer 00:32:17.339 --> 00:32:20.099 standing with God, if you want to be on the real 00:32:20.099 --> 00:32:22.640 inside track, then you need to do these things 00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:28.059 to become a true child of Abraham. Which is why 00:32:28.059 --> 00:32:31.200 Paul's writing and going, listen to his words. 00:32:31.259 --> 00:32:34.140 They're so straightforward. He goes, those who 00:32:34.140 --> 00:32:37.940 have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture 00:32:37.940 --> 00:32:40.220 foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles. 00:32:40.259 --> 00:32:43.819 He would make right the Gentiles by faith, by 00:32:43.819 --> 00:32:47.500 trust in what he has said and in what he has 00:32:47.500 --> 00:32:51.279 done and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham. 00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:53.700 All nations will be blessed through you. So those 00:32:53.700 --> 00:32:57.319 who rely on faith, those who rely on trust are 00:32:57.319 --> 00:33:01.660 blessed, are what? What's that word? Blessed, 00:33:01.980 --> 00:33:06.160 blessed. Who's blessed? Those that rely by trust. 00:33:07.529 --> 00:33:11.529 Right? By belief, by faith, they are blessed 00:33:11.529 --> 00:33:14.130 along with Abraham, not separate from Abraham. 00:33:14.390 --> 00:33:17.250 They're blessed with Abraham, the man of faith. 00:33:17.829 --> 00:33:20.609 So you have this one side where he's going, hey, 00:33:20.670 --> 00:33:23.750 if you are living your life, if the story that 00:33:23.750 --> 00:33:27.970 you are in is that you are blessed by God simply 00:33:27.970 --> 00:33:34.569 because you put your trust in God, he goes, you're 00:33:34.569 --> 00:33:37.490 just like Abraham. But then there's another group 00:33:37.490 --> 00:33:40.589 of people he brings up. For all who rely, verse 00:33:40.589 --> 00:33:42.730 10, for all who rely on the works of the law 00:33:42.730 --> 00:33:49.289 are under a curse. As it is written, cursed is 00:33:49.289 --> 00:33:51.950 everyone who does not continue to do everything 00:33:51.950 --> 00:33:56.349 written in the book of the law. So now he goes, 00:33:56.450 --> 00:34:01.730 okay, there's two stories. One story is you believe 00:34:01.730 --> 00:34:05.690 and you receive, you acquire. Right? I believe 00:34:05.690 --> 00:34:07.849 this to be true. I believe what God has written. 00:34:07.890 --> 00:34:10.530 I believe what God has done. I believe what Jesus 00:34:10.530 --> 00:34:14.010 has accomplished. I believe that. And what I've 00:34:14.010 --> 00:34:17.449 done is I've received. The other story is this, 00:34:17.530 --> 00:34:22.269 that I work really hard. And when I work really 00:34:22.269 --> 00:34:27.869 hard, therefore I get more. If I do this, then 00:34:27.869 --> 00:34:30.829 I get that. Can I just use words from scripture? 00:34:31.590 --> 00:34:35.639 Those of you. that are living your story, living 00:34:35.639 --> 00:34:39.059 out your story. And the living out of your story 00:34:39.059 --> 00:34:42.260 is I gotta do more so that I get more. I gotta 00:34:42.260 --> 00:34:46.719 do more so that I maybe get that from God. According 00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:56.739 to Paul, that is cursed. It's cursed. It can't 00:34:56.739 --> 00:35:02.500 work. It can't work. Why is this important, you 00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:05.679 guys? There are good things we do that we twist. 00:35:07.300 --> 00:35:10.059 You know what? I really wanna see a miracle of 00:35:10.059 --> 00:35:11.820 God. So what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna pray and 00:35:11.820 --> 00:35:16.039 I'm gonna fast. So something that should be a 00:35:16.039 --> 00:35:19.079 spiritual discipline to draw us closer to the 00:35:19.079 --> 00:35:20.739 relationship that we have with God, where we 00:35:20.739 --> 00:35:22.900 hear his voice and we draw near to him, what 00:35:22.900 --> 00:35:24.760 have we done? We've gone, if I do this and I 00:35:24.760 --> 00:35:31.500 do this, then, then I deserve a miracle. That's 00:35:31.500 --> 00:35:33.539 working under the law and God says that's cursed. 00:35:35.460 --> 00:35:38.659 Let's take a generic, or not generic, but maybe 00:35:38.659 --> 00:35:42.559 something easier to understand, right? Okay, 00:35:42.659 --> 00:35:46.440 God is my provider. My head goes, God is my provider. 00:35:46.559 --> 00:35:48.800 I know that, God's our provider, right? Like 00:35:48.800 --> 00:35:52.920 we know that here, but the story I'm living out 00:35:52.920 --> 00:36:00.210 is over here, I'm in turmoil. I'm striving everything 00:36:00.210 --> 00:36:03.309 I can. So over here, I know God's my provider, 00:36:03.389 --> 00:36:05.889 right? And head knowledge. But what's actually 00:36:05.889 --> 00:36:08.010 playing out in my life is I actually haven't 00:36:08.010 --> 00:36:10.389 believed is the story I'm inside of. And I haven't 00:36:10.389 --> 00:36:11.949 believed that this God is my provider. And I 00:36:11.949 --> 00:36:14.150 haven't believed this God is good. And I haven't 00:36:14.150 --> 00:36:16.329 believed that this God will show up for me. And 00:36:16.329 --> 00:36:18.030 I haven't believed that my needs will be met 00:36:18.030 --> 00:36:20.150 by him because I got to go meet those needs. 00:36:20.969 --> 00:36:23.269 You see how it works, right? Like it's so subtle. 00:36:24.099 --> 00:36:25.880 That what I've done is I've shifted the story. 00:36:25.940 --> 00:36:29.039 Instead of God being my provider, now I'm my 00:36:29.039 --> 00:36:32.840 provider and I'm doing the work and I'm striving 00:36:32.840 --> 00:36:35.199 and I'm trying to, right? Like think about it 00:36:35.199 --> 00:36:38.280 in the sense of, this one's a sensitive one. 00:36:40.780 --> 00:36:44.900 But sometimes when we long for healing, right? 00:36:44.960 --> 00:36:48.719 Like we know God is our healer, but if I just 00:36:48.719 --> 00:36:52.500 have enough faith. You see what happened? We 00:36:52.500 --> 00:36:56.280 preached a different gospel. We're in another 00:36:56.280 --> 00:36:58.800 story, a story where if I have enough faith, 00:36:58.900 --> 00:37:03.619 then what? Then God will somehow do that. It's 00:37:03.619 --> 00:37:09.079 so subtle. It's so subtle. And what Paul carries 00:37:09.079 --> 00:37:11.920 on with then. As he said, clearly, verse 11, 00:37:12.059 --> 00:37:14.460 clearly no one who relies on the law is justified 00:37:14.460 --> 00:37:17.079 before God. No one who relies on the law, if 00:37:17.079 --> 00:37:19.179 you are here and you think you got to do something, 00:37:19.280 --> 00:37:21.820 and if you do just that, then you'll get that. 00:37:21.980 --> 00:37:24.539 You just need to understand that no one who lives 00:37:24.539 --> 00:37:26.800 that way, he says, clearly no one who relies 00:37:26.800 --> 00:37:29.400 on the law is justified before God. You're not 00:37:29.400 --> 00:37:31.460 made right because the righteous will live by 00:37:31.460 --> 00:37:33.840 faith. The law is not based on faith. The law 00:37:33.840 --> 00:37:37.559 is not based on faith. When you live in a way 00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:40.380 that you have to do something to, You get something 00:37:40.380 --> 00:37:43.139 from God. What he's saying is that's not faith. 00:37:43.360 --> 00:37:49.119 That's work. The law is not based on faith. On 00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:50.940 the contrary, it says the person who does these 00:37:50.940 --> 00:37:56.239 things will live by them. Christ redeemed us. 00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:02.519 Christ Jesus redeemed. He bought back. What did 00:38:02.519 --> 00:38:05.920 he buy back? The false story that you got to 00:38:05.920 --> 00:38:10.150 do something for God to like you. What did he 00:38:10.150 --> 00:38:12.550 buy back? That you got to do something to get 00:38:12.550 --> 00:38:15.769 something. He bought it back. He redeemed it. 00:38:15.809 --> 00:38:18.349 How? By going to a cross, by dying, by taking 00:38:18.349 --> 00:38:21.030 it to a tomb and leaving the false story in the 00:38:21.030 --> 00:38:23.449 tomb and being raised to life. And what was he 00:38:23.449 --> 00:38:25.789 raised with? The story that God always intended. 00:38:25.989 --> 00:38:28.150 That what? That God has made a way when there 00:38:28.150 --> 00:38:31.630 wasn't a way. That God has provided for you. 00:38:34.019 --> 00:38:37.179 It gets even, he flushes out even more that he's 00:38:37.179 --> 00:38:39.360 redeemed us from the curse of the law. He's redeemed 00:38:39.360 --> 00:38:41.559 us from having to live by this. I got a due to 00:38:41.559 --> 00:38:43.940 get for it is written, cursed is everyone who 00:38:43.940 --> 00:38:48.179 is hung on a pole. He redeemed us in order that 00:38:48.179 --> 00:38:50.760 the blessing, in order that the blessing given 00:38:50.760 --> 00:38:53.320 to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through 00:38:53.320 --> 00:38:56.780 Christ Jesus. So that, here's the why. So that 00:38:56.780 --> 00:39:03.039 by faith, by faith, how? By trust. In what? What 00:39:03.039 --> 00:39:04.840 Jesus has done. How do you know what Jesus has 00:39:04.840 --> 00:39:11.340 done? God told you what Jesus has done. By faith, 00:39:11.380 --> 00:39:17.519 by trust, by trust, we might receive, we might 00:39:17.519 --> 00:39:24.719 acquire what? The promise of the spirit. You 00:39:24.719 --> 00:39:34.630 guys hold up right here. right now with all of 00:39:34.630 --> 00:39:38.610 the thoughts in your head and all of the things 00:39:38.610 --> 00:39:42.690 that you think you don't measure up in, that 00:39:42.690 --> 00:39:47.150 when you came to Jesus and your trust was placed 00:39:47.150 --> 00:39:52.630 in him, he in turn, he in turn did what? Allowed 00:39:52.630 --> 00:39:57.400 you to acquire. The Holy Spirit himself, now 00:39:57.400 --> 00:40:00.400 the Holy Spirit, let's put it in context. How 00:40:00.400 --> 00:40:02.880 did Jesus perform the miracles that Jesus did? 00:40:03.039 --> 00:40:05.380 Through the power of the Holy Spirit. The same 00:40:05.380 --> 00:40:08.159 spirit that was in Jesus has been placed into 00:40:08.159 --> 00:40:12.880 you. And so the Holy Spirit now inside of you, 00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:18.840 you have the same spirit, the same power right 00:40:18.840 --> 00:40:22.460 here, right now. How? Not by anything you did. 00:40:24.940 --> 00:40:27.480 But by simply going, I believe this to be true. 00:40:32.019 --> 00:40:35.280 He goes on to talk about the law and you can 00:40:35.280 --> 00:40:37.239 read that later, but basically it's this comparison, 00:40:37.420 --> 00:40:39.860 right? Of, well, maybe the law took the promise 00:40:39.860 --> 00:40:42.400 and he goes, that's not true. The law can't take 00:40:42.400 --> 00:40:44.420 the promise. And he gets down to this idea that 00:40:44.420 --> 00:40:47.539 the law is a guardian. Now, I don't know what 00:40:47.539 --> 00:40:49.059 you think about the law, what comes to mind when 00:40:49.059 --> 00:40:51.400 you think about the law. I know in my life, the 00:40:51.400 --> 00:40:54.389 law was a good guardian. How do I know that? 00:40:54.769 --> 00:40:57.650 I can't even keep the 10 commandments, let alone 00:40:57.650 --> 00:41:03.010 the 613. I just fail. I just fail right out the 00:41:03.010 --> 00:41:06.590 gate. Don't have any other God. I put things 00:41:06.590 --> 00:41:11.309 in the place of God all the time. I know what 00:41:11.309 --> 00:41:14.090 my flesh is. I know what I inherited. I know 00:41:14.090 --> 00:41:18.869 that then within me, there's nothing good. The 00:41:18.869 --> 00:41:21.110 only good is the spirit of Jesus and what he 00:41:21.110 --> 00:41:26.429 is doing to renew. So in this context, what he's 00:41:26.429 --> 00:41:28.449 getting at is the guardian came along and it 00:41:28.449 --> 00:41:31.170 was temporary. What was the guardian? That you 00:41:31.170 --> 00:41:34.809 would see that this due to get, it's exhausting 00:41:34.809 --> 00:41:39.909 and it doesn't work. To bring you back to the 00:41:39.909 --> 00:41:42.070 person of Jesus, it says, before the coming of 00:41:42.070 --> 00:41:44.510 the faith, we were held in custody under the 00:41:44.510 --> 00:41:46.750 law, locked up until the faith that was to come 00:41:46.750 --> 00:41:49.309 would be revealed. So the law was our guardian. 00:41:49.920 --> 00:41:52.380 Until Christ came that we might be justified, 00:41:52.480 --> 00:41:56.420 made right, by what? By faith, by trust. Now 00:41:56.420 --> 00:42:00.059 that this faith has come, we are no longer under 00:42:00.059 --> 00:42:03.579 a guardian. Don't miss this. So, so, here's where 00:42:03.579 --> 00:42:07.500 it's all been building to. So in Christ Jesus, 00:42:07.699 --> 00:42:12.219 you are all children of God through what? Through 00:42:12.219 --> 00:42:21.349 trust, through faith. Okay, okay. Here and now, 00:42:21.570 --> 00:42:27.329 God, because some of you came in and you're like, 00:42:27.449 --> 00:42:32.650 I don't even know if God sees me. I don't even 00:42:32.650 --> 00:42:42.610 know if I'm known. Are you kidding? God not only 00:42:42.610 --> 00:42:48.260 sees you, but he knows you. The Bible talks about 00:42:48.260 --> 00:42:50.639 he knows you so intimately that he knows the 00:42:50.639 --> 00:42:57.780 hairs on your head or lack thereof. He knows 00:42:57.780 --> 00:42:59.900 the ones that have fallen out. They won't grow 00:42:59.900 --> 00:43:06.539 back. He knows you so intimately that he knows 00:43:06.539 --> 00:43:11.900 your very thoughts that you've had. That he sees 00:43:11.900 --> 00:43:18.400 you so deeply. That while your lips may be sitting 00:43:18.400 --> 00:43:21.960 in church betraying what your soul is actually 00:43:21.960 --> 00:43:25.159 saying, that he knows you so deeply that he wants 00:43:25.159 --> 00:43:31.940 to have a conversation in your soul today. And 00:43:31.940 --> 00:43:33.780 he wants to remind you, what does he want to 00:43:33.780 --> 00:43:39.559 remind you of? That you are a child of God. That 00:43:39.559 --> 00:43:43.300 you're his kid. Okay, let's God -size this, right? 00:43:43.380 --> 00:43:46.969 Because we get lost in this. Go outside the universe, 00:43:47.130 --> 00:43:51.409 that God. Right, like outside the unknown universe, 00:43:51.590 --> 00:43:55.469 that God. The God who is all powerful, who is 00:43:55.469 --> 00:43:59.429 all knowing, who is all present, that God, the 00:43:59.429 --> 00:44:04.210 creator God, that God is your father is what 00:44:04.210 --> 00:44:07.789 he calls himself. And we can look at it, church. 00:44:08.989 --> 00:44:12.030 You can look at it and you can put your earthly 00:44:12.030 --> 00:44:14.070 lens on, right? And what I mean by your earthly 00:44:14.070 --> 00:44:20.309 lens, we all got earthly dads, right? I don't 00:44:20.309 --> 00:44:22.730 know what your lineage is, your heritage is of 00:44:22.730 --> 00:44:26.769 your family. And it can be really easy to hear 00:44:26.769 --> 00:44:29.369 that God is my father and it can be really easy 00:44:29.369 --> 00:44:31.809 to get lost in that. I was reading a book over 00:44:31.809 --> 00:44:33.789 sabbatical and one of the phrases that I've fallen 00:44:33.789 --> 00:44:36.590 in love with is that he is the perfect father. 00:44:37.670 --> 00:44:40.190 He's the perfect father. Everything you can imagine 00:44:40.190 --> 00:44:41.969 a father should be, everything you could want 00:44:41.969 --> 00:44:44.730 a father should be, and even more, God the father 00:44:44.730 --> 00:44:49.369 is to you. I think I'm a pretty good dad. I try 00:44:49.369 --> 00:44:51.789 to be. I love my kids. I do anything for my kids. 00:44:52.170 --> 00:44:54.349 I try to tell them as often as I can how loved 00:44:54.349 --> 00:44:57.489 they are, how nothing will change that. They'll 00:44:57.489 --> 00:45:04.210 always be my kids. I don't even compare to your 00:45:04.210 --> 00:45:11.059 father in heaven. I'm not even a shadow. And 00:45:11.059 --> 00:45:14.539 he looks at you today and he goes, I love you. 00:45:18.139 --> 00:45:25.639 I love you enough that I would step onto the 00:45:25.639 --> 00:45:30.480 planet. I mean, you think how degrading for the 00:45:30.480 --> 00:45:36.840 King of Kings to become human. We're not that 00:45:36.840 --> 00:45:42.480 impressive, you guys. To live in the midst of 00:45:42.480 --> 00:45:47.579 a broken and in his context, an oppressed people. 00:45:48.239 --> 00:45:54.119 He was born into slavery. He was born into mistreatment. 00:45:54.920 --> 00:46:04.719 Why? Why? So that he could go to a cross. To 00:46:04.719 --> 00:46:07.860 take all of those thoughts about shame and guilt 00:46:07.860 --> 00:46:12.159 that you let be your story. Your story is not 00:46:12.159 --> 00:46:14.980 shame and guilt. Your story is you are a free 00:46:14.980 --> 00:46:20.320 child of God because of Jesus. The stories we 00:46:20.320 --> 00:46:22.579 tell ourselves that were not enough or was somehow 00:46:22.579 --> 00:46:27.670 not measuring up or that is not your story. Who 00:46:27.670 --> 00:46:30.309 you are, it's identity. Who you are, you are 00:46:30.309 --> 00:46:35.409 a child of God and that cannot change. That is 00:46:35.409 --> 00:46:44.429 who you are. And you, you are loved by God exactly 00:46:44.429 --> 00:46:54.369 as you are right now. You guys sitting in a church, 00:46:55.880 --> 00:47:00.840 On Easter Sunday alone, while y 'all were partying, 00:47:00.860 --> 00:47:02.400 I'm just gonna say, right? Like while you were 00:47:02.400 --> 00:47:09.500 all were losing your minds. I'm so thankful that 00:47:09.500 --> 00:47:12.340 God loved me enough to have a real conversation 00:47:12.340 --> 00:47:17.739 with my soul. I'm so thankful that my heavenly 00:47:17.739 --> 00:47:23.519 father loved me enough to sit with me in that 00:47:23.519 --> 00:47:30.750 row. It's a whisper. On your way in, you should 00:47:30.750 --> 00:47:33.949 receive one of these. I got two questions for 00:47:33.949 --> 00:47:41.050 you. First one is this, how did you receive it? 00:47:42.389 --> 00:47:44.670 How did you receive what you have in your hand? 00:47:44.769 --> 00:47:46.570 I don't mean how did you receive the cup? I don't 00:47:46.570 --> 00:47:52.789 mean who gave you that. I mean what this represents. 00:47:53.579 --> 00:47:57.199 Your salvation, your freedom, your rescue, your 00:47:57.199 --> 00:48:00.880 standing with God, your gift of salvation. How 00:48:00.880 --> 00:48:03.800 did you receive it? How did you acquire your 00:48:03.800 --> 00:48:06.920 gift of salvation? Because that is your true 00:48:06.920 --> 00:48:13.420 story. That it was by faith. It was by trust. 00:48:16.420 --> 00:48:22.179 The second question is this. And it's more of 00:48:22.179 --> 00:48:26.309 a conversation. than a question for you to ask 00:48:26.309 --> 00:48:30.590 the Holy Spirit in a moment of reflection, Holy 00:48:30.590 --> 00:48:36.409 Spirit, how am I not living in the story you 00:48:36.409 --> 00:48:43.070 have given me? What am I living out? Reveal to 00:48:43.070 --> 00:48:47.730 me. My prayer going to Montana was search me 00:48:47.730 --> 00:48:53.519 and know me and reveal what's not of you. I don't 00:48:53.519 --> 00:48:55.320 know if I'll ever pray that again, if I'm honest, 00:48:55.500 --> 00:49:03.559 because it's pretty dark, pretty sideways. But 00:49:03.559 --> 00:49:06.139 Holy Spirit, would you show us, would you show 00:49:06.139 --> 00:49:09.920 me where am I not living the story you've put 00:49:09.920 --> 00:49:12.239 me in? So the next moment's yours, then we'll 00:49:12.239 --> 00:50:28.679 take it all together. I left that church on Easter 00:50:28.679 --> 00:50:33.719 Sunday and the place I was staying at, if I walked 00:50:33.719 --> 00:50:36.860 one direction, it took me to the mountains, like 00:50:36.860 --> 00:50:39.420 just massive majestic mountain in front of me. 00:50:41.420 --> 00:50:43.980 And I left the church beating myself up pretty 00:50:43.980 --> 00:50:48.019 good. I wasn't kind to myself. Didn't know how 00:50:48.019 --> 00:50:50.099 it had gone sideways. My soul felt shredded. 00:50:52.360 --> 00:50:56.599 And as I'm walking along, All by myself. It was 00:50:56.599 --> 00:50:58.840 in between seasons. It's not ski season, but 00:50:58.840 --> 00:51:00.559 it's not boat season. And so there was nobody 00:51:00.559 --> 00:51:05.460 around. And out of nowhere on this mountain, 00:51:05.599 --> 00:51:10.139 this cloud comes down. And anywhere in scripture, 00:51:10.340 --> 00:51:13.139 the cloud is represented to the presence, very 00:51:13.139 --> 00:51:17.400 presence of God. And it was just enough that 00:51:17.400 --> 00:51:19.800 it caught my attention. And so my focus was there. 00:51:19.820 --> 00:51:21.420 My thoughts were there. And out of nowhere, I 00:51:21.420 --> 00:51:25.760 just felt this internal voice go. John, I walked 00:51:25.760 --> 00:51:30.820 with Moses and I'll walk with you. I'm here. 00:51:32.420 --> 00:51:34.920 And it was a complete recentering of my soul 00:51:34.920 --> 00:51:38.920 for me. God loved me enough to put me in a little 00:51:38.920 --> 00:51:41.179 church on Easter Sunday to lead me to a mountain 00:51:41.179 --> 00:51:45.079 to tell me I'm here. I believe that communion 00:51:45.079 --> 00:51:48.280 is our recentering. It's our recentering to the 00:51:48.280 --> 00:51:52.480 story that is true. The story that we said yes 00:51:52.480 --> 00:51:57.260 to, that we get so sideways on. And you think 00:51:57.260 --> 00:51:59.119 about those early disciples, right? They're gathered 00:51:59.119 --> 00:52:01.440 around the table and chaos is about to break 00:52:01.440 --> 00:52:05.659 loose for them. Turmoil is about to overtake 00:52:05.659 --> 00:52:09.820 them, confusion. And what does Jesus go? Hey, 00:52:09.900 --> 00:52:13.139 here's your anchor. Take this bread and remind 00:52:13.139 --> 00:52:17.360 yourself that it's my body and it's given, given. 00:52:17.500 --> 00:52:19.360 You didn't earn it. You didn't do anything for 00:52:19.360 --> 00:52:22.579 it. I came and I laid it down. Why? Because I 00:52:22.579 --> 00:52:30.980 love you. Do this in remembrance of me. He took 00:52:30.980 --> 00:52:37.460 the cup of wine, cup of redemption, and he reminded 00:52:37.460 --> 00:52:41.780 them that forgiveness, because he would take 00:52:41.780 --> 00:52:45.019 all of the sin of every human being, both past, 00:52:45.019 --> 00:52:47.599 present, and future, of every single human being, 00:52:47.619 --> 00:52:51.320 and he would put it on himself, and his blood 00:52:51.320 --> 00:52:53.980 would be sufficient to pay the price that when 00:52:53.980 --> 00:52:57.579 we sit here and we partake of the cup, That we're 00:52:57.579 --> 00:53:01.619 reminded you are, you are, you are. It's not 00:53:01.619 --> 00:53:06.679 in question. You are forgiven. No more guilt, 00:53:06.760 --> 00:53:13.280 no more shame, no more pain. It's gone. Because 00:53:13.280 --> 00:53:16.639 you're forgiven. And he handed him a cup. He 00:53:16.639 --> 00:53:18.500 said, take drink, do this in remembrance of me. 00:53:23.449 --> 00:53:25.670 God, we thank you this morning. Thank you for 00:53:25.670 --> 00:53:30.110 being so good. You are so, so good to us. God, 00:53:30.190 --> 00:53:32.409 we don't deserve it in any way, shape, or form 00:53:32.409 --> 00:53:39.230 that you would look our way. But God, it's not 00:53:39.230 --> 00:53:41.789 even that you just look our way. Look our way. 00:53:41.849 --> 00:53:46.630 You showed up. And you have made a way where 00:53:46.630 --> 00:53:51.780 there seemed to be no way. You held your promises 00:53:51.780 --> 00:53:55.579 when you didn't have to. You provided miracles 00:53:55.579 --> 00:53:58.159 and worked miracles on our behalf when you didn't 00:53:58.159 --> 00:54:00.500 have to. And so God, we just say thank you. Thank 00:54:00.500 --> 00:54:03.920 you for being so, so good to us. Thank you for 00:54:03.920 --> 00:54:07.960 being a way maker today. God, as we continue 00:54:07.960 --> 00:54:10.280 to worship, as we continue to raise our voices, 00:54:10.300 --> 00:54:12.539 would your spirit work in this place? Would you 00:54:12.539 --> 00:54:15.500 continue to have conversation with us? Would 00:54:15.500 --> 00:54:17.659 we leave here changed because we met with the 00:54:17.659 --> 00:54:21.579 living God? And so we just say, thank you. Thank 00:54:21.579 --> 00:54:23.559 you for loving us first. And everybody said, 00:54:23.739 --> 00:54:25.019 amen.