WEBVTT 00:00:00.579 --> 00:00:04.200 Welcome. We might not have met before. My name 00:00:04.200 --> 00:00:05.960 is Noah. I get to be our youth pastor over at 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:08.000 our Prescott Valley location at Park Collective. 00:00:08.820 --> 00:00:12.000 It's good to be here with you. A special welcome 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:13.919 as well, wherever you're joining us, whether 00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:17.579 it be online or in Paulding or Baghdad, we love 00:00:17.579 --> 00:00:20.260 you. We hope you feel welcome. A special shout 00:00:20.260 --> 00:00:22.179 out to California right now. I got some family 00:00:22.179 --> 00:00:24.699 in California and I love them. And so, hello 00:00:24.699 --> 00:00:29.760 family. Nice to see you. Y 'all. We might not 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:31.760 have met, but you need to know that I am married, 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:35.439 that I have a wonderful son who is almost two 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:38.960 years old at this point. And y 'all, if you were 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:43.100 around our house yesterday, you would have been 00:00:43.100 --> 00:00:46.100 like, what is going on there? We were yelling 00:00:46.100 --> 00:00:49.659 and screaming for England on Saturday. Yeah, 00:00:49.780 --> 00:00:53.479 and they came through against Norway. So much 00:00:53.479 --> 00:00:57.719 so that this was my son. I have a video. There 00:00:57.719 --> 00:01:02.020 he is, just excited as can be. I know he's wearing 00:01:02.020 --> 00:01:05.599 an Arsenal kit. Do not worry, that will not stay. 00:01:05.700 --> 00:01:10.019 He is a Liverpool fan at heart. You can give 00:01:10.019 --> 00:01:12.780 Pastor John a hard time about that because he's 00:01:12.780 --> 00:01:17.040 just wrong about this, I'm sorry. But man, I 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:19.480 was a little bit disappointed last week because 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:23.319 US did not win. I was very disappointed. We can 00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:26.299 all boo that, boo. I know, this is the worst. 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:30.439 And in the commentary I heard, particularly around 00:01:30.439 --> 00:01:33.180 the England game, they were still talking about 00:01:33.180 --> 00:01:35.980 the US and what they were comparing the two teams 00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:40.379 is that England had a stable foundation in their 00:01:40.379 --> 00:01:44.799 back line and the Americans did not. And it was 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:47.079 so funny to me because I had really, I'd grown 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:49.120 up playing soccer my whole life. I married into 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:52.799 a soccer family. I just had never heard foundation 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:55.280 applied to a team before like that. It was kind 00:01:55.280 --> 00:01:58.540 of interesting. Because before this, my kind 00:01:58.540 --> 00:02:02.079 of conception of what a foundation is, again, 00:02:02.180 --> 00:02:04.420 I'm going to demonstrate my ignorance to you. 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:07.579 I have very rarely picked up tools to do hardly 00:02:07.579 --> 00:02:11.300 anything, but I just assumed, go with me, that 00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:15.960 a foundation was a concrete slab and you just 00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:18.379 build up on it. That's your foundation. It's 00:02:18.379 --> 00:02:20.719 that concrete slab. Some of you are already laughing 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:23.340 because you know that's not what it is. So I 00:02:23.340 --> 00:02:26.759 was curious. My house. Never looked at my foundation? 00:02:27.020 --> 00:02:30.379 Some of you are like, you never checked out the 00:02:30.379 --> 00:02:33.639 foundation? No, I never, I kid you not this week, 00:02:33.780 --> 00:02:36.979 okay? I'm like, huh, I've never been down here. 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:38.819 I'm gonna look at what my foundation is. This 00:02:38.819 --> 00:02:45.280 is what I found. Okay, what you're seeing right 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:49.180 now is three pillars that are holding up my house. 00:02:50.650 --> 00:02:53.229 Now, I did text this picture to a contractor 00:02:53.229 --> 00:02:55.289 I knew. We are very good friends. And I said, 00:02:55.349 --> 00:02:58.110 look, I'm just, my wife and son are at home. 00:02:58.710 --> 00:03:03.210 Is this safe? Like, what, three pillars? Like, 00:03:03.250 --> 00:03:06.669 how is that? I jump around, you know? Like, Saturday 00:03:06.669 --> 00:03:09.050 was England. Like, am I going to fall through 00:03:09.050 --> 00:03:11.389 the floor? I was assured that this is a stable 00:03:11.389 --> 00:03:14.129 foundation. It doesn't look like it, but it is. 00:03:15.169 --> 00:03:19.389 And I think it's so funny because many of us, 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:24.419 as we go through this life, don't think about, 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:30.120 don't know what our foundation is. And the reason 00:03:30.120 --> 00:03:32.780 we find out what our foundation is is when the 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:35.259 wheels have come off and everything is, you're 00:03:35.259 --> 00:03:39.120 sitting in a pile of rubble. And I want to talk 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:41.599 about that today. I want to talk about that because 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:47.180 I believe that Jesus Christ alone is our foundation. 00:03:48.519 --> 00:03:51.719 And yes, it is so good that we have this foundation. 00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:56.300 And I think sometimes we say Christ is our foundation, 00:03:56.319 --> 00:03:58.759 but then when we try to look at specifically 00:03:58.759 --> 00:04:02.259 how he's our foundation, we kind of default to 00:04:02.259 --> 00:04:04.620 that, well, Jesus is the foundation. What do 00:04:04.620 --> 00:04:08.080 you mean by that? He's the foundation. Okay, 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:11.379 what do you like? What specifically? Jesus. Well, 00:04:11.479 --> 00:04:13.939 that's fine. What I want to do is I want to give 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:16.540 kind of very similar to what that picture was. 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:20.660 I want to give you some pillars that I believe 00:04:20.660 --> 00:04:23.240 when you look at them, they are Jesus, okay? 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:26.279 Jesus is the foundation. But when we look specifically 00:04:26.279 --> 00:04:30.560 at Jesus's life, there are specific pillars, 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:33.959 specific things that Jesus demonstrates to us 00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:39.279 that allow us to build on that foundation. And 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:43.189 so that's what we're going to do today. We're 00:04:43.189 --> 00:04:45.689 going to continue in our collection. We are in 00:04:45.689 --> 00:04:48.029 a collection called Who You Are. And if you're 00:04:48.029 --> 00:04:49.810 just joining us, welcome. We're stoked you're 00:04:49.810 --> 00:04:53.470 here. But we have been walking through the book, 00:04:53.589 --> 00:04:56.509 the gospel of Luke, looking at who Jesus is. 00:04:56.750 --> 00:04:58.589 And we're going to continue. We're going to actually 00:04:58.589 --> 00:05:01.089 finish this thing called the Sermon on the Plain 00:05:01.089 --> 00:05:04.100 today. And just to contextualize, just to get 00:05:04.100 --> 00:05:07.579 us situated with where we are in the story, Jesus 00:05:07.579 --> 00:05:11.000 has gathered his 12 disciples. They have gone 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:14.100 up onto the mountain and now they have come down 00:05:14.100 --> 00:05:17.939 to speak to the masses about what this new kingdom 00:05:17.939 --> 00:05:21.959 is going to be like. There is a manifesto here. 00:05:22.040 --> 00:05:24.939 There is a plan here. There is a program here. 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:30.110 And Jesus is saying, Remember, this is all happening 00:05:30.110 --> 00:05:33.810 within the wider expanse of God's story. And 00:05:33.810 --> 00:05:36.910 when I read this Sermon on the Plain, I cannot 00:05:36.910 --> 00:05:40.810 help but go back to the Exodus, to go back to 00:05:40.810 --> 00:05:44.629 Sinai, to go back to Moses. When Moses ascends 00:05:44.629 --> 00:05:47.970 the mountain, receives from the Lord the law 00:05:47.970 --> 00:05:51.589 and descends to give it to Israel. You see, I 00:05:51.589 --> 00:05:55.009 think what's happening here is that Jesus is 00:05:55.009 --> 00:05:59.209 demonstrating a new kind of exodus to us. This 00:05:59.209 --> 00:06:02.709 is a new kind of exodus where we are exiting 00:06:02.709 --> 00:06:06.350 our lives of sin, exiting from death and destruction 00:06:06.350 --> 00:06:10.410 and slavery into a new life. Jesus is stepping 00:06:10.410 --> 00:06:13.170 into that. And so I just need you to understand 00:06:13.170 --> 00:06:16.569 that as we step into it. So Luke chapter six. 00:06:17.339 --> 00:06:20.199 is where we are going to be today. If you have 00:06:20.199 --> 00:06:23.720 your Bibles, please open to it. And we are actually 00:06:23.720 --> 00:06:27.459 gonna start at the end of the Sermon on the Mount 00:06:27.459 --> 00:06:30.420 because I think it's important. Verse 46 is where 00:06:30.420 --> 00:06:34.480 we're gonna be. Why do you call me Lord, Lord, 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:37.730 and do not do what I say? As for everyone who 00:06:37.730 --> 00:06:40.389 comes to me and hears my words and puts them 00:06:40.389 --> 00:06:43.269 into practice, I will show you what they are 00:06:43.269 --> 00:06:46.129 like. They are like a man building a house who 00:06:46.129 --> 00:06:49.629 dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. 00:06:50.029 --> 00:06:53.110 When a flood came, the torrent struck the house, 00:06:53.230 --> 00:06:56.029 but could not shake it because it was well built. 00:06:56.430 --> 00:06:59.189 But the one who hears my words and does not put 00:06:59.189 --> 00:07:01.850 them into practice is like a man who built a 00:07:01.850 --> 00:07:05.819 house on the ground without a foundation. The 00:07:05.819 --> 00:07:08.939 moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed 00:07:08.939 --> 00:07:13.879 and its destruction was complete. Now, I need 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:16.879 you to notice something about Jesus's words here. 00:07:17.160 --> 00:07:19.980 It's very easy, and I've done this the entire 00:07:19.980 --> 00:07:23.220 time I've read this passage before, to then look 00:07:23.220 --> 00:07:26.459 at what's come before and to laser focus in, 00:07:26.620 --> 00:07:30.839 do what I say, okay? I am pragmatic. I am an 00:07:30.839 --> 00:07:33.660 American at heart. Give me a to -do list. And 00:07:33.660 --> 00:07:37.269 that is like a... Great day for me, okay? And 00:07:37.269 --> 00:07:41.129 I think it is so easy to receive a to -do list 00:07:41.129 --> 00:07:45.449 from Jesus and miss the encounter with the risen 00:07:45.449 --> 00:07:49.329 Savior. We sit there and we take, we hear all 00:07:49.329 --> 00:07:50.709 of these rules, we hear what we are supposed 00:07:50.709 --> 00:07:53.350 to do, and those are good things, but they are 00:07:53.350 --> 00:07:56.709 built on the encounter that you've had with Jesus. 00:07:57.290 --> 00:08:00.529 Look at verse 46. What is the progression? The 00:08:00.529 --> 00:08:03.870 progression is for everyone who comes to me, 00:08:04.379 --> 00:08:09.180 hears my words and puts them into practice. There 00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:12.660 is a progression here. You cannot start putting 00:08:12.660 --> 00:08:15.160 them into practice if you have not encountered 00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:19.439 Jesus. So we need to say that at the very beginning, 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:23.540 okay? This is radically important. And what I 00:08:23.540 --> 00:08:25.860 would like to do is I would go back through the 00:08:25.860 --> 00:08:28.540 Sermon on the Mount because it can be very easy 00:08:28.540 --> 00:08:31.459 to look at what Jesus is telling us to do and 00:08:31.459 --> 00:08:34.179 be like, Jesus, that's great. But like, I can't, 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:37.120 I can't do that. I don't know what you're on 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:39.259 about, but man, that is incredibly difficult 00:08:39.259 --> 00:08:42.139 for me. And frankly, it goes against my being. 00:08:42.500 --> 00:08:47.259 I want us to look at these passages and I want 00:08:47.259 --> 00:08:53.279 us to see Jesus and how Jesus himself fulfills 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:56.899 what he's asking us to do. So what I would love 00:08:56.899 --> 00:08:59.000 to do is I just, I wanna encounter Jesus in this. 00:08:59.299 --> 00:09:01.690 We're gonna open the Bible together. We're going 00:09:01.690 --> 00:09:04.710 to hear the Spirit speak to us and paint a picture 00:09:04.710 --> 00:09:08.830 to us of who this foundation is. Behind me, you're 00:09:08.830 --> 00:09:11.389 going to see this is pretend for a moment that 00:09:11.389 --> 00:09:13.950 we are building our house here. And we are trying 00:09:13.950 --> 00:09:17.049 to establish a foundation. You can see that it's 00:09:17.049 --> 00:09:19.710 on a hill. You can see that it's not level yet. 00:09:19.990 --> 00:09:23.610 But what I believe we get is we get four pillars 00:09:23.610 --> 00:09:28.879 that we can then build our life upon. And so 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:32.639 we're gonna start back up at verse 37. Verse 00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:35.659 37, do not judge and you will not be judged. 00:09:35.899 --> 00:09:38.600 Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. 00:09:39.019 --> 00:09:43.340 Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it 00:09:43.340 --> 00:09:45.720 will be given to you. A good measure pressed 00:09:45.720 --> 00:09:48.960 down, shaken together and running over will be 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:52.200 poured into your lap. For with the measure you 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:56.450 use, it will be measured to you. Now, if we're 00:09:56.450 --> 00:09:58.909 trying to get a picture of who Jesus is, I think 00:09:58.909 --> 00:10:01.690 right here, we get a picture of Jesus who is 00:10:01.690 --> 00:10:05.009 forgiveness, okay? He is forgiveness. It's gonna 00:10:05.009 --> 00:10:07.629 pop up on screen if you see that. That's our 00:10:07.629 --> 00:10:10.710 first kind of pillar. Now, remember, when we're 00:10:10.710 --> 00:10:13.049 looking at the foundation, we're seeing Jesus, 00:10:13.149 --> 00:10:16.230 but I believe we can be specific in this passage 00:10:16.230 --> 00:10:19.909 to demonstrate what it is Jesus is doing, okay? 00:10:20.549 --> 00:10:24.029 And Jesus in this moment is saying, do not judge. 00:10:24.250 --> 00:10:27.639 I hear that. I had my own preconceived notions 00:10:27.639 --> 00:10:30.480 about it. I know you do as well. I wanna add 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:34.980 one for you. Do not judge. When we look at Jesus's 00:10:34.980 --> 00:10:38.039 life, what he is saying is do not cut somebody 00:10:38.039 --> 00:10:41.340 off that they may no longer hear the news about 00:10:41.340 --> 00:10:45.500 redemption. Do not cut somebody off that they 00:10:45.500 --> 00:10:47.940 no longer hear the news about redemption. And 00:10:47.940 --> 00:10:50.379 y 'all, all I have to do is look around on social 00:10:50.379 --> 00:10:55.139 media. It is so easy to classify groups of people, 00:10:55.179 --> 00:10:59.820 individuals, and say they are too far gone. They 00:10:59.820 --> 00:11:04.019 do not deserve what God has for them. And what 00:11:04.019 --> 00:11:08.100 Jesus is saying here, Jesus is saying, forgiveness 00:11:08.100 --> 00:11:13.299 is what is at the core of my mission. You see, 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:16.460 Jesus, y 'all, in the whole story of what God 00:11:16.460 --> 00:11:19.379 is doing in this world, you have to understand 00:11:19.379 --> 00:11:26.340 God is, to give up on humanity. When we follow 00:11:26.340 --> 00:11:29.659 our fathers and forefathers and mothers with 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:32.620 Adam and Eve and participate in this thing called 00:11:32.620 --> 00:11:40.399 sin, God's fairness would say, we're done. You've 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:43.740 messed it up. There is no hope for you. I turn 00:11:43.740 --> 00:11:48.149 my back to you. It is well within God's right 00:11:48.149 --> 00:11:51.250 in the garden when he is walking in the cool 00:11:51.250 --> 00:11:54.210 of the day and Adam and Eve have hidden themselves 00:11:54.210 --> 00:11:59.169 for God to make them remain there in hiding away 00:11:59.169 --> 00:12:04.850 from him. And yet what does he do? All throughout 00:12:04.850 --> 00:12:08.710 scripture, all throughout our mistakes, all throughout 00:12:08.710 --> 00:12:12.610 our failings, he comes in and seeks us and chases 00:12:12.610 --> 00:12:20.220 us down and offers us. Preeminently through his 00:12:20.220 --> 00:12:27.519 son. His son, who is God incarnate, is so generous 00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:32.679 with his life that he adds humanity to himself, 00:12:32.820 --> 00:12:37.500 subjects himself to hunger, to tiredness, to 00:12:37.500 --> 00:12:43.679 pain and to suffering on your behalf. so that 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:48.740 you may be forgiven. There is a generosity that 00:12:48.740 --> 00:12:51.779 is at the heart of this forgiveness that Jesus 00:12:51.779 --> 00:12:58.080 embodies for us. This is the first pillar. This 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:02.000 is who Jesus is. Continue on, verse 39. He also 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:04.580 told them this parable. Can the blind lead the 00:13:04.580 --> 00:13:08.139 blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? The 00:13:08.139 --> 00:13:10.779 students. The student is not above the teacher, 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:13.879 but everyone who is fully trained will be like 00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:17.360 their teacher. Y 'all, I think Jesus, I can imagine 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:20.259 right now, he's asking those questions. Can the 00:13:20.259 --> 00:13:22.240 blind lead the blind? And the people are like, 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:26.720 no, of course not. Will they not fall into a 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:30.259 bit? Of course, Jesus. I'm tracking with you. 00:13:30.539 --> 00:13:33.460 I understand. And some of you might be sitting 00:13:33.460 --> 00:13:35.120 here and you're like, Noah, I know the layout 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:37.720 of my house or my apartment like super well. 00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:40.080 Like, I don't think you understand. In the dead 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:42.000 of night when I can't see and I get up and I 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:44.059 need a glass of milk, guess what? I can get there 00:13:44.059 --> 00:13:46.600 without turning on a light. Let me just pump 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:48.360 the brakes a little bit, okay? Let me pump the 00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:51.799 brakes here. We play a game in youth called minefield. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:56.100 And what happens is that one of the students 00:13:56.100 --> 00:13:58.360 is blindfolded and there's another student that 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:01.360 must lead them through the minefield. And the 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:04.220 minefield is a bunch of chairs and tables and 00:14:04.220 --> 00:14:06.820 random things we can find. And they have to make 00:14:06.820 --> 00:14:10.360 their way through the minefield without, let's 00:14:10.360 --> 00:14:14.799 be honest, getting hurt. Somehow, every time 00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:17.659 we've played this game, I'm having to go to our 00:14:17.659 --> 00:14:20.799 safety team and ask if there's a medic. Because 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:23.120 there's a bloody nose or a bruised knee or a 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:28.990 lip, and one of them is not blind. Y 'all. The 00:14:28.990 --> 00:14:32.970 blind cannot lead the blind. And so in this moment, 00:14:33.029 --> 00:14:37.610 I need you to see that Jesus is a follower. Specifically, 00:14:37.850 --> 00:14:43.450 he is a follower of his father's will. You see, 00:14:43.509 --> 00:14:48.769 Jesus, being the God -man, could have said, yeah, 00:14:48.909 --> 00:14:51.590 that's great. I don't really wanna be hungry. 00:14:52.370 --> 00:14:55.110 I'm gonna go ahead and have my angels make sure 00:14:55.110 --> 00:14:57.820 I am well -supplied, well -nourished. Right? 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:01.080 Jesus, when he is sitting and reclining with 00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:03.360 his favorite people, his disciples in the last 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:05.899 supper, knowing he is going to die, could have 00:15:05.899 --> 00:15:08.259 done one of two things. He could have said, angels, 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:10.639 guess what? Kingdom's coming now. We're going 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:14.639 to take out everybody. Rome's overthrown. We're 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:17.799 done. I'm not going to die. And yet, what does 00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:24.659 Jesus do? He submits himself to the Father's 00:15:24.659 --> 00:15:32.470 will. Y 'all, this Christ alone points the way 00:15:32.470 --> 00:15:37.929 to life. Christ alone. There can be no other. 00:15:37.950 --> 00:15:40.950 You cannot build your life on another. Christ 00:15:40.950 --> 00:15:45.590 alone as a follower of the Father's will is our 00:15:45.590 --> 00:15:52.470 foundation. Period. There is nothing else. Third 00:15:52.470 --> 00:15:56.490 in verse 41. Why do you look at the speck of 00:15:56.490 --> 00:15:59.370 sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention 00:15:59.370 --> 00:16:02.070 to the plank in your own eye? How can you say 00:16:02.070 --> 00:16:04.690 to your brother, brother, let me take the speck 00:16:04.690 --> 00:16:07.809 out of your eye when you yourself fail to see 00:16:07.809 --> 00:16:11.429 the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first 00:16:11.429 --> 00:16:13.730 take the plank out of your eye and then you'll 00:16:13.730 --> 00:16:16.669 see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's 00:16:16.669 --> 00:16:20.590 eye. I just, I can imagine the scene that Jesus 00:16:20.590 --> 00:16:22.990 is painting, right? Just imagine there's a large 00:16:22.990 --> 00:16:25.429 two by four coming out of somebody's head and 00:16:25.429 --> 00:16:27.009 they're just coming up and they're like, hey, 00:16:27.070 --> 00:16:30.370 I noticed that you have something in your eye. 00:16:30.850 --> 00:16:32.370 And they're just like trying to avoid getting 00:16:32.370 --> 00:16:35.889 hit by the two by four. Jesus is a comedian in 00:16:35.889 --> 00:16:38.809 this moment. I can imagine there is laughter, 00:16:38.850 --> 00:16:42.570 but then he uses the strong word hypocrite. You 00:16:42.570 --> 00:16:45.659 hypocrite. And if you've been around church at 00:16:45.659 --> 00:16:49.000 all, you know that sometimes this word gets used 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:52.220 to describe actors in ancient Greece. They are 00:16:52.220 --> 00:16:54.559 actors that would wear masks, and so they would 00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:58.360 mask who they truly were. I think there's a fascinating 00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:01.440 definition that Kevin de Young gives us, and 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:03.440 I think it's so good, it is so memorable. He 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:08.339 defines hypocrisy as the gap between public persona 00:17:08.339 --> 00:17:12.839 and private character. Let me read that again. 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:17.319 It is the gap between public persona and private 00:17:17.319 --> 00:17:23.119 character. We have a great example of it in scripture 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:25.799 itself. If you were to skip over to verse or 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:31.380 chapter 11, verse 42, Jesus talking to the Pharisees, 00:17:31.380 --> 00:17:35.059 he says, woe to you Pharisees. Because you give 00:17:35.059 --> 00:17:38.200 God a tenth of your mint, rue, and all other 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:41.400 kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:45.599 and the love of God. You should have practiced 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:49.579 the latter without leaving the former undone. 00:17:50.140 --> 00:17:53.920 You see, in this moment, Jesus is hitting on 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:58.400 the idea. He is truthful. He's our third pillar, 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:03.660 truthful. You see, there is no gap. between what 00:18:03.660 --> 00:18:09.880 God says he is and what he does. So let me put 00:18:09.880 --> 00:18:14.579 this into perspective for you. When Jesus sees 00:18:14.579 --> 00:18:18.680 Peter deny him three times, Peter is one of his 00:18:18.680 --> 00:18:24.440 best friends. Jesus in that moment restores Peter 00:18:24.440 --> 00:18:28.359 after his resurrection. He shows compassion to 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:32.839 Peter. In the same breath, A random woman who 00:18:32.839 --> 00:18:36.039 is caught in adultery, who rightfully deserves 00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:40.180 death. What does he say? He has compassion on 00:18:40.180 --> 00:18:45.099 that woman. Jesus, there is no gap between his 00:18:45.099 --> 00:18:48.119 public and private persona. How do I know this? 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:50.920 Because when he's just with his friends, okay? 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:52.720 Just with his friends. This is how you know, 00:18:52.819 --> 00:18:54.599 by the way, that the Bible is truthful, okay? 00:18:54.759 --> 00:18:57.279 Because it talks about some of the failings that 00:18:57.279 --> 00:19:00.039 humanity has had. There is no like rose colored 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:04.900 glasses. But when he is with his friends, what 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:09.319 does he do the few moments he has before he dies? 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:17.400 He washes their feet. He does not have to do 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:21.579 that. It would be very easy for Jesus to say, 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:24.819 here's good news for the poor. Here's good news 00:19:24.819 --> 00:19:27.059 for the brokenhearted. Now guys, we're gonna 00:19:27.059 --> 00:19:30.299 recline and I'm just gonna relax. I don't know 00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:33.559 if you know, but I'm gonna die in a bit. But 00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:37.000 he takes the form of a servant and washes their 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:41.700 feet. It is so easy sometimes to look at Jesus 00:19:41.700 --> 00:19:45.579 just like we look at ourselves, right? Like sometimes 00:19:45.579 --> 00:19:49.960 we realize, oh man, my online persona, I don't 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:52.440 know if I'd trot that out in church. I don't 00:19:52.440 --> 00:19:54.339 know if I'd be happy if people knew what I was 00:19:54.339 --> 00:20:01.160 saying online. Guys, Jesus. There is no gap between 00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:05.339 his public persona and his private persona. He 00:20:05.339 --> 00:20:12.200 is truthful. He is truthful. Finally, verse 43. 00:20:13.799 --> 00:20:17.440 No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:20.579 tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized 00:20:20.579 --> 00:20:23.619 by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from 00:20:23.619 --> 00:20:26.839 thorn bushes or grapes from briars. A good man 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:29.000 brings good things out of the good stored up 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:32.500 in his heart. And an evil man brings evil things 00:20:32.500 --> 00:20:35.240 out of evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth 00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:41.680 speaks what the heart is full of. Y 'all, if 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:46.759 I were to summarize this one, one produces what 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:50.680 one is. One produces what one is. Therefore, 00:20:50.819 --> 00:20:53.500 in this moment, what Jesus is demonstrating about 00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:58.220 himself, Jesus is life -giving. He is life -giving. 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:05.240 You see, wherever Jesus goes, life follows in 00:21:05.240 --> 00:21:09.180 tow. I challenge you this week, look through 00:21:09.180 --> 00:21:12.720 your gospels, read about all the times that Jesus 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:16.779 does something, says something, and life springs 00:21:16.779 --> 00:21:22.190 out. It is like all of creation just sighs in 00:21:22.190 --> 00:21:27.369 relief when Jesus is on the move. I love it when 00:21:27.369 --> 00:21:29.609 we get to look in the original language and we 00:21:29.609 --> 00:21:32.430 already get an amazing word picture. That word 00:21:32.430 --> 00:21:36.029 for bad right there, that word for bad gets used 00:21:36.029 --> 00:21:39.609 all over Greek literature to describe a fish 00:21:39.609 --> 00:21:44.289 market that's been baking in the sun. Y 'all, 00:21:44.309 --> 00:21:46.190 I cooked fish for like the first time in three 00:21:46.190 --> 00:21:49.859 months the other day. And I like cut the skin 00:21:49.859 --> 00:21:53.680 off the fish, threw it away, had the fish, it 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:56.220 was amazing. But then I woke up the next morning 00:21:56.220 --> 00:22:01.940 and y 'all, I smelled the fish. My trash can 00:22:01.940 --> 00:22:07.980 was closed and it stank. So can you imagine a 00:22:07.980 --> 00:22:16.559 fish market with no AC? It is rotten. It is death. 00:22:17.450 --> 00:22:22.670 There is nothing good coming from that. And so 00:22:22.670 --> 00:22:25.250 in this moment, Jesus is demonstrating he does 00:22:25.250 --> 00:22:27.609 not bring death. He doesn't bring that smelly 00:22:27.609 --> 00:22:31.910 little fish market. No, he brings fruit. He produces 00:22:31.910 --> 00:22:35.150 something that is pleasing, that is life -giving. 00:22:36.750 --> 00:22:41.670 And you can see we have this foundation now that 00:22:41.670 --> 00:22:44.410 Jesus is forgiveness. He's a follower of the 00:22:44.410 --> 00:22:48.390 Father's will. that he is truthful, that he is 00:22:48.390 --> 00:22:53.150 life -giving. Now, I don't know about you, but 00:22:53.150 --> 00:22:55.309 this week as I was studying and kind of getting 00:22:55.309 --> 00:22:58.369 ready for this, those pillars, I've realized 00:22:58.369 --> 00:23:04.589 how many ways I fall short of that. Because there's 00:23:04.589 --> 00:23:07.190 this kind of beauty. The lives that we're building 00:23:07.190 --> 00:23:12.069 on top of this foundation, it's supposed to look 00:23:12.069 --> 00:23:16.599 like Jesus. It's supposed to look like Jesus. 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:21.019 And so when you have your foundation and you 00:23:21.019 --> 00:23:23.859 are building on a Jesus that does not forgive, 00:23:24.259 --> 00:23:28.440 that is not following the Father's will, that 00:23:28.440 --> 00:23:33.680 is not truthful, that is not life -giving, all 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:41.019 of a sudden, whatever we build crumbles. And 00:23:41.019 --> 00:23:44.569 y 'all, just... to be completely honest and transparent 00:23:44.569 --> 00:23:48.670 with you. I've realized this week that there 00:23:48.670 --> 00:23:54.529 are people in my life that I do not have forgiveness 00:23:54.529 --> 00:23:59.690 for. I don't know if you've ever experienced, 00:24:00.029 --> 00:24:01.910 you're looking at a new car, you're thinking 00:24:01.910 --> 00:24:04.890 about buying a new car, and then all of a sudden, 00:24:04.910 --> 00:24:09.119 all around town, all you see is that car. I'm 00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:11.640 telling you, it's like the craziest thing. That 00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:15.680 was what it was like. There is a person in my 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:21.259 life that I am very good at paying lip service 00:24:21.259 --> 00:24:26.099 to forgiveness. Oh man, they let me down again. 00:24:26.980 --> 00:24:32.599 Forgive you. We're all good. And I've realized 00:24:32.599 --> 00:24:38.180 over these last couple weeks, that I have not 00:24:38.180 --> 00:24:42.940 truly forgiven them. In reality, when they inevitably 00:24:42.940 --> 00:24:50.559 let me down again, I'm keeping score. I'm keeping 00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:55.680 score, and y 'all, it justifies the way I speak 00:24:55.680 --> 00:24:58.460 to this person and the way I cut this person 00:24:58.460 --> 00:25:03.809 off from God's grace. Do you know how it is so 00:25:03.809 --> 00:25:07.369 lame to realize that sitting with Jesus and you're 00:25:07.369 --> 00:25:14.029 like, oh, this is not good. I want to build my 00:25:14.029 --> 00:25:16.990 life on a Jesus who forgives because, oh my goodness, 00:25:17.130 --> 00:25:20.309 do I need this forgiveness? But oh my goodness, 00:25:20.529 --> 00:25:26.309 my life does not look like that. And I suspect 00:25:26.309 --> 00:25:32.069 for each of you sitting here, that you have had 00:25:32.069 --> 00:25:36.470 a moment like that. Maybe it's a person that 00:25:36.470 --> 00:25:40.849 has been brought to mind. You're like, hmm, I 00:25:40.849 --> 00:25:46.789 mean, I forgive them, but not really. Maybe you're 00:25:46.789 --> 00:25:49.650 sitting there and you're like, what have I been 00:25:49.650 --> 00:25:56.269 following? Have I been following the Christ who 00:25:56.269 --> 00:25:59.690 is revealed through these scriptures? Or have 00:25:59.690 --> 00:26:02.029 I been following the Christ who reigns online? 00:26:05.289 --> 00:26:07.369 Maybe you're sitting there and you're like, oh 00:26:07.369 --> 00:26:09.849 my goodness, Jesus, that's great that you did 00:26:09.849 --> 00:26:12.750 that then, but I don't believe you're gonna do 00:26:12.750 --> 00:26:16.630 it now. You don't believe that Jesus is truthful, 00:26:16.930 --> 00:26:23.569 that his word is truth. Or maybe you're caught 00:26:23.569 --> 00:26:26.230 up. And you're sitting there and you're like, 00:26:26.289 --> 00:26:28.049 man, I don't know what it is. Everybody around 00:26:28.049 --> 00:26:33.430 me just does not like me right now. And you realize 00:26:33.430 --> 00:26:37.269 that in your conversations, whether it be with 00:26:37.269 --> 00:26:39.849 your family or your friends, you have not been 00:26:39.849 --> 00:26:45.990 life -giving, you've been dealing death. There 00:26:45.990 --> 00:26:50.990 is a temptation to follow in the pattern set 00:26:50.990 --> 00:26:53.710 by our forefathers and foremothers in Adam and 00:26:53.710 --> 00:26:57.829 Eve. There is a temptation to hide ourselves 00:26:57.829 --> 00:27:04.029 from each other and from God. And y 'all, I am 00:27:04.029 --> 00:27:06.430 talking about us as Christians. We have declared 00:27:06.430 --> 00:27:09.049 that Christ is Lord, that we are stoked that 00:27:09.049 --> 00:27:11.190 he's bringing about new life in us. We still 00:27:11.190 --> 00:27:15.410 have temptation to fit ourselves into this pattern. 00:27:17.769 --> 00:27:23.089 And I believe that an antidote to this pattern 00:27:24.809 --> 00:27:29.809 is confession. And if you've been around church 00:27:29.809 --> 00:27:31.930 at all for a little bit, you might hear the word 00:27:31.930 --> 00:27:33.809 confession and you might think, great, Noah, 00:27:33.930 --> 00:27:36.470 where's the priest? That's not what I'm saying. 00:27:38.210 --> 00:27:42.289 Confession is the declaration to ourselves, to 00:27:42.289 --> 00:27:45.910 each other and to God that we have fallen short 00:27:45.910 --> 00:27:51.369 and that we are in need of his mercy. That is 00:27:51.369 --> 00:27:53.529 what confession is. It is the acknowledgement 00:27:53.529 --> 00:28:00.109 that we fall short, that we need his mercy. But 00:28:00.109 --> 00:28:03.049 I also think there is a double aspect of confession. 00:28:04.390 --> 00:28:06.829 There is the confessing that we fall short, but 00:28:06.829 --> 00:28:10.150 there is also confession of faith in who God 00:28:10.150 --> 00:28:16.230 is. I think sometimes really good, if you're 00:28:16.230 --> 00:28:17.970 anything like me, we are really good at realizing 00:28:17.970 --> 00:28:20.660 your shortcomings. You're really good at realizing, 00:28:20.880 --> 00:28:25.619 oh my goodness, Lord, this is not good. But we're 00:28:25.619 --> 00:28:33.319 not as good at declaring who Jesus is. And so 00:28:33.319 --> 00:28:35.420 what I would love to do, what I would invite 00:28:35.420 --> 00:28:37.240 you to do, because we're going to do it together, 00:28:37.400 --> 00:28:43.579 is we are going to respond in confession. We 00:28:43.579 --> 00:28:47.500 are going to do that together. What I found healing 00:28:47.500 --> 00:28:53.839 for me, And my journey of faith is publicly declaring, 00:28:54.019 --> 00:28:59.380 confessing what the early church fathers and 00:28:59.380 --> 00:29:05.099 mothers have confessed. There is something healing 00:29:05.099 --> 00:29:10.500 to my soul when we publicly do this together. 00:29:11.900 --> 00:29:15.039 Just because I am speaking to you does not mean 00:29:15.500 --> 00:29:17.759 that anybody else in this room needs this. We 00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:22.319 all need this. And I would love for us after 00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:26.200 this confession to confess the second paragraph 00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:28.460 of what has been termed the Apostles' Creed. 00:29:29.799 --> 00:29:32.980 And just really quickly, the Apostles' Creed 00:29:32.980 --> 00:29:35.000 comes about in the early church. It's one of 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:37.960 our earliest confessions of faith. And how it 00:29:37.960 --> 00:29:41.319 comes about is men and women open the scriptures. 00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:46.420 read the story of what God has done and put language 00:29:46.420 --> 00:29:55.859 to describing who God is. And normally the Apostles' 00:29:55.859 --> 00:29:58.400 Creed is three paragraphs. We're gonna just center 00:29:58.400 --> 00:30:02.220 in on Jesus and that paragraph because it is 00:30:02.220 --> 00:30:04.880 so important. If we are answering the collection, 00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:09.779 who you are, this is who Jesus is. And we cannot 00:30:09.779 --> 00:30:14.859 build a house unless it is situated on the foundation 00:30:14.859 --> 00:30:19.839 of Jesus. So we're gonna do this together. Can 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:21.720 I encourage you? Can you please stand with me? 00:30:25.619 --> 00:30:29.039 Let us confess our sins to Almighty God. Would 00:30:29.039 --> 00:30:31.740 you confess with me? Almighty and most merciful 00:30:31.740 --> 00:31:01.079 Father, we have wandered... Now let us confess 00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:06.400 our faith. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:32.720 son. Father, this is our prayer this morning. 00:31:33.579 --> 00:31:37.339 We confess that we have fallen short in so many 00:31:37.339 --> 00:31:41.180 ways. We confess that we have built our lives 00:31:41.180 --> 00:31:46.519 on a shaky foundation. We have substituted your 00:31:46.519 --> 00:31:50.519 son for something that looks shiny. Forgive us, 00:31:50.599 --> 00:31:55.440 Lord. And yet, Father, through your spirit, would 00:31:55.440 --> 00:31:59.400 you empower our confession? This is who we believe 00:31:59.400 --> 00:32:04.259 your son to be. conceived by the Holy Spirit, 00:32:04.359 --> 00:32:07.259 born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius 00:32:07.259 --> 00:32:09.559 Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried for 00:32:09.559 --> 00:32:15.579 us. We declare that. We have faith in that. We 00:32:15.579 --> 00:32:19.779 are so thankful for who you are. Lord, as we 00:32:19.779 --> 00:32:22.799 confess our sins to each other, may we also confess 00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:26.099 faith in who your son is and what he is doing. 00:32:26.839 --> 00:32:29.700 We love you. It's in your son's name we pray, 00:32:29.779 --> 00:32:32.019 who reigns with you in the Holy Spirit. One God, 00:32:32.099 --> 00:32:33.380 now and forever. Amen.