WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.200 On January 28th of 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:14.199 disaster launched from Cape Canaveral. It was 00:00:14.199 --> 00:00:16.960 an unusually cold morning, as you can imagine, 00:00:16.980 --> 00:00:19.260 for Florida. We've got some Florida people here. 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:22.699 It doesn't get cold often. It was cooler there 00:00:22.699 --> 00:00:28.640 than it normally is. And they needed... to launch 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:31.320 this shuttle, or I guess they wanted to launch 00:00:31.320 --> 00:00:34.380 this shuttle. And it was a colder day than normal 00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:38.560 for a shuttle launch. It was colder than the 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:40.939 previous shuttle launch. And the night before 00:00:40.939 --> 00:00:46.140 this launch, engineers from a company that was 00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:49.659 contracted with NASA, Morton Teokal, they... 00:00:50.060 --> 00:00:52.579 expressed concern for this launch. They told 00:00:52.579 --> 00:00:56.619 NASA that the rubber O -ring, which bonus points 00:00:56.619 --> 00:00:59.280 if you know what that is, in the booster joints 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:02.920 might not function properly because of the temperatures. 00:01:03.950 --> 00:01:07.010 And their concern was very specific. They told 00:01:07.010 --> 00:01:09.930 NASA exactly what they were worried about. And 00:01:09.930 --> 00:01:13.650 they had discussions. NASA, they debated it. 00:01:13.689 --> 00:01:15.849 They discussed it. They argued about it. There 00:01:15.849 --> 00:01:18.489 was pushback. There was pressure to launch because 00:01:18.489 --> 00:01:21.069 we need to get this done. We need to do this. 00:01:21.230 --> 00:01:23.510 They had schedules. People had expectations. 00:01:23.829 --> 00:01:27.629 There was public anticipation. And so the launch 00:01:27.629 --> 00:01:32.519 proceeded. And maybe you were alive and are aware 00:01:32.519 --> 00:01:36.480 of what happens after the launch happens. 70 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:45.079 -something seconds pass after liftoff and tragedy, 00:01:45.400 --> 00:01:54.959 chaos. Lives ruined. And it all stems from this 00:01:54.959 --> 00:02:01.799 truth. Under pressure, Weakness is exposed. This 00:02:01.799 --> 00:02:07.519 space shuttle had a weakness. It was very clear 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:09.939 to the people that were responsible for building 00:02:09.939 --> 00:02:12.400 this shuttle. The people that designed it, they 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:14.439 built it, they made it happen, they knew everything 00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:16.939 about it. These are engineers who have degrees 00:02:16.939 --> 00:02:20.020 that I can't even imagine how to pronounce. I 00:02:20.020 --> 00:02:23.159 mean, they are qualified. They are authorities 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:27.810 in the field. And they told NASA... Not a good 00:02:27.810 --> 00:02:33.430 idea. And under pressure, the weakness was exposed. 00:02:33.770 --> 00:02:37.550 The shuttle broke apart and seven crew members 00:02:37.550 --> 00:02:41.729 lost their lives. And what makes this tragedy 00:02:41.729 --> 00:02:46.710 especially sobering is the fact that the risk 00:02:46.710 --> 00:02:49.990 had been identified. They knew exactly what could 00:02:49.990 --> 00:02:54.060 be the problem. Not only had the risk been identified, 00:02:54.300 --> 00:02:56.460 but they warned them that the warning was voiced. 00:02:56.539 --> 00:02:59.360 Somebody told them this is not a good idea. And 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:03.639 then the authority of the engineers, they spoke. 00:03:05.340 --> 00:03:08.139 But the warning was ultimately ignored. And when 00:03:08.139 --> 00:03:11.020 the pressure came, the whole thing failed. History 00:03:11.020 --> 00:03:14.979 time and time again shows us what happens when 00:03:14.979 --> 00:03:18.330 we don't. Listen to authority. History time and 00:03:18.330 --> 00:03:21.150 time again also shows us something that's very 00:03:21.150 --> 00:03:24.270 hard for maybe, I won't speak for you, but my 00:03:24.270 --> 00:03:28.129 thick head to get through is that ignoring rightful 00:03:28.129 --> 00:03:31.430 authority doesn't always produce immediate consequences, 00:03:31.569 --> 00:03:36.310 but it does produce consequences. Now for the 00:03:36.310 --> 00:03:39.810 challenger, it didn't immediately break apart, 00:03:39.969 --> 00:03:44.110 but it wasn't very long after that the weakness 00:03:44.110 --> 00:03:47.879 was exposed. See, sometimes everything looks 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:51.199 fine at liftoff. Sometimes everything looks good. 00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:53.699 Everything feels right. It seems like things 00:03:53.699 --> 00:03:58.199 are going to plan. And then life happens. Bad 00:03:58.199 --> 00:04:02.180 things happen. Sickness, death, pain happens. 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:08.379 And when that happens, the weakness is revealed. 00:04:08.979 --> 00:04:12.449 And that brings us to Luke chapter 6. Because 00:04:12.449 --> 00:04:15.849 here in Luke chapter 6, Jesus is going to make 00:04:15.849 --> 00:04:19.790 authoritative claims. He's going to show his 00:04:19.790 --> 00:04:22.370 expertise. He's going to speak from a place of 00:04:22.370 --> 00:04:26.110 authority. And just like the engineers from Morton 00:04:26.110 --> 00:04:30.009 Theocle, they are going or he is going to challenge 00:04:30.009 --> 00:04:34.470 the beliefs and the expectations of those in 00:04:34.470 --> 00:04:38.170 positions of power. He teaches, he does things 00:04:38.170 --> 00:04:40.850 that challenge the traditions, that challenge 00:04:40.850 --> 00:04:43.850 the beliefs of those witnessing his teachings, 00:04:44.149 --> 00:04:46.990 of those witnessing his actions. And throughout 00:04:46.990 --> 00:04:49.829 this entire chapter, there is one question that 00:04:49.829 --> 00:04:51.870 I want us to ask ourselves today. It's actually 00:04:51.870 --> 00:04:55.050 two questions. And that is, who has the authority 00:04:55.050 --> 00:04:59.689 to make rules for living? And will we submit 00:04:59.689 --> 00:05:03.870 to him? Because there's only one person that 00:05:03.870 --> 00:05:07.579 has that authority. And are we going to listen? 00:05:07.939 --> 00:05:10.819 And so Luke 6 begins with Jesus and the disciples. 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:13.019 They're walking through a field on the Sabbath, 00:05:13.180 --> 00:05:17.220 which if you know Jewish, I guess, culture, tradition, 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:20.899 Sabbath is Saturday, which is supposed to be 00:05:20.899 --> 00:05:23.180 a day of rest. And so the disciples, they're 00:05:23.180 --> 00:05:25.300 walking, and as they walk, they're picking some 00:05:25.300 --> 00:05:29.500 grain from a field, and they eat it. And so you... 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:34.139 will see that this is an issue because the Pharisees, 00:05:34.139 --> 00:05:37.360 these religious elites, they get upset at this. 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:40.079 And there's a reason we'll talk about it, but 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:42.379 they asked this question to Jesus and the disciples 00:05:42.379 --> 00:05:45.579 and they say, why are you doing what is not lawful 00:05:45.579 --> 00:05:50.360 to do on the Sabbath? And so the reason that 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:52.699 they are upset about this, the reason that they're 00:05:52.699 --> 00:05:55.019 questioning Jesus, they're questioning his followers 00:05:55.019 --> 00:06:00.060 is because they were doing something They were 00:06:00.060 --> 00:06:02.180 actually doing two things that were problematic 00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:06.199 for Jews to do on the day of rest. They were 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:09.420 walking probably more steps than they were allowed 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:12.519 to. I tried to find out what the rule on this 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:16.259 was. And essentially, it breaks down to you couldn't 00:06:16.259 --> 00:06:19.879 walk more than half a mile on the Sabbath. So 00:06:19.879 --> 00:06:22.459 think about how little that is. Like you might 00:06:22.459 --> 00:06:24.620 walk half a mile just getting up and walking 00:06:24.620 --> 00:06:28.600 around your house, okay? And so they were breaking 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:31.540 Sabbath by walking more than they were supposed 00:06:31.540 --> 00:06:33.920 to. They were also harvesting. They were picking 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:36.339 grain and they were eating it. So they were working. 00:06:36.420 --> 00:06:38.079 And that's what it essentially breaks down to 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:40.839 is they were working on a day of rest. And so 00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:43.279 the Pharisees, these men that are charged with 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:45.879 keeping tradition and making sure that the people 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:48.879 under their leadership are following these rules, 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:51.660 rules and their religion, they're upset about 00:06:51.660 --> 00:06:54.420 this because this man is claiming to be a rabbi. 00:06:54.459 --> 00:06:57.079 He's claiming to be a good Jewish teacher and 00:06:57.079 --> 00:06:59.800 he is doing things that are not lawful. And now 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:03.500 he's leading other people astray in doing that. 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:06.060 And so the ancient Jews, they were very serious 00:07:06.060 --> 00:07:09.720 about the law. And Sabbath, it wasn't just this 00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:12.720 small command. This is something that was instituted 00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:15.699 by God. God very clearly wanted his people to 00:07:15.699 --> 00:07:18.579 have a day of rest. God himself took a day of 00:07:18.579 --> 00:07:21.240 rest. He creates the world. Six days, he takes 00:07:21.240 --> 00:07:24.279 a rest on the seventh day. And so it's something 00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:27.120 that God wants for his people. It's something 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:29.860 that's woven into the rhythm of Israel's life, 00:07:29.980 --> 00:07:33.100 and it is a sign that they belong to him. Think 00:07:33.100 --> 00:07:36.819 about Christians, for example. People know that 00:07:36.819 --> 00:07:41.019 we gather on Sundays to go to church. We gather 00:07:41.019 --> 00:07:45.199 for worship. And so when you're a Christian and 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:47.680 you maybe apply for a job, if that job, that 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:49.639 place of employment is open on a Sunday, they 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:52.040 may ask you, is Sunday going to be an issue? 00:07:52.410 --> 00:07:55.689 I can remember my first job. I was 16. I got 00:07:55.689 --> 00:07:58.970 a job at Little Caesars. And I remember the owner, 00:07:59.069 --> 00:08:01.209 when he was interviewing me, he asked me, he 00:08:01.209 --> 00:08:04.509 said, you know, what are your schedule requirements? 00:08:04.850 --> 00:08:06.610 What days are you looking to work? What days 00:08:06.610 --> 00:08:08.730 do you need off? And I said, I cannot work on 00:08:08.730 --> 00:08:10.750 Sundays. I cannot work on Wednesdays. I go to 00:08:10.750 --> 00:08:13.529 church on those days. And he tried to push back 00:08:13.529 --> 00:08:15.290 and he was like, are you sure? Like, you know, 00:08:15.310 --> 00:08:18.709 church is only from, you know, nine to 12. You 00:08:18.709 --> 00:08:20.930 can't come to work after. I said, I cannot work 00:08:20.930 --> 00:08:22.639 on Sundays. I can't. man, I work on Wednesdays. 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:25.319 I don't work those days because those are my 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:28.579 days that are committed to God. And so people 00:08:28.579 --> 00:08:31.480 that know me, they know don't ask Donovan to 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:34.080 do stuff on Sundays and don't ask him to do stuff 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:36.519 on Wednesdays because there is one thing that 00:08:36.519 --> 00:08:38.899 is going to take precedent. And for the Jews, 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:42.059 this was their life. But what happened is... 00:08:42.590 --> 00:08:45.429 The Jewish rabbis and their leaders, they kind 00:08:45.429 --> 00:08:48.330 of cultivated this elaborate list of these do's 00:08:48.330 --> 00:08:52.049 and don'ts for Sabbath. These things that the 00:08:52.049 --> 00:08:55.070 Jews were not allowed to do on the day of rest 00:08:55.070 --> 00:08:57.450 or the things that they were allowed to do. And 00:08:57.450 --> 00:09:00.070 Jesus and his disciples, they were doing the 00:09:00.070 --> 00:09:03.470 don'ts. And so this is an issue. And I just want 00:09:03.470 --> 00:09:07.230 to illustrate how serious this is. So in 1992, 00:09:09.010 --> 00:09:13.029 tenants living in an Orthodox Jewish community, 00:09:13.370 --> 00:09:17.250 they had a fire in one of these apartments in 00:09:17.250 --> 00:09:20.509 this community. What happened is the fire breaks 00:09:20.509 --> 00:09:22.610 out in one apartment, but it's on a Sabbath. 00:09:22.889 --> 00:09:25.610 And so the tenants, they asked their rabbi, they 00:09:25.610 --> 00:09:28.950 say, hey, is it considered work if we call the 00:09:28.950 --> 00:09:32.230 fire department? And in the half hour it took 00:09:32.230 --> 00:09:35.470 the rabbi to decide, yes, it is work. You should 00:09:35.470 --> 00:09:38.559 not call the fire department on Sabbath. Two 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:40.419 other apartments caught fire, three apartments 00:09:40.419 --> 00:09:43.639 burned down because it was Sabbath and we can't 00:09:43.639 --> 00:09:46.159 work on the Sabbath. Now that's a bit of an extreme 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:48.620 example, but it's a real life example of how 00:09:48.620 --> 00:09:52.139 serious Sabbath is. So when Jesus and the disciples 00:09:52.139 --> 00:09:56.440 are breaking Sabbath, this is a real issue for 00:09:56.440 --> 00:10:00.850 the Jews. And it's not to mock, it's not to disregard 00:10:00.850 --> 00:10:04.850 devotion. This is to point out what happens when 00:10:04.850 --> 00:10:09.009 the rules take precedence over mercy and needs. 00:10:09.649 --> 00:10:12.470 And so this is how Jesus responds to the question 00:10:12.470 --> 00:10:15.309 of why are you doing what is unlawful? He says, 00:10:15.649 --> 00:10:20.549 have you not read what David did? And that's 00:10:20.549 --> 00:10:22.389 underlined, so I want us to read that together. 00:10:22.870 --> 00:10:26.429 Have you not read what David did when he was 00:10:26.429 --> 00:10:29.039 hungry? Have you not read what David did when 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:30.980 he was hungry? He and those who were with him. 00:10:31.059 --> 00:10:34.080 And he tells this story. He refreshes their memory 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:37.419 because when he says, have you not read? He knows 00:10:37.419 --> 00:10:40.120 they read it because these are people that know 00:10:40.120 --> 00:10:42.039 scripture way better than any of us could ever 00:10:42.039 --> 00:10:44.600 know it. So he knows that they've read it. He's 00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:48.299 really saying, do you understand what you've 00:10:48.299 --> 00:10:53.679 read? Or do you not remember when David? And 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:56.320 his people were hungry. And he refreshes their 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:59.139 memory on this time when David, this well -respected 00:10:59.139 --> 00:11:02.080 hero in their history, he took bread that was 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:04.360 meant for God, known as the bread of presence, 00:11:04.539 --> 00:11:07.159 and he gave it to his men so that they could 00:11:07.159 --> 00:11:10.539 be fed when they were in need. And what Jesus 00:11:10.539 --> 00:11:13.320 is not doing is he's not dismissing the law. 00:11:13.559 --> 00:11:17.120 He's just revealing its intention. The law was 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:20.559 never meant to overtake or suffocate mercy. Human 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:24.100 need was not meant to go, to be crushed under 00:11:24.100 --> 00:11:26.820 the man -made layers of tradition. What Jesus 00:11:26.820 --> 00:11:29.500 wants them to know is that the law was meant 00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:32.259 to help. The law was meant to protect. The law 00:11:32.259 --> 00:11:35.100 was meant to care for God's people, to keep God's 00:11:35.100 --> 00:11:37.799 people safe, to take care of them where they 00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:40.500 needed to be told what to do and what not to 00:11:40.500 --> 00:11:42.799 do. The law was not meant to keep them under 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:45.559 the rule of oppression. And so when Jesus is 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:48.940 saying this, what he's saying is, don't be mistaken. 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:53.519 The law is not about the... regulation. The law 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:56.340 is about the relation. It is about taking care 00:11:56.340 --> 00:12:00.379 of God's children. And then he says something 00:12:00.379 --> 00:12:04.580 far greater for a clarification about mercy, 00:12:04.659 --> 00:12:08.059 or far greater than a clarification about mercy. 00:12:08.139 --> 00:12:11.399 He says, read this with me, the Son of Man is 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:16.279 Lord of the Sabbath. Now, I want us to just sit 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:18.659 there for a moment. I want you to just think 00:12:18.659 --> 00:12:24.580 about that. The Sabbath belongs to God. It's 00:12:24.580 --> 00:12:29.379 under his rule. The Sabbath was instituted by 00:12:29.379 --> 00:12:34.080 God. The Sabbath was commanded by God. It was 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:37.200 a covenant sign between God and his people. And 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:40.419 so Jesus isn't just saying, I interpret the Sabbath 00:12:40.419 --> 00:12:43.220 differently. He's not saying I interpret the 00:12:43.220 --> 00:12:46.940 Sabbath correctly. What he's saying is I am Lord 00:12:46.940 --> 00:12:51.950 of the Sabbath. I'm over it. So once again, Jesus 00:12:51.950 --> 00:12:54.590 is not making a minor statement. He is making 00:12:54.590 --> 00:12:57.129 a statement that tells them exactly who he is. 00:12:57.210 --> 00:13:01.750 He is claiming deity. He is claiming divine authority. 00:13:03.409 --> 00:13:06.710 He's not just correcting their tradition. He's 00:13:06.710 --> 00:13:09.470 asserting authority over something that belongs 00:13:09.470 --> 00:13:15.169 to God himself. He's saying the Sabbath answers 00:13:15.169 --> 00:13:18.990 to me. And then he walks into another Sabbath 00:13:18.990 --> 00:13:22.889 moment. We see this in Luke 6, verses 6 -11. 00:13:23.009 --> 00:13:25.669 Jesus is teaching in the synagogue, and this 00:13:25.669 --> 00:13:28.750 man with a withered hand approaches him. And 00:13:28.750 --> 00:13:31.149 what you would imagine is the man is seeking 00:13:31.149 --> 00:13:33.730 healing because he's heard that this great rabbi 00:13:33.730 --> 00:13:35.870 is not just a great teacher. He does these miraculous 00:13:35.870 --> 00:13:38.970 healings. And so he comes to Jesus, probably 00:13:38.970 --> 00:13:44.080 for healing, and... I think that was God saying, 00:13:44.179 --> 00:13:47.000 hey, don't go long. So he comes to Jesus for 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:51.000 healing and the Pharisees, the scribes, they're 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:53.740 watching him closely to see if he's going to 00:13:53.740 --> 00:13:57.820 heal on the Sabbath because healing would count 00:13:57.820 --> 00:14:03.580 as work, right? And so they're making sure this 00:14:03.580 --> 00:14:08.080 man is not working on the day of rest. They're 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:09.840 not concerned about the man with the withered 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:12.639 hand. They are concerned about catching Jesus 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:17.480 committing sin. But Jesus knew exactly what they 00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:19.679 were thinking. He knew their minds. And so he 00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:22.019 brings the man front and center. He brings him 00:14:22.019 --> 00:14:24.840 up into the front of the synagogue, right there 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:27.440 in the middle, right in front of everybody. And 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:31.070 then he... heals the man. But before he heals 00:14:31.070 --> 00:14:32.610 the man, he looks at these religious leaders 00:14:32.610 --> 00:14:34.789 and he asks this question, underline, read it 00:14:34.789 --> 00:14:37.629 with me. Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good 00:14:37.629 --> 00:14:40.950 or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it? 00:14:41.230 --> 00:14:44.129 And so in other words, Jesus is asking, is there 00:14:44.129 --> 00:14:49.299 ever a bad day to do good? Is there ever a bad 00:14:49.299 --> 00:14:52.159 day to let somebody go unhealed? Is there ever 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:54.720 a bad day to not take care of the needs that 00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:58.080 somebody has? Is there ever a bad day to do good? 00:14:58.179 --> 00:15:00.600 He forces these religious leaders to wrestle 00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:03.519 with the heart of the law, and then he heals 00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:08.039 the man. And this makes them so angry. It fills 00:15:08.039 --> 00:15:10.519 them with fury. And so they start to ask themselves, 00:15:10.700 --> 00:15:12.120 what are we going to do to him? Are we going 00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:13.860 to hurt him? Are we going to throw him out? Are 00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:15.700 we going to kill him? They start talking about 00:15:15.700 --> 00:15:18.440 what they might do to him. Why? Because this 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:20.940 is no longer about grain in a field. It's no 00:15:20.940 --> 00:15:23.299 longer about just walking around on the Sabbath. 00:15:23.480 --> 00:15:25.559 This is no longer about a technical violation. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:30.139 This is about authority. And they don't like 00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:34.700 that this man is claiming divine authority. He's 00:15:34.700 --> 00:15:38.000 teaching, he's healing, he's redefining and commanding 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.860 with an authority that for nobody or for anybody 00:15:40.860 --> 00:15:44.480 but the Messiah, anybody but God, this would 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:47.539 be considered blasphemous. And that is like chief 00:15:47.539 --> 00:15:50.519 sin number one. And so they have an issue with 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:53.480 this. And everyone watching is forced to ask, 00:15:53.700 --> 00:15:59.909 is this the Messiah? Is this the Lord? And some 00:15:59.909 --> 00:16:03.669 answer yes, some answer no. But no one in that 00:16:03.669 --> 00:16:07.990 room, nobody witnessing this can ignore the claim 00:16:07.990 --> 00:16:13.490 that he thinks he is Lord. And so then Jesus 00:16:13.490 --> 00:16:17.429 appoints 12 apostles, which apostles just means 00:16:17.429 --> 00:16:20.029 sent ones. So he appoints these people among 00:16:20.029 --> 00:16:23.330 his followers, these 12 to be his sent ones. 00:16:23.509 --> 00:16:27.289 And that in itself is an authoritative act. That 00:16:27.289 --> 00:16:30.509 in itself is him claiming that he has the ability, 00:16:30.610 --> 00:16:33.169 he has the right to form this new covenant community 00:16:33.169 --> 00:16:37.700 around himself. And then he stands before a great 00:16:37.700 --> 00:16:40.080 multitude and he preaches what is referred to 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:42.399 as the Sermon on the Plains. You've probably 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:44.399 heard of the Sermon on the Mount. Some people 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:47.120 refer to this section in Luke chapter 6 as the 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:50.080 Sermon on the Plain. And in the sermon, he speaks 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:52.559 of the poor being blessed. He speaks of the hungry 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:55.100 being filled. The weeping will be laughing. The 00:16:55.100 --> 00:16:58.039 hated will be rewarded. He commands love for 00:16:58.039 --> 00:17:02.799 our enemies. He teaches generosity without repayment. 00:17:03.570 --> 00:17:06.950 mercy instead of condemnation, self -examination 00:17:06.950 --> 00:17:09.950 instead of judgment, bearing good fruit as opposed 00:17:09.950 --> 00:17:13.130 to just being, as we said last week, a pew potato. 00:17:14.069 --> 00:17:17.430 These aren't just suggestions. They're not just 00:17:17.430 --> 00:17:19.829 inspirational thoughts. Jesus was not just a 00:17:19.829 --> 00:17:24.130 motivational speaker. This series is called The 00:17:24.130 --> 00:17:26.910 Jesus Way because this is Jesus establishing 00:17:26.910 --> 00:17:31.809 a new way of living. Scratch that, the way of 00:17:31.809 --> 00:17:37.240 living. This is Jesus establishing his way. He's 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:40.559 telling us again exactly what his way is. It 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:44.259 is a way of others before self. It is a way of 00:17:44.259 --> 00:17:48.380 mercy. It is a way of love. And these are commands 00:17:48.380 --> 00:17:53.519 issued by one who speaks as king, one who speaks 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:59.279 with authority. And after all of that, after 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:01.900 all that teaching, after he says all of those 00:18:01.900 --> 00:18:03.539 things that we need to do, the things that we 00:18:03.539 --> 00:18:05.200 don't need to do, the way we need to live, the 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:07.200 people we need to be, the way we need to think 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:10.299 and speak and act, after all of that, he looks 00:18:10.299 --> 00:18:14.579 at them and he says, why do you call me Lord, 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:21.009 Lord, and not do what I tell you? Why do you 00:18:21.009 --> 00:18:24.470 call me Lord? Why do you claim that I am your 00:18:24.470 --> 00:18:26.930 master? Why do you claim that I am your teacher, 00:18:27.049 --> 00:18:29.329 that you are my followers, that you're my disciples, 00:18:29.529 --> 00:18:32.109 that you're my apprentices, but you don't do 00:18:32.109 --> 00:18:34.630 what I'm teaching you? Why is that? You've heard 00:18:34.630 --> 00:18:37.549 me teach. You've seen me heal. You've seen this 00:18:37.549 --> 00:18:40.230 challenge of religious power. You've heard this 00:18:40.230 --> 00:18:42.849 godly claim of authority, and you're calling 00:18:42.849 --> 00:18:46.329 me Lord. But if I'm your Lord, why are you not 00:18:46.329 --> 00:18:49.609 obeying? Why are you not acting? on what you 00:18:49.609 --> 00:18:55.029 are learning. See, it's not a casual thing to 00:18:55.029 --> 00:18:59.269 say, Lord. This is a title of master. It's authority. 00:18:59.589 --> 00:19:01.829 It's owner. And what he's teaching right here 00:19:01.829 --> 00:19:04.549 is that it is possible to say the right words. 00:19:05.069 --> 00:19:08.150 It's possible to admire Jesus. It's possible 00:19:08.150 --> 00:19:10.950 to believe in Jesus. It's even possible to agree 00:19:10.950 --> 00:19:13.089 with Jesus. I saw a tweet the other day from 00:19:13.089 --> 00:19:16.170 Elon Musk. He tweeted out, I agree with the teachings 00:19:16.170 --> 00:19:18.289 of Jesus. And I sit there and I wonder, okay, 00:19:18.349 --> 00:19:20.710 well, are you going to follow him? Are you going 00:19:20.710 --> 00:19:23.640 to live in accordance with those teachings? Because 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:26.200 it is possible to do all of these things, these 00:19:26.200 --> 00:19:28.819 right things, and still not do all that he has 00:19:28.819 --> 00:19:31.359 taught us. It's possible to do all of that and 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:35.079 still not be all that he has taught us. He's 00:19:35.079 --> 00:19:37.960 called us to be disciples, to be apprentices, 00:19:38.220 --> 00:19:41.640 not just students. He's called us to be people 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:44.539 that will do what he is instructing us to do. 00:19:46.099 --> 00:19:48.900 And Jesus explains this further by giving them 00:19:48.900 --> 00:19:53.339 a picture in verses 47 through 49. And this is 00:19:53.339 --> 00:19:56.319 what he says. Everyone who comes to me and hears 00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:59.640 my words and does them, I will show you what 00:19:59.640 --> 00:20:02.299 he is like. He's like a man building a house 00:20:02.299 --> 00:20:04.720 who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. 00:20:04.900 --> 00:20:07.559 And when a flood arose, the stream broke against 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:10.079 that house and could not shake it because it 00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:13.480 had been well built. But the one who hears and 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:16.500 does not do them is like a man who built a house 00:20:16.500 --> 00:20:20.240 on the ground without a foundation. And the stream 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:23.920 broke against it. Immediately, it fell. And the 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:27.559 ruin of that house was great. Here's something 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:32.339 I want us to notice. Both houses in that illustration 00:20:32.339 --> 00:20:36.640 faced the storm. Both houses faced pressure. 00:20:36.940 --> 00:20:40.980 Both houses probably looked good until the flood 00:20:40.980 --> 00:20:44.599 came. And the difference when that flood comes 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:47.319 is not the appearance. It's not the intention 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:50.160 of the builder. The difference is the foundation. 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:54.000 What is the foundation? You know, we started 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:57.259 this lesson talking about the challenger. The 00:20:57.259 --> 00:21:01.119 engineers warned NASA. The authorities on the 00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:04.259 situation, they spoke. But when the pressure 00:21:04.259 --> 00:21:09.220 came, the weakness was exposed. And so Jesus 00:21:09.220 --> 00:21:11.079 is saying something similar here. He says, you 00:21:11.079 --> 00:21:14.460 can call me Lord. You can sit here under my teaching. 00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:17.079 You can listen to all of these wise words that 00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:19.299 I have to say. You can see all the healing. You 00:21:19.299 --> 00:21:23.400 can be near me. You can be near my people. And 00:21:23.400 --> 00:21:27.519 I'll make it modern. You can come to church. 00:21:28.140 --> 00:21:31.099 You can read your Bible. You can listen to sermons. 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:33.700 You can sing the songs. You can put the cross 00:21:33.700 --> 00:21:36.240 tattoo on your arm. You can wear it around your 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:39.579 neck. You can put a cross on your house. But 00:21:39.579 --> 00:21:43.539 when pressure comes, when persecution comes, 00:21:43.819 --> 00:21:48.480 when life throws its wrenches at you, when Satan 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:51.519 slings his flaming darts at you, when temptation 00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:54.940 comes, when cultural opposition comes, when suffering 00:21:54.940 --> 00:21:57.880 happens, even the final judgment of God, when 00:21:57.880 --> 00:22:03.680 all of that hits you, what you have built on. 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:07.559 will be revealed. The foundation of your life 00:22:07.559 --> 00:22:11.180 will be exposed. Obedience to Jesus is the foundation. 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:14.920 Submission to Jesus as Lord is the foundation. 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:18.380 It's so much more than just this verbal acknowledgement. 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:21.799 It's so much more than just believing. It's so 00:22:21.799 --> 00:22:26.000 much more than just attending. When the flood 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:30.180 of life, when judgment breaks against your life, 00:22:32.460 --> 00:22:36.420 A life built on his authority will stand. But 00:22:36.420 --> 00:22:40.720 a life built on just believing, a life built 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:44.980 on just attending or just claiming, that life 00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:50.480 will fall. And the life built on his authority 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:54.059 stands not because it's comfortable. It stands 00:22:54.059 --> 00:22:56.380 because it's anchored to the one who is Lord. 00:22:57.140 --> 00:22:59.279 And so the question we have to ask ourselves 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:05.759 daily is, Will I submit to the authority of Christ 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:10.220 as Lord? You see, a lot of people want Jesus 00:23:10.220 --> 00:23:14.819 as Savior. A lot of people want Jesus as healer. 00:23:14.900 --> 00:23:17.339 A lot of people want Jesus as miracle worker. 00:23:17.539 --> 00:23:20.359 We love, you know, there's the song, Waymaker, 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:23.420 Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the 00:23:23.420 --> 00:23:27.130 Darkness. We love. that Jesus. But do we love 00:23:27.130 --> 00:23:30.410 the Jesus that calls us to do something? Do we 00:23:30.410 --> 00:23:32.789 love the Jesus that calls us out of these seats 00:23:32.789 --> 00:23:35.410 into the community to heal people, to feed the 00:23:35.410 --> 00:23:37.950 hungry, to heal the sick, to be there for the 00:23:37.950 --> 00:23:40.430 hurting, to be there for the outcast, to be there 00:23:40.430 --> 00:23:43.630 for the marginalized? Do we want to follow Lord 00:23:43.630 --> 00:23:47.250 Jesus or do we just want Savior Jesus? Do we 00:23:47.250 --> 00:23:51.769 just want friend Jesus? Will I leave my comforts? 00:23:51.769 --> 00:23:54.809 Will I set aside my traditions and my preconceived 00:23:54.809 --> 00:23:58.329 ideas of life and follow Jesus? Will I love my 00:23:58.329 --> 00:24:01.390 enemies when it costs me something? Will I show 00:24:01.390 --> 00:24:04.089 mercy when I want to condemn? Will I examine 00:24:04.089 --> 00:24:07.349 myself before I critique and judge others? Will 00:24:07.349 --> 00:24:11.430 I bear fruit that reflects obedience to his commands? 00:24:14.009 --> 00:24:18.069 Simply, will I build my life on his teachings? 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:23.160 instead of just admiring them. Will I follow 00:24:23.160 --> 00:24:27.380 Lord Jesus? Because the truth is pressure is 00:24:27.380 --> 00:24:30.319 coming for all of us. Our moment of pressure 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:33.380 is coming and maybe you faced it. Maybe it was 00:24:33.380 --> 00:24:34.980 the loss of a loved one. Maybe it was the loss 00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:38.089 of a job. Maybe someone walked out on you. Maybe 00:24:38.089 --> 00:24:40.349 someone that you trusted betrayed that trust. 00:24:40.529 --> 00:24:43.069 Maybe you've been given the diagnosis that just 00:24:43.069 --> 00:24:45.349 shakes you to your core. Maybe you've been walking 00:24:45.349 --> 00:24:48.230 in this life with trauma and hurt. I don't know 00:24:48.230 --> 00:24:50.569 what pressures have already come, but I do know 00:24:50.569 --> 00:24:55.390 pressure is always coming for all of us. Pressure 00:24:55.390 --> 00:24:59.730 will come. No one can escape it. And so when 00:24:59.730 --> 00:25:06.160 that pressure comes, Will your foundation be 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:10.940 exposed as strong or will it be exposed as weak? 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:13.960 I also want to make this clear because I know 00:25:13.960 --> 00:25:18.220 that's a little heavy. I need to make clear that 00:25:18.220 --> 00:25:23.220 the same Lord that... us to get up and do something. 00:25:23.299 --> 00:25:25.759 The same Lord that looks at us and says, why 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:27.740 do you call me Lord if you're not going to obey 00:25:27.740 --> 00:25:30.759 me? The same Lord that does have the authority 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:34.140 to condemn. He has the authority to say who's 00:25:34.140 --> 00:25:36.880 in and who's out. The same Lord that has that 00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:41.259 authority has the same mercy for those of us 00:25:41.259 --> 00:25:43.859 not following in accordance to his teaching. 00:25:44.759 --> 00:25:49.480 And that same Lord continues to invite us. And 00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:51.400 so this morning, we offer the same invitation. 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:54.920 If you've not been following Jesus as Lord, if 00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:58.420 you've not been following him as rabbi, if you've 00:25:58.420 --> 00:26:01.019 not been in an apprenticeship relationship, and 00:26:01.019 --> 00:26:03.200 I want to say this, there's a difference between 00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:05.680 being a student and an apprentice. An apprentice 00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:10.769 trains so that he can go do. You know, a lot 00:26:10.769 --> 00:26:13.150 of schools, high schools, they're implementing 00:26:13.150 --> 00:26:16.930 like vocational tech programs. My high school 00:26:16.930 --> 00:26:19.329 finally started to implement some of those things. 00:26:19.390 --> 00:26:22.309 They have a welding class now. And so you can 00:26:22.309 --> 00:26:24.690 be in the welding program and then by the time 00:26:24.690 --> 00:26:26.650 you graduate high school, you're a certified 00:26:26.650 --> 00:26:28.430 welder and you can go straight into the workforce. 00:26:28.650 --> 00:26:31.269 Isn't that awesome? Well, what those welders 00:26:31.269 --> 00:26:34.670 do is they're essentially apprentices to the 00:26:34.670 --> 00:26:37.069 teacher of that class, the instructor. And they 00:26:37.069 --> 00:26:40.440 are learning so that when they... graduate, they 00:26:40.440 --> 00:26:44.400 can go then be welders. Do you know where the 00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:49.920 term Christian comes from? In early church history, 00:26:50.140 --> 00:26:53.680 the people that were witnessing Christians would 00:26:53.680 --> 00:26:57.400 call them little Christs. Kind of like, you know, 00:26:57.440 --> 00:27:00.359 if you saw my youngest son, Peyton, you might 00:27:00.359 --> 00:27:02.819 say, oh, that's just a little Donovan. because 00:27:02.819 --> 00:27:05.059 he looks like me, and he's kind of crazy like 00:27:05.059 --> 00:27:08.380 me, and he's annoying like me. And so you'd look 00:27:08.380 --> 00:27:09.980 at him, and you'd be like, that's a little Donovan. 00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:14.400 And so people would start calling the followers 00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:16.339 of Jesus, they would call them little Christ. 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:19.440 And then it was those Christians. Like you would 00:27:19.440 --> 00:27:21.339 say, I'm a Blairsvillian, or I don't know what 00:27:21.339 --> 00:27:23.359 you, is that the right way to say that? I don't 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:24.640 know if anyone would say that. Like Whoville, 00:27:24.740 --> 00:27:27.180 you'd be a Whovillian, right? And so you would 00:27:27.180 --> 00:27:29.880 say they are Christians. Christ ends. They are 00:27:29.880 --> 00:27:32.920 little Christ. And what it is, is they lived 00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:35.339 a life that followed the teachings of Jesus so 00:27:35.339 --> 00:27:38.319 closely that when people saw them, they saw Jesus. 00:27:38.519 --> 00:27:40.819 And I'm asking us today, when people see the 00:27:40.819 --> 00:27:44.180 church today, do they see Jesus or do they just 00:27:44.180 --> 00:27:46.859 see a bunch of people that look at and observe 00:27:46.859 --> 00:27:49.940 and admire a motivational speaker? Do they just 00:27:49.940 --> 00:27:52.819 see people that like the teachings that claim 00:27:52.819 --> 00:27:56.140 Jesus, but they don't actually live like Jesus? 00:27:56.299 --> 00:28:01.259 Are we going to follow and obey? Or are we just 00:28:01.259 --> 00:28:06.900 going to claim salvation? Is he Lord or is he 00:28:06.900 --> 00:28:11.779 just Savior? Jesus here wants everyone to know 00:28:11.779 --> 00:28:14.819 he is not just here to be their buddy. He's not 00:28:14.819 --> 00:28:17.579 just here to be a good teacher. He is here to 00:28:17.579 --> 00:28:21.160 call them into a life of submission to God's 00:28:21.160 --> 00:28:28.160 way, to the Jesus way. And so this morning, If 00:28:28.160 --> 00:28:31.680 you've never said yes to the lordship of Jesus 00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:34.240 and you feel the need to respond to his teachings, 00:28:34.420 --> 00:28:37.579 whether that be publicly or privately, I want 00:28:37.579 --> 00:28:40.160 you to know the invitation's here. And also, 00:28:40.240 --> 00:28:41.980 because I know there's a lot of us in this room 00:28:41.980 --> 00:28:44.660 that we have said yes to Jesus. We accepted him 00:28:44.660 --> 00:28:46.799 as Lord and Savior. We gave our lives to him 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:49.440 in baptism when we rose up committing to walk 00:28:49.440 --> 00:28:52.279 in a new life, but we haven't exactly been following 00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:55.359 our rabbi. We haven't been apprentices. We've 00:28:55.359 --> 00:28:58.519 just been students. If you've been in that boat 00:28:58.519 --> 00:29:02.920 and you want to commit, you want the prayers 00:29:02.920 --> 00:29:04.539 of the church, you want the encouragement of 00:29:04.539 --> 00:29:06.819 the church, you want people to help you to become 00:29:06.819 --> 00:29:09.839 a better disciple, the invitation's here. Wherever 00:29:09.839 --> 00:29:13.380 you're at today, whatever you need, whatever 00:29:13.380 --> 00:29:15.839 it is that you're struggling with, whatever you're 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:18.079 hurting with, it doesn't have to be about this 00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:20.119 lesson. It can just be about life in general 00:29:20.119 --> 00:29:22.400 because I know life is hard and that pressure 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:25.099 is hitting some of you right now. Whatever it 00:29:25.099 --> 00:29:28.329 is. We mean this sincerely when we say the invitation 00:29:28.329 --> 00:29:31.390 is here. If you need anything, please come now 00:29:31.390 --> 00:29:33.490 as we stand and as we sing.