Greetings, everyone. Andy Johnson here. The title
of today's presentation is called Fortitude and
Living Your Values. And my Jesus -loving MAGA
friends are going to be mad at me for this one,
but that's not my purpose. For unto us, Isaiah
9 .5. For unto us a child is born, a son will
be given, and the government will be upon his
shoulders. and his name will be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, My Father of Eternity,
Prince of Peace." And the angel said, and Luke,
glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace,
goodwill toward men. So Prince of Peace, let
me ask you, how's that working out for you? How's
the peace thing going? I have to be honest, I
don't see a lot of peace coming out of my Jesus
loving mega friends. I see anger, hatred, retribution,
violence, and lies. Peace on earth, goodwill
toward men and women and children and animal
life and our planet. How's that goodwill thing
working for you? Are you feeling it? Is your
will good? Or is it selfish? Did I misread Luke?
Did the angels say selfish will to all? I don't
see a lot of goodwill emanating from the Jesus
-loving mega -folk. I see greed, selfishness,
violence, indifference and entitlement. And I'm
sorry, that's what I'm seeing. And now I see
war and I see killing. I see people being beat
up and locked up. And the Christian Bible has
policies about these sorts of things. Jesus as
condition of the heart, Philippians 2 .5, have
this mind among yourselves, which is yours in
Christ Jesus. have this mind. I've come to know
Jesus as an internal state. I've put on the Lord
Jesus Christ. I've let the peace of Christ rule
my heart. I've got myself a bad case of the Jesus
condition within me. And the Jesus I have come
to know is not wearing a MAGA hat. enchanting
America first, God bless America, build the wall,
bomb Venezuela, Greenland as ours, bomb Iran,
grab them by the pussy. My Jesus is saying none
of these things. The Jesus I've come to know
speaks of love, compassion. selflessness, generosity,
responsibility, understanding, and joy. Colossians
3 .15. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts
since as members of one body you were called
to peace and be thankful. Am I reading my Bible
upside down here? How do you justify these words
with the behaviors of Trump? And if you support
his policies and actions, these behaviors are
yours by proxy. It appears as if your Christianity
is merely a set of behaviors and beliefs. Refrain
from bad behaviors and believe the right sorts
of things so you can get to heaven when you die.
And that's just wonderful. And I'd be fine with
it. If it works for you, I'm all for it. But
obviously it's not working. It's not working.
I see anger with a smiling face. I see selfishness
and greed dressed in niceties and platitudes.
I see pious moralizing and complacent indifference
dressed in your Sunday best. What I don't see
is peace. And I certainly don't see goodwill.
I see selfish will, evil will, indifferent will,
sanctimonious will, but I don't see good will.
And I don't see compassion. Paul says we are
to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Put him on!
You perhaps see Holy Scripture as a set of behaviors
and beliefs stuck in time. Maybe that's the cause
of your selfish indifference. Put on the mantle
of God at its highest. Christianity is a way
of seeing and being in the world. It's a set
of dispositions. It's a condition of your heart
in a state of your soul. It's a mindset that
enables you to see Jesus, to hear Jesus, to feel
Jesus. Romans says put on, Romans 13, 14, put
on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provisions
for the flesh to gratify its desires. So why
should I care? My life is good. Why should I
worry? I've got a pension and a 401k. But in
Luke, in the Beatitudes, Jesus says, blessed
are those who are persecuted because of their
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
This talks to fortitude, that inner state. You
live your values. You try to. You don't back
down. You speak up when you see something wrong.
You do something when you see evil. And I would
ask my Jesus -loving MAGA friends, are you living
your values? Are these really your values? Or
is your Christianity merely a ticket to heaven
for you?