WEBVTT

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I wanted to talk a little bit today about the

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cornerstone and what it is that we think about

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when we hear that the cornerstone has been rejected.

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Now for me when I was growing up was that one

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of the cornerstones in my life was the idea of

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superheroes and that there was one that I collected

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more comics of than any other character that

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there was, Superman. I know it's cheesy, it's

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corny, he's got superpowers, blah, blah, blah,

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but I thought he was great, all right? And no,

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I never took on the whole wear red underwear

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outside of your pants idea, but plenty of other

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things to do. Now, one of the things is that

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in 1992, though, at the age of 55, what ended

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up happening is that Superman died in DC Comics.

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He had a massive battle, a big fight, and Superman...

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And this was of course a big deal among young

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people and it was up on the news and everything

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else. But what was interesting is that they kept

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hinting that something else may be coming along

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the way. Now, whenever I was going through hospital

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treatments, this was during the cancer days,

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I would keep my sanity by reading comic books.

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I couldn't play Super Nintendo that long. The

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comic books... kept my mind focused on things

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otherwise. And so for me, Superman was this place

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of hope. And there I was sitting there with Action

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Comics and Adventures of Superman, and I'm looking

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at issue 500, and it hints at the idea of what

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may be happening next. See, it turns out that

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when Superman died, there were four characters

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that sort of took the place. They were the heroes

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of Metropolis. And each of these four had different

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characteristics, different abilities, but also

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they just were very different from each other,

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but also not the same as Superman. See, the guy

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who was all in armor, he was very human. So he

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was just basically a guy in a metal suit with

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a giant hammer. But he also really cared about

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people. and he really did want to make a difference.

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The one who looked younger, he was very cocky,

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very sure of himself all the time, and trying

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to prove something. Well, he didn't have the

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maturity that you would hope for. He was definitely

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trying to help people, but only in the way that

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it might make him look good. Or, then there was

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the fact that there was one guy with glasses,

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and he seemed to look a lot like Superman, but

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he was cruel, mean. vindictive, vengeful with

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people, which was not what Superman had been

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like before. And then there was a fourth one.

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And he had some pieces that were made of metal.

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But he acted like Superman. He talked like Superman.

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He seemed in many ways like Superman. But there

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always seemed to be some secret that you couldn't

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quite put your finger on with him. And each of

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these four, as you're watching them, you're asking

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the question, would Superman... have wanted their

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methods to continue. Would they be doing what

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it was that Superman would have done if he were

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still there? But there was also this kind of

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question in the back of your mind the whole time

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because in the comics it showed that Superman's

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body was gone. And so there was this question

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of were any of these actually the real Superman

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in disguise? And so as we think about the idea

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of what it is when this main character leaves

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and there are others to take their place, this

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image is in my head as we're talking a bit about

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the tenants that we have on the land that the

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master has left for a long time and now there

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are farmers who are making sure to take care

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of the land. But the difficulty is that these

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tenants were not exactly having the same heart

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and same desire as what the Master had in mind.

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See, these tenets were offering no fruits of

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repentance. What do I mean by that? The people

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back then, whenever they would hear scripture,

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there were certain things that would stand out

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to them quite a bit. One of them was the prophet

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Isaiah. Isaiah... had this story that was there

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about how this man had created this whole vineyard,

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this whole place that was supposed to be cared

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for and that it was supposed to be beautiful

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and produce all of these good grapes. But for

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reasons he couldn't explain, some of them turned

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into wild grapes, the ones that you couldn't

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make any wine out of. And so when we think of

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the farmer, when we think of those who are taking

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care of the land, people would... connect it

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with Isaiah 5. And the idea that not all of it

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was the way it should have been. But as people

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are listening to Jesus, they're also realizing

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that now Jesus is creating a story, a parable,

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about their own religious leaders. See, whereas

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in Isaiah, the people were supposed to repent

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and turn back to God. What we see in this parable

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is that these tenants do not want any of their

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fruit going back to the master. It's theirs.

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This is our fruit. This is our work. We're going

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to keep it. It's not for him. Now, when looking

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at this, we end up understanding that whatever

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they have created now in their minds is only

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for themselves, not for God. But what would be

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some fruits? That someone could have in their

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life and what they're teaching especially from

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the religious leaders that God would not be happy

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with Well, I'm pretty sure that in today's world.

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We know that not every religious leader Produces

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fruits that would always be pleasing to God See

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there were times whenever they might be more

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focused on their pride There might be times whenever

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they just wanted to feel that they were powerful

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or think that they were making the world a little

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more stable for themselves or even there were

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some that made a pretty decent living. Those

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who were able to feel that they had a position

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and even just making sure that everything around

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them made them feel comfortable and good. The

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problem is is that not everything that these

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religious leaders were doing were actually pointing

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people back to God. And that's what we end up

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seeing with these characters that in the parable

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There were these workers these servants that

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were coming back to the tenants and saying over

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and over again We need the fruits to come to

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God But every time that they would do that the

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tenants the farmers would be beating up these

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servants See the thing is is that Jesus has been

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talking about a lot of these things for a long

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time So with so many of the stories in the sermons

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he's given before They already know he's talking

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about the prophets. Every time that the prophets

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needed to come to the people and get their attention,

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they would beat them up, throw them out, and

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sometimes even kill them. But why? Why was it

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that they didn't want? Because they didn't want

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to be told that what they were doing had to stop.

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They didn't want to be redirected. They didn't

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want to have to change. But now in seeing this,

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what would be the types of fruits that God would

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want to see? God would want to see repentance.

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To trust Him by faith and not on our own beliefs

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or knowledge. God would want to see His Spirit

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being the thing that leads and guides people.

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That people would have forgiveness and compassion

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in their hearts for other people. Was that what

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we saw among those religious leaders at the time?

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Is that what we see among our own religious leaders

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today? How often is it that we truly believe

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that what we see among those who claim the name

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of God, those who speak to goodness, are actually

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showing fruits that are supposed to come from

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God's Spirit? Or are we just posturing and making

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sure everybody knows that we're here? How often

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is it that we get so upset that the world is

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abusing us as the church? Satan must be somehow

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in control. But how often is it that maybe the

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reason we're being rejected is because we're

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not actually doing what God would want? Is it

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possible that sometimes the church is rejected

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because we should be? And that's the difficulty,

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is that when we're supposed to listen, where

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is it that we're truly supposed to put our attention?

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Because let's be honest, maybe, maybe the difficulty

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was that they just didn't know if the prophets

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were actually speaking from God. So what does

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he say in the parable? I will send my son. You

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can't deny that this is the son of the master,

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so surely they will listen to him. Because wouldn't

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they listen to the one that they know has authority?

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Wouldn't they listen to the one that they know

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for sure is speaking on behalf of the Master?

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But what do we see the people actually doing

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with Jesus? When they see Him, how are they actually

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reacting to Him? Because the problem is, is that

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the things that they want to see don't always

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align with what God is doing through Jesus. Forgiveness?

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Mercy? Freedom? Hope? No, it's supposed to be

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about making sure you act good enough and make

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sure that everybody around you listens and that

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someday we will overthrow the government and

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get our own place again. But the difficulty is

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that when Jesus comes on the scene, he always

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has a habit of showing where your heart really

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is. If you see that it is difficult to be clear

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about whether or not you are or are not following

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God, when was the last time you asked what Jesus

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has actually called you to? See, that's one of

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the things that we see is that what God desires

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and what we create sometimes can be so subtly

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similar, but it makes all the difference. It's

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said in Isaiah, it's said that when God wanted

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justice, instead He saw blood shed. And you may

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be wondering, that's an interesting thing to

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put next to each other. God wants justice, but

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all of a sudden people are shedding their blood.

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What's the connection? The connection is the

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Hebrew. In the Hebrew, justice is mishpat. In

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Hebrew, bloodshed is mishpak. Mishpat. Miss Pa,

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go ahead and wipe your eyes. I'm sorry for the

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spit. Anyway, but what we end up seeing though

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is it's meant to verbally show just such a subtle

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difference. How many times it is that we claim

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something to be on behalf of God. But there's

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something just a little different about it that

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somehow makes it more about us. And he does the

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same thing again. He wants righteousness. Sedaka.

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But instead, there's an outcry. Instead, the

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people are crying out because they are being

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harmed and hurt. Sedaka. Sedaka. Sedaka. Whenever

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Christ comes on the scene, He ends up showing

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that you may look similar to what people were

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expecting, but are you genuinely following my

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spirit. How do we react when God expects us to

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respond with fruits of forgiveness, freedom,

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love, compassion? Is that what we are actually

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moving toward in our lives and in the world around

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us? Now I have to admit, as a kid I was really

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excited when I saw the Superman issue coming

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out. I think it was 82. And when it was coming

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out and you realize that the main character had

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died, but he had never truly been replaced. See,

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that's the thing is that Superman actually did

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come back. And when it happened, all four characters

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actually revealed their true colors. The guy

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with armor on who has no special powers, he was

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courageous and was still willing to fight even

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whenever he was losing his armor. The young kid,

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yeah, he was cocky, but when he saw the real

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Superman come along, he respected him and started

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following after him. The guy with the glasses

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turned out he was supposed to actually protect

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Superman. But the guy with the metal pieces,

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as much as he acted good on the surface, it turned

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out he was actually the villain all along. As

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much as he spoke, sounded like, tried to act

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like Superman, is that in reality, under the

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surface, he had his own plans happening the whole

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time. And so then, finally, when he tries to

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kill Superman again, the guy with glasses protects

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him, and then Superman is finally able to come

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out and save the day. The thing is that whenever

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the main character comes back, people reveal

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who they truly are. That's the thing about the

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Sun coming back to the field. The people were

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not actually just waiting for the right authority.

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They weren't like, oh, well, these servants don't

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really speak for the master. We'll wait until

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someone with real authority comes. That was never

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the point. And in fact, because the Sun had more

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authority, that was the reason they had to get

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rid of them. But what ends up happening in the

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parable? The master kills the tenants and takes

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away what they had. But notice the people are

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saying, surely not. Why are they so scared? What

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is it that bothers them about this story? Is

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it bothersome that the son is killed? Well, sure,

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absolutely. But it's more than that. It's more

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than the fact that they are sitting there, they

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know that Jesus is referring to Himself in this

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parable. How could you possibly imagine that

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the leaders would kill you? How could you possibly

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make this kind of a claim? Clearly, this would

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never happen. How often is it that people want

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to assume that it would never happen until it

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does? But even more than that is the fact that

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the tenants would be taken away. Are you really

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telling us that the leaders we've looked to are

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the ones that need to be taken away? And more

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than that, are we really going to lose everything

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we've had? Because within the century, they would

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lose their country, and within a few decades,

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they would have lost their temple. But as much

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as the son's death was shocking, it was the rest

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of it that hit them so hard. Because when the

00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:38.179
son comes, he reveals where people truly are.

00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:42.600
And that's the thing about a cornerstone. A cornerstone

00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:46.059
has two big functions in what we're looking at

00:16:46.059 --> 00:16:48.139
here. You know, a cornerstone, that's where it

00:16:48.139 --> 00:16:50.220
was that buildings would be started at. This

00:16:50.220 --> 00:16:52.179
is the stone. This is the corner. Everything

00:16:52.179 --> 00:16:55.120
else comes from there. This is our starting point.

00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:58.940
But here's the difficulty is that the cornerstone

00:16:58.940 --> 00:17:01.840
is either something you stumble on or something

00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:07.359
that can crush you in this story. Why is that?

00:17:08.059 --> 00:17:10.619
Don't those both sound pretty bad? Who really

00:17:10.619 --> 00:17:13.740
wants to stumble on a cornerstone? I stumble

00:17:13.740 --> 00:17:16.920
enough in real life as it is, don't you? But

00:17:16.920 --> 00:17:20.700
when we're looking at this, is that the idea

00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:24.799
of stumbling is actually supposed to be a good

00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:29.180
thing. You see, if you are the one that you are

00:17:29.180 --> 00:17:33.039
wanting to go up against the cornerstone, instead

00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:36.859
that thing is so heavy and so powerful that it

00:17:36.859 --> 00:17:40.130
would crush you. But the thing about stumbling

00:17:40.130 --> 00:17:43.349
on it is that it shows you when you're going

00:17:43.349 --> 00:17:49.789
the wrong way. Whenever you stumble on the cornerstone,

00:17:51.349 --> 00:17:53.569
it tells you when you're going the wrong way.

00:17:54.930 --> 00:17:57.130
That's the thing about this is that Jesus has

00:17:57.130 --> 00:18:00.349
come to reveal Himself and that He's the one

00:18:00.349 --> 00:18:02.650
who's actually trying to show us, are you going

00:18:02.650 --> 00:18:05.210
in the right direction? Is this really what it

00:18:05.210 --> 00:18:09.750
is that God wants for you? Are the fruits that

00:18:09.750 --> 00:18:13.390
are coming from your life genuinely what God

00:18:13.390 --> 00:18:17.930
would want from you? Are these the fruits that

00:18:17.930 --> 00:18:22.470
God sent His Son to create by His Spirit in you?

00:18:24.329 --> 00:18:27.769
Because every fruit that we work to keep for

00:18:27.769 --> 00:18:31.490
ourselves, instead of offering back to God, condemns

00:18:31.490 --> 00:18:36.920
us. That's the thing about this stone. When Jesus

00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:40.279
came he's either showing you this is the direction

00:18:40.279 --> 00:18:43.619
you should go and he knocks you on your face

00:18:43.619 --> 00:18:49.380
when you go the wrong way Or he ends up condemning

00:18:49.380 --> 00:18:53.440
you because you don't want to follow him And

00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:55.559
that's the hard part about what we see here,

00:18:55.559 --> 00:18:59.039
but it's also the reality that we need to face

00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:04.500
as Much as we have these goals and ideas in our

00:19:04.500 --> 00:19:10.309
mind If they're not the ones from God, then what

00:19:10.309 --> 00:19:14.869
future do we truly have with them? When we look

00:19:14.869 --> 00:19:19.269
at Jesus, that He is the one who is the standard.

00:19:20.269 --> 00:19:23.369
He is the one around whom the rest of the church

00:19:23.369 --> 00:19:27.869
is built. We keep trying to build the church

00:19:27.869 --> 00:19:31.630
around what we think matters. We keep trying

00:19:31.630 --> 00:19:34.650
to build our legacy around the things that we

00:19:34.650 --> 00:19:37.069
care about, the things that we think are important,

00:19:37.289 --> 00:19:39.150
and then we don't stop and pause and say, is

00:19:39.150 --> 00:19:41.849
this genuinely the fruit that God set us on this

00:19:41.849 --> 00:19:46.869
earth to create? Have we made a world of forgiveness

00:19:46.869 --> 00:19:50.289
and hope and mercy? Or did we just make a world

00:19:50.289 --> 00:19:52.369
in which people think that we don't like them

00:19:52.369 --> 00:19:58.950
very much? In this world, The land that's theirs

00:19:58.950 --> 00:20:02.609
doesn't truly belong to us. The fruits that come

00:20:02.609 --> 00:20:06.329
from us are not for us. They're meant to be for

00:20:06.329 --> 00:20:10.589
God. Because otherwise, what kind of wine are

00:20:10.589 --> 00:20:13.710
you going to create when you're making the wrong

00:20:13.710 --> 00:20:18.369
fruit? When we look at our lives this season,

00:20:18.829 --> 00:20:22.210
during this time of Lent, it is the time to realize

00:20:22.210 --> 00:20:26.440
that we may be stumbling. But it's only because

00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:29.059
God is trying to get our attention and put us

00:20:29.059 --> 00:20:32.680
back on the path we're supposed to go down. So

00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:36.660
where you may be today, where you may be wondering,

00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:39.759
why is it that I am stumbling at this moment?

00:20:39.940 --> 00:20:42.140
And it may be because God is trying to get your

00:20:42.140 --> 00:20:45.519
attention. Not because he wants to leave you

00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:48.819
on the ground. Because he wants you to be growing

00:20:48.819 --> 00:20:52.640
the fruit that actually matters. So whatever

00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:56.490
that may be, May we as God's people continue

00:20:56.490 --> 00:20:58.950
to seek him so that we would grow in the ways

00:20:58.950 --> 00:21:02.990
he desires and that our life and legacy would

00:21:02.990 --> 00:21:06.490
be the fruit that truly blesses the kingdom of

00:21:06.490 --> 00:21:08.869
God. Thanks be to God.