WEBVTT 00:00:01.370 --> 00:00:06.330 Howdy. So a question that I want you all to have 00:00:06.330 --> 00:00:10.849 in your mind today is the idea of who are you 00:00:10.849 --> 00:00:13.910 united with? And for the English teachers, please 00:00:13.910 --> 00:00:18.269 forgive the preposition at the end. But you see, 00:00:18.289 --> 00:00:22.070 today, we are celebrating Mother's Day. And in 00:00:22.070 --> 00:00:25.000 many ways, what we see with that is how much 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:27.920 we have needed and leaned on and turned to our 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:30.780 mothers, the ones that we trust, the ones who 00:00:30.780 --> 00:00:34.659 take care of bandaging up our wounds and telling 00:00:34.659 --> 00:00:36.719 us that everything will be okay when somebody 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:40.119 breaks our heart, or occasionally telling dad 00:00:40.119 --> 00:00:42.140 jokes and making us wonder why they've betrayed 00:00:42.140 --> 00:00:46.079 us. I'm like, Mom, those are my dad's jokes. 00:00:46.280 --> 00:00:48.799 Don't, no, I need some safe place. Help me out 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:52.509 here. But... The thing about our mothers, though, 00:00:52.729 --> 00:00:56.429 is to know that it's not just them by themselves, 00:00:56.490 --> 00:00:59.609 but also this question of who is it that our 00:00:59.609 --> 00:01:03.689 mothers are united with as well? Because our 00:01:03.689 --> 00:01:06.569 mothers are also the ones that we hope and pray 00:01:06.569 --> 00:01:10.829 will be leading us to know God more fully, more 00:01:10.829 --> 00:01:14.329 deeply. Because today, we're asking this question 00:01:14.329 --> 00:01:21.420 of who it is that we are united with. As an example, 00:01:21.879 --> 00:01:23.659 I have to be honest is that there have been different 00:01:23.659 --> 00:01:27.579 times when if I've been united with this group 00:01:27.579 --> 00:01:30.620 or that group, I've sometimes been more or less 00:01:30.620 --> 00:01:35.500 proud to admit it. There was one job where any 00:01:35.500 --> 00:01:37.819 time that I would introduce myself to people 00:01:37.819 --> 00:01:41.239 and they would find out who my boss was, I almost 00:01:41.239 --> 00:01:44.260 immediately had to say, I'm very sorry, I'm much 00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:48.120 nicer than he is. And to the point where even 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:50.859 to this day, years later, if they introduce me 00:01:50.859 --> 00:01:53.459 to people, they will also say, he used to work 00:01:53.459 --> 00:01:55.379 for so -and -so, but don't worry, he's cool. 00:01:57.120 --> 00:01:59.620 But then there was also a time I was teaching 00:01:59.620 --> 00:02:02.719 at this one school, and as I was there, and I 00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:05.180 would tell people that I was a teacher, and then 00:02:05.180 --> 00:02:08.240 I'd start introducing my school, and they would 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:11.250 see and know... what type of a school it was 00:02:11.250 --> 00:02:14.969 where children would be staying there and would 00:02:14.969 --> 00:02:18.370 have all of these focuses on mentorship and personal 00:02:18.370 --> 00:02:21.050 growth and making sure that different families 00:02:21.050 --> 00:02:24.490 were provided for. And I was proud of it. I loved 00:02:24.490 --> 00:02:26.210 being able to tell people that I was working 00:02:26.210 --> 00:02:30.650 there. Because the distinction is this idea of 00:02:30.650 --> 00:02:34.389 who are we united with? But sometimes we might 00:02:34.389 --> 00:02:38.110 also see the same thing among maybe our relatives 00:02:38.110 --> 00:02:42.770 and the like. See, I have a relatively large 00:02:42.770 --> 00:02:47.370 family, but there might be this one aunt or uncle 00:02:47.370 --> 00:02:51.389 of mine where, as I would see them interacting, 00:02:51.990 --> 00:02:55.129 it was sort of like we'd say, oh, hey, is there 00:02:55.129 --> 00:02:58.689 more of this to drink or more of that to eat? 00:02:58.830 --> 00:03:01.789 And my aunt would say, did your uncle ask that? 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:04.699 And we'd be like, oh, no, we were just hoping 00:03:04.699 --> 00:03:06.759 for some of it. And then she's like, oh, OK, 00:03:06.780 --> 00:03:09.340 then I'll go grab that for you. And then realizing 00:03:09.340 --> 00:03:11.099 that as soon as she found out that it was my 00:03:11.099 --> 00:03:12.659 uncle who wanted it, she was like, well, he can 00:03:12.659 --> 00:03:15.139 go get it for himself. You know that difference, 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:18.099 that one couple where you're like, it really 00:03:18.099 --> 00:03:20.099 doesn't matter what comes up. But because it 00:03:20.099 --> 00:03:22.219 came from the other spouse, they're just going 00:03:22.219 --> 00:03:25.500 to already have an issue with it. But then I 00:03:25.500 --> 00:03:28.400 have this other aunt and uncle where it did not 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:31.789 matter what came up. if they found out that the 00:03:31.789 --> 00:03:33.710 other one had already made a decision, then they 00:03:33.710 --> 00:03:37.650 already agreed with it. That difference there. 00:03:38.090 --> 00:03:40.930 Because we have to ask about this idea of unity 00:03:40.930 --> 00:03:47.469 among people. This idea of with whom are we united? 00:03:48.430 --> 00:03:50.590 See, the thing is that oftentimes what we're 00:03:50.590 --> 00:03:53.710 doing is that we're measuring what we do or don't 00:03:53.710 --> 00:03:56.610 go along with based off of the people themselves. 00:03:57.419 --> 00:04:00.139 we look at this question of whether we attack 00:04:00.139 --> 00:04:05.280 or support because of who we're seeing. But we 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:08.460 can oftentimes ask this question of why that 00:04:08.460 --> 00:04:11.219 we do that. Well, it turns out that one of the 00:04:11.219 --> 00:04:13.800 things we've seen, there was a study especially 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:16.920 four years ago, but it's come up several times 00:04:16.920 --> 00:04:20.300 before and after, is this idea that oftentimes 00:04:20.300 --> 00:04:26.279 we base our perception not on what we can test, 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:31.259 or see, but rather on what we feel. Whatever 00:04:31.259 --> 00:04:35.860 it is that we feel determines which direction 00:04:35.860 --> 00:04:39.740 we want to go. And especially looking at which 00:04:39.740 --> 00:04:43.480 people that we're focused on. Now, at the time 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:46.120 when Jesus is there, you notice at the beginning 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:49.560 it says that it was the time for the festival 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:53.879 of dedication. There's another term for this, 00:04:53.939 --> 00:04:58.069 it's the festival of lights. Hint, hint. Anybody 00:04:58.069 --> 00:05:02.449 know which holiday that we're referring to? Hanukkah. 00:05:03.370 --> 00:05:06.329 So what we see here is that it's winter time 00:05:06.329 --> 00:05:08.689 and Jesus is in the Colonnade of Solomon because 00:05:08.689 --> 00:05:10.850 it's cold. I mean, he's not outside the way he 00:05:10.850 --> 00:05:14.769 might normally be. But when we see this season, 00:05:15.589 --> 00:05:17.790 we see that they are celebrating what happened 00:05:17.790 --> 00:05:23.439 almost two centuries previous. is that at a time 00:05:23.439 --> 00:05:27.680 whenever the people of Israel had been overwhelmed, 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:32.579 overcome by the Greek Empire, then they were 00:05:32.579 --> 00:05:35.560 looking for someone to save them. See, what we 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:38.500 end up seeing is that Antiochus Epiphanes IV 00:05:38.500 --> 00:05:41.279 had come along and had completely desecrated 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:46.759 their temple. He had burned pigs on the altar. 00:05:47.470 --> 00:05:50.389 That may not sound like a big deal to us as we 00:05:50.389 --> 00:05:53.149 go out today and maybe celebrate with sausage 00:05:53.149 --> 00:05:58.589 and pork ribs with our mom, but for them, sacrificing 00:05:58.589 --> 00:06:01.930 a pig was the most unclean thing you could do. 00:06:03.089 --> 00:06:05.470 And not only that, but they put other idols in 00:06:05.470 --> 00:06:10.189 the temple. Well, Judas Maccabeus had come along 00:06:10.189 --> 00:06:13.889 and led a revolt, and they ended up pushing out 00:06:13.889 --> 00:06:17.399 all of the Greek invaders. And so what ends up 00:06:17.399 --> 00:06:19.899 happening is, they go and they cleanse the temple. 00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:23.500 They get rid of all the idols. They have to actually 00:06:23.500 --> 00:06:26.560 replace that particular altar. You have to put 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:30.560 on these new stones and the like. But also to 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:35.579 cleanse everything with purified water. But the 00:06:35.579 --> 00:06:38.019 difficulty was that they were also supposed to 00:06:38.019 --> 00:06:42.339 be having oil in the menorah, the lamp stand. 00:06:43.579 --> 00:06:46.019 come to find out is that as much as they needed 00:06:46.019 --> 00:06:48.800 to spend eight days purifying the temple, they 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:51.899 only had enough of the special oil for one day. 00:06:52.540 --> 00:06:55.620 But the miracle of Hanukkah is that somehow, 00:06:55.980 --> 00:06:58.860 by the grace of God, it lasted for all eight. 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:04.920 Now, knowing this though, is that the people 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:08.079 at the time are remembering this strong military 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:11.819 leader. This person who had taken back the land. 00:07:13.189 --> 00:07:16.230 What was it that they were expecting when Jesus 00:07:16.230 --> 00:07:20.009 comes along? They want somebody who is strong 00:07:20.009 --> 00:07:24.850 and will push out the Romans. But what do we 00:07:24.850 --> 00:07:28.910 end up seeing with Jesus? See, here's the thing 00:07:28.910 --> 00:07:33.389 about this, is that the very fact that the Greeks 00:07:33.389 --> 00:07:36.490 and the Romans were coming and dominating their 00:07:36.490 --> 00:07:40.730 land already proved that things had shifted. 00:07:41.419 --> 00:07:45.139 Instead of believing that land in an area belonged 00:07:45.139 --> 00:07:48.980 to a particular deity or religion, instead people 00:07:48.980 --> 00:07:52.439 realize now that it was more about who was there 00:07:52.439 --> 00:07:55.959 and whom it was they were worshiping. It was 00:07:55.959 --> 00:07:59.959 less about the land and it was now more about 00:07:59.959 --> 00:08:05.800 the people. But then we end up seeing Jesus come 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:08.759 along. And what is it that we end up seeing about 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:12.639 Jesus? Well, the thing about Jesus is that Jesus, 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:16.199 time and time again, emphasizes and shows that 00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:21.319 He is united with the Father. He is united with 00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:24.680 God the Father, and He is showing it with not 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:26.800 only everything He does, but also with everything 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:31.240 that He says. Time and time again is that He 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:34.899 keeps pointing people back to the spirit of truth 00:08:34.899 --> 00:08:38.100 and of wisdom, to bring people back to focusing 00:08:38.100 --> 00:08:41.149 on worshipping God on the inside, not just on 00:08:41.149 --> 00:08:46.269 the outside. To bring people to a place of restoration. 00:08:46.990 --> 00:08:49.389 That He's able to heal in ways that nobody else 00:08:49.389 --> 00:08:53.090 was able to heal. And it's so doing to say, even 00:08:53.090 --> 00:08:57.029 as you have been healed, go rededicate yourself 00:08:57.029 --> 00:09:02.110 to God. And then even looking at the parts where 00:09:02.110 --> 00:09:05.029 He's going out and bringing grace and mercy. 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:08.200 And that was something that people desperately 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:11.059 needed from God. But the thing about this is 00:09:11.059 --> 00:09:13.500 that even though He was unified with the Father 00:09:13.500 --> 00:09:17.159 in being and in purpose, the people still didn't 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:20.500 want to hear it. And they end up trying to use 00:09:20.500 --> 00:09:23.360 His words against them. You know what that's 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:26.200 like, right? Whenever there's that one person 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:29.279 and no matter what they say, it's always going 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:33.299 to be wrong. And you can end up having one person 00:09:33.299 --> 00:09:35.580 saying something, and it's completely wrong, 00:09:35.659 --> 00:09:37.399 and then somebody else says the exact same thing, 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.100 and it's totally okay. And you're just kind of 00:09:40.100 --> 00:09:42.500 like, wait a minute, what's going on here? The 00:09:42.500 --> 00:09:46.899 thing is that even though Jesus was being pointed 00:09:46.899 --> 00:09:50.179 to as the Son of God, and they're saying, tell 00:09:50.179 --> 00:09:53.240 us, are you the Christ? It really was not something 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:57.279 where His words were truly meant to be heretical 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:02.659 if they were actually looking for the true Messiah. 00:10:03.580 --> 00:10:06.480 See, the thing is that we know, and Jesus would 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:09.700 later on in that chapter point out, hey, Psalm 00:10:09.700 --> 00:10:16.100 82, it says that people will be gods or sons 00:10:16.100 --> 00:10:18.659 of the Most High as they come into authority. 00:10:19.679 --> 00:10:21.980 The term itself doesn't necessarily have to be 00:10:21.980 --> 00:10:25.539 this terrible thing. Or even knowing the Christ 00:10:25.539 --> 00:10:31.679 who is to come is the Son of God. But the problem 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:34.740 that was truly there was they just didn't want 00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:42.620 it to be him. Not this guy. Not this guy. We 00:10:42.620 --> 00:10:46.259 wanted someone who ended up puffing up and promoting 00:10:46.259 --> 00:10:50.259 our goals and our purposes. Not this guy. He's 00:10:50.259 --> 00:10:52.440 off doing his own thing. And the problem is that 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:58.590 he keeps doing it well. But the difficulty then 00:10:58.590 --> 00:11:02.169 is that even as He is one with the Father, all 00:11:02.169 --> 00:11:05.490 of those who follow Him are one with God as well. 00:11:06.950 --> 00:11:10.669 Isn't it so true that whenever we see somebody 00:11:10.669 --> 00:11:14.029 doing well, succeeding, and maybe in many times 00:11:14.029 --> 00:11:16.929 even going in the right direction, and it's almost 00:11:16.929 --> 00:11:19.710 like we want to look for reasons to be upset 00:11:19.710 --> 00:11:21.470 with them? You know, the times whenever you're 00:11:21.470 --> 00:11:23.610 like, why don't they like me? Ah, they're just 00:11:23.610 --> 00:11:27.559 jealous of you. Oh yeah, they just can't stand 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:29.539 you because you're so great, you're so awesome. 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:32.159 I see that on Facebook all the time. I need to 00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:36.700 post that more often, right? But when we see 00:11:36.700 --> 00:11:39.600 this though, is that unfortunately it brings 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:44.559 out the worst in these particular religious leaders. 00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:48.720 Because the truth is, is that it ends up showing 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:53.759 what is truly on the inside. They're not interested 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:56.279 in being united with God the Father because if 00:11:56.279 --> 00:12:00.960 they were and they saw Jesus They would realize 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:06.159 that he is bringing them to the Father Because 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:08.519 that's the thing about those who follow Christ 00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:13.039 is even as time and time again. He says They 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:17.860 were given to me by the Father But that's oftentimes 00:12:17.860 --> 00:12:20.710 what we end up seeing in our struggles and unity 00:12:20.710 --> 00:12:25.750 with the church as well. See, if we're spending 00:12:25.750 --> 00:12:29.429 all of our time looking for unity with one another 00:12:29.429 --> 00:12:34.149 just for its own sake, then we end up missing 00:12:34.149 --> 00:12:38.870 the point. How often it is that we're trying 00:12:38.870 --> 00:12:43.629 to figure out how we can be closer to the people 00:12:43.629 --> 00:12:48.080 we worship with, closer to the people that we 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:54.200 want to make happy. The times whenever I remember 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:57.440 going through discussions at the seminary and 00:12:57.440 --> 00:12:59.779 with other churches and this whole thing where 00:12:59.779 --> 00:13:02.100 time and time again people might say well why 00:13:02.100 --> 00:13:06.159 don't we do things this way if it works so well 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:10.600 and there'd be like this one person or this one 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:13.080 group that's like well we can't do it that way 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:15.879 and so then nobody wants to change things up 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:19.179 because you don't want to upset this one group. 00:13:20.220 --> 00:13:22.779 But we end up seeing it not just in little individual 00:13:22.779 --> 00:13:25.940 congregations, but even oftentimes what we end 00:13:25.940 --> 00:13:29.620 up seeing throughout our world is that we can 00:13:29.620 --> 00:13:33.379 oftentimes be so focused on making sure we sound 00:13:33.379 --> 00:13:39.360 like, we act like, we work well with other Christians 00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:43.019 that we sometimes get distracted in asking, yes, 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:49.669 but am I being united closer Christ. Because 00:13:49.669 --> 00:13:51.850 whenever we're spending all of our time just 00:13:51.850 --> 00:13:53.809 trying to make sure that we're getting along 00:13:53.809 --> 00:13:56.909 well with others, but we forget who we were united 00:13:56.909 --> 00:14:00.909 with in the first place, then we still end up 00:14:00.909 --> 00:14:06.309 breaking and losing track. See, whenever we ask 00:14:06.309 --> 00:14:08.710 these questions of who we're meant to be, then 00:14:08.710 --> 00:14:11.450 we end up asking what are our true intentions. 00:14:11.610 --> 00:14:15.879 Because what's funny is that We can be very much 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:19.980 in agreement with other people, but then the 00:14:19.980 --> 00:14:23.460 things we do and say reveal what's in our hearts. 00:14:24.419 --> 00:14:27.360 And even though we may sound like the other Christians, 00:14:28.539 --> 00:14:32.139 who we are, betrays what's truly happening inside. 00:14:33.580 --> 00:14:36.419 But when we're getting back to what God's purposes 00:14:36.419 --> 00:14:41.620 are, and not ours, He's the one who changes our 00:14:41.620 --> 00:14:44.259 intentions. Because that's the thing about Jesus. 00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:48.059 Did Jesus say some things that were pretty extreme? 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:53.139 Absolutely. But the more you ask what God wanted 00:14:53.139 --> 00:14:58.419 of you, it ends up drawing you even closer to 00:14:58.419 --> 00:15:03.799 Jesus himself. And that's the hard part. Is that 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:07.740 where we are, at any point in time, it must always 00:15:07.740 --> 00:15:13.179 be about Jesus himself. It cannot be about trying 00:15:13.179 --> 00:15:16.519 to make sure that we look or act whatever we 00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:20.460 think is Christian. It must always be a question 00:15:20.460 --> 00:15:25.840 of is what we say and do more and more like Christ. 00:15:27.419 --> 00:15:30.019 And as much as we wish that that distinction 00:15:30.019 --> 00:15:34.840 were not there, the only way to truly bring the 00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:39.000 church back to where we need to be is by continuing 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:43.460 to be unified with Christ. When we end up seeing 00:15:43.460 --> 00:15:46.559 that a part of our community is going through 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:49.980 an illness, and instead of just saying, oh well, 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:53.240 that's really sad to hear, but instead make every 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:56.000 effort to be there with them, to care for them, 00:15:56.059 --> 00:16:00.259 to provide what may be needed, because we know 00:16:00.259 --> 00:16:05.279 that's exactly who Christ is. Or whenever we 00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:08.940 realize that We're trying our best to do something 00:16:08.940 --> 00:16:11.440 good and beautiful, and we realize that maybe 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:14.419 we have different ideas in our mind about what 00:16:14.419 --> 00:16:16.779 that should be like. And instead of saying, which 00:16:16.779 --> 00:16:20.159 one of us is going to win, and instead saying, 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:24.720 how is it that together we can do this in Christ's 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:31.059 name? Or even beyond that? Is even looking to 00:16:31.059 --> 00:16:34.940 say, the words that come from my mouth, and the 00:16:34.940 --> 00:16:38.259 emotions that come from my heart, are they being 00:16:38.259 --> 00:16:44.080 led and guided by Christ instead of just by my 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:47.840 own desire? See, that's the thing about this 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:52.860 is that unity is not truly unity unless it's 00:16:52.860 --> 00:16:57.279 unity in Christ. Because as much as we might 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:01.600 want to cling to other people, that's not the 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:07.029 kind of bond. that's unbreakable. As much as 00:17:07.029 --> 00:17:09.950 we may be glad when we find others who agree 00:17:09.950 --> 00:17:14.690 with us, it completely misses the point. Because 00:17:14.690 --> 00:17:19.670 in reality, the true unity that brings life from 00:17:19.670 --> 00:17:24.170 the Father, the true unity of life in the Spirit, 00:17:24.930 --> 00:17:29.349 is only when we are united with Christ. Because 00:17:29.349 --> 00:17:34.019 Jesus was united with us in our death. Jesus 00:17:34.019 --> 00:17:40.000 was united in giving up everything for us. But 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.119 in so doing, He also united us with Him in His 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:49.480 new life. So wherever we may be, whatever in 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:52.059 our mind we may be thinking that we are pursuing, 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:56.779 if our unity completely misses being connected 00:17:56.779 --> 00:18:00.920 in Christ, and we cannot point to Christ in what 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:03.970 we say and do, then it means we've missed the 00:18:03.970 --> 00:18:06.990 point. So my hope and prayer for each one of 00:18:06.990 --> 00:18:10.990 you, but also for everything we are here in this 00:18:10.990 --> 00:18:15.769 place, is that we would continue to ask, is this 00:18:15.769 --> 00:18:19.089 united with Christ? Because if it's not, let's 00:18:19.089 --> 00:18:24.130 let it go. And let's go back and say, what is 00:18:24.130 --> 00:18:29.750 Christ uniting with us to be and to do as children 00:18:29.750 --> 00:18:32.890 of God? Thanks be to God.