WEBVTT 00:00:01.420 --> 00:00:05.620 Howdy! One of the lesser -known realities of 00:00:05.620 --> 00:00:08.740 American history is that the Emancipation Proclamation, 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:12.380 the end of the Civil War, and the lived experience 00:00:12.380 --> 00:00:15.460 of freedom of those who had been enslaved did 00:00:15.460 --> 00:00:19.719 not happen at the same moment. The Emancipation 00:00:19.719 --> 00:00:23.899 Proclamation was issued on January 1st, 1863 00:00:23.899 --> 00:00:27.179 by President Abraham Lincoln, changing the legal 00:00:27.179 --> 00:00:30.219 status of more than 3 .5 million enslaved African 00:00:30.219 --> 00:00:33.219 Americans in the Confederate states from enslaved 00:00:33.219 --> 00:00:38.439 to free. On paper, slavery was abolished. Legally, 00:00:38.820 --> 00:00:42.259 chains were broken. The Civil War itself enacted 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:45.520 after the Confederate states attempted to secede 00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:48.299 from the Union over the asserted rights of states 00:00:48.299 --> 00:00:51.979 to hold slaves effectively ended in the spring 00:00:51.979 --> 00:00:56.840 of 1865, two years later. Freedom had already 00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:59.500 been enacted. The system that upheld slavery 00:00:59.500 --> 00:01:03.979 had collapsed. And yet, in many places, enslaved 00:01:03.979 --> 00:01:06.920 people were still working the fields, still taking 00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:09.680 orders, still living as if nothing had changed. 00:01:10.060 --> 00:01:12.719 Not because freedom wasn't real, but because 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:15.719 the message hadn't reached them yet. It wasn't 00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:18.959 until months later on what we now call Juneteenth 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:22.019 that Union soldiers arrived in Texas and announced 00:01:22.019 --> 00:01:27.560 what had already been true. You are free. The 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:29.659 independence that had happened for others on 00:01:29.659 --> 00:01:33.560 July 4th, 1776 had finally happened for those 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:37.340 who had been slaves. And that announcement mattered. 00:01:37.709 --> 00:01:41.150 Because freedom that is real but unknown cannot 00:01:41.150 --> 00:01:44.629 be lived. Freedom that is declared but unheard 00:01:44.629 --> 00:01:48.790 cannot be embodied. Until the news arrives, people 00:01:48.790 --> 00:01:52.209 continue to live as if the old order still holds. 00:01:52.909 --> 00:01:55.370 That doesn't mean the Emancipation Proclamation 00:01:55.370 --> 00:01:58.989 failed. It means the good news had to be carried, 00:01:59.370 --> 00:02:03.069 spoken, and received. And even then... Learning 00:02:03.069 --> 00:02:06.849 to live as free people took time. Habits of fear, 00:02:07.189 --> 00:02:10.590 submission, and survival don't dissolve overnight. 00:02:11.270 --> 00:02:14.550 It required trust and reimagining what life could 00:02:14.550 --> 00:02:18.949 be. Identity doesn't change at the speed of legislation. 00:02:19.770 --> 00:02:23.990 And even then, many of those who had been freed 00:02:23.990 --> 00:02:27.590 were still struggling with a life that had not 00:02:27.590 --> 00:02:32.710 been embodied with land, with funding. with a 00:02:32.710 --> 00:02:36.610 way to make a life for themselves outside of 00:02:36.610 --> 00:02:39.310 slavery, becoming sharecroppers because there 00:02:39.310 --> 00:02:43.370 was nothing else for them. The distinction matters 00:02:43.370 --> 00:02:48.969 because declaring something also requires a life 00:02:48.969 --> 00:02:55.129 that makes it real. Even years later, seeing 00:02:55.129 --> 00:02:59.050 how many would still treat those with darker 00:02:59.050 --> 00:03:02.849 skin as being lesser people, revealed that the 00:03:02.849 --> 00:03:06.789 Declaration still struggled in the hearts of 00:03:06.789 --> 00:03:11.409 many. But you see, this type of distinction matters 00:03:11.409 --> 00:03:15.150 when we talk about the Gospel as well. Because 00:03:15.150 --> 00:03:18.909 the comparison is so similar. The Gospel is not 00:03:18.909 --> 00:03:22.289 simply that something has happened. It is that 00:03:22.289 --> 00:03:26.030 something is happening and must now be announced, 00:03:26.469 --> 00:03:30.990 received, and lived into. And this whole timeline 00:03:30.990 --> 00:03:33.669 helps us to understand how Jesus announced the 00:03:33.669 --> 00:03:37.449 kingdom of heaven, even before the cross, even 00:03:37.449 --> 00:03:41.050 before the resurrection, even before the climactic 00:03:41.050 --> 00:03:45.110 moment. Just as the Emancipation Proclamation 00:03:45.110 --> 00:03:49.550 had happened, even before the war had ended, 00:03:50.069 --> 00:03:54.129 and the war had ended even before it had truly 00:03:54.129 --> 00:03:57.620 been felt throughout. Even so, we look at what 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:00.580 it was for the Kingdom of Heaven to be proclaimed 00:04:00.580 --> 00:04:05.740 before the cross and even after the cross that 00:04:05.740 --> 00:04:09.620 we are still looking to embody and live out what 00:04:09.620 --> 00:04:14.360 it means in our lives of faith. You see, even 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:17.699 before the cross, before the resurrection, before 00:04:17.699 --> 00:04:21.060 the climactic moment, Jesus walks the outskirts 00:04:21.060 --> 00:04:25.269 of those who had usually been rejected. He proclaims 00:04:25.269 --> 00:04:28.829 the kingdom. He heals. He calls people to follow. 00:04:29.029 --> 00:04:31.970 He teaches people how to live under a reign that 00:04:31.970 --> 00:04:35.769 has already drawn near, because freedom has come. 00:04:36.509 --> 00:04:39.490 And now people had to learn how to live like 00:04:39.490 --> 00:04:42.329 it was true, even before the final battle on 00:04:42.329 --> 00:04:46.790 the cross had been fought. You see, we today 00:04:46.790 --> 00:04:49.810 often jump straight to the crucifixion and resurrection, 00:04:50.329 --> 00:04:53.209 not just as the center of the Gospel, which it 00:04:53.209 --> 00:04:57.329 is, but as if they are the only thing that matters. 00:04:58.029 --> 00:05:01.490 But Jesus traveling the countryside is saying 00:05:01.490 --> 00:05:05.610 the kingdom of God has come near as he spends 00:05:05.610 --> 00:05:08.569 time with them taking all of the brokenness he 00:05:08.569 --> 00:05:11.730 came across including their prejudices and their 00:05:11.730 --> 00:05:14.649 mistaken assumptions about God and the world 00:05:14.649 --> 00:05:18.370 and writing the wrongs that others avoided and 00:05:18.370 --> 00:05:22.230 that's before the cross So how can Jesus say 00:05:22.230 --> 00:05:25.509 that time is fulfilled? How can he say the kingdom 00:05:25.509 --> 00:05:30.009 of God has come upon you? has come to you, is 00:05:30.009 --> 00:05:34.870 among you, present. Zacchaeus hears Jesus say, 00:05:35.050 --> 00:05:38.029 today salvation has come to this house, not someday, 00:05:38.129 --> 00:05:42.569 not later, today. People didn't yet understand 00:05:42.569 --> 00:05:45.329 that Jesus would die and rise again. So when 00:05:45.329 --> 00:05:47.970 they experienced the kingdom throughout his ministry, 00:05:48.449 --> 00:05:52.430 what did it mean to them? It meant restoration. 00:05:52.889 --> 00:05:55.769 It meant forgiveness. It meant healing. It meant 00:05:55.769 --> 00:06:00.720 belonging. and the Kingdom things God always 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:06.180 had in mind, even in the Old Testament. But He 00:06:06.180 --> 00:06:08.939 had to send His Son to finally get the reality 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:13.420 across, to finally make it real, to finally restore 00:06:13.420 --> 00:06:19.680 the world fully. Too often we take the Gospel, 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:22.560 which in Scripture is a story you walk into, 00:06:22.910 --> 00:06:26.529 and reduce it to a transaction you mentally agree 00:06:26.529 --> 00:06:30.069 with. Say the prayer to God, affirm the facts 00:06:30.069 --> 00:06:33.649 about Jesus, secure the afterlife of heaven by 00:06:33.649 --> 00:06:36.290 the power of the Spirit. You have the verbal 00:06:36.290 --> 00:06:40.129 receipt just in case God asks for proof of purchase 00:06:40.129 --> 00:06:44.029 when you get to the pearly gates. See, that version 00:06:44.029 --> 00:06:46.930 of Christianity, though, treats the cross and 00:06:46.930 --> 00:06:49.689 resurrection like a warranty card instead of 00:06:49.689 --> 00:06:54.209 the culmination of a lived kingdom. But in Matthew, 00:06:54.709 --> 00:06:58.449 Mark, Luke, and John, no one is invited to believe 00:06:58.449 --> 00:07:02.870 an idea. They are invited to follow a person. 00:07:03.649 --> 00:07:08.149 Belief is assumed as they follow, not a separate 00:07:08.149 --> 00:07:12.910 action. Allegiance to Christ is the point. Before 00:07:12.910 --> 00:07:16.230 anyone understands the cross, Jesus is announcing 00:07:16.230 --> 00:07:20.279 the Kingdom of God has come near. That is not 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:23.620 shorthand for, I will die later. It is a claim 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:27.699 that God's reign is becoming visible, tangible, 00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:31.699 embodied at that moment. Salvation is already 00:07:31.699 --> 00:07:35.240 happening. Every part of the brokenness of the 00:07:35.240 --> 00:07:40.060 world is being restored in Christ. Healing is 00:07:40.060 --> 00:07:44.420 kingdom. Forgiveness is kingdom. Table fellowship 00:07:44.420 --> 00:07:48.300 is kingdom. Casting out demons is kingdom. Calling 00:07:48.300 --> 00:07:52.480 fishermen is kingdom. The cross is not detached 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:55.699 from all of that. It is the moment where the 00:07:55.699 --> 00:07:59.360 brokenness of the world finally collides with 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:03.420 the faithfulness of God. God himself suffers 00:08:03.420 --> 00:08:07.879 for our sinful rejection, our sinful ways, our 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:11.839 sinful humanity, and the resurrection is God 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:16.170 restoring. what the world tried to destroy. Just 00:08:16.170 --> 00:08:19.089 like God had restored the brokenness of the world 00:08:19.089 --> 00:08:21.589 through Jesus throughout His earthly ministry, 00:08:22.089 --> 00:08:25.269 He then restores the brokenness of crucifying 00:08:25.269 --> 00:08:29.550 the Son of God by bringing Him back to life and 00:08:29.550 --> 00:08:34.029 restoring Him to His eternal body. But remove 00:08:34.029 --> 00:08:37.929 the ministry from that and keep only the final 00:08:37.929 --> 00:08:41.090 mechanism of the cross and resurrection? and 00:08:41.090 --> 00:08:45.009 the cross becomes an abstract idea. No wonder 00:08:45.009 --> 00:08:48.230 people who don't grow up in church ask, why would 00:08:48.230 --> 00:08:52.289 God choose such a strange, brutal plan for salvation? 00:08:53.110 --> 00:08:57.309 Because they don't know the context in which 00:08:57.309 --> 00:09:01.350 everything had happened. Jesus does not make 00:09:01.350 --> 00:09:05.549 a beeline for Jerusalem running from these places 00:09:05.549 --> 00:09:08.830 like He's checking items off of a crucifixion 00:09:08.830 --> 00:09:13.279 to -do list. He walks the long way around. He 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:16.320 spends time in places that no one expects anything 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:20.700 to happen. Galilee, Decapolis, villages, fishing 00:09:20.700 --> 00:09:24.500 boats, roads and homes and fields. This is not 00:09:24.500 --> 00:09:27.860 wasted time just biding that time until he gets 00:09:27.860 --> 00:09:32.000 to Jerusalem. This is all revelation. The kingdom 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:36.620 is not unveiled first. at the altar of the cross. 00:09:37.419 --> 00:09:40.960 Matthew begins the story in Zebulun and Naphtali, 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:45.279 borderlands, compromised places, Galilee of the 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:49.620 nations. By the time Jesus reaches Jerusalem, 00:09:50.279 --> 00:09:52.919 people already know what kind of king He is. 00:09:53.340 --> 00:09:57.379 They've seen it. They've known it. He restores 00:09:57.379 --> 00:10:03.070 everyone and everything. Jesus reveals God's 00:10:03.070 --> 00:10:05.950 heart for those outside religious expectations. 00:10:07.529 --> 00:10:11.429 He prevents the Messiah from being claimed only 00:10:11.429 --> 00:10:16.490 by cultural or spiritual elites, as if only the 00:10:16.490 --> 00:10:21.149 Jews will be the ones to know Him and to trust 00:10:21.149 --> 00:10:25.559 Him. He shows the kingdom as something that finds 00:10:25.559 --> 00:10:28.500 people, not something that people have to somehow 00:10:28.500 --> 00:10:32.419 qualify for, which is much of what even those 00:10:32.419 --> 00:10:34.799 within the Jewish community were struggling with 00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:38.139 as well. You see, the light does not wait for 00:10:38.139 --> 00:10:40.559 people to have the right categories in their 00:10:40.559 --> 00:10:45.610 life. It meets them where they already are. If 00:10:45.610 --> 00:10:48.029 you were a Jew and you were waiting for the Messiah 00:10:48.029 --> 00:10:51.549 to come and restore the nation of Israel, then 00:10:51.549 --> 00:10:54.769 all you needed to know was whether Jesus met 00:10:54.769 --> 00:11:00.210 the category of being the Messiah. Granted, Jesus 00:11:00.210 --> 00:11:02.529 was revealing the kingdom to be more than what 00:11:02.529 --> 00:11:05.029 they expected from the Messiah, but He still 00:11:05.029 --> 00:11:08.309 had a starting point with them, which is so much 00:11:08.309 --> 00:11:11.309 of why Jesus started the ministry there among 00:11:11.309 --> 00:11:16.529 them. But what if you were a Gentile? Being the 00:11:16.529 --> 00:11:22.169 Messiah didn't mean anything to them. So then 00:11:22.169 --> 00:11:25.570 how do you show salvation to people who are not 00:11:25.570 --> 00:11:29.370 expecting the messianic king, not only going 00:11:29.370 --> 00:11:31.909 to the places up in the north that have been 00:11:31.909 --> 00:11:35.309 conquered and overwhelmed by Assyria and so many 00:11:35.309 --> 00:11:39.509 others, but were such a medley, a melding pot 00:11:39.509 --> 00:11:42.269 of those from different cultures and different 00:11:42.269 --> 00:11:45.299 religious and philosophical backgrounds? You 00:11:45.299 --> 00:11:47.539 see, there were any number of things that Jesus 00:11:47.539 --> 00:11:51.279 was doing to reveal salvation as God truly intended 00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:55.159 it for all people. He was healing not just those 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:57.860 who were able to pay for the doctors, but also 00:11:57.860 --> 00:12:00.179 those who were treated by society as if they 00:12:00.179 --> 00:12:04.080 somehow deserved what they had. As if their sins 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:08.480 caused them to be blind, deaf, lame, or leprous. 00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:12.840 As if they had no reason to deserve healing whatsoever. 00:12:13.549 --> 00:12:16.389 He was showing them that following God's law 00:12:16.389 --> 00:12:19.809 was not about what the teachers kept adding But 00:12:19.809 --> 00:12:23.190 by seeking God in spirit and truth by hearing 00:12:23.190 --> 00:12:26.970 his word and trusting in his promises He was 00:12:26.970 --> 00:12:29.049 forgiving people not because they were able to 00:12:29.049 --> 00:12:32.070 abide by the expectations of the priests But 00:12:32.070 --> 00:12:35.029 because they turned to God by faith through Jesus 00:12:35.029 --> 00:12:38.950 He was welcoming people to eat with him not because 00:12:38.950 --> 00:12:41.980 they were clean enough or worthy enough but because 00:12:41.980 --> 00:12:47.100 they were loved by God as we all are. He was 00:12:47.100 --> 00:12:49.700 casting out demons, demonstrating that God had 00:12:49.700 --> 00:12:52.220 not given up on us and left us to the evils of 00:12:52.220 --> 00:12:54.980 this world. He was calling fishermen and tax 00:12:54.980 --> 00:12:58.360 collectors and ultra -partisan zealots to follow 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:02.799 him, even them. Not because they were smart enough 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:06.779 or rich enough for the rabbis, but merely because 00:13:06.779 --> 00:13:13.340 he could. And then he trained them. He took the 00:13:13.340 --> 00:13:15.899 things that people already had or knew how to 00:13:15.899 --> 00:13:19.600 do and reoriented them toward what God always 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:24.240 intended. And while he used miraculous means 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:26.940 to show that all of this was truly from God, 00:13:28.259 --> 00:13:31.480 he has been calling us to do the same ourselves 00:13:31.480 --> 00:13:37.919 in every capacity we can for everyone. This is 00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:42.009 what God had always intended. even before Christ 00:13:42.009 --> 00:13:45.789 was on the earth, but Christ Jesus himself showed 00:13:45.789 --> 00:13:49.950 it truly in his ministry throughout his life. 00:13:51.710 --> 00:13:54.529 Many of us learned the gospel as a moment of 00:13:54.529 --> 00:13:58.210 accepting Jesus, not as a movement where we follow 00:13:58.210 --> 00:14:02.809 Jesus. And isn't that the tragedy of it? To accept 00:14:02.809 --> 00:14:06.250 the gospel as just a single moment of acceptance? 00:14:06.950 --> 00:14:11.610 A prayer, a belief. a future destination. But 00:14:11.610 --> 00:14:14.210 Matthew doesn't start the story at the cross 00:14:14.210 --> 00:14:17.129 because, well frankly, none of the gospel writers 00:14:17.129 --> 00:14:21.629 do. He starts it on the road there. The road 00:14:21.629 --> 00:14:26.549 in Galilee, quoting Isaiah. If we want to understand 00:14:26.549 --> 00:14:30.129 what the ministry that led up to the cross truly 00:14:30.129 --> 00:14:33.149 means, if we want to understand what the cross 00:14:33.149 --> 00:14:36.950 truly means, then we have to walk that road that 00:14:36.950 --> 00:14:40.539 leads there. But you see, this is where people 00:14:40.539 --> 00:14:44.679 get nervous, especially Protestants, especially 00:14:44.679 --> 00:14:48.600 Lutherans. James says he will show his faith 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:53.080 by his works, not because works save, but because 00:14:53.080 --> 00:14:56.659 faith is not just an idea that you say. Faith 00:14:56.659 --> 00:15:00.820 is a life that is lived. The kingdom is a gift 00:15:00.820 --> 00:15:04.340 before any tasks are involved. We belong before 00:15:04.340 --> 00:15:08.120 we become anything. We are declared forgiven 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:11.840 before we are formed into forgiving. We are not 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:14.600 saved by the lives we live, but the lives we 00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:16.840 live, the fruits of the Spirit, reveal whether 00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:21.259 grace has truly taken hold. The crucifixion in 00:15:21.259 --> 00:15:25.200 Jerusalem only makes sense if you've walked the 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:28.620 road of restoring those who know they are broken, 00:15:29.299 --> 00:15:32.320 bringing hope to the hopeless, bringing forgiveness 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:34.720 to the ones who feel they can never be forgiven. 00:15:35.389 --> 00:15:38.269 The cross is not a shortcut formula to heaven. 00:15:38.570 --> 00:15:41.889 It is the faithful culmination of a kingdom lived 00:15:41.889 --> 00:15:47.309 all the way through. Maybe we should start asking, 00:15:47.610 --> 00:15:51.289 how often do Christians try to get people to 00:15:51.289 --> 00:15:55.850 accept Jesus, not knowing if they actually understand 00:15:55.850 --> 00:15:59.509 what that means, forgetting to show them the 00:15:59.509 --> 00:16:03.340 fullness of the kingdom that Christ gives? forgetting 00:16:03.340 --> 00:16:06.580 to see the world the way God wants us to change 00:16:06.580 --> 00:16:11.200 it. There's a man in American history named Robert 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:14.200 Smalls, born into slavery in South Carolina. 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:17.419 For years he worked on the water. He learned 00:16:17.419 --> 00:16:20.820 the routes, he memorized the checkpoints, the 00:16:20.820 --> 00:16:23.960 secret signals and whistles, the rhythms of the 00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:26.159 harbor that allowed you to pass without being 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:31.350 shocked. And one night, he chose to escape. But 00:16:31.350 --> 00:16:36.570 he didn't just run. He navigated. He took a Confederate 00:16:36.570 --> 00:16:40.009 ship, wore the captain's hat, gave the correct 00:16:40.009 --> 00:16:43.409 signals, passed every checkpoint, and sailed 00:16:43.409 --> 00:16:46.950 straight into freedom. He trusted that as soon 00:16:46.950 --> 00:16:49.610 as he could get to the north, he would be free. 00:16:50.049 --> 00:16:53.049 But he didn't go alone. He brought his family. 00:16:53.490 --> 00:16:56.190 He brought others. Freedom was never meant to 00:16:56.190 --> 00:17:00.019 be private. But here's the part... that really 00:17:00.019 --> 00:17:04.539 stands out. When Smalls reached freedom, he didn't 00:17:04.539 --> 00:17:08.539 just call himself a freedman and then stop working 00:17:08.539 --> 00:17:11.799 on other people's farms. It was more than that. 00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:15.759 His life didn't just change location. His life 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:22.140 changed status. He changed. He became a leader, 00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:25.220 a public servant, a legislator. He worked to 00:17:25.220 --> 00:17:27.720 change the world around him. But more than that, 00:17:28.029 --> 00:17:31.329 He conquered the world that had enslaved him, 00:17:31.710 --> 00:17:34.869 not with anger, but with love and forgiveness. 00:17:35.769 --> 00:17:39.190 He bought the house where he had once been enslaved, 00:17:39.730 --> 00:17:43.349 gave it to his mother, but also allowed his former 00:17:43.349 --> 00:17:48.210 owner's widow to stay there in her old age. That's 00:17:48.210 --> 00:17:51.829 not just an escape. That's life transformation. 00:17:52.670 --> 00:17:56.950 It's not vengeance. That's redemption. redeeming 00:17:56.950 --> 00:18:00.329 the old and making it new. Robert Smalls didn't 00:18:00.329 --> 00:18:04.509 earn freedom by behaving well. He lived differently 00:18:04.509 --> 00:18:09.410 because he was free. And that's the kingdom. 00:18:10.190 --> 00:18:14.450 Power no longer used to dominate. Memory not 00:18:14.450 --> 00:18:18.349 being erased but being healed. Justice without 00:18:18.349 --> 00:18:23.670 cruelty. Mercy without naivete. Jesus doesn't 00:18:23.670 --> 00:18:26.349 say, here's the spiritual formula for how to 00:18:26.349 --> 00:18:30.670 escape earth. He says the kingdom has come near. 00:18:30.950 --> 00:18:33.849 And that's the difference between leaving the 00:18:33.849 --> 00:18:37.230 darkness and living in the light. As Isaiah says, 00:18:37.930 --> 00:18:41.470 the people walking in darkness have seen a great 00:18:41.470 --> 00:18:44.930 light. Jesus doesn't begin by telling people 00:18:44.930 --> 00:18:48.210 how to earn the kingdom. He begins by giving 00:18:48.210 --> 00:18:51.480 it. And once the kingdom is given, everything 00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:57.799 changes. You see, faith is not actually words. 00:18:59.220 --> 00:19:04.559 Faith is life. God restores the world not by 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:08.920 demanding our improvement first, not by expecting 00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:12.160 us to understand everything or have it all figured 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:16.480 out, but by arriving and calling people to turn 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:20.069 toward Him. as He is already breaking through. 00:19:21.470 --> 00:19:24.450 You see, the repentance that we are meant to 00:19:24.450 --> 00:19:29.390 have with salvation, it's not a hoop that we 00:19:29.390 --> 00:19:34.509 jump through before God loves us. It is a response 00:19:34.509 --> 00:19:38.390 to the presence of God. And then it responds 00:19:38.390 --> 00:19:42.809 by bringing God's presence, God's life to others 00:19:42.809 --> 00:19:48.680 as well. It is not that God only brings us His 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:52.480 grace once He has seen enough repentance inside 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:56.559 of us. It is the Word of God saying that we are 00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:00.259 loved and forgiven, the grace of God being given 00:20:00.259 --> 00:20:05.140 to us first, that brings us to truly repent. 00:20:06.819 --> 00:20:09.440 Because grace that focuses on just getting ourselves 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:14.869 somewhere safe, get out of hell free, card. That's 00:20:14.869 --> 00:20:19.930 not kingdom grace. Kingdom grace embraces everything 00:20:19.930 --> 00:20:25.170 and multiplies to everyone. We don't love so 00:20:25.170 --> 00:20:29.049 that God will accept us. We love because we already 00:20:29.049 --> 00:20:32.380 belong. We don't serve in order to become part 00:20:32.380 --> 00:20:34.980 of the kingdom. We serve because the kingdom 00:20:34.980 --> 00:20:38.000 has already come near. The light doesn't wait 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:40.799 for us to understand it. It finds us where we 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:43.980 are and teaches us how to live as free people. 00:20:44.359 --> 00:20:48.900 That's why we need to see the kingdom, not just 00:20:48.900 --> 00:20:53.099 hear the idea of it. Because that's truly how 00:20:53.099 --> 00:21:01.369 the kingdom comes. Before. With. and after the 00:21:01.369 --> 00:21:05.049 crucifixion. Thanks be to God.