WEBVTT 00:00:00.170 --> 00:00:02.810 Most of us think we know the story of Joan of 00:00:02.810 --> 00:00:06.730 Arc. The teenage peasant girl who hears voices, 00:00:07.049 --> 00:00:10.650 puts on armor, and leads an army, saves France, 00:00:11.130 --> 00:00:15.250 and gets burned at the stake. Tragic, dramatic, 00:00:15.890 --> 00:00:19.550 but tidy enough, she shows up in textbooks and 00:00:19.550 --> 00:00:22.609 paintings and statues, and Bill and Ted's excellent 00:00:22.609 --> 00:00:27.789 adventure. We think we know her, but the familiarity... 00:00:27.980 --> 00:00:32.479 actually makes it easy to miss what really happened. 00:00:33.119 --> 00:00:35.840 See, Joan of Arc was not having these vague spiritual 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:39.520 feelings. She claimed to have specific visions 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:42.799 from Saint Michael and other saints telling her 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:46.439 that France had been wrongfully invaded, that 00:00:46.439 --> 00:00:48.679 the English needed to be driven out, and that 00:00:48.679 --> 00:00:52.359 she was to help Charles the Dauphin to be crowned 00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:55.939 king. Dauphin, not dolphin, that would be confusing. 00:00:56.780 --> 00:01:00.740 Against every social expectation, a teenage girl 00:01:00.740 --> 00:01:04.939 with no rank, no education, and no power convinced 00:01:04.939 --> 00:01:07.780 military leaders to give her an army. And she 00:01:07.780 --> 00:01:10.719 was right. She helped break the siege of Orleans, 00:01:11.140 --> 00:01:14.140 a turning point in the war. She escorted Charles 00:01:14.140 --> 00:01:17.879 to Reims where he was finally crowned king, securing 00:01:17.879 --> 00:01:20.780 his claim to the throne. She didn't just inspire 00:01:20.780 --> 00:01:24.939 people, she changed the course of history. And 00:01:24.939 --> 00:01:28.599 that's when she became inconvenient. She embarrassed 00:01:28.599 --> 00:01:31.560 the powerful men as she was just a teenage girl 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:34.640 with no noble lineage telling the generals what 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:38.859 to do and being right. She disrupted the political 00:01:38.859 --> 00:01:41.780 alliances by church leaders who were far too 00:01:41.780 --> 00:01:44.180 comfortable cooperating with the corruption and 00:01:44.180 --> 00:01:47.260 foreign powers and revealed their compromises. 00:01:47.739 --> 00:01:50.920 She claimed direct guidance from God even though 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:53.810 the church tightly controlled who could speak 00:01:53.810 --> 00:01:57.370 on behalf of God. When she was captured, she 00:01:57.370 --> 00:02:00.150 begged for a fair trial, for church counsel, 00:02:00.549 --> 00:02:03.349 for the protections she was entitled under church 00:02:03.349 --> 00:02:07.569 law, and she was denied all of it. Her trial 00:02:07.569 --> 00:02:10.629 was a performance. The verdict was decided before 00:02:10.629 --> 00:02:13.729 the questions were even asked. The church leaders 00:02:13.729 --> 00:02:16.789 saw the evidence right in front of them and accused 00:02:16.789 --> 00:02:20.250 her anyway. She wasn't condemned because she 00:02:20.250 --> 00:02:23.370 was proven to be false. She was condemned because 00:02:23.370 --> 00:02:25.650 she no longer served the interests of those in 00:02:25.650 --> 00:02:29.789 power. So at the age of 19, Joan of Arc was burned 00:02:29.789 --> 00:02:33.550 alive as a heretic. Justice was not found that 00:02:33.550 --> 00:02:37.129 day. But 25 years later, the church reopened 00:02:37.129 --> 00:02:40.310 the case. The trial was declared corrupt. The 00:02:40.310 --> 00:02:43.889 verdict was overturned. The truth hadn't changed. 00:02:44.449 --> 00:02:48.590 Only time had revealed it. Joan of Arc's life 00:02:48.590 --> 00:02:52.509 reminds us of something very uncomfortable. Sometimes 00:02:52.509 --> 00:02:56.270 faithfulness is punished long before it is honored. 00:02:57.050 --> 00:02:59.650 And sometimes justice is delayed so long that 00:02:59.650 --> 00:03:03.129 it looks like it never came at all. Joan of Arc 00:03:03.129 --> 00:03:06.689 is easy to honor now because time has done the 00:03:06.689 --> 00:03:09.870 hard work for us. History named the corruption. 00:03:10.330 --> 00:03:13.490 Distance from those events made the verdict safe 00:03:13.490 --> 00:03:16.909 to explain. We can look back and be honest without 00:03:16.909 --> 00:03:20.030 being offended. We can condemn what happened 00:03:20.030 --> 00:03:23.569 to her without risk to our egos But the harder 00:03:23.569 --> 00:03:27.430 question is this what corruption looks obvious 00:03:27.430 --> 00:03:33.250 to God now, but feels normal to us Not what corruption 00:03:33.250 --> 00:03:38.389 looks obvious to us What corruption looks obvious 00:03:38.389 --> 00:03:43.099 to God? Joan didn't fight for chaos She fought 00:03:43.099 --> 00:03:45.460 because something was wrong. A people had been 00:03:45.460 --> 00:03:49.139 invaded, a crown had been stolen, yet there was 00:03:49.139 --> 00:03:51.500 a longing beneath it all for order, for truth, 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:54.860 for something that would last. That longing was 00:03:54.860 --> 00:03:58.099 not the problem. What the church did to get it 00:03:58.099 --> 00:04:02.780 was. That's where Micah begins. Not with the 00:04:02.780 --> 00:04:05.580 villains that we all agree on, but with God standing 00:04:05.580 --> 00:04:09.330 in court against his own people. Micah opens 00:04:09.330 --> 00:04:13.030 with God calling the mountains as witnesses because 00:04:13.030 --> 00:04:16.430 this is not a petty argument. It's about foundations. 00:04:17.149 --> 00:04:20.589 What endures? Everyone wants something that lasts. 00:04:21.189 --> 00:04:24.449 In people's eyes, what lasts longer than power, 00:04:24.709 --> 00:04:28.029 reputation, success going down in the history 00:04:28.029 --> 00:04:31.629 books? Israel had been worshipping other gods 00:04:31.629 --> 00:04:34.910 and playing the games of other nations, but God 00:04:34.910 --> 00:04:37.730 saw the corruption that they would not admit. 00:04:38.509 --> 00:04:41.529 For all that they kept justifying themselves. 00:04:41.810 --> 00:04:46.009 They were never the victims Jones judges thought 00:04:46.009 --> 00:04:48.709 they were preserving stability, but God made 00:04:48.709 --> 00:04:52.209 the indictment Just because there's no earthly 00:04:52.209 --> 00:04:54.629 conviction at the time does not mean that there 00:04:54.629 --> 00:04:58.769 is no corruption Micah reminds us that God sees 00:04:58.769 --> 00:05:02.790 beyond outcomes. He sees processes He sees our 00:05:02.790 --> 00:05:06.170 motives the trade -offs that we justify in the 00:05:06.170 --> 00:05:09.259 name of the greater good You see, Christians 00:05:09.259 --> 00:05:14.480 don't usually abandon God outright. We get impatient 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:17.939 with Him. Christians watch the world advance 00:05:17.939 --> 00:05:21.540 by methods that feel ruthless, efficient, and 00:05:21.540 --> 00:05:25.220 effective, and we get frustrated. We tell ourselves, 00:05:25.319 --> 00:05:27.240 if we don't play the same games, we're going 00:05:27.240 --> 00:05:32.000 to lose. Power tolerates an authentic faith only 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:36.079 until that faith refuses to be managed for winning 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:40.279 the games. And when power justifies itself as 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:42.420 fighting the powers of darkness, then suddenly 00:05:42.420 --> 00:05:48.060 everyone somehow has a demon. Micah 6 .3, oh 00:05:48.060 --> 00:05:51.139 my people, what have I done to you? How have 00:05:51.139 --> 00:05:56.000 I wearied you? Answer me. God is not thundering 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:02.889 at us. He's wounded by us. He's saying, when 00:06:02.889 --> 00:06:05.769 did I become the obstacle in your life? When 00:06:05.769 --> 00:06:09.410 did my expectations as your God start feeling 00:06:09.410 --> 00:06:13.189 unreasonable to my people? When did obedience 00:06:13.189 --> 00:06:17.990 start sounding naive and stupid? God is not confused 00:06:17.990 --> 00:06:20.470 about what he wants from us and he is not impressed 00:06:20.470 --> 00:06:24.589 by what we offer instead. He had always wanted 00:06:24.589 --> 00:06:27.430 the same thing. He always has and he has never 00:06:27.430 --> 00:06:32.060 been served by our great ideas. or scheming to 00:06:32.060 --> 00:06:36.019 get our ways. He has always been able to do things 00:06:36.019 --> 00:06:42.019 on our behalf without our compromises, without 00:06:42.019 --> 00:06:45.019 our corruption, without our selling out, without 00:06:45.019 --> 00:06:48.839 our lying to ourselves. He never needed us to 00:06:48.839 --> 00:06:51.839 be anything but faithful, and He would be glorified. 00:06:52.759 --> 00:06:55.560 He has always been able to do far more with our 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:58.100 faithfulness alone than we could ever imagine. 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:05.480 And yet, What do we bring instead? Thousands 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:09.779 of sacrifices, rivers of oil, even our firstborn? 00:07:11.079 --> 00:07:13.379 You see, when we sense that something is off, 00:07:13.420 --> 00:07:16.480 we don't usually repent first. We negotiate. 00:07:17.060 --> 00:07:20.660 We bargain. We argue. We're good Western capitalists. 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:25.120 The people in Micah escalate comically, almost 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:29.870 desperately. Your firstborn? More offerings, 00:07:29.990 --> 00:07:32.810 bigger sacrifices, louder religion, costlier 00:07:32.810 --> 00:07:37.410 displays. In trying to secure what we think we 00:07:37.410 --> 00:07:41.689 need to be good, godly people, we often sacrifice 00:07:41.689 --> 00:07:45.990 what God has actually asked of us. So then what 00:07:45.990 --> 00:07:50.529 has God actually asked of us? Micah 6, 8, He 00:07:50.529 --> 00:07:54.089 has told you, O man, what is good? And what does 00:07:54.089 --> 00:07:58.519 the Lord require of you but to do justly? and 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:02.420 to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. 00:08:02.779 --> 00:08:07.980 That's it! No escalation, no spectacle, no bargaining. 00:08:08.459 --> 00:08:12.120 God has shown you what is good. Nothing is hidden, 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:15.139 nothing complicated, nothing reserved for experts 00:08:15.139 --> 00:08:17.459 who tell us not to believe our own eyes when 00:08:17.459 --> 00:08:22.959 we see what is wrong. What does God want? Justice 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:27.250 to shape how we treat others. Mercy to shape 00:08:27.250 --> 00:08:31.290 how we respond when others fail. Humility to 00:08:31.290 --> 00:08:35.350 shape how we understand ourselves before God. 00:08:36.669 --> 00:08:39.610 Micah reminds us that God isn't asking for us 00:08:39.610 --> 00:08:43.269 to make large shows or grandiose arguments or 00:08:43.269 --> 00:08:46.730 supposed victories by our own power. He's asking 00:08:46.730 --> 00:08:51.710 for our alignment with the Kingdom of God. The 00:08:51.710 --> 00:08:54.389 church itself is the place where we keep convincing 00:08:54.389 --> 00:08:58.019 ourselves though we can find the Kingdom of God, 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:01.740 right? But in both Scripture and history itself, 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:05.720 we see time and time again when those who are 00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:10.639 on the inside are the very ones undermining justice, 00:09:11.379 --> 00:09:15.639 mercy, and humility. The question that lingers 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:18.779 is not whether we objectively admire justice, 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:22.059 mercy, and humility. Of course, those are great 00:09:22.059 --> 00:09:26.350 ideas. The question is whether we will ever truly 00:09:26.350 --> 00:09:29.509 practice them even when they cost us something. 00:09:30.750 --> 00:09:33.889 And frankly, the youth are watching, and they're 00:09:33.889 --> 00:09:36.750 doubting whether God is real based on our corruption. 00:09:38.129 --> 00:09:42.370 We're already losing some of them, even now. 00:09:43.769 --> 00:09:49.269 But then along comes Jesus. Matthew 5, 1 through 00:09:49.269 --> 00:09:52.450 2. Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain. 00:09:52.730 --> 00:09:56.409 He taught them so once again the mountains are 00:09:56.409 --> 00:09:59.769 bearing witness, but this time the rock does 00:09:59.769 --> 00:10:04.850 not hear merely an indictment He hears a revelation 00:10:04.850 --> 00:10:09.009 Because the cornerstone himself is standing on 00:10:09.009 --> 00:10:12.769 that mountain But before we start reading the 00:10:12.769 --> 00:10:15.909 Beatitudes we must remember that the Beatitudes 00:10:15.909 --> 00:10:19.769 are not a recipe for getting things from God 00:10:19.769 --> 00:10:23.809 It's not that once we believe we have arrived 00:10:23.809 --> 00:10:26.649 at each of these descriptions, that we can believe 00:10:26.649 --> 00:10:28.610 that God is going to give us everything we want 00:10:28.610 --> 00:10:32.169 now. They're a description of what it looks like 00:10:32.169 --> 00:10:36.009 to live in God's kingdom. They're not transactions. 00:10:36.090 --> 00:10:40.470 They reveal the kingdom that God desires. And 00:10:40.470 --> 00:10:44.509 before we misunderstand them, we need to say 00:10:44.509 --> 00:10:50.470 this part clearly. Jesus is not glorifying suffering. 00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:54.539 He's not making suffering into something that 00:10:54.539 --> 00:10:59.220 we should be happy about. He does not say, start 00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:01.940 making yourselves miserable so that I will finally 00:11:01.940 --> 00:11:06.879 be happy with you. This is not eat your vegetables 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:10.799 because misery is somehow holy. I still remember 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:14.639 as a child going on a fifth grade class trip. 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:18.279 and we sat there for dinner and they served us 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:21.200 salads and I remember looking so confused at 00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:24.240 what this was in front of me and looking at all 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:26.960 the other kids in my class around me eating them 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:29.379 without complaint and all I could think in my 00:11:29.379 --> 00:11:35.120 mind was traitors. But you see what I hadn't 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:39.480 learned yet was that this would nourish me even 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:43.889 if I did not trust it just yet. You see, the 00:11:43.889 --> 00:11:46.690 beatitudes show us how the kingdom of God will 00:11:46.690 --> 00:11:50.230 actually exist. And anything that we do to avoid 00:11:50.230 --> 00:11:53.950 them, especially when we know that we may be 00:11:53.950 --> 00:11:57.909 doing what God does not desire, that is what 00:11:57.909 --> 00:12:02.850 we're supposed to avoid. You see, the things 00:12:02.850 --> 00:12:05.830 we try to avoid, Jesus begins the beatitudes 00:12:05.830 --> 00:12:08.570 with words that we don't want anywhere near our 00:12:08.570 --> 00:12:11.659 lives. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed 00:12:11.659 --> 00:12:15.360 are those who mourn. Blessed are the meek. These 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:19.600 are not goals. These are not aspirations in life. 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:25.200 Who wants to go out and mourn and be meek? These 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:27.539 are places where we find ourselves when life 00:12:27.539 --> 00:12:30.679 does not cooperate. No one prays for a spirit 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:35.279 of poverty. No one asks for grief. No one hopes 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:38.779 to feel powerless. And yet sometimes that's just 00:12:38.779 --> 00:12:42.580 where we are. I was talking recently with someone 00:12:42.580 --> 00:12:45.720 that has been struggling with her daughter for 00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:48.659 years. Even before graduation there was tension, 00:12:49.139 --> 00:12:51.960 there were arguments, a sense that nothing she 00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:55.980 said would ever be heard. And now after graduation 00:12:55.980 --> 00:12:59.440 that distance felt even sharper. And you pause 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:01.679 and you wonder, isn't that just what teenagers 00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:06.399 are supposed to do? But she kept saying, almost 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:09.600 like a warning and a defense at the same time. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:13.960 These plans are going to blow up in her face. 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:17.440 I know it. All of this will blow up eventually. 00:13:18.700 --> 00:13:22.740 And maybe it will. But the quiet shift came when 00:13:22.740 --> 00:13:26.679 she finally paused and said, but that will still 00:13:26.679 --> 00:13:31.000 be okay. Because not that pain is not going to 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:33.879 matter, and not because the consequences are 00:13:33.879 --> 00:13:36.240 not going to exist, but because she realized 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:39.759 something deeper, is that if and when everything 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:42.240 does fall apart, her daughter will know exactly 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:45.440 where to turn. She will know that there is a 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:47.240 place where she's safe, where she's welcomed, 00:13:48.059 --> 00:13:50.500 where her failures will not be weaponized against 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:53.159 her. And that's what the kingdom looks like when 00:13:53.159 --> 00:13:56.279 things don't go the way that we planned. Because 00:13:56.279 --> 00:13:58.779 when we find ourselves in broken situations, 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:02.440 how often do we panic, trying to escape them, 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:06.090 or to lose ourselves in the process? When we're 00:14:06.090 --> 00:14:08.549 poor in spirit we scramble because we're afraid 00:14:08.549 --> 00:14:11.590 of losing control. When we're mourning and the 00:14:11.590 --> 00:14:13.830 sorrow threatens to hollow us out so we stay 00:14:13.830 --> 00:14:17.629 busy to avoid it. When we're meek we become convinced 00:14:17.629 --> 00:14:20.250 that we're going to be taken advantage of sometimes 00:14:20.250 --> 00:14:24.590 even by people who claim to share our values. 00:14:25.769 --> 00:14:29.169 Meekness frankly gets a bad reputation. Being 00:14:29.169 --> 00:14:33.409 weak, passive, being trampled on. We live in 00:14:33.409 --> 00:14:36.450 a world where only the strong seem to matter, 00:14:36.809 --> 00:14:39.710 only the ones who are aggressive get respect. 00:14:40.690 --> 00:14:43.309 But Jesus says something entirely different because 00:14:43.309 --> 00:14:47.370 to be poor in spirit does not mean you're empty. 00:14:48.230 --> 00:14:50.389 It means you finally recognize where your true 00:14:50.389 --> 00:14:55.049 riches are. To mourn is not to be broken beyond 00:14:55.049 --> 00:14:58.149 repair. It is to acknowledge that you loved. 00:14:58.620 --> 00:15:01.940 That you hoped that something, someone mattered 00:15:01.940 --> 00:15:05.860 enough to grieve. And to be meek is not to be 00:15:05.860 --> 00:15:09.600 erased. It is to refuse to build your life on 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:12.480 taking advantage of others. Even when the world 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:15.840 tells you that's the only way to make it. Jesus 00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:18.279 begins here because these are the people that 00:15:18.279 --> 00:15:22.000 the kingdom refuses to abandon. More than that, 00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:24.080 these are often the people through whom the kingdom 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:26.500 becomes the most visible, because when someone 00:15:26.500 --> 00:15:30.039 is poor or grieving or worn down, it creates 00:15:30.039 --> 00:15:33.159 space for the rest of the kingdom to show up, 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:36.559 for mercy to take shape, for justice to be practiced, 00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:41.019 for humility to be lived out. Blessed are the 00:15:41.019 --> 00:15:43.539 poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:46.340 blessed are the meek, not because these things 00:15:46.340 --> 00:15:50.139 are great and fun in themselves. but because 00:15:50.139 --> 00:15:54.879 even here the kingdom of God is not absent. And 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:57.620 sometimes this is when we finally learn how real 00:15:57.620 --> 00:16:03.059 the kingdom is. And then Jesus keeps going. Blessed 00:16:03.059 --> 00:16:05.159 are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:16:05.539 --> 00:16:08.440 The question presses in on us immediately. Do 00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:11.039 we actually hunger and thirst for righteousness? 00:16:11.980 --> 00:16:16.740 Not control. Not the power to make things right 00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:21.190 in our own eyes. Not to win the argument, to 00:16:21.190 --> 00:16:23.450 shape the narrative, or to secure our position, 00:16:23.690 --> 00:16:25.769 do we hunger and thirst for what is actually 00:16:25.769 --> 00:16:30.649 right? Do we hunger and thirst for what is ethical? 00:16:32.789 --> 00:16:36.509 Do we hunger and thirst for what is good? For 00:16:36.509 --> 00:16:38.750 what is faithful? For what is going to actually 00:16:38.750 --> 00:16:42.590 cost us something? Because righteousness is slower 00:16:42.590 --> 00:16:47.009 than power. It's quieter. It's rarely efficient. 00:16:47.789 --> 00:16:50.129 And yet Jesus says those are the ones who are 00:16:50.129 --> 00:16:52.950 going to be filled. He says blessed are the merciful. 00:16:53.269 --> 00:16:55.769 Because let's be honest, mercy feels like it 00:16:55.769 --> 00:16:58.190 has no place in today's world. Mercy doesn't 00:16:58.190 --> 00:17:01.549 trend well on Instagram. Mercy does not protect 00:17:01.549 --> 00:17:04.089 your brand. Mercy doesn't guarantee that you 00:17:04.089 --> 00:17:07.529 won't be taken advantage of. But mercy has everything 00:17:07.529 --> 00:17:10.849 to do with the kingdom of God. Mercy is what 00:17:10.849 --> 00:17:13.490 refuses to reduce people to their worst moment. 00:17:13.789 --> 00:17:16.450 Mercy is what leaves room for repentance, for 00:17:16.450 --> 00:17:21.650 growth, for mercy, for return. Mercy is what 00:17:21.650 --> 00:17:24.210 remembers that God did not deal with us according 00:17:24.210 --> 00:17:27.650 to what we deserve either. And Jesus says, blessed 00:17:27.650 --> 00:17:31.029 are the pure in heart, not the flawless, not 00:17:31.029 --> 00:17:32.910 the self -righteous, not the ones who pretend 00:17:32.910 --> 00:17:36.829 that they never struggle, but the ones who genuinely 00:17:36.829 --> 00:17:39.779 desire what is good. The ones who want to show 00:17:39.779 --> 00:17:42.259 kindness just because it's right. The ones who 00:17:42.259 --> 00:17:44.579 want to act with compassion even when no one 00:17:44.579 --> 00:17:47.940 is watching. Who want to do good not to be seen 00:17:47.940 --> 00:17:50.900 or to be praised, but simply because it reflects 00:17:50.900 --> 00:17:55.720 the heart of God. And none of us are that. Not 00:17:55.720 --> 00:17:59.200 really. But how many of us are at least trying 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:02.099 to pursue it? How many of us are still aiming 00:18:02.099 --> 00:18:05.779 our lives in that direction? Jesus says, blessed 00:18:05.779 --> 00:18:08.750 are the peacemakers. This is not about peace 00:18:08.750 --> 00:18:11.690 because we want to get credit. It's not peace 00:18:11.690 --> 00:18:15.309 so that we look reasonable It's not peace because 00:18:15.309 --> 00:18:17.769 then we want to say we're the bigger person and 00:18:17.769 --> 00:18:21.490 hope everybody notices This is about peace because 00:18:21.490 --> 00:18:25.690 we actually want it It's peace where people wake 00:18:25.690 --> 00:18:29.369 up without fear Peace where someone doesn't feel 00:18:29.369 --> 00:18:31.730 like they're always in the crosshairs or about 00:18:31.730 --> 00:18:34.460 to be taken advantage of Peace where sharing 00:18:34.460 --> 00:18:37.440 an idea doesn't mean wondering who's going to 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:40.259 undermine you as soon as you open your mouth. 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:43.680 Peace where the person you should be able to 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:48.759 trust is not quietly working against you. Peacemaking 00:18:48.759 --> 00:18:52.700 is not passive. It is not naive. It is not cheap. 00:18:54.099 --> 00:18:56.039 It's choosing to make room for the Kingdom of 00:18:56.039 --> 00:19:00.589 God to become visible in relationships. institutions, 00:19:00.869 --> 00:19:03.069 communities. And when people do this, it's not 00:19:03.069 --> 00:19:05.890 because they get something out of it. It's because 00:19:05.890 --> 00:19:09.789 they see something. They see the Kingdom of God 00:19:09.789 --> 00:19:12.329 as it has been revealed in Jesus, and they're 00:19:12.329 --> 00:19:14.269 willing to spend their lives helping to make 00:19:14.269 --> 00:19:17.230 it real. That's why they are called blessed. 00:19:18.890 --> 00:19:22.529 Because true blessing is not comfort. It's not 00:19:22.529 --> 00:19:26.880 success. It's not even security. True blessing 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:28.900 is being caught up in what God has been doing 00:19:28.900 --> 00:19:32.799 all along Being part of what's real being part 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:37.240 of what matters and as hard as that is That part 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:40.880 doesn't surprise us At least not about the world 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:43.660 you see we expect the world to resist righteousness 00:19:43.660 --> 00:19:47.920 We expect those who do not know Christ to misunderstand 00:19:47.920 --> 00:19:51.299 and oppose his ways But what's harder to face 00:19:51.299 --> 00:19:53.839 is what happens when the people who claim God's 00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:57.910 name? do the same thing. Because that's where 00:19:57.910 --> 00:19:59.670 the weight of this really lands. Because when 00:19:59.670 --> 00:20:01.809 Micah speaks, he's not speaking to the pagans. 00:20:01.829 --> 00:20:05.970 He's speaking to the people of God. We're the 00:20:05.970 --> 00:20:08.869 ones who should know better. We're the ones who 00:20:08.869 --> 00:20:11.250 have been given the law. We're the ones who are 00:20:11.250 --> 00:20:13.630 supposed to embody what God desires in the world. 00:20:13.829 --> 00:20:16.930 And what happens when we lose sight of that? 00:20:17.230 --> 00:20:20.150 What happens when righteousness becomes inconvenient 00:20:20.150 --> 00:20:23.690 for us? when mercy feels like weakness, when 00:20:23.690 --> 00:20:28.710 humility gets in the way of our control. I cannot 00:20:28.710 --> 00:20:32.410 promise you that things are going to get easier. 00:20:33.049 --> 00:20:35.829 I cannot promise you that doing the right thing 00:20:35.829 --> 00:20:38.529 will protect your reputation. I cannot promise 00:20:38.529 --> 00:20:42.230 you that suffering will stop before Christ's 00:20:42.230 --> 00:20:44.750 return. I can't even promise you that the church 00:20:44.750 --> 00:20:49.150 is always going to get it right. But what I can 00:20:49.150 --> 00:20:52.819 promise you is this. You will not be outside 00:20:52.819 --> 00:20:56.039 of the kingdom of God. Your faithfulness is not 00:20:56.039 --> 00:20:58.779 wasted. Your obedience is not forgotten. Your 00:20:58.779 --> 00:21:02.779 suffering is not meaningless. The kingdom of 00:21:02.779 --> 00:21:05.539 God does not belong to the powerful. It belongs 00:21:05.539 --> 00:21:08.740 to those who can see it by faith and who are 00:21:08.740 --> 00:21:14.200 willing to live as if it's real already. Even 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:17.279 when it costs them everything. Because the world 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:21.569 understands corruption. What it doesn't understand 00:21:21.569 --> 00:21:25.049 is why people who claim to follow Christ would 00:21:25.049 --> 00:21:28.809 need it too. When we live no differently than 00:21:28.809 --> 00:21:31.470 the world, we don't just harm our witness. We 00:21:31.470 --> 00:21:33.869 make people wonder whether the kingdom of God 00:21:33.869 --> 00:21:39.349 is even real. I cannot offer you a reward today. 00:21:40.029 --> 00:21:43.089 I can't hand you something tangible or a victory 00:21:43.089 --> 00:21:45.650 that the world will respect. I can't even give 00:21:45.650 --> 00:21:47.529 you the peace of knowing that the church is always 00:21:47.529 --> 00:21:51.309 going to get it right. So what can I give you? 00:21:52.910 --> 00:21:58.109 I give you Jesus. I give you the Son of God. 00:21:59.450 --> 00:22:01.569 I give you the one who did not merely talk about 00:22:01.569 --> 00:22:04.890 the kingdom, but brought it to existence by suffering. 00:22:06.049 --> 00:22:08.150 I give you the one who gave himself for you. 00:22:08.309 --> 00:22:11.849 I give you the one who truly loves you. The one 00:22:11.849 --> 00:22:15.569 who is not just claiming to save, but who actually 00:22:15.569 --> 00:22:19.130 does. I give you the one who makes a real difference. 00:22:20.009 --> 00:22:23.009 And as you follow Him, as you serve Him, as you 00:22:23.009 --> 00:22:26.170 live as part of the Kingdom, I give you that 00:22:26.170 --> 00:22:30.450 Kingdom too. Not success, not dominance, not 00:22:30.450 --> 00:22:34.190 control, but the Kingdom of God. And everything 00:22:34.190 --> 00:22:37.309 you do in His Name, not what you decide to baptize 00:22:37.309 --> 00:22:40.049 with His Name, but what you do because He has 00:22:40.049 --> 00:22:43.289 asked you to do justice, to love mercy, to walk 00:22:43.289 --> 00:22:45.990 humbly with your God, all of that matters for 00:22:45.990 --> 00:22:49.730 eternity. Joan of Arc did not live to hear her 00:22:49.730 --> 00:22:52.450 name cleared. The disciples, almost all of them, 00:22:52.490 --> 00:22:55.269 were martyred, and even Jesus himself was nailed 00:22:55.269 --> 00:22:58.730 to a cross as a criminal. It's not the end of 00:22:58.730 --> 00:23:01.990 the story though, because there is a resurrection. 00:23:03.190 --> 00:23:05.470 So whatever it is that you are living through 00:23:05.470 --> 00:23:08.250 right now, this is not about trying to overpower 00:23:08.250 --> 00:23:11.289 the things that make life difficult. It's not 00:23:11.289 --> 00:23:14.630 about forcing the world to bend. It's about learning 00:23:14.630 --> 00:23:18.349 to see the kingdom. To live with justice, mercy, 00:23:18.490 --> 00:23:21.069 and righteousness. To walk humbly before God. 00:23:21.250 --> 00:23:24.970 Because when we do, then we discover our reward. 00:23:26.029 --> 00:23:31.710 Not someday. Now. Because now is when we have 00:23:31.710 --> 00:23:36.710 the Kingdom as our reward. Christ himself proclaims 00:23:36.710 --> 00:23:40.950 justice, mercy, and humility. Because the Kingdom 00:23:40.950 --> 00:23:44.369 doesn't always look like winning. But it is the 00:23:44.369 --> 00:23:48.009 only thing that will always last. Thanks be to 00:23:48.009 --> 00:23:48.130 God.