WEBVTT 00:00:00.619 --> 00:00:03.940 Most of us think we know the story of Joan of 00:00:03.940 --> 00:00:07.219 Arc. She's the teenage peasant girl who hears 00:00:07.219 --> 00:00:11.300 voices, puts on armor, leads an army, saves France, 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:16.079 and gets burned at the stake. Tragic, dramatic, 00:00:17.300 --> 00:00:21.199 but simplified. She shows up in textbooks, paintings, 00:00:21.500 --> 00:00:24.140 statues, and Bill and Ted's excellent adventure. 00:00:25.660 --> 00:00:29.140 So we think we know her. But that familiarity 00:00:29.140 --> 00:00:32.079 actually makes it easy to miss what actually 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:35.939 happened. Joan of Arc was not having vague spiritual 00:00:35.939 --> 00:00:39.380 feelings. She claimed specific visions from Saint 00:00:39.380 --> 00:00:42.420 Michael and other saints, telling her that France 00:00:42.420 --> 00:00:45.039 had been wrongfully invaded, that the English 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:47.000 needed to be driven out, and that she was to 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:50.700 help Charles the Dauphin, not Charles the Dolphin, 00:00:51.179 --> 00:00:55.219 the Dauphin, to be crowned king. I know, I got 00:00:55.219 --> 00:00:59.140 it confused too. Against every social expectation, 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:01.719 a teenage girl with no rank, no education, and 00:01:01.719 --> 00:01:05.379 no power convinced military leaders to give her 00:01:05.379 --> 00:01:09.219 an army. And she was right. She helped break 00:01:09.219 --> 00:01:11.640 the siege of Orleans, a turning point in the 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:14.900 war. She escorted Charles to Reims where he was 00:01:14.900 --> 00:01:18.260 crowned king, securing his claim to the throne 00:01:18.260 --> 00:01:22.200 finally. She didn't just inspire people, she 00:01:22.200 --> 00:01:26.269 changed the course of history. And that's when 00:01:26.269 --> 00:01:29.950 she became inconvenient. She embarrassed powerful 00:01:29.950 --> 00:01:32.510 men because she was a teenage girl with no noble 00:01:32.510 --> 00:01:35.930 lineage, telling generals what to do and being 00:01:35.930 --> 00:01:39.849 right. She disrupted political alliances by church 00:01:39.849 --> 00:01:42.810 leaders who were far too comfortable cooperating 00:01:42.810 --> 00:01:45.469 with corruption and foreign power and revealed 00:01:45.469 --> 00:01:49.010 their compromises. She claimed direct guidance 00:01:49.010 --> 00:01:51.450 from God, though the church tightly controlled 00:01:51.450 --> 00:01:54.750 who could speak on behalf of God. When she was 00:01:54.750 --> 00:01:57.370 captured, she begged for a fair trial for church 00:01:57.370 --> 00:02:00.609 counsel for the protections she was entitled 00:02:00.609 --> 00:02:04.609 to under church law and was denied all of it. 00:02:05.489 --> 00:02:07.689 The trial was a performance. The verdict was 00:02:07.689 --> 00:02:10.830 decided before questions were even asked. The 00:02:10.830 --> 00:02:13.030 church leaders saw evidence right in front of 00:02:13.030 --> 00:02:16.810 them, but accused her anyway. She wasn't condemned 00:02:16.810 --> 00:02:19.669 because she was proven false. She was condemned 00:02:19.669 --> 00:02:22.469 because she no longer served the interests of 00:02:22.469 --> 00:02:25.759 those in power. and at 19 years old Joan of Arc 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:29.500 was burned alive as a heretic. Justice was not 00:02:29.500 --> 00:02:34.879 found that day. 25 years later, the church reopened 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:38.300 the case. The trial was declared corrupt. The 00:02:38.300 --> 00:02:41.759 verdict was overturned. The truth hadn't changed. 00:02:42.259 --> 00:02:45.659 It's just that time was needed to reveal it. 00:02:46.340 --> 00:02:49.199 Joan of Arc's life reminds us something very 00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:52.650 uncomfortable. Sometimes faithfulness is punished 00:02:52.650 --> 00:02:55.750 long before it is honored. And sometimes justice 00:02:55.750 --> 00:03:00.090 is delayed so long that it looks like it may 00:03:00.090 --> 00:03:04.050 never come at all. Joan of Arc is easy to honor 00:03:04.050 --> 00:03:07.830 now because time has done the hard work for us. 00:03:08.349 --> 00:03:11.729 History names the corruption. Distance from the 00:03:11.729 --> 00:03:15.289 event made the verdict safe. We can look back 00:03:15.289 --> 00:03:18.310 and be honest without being offended. We can 00:03:18.310 --> 00:03:20.310 condemn what happened to her without risking 00:03:20.310 --> 00:03:24.550 our own egos. But the harder question is this, 00:03:25.689 --> 00:03:29.169 what corruption looks obvious to God now, but 00:03:29.169 --> 00:03:34.189 feels normal to us? Not what corruption looks 00:03:34.189 --> 00:03:38.550 obvious to us, what corruption looks obvious 00:03:38.550 --> 00:03:42.580 to God. Joan didn't fight for chaos. She fought 00:03:42.580 --> 00:03:45.199 because something was wrong. A people had invaded, 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:47.919 a crown had been stolen, yet there was a longing 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:50.719 beneath it all for order, for truth, for something 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:53.840 that would last. That longing was not the problem. 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:57.840 It was what the church did to get it. And that's 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:01.400 where Micah begins. Not with villains that everybody 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:05.360 agrees on, but with God standing in court against 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:10.789 His own people. Micah opens with God calling 00:04:10.789 --> 00:04:13.870 the mountains as witnesses because this is not 00:04:13.870 --> 00:04:17.410 just some petty argument. This is about foundations. 00:04:17.829 --> 00:04:21.230 It's about what endures. Everyone wants something 00:04:21.230 --> 00:04:23.850 that lasts. And in people's eyes, what lasts 00:04:23.850 --> 00:04:27.730 longer than power, reputation, success? And when 00:04:27.730 --> 00:04:31.149 all of Israel is falling into the same issues, 00:04:31.790 --> 00:04:35.149 he has to ask the very mountains to be his witnesses, 00:04:35.689 --> 00:04:38.290 even though I'm pretty sure they don't have eyes. 00:04:39.269 --> 00:04:41.730 Israel had been worshipping other gods and playing 00:04:41.730 --> 00:04:44.009 the games of the other nations, but God saw the 00:04:44.009 --> 00:04:46.870 corruption that they would not admit. For all 00:04:46.870 --> 00:04:50.029 that they kept justifying themselves, they were 00:04:50.029 --> 00:04:53.870 never actually the victims. Jones' judges thought 00:04:53.870 --> 00:04:56.970 they were preserving stability, but God was the 00:04:56.970 --> 00:05:01.470 one making the indictment. Just because there's 00:05:01.470 --> 00:05:05.170 no earthly conviction, doesn't mean there's no 00:05:05.170 --> 00:05:08.879 corruption. And Micah saw that firsthand. He 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:12.180 reminds us that God sees beyond outcomes. It's 00:05:12.180 --> 00:05:14.740 not just, did you get what you wanted? He sees 00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:17.399 the processes, the motives, the trade -offs that 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:21.240 we justify in the name of the greater good. You 00:05:21.240 --> 00:05:25.339 see, Christians, we don't usually abandon God 00:05:25.339 --> 00:05:29.519 outright. Not obviously. We get impatient with 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:34.019 Him. God, you need to hurry up. Christians watch 00:05:34.019 --> 00:05:37.360 the world advance using methods that feel ruthless, 00:05:37.629 --> 00:05:40.750 efficient and effective, and then we get frustrated. 00:05:42.350 --> 00:05:44.709 We tell ourselves, if we don't play the same 00:05:44.709 --> 00:05:47.290 games, then we're just going to lose. Nobody 00:05:47.290 --> 00:05:51.930 likes to lose. Power tolerates authentic faith 00:05:51.930 --> 00:05:56.350 only until that faith refuses to be managed for 00:05:56.350 --> 00:06:01.110 winning the games. And when power justifies itself 00:06:01.110 --> 00:06:04.879 as fighting the powers of darkness, Suddenly, 00:06:05.300 --> 00:06:09.519 everyone somehow seems to have a demon. Micah 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:12.420 6 -3, Oh my people, what have I done to you? 00:06:12.899 --> 00:06:17.600 How have I wearied you? Answer me. God is not 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:23.240 thundering here. He's wounded. God is hurt. He's 00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:25.899 saying, when did I become the obstacle in your 00:06:25.899 --> 00:06:29.019 life? God is saying, when did my expectations 00:06:29.019 --> 00:06:33.050 become unreasonable to my people? When did obedience 00:06:33.050 --> 00:06:37.629 start sounding stupid and naive? God is not confused 00:06:37.629 --> 00:06:39.829 about what He wants from us and He is not impressed 00:06:39.829 --> 00:06:42.769 by what we offer instead. He has always wanted 00:06:42.769 --> 00:06:46.329 the same thing. And it has never been served 00:06:46.329 --> 00:06:49.670 by our great ideas and scheming to get our way. 00:06:50.790 --> 00:06:53.370 God has always been able to do things on our 00:06:53.370 --> 00:06:58.050 behalf without our compromise, without our corruption 00:06:58.050 --> 00:07:01.319 or selling out or lying to ourselves. God never 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:06.360 needed us to be anything but faithful. And God 00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:09.839 would thereby be glorified. He has always been 00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:12.360 able to do far more than our faithfulness alone 00:07:12.360 --> 00:07:17.100 than we could ever imagine. But what do we bring 00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:19.800 instead? You see, when we sense that something 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:21.980 is off, we don't usually repent first. Let's 00:07:21.980 --> 00:07:24.279 just be honest. Our first choice is not, I'm 00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:25.920 very, very sorry, I shouldn't have done that. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:31.279 We negotiate. We bargain. We argue. even with 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:35.319 God. The people in Micah, they escalate almost 00:07:35.319 --> 00:07:39.139 comically how desperate they are to try to prove 00:07:39.139 --> 00:07:42.199 that they are good. More sacrifices, thousands 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:47.300 of them, rivers filled with oil. Even their firstborn? 00:07:48.220 --> 00:07:52.480 It's kind of creepy. But more offerings, bigger 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:55.319 sacrifices, louder religion, costlier displays, 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:59.160 in trying to secure what we think we need to 00:07:59.160 --> 00:08:01.720 be good and godly people, we often sacrifice 00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:06.899 what God actually asked of us. So what has God 00:08:06.899 --> 00:08:12.019 actually asked of us? He has told you, O man 00:08:12.019 --> 00:08:16.620 and woman, what is good. And what does the Lord 00:08:16.620 --> 00:08:19.870 require of you? but to do justly and to love 00:08:19.870 --> 00:08:23.430 mercy and to walk humbly with your God." That's 00:08:23.430 --> 00:08:27.730 it! No escalation, no spectacle, no bargaining. 00:08:28.870 --> 00:08:30.810 He has shown you what is good. There's nothing 00:08:30.810 --> 00:08:33.269 hidden here. There's nothing complicated. There's 00:08:33.269 --> 00:08:35.309 nothing reserved for experts who tell us not 00:08:35.309 --> 00:08:37.950 to believe our own eyes when we see what is wrong. 00:08:38.450 --> 00:08:44.029 What does God want? Justice to shape how we treat 00:08:44.029 --> 00:08:47.740 other people. Mercy to shape how we respond when 00:08:47.740 --> 00:08:51.539 others fail. Humility to shape how we understand 00:08:51.539 --> 00:08:56.200 ourselves before God. Micah reminds us that God 00:08:56.200 --> 00:09:00.840 isn't asking for us to make large shows, or grandiose 00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:03.679 arguments and debates, or supposed victories 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:07.519 by our own power. He's asking for us to be aligned 00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:12.700 with His Kingdom in who we are. The church itself 00:09:12.700 --> 00:09:16.000 is the place where We keep convincing ourselves 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:19.440 we can find the kingdom of God, but scripture 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:22.639 and history itself keep showing that time and 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:27.759 time again when those who are on the inside are 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:31.059 the very ones who are undermining justice, mercy, 00:09:31.179 --> 00:09:34.720 and humility. The question that lingers is not 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:37.980 whether we objectively admire justice, mercy, 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:40.980 and humility. Sure, those are good things. It's 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:44.960 whether we ever actually practice them. Even 00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:49.620 when they cost us something and y 'all the youth 00:09:49.620 --> 00:09:54.940 are watching us and Doubting if God is even real 00:09:54.940 --> 00:10:03.360 based on our lives But then along comes Jesus 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:06.779 Seeing the crowds Jesus went up on the mountain 00:10:06.779 --> 00:10:10.600 and he taught them the mountains are again bearing 00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:14.110 witness But this time, the rock is not merely 00:10:14.110 --> 00:10:16.929 hearing an indictment, it is hearing a revelation 00:10:16.929 --> 00:10:20.549 because the cornerstone himself is standing on 00:10:20.549 --> 00:10:24.529 the mountain. But before we start reading these 00:10:24.529 --> 00:10:26.950 batitudes, I've got to pause for a moment because 00:10:26.950 --> 00:10:30.190 we've heard them so often. We need to remember 00:10:30.190 --> 00:10:32.129 that they are not just a recipe for trying to 00:10:32.129 --> 00:10:35.129 get things from God. You do these things and 00:10:35.129 --> 00:10:37.950 God will give you everything. It is not that... 00:10:37.950 --> 00:10:40.529 It's not as if once we believe that we've arrived 00:10:40.529 --> 00:10:42.669 at every one of them, then we're going to believe 00:10:42.669 --> 00:10:45.029 that God is giving us everything we want. They're 00:10:45.029 --> 00:10:48.809 not transactions. This is a description of what 00:10:48.809 --> 00:10:52.230 it looks like to live in God's kingdom. They 00:10:52.230 --> 00:10:55.429 reveal the kingdom He desires. So before we misunderstand 00:10:55.429 --> 00:10:59.250 them, let's be clear. Jesus is not glorifying 00:10:59.250 --> 00:11:01.990 the suffering we may go through. He's not saying, 00:11:02.149 --> 00:11:04.169 well, start making yourselves miserable and then 00:11:04.169 --> 00:11:07.419 I'll finally be happy with you. This isn't that 00:11:07.419 --> 00:11:10.139 eat your vegetables because misery is holy kind 00:11:10.139 --> 00:11:12.639 of a thing I mean I remember as a kid we were 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:14.820 like traveling around with my fifth grade class 00:11:14.820 --> 00:11:17.019 and we went for dinner at this place and they 00:11:17.019 --> 00:11:19.919 served us this bowl of lettuce and tomatoes and 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:22.159 stuff and I'm sitting there like Why did you 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:25.080 do this to me? What is happening here and all 00:11:25.080 --> 00:11:27.779 the other classmates? Started eating it without 00:11:27.779 --> 00:11:31.080 any complaints and my only thought was traitors 00:11:31.080 --> 00:11:36.240 What are you doing? And I ate it, and I suffered 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:40.080 through it. But it was only until later that 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:42.139 I realized this will nourish you, even if you 00:11:42.139 --> 00:11:44.980 don't trust it just yet. Just add extra ranch 00:11:44.980 --> 00:11:48.360 dressing and you'll be fine. But you see, the 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:51.100 Beatitudes, they show us how the kingdom of God 00:11:51.100 --> 00:11:54.299 actually exists. Anything that we do to avoid 00:11:54.299 --> 00:11:58.320 them, especially when we know what God desires, 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:02.419 that's what we need to fear. See, Jesus begins 00:12:02.419 --> 00:12:04.240 to be attitudes with words that we don't want 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:06.940 anywhere near our lives. Blessed are the poor 00:12:06.940 --> 00:12:09.440 in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:13.039 are the meek. Who wants that? Those are not goals. 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:16.220 They're not aspirations. They're not places that 00:12:16.220 --> 00:12:18.460 we want to find ourselves, but rather they are 00:12:18.460 --> 00:12:22.179 where we find ourselves when life does not cooperate. 00:12:23.740 --> 00:12:26.379 No one prays for poverty of spirit or asks for 00:12:26.379 --> 00:12:29.399 grief or wants to feel powerless. Sometimes it's 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:33.120 just simply where we are. I was talking recently 00:12:33.120 --> 00:12:35.299 to one of my friends who was struggling with 00:12:35.299 --> 00:12:38.120 her daughter for years. Even before graduation, 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:40.100 there was a lot of tension, there were arguments, 00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:43.100 and a sense that nothing that she said was ever 00:12:43.100 --> 00:12:46.840 being heard. And even after graduation, the distance 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:49.460 feels even sharper. And I'm sitting there thinking, 00:12:49.820 --> 00:12:52.379 isn't that just what teenagers do? I thought. 00:12:53.460 --> 00:12:56.940 But she kept saying, almost like a warning and 00:12:56.940 --> 00:13:00.820 a defense, this is going to blow up in her face. 00:13:01.129 --> 00:13:05.649 All of this will blow up eventually. And it will. 00:13:07.309 --> 00:13:11.029 But the quiet shift came whenever this mother 00:13:11.029 --> 00:13:14.250 finally paused and said, it's still going to 00:13:14.250 --> 00:13:18.549 be okay though. Because the pain, it's not that 00:13:18.549 --> 00:13:21.110 the pain of whatever the consequences will be 00:13:21.110 --> 00:13:23.350 won't matter. It's not that teenagers are always 00:13:23.350 --> 00:13:26.049 going to make every best decision possible, but 00:13:26.049 --> 00:13:30.110 rather knowing something deeper. is that when 00:13:30.110 --> 00:13:32.149 everything does fall apart, her daughter will 00:13:32.149 --> 00:13:35.529 know exactly where to turn. She will know that 00:13:35.529 --> 00:13:37.870 there is a place where she is safe, where she 00:13:37.870 --> 00:13:39.830 is welcomed, and that her failures are not going 00:13:39.830 --> 00:13:43.149 to be weaponized against her. That's what the 00:13:43.149 --> 00:13:45.129 kingdom looks like when things don't go the way 00:13:45.129 --> 00:13:47.970 that we planned. Because when we find ourselves 00:13:47.970 --> 00:13:50.570 in broken situations, how often do we panic? 00:13:51.090 --> 00:13:53.129 We're trying to escape them, trying to change 00:13:53.129 --> 00:13:56.399 it. We make really dumb decisions to do so. When 00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:58.580 we're poor in spirit, when we scramble, when 00:13:58.580 --> 00:14:02.379 we're afraid of losing control, it's amazing 00:14:02.379 --> 00:14:05.299 what we sometimes try to do to get it back. When 00:14:05.299 --> 00:14:07.919 we're mourning and the sorrow threatens to hollow 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:10.879 us out, how often do we keep ourselves too busy? 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:14.379 When we're meek, we become convinced that everyone 00:14:14.379 --> 00:14:16.980 is taking advantage of us, and then we try to 00:14:16.980 --> 00:14:21.539 figure out how to do it to others instead. But 00:14:21.539 --> 00:14:25.409 Jesus says something. entirely different. Because 00:14:25.409 --> 00:14:27.110 being poor in spirit does not mean that you're 00:14:27.110 --> 00:14:30.110 empty. It means you finally recognize where your 00:14:30.110 --> 00:14:33.570 riches truly lie. To mourn does not mean that 00:14:33.570 --> 00:14:36.570 you are broken beyond repair. It means that you 00:14:36.570 --> 00:14:40.690 are able to love. You are able to hope. And something 00:14:40.690 --> 00:14:43.769 or someone mattered enough to you to grieve. 00:14:44.370 --> 00:14:46.549 And to be meek is not something that we need 00:14:46.549 --> 00:14:49.710 to erase or be ashamed of. It's refusing to build 00:14:49.710 --> 00:14:52.899 your life on taking advantage of others. Even 00:14:52.899 --> 00:14:54.480 when the world tells you that that's the only 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:58.480 way forward. Because Jesus, he begins here because 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:01.340 these are the people through whom the kingdom 00:15:01.340 --> 00:15:05.759 is visible. The poor, the mourning, the humble, 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:08.879 and meek. Those are the ones who reveal the kingdom 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:12.620 the most. Because then that's where there's space 00:15:12.620 --> 00:15:16.759 for everyone else to bless and to love. Blessed 00:15:16.759 --> 00:15:19.120 are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:22.750 mourn. Blessed are the meek. But sometimes it's 00:15:22.750 --> 00:15:26.049 only here that we finally learn how real the 00:15:26.049 --> 00:15:29.049 Kingdom of God really is. And then He keeps going. 00:15:30.289 --> 00:15:32.549 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:15:32.830 --> 00:15:34.889 And let's just be honest, do we actually hunger 00:15:34.889 --> 00:15:38.970 and thirst for righteousness? I'm not saying 00:15:38.970 --> 00:15:41.470 do we hunger and thirst to control things the 00:15:41.470 --> 00:15:43.710 way we want. Not do we hunger and thirst for 00:15:43.710 --> 00:15:45.730 the power to make things come out a certain way. 00:15:45.870 --> 00:15:48.370 Do we hunger and thirst to win an argument, to 00:15:48.370 --> 00:15:51.190 shape a narrative, to secure a position? Do we 00:15:51.190 --> 00:15:53.389 hunger and thirst for what's actually right? 00:15:55.289 --> 00:15:57.169 For what's ethical, for what's good, for what 00:15:57.169 --> 00:16:00.929 is faithful, even when it costs us something? 00:16:02.710 --> 00:16:05.549 Because righteousness is slower than power, and 00:16:05.549 --> 00:16:10.250 it is quieter and not efficient at all. But Jesus 00:16:10.250 --> 00:16:12.370 says those are the ones who are going to be filled. 00:16:13.250 --> 00:16:16.149 Blessed are the merciful in a world where mercy 00:16:16.149 --> 00:16:20.419 seems to have no place, where it refuses to reduce 00:16:20.419 --> 00:16:23.279 people to their worst moment, and it leaves room 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:27.679 for repentance, growth, a chance to return. Blessed 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:30.019 are the pure in heart, not the flawless, not 00:16:30.019 --> 00:16:32.220 the self -righteous, not the ones who pretend 00:16:32.220 --> 00:16:34.480 like they never struggle on their little Instagram 00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:36.980 profiles where they act like they're perfect 00:16:36.980 --> 00:16:40.799 and Photoshop themselves. The ones who want to 00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:44.000 show kindness just because it's right. Who want 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:46.200 to do good, not because it's seen, not to be 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:48.279 praised, but simply because it reflects the heart 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:52.179 of God. But wouldn't doing all these things get 00:16:52.179 --> 00:16:55.200 us noticed? If we do all this stuff, aren't we 00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:57.200 gonna get glorified for it, praised by other 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:01.740 people? Not necessarily. Scripture tells us that 00:17:01.740 --> 00:17:03.980 doing good has no law against it, and that's 00:17:03.980 --> 00:17:07.400 true. But that's a generality, not a guarantee. 00:17:08.700 --> 00:17:11.079 Even when the law is not actually against you, 00:17:11.900 --> 00:17:15.119 how often are the people against you? How many 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:17.140 times have we watched someone do the right thing 00:17:17.140 --> 00:17:19.680 and suffer for it? Their reputation gets damaged, 00:17:19.940 --> 00:17:21.880 their friendships are taken from them, the doors 00:17:21.880 --> 00:17:25.960 quietly close, and sometimes they lose far more 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:30.000 than anyone ever expected. History tells us this 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:33.099 story again and again. Joan of Arc did what she 00:17:33.099 --> 00:17:35.460 believed necessary to bless her people. She didn't 00:17:35.460 --> 00:17:38.599 seek power or comfort. She wanted to be faithful, 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:41.859 but she was slandered as a criminal. Her name 00:17:41.859 --> 00:17:44.329 dragged through the mud. put on trial and executed. 00:17:44.690 --> 00:17:47.369 By the way, what were the trials against her? 00:17:48.390 --> 00:17:52.829 Blasphemy, witchcraft, and wearing men's clothing. 00:17:57.230 --> 00:17:59.569 A woman wanting to wear pants, apparently, is 00:17:59.569 --> 00:18:02.910 against God's law. But I'm sure we'd never burn 00:18:02.910 --> 00:18:04.789 a woman at the stake for dressing like a man. 00:18:06.430 --> 00:18:08.789 We hear these things and we think, how absurd, 00:18:09.309 --> 00:18:13.700 how cruel. But the world doesn't change all that 00:18:13.700 --> 00:18:17.380 quickly. How many of us are even trying to pursue 00:18:17.380 --> 00:18:22.220 it though? Blessed are the peacemakers. Because 00:18:22.220 --> 00:18:24.500 this is not about peace that gets credit or gets 00:18:24.500 --> 00:18:27.880 awards. It's not peace trying to make us seem 00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:31.000 like the bigger person. It's asking, are you 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:33.460 pursuing peace because you actually want it? 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:38.160 Peace where people wake up without fear, where 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:40.359 someone doesn't always feel they're in the crosshairs. 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:43.700 Because it's not passive or naive and it's certainly 00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:47.299 not cheap because it may cost you everything 00:18:47.299 --> 00:18:53.180 But this is where the blessings truly are Because 00:18:53.180 --> 00:18:54.980 this is where the blessings are part of something 00:18:54.980 --> 00:18:59.079 real Something that matters and as hard as it 00:18:59.079 --> 00:19:02.940 may be to realize We expect the world to resist 00:19:02.940 --> 00:19:06.140 righteousness We expect those who do not know 00:19:06.140 --> 00:19:09.740 Christ to misunderstand and to oppose us But 00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:13.339 what's harder? is when the people who claim God's 00:19:13.339 --> 00:19:17.180 name do the same thing. Because when Micah speaks, 00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:20.000 he's not speaking to pagans. He's speaking to 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:23.200 the people of God. Because we should know better, 00:19:23.339 --> 00:19:26.720 and we usually don't. So what happens when we 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:30.339 lose sight of that? Well, I've got to tell you, 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:34.839 though. I cannot, up here, promise you that anything 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:37.900 is going to get easier. I cannot promise you 00:19:37.900 --> 00:19:39.900 that doing the right thing will always be good 00:19:39.900 --> 00:19:42.750 for your reputation. I cannot promise you that 00:19:42.750 --> 00:19:45.029 suffering is going to stop any time before Jesus 00:19:45.029 --> 00:19:47.930 returns. I can't promise you that even this church 00:19:47.930 --> 00:19:53.369 will always get it right. But I can promise you 00:19:53.369 --> 00:19:55.549 that you will not be outside of the kingdom of 00:19:55.549 --> 00:19:59.910 God. Faithfulness is never wasted. Obedience 00:19:59.910 --> 00:20:02.930 is never forgotten. Suffering is never meaningless. 00:20:04.430 --> 00:20:06.690 The kingdom of God does not belong to the powerful 00:20:06.690 --> 00:20:10.470 and corrupt. But you see, what we need to remember 00:20:10.470 --> 00:20:13.549 is When we live no differently than the world, 00:20:14.109 --> 00:20:17.390 we don't just harm our witness. We make people 00:20:17.390 --> 00:20:19.809 wonder whether the kingdom of God is even real. 00:20:21.049 --> 00:20:24.410 So today I cannot offer you a reward. I can't 00:20:24.410 --> 00:20:28.049 give you something that you can easily see. But 00:20:28.049 --> 00:20:34.349 what can I give you? I give you Jesus. I give 00:20:34.349 --> 00:20:37.549 you the Son of God. I give you the one who did 00:20:37.549 --> 00:20:39.430 not merely talk about the kingdom but brought 00:20:39.430 --> 00:20:44.009 it to existence by dying for us. I give you the 00:20:44.009 --> 00:20:46.190 one who truly loves you, the one who isn't just 00:20:46.190 --> 00:20:49.230 claiming to be your Savior, the one who actually 00:20:49.230 --> 00:20:52.250 does it. I give you the one who makes a real 00:20:52.250 --> 00:20:55.670 difference. And as you follow Him, as you serve 00:20:55.670 --> 00:20:58.849 Him, as you live as part of this kingdom, I give 00:20:58.849 --> 00:21:03.730 you that too. So everything you do in God's name, 00:21:04.329 --> 00:21:06.390 not just what you decide to baptize with His 00:21:06.390 --> 00:21:09.910 name, but what you do for justice, mercy, and 00:21:09.910 --> 00:21:13.950 humility, Matter is for eternity Joan of Arc 00:21:13.950 --> 00:21:16.950 didn't live to hear her name cleared the disciples 00:21:16.950 --> 00:21:19.829 almost all of them were martyred and even Jesus 00:21:19.829 --> 00:21:21.869 himself was nailed to the cross as a criminal 00:21:21.869 --> 00:21:26.430 But that didn't end the story the resurrection 00:21:26.430 --> 00:21:29.650 still came So whatever it is you're living through 00:21:29.650 --> 00:21:32.650 right now It's not about trying to overpower 00:21:32.650 --> 00:21:35.369 the things that make it difficult It's about 00:21:35.369 --> 00:21:38.490 learning to see the kingdom to live with justice 00:21:38.490 --> 00:21:41.650 mercy and righteousness to walk humbly before 00:21:41.650 --> 00:21:45.390 God. Because when we do, that's when we discover 00:21:45.390 --> 00:21:50.529 the reward. Not someday, but now. Because the 00:21:50.529 --> 00:21:53.710 Kingdom of God is your reward. Christ Himself 00:21:53.710 --> 00:21:56.509 is the justice, mercy, and humility we proclaim. 00:21:57.170 --> 00:21:58.910 Because the Kingdom doesn't always look like 00:21:58.910 --> 00:22:02.730 winning. But it is the only thing that lasts. 00:22:04.150 --> 00:22:04.849 Thanks be to God.