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[music]

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Alrighty, Mars Hill,
we're taking about 2 years

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to go through the Gospel of Luke
on journey with Jesus.

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Today, we're in Luke 13:10-21,

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where Jesus heals
a demonized woman,

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and what we're going to do is
study the Bible together,

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but as you're finding your place
in your Bible or on your app,

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I have one quick, big
announcement and that is about

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some training opportunities
that are forthcoming

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that we wanted to make known
to you.

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Let me explain a little bit
of how everything works here.

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There's Mars Hill Church,
which is nine campuses.

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And by God's grace, every campus
is growing and we've had

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a great last year and we're off
to a good start this year.

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And then beyond that is
the Acts 29 church planting

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network that is actually housed
here out of Mars Hill Church

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and we give 10% of all
of our dollars to it,

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and it involves us
in church planting

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with other churches around
the U.S. and world.

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We're planting in 13 nations,
opening churches,

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and also we're right on the cusp
of planting the 400th church

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in the United States of America
in just a few short years.

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Over 100,000 people a Sunday
in those churches collectively

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and we rejoice in that.

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And then beyond that,
there's the Resurgence, which

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also runs out of Mars Hill,
and it is our way of serving

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even beyond Mars Hill Church
and the Acts 29 churches

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to any and all Christian
leaders, churches,

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and ministries who
would avail themselves

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to our resources globally.

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At theresurgence.com,
we've got the blog,

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which is one of the most
trafficked Christian blogs

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on the Internet.

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We also publish books,
lots of books.

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The next two that'll be
forthcoming in the ensuing

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few weeks are
by Pastor Mike Wilkerson

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on our redemption curriculum,

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for those who
are abused and addicted,

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and also Pastor Justin Holcomb.

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Dr. Justin Holcomb
and his wife, Lindsey,

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they are really excited to
release "Rid of My Disgrace,"

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which is a book for
sexual abuse victims,

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which is a big part
of what we do.

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In addition, there's
Re:Sound, which is music.

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There are also conferences that
we host around the country.

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One is forthcoming in February,
for example, in Orlando.

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And in addition to all
of that, we have Re:Train,

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which is a graduate-level
theological education school

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that is accredited
by a few seminaries.

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And adding to that, we are
now debuting the Mars Hill

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Leadership Program, which is
our equivalent of an undergrad

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series of classes, where we
bring in world-class professors

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to teach and to train you.

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So there's a lot going on.

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The Mars Hill leadership program
debuted in Albuquerque

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last fall, and we're
bringing it to Seattle

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to the campus of the Mars Hill
University District,

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forthcoming in just a few weeks.

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So let me tell you about
those classes briefly.

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January 22nd, Pastor Bill Clem,
the campus pastor

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here at Ballard, will be
lecturing on what it means

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to be a disciple of Jesus.

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His book is also coming out on
that subject later this year.

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He's finished it
and it's off to the printer.

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These are a succession
of classes on Saturdays.

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They'll just go for that one day
and they are very inexpensive.

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We encourage you
all to take them,

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whether you're a community group
leader, redemption group leader,

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wanting to grow in your
faith, new Christian,

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and/or all the way inclusive
of even homeschool moms,

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dads who want to learn
how to teach their kids.

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This is available to everybody.

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The next three sessions,
apologetics, Old Testament,

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and New Testament will be
taught by Pastor Justin Holcomb.

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He is one of our senior
theologians, PhD,

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a couple of master's degrees,
is a professor at

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Reformed Theological Seminary,
president of The Resurgence.

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He's also a published author
and he was a professor at

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the University of Virginia in
the sociology department,

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where he won a number
of teaching awards.

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He's a fantastic teacher
and if you've not heard him,

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you'll love him.

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He's also a pastor
at Mars Hill.

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I'll teach, along
with Mike Wilkerson

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on his gospel content
around the redemption book.

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All of that's forthcoming.

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And if you want to
get more information,

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you can check out
the Web site right there,

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marshillchurch.org/training.

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And again, if you can't
afford it, and it's cheap,

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ask your campus pastor and see
if they can't help you out.

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Lastly, there's
a series of free classes,

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which are a few hours
long, and seminars,

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which tend to be longer,
upwards of 6 hours,

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that'll be forthcoming.

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We're bringing in some
of the best theologians

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from the world to lecture
for free.

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You're welcome,
your friends are welcome,

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people from other
churches are welcome.

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We like to be a generous church.

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We like to give things away,
and we believe that theology

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determines biography.

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Your view of God inextricably
affects and directs your life.

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So here's what we
got forthcoming.

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February 11th at the University
District campus of Mars Hill,

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Dr. Bryan Chapell on
"Union with Christ."

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He's the president of Covenant
Theological Seminary

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in St. Louis, Missouri,
and a well-noted author.

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April 8th, Dr. Sam Storms
will be lecturing on

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"Spiritual Warfare"
at the Shoreline campus.

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He was a professor at Wheaton
College, PhD, a great scholar,

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runs his own church for the
Acts 29 church planting network.

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And in addition, we'll have
longer seminars.

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On January 29th
at the Downtown campus,

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Dr. Gerry Breshears
will be lecturing on

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"Models of Sanctification," how
to grow in Christ-likeness.

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He is the co-author of many of
the books that I've written.

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He was my theological mentor,
a good friend, professor,

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and head of theology at
Western Seminary in Portland,

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and also the former president
of the Evangelical Theological

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Society of America, overseeing
all Bible college

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and seminary professors
in the U.S.

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February 26th, right
after Valentine's Day,

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Dr. Ray and Jani Ortlund
will be here,

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lecturing on "Marriage
and Family" at Ballard.

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They're great.
She's published a few books.

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Some of those books
are Grace's favorites.

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And they are grandparents,
really cute, kiss all the time,

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so they have a unique
skill set for that topic.

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We love them very much.

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He's also one of our church
planters in Nashville.

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He's one of the leading
Old Testament and Hebrew

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scholars in the world.

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He was previously a professor
of Old Testament Hebrew.

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And if you have
the ESV Study Bible,

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he did all of the notes
for the book of Isaiah.

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So he's Yoda smart
and you'll love him.

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Lastly, April 2nd,
Dr. Tom Schreiner

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will be lecturing
on assurance of salvation,

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how do you know
you're a Christian,

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and perseverance, how do
you continue as a Christian,

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at the U-District campus
as well on that Saturday.

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He is one of the leading
professors in the world,

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theologians, on
the New Testament and Paul.

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And we're bringing him in
from Southern Seminary

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in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Those are all
the friends and guests

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that The Resurgence
is paying for.

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And if you want to learn
something, go ahead and join us.

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It's all free, first
come first serve.

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We're blessed,
lots of friends, amen.

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There's the announcement.

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Now, that being said,

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we're gonna study
a little bit right now.

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We're gonna be working
out of Luke 13:10-21.

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I'll pray
and we'll get to work.

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Father God, thank you, first
of all, for all of our friends.

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This is amazing.

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Some of the leading Bible
teachers around the world

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want to come and help us
open the Bible

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and learn about Jesus.

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That's an amazing gift.

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So we want to thank you for our
friends for their kindness

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and generosity toward us.

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In addition, God, as we
open your Word today,

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we invite the Holy Spirit to
teach us about the difference

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that truly exists between
religion and rejoicing

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as we learn about Jesus, in
whose name we pray, amen.

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How many of you have had
a great, fantastic, epic,

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fun, legendary road trip?

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Anyone had a good one?

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Road trips are fun.

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Road trips are great 'cause
you load up a few friends,

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a few supplies,
and you head out.

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You don't know exactly who
you're gonna meet along the way,

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what might happen,
but you know

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it's gonna be interesting,
exciting.

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At some point, you're
gonna get annoyed.

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Somebody's gonna do or say
something they shouldn't,

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but you'll make a few good
memories, and at the end,

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you'll have fantastic
stories to tell.

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Where we find ourselves in
Luke's gospel is in the middle

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of Jesus' road trip.

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That's where we find ourselves.

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Up through chapter 9, he was
ministering in the region

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of Galilee, around
the Sea of Galilee,

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with fishermen and farmers.

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And ultimately, proceeding
toward chapter 20,

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he's making his way on his road
trip via foot to Jerusalem,

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the big city, where he's gonna
die and rise as our savior.

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Along the way, Jesus has his
disciples with him for the road

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trip and they pick up an
interesting cast of characters

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and all kinds of
interesting things happen.

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Demonic people come out,
sick people get healed,

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stories get taught,
Jesus gets in fights,

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and every once in a while
a religious person gets

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a ground and pound from
their Lord and Savior.

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So it's a very
interesting story.

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It's a true, historical
account from Luke.

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And so today we're going to
meet primarily two people.

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We're gonna meet a woman who is
suffering and a religious man

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who will suffer.

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We'll start with
a woman who is suffering.

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Here's her story regarding
Jesus healing a demonized woman.

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Luke 13:10-13:

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"Now he," that is Jesus,
"was teaching in one of

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"the synagogues on the Sabbath.

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"And there was a woman who had
had a disabling spirit

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"for eighteen years.

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"She was bent over and could
not fully straighten herself.

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"When Jesus saw her, he called
her over and said to her,

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"'Woman, you are freed
from your disability.'

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"And he laid his hands on her,

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"and immediately
she was made straight,

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and she
glorified God."

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Here's the story.

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Jesus is traveling along, he's
probably near a smaller town.

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There was a synagogue there,
which is the Old Covenant

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equivalent of a church.

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The Christian church
is in many ways

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patterned after the synagogue.

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People would get together in a
building on the day of Sabbath

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to hear the Bible read, to pray,
to hear teaching, to sing songs.

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God's people
have been doing this

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for thousands
and thousands of years.

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And so Jesus is passing through
town and the equivalent

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of the pastor of that local
church, the synagogue,

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invites Jesus in to be
the guest preacher for the day.

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So Jesus is up
preaching and teaching.

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Odds are in this area, it's
probably not a big congregation,

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maybe dozens of people.

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Maybe that day
the attendance has swelled,

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but it's probably not
a large congregation.

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And as Jesus is teaching, he
looks out and he sees a woman.

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And she is disabled.
She's crippled.

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And she's been that
way for 18 years,

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18 long, painful,
arduous years.

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And her physical ailment is
caused by a spiritual attack.

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00:11:02,917 --> 00:11:06,958
We are spirit and body,
and sometimes

241
00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:11,500
our suffering physically is
exclusively physical.

242
00:11:11,583 --> 00:11:15,167
You get an injury, an accident,
cancer, a genetic condition.

243
00:11:15,250 --> 00:11:19,708
Something happens and you're
sick, hurting, disabled.

244
00:11:19,792 --> 00:11:23,583
Sometimes, however, it
is a spiritual cause,

245
00:11:23,667 --> 00:11:27,500
which results in physical
complications.

246
00:11:27,583 --> 00:11:29,583
Luke, who is
writing this for us,

247
00:11:29,667 --> 00:11:34,042
is by vocation a medical doctor,
so he believes in medicine,

248
00:11:34,125 --> 00:11:36,500
he believes in wellness,
he believes in nutrition.

249
00:11:36,583 --> 00:11:40,333
He has no problem with medicine.

250
00:11:40,375 --> 00:11:42,708
Neither do we.
Neither do we.

251
00:11:42,792 --> 00:11:46,333
If God should call you to be a
doctor, a nurse, a naturopath,

252
00:11:46,375 --> 00:11:49,333
a dietician, whatever it might
be, a physical therapist,

253
00:11:49,417 --> 00:11:51,708
we say, "Praise God.
Help people.

254
00:11:51,792 --> 00:11:53,667
"Love those who are
suffering and hurting.

255
00:11:53,750 --> 00:11:55,542
Praise be to God."

256
00:11:55,625 --> 00:11:57,500
But in addition to caring
for people's bodies,

257
00:11:57,583 --> 00:11:59,333
we want to care
for their souls,

258
00:11:59,417 --> 00:12:01,375
so that we could serve
the whole person.

259
00:12:01,458 --> 00:12:04,458
And here what we see is no
amount of medical attention

260
00:12:04,500 --> 00:12:05,917
could relieve her condition

261
00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:08,500
because it was spiritual
in causation.

262
00:12:08,542 --> 00:12:10,917
She's being attacked by
an unclean spirit, a demon,

263
00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,125
and has suffered for 18 years.

264
00:12:13,167 --> 00:12:15,667
And we need to see
this woman in our mind.

265
00:12:15,750 --> 00:12:18,333
She's--we're told she's
hunched and bent over.

266
00:12:18,375 --> 00:12:21,000
This likely indicates
severe back problems

267
00:12:21,042 --> 00:12:24,833
and lots of discomfort
and pain.

268
00:12:24,875 --> 00:12:28,750
This is a woman who has not
jumped or ran or danced,

269
00:12:28,833 --> 00:12:33,500
stood upright, or looked
anyone in the eye for 18 years.

270
00:12:33,583 --> 00:12:36,167
She's suffering
from chronic pain.

271
00:12:36,250 --> 00:12:38,792
Some of you know
what this is like.

272
00:12:38,833 --> 00:12:41,833
Some of you have
chronic pain.

273
00:12:41,875 --> 00:12:46,375
Some of you have, as she
did, chronic back pain.

274
00:12:46,458 --> 00:12:49,958
My dad snapped his back hanging
sheet-rock for more than

275
00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:53,792
20 years to feed 5 kids,
of which I was the oldest.

276
00:12:53,833 --> 00:12:57,375
My dad had chronic back
pain feeding his family.

277
00:12:57,458 --> 00:12:59,792
He'd come home and he'd lay
on the floor

278
00:12:59,833 --> 00:13:02,500
just to stretch his back out
'cause he was in agony.

279
00:13:02,583 --> 00:13:04,875
He shrunk a few inches
just carrying sheet-rock

280
00:13:04,958 --> 00:13:06,708
on his back for years.

281
00:13:06,792 --> 00:13:09,833
He had to go through full back
surgery and rehabilitation.

282
00:13:09,917 --> 00:13:11,500
Chronic pain.

283
00:13:11,583 --> 00:13:14,542
Some of you know
what that feels like.

284
00:13:14,625 --> 00:13:21,833
That's how she felt
for 18 years, 18 years.

285
00:13:21,875 --> 00:13:26,667
And Jesus looks at her,
and here's what's interesting.

286
00:13:26,708 --> 00:13:29,417
She doesn't speak to Jesus;
Jesus speaks to her.

287
00:13:29,500 --> 00:13:32,792
She doesn't approach Jesus;
Jesus approaches her.

288
00:13:32,833 --> 00:13:35,542
What we've seen thus far in
Luke's gospel is when people

289
00:13:35,625 --> 00:13:38,083
are suffering and hurting,
if Jesus is nearby,

290
00:13:38,167 --> 00:13:41,000
they tend to press through a
crowd toward him to touch him,

291
00:13:41,083 --> 00:13:42,417
to unleash his healing power.

292
00:13:42,500 --> 00:13:43,958
She doesn't do that.

293
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:46,917
She doesn't say
or do anything.

294
00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:48,583
I don't know why.

295
00:13:48,667 --> 00:13:51,500
Maybe she thought Jesus was busy
and important and she didn't

296
00:13:51,583 --> 00:13:54,208
want to trouble him, or perhaps
she'd given up hope altogether.

297
00:13:54,292 --> 00:13:55,792
I do not know.

298
00:13:55,833 --> 00:13:58,667
But Jesus looks at her.
Can you see it in his eye?

299
00:13:58,750 --> 00:14:01,000
He focuses right in on her.

300
00:14:01,083 --> 00:14:04,667
I think he's smiling at her and
he starts walking toward her.

301
00:14:04,750 --> 00:14:09,625
Walks out from where he's
teaching and approaches her.

302
00:14:09,667 --> 00:14:12,208
He's looking her in the eye.

303
00:14:12,292 --> 00:14:15,208
My guess is she's probably, at
first, a little uncomfortable.

304
00:14:15,292 --> 00:14:17,417
What's he gonna say or do?

305
00:14:17,500 --> 00:14:20,500
Is he gonna be like one of
Job's friends and rebuke her

306
00:14:20,542 --> 00:14:23,333
for lack of faith
and say it's her fault?

307
00:14:23,417 --> 00:14:25,958
This seems like
a godly woman, right?

308
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:27,958
She's been suffering
for 18 years,

309
00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,458
she apparently still believes
in God, and she's in church.

310
00:14:31,500 --> 00:14:35,083
Seems like a nice lady
with a hard life.

311
00:14:35,167 --> 00:14:37,042
Some of you are like that.

312
00:14:37,125 --> 00:14:39,792
And Jesus approaches
her and what does he do?

313
00:14:39,833 --> 00:14:42,667
He lays hands on her.

314
00:14:42,750 --> 00:14:44,208
He touches her.

315
00:14:44,292 --> 00:14:46,250
Now this would be unusual
in that culture

316
00:14:46,333 --> 00:14:48,000
for a man to touch a woman.

317
00:14:48,042 --> 00:14:50,667
But there's no sin
here, just affection.

318
00:14:50,750 --> 00:14:52,333
He didn't have to touch her.

319
00:14:52,375 --> 00:14:54,625
Why did he touch her?

320
00:14:54,667 --> 00:14:58,292
Because Jesus wanted her
to know that he loved her

321
00:14:58,333 --> 00:15:01,417
and he identified with her
physical suffering and pain.

322
00:15:01,500 --> 00:15:03,958
It says that Jesus comes
and gives her a hug,

323
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,083
he embraces her, and looks her
in the eye and he says,

324
00:15:08,167 --> 00:15:10,833
"You are healed."

325
00:15:10,875 --> 00:15:13,958
He commands the unclean
spirit away from her.

326
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:17,125
By the way, this is why
we also pray for the sick.

327
00:15:17,167 --> 00:15:20,167
And if you're sick, come forward
after the service and we'll lay

328
00:15:20,250 --> 00:15:23,167
hands and pray over you, just
like Jesus did, and just like

329
00:15:23,250 --> 00:15:25,000
Jesus' brother, James,
commands the leaders too.

330
00:15:25,042 --> 00:15:27,125
We love to pray
for sick people.

331
00:15:27,167 --> 00:15:29,375
We don't believe
that God has to heal,

332
00:15:29,458 --> 00:15:31,333
but we believe
that God can heal.

333
00:15:31,375 --> 00:15:33,083
And so we ask in faith.

334
00:15:33,167 --> 00:15:36,667
And Jesus embraces her,
essentially hugs her,

335
00:15:36,750 --> 00:15:39,167
and heals her.

336
00:15:39,250 --> 00:15:41,458
Her whole life is changed.

337
00:15:41,500 --> 00:15:43,208
This is wonderful.

338
00:15:43,292 --> 00:15:49,333
This is our Jesus.

339
00:15:49,417 --> 00:15:51,333
It's fantastic.

340
00:15:51,417 --> 00:15:53,333
What does she do?

341
00:15:53,417 --> 00:15:57,375
Immediately, she was made
straight and she glorified God.

342
00:15:57,458 --> 00:16:00,917
It doesn't take this
woman long to worship.

343
00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,708
"Yes, bring the band back out.

344
00:16:03,792 --> 00:16:08,083
"I have not been able to really
sing wholeheartedly in a while.

345
00:16:08,167 --> 00:16:10,292
"And it's been
18 years since I danced,

346
00:16:10,333 --> 00:16:11,917
"so I will need a soundtrack.

347
00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:13,875
It is time for a party."

348
00:16:13,958 --> 00:16:17,167
She's in a good mood, ready to
praise God and worship

349
00:16:17,250 --> 00:16:20,167
and be enthusiastic and happy.

350
00:16:20,208 --> 00:16:24,333
And it would be fantastic if
the story ended right there.

351
00:16:24,417 --> 00:16:27,333
The next word, however,
is troublesome.

352
00:16:27,417 --> 00:16:29,042
"But."

353
00:16:30,542 --> 00:16:33,333
"But."

354
00:16:33,417 --> 00:16:39,208
Luke 13:14-17, "But
the ruler of the synagogue,"

355
00:16:39,292 --> 00:16:43,708
the preaching pastor,
the guy with my job,

356
00:16:43,792 --> 00:16:47,042
"indignant because Jesus
had healed on the Sabbath,

357
00:16:47,125 --> 00:16:49,500
"said to the people, 'There are
six days in which

358
00:16:49,542 --> 00:16:50,958
"'work ought to be done.

359
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,000
"'Come on those days
and be healed,

360
00:16:53,042 --> 00:16:55,833
and not on the Sabbath day.'"

361
00:16:55,875 --> 00:16:58,500
He's arguing with Jesus.

362
00:16:58,583 --> 00:17:01,667
Just so you know,
that's never a good idea.

363
00:17:01,750 --> 00:17:04,000
Means you're wrong.

364
00:17:04,083 --> 00:17:07,583
"Then the Lord answered
him, 'You hypocrites!

365
00:17:07,667 --> 00:17:10,375
"'Does not each of you on
the Sabbath untie his ox

366
00:17:10,458 --> 00:17:14,000
"'or his donkey from the manger
and lead it away to water it?

367
00:17:14,083 --> 00:17:17,000
"'And ought not this woman, a
daughter of Abraham whom Satan

368
00:17:17,083 --> 00:17:20,000
"'bound for eighteen years,
be loosed from this bond

369
00:17:20,042 --> 00:17:21,667
"'on the Sabbath day?'

370
00:17:21,708 --> 00:17:23,125
"As he said these things,

371
00:17:23,167 --> 00:17:24,833
"all his adversaries
were put to shame,

372
00:17:24,875 --> 00:17:27,292
"and all the people rejoiced at
all the glorious things

373
00:17:27,333 --> 00:17:29,625
that were done by him."

374
00:17:29,667 --> 00:17:33,333
Jesus shows up, does
something wonderful.

375
00:17:33,375 --> 00:17:34,792
The woman is really happy,

376
00:17:34,833 --> 00:17:37,083
and the religious people
are critical.

377
00:17:37,167 --> 00:17:40,083
Why?

378
00:17:40,167 --> 00:17:46,250
Now, categorically it's
a debate over the law.

379
00:17:46,333 --> 00:17:47,833
The Bible has laws.

380
00:17:47,917 --> 00:17:50,125
The first 5 books
of the Old Testament

381
00:17:50,167 --> 00:17:53,250
have 613 laws, rules, commands.

382
00:17:53,333 --> 00:17:55,667
And God's commands are good.

383
00:17:55,750 --> 00:17:59,167
God's laws are good and they're
all fulfilled in Christ.

384
00:17:59,208 --> 00:18:00,958
The New Testament has
additional commands.

385
00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:05,708
Don't lie, don't murder, don't
steal, don't commit adultery.

386
00:18:05,792 --> 00:18:08,000
But let me say this.

387
00:18:08,083 --> 00:18:11,333
The law in and of itself will
be something that troubles you

388
00:18:11,417 --> 00:18:12,958
unless you know who God is.

389
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:15,667
Jesus tells us that
God is a loving father.

390
00:18:15,750 --> 00:18:18,833
So when your loving father tells
you to do something or not do

391
00:18:18,917 --> 00:18:22,500
something, you have to presume
and assume he loves you,

392
00:18:22,542 --> 00:18:24,333
he's trying to protect you.

393
00:18:24,375 --> 00:18:28,375
He's not trying to rob you of
joy and freedom and expression.

394
00:18:28,458 --> 00:18:33,042
He's trying to save you from
harm and suffering and death.

395
00:18:33,125 --> 00:18:36,333
I'll give you an analogy I
use with the Driscoll kids.

396
00:18:36,417 --> 00:18:39,167
Some years ago, we didn't
have the full Fab Five,

397
00:18:39,250 --> 00:18:41,750
we were just at a few
kids at that point.

398
00:18:41,833 --> 00:18:43,625
We moved into a home.

399
00:18:43,667 --> 00:18:47,167
First home we purchased was
a lease-to-own situation

400
00:18:47,208 --> 00:18:50,292
and it was
on a very busy street.

401
00:18:50,333 --> 00:18:53,417
And my kids love to play
outside, as kids do.

402
00:18:53,500 --> 00:18:56,833
And so what should a parent do
when they move into a home

403
00:18:56,875 --> 00:18:59,333
that has no fence, but
is on a busy street?

404
00:18:59,417 --> 00:19:02,708
What do you do first?
Put a fence up.

405
00:19:02,792 --> 00:19:05,125
Tell the kids,
"Enjoy the whole yard.

406
00:19:05,167 --> 00:19:11,333
"Dig, run, play, hit a wiffle
ball, find a worm, whatever.

407
00:19:11,375 --> 00:19:14,000
"Please just don't hop the fence
'cause it's dangerous

408
00:19:14,042 --> 00:19:16,000
"and I don't want you
to get hurt.

409
00:19:16,042 --> 00:19:18,792
"So I know this looks like
a barrier and a restriction.

410
00:19:18,833 --> 00:19:22,625
Actually, it's life-giving.
It's life-preserving."

411
00:19:22,667 --> 00:19:27,875
God's laws are like
pickets in a fence,

412
00:19:27,958 --> 00:19:32,167
just trying to keep God's kids
from running out in the street

413
00:19:32,250 --> 00:19:36,292
and getting hurt
by Satan and sin.

414
00:19:36,333 --> 00:19:39,833
And what God would tell us
is, "You have the whole yard.

415
00:19:39,917 --> 00:19:41,875
"I'm gonna fill you
with my Holy Spirit.

416
00:19:41,958 --> 00:19:44,458
"He'll direct, lead, and guide
according to conscience.

417
00:19:44,500 --> 00:19:46,875
"Hey kids, enjoy
all your freedom.

418
00:19:46,958 --> 00:19:48,625
"Explore the whole yard.

419
00:19:48,667 --> 00:19:50,167
"Please just don't hop
the fence.

420
00:19:50,208 --> 00:19:52,042
I don't want you to get hurt."

421
00:19:52,125 --> 00:19:54,083
That's a good dad.

422
00:19:54,167 --> 00:19:56,667
What happens then, religious
people come along and they say,

423
00:19:56,750 --> 00:19:58,875
"Well, God doesn't want
us to hop the fence.

424
00:19:58,958 --> 00:20:01,083
"To make sure that no
one hops the fence,

425
00:20:01,167 --> 00:20:03,167
"we should build another
fence within the fence,

426
00:20:03,208 --> 00:20:05,833
"maybe a little higher
than the first fence,

427
00:20:05,875 --> 00:20:08,667
"just to make sure that no one
even has an opportunity

428
00:20:08,708 --> 00:20:10,333
to hop the fence."

429
00:20:10,375 --> 00:20:12,875
Little while later, somebody
else more religious comes along

430
00:20:12,958 --> 00:20:14,875
and says, "That second
fence is pretty nice,

431
00:20:14,958 --> 00:20:18,292
"but I think we need to build a
third fence in a little further

432
00:20:18,333 --> 00:20:19,667
and a little higher."

433
00:20:19,750 --> 00:20:21,500
Before long, you
don't have a yard.

434
00:20:21,583 --> 00:20:23,333
You have a prison.

435
00:20:23,375 --> 00:20:25,667
And the kids can't
run out and play.

436
00:20:25,708 --> 00:20:28,333
That's why the most rebellious
kids tend to be those kids

437
00:20:28,375 --> 00:20:31,250
who were raised
in the most religious home.

438
00:20:31,333 --> 00:20:35,833
Eventually, they just
hop all the fences.

439
00:20:35,875 --> 00:20:39,167
And what had happened, and
this is what always happens,

440
00:20:39,208 --> 00:20:41,958
is that religious people took
God's laws and made lots

441
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:44,667
of additional rules and laws
to the point where something

442
00:20:44,750 --> 00:20:48,167
as good as the Sabbath became
a burden and not a blessing.

443
00:20:48,250 --> 00:20:50,500
And the Sabbath was
a gift that God gave.

444
00:20:50,583 --> 00:20:53,375
The Sabbath in the Old Testament
was on Saturday, not Sunday.

445
00:20:53,458 --> 00:20:56,500
Christians moved it to Sunday,
the day of Jesus' resurrection,

446
00:20:56,583 --> 00:20:59,750
'cause all things are made new
and it's a whole new era

447
00:20:59,833 --> 00:21:02,500
in human history with
the resurrection of Jesus.

448
00:21:02,542 --> 00:21:05,500
But the Sabbath day in the Old
Covenant was patterned

449
00:21:05,542 --> 00:21:08,083
after Genesis 1 and 2,
where God works 6 days.

450
00:21:08,167 --> 00:21:10,875
Seventh day, he rested.

451
00:21:10,958 --> 00:21:13,417
So the Sabbath
is a gift that God gives us.

452
00:21:13,500 --> 00:21:16,208
Take a day off, rest, worship,
gather with God's people,

453
00:21:16,292 --> 00:21:17,708
take a break.

454
00:21:17,792 --> 00:21:21,125
And it's an act of faith that
even while you have a day off,

455
00:21:21,167 --> 00:21:22,500
God is still in control.

456
00:21:22,583 --> 00:21:25,000
And they started making rules
and rules about the rules,

457
00:21:25,083 --> 00:21:27,042
and rules about
the rules about the rules.

458
00:21:27,125 --> 00:21:28,583
And next thing you know,

459
00:21:28,667 --> 00:21:30,958
the Sabbath is not a yard
to play in,

460
00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:33,167
it's a prison you can't escape.

461
00:21:33,250 --> 00:21:36,250
And they're arguing with Jesus
about the law in general,

462
00:21:36,333 --> 00:21:38,708
but about the Sabbath
law in particular.

463
00:21:38,792 --> 00:21:40,375
That's the issue.

464
00:21:40,458 --> 00:21:45,333
And what's interesting is these
kinds of debates still continue.

465
00:21:45,417 --> 00:21:49,000
Seventh Day Adventists
still are fighting, many,

466
00:21:49,083 --> 00:21:51,708
for a Saturday Sabbath.

467
00:21:51,792 --> 00:21:54,500
Jewish people still
observe a Saturday Sabbath

468
00:21:54,583 --> 00:21:58,458
and the more orthodox they
are, the more rigid they are.

469
00:21:58,500 --> 00:22:00,833
And in a moment, I'll read
something from

470
00:22:00,917 --> 00:22:05,875
a Jewish news source and
I'm not anti-Jewish, right?

471
00:22:05,958 --> 00:22:10,833
My favorite 66 books,
written by Jewish people.

472
00:22:10,875 --> 00:22:14,000
They kind of really hit their
stride around this guy named

473
00:22:14,083 --> 00:22:16,625
Abraham, the first Jewish guy.

474
00:22:16,667 --> 00:22:19,667
They're about a lot of Jewish
people until this guy named God

475
00:22:19,708 --> 00:22:22,042
comes, who happens to be Jewish.

476
00:22:22,125 --> 00:22:23,833
And so I worship a Jewish guy.

477
00:22:23,917 --> 00:22:29,500
I'm not anti-Jewish,
but I am anti-religion,

478
00:22:29,542 --> 00:22:32,667
rulemaking beyond
the rules of God.

479
00:22:32,708 --> 00:22:35,083
And here's an example,
some 2,000 years later,

480
00:22:35,167 --> 00:22:38,333
how religious people are
still debating the Sabbath.

481
00:22:38,375 --> 00:22:42,833
December 15th, 2010, just a few
weeks ago, the story begins,

482
00:22:42,917 --> 00:22:44,333
"Jerusalem."

483
00:22:44,417 --> 00:22:47,000
So you know this is
gonna be a big deal.

484
00:22:47,083 --> 00:22:49,292
"A leading Israeli rabbi has
declared the Western Wall

485
00:22:49,333 --> 00:22:52,292
"off limits to the faithful on
the holiest day of the week

486
00:22:52,333 --> 00:22:53,667
"because of security cameras

487
00:22:53,750 --> 00:22:56,000
"that he says desecrate
the Sabbath.

488
00:22:56,083 --> 00:22:58,583
"'The trouble at Judaism's
holiest prayer site is with

489
00:22:58,667 --> 00:23:03,000
"'the technology,' says
Yosef Shalom Elyashiv,

490
00:23:03,042 --> 00:23:06,292
"a 100-year-old rabbinical
authority widely revered among

491
00:23:06,333 --> 00:23:09,958
"ultra-orthodox Jews.
Devout Jews strictly adhere

492
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,750
"to the biblical commandments
to refrain from work

493
00:23:12,833 --> 00:23:14,417
"on the Sabbath.

494
00:23:14,500 --> 00:23:17,833
"Elyashiv says those coming
into view of the closed circuit

495
00:23:17,875 --> 00:23:22,292
"surveillance cameras activate
a light inside the devices,

496
00:23:22,333 --> 00:23:25,875
"violating the Jewish
prohibition on operating

497
00:23:25,958 --> 00:23:28,583
electronics on the Sabbath."

498
00:23:28,667 --> 00:23:32,708
Goes on to say--he says, "Jews
should not visit the site on the

499
00:23:32,792 --> 00:23:38,292
Sabbath until the technology has
proper rabbinic supervision."

500
00:23:38,333 --> 00:23:39,833
Here's what he's saying.

501
00:23:39,875 --> 00:23:42,375
You can't go to what we
consider the holiest site,

502
00:23:42,458 --> 00:23:43,958
meaning the Jewish people.

503
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:45,333
We don't.

504
00:23:45,375 --> 00:23:48,875
We believe that once the temple
was vacated by the Holy Spirit

505
00:23:48,958 --> 00:23:52,333
and destroyed, that God's spirit
is active everywhere

506
00:23:52,417 --> 00:23:54,833
and that our body's the temple,
but Jewish people consider

507
00:23:54,917 --> 00:23:56,750
this to be their holiest site.

508
00:23:56,833 --> 00:23:59,000
And when you go there,
and I've been there,

509
00:23:59,042 --> 00:24:00,708
there are motion
detectors with cameras.

510
00:24:00,792 --> 00:24:03,917
And if you walk by, you could
turn it on and that'll trigger

511
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,000
a light and that's
conducting electricity,

512
00:24:06,083 --> 00:24:09,750
which is a desecration, 'cause
it's a violation of the Sabbath.

513
00:24:09,833 --> 00:24:12,208
So don't do that.

514
00:24:12,292 --> 00:24:14,167
I saw this
when I was in Israel.

515
00:24:14,208 --> 00:24:16,000
I told you this earlier in Luke.

516
00:24:16,042 --> 00:24:19,167
They won't conduct electricity
on the Sabbath, Saturday.

517
00:24:19,250 --> 00:24:21,667
So they won't even hit
a button on an elevator.

518
00:24:21,708 --> 00:24:26,250
Oh, but they'll
ask a Gentile to.

519
00:24:26,333 --> 00:24:29,708
Me, you know, dumb,
Ramones-t-shirt-wearing,

520
00:24:29,792 --> 00:24:33,083
ball-cap-sporting American,
gets on the elevator.

521
00:24:33,167 --> 00:24:36,083
Next thing I know, I'm
packed on the elevator.

522
00:24:36,167 --> 00:24:37,917
I can't even move
and they're like,

523
00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,375
"Could you hit floor seven?
Could you hit floor nine?"

524
00:24:40,458 --> 00:24:41,792
"Why?"

525
00:24:41,833 --> 00:24:43,792
"We can't hit it.
We'll go to hell."

526
00:24:43,833 --> 00:24:46,292
"You want me to hit it?
Thanks, thanks a lot.

527
00:24:46,333 --> 00:24:50,625
"Thanks a lot.
Thanks a ton.

528
00:24:50,667 --> 00:24:53,292
Hey, Jesus is alive.
I'll hit whatever you want."

529
00:24:53,333 --> 00:24:55,625
My righteousness
is in Christ and I know where

530
00:24:55,667 --> 00:25:00,833
my elevator's going,
to the kingdom of God.

531
00:25:00,917 --> 00:25:05,167
Now, let me say this.

532
00:25:05,250 --> 00:25:09,458
Religious people tend to have
a very critical attitude

533
00:25:09,500 --> 00:25:12,000
and disposition and demeanor.

534
00:25:12,083 --> 00:25:16,417
Rather than rejoicing,
criticizing.

535
00:25:16,500 --> 00:25:18,583
Always looking
for what's wrong.

536
00:25:18,667 --> 00:25:21,917
And so Jesus heals on the
Sabbath and the leader gets up,

537
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:25,000
the guy who's
basically got my job,

538
00:25:25,083 --> 00:25:28,500
and publicly rebukes
Jesus Christ

539
00:25:28,583 --> 00:25:30,167
in front of everyone.

540
00:25:30,250 --> 00:25:33,000
And he says, "You know, we're
not supposed to do stuff

541
00:25:33,083 --> 00:25:34,500
"like this on the Sabbath.

542
00:25:34,542 --> 00:25:36,667
"You people, don't think we're
gonna start healing people

543
00:25:36,750 --> 00:25:38,333
"on the Sabbath.

544
00:25:38,417 --> 00:25:42,333
Friday or Sunday, but
definitely not Saturday."

545
00:25:42,417 --> 00:25:44,000
Now, let me say this.

546
00:25:44,042 --> 00:25:48,083
Had this man any humility, he
wouldn't have gotten in trouble.

547
00:25:48,167 --> 00:25:51,500
Had he said, "Mm, okay, Jesus
is teaching something

548
00:25:51,583 --> 00:25:52,875
"that I disagree with.

549
00:25:52,958 --> 00:25:55,833
"Maybe perhaps I'm wrong.

550
00:25:55,917 --> 00:25:58,333
"Instead of picking
a fight publicly,

551
00:25:58,417 --> 00:26:00,833
"maybe I go ask Jesus privately.

552
00:26:00,917 --> 00:26:04,167
"Jesus, I disagree with you.

553
00:26:04,250 --> 00:26:06,667
"But before I correct
you publicly,

554
00:26:06,750 --> 00:26:09,667
before I pick a fight--" I mean,
praise God they didn't have

555
00:26:09,750 --> 00:26:13,875
Twitter and Facebook
and blogging in that day.

556
00:26:13,958 --> 00:26:17,375
"How about if I tell you what
my concerns are and you tell me

557
00:26:17,458 --> 00:26:19,792
"what your answers are
and we open the Bible?

558
00:26:19,833 --> 00:26:22,000
"And if I'm wrong, I
want to be teachable.

559
00:26:22,083 --> 00:26:24,500
And if I'm right, I want
you to be teachable."

560
00:26:24,583 --> 00:26:27,167
Do you think he would've gotten
in trouble with that attitude?

561
00:26:27,250 --> 00:26:28,583
Not at all.

562
00:26:28,667 --> 00:26:30,083
Jesus would've praised
him and said,

563
00:26:30,167 --> 00:26:32,833
"Great, you're a humble man.
You want to learn the Bible.

564
00:26:32,875 --> 00:26:34,833
You assume that maybe
you could be wrong."

565
00:26:34,875 --> 00:26:36,542
'Cause this is what
religious people do.

566
00:26:36,625 --> 00:26:38,292
As a general rule,
religious people believe,

567
00:26:38,333 --> 00:26:40,833
"Some people are right,
some people are wrong.

568
00:26:40,917 --> 00:26:43,667
"And I'm always right.

569
00:26:43,750 --> 00:26:47,000
And if you disagree with
me, you're always wrong."

570
00:26:47,042 --> 00:26:49,917
And everyone's wrong
about something.

571
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,167
So we all need to be
humble and teachable.

572
00:26:52,250 --> 00:26:54,667
And double-check according to
the Scriptures,

573
00:26:54,708 --> 00:26:58,625
just in case we miss something
before we advertise it

574
00:26:58,667 --> 00:27:00,958
to the world, declare war,

575
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,000
criticize others,
fight unnecessarily.

576
00:27:04,083 --> 00:27:05,333
He doesn't do that.

577
00:27:05,417 --> 00:27:08,833
He stands up in front of his
church, "Jesus is wrong."

578
00:27:08,917 --> 00:27:11,000
Wow.

579
00:27:11,083 --> 00:27:13,958
That's a total fail, right?

580
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,708
That's a total fail.

581
00:27:16,792 --> 00:27:18,083
Let me ask you this.

582
00:27:18,167 --> 00:27:21,667
With the woman, was
Jesus tough or tender?

583
00:27:21,708 --> 00:27:24,000
With the woman, was
he tough or tender?

584
00:27:24,042 --> 00:27:25,708
Tender.

585
00:27:25,792 --> 00:27:29,167
You can't get a much more tender
picture than Jesus in front of

586
00:27:29,250 --> 00:27:32,833
everyone, walking toward her,
looking at her, embracing her,

587
00:27:32,917 --> 00:27:36,292
loving her, speaking
to her, healing her.

588
00:27:36,333 --> 00:27:38,917
That's as tender as it gets.

589
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,458
With this religious leader,
will he be tender or tough?

590
00:27:42,500 --> 00:27:44,333
He's gonna be tough.

591
00:27:44,375 --> 00:27:46,000
He's gonna rebuke him publicly

592
00:27:46,083 --> 00:27:49,875
because he picked
a fight publicly.

593
00:27:49,958 --> 00:27:53,583
You need to know that
Jesus is tender and tough.

594
00:27:53,667 --> 00:27:56,167
And as a Christian,
if you are or become one,

595
00:27:56,208 --> 00:27:58,833
you need to be both
tender and tough.

596
00:27:58,917 --> 00:28:01,708
Sometimes you need to be tender
toward those who are hurting,

597
00:28:01,792 --> 00:28:06,208
humble, those who are
suffering, those who are needy.

598
00:28:06,292 --> 00:28:09,042
And sometimes you got to be
tough toward those who are

599
00:28:09,125 --> 00:28:12,917
religious, haughty, proud,
judging others unnecessarily,

600
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,750
bullying people around.

601
00:28:15,833 --> 00:28:17,667
If you're only tender
or you're only tough,

602
00:28:17,750 --> 00:28:20,667
you're only gonna be
right half the time.

603
00:28:20,750 --> 00:28:23,667
You can't be nice to all the
bullies and you shouldn't be

604
00:28:23,750 --> 00:28:25,333
mean to all the victims.

605
00:28:25,417 --> 00:28:27,333
You got to have
some discernment.

606
00:28:27,375 --> 00:28:30,167
Jesus is both
tender and tough.

607
00:28:30,208 --> 00:28:32,500
And what's he say?
These are tough words.

608
00:28:32,542 --> 00:28:34,583
What's he say to the pastor?

609
00:28:34,667 --> 00:28:36,417
"You are a hypocrite."

610
00:28:36,500 --> 00:28:38,208
That's a big word.

611
00:28:38,292 --> 00:28:42,333
"You treat your animals better
than you treat your women.

612
00:28:42,375 --> 00:28:46,000
You treat your animals better
than you treat your people."

613
00:28:46,083 --> 00:28:49,042
He says, "Let's say it's the
Sabbath and you have an animal

614
00:28:49,125 --> 00:28:51,292
"that you treasure and prize
because it's valuable

615
00:28:51,333 --> 00:28:53,833
"and helpful to you and
that animal is thirsty.

616
00:28:53,917 --> 00:28:56,583
Would you not walk it to
water to get a drink?"

617
00:28:56,667 --> 00:29:01,333
And the rhetorical question
was answered, "Yes."

618
00:29:01,417 --> 00:29:04,958
He says,
"Well, then treat your people

619
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:07,583
as well as you treat
your animals,"

620
00:29:07,667 --> 00:29:12,917
which for my city is a very
good word because we would

621
00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:17,042
drop off our dog at
the spa or daycare on our way

622
00:29:17,125 --> 00:29:20,333
to abort our child.

623
00:29:20,375 --> 00:29:25,667
We do things to our children
we would not do to our pets.

624
00:29:25,750 --> 00:29:31,000
And so Jesus says, essentially,
"Yes, treat the animals well.

625
00:29:31,083 --> 00:29:33,667
"Treat the pets well.

626
00:29:33,750 --> 00:29:36,583
"But people who bear
the image and likeness of God,

627
00:29:36,667 --> 00:29:39,958
treat them even better."

628
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,750
He says, "How dare you treat
your livestock better than you

629
00:29:42,833 --> 00:29:45,500
would treat this woman?"

630
00:29:45,542 --> 00:29:47,333
She's waited 18 years.

631
00:29:47,417 --> 00:29:51,750
Why is today not a good
day for abundant grace

632
00:29:51,833 --> 00:29:54,500
to be poured out on her?

633
00:29:54,583 --> 00:29:56,375
He's tender with the woman.

634
00:29:56,458 --> 00:29:59,333
He's tough with the pastor.

635
00:29:59,417 --> 00:30:06,208
Now, one important question to
ask when we study this section

636
00:30:06,292 --> 00:30:11,500
is where are you in the story?

637
00:30:11,583 --> 00:30:13,167
Where are you?

638
00:30:13,250 --> 00:30:16,083
Are you the hurting woman?

639
00:30:16,167 --> 00:30:18,292
Your life is hard.

640
00:30:18,333 --> 00:30:21,500
You know you're not perfect
but you do love God.

641
00:30:21,542 --> 00:30:22,875
You are in church.

642
00:30:22,958 --> 00:30:25,083
You do believe in Jesus.

643
00:30:25,167 --> 00:30:28,792
And for you it's
suffering and pain.

644
00:30:28,833 --> 00:30:31,333
Physical pain, emotional
pain, spiritual pain,

645
00:30:31,375 --> 00:30:33,750
psychological pain,
financial pain.

646
00:30:33,833 --> 00:30:38,875
Some of you it's just been
18 years of hard days.

647
00:30:38,958 --> 00:30:41,292
And you're suffering
and you're hurting.

648
00:30:41,333 --> 00:30:45,042
Maybe you come here and you say,
"I don't even really talk to

649
00:30:45,125 --> 00:30:48,125
"Jesus about it anymore and I
don't even really pursue him

650
00:30:48,167 --> 00:30:51,583
in it because I just kind of
gave up a long time ago."

651
00:30:51,667 --> 00:30:55,167
Remember, remember that it's
Jesus who approaches

652
00:30:55,250 --> 00:30:57,083
the hurting and suffering.

653
00:30:57,167 --> 00:31:00,708
Remember it's Jesus who
literally today has sent

654
00:31:00,792 --> 00:31:04,667
the Holy Spirit
to lay a hand on you.

655
00:31:04,708 --> 00:31:09,500
Okay, I know God wants me to
tell you that he is here to meet

656
00:31:09,542 --> 00:31:13,167
with you and that he sends the
Holy Spirit to literally embrace

657
00:31:13,250 --> 00:31:16,625
you, to put a hand on you,
to touch you, to comfort you.

658
00:31:16,667 --> 00:31:19,958
For some of you, yes,
even to heal you.

659
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,000
Remember this woman
and God's compassion

660
00:31:23,083 --> 00:31:24,833
and affection for her.

661
00:31:24,875 --> 00:31:28,125
Jesus has that same compassion
and affection for you.

662
00:31:28,167 --> 00:31:31,208
And even though you've not
been pursuing, perhaps,

663
00:31:31,292 --> 00:31:34,583
him in this area of
suffering, he's pursuing you.

664
00:31:34,667 --> 00:31:37,792
He knows, he pays
attention, he cares.

665
00:31:37,833 --> 00:31:40,958
He is going to meet with you.

666
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:43,792
He loves you.

667
00:31:43,833 --> 00:31:49,167
Are you the religious
critic, like me?

668
00:31:49,208 --> 00:31:50,833
Who's the loser in the story?

669
00:31:50,917 --> 00:31:52,833
The pastor.

670
00:31:52,917 --> 00:31:54,583
People say,
"Oh, the Bible's made up."

671
00:31:54,667 --> 00:31:57,250
Well, it was written by pastors
and I don't think pastors

672
00:31:57,333 --> 00:31:59,583
would write it this way
if it wasn't true.

673
00:31:59,667 --> 00:32:02,333
The pastors wouldn't always be
the losers if the pastors

674
00:32:02,375 --> 00:32:04,333
were lying, right?

675
00:32:04,375 --> 00:32:07,000
If I were going to write
the Bible, it would be,

676
00:32:07,042 --> 00:32:10,000
"I had Jesus come to my
church and I let him preach.

677
00:32:10,042 --> 00:32:11,375
You're welcome."

678
00:32:11,458 --> 00:32:13,375
That's how I would
have written the story.

679
00:32:13,458 --> 00:32:16,042
I wouldn't have talked
about all my sin and faults

680
00:32:16,125 --> 00:32:17,542
and flaws and failures.

681
00:32:17,625 --> 00:32:21,667
Where I find myself in the
story is the religious leader.

682
00:32:21,708 --> 00:32:27,333
I tend to be someone who, like
these people, zealous, devoted,

683
00:32:27,417 --> 00:32:30,833
studious, committed, serious,

684
00:32:30,875 --> 00:32:36,500
and sometimes unnecessarily
critical.

685
00:32:36,542 --> 00:32:41,083
Having a hard time rejoicing in
God's grace poured out to others

686
00:32:41,167 --> 00:32:43,750
because maybe it wasn't
done the way that I thought

687
00:32:43,833 --> 00:32:46,167
it should have been done.

688
00:32:46,208 --> 00:32:47,542
"Really God?
That church?

689
00:32:47,625 --> 00:32:50,000
"They don't have the right
translation of the Bible.

690
00:32:50,083 --> 00:32:53,250
"Those people?
They don't have our theology.

691
00:32:53,333 --> 00:32:55,333
"Why are they so happy?

692
00:32:55,417 --> 00:32:58,000
"They're singing songs but their
musicians are not good

693
00:32:58,083 --> 00:33:03,042
"and their theological acumen
in the songs is not stellar.

694
00:33:03,125 --> 00:33:05,417
"And their pastor did not
preach a good sermon.

695
00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:07,292
But they're all excited, why?"

696
00:33:07,333 --> 00:33:10,125
And I'm that guy with
the critical eye,

697
00:33:10,167 --> 00:33:12,042
and I'll stand back.

698
00:33:12,125 --> 00:33:13,625
I'll look at the book table.

699
00:33:13,667 --> 00:33:15,542
"Oh, what books
do they have here?

700
00:33:15,625 --> 00:33:21,500
"Hmmm, I don't see any dead
guys on the book table.

701
00:33:21,542 --> 00:33:24,750
That concerns me."

702
00:33:24,833 --> 00:33:28,167
I'm the guy with
the critical eye.

703
00:33:28,208 --> 00:33:30,542
I want us to be
a discerning people.

704
00:33:30,625 --> 00:33:32,542
I want us to be
a biblical people.

705
00:33:32,625 --> 00:33:35,583
I want us to be
a passionate people.

706
00:33:35,667 --> 00:33:39,958
But one sickness you've probably
caught from me is a difficulty

707
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:43,833
in rejoicing in God's grace
poured out in ways that you

708
00:33:43,875 --> 00:33:47,500
weren't expecting in the
lives of people that you find

709
00:33:47,542 --> 00:33:50,583
perplexing and churches and
ministries that don't do it

710
00:33:50,667 --> 00:33:52,833
the way we do.

711
00:33:52,875 --> 00:33:55,708
Okay, it's a sin that God
continually convicts me of.

712
00:33:55,792 --> 00:33:57,375
It doesn't mean we
don't have convictions,

713
00:33:57,458 --> 00:34:03,333
but first we should have
rejoicing at what God is doing.

714
00:34:03,417 --> 00:34:05,625
Which means if there's another
church, another ministry,

715
00:34:05,667 --> 00:34:07,833
another denomination,
another theological team,

716
00:34:07,875 --> 00:34:10,833
another organization, or other
people that disagree with us

717
00:34:10,875 --> 00:34:13,500
on some things but they're
part of the family of God,

718
00:34:13,542 --> 00:34:15,667
they believe the Bible,
they love Jesus too.

719
00:34:15,708 --> 00:34:18,083
If good happens for them,
if they are blessed,

720
00:34:18,167 --> 00:34:21,625
we should rejoice and celebrate.

721
00:34:21,667 --> 00:34:25,000
And if we disagree, rather than
doing it publicly and starting

722
00:34:25,083 --> 00:34:28,000
with a declaration of
war, like this man did,

723
00:34:28,083 --> 00:34:32,167
like in times past I have, we
should go talk to them privately

724
00:34:32,208 --> 00:34:34,000
and say, "Okay did
I miss something?

725
00:34:34,042 --> 00:34:36,000
Let's see if we can
figure this out."

726
00:34:36,042 --> 00:34:38,875
And if in fact there is real
error or there is sin,

727
00:34:38,958 --> 00:34:41,500
then we do need to protect
God's people by being

728
00:34:41,542 --> 00:34:45,250
honest, but we don't start with
an attitude of criticism,

729
00:34:45,333 --> 00:34:48,708
self-righteousness,
haughtiness, or pride.

730
00:34:48,792 --> 00:34:51,833
We need to seek and celebrate
the evidences of God's grace

731
00:34:51,917 --> 00:34:53,667
wherever we find them.

732
00:34:53,750 --> 00:34:56,000
Love people, give them
the benefit of the doubt,

733
00:34:56,083 --> 00:34:59,500
and if we disagree go talk to
them to see if we can't work

734
00:34:59,583 --> 00:35:01,000
towards some resolution.

735
00:35:01,083 --> 00:35:03,667
And last resort is we have
to have a little bit

736
00:35:03,750 --> 00:35:07,083
of disagreement and
conflict, last resort.

737
00:35:07,167 --> 00:35:10,208
I'm like the guy in the story
who's leading his people

738
00:35:10,292 --> 00:35:11,833
and Jesus rebukes.

739
00:35:11,875 --> 00:35:15,417
So Jesus today has a rebuke
for me because he loves me.

740
00:35:15,500 --> 00:35:18,875
And he loves you, just like he
loves the pastor and he loves

741
00:35:18,958 --> 00:35:20,625
the hurting woman.

742
00:35:20,667 --> 00:35:23,333
He heals her and rebukes him.

743
00:35:23,417 --> 00:35:27,042
And he does it publicly so that
the congregation witnessing it

744
00:35:27,125 --> 00:35:30,250
will know, "Hey, don't believe
everything this guy's ever said

745
00:35:30,333 --> 00:35:35,417
because there's a few
things he's off on."

746
00:35:35,500 --> 00:35:40,833
One of them was his attitude.

747
00:35:40,917 --> 00:35:46,125
He had this assumption that he
was always right and it was

748
00:35:46,167 --> 00:35:51,667
his job to always voice
his disagreement.

749
00:35:51,750 --> 00:35:54,583
And that religious spirit
and attitude of criticism

750
00:35:54,667 --> 00:36:01,208
and control caused him
to rebuke Jesus Christ.

751
00:36:01,292 --> 00:36:05,042
And so Jesus corrects
him lovingly.

752
00:36:05,125 --> 00:36:08,708
Number two, if
you're a religious critic,

753
00:36:08,792 --> 00:36:10,250
repent.

754
00:36:10,333 --> 00:36:13,000
And some of you right now,
you hear this, you say,

755
00:36:13,042 --> 00:36:15,542
"But I have criticisms of the
way you're criticizing me."

756
00:36:15,625 --> 00:36:17,000
I know.

757
00:36:17,042 --> 00:36:18,833
Thank you for
the illustration, repent.

758
00:36:18,875 --> 00:36:21,500
Number three, are
you the onlooker?

759
00:36:21,542 --> 00:36:22,875
Are you the crowd?

760
00:36:22,958 --> 00:36:25,375
Now the people are sitting
there going, "Whoa, whoa, whoa.

761
00:36:25,458 --> 00:36:27,208
Our pastor's having
a fight with Jesus!"

762
00:36:27,292 --> 00:36:28,625
Right?

763
00:36:28,667 --> 00:36:31,458
"Who's right in this one?"
They've got to make a decision.

764
00:36:31,500 --> 00:36:34,292
We're going to side with the
pastor and argue against Jesus.

765
00:36:34,333 --> 00:36:37,292
We're going to side with Jesus
and say, "Pastor, we love you,

766
00:36:37,333 --> 00:36:39,958
"but it seems like you've got
to make a few corrections.

767
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:41,333
Especially in your attitude."

768
00:36:41,417 --> 00:36:43,792
And what do they do?
They rejoice!

769
00:36:43,833 --> 00:36:47,250
This woman rejoices and then
this fight ensues between Jesus

770
00:36:47,333 --> 00:36:51,083
and the pastor and then the
people rejoice for two reasons.

771
00:36:51,167 --> 00:36:55,500
The woman was healed
and the pastor was rebuked!

772
00:36:55,583 --> 00:37:00,125
They were so excited about these
two simultaneous, fantastic,

773
00:37:00,167 --> 00:37:02,167
God-ordained events.

774
00:37:02,208 --> 00:37:03,667
Yes!

775
00:37:03,750 --> 00:37:08,083
The pastor's not always right
and she got healed, yay!

776
00:37:08,167 --> 00:37:10,375
And so they celebrate.
The band comes out.

777
00:37:10,458 --> 00:37:13,167
Everybody's passionate,
enthusiastic, rejoicing,

778
00:37:13,208 --> 00:37:14,833
celebrating.

779
00:37:14,917 --> 00:37:16,667
They're happy!

780
00:37:16,708 --> 00:37:19,917
The question then is how
do you get religious?

781
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:26,042
If religion is such a bad thing,
manmade works and traditions

782
00:37:26,125 --> 00:37:29,292
and pride and arrogance and
haughtiness and unhelpful

783
00:37:29,333 --> 00:37:34,833
judgmentalism, how do you
avoid that kind of religiosity?

784
00:37:34,917 --> 00:37:38,542
To answer that question Jesus
is going to tell two parables.

785
00:37:38,625 --> 00:37:40,333
They're cousins, not twins.

786
00:37:40,417 --> 00:37:43,333
They have resemblances,
though they're not identical.

787
00:37:43,417 --> 00:37:46,417
I told you last week, when Jesus
tells a parable usually it's

788
00:37:46,500 --> 00:37:49,458
an answering of a question.

789
00:37:49,500 --> 00:37:51,750
The question he's
going to answer is,

790
00:37:51,833 --> 00:37:54,583
"What is the kingdom
of God like?"

791
00:37:54,667 --> 00:37:57,583
So we'll read Jesus' parable.

792
00:37:57,667 --> 00:38:00,375
"He said therefore, 'What
is the kingdom of God like?'"

793
00:38:00,458 --> 00:38:02,125
There's the question.

794
00:38:02,167 --> 00:38:05,708
And again, a parable is a little
story that teaches a big truth.

795
00:38:05,792 --> 00:38:07,458
"'And to what
shall I compare it?

796
00:38:07,500 --> 00:38:10,833
"'It is like a grain of mustard
seed that a man took and sowed

797
00:38:10,917 --> 00:38:14,083
"'in his garden, and it grew and
became a tree, and the birds

798
00:38:14,167 --> 00:38:16,083
"'of the air made nests
in its branches.'

799
00:38:16,167 --> 00:38:18,292
"And again he said, 'To what
shall I compare

800
00:38:18,333 --> 00:38:19,667
"'the kingdom of God?

801
00:38:19,750 --> 00:38:22,833
"'It is like leaven that a woman
took and hid in three measures

802
00:38:22,917 --> 00:38:24,583
of flour, until it
was all leavened.'"

803
00:38:24,667 --> 00:38:26,792
Some of you say, "What
is Jesus talking about?

804
00:38:26,833 --> 00:38:28,167
"What the--what happened?

805
00:38:28,250 --> 00:38:29,917
"He healed a woman,
rebuked a guy,

806
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:31,417
"and then started
reading fortune cookies.

807
00:38:31,500 --> 00:38:33,750
"Like, he lost me.
What?

808
00:38:33,833 --> 00:38:37,333
Where did Jesus go?"

809
00:38:37,375 --> 00:38:41,167
Here's the point: you will
become religious if you don't

810
00:38:41,208 --> 00:38:45,750
remember the kingdom of God,
that one of the underlying

811
00:38:45,833 --> 00:38:50,333
causes of religiosity is not
understanding and remembering

812
00:38:50,417 --> 00:38:51,833
the kingdom of God.

813
00:38:51,875 --> 00:38:53,250
So let me unpack this.

814
00:38:53,333 --> 00:38:56,917
We tend to have a troublesome
time with the kingdom of God

815
00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,042
because we're a democracy.

816
00:38:59,125 --> 00:39:00,833
And in a democracy,
in theory--it doesn't

817
00:39:00,875 --> 00:39:02,208
really work this way.

818
00:39:02,292 --> 00:39:03,958
I don't know
if you know that.

819
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:06,292
But in theory
everybody gets to vote.

820
00:39:06,333 --> 00:39:11,833
Everybody gets to vote
and majority wins.

821
00:39:11,875 --> 00:39:14,167
And the way we have our
government structured

822
00:39:14,208 --> 00:39:17,667
is necessary because we're
in a fallen, sinful world.

823
00:39:17,708 --> 00:39:19,667
We don't like
the idea of a king.

824
00:39:19,708 --> 00:39:22,375
I don't know if you guys
have studied a lot of history.

825
00:39:22,458 --> 00:39:23,917
One of the reasons we're here

826
00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:25,917
is we sort of had king issues,
right?

827
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:29,708
Really didn't like
having a king, or queen,

828
00:39:29,792 --> 00:39:31,208
or anybody with a crown.

829
00:39:31,292 --> 00:39:36,167
Just--it's sort
of a thing for us.

830
00:39:36,208 --> 00:39:43,333
Because we're all sinners and
if someone has absolute power

831
00:39:43,375 --> 00:39:48,250
and is a sinner, injustice,
tyranny, oppression

832
00:39:48,333 --> 00:39:51,000
and abuse can and will ensue.

833
00:39:51,083 --> 00:39:56,042
If someone is an absolutely
authoritarian king and they hold

834
00:39:56,125 --> 00:40:00,625
all the power and they're
a sinner, we're all in danger.

835
00:40:00,667 --> 00:40:03,208
So we have checks and balances
in our governmental system

836
00:40:03,292 --> 00:40:06,333
to deal with sin and sinners.

837
00:40:06,417 --> 00:40:12,333
But the best form of government
is a benevolent dictatorship

838
00:40:12,375 --> 00:40:16,958
with a humble, generous,
sacrificial, loving,

839
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:22,458
altogether good king.

840
00:40:22,500 --> 00:40:25,750
And Jesus is a king.

841
00:40:25,833 --> 00:40:29,458
We see this before he's even
born of Mary and enters

842
00:40:29,500 --> 00:40:33,083
into human history though
he's existed eternally.

843
00:40:33,167 --> 00:40:37,792
Isaiah 6, some 700 years before
Jesus was even born of Mary,

844
00:40:37,833 --> 00:40:41,292
Isaiah says in Isaiah 6, "I saw
the heavens open and I saw the

845
00:40:41,333 --> 00:40:45,875
Lord high and exalted and seated
on a throne," that's a king.

846
00:40:45,958 --> 00:40:48,125
"And the angels surrounded
him, crying out,

847
00:40:48,167 --> 00:40:51,208
"'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
God almighty.'

848
00:40:51,292 --> 00:40:54,417
And the train of his
robe filled the temple."

849
00:40:54,500 --> 00:40:56,167
He's a king.

850
00:40:56,250 --> 00:40:59,917
John 12:40-41 says Isaiah saw
Jesus in all his glory

851
00:41:00,042 --> 00:41:02,333
and spoke of him.

852
00:41:02,375 --> 00:41:08,250
And our great king got off his
throne and he humbled himself

853
00:41:08,333 --> 00:41:11,000
and he took upon
himself human flesh.

854
00:41:11,083 --> 00:41:13,583
And he entered into human
history, not on a throne

855
00:41:13,667 --> 00:41:19,333
but in a manger, not in glory
but in humility.

856
00:41:19,375 --> 00:41:22,500
Not in wealth, but in poverty.

857
00:41:22,583 --> 00:41:26,000
Not to be worshiped,
but to be murdered.

858
00:41:26,042 --> 00:41:29,083
And when he came, people were
scandalized because this

859
00:41:29,167 --> 00:41:30,958
didn't look like a king.

860
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:35,958
They had no concept of a humble,
loving, generous, servant king.

861
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:38,167
And that's how Jesus came.

862
00:41:38,208 --> 00:41:41,792
And the kingdom of God is
wherever the king rules.

863
00:41:41,833 --> 00:41:44,500
The kingdom of God is
all about the king.

864
00:41:44,542 --> 00:41:48,250
The early Christians would
refer to this by saying simply,

865
00:41:48,333 --> 00:41:50,583
"Christ is lord."

866
00:41:50,667 --> 00:41:53,083
You see, in Rome you would
say, "Caesar is lord."

867
00:41:53,167 --> 00:41:54,917
They'd say, "No.

868
00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:56,625
"Something is bigger than Rome

869
00:41:56,667 --> 00:41:58,292
"and someone is bigger than
Caesar.

870
00:41:58,333 --> 00:42:01,542
"His name is Jesus and his
kingdom is a kingdom

871
00:42:01,625 --> 00:42:06,542
that never ends and it rules
over all nations."

872
00:42:06,625 --> 00:42:08,542
Jesus lived without sin.

873
00:42:08,625 --> 00:42:10,000
He died for our sin.

874
00:42:10,042 --> 00:42:12,833
He rose as our savior.

875
00:42:12,917 --> 00:42:15,292
He ascended back into heaven.

876
00:42:15,333 --> 00:42:17,333
He's preparing a kingdom
that will never end.

877
00:42:17,375 --> 00:42:19,667
Right now, Revelation
says repeatedly,

878
00:42:19,750 --> 00:42:22,167
he's seated on a what?

879
00:42:22,208 --> 00:42:25,292
A throne as the King of
kings and Lord of lords.

880
00:42:25,333 --> 00:42:27,208
There will be a day
that he returns,

881
00:42:27,292 --> 00:42:30,792
not in humility but in glory,
not to suffer but to put

882
00:42:30,833 --> 00:42:32,500
an end to suffering.

883
00:42:32,583 --> 00:42:33,958
We believe that.

884
00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:36,958
There will be a resurrection
of the dead and there will be

885
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:40,042
eternal life for those who
belong to him and do not.

886
00:42:40,125 --> 00:42:44,625
Some in heaven, his glorious
kingdom, others in hell,

887
00:42:44,667 --> 00:42:47,167
final justice.

888
00:42:47,208 --> 00:42:52,750
He's a king.
He's a king.

889
00:42:52,833 --> 00:42:57,083
And his question is, "What
is the kingdom of God like?"

890
00:42:57,167 --> 00:42:59,833
And the big idea from
the two parables is this:

891
00:42:59,875 --> 00:43:03,000
it starts small
and it grows big.

892
00:43:03,083 --> 00:43:06,042
That's the big idea.

893
00:43:06,125 --> 00:43:07,542
This is Jesus' life.

894
00:43:07,625 --> 00:43:12,500
He started off small, humble,
simple, his life on the earth.

895
00:43:12,583 --> 00:43:20,167
A small town, a virgin
teenage mother, a country boy.

896
00:43:20,250 --> 00:43:23,500
And now he's worshiped by a few
billion people on the earth

897
00:43:23,542 --> 00:43:25,833
as Lord, God, and Savior.

898
00:43:25,917 --> 00:43:27,833
That's how Christianity started.

899
00:43:27,875 --> 00:43:31,167
In Acts, it's
120 people in a room.

900
00:43:31,250 --> 00:43:34,125
It starts small
and it grows big.

901
00:43:34,167 --> 00:43:36,833
This is how our
spiritual life works.

902
00:43:36,917 --> 00:43:39,167
You turn from sin,
trust in Jesus.

903
00:43:39,250 --> 00:43:47,333
It starts small and your faith
and your fruit grows big.

904
00:43:47,417 --> 00:43:49,542
And they missed
this with Jesus.

905
00:43:49,625 --> 00:43:52,500
They looked at him and
said, "If you were God,

906
00:43:52,583 --> 00:43:56,125
if you were Christ, if you
were king, we'd expect more."

907
00:43:56,167 --> 00:44:01,000
And the answer is, "Wait.
Haven't gotten to Jerusalem yet.

908
00:44:01,042 --> 00:44:03,417
"Haven't been crucified,
haven't risen from death.

909
00:44:03,500 --> 00:44:05,250
"Haven't poured out the Spirit.

910
00:44:05,333 --> 00:44:10,167
We're not yet done."

911
00:44:10,250 --> 00:44:15,167
This is the month that
15 years ago Mars Hill Church

912
00:44:15,250 --> 00:44:19,250
had its initial meeting
as a core group.

913
00:44:19,333 --> 00:44:22,208
Initially, Mars Hill fit on
two couches at my house

914
00:44:22,292 --> 00:44:23,667
and a few chairs.

915
00:44:23,708 --> 00:44:25,167
That was Mars Hill.

916
00:44:25,250 --> 00:44:29,625
There were weeks we could have
had church in a Suburban, okay?

917
00:44:29,667 --> 00:44:32,000
And everybody could have
had a buckle, all right.

918
00:44:32,042 --> 00:44:33,917
It was not a big deal.

919
00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:37,833
And if you were to look at that,
you would say, "That's so small.

920
00:44:37,917 --> 00:44:40,333
"They're all unemployed,
chain-smoking indie rockers

921
00:44:40,417 --> 00:44:42,333
"committed to anarchy.

922
00:44:42,375 --> 00:44:47,625
Perhaps the band will be good
but this won't go anywhere."

923
00:44:47,667 --> 00:44:50,417
Give it some time.

924
00:44:50,500 --> 00:44:55,167
And it goes, by the grace
of God, from 10 to 10,000.

925
00:44:55,250 --> 00:44:57,917
This is how the kingdom
of God works.

926
00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:02,292
God likes to start
small and go big.

927
00:45:02,333 --> 00:45:05,792
He likes to start
small and go big.

928
00:45:05,833 --> 00:45:07,625
This is why we do
community groups.

929
00:45:07,667 --> 00:45:11,125
You say, "What good is it going
to be to send a few people

930
00:45:11,167 --> 00:45:13,792
out to a condo, a dorm,
a home, or an apartment?"

931
00:45:13,833 --> 00:45:16,292
Well, they belong to the king,
they represent the kingdom,

932
00:45:16,333 --> 00:45:18,125
give it some time.

933
00:45:18,167 --> 00:45:20,667
See if that seed doesn't
grow up into a tree,

934
00:45:20,750 --> 00:45:23,500
become a group of people who
outgrow that place that they're

935
00:45:23,583 --> 00:45:25,833
meeting, start other groups,
those groups start other groups.

936
00:45:25,917 --> 00:45:28,167
Next thing you know, we
got hundreds of people.

937
00:45:28,250 --> 00:45:29,750
We call that a core group.

938
00:45:29,833 --> 00:45:32,083
We launch a new campus
or a new church.

939
00:45:32,167 --> 00:45:35,167
Jesus uses the language
of branches and nests.

940
00:45:35,208 --> 00:45:37,583
See, for us campuses
are branches,

941
00:45:37,667 --> 00:45:41,375
community groups are nests.

942
00:45:41,458 --> 00:45:44,500
You never know what God's going
to do, so don't despise simple,

943
00:45:44,583 --> 00:45:46,542
humble beginnings.

944
00:45:46,625 --> 00:45:49,792
That's how the
kingdom of God works.

945
00:45:49,833 --> 00:45:52,333
And this pastor's
looking at Jesus saying,

946
00:45:52,375 --> 00:45:54,000
"I'm not impressed."

947
00:45:54,042 --> 00:45:55,375
Really?

948
00:45:55,458 --> 00:45:59,375
Well, you've missed it and wait
until he rises from death.

949
00:45:59,458 --> 00:46:02,583
Wait until he returns in glory.

950
00:46:02,667 --> 00:46:06,000
It's a good time to
listen, not to argue.

951
00:46:06,042 --> 00:46:11,167
Now let me say this: the way you
become religious is

952
00:46:11,208 --> 00:46:14,083
when you're about
your small-k kingdom

953
00:46:14,167 --> 00:46:18,333
instead of God's
capital-K Kingdom.

954
00:46:18,417 --> 00:46:22,792
That's why Jesus brings it back
to a theology of the kingdom.

955
00:46:22,833 --> 00:46:26,083
He looks and says, "Here's
how you get in trouble

956
00:46:26,167 --> 00:46:28,375
"and become religious.

957
00:46:28,458 --> 00:46:30,625
"Your kingdom, not mine.

958
00:46:30,667 --> 00:46:32,458
"Your name, not mine.

959
00:46:32,500 --> 00:46:34,042
"Your fame, not mine.

960
00:46:34,125 --> 00:46:37,667
Your glory, not mine."

961
00:46:37,750 --> 00:46:43,583
It's not about us,
it's all about Jesus.

962
00:46:43,667 --> 00:46:46,875
And what happens for those who
are into their own kingdom,

963
00:46:46,958 --> 00:46:50,208
they replace
cause--they replace,

964
00:46:50,292 --> 00:46:52,083
rather--let me say it this way.

965
00:46:52,167 --> 00:46:55,333
They replace Christ with cause.

966
00:46:55,417 --> 00:46:57,375
Okay, for
the religious people here,

967
00:46:57,458 --> 00:47:00,292
they were into their
kingdom, not Jesus' kingdom.

968
00:47:00,333 --> 00:47:03,000
They were into their
cause, not Christ.

969
00:47:03,042 --> 00:47:08,500
That's the problem.

970
00:47:08,542 --> 00:47:11,833
What's your cause?

971
00:47:11,875 --> 00:47:14,250
What's your thing?

972
00:47:14,333 --> 00:47:17,250
Some of you are
single-issue voters.

973
00:47:17,333 --> 00:47:21,250
You really only care
deeply about one thing.

974
00:47:21,333 --> 00:47:26,667
Some of you have causes that are
more Christian in orientation.

975
00:47:26,750 --> 00:47:29,750
Children, midwives,
homeschooling,

976
00:47:29,833 --> 00:47:33,417
Christian schooling, public
schooling, school choice,

977
00:47:33,500 --> 00:47:36,833
conservative politics, pro-life.

978
00:47:36,875 --> 00:47:38,500
Certain kind of student
ministry, youth ministry,

979
00:47:38,583 --> 00:47:39,917
family ministry.

980
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:41,458
Certain kind of musical style.

981
00:47:41,500 --> 00:47:43,083
Certain theological system.

982
00:47:43,167 --> 00:47:46,792
Certain author.

983
00:47:46,833 --> 00:47:51,750
What's your cause?
What's your cause?

984
00:47:51,833 --> 00:47:53,958
What's your cause?

985
00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:56,875
Others of you, your cause is
not necessarily Christian.

986
00:47:56,958 --> 00:47:59,833
And you could be
religious and an atheist,

987
00:47:59,875 --> 00:48:03,833
but you can have a religious
devotion and zeal for a cause.

988
00:48:03,917 --> 00:48:10,000
Recycling, small carbon
footprint, biking to work,

989
00:48:10,083 --> 00:48:13,583
feeding hungry people, giving
clean water to those

990
00:48:13,667 --> 00:48:17,917
who are poor and sick
and needy and diseased.

991
00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:20,417
Health-care for those
who are in need,

992
00:48:20,500 --> 00:48:23,125
affordable housing for
those who are poor,

993
00:48:23,167 --> 00:48:26,333
liberation for those who
are in the sex trade.

994
00:48:26,417 --> 00:48:28,958
See, everyone's religious.

995
00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:31,500
Martin Luther's right,
religion is the default mode

996
00:48:31,542 --> 00:48:33,000
of the human heart.

997
00:48:33,042 --> 00:48:34,875
Some of you have more
Christian causes.

998
00:48:34,958 --> 00:48:38,250
Others of you have just moral
causes, but we all have causes.

999
00:48:38,333 --> 00:48:40,833
And some of you would say,
"Don't attack my cause.

1000
00:48:40,917 --> 00:48:42,250
I have a good cause."

1001
00:48:42,333 --> 00:48:44,500
And I would say,
"You probably do.

1002
00:48:44,583 --> 00:48:47,625
But what about Christ?"

1003
00:48:47,667 --> 00:48:49,208
What about Christ?

1004
00:48:49,292 --> 00:48:53,000
For this religious pastor and
religious people in general,

1005
00:48:53,083 --> 00:48:54,583
their cause is tradition.

1006
00:48:54,667 --> 00:48:56,208
Their cause is rules.

1007
00:48:56,292 --> 00:48:57,667
Their cause is law.

1008
00:48:57,708 --> 00:48:59,167
Their cause is morality.

1009
00:48:59,208 --> 00:49:01,500
Their cause is our culture.

1010
00:49:01,583 --> 00:49:03,625
Their cause is our way of life.

1011
00:49:03,667 --> 00:49:08,292
Their cause is we're
honoring the past.

1012
00:49:08,333 --> 00:49:11,333
And Christ comes along and says,
"I don't think that's the most

1013
00:49:11,417 --> 00:49:12,792
important thing."

1014
00:49:12,833 --> 00:49:17,542
And they say then, "You must
die because our cause is more

1015
00:49:17,625 --> 00:49:20,167
"important than our Christ,
because our kingdom is more

1016
00:49:20,250 --> 00:49:24,833
important than his kingdom."

1017
00:49:24,917 --> 00:49:30,083
And what happens in churches is
that they become cause oriented,

1018
00:49:30,167 --> 00:49:33,708
not Christ oriented.

1019
00:49:33,792 --> 00:49:36,500
Many of you are young,
zealous, all right?

1020
00:49:36,583 --> 00:49:38,625
Seattle, Albuquerque,
we're moving into Portland

1021
00:49:38,667 --> 00:49:40,708
and Orange County,
by God's grace.

1022
00:49:40,792 --> 00:49:44,042
Filled with self-righteous,
religiously devoted,

1023
00:49:44,125 --> 00:49:47,750
even if not religiously
committed, cause-oriented,

1024
00:49:47,833 --> 00:49:50,833
activistic, motivated
young people.

1025
00:49:50,875 --> 00:49:53,583
But what about Jesus?

1026
00:49:53,667 --> 00:49:55,625
And churches will
prey on this and say,

1027
00:49:55,667 --> 00:49:58,292
"Well, now we're into this
cause and it's a good cause!"

1028
00:49:58,333 --> 00:50:00,833
And everybody gets fired up.
And then the cause wanes.

1029
00:50:00,917 --> 00:50:02,208
Then they get another cause.

1030
00:50:02,292 --> 00:50:03,958
And then that cause
kind of wanes.

1031
00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:06,958
And then they get another cause
and that cause kind of wanes.

1032
00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:08,333
We're about Christ.

1033
00:50:08,417 --> 00:50:10,333
We need to remain
continually about Christ.

1034
00:50:10,417 --> 00:50:13,750
And some of you would walk in
and look at Mars Hill and say,

1035
00:50:13,833 --> 00:50:15,167
"There's a lot of people.

1036
00:50:15,208 --> 00:50:17,167
This is a good
opportunity for my cause."

1037
00:50:17,208 --> 00:50:19,333
Put your cause down.
We have one cause: Christ.

1038
00:50:19,417 --> 00:50:21,167
Christ is our cause.

1039
00:50:21,208 --> 00:50:23,083
And if Christ is
continually our cause

1040
00:50:23,167 --> 00:50:25,208
we'll get lots of other causes.

1041
00:50:25,292 --> 00:50:27,292
You'll go out
and feed hungry people.

1042
00:50:27,333 --> 00:50:28,667
You know why?

1043
00:50:28,750 --> 00:50:31,875
Jesus was poor and Jesus
cares about the poor.

1044
00:50:31,958 --> 00:50:34,833
But you'll do it for
Christ, not your cause.

1045
00:50:34,875 --> 00:50:38,292
You'll do it for his
kingdom, not your own.

1046
00:50:38,333 --> 00:50:41,125
You'll take care of those
who are abused and oppressed,

1047
00:50:41,167 --> 00:50:44,792
those who have been violated
and raped and destroyed.

1048
00:50:44,833 --> 00:50:46,167
Why?

1049
00:50:46,250 --> 00:50:48,167
Because that's your cause
and it's your kingdom?

1050
00:50:48,250 --> 00:50:50,500
No, because your Christ cares.

1051
00:50:50,583 --> 00:50:54,292
Your Christ suffered, your
Christ comes to set captives

1052
00:50:54,333 --> 00:50:58,417
free and to really help them
takes more than a cause.

1053
00:50:58,500 --> 00:51:00,833
It takes the cause of Christ.

1054
00:51:00,917 --> 00:51:03,417
Churches and Christians
who remain Christ centered,

1055
00:51:03,500 --> 00:51:05,583
they're the most
active, fruitful,

1056
00:51:05,667 --> 00:51:08,250
cause-oriented people
and when everyone asks,

1057
00:51:08,333 --> 00:51:09,667
"Why are you doing this?"

1058
00:51:09,750 --> 00:51:11,167
the answer is always the same.

1059
00:51:11,208 --> 00:51:13,500
"You need to get
to know my king.

1060
00:51:13,583 --> 00:51:15,583
"You need to get to
see his kingdom.

1061
00:51:15,667 --> 00:51:17,417
"His name is Christ.

1062
00:51:17,500 --> 00:51:25,333
He loves you and he sent me here
to embrace you on his behalf."

1063
00:51:25,375 --> 00:51:30,083
Now, in saying this, how
do the people respond?

1064
00:51:30,167 --> 00:51:32,500
We can't leave
this all religious.

1065
00:51:32,542 --> 00:51:34,417
How do the people respond?

1066
00:51:34,500 --> 00:51:37,500
Rejoicing!
They're really excited!

1067
00:51:37,583 --> 00:51:40,792
They're not like us!

1068
00:51:40,833 --> 00:51:43,542
Right?
They're not like us.

1069
00:51:43,625 --> 00:51:46,750
There can be a religious spirit
that comes into Mars Hill

1070
00:51:46,833 --> 00:51:48,667
to where it's like,
"Where's my sin?

1071
00:51:48,750 --> 00:51:51,792
I'm so horrible.
I'm so terrible."

1072
00:51:51,833 --> 00:51:55,000
True!

1073
00:51:55,042 --> 00:51:58,792
But you got to deal with your
sin and you got to deal with

1074
00:51:58,833 --> 00:52:01,667
your depravity and you got
to deal with your faults

1075
00:52:01,750 --> 00:52:04,167
and failures and flaws, but
if you just stop there,

1076
00:52:04,250 --> 00:52:07,167
even taking that critical
religious gaze that you would

1077
00:52:07,250 --> 00:52:09,917
point toward others and even
if you point it to yourself,

1078
00:52:10,000 --> 00:52:13,625
you still won't end
up in rejoicing.

1079
00:52:13,667 --> 00:52:16,875
So you got to turn your gaze
out and say, "You know what?

1080
00:52:16,958 --> 00:52:19,458
"Jesus comes to embrace me.

1081
00:52:19,500 --> 00:52:21,125
Jesus comes to approach me."

1082
00:52:21,167 --> 00:52:22,583
This is what we believe.

1083
00:52:22,667 --> 00:52:25,333
God pursues us.
God initiates with us.

1084
00:52:25,375 --> 00:52:28,333
God loves us.
God comes for us.

1085
00:52:28,417 --> 00:52:31,583
God puts his hands on us.
God speaks to us.

1086
00:52:31,667 --> 00:52:35,250
God touches us.
We believe that.

1087
00:52:35,333 --> 00:52:37,667
You remember Jesus,
"Oh, I've got a king

1088
00:52:37,708 --> 00:52:40,458
"and I'm a citizen of a kingdom!

1089
00:52:40,500 --> 00:52:41,833
"My king loves me!

1090
00:52:41,917 --> 00:52:44,333
"My king will never
leave me nor forsake me!

1091
00:52:44,375 --> 00:52:46,708
"My king only does good for me.

1092
00:52:46,792 --> 00:52:50,875
My king is the King of kings."

1093
00:52:50,958 --> 00:52:53,667
It leads to rejoicing.

1094
00:52:53,750 --> 00:52:56,083
What's happened
in the history of Mars Hill,

1095
00:52:56,167 --> 00:52:58,500
our services are a little more
like funerals

1096
00:52:58,583 --> 00:53:01,792
than weddings, amen?

1097
00:53:01,833 --> 00:53:05,792
It's Good Friday
every day at Mars Hill.

1098
00:53:05,833 --> 00:53:08,417
And there are some Sunday's
where the text requires

1099
00:53:08,500 --> 00:53:10,875
it's got to feel
like a funeral, right?

1100
00:53:10,958 --> 00:53:13,875
Just sin and judgment
and conviction.

1101
00:53:13,958 --> 00:53:18,417
But if it's only,
always funerals

1102
00:53:18,500 --> 00:53:20,542
we have--we've lost sight

1103
00:53:20,625 --> 00:53:23,000
of the King and his kingdom.

1104
00:53:23,042 --> 00:53:26,083
And so there is rejoicing here
and celebrating and it feels

1105
00:53:26,167 --> 00:53:28,500
more like a wedding!

1106
00:53:28,583 --> 00:53:31,042
And here's what's fantastic,
and some of you would come

1107
00:53:31,125 --> 00:53:33,500
and you'd say, "But why
should I sing?

1108
00:53:33,542 --> 00:53:38,542
"Jesus did not hug me this week.
I don't feel hugged.

1109
00:53:38,625 --> 00:53:42,333
My life is still not fixed.
Where's my miracle?"

1110
00:53:42,417 --> 00:53:45,417
And I would say this:
the people who are rejoicing,

1111
00:53:45,500 --> 00:53:47,833
they didn't get healed.

1112
00:53:47,875 --> 00:53:50,917
But someone they love
did and that was

1113
00:53:51,000 --> 00:53:52,917
the source of their joy.

1114
00:53:53,000 --> 00:53:54,333
I'm a dad.

1115
00:53:54,375 --> 00:53:56,833
You know what makes me
happier than God blessing me?

1116
00:53:56,875 --> 00:53:58,625
God blessing my kids.

1117
00:53:58,667 --> 00:54:00,750
Way happier.

1118
00:54:00,833 --> 00:54:04,208
I don't mind getting
blessed, I'm not saying that.

1119
00:54:04,292 --> 00:54:07,500
I love my wife Gracie
with all my heart.

1120
00:54:07,542 --> 00:54:12,583
What matters to me is to see her
be blessed because I find my joy

1121
00:54:12,667 --> 00:54:14,667
in her blessing.

1122
00:54:14,750 --> 00:54:16,333
You know what, Mars Hill?

1123
00:54:16,417 --> 00:54:19,375
We're a family.
We're a family.

1124
00:54:19,458 --> 00:54:22,333
We need to rejoice with those
who rejoice and weep with those

1125
00:54:22,375 --> 00:54:24,875
who weep, but rejoice
with those who rejoice.

1126
00:54:24,958 --> 00:54:27,167
Which means sometimes we
come together, it's not,

1127
00:54:27,208 --> 00:54:29,542
"I can't really sing and
raise my hands today

1128
00:54:29,625 --> 00:54:33,042
"because I didn't get
my miracle.

1129
00:54:33,125 --> 00:54:35,625
"Oh, my brother
did, my sister did.

1130
00:54:35,667 --> 00:54:37,000
"Yes!

1131
00:54:37,083 --> 00:54:39,000
"That is exciting,
praise be to God,

1132
00:54:39,042 --> 00:54:42,000
"and I'll rejoice because of
God's grace in their life

1133
00:54:42,042 --> 00:54:45,583
"without standing back being
critical of how he showed up

1134
00:54:45,667 --> 00:54:48,625
or that he's not yet
showed up for me."

1135
00:54:48,667 --> 00:54:50,333
So here's what
we're going to do.

1136
00:54:50,375 --> 00:54:52,167
We're going to sing.

1137
00:54:52,250 --> 00:54:55,625
We're going to have some fun
whether you like it or not.

1138
00:54:55,667 --> 00:54:58,875
We're going to raise our hands.
We're going to raise our voices.

1139
00:54:58,958 --> 00:55:02,375
We're going to celebrate the
goodness of God and Christ.

1140
00:55:02,458 --> 00:55:05,125
We'll do that in Communion,
remembering his broken body

1141
00:55:05,167 --> 00:55:06,583
and shed blood.

1142
00:55:06,667 --> 00:55:08,250
And we'll do that in song.

1143
00:55:08,333 --> 00:55:10,375
But let me say this.

1144
00:55:10,458 --> 00:55:12,875
Some of you are
going to help us.

1145
00:55:12,958 --> 00:55:15,083
God has showed up in your life
recently

1146
00:55:15,167 --> 00:55:17,625
and something cool's happened.

1147
00:55:17,667 --> 00:55:19,333
Something great has happened.

1148
00:55:19,417 --> 00:55:22,250
Something interesting,
curious, grace-filled,

1149
00:55:22,333 --> 00:55:26,083
God has dropped a grace
bomb in your life.

1150
00:55:26,167 --> 00:55:28,708
Something fantastic,
but what we want you to do,

1151
00:55:28,792 --> 00:55:32,167
come to the front row,
there'll be some pastors here,

1152
00:55:32,208 --> 00:55:36,375
as we're taking Communion and
singing, and tell us your story.

1153
00:55:36,458 --> 00:55:39,625
If we think it's meritorious,
we'll bring you up,

1154
00:55:39,667 --> 00:55:43,000
briefly interview you,
let you tell what God did,

1155
00:55:43,042 --> 00:55:46,833
and then we can all rejoice
just like they rejoiced.

1156
00:55:46,917 --> 00:55:50,083
We can cheer
and celebrate with you.

1157
00:55:50,167 --> 00:55:53,042
I'll give you one
story from today.

1158
00:55:53,125 --> 00:55:55,333
A woman who was repeatedly
sexually assaulted,

1159
00:55:55,417 --> 00:55:59,042
raped, and abused, since
she was a little girl,

1160
00:55:59,125 --> 00:56:02,083
her body was so destroyed that
they told her she could

1161
00:56:02,167 --> 00:56:03,833
never have children.

1162
00:56:03,917 --> 00:56:09,000
She married a man who loves
Jesus and they're at Mars Hill.

1163
00:56:09,042 --> 00:56:12,583
They tried and tried
and tried to have a child.

1164
00:56:12,667 --> 00:56:17,000
Seven painful miscarriages.

1165
00:56:17,042 --> 00:56:21,292
And today they came up front
and introduced us to the cutest,

1166
00:56:21,333 --> 00:56:24,208
chubbiest little girl with
a flower on her head

1167
00:56:24,292 --> 00:56:27,917
that I've ever seen
in my whole life.

1168
00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:30,542
And I'm going to
be happy all month.

1169
00:56:30,625 --> 00:56:36,333
[applauding]

1170
00:56:36,417 --> 00:56:40,458
So if you've got good news,
let us know and we'd love

1171
00:56:40,500 --> 00:56:42,375
to share it
in between the songs.

1172
00:56:42,458 --> 00:56:45,500
Father God, I thank you.

1173
00:56:45,583 --> 00:56:47,708
I thank you for sending Jesus.

1174
00:56:47,792 --> 00:56:51,583
Jesus, I thank you for
coming, living, dying, rising.

1175
00:56:51,667 --> 00:56:56,667
Holy Spirit, we thank you for
filling us, that we might live

1176
00:56:56,750 --> 00:56:58,958
by the Spirit, not by the rules.

1177
00:56:59,000 --> 00:57:03,542
We may live by the Spirit,
not the traditions of men.

1178
00:57:03,625 --> 00:57:06,833
Father, for those who
identify with the woman,

1179
00:57:06,917 --> 00:57:10,458
right now we ask, would you send
the Holy Spirit to be the hands

1180
00:57:10,500 --> 00:57:14,292
of Jesus, to embrace
and comfort them.

1181
00:57:14,333 --> 00:57:18,917
Lord God, for those who are
like the religious critic,

1182
00:57:19,000 --> 00:57:24,625
those who are like me,
and that's our proclivity,

1183
00:57:24,667 --> 00:57:28,667
please show us that in rebuking
us Jesus is loving us and

1184
00:57:28,708 --> 00:57:32,167
inviting us to learn from him
rather than argue with him

1185
00:57:32,208 --> 00:57:36,833
and to be like him, to be Christ
centered and kingdom oriented,

1186
00:57:36,917 --> 00:57:40,583
not cause centered
for our own kingdom.

1187
00:57:40,667 --> 00:57:45,125
And may we all respond like the
congregation of onlookers did,

1188
00:57:45,167 --> 00:57:50,250
really glad and filled with joy
that Jesus is our king, amen.