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[music]

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All right, Mars Hill.

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Really fantastic,
wonderful announcement.

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I've actually been waiting
years to make this one.

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The latest two books from Re:Lit
are out and they're by pastors

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at the Mars Hill Ballard campus.

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The Bible says that Jesus
is our chief shepherd

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and that under Jesus are church
leaders who are undershepherds

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and that the church collectively
is like a flock

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and the Christians individually
are like sheep

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and that always looming
nearby are wolves.

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And so it's the job of
the shepherd to love the sheep

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and protect the sheep,
to feed the sheep

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and those that are hurting,
to provide help for them.

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We call that
biblical counseling,

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particularly for those
who have been abused

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and those who are addicted.

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This started actually
a few years ago,

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where we were trying to have
a comprehensive plan

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for biblical counseling,
to help hurting people.

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And so Pastor Mike Wilkerson
started working

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on the redemption curriculum
that we now use

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for our redemption books.

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And his book actually
officially releases today.

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There you are, Pastor Mike.

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Congratulations.

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[applauding]

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So I'm gonna go ahead
and have you take a moment,

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explain the big idea
of the book,

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what you're hoping
to accomplish,

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and what your vision is for it.

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Sure, well, the book is
called "Redemption"

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because it's about,
well the subtitle,

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"Freed by Jesus
from the Idols We Worship

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and the Wounds We Carry."

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And as we were looking at how do
we help all the people who are

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hurting both from the wounds
of abuse and all kinds of other

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suffering here at Mars Hill,
also people who are enslaved

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to habitual sin, addiction,
this idea of slavery that both

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of those groups of people
could say,

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"Yeah, it feels like slavery."

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And what we want them to know
is that Jesus provides freedom,

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all kinds of sin,
all kinds of suffering.

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In fact, one redemption group
participant who read

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an early copy of this,
he opened it up and found--

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this is about the Exodus.

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This is
about the Bible's backstory

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for redemption in Jesus.

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He said, "I open that up, I
saw this is about slavery.

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It was exactly where I was at."

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This is a guy who has those
wounds from past abuse

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and had been enslaved in
habitual sin, who's saying,

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"That's exactly where I'm at."

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And we want to help people who
are enslaved in all kinds

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of situations to know
true freedom in Christ.

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And so that's what
the book is about.

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It's a journey through the
Exodus, freedom from slavery.

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It's interwoven with stories
from a lot of people who've been

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in the groups and even
some leaders of our groups.

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And our vision is to equip
lots and lots of people

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with the gospel in their own
lives, but also leaders

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that will help others
in community at Mars Hill,

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throughout our community,
and also at churches

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around the world.

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Seriously, buddy,
fantastic work.

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Thank you.

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Very, very glad
to finally have this.

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And with that, like
two barrels in a gun,

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we're releasing a second
book at the same time.

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This is Pastor Justin Holcomb.
You guys could step forward.

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They all want to see
the baby if at all possible.

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She's cute.
It's just bright, yeah.

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And this is his wife, Lindsey.

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They're both leaders here at the
church and they have as well

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a book that's releasing this
week, "Rid of My Disgrace,"

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and it is a hope, help,
and healing for those

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who have been
sexually assaulted.

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And so Justin's
got a PhD in what?

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Theology
and comparative religion.

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Theology
and comparative religion.

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A couple master's degrees.

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He was a professor of sociology
at the University of Virginia.

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We're glad to have him
running The Resurgence.

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And he's got the background
on the clinical side

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and then Lindsey has the history
on the caseworker's side,

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having been a caseworker
and case manager

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for a rape crisis clinic.

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And so why don't you tell
a little bit about your book

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and then we'll hear
from Lindsey as well?

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The purpose for the book is

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it's written to victims
of sexual assault.

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It's not about them,
but to them.

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'Cause there's too many books
that kind of go big picture

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and just kind of talk
about the issue.

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And we realized, we need
to connect the dots between

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what Jesus and who he is and
what he did on the cross,

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and the grace that
comes from that,

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to the disgrace of sexual
assault and the horror that

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people experience from the sense
of denial and shame and guilt

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and anger and despair.

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What does Jesus' life, death,
and resurrection mean for

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someone who experienced that?

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And so it was a--the book
came out of me

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as a seminary professor
dating Lindsey

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when we first started dating,
that she started just handing me

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all of her books on this issue
and telling me stories.

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And so we just started
together thinking through this.

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And so it's a--we're
thrilled to have this.

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This has been 2 years or
so from when we first met,

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talking about this book.

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And it clicks in really nicely.

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I mean, we wrote these books
together because redemption is

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the overarching kind
of framework for Jesus

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and what it means for hope
and healing.

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And then this is the book that
clicks in under that framework

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and for that specific issue
of sexual assault for victims,

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but also those who
are supporting them.

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We wanted the people who have
their spouse, their children,

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who they know victims to
overhear how we are applying

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the gospel to their situation,

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and hopefully learn how to care
for them in a biblical,

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practical, and helpful way.

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And how many people have this
as a real issue in their life,

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men and women, sexual assault?

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The numbers are one in four
women and one in six men will be

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or have been victims of sexual
assault in their lifetime.

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And the younger the audience,
the higher the percentages?

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Yeah, the horrible numbers
are that between 12 and 19 is

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the sweet spot of horror,
is that that's where

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a lot of the victims are;
16- to 19-year-old women

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are the highest numbers
of victims.

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So give me the
percentages for all women.

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Twenty-five percent.

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So if we have got
on a really good Sunday,

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let's say Easter we hit,
by God's grace, 16,000.

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Let's say half of those
are female, 8,000.

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Twenty-five percent of those
would still be a megachurch,

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two thousand people just
female sexual assault victims.

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Yes.

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At Mars Hill Church.
Still a megachurch.

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Yes.
And you can do the same thing.

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I mean, if it's one in six men,
it's almost the same for men.

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And frequently what happens is
people think,

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"Women's issue."

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But if there's
one out of six men or--

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That's men who
will report it.

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Yeah, 'cause out of
the shame that--I mean,

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no--almost no men report out
of the shame of thinking,

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"What about my sexuality?
What does this mean for me?

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"Who's gonna believe me?

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Like they'll probably
think I liked it."

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And so there's so many different
reasons why a man

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would never report
what happened to him.

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Well, it's been
a huge issue at Mars Hill,

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so we're really thankful
for your guys' work

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and we'll hear
from Lindsey last.

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And I know a lot of the content
of the book and the framework

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of the book came from your own
practical ministry experience.

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So maybe give us
the backstory on that.

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Sure, well,
a couple of things I did

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at the sexual assault
crisis center

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is I led a Bible study
at a prison,

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a maximum security prison.

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And those women are the ones
that taught me so much

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of the information
that's in the book.

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A lot of the issues we cover of
denial and anger are things

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that we thought we needed
to really focus on.

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So a lot of their
stories and experiences,

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we worked off of to be able
to address in the book.

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So they were
instrumental in helping

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to write this book for sure.

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What was it like writing
a book with your husband?

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It was hard.

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It was wonderful
and hard at the same time.

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'Cause it seems like you
might have been pregnant

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at the time as well.

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I was--this one
was in the belly,

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so I was very tired
and sick all the time.

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But it was fun to be able to
work off each other's strengths

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and weaknesses and figure
out how to write the book,

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how to actually format a chapter
and get the words flowing.

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But once we got the flow,
it was actually fun.

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And what do you hope to have
happen as a result of the book?

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What are you praying for?

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I just hope it gets into the
hands of everyone that needs it.

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Those that are hurting,
that are victims,

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and then those that can
hopefully come alongside

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the victims and be a voice of
hope and say the right things,

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and that's stuff
we address in the book,

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what to say and what
not to say, for sure.

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Well, we love you guys.

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We're very, very thankful
for all of your work.

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And I'm gonna ask you, Lindsey,
could you just close us

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in prayer, prayer for Mike's
book, prayer for your book,

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prayer for the ministry
that you guys have together,

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a lot of the counselors that
we're training here at Mars Hill

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and around the world, and the
victims who need the help.

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Jesus, we just thank
you for these books

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that have just finally arrived.

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And we just pray for the people
that are gonna receive them.

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I just pray that victims will
receive this book on their own

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or that friends and family will
give them to them and that they

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will read these words and
that these words will be hope,

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that they would be words
of hope and healing,

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that they will see that Jesus is
the only hope for the abuse

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and the addiction and just the
hurt that is in their lives.

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And so we just ask that you
will bless the words that are

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in these books
and we just pray for those

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that are caring for victims.

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We pray for pastors and teachers
and caseworkers and counselors

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just across the nation
and internationally,

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that they will
just be encouraged,

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that you will protect them from
doubt and anxiety and just lies,

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that you will just fill them
with hope that Jesus is

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our only hope for healing.

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And so I thank you for the
opportunity to be able to write

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this book and I just pray
that you will just bless

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just everybody that reads it.

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In Jesus' name, amen.

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Amen. Love you guys.
Thank you guys.

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All right.

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[applauding]

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And now the bad part.

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Luke 14:1-6, more
religious people.

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And this week you're gonna see
Jesus heals on the Sabbath.

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And what happens is Jesus
helps those who are hurting

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and religious people
criticize his compassion.

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It's unbelievable.

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It keeps happening.

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And for those
of you who are new,

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find Luke 14 in
your Bible or on your app.

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But here's where
we find ourselves.

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We're taking about 2 years to
go through the Gospel of Luke.

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We love the Bible,
the Bible's all about Jesus.

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Luke is 1 of the 66 books
of the Bible

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and it's a historical biography
of Jesus Christ,

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where he went, what he taught,

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what he did, how people
responded to him.

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We looked early on in the book
that it was funded

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by a wealthy benefactor
named Theophilus.

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Luke is a medical doctor
and historian who,

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because of a generous
financial gift,

244
00:10:47,167 --> 00:10:49,500
is allowed to spend
a considerable amount of time

245
00:10:49,500 --> 00:10:52,167
traveling, interviewing
people, and asking them,

246
00:10:52,167 --> 00:10:54,833
"So what did Jesus teach?
What did he do for you?

247
00:10:54,875 --> 00:10:56,333
"How did he heal you?

248
00:10:56,375 --> 00:10:59,667
"What exactly transpired when he
was doing his ministry

249
00:10:59,667 --> 00:11:02,500
"here on earth before his death,
burial, resurrection,

250
00:11:02,500 --> 00:11:04,375
and ascension back into heaven?"

251
00:11:04,500 --> 00:11:06,250
He faithfully records that.

252
00:11:06,333 --> 00:11:09,375
And one thing we keep seeing
over and over and over is

253
00:11:09,500 --> 00:11:12,083
conflict between Jesus
and religious people.

254
00:11:12,167 --> 00:11:16,667
It happens over and over
and over in Luke's gospel.

255
00:11:16,708 --> 00:11:20,333
And I believe there is a reason
why Luke keeps emphasizing this.

256
00:11:20,333 --> 00:11:22,667
Number one, the default
mode of the human heart,

257
00:11:22,667 --> 00:11:24,167
as Martin Luther
said, is religion.

258
00:11:24,208 --> 00:11:26,875
We're all prone
to go toward religion.

259
00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,542
And in varying ways, at varying
times, to varying degrees,

260
00:11:29,667 --> 00:11:31,375
we're all religious.

261
00:11:31,500 --> 00:11:33,542
And so when we read
about religious people,

262
00:11:33,667 --> 00:11:35,500
we can't simply criticize them.

263
00:11:35,542 --> 00:11:37,583
We also need
to examine ourselves.

264
00:11:37,667 --> 00:11:40,750
Secondly, in a day when people
don't have deep convictions,

265
00:11:40,833 --> 00:11:45,250
deep passions, deep commitments,
it is intriguing and compelling

266
00:11:45,333 --> 00:11:48,000
to meet people who will die
for their cause,

267
00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:50,167
who give their finances
to their cause,

268
00:11:50,250 --> 00:11:52,708
who are willing
to take a stand publicly,

269
00:11:52,833 --> 00:11:55,500
who are willing
to get into a fight,

270
00:11:55,542 --> 00:11:57,917
who've memorized a few verses
of the Bible

271
00:11:58,000 --> 00:11:59,667
and seem very convinced.

272
00:11:59,708 --> 00:12:03,000
Those people
can be very compelling.

273
00:12:03,042 --> 00:12:07,333
But we see that they're
committed to the wrong cause.

274
00:12:07,333 --> 00:12:10,417
Because, ultimately, they're
opposing Jesus Christ.

275
00:12:10,500 --> 00:12:14,333
And we find yet another case
study today where very devout,

276
00:12:14,375 --> 00:12:19,417
very bold, very committed, very
organized religious people

277
00:12:19,500 --> 00:12:22,833
mount an attack
on Jesus himself.

278
00:12:22,833 --> 00:12:27,500
And here it begins in Luke 14:1,
where we see that religion

279
00:12:27,500 --> 00:12:28,833
wants a fight.

280
00:12:28,917 --> 00:12:31,667
If you had to choose
one icon to defend

281
00:12:31,667 --> 00:12:35,042
religion, I think a clenched
fist would be the best one.

282
00:12:35,167 --> 00:12:39,167
They're always looking for a
fight, criticism, what's wrong,

283
00:12:39,208 --> 00:12:44,667
contentious, battle, always
ready to have conflict.

284
00:12:44,750 --> 00:12:46,500
And so, here again,

285
00:12:46,542 --> 00:12:48,667
they're going to pick a fight
with Jesus.

286
00:12:48,667 --> 00:12:51,000
We read, "One Sabbath,
when he," that is, Jesus,

287
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,167
"went to dine at the house
of a ruler of the Pharisees,

288
00:12:54,167 --> 00:12:55,542
they were watching
him carefully."

289
00:12:55,667 --> 00:12:57,000
We'll unpack this.

290
00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:00,333
Okay, here's Jesus and he gets
invited to dinner by the leader

291
00:13:00,333 --> 00:13:01,917
of a group of Pharisees.

292
00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:06,708
Now the Pharisees were very
conservative religious people.

293
00:13:06,833 --> 00:13:09,167
There's two ways
to get into great trouble.

294
00:13:09,208 --> 00:13:12,917
Number one is every issue,
just take the liberal side.

295
00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,375
Or every issue, just take
the conservative side.

296
00:13:16,500 --> 00:13:18,917
Those are the two ways
to get into trouble.

297
00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,333
This group decided,
"On every issue,

298
00:13:21,375 --> 00:13:24,250
we'll just take the most
conservative side."

299
00:13:24,333 --> 00:13:27,667
You and I need to take every
issue, go to the Bible, and say,

300
00:13:27,708 --> 00:13:29,167
"I don't want to be liberal.

301
00:13:29,208 --> 00:13:30,667
"I don't want
to be conservative.

302
00:13:30,750 --> 00:13:32,333
I want to be biblical."

303
00:13:32,375 --> 00:13:35,667
And sometimes that may mean that
we take a position that's a bit

304
00:13:35,708 --> 00:13:37,375
more liberal, sometimes
a bit more conservative.

305
00:13:37,500 --> 00:13:39,917
They just kept taking
on every issue

306
00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,500
the most conservative option.

307
00:13:42,542 --> 00:13:45,167
And ended up becoming
religious neatniks.

308
00:13:45,208 --> 00:13:47,083
They ended up becoming
rule-makers

309
00:13:47,167 --> 00:13:48,500
outside of Scripture.

310
00:13:48,583 --> 00:13:51,167
And they ended up
attacking Jesus Christ.

311
00:13:51,250 --> 00:13:56,167
The Pharisees also were not
professionals theologically.

312
00:13:56,250 --> 00:13:58,333
They were like
you, they had jobs.

313
00:13:58,375 --> 00:14:01,000
These are people who
self-organized and they had,

314
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,667
you'll meet 'em in a moment,
what they called lawyers,

315
00:14:03,750 --> 00:14:05,333
experts in
the Old Testament law.

316
00:14:05,417 --> 00:14:08,542
So I would be like a lawyer and
you'd be like the Pharisees.

317
00:14:08,667 --> 00:14:12,000
And according to Josephus, who
is a noteworthy, incredible,

318
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:16,167
ancient Jewish historian,
there weren't a lot of them.

319
00:14:16,208 --> 00:14:19,708
Maybe 6,000 Pharisees
in the New Testament era

320
00:14:19,833 --> 00:14:21,542
of the 1st century.

321
00:14:21,667 --> 00:14:24,083
And what's curious is
that's not a lot of people.

322
00:14:24,167 --> 00:14:26,333
That's less people than
we have at Mars Hill.

323
00:14:26,417 --> 00:14:30,667
But it shows you that religious
critics and neatniks who want

324
00:14:30,750 --> 00:14:33,708
to pick a fight and organize
and are devoted to their cause

325
00:14:33,833 --> 00:14:35,833
can create a whole lot
of trouble.

326
00:14:35,875 --> 00:14:37,667
That's why we keep seeing them

327
00:14:37,667 --> 00:14:39,167
throughout the storyline
of Luke.

328
00:14:39,167 --> 00:14:41,667
And they show up
in the weirdest places.

329
00:14:41,667 --> 00:14:44,167
Jesus is walking from Galilee
to Jerusalem over the course

330
00:14:44,167 --> 00:14:47,333
of many months, he's out in the
middle of nowhere in a field

331
00:14:47,375 --> 00:14:49,042
and it says
the Pharisees were there.

332
00:14:49,167 --> 00:14:51,333
Like they teleported in.

333
00:14:51,333 --> 00:14:55,000
These guys are stalkers, they're
just following him around.

334
00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:57,667
Religious people love to
keep an eye on everyone else.

335
00:14:57,667 --> 00:15:00,167
And now in the age
of the Internet and Facebook

336
00:15:00,250 --> 00:15:03,667
and Twitter and blogs,
they're worse than ever.

337
00:15:03,750 --> 00:15:05,667
Keeping an eye
on everyone and everything,

338
00:15:05,667 --> 00:15:07,708
always looking for a fight.

339
00:15:07,833 --> 00:15:09,750
It's a religious attitude.

340
00:15:09,833 --> 00:15:12,917
It's saying this as well,
there's a conflict that keeps

341
00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:16,000
happening between Jesus
and the religious leaders

342
00:15:16,042 --> 00:15:18,333
over the issue of the Sabbath.

343
00:15:18,417 --> 00:15:20,417
One of their primary
issues was the Sabbath,

344
00:15:20,500 --> 00:15:23,083
and the Sabbath is that
in 6 days, God worked,

345
00:15:23,167 --> 00:15:25,333
and on the 7th day,
a Saturday, God rested.

346
00:15:25,417 --> 00:15:28,500
So God set in motion a 7-day
week with a day of rest.

347
00:15:28,583 --> 00:15:29,917
That's the big idea.

348
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,083
Now these religious neatniks,
they added to that

349
00:15:32,167 --> 00:15:34,417
lots and lots of rules.

350
00:15:34,500 --> 00:15:36,417
And Jesus is breaking
some of their rules.

351
00:15:36,500 --> 00:15:38,917
None of the rules of the Bible,
but definitely some

352
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,333
of their traditions.

353
00:15:41,333 --> 00:15:46,000
And so they have recurring
conflict over the Sabbath.

354
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,833
And it really is--underneath
all of Jesus' conflict

355
00:15:48,875 --> 00:15:52,500
with the religious people
are two big issues.

356
00:15:52,542 --> 00:15:56,500
Number one, where
does authority reside?

357
00:15:56,542 --> 00:15:59,167
For the Pharisees,
the religious people,

358
00:15:59,208 --> 00:16:02,250
it was what they would
call Torah and tradition,

359
00:16:02,333 --> 00:16:06,167
meaning the Old Testament
and tradition.

360
00:16:06,167 --> 00:16:09,333
And they would put them
essentially side by side.

361
00:16:09,375 --> 00:16:11,500
So in addition to the Bible,
there are teachers

362
00:16:11,583 --> 00:16:13,917
and commentators and history
and traditions

363
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,208
and rules and regulations.

364
00:16:16,333 --> 00:16:19,583
And a committee got together
and guys educated beyond their

365
00:16:19,667 --> 00:16:22,833
intelligence voted and a guy
with a big hat made it look

366
00:16:22,875 --> 00:16:24,833
official and they wrote it
in a book

367
00:16:24,833 --> 00:16:27,542
and so it has to just be
that way.

368
00:16:27,667 --> 00:16:30,667
It looked very official.

369
00:16:30,667 --> 00:16:33,875
Jesus keeps arguing just
for Torah, not for tradition,

370
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:36,333
asking, "Haven't you
guys read your Bible?

371
00:16:36,333 --> 00:16:38,000
"Don't you know what
the Bible says?

372
00:16:38,083 --> 00:16:39,500
"The Bible doesn't say that.

373
00:16:39,542 --> 00:16:42,542
"You know, your teacher
does, but not the book

374
00:16:42,667 --> 00:16:45,667
that I inspired to be written."

375
00:16:45,708 --> 00:16:50,833
This is like Catholicism and
Orthodoxy within Christianity.

376
00:16:50,875 --> 00:16:53,167
They would say that,
in addition to the Bible,

377
00:16:53,167 --> 00:16:55,167
there is tradition.

378
00:16:55,208 --> 00:16:58,875
The Protestant Reformation
instead taughtsola scriptura,

379
00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,375
Scripture alone is
our highest authority.

380
00:17:02,500 --> 00:17:05,208
The Bible is over--for us--
all other authorities,

381
00:17:05,333 --> 00:17:09,042
tradition, reason, human
experiences, all beneath

382
00:17:09,167 --> 00:17:12,333
the highest authority
of Scripture.

383
00:17:12,375 --> 00:17:15,667
We don't dismiss church
history and theologians.

384
00:17:15,667 --> 00:17:17,917
In fact, we appreciate
them very much.

385
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,417
But we test everything
by Scripture and we don't lie

386
00:17:20,500 --> 00:17:25,708
alongside of the Bible anyone
whose name is not in the Bible.

387
00:17:25,833 --> 00:17:27,500
They go under the Bible.

388
00:17:27,583 --> 00:17:30,875
The second point of conflict was
not just where does authority

389
00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:35,750
reside, but number two,
what company should you keep?

390
00:17:35,833 --> 00:17:39,083
Jesus as God comes to earth
and starts hanging out

391
00:17:39,167 --> 00:17:40,583
with people who are sinners.

392
00:17:40,667 --> 00:17:43,833
And the religious
people freaked out.

393
00:17:43,917 --> 00:17:46,375
In other places, they say
he's a glutton and a drunkard

394
00:17:46,500 --> 00:17:48,542
and a friend of sinners.

395
00:17:48,667 --> 00:17:50,542
Look at the company
that he keeps!

396
00:17:50,667 --> 00:17:52,750
Because see, religious people
tend to think that sin

397
00:17:52,833 --> 00:17:54,417
is caught like a cold.

398
00:17:54,500 --> 00:17:55,833
"Oh, you're a sinner?

399
00:17:55,875 --> 00:17:58,333
"Well, I better keep
a little distance

400
00:17:58,333 --> 00:17:59,833
so I don't catch your sin."

401
00:17:59,875 --> 00:18:02,500
Sin is not caught like a cold.

402
00:18:02,583 --> 00:18:05,833
Jesus is the great physician
coming to help and to heal

403
00:18:05,875 --> 00:18:08,000
and to serve sinners.

404
00:18:08,083 --> 00:18:09,417
And they criticized him.

405
00:18:09,500 --> 00:18:12,375
"Look at Jesus, all he ever
does is hang out with sinners."

406
00:18:12,500 --> 00:18:14,375
Jesus says, "Yeah, it's
'cause I'm a doctor."

407
00:18:14,500 --> 00:18:16,875
It's like a doctor only
hangs out with sick people,

408
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:18,333
he's trying to help.

409
00:18:18,333 --> 00:18:20,833
Jesus was not a drunkard,
Jesus was not a glutton,

410
00:18:20,833 --> 00:18:23,000
but he was
and is a friend of sinners.

411
00:18:23,042 --> 00:18:26,167
He's a friend of mine and I'm
a sinner and I'm really glad

412
00:18:26,250 --> 00:18:28,000
he doesn't mind being
friends with sinners.

413
00:18:28,083 --> 00:18:30,750
And their attitude was we need
to separate from the world.

414
00:18:30,833 --> 00:18:32,500
We need to separate
from the culture.

415
00:18:32,542 --> 00:18:34,250
We need to separate
from our neighbors.

416
00:18:34,333 --> 00:18:36,000
We need to separate
from sinners.

417
00:18:36,042 --> 00:18:39,667
And Jesus had
the attitude of a missionary.

418
00:18:39,708 --> 00:18:42,667
So he's hanging out with people,
he's going to dinner at their

419
00:18:42,667 --> 00:18:45,708
house, he's befriending them,
he's opening his life to them,

420
00:18:45,833 --> 00:18:48,333
he's living
in community with them.

421
00:18:48,375 --> 00:18:51,333
So the big debate was where
does authority reside

422
00:18:51,375 --> 00:18:54,375
and what kind of company
should you keep?

423
00:18:54,500 --> 00:18:56,500
And they kept picking
a fight with Jesus,

424
00:18:56,542 --> 00:18:59,000
and of course he kept
winning the fight.

425
00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,667
But they don't give
up, they don't give in.

426
00:19:01,708 --> 00:19:06,500
And so here, on a Sabbath,
he gets invited to the home

427
00:19:06,542 --> 00:19:08,000
of a Pharisee.

428
00:19:08,083 --> 00:19:10,917
What I find amazing:
he went.

429
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:13,250
That's amazing to me.

430
00:19:13,333 --> 00:19:16,333
I would not go.

431
00:19:16,417 --> 00:19:21,000
Like if you argued with me for
13 chapters of my life and kept

432
00:19:21,042 --> 00:19:25,417
picking a fight in public and
never apologized and asked,

433
00:19:25,500 --> 00:19:27,917
"Hey, Pastor Mark, could
you come over for dinner?"

434
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:30,583
My answer would be, "No."

435
00:19:30,667 --> 00:19:33,583
Some of you are like, "That's
why he didn't return my email."

436
00:19:33,667 --> 00:19:35,167
Exactly.

437
00:19:35,208 --> 00:19:37,083
That's why.

438
00:19:37,167 --> 00:19:39,167
Right, this is a setup.

439
00:19:39,167 --> 00:19:40,833
These are his enemies.

440
00:19:40,917 --> 00:19:44,333
All they ever do is
just give him grief.

441
00:19:44,375 --> 00:19:46,375
And he accepts the invitation.

442
00:19:46,500 --> 00:19:48,208
And he goes 'cause
Jesus loves everybody,

443
00:19:48,333 --> 00:19:51,500
Jesus serves everybody,
Jesus is good to everybody,

444
00:19:51,500 --> 00:19:54,000
even his enemies.

445
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,500
So what's wrong with
religious people?

446
00:19:56,542 --> 00:19:58,667
Well, there are
thousands of things,

447
00:19:58,667 --> 00:20:02,333
but for the sake of time,
we will examine eight.

448
00:20:02,417 --> 00:20:05,500
What's wrong with
religious people?

449
00:20:05,583 --> 00:20:07,500
Number one, they are negatives

450
00:20:07,500 --> 00:20:09,417
defined by what
they are against.

451
00:20:09,500 --> 00:20:12,333
We see that over and over
and over with the Pharisees.

452
00:20:12,417 --> 00:20:14,667
"Jesus, we're against
your view of the Sabbath.

453
00:20:14,750 --> 00:20:16,833
"Jesus, we're against your view
of the Sabbath.

454
00:20:16,875 --> 00:20:18,833
"Jesus, we're against
your view of the Sabbath.

455
00:20:18,875 --> 00:20:21,333
"Oh, and while we're at it,
we're against your friends.

456
00:20:21,375 --> 00:20:23,333
"We're against the people
who hang out with.

457
00:20:23,375 --> 00:20:25,500
"We're against what you
do when you're traveling

458
00:20:25,542 --> 00:20:27,000
"and how you conduct yourself.

459
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,250
We're against all of that."

460
00:20:29,333 --> 00:20:31,000
They're negatives who
define themselves

461
00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:32,833
by what they're against.

462
00:20:32,917 --> 00:20:36,042
Be careful because, see, again,
when we live in this day,

463
00:20:36,167 --> 00:20:39,500
when people don't have strong
convictions and real commitment,

464
00:20:39,542 --> 00:20:43,167
a person who's negative and is
always shooting and criticizing

465
00:20:43,167 --> 00:20:45,750
and defining themselves
by what they're against,

466
00:20:45,833 --> 00:20:48,500
they can be very compelling.

467
00:20:48,542 --> 00:20:54,000
But they're also
just very negative.

468
00:20:54,083 --> 00:20:57,500
It's better to be known
primarily about what you're

469
00:20:57,500 --> 00:21:00,000
for than what you're against.

470
00:21:00,083 --> 00:21:04,500
To be sure, there are things
we have to be against like sin,

471
00:21:04,583 --> 00:21:07,333
but the truth is, most of our
energy should be devoted

472
00:21:07,333 --> 00:21:11,875
to not just what we're for,
but who we're for.

473
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:13,583
Are you negative?

474
00:21:13,667 --> 00:21:15,000
Are you critical?

475
00:21:15,042 --> 00:21:17,000
You always got
a fist ready to go.

476
00:21:17,042 --> 00:21:19,167
Everything you read, everything
you hear, everywhere you go,

477
00:21:19,250 --> 00:21:20,833
you're looking for what's wrong

478
00:21:20,917 --> 00:21:23,583
so that you can point it out
and pick a fight.

479
00:21:23,667 --> 00:21:25,083
You're on the road to religion.

480
00:21:25,167 --> 00:21:28,000
Number two, they are
single-issue voters.

481
00:21:28,083 --> 00:21:32,583
They miss everything 'cause
they're obsessed with one thing.

482
00:21:32,667 --> 00:21:34,333
Right, for these guys,
what's their issue?

483
00:21:34,333 --> 00:21:35,667
It's the Sabbath.

484
00:21:35,750 --> 00:21:38,083
They keep fighting
with Jesus over the Sabbath,

485
00:21:38,167 --> 00:21:39,833
over and over and over.

486
00:21:39,917 --> 00:21:42,500
I was thinking about it when
I was preparing this sermon,

487
00:21:42,583 --> 00:21:44,833
I was like, "Not another
fight over the Sabbath."

488
00:21:44,917 --> 00:21:48,500
This is like part 5 million
in the book of Luke.

489
00:21:48,500 --> 00:21:51,833
I've preached this sermon
already a whole bunch of times.

490
00:21:51,917 --> 00:21:53,250
And then it hit me.

491
00:21:53,333 --> 00:21:55,333
This is a tactic
of religious people.

492
00:21:55,417 --> 00:21:57,000
They don't change the topic.

493
00:21:57,083 --> 00:21:58,583
They don't change their mind.

494
00:21:58,667 --> 00:22:01,500
They just try and wear you out.

495
00:22:01,500 --> 00:22:04,250
So that you reach the point
you're like, "You're wrong,

496
00:22:04,333 --> 00:22:07,208
but I'm gonna agree with you
just so you leave me alone."

497
00:22:07,333 --> 00:22:10,000
That's how
religious people work.

498
00:22:10,708 --> 00:22:12,000
That's how
religious people work.

499
00:22:12,083 --> 00:22:13,583
They're single-issue voters.

500
00:22:13,667 --> 00:22:15,917
They could have talked to
Jesus about all kinds

501
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:17,333
of very interesting things.

502
00:22:17,417 --> 00:22:19,500
"Hey, Jesus, you
water-ski without a boat.

503
00:22:19,542 --> 00:22:22,708
"What's that like?

504
00:22:22,833 --> 00:22:25,708
"You fed a stadium with
a little boy's Lunchable.

505
00:22:25,833 --> 00:22:29,167
"That was pretty awesome.
How did you do that?

506
00:22:29,208 --> 00:22:31,875
"Hey, Jesus,
what's heaven like?

507
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:33,917
"What's an angel like?

508
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:35,667
Am I going to hell?"

509
00:22:35,667 --> 00:22:37,583
I would ask questions like that.

510
00:22:37,667 --> 00:22:40,333
Instead, it's like, "What
do you do on Saturdays?

511
00:22:40,375 --> 00:22:42,542
Do you work or not work?"

512
00:22:42,667 --> 00:22:44,667
What's interesting, these guys
arguing with Jesus

513
00:22:44,750 --> 00:22:47,500
about working on the Sabbath,
what are they doing?

514
00:22:47,583 --> 00:22:49,917
They're kind of
working on the Sabbath.

515
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,042
They devise a plan to have
him over, to jump him,

516
00:22:53,167 --> 00:22:55,542
argue with him, set him
up, and exhaust him

517
00:22:55,667 --> 00:22:58,000
because he's gonna work.

518
00:22:58,042 --> 00:23:01,167
Well, he's only working 'cause
you're fighting with him.

519
00:23:01,167 --> 00:23:02,708
You'll get it later.

520
00:23:02,833 --> 00:23:04,667
But that's a very
important point.

521
00:23:04,667 --> 00:23:08,333
Number three, they preach but
they don't practice repentance.

522
00:23:08,333 --> 00:23:10,333
These are the religious
people that are like,

523
00:23:10,375 --> 00:23:13,708
"You need to knock it off and
you need to knock and you need

524
00:23:13,833 --> 00:23:17,042
to stop it and you guys are all
wrong and this is deplorable."

525
00:23:17,167 --> 00:23:18,708
And they don't
themselves repent.

526
00:23:18,833 --> 00:23:20,167
They never say,
"I'm wrong.

527
00:23:20,208 --> 00:23:22,333
"I'm sorry.
My fault.

528
00:23:22,333 --> 00:23:24,708
I'm an idiot."

529
00:23:24,833 --> 00:23:29,875
What they say is, "Well,
you have things to work on.

530
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:33,042
"And I'm gonna point them out to
you because I'm the holy one

531
00:23:33,167 --> 00:23:34,542
and you're the unholy one."

532
00:23:34,667 --> 00:23:37,208
And you'll see it even
in the story in a moment,

533
00:23:37,333 --> 00:23:40,333
Jesus proves 'em wrong
and here's what it says.

534
00:23:40,333 --> 00:23:43,667
They remained silent.

535
00:23:43,750 --> 00:23:45,708
You know what they
should've done?

536
00:23:45,833 --> 00:23:47,500
Apologized.

537
00:23:47,500 --> 00:23:50,042
But religious people
can't do that.

538
00:23:50,167 --> 00:23:54,208
They're unwilling to do
that, to say, "I'm wrong."

539
00:23:54,333 --> 00:23:56,500
Here's what happens if you
catch a religious person,

540
00:23:56,500 --> 00:23:59,167
if they say something that's not
true or they're wrong and you

541
00:23:59,167 --> 00:24:02,375
correct them, then they attack
your character personally.

542
00:24:02,500 --> 00:24:05,042
They try to shift the subject
from their sin

543
00:24:05,167 --> 00:24:06,667
to your character.

544
00:24:06,708 --> 00:24:08,208
They're gonna try
that with Jesus.

545
00:24:08,333 --> 00:24:09,750
Jesus doesn't have any sin.

546
00:24:09,833 --> 00:24:12,833
They're still gonna try it.

547
00:24:14,667 --> 00:24:18,417
You and I need to practice
saying, "I'm sorry.

548
00:24:18,500 --> 00:24:20,542
"I'm wrong.
That was sin.

549
00:24:20,667 --> 00:24:22,917
"No excuse.
Not your fault.

550
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:24,917
Something wrong with me."

551
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:27,250
If you're a religious person,
you're always like this,

552
00:24:27,333 --> 00:24:30,500
you should just punch
yourself in the face, right?

553
00:24:30,500 --> 00:24:34,000
You punch everybody else, may
as well just be fair about it.

554
00:24:34,042 --> 00:24:36,667
Religious people
preach repentance,

555
00:24:36,667 --> 00:24:38,875
they don't practice it.

556
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,708
Number four, they prefer tidy
answers over messy lives.

557
00:24:42,833 --> 00:24:45,667
Now, I could tell you this,
being a pastor for a while,

558
00:24:45,667 --> 00:24:48,083
people's lives are complicated.

559
00:24:48,167 --> 00:24:51,167
And what happens to religious
people, they live in their mind.

560
00:24:51,208 --> 00:24:52,708
They're all up in their head.

561
00:24:52,833 --> 00:24:56,208
They like to get everything down
in charts and in manuals

562
00:24:56,333 --> 00:24:59,583
with rules and footnotes
so that they don't have to

563
00:24:59,667 --> 00:25:01,417
actually deal with people.

564
00:25:01,500 --> 00:25:04,333
It's just, "Well, see page 47.

565
00:25:04,333 --> 00:25:07,042
"Yeah, it's over here
in the manual in page 47.

566
00:25:07,167 --> 00:25:09,375
"There's three verses
and two things to do.

567
00:25:09,500 --> 00:25:11,250
"Yeah, the committee voted.

568
00:25:11,333 --> 00:25:13,500
"Everybody was in a suit.
It was totally official.

569
00:25:13,583 --> 00:25:16,208
Page 27, just do
what the manual says."

570
00:25:16,333 --> 00:25:18,167
People's lives are messy.

571
00:25:18,250 --> 00:25:20,167
People's lives are complicated.

572
00:25:20,167 --> 00:25:23,000
People's lives are sometimes
devastated and you can't just

573
00:25:23,083 --> 00:25:26,667
say, "Here's three verses
and check the manual."

574
00:25:26,750 --> 00:25:29,167
You got to get to know
the person, their life,

575
00:25:29,250 --> 00:25:31,000
their backstory, their
family, their history,

576
00:25:31,083 --> 00:25:33,000
the circumstances,
hear the other side,

577
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,542
take it to the Bible,
get wise counsel,

578
00:25:35,667 --> 00:25:38,667
prayerfully consider what
the best answer is for them.

579
00:25:38,708 --> 00:25:42,250
Religious people are lazy when
it comes to human suffering.

580
00:25:42,333 --> 00:25:45,333
I said it, I mean it.

581
00:25:45,375 --> 00:25:48,500
So these guys have
an answer for everything.

582
00:25:48,500 --> 00:25:52,000
And one of their answers is,
"We don't heal on the Sabbath."

583
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,583
Jesus starts healing
on the Sabbath.

584
00:25:54,667 --> 00:25:56,750
"Oh, that doesn't
work with our manual."

585
00:25:56,833 --> 00:25:59,375
Jesus says, "I didn't
write that manual.

586
00:25:59,500 --> 00:26:03,333
"I don't care if the guys
in suits or hats took a vote.

587
00:26:03,417 --> 00:26:06,667
"Someone's suffering,
I'm gonna serve them.

588
00:26:06,667 --> 00:26:09,333
I like to help hurting
people," Jesus would say.

589
00:26:09,333 --> 00:26:11,083
"I don't care what
the manual says.

590
00:26:11,167 --> 00:26:14,167
By the way, I
wrote my own book."

591
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:18,708
I had this, not long ago,

592
00:26:18,833 --> 00:26:20,667
it just drove me cuckoo
for cocoa puffs.

593
00:26:20,750 --> 00:26:22,500
This gal, I'm talking to her.

594
00:26:22,583 --> 00:26:24,500
She comes from this church
that's real religious

595
00:26:24,583 --> 00:26:26,333
and the pastors
there just decided,

596
00:26:26,375 --> 00:26:28,333
"We're gonna have a position
on divorce.

597
00:26:28,375 --> 00:26:30,333
No Christians can
ever get divorced."

598
00:26:30,375 --> 00:26:32,000
Hoo, glad that's over.

599
00:26:32,042 --> 00:26:33,875
Really, it's that simple?

600
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,417
You had a meeting and settled
divorce for everyone

601
00:26:36,500 --> 00:26:38,500
for the rest of their life?

602
00:26:38,583 --> 00:26:41,167
"Yeah, we think
divorce is bad."

603
00:26:41,167 --> 00:26:44,542
Even divorced people will
tell you divorce is bad.

604
00:26:44,667 --> 00:26:49,000
But sometimes, because of
unrepentant, habitual sin,

605
00:26:49,042 --> 00:26:51,208
not that we want
everybody to get divorced,

606
00:26:51,333 --> 00:26:55,000
but sometimes the Bible does say
there are some good reasons why

607
00:26:55,042 --> 00:26:58,000
it should be a possibility.

608
00:26:58,042 --> 00:27:01,333
So this poor gal, her husband
commits adultery on her,

609
00:27:01,333 --> 00:27:03,500
beats her, sexually
assaults her,

610
00:27:03,583 --> 00:27:07,667
and now is starting to do the
same thing to her daughters.

611
00:27:07,750 --> 00:27:10,167
And the pastors say, "Well,
it says in the manual.

612
00:27:10,167 --> 00:27:11,833
"We're on page 28.

613
00:27:11,875 --> 00:27:13,500
"No divorce, we took a vote.

614
00:27:13,542 --> 00:27:16,875
We're all wearing suits.
It was very official."

615
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:19,667
If you want to have
an abusive situation,

616
00:27:19,708 --> 00:27:23,375
make one person obey
the Bible and not the other.

617
00:27:23,500 --> 00:27:26,542
That's gonna be abusive.

618
00:27:26,667 --> 00:27:29,042
So she comes, she says,
"Well, what do I do?"

619
00:27:29,167 --> 00:27:31,375
I said, "Well, it
talks about husbands,

620
00:27:31,500 --> 00:27:33,167
"don't be harsh with your wives.

621
00:27:33,208 --> 00:27:35,833
"Thou shalt not commit
adultery is in here somewhere.

622
00:27:35,917 --> 00:27:38,167
"In addition, husbands,
love your wives

623
00:27:38,167 --> 00:27:40,167
"as Christ loves the church.

624
00:27:40,167 --> 00:27:42,708
"Jesus says
in the case of adultery,

625
00:27:42,833 --> 00:27:46,500
"divorce is not required,
but it's permissible.

626
00:27:46,500 --> 00:27:50,333
"And your children are getting
harmed and your daughters

627
00:27:50,417 --> 00:27:52,417
"are getting assaulted.

628
00:27:52,500 --> 00:27:56,917
Yeah, you probably shouldn't
go home to that guy."

629
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:01,708
See, people's lives are messy.

630
00:28:01,833 --> 00:28:04,833
And religion just
wants to keep it tidy.

631
00:28:04,917 --> 00:28:07,167
But if you're really
gonna help hurting people,

632
00:28:07,250 --> 00:28:10,167
you need more than a manual, you
need the Holy Spirit, wisdom,

633
00:28:10,167 --> 00:28:15,750
discernment, community,
patience, time, and prayer.

634
00:28:15,833 --> 00:28:17,542
That's why they keep
fighting with Jesus.

635
00:28:17,667 --> 00:28:21,542
He's not reading the lines
out of the manual they wrote.

636
00:28:21,667 --> 00:28:23,333
It's because they're wrong.

637
00:28:23,417 --> 00:28:26,542
Number five, they convert
believers, not unbelievers.

638
00:28:26,667 --> 00:28:28,583
Jesus keeps talking to people
who don't necessarily

639
00:28:28,667 --> 00:28:30,833
have a relationship with
a living God yet.

640
00:28:30,833 --> 00:28:33,250
The religious people, throughout
the course of the book,

641
00:28:33,333 --> 00:28:36,333
they're talking to people
who already believe in God.

642
00:28:36,333 --> 00:28:39,375
So Jesus saves people and then
religious people try

643
00:28:39,500 --> 00:28:44,500
and recruit 'em for their team
to be against Jesus.

644
00:28:44,542 --> 00:28:49,333
Cults, legalists, hardcore
Christian fundamentalists

645
00:28:49,417 --> 00:28:52,500
tend not to have a lot
of new Christians.

646
00:28:52,500 --> 00:28:55,333
They tend to take Christians
and recruit them on their team

647
00:28:55,375 --> 00:28:58,333
to fight against
other Christians.

648
00:28:58,333 --> 00:29:01,500
That's not where our
energies are to be going.

649
00:29:01,500 --> 00:29:03,250
Our energies should been going
toward people

650
00:29:03,333 --> 00:29:04,667
who don't know Jesus.

651
00:29:04,750 --> 00:29:07,667
We want 'em to meet Jesus, not
just recruit the people who

652
00:29:07,750 --> 00:29:10,167
already do know Jesus to fight
against the other people

653
00:29:10,250 --> 00:29:11,667
who know Jesus.

654
00:29:11,750 --> 00:29:13,500
That's what's going on here.

655
00:29:13,542 --> 00:29:16,333
Jesus is saving people and
they're trying to steal them.

656
00:29:16,333 --> 00:29:19,167
That's why they keep picking
their fights publicly,

657
00:29:19,167 --> 00:29:21,542
to steal his followers.

658
00:29:21,667 --> 00:29:24,542
Number six, they use fear of
man to bully and exhaust people.

659
00:29:24,667 --> 00:29:27,375
This is why the religious people
keep picking fights in public

660
00:29:27,500 --> 00:29:29,583
with an audience.

661
00:29:29,667 --> 00:29:31,417
And it's horrible.

662
00:29:31,500 --> 00:29:34,583
It wouldn't be so bad if they
went up to Jesus and said,

663
00:29:34,667 --> 00:29:36,000
"Jesus, we disagree.

664
00:29:36,042 --> 00:29:38,917
"But since you're the maker of
heaven and earth and were born

665
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:42,083
"of a virgin, maybe we're wrong.

666
00:29:42,167 --> 00:29:45,750
Your resume's
fairly impressive."

667
00:29:45,833 --> 00:29:48,500
So rather than fighting about
this publicly--and praise God

668
00:29:48,542 --> 00:29:51,167
they didn't have
blogs at this point--

669
00:29:51,167 --> 00:29:53,167
they could've gone to
Jesus and said,

670
00:29:53,167 --> 00:29:55,375
"Okay, could we sit down
and talk about this?

671
00:29:55,500 --> 00:29:57,667
"Maybe we could do
a Bible study with you?

672
00:29:57,667 --> 00:30:00,583
"You seem like a really
good Bible teacher.

673
00:30:00,667 --> 00:30:05,333
Could we work this out with you
privately rather than publicly?"

674
00:30:05,417 --> 00:30:07,000
there wouldn't have
been a problem.

675
00:30:07,042 --> 00:30:10,000
But no, they're gonna
pick a fight publicly.

676
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:11,833
And they're gonna bully people.

677
00:30:11,875 --> 00:30:13,875
They're gonna seek
to push people around.

678
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:15,667
They're gonna work
through fear of man

679
00:30:15,708 --> 00:30:17,583
by making it a public issue.

680
00:30:17,667 --> 00:30:20,667
Some of you are religious
and you're like that.

681
00:30:20,708 --> 00:30:22,750
You talk about people,
not to them.

682
00:30:22,833 --> 00:30:24,333
You pick fights in public.

683
00:30:24,333 --> 00:30:27,542
You don't pursue in private.

684
00:30:27,667 --> 00:30:29,708
You're on the road to religion.

685
00:30:29,833 --> 00:30:33,667
And be careful you don't get
sucked in, blogs, Tweets,

686
00:30:33,667 --> 00:30:36,917
Facebook posts, whatever it is,
don't get sucked in

687
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:40,000
to all the religious drama.

688
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:43,000
Don't go negative.

689
00:30:44,333 --> 00:30:46,750
And don't let people exhaust
you and bully you around.

690
00:30:46,833 --> 00:30:48,542
Some of you have
already been bullied.

691
00:30:48,667 --> 00:30:50,667
You believe something, but
you've gotten criticized enough,

692
00:30:50,750 --> 00:30:53,500
you've taken a few steps
back, and you know it's right,

693
00:30:53,583 --> 00:30:56,208
but you're just cowardly.

694
00:30:56,333 --> 00:30:59,208
Number seven, they confuse
principles and methods.

695
00:30:59,333 --> 00:31:00,708
This is really important.

696
00:31:00,833 --> 00:31:03,000
The Bible has a whole bunch
of fantastic, perfect,

697
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:06,667
timeless principles
and gives us freedom,

698
00:31:06,667 --> 00:31:08,208
according to conscience,
community,

699
00:31:08,333 --> 00:31:11,542
and the Holy Spirit to come
up with methods, right?

700
00:31:11,667 --> 00:31:16,333
Because circumstances,
resources, cultures,

701
00:31:16,333 --> 00:31:18,000
different methods.

702
00:31:18,083 --> 00:31:20,250
Same principle.

703
00:31:20,333 --> 00:31:22,833
So the Bible says,
"Sing to the Lord."

704
00:31:22,875 --> 00:31:24,250
What songs?
What music?

705
00:31:24,333 --> 00:31:25,667
What order?
What style?

706
00:31:25,750 --> 00:31:28,375
Doesn't say.
Doesn't say.

707
00:31:28,500 --> 00:31:32,333
"Children--" or rather,
"Parents, train your children."

708
00:31:32,333 --> 00:31:34,167
What kind of educational model?

709
00:31:34,167 --> 00:31:35,583
Well, doesn't say.

710
00:31:35,667 --> 00:31:37,167
There's a few options.

711
00:31:37,250 --> 00:31:40,708
So what we want to be is really,
really strong on the principle

712
00:31:40,833 --> 00:31:43,042
and really, really, really
flexible on the method.

713
00:31:43,167 --> 00:31:45,542
And this is where religious
people get confusing 'cause when

714
00:31:45,667 --> 00:31:47,667
they start arguing, they'll
start arguing for their

715
00:31:47,708 --> 00:31:49,667
principle and you're
like, "I agree with that.

716
00:31:49,708 --> 00:31:51,042
That's biblical."

717
00:31:51,167 --> 00:31:53,042
And then they'll flip
it to say, "Therefore,

718
00:31:53,167 --> 00:31:55,375
"if you believe this principle,
there's only one method.

719
00:31:55,500 --> 00:31:57,875
You have to do it
the way we do it."

720
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,833
Oh, wait a minute.
That's where I get off the bus.

721
00:32:00,833 --> 00:32:04,042
One principle, many methods.

722
00:32:04,167 --> 00:32:07,083
Have your methods,
have your convictions,

723
00:32:07,167 --> 00:32:09,833
live your life according
to your conscience,

724
00:32:09,833 --> 00:32:13,708
and allow others to do the same
if they are likewise faithful

725
00:32:13,833 --> 00:32:16,333
to the timeless
biblical principle.

726
00:32:16,417 --> 00:32:19,708
Now again, they're not gonna
give that grace toward Jesus.

727
00:32:19,833 --> 00:32:22,500
They and Jesus agree
that the Sabbath

728
00:32:22,542 --> 00:32:25,000
should be adhered to
and it's a gift of God.

729
00:32:25,042 --> 00:32:27,000
They've got a lot
of strict rules,

730
00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:29,583
Jesus doesn't obey all
of their strict rules,

731
00:32:29,667 --> 00:32:31,875
they want not just
to agree on the principle,

732
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:34,667
they want him to conform
to their method.

733
00:32:34,708 --> 00:32:37,667
And number eight, they
labor to set the agenda

734
00:32:37,667 --> 00:32:39,167
and change the mission.

735
00:32:39,208 --> 00:32:42,833
Jesus' mission is to get
from Galilee to Jerusalem,

736
00:32:42,875 --> 00:32:46,083
to go to a cross and die
for the sin of the world.

737
00:32:46,167 --> 00:32:47,917
That's his agenda and mission.

738
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,667
They're trying
to subvert his mission.

739
00:32:50,708 --> 00:32:53,375
They want him to respond
to them, to argue with them,

740
00:32:53,500 --> 00:32:57,167
to fight with them, to join
their team, to back their cause.

741
00:32:57,250 --> 00:33:00,208
They're trying to get him
off his divine mission.

742
00:33:00,333 --> 00:33:03,333
And this is where religious
people, and I tell you this,

743
00:33:03,417 --> 00:33:05,417
Mars Hill,
with so much passion.

744
00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:08,333
We have this magnificent
opportunity to see people meet

745
00:33:08,417 --> 00:33:13,542
Jesus, to grow in Jesus, to
see more churches get planted.

746
00:33:13,667 --> 00:33:16,333
And religious people could
divert all of that to where

747
00:33:16,333 --> 00:33:19,000
we're responding to them rather
than the Holy Spirit and we're

748
00:33:19,083 --> 00:33:22,208
getting tangled up in their
nefarious mission rather than

749
00:33:22,333 --> 00:33:24,583
God's glorious mission.

750
00:33:24,667 --> 00:33:28,667
And they keep trying
to sidetrack and hijack

751
00:33:28,708 --> 00:33:33,500
Jesus' time,
his energy, his joy.

752
00:33:33,542 --> 00:33:35,208
So let's look at what happens.

753
00:33:35,333 --> 00:33:37,333
Here's the story.

754
00:33:37,333 --> 00:33:42,333
Whereas religious people want
to fight, Jesus wants a friend.

755
00:33:42,417 --> 00:33:45,375
The icon for Jesus that I would
give you throughout the totality

756
00:33:45,500 --> 00:33:48,583
of Luke's gospel is that
his hand is always out,

757
00:33:48,667 --> 00:33:51,333
he's trying to be loving,
gracious, truthful,

758
00:33:51,375 --> 00:33:54,750
friend to everyone,
even his enemies.

759
00:33:54,833 --> 00:33:58,833
Jesus is open-handed, welcoming.

760
00:33:58,917 --> 00:34:04,208
Religious people are
closed-handed, contentious.

761
00:34:05,333 --> 00:34:06,667
And here's the story.

762
00:34:06,750 --> 00:34:09,500
"And behold," Luke 14:2-6,
"there was a man before him

763
00:34:09,542 --> 00:34:11,333
"who had dropsy.

764
00:34:11,417 --> 00:34:13,000
"And Jesus responded
to the lawyers,"

765
00:34:13,083 --> 00:34:15,500
so that would be a guy
like me, "and the Pharisees,"

766
00:34:15,583 --> 00:34:18,250
that'd be a group of people
perhaps like some of you,

767
00:34:18,333 --> 00:34:21,833
"saying, 'Is it lawful to
heal on the Sabbath, or not?'

768
00:34:21,833 --> 00:34:23,208
But they remained silent."

769
00:34:23,333 --> 00:34:24,875
Don't you love that?

770
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:27,542
"Then he took him and healed
him and sent him away.

771
00:34:27,667 --> 00:34:29,542
"And he said to them,
'Which of you,

772
00:34:29,667 --> 00:34:32,500
"'having a son or an ox
that has fallen into a well

773
00:34:32,500 --> 00:34:35,000
"'on a Sabbath day, will not
immediately pull him out?'

774
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:37,000
And they could not
reply to these things."

775
00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:38,500
This is a total set up!

776
00:34:38,583 --> 00:34:40,833
"Hey Jesus, you want
to come over for dinner?"

777
00:34:40,917 --> 00:34:43,083
Oh yeah,
this will be awesome.

778
00:34:43,167 --> 00:34:47,333
"Okay, we got it all set up.
Go get Dropsy Dan.

779
00:34:47,375 --> 00:34:52,042
"Go get Dropsy Dan, wheel him
in here, put him in a chair.

780
00:34:52,167 --> 00:34:55,083
"We'll have Jesus sit here
and across from Jesus

781
00:34:55,167 --> 00:34:57,000
"we'll have Dropsy Dan.

782
00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:00,167
"Dropsy Dan, we want you to
look as miserable as possible.

783
00:35:00,208 --> 00:35:03,167
"If you could cry,
that would be awesome.

784
00:35:03,208 --> 00:35:07,000
"Keep moaning, ahhhhh!

785
00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:09,833
"And say things like, 'I can't
handle this another minute.

786
00:35:09,833 --> 00:35:11,833
"'I need relief right now.'

787
00:35:11,833 --> 00:35:14,500
"Okay, Dropsy Dan, here's
what we need you to do.

788
00:35:14,583 --> 00:35:18,417
"Look miserable, moan
a lot, cry a little.

789
00:35:18,500 --> 00:35:20,083
"Be awesome.
Okay.

790
00:35:20,167 --> 00:35:21,917
"Okay, then here's
what we're gonna do.

791
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:23,833
"We're all gonna sit in a circle

792
00:35:23,875 --> 00:35:25,542
"and we're gonna sit Jesus
right here.

793
00:35:25,667 --> 00:35:29,500
"And we know Jesus can't help
but serve people and love them.

794
00:35:29,542 --> 00:35:32,500
This will trap him."

795
00:35:32,542 --> 00:35:35,542
Now this is pretty
twisted, right?

796
00:35:35,667 --> 00:35:37,000
Would you agree?

797
00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:39,500
And, also,
their whole argument is

798
00:35:39,500 --> 00:35:42,833
you're not supposed to work
on Saturday.

799
00:35:42,833 --> 00:35:46,333
Is it just me or does this
seem like a bit of work?

800
00:35:46,417 --> 00:35:49,833
Moving right along, what happens
is they bring in Dropsy Dan

801
00:35:49,875 --> 00:35:54,000
and Jesus sits down
and it's a total set up.

802
00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:56,333
And here's where they
work through fear of man.

803
00:35:56,375 --> 00:35:59,000
And I love Jesus.
Jesus is not a coward.

804
00:35:59,042 --> 00:36:02,333
He goes into the meeting, as far
as we could tell, by himself.

805
00:36:02,375 --> 00:36:05,083
This is pretty amazing.

806
00:36:05,167 --> 00:36:08,000
And he sits down
and he sees Dropsy Dan.

807
00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:09,833
And they're all
thinking, "We got him.

808
00:36:09,833 --> 00:36:12,500
"He kept beating us on all
of our Sabbath arguments,

809
00:36:12,500 --> 00:36:14,000
"but we got him.

810
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:16,667
If he heals Dropsy Dan,
he's ours."

811
00:36:16,750 --> 00:36:19,500
And it says that they
were watching him closely.

812
00:36:19,500 --> 00:36:21,333
That's what it
said in verse one.

813
00:36:21,333 --> 00:36:23,542
So they were all giving him
the stink eye

814
00:36:23,667 --> 00:36:25,000
and leaning over their chair.

815
00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:27,000
I see guys in suits
with clipboards, right?

816
00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:29,667
Like, "Is he gonna heal him?
Is he gonna heal him?

817
00:36:29,750 --> 00:36:33,167
Is he gonna heal him?
We got him now."

818
00:36:33,167 --> 00:36:38,375
And so Jesus asks them
a question, fantastic.

819
00:36:39,667 --> 00:36:42,000
"Let me ask you a question.

820
00:36:42,042 --> 00:36:45,542
Is it a sin to heal
on the Sabbath?"

821
00:36:45,667 --> 00:36:48,833
Oh, they weren't
expecting a question.

822
00:36:48,917 --> 00:36:51,667
And now they're left on the
horns of a terrible dilemma.

823
00:36:51,750 --> 00:36:54,833
"If we say, 'Yes, it's
a sin to heal on the Sabbath,'

824
00:36:54,875 --> 00:36:56,583
we look pretty mean."

825
00:36:56,667 --> 00:36:59,000
Again, because religious
people like tidy answers,

826
00:36:59,083 --> 00:37:01,417
not messy lives.

827
00:37:01,500 --> 00:37:05,375
"Yeah, we can't really be
the anti-healing crowd, right?"

828
00:37:05,500 --> 00:37:08,167
Nobody has a bumper sticker
on their camel like,

829
00:37:08,250 --> 00:37:09,833
"We're against healing."

830
00:37:09,875 --> 00:37:12,583
Like, really?
You're gonna die on that hill?

831
00:37:12,667 --> 00:37:15,167
That's probably not
gonna be real good.

832
00:37:15,208 --> 00:37:18,000
But if they say, "Yeah, you
can heal on the Sabbath,"

833
00:37:18,042 --> 00:37:20,500
then what Jesus is saying is,
"Go ahead and burn

834
00:37:20,542 --> 00:37:22,333
"that little book
that you guys wrote

835
00:37:22,417 --> 00:37:24,167
"when you got
together with the guy

836
00:37:24,167 --> 00:37:27,333
"in the big hat and took a vote
'cause the rules you made

837
00:37:27,333 --> 00:37:30,042
and the manual you wrote,
it just doesn't work."

838
00:37:30,167 --> 00:37:33,167
Now the Bible does,
but their book doesn't.

839
00:37:33,208 --> 00:37:36,208
So do they deny all of their
religion and tradition

840
00:37:36,333 --> 00:37:38,500
and all of their rules
and all the junk

841
00:37:38,583 --> 00:37:40,417
they've committed their life to?

842
00:37:40,500 --> 00:37:42,167
Or not?

843
00:37:42,250 --> 00:37:43,542
And what does it say?

844
00:37:43,667 --> 00:37:45,000
"They remained silent."

845
00:37:45,042 --> 00:37:50,333
I hope Jesus left that for like
20 minutes, just that awkward...

846
00:38:02,500 --> 00:38:04,250
So then he asks
them this story.

847
00:38:04,333 --> 00:38:07,250
"Okay, let's say it's Saturday.

848
00:38:07,333 --> 00:38:11,083
"You're walking along, you got
a nice, expensive, helpful ox.

849
00:38:11,167 --> 00:38:16,333
"Ox falls into a hole.
Do you help the ox out or not?

850
00:38:16,333 --> 00:38:17,833
"How about another one?

851
00:38:17,833 --> 00:38:24,833
"You've got a son who's fallen
into a well on a Saturday.

852
00:38:26,833 --> 00:38:29,042
"So you're out--" no,
you couldn't be playing Frisbee

853
00:38:29,167 --> 00:38:30,750
with your kid 'cause
it's the Sabbath.

854
00:38:30,833 --> 00:38:33,917
I don't know how your kid fell
in the well on the Sabbath.

855
00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:35,500
They're not allowed
to do anything.

856
00:38:35,500 --> 00:38:38,417
But hypothetically, your kid
fell in a well on the Sabbath.

857
00:38:38,500 --> 00:38:41,500
"So your kid--you're
like, 'Hey, oh!'

858
00:38:43,542 --> 00:38:45,833
"And you hear Johnny, 'Ahhhh!'

859
00:38:45,917 --> 00:38:48,833
"Plunk.

860
00:38:48,917 --> 00:38:52,542
"'Oh, Johnny!
Are you okay?'

861
00:38:52,667 --> 00:38:54,167
"'Yeah, Dad.'

862
00:38:54,208 --> 00:38:59,083
"'Tomorrow, I will give
you a rope, Johnny, tomorrow.

863
00:38:59,167 --> 00:39:03,333
"'Your dad's a Pharisee
and if I turn the crank,

864
00:39:03,417 --> 00:39:06,708
"'that'll be Sabbath work.

865
00:39:06,833 --> 00:39:11,000
"'And guys in a suit took a vote
and there's this book

866
00:39:11,083 --> 00:39:14,167
"'that God did not write.

867
00:39:14,208 --> 00:39:16,208
"'Yes, Johnny, I am an idiot.

868
00:39:16,333 --> 00:39:19,000
"'Yes, thank you.

869
00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:20,375
"'Tomorrow, Johnny.

870
00:39:20,500 --> 00:39:23,042
"'You should have fallen
in on Thursday, Johnny.

871
00:39:25,250 --> 00:39:27,667
"'I'm sorry we did not
get you swim lessons.

872
00:39:27,750 --> 00:39:30,500
I am sorry, Johnny.'"

873
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,042
Right?

874
00:39:34,167 --> 00:39:37,000
It's pretty fantastic.

875
00:39:37,042 --> 00:39:40,000
Jesus is like, "Would you turn
the crank and send the bucket

876
00:39:40,042 --> 00:39:42,000
down to the kid?"

877
00:39:42,042 --> 00:39:43,833
"Yeah."

878
00:39:43,833 --> 00:39:47,167
"Well, wouldn't that violate
page 27 in the manual?"

879
00:39:47,208 --> 00:39:48,833
"Yeah."

880
00:39:48,875 --> 00:39:51,250
"So maybe the manual is wrong."

881
00:39:51,333 --> 00:39:53,500
They remained silent.

882
00:39:53,542 --> 00:39:56,875
"Hmm, well, we won't
talk about this."

883
00:39:57,000 --> 00:39:59,083
So what does Jesus do?

884
00:39:59,167 --> 00:40:02,208
He heals Dropsy Dan.

885
00:40:02,333 --> 00:40:03,667
I love this.

886
00:40:03,667 --> 00:40:05,042
Dropsy Dan doesn't ask.

887
00:40:05,167 --> 00:40:07,000
He's not like,
"Jesus, please help me."

888
00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,000
He doesn't get up and come
toward Jesus.

889
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:11,375
Now dropsy here is a medical
condition diagnosed

890
00:40:11,500 --> 00:40:13,083
by Luke the physician.

891
00:40:13,167 --> 00:40:16,208
This is where your body is
retaining lots of water

892
00:40:16,333 --> 00:40:18,167
and you're swelling.

893
00:40:18,208 --> 00:40:21,333
And as a result, it gets hard
to move and your joints ache

894
00:40:21,417 --> 00:40:23,333
and you start to have
organ failure

895
00:40:23,333 --> 00:40:26,500
as the pressure collapses
on your organs.

896
00:40:26,500 --> 00:40:31,750
This is a painful, slow,
horrible way to die.

897
00:40:31,833 --> 00:40:34,667
And Jesus heals Dropsy Dan.

898
00:40:34,750 --> 00:40:39,333
And how he heals him is
a picture of our own salvation.

899
00:40:39,417 --> 00:40:42,042
He doesn't say anything,
he doesn't do anything.

900
00:40:42,167 --> 00:40:44,333
Jesus does it all.

901
00:40:44,417 --> 00:40:46,000
It's just like us.

902
00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:48,417
We sit there, just in this
condition of sin

903
00:40:48,500 --> 00:40:52,833
that leads to death and Jesus
comes and touches us

904
00:40:52,833 --> 00:40:54,583
and gives us new life.

905
00:40:54,667 --> 00:40:57,167
It's a great picture
of salvation.

906
00:40:57,208 --> 00:40:59,333
And then Jesus does
something wonderful.

907
00:40:59,375 --> 00:41:02,833
He tells him, "Leave."
This is a double gift.

908
00:41:02,875 --> 00:41:06,167
"You're healed.
Run for your life!"

909
00:41:08,917 --> 00:41:10,667
Dropsy Dan's like, "Woohoo!

910
00:41:10,708 --> 00:41:13,333
"I'm healed and I get
to leave the Pharisees.

911
00:41:13,333 --> 00:41:16,417
What a fantastic day this is."

912
00:41:16,500 --> 00:41:20,167
And in this story,
would you agree Jesus

913
00:41:20,208 --> 00:41:22,667
loved the guy with dropsy?

914
00:41:22,667 --> 00:41:24,542
He really did.

915
00:41:24,667 --> 00:41:27,667
And Jesus also
loved the Pharisees.

916
00:41:27,750 --> 00:41:30,208
He had a meal with 'em,
he talked to 'em,

917
00:41:30,333 --> 00:41:34,750
he put up with their
nonsense, he served 'em.

918
00:41:34,833 --> 00:41:36,667
See, this is how good Jesus is.

919
00:41:36,708 --> 00:41:39,042
Jesus loves
and serves everybody.

920
00:41:39,167 --> 00:41:41,000
Again, they come
with a clenched fist,

921
00:41:41,042 --> 00:41:43,542
he comes with an open hand.

922
00:41:43,667 --> 00:41:45,500
And I was trying
to figure out,

923
00:41:45,500 --> 00:41:49,000
"Okay, how am I gonna teach
this and not have this be

924
00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:52,000
just another negative sermon?"

925
00:41:52,083 --> 00:41:53,500
Right?

926
00:41:53,500 --> 00:41:57,000
'Cause part of it is it
is pretty fun to make fun

927
00:41:57,042 --> 00:42:02,667
of religious people and we do it
in love because it helps them.

928
00:42:03,917 --> 00:42:05,250
No, it does, seriously.

929
00:42:05,333 --> 00:42:08,333
Religious people take
themselves way too seriously.

930
00:42:08,375 --> 00:42:12,583
And so we make fun of them
because we love them.

931
00:42:12,667 --> 00:42:15,208
We invite them
to laugh at themselves.

932
00:42:15,333 --> 00:42:17,500
Now, they don't
always laugh with us,

933
00:42:17,500 --> 00:42:20,583
but that makes it even
funnier sometimes.

934
00:42:22,667 --> 00:42:25,708
But how do we have this sermon
not just be, "We're good.

935
00:42:25,833 --> 00:42:27,167
"They're bad.

936
00:42:27,208 --> 00:42:28,750
"They're funny.
They don't know it.

937
00:42:28,833 --> 00:42:30,667
We do"?

938
00:42:30,750 --> 00:42:32,083
'Cause if that happens,

939
00:42:32,167 --> 00:42:34,083
we're just a new kind
of religious, right?

940
00:42:34,167 --> 00:42:36,375
"We're holier than you, we're
better than you 'cause

941
00:42:36,500 --> 00:42:39,917
you're ridiculous and we
make fun of you."

942
00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:44,375
The truth is that we
all have ways, times,

943
00:42:44,500 --> 00:42:46,875
degrees to which
we're religious.

944
00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:48,375
We just do.

945
00:42:48,500 --> 00:42:50,167
We get there, we go there.

946
00:42:50,167 --> 00:42:54,208
We always got to be reminded of
the gospel, reminded of Jesus.

947
00:42:54,333 --> 00:42:57,500
I think that's why Luke keeps
working in the story of conflict

948
00:42:57,542 --> 00:42:59,833
with the religious people,
'cause it's something

949
00:42:59,917 --> 00:43:03,667
that's also a recurring
issue in our life.

950
00:43:03,667 --> 00:43:07,167
So is there any hope
for religious people?

951
00:43:07,208 --> 00:43:09,000
Is there?

952
00:43:09,042 --> 00:43:10,667
There is.

953
00:43:10,667 --> 00:43:12,833
I was thinking and praying
about it this week

954
00:43:12,875 --> 00:43:16,000
and I felt like the Holy Spirit
wanted me to share a story

955
00:43:16,083 --> 00:43:18,333
with you from the Bible.

956
00:43:18,375 --> 00:43:23,083
Luke wrote this biography of
Jesus and he writes the sequel,

957
00:43:23,167 --> 00:43:26,042
the book of Acts, which is the
biography of the early church.

958
00:43:26,167 --> 00:43:29,542
And what really dominates
the book of Luke is the story

959
00:43:29,667 --> 00:43:31,167
of the life of Jesus.

960
00:43:31,208 --> 00:43:34,417
What really dominates the book
of Acts is the story of the life

961
00:43:34,500 --> 00:43:39,167
of a man who was named Saul
and his name changed to Paul.

962
00:43:39,208 --> 00:43:42,000
He tells of him overseeing
the execution and murder

963
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:44,000
of an early church deacon.

964
00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:46,833
He shows that Jesus came down
from heaven in Acts 9

965
00:43:46,875 --> 00:43:51,167
to save Saul and to turn
him into a missionary

966
00:43:51,250 --> 00:43:54,583
to non-Jews, Gentiles.

967
00:43:54,667 --> 00:43:59,000
Chapter 22 of Acts, he includes
the lengthy account of Paul's

968
00:43:59,083 --> 00:44:01,583
own testimony of God's
work in his life.

969
00:44:01,667 --> 00:44:06,167
Does the same thing
in the first half of Acts 26.

970
00:44:06,250 --> 00:44:09,208
Luke and Paul were
really good friends.

971
00:44:09,333 --> 00:44:12,542
They're the two major,
primary contributors

972
00:44:12,667 --> 00:44:14,042
to the New Testament.

973
00:44:14,167 --> 00:44:17,875
Luke wrote the most content,
Paul wrote the most books.

974
00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:19,583
And you know what?
They're friends.

975
00:44:19,667 --> 00:44:21,917
They travel together, they work
together, they journey together.

976
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:24,667
I think Luke may have even been
Paul's personal physician

977
00:44:24,708 --> 00:44:28,417
'cause Paul had some real major
health complications.

978
00:44:28,500 --> 00:44:30,000
And you know what's interesting?

979
00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:34,667
Luke, who writes this, he was
a Gentile and Paul was a Jew.

980
00:44:34,750 --> 00:44:39,000
And God had to do a massive work
in Paul's life to get him

981
00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:41,917
to be a different kind of man
who was not religious.

982
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:45,333
And he went on to preach,
to teach boldly.

983
00:44:45,375 --> 00:44:48,083
Paul is one of the most
influential men in the history

984
00:44:48,167 --> 00:44:51,500
of the world and that's
not an overstatement.

985
00:44:51,500 --> 00:44:54,500
He traveled up to
18 miles a day on foot.

986
00:44:54,500 --> 00:44:59,208
He preached, he was shipwrecked,
beaten, homeless, left for dead,

987
00:44:59,333 --> 00:45:01,750
stoned, adrift on the sea.

988
00:45:01,833 --> 00:45:04,667
He says, "I bear the marks
of Jesus on my body."

989
00:45:04,750 --> 00:45:07,833
His body looked like Jesus'
on the way to the cross.

990
00:45:07,833 --> 00:45:10,250
He was passionate.
He was committed.

991
00:45:10,333 --> 00:45:11,750
He was relentless.

992
00:45:11,833 --> 00:45:14,167
He was zealous,
but for the right cause.

993
00:45:14,250 --> 00:45:17,167
Love, grace, mercy, Jesus.

994
00:45:17,167 --> 00:45:21,000
Not law, rules, and religion.

995
00:45:22,875 --> 00:45:26,000
John Chrysostom, the early
church father, says it this way.

996
00:45:26,083 --> 00:45:29,500
"Put the whole world on one side
of the scale and you will see

997
00:45:29,583 --> 00:45:33,000
that the soul of Paul
outweighs it."

998
00:45:33,083 --> 00:45:38,500
Paul started as a Pharisee.

999
00:45:38,542 --> 00:45:41,167
In the story of Paul,
we have hope even

1000
00:45:41,250 --> 00:45:44,708
for the most religious.

1001
00:45:44,833 --> 00:45:49,042
Paul tells us his own
story in Philippians 3.

1002
00:45:49,167 --> 00:45:50,542
He says it this way.

1003
00:45:50,667 --> 00:45:52,750
"If anyone else thinks he has
reason for confidence

1004
00:45:52,833 --> 00:45:54,250
in the flesh, I have more."

1005
00:45:54,333 --> 00:45:55,667
Here's what he's saying.

1006
00:45:55,708 --> 00:45:57,708
"You religious people, you
really think you're moral,

1007
00:45:57,833 --> 00:45:59,708
"you think you're good,
you think you're devout.

1008
00:45:59,833 --> 00:46:02,667
"You did the good things.
You didn't do the bad things.

1009
00:46:02,667 --> 00:46:04,833
"You think you're
really holy, special?

1010
00:46:04,875 --> 00:46:06,750
I'm better than you."

1011
00:46:06,833 --> 00:46:08,500
That's what he's saying.

1012
00:46:08,500 --> 00:46:11,083
"I'm better than you.
I'm more moral than you.

1013
00:46:11,167 --> 00:46:13,917
I'm more religious than you."

1014
00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:16,250
Then he shares with us
his resume.

1015
00:46:16,333 --> 00:46:18,833
"Circumcised on the eighth day."

1016
00:46:18,875 --> 00:46:20,833
That was required.

1017
00:46:20,833 --> 00:46:25,167
"Of the people of Israel," a Jew
all the way back to Abraham.

1018
00:46:25,208 --> 00:46:27,208
"Heard about him?
Yeah, he's to the left.

1019
00:46:27,333 --> 00:46:29,500
"He's a big deal.

1020
00:46:29,583 --> 00:46:32,250
I descend from Abraham,"
he says.

1021
00:46:32,333 --> 00:46:34,375
"Of the tribe of Benjamin."

1022
00:46:34,500 --> 00:46:38,333
Oh, a very important
family, again, in the Bible.

1023
00:46:38,333 --> 00:46:40,833
It's pretty cool when your
family's in the concordance.

1024
00:46:40,917 --> 00:46:43,833
That's pretty awesome.

1025
00:46:43,875 --> 00:46:46,583
"A Hebrew of Hebrews;
as to the law," a what?

1026
00:46:46,667 --> 00:46:49,167
"Pharisee," which
is the same group

1027
00:46:49,167 --> 00:46:52,542
that kept ankle-biting Jesus.

1028
00:46:52,667 --> 00:46:56,042
"As to zeal, a persecutor
of the church."

1029
00:46:56,167 --> 00:47:00,167
Actually murdered at least one
Christian, incarcerated others,

1030
00:47:00,250 --> 00:47:02,500
harmed others, damaged others.

1031
00:47:02,542 --> 00:47:06,417
This guy is really
committed to his cause.

1032
00:47:06,500 --> 00:47:10,042
"As to righteousness
under the law, blameless."

1033
00:47:10,167 --> 00:47:13,667
How many of you would not put
that on your business card?

1034
00:47:13,708 --> 00:47:18,833
"Hi, my name is Harriet, and
as to the law, I am blameless."

1035
00:47:18,875 --> 00:47:21,167
That's a lot, right?

1036
00:47:21,208 --> 00:47:24,208
That's a rule-keeper
right there.

1037
00:47:24,333 --> 00:47:27,417
"But whatever gain I had,

1038
00:47:27,500 --> 00:47:29,708
I counted as loss
for the sake of Christ."

1039
00:47:29,833 --> 00:47:31,167
You know what?

1040
00:47:31,167 --> 00:47:35,417
He says, "And that used to
matter to me till I met Jesus.

1041
00:47:35,500 --> 00:47:38,500
"That used to actually
impress me till I met Jesus.

1042
00:47:38,500 --> 00:47:43,042
That used to actually
motivate me till I met Jesus."

1043
00:47:43,167 --> 00:47:46,000
"Indeed, I count everything
as loss because of

1044
00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:49,333
the surpassing worth of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord."

1045
00:47:49,417 --> 00:47:50,833
Here's the truth.

1046
00:47:50,875 --> 00:47:53,167
Jesus Christ is Lord!

1047
00:47:53,250 --> 00:47:56,667
The question is, is he my Lord?

1048
00:47:56,667 --> 00:47:59,500
Paul says,
"Not only is Jesus Christ Lord,

1049
00:47:59,542 --> 00:48:01,750
"he's my Lord.

1050
00:48:01,833 --> 00:48:04,083
"He's the one I worship.

1051
00:48:04,167 --> 00:48:05,833
"He's the one I live for.

1052
00:48:05,875 --> 00:48:08,333
"He's my savior.

1053
00:48:08,333 --> 00:48:13,167
"For his sake I have suffered
the loss of all things

1054
00:48:13,167 --> 00:48:15,208
and count them as rubbish."

1055
00:48:15,333 --> 00:48:17,833
That's a word--some of your
translations will say "garbage"

1056
00:48:17,875 --> 00:48:20,667
or "feces" or "excrement."

1057
00:48:20,750 --> 00:48:24,500
It's actually a loaded, pretty
nasty word 'cause that's

1058
00:48:24,500 --> 00:48:27,333
what religion is,
a pretty nasty thing.

1059
00:48:27,333 --> 00:48:29,500
And I've told you before,
but I'll repeat it,

1060
00:48:29,583 --> 00:48:32,667
next time you go out in the yard
or you're at the park

1061
00:48:32,750 --> 00:48:35,708
and you see a big steaming
pile, think religion.

1062
00:48:35,833 --> 00:48:37,875
It's exactly what he's saying.

1063
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:42,375
Paul used to say, "Oh, I was
really impressed with my pile.

1064
00:48:42,500 --> 00:48:46,208
"And then I met Jesus and I
realized it wasn't as big

1065
00:48:46,333 --> 00:48:49,167
of a deal as I was expecting."

1066
00:48:49,167 --> 00:48:52,333
"In order that I may gain
Christ and be found in him,

1067
00:48:52,417 --> 00:48:55,667
"not having a righteousness of
my own that comes from the law,

1068
00:48:55,708 --> 00:48:58,375
"but that which comes
through faith in Christ,

1069
00:48:58,500 --> 00:49:03,167
"the righteousness from
God that depends on faith--

1070
00:49:03,167 --> 00:49:04,667
that I may know him,"

1071
00:49:04,708 --> 00:49:07,667
that's what it's all
about is knowing Jesus.

1072
00:49:07,708 --> 00:49:10,333
"And the power
of his resurrection,"

1073
00:49:10,333 --> 00:49:12,167
that's the power
of the Holy Spirit.

1074
00:49:12,167 --> 00:49:15,167
"And may share his sufferings,
becoming like him in his death,

1075
00:49:15,167 --> 00:49:18,333
"that by any means possible I
may attain the resurrection

1076
00:49:18,375 --> 00:49:20,167
from the dead."

1077
00:49:20,208 --> 00:49:25,208
Paul says, "If you think
religion is going to satisfy,

1078
00:49:25,333 --> 00:49:29,833
"let me tell you from my own
life example, it's garbage.

1079
00:49:29,875 --> 00:49:34,333
Religion is ridiculous."

1080
00:49:34,375 --> 00:49:37,667
And see, religion is seeking
to answer a very important

1081
00:49:37,750 --> 00:49:43,333
question, and that is, how
can we who are unholy and

1082
00:49:43,333 --> 00:49:48,542
unrighteous be declared holy
and acceptable in the sight

1083
00:49:48,667 --> 00:49:52,167
of a holy and righteous God?

1084
00:49:52,167 --> 00:49:54,333
That's a very good question.

1085
00:49:54,375 --> 00:49:59,042
Religion asks the right question
and provides the wrong answer.

1086
00:50:01,417 --> 00:50:05,875
So religion rightly ascertains:
God is holy and righteous.

1087
00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:08,667
We're unholy,
unrighteous sinners.

1088
00:50:08,667 --> 00:50:13,250
We deserve death, hell,
judgment, wrath, condemnation.

1089
00:50:13,333 --> 00:50:16,667
How can we
be declared righteous,

1090
00:50:16,708 --> 00:50:18,917
made holy in the sight of God?

1091
00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:21,583
That's a very good question.

1092
00:50:21,667 --> 00:50:25,500
And they provide
the wrong answer.

1093
00:50:25,500 --> 00:50:32,167
They say, "What should we
do to make ourselves holy?

1094
00:50:32,208 --> 00:50:37,833
What should we do to make
ourselves righteous?"

1095
00:50:37,917 --> 00:50:41,542
And they miss Jesus,
who makes them holy

1096
00:50:41,667 --> 00:50:43,917
and makes them righteous.

1097
00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:48,875
And they build traditions
and rules and regulations

1098
00:50:51,208 --> 00:50:56,083
in an effort to perform their
way to pleasing God.

1099
00:50:56,167 --> 00:50:59,667
Theologically, this is
the doctrine of justification.

1100
00:50:59,708 --> 00:51:03,000
How can a sinner be declared
righteous in the sight of God?

1101
00:51:03,042 --> 00:51:06,000
Paul says it this way, and I've
shared it with you guys

1102
00:51:06,042 --> 00:51:08,000
many times and it's
perhaps my favorite verse

1103
00:51:08,042 --> 00:51:10,333
in the whole Bible,
it's 2 Corinthians 5:21.

1104
00:51:10,375 --> 00:51:11,833
Paul says it this way,

1105
00:51:11,875 --> 00:51:13,833
"God made him who
knew no sin," Jesus.

1106
00:51:13,875 --> 00:51:18,000
God became a man, lived
without any sin whatsoever.

1107
00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:21,708
"God made him who knew
no sin to become sin,"

1108
00:51:21,833 --> 00:51:23,250
that's on the cross,

1109
00:51:23,333 --> 00:51:27,042
Jesus took upon himself
my sin, our sin.

1110
00:51:27,167 --> 00:51:30,375
"God made him who knew
no sin to become sin,

1111
00:51:30,500 --> 00:51:36,208
so that in him we might become
the righteousness of God."

1112
00:51:36,333 --> 00:51:38,917
Martin Luther calls
this the great exchange.

1113
00:51:39,000 --> 00:51:41,875
Jesus lives without sin, goes to
the cross to take my place

1114
00:51:42,000 --> 00:51:45,083
for my sin, all of my
sin goes to Jesus.

1115
00:51:45,167 --> 00:51:46,417
He's my substitute.

1116
00:51:46,500 --> 00:51:47,917
He pays my debt of death.

1117
00:51:48,000 --> 00:51:50,833
And he rises from death,
conquering Satan, sin, death,

1118
00:51:50,833 --> 00:51:52,917
hell, and the wrath of God.

1119
00:51:53,000 --> 00:51:55,750
Furthermore, not only does
Jesus take all my sin,

1120
00:51:55,833 --> 00:51:59,375
he gives me all of
his righteousness.

1121
00:51:59,500 --> 00:52:03,250
What the religious people want

1122
00:52:03,333 --> 00:52:07,583
is what Jesus alone gives:
righteousness.

1123
00:52:07,667 --> 00:52:09,917
Some of you say, "That's my
problem with Christianity,

1124
00:52:10,000 --> 00:52:11,333
"it's too easy.

1125
00:52:11,417 --> 00:52:14,750
You just receive this free gift
of grace and righteousness."

1126
00:52:14,833 --> 00:52:16,833
No, it's the hardest thing
in the world

1127
00:52:16,833 --> 00:52:20,500
because it requires humility.

1128
00:52:20,583 --> 00:52:23,417
To say, "I don't
contribute to my salvation.

1129
00:52:23,500 --> 00:52:25,333
I don't participate
in my salvation."

1130
00:52:25,375 --> 00:52:27,750
It's not Jesus works
and I work and together

1131
00:52:27,833 --> 00:52:29,917
we get the job done.

1132
00:52:30,000 --> 00:52:33,042
It's all of Jesus, none of me,
and I humbly receive

1133
00:52:33,167 --> 00:52:36,750
a gift of grace.

1134
00:52:36,833 --> 00:52:40,333
Is there hope for the religious?

1135
00:52:40,333 --> 00:52:42,167
Yes.

1136
00:52:42,167 --> 00:52:48,208
What the religious really want
is what Jesus alone truly gives,

1137
00:52:48,333 --> 00:52:52,042
forgiveness of sin
and righteousness.

1138
00:52:52,167 --> 00:52:54,208
So let me summarize with this.

1139
00:52:54,333 --> 00:52:58,833
It's not about me,
it's about Jesus.

1140
00:52:58,917 --> 00:53:04,167
It's not about my performance,
it's about his perfection.

1141
00:53:06,583 --> 00:53:10,333
It's ultimately not
about my religion,

1142
00:53:10,417 --> 00:53:14,583
it's about his redemption.

1143
00:53:15,667 --> 00:53:18,333
It's not about
what I do for God,

1144
00:53:18,375 --> 00:53:24,167
it's about what God
does for me out of love.

1145
00:53:24,250 --> 00:53:29,333
And it's not a work I achieve,
it's a gift I receive.

1146
00:53:31,500 --> 00:53:33,875
Amen.

1147
00:53:34,000 --> 00:53:36,542
Father God, I pray
for my friends.

1148
00:53:36,667 --> 00:53:39,875
I pray that you would keep us
from that default mode of

1149
00:53:40,000 --> 00:53:45,542
the human heart toward religion.

1150
00:53:45,667 --> 00:53:50,417
God, we want to serve zealously
and passionately and fervently,

1151
00:53:50,500 --> 00:53:53,833
but we want to do it like Paul.

1152
00:53:53,833 --> 00:53:56,500
Not so that you'll love
us, but because you do.

1153
00:53:56,500 --> 00:53:58,333
Not so that we
could be righteous,

1154
00:53:58,333 --> 00:54:01,000
but because in Christ we are.

1155
00:54:01,042 --> 00:54:03,333
Not so that you
would find us holy,

1156
00:54:03,417 --> 00:54:05,667
but because Jesus
is our holiness,

1157
00:54:05,750 --> 00:54:09,000
Jesus is our righteousness.

1158
00:54:09,083 --> 00:54:12,750
Jesus, thank you so much that
you deliver us not only from

1159
00:54:12,833 --> 00:54:15,667
Satan, sin, death, hell,
and the wrath of God,

1160
00:54:15,750 --> 00:54:18,417
but religion as well.

1161
00:54:18,500 --> 00:54:23,375
Rule-keeping,
nitpicking, fight-making.

1162
00:54:23,500 --> 00:54:28,500
Jesus, thank you for
saving us from religion.

1163
00:54:28,542 --> 00:54:33,917
Please keep saving us from
religion that leads to pride.

1164
00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:36,500
We feel like we're better
than everyone else.

1165
00:54:36,500 --> 00:54:40,000
Or despair, we fell
miserably short.

1166
00:54:40,000 --> 00:54:45,167
Please give us the Holy Spirit,
the resurrection power.

1167
00:54:45,167 --> 00:54:49,083
Please give us new life that we
would be as passionate

1168
00:54:49,167 --> 00:54:53,500
as Paul for the same
reasons that he was.

1169
00:54:53,500 --> 00:54:57,583
God, please give us hope
for those who are religious.

1170
00:54:57,667 --> 00:54:59,333
For those who are
religious, God,

1171
00:54:59,333 --> 00:55:01,542
I pray they'd repent
of their religion,

1172
00:55:01,667 --> 00:55:04,000
that they'd repent
of their righteousness,

1173
00:55:04,083 --> 00:55:08,042
that their religion and their
righteousness is their sin.

1174
00:55:08,167 --> 00:55:11,833
For those who have capitulated
to religious people,

1175
00:55:11,875 --> 00:55:14,042
they've backed
up on their convictions,

1176
00:55:14,167 --> 00:55:17,000
they've caved
in under criticism,

1177
00:55:17,042 --> 00:55:20,000
please allow them to lovingly
hold their ground

1178
00:55:20,042 --> 00:55:24,667
and have the conflict that is
needed like Jesus did.

1179
00:55:24,667 --> 00:55:29,500
And Jesus, thank you for your
healing of this man with dropsy.

1180
00:55:29,583 --> 00:55:32,875
In him, we see
our own condition.

1181
00:55:33,000 --> 00:55:37,833
Sin has made us sick
and will cost us our life.

1182
00:55:37,917 --> 00:55:41,500
And you come to make us
all better and to send us

1183
00:55:41,542 --> 00:55:43,500
on a brand-new life.

1184
00:55:43,583 --> 00:55:46,500
We receive that and we're
super excited about it

1185
00:55:46,583 --> 00:55:49,208
and we say thank you.
Amen.