1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:02,840 This this last sermon of the the chapter. 2 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:04,760 I'm psyched up about this sermon. 3 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:08,600 A lot of things are going to I think get unpacked for you. 4 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:11,960 Our church's name, Frontier Church, is going to make more 5 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:14,600 sense to you. That mural back there is going 6 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,280 to make more sense to you. The mural that Aubrey painted of 7 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:20,120 the garden that's multi colored, that's going to make more sense 8 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:22,880 to you. In fact, this sermon is going to 9 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:26,280 begin the work of bringing the subtitle of the sermon series 10 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:28,440 into focus. We haven't even touched on it. 11 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:32,000 The subtitle is Be the the Frontier where Heaven Meets 12 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:33,480 Earth. And so I'm psyched. 13 00:00:33,480 --> 00:00:37,160 I've been chewing through the leash all week, chewing through 14 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:41,160 the leash, just excited to get around to this sermon and here, 15 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:44,160 here we are. But I, I got to say something to 16 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:46,880 you up front, like a commercial for a medication. 17 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:49,640 This sermon does come with an important notice of possible 18 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,280 side effects. There are some. 19 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:55,280 I want you to be aware of them. You might find this sermon 20 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,560 wildly disorienting because it's going to go right down to the 21 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:04,680 the main framework that you use to make sense out of the Bible. 22 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,240 It's going to provide a lot of clarity, but it also may include 23 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:10,480 side effects of more confusion too. 24 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,280 It should have a lot of answers, but it will also leave you with 25 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:16,360 more questions. It'll be a mixture of light bulb 26 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:19,560 moments and head scratchers. We're going from basically the 27 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,840 first chapter of the Bible all the way to the last chapter of 28 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:27,160 the Bible because we are tackling humanity's purpose. 29 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,160 I've got a lot of work to do. I've already got my license and 30 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:33,840 registration out because I know I'm going to get pulled over for 31 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:37,400 speeding today. So just grab what you can. 32 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:39,600 On the drive I had, I had somebody from our church say, 33 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:43,000 dude, I always listen to podcast at double speed. 34 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:45,760 Not you. You already speak at double 35 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:48,440 speed this morning. Might be triple speed. 36 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,360 OK, get what you can. Then you can come back around to 37 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,720 it to to talk about purpose. And to talk about purpose. 38 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,800 Well, there's a colossal problem that we are up against in the 39 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:02,080 modern world, and we at least have to look at it right up 40 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,360 front. The modern world has told us 41 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:10,199 both explicitly and implicitly that the purpose of our lives is 42 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:16,200 to look inward and to be yourself and to live a life 43 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:21,000 that's true to you. That worldview is called hyper 44 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:23,720 individualism. Hyper individualism. 45 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:26,080 It's not the same as individualism. 46 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,520 Individualism is important and it's a healthy level of 47 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:31,560 self-awareness that I'm a fan of. 48 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:33,920 Now. There are some helpful aspects 49 00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:37,560 to hyper individualism. I like inner exploration. 50 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:41,240 I think thinking critically about the way that you're wired 51 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:43,280 uniquely is really, really important. 52 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:47,520 But the failure of hyper individualism is making that the 53 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:51,240 main purpose and goal of your life. 54 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:56,000 Hyper individualism fails measurably and massively as an 55 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,680 ultimate worldview to give us purpose. 56 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:03,120 It doesn't and it can't. I like the way that Andrew 57 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:07,480 Wilson describes it in his phenomenal history book OK? 58 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:14,240 He says one feature of our modern culture is our obsession 59 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:16,880 with identity. In most cultures, the question 60 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:19,360 of identity is answered by society as a whole. 61 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:22,760 You belong to this land, this people, this religion, this 62 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:27,800 village, this extended family. Identity is usually not chosen, 63 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,720 it is given. But modern people see selfhood 64 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:38,240 quite differently. Who we are is constructed by our 65 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,560 own actions and choices, economically, sexually, 66 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,640 professionally, religiously, socially, creatively. 67 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,520 And it's our responsibility to ensure that other people accept, 68 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:52,160 recognize and validate our chosen identity. 69 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:55,320 Which of course explains the prominence of identity political 70 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:57,960 discussions. And This is why people say 71 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:03,280 things like if you don't accept this, then you don't accept me. 72 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:08,520 Or tragically, I don't even know who I am anymore. 73 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:13,080 Here's a summary statement. In the modern world, our very 74 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:19,200 selves are constructions rather than gifts, secured and 75 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:23,400 maintained by works and not grace. 76 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:29,640 And this is exhausting. Now giving hyper individualism 77 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:32,880 the benefit of the doubt, we could ask the question has has 78 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:35,400 self obsession improved our well-being? 79 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:40,160 And the resounding measurable answer is no. 80 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:43,840 No matter what major study you look at, You can look at the 81 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:46,240 World Happiness Report. That's a fun one to read. 82 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,920 Gallup says the same thing and it's incredibly extensive. 83 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,760 No matter which one you look at, they all show the same trend. 84 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:57,680 In countries and areas where a hyper individualism goes up, 85 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:04,600 life satisfaction goes down. Everywhere where self obsession 86 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:09,640 goes up, life satisfaction goes down. 87 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:13,400 It's not working. I like the way that author David 88 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:14,640 Brooks says it. Quote. 89 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:19,360 Many young people are graduating into limbo, floating and plagued 90 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,000 by uncertainty. They want to know what 91 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,080 specifically they should do with their lives. 92 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,520 And we tell them freedom. The purpose of life is to be 93 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:28,760 free. We're not going to impose 94 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:31,240 anything on you or tell you what to do. 95 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:33,920 But that's nothing but an empty box. 96 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:36,960 And so the students in the audience put down that empty box 97 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:38,760 because they're drowning in freedom. 98 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,120 What they're looking for is direction. 99 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,720 What's freedom for How do I know which path is my path? 100 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:49,960 So we hand them the empty box of authenticity. 101 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,360 Look inside yourself. You do you. 102 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:57,280 But this is useless too. The you. 103 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:04,800 We tell them to consult for life's answers is the very thing 104 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:10,800 that hasn't yet formed. So they put down that empty box 105 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,840 and asked what cause will inspire me and give meaning and 106 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:18,000 direction to my life. And at this point, we hand them 107 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:21,760 the emptiest box of all, the box of autonomy. 108 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:24,840 It's up to you to define your own values. 109 00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:28,000 We tell them no one else can tell you what's right or wrong 110 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,480 for you. And you will notice that our 111 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:35,560 common answers take all the difficulties of living in your 112 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:43,760 20s and 30s and make them worse. They are floundering in a 113 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:49,120 formless desert, and not only do we not give them a compass, we 114 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:54,200 take a bucket of sand and throw it all over their heads. 115 00:06:56,440 --> 00:07:03,240 So we need something outside of ourselves, a purpose that can 116 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:08,280 sustain us and give meaning to life in the modern world, 117 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:12,640 something bigger than what we can discover within our really 118 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:15,280 little selves. And so the question we should 119 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:20,920 all be asking this morning is, does God have a solution to this 120 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,880 problem? Does he have a compass? 121 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:28,600 Does he have a purpose to give? The answer to that is yes. 122 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:31,080 So if you're able to stand for the reading of God's Word. 123 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:40,240 God creates everything, the heavens and the earth, the sun 124 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:43,120 and the stars, the squirrels, the land and the sky. 125 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:45,920 Then he creates human beings in His own image. 126 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:50,560 And then verse 28 and God blessed them. 127 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:54,360 That's interesting. What have they done? 128 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,960 They just got created. We didn't even know if they'd 129 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:03,000 taken a breath. And the blessing of God falls on 130 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:04,440 them. Interesting. 131 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:06,880 And God bless them. And then God gave them a 132 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:09,400 purpose. He said to them, be fruitful and 133 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:13,680 multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over 134 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:16,840 the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over 135 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:20,280 every living thing that moves on the earth. 136 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:23,440 We'll spend the majority of our time in that verse on packing 137 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:25,200 that. We won't spend a ton of time in 138 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:27,600 these next couple of verses. They're more self-explanatory. 139 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:29,360 God said I'm going to give you food. 140 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:33,120 Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on 141 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:35,799 the face of all the earth and every tree with seed in its 142 00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:37,919 fruit. You should have those for food. 143 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,280 And to every beast of the earth and every bird in the heavens 144 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:45,000 and everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has 145 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:49,480 the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. 146 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:52,920 And it was. So I think Andrew mentioned in 147 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:54,840 passing the vegetarianism discussion. 148 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:56,280 He's like, we can talk about that next week. 149 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:58,640 I'm not talking about that this week, OK? 150 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,080 Those of you who know me, you know, I'm basically a carnivore, 151 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,960 so I can explain that position in greater detail over a steak 152 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:09,720 sometime. And God saw everything that he 153 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,600 had made and behold, it was very good. 154 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:17,040 And there was evening and there was morning the 6th day. 155 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:24,320 Heavenly Father, we just, we just love you so much. 156 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,880 We love you. We love everything about you. 157 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,680 Everything about you is perfect and good and true and beautiful 158 00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:34,600 and elicits joy and satisfaction from our hearts. 159 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:38,040 I just love to be in your presence always, Always. 160 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:43,400 And so this morning as we unpack your word at probably 120 miles 161 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:48,840 an hour, I pray it wouldn't just be words. 162 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:53,120 Just me barking endlessly up here. 163 00:09:55,920 --> 00:10:02,080 Pray that you would breathe heaven into our earthly lungs. 164 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:08,680 Yeah, in Jesus name, all God's people prayed. 165 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:10,880 Amen. You can have a seat. 166 00:10:17,450 --> 00:10:22,810 Verse 28 here is famously called the Cultural mandate. 167 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:25,480 The cultural mandate, that's what theologians call, that's 168 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,000 what academics call it. And this mandate or this 169 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,480 commandment is massively important for unlocking the rest 170 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:33,320 of the Bible. So if you missed the 1st 5 171 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:37,280 episodes of this TV series. God creates the heavens and the 172 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:39,000 earth. He molds them into various 173 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,120 things like sun, stars, water, land, animals, and the pinnacle 174 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:46,360 of his creation is day 6, the creation of human beings. 175 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:49,960 Uniquely unlike the rest of creation uniquely, humans are 176 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:52,880 quote created in the image of God. 177 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:56,480 I'm just going to steal Andrew's sermon from last week perfectly 178 00:10:56,680 --> 00:10:58,160 because that explanation was great. 179 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:00,600 And if you miss that sermon, go back to it and listen to it. 180 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,320 An image in the ancient world was a statue that a king would 181 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:06,600 place in the the faraway regions of his Kingdom. 182 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:08,960 Kings didn't have TV's or Radios. 183 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:11,280 They didn't have Twitter. I know that's hard to believe, 184 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:13,560 but in the ancient world, kings didn't have Twitter. 185 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:17,160 And So what would they do with the faraway regions of of their 186 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:18,760 Kingdom? They would extend their ruling 187 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:23,000 reign into the regions that were far away by building statues of 188 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,240 themselves, then placing those statues in those areas. 189 00:11:26,560 --> 00:11:30,680 People would see those statues and go, that's right, that's 190 00:11:30,680 --> 00:11:35,320 what we're doing here. This is his Kingdom and we exist 191 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:38,480 to extend his reign all the way over here. 192 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:42,240 And that's what you are. You're God statue. 193 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:48,080 We're God statues on the earth. What's our purpose? 194 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:54,360 OK, what what's it mean to be God's statue practically on this 195 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:55,360 earth? Right? 196 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:57,120 And the question, what's your purpose? 197 00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:00,400 If you grew up in the church, you probably know the answer to 198 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:06,960 that question, right? The purpose of my life is to die 199 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:14,960 and go to heaven, right? Well, sounds good. 200 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:19,800 Why is that not the big cultural statement that God gives in 201 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:23,360 Genesis? I don't think God said anything 202 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,480 about dying and going to heaven. So what? 203 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:30,280 What's what's going on? That's that's confusing. 204 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:35,120 OK, let's dig into it. God doesn't say die and go to 205 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:37,200 heaven. So instead let's look at what 206 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,120 God did say. There are four massive words in 207 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:42,240 verse 28 forming the cultural mandate. 208 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:45,840 I want you to circle each one of these if you've got your Bible 209 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:48,320 open with a pen. If you don't, I want I want you 210 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:52,840 to sear them into your brain. OK, the four big words that make 211 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:56,200 up the cultural mandate is fruitful. 212 00:12:56,280 --> 00:13:00,000 Everybody say fruitful. Everybody say multiply, 213 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:02,880 multiply. Everybody say subdue. 214 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:09,160 Everybody say dominion. You just told me in those words 215 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:11,640 the grand overarching purpose of my life. 216 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:14,880 That's the cultural mandate. Let's start with fruitful verse 217 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:18,120 28. God says be fruitful. 218 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:19,960 Now this is a wonderful multi layered word. 219 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:22,280 The idea here is that we're supposed to look at God's 220 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:26,720 creation and he has built fruitfulness into creation. 221 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:30,040 So we're supposed to look at it and see its potentials and 222 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:34,520 possibilities and then draw even more fruit and life out of it. 223 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:36,960 Have you ever looked at something or have you ever 224 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:40,720 looked at someone and and thought to yourself, it's good 225 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:47,960 and I love it, but man, it could be so much more. 226 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:53,600 What is that? That voice in your heart is 227 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:58,840 God's design to propel you towards fruitfulness. 228 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:02,000 Let's define it this way. The command to be fruitful is 229 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:07,360 the command to go create life, create more life. 230 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:11,560 Take what God's made and tap in to its fruitfulness. 231 00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:14,360 And that brings us to our second word also in verse 28. 232 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:19,520 Be fruitful and multiply. Or to recognize God's 233 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:23,520 reproductive capacity that He's built into all of creation's 234 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:26,640 order. Tap into that and then multiply 235 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,280 and make more of it. This certainly goes for the 236 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:32,480 human capacity for sexually procreating, for sure. 237 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:37,400 But it also extends to farming and art and culture and poetry 238 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:40,640 and literature and politics and communities. 239 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:43,920 Have you ever looked at something, maybe one of your 240 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:47,440 kids and thought, look at that little booger? 241 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:51,320 I just love him. And we got to make more of these 242 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:53,920 things. That's how I felt about our 243 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:55,640 Sunday church. I remember looking at our Sunday 244 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,200 church and being like, man, this community is amazing. 245 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:00,760 There's got to be more places like this on planet earth. 246 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:06,480 What is that? That voice in your heart is 247 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:10,680 God's design to propel you towards multiplication. 248 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:15,920 Let's say it this way. To multiply is to spread life. 249 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:19,520 Which brings us to our third word, subdue. 250 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:24,400 Also, verse 28, Be fruitful, Multiply, then fill the earth 251 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:27,320 and subdue it. Here's where things get really 252 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:28,760 fun. The word subdue here, it does 253 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:32,440 not have any connotations whatsoever of exploitation. 254 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:34,720 None. It follows God's pattern in 255 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:40,040 Genesis 1 of making order out of chaos, arranging things. 256 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:43,600 So have you ever stood at the doorway of your bedroom and just 257 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:47,880 taken in the joy of looking at a room that you cleaned that was 258 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:53,680 messy an hour ago and just been like, oh man, that feels so good 259 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:57,000 to see chaos turn into order. Have you ever done that? 260 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:04,080 What is that? Here's what this is that is that 261 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:07,560 voice in your heart is God's design to propel you towards 262 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:12,440 subduing creation by cleaning rooms, but also by cleaning 263 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:17,320 organizations with PowerPoints, reports, blueprints, and Excel 264 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:21,400 spreadsheets. To organize, to subdue creation 265 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:25,240 means that we also organize life. 266 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:29,360 Notice all of these commandments revolve around life and what to 267 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:32,000 do with life. And that brings us to our fourth 268 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,080 word, which is our most misunderstood word, dominion. 269 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:38,760 I love that word. That's also verse 28. 270 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:42,840 Have dominion. Have dominion over the fish of 271 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:46,000 the sea and over the birds of the heavens, and over every 272 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:48,360 living thing that moves on the earth. 273 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,680 Again, don't confuse that word dominion with domination. 274 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:53,920 They sound similar, but they have different meanings. 275 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:57,840 Doing whatever you want to the earth and its creatures for 276 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:01,240 selfish gain is not what's being talked about right here. 277 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:06,599 The word dominion here is actually a royal word, royal 278 00:17:06,599 --> 00:17:10,200 connotations to it. It refers to the rulership of a 279 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,160 queen or a king. So have you ever been a part of 280 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,599 a team or a group that you loved, looked at it and said, 281 00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:23,000 ma'am, I love these people. But with great leadership, it 282 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,280 could become so much more. Have you ever thought that to 283 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:27,920 yourself? What is that? 284 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:35,480 That voice in your heart is God's design to propel humankind 285 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:40,400 to ruling over creation like kings and Queens. 286 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:46,800 We'll say it this way. To take dominion is to rule life 287 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:49,760 wisely. How's that for a definition? 288 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:56,040 You guys with me, We're defining the paint off the walls this 289 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:58,480 morning. I'm feeling ice cold, so I'm 290 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:01,120 going to keep going. So here's what the cultural 291 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:03,800 mandate, the big purpose of God, gives humanity. 292 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:06,160 This is what it looks like from 1000 feet above. 293 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:13,000 We are to be fruitful or create life and multiply or spread life 294 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:19,400 and subdue or organize life and take dominion or rule life 295 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:21,120 wisely. Hear things get really 296 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:23,200 interesting. This is a spoiler alert and 297 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:25,320 chapter 2. God, immediately after creating 298 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:28,960 and commissioning mankind, gives them a little working model for 299 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:30,680 what their work should look like. 300 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:32,400 OK, I'm supposed to do these things. 301 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:36,040 What's that even look like? So God gives them a little mock 302 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:41,080 up, a little blueprint, a little prototype for the human task. 303 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:47,240 Do you know what it is called? The Garden of Eden. 304 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:50,400 That's what Eden is. Eden's a prototype of what God 305 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:52,960 wants the whole cosmos to look like. 306 00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:55,960 Think about Eden really quickly. Eden has the capacity to be 307 00:18:55,960 --> 00:19:00,560 fruitful, to multiply, but only if humans subdue and take 308 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:03,480 dominion over and care for it and multiply it. 309 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:09,160 So humanity's purpose is to take Eden global or one theologian. 310 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:11,200 I love the way he says it because he makes up words. 311 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:14,240 I love making up words. He says the purpose of humanity 312 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:17,200 is the gardenification of the cosmos. 313 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:21,240 We gardenify this morning or what? 314 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:23,560 Isn't that such a good made-up word? 315 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:25,080 It should be real. But I'm getting ahead of myself. 316 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:27,720 Eden's next chapter. We'll get there in a couple 317 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:30,000 months. Back to the cultural mandate. 318 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:34,880 Back to the cultural mandate. Let's make it punchy and 319 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,080 memorable here. Create life, spread life, 320 00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:41,320 Organize life, rule life. That's the job description at 321 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:44,920 this point in Genesis, though. Have you seen anybody do that 322 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:49,960 job description yet? The answer is yes. 323 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:54,560 It's a trick question you have. That's actually what God is 324 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:59,800 doing the entire first chapter. So God. 325 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:06,720 God does the job on Week 1, and then he hires somebody to do it 326 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:11,800 on Week 2. You, me, us. 327 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:16,920 On Week 1, God models it on week two, He delegates us. 328 00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:18,480 Why? What's the point? 329 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:21,240 And the point is this. It's because God's ultimate 330 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:25,360 purpose is to bring heaven and earth together. 331 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:28,160 And how do humans function in that equation? 332 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:33,600 Humans are to be the frontier where heaven meets earth. 333 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:38,520 We are to take the rule and reign of the God of Heaven and 334 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:42,200 spread it on earth. We're to be citizens of heaven 335 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:48,160 on earth by being God's statues. That's the cultural mandate in a 336 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,160 nutshell. We are to be the frontier where 337 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:51,800 heaven meets earth. That's your purpose. 338 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,640 That's your mission. That's your calling, to be the 339 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:56,400 frontier where heaven meets earth. 340 00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:01,080 To quote NT, right, He says the story of the Bible isn't 341 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:03,880 ultimately about people going to heaven when they die. 342 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:07,520 It's about heaven coming down to earth. 343 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:14,200 But maybe growing up you were told that the purpose of life is 344 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:17,360 to die and go to heaven. What gives? 345 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,840 What's So what? What's the danger in that? 346 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:28,680 It has some truth to it. What's the danger in that? 347 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:33,120 Last week I had a fun conversation with the Poison 348 00:21:33,120 --> 00:21:36,680 Control Center, and I know what you're thinking. 349 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:41,120 I can see it in in your mind. No, it wasn't Jack, even though 350 00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:43,200 I've had that conversation with the Poison Control Center. 351 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,120 Not this time. What had happened is I have a 352 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:49,800 really bad habit, OK? I'm trying to break myself of 353 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:52,000 it, and I haven't been able to broke break myself of it. 354 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,840 I blame my high school friends. My high school friends were this 355 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:57,560 way. Like anytime we are around a pop 356 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:00,760 or a soda that we wanted to drink or an energy drink, If it 357 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:03,920 wasn't ours, it didn't matter. We just take it, a drink of it, 358 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,640 grab it and take a drink of it. And I'm like, I'm in my 30s now 359 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:08,200 and I haven't been able to break that. 360 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:10,640 Whenever I want to drink or something, I'll just grab it and 361 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:12,240 take it. And it's only gotten me into 362 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:15,480 trouble twice. And I'm not going to tell you 363 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:19,520 the first time I ever got in trouble because Tracy's doing 364 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:21,560 this because that's Andrew's story to tell. 365 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:23,640 You can ask Andrew if he wants to tell you, he'll tell you. 366 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:25,800 If he doesn't, he won't. I'll tell you about the second 367 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:29,000 time it got me in trouble, which was last week. 368 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:33,640 I, I was taken, I'm taking my vitamin D because I'm a health 369 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,120 nut. Thanks for your applause. 370 00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:40,320 I was taking my vitamin D and there was this glass of water 371 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:43,120 that was right next to the sink. So I took it right. 372 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:46,960 And I just, I, I hammered, I chugged it because, because when 373 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,920 you're taking vitamins, you're not like sip, sip, sip, right? 374 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:52,440 It's gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp bulb. 375 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:54,240 So I just, I gunned the thing down. 376 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:58,400 I gulp it down with my vitamin D and, and then it hits me. 377 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:02,960 I feel it. There's a tingle in the back of 378 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:08,080 my throat and I'm like, I'm like, that tastes like something 379 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:13,880 I've smelled before. And so I go, oh, man, I'm so 380 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:16,640 stupid. I go, I go, Chloe, was there 381 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:18,880 something else in that glass of water? 382 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,840 And she goes, you didn't, you did not drink that glass. 383 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:26,640 And I was like, I did indeed drinking glass. 384 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:29,640 It turns out that that glass had been dirty. 385 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:34,440 And so Chloe, in order to clean it, made a combination of water 386 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:42,120 and can you give me a drum roll? Drum roll water and hydrogen 387 00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:43,880 peroxide. I drank a bunch of hydrogen 388 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:46,400 peroxide. Totally not Chloe's fault. 389 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:48,840 It was my fault, right? I shouldn't have just got it in 390 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:50,600 and just drank out of it. I could. 391 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:52,520 I was just like, oh, my goodness. 392 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:56,520 But in my defense, have you seen this stuff? 393 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:02,720 It looks like water. It has the likeness of water. 394 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:06,920 It has the appearance of water. It's not water. 395 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:11,400 In fact, if you drink enough of it, as they told me on the 396 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:15,520 hotline, it will poison you or enough of it, and it will kill 397 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:19,760 you. But it has the likeness of 398 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:23,600 water, the appearance of water. But it'll poison you or kill you 399 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:28,200 if you drink too much of it. That's precisely what withdraw 400 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:32,000 theology is. Withdraw theology is the name 401 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,600 that scholars give to the world view that the purpose of 402 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:37,320 Christians lives is to die and go to heaven. 403 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:44,960 It's like hydrogen peroxide. It looks like Christianity has 404 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:48,080 the appearance of Christianity, has the likeness of 405 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:51,440 Christianity, it's not Christianity. 406 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,800 Yes, it has an element of truth to it and I need you to hear me 407 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:57,400 clearly. If you are a Christian and you 408 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:02,360 die before Jesus returns, you will go to heaven with Jesus for 409 00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:05,240 a short time. Your loved ones who believe in 410 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:08,520 Jesus, who have passed away, they are in heaven with Jesus. 411 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:12,680 But that's just a short stop because Jesus is ultimate 412 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:18,480 purpose is to resurrect you and bring heaven down to earth and 413 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:22,640 you will live in heaven and earth for eternity. 414 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:26,680 That's the purpose. Die and go to heaven. 415 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:31,040 Looks like Christianity has the appearance of Christianity, but 416 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:33,280 it's not Christianity. It poisons you. 417 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:36,000 This is why we have this sinner's prayer problem. 418 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:38,680 It's just about dying and getting to heaven. 419 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:42,200 So recite these words, say these exact words. 420 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:44,760 You don't even need to mean it and you're in. 421 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:48,520 You're golden. Go live whatever Pagan life you 422 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:50,880 want and when you'll die you'll go to heaven. 423 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,560 This is a massive problem in the modern church. 424 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:58,880 It's a massive poisoning of the individual Christian. 425 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:01,800 This is why they call it withdraw theology, because 426 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:05,680 withdraw theology results in Christians living a passive life 427 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:10,120 where I said the thing. And so then they withdraw from 428 00:26:10,120 --> 00:26:13,520 the world and just privately hold on to their faith and wait 429 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:16,640 to die. And that what why is that so 430 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:17,920 poisonous? It's poisonous because it 431 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:21,560 effectively removes the influence of Jesus from the 432 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:25,760 world and all the spheres of the world, our culture, politics, 433 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:28,400 poetry, literature, communities, our careers. 434 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:33,080 And that's deadly for the world. Don't drink that hydrogen 435 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:35,800 peroxide. Yes, you will go to heaven when 436 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:38,480 you die. If you're in Christ for a short 437 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:42,280 time, There's a mission here. Don't make withdraw theology 438 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:44,760 your goal. Look at the purpose God gave 439 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:46,560 you. Look at the cultural mandate. 440 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:50,000 The point of Christianity is not to just go to heaven after all 441 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:51,720 of this, right? You're not. 442 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:54,200 You're not born with your neck in a rope. 443 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:57,480 You're here for a mission and with a job. 444 00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:00,840 It's to bring heaven to earth while you live. 445 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:03,480 Picture the earth like a chalice. 446 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:08,000 Can you see that? It is beautiful on its own. 447 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:11,080 You can look at it and it's stunning, but it's not meant to 448 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:15,160 just sit on the shelf empty. It's exactly the way God has 449 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:17,040 created all of creation. It's a chalice. 450 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:19,800 It's beautiful to look at. You can look at a sunset and see 451 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:24,760 beauty and grandeur and wonder. But God did not create creation 452 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:27,960 to remain empty. He created it like a chalice. 453 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:32,640 You fill a chalice with wine in that exact same way God's 454 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:35,080 created the earth, like a chalice that's designed to be 455 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:39,280 filled with heaven, to be filled with God, right? 456 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:43,320 Habakkuk chapter 2, the prophet says the earth will be filled, 457 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:46,800 filled. The earth will be filled with 458 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:50,520 the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the 459 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:52,400 sea. What did Habakkuk see in that 460 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:54,960 vision? Where do you get where do you 461 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:56,760 get that idea from? He got from the Bible. 462 00:27:56,760 --> 00:28:01,920 What Habakkuk saw was the cultural mandate fulfilled at 463 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:06,840 the end of time, every square inch being recreated into Eden. 464 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:11,120 Human beings are agents of heaven on earth. 465 00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:16,840 That's what you are, humans. Humanity is God's heaven and 466 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:24,160 earth project. You guys feeling this if you've 467 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:27,640 so for some of us, this is disorienting. 468 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:31,280 So if you've never seen the Bible through a project heaven 469 00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:34,200 and earth lens, I'm just going to tell you right now, dial 911 470 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:36,360 and when they ask you what your emergency is, you can tell them 471 00:28:36,360 --> 00:28:38,240 that you had your face melted by the Bible. 472 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,080 Here's a quick tour. This is just this is the short 473 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:42,200 tour. This is the short tour. 474 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:43,840 OK, you ready? What? 475 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,000 Watch this. The first sentence of the Bible 476 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,040 is what God creates the heavens and the earth. 477 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:54,000 What's how's the Bible end? Read the last chapter of the 478 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,680 Bible Revelation. It ends with heaven coming down 479 00:28:57,800 --> 00:28:59,960 to earth. That's the plot line of the 480 00:28:59,960 --> 00:29:03,280 entire Bible. First page to last page. 481 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:06,800 What are humans made of? Spoiler alert, we'll see this in 482 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:10,000 the next chapter. God takes a scoop of dirt earth 483 00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:14,680 and then he breathes his breath heaven into them. 484 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:19,520 That's what you are. You're you're designed literally 485 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,480 as a heaven and earth creature to mediate heaven and earth. 486 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:25,120 We can keep going. What happened when Jesus died on 487 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:27,360 the cross? The temple curtain was ripped in 488 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:28,480 half. Why? 489 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:33,240 So that heaven could once again invade earth and overlap with 490 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:34,760 earth. We can keep going. 491 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,680 Is Jesus's nature human or God? Trick question. 492 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:44,240 He's 100% God the heavenly 1 and 100% Man the earthly one. 493 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:48,000 Jesus is quite literally heaven and earth with arms and legs. 494 00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:51,040 He's what heaven and earth coming together looks like with 495 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:53,240 skin on. We can keep going when the 496 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:56,160 disciples asked Jesus to pray. What's the summary line of the 497 00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:59,120 Lord's Prayer? God's Kingdom come your will be 498 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:05,120 done on earth as it is in heaven, even when Israel is 499 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:09,760 enslaved in exile. Look at Jeremiah 2029. 500 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:12,760 What does God tell Israel to do when they're enslaved by the 501 00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:13,920 Babylonians? Listen. 502 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:17,760 See if this sounds familiar. This is Jeremiah 29, verse 4. 503 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:20,120 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of all Israel. 504 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:24,240 To the Exiles who are in exile in Babylon, he says, build 505 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:29,120 houses and live in them, Plant gardens and eat their produce. 506 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:31,760 Take wives and have sons and daughters. 507 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:34,920 Take wives for your sons, and give your daughters and marriage 508 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:36,880 that they may bear sons and daughters. 509 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:39,600 Multiply there and do not decrease. 510 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:42,400 Seek the welfare of the city where I've sent you into exile, 511 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:44,920 and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you 512 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:48,480 will find your welfare. Does that sound familiar to you? 513 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:52,960 That's the cultural mandate. In the desert, in exile. 514 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:55,280 Where's our citizenship as Christians? 515 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:58,800 The New Testament says that our citizenship is in heaven. 516 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:00,960 That's Philippians 3. What are Christians? 517 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:03,920 Citizens of heaven, Living on earth. 518 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:05,960 Literally the frontier where heaven meets earth. 519 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:08,160 We can keep on going. We keep on moving. 520 00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:11,920 You ever notice what the Bible calls the effects of obedience 521 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:13,840 to God? It's called bearing. 522 00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:17,720 What all bearing fruit. That's Galatians 5. 523 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:19,920 Why fruit? Because our obedience to King 524 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,080 Jesus brings the Garden of Eden to earth. 525 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:26,240 Obedient Christians are like little pockets of heaven, 526 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:29,320 popping up on earth like flowers we can keep going. 527 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:32,640 What's weekly communion? It's God's heavenly banquet 528 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:36,560 bursting forth on earth. What's the big deal in the Old 529 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:39,320 Testament with tabernacles and temples and Israel building 530 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:40,440 them? Well, that's clear by the 531 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:43,960 architectural plans he gives. God commands makeshift trees and 532 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:46,880 flowers in the temple, even if thrown for the heavenly God, and 533 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:51,360 he even commands Israel to build 2 cherubim guarding the throne, 534 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:55,240 exactly like we'll see in a few chapters for where two cherubim 535 00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:59,480 guard the Garden of Eden. It's supposed to be Eden. 536 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:01,840 Temples were meant to be the frontier in the Old Testament 537 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,400 where heaven breaks into earth. And what, by the way, does Paul 538 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:11,160 call every Christian a temple? You're frontier, where heaven 539 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:13,720 meets earth. This theme literally takes you 540 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,520 from the first page of the Bible to the last page of the Bible. 541 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:21,640 It's massively important if you're in Christ. 542 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:23,080 Is God going to take you to heaven? 543 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:32,160 Yes. But before God ever puts us in 544 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:37,080 heaven, He first puts heaven into us. 545 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:44,520 You guys hanging? So how do you do it? 546 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:47,960 Genesis is clear. 4 things. Create life, spread life, 547 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:50,800 organize life, and rule over life wisely. 548 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:53,520 OK, what's we don't use those words in the modern world. 549 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:57,800 So what's that look like? Luckily for you, this isn't the 550 00:32:57,800 --> 00:32:59,440 last time we're going to see the cultural mandate. 551 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,760 Right before Jesus ascends to heaven, He does exactly what God 552 00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:07,080 does in Genesis 1. He gives a massive overarching 553 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:11,600 Commission to his people to give them work to do while he's gone. 554 00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:13,080 It's called the Great Commission. 555 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:15,600 It's called the Great Commission. 556 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:19,560 Listen carefully to the Great Commission. 557 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:21,160 I'm just going to read it. I want you to listen to it. 558 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:23,880 Ask, ask yourself, does this sound familiar? 559 00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:27,600 Jesus says in Matthew 28. And Jesus came to them and said 560 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:30,560 to them, all authority in heaven and on earth. 561 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:34,440 There it is, the heaven and earth theme again. 562 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:37,080 All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. 563 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:44,120 So go therefore and make disciples, create life, make 564 00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:50,760 disciples of all nations, spread life, baptizing them in the name 565 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:52,600 of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 566 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:58,080 Organize this new life into the Church, teaching them to observe 567 00:33:58,080 --> 00:34:01,320 all that I have commanded you. Over this life wisely. 568 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:04,880 According to King Jesus's teachings, and behold, I am with 569 00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:06,680 you always to the end of the age. 570 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:11,000 Does that sound familiar? Make disciples. 571 00:34:11,679 --> 00:34:15,800 Create life of all nations, Spread life, baptizing them, 572 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:20,520 Organize life into the church, Teach them rule over life. 573 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:25,480 The Great Commission is exactly the Genesis 1 cultural mandate 574 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:29,520 repackage for you. In Jesusy language, that makes a 575 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:31,800 little bit more sense. That's what That's what the 576 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:34,520 Great Commission is. It's the cultural mandate remix 577 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:37,320 by DJ Jesus, that's what. Where are my dogs at? 578 00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:40,679 Are we eating good this morning? That's what's going. 579 00:34:40,679 --> 00:34:47,040 On here. They always tell me never. 580 00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:51,840 Go full coal. I'm going full coal this. 581 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:54,080 Morning. This is why you exist though, 582 00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:57,600 and this is how you fulfill your God-given purpose. 583 00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:01,200 You become where heaven invades earth. 584 00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:03,560 You become the frontier where heaven meets earth. 585 00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:05,920 How do you do that? Do you want to be that? 586 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:09,880 Do you want to see the fruit of Eden grow wherever you plant 587 00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:12,280 your feet? If the answer is yes. 588 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:15,560 Here's how you do it. Fill the earth with Jesus, 589 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:19,800 people. That's literally, that's 590 00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:23,720 literally the Great Commission. Fill the earth with Jesus, 591 00:35:23,720 --> 00:35:25,640 people. Go and fill the earth with 592 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:29,360 statues of Jesus to spread his rule and reign in his Kingdom. 593 00:35:29,720 --> 00:35:33,600 Take your faith and be fruitful with it, Multiply it, subdue 594 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:36,800 with it, and take dominion with it for Jesus. 595 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:40,280 It's all about Jesus, Amen. All about Jesus. 596 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:42,840 He's the heavenly 1. He's the fullness of joy. 597 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:46,640 He's the pleasures forevermore. He's the desire of the nations. 598 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:48,440 He's the alpha. He's the Omega. 599 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:50,760 He's the beginning and the end. He's your purpose. 600 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:52,640 He's your goal. He's your mission. 601 00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:55,760 He's your heavenly reward on earth and beyond. 602 00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:58,720 That's what this is about. We want to see the world be 603 00:35:58,720 --> 00:36:01,160 transformed into the image of Jesus. 604 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:03,640 We're not. Gosh, I just never tire of 605 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:05,080 saying stuff like this. We're not just trying to 606 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:08,200 moralize the world and make a bunch. 607 00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:09,960 Of converts to empty. Morality. 608 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:13,040 Right. The world looks at the. 609 00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:14,960 Church sometimes. And they think that our end goal 610 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:17,800 is to just make a bunch of well behaved little girls and boys 611 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:20,840 who don't cuss, don't chew and don't date girls who do. 612 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:22,600 Right. Just make a bunch of boys and 613 00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:24,480 girls who aren't naughty. No, that's not what this is 614 00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:26,040 about. We want to fill the earth with 615 00:36:26,040 --> 00:36:32,000 Jesus because we love Him. I saw it man. 616 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:34,360 I. I read a quote, heard a quote 617 00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:36,000 this week. I can't remember who said it, 618 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:41,200 but it dropped my jaw. The speaker said. 619 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:49,440 The only way to possess God. Is to be constantly giving. 620 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:55,320 Him away. You do that. 621 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:59,160 There's nothing like it. There's like. 622 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:02,520 There's nothing like it like. 11 years ago, I remember I was at a 623 00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:04,920 small group in Cedar Falls and we were telling our salvation 624 00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:09,120 stories and like half of the people in the group mentioned 625 00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:11,160 how God had used me to bring them to Jesus. 626 00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:14,040 And I don't even know, I was like shocked by I was just 627 00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:16,160 enjoying Jesus publicly in front of them. 628 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:18,760 I had no idea that that had happened. 629 00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:20,960 And do you want to know what I felt in that moment? 630 00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:27,000 Three or four years ago. When we were still at the 631 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:30,160 wedding event rental spot for gathering together as a church, 632 00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:32,760 I baptized a handful of my wrestlers. 633 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:35,560 Literally guys who I had headlocked. 634 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:38,040 You don't know what that felt like for me. 635 00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:46,200 Or here's one last Easter. I got to baptize my. 636 00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:52,520 Oldest son, You know what that feels like Each of. 637 00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:56,360 Those moments provided me. With what no achievement or 638 00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:59,800 salary increase ever could, right? 639 00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:02,200 Every one of those moments made me feel oh. 640 00:38:05,960 --> 00:38:10,280 That's why I exist. That's why I. 641 00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:14,200 Exist to make. Jesus, people, let me be. 642 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:15,960 This is practical as I'm going to get this morning. 643 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:20,360 If God took a worldwide poll of all Christians everywhere and 644 00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:24,480 asked them who led you to Jesus or influenced you to be more 645 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:27,040 like Jesus? And if. 646 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:29,680 Not one soul. In the world mentioned your 647 00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:34,200 name. What would that mean to? 648 00:38:34,240 --> 00:38:42,810 You it would mean that though you're loved by Christ and 649 00:38:42,810 --> 00:38:46,050 valued in Christ and have worth in Christ, it would mean that no 650 00:38:46,050 --> 00:38:48,650 matter your salary, no matter how many items you checked off 651 00:38:48,650 --> 00:38:51,290 your bucket list, it means no matter how cool things you've 652 00:38:51,290 --> 00:38:54,850 accomplished, you're not living out your purpose. 653 00:38:56,530 --> 00:38:57,690 And so if you're. Like, yeah man, I don't. 654 00:38:57,690 --> 00:39:01,520 Think I've influenced anybody to become more like Jesus or been 655 00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:03,080 the person who led somebody to Jesus. 656 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:04,760 If that's you, here's what I would do. 657 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:07,920 I would find two or three people and I would say can we meet 658 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:10,880 together and just disciple each other on a weekly basis. 659 00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:12,560 We call them fighter groups at Frontier. 660 00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:15,680 You can just literally start one and. 661 00:39:15,680 --> 00:39:19,040 Then I would give. Myself over to discipling those 662 00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:22,280 two or three individuals and you'll be surprised because 663 00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:25,520 you'll recognize that every other goal in your life feels 664 00:39:25,520 --> 00:39:30,320 hollow compared to that. To discipling people. 665 00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:36,280 Introducing people to Jesus. Man, I was I was having coffee 666 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:39,360 with Augie this week. Is Augie here? 667 00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:42,240 Good. I was going to ask him 668 00:39:42,240 --> 00:39:45,120 permission to share it and if he said no, I still would have done 669 00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:47,040 it. No, that's. 670 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:49,440 Not true, but I was. I was some of the Augie over 671 00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:51,680 coffee and he asked me the question. 672 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:53,960 I couldn't shake it this week, he said. 673 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:58,760 If Paul wrote a letter to Frontier Church, what do you 674 00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:05,080 think it would say? Right. 1st letter to the 675 00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:07,680 frontiersman, second from Tyrion. 676 00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:09,240 I don't know what it would be called. 677 00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:12,320 What do you think it? Would say I wrestled. 678 00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:15,280 A lot with that question. Here's. 679 00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:17,760 The answer Augie gave me. He said. 680 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:21,040 I think the letter would say I think you're great and I love 681 00:40:21,040 --> 00:40:24,440 you a lot and blessings and peace to you from our God in 682 00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:27,720 Jesus Christ. There's a lot of peace and a lot 683 00:40:27,720 --> 00:40:30,680 of joy and a lot of Jesus loves you in this church and that's 684 00:40:30,680 --> 00:40:32,960 great. But if you. 685 00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:34,960 Notice that it's not. Reaching the neighborhood 686 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:37,400 that's. What? 687 00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:44,120 He said. I think he's. 688 00:40:44,120 --> 00:40:47,720 Right. I think that'd. 689 00:40:47,720 --> 00:40:49,920 Be the thing. I think that'd. 690 00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:51,920 Be the eye that. Paul would poke. 691 00:40:53,080 --> 00:40:57,160 I think he's right. And if that hurts, hurts. 692 00:40:57,160 --> 00:41:02,760 Me a little bit, if that hurts, I would just begin to ask what's 693 00:41:02,760 --> 00:41:04,200 it look like for? Me to pray daily. 694 00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:08,560 That your Kingdom come, your will be done in Des Moines as it 695 00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:11,360 is in heaven. And then I start to. 696 00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:15,520 Think about my spheres of. Influence and I would pray until 697 00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:17,920 God started to give me an image of what would it look like for 698 00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:20,480 heaven to invade that sphere of influence. 699 00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:24,120 That's what I do. Let. 700 00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:25,320 Me. Stick the landing here and I'll 701 00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:26,760 be done. I've said a lot. 702 00:41:26,760 --> 00:41:28,560 I've been preaching at 120 miles an hour. 703 00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:29,960 You guys done a great job staying with me. 704 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:32,120 Let me just say this one important thing though. 705 00:41:32,120 --> 00:41:36,080 The cultural mandate is the antidote to the anxiety of hyper 706 00:41:36,080 --> 00:41:39,600 individualism. I believe that 100%. 707 00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:43,320 I've never met a Christian who made a lot of disciples and LED 708 00:41:43,320 --> 00:41:45,960 a lot of people to Jesus, who said, you know, I just don't 709 00:41:45,960 --> 00:41:49,040 find my life very satisfying. I've never met her. 710 00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:51,640 I've never met a Christian like that ever. 711 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:55,880 The cultural mandate is the purpose of your life, but it's 712 00:41:55,880 --> 00:42:02,000 not your worth in life. I wonder if you noticed? 713 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:07,360 That in the. Text Did you notice what came 714 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:14,800 first in the text before the task, the blessing, verse 28, 715 00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:20,080 verse 28 And God blessed them. And then he said to him, do this 716 00:42:20,080 --> 00:42:21,600 stuff before the mobilize, fill the earth. 717 00:42:21,600 --> 00:42:24,160 So let me phrase the question, Let me rephrase it. 718 00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:28,760 What did Adam and Eve do to earn that blessing? 719 00:42:28,760 --> 00:42:31,040 What did they accomplish to gain that blessing? 720 00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:41,600 Nothing, not squat, not a zilch. This is the gospel hiding in 721 00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:44,400 Genesis 1. Before Adam and Eve do anything, 722 00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:49,000 before they take a step towards taking dominion, they already, 723 00:42:49,240 --> 00:42:52,520 by grace alone, have the blessing, the acceptance, and 724 00:42:52,520 --> 00:42:55,680 the friendship of God. They already have it. 725 00:42:55,720 --> 00:42:58,520 Yes, fill the earth with. Jesus, people, yes, be the 726 00:42:58,520 --> 00:42:59,560 frontier where heaven meets earth. 727 00:43:00,120 --> 00:43:03,160 But don't forget the gospel. Don't forget that Jesus died for 728 00:43:03,160 --> 00:43:07,760 you apart from works. Don't forget that Christ was 729 00:43:07,760 --> 00:43:11,440 crucified for your sins and to cover you in his righteousness 730 00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:16,160 and clothes you in worth. And he does that by faith alone. 731 00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:19,840 Apart from works of the law, apart from the cultural mandate, 732 00:43:20,040 --> 00:43:22,320 apart from discipleship statistics. 733 00:43:22,920 --> 00:43:26,360 That's your worth. Before you share the gospel, 734 00:43:26,920 --> 00:43:29,520 before you make disciples, before you tell anybody about 735 00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:35,200 Jesus, know that Jesus loves you unconditionally, madly, and 736 00:43:35,200 --> 00:43:36,960 eternally because of Christ Jesus. 737 00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:43,920 But you need, I know this is self-explanatory. 738 00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:48,520 You need to be filled with heaven first if you want to go 739 00:43:48,520 --> 00:43:50,320 be the frontier where heaven meets earth. 740 00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:55,120 Heavenly Father, thank you for. Your cultural mandate, your 741 00:43:55,120 --> 00:44:00,560 Great Commission, all of the Bible just makes so much more 742 00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:03,120 sense when you see it through that lens. 743 00:44:04,560 --> 00:44:06,200 There's. Work to be done there's. 744 00:44:06,200 --> 00:44:10,440 A mission. There's a purpose, and yes, 745 00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:13,600 there is peace and hope and joy in the knowledge that if death 746 00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:16,600 comes before resurrection, we will be in heaven with God. 747 00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:21,160 But we're not going to sit on the sidelines and wait and be 748 00:44:21,160 --> 00:44:26,360 passive and withdraw. We're going to go be fruitful 749 00:44:26,640 --> 00:44:31,320 and multiply and fill and subdue and take dominion over creation 750 00:44:31,320 --> 00:44:34,640 for the glory of Jesus. So what would that look like in 751 00:44:34,640 --> 00:44:37,640 our lives? Lord, bring that to mind. 752 00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:41,040 Help us visualize it until we can see it with clarity. 753 00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:44,080 It's in the precious. Name of Jesus, that all. 754 00:44:44,080 --> 00:44:47,400 God's people prayed. Amen. 755 00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:48,520 Let's. Stand and worship the. 756 00:44:48,520 --> 00:44:49,840 Heavenly one right here on earth.