1 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:10,440 We're going to continue our journey through the Gospel of 2 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:14,240 Luke now entering into Luke chapter 13. 3 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:20,120 And you know, one thing you'll notice as you read the gospels 4 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:22,920 and as maybe you've noticed already, as we've gone week by 5 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:26,000 week through the Gospel of Luke, that so many of Jesus 6 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,720 interactions come from a question that someone has for 7 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:31,520 him. They they run up to him and they 8 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:35,040 want him to answer a question or, or, or figure out a dispute 9 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:37,080 of their life or they're challenging him with a question. 10 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:42,360 So to get us thinking this morning, let me stir in your 11 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:45,760 minds what that would look like in your life. 12 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:52,160 If you could ask Jesus a question, if you could call out 13 00:00:52,160 --> 00:00:54,920 to God and ask him a question and, and you and you knew he 14 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:57,040 would give you an answer. What are the questions of your 15 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:02,080 heart in your life right now? And so I went before you in 16 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:05,239 this, in this thought experiment and that, that question 17 00:01:05,239 --> 00:01:08,560 actually, I took me all the way back to my childhood thinking 18 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:12,000 through who God was in my life. And, and I realized the question 19 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:17,600 changes as I've grown. My first answer kind of stirred 20 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,120 in me a childhood memory. My, my parents had a basement 21 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:23,920 with a ping pong table in it. And I remember going back and 22 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,040 forth with friends and, and, you know, the competitive nature of 23 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:30,800 a child, we would get into a dispute about the score or 24 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:33,440 whether or not the ping pong ball was in or out, you know, 25 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:36,000 and, and I just remember marching off and then thinking 26 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,440 to myself, someday I'm going to see God face to face and I'm 27 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,320 going to ask him if the ball was in or not. 28 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:44,560 You know, it's like, you know, and then you grow and you 29 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,520 realize that, you know, the world is bigger than just your 30 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:50,640 little playground disputes and the things that you're so 31 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:53,720 determined to to know as a child, you kind of forget about 32 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,720 and, and you go through the stage of just questioning the 33 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:58,400 world around you. You know, you're going to ask 34 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,840 God someday, maybe about a point of theology, the age of the 35 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:03,400 earth, what happened to dinosaurs? 36 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:06,280 How does salvation work? And just you wrestle with, you 37 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:10,199 know, the the tenants of faith. And then as I thought about this 38 00:02:10,199 --> 00:02:13,520 question, I remember a specific time in my life where I really 39 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:18,000 not only began to stir a question for God, but a question 40 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,280 about God. And we probably all have 41 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,840 different times in our life where you remember exactly where 42 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:25,280 you were. And many of you are old enough 43 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:29,840 to remember where you were the morning of September 11th when 44 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:35,560 on the the, the the TV before you is something that was so 45 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:40,680 impactful to your life that it actually stirred your heart for 46 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:45,400 God in a way that at first almost felt like you were 47 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:48,120 wrestling with God. I remember you know, going from 48 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:50,760 the that those early morning and watching reports to just 49 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,080 questions about what was happening in the world. 50 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:55,640 God, where are you in all of this? 51 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:59,200 God, what is your purpose in this? 52 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,200 And, and I know some people would will take the headline 53 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,120 news that are so, so seemingly tragic and even turn them into 54 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:11,720 questions about if God is good or if God is even still with 55 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:15,160 you. And that is ultimately the 56 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,520 question that every single one of you, as you live life long 57 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:21,800 enough, there will be a common question that we all ask. 58 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:27,880 And I'll share with you now the question that is the question if 59 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,480 you ask just a survey of people, there's a a recent survey that 60 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,080 was conducted that just asked the same question I asked you 61 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:36,360 this morning. If you could ask God one thing 62 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:42,440 and you knew who would respond. The number one response was why 63 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:46,360 is there pain and suffering in the world? 64 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:51,360 That is the question that brings people to wrestle with the 65 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:56,920 questions of faith. Where is God and how is God good 66 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,360 in light of everything that is happening around us? 67 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,400 And at some point in your life, it will not be a question of 68 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,400 the, the difficulties and the pain and suffering that seem 69 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:10,520 like, you know, headline news way out there. 70 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:12,720 There's going to come a moment in your life, some of you are in 71 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:16,720 it already where something will happen so real and so sincere, 72 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,519 you will begin to question where God is. 73 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:23,840 And as we've been going through the Gospel of Luke, the the 74 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:26,640 purpose has been to look for these moments where Jesus 75 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,520 handles the most difficult moments in his journey to the 76 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:33,400 cross, Because as he journeys to the cross, the path gets more 77 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:35,280 narrow and more narrow and more difficult. 78 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:40,120 And this morning, we now come to a moment where Jesus is going to 79 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:45,120 handle how people are supposed to handle suffering and tragedy 80 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:49,240 and literally the headline news of the day. 81 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:55,760 And so with that in mind, as we as we consider the question of 82 00:04:55,880 --> 00:05:00,520 where is God in a world of suffering, turn to Luke chapter 83 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:03,400 13. This is the set up for the the 84 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,200 passage of Scripture that we'll look at this morning. 85 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:08,200 So read with me starting in verse one. 86 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:13,800 It says there was present at that season some who told him 87 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:19,240 about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their 88 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:23,040 sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to 89 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:27,040 them, Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners 90 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:29,880 than all the other Galileans, because they suffered such 91 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:33,600 things? I tell you, no, but unless you 92 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:37,640 repent, you will all likewise perish. 93 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:43,680 Or those 18 on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do 94 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:47,360 you think that they were worse sinners than all the other men 95 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,000 who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you no, but unless you 96 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,360 repent, you will all likewise perish. 97 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,320 This is a moment in the the journey to the cross that 98 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,960 reminds us that as we study the earthly ministry of Jesus, we're 99 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:06,760 looking at real historical moments that Jesus is wrestling 100 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:09,440 with people. And there's always a parallel to 101 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:12,720 our time. And just like in our day, there 102 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:16,440 are moments where the headline news seems so immediate, tragic 103 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:18,960 and difficult that we present it to God and say, what are you 104 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,080 going to do with this? It was happening in his day. 105 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,080 They, they essentially came to Jesus and said, have you heard 106 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:30,000 what happened? That Pilate mixed mingled the 107 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,000 blood of people who are going to offer sacrifices. 108 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:36,040 And there is a, there's a tragic headline. 109 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:38,520 There's something that was happening in real time around 110 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,760 their world without knowing all of the details 'cause it only 111 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:44,160 comes up in this specific gospel. 112 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:46,920 We know that it must have been something that people were 113 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:50,160 hearing about that was really sad and tragic. 114 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:55,640 And we can look at this through the lens of the first category 115 00:06:55,640 --> 00:07:00,360 of the headline. That evil was on display through 116 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:04,840 the hands of an evil man. That pilot was a ruler that from 117 00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:07,240 what we know about him, was kind of an off with your heads type 118 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:10,280 guy. And what we know about the, the 119 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:15,080 lead up to the cross is that Pilot was dealing with many 120 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:19,720 circumstances of, of Jewish zealots that were kind of sick 121 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:22,200 of the Roman occupation that pilot represented. 122 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:24,240 So there would be these little uprisings. 123 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:28,120 And in this instance, it seems as though pilot put an end to a 124 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:31,200 rebellion by murdering some people who are on the Temple 125 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:33,840 Mount to worship. Now that's tragic. 126 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:37,080 And it's headline news. And they said, Jesus, did you 127 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:40,720 hear what happened? And before we get into his 128 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:43,680 response, we can find our categories of the headlines. 129 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:50,040 I I hope you guys have been at least aware in the times that we 130 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:54,160 live in that this is something that we all struggle to give an 131 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:56,000 answer to at times. Have you heard what happened 132 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,960 lately? You don't have to go back to 911 133 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:03,760 to be reminded that there is evil in the world caused by evil 134 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,400 people. There will be more stories of 135 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:10,160 headline news that just seem tragic there. 136 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,960 There are stories of school shootings and you just think, 137 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:16,160 did you hear what happened this time? 138 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:22,440 There will be stories of collisions with protesters and 139 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,240 and, and police and there will be tragedy that comes from you 140 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:27,920 think, did you hear what happened with the collision of 141 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:33,159 people this time there will be reports of psychopath killers 142 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:36,720 that commit crimes against humanity. 143 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:43,840 And we think what is going on in our world and notice the 144 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,680 response of Jesus his response when they when they present with 145 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:51,680 him to him, the headline news that was in their world. 146 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:56,560 Notice what he doesn't do. He doesn't immediately comfort 147 00:08:56,560 --> 00:08:59,280 them. He doesn't say you know, I I 148 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,400 know and we're praying for the families of the victims. 149 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,880 He also doesn't condemn the evil. 150 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:11,560 He doesn't say I know Pilot's evil and and we've got a plan to 151 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:17,400 to deal with him, but rather he just UPS the ante. 152 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:21,320 He responds by sharing more headline news. 153 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:25,800 Look what it says again in verse 4 as they report to him the evil 154 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,400 of Pilate and the blood that was shed on Temple Mount. 155 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:34,080 He says also if if you keep studying the news, you'll you'll 156 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:37,440 hear more reports of tragedy. He said You guys hear about the 157 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:40,400 18 on whom the Tower of Siloam felled and killed them. 158 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:44,920 He just shares another tragic news story. 159 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:49,560 And in some ways it, it appears as though he's upping the ante 160 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,040 of why this is causing some people to wrestle with the 161 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:57,280 question of God's goodness. Because at least in the first 162 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:02,440 example, in the first story of Pilate, you can see that there 163 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:06,720 was an evil person doing evil things, exercising the free will 164 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:11,080 that God gives us to choose evil and to do evil things. 165 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:16,000 In the story that Jesus shares, there's a tower that fell. 166 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:20,480 Innocent people seem to have died from a freak accident. 167 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:25,360 Another way that you will consume the headline news of our 168 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:27,800 world. It will not always be. 169 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:31,760 Look at the evil that is perpetrated by evil man. 170 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:34,040 There will be times where you read about something, you have 171 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:38,920 something happen in your real life world that is just the 172 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:42,760 tragedy of death. Not long ago there was news 173 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:47,040 reports of horrific flash floods in Texas that just wiped away 174 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:51,920 mother and children. There's reports of a burning 175 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:55,040 apartment complex that hundreds of people were trapped alive and 176 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:59,880 they just burned. There's reports of plane crashes 177 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:04,680 and car accidents that are just a reminder that death is 178 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:09,840 everywhere present. These are all reminders that 179 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:14,200 death is in fact tragic. And before we go any further, 180 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:17,640 our world is no different than their world and the the world we 181 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:23,120 live in is Jesus taking as a matter of fact, broken. 182 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:28,000 So let me share a prophetic word for us this morning. 183 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:32,720 For every single one of us listening to the words of Jesus 184 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:37,080 to comfort us in a broken world. It's coming. 185 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,440 It may not be a message you need today, but it is coming. 186 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:46,080 Here's a prophetic word. At some point, in some degree or 187 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:51,400 another, you yourself will be touched by a tragic headline 188 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:55,840 that will directly impact your specific world. 189 00:11:56,680 --> 00:11:59,800 It will bring you to your knees to wrestle with your faith. 190 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:02,160 It will challenge your hope in the future. 191 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:08,760 It will call into question your view of God's goodness. 192 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:15,240 Every single person eventually wrestles with the goodness of 193 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:20,680 God in the broken world. And this is not just a prophecy 194 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:23,400 because I am in the mood to be gloom and doom. 195 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:28,920 This is just confirming the real difficult and hard sayings of 196 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:34,400 Jesus as Jesus is on his way closer in fact to the cross. 197 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:39,280 In the Gospel of John chapter 16, he tells his disciples why 198 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:42,760 he is discipling them with the worldview that he's giving them 199 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:47,520 a a solution to tragedy. And he says to them, very matter 200 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:53,080 of fact, in this world you will have tribulation. 201 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:59,360 It is not a some of you, it is not in different parts of the 202 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:02,280 world. It is a matter of fact living on 203 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,840 this side of heaven. Jesus says here's why I want you 204 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:11,280 to know my peace because this world is broken and you will 205 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:14,920 feel the sting of it. Every one of us will. 206 00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:20,640 So you better have a theology that aligns with the world you 207 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:24,400 actually live in. Some of us need to be reminded 208 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:28,040 that that the path of following Jesus is not blessings and 209 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:30,960 prosperity until you meet him face to face. 210 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:38,680 Jesus is helping us find a path to deal with the sufferings of 211 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:43,240 the world. That is part of the the the 212 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:47,760 message of Jesus is how to deal with a suffering world. 213 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:52,960 And so let's look at how Jesus gives an answer. 214 00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:58,760 So two times, in response to the tragedy of headline news, Jesus 215 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:01,160 is going to tell them what the answer isn't. 216 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,520 Starting in verse 2, once again he says, do you suppose that the 217 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:10,040 Galileans who died on Temple Mount by the hand of pilot were 218 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:12,240 worse sinners than all the other Galileans? 219 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:17,640 He says, I tell you they're not, and then he says it again. 220 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:21,320 Or how about the 18 upon the upon whom the tower fell? 221 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:26,040 Do you suppose they were worse sinners than all the other men 222 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,360 who dwelt in Jerusalem? He says, I tell you not. 223 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:34,840 In other words, to find a way forward in dealing with the 224 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:38,880 brokenness of our world. Jesus is saying don't think that 225 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:43,760 there are some people who are the bad people and that's why 226 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:48,440 bad things happen to them. Don't suppose that tragedy 227 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:51,040 befalls people and and the answer you can give is, well, 228 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:56,800 they got what they deserved. He says they were sinners and 229 00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:00,520 they weren't worse sinners. The answer is not that they they 230 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:05,040 had a tragic event happen as some consequence to a life that 231 00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:08,840 was unrighteous. He has to teach this lesson more 232 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:10,440 than once. And I think we need to hear it 233 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:14,320 because sometimes our mind can try to contextualize sin by 234 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:17,000 looking at the Sinner and trying to make some equation of bad 235 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:20,960 people, bad consequences. Once again, the Gospel of John, 236 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:25,720 Jesus on the road to the cross, he passes by a blind man, John 237 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:28,800 Chapter 9. And as he's passing by, it says 238 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:33,600 his disciples asked him saying, Rabbi, who sinned that this man 239 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:37,200 was born blind? Was it him or his parents? 240 00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:43,680 Surely there must be an equation that can be found to help us 241 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:47,840 understand why this man would be given such a difficult and hard 242 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:52,400 condition to live with. To which Jesus answered them and 243 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,040 to all of us. Neither this man nor his parents 244 00:15:55,040 --> 00:16:00,120 sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 245 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:04,440 So once again, Jesus is going to help help us unpack some of the 246 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:06,080 ways we shouldn't be thinking about this. 247 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:12,240 We can't look at horrible tragedy and try to come up with 248 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:16,120 an equation as to bad things happening to bad people and good 249 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:21,680 things happening to good people. So for example, when you know, 250 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:24,120 we get we go down to the homeless outreach. 251 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:28,000 Later at the end of the month, we will see tragic headlines all 252 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,360 over the place. People who literally need help 253 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:35,000 from the hands and feet of Jesus to get food and shelter. 254 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:39,120 And what we shouldn't do is say, well, of course, you know, 255 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:42,120 junkies are homeless and abuse happens within that community 256 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:44,280 because they're they're sinners and and they get the 257 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,600 consequences of sin. Now part of that is true. 258 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:51,960 This message is not taken so far as to say there's no consequence 259 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:53,840 for sin. And when we give our lives over 260 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:57,440 to unrighteous paths, we will walk towards the dead end ditch 261 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,800 that that leads to no doubt. But what Jesus is helping us 262 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:06,839 understand is we shouldn't look at tragedy and think that it's 263 00:17:06,839 --> 00:17:08,680 some sort of punishment for our lives. 264 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:13,520 And that will help you. Your theology has to have this 265 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:18,440 intact, lest when tragedy befalls you, when you get the 266 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:23,560 diagnosis from the doctor, the the, the news report from the 267 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:28,119 coroner, you do not think to yourself, God, what have I done 268 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:31,520 to deserve this? What what did I do wrong? 269 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:35,280 Where where did my righteousness not align with blessing? 270 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:38,480 He says it's not because of your sin. 271 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:42,680 When trouble befalls you, you're not being punished. 272 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:46,640 There's there's place for discipline and and chastisement 273 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:49,640 of the Lord, but you can't divide the world into good 274 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:53,400 people and bad people and try to find the line of suffering on 275 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:58,280 and to cut to cut the line. I also want to point out where 276 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:00,840 Jesus isn't teaching. As we go through this series, we 277 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:05,360 continually present the Jesus according to his words and not 278 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:07,160 what pop culture wants him to be. 279 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:10,440 Jesus says, don't think that they're worse sinners, and so 280 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:12,720 they're somehow getting tragedy because of that. 281 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:19,400 Jesus is completely denying the idea of karma, which in, you 282 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:21,480 know, we're in the sanctuary of a believing church. 283 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:24,640 So, you know, hopefully there's not a lot of Hindu theology that 284 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,560 would be at least present in your heart, but it's all over 285 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,520 our culture. I just try to be a good person, 286 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:32,640 so good things will work out. And when I meet the Lord face to 287 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:35,160 face, if there is a heaven, hopefully I was better. 288 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:36,640 You know, I did more good than bad. 289 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:39,400 And there are these cosmic scales that people live in as 290 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:43,440 though that's more hopeful than a just God. 291 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:47,280 Karma is an evil way to deal with suffering. 292 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:53,480 When you lend yourself to this idea that bad things happen to 293 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:57,200 bad people as tragedy befalls someone, your answer might be in 294 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,600 a horrible way. Well, in a past life, maybe you 295 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:03,560 did something to deserve it. He says don't think they were 296 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:08,360 worse than you. So what is Jesus actually 297 00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:11,800 saying? Well, the emphasis is on 298 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,760 sinners. Says they're not worse sinners, 299 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:19,840 but they are in fact sinners. And they're not worse sinners 300 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:22,040 than you, which means you are too. 301 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:27,400 And once again, we we find ourselves in the words of Jesus 302 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:29,880 that do not strike us as very nice. 303 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:32,440 You know, you get the headline news and he's like, they were 304 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:39,640 sinners. That's the reality is that bad 305 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:43,960 things don't happen to good people and good things happen to 306 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,240 bad people. The broken world that we live in 307 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:53,000 is a result of sin. That's what Jesus is saying as a 308 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,760 matter of fact. And if you're looking for the 309 00:19:56,760 --> 00:20:00,560 Jesus theology for how to navigate the tragedy of our 310 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:05,720 world, you have to have an understanding of what God made 311 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:09,080 in the good creation and what man destroyed. 312 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:13,120 There is no navigating suffering without a a theology of sin. 313 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,920 We live in a broken world because sin has entered our 314 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:18,720 world. It wasn't God's design. 315 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:24,640 And yet, as it says in Romans chapter 5, just as through one 316 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:34,320 man sin entered the world, and death through sin, thus death 317 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,720 spread to all men, because all have sinned. 318 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:43,400 Romans 5, Romans 6 will say all have sinned, fallen short of the 319 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:48,760 glory of God and the wages of sin is death. 320 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:55,600 You cannot understand where the cross takes us until we 321 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:59,520 understand that brokenness and suffering and tragedy and 322 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:04,360 heartbreak and our disdain for death is because it wasn't God's 323 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:06,880 design. It is sins consequence. 324 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:14,720 Hebrews says it is appointed for all of us once to die, and then 325 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,920 comes judgement. I found this CS Lewis quote 326 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:23,760 helpful in his essay called Lore called Learning in Wartime. 327 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:28,400 So imagine this sermon, but you're hearing it in 1940s 328 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,160 England in the Great War, the Second Great War. 329 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,680 And he's trying to help people understand where God is, how God 330 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:39,040 is good in the midst of war. And he says this. 331 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,920 No Christian who remembers Gethsenamine need try to attain 332 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:44,560 a stoic indifference to death and pain. 333 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:48,840 There is no question of death or life for any of us. 334 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:51,680 The only question is which death? 335 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:58,080 Will it be a machine gun bullet now or cancer 40 years later? 336 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:03,600 What does tragedy do to death? It certainly does not make it 337 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:09,040 more frequent. 100% of us die and the percentage cannot be 338 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:14,240 increased. So the answer that Jesus is 339 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:19,520 giving is that the real problem is that sinners die. 340 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:25,080 And all the tragedy does, all the headline news that seems so 341 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:29,720 out of order, all they do is awaken us to that reality. 342 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,080 Tragedy doesn't make death more frequent. 343 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,840 We're all going to die. What tragedy does is it wakes us 344 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:41,240 from our numbness that someday in the distant eighty years of 345 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:46,080 life it may happen. Tragedy shakes us awake to the 346 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,360 reality of the brokenness and the fallenness of our world. 347 00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:53,680 And this is how Jesus is actually going to use the 348 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:58,280 headlines of tragedy to call people to the goodness of the 349 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,840 gospel. In verse three He gives the 350 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:03,880 answer. This is the answer. 351 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:08,280 He says unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 352 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:13,920 He says it again in verse 5. Unless you repent, you will all 353 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:22,680 likewise perish. Jesus is giving God's purpose 354 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,280 how God could be glorified in tragic news that these people 355 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:30,360 present to Him. He says this is your wake up 356 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:33,600 call. You needed a reminder that 357 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:36,880 people die. You need a reminder that the 358 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:39,360 world is broken and nobody gets out of here alive. 359 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:46,320 And the real lesson that Jesus is teaching, he says unless you 360 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:48,520 repent, you're likewise going to perish. 361 00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:51,400 Now, He's not saying it. You know, you're going to perish 362 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:53,480 like they perished. He's not saying that. 363 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:55,960 Be careful for Pilot. Avoid him at all costs. 364 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:58,320 He's a murderer. Repent. 365 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:02,320 He's not saying, you know, be extra cautious around towers. 366 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:03,920 There's a lot of earthquakes on the horizon. 367 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:08,600 Repent. He's saying unless you get your 368 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:14,240 right life right before God, your death will also be a 369 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:19,840 tragedy. Unless you get right with God, 370 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:27,280 your life will end with a tragic headline news report. 371 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,600 He's saying you in your current state outside of God, giving you 372 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:35,800 newness of life by the free gift of His Spirit, paying the 373 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:41,000 penalty for your sin, giving you a regenerate heart and a hope of 374 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,640 heaven in the salvation that He offers in His name. 375 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:47,440 If you do not repent and come into the free gift, you're 376 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:52,920 walking towards tragedy. Paul gives a beautiful picture 377 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:57,000 of the actual reality of your life apart from repentance and 378 00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:59,440 into the Kingdom. He says you are dead in 379 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,920 trespasses and sins in which you once walked according to the 380 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:05,800 course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of 381 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,600 the air, the Spirit who now works in the sons of 382 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:13,840 disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in 383 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,080 the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the 384 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:19,440 flesh and of the mind. And we were by nature children 385 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:21,240 of wrath, just like everybody else. 386 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:28,320 There's not a worse Sinner class that gets the real bad tragedy. 387 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:31,080 There are those who are dead in their sins, and there are those 388 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:38,960 who are made alive in Christ. And Jesus uses the headline news 389 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:43,560 to say, which one are you? So let me give you the second 390 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:48,480 prophecy for this morning. There's coming today in your 391 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:51,200 life, and it's coming quicker than you expect. 392 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:56,280 When you yourself will fulfill your appointment with death, it 393 00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:59,600 will be tragic news to the people that you leave behind. 394 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:03,880 They will cry and they will look for some hope that your last day 395 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:06,640 on earth is not the end of your life. 396 00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:10,640 Unless you repent, your death will be a tragedy. 397 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:15,480 That's the message, and I don't say that lightly. 398 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:21,440 I say that with the little bit of pastoral history I've had 399 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:26,840 serving in these moments that I have by God's grace been given 400 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:29,400 the front row view into how it all ends. 401 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:39,240 And there are very sad funerals because sometimes people go 402 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:42,040 before 80 years and sometimes children go before parents. 403 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:44,560 But then there are tragic funerals. 404 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:51,080 And the most tragic funerals I've ever done are never because 405 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:52,640 of the circumstances of the death. 406 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:56,080 It's never because of how someone died. 407 00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:58,840 It's always because of the circumstance of the soul. 408 00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:02,840 It's how someone lived before their death. 409 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:10,520 And as I was thinking back to all of the memories I have in 410 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:15,680 these moments, sitting in this church grieving with people and 411 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:19,400 offering people the, the, the gospel of hope in these moments, 412 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:22,080 I immediately thought of of two extremes. 413 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:26,920 One of the most tragic funerals I ever did was for a young man 414 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:29,800 in his 20s. He was, for all intents and 415 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:33,520 purposes, a a party planner, a a a local DJ. 416 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:39,360 He was living his life like the book of Ecclesiastes, eating and 417 00:27:39,360 --> 00:27:41,800 drinking and being merry under the sun. 418 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:50,200 And then he died. He didn't have a theology that 419 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:53,840 he was walking towards. He didn't leave anyone any kind 420 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:56,400 of hope that he had some sort of hope for the future. 421 00:27:57,520 --> 00:27:59,920 And most of his friends that came and were looking for 422 00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:02,960 comfort, they didn't know where it came from. 423 00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:06,720 And I remember we, we have typically an open mic where 424 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:09,000 people can share memories and try to encourage one another. 425 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,400 And there was one person who stood up and said, I just 426 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:14,760 imagine there's, there's some party somewhere in our universe 427 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:17,320 that that needed someone to come and make it better. 428 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:22,600 So that's where he is. I thought that's the comfort 429 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:25,920 that you are living with for your friend that died. 430 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:32,760 That is a tragic funeral. And then I think of another 431 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:35,800 example. In fact, this example is very 432 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:40,600 timely because it it's coming up on almost exactly 8 years since 433 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:46,120 we lost our brother in Christ from this very church at an age 434 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:48,240 that seems tragic. Just 18 years old. 435 00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:52,920 Jeffrey O'Brien went to be with the Lord February 15th, early 436 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:59,600 morning hours, 2018. He was in a tragic accident that 437 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:04,040 he died right outside of his Bible college campus in 438 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:07,040 California where he was going to study to be a missionary. 439 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:12,680 And he died with the hope of Jesus just echoing through the 440 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:15,720 sanctuary. He died with people sharing 441 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:18,640 their last conversations with him about just trusting in 442 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:21,880 Jesus, hoping in Jesus. He died with his mom sharing 443 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:24,920 what she found in his journal. He just said in the in the end, 444 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:30,840 Jesus wins. And so I called his parents last 445 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:36,040 night and, and, and just wept tears of joy with them. 446 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:43,480 That they do not view his death as a tragedy, but as a glorious 447 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:45,240 picture of the gospel that they believe in. 448 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:49,440 That they come to church every Sunday and they worship with us 449 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:53,520 as the body of Christ, and they long for the day when Jesus 450 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:56,120 returns and the dead in Christ raised 1st. 451 00:29:56,240 --> 00:30:00,240 And we're all living as one giant family with King Jesus as 452 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,880 King. They live with the hope of the 453 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:08,000 gospel, but that their son, although absent from the body, 454 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,880 is now present with the Lord. That's not a tragic funeral. 455 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:16,000 She says one of her favorite verses when she thinks about is 456 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:18,560 her son in Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse one. 457 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:22,520 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent is destroyed, 458 00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:26,360 we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, 459 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:29,480 eternal in the heavens. In this we've grown earnestly 460 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:32,880 desiring to be clothed with our habitation, which is from 461 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:36,080 heaven. She doesn't just have a theology 462 00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:38,480 of death. She has a theology of life. 463 00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:44,840 And she told me last night, if God is glorified, it's all worth 464 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:49,560 it. And this is the lesson of 465 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:54,080 suffering. It's that Jesus uses this moment 466 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:58,960 to awaken people to the goodness of God in the midst of a broken 467 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:02,880 world, says if you repent, you won't perish. 468 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:05,120 You you're walking towards tragedy. 469 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:09,360 You can walk towards eternity, CS Lewis says. 470 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:11,080 God whispers to us in our pleasures. 471 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:14,720 He speaks in our conscious, but shouts in our pain. 472 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:19,000 It's his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. 473 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:24,240 There is tragedy in thinking that this life is all there is 474 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:26,120 to live. There's tragedy in thinking, you 475 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:28,920 know, someday in the distant future, I've got 70 or 80 years, 476 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:30,840 maybe someday I'll get right with God. 477 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:35,000 It's tragedy to live your whole life, to build up an earthly 478 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:38,320 Kingdom and it's gone in the blink of an eye. 479 00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:41,080 And Jesus, the only time he calls someone's a fool is he, 480 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:44,120 says the rich fool. Tonight your soul is required of 481 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:50,600 you. And so along the way, in God's 482 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:54,280 kindness and his goodness, he gives you these little wake up 483 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:58,280 calls to remind you that the world is broken, that death is 484 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:02,800 real, that tragedy stirs in your heart, a longing for a world 485 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:04,640 that you have not yet arrived at. 486 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:12,200 Spurgeon says The same sun that melts the candle's wax hardens 487 00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:17,840 the Potter's clay, suffering it. It can melt you. 488 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:20,320 It can it can turn you into someone who wonders if there 489 00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:26,880 even is a God. But Jesus is saying, no, see 490 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:31,280 that this is your, this is your invitation to be turned into the 491 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:34,560 Potter's clay, a vessel for his glory, a shining light in the 492 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:40,920 darkness of a broken world. Tragedy is not meant to melt us. 493 00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:45,120 It is meant to harden us so that we can be vessels for God's good 494 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:49,880 news. And that is the circumstances 495 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:51,760 that brings people into the Kingdom. 496 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:55,960 So often it is someone who had to get hardened through 497 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:59,120 suffering to be made alive in Christ. 498 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:11,960 And so he says repent. He says unless you repent, you 499 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:18,880 likewise will perish. This is the message that answers 500 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:21,080 the question we posed. Where is God? 501 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:28,720 How can he be good and we can say to a dying and broken world 502 00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:35,520 our God is with us. Our God so loved this broken 503 00:33:35,520 --> 00:33:40,000 world that He sent his Son into it, that whoever would believe 504 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:45,800 in him, listen to the word, will not perish, but will have life, 505 00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:53,000 life eternal. As I was just thinking about 506 00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:56,440 Jesus, hearing this story of Pilate and where Jesus is 507 00:33:56,440 --> 00:34:00,240 walking to, we realize that Jesus is going to meet Pilate 508 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:04,200 face to face. It reminds me of the the 509 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:07,960 Apostles Creed and the detail it includes to encourage all of us 510 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:13,480 that Jesus knew exactly how to answer the question of where God 511 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:16,199 was. The Apostles Creed says I 512 00:34:16,199 --> 00:34:19,239 believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and 513 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:21,920 earth. I love that beginning of the the 514 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:23,840 faith of the historical Christian. 515 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:26,000 I believe in the maker of heaven and earth. 516 00:34:26,199 --> 00:34:29,840 When Job was going through his book of suffering, God said 517 00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:32,239 where were you when I made heaven and earth? 518 00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:35,560 If I can keep the world together, I can keep your life 519 00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:41,960 together. And then it says and his and in 520 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:45,639 Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the 521 00:34:45,639 --> 00:34:48,920 Holy Spirit, Jesus enters into our world. 522 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:55,639 That's where God is, says born of the Virgin Mary, suffered 523 00:34:56,120 --> 00:35:00,400 under Pontius Pilate. These people say, didn't you 524 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:06,000 hear what this evil man did? Jesus answered with his life. 525 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:10,280 He stood before Pilate like a lamb goes into the slaughter. 526 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:13,840 He did not speak a word. He laid down his life freely and 527 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:18,880 spilled his blood so that no one who's following him does not 528 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:22,160 have an answer for where God is and how God is good. 529 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:30,120 Jesus, while we were still sinners, dead in our sins, 530 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:35,960 walking towards the tragedy of a funeral, demonstrated his love 531 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:41,800 for us by dying on the cross, spilling his blood, crucified, 532 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:47,880 died and buried, descended into Hades, and the third day he rose 533 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:52,640 again from the dead. So many people look and they say 534 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:55,320 this world is just getting worse and worse and worse, but the 535 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:59,640 believer in Jesus says, no, where we're going, the world is 536 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:02,400 getting more and more and more glorious. 537 00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:09,400 So it's a very simple message for those of you who do not have 538 00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:13,600 an answer for the tragedy and the brokenness of this world. 539 00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:16,800 If you're looking for a politician to save you, if 540 00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:19,280 you're just trying to just turn off the news and pretend it'll 541 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:25,800 go away, repent. This is not a heavy word. 542 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:26,920 That's not a doom and gloom word. 543 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:30,360 The word says repent, that times of refreshment may come. 544 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:32,760 Repent that you wouldn't perish, but you would receive 545 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:37,560 everlasting life. Join the Kingdom of God, where 546 00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:40,080 there's coming a day where tragedy will be dealt with once 547 00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:43,480 and for all. And for those of you who already 548 00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:50,640 believe, may you not be shaken by the news of our of our hour. 549 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:56,480 May we be people who are not startled by the various trials 550 00:36:57,440 --> 00:36:59,960 we are pressed, but we are not crushed. 551 00:37:00,720 --> 00:37:04,200 We know where our God is. Our God is with us. 552 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:08,200 And our God now sits at the right hand of the Father, and 553 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:12,240 he's coming as the King of kings and Lord of Lords. 554 00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:14,120 And every knee is going to bow, and every tongue is going to 555 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:21,320 confess that he in fact is Lord, May you live with the hope in 556 00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:27,080 the midst of trial and tragedy that this present age and all of 557 00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:30,680 its suffering suffering is not worthy to be compared to the 558 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:35,000 glory that awaits you. Thanks for joining us today. 559 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:38,040 If you would like to watch the full service, check out the link 560 00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:40,880 in the description. For next steps and to learn 561 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:43,120 more, visit calvaryboise.com.