1 00:00:00,980 --> 00:00:02,800 Good morning. It's good to have you all with 2 00:00:02,810 --> 00:00:05,320 us. If you are new especial, welcome 3 00:00:05,330 --> 00:00:08,250 to you. My name is Grant and I'm one of 4 00:00:08,260 --> 00:00:12,320 the pastors here at the church. If you've got kiddos with you 5 00:00:12,330 --> 00:00:15,840 who are looking to go to Sunday school, now is your opportunity 6 00:00:15,850 --> 00:00:17,500 to escape. Actually, there are plenty of 7 00:00:17,510 --> 00:00:18,740 opportunities. It's OK. 8 00:00:18,810 --> 00:00:21,640 But we want you to escape through that specific doorway 9 00:00:21,710 --> 00:00:24,060 and then through another specific doorway just beyond. 10 00:00:24,070 --> 00:00:27,840 And that's going to get you to our kids ministry area and you 11 00:00:27,850 --> 00:00:30,760 can hang out there for for a while. 12 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:34,660 Thank you. We are continuing in the Gospel 13 00:00:34,670 --> 00:00:37,920 of Luke. And so if again, if you're just 14 00:00:37,930 --> 00:00:41,760 kind of flying in, we are looking at the life of Jesus 15 00:00:41,770 --> 00:00:44,940 through this lens of Luke's biography. 16 00:00:44,950 --> 00:00:49,220 So we're at Chapter 11 and we've been making our way steadily 17 00:00:49,230 --> 00:00:52,560 through this book. And So what we're going to do 18 00:00:52,570 --> 00:00:54,170 this morning is continue to do that. 19 00:00:54,180 --> 00:00:56,660 We're going to continue to make our way through 11. 20 00:00:56,670 --> 00:01:00,720 And what we are going to almost do is make it. 21 00:01:00,730 --> 00:01:02,860 We're almost through. We're almost through God this 22 00:01:02,870 --> 00:01:04,920 weekend took 11. We've got next week in Luke 11, 23 00:01:04,930 --> 00:01:06,660 and then we're done. We're through to 12. 24 00:01:07,290 --> 00:01:11,400 But what I want to do this morning is pray and then read 25 00:01:11,410 --> 00:01:16,320 for us together. Yeah. 26 00:01:16,330 --> 00:01:20,060 Thanks for your love and thanks for your grace and thanks that 27 00:01:20,070 --> 00:01:22,540 you're with us and continue to speak to us. 28 00:01:22,970 --> 00:01:26,800 And so, God, as we open up these words in front of us and read 29 00:01:26,810 --> 00:01:29,360 together, God, I pray that you would do what you promised to 30 00:01:29,370 --> 00:01:30,660 do. And that is to be here and 31 00:01:30,670 --> 00:01:36,510 present in a way that causes and allows us to be aware of you. 32 00:01:36,740 --> 00:01:39,020 So, yeah, do whatever you need to do in our hearts and in our 33 00:01:39,030 --> 00:01:41,540 minds. Would you quiet the stuff that's 34 00:01:41,550 --> 00:01:45,230 going on deep in our beings, in our minds and our bodies and our 35 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:48,730 souls that kind of rattle around and all of that? 36 00:01:48,740 --> 00:01:51,950 Could you just kind of speak into stillness so that we can 37 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:54,980 hear from you? So as we read out, I, I do pray 38 00:01:55,190 --> 00:02:01,660 speak to us in Jesus name, Amen. Alright, so we are starting in 39 00:02:01,670 --> 00:02:05,480 Luke 11 versus 29. We're going to read 29 to 36. 40 00:02:05,490 --> 00:02:07,960 So if you're looking for a Bible, we've got Bibles at the 41 00:02:07,970 --> 00:02:10,750 back of the sanctuary over here. Also feel free to pull it up on 42 00:02:10,759 --> 00:02:12,400 your phone. We're going to have it on the 43 00:02:12,410 --> 00:02:14,720 screens in a minute. But this really is a 44 00:02:14,730 --> 00:02:16,640 continuation of what has been going on. 45 00:02:16,650 --> 00:02:19,900 Jesus has healed a man who's been possessed by a demon. 46 00:02:19,910 --> 00:02:22,420 This man was mute, he couldn't speak, he didn't speak and then 47 00:02:22,430 --> 00:02:25,620 he's healed, he begins to speak. There's a crowd that has kind of 48 00:02:25,630 --> 00:02:29,220 grown up around this happening. More people arrive as the crowds 49 00:02:29,300 --> 00:02:32,430 growing and that's the moment that we're hopping into right 50 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:34,790 now in 29. So it says this as the crowds 51 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,670 increased, Jesus said this is a wicked generation. 52 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:43,070 It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign 53 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,650 of Jonah. For as Jonah was assigned to the 54 00:02:45,660 --> 00:02:49,910 Ninevites, so also will be the OR will the Son of Man be to 55 00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:53,270 this generation. The Queen of the South will rise 56 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:56,520 at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn 57 00:02:56,530 --> 00:02:58,840 them. For she came from the ends of 58 00:02:58,850 --> 00:03:01,310 the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom. 59 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,540 And now something greater than Solomon is here. 60 00:03:06,020 --> 00:03:09,320 The men of Nineveh Ninova will stand up at the judgment with 61 00:03:09,330 --> 00:03:12,530 this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the 62 00:03:12,540 --> 00:03:16,100 preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is 63 00:03:16,110 --> 00:03:20,710 here. No one lights a lamp and puts it 64 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,770 in a place where it will be hidden or under a bowl. 65 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:28,350 Instead, they put it on its stand so that those who come in 66 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,800 may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your 67 00:03:31,810 --> 00:03:34,290 body. When your eyes are healthy, your 68 00:03:34,300 --> 00:03:37,750 whole body also is full of light, but when they are 69 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:41,330 unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. 70 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,890 See to it then that the light within you is not darkness. 71 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,550 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light and no part of it 72 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:53,830 dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its 73 00:03:53,840 --> 00:04:02,430 light on you. So if you've ever wondered why I 74 00:04:02,500 --> 00:04:06,750 stubbornly believe in the practice of preaching through 75 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:11,350 like a single book like we're doing through Luke, this passage 76 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:18,550 is exactly why. This is one that reminds me why 77 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:22,100 I believe in this practice of slowing down and working our way 78 00:04:22,110 --> 00:04:25,070 through a book line by line, verse by verse, section by 79 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:29,760 section, section and not skipping anything, right? 80 00:04:29,770 --> 00:04:32,670 Because when we commit to reading every word of the book 81 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:36,010 of a book like this, there's no getting around the difficult 82 00:04:36,020 --> 00:04:38,310 parts. There's no getting around the 83 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:42,430 hard parts for us to understand. There's no pares, no way around 84 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,430 the hard parts for us to put into practice or the things that 85 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:48,010 we'd rather forget and think aren't part of it. 86 00:04:48,020 --> 00:04:50,290 Like we just leave those over here because they're a little 87 00:04:50,300 --> 00:04:51,720 bit. We just don't want to deal with 88 00:04:51,730 --> 00:04:53,270 them. When you commit to reading 89 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:57,230 through the entire thing, you have to face the verses as they 90 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,030 come. And verses like this, I think 91 00:05:00,100 --> 00:05:03,980 passages, sections like this, at least initially, seem like there 92 00:05:04,030 --> 00:05:07,040 may be difficult to understand. And they might make us scratch 93 00:05:07,050 --> 00:05:09,940 our heads and it might make us kind of step back and think 94 00:05:09,950 --> 00:05:12,700 like, whoa, like, what is this about? 95 00:05:12,790 --> 00:05:15,260 What does this mean? How does it relate to life 96 00:05:15,270 --> 00:05:17,700 today? What is the take away for me? 97 00:05:17,710 --> 00:05:21,620 Like how am I supposed to live my life differently because of 98 00:05:21,670 --> 00:05:24,390 what I'm reading through? How am I to make sense of my 99 00:05:24,450 --> 00:05:27,600 life in relationship to this passage into the Kingdom, into 100 00:05:27,610 --> 00:05:30,540 what's going on anyways? Like how do I make? 101 00:05:30,550 --> 00:05:34,470 How do we make sense of it? And so like I said, and there's 102 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:37,720 something good about committing to the difficulty of moving 103 00:05:37,730 --> 00:05:41,710 slowly as we just simply read the book. 104 00:05:42,710 --> 00:05:46,450 Some of you will know that we have teaching team that meets 105 00:05:46,460 --> 00:05:49,280 and Pastor Justin and Allison are involved in that. 106 00:05:49,290 --> 00:05:53,680 We meet every week to read through the verses as we are 107 00:05:53,690 --> 00:05:57,070 preaching and preparing for what is coming up ahead. 108 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:02,530 And so this past week, as we sat down on Monday, we did what we 109 00:06:02,540 --> 00:06:05,290 always did with this passage. And so that is we sat down and 110 00:06:05,300 --> 00:06:09,580 we prayed and then we took turns reading it and we just kind of 111 00:06:09,590 --> 00:06:11,380 went around until we had read it through. 112 00:06:11,390 --> 00:06:13,940 It was passes these two sections that I had said, this is what 113 00:06:13,950 --> 00:06:17,000 we're preaching on. And I think collectively we got 114 00:06:17,010 --> 00:06:21,890 to the end and looked up and all three of us paused and then just 115 00:06:21,900 --> 00:06:28,410 simply said, what? Like there are some passages 116 00:06:28,420 --> 00:06:31,090 where we read and you get to the end of it and you're like, OK, 117 00:06:31,100 --> 00:06:33,730 ABC D like the IT preaches itself. 118 00:06:33,740 --> 00:06:36,810 And we are excited and we know exactly where we're headed. 119 00:06:36,820 --> 00:06:38,910 And sometimes there's a little bit of surprise as you get 120 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:40,430 there. This was not that kind of 121 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,810 passage because we read the whole thing through and each 122 00:06:43,820 --> 00:06:47,340 one, it wasn't like, hey, I one of us, like I got it and the 123 00:06:47,350 --> 00:06:52,030 other two every all three of us at the same time, like, what is 124 00:06:52,110 --> 00:06:54,820 going on? What's this about? 125 00:06:54,890 --> 00:06:57,180 And I say that because I think it's important for you to know 126 00:06:57,190 --> 00:07:00,140 and to hear. Like I don't write in a vacuum. 127 00:07:00,270 --> 00:07:03,380 None of our preachers preach in a vacuum. 128 00:07:03,390 --> 00:07:07,050 None of us go away and spend an entire week like walled off and 129 00:07:07,060 --> 00:07:09,620 you're just kind of like, God, please do something inside of me 130 00:07:09,630 --> 00:07:12,300 so that I know what to say. Like none of us, none of this 131 00:07:12,310 --> 00:07:17,400 happens in a complete isolated vacuum apart from community. 132 00:07:17,590 --> 00:07:21,860 It takes community to work our way through and to fully 133 00:07:21,870 --> 00:07:25,580 understand. And so we collectively got to 134 00:07:25,590 --> 00:07:29,390 the end of reading this one and we're scratching our heads a 135 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:31,670 little bit. And I think you may know that 136 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:33,140 feeling, right? You know the feeling when you 137 00:07:33,150 --> 00:07:36,170 sit down to read something and maybe it takes like you're like 138 00:07:36,180 --> 00:07:40,660 I think I've read the same line like 3 or 4 times maybe had that 139 00:07:40,670 --> 00:07:43,150 happen like it's late at night, you're just trying to get 140 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:45,200 through something for school the next day and you're like I know 141 00:07:45,210 --> 00:07:47,680 I gotta show up with something to say and you're trying to and 142 00:07:47,690 --> 00:07:50,180 you just can't seem to get past the one paragraph. 143 00:07:51,940 --> 00:07:54,760 Like I said, some passages feel like they preached themselves 144 00:07:55,160 --> 00:08:00,290 and others don't, and so you can decide which one this falls 145 00:08:00,300 --> 00:08:05,540 into. We've got Jesus, so Jesus and a 146 00:08:05,550 --> 00:08:11,140 growing crowd, right? Jonah pops up, so he's like long 147 00:08:11,150 --> 00:08:13,600 dead now. He's here some Ninevites, he's 148 00:08:13,610 --> 00:08:17,090 being mentioned. Solomon, a queen from the South. 149 00:08:17,100 --> 00:08:19,740 Who's she? There's signs, there's judgment, 150 00:08:19,750 --> 00:08:23,220 there's lamps, there's eyes, there's light, there's darkness. 151 00:08:23,810 --> 00:08:27,430 What's going on? And the whole thing starts 152 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:31,670 really with Jesus calling the people of his day a wicked 153 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,190 generation. Now I don't know how you might 154 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:37,130 read that, but I read that and I start thinking, what does that 155 00:08:37,140 --> 00:08:41,110 mean for our generation? Like what does that mean for my 156 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:43,470 generation? If Jesus is calling his 157 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:47,110 generation wicked, those in the crowds gathering like what would 158 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:52,570 he say about our generation? Because I look around and I see 159 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:56,750 our generation where there is war and humanitarian crises in 160 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:02,240 Ukraine and Gaza, to name only two, where 14 million people 161 00:09:02,250 --> 00:09:04,180 have been displaced by war and famine. 162 00:09:04,190 --> 00:09:07,280 In Sudan. I see violence and killing in 163 00:09:07,290 --> 00:09:09,780 Nigeria. I see in our own backyard 164 00:09:09,790 --> 00:09:13,360 unemployment and the cost of living skyrocketing and with it, 165 00:09:13,430 --> 00:09:18,430 house lessness. I have friends and family like, 166 00:09:18,670 --> 00:09:21,660 do they need to know Jesus? How do I navigate that? 167 00:09:21,670 --> 00:09:25,240 And what's my role and responsibility in their life 168 00:09:25,290 --> 00:09:28,020 anyway? Like there's this increasing 169 00:09:28,030 --> 00:09:32,120 rate of depression and loneliness and anxiety and it's 170 00:09:32,130 --> 00:09:34,280 getting darker sooner and earlier. 171 00:09:34,290 --> 00:09:36,680 And how do I figure that piece out? 172 00:09:36,690 --> 00:09:40,100 And that's not forget AI. Like should I be worrying about 173 00:09:40,110 --> 00:09:44,270 AI and what's real in the end anyways? 174 00:09:45,900 --> 00:09:48,140 What would Jesus say to the crowds today? 175 00:09:49,570 --> 00:09:51,360 Like what would he call our generation? 176 00:09:51,410 --> 00:09:54,260 How is the Kingdom of God still coming today in a way that 177 00:09:54,270 --> 00:09:57,840 matters and am I supposed to be part of it? 178 00:09:57,850 --> 00:10:00,960 Am I supposed to be a part of God's Kingdom in its arrival? 179 00:10:00,970 --> 00:10:02,530 Like, what is there for me to do? 180 00:10:04,100 --> 00:10:06,270 And so I don't know about you, but sometimes I open up 181 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:09,370 Scripture and that's the kind of, when I get right down to it, 182 00:10:09,380 --> 00:10:12,610 that's what rattles around in my heart and in my mind, in my 183 00:10:12,620 --> 00:10:18,520 soul. How am I to Live Today, not 184 00:10:18,530 --> 00:10:21,770 today in this like sort of metaphorical big, like in the 185 00:10:21,780 --> 00:10:26,670 midst of everything, Like how am I to Live Today when tomorrow, 186 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:31,180 How am I to Live Today in light of everything that's going on 187 00:10:31,590 --> 00:10:36,910 and in light of what Jesus says? So I think the thing, one thing 188 00:10:37,450 --> 00:10:40,530 that I want you to hear, if you tune out the rest of it, hear 189 00:10:40,540 --> 00:10:47,480 this to you and to me in that question, I think Jesus's 190 00:10:47,490 --> 00:10:54,250 invitation is this slow down, take a breath so that you don't 191 00:10:54,260 --> 00:10:56,680 miss what God is doing right in front of you. 192 00:10:58,630 --> 00:11:01,360 Because again, I think we can get worried about everything 193 00:11:01,370 --> 00:11:06,460 that's going on and we can get focused on all of the things and 194 00:11:06,470 --> 00:11:11,960 all of the ways and everything we see out there and miss what 195 00:11:11,970 --> 00:11:17,570 God is doing right here. And Jesus gives us 2 lessons to 196 00:11:17,580 --> 00:11:21,510 make his point. So first lesson is from Jonah. 197 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:24,230 So the crowds are increasing. Jesus said this is a wicked 198 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:26,030 generation. It asks for a sign. 199 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:27,150 We're going to come back to that. 200 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:30,790 So you can just kind of highlight, sign, highlight asks 201 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,610 for a sign says, but none will be given except the sign of 202 00:11:33,620 --> 00:11:36,630 Jonah. For as Jonah was assigned to the 203 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:40,270 Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be assigned to this 204 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:46,050 generation. And so Jonah was and one of them 205 00:11:46,060 --> 00:11:48,750 probably maybe one of the most well known Old Testament 206 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:51,510 stories. Jonah was a prophet and this 207 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:53,710 prophet Jonah was commanded told by God. 208 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:58,690 God shows up and says Jonah prophet go to Ninevah and 209 00:11:58,700 --> 00:12:03,870 proclaim the guy essentially proclaim judgment to them so 210 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:06,210 that they will repent. Like this is what this is what 211 00:12:06,220 --> 00:12:11,530 God says Jonah go to Nineveh and proclaim judgment says their 212 00:12:11,540 --> 00:12:14,120 wickedness has reached my ears. Like I'm kind of hearing about 213 00:12:14,130 --> 00:12:16,130 what's going on over there. So I need you to go. 214 00:12:16,140 --> 00:12:19,440 And Donna says absolutely no way will I be doing that. 215 00:12:20,510 --> 00:12:23,740 And the whole book is kind of written like this comedy because 216 00:12:23,750 --> 00:12:26,360 Jonah, prophet Jonah, go this way. 217 00:12:26,370 --> 00:12:29,180 He says absolutely not. I'm gonna turn and I'm gonna go 218 00:12:29,190 --> 00:12:32,270 in the exact opposite direction. And not only that, I'm gonna 219 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:34,680 flee. I'm gonna try to run as absolute 220 00:12:34,690 --> 00:12:37,700 far away as possible as I can get. 221 00:12:37,710 --> 00:12:40,880 Says I'm not going to go over here to Ninevah. 222 00:12:40,890 --> 00:12:43,560 I'm going to go all the way, like to the ends of the earth, 223 00:12:43,570 --> 00:12:48,720 to a place called Tarshish. And Jonah, instead of going to 224 00:12:48,730 --> 00:12:51,490 Nova, this is what happens. He goes, he goes to Japan, he 225 00:12:51,500 --> 00:12:54,130 gets on a boat and he's headed in the complete opposite 226 00:12:54,140 --> 00:13:00,110 direction and in a storm rises. So Jonah completely fleeing from 227 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:03,690 God amidst the storm, sailors are kind of going, hey, like 228 00:13:03,700 --> 00:13:06,530 what's going on here? They fearing for their own 229 00:13:06,540 --> 00:13:09,430 lives, not sure what is happening. 230 00:13:09,620 --> 00:13:12,530 They're afraid the boat's going to be swamped and Jonah is 231 00:13:12,540 --> 00:13:13,900 asleep in the bottom of the boat. 232 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:17,610 So they wake Jonah and they're like, hey, Jonah, like maybe you 233 00:13:17,620 --> 00:13:21,010 can ask your God what's happening and ask for him to 234 00:13:21,020 --> 00:13:24,010 save us and deliver us. And there's a whole lot of back 235 00:13:24,020 --> 00:13:26,530 and forth in the short of it is Jonah gets tossed in the ocean. 236 00:13:26,540 --> 00:13:29,000 You get swallowed by a big fish, and he's in the fish for three 237 00:13:29,010 --> 00:13:31,690 days. And there he kind of comes to 238 00:13:31,700 --> 00:13:35,310 his senses and he wrestles with God and he prays and the the 239 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,070 fish vomits him up again. It's the whole thing's written 240 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:43,590 to be funny so it's OK. Fish vomits Jonah up and Jonah 241 00:13:43,660 --> 00:13:47,470 at that moment like 3 days in the belly of a fish, God shows 242 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:49,230 up again and says Jonah go to Nineveh. 243 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:53,950 And John at this time says, OK, like he's like, I guess I 244 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:55,430 learned a little bit of my lesson. 245 00:13:56,830 --> 00:14:01,640 And so Jonah this time he goes to Ninevah and Jesus says Jonah 246 00:14:01,650 --> 00:14:05,480 was a sign to the people of Nineveh. 247 00:14:05,550 --> 00:14:08,660 Jonah was a sign in part. There are usually 2 reasons why 248 00:14:08,670 --> 00:14:12,200 people consider Jonah to have been assigned to those people of 249 00:14:12,210 --> 00:14:15,240 that time in the city, a town called Nineveh. 250 00:14:15,250 --> 00:14:18,470 Jonah was assigned because of his miraculous delivery outs of 251 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:21,180 the belly of the fish, right? So sometimes whale, sometimes 252 00:14:21,190 --> 00:14:23,280 big fish. Jonah was assigned because he 253 00:14:23,290 --> 00:14:28,700 showed up to these guys like half eaten, puked up by fish, 254 00:14:29,510 --> 00:14:33,820 and then proclaims to them the judgment of God. 255 00:14:33,830 --> 00:14:39,610 He shows up as one who who's been rescued by God to declare, 256 00:14:39,620 --> 00:14:43,560 hey, guys, we got some stuff to figure out if you also by 257 00:14:43,570 --> 00:14:46,290 implication want to be rescued by God. 258 00:14:47,020 --> 00:14:49,660 And so he's there, He's standing right in front of them. 259 00:14:49,670 --> 00:14:51,730 He's been in the belly for three days. 260 00:14:51,780 --> 00:14:54,350 And Jesus says this is the only sign that you're gonna get. 261 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,350 It will be the sign of Jonah, as Jonah was a sign of the people 262 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:00,270 of Nineveh. So the Son of man will be future 263 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:03,060 tense assigned to this generation. 264 00:15:03,070 --> 00:15:05,590 And what people talk about, what scholars point us toward, is 265 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,690 Jonah being in the belly of that big fish for three days is a 266 00:15:08,700 --> 00:15:12,630 sign pointing us to say, hey, pay attention when Jesus is in 267 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:16,830 the tomb for three days because he will be rescued out of that 268 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:19,590 tomb. And that rescue after three days 269 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:23,310 will be a sign to not only a small group of people, but to 270 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:25,590 everyone. So that's one way that Jonah is 271 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:27,870 a sign. But I don't think that's all 272 00:15:27,980 --> 00:15:30,850 because this other way, the second way that Jonah is a sign 273 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:33,110 is just simply, I think, walking it out further. 274 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:38,770 And that is that Jonah preached essentially repentance to these 275 00:15:38,860 --> 00:15:43,330 people in Ninevah preach God's judgment in a way that causes 276 00:15:43,340 --> 00:15:47,970 them to turn and to ultimately repent. 277 00:15:48,990 --> 00:15:53,520 They turned their lives around toward God because of what he 278 00:15:53,530 --> 00:15:55,100 proclaims. And it's like the windiest 279 00:15:55,110 --> 00:15:56,810 little sermon. It's like one line. 280 00:15:56,820 --> 00:15:59,020 He say, hey, guys, like we know you're doing some bad things, 281 00:15:59,030 --> 00:16:04,440 probably should stop that. And it works and they repent and 282 00:16:04,450 --> 00:16:10,290 they believe and God shows them mercy and and the turn in Jonah. 283 00:16:10,300 --> 00:16:12,890 And one day we're gonna do Jonah all the way through, like one 284 00:16:12,900 --> 00:16:15,370 day line by word by word, we'll spend who knows how long. 285 00:16:15,380 --> 00:16:19,580 And Jonah, it's not very long, but the turn in this whole book 286 00:16:19,590 --> 00:16:26,370 is that Jonah is angry with God. Jonah is angry by the end, not 287 00:16:26,380 --> 00:16:32,850 because they've, they've been, you know, given a judgment, but 288 00:16:32,860 --> 00:16:37,720 because they've been given forgiveness and grace and mercy. 289 00:16:37,780 --> 00:16:41,530 So Jonah, he shouts at God. He's got this like, see, like 290 00:16:41,540 --> 00:16:46,350 This is why I left and I went to Tarshish, or at least tried to 291 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:49,690 was because I knew you were gracious and I knew you were 292 00:16:49,700 --> 00:16:53,470 merciful and I knew if I came that you would forgive these 293 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:55,030 guys. And I don't really want you to 294 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:59,140 forgive them anyway. That's why Jonah gets angry with 295 00:16:59,150 --> 00:17:03,850 God. He was angry because the people 296 00:17:03,860 --> 00:17:09,700 he hated we're forgiven. John is angry because God does 297 00:17:09,710 --> 00:17:13,780 not destroy the Ninevites. And so I think Jonah ultimately 298 00:17:13,790 --> 00:17:18,099 becomes a sign and a symbol of God's mercy and his favor and 299 00:17:18,109 --> 00:17:22,480 his grace and his love and his forgiveness falling on people 300 00:17:22,550 --> 00:17:27,040 who you wouldn't expect to be deserving of it. 301 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:31,610 Jonah was a sign of God's love and God's forgiveness shown to 302 00:17:31,620 --> 00:17:37,480 outsiders, shown to people who were the least expectant and 303 00:17:37,490 --> 00:17:41,730 deserving of it. Jonah brings them good news, and 304 00:17:41,740 --> 00:17:44,870 they respond to it by turning their lives around. 305 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:49,920 And so Jonah, Jesus says, will be the sign as he was assigned 306 00:17:49,930 --> 00:17:55,100 to Ninevah, so the Son of Man will be assigned to this 307 00:17:55,170 --> 00:17:59,360 generation, one of love and of mercy and of forgiveness and of 308 00:17:59,370 --> 00:18:03,840 repentance, one that calls you to turn your life around. 309 00:18:03,910 --> 00:18:07,040 Jesus, though, continues. So second history lesson. 310 00:18:07,050 --> 00:18:10,220 He says the queen of the South will rise also right at the 311 00:18:10,230 --> 00:18:13,920 judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for 312 00:18:13,930 --> 00:18:18,890 she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's 313 00:18:18,900 --> 00:18:20,380 wisdom. This one shorter. 314 00:18:20,390 --> 00:18:24,530 So the queen of the South is the queen of Sheba from First Kings. 315 00:18:24,540 --> 00:18:27,310 You can go there and read about it if you'd like to, But 316 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:30,880 essentially this queen from the South hears about Solomon's 317 00:18:30,890 --> 00:18:36,500 wisdom, is intrigued enough by it and Solomon's relationship to 318 00:18:36,570 --> 00:18:41,280 quote to her his God that she pursues, she goes, she travels 319 00:18:41,290 --> 00:18:46,860 from far away to arrive and to ask Solomon about his wisdom and 320 00:18:46,870 --> 00:18:50,260 about his God. And that interaction ends with 321 00:18:50,270 --> 00:18:54,150 her declaring praise be to the Lord your God. 322 00:18:54,940 --> 00:18:57,900 She's like, hey, the rumors were true, everything we heard about 323 00:18:57,910 --> 00:19:00,240 you and so much more. All of the wisdom that you've 324 00:19:00,250 --> 00:19:04,550 been given by God, all of this true praise be to the Lord your 325 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:06,850 God. The Queen of Sheba again was an 326 00:19:06,860 --> 00:19:10,680 outsider. It says from the ends of the 327 00:19:10,690 --> 00:19:14,530 earth she came to listen to Solomon's wisdom. 328 00:19:14,790 --> 00:19:17,840 She was not Jewish. She was socially, culturally and 329 00:19:17,850 --> 00:19:22,020 religiously an outsider. But because she chose to seek 330 00:19:22,030 --> 00:19:26,720 him out and search for Solomon ends up declaring praise be to 331 00:19:26,730 --> 00:19:30,760 the Lord your God. So we have the people of 332 00:19:30,770 --> 00:19:37,310 Ninevah, Outsiders, we've got the Queen of Sheba and Outsider, 333 00:19:38,050 --> 00:19:43,270 and we've got both of them ending up experiencing God's 334 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:50,210 mercy and God's favor. And then Jesus turns, so he 335 00:19:50,220 --> 00:19:54,030 says, you know these stories, you know these things like this 336 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:56,470 is our collective history together, he says. 337 00:19:56,480 --> 00:20:01,730 And now something greater than Solomon is here. 338 00:20:03,190 --> 00:20:05,870 The men of Nineveh will will stand up at the judgment with 339 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:08,220 this generation and condemn it, for they repented. 340 00:20:08,230 --> 00:20:11,040 OK, so we get this. They repented at the preaching 341 00:20:11,050 --> 00:20:15,410 of Jonah and now something greater then Jonah is here. 342 00:20:17,870 --> 00:20:22,420 Jesus is saying, hey, something greater than Jonah, something 343 00:20:22,430 --> 00:20:28,060 greater than Solomon is right in front of your face and you're 344 00:20:28,070 --> 00:20:34,570 still asking for a sign. Someone greater is here doing 345 00:20:34,580 --> 00:20:38,470 the things of the Kingdom and you are still asking for a sign. 346 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:41,950 Something is happening in front of your eyes, but you, he says 347 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:44,890 are missing it. Jesus calls them wicked because 348 00:20:44,900 --> 00:20:48,730 they ask for a sign. So the man is healed. 349 00:20:48,740 --> 00:20:50,670 This demon possessed man is healed. 350 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:54,990 But some says some they claim Jesus is working under the power 351 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:58,010 of Satan. And then it says others continue 352 00:20:58,020 --> 00:21:02,730 to demand a sign from heaven that this is from God. 353 00:21:04,380 --> 00:21:08,640 And Jesus ends up, he says, calling them wicked because they 354 00:21:08,650 --> 00:21:12,150 ask for a sign while at the same time ignoring what's happening 355 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:15,930 right in front of their face. So Jesus, by this point in his 356 00:21:15,940 --> 00:21:18,410 life, he has spoken and taught about what the Kingdom of heaven 357 00:21:18,420 --> 00:21:21,380 is like. He's demonstrated how it ought 358 00:21:21,390 --> 00:21:23,180 to and does change the way you live. 359 00:21:23,190 --> 00:21:26,560 He's begun to reveal who he is. He's shown how to pray and how 360 00:21:26,570 --> 00:21:30,140 to have access to God. And they are, he says, missing 361 00:21:30,150 --> 00:21:31,460 it. Jesus has healed. 362 00:21:31,470 --> 00:21:34,380 He's cured a man with leprosy. He's healed A paralyzed man who 363 00:21:34,390 --> 00:21:36,800 was lowered down through a hole in a roof by his buddies. 364 00:21:37,030 --> 00:21:39,230 He's healed a Roman centurion's kid who was dying. 365 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:41,980 He's done more and he says they are still missing it. 366 00:21:41,990 --> 00:21:46,000 He's cast out demons literally minutes ago in this story in 367 00:21:46,010 --> 00:21:48,680 front of their eyes and they are missing it. 368 00:21:48,690 --> 00:21:51,050 And all the while, here's the comedic part. 369 00:21:51,130 --> 00:21:54,610 All the while they are demanding a sign from heaven. 370 00:21:57,140 --> 00:21:59,910 It's like asking for scientific proof. 371 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:02,410 Here's what's like asking for scientific proof that the polio 372 00:22:02,420 --> 00:22:05,170 vaccine actually works, and looking at all the research done 373 00:22:05,180 --> 00:22:08,190 since 1955, Meeting with the doctors, interviewing real 374 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:10,390 people, having face to face conversations, and then 375 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:13,790 dismissing all of it in favour of your friend's Facebook post. 376 00:22:20,050 --> 00:22:26,630 Jesus says if you are still asking for a sign, then you've 377 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:30,630 already missed the very thing you're looking for. 378 00:22:32,770 --> 00:22:35,540 Now here's the reality that I need to face you and I I think 379 00:22:35,550 --> 00:22:40,510 we demand signs all the time. I think it's natural. 380 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:45,550 It's like the human inclination is to ask for and long for and 381 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:49,150 look for and wonder. And sometimes we ask for signs 382 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:51,810 or we demand them explicitly. And sometimes it's implicitly 383 00:22:51,820 --> 00:22:55,380 and sometimes it's willfully and sometimes it's accidentally. 384 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:59,390 I've told you this story before, but when I was trying to discern 385 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,210 whether or not to move here to Guelph and to become your next 386 00:23:03,220 --> 00:23:06,870 lead pastor, like I remember praying for clarity and I 387 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:08,930 remember asking God for direction. 388 00:23:09,020 --> 00:23:11,710 And I remember thinking to myself, hey, God, like this 389 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:15,750 would be great if you just gave me a very clear, bold, crystal 390 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:18,340 clear sign in front of my eyes for me to see. 391 00:23:19,190 --> 00:23:20,590 And so I want to tell you one of the stories. 392 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,170 Like I was driving and I, you know, had to commute from one 393 00:23:23,180 --> 00:23:25,810 side of Hamilton to the other side of Hamilton when we were 394 00:23:25,820 --> 00:23:28,060 living there. And on this commute, I was 395 00:23:28,070 --> 00:23:30,770 praying and I was wrestling with God and I was wrestling with 396 00:23:30,780 --> 00:23:33,140 traffic. And I was wondering this to 397 00:23:33,150 --> 00:23:36,620 myself, like God, hey, it would be great if you gave me a sign. 398 00:23:36,630 --> 00:23:40,080 And I remember bumper to bumper looking up and there was like 399 00:23:40,090 --> 00:23:43,430 sign on the side of the highway. Hwy. 6 N Guelph. 400 00:23:50,300 --> 00:23:56,000 But that wasn't the sign. Like I didn't go home and say to 401 00:23:56,010 --> 00:23:59,360 Connie, like, that's it. That's God gave me a sign that 402 00:23:59,370 --> 00:24:01,200 that sign's been there for years. 403 00:24:01,210 --> 00:24:05,070 Like, that's not the sign. You've seen that every day for 404 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:07,690 the last five years. That's not the sign, and it 405 00:24:07,700 --> 00:24:12,090 wasn't, but I think we still wrestle with this. 406 00:24:12,100 --> 00:24:14,500 I think we asked for signs all the time. 407 00:24:14,570 --> 00:24:19,330 We want what is spectacular instead of what is slowed down 408 00:24:19,340 --> 00:24:22,850 and steady. And when we want what is 409 00:24:22,860 --> 00:24:25,590 spectacular, we end up missing the ways that God is present in 410 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:31,170 everyday, ordinary life. We want clarity before we want 411 00:24:31,180 --> 00:24:35,300 commitment, right? And we demand that God give us a 412 00:24:35,310 --> 00:24:38,320 clear picture of where our life is headed and how we're gonna 413 00:24:38,330 --> 00:24:40,980 get there and every step in between, rather than simply 414 00:24:40,990 --> 00:24:45,080 focusing on taking that first and next step in obedience. 415 00:24:45,230 --> 00:24:48,260 We want proof of God's involvement in our lives and 416 00:24:48,940 --> 00:24:53,510 proof that looks very specific. So often the way it looks is 417 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:58,330 like our own success or God. If you're real, then this We 418 00:24:58,340 --> 00:25:01,590 fail to see the ways that God is leading and blessing us every 419 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:05,030 single day. We want public validation, but 420 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:07,250 maybe not personal transformation. 421 00:25:08,110 --> 00:25:15,320 We want the sign, but we want the sign without the surrender. 422 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:20,040 See, I, I think human beings, we still say prove it. 423 00:25:21,140 --> 00:25:24,370 Like prove yourself, Jesus, show up in a dramatic way. 424 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:29,490 If you would, if you could, if you're real, do this thing and 425 00:25:29,500 --> 00:25:32,240 then I will believe. Give me a sign and then I'll 426 00:25:32,250 --> 00:25:35,940 take a step. And you know what? 427 00:25:35,950 --> 00:25:42,990 Maybe he will, but more than likely he already has. 428 00:25:45,110 --> 00:25:50,730 And it's a sign that looks like a cross to sign that is of his 429 00:25:50,740 --> 00:25:53,190 death and resurrection. It's in the gift of the Holy 430 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:55,850 Spirit. It's in the community that you 431 00:25:55,860 --> 00:25:59,850 are given and called into and challenged by and who annoys 432 00:25:59,860 --> 00:26:03,380 you, but who you love and who loves you. 433 00:26:05,510 --> 00:26:11,930 Sometimes what we really need is simply to slow down and ask God 434 00:26:11,940 --> 00:26:15,810 to help us see where He's already at work. 435 00:26:17,370 --> 00:26:20,650 So for me and for my family, when it came time to decide 436 00:26:20,660 --> 00:26:24,920 whether to move, wasn't that big sign on the side of the highway 437 00:26:24,930 --> 00:26:29,280 that said go north to Guelph, been taking that road for five 438 00:26:29,290 --> 00:26:32,690 years. It was the slowed down ways in 439 00:26:32,700 --> 00:26:35,650 which God had already been speaking to my heart and to 440 00:26:35,660 --> 00:26:39,590 Connie's heart for years. It was the way God directed our 441 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:45,370 lives every single day to pray for you and and it was how gang 442 00:26:45,380 --> 00:26:47,830 God's wisdom. He surrounded us with people who 443 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:51,210 prayed for us and who cared enough to ask us really 444 00:26:51,220 --> 00:26:57,510 difficult questions, and then who ultimately encouraged and 445 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:02,060 challenged and supported us as we took our next step. 446 00:27:04,300 --> 00:27:06,970 That's why Dallas Willard writes this and, and I love this line. 447 00:27:06,980 --> 00:27:11,480 He says the best way to hear God's voice is to cultivate the 448 00:27:11,490 --> 00:27:15,490 quiet inward space of constant listening. 449 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:21,210 And he says that constant listening, instead of always or 450 00:27:21,220 --> 00:27:25,290 only approaching God for very specific direction on only 451 00:27:25,300 --> 00:27:29,690 specific things, says the real challenge is to cultivate daily 452 00:27:29,700 --> 00:27:33,150 these practices and habits that call us or encourage or 453 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,040 challenge lead us into these places where we are listening 454 00:27:37,110 --> 00:27:41,050 every day to how God is speaking and where he is leading and 455 00:27:41,060 --> 00:27:44,190 where he is present and where we get to see what He's doing. 456 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:49,490 The people in the crowd, they want signs from heaven in this 457 00:27:49,500 --> 00:27:53,040 dramatic fashion, but what Jesus wants for them is simply to 458 00:27:53,050 --> 00:27:57,320 embrace life inside the Kingdom of God. 459 00:27:58,310 --> 00:28:03,300 And that's why I think that Jesus says to us, also, stop 460 00:28:03,310 --> 00:28:09,600 looking for signs and start looking inward at your heart. 461 00:28:10,110 --> 00:28:15,210 Stop looking for what is big and bold and it's gonna like hit you 462 00:28:15,220 --> 00:28:19,060 in the back of the head and push you in a direction and start 463 00:28:19,070 --> 00:28:23,740 looking at whether you are embracing daily life inside the 464 00:28:23,750 --> 00:28:26,450 Kingdom. What does it look like as you 465 00:28:26,460 --> 00:28:29,370 live this day by day by day? He says. 466 00:28:29,380 --> 00:28:33,930 Embrace the Kingdom of heaven and you will become like a lamp 467 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:41,140 in the darkness. So next part, he says no one 468 00:28:41,150 --> 00:28:43,860 likes the lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be 469 00:28:43,870 --> 00:28:45,940 hidden. OK or under a bowl. 470 00:28:45,950 --> 00:28:47,340 You're like, that just makes common sense. 471 00:28:47,450 --> 00:28:50,140 Instead, they put it on its stand so that those who come in 472 00:28:50,150 --> 00:28:55,040 may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your 473 00:28:55,050 --> 00:28:57,530 body. When your eyes are healthy, your 474 00:28:57,540 --> 00:28:59,160 whole body also is full of light. 475 00:28:59,170 --> 00:29:02,120 But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of 476 00:29:02,130 --> 00:29:04,780 darkness. See to it that then that the 477 00:29:04,790 --> 00:29:08,620 light within you is not darkness, so see to it. 478 00:29:08,630 --> 00:29:14,110 Look inside and see whether the light inside you is really light 479 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:16,270 or whether it is darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is 480 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:19,900 full of light and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of 481 00:29:19,910 --> 00:29:23,830 light as when a lamp shines its light on you. 482 00:29:23,900 --> 00:29:27,270 In Jesus's day, the light was viewed less like an input 483 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:30,010 device. Alright, we like to read these 484 00:29:30,020 --> 00:29:32,690 verses and think it's exclusively about OK, what am I 485 00:29:32,700 --> 00:29:33,790 putting in? What am I consuming? 486 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:35,110 What am I reading? What am I watching? 487 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:39,490 What am I inputting into my heart, into my mind, into my 488 00:29:39,500 --> 00:29:42,070 being? In Jesus day, eyes weren't seen 489 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:45,030 as input devices, they were seen as output devices. 490 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:50,010 Think of them more like lamps or projectors, because eyes in 491 00:29:50,020 --> 00:29:54,930 Jesus's day, they would project what was already true about your 492 00:29:54,940 --> 00:29:57,710 heart and your mind, your soul, your being inside of you. 493 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:00,050 And so he's doing this this for us. 494 00:30:00,060 --> 00:30:02,930 What takes a little bit, I think a reverse of the way we think 495 00:30:02,940 --> 00:30:06,930 about it, because what Jesus is saying is what's going on inside 496 00:30:06,940 --> 00:30:10,110 of your heart, inside of your mind, inside of your soul, in 497 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:16,090 your being will be projected, exuded, will shine through your 498 00:30:16,100 --> 00:30:18,930 eyes. This closer to this idea that 499 00:30:18,940 --> 00:30:22,590 the eyes are a window to your soul kind of thinking. 500 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:26,750 He says eyes like lamps, They are going to shine whatever 501 00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:31,780 light or darkness is inside of that person. 502 00:30:32,310 --> 00:30:34,060 The people, here's the connection, The people in the 503 00:30:34,070 --> 00:30:37,350 crowd who are demanding a sign are missing Jesus right in front 504 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:39,440 of them. And so their actions, they're 505 00:30:39,450 --> 00:30:44,960 demanding a sign, reveals something about themselves, 506 00:30:45,690 --> 00:30:47,480 reveals what's going on inside their heart. 507 00:30:47,490 --> 00:30:49,880 And I think you and I, we need to ask ourselves whether our 508 00:30:49,890 --> 00:30:58,210 actions reveal Jesus around us or not, whether what is being 509 00:30:58,220 --> 00:31:03,580 revealed by our actions is light or dark. 510 00:31:04,470 --> 00:31:07,640 And to your right puts it like this, he says of us. 511 00:31:07,650 --> 00:31:12,360 Are we any better at embracing the Kingdom for ourselves than 512 00:31:12,370 --> 00:31:15,120 Jesus's contemporaries and these guys running around in the 513 00:31:15,130 --> 00:31:18,420 crowd? For that matter, are we shining 514 00:31:18,430 --> 00:31:22,280 this light to the world so that they can see the one who is 515 00:31:22,290 --> 00:31:25,890 greater than Solomon and greater than Jonah? 516 00:31:28,250 --> 00:31:33,460 Are we shining Jesus? Are we showing Jesus? 517 00:31:33,470 --> 00:31:38,610 Are we living Jesus to those around us or not? 518 00:31:39,670 --> 00:31:43,320 So Jesus says it like this. He says no one lights a lamp and 519 00:31:43,330 --> 00:31:47,090 puts it in a place where it will be hidden or under a bull. 520 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:54,610 Instead, they put it on its stand so that those who come in 521 00:31:54,660 --> 00:31:58,150 may see the light. Here's the reality. 522 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:07,430 When the light or a lamp is lit, it shines and pushes out into 523 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:11,570 the darkness. A lamp that's lit and put on a 524 00:32:11,580 --> 00:32:16,890 stand and shines pushes against the places of darkness around 525 00:32:16,900 --> 00:32:20,280 it. In John 1 Jesus is called the 526 00:32:20,290 --> 00:32:24,400 light of the world. John 1 talks about Jesus like 527 00:32:24,410 --> 00:32:28,420 this says in him was life, and that life was the light of all 528 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:32,920 humanity, of all human kind. The light shines in the 529 00:32:32,930 --> 00:32:37,560 darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 530 00:32:39,220 --> 00:32:45,380 Jesus is the light that brings real light and fullness of life 531 00:32:45,450 --> 00:32:48,360 into the darkest places of our world. 532 00:32:49,770 --> 00:32:56,010 And, and Jesus says of you, You are also a lamp. 533 00:32:56,870 --> 00:33:01,970 You are also alight and knowing Jesus and embracing the Kingdom. 534 00:33:02,020 --> 00:33:05,450 It fills you with Jesus's light and with his life. 535 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:09,990 This is what the crowds were missing Jesus in front of them 536 00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:13,770 in a very real way that changes not just their lives for 537 00:33:13,780 --> 00:33:17,120 themselves, but the way in which they begin to push against the 538 00:33:17,130 --> 00:33:21,530 darkness around them and carry the Kingdom with them into the 539 00:33:21,540 --> 00:33:25,910 world. And so Jesus says to you, slow 540 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:31,690 down. Embrace the Kingdom because 541 00:33:31,700 --> 00:33:36,590 there is light and there is life on offer for you, but not just 542 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:40,150 for you, also through you to the world. 543 00:33:41,220 --> 00:33:46,790 And so as you go literally from this place, you carry the light 544 00:33:46,860 --> 00:33:51,650 and the life of Jesus with you and and the life and the light 545 00:33:51,660 --> 00:33:54,990 of Jesus that you carry with you does push against the darkest 546 00:33:55,000 --> 00:34:00,390 places in this world. And the promise of Scripture is 547 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:04,030 that the darkness has not overcome it. 548 00:34:05,500 --> 00:34:12,060 Let me pray God thinks that in you there is life and there is 549 00:34:12,070 --> 00:34:17,350 light. And thank you that we have it in 550 00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:20,070 front of our faces. Yeah, we do. 551 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:23,190 We admit we struggle with some of these ways of being. 552 00:34:23,199 --> 00:34:26,350 Like we ask for signs or we want to see what you're gonna do 553 00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:29,510 before we move. God, I pray that you would help 554 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:34,210 to make us people who are obedient and who choose to 555 00:34:34,219 --> 00:34:36,860 trust. And I pray that you would make 556 00:34:36,870 --> 00:34:39,960 us people who move in step with your Kingdom. 557 00:34:40,449 --> 00:34:43,500 Yeah, I pray for the little pieces of death and darkness in 558 00:34:43,510 --> 00:34:45,500 each of us that still need to be pushed out. 559 00:34:45,510 --> 00:34:50,350 Thanks that what your spirit does is fill us up to fullest 560 00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:55,010 measure pushes out these pieces of death and darkness. 561 00:34:55,020 --> 00:34:57,250 So God would you do that in us? We need you to. 562 00:34:58,970 --> 00:35:02,690 Yeah, for the pieces of sin and death and darkness that are 563 00:35:02,700 --> 00:35:05,850 rattling around in each of us that we may be wrestling with 564 00:35:05,860 --> 00:35:07,700 today. God, would you push? 565 00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:12,210 Would you bring your light? Would you bring your life and 566 00:35:12,220 --> 00:35:16,880 when you drive those things out and got through us, not just as 567 00:35:16,890 --> 00:35:19,930 individuals, but through us as a community and a church, Like 568 00:35:20,150 --> 00:35:24,860 would you make us into a people who carry your Kingdom and your 569 00:35:24,870 --> 00:35:27,800 light and your life in a way that pushes against the little 570 00:35:27,810 --> 00:35:32,910 places of darkness in our world? So I got things that you knew 571 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,210 there is life and in you there is light. 572 00:35:36,170 --> 00:35:39,910 Would we? You'd be filled to the fullest 573 00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:44,160 measure because of you and your love and your grace and your 574 00:35:44,170 --> 00:35:47,350 spirit with that life in Jesus name, Amen.