1 00:00:05,230 --> 00:00:08,060 Hey, man, good morning, good morning. 2 00:00:08,070 --> 00:00:11,320 If if I'm new, if you are visiting, welcome, special 3 00:00:11,330 --> 00:00:14,530 welcome to you. My name is Grant and I'm one of 4 00:00:14,540 --> 00:00:17,260 the pastors here at the church. It's good to have you all with 5 00:00:17,270 --> 00:00:20,530 us this morning for worship. And I'm delighted that this 6 00:00:20,540 --> 00:00:24,500 would be part of your day-to-day and beyond that, your weekly 7 00:00:24,510 --> 00:00:29,600 rhythm of life and to worship together, to gather and worship. 8 00:00:29,610 --> 00:00:32,240 So if you do, if you've got kiddos who want to head out to, 9 00:00:32,250 --> 00:00:34,580 I know there are lots of kids going to Sunday school and 10 00:00:34,590 --> 00:00:37,650 nursery, etcetera. If you also some of them just 11 00:00:37,660 --> 00:00:39,660 want to hang here, that would be great too. 12 00:00:39,670 --> 00:00:43,490 So please feel free to move, move around, get up, switch 13 00:00:43,540 --> 00:00:47,010 seats if you'd like, if you just need listen, if you just gotta 14 00:00:47,020 --> 00:00:51,160 move your body at some point, get up, walk around, you're in 15 00:00:51,170 --> 00:00:54,580 good company. We're going to be reading from 16 00:00:54,590 --> 00:00:58,780 Luke chapter 6 today and continuing on in what Luke calls 17 00:00:58,790 --> 00:01:03,220 the sermon on the plane. So I'm going to begin by praying 18 00:01:03,690 --> 00:01:07,920 and, and then I'm going to read the passage once for us and then 19 00:01:07,930 --> 00:01:09,850 we'll work our way through together. 20 00:01:10,270 --> 00:01:13,320 But this is beginning at verse 37. 21 00:01:13,850 --> 00:01:17,580 This is Luke in my Bible. It says judging others. 22 00:01:17,590 --> 00:01:21,520 This is Jesus's teaching on judgment and a little bit on 23 00:01:21,530 --> 00:01:26,990 hypocrisy as well. So it I think it's one that 24 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,110 lands and needs to land, especially for those of us who 25 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:32,490 call ourselves Christians and who have been around the church 26 00:01:32,500 --> 00:01:35,430 for a long time. So let me pray. 27 00:01:35,500 --> 00:01:39,270 And if you want to find in your phone or on a tablet or in one 28 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,410 of the Bibles behind at the back of the sanctuary, there you can 29 00:01:42,420 --> 00:01:46,270 read along with us. God, thanks for your love, thank 30 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:48,610 you for your grace. Thanks that you're with us, and 31 00:01:48,620 --> 00:01:52,130 we're grateful for all of what you invite us into for worship 32 00:01:52,170 --> 00:01:55,150 and for worship together. Thanks that this is a community 33 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:59,730 that you form and you shape thinks that we are yours. 34 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:04,090 And so in these next moments, God, I pray that you would speak 35 00:02:04,100 --> 00:02:06,830 to us. Would you speak to us as 36 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:08,770 individuals? Would you speak to us as a 37 00:02:08,780 --> 00:02:11,810 community? And would you challenge us to 38 00:02:11,820 --> 00:02:15,190 become more of the people you've created us to be? 39 00:02:15,540 --> 00:02:18,170 In Jesus name I pray. Amen. 40 00:02:19,180 --> 00:02:22,010 So starting in verse 37, this is what it sounds like. 41 00:02:22,020 --> 00:02:26,140 Do not judge and you will not be judged. 42 00:02:26,510 --> 00:02:29,360 Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. 43 00:02:29,370 --> 00:02:32,550 Forgive and you will be forgiven. 44 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:38,030 Give and it will be given to you. 45 00:02:38,100 --> 00:02:41,410 A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running 46 00:02:41,420 --> 00:02:45,730 over will be poured into your lap, for with the measure you 47 00:02:45,740 --> 00:02:50,250 use, it will be measured to you. He also told them this parable. 48 00:02:50,260 --> 00:02:54,450 Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a 49 00:02:54,460 --> 00:02:57,150 pit? The student is not above the 50 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:01,190 teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their 51 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,770 teacher. Why do you look at the speck of 52 00:03:03,780 --> 00:03:06,620 sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the 53 00:03:06,630 --> 00:03:10,600 plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 54 00:03:10,610 --> 00:03:14,760 Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when you 55 00:03:14,770 --> 00:03:18,960 yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye, you hypocrite, 56 00:03:19,450 --> 00:03:24,080 first take the plank out of your eye and then you will see 57 00:03:24,090 --> 00:03:28,290 clearly to remove the spec from your brothers eye. 58 00:03:33,670 --> 00:03:40,940 That's alright. Got it. 59 00:03:42,380 --> 00:03:44,570 You got the keyboard there. That's great. 60 00:03:44,650 --> 00:03:47,030 That's too far away. Wonderful. 61 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:48,570 I love it. Oh, I love it. 62 00:03:49,140 --> 00:03:50,840 I listen. We are like I said, we're 63 00:03:50,850 --> 00:03:53,650 continuing in Jesus Sermon on the plane. 64 00:03:53,660 --> 00:03:58,290 This is Jesus's teaching on how to live life inside the Kingdom 65 00:03:58,300 --> 00:04:01,630 of God, life to its fullest measure. 66 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,010 What does that mean? What does it look like according 67 00:04:04,020 --> 00:04:07,570 to Jesus's teaching and the way of Jesus? 68 00:04:07,700 --> 00:04:12,930 What is the good life? What is it that we are invited 69 00:04:12,940 --> 00:04:17,170 into when we live inside God's Kingdom? 70 00:04:17,380 --> 00:04:19,930 And so today what I want to do is leave you with three 71 00:04:19,940 --> 00:04:23,290 principles for life inside the Kingdom. 72 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:27,090 And I say this occasionally like closest thing to three-point 73 00:04:27,100 --> 00:04:30,300 sermon we're going to get for a while, but I'm also going to 74 00:04:30,310 --> 00:04:33,210 spoil the sermon right off the hop. 75 00:04:33,260 --> 00:04:35,310 I'm going to give you the three points. 76 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:39,430 These aren't the only three points of what life looks like 77 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:42,750 inside the Kingdom. These aren't the only three 78 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:46,430 principles according to Jesus's teaching. 79 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:51,690 They are three of the ways in which Jesus invites us to live 80 00:04:51,740 --> 00:04:54,490 and to live inside the Kingdom. So I guess that's your 81 00:04:54,500 --> 00:04:58,170 disclaimer. Spoilers ahead. 3 principles, 3 82 00:04:58,180 --> 00:05:02,070 principles, not 2 about life inside the Kingdom. 83 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:06,370 Number one is generosity. The Kingdom of God is a Kingdom 84 00:05:06,380 --> 00:05:12,080 of generosity #2 loyalty. The Kingdom of God is one that 85 00:05:12,090 --> 00:05:16,950 invites you to follow and to follow well, to be committed to 86 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:20,710 someone and something and #3 integrity. 87 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:25,730 To live an integrated life. One is we're going to see is put 88 00:05:25,740 --> 00:05:29,690 back together, not broken into pieces. 89 00:05:29,700 --> 00:05:33,120 So generosity, loyalty and integrity. 90 00:05:34,030 --> 00:05:36,720 Now listen, Jesus's teachings weren't meant to to give his 91 00:05:36,730 --> 00:05:40,860 listeners an answer for every possible situation or 92 00:05:40,870 --> 00:05:42,800 circumstance that they encountered. 93 00:05:43,170 --> 00:05:45,960 They were meant to be rules for the road. 94 00:05:45,970 --> 00:05:48,800 And that's the language that we have been developing as we've 95 00:05:48,810 --> 00:05:52,320 been working our way through this sermon or this collection 96 00:05:52,330 --> 00:05:56,490 of Jesus teachings. They are rules for how to live 97 00:05:56,500 --> 00:05:58,230 inside the Kingdom. They're quick. 98 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,760 And he wants you to remember them and he wants you to just 99 00:06:01,860 --> 00:06:05,900 call to mind as things happen, as they unfold in your life. 100 00:06:05,910 --> 00:06:09,280 This is how we are called to live. 101 00:06:09,380 --> 00:06:13,070 They are true statements about the Kingdom of God and what life 102 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:17,230 looks like if you choose to pursue it inside of God's 103 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:20,210 Kingdom. Now, I don't know about you and 104 00:06:20,220 --> 00:06:22,130 how you've gone about doing this, probably in a more 105 00:06:22,140 --> 00:06:24,170 organized and advanced way from me. 106 00:06:24,420 --> 00:06:27,910 However, every year in the spring and in the fall, I 107 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:32,520 changed my tires and I've done it for a long time, since the 108 00:06:32,530 --> 00:06:36,220 first car that I that I bought, I've got winter rims, winter 109 00:06:36,230 --> 00:06:39,520 tires and I've got all season rims and all season tires. 110 00:06:39,530 --> 00:06:42,920 And all that means is that I don't need to remember to book 111 00:06:42,930 --> 00:06:47,600 an appointment ahead of all of you in the winter. 112 00:06:48,050 --> 00:06:50,440 So when I pick up the phone and call Canadian Tire to see if 113 00:06:50,450 --> 00:06:54,000 there's anything available, it's not two months down the road I 114 00:06:54,010 --> 00:06:59,060 can. I can do it myself every year 115 00:06:59,070 --> 00:07:03,550 without fail when I switched the tires back over to whatever it 116 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:08,130 is like this, you know, this season, spring, I forget what 117 00:07:08,220 --> 00:07:13,020 the proper PSI range is supposed to be on that tire every year. 118 00:07:13,970 --> 00:07:16,300 And there's a couple of different ways to find that that 119 00:07:16,310 --> 00:07:20,100 answer. So the one is that in my car, 120 00:07:20,110 --> 00:07:23,520 there's a glove box with no gloves in it, but with an owners 121 00:07:23,530 --> 00:07:25,810 manual in there. And I can flip over to the tire 122 00:07:25,820 --> 00:07:30,060 maintenance section and find for my vehicle the range that they 123 00:07:30,070 --> 00:07:34,500 suggest to keep my tires within. You can also find it out usually 124 00:07:34,510 --> 00:07:37,630 on the tires themselves. But I know that that owners 125 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:40,380 manual is going to give me the exact answer to the question 126 00:07:40,390 --> 00:07:43,370 that I need every single season when I flip those tires over. 127 00:07:43,380 --> 00:07:46,260 And that is, what do I have to fill these things to at the 128 00:07:46,270 --> 00:07:49,610 station before I put them on so that my whole car doesn't just 129 00:07:49,620 --> 00:07:54,880 sit on the rims? That's an easy answer to find, 130 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:00,310 but this isn't the kind of manual that Jesus is writing in 131 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,350 his teachings about the Kingdom. This isn't for Jesus. 132 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:08,270 This his teachings aren't. And if this, then that kind of 133 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,590 manual you can't find. You won't find answers to every 134 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:18,190 single question, but what you will find are principles to live 135 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:27,160 by, ways to be, truths to remember when life is hard, when 136 00:08:27,170 --> 00:08:31,910 there's joy and celebration. God speaks through His teachings 137 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:36,049 about who you are, whose you are, and about who He is. 138 00:08:44,090 --> 00:08:46,510 Jesus's teaching. Excuse me? 139 00:08:46,580 --> 00:08:51,750 It's similar to the wisdom literature in the Old Testament. 140 00:08:53,510 --> 00:08:58,560 It would be like if I wrote the owner's manual for my van 141 00:08:59,350 --> 00:09:03,990 instead. Simply in some ways keep your 142 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:10,170 pressure or your tires properly pressurized, not pressurize your 143 00:09:10,180 --> 00:09:14,450 tires to exactly 36 PSI. That's got that's one answer, 144 00:09:16,180 --> 00:09:21,140 but keep your tires properly pressurized and it will be well 145 00:09:21,150 --> 00:09:24,970 with you. Think. 146 00:09:24,980 --> 00:09:30,500 Think about it. Do the work right? 147 00:09:30,510 --> 00:09:33,650 This is my body, my life, my heart, my soul, my mind. 148 00:09:33,660 --> 00:09:36,060 The tire or the van? Does it really matter? 149 00:09:36,290 --> 00:09:37,950 But what do I need to do to remain healthy? 150 00:09:39,680 --> 00:09:41,740 What do I need to do to remain aligned? 151 00:09:41,750 --> 00:09:47,470 What do I need to do to remain safe toward myself and others? 152 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:49,320 Like what is the work that I need to do? 153 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:54,020 And I think that's what Jesus challenges us toward today. 154 00:09:55,390 --> 00:10:00,420 What's the work that we need to do to keep our tires ourselves 155 00:10:00,470 --> 00:10:04,980 properly pressurized? So we've got wisdom, literature, 156 00:10:04,990 --> 00:10:09,680 Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, truths that are intended to have 157 00:10:09,690 --> 00:10:14,980 wide meaning application across all of life and all of time so 158 00:10:14,990 --> 00:10:20,390 that we still find in it deep meaning for our lives, the best 159 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:25,000 meaning for our lives. And so we look value 1 160 00:10:26,260 --> 00:10:31,550 generosity. Jesus says do not judge and you 161 00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:33,990 will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not 162 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:35,770 be condemned. Forgive and you will be 163 00:10:35,780 --> 00:10:37,730 forgiven. Give and it will be given to 164 00:10:37,740 --> 00:10:39,350 you. A good measure pressed down, 165 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:42,250 shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap, 166 00:10:42,260 --> 00:10:45,210 for with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 167 00:10:45,220 --> 00:10:47,840 He says do not judge and you will not be judged. 168 00:10:47,850 --> 00:10:49,830 Then He says do not condemn and you will not be condemned. 169 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:56,660 Forgive. Give he calls us to do. 170 00:10:57,300 --> 00:11:00,350 But to be about something. Passages like this, I think, can 171 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:03,670 feel a little overwhelming. And I don't know about you, but 172 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:05,710 I think sometimes we can fall into the trap of trying to 173 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:09,310 figure out what every possible iteration of these words means. 174 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:12,910 What does it mean to not judge? And then I will not be judged. 175 00:11:13,950 --> 00:11:17,060 How do I learn to not condemn so that I will not be condemned? 176 00:11:17,070 --> 00:11:19,740 And what does condemnation mean and, and look like? 177 00:11:19,750 --> 00:11:22,380 And where do I tip? And when am I judgmental? 178 00:11:22,390 --> 00:11:25,720 And when is it judging and not judgmental? 179 00:11:25,730 --> 00:11:28,880 When you know, how can I navigate it? 180 00:11:28,890 --> 00:11:31,280 Are there situations where I should judge? 181 00:11:32,100 --> 00:11:34,110 What does it mean that I won't be judged? 182 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:36,770 If I if I do judged, will then I be judged? 183 00:11:36,780 --> 00:11:39,210 And how will that look? What is it gonna feel like? 184 00:11:39,220 --> 00:11:41,870 Is this not just in some way like a Christian karma? 185 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:45,370 What goes around comes around. What you give, you get. 186 00:11:47,260 --> 00:11:50,420 How much what does that even mean? 187 00:11:50,670 --> 00:11:53,140 Like if you give me a cookie, do I have to give you also a cookie 188 00:11:53,150 --> 00:11:55,460 back? Like, is that the like this for 189 00:11:55,470 --> 00:11:58,620 that? How is God creating life inside 190 00:11:58,630 --> 00:12:01,300 the Kingdom? How do I measure a value of, of 191 00:12:01,310 --> 00:12:04,300 a gift so that I can return it in kind? 192 00:12:04,350 --> 00:12:07,640 And I think what happens is that we, we end up down this rabbit 193 00:12:07,650 --> 00:12:11,580 trail of in many ways, very good questions and important 194 00:12:11,590 --> 00:12:14,580 questions to ask, but we get sucked around and around and 195 00:12:14,590 --> 00:12:18,040 around until we end up at a place where we're not quite sure 196 00:12:18,050 --> 00:12:22,300 how to live or how to be or what it should look like anyways. 197 00:12:22,390 --> 00:12:25,700 And I think for us what we need to see that Jesus says simply 198 00:12:25,710 --> 00:12:30,310 and it it really is actually just stop judging. 199 00:12:31,450 --> 00:12:38,460 He says stop judging. Stop condemning. 200 00:12:39,990 --> 00:12:45,370 And then he says give, Learn to be generous. 201 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:53,570 Instead of judging, Instead of condemning, he says forgive and 202 00:12:53,580 --> 00:12:57,010 then give. And that to me feels like an 203 00:12:57,020 --> 00:13:03,450 extra measure of grace. Forgive and then give on top of 204 00:13:04,110 --> 00:13:10,100 Choose the way of generosity. Choose the way that leads to 205 00:13:10,110 --> 00:13:15,350 more generosity. And then he writes a good 206 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:17,820 measure. Pressed down, shaken together, 207 00:13:17,830 --> 00:13:20,070 and running over will be poured into your lap. 208 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,090 For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 209 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:27,850 If you were here on Wednesday for our community Bible study, 210 00:13:27,860 --> 00:13:30,210 we talked a little bit about what this good measure is. 211 00:13:30,220 --> 00:13:34,920 What does it mean to write or say or read good measure? 212 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:40,270 In Greek, that word measure is metros. 213 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:43,140 We actually get the word meter from that word. 214 00:13:44,580 --> 00:13:50,110 And what it was, was a way to describe, yes, measuring 215 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:54,730 something, how to measure something, but it itself a good 216 00:13:54,740 --> 00:13:57,670 measure. The measure was the standard 217 00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:01,230 against which everything else was measured. 218 00:14:01,540 --> 00:14:04,320 And so very often it would be grain that was used and there 219 00:14:04,330 --> 00:14:07,760 was a fixed amount of grain, a container for the grain and you 220 00:14:07,770 --> 00:14:11,390 would fill the grain up and that would be your measure. 221 00:14:12,250 --> 00:14:16,220 And So what would make sense is and what would be equitable 222 00:14:16,230 --> 00:14:20,370 would be a good measure. And so I listen, this is rice 223 00:14:20,380 --> 00:14:22,440 and it doesn't work as well as I thought it would. 224 00:14:22,490 --> 00:14:28,120 But but what he's right, what Lucas is, is saying, what Jesus 225 00:14:28,130 --> 00:14:31,460 is teaching is a good measure is not one that's just poured in 226 00:14:31,470 --> 00:14:34,970 and left to have air and room in it to to move around. 227 00:14:36,070 --> 00:14:38,550 Because if we use this to measure against, it's going to 228 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:40,240 fall short. What he says is no a good 229 00:14:40,250 --> 00:14:43,290 measure. So fill it up to the top and 230 00:14:43,300 --> 00:14:50,030 then shake it around to get all of the air out and press it 231 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:52,490 down, he says. A good measure pressed down 232 00:14:52,500 --> 00:14:58,900 South that you can fill up with more again, that's equitable. 233 00:14:58,910 --> 00:15:03,100 That would be a good measure. That would be fair. 234 00:15:03,530 --> 00:15:08,350 But what Jesus says is a good measure, packed down, shaken 235 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:15,870 together and overflowing. We're going to eat rice today 236 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:20,190 for lunch, and I very clearly have some vacuuming to do after 237 00:15:20,260 --> 00:15:23,560 the service. But I want you to get this 238 00:15:23,570 --> 00:15:26,640 point. What Jesus says is a good 239 00:15:26,650 --> 00:15:32,330 measure is not what is fair. It's not what is deserved, it's 240 00:15:32,340 --> 00:15:37,550 not what is equal, he says. A good measure Overflowing, so 241 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:42,120 he says. Choose to be generous and I 242 00:15:42,130 --> 00:15:45,040 don't know again, but yeah, like I get stuck in this judge and 243 00:15:45,050 --> 00:15:47,040 I'm not gonna be judged and don't condemn because I don't 244 00:15:47,050 --> 00:15:49,380 want to be condemned. And we missed the forest through 245 00:15:49,390 --> 00:15:55,340 the trees where Jesus says give with abundance, be generous 246 00:15:55,790 --> 00:16:01,820 overflow in how you live life, in how you interact with one 247 00:16:01,830 --> 00:16:06,070 another in the ways that you choose to be, choose to be 248 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:10,010 generous to overflowing. The economy of the Kingdom of 249 00:16:10,020 --> 00:16:15,040 God is an economy of generosity. It is not one of scarcity. 250 00:16:15,110 --> 00:16:18,020 It is not one of fear. It is not one that worries. 251 00:16:18,030 --> 00:16:21,010 If I give this away, I will not have. 252 00:16:22,990 --> 00:16:25,780 And so if you want to live life inside the Kingdom of God, Jesus 253 00:16:25,790 --> 00:16:30,990 says listen, remember on your way choose to be generous. 254 00:16:33,300 --> 00:16:36,230 This is why at the end of a fusions, Paul, Paul can declare 255 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:40,290 this about God. God is able to do what God is 256 00:16:40,300 --> 00:16:42,670 able to do. What is fair and equitable, 257 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:46,110 exactly what we ask for, right? No, Paul says. 258 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:49,270 He declares, God will do. He's able to do immeasurably 259 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:53,250 more then we can ask or imagine. Why? 260 00:16:53,260 --> 00:16:58,190 Because God is generous with you, and He has been and will be 261 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:01,970 generous with you. And so for you and for me, if we 262 00:17:01,980 --> 00:17:05,079 want to live life inside the Kingdom of God, we must choose 263 00:17:05,150 --> 00:17:08,480 to live generously. That's it, That's the principle. 264 00:17:08,490 --> 00:17:12,400 That's number one. Live life open handedly, 265 00:17:12,490 --> 00:17:17,500 generous toward the other. Value 2 is loyalty. 266 00:17:17,510 --> 00:17:20,240 And this word falls short. I want to say that at the 267 00:17:20,250 --> 00:17:22,980 beginning, but it sounded good because we've got generosity, 268 00:17:22,990 --> 00:17:27,500 we've got loyalty. And it just felt right growing 269 00:17:27,510 --> 00:17:30,050 up for me. Growing up in Montreal, one of 270 00:17:30,060 --> 00:17:33,300 my fondest memories meant that we could drive like 45 minutes 271 00:17:33,310 --> 00:17:36,440 almost in any direction and hit a ski hill. 272 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:40,270 And because there were so many, like it kept the prices fairly 273 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:42,290 reasonable as well, which was great. 274 00:17:42,300 --> 00:17:46,140 And it meant like every March break, a couple of my cousins, 275 00:17:46,150 --> 00:17:50,350 like their families would drive from Ontario to Montreal. 276 00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:52,930 We'd spend the week together and we would go skiing, 277 00:17:52,940 --> 00:17:55,330 snowboarding, we'd spend a day on the hills. 278 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:59,090 And again, like year after year, one of my fondest memories of 279 00:17:59,100 --> 00:18:01,970 that place and of that time and season were those were those 280 00:18:01,980 --> 00:18:05,330 trips, some of my best memories. But there was one year that my 281 00:18:05,340 --> 00:18:07,510 cousin and I got it in our head were like, well, we're getting 282 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:09,130 pretty good. We're getting a little too good 283 00:18:09,140 --> 00:18:11,610 for this hill that we're going to and listen like we're going 284 00:18:11,620 --> 00:18:14,460 to try to find our own routes down the mountain. 285 00:18:14,570 --> 00:18:17,660 And I don't know if you've ever been skiing or snowboarding 286 00:18:17,670 --> 00:18:19,780 before, but that's not a good idea. 287 00:18:20,970 --> 00:18:23,860 It's just not. There are guardrails on roads 288 00:18:23,870 --> 00:18:26,880 for reasons. There are markers on ski slopes 289 00:18:26,890 --> 00:18:29,090 for reasons. And if you grew up in BC, you're 290 00:18:29,100 --> 00:18:31,770 like this. Listen, smaller hills, OK? 291 00:18:33,350 --> 00:18:35,320 But one year we did. We got in our minds that we were 292 00:18:35,330 --> 00:18:36,580 gonna go and find. We weren't gonna. 293 00:18:36,590 --> 00:18:38,410 We're gonna go down the well marked trails. 294 00:18:38,420 --> 00:18:40,780 We weren't gonna go down the well groomed paths. 295 00:18:40,790 --> 00:18:42,670 We were going to go outside the lines. 296 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:44,210 We were going to go down the wrong side of them. 297 00:18:44,220 --> 00:18:46,510 We're going to Bush crash through the trees and we're 298 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:48,940 going to go find fresh powder. And it was going to be great. 299 00:18:48,950 --> 00:18:54,030 It wasn't, and you can imagine what might have happened. 300 00:18:55,070 --> 00:18:57,020 So I can't remember who was going for I was following my 301 00:18:57,030 --> 00:18:59,200 cousin or my cousin was following me down the backside 302 00:18:59,210 --> 00:19:02,350 of the mountain and we hit a Cliff and it wasn't a big Cliff, 303 00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:05,690 but it was a big enough Cliff. And one of us, I think it was my 304 00:19:05,700 --> 00:19:08,700 cousin, for he sailed over and funk and like landed down maybe 305 00:19:08,710 --> 00:19:12,250 about 10 feet in this big basin of snow drift. 306 00:19:13,380 --> 00:19:16,650 And what happened? I also sailed over the same 307 00:19:16,660 --> 00:19:19,750 Cliff. There we were, side-by-side, 308 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:23,820 luckily not on top of each other like up to our armpits and snow. 309 00:19:24,850 --> 00:19:27,560 And at that point we knew we were in trouble. 310 00:19:27,950 --> 00:19:29,710 We're on the wrong side of the mountain. 311 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,890 Little later in the day, nobody knows where we are, or you know, 312 00:19:32,900 --> 00:19:34,430 anyway. So we had to dig ourselves out 313 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,890 all the way down to our snowboards, unclip the bindings, 314 00:19:37,940 --> 00:19:40,590 bring those out and walk down the wrong side of the hill. 315 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:41,760 Then we were on the wrong side of mountain. 316 00:19:41,770 --> 00:19:44,630 We had to walk around to the to the right side where the ski 317 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:47,830 lifts were and go our ways. And I don't know if anybody knew 318 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:51,050 about that story until right now either. 319 00:19:54,060 --> 00:19:58,840 So Jesus tells this parable. Can the blind lead the blind? 320 00:19:58,850 --> 00:20:02,650 He says. Will they not both fall into a 321 00:20:02,660 --> 00:20:07,980 pit? Yes, the student is not above 322 00:20:07,990 --> 00:20:12,760 the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their 323 00:20:12,770 --> 00:20:14,190 teacher. OK, we're going to get to that 324 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,280 in a minute. I love this. 325 00:20:17,690 --> 00:20:19,740 Right. He also told them this parable. 326 00:20:19,790 --> 00:20:21,780 You could also probably read it this way. 327 00:20:21,850 --> 00:20:26,370 He also told them this joke like this, this anti right says that 328 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:28,130 this is this is Jesus trying to be funny. 329 00:20:28,140 --> 00:20:30,450 Anti right says that the Bible is funny if you know how and 330 00:20:30,460 --> 00:20:34,110 where to look for it. Like God's humorous and this is 331 00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:38,830 Jesus using humor to tease out what is a really difficult 332 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:43,250 principle to live by. And so he disarms his his 333 00:20:43,260 --> 00:20:46,270 listeners. Like can the blind lead the 334 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:46,890 blind? No. 335 00:20:46,900 --> 00:20:48,250 They're both going to fall into a pit. 336 00:20:48,260 --> 00:20:50,210 Yes. Can one dumb teenager lead 337 00:20:50,220 --> 00:20:52,690 another dumb teenager safely over the wrong side of a 338 00:20:52,700 --> 00:20:55,680 mountain? Also, no, you're both gonna get 339 00:20:55,690 --> 00:20:58,970 stuck. And again, like I said, like 340 00:20:58,980 --> 00:21:03,550 Jesus isn't telling us to watch out for pits or ditches. 341 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:06,310 They literally what we would maybe read in the in the 342 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:08,430 original Creek. Like you're going to fall into a 343 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:12,110 ditch, you're going to get hurt. No, he's he's not saying walk 344 00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:15,750 around watching for ditches and be like, I'm gonna hop over that 345 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:18,130 one and then I'm gonna hop over this one. 346 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:20,590 And hopefully you're following along behind me. 347 00:21:21,430 --> 00:21:24,360 He's not saying watch out for sinkholes, which I learned this 348 00:21:24,370 --> 00:21:27,050 week is a thing in Guelph. We gotta watch out for them. 349 00:21:29,310 --> 00:21:36,800 Jesus is using humor to tease out this truth about life inside 350 00:21:36,810 --> 00:21:41,430 the Kingdom. Who you follow matters. 351 00:21:43,870 --> 00:21:50,340 Who you are following matters and how you lead matters. 352 00:21:52,010 --> 00:21:57,520 Who is following you? Are you following someone who's 353 00:21:57,530 --> 00:22:01,770 gonna lead you into a pit? Are you leading someone toward a 354 00:22:01,780 --> 00:22:05,860 ditch? Who you choose to align your 355 00:22:05,870 --> 00:22:10,810 life, Who you choose to align yourself with, matters. 356 00:22:11,890 --> 00:22:14,460 Who you study from and learn from matters. 357 00:22:14,510 --> 00:22:17,840 Why? Because we know that you become 358 00:22:17,890 --> 00:22:23,680 like the person you follow. You become more like the people 359 00:22:23,690 --> 00:22:27,410 you spend the most time with, whether you like that about 360 00:22:27,420 --> 00:22:29,900 yourself or not, whether you want to or not. 361 00:22:31,370 --> 00:22:34,260 Spouses. We even start looking alike as 362 00:22:34,270 --> 00:22:40,970 we age. Sorry Connie, it for for the 363 00:22:41,020 --> 00:22:43,460 that. Anyways, I figured that one out 364 00:22:43,470 --> 00:22:50,250 after David Foster Wallace has this great quote and actually 365 00:22:50,260 --> 00:22:53,650 shortly before his death he he said this at a convocation. 366 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:57,690 Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what 367 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:02,250 to worship you will. To be human means that you will 368 00:23:02,260 --> 00:23:06,970 worship something. Something someone will get your 369 00:23:06,980 --> 00:23:09,790 attention and your affection. You will elevate somebody 370 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:13,490 something above the rest. You will behold in your life 371 00:23:13,500 --> 00:23:17,240 towards something or someone and one of the most important 372 00:23:17,250 --> 00:23:21,290 decisions that you have to make is who that thing or that person 373 00:23:21,300 --> 00:23:25,530 is. What or who will you worship? 374 00:23:26,260 --> 00:23:28,370 Who are you gonna actively pursue? 375 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:32,300 How are you going to go and align your life toward what is 376 00:23:32,310 --> 00:23:35,190 right and true and good? Something is going to get your 377 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,950 attention and your affection. Something will demand your time 378 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:40,110 and your energy and your resources, your money. 379 00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:45,450 Somebody will teach your kids you will spend years of your 380 00:23:45,460 --> 00:23:49,290 life consuming content. And I don't mean years of your 381 00:23:49,300 --> 00:23:52,590 life sometimes consuming content, but if the stats are 382 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:58,580 right, you will spend years of your life, actual real whole 383 00:23:58,590 --> 00:24:01,650 years. Over the long haul, consuming 384 00:24:01,660 --> 00:24:05,220 things, be it on your phone or computer or television, 385 00:24:06,950 --> 00:24:09,960 Something is going to get your worship. 386 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:15,490 Something or someone will be your teacher. 387 00:24:16,430 --> 00:24:20,600 So choose that teacher wisely. Because if your teacher is a 388 00:24:20,610 --> 00:24:24,750 Pharisee, you're only gonna be like the Pharisee. 389 00:24:25,140 --> 00:24:28,910 Jesus says this. No student is above their 390 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:29,830 teacher. OK? 391 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:32,250 No student like the student is not above the teacher. 392 00:24:32,300 --> 00:24:36,130 But everyone who is fully trained will be like their 393 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:38,640 teacher. And in some ways, hear what 394 00:24:38,650 --> 00:24:41,450 Jesus is saying. He's just warned us about the 395 00:24:41,460 --> 00:24:44,630 blind leading the blind and the blind teachers leading you 396 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:48,740 toward a pit toward danger. So what he's saying here, I 397 00:24:48,750 --> 00:24:56,560 think in many ways is even if you are fully formed, even if 398 00:24:56,610 --> 00:25:02,300 you are successful, even if you become fully trained, you are 399 00:25:02,350 --> 00:25:05,800 only ever going to be like that teacher. 400 00:25:07,310 --> 00:25:11,410 So if that teacher is the wrong teacher, you're not going to 401 00:25:11,420 --> 00:25:14,880 excel beyond, you're not going to follow your way into the 402 00:25:14,890 --> 00:25:19,200 Kingdom. So he says, choose your teacher 403 00:25:19,210 --> 00:25:22,830 wisely because you will be like that teacher. 404 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:28,770 And if it's the wrong teacher, you will only ever be like that 405 00:25:28,820 --> 00:25:31,270 teacher. If your teacher is judgmental 406 00:25:31,340 --> 00:25:34,470 and stingy, if your teacher is spiritually, morally, ethically 407 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:38,250 blind, if you're even if he says you're fully formed, you are 408 00:25:38,260 --> 00:25:43,430 going to be like that teacher. Christians are those who submit 409 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:48,030 to Jesus. Followers of Jesus are ones who 410 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,870 say nobody. Nobody else gets the time, the 411 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:56,090 attention, the affection. As does Jesus, and that might be 412 00:25:56,100 --> 00:25:57,810 a hard thing to hear. Not your spouse, not your 413 00:25:57,820 --> 00:26:00,070 friend, not your boss, not social media, not your favorite 414 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:02,110 podcast. No politician or celebrity, no 415 00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:05,230 Joe Rogan, no Jordan Peterson, not even your pastor. 416 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:12,050 Nobody gets the attention and the affection that Jesus gets. 417 00:26:13,770 --> 00:26:18,920 And I'm not saying that Jesus won't use people to speak to 418 00:26:18,930 --> 00:26:23,280 you. He will and pay close attention 419 00:26:23,290 --> 00:26:28,030 to your spouse. Trust the friends who have 420 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:32,840 earned the right to be heard and speak into your life, but 421 00:26:32,850 --> 00:26:37,690 remember that there is only one King inside the Kingdom and his 422 00:26:37,700 --> 00:26:42,700 name is Jesus and there is only one teacher who we are called to 423 00:26:42,710 --> 00:26:51,190 follow and his name is Jesus. Imitating Christ is the heart of 424 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:55,260 the Christian vocation. To be. 425 00:26:55,270 --> 00:26:58,120 In other words, to be a Christian is to be one who 426 00:26:58,130 --> 00:27:06,800 imitates Jesus. So are you living a life that is 427 00:27:06,810 --> 00:27:12,840 aligned toward Jesus? Are you living a life of loyalty 428 00:27:12,950 --> 00:27:17,760 toward Jesus? Value 3 is integrity. 429 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:21,690 And this is where we're going to wrap up. 430 00:27:21,700 --> 00:27:22,550 Why do you look? He says. 431 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:24,740 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust and your brother's eye 432 00:27:24,750 --> 00:27:29,790 and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 433 00:27:30,060 --> 00:27:33,170 This. We could read this as a log. 434 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:38,140 We could read this even as doc that's closest. 435 00:27:38,980 --> 00:27:40,670 Can't really read that up there. I'm sorry. 436 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:45,130 Log dock plank, the plank in your own eye. 437 00:27:45,580 --> 00:27:47,460 How can you say to your brother, brother, let me take the speck 438 00:27:47,470 --> 00:27:50,610 out of your own eye when yourself failed to see the plank 439 00:27:50,620 --> 00:27:53,810 in your own eye, you hypocrite. We're going to get to this word 440 00:27:53,820 --> 00:27:56,090 in a minute. First he says take the plank out 441 00:27:56,100 --> 00:28:00,270 of your own eye and then you will be able to see clearly to 442 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:04,990 remove the spec from your brother's eye again. 443 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:09,690 And I think it's OK here to realize Jesus is using comedy to 444 00:28:09,700 --> 00:28:12,730 reveal what is painfully true about human beings. 445 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:17,510 That so often our actions don't align with our beliefs and what 446 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:22,440 we say we believe. Our intentions, though good, can 447 00:28:22,450 --> 00:28:26,310 be hurtful. Our actions can hurt others, and 448 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:30,590 at times we can be really good. Christians can be really good at 449 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:34,740 pointing out other people's flaws while ignoring our own. 450 00:28:36,310 --> 00:28:38,350 So I want you to imagine this. Can you imagine for a minute 451 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:40,940 what it would be like to remove the speck of sawdust from 452 00:28:40,950 --> 00:28:43,240 someone's eye while battling a log in your own? 453 00:28:43,250 --> 00:28:49,040 I didn't bring a log, but it did bring a stick because I think 454 00:28:49,050 --> 00:28:52,780 it's helpful to see this. I'm not gonna invite anybody up, 455 00:28:52,790 --> 00:28:55,500 and I'm not gonna stick a speck of sawdust in your eye, and I'm 456 00:28:55,510 --> 00:28:57,680 not gonna try to get it out of your eye while also 457 00:28:57,690 --> 00:29:00,360 simultaneously hitting you in the head with this stick like 458 00:29:00,370 --> 00:29:05,230 it's not gonna happen. Even if you have the best 459 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:08,070 intentions, you're still gonna hurt somebody. 460 00:29:09,050 --> 00:29:11,820 Like if this thing sticking out of your own eye and you're 461 00:29:11,830 --> 00:29:14,670 walking around and you're like, let me help you. 462 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,550 Like it's just not gonna happen. This is the humor of it. 463 00:29:19,620 --> 00:29:23,770 You can't do it. He doesn't want you to feel bad 464 00:29:23,780 --> 00:29:26,730 about yourself and feel shame that you can't help somebody. 465 00:29:26,820 --> 00:29:29,330 He's simply pointing out the fact that if I've got a log 466 00:29:29,340 --> 00:29:33,760 sticking out of my, I can't help you because I can't even get to 467 00:29:33,770 --> 00:29:40,450 you. No amount of love, no amount of 468 00:29:40,460 --> 00:29:44,890 kindness, no matter of gentleness or steady hand or 469 00:29:44,900 --> 00:29:50,130 slow like heart surgeon level accuracy is going to allow me to 470 00:29:50,140 --> 00:29:52,880 help somebody. If I have a stick coming out the 471 00:29:52,890 --> 00:29:55,890 front of my face, I'm gonna hit you. 472 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,870 Even if I could reach, I'll probably spin around and hit you 473 00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:01,700 on the way out. Like, just accidentally, 474 00:30:03,150 --> 00:30:05,130 brother, let me take the speck out of your own eyes. 475 00:30:05,140 --> 00:30:07,480 As even if you want to, even if you're trying to be helpful, 476 00:30:07,490 --> 00:30:10,180 even if you're not being judgmental, even if you're not 477 00:30:10,190 --> 00:30:12,800 condemning, even if you are out of the goodness of your heart 478 00:30:12,810 --> 00:30:15,300 trying to help somebody you love and care for deeply, you are 479 00:30:15,310 --> 00:30:18,440 gonna hurt somebody until you start to deal with your own 480 00:30:18,490 --> 00:30:24,000 stuff. Luke's Point, Fred Craddock 481 00:30:24,010 --> 00:30:30,320 writes. Is this the disqualifying 482 00:30:30,330 --> 00:30:32,300 factor? I want you to hear this is not 483 00:30:32,350 --> 00:30:39,090 flaws but it is blindness to ones flaws and it's an 484 00:30:39,140 --> 00:30:43,060 unwillingness to be self critical and honest. 485 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:49,270 I want to be like abundantly clear, Jesus is not saying to 486 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:52,510 you deal with your own stuff before you can enter the 487 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:55,700 Kingdom. He's not saying dress a certain 488 00:30:55,710 --> 00:30:57,220 way. He's not saying look a certain 489 00:30:57,230 --> 00:30:58,860 way. He's not saying speak a certain 490 00:30:58,870 --> 00:31:00,380 way. He's not saying be a certain 491 00:31:00,390 --> 00:31:02,280 way. He's not saying go and clean up 492 00:31:02,290 --> 00:31:04,110 yourself. I don't wanna deal with you. 493 00:31:04,370 --> 00:31:07,800 Once you've done all that work, then come and see if you measure 494 00:31:07,810 --> 00:31:12,200 up, if you're good enough. He's not saying fix it all 495 00:31:12,310 --> 00:31:14,320 before you can belong or believe. 496 00:31:14,330 --> 00:31:19,420 He's not saying that you gotta pay up and kind of find your way 497 00:31:19,430 --> 00:31:23,740 into the Country Club of Christianity, but he is saying 498 00:31:23,830 --> 00:31:27,060 that being a Christian, part of being a Christian, a follower of 499 00:31:27,070 --> 00:31:30,100 Jesus, is working on your own logs. 500 00:31:32,050 --> 00:31:37,070 Having the humility to be self critical an honest with 501 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:45,410 yourself. What logs you need to address as 502 00:31:45,420 --> 00:31:49,910 you go and as you live inside the Kingdom of God. 503 00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:52,890 Jesus issue isn't with the person who's honestly and 504 00:31:52,900 --> 00:31:57,030 earnestly seeking to heal themselves by removing the 505 00:31:57,040 --> 00:31:59,870 plank. His issue isn't with people who 506 00:31:59,980 --> 00:32:04,050 who ask hey please, like if I smack you in the head with a 507 00:32:04,060 --> 00:32:07,820 plank sticking out of my eye, like tell me point them out. 508 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:13,210 We need one another to encourage and admonish and challenge each 509 00:32:13,220 --> 00:32:15,770 other. Jesus's issue is with those who 510 00:32:15,780 --> 00:32:19,620 refuse to deal with the plank in their own eye while at the same 511 00:32:19,630 --> 00:32:23,890 time insisting on pointing out and attempting to remove 512 00:32:23,940 --> 00:32:29,860 everybody elses, which is again, is a, is a comical thing to see 513 00:32:29,900 --> 00:32:31,710 because everybody, like, we can all see it. 514 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,010 You got the stick, you got the big, you get the long sticking 515 00:32:34,020 --> 00:32:36,430 out of your face and you're the one running around trying to fix 516 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:38,750 everybody else. We can see it. 517 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:40,950 It's sticking out of my, you know, eye. 518 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:42,630 So maybe that's why we struggle to see it. 519 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:49,070 But we do like we struggle to see our own areas of need, but 520 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:53,830 we've got to deal with them. The hypocrite that Jesus refers 521 00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:59,710 to, we've spoken about this is a play actor, one who acted under 522 00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:03,410 a mask. So this word hupo creno, it's 523 00:33:03,420 --> 00:33:08,030 like under and judging, but it properly means one who acted 524 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:13,080 under a mask and then who was judged for their performance. 525 00:33:14,150 --> 00:33:20,120 So in the theatre, in public performance, you would play a 526 00:33:20,130 --> 00:33:24,150 character and then at the end of your performance you would come 527 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:26,950 out on stage and you would remove your mask. 528 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:30,550 And if you removed your mask and people considered generally, oh, 529 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:35,140 they convinced me that it wasn't my friend, They convinced me 530 00:33:35,150 --> 00:33:37,250 that they were the character you would applaud. 531 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:39,870 And if you didn't convince them, I guess they wouldn't applaud 532 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:42,130 for you. But that's what Jesus is 533 00:33:42,140 --> 00:33:45,190 referring to, people who play under a mask. 534 00:33:45,950 --> 00:33:48,560 But then you are still judging everybody else on how they're 535 00:33:48,570 --> 00:33:56,210 acting and living. Their job was to convince you 536 00:33:56,960 --> 00:34:01,870 that they had become the person while not being the person. 537 00:34:03,540 --> 00:34:07,190 And so I think the challenge is to be honest about ourselves, 538 00:34:07,260 --> 00:34:09,230 toward ourself and toward others. 539 00:34:10,420 --> 00:34:14,030 Have I become the person? Am I doing the work or am I 540 00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:17,070 trying to convince you that I'm somebody I'm not? 541 00:34:18,590 --> 00:34:23,409 And in the meantime, am I trying to point out everybody else's 542 00:34:23,420 --> 00:34:27,860 flaws and faults and failures? Am I trying to judge and shame 543 00:34:27,870 --> 00:34:34,239 and condemn? Are you intentionally seeking to 544 00:34:34,250 --> 00:34:37,960 find healing and deliverance and restoration and forgiveness in 545 00:34:37,969 --> 00:34:42,239 in Jesus? Are you honestly addressing the 546 00:34:42,250 --> 00:34:44,159 planks sticking out your own eye? 547 00:34:45,139 --> 00:34:48,070 Are you genuinely pursuing healing and health and 548 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:50,590 wholeness? Because then Jesus says it's 549 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:57,030 game on not to judge, not to shame, not to condemn others. 550 00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:00,170 This isn't the green light to go and be judgmental. 551 00:35:00,210 --> 00:35:03,050 You're like, I got my judgment card check. 552 00:35:03,060 --> 00:35:05,710 Like now I can go. I graduated to the judgment 553 00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:09,880 level. That's not what he's saying it 554 00:35:09,890 --> 00:35:15,950 is, though, he says. A green light to go and heal and 555 00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:20,660 help others heal. Too many Christians, I think, 556 00:35:20,670 --> 00:35:25,700 call ourselves Christian but act like Pharisees when what we need 557 00:35:25,710 --> 00:35:28,540 is what Henry Nolan calls people walking around being wounded 558 00:35:28,550 --> 00:35:33,640 healers, people who know our own faults and our own failures and 559 00:35:33,650 --> 00:35:36,340 our own field fears, deepest insecurities. 560 00:35:36,350 --> 00:35:37,820 The thing I don't want you to find out about? 561 00:35:37,830 --> 00:35:44,020 Know about this, All of it. Submitted to Jesus, healed, 562 00:35:44,070 --> 00:35:48,920 healing, restored, restoring toward life together as a 563 00:35:48,930 --> 00:35:52,820 community and calling other people to come to that same 564 00:35:52,830 --> 00:35:55,840 place of healing and forgiveness and restoration. 565 00:35:55,850 --> 00:35:58,720 Say, hey, I can't do it for you, but I can bring you to the one 566 00:35:58,730 --> 00:36:03,130 who can. And I'm broken and I'm wrestling 567 00:36:03,140 --> 00:36:06,050 it out and I'm trying to figure it out and on the way. 568 00:36:06,060 --> 00:36:09,070 Whatever I can do to drag you along with me, you tell me 569 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:13,090 because somebody else drugged me when I needed to go to and they 570 00:36:13,100 --> 00:36:16,610 weren't perfect and they weren't fully restored and healed and 571 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:18,710 they were figuring it out and they were on the road. 572 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:25,450 Just says on the road as you go, be ones of honesty and 573 00:36:25,460 --> 00:36:29,410 integrity. Mended put back together again. 574 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:32,690 That word fully formed from a couple of slides ago, actually 575 00:36:32,700 --> 00:36:37,630 hit carries this deep, beautiful meaning of peace and wholeness 576 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:41,510 and healing and restoration. It is all of the goodness of God 577 00:36:41,580 --> 00:36:45,870 and it and it is all of it. Mended put back together again, 578 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:48,690 pieced together. We picture a Carpenter who's 579 00:36:48,700 --> 00:36:51,910 really good at their job, joining pieces of wood that have 580 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:56,600 been broken and fractured back together again, mending it so 581 00:36:56,610 --> 00:37:01,470 that it's whole. And that's how Jesus called us 582 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:07,630 to live. Generous like Jesus, following 583 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:16,660 deeply Jesus and put back together again by Jesus mended 584 00:37:16,730 --> 00:37:20,640 to go and mend others. Let's pray. 585 00:37:23,620 --> 00:37:26,190 Yeah. Thanks for your love and for 586 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:30,110 your grace. Thanks that you're with us, and 587 00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:33,490 thanks that you call us into greater ways of being. 588 00:37:33,500 --> 00:37:38,610 God, we are grateful that you don't leave us in the midst of 589 00:37:38,620 --> 00:37:42,730 our mess. Thinks that you are one who 590 00:37:42,740 --> 00:37:46,890 mends, puts back together again all of the ways that we are 591 00:37:46,900 --> 00:37:49,610 broken as individuals and as a community. 592 00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:52,930 Thinks that that's not just for ourselves, but that you do it so 593 00:37:52,940 --> 00:37:58,960 that we can go and bless others and in seasons pull people along 594 00:37:59,710 --> 00:38:02,430 so that they can find health and healing and wholeness in you. 595 00:38:04,110 --> 00:38:07,310 Scott, I do pray that you would teach us to be generous. 596 00:38:08,940 --> 00:38:12,760 I pray that you would remind us of the ways in which we are 597 00:38:12,770 --> 00:38:17,690 encouraged to follow you, and I pray that you would keep us 598 00:38:17,700 --> 00:38:22,470 honest and humble. I pray that You would give us 599 00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:27,050 eyes to see these broken pieces in our own hearts and minds and 600 00:38:27,060 --> 00:38:32,750 lives, and then give us the courage, God, to name it and 601 00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:34,730 just say, please, Jesus, we need you to heal it. 602 00:38:37,750 --> 00:38:43,310 So God, as we go, as we continue to worship into today, into the 603 00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:48,210 week ahead, into all that it will hold, the good, the bad, 604 00:38:48,220 --> 00:38:51,460 the ugly, everything in between, that I thank you that you are 605 00:38:51,470 --> 00:38:54,720 Lord and we are not. I thank You that you are in 606 00:38:54,730 --> 00:38:58,080 control and doesn't depend on my control. 607 00:38:58,090 --> 00:39:01,100 I thank you that you are one who loves better than we could 608 00:39:01,110 --> 00:39:03,100 imagine. And I think that you are one who 609 00:39:03,110 --> 00:39:06,040 is generous beyond what we could hope for or imagine. 610 00:39:06,470 --> 00:39:10,980 And so if we need to hear it, if we need to maybe hear it and 611 00:39:10,990 --> 00:39:15,740 receive it for the first time, God, I pray you'd speak to each 612 00:39:15,750 --> 00:39:19,230 one of us thinks that we are yours. 613 00:39:19,700 --> 00:39:24,740 Thanks that you are here, things that you do love us and I pray 614 00:39:24,750 --> 00:39:26,910 we would go knowing that we belong to you. 615 00:39:27,970 --> 00:39:31,440 And I pray these things in the strong name of Jesus, Amen.