1 00:00:04,500 --> 00:00:08,290 Good morning. So if there are any kiddos who 2 00:00:08,300 --> 00:00:10,610 want to go to Sunday school, now is the time. 3 00:00:10,620 --> 00:00:14,080 And I've heard that there are good things happening outside 4 00:00:14,090 --> 00:00:17,750 today. So any big kids who want to go? 5 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:19,710 Also, I won't hold it against you. 6 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:24,090 Like, all good. My name is Grant, and while I 7 00:00:24,100 --> 00:00:26,570 introduce myself, I'm going to roll this thing out. 8 00:00:34,740 --> 00:00:38,950 Hello, You know I always worry about knocking the TV over. 9 00:00:39,770 --> 00:00:42,240 Sorry, Brian. You might have your iPads might. 10 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:48,430 Oh, great. Hey. 11 00:00:48,490 --> 00:00:51,380 So in a minute, we are gonna work our way through a passage 12 00:00:51,390 --> 00:00:54,430 from book called Luke, Luke chapter 6. 13 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,110 That's going to help you get situated if you would like to 14 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:01,120 find it in a phone or tablet or on a Bible. 15 00:01:01,130 --> 00:01:04,160 If you'd like to have like an actual Bible in your hands, we 16 00:01:04,170 --> 00:01:07,040 have those at the back of the sanctuary toward these doors 17 00:01:07,050 --> 00:01:08,020 here. There's a cart. 18 00:01:08,150 --> 00:01:11,390 They might not be the same version that I'm reading from up 19 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:12,890 here. They might not be the same 20 00:01:12,900 --> 00:01:15,360 version 1 to another, but that's all right. 21 00:01:15,370 --> 00:01:17,120 If you just, if there's something about it that you want 22 00:01:17,130 --> 00:01:19,930 to just have in your hands, I think that's also good. 23 00:01:19,940 --> 00:01:23,050 But in a moment, as we work through it, we'll also have it 24 00:01:23,060 --> 00:01:26,130 on the screens in front for, for us all. 25 00:01:26,140 --> 00:01:31,350 What I want to do this morning is pray and then read it 26 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,070 straight through. We won't have it on the screens 27 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:36,780 for that encourage you maybe just to listen again, if you 28 00:01:36,790 --> 00:01:40,190 want to follow along, you can. And then it'll be up on the 29 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:44,470 screens as we, as we work through it kind of line by line. 30 00:01:44,620 --> 00:01:49,480 So let me, let me pray. Yeah. 31 00:01:49,490 --> 00:01:51,740 Thanks for your love and for your grace. 32 00:01:51,810 --> 00:01:53,640 Thanks that you're with us. Yeah. 33 00:01:53,650 --> 00:01:57,760 We're grateful that you call us to gather here and to be in 34 00:01:57,770 --> 00:02:01,440 community, to have meaningful friendships, relationships with 35 00:02:01,450 --> 00:02:05,460 one another, and to also meet with an encounter you. 36 00:02:06,290 --> 00:02:09,680 And so, God, I pray that this morning would hold all of what 37 00:02:09,690 --> 00:02:14,890 you promise it to hold all of your presence with us, all of 38 00:02:14,900 --> 00:02:19,000 the community that we find life giving, all of it that we find 39 00:02:19,010 --> 00:02:21,860 encouraging, and all of it that we find challenging and even 40 00:02:21,870 --> 00:02:24,140 convicting. So God thanks that you desire to 41 00:02:24,150 --> 00:02:28,270 speak to us and so I would pray you'd do that this morning as we 42 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:33,220 read and as we work through this text in Jesus name, Amen. 43 00:02:34,810 --> 00:02:38,660 So this is from Luke chapter 6. I'm starting in verse 12. 44 00:02:38,990 --> 00:02:44,510 It says one of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to 45 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,670 pray and spent the night praying to God. 46 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,790 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose 12 of 47 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,810 them, whom he also designated apostles. 48 00:02:55,200 --> 00:03:00,030 Simon, whom he named Peter, his brother Andrew James, John 49 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:04,630 Philip Bartholomew, Matthew Thomas James, son of Alphaeus, 50 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:06,970 Simon, who was called the Zealot. 51 00:03:07,020 --> 00:03:11,880 Judas, son of James and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor. 52 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,550 Look, we just pause there for a second and just like feel a 53 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,790 little bit of sympathy for Judas, who gets named the trader 54 00:03:21,180 --> 00:03:24,480 by Luke. Luke wants to make no, we're 55 00:03:24,490 --> 00:03:26,290 going to get we're going to come back around to that. 56 00:03:26,300 --> 00:03:30,090 Luke wants it to be crystal clear that it was Judas 57 00:03:30,340 --> 00:03:32,080 Iscariot, not Judas son of James. 58 00:03:32,090 --> 00:03:36,830 Let's get them clear. So we continue in, 17 says he 59 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:40,970 went down with them and stood on a level place. 60 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:45,850 A large crowd of his disciples was there, and a great number of 61 00:03:45,860 --> 00:03:49,530 people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem and from the coastal 62 00:03:49,540 --> 00:03:54,750 region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to 63 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,490 be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits 64 00:03:58,500 --> 00:04:02,550 were cured and the people all tried to touch him because power 65 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,670 was coming from him and healing them all. 66 00:04:09,690 --> 00:04:13,350 So when I drop my kids off at school, Two of them anyways, 67 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:19,589 there is, there's a, there's a process, there's a protocol, My 68 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:23,370 older of the two, the older of the two or oldest of the three 69 00:04:23,380 --> 00:04:26,750 really, she gets to run and just go and play. 70 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:31,010 And then when the bell rings, she can enter into the school 71 00:04:31,020 --> 00:04:34,020 and, you know, meets up with her classroom or friends or teacher 72 00:04:34,030 --> 00:04:38,510 and away she goes. But the middle of my 3 is in 73 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:40,890 kindergarten still. And so she, she actually needs 74 00:04:40,900 --> 00:04:43,810 to be dropped off. And so that means one of two 75 00:04:43,820 --> 00:04:46,270 things. One, we either drop her off to 76 00:04:46,340 --> 00:04:50,340 this fenced in area that I've heard referred to as the kinder 77 00:04:50,350 --> 00:04:51,800 pen. I'm not sure that we're actually 78 00:04:51,810 --> 00:04:56,100 allowed to refer to it that way. But however we dropped them off 79 00:04:56,110 --> 00:05:01,240 there and they play or we can wait by the door and drop them 80 00:05:01,250 --> 00:05:03,900 off there. When we pick them up though, all 81 00:05:03,910 --> 00:05:07,700 of us, we have the every kinder parent or guardian grandparent, 82 00:05:07,710 --> 00:05:09,480 whoever is picking up those kindergarten kids, we have to 83 00:05:09,490 --> 00:05:14,060 gather around the door and wait for a kids to be released to us. 84 00:05:14,310 --> 00:05:18,840 And it, I mean, I don't know if this is surprising or not, but 85 00:05:18,850 --> 00:05:25,120 right beside the kinder door is the bell that rings and it's 86 00:05:25,130 --> 00:05:28,000 loud. So if the kindercare, we have 87 00:05:28,010 --> 00:05:31,490 all the parents waiting there and I still to this day, like 88 00:05:31,500 --> 00:05:36,560 we're almost a year of this, I will still get surprised by that 89 00:05:36,570 --> 00:05:40,700 bell and how loud it is. All of us gathered waiting for 90 00:05:40,710 --> 00:05:44,760 our kids jump at the same time and collect ourselves before our 91 00:05:44,770 --> 00:05:46,920 kids come out. It's a loud bell. 92 00:05:46,990 --> 00:05:50,180 It's a little bit obnoxious and I'm sorry teachers hanging out 93 00:05:50,190 --> 00:05:55,720 here like, but it gets the point across for all of us, especially 94 00:05:55,730 --> 00:05:58,340 we feel that the kindergarten parents, right? 95 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:01,680 You can't mistake what it means. It's time for your kids to go 96 00:06:01,690 --> 00:06:04,120 home. Like take them away, take them 97 00:06:04,130 --> 00:06:08,980 whether we're done or you, you we also, neither of us, none of 98 00:06:08,990 --> 00:06:12,440 us can hear out of our left ear. But like, we all know what it 99 00:06:12,450 --> 00:06:16,550 means, alright? Nobody can mistake that bell. 100 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:21,500 It is shouting alarm bells. It's time to go home. 101 00:06:22,590 --> 00:06:28,140 And this, this passage that we read, all of it is, is 102 00:06:28,150 --> 00:06:30,620 functioning a little bit like that alarm bell. 103 00:06:31,650 --> 00:06:34,960 It's shouting like it's time. There's a lot of different 104 00:06:34,970 --> 00:06:38,840 alarms going off that people would have heard and seen. 105 00:06:38,910 --> 00:06:42,380 And that the readers, Luke wants us who are reading to see and 106 00:06:42,390 --> 00:06:46,080 go, ohhh, something is happening here. 107 00:06:46,860 --> 00:06:49,090 Something's different. Sit up. 108 00:06:49,100 --> 00:06:52,630 Like pay attention. Alarm bells are going off all 109 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:54,570 the way through. And today what I want to do is 110 00:06:54,580 --> 00:06:58,620 just simply name some of those alarm bells for us because I 111 00:06:58,630 --> 00:07:00,790 think it points us in a good direction. 112 00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:03,250 And if you hear me for the first time, like I think it points us 113 00:07:03,260 --> 00:07:05,090 as individuals in a good direction. 114 00:07:05,100 --> 00:07:08,490 I think it also points us as a church in a good direction, as a 115 00:07:08,500 --> 00:07:11,230 community in a good direction together. 116 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:15,130 So Luke writes this. He says one of those days Jesus 117 00:07:15,140 --> 00:07:18,570 went out to a mountainside to pray. 118 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,410 And if you're prone to highlighting and underlining 119 00:07:21,420 --> 00:07:24,470 this mountain, this is the alarm bell. 120 00:07:24,580 --> 00:07:27,950 So he goes out to the mountain side and he spent the night 121 00:07:28,020 --> 00:07:31,730 praying to God. When morning came, he called his 122 00:07:31,740 --> 00:07:35,980 disciples too many chose 1212 of them, whom he also designated 123 00:07:35,990 --> 00:07:37,400 apostles. We're going to get to that, but 124 00:07:37,410 --> 00:07:40,320 I want to spend a little bit of time talking about the beginning 125 00:07:40,330 --> 00:07:44,880 of this verse. So spent the night praying to 126 00:07:44,890 --> 00:07:48,140 God in English just sounds like any other sentence. 127 00:07:48,150 --> 00:07:51,360 Here's Jesus. He goes and he spends a night 128 00:07:51,410 --> 00:07:54,360 praying to God. But this is a very specific 129 00:07:54,370 --> 00:07:57,620 word, a single word in the Greek, and it is used to talk 130 00:07:57,630 --> 00:08:03,620 about an all night prayer vigil. This is something that isn't 131 00:08:03,630 --> 00:08:07,120 just, you know, I think I'm gonna go and spend some time in 132 00:08:07,130 --> 00:08:09,540 prayer or I've been feeling things a little bit heavy. 133 00:08:09,550 --> 00:08:10,950 I mean, maybe I should be praying. 134 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:12,820 Those are good things. That's a great prayer is always 135 00:08:12,830 --> 00:08:16,020 a good thing to do, but it's not reactive. 136 00:08:16,030 --> 00:08:19,640 It's not just OK pasional. It's not just because of what is 137 00:08:19,650 --> 00:08:23,000 happening in Jesus's life. It's not just a simple I'm gonna 138 00:08:23,010 --> 00:08:26,260 go pray before bed and then I'm gonna go and, and I'll sleep. 139 00:08:26,270 --> 00:08:30,620 This is a an intentional move to go and to pray through the 140 00:08:30,630 --> 00:08:32,020 night. It's actually linked to a Hebrew 141 00:08:32,030 --> 00:08:36,440 term used to refer to the same thing and all night prayer 142 00:08:36,450 --> 00:08:38,159 vigil. It's an intentional move that 143 00:08:38,169 --> 00:08:42,539 Jesus makes not just to go up the mountain for a moment or a 144 00:08:42,549 --> 00:08:45,300 minute or to say a few words and then return. 145 00:08:45,310 --> 00:08:48,280 Jesus is intentionally seeking God's will. 146 00:08:48,350 --> 00:08:51,700 He's intentionally seeking God's vision and God's direction for 147 00:08:51,710 --> 00:08:55,240 what is to come. And in order to do that, he goes 148 00:08:55,250 --> 00:08:58,150 and he prays intentionally through the night. 149 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:00,780 He goes to a mountainside to pray. 150 00:09:01,410 --> 00:09:05,280 Now in the translations that we're dealing with, he does say 151 00:09:05,290 --> 00:09:10,150 Luke says mountain side. Literally it just says he went 152 00:09:10,220 --> 00:09:17,230 to the mountain to prey. The mountain in Luke's Gospel is 153 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:22,010 a place of prayer. It is designated. 154 00:09:22,020 --> 00:09:28,250 It is an alarm bell signaling this is a move toward prayer. 155 00:09:29,450 --> 00:09:33,070 Jesus goes up the mountain to pray, but the mountain in 156 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:38,130 Scripture is is not simply or just or only a place of prayer. 157 00:09:38,460 --> 00:09:41,660 The mountain was perceived. It's not just geographically 158 00:09:41,670 --> 00:09:43,720 either. It's it's perceived as a sign, 159 00:09:43,730 --> 00:09:50,030 this symbol of heaven meeting earth, where heaven breaks into 160 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:54,600 earth where you can ascend and encounter God and encounter 161 00:09:54,670 --> 00:09:57,700 heaven. The Bible project puts it like 162 00:09:57,710 --> 00:10:00,830 this, which great resource if you've never checked them out. 163 00:10:00,900 --> 00:10:04,630 Alright, the Bible project is, is a fantastic resource to help 164 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:06,870 you through and study, read all of scripture. 165 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:08,810 But they write about them, and they say in the Bible the 166 00:10:08,820 --> 00:10:12,750 mountains are mentioned not merely as geographic settings, 167 00:10:12,900 --> 00:10:17,500 but as sacred places where heaven and earth collide, where 168 00:10:17,510 --> 00:10:20,840 the divine presence joins humanity to provide instruction, 169 00:10:20,850 --> 00:10:24,340 direction, and hope for the day when all of heaven and earth are 170 00:10:24,350 --> 00:10:28,540 finally won. And so when we see Jesus go up a 171 00:10:28,550 --> 00:10:31,610 mountain, when we see these characters through Scripture, 172 00:10:31,620 --> 00:10:37,160 these people go up mountains. It is always for a purpose, and 173 00:10:37,170 --> 00:10:40,900 that purpose is always heaven breaking into earth. 174 00:10:40,910 --> 00:10:46,980 And I love the language where heaven and earth collide in 175 00:10:46,990 --> 00:10:49,830 Genesis and we're not going to read through all of the Old 176 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:52,720 Testament. I promise I BS and maybe one day 177 00:10:52,730 --> 00:10:56,360 we will, but not today in Genesis, the very first book in 178 00:10:56,370 --> 00:11:00,540 the Bible, opening sort of story narrative that we see God plants 179 00:11:00,550 --> 00:11:05,100 a garden and we find out later in the Bible, I think it's in 180 00:11:05,110 --> 00:11:08,330 Ezekiel, that that garden is actually perceived to have been 181 00:11:08,340 --> 00:11:11,690 on a mountain. It was the place of God's 182 00:11:11,700 --> 00:11:17,570 immediate and intimate presence with humanity, but it required 183 00:11:17,580 --> 00:11:21,830 surrender to stay there, to stay in the garden. 184 00:11:22,220 --> 00:11:26,590 And So what we see is, is Adam and Eve, they eat from a tree 185 00:11:27,540 --> 00:11:31,890 and it's a whole thing, but they trust themselves over trusting 186 00:11:31,900 --> 00:11:34,710 God. They begin questioning God and 187 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:37,510 his goodness and his intention toward them. 188 00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:41,330 And what we see through that story is, is the reality of sin 189 00:11:41,340 --> 00:11:44,590 and separation creeping into human existence. 190 00:11:44,780 --> 00:11:49,030 We see shame and isolation begin to rear their ugly heads. 191 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:52,970 And ultimately, humanity's relationship with God is broken 192 00:11:52,980 --> 00:11:54,750 in that garden up on that mountain. 193 00:11:55,260 --> 00:12:00,540 And Adam and Eve are sent away. Later when God calls, we're 194 00:12:00,550 --> 00:12:04,120 jumping a little bit when God calls Abraham to follow him. 195 00:12:04,230 --> 00:12:07,440 Abraham's family, he says, listen, your family will become 196 00:12:07,450 --> 00:12:09,540 a great nation. You will become a great nation. 197 00:12:09,550 --> 00:12:11,830 And I'm gonna bless people through this nation. 198 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:13,820 And Abraham kind of laughs at God. 199 00:12:13,830 --> 00:12:15,820 He said, listen, I don't know if you know this, but I don't have 200 00:12:15,830 --> 00:12:17,250 any kids. I don't have any children. 201 00:12:17,260 --> 00:12:24,260 And in order to confirm, establish this covenant between 202 00:12:24,270 --> 00:12:27,730 God and Abraham, God calls Abraham up the mountain. 203 00:12:28,810 --> 00:12:31,880 And it's there through a series of tests that that God 204 00:12:31,890 --> 00:12:36,460 establishes this covenant with Abraham and with his family for 205 00:12:36,470 --> 00:12:40,250 generations to come. After freeing that future 206 00:12:40,260 --> 00:12:43,310 family. Are the Israelites from slavery 207 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:46,830 in Egypt? God would call Moses, the leader 208 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:52,470 at the time, up another mountain to deliver the law, including 209 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:58,010 the 10 commandments, laws that would set biblical Israel apart 210 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:02,230 from their surroundings, from surrounding nations, that would 211 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:05,620 make them wholly. And up on that mountain, God 212 00:13:05,630 --> 00:13:12,310 calls them a nation of priests, again set apart for a purpose. 213 00:13:12,420 --> 00:13:15,790 Upon that mountain, heaven breaks into earth and says this 214 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:19,540 is how things will unfold. Not for your own sake, for the 215 00:13:19,550 --> 00:13:25,250 world's sake. Still later, This is why I said 216 00:13:25,260 --> 00:13:26,570 we're not going to read through all of it. 217 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:30,030 One of Israel's kings, King David, who we talked about 218 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:35,200 briefly last week, would build a city on a hill. 219 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:43,090 Prophets like Elijah would ascend mountains to receive 220 00:13:43,100 --> 00:13:46,870 instruction and revelation from God for humanity. 221 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:52,250 How things ought to be in this world because of how things are 222 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:56,070 in heaven. And so we're not just meant to 223 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,450 see Jesus go up a mountain to pray, because it's a quiet 224 00:13:59,460 --> 00:14:01,590 place. And from there he can see all 225 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:04,270 his surroundings and he can maybe see the crowds gathering. 226 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:06,970 And it's not even that he goes up a mountain to be away from 227 00:14:06,980 --> 00:14:09,670 the crowds, though that's, practically speaking, a good 228 00:14:09,680 --> 00:14:13,470 move. We're meant to see the garden. 229 00:14:15,380 --> 00:14:18,710 We're meant to see Abraham and Moses and Elijah were meant to 230 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:22,650 see David and all of the hopes and dreams for how things ought 231 00:14:22,700 --> 00:14:25,890 to be in the world. We're meant to see all of 232 00:14:25,900 --> 00:14:31,360 humanity's attempts to ascend the mountain and that ultimately 233 00:14:31,370 --> 00:14:35,050 fail. And so instead we're meant to 234 00:14:35,060 --> 00:14:41,680 see Jesus ascending on our behalf and God in the person of 235 00:14:41,690 --> 00:14:46,510 Jesus descending the mountain to be with his people. 236 00:14:48,350 --> 00:14:51,940 And you know, one of the things that convicts me the most and 237 00:14:51,950 --> 00:14:54,880 convinces me the most and reminds me the most about the 238 00:14:54,890 --> 00:14:58,130 character of God inside of our Christian understanding of who 239 00:14:58,140 --> 00:15:02,260 he is and who we are. Is that reality that for 240 00:15:02,270 --> 00:15:05,280 generation after generation after generation, human beings 241 00:15:05,290 --> 00:15:09,530 have been ones who naturally attempt to ascend the mountain 242 00:15:10,340 --> 00:15:16,700 and reach God and make it based on hard work and effort, 243 00:15:16,770 --> 00:15:21,600 accomplishments, or who don't because of failure, what you're 244 00:15:21,610 --> 00:15:25,510 not able to accomplish or what you do accomplish in negative 245 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:28,500 ways. And instead in in Christianity, 246 00:15:28,510 --> 00:15:31,430 what we find is not God saying work harder to climb the 247 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:33,440 mountain. I'm waiting for you. 248 00:15:34,820 --> 00:15:39,380 We see a God who descends and who literally in our passage, 249 00:15:39,390 --> 00:15:42,690 we're gonna get there, descends to be with the people. 250 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:49,750 God's breaking into the world. He created heaven, breaking into 251 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:53,640 earth. One of those days Jesus went to 252 00:15:53,650 --> 00:15:56,640 the mountain to pray. When morning came, he called his 253 00:15:56,650 --> 00:15:58,880 disciples to him, and I want you to highlight this. 254 00:15:58,890 --> 00:16:04,980 Called his disciples to him and shows 12 of them whom he also 255 00:16:04,990 --> 00:16:09,420 designated apostles. There's a lot going on there, 256 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:14,250 but it is from this place of prayer that Jesus will call the 257 00:16:14,260 --> 00:16:17,830 12 disciples and will name them apostles. 258 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:22,050 To be an apostle. Apostle, The word means that you 259 00:16:22,060 --> 00:16:28,550 are a messenger, one who was sent out with a message, but not 260 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:32,520 only with a message to speak. You are sent out with authority. 261 00:16:32,530 --> 00:16:37,950 You bear, you carry with you in your body the authority of the 262 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:43,290 one who sends you out. So to be an apostle is to be 263 00:16:43,300 --> 00:16:52,310 sent OK. It is to have a message, and it 264 00:16:52,320 --> 00:17:02,520 is to have authority. You bear the authority of the 265 00:17:02,530 --> 00:17:07,150 one sending you. And so we continue reading 266 00:17:10,550 --> 00:17:14,160 Simon, whom you named Peter, his brother Andrew, James, John, 267 00:17:14,170 --> 00:17:17,900 Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, 268 00:17:17,910 --> 00:17:22,130 Simon who is called the Zealot, Judas son of James and Judas 269 00:17:22,140 --> 00:17:31,120 Iscariot who became a traitor. 12 apostles sent out to bear the 270 00:17:31,130 --> 00:17:38,440 message of Jesus, to live into that identity, that word of 271 00:17:38,450 --> 00:17:43,650 apostle, one who is sent in the Greco-roman world. 272 00:17:43,660 --> 00:17:45,570 This is from one of the commentaries this week. 273 00:17:45,580 --> 00:17:49,840 The term apostolos was used to describe a messenger or envoy 274 00:17:49,850 --> 00:17:57,950 sent with authority to represent someone else, one who was 275 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:00,970 commissioned by another to represent him in some way. 276 00:18:00,980 --> 00:18:05,000 Authority to represent someone else. 277 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:14,840 These 12 Jesus sends out and Jesus continues to send out ones 278 00:18:14,930 --> 00:18:18,940 with authority to represent his message. 279 00:18:20,450 --> 00:18:25,980 Now one of the alarm bells here is in the fact that Jesus 280 00:18:25,990 --> 00:18:33,710 chooses 1212 disciples whom he also calls apostles, who he says 281 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:38,380 you will live into this identity as apostle. 12 is not a common 282 00:18:38,490 --> 00:18:42,580 number for rabbis to have as disciples. 283 00:18:43,270 --> 00:18:46,600 It wasn't as though every single rabbi had 12 disciples. 284 00:18:46,610 --> 00:18:49,620 And so Jesus is doing exactly what was expected of him. 285 00:18:49,670 --> 00:18:55,450 Rabbis had hundreds of disciples, and so in naming 12, 286 00:18:55,460 --> 00:18:57,460 Jesus is doing something very intentional. 287 00:18:58,770 --> 00:19:03,630 Now, I'm gonna rely on a few of you who I know play certain 288 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:06,000 sports outside of our time together on Sunday morning. 289 00:19:06,370 --> 00:19:07,520 That's as far as I'm going to go. 290 00:19:07,530 --> 00:19:10,870 If I were to start gathering up, six of you say, hey, I we're 291 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,630 going to go after church. We're going to go outside and 292 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:16,980 we're going to play something. I need 6 of you. 293 00:19:17,030 --> 00:19:19,470 I need 5 of you who are really going to run around with sticks 294 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:21,200 in your hands. And I need one of you who can 295 00:19:21,210 --> 00:19:23,960 stick some pads on and not be afraid to get hit by stuff like 296 00:19:23,970 --> 00:19:25,070 what? What are we doing? 297 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,760 What are we playing? We're playing hockey. 298 00:19:28,770 --> 00:19:29,660 Thank you. OK, great. 299 00:19:29,670 --> 00:19:32,060 I was looking at a few of you. I'm like, please don't miss 300 00:19:32,070 --> 00:19:33,900 this. We're playing hockey. 301 00:19:34,900 --> 00:19:37,970 This is how NT Wright talks about this passage, although he 302 00:19:37,980 --> 00:19:43,030 uses, he uses football as an analogy and 11. 303 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:44,870 And so I had to Google that because he's not actually 304 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:46,910 talking about football. He's talking about what I 305 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:48,930 understand as soccer. And so that got lost in the 306 00:19:48,940 --> 00:19:51,950 weeds and we didn't go there. So we stick to hockey. 307 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:58,520 Most of us know. Many of us know that if I go 308 00:19:58,530 --> 00:20:02,770 around and start picking five players and one goalie, we're 309 00:20:02,780 --> 00:20:10,080 going to go play hockey. Jesus walking around choosing 12 310 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:14,440 disciples is doing something very intentional that would 311 00:20:14,450 --> 00:20:19,800 start to trigger alarm bells for those seeing and especially 312 00:20:19,810 --> 00:20:24,700 those reading now Luke's passage 12. 313 00:20:26,120 --> 00:20:29,740 I remember 12. I've heard of 12. 314 00:20:31,530 --> 00:20:36,660 We have the 12 tribes of Israel. Is is Jesus creating a a new 315 00:20:36,670 --> 00:20:39,650 Israel? Maybe I wonder what he is doing. 316 00:20:39,660 --> 00:20:41,250 He's doing something intentional. 317 00:20:41,340 --> 00:20:42,530 Is it good? Is it from God? 318 00:20:42,540 --> 00:20:43,780 Is it blasphemy? I don't know. 319 00:20:43,790 --> 00:20:46,450 Let's wait and see. Like these are the thoughts that 320 00:20:46,460 --> 00:20:50,130 people are going to begin to think when they see Jesus very 321 00:20:50,140 --> 00:20:55,830 intentionally stepping in and saying 1212 of you go out, bless 322 00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:58,990 the world. I remember that Israel was 323 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:01,570 called to be blessed so that they could be a blessing. 324 00:21:02,350 --> 00:21:05,630 Just carry my message with you. I remember that. 325 00:21:08,490 --> 00:21:10,170 That's what Luke wants us to see. 326 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:13,320 Were meant to see 12 tribes of Israel. 327 00:21:13,330 --> 00:21:18,390 Were meant to see Jesus saying the the way things are will be 328 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:23,990 new, but you know this language it'll be it'll be new it'll be 329 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,430 full of life. It'll be everything we've waited 330 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:29,210 for and hope for long for. But you know that this is the 331 00:21:29,220 --> 00:21:33,400 fulfillment of what we've been waiting for. 332 00:21:35,270 --> 00:21:40,340 And so we read 12, we see Jesus creating life, creating a 333 00:21:40,350 --> 00:21:45,120 culture, creating a community that was meant to step into the 334 00:21:45,130 --> 00:21:51,240 same mantle, the same task as biblical Israel. 335 00:21:51,570 --> 00:21:54,920 Israel that existed to bless the nations around it, to be wholly, 336 00:21:54,930 --> 00:21:58,290 to be set apart, not for their own sake entirely, but so that 337 00:21:58,300 --> 00:22:01,340 they could change the way things operated in the world. 338 00:22:01,430 --> 00:22:04,200 Jesus is stepping in and he's creating a new community. 339 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:08,240 He says, hey, this community will change the way things are 340 00:22:08,250 --> 00:22:14,920 in the world, will influence culture, will step in, not 341 00:22:14,930 --> 00:22:19,140 retreat from. But I also think we're meant to 342 00:22:19,150 --> 00:22:22,960 see ourselves in these names, right? 343 00:22:24,230 --> 00:22:29,040 Matthew, who's a tax collector before he was called to be a 344 00:22:29,050 --> 00:22:35,350 disciple, some fishermen, Simon is called the zealot, one who 345 00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:38,250 would pick up arms, one who would pick up a sword and 346 00:22:38,260 --> 00:22:42,930 actually drive out occupying forces because he believes so 347 00:22:42,940 --> 00:22:45,920 firmly and changed. Judah, son of James and Judas 348 00:22:45,930 --> 00:22:48,320 Iscariot, who became a traitor. Why? 349 00:22:48,490 --> 00:22:54,330 Why would Luke throw that in? Except in some sense, I do. 350 00:22:54,380 --> 00:23:02,440 I do wonder if, from the very best of them to the very lost of 351 00:23:02,450 --> 00:23:08,700 them, Jesus wants you to see yourself being pulled toward 352 00:23:08,710 --> 00:23:13,670 this same identity. No matter how close you are or 353 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:18,200 far you feel away. Whether you've got the resume or 354 00:23:18,210 --> 00:23:22,340 whether you feel like you've not got the resume, Whether you've 355 00:23:22,350 --> 00:23:25,730 checked all the boxes in your mind or whether you've left all 356 00:23:25,740 --> 00:23:27,370 of the boxes unchecked in your mind. 357 00:23:27,380 --> 00:23:31,270 No matter what it is that God calls you out of, He says 358 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:35,210 there's a place to belong here. One of the most powerful images 359 00:23:35,220 --> 00:23:38,100 is that Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor, is still going 360 00:23:38,110 --> 00:23:40,010 to have his feet washed by Jesus. 361 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:46,550 I will get to it eventually. So there's nothing that you've 362 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:53,090 done that God can't call you out of, and every single one of you 363 00:23:53,100 --> 00:23:56,090 is meant to be called toward this identity. 364 00:23:56,100 --> 00:23:59,410 Disciple, one who follows relentlessly after God and 365 00:23:59,420 --> 00:24:05,370 Apostle, one who is sent out with a message and with 366 00:24:05,380 --> 00:24:10,310 authority to bear the person of Jesus into the world. 367 00:24:11,950 --> 00:24:16,020 One of my friends. Theologian, pastor who 368 00:24:16,030 --> 00:24:19,120 supervised my thesis in seminary, he wrote this. 369 00:24:19,130 --> 00:24:24,330 He says we've learned to speak of God as a missionary God and 370 00:24:24,340 --> 00:24:29,720 so we must learn to understand that the church as sent people. 371 00:24:31,610 --> 00:24:36,480 You are one who is sent into the world. 372 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:45,230 Wrap up these last verses 17. We continue says he went down so 373 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,230 Jesus he went down with them. Those 12 and stood on a level 374 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:51,410 place. A large crowd of his disciples 375 00:24:51,420 --> 00:24:54,630 was there and a great number of people from all over Judea. 376 00:24:54,740 --> 00:24:59,090 This is interesting from all over Judea, Jerusalem, from the 377 00:24:59,100 --> 00:25:05,370 coastal regions, tire siding. So we've got predominantly 378 00:25:05,380 --> 00:25:09,050 Jewish cities and areas. We have predominantly Gentile 379 00:25:09,060 --> 00:25:11,610 cities, non Jewish cities and areas. 380 00:25:12,060 --> 00:25:15,870 And all of them had come to hear him and to be healed of their 381 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,310 diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits 382 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,430 were cured, and the people all tried to touch him because the 383 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:24,430 power was coming from him and healing them. 384 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:30,480 All This is if you're reading in your Bible, what likely begins 385 00:25:30,490 --> 00:25:34,570 for you something called the Sermon on the Plane, and it's 386 00:25:34,580 --> 00:25:37,470 Luke's version. We'll get into this in the Bible 387 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:39,330 study more. So not today, it's Luke's 388 00:25:39,340 --> 00:25:43,090 version, or it's an account of a similar story to similar 389 00:25:43,100 --> 00:25:45,590 teachings to the Sermon on the Mount. 390 00:25:45,740 --> 00:25:48,890 Now I think one of those has a cooler name, but they both 391 00:25:48,900 --> 00:25:50,720 accomplished something significant. 392 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:57,670 Again, what what Luke wants us to see is Jesus going down with 393 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:01,970 them and standing on a level place to where the large crowd 394 00:26:01,980 --> 00:26:04,450 is. Remember, Lucas set up the 395 00:26:04,460 --> 00:26:09,770 mountain as a place of prayer, and here he brings Jesus down 396 00:26:09,780 --> 00:26:12,890 the mountain to be with the people. 397 00:26:12,900 --> 00:26:16,430 He's making it very clear Jesus is one who is bringing God's 398 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:21,390 presence into the world. But if we were to continue with 399 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,860 the hockey analogy for a second, the very first thing that I'm 400 00:26:24,870 --> 00:26:28,350 going to do, if I'm smart and so you know what, we'll see. 401 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:31,420 If I were to pull a hockey team together, I'm not sure. 402 00:26:31,430 --> 00:26:33,630 Maybe I'd jump on the ice and just go for a skate. 403 00:26:33,700 --> 00:26:37,090 However, the very first thing that I should do is call those 404 00:26:37,100 --> 00:26:40,650 five, you know, people together, 6 including the goalie, and say 405 00:26:40,660 --> 00:26:44,020 hey, this is how we are going to play. 406 00:26:46,250 --> 00:26:49,850 This is how we are going to win. This is how we're going to 407 00:26:49,860 --> 00:26:52,600 accomplish the task before us. This is what you need to know. 408 00:26:52,610 --> 00:26:56,270 Who's gonna play what position, like who's better on defence, 409 00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:58,570 who can skate backwards? Like that's not my, that's not 410 00:26:58,580 --> 00:27:01,490 my skill. So who's going to play forward? 411 00:27:01,620 --> 00:27:03,590 Who can skate forwards? Who's gonna go? 412 00:27:04,220 --> 00:27:08,950 You bring everybody together to discuss the plan of attack. 413 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:16,710 And in some way, what Jesus is doing here is calling his 414 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:22,070 disciples, naming the 12, declaring them to be apostles, 415 00:27:22,140 --> 00:27:25,200 and then gathering with everybody, the crowds, the 416 00:27:25,210 --> 00:27:29,210 disciples, coming down the mountain with his message from 417 00:27:29,220 --> 00:27:33,110 God, with his message about the Kingdom embodied in himself, and 418 00:27:33,120 --> 00:27:36,610 saying this is how it's going to go. 419 00:27:37,690 --> 00:27:42,040 This is what you need to know as you live out your life. 420 00:27:42,100 --> 00:27:44,040 There's not going to be a long treaties. 421 00:27:44,050 --> 00:27:47,420 It's not going to be the rest of the book fleshed out. 422 00:27:47,430 --> 00:27:50,520 It's not going to be an entire Bible worth of manuscripts of 423 00:27:50,530 --> 00:27:53,380 like how to and if this, then that. 424 00:27:53,430 --> 00:27:56,220 But he's going to say, Hey, this is the basic. 425 00:27:56,230 --> 00:28:00,360 This is what you need to know now that we live inside of this 426 00:28:00,370 --> 00:28:02,910 new Kingdom. From here, we're going to move 427 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:07,990 on to the Beatitudes series of blessings and in Luke also woes. 428 00:28:08,860 --> 00:28:12,830 Very quick in some ways. Simple things to remember. 429 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:16,560 This is how life is different inside of the Kingdom. 430 00:28:18,940 --> 00:28:24,460 What do we need to know as we go out into the world? 431 00:28:24,810 --> 00:28:28,380 That's where we're headed. I love this passage. 432 00:28:28,390 --> 00:28:33,030 Leslie New Begin talks about how the Kingdom of God is new 433 00:28:33,870 --> 00:28:38,260 precisely because it is embodied and demonstrated in the person 434 00:28:38,270 --> 00:28:40,130 of Jesus. And that's what we see here, 435 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:44,650 that Jesus doesn't just proclaim, He doesn't just move 436 00:28:44,660 --> 00:28:47,410 to teaching, He doesn't just stand and speak. 437 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:52,950 He embodies everything about this new life inside of the 438 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:55,630 Kingdom. He carries the Kingdom around in 439 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,400 his body. He lives it out for people to 440 00:28:59,410 --> 00:29:02,440 not just hear about, but actually encounter, to bump 441 00:29:02,450 --> 00:29:06,460 shoulders with, to feel, to experience. 442 00:29:06,790 --> 00:29:09,300 And I think that's why it matters that there's a great 443 00:29:09,310 --> 00:29:12,820 number of people who are also there and they gather and Jesus 444 00:29:12,830 --> 00:29:17,260 doesn't rush into teaching. He doesn't say, hey, everybody, 445 00:29:17,270 --> 00:29:20,510 sit down, here's what you need to, what you need to know. 446 00:29:20,620 --> 00:29:26,600 He moves in and what happens? They've come to hear him, but 447 00:29:26,610 --> 00:29:31,140 they've also come to be healed of their diseases, right? 448 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:35,290 Those troubled by impure spirits, they're cured. 449 00:29:36,980 --> 00:29:39,790 The people are all trying to touch him because power was 450 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:43,970 coming from him and it's healing them all. 451 00:29:44,950 --> 00:29:47,820 The miracles, the healing, the deliverance. 452 00:29:47,830 --> 00:29:52,260 They aren't just signs that prove that Jesus is the Son of 453 00:29:52,270 --> 00:29:56,710 God, or or the Messiah, or the new David or the new Moses. 454 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:00,420 They aren't signs that point to something else. 455 00:30:01,290 --> 00:30:05,630 They are the Kingdom, and so Jesus is gonna get to the 456 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:09,690 teaching and he's gonna layout how to live inside of the 457 00:30:09,700 --> 00:30:13,780 Kingdom of God. But even before he does that, 458 00:30:13,790 --> 00:30:22,710 he's living out what it means to be inside the Kingdom of God and 459 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:29,720 to carry that message with you. Nubian then writes this. 460 00:30:29,730 --> 00:30:33,480 He says when Jesus sends out the disciples, they are commissioned 461 00:30:33,530 --> 00:30:38,870 to announce the presence of the Kingdom and to perform the works 462 00:30:39,060 --> 00:30:48,370 that authenticate its presence. You carry the Kingdom around in 463 00:30:48,380 --> 00:30:51,120 your body. You who call yourself a follower 464 00:30:51,130 --> 00:30:57,700 of Jesus carry what it means to live inside the Kingdom in you, 465 00:30:58,700 --> 00:31:05,860 not just for yourself. You are sent out with it, in 466 00:31:05,870 --> 00:31:11,630 your DNA, in your bones, in the way you breathe, in the way you 467 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:15,130 interact with your friends and your colleagues and your 468 00:31:15,140 --> 00:31:20,720 neighbors. Everything you are is designed 469 00:31:20,730 --> 00:31:26,030 to be a messenger, one who bears witness to who Jesus is. 470 00:31:26,100 --> 00:31:33,500 As you go, as you move from your home to your workplace, as you 471 00:31:33,510 --> 00:31:36,580 live in that space, you carry the Kingdom. 472 00:31:36,770 --> 00:31:42,250 You embody it, You breathe it in and out, interacting with those 473 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:48,410 around you. In Acts chapter 1, same author 474 00:31:48,420 --> 00:31:53,630 Luke writes that Jesus, before he ascends looking around as his 475 00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:57,630 disciples say this. He says You will receive power 476 00:31:58,500 --> 00:32:02,520 when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my 477 00:32:02,530 --> 00:32:08,020 witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the 478 00:32:08,030 --> 00:32:13,460 ends of the earth. And as we shift toward 479 00:32:13,470 --> 00:32:17,380 communion, what we do in communion is proclaim that 480 00:32:17,690 --> 00:32:19,810 message. We speak those words. 481 00:32:19,820 --> 00:32:23,250 We remember it. Jesus's death and his 482 00:32:23,260 --> 00:32:26,360 resurrection. It's what I see in communion as 483 00:32:26,370 --> 00:32:30,390 we eat the bread and drink from the cup's tangible reminders 484 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:32,960 that life inside the Kingdom is different. 485 00:32:34,420 --> 00:32:39,380 And it's also what I see in the garden when a group of people, 486 00:32:39,390 --> 00:32:43,500 plus a tractor will gather around a shoveled dirt and plant 487 00:32:43,510 --> 00:32:49,600 gardens to get their hands dirty in order for food to go out into 488 00:32:49,610 --> 00:32:54,780 our community. That's what I see every day in 489 00:32:54,790 --> 00:32:58,770 the way you choose to live your lives together and toward the 490 00:32:58,780 --> 00:33:01,310 world. Let me pray. 491 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:06,860 God, thanks for your love and for your grace. 492 00:33:08,170 --> 00:33:12,640 Thanks that you're with us thinks that your design is for 493 00:33:12,650 --> 00:33:15,700 us to come and to follow you, to leave everything like the 494 00:33:15,710 --> 00:33:23,050 writers say and follow you to then embody your message, to 495 00:33:23,060 --> 00:33:28,510 experience into the core of our our being, to know it in real, 496 00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:34,260 tangible, personal ways and for it to form us together into a 497 00:33:34,270 --> 00:33:38,190 community. Thanks to that, as a community, 498 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:42,260 we can gather and we can proclaim your death and your 499 00:33:42,270 --> 00:33:45,340 resurrection, and we can remember. 500 00:33:47,230 --> 00:33:50,540 We can live into again that experience. 501 00:33:52,090 --> 00:33:55,200 So God, as we do, I pray that you would speak to us. 502 00:33:57,660 --> 00:34:00,310 I pray that you would remind us of your love and your grace. 503 00:34:00,380 --> 00:34:02,910 I pray for those of us who feel far and distant. 504 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:05,760 You would remind us of your presence, how near and close you 505 00:34:05,770 --> 00:34:12,510 are. For some God, I pray you would 506 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:17,989 remind us of your forgiveness for the ways in which your your 507 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:23,780 death defeated death and sin and shame, how your life calls us 508 00:34:23,790 --> 00:34:27,159 toward new life. The guy would you lead us to 509 00:34:27,170 --> 00:34:30,790 repentance? I pray for some. 510 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:35,530 You would remind us of our scent Ness, how you send us into the 511 00:34:35,540 --> 00:34:40,409 world not just to speak about these things but to live them 512 00:34:40,420 --> 00:34:46,500 out. God, I pray that as all of us 513 00:34:46,550 --> 00:34:54,679 together, as we leave, we would know that we go to proclaim your 514 00:34:54,690 --> 00:34:57,100 death, your resurrection, until you come again. 515 00:34:59,180 --> 00:35:02,930 I pray these things in the strong name of Jesus, Amen.