1 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:04,870 Good morning. Good morning. 2 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:07,690 Hey, welcome. Yeah, welcome to all of you. 3 00:00:07,700 --> 00:00:10,690 If you are new, if you're a visitor or a guest, a special 4 00:00:10,700 --> 00:00:14,350 welcome to you. My name is Grant, and I'm one of 5 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:18,190 the pastors here at the church. And I want to get us all just 6 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,470 caught up up to speed, whether whether maybe you've been away 7 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,510 for a minute and you're back or whether you are visiting. 8 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,790 What do you need to know in order to kind of lean into these 9 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:29,530 next few minutes? A couple of things. 10 00:00:29,540 --> 00:00:34,490 One, we've begun a section in the Gospel of Luke that is 11 00:00:34,500 --> 00:00:39,720 referred to as the Sermon on the plane and it is a series of 12 00:00:39,730 --> 00:00:44,360 Jesus teachings. We did that last week with a a 13 00:00:44,370 --> 00:00:49,580 brief introduction to the moment that Jesus is calling his 14 00:00:49,590 --> 00:00:52,380 disciples into. Jesus has gone up the mountain. 15 00:00:52,390 --> 00:00:56,760 He's prayed, he spent time with God the Father and then he comes 16 00:00:56,770 --> 00:00:59,940 and he calls his disciples. He calls 12 of them. 17 00:00:59,950 --> 00:01:02,940 He names them apostles. He says, says you will be ones 18 00:01:02,950 --> 00:01:09,350 who are sent out. And then from there he descends 19 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:13,530 down the mountain with the disciples and teaches them. 20 00:01:14,310 --> 00:01:19,160 Teaching them happens in the presence of a large crowd. 21 00:01:19,170 --> 00:01:21,800 There's a large crowd gathering to hear. 22 00:01:21,810 --> 00:01:25,700 So Jesus is speaking to his disciples directly and he's 23 00:01:25,710 --> 00:01:28,820 teaching the crowds who are gathering and listening. 24 00:01:28,830 --> 00:01:33,260 So that's what's going on in this sermon on the plane today. 25 00:01:33,270 --> 00:01:36,900 We're entering into the first section of that teaching. 26 00:01:36,970 --> 00:01:39,900 One of the things that we've also done here at the church is 27 00:01:39,910 --> 00:01:44,160 begun 4 weeks of what we call community Bible study. 28 00:01:44,410 --> 00:01:47,670 And so if you were here on Wednesday night, you will notice 29 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,980 that things are very quickly back to, you know, Sunday 30 00:01:50,990 --> 00:01:53,840 morning, thanks to your help, those of you who stayed 31 00:01:53,850 --> 00:01:56,380 afterward. But we had about 100 people 32 00:01:56,390 --> 00:02:01,220 gathered at tables in this room around tables to work through 33 00:02:01,230 --> 00:02:04,260 the same passages. And so it's a really interesting 34 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:08,479 angle of approach, I think, on Jesus teaching and studying it 35 00:02:08,490 --> 00:02:12,280 because together on Wednesday, we we come and we study the same 36 00:02:12,290 --> 00:02:15,740 passage that now I'm preaching on on Sunday. 37 00:02:15,790 --> 00:02:20,070 And so it's either the absolute best sermon prep or the absolute 38 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,710 worst sermon prep. I've not figured out which yet. 39 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:26,850 But it is a wonderful, absolutely wonderful time to be 40 00:02:26,860 --> 00:02:32,470 together and to read scripture and study what Jesus is 41 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:37,610 continuing to teach us as individuals, yes, and as the 42 00:02:37,620 --> 00:02:40,870 church together as a community. So that's a little bit of a 43 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,490 background, what you need to know in order to come to this 44 00:02:43,500 --> 00:02:46,690 moment and read with us through Luke chapter 6. 45 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:51,040 It will be on the screen, and I'm not sure if I can control 46 00:02:51,050 --> 00:02:53,030 the way that looks up there or not from up here. 47 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,600 I think that's on my end. It may be a little bit wonky 48 00:02:56,610 --> 00:02:58,160 today. And that's all right. 49 00:02:58,390 --> 00:03:02,420 Let me pray. And you can, if you'd like, find 50 00:03:02,430 --> 00:03:06,530 Luke 6 in a Bible as well. Yeah. 51 00:03:06,540 --> 00:03:08,930 Thanks for your love and for your grace. 52 00:03:09,270 --> 00:03:10,920 Thanks that you're with us. Yeah. 53 00:03:10,930 --> 00:03:14,520 We're grateful that you have something to say to each of us, 54 00:03:14,930 --> 00:03:17,640 and we're grateful that you have something to say to us as a 55 00:03:17,650 --> 00:03:20,240 community, as the church gathered together. 56 00:03:20,410 --> 00:03:23,700 God thinks that you've got something for us and something 57 00:03:23,710 --> 00:03:26,160 for us into the world toward others. 58 00:03:26,310 --> 00:03:31,280 And I do pray that as we gather and this month in extra measure, 59 00:03:31,290 --> 00:03:34,280 as we gather on Wednesdays, many of us, and as we gather on 60 00:03:34,290 --> 00:03:39,050 Sundays, as we work our way through Jesus, your teaching, I 61 00:03:39,060 --> 00:03:41,670 do pray that you would challenge us and change us. 62 00:03:42,260 --> 00:03:46,090 I pray that you would remind us of who's we are, that we belong 63 00:03:46,100 --> 00:03:49,970 to you. I pray that you would a kindle 64 00:03:50,020 --> 00:03:55,590 inside each of us, this passion for your Kingdom and for the 65 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:58,110 work that you call us to do inside of it. 66 00:03:58,500 --> 00:04:03,270 God thanks that it is for us, yes, but it is also for the 67 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:06,860 world. And so I pray as we wrestle with 68 00:04:06,870 --> 00:04:11,120 that tension, would you speak to us again today in Jesus name, 69 00:04:11,630 --> 00:04:17,290 Amen. So if you and I were sitting 70 00:04:17,300 --> 00:04:21,050 next to each other on a plane and say it's, it's not a long 71 00:04:21,060 --> 00:04:24,050 flight, say it's a short flight, Say we're flying Toronto to 72 00:04:24,060 --> 00:04:27,480 Montreal, right? Just an hour and 15 minutes I 73 00:04:27,490 --> 00:04:30,970 think is what it says. It's more like 5657 minutes. 74 00:04:30,980 --> 00:04:32,930 Once you get in the air, it's not a bad flight. 75 00:04:33,690 --> 00:04:36,470 But if we were sitting on that plane and I sat down next to you 76 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,100 or you sat down next to me and I turned to you mid flight and I 77 00:04:39,110 --> 00:04:45,120 asked you what is the good life? I wonder how you would respond. 78 00:04:45,230 --> 00:04:46,800 And like, let's get out of the way. 79 00:04:46,810 --> 00:04:49,180 The fact that you'd probably just ignore me, Like, who's this 80 00:04:49,190 --> 00:04:51,200 guy talking to me on a plane? Like we don't do that. 81 00:04:51,210 --> 00:04:53,840 Has he got the memo yet? Like he's got the memo. 82 00:04:53,850 --> 00:04:55,810 We don't talk to each other on planes anymore. 83 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:58,950 Say we get over that for a minute. 84 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,090 And let's also say that you were curious enough by my question to 85 00:05:02,100 --> 00:05:05,130 remove the headphones that you're obviously wearing in that 86 00:05:05,140 --> 00:05:08,450 moment and say you did respond to that question. 87 00:05:08,460 --> 00:05:12,630 What is the good life? I wonder what you would say. 88 00:05:14,150 --> 00:05:19,000 I wonder what you would not say. Like how would you respond? 89 00:05:19,010 --> 00:05:23,140 What would you include as your picture of the good life? 90 00:05:23,150 --> 00:05:24,640 What is it that you are working toward? 91 00:05:24,650 --> 00:05:26,860 What is it that you are trying to attain? 92 00:05:26,870 --> 00:05:30,060 What is it that sits ahead of you as a goal? 93 00:05:30,130 --> 00:05:32,480 What is it that you you know when you go to bed at night, it 94 00:05:32,490 --> 00:05:35,320 said, this is what gets me up in the morning and when you get up 95 00:05:35,330 --> 00:05:37,320 in the morning, this is what gets me out the door. 96 00:05:37,370 --> 00:05:39,840 And when you come home tired at the end of the day, this is what 97 00:05:39,850 --> 00:05:43,790 keeps me moving forward. Like what is it that motivates 98 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,970 you and excites you? What should I convince me? 99 00:05:48,220 --> 00:05:50,330 What should I be putting my money toward? 100 00:05:50,340 --> 00:05:54,250 My time, my energy, my heart, my life, all of it Toward what 101 00:05:54,260 --> 00:05:58,330 should I be striving for? What is the good life? 102 00:05:59,470 --> 00:06:04,790 And besides that, how do you attain it anyway? 103 00:06:05,510 --> 00:06:08,920 How do you begin to think about reaching this picture of the 104 00:06:08,930 --> 00:06:12,270 good life? Is it even attainable? 105 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:18,630 Will I reach it if I walk a certain path? 106 00:06:19,810 --> 00:06:23,670 So like I said, Jesus gathers his disciples together and the 107 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:27,270 crowds are there and they're listening and Jesus is teaching 108 00:06:27,280 --> 00:06:28,970 them. And what Jesus says in these 109 00:06:28,980 --> 00:06:33,010 next few verses is his unveiling of the good life. 110 00:06:33,980 --> 00:06:36,370 This is the good life according to Jesus. 111 00:06:36,380 --> 00:06:38,330 And he says this looking at his disciples. 112 00:06:38,340 --> 00:06:44,430 He said, blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom 113 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,690 of God. This is about life inside the 114 00:06:47,700 --> 00:06:52,060 Kingdom. Blessed are you who hunger now, 115 00:06:52,150 --> 00:06:56,020 for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, 116 00:06:56,030 --> 00:07:00,030 for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate 117 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,420 you and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your 118 00:07:03,430 --> 00:07:06,220 name as evil because of the Son of Man. 119 00:07:06,230 --> 00:07:11,710 Rejoice, he says in that day. Leap for joy, because great is 120 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:17,200 your reward in heaven, for that is how their ancestors treated 121 00:07:17,530 --> 00:07:24,760 the prophets. Blessed are you when you are 122 00:07:24,770 --> 00:07:31,650 poor and when you hunger. Woe to you who are rich. 123 00:07:31,660 --> 00:07:37,430 And Jesus continues world to you who are rich, for you have 124 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:41,410 already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, 125 00:07:41,420 --> 00:07:44,830 for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for 126 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,310 you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when everyone speaks 127 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:52,310 well of you, for that is what their ancestors did, or how 128 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:55,290 their ancestors treated the false prophets. 129 00:07:55,300 --> 00:08:01,250 Woe to you, he says. Well, now I gotta tell you, if I 130 00:08:01,260 --> 00:08:04,370 break that out, if, if you return the question to me, like 131 00:08:04,380 --> 00:08:06,770 let's go back to our airplane seats for a minute. 132 00:08:06,780 --> 00:08:10,690 If if you ask me what is your picture of the good life, And I 133 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,930 break this teaching out from Luke and I begin to read this 134 00:08:13,940 --> 00:08:15,110 and I get to that. What? 135 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:20,790 But woe to you who are rich and world to you who are well fed 136 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:22,700 like I'm. I'm assuming you've probably put 137 00:08:22,710 --> 00:08:24,330 your headphones on again at this point. 138 00:08:26,310 --> 00:08:29,220 If I break this out during our plane ride conversation and I 139 00:08:29,230 --> 00:08:32,200 read it and I said here is a picture of the good life. 140 00:08:33,059 --> 00:08:36,350 Here is the ultimate picture of how we are to live and what we 141 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,890 are to aspire toward and and how we are to walk. 142 00:08:39,970 --> 00:08:42,809 This is the path. This is the way. 143 00:08:43,919 --> 00:08:47,020 Here is the good life. I would be willing to bet you'd 144 00:08:47,030 --> 00:08:49,430 have a couple things to say, and you might wanna respond. 145 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:54,790 And you'd probably push back. Are we sure like this can't be 146 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:58,520 right, This can't be what the good life is all about. 147 00:08:58,530 --> 00:09:01,300 It feels backwards, it feels upside down. 148 00:09:01,310 --> 00:09:04,880 It doesn't align with so much of the way we live our life. 149 00:09:04,950 --> 00:09:14,110 In 2025, in Canada, let me pursue pleasure, Let me avoid 150 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:18,160 pain. Like, in what world are are 151 00:09:18,170 --> 00:09:23,160 these things to be aspired to? In what world are those who are 152 00:09:23,170 --> 00:09:28,370 poor and hungry and weeping and excluded and hated, happy or 153 00:09:28,380 --> 00:09:32,260 blessed? Surely this isn't a picture of 154 00:09:32,330 --> 00:09:37,380 the good life in I think it was maybe the late 60s. 155 00:09:37,390 --> 00:09:41,780 It might even be right on 1970. There was a an experiment done 156 00:09:41,790 --> 00:09:44,580 and it's called the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment. 157 00:09:44,650 --> 00:09:50,260 And yes, that is a real thing. You can look it up, Stanford 158 00:09:50,270 --> 00:09:53,370 Marshmallow experiment. It doesn't sound real, but in 159 00:09:53,380 --> 00:09:56,280 this experiment, and I only had these are our very stale 160 00:09:56,290 --> 00:09:59,160 miniature marshmallows from home that are only good to be put in 161 00:09:59,170 --> 00:10:00,380 hot chocolate. Like that's it. 162 00:10:00,390 --> 00:10:01,940 They're so stale. That's all they're good for. 163 00:10:02,650 --> 00:10:07,000 But during this experiment, kids were gathered and sat down on a 164 00:10:07,010 --> 00:10:10,060 desk and they were given one marshmallow. 165 00:10:10,070 --> 00:10:11,480 And here's how the experiment went. 166 00:10:11,490 --> 00:10:14,120 They were they they were told. You can eat this one marshmallow 167 00:10:14,130 --> 00:10:20,450 now, or you can wait, and in a little bit you can have more 168 00:10:20,460 --> 00:10:22,750 marshmallows. And I don't know how many more 169 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:25,520 marshmallows would have to be put in front of you to entice 170 00:10:25,530 --> 00:10:27,570 you to wait. But here's the experiment. 171 00:10:27,580 --> 00:10:33,380 One marshmallow now, many marshmallows later and only 172 00:10:33,390 --> 00:10:36,260 about 1/3 you can imagine how it goes. 173 00:10:36,570 --> 00:10:42,140 Like about 1/3 of kids waited for the many more marshmallows, 174 00:10:42,190 --> 00:10:45,860 2/3 just ate the one marshmallow now, because that's the one 175 00:10:45,870 --> 00:10:47,890 that's in front of me and this is the one I have and this is 176 00:10:47,900 --> 00:10:49,620 the one I can see and it's here now. 177 00:10:49,630 --> 00:10:52,380 I'm going to eat it and listen. Like, I don't think as adults 178 00:10:52,390 --> 00:10:58,170 we've gotten any better that delayed gratification at waiting 179 00:10:58,180 --> 00:11:03,790 for what is to come in the future. 180 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:08,180 And so not only do I want to define happiness and do I want 181 00:11:08,190 --> 00:11:12,090 to define what success looks like and do I want to define 182 00:11:12,100 --> 00:11:15,810 what the good life is, Do I want to be in control of that 183 00:11:15,820 --> 00:11:23,270 direction of my life? I also want it now and so to 184 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:27,670 double down. We hear Jesus saying you who are 185 00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:37,290 poor now, you who are rich now, your reward will come. 186 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:43,640 So not not only are you saying blessed are you who are poor now 187 00:11:43,650 --> 00:11:48,780 you're saying I have to wait for what is to come. 188 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:52,550 Forget waiting. Like I want what makes me happy 189 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:57,250 now, and I want to control it and define it and attain it and 190 00:11:57,260 --> 00:12:00,390 see it and even taste and eat it. 191 00:12:02,090 --> 00:12:08,490 In Jesus's day, this vision for the good life was no less upside 192 00:12:08,500 --> 00:12:14,210 down and no more comfortable for Jesus's listeners. 193 00:12:14,580 --> 00:12:17,080 So for the disciples who have gathered, for the crowds who 194 00:12:17,090 --> 00:12:20,450 have come to hear Jesus and continue to lean into his 195 00:12:20,460 --> 00:12:24,950 teaching like this is upside down and uncomfortable for them 196 00:12:25,020 --> 00:12:30,040 as it is for us. These were disciples who were 197 00:12:30,050 --> 00:12:34,760 influenced by the dominant Second Temple Judaism, which 198 00:12:34,770 --> 00:12:37,920 said that your material possession, your wealth are 199 00:12:37,930 --> 00:12:41,420 signs of God's blessing. The more you have, the more 200 00:12:41,430 --> 00:12:45,580 blessed by God you must be. When you don't have, it is 201 00:12:45,590 --> 00:12:49,060 because of your lack of righteousness and faithfulness. 202 00:12:49,070 --> 00:12:51,360 It is because of something you have done. 203 00:12:51,930 --> 00:12:54,390 We see this in a question that's posed to Jesus. 204 00:12:55,130 --> 00:12:59,350 Jesus comes and and there's a man and he has been born blind. 205 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:01,570 And the disciples asked who sinned? 206 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:04,670 Was it this man or like was it his parents like who sinned so 207 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:08,570 that this guy was born blind? This is how they understand 208 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,970 reward. What you don't have, what you 209 00:13:11,980 --> 00:13:15,570 need, where you are lacking is because of your lack of faith 210 00:13:15,580 --> 00:13:19,370 and faithfulness. The good life meant living a 211 00:13:19,380 --> 00:13:23,110 righteous and obedient life under the Law and enjoying the 212 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:27,090 rewards of that right living. And yes, there was anticipation 213 00:13:27,100 --> 00:13:29,810 of restoration and deliverance. There was hope for a Messiah. 214 00:13:29,820 --> 00:13:33,110 There was a forward facing anticipation for God's reign to 215 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:35,710 come in its fullness. But in the meantime, while we 216 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,910 wait, the good life was material blessing and gained because of 217 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:43,630 faithful and right living. And so for the disciples who 218 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:45,290 hear these words, they're thinking this. 219 00:13:45,300 --> 00:13:46,940 This is not what we've been taught. 220 00:13:46,950 --> 00:13:51,200 This is not the way we have been told to live for the crowds who 221 00:13:51,210 --> 00:13:55,250 gather, and these are crowds who are influenced by Aristotle, 222 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:57,960 whose vision of the good life was summed up in one word. 223 00:13:57,970 --> 00:13:59,370 And you don't need to remember this word. 224 00:13:59,380 --> 00:14:03,220 This word is eudaimonia, and it means flourishing. 225 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:08,010 The flourishing sounds pretty good, but the path for Aristotle 226 00:14:08,020 --> 00:14:13,050 to that good life was rational deliberation and moral virtue. 227 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:17,610 It it meant human effort. It it was met, it was 228 00:14:17,620 --> 00:14:21,410 accomplished by habit and routine and discipline, effort 229 00:14:21,420 --> 00:14:25,750 at practical wisdom, life lessons, working day in and day 230 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:29,270 out to eventually balance out your life. 231 00:14:30,610 --> 00:14:34,040 These were crowds who were influenced by the majority sort 232 00:14:34,050 --> 00:14:37,460 of influential philosophy of the day, which was Stoicism. 233 00:14:37,470 --> 00:14:40,370 Stoicism, I've found, is having a little bit of a renaissance, 234 00:14:40,380 --> 00:14:42,100 like it's kind of becoming popular again. 235 00:14:42,990 --> 00:14:46,390 But to the Stoic, the same goal, flourishing eudaimonia. 236 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:49,380 The path to that good life, though, meant mastering 237 00:14:49,390 --> 00:14:53,700 destructive habits and passions and seeking freedom. 238 00:14:53,910 --> 00:14:57,910 So we destroy passions. We seek freedom and release 239 00:14:59,710 --> 00:15:02,100 again the sources. Effort, human effort. 240 00:15:02,110 --> 00:15:07,450 Work hard. It's reason, Moral virtue, 241 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:11,760 habit, discipline. In those instances, the one who 242 00:15:11,770 --> 00:15:16,980 is blessed is the rational, wise, disciplined, virtuous 243 00:15:17,210 --> 00:15:22,960 person. For Jesus listeners and for 244 00:15:22,970 --> 00:15:26,480 Luke's readers, what Jesus says is scandalous. 245 00:15:27,050 --> 00:15:30,420 It runs completely contrary to what they would have expected 246 00:15:30,430 --> 00:15:34,520 from a good and moral teacher. He's not aligning with majority 247 00:15:34,530 --> 00:15:36,480 Jewish teaching. He's not aligning with 248 00:15:36,490 --> 00:15:41,130 Hellenistic teaching. He's not fitting in anywhere, 249 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:47,810 and so often Jesus is. Teaching isn't aligned with our 250 00:15:47,820 --> 00:15:51,350 thinking. If I could describe our current 251 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:54,570 worldview quickly, if I could sum it up, I would describe it 252 00:15:54,580 --> 00:15:58,730 as human centred and effort driven. 253 00:16:00,860 --> 00:16:04,300 And so the goal of life, I think, for so many people is 254 00:16:04,310 --> 00:16:11,490 happiness and freedom. But it's my happiness and my 255 00:16:11,500 --> 00:16:13,630 freedom. We fight these battles based on 256 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:20,330 individual wants and wishes. What I want the path to the good 257 00:16:20,340 --> 00:16:26,390 life is hard work and self-reliance, and the source of 258 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:28,250 the good life is material comfort. 259 00:16:28,260 --> 00:16:31,320 It's personal freedom. It's emotional well-being. 260 00:16:31,580 --> 00:16:37,040 Those who are blessed are the ones who work hard, the 261 00:16:37,050 --> 00:16:43,600 homeowner, the employed, the one who can take multiple vacations 262 00:16:43,610 --> 00:16:49,910 or choose which car to drive. But as is so often the case, may 263 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:53,630 be our vision of the good life needs to change. 264 00:16:55,460 --> 00:16:58,910 Maybe your vision of the good life needs to change. 265 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:02,010 Maybe our vision of the good life has been warped and twisted 266 00:17:02,020 --> 00:17:04,250 by history and culture and by sin. 267 00:17:04,420 --> 00:17:07,990 Maybe it's the whispering voice that's in your ear and saying 268 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:13,250 you will never be good enough. Do a little bit more. 269 00:17:14,150 --> 00:17:16,800 Maybe it's the lie that you believe that tells you to work 270 00:17:16,810 --> 00:17:23,010 harder to earn more, buy more, become more, be more. 271 00:17:24,859 --> 00:17:28,610 Maybe our vision of the good life needs to come back into 272 00:17:28,620 --> 00:17:32,100 alignment with God's vision for creation. 273 00:17:32,420 --> 00:17:40,640 As upside down as it may feel, Dallas Willard says the scandal 274 00:17:40,650 --> 00:17:44,780 of the Kingdom is God's irrational outpouring of love 275 00:17:44,790 --> 00:17:52,620 and mercy on sinful humanity. So Jesus doesn't say blessed are 276 00:17:52,630 --> 00:17:57,890 you who are rich or blessed are you who are well fed? 277 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:03,250 He says blessed are you who are poor and hungry. 278 00:18:04,510 --> 00:18:10,690 And when people speak ill of you and exclude you, the danger is 279 00:18:10,700 --> 00:18:15,130 that that makes us uncomfortable, that that makes 280 00:18:15,220 --> 00:18:19,260 me sit and not want to lean into the reality of what Jesus is 281 00:18:19,270 --> 00:18:20,610 saying. Blessed are you who are poor. 282 00:18:20,620 --> 00:18:23,190 I don't really feel like I'd like to be poor, become poor. 283 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:29,550 What's that have to do with it? And why should the decisions I 284 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:33,370 make about life and work and vacation and money and investing 285 00:18:33,380 --> 00:18:38,290 and spending and giving and generosity come into play 286 00:18:38,300 --> 00:18:42,090 anyways? The danger is that our sitting 287 00:18:42,100 --> 00:18:45,530 in discomfort, our our discomfort with the teachings of 288 00:18:45,540 --> 00:18:49,750 Jesus, causes us to redefine what he's saying and maybe even 289 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:53,250 simplify it because we want to digest it a little bit more 290 00:18:53,260 --> 00:18:55,690 easily. We can take what Jesus has said, 291 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:58,280 and we can make it entirely spiritual. 292 00:18:59,390 --> 00:19:00,870 Blessed are the spiritually poor. 293 00:19:01,890 --> 00:19:04,380 Blessed are the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 294 00:19:04,390 --> 00:19:06,440 Blessed are those who mourn our sinfulness. 295 00:19:06,530 --> 00:19:08,700 Blessed are the ones who are persecuted because of their 296 00:19:08,710 --> 00:19:14,550 faith, and that's not bad. It's not even necessarily wrong, 297 00:19:15,870 --> 00:19:20,350 but it's also not what Luke is writing and it's not what Jesus 298 00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:24,150 is saying. At least it can't be those 299 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:29,450 things until we feel it and understand it and are convicted 300 00:19:29,460 --> 00:19:33,650 by it. Literally the concept of 301 00:19:33,660 --> 00:19:38,030 blessing and woe is jarring to us, at least when I read it, I 302 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:39,530 go it kind of makes me sick. Whoa. 303 00:19:39,580 --> 00:19:42,690 Like I just I don't wanna, I don't wanna pay attention to it. 304 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:48,080 And it wouldn't have been as jarring in Jesus's day to those 305 00:19:48,090 --> 00:19:50,780 who are are hearing his teaching. 306 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:55,650 The concept of blessing and woes goes all the way back even to 307 00:19:55,690 --> 00:19:58,710 Psalm, one which I would like to read for us. 308 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:02,770 It's the language of the Psalms. It's the language of poetry and 309 00:20:02,780 --> 00:20:04,800 poem. It's the language of Prophet. 310 00:20:05,670 --> 00:20:09,340 Psalm One reads like this. It says, Blessed is the one who 311 00:20:09,350 --> 00:20:15,070 does not walk in step with the wicked, or stand in the way that 312 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:18,670 sinners take, or sit in the company of mockers, but whose 313 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:22,630 delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His 314 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:26,250 law day and night. That person is like a tree 315 00:20:26,260 --> 00:20:29,890 planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in 316 00:20:29,900 --> 00:20:32,970 season, and whose leaf does not wither. 317 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,730 Whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked. 318 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:41,090 They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 319 00:20:41,140 --> 00:20:43,770 Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor 320 00:20:43,780 --> 00:20:46,920 sinners in the assembly of the righteous, for the Lord watches 321 00:20:46,930 --> 00:20:50,860 over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads 322 00:20:50,870 --> 00:20:53,240 to destruction. Now, there's a whole lot going 323 00:20:53,250 --> 00:20:55,880 on in that song that we don't have time to deal with today. 324 00:20:55,930 --> 00:20:58,600 It's brilliant. But what I do want to point out 325 00:20:58,610 --> 00:21:05,000 to us is that the blessing in Psalm 1 isn't necessarily seen 326 00:21:05,010 --> 00:21:09,940 as material blessing, as wealth, as prosperity, as we might 327 00:21:09,950 --> 00:21:15,240 consider it or think it to be. Here in Hebrew, the word for 328 00:21:15,250 --> 00:21:19,850 blessing is Esher, and Esher's root word where it's the word 329 00:21:19,860 --> 00:21:27,130 it's derived from is Asher, and that word means to go straight. 330 00:21:28,550 --> 00:21:34,560 That word means to advance. Think of it as moving along a 331 00:21:34,570 --> 00:21:40,440 path, progressing. And yes, it does mean blessing, 332 00:21:40,510 --> 00:21:43,760 but it is not blessing in the sense that you just simply 333 00:21:43,770 --> 00:21:48,930 receive whatever you want or material blessing. 334 00:21:48,940 --> 00:21:51,950 It is the blessedness, it is the rightness, it is the right 335 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:54,310 standing. It is the goodness that is found 336 00:21:54,380 --> 00:21:59,010 in walking in a particular way. That way says it's like a tree 337 00:21:59,020 --> 00:22:01,750 planted by streams of water which yields its fruit and 338 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:04,970 season. It is this life giving beautiful 339 00:22:04,980 --> 00:22:10,910 picture of what it means to move in the way, to walk along the 340 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:17,760 way of Jesus, to go straight, to advance. 341 00:22:18,770 --> 00:22:21,510 That is what it means to be blessed. 342 00:22:22,870 --> 00:22:26,750 So yes, we can translate it as blessed or blessing or happy, 343 00:22:28,030 --> 00:22:32,790 but it has everything to do with being aligned with the way of 344 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:38,330 Jesus. In the end of that Psalm, it 345 00:22:38,340 --> 00:22:41,940 reads for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous. 346 00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:48,240 Again, it has everything to do with being found on the way, on 347 00:22:48,250 --> 00:22:51,620 the right way, alongside with God. 348 00:22:52,470 --> 00:22:58,720 Jesus is laying here out two different ways, two different 349 00:22:58,730 --> 00:23:03,560 paths that you can walk, and one path is in alignment with the 350 00:23:03,570 --> 00:23:06,560 Kingdom and the other path is out of alignment with the 351 00:23:06,570 --> 00:23:10,800 Kingdom. 1 is driven by Kingdom values and one is contrary to 352 00:23:10,810 --> 00:23:13,660 Kingdom values. One is the way of the prophet, 353 00:23:13,670 --> 00:23:16,440 he says, and the other is the way of the false prophet. 354 00:23:16,530 --> 00:23:21,360 One is the way of the prophet who takes on poorness and hunger 355 00:23:21,450 --> 00:23:28,320 and this destitute, excluded, ill spoken of way of living for 356 00:23:28,330 --> 00:23:33,040 the sake of the way of God. The other is the way of the 357 00:23:33,050 --> 00:23:36,560 false prophet who speaks what people would like to hear 358 00:23:36,630 --> 00:23:39,800 because it makes them feel good, so they can receive riches and 359 00:23:39,810 --> 00:23:48,880 reward and be well fed. One is the way of surrender, the 360 00:23:48,970 --> 00:23:55,610 the other is the way of rebellion, self-serving 361 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:59,050 rebellion. And so for Jesus these blessings 362 00:23:59,060 --> 00:24:03,200 and these woes that they're not individual lines that were meant 363 00:24:03,210 --> 00:24:06,990 to get exceptionally caught up in line by line, word by word. 364 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,730 They are pairs. They're partners of sorts. 365 00:24:10,010 --> 00:24:16,500 There are 4 right side up pairs and four upside down pairs. 366 00:24:17,340 --> 00:24:21,950 The blessings feel upside down, but Jesus says they are really 367 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:24,450 right side up. This is life the way it was 368 00:24:24,460 --> 00:24:28,420 intended to be lived, and the woes are warnings. 369 00:24:29,700 --> 00:24:36,850 Woe is an expression of grief, and I'm gonna misspell words all 370 00:24:36,860 --> 00:24:38,190 over the place here. That's fine. 371 00:24:40,630 --> 00:24:45,500 Woe is a caution. It is a warning, it is an 372 00:24:45,570 --> 00:24:52,840 exclamation of grief that along the way you are on, you will 373 00:24:52,850 --> 00:24:57,230 find misalignment. You'll find yourself pulling 374 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:01,670 further from the teachings and the Kingdom of Jesus. 375 00:25:03,450 --> 00:25:08,780 And so together these poor, rich, hungry, well fed morn 376 00:25:08,790 --> 00:25:13,040 laugh, poorly spoken of, well spoken of, prophet, false 377 00:25:13,050 --> 00:25:16,560 prophet. Together they are meant to draw 378 00:25:16,570 --> 00:25:20,940 our attention to the way of Jesus, the way of the Kingdom, 379 00:25:21,310 --> 00:25:23,900 and the way outside of the Kingdom. 380 00:25:23,910 --> 00:25:28,960 They capture the heart of the good life inside the Kingdom of 381 00:25:28,970 --> 00:25:31,420 God. And in many ways they capture 382 00:25:31,430 --> 00:25:34,080 what the Hebrew word Shalom captures. 383 00:25:34,490 --> 00:25:37,860 This word that we so often reduce or use simply to mean 384 00:25:37,870 --> 00:25:41,860 peace, when really it means completeness, well-being, peace, 385 00:25:41,870 --> 00:25:45,960 yes, but also safety and health and favor and rightness with God 386 00:25:45,970 --> 00:25:49,510 and and with others, fullness of life. 387 00:25:51,570 --> 00:25:55,080 What Jesus is saying is that this way of being, the way of 388 00:25:55,090 --> 00:26:00,600 blessing, the way of Shalom, returns us to the garden. 389 00:26:00,670 --> 00:26:05,020 It points us toward heaven and earth being remade and 390 00:26:05,030 --> 00:26:11,180 resurrected into a new garden. What Jesus is saying is actually 391 00:26:11,230 --> 00:26:17,470 significantly more difficult then simply blessed are the poor 392 00:26:19,020 --> 00:26:24,920 or woe to the rich. Because what he is really saying 393 00:26:24,930 --> 00:26:28,250 is blessed are the purposefully poor. 394 00:26:29,940 --> 00:26:35,120 Blessed are the intentionally hungry. 395 00:26:36,610 --> 00:26:41,000 Blessed is the one who has renounced the riches and the way 396 00:26:41,010 --> 00:26:45,210 of the world for pursuit of life inside the Kingdom. 397 00:26:47,290 --> 00:26:49,260 One of the commentators writes it like this. 398 00:26:49,270 --> 00:26:55,720 He says those who for Christ's sake became poor will by His 399 00:26:55,730 --> 00:27:00,860 graciousness enter into a spiritual richness that has no 400 00:27:00,950 --> 00:27:04,940 equal. We have to remember that Jesus 401 00:27:04,950 --> 00:27:09,550 is speaking to his disciples and principally these are ones who 402 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:14,910 have already left everything to follow Jesus. 403 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:18,030 Matthew left his job as a tax collector. 404 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:24,010 Matthew would have been wealthy and it says he left everything 405 00:27:24,060 --> 00:27:27,150 and followed Jesus walked away from his well paying job, walked 406 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:29,690 away from his riches, walked away from his ability to extort 407 00:27:29,780 --> 00:27:33,590 and control and gain because of his position in society. 408 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:36,410 He walked away to follow Jesus the fisherman. 409 00:27:36,460 --> 00:27:40,730 In Luke's earliest chapters of Jesus Calling the Disciples, we 410 00:27:40,740 --> 00:27:44,170 met those fishermen, many of them fishermen, who has this 411 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,430 catch of a lifetime. So they're gonna vote. 412 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:49,540 Jesus says cast your Nets, castanets. 413 00:27:49,550 --> 00:27:53,270 They haul in us massive load of fish that their Nets are 414 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:55,650 breaking and the boats are sinking and they can't even 415 00:27:55,660 --> 00:27:57,330 know. They gotta work to haul it in. 416 00:27:57,340 --> 00:27:58,870 Other boats have to come and help them. 417 00:27:58,940 --> 00:28:05,630 And it says they left everything forsaking all they followed Him. 418 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:12,190 What do you have to leave in order to follow Jesus? 419 00:28:14,370 --> 00:28:20,290 What do you need to forsake in order to live aligned with the 420 00:28:20,300 --> 00:28:24,250 Kingdom? Blessed are you, Jesus says, who 421 00:28:24,260 --> 00:28:29,550 abandoned the relentless pursuit of more for life inside the 422 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:32,280 Kingdom. And it feels upside down. 423 00:28:34,670 --> 00:28:39,290 It feels disorienting. But Jesus says these are the 424 00:28:39,300 --> 00:28:41,750 values that hold the Kingdom together. 425 00:28:41,820 --> 00:28:45,130 This is life the way it was intended to be lived, the way 426 00:28:45,140 --> 00:28:50,970 God created you to be. Culture says the good life means 427 00:28:50,980 --> 00:28:55,960 financial success, a comfortable home that you own, a steady job, 428 00:28:55,970 --> 00:28:58,600 the freedom to do whatever you think will make you happy. 429 00:28:58,670 --> 00:29:01,860 And Jesus says, blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the 430 00:29:01,870 --> 00:29:06,050 Kingdom of God. Are you pursuing more on the 431 00:29:06,060 --> 00:29:10,430 backs of others or with sacrifice to your own health or 432 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:14,050 your family? What do you need to walk away 433 00:29:14,060 --> 00:29:16,790 from? CS Lewis says prosperity knits a 434 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:20,790 man to the world. He feels that he is finding his 435 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:26,260 place in it, while really it is finding its place in him. 436 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:29,950 Culture says you should always feel full, physically, socially, 437 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:32,810 emotionally, relation, relationally full. 438 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:36,690 Jesus says blessed are you who hunger now, blessed are you who 439 00:29:36,700 --> 00:29:39,540 intentionally for life inside the Kingdom go without. 440 00:29:41,290 --> 00:29:45,920 Are you finding your contentment in relationship with Jesus and 441 00:29:45,930 --> 00:29:49,970 who He has declared you to be? Augustine. 442 00:29:49,980 --> 00:29:52,560 One of my favorite quotes from Augustine is this. 443 00:29:52,570 --> 00:29:56,620 You have made us for yourself, oh Lord, and our heart is 444 00:29:56,630 --> 00:30:03,300 restless until it rests in You. Where do you find your rest, 445 00:30:04,250 --> 00:30:08,360 your contentment, your fullness? Culture says don't show 446 00:30:08,370 --> 00:30:11,910 weakness, stay strong, remain positive, push, think good 447 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:13,620 thoughts and good things will come to you. 448 00:30:13,630 --> 00:30:16,400 Just push through, try harder, work harder, do more. 449 00:30:16,410 --> 00:30:20,810 And Jesus says, Blessed are you who weep now, for you will 450 00:30:20,820 --> 00:30:26,700 laugh. Blessed are you who mourn now, 451 00:30:27,580 --> 00:30:32,450 for you will know joy. How are you numbing your pain? 452 00:30:34,690 --> 00:30:37,760 What do you turn to in order to avoid pain? 453 00:30:38,500 --> 00:30:43,680 What is it that you crave when you'd really rather not deal 454 00:30:43,690 --> 00:30:46,610 with the deep, dark parts of your heart and your mind and 455 00:30:46,620 --> 00:30:51,140 your soul? What do you need to do in order 456 00:30:51,150 --> 00:30:55,360 to allow yourself to feel the deep sadness and the deep things 457 00:30:55,370 --> 00:30:59,170 of human experience? Do you bring it to Jesus, 458 00:30:59,970 --> 00:31:03,160 expectant that he will sit with you in it? 459 00:31:04,500 --> 00:31:07,210 Bon Offer has this great line. He says those who follow Christ 460 00:31:07,220 --> 00:31:11,350 are called to suffer. In fact, suffering is the badge 461 00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:19,700 of true discipleship. I love the last line that Jesus 462 00:31:19,710 --> 00:31:22,020 ends with. This is what happens to the 463 00:31:22,030 --> 00:31:27,540 prophet and the false prophet. And I kind of think like what's 464 00:31:27,550 --> 00:31:31,350 going on there? One of the conversations this 465 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:37,010 week I had, I think, made it really clear the disciples and 466 00:31:37,020 --> 00:31:39,590 the crowds listening would have known the stories of the 467 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:43,550 prophets. And so we as the church, we look 468 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:45,930 back on the lives of the disciples and we think, man, 469 00:31:45,940 --> 00:31:48,220 wouldn't it be great to just be like those disciples? 470 00:31:49,290 --> 00:31:51,640 Wouldn't it be great to be able to leave everything and follow 471 00:31:51,650 --> 00:31:53,840 Jesus? Wouldn't it be great to have him 472 00:31:53,850 --> 00:31:56,690 walk with us and work with us and learn from him? 473 00:31:56,700 --> 00:32:00,990 And the disciples look back on the prophets, those who were 474 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,650 close to God, who spoke with them, who heard received word 475 00:32:04,660 --> 00:32:12,360 from God, who left everything in response to what God was calling 476 00:32:12,370 --> 00:32:16,180 them to do. And so as disciples, they've, 477 00:32:16,190 --> 00:32:21,760 we've got this image we know leave everything, follow Jesus 478 00:32:23,180 --> 00:32:26,190 and the prophets, they were often poor and hungry and 479 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:28,790 rejected and despised. And the disciples, they were 480 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:32,060 often poor and hungry and rejected and and despised. 481 00:32:34,470 --> 00:32:40,700 And so we look back and we allow the disciples and we allow the 482 00:32:40,710 --> 00:32:45,810 prophets to shape and change and challenge the way in which we 483 00:32:45,820 --> 00:32:48,680 turn and leave everything to follow. 484 00:32:48,690 --> 00:32:54,040 Jesus, the prophet was the one who leaned in. 485 00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:58,490 The false prophet was the one who claimed to speak for God, 486 00:32:58,500 --> 00:33:00,650 but who really was after personal gain. 487 00:33:00,660 --> 00:33:05,010 The disciple was one who abandoned everything for silk, 488 00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:10,520 all to follow Jesus, the good life. 489 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:17,380 Here's my pitch. The good life is alignment with 490 00:33:17,390 --> 00:33:22,970 God's Kingdom. It's not ease or applause or 491 00:33:22,980 --> 00:33:29,360 material wealth or gain, but it is being known and blessed and 492 00:33:29,370 --> 00:33:33,330 formed and shaped by the God who created you. 493 00:33:34,460 --> 00:33:37,970 And it doesn't always feel like what we want or what we expect. 494 00:33:37,980 --> 00:33:40,880 And it is uncomfortable, but it is also good. 495 00:33:41,860 --> 00:33:44,330 And it feels upside down. But it really is. 496 00:33:44,340 --> 00:33:50,000 We need to learn to trust right side up and it allows us to be 497 00:33:50,010 --> 00:33:53,860 shaped in such a way that we shape others, that we form 498 00:33:53,870 --> 00:33:57,710 others, that we impact those around us. 499 00:33:58,890 --> 00:34:03,760 Because it's not ultimately about what I can gain, but it is 500 00:34:03,770 --> 00:34:08,290 about what I can give. And so it forms us to love 501 00:34:08,300 --> 00:34:11,989 others and to carry the culture of the Kingdom into a world that 502 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:15,550 Dallas Willard writes, is filled with people who are spiritually 503 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:22,340 starving, desperate. And so the challenge is to bear 504 00:34:22,350 --> 00:34:26,580 the Kingdom in your bones, to carry it with you as you go, to 505 00:34:26,590 --> 00:34:32,530 reject the culture of the world, and to embrace the culture of 506 00:34:32,540 --> 00:34:40,300 the Kingdom. Let me pray, God, things that 507 00:34:40,310 --> 00:34:46,560 you've created us to know and to be known by you and things that 508 00:34:46,570 --> 00:34:49,820 you've created us to love and to be loved by you. 509 00:34:51,679 --> 00:34:55,550 Thanks to that in you we find our, our being, our movement all 510 00:34:55,560 --> 00:35:01,590 of life, every day. God, I pray that you would 511 00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:04,710 continue to challenge us and shape us and form us. 512 00:35:06,780 --> 00:35:12,430 I pray that You would convict us in the right ways to move toward 513 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:17,320 Your love and grace and mercy. Yeah, there are probably many of 514 00:35:17,330 --> 00:35:21,380 us here who need to hear again an extra measure what the good 515 00:35:21,390 --> 00:35:26,060 life is all about. And so I pray that as we go, as 516 00:35:26,070 --> 00:35:31,240 we continue to worship and sing and pray and move throughout 517 00:35:31,250 --> 00:35:35,230 this day and into tomorrow and our days and weeks ahead, I pray 518 00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:37,780 that we would be ones who are shaped by the culture of your 519 00:35:37,790 --> 00:35:40,360 Kingdom. And I pray these things in the 520 00:35:40,370 --> 00:35:43,470 strongest name, in the name of Jesus, Amen.