1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:05,120 We're going to be in verses 20 to 23 this morning, Luke chapter 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:07,560 6, verses 2023. We're going to end up reading 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:11,600 this passage together this morning as a church. 4 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:19,160 It's been 13 days that I was travelling around Egypt and 5 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:23,600 Lebanon, and one of the joys was to be able to bring brothers and 6 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:27,080 sisters in the Middle East. Greetings from their brothers 7 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:30,520 and sisters here. And I would get up every time 8 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:34,640 that 9 or 10 times I got to speak and I said, hey, you got 9 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:38,040 brothers and sisters in Ontario, Canada who love you, who are 10 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:40,080 cheering you on and who bring greetings. 11 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:42,600 And so they wanted me to bring back greetings to you. 12 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:46,400 So it's also my joy today to bring greetings to you from your 13 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:50,760 brothers and sisters amongst Sudanese refugees, amongst the 14 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:55,680 Egyptian people, amongst the Druze and the Kurds, in the 15 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,520 Maronites in Lebanon. They want to send their 16 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:00,720 greetings to you. Do you know there are people 17 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,360 across the world right now who are praying for us this morning 18 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:06,680 here and for church? Isn't that a neat thing to think 19 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:11,600 about? Let's read these words together 20 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:16,560 from Jesus starting at verse 20. Why don't we stand together to 21 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:24,080 read God's Word together? Read with me. 22 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:25,960 They're on the screen. If you don't have your Bible 23 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:30,320 open, you can read along there. Then looking at his disciples, 24 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:36,120 he said, Blessed are you who are poor because the Kingdom of God 25 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,640 is yours. Blessed are you who are hungry 26 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:45,040 now because you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now 27 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:49,400 because you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate 28 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:54,440 you, when they exclude you, insult you, and slander your 29 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:57,480 name as evil because of the Son of Man. 30 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,720 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy. 31 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:06,440 Take note, your reward is great in heaven, for this is the way 32 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,720 their ancestors used to treat the prophets. 33 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:12,080 May God bless the reading of His word. 34 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:19,560 You can have a seat. If someone came up to you, they 35 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,040 asked you the question, do you want to live a blessed life? 36 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:26,040 How would you answer that question? 37 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:32,120 Yes, I would assume most of us in this room or those who are 38 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:36,240 watching online or if you hear this later, you'd say, yeah, I 39 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:38,280 want to live a blessed life, sign me up. 40 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,960 But what if they asked you that question and then they wrote, 41 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:46,120 read those words of Jesus to you? 42 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:53,360 Would your answer still be yes? I mean, the words that Jesus 43 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:58,640 speaks here, how he defines blessing, that's not how most of 44 00:02:58,640 --> 00:03:02,840 us define blessing, right? Our definition of blessing is 45 00:03:03,920 --> 00:03:10,800 good job, stable, comfortable, housing, at least a roof over my 46 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:16,560 head, good friends, peaceful family life. 47 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:22,600 Our definition of blessing tends to involve words like safety, 48 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:31,120 stability, comfort, happiness, abundance, success, prosperity. 49 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:35,520 When we define blessing, when someone come comes up to us and 50 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:37,400 says would you like to have a blessed life? 51 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:38,960 Isn't that what our mind goes to? 52 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:43,840 I mean, those are the type of blessings. 53 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,080 If we're honest, those are the type of blessings that we tend 54 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,960 to count on a day like Thanksgiving. 55 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:56,000 And yet here Jesus gives us a radically different definition 56 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:01,920 of what it means to be blessed. Last week, Pastor Kirk started 57 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:06,360 off our series in this section of Luke chapter 6 that we've 58 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:10,480 called different. It's a section of teaching 59 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:12,840 that's referred to as the Sermon on the Plane. 60 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:16,160 It's kind of a counterpart to Matthew's Sermon on the Mount. 61 00:04:16,959 --> 00:04:20,920 And what we're going to see over and over and over and over again 62 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:25,240 as we walk through this over the next number of weeks is that 63 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:29,440 Jesus is offering to us a very different way of living and 64 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:32,920 being in the world than anybody else is offering. 65 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:38,600 We're going to see that if we're really going to be serious about 66 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:43,120 following Jesus, it's going to require a change of thinking. 67 00:04:44,280 --> 00:04:47,000 It's going to require changes in our priorities. 68 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:51,640 It's going to require a way of seeing the world differently. 69 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,240 It's going to require changing in the ways in which we interact 70 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,400 with others. It's going to require changing a 71 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:02,040 whole bunch of definitions that we have absorbed over time. 72 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:05,640 And, and I'll be honest, I've been super excited about getting 73 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:09,000 to this series. I I couldn't wait to get to 74 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:14,560 October because I just think that there is no better time in 75 00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:18,960 my lifetime to do a series like this than right now. 76 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:24,400 Because what I see you when I engage with people, when I 77 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:29,760 observe our culture, is that there is very little that people 78 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:33,600 seem to be able to agree on these days, except for one 79 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:38,320 thing. Everyone seems to agree that 80 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:42,760 what we're doing isn't working, that we need something 81 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:46,960 different. And I believe with all of my 82 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:52,520 being at the core of my being, that the teaching of Jesus in 83 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:58,520 this section of Scripture, that it is the different way of 84 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:04,280 living that we need. Yeah, as we go through this, 85 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:07,640 you're going to find it's alien, it's foreign. 86 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:11,960 It sounds so counterintuitive at times. 87 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:13,160 We're going to read through stuff. 88 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,440 In fact, maybe it's this morning where you're going to encounter 89 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:20,120 stuff where you're like, that is the last thing on earth that I 90 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,240 want, and yet it's the exact thing on this earth that you 91 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:28,360 need. See, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe 92 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:35,920 we have finally come to a point where we've tried everything and 93 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:39,160 realized that nothing we're going to try on our own is going 94 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:42,040 to work. Maybe that's where you're at 95 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:46,640 this morning. I love this quote from GK 96 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:49,640 Chesterton. He says, you know, the Christian 97 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:52,280 ideal hasn't been tried and found wanting. 98 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,520 It's been found difficult and never tried. 99 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:02,680 Maybe we're at the point where we're actually ready to do the 100 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:06,880 hard work of following Jesus, and that would begin to change 101 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:10,400 everything. And I think part of the reason 102 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:15,480 that so many of us, including so many people who would claim to 103 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:20,320 be following Jesus, feel a deep dissatisfaction in their souls 104 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:25,000 and in this world is because the blessing that we're longing for, 105 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:30,200 that we're living for, is not the deepest, truest blessing 106 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:37,360 that we have misunderstood what it really means to be blessed 107 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:39,760 and where blessing really comes from. 108 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:43,160 So my question to you this morning is just this. 109 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:49,080 It's really simple. What if we let Jesus redefine 110 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:51,840 for us today what it means to really be blessed? 111 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,680 Well, what if we did that? What? 112 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:59,280 What if we actually took Jesus at his word in this passage of 113 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:03,400 Scripture? Look at what he says. 114 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:08,160 Luke 620. He starts off by telling us that 115 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:11,040 it's the poor who are blessed. Blessed are you who are poor 116 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:14,400 because the Kingdom of God is yours. 117 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:20,720 It's the poor who are blessed. That is so upside down to what 118 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:23,880 everyone and everything in this world has to tell us about what 119 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:28,280 blessing is about. In this world we define blessing 120 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:30,840 by wealth. We define blessing by 121 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:36,960 prosperity, poverty. Being poor is seen as a curse 122 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:40,360 and Jesus flips this whole thing around. 123 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:45,160 He says actually poverty doesn't disqualify you from blessing. 124 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:50,840 In fact, being poor is what positions you to receive the 125 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:56,240 greatest blessing. Blessed are you who are poor. 126 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:00,280 Here's what I need you to see this morning. 127 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:05,440 The Kingdom of God belongs to those and only to those who 128 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:07,680 understand how deep their need really is. 129 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:15,240 I told you I I've been gone the last two weeks in Egypt and I 130 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:18,920 literally got back in yesterday morning, flew overnight, took a 131 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:23,560 red eye. And I've spent a lot of time 132 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:30,640 with people who the world has taken no notice of, spent a lot 133 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:35,200 of time in places of tremendous poverty. 134 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:39,960 And over and over and over again, I encountered people who 135 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:41,640 considered themselves to be blessed. 136 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:48,720 I went to house visits and I used the the word house 137 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:55,120 generously because many of us in this room, we would struggle to 138 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:57,320 believe that the places they were living could be considered 139 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:01,880 a house. And in place after place, 140 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:08,440 encounter after encounter, I found people who the world 141 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:12,680 considers poor, who know what it is to truly be rich. 142 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:16,240 I have people who I found. I encountered people who humbled 143 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:22,080 me with their joy in the midst of the most difficult of 144 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,480 circumstances. And this is the pattern that you 145 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:29,400 can see if you're a student of history, if you're a student of 146 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:35,360 the church, that throughout history and right now in the 147 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:40,520 world, in this moment, it's the poor who are most likely to 148 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,800 trust in and receive Jesus and receive the greatest blessing 149 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:48,720 that could ever be received. And it's not just happening over 150 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:49,880 there. Let me just bring this a little 151 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:56,040 closer to home. I can show you data right now 152 00:10:56,480 --> 00:11:01,640 that says God is doing a new thing in Canada and in the West, 153 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:05,880 and he's doing it in the people that most of us in this room 154 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:08,680 would have assumed we're the least likely people that God 155 00:11:08,680 --> 00:11:11,960 would do something in. He's doing it in Gen. 156 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:13,240 Z, He's doing it in Gen. Alpha. 157 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:17,040 And in particular, he's doing it in men, in Gen. 158 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:18,160 Z, in Gen. Alpha. 159 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:21,080 And I've been thinking of why is it? 160 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:26,600 Why are we seeing at a greater rate, especially in places like 161 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:32,040 England? We're now 22% of young men are 162 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:37,440 attending church regularly. That's gone from 4% to 22% in 163 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:40,480 about 9 years. Why? 164 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:44,000 Because we have a generation of men who've grown up poor. 165 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:52,280 Poor in male role models, poor in friendships, poor in 166 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:55,880 understanding what love and intimacy look like in a world 167 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:58,800 that they have grown up in that's saturated with online 168 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:03,520 porn. Got a group of men who've grown 169 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:08,320 up being told to expect less, that they will have less than 170 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:10,120 the generations that came before them. 171 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:14,840 We've got a group of young men who have grown up and the most 172 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,880 common word that they've had attached to their masculinity is 173 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:24,600 toxic. They have known poverty and you 174 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:28,600 can look and see that they're searching for somebody who would 175 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:30,640 be a savior, who would show them a better way. 176 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,160 And so some of them have turned to the Andrew Tate's and the 177 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:39,120 Jordan Peterson's of this world. But a lot of them are realizing 178 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:43,200 that those so-called saviors don't actually have what 179 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:47,120 satisfies. Many of them are understanding 180 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:52,280 that what they deeply need is a is a better mentor, a better 181 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:56,720 father, a better friend, a better king. 182 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:01,000 We have a generation of young men who have grown up poor, but 183 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,200 because they've grown up poor, man, they're going to be rich. 184 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,280 Because so many of them are understanding that what they 185 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:08,840 need most deeply is Jesus and him crucified. 186 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:15,040 They need to know the God who became poor so that through him 187 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:19,320 they could inherit all things, the one who died so that they 188 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:23,120 could live. Going to look more at this next 189 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:27,240 week, so I'm not going to dwell on this too much, but it is so 190 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:29,920 hard if you consider yourself rich. 191 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:32,440 And many of us in this room wouldn't consider ourselves 192 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:34,600 rich, but we would live as if we're rich. 193 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:41,120 It is so hard if you feel like you have so much to lose, to 194 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:43,480 follow a Jesus who calls you to give up everything. 195 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:49,480 We were like kids. You ever seen a kid who somebody 196 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:53,880 gives them one of those plastic rings and they think they've got 197 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:56,080 something real, they think they've got something of value. 198 00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:00,440 So if you offered them a piece of paper that had $100 or $200 199 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:04,200 or $1000 on it, they think the papers not worth anything. 200 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:10,320 This ring is worth everything. And we've confused what really 201 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:13,440 matters for the baubles and trinkets that have no value. 202 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:18,880 The story in Scripture of a rich young ruler who comes to Jesus. 203 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:24,920 And he asked him this question, what must I do to be saved? 204 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:27,000 What must I do to have eternal life? 205 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:30,240 And Jesus ultimately tells me, he says this, sell everything 206 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:35,280 and give it to the poor. And he says at the end we see 207 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:41,880 that he walked away sad because he just felt like Jesus was 208 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:47,840 asking too much from him. And yet all he had at the end of 209 00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:51,320 the day was nothing. Nothing of any significance, 210 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:54,600 nothing of any value. And all Jesus was offering him 211 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:55,960 was everything, but he couldn't see it. 212 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:02,600 We need to be poor. We need to be poor in spirit to 213 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:06,080 come to a point where we say, Jesus, everything I have is 214 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:08,160 yours, because without you, nothing really matters. 215 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,440 And yet if I have Jesus, if I'm a citizen of the Kingdom, if I'm 216 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:17,440 a citizen of heaven, then no matter what I've given, no 217 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:20,080 matter what I've sacrificed, it's all worth it because I have 218 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:25,280 everything. Like I said, I got to stand 219 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:27,840 numerous times over the past number of weeks in front of 220 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:33,760 Kurdish refugees, Sudanese refugees, Ethiopian refugees, 221 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:38,200 and I got to look them in the eyes and tell them this truth 222 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:44,440 because you know, Jesus, although you feel like you've 223 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:49,160 got nothing right now, one day you will rule and reign over all 224 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:53,080 things. You have far more than my 225 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:56,080 neighbors in Canada who think they have all things, but they 226 00:15:56,080 --> 00:16:00,280 have nothing. It's the poor who are blessed 227 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:02,920 because they understand the reality that they have nothing 228 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:05,040 to lose. Then he says this. 229 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:07,640 It's the hungry who are blessed, he says. 230 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:10,840 Blessed are you who are hungry now because you'll be filled. 231 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:16,200 Blessed are you who weep now because you will laugh again. 232 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:18,000 What's the world's definition of blessing? 233 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:23,360 Isn't it full stomachs? Isn't it endless, endless 234 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:26,640 entertainment? Constant happiness? 235 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:30,240 That's blessing, right? And yet Jesus says that's not 236 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:32,240 blessing. Blessing is not life that looks 237 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:38,000 like a never ending cruise. Blessing is not living in a 238 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:41,120 world where there is endless distraction. 239 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:47,040 Jesus says no. You want to know what it's like 240 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:50,760 to be brought blessed. It's the person who has hunger 241 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:54,040 and sorrow. Hunger and sorrow. 242 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,960 They don't mean that you've missed out on God's blessing. 243 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:03,640 They point to the fact that you have a, a desire in you, a need 244 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:07,400 in you, deeper satisfaction and joy that you are looking for the 245 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:12,400 only God can provide. And so many of us, and I include 246 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:17,280 myself in this, we just go to the buffet of the world that we 247 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:21,000 live in and we're looking for the next purchase or the next 248 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:25,160 thing that we'll watch or the next, whatever that we could 249 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:31,160 find joy in that would satiate this desire that never seems to 250 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:35,480 be fulfilled. And it doesn't get fulfilled no 251 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:39,400 matter how many things we buy, no matter how many possessions 252 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:43,320 we get, no matter how many wonderful meals we have, because 253 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:46,840 we have a hunger and thirst and longing that has been placed in 254 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:49,800 us by the Creator of the universe that wasn't meant to be 255 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:51,680 filled by those things, but by him. 256 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:56,200 And Jesus is saying, here's the good thing about hunger. 257 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:00,240 It lets you know there's something that you need that you 258 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:03,920 aren't getting. I know that some of you are here 259 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:08,000 today. You've walked in because that's 260 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:09,560 where you're at. You're just like, I'm just 261 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:13,920 hungry. I've been chasing after stuff. 262 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:19,840 I feel like I've got so much and yet my soul is so dry. 263 00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:25,720 And if the world has you hungry right now, if it feels like 264 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:29,680 nothing in this world will satisfy, if there's no bobbles 265 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,440 and distractions in in this world anymore that are bringing 266 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:38,920 you joy, then Jesus is saying, great, you're finally getting it 267 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,840 and you're blessed because you're waking up to the fact 268 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:45,640 that you're not going to find the thing that's missing out 269 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:49,120 there. You know, I love weddings, I 270 00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:50,600 really do. I love doing weddings. 271 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:54,680 I love sitting down with couples who are fresh in love and 272 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:59,840 everything is joy. They're a blessing to do. 273 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:06,000 But I've learned over time that funerals are where the real 274 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:13,640 impact takes place. See, at weddings people are 275 00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:20,880 overcome with what they have, but in the grief of funerals 276 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:24,880 were overcome with what we long for and what we need. 277 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:29,600 I think one request that every Jesus follower should put in 278 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,160 their will is this, that the gospel will be preached at my 279 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:37,280 wedding. I mean, there's no better time 280 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:44,040 to let people know that this world is at the end of the day 281 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:48,880 going to end for all of us. But there's better available to 282 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:53,520 everyone. It's Jesus promises that what 283 00:19:53,520 --> 00:20:00,520 you're missing, He came to fill. We could go about 8-8 days, I 284 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:03,520 guess. I was sitting in the home of a 285 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:08,480 young woman in Egypt. She and her family had almost 286 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:10,160 nothing. And this is one of those homes 287 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:12,560 where I was time. Like you'd be generous to call 288 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:15,520 it a home. It was musty. 289 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:19,840 It was dank. It was basically a storage room 290 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:28,040 under the stairwell. There's no windows, 4 beds, a 291 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:31,480 stove. And we came and we delivered 292 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:34,640 some food. We opened up the word of God, 293 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:38,880 walked through a passage. And then I said, hey, what can 294 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:41,040 I, what can I pray for, for you and your family? 295 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:46,320 And this young woman by the name of Maria looks at me with a 296 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:51,640 smile on her face and she says, pray that we would know and 297 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:55,400 depend on Jesus even more. She had nothing. 298 00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:59,680 She had a sister who was an invalid in the bed. 299 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:03,560 She lived with her sister, her brother who her two parents and 300 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:06,320 her in that one dank little room. 301 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:13,040 She said, pray that in this place the name of Jesus would be 302 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:18,680 known. I said, you like, Are you sure 303 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:20,640 you don't want me to pray for anything else? 304 00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:27,280 She said, if I have Jesus, I have all that I need. 305 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:33,680 Those were her words. And I thought, could I say that? 306 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:36,760 Is that how I would respond in that moment? 307 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:42,160 If your soul is hungry this morning, if your heart is heavy, 308 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:48,640 you're not going to find it in anything out there, but you will 309 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,800 find it in Jesus Christ. He's the only place where you're 310 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,200 going to find joy and satisfaction that truly 311 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:59,200 satisfies. Listen. 312 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,680 Scripture tells us the ultimate satisfaction comes when we're 313 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:07,720 with Him forever. Listen to Revelation 1969. 314 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:10,520 This is the picture of what waits for everyone who has come 315 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:13,720 to understand that in Christ we can be satisfied, he said. 316 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:17,760 Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude that 317 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,880 like the sound of cascading waters, like the rumbling of 318 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:27,040 loud Thunder, saying Hallelujah because of our Lord God as we've 319 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:30,080 just sang this morning, the almighty rains. 320 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:35,480 Let's be glad, rejoice and give him glory because the marriage 321 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:39,640 of the lamb has come and the bride has prepared herself. 322 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:42,680 This is the wedding that matters. 323 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:44,720 This is the wedding we want to be a part of. 324 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:48,960 Says she was given fine linen to wear bright and pure from the 325 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:51,560 for the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the 326 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,200 Saints. And then he said to me, right, 327 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:59,240 Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage feast of 328 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:05,120 the lamb because that that marriage feast, you'll never be 329 00:23:05,120 --> 00:23:10,400 hungry again. What type of hunger or grief are 330 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:14,760 you caring right now that God wants to meet with his future 331 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,680 joy? What do you need to just give up 332 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,960 to Him and recognize that in Christ you have more than you'll 333 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:25,040 ever need. It's the poor who are blessed, 334 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:28,520 it's the hungry who are blessed, and it's the rejected who are 335 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:31,840 blessed. He says it's those who suffer 336 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:35,120 rejection for Christ's sake that are blessed. 337 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:41,000 Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you, when 338 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:45,000 they insult you, when they slander your name as evil 339 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:49,080 because of the Son of Man. Here's what you do in that day, 340 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:51,760 he says. You rejoice in that day. 341 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:56,440 You leap for joy. Take note, your reward is great 342 00:23:56,440 --> 00:24:00,480 in heaven. I think for many of us, there is 343 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,600 nothing that we're more scared of than rejection. 344 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:09,680 There's nothing that feels less like blessing than being 345 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:15,600 rejected. And yet Jesus says rejection for 346 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:17,760 following him. That's a sign of true blessing. 347 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:22,400 One of the families that we did a home visit with in Egypt, I'm 348 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:25,560 going to put a picture up here and throw that up on the screen. 349 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:29,440 It'll give you a sense of what so many of the streets of Cairo 350 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,320 are like. There are 30 million people in 351 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:35,760 the greater Cairo area. At least. 352 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:38,880 They actually don't know how many because because it's taken 353 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:40,320 in refugees from all over the world. 354 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:43,200 They're crammed into every nook and cranny. 355 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:45,520 And we went and we met with one of these families. 356 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:48,240 And as we were meeting with them and we were asking them what we 357 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:51,160 could pray for, they said, well, tonight we're going to be kicked 358 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,920 out of our apartment. In fact, two of our kids are out 359 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:57,320 right now walking the streets trying to see if they could find 360 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:02,320 us some place to stay. For the 8 of them, they weren't 361 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:04,240 being kicked out because they didn't have money for rent. 362 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:08,120 They were being kicked out because their landlord was a 363 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:10,600 Muslim who had found out that they had become Christians. 364 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:16,040 Can I just say this to you, Church? 365 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:22,720 Be careful tossing the word persecution around. 366 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:32,520 So many of us have no idea the cost that others have paid to 367 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:37,480 follow Jesus, and we're unwilling to even allow somebody 368 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:41,880 to make fun of us. We're too worried to share the 369 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:44,280 gospel because they might not like us anymore. 370 00:25:46,120 --> 00:25:50,040 You got to expect that there are people who aren't going who 371 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:52,640 aren't going to like you. If you decide to follow Jesus. 372 00:25:53,720 --> 00:26:01,600 You need to expect that and a lot of Christians in the West, 373 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:05,400 we need to read these verses carefully because even when we 374 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:08,200 encounter this, you know what I see in so many of us? 375 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:14,480 I see a lot of victimhood when people insult us and slander us. 376 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:19,760 See a lot of self pity. I see a lot of people getting 377 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,800 militant about their rights being taken away from them. 378 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:27,520 What I don't see a lot of is what Jesus calls us to, to 379 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:35,200 rejoice and leap for joy because we have been counted worthy of 380 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:37,400 being rejected for the sake of Jesus. 381 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:45,560 He says rejoice because great is your reward. 382 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:51,640 Well, we got to climb up into the Great Pyramid on our tourism 383 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:55,960 day before we flew out. And let me just tell you, if you 384 00:26:55,960 --> 00:27:03,760 go to Egypt, don't. It's it's the hottest, 385 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:09,360 sweatiest, most crowded little hallway thing that you climb up 386 00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:11,920 into. And then we get out and we've 387 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:15,960 crawled through this entryway and you stand up into the place 388 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:19,840 where the Pharaoh was laid to rest, and all there is is a bit 389 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:24,240 of broken stone. The guy behind me, one of the 390 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:27,640 pastors I was with, as soon as he popped his head up, he said, 391 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:38,490 this is it. I say that because there's a lot 392 00:27:38,490 --> 00:27:42,490 of things that are going to cause you suffering in life. 393 00:27:43,530 --> 00:27:45,490 There's a lot of things that are difficult. 394 00:27:45,490 --> 00:27:47,450 There's a lot of things that you'll do that are hard. 395 00:27:48,530 --> 00:27:50,290 A lot of them aren't going to be worth it in the end. 396 00:27:51,930 --> 00:27:54,250 But suffering for Jesus will never be wasted. 397 00:27:55,440 --> 00:28:01,880 Great is your reward. What risks of rejection might 398 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:06,840 God be calling you to enter into and embrace for His name? 399 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:11,240 Who is God calling you to have a conversation with where it's 400 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:17,480 risky? What stand is Jesus calling you 401 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:23,360 to take for Him that might cost you if you get the opportunity 402 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:26,640 to do it? Stand up, because great is your 403 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:32,000 reward. See, Thanksgiving invites us 404 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,560 into the space where we count our blessings. 405 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:38,400 But what if this year we didn't just count our comfortable 406 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:40,560 blessings, we counted the costly ones too. 407 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:46,280 Because the blessing that Jesus offers, the blessings that he's 408 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:48,400 talking about here, they aren't just different, they're better. 409 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:52,240 Because his blessings are the blessings. 410 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,040 These blessings that he's talking about, they're the 411 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:57,800 blessings that never end. They're the blessings that truly 412 00:28:57,800 --> 00:28:59,280 satisfy. They're the blessings that 413 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:02,920 always pay off, even when they're hard and even when 414 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:06,240 they're suffering. So, so this Thanksgiving, let's 415 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:09,920 let, let's do this. Let's move from counting our 416 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:13,520 treasures to treasuring the Kingdom. 417 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:21,400 Let's move from avoiding pain at all costs to trusting God even 418 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:25,760 in our suffering. Let's move from living for the 419 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:31,280 approval of others to finding joy and what it means to belong 420 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:35,760 to Jesus Christ. Maybe you're here today and 421 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:38,800 you're in that spot. You've been listening to this 422 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:44,000 and you're like, hey, that's I'm coming in feeling poor or 423 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:52,800 hungry, weeping with grief. Maybe today you have come here 424 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,040 because you've realized that chasing the world's definition 425 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:59,160 of blessing has left you feeling empty. 426 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:02,720 I just want to say Jesus is inviting you into something 427 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:06,200 better. The the blessing that he's 428 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:11,400 invited you to is not just comfort with no end. 429 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:18,160 It's life with no end. It's forgiveness for your sins. 430 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:24,120 It's a place in His family. It's a future where you'll never 431 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:26,040 hunger again. It's a future where you'll never 432 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:32,640 cry again, where rejection leads to eternal reward. 433 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:37,040 It's possible because Jesus became poor for you and for me. 434 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:43,120 He went to the cross, taking my sin and your sin and our shame 435 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:46,240 so that we could receive the riches that He deserves. 436 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:51,320 And if you would turn to him in faith today, if you would trust 437 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:53,840 that he is the one who would satisfy your heart and your 438 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:57,720 soul, if you would say Jesus, you're my treasure, you're my 439 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:02,320 Lord, you're my savior, then today all of the riches and 440 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:06,000 blessings belong to you in heaven through Christ Jesus. 441 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:13,080 When we're poor, when we're hungry, when we're weeping, 442 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,520 we're rejected. Let's rejoice and leap for joy. 443 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:20,880 I want to finish with two more stories, two stories of how I 444 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:22,600 saw this work out in people's lives. 445 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:24,800 The 1st is this. We sat down with a bunch of 446 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:31,160 chaplains and in Egypt, if you're in jail and you're 447 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:34,440 wearing red, it means that you have been sentenced to death. 448 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:39,440 One of the chaplains talked about working with a woman who 449 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:46,400 was dressed in a red dress, sharing the truth that although 450 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:49,240 she was headed towards death, life was available to her 451 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:52,360 through Jesus. And ultimately having her come 452 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:55,240 to a point where she placed her faith in Christ. 453 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:00,800 And over the couple years that she stayed in prison, God began 454 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:02,640 to transform her in radical ways. 455 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:04,600 She became a blessing to the entire prison. 456 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:12,920 And on the day when she was being led to her execution, she 457 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:17,240 looked at those who are weeping and she said don't cry for me, 458 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:23,240 don't cry for me because Jesus died for me. 459 00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:24,600 Where I'm going, I'm going to live. 460 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:30,240 When I was in Lebanon, I got to stand up and deliver a message 461 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:32,960 to a group of prisoners, ex prisoners and their family 462 00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:35,680 members. And one of the men there was a 463 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:40,120 man who had been falsely imprisoned for 25 years, 25 464 00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:43,640 years he'd spent in prison for a crime that he didn't commit. 465 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:50,600 You'd think that a man would be bitter, but he had the biggest 466 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:54,520 smile on his face. And he had the biggest smile on 467 00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:58,520 his face because he said if God had not brought me to a place 468 00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:00,760 where he had stripped me from everything and brought me to 469 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:04,760 this prison, I would have never heard the gospel. 470 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:09,360 He took me to prison so he could set me free. 471 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:17,120 That's what it looks like to understand the true blessings 472 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:21,680 that Jesus is talking about. To take our eyes off of the 473 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:25,520 comforts of this world and put it on to the blessings that God 474 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:27,080 offers to any who would follow him. 475 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:41,800 Let me pray for us, Father, I'm I am so thankful that you became 476 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:48,720 poor so that we could become rich through Jesus Christ Jesus. 477 00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:54,960 So easy for us in a place of abundance and prosperity to lose 478 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:57,320 track of what true blessing looks like. 479 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:00,800 Even as your followers, even as those who should know better. 480 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:06,960 It's so easy for us to come to a Thanksgiving like this and be 481 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:14,600 pitying ourselves, be angry with you because the things of this 482 00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:17,040 world that we long for, we haven't necessarily been given, 483 00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:21,280 got to help us to have a clearer vision of what it truly means to 484 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:27,440 be blessed in Christ Jesus. Help us to understand how truly 485 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:31,280 blessed we are. And I pray for anyone who's here 486 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:34,960 today who has a hunger and a thirst, who feels a deep need 487 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:40,280 and feels their poverty, that they would come to place their 488 00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:44,560 faith in the one who truly satisfies God. 489 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:50,239 Give us boldness, give us the strength, be willing to reject 490 00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:53,000 the approval of this world so that we could live for your 491 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:55,880 praise alone. And pray this in Jesus name, 492 00:34:56,840 --> 00:34:57,160 Amen.