1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:05,920 To Luke chapter 8 verse 19. So we're Family Day weekend. 2 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:11,480 Does anybody know how many official Family Day weekends we 3 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:14,800 have had here in the province of Ontario where Family Day has 4 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:19,200 been a statutory holiday? Any guesses? 5 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,400 It is a statutory holiday and I know if you're a federal worker 6 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:29,160 it's not. I get that it is 18. 7 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,360 This is the 18th official Family Day. 8 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:39,360 The first Family Day was February 18th of 2008. 9 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:43,840 So this will mark 18 years. Which is for those of you who 10 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:48,000 are keeping track, approximately the same amount of time that we 11 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,360 have taken to get through the 1st 8 chapters of Luke or so. 12 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:58,880 Because God is way better at scheduling than I am, we 13 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,440 actually find ourselves in a text this morning that deals 14 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:03,880 with family. I'm telling you, I could have 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:10,360 never scheduled this today. And and we're going to find 16 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:16,200 Jesus talking about this topic of family in the way that really 17 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:19,000 only Jesus can. Like one of the things that I 18 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:23,280 love so much about Jesus teaching, actually just about 19 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:29,520 the word of God in general, is that it has this dual capability 20 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:35,080 of both deeply encouraging us and, and, and strengthening our 21 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:39,760 hearts and at the same time really challenging us and 22 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,320 pushing in on some spots in our hearts. 23 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:51,680 We live in this polarized world where it's always black or 24 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,560 white. It's one thing or another. 25 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:59,520 And, and I love the fact that Jesus in in the very nature of 26 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:03,160 who he is. He doesn't allow us to live in 27 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:07,880 in polarizations. He forces us to live in 28 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:10,000 tensions. We like polarization because 29 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:16,480 polarization is comfortable. We don't like tension, but Jesus 30 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:21,080 is constantly pushing us into things, into places that don't 31 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:23,760 fit neatly in anybody else's boxes. 32 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:29,040 And so as we unpack Jesus's teaching today in in this area 33 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:35,240 of family, I am betting there will be moments where you just 34 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:37,640 feel like yelling out Amen at some of that. 35 00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:41,600 That's OK, by the way. I know that it's a Baptist 36 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,040 Church, But, and if you didn't know it's a Baptist Church, we 37 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:45,760 are, we are baptistic in our beliefs. 38 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:47,040 That's OK. But you can be a little 39 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:50,600 Pentecostal here too. So if you feel like shouting an 40 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,040 Amen, go nuts. But there's also going to be a 41 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:56,880 whole bunch of times and maybe you want to keep this a little 42 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,720 bit more quiet where you're like, she says, I don't think 43 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,560 you got this one right, right. Because this is what happens. 44 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,320 We, we, we're confronted by Jesus. 45 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:10,680 And, and here's the thing though, if Jesus is Lord, that 46 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,120 means that we surrender everything over to him like 47 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:16,840 we've been saying about that. So we don't just go with him on 48 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:19,920 the areas where we we agree with what he's saying or we want to 49 00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:23,320 believe what he's saying. We go along with him in the 50 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:29,040 areas where, oh, that's hard, that's difficult, that's 51 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:33,320 uncomfortable. And Jesus is going to say some 52 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:35,840 things in the area of family that I guarantee you aren't, 53 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:39,320 because it was really uncomfortable in the society 54 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:42,280 that he lived in to say some of the things that he was saying. 55 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:48,400 In a culture that was built on bloodlines and ancestry and 56 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:53,920 honor, and in in a world that often times idolizes the nuclear 57 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:57,320 family. He's going to say some things 58 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,560 that are just as challenging to us. 59 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:04,240 Because ultimately the teaching that Jesus is going to give us 60 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:06,600 today about family isn't just about family. 61 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:13,680 It is at its core about this truth that for a Christian, 62 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,560 loyalty to God Trump's all other loyalties. 63 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:25,080 For a Christian loyalty to God Trump's all other loyalties. 64 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,080 That's what's at the heart of Jesus teaching today. 65 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:34,440 It's a teaching that to say that you are a Christian is to say 66 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:39,840 that you identify with Christ before anyone or anything else, 67 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:49,120 that your allegiance to Jesus supersedes every other 68 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:55,120 allegiance to every other group or or individual or thing, even 69 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,840 those people that you call your family. 70 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:01,840 And so let's read these verses together. 71 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:08,720 Luke chapter 8, verses 19 to 21. Then his. 72 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:11,840 That's Jesus. Then his mother and brothers 73 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:15,320 came to him, but they couldn't meet with him because of the 74 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:18,800 crowd. And he was told your mother and 75 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,320 your brothers are standing outside wanting to see you. 76 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:26,520 But he replied to them. My mother and my brothers are 77 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:30,400 those who hear and do the word of God. 78 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:37,400 Now here's a here's a little truth for us that all of us 79 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:43,560 should understand as we open up an unpacked Scripture that if 80 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:48,440 you are going to learn to apply God's word in the here and now, 81 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:52,920 the first thing that you have to do is understand what it meant 82 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:59,200 in the there and then because God's Word then is what 83 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,120 determines what God's Word now means. 84 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:06,840 So we got to dive in and we got to see what is happening here in 85 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:10,200 this text. So let me just take us back. 86 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:14,800 If you go back to verse 4 in chapter 8, we know that Jesus is 87 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:19,360 teaching, right? He's got a large crowd that is 88 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:22,600 gathered around to hear his teaching. 89 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:31,120 And within this reality, his family shows up, His mom, Mary. 90 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,320 And you may or may not know this, but Jesus had half 91 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,840 brothers and sisters. After the birth of Jesus, Mary 92 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:43,320 and Joseph had children. We they had at least six 93 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:47,360 children that we know of. We've got four brothers who are 94 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:53,400 named in the Scriptures, so James, Joseph, Simon and Jude. 95 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:57,040 And then we're told that he had at least two sisters who are 96 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:01,720 unnamed in the Scriptures. In fact, two of those brothers, 97 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:07,000 James and Jude, they become very significant leaders in the early 98 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,920 church. They're the ones who wrote the 99 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:12,280 Epistle of Jude and the Epistle of James. 100 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:15,800 Now I always like to take a moment. 101 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,600 We talk about Jesus having half brothers and especially half 102 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:23,600 brothers who are significant leaders in the church. 103 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:27,440 And I always like to ask this question, what would it take for 104 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,960 you to believe that your sibling was the son of Son of God? 105 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:39,280 And I always say at the bare minimum, it's dying and arising 106 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:41,720 again, right? And that's the bare minimum for 107 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:46,160 any sibling to believe that their sibling is actually the 108 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:50,200 the the son of God and God become flesh who bore the sins 109 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:52,120 of the world upon them. Just think about that. 110 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:58,920 James and Jude had something happened that was so significant 111 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:02,800 that caused them to believe that Jesus really was who he claimed 112 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,760 to be. Just just just think about that. 113 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,200 If you're skeptical about who Jesus is, you're probably not 114 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:11,160 more skeptical than his siblings ever were. 115 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:16,400 But the resurrection is the turning point for them coming to 116 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:20,240 believe in Jesus. So, so here are his, his mother, 117 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:22,760 his siblings, his brothers for sure. 118 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,200 And they say, hey, hey, hey, we got to get through. 119 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:29,080 We got to speak to Jesus. Now in Mark chapter 320 and 21, 120 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:30,960 we're going to put it up on the screen because Mark gives a 121 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,760 little bit more detail about this situation. 122 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:39,960 And Mark says Jesus entered a house and the crowd gathered 123 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:42,600 again so that they were not even able to eat. 124 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:47,480 And when his family heard this, they set out to restrain him 125 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:50,080 because they said he's out of his mind. 126 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:55,960 Now there's debate about what exactly it means that his 127 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:59,240 brothers and, and certainly for Mary, what did, what did they 128 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:01,640 mean by thinking that he was out of his mind? 129 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:04,800 Was it just like they were really concerned for his 130 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:08,080 physical well-being? Because we see here in in that 131 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:12,200 text and Mark that he's so busy with ministry. 132 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:16,040 He's so wrapped up in in in doing the will of the Father 133 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:17,440 that he doesn't even have time to eat. 134 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:23,040 Could be that there was concern that the things that he was 135 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:28,120 teaching, we're making some powerful people really angry. 136 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:30,720 We've already started to see this, right? 137 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:36,000 Like there there's religious leaders who are really starting 138 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:40,520 to get angry at Jesus. And we know this is ultimately 139 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:42,080 going to lead to his death on the cross. 140 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:45,320 And it could have been that they had just deep concern for the 141 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:48,400 reality that he was ticking off the wrong people. 142 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:54,120 And it may have meant that they thought that some of the things 143 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:58,680 that he was teaching were just bonkers, just crazy. 144 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:06,240 In fact, to go back John 75, the apostle John tells us in his 145 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:10,240 gospel that not even his brothers believed in him. 146 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:14,240 Again, before the resurrection, Jesus brothers are really 147 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:17,200 skeptical about Jesus and his claims. 148 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:24,960 But someone we know comes and tells Jesus your mother and your 149 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:28,800 brothers are standing outside and they're wanting to see you. 150 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:36,000 And in this culture, there is an expected response that may be 151 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,360 different from what you would expect depending on the culture 152 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:42,000 that you've grown up in or the family of origin that you grew 153 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:47,160 up in. But if someone comes to Jesus in 154 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:49,960 this culture in this time and says, hey, your mother and your 155 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:53,560 brothers are standing outside wanting to see you, the expected 156 00:10:53,560 --> 00:10:57,280 cultural response is, hey, everybody, it's just going to 157 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:01,040 take a pause here. I need to go out and see my mom 158 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:03,160 and my brothers. My family's here. 159 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:09,960 What he says is incredibly countercultural. 160 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:13,040 And again, This is why I want to impact this because for some of 161 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:17,680 us in a Western Canadian context is like, yeah, tell them I'll 162 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:20,080 get to them when I'm done in my meeting. 163 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:22,920 Tell them I'll get to them when work is over. 164 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:24,880 But that's not what would happen here. 165 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:28,720 So this is an incredibly countercultural thing to say. 166 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:34,560 My mother and my brothers are those who hear and do the word 167 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:40,960 of God in. In Jewish culture, family was of 168 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:47,520 utmost importance. Family is the place where your 169 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,920 economic security was tied up in, right. 170 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:55,720 There was no, there was no social systems and social safety 171 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,440 net. Your family is your social 172 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:02,560 safety net. It's your social standing. 173 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:09,080 Your standing in the community is directly related to the honor 174 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:12,080 or dishonor that your family is held in. 175 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,320 It was the source of your religious identity. 176 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:22,000 I'm Jewish because I was born into a Jewish family. 177 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:27,040 It's, it's all your whole identity is rooted and wrapped 178 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:33,800 up in, in this familial tribal reality and still really true 179 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:36,840 in, in so many cultures. Some of you know this, you're, 180 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,520 you've come out of cultures where family is incredibly 181 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:43,760 important, not just like immediate nuclear family, but 182 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:47,920 your, your extended family, your cultural tribal background and, 183 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:53,800 and history in, in Lebanon. When I visit Lebanon, you are 184 00:12:54,080 --> 00:13:01,520 Shia or Sunni or Christian because you are born Shia or 185 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:09,040 Sunni or Christian and your your standing in society is so 186 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:12,320 wrapped up in the standing of your parents and their 187 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,920 grandparents. Talk to many people. 188 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:18,920 We have, we have a number of people, number of you here today 189 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:20,600 who come from a Portuguese background. 190 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:25,600 Talk to a lot of Portuguese people here in Cambridge who 191 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:29,560 will tell me they're Catholic and I'll say, OK, why are you 192 00:13:29,560 --> 00:13:32,880 Catholic? Because I'm Portuguese, right? 193 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,240 You can not be both of those those things. 194 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:46,320 They just, they are together. Listen, this is a family above 195 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:52,640 all things culture, and to prioritize anything above family 196 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:56,800 was unthinkable. But that's exactly what Jesus is 197 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:00,840 doing here. Many of you will have heard the 198 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:04,680 saying blood is thicker than water. 199 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:12,440 That means that the ties that you are born into are deeper and 200 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:16,160 more binding and more important than any of the other 201 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:19,040 relationships or friendships you choose. 202 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:24,560 Jesus is saying there is a belonging that is deeper than 203 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:29,000 blood. They come and they say your 204 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:33,280 family's here to see you. And Jesus says, let me tell you 205 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:37,560 who my family is. My family are those who hear and 206 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:41,320 do the word of God. Now I'll pause here because 207 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:47,280 there's a danger that if we take just what Jesus says here out of 208 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:51,520 the context of all other Scripture, we're going to end up 209 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:54,280 in a spot that sounds a lot like this. 210 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:56,560 Belonging comes through obedience. 211 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:02,720 The teaching of Scripture is not that belonging comes through 212 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:08,000 obedience, but that belonging comes through the blood of 213 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:13,480 Jesus. It's the blood of Jesus that is 214 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:15,400 thicker than the blood of family. 215 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:19,840 John 112 to 13. And put that up on the screen 216 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:23,560 for you. John is setting the stage. 217 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:26,640 This is the very beginning as he's unpacking Jesus's coming in 218 00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:30,920 the incarnation. And he says this about those who 219 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:34,000 receive Jesus. He says to all those who did 220 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:39,280 receive him, he gave them the right to be the children of God 221 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:43,160 to those who believe in His name, who were born not of 222 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:47,840 natural descent, right, not a biological family or the will of 223 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:50,720 the flesh or the will of man, but of God. 224 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:57,960 That there is a familial reality that happens through the person 225 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:02,360 of Jesus Christ that is deeper than even the biological 226 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:07,000 realities of family. And it comes about because the 227 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:13,000 2nd Corinthians 521 says God made him who did not know sin to 228 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:16,480 be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. 229 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:23,240 It is the blood of Jesus that drives us into a belonging that 230 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:25,240 is deeper than the blood of family. 231 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:29,520 I want to say this, you need to understand this. 232 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:35,160 There is only one answer at the end of the day to why should God 233 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:40,520 allow you into heaven. The answer has nothing to do 234 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:46,160 with who your parents were or your grandparents were and it 235 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:50,120 has nothing to do with the things that you do to build your 236 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,200 own identity and accomplishments. 237 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:59,440 The only correct answer to to the question that God, one day 238 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:02,040 we will all have to stand before God and give an answer to why 239 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:07,359 should I let you into heaven is because of Jesus, because Jesus 240 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:10,200 Christ lived for me and died for me. 241 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,440 That's it. It's the only correct answer. 242 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:16,079 It's the only answer that qualifies or counts for 243 00:17:16,079 --> 00:17:19,760 anything. And if you have not come to the 244 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:24,440 point where you would say I am assured of my salvation, I'm 245 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:29,000 assured of the fact that I will spend eternity with God forever 246 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:33,720 in the new heavens and new earth because and only because Jesus 247 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,440 has died on the cross for me. The invitation is there for you 248 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:39,800 today to receive Jesus as Savior. 249 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:42,080 And that's what it means is to accept that and to say it's not 250 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,160 about what I do. I don't save myself. 251 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:50,880 My good works don't save me. Jesus work on the cross saves 252 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:58,120 me. But Scripture says again and 253 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:05,440 again, the evidence that you have truly believed that Jesus 254 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:09,520 did the saving work for you on the cross, the evidence that you 255 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:14,440 truly have been brought into the family and belong through the 256 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:20,880 blood of Jesus, that you believe that Christ lived for you and 257 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:26,000 has died for you, is that you begin living for Christ and 258 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:32,840 dying to yourself. So obedience to God is the 259 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:39,400 evidence that you belong to Jesus family, that you have been 260 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:43,800 purchased by Jesus. Listen again to the words Jesus 261 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,120 says. My mother and my brothers are 262 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:55,640 those who hear and do the word of God, who hear and do the word 263 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:57,480 of God. This goes back to the teaching 264 00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:00,680 that Jesus gave last week. Remember, this is all Jesus is 265 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:02,680 doing, all of this. We're breaking it up. 266 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:06,880 This teaching is all happening kind of in together at the same 267 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:11,200 time. And Jesus has says the good 268 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:15,720 soil, the soil that truly has received the word of God, and 269 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:20,440 where that word has taken root is one that endures and bears 270 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:24,720 fruit. If there is no fruit of 271 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:30,400 obedience, there is no certainty that you have understood the 272 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:36,160 gospel in your life. James one again, James the 273 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:39,600 brother of Jesus who's well acquainted, He's the guy who's 274 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:41,560 trying to get in and see Jesus right now. 275 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:48,680 James 122. James says be doers of the word 276 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:53,520 and not hearers only. We had a friend who came over 277 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:57,240 for supper this week, hadn't seen for for quite a while. 278 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:01,600 And so, you know, if you've got kids at home, when somebody 279 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:04,600 comes over and they haven't been around for a while, they're 280 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,400 always stunned, right? I mean, we, if you're, you're 281 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,440 living life and your kids just kind of grow up day by day, you 282 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:13,640 don't see it as much. But when somebody hasn't seen 283 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,800 your kids for a number of years, they're like, I can't believe 284 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:20,440 how big they've gotten. And the first thing that she 285 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:27,680 said when she saw my boys is, wow, you look just like your 286 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:37,560 dad, but with way more hair. She she would have known that 287 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:41,240 those were my kids. Even if she bumped out in into 288 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:43,080 them on the street when I wasn't around. 289 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:47,840 How would she have known? Because they bear resemblance to 290 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:52,560 their father. I've met people through the 291 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:58,680 years who would say they were Christians because, well, they 292 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:03,520 went to church a lot, They've done a lot of Bible studies. 293 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:10,400 They knew they heard a lot of things about God. 294 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:16,280 But what this tells us is that information without 295 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:19,920 transformation does not equal family resemblance. 296 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:24,080 Information without transformation does not equal 297 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:26,560 family resemblance. You have to be not just a 298 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:32,160 hearer, but a doer of the word. If you've truly been saved, if 299 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:35,400 you truly belong to Jesus, if you've truly understood what 300 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:40,560 Jesus has done for you, it will reflect in the way that you live 301 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:42,520 your life. Not because you have to try 302 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:45,640 hard, because the Holy Spirit comes in and takes up residence 303 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:49,360 in you and begins doing the work of making you look more like 304 00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:55,600 your Father. You know, to become a citizen of 305 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:59,280 Canada, you have to take a citizen test, right? 306 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:02,600 Some of you have taken the citizenship test. 307 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,960 You probably could answer a lot more questions about Canada than 308 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:09,920 most of us who have lived here. I can tell you that. 309 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:14,200 But you have to learn a lot about Canada to be able to pass 310 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:18,640 your citizenship test in the Kingdom. 311 00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:24,000 The citizenship test is not a Bible knowledge test. 312 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:30,640 It is a hearing and doing test. It is a transformation test. 313 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,880 It is Are you reflecting the Father in your life? 314 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:37,120 Are you doing what you've heard? Now? 315 00:22:37,120 --> 00:22:39,560 You can't grow if you don't know. 316 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:42,880 That's why it's important to be in the Word of God. 317 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,960 But if you aren't growing, then it's only knowing. 318 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:55,400 It is not evidence that you are part of the family of God. 319 00:22:56,760 --> 00:23:00,760 The first step, by the way, of obedience is what we're going to 320 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:04,920 be doing next week here in the service, baptism. 321 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:12,640 Baptism is a step of obedience. It's a step of saying yes to 322 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:15,960 jumping into the waters and publicly declaring before 323 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:20,600 everybody that you believe that Jesus has paid the penalty for 324 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:25,160 your sins and you've chosen to follow him, that you're a part, 325 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:29,480 therefore, of his family. In some ways, I guess this is 326 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:32,960 true then that baptism is actually a declaration that 327 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:36,040 water is thicker than blood, right? 328 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:41,520 We step into the water and we claim that Jesus blood matters 329 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:45,840 more than anything else. And the by his blood I become 330 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:49,520 part of this thing called the church, part of this family of 331 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:51,400 God. And like I said, we've got a 332 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:55,960 baptism service next Saturday. If you have not been baptized as 333 00:23:55,960 --> 00:24:01,280 a believer, because baptism is for believers, you can't declare 334 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:04,000 something to be true about you. That hasn't happened yet. 335 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:07,720 It is a declaration that you have now made a decision to 336 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:10,240 follow Jesus. And so if you've made a decision 337 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:13,440 to follow Jesus and haven't been baptized by immersion, we would 338 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:14,840 love to have you be a part of that. 339 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:17,800 If you want to learn more, you can sign up. 340 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,720 We've got a video that Pastor Kirk has done that explains 341 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:22,720 baptism. And if you got questions out of 342 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:24,240 that, we would love to talk to you. 343 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:29,480 But that's the first step in a whole lifetime journey of 344 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:33,880 growing to be more like our Father, of reflecting the Father 345 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,800 through obedience. So there's a belonging that's 346 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:40,520 deeper than blood. And the evidence of that 347 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:45,480 belonging is in our obedience. The last thing we can take from 348 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,720 this is this. If you belong to Jesus's family, 349 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:50,880 your loyalty to him has to come first. 350 00:24:53,720 --> 00:25:01,480 Again, in Jesus time, family loyalty was expected to be your 351 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:07,520 first loyalty. When Jesus says what he says, 352 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:13,200 he's saying actually obedience to God outranks blood. 353 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:19,360 When he says that, he's not just reordering family, he's 354 00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:22,120 reordering all of our allegiances. 355 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:30,400 I know in in in this culture, family is still a primary 356 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:34,280 identity and a place of belonging for so many people. 357 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:38,120 We do have an idolization of the nuclear family. 358 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:42,400 We can easily fall into that. This weekend can be a really 359 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:47,080 hard weekend for people who don't have that experience of 360 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:51,680 family because we got Valentine's Day and Family Day 361 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:53,960 and you just feel like you're on the outsides. 362 00:25:56,600 --> 00:26:02,000 And I want, I want to say this, belonging to Christ does mean 363 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,120 honoring our family. I don't want you to hear that 364 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:08,040 like you just need to discard your family and be done with it. 365 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:11,520 In fact, quite the opposite. God created the family was his 366 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:14,160 idea. He put Adam and Eve together in 367 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:16,200 a garden naked. That's what happens. 368 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:23,680 He is the one who calls us in the 10 commandments to honor and 369 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:30,760 respect our parents. In First Timothy, 58 Timothy, 370 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:33,720 Paul says to Timothy, if anyone does not provide for his own 371 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:38,760 family, especially for his own household, he's denied the faith 372 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:42,520 and is worse than an unbeliever. It seems pretty clear to me that 373 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:46,040 the Bible holds family is an important value and that we 374 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:49,560 should honor, respect, and care for our family as far as we are 375 00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:54,560 able to. But if it comes down to being 376 00:26:54,840 --> 00:27:00,520 faithful to God or faithful to your family, God wins. 377 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:08,840 If your family is in a spot where they, because they see you 378 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:16,440 get hurt or wounded by somebody, are pushing on you to retaliate 379 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:19,760 and get revenge against the person who has wounded you. 380 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:26,200 Meanwhile Jesus says, hey, I want you to forgive and if 381 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:28,040 possible, I want you to reconcile. 382 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:30,600 You choose Jesus, not your family. 383 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:40,120 If your family wants you to prioritize young people, a job 384 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:45,560 where you earn a lot of money and gain a lot of status, but 385 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:50,400 Jesus is calling you to sacrifice and simplicity, you 386 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:56,600 choose Jesus. If you're a team, maybe you're 387 00:27:56,600 --> 00:28:05,880 the only follower of Jesus in your household and you know that 388 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:10,040 Jesus is calling you to sexual purity and your family makes fun 389 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:16,920 of you. Stick with Jesus Allegiance to 390 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:19,440 Jesus Trump's allegiance to family. 391 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:22,920 Allegiance to Jesus Trump's allegiance to the family. 392 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:26,320 We choose, right? That's what a lot of people 393 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:28,720 today we call our friends. Some people will say, this is 394 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:34,040 the family I choose. When your friends are pressuring 395 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:37,400 you to participate in things that run counter to the way of 396 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:42,320 Jesus, you choose Jesus. Allegiance, allegiance to Jesus. 397 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:49,320 Trump's the tribalism that so divides cultures. 398 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,480 It it Trump's our ethnic backgrounds. 399 00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:57,240 It Trump's our cultural backgrounds, it Trump's racial 400 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:02,960 realities, it Trump's our no pun intended tribal politics. 401 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:06,480 See, I said trump there. Just want to put that together 402 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:11,160 for you. In 46 years on earth, I have 403 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:17,560 never, ever, ever ever ever seen a political party that was 404 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:19,640 primarily shaped by Kingdom values. 405 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:26,560 None. 0. If your politics are more shaped 406 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:32,120 by your algorithm then they are shaped by the Sermon on the 407 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:39,560 Mount, you've got a problem. If you love people more deeply 408 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:43,840 because they agree with your politics rather than because you 409 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:47,080 share the same Savior, you've got a problem. 410 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:54,360 Now remember what I said about the words of Jesus. 411 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:58,040 They challenge and they encourage. 412 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:00,680 There's amens and there's oh no's. 413 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:03,360 I want to, I want to drive this home. 414 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:05,120 OK. There's a couple questions I 415 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:07,880 think that we need to reflect on that I think are going to be 416 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:12,360 simultaneously challenging but also also hopefully encouraging 417 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:14,960 as we wrestle with them. As we close. 418 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:18,600 The first question that comes out of this passage that I think 419 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:21,600 we need to wrestle with this. Who or what is your deepest 420 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:28,760 loyalty to? Is your primary allegiance to 421 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:38,000 Jesus above all things, even when it costs other things? 422 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:45,120 Even when it creates distance in certain relationships? 423 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:48,160 Is your relationship with Jesus more important? 424 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:58,160 Is your obedience to His Word shaping your choices, your 425 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:06,160 speech, your relationships? Be honest. 426 00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:10,600 Is that really what is most shaping you in your life? 427 00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:14,960 Is a loyalty to Jesus Christ above all things. 428 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:24,400 When Scripture conflicts with your preferences, your plans, 429 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:31,600 your wishes, your desires, what wins? 430 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:35,840 The words of Jesus are the wants of your heart. 431 00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:43,040 When the approval of anyone else comes at the expense of obeying 432 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:51,000 God, who wins that battle? You'd rather please your spouse, 433 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:56,200 make your kids happy, make your parents happy, make your 434 00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:00,600 siblings happy? Or is making Jesus happy of 435 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:06,440 utmost importance? Some loyalty to Christ reshapes 436 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:10,200 everything and it's not a one and done deal. 437 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:15,440 It is a constant learning and relearning of these things. 438 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:21,960 Obedience to Christ is not at the end of the day just a 439 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:24,880 checklist of rules that you go down. 440 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:31,800 It is the posture of a heart that says, Jesus, I am fully 441 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:36,040 submitted and surrendered to you in every area, in all things. 442 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:40,320 When I call you Lord, you rule and reign in everything, not in 443 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:43,200 most things, not in some things, but in everything. 444 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:52,280 If you call yourself a follower of Jesus, let your life look 445 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:58,440 like you're following Jesus. That's what family resemblance 446 00:32:58,440 --> 00:32:59,560 means. That's what it looks like. 447 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:06,080 The second is this, does your life reflect that you belong to 448 00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:12,160 a spiritual family? See if if belonging to Jesus 449 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:16,920 makes us a family, we need to act like it. 450 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:25,920 We should be the type of family that other families wish they 451 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:29,800 were. As a church, we should be the 452 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,200 type of family that sometimes our families that we come 453 00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:34,120 through biologically struggle to be. 454 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:38,440 So let me just let me just paint a picture of what type of family 455 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:41,280 that would be. Is a family that that loves 456 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:44,600 across generations and life stages. 457 00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:53,560 I yes, we need ministries to speak to different family stages 458 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:58,600 and, and, and, and stages of life, but we need individuals 459 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:03,080 who will work hard to step outside of those silos. 460 00:34:04,360 --> 00:34:09,719 Seniors, we got young adults and young families who need you to, 461 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:14,239 to mentor them. I just know that there's a lot 462 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:17,719 of individuals who are dying for somebody who would just just 463 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:20,440 regularly pray for them and be a sounding board for them who've 464 00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:25,600 seen more life than them. We need to be a church that 465 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:27,600 cares for one another when we're struggling. 466 00:34:30,239 --> 00:34:31,840 Sometimes that means you're going to have to be honest that 467 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:33,199 you're struggling because we're not going to know. 468 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:38,080 We don't read minds. If you don't share that you're 469 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:40,280 struggling with somebody, how can anybody care for you? 470 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:45,800 It's it's one of the most frustrating things at times is 471 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:48,840 to hear that somebody is angry because they were struggling, 472 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:50,639 but they never told anybody they were struggling. 473 00:34:50,639 --> 00:34:55,159 So how would anybody ever know to help you at the same time? 474 00:34:55,679 --> 00:34:59,240 Do you come into church in the morning on a Sunday morning and 475 00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:03,000 just think, well, I'm here for me, Lord, what do you have for 476 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:05,080 me today? Instead of saying, Lord, how 477 00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:07,840 would you use me in the life of somebody else today? 478 00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:12,320 How could I speak a word of encouragement or blessing or 479 00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:15,040 welcome or invitation to somebody today? 480 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:21,520 It's a family that sacrifices for one another and absorbs 481 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:28,680 inconveniences and offenses. Solomon said that it is a glory 482 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:34,040 to overlook an offense. We could use a lot more glory in 483 00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:38,240 our culture. We're just willing, OK, yeah. 484 00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:40,200 Some listen. Family means we're going to do 485 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:43,640 things that annoy one another. Sometimes this is be honest, 486 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:45,800 we're going to rub against each other. 487 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:49,720 And so sometimes if if you're able to just be able to overlook 488 00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:51,680 the offense, that's great, but you actually have to be able to 489 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:54,800 overlook it. Overlook it doesn't mean it 490 00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:56,760 really bothered me. So I went and told somebody else 491 00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:00,120 instead of them. That's called gossip. 492 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:03,800 Jesus has a lot to say and the Bible has a lot to say about 493 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:05,680 that. It all ends up like this. 494 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:09,280 Don't do it. If you've got a problem that you 495 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:12,640 can't overlook, then you go talk to the person that you have a 496 00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:17,440 problem with and have the bravery to have difficult 497 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:22,760 conversations and then allow not bitterness to come up, but 498 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:25,720 reconciliation to take place through forgiveness. 499 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:31,280 Because it's a family that forgives quickly and forgives 500 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:33,040 much. That's what the family of God 501 00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:36,280 looks like. It's a family that stays 502 00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:38,760 connected even when it's inconvenient. 503 00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:43,400 It's the family where everyone has value and everyone has a 504 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:46,920 role to play because everybody matters. 505 00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:52,920 Some of us come from families that, to put it mildly, have not 506 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:59,400 been ideal. Listen, we won't get it perfect. 507 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:03,320 No. No family gets it perfect, 508 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:10,160 biological or spiritual. This should be a place where 509 00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:15,440 nobody ever feels like they've been abandoned, forgotten about 510 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:21,520 alone. If Ford is truly a family, then 511 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:25,600 we don't treat each other like customers and consumers. 512 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:32,840 We treat each other like kin. We don't just show up on Sunday 513 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:37,680 mornings, but we'll make the effort to show up in one 514 00:37:37,680 --> 00:37:42,640 another's lives. We won't just attend programs, 515 00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:48,880 but we'll attend to the needs and hearts and struggles of the 516 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:50,400 people who are part of this family. 517 00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:53,400 And it's a big church, so you're going to have to make the 518 00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:57,560 decision to get involved in smaller ways because it's not 519 00:37:57,560 --> 00:37:59,920 going to just going to happen. If you show up here on Sunday, 520 00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:03,600 you're not going to have all of what you need. 521 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:07,080 This is like a family reunion, right? 522 00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:10,040 We're all here. And you know, we need some 523 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:12,280 smaller places to be able to, to fit in. 524 00:38:12,280 --> 00:38:14,600 And so I want to encourage you if you're not serving anywhere 525 00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:17,640 to find a place to use your gifts to build up the family and 526 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:20,520 the body of Christ. If you're not in a group, to to 527 00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:24,840 plug into a group and be in to connect with people who can help 528 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:27,560 encourage you and challenge you on your journey. 529 00:38:31,120 --> 00:38:37,000 If Jesus makes us a family, then if you belong to Jesus, you've 530 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:40,160 always got a place to belong to, no matter what happens out in 531 00:38:40,160 --> 00:38:42,360 the rest of the world. That's why this is a good news 532 00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:45,640 on on Family Day weekend. Even a Family Day weekend 533 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:47,280 doesn't feel very good news to you. 534 00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:55,240 There's a place for you here. There's a place for you to be a 535 00:38:55,240 --> 00:38:58,480 part of a family that isn't formed by DNA and birth, but by 536 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:03,640 surrender, family shaped by obedience, a family shaped by 537 00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:08,440 grace, and a family that spans the whole earth. 538 00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:12,680 It is an amazing, amazing reality that I know some of you 539 00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:15,440 in this room have had the privilege of and I've had the 540 00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:20,760 privilege of experiencing so many times to walk into spaces 541 00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:25,200 and places on the other side of the globe that are so many ways 542 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:29,560 so different from everything that is regular in my everyday 543 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:31,160 life. And yet immediately have the 544 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:34,760 sense that I'm at home because I'm with God's people. 545 00:39:35,880 --> 00:39:38,760 Even we don't speak the same language, we don't eat the same 546 00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:41,120 foods, we don't sing the same songs. 547 00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:45,320 And yet there's just a sense of, wow, I'm with brothers and 548 00:39:45,320 --> 00:39:47,400 sisters. How cool is that? 549 00:39:49,240 --> 00:39:51,560 See, the question at the end of the day isn't who are your 550 00:39:51,560 --> 00:39:54,720 relatives? The question is who is your Lord 551 00:39:56,400 --> 00:40:01,880 and if Jesus is your Lord, then hear and do the word of God and 552 00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:05,840 know that you are his family. Want to end this morning by 553 00:40:06,600 --> 00:40:11,120 taking communion together? We take communion. 554 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:14,120 We're declaring some things. If you don't have one of these 555 00:40:14,120 --> 00:40:16,960 cups, we've got some people. I just some of our hospitality 556 00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:19,640 team just invite you to come forward to the front so you can 557 00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:22,360 see the hands that go up if you don't have a cup. 558 00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:25,560 Just put your hands up and our our team will make their way 559 00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:27,320 back and they'll hand some out to you. 560 00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:31,200 If you're a follower of Jesus, you're part of the family of 561 00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:32,760 God. You've accepted Jesus Christ as 562 00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:34,360 your savior. Then I want you to join in with 563 00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:37,400 this because this is something we do together. 564 00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:41,680 We declare some things together. We declare, first of all, we 565 00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:46,040 declare that we belong to Jesus and take the the bread and the 566 00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:49,160 cup. We declare that Jesus has 567 00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:53,160 redeemed us. That word redeemed means that he 568 00:40:53,160 --> 00:40:58,320 has bought us. He has purchased us by his 569 00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:03,920 blood. He brings us into communion with 570 00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:11,240 the Godhead, with the Trinity. We belong to Jesus. 571 00:41:11,240 --> 00:41:15,400 The second thing is that we belong together. 572 00:41:17,400 --> 00:41:21,800 This, this is something that is meant to be done in community 573 00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:24,240 with one another. It is not just a me and Jesus 574 00:41:24,240 --> 00:41:27,200 thing. When we take communion, there's 575 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:32,680 a truth of that in there, but it is a reminder that we gather 576 00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:39,520 together to say it's not just me and Jesus, it's all of us in 577 00:41:39,520 --> 00:41:43,760 Jesus. We're not isolated individuals. 578 00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:51,280 We're the family of God, united around the table of grace, 579 00:41:52,680 --> 00:41:55,600 united around this. There's one thing that outweighs 580 00:41:55,600 --> 00:42:00,400 all other things, that we are sinners who have been taken from 581 00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:04,760 death to life by the goodness and grace of Jesus Christ, who 582 00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:08,520 died on the cross for our sins. It's a confession that's true 583 00:42:08,520 --> 00:42:10,480 for all of us. Nobody is here by their own 584 00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:13,720 merit. Nobody stands in front of God on 585 00:42:13,720 --> 00:42:17,520 their own 2 feet. We all stand only in the person 586 00:42:17,520 --> 00:42:22,920 of Jesus. We remember Jesus obedience for 587 00:42:22,920 --> 00:42:33,320 us, that he and he alone heard the Father's word and fully 588 00:42:33,320 --> 00:42:35,880 obeyed it. We want to live into that. 589 00:42:35,880 --> 00:42:39,280 We want to emulate that. We want to mirror Jesus to the 590 00:42:39,280 --> 00:42:41,720 extent that we continue to grow in that. 591 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:44,800 But it is a reminder that Jesus did what we couldn't do. 592 00:42:47,720 --> 00:42:50,920 He obeyed even to death on the cross for us. 593 00:42:52,600 --> 00:42:56,360 And when we take this, we're recommitting ourselves to to 594 00:42:56,360 --> 00:42:59,640 walking in Jesus footsteps, to walking in obedience. 595 00:43:01,560 --> 00:43:05,640 Yes, communion is remembrance of what Jesus has done, but it is 596 00:43:05,640 --> 00:43:12,880 also a renewal of our allegiance and loyalty to him in a way of 597 00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:19,240 saying Jesus, you are Lord and I, I choose obedience. 598 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:25,160 I choose to walk under your Lordship because I belong to 599 00:43:25,160 --> 00:43:30,280 you. Then lastly, we take this, we 600 00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:35,560 look forward, Paul says, we take it until he comes again. 601 00:43:37,240 --> 00:43:41,880 This meal, this, this, this, this bread, this cup. 602 00:43:41,880 --> 00:43:49,120 It points us forward to a great feast that will be the feast of 603 00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:55,600 His Kingdom, where every follower of Jesus, everyone who 604 00:43:55,600 --> 00:44:00,480 is brought into the family of God across all times, across all 605 00:44:00,480 --> 00:44:08,240 nations, is going to gather together for this incredible 606 00:44:08,240 --> 00:44:13,800 family dinner and banquet. It's going to be a party like 607 00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:17,520 you've never seen. And when we take this, it's a 608 00:44:17,520 --> 00:44:24,000 reminder of what's coming. What's coming is so good, and 609 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:25,520 we're going to enjoy it together. 610 00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:30,920 So as we take the bread, as we take the cup, today, we do 611 00:44:30,920 --> 00:44:33,600 something more than commemorating what took place 612 00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:40,160 2000 years ago. We declare who we are and whose 613 00:44:40,160 --> 00:44:43,040 we are today. So I'm going to invite you to 614 00:44:43,040 --> 00:44:49,280 take the wafer together collectively with all of your 615 00:44:49,280 --> 00:44:51,320 brothers and sisters through Jesus Christ. 616 00:44:53,520 --> 00:44:55,760 Let me pray over it, and then we're going to take it together 617 00:44:55,760 --> 00:45:00,600 as family. Father, thank you so much that 618 00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:05,560 you have done what is unbelievable and impossible. 619 00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:10,520 You've taken this ragtag group of people who are here, churches 620 00:45:10,520 --> 00:45:16,880 who are crossed our region, churches who are crossed our 621 00:45:16,880 --> 00:45:19,080 country, churches who are crossed the world and the church 622 00:45:19,080 --> 00:45:21,520 across all centuries and cultures. 623 00:45:23,440 --> 00:45:28,680 And through Jesus you've made US1 through his body, which was 624 00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:33,000 broken for us. We are one. 625 00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:44,680 We thank you. Let's take and eat together, and 626 00:45:44,680 --> 00:45:50,640 we'll take the cup which represents the new covenant in 627 00:45:50,640 --> 00:45:53,560 Christ's blood, poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. 628 00:45:56,800 --> 00:45:59,680 If we're going to be the family that we have been called to be, 629 00:45:59,680 --> 00:46:02,040 then we need to learn how to forgive. 630 00:46:02,200 --> 00:46:05,520 And to learn how to forgive, you first have to know that you've 631 00:46:05,520 --> 00:46:10,600 been forgiven. Now let's pray that Christ's 632 00:46:10,600 --> 00:46:14,400 forgiveness would be known by us so we could extend it to others. 633 00:46:16,760 --> 00:46:21,080 Father, when we take this cup, we confess that your blood 634 00:46:21,080 --> 00:46:26,480 poured over and and washed clean all of our sins, past, present, 635 00:46:26,480 --> 00:46:31,480 future. And because we are forgiven, we 636 00:46:31,480 --> 00:46:36,000 can forgive. Lord, we know that if we're 637 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:38,520 going to be the type of family that you want us to be, we need 638 00:46:38,520 --> 00:46:41,600 to be able to forgive. I thank you that as we take this 639 00:46:41,600 --> 00:46:45,360 cup, we're declaring we have received all the forgiveness we 640 00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:47,640 will ever need. So we are able to forgive. 641 00:46:47,640 --> 00:46:54,680 If there's anything that we need to confess to you today to make 642 00:46:54,680 --> 00:46:57,720 right with you, I pray that we would do that in this moment. 643 00:46:57,720 --> 00:47:00,760 We would take it to you. We would nail that sin to the 644 00:47:00,760 --> 00:47:07,360 cross again and be reminded that Jesus paid for it. 645 00:47:07,360 --> 00:47:11,680 And if there are sins that are outstanding against us, where we 646 00:47:11,680 --> 00:47:17,880 have been wounded and hurt, I pray that as we take this cup 647 00:47:17,880 --> 00:47:21,040 and drink, you would fill us by the power of your Spirit with 648 00:47:21,040 --> 00:47:28,600 the power to release and to forgive, so we'd be freed from 649 00:47:28,600 --> 00:47:31,200 the prison of bitterness and unforgiveness. 650 00:47:34,320 --> 00:47:42,400 Let's take and drink together. We're going to close by singing 651 00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:46,400 a song about our unity together in Christ as a church.