1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:03,240 Well, good morning, my name is John. 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:07,520 I'm one of the pastors here. So glad you could join us today. 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:10,000 Such a good day. We packed out a little bit 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,600 today, so praise God for that. I want to start out by you 5 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:15,080 considering something. OK. 6 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:19,920 I want you to consider for a moment that we all like being on 7 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:22,920 a mission, to have a mission at some level, a 'cause if you 8 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,280 will, right? We like the feeling of doing 9 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,000 something that matters, right? In any hands. 10 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,320 Anybody resonate with that? OK yeah. 11 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:32,759 Not alone. See, for some, it's just the 12 00:00:32,759 --> 00:00:35,760 brotherhood or maybe the sisterhood of doing something 13 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:37,760 with it, being in the trenches with somebody, right? 14 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:40,160 Or maybe it's the journey along the way. 15 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:42,120 You like the adventure of it, right? 16 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:45,800 The mission provides that sense of belonging, if we're honest, 17 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:48,560 right? It provides a sense of purpose, 18 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,720 direction or aim. I know who I am in light of the 19 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,840 mission, right? I know what I know where to go 20 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,400 in light of the cause, right? I know what to do next in light 21 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:03,080 of what I'm chasing. To have a cause, a mission or a 22 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:05,600 purpose, it's a very powerful thing. 23 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,760 It's a very powerful thing. And sometimes our mission or 24 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,600 cause involves others. Sometimes just you, but you may 25 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,080 feel like you don't have a mission maybe today, right. 26 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:19,000 Many of you will just create of us what was create our own. 27 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:21,520 You've ever seen this. That's why we look to a video 28 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,560 game to do that athletic competition, a book or a project 29 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:28,480 to and two. There's something in us that 30 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:32,960 needs the thing we get from a mission from a cause from some 31 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:36,040 kind of endeavor. OK, And without this drive, 32 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:37,880 guess what? We grow bored. 33 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:40,080 We grow bored. We get, we can even get 34 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:42,520 depressed. We can lose a sense of who we 35 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:44,960 are. We can become frustrated that we 36 00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:47,360 cannot complete the thing that we're aiming at, right? 37 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,360 We can even get depressed because of the difficulty of the 38 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:52,040 mission. They need to be on both sides of 39 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:53,600 that, right? It's hopeless. 40 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:55,920 I can't. I can't move the needle, so I'm 41 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:57,360 frustrated. I'm depressed. 42 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,440 To tap into the human desire and longing for something bigger, 43 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:05,960 something to channel our mental physical energies and creativity 44 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:08,960 into, is a powerful thing. It's a powerful thing. 45 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:13,440 The Bible teaches that. God put it there. 46 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,160 God put it there. He made us in such a way that we 47 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:21,600 were built for Him and the purposes that He gives us. 48 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:25,160 See, life was always meant to have something to do. 49 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:26,520 It's always meant to have something to do. 50 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,080 A life where all you do is rest is not what God had in mind. 51 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:33,440 It's not the way He designed us. This is why sitting around all 52 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:35,760 the time doing nothing is bad for you, right? 53 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,080 We're going to do a little bit of that over the holidays. 54 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:39,840 That's OK. But if you did that all the 55 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,800 time, it's not. See, we were created for mission 56 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,360 purpose and 'cause God put it there, He put it there. 57 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:49,480 But what did He, what did he want us to do? 58 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:51,320 What were His original instructions? 59 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:53,520 We don't have to flip there, but I'm going to read over you 60 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:57,400 Genesis 1 verses 27 through 30. It says this. 61 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:01,360 So God created man in his own image and the image of God He 62 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:05,640 created him male and female. He created them and then he says 63 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:09,640 this verse 28 And God blessed them and God said to them, be 64 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:12,880 fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have 65 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,680 dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the 66 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:18,800 heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. 67 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,760 And God said, behold, I have given you every plant yielding 68 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,640 seed that is on the face of all the earth and every tree with 69 00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:28,120 seed and its fruit. You shall have them for food, 70 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:30,920 and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the 71 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:33,760 heavens, and to everything that creeps on the on the earth, 72 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,360 everything that the breath of life. 73 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:38,560 I have given every plant for food. 74 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,920 And it was so. So what were we created to do 75 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:45,120 this? We were created to start 76 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:49,640 families, societies and culture. We were to tame and create with 77 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:53,360 raw materials of the earth. We were to farm, to tend trees 78 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:56,440 and bushes and grow food. We were to care for all living 79 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:59,800 things in God's world. This is what he meant for us to 80 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,400 do, right? And when we do these things, 81 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,800 it's not just the reason behind them that makes them worship 82 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:09,560 right. It's when we do these things, 83 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,920 the actions themselves. We are worshipping the creator 84 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:15,360 God because we were built for this. 85 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,600 We're obeying. See theologians call this text 86 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:23,440 The cultural Mandate to fulfill. The cultural mandate is to 87 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:28,000 worship and obey. But something happened, not all 88 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:31,120 colorful and rosy. Adam and Eve fell and sinned and 89 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:33,880 entered the world, and through their disobedience and 90 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:38,680 deception, now all the creative, mental and physical energies of 91 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:42,320 humanity turn in on itself. It's twisted and distorted. 92 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:46,600 And all human culture making is a mixed bag, right? 93 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:49,240 Some of it fits into God's design and some of it doesn't. 94 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:52,680 Some of it doesn't. But all of it, all of it is 95 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:58,040 tainted and tinted by sin. Everything is messed up, the 96 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:02,040 world is broken, and what's more, God cursed the world as a 97 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:06,280 consequence for human sin. That's that's what this text 98 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:09,360 deals with today, right? We are finishing up a series in 99 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:13,320 Matthew entitled The Authority of the King, The Authority of 100 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:14,960 the King. We have looked at Matthew 8 and 101 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,320 9 and how these chapters highlight the authority of Jesus 102 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:20,840 the King. He has authority over sickness. 103 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:23,960 He has authority over the body. He has authority over creation 104 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,040 itself. It doesn't matter if he touches, 105 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,480 speaks, or even as if he's not even present, right? 106 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:33,040 He has authority over what is brought before him. 107 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:36,840 It doesn't matter if it's demonic or if it's ordinary. 108 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:39,600 He has the power because he has the authority. 109 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,720 He has the authority. Jesus a king, and he has ushered 110 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,160 in his Kingdom. But Jesus is not just any kind 111 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:50,320 of king, Praise God, He is none other than the creator God 112 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:53,760 himself. See, he has taken on flesh and 113 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:57,240 he has dwelt among us. He is Emmanuel, God with us. 114 00:05:57,240 --> 00:05:59,320 We're going to talk a lot about that in the coming weeks, right? 115 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:04,520 But he is also the son of David and the son of Abraham. 116 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,080 He is human and he's a Jew at that. 117 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:11,160 And as the Romans will point out towards the end of the Matthew's 118 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,280 Gospel, he is the rightful king of the Jews. 119 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:17,560 But as it turns out, he's more than that. 120 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:20,680 He's more. See, this King's Kingdom is not 121 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,120 like the kingdoms of the world. Not only does Jesus have the 122 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:26,440 authority, but he is a good king. 123 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:29,600 See, we already, we've already seen his compassion throughout 124 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:31,600 this series and we've seen his mercy. 125 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:33,320 And today it really is no different. 126 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:34,960 We could just keep saying the same things. 127 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:37,040 He's he's the king of compassion, the king of mercy. 128 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:41,760 But he surprises us in this text with the beginnings of what our 129 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:46,200 role in this Kingdom will be. See, we begin to see a new phase 130 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:48,480 revealed in Jesus Kingdom ministry. 131 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,200 There suddenly there suddenly seems to be not just a type of 132 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,480 life to live, but a mission to take part in. 133 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,840 So let's look closely at three things that informed this 134 00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:02,040 Kingdom mission. So from this text, we're going 135 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:04,680 to look at what Jesus does. We're going to look at what he 136 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:10,160 sees and what he commands. So what Jesus does, what he sees 137 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:14,000 and what he commands. All right, first, what he does, 138 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,760 what does this text say he does Look at verse 35 again, it says 139 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:20,720 this. And Jesus went throughout all 140 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:23,480 the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues. 141 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:28,640 So if you were sitting down and kind of reading the Gospel 142 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:32,280 according to Matthew in one sitting, you would have noticed. 143 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:36,000 Is that this this refrain you've heard before, You've read this 144 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:37,880 before. See, Matthew actually says the 145 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:40,040 same thing in chapter 4, verse 23. 146 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:43,160 OK, right before the sermon to mount, he includes this exact 147 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:45,800 statement. It acts as like a transitional 148 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:48,840 statement, if you will. This sort of concludes the the 149 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:51,840 section that we've been in. OK, This is our clue that 150 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:55,080 something new is about to happen, a new development, and 151 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:56,400 the story is about to take place. 152 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:00,960 But let's revisit what exactly he is doing and what we should 153 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:03,520 consider a response. All right, so let's look at 154 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:05,800 where he goes and what he does there. 155 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:10,880 OK, so notice that Jesus travels throughout both cities and 156 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:15,360 villages teaching in synagogues. He goes to urban centers in 157 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:17,920 rural areas. He is encountering all aspects 158 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:22,320 of Judean Life OK and Judean society, but he always stops in 159 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:27,000 a place called a synagogue. For those unfamiliar, the 160 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:31,040 synagogue was actually not always a part of Jewish culture. 161 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:35,360 The synagogue actually developed during the exile period if you 162 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:38,080 remember, due to Israel's disobedience to God. 163 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,760 They were judged by being exiled from the promised land, meaning 164 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:44,880 he kicked them out. It happened really in two waves, 165 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:47,160 though. OK, the first wave from the 166 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:50,160 northern Kingdom was actually exiled to Syria, Assyria. 167 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:54,240 But then the southern half, which is Judah, was actually 168 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:58,280 exiled to Babylon, all right. And during the Babylonian exile, 169 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:01,040 they no longer had access to the temple, right? 170 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:03,440 It's over there, there. What are they going to do? 171 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:06,920 So they developed meeting houses called synagogues. 172 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:09,280 All right? Now the word synagogue is a 173 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,440 Greek word that basically just means bring together or 174 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:15,440 assembly. OK, but this exile exilic 175 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:18,720 practice actually makes its way back to the land when they 176 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,400 eventually return In Ezra, Nehemiah, and so in Jesus day, 177 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,880 the synagogue was a central part of Jewish life. 178 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:28,840 It was not only a place of worship where you would read 179 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:32,080 from the scriptures or sing or pray or teach, but it was also a 180 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,720 Community Center. It was a court of law. 181 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,400 It was a it was a place for town hall meetings. 182 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:39,960 It was a centerpiece of Jewish society. 183 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,200 OK, See, the building was usually rectangular, kind of 184 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:47,080 like this one, and it had just rows of benches on the sides of 185 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:48,960 the walls. And it was kind of in a step 186 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:50,760 fashion. So the attendees essentially 187 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,320 faced each other. OK, They looked at each other 188 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:56,520 from across the room, right? You can make eye contact if you 189 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:58,640 wanted. But there was also also often 190 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:01,600 columns just like this one, except throughout, so it'd block 191 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:03,640 you view it. It wasn't really a place for 192 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:07,320 seeing as much as it was a place for listening because you came 193 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:09,920 there to listen to the scriptures or community affairs. 194 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:12,640 So the synagogue was an important place. 195 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:14,720 It was a community hub, if you will. 196 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:18,800 So in every city and village, Jesus went to the synagogue. 197 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:22,800 But look at the consistent things that he did and talked 198 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:25,360 about at the synagogue. Go back to verse 35 again. 199 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:29,080 So and Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages teaching 200 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:31,840 in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the 201 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:35,320 Kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 202 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:38,960 So in every city and village, he stood up in the middle of the 203 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:43,000 synagogue again, rows, benches in the middle, and he declared 204 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,640 the gospel of the Kingdom and healed people. 205 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:49,920 So another way you could say this is he brings Kingdom news, 206 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:54,280 good news, which is what gospel means, and Kingdom signs, which 207 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:57,320 are the healings, right? So I want you to imagine for a 208 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:00,080 second, you show up to the synagogue, right? 209 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:02,440 You're just, hey, it's, it's Saturday, it's the Sabbath. 210 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:04,880 I'm going to go and go see what's going on in the Community 211 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:06,920 Center, right? And you go in and you see what's 212 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:08,760 going on. And then there's this guy, 213 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:10,880 right? And he's in the middle and he's 214 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,440 teaching, and he's teaching with so much authority. 215 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:15,960 And he's talking about the Kingdom of God breaking in. 216 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:18,560 He's talking about the Kingdom is coming and is now here. 217 00:11:18,560 --> 00:11:22,080 He keeps describing the Kingdom of God and how one lives in that 218 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:24,320 Kingdom. Sounds wonderful, right? 219 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:27,800 Loving enemies, generosity towards others and how to live 220 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:30,640 in all sorts of circumstances. But then there seems to be a 221 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:34,120 need for repentance and righteousness, and you may start 222 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,480 to wonder if any of this is possible, right? 223 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:40,800 But then it gets even more interesting. 224 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:45,120 People start coming towards him afterwards with physical issues. 225 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:47,840 Some are obvious and others not so obvious, right? 226 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:52,240 Some people actually, you know, walked away for the first time. 227 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:54,920 They didn't walk before then they walked away. 228 00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:56,960 And you start going like, what's going on? 229 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:00,520 The demonstration of power and authority starts to catch on and 230 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:03,600 things kind of move outside, if you will say they, they leave 231 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:06,360 the room, right, The building, the synagogue, and they go 232 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:08,080 outside. And then what happens is crowds 233 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:10,120 start to gather. And this guy, they want to see 234 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:12,320 what this guy's going to say and what he's going to do next, 235 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:14,120 right? He teaches with authority. 236 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,560 He has good news of the Kingdom and he has signs of this 237 00:12:17,560 --> 00:12:18,760 Kingdom. There's power. 238 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:21,520 This is what's happening in Jesus life as he traveled 239 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:24,680 throughout this region. OK, He was always, he always 240 00:12:24,680 --> 00:12:29,120 brought Kingdom good news and coupled it with Kingdom signs. 241 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:31,760 That's his MO, that's what he did right? 242 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:35,520 But this next development seems to indicate that this coupling 243 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,400 of Kingdom news and Kingdom signs will not stop with him. 244 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:40,640 Interesting. It will not stop with him. 245 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:43,120 See in chapter 10, we're not going to read it, but which 246 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:46,520 we'll get to that next year. But he gives the disciples the 247 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:50,200 authority to do the exact same things that he does. 248 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:54,120 Even the healings in the, you know, casting out demons bit he 249 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:56,880 gives them that same authority. Now we have to jump ahead a 250 00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:00,920 little bit, but it's important that we realize that the mission 251 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:06,480 of Jesus always has both news and signs and and view always. 252 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:09,640 Now the signs are subject to Jesus delegate authority, which 253 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:11,760 is what chapter 10 is going to teach us. 254 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,640 We'll see that there, but the signs are not always 255 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:18,160 extraordinary either. OK, we'll learn later on that 256 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:22,440 the final sign, the final sign is actually the people Jesus 257 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:25,280 will leave behind. See, Jesus doesn't just leave a 258 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,960 message to share, but a people to embody that message. 259 00:13:29,560 --> 00:13:33,600 Leslie Leslie Newbiggin in his book, The Gospel and a Pluralist 260 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:37,880 Society, he wrote this. He said the only hermeneutic or 261 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:41,840 interpretation of the gospel is a congregation which believes 262 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:44,920 it, which believes it. See, that means that the local 263 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:48,320 church is a lens through which the gospel is understood. 264 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:51,760 It makes the gospel visible. See New Begin argues that 265 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:54,360 apologetics is not primarily about clever arguments or 266 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,440 philosophical proofs, although it will include that instead, 267 00:13:57,560 --> 00:14:01,760 the embodied life of the church, a community that lives out the 268 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:06,120 gospel in love, justice, and hope, is the most persuasive 269 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:08,760 witness. God knew this, right? 270 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,920 So he leaves good news of the Kingdom. 271 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,920 But Jesus also leaves a sign of the Kingdom as well, his people, 272 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:18,440 his people. So those are always connected. 273 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:22,320 So far in Matthew, we see that the Kingdom of God is God's 274 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:25,400 breaking into the world through Jesus. 275 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:28,440 It's demanding repentance, transforming ethics, 276 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:32,560 demonstrating power, welcoming outsiders, and calling disciples 277 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:34,600 to join the mission of the Kingdom. 278 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:37,680 That's what we see so far, but it's not clear. 279 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:41,320 It's not clear until you get to the end of Matthew. 280 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:44,160 OK, how all this is actually possible. 281 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,320 So how is Jesus so confident, right? 282 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:48,840 I could just read this and we could talk about that. 283 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,240 But how is he so confident? How does he roll up into the 284 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:55,600 synagogue and just just declare these things good news and and 285 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:57,520 and good signs and Kingdom signs, right? 286 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:00,840 How does he do that? The most unexpected things 287 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:05,320 happens if you keep reading in Matthew, see Jesus, who is the 288 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:06,720 Messiah. I know the word for that is 289 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:08,560 Christ. You've heard that Jesus Christ, 290 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:12,600 it just means the chosen 1. He is the one who is supposed to 291 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,640 usher in the Kingdom and the rescue the people of God from 292 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,480 their enemies and bring in a new age, a messianic age. 293 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:21,240 And it seems like that is what's happening. 294 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:23,600 When I walked up into the synagogue, I saw sickness, 295 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:27,320 disease, broken bodies and demonic forces are all coming to 296 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:29,600 an end. He is the Messiah. 297 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:33,760 It's here, it's happening, it's now He's doing it. 298 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:38,640 The curse is coming undone, the broken being made whole. 299 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:44,200 He's the one. And then suddenly, suddenly, 300 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:50,040 betrayal, torture, crucifixion and death, Jesus does all these 301 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:52,640 wonderful things and truly lives a righteous and simple life. 302 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:56,120 And then he's executed as a rebellious criminal. 303 00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:59,000 Everything seems like it's going to fall apart. 304 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,560 He dies and the dreams and vision of the Kingdom seemingly 305 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:04,840 die with him. That's exactly what they 306 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:09,160 thought. But then, then three days later, 307 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:12,800 Jesus rises from the grave. No one saw a coming, even though 308 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:14,840 he kind of told him. He did kind of tell him he 309 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:16,960 really did, but no one understood. 310 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:20,320 He comes back to life, but there's Can you imagine the 311 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:24,360 confusion, the excitement, the amazement if death could not 312 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:28,080 hold this guy, Maybe everything he said and did wasn't for 313 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:30,000 nothing. He wasn't for nothing. 314 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,680 See Jesus, death and resurrection, as Paul's going to 315 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:34,840 go on to say. He's going to point out it was 316 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:38,720 necessary for salvation. See the Christ wasn't just 317 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:41,560 someone who came teaching, although he did do that, but 318 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:44,880 came with power and authority to change things. 319 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:48,320 You see, the good news of the Kingdom is that Jesus has come 320 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:51,880 to live the life we should have lived, to die the death that we 321 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:56,600 deserve and arise from the dead, defeating death, sin and hell on 322 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:59,160 our behalf. See the good news of the Kingdom 323 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:02,120 is that through Jesus we can enter the Kingdom's reality. 324 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,599 We can live a life with God. We can, we can begin to live the 325 00:17:05,599 --> 00:17:09,920 new way to be human, but entrance in that into that 326 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:14,079 Kingdom is only possible through what Jesus did See we learn in 327 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:17,359 John, in the Gospel of John that the that right before Jesus 328 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:21,160 dies, he says the best words uttered in history and I'll, 329 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:23,760 I'll take that one to the bank. You can disagree with me, but 330 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:25,800 these are the best words in history. 331 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:28,079 He says this right before he dies. 332 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:33,320 It is finished, it is finished, it's done. 333 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:35,960 But what's done? What's done? 334 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:39,720 What did he do? We are all deserving of God's 335 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:43,320 wrath because we fall or fail to live in God's world, God's way. 336 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,000 Just like Adam and Eve that broke the world, right? 337 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:49,080 Even on our best day, we still don't cut it. 338 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,200 OK, we may not be the worst person on earth. 339 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:55,600 You're probably not. But we're still not perfect. 340 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:58,600 We're still not perfect. And only those who are perfect 341 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,120 meet God's seemingly impossible standards. 342 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:04,840 See, perfect is what was supposed to be. 343 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,320 I'm trying my best, John. I'm trying my best. 344 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:08,640 Yeah, I know. I know. 345 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,800 It's never going to be enough. I know you have never been good 346 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:14,080 enough. We've all been bad, as Santa 347 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,440 would say, right? You might think if if I just do 348 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:21,120 enough good things or I try my best, maybe God will grave on a 349 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:22,640 curve. My teacher does. 350 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,120 If the good outweighs the bad, maybe it'll shake down. 351 00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:28,200 That's actually not how things work. 352 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:31,800 That's not how they work. Yeah, but what if I'm really 353 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:35,760 sincere, John, and give up stuff and stop kicking dogs? 354 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:38,600 We don't kick dogs. But you know, it's never going 355 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,040 to be enough. It's never going to be enough. 356 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:45,280 We've all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Paul 357 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:48,480 tells us we were created to image him to the world. 358 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,560 And at best see, we were created to image God perfectly. 359 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:55,160 As if you looked at a mirror, you would see him imaged, right? 360 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:57,520 You would see the reflection. As you look at the reflection of 361 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:01,720 us, you should see creator God. But at best, at best, we're a 362 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:04,240 fun house mirror. You know those mirrors that like 363 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,120 distort your body, make one part section bigger or smaller? 364 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,400 That's what we are. We're a fun house mirror at 365 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:12,760 best. We are not enough. 366 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:15,440 In fact, we're the problem and that's tough to hear. 367 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:17,720 We're the problem. We cannot do it. 368 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:20,840 We need someone to step in on our behalf in order to enter 369 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:24,440 this Kingdom life. And Jesus knew this. 370 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:28,400 He knew this. That's what that's what Jesus 371 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:31,120 finished. See, He substituted himself for 372 00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:33,440 us. He didn't live and die as a mere 373 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,360 example. If that is all he did, we are 374 00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:38,680 left to try to live up to his example. 375 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:42,120 And that's impossible. If we only died to make it 376 00:19:42,120 --> 00:19:45,440 possible to enter the Kingdom and the rest is up to us, we're 377 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:47,880 still cooked. We're still cooked and we will 378 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:49,640 be crushed under the weight of it all. 379 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:52,840 If it's up to us to enter the Kingdom and how, how will we 380 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:56,080 ever know? How will you ever know if it's 381 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:59,880 enough? You won't, you can't. 382 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:03,240 We needed someone to trade places with us. 383 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:05,880 It's kind of like those backup commercials. 384 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:09,480 I've seen these where the husband, the friend or kid is 385 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:11,520 trying to do something. They just can't quite get it 386 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:13,240 done or they're failing really hard. 387 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,120 And they're like, Bridgewater, you're in, you know? 388 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:17,680 And it's like, we need a substitute. 389 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:19,400 We need a backup. We need Terry Bridgewater to 390 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,040 come be our friend because that friend's terrible, right? 391 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:25,680 You know, we need someone to trade places with us because 392 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:28,400 we're failing hard. A backup, a stand in. 393 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,400 It should have been us, but he laid down his life. 394 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:36,160 So his last words were it is finished, it is finished. 395 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:38,840 See, the good news of the Kingdom isn't try harder and be 396 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:40,840 good. The good news of the Kingdom is 397 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,320 it's finished. The central message of 398 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,640 Christianity isn't due. It's done, finished. 399 00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:50,120 Friends, if you're here today, if you're here today, you're 400 00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:53,280 looking to be more moral or more religious, if you're looking to 401 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:56,880 be more disciplined or whatever, Jesus offers something even 402 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:00,480 better than that. Jesus came to trade places with 403 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:01,960 you. He came to take your sin and 404 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:05,640 give you his righteousness, which means as if it if you had 405 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:09,880 lived his life right, he came to be an outcast so you might be 406 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:12,440 brought in. The message is to try harder. 407 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:14,880 It's to repent and trust in Jesus. 408 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:19,280 This is his life can count for you, His death can count for 409 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:23,800 you, and his resurrected life can be yours both now and 410 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,960 forever. It can be the reason Jesus went 411 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,200 around to those synagogues, in case you're wondering where 412 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:31,400 we're going. Reason He could go to those 413 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:35,080 synagogues and he could with genuine confidence and 414 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:40,360 authority, declare the good news of the Kingdom was because he 415 00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:44,800 was going to be nailed to a tree and finish it. 416 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:47,680 He was going to do it. It was costly. 417 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:51,080 It was going to cost him everything, but he was going to 418 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:55,200 do it and he could proclaim good news because of what he was 419 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:58,840 going to do. So he gets to the end and before 420 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:04,200 he breathes his last breath, he essentially says, I did it. 421 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,920 I did it. So the first point is that the 422 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:12,240 mission of Jesus is proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom and 423 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:15,120 the signs of the Kingdom and they come with certainty and 424 00:22:15,120 --> 00:22:18,720 authority because Jesus is going to ensure it happens through his 425 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:23,640 life, death and resurrection. The the message of the mission 426 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,240 is that it's done. It's done. 427 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:33,040 OK, Now that's what Jesus does. What does what does Jesus see? 428 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:38,400 Look back at verse 36 says this. And when he saw the crowds, he 429 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:42,240 had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless 430 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:46,240 like sheep without a shepherd. The first thing in the text that 431 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:51,240 Jesus sees is crowds. OK, Now remember he starts in 432 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:53,400 the synagogue. This is the MO, and things get 433 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:55,560 going and they tend to move outside, right? 434 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:56,640 There's not a crowd in the synagogue. 435 00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:57,840 There's a crowd outside of it, right? 436 00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:01,680 The crowds are essentially Jewish peasants from Galilee and 437 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:04,680 Judea, the surrounding area. These are just ordinary people, 438 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:07,080 people like you and me. They hold jobs, they have 439 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:09,600 families, they have bills, they have needs. 440 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,360 They're locals, they're out of towners, right? 441 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:16,080 They are just people. They are drawn to Jesus because 442 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,480 of what he is teaching and the miracles that he's performing, 443 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:20,840 right? I imagine some of them have some 444 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:23,120 idea of what's going out, what's going on, what's happening, 445 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:24,480 right? But some of them don't have any 446 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:26,320 clue. I mean, I just couldn't picture 447 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:27,640 one of the guys I hate. Why are you here? 448 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:29,720 I don't know. Everybody else is here, right? 449 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:31,680 It's just people are gathering and looking at it. 450 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:34,240 But Jesus sees them. Don't miss this. 451 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:37,160 Jesus sees them as ordinary as they are. 452 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:40,080 He sees them through a particular lens. 453 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:43,560 The text says he has compassion for them. 454 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:47,680 See, the Greek word here is the idea that he was inwardly moved 455 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:52,280 with concern and pity for them. There's a deep, heartfelt inward 456 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:53,960 concern with the condition of the crowd. 457 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:57,000 He's bothered by the state of the crowd. 458 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:01,720 He's bothered, OK, Bothered not just sentimentally, but moved to 459 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:05,000 action. OK, but why is he so moved? 460 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:08,400 Well, he explains what he sees. Look, look back at the verse. 461 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:13,600 It says because they were harassed and helpless, they're 462 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:16,520 harassed and helpless. He has compassion because they 463 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,120 are harassed and helpless. But who is harassing them, 464 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:20,760 right? Why are they helpless? 465 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:23,840 What does he see? OK, this is it. 466 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:27,000 So this is in the middle of the Roman occupation of Judea. 467 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:28,920 OK. So maybe there's some aspects 468 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:30,640 that they had to do with Rome itself. 469 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,280 OK, maybe we don't know. The Pharisees and the religious 470 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:35,840 leaders are there too. And they're like, they basically 471 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:38,000 piled up so many traditions around Torah. 472 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:41,560 That is the law of God, that to be a good Jew was so hard and 473 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:43,560 impossible for the ordinary person. 474 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:47,240 And most people, most people in this crowd probably walked in 475 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:49,960 great deal of shame of not being able to measure up to the 476 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:51,760 Pharisees. They probably they're like, I'm 477 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:53,800 never going to be that guy. I'm not going to be that guy. 478 00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:57,240 See, there was, there was also demonic oppression in the crowd, 479 00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:59,840 sickness, physical ailments and things like that. 480 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:02,600 We've seen this, right? The specifics, we don't know 481 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:06,040 exactly what he sees, but Jesus looked at this crowd of image 482 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:09,040 bearers and he concluded, this ain't it. 483 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:11,000 This is not how it's supposed to be. 484 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,600 It shouldn't be like this. He was saddened by it, 485 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:16,760 internally moved, but he said one more thing. 486 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:20,880 He said they were like sheep without a shepherd. 487 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:25,000 OK, See, there was an aimless to the people in front of him, and 488 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,080 they had no, they had no direction to their life. 489 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:31,240 You ever felt like that? I was listening to a guy the 490 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:33,360 other day and he was just telling me about how he and his 491 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:35,920 son would basically just go up to a nearby fast food place 492 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,000 first thing every Saturday morning, just every Saturday 493 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:41,960 morning, and just kind of sit there and ask each other, what 494 00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:44,560 are we supposed to do today? What are we supposed to do? 495 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:48,080 See, there's an aimlessness that he was expressing to me. 496 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:49,840 He wasn't saying that like, that's awesome. 497 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:52,200 He was saying that like, I don't know what to do with my time. 498 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:54,280 Right. Is that you? 499 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:57,800 Do you feel aimless? What is my life? 500 00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:00,200 That's a scary question. What is my life? 501 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:04,320 If you think about it too long, you get depressed and you have 502 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:06,240 to start scrolling, you have to start buying. 503 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:08,560 You have to put on a game or show or a movie. 504 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:11,560 I've been there. Anything to not feel aimless. 505 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:14,200 You have to start a project, a business, a hobby, anything to 506 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:16,560 not feel aimless. You were built for something. 507 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:20,920 That restlessness that you feel, the angstiness, if you will. 508 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,200 There is something in us that needs a purpose there, and God 509 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:26,160 put it there. He put it there. 510 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:29,640 See, the crowd was aimless, like sheep without a shepherd. 511 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:31,360 There was no spiritual leadership. 512 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:34,600 But wait, I've been reading this. 513 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:36,840 There there are, aren't there? There are. 514 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,280 What about the Pharisees? What about the priests? 515 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,200 What about the scribes? They're leaders. 516 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,680 What were they doing? They saw and knew some of the 517 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:49,720 same people Jesus did, right? Why does he have compassion and 518 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,840 see them as aimless sheep? What did the spiritual leaders 519 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:55,040 of Judea see? What did they see? 520 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:58,000 Well, we can't necessarily get into the minds of the Pharisees 521 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,560 directly. We can't understand how Jesus 522 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:03,440 viewed the Jewish leaders. OK, saw them for what they were. 523 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:06,480 See, Jesus views the Pharisees as hypocritical leaders who 524 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:09,640 distort God's law by emphasizing external rituals. 525 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:13,080 They add burdensome rules and seek public recognition, all 526 00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:18,080 while neglecting justice, mercy, humility, and a genuine devotion 527 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:20,720 to God. See, they harass the crowds, the 528 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:23,760 system they have created, props them up and misses, misses the 529 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:25,200 very things that matter the most. 530 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:26,880 Jesus points us out over and over. 531 00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:29,840 They they do not understand justice, they do not understand 532 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:33,680 mercy and they lack humility. See, they don't practice what 533 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,120 they preach. They love status and appearance. 534 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:38,800 They keep people from the Kingdom by trapping them in 535 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:41,400 legalism. And later on, Jesus is going to 536 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:44,440 call them blind guides and fuel and fools. 537 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:48,000 They look at it in Matthew 23 and he gets so colorful in the 538 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:51,800 same chapter to describe them as whitewashed tombs. 539 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:55,160 That means that they're clean on the outside, but on the on the 540 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:58,920 inside they're dead. They're dead like a grave. 541 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:03,240 See, the people are neglect. People are neglected sheep 542 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:07,200 because their leaders are motivated by prideful, selfish 543 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:10,040 ambition and seeking public recognition. 544 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:13,920 The classical way to say this is vanglory. 545 00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:17,080 It's vanglory. Vanglory is not simple people 546 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:20,000 pleasing, but image driven performance. 547 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,520 Image driven performance. It's being consumed with being 548 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:25,200 seen as a certain way. I'm going to care what you 549 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:27,320 think, but I do care what you see. 550 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:29,640 I care what you see. I must look good. 551 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,360 I must look the part. I pray publicly to be seen as a 552 00:28:32,360 --> 00:28:34,880 prayer warrior. I ask you to hang out with me so 553 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,800 you can see me in action. I seek to win you over so you 554 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,920 can bask in my greatness. I wouldn't say that to you, but 555 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:44,200 that's what the vainglorious mind thinks of, OK? 556 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:47,200 It's the heart that wants glory for oneself. 557 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:49,800 The Pharisees and the other religious leaders were concerned 558 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:52,960 with the outward purity, but we're inwardly corrupt. 559 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:56,120 To make them feel better about themselves, they constructed 560 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:59,280 rules and and traditions to make themselves appear better than 561 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:03,640 others, namely the crowds. But they did it all in the name 562 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:06,520 of law keeping, of keeping the law. 563 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:09,600 See, in short, they didn't see the crowds at all. 564 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:11,480 That's why that's the difference. 565 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:15,160 They didn't see them at all. All they could see was 566 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:18,320 themselves. See, Jesus points this out about 567 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:20,520 them over and over. And so the sheep are aimless 568 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:23,040 because their leaders are self absorbed and narcissistic. 569 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:26,760 The people are only of concern to them as much as the people 570 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:29,120 are interested in them. See how that works? 571 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:31,720 See, when leaders lead this way, people suffer. 572 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:34,880 When positions of power and authority are used this way, the 573 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:38,760 ordinary everyday people are abused, harassed and are 574 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:42,280 helpless. Now keep in mind Matthew has 575 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:45,240 been establishing Jesus authority and the contrast is 576 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:48,120 that those who have authority among the people are harassing 577 00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:49,920 them and the people are helpless. 578 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:53,200 Now a side note, not at the point of the text, but a side 579 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,840 note. We all have power over 580 00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:57,880 something. We all have power over 581 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:00,120 something. What are we doing with it? 582 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:02,360 What are we doing with it? Are you using your power for 583 00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:04,800 yourself? Do you innerly and secretly like 584 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:08,160 to prop yourself up? Is your power used to your 585 00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:11,000 benefit only? Are you making your life easier 586 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:14,240 at the expense of others? See, the Gospel of the Kingdom 587 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:18,560 calls for a radical rethinking of how we wield power. 588 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:22,320 The gospel turns things upside down when our power is used, 589 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,480 like Jesus used his power, although being God humbled 590 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:28,440 himself and leveraged his power for the sake of others. 591 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:31,280 See, power can be used for the benefit of others. 592 00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:33,880 First. Power can be given away. 593 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:37,440 See, through the gospel, power doesn't have to advantage us, 594 00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:40,040 but be leveraged for the sake of others to advantage them. 595 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:42,840 The gospel turns that upside down. 596 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:45,160 It flips it. Power's no longer for you. 597 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:47,480 That could be leverage for others. 598 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:51,640 That's exactly what Jesus did. Just look at Philippians 2. 599 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:58,080 So Jesus sees a harassed and helpless people, sheep who need 600 00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:00,720 a shepherd. But the shepherding isn't like 601 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:03,880 the Pharisees who use the people for their own gain and glory. 602 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:06,800 See, Jesus sees them. He's bothered by how they are 603 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,480 treated. But what does this mean for the 604 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:11,080 Kingdom of the Kingdom? Mission. 605 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:18,080 It means this is hard, But it means that mission is not about 606 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:20,240 building our brand. It's not. 607 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:23,600 See, the mission of Jesus is not about using the crowd to chase 608 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:26,560 our own vanglory. That's what the Pharisees did. 609 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:30,440 Mission cannot be vanglory, A vanglourious exercise that makes 610 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:33,120 us the solution or the hero to the crowd. 611 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:36,520 It can't. But faith, family, faith, 612 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:39,200 family. Church history, both historical 613 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:42,560 and contemporary, is littered with Christian leaders doing 614 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:45,680 just that. The Pharisees had all kinds of 615 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:48,200 justifications and practices that made it seem like they were 616 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:49,800 doing the will of God. They did. 617 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:52,840 But look at what was happening to the people under them. 618 00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:55,360 See, they were harassed and helpless. 619 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:58,400 And in our own day, what happens when people try to do this? 620 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:01,160 They are exploited and taken advantage of. 621 00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:03,120 You see it. See if they family. 622 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:06,720 Are people flourishing under our influence and power, are they 623 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:09,600 flourishing? Do we see people? 624 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:14,000 Do we have compassion for them? We must see the way Jesus sees. 625 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:16,640 The crowds are like sheep without a shepherd. 626 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:18,400 But we are not the Good Shepherd. 627 00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:20,920 We're not. Jesus is. 628 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:23,840 People don't need us, they need Jesus. 629 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:26,720 We are to shepherd towards the shepherd, right? 630 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:28,880 We are to see people as Jesus sees them. 631 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:32,200 Paul goes so far to say in 2nd Corinthians 5 that we are to 632 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:33,800 regard no one according to flesh. 633 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:36,960 And what he meant by that was we are no longer to see from human 634 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:40,120 viewpoint, but we are to see people as Jesus sees them. 635 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:44,400 See, we are all aimless, in need of a shepherd. 636 00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:48,520 Our, our compassion for people must move us to point them to 637 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:50,280 the Good Shepherd, not to ourselves. 638 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:52,360 But let's be careful here too as well. 639 00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:55,720 See, we can easily want something for someone's good. 640 00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:58,000 We can, we can want that, and I commend that. 641 00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:02,080 But we have to make sure that that what we want corresponds to 642 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:04,280 what the Good Shepherd wants for them. 643 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:07,080 So the difference, it's not about what we want, it's about 644 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:10,320 what he wants. So in humility, we have to 645 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:13,400 understand that what we see for our good is not always what 646 00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:16,400 Jesus sees as good. It doesn't have to work out the 647 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:19,200 way we want it. In other words, it needs to work 648 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:22,840 out however Jesus wants it to. All right, there's a difference. 649 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:26,560 It's thy will. And my will are not the same 650 00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:27,800 thing. They're not equivalent. 651 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:29,360 And we have to check ourselves on that. 652 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:33,320 Hey, family, in the end, Jesus sees we got to, we got to when 653 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:35,440 we're looking at the Kingdom mission, we got to know you got 654 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:40,040 to not miss this part. Jesus sees if he can see through 655 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:42,760 the Pharisees and he could see he then he can see through you 656 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:45,600 and me. He can't that heart level secret 657 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:48,680 motivation that we can that we can barely mentally own up to 658 00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:51,800 and see it, right? We need to own that right? 659 00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:54,960 It's it's in us, OK, We have to repent of it. 660 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:58,520 We have to put it to death by God's grace and may we put away 661 00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:01,560 the fair sacral use of power and influence by the Holy Spirit's 662 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:03,240 power. It can't be in US. 663 00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:06,240 And and we can't say Christians don't do that because I can, I 664 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,440 can pull out stories of Christians doing just that. 665 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:10,440 We have to see it for what it is. 666 00:34:10,639 --> 00:34:12,840 We have to put it to death by the Spirit's power. 667 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:15,920 OK? So point #2 is that Jesus sees 668 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:18,199 the people and what's happening to them. 669 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:22,280 The heart of the mission is compassion, a Jesus centered 670 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:24,960 botheredness. That's what compassion means. 671 00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:28,800 OK, but lastly, what does Jesus command? 672 00:34:29,199 --> 00:34:32,960 What does he command? Now you would think that the 673 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:36,920 next part would be something to the effect of storm the gates, 674 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:38,120 right? You would think that's what's 675 00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:42,159 coming, but it's not exactly. Actually the text goes on to say 676 00:34:42,159 --> 00:34:45,440 in verse 37 he says, then he said to his disciples, the 677 00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:47,800 harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 678 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:51,320 Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out 679 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:54,960 laborers into his harvest. So he turns to his disciples and 680 00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:58,400 he gives them a metaphor, the heart classic Jesus, right? 681 00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:01,160 The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 682 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:04,080 There's something very important that we need to see here. 683 00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:05,560 Very important. OK. 684 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:07,720 And I hope this, this Christmas season, this really sticks with 685 00:35:07,720 --> 00:35:12,840 you See this, this metaphor is drenched in optimism. 686 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:16,000 You catch that? It's optimistic. 687 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:20,120 It is so optimistic. See, Jesus sees the crowd and 688 00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:22,800 their state and and then he turns and explains to his 689 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:26,560 disciples that the reality is that there is plenty of harvest. 690 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:30,480 It's like looking into a field of crops and seeing the ears of 691 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:33,000 corn, the countless greens or the plump okra. 692 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:36,560 There is plenty to do. There is lots to pick. 693 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:39,520 He could have used a negative example though, guys, He could 694 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:41,280 have. He could have said look at the 695 00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:45,080 vast need. He didn't say that, but instead 696 00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:47,680 he uses an example of harvest picking. 697 00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:51,080 The harvest is work for sure, but it's filled with hope. 698 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:53,680 You think about that. The crops in the Lord has 699 00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:54,760 provided. We're going. 700 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:57,000 We're not going to starve. It's positive. 701 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:00,000 It's optimistic. Some of us need to hear that the 702 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:04,840 mission is hard, it's work, but it's drenched in optimism. 703 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:06,280 Why? Because we come with the 704 00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:08,840 confidence that Jesus has done it. 705 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:11,600 We don't have to. He already did. 706 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:14,840 We herald that, right? So there's a positive optimism 707 00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:17,280 here. There's so much that is ready to 708 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:19,560 be gathered in. Because don't you know that 709 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:21,320 that's actually what you do with a harvest? 710 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:24,160 You gather it in. But there's a problem. 711 00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:26,360 There is a problem in his metaphor. 712 00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:29,520 There are not enough laborers or workers. 713 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:33,160 There are not enough hands. There's too much to do for one 714 00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:37,880 person, right? But notice, notice the solution. 715 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:41,240 It's not money. Solution isn't marketing. 716 00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:44,000 The solution isn't even a strategy per SE. 717 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:45,760 Kind of a strategy, but not quite. 718 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:50,480 The answer he gives is therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of 719 00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:53,240 the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 720 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:56,480 There's too few hands. What must we do? 721 00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:59,160 Pray earnestly. And you're like, what? 722 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:03,240 Pray we need to get to work. Let's put our heads down and 723 00:37:03,240 --> 00:37:05,880 grind Jesus. By next quarter we will be up 724 00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:07,400 3%. We'll have 3% in. 725 00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:11,200 We will, we will, it'll be done. Now don't mishear me though. 726 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:14,040 There is work to be done. There is work to be done. 727 00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:16,720 Gathering in a harvest is work regardless of the number of 728 00:37:16,720 --> 00:37:19,120 hands. But Jesus is loving us here. 729 00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:22,360 So let's look back closely again and see what he said, OK? 730 00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:24,600 He says. Therefore, pray earnestly to the 731 00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:28,800 Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 732 00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:31,720 Notice who owns the field and all the crops in it. 733 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:35,480 The Lord of the harvest, right? The master of this harvest has 734 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:37,760 to send his laborers. Isn't that interesting? 735 00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:40,400 That's it, I've been pondering it for a while. 736 00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:44,480 The harvest is some plentiful, but stop and pray earnestly to 737 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:46,800 the Lord of the harvest to send his his workers. 738 00:37:47,240 --> 00:37:49,680 Why is that the command why is that the command? 739 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:53,560 Why do we have why don't we have like go there for and make well, 740 00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:56,080 we're getting to that right. He will he will get to that at 741 00:37:56,080 --> 00:37:58,640 the end of Matthew. So there is work to do this, but 742 00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:01,520 why is the beginning of this unveiling of the Kingdom mission 743 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:03,960 starting with praying through the Lord of the harvest. 744 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:08,280 Contextually, I think this is what he's saying and and and why 745 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:11,440 he's saying it this way. I want you to picture for me, 746 00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:15,200 for example, or for a minute, picture a barista at a coffee 747 00:38:15,200 --> 00:38:18,680 shop. OK, she clocks in, takes orders, 748 00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:20,440 makes drinks. She clocks out. 749 00:38:21,160 --> 00:38:24,000 If the espresso machine breaks, she shrugs. 750 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:26,920 Not my problem. If a customer asks for a 751 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:29,320 recommendation, she gives the shortest answer possible. 752 00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:31,480 She's there for a paycheck, nothing more. 753 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,920 Her attitude says I'm here because I have to be. 754 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:38,640 OK, But now picture another barista. 755 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:42,720 Same coffee shop. She knows every regular's name 756 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:45,640 and remembers their favorite drinks, has it ready for them as 757 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:47,720 they walk in the door. When the espresso machine 758 00:38:47,720 --> 00:38:49,320 breaks, she's already troubleshooting because she 759 00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:52,040 cares about the experience. She experiments with new 760 00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:54,280 flavors, excited to share them for her. 761 00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:58,920 For her, coffee isn't just a product, it's a craft, a way to 762 00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:01,960 connect with people. Her attitude says, I'm here 763 00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:04,800 because I love this. What am I getting at? 764 00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:08,120 Jesus isn't looking for mercenaries. 765 00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:12,800 You know what a mercenary is? As long as I'm getting paid, 766 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:14,080 I'll do whatever you want me to do. 767 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:17,640 Preach this text, Sure. Teach people to do these 768 00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:20,400 practices, sure. Help organize them to do these 769 00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:23,920 things, sure. But a mercenary doesn't care, 770 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:28,120 doesn't give a RIP if it's true. A mercenary doesn't care if 771 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:30,800 people are cared for. A mercenary doesn't even care if 772 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:33,720 they succeed. A mercenary is a hired hand and 773 00:39:33,720 --> 00:39:37,640 leaves when the job is done. A mercenary is not a subject of 774 00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:41,320 the king, right? A mercenary is not a part of the 775 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:45,200 Kingdom at all. A a textual implication that 776 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:48,080 Jesus doesn't want mercenaries is the first mission trip in 777 00:39:48,080 --> 00:39:50,600 chapter 10 again that he sends his disciples on. 778 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:53,880 He tells them don't charge anyone anything for what you're 779 00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:56,760 about to do Jesus. Basically he's saying Jesus 780 00:39:56,760 --> 00:39:59,360 mission is not a business. It's not OK. 781 00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:01,640 He tells them to not take a bunch of stuff with them. 782 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:04,080 It's not a leisure leisurely trip either. 783 00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:05,800 OK. Don't you see? 784 00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:09,280 The laborers in the harvest have to be his laborers, or else the 785 00:40:09,280 --> 00:40:13,400 job won't be done right? OK, The laborers have to be sent 786 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:16,480 from the Lord of the harvest because only those sent from him 787 00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:20,200 will get it. Only those who see as Jesus sees 788 00:40:20,280 --> 00:40:22,200 will be able to gather in the harvest. 789 00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:25,840 You can't make mercenaries care. They won't even see what Jesus 790 00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:27,400 sees. They'll miss the people. 791 00:40:27,720 --> 00:40:30,000 They'll miss them. See, the laborers have to be 792 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:31,320 sent from the Lord of the harvest. 793 00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:33,920 And when they are sent from the Lord of the harvest, they go on 794 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:37,400 behalf of the Lord. They represent him, respect him, 795 00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:40,800 submit to him, and love him. And they will gather in the 796 00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:44,360 harvest just like him. And when they are done 797 00:40:44,360 --> 00:40:47,480 gathering, don't miss this. And when they're done gathering, 798 00:40:47,680 --> 00:40:49,320 guess what? They're going to go back to the 799 00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:53,440 one that sent them, the Lord. See, the command is to pray and 800 00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:55,760 ask the Lord of the harvest to send more laborers. 801 00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:58,680 It's ultimately the Lord of the harvest responsibility. 802 00:40:58,680 --> 00:41:02,080 Did you see that? We're to ask him and he's going 803 00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:06,000 to send. Now you could say mission 804 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:08,880 requires dependence on prayer. That could be how we conclude 805 00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:12,080 here as the take away, but you'd be wrong. 806 00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:14,760 You'd be wrong. Is it what you'd be wrong? 807 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,400 See, mission doesn't require a dependence on prayer. 808 00:41:17,400 --> 00:41:19,560 Mission requires a dependence on God. 809 00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:23,960 OK, not the same thing. One is an act, the other is a 810 00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:26,200 person. Don't put your hope in the act, 811 00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:29,360 put it in the person. Mission is not dependent on 812 00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:33,160 prayer, it's dependent on God. The mission goes forward as we 813 00:41:33,160 --> 00:41:37,200 ask God to move. If he doesn't move, if he 814 00:41:37,200 --> 00:41:40,440 doesn't sin, guess what? We have nothing. 815 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:44,280 We got nothing. Unless he moves, we have 816 00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:46,840 nothing. So the final point is that the 817 00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:51,560 mission depends on God. So what we've seen is that the 818 00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:54,680 mission, the message of the mission is it's done, OK? 819 00:41:54,880 --> 00:41:57,920 The heart of the mission is compassion, and the power behind 820 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:01,880 the mission is God himself. All right, But what does this 821 00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:05,360 have to do with us? This is all nice and fancy, but 822 00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:06,880 we got to connect. And then why should I care? 823 00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:11,520 Two things. One, here's what you need to 824 00:42:11,520 --> 00:42:13,880 know. When he saw the crowds, he saw 825 00:42:13,880 --> 00:42:16,680 people just like you and me. We weren't there. 826 00:42:17,560 --> 00:42:20,160 We weren't there, but we were just like them. 827 00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:24,560 But maybe you feel aimless. Maybe you feel anxious about 828 00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:27,560 something you're going through. Maybe you're tired and weary 829 00:42:28,040 --> 00:42:30,640 just like the crowd. See this? 830 00:42:30,640 --> 00:42:34,120 Don't miss this. The Christian hope is that Jesus 831 00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:38,000 is alive. He saw the crowd, then He sees 832 00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:40,800 you and me now. Because he's alive. 833 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:43,520 And guess what? He's moved with the very same 834 00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:46,960 compassion that he had for them. See, Jesus still has the same 835 00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:49,480 compassion he did then. The compassion of Jesus is still 836 00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:52,160 active here right now in this room. 837 00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:55,960 He sees you. There are still crowds that need 838 00:42:56,040 --> 00:42:59,080 his compassion through the Kingdom news and Kingdom signs. 839 00:42:59,480 --> 00:43:02,840 That's the first thing. The second thing, at the end of 840 00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:06,880 Matthew's Gospel, he concludes with a life altering event. 841 00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:11,520 I can't talk about Matthew 9 going into 10 without talking 842 00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:14,640 about the end of Matthew. This wouldn't be fair, wouldn't 843 00:43:14,640 --> 00:43:16,960 be right. He says this. 844 00:43:16,960 --> 00:43:18,920 So flip there. Matthew 28. 845 00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:24,600 These are Jesus final words on earth before ascending into 846 00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:28,520 heaven. Matthew 28, starting in verse 847 00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:33,520 18, it says, and Jesus came and said to them, all authority. 848 00:43:33,520 --> 00:43:34,760 We've been talking about that, right? 849 00:43:35,040 --> 00:43:40,720 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, to 850 00:43:40,720 --> 00:43:44,160 Jesus. Then he says, Go therefore, and 851 00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:47,360 make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of 852 00:43:47,360 --> 00:43:50,640 the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching 853 00:43:50,640 --> 00:43:53,200 them to observe all that I have commanded you. 854 00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:57,640 And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. 855 00:43:58,240 --> 00:44:00,000 See, our text was only the beginning. 856 00:44:00,240 --> 00:44:01,800 I told you that it was the beginning. 857 00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:05,360 You see, Jesus has all authority on heaven and earth right now. 858 00:44:05,880 --> 00:44:08,520 He commands those who have propelled of their sins and 859 00:44:08,520 --> 00:44:12,160 trusted Him to go and make disciples, baptizing them and 860 00:44:12,160 --> 00:44:13,960 teaching them to obey all his commands. 861 00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:17,600 See, the mission of Jesus realigns us back to the cultural 862 00:44:17,600 --> 00:44:21,800 mandate as it should be. See, Jesus teaches us teachings 863 00:44:21,800 --> 00:44:24,800 push us to the more fully human, to be more fully human. 864 00:44:25,120 --> 00:44:28,160 And by grace, through faith in Jesus alone, he saves us and 865 00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:30,480 begins to make us new. This is what the New Testament 866 00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:33,960 teaches and we step back into the mission filled and purpose 867 00:44:33,960 --> 00:44:36,080 filled life that God always intended. 868 00:44:36,200 --> 00:44:39,640 He always intended this of us. But in order for things to be 869 00:44:39,640 --> 00:44:43,040 reordered, we need Jesus and his finished work. 870 00:44:43,320 --> 00:44:46,360 See, the last part of Matthew is called the Great Commission, 871 00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:48,480 okay? Because Jesus commissions his 872 00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:51,600 disciples to his mission. See, the Great Commission taps 873 00:44:51,600 --> 00:44:53,920 into how we were built, how we were built. 874 00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:56,360 See, Jesus gave his people something to do. 875 00:44:56,800 --> 00:45:00,280 The cultural mandate now has a redemptive aspect to it. 876 00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:03,680 See, just as we were to be fruitful and multiply and subdue 877 00:45:03,680 --> 00:45:07,840 the earth, so now we are to make disciples and teach them to obey 878 00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:10,400 King Jesus. This is everything to do with 879 00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:12,520 us. In other words, everything. 880 00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:14,960 But I want to draw your attention to something. 881 00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:16,720 We don't have a lot of time, but I'm going to just show you a 882 00:45:16,720 --> 00:45:18,800 little bit. But the word go in the Greek 883 00:45:18,800 --> 00:45:20,840 isn't technically the command in here. 884 00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:24,520 It reads as if it's the command, but I promise you it's not. 885 00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:27,760 It's actually make is the command. 886 00:45:27,960 --> 00:45:31,480 The command is make disciples. The word go is what you call a 887 00:45:31,480 --> 00:45:35,440 passive parsable, meaning it's more kind of like as you go, OK, 888 00:45:35,640 --> 00:45:37,760 now what? This does this, does this mean 889 00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:40,600 people aren't commanded to go? No, that's not what I'm saying. 890 00:45:40,760 --> 00:45:43,400 Most certainly not. It actually broadens the going. 891 00:45:43,480 --> 00:45:45,400 It broadens going. It doesn't shrink it. 892 00:45:45,400 --> 00:45:50,600 OK, as you go about cultural mandating make disciples, Life 893 00:45:50,600 --> 00:45:52,760 in the Kingdom isn't just a spiritual experience. 894 00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:57,240 It's a holistic life. As we live, we make disciples. 895 00:45:57,440 --> 00:46:00,080 This means as you deliver that package, find ways to make 896 00:46:00,080 --> 00:46:02,160 disciples. As you teach students, find ways 897 00:46:02,160 --> 00:46:05,400 to make disciples. Whatever you, wherever you live, 898 00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:09,680 work and play, make disciples. We declare the Kingdom news. 899 00:46:09,800 --> 00:46:13,520 It's finished with a heart of compassion, bothered by the 900 00:46:13,520 --> 00:46:16,680 aimless of the crowds, and powered by God's sending. 901 00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:21,240 See, what's offered to each of us is a full life that will 902 00:46:21,240 --> 00:46:23,160 outlast us. It will outlast us. 903 00:46:23,160 --> 00:46:25,560 See, the gospel of Jesus Christ has turned the world upside 904 00:46:25,560 --> 00:46:27,680 down. It has ever since the 1st 905 00:46:27,680 --> 00:46:29,400 century, things have not been the same. 906 00:46:29,840 --> 00:46:31,040 The things have not been the same. 907 00:46:31,040 --> 00:46:33,520 The world is not yet as it should be though. 908 00:46:34,080 --> 00:46:36,440 But the gospel comes with Kingdom breakthroughs that are 909 00:46:36,440 --> 00:46:40,280 signs of what one day the world will truly be. 910 00:46:40,560 --> 00:46:44,840 And that happens through his people with Kingdom news and 911 00:46:44,840 --> 00:46:47,840 Kingdom signs. And I want to invite you today 912 00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:51,400 on behalf of Jesus, be reconciled to God through him, 913 00:46:51,840 --> 00:46:54,360 but also regain the mission you were built for. 914 00:46:54,800 --> 00:46:57,640 Because here's the thing, there are many causes and many of them 915 00:46:57,640 --> 00:47:00,440 really matter. But only this one will actually 916 00:47:00,440 --> 00:47:04,080 matter 10,000 years from now. Only this one, the others 917 00:47:04,080 --> 00:47:07,920 matter, but this one is going to matter longer. 918 00:47:08,440 --> 00:47:12,160 Let's pray. Father in Heaven, I just thank 919 00:47:12,160 --> 00:47:17,120 you that you've made us in such a specific way, that you've made 920 00:47:17,120 --> 00:47:20,000 us in your image, that you have built us for yourself. 921 00:47:20,400 --> 00:47:23,000 I ask for those here that that you would give them eyes to see 922 00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:24,920 and ears to hear. I ask that you would just send 923 00:47:24,920 --> 00:47:28,240 laborers into our great city. How could we not beg you there? 924 00:47:28,360 --> 00:47:31,200 There are not enough laborers here in the city of Norfolk. 925 00:47:31,240 --> 00:47:34,000 There's just not. And so God, we we beg you, Lord 926 00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:37,400 of the harvest, would you please send laborers into our city? 927 00:47:38,480 --> 00:47:40,320 The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 928 00:47:40,320 --> 00:47:42,760 Lord, this is our this is your city. 929 00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:45,400 And for those who are in Christ, we are your laborers. 930 00:47:45,400 --> 00:47:48,960 Father, thank you that you we get to participate in this 931 00:47:48,960 --> 00:47:51,920 redemptive work with you. Forgive us where we make it 932 00:47:51,920 --> 00:47:54,560 about ourselves and where we are so prone to be like the 933 00:47:54,560 --> 00:47:56,400 Pharisees. Father, would you put it to 934 00:47:56,400 --> 00:47:58,680 death? Spirit make us into the people 935 00:47:58,680 --> 00:48:02,840 that act as a collective Kingdom sign so that that our city might 936 00:48:02,840 --> 00:48:07,240 hear and believe and they might join us in saying joy to the 937 00:48:07,240 --> 00:48:08,680 world. It's free. 938 00:48:08,680 --> 00:48:10,000 Beautiful name. Hey, man.