1 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:13,400 Today our teaching scripture comes from Luke chapter 3, 2 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,920 verses one through 18. In the 15th year of the reign of 3 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,760 Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, 4 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:27,280 Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of 5 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:33,960 Itura, and Tracontis and Lysanisas tetrarch of Abilene, 6 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:36,240 during the high priesthood of Anas. 7 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:42,120 And the word of the Lord came to John son of Zachariah in the 8 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:44,840 wilderness. He went into all the country 9 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:48,840 around the Jordan, preaching the a baptism of repentance for the 10 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,920 forgiveness of sin as it is written in the book of the words 11 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,000 of Isaiah the prophet. A voice of one calling in the 12 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,200 wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord, 13 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:02,040 make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, 14 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,120 every mountain and hill made low. 15 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,240 The Crooked Rd. shall become straight, the rough ways smooth, 16 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:10,880 and all people will see God's salvation. 17 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,320 John said to the crowds coming out of John said to the crowds 18 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:17,040 coming out to be baptized by him. 19 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:20,520 You brood of Vipers who warned you to flee from the coming 20 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:23,920 wrath, produce fruit in keeping with repentance, and do not 21 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,120 begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. 22 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:31,960 For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children 23 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:35,200 for Abraham. The axe is already at the root 24 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,280 of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit 25 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:40,920 will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 26 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:43,600 What should we do then? The crowd asked. 27 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,800 John answered. Anyone who has two shirts should 28 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,400 share with one who has none, and anyone who has food should do 29 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:54,440 the same. Even tax collectors came to be 30 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:58,200 baptized. Teacher, they asked, what should 31 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:00,680 we do? Don't collect any more than you 32 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,440 are required to, he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, 33 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,479 and what should we do? He replied, Don't exhort money 34 00:02:08,479 --> 00:02:12,200 and don't accuse people falsely. Be content with your pay. 35 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,440 The people were waiting expectantly, and we're all 36 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,080 wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the 37 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:20,840 Messiah. John answered them all. 38 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:25,360 I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I 39 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:29,200 will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to 40 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:31,800 untie. He will baptize you with the 41 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,080 Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in the 42 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:38,600 hands to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat 43 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:42,560 into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable 44 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,320 fire. And with many other words, John 45 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:48,080 exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to 46 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:50,960 them. This is the word of the Lord. 47 00:02:52,840 --> 00:03:00,720 Good morning. Well, I trust you guys all had a 48 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:04,520 great Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for braving 49 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:10,280 the cold morning this morning. In the 15th year of the reign of 50 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:15,280 Tiberius, who was the emperor when Pontius Pilate was governor 51 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,280 of Judea and Herod was the ruler of Galilee, and his brother 52 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:22,640 Philip ruler of the region of Eteria and Tracheonititis, and 53 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:25,760 Licenius ruler of Abilene. During the high priesthood of 54 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:31,400 Anus and Caiaphas, the Word of God came to John son of 55 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:36,600 Zechariah in the wilderness. There are a lot of names in that 56 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:40,600 opening paragraph, a lot of really challenging names, a lot 57 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:43,280 of locations. There's a lot going on here. 58 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:49,280 Luke is still in the opening section of his narrative of his 59 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:51,440 gospel. The 1st 2 chapters of the Gospel 60 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:55,640 of Luke, if you go back and read, they read like kind of the 61 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:58,520 introduction of characters. I mean, there's, you know, a 62 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:03,560 little bit of drama happening there as there is here, but 63 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,160 there's a little bit of drama unfolding in those first couple 64 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:11,920 of chapters. You know, we read an overview of 65 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,280 the opening story where there's the birth of John the Baptist 66 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:19,000 being foretold and then the birth of Jesus being foretold. 67 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,440 And then the two mothers, they meet and they have this kind of 68 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:25,720 moment together. And then we read about the birth 69 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:29,680 of John and the birth of Jesus, and we read a little bit about 70 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:33,040 what happens in the younger years of Jesus's life. 71 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:37,120 We find him being dedicated in the temple, for example. 72 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:41,280 And then the next moment of the story that unfolds is Jesus 73 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:45,000 returning to the temple at the age of 12, where, you know, he 74 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,720 is caught up in the teachings of the teachers of the day, and he 75 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,280 kind of gets left behind overnight and for a full day. 76 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:56,080 I mean, there's a little bit of drama that's unfolding, but 77 00:04:56,080 --> 00:05:02,160 mostly what Luke is doing is he's introducing the characters. 78 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,520 And then in Chapter 3, it's almost as though Lee goes all 79 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,360 the way back to the beginning to reintroduce John the Baptist, 80 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:16,040 but this time as an adult. He says in the 15th year of the 81 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:22,200 reign of the emperor Tiberius, Luke is dropping us in real time 82 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:24,640 into a real place. But he isn't just telling us 83 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:28,920 when the events are unfolding. He's actually telling us what 84 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:34,600 kind of story is being told. In the opening 2 verses. 85 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:40,800 He lists 7 main characters that are on the scene at the time. 86 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,240 I just want to run through just briefly who these guys are 87 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,720 because it's actually a really important part of the story. 88 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,520 This this first guy that he names Tiberius Caesar, he's the 89 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,840 reigning emperor of Rome following Augustus. 90 00:05:54,840 --> 00:05:58,760 And his rule, especially in the later years, was known for 91 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,120 paranoia and suspicion and cruelty. 92 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,520 He was like this perfect representation of the brute 93 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:11,280 machinery of empire. Luke is rooting his story in 94 00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:15,320 global imperial structures and power and domination. 95 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,280 That's what he's doing in those opening lines. 96 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:21,600 And then he lists Pontius Pilate, who's the governor of 97 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:24,680 the region in which the story is unfolding. 98 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:29,160 His primary duty was to collect taxes and to maintain order, and 99 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:35,000 PILOT was notoriously brutal. We read later that Pilate is 100 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,920 actually the one who ends up sending Jesus to his execution, 101 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:43,400 and Luke mentions him here to highlight the sort of volatility 102 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,760 of being a Jewish person in the story that is about to unfold. 103 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:52,360 Next up is King Herod. New Testament scholar Craig 104 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:56,560 Keener reminds us that King Herod was a Jewish, but only in 105 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:00,000 name and lineage. He was completely conscripted 106 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,920 into the powers of the Roman Empire at the time. 107 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:06,960 And Herod's brother Philip was the same kind of person. 108 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,520 He was a Jewish person, but he worked for the government. 109 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:14,680 There's all of this conscription of power. 110 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:18,480 On and on and on it goes. Luke basically is saying we are 111 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:22,760 surrounded by people who are in power over us. 112 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:27,400 And he begins to name some of the religious leaders as well. 113 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,000 Anas was the former high priest but retained a lot of political 114 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:33,920 influence through family connections. 115 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,880 And he represents religious power deeply embedded into 116 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:40,800 politics. And the fact that he's even 117 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:44,560 being named is an indication that even a retired priest who 118 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,240 who had become so connected to the political structures are 119 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:50,800 still pulling those kinds of strings. 120 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:56,120 His son-in-law Caiaphas was the new high priest and he worked 121 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:59,240 under Pontius Pilate, who is the governor, and continued the 122 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,680 family tradition of trying to align their whole religious 123 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:05,000 system with the world of politics. 124 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:10,000 Luke names 7 people with incredible power and influence, 125 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:15,040 each representing political or religious control, and yet God's 126 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:21,560 Word bypasses all of them because these are not the people 127 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,800 that God is interested in partnering with. 128 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:32,200 The Word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias in the 129 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:36,360 wilderness. In a story that is rooted in 130 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:41,159 injustice and in the improper use of power and the occlusion 131 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:45,560 between religion and politics, Let the reader understand the 132 00:08:45,560 --> 00:08:50,080 voice of God comes to a man without any power operating 133 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:54,560 outside of the religious and the political theater way outside of 134 00:08:54,560 --> 00:08:57,680 the hustle of empire in the wilderness. 135 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:02,880 Friends, the scriptures are a certain kind of story and it's a 136 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:09,080 story of hope, but it begins again and again in the margins, 137 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:12,920 the good news of God coming into the reality. 138 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:18,440 And the picture that Luke paints is a is a reality that is really 139 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:21,720 hard. These guys are trapped and 140 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:26,160 surrounded by forces that are more powerful than they are. 141 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:32,360 Are you with me? So this is the first Sunday of 142 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:34,480 Advent. How many of you know that this 143 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:36,400 is the beginning of the church year? 144 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:40,480 Advent is the beginning of the church calendar year and it's 145 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:44,280 name, Advent comes from the Latin Adventist, which means 146 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:48,960 coming or arrival, and it's meant to hold intention the past 147 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:53,040 and the present and the future. It's meant to hold intention, 148 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:57,840 celebrating Jesus's birth and the God who became man, the 149 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:02,200 arrival of our ongoing awakening to his presence now in our 150 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:06,680 lives, and the longing for his final return to make all things 151 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:11,400 new. And originally this season of 152 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:15,320 Advent, even though in our present day we tend to sort of 153 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:18,920 rush right into Christmas with poinsettias and lights and 154 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:24,080 wreaths and all that kind of stuff, originally this held in 155 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:28,080 it an invitation that was not entirely unlike Lent. 156 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,760 We're actually invited to come into the darkness. 157 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:36,840 And in a more liturgical church, the lights would be dimmed and a 158 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,720 single candle would be lit, and we're going to light the Advent 159 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:41,640 candle as a representation of that. 160 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:46,480 But the idea is that we begin Advent in the darkness, and over 161 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:51,200 time we come into the light, into the hope of the God who 162 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:55,320 became a man. So if it's possible, if you 163 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:59,280 could maybe just close your eyes to the Christmas decorations so 164 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:03,360 that we can lean into the Advent, I'm inclined to try to 165 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,840 bend us back towards a little bit of that original intention. 166 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,040 Not just because I have a fascination with the earliest 167 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,160 forms of the church, but I find that I've become convinced of 168 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:16,280 what modern day priest and theologian Fleming Rutledge 169 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:22,160 calls the Christmas creep. We too quickly look towards the 170 00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:26,800 celebration of the birth without fully immersing ourselves in the 171 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:30,160 challenge of reality as it presently is. 172 00:11:30,680 --> 00:11:34,560 We have a hard time kind of slowing down and remembering 173 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:37,400 what this season is meant to do for us. 174 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:43,080 Yes, we have to celebrate the fact that God came and became 175 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:47,160 what we are so that we might become as He is, full of love 176 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:51,400 and grace and kindness. He is returning us to become 177 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:55,600 just like Him. But Advent really is a time 178 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:58,720 where we are meant to remember the kind of story that we're in. 179 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:04,400 It's ultimately a story about the future and about what is to 180 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:06,680 come. And the theological way of 181 00:12:06,680 --> 00:12:10,720 saying this is to say that the story that the scriptures are 182 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:14,480 telling is what's called an eschatological story. 183 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:19,400 It's a story about something that is happening out there on 184 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:22,600 the horizon, out in the distance, or maybe, you know, 185 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:26,120 somewhere buried in those last few pages of the text that 186 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:28,120 you're reading, whatever metaphor that you would want to 187 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:30,800 use. The story that we are living in 188 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:36,840 has a future to it, and that future is spilling backwards 189 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:40,400 into the present, and we are meeting it in real time right 190 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:41,680 now. Does that make sense? 191 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:49,960 We live in this tension between the way our world is and the way 192 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:51,720 that we hope that it could become. 193 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,800 Does anybody feel that tension right now? 194 00:12:57,560 --> 00:13:00,080 You just sort of like in your life, you just like, man, I 195 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,840 really wish that things were different in our world or in my 196 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:07,280 life. This is why that Luke begins by 197 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:11,880 painting a rather bleak picture of the circumstances that feel 198 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:21,720 insurmountable surrounded by 7 leaders that are oppressive on 199 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:23,920 their Thrones, doing their thing. 200 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:28,080 And yet when the glory and the word of the Lord comes it, it 201 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:33,600 comes to a poor man, barely clothed, feeding himself on 202 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,280 locust and wild honey in the wilderness. 203 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:41,040 What a story. His name is John John the 204 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,960 Baptist, and he shows up on the scene to remind us that Advent 205 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:49,000 begins in the dark and that the future that God has promised is 206 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,840 making its way towards us from the future leaking back onto the 207 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:54,560 present. And so we're going to take a 208 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:59,200 closer look at this Scripture this morning and the message 209 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:03,160 that John is to bring us in three parts for those of you 210 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:07,160 that like to know where we're headed, the wilderness, the 211 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:14,280 wondering, and the wasteland. So first up, the wilderness, the 212 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:18,520 word of God came to John, son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 213 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:22,680 He went into all of the region around the Jordan proclaiming a 214 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:27,400 baptism of forgiveness and the repent of of repentance for the 215 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:31,280 forgiveness of sins as it is written in the book of the words 216 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,880 of the prophet Isaiah. The voice of one crying out in 217 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,560 the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths 218 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,960 straight. Every valley shall be filled, 219 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:44,640 and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the 220 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:48,320 crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, 221 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:52,880 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. 222 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:58,440 So the good news of John of God comes to John in the wild. 223 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:02,040 And you know, maybe without even any further commentary, that 224 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:05,480 might already be a bit of a source of encouragement to you. 225 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,320 How many of you feel like your life is unfolding a little bit 226 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:16,800 more wild than you had planned? Maybe maybe you imagined life 227 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:18,960 getting sorted out a little bit different? 228 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:26,320 How many of you maybe presently or recently have felt as though 229 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:31,760 you are in the wilderness? OK, some of us have felt 230 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:34,840 wilderness of late. Maybe, you know, you're not 231 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:38,440 surviving on locusts and honey. But I know most people do feel 232 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:40,360 like they're just scraping by a little bit. 233 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:45,480 The word of God comes to John in the wilderness. 234 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:48,720 We cannot overlook this part of the story that we live in. 235 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:53,200 And John is showing up onto the scene as a prophet. 236 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:56,320 And anybody paying attention to John's life would have known 237 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:00,320 that John the Baptist is playing a particular kind of role. 238 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:05,040 He's not so much role-playing, but he has shaped his life to 239 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:08,080 look a certain way in, to announce the particular 240 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:11,680 possibility of being heard in a certain way. 241 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:16,240 The original hearers of this story and the original people 242 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:21,000 that would have watched John's life unfold over time and begin 243 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:24,360 to hear him preach, they would have known that he had fashioned 244 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:27,520 himself to be a prophet, not entirely unlike the prophets 245 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:29,880 that we read about in the Old Testament. 246 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:32,040 I mean, these are some like weird guys. 247 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:37,080 And so John show shows up on the scene as kind of a weird guy in 248 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:39,520 order to proclaim a certain kind of message. 249 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:43,640 But friends, these Old Testament prophets and a prophet like John 250 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:48,640 are not so much into like predicting the future, though 251 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:51,120 there is a little bit of that from time to time. 252 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:54,120 The prophets in the biblical narrative are not so much 253 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:58,040 interested in when something is going to happen, but in what is 254 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,960 happening already. They're being prophetic to the 255 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:06,560 degree that what is happening already is hidden and is either 256 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:10,440 in need of being revealed, is already in the process of being 257 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:13,160 revealed, or something is about to happen that will shine a 258 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,800 light into the darkness. That's what the prophets do. 259 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:21,160 John is a prophet who has come to reveal reality, and most 260 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:24,400 prophets are not doing their thing in order to bring comfort, 261 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:29,480 but to offer clarity. They say something like, hey, 262 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:32,880 let me tell you what's actually happening behind the scenes. 263 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:36,520 Let me pull back the curtain that covers up the truth and the 264 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:40,240 reality of what's actually going on, or let me introduce and 265 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:43,640 announce something that is happening in broad daylight, but 266 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:46,400 people are afraid to say something about it. 267 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:49,920 You guys know that there are really challenging things 268 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:54,600 happening in broad daylight, not only in our own little lives, 269 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:59,240 but also just more broadly speaking, there are really harsh 270 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:02,280 realities that are happening in broad daylight. 271 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:06,440 And yes, in some corners of our society, people are trying to 272 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:09,040 give voice to the reality of those harsh things that are 273 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:13,480 happening. But let's just be honest, those 274 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:17,040 things pop up into the news and then quickly get subsided and we 275 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:21,720 just grow numb and our vision grows dim to the hard realities 276 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:25,680 of what is unfolding. One of the things that prophets 277 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,800 do throughout the scriptures is they function in this role to 278 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:33,600 help people get present to what psychologists call cognitive 279 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:36,040 dissonance. Guys, ever heard the term 280 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:39,600 cognitive dissonance? Cognitive dissonance is a 281 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:43,920 psychological term for the inner tension that we feel when our 282 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:49,080 beliefs and our values and our actions are in conflict with one 283 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:52,720 another. So for example, you know, I 284 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:56,920 might believe in generosity but ignore someone in in need. 285 00:18:58,120 --> 00:19:01,000 And those two things happening at the same time creates this 286 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:02,680 sort of inner turmoil, doesn't it? 287 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:07,320 We naturally try to reduce the dissonance either by changing 288 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:11,360 our behavior or by justifying our behavior. 289 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:15,400 Those are really the only two things that we can do in the 290 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:19,040 face of when the things that we know to be true do not become 291 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:23,280 true about our lives. And it's this key concept in 292 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:27,640 psychology because it explains why sometimes people choose to 293 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:32,680 deny the truth or resist change or justify harmful choices. 294 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:37,640 We're trying to work out that dissonance that we feel. 295 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,960 And, you know, spiritually, this dissonance can often show up. 296 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:45,320 For example, we say that we trust God, but we might be 297 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:49,400 driven by fear. And, you know, the dissidence 298 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:54,240 itself isn't necessarily bad, but it also is often a signal 299 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:57,040 that there is some transformation that is sort of 300 00:19:57,040 --> 00:19:58,960 beginning to be birthed inside of us. 301 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,720 And that discomfort that we feel about the way that we long for 302 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:08,320 the world to be and the way that it actually is is a signpost to 303 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:11,080 the way in which we hope for that thing to change. 304 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:15,520 Does that make sense? The kind of language that 305 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:20,280 prophets in the biblical narrative would use and the kind 306 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,360 of stories they were to tell is to try to reveal to us where 307 00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:28,040 those things are not aligned. And they use this language 308 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:33,680 called apocalyptic language. Apocalypse comes from the Greek 309 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:37,960 apocalyptus and it means an unveiling or a revelation. 310 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:41,960 And it's it's language that is meant to do the work of 311 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:46,520 revealing what is true. And so John seeking to name 312 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:50,360 clearly what is at stake and what is what is reality and 313 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:53,160 trying to reveal to the people that he's preaching to the 314 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:57,680 reality of their lives. He brings up the prophet Isaiah. 315 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:03,800 And he says this, Every valley shall be filled, and every 316 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:07,920 mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be 317 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:12,440 made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh 318 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:20,040 shall see the salvation of God. This is prophet speak for naming 319 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:23,960 and revealing that when God's anointed one comes to make 320 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:28,440 things right, it will be as impactful of an event as if the 321 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:31,400 entire topography of the world were flattened. 322 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:36,080 You know, you wake up 1 morning and all of the hills are gone 323 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:41,040 and all of the valleys are gone. All of the curvy trails are made 324 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:43,000 straight. I mean, this would cause you to 325 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,920 make some attentiveness, right? This would cause you to pay 326 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:49,560 attention if you woke up in the world and everything was 327 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:54,360 completely flat. This is apocalyptic language to 328 00:21:54,360 --> 00:21:58,000 say something big is on the scene. 329 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:01,200 Something giant is going to happen. 330 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:03,680 But this last line is the kicker. 331 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:09,120 All the humans will see the salvation of God. 332 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:17,480 Oh, that's interesting. This is Isaiah's way of saying 333 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:21,960 that as unimaginable as it might be for all of the mountains to 334 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,200 be made low and all of the valleys to cease to exist and 335 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:27,960 every part of the earth to be made smooth, the most 336 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:31,920 unimaginable thing that could happen is going to happen, which 337 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:35,040 is that all of the humans will see the salvation of God. 338 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:39,280 The Gospel story is a story that begins in the wilderness and not 339 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:42,480 in the hands of those in power, because the wilderness is a 340 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:48,880 metaphor of reality. The wilderness is a metaphor of 341 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:52,560 reality. Luke draws our attention to the 342 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:56,480 places of power and how kind of messed up things are for the 343 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,520 typical person. And then he describes a scene 344 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:03,720 where everything gets flattened. This guy, John, steps out of the 345 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:07,120 desert to remind us that everything is not OK. 346 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:11,800 And listen, you might be sitting here saying, yeah, like, I did 347 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,040 not need John to step out of the desert to tell me that 348 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:18,640 everything is not OK. But here he is. 349 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:22,480 This no name preacher steps out of the desert with matted hair 350 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:24,960 that probably has not been washed in a very long time. 351 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,600 He's barely dressed in some animal skin. 352 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:32,680 He has maybe a handful of disciples around him. 353 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,120 And in the middle of a region that is surrounded by governors 354 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:40,040 and statesman and presidents and senators and religious leaders 355 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:44,080 and Internet personalities and pastors and priests colliding 356 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:49,200 with the whole system to rid the whole land of the poor and the 357 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:55,240 needy, that's what's going on. And this John steps out of the 358 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,360 wilderness and he throws down a mic drop quote from the old 359 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:00,960 prophet Isaiah. And he begins to preach. 360 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:05,680 All the humans will see the salvation of God. 361 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:13,600 So he hands us the gift of seeing our life for the reality 362 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:17,360 that it is and the reality that actually surrounds us. 363 00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:21,440 And then he reminds us that the story that we're living in is a 364 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:26,800 story of hope beyond anything that could possibly make sense. 365 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,600 You know, if you've been with us for the past couple of months, 366 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:35,800 you know, we've been in this series on the Passions, and 367 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:38,000 you're thinking, is this guy ever going to stop talking about 368 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:42,320 the passions? And it turns out that this 369 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:46,960 series on the Passions is a perfect teaching series to lead 370 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:51,600 us into Advent. It's a series that has helped us 371 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:55,960 get in touch, I hope, a little bit with the reality of our 372 00:24:55,960 --> 00:25:00,720 lives and all of the ways that our cognitive dissonance shows 373 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:06,520 up. One last reminder, The passions 374 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:13,640 are our disordered loves. We cling to lesser goods and are 375 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:17,760 clinging to the lesser goods. It shows up in these complex 376 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:21,920 emotional States and obsessive thinking and are over attachment 377 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:24,840 to the things that we think are going to make us feel better. 378 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:29,520 The lust and the greed and the envy and the pride and the 379 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,280 gluttony. They're happening just below the 380 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:36,280 surface. But what we really want for our 381 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:40,920 life is freedom from all of those things. 382 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:47,440 So the powers that operate in the world that we live in aren't 383 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:51,240 just, you know, the CE OS of the big companies or the men and 384 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:55,240 women on the Senate floor or the world leaders making decisions. 385 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:59,720 It's not just that there are powers out there organizing our 386 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:03,240 life, friends. There are powers at work inside 387 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:09,720 of us that are dictating how our lives show up into the world. 388 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:15,160 There is a lot of reality that the scriptural story is trying 389 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:22,360 to help us get in touch with. So how do we respond to the 390 00:26:22,360 --> 00:26:28,520 promise of John's teaching when we're so confronted with the 391 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:34,640 reality that that there is one who is coming that is going to 392 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:38,960 straighten everything out and fill all the gaps, and that 393 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:42,440 there's some story out on the horizon that is pulling its way 394 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:46,720 back towards us? But then we actually just have 395 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:48,200 our life that we're trying to live. 396 00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:52,320 How do we live in this tension of the reality of our actual 397 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:57,520 lives with powers both inside of us at work and powers outside of 398 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:01,320 us at work, such that it feels like neither in the world around 399 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:05,680 me or in the world within me are things going exactly the way 400 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:09,360 that I wish that they would go? You guys get that sense that 401 00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:13,920 it's like where, like inside of me, it's not going the way that 402 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,440 I really wish it to go. Sometimes out in the world, it's 403 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:18,840 not really going the way that I wish. 404 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:23,440 It's like, where can I go? Well, that's where the biblical 405 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:28,000 story comes in. And this brings us to the 406 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:33,440 wondering. So John paints this picture of 407 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:36,960 the reality of the lives that the people are walking in. 408 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:40,880 They're surrounded by powers, they're surrounded by forces. 409 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:44,680 And he reminds them what the prophet Isaiah said was going to 410 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:48,120 happen when God's anointed one came to make all of the things 411 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:51,880 right and fill the whole land with the salvation of God, the 412 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:54,400 saving power of God to make things right. 413 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:59,880 And he begins with a message of repentance. 414 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:05,640 Luke tells us that this is primarily the thrust of John's 415 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:08,600 preaching. He says the word of God came to 416 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:12,760 John, son of Zechariah, in the wilderness, and he went into all 417 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,360 of the region around the Jordan proclaiming a baptism of 418 00:28:16,360 --> 00:28:18,760 repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 419 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:23,200 Just a few verses later, John is talking with the people who are 420 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:24,600 coming to listen to him preaching. 421 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:29,120 He says bear fruits in keeping with repentance. 422 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:33,120 Friends, repentance is is kind of one of those difficult 423 00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:37,760 religious words that kind of makes us feel a certain way, 424 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:40,920 doesn't it? We think about the word 425 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:45,080 repentance and we associate it with some angry men holding 426 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:46,760 sandwich boards on the street corner. 427 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:54,440 But listen, all it really means is to change your mind. 428 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:00,840 Change your mind. It means to simply turn your 429 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:05,200 whole self back to God from wherever it is in your life that 430 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:09,480 you are standing. You could be incredibly close to 431 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:14,440 God and have real life with God, and there are infinite ways in 432 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:16,720 which we just slightly turn away, isn't there? 433 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,440 Repentance is not meant to bring about shame. 434 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:23,920 It's not meant to be some angry man yelling at you. 435 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:28,480 It's meant to just bring our attention to say, would you just 436 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:33,040 turn your shoulders back to God? You could be as far away from 437 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:38,120 God as you have ever been in your entire life and scrambling 438 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:42,880 to find comfort in all of the wild things of the world. 439 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:48,160 And all repentance means is to turn away from those things and 440 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:52,240 to turn towards God. For some reason, culturally we 441 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:56,240 have it in us that repentance carries with it this idea of 442 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:58,320 like a tremendous amount of shame. 443 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:02,840 But it is simply the recognition that we are not yet as we were 444 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:09,440 made to be, and we live in and are helping to uphold a world 445 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:14,720 that does not support who we are on our way to becoming. 446 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:19,440 Repentance is just an admission of reality, friends. 447 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:27,720 It's just naming what is true. Like what if we could just name 448 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:33,600 the truth about our lives like as they really are, without any 449 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:40,000 sense of shame, without any sense of judgement and trust 450 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,920 that God is the one who is inviting us to partner with Him, 451 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:46,600 to have to have enough hope. That He is the one that is doing 452 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:50,000 the heavy lifting of making all of those crooked paths straight 453 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:53,160 in US and filling all of those valleys in US. 454 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:57,640 That God is the one who is reshaping the topography of our 455 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:01,760 life, but that we would just simply be able to say, you know 456 00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:05,040 what? I am not yet who I am meant to 457 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:09,240 be and I am going to decide to turn my shoulders back to God. 458 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:14,040 It's about just dealing with reality. 459 00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:19,960 So friends, Advent is a time of waiting for all of the things to 460 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:23,960 get sorted. But first we have to name 461 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:28,200 reality for what it is We we learn how to tell the truth 462 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:30,360 about what is going on in our lives. 463 00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:33,640 That is the work that we've been trying to do in the life of our 464 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:38,920 church in this season. But it's not that there's not 465 00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:44,160 anything for us to do. It's not that we just named the 466 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:48,240 reality of our life. We have to see our lives for 467 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:51,640 what it truly is. But then there is some stuff 468 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:58,560 that God is going to invite us into, you know, back to just the 469 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:02,720 reality of your life. What what is the reality of your 470 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:06,720 life right now? If you could just name 471 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:13,720 internally some things that have presently come to your attention 472 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,200 that are just a little misshapen in your life. 473 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:21,600 Or maybe the patterns of your thinking that just feel like 474 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:24,960 they're not entirely like on key. 475 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:27,960 Like where have you been able to see that? 476 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:31,720 Perhaps you're clinging to things or over indulging in 477 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,640 things that you thought would make you feel better, but deep 478 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:38,280 down you know that these are all lesser goods that are slowly 479 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:41,800 forming you into somebody that you're not supposed to become. 480 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:47,920 The grace and the love of God says you can just be honest. 481 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:52,960 You can just say to God, here is what is true about my life, 482 00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:56,040 because repentance is simply naming reality. 483 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:04,640 And then we begin to wonder. The wondering part is where we 484 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:09,400 begin to ask what it is that we're supposed to do in response 485 00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:12,360 to the promise that God has for our life. 486 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:16,480 So John is preaching this invitation to repentance. 487 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:19,760 He's saying, could you just look at the reality of the way that 488 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:23,440 life is working right now? And then the crowds ask him, 489 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:29,640 what then should we do? And he said to them, very 490 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:32,680 simply, whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has 491 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:37,640 none, and whoever has food must do likewise. 492 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:42,040 Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they asked him, 493 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:47,000 teacher, what should we do? And he said to them, collect no 494 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:48,840 more than the amount prescribed for you. 495 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:53,880 Soldiers also asked him what are we to do? 496 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:57,840 And he said to them, do not extort money from anyone by 497 00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:02,360 threats or false accusation and be satisfied with your wages. 498 00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:05,880 So this question of what is it that we are to do? 499 00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:09,520 This is the first question that the story of the Scriptures is 500 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:13,520 meant to kind of elicit in US. But it's on the heels of already 501 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:16,639 coming to at least begin to grasp that God is already 502 00:34:16,639 --> 00:34:21,199 planning on doing something. Friends, God, God is already 503 00:34:21,199 --> 00:34:23,159 planning on doing something in the world. 504 00:34:23,159 --> 00:34:26,520 He's already planning on rescuing us and rescuing the 505 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:29,520 entire world. Remember, this is where John 506 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:31,760 begins. He begins with a vision for what 507 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:37,120 God is already going to do. Repentance is our way of getting 508 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:40,320 in on the project that God is already going to bring to 509 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:44,360 completion. We name the reality of our life 510 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:48,199 before God. We bear fruits with keeping of 511 00:34:48,199 --> 00:34:52,719 repentance and we basically say that the fruit of our life is 512 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:55,520 going to name our life for what it really is. 513 00:34:55,920 --> 00:35:00,120 So the crowds are wondering what to do with their life and given 514 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:02,520 the reality of what what God was about to do. 515 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:05,000 And John's response to them was really practical. 516 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:09,280 He says listen, if you have extra, just give it away. 517 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:13,880 Share with people in need. This is how you join with what 518 00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:19,680 God is already going to do in the world to the tax collectors. 519 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:22,240 These these are the ones who had already aligned themselves with 520 00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:25,760 all of the powers of the world and colluded with the religious 521 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:27,400 and the political power structures. 522 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:32,080 And his response to them was, listen, really practically, 523 00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:36,600 don't abuse your power. Detach yourself from whatever it 524 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:39,440 is that is driving you to take advantage of people. 525 00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:42,960 Have a change of mind related to all of that stuff. 526 00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:46,520 The soldiers are also standing by. 527 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:48,400 They're like, well, what are we supposed to do? 528 00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:53,440 And again, John gets really practical about what repentance 529 00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:56,400 looks like. He says, stop overpowering 530 00:35:56,400 --> 00:35:59,600 people. Cut it out with all of those 531 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:02,320 false accusations. Settle into your life. 532 00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:08,720 Be content with what you have. So friends, as we are turning 533 00:36:08,720 --> 00:36:12,360 our shoulders to this Advent season, I just I want to remind 534 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:16,880 us that we are in a cosmic story where God is doing an 535 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:22,920 unfathomable thing. And this unfathomable thing is 536 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:25,880 really hard to get our minds around. 537 00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:28,800 It's such a big and cosmic story. 538 00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:31,640 And there are moments in our daily lives where, you know, 539 00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:34,600 we're just trying to get a good deal on Black on Black Friday. 540 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:38,120 We're just trying to figure out whether that sale is still going 541 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:40,880 to be good on Cyber Monday. I see you. 542 00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:45,400 I get it. Our lives are just very basic 543 00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:48,160 and mundane. And then there's this giant 544 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:51,560 cosmic story. How do we get involved in the 545 00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:55,800 giant cosmic story when our life and reality is the way in which 546 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:59,720 it is? It kind of becomes a bit of a 547 00:36:59,720 --> 00:37:02,080 struggle, don't you think? Like there's this giant 548 00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:05,840 narrative that we're supposed to somehow lasso our hope to. 549 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:13,480 And what John says is the way we get into that cosmic story is we 550 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:15,880 ask a very basic question of God. 551 00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:19,840 We turn to God and we ask God, what do you want me to do? 552 00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:25,800 And then we listen and God tells us what to do. 553 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:27,680 We bring this question before God. 554 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:33,120 And what tends to happen is we hear things that are really, 555 00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:39,560 really practical. Things like love your spouse, 556 00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:44,040 spend time with your kids, call your mom. 557 00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:50,800 There's this really rooted practicality to the life that 558 00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:55,640 God is inviting us into. And it requires us to turn our 559 00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:58,760 attention to God in repentance. And just to say, this is my life 560 00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:01,160 as it truly is. What would you have me do with 561 00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:07,280 my life? So I want to close with the 562 00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:13,560 wasteland. John ends with another 563 00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:21,120 apocalyptic image that is meant to actually bring us hope, but 564 00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:23,080 often times it does not bring his hope. 565 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:30,560 He says this his winnowing fork is in his hand to clear the 566 00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:35,520 threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary and 567 00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:38,120 the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. 568 00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:45,680 So a winnowing fork is a large wooden tool that is used in 569 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:49,320 grain processing. And the way this works is after 570 00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:54,080 you thresh the grain, the the harvested grain is kind of loose 571 00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:58,160 like on the floor of the barn. And the farmer would then toss 572 00:38:58,160 --> 00:39:03,800 the mixture with a winnowing fork into the air, and the wind 573 00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:06,480 would sort of blow away the chaff, and then the wheat would 574 00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:07,840 settle. Does that make sense? 575 00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:14,400 So the chaff is the really light part of the grain that that kind 576 00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:17,920 of comes off and that you don't really want to eat as part of 577 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:20,480 your bread. And so there's a big pile of 578 00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:24,240 grain and the farmer lifts it up and the wind takes all the light 579 00:39:24,240 --> 00:39:27,600 stuff away and the heavier stuff settles. 580 00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:32,640 And often times this passage, because there is this 581 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:39,000 apocalyptic language around unquenchable fire, it becomes 582 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:41,560 unsettling because a lot of biblical interpreters through 583 00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:46,920 time have been teaching us that this means that that God is is 584 00:39:46,920 --> 00:39:49,800 in this context separating people. 585 00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:52,840 And there are wheat and there are chaff kinds of people. 586 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:55,280 Let me just be really clear. I don't think that that's what 587 00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:59,560 this is talking about. This is. 588 00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:07,240 That God is separating all of the chaff of your life and the 589 00:40:07,240 --> 00:40:14,720 world around us and burning all of the stuff up that is painful 590 00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:22,680 and that is not in congruence with His Kingdom and is in just 591 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:27,600 and is unrighteous. All of that is chaff that is 592 00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:32,240 being blown away by the wind. And the reason that this is 593 00:40:32,240 --> 00:40:37,400 hopeful is because in the same way that John began with this 594 00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:43,240 picture of like we are surrounded by injustice, and in 595 00:40:43,240 --> 00:40:48,360 the same way that we have been talking about all of the stuff 596 00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:51,080 inside of us that is also causing trouble. 597 00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:55,240 I want you to imagine that all of it, all of the injustice in 598 00:40:55,240 --> 00:41:00,240 the world and all of the stuff inside of you is what the 599 00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:07,800 Scriptures call chaff. The reason that we have hope is 600 00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:13,880 that Jesus has a winnowing fork, and the Kingdom of God is the 601 00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:18,360 work of throwing everything up and letting the Spirit of God 602 00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:22,160 blow away all of the things that are not meant to be, to allow 603 00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:27,240 the real stuff to settle. Does this make sense? 604 00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:34,440 Our job is to come before God and to say simply, what do you 605 00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:38,800 want me to do? But the one who is doing all of 606 00:41:38,800 --> 00:41:41,720 the heavy lifting is God himself. 607 00:41:43,120 --> 00:41:46,560 And this is where we begin. We begin with the reality of 608 00:41:46,560 --> 00:41:50,000 seeing that we have this giant pile of wheat that needs to be 609 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:53,920 sifted from the chaff, and we put our hope in the one who's 610 00:41:53,920 --> 00:41:56,240 going to do the sifting. Amen. 611 00:41:57,240 --> 00:42:00,760 Hey, the First Sunday of Advent is about hope. 612 00:42:02,320 --> 00:42:05,160 This is where John leads us in this beautiful picture. 613 00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:08,200 God is burning up everything in your life that is not born of 614 00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:11,360 love. God is burning up everything in 615 00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:14,160 the world. Burning up is apocalyptic 616 00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:18,680 language for God, saying I'm going to deal with it, I'm going 617 00:42:18,680 --> 00:42:22,080 to sort it out. I'm going to make the hill very 618 00:42:22,080 --> 00:42:23,560 flat. I'm going to fill in the valley. 619 00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:28,400 And our hope is in God to do that thing. 620 00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:31,120 And so we turn our attention to God. 621 00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:37,880 I want to invite the worship team to come back up just by way 622 00:42:37,880 --> 00:42:46,920 of a couple of different things that we can respond to as we 623 00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:48,560 head back into a time of worship. 624 00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:56,840 I just had a sense in prayer yesterday that for some of you 625 00:42:56,960 --> 00:43:03,000 there is, there's just a lot of chaff like out there in the 626 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:05,160 world. You're, you're just like, Oh my 627 00:43:05,160 --> 00:43:08,160 gosh, how could this ever get fixed? 628 00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:13,520 Is it even possible? Is this story that I'm trying to 629 00:43:13,520 --> 00:43:16,320 live in even true? And I just, I just want to 630 00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:18,360 invite you to come and receive prayer. 631 00:43:19,240 --> 00:43:21,760 We'll have some folks up here to pray with us for a little bit. 632 00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:27,840 And then secondly, just that sense of you just have an 633 00:43:27,840 --> 00:43:31,000 awareness that there are things in you that you need to just 634 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:34,240 repent of. This first Sunday of Advent is 635 00:43:34,240 --> 00:43:37,760 an Advent where we are meant to turn our shoulders towards 636 00:43:37,760 --> 00:43:41,280 repentance, where we just say to God, this is the reality of my 637 00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:44,240 life and I invite you in it. So I want to invite you to 638 00:43:44,240 --> 00:43:47,040 stand. We're going to go into a time of 639 00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:47,480 worship.