1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:02,640 A reading from the book of Deuteronomy. 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:08,600 Be careful to follow these statutes and ordinances in the 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:12,280 land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to 4 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:15,440 possess all the days that you live on the earth. 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:20,120 Destroy completely all the places where the nations that 6 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:23,400 you are driving out worship their gods on the high 7 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:27,680 mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree. 8 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:33,080 Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn their 9 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:37,960 ashrae poles, cut down the carved images of their gods and 10 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:40,640 wipe out their names from every place. 11 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:44,160 Don't worship the Lord your God this way. 12 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:50,040 Instead, turn to the place the Lord your God chooses from all 13 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:54,240 your tribes to put His name for His dwelling and go there. 14 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,880 You are to bring there your burnt offerings and sacrifices, 15 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,600 your tents and personal contributions, your vow 16 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,920 offerings and free will offerings, and the first born of 17 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:09,640 your herds and flocks. You will eat there in the 18 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,840 presence of the Lord your God and rejoice with your household 19 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:18,480 in everything you do, because the Lord your God has blessed 20 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:22,240 you. You're not to do as we are doing 21 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:26,360 here today. Everyone is doing whatever seems 22 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:30,920 right in His own sight. Indeed, you have not yet come 23 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:34,400 into the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God 24 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,200 has given you. When you cross the Jordan and 25 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:41,200 live in the land the Lord your God has given you to inherit, 26 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:45,400 and He gives you rest from all the enemies around you, and you 27 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:50,360 live in security, then the Lord your God will choose the place 28 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:54,400 to have His name dwell. Bring there everything I command 29 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:58,080 you, your burnt offerings, sacrifices, offerings of the 30 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:02,400 10th, personal contributions and all your choice offerings. 31 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:06,280 You vowed to the Lord. You will rejoice before the Lord 32 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:10,600 your God, you, your sons and daughters, your male and female 33 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:15,200 slaves, and the Levite who is within your city gates, since he 34 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,160 has no portion or inheritance among you. 35 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:23,480 Be careful not to offer your bird offerings in all the sacred 36 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:28,880 places You see, you must offer your bird offerings only in the 37 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:33,120 place the Lord chooses, in one of your tribes, and there you 38 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,160 must do everything. I command you the word of the 39 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:41,240 Lord. Let's pray together, Lord, Your 40 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:44,560 dwelling place is lovely. In your dwelling place is where 41 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:48,600 those who are gathered in your name lift up their voices and 42 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,320 praise your name. Your dwelling place, Lord, is 43 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:53,560 where your Holy Spirit is present, and we thank you that 44 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:55,080 you're present here this morning. 45 00:02:55,840 --> 00:03:00,320 We also ask for open ears among everyone gathered here, everyone 46 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,320 listening, that we would hear your word from Deuteronomy 47 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,360 afresh this morning. I pray that you'd set us apart, 48 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,720 Lord, as your holy dwelling place, your sacred space, in the 49 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,080 name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen. 50 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:18,720 Please be seated. I invite you to turn to our Old 51 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,480 Testament reading today. It's Deuteronomy 12. 52 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,760 It's printed in your bulletins. You can turn there in your 53 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,240 Bible. It's close to the front part of 54 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:33,080 the Pentateuch, the last of the five books of Moses, and it's a 55 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:37,360 part of a sermon, extended sermon from from Moses, the 56 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:39,080 spiritual leader of the people of Israel. 57 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,120 We're in a series right in the middle of a series called Sacred 58 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,080 Spaces. Sometimes we think about heaven 59 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,360 and God as being distant and far away, but in this series we've 60 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:53,640 seen that what the Lord loves to do is to draw near and find 61 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:57,920 places of overlap where we can encounter Him right here in our 62 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:01,600 everyday life and be changed and set apart for His mission in the 63 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:05,880 world to renew all things. Now, today's sacred space, we, 64 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:08,040 you know, we've looked at the garden, we've looked at the 65 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:10,480 Tabernacle, we've looked at the mountain, and all of these have 66 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:14,560 different significance points. But today's sacred space is the 67 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:17,279 temple. And this one I think might bring 68 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:19,279 the greatest challenge to all of us. 69 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:25,080 Why? The temple is all about where 70 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:29,640 God chooses to dwell. It's his preference sets the 71 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:35,720 tone for where he meets with us and we are used to choosing how 72 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:40,360 we encounter God and there's a clash that we might feel 73 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:44,120 immediately as we and maybe you felt it when you were hearing 74 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:48,440 the Deuteronomy reading because so much about the temple is 75 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:54,320 where God chooses to dwell. Verse 5 turn to the place the 76 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,360 Lord your God chooses. Go there. 77 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:01,000 Verse 11, The Lord your God will choose the place to have His 78 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,400 name dwell. Verse 14 Offer burnt offerings 79 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,760 only in the place the Lord God chooses. 80 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:12,120 And this presents a dilemma to us who are so used to having all 81 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:14,560 kinds of choice, especially about personal things. 82 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:19,320 Will we worship the Lord God in the way He chooses or the way we 83 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,480 choose? Tara. 84 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,920 Isabella Burton is a young intellectual, and she chose for 85 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:29,280 many years how she would connect with the Divine. 86 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,440 I'm quoting here from an article she wrote. 87 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:37,360 She says I kept an an altar that was a fusion of Roman Saints, 88 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,880 icons, and Wiccan candles I purchased on the Internet. 89 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,560 I was a little bit Catholic, a little bit Episcopalian, a 90 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:46,560 little bit Jewish, and a little bit Pagan. 91 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:51,960 And what she was experiencing was like, hey, I have no use for 92 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:56,000 institutional religion that's failed so many people and I have 93 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,440 no interest in it. You don't get a choice in 94 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,240 institutional religion for how you connect with the divine. 95 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,720 And so instead she opted for what she called intuitional 96 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,320 religion. Intuitional religion. 97 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:13,040 She's not saying intuition's bad, but she's saying that the 98 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:15,960 way that she practiced her religious faith, the way that 99 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:18,480 she found spiritual meaning, was to make intuition the 100 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:21,680 foundation, the cornerstone of her spiritual life. 101 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:24,640 No more was it dogma. No more was it rules. 102 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:26,840 No more was it structure. It was intuition. 103 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:30,840 On that which would be built a flourishing spirituality. 104 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:37,600 In her book Strange Rights RITES, Strange Rights, Burton 105 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,200 describes how modern people do this. 106 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,640 They turn everyday experiences into something supercharged with 107 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:47,600 spirituality. So diet and exercise and 108 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:51,760 Wellness become supercharged with spirituality, or politics 109 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:55,760 and social activism become supercharged with spirituality. 110 00:06:55,760 --> 00:07:01,560 Or relationships and dating and and romance become supercharged 111 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,640 with the divine or even technology and techno utopia 112 00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:09,120 becomes this religion, almost semi religion or even immersive 113 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:13,560 theater and music and literature becomes the place where you 114 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,520 encounter something numinous and otherworldly. 115 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:23,200 And it's like there's little shrines everywhere, little gods 116 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,480 everywhere, there's spirituality everywhere. 117 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:31,160 And it sounds very trendy. It sounds very new and and some 118 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:35,440 measures of it are, but it turns out that this approach is not 119 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:37,960 new. In fact, verses 2 through 4 120 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:42,640 references many of the spiritual options available to God's 121 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:44,760 people as they approach the Promised Land. 122 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:51,280 Moses says destroy completely all the places where the nations 123 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:53,880 that you are driving out worship their gods. 124 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,760 On the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green 125 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:03,440 tree, tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn 126 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,960 their asharah poles, cut down the carved images of their gods, 127 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,040 and wipe out their names from every place. 128 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:13,880 That is the names of the gods represented by these totems and 129 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:16,360 these altars and these sacred shrines. 130 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:21,120 The closer Israel got from the wilderness to the Promised Land, 131 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:26,240 they encountered these upwardly mobile, urbane forms of 132 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,320 spirituality that were tempting them especially. 133 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:31,880 Hey, mix what you're doing with Yahweh. 134 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:34,120 That's interesting. Mix it with what we're doing, 135 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:36,600 and you'll have the optimum spiritual experience. 136 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:40,919 Everywhere they looked, there was deities and shrines. 137 00:08:40,919 --> 00:08:43,799 I mean, it was right there. It was very convenient, very 138 00:08:44,039 --> 00:08:46,840 pleasurable. Everywhere you hiked, everywhere 139 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:49,560 you went, there was a way to connect with something greater. 140 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:54,240 Let's say your crops weren't doing too well and you wanted 141 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:56,960 divine help. Well, you can make an offering 142 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,320 to bail. He was a Canaanite deity. 143 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:03,080 You had control over the agricultural situation. 144 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:05,840 And if you wanted a little bit more control over your life, 145 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,680 you'd make an offering to bail. And the promise would be he'd 146 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:12,400 make your crops grow. He'd make you more wealthy. 147 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:15,720 Or maybe you wanted more children for your family. 148 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:18,600 That was often a measure of survival for these families. 149 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,120 Would would they have children with these children survive 150 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:26,040 infancy and one of the ways that people sought a connection with 151 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,240 God that would help their families grow is they would make 152 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:32,640 an offering to Ashara. And Ashara was kind of Bale's 153 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:35,560 understood to be Bale's consort like his other half. 154 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:39,720 And there were temple prostitutes. 155 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:42,680 These references to the mountains and hills of every 156 00:09:42,680 --> 00:09:46,000 green tree at some point in in that reference. 157 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:49,680 There's, there's a, there are prostitutes there that if you 158 00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:54,480 could basically subscribe to their services, that was a way 159 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,040 for you to make an offering to a share. 160 00:09:56,040 --> 00:10:00,320 You give some cash, you engage in, in worship of a share, and 161 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:02,960 then you're more guaranteed kids for your family. 162 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:09,080 And if and, and if the the person serving you conceives a 163 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:12,720 child, that child would be offered up in sacrifice. 164 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:15,120 And that was how the system worked. 165 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:18,320 And that was what Israel was tempted to do. 166 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:22,560 These religions, I, I think it's hard for us to understand how 167 00:10:22,560 --> 00:10:26,800 much of A pull these religions had because they offered 168 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:30,240 security, they offered prosperity, they offered 169 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:32,920 pleasure, they offered everything that human beings 170 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:36,920 want. And it wasn't God choosing, it 171 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:39,680 was, it was us choosing. It was them choosing. 172 00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:44,920 They got to choose all the time. And so we think about how would 173 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:48,760 this impact a community? How would this impact God's 174 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:50,800 people? And he makes an observation. 175 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:52,760 Moses makes an observation in verse 8. 176 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:57,080 You are not to do as we are doing here today. 177 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,560 Everyone is doing what seems right in his own sight. 178 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:05,920 Even as Moses is imparting God's word to the community, there's 179 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:11,040 chaos, it's pandemonium, it's random spiritualities 180 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:16,400 everywhere, and it's destroying the unity of the people of God. 181 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:24,720 You know, intuitional religion was not necessarily good forgot 182 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:27,160 it was leaving them scattered and confused. 183 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:31,720 And and what's underneath this is what's happening to the poor 184 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:35,280 and the marginalized who are trapped in these systems. 185 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,560 Think about the children being sacrificed. 186 00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:44,720 Think about the women and the children serving in these 187 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:48,280 religions. Think about the the poor and the 188 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:52,360 servants who who who are breaking their backs or giving 189 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:55,320 their lives to keep the system running, keep the system going. 190 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,640 They were not faring well. They didn't have choice in the 191 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:02,240 matter. They were under the control of 192 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:07,160 bail and under the subtle control and tentacles of Ashara, 193 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:11,920 and they couldn't get out. And I wonder how much relief 194 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:15,480 they would feel to hear all those verbs that make us 195 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:18,640 uncomfortable in the modern era from verses 2 through 4. 196 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:29,400 Destroy completely, tear down, smash, burn, cut down, wipe out. 197 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:34,680 This was a destruction of intuitional and institutional 198 00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:37,880 religion. That was that was absolutely 199 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,240 hurting and crushing people left and right. 200 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:44,760 How much relief would they feel, as one cultural commentator 201 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:49,120 asked, when we are all our own high priests, who is willing to 202 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:53,320 kneel? And the answer is the poor and 203 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:58,880 the marginalized and the weak. And I think that they rejoice to 204 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:01,400 hear some of those words. And some of you know what it's 205 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:02,960 like. Some of you are here and you've 206 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:05,920 been burned by institutional religion, or maybe you've been 207 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,360 burned by intuitional religion and you know what it's like to 208 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:14,320 be under someone's control and how hurtful that can be and how 209 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:17,240 destructive that can be. Or maybe you watch someone under 210 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,280 someone's control. The Lord never intended it to be 211 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:24,840 that way for us. He never intended people to be 212 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:29,360 to be crushed by the power of a system or a person. 213 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:32,440 He never intended God's people to worship, worship of the 214 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:36,600 living God and worship of Baal and to combine those things and 215 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:39,240 make a Frankenstein monster that crushes people. 216 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,080 And I want you to know the Lord's heart is for you and He's 217 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:46,440 the great Physician and He's here to heal you and welcoming 218 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,280 you into freedom and into life and into wholeness. 219 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:54,520 And I even invite you to let your heart rejoice when you hear 220 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:57,200 some of those words. Tear down, burn, destroy 221 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:00,480 completely because the Lord God is talking about foul 222 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:05,040 controlling systems that destroy the image of God. 223 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:09,360 It must no longer exists. It must be torn down. 224 00:14:17,410 --> 00:14:20,290 Now, if bail represented control, Ashara represented 225 00:14:20,290 --> 00:14:22,770 compromise. Compromise. 226 00:14:23,090 --> 00:14:27,610 Ashara was very malleable and kind of like adjust to whatever 227 00:14:27,610 --> 00:14:30,770 situation you're, you know, you're in, you're involved in 228 00:14:30,770 --> 00:14:32,770 whatever commitments you have. I can work with that. 229 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:38,240 She was seen as sort of complimentary to the faith of 230 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:40,960 Yahweh, like, oh, we can worship Yahweh. 231 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,520 We could ever share. It's like totally like it works. 232 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:50,560 And for some people it worked, so to speak, but but the Lord 233 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,200 God didn't see it that way from the Lord God's perspective, like 234 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:56,320 this isn't working for me. This is spiritual adultery. 235 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:02,960 It's a betrayal of the covenant. Now, we don't worship Bashara in 236 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:07,080 our culture, but we might worship at the altar of what 237 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:12,480 Tara Isabella Burton called in between this, going back to her 238 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:14,440 spiritual life and spiritual journey. 239 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:17,760 She says this most demanding part of embracing Christianity 240 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:22,160 was sacrificing the safety of In between this I could no longer 241 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:25,240 be a little bit Pagan. Halloween parties that 242 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:29,080 ironically but not really celebrated witchcraft or other 243 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:32,480 staples of my secular New York life were no longer simply 244 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,960 curious parts of my spiritual eclecticism. 245 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:40,640 I had to pick a side. And she talked about how her 246 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:45,160 Christianity had to impact, if it was real, it had to impact 247 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:49,480 how much she was drinking and whether she was monogamous or 248 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:54,720 not, and how she engaged on social media and, and how she 249 00:15:54,720 --> 00:16:00,080 planned her life and how she hosted parties and how she 250 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,640 engaged with her community. It had to impact all those 251 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:05,040 things. She had to pick a side. 252 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:08,240 And I think for some of us who've dabbled in in between 253 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:11,520 this, we've just got to ask ourselves, like, if I had to 254 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:15,120 pick a side, which side would I pick? 255 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:19,360 And if not, then when? Like when am I going to pick? 256 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:24,240 What am I going to choose? When will it matter in 257 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:29,320 betweenness? In betweenness can can wreck our 258 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:31,920 faith in our souls just like none in betweenness. 259 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:38,320 Worshipping, control and Baal. Institutional religion can leave 260 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:42,080 us hurt and disillusion. Intuitional religion can leave 261 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:44,800 us scattered and divided, as Saint Augustine prayed. 262 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:48,240 Our hearts are restless until we rest in Thee. 263 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,640 So true. And here's a good tonic for our 264 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:54,760 confusion and our hurt friends. It's that clear simplicity of 265 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:58,640 verse 4. Don't, don't, don't worship the 266 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:01,480 Lord your God this way. Repent. 267 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:04,240 Demolish all those foul things in your life. 268 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:08,440 Deconstruct all those false idols that hold you hostage. 269 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:11,520 But not just that. It's not just the neg. 270 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:13,800 God doesn't leave us with a void, with a negative. 271 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:18,119 He fills our life and fills our community with a positive, 272 00:17:18,359 --> 00:17:21,400 unifying way forward. When we leave intuitional 273 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:24,760 religion behind, we can take up something much better, and that 274 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:28,520 is intentional worship. Intentional worship. 275 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:31,560 Intentional worship is friends, what we were made for. 276 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:36,440 Intentional worship is God's path for us, which he lays out 277 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:42,520 in verses 5 through following and I just want to like invite 278 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:44,360 you as we look at verses 5 through 9. 279 00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:49,240 Investigate if your greatest fears about losing all your joy 280 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:53,320 and losing all your agency come true as the Lord God describes 281 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:57,200 it. Intentional worship starts with 282 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:03,560 showing up where God is present, showing up physically where God 283 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:08,960 is present. Verse 5 Instead, turn a great 284 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,680 word for leaving behind idols. Turn to the place the Lord your 285 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:17,080 God chooses from all your tribes to put His name for his dwelling 286 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:21,040 and go there. Turn and and go there. 287 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:25,200 Go where the Lord's name is. You'll notice that Moses doesn't 288 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:28,600 say go to the temple. Temple didn't exist yet. 289 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:33,920 This is the spiritual foundation of the temple, but it's not yet 290 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:37,560 the temple. He says go to the place God 291 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:42,800 chooses to place His name. The name of the Lord is his 292 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:46,960 personal presence. It's the story and reputation of 293 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:50,040 His saving acts. It's his glory and beauty. 294 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:54,960 It's his power and authority. Where the name of the Lord 295 00:18:54,960 --> 00:19:00,440 dwells, there is power. And he bids us come join him, to 296 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:03,880 be in union with Him. Why do we love seeing our 297 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:07,800 favorite musicians play live? You know, like, what's the often 298 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:09,600 like? The quality of the music is not 299 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:12,880 as good as the recording, but it's so fun, isn't it? 300 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:16,960 To see the musician in person, to see them walk on stage, to 301 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:23,080 see them move around, to soak up their essence and their vibe and 302 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:26,240 watch them play and maybe even see them make some mistakes and 303 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:30,480 be like, oh, they're human too. And I love this artist and we 304 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:33,080 and walk away feeling like there was a connection made. 305 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:38,480 And This is why some some super fans follow them everywhere they 306 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:40,280 go. They they go to all of their 307 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:42,720 different concerts because they can't get enough. 308 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:48,680 Wherever the musician places their name, the fans want to go. 309 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:54,480 And wherever God shows up, he calls his people to show up 310 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:56,880 there too. Wherever he is in the 311 00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:59,640 wilderness. He made his name dwell in in the 312 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:02,120 Tabernacle, as Father Samuel preached on last week. 313 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,800 It moved with the glory cloud and the nation followed it. 314 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:10,000 Years later, he did make his name dwell in Jerusalem in the 315 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,800 temple where the Ark of the Covenant was right smack in the 316 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,480 middle. And and God's people would make 317 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:19,480 pilgrimage from all over the world to to be in the presence 318 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:24,400 of the name of God when the Samaritan woman. 319 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:29,000 In our text today, ask Jesus where the proper place was to 320 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,320 worship God. She was asking where do we 321 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:33,480 physically go to gather around the name? 322 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:36,880 And Jesus said an hour is coming. 323 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:40,520 It's even here now when the true worshippers of God will worship 324 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:46,360 him in spirit and in truth. And ever since, where true or 325 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:49,600 three are gathered in the name of Jesus Christ, he's he's with 326 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:54,640 them in their midst, because in Jesus the fullness of God was 327 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:58,960 pleased to put the fullness of his name in Jesus. 328 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:03,480 And Jesus has seen fit to put the fullness of his presence in 329 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:06,240 the Holy Spirit, which is present where believers gathered 330 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:12,320 in his name. His name is the name above all 331 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:14,560 names. It's his death and resurrection. 332 00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:16,960 It's his ascension, it's his sending his Spirit. 333 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,880 His name is his promises which are coming true and are true 334 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:23,440 already. His name is his glory and 335 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:27,240 authority. His name is the name before whom 336 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:32,200 all knee, every knee on heaven and earth will bow because He is 337 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:35,560 worthy of our, of our allegiance and our loyalty. 338 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:38,440 He's worthy of us smashing and tearing down all idols because 339 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:41,680 his name is the glory that fills the earth. 340 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,080 His name is the healing waters that can heal our greatest 341 00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:48,480 wounds. His name is the resurrection 342 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:52,080 promised to us. When we gather here, we're 343 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:54,880 gathering around a building. We're gathering in the name of 344 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:57,200 Jesus and the building is a tool to do that. 345 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,960 And it's this tool goes away. He'll give us another place to 346 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:08,590 gather. But when we gather around the 347 00:22:08,590 --> 00:22:10,430 name, we don't show up empty handed. 348 00:22:10,430 --> 00:22:14,600 In verse 6, we are learning about something we can bring to 349 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,800 the celebration. Verse 6, you are to bring there 350 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:21,880 your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tents and 351 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:25,680 personal contributions, your vow offerings and free will 352 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:28,640 offerings, and the first born of your herds and flocks. 353 00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:35,920 This is a description of sort of A-Z offerings that Israel will 354 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,480 bring throughout the year. Like you think about all the 355 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:43,520 seasons of the year, the Day of Atonement and the the Feast of 356 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:47,640 Booths and all of the different weekly and seasonal sacrifices. 357 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:50,920 It's like everything. This is the full Max of what 358 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:54,360 you're going to bring. And this is your personal 359 00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:56,560 investment and contribution in worship. 360 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:01,880 And the Lord will take these contributions and he'll, he'll 361 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,280 bless them. And then out of this will come a 362 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:09,120 community and forgiveness and love and grace and a light for 363 00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:15,400 the nations. God shows up with his name and 364 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,520 presence. We show up with our sacrifices 365 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:21,320 of grace, like overflowing with Thanksgiving for God. 366 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:24,600 And that's how a holy community is formed. 367 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:26,880 Now, some of you have already done this this morning. 368 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:29,640 You sacrificed something to be here, haven't you? 369 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:34,600 I think in our modern world, our wholehearted personal physical 370 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,880 presence is maybe our greatest sacrifice. 371 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:41,240 Our schedules, like you know how hard it is to get on someone's 372 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:43,480 schedule. The reason is because like, our 373 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:47,600 time is super precious in the city, really valuable, really 374 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:50,560 under demand, and being wholeheartedly in a place we're 375 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:53,160 all paying attention to the same thing and giving our hearts to 376 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:55,720 the same thing. Like that almost never happens 377 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:58,360 anymore unless you're being paid to do it. 378 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:00,240 And you guys aren't being paid to do it. 379 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:03,560 You're sacrificing to do it. Some of you rode 2 buses to get 380 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:05,800 here this morning. Some of you wrestled with 381 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:09,240 toddlers to put on Sunday shoes to get here this morning. 382 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:11,920 You know, some of you got up early and is. 383 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:16,320 Some of you said no to fun stuff and brunch and cool things and 384 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:18,520 festivals to be here this morning. 385 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:22,360 That was a sacrifice and it's beautiful in the sight of God. 386 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:29,160 And some of you have sacrificed much more than that. 387 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:32,080 Nights and weekends and Sunday mornings to be a part of a 388 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:36,200 ministry team or lifestyle adjustments to be sacrificially 389 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:39,400 generous so that the next generation can hear about the 390 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:44,720 deeds of God and showing up, you know, to your city groups when 391 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:46,960 you when you've got a headache after work, but you show up 392 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:48,720 anyway because you love the people there. 393 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:53,760 Those are beautiful sacrifices and God blesses it and sees fit 394 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:59,080 to form a community out of it. I was talking with someone in 395 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:02,920 our church this week about how like it makes sense for people 396 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:05,960 when you enter a nuclear family and you have kids and 397 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:08,120 everything. Like, of course I'll sacrifice 398 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:10,040 for them. Of course I'll show up to their 399 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:11,280 games. Of course I'll make dinner for 400 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:12,640 them when when I don't feel like it. 401 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:15,880 We're talking about how that that sense of like, whether I'm 402 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:21,760 feeling it or not, commitment is where the bonds of community are 403 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:24,640 formed, not only in the family, but in the church. 404 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:28,280 And thank you for showing that. Thank you for doing it, whether 405 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:33,760 you feel like it or not. It's interesting when I talk 406 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:36,240 with people who move away from Chicago, who've been part of 407 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:40,040 Emmanuel and and I talk with them about what life is like, 408 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:43,200 they're like, man, that's the best thing about Chicago was my 409 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:46,080 time at Emmanuel. But I never ever hear them 410 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:50,720 saying I really regret like the sacrifices I made to be a part 411 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,240 of the community. I never hear them say like I 412 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:58,680 wish I would have slept in maybe the morning of, but when they 413 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:01,280 reflect on the meaning of their life, like what was the meaning 414 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:05,520 of your time in Chicago? But like actually, the sacrifice 415 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:09,640 is part of the meaning and and the greater joy and community 416 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:13,120 and connection in the presence of with God and with others 417 00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:17,600 being unified in around the name of the Lord. 418 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:19,040 Man. There was something really 419 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:24,600 precious about that. And that's that's God's way. 420 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:30,680 It it's part of the plan. Actually is is sacrifice, but 421 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,120 it's joyful. It's not a forced March. 422 00:26:33,120 --> 00:26:37,520 It's it's not an obligation. It's it's willing and it's 423 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:39,920 joyful. As we see in verse 7. 424 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:44,120 It it's a there's an overflow. You will eat there. 425 00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:47,360 Moses says you will eat there. You will eat there of Chicago. 426 00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:50,160 Hear this. We will eat there in the 427 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:53,960 presence of the Lord our God and rejoice with your household and 428 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:57,440 everything you do because the Lord your God has blessed you. 429 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:01,680 He's blessed you. There's a joyful feast when God 430 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:07,720 calls us to gather in His name. You know we're at the beginning 431 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:10,120 of tailgating season. You're aware of this tailgating 432 00:27:10,120 --> 00:27:17,040 season at stadiums all over this grand country, including a 433 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:19,680 Soldier Field. People show up sometimes as 434 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:23,320 early as 6:00 AM, apparently. They open their tailgates, they 435 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:25,880 start grilling their meats and young and old and people wearing 436 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,440 jerseys, and they're feasting with joy in the name of their 437 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:31,920 team, you know, celebrating victories past, however few they 438 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:37,400 may have been, always hoping for the victory to come, you know, 439 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:42,840 and it's joyful and it's awesome. 440 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:46,840 Now this is a much better celebration, this feasting, 441 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:49,640 verse 7, feasting in the presence of God because his 442 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:54,080 victory is a lot more sure. And there's a there's a GAT, 443 00:27:54,080 --> 00:28:01,800 there's a sense of festivity and overflow of God's victories over 444 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:05,400 sin and death. We celebrate why? 445 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,720 Verse 7 says because the Lord your God has blessed you. 446 00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:11,520 He's blessed you. The very food that you're eating 447 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,000 is part of his blessing. The family that you're eating 448 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:16,760 was as part of the blessing. The community that's surrounding 449 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:20,280 you is part of the blessing. The name that dwells there is 450 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:23,640 part of the blessing. Oh, the Lord your God has 451 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:26,840 blessed us. And so we gather around the 452 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:30,600 table, and we have that taste of the feast to come. 453 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:34,320 And I hope it spills out. And, and I've been talking with 454 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:36,600 people about this new season for our church, and there's this 455 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:39,280 hunger and this cry for feasting together. 456 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:42,760 And there's so many lonely people in our city who long to 457 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:46,640 be included at tables. May there be much feasting at 458 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:49,440 Emmanuel in our time. That's what it means to be a 459 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:55,800 temple of the living God. It's a feast of joy. 460 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:57,800 That's what intentional worship means. 461 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:01,280 And maybe we're intentional with our joy, and sometimes we feel 462 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:04,480 it and other times we don't. But it's the reality under which 463 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:07,000 we are standing. It's the cornerstone. 464 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:10,360 We can rejoice because God's deeds are good. 465 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:18,040 One really cool feature that the Lord has designed this 466 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:23,360 intentional worship with is is that He includes people that 467 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:28,440 would otherwise be left out, and we can even read about this in 468 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,120 verse 12. You will rejoice before the 469 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:35,400 Lord, your God, you, your sons and daughters, your male and 470 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:39,080 female slaves, and the Levite who is within your city gates, 471 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:43,560 since he has no portion or inheritance among you. 472 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:47,600 Can we see how radically inclusive this list is? 473 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:50,720 These, these many of these people would not have been 474 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:55,320 invited to participate in the intuitional religions of their 475 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,840 day and in many cases would have been left out in the 476 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:01,240 institutional religions of their day. 477 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:04,040 But here with intentional worship, they're they're 478 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:07,400 included, they're invited in and other iterations of the same 479 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:10,160 command and other and other parts of the Old Testament begin 480 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:13,480 to add other groups in that were being left out, widows and 481 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:16,480 orphans. And this continues into the New 482 00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:19,480 Testament as we gather around the name of Jesus, that we don't 483 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:23,920 show partiality, that we include people up and down the social 484 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:26,160 ladder. And, and actually, that's part 485 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:30,360 of the beauty of the name of Jesus is who he wants to include 486 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:33,760 and who he wants to gather in to be a part of our table 487 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:37,560 fellowship. And there's a sense of joy and 488 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,680 justice that flow together in intentional worship. 489 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:42,520 But this doesn't happen automatically. 490 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:45,240 You know, part of the sacrifices that we make is that we we're 491 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:47,480 looking out for people that don't have anyone to talk to. 492 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:50,160 We're looking out for people who might feel left out or 493 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:52,520 intimidated. We're looking out for people who 494 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:55,800 might feel otherwise just invisible in every other part of 495 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:57,720 life. But here we have the eyes of 496 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:00,040 Christ to see them in the hands of Christ, to include them. 497 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:08,240 It is in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, this intentional 498 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:13,360 worship, you know. He chose to leave the comforts 499 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:19,880 of heaven and sacrifice Himself to, to, to, to dwell with us in 500 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:25,200 a humble, lowly place. He chose that His name would 501 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:30,760 dwell with the humble with us. And when He saw us scattered on 502 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:34,720 every high mountain and on every green hill and on every green 503 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:38,920 tree, He chose to go looking after us. 504 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:43,600 He chose to leave the 99 and find us and gather us in to join 505 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:47,520 Him in this intentional worship of joyful feasting. 506 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:55,360 He chose to, to to sacrifice for us so that we could be made one. 507 00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:58,960 And so we're gathered, friends, you know, we're gathered here 508 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:02,920 not by our own choosing, but because he chose us. 509 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:05,040 He's gathered us, He's invited us in. 510 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:12,000 And we have responded freely to God's invitation to to join him, 511 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:15,720 to worship his name, to love our neighbor who has gathered around 512 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:20,120 us, and to celebrate that it was His name and his sacrifice and 513 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:24,240 His victory and His feast that has made us a new people. 514 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:30,920 So let's make it our intention, friends, to forever and now keep 515 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:34,600 the feast in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy 516 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:35,920 Spirit, Amen.