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The holy gospel of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

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According to Mark, He went out 
again beside the sea, and all 

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the crowd was coming to him, and
he was teaching them. 

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And as he passed by, he saw 
Levi, the son of Alphaeus, 

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sitting at the tax booth. 
And he said to him, Follow me. 

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And he rose and followed him. 
And as he reclined at table in 

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his house, many tax collectors 
and sinners were reclining with 

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Jesus and his disciples. 
For there were many who had 

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followed him. 
And the scribes of the 

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Pharisees, when they saw that he
was eating with sinners and tax 

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collectors, said his disciples, 
why does he eat with tax 

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collectors and sinners? 
And when Jesus heard it, he said

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to them, Those who are well have
no need of a physician, but 

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those who are sick. 
I came not to call the 

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righteous, but sinners. 
Now John's disciples and the 

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Pharisees were fasting, and 
people came and said to him, Why

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do John's disciples and the 
disciples of the Pharisees fast,

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but your disciples do not fast? 
And Jesus said to them, Can the 

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wedding guests fast while the 
bridegroom is with them? 

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As long as they have the 
bridegroom with them, they 

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cannot fast. 
The days will come when the 

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bridegroom is taken away from 
them, and then they will fast in

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that day. 
No one sews a piece of unshrunk 

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cloth on an old garment. 
If he does, the patch tears away

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from it, the new from the old, 
and a worse tear is made. 

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And no one puts new wine into 
old wine skins. 

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If he does, the wine will burst 
the skins and the wine is 

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destroyed. 
If the wine is destroyed, so are

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the skins. 
But new wine is for fresh wine 

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skins. 
The Gospel of the Lord. 

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It is a tremendous joy to be 
with you today. 

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Aaron and Laura have become dear
friends of ours, sources of 

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wisdom, of sanity and of courage
in the work that we are about 

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just building our lives in a 
city like Chicago. 

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And so I'm deeply grateful for 
their friendship. 

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And I think from the moment that
we first met, which I think was 

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a shared meal at Owen and 
Engine, which no longer is there

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on Western, but actually 
Tuesdays and Wednesdays does at 

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BC Beer in Logan Square. 
I don't get any money for this, 

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but I'm just saying if you 
missed those burgers, they're 

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still available a couple of 
times a week. 

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But from the moment that we met,
their kindness and love for the 

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Lord has really marked us as a 
couple and as a family. 

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And so really grateful to be 
here because of that. 

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But also, when my family first 
moved to the city, we didn't 

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have a place to sleep yet. 
And Bill and Mindy Meyer gave us

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a bed. 
And so seeing you like so much, 

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I'm really grateful for the 
ministry and love and the life 

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that you have built in this city
that my children don't know it, 

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but we're here because of people
like you, because you gave us a 

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place to sleep. 
You spoke truth to us. 

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We had a long ride to Geneva, 
one that you reminded me of. 

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That was a long time to spend 
with us and you did it you. 

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So thank you. 
Thank you for that. 

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And if you want a really funny 
story about that moment, come 

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see me afterwards and I'll share
that one off the record. 

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Lastly, I'll say what you're 
doing is a miracle. 

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To exist as a gospel teaching 
Jesus loving church in Chicago 

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today is nothing less than a 
miracle. 

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And you being here today is a 
testimony that the resurrection 

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is real and that Jesus is alive 
and that the Kingdom of heaven 

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is showing up on earth as it is 
in heaven. 

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And so I'm really, really 
grateful. 

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There were so many times I was 
standing over there, not really 

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sure I'm I'm like non 
denominational. 

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So all of this is amazing to me.
Like everything. 

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It's like this is incredible. 
This is what heaven is like. 

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You know, I start to feel over 
there, but I smiled so many 

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times because it does my heart 
so much good to know that there 

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are brothers and sisters in this
part of the city doing what you 

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are doing. 
Continuing to show up, 

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continuing to speak the truth in
love, continuing to confess your

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sins one to another. 
Continuing to walk in the light 

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as He is in the light, even 
though that gets harder and 

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harder and harder and harder. 
So I thank God for you. 

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I thank God that I get to call 
you brothers and sisters. 

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One of the surprising things 
that has fallen out of the 

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mainstream, I wonder if you've 
noticed this, is grace. 

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Grace is no longer part of what 
it means to be human. 

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It's no longer really cool to be
kind, if you will. 

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What is in vogue is to hold your
ground in an argument and even 

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clap back at somebody when they 
come at you. 

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It's righteous to cut people off
who have wronged you and are no 

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longer good for your well-being 
without much thought. 

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It's socially acceptable to 
disassociate from people who we 

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deem lower than ourselves. 
We we may send aid to them, but 

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we don't want to be their 
friends in such an environment. 

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What Jesus is going to offer us 
today is an invitation to the 

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counter culture. 
On this final Sunday of the 

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church year, the liturgical 
calendar before Advent begins, 

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we're reminded that Christ's 
rule is not like the kingdoms 

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and cultures of this world. 
To feast at his table is to join

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his Kingdom. 
And what that means, the hard 

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reality, the hard truth of that 
invitation is it means we have 

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to leave behind the meals that 
we are already enjoying. 

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We have to leave behind a life 
that we are already living and a

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life, if we're honest, we prefer
to the life that Jesus offers. 

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And that's the difference 
between Jesus and the powers of 

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this age. 
If we could simply summarize all

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of what he represents in all of 
this world represents, the 

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singular distinction is grace. 
So that's what I want to talk to

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you about today as your brother,
as a fellow minister of the 

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gospel. 
Like you all, I want to talk 

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about grace. 
I want to talk about what it is,

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why we resist it, and how we can
build our lives on it. 

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We'll do that by organizing our 
time this way. 

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We'll look at the nature of 
grace and the resistance of 

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grace and finally the power of 
grace. 

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So we'll look at the nature of 
the resistance and the power. 

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Let's pray and ask for God's 
help. 

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Heavenly Father, my friends, my 
brothers and sisters and myself,

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we've we've entered into the 
space in this moment with a ton 

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of things in our hearts and 
minds. 

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And if they're impulse is 
anything like mine, I sometimes 

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believe the best thing I can do 
is pause all of that before I 

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walk through the doors of the 
church and at least have a 90 

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minute respite from that and 
then get back to it after lunch.

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But I thank you that your word 
and your gospel is better than 

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putting our burdens on pause. 
I thank you that through Peter 

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you said we could cast all of 
our cares on you because you 

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care for us. 
And so as we come to your word, 

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that's what we desire to do 
because where else are we going 

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to go? 
You've got the words of eternal 

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life. 
And so would you speak to us? 

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Would you like a loving father 
comfort us, Help us to see and 

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savor the beauty of your son 
Jesus that we might enjoy grace 

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today. 
I ask that in Jesus name. 

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Everybody agreed and said Amen. 
Before we jump into our passage 

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today, we should understand 
something about tables. 

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In this era of a DoorDash and 
meals in front of screens, I 

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think we missed the magnitude of
tables today. 

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No shade, but that's just the 
reality. 

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See, in the ancient world of 
Jesus, tables were a place of 

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intimacy and love and 
acceptance. 

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To share a meal with someone was
not just to simply fill your 

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stomach, it was to fill your 
soul. 

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The scholar Dennis Smith 
explains the table fellowship in

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the ancient Mediterranean was 
more than food consumption. 

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From Plato on down, banquets 
held an important place in 

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creating community, sharing 
values, and connecting with the 

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divine. 
Tables were sacred. 

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And so the setting of our scene 
today is no small detail. 

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It's around a table. 
Look at verse 13 with me in Mark

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chapter 2. 
He went out again beside the 

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sea, and all the crowd was 
coming to him and he was 

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teaching them. 
And as he passed by, he saw 

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Levi, the son of Alphaeus, 
sitting at the tax booth. 

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And he said to him, follow me. 
And he rose and followed him. 

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And as he reclined a table in 
his house, let's pause there. 

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Notice the table is the first 
stop in the life with Jesus. 

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We see this all the time as 
Jesus calls people to life with 

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him. 
Jesus says follow me. 

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They follow him and then they're
like, let's go eat. 

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Isn't that fantastic? 
I love that gospel. 

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That is such a good gospel. 
And in this case, Levi also 

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calls a bunch of his friends to 
join them in this meal. 

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Watch as Mark continues in verse
15. 

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In the second-half, he says as 
he reclined a table in his 

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house. 
Many tax collectors and sinners 

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were reclining with Jesus and 
his disciples, for there were 

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many who followed him and the 
scribes of the Pharisees when 

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they saw that he was eating with
sinners and tax collectors said 

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to his disciples, why? 
Why does he eat with tax 

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collectors and sinners? 
Now many of you are familiar 

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with that phrase, tax collectors
and sinners. 

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It's not a compliment. 
Tax collectors were viewed as 

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traitors in the Jewish community
because they were financially 

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benefiting from Roman occupation
And sinners were was a term 

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rather used by religious elites 
as sort of a catch all for law 

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Breakers. 
But it's even more offensive 

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than that. 
New Testament scholar NT Wright 

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explains that when the Pharisees
spoke of sinners, they were not 

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simply describing moral failure.
They were operating a social 

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system in which certain people 
were excluded from the life of 

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Israel. 
These were spiritually and 

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socially ostracized people. 
That's what that word means. 

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Now let's be clear. 
This seedy group of people 

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didn't catch Jesus by surprise. 
It's not as though he got 

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invited to Levi's house and then
he realized who was on the guest

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00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:25,320
list. 
And he was like, Dang it, you've

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been there before, right? 
You showed up at the house and 

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you're like, I did not know she 
was invited. 

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00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:32,240
I did not know he was coming 
too, right? 

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This is why people invented 
RSVPS. 

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Did you know that? 
It's true. 

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Now this is highly intentional. 
Look at verse 17. 

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And when Jesus heard it, he said
to them, those who are well have

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00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:50,600
no need of a physician, but 
those who are sick. 

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And he says this to us today. 
Church, I came not to call the 

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00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,680
righteous, but sinners. 
Jesus was eating with all of 

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00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:04,920
these people on purpose. 
He says This is why I came. 

192
00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:07,760
This is who I came for. 
Remember, the table is about 

193
00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:11,760
intimacy and identification. 
Jesus is sharing this table, 

194
00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:15,320
this fellowship, this 
connection, this identification 

195
00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:18,280
with tax collectors and sinners 
on purpose. 

196
00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:21,560
But notice Jesus didn't just 
come to be close to them, not to

197
00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:25,320
just associate with them. 
He didn't just come to be close 

198
00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:29,480
to undesirable people. 
By identifying with them, Jesus 

199
00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:32,480
is claiming the role of Savior 
in their life. 

200
00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:36,520
Did you notice that He's not 
just there to eat with them, 

201
00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:38,760
He's there. 
He says to call them. 

202
00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:43,160
He's come to heal them. 
My brothers and sisters, that's 

203
00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:46,480
grace. 
The nature of grace is this 

204
00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:50,520
brilliantly unexpected, 
surprising, intentional, and 

205
00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:54,560
undeserved intimacy and healing 
that we have in God. 

206
00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:58,880
Saint Augustine understood grace
through the language of love. 

207
00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:00,960
Perhaps you have enjoyed his 
writings before. 

208
00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:06,000
He said that God loved us even 
when we were unlovable, not 

209
00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,000
because we were good, but that 
we might become good. 

210
00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:15,160
See, God loves us and something 
amazing happens when He loves 

211
00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:16,880
us. 
It changes us. 

212
00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:20,440
We become different by loving 
us. 

213
00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:24,440
Jesus is claiming the role of 
Savior in our life as well. 

214
00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:27,560
When Jesus shares a meal with 
someone, it changes them 

215
00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:29,360
forever. 
That's the nature of grace. 

216
00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,960
It's the unmerited 
identification and transforming 

217
00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:36,280
love of God. 
Now here's our question. 

218
00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:38,720
Who wouldn't want to share in 
that meal? 

219
00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:44,400
Who wouldn't want that kind of 
connection and power? 

220
00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,480
Why would anyone refuse such 
love and grace? 

221
00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:51,080
Well, we're about to find out. 
See, there's this wonderful 

222
00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:53,160
juxtaposition in this story. 
Did you pick up on it? 

223
00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:57,280
Lots of people were at Levi's 
house for this meal, but not 

224
00:12:57,280 --> 00:12:59,800
everyone is eating. 
Look at verse 18. 

225
00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:05,080
Now when John's disciples and 
the Pharisees were fasting, and 

226
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people came and said to him, why
do John's disciples and the 

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00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:13,560
disciples of the Pharisees fast,
but your disciples do not fast? 

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00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:17,120
Church. 
Who is the worst person to have 

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at a dinner party? 
Someone who's fasting. 

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It's the worst, right? 
No, no, no, I'm fasting. 

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I'm fasting. 
OK, we get it. 

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00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:27,000
We get it right? 
You're super spiritual. 

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The only other person that might
be worse is someone training for

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a marathon, right? 
Because they're like, no, no, I 

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can't eat that. 
I can't drink that. 

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I'm training like, we get it. 
We get it. 

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You're amazing. 
I digress. 

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This is crazy. 
Let's not miss this. 

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Jesus has just said that when he
eats with people, he loves them 

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and he transforms them. 
He heals them. 

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00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,520
Then Mark says and tells us that
John's disciples and the 

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Pharisees disciples aren't 
eating. 

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00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:58,840
They aren't reclining at the 
table of grace. 

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They aren't sharing this meal. 
Now, what does this tell us? 

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Well, it tells us that despite 
their religious reputation and 

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spiritual zeal, they were 
resistant to grace. 

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They were resistant to grace, 
and I think we need to be honest

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and vulnerable for a moment and 
realize that their refusal to 

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00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:29,080
recline at the table, to relax 
and to receive, to rest in this 

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00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:34,600
moment exposes something in us 
to we're also resistant to 

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grace. 
And I think our resistance is 

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demonstrated, revealed in two 
aspects of this story. 

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The first, like the Pharisees, 
we don't think we're sick. 

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Do you know what religious 
people struggle with the most? 

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What their biggest problem is? 
We might presume that it's their

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00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:52,000
view of God, but I think it's 
their view of sin. 

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Most people only think about 
sin. 

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And perhaps you can identify 
with this as the things we do, 

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say or think that break God's 
rules that are contrary to his 

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character. 
This is why we resist race, 

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00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:06,240
grace. 
We don't think we need it. 

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00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:08,880
We don't think and say and do 
that many bad things. 

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We're good people, so we don't 
think we need grace or we don't 

264
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think we at least need it as 
much as the next person, right? 

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You see somebody else who they, 
they need grace. 

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00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,520
I just need a little edit, just 
like a little little change. 

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00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:25,080
In other words, we think we're 
already righteous. 

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00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:30,000
We believe we're already well, 
and Jesus didn't come to heal 

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the righteous, so we don't think
he's here for us. 

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00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:35,440
The problem is, of course, 
that's not how the Bible talks 

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00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:38,120
about sin. 
So we got to get clear on sin, 

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about what it is, and of course 
the nature of sin. 

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00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:42,160
We could talk about this in a 
lot of different ways. 

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Let me give us 3 metaphors that 
the Bible give gives us for sin.

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First, sin is bad soil. 
Fundamentally, sin is about what

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00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,880
we trust, what we love, what we 
desire more than God. 

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00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:58,480
In the middle of their morbid 
sin, the prophet Jeremiah warned

278
00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,080
God's people this way in 
Jeremiah 17. 

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00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:05,320
Thus says the Lord, Cursed is 
the man who trusts in man and 

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00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:09,200
makes flesh his strength, whose 
heart turns away from the Lord. 

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00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:11,280
Hear this. 
He is like a shrub that is in 

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00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:14,080
the desert and shall not see any
good come. 

283
00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:17,720
He shall dwell in the parched 
lands of the wilderness, in an 

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00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:22,440
uninhabited salt land. 
According to Jeremiah, sin is 

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00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:24,840
bad soil. 
It's anything and everything we 

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00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:32,080
sink our lives into for safety, 
for provision, for comfort, for 

287
00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:38,280
strength, for a break, for 
justification, for healing. 

288
00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:45,040
Like bad soil, though, sin never
nurtures our lives. 

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00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:51,160
Sin never produces life. 
It only produces dead fruit and 

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00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:54,760
lifelessness. 
The second metaphor that we get 

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00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:58,040
is that sin is blindness. 
Many of us, perhaps are familiar

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00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:00,520
with David's story. 
The king, the greatest king in 

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00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,040
Israel's history, and yet at the
center of his reign is a story 

294
00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:07,440
of utter blindness. 
He not only committed adultery 

295
00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:11,319
and stole someone's wife and 
killed her husband, but it seems

296
00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:15,319
as though he remains completely 
unaware of his indiscretions. 

297
00:17:16,079 --> 00:17:19,400
In many ways, David's life is a 
cautionary tale of self 

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00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,000
deception. 
That's why the prophet Samuel 

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00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:23,640
had to tell him a story. 
You remember this. 

300
00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:26,000
There was this guy who stole a 
sheep. 

301
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:27,440
And David's like, that guy 
sucks. 

302
00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:28,960
Let me tell you what I'm going 
to do with him. 

303
00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:31,680
He deserves to die. 
And then what's Nathan say? 

304
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:35,160
You're that man. 
It's you I'm talking about. 

305
00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,680
Sin is blindness. 
David's lust for sex and power 

306
00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:43,880
blinded his conscience. 
Lastly, sin is slavery. 

307
00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,520
See, we often consider sin is 
isolated, usually disconnected 

308
00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:52,760
from events and decisions that 
we mostly have under control. 

309
00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,640
This is perhaps Satan's greatest
lie about sin is you've got 

310
00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:57,720
this. 
It's totally under control. 

311
00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:01,520
It's one of the great lies we 
believe about sin is that we 

312
00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:03,440
control it. 
But what the Scriptures teach us

313
00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:07,280
is that sin controls us. 
See, addiction isn't the only 

314
00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:10,280
form of slavery. 
All sin is addiction. 

315
00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:12,920
All sin is slavery. 
Jesus says everyone who 

316
00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:16,440
practices sin in John 8 is a 
slave to sin. 

317
00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,880
Sin takes control of us in many 
ways against our will. 

318
00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:23,320
It's why the apostle Paul says I
do what I don't want to do, and 

319
00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,920
what I want to do I can't do, 
and why God told Cain, sin is 

320
00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:31,040
crouching at your door and its 
desire is contrary to you. 

321
00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:35,640
Sin is slavery. 
So without this understanding of

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00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:38,920
sin, the Pharisees look at the 
behavior of others. 

323
00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:42,240
They look at their station in 
life, they look at their 

324
00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:44,760
connection and their religious 
practices and their habits, and 

325
00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:46,440
they conclude they're not really
that bad. 

326
00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,400
They weren't sinners. 
And then they looked at Levi. 

327
00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:54,160
They looked at Levi go this dude
does not have his life together.

328
00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:56,440
They looked at his actions, his 
lifestyle, and they conclude 

329
00:18:56,440 --> 00:19:01,200
that's a Sinner. 
But their evaluation of health, 

330
00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,120
of righteousness, was faulty. 
Do you see? 

331
00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:08,120
Their problem was their view of 
sin, which then spoiled their 

332
00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:11,760
view of Jesus and the feast that
Jesus was laying before them. 

333
00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,960
And so they don't eat it. 
Sin isn't simply what you think,

334
00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:18,360
say, and do. 
It's what you trust. 

335
00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,120
It's invisible to you. 
It's controlling your will. 

336
00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:26,400
It's almost like we need each 
other to identify sin in our 

337
00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,400
lives. 
Everyone in this story is a 

338
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:31,520
Sinner. 
Everyone in this story needed 

339
00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:33,760
grace, and so do we. 
Emmanuel Anglican Church. 

340
00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,920
We need that. 
We need grace. 

341
00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:40,280
We need grace so that we can be 
uprooted from bad soil that's 

342
00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:42,480
killing us. 
We need grace so we can open our

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00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,000
eyes to the truth. 
We need grace so we can be freed

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00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,840
from bondage. 
But there's another reason we 

345
00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:52,800
resist grace. 
I think it's why Levi and his 

346
00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:56,640
friends and most people in 
Chicago tend to hesitate or 

347
00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:00,960
disbelieve the gospel. 
We don't trust that love really 

348
00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:06,400
makes a difference. 
See, for some of us, we may not 

349
00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:09,320
think that we're sinners. 
For others of us, we may not 

350
00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:10,800
think love is going to make a 
difference. 

351
00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:12,840
See, religious people don't 
think they're sick. 

352
00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:15,000
Modern people don't think they 
can be healed. 

353
00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:18,640
Now, this might be surprising to
us, so let me explain. 

354
00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:21,520
Imagine you're sick. 
And you grabbed a cup of coffee 

355
00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:23,720
with a friend and she's telling 
you about the incredible medical

356
00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:26,120
treatment that has saved her 
mother's life. 

357
00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:28,680
Imagine how you might feel 
because you have the same 

358
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:31,040
sickness as her mother. 
You'd be ecstatic. 

359
00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:32,960
You'd be ecstatic. 
You'd be so excited. 

360
00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:37,680
But the problem is, you've heard
stories like this 1000 times. 

361
00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:41,680
The problem is, since you've 
been sick, everyone has been 

362
00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,800
telling you incredible stories 
of healings, and you've tried 

363
00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:47,320
them all and none of them is 
working. 

364
00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:50,040
None of them is healing. 
You. 

365
00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:55,600
To this friend's message sounds 
just like every other empty 

366
00:20:55,840 --> 00:21:00,480
promise. 
Chicago is filled with empty 

367
00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:04,000
promises. 
College grads from all over the 

368
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,280
country come to Chicago to find 
healing. 

369
00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:11,000
We're looking to heal our 
sickness of grief, of 

370
00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:14,440
loneliness, of anger and 
insignificance and poverty. 

371
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:19,360
Many people born in Chicago stay
here to heal family trauma and 

372
00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:21,640
to alleviate the pain of feeling
forgotten. 

373
00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,600
The problem, of course, is that 
the city is a terrible 

374
00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:29,640
physician. 
With all the good this city has 

375
00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:33,600
to offer, nothing within its 
limits liberates your soul. 

376
00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:36,360
In fact, it only makes matters 
worse. 

377
00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:40,880
And so to hear that Jesus is 
their healer, to hear that Jesus

378
00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:43,680
is our healer, can be hard to 
believe. 

379
00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:46,440
Can this Love Actually make a 
difference? 

380
00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,800
Can this remedy actually be any 
different? 

381
00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,440
The thing underlying that for 
me, and I imagine for others as 

382
00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:58,000
well, is shame. 
Shame is the voice that tells us

383
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:01,600
love won't work. 
Shame has gripped many of our 

384
00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:05,080
friends and neighbors. 
So many have settled for false 

385
00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:09,160
gospels that tell them they can 
fix themselves. 

386
00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:12,960
Shame says it's all up to you. 
Perhaps you can relate. 

387
00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:16,160
Daily, we're invited through 
media education to uproot our 

388
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,440
own lives from damaging 
relationships, to open up our 

389
00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:23,000
own ignorant eyes, and to 
unshackle ourselves from 

390
00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,800
addictive cycles and unhealthy 
habits. 

391
00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:31,040
See, identity in the modern age 
is isn't about being shaped and 

392
00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:33,960
changed, is it? 
It's about discovering what's 

393
00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:38,240
underneath the surface that is 
being oppressed, where there is 

394
00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:41,160
pain on top and no outside 
influence can touch it. 

395
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:43,880
See, modern identity isn't about
transformation. 

396
00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:47,240
It's about self discovery and 
self definition and then self 

397
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,520
promotion. 
See, the gospel says who you are

398
00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:54,640
in Christ is made in community 
through God and who we are in 

399
00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:57,160
the modern age as we go outside 
of community, then tell 

400
00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,080
everybody who we are and here's 
how you got to talk to me. 

401
00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:02,760
Here's who I am. 
It's like when Harvard, the 

402
00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:06,200
Harvard's psychology professor, 
answered a student's question. 

403
00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,320
But how to rid a patient of 
hatred and hostility toward a 

404
00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:12,280
parent? 
The professor said. 

405
00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:15,400
I think the therapist in this 
case would say lots of luck. 

406
00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:19,440
To ask that his hostility 
magically disappear isn't 

407
00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:21,960
realistic. 
He'll have to learn to live with

408
00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:24,720
it and hopefully not be driven 
by it. 

409
00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:28,080
If you guys are looking for a 
changed heart, I think you're 

410
00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:33,400
looking in the wrong department.
Most people know there's 

411
00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:37,840
something wrong with them. 
Most people, like Levi, realize 

412
00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:41,160
they're sick. 
However, they're just not 

413
00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:44,040
convinced anything can make a 
difference, especially love. 

414
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:48,640
Religious people then resist 
grace because of pride. 

415
00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:51,520
Modern people resist grace 
because of shame. 

416
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:53,880
Religious people misunderstand 
sin. 

417
00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:56,160
Modern people misunderstand 
love. 

418
00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:58,080
So where's your heart this 
morning? 

419
00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:01,960
Maybe like the Pharisees, you've
slipped into believing you're 

420
00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:04,200
above reproach. 
Or perhaps, like the tax 

421
00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:06,440
collectors and sinners, you 
think your sickness is too 

422
00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:09,560
developed or your habits too 
ingrained or egregious. 

423
00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:14,560
Nevertheless, Jesus makes room 
at the table of grace for both 

424
00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:18,120
of you. 
He does so by answering the 

425
00:24:18,120 --> 00:24:21,400
question. 
He shows us the power of grace 

426
00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:25,800
overwhelms our resistance. 
Remember, their question is 

427
00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:30,840
essentially why are you eating? 
Why are you enjoying this meal? 

428
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:34,400
Why aren't you fasting like us? 
Jesus answers with a set of 

429
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,600
metaphors, parables really, that
convey the same idea. 

430
00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:41,440
Look at verse 19 And Jesus said 
to them, can the wedding guests 

431
00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:43,200
fast while the bridegroom is 
with them? 

432
00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:45,440
As long as they have the 
bridegroom with them, they 

433
00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:47,800
cannot fast. 
The days will come when the 

434
00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:51,200
bridegroom is taken away from 
them, and then they will fast in

435
00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,720
that day. 
No one sews a piece of unshrunk 

436
00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:56,960
cloth on an old garment. 
If he does, the patch tears away

437
00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:04,600
from it, the new from the old, 
and of worse and of a worse tear

438
00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:08,960
is made, and no one puts new 
wine into old wine skin. 

439
00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:12,040
If he does, the wine will burst 
the skins and the wine is 

440
00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:16,400
destroyed, and so are the skins.
But new wine skin is for fresh 

441
00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:19,400
or new wine is for new. 
For fresh wine skins. 

442
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:23,320
First metaphor is a wedding 
celebration, new life, fresh 

443
00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:26,320
beginning. 
Another is about new wine, a 

444
00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:28,960
drink of celebration which comes
in a fresh container. 

445
00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,720
What Jesus wants both the proud 
and the shame to hear is that 

446
00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:36,520
eating and drinking at his table
makes something new happen. 

447
00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,160
You see, in both marriage and 
winemaking, the old must be 

448
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:43,680
abandoned entirely or a new life
will be completely spoiled. 

449
00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:47,000
In fact, that's the power of the
new life. 

450
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,080
A new life can overwhelm the old
one. 

451
00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:52,960
You get a new name, You get a 
new trajectory. 

452
00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:55,920
You get new joy. 
You get a brand new life. 

453
00:25:56,360 --> 00:25:59,080
The old way is feast is a feast 
of pride and shame. 

454
00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:03,960
The new is a feast of grace. 
It's not powerful because it's 

455
00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:06,800
new, not because it's novel, not
been thought of before. 

456
00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:09,720
It's not like how we treat the 
month of January, right? 

457
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:11,200
I'm definitely going to be 
different this year. 

458
00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:13,160
No, you're not. 
It's the same thing every year. 

459
00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:16,520
Just wait till January 21st and 
we'll move on to something else,

460
00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:18,520
right? 
Ultimately, Jesus is saying I 

461
00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:20,200
got something better for you 
than January. 

462
00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:23,480
Ultimately, what Jesus is 
telling all these dinner guests 

463
00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:27,360
is not that He has grace to give
them, or that He has a party to 

464
00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:31,080
invite them to, or that he has 
some new drink to offer them. 

465
00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:33,800
He's telling them that he is 
their grace. 

466
00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:37,240
He is the groom. 
He is the wine. 

467
00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,000
He is the power of grace. 
You see the in the Gospel, the 

468
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:43,520
story of Jesus gives us a clear 
picture both of sin and love. 

469
00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:46,680
Sin is so severe that it will 
cost Jesus his life. 

470
00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:50,320
Sin is so beyond us that we need
a Savior from outside us, a 

471
00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:52,880
physician who is not infected by
the same disease. 

472
00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:57,160
But that's not all. 
We also see that His love is so 

473
00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:00,680
great that he didn't just invite
us to the wedding, He made us 

474
00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:05,680
the bride. 
We witnessed this in the way 

475
00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:08,640
that Jesus brings the cure. 
This is what makes love 

476
00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:12,840
transformational. 
The way Jesus heals us is by 

477
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:17,320
becoming wounded for us. 
He's the physician who allowed 

478
00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:19,560
himself to be infected by the 
disease. 

479
00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:23,360
So Paul told the church in 
Corinth, for our sake he made 

480
00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:28,080
him to be sin who knew no sin, 
so that in him we might become 

481
00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:31,280
the righteousness of God. 
That's the power of grace. 

482
00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:37,280
Perhaps This is why of all the 
ways Jesus wanted to communicate

483
00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:41,680
and teach us to remember his 
death and resurrection, what did

484
00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:47,520
he choose? 
A table, a meal, he chose bread 

485
00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:51,200
and wine. 
The table of Jesus is always a 

486
00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:56,760
wedding and a funeral. 
It's the power of love over sin.

487
00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:00,360
It's the death of pride and 
shame. 

488
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:03,160
And it's an invitation to grace.
And we pray. 

489
00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:09,120
Heavenly Father, we thank you so
much that your good news is just

490
00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:14,400
that good, that it gives us 
healing from sin and it gives us

491
00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:18,360
grace through love. 
So, Father, may we confess our 

492
00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:21,360
sin and know that you are 
faithful and just and powerful 

493
00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:24,880
and good to extend grace to us 
and to purify us of a guilty 

494
00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,920
conscience so that we might 
become people of grace. 

495
00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:29,800
We love you. 
We thank you in Jesus name, 

496
00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:30,440
Amen.