1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,760 Our scripture reading today is 2 parts Ecclesiastes chapter 3 2 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:08,480 verses 9 to 14 and then Mark chapter 16 verses one through 8. 3 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:10,920 Mark, this is the end of the Gospel of Mark. 4 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:13,440 It's it's Mark's account of the resurrection. 5 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:17,240 And, and before I read it, I want to give a little bit of 6 00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:21,960 introduction to that because most current productions of the 7 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:26,760 Bible printings of the Bible will, will have, will go through 8 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:29,600 Mark one through 8. And then they'll either be an 9 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:33,400 asterisk and the rest of it in parentheses or the rest of it in 10 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:37,400 italics, something like that rest of it in brackets saying 11 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:43,040 that most ancient manuscripts lack the everything in Mark past 12 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:48,040 verse 8. This is no longer controversial 13 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:52,520 within the world of biblical scholarship and archaeology. 14 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:58,080 Biblical scholars are fairly confident, very confident, that 15 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:02,920 Mark, as it was originally written, ended at verse 8 and 16 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,440 the remainder was added sometime later. 17 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:07,520 That doesn't mean the remainder isn't scripture. 18 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:10,440 We could obviously still consider that scripture, but 19 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:12,920 we're going to stop at verse 8 because I want to talk about 20 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:16,240 Mark today as it was originally written and kind of compare it 21 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:19,960 and contrast it a little bit with the other 3 gospels and how 22 00:01:19,960 --> 00:01:23,640 they deal with the resurrection. So just saying all that up 23 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:25,640 front. Let's start now here. 24 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,320 Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verses 9 to 14. 25 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:32,120 What do workers gain from their toil? 26 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,440 I've seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 27 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:38,120 He has made everything beautiful in its time. 28 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:41,640 He has also set eternity in the human heart. 29 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,280 Yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 30 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,080 I know there is nothing better for people than to be happy and 31 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,760 to do good while they live, that each of them may eat and drink 32 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:56,320 and find satisfaction in all their toil. 33 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:00,800 This is the gift of God. I know that everything God does 34 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:03,840 will endure forever. Nothing can be added to it and 35 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:07,840 nothing taken away from it. God does it so that people will 36 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:11,200 fear Him. And then mark chapter 16 verses 37 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,320 one through 8. When the Sabbath was over, Mary 38 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:18,680 Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices 39 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:22,080 that they might go to anoint Jesus's body. 40 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:26,560 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, 41 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:29,840 they were on their way to the tomb, and they asked each other 42 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,120 who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb. 43 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:37,520 But when they looked up they saw that the stone, which was very 44 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,000 large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb they 45 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,800 saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right 46 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:49,000 side, and they were alarmed. Don't be alarmed, he said. 47 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,360 You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. 48 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,080 He has risen. He's not here. 49 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:58,080 See the place where they laid him. 50 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:02,480 But go tell his disciples and Peter, He is going ahead of you 51 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:05,640 into Galilee. There you will see Him just as 52 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:09,280 he told you. Trembling and bewildered, the 53 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:11,960 women went out and fled from the tomb. 54 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:16,000 They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. 55 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,920 May the Lord add His blessing to the reading and to the hearing 56 00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:24,480 of His Word. We're talking today about the 57 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,360 Easter life we've got. I've got two more Sundays today 58 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:29,320 and next week. Next week will be the last 59 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:31,680 Sunday on this series on the Easter life. 60 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,240 And next week we're going to be looking at Pentecost, looking at 61 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,840 the coming of the Holy Spirit into the life of the Church 50 62 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,360 days after Easter. But today we're going to talk 63 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,240 about this Easter life as a life of mystery. 64 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:50,760 There is an awful lot in this world that we do not understand, 65 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:55,920 that we cannot explain. There is much in our faith that 66 00:03:55,920 --> 00:04:01,560 we believe, but we cannot explain, not in a sense of of of 67 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:06,120 scientific or historical confirmation or accuracy. 68 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:11,480 There's much that we just don't know, and that is as it should 69 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:13,880 be. If we could know everything 70 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:17,399 there is to know about God, then we would be greater than God, 71 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:20,360 right? I mean, I know a lot more about 72 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:22,600 my dog than my dog knows about me. 73 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:28,520 I hope my dog knew more about me than I know about my dog. 74 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:32,560 My dog should be the one taking me for a walk rather than the 75 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,160 other way around and carrying that little bag around. 76 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,280 You know, I shouldn't have said that. 77 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:39,760 I'm sorry. I don't know where that came 78 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:45,840 from. If we can fully comprehend God, 79 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:51,360 we are greater than God. The fact that we cannot fully 80 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:55,760 comprehend God is extraordinarily good news 81 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:57,960 because it means God is beyond us. 82 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:02,160 God is greater than we are. That also means that there are 83 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:06,760 simply are things in this life that God has created and in 84 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:10,400 which he has placed us that we cannot understand. 85 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,920 There is mystery. One of those mysteries in in in 86 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:18,000 some respects is motherhood. Motherhood is particularly for 87 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:19,520 men. Motherhood is completely 88 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:23,520 mysterious, I think. I think, you know, for men, 89 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:25,880 fatherhood also has some mystery in it. 90 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:29,480 And for women, motherhood too, that there are things we wish we 91 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,200 knew that we can't understand. We wish there was a manual to 92 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:35,480 tell us exactly what to do with our kids and when to discipline 93 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:38,640 and how does discipline and when to Schumer when to do when and 94 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,000 what and how and where and how how to do it. 95 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:46,600 So our kids turn out great every time, but we don't have that. 96 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:49,400 There's mystery to it. And it's been that way from the 97 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:50,920 beginning. I got a video I want to show 98 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:53,080 you. You know, in motherhood, it can 99 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:55,800 be a little competitive sometimes women, you know, might 100 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:57,640 compare themselves to other moms. 101 00:05:57,640 --> 00:05:58,840 Are they doing it better than me? 102 00:05:58,840 --> 00:06:01,040 Are they doing the right way? Oh, she thinks she's a better 103 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:02,440 mother than I am. And her kids all. 104 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,480 Well, let's just think about it from Mary's perspective here. 105 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:11,320 This is an actress who has done a video portraying a a fictional 106 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:14,800 scene from Mary's life when Jesus is young. 107 00:06:15,280 --> 00:06:17,960 It's not in the Bible, but I I think it it could have happened. 108 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:21,440 So let's let's take a look. So Jesus did the funniest thing 109 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:23,840 the other night. We were sitting down to dinner 110 00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:26,920 and I said jokingly, Mama could use a glass of wine, it's been a 111 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,000 long day and next thing I know he had waved his hand over my 112 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:35,880 goblet and turned my water into a a really delightful Cabernet. 113 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:42,480 I said, OK, OK, give yourself a rest because he had raised our 114 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:45,120 dog from the dead just a couple hours earlier. 115 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,720 Mary literally said stuff like this all the time. 116 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:50,840 And we're always, like, gay. Yeah. 117 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:54,200 What did she say about Star? Well, we wanted fish for dinner. 118 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:59,160 And the boats came back empty, and then suddenly there were 119 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:02,000 fish in the Nets. And like, this morning, we're 120 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,000 all just kind of like, OK, Mary, we all love her babies. 121 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:06,760 We all think they're special. We all want them to do those 122 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:08,200 miles on SERS. But she's just, like, 123 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:10,120 competitive on a new level. My baby actually is super 124 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:11,360 special. She's probably going to walk 125 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:12,720 before hers. She might even walk on water. 126 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:15,000 Wouldn't it be funny? I think they think that I'm 127 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,160 lying. Also asked me recently if if 128 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:19,720 Joseph was really Jesus's dad. Yeah. 129 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:21,960 But also, no. It's hard. 130 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,600 You know, there's no real good parenting book for what to do 131 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:27,520 when your child is the Son of the Lord. 132 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:31,600 But we're figuring it. We're figuring it out, you know, 133 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:36,440 and that's, that's the, it's the best we can do is figure it out 134 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,320 along the way. And, and there's a lot that we 135 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:41,440 don't know, a lot that we don't understand. 136 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,800 Much of life, including motherhood in the life of faith, 137 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:50,760 can feel like an unsolvable mystery, like a black box that 138 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:53,720 we can't penetrate. And, and sometimes it feels like 139 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,720 we're taking shots in the dark and, and making the best guesses 140 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:00,160 we can make and hoping things turn out for the best without 141 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:01,920 really knowing how they're going to turn out. 142 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:05,440 And here's the thing, humans are very uncomfortable with unsolved 143 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:07,800 mysteries. This is why scooby-doo has been 144 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:12,200 so successful for so many years as a cartoon, because everybody 145 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:14,240 loves a mystery. And when there's a mystery, 146 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:16,440 you'll want to know what happened. 147 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:18,800 And if you don't like scooby-doo, I don't want to hear 148 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:20,560 about that. You just keep that to yourself. 149 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:25,680 But if there is something that's out there that we don't know, 150 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,360 but we feel like, oh, I ought to be able to figure that out. 151 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:33,520 It's it's almost compulsive thing for human beings to try to 152 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:36,039 figure out, to try to solve the mysteries. 153 00:08:36,039 --> 00:08:38,039 We're uncomfortable with unsolved mysteries. 154 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:42,360 But mystery is by definition unknown. 155 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,240 It's mysterious. If it were known, it wouldn't be 156 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:49,560 mysterious, right? Used to be mysterious, how 157 00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:52,240 infections were transferred from one person to another. 158 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,400 And then someone said they're little, teeny, tiny creatures 159 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,880 that we're going to call germs. And they go from one person to 160 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:00,880 another. They're so small, so small you 161 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,040 can't see them. And first people who said that. 162 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:06,080 Everyone else said you are nuts, you are off your rocker. 163 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:08,480 But it's true. Now we know that. 164 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:11,600 We know how it happens. It's not a mystery anymore. 165 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:16,280 It's not a mystery. Mysteries are by definition 166 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:20,120 unknown. For my thoughts, God is talking 167 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:22,040 to His people through the prophet Isaiah here. 168 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:26,080 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways. 169 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:29,560 My ways, declares the Lord, as the heavens are higher than the 170 00:09:29,560 --> 00:09:33,120 earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts 171 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:36,440 than your thoughts. What God is saying to His people 172 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:41,920 is you will never fully understand me, no matter how 173 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:46,680 smart you get, no matter how wise you get, my ways are as far 174 00:09:46,680 --> 00:09:49,040 above yours. My thoughts are as far above 175 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:52,200 yours are the as the heavens are high above the earth. 176 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:56,200 And, and, you know, he said that back when kind of people thought 177 00:09:56,200 --> 00:10:00,280 there was a Dome in the sky and, and you could get to the edge of 178 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:02,240 the heavens. And, and now we know you just 179 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:04,000 keep going and going and going and going and going. 180 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:07,920 And there's, you know, it's God's that much bigger, that 181 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:10,360 much smarter. That's much greater than we are, 182 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:15,880 which means there will always be things about God that we cannot 183 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:21,480 know and we cannot understand. It also means there will always 184 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:26,640 be things about this life which God has created, which God has 185 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:29,160 given to us and which God has placed us. 186 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:33,160 Always things about this life which are beyond what we can 187 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:35,600 know and beyond what we can understand. 188 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:39,520 There's, there's a quest in, in the scientific community that's 189 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:44,360 been going on for, for at least decades now, a quest to identify 190 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:48,040 what they call a grand unification theory, a single 191 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:51,960 mathematical explanation for everything that exists in the 192 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:56,920 universe. I I am not a physicist, but I'd 193 00:10:56,920 --> 00:11:01,400 wager every penny I have that that quest for a grand 194 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,520 unification theory will be ultimately futile. 195 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:10,160 That there is no way human beings are capable of 196 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,960 understanding and explaining everything in the universe. 197 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:18,600 It's beyond us. It's simply beyond us. 198 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:22,560 God is the author. God is the creator, and no 199 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:25,640 matter how much we learn and how much we know and how much 200 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:28,600 knowledge we gain, it simply opens the door for more 201 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:32,360 questions about things that we don't understand and can't yet 202 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:36,880 explain. God's thoughts are greater and 203 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:40,080 higher than yours. This is what said Solomon says 204 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:43,160 in Ecclesiastes. He has also said eternity in the 205 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:46,640 human heart. Yet no one can fathom what God 206 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:52,760 has done from beginning to end, from beginning of time to the 207 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:55,760 end of time. God understands it. 208 00:11:56,480 --> 00:12:01,080 None of us do, not completely. We can see little bits and like 209 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:03,320 the like the blind man. Remember the story of the blind 210 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:05,840 man and the elephant? You know, we're, we're, I think 211 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:08,720 it's four or five blind men go up to an elephant and the first 212 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:11,960 one grabs the elephant's Tusk and says, oh, an elephant is 213 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:14,200 like a spear. The second one grabs the 214 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:17,160 elephant's trunk and says what elephant is like a snake? 215 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:21,400 And the, the, the third one touches the elephant's leg and 216 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:23,440 says all elephants are like a tree. 217 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:27,240 The 4th 1 touches the elephant's side and says elephants are like 218 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:29,440 a wall. And the fifth one grabs the 219 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:33,240 elephant's tail and says, oh, the the elephants are very much 220 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:37,080 like a rope. They each had a little piece of 221 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,440 the understanding. None of them had it all. 222 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:43,280 And that's the way existence is for us. 223 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:47,680 There are parts of existence that will remain mysterious to 224 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:52,840 us as individuals and as humanity as a whole that are 225 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:55,640 beyond our ability to know and understand. 226 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:59,480 And again, this is good news. If we could understand the 227 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:04,680 universe completely, that means we are the top of the universe, 228 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:07,720 we are the apex, we are as good as it gets. 229 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:12,200 I really hope humanity is not as good as it gets in the universe. 230 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:15,920 I really, really hope, and I'm putting every, I'm betting my 231 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:19,120 whole life on it, that there is a God that's greater than we are 232 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:22,400 and better than we are and gooder than we are, and that we 233 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:26,920 can trust in. Mystery also is by definition 234 00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:31,440 just sort of unknown. This is for the for the Greek 235 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,600 scholars in the room here. I have to put this in because my 236 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:37,440 daughter occasionally listens to my sermons and she is a Greek 237 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:42,320 scholar and, and she would call me angrily if I stopped talking 238 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:46,040 about what mystery is, as I have talked about it so far, because 239 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:49,080 the New Testament uses that word a little bit differently. 240 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:53,800 And mystery is not so much like an unsolved murder or an 241 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:57,160 unsolved crime. Mystery is something that God 242 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:02,480 has concealed but then later reveals, and that's the way that 243 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:06,480 word is used mostly in the New Testament and in almost every 244 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:09,960 time, maybe every time you see that word mystery come up in the 245 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:12,800 New Testament, it is in this context. 246 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:17,400 This was a mystery. God's plan of salvation was a 247 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:19,800 mystery. God's plan of redemption was a 248 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:22,120 mystery. God's plan for our hope and for 249 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,400 the future of the universe was a mystery. 250 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:29,320 But now God has revealed that mystery, and it is Jesus Christ, 251 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,640 his life, his death and his resurrection. 252 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:36,880 So it's, it's that's, you know, the folks in Jesus's day were 253 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:38,800 saying, yeah, it was a mystery to Moses. 254 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:41,200 It was a mystery to Abraham and Sarah. 255 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:45,000 It was a mystery to Isaiah and Jeremiah was a mystery to to 256 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,800 Ruth and Esther. But it's not a mystery to us. 257 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:50,000 We know the answer and the answer is Jesus. 258 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,600 Jesus is God's way. Jesus is the life that we have. 259 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,920 Jesus is the truth of God. Jesus is salvation. 260 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:01,800 Jesus is Lord, Jesus is King. Jesus is redemption. 261 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:06,280 Jesus is healing. Jesus is God has revealed it in 262 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:13,440 Jesus truth, 100% truth. But we have to acknowledge 263 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:17,480 there's a lot about Jesus we still don't and can't 264 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:20,320 understand, not fully and completely. 265 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:24,680 Just take for example, what we teach and, and have expressed in 266 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:27,920 the church about Jesus for for hundreds, thousands of years now 267 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:34,680 that Jesus of Nazareth is both fully God and fully human, fully 268 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:38,480 God and fully human, right? I mean, I, if you haven't heard 269 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,240 that, then shame on me and every other preacher that's been here 270 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,560 throughout your life that Jesus is fully God and fully human. 271 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:48,920 But what does that mean? How does that work? 272 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:51,440 That seminary professor explained it like this. 273 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:55,840 To say that Jesus is God, Jesus is fully God and fully human, is 274 00:15:55,840 --> 00:16:00,240 to say that you're going to take 1 quart of water, like that's 275 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:04,840 the human, and one quart of oil, that's the God part, and you 276 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:09,160 pour them together in a single quart container and it all goes 277 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:12,320 in. That doesn't make any sense. 278 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:18,280 That's the incarnation. Somehow God is completely both 279 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:22,120 somehow. I'm sorry, somehow Jesus is 280 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:26,040 completely both. The Trinity is another one that 281 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:30,200 that we we say, we state because we believe and we affirm that 282 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:34,200 it's true, but we cannot fully explain it because we absolutely 283 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:37,080 insist that we do not worship three gods. 284 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:41,320 There is one God, but that God, one God, exists in three 285 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:44,280 persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 286 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:51,320 And Jesus is not part of God. Jesus is fully God and, and the 287 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:54,520 Father is not part of God. The Father is fully God and the 288 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:57,720 Holy Spirit is not part of God. The Holy Spirit is fully God, 289 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:00,160 but there's not three gods. There's only one God. 290 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:04,839 People that have not grown up with that teaching hear that and 291 00:17:04,839 --> 00:17:09,680 they say that makes no sense. To which we have to, if we're 292 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:14,440 going to be honest, we have to say you are right in in in terms 293 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:18,000 of common human scientific understanding, that makes no 294 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,839 sense whatsoever. It's one of the reasons why 295 00:17:20,839 --> 00:17:24,960 Orthodox Jews and Muslims consider Christians to be a 296 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:28,920 polytheistic. They say you can't see one of 297 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:30,640 the other. You can't have this three in 298 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:32,800 one, but it's not really three. It's just one. 299 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:36,080 But that's what we teach. And that I used to think I could 300 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:38,560 explain it. I say it's like an egg. 301 00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:41,000 It's like an egg. You got the shell, you got the 302 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,600 yolk, you got the white three parts. 303 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:48,080 They're all one egg. I found out later that was a 304 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:50,560 heresy for which the Church used to kill people. 305 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:57,560 We're not doing that anymore. Obviously I'm still here because 306 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:00,360 it it doesn't. Because the shell is not the 307 00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:05,040 full egg. You see, for that metaphor to 308 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:08,720 work, the shell would have to be the full egg as well as just the 309 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:10,280 shell. And the white would have to be 310 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:12,000 the full egg as well as the just the white. 311 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:14,280 And the yolk would have to be the full egg as well as just the 312 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:16,440 yolk. So it's, it's a great metaphor, 313 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:17,840 but it doesn't explain the Trinity. 314 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:27,160 It's a belief that we have. I'm 100% convinced that it's 315 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:32,960 true, but we cannot explain it. Not fully, not completely. 316 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:35,720 It's a mystery. It's a mystery beyond all 317 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:37,880 question. The mystery from which true 318 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:41,720 godliness springs is great. He appeared, that is Jesus, 319 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:44,640 appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was 320 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:48,000 seen by the angels, was preached among the nations, was believed 321 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,760 on in the world, and was taken up in glory. 322 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,120 This is the mystery. The mystery has been revealed. 323 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:57,000 It is Jesus. The mystery was hidden. 324 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:01,920 It has been disclosed, it is Jesus, his life, his death, his 325 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:05,080 resurrection, his ascension, ruling at the right hand of the 326 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:08,240 Father. We say that we believe it, it's 327 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:12,040 100% true. But there is still so much about 328 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:14,880 Jesus that we cannot fully comprehend and understand 329 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:18,000 because if we could, that would make us greater than Jesus. 330 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:21,640 As we live the Easter life now, then how do we respond to 331 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:24,240 mystery? If there's so much in this world 332 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:26,840 that is mystery and so much in the life of faith that is 333 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:29,360 mystery, how do we respond to that? 334 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:32,920 Let's, let's, oh, I left out a slide. 335 00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:37,160 We'll jump back that. Well, I'll just tell you because 336 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:39,400 you remember it because we just read it a few minutes ago. 337 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:44,120 The women went to the tomb. They were expecting to find 338 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:49,200 Jesus's corpse in the tomb. They had bought spices to take 339 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:53,680 to anoint him with as part of the their their burial rituals. 340 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:56,080 And when they got there, the stones rolled away. 341 00:19:56,440 --> 00:20:00,600 There's one Angel, not multiple angels, one Angel who tells them 342 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:08,720 Jesus is not here, He has risen. Go tell his disciples and Peter. 343 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:12,600 They want to make sure Peter knew he was still included, that 344 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,040 Jesus is going to meet you in Galilee. 345 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:22,080 And it says the women left and told no one because they were 346 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:27,160 afraid. Their response to that mystery 347 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,640 was fear and silence, fear and science. 348 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:38,040 And Matthew presents a different picture when the women go and 349 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:40,680 the Angel tells them, and then Jesus himself appears to him. 350 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:43,680 And then they go back and tell the disciples and the disciples 351 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:45,000 go to Galilee and meet him there. 352 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:48,280 Luke gives us a little bit of a different picture to the women 353 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:52,320 go, they go back, they get the message from the angels, from 354 00:20:52,360 --> 00:20:54,840 Jesus. They go and tell the disciples. 355 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:57,160 The disciples don't believe them and two of them go and look for 356 00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:59,200 themselves. Then Jesus appears to them in 357 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:02,520 Jerusalem later that day, and they're like, oh, it's true, 358 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:06,400 except for Thomas, who's not there, and John. 359 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:11,280 Similar kind of thing. Similar kind of thing, except we 360 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:15,040 see Jesus hanging out with the disciples a lot before his 361 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:18,200 ascension. All four gospels have a 362 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:21,040 different emphasis and a different focus on on what they 363 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:25,440 want to leave their hearers with about the message of the 364 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:28,600 resurrection. Matthew wants wants people to 365 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:32,240 leave and and finish the story of the resurrection with a sense 366 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:36,160 of clear mission and calling. Go and make disciples of all 367 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:38,760 nations. Those are Jesus's final words to 368 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,000 his disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father Son, the 369 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,080 Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything. 370 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,640 I've commanded you and I will be with you always that mission. 371 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:50,280 Jesus's final words are to give his disciples a job. 372 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:56,440 And Luke, Jesus's final words are to give his disciples hope, 373 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:02,760 a prophecy. You're just, you know, 11 folks 374 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,400 and well, you know, all told there about 120 followers of 375 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:09,680 Jesus there and, and, and, and you're very small. 376 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:11,600 You have no power, you don't have no influence. 377 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:14,120 But you need to understand the Holy Spirit's going to come on 378 00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:15,880 you and you're going to be my disciples. 379 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,600 You're going to be my witnesses all over the world, friend and 380 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:22,840 foe alike. He gives them hope by 381 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:26,280 prophesying a future in which they are his witnesses 382 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:29,840 throughout the world. John has a different emphasis. 383 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,640 John's emphasis is on service and on community. 384 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:38,120 You have fallen away, but I forgive you and I restore you. 385 00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:41,240 You're still my people. I'm still your people. 386 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:44,880 If you still love me, and if you want to show that you love me, 387 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,400 then love each other and serve each other and love and serve 388 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,000 the people around you in the community. 389 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:56,560 John leaves with an emphasis on relationship and community and 390 00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:02,120 reconciliation. Mark emphasizes the mystery 391 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:08,640 These women experience something that is beyond their ability to 392 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:13,240 grasp and process and understand, and they are shocked 393 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:16,080 and stunned and frightened into silence. 394 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:20,120 It is so overwhelming they can't tell anyone about it. 395 00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:23,400 Now, obviously they eventually tell people about it because 396 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:27,760 we're here. But the story marks telling, the 397 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:32,560 thing Mark is emphasizing, is the mystery of the resurrection, 398 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:38,960 that something incredible happened that shocked those 399 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:44,120 women into silence. And I think that's a good 400 00:23:44,120 --> 00:23:48,120 example for how to respond to men to mystery. 401 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:56,840 Silence is not a bad response. Being quiet, being still is not 402 00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:00,840 a bad response before God, who is all powerful and all amazing 403 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:03,440 and all wonderful. Psalmist says it this way. 404 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:05,880 When his people were God's, people were facing a threat. 405 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:11,240 And God says to them through the prophet, be still, be still and 406 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:14,440 know that I'm God. I will be exalted among the 407 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,200 nations. I will be exalted on the earth. 408 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:20,000 You're facing a threat that's too big for you, too great for 409 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:26,040 you that you can't handle. Calm down, be still, and trust 410 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:32,840 that I will be God. We hear it that silence is not 411 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:36,880 only not a bad response, it's a good response. 412 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:41,800 It's a good way to approach the mystery of God because silence 413 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:43,400 allows the mystery to be mysterious. 414 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:46,240 We have this compulsion to explain, explain, explain, 415 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:50,880 solve, solve, solve, solve. Sometimes we just have to let 416 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:55,080 the mystery be mysterious. We have to say, I don't know. 417 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:58,240 I don't get it. I can't really understand it, 418 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,360 but I believe it. And here's why I believe it. 419 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:03,600 Here's how I've experienced the truth. 420 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:07,720 I can't explain this, but I can tell you what's happened to me. 421 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:09,720 I can tell you what my friends have experienced. 422 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:12,520 I can tell you what folks in the faith have experienced over the 423 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:16,360 years and the centuries, in the millennia, and just 'cause I 424 00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:18,240 can't explain it doesn't mean it's not true. 425 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:23,320 Silence allows the mystery to be mysterious, and silence is an 426 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:26,000 expression of humility before the mystery. 427 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:29,880 It is an acknowledgement that God's ways are beyond us, God's 428 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:33,680 thoughts are beyond us, that we cannot fathom from beginning to 429 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:35,440 end what God has done and is doing. 430 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:40,680 What we can do is trust and believe in the face of the 431 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:41,760 mystery. It's humility. 432 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:45,160 Psalm 131 is only three verses, and that's all of them right 433 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:47,640 here. Oh, Lord, my heart is not lifted 434 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:50,040 up, my eyes are not raised too high. 435 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:52,960 I do not occupy myself with things too great and too 436 00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:55,960 marvelous for me, but I have calmed and quiet in my soul, 437 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,760 like a child quieted at his mother's breast, like a child 438 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:01,240 that is quiet. It is my soul. 439 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:06,520 Oh Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore. 440 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:11,040 There are wonderful, marvelous, incredible things out there, and 441 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:13,680 at times it's good for us to look on those things and to 442 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,520 ponder those things and reflect on those things and explore 443 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:19,560 those things and sometimes occasionally even understand 444 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,720 some of those things. But sometimes when we look upon 445 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:28,520 that mystery, we just need to look down again and sit quietly 446 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:32,000 with God. That word for child there in in 447 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,240 Hebrew is is more specific than we have in English. 448 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:39,280 The word there means a weaned child so that this child is not 449 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:41,200 at his mother's breast to get something. 450 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:47,480 He or she is at his mother's breast to rest in mother's arms, 451 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:55,440 to receive comfort and strength to to just be there with God and 452 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:57,920 the baby. Baby's children can't understand 453 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:01,160 their moms. No baby understands how much 454 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:02,840 their mom loves them. None. 455 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:06,720 It's beyond them, absolutely beyond them. 456 00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:11,120 It's absolutely beyond us to fully understand God's love. 457 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:15,000 But we can rest in that love and put our hope in the Lord. 458 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:19,440 Not in our understanding, not in our ability to explain, but in 459 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:22,840 God Himself, both now and forever more. 460 00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:26,880 I do think there's a temptation when I preach these kind of 461 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,320 sermons in my own head, so I put this in here specifically for 462 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:31,560 me. They don't get comfortable with 463 00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:33,800 mystery. That's not the idea here for us 464 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,200 to get comfortable with mystery. The idea is for us to remain 465 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:39,480 uncomfortable with mystery and mystery is a part of our lives 466 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:40,840 throughout. I'm going to play one more 467 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:42,480 video. It's a really short 1:00 and 468 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:46,920 it's 2 songs mashed together. The first part is, is was the 469 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:51,600 song was originally written by the 1st singer who Amy Cardi, if 470 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:52,880 I'm remembering her name properly. 471 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,720 And she's singing about her experience just starting off in 472 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:59,760 college and how she already feels lost. 473 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,520 And it's just two days and she already feels lost. 474 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:08,120 And then another woman who online goes by the the name I'm, 475 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:13,560 I'm sad Alex. And she extends it to 10 years 476 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:17,200 after college and how she still feels lost. 477 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:21,120 Let's listen together. I'm two days into college and 478 00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:24,000 I'm three lectures behind. There's this guy, let's name him 479 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,160 Colin. He says he wants to be mine, but 480 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:28,200 it doesn't really sit with me quite right because he doesn't 481 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:30,920 really like the things I like and I keep accidentally look at 482 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:32,920 myself out of my dorm in the middle of the night. 483 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:36,840 I'm 10 years out of college and I'm still 10 years behind all 484 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:38,600 those things I thought I'd have by now. 485 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,160 We're still so out of sight and it doesn't really sit with me 486 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:43,520 quite right. I'm 32 years into this life. 487 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:45,080 I should have more double use than else. 488 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:47,560 Got so used to hell I don't even feel the fire when it's in my 489 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:50,360 face and I'm a plate and I think and am I OK? 490 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:52,440 Should I change to something safer? 491 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:55,640 Bat and very good on paper. Settle down and fall in love. 492 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,400 And they were calling and it up. Did everybody succeed now? 493 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:08,520 Are they happier than me now? I I love this how both of these 494 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,760 young women are simply acknowledging the mystery of 495 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:14,360 life. I'm here. 496 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:17,240 I thought I'd, you know, I've been looking forward to college 497 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:19,680 for year. What can I get away from home? 498 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:21,640 I come in, God. And now I'm here and it's all a 499 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:24,760 mystery and I'm already baffled. I'm already behind. 500 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:28,440 I'm already lost. But once I graduate, I'll get 501 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,160 things figured out. Then it'll make sense. 502 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:34,280 And 10 years later, it still doesn't make sense. 503 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:38,720 When I thought life was going to be, it's not what I thought I 504 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:40,240 was going to experience. I haven't. 505 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:43,720 I look around and everyone else seems to have it all together 506 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:46,120 and they know what's going on and they seem happy and I don't 507 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:48,880 and what's going on and I don't understand and I don't know. 508 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:53,480 And that's life. That's the life of faith. 509 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:59,160 Not to be comfortable with mystery, but to be willing to be 510 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:05,520 uncomfortable with mystery. I'm sad Alex struggles with the 511 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:08,960 uncomfortable with mystery. She had a bunch of comments on 512 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:12,160 her song saying, hey, what about 20 years out of college? 513 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:13,880 I'm a lot older than you. I'm 42 now. 514 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:15,480 What about 20 years out of college? 515 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:23,080 So she wrote another verse. I cut it out because she's not 516 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:25,600 at that point writing out of her own experience, beautifully 517 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:30,560 written, beautifully sung, very aspirational about how by 20 518 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:36,760 years out of college it'll all be OK and all of these things 519 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:38,120 she doesn't understand. Now. 520 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,680 It'll be all right. It'll be all right. 521 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:49,800 I'm 40 years out of college. I'm saying no, yeah, no, no, no. 522 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:53,120 Allow the mystery to be mysterious. 523 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:58,160 Don't get comfortable with it. Be willing to be uncomfortable 524 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:01,440 with it. And then when we're uncomfort, 525 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:05,080 we take our discomfort, our uncomfortableness, our fear, our 526 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:08,240 worry, our anxiety, and we take that to God and we rest in God's 527 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:11,000 arms and say, I don't really understand it, but I know Jesus 528 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:14,760 is the answer. I don't really know the way, but 529 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:18,760 I know Jesus is the way. I can't explain all the truth, 530 00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:22,560 but I know Jesus is the truth. I can't figure out everything in 531 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:26,920 my life, but I know Jesus is the life and I'm going to rest in 532 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:31,080 that. I know there is nothing better 533 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:34,480 for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 534 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:38,080 That each of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in 535 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:40,280 all their toil. What a wonderful blessing right 536 00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:41,560 there in the heart of the scripture. 537 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:46,120 Enjoy life, eat, drink, enjoy your life. 538 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:49,600 Do the ordinary stuff of everyday life and enjoy it 539 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:53,560 because this is a gift of God. I know that everything God does 540 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:56,640 will endure forever. Nothing can be added to it, 541 00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:01,320 nothing taken away from it. God does it this way so that 542 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:06,400 people will fear Him. When we encounter God and we are 543 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:10,960 afraid before the mystery, we are right smack in the will of 544 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:14,120 God. God doesn't want us comfortable 545 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:18,880 before His mystery. God wants us in all and even a 546 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:24,360 little fearful so that we learn to trust in Him instead of 547 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:26,360 thinking we can depend on ourselves. 548 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:29,800 Allow yourself to be uncomfortable with the mystery 549 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:32,520 because this is the life of faith and this is the Easter 550 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:34,920 life in Jesus name, Amen.