121 00:19:24.575 --> 00:19:29.255 All right, hope. How we doing? We good? Very good. Nice. 122 00:19:29.256 --> 00:19:32.895 Awesome. Hey, uh, so my name's Ben. Okay? Uh, 123 00:19:33.575 --> 00:19:37.655 I am from Colorado, but I've been here the a few times to be able to teach. 124 00:19:37.835 --> 00:19:41.455 I'm always honored to get to come out here to teach. But um, again, 125 00:19:41.515 --> 00:19:43.815 no introduction with myself. I'd still love to meet you though. 126 00:19:43.845 --> 00:19:47.575 I'll be wandering around after this thing probably looking lost and lonely. 127 00:19:47.795 --> 00:19:51.815 So , come, come talk to me. Um, I'm very pumped. You're here. 128 00:19:51.994 --> 00:19:54.775 I'm pumped you're here because we're in the middle of this series called 129 00:19:54.885 --> 00:19:58.575 Foundations of our Faith. And so it's just one of those series where like, 130 00:19:58.595 --> 00:20:00.335 if you follow Jesus your whole life, 131 00:20:00.515 --> 00:20:03.775 or if you're just now kind of exploring the whole faith idea, 132 00:20:04.205 --> 00:20:08.615 then this is a really good series to be here for. So on puncture here, 133 00:20:08.616 --> 00:20:11.575 we're gonna continue today. Um, but actually to, 134 00:20:11.635 --> 00:20:13.575 to get started together right now, 135 00:20:13.734 --> 00:20:17.695 I wanna tell you a story from my personal life. Okay? So I, 136 00:20:17.775 --> 00:20:22.655 I went to college in east Tennessee in the Smoky Mountains in a tiny little town 137 00:20:22.775 --> 00:20:27.734 called Johnson City, Tennessee. And I loved living in this area. 138 00:20:28.355 --> 00:20:32.135 And this was in college. This was back before I had kids. So I had like time, 139 00:20:32.535 --> 00:20:34.415 I had time to go hiking, and I, 140 00:20:34.535 --> 00:20:38.055 I hiked and I camped and I did trail running and kayaking. 141 00:20:38.056 --> 00:20:42.055 Like I did all that stuff out there. I absolutely loved living in this area. 142 00:20:42.315 --> 00:20:47.234 One of the things that I loved the most was going caving, okay? Exploring caves. 143 00:20:47.235 --> 00:20:51.755 And, and the caves in Tennessee are exactly what you're picturing in your mind. 144 00:20:51.785 --> 00:20:54.315 They're like legit caves. These, you know, 145 00:20:54.375 --> 00:20:59.315 big cavernous rooms with s stites and s stalactites and Underground 146 00:20:59.405 --> 00:21:03.115 Lakes and the entrances, you know, are these big gaping holes, you know, 147 00:21:03.116 --> 00:21:05.955 with bats and ghosts and, you know, 148 00:21:06.055 --> 00:21:09.435 people making drugs out of household cleaning products. It's like, 149 00:21:09.625 --> 00:21:11.315 it's everything you're picturing with a cave. 150 00:21:11.575 --> 00:21:16.315 So I loved caving right now there was this one cave called Salt Peter Cave 151 00:21:16.316 --> 00:21:20.555 that was supposed to be like right behind our campus within walking distance, 152 00:21:20.855 --> 00:21:22.755 but me and my friends could never find it. 153 00:21:22.895 --> 00:21:26.515 One of the reasons we could never find it is you could only really look for it 154 00:21:26.575 --> 00:21:29.555 at night because it was on this really old guy's property. 155 00:21:29.935 --> 00:21:33.955 And there were these like legendary stories on campus about he, 156 00:21:34.095 --> 00:21:38.155 he would chase off potential campers by firing a shotgun over their heads. 157 00:21:38.575 --> 00:21:41.515 So didn't stop us from looking for the thing, we just, 158 00:21:41.655 --> 00:21:46.035 we just couldn't ever find it until one day I'm at the campus 159 00:21:46.225 --> 00:21:49.595 library, I come across a book called Caves of Tennessee. 160 00:21:49.855 --> 00:21:53.475 It was a caving guide with hundreds of caves complete with, you know, 161 00:21:53.476 --> 00:21:57.115 descriptions and maps of the interiors. And most importantly, 162 00:21:58.155 --> 00:22:00.035 GPS coordinates for how to find these caves. 163 00:22:00.255 --> 00:22:04.435 And Salt Peter Cave was in this book. So I check it out from the library, 164 00:22:04.925 --> 00:22:08.955 super pumped. I go straight back to the dorm, I rally all my friends. It's like, 165 00:22:08.956 --> 00:22:12.675 tonight we are finally gonna go to Salt Peter Cave. 166 00:22:13.494 --> 00:22:14.835 By the time the the sunset, 167 00:22:15.295 --> 00:22:18.395 all of my friends chickened out like 'cause of, you know, 168 00:22:18.415 --> 00:22:19.515 old men with shotguns. 169 00:22:19.675 --> 00:22:22.795 And so everyone chickened out except for me and my friend Troy. 170 00:22:23.135 --> 00:22:27.275 And Troy and I are like, fine, that's cool. You are loss. You know, we're just, 171 00:22:27.595 --> 00:22:31.515 we're the two of us will go into the woods at night by ourselves without you, 172 00:22:31.565 --> 00:22:36.115 which is of course the beginning of every horror movie ever made. 173 00:22:36.755 --> 00:22:38.315 Um, and so we go out, 174 00:22:38.325 --> 00:22:41.795 we're traipsing around in the woods where these GPS coordinates are. 175 00:22:41.895 --> 00:22:44.035 We still can't find any cave. 176 00:22:44.615 --> 00:22:48.035 We decided we weren't gonna use our flashlights until we were in the cave. 177 00:22:48.036 --> 00:22:51.555 That didn't help. But we didn't wanna be seen by this old man. We, 178 00:22:51.556 --> 00:22:52.475 we couldn't find the cave. 179 00:22:52.476 --> 00:22:55.475 So we're just kind of groping around in the dark looking for anything that looks 180 00:22:55.476 --> 00:22:59.075 like a cave entrance. After about 15, 20 minutes of this, 181 00:22:59.175 --> 00:23:03.475 the clouds kind of roll away from the moon and we can see a little bit more 182 00:23:03.476 --> 00:23:04.309 clearly. 183 00:23:04.375 --> 00:23:08.755 And we realized we're like 20 to 30 yards away from this 184 00:23:09.085 --> 00:23:11.275 ramshackle little cabin. Okay? 185 00:23:11.276 --> 00:23:13.595 You can see the silhouette of it in the moonlight. 186 00:23:13.755 --> 00:23:18.155 And there's no lights on inside. And this is when we realized like, oh, 187 00:23:18.185 --> 00:23:21.715 this cave is like on top of the old man's house. 188 00:23:21.716 --> 00:23:23.875 Like we're in his backyard right now. 189 00:23:24.734 --> 00:23:27.195 And this is when things start to get terrifying, . 190 00:23:27.955 --> 00:23:31.755 'cause I hear footsteps off to my left in the leaves. Like I hear that, 191 00:23:31.895 --> 00:23:36.515 you know, there's like, and I'm trying to convince myself, 192 00:23:36.516 --> 00:23:38.355 like if you've done a lot of camping, you know, 193 00:23:38.405 --> 00:23:41.675 everything at night in the woods sounds bigger than it really is. 194 00:23:41.676 --> 00:23:45.445 And so I'm like, it's probably just like it's a squirrel and I'm freaking out. 195 00:23:45.705 --> 00:23:46.538 I'm gonna be fine. 196 00:23:46.785 --> 00:23:50.445 But what was really concerning is that the noise would start anytime I was 197 00:23:50.446 --> 00:23:54.405 walking and then it would stop anytime I stopped, as if, you know, 198 00:23:54.406 --> 00:23:58.645 someone's stalking, stalking me. And so I eventually get closer to Troy. 199 00:23:58.725 --> 00:24:01.765 I smack him, he gives me the nod, like yeah, I hear the same thing. 200 00:24:01.865 --> 00:24:05.605 And we just go frozen, completely silent in the woods at night, 201 00:24:05.606 --> 00:24:08.925 trying to see if we can hear anything. That's when it happens. 202 00:24:09.025 --> 00:24:12.325 The noise starts up while we're frozen and it just goes, 203 00:24:13.715 --> 00:24:16.325 it's coming right at us. Gets closer, it speeds up. It's like, 204 00:24:17.305 --> 00:24:20.205 and then both Troy and I are just like run. So we take off, 205 00:24:20.385 --> 00:24:22.365 we go sprinting outta the woods. 206 00:24:22.465 --> 00:24:27.205 The footsteps are behind us chasing us the whole way they chase us until we 207 00:24:27.215 --> 00:24:32.005 break out of the tree line and into this meadow that's within like sight of, 208 00:24:32.105 --> 00:24:34.405 of the campus parking lot and street lamps. 209 00:24:34.406 --> 00:24:37.525 And that didn't stop us from running. We ran all the way to campus, 210 00:24:37.625 --> 00:24:39.685 all the way into the dorm room, all the way up the stairs. 211 00:24:39.705 --> 00:24:43.365 We didn't stop running until we were in my door room with like the door locked, 212 00:24:43.615 --> 00:24:48.085 right? We like collapse in the room. We're panting, we're trying to recover. 213 00:24:48.785 --> 00:24:51.965 And I grab this caves of Tennessee book 'cause I'm furious, right? 214 00:24:52.045 --> 00:24:54.325 I am like this thing almost got us killed. 215 00:24:55.025 --> 00:24:59.725 And this is where I start to feel really stupid because I never read the 216 00:24:59.775 --> 00:25:04.165 entry on Salt Peter Cave. I just saw coordinates, put 'em into my device, right? 217 00:25:04.505 --> 00:25:08.244 But now I'm sitting on my bed, I'm reading this book for the first time. 218 00:25:08.685 --> 00:25:12.565 I realize there's two sets of coordinates for Salt Peter Cave. Okay? 219 00:25:12.566 --> 00:25:14.925 The second set of coordinates take you to the cave, 220 00:25:15.015 --> 00:25:18.325 which is like half a mile from where we were just wandering around. 221 00:25:18.825 --> 00:25:23.325 The first set of coordinates take you to the old man's house to ask permission 222 00:25:23.705 --> 00:25:28.085 to be on his property . And so we had the wrong set of coordinates, 223 00:25:28.086 --> 00:25:32.885 like I still to this day swear like it almost got us killed. Now, 224 00:25:33.715 --> 00:25:34.265 side note, 225 00:25:34.265 --> 00:25:38.725 beyond all forms of wisdom and sound judgment, 226 00:25:39.425 --> 00:25:42.484 we put the second set of coordinates in. We went back like an hour later. We, 227 00:25:42.505 --> 00:25:45.205 we didn't get shot. We were there for hours. It was a beautiful cave, 228 00:25:45.225 --> 00:25:47.765 had a rope ladder down to an underground lake. It was perfect. 229 00:25:48.185 --> 00:25:52.925 But the moral of the story is that we, what we wanted was good. 230 00:25:53.785 --> 00:25:56.965 It was right. We just wanted to explore a cave. 231 00:25:57.105 --> 00:25:59.925 The problem is that we had the wrong coordinates, 232 00:26:00.425 --> 00:26:04.045 we had a bad set of directions and we didn't even know it yet. 233 00:26:04.825 --> 00:26:09.285 In other words, we were looking for the right thing in the wrong place. 234 00:26:10.865 --> 00:26:14.165 Okay? Now here's why I tell that story, right? 235 00:26:14.166 --> 00:26:17.484 We're in the middle of this series on the foundations of our faith. 236 00:26:17.485 --> 00:26:20.765 We're talking through the four, four foundations of the Christian faith, 237 00:26:20.766 --> 00:26:25.765 which are, we are created, we are broken, we can be fixed, 238 00:26:26.065 --> 00:26:29.525 and we are on our way towards something better. Alright? 239 00:26:29.526 --> 00:26:34.005 We've already covered the first two. Today we're talking about we can be fixed. 240 00:26:34.225 --> 00:26:39.205 And I think that deep down in our guts in every human being walking 241 00:26:39.206 --> 00:26:42.045 around planet earth, you know that you can be fixed. 242 00:26:43.125 --> 00:26:44.205 I think there's something in us. 243 00:26:44.484 --> 00:26:48.484 I think it's God given this little voice in you telling you it's possible, 244 00:26:48.595 --> 00:26:52.445 it's possible to be fixed. The problem is like my story, 245 00:26:53.065 --> 00:26:56.405 we go looking to get fixed in all of the wrong places. 246 00:26:57.575 --> 00:27:02.385 This has been going on since Adam and Eve, like Clay talked about last weekend, 247 00:27:02.535 --> 00:27:06.785 like the fall, like the moment that sin enters into the world. 248 00:27:07.415 --> 00:27:12.305 It's really the result of Adam and Eve looking for the right thing in the wrong 249 00:27:12.306 --> 00:27:15.905 place. What were they looking for? Well, 250 00:27:15.906 --> 00:27:18.185 the temperature distorts what they were looking for. 251 00:27:18.325 --> 00:27:20.025 But you might remember this from last week. 252 00:27:20.325 --> 00:27:23.625 He says that if they take the fruit that God told them not to eat, 253 00:27:23.775 --> 00:27:25.705 then God knows that when you eat of it, 254 00:27:25.734 --> 00:27:30.025 your eyes will be opened and you will be like God 255 00:27:30.535 --> 00:27:31.945 knowing good and evil. 256 00:27:33.295 --> 00:27:36.505 Very next verse says that Adam and Eve found that desirable. 257 00:27:36.855 --> 00:27:38.105 What did they find desirable? 258 00:27:39.005 --> 00:27:43.915 The idea that they could become more like God. What's wrong with that? 259 00:27:45.105 --> 00:27:48.575 Well, in in most ways nothing. I mean like, 260 00:27:48.576 --> 00:27:51.015 like we're about to talk about next week, 261 00:27:51.085 --> 00:27:54.615 like much of the Christian journey is the sometimes painful, 262 00:27:54.616 --> 00:27:58.855 sometimes joyous up and down peaks and valleys journey toward 263 00:27:59.575 --> 00:28:01.095 becoming more like Jesus. 264 00:28:02.575 --> 00:28:06.385 Adam and Eve wanted the right thing to become more like God. 265 00:28:06.525 --> 00:28:10.825 The problem is that they were already in the ideal setting 266 00:28:11.325 --> 00:28:15.345 for becoming more like God because they were in intimate relationship with him. 267 00:28:17.105 --> 00:28:18.045 Here's what I mean. 268 00:28:18.105 --> 00:28:22.845 One of the verses in Genesis that drives me absolutely nuts goes like this. 269 00:28:23.065 --> 00:28:27.325 It happens right after Adam and Eve take the fruit and right before they run and 270 00:28:27.326 --> 00:28:29.445 hide from God, the verse goes like this, 271 00:28:29.755 --> 00:28:34.645 then the man and his wife Adam and Eve heard the sound of the Lord God as he was 272 00:28:34.715 --> 00:28:38.085 walking in the garden in the cool of the day. 273 00:28:39.715 --> 00:28:44.645 This verse drives me bonkers because it's a picture of what 274 00:28:44.646 --> 00:28:47.725 like was lost for us. I mean, 275 00:28:47.726 --> 00:28:52.525 Adam and Eve used to take literal walks with God in the cool of the day. 276 00:28:54.025 --> 00:28:54.155 Okay? 277 00:28:54.155 --> 00:28:58.545 Those sometimes special moments that you have with your kids or your spouse or 278 00:28:58.546 --> 00:29:02.585 your friends where you go take a walk after dinner when the sun is setting and 279 00:29:02.586 --> 00:29:05.505 the heat is starting to burn off in the cool of the day. 280 00:29:06.295 --> 00:29:09.425 Adam and Eve used to do that with God, okay? 281 00:29:09.426 --> 00:29:14.225 They were in the perfect setting to become more like God because they walked 282 00:29:14.525 --> 00:29:17.985 and talked with him. They were in intimate relationship with him. 283 00:29:18.685 --> 00:29:19.825 Things went south. 284 00:29:20.095 --> 00:29:22.425 When they started looking for the right thing in the wrong place, 285 00:29:22.426 --> 00:29:25.945 they started looking for the right thing to become more like God in the wrong 286 00:29:25.946 --> 00:29:29.305 place. The one thing he told them not to do, take a shortcut. 287 00:29:30.545 --> 00:29:34.765 And the result of looking for the right thing in the wrong place is everything 288 00:29:34.835 --> 00:29:37.445 Clay talked about last week. In case you missed it, 289 00:29:37.446 --> 00:29:41.285 this is when sin enters into the world. This is when the, 290 00:29:41.305 --> 00:29:46.005 the fundamental curses of power and sex and money and career take 291 00:29:46.075 --> 00:29:50.725 poisonous root in a, in creation. And Adam and Eve are banished from the garden. 292 00:29:50.945 --> 00:29:52.005 Or in other words, 293 00:29:52.105 --> 00:29:56.485 the result of their sin is that there are no more evening strolls with God 294 00:29:57.145 --> 00:29:58.165 in the cool of the day. 295 00:30:00.065 --> 00:30:02.645 And I would argue right, that, 296 00:30:02.795 --> 00:30:06.845 that the core yearning of all of humanity has never changed. 297 00:30:06.955 --> 00:30:08.405 It's been the same ever since. 298 00:30:08.406 --> 00:30:10.805 That moment when Adam and Eve get kicked outta the garden. 299 00:30:11.285 --> 00:30:13.085 I I think that ever since that moment, 300 00:30:13.305 --> 00:30:17.605 the core yearning of humanity is how do we get back? 301 00:30:19.395 --> 00:30:21.915 Okay? Not physically, not back to that place, but relationally. 302 00:30:22.135 --> 00:30:26.795 How do we get back to the place where we can walk and talk with our God in the 303 00:30:26.796 --> 00:30:31.125 cool of the day? Even if you don't believe in Jesus and you would, 304 00:30:31.145 --> 00:30:32.645 so you would never phrase it this way. 305 00:30:33.445 --> 00:30:37.825 I still think that that's the core yearning of your heart. How do I get back, 306 00:30:37.895 --> 00:30:42.605 back to what? How do I get back to being fixed? To being whole and complete? 307 00:30:42.625 --> 00:30:46.525 How do I get back to, to being at peace with God and myself and other people? 308 00:30:46.595 --> 00:30:50.025 Like how do we get back? I even, 309 00:30:50.225 --> 00:30:52.985 I even think that sin is really just, 310 00:30:53.215 --> 00:30:56.185 most of the time it's really just us looking for the right things, 311 00:30:56.485 --> 00:31:01.085 but we're looking in all the wrong places. Like for example, we, 312 00:31:01.105 --> 00:31:04.885 we want to be cherished and desired. There's nothing wrong with that. 313 00:31:04.886 --> 00:31:08.085 That's right. That's good. But we're looking for it in one night. 314 00:31:08.085 --> 00:31:12.725 Stands and toxic relationships or, or we want to be in community, 315 00:31:12.726 --> 00:31:17.365 but we're looking for it by drawing people into our orbit through gossip and 316 00:31:17.565 --> 00:31:19.925 slander. Or we want to feel like we're enough, 317 00:31:19.945 --> 00:31:23.845 but we're looking for it through career and popularity and achievement. 318 00:31:23.865 --> 00:31:25.765 Or we want to heal from our past, 319 00:31:25.825 --> 00:31:28.565 but we're looking for it by numbing ourselves with addiction. 320 00:31:28.635 --> 00:31:32.205 Like nine times outta 10 when we sin, 321 00:31:32.745 --> 00:31:35.925 or as my daughter likes to say, when we get off the tracks, 322 00:31:36.635 --> 00:31:38.805 it's because we're looking for the right things. 323 00:31:39.335 --> 00:31:43.955 We're just looking in all the wrong places. And so what do we do about that? 324 00:31:44.995 --> 00:31:48.345 Right? If we want to be fixed, which is a good thing to want, 325 00:31:48.735 --> 00:31:52.105 well then where is the right place to start looking for it 326 00:31:54.005 --> 00:31:57.465 to explore that question together. Today, I, 327 00:31:57.625 --> 00:32:01.945 I want to turn to the Bible and zoom in on the beginning of a very specific 328 00:32:01.946 --> 00:32:06.745 relationship. It's the relationship between Jesus and a man named Matthew. 329 00:32:07.905 --> 00:32:10.785 Okay? This story is only five verses in the book of Mark. 330 00:32:10.786 --> 00:32:12.225 So if you're reading through your Bible, 331 00:32:12.485 --> 00:32:16.585 really easy to kind of blow right past it, but we're not gonna do that together. 332 00:32:16.586 --> 00:32:20.105 We're gonna spend a lot of time in these five verses breaking them down, 333 00:32:20.106 --> 00:32:24.265 getting context, making sure that we genuinely understand our story. 334 00:32:25.255 --> 00:32:27.795 If you wanna follow along in your bible, Bible app or whatever, 335 00:32:27.796 --> 00:32:31.195 we're gonna be in Mark chapter two starting in verse 13. 336 00:32:32.035 --> 00:32:35.795 And our story begins like this. So once again, 337 00:32:35.965 --> 00:32:40.645 Jesus went out beside the lake and a a large crowd came to him and he began to 338 00:32:40.646 --> 00:32:42.805 teach them. And as he walked along, 339 00:32:42.905 --> 00:32:47.525 he saw Levi son of sitting at the tax collector's booth, 340 00:32:48.585 --> 00:32:52.455 right, right away. We'll, we will pause to get some context, okay? 341 00:32:52.456 --> 00:32:56.015 Jesus is at the Sea of Galilee. This is one of his favorite haunts. 342 00:32:56.115 --> 00:32:58.175 He comes here all the time to hang out. 343 00:32:58.195 --> 00:33:01.855 And so he's walking and talking with this large group of people. 344 00:33:01.995 --> 00:33:05.415 And while he's out on this stroll, he comes across Levi, 345 00:33:05.635 --> 00:33:10.355 he sees Levi sitting at a tax collector's booth. All right, 346 00:33:10.375 --> 00:33:13.395 so Levi, just to clarify, he's, 347 00:33:13.396 --> 00:33:17.595 he's way better known by his Aramaic name, which I'll use for the rest of today. 348 00:33:17.655 --> 00:33:20.315 His Aramaic name is Matthew, okay? 349 00:33:20.575 --> 00:33:25.475 As in the guy who ends up writing the first gospel you'll encounter in the New 350 00:33:25.715 --> 00:33:30.195 Testament. And before we kind of continue our story to really grasp our story, 351 00:33:30.196 --> 00:33:33.795 we're gonna take some time to talk about what tax collecting is all about and 352 00:33:33.796 --> 00:33:37.715 who Matthew is. Okay? First tax collecting. 353 00:33:38.535 --> 00:33:42.315 So tax collectors were hated in Jesus' day. 354 00:33:42.316 --> 00:33:46.625 Some of the most hated people in Jesus' day at this time, 355 00:33:46.685 --> 00:33:49.105 Israel is under Roman occupation. 356 00:33:49.105 --> 00:33:53.665 And so taxes are not clean and orderly and regulated. 357 00:33:53.675 --> 00:33:55.625 Taxes are a racket, okay? 358 00:33:55.655 --> 00:33:59.425 It's a mob tactic used by the Roman occupiers to get rich. 359 00:33:59.685 --> 00:34:03.385 And so Rome taxed everything in the nations that they occupied. 360 00:34:03.386 --> 00:34:08.344 There were bridge taxes and road taxes and income, grain, wine, fish, fruit, 361 00:34:08.345 --> 00:34:11.145 taxes, you name it. And then to make more money, 362 00:34:11.295 --> 00:34:15.705 they would charge these taxes at criminally high percentages. 363 00:34:16.205 --> 00:34:18.625 And so Rome basically padded their pockets. 364 00:34:18.626 --> 00:34:23.425 They got rich by like literally robbing the Jewish people blind 365 00:34:23.805 --> 00:34:28.145 and calling it taxes, okay? To make matters worse, 366 00:34:28.805 --> 00:34:30.344 the tax collectors, 367 00:34:30.605 --> 00:34:33.945 the people who actually took the money from you and gave it to Rome, 368 00:34:34.614 --> 00:34:39.505 they would bump those already high percentages up just a little bit, right? 369 00:34:39.506 --> 00:34:41.905 Because when, when you're handing like money, 370 00:34:41.965 --> 00:34:44.705 stolen money hand over fist to the Roman government, 371 00:34:44.765 --> 00:34:48.825 you can get away with putting a few coins in your own pocket to make yourself 372 00:34:48.855 --> 00:34:52.545 rich. And then absolutely worst of all, 373 00:34:53.045 --> 00:34:57.344 in Jesus' day, the, the tax collectors in Israel, they were all Jewish people. 374 00:34:58.255 --> 00:35:02.825 They were Jews employed by the Roman government to fleece their own people. 375 00:35:02.925 --> 00:35:04.145 And so needless to say, 376 00:35:04.146 --> 00:35:08.864 the Jew Jewish people who became tax collectors were either very 377 00:35:08.955 --> 00:35:13.785 nasty people to begin with or they were very desperate to put 378 00:35:13.855 --> 00:35:14.985 food on the table. 379 00:35:16.255 --> 00:35:20.625 Jewish people hated tax collectors. Okay? 380 00:35:20.626 --> 00:35:23.145 That's tax collectors. Some background on Matthew. 381 00:35:23.965 --> 00:35:25.585 If you go read Matthew's gospel, 382 00:35:25.605 --> 00:35:30.105 you'll see that like we learn more about Jewish like prophecy, 383 00:35:30.135 --> 00:35:31.185 messianic prophecy. 384 00:35:31.186 --> 00:35:35.665 We learn more about the Old Testament from Matthew than any other gospel 385 00:35:36.245 --> 00:35:37.805 author. So, 386 00:35:37.864 --> 00:35:41.364 so Matthew like didn't just kind of understand Judaism, 387 00:35:41.425 --> 00:35:45.045 he was absolutely steeped in it. He was fluent in the Old Testament. 388 00:35:45.046 --> 00:35:47.565 He was like a scholar of Messianic prophecy. 389 00:35:47.844 --> 00:35:50.364 The the point is that he really knows his stuff. 390 00:35:51.155 --> 00:35:55.005 That leads to biblical scholars making an assumption that I agree with. 391 00:35:55.385 --> 00:36:00.285 The assumption is if tax collectors were either nasty people to begin with or 392 00:36:00.435 --> 00:36:03.364 very desperate, then Matthew's probably the latter. 393 00:36:04.125 --> 00:36:08.525 He's probably a very desperate person. 'cause he didn't hate his own faith, 394 00:36:08.526 --> 00:36:10.925 he didn't turn his back on his own faith. He knew a lot about it. 395 00:36:10.926 --> 00:36:12.844 He loved and cherished his people. 396 00:36:14.335 --> 00:36:17.945 This is where you and I can start putting ourselves into this story. 397 00:36:18.485 --> 00:36:21.545 We can identify with Matthew. I can at least, 398 00:36:22.605 --> 00:36:27.094 it's like Matthew had made a decision out of desperation that he cannot get back 399 00:36:27.195 --> 00:36:31.935 now, right? He, there's no going back to the way things were for Matthew. He, 400 00:36:32.075 --> 00:36:35.735 he was looking for the right thing to be a provider in the wrong place. 401 00:36:35.915 --> 00:36:39.175 He became a traitor to his own people. And I, 402 00:36:39.295 --> 00:36:43.855 I will bet you every extra coin in Matthew's pocket that he would do 403 00:36:44.614 --> 00:36:47.975 anything to go back in time and make a different decision to, 404 00:36:47.976 --> 00:36:51.015 to look for the right things in the right place. But it's too late. 405 00:36:51.075 --> 00:36:55.195 Now I know how that feels. You know how that feels. 406 00:36:55.505 --> 00:36:58.955 Matthew knows how that feels, right? 407 00:36:59.335 --> 00:37:03.094 That's tax collecting. That's Matthew back to our story. 408 00:37:03.875 --> 00:37:07.775 So Jesus is walking along the sea of Galilee and he comes across Matthew, 409 00:37:07.776 --> 00:37:10.855 here's what happens next. As he, Jesus walked along, 410 00:37:11.075 --> 00:37:15.335 he saw Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. Follow me. 411 00:37:15.665 --> 00:37:19.815 Jesus said, and Levi, Matthew got up and followed him. 412 00:37:20.895 --> 00:37:25.795 And this is an incredible moment that will miss if we don't slow down right now. 413 00:37:26.755 --> 00:37:29.295 Why is this an amazing moment? Well, first of all, 414 00:37:29.305 --> 00:37:32.535 we're told that Jesus sees and talks to Matthew. 415 00:37:32.925 --> 00:37:35.415 That alone is incredible. Okay? 416 00:37:35.416 --> 00:37:38.655 Matthew has a tax collecting booth on the Lakeshore. 417 00:37:38.805 --> 00:37:40.935 He's there to take people's money. 418 00:37:41.475 --> 00:37:45.215 Nobody goes out of their way to look at or talk to Matthew. 419 00:37:46.005 --> 00:37:49.094 Most people are trying to get around this guy's tax collecting booth so that 420 00:37:49.095 --> 00:37:50.775 they don't have to pay taxes. 421 00:37:50.965 --> 00:37:55.175 Like Matthew's whole job is basically to try to force people to give him the 422 00:37:55.176 --> 00:37:58.415 time of day. He sits there at this booth and he goes, Hey, hey, hey you. 423 00:37:58.594 --> 00:37:59.775 So you just docked your boat. 424 00:37:59.795 --> 00:38:03.255 So I need harbor tax and I need fish tax on the catch that you just made. 425 00:38:03.256 --> 00:38:05.614 And if you're gonna go head over there and go sell it at the market, 426 00:38:05.615 --> 00:38:07.135 then I'm gonna need road tax. 427 00:38:07.835 --> 00:38:11.455 Nobody goes out of their way to talk to a person like that. 428 00:38:12.525 --> 00:38:13.955 We're told that Jesus does. 429 00:38:14.965 --> 00:38:19.864 And then the thing that really blows my mind is not only does Jesus see and 430 00:38:19.865 --> 00:38:24.785 talk to Matthew, but he commands Matthew toward immediate discipleship. 431 00:38:25.995 --> 00:38:30.635 He says, follow me. Notice what he doesn't say. 432 00:38:30.895 --> 00:38:35.685 He doesn't say, Matthew, dude, how did you wind up here of all places? 433 00:38:35.864 --> 00:38:39.325 How did you possibly think that this would be a good idea for your life? 434 00:38:39.385 --> 00:38:42.125 He doesn't do that. He doesn't go, Matthew, Matthew, Matthew, 435 00:38:42.225 --> 00:38:46.765 how are we ever gonna unscrew your life? He doesn't say that. Instead, 436 00:38:46.975 --> 00:38:51.885 Jesus looks into the eyes of the most hated man at the lake that day and he 437 00:38:51.945 --> 00:38:56.205 simply says, follow me. No preface, 438 00:38:57.025 --> 00:38:57.925 no disclaimers, 439 00:38:58.305 --> 00:39:02.045 no list of things that Matthew's gotta change before he's allowed to follow 440 00:39:02.094 --> 00:39:05.045 Jesus. None of that. Just Jesus going, Hey Matthew, 441 00:39:05.364 --> 00:39:10.325 I want you exactly as you are here and now today. So come with me and follow me. 442 00:39:11.755 --> 00:39:15.855 And maybe for some of us that is all that you needed to hear today. 443 00:39:16.185 --> 00:39:18.415 Maybe that's why God brought you in here today. 444 00:39:18.695 --> 00:39:21.855 'cause all you needed to hear is that Jesus doesn't guilt trip you. 445 00:39:22.725 --> 00:39:26.145 He doesn't look at you and go, how did you possibly wind up in this mess? 446 00:39:26.245 --> 00:39:28.505 He doesn't do that. 'cause he doesn't ask dumb questions. 447 00:39:28.765 --> 00:39:30.385 He already knows the answer to that one. 448 00:39:30.565 --> 00:39:33.465 You're in the mess that you're in because you're looking for all the right 449 00:39:33.466 --> 00:39:36.385 stuff, but you got off track and you're looking in all the wrong places. 450 00:39:36.765 --> 00:39:39.705 So he doesn't guilt trip you. He doesn't ask dumb questions. 451 00:39:39.706 --> 00:39:44.315 Instead he looks at you and says, all right, follow me. No, 452 00:39:44.316 --> 00:39:46.715 you don't have to have everything figured out right now. No, 453 00:39:46.716 --> 00:39:50.555 you don't have to clean your act up. I'm gonna help you clean your act up. 454 00:39:50.775 --> 00:39:53.915 So I want you as you are here and today now. 455 00:39:53.975 --> 00:39:56.315 So just come with me and follow me. 456 00:39:57.665 --> 00:40:00.785 It's totally upside down. It's totally backwards from the, 457 00:40:00.885 --> 00:40:04.985 the way that a lot of us were led to, to believe that Jesus operated. Like we, 458 00:40:05.005 --> 00:40:07.705 we were told that Christianity was for perfect, nice people. 459 00:40:08.565 --> 00:40:13.025 And then Jesus is going, no, I'm, I'm here for the Matthews of this world. 460 00:40:14.844 --> 00:40:17.105 So Jesus looks at Matthew and he goes, follow me. 461 00:40:18.165 --> 00:40:22.344 And the Matthew makes the first good decision that he's made in a really, 462 00:40:22.345 --> 00:40:25.425 really long time. He drops everything and he follows Jesus, 463 00:40:26.815 --> 00:40:31.745 here's what happens next. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, 464 00:40:32.015 --> 00:40:33.825 many tax collectors and sinners, 465 00:40:33.826 --> 00:40:37.425 these are Matthew's buddies were eating with him and his disciples for there 466 00:40:37.426 --> 00:40:38.585 were many who followed him. 467 00:40:38.605 --> 00:40:43.344 And when the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with the 468 00:40:43.345 --> 00:40:44.665 sinners and tax collectors, 469 00:40:44.815 --> 00:40:47.985 they pulled some of Jesus's disciples aside and they asked, 470 00:40:48.665 --> 00:40:53.245 why does Jesus eat with people like that again? 471 00:40:53.614 --> 00:40:54.447 We'll pause. 472 00:40:55.175 --> 00:40:59.925 Jesus winds up eating dinner at Matthew's house with Matthew's buddies. 473 00:41:00.145 --> 00:41:04.885 And that's a way bigger deal in ancient Israel than it is for us today. In 2024, 474 00:41:06.235 --> 00:41:09.645 sharing meals with people, especially dinners in ancient Israel, 475 00:41:09.715 --> 00:41:13.844 they were like social statements basically. So when you had dinner with someone, 476 00:41:13.915 --> 00:41:17.685 that was your way of telling the world, I'm in tight with people like this. 477 00:41:18.705 --> 00:41:21.285 In the same way when you declined a meal with someone, 478 00:41:21.385 --> 00:41:24.965 you were telling the world, I'm not in tight with people like that. 479 00:41:26.185 --> 00:41:29.285 The fact that Jesus is sitting inside Matthew's house, 480 00:41:29.286 --> 00:41:32.685 having dinner with Matthew and his tax collecting sinner, 481 00:41:32.686 --> 00:41:36.844 friends is saying something, Jesus is hanging out with a really rough crowd. 482 00:41:37.025 --> 00:41:41.285 And what he's saying to the world is, I'm in tight with people like this. 483 00:41:43.094 --> 00:41:46.505 Well, at one point, the Pharisees religious leaders, they're walking by, 484 00:41:46.506 --> 00:41:49.065 they see Matthew's got another one of his parties going on. 485 00:41:49.066 --> 00:41:51.105 And so they kind of peek into the window. 486 00:41:51.285 --> 00:41:53.825 And this is where my imagination goes wild. 487 00:41:53.985 --> 00:41:56.305 'cause I like to think that it was a crazy party. You know, 488 00:41:56.505 --> 00:41:58.745 it's like loud music inside and someone's doing a keg, 489 00:41:58.746 --> 00:42:02.145 stand at the window and jumping off the balcony on a dare or whatever. 490 00:42:02.245 --> 00:42:03.945 I'm making all that stuff up. But the point is, 491 00:42:03.946 --> 00:42:08.385 they look in the window and they see that Jesus of all people is having dinner 492 00:42:08.525 --> 00:42:12.185 during one of Matthew's notorious dinner parties. And they're shocked. 493 00:42:12.255 --> 00:42:17.035 They're offended. So they grab some of Jesus's disciples and they go, Hey, 494 00:42:17.036 --> 00:42:21.195 this Jesus guy that you're following around, why is he having dinner with these? 495 00:42:21.375 --> 00:42:24.705 Why is he in tight with people like that? For that matter? 496 00:42:24.725 --> 00:42:26.225 Why are you following this guy around? 497 00:42:26.226 --> 00:42:28.785 Because he's got to be as much of a dirty, 498 00:42:28.844 --> 00:42:32.185 rotten scoundrel as the per people that he hangs out with, right? 499 00:42:33.755 --> 00:42:38.245 Well, Jesus overhears them asks that question and he addresses it. 500 00:42:39.085 --> 00:42:42.665 And when he speaks, he brings a little bit of heaven to earth with him. 501 00:42:42.765 --> 00:42:46.145 He gives us a glimpse into what his kingdom looks like and the kinds of people 502 00:42:46.146 --> 00:42:50.895 that he wants in his kingdom. Look at this on, on hearing this, 503 00:42:50.905 --> 00:42:53.575 Jesus said to them, said to the Pharisees, oh, 504 00:42:53.576 --> 00:42:55.575 you wanna know why I am at this dinner party? Great. 505 00:42:55.645 --> 00:42:59.415 It's because it's the healthy who need a doctor or, or it's, 506 00:42:59.525 --> 00:43:02.844 it's not the healthy who need a doctor, it's the sick. And he goes, 507 00:43:02.845 --> 00:43:06.965 and I've not come to call the righteous, I've come to call sinners. 508 00:43:08.725 --> 00:43:11.145 In other words, Jesus just goes, listen, like I, 509 00:43:11.325 --> 00:43:14.185 I'm not here to hang out with the people who think they're perfect. 510 00:43:14.405 --> 00:43:17.785 I'm here to hang out with the people who know that they're broken and they're 511 00:43:17.786 --> 00:43:18.785 tired of hiding it. 512 00:43:19.895 --> 00:43:22.835 I'm here to spend time with the people who know that they're sick and they're 513 00:43:22.836 --> 00:43:26.114 ready to get well again. Like I'm here for the outsiders. I'm, 514 00:43:26.335 --> 00:43:30.594 I'm here for the insecure and the confused and the lonely and the hopeless and 515 00:43:30.595 --> 00:43:31.428 the depressed. 516 00:43:32.175 --> 00:43:35.195 I'm here for the people that they've been looking for the right things. 517 00:43:35.196 --> 00:43:36.915 They've just been looking in the wrong places. 518 00:43:36.916 --> 00:43:39.915 They've had really bad directions. And so just, you watch, 519 00:43:40.155 --> 00:43:43.315 'cause I'm gonna love people like this and I'm gonna change their lives from the 520 00:43:43.375 --> 00:43:47.844 inside out. Boom. Classic Jesus, 521 00:43:48.245 --> 00:43:50.245 like mic drop end of our story. 522 00:43:52.344 --> 00:43:56.555 What does this story have to do with our series? Because remember we're, 523 00:43:56.556 --> 00:44:00.075 we're talking about the foundations of our faith and today we're talking about 524 00:44:00.076 --> 00:44:01.795 the fact that we can be fixed. 525 00:44:03.995 --> 00:44:06.555 Ensure Matthew's a drastic example of this. 526 00:44:06.556 --> 00:44:11.275 Like many of us will not have stories as drastic as Matthews. I don't right? 527 00:44:11.344 --> 00:44:15.395 Matthew was a political traitor, a hated man lost in desperation. 528 00:44:15.625 --> 00:44:17.915 Then he starts hanging out with Jesus. And by the end, 529 00:44:17.916 --> 00:44:22.875 Matthew ends up writing one of the like most historically influential books 530 00:44:22.975 --> 00:44:25.035 of all time, the gospel of Matthew. 531 00:44:26.185 --> 00:44:30.645 But what I want to focus on together to end today is that 532 00:44:31.035 --> 00:44:33.655 all of that transformation in Matthew's life, 533 00:44:33.835 --> 00:44:38.735 it started on the beach one day and it all started with Jesus looking 534 00:44:38.795 --> 00:44:43.265 at Matthew and saying, Hey Matthew, come walk and talk with me. 535 00:44:44.125 --> 00:44:47.215 Matthew followed and it changed his whole life. 536 00:44:48.475 --> 00:44:50.535 He didn't even know that that's what he needed. 537 00:44:51.005 --> 00:44:54.455 Like if you were to ask Matthew before that day, Matthew, 538 00:44:54.515 --> 00:44:56.975 what's the number one thing you need right now? 539 00:44:57.235 --> 00:44:58.975 He probably would've said something like, well, 540 00:44:59.175 --> 00:45:03.295 I need to make a living without being a tax collector and I need to not be hated 541 00:45:03.475 --> 00:45:06.935 by my entire community. Like I need peace, I need friends, 542 00:45:07.135 --> 00:45:09.935 I need a few extra bucks. I need my life to have purpose. 543 00:45:10.195 --> 00:45:14.295 That's what he would've said. But like I argued at the beginning of this thing, 544 00:45:14.296 --> 00:45:16.255 even though he wouldn't have phrased it this way, 545 00:45:16.364 --> 00:45:21.135 what Matthew actually needed and yearned for was to 546 00:45:21.165 --> 00:45:23.655 walk and talk with his God in the cool of the day. 547 00:45:24.645 --> 00:45:27.905 And then here comes Jesus saying, Hey Matthew, 548 00:45:28.844 --> 00:45:32.285 go on a walk with me. It like gives me chills. 549 00:45:35.305 --> 00:45:39.065 A key verse to understanding this foundation of our faith, 550 00:45:39.066 --> 00:45:43.305 this idea that we can be fixed. It comes from Jesus' mouth in John 14, six. 551 00:45:43.515 --> 00:45:47.385 Jesus says, I am the way and I am the truth and I'm the life. 552 00:45:47.485 --> 00:45:50.105 And no one comes to the Father except through me. 553 00:45:50.385 --> 00:45:55.065 So Jesus knows that you and I tend to think just like Matthew did, 554 00:45:55.895 --> 00:45:58.445 right? If I were to ask you right now, dude, 555 00:45:58.446 --> 00:46:00.685 what's the number one thing you need right now? 556 00:46:00.785 --> 00:46:02.364 You would probably say stuff like, 557 00:46:02.405 --> 00:46:04.765 I need to get my marriage back before it's too late. 558 00:46:04.864 --> 00:46:07.405 Or I need to figure out how to raise these kids. 559 00:46:07.505 --> 00:46:11.165 Or I need a break from all this depression and anxiety or loneliness. 560 00:46:11.166 --> 00:46:14.844 Like I need peace, I need friends. I need a few extra bucks in my pocket. 561 00:46:15.045 --> 00:46:17.725 I need my life to have purpose. That's what we would say. 562 00:46:18.945 --> 00:46:20.825 'cause those things just feel so immediate and critical. 563 00:46:20.826 --> 00:46:23.065 They're just like right in front of our face. It's all we can think about. 564 00:46:23.325 --> 00:46:25.425 So those are the problems that we're trying to fix, 565 00:46:25.525 --> 00:46:28.105 but we're trying to fix them in all the wrong ways. 566 00:46:28.885 --> 00:46:30.735 Looking for the right things in the wrong places, 567 00:46:30.736 --> 00:46:33.375 looking for intimacy outside of our marriage, 568 00:46:34.045 --> 00:46:37.495 looking for career success by fudging the numbers, 569 00:46:38.455 --> 00:46:40.665 looking for acceptance on social media, 570 00:46:40.666 --> 00:46:44.625 looking for purpose and politics like you name it. And then meanwhile, 571 00:46:44.725 --> 00:46:48.985 for 2000 years, Jesus has been saying the same thing. He said in John 14, six, 572 00:46:49.015 --> 00:46:49.695 he's going, no, 573 00:46:49.695 --> 00:46:54.545 what you really need is to be in relationship with your father. Again, 574 00:46:55.535 --> 00:46:57.225 this the biggest need that you have. 575 00:46:57.226 --> 00:46:59.825 It's the need that all other needs stem from. 576 00:46:59.965 --> 00:47:02.665 And no one comes to the Father except through me. 577 00:47:02.844 --> 00:47:07.065 So make me your way and make me your truth and make me your life. 578 00:47:07.205 --> 00:47:09.465 Go on a walk with me. 579 00:47:11.685 --> 00:47:16.525 Our main problem as humans is that we are broken and and just 580 00:47:16.526 --> 00:47:20.765 like Clay talked about last week, like this all went down with Adam and Eve. 581 00:47:20.965 --> 00:47:23.085 Humanity went looking for the right thing in the wrong place. 582 00:47:23.145 --> 00:47:26.844 The result is that we're separated from God. We're kicked out of that garden. 583 00:47:26.945 --> 00:47:29.245 The gate is closed and padlocked. 584 00:47:30.045 --> 00:47:33.505 But then like Aaron and your other teachers talked about on Easter, 585 00:47:33.506 --> 00:47:36.065 like through Jesus' death and resurrection, 586 00:47:36.125 --> 00:47:38.385 he smashed that padlock off the gate, 587 00:47:38.645 --> 00:47:42.745 he kicked the doors of the kingdom of heaven wide open. He took your sin, 588 00:47:42.765 --> 00:47:45.864 the thing that separates you from having a relationship with your father. 589 00:47:46.045 --> 00:47:49.185 He embodied it in himself. He put it to death on a cross. 590 00:47:49.445 --> 00:47:53.864 And then three days later, Jesus was resurrected and your sin stayed dead. 591 00:47:54.035 --> 00:47:56.385 Which means now we can be fixed. 592 00:47:57.245 --> 00:48:00.265 We can have a relationship with our God again. How? 593 00:48:01.045 --> 00:48:04.745 By simply putting your faith and trust in Jesus, making him your way, 594 00:48:04.746 --> 00:48:09.105 truth and life. Make him your way, the way that you approach life now, 595 00:48:09.106 --> 00:48:13.145 make him your truth, the way that you view life now and just make him your life, 596 00:48:13.215 --> 00:48:15.145 your everything, your passion, your purpose. 597 00:48:16.685 --> 00:48:21.465 We can be fixed by looking for the right things in the right place for a change 598 00:48:21.466 --> 00:48:21.826 of pace. 599 00:48:21.826 --> 00:48:25.825 Because Jesus is the right place to look for the things you need the most. 600 00:48:27.275 --> 00:48:31.945 Jesus came so that we can be fixed. And honestly, 601 00:48:32.015 --> 00:48:36.515 sometimes we distance ourselves from that truth by convincing ourselves that 602 00:48:36.835 --> 00:48:40.035 yeah, the main thing he fixed is so that we get to go to heaven when we die. 603 00:48:40.065 --> 00:48:42.075 Well, yeah, that's true, but it's not all of it. 604 00:48:43.495 --> 00:48:47.945 Sometimes people will sterilize that truth by giving it fancy 605 00:48:48.085 --> 00:48:51.585 $10 words that only people in Bible college care about. You know, they, 606 00:48:51.925 --> 00:48:55.945 he fixed us for redemption, for reconciliation, for propitiation, 607 00:48:56.005 --> 00:48:58.864 for substitutionary atonement. It's like, okay, yeah, 608 00:48:58.885 --> 00:49:02.505 if you wanna talk like a normal person and put it on simple levels and make it 609 00:49:02.864 --> 00:49:03.697 relational, 610 00:49:04.775 --> 00:49:09.515 one of the main reasons that Jesus Christ died for you was because God missed 611 00:49:09.605 --> 00:49:12.715 going on walks with you in the cool of the day. 612 00:49:14.215 --> 00:49:16.635 He craved to be in relationship with you. 613 00:49:19.895 --> 00:49:22.705 Next week we're gonna end this series by, 614 00:49:22.805 --> 00:49:25.305 by talking about how we're on our way towards something better. 615 00:49:25.405 --> 00:49:29.665 So next week we're gonna talk about what that walk with Jesus looks like because 616 00:49:29.695 --> 00:49:32.864 it's a lifelong thing. It goes up, it goes down, it gets crazy, right? 617 00:49:33.165 --> 00:49:35.745 So we're gonna talk about what that walk looks like next week, 618 00:49:35.765 --> 00:49:38.545 but to kind of prepare ourselves for next week. 619 00:49:39.265 --> 00:49:40.905 I wanna throw out a challenge to you. 620 00:49:41.755 --> 00:49:44.695 And I'm actually pumped about this challenge. I'm, I always, 621 00:49:44.855 --> 00:49:47.375 I always do all the challenges I throw out with you. 622 00:49:47.594 --> 00:49:49.815 I'm actually excited about this one. At the same time, 623 00:49:49.844 --> 00:49:54.335 it's gonna sound so simplistic that at first you're gonna be like, that's not, 624 00:49:54.336 --> 00:49:57.415 doesn't sound spiritual. Like that can't be what faith looks like. 625 00:49:58.545 --> 00:50:00.685 But at the same time, it was Jesus who said, 626 00:50:00.715 --> 00:50:04.325 come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I'll give you rest. 627 00:50:04.955 --> 00:50:06.364 Take my yoke upon you. 628 00:50:06.385 --> 00:50:10.525 So connect yourself to me and learn from me 'cause I'm gentle and humble in 629 00:50:10.526 --> 00:50:14.205 heart. And you'll find rest for your souls. 'cause my yoke following me, 630 00:50:14.206 --> 00:50:17.765 connecting yourself to me is easy and my burden is light. 631 00:50:19.675 --> 00:50:22.045 Sometimes. Not always for sure, 632 00:50:22.265 --> 00:50:27.245 but sometimes a lot of times following Jesus is way easier than the 633 00:50:27.246 --> 00:50:29.325 roads you've been walking down for the last few years. 634 00:50:30.945 --> 00:50:35.085 And so sometimes a life of practiced faith looks super simple. 635 00:50:36.545 --> 00:50:38.685 So it's a simple challenge for us. 636 00:50:38.745 --> 00:50:41.485 If I were to kind of try to explain why this is the challenge, 637 00:50:41.705 --> 00:50:46.005 I'd tell you that if you were to read through all four gospels in one sitting, 638 00:50:46.545 --> 00:50:47.525 if you follow Jesus, 639 00:50:47.805 --> 00:50:50.165 I encourage everyone should do that at least once in their lifetime. 640 00:50:50.225 --> 00:50:51.925 You have to block out a large part of the day. 641 00:50:52.105 --> 00:50:54.885 But if you were to read through all four gospels in one sitting, 642 00:50:55.145 --> 00:50:59.525 you would be shocked at how much walking around goes on in those things. 643 00:50:59.635 --> 00:51:03.525 Like it's a lot of walking around. It's like, yeah, sure, everyone's got the, 644 00:51:03.535 --> 00:51:06.125 every single gospel has, you know, very dramatic ending. 645 00:51:06.185 --> 00:51:08.765 But like most of it is just Jesus walking around. 646 00:51:09.864 --> 00:51:13.685 He even comes across as aimless sometimes. Like there's, 647 00:51:14.195 --> 00:51:17.725 there's stories where he'll go into a town and spend all day there. 648 00:51:17.726 --> 00:51:20.725 And then at night he'll be like, all right, I'm leaving, you know, bye guys. 649 00:51:20.864 --> 00:51:21.697 See you later. 650 00:51:21.785 --> 00:51:24.445 And then the next morning he'll go back to that town as if he's like, 651 00:51:24.485 --> 00:51:26.445 I actually kind of have some stuff I still wanna do here. 652 00:51:26.446 --> 00:51:30.364 Like he sometimes comes across as aimless, like a nomad, like he's wandering. 653 00:51:31.425 --> 00:51:34.725 But if you again, were to read through all four of those gospels in one sitting, 654 00:51:34.785 --> 00:51:36.805 you would see he never wanders alone. 655 00:51:38.035 --> 00:51:42.245 He's always surrounded by his disciples. He's got crowds of followers. 656 00:51:42.344 --> 00:51:46.005 Anyone who wanted to go on a walk with Jesus could go on a walk with Jesus. 657 00:51:47.905 --> 00:51:48.965 And to me, 658 00:51:48.985 --> 00:51:53.885 that's the way I'm wired is beautiful because remember the the core 659 00:51:53.886 --> 00:51:57.405 yearning of our hearts is how do we get back to the place where we can walk and 660 00:51:57.406 --> 00:52:02.364 talk with God in the cool of the day by wandering around ancient Israel 661 00:52:02.505 --> 00:52:03.565 for three years straight, 662 00:52:03.735 --> 00:52:06.925 Jesus was not being non-committal and he was not being aimless. 663 00:52:08.265 --> 00:52:11.485 He was fulfilling for people the yearning of their hearts. 664 00:52:11.545 --> 00:52:15.525 He was allowing them to come and walk and talk with their God in the cool of the 665 00:52:15.526 --> 00:52:16.359 day. 666 00:52:18.265 --> 00:52:21.285 And so here's our challenge and it's great because you know, 667 00:52:21.286 --> 00:52:23.245 the weather's changing and winter's going back to sleep, 668 00:52:23.565 --> 00:52:24.265 it's starting to warm up. 669 00:52:24.265 --> 00:52:28.844 The challenge is go on a walk with Jesus and we read that and we first we go, 670 00:52:29.075 --> 00:52:32.205 that sounds corny, like, uh, I'm not talking about a metaphor. 671 00:52:32.364 --> 00:52:36.485 I mean like literally go on a walk . Here's what I mean. 672 00:52:36.565 --> 00:52:40.245 If you're a morning person, that's great. Take a 20 minute walk, 673 00:52:40.355 --> 00:52:43.364 just you and Jesus before breakfast in the cool of day. 674 00:52:44.585 --> 00:52:47.645 Or maybe you're like me and you're not a morning person. That's great. 675 00:52:47.646 --> 00:52:51.045 That's better is what I tell myself. Um, , if that's you, 676 00:52:51.155 --> 00:52:55.965 take a 20 minute walk, just you and Jesus after dinner in the cool of the day, 677 00:52:56.195 --> 00:52:59.605 walk with him, talk with him. When you talk with him, 678 00:52:59.695 --> 00:53:01.885 don't need to use flowery language. 679 00:53:01.955 --> 00:53:04.645 He's actually got a lot to say about how he doesn't really appreciate that you 680 00:53:04.646 --> 00:53:05.844 talk to him like a normal person. 681 00:53:06.465 --> 00:53:09.805 You talk to him as if he's the most ideal version of a father. 682 00:53:09.864 --> 00:53:11.085 And you ask him like, 683 00:53:11.305 --> 00:53:14.045 can you help me look for the right things in the right places? 684 00:53:15.685 --> 00:53:18.765 So you talk to him, you say stuff like Jesus, who do you think I am? 685 00:53:19.085 --> 00:53:21.965 'cause I got a lot of head trash going on up here. I'm very confused. 686 00:53:23.105 --> 00:53:25.725 You go like, Jesus, what do you think I should do about my marriage? 687 00:53:25.844 --> 00:53:27.165 I haven't even asked you yet. Like, 688 00:53:27.315 --> 00:53:30.965 what do you think I should do about my kids or my single life or my dating life? 689 00:53:30.966 --> 00:53:34.325 Like what do you think I do about my career or my drama or my trauma? 690 00:53:34.475 --> 00:53:38.525 Just walk and talk with him. And I'm telling you from personal experience, 691 00:53:38.526 --> 00:53:41.965 like I'm almost mad at myself for not doing this more often. 692 00:53:42.045 --> 00:53:43.565 I should be doing this way more often. 693 00:53:43.625 --> 00:53:45.565 But I'm telling you from personal experience, 694 00:53:45.785 --> 00:53:50.725 you'll be amazed at how much peace and clarity you can get 695 00:53:51.385 --> 00:53:55.364 by going on a walk with your God in the cool of the day. So do it. 696 00:53:56.465 --> 00:53:57.405 Go on a walk with Jesus. 697 00:53:57.625 --> 00:54:02.005 Do it as often as you can until next week where we talk about what a lifetime of 698 00:54:02.006 --> 00:54:06.045 that walk looks like. Do it every day. Yeah, 699 00:54:06.505 --> 00:54:09.005 we talked about it last week. We're broken. We can be fixed. 700 00:54:10.375 --> 00:54:14.325 Jesus smashed through that. His death and resurrection. He smashed that padlock. 701 00:54:14.344 --> 00:54:17.405 He blew the doors to, to the kingdom of heaven wide open. 702 00:54:17.465 --> 00:54:22.045 He invites everybody in and he says to us the same thing he said to his friends 703 00:54:22.145 --> 00:54:26.685 2000 years ago. He goes, I came for people who are sick, not for healthy people. 704 00:54:28.045 --> 00:54:31.565 I came for people who are sinners and know it not for the self-righteous. 705 00:54:31.725 --> 00:54:34.285 I came for people that you've been looking for the right stuff. 706 00:54:34.286 --> 00:54:37.405 It's just you've been looking in the wrong places for a really long time. 707 00:54:37.745 --> 00:54:42.045 He says, I came for you and so now you come with me. 708 00:54:42.875 --> 00:54:46.645 Come and walk and talk with your God in the cool of the day. 709 00:54:48.735 --> 00:54:52.525 Let's pray. God we get like sidetracked. 710 00:54:52.585 --> 00:54:56.685 We get off track all the time. We do that sometimes that looks like us, 711 00:54:56.755 --> 00:55:00.125 just our sinful nature. We just, we're looking for the right things, 712 00:55:00.145 --> 00:55:02.525 but we're looking in the wrong place. It keeps blowing up our lives, 713 00:55:02.545 --> 00:55:05.725 but we just don't know where else to look. So that's some of our stories. 714 00:55:05.864 --> 00:55:07.965 But then others of us, we get sidetracked. 715 00:55:07.966 --> 00:55:11.725 We get off track because sometimes we think about you poorly or we think about 716 00:55:11.726 --> 00:55:15.605 you too small. We start to convince ourselves that, uh, 717 00:55:15.995 --> 00:55:20.525 like life as a believer in you comes down to like a checklist of things that we 718 00:55:20.526 --> 00:55:22.405 have to do and things that we're not allowed to do. 719 00:55:22.425 --> 00:55:24.325 And we gotta keep that checklist going. 720 00:55:24.344 --> 00:55:28.485 We gotta meet all of your standards to show that we're thankful for what you've 721 00:55:28.486 --> 00:55:28.864 done for us. 722 00:55:28.864 --> 00:55:32.165 And like we get so trapped in that like really small way of thinking. 723 00:55:32.165 --> 00:55:34.844 And we totally forget that from day one, 724 00:55:34.875 --> 00:55:37.605 your desire was to be in relationship with us. 725 00:55:37.675 --> 00:55:41.925 That is the thing that you fixed through Jesus. Yes, 726 00:55:41.926 --> 00:55:44.565 we get to go to heaven when we die. We're so thankful for that. 727 00:55:45.344 --> 00:55:46.205 But at the same time, 728 00:55:46.275 --> 00:55:50.965 like your son hung on that cross so that you could once again take walks with 729 00:55:50.966 --> 00:55:55.125 your people in the cool of the day so that you could be in relationship with us 730 00:55:55.344 --> 00:55:59.165 so that you could do this long journey of life with us so that you could weep 731 00:55:59.235 --> 00:56:01.525 when we weep and celebrate, when we celebrate, 732 00:56:01.526 --> 00:56:03.844 so that you could hold us strong when we're falling apart. 733 00:56:05.505 --> 00:56:08.765 You did this so that you could be in relationship with us so that you could go 734 00:56:08.766 --> 00:56:12.844 on a really long walk with us. God, please don't let us forget about that. 735 00:56:14.185 --> 00:56:18.085 Yes, we wanna honor you. Yes, we want to be obedient, but at the end of the day, 736 00:56:18.086 --> 00:56:19.364 we're in relationship with you. 737 00:56:19.505 --> 00:56:23.765 You use words to describe yourself like Father and like friend. 738 00:56:25.025 --> 00:56:28.245 God, help us to remember who you are. God, 739 00:56:28.246 --> 00:56:32.125 help us to remember the relationship that we have access to. And God, 740 00:56:32.126 --> 00:56:35.765 please don't let us take it for granted. God, I love you so much. 741 00:56:35.965 --> 00:56:36.885 I thank you for this church. 742 00:56:37.045 --> 00:56:41.005 I thank you for this time and I pray all of this in the name of the one who made 743 00:56:41.125 --> 00:56:43.725 this possible for us. Jesus Christ. Amen.