JESUS AND MARSHWIGGLES

Father, you know how hard it is for us to pay attention to your word.

You know, Father, how we prefer our own thoughts to what you're thinking,

how we prefer the thoughts of powerful people around us rather than to your thoughts.

We prefer, Father, to hear ourselves talk than to listen to you speak to us.

Father, we acknowledge this before you, and we acknowledge before you, Father,

that we're not even aware of when we're doing it.

We ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would gently but deeply fall upon us this morning,

that you would help us, Father, to turn from ourselves and to listen to your word.

And not only, Father, listen to your word, but that you might help us to open our hearts,

our minds, our wills, our souls to your word, that your word might enter into us

and do its great work in us.

Father, this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Please be seated.

So as is my custom this week, on most days of the week, I was in a Starbucks working on my sermon.

Actually, between the services, I go to a coffee shop.

I'm fairly Catholic in my taste.

It was a second cup.

And it was sort of neat.

There was a couple of people going by all dressed up for church.

And I happened to look up, and they saw me reading the Bible, and they smiled at me and gave me a little wave.

I guess they were going on their way to church.

But I don't always get that reaction when I'm in a Starbucks.

But this particular time, just this week, I can't remember the day of the week it was,

but it was the day after it was all in the papers about the Roman Catholic Church might or might not be changing its view

on same-sex marriage and a whole range of things, contraception, et cetera.

I think that was Tuesday morning.

I think it was in the paper on Monday, but maybe I have the dates wrong.

Anyway, I'm there in my, I'm in the Starbucks working on my sermon.

Bible's open.

A couple of working-class guys come and sit down beside me.

And one of the working-class guys just says to the other that he'd been over at his grandmother's house the night,

last night, and he said to his buddies, you know, my grandmother, she's Roman Catholic.

She goes to church.

She goes to Mass all the time.

And so I said to my Grammy, I said, Grammy, what do you think about what the Pope said?

And then he said, my Grammy said to me that the Pope's wrong, that he's wrong in what he's doing.

And then, you know, he said to the guys what, you know, his grandmother said.

And then he said to his friends, he said, you know, I said to my Grammy, I said, Grammy, that's like, that's,

you're just saying things like from 15 years ago.

Like, you have to get with now.

That's like something from 15 years ago.

Like, get with now.

And then he said what his grandmother said.

And then he said to this guy, he said, you know, I don't know what to say to my grandmother.

She's talking things like from 15 years ago.

How on earth can I possibly talk to her?

That was the conversation.

So I'm not going to talk this morning about same-sex marriage.

It just happens to be that it's sort of as an illustration of something.

Because what it is, is my sermon this week is going to be different than my usual sermon.

Because I don't know how many of you were able to pay attention as I was reading the Luke text, the gospel text.

But if you were, it's sort of an odd text.

It's a bit confusing.

And it would have been even more massively confusing to the original hearers and the people who originally read it,

maybe for the very, very first time.

And so I'm going to have to take a sort of a step back from the text.

And we're going to have to look at a couple of other things so that we can actually hear what the Bible says.

So here's the first thing.

And this is why I'm telling you the story.

I want to tell you something about what goes on in Canada.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the people who gets into arguments with me or persistent discussions,

might be a better way to put it, at Starbucks.

He's a committed secularist.

He sort of said to me, George, you know, the fact is that the Bible's all wrong because everything just goes in cycles.

Like, you know, we just, you know, you know, we die and somebody else is born.

And, you know, life, it's just a constant cycle.

And that's just how life works.

And I looked at him and said, I'm not going to answer that question because you don't believe that.

Well, let's talk about something you believe.

You don't believe that.

I said, you believe that things are getting better and better and better in a particular direction.

And that in, you know, like in 40 years, there'll be no more religion and that there'll be great world peace and lots of prosperity.

That's what you believe.

And he said, yeah, I was just trying to yank your chain.

But here's the thing.

If you could put up the first point, Andrew.

Virtually everybody in Canada believes history is moving towards something that matters

or should be moving towards something that matters.

I didn't say throughout the world because it wouldn't be true of the world.

In fact, there are parts of the world that would just believe that everything's just in constant cycles.

Like classic Hinduism, that there's this constant cycle.

Classic Buddhism, constant cycle.

Classic paganism, a constant cycle.

But I think in Canada, they might all differ on it,

but I think in Canada, virtually everybody in Canada believes history is moving towards something that matters

or should be moving towards something that matters.

And I'm using, I was going to use the word life.

I thought about using the word life, but I ended up deciding to use the word history

because it's as if people have this sense in Canada that there's been the past.

And as the past is coming up closer to the present, there's this development.

And it's as if there's a line going.

And so, for instance, many people on the left refer to themselves as progressives

because they have this sense that everything is moving in a particular direction.

It's progressing in a particular direction.

People who aren't of the left, at sort of a deeper level,

they might have more of a Star Trek view of the future.

You know, where, you know, in the future, I don't know how many years, I'm not a Trekkie,

but, you know, so many years in the future, you know, you just have to press a button in a machine

and your hot meal pops out and they've gotten rid of war, they've gotten rid of need,

they've gotten rid of want, and they can go off and explore the universe

and go where no man or woman has, you know, go boldly where nobody's gone before.

But, you know, many, many people, there's a, near where I live,

when I'm driving to one of my Starbucks, there's a place that's called evolution physiotherapy.

And what they mean by that is that somehow we're evolving to something better and better.

They don't mean that life is completely and utterly controlled by randomness and chaos,

and it might very well be that cockroaches are the only life form living in 100 years

when we completely annihilate ourselves, and that's just how evolution works, survival of the fittest.

And cockroaches might end up being, they don't mean that, right?

So it's a very, very common idea that things are moving in a certain direction.

And it's a very, very common idea that if we're depressed that things aren't moving in a particular direction,

it's because we believe they should go in a particular direction,

and we believe that this direction matters.

So it is that this working class guy sitting beside me, talking to some other working class guys,

evaluates his grandmother's argument by saying that this was something that they said 15 years ago.

That how history is moving matters, and how you understand right and wrong, how you live your life,

how you make your plans, who you marry, what you struggle with, what you don't struggle with, what you celebrate.

That's a very, very common.

So Canadians might differ, and there's many, many Canadians who say that because,

let's say the government isn't following the policies that are progressive,

that what's going to happen is some type of dystopia, that everything's going to go completely and utterly bad,

and so you better listen to us, but it matters.

Now, why does this matter?

How on earth does this have anything at all to do with Jesus?

Well, here's how it has something to do with Jesus and how it's to go back to the text,

which we're going to, we still have to take one more moment before we get back to it.

But one of the things that people will make fun of about Christians

is the Christian idea of the second coming of Jesus.

For many people in our culture, it's kooky.

You go hunting through the TV channels, and, okay, I don't mean to offend anybody by that.

I'm just trying to tell you how many people, if you get talking and they trust you, what they'll say.

So they go hunting through the channels, they'll come to a Christian channel,

and they'll see some sweating, overweight white guy going on with all sorts of lurid pictures and graphs

about what's happening in the Middle East and what's happening with Russia,

and where things are going, and they'll watch it for a few minutes to laugh,

because it looks ridiculous.

But here's the thing for us to think about for a second.

If nobody in Canada thought that history was going somewhere,

and that where that somewhere was going, that it was connected to the past, the present, and the future,

and that where it goes as matters, then for Christians to talk about the second coming of Jesus would be really odd.

But if, in fact, virtually everybody in Canada believes that the past matters,

the present matters, and that it's going somewhere,

then even though they might or might not be right to make fun of the person that they saw on television,

in fact, all it means is that Christians just have a different understanding of the direction of history than the culture.

See what I mean?

I mean, it's hard to communicate, and I don't know how I would communicate this to one of my friends in Starbucks,

but it's important for us to at least hear this,

that one moment, everybody believes history is going somewhere,

everybody believes something in the past, that there's some process that's going somewhere.

Christians also believe that.

In fact, actually, and this would in fact be true,

that one of the revolutions in human thought,

actually, that it, like,

people didn't believe there was a direction to history

until they, in a sense, learned it, and then forgot that they learned it from the Bible.

It's ultimately a Christian and Jewish idea,

a biblical idea that changed how people think.

And, um,

and so now it's a matter of,

well, one moment,

now we can sort of ask ourselves,

like, why is it that we think these things in the past are affecting the future,

and why is it that we think that these things in the future are going to happen,

and how is it that the Christian things sort of are similar or different?

See what I mean?

Like, it changes it,

even when we're reading the Bible.

Maybe it will make us less defensive

when we talk to others.

Less embarrassed about the angular and,

to the eyes of Canadians,

kooky aspects of Christianity.

So, here's another thing.

It's going to take us a while.

You know, we're actually going to,

you know, I'm going to do a lot of preview,

and then actually we're going to go through the Bible relatively quickly.

But there's one of,

so what does the Christian story look like?

Andrew, if you could put up the first screen.

So, the Bible has an overarching story,

an overarching narrative,

an overarching understanding of what's been going on in the past,

the present, and the future.

And while, to most Canadians,

they would understand that things,

we got,

things got the way they are through evolution,

that it's just ultimately a combination of chance,

coincidence,

genetic mutation,

followed by survival of fittest,

which is just another form of chance,

a physical process.

The Christian story begins in a very, very different way.

The Christian story begins by saying

that we believe there is a God who exists,

who's created all things.

That things aren't random and by chance.

And that when God created all things,

he made all things good.

And part of the way that he made all things good

is he put within human beings

who bear the image of God

and are like God,

he put within human beings

not perfect free will,

that they can have free will in every single thing,

but substantial and real free will

and within that free will,

the ability and the necessity to love

and to trust.

And that Adam and Eve

chose not to love and trust God,

but in a sense to usurp God's position

and try to become like God themselves.

And so the first part of the big story is creation.

The second is what's known as the fall.

And that when human beings,

our ancestors, Adam and Eve, did this,

it creates a bentness in all human nature

so that all human beings who descend from Adam and Eve,

which is everybody,

that there's a fundamental bentness in us,

that we're now not right.

And so that what characterizes human existence

is two things.

On one hand,

we're made in the image of the creator God.

We bear his image and likeness.

And God didn't remove that from human beings.

He didn't turn us into tortoises

or armadillos or aardvarks.

We're human.

We still bear the image and the likeness of God,

but now that image and likeness of God is marred.

It is bent.

It is twisted.

It is not the way it was intended.

And God saw that we human beings

could not fix ourselves.

So in Genesis 3 and on,

God begins what I'm labeling as promise,

that he promises that he is going to fix

what human beings cannot fix by themselves.

And what we believe then comes next

is that Jesus is God keeping his promise.

The promises originally were to patriarchs,

like Moses and Abraham,

I got the order wrong,

and the people of Israel.

And in some ways,

even the promises is different,

other types of things,

of intimations that other people had,

that there would be some way

that God was going to fix this.

And Jesus is the coming of God,

God, the Son of God,

into our human story.

God keeping his promises

to fix what human beings cannot fix.

And that's what we have in the Gospels.

In a sense, all of the Old Testament

is what we would call that

understanding, the unfolding,

the revealing,

the preparing of the promise.

Jesus is God keeping his promise

and keeping his promise

in a surprising way.

Not in the way that

the original people thought

he was going to do it,

but that God would first deal

with the bentness in us

before he dealt with the bentness

and the fallenness

in the entire created order.

So Jesus comes to die.

He dies upon the cross.

And his death upon the cross

is, in the words of Romans,

a power of God from salvation.

It's a power of God,

from God,

for salvation,

that is accomplished

with Jesus' death upon the cross.

And now God is taking a people

for himself

when we put our faith

and trust in Jesus.

And now,

after Jesus' death

and his resurrection,

he promises he's going to come again.

And so now,

every single one of us

is living in the between.

In fact,

if you could put the next slide up.

You know how you go to a mall

and you try to figure out

where you are?

Okay?

That's where we are

in the story.

We're in the between.

The between Jesus' coming

and his second coming.

And I've labeled

his second coming

the beginning.

Because it's not only a judgment,

but it's the beginning

of the new earth

and the new heaven.

The new earth and heaven

that we will live in

for eternity.

And that's the overarching

Christian story.

And I think it's,

the older I get

and the more I talk

to people at Starbucks,

the more convinced I am

of the profound wisdom

and truthfulness

of this overarching story.

That creation and fall

and promise in Jesus

in between and beginning

makes sense of our longings

and yearnings.

It makes sense of science.

It makes sense of history.

It makes sense of knowledge.

It just,

it makes sense.

And not only does it make sense

at a whole range

of philosophical

and scientific levels

and personal

and existential levels,

but also because

of the reality

of the death upon the cross

and the historical event

that there's actually

some historical evidence

that it might be possible

that in fact Jesus

did in fact defeat death

and emerge on the far side

of death on the third day

and that therefore

if he did that,

he can return.

And it makes sense.

It's a profound,

profound story.

So,

you see,

here's what I would say

to the young guy

if I'd had a chance

to talk with him.

I mean,

first of all,

I would have had to have fought

my urge to mock him.

What,

you think you tell truth

by the calendar?

Like,

I probably would have tried

to mock him.

You know,

that doesn't work well

in conversations

when you want to woo somebody

and start mocking them.

So,

I would have had to have fought that.

But,

you know,

what you could say,

well,

why is it that you think

that history's moving

in this particular direction?

Like,

what sort of evidence

is there for it?

Because,

you see,

there's a new age saying

that if you see the Buddha

on the road,

kill him.

And,

and in a sense,

I almost thought of making a point

when you hear of a utopia

or a future,

kill it.

That's like what the Bible says.

And if you could put up

the next point,

Andrew,

it's because I think

ultimately the Bible says

that we are made in God's image

and we are fallen.

And because of that,

we presume

to know.

But,

God is sovereign

and he knows.

And this is true

for Christians

and for non-Christians.

Many,

many Christians

think that they can figure out

from the Bible

all of the intricacies

of what's going to happen

in the last days,

despite the fact

that Jesus repeatedly says

that nobody can figure it out.

That they can't.

So,

if Christians,

even reading the Bible,

have a hard time,

then how much more

will our culture

have a hard time?

That on one hand,

because they have this sense

that this overarching story,

I would suggest,

is in fact

a true historical real story.

And on one hand,

because we're made

in the image of God

and because we're fallen,

we have this sense

that it's moving somewhere,

that it's not just

a result of blind chance

and blind processes,

but there actually

is a God

and that it's moving

to some type

of a completion

and that completion matters.

But because we're fallen

and yet we bear

the image of God,

we presume to know.

We presume to know

that we're going to have

a perfect Freudian future

or a communist future

or a Nazi future

or a queer future

or a Star Trek future

or whatever it is

and we presume to know

and we try to evaluate others

all in light of it,

but the Bible

would suggest to us

that we are,

on one hand,

just like the most

ardent skeptic

and say,

you have no evidence

for any of that.

You're presuming,

you don't know.

And then to which

if somebody says to you,

George,

you don't know either

and I would say,

you are very right.

I am not claiming

that I am smarter

than anybody.

But what if there is a God

who does exist

who tells us?

What if there is a God

who exists

who tells us?

You don't have to be clever.

You just have to listen.

And no Christian

should claim

that they are more clever

than others.

We are not.

My favorite line

from Spurgeon,

we are one beggar

telling another beggar

where to find bread.

We're not farmers,

we're beggars.

So,

how does this

fit with,

we're going to actually

read the Bible.

This is very unusual.

Usually if you come

to one of my sermons,

you don't wait 19 minutes

before we actually

crack open the Bible.

It's not a lecture.

We're going to now,

hopefully with this little thing

in our background,

we'll actually be able to hear

and also sort of catch

the surprise

and the shock

in the text.

So,

if you don't have Bibles,

there's always some free Bibles

up here at the front.

And it's Luke chapter 12.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

If you use an electronic

version of your Bible,

try to restrain yourself

from checking your

Facebook updates,

Twitter feed,

or anything like that

and actually just stay

with the text.

And it's Luke chapter 12

Luke 12 · chapter mention

beginning at verse 34.

And sort of mindful

of the overarching big story

and the fact that

we live in a world

where in Canada

where virtually everybody

believes something's

going to be happening

in the future that matters.

And so,

it's not that Jesus

is the only one

talking about this,

but that in fact

he's just saying

something very different

than what is commonly believed.

Let's listen to what

he has to say.

Verse 34.

And by the way,

let me see here.

How many people here

are familiar with the show

Downton Abbey?

Of course.

Okay,

well you'll be all glad

to know

that I actually

spent some time

researching Downton Abbey

this week

because Downton Abbey

helps you to understand

what's about to be said.

I'm not making that up.

It's true.

Very helpful

to understanding the Bible

in this particular context.

So,

Luke chapter 12

Luke 12:34

verses 34

and following.

Jesus speaking.

For where your treasure is,

there will your heart

be also.

Say,

stay dressed for action

and keep your lamps burning.

And be like men.

And in this particular case

it doesn't mean men or women.

It means men

because it's describing

a particular type of servant.

And in Downton Abbey

it would usually be

the men

who answer the door.

Right?

Not the women.

The men answer the door.

The men escort you out.

So this actually means men here.

It doesn't mean women.

It's not

poo-pooing women.

It's just

it's the story.

If you use Downton Abbey

you'd say,

oh,

women don't go

and answer the door.

Men.

So,

stay dressed for action

and keep your lamps burning.

Be like men

who are waiting

for their master

to come home

from the wedding feast.

In the ancient days

at the time of Jesus

wedding feast

could go on for a week

or less,

a little bit less,

a little bit more.

So if the master,

if Lord Grantham

went to a wedding

back in those days

the servants wouldn't know

when he's coming back.

Okay?

Because it wouldn't show.

Is he going to get tired

of drinking

after five days?

After eight days?

Like,

how's it going to go?

Right?

So stay dressed for action

and keep your lamps burning

and be like men

who are waiting

for their master

to come home

from the wedding feast

so that they may

open the door to him

at once

when he comes

and knocks.

Blessed,

it's a beatitude,

blessed are those servants

whom the master

finds awake

when he comes.

Truly,

it's actually the word

Amen.

Amen,

I say to you.

He will,

the master

will dress himself

for service

and have them

recline at table

and he will come

and serve them.

If you're wondering

in a few verses

why on earth

it is that Peter

can't understand

what on earth

Jesus is talking about

is because of this.

If you watch

Downton Abbey,

do you think

if Lord Grantham

comes home

after eight days

of drinking

and he's pleased

to have the door open,

he's going to say,

my,

you look tired,

sit down

while I make you

a feast

and I'm going

to serve you.

Doesn't happen,

does it?

I mean,

as you know,

the Lord Grantham

and his family,

they can hardly

boil water.

This doesn't

make any sense.

This doesn't happen.

So what's going on?

Okay,

I promise

I'm not going

to skip over text.

We're going

to come back

and read it

but to understand

what's going on

we have to jump

forward a few verses.

So jump forward

to verse 49.

And here we have,

you know,

sometimes I say

to people,

I was just saying

to this,

the guy at a Starbucks

a couple of weeks ago

because he was trying

to tell me

that I was just imposing

my understanding

of what Jesus came to do

and I said,

no, no, no,

we don't have to try

to figure that out ourselves.

If you read the Gospels,

Jesus will tell you

why he came.

Like he tells you,

I'm just trying

to listen to him.

You're trying

to impose something different.

I'm just trying

to listen.

And this is one

of those statements

and it's verse 49.

Jesus speaking,

I came to cast fire

on the earth

and would that

it were already kindled.

I have a baptism

to be baptized with

and how great

is my distress

until it is accomplished.

He came

to cast fire

and to have

this baptism happen.

Now this is a bit

of an odd,

odd story.

It's an odd,

odd line.

And here you sort

of have to trust me on it

but obviously

he's already been baptized

by John the Baptist.

That happened

earlier on in Luke

and he's not obviously

talking about

what Christians do

with baptism

because that doesn't

make any sense.

He's,

in the original language,

he's using an image

from the Psalms

and the prophets

and the image

of baptism

in the Psalms

and the prophets

is an image

of being inundated

by God's judgment.

Inundated

or caught

by God's judgment.

It would be as if

you're at a beach

and a tsunami comes

and you have a sense

that not only

is there a tsunami coming,

it's going to inundate you

and it's going to crush you

and you can't run away from it

and that it's going to

overwhelm you

and completely and utterly

just,

it's going to obliterate you.

There's been some

Hollywood movies

about these tsunamis

and coming and what they do

and Jesus is saying

this tsunami

while everybody else

on the planet

is trying to run from it

and there's many,

many people,

maybe even some of you

here today,

many people that we meet

in Starbucks

and other places,

they have a sense

of impending doom.

Maybe it's the impending doom

of the entire culture.

Maybe it's the impending

doom of the entire planet.

Maybe it's just

their personal impending doom

when they have a worry

about getting some news

from the doctor

but they have this sense

of a tsunami wave

and their whole life

is a matter of

turning their back from it

and they live in the shadow

of the tsunami

which is coming

and Jesus says,

I came to walk

towards the tsunami.

I came not to be like

all of you who run from it,

who live in the fear

of the valley,

of the shadow,

of the coming tsunami.

I came to walk

towards that.

It's what I came for.

If you could put up

the point,

Jesus came to be inundated

by the judgment of God

that I deserve.

Jesus came to be inundated

by the judgment of God

that I deserve.

You read the book of Luke

from beginning to end.

It's a story.

Luke chapter 9,

Luke 9 · chapter mention

Jesus first reveals

very clearly

that he's going

to Jerusalem to die,

that he came to earth

to be,

he was born,

all of that

all had a particular purpose

that he would go

to Jerusalem to die

and then to rise.

And everything that's going on

in the book of Luke

right now,

it's all while Jesus

and his disciples

are walking to Jerusalem

and Jesus in a variety

of ways

through Old Testament

allusion,

through right,

straight,

direct speech,

continually telling

the disciples,

I'm walking to Jerusalem

to die.

I'm walking to Jerusalem

towards the tsunami

of God's judgment

and I am walking

towards that

to be inundated by you.

And I'm not coming

because I myself

deserve God's judgment.

I come in love for you.

I will bear the tsunami

of God's judgment

that you deserve.

I will take your place

and bear it

in your stead.

You see,

that's why

if you were to go back

to that screen

that was up

a couple of moments ago

where you go from

creation,

fall,

promise,

Jesus is God

keeping his promise

in a way

that nobody expected

because we human beings,

we watch,

we expect

that the powerful

and the rich

have privileges.

We expect

that the powerful

and the rich

do not serve.

We expect that.

We might resent it

when we are the ones

who are under their thumb

but we also know

that if we had that money

we would expect

to have those perks

and privileges.

And so,

we project

this understanding

onto God.

That's part of our presumption.

It's part of our fear.

It's part of our fallenness

that we project

that onto God

and Jesus

is constantly

trying to tell

his followers

that no,

no,

no,

no.

You know that story

just a few moments ago

the master comes

and he serves?

I come to serve you.

I will serve you

most profoundly

first and foremost

by walking towards

the tsunami

of God's judgment

and taking the inundation

that you deserve

and I will take

your stead.

That from beginning

to end

it's always

a matter of God

doing something

that we human beings

cannot do

and offering

a power

of salvation

and all we can do

is like beggars

receiving free bread.

Say,

Father,

I try to charm you

with my charm.

I try to do

all sorts of things

to put you

in my debt.

I try to presume

that I know more

than you do

but all I can do

is confess before you,

Father,

that I am a beggar.

I stand naked.

I have no resources.

I can only receive

that which you do,

that which you

whom I should serve,

that you would serve me

by this offer

of salvation

that I do not deserve.

See,

at the heart

of most modern stories

of how the future

is moving

are irrational

processes

and at the heart

of them

is always

that either

you get with

the program

or if you're lucky

you're like the grandmother

and you're just

in the dust bin

of history.

If you're not lucky,

violence befalls you

because if we're moving

towards the glorious

workers' paradise,

if we're moving

towards this other type

of great paradise

and you're in the way,

the hope is

that if you don't

get with the program

and don't get with it,

this irrational process

that you'll be left

in the dust bin,

but time after time

after time,

when that comes

to full flower,

it leads to the death

of the innocent.

But Christians believe

it is not blind

irrational force

but a person

and then that person

who is sovereign

and knows

also loves

and sent his son

to be inundated

by the tsunami

of God's judgment

that you and I deserve,

that that would fall

on Jesus

as he dies

upon the cross.

In fact,

actually,

in Luke's thing here,

if you look back,

verse 50,

verse 50,

I have a baptism

to be baptized with

and how great

is my distress

until it is accomplished.

The word there,

accomplished,

can also be translated

as finished

and it's the word

that Jesus says

from the cross.

It is finished.

It is accomplished.

It's the same word.

It's the same word.

So,

the last week or two

I've been watching

some BBC movies

called Hinderland

about a London detective

who goes to a remote

part of Wales.

Scenery, spectacular.

Best tradition

of that type of,

you know,

depressed,

struggling detective

with demons

trying to help people.

The Welsh have

really interesting names.

The whole shows,

I find it very interesting

to watch.

But in the first episode,

the first movie,

there's a person

who goes to chapel

and she's very,

very hard on the kids

that she's supposed to be

and they make the comment

that she was always

trying to scare them

with the devil

and beat the devil

out of them

but what she was really doing

was scaring the devil

into them

and beating the devil

into them.

Now I'm not trying

to scare you

but I'm going to talk

about how it is

that our story

intersects.

Andrew,

could you go back

a couple of screens

to that thing

where we are?

There you go.

We are here.

How do you and I

get involved in this story?

Andrew,

could you put up this,

I guess it's the third screen?

I'm not saying this

to scare you.

I'm just saying this is,

if you don't understand this

you're not really hearing

what Jesus says.

That we're in the

between Jesus

and the second coming

and I'm fallen,

not perfect,

I bear the image of God

and I'm also fallen

and I have before me

a choice.

I can refuse

what Jesus has offered,

has done for me

on the cross.

I can resist

the Holy Spirit

that tries to keep

drawing me back

to Jesus

and at the end

there's a final rejection

which works both ways.

Sometimes the Bible

talks about God

rejecting us

and sometimes

the Bible talks

about us rejecting God

but it means

that we appear

before the throne of God

and we sing

with Frank Sinatra

I did it my way,

I will always do it my way,

I will never do it

other than my way

and God gives us

what we want.

The Bible describes

it as hell.

The other choice

before us

is that we accept

what Jesus did for us

and we're redeemed,

that we live a life

not saying

that we're now

redeemed by Jesus

and now after this

we just live by willpower

but we're gripped

by the gospel,

we're mindful

of the fact

that God ultimately

does something

that we can't do

for ourselves

and it's a matter

of as we're gripped

by the gospel.

It draws us

into change,

it pushes us

into change,

it enables us

to change

and then finally

either when we die

or when Jesus comes

that which we

think of as the end

but is really

the beginning

that we enter

into that.

If you want to use

more traditional

theological language,

the next screen,

my faith in Jesus

makes me justified,

mindful always

of being gripped

by the gospel

and thinking about

what Jesus did

for me in the cross

and that the power

of salvation

is not just

to justify me

but to make me

more like Jesus.

My life between now

and my death

or my life

and the coming

of Jesus

is to be sanctified

and that when I die

or when Jesus returns

I will be like him

because I will see him

like he is

and I will be glorified.

And the choice is ours.

The choice is yours.

There's a lot

in the news lately

about the Ebola crisis

and it's come

to the United States

and of course

I guess no surprise

to anybody.

I'm not saying

this to bash government.

Big organizations

and governments

are very unwieldy

and we're not prepared

for this

and we're still trying

to figure out

how to be prepared

for it.

What the Christian message

is something like this.

Imagine if all of a sudden

and maybe we discover

that some of us

have been infected

in that 21 day period

we don't realize

that we have Ebola

and we're going to

potentially die from it

but imagine

that they were to announce

that they found a cure

that's both a cure

and an immunization

and you just have

to go somewhere

and they'll give you

a needle

and it's in you

and if you have Ebola

you won't die from it

and if you don't have it

you won't get it.

And we'd all go.

We'd all go.

And what the Bible

is saying is that

when Jesus walks

towards the inundation

the tsunami

of God's judgment

that I deserve

that dying on the cross

that there's a power

of God

for salvation

that is accomplished

with his death

upon the cross

that has to get in us

and the choice is ours

that has to get in us

and if it doesn't get in us

then the normal process

will be that

which is up

and to the right

and I don't say it

to scare you

but I would not be

a faithful servant

of God's word

that's what Jesus

is talking about

here in the text

so now we're going

to go back

actually before

some of you might say

how's my time

oh sorry

we're going

getting a bit stretched

some of you might say

well okay

George

how does this faith work

you just sort of say

yeah yeah

I'll choose that

I'll choose that path

yeah sure

Jesus

whoa

I'll take that

that path

that goes

that one there

I'll choose that

justified path

it's not just a matter

of a friend of mine

Andy

who's the pastor

of Calvary Chapel

we were out

at Starbucks

the other day

and he found out

that the staff

have a secret drink

and they called it

I think they call it

Rachel Shooters

which is

you put a big dollop

of something sweet

like vanilla

and then you put

a nice dollop

of good whipped

of cream

and then you take

an espresso

and you pour

the espresso

on a spoon

to help cool it a bit

and slow it down

and it goes on top of it

and it creates a drink

with three layers

a layer of syrup

a layer of cream

and a layer of espresso

and then you take

and you do a shooter

you go

you down it

and he said

wow that's good

you get hot and bitter

warm and creamy

cool and sweet

all one after another

and a quick shot

so is just saying

yes to Jesus

just like

I'm going to try

a Rachel Shooter

you know

yeah sure

give me a shot

Jesus immediately

after verse 50

warns you about something

look at verse 50

so verse 50 says

I have a baptism

to be baptized with

and how great

is my distress

until it is accomplished

do you think

that I have come

to give peace

on earth

no I tell you

but rather division

for from now on

in one house

there will be

five divided

three against two

and two against three

they will be divided

father against son

and son against father

mother against daughter

and daughter against mother

mother-in-law against her

daughter-in-law

and daughter-in-law

against mother-in-law

he also said to the crowds

so on one hand

he gives a profound warning

okay this isn't just like

trying Rachel Shooter

okay

this is about having

a new treasure

where your heart is

this is about having

a new master

where you start

to accept

that Jesus

I'm going to be

your master

it's about entering

the Jesus way

which you enter

one by one

but you walk

the Jesus way

with Jesus and others

with Jesus as your savior

and him as your lord

and that's how you walk

and on one hand

I want to warn you

that this is going to

potentially radically

change your life

if you're serious

because it's not just

a matter of trying

to shoot her

it's a matter of

turning with your heart

to accept

what only God can do

and I really do

come in

as savior

and as lord

and this will change you

you enter into

a covenant with me

that changes everything

verse 54

he said to the crowds

when you see a cloud

rising in the west

you say at once

a shower is coming

and so it happens

and when you see

the south wind blowing

you say

there will be

scorching heat

and it happens

you hypocrites

you know how to interpret

the appearance of earth

and sky

but why do you not know

how to interpret

the present time

and the word there is kairos

it's a significant moment

it's that

it's that

that point

where you go one way

or the other

why

like

I'm going to rise

from the dead

I fed the 5,000

I've walked on water

like watch

look

listen to the story

don't you understand

how this overarching story

how it speaks to longings

and yearnings within you

look at the signs

look at the signs

verse 57

and why do you not

judge for yourselves

what is right

as you go with your accuser

before the magistrate

make an effort

to settle with him

on the way

lest he drag you

to the judge

and the judge

hand you over

to the officer

and the officer

put you in prison

I tell you

you will never get out

until you have paid

the very last penny

and the implication

there it's a Semitic term

it means you'll never get out

since Jesus says

that's the divide

before you

so here's the thing

Andrew if you could

put up the fourth point

the Bible warns me

that when I am born again

that's what happens

when we put our faith

and trust in Jesus

it's not just like

Rachel Schuter

Jesus comes in

it's a power of God

for salvation

it's like the immunization

and the cure of Ebola

it comes into you

it changes you

when I am born again

through faith in Jesus

I may be rejected

by significant people

in my life

that might be your wife

it might be your husband

it might be your kids

it might be your boss

it might be the police

it might be the government

it might be the army

it might be your employer

Jesus wants us to know that

but he wants us

to do something else

he wants us to choose

to accept what he does

I have to wrap this up quickly

Andrew if you could put this up

I have been waiting

for over a year and a half

to put up something like this

as a sermon point

dear God

please help me to live

like a marsh wiggle

now those of you

who have read

the Narnia Chronicles

might get a bit of a hint

about what that means

but for the rest of you

I am not saying

that you should want

to be very very tall

look a bit like a frog

and a scarecrow

like eating eels

and all of that type of stuff

but here is the thing

about marsh wiggles

is that marsh wiggles

in that book

you can read

it's in the Narnia Chronicles

it's the silver chair

marsh wiggles

pay great attention

to what the master says

and are faithful

in trying to live it

and they don't spend time

thinking about

their own views

but they just want to have

deep within their heart

governing their actions

what it is

that the master says

and Jesus says

look at the signs

so now just in closing

let's go back

I told you we read

the whole text

I wasn't going to skip

over anything

let's read the whole text

verse 34

just the part

that I haven't read

for where your treasure

is there will your heart

be also

stay dressed for action

and keep your lamps burning

and be like men

who are waiting

for their master

to come home

from the wedding feast

so that they may

open the door to him

at once when he comes

and knocks

what is it saying here

it's saying that

when we put our faith

and trust in Jesus

that one of the works

of the gospel

is that Jesus

becomes our treasure

he becomes

our master

and that what is it

to be like

to be a marsh wiggle

it is to desire

to be quick to obey

quick to obey

to be ready to obey

and to be quick to obey

not because we're hoping

to impress the master

in this case

but it's in response

it's in response

to what Jesus

has done for us

on the cross

that as the gospel

grips us

we desire to

to pay attention

to Jesus

to listen to his words

to be quick to obey

blessed are those servants

whom verse 37

the master finds awake

when he comes

truly I say to you

he will dress himself

for service

and have them

recline at table

and he will come

and serve them

if he comes

in the second watch

or in the third

and finds them awake

blessed are those servants

but know this

that if the master

of the house

had known

at what hour

the thief was coming

he would not

have left his house

to be broken into

you also must be ready

for the son of man

is coming in

at an hour

you do not expect

this is telling us

that we have to remember

that Jesus is coming

and we have to remember

that we don't know

when he's coming

just that he is coming

that it's essential

to discipleship

in Canada

to believe

that he's coming

and to live our lives

in light of the fact

that he is coming

and verse 41

Peter said

Lord are you telling

this parable for us

or for all

like Jesus

Peter doesn't understand

that Jesus is going

to come back

he can't figure out

why Jesus

you're here right now

why are you talking

about coming

like I don't understand

because he doesn't

know the end of the story

and then Jesus

sort of in some ways

ignores him

because he's going

to move forward

to the baptism image

he says

who then is the faithful

and wise manager

whom his master

will sit over his household

to give them

their portion of food

at the proper time

blessed is that servant

whom his master

will find so doing

when he comes

truly I say to you

he will set him

over all his possessions

but if that servant

says to himself

my master is delayed

in coming

and begins to beat

the male and female

servants that eat

and drink

and get drunk

the master of that servant

will come on a day

when he does not expect him

and in an hour

he does not know

and will cut him in pieces

and put him with the unfaithful

it's a severe punishment

not death

because he's alive

in the next verse

and that servant

who knew his master's will

but did not get ready

for act

according to his will

will receive a severe beating

sorry it was

it's all part of 46

but the one who did not know

and did what deserved a beating

will receive a life beating

everyone to whom much was given

of him much will be required

and from him to whom

they entrusted much

they will demand the more

so what is it saying

it's saying that as we're waiting

that we're to serve others

we're to serve the church

we're to serve our community

it says that we're not to live

self-indulgent lives

or be abusive

and that we're willing

not only to be quick to obey

but to take on more

to say yes take me

not yes take her

yes take me

that's the good thing

not yeah take them

so here's just in closing

here's a final prayer

to try to wrap it all up

if we don't want to understand

if we can't understand entirely

what it means to live

like a marsh wiggle

it's a prayer that I invite you

to pray at the end with me

I'm going to say it

and then we're going to

have you all stand

and then those whom the Holy Spirit

is convicting

you can say it with me out loud

dear God

please grow in me

a humble trusting confidence

in Jesus Christ crucified

as my Savior

please grow in me

a humble trusting confidence

that Jesus will return

in glory as the Lord

please grow in me

a humble trusting doing

of what your word written says

please stand

in light of the overarching story

in light of Jesus

walking into the inundation

of God's judgment

that I deserve

in light of receiving that

Jesus is urging us

to receive what he does

that he might serve us

in this way

just as he will serve us

in a sense in heaven

as we serve him

to have a firm belief

in his second coming

and to live like a marsh wiggle

eager to hear what God says

and eager to seek to obey

not to impress Jesus

not to impress the Father

but in light

of what Jesus has done

for us in the cross

if the Holy Spirit so leads

please join with me in praying

dear God

please grow in me

a humble trusting confidence

in Jesus Christ crucified

as my Savior

please grow in me

a humble trusting confidence

that Jesus will return

in glory as the Lord

please grow in me

a humble trusting doing

of what your word written says

in Jesus' name

Amen

Amen

Liebe

Amen

Amen

Amen