Sermon
A Battle For Your Focus | John Challinor
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Amen. Church, you can go ahead and have a seat.
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As you're doing so, how are we? I mean, come
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on. How are we not good with that much cuteness
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on stage? You know what I'm saying? And then
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to get to worship, I mean, it's just pretty special.
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Welcome to those of you in Paulding today who
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got breakfast. I saw the breakfast spread. Well
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done. Well played. It's always fun to see and
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know how you are gathering as community and how
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you are slowing down to see each other and break
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bread together. It's beautiful. We have something
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special happening. So my life group today is
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actually in Baghdad. So welcome, Baghdad. You've
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been here the whole time, but welcome. We're
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glad you're there. And I hope you enjoy the life
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group fam there and some others from staff that
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made it out. We're excited to continue to build
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relationship, build community, to continue to
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build as a family and see God move there in Baghdad.
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We're excited for what the future is with Baghdad
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and what that looks like. Can you do me a favor?
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Because my wife is out there today. Can you just
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say hi to Baghdad this morning? And then to our
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online fam, welcome. We're glad you're with us.
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Glad we get to do this together. I love that
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we get to honor people. I love that part of our
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family values is just that we genuinely honor
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one another. We put one another first. And I
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love that this weekend is kind of set aside to
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specifically celebrate those that with their
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lives have chosen to sacrifice on behalf of other
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people. I have some people near and dear to me
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that have served within the military and some
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that are still serving within the military. And
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I love the gift that it is to everyone else.
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It's one of those, it's a really clear connection
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for me of you're willing to and you are laying
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down your life that we can sit here and do this.
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It's a moment where we just get to honor and
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just say thank you. And so I would love to do
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that if you'll allow me. I know you'll hate it,
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but if you are an active military, you're in
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active military service or you're someone who
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has been in military service, if you're a veteran,
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would you just stand so that we could honor you,
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please? Now, before you sit down, hang on, hang
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on. We know you got family that also sacrificed.
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If you are family of them, would you stand? And
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we just want to say thanks. We are very, very
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grateful for your sacrifice and the way that
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you have served. So thank you. You can go ahead
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and have a seat. Baghdad, I hope that you get
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to honor those that are there with you. Also,
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those of you online get to honor one another.
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So I want to take a moment just to celebrate
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with you, right? There's a certain person in
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my life who's pretty important to me, and that
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certain person happened to turn one yesterday.
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So here he is, just because you need to see him.
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Let's go. And not only did he turn one, but he
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got dedicated at Park Collective last night in
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Prescott Valley. Now, what's fun with this is
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people ask, you know, so his first Halloween,
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like, what happened? What did he trunk or treat?
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Did you go trick or treating? Like, what did
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he dress up as? Well, I mean, you can see what
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he dressed up as. Clearly, he's just a model,
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right? Like, that's just what he is. Here's what's
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interesting though, right? Like my role in his
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life is to let him know how valuable he is, how
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loved he is, how special he is, right? Like my
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job is to brag about him. This is what God created
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me to do is to brag about him, right? And here's
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what's interesting. Now, if I was to go to him
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as he grows up and I'm like, hey, Bex, okay,
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here we go. I'm gonna give you the way to live
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life. Be as stingy as you possibly can. Don't
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give anybody anything, ever. You'd be like, you're
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the worst grandparent ever. What if I double
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down and I go, actually, Bex, you know what?
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Just make life all about you. Okay, don't think
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about anybody else. Don't think about your parents.
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Don't think about me. Don't think about anybody.
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Just think about you and make your whole life
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about you. Everybody in the room goes, that's
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a terrible idea. you'll end up what? Bitter,
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alone, hating life, trying to figure out what
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it's all about, probably have some kind of addictions
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because you can't keep up with trying to feed
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the monster that is you. Like we all know intuitively,
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right? Like this is not the best way. Don't tell
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Bex that. Why? Because it's going to ruin him.
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Isn't it interesting that we know it intuitively?
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Right? Like something inside us goes, that's
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not the best way to live. Don't tell your grandson
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that. That's not the best. And yet, how many
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of us are living for me? How many of us are living
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in a way that it's about what I amass and how
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I do it? How many of us are living, because if
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I tell him that, he's going to live a life much
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smaller than what he was created for. Like we
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just intuitively know that this life was meant
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to be larger than us. And the way it is larger
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than us is we actually give it away to other
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people. How many people that end up in addiction
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and there's just a train of people behind them
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that all suffered because of what? Their addiction.
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Because it was never meant to be about me and
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experiences and what I can get. It was about
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this idea that life is so much more. It's the
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abundant life that Jesus talked about. You know,
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it's interesting culturally what's around us.
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In 1860, Milton Bradley created a board game.
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So those of you that are board game enthusiasts,
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here you go. They created a board game and it
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was called the checkered game of life. And within
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that game, if you were to look at it, the original
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rules, the way that you win this game of life
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is you live to an old age, right? You get to
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a good old age and that's a full life. You lived
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a full life. And so what the game would do, excuse
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me, what the game would do is it would put you
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in situations where you had to make a choice,
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a moral choice of right and wrong, which way
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to go. And so it was built around virtue. It
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was built around this idea of you navigating
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through these tough moments so that you got to
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a point where you built this good old life. The
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way you would lose the game is you would end
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up in ruin or you would end up disgraced. It's
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interesting that in 1960, they revamped that
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game. And if you've played the game of life,
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If you've ever played the board game, the game
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of life, anybody? Okay, all right, just make
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sure I'm not alone here. If you played that game,
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how do you win? Thank you. Wasn't that hard for
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this many people that have played that game.
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Maybe you know why you lost now, just saying.
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Yeah, it's the one that ends up with the most
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money. The one with the most money wins the game
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of life. Isn't that fascinating that culturally,
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1860, which by the way, you know why you have
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a spinner in that game? If you've ever played
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that game, you got that little spinner thing.
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You know why they did a spinner and not dice?
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Because dice were considered gambling in 1860.
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So you have a spinner. Information that doesn't
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matter. You didn't need it. But here's what's
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fascinating. Culturally, there was a shift, and
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the shift was the way you win at the game of
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life is you amass the most money. You retire
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at the millionaire, right? You don't go to Shady
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Acres. As for losers, right? Isn't it interesting
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that culturally, if you took a shot of that,
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the culture you are born into, the culture you
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exist inside of, is how do you win at life? You
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are the one with the most at the end of this
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life that you've amassed for yourself. You know
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what's amazing? With Bex, there's a pressure
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on me to what? Provide for his future. Isn't
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that interesting that I can spend my whole life
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trying to amass stuff that at the end of my life,
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I'll leave behind? Like that's just such a weird.
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Prospect. I don't think God intended for you
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to live your life going, I'm going to do everything
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in this life to provide that so it's easier for
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them. Because here's the thing, you don't know
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what they're going to do with it. But there is
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an idea that Jesus plants within the scriptures
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that this life is a generous life. And what I
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mean by that, one that's supposed to be bigger
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than you, one that's supposed to be given away,
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one that's not supposed to be about how much
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you can amass and what you do. In Luke chapter...
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11, Luke chapter 11. We started last week walking
Luke 11 chapter mention
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through Luke chapter 10, 11, and 12. We'll kind
Luke 10 chapter mention
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of anchor in there for the next few weeks. And
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the whole idea was Jesus has this thread of a
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theme that he puts all the way through this idea
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of the generous life. If you were here last week,
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we talked about this idea of trusting God is
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the base of that, right? Like you have to trust
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God. You will never live a generous life if your
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trust is not solely in God. So if your trust
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is in God, then the words of Jesus and what he
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says, then that becomes our base of how we're
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going to live. It becomes how we navigate. Because
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if I trust God, then Jesus being God, what he
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says, then I live out. And so there's this conversation
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that's happening. In verse 33, we're going to
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jump in the middle of some teachings by Jesus.
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It says this. No one lights a lamp and puts it
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in a place where it will be hidden or under a
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bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand so that
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those who come in may see the light. Your eye
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is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are
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healthy, your whole body also is full of light.
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But when they are unhealthy, your body is also
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full of darkness. See to it then, be proactive
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then, that the light within you is not darkness.
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So there's something you can do about it, right?
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Therefore, if your whole body is full of light
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and no part of it dark, it will be just as full
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of light as when the lamp shines its light. No
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one, no one lights a lamp and puts it in a place
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that's hidden. Think about the concept of lighting
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a lamp. If you light a lamp, you're lighting
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it with intentionality. Your plan is that you
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need a source of light for something, therefore
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you light a lamp. Why? So that it provides what
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it's supposed to as a source. And so in this
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context, it specifically says no one does that.
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No one intentionally goes and lights a lamp and
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then takes it to a place that is hidden. Now
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that word hidden in the original has to do with
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like a cellar. That you don't light a lamp and
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then take it down into the cellar. The purpose
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in lighting the lamp is to put it on a stand.
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So there's intentionality. I light the lamp and
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I intentionally place the lamp. And when I place
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it on a stand, it says that what happens is that
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the house receives the light. Now, in that context,
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house, the term that's used there is actually
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household, the people. It's not the structure
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as we think of. It's the people of the house
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all receive a benefit from what? From the actions
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I have intentionally taken to put this light
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on a stand. It actually blesses everybody else.
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Everybody benefits from the light that was put
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on a stand. He then switches. Jesus then switches
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and he says in verse 34, your eye is the lamp
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of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your
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whole body is also full of light. So now he takes
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the comparison of a house and he goes, hey, your
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eye, your eye is essentially the lamp, the lamp
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providing light to your entire body. If your
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eye is healthy, then your whole body is going
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to have light. Now that word healthy in the original
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is really hard to translate and kind of for us
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to grasp. What's connected to it is this, that
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the idea of healthy is singular in focus. Okay,
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so if your eye is singular in focus, it's directed,
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then what's going to happen is your entire body
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is going to be healthy. So you can think of it
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this way. Double vision, that I see multiple
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things, is a divided perspective of what I'm
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seeing. And so what he's saying is instead of
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having double vision, have singular vision. Another
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layer to this word healthy is in Matthew chapter
Matthew 26 chapter mention
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26. Matthew's capturing the words of Jesus, and
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he connects with the same words that are here,
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that the idea of generosity, the idea of being
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generous to healthy, that the word healthy is
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translated generous. You could put it this way,
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that when I am singularly focused on this generous
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life that I was created for, my entire body will
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be healthy. Now, the picture he gives is what?
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That when I'm singularly focused and I'm on this
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generous life, it's like putting a lamp on a
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stand and the whole household benefits. When
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my life is singularly focused. on the generous
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life that God intended for me when I am living
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larger than myself. I'm living for what God calls
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me to. I'm building his kingdom, not mine. I'm
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focused on Jesus and his mission. I'm focused
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on Jesus who lived the most generous life. When
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I'm singularly focused on him, what happens is
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it's like putting my life on a stand and everyone
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else around me benefits because of the generosity
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and because of this generous life. But he says,
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when you have double vision, When you have divided
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attention, you become unhealthy. I don't know
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how you are, but true story from last week. I'm
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downtown Prescott, and I'm walking with a friend
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of mine, and we're walking along, and parked
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is this SUV Rolls Royce. And as we're going along,
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my friend goes, that's probably the most expensive
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car I've ever seen in Prescott. And for me, I
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did one of these. I'm going along, right? I'm
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focused. We've got a destination. And I start
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drooling all over the front of the car. So if
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it's your car, sorry for the drool stains. It's
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beautiful. You ever feel that way? Like, man,
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me and Jesus are good. I'm following Jesus. We're
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tight. And then all of a sudden, you're like,
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squirrel. Right? That's what he's talking about,
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this idea that we set out and we've got the generous
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life in front of us and we've got Jesus and he's
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our focus. And it's so easy to what? Become divided.
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So where now it's like, man, Jesus, I really,
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really love you, but it's a Rolls Royce. Jesus,
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I really, really love you, but man, this new
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job, I know it's not going to allow me to go
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to church anymore. I know it's not going to allow
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me to build community anymore. I know it's going
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to make me really distant from people. I know
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it's going to probably hurt my family. But man,
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did you see what they're offering? And all of
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a sudden, all of a sudden, this life that Jesus
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is building, all of a sudden I'm divided and
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I end up over here. And so Jesus, as this passage
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unpacks, Verse 37, he gets done with the part
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we just read. And it says, when Jesus had finished
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speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with
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him. So he went in and reclined at the table.
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If you were here last week, you know that when
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you recline at the table with somebody, you're
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building relationship, you're building community,
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you're building friendship, right? So Jesus is
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with this religious person, this Pharisee who
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was known for how religious he was. Jesus goes
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to have a meal with him. And it says, but the
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Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus
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did not first wash before the meal. Okay, so
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culturally, what would happen within the meal
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is you would ritually wash yourself so that you
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were clean before eating. So it wasn't about
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hygiene. It was about doing the right thing from
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a religious perspective, that you had to cleanse
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yourself before stepping into that moment and
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eating. So Jesus comes along, who is a rabbi,
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who is a teacher, who should know the right thing.
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And what does Jesus do? He bypasses the washing
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station to which the Pharisee who is driven by
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doing the right thing, is now upset with Jesus,
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is now angry with Jesus, is now frustrated with
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Jesus because Jesus isn't doing what he wanted
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to do. Maybe, maybe, just maybe, what Jesus is
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getting at here is that when you are trying to
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live the generous life, be careful that you are
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not using religion and calling yourself generous.
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Make sure that when you're following Jesus, that
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what you are doing in the name of religion isn't
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substituting for your generosity that you should
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have within your soul. And so he's using religion
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so much so that Jesus says this then. Then the
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Lord said to him, now then you Pharisees, you
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religious people, clean the outside of the cup
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and dish, but inside you are full of greed and
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wickedness. You foolish people did not the one
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who made the outside make the inside also. But
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now as for what is inside you, be generous to
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the poor and everything will be clean for you.
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So here's the Pharisee. And the Pharisee is,
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I wash my hands because this is the right thing.
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Right. Like I do this next because it is the
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right thing. I do this and this and this and
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this. And what the Pharisee is doing is amassing
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all of his right is amassing for him this power
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and this prestige. Right. He's becoming more
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and more like built up within the religious system,
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so to speak. And Jesus goes, hey, it's not about
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what you do on the outside. that I'm interested
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in. I'm actually interested on what's on the
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inside. Why? Because he's using religion to attempt
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to get a life, right? Isn't it interesting that
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we can come to church and we feel like we're
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doing God a favor? Isn't it interesting that
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you can come to church and you feel like, oh,
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I did the right thing. And you gain a little
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higher status because you meet somebody in your
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week and they didn't go to church and you're
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like, sinner, I went to church. Oh, you may not
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say that. Oh, you went to life group, but that
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person hasn't been there for like three weeks.
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Oh, you don't know what giving is? Oh, I've been
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giving since 1960. Isn't it interesting that
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if we're not careful, what we do is the religious
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things, the things we do in God's name, can all
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of a sudden become a substitute for what's actually
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happening on the inside. You know you can give
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every single week and not be generous, right?
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Your generosity isn't geared by what you do from
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a religious standpoint. Your generosity is you
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can be here, you can give faithfully every single
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week, and you should. As your pastor, you should.
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Okay? But you can do that and still miss the
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person in need that you pass every single day.
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This is where we substitute religion, right?
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We put religion in the place, and instead of
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it changing the inside, why? Because God is interested
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on the inside of you. And what we do when we
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get divided with religion, we put all these things
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that we should do that a good Christian would
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do, which by the way, good Christian doesn't
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exist in the Bible. There are only Christians
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and there are not Christians, right? Like this
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elder is. And you can substitute all these things
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that are good and miss that what leads you to
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a generous life is I'm actually singularly focused
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on the person of Jesus Christ. You can come in
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here and you can worship. You can come in here
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and you can sing the songs. You can even raise
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your hands. It does not mean that your heart
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is in love with Jesus. And notice what's happening
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here. The context is not financial. The context
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here is not financial, even though it uses the
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word greed. Guess what the word greed here in
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the original English is? It's to take aggressively
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by force. So what were the Pharisees taking aggressively
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by force? Prestige, status, position. The more
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religious they were, the more people looked up
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to them, the better they felt. They were essentially
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creating a platform for themselves to stand on
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so that they were higher than other people. And
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in the midst of that, Jesus goes, be careful,
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you're full of greed. Oh, you got all these actions
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on the outside, but inside? You're aggressively
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taking power. You're aggressively taking position,
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status for your own gain. That's what greed is,
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right? When I take it for my own gain. Notice
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what he says the solution is. Verse 41. But now,
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as for what is inside you, be generous to the
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poor. And we're like, oh, there it is. Give your
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money away. Money is not in this passage. He's
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talking about a greed that has to do with what?
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Position and status and posturing and prestige.
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And he says, give it to the poor. Who are poor?
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Those that don't have what? Position and status.
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What is he saying? Give away what I've given
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you. If you have any status in the kingdom of
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God, it is because Jesus has given it to you.
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So give it away to somebody else. What you've
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been given in the person of Jesus, your job is
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to create a platform for them. Your job is to
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become less, not more. How do you become less?
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Because you're giving it all away. You're not
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trying to amass. You're not trying to gain. Instead,
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what you're doing is you're going, the generous
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life is about what I take that I've been given
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by God in this context for the Pharisees. It's
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whatever power, whatever position, whatever prestige,
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whatever posture, whatever you have been given,
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give it away. Give it away. Give it away. Give
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it away now. Okay. Chapter 12, verse 13. Jesus
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gives another example of this divided perspective.
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Someone in the crowd said to him, teacher, tell
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my brother to divide the inheritance with me.
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Jesus replied, man, who appointed me a judge
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or an arbiter between you? Then he said to them,
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watch out, watch out. Be on your guard against
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all kinds of greed. Life does not consist in
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an abundance of possessions. Guy comes to Jesus,
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and he's like, hey, Jesus, you're a rabbi. That
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means you have some power, you have some prestige,
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you have some authority. I heard you're kind
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of like the Yoda of rabbis, too, like you're
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not just a normal rabbi. So, Jesus, here's what
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I want you to do. Jesus, I want you to tell my
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brother to give me my inheritance. Give me what's
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mine. Isn't it fascinating the first people using
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religion? This person's using Jesus to get what
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he wants. He's coming and going, Jesus, Jesus,
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you gotta give me. You gotta do this for me.
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Jesus, I'm here asking, I understand. I'm giving
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you the honor of being rabbi because I called
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you teacher, but what I really want you to do
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is I want you to do this over here for me. I'm
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not actually interested in you, Jesus. I'm just
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interested in the stuff. I don't know how you
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feel. I feel like it's pretty easy. It's pretty
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easy to miss Jesus for the stuff. You know what
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I mean? Oh, Jesus, I just really want this person
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to be healed. So Jesus, I came to church. Jesus,
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I just really, really, really, really need this
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job. And so Jesus, I'm here and I'm worshiping
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you. No, you're not. You're worshiping the job.
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You're just using him as a means to get what
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you want. That's what this guy is doing. Like
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using Jesus to get his inheritance. And notice
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what Jesus says. Watch out. Watch out. It's proactive,
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church. What do I know about your life? That
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if you do not stand guard, this idea is the next
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word he says is be on your guard, right? Like
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if you don't watch out, if you are not proactive,
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if you are not in the fight, so to speak, and
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you are not on guard like a soldier who stands
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at watch waiting for the enemy to show up, that's
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the language that Jesus gives here. What are
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you supposed to be on guard for? Because it's
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coming, right? Like the enemy is coming and you
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might as well like prepare for it is what he's
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saying. He goes, be on guard. Your guard against
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all kinds of greed. I read that and I went, wait
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a minute. All kinds of greed? What does that
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mean? I thought there was just one kind of greed.
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I thought it was just about possessions and wealth,
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right? Like I just thought it was about what
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I amassed in this life. He says, be on your guard.
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Be like a soldier standing watch. What are you
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protecting from? All kinds of greed. Let me give
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you a couple of quick examples. You got somebody
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in your life that when it comes to the dishwasher,
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they know how to do the dishwasher? Somebody
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got it. By the elbows going, some other people
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got it. That's one of those moments like, she's
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talking about you. You know what I mean, right?
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Like your dish only makes it as far as the kitchen
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sink because if you were to load that dishwasher,
-
you're clearly going to do it wrong. There is
-
a right way to load the dishwasher and you don't
-
know it. So what you are allowed to do is get
-
it as far as the sink and then it'll make it
-
into the rest. I am happy to tell you. that after
-
many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many,
-
many years of marriage, I have been trained apparently
-
to load the dishwasher. So things are looking
-
up in my world. Yeah. Small victories, people.
-
Small marital victories. No, but isn't it interesting
-
that that's a microcosm of the idea of we love
-
control. You ever notice that? And when he says
-
all kinds of greed, guess what a form of greed
-
is? That you are amassing control. That you continue
-
to try and gain and gain and gain more control.
-
I got news for you. You're not in control. He's
-
in control. Right? So then what happens is some
-
of you. You are spending your entire life to
-
try and continue to work to make it to a platform
-
because when you get to that platform, nobody
-
can tell you what to do. When you get to that
-
point, you're your own boss. When you get to
-
that point, you have power. And we continue to
-
amass power. The only problem is, guess what?
-
When you make it to the boss, you're not satisfied.
-
Why? Because what's happened is you haven't stayed
-
watch and now you are amassing more and more
-
and more power. Over people. It's amazing, right?
-
Think about it with relationships. You ever watch
-
somebody who is greedy with relationships? And
-
they just, like, don't talk to them. They're
-
mine. Really? And then they keep getting another
-
one. And they're in their little circle, right?
-
Like, they're just amassing relationships in
-
their little circle. Where they're kind of the
-
leader of their little clan. You ever notice
-
that when you buy something, it's never enough?
-
You ever notice that? Oh, if I just had, just
-
had those shoes, I'd never need another pair
-
of shoes in my life. Until the new ones drop
-
tomorrow. He says, be on your guard. Why? Against
-
all kinds of greed. Be on your guard against
-
all kinds of greed. Why? Life, life, and that
-
word life is zoe in the original. And zoe has
-
to do with the quality of life that you were
-
created for and I was created for. It's the quality
-
of life that inside of it, you have everything
-
you will ever need. That you're completely at
-
peace. and at rest. He says, wait a minute, that
-
kind of life does not consist. Tell him I said
-
hi, whoever it is. Does not as consist in an
-
abundance. Okay, I'm awake because, and I don't
-
mean to be mean, whoever's phone it was. This
-
is this important, you guys. This is the whole
-
point of the whole message. Ready? Life, the
-
abundant life that Jesus promised, does not consist,
-
meaning it cannot be found. It can't be found
-
in an abundance of possessions. We know possessions
-
is not just the things that are physical. It's
-
all kinds of greed. And he goes, life, life cannot
-
be found. So what I wanted to do this weekend
-
is have a tombstone up here, a gravestone. And
-
what I wanted to write on it was your name. And
-
it's harder to do than you would think. That
-
your life is dead. When? When I am consumed with
-
amassing more. That word abundance is to have
-
an excessive. To have more than I need. So anything
-
in your life that you are trying to amass, that
-
you're trying to get, when you try to get more,
-
When you become closed hand with it, it says
-
that life can't be found there. You'll never
-
find peace and joy. You'll never find hope. You'll
-
never find love. Oh, I know you think he or she
-
is really cute. You will not find. You will not
-
find by claiming and taking a relationship. You're
-
not going to find life. It's not there. I know
-
that vacation you think is going to set everything
-
right and put you back and you're going to come
-
back all zen. It's not going to do what you think
-
it's going to do because it can't be found in
-
those things. It can only be found in the singular
-
focus in the person of Jesus who lived the most
-
generous life that anybody has ever lived. It
-
can only be found in Jesus, right? And so the
-
idea is that I have to be on guard. Why? Because
-
all the culture around me is what? Trying to
-
pull me to a mass. And I have to go, no, I am
-
going to be singularly focused on the person
-
of Jesus. And when I do that, when I do that,
-
this is the promise. When you do that, you will
-
find life. There's a whole thing on generations
-
right now. on how this generation's doing this
-
and this generation's doing that. Can I just,
-
I'll just speak for my own. My generation completely
-
missed it because my generation was all about
-
experiences. My generation was all about stability.
-
My generation was all about pushing forward.
-
And here's the thing, it is empty. And there
-
are families that are proof that it was empty.
-
Don't. miss, don't miss the opportunity to have
-
the abundant life that Jesus promised by just
-
simply fixing your eyes on him. Because where
-
he'll lead you, he'll lead you to see others.
-
He'll lead you to be generous towards others.
-
He'll, he'll will point you outward away from
-
yourself. Remember the I, and I'm done with this.
-
Your life is supposed to be like a lamp. And
-
what do you do with the lamp? You put it on a
-
stand. And when it's healthy, when it's singularly
-
focused, when your life is focused on Jesus,
-
what happens? It blesses everyone where? Everyone
-
in the room. Your life is designed to be a blessing.
-
Do you see Jesus today? I don't know about you.
-
I've done this three times now this weekend.
-
And I just feel a strong sense of like, we just
-
need to confess, you guys. Like, we just need
-
to. I got it wrong. It was a Rolls Royce or whatever
-
you fill in the blank with. I got it wrong. It's.
-
I was possessive of my time. I got it wrong.
-
I was possessive of relationship. I got whatever
-
it happens to be, whatever has distracted you.
-
Today's the day to go. No, no, no. I choose today
-
to fix my eyes on Jesus. Because I don't know
-
about you, like my grandson. I don't want him
-
to live for something less than God intended.
-
And the generous life is what you were created
-
for in the person of Jesus. Would you pray with
-
me? God, we just thank you today. Thank you for
-
being our superhero today. God, thank you for
-
being the hero that went to a cross and that
-
sacrificed your life that we may find life. God,
-
would you help us to not be... distracted, to
-
not be divided in our perception. God, would
-
you show us areas where the life you intended
-
for us, we're not living it because we are lost
-
by all the things around us that we're trying
-
to amass to find life in. And so God, we just...
-
Take a moment to confess. God, we're sorry for
-
the times when wealth has a bigger grip on our
-
heart than it should. We're sorry for the times
-
where just amassing and collecting in excess
-
of things. God, we're sorry for the times when
-
we take power and use it in a way that is more
-
about us than serving. God, we confess the relationships
-
that we use for our gain. God, we confess when
-
we become selfish with our time. We confess the
-
people that we pass by that are in need that
-
we don't see. God, we confess when we don't have
-
our eyes fixed on you. And so God, in these next
-
moments, would there be a turning as we worship?
-
Would you turn us? Would you remind us that the
-
goal of this life is that Christ would be magnified
-
in us? That our lives can shine light to everyone
-
around us. Would you set and fix our eyes on
-
you? The God who has saved us, who has rescued
-
us, who has died in our place. We just say thank
-
you. And it's in your name we pray.