Luke 19:45-20:8

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

Our passion is to experience and express grace.

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If you have your Bibles, open up to the 19th chapter of Luke, and we're going to begin

today in verse 45, and we will continue through verse 8 of chapter 20.

We're going to continue this morning in the detailed last week of Jesus' life that Dr.

Luke lays out for us here over these next several chapters.

Will helpfully placed us all in this story last week as we were able to marvel at the

unique King Jesus through the eyes of the young man Samuel.

We saw Jesus prophesy, and he fulfilled prophecy as he sent his disciples into a village to

bring back a cult with which the owner easily parted, which is weird.

We saw people gladly throwing their cloaks on the ground in front of the unique King, not

because they were compelled to by his power, but because they were compelled to by his person.

And we saw the people cry out hosannas to Jesus because even if they didn't, the stones surely

would.

And then we saw King Jesus weep over his city, Jerusalem.

The God-man overlooked his home and wept at the coming judgment for this place and for

these people.

And as we move to this morning's text, the seemingly mild-mannered King Jesus does something that's

seemingly out of character when you consider last week.

Then the seemingly patient rabbi gives a short answer to the Pharisees.

So let's catch up with Dr. Luke as we read Luke 19, starting in verse 45.

And he, being Jesus, entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to

them,

And he was teaching daily in the temple.

The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him,

but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes,

with the elders, came up and said to him,

Tell us, by what authority do you do these things?

Or who is it that gave you that authority?

And he answered them,

Well, let me ask you a question.

Tell me,

Was the baptism of John from heaven?

Or was it from man?

And they discussed it with one another, saying,

Well, if we say it was from heaven, he'll say,

Well, why don't you believe him?

But if we say for man, all the people will stone us to death,

for they're convinced that John was a prophet.

So they answered that they did not know where it came from.

And Jesus said to them,

Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

This is a trustworthy retelling of the events in Jesus' life.

We should put our faith in that.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning as a needy people,

as a thankful people,

who were driven to consider you

and consider what you've done in our lives,

even over the last couple of days.

But all too often, we are people who compartmentalize our lives,

and we have you slotted in a certain space.

And we pray that you would send your Holy Spirit to us now

to illumine our hearts and our minds

so that we would allow you to be the backdrop of our entire life

so that everything we do would be glorifying to you

and that you would be not a part of our lives,

but that you would be our lives.

Just as you sent your Son to give his life for us

and rise again so that we can have hope,

eternal and everlasting hope.

Please be with the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts.

I pray that they would be pleasing unto you.

And all of this in the name of and for the sake of King Jesus.

Amen.

Most organizations of any size go to great lengths

to let the people around them know what their mission and vision is.

And you don't have to be at Southwood long.

Perhaps you listened to Will a couple of moments ago to hear him say,

we are a church that experiences grace and expresses grace.

And that's to say that we desire that all who engage with us

might experience the grace of Jesus Christ in their lives

and then turn around and express that grace to others.

We're people who love people.

We want to live in community with each other.

And we're driven by these relationships.

I'll put the core commitment slide up behind us now.

If you see these, these are the five things that we're committed to

as a church beyond that.

And we strive to love the least, the lost, the littlest,

the lonely, and the left out.

We know that our personal restoration, it's only a piece of the puzzle.

And that we've been called to be agents in our Heavenly Father's

greater mission of restoring all of creation in Huntsville and beyond.

I was challenged by Will Sermon a couple of weeks ago

as he discussed the sacrificial giving of our times

and our talents and our treasure.

And whether or not we take our mina and put it away for safekeeping

or do we reinvest it and see it multiplied tenfold?

Do we engage the world with our time and our treasure in a sacrificial way?

The core commitments that I've mentioned so far are wonderful things,

but we can't even seem to do those well.

And if you see the first two up there,

the most important one of those five is the one that's listed first,

that we're committed to being Christ-centered.

A natural outflow of what it means to be Christ-centered

is that we recognize our deep dependence

and need for prayer.

As we look at our text this morning,

we shouldn't be startled at the unique king,

even though we could be.

We were marveling at him that last week,

and now we see him angrily going through and cleansing the temple.

And this is kind of a brief statement of that

compared to what the other gospels say.

But we shouldn't be surprised at this at all

because Jesus has been giving us his mission and vision statements

throughout the entirety of the book of Luke.

And as he enters this last week of earthly ministry,

he comes face to face with his people who can't do it right.

He's face to face with his people who have made an idol out of what is sacred.

He's face to face with his leadership who refuse to acknowledge his lordship.

As the church of Jesus Christ, even here at Southwood,

all that we do and everything that we are must start with the king

and be measured against who he is.

We ought to work backward from who Jesus is

and what he says about the kingdom of God

and what he says that that's about.

And then we can define who we are as a church

and what we're supposed to be doing in this world.

We're going to look at this in three ways this morning.

First, with his unique authority.

Second, with his unique righteousness.

And third, with his unique grace handily

that is all printed on the back of the bulletin

that you should have received as you walked in.

So considering his unique authority,

I'd like to dive into this idea of him cleansing the temple.

Luke doesn't make a mistake

when he places this section of scripture

immediately after Jesus weeping over Jerusalem.

If you remember what Will said last week,

this is a real, the heart of Jesus is

that you see him looking down

knowing that judgment is coming for these people

and he's weeping about that.

That's who Jesus is.

And so if we look at verse 45 and 46,

he entered the temple

and he began to drive out those who sold,

saying to them,

it is written,

my house shall be,

this shall be a house of prayer,

but you've made it a den of robbers.

And he's referencing back to Jeremiah.

And basically the idea there is that

a den of robbers would be

that these people are coming

to sell their wares and their goods

and then they're going to take them

and hide them in their dens,

which would be like caves in the mountains, right?

That they're going to take that.

It's a really bad imagery

and having a son of God say that about you

is not really a good thing.

That's not where you want to be.

But this is his house.

And we shouldn't be surprised

at him saying that about his house.

We can go back to Luke 2

and remember his parents

couldn't find him anywhere.

They couldn't find him anywhere in the city.

And when they finally did,

they found him in the temple

and he said to them,

why were you looking for me?

Didn't you know that I must be

in my father's house?

Woe to you Pharisees

for you love the best seat

in the synagogues

and greetings in the marketplace.

Woe to you for you're like unmarked graves

and people walk over them without knowing.

Woe to you lawyers

for you load people with burdens

too hard to bear

and you yourselves

don't want to touch the burdens

with your fingers.

Woe to you

for you've taken away

the key to knowledge.

You didn't enter yourselves

and you hindered those

who were entering.

This is his house

where the key of knowledge

is supposed to be given

freely to those who come in.

And instead it's become

something else.

Probably what was going on here

was stuff that you could

slip into easily.

Certainly there was

some bad things going on

or Jesus wouldn't have called them

a den of robbers.

But there were also people

who were making pilgrimages

to Jerusalem

to do their sacrifices

and some of these people

were selling things

to be sacrificed.

There was a need.

Right?

Demand called for it.

So someone's going to meet

that demand.

But somehow we got

from the tabernacle

where they used to tie

something to the ankle

of the high priest

in case he died

in the presence of God

so that they could pull him out

to what Herod's temple

looks like here

in Jerusalem.

We're a long way from that.

And his leaders

aren't very happy with him

as he goes on doing this.

He was teaching daily

in the temple

and the chief priests

and the scribes

and the principal men

of the people

were seeking to destroy him.

This is the first time

that is specifically said in Luke

that they're going

to do something to Jesus.

And the word for destroy there

is certainly at least death

but also wiping him

and any memory of him

off of the map.

They want him gone.

This is going to be done.

He's making people angry.

What does he call

from his leaders though?

Is it that?

You remember when he called Simon

way back in Luke 5?

Hey, don't be afraid.

From now on

you're going to be

fishing fishers of men.

And then they brought

their boats to land

and how did the leaders respond?

How did his disciples respond?

They left everything

and followed him.

He told his leaders

be merciful

even as your father

is merciful.

He asked them

why do you call me

Lord, Lord

and don't do

what I tell you?

And then he said

blessed are those

who hear the word of God

and keep it.

Whoever would lose

his life

who saved his life

will lose it

but whoever loses

his life for my sake

will save it.

And these leaders

are nothing like that.

They don't recognize

that the prophecy

has come to them.

The thing that they're

so zealous about

is actually

in their presence.

I don't know

if you're familiar

with the basketball player

Marquez Foltz

was reading late last night.

He was the first player

picked last year

in the NBA draft.

He plays for the

Philadelphia 76ers.

And he was

a lights out

unbelievable young player.

He had a shot

that was pure

and deserving

of the number one

pick in the draft.

Something happened

to him though.

Over the course of time

in the past year and a half

he has developed

a hitch in his jump shot.

And basically

he can't score.

He's a fine NBA player.

I believe this season

he's averaging

something like

eight points

and four rebounds

and a couple assists.

Something like that.

If you don't know basketball

that's good

and if you're doing that

in the NBA

that's really good.

But that's certainly

not what they were expecting

when they spent millions

and millions of dollars

on him

and got him first

in the NBA draft.

And I was reading

last night

that Elton Brand

who was the

general manager

of the 76ers

former Duke basketball player

said that they're

pretty much moving on

from Markel Fultz

or Markel Fultz.

And Heap

has pulled himself

off of the team

in the last couple of days

citing a shoulder issue

that nobody on the team

has been able to find.

None of the team doctors

none of the team surgeons

nothing like that.

Rather their assessment

of the situation

is that

he kind of stopped

practicing the fundamentals

of his jump shot

that made him

worthy of a number one

pick in the NBA draft.

He stopped working

he stopped paying attention

to the things

that made him

successful

in the first place

and ultimately

where that's brought him

to is a point

that he has

a problem

with his jump shot

that he can't

recover from.

It's not a problem

with his shoulder

it was a problem

with his orientation

ever since he

became drafted.

So now

here he is

without a team

and his stock

has really plummeted

he's not worth

the contract

that he has

so he'll be

hard to unload

and hard to trade

I don't mean unload

in a bad way

the business of basketball

is all I mean by that.

I use that illustration

because

I don't think

it's hard for us

to understand

and relate to

losing track

of the fundamentals

in our lives.

when we lose

sight of fundamentals

it becomes

easy to be

complacent

with the good

things that

we're doing.

Most everyone

thinks that

they're right

I know I do

but thankfully

we have

holy scripture

against which

we can balance

all of our

notions of that.

When it comes

to the church

and the idea

of our core

commitments

the things

that we're doing

in our personal

lives

the things

that we should

be excited about

as a community

of believers

if that can't

be balanced

against this

and what's

going on

in the Bible

and most importantly

for our context

in the life

and through the words

of Jesus

we've really

lost the plot.

Unlike

Markel Fultz

you and I

can't go out

every day

and work hard

enough to be

good enough

to do what

we're called

to do as

believers.

I wish I could

but I can't.

And Jesus

isn't calling

anyone to that

through these

words.

He's calling

people to recognize

that he is

the Lord

who has come

to call

sinners to

repentance.

He is the only

way we can be

good enough

for anything.

Repent and

follow after me.

Not go do

things well enough

so that you can

do them on your

own.

Today the church

has developed

a relationship

with a school

in our community

where we'll be

doing a prayer

walk.

And the great

thing about a

prayer walk

is that you

can't do it

wrong.

So please

come.

I encourage

everyone to

come out to

Weichsburg P8

for five minutes

or for an

hour or

whatever time

that you can

spare.

We'll mention

no more than

a half an

hour.

If you want to

stay beyond

that nobody

is going to

pull you off

of the

property.

Believe it or

not things like

a prayer walk

can be wrong.

See we do

this because

we believe

that the

full scope

of the

gospel of

Jesus Christ

is in view

when we

engage our

community in

love and

in justice

and in

sustainability

and in

restoration

and in

reconciliation.

James

song or

not James

song the

song that

James performed

a few moments

ago

hits it on

the head.

God is not

interested in

our show.

We've not

been equipped

to put on

a show for

anyone.

We've been

equipped to

live out the

gospel of

Jesus Christ

every minute

of every day.

And as a

church we need

to be excited

about the

opportunities to

go and do

something like

that.

When my heart

is left to

itself I want

to do what I

want to do

when I want

to do it.

I don't know

if anybody

else can

identify with

that.

I'm glad

that something

is going

on but I'm

also glad

that there's

somebody else

out there

who's doing

it.

Don't hear

what I'm

not saying.

Everyone

can't do

everything all

the time and

if we notice

that you were

trying to do

everything all

the time we

would discourage

you from that

because that's

not healthy.

But the reality

for most of us

is that we

don't do

anything most

of the time.

Not only are

we not really

participating,

but we don't

even watch to

see if what's

happening is

biblical and

representative of

Jesus and his

passion for the

world.

The temple

didn't get to

this place

because people

were meticulously

watching and

balancing what was

happening against

the laws and the

scriptures.

It got to this

place for the

opposite reasons.

Jesus comes in

because he

knows the

stakes are

high.

The stakes

are really

high.

When we talk

about this

book as

pastors, I

constantly use

the phrase

that was used

by one of my

professors,

eschatological

intensity.

Jesus is so

concerned about

the eternal

reality of

every soul

that he

encounters

that there's

no time for

games in the

meantime.

He's always

on about that

mission.

He's always on

about that

thing.

Now, thankfully

for my heart,

Jesus is happy to

reorient me.

And he

reorients me as

he points me to

his unique

righteousness.

We can see it

there in that

passage, but

also as we

look to the

first four

verses of

chapter 20.

One day, as

Jesus was

teaching the

people in the

temple and

preaching the

gospel, the

chief priests

and the

scribes with

the elders

came up and

said to him,

tell us, by

what authority

do you do

these things,

or who is it

that gave you

that authority?

He answered

them, I will

also ask you

a question,

tell me, was

the baptism of

John from

heaven, or

was it from

man?

The first

part of this

is amazing

because it

shows us

Jesus'

heart.

What's

happening there

at the very

beginning of

that first

sentence?

One day,

Jesus was

teaching the

people in the

temple and

preaching the

gospel.

gospel.

Luke 4, 43,

this is what

Jesus said,

I must preach

the good news

of the kingdom

of God to

other towns as

well because I

was sent for

this purpose.

This is Jesus'

heart.

In Luke 9, he

talks about the

little children

coming to him

and the child

coming to him,

and he said,

whoever receives

this child in my

name receives me,

and whoever

receives me receives

him who sent me.

this is when the

disciples were

arguing about who

the greatest was,

and they were

bickering back and

forth.

And Jesus says,

hey, whoever

thinks that you

are great, you're

going to be the

least.

But whoever's the

least among you,

you're going to be

the one who's

great.

Then he talks,

there's a popular

song right now that

uses this line.

He said, I tell

you there's more

joy in heaven over

one sinner who

repents than

ninety-nine

righteous persons

who need no

repentance.

And then even as

we heard last week,

Jesus drew near to

the city, and he

started weeping over

it.

This is what Jesus

is doing.

This is his heart.

He didn't come to

judge.

He came to share

and give of himself

to the world.

As good

Presbyterians, we

don't always like to

think about that

reality.

When I talk to

the teenagers, I

use the idea of

there are things

that are above the

line and things

that are below the

line.

If you can imagine

that this is the

line.

We know above

the line things

such as

predestination and

election and all

of those things

that we like to

discuss.

And we somehow

put them at

tension with the

below the line

things, the way

that God has

descended to us and

told us to go out

and act in the

world.

Romans 9 doesn't

exist without

Romans 10.

Romans 9 talks

about God and

his disposition

toward us as

people, as the

heavenly father.

And we can't get

into his mind and

know what he is

doing because we

are finite.

He is not.

He then says to

us, basically a

summation of what

Jesus says, who do

you say that I am?

Because if you

confess me with

your heart and

believe that my

father raised me

from the dead, if

these things are

really true, like

Michael said today

that they're true,

then you're one of

mine.

Jesus came giving

of himself to

everyone because

people who harden

themselves and deny

Christ are ultimately

responsible for that

action.

But his heart is

that that wouldn't

be the case.

And his mission

is similar.

We can go back to

Luke 4.

The spirit of the

Lord is upon me

because he's anointed

me to proclaim the

good news to the

poor.

He sent me to

proclaim liberty to

captives and

recovering of sight to

the blind, to set at

liberty those who are

oppressed and proclaim

the year of the

Lord's favor.

God's favor.

Again, I didn't come

to call righteous

people.

I've come to call

sinners to repentance.

And then some more

drastic commentary from

Luke 12.

I came to cast fire on

the earth and wood

that it was already

kindled.

Do you think that I've

come to give peace?

No.

I tell you, I've come

to give division.

You can't encounter

the God-man without

being on one of two

sides.

There's no neutral

reaction to who he is

and what he does in

the world.

Being asked by the

Pharisees when the

kingdom of God would

come, he said to

them, the kingdom of

God is not coming in

ways that can be

observed, nor is

anybody going to say,

look, here it is,

or there.

Rehold, the kingdom

of God is amongst you

now.

His mission is for

people to know him

and to know the

kingdom of God.

This idea of

reorientation is easy

for most of us, I

think, if we use an

illustration.

Most of us in here

either have kids or

have worked with

children in the past.

Not naming any of you

in particular.

If you're paying

attention, I'm not

sure that they are.

But it's not weird to

say to any of my

children, hey, buddy,

go grab your, go get

your PJs out, put them

on, and brush your

teeth.

I wish I had a camera

that could follow 10

seconds behind them to

figure out why when I

go in the bedroom,

they're listening to

stories on the CD

player and playing with

Legos.

Or there's a thing

with a cup and

tapping it on a desk

that I don't know why

that happens.

I can't get in the

mind of my children,

but I'm sure it's

very, very interesting.

And in that moment,

as a parent, you have a

decision to make, right?

Do I treat my child

like a 40-year-old?

Or do I treat them

like their actual age?

But the really simple

decision you have to

make is, regardless of

how you respond in the

moment, they still need

to get their PJs on and

they still need to brush

their teeth.

How do you reorient

them to what they're

actually supposed to be

doing in that moment?

How do you get them to

do the things that you

know are best for them?

Because, you know,

bedtime is one thing,

but if your house is

anything like our house

is, or if working with

the kids in the nursery,

or any of the ways you

might plug in to children,

it is more herding cats

most of the time.

So this could be applied

to lunchtime, or

breakfast time, or

playtime, or rest time,

or any time of the day.

We get trained in what is

the right thing to be

doing, right?

Which is also a good,

that's an aside for

parents.

Make sure that we're

choosing the right

battles with our kids,

right?

You don't have to be

right all the time

about everything.

I'm not encouraging

your parents.

Don't let your kids

disrespect you, you

know what I mean?

But there are also

battles that need to be

fought and battles that

don't need to be fought.

That's just an aside.

I don't mean to belittle

you as a person, but it

belittles me as a person,

but this is how Jesus

treats us.

This is his ultimate

goal for his people, is

that he constantly takes

us, and that's a move I

do in my house.

The TV is a magnet, so

regardless of what is on

the TV, even if it's a

clock bouncing around and

you just want it to go

right in the corner, but

regardless of what's

happening, the TV always

has to be looked at.

Turn their heads and focus

them back on what they're

supposed to be doing.

That's most of us, most

of the time.

If you're like me, your

pie is divided in so many

ways that you can be

distracted doing any

number of things.

That's one of the reasons

I prayed earlier, because

for me, one of the biggest

things I need to remember

all of the time is that

God is our backdrop.

God is our top, because

everything we're doing is

supposed to be filtered

through that grid, and

our focus is always

supposed to be oriented

based upon who Jesus is

and what we're called to

do in the world because of

that.

I need that all the time.

And sometimes correction

and reorientation is not

enjoyable.

We see at the end of that

passage, he says to the

Pharisees, neither will I

tell you by what authority

I do these things.

In the second, we'll talk

about why that's so sad.

But some of us just don't

want to be reoriented.

But thankfully, he shows

us correction and mercy in

those ways.

So finally and quickly, why

does Jesus show us this

kind of correction and

mercy?

Well, because of his

unique grace.

those last four verses,

five through eight of

chapter 20, the Pharisees

discuss Jesus' question

with one another.

And you notice they're not

even thinking of Jesus and

all of the things that he's

done.

They're giving it zero time

a day.

This is the danger, by the

way, for us when we seek to

logic people into the

kingdom of heaven.

We don't want to get into a

conversation where people

stop seeing Jesus in us and

rather start to combat our

words and experiences based

upon those things.

So rather than thinking of

what Jesus might have

actually been saying to them

by asking this question, they

said, well, if he's from

heaven, if we say that he's

from heaven, he's going to be

like, well, why don't you

believe him and who I am?

But if we say he's from man,

all the people are going to

stone us to death because they

think he's a prophet.

And so they answered that

they didn't know where it

came from.

And Jesus said, neither will I

tell you by what authority I do

these things.

Throughout the book, he's been

very willing to engage with the

Pharisees and to answer them,

attempting to reorient them in

myriad ways.

And at this point, he finally

says, I'm not going to answer

you.

This is the leadership of

Israel.

These are the people who are

charged with leading his people.

And he says, I'm done.

But there's a unique grace that's

being said here that Jesus shows

to his people throughout all of

time because at the same, we

can only imagine that he went

back to teaching at that point

in time, which is what he was

doing at the beginning of this.

They come to a stalemate in their

argument.

And Jesus probably turned around

and began to do what he was

doing before.

His heart for his people is

shown in that type of action,

but it's also shown in simple

ways and in complex ways

throughout the book.

In Luke 4, he casts a demon out

of the man and the man wasn't

even harmed.

Remember when he healed the

paralytic in chapter 5?

He answers the Pharisees in this

one.

He said, well, what's it easier

to say?

Your sins are forgiven of you

or is it easier to say rise and

walk?

But that you may know that the

Son of Man has authority on

earth to forgive sins.

He said to the man who was

paralyzed, I say to you, pick up

your bed and go home.

He's terribly interested in

healing our bodies as well as

our souls.

And even when that doesn't

happen, we know from passages

like that that he is with us and

empathizes with us in our

struggles and our lives.

After he sent out the 72 in

chapter 10, they came back and

they're like, man, you should

have seen.

We were casting demons out and

I made a cloud go from here to

there.

I don't know why I did that, but

it was awesome.

And they're saying all these

great things that he had done

through them.

And the eschatological

intensity, the end times

intensity, the reality of

eternity, Jesus focuses them

back and says, nevertheless,

don't rejoice in that, that

spirits are subject to you, but

rejoice that your names are

written in heaven.

For those of us who are

anxious, are not five sparrows

sold for two pennies?

And not one of them is

forgotten before God.

Why, even the hairs on your

head are numbered.

Fear not, for you're of more

value than many sparrows.

And if God so clothes the grass

which is alive in the field

today and tomorrow is thrown

into the oven, how much more

will he clothe you, O you of

little faith?

Instead, seek his kingdom.

And these things will be added

under you.

Fear not, little flock, for it's

your father's good pleasure to

give you the kingdom.

And his passion for his world

can't be lost in this also.

The grace he shows to his world.

As for that, in the good soil,

they are those who, hearing the

word, hold it fast in an honest

and good heart and bear fruit with

patience.

This is, again, talking about

preaching the gospel openly and

people receiving it.

Jesus said to him, remember this

story, no one who puts his hand

to the plow and looks back is fit

for the kingdom.

In the same hour, he rejoiced in

the Holy Spirit and said, I thank

you, Father, Lord of heaven and

earth, that you have hidden these

things from the wise and the

understanding and revealed them to

little children.

Yes, Father, for such is your

gracious will.

All things have been handed over to

me by my Father.

No one knows a son except the

Father.

Father.

Or who the Father is except the

Son and anyone to whom the Son

chooses to reveal him.

It's another above the line,

below the line statement.

Great for assurance.

Terrible to club someone over the

head with.

Then last week, as he was coming

into the city and the Pharisees

said, hey, tell them to stop saying

Hosanna to you.

It's really disruptive and they

think you're the great one, the

Messiah who's coming.

And Jesus said, hey, I could tell

them that.

But even if I did, even the stones

would cry out.

You can't deny what's happening

right now.

Perhaps the biggest sign of his

grace to the world is that three

times over the course of the book

to this point, Jesus tells of his

death.

death.

He says it's going to happen.

And it has to happen.

The ultimate grace that we find in

Jesus is that when we might want to

play cognitive or intellectual mind

games with, as though you can play

this with some other part of your

body.

At any rate, we want to play cognitive

or intellectual games with the word and

with the reality of the gospel.

Jesus still has our hearts and our

souls in view.

As he knew, he ultimately came to die

because only him dying and raising

again, physically raising again, is

ultimately going to bridge the chasm

that you and I create between

ourselves and our Heavenly Father

every single day.

I've heard all sorts of analogies for

what it means to repent of your sins,

but I can't help but feel that we get

it wrong because we think that there's

some tit for tat at play as though if

I repent of this sin, if I just keep

doing that enough, then I'll keep up

with Jesus in all the times that he's

forgiving me.

Here's a crazy thought.

That's a reality.

During this 40 minutes or 35 minutes that

I've been up here talking right now,

there's no way that through this entire

time I've been honoring God with all my

heart, soul, mind, and strength.

And I don't know how.

I don't know how to confess those things

specifically.

Let alone from 6 o'clock this morning

up until this point.

Our debt load is so exponential

that Jesus has zero interest in us

thinking of how we could possibly repay him

through our actions.

And he knows going through this that only

people who know how desperate they are

for their heavenly father and how the only

way to him is through Jesus.

They're the only ones who inherit the

kingdom.

We see Jesus for who he is and we love

him and we do what he says and we follow

him and we repent and we do all of those

things and they're effective only because

his death satisfies a debt that we can't

even imagine.

We don't know what it is.

That's the ultimate grace shown to his

people and to his world.

This is ultimately what Southwood is

about.

This is why we want you to be excited

about giving of your time and your

talents.

God doesn't need your money.

God will use you in spite of you

just like he has used me in spite of me.

But Jesus calls us to action in the

world not because he needs us but because

we need him.

We've been given the key to happiness

that no one is ever going to seek out

and find on their own.

Our neediness is his glory.

Our brokenness is his passion.

He loves people and he loves his world.

Let's be excited as we get to give of

ourselves sacrificially for the one who

gives of himself eternally.

Pray with me please.

Father thank you for the gift of your word.

Thank you for the way that Luke has taken the

time to draw it out and even as we step away

over the next several weeks to celebrate the

advent and the coming of our savior.

Father thank you for the gift of

we think of the fact that he came to die.

He came to show us grace unfathomable and

unmeasurable.

And we pray that our response to that isn't to do

anything other than marvel at the wonderful love that

Christ has for us.

And I pray that that would drive us today and that

many of us would come out and pray and walk around

Whitesburg.

But even if we don't that that would drive us throughout

this week and the coming weeks as we consider what does

it mean to be your people living with your heart and on

your mission here in the world.

How does that impact Huntsville and beyond?

How do we live in a Christ centered way in front of people

that we live around and work with?

What does it look like to pray as though we need to pray?

Where are the least and the lost and the littlest and the

loneliest and the left out?

And I pray that we would know and have experienced your grace

so that we can really express it to those who live around us.

And who you've put in our path.

Thank you for your love for us.

In Christ's name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.