1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:27,440 God saves. Our God saves. Hear the joyful sound of our offering. As your saints bow down, as your people sing, we will rise with you, lift it on your wings, and the world will see that. 2 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:54,880 Now God saves. Now God saves. There is hope in your name. Morning turns to songs of praise. 3 00:00:54,880 --> 00:01:16,320 now God saves. Now God saves. Next we're going to sing, "On That Hit." 4 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:31,320 What do you need, bud? What do you need, bud? What can I do now? You can wait until... 5 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:37,320 I believe in Christ risen from the dead. 6 00:01:37,320 --> 00:01:51,320 The kingdom knows no end. Through his resurrection, death has lost its own. 7 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:58,320 I don't want that final day of our lives that Jesus rose. 8 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,320 I'm going to go through the computer now because of the idea. 9 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:13,320 On that day, we will see you shining brighter than the sun. On that day, we will know you as we lift our voice as one. 10 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:27,320 Till that day, we will praise you. And we will keep on singing on that glorious day. 11 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:56,320 Let me take this one, please. 12 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:03,320 What about you? 13 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:09,320 Why are you singing? 14 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,320 Why are you singing? 15 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:28,320 I'm sorry, I'm a queen that said, "Oh wait, what?" "What?" "I have to clean with my green, really?" 16 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:33,320 Oh wait, I have to say, "Okay, what's it doing?" 17 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:35,320 No, no, no. 18 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:37,320 I need to clean up for you. 19 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:41,320 Ow! 20 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:49,320 The wind shocked me! 21 00:03:49,320 --> 00:04:02,320 Whoa! 22 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:06,320 Why do you need to clean up for a fight? 23 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:11,320 What a day it will be. 24 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:18,320 For I will leave you my choice someday. 25 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:24,320 As I run into your arms open. 26 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:31,320 My Father who is waiting for me. 27 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:38,320 My Father who is waiting for me. 28 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:43,320 On that day, we will see you. 29 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:46,320 Shining brighter than the sun. 30 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:50,320 On that day, we will know you. 31 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,320 As we lift our voices as one. 32 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:57,320 Till that day, we will praise you. 33 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:00,320 On that day, we will praise you. 34 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:04,320 And we will keep on singing. 35 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:07,320 On that glorious day. 36 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:09,320 On that day. 37 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:14,320 Shining brighter than the sun. 38 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:18,320 On that day, we will know you. 39 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:21,320 As we lift our voices as one. 40 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:25,320 Till that day, we will praise you. 41 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:28,320 And ever-ending grace. 42 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:31,320 And you will keep on singing. 43 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:34,320 On that glorious day. 44 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:38,320 You will keep on singing. 45 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:41,320 On that glorious day. 46 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:46,320 You may be seated. 47 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:51,320 We come to our time of confession and assurance. 48 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:53,320 Normally, the word of the Scripture would be on the screen. 49 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:56,320 But they are in your bulletin this morning. 50 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:59,320 Instead, if you would like to follow along with that. 51 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:05,320 We are, I think, a people who like a good way to make hard things easier. 52 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:07,320 And so we love things like life hacks. 53 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,320 Things that allow us to do something we normally do. 54 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:14,320 But in an easy, or surprising, or cheaper way. 55 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:18,320 Oftentimes using products for something other than their intended use. 56 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:23,320 We also love a good system that helps us, or we think will help us, 57 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:25,320 change and transform. 58 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,320 We like to see our problems in our life and say, 59 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:34,320 "Here's how, through this particular system, we can hopefully improve ourselves." 60 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:41,320 And oftentimes what we do is we believe that if we just think about it differently, or approach life more strategically, 61 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:47,320 and we find the right board, the right podcast, we can fix what is broken. 62 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:53,320 And oftentimes we bring that free instinct into our spiritual lives. 63 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:57,320 In Jeremiah chapter 2, God says this to His people, 64 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:00,320 "My people have committed two evils. 65 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:05,320 They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, 66 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:12,320 and they have hewed out for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water." 67 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:20,320 Because we have often walked away from the source of life that strengthens, refreshes, and transforms us. 68 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:25,320 But not only have we walked away, we have sought to replace that in the cisterns that we have dug, 69 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:31,320 in which we seek to find transformation and hope and change, simply run dry. 70 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:36,320 The good news is that God does not offer us a better system. 71 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:41,320 He doesn't hand us an improved version of what we already have been trying. 72 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:45,320 He promises from Ezekiel instead. 73 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:53,320 And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh. 74 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:59,320 And I will give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit within you. 75 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:03,320 Notice it's not a new mindset or new framework, it's a new heart. 76 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:16,320 The restoration and the transformation that we cannot manufacture or get to our own God gives to us freely, and this is the assurance of the gospel. 77 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:29,320 And so what we are going to do as we prepare to come to the table, we're going to sing, "His mercy is more" in both the confession of those times where we have sought transformation elsewhere, 78 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:36,320 and the joy that there is mercy that flows down the stream of living water and refreshes and transforms us. 79 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:40,320 So let's let this moment begin. 80 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:55,320 What love couldn't happen, the wrongs we have done. 81 00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:00,320 Our missions on the week, He counts on that sun. 82 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:06,320 He's falling into the sea with our bottom of shore. 83 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:12,320 Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more. 84 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:22,320 Praise the Lord, His mercy is more. 85 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:27,320 Stronger than darkness, you will ever be born. 86 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:32,320 Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more. 87 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:45,320 What's gracious words as we constantly roam? 88 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:50,320 What Father so tender is calling us home? 89 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:56,320 Keep up who's the weakest, the brightest, the poor. 90 00:09:56,320 --> 00:10:02,320 Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more. 91 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:12,320 Praise the Lord, His mercy is more. 92 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:17,320 Stronger than darkness, you will ever be born. 93 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:30,320 Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more. 94 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:35,320 Our riches, our kindness, He lavished on us. 95 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:40,320 His blood was the payment, His life was the cost. 96 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:46,320 We stood in the debt we could never afford. 97 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:52,320 Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more. 98 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:56,320 Praise the Lord! 99 00:10:56,320 --> 00:11:02,320 His mercy is more. 100 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:07,320 Stronger than darkness, new every morn. 101 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:12,320 Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more. 102 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:17,320 Praise the Lord! 103 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:23,320 His mercy is more. 104 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:28,320 Stronger than darkness, new every morn. 105 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:33,320 Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more. 106 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:37,320 Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more. 107 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:48,320 Which light is different? Which light is different? 108 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:58,320 In a few moments, some of us will be in Matthew chapter 7, where Jesus tells us that our Heavenly Father gives good things to those who ask. 109 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:10,320 And it's a comforting thought, unless we look at our lives, we begin to see clearly all of our brokenness, and all of our hurt, and all of our failure. 110 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:19,320 We begin to ask the question, "Do I even belong with this Father that you've been walking?" 111 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:29,320 When you go back to the very beginning, Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, you find this phrase that God makes everything good, and He makes it good, and He makes it good. 112 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:42,320 And then He says, "God saw that it was very good." And the world that God gives us is one that is only us, and then in Genesis chapter 3, Adam and Eve are faced with a choice. 113 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:58,320 Did you hear the good things of God? No. He didn't listen. He didn't listen. And in that moment, Adam and Eve, they changed the burden. And in that moment, God also changed the burden. 114 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:07,320 And He responds to a way that I think should surprise us. He's having to shout as they lie. He corrects them. He disser them. 115 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:22,320 But then even in that moment, when God's impeding his grace, there is a grace that God's grace is up to ensure that he will be destroyed. And God also changed the burden of God. And He was scared of the same moment. 116 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:52,320 The first bloodshed in all the spirits of the earth is shed by the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of the father of 117 00:13:52,320 --> 00:14:22,300 We have chosen the same things over and over and over again. Did the Father have a choice about how to respond? By rights, we deserve the serpent. We chose him, but at the Passover table, the night when he was betrayed, he was betrayed by the Holy Spirit. 118 00:14:22,300 --> 00:14:52,280 Jesus took bread and broke it. He said, "This is my body, which is for you." And then he makes the third cup of redemption and says, "This is my blood." The new cup which is given. What we deserve is death and what we receive is meal. And you see the good Father sending his good Son to restore 119 00:14:52,280 --> 00:15:22,260 redeem those people who chose the servant. This meal is not simply a looking back historically. It's also a promise. The same Jesus that instituted this meal tells his disciples, "We might leave it again." Tell them he drinks with them in the kingdom. There's a table still on top. The wonderful news is that God the Father keeps saving him. 120 00:15:22,260 --> 00:15:52,240 He doesn't have nails. 121 00:15:52,240 --> 00:16:22,220 Thank you that you have prepared for us this kingdom. Let's make you happy. You have been with us. That you have shepherded us together, behind our planting in the valley of the stars. Thank you that you have prepared a table for us. We will see the cost of our redemption. We will see the source of our hope. We will be transformed by grace. 122 00:16:22,220 --> 00:16:52,200 We thank you for Jesus. We ask that you bless this bread and this cup. And we proclaim that he comes again. It's in his name we pray. Amen. If you would, let's partake together as we remember the body of Christ. If you would, partake with me as we drink with you. 123 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:59,200 We're going to sing just a couple of verses of "Give me Jesus" before we dismiss the children of humans. 124 00:17:22,180 --> 00:17:52,160 Give me Jesus, all His choice I've put on me. But His love abides forever. Through each turn, no years the same. 125 00:17:52,160 --> 00:18:09,160 Jesus, sweetest comfort of my soul. With my Savior watching on me, I can't see the middle of control. 126 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:34,160 Hold the high end, have the mercy. Hold the lengthen, wrap the floor. Hold the fullness of redemption. Let your kindness take this world. My God is now. 127 00:18:39,160 --> 00:19:02,160 Sing for the world. Forgive me, Jesus. In His cross, my trust shall be. Still with clear, brighter vision. Face to face, my Lord. 128 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:29,160 From the high end, down the world to see. Oh, the wind and down the wall. And what the world is doing? There's something in the show. There's a wind and down the wall. Sing to the world, my God's love. 129 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:39,160 To this point, we'll dismiss the children, the children's church. And we'll go to our high school spirit. 130 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:41,160 "Feel good." 131 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:45,160 "Come on, go up here." 132 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,160 "That's good." 133 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:53,160 "You have to ride the bike there." 134 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:55,160 "You want to ride the bike over?" 135 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:57,160 "Come on, help you." 136 00:19:57,160 --> 00:19:59,160 "Goodbye." 137 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:01,160 "Goodbye." 138 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:03,160 "Goodbye." 139 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:05,160 "Back in the day." 140 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:07,160 "Back in the day." 141 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:11,160 "No." 142 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:17,160 "Let's go check it out." 143 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:21,160 "Check it out. We do this every week and then you stay." 144 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:23,160 "Is that him throwing something?" 145 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:25,160 "Certainly." 146 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:27,160 "Oh, that's it." 147 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:33,160 "I'll get her over here." 148 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:35,160 "Yes." 149 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:37,160 "Yeah." 150 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:39,160 "All right." 151 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:40,160 "Hey, Brandon." 152 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:42,160 "Yeah." 153 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:41,160 "Brandon." 154 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:45,160 "Volume coming through from someplace." 155 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:47,160 "It's good to be back." 156 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:50,160 "I've got this working, but I don't know where the volume's coming from." 157 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:54,160 "To be able to bring it down here, just so you can see all your answered prayers." 158 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:58,160 "Everyone's seen too." 159 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:00,160 "You shouldn't do anything." 160 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:08,160 "I don't know where the volume's coming from." 161 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,160 "I don't know where the volume's coming from." 162 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:14,160 "I don't know where the volume's coming from." 163 00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:47,160 "I thank you for your grace that has been poured out into our lives." 164 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:53,160 "May we hear these words directly from your Son this morning." 165 00:40:53,160 --> 00:40:58,160 "The promises that hold them up." 166 00:40:58,160 --> 00:41:01,160 "The assurance of your goodness." 167 00:41:01,160 --> 00:41:05,160 "The assurance of your power." 168 00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:11,160 "May we see this reality clearly and may it overflow out of our lives." 169 00:41:12,160 --> 00:41:14,160 "Help us this text this morning." 170 00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:17,160 "In Jesus' name we pray. Amen." 171 00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:26,160 So my favorite vehicle I have ever owned was a little 1980s Nissan pickup truck. 172 00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:31,160 I think it may also be Evelyn's favorite vehicle that we have ever owned. 173 00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:37,160 And in my eyes, it was the greatest truck to ever have existed, will exist. 174 00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:44,160 Now, most of you, I think if you were to see a picture of said truck, you might go, "Really that?" 175 00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:48,160 Right? When we first got it, like it was lacking some paint. 176 00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:52,160 Some random girl from the people we got it from, it scratched your name across the hood. 177 00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:56,160 I don't know if in anger or in deep emotional love. 178 00:41:56,160 --> 00:42:00,160 The back at some point may have rusted away and replaced with plywood. 179 00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:05,160 It didn't always start. Did not have air conditioning. 180 00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:09,160 The belt had been fueled by people's horsepower going down the road. 181 00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:13,160 Like we unhooked the air conditioner, it just goes faster that way. 182 00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:20,160 The emergency brake lever to engage had been taken off to hit the starter when it wouldn't start. 183 00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:26,160 But in my mind, like it's the most beautiful truck that I have ever had or probably ever will have. 184 00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:31,160 I love that so very, very much. 185 00:42:31,160 --> 00:42:38,160 Now, in the reality of seeing things sometimes clearly in the light of day, it probably needed a few things, right? 186 00:42:38,160 --> 00:42:42,160 Probably some room for improvement at some place or at some point. 187 00:42:42,160 --> 00:42:49,160 But because of the love that I have for that truck, right, I can't see it. 188 00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:57,160 Sometimes this is how we view our lives, and it may not be because love is clouding everything out, 189 00:42:57,160 --> 00:43:06,160 but we look at how we're living, and the decisions we make and where we don't see clearly. 190 00:43:06,160 --> 00:43:10,160 A few weeks ago, if you would have been driving from Winchester at like five or six in the morning, 191 00:43:10,160 --> 00:43:18,160 the fog would have been so thick that you couldn't even see the white lines on the edge of the road. 192 00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:27,160 And I think one of the things that happens in life is oftentimes we are unable to see things that are very, very close to us. 193 00:43:27,160 --> 00:43:37,160 And one of the things that the Sermon on the Mount does so wonderfully is that it shines into our lives the light that Jesus brings, 194 00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:46,160 and it diagnoses our struggle, first of all, but then secondly, by grace, it transforms our hearts. 195 00:43:46,160 --> 00:43:52,160 So this morning, we want to begin by seeking to see clearly. 196 00:43:52,160 --> 00:44:00,160 Sometimes we don't see very clearly because of sin or discouragement or brokenness. 197 00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:07,160 And so Jesus begins by saying, "The blessed are the poor in spirit for those who are the kingdom of heaven." 198 00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:16,160 And we look at ourselves and our problems and our fears, and we see no hope, and Jesus shows up and says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." 199 00:44:16,160 --> 00:44:20,160 And it's just not your situation, it's how you're transformed. 200 00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:28,160 Jesus goes on to say, "You start with the poor in spirit, and then you end up in just a few verses being salt and light and having an impact on the world." 201 00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:36,160 And then sometimes we have trouble seeing clearly because we are skeptical. 202 00:44:36,160 --> 00:44:45,160 Jesus will say this in Matthew 5:17, "Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill him." 203 00:44:45,160 --> 00:44:55,160 And here Jesus is speaking, and it's likely that an accusation is being raised, maybe verbally, but also maybe just in the hearts of those who are hearing. 204 00:44:55,160 --> 00:45:01,160 And they're seeking to dismiss Jesus because in their minds they're skeptical that he's being biblical. 205 00:45:01,160 --> 00:45:09,160 And Jesus comes and says, "I am not minimizing righteousness. I'm not disregarding the holiness of God. I'm ultimately fulfilling it." 206 00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:16,160 And I want you to understand, skepticism is not a bad thing when skepticism is in pursuit of the truth. 207 00:45:16,160 --> 00:45:22,160 The church in Berea, as Paul comes preaching, they're skeptical, but they're doing so in light of the truth. 208 00:45:22,160 --> 00:45:27,160 And so they search the Scriptures to see if the things that you were saying was true. 209 00:45:27,160 --> 00:45:37,160 But there is a place where we can be so cynical and so skeptical that something wonderful can be in front of us, and we miss it entirely. 210 00:45:37,160 --> 00:45:42,160 Right? Somebody comes to us and goes, "Hey, the best burger in town is here." And we're like, "Really? There?" 211 00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:48,160 And we become so skeptical that we never even go and taste it. 212 00:45:48,160 --> 00:45:57,160 One of the things that happens, I think, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is confronting those religious leaders who are skeptical and showing them there is a better way. 213 00:45:57,160 --> 00:46:04,160 Sometimes we don't see clearly because we're looking in the wrong place, trying to control sin rather than eradicating it. 214 00:46:04,160 --> 00:46:15,160 That's what Jesus deals with next. The heart, in regards to anger and murder and in terms of lust and in terms of marriage and in terms of how we deal with our enemies, 215 00:46:15,160 --> 00:46:19,160 sometimes we don't see clearly because our hearts are fixed on ourselves. 216 00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:31,160 That's where Jesus begins to engage with worship, and He constantly is contrasting this view of self that is lifted up with the goodness of our Father in giving and in prayer and in fasting. 217 00:46:31,160 --> 00:46:38,160 And sometimes our struggle to see clearly is because our hearts are divided in range. 218 00:46:38,160 --> 00:46:45,160 We're seeking treasure in two places. The light in our eyes is attracted to the wrong thing. 219 00:46:45,160 --> 00:46:58,160 We're trying to serve two masters, and Jesus comes in the middle of that and shines a light on both our divided hearts and the anxiety that flows out of them. 220 00:46:58,160 --> 00:47:05,160 Sometimes we don't see clearly because of our brokenness, and that translates into how we interact with those mouths. 221 00:47:05,160 --> 00:47:16,160 That's what Jesus said last week. Take the beam out of your eye before dealing with the splinter or the speck that's in your brother's eye. 222 00:47:16,160 --> 00:47:27,160 See, we have a need. Maybe that need is for humble, a humble attitude before God to set aside our sinful nature and our skepticism. 223 00:47:27,160 --> 00:47:35,160 Maybe we need light to see. Maybe we need help to walk. Over all of this, we need hope. 224 00:47:35,160 --> 00:47:40,160 And Jesus comes with that hope. And so I want you to consider the audience. 225 00:47:40,160 --> 00:47:45,160 And so seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain. When he sat down, his disciples came to him. 226 00:47:45,160 --> 00:47:51,160 And so there's some here who are following Jesus, and we know from the disciples they don't have it all together yet. 227 00:47:51,160 --> 00:47:56,160 They've got some ideas wrong. Their faith, in some cases, isn't very strong. 228 00:47:56,160 --> 00:48:01,160 They are trying to seek the kingdom even in the midst of their struggles. 229 00:48:01,160 --> 00:48:06,160 And then on the other side of that spectrum are the religious leaders who are convinced they've got it right. 230 00:48:06,160 --> 00:48:10,160 They're self-centered. I don't need any help. I've got it. I'm proud. I'm good. 231 00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:16,160 And then in the middle of that, you have the crowds. And I think the crowds are kind of just interested. 232 00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:19,160 They're being entertained. There's something exciting going on. 233 00:48:19,160 --> 00:48:23,160 It's kind of like sometimes if you've ever gone to Costco and there's samples. 234 00:48:23,160 --> 00:48:27,160 And I always feel bad because I never really know how to interact with the sample person 235 00:48:27,160 --> 00:48:32,160 because, like, you come up and you try this thing, and it's good, but it might not be good enough that I want to buy it. 236 00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:36,160 Or it's really good, and I look at it and go, "I'm not spending that amount of money on it." 237 00:48:36,160 --> 00:48:38,160 So you're like, "Oh, well, where is this on the shelf?" 238 00:48:38,160 --> 00:48:41,160 Well, I might go take a look at that as I steal a second sample, right? 239 00:48:41,160 --> 00:48:48,160 Because you're trying to be polite, but you're not necessarily ready to invest. 240 00:48:48,160 --> 00:48:55,160 And so Jesus addresses all of these. People who are just kind of coming for a little sample, maybe no intention. 241 00:48:55,160 --> 00:49:02,160 I want to see the famous Jesus, maybe the proud, maybe the struggling. 242 00:49:02,160 --> 00:49:07,160 And He goes deeper than these three broad categories. In this group, there are going to be those who doubt, 243 00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:13,160 those who are anxious, who are overwhelmed, who are exhausted, who are proud, who are barely holding it together. 244 00:49:13,160 --> 00:49:18,160 And He comes with hope for everyone. 245 00:49:18,160 --> 00:49:21,160 See, what everyone needs is hope. 246 00:49:21,160 --> 00:49:28,160 Whatever posture you're in, committed, rousing, proud, exhausted, desperate, uncertain, you need hope. 247 00:49:28,160 --> 00:49:33,160 And that's exactly what Jesus offers us next. 248 00:49:33,160 --> 00:49:37,160 Listen to what He says. Just one verse. 249 00:49:37,160 --> 00:49:45,160 Ask, it will be given to you. Seek, and you will be find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. 250 00:49:45,160 --> 00:49:48,160 Let's look at verse 7. We'll pick up verse 8 in a minute. 251 00:49:48,160 --> 00:49:52,160 I think this happened probably two or three times during my academic career. 252 00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:59,160 We were given a test. The first one, I remember, was in sixth grade, and I had a bunch of problems, and I ran through them. 253 00:49:59,160 --> 00:50:06,160 And I'm spending all this time, and usually I was one of those kids who, like, blazes through the test, like, right or wrong, I'm very certain about my answer. 254 00:50:06,160 --> 00:50:11,160 That's the key with a lot of life. Just be really certain about it. 255 00:50:11,160 --> 00:50:15,160 I remember I was, like, still doing the test, and everybody else was done. 256 00:50:15,160 --> 00:50:21,160 What had happened with the problems in the big section at the end, it just said, "Pick three of these problems and do them." 257 00:50:21,160 --> 00:50:26,160 Because I hadn't read the instructions. I'm, like, working my way through, like, an extra 15 problems. 258 00:50:26,160 --> 00:50:32,160 And there are times when we become familiar with something, and we don't really read it to understand. 259 00:50:32,160 --> 00:50:35,160 We just sort of skip right over it. I know what this means. 260 00:50:35,160 --> 00:50:42,160 And this verse is one of those places. "Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you." 261 00:50:42,160 --> 00:50:48,160 And we abbreviate this so frequently as what? "Ask, seek, and knock." 262 00:50:48,160 --> 00:50:55,160 It's become sort of a three-word paraphrase of what Jesus is saying. 263 00:50:55,160 --> 00:51:02,160 Jesus isn't just saying, "Ask, seek, and knock." Listen to what he says. "Ask, and it will be given to you." 264 00:51:02,160 --> 00:51:07,160 "Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you." 265 00:51:07,160 --> 00:51:15,160 And in just a minute, in the assurance of God's goodness and God's power, he's going to repeat this in verse 8. 266 00:51:15,160 --> 00:51:20,160 Notice there are promises attached. There's going to be assurance coming in verse 8. 267 00:51:20,160 --> 00:51:24,160 And if it's not enough, he's going to illustrate it for us in verses 9 through 11. 268 00:51:24,160 --> 00:51:29,160 And so he starts like this. "Ask, be given." 269 00:51:29,160 --> 00:51:33,160 Right? There's ways that we can ask that all sort of come across differently, right? 270 00:51:33,160 --> 00:51:36,160 So there's a way we can ask where you're not really asking. 271 00:51:36,160 --> 00:51:42,160 Like, your kids come up and you go, "Will you clean your room?" 272 00:51:42,160 --> 00:51:45,160 Right? We're not really asking. We're just being polite. 273 00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:52,160 Like, you're going to clean your room. Like, we are not asking, but we are sort of asking. 274 00:51:52,160 --> 00:51:55,160 We can ask in a way that's sort of between equals, right? 275 00:51:55,160 --> 00:51:59,160 So you go sitting at lunch and they say, "What do you have?" 276 00:51:59,160 --> 00:52:01,160 And you say, "Well, could I get a double cheeseburger?" 277 00:52:01,160 --> 00:52:04,160 I'm not really asking if I can get a double cheeseburger, right? 278 00:52:04,160 --> 00:52:07,160 I'm telling someone I would like a double cheeseburger. 279 00:52:07,160 --> 00:52:15,160 So while we may be asking because it seems polite, there's a third way of asking. 280 00:52:15,160 --> 00:52:19,160 It's not really a command in disguise. It's not really just politeness. 281 00:52:19,160 --> 00:52:21,160 And that's what's happening here. 282 00:52:21,160 --> 00:52:25,160 The asking that Jesus is speaking of is not a command. 283 00:52:25,160 --> 00:52:28,160 It's not between equals. 284 00:52:28,160 --> 00:52:34,160 It's between a child and a parent. 285 00:52:34,160 --> 00:52:40,160 In fact, it's kind of asking specifically between the lesser of two parties asking the more important. 286 00:52:40,160 --> 00:52:44,160 So we've had extra kids this week or this weekend. 287 00:52:44,160 --> 00:52:47,160 We get asked a lot of things frequently sometimes. 288 00:52:47,160 --> 00:52:49,160 And the reason why is because they can't do it themselves. 289 00:52:49,160 --> 00:52:51,160 It might be too big. It might be too scary. 290 00:52:51,160 --> 00:52:53,160 It might be they're not strong enough. 291 00:52:53,160 --> 00:52:54,160 And we'll talk about this in a minute. 292 00:52:54,160 --> 00:52:57,160 Maybe because they can't see it even though it's right in front of them. 293 00:52:57,160 --> 00:53:05,160 And the picture here is of a small child asking their parent. 294 00:53:05,160 --> 00:53:13,160 Not commanding, not ordering at a restaurant, but asking a parent to ask. 295 00:53:13,160 --> 00:53:18,160 Look at the promise. It will be given. 296 00:53:19,160 --> 00:53:23,160 Not like a vending machine, but like a good father. 297 00:53:23,160 --> 00:53:28,160 And one of the questions that our hearts might raise is, "How will I know it will be given?" 298 00:53:28,160 --> 00:53:33,160 And Jesus is going to address that next. 299 00:53:33,160 --> 00:53:40,160 In reality, as a dad, I get a lot of questions, and I'm very, very tired sometimes. 300 00:53:40,160 --> 00:53:43,160 Our good father is not tired of being answered. 301 00:53:43,160 --> 00:53:45,160 But he's also very wise. 302 00:53:45,160 --> 00:53:49,160 And in a moment you'll hear, "When you ask for bread, he doesn't give you a stone." 303 00:53:49,160 --> 00:53:53,160 The problem is, I think a lot of us, when we ask and we say, "I'm not receiving," 304 00:53:53,160 --> 00:53:57,160 it's because we're asking for a stone instead of asking for bread. 305 00:53:57,160 --> 00:54:03,160 Sometimes our struggle in asking and receiving is because we're not very good at waiting. 306 00:54:03,160 --> 00:54:06,160 The kids come running in, "Do we have cookies and popsicles?" 307 00:54:06,160 --> 00:54:13,160 "Well, there's chicken nuggets that just came out of the oven, and they're sitting here, and we're going to eat before that." 308 00:54:13,160 --> 00:54:23,160 Sometimes we can only see the hill or the corner that's in front of us where our good Heavenly Father sees the road entirely laid out and is acting for it. 309 00:54:23,160 --> 00:54:29,160 There's a lot of emotional struggle so many times folded up into asking. 310 00:54:29,160 --> 00:54:34,160 We'll talk about some of them on Wednesday. If you have more questions, I'd love to answer those for you about this. 311 00:54:34,160 --> 00:54:40,160 Be assured that your good Father is doing what He gives. 312 00:54:40,160 --> 00:54:44,160 The second thing is seek with the promise of this you will find. 313 00:54:44,160 --> 00:54:49,160 And just like there's different ways of asking, there's different ways of looking for something we're interested in. 314 00:54:49,160 --> 00:54:59,160 So for example, if I see like a FJ40 Toyota Land Cruiser from anywhere between like 45 to 65 years ago, 315 00:54:59,160 --> 00:55:03,160 which made me feel really old as I was doing that math this week. 316 00:55:03,160 --> 00:55:10,160 Like I'm interested in looking at it. I am not interested in buying it unless my wife is not with me right now. 317 00:55:10,160 --> 00:55:15,160 And then we might be getting a surprise like we traded all your cars and the kids for a new car. 318 00:55:15,160 --> 00:55:19,160 There's a kind of looking that we sort of do casually. 319 00:55:19,160 --> 00:55:22,160 And then there's how my kids look. 320 00:55:22,160 --> 00:55:24,160 "Can you hand me the paper towels?" 321 00:55:24,160 --> 00:55:27,160 And they're literally using the package of paper towels as a pillow. 322 00:55:27,160 --> 00:55:30,160 And they go, "I can't see them anywhere." 323 00:55:30,160 --> 00:55:34,160 So there's a looking that's casual, there's a looking that's sort of oblivious to the world around them. 324 00:55:34,160 --> 00:55:40,160 And then there is a looking that is urgent and active. 325 00:55:40,160 --> 00:55:43,160 You want to see this illustrated? Luke chapter 2. 326 00:55:43,160 --> 00:55:46,160 Jesus and his parents. 327 00:55:46,160 --> 00:55:49,160 He's 12 years old and he goes to Passover in Jerusalem. 328 00:55:49,160 --> 00:55:54,160 Jerusalem's population swells like Winchester and apple blossom. 329 00:55:54,160 --> 00:55:56,160 Right? Thousands and thousands of people. 330 00:55:56,160 --> 00:56:01,160 And they are there, and as they get ready to leave, they're traveling with friends and family from their town. 331 00:56:01,160 --> 00:56:03,160 And they assume Jesus is with somebody else. 332 00:56:03,160 --> 00:56:06,160 He's not. And it ends like this. 333 00:56:06,160 --> 00:56:09,160 When the feast was ended, they were returning. The boy, Jesus, stayed behind in Jerusalem. 334 00:56:09,160 --> 00:56:11,160 His parents did not know it. 335 00:56:11,160 --> 00:56:17,160 Right? Every parent's worst nightmare probably made worse because of the virgin birth 336 00:56:17,160 --> 00:56:21,160 and because of the angels announcing it, the trek to Egypt. 337 00:56:21,160 --> 00:56:25,160 Right? The promised Messiah. Right? This is a big deal. 338 00:56:25,160 --> 00:56:28,160 But look at the reaction. 339 00:56:28,160 --> 00:56:32,160 Supposing him to be in the group, they went on a day's journey, so they make bad worse. 340 00:56:32,160 --> 00:56:36,160 Then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances. 341 00:56:36,160 --> 00:56:40,160 And when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem searching for him. 342 00:56:40,160 --> 00:56:45,160 And three days, they found him sitting at the temple among teachers, listening to them and asking questions. 343 00:56:45,160 --> 00:56:49,160 Do you think Mary and Joseph were casually just looking around? 344 00:56:49,160 --> 00:56:53,160 And they're like, "Oh, maybe he's over there." Right? They are searching. 345 00:56:53,160 --> 00:57:00,160 They are parents who are frantic to find their child. Same word Jesus uses here for seeking. 346 00:57:00,160 --> 00:57:06,160 Right? This is not like, "Well, I'll look around, and if I spot it, I spot it." 347 00:57:06,160 --> 00:57:12,160 And what this seeking leads to, you will find. 348 00:57:12,160 --> 00:57:18,160 The picture here is of joy. In fact, the word is probably pretty familiar. 349 00:57:18,160 --> 00:57:25,160 There is a remarkable thing about a mathematician by the name of Archimedes. 350 00:57:25,160 --> 00:57:28,160 You probably know this story. He has to solve a problem for the king. 351 00:57:28,160 --> 00:57:34,160 The king has a crown made of gold, but he is concerned that inside the crown of gold, it is filled with silver. 352 00:57:34,160 --> 00:57:37,160 He is not getting his money's worth for the gold crown. 353 00:57:37,160 --> 00:57:42,160 And he tasks his mathematicians to solve this, and Archimedes is trying to solve it. 354 00:57:42,160 --> 00:57:58,160 One day, he sits down in the bath, and as he does, he notices as he sits down in the bath, the water goes up, and he realizes the water displaces, and he figures out a way to use displacement to determine the metal of the crown. 355 00:57:58,160 --> 00:58:06,160 And according to the story, Archimedes doesn't stop for a towel or his robe. 356 00:58:06,160 --> 00:58:19,160 He just goes running through the streets with the king, shouting, "Eureka! I found it!" He solved the problem for the king, and so overwhelmingly, joyfully forgets about everything else and runs to proclaim his discovery. 357 00:58:19,160 --> 00:58:33,160 The word that Archimedes yells, "Eureka!" is this word you will find, that this seeking results in joy that is overwhelming. 358 00:58:33,160 --> 00:58:38,160 I have found it. 359 00:58:38,160 --> 00:58:45,160 Jesus says this, "Knock, and it will be opened." 360 00:58:45,160 --> 00:58:50,160 So unlike the others, this is not an issue of definition, right? It's always knocking. Nine times it's used in the Bible. 361 00:58:50,160 --> 00:58:55,160 It's always like your hand to a doorframe, your hand to the wood of the door. 362 00:58:55,160 --> 00:59:01,160 But, while it's always knocking, you probably know this, we can knock differently, right? 363 00:59:01,160 --> 00:59:08,160 There's a knocking of formality, right? Your friend's office door, it's open, and you want to talk to them, you go, "Hey, can I come in?" 364 00:59:08,160 --> 00:59:16,160 Right? Or, sometimes people are knocking, and they know that people aren't home, but they come and knock on the door just to check anyway. 365 00:59:16,160 --> 00:59:24,160 Then there is a knocking of certainty. Once when Rachel and I were dating, and she was living in some apartments over on the other side of town. 366 00:59:24,160 --> 00:59:29,160 Went over to visit her. A lot of police cars there, and as we're sitting in the living room, 367 00:59:29,160 --> 00:59:33,160 we hear, "Winchester City Police! We know you're in there! Open up!" 368 00:59:33,160 --> 00:59:38,160 And I was like, "Alright, well, it's time for us to leave this apartment building and go somewhere else," right? 369 00:59:38,160 --> 00:59:44,160 The knocking here is not just, "Hey, can I come in?" It's not a knocking of, "Is anybody home?" 370 00:59:44,160 --> 00:59:50,160 This is a knocking that we know you are there. 371 00:59:50,160 --> 00:59:55,160 He's speaking of the assurance of being answered, and it will be open. 372 00:59:55,160 --> 01:00:02,160 Our struggle with knocking and with asking and seeking, I think, sometimes can be found in pride or discouragement or fear. 373 01:00:02,160 --> 01:00:07,160 Pride goes, "I don't really need to knock on the door. I don't really need to look. I've already got it." 374 01:00:07,160 --> 01:00:10,160 Discouragement says, "I don't know if I can keep going." 375 01:00:10,160 --> 01:00:13,160 Fear says, "I don't know if God even wants to see me." 376 01:00:13,160 --> 01:00:20,160 Maybe I knock on the door, and he peeks out behind the blinds, and he sees who it is, and he just pretends like he's not home. 377 01:00:20,160 --> 01:00:27,160 Jesus is addressing our hearts, our pride, that thinks we can do it. He's going, "You can't." 378 01:00:27,160 --> 01:00:31,160 The tired and exhausted, he's welcoming us home. The door will be opened. 379 01:00:31,160 --> 01:00:34,160 Those who are unsure, you're welcome. 380 01:00:34,160 --> 01:00:38,160 And the picture here is that the opening is passive, meaning you don't do it. 381 01:00:38,160 --> 01:00:40,160 The good Father is the one who opens the door. 382 01:00:40,160 --> 01:00:45,160 And so Jesus doesn't leave you in your pride or your exhaustion or your fear. 383 01:00:45,160 --> 01:00:52,160 He reaches in with something familiar to show you something wonderful, and it's the assurance of hope. 384 01:00:52,160 --> 01:01:00,160 "Everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks it will be opened to you." 385 01:01:00,160 --> 01:01:02,160 He just repeats what he said. 386 01:01:02,160 --> 01:01:06,160 "And which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 387 01:01:06,160 --> 01:01:08,160 Or if he asks for fish, will you give him a serpent? 388 01:01:08,160 --> 01:01:12,160 And if you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, 389 01:01:12,160 --> 01:01:18,160 how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?" 390 01:01:18,160 --> 01:01:21,160 So here we stand, some of us resistant, "I don't need this." 391 01:01:21,160 --> 01:01:25,160 Some of us afraid, or some who are tired. 392 01:01:25,160 --> 01:01:29,160 And Jesus now assures you, or for some of you reassures you. 393 01:01:29,160 --> 01:01:33,160 He assures hope by repeating what he's just saying. 394 01:01:33,160 --> 01:01:40,160 He's not giving you an idea of your opinion, very clearly stating the truth that our hope is found in our good Father. 395 01:01:40,160 --> 01:01:45,160 And then Jesus assures us of hope by directing us to the character of God. 396 01:01:45,160 --> 01:01:47,160 And he does it in a way we understand. 397 01:01:47,160 --> 01:01:51,160 So when the kids came this weekend and go, "Hey, I'm hungry. Can we have some bread?" 398 01:01:51,160 --> 01:01:55,160 I don't go, "There's a whole bunch of gravel in the driveway." 399 01:01:55,160 --> 01:01:57,160 Or they come in and go, "Hey, can I have some fish sticks?" 400 01:01:57,160 --> 01:02:01,160 And I go, "Mm, we only have snake sticks. I'm sorry," right? 401 01:02:01,160 --> 01:02:06,160 When our kids were little, I used to tease them, they'd go, "Oh, can we have pizza?" 402 01:02:06,160 --> 01:02:08,160 And I'd be like, "Yep, just ordered it." 403 01:02:08,160 --> 01:02:10,160 Skunk pepperoni! 404 01:02:10,160 --> 01:02:13,160 And when they were real little, they didn't get that I was joking. 405 01:02:13,160 --> 01:02:16,160 "We don't want skunk pepperoni on our pizza," right? 406 01:02:16,160 --> 01:02:24,160 I would never order skunk pepperoni, although once in Alaska, I did have a pizza called Santa's Little Helper, 407 01:02:24,160 --> 01:02:26,160 and the sausage was not pork. 408 01:02:26,160 --> 01:02:30,160 Like, I'm not going to ever tell my kids about that. 409 01:02:30,160 --> 01:02:37,160 But Jesus says, "If you who are evil and occasionally joke about ordering your kids skunk pizza, 410 01:02:37,160 --> 01:02:39,160 but you give them good gifts anyway, 411 01:02:39,160 --> 01:02:44,160 how much more will your heavenly Father do that for you?" 412 01:02:44,160 --> 01:02:49,160 So He repeats Himself for those of us who sometimes have to hear it more than once. 413 01:02:49,160 --> 01:02:54,160 He assures us of the goodness of the Father, and then He directs us to the power of God. 414 01:02:54,160 --> 01:02:57,160 How much more will your Father, who is where? 415 01:02:57,160 --> 01:02:59,160 In heaven. 416 01:02:59,160 --> 01:03:02,160 He just doesn't have the inclination, the goodness, or the desire. 417 01:03:02,160 --> 01:03:06,160 He has the ability, and if we're honest, one of our two great doubts about God, 418 01:03:06,160 --> 01:03:09,160 are this: can He, and will He? 419 01:03:09,160 --> 01:03:14,160 Does He have the ability to help, and does He have the desire to help? 420 01:03:14,160 --> 01:03:18,160 And Jesus, the Son of God, says yes. 421 01:03:18,160 --> 01:03:23,160 He loves you as His child, and as the Creator of all things will meet your needs. 422 01:03:23,160 --> 01:03:27,160 And remember where we're standing when we hear this. 423 01:03:27,160 --> 01:03:31,160 We're on the mountain with Jesus, we see the entire sermon. 424 01:03:31,160 --> 01:03:34,160 All the parts, our hearts have been laid out. 425 01:03:34,160 --> 01:03:37,160 If we're honest, there is a lot within us that is broken. 426 01:03:37,160 --> 01:03:40,160 And the call isn't to pull yourself up. 427 01:03:40,160 --> 01:03:47,160 It's like a child, look to your face, and ask, and see, and knock. 428 01:03:47,160 --> 01:03:52,160 And the door opens not because we're good or we have a special key, but because we have a good Father. 429 01:03:52,160 --> 01:03:55,160 And it is all of grace. 430 01:03:55,160 --> 01:03:59,160 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. 431 01:03:59,160 --> 01:04:02,160 A hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 432 01:04:02,160 --> 01:04:07,160 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, 433 01:04:07,160 --> 01:04:13,160 having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. 434 01:04:13,160 --> 01:04:17,160 We begin to see this hope that is ensured. It begins to overflow out of us. 435 01:04:17,160 --> 01:04:20,160 In John chapter one, Jesus has begun his ministry. 436 01:04:20,160 --> 01:04:23,160 He's been announced by John the baptizer as the Lamb of God. 437 01:04:23,160 --> 01:04:28,160 And there's a couple of guys following Jesus, likely John. 438 01:04:28,160 --> 01:04:30,160 We know for sure Andrew. 439 01:04:30,160 --> 01:04:33,160 And as Jesus sees these guys sort of follow him, he goes, "Hey, can I help you?" 440 01:04:33,160 --> 01:04:37,160 And they go, "Well, where are you staying tonight?" 441 01:04:37,160 --> 01:04:42,160 Essentially they're asking if they can follow him, but they haven't quite worked up the courage. 442 01:04:42,160 --> 01:04:46,160 And Jesus goes, "Come and see Andrew." 443 01:04:46,160 --> 01:04:50,160 Before he goes, he runs and gets Peter. 444 01:04:50,160 --> 01:04:55,160 The next day Philip is called. He runs and he gets Peter. 445 01:04:55,160 --> 01:05:04,160 The reality is that when we see the hope that we have in God, it overflows out of our lives and into the lives of others. 446 01:05:04,160 --> 01:05:06,160 And that's exactly what happens. 447 01:05:06,160 --> 01:05:13,160 So whatever you wish that others would do for you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. 448 01:05:13,160 --> 01:05:20,160 This is parallel in the arrangement of the Sermon on the Mount to Jesus' words about the Law and the Prophets in Matthew chapter 5. 449 01:05:20,160 --> 01:05:32,160 But it's also connected to what comes before. So Jesus says, "So," or "Therefore," as a result of, and just like some walls are load-bearing, this "So" is load-bearing. 450 01:05:32,160 --> 01:05:43,160 It carries a connection to what we have just heard about asking, and seeking, and knocking, and receiving, and finding, and doors being opened, and the goodness of God, and the power of God. 451 01:05:43,160 --> 01:05:51,160 But it also goes back, and supports the weight of our struggle to judge with grace, and to judge with closeness, and to judge with wisdom. 452 01:05:51,160 --> 01:06:02,160 But it also supports the weight of our hearts that are divided, and are anxious, and sometimes don't go very deep. 453 01:06:02,160 --> 01:06:08,160 Going all the way back to the Beatitudes that are hungry, and thirsty, and poor, and in the spirit. 454 01:06:08,160 --> 01:06:14,160 And Jesus says, "When you see the grace and the goodness of God, and your hearts are transformed, 455 01:06:14,160 --> 01:06:21,160 you heal with your sin below the surface, because God is the one who is able to transform your heart from a hardened stone to a hardened flesh." 456 01:06:21,160 --> 01:06:27,160 And when you see your good Father, and you're giving, and you're praying, and you're fasting, 457 01:06:27,160 --> 01:06:33,160 and when you've been transformed, and your heart is no longer divided, 458 01:06:33,160 --> 01:06:44,160 Jesus, it's interesting here, is taking a common teaching of the day, right? We call this the golden rule. 459 01:06:44,160 --> 01:06:50,160 Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, not as I often thought as a kid, do unto others before they do unto you, 460 01:06:50,160 --> 01:06:58,160 and not as the rabbi Hillel said, which is a very common statement in Jesus' day, 461 01:06:58,160 --> 01:07:04,160 do not do to others what is hateful to you, essentially saying, "Do you like it when somebody does this?" 462 01:07:04,160 --> 01:07:12,160 No, then don't do that to other people, right? In the negative. Jesus turns it around and moves it from passive to active and from negative to positive. 463 01:07:12,160 --> 01:07:23,160 Not just don't do bad stuff to other people, but do actively good things to those that you would have others do for you. 464 01:07:23,160 --> 01:07:28,160 The way Jesus formulates this demands action, presence, and movement toward others. 465 01:07:28,160 --> 01:07:33,160 I want you to see the kingdom Jesus proclaims is transformational. 466 01:07:33,160 --> 01:07:42,160 From the invitation and the transformation of the Beatitudes, the engagement of our heart, to the evaluation of our worship and the assurance of our anxious hearts, 467 01:07:42,160 --> 01:07:47,160 Jesus is at work in our lives. 468 01:07:47,160 --> 01:07:55,160 And so to the proud and the tired and discouraged, unsure if they want it, Jesus says, "Come and see." 469 01:07:55,160 --> 01:07:59,160 For as we began this morning, taste and see that the Lord is good. 470 01:07:59,160 --> 01:08:03,160 Not just a transformation of our thinking, or a transformation of how we feel, 471 01:08:03,160 --> 01:08:08,160 but as a transformation that adds an action toward others. 472 01:08:08,160 --> 01:08:12,160 And how we come to them with grace and closeness and wisdom. 473 01:08:12,160 --> 01:08:18,160 And our transformation of our relationship with God, by His grace, is extended to others. 474 01:08:18,160 --> 01:08:25,160 In fact, in verse 8, when we are receiving, what we ask for has been given. 475 01:08:25,160 --> 01:08:32,160 When we freely receive that, now we freely extend it. 476 01:08:32,160 --> 01:08:39,160 So Jesus says this, "Ask, be given to you, seek, and you will find not, and it will be opened to you." 477 01:08:39,160 --> 01:08:43,160 So some of us this morning maybe came cracked. 478 01:08:43,160 --> 01:08:48,160 The light of God's grace has shown you something. Maybe we're not as strong as we thought. 479 01:08:48,160 --> 01:08:57,160 But it's not an accusation, it's an invitation. Right? Ask. Your Father is not offended by your need. 480 01:08:57,160 --> 01:09:01,160 He's been waiting for you, and He's helping you to see your need for Him. 481 01:09:01,160 --> 01:09:03,160 And some of you maybe came in exhausted. 482 01:09:03,160 --> 01:09:07,160 And you've been asking, you're seeking, and you're knocking on every door until your hands hurt, 483 01:09:07,160 --> 01:09:12,160 and you're not sure you have another knock left in you. This door is different. 484 01:09:12,160 --> 01:09:17,160 The door will be opened not because you knocked hard enough or you knocked long enough, 485 01:09:17,160 --> 01:09:21,160 but because the one who's on your side is the Father. 486 01:09:21,160 --> 01:09:25,160 He opens it. He'll welcome you home. 487 01:09:25,160 --> 01:09:30,160 And some of you came, and you're not sure if you're even welcomed in the family of God. 488 01:09:30,160 --> 01:09:34,160 If the door would open for someone like you, it doesn't look out that window, 489 01:09:34,160 --> 01:09:40,160 look through the people, see you, and then just slap the deadbolt close. 490 01:09:40,160 --> 01:09:44,160 This door opens not because of who you are, but because of who God is. 491 01:09:44,160 --> 01:09:50,160 He's good. He's gentle. He's a father. He sees and runs you from a long way on. 492 01:09:50,160 --> 01:09:55,160 Maybe some of you are like new Costco samples. You've been standing in the crowd for a long time. 493 01:09:55,160 --> 01:09:58,160 If you're watching, you're interested, you're not quite in. 494 01:09:58,160 --> 01:10:08,160 It's not closed. It was spoken on the mountain 2,000 years ago. 495 01:10:08,160 --> 01:10:15,160 You ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you reply not, and it will be opened to you. 496 01:10:15,160 --> 01:10:22,160 Not by you, but open, but open by your head. 497 01:10:22,160 --> 01:10:31,160 It's a call for all of us. It's about our pride, and our weakness, and our sorrow, and our joy. 498 01:10:31,160 --> 01:10:40,160 To ask, and to seek, and to knock, knowing that we have a Father who is both good and powerful. 499 01:10:40,160 --> 01:10:49,160 And we see that transformation in our life of grace, that we have received over the place of God. 500 01:10:49,160 --> 01:10:59,160 We're going to pray, and then we're going to sing, and as always, if there's ever a need that you have, and you want to pray with somebody, and pray for you, with you, just talk to somebody. 501 01:10:59,160 --> 01:11:06,160 It's welcome now, it's welcome at any point. I'd love to talk with you more about the truth. 502 01:11:06,160 --> 01:11:18,160 Let's pray. Father in Heaven, thank You that You are a good Father, and strong, and careful. 503 01:11:18,160 --> 01:11:30,160 Thank You that when we ask for fish, and not for the service, and bread, and the rocks, and the grace that You are broken for. 504 01:11:30,160 --> 01:11:40,160 Give us gifts. Lead us where we are supposed to be. Let's see where we are supposed to be. 505 01:11:40,160 --> 01:11:47,160 Thank you that your son came, who found us. 506 01:11:47,160 --> 01:11:54,160 We are going to stand, and we are going to sing. 507 01:11:54,160 --> 01:12:09,160 We are going to sing. 508 01:12:09,160 --> 01:12:19,160 Amen. 509 01:12:19,160 --> 01:12:22,160 Amen. 510 01:12:22,160 --> 01:12:27,160 Amen. 511 01:12:37,160 --> 01:13:07,140 God bless you. 512 01:13:07,160 --> 01:13:22,160 Lord, sing with faith. Oh, praise the God of every praise and love of God. 513 01:13:22,160 --> 01:13:37,160 Lord, sing with faith. Lord, sing with faith. Lord, sing with faith. Lord, sing with peace. 514 01:13:37,160 --> 01:14:00,160 Lord, sing with arches of light. Surely You have borne our sufferings, and the cross took up our pain. And You lead us unto love as we try. 515 01:14:00,160 --> 01:14:21,160 Now, to the God of every grace, who counts my tears, who holds my days, I sing through sorrow, sing with faith. Oh, praise the God of every grace. 516 01:14:21,160 --> 01:14:37,160 This is the night of the Lord, and the Lord, and the Lord, and the Lord, and the Lord, and the Lord. 517 01:14:37,160 --> 01:14:59,160 Oh, my tears are done in glory falls, and I know this is too great. As I wait on mercy, this will swallow every word. 518 01:14:59,160 --> 01:15:28,160 The cries of joy and the songs of victory, when we enter heaven's haste, all your children will come together with you. God of grace, now to the God of every grace, who heals my tears, who holds my days. 519 01:15:28,160 --> 01:15:57,160 I sing through sorrow, sing with faith. Oh, praise the God of every grace, now to the God of every grace, who heals my tears, who heals my days. I sing through sorrow, sing with faith. 520 01:15:57,160 --> 01:16:26,160 Oh, praise the God of every grace. Oh, praise the God of every grace. Oh, praise the God of every grace. Oh, praise the God of every grace. We're very thankful that you are here with us this morning. We'll be back this 521 01:16:26,160 --> 01:16:55,160 Wednesday night at 6 p.m., and we'll spend a little more time going through our text and discussing it and diving into it from different angles and a little deeper. So we are thankful that you are here with us and invite you back to join us on Wednesday night. Coming up next Sunday is Palm Sunday. The Sunday following is Easter. And so just a reminder, there is a Good Friday service the Friday before Easter. 522 01:16:55,160 --> 01:17:24,160 And that will be at 6 p.m. that Friday. So we invite you to join us for that as well. We'll go ahead and in just a moment, we'll pray and then we'll read some Scripture. And then we'll be dismissed with the Doxology. Father in heaven, thank you for your goodness and for your grace. And thank you that you know our days and you count our peers. 523 01:17:24,160 --> 01:17:51,160 May you lead us to a place of rejoicing. Rest in your goodness. In Jesus' name we pray. I don't think this will be on the screen, but it is in your bulletin. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. 524 01:17:51,160 --> 01:18:20,160 Well, as we go, I want us to go in the confidence of a good Father who hears when you ask, who finds us when we seek, who opens when we knock. May we taste and see that the Lord is good. May we know that we have received what we could never earn. And may we go, not out of obligation, but of overflow of grace. The grace that found us, the grace that carries us. 525 01:18:20,160 --> 01:18:28,160 It's the grace that we proclaim God's name in the world. Let's sing. Praise God for all blessings. 526 01:18:49,160 --> 01:18:56,160 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 527 01:19:19,160 --> 01:19:21,160 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 528 01:19:49,160 --> 01:19:51,160 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 529 01:20:19,160 --> 01:20:21,160 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 530 01:20:49,160 --> 01:20:51,160 Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 531 01:21:19,160 --> 01:21:21,160 Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 532 01:21:49,160 --> 01:22:19,140 Thank you.