WEBVTT 00:00:00.719 --> 00:00:11.439 The sermon text for today is from Matthew chapter seven, verses three through five, and from Mark chapter two, verses thirteen through seventeen. 00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:14.320 Please listen as I read God's word. 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:23.440 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:30.960 How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:39.039 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:43.600 Once again, Jesus went out beside the lake. 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:46.719 A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:52.479 As he walked along, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax collector's booth. 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:54.719 Follow me, Jesus told him. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:57.920 And Levi got up and followed him. 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:07.840 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:20.319 When the teachers of the law, who were Pharisees, saw him eating with the sinners and the tax collectors, they asked his disciples, Why does he eat with the tax collectors and the sinners? 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:27.280 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:31.040 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:33.120 Here ends the reading. 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:43.359 Hope you are doing well this morning. 00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:50.959 If I have not yet had the chance to meet you, my name is John, and I get to serve as the lead pastor here at Elmwood. 00:01:51.439 --> 00:02:01.200 Welcome once again to those of you who are uh here maybe for the first time today, uh, no matter how you came across us, whether someone invited you or you just sort of randomly found us online. 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:04.239 Uh, we're grateful to be together with you today. 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:10.000 Uh, before we get into the message this morning, uh, I want to share about something called Be Rich. 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:19.280 And I know there's a bunch of you who are newer to Elmwood since last Christmas, which means that you don't have any idea what Be Rich actually is. 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:33.599 So every single year, our leadership team looks ahead to the coming year and we try and identify an area of ministry or some initiative that we think is an important place to invest resources in the next year, financial resources. 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:43.360 And then we come to you, the congregation, and we ask you to contribute over and above your regular donation uh to help us meet that financial goal that we set. 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:47.199 And that's what uh this Be Rich Stewardship Drive is all about. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:58.960 So this year we are asking you to contribute towards something that is uh very functional and is also crucial to our Sunday morning services. 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:09.520 And if you don't know this, our Sunday services are the most public and most visible part of our ministry, and uh so we're asking you to contribute to something that is related to that. 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:13.439 Uh you may have noticed that we are missing a speaker right about there. 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:20.319 There's two on this side, there's one on this side, and that is because uh that speaker uh has bitten the dust. 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:24.639 And I'm not gonna go into all the details about all the things today for you. 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:26.960 We talked about this at the budget meeting recently. 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:32.879 Uh, but what you need to know is that the rest of our speaker system is also on its last leg. 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:40.960 And we don't know when one or more of the remaining speakers are simply going to stop working uh or intermittently work. 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:49.599 And uh so we are looking to raise funds to help uh cover the cost of a new speaker system for uh our sanctuary. 00:03:49.840 --> 00:04:01.360 Uh, if you didn't know this, installing a modern sound system is actually uh a very involved process that includes things like uh designing a sound system that's specific for our room. 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:18.160 Uh, it includes things like installing the system, and there's the cost of the equipment, and there's the cost of the people to do this work, and then there's uh this thing called tuning the room, which means making sure that everything is correctly positioned and EQ'd so that it actually sounds good uh in uh all areas of the room. 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:24.560 And uh so when we talk about getting a new speaker system, it's not as simple as like, oh, just go buy some new speakers and throw them up there. 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:26.879 It doesn't quite work that way. 00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:36.560 Uh we are paying for the expertise of people who can design and install the correct system in the correct way for our specific room. 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:38.800 Uh so I'll just cut to the chase here. 00:04:39.040 --> 00:04:44.319 The uh the cost of a new sound system like this is just under$33,000. 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:47.600 And uh that is an ugly number. 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:50.000 I hate that number so much. 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:54.079 Uh, but let me share uh some good news associated with this. 00:04:54.240 --> 00:05:05.279 Uh the North Central District of the Free Church, which is the denomination that we are a part of, uh, has a foundation and they give away grant money to churches for a variety of different reasons. 00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:13.839 And the North Central District of the Free Church has uh approved us for a grant to help kickstart the fundraising for this sound system. 00:05:14.079 --> 00:05:18.639 And so they are making the first be rich donation to the tune of$8,000. 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:21.839 So that's what the district is going to be giving us. 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:24.079 So, yes, uh thank you. 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:30.319 We're grateful for our district and the way they support uh our churches and specifically in this case our church. 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:35.360 And so, what that means is that the remaining part that we need to fund is about$25,000. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:50.879 And again, I know that number is uh not a good number to have put in front of you, but just looking at how much we have raised in previous years for our Be Rich Stewardship Drive, uh we believe that this goal is totally within reach for us. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:54.000 So let me just give you uh two ways that you can participate. 00:05:54.079 --> 00:06:00.079 Uh the first is to pray, and and we're serious when we say this, that we don't want you to just pull out your checkbook. 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:01.519 We want you to actually pray. 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:08.560 We want you to go ask God, what do you want me to contribute towards this project, towards this initiative? 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:16.480 And uh whether that number is very large or very small, we want you to ask God what is it that you want me to contribute? 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:22.480 And then the second thing, the second way you can participate, obviously, is uh to give financially. 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:24.480 There's a couple different ways you can do that. 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:32.720 On the online giving platform, you can select uh be rich from the drop-down donation menu, or in the seat back in front of you, there's an envelope that looks like this. 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:33.920 It says be rich on it. 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:44.480 Uh, if you put your donation in here, whether it's cash or whether it's check or whatever, just put it in this envelope, drop it in the offering box in the back of the sanctuary, and that will be marked for be rich. 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:56.160 Uh but we ask you to pray and ask God how you would contribute to this, and then we ask you to uh live uh in faithfulness to his direction and to give uh towards us as well. 00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:01.600 Okay, with that, let me invite you to join me in a word of prayer. 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:13.199 God, we ask for your help today. 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:30.399 As we are discussing a subject here that is uh a very difficult subject to navigate in so many ways, God, we ask for your grace and we ask for uh the leading of your spirit as we uh uh head into this time. 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:38.959 God, we ask that you would give us your hearts for the people in our lives around us, for those in our sphere of influence. 00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:44.319 We ask God that you would, in the end, as we pray each week, that you'd help us to see Jesus. 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:48.000 And that as a result of having seen him, we would be changed. 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:50.480 So, God, help us this morning, we ask. 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:52.319 And it's in his name that we pray. 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:53.279 Amen. 00:07:55.199 --> 00:08:00.639 Uh today is the last message in a series that we have called Asking for a Friend. 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:07.519 And what we're doing over the course of this fall is we've been exploring questions that you have submitted about God or faith or the Bible. 00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:15.839 And not surprisingly, a number of the questions that came in came uh in the theme of gender and sexuality. 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:19.360 That was a number of questions that came in with that theme. 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:28.560 And we did a message just a couple weeks ago on uh how how does someone as a same-sex attracted person live as a as an apprentice of Jesus? 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:40.960 So we talked about that a couple weeks ago, and this morning the question that we are going to be exploring and pondering together is uh is sorry, I don't know why when I clicked that, it went to that slide. 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:45.440 Caleb, can you put it back to the beginning of the there we go? 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:46.639 That's the question. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:50.879 What is the best way to love my LGBTQ friends? 00:08:52.480 --> 00:09:01.120 What is the best way to love the people in my sphere of influence who identify in some way, shape, or form as LGBTQ? 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:07.919 Now I don't know about you, but as I think about this question, uh I feel personally torn between two extremes. 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:20.960 On the one hand, there's the pull to not just accept, but also to celebrate and to uh endorse every expression of gender and sexuality that's out there. 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:22.879 That's the the pull on the one hand. 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:25.360 This is uh we see this broadly in our culture. 00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:30.159 We also see that there's some uh churches and denominations who have also gone this route as well. 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:32.320 So there's the pull in that direction. 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:35.120 And on the other side, there's an opposite extreme. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:42.799 There is a pull to publicly speak out against anything and everything, LGBTQ, at every opportunity. 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:50.080 And the people on this extreme live by the mantra, facts don't care about your feelings. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:54.720 Feeling like a man or feeling like a woman doesn't make you one. 00:09:55.279 --> 00:10:01.759 Your feelings of attraction to the same sex might feel so right, but they're not. 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:06.639 And so this group lives by that mantra, facts don't care about your feelings. 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:14.320 And to be honest with you, a lot of times what it feels like is that the people who live on this extreme, what they most care about is being right. 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:23.759 And what they most care about is letting everyone else know that they're right, and at every opportunity, publicly speaking out against anything and everything LGBTQ. 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:30.639 And they do so in a way that's shrill and unloving and uncharitable. 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:43.679 So those are the two extremes that we're sort of pulled between, and what I want to suggest this morning is that what our world and what our city needs is for us to choose a better way. 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:48.480 There is a better way out there, and that's what I want to explore with you today. 00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:55.759 So, as has been the case with each of these questions, there are numerous ways we could approach this subject. 00:10:55.919 --> 00:11:07.440 There's so much that we could say about this, and there's so much I don't have time to say, so please be gracious to me and just recognize my limitations of time here this morning. 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:22.960 So, for today, what I'm going to do is I'm going to assume the orthodox interpretation of the Bible that's been held throughout church history as it relates to gender and sexuality, and I'm also going to do my best to approach this in a very people-centered way. 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:34.720 And the reason is because when we talk about matters of gender and sexuality, and as we talk about people who identify as LGBTQ in some way, we're not just talking about ideas. 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:36.879 We're talking about people. 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:48.720 And so the way that we should be approaching this subject should reflect a deep love and a deep concern and empathy and compassion for people who we totally disagree with. 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:51.120 And so we should approach it that way. 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:55.600 And so that's why I want to talk about this uh in a very people-centered way. 00:11:56.240 --> 00:12:01.840 So, what is the best way to love the LGBTQ people in your life? 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:04.720 Let me suggest uh five ways. 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:07.120 Yes, this is a five-point message. 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:13.519 It is not gonna be uh two a third longer, it's just it means I can say less in each one of those points. 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:18.799 But let me uh suggest five ways that we can love the LGBTQ people in our lives. 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:23.840 And I'll just tell you in the front end, the first two are entirely related to us. 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:27.759 Okay, before we talk about anyone else, we need to look inwards. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:34.320 And so the first way we can love the LGBTQ people in our life is this remove the log. 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:38.559 Remove the log from your own eye. 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:40.799 So again, listen to how Jesus says this. 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:48.159 In Matthew 7, he says, Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:54.799 How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when there all the time is a plank in your own eye? 00:12:55.120 --> 00:13:03.600 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:16.879 So this thing about the speck in the log is this is one of Jesus' most well-known teachings, and it's uh one of his teachings that very often gets hijacked to say we shouldn't judge other people. 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:22.639 Because remember, just before this, Jesus says, do not judge, or you too will be judged. 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:26.080 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged. 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:36.879 And so very often what Jesus says in these verses gets taken to mean, well, you know, you shouldn't judge other people, like just, you know, don't be critical, don't judge, don't evaluate other people. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:40.639 And that's like literally the exact opposite of what Jesus is saying here. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:41.120 Okay. 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:49.039 Jesus is, he's not telling us that we shouldn't judge other people, he's telling us how to judge other people. 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:56.799 He's saying that the correct way to evaluate and to judge someone else is to first evaluate and judge yourself. 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:01.039 And I think we all know this is not the default of our heart. 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:11.840 The default of our heart is to be so acutely aware of a speck in someone else's eye, all the while there is a plank and a tree sticking out of our own eye. 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:15.440 That's the default of the human heart. 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:17.919 And again, Jesus' point here is very simple. 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:22.559 He says the correct way to judge someone is to look inwards first. 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:30.480 Now, to be clear, Jesus is not saying that in order to evaluate someone, we need to be perfect. 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:41.840 You know, we should not read what Jesus says here and think, well, you know, since I struggle with this thing or since I struggle with that thing, I don't have any rights or any room to criticize anyone else. 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:46.559 I can't speak into anyone else's life because I don't have this all figured out myself. 00:14:46.960 --> 00:15:04.879 No, the whole point Jesus is making is that you looking inwards first and being aware of the log in your own eye and being the kind of person who sees that and who takes that seriously is what prepares you to speak into the life of someone else. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:12.720 So his point is that we should judge other people, and it matters how we judge other people. 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:17.120 It matters that we look inwards first. 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:25.120 So, as it relates to the question before us today, let me just uh say very practically what this means for us. 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:40.240 What this means is that we cannot be the kind of people, and we cannot be the kind of church who pounds the table over the sexual sin in other people while we let it go unchecked in our own lives and in our own community. 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:58.559 We cannot be the kind of people who speak quickly and publicly and decisively and confidently about other people's sin while we let it remain silent in our own lives. 00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:03.279 So the question is we think about taking the log out of our own eye first. 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:14.639 The question is, okay, do we look the other way and turn a blind eye towards gossip that we may see or hear in our own community? 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:20.080 Do we harbor sexual sin in our own lives? 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:26.399 Are we enslaved or addicted to pornography? 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:31.200 Do we overeat and overdrink? 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:34.879 Do we harbor anger and resentment and unforgiveness? 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:38.000 Do we let those things slide all the while? 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:42.399 We are very quick to point out the sin in the lives of other people. 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:50.720 The point that I'm getting at is this we must care as much about our own sin as we care about the sin in the lives of other people. 00:16:51.919 --> 00:17:02.000 We have to be the kind of people who care as much about our own holiness as we do about the holiness of other people in the world around us. 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:03.360 We have to. 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:18.079 If we let sin slide in our own community and we remain silent about it and let it go unchecked, it means that we are hypocrites for speaking against sin in the lives of other people. 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:26.160 So we must care about as much about sin in our own lives as we care about the sin in the lives of other people. 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:33.920 So step number one, the first way that we can love our friends and neighbors is we can remove the log from our own eye. 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:37.680 Secondly, check your heart. 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:46.319 What is the posture of your heart towards those in the LGBTQ community? 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:57.599 Can we honestly say that what we would ever say in conversation to or about someone who embraces that lifestyle? 00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:02.640 Can we honestly say that it is born out of a deep love for them? 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:07.440 And a deep desire to see them flourish? 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:16.720 Do we genuinely love those people whose gender and sexual identity does not align with what the Bible teaches? 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:19.759 Do our hearts break for them? 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:25.359 Or do we look down upon them with contempt? 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:32.079 Viewing them as more corrupt than the average person, certainly more corrupt than we are. 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:39.279 What is the posture of our heart towards people who embrace this lifestyle? 00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:40.720 Do we love them? 00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:47.680 The application for some of us may be that we need to ask God for soft hearts. 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:53.680 Because you may realize, you know, I really don't love people who embrace this lifestyle. 00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:55.519 I really despise these people. 00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:00.240 And we may need to ask God for soft hearts. 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:07.839 But whether that's you or not, the application for all of us is that we should ask God to help us see people the way that He sees them. 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:13.839 Which is broken, yes, but not beyond hope. 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:18.160 Yes, they are as broken as we are. 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:23.759 But they are not beyond the reach of God's grace. 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:29.839 And so, what is the posture of our heart towards those in the LGBTQ community? 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:33.359 So number one, remove the log from your own eye. 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:35.759 Number two, check your heart. 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:39.440 Number three, lean into relationships. 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:42.559 Lean into relationships. 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:51.119 We live in a state, I don't know if you know this, but the state of Minnesota is, it leans progressive, okay? 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:53.279 The state of Minnesota, yes, what? 00:19:53.759 --> 00:20:07.599 The state of Minnesota leans progressive, and we live in a progressive state in the year 2025, which means that unless you live completely isolated in a Christian bubble, there are going to be people in your lives who identify as LGBTQ. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:10.079 You're going to have those people in your life. 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:17.279 They might be in your workplace, they might be in your neighborhood, they might be in your schools, they might be in your own family, or even in your own home. 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:30.000 And so often the impulse for a lot of Christians is to pull away from those people, is to pull away from those relationships, but this is the exact opposite of what we see Jesus modeling for us. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:50.079 In his account of Jesus' life and ministry, Mark tells us the story about Jesus calling a man named Levi, who was a despised and hated tax collector, because he was a Jewish man who went to work on behalf of the occupying Roman government, taking taxes from the Jewish people. 00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:58.960 And he called this man Levi to follow him and to be his apprentice, to be his disciple, to be one of the inner circle of his disciple. 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:07.359 And as a response to this, uh, this invitation, Levi throws this banquet for Jesus and he invites all these people. 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:11.680 And so here's Jesus eating a meal with a whole bunch of corrupt people. 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:28.880 He's eating with a corrupt tax collector who feels no moral prick from taking tax money from his own people on behalf of the occupying Romans, and he's also eating with a whole bunch of people that are just as corrupt as Levi is. 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:02.400 It was a sign of relationship. 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:04.640 It was a sign of solidarity. 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:10.079 And so Jesus eating a meal with these people in this way was not just a way of getting nutrients into his body. 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:12.559 He was identifying with these people. 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:21.759 And the religious leaders are all bent out of shape because Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:27.839 Jesus leaned into relationships with all kinds of people who were very far from God. 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:38.960 You know, I've always found it fascinating that the people who would have been most offended by Jesus' message were the ones who loved to be with him the most. 00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:40.720 Did you ever notice that? 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:46.640 How when you read the Bible, it's not the sinful people that complain about Jesus. 00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:49.519 It's religious people that complain about Jesus. 00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:53.039 Jesus' message was very offensive. 00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:55.359 His message was repent. 00:22:55.920 --> 00:23:00.880 His message was turn away from your life of sin and follow me instead. 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:03.119 This is the direction your life has been headed. 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:10.640 Turn 180 degrees, go the opposite direction, follow me instead of following this path that you're on. 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:17.359 And for tax collectors and sinners and people who are living in unrepentant sin, that is an offensive message. 00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:19.839 And yet they loved to be around Jesus. 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.720 They had no problem being around Jesus because they knew that he loved them. 00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:32.400 Jesus did not act as if getting close to people who are far from God would corrupt him. 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:38.640 They didn't act as though, he didn't act as though being in relationship with them was going to defile him. 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:45.119 Now, obviously, you can read the book of Proverbs and it says that the company you keep will shape the direction of your life. 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:47.119 We know that to be true. 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:57.680 But Jesus here doesn't have any hesitation to be in relationship and to move into relationship with people like this. 00:23:58.799 --> 00:24:05.839 He leaned into relationship with, quote unquote, all the wrong kinds of people, and we should be willing to do the same. 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:13.359 Let me just suggest one aspect of leaning into relationships. 00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:19.680 There's lots of uh ways this can look, but let me just suggest one, and that is uh get to know their story. 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:24.960 Leaning into relationships means getting to know a person's story. 00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:28.880 And this is one of the ways that we humanize people. 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:37.759 Is we show genuine curiosity about them and we seek to understand them and we seek to get to know them. 00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:53.119 And as you do so, as you engage in relationships with people who embrace this lifestyle, you may find that for some people, embracing an LGBTQ identity is uh socially motivated in a lot of ways. 00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:57.279 You may discover that, like, oh, yeah, like all your friends do this. 00:24:57.519 --> 00:25:03.519 And so, like, it's easy for you to do this and you want to do this in large part because it it's a way you fit in. 00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:06.720 So you may find out that there's a social component to it. 00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:19.359 You may find out that for some people, embracing this lifestyle is based on a kind of rebellion against traditional gender roles and a rejection of masculine-feminine stereotypes. 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:28.960 And so, because I want to reject those things, I reject a gendered life or a gendered experience, and I choose to be gender fluid or gender non-binary, all those kind of things. 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:35.519 You may find out that, like, oh, at the at the core of this is like you don't like the stereotypes that are out there. 00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:40.799 And for a lot of reasons, you should not like those stereotypes that are out there, right? 00:25:40.960 --> 00:26:05.680 And so there could be a social component, there could be a sort of rebellion against traditional stereotypes, roll to it, or you may find out that a person for all of their life has dealt with deep inner wrestlings with what's uh what the literature calls gender dysphoria, which means that their embodied experience of life does not match their biological sex. 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:17.759 And so this is a person who lives with a constant sense of dissonance between what I feel about my gender and what my body is. 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:26.480 These are people that live with uh dissonance and incongruence and distress, and they feel like there's a there's a misalignment between who they are and what their body is. 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:36.400 And so you may find that as you get to know people, you will discover that not every LGBTQ person has the same story. 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:43.759 They don't all have the same motivations, they haven't all ended up in that place for the same reasons. 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:54.799 And just to put this as simply as I can, we can't love people well, and we can't lead people towards Jesus if we aren't willing to understand them. 00:26:55.359 --> 00:27:07.039 If we aren't willing to close our mouths and listen, and ask lots of questions, and listen as much, if not significantly, more than we're willing to speak. 00:27:08.400 --> 00:27:10.880 So we have to lean into relationships. 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:16.000 Which leads to number four, which is anticipate being misunderstood. 00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:23.279 As you lean into relationships, you will be misunderstood. 00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:25.279 We see this with Jesus. 00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:33.839 When the religious leaders saw that Jesus was eating with all the wrong kinds of people, they come to his followers and they're like, Why does this guy eat with them? 00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:38.400 Tax collectors, sinners. 00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:44.240 You can hear the contempt in their question for those people. 00:27:44.400 --> 00:27:48.079 You should be staying away from those kinds of people, not getting close to them. 00:27:49.359 --> 00:28:02.480 Then in Luke 7, Jesus described his ministry by saying, He says, The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. 00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:17.680 There was a lot of people in Jesus' day, especially the religious leaders, especially the religious establishment, they incorrectly assumed that because he loved and hung out with tax collectors and sinners, that he was like them. 00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:21.680 Or that he was becoming like them by being around them. 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:29.680 And so they were constantly griping and constantly accusing Jesus of compromise, and he's a glutton, he's a drunkard, and he's a, you know, hanging out with these people. 00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:32.720 And you know what Jesus didn't care about at all? 00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:36.880 He didn't give one rip about what religious people thought. 00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:42.720 He didn't care at all what religious people thought of him. 00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:52.319 Jesus was willing to hang out with people who were far from God, knowing that it meant he would be accused of joining with them in their sin. 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:55.039 And he was perfectly willing to do this. 00:28:55.279 --> 00:28:59.839 He was willing to be misunderstood by religious people. 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:01.759 And we should be too. 00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:10.960 What religious people like the Pharisees have a hard time understanding is that empathy does not mean embrace. 00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:16.319 Compassion does not mean compromise. 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:20.880 Love does not mean acceptance. 00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:30.720 Treating another image-bearer of God with dignity and kindness does not mean that you endorse their lifestyle. 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:40.640 As you navigate these difficult waters of leaning into relationships, there will be times where you are misunderstood. 00:29:41.119 --> 00:29:43.440 Where you receive friendly fire. 00:29:44.640 --> 00:29:46.880 Maybe because you're not speaking out. 00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:53.680 Maybe because it looks like you're, you know, you're you're a coward and you just don't want to say what needs to be said and you don't want to say what's true. 00:29:53.920 --> 00:30:00.640 You'll receive friendly fire as you engage in relationships with people in the LGBTQ community. 00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:02.160 If you're doing it right. 00:30:02.880 --> 00:30:06.400 If you're leaning in far enough, you will be misunderstood. 00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:10.160 And we should be okay with that. 00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:14.079 So number one, remove the log. 00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:17.279 Number two, check your heart. 00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:19.680 Number three, lean into relationships. 00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:23.359 Number four, anticipate being misunderstood. 00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:26.720 And lastly, follow the pattern Jesus set. 00:30:27.599 --> 00:30:29.359 Follow the pattern that Jesus set. 00:30:29.440 --> 00:30:33.200 And it's this Jesus loved people really, really well. 00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:37.440 And he called them to leave their life of sin. 00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:41.039 It's possible to do both, do you know that? 00:30:41.519 --> 00:30:49.440 You don't have to either just love and embrace and accept everything without saying what's true, and you don't have to just say what's true without also loving people. 00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:54.000 Jesus shows us a pattern of doing both of this. 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:57.519 He loved people well. 00:30:58.079 --> 00:31:10.000 He called them to leave their life of sin, but his message was not, if you read about his life in ministry, you'll see that his message was not just some generic message of behavior modification. 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:13.279 His message was not, just stop sinning, would ya? 00:31:13.599 --> 00:31:14.720 Knock it off. 00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:28.400 No, remember when Jesus encountered this woman at the well, and through conversation, it became really obvious that her heart was constantly looking for satisfaction in men. 00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:35.440 She had all this string of relationships, and she was living with a man who wasn't her husband. 00:31:35.599 --> 00:31:40.880 In this string of relationships, Jesus understood that as like this woman is looking for something in men. 00:31:41.200 --> 00:31:44.720 She's looking for deep heart satisfaction. 00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:48.400 And his message to her was not, just stop doing that. 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:51.279 Just move out. 00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:55.920 His message was, come to me and find living water. 00:31:56.880 --> 00:32:05.359 His message was, only in me can you find what you need to finally quench those deepest thirsts and longings of your heart. 00:32:07.440 --> 00:32:12.400 Jesus didn't just tell people to stop sinning, although he did that. 00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:16.960 He invited people to know him as the living water. 00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:23.839 He invited people to know him as a treasurer worth giving up everything else to gain. 00:32:26.960 --> 00:32:35.519 Ultimately, we love our LGBTQ friends by pointing them to the one who can quench the thirst of their heart. 00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:48.559 Yes, the call on their lives and the call on our lives is to bring our sexuality into alignment with God's design, but Jesus comes first. 00:32:51.279 --> 00:33:02.240 The message of the gospel is not stop sinning already, clean up your life, and once you have that done, then you'll be accepted by Jesus. 00:33:03.519 --> 00:33:08.799 No, the message is look to what God has already done for you in Christ. 00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:17.839 And once your heart truly understands the cross and what God has done for you, changes in our behavior will inevitably follow. 00:33:18.160 --> 00:33:21.200 Friends, the order of this is so important. 00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:25.119 The order is so important. 00:33:25.279 --> 00:33:28.880 We don't start with trying to change people's behavior. 00:33:29.119 --> 00:33:31.839 We start by introducing them to Jesus. 00:33:33.920 --> 00:33:36.880 And we believe, because we've experienced this, haven't we? 00:33:37.039 --> 00:33:40.720 That once they have encountered Jesus, they cannot stay the same. 00:33:41.920 --> 00:33:49.759 Let Jesus and the Spirit of God do the work to change them, is what we need to do is introduce them to Jesus. 00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:57.200 So the first thing that we do is we point them to the one who can truly quench the thirsts of their heart. 00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:17.599 I referenced uh Christopher Ewan's book a few weeks back, and I want to close our time together this morning by sharing one more brief quote that I found really helpful. 00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:19.760 He was talking about his own journey. 00:34:19.840 --> 00:34:34.079 Uh uh, Christopher Ewan is a same-sex attracted man who's also a follower of Jesus, seminary professor, author, speaker, and as he was writing in his book about his own journey of coming to know Jesus, he said this. 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:41.119 I didn't leave pursuing same-sex relationship because my parents convinced me it was sinful. 00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:45.920 I didn't leave because they convinced me it was unhealthy. 00:34:47.280 --> 00:34:50.239 I left because I was shown something better. 00:34:50.559 --> 00:34:52.400 And his name is Jesus. 00:34:54.880 --> 00:35:10.079 Friends, we love our LGBTQ friends not first by demanding that they change, but by introducing them to the one who, the only one who can actually change them from the inside out, starting at the heart level. 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:24.719 So remove the log, check your heart, lean into relationships, anticipate being misunderstood, and follow the pattern that Jesus set. 00:35:27.760 --> 00:35:42.639 As we come to the communion table today, we are reminded not only of God's love for us, we are reminded of God's love for the world and his love for our LGBTQ friends. 00:35:44.639 --> 00:35:56.159 So come forward today to receive his broken body and shed blood for you, and let that propel you outward to love the people that God has placed in your sphere of influence.