Spiritual cluelessness of this age | Luke 12 | Pastor Ed Kang

May 26, 2019 | Members Bible Study | Pastor Ed Kang | Luke 12

In an age of spiritual confusion, the gospel isn’t just for us to receive—it’s for us to share.

Transcript

Anyway, so vision, vision, so the topic of today is going to be spiritual cluelessness and vision, okay? And I think they're very related. I think one way that you gain a proper vision for your life and proper answer to the question, “What am I supposed to do with my life?” is sort of to be delivered from a certain cluelessness because if you're not seeing everything, like if you're seeing a very narrow little thing, then whatever notion of what you're going to do with your life is going to be probably wrong, right? So like your middle schooler, right? Like I think Element is in the room, right? Am I right? Element is in the room? No, okay, okay. I need to know that sometimes because, okay, so your average middle schooler, like what is, what is their horizon of life? You know, it's like the eighth graders are king of the hill and they walk around thinking like they're old men and you know and maybe their whole notion is that, you know, “I need the attention of that girl, I need the attention of that guy or I need to make the team” or something like that and that's everything and you tell them and then a wise like 11th grader will tell this eighth grader, “You know what? Middle school isn’t all there is to life, man. You got to get ready for high school. It's different in high school. It's tough in high school. You got to get serious with your life.” I don't know if you remember having talks like that with your older siblings or and and so I remember like “Man, high school must be scary.”

So, you get to high school and you think like so your average sort of young person, teenagers, horizon of time is not very far. So they sort of put together their vision for their life and it doesn't reach very far. You know what my reason for not wanting to go to med school was? You would think like “Oh I don't want to like work on you know sick bodies or like I don't want to do biochemistry.” It wasn't any of that. It was “What can you still do at 28?” Like I don't want to like I want to live my life man that seemed like just a couple of steps before death as I was you know an 18-year-old so restless wanting to conquer the world. So spiritual cluelessness with respect to time horizon or like where we're situated right, where we're situated and and if you don't know that then probably your evaluation and criteria are going to be very very off.

So, here's where we're going to start with the story of Jesus kind of pointing out the spiritual cluelessness of the people of his generation. So, are we good? Okay so Luke 12 so let's read this together. Ready go.

Luke 12:54-59 - 54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

Odd juxtaposition of stories and and you need to kind of think about this a little bit before understanding what Jesus is talking about. He says you know you're good at sort of noticing things that affect your economic interest. So you know it's good to be able to know “Oh like there's going to be rain today. You know I better do something appropriate as a farmer.” So farmers need to know right need to be clued in on that. Like hey I think I think with the trade war coming prices are going to go up and maybe I better invest in Bitcoin. You know something like that. I don't know if that's economic I just made that up but so whatever affects what you're interested in right like you get good at it and you get keen at it and then and then what you're interested in you start like developing ideas and expertise around that and maybe you sort of put together a life path, a life plan, your vision for life based on that. And Jesus is making that observation like you're all really good at this and then he suddenly goes “You hypocrites!” Wow that's pretty sharp. Like why? You know we're reading the winds I mean what's so hypocritical about that and Jesus says you hypocrites you know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky but why do you not know how to interpret the present time. Okay so Jesus saying you got to evaluate your present time and the people are probably thinking well I mean that's kind of what I'm doing and Jesus says, “No here here is the present time.” So again why do you not judge for yourself what is right? As you go with your accuser to the judge, you better settle with him on the way. So Jesus scolds the people for being really clued in on economic interests and then says you know you're really clueless about the kind of times you're in right now and then he says and then he tells this story you know if you're on your way to the judge and it won't go well with you when you get there and somebody's dragging you to court somebody saying let's go and so you're going to the judge so judgment is coming and the present time is you're on your way there. So I don't know how far that is you know how far is the courthouse I don't know but like it's it's not a whole lot of time like you know on the way and what should you be your what should be your main focus it's an effort to settle, effort to settle on the way like that's your present situation and if you don't understand this and you're just all about the weather and farming and my crops and my income and my money and my houses and filling my barns with grains man you are so clueless and so sharp words you hypocrites and then a story that is filled with a sense of urgency it's like oh no you know I'm gonna get there okay I better reconcile and in the story that Jesus tells you're in debt like you're gonna be judged you're going to prison right this is the this is the human situation you're on your way to the judge and you if you zoom out and you think about the gospel and you think about the the entirety of Jesus message that's what it is. Right, you're dying right, life is short, death is certain, judgment is coming what are you gonna do about it. Here I am. Right, repent for for the kingdom of heaven is at hand and that is good news right kingdom of heaven the kingship of God is coming you can repent and enter the kingdom of heaven but now's your opportunity to be reconciled. It starts with John the Baptist crying out in the wilderness, it starts with Jesus message his healings the kingdom of God breaking into humanity the king has come to pronounce amnesty to all the rebels. That's the time, now the rebels come out of the hills come and lay down your arms and say God I'm sorry this is such good news that I get to be part of your kingdom I will be happily ruled by my benevolent creator and Heavenly Father. That's the message of the gospel and Jesus is saying this is a present time and you're still you're still so clued in on this. So that's the thing you know if you're so keen on something right if you're so keen on what's going on here are you really going to be interested in spiritual things are you really gonna be interested in matters of death and judgment and things like this?

So I love I love Blaise Pascal amazing genius of I think the 15th century 16th century and here are some of his zingers about this topic here's Blaise Pascal in an unfinished work called Pensées - All I know is that I must soon die. Before this he went on and on about what I don't know right, like I don't know who put me here, like I don't know where I am in this vast terrifying universe. And then he goes all I know is that I must soon die but what I know least about is a very death which I cannot evade. I mean that right there is like worth a couple of paragraphs right - all I know is I must soon die but what I know least about is a very death which I cannot evade when I leave this world I shall fall forever into nothingness or into the hands of a wrathful God but I do not know which of these two states is to be my eternal lot and my conclusion from all this is that I must pass my days without a thought without a thought of seeking what has to happen to me. This negligence in a matter where they themselves their eternity they're all are at stake astounds and appalls me. Yeah Pascal thought this was weird you know because he's not saying anything particularly religious or Christian in this statement he's just making an observation that everybody like we all know we're gonna die we're like like this whole issue of where do we come from and then this life and what happens after we die like this situation is is fairly universal and he's saying well this situation should really bother us. But it doesn't seem to bother people. Without a thought I must pass my days without a thought and this negligence is strange, it astounds and appalls me. The immortality of the soul is something of such vital importance to us that one must have lost all feeling not to care about knowing the facts of the matter but men have decided in order to be happy not to think about such things. The immortality of the soul you know are just flesh are we just animals? Or is there something about us that's not captured by our flesh and if that if there's something more than us more than the body than what is the more and so the immortality of the soul is of such importance that it makes a vast difference in what we should think and choose and yet in order to be happy, in order to be happy men choose not to think about these things and then he has a whole bunch of material on distractions and why distractions are so important because it helps us not think about these things.

So that's the issue spiritual cluelessness you hypocrites you know how to interpret the appearance of earthen sky but why do you not know how to interpret the present time. Here's a present time you're on your way to the judge now this topic of judgment, of death, of God being your judge this topic is not a small topic right. It is inherently for anyone kind of thinking about our frailties right anyone who's ever gone to funeral everyone anyone who's ever lost a loved one, anyone who's ever had a close call right I mean and and further this is the topic of Jesus teaching. Like he taught on this more than any other topic like every one of his like almost every one of his parables ends in some judgment scene this the master comes back or you know the door is shut or the invited guests don't make it like they're all so it's a huge emphasis in his teaching so after this this this text comes this one and if I had to put in the chapter headings I would not have put the chapter division here because it's the end of chapter 12 and then you think it's another story I think this all connects and at the beginning of chapter 13 you have this exchange

Luke 13:1-5 - 13 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 

So that's a little cryptic but Galileans were giving sacrifices and you think that when you're giving sacrifices you'd be safe but these are rebels and Pilate, Pontius Pilate the Roman governor caught up with them at the time that they were giving their sacrifices and they were slaughtered right there mingling their blood with their sacrifices so so so it's a horrible fate

2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Man Jesus is not a fun person to have a Q&A with. You know like you're saying oh why did God create the dinosaurs and then and answer is like you're a dinosaur unless you repent you're gonna turn into an extinct dinosaur. Like it's an odd way to answer the question because this is troubling you know you would think that God would at least protect you while you're giving your sacrifice and your own blood gets mingled like it's sort of sort of a kind of a dark and taboo kind of picture and like what happened to the and and Jesus he's not William Lane Craig he's like well you know the problem of suffering why would a good God let me like he doesn't, he says look you should repent or you're gonna perish, ever the preacher Jesus. Unless you repent, unless you repent you will all likewise perish and then Jesus adds another incident that they didn't even bring up right I mean one is human evil, this is sort of natural evil almost 18 on whom the Tower of Siloam fell. Tower of Siloam collapsed and 18 poor people in a sense died and he said do you think they died because they were worse offenders? No I tell you unless you repent you will all likewise perish you're gonna die too some other tower will fall on you you know or some other Roman governor than Pilate might kill you or you might get into a car accident or cancer might get you or heart attack or stroke. You're gonna perish the key is that you repent.

Like wow Jesus answers these intellectual questions by being very applicational and try to shake them so you know intellectual questions are good but what about you you know like how come these people died in this world but you're gonna die too. Life is short, life is precarious. You know your hold on life isn't permanent for any of us. That's what he's saying you know that wasn't good that Pilate did that and that wasn't good that the Tower of Siloam fell but what about you those guys died it's too late for them but what about you like you need to repent that's Jesus' answer

Shall we go on he tells them this parable -

6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

So now let's zoom out a little, let's review. Jesus is is saying look don't be spiritually clueless by focusing on earth only, think about heaven, think about death, think about judgment because it's coming and you know what you can be reconciled while you're on the way. Life is a is a wonderful little time of grace where you can reconcile before you get to the judge. And then a little sharper you need to repent but that's how you reconcile right you need to say God I've wronged You, you know like there are a lot of issues in life but the primary issue is how I relate to You and I'm a sinner before You thank You that I get to reconcile repent turn turn repent repent and believe the gospel that was Jesus message in a nutshell right. And then he tells us parable you know this fig tree, so that's another angle like don't be clueless who are you you're a fig tree in a vineyard you know you you've been lavished with with good soil and sunshine and you know you have life and you have thoughts and you know in Romans 1 it says there are certain certain things you cannot not know like you know there's a God you you've been taught to not believe that but deep inside you know and you know that He has a claim on your life right so so what have you done. And the picture is that fig tree is about to be judged there's a lifted ax you know cut it down and then the gardener like who is this you know it's it's a landowner and the and the fig tree and the condition of the fruitlessness you know the this spoiled fig tree just just gobbling things up and not producing any things cut it down why should it use up the ground like it's not good that you you should just like you know your life and and all that you take in like it's supposed to bear fruit and then the gardener says oh one more year, one more year. I'm a dig around it I'm gonna put some manure on it let's see what happens next year. You see the pattern you're on your way to the judge calamity hasn't happened to you so now's your opportunity. Judgment has been pronounced but you're in a period of grace. The gardener who is this lovely gardener and I think I think it's probably correct to say that that's Jesus. I will I will right. Let alone this year until I dig around it and I'll take care of it so yeah there's that note of grace right if you recognize that this is you then you get to receive from the gardener and so that's life life is grace, life is mercy, but it isn't forever so you have to repent, be reconciled, open our lives to the cultivating work of our Lord you know dig around like what might that mean dig around it you know get your get your sort of hard soil to be porous, put on some manure, what's manure the tears and prayers and sacrifices of your leaders, that's manure. That's what we say you know like hey we're fertilizer guys let's let's die let's die let's be spent for the younger ones and we don't just chuckle you know like yeah we should die. I love I love that picture that we're fertilizer, manure not so much but fertilizer what's proud and sounds like a bell? Dung. Couldn't resist okay.

So that's that's that's that's top in number one spiritual cluelessness spiritual cluelessness okay unless we awaken from our spiritual cluelessness, vision? Like you can't see beyond you know your your small clueless range and Jesus is trying to you know blow up your horizon say think eternally, think about judgment and the immortality of the soul and then you can align your life right and you know I'm preaching to the choir I mean probably most of you in here you're like yeah yeah you understand this. Oh but you can understand it and it not be relevant you know what I mean? Like how central this is that's you have to work on that right you have to work on that like you have to remind yourself this is important, like this isn't important, like it's not the end of the world we tell each other right all come on it's not the end of the world and yet it feels like it and whatever it is right? The fact that you have a pimple on your nose or something like that like you know oh my gosh you know but you also have cancer and you're due for chemo right like like what's more important what's more central. So to know some things and then and then to make it more and more central requires reflecting over it, requires thinking about it, requires making some decisions that align with it so that more and more your life is taking on less of a random you know shooting off in every direction kind of randomness and it's getting aligned and then what is true and properly central becomes a felt centrality and everything starts to to feel like there's going to be some forward momentum. So the spiritual cluelessness issue is not for non-Christians you know it's very much for Christians as well you know. I need to remind myself like what do we do what we do. Like we're all we're on all these campuses right like these banners and why do we do that you know?  Not to make you East Coast people feel any burden of indebtedness you know that's not that's not a scriptural, you don't have to feel you know you don't have to pay anything back right you you pay it forward as they say right love needs to just be passed on you don't need to pay it pay it back. But it's it's painful it's painful to send out you know 150 people to the East Coast to plant it on all of these campuses. Why do we do it? Well you know why we do it we do it because college students are lonely and they should be part of a healthy, happy community and eat good homemade food. You know we will sacrifice for that. No right no of course not it's because college students are lost and lied to and prayed upon and and they're gonna they're gonna turn into poor moms and dads and so we want to want to teach them all this wisdom because their professors aren't teaching them that and they're away from their parents and here we are you know like I've grown up so I want to love them and mentor them so that they become well-adjusted contributing citizens and they're gonna grow into good moms and good dads and that's a worthy cause right that's why we do what we do. No no no no no no it's the scale is so much bigger than that right the scale is so much bigger than that the scale is people are on their way to the judge you know we're in the short window of opportunity. Jesus said this he said

Matthew 6:19-21 - 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Man you're a poor person if all you've done is invest in things that will rust and rot and decay. People last forever people last forever we're gonna spend eternity in heaven or in hell, we're gonna be in the presence of God or be shut out from the one source of light and life and goodness in the universe and that's forever. How are you gonna live? So Jesus told this story. So spiritual cluelessness and now I'm gonna move on to vision - clear up the spiritual cluelessness, see the eternal transcendent dimensions of your existence and others and then Jesus tells this story it's a fun story. 

Luke 16:1-9 - 16 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man (I want you guys to be the shrewd manager) who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’

This is fraud this is open fraud right that's not his money right and he just, he's generous to other people just gives away his master's money because he still has the stamp you see he still is in his position. So I don't know like maybe the ancients had good labor laws you know he gave them 30 days notice and he's within those 30 days like okay I'm doing this.

7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager

So maybe this is part of the mafia right and the manager says you knucklehead you know I hate you get out of here so like that kind of master like he's he's being defrauded and he's like man you sharp dude I better get rid of you faster than I thought but there's something he respects in that or something like that right. And then and then Jesus says I tell you make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth so that when it fails they may receive you into eternal dwellings. So this is the interpretive key. Why is Jesus talking about this crooked manager and then commending him and everything because this this is analogous to the human condition and again it's the same theme isn't it you've been told you're fired but now you have a period so what is life right now right it's you're on your way to getting fired so there's a period and then and then it's judgment. But now but you're on your way to the judge like you can do something about it now and what should you do? Right that's the story what should you do well you know you can use what you've got to make eternal friends, eternal dwellings, eternal dwellings. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, take some people with you, eternal dwellings man that's what you're supposed to do with your life. So the statement, what shall I do everybody say what shall I do this this phrase it ties this story with the story of of another guy who said what shall I do.

Luke 12:16-21 - 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’

Like what a good problem to have like he's got such a harvest he ran out of storage space right so he goes out he goes and and he rents a couple of self-storage like bins or what what are those called.

18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Spiritual cluelessness and judgment and what shall I do all rolled up into this story. Spiritual cluelessness he thought souls ate food this is America right. Campolo, Tony Campolo, preacher says you know for centuries people said there are physical needs met by physical things there are spiritual needs met by spiritual things and America's the first civilization to suggest that spiritual needs can be met by a nice car. That's the rich fool. Soul you have like you have a lot of good soul like soul doesn't eat grain except and his soul was going to be demanded from him that very night. Spiritual cluelessness, lack of vision, judgment, you fool. And this statement what shall I do what shall I do. You know I've got a lot of potential you young people say you do you know like I thought I had a lot of potential too when I was your age and then you know what I realized I had been performing at about 95% of my potential all along. See you comfort yourself you think you know I got a lot of potential you know like my potential is yay high and and I'm operating right here and this is why I got to be minus but you know that's because I wasn't I wasn't performing to my my potential like this is A plus right here like this is like this is like wow and and it's all there it's all there it's just it's just untapped that's all untapped. Anyway so so what shall I do what shall I do. Man I'm in my 20s what shall I do? I'm gonna be 22 one day and then 23 and then 24 then 25. I'd better be married by then and then then then 30s and then I'll probably retire you know in my 30s. What shall I do what shall I do you know. Shall I do that should I do this you know should I go backpacking through Tibet? You know should I go to Wall Street and become an investment banker? Should I live in a miserable flat and right poetry and try to become a YouTube star? What shall I do what shall I do I know what I'll do - I'll do this, I'll do that and I'll do this I will tear down my barns I will build like he's got a plan right he's not sitting there like and this guy man he's he's a go getter, his plans are good plans, decisive. I'm gonna tear down my barns not good it like it's too small I'm gonna build a bigger barn I'm gonna store and what he didn't what he didn't account for is what Jesus is saying - you're on your way to the judge right. Those people who died suddenly because of calamity or because of human evil and unless you too repent it'll come upon. You don't have a lot a time so he tells these stories full of full of urgency.

What shall I do well that's that's the rich fools answer we have that answer that's the world's answer that's a typical answer right well here's what you should do you know you should increase your capacity build bigger minds store it up save it up diversify portfolio. A lot of good sense in that except it gets you to be spiritually utterly clueless right unless you're a naturalist and you say hey you know life is short and who knows about eternity I'm just gonna I'm just gonna grab all the gusto I can and that is that is at least a consistent worldview. How did the shrewd manager answer that question what shall I do, what shall I do. I have management opportunity you know I still have I still have some things I can do with things that are not my own and that is the Christian view of our position that we are managers. You know the King James version in this story call this guy a steward you know today we imagine a steward to be like dressed in a suit with a cummerbund or something and kind of or you don't know what a steward is but but but a manager a lot of a lot of you know ancient aristocrats had managers who were you know CFOs and COOs of their estate and and this is who we are like your talent your treasures your gifting the incredible resources that you've been privileged to consume. Your position in this time and place and you know your location on your campus all of these things are things that are given to you and you need to manage them before the Lord like you have a master gave them these things to you. But but it's not but it's coming to an end so what should you do with that time. What shall I do what shall I do. And this shrewd manager says here's what I'm gonna do I'm gonna invest everything in people because then when I am done, we have eternal dwellings to fellowship and worship God together with. So his his view is beyond right it's beyond very different from the rich for his view is beyond this life. I don't end there I keep going and I'm gonna lay up treasures there so what's my life for? Wow I have I have these things I don't deserve them what am I supposed to do and it takes decisive action to invest in these people. So the doctrine of eternal judgment, the doctrine of heaven and hell, the doctrine of the immortality, the resurrection of the of the dead, these doctrines show us what to do with our lives and if you don't have this eternal scope then then you're like that teenager who thinks all of life is just the classroom hallways and the playground of school. So the shrewd manager’s answer this question is I'm gonna use my limited time and resources to make eternal friends, to make eternal friends. So what is the key test of faithfulness it's whether we're making friends who will share eternity with us. Money and all that it can buy, if you invest in things and your creature comforts Jesus says that will rust and rot in decay. Time is short, what are we gonna do? Will we have spent our lives and vain attempts to secure our future on earth to make ourselves secure against time or will we be open to our loving Heavenly Father who breathed the spirit into us and then we're gonna look around and say hey life is short death this certain judgment is coming this, is what my life is gonna be about.

So again and Luke these passages all come like back to back to back in the section and Luke chapter 17 Jesus says this:

Luke 17:26-32 - 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage it's not like people you know it's like what Jesus said you know you're all into farming and you say it's gonna rain today it's gonna be a hot day today they were they were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage. It's the mundane life that makes people spiritually clueless how clueless they're so clueless that until the day judgment came took them all like they're just they're just not tuned into what God is doing and then the Hebrew writer says of Noah in Hebrews 11:7 let's read this together:

Hebrews 11:7 - 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith Noah warned by God concerning things yet unseen in reverent fear constructed an ark. Warned of events yet unseen. Everybody's been warned death is coming. Just as God spoke to Noah and gave him special knowledge hey you can be saved build an ark. We too have been given something that our neighbors scoff at. We’ve been given this knowledge somehow out of all the people in the world out of all the people on your campuses somehow this message came to you through your parents, through a friend, through a Bible study through listening to the rich full story at New Student Welcome Night, taking up the challenge to seek God for a semester. However it happened you have this knowledge and although it's maddening that the rest of your friends on campus they scoff at this, they scoff at this because it's cool to scoff at it. It's not because they read a bunch of books and anguished over this and as a finite human being decided that God didn't exist. You know I always joke about how I can't really assert the nonexistence of onions in my refrigerator. Kelly says can you get the onions it's not there oh no no it's there I saw it. Are you sure it's not there? Suddenly I'm I turn from onion atheist to onion agnostic. I go look again no I'm sure it's not there did you check the vegetable drawer. Yeah it's way in the back there I think then I realized opened it only slightly and I just saw lettuce. I go back I open it I move the lettuce sure enough the onions are there you know and as an onion agnostic I'm willing to investigate. But if I hate onions, if I really want to go out for dinner and I want to sabotage Kelly's attempt to cook the dinner then I'll glance over, no onions are you sure? I'm positive there ain't no onions in there. The idea of onions in the in the refrigerator as anathema it is ridiculous, it's superstitious, it's old-fashioned, onions don't exist let's go out. Anyway just just drop that allegory. My point is we're in the position of Noah right we've been we've been given some knowledge - glory glory - and that comes with a vision right comes with the vision, comes with an amazing answer to the question what shall I do what shall I do? Well here's the ark. Let’s build the ark, there's a vessel of salvation that we can all be about. So vision for my life - whatever specific texture and color it may take for you, at the core, this is the vision for every one of us. All right, let's pray. Let's all stand and just pray in response to the present spiritual situation that we find ourselves in. World negligent on a matter that is so inherently involving and here we are and given the message of salvation - what should we do with our lives so let's think about that and respond and prayer.