WEBVTT 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:08.720 A teaching text uh for today as we're going through kind of a vision series of what we're what we're aiming at as a church. 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:14.320 Vision sounds so business-like, but really it's just like as a church, what are we seeking to aim at? 00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:15.759 What are we wanting to do? 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:22.559 And so if you are brand new, again, I think this would be a space where it'll be kind of orienting to you of what our church is about. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:30.800 And then if you've been with us for a minute, um some of this might sound uh as a refresher and take it as a refresher, just to be reminded of what we're doing. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:35.600 Um but the teaching text is from Luke 19, verses 1 through 10. 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:38.000 And this is what Luke writes. 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:42.320 He says, uh, Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:47.920 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus, and he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:52.000 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:57.520 And so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:02.799 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:04.319 I must stay at your house today. 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:07.519 And so he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:12.159 And all the people saw this and began to mutter, He's gone to be the guest of a sinner. 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:19.359 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, Look, Lord, here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor. 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:23.519 And if I've cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times that amount. 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:29.280 And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a son of Abraham. 00:01:29.599 --> 00:01:32.319 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. 00:01:32.560 --> 00:01:33.519 This is the word of the Lord. 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:50.560 Um culture shock is a definition here is the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, a way of life, or a set of attitudes. 00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:51.920 That's what culture shock is. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:58.959 First time I ever experienced culture shock was on a backpacking mission trip, camping trip to China. 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:05.840 Um and I went with uh Larry and uh my father uh my my stepdad and uh a bunch of other men. 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:08.319 And um I've been camping before, right? 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:09.599 Like you I've been camping. 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:20.719 When you go camping, what you expect is when you get there, like you unload the stuff, there's a there's a space for your tent to like sit, and there's a fire pit, and then there's like a spigot for water. 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:29.599 Maybe, you know, if you paid the extra, you get like the outlets to like plug your stuff into, and then there's a bathhouse or something somewhere where you can use restroom, take a shower and stuff like that. 00:02:29.759 --> 00:02:33.520 And so for some reason, the entire time we're across, we're in the Orient. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:36.800 Like I'm in a different space, and I'm thinking, I'm thinking about that. 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:41.759 That's what camping is gonna be like in uh the mountains and the back hills of China. 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:43.280 It was not that way. 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:53.919 There was nothing there, like the first night that we were there, we were we have everything in our packs and we're walking, trying to pass out gospel radios and Bibles to people and meet people, and it really was wonderful. 00:02:54.000 --> 00:03:01.360 But the first night we were there, we uh it's like, all right, we need to, it's time to go to bed and sleep and then wake up in the morning and do this thing. 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:02.800 It was like, where do we sleep? 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:05.120 And it was like, I don't know, there's a cornfield. 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:15.120 And so we walk into this cornfield, and again, it was just this space where I'm kind of still looking for a flat piece of ground with all these different things, and there was none of that. 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:20.000 We were walking through the corn and then this really tall grass that was like up to here. 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:28.719 There's spiders everywhere, there's there's bugs everywhere, and it was like just lay your stuff down and camp here, and this is where you will camp. 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:36.240 And uh, we couldn't do a fire that night because we'd have lit the cornfield on fire or something, and there's no water source, like that's a spigot. 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:37.439 There's definitely no outlets. 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:40.319 And I just had a moment where I was like, what are we doing? 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:41.919 Like, I'm gonna lose my mind. 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:45.919 Like, this is there's just no, like I'm supposed to sleep, and the ground was not flat. 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:47.199 You had to like flatten it out. 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:48.800 And it's like, where do you go to the bathroom? 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:51.120 It's like just anywhere, like whenever. 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:58.400 And uh, there's no place to shower, and I'd like to take a shower before I go to bed, and there's no way to do that because again, you're in corn. 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:17.920 And I just had a hard time for a moment, and uh, and then you know, slept, wake up the next morning, and I wake up and I unzip the tent, and there's a there's the owner of the cornfield standing in front of me with a sickle, and I was like, dear God, this is I'm gonna be martyred for sleeping in this man's cornfield. 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:25.120 Um but it was this space for me, like we did that and had a hard day, but then like just being in that culture was so difficult. 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:29.680 But then we had to keep going, and we had 10 more days, or however many more days to do it. 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:37.759 And so, like, what it did is the culture that we were in shaped us and formed us and made me less whiny about the things that I was dealing with. 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:51.680 And it was like now we know what to look for, we know what to expect, and then just being in that culture just shaped us and shaped us into and shaped our team into people that were like, okay, we could camp in China if we want to, and we're not gonna like lose our minds trying to find a space to do it. 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:55.040 And so I believe that culture is a very powerful thing. 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:57.759 To experience a culture, it's a very powerful thing. 00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:02.240 You can, it can shake you, and it can be something that's like this is felt. 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:10.720 I am in a space, enduring a culture that feels different, and it's doing something in me, and it's actually messing with my emotions. 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:12.879 I am in a culture that's that's shaping something in me. 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:20.399 But then the longer you're in it, it can also form you into a completely different person that actually knows how to camp in China and do those kinds of things. 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:29.120 And so I say all that because today I want to talk about the type of cultures that we want to build as at a church and in our church. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:32.079 Because I do believe that culture is actually very, very powerful. 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:34.079 I want it to be very similar to that. 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:44.160 I want people to walk into our church, experience a culture, and go and kind of have culture shock and go, there's there's just nothing like this that I've experienced before. 00:05:44.319 --> 00:06:05.439 There are things that are being built here, there's an environment here that is kind of shocking to be in, so that it kind of registers with their emotions, but then also that it's a space where they're in this environment long enough to where it's like, yeah, I used to think and do and act and some of these things I did this way, but being in this culture has shaped me into kind of a new person. 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:10.639 And so when I talk about like the cultures that we want to build, though, those are the things I want to see happen. 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:16.639 I do want it to be shockingly different and noteworthily different than what what else is out in the world. 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:21.439 But then I also want it to be a thing where it's not just something that you live in, but it's something that you're shaped by. 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:26.319 And so today, what I want to look at is um two cultures. 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:31.360 We're gonna do two this week, three next week, um, that we want to build here. 00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:34.639 And so the first is we want to build a culture of the gospel. 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:39.120 We want to build a culture that's saturated with uh the good news of Jesus. 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:43.600 We want that to be something that we sing, something that we preach, and something that is experienced. 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:47.040 We want a culture of the gospel, and then we want a culture of pursuit. 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:52.000 And so, what I want to do is I want to talk about those two things today. 00:06:52.160 --> 00:07:00.800 And because I'm a preacher, I have three points, two reasons why we want a culture of gospel, and then one reason why I want a culture of pursuit. 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:02.399 Um, and so that's what I want to deal with today. 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:08.000 And so, if you think about like the vision that we have as a church, I want to see the fame and deeds of God repeated in our time. 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:10.319 That is like what I want to grow. 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:12.000 I want that to grow here. 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:27.199 And so to think about the cultures that we're seeking to build, just trying to like make an environment that is healthy and good and allows something that we want to grow, the environment around that thing is something that actually is gonna allow that vision to grow more and more. 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:28.800 So the vision is the thing that we want to grow. 00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:31.199 We want the cultures to be the environment that that thing will grow in. 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:32.720 And so that's what we're trying to do today. 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:37.920 So, the first, a culture that we want to build is a culture saturated with the gospel. 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:42.720 We want a church saturated with the good news of Jesus for two reasons. 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:55.759 The first is the more that we can understand, the more that you and I can understand and experience God's great love for us, the more that you can actually believe that and understand it, the more our lives will be transformed. 00:07:55.920 --> 00:08:03.519 And so to have a fullness of understanding and also like a real-time experience of that, that I'm experiencing God's love for me. 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:09.040 The more that we experience that, the more that we'll actually be shaped by it and formed by it and transformed by it. 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:14.800 Paul says this about the gospel in Romans 1, 16, he says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel. 00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:18.639 I am not ashamed of the message that reveals God's incredible love for us. 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:20.000 I'm not ashamed of that message. 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:23.519 He says, For it is God's power for salvation. 00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:38.960 And so what he's saying is like the story that reveals God's love for us, this this message that reveals God's great love for us, the more it gets into our hearts, the more it gets into our minds, the more that it registers in our souls in a way that's like it's not just words on a page or things that we talk about. 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:42.240 It's like, oh, I know the gospel, but it's a lived experience. 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:46.320 The more it becomes reality for us, the more that we will be changed by it. 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:49.840 And you actually see this take place in Zacchaeus' life. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:53.360 You see love shaping him and forming him in a certain way. 00:08:53.519 --> 00:09:01.039 So in verse 7 through 9, it says, All the people, they see what Jesus has done, and they mutter, he's gone to be the guest of a sinner. 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:03.919 Jesus has shown love towards this man, Zacchaeus. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:08.879 But then notice, Zacchaeus stood up and said, Lord, look, here and now, I'm gonna give half my possessions to the poor. 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:12.080 If I've cheated anybody, I'm gonna make that right too, four times as much. 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:16.240 I'm gonna go above and beyond what I'm supposed to give back to them, and I'm gonna go four times as much. 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:19.840 And Jesus says to him, Today salvation has come to your house. 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:24.960 And so what you notice in this story is like Zacchaeus has experienced something from Jesus. 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:32.320 He's experienced grace and honor and love from Jesus, and it's radically shifted something in his heart that hadn't happened before. 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:38.080 And so he's been radically transformed, and it's not because Jesus berated him and was like, You need to do better. 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:39.600 Like you've been stealing from people. 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:41.200 I know it, I know all things. 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:42.240 Like he doesn't do that. 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:47.360 He doesn't guilt him, he doesn't shame him, he doesn't condemn him, he doesn't try and make him afraid. 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:49.679 Like if you don't, then I will. 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:50.879 He doesn't do any of that. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:52.559 You see, none of those things. 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:58.639 But he's radically transformed and made into something new, not because of guilt or shame or anything like that, because somebody berating him. 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:00.799 It's not God yelling at you that changes you. 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:02.720 Jesus is like, no, it's my love. 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:06.000 I'm gonna love this man until he's a radically new person. 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:07.759 And that's what he does. 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:15.360 Leon Morris in his commentary says that the gospel is not advice to people, suggesting that they lift themselves. 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:17.919 It's not advice to you on how to change yourself. 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:19.919 He says rather it is power. 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:22.080 It lifts you up, it changes you. 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:25.759 Paul does not say that the gospel brings power, but that it is power. 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:27.919 And this is how the gospel is supposed to work. 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:38.159 It's supposed to function in this space in our lives where we are formed by it and transformed into new people by experiencing love and by those things actually changing us. 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:47.919 For me, in my experience with people inside the church, there are hand most people choose religion to try and change themselves. 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:49.440 So they don't choose gospel. 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:52.960 Their go-to is I'm gonna choose religion to try and change me. 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:56.399 And so here are the few ways that people try to change you in the church. 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:59.679 Maybe you've experienced these cultures, or maybe you've tried to do this for yourself. 00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:05.840 The first is one of the religious ways that people try to change themselves is by saying, Don't be bad, or God will get you. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:07.919 Don't be bad, he'll get you. 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:09.679 Like that's one of the ways that people do it. 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:12.559 So the primary motivator for change is fear. 00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:14.639 Don't be bad, or he will get you. 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:15.759 You should be afraid. 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:17.440 So that's the motivator. 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:20.320 They're afraid of being condemned, they're afraid of what God can do. 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:29.200 And common feelings associated with this type of church environment or this way of changing is these people mostly feel terrible all the time. 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:31.200 They're constantly afraid. 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:34.639 Afraid of what God would do to them if they do accidentally slip up. 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:35.600 What if I mess up? 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:36.559 What will he do? 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:38.080 How angry will he be? 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:43.200 And then they look around their lives and they see this happen in their life, this bad thing and this bad thing, this bad thing. 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:48.240 And instead of just seeing those things as things that happen, they attribute all that stuff to God is getting me back. 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:51.440 He's doing, I did bad, therefore he's punishing me. 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:56.320 And they're constantly, whenever they sin or do something bad, they're looking around me like, Am I gonna get an erect today? 00:11:56.399 --> 00:11:57.279 Am I gonna lose my job today? 00:11:57.360 --> 00:11:58.080 What's gonna happen today? 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:01.679 Like, there's kind of like how is he gonna punish me for this thing that I do? 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:03.440 Don't be bad or God will get you. 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:04.480 That's one way. 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:07.919 Another way is uh God has done so much for me. 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:09.200 God has done so much for you. 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:10.000 You owe him. 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:12.399 He hung on a cross, you can't go to church. 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:13.600 Like, what's wrong with you? 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:21.039 Like it's this it's this way of trying to generate something in people, and the primary motivator in that space is guilt and shame. 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:22.480 You should feel guilty. 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:24.240 Like you can't do more for him? 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:25.679 Consider what he did for you. 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:32.159 How dare you! Like, that's one of the ways that people try and shift you and try and change you, and some of the ways that we try and do that to ourselves. 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:34.559 I should read my Bible, he hung on a cross. 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:36.960 And so the primary motivator is guilt. 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:44.240 Doing um more, trying to be better in order to actually, and we're led by this guilt. 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:46.879 Most of these people are burdened with never having done enough. 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:48.799 It's like, I don't know that I ever did enough. 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:50.559 He's done so much, I should do more. 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:54.240 And so they're constantly burdened by I could do more, I could give more, I should do more. 00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:56.559 He did so much for me, I should do so much for him. 00:12:56.960 --> 00:12:58.559 Primary motivator is guilt. 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:02.240 Third way that I've seen is uh be good and God will bless you. 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:05.519 This is just the alternative side to be bad and God will punish you. 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:07.279 But be good and God will bless you. 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:10.399 The primary motivator in this one is selfishness. 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:13.440 I don't actually want to be good for God or for others. 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:14.960 I want to be good for me. 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:16.559 I want to bless myself. 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:20.720 And so the only way to get the blessings I long for is to do something nice to God. 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:22.639 This is a transactional relationship. 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:27.600 And so the only reason I want to follow Him, serve Him, do anything is so that He gives me good stuff. 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:30.240 And so selfishness is the primary motivator. 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:33.600 And these people normally are disillusioned and confused. 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:37.759 It's like, I did so many good things, why didn't God do this good stuff for me? 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:40.559 Like I kept my end of the bargain, why didn't he do this thing? 00:13:40.639 --> 00:13:45.679 And so when life doesn't go the way, when they don't receive good for doing good, it's very confusing. 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:47.519 But that's one of the other ways. 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:50.000 And the last, be good and God will love you. 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:51.759 Be good and God will love you. 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:53.600 And so, how do I change myself? 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:55.360 I just need to be good and then God will love me. 00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:57.600 Primary motivator is fear of rejection. 00:13:57.759 --> 00:14:02.000 Like a kid who's constantly trying to do things to get their parents to say they're proud of them. 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:03.440 Like, Dad, did you like that one? 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:04.480 Dad, did you see? 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:07.759 I just constantly fear of like, does he even notice me? 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:09.120 Will he finally look to me? 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:10.320 Is he finally proud of me? 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:11.840 Is he finally pleased with me? 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:16.879 And so their primary relationship with God is I don't want, I want to please you, and I feel like you're not. 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:21.200 And so I just need to do things, and then I'm trying to earn your affection, I'm trying to earn your love. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:26.799 And of feelings associated with this, they have no confidence that God actually cares for you. 00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:30.000 You have no confidence that he wants to help you, that he will help you. 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:32.879 You do things out of duty, you're trying to earn something. 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:42.240 Instead of actually serving him out of joy, you're serving him, you're actually serving him to try and get something and get his affection versus serving him from a space of like, I've already received your affection. 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:44.720 I know that you love me, and so I can step forward in that. 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:50.960 And so the all of these are just religious ways of trying to change ourselves, trying to hold ourselves accountable. 00:14:51.039 --> 00:14:54.399 And they're wrong and they're they're they just won't work. 00:14:54.559 --> 00:14:55.679 They will help a little bit. 00:14:55.840 --> 00:15:02.480 Fear, guilt, and shame will change some people pretty fast, but they don't have the long-term effects that actually change people in a good way. 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:04.000 It's a malformation. 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:06.639 You'll be formed, but you'll be formed incorrectly. 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:11.360 And so if you form yourself or you seek to change yourself by religion, you will be formed. 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:17.840 But you'll end up with a vision of God and a view of God that's just broken and messed up, and what you'll pass on to other people will be unhealthy. 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:21.840 And then what your experience will be will be not be according to what the scriptures say. 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:30.720 But the biggest issue with all of these, with these types of changing yourself that aren't gospel, these aren't, just to be clear, all four of those are wrong, okay? 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:32.000 I'm not saying any of those are right. 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:33.919 So if you're like, I that's the one I do. 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:34.639 Is that one good? 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:35.519 No, they're all bad. 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:37.120 All right, don't do any of those. 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:46.000 Um, the issue with all of them, if you notice, all of them, all of the change is on you. 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:47.759 It's all based on willpower. 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:49.759 You just get to choose your motivator. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:53.600 So if if fear motivates you, change yourself based on fear. 00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:56.080 If guilt motivates you, change yourself based on that. 00:15:56.240 --> 00:16:01.440 If if if uh trying to please God or just, I'm just nervous of what he thinks of me changes you, then choose that one. 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:03.200 But the issue is it's all up to you. 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:06.000 It is it is your willpower trying to change yourself. 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:08.159 And the gospel is just better news than that. 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:12.320 The beauty of the gospel is that it is not you trying to transform yourself. 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:14.720 It is God going, I never asked you to do any of that. 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:15.840 You can't do that. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:17.120 I will do that for you. 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:20.080 I will love you into a new person. 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:26.080 I will have this message of God's love for us, is the power to transform our lives. 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:32.799 And so he's never said, like, hey, you better or else, and then use that to change yourself by your own will. 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:41.759 The beauty of the gospel is he actually wants to be the one to take on the work of forming us and transforming us into new people by loving us. 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:46.720 He wants to use love to transform us, which that sounds cheesy to you. 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:47.679 That's fine. 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:49.840 But you actually see this in everyday life. 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:52.720 Like my son is not nervous ever. 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:56.480 He has no fear that I'm gonna give him food, okay? 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:57.759 No fear whatsoever. 00:16:57.919 --> 00:16:58.799 He knows he's gonna get food. 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:01.519 He shows up here, he knows he's getting two donuts if they're available. 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:02.879 He has no fear. 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:11.119 And that fear wasn't driven out by me berating him and saying, do not be afraid that I'm not gonna feed you, or guilting him, like, you don't think I'm gonna feed you? 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:11.759 What's wrong with you? 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:12.559 How dare you? 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:15.359 Like that fear wasn't driven out by those things. 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:20.799 That fear of me, like knowing I have no fear that my dad's gonna give me food or my mom's gonna give me food. 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:24.079 That fear was driven out by love and faithfulness over a period of time. 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:33.200 He has just experienced love and consistent being fed over and over and over, probably too much, too much sugar from me, too much, too many vegetables from her. 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:39.119 Um, but he's experienced love in that way, and that love has driven out a fear. 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:40.799 And so why isn't he afraid? 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:45.519 Is it because we berate him and have signs on our wall that's like, you better trust that I'm gonna give you food or else? 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:46.240 Like, no. 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:48.640 He's just experienced love and it shaped his life. 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:49.839 The same with Rainy and me. 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:51.519 Rainy and me get in fights all the time. 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:53.039 She's so I'm so difficult. 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:53.759 Sorry. 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:56.240 That was a subtle joke, okay? 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:00.400 But we get in arguments, right? 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:06.960 Like, and I'm never worried, I'm never worried that it's like one argument, too many, and then she's gonna bail and go find another bro with hair. 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:09.759 I'm not worried about that. 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:15.680 Um because and not because she shouts at me or yells at me or anything like that. 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:17.680 Like, it is her love towards me. 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:20.480 We always repair, we always do the work. 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:22.079 And so, why am I not afraid of that? 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:25.200 Well, it's like I'm not afraid of that because I've experienced love from her. 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:30.559 I've experienced faithfulness from her that has shaped me into a person that when we get in an argument, I'm not afraid. 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:33.920 I'm just going, well, now we just gotta fix this thing and we gotta prepare it. 00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:36.720 But it's her love that has driven that thing out. 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:41.920 And so many of you also, there's tons of things that you're not worried about or things that you deal with or whatever, and it's like, why? 00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:51.839 And some of that stuff because you control it, but sometimes it's like I've actually been formed by love and it has led me into a space where now I don't deal with this, this, this, this, or this. 00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:57.039 I don't have this problem or this fear because what has shifted that and what's changed that is actually love. 00:18:57.200 --> 00:19:00.559 Those fears are driven out by love, not by berating you. 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:03.119 And so I think there's so much of that in the scriptures. 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:05.440 That is how God wants to transform you. 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:07.039 He does not want to guilt you. 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:10.480 He also doesn't want to scare you into heaven or scare you towards him. 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:19.519 No one, if if if Rainey's dad and parents said, you need to marry Colton or else, and then she marries me, one, that's a bummer. 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:21.839 Like the only reason she married me is because she's terrified. 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:22.240 That's great. 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:23.279 It's gonna be a strong start. 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:24.559 Like, that'd be awful. 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:26.640 Like you would never want to enter into a relationship like that. 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:27.839 And Jesus doesn't either. 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:28.880 Why'd you choose me? 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:30.799 It's like, because I was terrified of the alternative. 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:32.720 Like, oh, you don't love me? 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:34.480 Like, not really, I'm just terrified of you. 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:37.440 Like, man, that's not what he wants. 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:44.480 And so he's seeking through the scriptures and through the gospel to change us by loving us into new people. 00:19:44.720 --> 00:20:07.279 And so for us, the more that you and I can understand how much he actually loves us, the more the gospel gets into us, and we understand how much he loves us, the more that we understand how much he was willing to do, that he was willing to die for us, the more that you understand that, that love will drive away any fears that he won't help you here and now. 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:14.400 If a man is willing to lay down his life for you, then how much more willing is he willing to meet your other everyday needs? 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:16.880 How much more willing is he to help you in smaller things? 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:22.000 And so if you the more that we understand that we're dealing with difficult things, we're like, God, are you gonna do anything about this? 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:24.880 Like he took care of your greatest need to the point of his own death. 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:30.160 Yes, how much more will he take care of these other things that you're gonna be dealing with here and now and then in the future? 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:40.240 And the more that we understand that love and actually appropriate it into our lives, the more that it will drive away fears that he doesn't care about us or that he's not gonna help us. 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:42.480 And it works in other ways too. 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:55.119 When you understand how much you've been forgiven and how much grace he's shown you, and like I just don't deserve it, and but you but you understand it and you've experienced. 00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:58.240 I've experienced forgiveness I don't deserve, grace I don't deserve. 00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:07.359 The more that you understand that, the easier it will be for you to then begin forgiving people who don't deserve it and showing grace to people who don't deserve it because you've experienced it. 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:11.200 And some of us struggle with that, like I don't know how to forgive this person, I don't know how to do this thing. 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:29.359 It's like the gospel is meant to show you how much you've been forgiven, to remind you of those things, not to guilt you, but to just to show you that, and so that as you realize I have been forgiven so much and I did not deserve it, that it would be your natural go-to response to begin offering that out because I've experienced it and now I'm giving that back. 00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:32.000 But it's not, he's not sitting there, you better forgive or else. 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:37.920 He's like, I want you to remember and actually understand how much you've received so that then you pour out. 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:44.960 When you understand how much Jesus loves you, even when you were his enemy, even though you mistreated him, he loved you anyways. 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:47.200 He died so his murderers might live. 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:53.599 When we understand that we are his enemies and he loved us while we were his enemies, it would it will be easier for us to love the people who were hard in our lives. 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:59.759 It will be easier for us to love our enemies and the people that we just don't like, and the people with different political views than us. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:05.599 It'll be easier for us to do that, to show love to them, because we would realize he has shown that kind of love to his enemy. 00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:06.880 I can do the exact same thing. 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:10.799 I've experienced it and I've been formed by it, and now I'm going to offer that to other people. 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:16.480 The more you realize how generous he's been to you, the more generous you will want to be towards others, not out of guilt, but out of love. 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:18.240 He's been incredibly sacrificial to me. 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:19.279 He's provided for me. 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:20.240 He's done so much for me. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:21.519 I want to do that to other people. 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:25.279 The more you've been shaped by it, the more you will do those things to other people. 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:32.880 These changes will happen in our lives, not because someone's berating you or yelling at you, but because you've experienced love. 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:35.920 That's how he wants to shape you through the gospel. 00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:46.799 And this is why we want a culture in our church saturated with the love of Jesus so that you actually are formed in that way, that you are transformed by those things, so that you don't have these fears that shouldn't live there. 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:52.079 But you experience so much from him that it's actually changing the things in you that you also want to see changed. 00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:57.279 Alright, so that's the first reason we want to see a culture of the gospel developed here. 00:22:57.359 --> 00:23:05.839 The second reason we want to see a culture saturated with the good news of Jesus in this church is that I want us to have a view of God that's repaired. 00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:09.680 I want us, we need to have our view of God repaired. 00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:20.400 One of the things that you see in the scriptures and in the gospels is how distorted people's view of Jesus, or how really how distorted people's view of God is. 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:24.400 And so, for instance, Jesus was kind to women and children. 00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:26.000 Jesus was very kind. 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:29.359 Um He helped people who were sick. 00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:34.799 Jesus delivered people who were being tormented by evil and had nobody to help them. 00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:36.480 That's Jesus was kind in that way. 00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:40.079 Even here with Zacchaeus, he ate dinner with a tax collector with sinners. 00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:41.119 He was a friend of sinners. 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:43.759 And so you see that in Jesus' life. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:54.559 And when the people in his day saw how kind and merciful and gracious and loving Jesus was, when they saw that, they decided he can't be from God. 00:23:54.799 --> 00:23:57.920 God's not that kind, merciful, or loving. 00:23:58.160 --> 00:24:02.400 And so they see Jesus loving all these people and they don't go, oh, that's what God's like. 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:05.359 They go, He's not from God because God's not that, he's not that nice. 00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:06.880 God's meaner than that. 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:09.279 He would never, he would never spend time with those people. 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:11.920 And so you see that like they have this distorted view of God. 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:14.319 Jesus came to reveal what the Father is actually like. 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:17.359 He is kind to women, and they're like, nah, not our God. 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:17.839 Mm-mm. 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:19.519 And it's like, what? 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:22.400 There's this distortion of what they believe about him. 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:25.039 And I think the same thing is true with us. 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:27.440 We struggle with this idea of like what he's like. 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:36.160 If you read in the gospels, you see Jesus spending time with prostitutes and sinners, and then we're like, I don't think he wants to spend any time with me, though, because I've been really bad this week. 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:39.039 And it's like, that's who he spent time with. 00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:41.519 Why are we struggling to believe something that you actually see? 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:50.079 And I think the truth is like we just have this view of him that he's mad at us, and it's like he's madly in love with you to the point where he's willing to lay down his life for you. 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:56.480 And you see that all throughout the scriptures, but there's something that lives in us that's just distorted about what God is actually like. 00:24:56.559 --> 00:25:01.680 And I want the gospel is meant to repair that in us for us to see him correctly. 00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:11.759 And I want the gospel saturating our lives so that we actually have a proper view of him, not wondering if he's good, not fearing his anger and going, like, what's he gonna do to me this time? 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:13.839 I don't want us doing that. 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:19.359 I don't want us questioning whether he wants to help us, whether he likes us, whether he's happy with us. 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:20.720 Like, I'm so sinful. 00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:22.079 Does he delight in me? 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:22.960 Yes. 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:26.880 He delighted in you enough to lay down his life for you while you were sinners. 00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:35.920 I want us to know, like, in our struggles, in our temptations, in our sins, with our addictions, does he want to condemn me over those things? 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:41.279 Like, I want us to know, like, no, he wants to join you in that space and to provide help and grace and mercy. 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:44.799 He wants to move into that and actually do something really beautiful. 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:51.359 Paul says in Romans 5.8, he says that God shows, he shows what kind of love. 00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:54.720 God shows his love, what kind of love that he has for us by this. 00:25:54.960 --> 00:25:57.279 While we are sinners, Christ died for us. 00:25:57.440 --> 00:26:00.319 So God reveals to us, what kind of love do you do? 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:02.640 I want to show you what kind of love I have for you. 00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:05.200 While you were a sinner, I will die for you. 00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:07.759 I'm trying to reveal to you the type of love I have for you. 00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:11.119 And now we many of us struggle of like, I'm a sinner now, does God love me? 00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:15.279 And it's like, before you even knew you were a sinner, He give it, He gave His life for you. 00:26:15.359 --> 00:26:16.559 Like these things were already here. 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:18.160 This was already true. 00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:24.160 What He does, what He feels for sinners is so much love and affection that He was willing to die for us. 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:34.319 Greg Boyd in his book, this wonderful quote, he says, Despite our sin, despite our sin, our Creator thinks that we are worth experiencing a hellish death for. 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:38.640 It was for the joy of spending the eternity with us that Jesus endured the cross. 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:44.079 In other words, Calvary reveals our unsurpassable worth and significance to God. 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:47.839 And at the core of our being, this is what we long for. 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:54.640 At the core of our being, this is what we long to know that we have worth, that we have value, and that we're significant. 00:26:54.880 --> 00:27:03.279 And it's like, then receive this gift of letting him tell you Calvary, the cross reveals your unsurpassable worth and significance to God. 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:04.799 And that is what we're longing for. 00:27:04.880 --> 00:27:09.119 And so we we our our souls and our hearts are longing for the message of the gospel. 00:27:09.279 --> 00:27:12.799 And it's true, it's just difficult at times to receive it. 00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:18.799 And it's hard for us to actually bend our minds around this idea that he actually loves us that that much. 00:27:19.839 --> 00:27:26.000 I pray this prayer, I prayed it today in the prayer room, uh, and then I prayed it, I pray it a lot for us because I think it's important. 00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:27.920 And Paul prayed it for the church in Ephesus. 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:43.519 But this is what he says: he says, I pray that you would have power together with all the Lord's people, power to grasp how wide, how long, how high, and how deep is the love of Christ, and that you would know this love that surpasses knowledge, so that you would be filled with all the fullness of God. 00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:54.240 And so Paul seems to think that we need special power available to us that we'll experience together as a community with all of God's people, to know the height, width, length, and depth of Christ's love for us. 00:27:54.319 --> 00:28:08.400 And it is a love that could surpass your knowledge, but it's something that you need to know, and he's praying that they would know that because he knows he's like, look, if you don't understand Christ's love for you, then you will miss out on the fullness that God actually has for you. 00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:18.000 And so if you live life wondering, living like this with this orphaned spirit of like, I don't think my father loves me, I don't think he loves me, it's like you're gonna miss out on all the fullness of God that he has for you. 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:30.960 But it is, it is in hearing this, hearing this message, understanding this thing, and choosing by faith to believe it even even when you don't feel it, choosing to believe that it's actually shaped into someone that I am a loved son, I am a loved daughter of God. 00:28:31.119 --> 00:28:36.400