WEBVTT 00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:01.760 Alright. 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:05.759 So I'm gonna I'm gonna put this phrase up real quick. 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:07.519 Quick show of hands. 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:14.960 I know some of you aren't hands-raising people, but who's ever said to someone who's asked you a question it's complicated? 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:16.000 Yeah, yeah, right? 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:17.440 That's a pretty common statement. 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:26.160 And sometimes I I use this with my my children, and just so you know, I'm gonna reference my children a lot today because I just spent a whole week with them and it's all very top of mind. 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:29.359 Uh so just be prepared for a lot of children references. 00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:33.200 But but I'll say this to my kids sometimes when they ask me questions that I frankly don't understand. 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:37.119 Um a lot of times kids will do this thing where they'll ask you a question and you'll answer it. 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:39.280 You know the basic answer, but then they'll ask a deeper question. 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:44.000 You maybe you know that one, and then they ask another question, like, this is where my knowledge level ends. 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:46.960 And you just have to say, like, it's just kind of complicated. 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:47.280 Right? 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:49.359 It's a phrase that we use pretty often. 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:57.520 But I think it's a phrase we especially use, at least I've I've heard this used many times in conversation with the people that I'm sitting across from. 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:05.599 When we have relationships that used to bring us joy, and now there's strength. 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:16.640 When we have relationships that used to be light, and they used to bring us a ton of comfort, and now not so much. 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:26.959 And we try to wrap our heads around what happened and where did things go wrong, and the answer sometimes all we can come up with is it's just it's complicated. 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:29.040 It's complicated. 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:43.359 Today we're gonna we're gonna look at a truth that if we grab a hold of this, receive this, it will bring us some much-needed simplicity to our overly complicated world and lives. 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:50.719 And so with that said, we're gonna jump right into Romans chapter 1, or sorry, Romans chapter 10, verses 1 through 13. 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:52.959 And if you if you want to follow along, we'll have it on the screens. 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:54.560 If you have a Bible, you can open there. 00:01:54.640 --> 00:02:00.159 Uh, also, if you have our mobile app, all the scriptures we reference on on every Sunday are gonna be in that mobile app, you can follow along there. 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:02.079 So Romans 10, 1 through 13. 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:10.800 Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:18.479 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal, for they don't understand God's way of making people right with himself. 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:24.479 Refusing to accept God's way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:37.840 Now, for a little bit of context, the author of this section of scripture that we're studying right now, his name's Paul, and he's a Jewish man, and he's one of the foremost preachers, teachers of Jesus in the world at this time. 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:48.879 He's taking the message of Jesus to places it's never been before, and something really interesting is happening, and that is that non-Jewish people are beginning to follow Jesus in greater numbers than Jewish people. 00:02:49.120 --> 00:03:02.560 Which is kind of odd because Jesus, well, he's the Jewish Messiah, he's the son of the Jewish God that up to that point in history has pretty much exclusively been worshipped and known by the Jewish people. 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:10.719 It's really been kind of an ethnic thing for centuries, and now all of a sudden that's changing, and the message of Jesus is going everywhere. 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:20.560 And Paul's saying, when it comes to his people, to the Jewish people, that he longs for them to en masse accept Jesus. 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:27.439 But many of them aren't, he says, because they're clinging to their their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:36.639 And the law refers to all of these laws that God gave Moses to give to the people of Israel right after he rescued them from slavery in Egypt, if you know that story. 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:42.800 It goes on to say, for Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:45.919 As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:52.479 For Moses writes that the law's way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. 00:03:52.719 --> 00:04:04.879 But faith's way of getting right with God says, don't say in your heart who will go up to heaven to bring Christ down to the earth, and don't say who will go down to the place of the dead to bring Christ back to life again. 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:07.599 In fact, it says the message is very close at hand. 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:09.599 It is on your lips and in your heart. 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:12.639 And that message is the very message about faith that we preach. 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:19.279 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:22.959 For it is by believing in your heart that you're made right with God. 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:30.399 It is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved, as the scriptures tell us, anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced. 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:33.839 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:38.560 They have the same Lord who gives generously to all who call on him. 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:43.120 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:50.319 Now, this is communicating a very, very simple and very powerful idea. 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:56.160 But as you read it, some of the language that's used can throw you for a loop a little bit. 00:04:56.399 --> 00:05:00.160 You can read some of this stuff and go, wait, wait, what is this actually saying? 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:03.600 For example, Romans 10, 6 through 8. 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:05.199 This is something we just read, an excerpt. 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:17.279 It says, But faith's way of getting right with God says, Don't say in your heart who will go up to heaven, that's to bring Christ down to the earth, and don't say, who will go down to the place of the dead, that is to bring Christ back to life again. 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:19.680 In fact, it says the message is very close at hand. 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:22.079 It is on your lips and your heart. 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:26.399 As you were reading that, maybe during that part you were a little bit stumped. 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:28.160 Like, what is what is that saying? 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:29.680 What is what is going on? 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:47.279 And I want to kind of explain this because this message, what Paul is writing right here, what God is communicating through Paul, it is so powerful, it has the capacity to change our very lives and to give us a simplicity in our relationship with God that we often struggle to live with. 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:53.040 Have you ever been around someone who just knows a lot about something you know nothing about? 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:57.839 And so when they talk about it, it's like it's like they're speaking a foreign language. 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:02.800 I mean, I have that happen a lot because there's a lot of stuff I don't know anything about. 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:13.439 Years ago, there was a volunteer here at the church that did a lot of IT work, and uh, and he would explain to me what was what was going on and the things he was working on, and I think he could tell that I knew nothing about this stuff. 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:17.600 And so one day he he said, Hey, think about like a train. 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:21.600 He said, You know, this is like the engine of the train. 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:35.839 And and he begins to explain how this internet thing is working in terms of like data, and and I realized halfway through, like, oh, uh I'm like a child right now, because he's basically saying it's like a choo-choo, you know. 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:37.600 Do you know choo-choos? 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:38.639 And I'm like, Yeah, I do. 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:40.160 I know choo-choo trains. 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:41.040 Yeah, okay. 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:43.279 So, oh yeah, I was like, oh, I know nothing. 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:44.160 Sometimes that happens, right? 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:51.759 Or maybe you're someone who doesn't really follow sports, but you're around a group of people and they know sports really well, and they're talking about sports, and you're just like, what are we even saying? 00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:52.480 You know? 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:54.800 Or or maybe it's like, I don't know, politics. 00:06:54.879 --> 00:07:00.319 You're not someone who follows politics, and you're around people who are really into politics, and they start talking, and you're just like, what is going on? 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:02.959 Or you're around anyone who's ever talked about Bitcoin ever. 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:11.600 Like, if that's like if you you know what it's like to be like privy to a conversation, but you don't get the references, and so you're a little lost. 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:15.360 That's kind of what's happening for a lot of us as we read this right here. 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:27.120 Because what Paul is referencing in these verses where he's talking about don't say, don't say, like, who will go up to heaven or who will go down into the depths, because this is this is at hand, this is this is at your heart. 00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:33.519 He's actually quoting the Old Testament in a scripture that the people he was originally writing to would have all known really, really well. 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:37.040 It's just that reference we don't always we don't always get. 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:50.959 That's why it's really important, by the way, if you're ever studying the Bible on your own, pay attention to those little letters that'll be next to verses, those cross-references, because it's it's pointing back to things that God has already said, and it's like it's all coming full circle, and you're going, oh, that's what that means. 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:57.279 And so Paul's referencing a section in Deuteronomy chapter 30, verses 15 and 16. 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:15.519 This is right after Moses has given the people the law, and he says this now listen, today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster, for I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:21.759 If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:23.439 So he gives them a command. 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:26.399 He says, Love God, do what he says. 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:28.079 It's pretty simple. 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:32.559 But before he gives them this command, he prefaces it with this statement. 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:34.879 Deuteronomy 30, 11 through 14. 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:40.559 This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach. 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:47.360 It is not kept in heaven so distant that you must ask, who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey? 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:54.559 It is not kept beyond the sea so far away that you must ask, who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey? 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:56.799 No, the message is very close at hand. 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:01.039 It is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:05.200 You see the exact reference that Paul's making in Romans 10. 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:07.360 This is basically saying something really simple. 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:10.879 Moses is like, hey, I'm about to tell you guys something. 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:13.360 I'm about to tell you what to do. 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:20.480 But before I tell you, I need you on the front end to realize that you're going to be tempted to overcomplicate it. 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:22.000 Don't do that. 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:24.080 Don't freak out. 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:28.799 Don't get all in a tizzy and make this out to be a bigger deal than it actually is. 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:31.759 And as a father, I really understand what Moses is doing here. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:34.240 Because this is something that actually happens in my house a lot. 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:37.279 Like, this is a regular thing, I would say at least every three days. 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:39.600 I look at our house and I go, This will not do. 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:41.360 The mess that has been made. 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:45.279 My children are amazing and disgusting. 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:49.440 They are just gross sometimes. 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:55.440 And like, the just the when they eat, when they eat, where the food goes. 00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:57.200 Like, give an example. 00:09:57.440 --> 00:10:02.639 Yesterday, my youngest son Eli wanted a granola bar, a chocolate chip granola bar. 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:04.399 And so I gave him one. 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:07.840 And what he proceeded to do was to pull out all the chocolate chips. 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:09.679 And those melted in his hand. 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:13.440 So he has a hand just completely, like you could have painted chocolate on his hand. 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:14.159 It was no different. 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:16.720 And then all the granola pieces are just all over my couch. 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:18.960 And he's just licking his hand like that. 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:20.720 He's a human being. 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:21.279 Okay? 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:23.279 I've raised him. 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:24.639 I've not done well. 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:25.519 Right? 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:29.679 And so it's just, it's, the house just gets super messy. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:33.600 And I'll look at the house sometimes and I'm like, this, this is something has to change. 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:38.960 And I know my kids, and I know that when I tell them that we're going to clean, I know what they're going to do in their heads. 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:42.000 They're going to start to look at the house, they're going to start to overreact. 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:43.840 They're going to go, this is, no, there's no way. 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:48.240 They're going to look at everything, and their eyes are going to get really wide, and they're going to start saying things like, this is going to take hours. 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:49.360 This is going to take all day. 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:50.399 This is impossible. 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:51.600 And I know it's not. 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:56.000 I know this is like 15 minutes of mostly me working. 00:10:56.240 --> 00:10:58.879 But, you know, like, I know that. 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:00.799 And so I'll have a pre-conversation. 00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:05.759 I'll say, hey guys, I'm about to tell you something that we need to do. 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:07.360 And then my oldest he'll start to panic. 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:08.879 I'm like, stop, stop it. 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:10.240 Calm down. 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:12.480 Don't hyperventilate. 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:15.440 My oldest hyperventilates when I have this conversation. 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:16.879 My daughter just holds her breath. 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:17.759 She just goes. 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:19.360 I'm like, breathe. 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:20.720 Stop breathing, breathe. 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:21.200 Okay? 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:23.759 Haven't even said what we're going to do. 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:27.679 Look, we're going to clean the house. 00:11:27.919 --> 00:11:30.240 But but calm down. 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:31.200 Calm down. 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:33.440 At this point, one of them is screaming. 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:36.559 I say, it's it looks bad. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:38.159 I know it looks really bad. 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:43.200 I know you're probably looking at this thinking this is going to take forever, but it's not, because number one, I'm going to help you. 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:48.960 Number two, if we work together, I think at most this is 15, 20 minutes. 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:49.919 So let's go. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:55.440 I have this pre-conversation to tell them do not, do not complicate this. 00:11:56.159 --> 00:12:04.080 Do not pretend or let yourself get so uh messed up in the head that you convince yourself that this is an impossible task, because it really isn't. 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:09.120 That is what Moses is saying in Deuteronomy before he gives this command. 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:11.120 Don't overcomplicate this. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:14.159 Don't do that. 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:17.440 Don't make this harder than it needs to be. 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:20.559 But that warning doesn't really work. 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:25.360 Because the reason that it's complicated so often in our life is really simple. 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:26.639 We're complicated. 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:29.279 God isn't complicated. 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:30.639 God is complex. 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:32.240 There's a difference. 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:35.600 God is incredibly complex. 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:40.960 But we're both complex and complicated. 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:44.320 Complicated is kind of a negative version of complex, right? 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:46.720 Like when we have a problem, we never call it a complexity. 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:48.559 We call it a complication. 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:50.960 Like we run into a complication. 00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:53.360 It's a difficulty. 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:58.000 We often find ourselves struggling with ourselves. 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:00.080 God doesn't struggle with himself. 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:03.279 He doesn't ever ask himself, why do I do this? 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:05.600 Why do I keep doing this? 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:08.320 It's not a conversation God has with himself. 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:10.799 He's different than us. 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:14.720 He's like us, we're like him in the sense that he created us to be like him, but we're kind of complicated. 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:18.399 And so we have this tendency to complicate everything. 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:23.360 To take really simple things and make them unnecessarily complicated. 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:26.960 Another example from my home. 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:30.080 This maybe seems like an indictment on me as a father, and maybe it is. 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:32.480 But uh bedtime. 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:36.559 Bedtime has become an incredibly complicated part of my day. 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:41.120 And I realize right now, I think I'm just venting personally a little bit, but you guys are good people. 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:44.000 Got the messes, and like someone's like, Justin needs a break. 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:44.639 Maybe I do. 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:48.639 Okay, it was Thanksgiving week, they're all off school, and it's been awesome. 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:50.320 I'm so grateful. 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:55.600 But but I put our youngest two to bed, they share a room. 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:58.559 My five-year-old son, my three-year-old son, they share a room together. 00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:00.320 So bedtime is a joined thing. 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:06.000 And over the last year, the the steps that have to be taken toward bed have just gotten out of control. 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:08.639 Like I have to make a change, but I don't know if I have the courage to. 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:10.879 And so, you know, there's the normal stuff. 00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:15.120 There's brushing your teeth and getting in your pajamas and all that kind of stuff. 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:21.759 But what I've always done, or there's always been some type of story, either a Bible story, I read a book, something like that. 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:25.440 There's a song, because they want me to sing to them, and then there's a prayer. 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:33.840 But a few months ago, the song that I typically sing, my my older of the two decided he didn't want that song. 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:39.600 But my younger really wanted that song, and so that night, and what I thought was for that night only, I would just do two songs. 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:41.600 I'm like, fine, because I just want him to go to bed. 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:43.039 You know, you just run out of energy. 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:45.919 And you're like, fine, okay, I'll sing your song, I'll sing your song, can we be done? 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:50.320 And so I didn't realize in doing that that I was forever committing to singing two songs. 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:51.519 But I was. 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:55.519 And so I sang Eli his song, I sang Judah his song. 00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:00.080 And then just about a week ago, I was struggling with the story. 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:04.720 They didn't want to read any of their books, and it was when it comes to the Bible stories, they're like, we know that one, we know that one. 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:10.159 So I just in a moment of exhaustion just go, I guess, okay, I'm just gonna make up a story. 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:12.879 And so I told them the story of a bear named Bebo. 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:14.240 That's what came to my mind. 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:17.600 And Bebo the bear doesn't really want to be a bear. 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:23.519 He wishes he was a person, and so he tries to do person things, but it doesn't go well, and so he's just like, I'm just should probably be a bear. 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:24.320 That's the whole story. 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:26.960 It wasn't a very good story, wasn't well thought through. 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:30.799 I was just making it up as I went along, and to be honest, it didn't even have a very good resolution. 00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:31.840 Like it just sort of ended. 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:33.919 Like, and that and then Bebo just went back to the forest. 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:35.279 Like, that's what I said. 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:39.519 But my children, my my boys decided that we love Bebo the bear. 00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:54.240 And so now every night I have to make up a story about a bear and and the hijinks he gets into, and now I have to also tell them what the Bebo story uh tomorrow night will be. 00:15:54.480 --> 00:16:00.960 And so this week, Bebo has gone to school, he's been in an airplane, he was pulled over by a police officer. 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:04.159 Um, it's been a lot. 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:09.279 And tonight, because I had to make this up last night, they're like, what is Bebo gonna do tomorrow? 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:11.840 I'm like, Bebo's gonna swim in a neighborhood pool, you know? 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:13.120 Like, I don't know. 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:15.039 Like, every night. 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:16.240 So I've got two songs. 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:21.919 I have this Bebo character that I've invented that now I have to keep this going, and then I have to say goodnight. 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:31.759 But my youngest son, who just he he has to have me say goodnight in every human human, like every way humanly possible. 00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:34.240 So I say goodnight, and then he says, goodnight. 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:36.639 And then he says, see ya, and I have to say see ya. 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:39.120 And then he says, see you tomorrow, and I say see you tomorrow. 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:42.320 And then he says, see you later, alligator, and I say, see you later, alligator. 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:44.879 And then he says, after a while, crocodile, and I say, after a while, crocola. 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:48.159 And and usually it ends with like I'm doing this like I'm as I'm walking out the door. 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:49.519 I'm like, after a while, yeah, see ya. 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:50.240 All right, yeah. 00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:52.720 And then he still yells through the door, love you, and I'm like, I love you. 00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:53.679 And he's like, see you tomorrow. 00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:54.480 I'm like, stop. 00:16:57.440 --> 00:16:58.559 It's enough. 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:00.320 You are loved. 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:01.840 Now shut up and go to bed. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:04.720 Like that is clearly every night, right? 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:06.799 And that's just that's bedtime. 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:08.960 That's what it's become. 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:12.720 That's how I end every day of my life right now. 00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:14.880 I love it. 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:15.759 I'm I'm blessed. 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:17.440 But it's it's become complicated. 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:17.839 Why? 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:19.359 Because we're complicated. 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:22.960 Like they did that, and I allowed it to happen. 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:28.880 And if you guys wouldn't mind emailing me some Bebo ideas, just write a few of those. 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:34.160 Just write me an email, make up a story about Bebo the Bear, and I'll just read it, and then I'll make my life wonderful. 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:35.039 It's probably gonna happen. 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:35.680 All right. 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:37.440 But we're complicated, right? 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:42.240 We take simple things and we we just make it really difficult. 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:48.960 And so you want a great example of that that's a little bit more uh biblical. 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:52.319 Just look at what the nation of Israel did with the law. 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:57.599 Now, when when Moses gave the people the law that God gave him, there were 613 rules. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:03.119 It starts off with the first ten, the ten commandments, and those are actually pretty basic. 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:06.240 I heard a pastor once describe them this way, and it's really helpful. 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:12.640 It's not like it's the high point of human living, it's not like the highest of human achievement, it's just the lowest bar possible. 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:14.960 Just don't kill each other. 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:17.200 Don't like it's it's that stuff. 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:24.960 But even then, we live in a world where we can't even do that. 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:37.200 And so God, He expands the law and He gives them all kinds of rules for life, and it's easy sometimes to look at those 613 laws and be like, oh, that's a lot. 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:39.359 That's like how in the world could people keep track of that? 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:42.319 But but actually, it's not, it's really not that big of a deal when you think about it. 00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:46.960 Because, first of all, we live with so many laws on a daily basis. 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:53.759 We don't we don't number them, we don't know how many, but we have way more than 613 laws that we follow as a nation today. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.599 Just think about driving alone. 00:18:55.759 --> 00:18:58.720 Think about how many laws there are related to driving. 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:04.400 You know, there's laws for how fast you can go, how far you should be away from other vehicles. 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:10.319 At night you've got to turn your lights on, in certain situations you might need to use your brights, but not in other situations. 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:12.480 When can you pass another vehicle? 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:14.079 When can you not pass another vehicle? 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:18.400 There's blinkers which are optional in Georgia, but you know, apparently. 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:22.160 And so, like there's there's so many laws just related to driving. 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:32.000 And so the 613 laws that God gives the nation of Israel, they're yeah, it's a lot, but but not really when you think about how we all live our lives and all the laws that we have around us all the time. 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:36.240 And most of those laws, by the way, were like incredibly situation-specific. 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:40.160 Things that were really never going to impact your day-to-day life. 00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:44.559 But in certain situations, you need to know these things. 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:46.640 This is what you would do if this happens. 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:47.920 That was most of the law. 00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:52.400 But as far as your everyday, day-to-day living, it was really simple. 00:19:53.519 --> 00:20:02.799 And that's why Moses says, guys, don't get bent out of shape and don't overcomplicate this, and don't act like this is some impossible task that no one can do. 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:06.799 Just love God and do what he says. 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:08.799 And it's gonna work really, really well. 00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:17.759 But over time, the religious leaders of the Jewish people did what religious leaders do, they just make things really complicated. 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:20.240 Religion loves complicated things. 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:23.200 Like religion loves to make things unnecessarily complicated. 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:26.480 And over time, this happened in a way that was just maddening. 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:31.279 So, for example, there's there's this command in the Old Testament, it's one of the Ten Commandments. 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:35.039 And it's to honor the Sabbath, to keep that day holy. 00:20:35.119 --> 00:20:40.319 And what God had told the people was on the Sabbath, one day a week, don't work. 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:42.079 Rest. 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:44.960 Take a day off, worship God. 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:47.519 God invented days off. 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:48.480 That's true. 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:49.839 That didn't exist in history. 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:51.200 People didn't take days off. 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:52.720 They lived every single day. 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:54.559 You worked every single day. 00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:56.559 But God actually invented the weekend. 00:20:56.640 --> 00:21:01.359 Can we give God a little bit of credit and appreciation for God invented weekends, right? 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:03.119 But he just said, don't work. 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:09.920 Now, as time went on, the religious leaders of of the nation of Israel tried to say, well, yeah, but we need it to be more specific. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:11.200 Like what is work? 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:13.279 What classifies as work? 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:16.559 And the answer should have just been whatever you don't want to do. 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:19.519 But it got way more complicated. 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:29.440 By the time Jesus arrives on the scene, they had created 39 categories of what classified as work, and under each category, there were all kinds of subcategories. 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:39.519 So for example, for example, if you're a doctor and someone was hurt on the Sabbath, you were allowed to ensure that they didn't get worse. 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:44.319 So if they were bleeding, you could like stop the bleeding. 00:21:44.480 --> 00:21:48.799 But you were not allowed to treat them so that they might get better. 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:50.480 That would be work. 00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:59.440 So you'd be like, all right, you're not bleeding anymore, come back tomorrow because I can't help you because it's the Sabbath, which seems odd, you know? 00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:05.759 There were rules about how far you you could walk before it was classified as work. 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:15.920 And so let's say on the Sabbath you wanted to walk to a friend's house to spend the day with them, to have you know a meal together and enjoy your day off. 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:16.400 Nope. 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:19.039 If they live too far away, that's considered work. 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:22.240 You're only allowed to take a certain number of steps on the Sabbath. 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:24.880 That's what they came up with. 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:30.799 Or let's say, for example, you had an apple tree in your backyard and you were hungry, and you're like, I'm gonna go pick one of those apples. 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:31.839 They look great and eat it. 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:33.519 Nope, that is harvesting. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:34.880 That is work. 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:37.759 And the religious leaders said, You can't do that on the Sabbath. 00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:40.799 It gets so complicated. 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:44.960 And then Jesus shows up and he has no room for this. 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:53.920 And so, for example, Mark chapter 2 says, one Sabbath day, as Jesus was walking through some grain fields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. 00:22:54.319 --> 00:23:00.079 But the Pharisees said to Jesus, Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath? 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:06.240 Jesus said to them, Haven't you ever read in the scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:13.920 He went to the house of God during the days when Abiathar was high priest, and he broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread, and only the priests were allowed to eat those. 00:23:14.319 --> 00:23:15.920 He also gave some to his companions. 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:23.920 And then Jesus said to them, The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. 00:23:24.720 --> 00:23:27.119 So the Son of Man is Lord even over the Sabbath. 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:30.480 Jesus says, look, you guys have made this way too complicated. 00:23:31.599 --> 00:23:37.759 God made the Sabbath, he invented the day off to bless you, you guys have turned it into work. 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:41.759 As if God had created you so that you could meet the requirements of the Sabbath. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:42.880 You've got it all wrong. 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:46.640 Jesus greatly simplified the Sabbath that day. 00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:57.440 People in Jesus' day were really struggling with what to do about taxes because, in their mind, if they paid taxes to the Roman government, that would be like worshiping the Roman government. 00:23:57.519 --> 00:24:03.200 And then maybe they weren't really worshiping God, and there was all this commotion about what to do with taxes. 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:14.079 So Mark chapter 12 says later the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested. 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:16.799 Teacher, they said, we know how honest you are. 00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:19.119 You are impartial and don't play favorites. 00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:22.720 You teach the way of God truthfully, and Jesus is sitting there just like, yeah, okay. 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:25.200 He knows what they're there to do. 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:29.599 Now tell us, is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:30.880 Should we pay them or shouldn't we? 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:34.720 Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, Why are you trying to trap me? 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:37.279 Show me a Roman coin, and I'll tell you. 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:42.000 And when they handed it to him, he asked, Whose picture and title are stamped on it? 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:47.839 Caesar's, they replied, Well, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God. 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:50.480 And his reply completely amazed them. 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:52.480 It was so simple. 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:54.799 He's like, Oh, this has Caesar's picture on it. 00:24:55.119 --> 00:24:55.920 Give it back to him. 00:24:56.559 --> 00:24:57.680 That's really simple. 00:24:57.920 --> 00:24:58.240 Right? 00:24:58.559 --> 00:24:59.359 And they're just mad. 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:01.839 They're like, ah, ah, it's so good. 00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:04.799 But he simplified things. 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:08.000 Mark chapter 12, verses 28 through 31. 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:11.119 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:15.599 He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked of all the commandments, which is the most important. 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:21.359 Jesus replied, The most important commandment is this: listen, O Israel, the Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:26.480 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. 00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:28.559 The second is equally important. 00:25:28.960 --> 00:25:30.720 Love your neighbor as yourself. 00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:33.200 No other commandment is greater than these. 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:37.599 Jesus took 613 commands and boiled it down to two. 00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:40.000 Love God and love people. 00:25:40.799 --> 00:25:48.640 And there's really nothing that you could do in both of those categories that wouldn't be directly tied to any of the laws that God had given people. 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:52.240 Some of those laws were about how to honor God, some of those laws were about how to honor people. 00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:54.640 Jesus simplified things. 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:58.000 We have to remember this that Jesus simplifies. 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:00.079 He does not complicate. 00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:02.319 He simplifies. 00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:08.799 God is far more simple in his approach with us than we often think. 00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:11.200 I'm not saying that God is simple. 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:13.200 Like we said earlier, he's complex. 00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:18.000 But in terms of his approach with us, he's simple. 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:22.319 If you want an example of that, if you need that to be proven to you, go back to the story of the garden. 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:26.319 If you know that story, God creates people and he puts them in a garden. 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:28.480 And how many rules does he give them? 00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:30.240