WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:05.519 Today we're going to continue a conversation that we started last week called All Because of Jesus. 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:07.120 All Because of Jesus. 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:11.199 We're looking at this section of a letter in the New Testament of the Bible. 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:13.919 It's often called the Book of Romans, but it's a letter. 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:21.199 It's a letter that was written to a church in Rome by a man named Paul, who was really one of the foremost leaders of the early movement of Jesus. 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:28.879 And by the way, this is a time when becoming a Jesus follower got you zero instantaneous circumstantial benefits. 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:33.039 It wasn't like, oh man, I follow Jesus and everyone high-fives me and everyone celebrates me. 00:00:33.119 --> 00:00:39.119 It's like, no, following Jesus was a really quick route to being disowned by your family and ostracized by society. 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:46.159 But people would come into contact with the message of Jesus and it would start to do something in their hearts. 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:50.000 It would start to change the way they saw the world and the way that they saw themselves. 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:52.560 Because the message of Jesus is powerful. 00:00:52.799 --> 00:01:00.479 You know, guys, there's a reason why the most authoritarian governments in the world fight really hard to keep the message of Jesus out. 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:05.680 Because when you hear the message of Jesus, it changes your understanding of who you actually are in God's eyes. 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:10.400 It gives you a value that nothing else in this world can give you. 00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:12.959 You know, when I was young, I collected uh sports cards. 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:13.359 I don't know. 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:19.519 Any guys, by the way, uh collect sports cards when you were a kid, like that was, or girls, I'm sorry, look at the sexist on the stage. 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:22.719 Anyone collect, I just didn't know any that collected sports cards. 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:24.719 In fact, my wife is like, this is dumb, this is dumb. 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:29.040 And my son started to get into it, which actually is code for I'm getting back into it with him. 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:31.680 Um because you know, when you're a dad, you get to do that. 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:32.799 And I'll never forget this. 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:34.000 It just comes to my mind often. 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:36.959 I've probably told this story before, but I'm I'm I repeat things. 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:45.920 Um when I was like in the fifth, sixth grade, I got this magazine and it had like a list of the prices, the value of all the cards. 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:55.359 And I went through it and I tallied it up and I was blown away because my my cards were worth like a few thousand dollars, which to a fifth grader, uh, it's like I could leave home. 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:56.079 You know what I mean? 00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:58.959 Like I, mom and dad, thanks, but I'm off on my own now. 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:00.319 I'm going off, I've got my cards. 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:02.159 And I told my dad, I was so so excited. 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:05.760 And I went to my dad, I was like, Dad, do you have any idea how much my cards are worth? 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:07.519 And he's like, How much? 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:10.240 And I told him the amount, and he goes, Oh, they're not, they're actually not worth that. 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:12.639 You know, leave it to a dad to like pop the bubble. 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:15.840 Um, but he actually said something super profound after that. 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:18.800 He said, Your cards are only worth how much someone is willing to pay for them. 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:20.560 And at the end of the day, that's true, right? 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:24.400 Something's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:27.120 What does that mean about how much you're worth? 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:31.520 How much was God willing to pay to know you? 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:34.639 You know, the life of Jesus Christ. 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:36.159 Jesus himself. 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:39.439 Even if, by the way, you're new to the whole Jesus thing, you're like, I'm not sure if Jesus is God. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:44.159 Okay, Jesus believed he was, so he's either right or he was lying or he was nuts. 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:45.280 It's one of those three. 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:53.439 Um and he believed that knowing you, that giving you the ability to have a relationship with him was worth his life. 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:55.680 That's how valuable you are. 00:02:56.080 --> 00:03:11.599 And so when we study these scriptures, the things that it's telling us, the things that God is speaking to us, he's telling us that we're worth something, that we're so valuable in his eyes that he wants to give us a kind of life that we can never have on our own. 00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:14.639 And at the end of the day, it's not a life that we can ever win on our own. 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:16.080 It's all because of Jesus. 00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:26.240 And Romans 5 really goes into that, into what we can experience in this life right now, not after we die, not in the life to come, but right now on this earth, what kind of life can we have? 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:30.479 What kind of things will define our life, all because we know Jesus? 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:34.159 And so I want to set the stage just by reading the first one and a half verses. 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:37.759 Last week we got through verse one, this week we're gonna get through the first half of verse two. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:41.520 Um, but the whole series is only gonna be five weeks, so don't worry, it's it's not, it's gonna pick up. 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:43.439 The pace will pick up, but this is really big. 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:50.400 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:53.120 In other words, all because of Jesus, we have peace with God. 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:54.240 And last week we talked about that. 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:58.479 If you weren't here, I I encourage you to listen to it, listen to the podcast, Spotify, however you do that. 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:00.400 Um had a good time talking about that. 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:08.639 And then he goes on and he says, Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:11.599 We've gained access to God. 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:14.240 We have access to the grace of God. 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:17.439 Grace means that you get what you don't deserve. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:20.240 Mercy is when you don't get what you do deserve. 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:22.319 Grace is when you get what you don't deserve. 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:28.079 We have access to God and all of his blessings, all of his grace, because of Jesus. 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:31.360 So I want us to talk this morning about this idea of access. 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:34.240 Do we have access to God? 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:36.160 Do we actually have direct access to God? 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:38.480 And is there anything standing in the way of that? 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:39.360 And if so, what is it? 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:40.800 And what do we do about it? 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:47.439 There's a story that made its rounds on a lot of news sites a couple weeks ago, um, at least some of the news sites that I read. 00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:50.800 Is anyone here familiar with cryptocurrency, with like Bitcoin? 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:54.560 I mean, how many of you just show of hands, those of you online engaged, like how many of you've heard of Bitcoin? 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:56.160 You were aware of Bitcoin. 00:04:56.319 --> 00:04:59.360 How many of you could explain it to someone? 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:01.759 A couple. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:02.399 Cool. 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:06.000 Um that probably means that you own some, so good job. 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:10.560 Uh Bitcoin is in some ways kind of a made-up thing, but most things are. 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:15.040 But it's uh it's it's cryptocurrency, digital currency, it's become really big in the last 10 years. 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:20.240 And there was a Bitcoin-related story that really circulated, got a lot of traction just a few weeks ago. 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:24.480 There was this guy named Stephen Thomas, and you may have read the story, it's kind of a crazy story. 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:25.839 Pray for Stefan. 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:34.079 Um, about 10 years ago, he was contracted by a cryptocurrency company to make a video explaining what it is. 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:40.079 And so if you don't know what Bitcoin is, then go search Stefan Thomas and find his video and it'll it'll probably help. 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:43.199 Um, and to pay him for that, they gave him Bitcoin. 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:49.279 They gave him 7,000 Bitcoin, which at the time was worth about$2 per Bitcoin. 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:54.319 Um this morning, Bitcoin was worth$34,000 per Bitcoin. 00:05:54.480 --> 00:06:04.240 Meaning that the 7,000 Bitcoin that they gave him is today worth$230 million, which is a lot of money for making a video, right? 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:09.040 That's a very that we don't pay our video guys nearly that much, not even not even close. 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:10.319 And we don't pay them in Bitcoin. 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:11.839 So um it just is what it is. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.000 But but here's the here's the tragic thing. 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:15.839 He can't access it. 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:20.399 Because when you have something like Bitcoin, you can do a couple different things. 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:27.040 You can store it on like a like an online bank, or you can actually pull it out and store it manually on something called a digital wallet. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:29.040 Like this is this is the world we now live in. 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:36.720 Like, oh, I keep my digital money on my digital wallet, and that digital wallet, it's like a like a flash drive, it's like a hard drive, and it's password protected. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:40.800 And he put all of it on there several years ago, and then he lost the password. 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:43.439 He lost it, and he can't find it. 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:52.079 And the way that this digital wallet is designed, if you put the wrong password in 10 times, it locks the entire thing and encrypts it and it's gone forever. 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:52.800 It's just it's done. 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:56.160 It's like you lost your wallet, like you would throw it in the ocean. 00:06:57.120 --> 00:07:04.240 He has 230 million dollars and he can hold it in his hand, but he can't access it. 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:08.800 Oh, you're laughing, but I mean there's I poor Stephanie. 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:09.759 Can we just take a moment? 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:11.759 God, please be with Stefan. 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:14.959 Like, help this man, please help him figure this out because this is where he's at. 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:18.879 He has tried eight times, he's got two left. 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:21.040 Just I mean, just imagine that. 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:25.839 Some of you are like, I can't, I don't, it would short circuit my brain, you know. 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:32.879 To have access to something, or or to have it, you should have access, but you don't. 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:34.319 It's tragic. 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:36.240 It's pretty incredible to think about. 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:44.000 Well, the reality is what what Romans is telling us here is that we have we have access to God. 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:48.639 We have absolutely unfettered access to God. 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:50.399 Sometimes it doesn't feel that way, right? 00:07:50.560 --> 00:08:00.800 For for Stephan Thomas, that password is an external barrier that's keeping him from experiencing the access to something great that he he really deserves, that he owns. 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:02.000 It's an external barrier. 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:14.480 And if you read the scriptures, if you read it, especially the Old Testament, you read a lot about external barriers, about things that were put in place to kind of keep us at the right distance with God. 00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:16.639 I'll give you an example. 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:19.439 There's a really interesting story, Exodus chapter 33. 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:20.319 It's the story of Moses. 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:23.839 Moses is a man that God has called to lead his people out of Egypt. 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:25.199 You might be familiar with the story of Moses. 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:28.240 Even if you're not a Jesus follower, it's kind of a well-known story. 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:34.799 And he leads them out of Egypt, and now they're in the desert, and God's presence is kind of going ahead of them, and God has blessed Moses. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:36.720 He really, he loves Moses a lot. 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:40.559 And he's he's encouraging Moses in a moment of insecurity that he's going to be with him. 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:42.480 And so we kind of jump into that conversation. 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:45.360 The Lord replies, I will personally go with you, Moses. 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:46.720 I'll give you rest. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:49.360 Everything will be fine for you. 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:50.799 Everything will be fine for you. 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:54.240 Then Moses said, If you don't personally go with us, don't make us leave this place. 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:55.039 And this is so great. 00:08:55.200 --> 00:09:00.639 I love, I love the fact that we get to see these windows into people's experiences with God because what did God just say? 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:01.919 I will personally go with you. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:05.919 And then Moses goes, You know, God, if you don't go with us, uh, it's not gonna go well. 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:07.600 And he's like, I just said that. 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:09.519 God knows what it means to be a parent. 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:14.559 Those of you who have kids, you under I just said, I just said that. 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:16.080 Listen, okay? 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:18.639 So God's having this moment with Moses. 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:25.519 Moses goes on, he says, How will anyone know that you look favorably on me, on me and on your people, if you don't go with us? 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:29.600 For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all the other people on the earth. 00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:34.480 And that is something, by the way, that was undeniable about the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:36.720 Other nations would say, Look, you guys don't make sense. 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:46.399 You're not mighty in number, you're not mighty warriors, yet there's clearly some presence that's with you that just makes you different. 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:50.399 And it actually at times created great fear among the people who opposed Israel. 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:53.600 They they knew that someone is with these people, someone powerful. 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:57.120 The Lord replies, Moses, I will indeed do what you've asked. 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:00.480 I look favorably on you, and I know you by name. 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:03.600 And Moses responded, Well, then show me your glorious presence. 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:09.120 And the Lord replied, I will make my goodness pass before you, and I'll call out my name Yahweh before you. 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:15.759 I'll show mercy to anyone I choose, I'll show compassion to anyone I choose, but you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:28.639 And the Lord continued, Look, stand near me on this rock, and as my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock, cover you with my hand until I've passed by, and then I'll remove my hand, I'll let you see me from behind, but my face will not be seen. 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:39.440 Now, this like dramatically affects Moses, even just seeing God passing by, not his face, just like the backside of God walking away from him. 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:43.840 It says Moses, like his face glowed after this, and like people could see it. 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:45.039 It kind of freaked him out. 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:49.039 Um and you know, hey, this is a supernatural God who does supernatural things. 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:52.720 Sometimes we have this hard moment of faith when we read stuff in the Bible, we're like, I don't know about that. 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:55.279 Look, guys, God is real, he's supernatural. 00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:57.360 It only makes sense that he doesn't make sense. 00:10:57.519 --> 00:10:58.399 Does that make sense? 00:10:58.639 --> 00:10:58.960 Okay. 00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:02.559 Um here's what's really cool though. 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:04.320 God isn't angry with Moses. 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:06.000 God isn't threatening Moses. 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:08.240 He's not saying, if you look at my face, I'm gonna kill you. 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:09.279 That's not what he's saying. 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:17.200 It's not a threat, it's it's a certain he's saying, Moses, like, I know you want to see me, I know you want to look me right in the eyes, I know you want to be that close to me. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:18.639 That would be a problem for you. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:20.320 That would not work out well for you. 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:21.200 You would die. 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:22.240 So what can I do? 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:23.440 He's like, Oh, I'll tell you what I'll do. 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:28.320 I'll hide you in this rock, and then I'm gonna cover you, I'm gonna cover your face, I'm gonna kind of like walk by real fast. 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:33.600 And then Moses is like, I saw, I saw the backside of God, and it changed my life forever. 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:35.360 That's basically what happened here. 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:41.919 And the idea that's being communicated is that God is just, he's so powerful. 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:48.879 The the biblical word might be holy, he's so other, he's so grand that we like, we couldn't handle it. 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:53.200 It's not that that he's saying, if you see my face, I'll be angry. 00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:54.960 I'll do no, he's just saying, you just can't handle it. 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:57.360 We actually have real-world examples of stuff like that. 00:11:57.519 --> 00:11:59.519 Think about radioactive material, right? 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:09.440 There are things in this on this earth, there's material on this earth that is so powerful, it is like emitting a constant power, and if you were in its presence unprotected, you would die. 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:10.960 Think about the sun. 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:14.399 At the right distance, the sun gives us life, right? 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:17.039 The warmth, the ability for things to grow. 00:12:17.279 --> 00:12:21.200 But if we got closer to the sun, it would be a problem for us. 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:23.279 God's holiness is like that. 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:28.799 And so God, in mercy, is creating these external barriers, is saying, Moses, you can't be not that close. 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:31.519 I love you, but just not that close. 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:42.480 And and as time goes on, as the people of Israel sort of become formalized in the way that they worship God, these external barriers just keep they keep being added. 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:52.879 And their whole religion really becomes this religion defined by barriers, defined by all the ways that you you can't get close to God. 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:55.279 And and religion does what religion does. 00:12:55.519 --> 00:13:02.159 You know, some of the things were from God, some of the things were people's ideas of what God must want, and usually when we think we know what God wants, we're wrong. 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:08.480 And so uh some of their cultural biases come in and they create this whole system that's very, very rigid. 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:11.279 It's very good at saying who's in and who's out. 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:15.600 You really see it, by the way, best demonstrated in the way that their temple was set up. 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:18.159 This is the temple that Jesus teaches in. 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:22.399 It's a temple that was actually being restored and rebuilt right when Jesus was on the earth teaching. 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:27.440 And if you know anything about the temple in Jerusalem, it was all about external barriers. 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:30.639 For example, it had all these different chambers within chambers. 00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:41.279 And if you weren't Jewish, it didn't matter what you believed about God, didn't matter what your faith was, but if you just weren't Jewish by birth, you could never go into the courts of the temple. 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:45.360 You were only allowed in the outermost court called the court of the Gentiles. 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:48.639 Now, if you were Jewish, you could go into the next court. 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:50.720 It was called the court of women. 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:55.360 And it was because if you were a woman and Jewish, that was as far as you got to go. 00:13:55.759 --> 00:13:57.039 And that was their culture. 00:13:57.120 --> 00:14:02.399 And so, you know, Jewish women could go there, but then if you were a Jewish man, you got to go into the next area. 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:11.200 But then the next area, you you not only had to be a Jewish man, you had to be a Jewish man from a specific tribe in Israel, the tribe of Levi, the Levites were the priests. 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:13.519 And so only the Levites could go in that one. 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:20.320 And then in the next area, you had to be like even higher up, you had to be a ranking priest to go into the next area. 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:25.600 And the deepest part of the temple was this room called the Holy of Holies, sometimes also called the most holy place. 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:30.720 And that's where they believe that the presence of God, the actual presence of God, dwelt in that place. 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:33.519 Only one person got to go in there one time a year. 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:39.600 It was the high priest, the highest ranking Levite, Jewish male in the entire nation. 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:44.000 He got to go in there one time a year to make a sacrifice. 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:46.879 One sacrifice once a year on behalf of all the people. 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:48.080 That's who got to go in that room. 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:59.759 And we don't have this in the Bible, but but oral history says that they would also tie a rope on the end of the foot of the high priest so that if he happened to die while in there, they just pull him out. 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:03.360 Because the idea is like, oh, if he dies in there, you know, what do we do? 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:04.799 We can't go in there. 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:08.080 The next high priest can't go in till next year, and that's gonna be bad. 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:09.919 Like we just, you know. 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:12.240 And so that they would do things like that. 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:13.519 That's how seriously they took this. 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:16.320 There were there were all these external barriers. 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:21.519 Separating the the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was this giant curtain. 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:26.559 And don't think like IKEA curtain, don't think, you know, something you get at Bed Bath and Beyond. 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:32.480 I I love the fact that I know, I know in my heart as a man that if I was not married, I would have never bought a curtain in my life. 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:36.799 Like any other guys in the room would say if I had not been married, I would never have bought a curtain. 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:38.159 I wouldn't even think to. 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:43.039 I mean, when we we first got married, my wife started buying curtains, and I was like, why? 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:45.279 There's blinds on the window. 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:46.879 Like that's it gets the same. 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:47.600 She's like, it's cute. 00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:49.200 I'm like, I don't, is it? 00:15:49.440 --> 00:15:51.279 Um, this is my life now. 00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:55.360 I wouldn't, I would never have bought a curtain, throw pillows, we'd have none. 00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:56.159 I'd have none. 00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:59.759 They're the most, they're there, we have 75 throw pillows at my house. 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:02.080 And I would have bought none. 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:03.519 It wasn't a curtain like that, though. 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:04.879 It wasn't decoration. 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:08.240 This curtain was like as legit as a curtain can be. 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:11.039 Okay, I don't know if that's a thing, but this is like a legit curtain. 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:13.679 So some like manly men, you would appreciate this curtain. 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:19.600 30 feet tall, 30 feet wide, and the material was about four inches thick. 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:22.240 So this curtain would have weighed, I mean, hundreds of pounds. 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:24.639 And if you wanted to cut through the curtain, you would need a chainsaw. 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:29.519 I mean, it's that intense of a thing because that's how intense the glory of God was to them, the presence of God. 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.360 It's this external barrier. 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:33.679 That's the world that Jesus enters. 00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:43.600 And Jesus does what all revolutionaries tend to do is he says, Hey, I see your preferred method of doing things. 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:47.519 I see all your external barriers, and I'm just gonna kind of kick through all of them. 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:49.360 And Jesus shows up and he does. 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:51.440 He like turns everything on its head. 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:56.559 And he messes up the whole system because he's clearly doing things that you couldn't do unless you were God. 00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:00.480 Like he's healing people of diseases, modern science still hasn't figured out how to heal. 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:12.640 He's doing things that only God could do, that's the only explanation, but then at the same time, he's not respecting the external boundaries that all of these people have set up and rely so heavily upon, and it's causing a huge stir. 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:17.759 And the people that's making the most angry are the people who the external boundaries have worked really well for. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:24.960 Like if you happen to be a Jewish male Levite and you're one of the ones that gets to be in the innermost places, you don't like Jesus very much. 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:29.440 Because Jesus is challenging that, and all of a sudden he's doing things and he's letting people in. 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:35.759 He's saying that people are in, he's signaling that people are in with God's favor, that everyone has always said her out. 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:43.440 And then he has the audacity to act like some of those guys who thought they were like really in aren't even in at all, and they don't know what to do with that. 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:47.039 And so they think, I know, let's kill him, because you know, that'll solve things. 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:51.680 And that's like one of the most all-time backfire plans uh that's ever happened, right? 00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:53.200 Like they killed him, it's all good. 00:17:53.359 --> 00:17:55.119 Don't worry, guys, what's the worst that could happen? 00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:55.759 What's he gonna do? 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:56.880 Get back up, like come on. 00:17:57.039 --> 00:17:58.960 Um, you know, just didn't work out for him. 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:04.000 And so Jesus shows up and he starts to upend these barriers. 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:08.480 And we really see it come to a head at the cross. 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:20.319 You know, that the cross, the cross of Jesus is one of the most beautiful and at the same time brutal images we have in all of history. 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:27.279 If you read scripture, there's all these different ways that the authors of the New Testament try to describe the cross. 00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:30.000 Like sometimes they describe the cross as a ransom payment. 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:42.240 That the idea is that like we owe a debt to sin itself because we have been selfish and we've gone our own way, and in doing so, it's like we're taking out a line of credit and we can't pay it back, and Jesus comes and he pays the price we can never pay. 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:44.640 He's that ransom payment for us. 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:53.279 Some of the language to describe the cross is language of victory, that Jesus on the cross defeated the power of sin and death when he rose again. 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:54.960 That all that happened on the cross. 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:59.039 You have language of substitution in Scripture where Jesus takes our place. 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:09.440 The idea is like, oh, it should have been me up there paying that price, but but Jesus took my place and he was a substitute, and now my sin, he paid for it, and his righteousness is given to me. 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:11.359 It's this beautiful exchange. 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:19.440 You have language of self-sacrifice that Jesus is modeling for us on the cross, what it really means to give your life for someone. 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:24.400 And like theological people sometimes get really stuck on asking questions that don't matter. 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:25.920 They'll ask questions like, well, which one is it? 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:28.480 Is it a ransom payment or is it a victory moment? 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:31.359 Or, you know, is it a substitution or is it a model? 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:32.400 Like it's got to be one of those. 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:32.880 Which one is it? 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:42.160 So you actually have all these theories called atonement theories, because atonement means like sacrifice of what actually happened on the cross, and it's all kind of dumb because all of that happened on the cross. 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:48.640 And sometimes things happen that are so amazing, so beautiful, so hard to wrap your mind around that there is not one explanation for it. 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:51.279 There is not one analogy that can sum it all up. 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:53.680 So much happened on the cross. 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:55.200 Understand this. 00:19:55.440 --> 00:20:02.160 Even if you're not a Jesus follower, that Jesus' death and resurrection is the hinge point of human history. 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:06.799 Because that's literally how we define the eras of human history. 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:14.880 That what happened there was so impactful, undeniable, that that's actually how we gauge the history of the world. 00:20:15.039 --> 00:20:17.200 What happened before that, what happened after? 00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:27.680 We actually see some of the incredible uh uh understanding of how many things are happening at once with Jesus on the cross, how significant of a moment it is in Matthew's version of what happens. 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:29.359 Matthew chapter 27. 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:36.160 It says at noon, this is, by the way, Jesus is hanging on the cross at this moment, at noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:36.960 So that's a big deal. 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:41.680 Like, how many, how many times is like the sun just stopped shining for a few hours, right? 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:50.480 At about three o'clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, Eli, Eli, Lama Sabak Tani, which means my God, my God, why have you abandoned me? 00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:52.319 Let's all pretend like I pronounced that right. 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:53.839 Um, there's no way. 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:58.240 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:02.880 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:06.400 But the rest said, Let's let's see whether Elijah comes to save him or not. 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:10.000 And then Jesus shouted out again and he released his spirit. 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:17.680 One of the cool things, by the way, about us having multiple accounts of Jesus' death on the cross, because there's multiple, uh, we call them gospels. 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:19.759 Those are the books that tell of the life of Jesus. 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:24.240 It's that they fill in some of those blank spaces because it says he shouted out again, and you're like, What do you shout? 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:27.599 And we know from another gospel that he shouts out, it is finished. 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:30.000 So that's what's happening right there. 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:32.400 And he released his spirit. 00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:37.279 At that moment, the curtain in the sanctuary of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:44.720 The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened, and the bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:49.759 And they left the cemetery after Jesus' resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:57.200 The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquakes and all that had happened, and they said, This man truly was the Son of God. 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.839 These are guys, by the way, who perform executions on a daily basis. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:00.640 Basis. 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:01.839 This is their job. 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:04.000 And this one is different. 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:08.880 Now, what I love about this story is some pretty significant things happen. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:12.960 And even if you're kind of a skeptic, just go with it for a second. 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:14.000 Just be like, okay. 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:18.400 Um apparently there was like a three-hour-long eclipse of some kind. 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:18.799 Dark. 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:21.039 I don't know if it was a thick fog or super cloudy. 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:21.920 I don't know, but it was dark. 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:24.240 For three hours, that's significant. 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:24.960 Okay? 00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:26.319 There's an earthquake. 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:27.680 That's pretty significant. 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:29.519 Rocks are splitting apart. 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:31.680 Like, so it's a pretty intense earthquake. 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:36.480 Dead people are getting back up and like hanging out with people and telling them things. 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:38.799 That's a pretty big that doesn't happen that often. 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:40.240 Um right? 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:43.279 Oh, and you have a curtain torn too from top to bottom. 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:48.400 Now, which of those seems like it does not belong in in the description of what's going on? 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:51.200 Like, like, if all those events happened, you would not believe what happened yesterday. 00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:53.599 The sun stopped shining. 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:56.400 There was an earthquake, rocks were like splitting apart all around me. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:56.799 It was crazy. 00:22:56.960 --> 00:22:58.000 I could see into the earth. 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:01.119 There were dead people coming up out of their graves, walking around and talking. 00:23:01.359 --> 00:23:02.960 Oh, yeah, I saw a curtain split in half. 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:05.759 And you'd be like, I think the curtain does not belong. 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:09.200 And that is, it is not like it's not as cool as the other things. 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:12.240 Unless you know what that curtain was and what it meant. 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:14.240 Right? 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:20.240 That separation between people and the presence of God was gone. 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:22.079 It was gone. 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:28.319 It's like, hey, if the presence of God was password protected, the password is Jesus, and it's done, and now there's access to God. 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:33.440 It's okay, I don't know what I was talking about like access to God. 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:38.640 That's what that meant. 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:45.039 Because of Jesus, because of Jesus, we have access to God. 00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:48.319 There are no more external barriers now. 00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:55.920 Why is it if that's the case, that we still struggle to experience the presence of God? 00:23:57.839 --> 00:24:12.400 If every barrier has been removed, if all of those external barriers have been taken away, then why is it that we as people, even people who love God, even people who have faith in God, still sometimes struggle to feel that presence or to experience the presence? 00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:17.920 And the reason for that, at least one of the reasons, is that there's a different type of barrier. 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:25.599 And the type of barrier that honestly sometimes is more challenging to overcome than an external barrier, and that's an internal barrier. 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:31.039 My wife put it this way: we all have a way of putting up our own curtains. 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:35.279 And we've experienced that by the way, right? 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:40.079 In life, like there's probably people in your life who you have a hard time being close to. 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:42.400 There's a distance that's there. 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:49.680 And it's not necessarily that something so earth-shattering happened that it justifies the distance, but there's something in your heart. 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:56.400 There's some moment, there's some pain, there's some hurt, and because of that moment, you you put up a curtain, so to speak. 00:24:57.200 --> 00:25:00.960 And there's this barrier that's there that keeps you from engaging. 00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:10.000 But we all know what that feels like. 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:14.319 See, we have this tendency as human beings to put up curtain. 00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:23.519 To create internal barriers that keep us more distant from the presence of God than we need to. 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:27.519 We have no reason to be distant from God now. 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:30.000 The curtain got torn into access to God. 00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:31.680 Jesus is the password we're in. 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:37.119 But we've got to deal with those internal barriers. 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:42.799 We see this by the way, in the earliest stories that we have in scripture. 00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:45.359 Like the earliest one, the story of Adam and Eve. 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:50.240 They mess up, they sin, and we see the aftermath. 00:25:51.200 --> 00:25:53.440 Genesis chapter 3, verses 7 through 10. 00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:54.960 At that moment, their eyes were open. 00:25:55.039 --> 00:25:58.160 This is the moment that they disobeyed God, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. 00:25:58.240 --> 00:25:59.359 I think it's so interesting. 00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:03.200 The first feeling they experienced was shame. 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:07.759 When they departed from God's way, they thought they were going to have all this wisdom. 00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:10.160 So exciting, and the first thing they feel is shame. 00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:12.160 Shame never comes from God, by the way, ever. 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:15.920 So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:20.720 And when the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. 00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:23.039