WEBVTT 00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:01.600 Amen. 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:03.200 Good morning. 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:06.400 That is a good way to start a morning. 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:07.280 Wow. 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:08.160 That was awesome. 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:12.160 There's just moments sometimes where I'm just proud to be in this room. 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:14.160 And that is definitely this morning. 00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:15.199 So glad that you're here. 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:17.120 If it's your first time at His Hands, welcome. 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:17.920 My name's Justin. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:19.199 We are excited that you're here. 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:21.359 We are a church that exists for one main purpose. 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:23.519 We exist to love people to Jesus. 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:28.640 We want to love people, to love this community in such a way that people get a taste of God's love for them. 00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:31.039 So everything we do falls into three categories. 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:33.840 It's get his love, grow in it, and give it away. 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:35.840 And really, if you think about it, that's a cycle. 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:45.600 Everything we do is to receive or grow so that we're at a place where we can give love back to people so that they get to experience what we have experienced. 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:55.679 And there's a few different ways that we can do that specifically this morning because we're entering into this season, uh, getting close to Christmas, that is gonna be filled with opportunities to help, to serve. 00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:57.039 Uh, a few are coming up really soon. 00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:01.280 Number one, Help Portrait is this Saturday, this upcoming Saturday here at His Hands. 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:03.119 Uh, we talked about it a little bit last week. 00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:05.680 Um, it's a really, really cool event. 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:08.239 Uh, we have a man that goes here named Tom Meleshko. 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:11.599 Tom is a photographer, and he has brought this event to his hands. 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:15.120 We've done it for I think the last four years, but but it's very simple and powerful. 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:30.560 There are people uh that are in need, and photographers and people that do photography and editing photos and makeup artists, you name it, come together and they provide at no cost these unbelievable free family portraits for people who cannot ever afford doing something like that. 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:41.680 And you wouldn't think that that would be that big of a deal in a world full of smartphones and cameras and Facebook and all that, but it it touches people in such an incredible way because it shows them that they are important. 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:44.400 And so uh it's a great thing to be involved in. 00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:49.599 If you want to sign up to be part of that, Tom will be at the desk over by the source in the lobby whenever we're done. 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:52.400 Uh, you can just come be a greeter, pray with people, whatever it is. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:54.879 Uh, we're gonna love on a lot of people this upcoming Saturday. 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:57.120 Christmas Angels uh kicks off today. 00:01:57.200 --> 00:02:02.400 We've done Christmas Angels as a church for the last seven years, I think, eight years, and uh really, really simple. 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:09.280 There are children in this community that will not have Christmas in terms of Christmas gifts unless we step in. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:14.479 And I think last year we did close to 400 children, which is uh really incredible. 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:15.919 So, way to go. 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:19.759 Uh we just we get these from the schools, the local schools. 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:20.800 Uh it starts there. 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:22.159 Uh they let us know who's in need. 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:28.719 The kids get Christmas lists, and you can grab one today if if you want to decide today to do a Christmas angel. 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:30.800 You'll go to room two, which is in the main hallway. 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:33.120 Can't miss it, it's right past the prayer room. 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:34.400 Um, grab a star. 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:39.520 That that star is your commitment to buy Christmas, to provide Christmas for that child. 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:41.599 You do not have to buy everything on the list. 00:02:41.759 --> 00:02:44.719 There are many things on my son's list this year that he will not get. 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:45.840 Just don't tell him that. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:48.639 Um he he went big this year with some requests. 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:49.360 That's good though. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:50.319 That shows faith. 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:51.120 That's a good thing. 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:52.800 Um, it's just that I'm not God. 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:53.840 So anyway. 00:02:55.599 --> 00:03:02.719 But but what we want to do is make sure that if we take one of those, we're we're committed to doing as much as we can and to filling out that list as much as possible. 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:05.039 Usually that means$100 to$125. 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:09.520 You know, if you're someone that's really good at finding deals, you can probably do a lot more. 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:19.120 Um But what an opportunity that we have to say to families and to children alike in this community, hey, don't worry, we've got you. 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.479 Don't worry that the church is here, and that's why we exist. 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:24.000 That's an opportunity to give love. 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:27.120 So grab a star today in room two, as soon as we're done, if you'd like to. 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:29.759 And on that note, just thank you for being generous people. 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:35.840 If it's your first time at his hands, uh, we believe that God has given us what we have to give to people who need it. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:40.960 And so everything we do here as a church goes to that 10% of everything that comes in here goes back to this community. 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:48.800 There's four columns at the back that you can give through or you can give online, but either way, thank you so much for being the people you are because you guys are unbelievable. 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:49.680 All right, let's pray. 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:53.039 Jesus, thank you so much for uh for being in this place right now. 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:57.599 And God, I just know that there are some of us in the room that uh that feel your presence right now. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:16.720 And that may seem strange to some of us, but uh, but I think we we understand that if you are real, if you are real, if you are active in our lives, then we have moments that we can we can step into your presence, we can feel you move, and our hearts can can sort of beat to your rhythm. 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:17.920 And that's what we want to see happen today. 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:23.439 So, Lord, as we as we look into your word, as we look at what you have told us and taught us, help that process happen. 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:25.360 Help us just line up with you. 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:27.120 And we pray all this in your name, Jesus. 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:27.759 Amen. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:28.399 Amen. 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:33.199 Well, hey, for the last five weeks, we have been in a series that we have called defined. 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:39.439 We're exploring a very simple concept, one that is simple to understand but difficult to live out at times. 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:43.600 And it's this our lives are not defined by our circumstances. 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:50.560 Our lives are defined by our decisions, by the way we choose to respond to our circumstances. 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:52.480 And Jesus' life was no different. 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:55.360 His life was defined by the decisions that he made. 00:04:55.439 --> 00:05:02.160 And we have this unbelievable opportunity to look at Jesus and know what God would do if he were a person. 00:05:02.480 --> 00:05:04.639 Because that is the story of Jesus. 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:11.199 So we can look at the decisions that Jesus made at the way he chose to live his life, and we can follow suit. 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:16.879 We can follow his example and live a life defined by the things that defined his life. 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:20.720 That was love, that was passion, that was purpose, that was meaning. 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:23.199 We want that kind of life. 00:05:23.439 --> 00:05:33.600 And this morning I want us to look at a decision that all of us can make that I believe affects our day-to-day, everyday lives more than any other decision that we could possibly make. 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:36.240 It's the decision of perspective. 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:38.959 Now, we don't tend to think of perspective as a decision. 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:41.040 We don't think of it as a choice most times. 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:46.879 Our perspective is just what we have, it's just the results of the life that we've lived, the way we're wired and whatnot. 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:49.279 But look at what Philippians 4.8 says. 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:52.079 Now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:57.839 Fix your thoughts on what is true, on what is honorable and right and pure and lovely and admirable. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:00.319 Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:06.079 In other words, Paul, who wrote this, is saying, choose the perspective you're going to live with. 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:09.519 Choose the perspective that you're going to have. 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:14.480 Decide how you're going to think about life. 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:16.319 You decide. 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:18.399 If there's good, find it. 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:20.240 That's what Paul is telling us to do. 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:24.240 We have the ability to change our perspectives. 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:28.879 And this is really good news because we cannot control our circumstances all the time. 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:31.920 We can control our circumstances some of the time. 00:06:32.160 --> 00:06:40.319 We can we can work out, we can lose some weight, we can get another job, we can we can cut back on our spending to change some of those types of circumstances. 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:47.040 We have control of our circumstances at times, but we have control of our perspective all the time. 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:54.959 In fact, our perspective is the only thing, it is the only thing that we have control of all the time. 00:06:55.920 --> 00:07:04.480 And if you want to see change in your life, if you want to see an area of your life change, just change your perspective, change the way you think about it. 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:08.560 Because if you change your perspective, everything else changes. 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:11.439 Now that's easier said than done, though, right? 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:14.959 There's not some switch that we just flip that says negative, positive. 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:15.439 All right, good. 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:16.399 I'm good. 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:19.439 No more complaining, no more worrying, I've got a new perspective. 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:20.319 That's not how it works. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:22.079 Changing perspective is hard. 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:23.759 It is so difficult. 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:28.480 And we hear this phrase in our culture: perception is reality. 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:31.920 That's something that our world believes. 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:37.360 So we might hear people say, hey, that might be true for you, but it's not true for me. 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:40.879 That is your truth, but it's not my truth. 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:43.040 And I understand that, I think like that. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:45.439 We live in a world that says there is no absolute truth. 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:46.399 We've all heard that. 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:49.920 I love that statement, by the way, because it's an absolute statement. 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:55.199 And so if that statement, there is no absolute truth, is true, it means there is absolute truth. 00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:56.319 But whatever. 00:07:57.120 --> 00:08:06.399 In a world where everyone believes that there is no absolute truth, that all truth is relative, perspective is what rules the day. 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:10.959 So people believe that if they think it's true, it must be true. 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:18.000 Even if the evidence overwhelmingly says to change your mind, you've got it wrong. 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:21.839 I often care more about my truth than the truth. 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:24.399 But what happens when my truth is wrong? 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:30.160 Because God invented this thing called a wife to remind me that often my truth is wrong. 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:32.000 All the time. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:36.480 It takes a lot to change our perspective. 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:38.240 In fact, I had someone explain it to me this way. 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:44.960 They were working with me, helping me see things differently in my life, and the person said, Justin, most of the time you think thoughts. 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:48.480 There are times that I do not, but most of the time you think thoughts. 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:51.440 But if you think a thought long enough, it becomes a belief. 00:08:51.679 --> 00:09:01.600 And if you believe something for long enough, it becomes crystallized in your mind and you hold it as truth, even if it's not, even if it's just a belief that came from a misplaced thought. 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:08.480 When that happens, when our beliefs crystallize, when our perspective cements, it is difficult to change. 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:14.080 And we'll come up with all kinds of ideas and theories and ways to justify the way we think. 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:15.039 I'll give you a great example. 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:17.919 I'm going to show you a picture of some bears, which you probably didn't see coming. 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:18.960 These bears. 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:25.039 Okay, if you if you grew up reading children's books, these have been around since the 60s, you probably know who these bears are. 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:26.720 Now, would you mind just participating? 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:28.559 Can you tell me the name of these bears? 00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:31.519 Berenstein bears, correct? 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:32.240 Alright. 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:36.320 Now, what if I told you that these are not the Berenstein bears? 00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:37.679 Because they're not. 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:38.879 They're not. 00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:41.600 You might be saying, oh, is it the Barenstein bears? 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:44.159 Because it wasn't Einstein or Frankenstein, right? 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:47.039 It was Stein, but no, they're not even the Barenstein bears. 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:49.600 They're actually the Bernstein bears. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:52.399 If you look at the words, it's Barenstein. 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:54.879 And I know some of you right now are saying, no. 00:09:55.840 --> 00:09:58.399 I clearly remember Berenstein. 00:09:58.480 --> 00:09:59.919 It has always been Berenstein. 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:01.840 Someone messed with that or they changed it. 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:05.200 And when I was a kid, it was Berenstein, because when I picture it in my mind, it's E-I-N. 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:06.159 Anyone with me? 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:06.799 Anyone? 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:07.759 Yeah, right. 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:10.080 It's crazy, but it's always been this way. 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:11.279 Always. 00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:15.600 From the first book that was ever published, it's been Barenstein. 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:18.159 And my mind refuses to accept that. 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:23.600 It's interesting if you go on Google and you type in Berenstein Bears, it'll autocorrect it to stain because that's what it is. 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:38.639 But some of the first pages you're gonna see, this is real, there are theories that people have come up with that we are living in a parallel universe, in an alternate reality where the only thing that has changed is the spelling of the Berenstein Bears. 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:54.559 There are physicists, I'm serious, there are physicists who have contributed to these articles saying the fact that millions of people, because you're not alone, millions of people swear it was Berenstein, is evidence that we might be living in a parallel universe. 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:56.960 Or we could have been wrong. 00:10:57.600 --> 00:10:59.200 Those are the options. 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:05.120 But I I love sci-fi and I don't like to be wrong, so I think the parallel universe theory it's a good one. 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:10.080 I makes me feel good about myself if I can think I wasn't wrong, some crazy theory like that. 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:22.559 It's hard to change a perspective, it's hard to change the way we think, but the ability to change the way we think is absolutely key if we want to have a healthy, successful life. 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:24.399 And God wants that for you, by the way. 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:26.480 God wants your life to be blessed. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:32.960 He knows it's not gonna be perfect, he never promised it's perfect, but he does want your life to be blessed, to have meaning, to have purpose. 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:39.759 He wants you to have joy in your life, and the ability to change the way you think is necessary for that to happen. 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:42.559 Because perspective affects everything. 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:47.360 The wrong perspective can ruin almost anything. 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:48.720 It really can. 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:52.639 You can look at scripture, you can find amazing men and women. 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:59.519 Amazing men and women in the Bible that messed their lives up, that got in these huge messes because of their perspective. 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:00.799 A great example is Abraham. 00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:02.720 Abraham was this incredible man of God. 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:12.639 Before he was known as Abraham, he was Abram, and when his name was Abram, God shows up and he says, Abram, you, you are the one I'm gonna make a nation out of. 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:18.720 Your children, your ancestors will become this nation, and I'm gonna use that nation to reveal who I am to the world. 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:20.799 Jesus came through that nation. 00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:28.399 Imagine the kind of person you would have to be for God to look at you and say, Yes, you, you're the one person whose bloodline I want to work through. 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:29.840 That's that's insane. 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:33.039 But sometimes Abram was an idiot. 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:36.399 He made some, he made some boneheaded decisions. 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:38.240 Genesis 12 tells us one of these stories. 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:38.720 I love this. 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:39.840 Verse 10. 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:46.080 At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner. 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:51.600 As he was approaching the border of Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, Look, you are a very beautiful woman. 00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:54.240 Now at this point, Sarai is probably loving this, right? 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:57.919 She's on her camel, her donkey, she's turning, saying, Aw, thank you. 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:00.240 I've been doing some things differently with my hair. 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:01.679 I'm glad you noticed. 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:08.240 But then, as men often do, he he goes in a different direction and it ruins everything he's just done. 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:12.480 He says, When the Egyptians see you, they will say, This is his wife. 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:15.039 Let's kill him, then we can have her. 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:20.399 And we might look at that and go, that's preposterous, but you gotta realize this is 4,000 plus years ago. 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:26.879 Sometimes people will read things that happened in the Old Testament and say, Wow, that seems really barbaric, and it's because it was. 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:28.559 They were barbarians. 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:31.279 Literally, they were barbaric people. 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:37.440 And so he's got the right mindset in the sense that, yes, that could happen, but but here's what he says. 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:40.399 So please tell them you're my sister. 00:13:40.639 --> 00:13:43.840 Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you. 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:47.679 And sure enough, when Abram arrived in Egypt, everyone noticed Sarai's beauty. 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:53.840 When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh their king, and Sarai was taken into his palace. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:14:01.039 And then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her: sheep, goats, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:03.120 She gotta have camels. 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:09.039 See, God has to step in and fix this mess, and he's good at that. 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:10.000 He's willing to do that. 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:12.080 He's done it in so many of our lives. 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:16.320 He steps in and he moves on Pharaoh's heart. 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:28.799 He actually shows Pharaoh what he's done, and Pharaoh kind of freaks out, gets afraid, sends Sarai back to Abram, and they have a reunion, and it was probably the most awkward conversation ever had between a husband and a wife. 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:32.960 She was, I mean, can you imagine the look that she got that she gave him? 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:33.679 I mean, come on. 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:36.559 If it looks good, but it was intense. 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:43.519 And see, that the problem is that Abram was operating out of a perspective of fear. 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:49.039 He saw life through the lens of fear because we don't see objectively. 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:51.120 Perception is not reality. 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:53.600 He was looking at life through the lens of fear. 00:14:53.679 --> 00:15:07.279 See, God had told him, I am going to bring a nation into existence through you, through you and Sarah's children, Sarai's children, not through Sarai and Pharaoh, but through Sarai and Abram. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:10.240 Sarah and Abraham, as their names became later. 00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:20.159 But rather than have the trust in God to go into Egypt and say, look, I know God's gonna protect us because he's made us a promise and he keeps his promises. 00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:27.360 Abram looked at life through the lens of fear, and he made a really misguided decision. 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:29.679 We can look at so many examples of this in scripture. 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:31.519 In fact, Abram did this twice. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:33.519 Years later, they went to another country. 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:35.919 He did the exact same thing, had the exact same result. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:36.960 It was bad. 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:38.799 Maybe it was good because he kept getting camels and donkeys. 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:42.000 Maybe this was a plan, I don't know, but I don't think so. 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:53.600 We can look at example after example from scripture, or we can just look at our own lives and think back, probably not that long, to the last time we made a poor decision because we saw things incorrectly. 00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:57.039 We had the wrong idea, the wrong point of view. 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:02.240 The wrong perspective can ruin almost anything, but the right perspective. 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:07.679 The right perspective can fix almost anything. 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:14.000 Jesus is the only person that ever lived life with the right perspective all the time. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:18.320 He saw the world the way God sees the world. 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:30.639 He looked at life through the lens of God's point of view, and that means that Jesus saw things very differently than we tend to see things, to the point where people just think Jesus is nuts at times. 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:32.639 That he says things that don't make sense. 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:39.600 I mean, even those of us who call ourselves Christians and we read the Bible and Jesus says things and we nod our heads and we say, Yeah, absolutely, turn the other cheek. 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:40.080 Sure. 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:41.440 Yeah, that makes sense. 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:42.639 That works in the real world. 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:45.360 If someone steals something from you, give them something else. 00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:45.919 Absolutely. 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:46.879 Good point, Jesus. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:50.000 No, in the back of our minds, we're going, this isn't heaven, Jesus. 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:52.000 This is not how things work here. 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:57.440 Sometimes Jesus says things that are so counterintuitive, they just seem wrong. 00:16:57.519 --> 00:16:59.440 They seem upside down. 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:02.639 It's because his perspective is completely different. 00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:13.839 But if you think about what he has said, if you take it in, if you let it penetrate your mind and your heart, your spirit, you realize over time that no, no, no, Jesus is not upside down, everyone else is. 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:18.319 It's just that if he's the only one right side up, he looks like the crazy one. 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:23.039 Jesus lived life with a completely different perspective. 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:29.039 We get a little taste of that in Matthew chapter 6, when Jesus is talking about possessions, about money, he says this. 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:35.680 Verse 19 don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them. 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:44.319 And where thieves break in and steal, store your treasures in heaven where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:48.400 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:54.960 Jesus is saying, hey, look, you might see money and possessions as security. 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:58.160 You see wealth as protection. 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:00.960 I see rust. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:03.440 I see decay. 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:06.000 I see something that is fleeting. 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:15.200 That's not the way our world works, but how many of us have put our hope and our trust in our bank account and been very disappointed by the result? 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:18.000 Because money is not loyal. 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:21.359 And Jesus saw things differently. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:27.519 You could describe his perspective by saying this: Jesus lived with an eternal perspective. 00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:30.079 We tend to have temporary perspectives. 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:31.200 We see the here and now. 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:33.519 We can maybe see a little bit further. 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:37.200 But Jesus lived his life with an eternal perspective. 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:48.400 We see that in a really powerful way in Luke chapter 8. 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:51.440 There's this story where a man named Jairus comes to Jesus for help. 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:55.200 This is a big deal because Jairus was the leader of the local synagogue. 00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:59.519 And if you read the story of Jesus, Jesus and the synagogues didn't really mesh. 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:09.359 They didn't like the way he taught, they didn't like the new ideas he was presenting, he didn't fit the system, and so they asked him to leave the synagogues, and Jesus went out and he taught in the wilderness. 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.000 The people who led synagogues were aligned with the religious leaders, the Pharisees. 00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:15.440 They were trying to kill Jesus. 00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:20.079 So Jairus is a man who has probably spoken out against Jesus. 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:23.279 But something changes in his life. 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:24.960 His daughter becomes ill. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:26.640 And she is on her deathbed. 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:29.519 And so he, in desperation, goes to Jesus. 00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:30.880 And Jesus is good. 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:38.400 Jesus doesn't say, Look, I know who you are, I know what you've said about me, I know that you've opposed me, so I'm sorry, but my help is not for you. 00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:41.039 That's not how Jesus is, that's not how God is. 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:43.759 And so Jesus goes with Jairus. 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:47.920 But on the way, some friends of Jairus show up and they they intercept them. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:51.920 They say, Jairus, I'm so sorry. 00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:58.240 But while you were out finding Jesus, your daughter died. 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:01.599 And so there's no reason, there's no reason to bring Jesus. 00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:05.680 Jesus, you don't have to worry about this, go fix some other problems that can be fixed. 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:16.480 And Jesus says something to Jairus that, depending on your perspective, and I imagine from the perspective of Jairus' friends, must have seemed insensitive. 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:19.039 Because Jesus says, no, I want to go. 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:20.559 Don't worry, Jairus. 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:21.759 She'll be fine. 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:23.519 She'll be fine. 00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:26.799 I mean, can you imagine the reaction? 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:31.119 At least what was going on in the minds of those friends that came and delivered the news? 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:34.640 Jesus, don't give this man false hope. 00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:36.079 Don't say she'll be fine. 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:37.039 She's dead. 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:38.240 She has passed away. 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:45.039 I know that medical knowledge has advanced a lot in the last 2,000 years, but 2,000 years ago, they knew the difference between alive and dead. 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:47.200 And they had that one figured out. 00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:50.000 And Jesus says, She'll be fine. 00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:51.599 I want to go. 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:56.400 He gets there to the house. 00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:58.480 And the funeral has already started. 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:03.680 That may seem really strange to us, a little hasty, but in those times you were buried the day you died. 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:05.279 And so people have come over. 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:08.240 We pick up in verse 52 of Luke chapter 8. 00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:12.240 The house was filled with people weeping and wailing. 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:14.799 But he said, Stop the weeping. 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:17.119 Jesus yells out, Stop crying. 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:20.400 She isn't dead, she's only asleep. 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:24.880 But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew that she had died. 00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:27.039 Now, death is a horrible thing. 00:21:27.759 --> 00:21:28.160 It is. 00:21:28.319 --> 00:21:29.599 We're not meant to die. 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:32.799 That was not God's purpose for us. 00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:37.200 Jesus showed us that life extends beyond death. 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:39.039 He backed that up when he got back up. 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:43.759 But the fact that death does not sit well with us, it's because we weren't meant for death. 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:47.119 And our spirits are absolutely eternal. 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:48.480 But our bodies are not. 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:50.319 And so death is something that we experience. 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:53.279 Death is something that Jesus himself experienced. 00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:56.400 So maybe Jesus is saying she's asleep. 00:21:56.480 --> 00:21:58.640 Maybe he's trying to soften the blow. 00:21:58.880 --> 00:21:59.759 And we do that because. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:01.920 Because death is harsh. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:03.440 The word dead is a harsh word. 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.880 So we tend naturally as people to comfort other people in hurting. 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:08.000 We say passed away. 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:08.559 That's softer. 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:10.160 Maybe Jesus is saying asleep. 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:14.160 In his culture, it was common to refer to the dead as being asleep. 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:20.880 In fact, in 1 Corinthians 15, 18, Paul refers to people who have passed away as being asleep. 00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:23.920 But there was a word they had in their culture for that. 00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:26.799 It meant sleep, but it meant sleep in the context of death. 00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:28.480 It was the word koimeo. 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:33.519 And coimeo meant to sleep, but in kind of a permanent sense. 00:22:33.839 --> 00:22:41.680 And so our word cemetery actually comes from a Greek word koimaterium, and that word meant the place where people sleep. 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:45.039 But Jesus did not say coimeo. 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:47.200 He didn't say she's asleep in that context. 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:48.240 He used a different word. 00:22:48.319 --> 00:22:49.759 It was the word cathudo. 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:54.960 And cathudo meant being asleep, falling asleep, taking a nap. 00:22:55.200 --> 00:23:00.960 He is literally saying to these people, the exact word he uses is she's not dead, she's only napping. 00:23:01.359 --> 00:23:04.319 And they laugh, and rightfully so. 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:07.839 And then Jesus goes and he does what he does. 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:10.400 He raises this girl back to life. 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:16.799 Because Jesus is so powerful, his life is so powerful that when he's around, death it just doesn't know what to do. 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:19.119 She comes back to life. 00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:20.160 And it's amazing. 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:23.599 This is an incredible miracle, but to me, it's not the most fascinating part of the story. 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:28.880 To me, the fascinating part is when Jesus made the decision to keep going to the house. 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:31.759 Because let's be honest, he didn't have to do that. 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:40.559 If Jesus had said, Oh, I'm so sorry, I let me comfort you, let me pray with you, and and I wish you could have found me sooner. 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:45.200 No one would have held Jesus at fault for this girl's death. 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:47.440 No one would have blamed Jesus. 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:49.200 It wouldn't have been a failure on his part. 00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:51.680 In fact, it was a big risk for him to go there. 00:23:52.640 --> 00:23:56.480 So why did Jesus decide to keep going? 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:02.640 It was because Jesus lived with a different perspective. 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:07.440 Because to Jesus, death isn't permanent. 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:10.400 To God, death isn't permanent. 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:14.960 I have a son that hates sleeping in the dark. 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:19.039 In fact, I could just shorten that sentence by saying, I have a son that hates sleeping. 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:22.480 Every night he sneaks into our room. 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:24.079 I wake up and he's in our floor. 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:32.559 This morning at 2 30, I woke up to Liam slowly pushing me over in my bed to crawl into bed with us. 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:35.759 And I'm just tired and I wake up and I say, So what are you, what are you doing? 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:37.599 He said, The floor is not comfortable. 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:38.880 I'm like, I know. 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:43.519 That's why we put a bed in your room, and every night we put you in it. 00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:44.880 Because we love you, we care about you. 00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:47.440 But he just he hates it, and his biggest thing is darkness. 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:49.119 He does not like darkness. 00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:51.519 Darkness is a big deal to kids, right? 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:54.319 Because kids see everything through a temporary perspective. 00:24:54.400 --> 00:25:00.960 That's why, if you have children, if you say the word ice cream, you better be pulling into a drive-thru to get ice cream, right? 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:07.440 Because if you say ice cream and you mean three hours from now, after the grocery store and some other errands, we're gonna go get ice cream. 00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:08.079 No, no, no. 00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:11.279 No, it might as well be years later from their perspective. 00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:15.519 You gotta be careful because kids see everything through the lens of right now. 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:18.160 That's how they see darkness. 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:20.960