WEBVTT 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:12.320 Good morning. 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:14.400 Let's uh let's just pray. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:17.039 Jesus, we love you. 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:19.679 You are uh you're everything. 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:32.640 There's no end to the number of words that we could uh we could add to describe how beautiful, how amazing, um, how intimate, how how powerful you are. 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:43.520 And we just we just want to say thank you for loving us like you do, for choosing us to be uh a part of your family, and for giving us a uh a group of people that we can worship you with and grow closer to you, Holy Spirit. 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:45.520 Please speak through your word this morning. 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:50.960 Uh you know, if it's just me talking, it's just words, but if if you speak to our hearts, it's truth and it changes our lives. 00:00:51.039 --> 00:00:54.079 So please just speak to each of our hearts exactly what we need to hear. 00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:55.600 We ask all this in your name. 00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:56.560 Amen. 00:00:57.520 --> 00:01:01.039 We've got a few quick announcements before we jump into what we're gonna talk about this morning. 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:04.319 First off, next Sunday, next Sunday's a big deal. 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:06.079 It's Tailgate Sunday. 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:07.519 Yes. 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:10.719 It is appropriate of a few woos for sure. 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:14.079 If you've never been here on a Sunday that we do Tailgate Sunday, it's a blast. 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:18.000 As soon as we're done with the last song next week, there's gonna be a ton of stuff going on outside. 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:22.959 First and foremost, we have a chili cook-off, and that is always a huge highlight of Tailgate Sunday. 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:29.439 There's two categories there's uh outside the box, and there are usually some really interesting, different chilies you'll taste there. 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:33.920 And then there's traditional, which uh, you know, is what you would think it would be, and they're all amazing. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:37.359 It's always so much fun to go through, taste all of them, vote for them. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:38.400 We have a ton of food. 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:40.799 If if you want to bring your own stuff in Tailgate, you can do that. 00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:47.280 The Salisbury's will be, you know, they'll be setting up shop like normal, and they always they always turn out some incredible stuff, so that's always a good time. 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:48.400 We have stuff for the kids. 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:52.319 We've got face painting, football toss, field goal kicking, all kinds of stuff. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:53.599 Uh it's gonna be a great time. 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:58.879 And then the big thing is that one o'clock when the Falcons play, we get to watch the game in here on the big screen. 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:02.159 Uh, and I think this is the biggest screen in Cherokee County, so that's that's good. 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:03.599 That's a good thing. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:06.799 The next Sunday is an even bigger Sunday. 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:11.360 The Sunday after that is uh is Baptism Sunday, and that is yes. 00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:19.039 Honestly, it it's uh we do it twice a year, and every single time it is it's incredible. 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:25.360 I mean, it's really hard to actually find words for it because Sundays like Tailgate Sunday, those are big events, and and those are a great time. 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:28.800 And actually, it would be a great Sunday for you to invite people to next week. 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:35.520 There's uh there's just something about all of us getting together afterwards and hanging out together that's that's a real indicator of who we are and what we're about. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:37.759 Baptism Sunday, though, is not a big event. 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:39.520 It's it's 50, 60 big events. 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:46.879 For every single person getting baptized, that is a momentous occasion in their relationship with Jesus, and we want to support that. 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:48.479 We want to celebrate that. 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:54.879 And so if if you want to get baptized, if you're ready to take that step, you can sign up in the lobby today. 00:02:55.120 --> 00:03:01.439 Or if someone that you know or in your family, maybe a child wants to get baptized, they've had that conversation with you with you, please sign them up as well. 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:04.560 You don't have to do that, it just helps us know what to expect. 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:09.439 And then as soon as we're done a couple Sundays from now, you can uh you can you can be here. 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:13.360 I'd encourage everyone, if you can, to stay and to cheer the people on as they get baptized. 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:17.360 There is something powerful about seeing 50 people go all in with Jesus. 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:18.879 It is it's incredible. 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:28.719 Umly other thing I want to announce real quick before we go into what we're gonna talk about is is it's kind of a thank you, is is to everyone who gives financially and gives your time and your talents. 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:31.280 We are we are not a huge organization. 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:32.800 We're we're a bunch of volunteers. 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:34.319 We're a volunteer church. 00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:40.080 And so everything that gets done here is done through your generosity, your time, your gifts. 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:43.599 And so uh number one, thank you for doing that financially. 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:45.360 We want to thank everyone for helping us out with that. 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:49.759 We are not a church, if you're here for the first time, that's gonna pass a plate or pressure you to give. 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:53.919 We want it to be something between you and God, something that's a part of your worship with him. 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:55.280 Um, and he blesses it. 00:03:55.840 --> 00:03:59.199 When we trust him with our finances, he honors that, he blesses it. 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:03.039 So if that's something you feel led to do this morning, there's four columns at the back of the room. 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:08.479 You can do it there or online, or we even have an app that you can use if you want to as well. 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:12.879 For the last several weeks, Steve has been talking about rest. 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:15.039 It's been very nice. 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:16.160 It's been good to hear. 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:28.720 And even though he's out of town this morning, we're still gonna stay on that subject because it's a big need in all of our lives, and it's something that, at least for me, and I'm guessing for most of us, doesn't come as naturally as we'd like it to. 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:33.199 We have we have a tendency to overload ourselves. 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:41.759 We get overwhelmed, we get stressed out, and we're much more likely, even in those moments, to add something to our loads than to let something go. 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:43.839 It's amazing how we can do that. 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:46.079 We can all agree that rest is important. 00:04:46.240 --> 00:05:00.399 We can all agree that God wants us to have rest in our lives, but when we get home today and the to-do list goes back to the top of our minds, it is hard to just stop and rest, at least without feeling guilty. 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:06.639 I know it is in my house because if one of us takes a nap, we feel like we have to prove to the other one why we deserve it. 00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:09.199 Is anyone else like that at home? 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:11.759 You take a nap this afternoon, you're like, I am not feeling well. 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:13.439 I have had a crazy week. 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:15.199 It is, it's been nuts. 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:18.560 I'll come home sometimes, I have a two and a half year old, and I know how hard that is. 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:21.920 And if Megan took a nap, she'll just be like, you do not understand. 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:23.120 He was crazy today. 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:23.759 He was crazy. 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:24.639 I have to sleep. 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:30.639 Why is it that we have to prove to ourselves and other people that we deserve something as simple as a nap? 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:32.879 It's hard for us to rest. 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:35.839 And Jesus knew that. 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:44.639 He's compassionate, he saw our tendency to overload ourselves and the difficulty that we have to just let things be and rest a little bit. 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:50.959 And so in Matthew 11, 28, he says, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:52.480 I will give you rest. 00:05:53.120 --> 00:06:00.399 Take my yoke upon you, let me teach you, because I'm humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:04.480 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:06.879 That sounds so nice. 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:12.480 If you ever read that same verse in the message, it sounds like Jesus is inviting us on a vacation. 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:17.040 He says, come and get away with me, and you'll recover your life. 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:19.040 Sounds so good. 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:31.279 Over the last few weeks, we've talked about things like being able to appreciate every day that God gives us, not getting so caught up with next week or tomorrow or even next year that we we don't have the ability to enjoy every day that we have. 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:38.079 We've talked about figuring out how we can have a Sabbath, we can take a real rest, a time of just unproductivity. 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:40.160 Those things can be hard. 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:42.639 This morning, I want to talk about another aspect of rest. 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:44.319 And it's something that's really subtle. 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:58.720 It's a very small observation, but it's one of those things that if we take it and apply it, it has huge, huge implications on our relationship with God, and it's incredibly restful and freeing. 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:04.160 As I was getting ready this morning, I was trying to think through some of the more stressful situations I've been in in life. 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:06.160 And like all of us, there are plenty to choose from. 00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:08.319 Plenty from last week, plenty from this year. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:14.720 One that popped into my mind, though, had to do with when I first started dating my wife, Megan. 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:17.279 We were high school sweethearts, so we were very young. 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:19.680 I was 18 and she was 17. 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:30.240 And I'll never forget how stressed out, and I really can't emphasize that enough, how stressed out I was the first time I went to pick Megan up for a date. 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:32.319 And I was anxious about the date itself. 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:33.759 I wanted it to go very well. 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:35.839 I was, you know, I was crazy about Megan. 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:40.240 I wanted there to be a second date for sure, but that that is not what had me stressed out. 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:49.199 What had me stressed out was what I anticipated happening when I picked Megan up for the first time, and that was a sit-down conversation with Megan's dad. 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:58.000 Megan and I met playing basketball at the school that we went to, and everybody on the basketball team, all the guys, we all know who we all knew who Megan's dad was. 00:07:58.160 --> 00:07:58.959 Because you couldn't miss him. 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:00.399 He's six foot five. 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:01.120 All right? 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:03.920 And he's not a scrawny six foot five either. 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:05.120 He's a big man. 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:07.439 I'm not six foot anything. 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:10.399 I'll go to the doctor. 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:13.279 I was actually at the doctor this week, and they'll say, uh, we've got you down at 5'9. 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:15.439 I'm like, 5'9 and three-quarters, actually. 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:19.360 And I would appreciate for you to change that on your chart, okay? 00:08:19.839 --> 00:08:25.839 I mean, I'm not six anything, and Megan's dad's six' five, and so there's just the physical imposing you know difference there. 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:37.600 But on top of that, I had a good friend that had dated Megan for a little while before me, and he told me this story that when he picked Megan up for the first time, he had a conversation with her dad in the living room while he cleaned the shotgun. 00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:39.759 And so that didn't help at all. 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:41.759 Didn't help. 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:44.720 I was stressed out of my mind driving to pick her up. 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:50.159 And I remember in the car going through all these potential scenarios, like, okay, if this happens, here's what I'll say, here's what I'll do. 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:51.679 I practically had a speech prepared. 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:53.200 I might as well have brought a resume. 00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:58.320 I was so, I was so ready, so nervous, so so anxious. 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:02.799 And when I arrived, what happened was the last thing I expected. 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:08.960 What happened was I pulled into the neighborhood to pick Megan up, and I see driving toward me Megan's dad. 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:14.000 And at first I was like, oh no, how did he know that this, what's going on? 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:16.799 As the car got closer, he slowed down, rolled his window down. 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:18.559 So I'm like, do I just keep going? 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:19.840 Or, you know, no. 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:23.120 Like, oh, I didn't see you, I'm sorry. 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:24.799 I did what you have to do, okay. 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:27.840 I gotta slow my car down, roll the window down, and he leans in, and this is what he says. 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:30.320 He says, Hey, have a great time, have her home by midnight. 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:32.399 All right, that was it. 00:09:32.799 --> 00:09:39.120 And I was relieved, I was relieved in a sense, I was like, okay, that wasn't that bad. 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:44.399 And then we had a date, it went well, but the second date came around, same tension. 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:45.600 I was like, oh no. 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:47.440 We never had that talk. 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:50.000 I heard the story, I know it's gonna happen. 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:59.440 Now it's gonna be this time, and and the second date it didn't happen, and the third and the fourth, and and so in a way it was great, but in a way it was terrifying because I never knew when that moment was gonna happen. 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:00.960 I I knew it was coming, though. 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:02.480 I knew it was coming. 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:11.759 And the first time that I anticipated greatly, like this is definitely gonna be when we have a long conversation, was about four months into our relationship. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:14.960 Megan's parents asked me to go on vacation with the family. 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:22.399 And I said yes, of course, and I was excited, but I was crazy nervous because from that point, you know, before that point, it was just a conversation here and there. 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:23.919 And this was vacation. 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:30.480 This is gonna be car rides and dinners and all kinds of opportunities for me to mess everything up. 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:33.440 So I was I was nervous, I was anxious. 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:38.879 When I when I was growing up in my family, uh vacations needed to go very well for everyone to be happy. 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:45.840 If things went wrong, we got lost or whatever, there was always a lot of tension and arguments in the front seat and all kinds of stuff like that. 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:52.720 This vacation that I went on with with her family was probably the least smooth vacation I have ever been on in my life. 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:53.759 It was amazing. 00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:54.720 We had bad weather. 00:10:54.799 --> 00:11:05.360 We went to this thing called the Highland Games, and it's basically the Olympics for Celtic people, and the fog was so bad, we had really bad weather, the fog was so bad you couldn't see 10 feet in front of you. 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:07.120 So you're sitting on the field trying to watch this. 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:12.240 It was supposed to be our whole day, and all you could see was there's some kilts and some hay, and I don't know what's going on. 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:13.120 So we left. 00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:15.840 That was a whole day that was shot because of weather. 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:21.759 We took a canoe trip that was supposed to last an hour and a half, and it ended up lasting four hours. 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:26.320 And no one put on sunscreen with four hours in mind. 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:32.480 And so all of us got burnt, especially Megan's sister, who I've honestly never seen someone that badly sunburnt. 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:34.639 She she literally looked like a strawberry for the rest of the trip. 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:35.200 It was bad. 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:35.919 It was bad. 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:36.960 All of us got burnt. 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:38.000 That didn't go well. 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:42.799 Someone left a window open upstairs, and bugs got in the cabin like crazy. 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:43.360 That was bad. 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:45.519 The worst, though, the worst was something for me. 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:50.480 I uh I'm just gonna be honest, I clogged a toilet in the upstairs bathroom. 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:59.120 And and I'm not, I mean I'm not being crass or anything like that. 00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:06.720 I just I just remember so clearly flushing it and and it and the water not coming back up and me going, oh no. 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:11.200 Like, what do what do I do? 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:13.919 And the options were pretty simple, right? 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:16.399 You go downstairs and say, hey, can I need a plunger? 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:25.600 Or or you just don't say anything, and you hope either A it fixes itself, or B somebody else it's it's it gets blamed on them, whatever. 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:29.919 So I chose the coward's way out. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:31.600 I didn't say anything. 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:47.440 And later that night, one of Megan's siblings used the restroom, and when they've when they flushed it over, flowed so badly that water leaked through the floor down the ceiling into her parents' bedroom. 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:48.559 Okay? 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:58.240 So naturally, as the boyfriend, you know, I I got towels and I'm up there wiping it, and I remember Megan's mom was like, You don't have to help with this, and I was like, No, it's the least I can do. 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:10.879 You know, it's and and for years, actually, this is true, for years she she would bring that up sometimes and be like, I was so impressed that you just helped out with that. 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:15.840 I'm pretty sure I I think I waited until about two years into our marriage to confess. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:19.840 I was like, there's there's something that's been eating at me for years. 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:21.120 I'm so sorry. 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:32.879 So with all that, with all that, this incredibly unsmooth vacation, I had an amazing time. 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:35.919 It was, it was actually, it was incredible. 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:45.360 Because all that happened on top of just my my fear and anxiety over being the boyfriend and all that kind of stuff. 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:48.080 And the reason it was so great was because of Megan's dad. 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:51.919 Going into that vacation, I had a formal relationship with Megan's dad. 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:53.039 You could not get more formal. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:58.080 It was father of beautiful teenage girl, teenage boy romantically interested in beautiful teenage girl. 00:13:58.159 --> 00:13:59.600 That is a formal relationship. 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:03.840 That is a handshake relationship, that is not a high five relationship. 00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:06.639 And rightfully so. 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:10.159 But on that trip, Megan's dad never treated me like the boyfriend. 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:12.879 He treated me like part of the family, really treated me like a son. 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:21.759 And as time went on, I was able to relax, I was able to be myself, and actually rest. 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:34.720 All of us have relationships that are formal, relationships that are not close and intimate, that are very, very much about circumstances, pretenses, whatever you want to call it. 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:37.679 And it's impossible to rest in those relationships. 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:44.320 When you're around a group of people that you have a very formal relationship with, you can't rest because you cannot just be yourself and relax. 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:46.720 You have to be on, you have to be focused. 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:50.320 Every word is deliberate, it's tense. 00:14:50.799 --> 00:15:02.960 But when you're surrounded by people that you love, that love you, that know you, that are informal with you, there is a rest that comes from that that is very, very deep. 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:04.879 It's very freeing. 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:08.639 And that's the way that Megan's dad treated me on that trip. 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:13.600 Now I'm actually part of the family. 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:15.679 And it's funny because if I were to call him Mr. 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:18.320 Richardson, it would it would be odd now. 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:25.679 It's much more natural for me to call him Lewis or Dad, even, than to call him by that formal relationship title. 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:29.440 And that's because now I'm in the family. 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:31.519 And it's informal and it's awesome. 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:34.080 Every time we go over there, if I want to take a nap on the couch, I can. 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:36.399 You know, it's it's it's great. 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:44.159 And it's it's actually a pretty cool picture of our relationship with God, or at least my relationship with God and how that's sort of played out. 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:45.840 When I was young, I was intimidated by God. 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:46.960 He's bigger than me. 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:55.120 And I'd heard some stories of some intimidating situations in church and Sunday school that had me a little bit more nervous to be around God. 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:01.279 But then when I got to know God, I found out he wasn't who I expected him to be. 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:10.720 Yes, he was big, powerful, he was incredibly loving, incredibly gentle, smiled a lot, just like Megan's dad. 00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:13.840 And eventually God brought me into his family. 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:17.519 Now he's my dad. 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:26.480 And the relationship that I've I have with God has gone from being one that's incredibly formal to an informal one. 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:34.559 In Ephesians, this is what it says, chapter 1, verses 4 through 5. 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:45.519 It says, long before he laid down earth's foundations, talking about God the Father, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love to be made whole and holy by his love. 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:49.519 Long, long ago, he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:51.840 What pleasure he took in planning this? 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:59.519 He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift giving by the hand of his beloved son. 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:04.640 God's desire is to bring us into his family. 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:11.839 And it's very easy for us to picture our relationship with God to be a very, very formal one. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:14.079 How can you get more formal than God? 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:18.559 What do you wear if God invites you over? 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:21.680 I mean, he's God, right? 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:24.400 Surely, and this is what religion teaches us. 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:28.079 Approach him the right way, say the right things, do the right things. 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:29.920 It's a very formal relationship. 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:32.480 And when a relationship is formal, it's fragile. 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:34.480 It's cold, it's distant. 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:42.319 And even though religion teaches us that that's the relationship God wants, Jesus taught us differently. 00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:50.160 And I believe very strongly that God's desire for all of us is to have an informal, intimate, close relationship. 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:52.799 A relationship that we can find rest in. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:56.799 A relationship that we can relax and be ourselves in. 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:02.799 Where our greatest rest doesn't come just from taking a day off and taking a nap. 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:09.839 Our greatest rest actually comes from spending time with our dad, with God, and being ourselves with him. 00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:14.880 And more so than in any relationship on this earth, resting. 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:17.359 Because it's unconditional. 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:25.039 In the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, God had a very informal relationship with mankind. 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:26.640 We were naked for one. 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:27.839 That's very informal. 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:32.319 And God did not seem to mind. 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:38.799 You never see in Genesis God going, they're naked, it's really awkward, but all right, whatever. 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:46.400 It wasn't until we chose a formal relationship with God that things changed. 00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:49.599 We chose that when we ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:52.480 Another way to say knowledge of good and evil would be religion. 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:57.279 And mankind chose religion. 00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:02.880 And when our relationship with God became religious, it became extremely formal. 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:07.680 That's the first time anyone ever worried about what they wore in God's presence. 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:15.599 Adam and Eve chose leaves, and over time, what we've chosen to wear to church or wherever, it's become more elaborate, much more expensive. 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:18.640 And that hasn't stopped. 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:23.039 That's why there's there's still debate in churches today. 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:24.160 Should we be able to wear jeans? 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:25.519 Do we have to dress up and wear suits? 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:28.640 And even if you're at a place like this where it's jeans, do they have to be nice jeans? 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:30.079 Do it have to be stylish jeans? 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:31.359 Or can it just be jeans? 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:32.079 You know, what is it? 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:35.839 There's there's still all this, you know, all this talk about what should we wear. 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:41.279 That's when it became important what to say around God, what words to use. 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:51.200 The Jewish people in Jesus' time wouldn't even call God by his his name because their mentality was that he's so holy, he's so great. 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:55.680 If we're if we use his name as mere people, we just call him by name, it's going to offend him. 00:19:57.440 --> 00:20:00.559 Sometimes we have a hard time just calling Jesus what he called himself. 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:01.920 Jesus. 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:07.599 We have to put a title in front of it. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:08.559 There's nothing wrong with that. 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:14.079 He is the Messiah, he is Christ, but but he's Jesus, and he called himself the Son of Man. 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:18.400 Twenty times more than he ever referred to himself as the Son of God. 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:20.480 He chose the informal title. 00:20:22.559 --> 00:20:26.799 But we assume that God wants a formal relationship with us. 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:30.240 We assume that. 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:44.720 And I think what we'll find is that if we can get back to that original relationship, the freedom in that, the rest in that, it's so it's so great, it's so freeing. 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:50.720 Religion's a kind of a tricky thing to shake, it's confusing. 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:55.279 It makes us think things like we have to we have to approach God carefully. 00:20:57.039 --> 00:21:00.400 The religious spirit, it's a very tricky one to get rid of. 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:15.599 And so the thought is better to be safe than sorry, better to err on the side of being too formal with God, and at least he knows we we worship him, than be too informal and overstep our bounds. 00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:17.680 So there's all this confusion. 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:20.559 How informal is too informal? 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:28.160 The great thing about confusion is that God has a great way of clearing that up, and that's Jesus. 00:21:28.319 --> 00:21:32.640 If we're ever confused about anything with God, we can look at Jesus. 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:34.640 He clears it up. 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:41.200 Hebrews 1 3 says, the sun radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God. 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:47.440 Colossians 1 15 says we look at this sun and see the God who cannot be seen. 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:52.799 We look at this sun and see God's original purpose in everything created. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:56.799 So if we want to know what God is like, we look at Jesus. 00:21:56.880 --> 00:21:59.680 He's the clearest picture we will ever have until the day we're looking at. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:02.559 God, face to face, of who God is and what he's like. 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:06.000 If we want to know what's important to God, we look at what was important to Jesus. 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:15.920 And so on this whole formal, informal relationship thing, it's very simple to clear up what did Jesus do in that arena? 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:20.000 Did he have a formal relationship with God? 00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:24.559 Did he have a passion for religious formality? 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:28.960 And the answer is kind of a resounding no. 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:38.480 There may have never been a group of people that have ever lived that treated their relationship with God more formally than the Jewish people did in Jesus' time. 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:40.319 It was kind of incredible. 00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:45.680 Especially the Pharisees and the religious leaders, there was no living easy around God for them. 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:48.319 When Jesus said, Hey, come away with me and you'll find rest, it'll be easy. 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:51.519 That was a foreign concept to the Pharisees, right? 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:57.359 Their life was about religious rules that had to be followed to a T, and if they weren't, you were in trouble. 00:22:57.599 --> 00:22:58.319 You were in trouble. 00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:03.519 They had so many religious ceremonies and practices that they would do in that mindset. 00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:06.000 And Jesus pretty much breaks all of them. 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:09.039 And he gets himself in a lot of trouble doing it. 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:12.000 One of the most extensive rituals they had was a hand washing ritual. 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:16.240 They're actually kind of ahead of their time in understanding how germs worked, but they weren't being hygienic. 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:17.759 It was all about spiritual things. 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:31.680 They believed in a kind of spiritual contamination that was very contagious, where if you're a spiritually clean person and you come in contact with someone who's spiritually unclean and touch them, let's say, that spiritual uncleanness is now transferred to you. 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:33.839 And then if you touch something else, it's spiritually unclean. 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:36.400 If you grab a piece of food, it's spiritually unclean. 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:42.160 If you eat that food, you have put something spiritually unclean in your body, and now you're in real trouble. 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:50.799 Pretty accurate with how germs and sickness spreads, but that's how they thought of spiritual things and God. 00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:57.680 So they had this hand washing ceremony to spiritually cleanse their hands before every meal because who knows what you touched. 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:03.119 And this was not a simple, you know, put your hands under the water, rub them together, a little soap. 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:04.160 This was very, very elaborate. 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:08.799 A few years ago, I was reading a book that went into detail about it, and here's what it had to say about the ceremony. 00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:16.000 It says the hands, to begin with, had to be free of any coating of sand or mortar or gravel or any such substance, no dirt. 00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:29.440 The water for washing had to be kept in a special large stone jar so that it itself was clean in the ceremonial sense, and so that it might be certain that it had been used for no other purpose and that nothing had fallen into it or been mixed with it. 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:32.400 First, the hands were held with fingertips pointing upward. 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:33.359 This was important. 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:36.880 Water was poured over them and had to run at least down to the wrist. 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:40.559 The minimum was about one and a half eggshells full of water. 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:46.400 While the hands were still wet, each hand had to be cleansed into a fist and washed the other. 00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:49.599 The fist of one was rubbed into the palm and against the surface of the other. 00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:57.200 This meant that at this stage the hands were wet with water, but this water was now unclean because it had touched unclean hands. 00:24:57.359 --> 00:25:09.759 So you had to get new water, and the hands had to be held with fingertips pointing downward, and then water had to be poured over them in such a way that it began at the wrist, ran off at the fingertips, and after all of this had been done, the hands were clean. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:12.880 It gives a whole new meaning to wash up before the meal. 00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:15.200 It's like sounds exhausting. 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:19.759 But this was not an optional practice for the Pharisees at all. 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:26.319 In fact, Jesus' disciples got in trouble because the Pharisees thought they were a little too loose with the hand washing. 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:28.160 They didn't do it quite right. 00:25:29.119 --> 00:25:33.200 So imagine how frustrated they would be if someone skipped it altogether. 00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:34.559 That's what Jesus did. 00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:40.480 In Luke chapter 11, it says as Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. 00:25:40.640 --> 00:25:42.640 So he went and he took his place at the table. 00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:53.759 His host was amazed, other translations will say offended, to see that he sat down without first performing the hand washing ceremony required by Jewish custom. 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:55.759 Jesus just skips it. 00:25:56.799 --> 00:25:58.240 And that was offensive. 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:01.920 It was honestly scandalous in his day. 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:07.440 This is not the only example of Jesus not having too much respect for religious formality. 00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:10.319 Throughout the Gospels, I mean he breaks those rules left and right. 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:12.240 You've got the time that he heals on the Sabbath. 00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:15.200 He didn't fast like the Pharisees said to or pray like they did. 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:18.880 He touched lepers, he treated women differently than was religiously prescribed. 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:19.920 He hung out with sinners. 00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:21.039 The list could go on and on. 00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:30.720 If you ever want a big one, when Jesus turned water into wine, the water he used was the water stored in the ceremonial jars for hand washing. 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:37.440 And he made enough wine to be the equivalent of about 900 bottles of wine in our day. 00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:41.599 I'm guessing if the Pharisees were there, they would have been at least slightly offended. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:42.319 Slightly. 00:26:53.279 --> 00:26:55.759 But does that mean we can approach God the same way? 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:57.759 Does that mean we can approach God informally? 00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:00.640 I'm gonna take a look at something else. 00:27:00.799 --> 00:27:05.119 In Matthew 6, Jesus is taking a shot at how the Pharisees make their prayers into a big deal. 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:08.319 They turn them into these big, fancy, long-running monologues. 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:10.720 And he tells us how to pray, and he keeps it very simple. 00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:14.799 He prays, Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:17.519 May your kingdom come soon. 00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:21.519 May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:28.160 Give us today the food we need and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:33.279 And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:35.920 It's a very short and simple prayer. 00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:39.359 It's not long, but is it formal? 00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:44.160 Prayer is kind of an interesting modern-day example of what we're talking about. 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:46.240 This whole, how do I approach God? 00:27:46.559 --> 00:27:47.680 Do I do it the right way? 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:53.440 If I were to ask any of us to pray, maybe we can do this like old school and just raise hands. 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:57.200 How many of us would say that we get a little nervous when asked to pray in front of other people? 00:27:57.359 --> 00:27:59.119 Is there anyone in the room that's like that? 00:27:59.359 --> 00:28:01.519 Okay, that's actually most of us. 00:28:01.759 --> 00:28:03.200 Now, why is that? 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:08.400 Part of it is probably just because we don't like speaking in front of people, we don't want to look dumb in front of people. 00:28:08.640 --> 00:28:09.920 I'm sure that's part of it. 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:11.440 That's pretty normal. 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:15.200 But I think it goes deeper than that for a lot of us with prayer. 00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:22.400 Are we nervous about praying out loud in front of people because we believe somewhere inside of us that we can mess it up? 00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:26.480 Can you mess up a prayer? 00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:29.519 Well, it depends on what a prayer is. 00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:38.400 If a prayer is a religious ritual, an exercise for the right words for the right occasion, then absolutely you can mess up a prayer. 00:28:40.240 --> 00:28:48.160 Several years ago, I was visiting my family in Missouri for Thanksgiving, and my nephew Jacob was three years old, about the age that my son is now. 00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:50.000 My son's a little bit younger. 00:28:50.400 --> 00:28:55.039 And he was asked to pray before our Thanksgiving meal. 00:28:55.279 --> 00:28:56.640 And he said, Yes. 00:28:56.880 --> 00:29:02.000 So we all huddled around in a circle, and all of us bowed our heads, but we also kept our eyes open because it was it was cute. 00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:02.640 We had to watch. 00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:04.160 And this is what Jacob's prayer was. 00:29:04.240 --> 00:29:07.519 He said, God, I love God. 00:29:10.319 --> 00:29:11.279