WEBVTT 00:00:02.399 --> 00:00:04.480 Welcome to the MetaCurch podcast. 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:05.440 My name is Clayton. 00:00:05.519 --> 00:00:14.240 I'm the pastor at MetaCurch, and I hope that today's message is inspiring and enlightening and really builds you up wherever you're at in life. 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:19.120 I want to welcome you in wherever you're joining us from. 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:23.920 If you're here physically, if you're at our Holotus Venue, man, I am so glad you've joined us. 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:27.039 If you're with us online, I'm so glad that you are streaming with us. 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:29.359 And if you're new with us, my name's Clayton. 00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:36.479 I'm the lead pastor here at MetaCurch, and we have been going really slowly through the gospel of Luke. 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:42.399 That's one of the four historical accounts in the New Testament of our Bible, all about the life of Jesus. 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:43.679 We've been really taking our time. 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:49.679 However, over the last three weeks, we stepped out of Luke into a series called Paradise. 00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:51.520 We saw some amazing things. 00:00:51.840 --> 00:01:00.320 This was Palm Sunday, Easter, where by the way, we saw a record number of people come through Metachurch, almost 1,700 people on Easter. 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:02.479 So you can thank God for that. 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:06.400 I'm gonna be honest, that was like a golf clap at best. 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:09.519 And so I'm gonna pretend that didn't happen because that was crazy. 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:18.879 And then I'm gonna give you a chance to redeem that and let you know that last Sunday we baptized 91 people at Metachurch. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:25.519 Yes, that's more like it, man. 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:27.760 God keeps showing up in incredible ways. 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:32.319 You know, we baptized about six months ago 144 people in a weekend. 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:39.519 And to be honest, just as someone who can do like a little bit of math, I'm going, I don't know who's left to baptize at this point, you know. 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:45.920 And we we fill up the tubs and 91 people take that walk of faith and go public with what Jesus is doing in their life. 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:50.959 It's an exciting time to just be a part of the movement of Jesus here at Meta. 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:52.640 I'm so glad that you're a part of it. 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:55.439 And if you're new here, and we're just so glad you showed up. 00:01:55.519 --> 00:02:15.520 Uh, wherever you're at in your faith journey, if you've been a believer for a long time and you're just looking for somewhere to be a part of the body of Christ, or if you are someone who has never believed in Jesus, you're not quite convinced by the claims of Christianity, you consider yourself a skeptic, this is the right place to keep showing up, keep asking the big questions, keep wrestling. 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:19.680 Uh, you belong here before you believe here, you are loved here. 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:21.280 And I'm glad that you have shown up today. 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:22.639 I hope you'll keep showing up. 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:27.360 Now we are jumping back into Luke, and I'm very excited about that. 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:37.680 Luke chapter six, bro, if you think it's taken us a long time to get through the first five chapters of Luke, Luke chapter six is so thick. 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:43.199 So Luke chapter six is where we get to Jesus' most famous sermon. 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:44.159 We're not there yet. 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:47.039 It's gonna take us three weeks before we hit the sermon. 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:51.439 And we have some structural work to do in chapter six that we'll talk about today. 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:55.199 But eventually we're going to get to the most famous sermon of all time. 00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:59.759 Now, Matthew's gospel calls this the sermon on the mount. 00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:02.000 Have you heard of the sermon on the mount? 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:06.159 Luke's gospel calls this the sermon on the plane. 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:09.680 Not like the plane, like a plane, like a field. 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:16.879 And that can be confusing, and this is where uh people who haven't really studied the text but want to find error in the text will go, there it is. 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:19.439 You have two different gospels, and they're calling it two different things. 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:20.879 So which one was it, Christians? 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:23.360 Was he on the side of a mountain or was he in a big open field? 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:25.360 And the answer is both. 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:37.120 This is the sermon that Jesus would preach from this moment through the rest of his time on earth, because this is the sermon that is teaching the kingdom way. 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:40.319 If you've been with us in Luke, we're breaking it down into sections. 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:42.240 The first was the chosen king. 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:45.039 The second section we're in is called the kingdom way. 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:53.520 This is where Jesus, every second of his life on earth, is demonstrating for us the way that God's kingdom operates. 00:03:53.680 --> 00:04:02.400 However, we are about to take a turn in Luke chapter six, where he's going to move from demonstration to declaration. 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:16.480 Instead of just watch my life and observe how the kingdom works, in four weeks, we're gonna start listening to his sermon, and his sermon is the instructions for how to exist as a part of the kingdom of God. 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:18.879 That is where we are headed. 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:25.920 And because Jesus came to establish this kingdom and to call us to be a part of it, he got into his sermon. 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:33.199 The set, this is where I get in trouble because I'm I'm studied through chapter six, and so it's hard for me not to get ahead of myself and give you all the spoilers right now. 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:39.600 But the setup for this sermon will blow your mind when you finally understand exactly what Jesus is doing. 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:45.439 But before we get there, this week and next week, we have to go through some more controversy. 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:54.399 And we have to see Jesus finally and fully rejected by his own people that he came offering the kingdom to. 00:04:54.639 --> 00:05:00.959 And this is so important because the people who we're gonna see reject Jesus, they represent us. 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:04.240 We want to be Jesus, obviously. 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:09.040 That's why we've put our faith in him, that's why we're following him, that's why we're a part of the body of Christ. 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:16.079 But before we can really walk like Jesus, we have to understand that a lot of times we're the Pharisees. 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:19.040 A lot of times we're the opposition. 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:29.920 And if we are not willing to come in to the body and lay down our weapons and be brutally honest, then we aren't ready to fully follow Jesus yet. 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:42.399 The problem with the men and women that we will see reject Jesus is that they had become so consumed with the kingdoms of their culture that they could not see the kingdom of heaven that was on offer to them. 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:52.480 And we're not really ready to walk into the word until we take off our little good Sunday morning masks where we pretend everything is good and we're perfect all the time. 00:05:52.959 --> 00:06:04.879 And we just admit that we live in a culture where we are just consumed constantly by the temptations and the pressure of the kingdoms of this world. 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:07.279 We sit there too. 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:14.399 And we're taking our time in Luke so we can really understand who Jesus is and we can really understand what he is offering us. 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:25.519 And part of why we started MetaCurch a little over seven years ago, which by the way, uh, next Sunday in Helotus and next Monday at Petrenko, we're gonna have our next Who We Are event. 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:28.639 And if you haven't been to a Who We Are event, you need to go. 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:34.720 And so in Helotus, it's right after service, next Sunday, the 26th, at Petrenko, it's gonna be Monday night at 7 p.m. 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:36.079 Uh on the 27th. 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:40.639 I need you to show up, spend some time with us as we walk you through all things meta church. 00:06:40.720 --> 00:07:09.279 One of the things you'll learn is when we planted, one of the things we were frustrated by is that this spirit of religion had entered into the Western church, and one of the causes of that is that church leaders will spend all kinds of precious time, energy, and resources arguing and fighting over these intramural discussions about nonsense that just doesn't matter. 00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:12.879 People have wasted lifetimes on this. 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:17.759 Should there be drums and guitars on stage, or should you have a piano and an organ? 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:22.399 Should you be in jeans and hoodies, or should you be in suits and ties? 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:27.920 Can you have tattoos, or am I automatically a one-way ticket down to Hades? 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:31.920 Like, what's going on and what is there to fight about today? 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:34.959 They call one part of this the worship wars. 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:43.199 There are people who have judged me to my face because we have lights and we have fog machines at Metachurch. 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:53.519 And my answer is I'm not arguing with you about stupid crap while people are dying in our city and going to hell. 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:08.800 And so it's very difficult because we have to see the forest, and then we're able to talk about the trees. 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:12.879 And what religion does is it goes, look at this tree. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:14.639 How can we fight over this one? 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:18.000 And once we're done fighting over this tree, check out this tree. 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:20.079 Now let's fight over this one. 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:23.920 When Jesus was on earth, he was under the old covenant. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:28.800 If you don't know this, our Bible is divided into two sections: the Old Testament, the New Testament. 00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:33.919 The same word translated Testament also just means covenant, an old covenant and a new covenant. 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:39.519 Under the old covenant, the Jewish people were given a law, 613 rules and regulations. 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:42.240 It was explicated for them, 613 of them. 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:43.840 There was no guesswork. 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:46.879 Here's what was happening during Jesus' time. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:57.360 The religious leaders were in the trees, and they are arguing constantly over the letter of the law, but they are missing the forest. 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:02.639 The forest is not the letter of the law, it's the heart of the law. 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:04.159 It's God's intention. 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:07.840 And so I don't know where you lead, but you do lead, and you're like, I don't lead anything. 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:08.960 Well, you lead yourself. 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:19.679 If you want to lead well wherever God has positioned you, you do have to be able to walk in and address trees, but you also have to be able to see the forest at the same time. 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:21.360 You must see the bigger picture. 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:33.200 And if we don't see the bigger picture of God's heart, his mission, his plan, what history is revealing to us, what his word has told us, if we miss the big picture, then we will get lost in the trees. 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:45.039 And the spirit of religion will grip us, and we will start throwing people out of the kingdom, the very people that God is trying to reach, we will throw them out of the kingdom, not for anything that God has said. 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:50.240 As a matter of fact, we're going against the heart of God, trying to delineate the letter of the law. 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:52.799 And it happens very quickly. 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:56.000 And in Jesus' day, this had hit a fever pitch. 00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:02.799 And if you are unfamiliar with the Christian faith, here is something I need to make clear. 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:07.120 And this isn't clear to you, and it's not your fault, it's our fault. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:08.879 It is the Western Church's fault. 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:12.159 Because the Western Church has allowed religion to come in. 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:20.399 Jesus Christ did not come to earth, bleed and die on a cross and walk out of his own grave to start another religion. 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:31.679 All the world religions are just these paths, just like the path of money and the path of relationship and the path of sex and the path of power and the path of control. 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:40.399 It's just another path the world has offered you to try and fulfill the whole that is inside of your soul, that when you get to the end of it, will leave you empty. 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:45.600 Jesus did not come for religion, Jesus came because we all have a fundamental issue. 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:50.000 And the fundamental issue is that we are outside of relationship with our Heavenly Father. 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:55.519 Our Heavenly Father, God who is perfect and cannot dwell in the presence of sin, and we are sinners. 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:59.840 I am a sinner, and so I cannot live eternally in the presence of God. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:01.360 That is the problem we have. 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:07.440 And Jesus didn't come to give us a religious system to try and climb our way back to God. 00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:17.039 God condescended, He came down to us and lived among us and died the death that we deserve to bring us back into the one thing we need, which is a relationship with the divine. 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:31.279 And what you're gonna see over these next two messages is Jesus coming into confrontation with a spirit of religion. 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:35.039 And so I want to start walking through this so that we can see it clearly. 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:36.399 We're in Luke chapter six. 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:42.399 Now you're gonna notice that a lot of people have these little blue books, and you may not have one of them, and that's because we're not in some special club you're not in. 00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:44.240 It's because you don't know where to go get one for free. 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:50.320 So at both of our venues, after the message, stop by the connect area at Helotus and Petrenko. 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:54.000 We will give you one of these, and it's very cool because we're not playing games here. 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:55.759 Someone say amen if you believe that. 00:11:55.919 --> 00:12:03.120 We're not playing games, we're not playing church, we're not just checking a box so we can say, I did the thing, and maybe I'll do enough good works to get to heaven. 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:04.559 You can't do enough good works to get to heaven. 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:06.639 You can't come sit in the seats enough to get to heaven. 00:12:06.799 --> 00:12:08.399 You are a sinner in need of a savior. 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:13.360 We're not playing games, we're taking our faith seriously, and part of that is actually opening up the word. 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:20.720 A big part of that we believe is taking notes, because all of the data you could possibly find says if you'll take a note, you'll actually remember something. 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:25.679 Instead of getting to Monday and completely forgetting the sermon that I spent seven weeks working on, you'll remember something. 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:30.720 So look what this is: it's got the message, it's got the actual scripture, and it's got a place to take notes. 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:32.799 And you say, Pastor, I don't know how to take notes. 00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:35.440 I created a sticker that says how to take notes. 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:37.200 And so go get one of these. 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:38.639 We will give it to you for free. 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:42.320 We just ask that you actually bring it and you actually open it and you actually take your faith seriously. 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:48.240 We're in Luke chapter six, it starts like this On a Sabbath, Jesus passed through the grain fields. 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:52.960 His disciples were picking heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. 00:12:53.200 --> 00:13:00.320 But some of the Pharisees said, Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath? 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:08.480 I want to paint the picture, but the very first thing I want you to notice is the Pharisees are watching. 00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:14.559 The Pharisees at this point are like pseudo-stalking Jesus. 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:21.519 And if you haven't been here as we've gone through Luke, I'll get you caught up on where we've been in Luke chapter 5. 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:30.720 In Luke chapter 5, Jesus called some of his followers, but he didn't call them out of the local seminary, he called them out of a boat on the lake. 00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:34.639 That's not how that's supposed to work, and it got people's attention. 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:37.600 After that, a man with leprosy approached Jesus. 00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:45.279 Now, in his time, it was believed to cure a leper was more impossible than raising someone from the dead. 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:47.519 Jesus touches him and he is healed. 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:50.399 He does what no one else has power or authority to do. 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:55.039 He sends the man to the local priest to present himself so he can get back in community. 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:57.840 It also puts the local religious leaders on notice. 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:00.399 Jesus has power we don't have. 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:10.080 Jesus heals a leper, uh, uh I'm sorry, a man who is paralyzed, but he does not just heal him, he then forgives his sins. 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:12.559 Authority that only God has. 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:19.200 He circumvents the system of temple and sacrifice and forgives him on the spot. 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:22.399 And the Pharisees and the religious leaders are indignant. 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:25.039 Jesus calls another follower, Matthew. 00:14:25.200 --> 00:14:32.480 This time he calls him not out of the temple, out of his tax booth, where he has turned his back on his people and is working for Rome. 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:45.679 Matthew throws a banquet with other tax collectors and prostitutes and sinners, and Jesus and his disciples go in and they are eating and drinking and having fun, and the religious leaders see this and they cannot believe it. 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:52.480 We learn that Jesus did not ask his followers to fast like the other religious groups. 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:55.759 Finally, at the end of chapter five, Jesus tells back-to-back parables. 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:58.960 You can find all of these messages at youtube.com/slash metachurch. 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:01.519 These last two parables make crystal clear. 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:10.000 Jesus did not come to slightly alter or to reform the systems of his day, he came to replace them. 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:13.600 And he is now enemy number one. 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:25.039 And the religious leaders are desperately trying to catch him in something where they can discredit him, disarm him, possibly institutionalize him, or maybe even have him killed. 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:30.000 And so it's a Sabbath, and they take the Sabbath very seriously, and so they're just watching. 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:33.600 And this is what religion does. 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:40.879 It does not invite in with open arms to help more and more and more people come into relationship with their Heavenly Father. 00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:44.799 It watches everyone to try and find infraction. 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:54.159 A spirit of religion wins when I find you doing something wrong because all of us are jockeying for position. 00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:55.919 All of us are weighing our scales. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:00.639 And if I can position myself above you, then I'm closer to God, closer to salvation. 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:10.080 So I have to look and make sure that you look the right way and sound the right way and dress the right way and vote the right way and that you're raising both hands, not just one hand and worship both hands, all the way up, not a 45, all the way up. 00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:11.519 You gotta get all the way up and worship. 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:13.200 I need to hear you singing the harmonies. 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:13.919 I'm gonna ask you. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:17.600 I'm gonna be like, you know, you know, in John chapter 12, verse 10, go ahead and quote that for me. 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:19.360 Oh, you can't quote that. 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:20.720 That's weird because I can quote that. 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:21.840 You can't quote that. 00:16:21.919 --> 00:16:22.879 It's these games. 00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:24.080 It's these games. 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:26.960 And so we're not welcoming, we're watching. 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:28.240 We're the Pharisees. 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:30.320 When we have a spirit of religion, we're the Pharisees. 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:31.360 We're not welcoming. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:33.200 We're not Jesus. 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:34.559 We're not welcoming. 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:36.159 We're the Pharisees. 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:37.200 We're watching. 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:38.799 We're judging. 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:40.720 We're comparing. 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:45.440 Now, for us, we read this, you know, from our own cultural mindset. 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:46.559 It's hard not to. 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:55.039 And you might think that the problem is they're walking through someone else's field and they're picking the grain and they're eating it. 00:16:55.200 --> 00:17:00.960 And to us, that sounds crazy because that's not their food and we're very protective of our stuff. 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:02.639 That's actually not the issue. 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:09.759 As a matter of fact, in Deuteronomy chapter 23, God installs this into the culture of his people. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:12.480 He's not going to give them an option for hospitality. 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:29.519 And so it says in Deuteronomy that if you are passing through a neighbor's field, and a neighbor would have just been any other Israelite, if you're passing through their field, then you can pick off the heads of grain, you can crush them, you can blow away the chaff, and you can eat as you walk through. 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:34.559 Now that sounds wild to us because we all know there's two kinds of people in this world. 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:41.279 And you can find these two kinds of people by going to H E B and just standing near the grapes. 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:58.880 Because some of y'all, and I'm not gonna say who, but my wife is not buying a bag of grapes that she hasn't tried a grape. 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:10.480 The rest of us, I call the second group Christians, are not stealing grapes at H E B. 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:14.079 My wife is the best person I know. 00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:15.920 I'm like, girl, there's cameras. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:16.799 I don't know. 00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:19.359 I have tag, they'll take me in, okay? 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:21.519 What's what are we doing here? 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:27.759 When I was studying, I actually found that maybe Katie's actually just godlier than me. 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:36.400 In Deuteronomy 23, not only can you grab the heads of grain, if they have a vineyard, you can grab grapes as you're going. 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:39.680 The hospitality is just written in. 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:40.640 You have to be able to do it. 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:44.720 Now, it also makes clear this is just a snack. 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:50.720 This is just hot, you can't come with a sickle and just take home a whole load. 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:53.759 This is just grabbing, crushing, eating. 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:55.279 It's a little snack. 00:18:55.599 --> 00:18:57.119 That's not the problem. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:01.119 The problem is that it's happening on the Sabbath. 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:02.880 Let's look at it again. 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:04.880 Luke makes sure we know this. 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:06.559 He says it two times in two verses. 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:11.599 On a Sabbath, Jesus passed through the grain fields, his disciples were picking and eating. 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:17.119 Verse 2, some of the Pharisees said, Why are you doing what is not lawful on Sabbath? 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:21.839 Now, Sabbath is a very, very big deal in the Old Covenant. 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:29.039 It's a very big deal to this day in the Jewish culture for those who follow Judaism in an orthodox way. 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:36.799 And this goes all the way back to the beginning, and then it is demanded of the people in the Ten Commandments. 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:46.400 The Jewish people lived under the 613 laws that we talked about, but God also gave them the big ten commandments. 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:52.319 And the idea is something like the big ten is your cheat sheet for the 613. 00:19:52.960 --> 00:20:01.039 If you can get the ten right, not just the letter of the law, but the heart of the law of the ten, the 613 will take care of themselves. 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:02.160 Does that make sense? 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:13.119 So you gotta get the ten right, and on the big ten it says, remember the Sabbath, keep it holy, and on that day you are not to work. 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:17.759 Now the heart of the Sabbath is blessing. 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:21.039 The heart of the Sabbath is blessing. 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:29.759 What makes sense in a world where if you do not work, you do not eat, is you go work every day. 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:33.680 Some of you have no problem taking Sabbath. 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:38.559 Some of you could Sabbath seven days a week and you wouldn't even blink. 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:43.359 Some of you have trouble taking a Sabbath. 00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:50.640 In my 20s, I was right on the edge, if not all the way full-blown workaholic. 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:52.720 I could work every day. 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:54.720 I am drawn to work. 00:20:55.039 --> 00:20:57.759 Some of that is me dealing with the pain of my own story. 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:00.960 Some of that is me trying to perform, some of that is how I'm wired. 00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:02.160 I could work every day. 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:06.240 Some of you, it's hard for you not to sabbath, some of you, it's hard for you to sabbath. 00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:08.240 And so God helps out all of us. 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:10.400 God says, you are going to work. 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:15.039 If you're going to follow Jesus, you are expected to work. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:17.359 Take up your cross. 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:20.559 You know, Jesus wants you to have your dream job, I'm sure. 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:32.480 But whatever job you have, whatever role you have, whatever circle of influence God's given you, you're not just there for a paycheck, and you're not just there to climb a ladder, and you're not just there to make friends. 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:35.519 You are there to work and build the kingdom of God. 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:36.400 Amen. 00:21:36.640 --> 00:21:38.160 We are supposed to work. 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:44.559 And God says, for those of you who have trouble ceasing your work, you will Sabbath. 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:49.519 It is not a suggestion in the old covenant, it is a command. 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:50.799 You will Sabbath. 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:52.480 And this is a blessing. 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:59.279 And you know this, especially if you've been through a season of working so much that you do damage to your marriage, that you miss too many things with your kids. 00:21:59.359 --> 00:21:59.680 Like I 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:05.680 Did in a season of my life, once you start learning to trust God and rest, actually rest. 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:10.079 And just this isn't my sermon, but the Lord's laying it on my heart. 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:21.279 For those of you who cannot stop working, especially if you're in a position of ownership, if you cannot go on a vacation without checking emails six times a day, you have to increase your trust in God. 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:29.039 I used to go on vacation, and if I was on vacation on a Sunday, I was calling to make sure service went well. 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:31.119 I trusted my team. 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:32.160 I really did. 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:35.359 At the core of it, I did not trust God enough. 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:38.960 Sabbath causes you to have to trust God. 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:40.960 You have to be able to rest. 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:42.240 It's a blessing. 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:51.359 And once you adopt it and you trust God enough to really live out Sabbath, your marriage gets blessed, your relationship with your kids gets blessed, your health gets blessed. 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:54.799 Some of you are killing yourself with work, stress is killing you. 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:56.640 It's a blessing. 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:08.160 And yet, here's what religion does religion takes blessings that God has given his people and turns them into burdens. 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:14.720 And by the time Jesus was walking the earth, the Sabbath was no longer a blessing for his people to rest. 00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:20.720 It was a burden because religions always watching. 00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:22.480 Here's what they did. 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:27.039 Remember, religion is where you lose sight of the forest and you get just deep in the trees, right? 00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:35.839 And so on all of the laws, the religious leaders would look at the law and they would go, What could we do to add on to this? 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:37.599 And here's how they framed it. 00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:46.000 We have writings from ancient Judaism that they talked about this like they were putting a fence around the laws. 00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:52.720 So to make sure you follow the laws, we're gonna put a fence around them so you don't even get close to crossing them. 00:23:53.359 --> 00:24:04.079 And so when it came to the Sabbath, part of how they put a fence around the law is they came up with 39 categories of what could be considered work. 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:07.039 Because on the Sabbath, you don't work, you rest. 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:09.039 39 categories. 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:14.880 All 39 of these categories had subcategories to help explain the main category. 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:21.359 So now you have hundreds of infractions that you could possibly commit on Sabbath. 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:27.119 And trust me, the Pharisees, they're watching. 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:29.759 Religion, it's watching. 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:49.599 In the simple act of taking a stroll through a grain field with Jesus, who, by the way, just let's frame this correctly, you're strolling through a grain field with Jesus, who is God, God who created the world, God who causes the grain to grow, and God who has co-signed you taking a little snack that looks like this. 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:53.599 Pharisees, so say that's work. 00:24:53.759 --> 00:25:01.759 As a matter of fact, they would have categorized that as three different categories, three different infractions. 00:25:02.079 --> 00:25:11.279 And so they come and they get onto Jesus and they want him to know that what he's doing is not lawful because it's the Sabbath. 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:14.799 Here's what happens: religion is like we have good intentions. 00:25:15.119 --> 00:25:19.039 Let's build a fence around, let's protect God. 00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:26.400 If we can come up with all these other regulations, then we can protect God from our own sin. 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:35.440 Here's a frame of mind you need to have if you are going to audaciously follow Jesus with a faith-filled life. 00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:42.960 The God of the universe who spoke all of this into existence does not need protection from you. 00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:47.680 God is doing just fine protecting himself. 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:50.319 He doesn't need your help. 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:53.839 He doesn't need you to protect God's glory. 00:25:54.799 --> 00:25:58.799 He needs you to spread his glory to the ends of the earth. 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:06.720 What religion ends up doing is it builds the fence around the law and then worships the fence as if it's the law. 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:10.000 If you're taking notes, you should write this down. 00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:18.319 Religion holds its own regulations at the same weight as God's revelation. 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:26.640 Religion holds its own regulations with the same weight as God's revelation. 00:26:27.119 --> 00:26:37.119 Which is why now the Pharisees are in the very unfortunate position of approaching the God who gave the law in the first place and saying, I don't think you're following the law. 00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:45.440 We have seen this, and maybe you've experienced it, and maybe that's why you were hurt by church, and maybe that's why you've been out of church for two decades. 00:26:47.680 --> 00:26:53.279 Because at some point in church history, someone had a good idea with good intentions. 00:26:53.519 --> 00:26:56.559 And it went something like this you know what we should really do? 00:26:57.279 --> 00:26:59.279 We should dress our best. 00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:14.960 We should really put on to the nines because maybe if we like our outward appearance, if we really just get it really nice, maybe it will just kind of trigger our minds and our hearts towards reverence for God. 00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:17.279 Nothing wrong with that. 00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:19.519 It's a decent enough idea. 00:27:20.319 --> 00:27:21.680 It's good intentions. 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:26.880 Could even maybe be a blessing to you if it really helps you come more reverent. 00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:35.119 I grew up in the 90s, I went to Baptist church, so men, you had a suit and a tie on, and if you didn't have a tie, we were watching. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:39.839 Women, it was the 90s, so you had pantyhose. 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:42.240 You didn't wear pantyhose at church. 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:43.119 Are you trying to go to hell? 00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:44.400 What's going on here? 00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:49.599 It starts with good intention. 00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:52.000 It's like, let's just let's build a little protection. 00:27:52.720 --> 00:28:08.880 And pretty soon somebody shows up and they didn't get the memo, and they're in desperate need of God, and they've walked into the body of Christ because they're looking for answers, but they don't have the right Sunday uniform on. 00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:23.839 And so everyone is watching, and everyone makes it very clear through small gestures and whispers down the aisle that they are not welcome there. 00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:31.200 And Jesus comes into a world where this has become like an art form for them. 00:28:31.359 --> 00:28:40.799 They have put regulations on regulations on regulations on regulations, and they hold their regulations at the same weight as God's revelation. 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:48.400 And so they come and they see the disciples eating from the grain field and they confront Jesus about it. 00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:52.720 Now, one of the things we're trying to do in Luke is we're trying to get to know the real Jesus. 00:28:52.880 --> 00:29:00.400 And some of you are around my age, and so you grew up watching the Jesus films from the 80s and 90s, where Jesus is very flat. 00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:01.759 You know what I mean by that? 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:04.079 Like Jesus is nothing but stoic. 00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:07.440 Watch one of those movies again, and here's one of the things you'll notice. 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:11.359 I don't know why, but when Jesus walks, he doesn't move his arms, you know? 00:29:11.519 --> 00:29:14.240 Like he doesn't even need balance like the rest of us, you know. 00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:20.559 He never laughs, he never tells a joke, he just stays the same, his face doesn't move, everything's flat. 00:29:20.720 --> 00:29:22.160 That's not Jesus. 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:29.119 Jesus had personality, Jesus was funny, and in this moment you could miss it, and you might because we just read too fast. 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:33.759 But Jesus is about to absolutely roast the Pharisees. 00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:35.279 Let me show it to you. 00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:37.680 Jesus answered them. 00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:41.359 Okay. 00:29:41.920 --> 00:29:43.920 We don't get it because we don't get it. 00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:45.440 Different context. 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:48.960 The Pharisees, all they do is read. 00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:50.720 This is their thing. 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:56.799 They're just in the Torah, just looking at all the trees and making new laws, reading, reading, reading. 00:29:56.960 --> 00:29:58.400 That's their jam. 00:29:58.880 --> 00:29:59.759 Haven't you? 00:30:00.880 --> 00:30:07.920 This would be like, bro, if you saw me shoot a basketball and you asked me, Have you ever played before? 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:11.440 I would chop my arm off. 00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:16.000 That'd be the most brutal insult I'd ever gotten in my life. 00:30:17.039 --> 00:30:17.839 Haven't you? 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:19.680 Here's some subtext. 00:30:20.319 --> 00:30:30.960 Part of what Jesus is pointing out, it's like, you guys read so much, and yet you don't see the heart of God in what you're reading. 00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:40.000 You guys are reading your own writings, all of these extra regulations which become the Jewish Mishnah, the oral tradition. 00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:44.319 You're reading your own ideas so much you have forgotten God's heart. 00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:46.079 Here's what he says. 00:30:46.319 --> 00:30:49.759 Haven't you read what David and those who are with him did when he was hungry? 00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:56.400 How he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priest to eat. 00:30:56.640 --> 00:30:59.599 He even gave some to those who were with him. 00:30:59.920 --> 00:31:02.640 This happens in 1 Samuel chapter 21. 00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:07.279 David has been anointed by God as God's chosen king. 00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:12.960 But King Saul, who is currently on the throne, is jealous of David and he is after him. 00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:18.640 David has some warriors with him and they are on the run and they are starving. 00:31:18.799 --> 00:31:25.440 Not starving, like how your kid is gonna say they're starving when you pick them up today, and they had a Pop-Tart two hours ago and they're not really starving. 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:27.519 Starving, like about to die. 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:35.599 And they come to a priest and they ask if there's any food, and the only food available is what's called the showbread. 00:31:36.079 --> 00:31:48.400 And the showbread, in the law of the Torah of the Old Testament, in the law, the bread is placed in the holy place in the temple, and it's placed there for seven days. 00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:55.200 And after those seven days, the bread is given to the priests, and the priests are the one who can eat it. 00:31:55.440 --> 00:32:14.640 But the priest goes and gets the bread and decides that even though the law says the bread is for the priests, that because God's chosen king is in front of him, that he can bless the king and bless the king's men, and he does, and God affirms it. 00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:24.160 So one of the things Jesus is getting at is he's tying them in knots because the Pharisees cannot disrespect King David. 00:32:24.559 --> 00:32:26.559 That is God's chosen king. 00:32:26.799 --> 00:32:28.720 They must revere David. 00:32:28.960 --> 00:32:42.559 And yet, if they are honest, Jesus is pointing out, had you guys been there that day, in that moment, you would have read David his rights on all the ways he was breaking the law. 00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:46.000 Let me tell you something even more interesting. 00:32:46.240 --> 00:32:49.599 And it comes out of the question that the Pharisees asked Jesus. 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:51.119 Remember what they asked him? 00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:56.799 They asked, Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath? 00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:01.920 What is the argument that the Pharisees want to have? 00:33:02.319 --> 00:33:05.599 They want to have a legal argument. 00:33:06.240 --> 00:33:10.400 They want to get into the Jewish law 613. 00:33:10.559 --> 00:33:18.880 They want to get into the Mishnah, the oral law, the 39 categories they created, they want to litigate the letter of the law. 00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:21.039 That's the conversation they want to have. 00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:23.200 Why are you doing what's not lawful? 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:25.119 They want to set up Judge Judy. 00:33:25.200 --> 00:33:25.920 You know what I'm saying? 00:33:26.079 --> 00:33:34.400 They want to go, you put the facts out, let's look at the case law, let's look at the technicalities, let's call in the witnesses, let's get the forensics. 00:33:35.359 --> 00:33:36.799 That's what they want. 00:33:37.519 --> 00:33:39.359 And Jesus could have done it. 00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:42.400 Jesus is God. 00:33:43.839 --> 00:33:46.319 Jesus gave them their law. 00:33:46.640 --> 00:33:48.079 He could have done it. 00:33:48.559 --> 00:33:56.000 He could have said, Well, in Leviticus, here's what it says, and based on this, and when you think about this, and here's what it actually says, and here's the cross reference. 00:33:56.559 --> 00:34:04.880