WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Priests in the City I Publishing Date: 2022-01-30T05:00:44-08:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/priests-in-the-city-i/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.200 Am I good? Yeah. Okay guys, so we're going to talk about, for Christ-like ministry to 00:00:09.200 --> 00:00:16.600 happen in the city, we have to pattern ourselves as Christ patterned Himself when He walked 00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:23.880 the earth. And so, over the next three, four weeks, what I want to look at is the pattern 00:00:23.880 --> 00:00:30.200 of Christ's earthly ministry. And He did it as a priest, He did it as a prophet, He did 00:00:30.200 --> 00:00:36.720 it as a king. When He walked the earth, one of the things He did in His earthly ministry 00:00:36.720 --> 00:00:43.040 here was at different times He was priest, He was prophet, He was king. And I mean that 00:00:43.040 --> 00:00:49.960 is a very natural thing for the Messiah to be because it had been prophesied about Him 00:00:49.960 --> 00:00:53.520 in the Old Testament that He would be priest, prophet and king. And throughout the Old 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:58.360 Testament we see priests, we see prophets, we see kings. But in Christ we see all three 00:00:58.360 --> 00:01:03.080 coming together, priest, prophet, king. And so then His body has to behave that way here 00:01:03.080 --> 00:01:09.760 on earth if we are to pattern after His earthly ministry. Because we now get to be all three 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:15.520 and we take on these roles so that the city benefits. And so over the next three or four 00:01:15.600 --> 00:01:21.120 weeks we want to explore priest, prophet, king. And today we will just start with priests 00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:26.800 in the city and we will see how far we will go. So one of the things with, and so you 00:01:26.800 --> 00:01:32.880 have to think of it in two ways. One, individually, sorry, one corporately that we have to think 00:01:32.880 --> 00:01:39.120 like this together. And if we think like this together then we can be the same thing individually. 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:46.120 In Christianity it is never a few individuals joining together to create something. It is 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:51.560 the something is what needs to catch it first so that the individuals become it. It is the 00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:58.560 whole that has to get it so that the parts become. It's not the parts becoming so that 00:01:59.440 --> 00:02:06.440 the whole gets it. It's the whole getting it so that the parts become. In the kingdom 00:02:07.440 --> 00:02:12.040 it's always like that. It can't be one or two people getting it so that the whole body 00:02:12.040 --> 00:02:16.640 changes. No. It's the whole that gets it. It's the body that gets it so that the parts 00:02:16.640 --> 00:02:23.640 become a certain way. So that's how we need to approach this. And so here are three roles 00:02:28.320 --> 00:02:34.120 that a priest must play because we are only dealing with priests in the city today. A 00:02:34.120 --> 00:02:41.120 priest is a mediator. A priest is a mediator or an interceder. I'm not even calling it 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:49.360 an intercessor. A mediator or an interceder. So with spoken words and with radical action, 00:02:55.040 --> 00:03:01.040 with spoken words and with radical action, we do two things. We invite people and we 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:08.080 enable people with words and action, with words and radical action. Action ain't enough. 00:03:09.040 --> 00:03:16.040 It has to be radical action. We'll touch on that today. Radical action. We begin to invite 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:25.360 people and then enable people to enable what? Enable that they open themselves and are touched 00:03:25.760 --> 00:03:32.760 by the love of Christ. Open to the love of Christ. That they open to the love of Christ. 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:40.960 So in a sense, one of the jobs of a priest is to telescope God. Telescope God. God is 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:48.280 a distant star. Priests are able to telescope God so that he's much closer. So as a church 00:03:48.860 --> 00:03:53.360 when we begin to think like this, that in this city of Vancouver or in New York or in 00:03:53.440 --> 00:04:00.440 Dayton or wherever you are, that I am a mediator for God. I'm a telescope. I telescope God. 00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:05.120 I love those words. I don't know where I heard them first or whether I came up with it, but 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:12.120 telescoping God is such a cool thing. Telescoping God where a distant God suddenly becomes so 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:16.920 evident because you bring him closer. And you do it through words and you do it through 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:24.120 radical action. And we'll examine the radical action a little later. You see this in Hebrews 00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:31.080 8 verse 6 where it talks about Christ as a mediator. So we're just borrowing from Christ 00:04:31.080 --> 00:04:38.080 as a priest as we talk about this. The second thing a priest is, is a priest is a proclamer. 00:04:39.080 --> 00:04:46.080 A priest is a proclamer. You find that in Malachi 2 verse 6 and 7 where God is talking 00:04:49.440 --> 00:04:56.320 to Israel and he says, man, when I call Levi out, I expected people to go to the priest 00:04:56.320 --> 00:05:01.640 because on their lips would be found the truth. On their lips would be found knowledge. That 00:05:01.640 --> 00:05:05.640 they would begin to speak and people would know the ways of God. So priests are supposed 00:05:05.640 --> 00:05:12.120 to be proclamers. So it's impossible for us to function in Christ's earthly ministry 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:19.120 if as a people we don't begin to preach the good news by being faithful to the biblical 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:30.920 text while at the same time being relevant to the context. Relevant to the context. That's 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:35.920 important and I'll just pause on that for a second. It's not enough to quote the Bible 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:42.920 when you preach the gospel. It has to be relevant to the context in which people live. It has 00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:47.920 to be relevant to the context in which people live. So it has to be faithful to the biblical 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:54.920 text but relevant to the context in which people live. So in that sense, the Bible is 00:05:54.920 --> 00:06:01.920 the Bible. So in that sense, priests teach God. Priests teach God. As in they teach God 00:06:08.840 --> 00:06:15.840 to people. So the first one was priests telescope God. The second one is priests teach God. 00:06:18.260 --> 00:06:23.980 It's okay to be spontaneous but I would suggest that you be spontaneous after preparing at 00:06:23.980 --> 00:06:29.380 home. So when I'm going into a situation, I have an idea of the context I'm going into 00:06:29.380 --> 00:06:35.180 and I do go over points in my head that this is important. This needs to be said. That 00:06:35.180 --> 00:06:41.020 needs to be said. And after having kind of thought that in my head, I won't make notes. 00:06:41.020 --> 00:06:46.340 I won't follow the script. But now that I've prepared in my head when I'm in a context, 00:06:46.340 --> 00:06:53.340 I can now go be spontaneous. Spontaneity that is not rooted in preparedness is the same 00:06:53.980 --> 00:07:00.980 as just a mishmash. It'll be like me cooking. But you need to know what the content is 00:07:07.020 --> 00:07:14.020 so that like it says in Matthew 13, you can go into your storehouse and pick the new and 00:07:14.500 --> 00:07:21.500 pick the old and present it. So priests teach God. So if you're preaching the good news 00:07:21.700 --> 00:07:26.580 to someone that you're going to meet today, you have to have an idea of the context and 00:07:26.580 --> 00:07:31.700 you have to have an idea of the scriptural or biblical text. And when those two collide, 00:07:31.700 --> 00:07:36.100 you begin to teach God. The third thing the priests are, and we'll just take three today, 00:07:36.100 --> 00:07:43.100 is priests must be shepherds. Priests must be shepherds. We're talking about us as a 00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:50.980 church, and if we think like this as a church, we can also think like this as individuals. 00:07:51.660 --> 00:07:57.180 Priests must be shepherds. And what about shepherds are we talking about? Why shepherds? 00:07:57.180 --> 00:08:03.780 Because shepherds care. In Revelation 7, 16 and 17, it's such a beautiful verse, and you 00:08:03.780 --> 00:08:08.980 realize that it's the consummated end of Jesus being a shepherd. But when you see Revelation 00:08:08.980 --> 00:08:15.980 7, verse 16, it says, reading it from verse 15, Therefore they are before the throne of 00:08:18.020 --> 00:08:22.220 God and serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will shelter them 00:08:22.220 --> 00:08:26.460 with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more. The sun shall not 00:08:26.460 --> 00:08:31.580 strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the lamb in the midst of the throne will be their 00:08:31.580 --> 00:08:36.180 shepherd and he will guide them to springs of living water and God will wipe away every 00:08:36.180 --> 00:08:43.180 tear from their eyes. Beautiful verse. Revelation 7, 15 to 17, which will see every tear wiped 00:08:43.420 --> 00:08:49.580 away should begin now through a people who understand their priestly role if they are 00:08:49.580 --> 00:08:54.580 supposed to follow in the pattern of Jesus' earthly ministry. This idea of being a shepherd, 00:08:54.580 --> 00:08:59.260 of taking care, of smelling like sheep is important. Are we not talking about being 00:08:59.260 --> 00:09:03.420 shepherds to the church? We are talking about being priests in the city. We are not talking 00:09:03.500 --> 00:09:07.060 about teaching people in the church. We are talking about teaching God to people in the 00:09:07.060 --> 00:09:10.380 city. We are not talking about telescoping God to people in the church. We are talking 00:09:10.380 --> 00:09:16.020 about telescoping God to people who see him as distant. This is not within these walls. 00:09:16.020 --> 00:09:23.020 This is outside. And we follow David's pattern of a tent. Not a church like this. It is the 00:09:25.780 --> 00:09:30.420 presence of God in a tent. That tent sometimes happens to be five people, sometimes happens 00:09:30.420 --> 00:09:37.420 to be fifty people, sometimes happens to be one person. So that anybody can access it. 00:09:40.100 --> 00:09:47.100 There is no protocol. They can access it anywhere because you are there. Because you are there, 00:09:50.380 --> 00:09:57.380 someone can access God. Mind blowing. Because you are there, someone has now the freedom, 00:09:58.260 --> 00:10:05.260 the access to God because you are there. That is nuts. That is nuts in terms of who you 00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:11.580 are and that is also nuts in terms of who God is because he is willing to be confined 00:10:11.580 --> 00:10:18.580 through a flawed vessel like you and I. Treasures in jars of clay. So I will be the best I can 00:10:18.580 --> 00:10:25.580 and you will be the best you can. I am not being the best you are. You are still a jar 00:10:29.580 --> 00:10:36.580 of clay with cracks. I mean in God deciding that I will become man, that I will send my 00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:43.580 son in weak flesh. I mean what he was doing was much more than saving us from our sins. 00:10:43.980 --> 00:10:50.980 He was preparing a residence for himself. A full residence for himself. A people of God. 00:10:53.380 --> 00:10:58.380 The only thing he hasn't done is he hasn't revealed himself in his brilliance because 00:10:58.380 --> 00:11:04.380 we would not be able to handle it in the way that he did. He hasn't revealed himself in 00:11:04.380 --> 00:11:07.860 his brilliance because we would not be able to handle it in these bodies. But does he 00:11:07.860 --> 00:11:14.860 live in this flawed residence? Absolutely. He is withholding himself only so that we 00:11:18.420 --> 00:11:25.420 don't get consumed. But he is not withholding himself through us. We can talk about that 00:11:25.420 --> 00:11:32.420 another time. So priests must be shepherds because that's how you are incarnate and that's 00:11:36.180 --> 00:11:43.180 how you are relational. As in you are actually present physically and you actually relate. 00:11:44.380 --> 00:11:51.380 And that is when God can enter lives with power and with mercy. So that's the first 00:11:55.740 --> 00:12:02.260 God enters lives with power and with mercy when a church begins to pattern themselves 00:12:02.260 --> 00:12:08.380 after Christ in being shepherds to the city that they are in. Not to the church. Church 00:12:08.380 --> 00:12:12.340 you have one shepherd and really good one at that. So that's fine. Let's move on to 00:12:12.340 --> 00:12:19.340 the rest of the city. So a missional, words sound big but they are not, a missional responsibility 00:12:25.420 --> 00:12:32.420 for my neighborhood requires that I assume the role of prophet, priest, king. And we 00:12:32.420 --> 00:12:39.420 will only talk about priest today. Priest, prophet, king. A missional responsibility 00:12:42.740 --> 00:12:49.740 requires that I assume the role of prophet, priest, king. And we will only talk about 00:12:54.980 --> 00:13:01.980 priest today. Priest, prophet, king. A missional responsibility requires that I assume the 00:13:02.500 --> 00:13:07.580 responsibility. As in if you want to be on mission in your city like Christ was on mission 00:13:07.580 --> 00:13:12.220 in the cities that he walked through then I must assume the role that he patterned and 00:13:12.220 --> 00:13:16.780 the role was that of a priest sometimes, of a prophet sometimes, of a king sometimes. 00:13:16.780 --> 00:13:22.620 And therefore I must too, if I want to take up, not I, we must too, if we want to take 00:13:22.620 --> 00:13:29.420 up the responsibility in this city be priest, prophet, king. Hopefully it will really add 00:13:29.420 --> 00:13:36.420 to what we already know. So, yeah. Kind of because this is the order that you find developing 00:13:41.740 --> 00:13:48.740 in the Old Testament. First it was priest, then it was prophet, then it was king. There 00:13:48.740 --> 00:13:55.740 seems to be that order. Though it sounds better when you say prophet, priest, king. But I 00:13:55.740 --> 00:14:02.740 think the pattern is priest, prophet, king. Yeah. So we look at what it means to intercede, 00:14:07.660 --> 00:14:13.100 what it means to invite, what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves. Especially 00:14:13.100 --> 00:14:16.700 in a culture that is more and more isolated. I'm not talking about COVID. Man, I've been 00:14:16.700 --> 00:14:20.860 getting texts from different parts of the world with regard to the convoy of trucks 00:14:20.860 --> 00:14:27.860 heading to Ottawa. Canada is like so famous now. So in a world that is isolated, in a 00:14:30.220 --> 00:14:37.220 world that is protectionist, as in protect your own kind first, in a world that is self-focused, 00:14:43.500 --> 00:14:49.180 being a priest, prophet, king goes against the grain. It will really upset us. As we 00:14:49.180 --> 00:14:54.900 go further, if I get to where I want to get to today, it will upset us. So you can pray 00:14:54.900 --> 00:15:01.540 that oh God, please upset us. Oh God, can you upset us next week? So, and the problem 00:15:01.540 --> 00:15:08.540 is this is how the world is. Isolated, protectionist. Trump's basic idea was America first. And 00:15:09.700 --> 00:15:16.700 it's the same thing that we have. Acts 29 first, Christianity first, our country first, 00:15:17.340 --> 00:15:24.180 the Canucks first, Burger King first. So it becomes very protectionist. It's like okay, 00:15:24.180 --> 00:15:28.860 this is what is ours kind of a thing. And that, everything that Christ is a priest, 00:15:28.860 --> 00:15:34.540 prophet, king goes against today. As a king, he doesn't behave at all like a king. We'll 00:15:34.540 --> 00:15:41.540 get there a few weeks from now. Isolated, protectionist, self-focused. It's better than 00:15:41.540 --> 00:15:48.540 usual, Kusum. Yeah. Yes. So a church which refuses to intercede, as in actually step 00:15:56.700 --> 00:16:03.700 in, invite or love the city, but instead clings to fear, fellowship, and self-sacrifice. 00:16:12.540 --> 00:16:19.540 Convenience and comfort will spiritually die. One of the things Acts 29 has to be aware 00:16:34.300 --> 00:16:41.300 of as we go forward, because we are a pretty decent strong church, is spiritual death. 00:16:41.940 --> 00:16:47.580 Spiritual death is subtle. You don't know you're dying because it's spiritual. You 00:16:47.580 --> 00:16:52.500 don't feel the pain. I mean, we realized that two weeks ago or three weeks ago when we were 00:16:52.500 --> 00:16:57.340 talking about why is it that David can say, as the deer pants for the water, so my heart 00:16:57.340 --> 00:17:03.600 thirsts after you, that my flesh longs for you. And as I was teaching that, I was weeping 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:07.540 and others were weeping in different places that were watching it, because suddenly there's 00:17:07.540 --> 00:17:13.260 this realization that even though we had the kind of worship we had today, my body 00:17:13.260 --> 00:17:20.260 longs for you. My heart thirsts for you is not my 24-7 condition. And you realize that 00:17:20.460 --> 00:17:24.900 spiritual death can happen. And when it happens, because it's not painful, you don't realize 00:17:24.900 --> 00:17:31.900 it till a lot slips away. And so one of the things Acts 29 has to be careful of is dying 00:17:32.220 --> 00:17:39.060 spiritually. And one of the ways a church dies spiritually is when it chooses not to 00:17:39.060 --> 00:17:43.740 intercede, not to invite, not to love, not the ones that come for a service. I'm not 00:17:43.740 --> 00:17:47.340 talking about Christians. I'm talking about the city. And instead clings to fear that 00:17:47.340 --> 00:17:53.180 you've got to be careful. Fellowship, it's wonderful. Convenience, yeah, once every week. 00:17:53.180 --> 00:17:59.780 Comfort, if it doesn't rain. That's when a church begins to start dying. If it doesn't 00:17:59.780 --> 00:18:06.780 rain, it means for eight months we don't have to do anything. One of the verses that 00:18:07.020 --> 00:18:14.020 really got me was 1 Peter 2.10. Where this fellowship that we have is so satisfying, 00:18:16.260 --> 00:18:21.260 relationship with each other, that we don't need anything beyond this. It can be very 00:18:21.260 --> 00:18:28.260 satisfying. Yeah. One of the verses that really got me was 00:18:29.780 --> 00:18:36.780 1 Peter 2.10. We forget, we forget, we forget. Prashant was sharing yesterday in a setting 00:18:40.740 --> 00:18:47.740 how he and his family were Hindus and how they came to become believers. And when I 00:18:49.180 --> 00:18:56.180 hear that, that's when you realize that Ashat once, for him it is even fresher for Mohini 00:18:57.180 --> 00:19:03.180 Pawan and Prashant because they're coming out of a background that had nothing to do 00:19:03.180 --> 00:19:06.700 with Christianity. Some of us were born in Christian families, we don't realize this. 00:19:06.700 --> 00:19:13.700 But 1 Peter 2.10 says, once you were not a people. Once you were not a people. And then 00:19:17.300 --> 00:19:21.780 you became the people of God. Let me read it. 1 Peter 2.10. Once you were not a people 00:19:21.940 --> 00:19:27.200 but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy but now you have received 00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:32.580 mercy. Something had to transpire. Someone had to speak. Someone had to invite. Someone 00:19:32.580 --> 00:19:38.660 had to intercede. Someone had to love. Something has to happen. And we forget because I've 00:19:38.660 --> 00:19:42.860 been a Christian for 30 something years. I've been a Christian longer than half the young 00:19:42.860 --> 00:19:49.860 adults have been alive. And you forget that once I was not a people. But now I'm a people 00:19:50.860 --> 00:19:56.860 of God. Once I had not received mercy but now I have received mercy. You would not let 00:19:56.860 --> 00:20:03.860 your children near me if you knew my past. 00:20:04.900 --> 00:20:11.900 Hosea names his children, strange names. He names his daughter Lo-Ami and he names his 00:20:12.180 --> 00:20:19.180 son Lo-Ru-Hama. One means not my people. The other means not shown mercy. And then God 00:20:23.660 --> 00:20:29.660 says that I will change their names from Lo-Ami and Lo-Ru-Hama. I will show them mercy and 00:20:29.660 --> 00:20:36.660 I will make them my people. Somehow reading Hosea 2.23 and 1 Peter 2.10 is making me think 00:20:37.460 --> 00:20:44.460 that if we are not careful we can spiritually die. And we'll see how to go about it. Can't 00:20:46.260 --> 00:20:53.260 be just scriptures. Okay. Yeah. We'll not get through this but that's fine. 00:20:57.740 --> 00:21:04.460 So here are some of the things you can receive from God and you can extend to people. Do 00:21:04.460 --> 00:21:11.460 this well. Extend Siddhek or righteousness or right relationship. These are some of the 00:21:11.460 --> 00:21:18.460 things that God offers you every day and you can offer others every day. He offers us righteousness 00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:28.500 as in, hey Jacob, every day I want to bring you into right relationship with me and the 00:21:30.740 --> 00:21:37.740 blood of my son is in your blood. And then God says, hey Jacob, I want to bring you into 00:21:38.700 --> 00:21:43.780 right relationship with me and the blood of my son is sufficient to do that. The grace 00:21:43.780 --> 00:21:47.940 that I have in the death of my son and his blood can bring you into right relationship 00:21:47.940 --> 00:21:54.940 with me. So one of the things we extend to the city as priests and this was something 00:21:55.140 --> 00:22:01.620 that the priests in the Old Testament used to do. They used to extend to people the way 00:22:01.900 --> 00:22:08.340 to come into right relationship. The way to come into right relationship. Come into right 00:22:08.340 --> 00:22:15.340 relationship. Can't elaborate on it because in different situations it will be different. 00:22:15.820 --> 00:22:21.600 For someone who's been sexually abused to wash their feet and say Jesus calls you clean 00:22:21.600 --> 00:22:27.860 can bring them into a right relationship. For someone who is caught in some deep sin 00:22:28.020 --> 00:22:32.360 to say that Christ died for this very sin in your own words over a period of weeks 00:22:32.360 --> 00:22:37.220 or maybe in an hour can bring them into right relationship. For someone who is steeped in 00:22:37.220 --> 00:22:42.420 Christianity but hasn't been born again to bring them to a place where you show them 00:22:42.420 --> 00:22:47.100 that you're no longer a slave to these requirements and laws but you are a child of God can bring 00:22:47.100 --> 00:22:51.420 them into right relationship. I don't know what it will take. Each of us can figure that 00:22:51.420 --> 00:22:56.600 out but one of the things we continuously extend as priests to the city is we can bring 00:22:56.640 --> 00:23:02.200 you, we can show you, we can tell you how to come into right relationship. The second 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:07.400 one is a, I mean I'm just writing the words as they are pronounced not as they are really 00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:14.400 written in Hebrew is mispat. Mispat is making things right. Making things right through 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:21.400 some action. God does this always. He brings us into right relationship and you will see 00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:34.720 it especially in the message version or the NIRV you will see God say this again and again 00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:39.880 I am here to make all things right. I will make things right. So he doesn't just bring 00:23:39.880 --> 00:23:46.600 you into right relationship. Now he does something to make things right. This lies 00:23:46.600 --> 00:23:51.160 at the essence of some of the things that Derek and Mark and Pawan and others are doing 00:23:51.160 --> 00:23:56.160 in Wally to make things right. It is not enough that I bring you into right relationship with 00:23:56.160 --> 00:24:03.160 God. Now I do things to make things right for you. To put things together for you so 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:07.600 that in this right relationship obstacles are removed so you can begin to walk in it. 00:24:07.600 --> 00:24:12.280 Jesus doesn't make, Jesus doesn't bring me into right relationship and say alright now 00:24:12.280 --> 00:24:19.280 start walking. He makes things right with actions. He helps me resolve things with Nick. 00:24:20.080 --> 00:24:27.080 He helps me pay back Jeevan. He helps me forgive Miguel. He helps me receive forgiveness from 00:24:27.080 --> 00:24:33.280 Jill. He does things, makes things right. This is something we extend to the city. Any questions 00:24:33.280 --> 00:24:40.280 on that one if it is not clear? Making things right is difficult guys. It requires action. 00:24:49.580 --> 00:24:56.580 In right relationship is easy. Yeah. Making things right just complicates it. I wish it 00:24:56.580 --> 00:25:03.580 was just left at the right relationship. There are several things with God and making things 00:25:08.660 --> 00:25:15.660 right is far more difficult. Making things right is what some Christian churches and 00:25:18.660 --> 00:25:24.940 congregations are trying to do with the First Nations. Things need to be made right. It 00:25:24.940 --> 00:25:30.380 is not enough to have a song and a dance, a reconciliation song and dance. It doesn't 00:25:30.380 --> 00:25:37.380 make things right. Making things right is very, very difficult and it does not happen 00:25:41.780 --> 00:25:48.780 through one action. It is sustained action. Long obedience in the same direction. 00:25:54.940 --> 00:26:01.940 Any questions? Making things right through some action. And some of the action is restraining 00:26:13.580 --> 00:26:20.580 evil. Some of the action is protecting someone from evil. Some of the action is protecting 00:26:24.940 --> 00:26:31.940 the evil. Exposing the evil that is happening to them. This is why making things right 00:26:31.940 --> 00:26:37.900 is difficult. It is one thing to say to a guy who is being abused, get into right relationship 00:26:37.900 --> 00:26:42.700 with God. But now what do I do in terms of restraining the evil that is happening to 00:26:42.700 --> 00:26:47.700 him? Protecting the evil, protecting him from evil and exposing the evil that is happening 00:26:47.700 --> 00:26:53.060 to him. This is where it gets really complicated. But my God, when a church begins to rise like 00:26:53.060 --> 00:27:00.060 this, Isaiah 58, 10-12 immediately hits the church. Healing will break upon you. The sun 00:27:00.340 --> 00:27:05.260 will dawn upon you. You will be like a garden that is watered well. Your thirst will be 00:27:05.260 --> 00:27:10.180 slaked. You will call and I will be there before you can even call. These things break 00:27:10.180 --> 00:27:17.180 out on a church without prayer. 00:27:18.180 --> 00:27:25.180 Next one, hesed. Beautiful word. These are things God is to you and me. Every day, every 00:27:25.700 --> 00:27:29.900 day Yahweh says, this is my nature Jacob, this is what I want to be for you today. You 00:27:29.900 --> 00:27:36.900 got some time. Hesed. Hesed means this word really bothered me. Devoted loyalty. God being 00:27:39.380 --> 00:27:46.380 devoted and loyal to me. The word for mispath is justice. Justice. Justice. Justice. Justice. 00:27:47.540 --> 00:27:54.540 Justice is making things right. Hesed, devoted loyalty. Where it's an allegiance that you 00:27:55.100 --> 00:27:59.820 have, an allegiance that God has towards me and an allegiance I must have towards you 00:27:59.820 --> 00:28:05.460 and towards the city. An allegiance that goes beyond what the law requires, goes beyond 00:28:05.460 --> 00:28:11.460 what customs require, goes beyond what culture requires. This is when Ruth, having been given 00:28:11.540 --> 00:28:18.540 permission by Naomi to go back, Orpah goes back. But Ruth says, no, no, no, no, no. Where 00:28:18.540 --> 00:28:22.460 you go there I will go. Where you lodge I will lodge. Your people will be my people. 00:28:22.460 --> 00:28:27.460 Your God will be my God. And where you die, I will die. This is going beyond custom, culture, 00:28:27.460 --> 00:28:31.940 regulations, needs. Why? Because there's devoted loyalty. There's an allegiance saying I will 00:28:31.940 --> 00:28:36.220 go beyond. And God is saying every morning Jacob I have a devoted loyalty to you. I have 00:28:36.220 --> 00:28:43.220 an allegiance to you. If you have time we can walk. And then occasionally guys go back 00:28:43.460 --> 00:28:48.260 to him and say hey you can't just make a covenant with me and get away with it. I want to make 00:28:48.260 --> 00:28:53.900 a covenant with you. I am also loyally devoted to you. Hopelessly devoted. And then you can 00:28:53.900 --> 00:29:00.900 break out into that. Hopelessly devoted to you. Most of you won't know that song. Devoted 00:29:00.900 --> 00:29:07.900 loyalty. Next one. Beautiful word. I love this word. Raham. It's a womb inspired tenderness, 00:29:19.780 --> 00:29:26.780 mercy, compassion. It comes from the womb. Raham. It means compassion. And it's a compassion 00:29:26.860 --> 00:29:33.860 that has tenderness in it. It's tender. It's mercy filled. It's a tender mercy filled 00:29:36.340 --> 00:29:43.340 commitment that, a commitment to someone despite their failure, despite their wrong doings. 00:29:45.020 --> 00:29:49.180 It's a tender mercy filled commitment. Can you imagine being a priest like that to the 00:29:49.180 --> 00:29:56.180 city? A tender mercy filled commitment to someone. And it's a tender mercy filled commitment 00:29:56.780 --> 00:30:02.380 to someone even if they fail and even if they do wrong. To continuously have that. 00:30:02.380 --> 00:30:09.380 And you can give it back to God. One of the images that I always have of tender mercy 00:30:10.500 --> 00:30:16.540 filled commitment to God is when kids sometimes start touching their dad's face and they look 00:30:16.540 --> 00:30:21.420 at their dad's face and they touch their dad's face and they sometimes make comments like 00:30:21.420 --> 00:30:27.380 dad you look so ugly. But there's a tenderness in it. There's a mercy filled commitment in 00:30:27.380 --> 00:30:34.380 it as they do that. You can do that back to God. Because God does that with you every 00:30:35.140 --> 00:30:42.140 day. And now you get to give that to ones around you that are in the city. And then 00:30:43.740 --> 00:30:50.740 the last one. Extend to people faithfulness. The word for faithfulness is faithfulness. 00:30:52.420 --> 00:30:59.420 Faithfulness. Faithfulness is constancy and steadiness. Constancy and steadiness in your 00:31:06.860 --> 00:31:13.860 support and in your compassion. In your support and compassion. You know when Jeevan first 00:31:13.860 --> 00:31:20.860 came into the church I was telling him hey this is what God can do and all this stuff 00:31:20.860 --> 00:31:26.860 and this is what God can do. One of the questions he asked me was Jacob I can commit to this 00:31:26.860 --> 00:31:33.860 but can you commit to me in the long run. And guess what? I have. I've been constant 00:31:35.860 --> 00:31:42.860 and steady in my commitment to him and to Nandigama. To the people. And now I don't 00:31:43.860 --> 00:31:48.860 even if he dies tomorrow I'd still be committed to some of the people that I know through 00:31:48.860 --> 00:31:55.860 him. This is what I mean by long term. And then a city is at the mercy of God. Why? Because 00:32:01.900 --> 00:32:08.900 you have decided to go faithful. These are five words that you can extend to the city. 00:32:13.060 --> 00:32:17.260 These are five words that Yahweh extends to you every day. These are five words that you 00:32:17.260 --> 00:32:22.100 can give back to God saying well if you think you are betrothed to me then I want you to 00:32:22.100 --> 00:32:28.940 know that I am betrothed to you too. And so therefore I give you this back. And when this 00:32:28.940 --> 00:32:34.500 happens vertically then it is natural that it happens horizontally. Not just to the people 00:32:34.500 --> 00:32:39.380 of God but beyond the people of God. Why? Because there was a time when you were not 00:32:39.380 --> 00:32:43.580 the people of God and you were not shown mercy. But today you are the people of God and you 00:32:43.580 --> 00:32:50.580 have been shown mercy. So here's what we can end with. In this church we've spent much 00:33:02.260 --> 00:33:09.260 relational currency with each other. And we are richer for it. In this church we've spent 00:33:09.380 --> 00:33:15.100 much relational currency with each other and we are richer for it. We share meals. 00:33:15.100 --> 00:33:21.580 We share money. We share cars. We've opened up our homes. We've opened up our lives to 00:33:21.580 --> 00:33:27.900 each other. And there's a lot of relational currency that has been spent on each other. 00:33:27.900 --> 00:33:34.900 But what if every second week we went beyond ourselves and we went beyond ourselves and 00:33:39.380 --> 00:33:46.380 practiced Luke 12-14. He said also to the man who had invited him, he said, I am the 00:34:09.460 --> 00:34:16.380 man I am and I have invited you to this morning. You all remember the man who was invited this 00:34:16.380 --> 00:34:23.380 morning? And he was invited by pals and he had a dinner to be held. He was invited by 00:34:24.900 --> 00:34:31.900 parables and he was invited by the역 Çiğence. I told you all about it even when we were 00:34:39.380 --> 00:34:45.120 I just want to leave it there because if I go beyond this, then I'll have to really go 00:34:45.120 --> 00:34:47.220 into the rest of it. 00:34:47.220 --> 00:34:54.700 But there is this idea, guys, that we need to practice called radical hospitality. 00:34:54.700 --> 00:35:01.500 I saw two scenes over the last two days. 00:35:01.500 --> 00:35:06.900 One was a little girl on the corner of Fraser and 52nd or 53rd. 00:35:06.900 --> 00:35:13.940 And there's a guy who seems homeless and poor sitting outside the shop. 00:35:13.940 --> 00:35:16.940 And she's got some food in her hands. 00:35:16.940 --> 00:35:19.280 And I'm parked at this traffic light. 00:35:19.280 --> 00:35:22.600 And this girl is struggling to give the food because she's scared that people will see 00:35:22.600 --> 00:35:25.860 her giving the food and they will disapprove. 00:35:25.860 --> 00:35:28.380 She's waiting there with the food. 00:35:28.380 --> 00:35:32.860 And at some point when she realized that there is nobody around, she quickly went and gave 00:35:32.860 --> 00:35:34.020 it. 00:35:34.020 --> 00:35:39.020 And she had this, even though she had a mask on, you could see how happy she was. 00:35:39.020 --> 00:35:40.020 And she quickly walked away. 00:35:40.020 --> 00:35:46.060 And I was saying to myself, why is it that a nine-year-old finds it so difficult to give 00:35:46.060 --> 00:35:49.260 food to a person on the street? 00:35:49.260 --> 00:35:57.660 Because we have divided and categorized the city into the ones we can approach and the 00:35:57.660 --> 00:35:59.460 ones we cannot approach. 00:35:59.460 --> 00:36:02.680 So I'm sitting outside Himalaya now a day later. 00:36:02.680 --> 00:36:10.880 And there's a man who walks past the car and he's coughing like his insides may come out. 00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:15.520 And as he's coughing, I'm thinking to myself, oh, I'm glad my windows are up. 00:36:15.520 --> 00:36:16.520 That's my first thought. 00:36:16.520 --> 00:36:20.840 Then he goes to the corner of the building and he starts urinating. 00:36:20.840 --> 00:36:23.080 Then I'm making sure that the doors are locked. 00:36:23.080 --> 00:36:29.380 And I'm thinking to myself, this is how you are, Jacob. 00:36:29.380 --> 00:36:33.840 You react so differently from how you should react. 00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:40.420 Because there is this instinct in us now to be protective of ourselves. 00:36:40.420 --> 00:36:44.180 Radical hospitality puts you at risk. 00:36:44.180 --> 00:36:48.060 Radical hospitality strips you of privacy. 00:36:48.060 --> 00:36:52.180 Radical hospitality establishes boundaries, not so that you can prevent people from coming 00:36:52.180 --> 00:36:58.020 in, but so that you can provide parameters and contexts that people may or may not understand, 00:36:58.020 --> 00:37:01.100 may break or may not break. 00:37:01.100 --> 00:37:03.940 It is a scary thing to live like this. 00:37:03.940 --> 00:37:05.860 I'll repeat that. 00:37:05.860 --> 00:37:12.280 Radical hospitality strips privacy. 00:37:12.280 --> 00:37:19.820 Radical hospitality requires that you give up rights. 00:37:19.820 --> 00:37:28.460 Radical hospitality has boundaries, not to keep people out, but so that people understand 00:37:28.460 --> 00:37:32.820 parameters and context. 00:37:32.820 --> 00:37:36.860 As in, hey, when you step into this area, it might be a good idea if you took out your 00:37:36.860 --> 00:37:40.580 shoes because the mud may come on the carpet. 00:37:40.580 --> 00:37:46.100 If they don't, well, then you end up cleaning the carpet. 00:37:46.100 --> 00:37:54.540 It is not to keep people out. 00:37:54.540 --> 00:37:59.580 What if every second week, instead of the young adults or the old adults or the in-betweens 00:37:59.580 --> 00:38:07.660 like me, what if, and this can't be done. 00:38:07.660 --> 00:38:13.400 Guys, whenever hospitality is attempted in isolation or as individuals, it is very hard. 00:38:13.400 --> 00:38:21.400 And whenever hospitality is attempted as a people, it becomes much easier. 00:38:21.400 --> 00:38:31.460 What if three of you over the next six months focused on two to four people in your neighborhood? 00:38:31.460 --> 00:38:34.800 Not as some kind of, I have to rehabilitate this person. 00:38:34.800 --> 00:38:41.640 What if it was simply, I will see them as the image of God, I will value them as God 00:38:42.080 --> 00:38:47.880 values, and I will remember that they are not as people, but they can become as people. 00:38:47.880 --> 00:38:51.860 Let me write that down. 00:38:51.860 --> 00:38:58.860 What if it is not a project, but seeing people as created in the image of God? 00:38:59.860 --> 00:39:04.860 What if it is beginning to value them as your Jesus values them? 00:39:16.660 --> 00:39:23.660 What if it is recognizing that they are not, they are low army, but they can become the 00:39:23.660 --> 00:39:24.660 people of God? 00:39:24.660 --> 00:39:31.660 What if every second week or every third week, let's do it once every three weeks, where 00:39:31.660 --> 00:39:37.660 in your neighborhood, over a period of six months, three or four or five of us begin 00:39:37.660 --> 00:39:42.660 to do this for two or three people? 00:39:42.660 --> 00:39:44.660 That's it. 00:39:44.660 --> 00:39:47.660 What will happen inside this church will be magnificent. 00:39:47.660 --> 00:39:50.660 Come share your stories. 00:39:50.660 --> 00:39:57.660 Okay, let's stop there, I will elaborate. 00:39:57.660 --> 00:40:04.660 Low army is not my people. 00:40:04.660 --> 00:40:07.660 Any questions, anything you want to add? 00:40:07.660 --> 00:40:08.660 I'm done. 00:40:08.660 --> 00:40:09.660 Thank you. 00:40:09.660 --> 00:40:10.660 Thank you. 00:40:10.660 --> 00:40:11.660 Thank you. 00:40:11.660 --> 00:40:12.660 Thank you. 00:40:12.660 --> 00:40:13.660 Thank you. 00:40:13.660 --> 00:40:14.660 Thank you. 00:40:14.660 --> 00:40:15.660 Thank you. 00:40:15.660 --> 00:40:16.660 Thank you. 00:40:16.660 --> 00:40:17.660 Thank you. 00:40:17.660 --> 00:40:18.660 Thank you. 00:40:18.660 --> 00:40:19.660 Thank you.