text
stringlengths
7
443
[296.84 --> 297.72] It's only one.
[297.78 --> 299.28] So it's God or it's money.
[299.36 --> 300.18] But it's not both.
[300.58 --> 302.44] It must be God or money.
[303.06 --> 308.06] And I think Jesus wants to create in every listener to this sermon a tension.
[309.58 --> 313.98] A tension that says, okay, for you and me, we live in a very consumeristic society.
[314.14 --> 317.28] We live in a society where people are chasing after money like that comic.
[317.64 --> 319.78] And Jesus says, I invite you to discipleship.
[320.34 --> 321.76] To follow after me.
[321.76 --> 327.88] And that is a lifestyle of simplicity, of gratitude, and of generosity.
[328.04 --> 329.22] And we're going to work that out this morning.
[329.94 --> 334.96] But before we dive into the passage, I want to read one writer's summary of Jesus himself.
[335.42 --> 336.42] And let me just say this.
[336.46 --> 340.74] We've been saying over the last number of months that we believe discipleship, that is following Jesus,
[341.26 --> 345.30] is being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and doing what Jesus did.
[345.30 --> 348.30] So let's listen to how Jesus lived his life for a moment here.
[348.86 --> 350.74] This comes from a writer named Scott McKnight.
[352.18 --> 354.30] Jesus lived on little.
[355.52 --> 357.46] He lived from the generosity of others.
[358.40 --> 360.70] He undoubtedly knew some hunger and thirst.
[361.52 --> 365.26] He knew what it was to have little and to dwell with those who had even less,
[365.66 --> 369.92] while others around him basked in luxury and filled their mouths with delicacies.
[369.92 --> 375.38] He embodied a carefree, trust-in-God kind of economic vision.
[375.62 --> 378.12] He demanded simplicity because he lived it.
[378.70 --> 382.00] He expected care for the poor because he had experienced it.
[382.66 --> 386.16] And so the question that sort of rings in my ears after reading this is,
[386.62 --> 392.10] do we share Jesus' carefree, trust-in-God vision for our lives?
[392.20 --> 394.36] Do we live simply and care for the poor?
[394.36 --> 398.38] Because Jesus himself modeled and then embodied this kind of life.
[400.86 --> 405.16] And it is this Jesus who now says these words at the beginning of our passage,
[405.24 --> 406.06] and I'll read it again.
[407.56 --> 408.70] He says to us,
[408.70 --> 432.14] And I'd be remiss not to point out that the people who got angry after this teaching in Luke's gospel
[432.14 --> 433.50] are the Pharisees.
[433.58 --> 436.04] It's actually the religious leaders that Jesus is going after
[436.04 --> 439.26] because they are the wealthy people who are unconcerned for the poor
[439.26 --> 441.44] and not seeing the needs of people around them.
[442.28 --> 443.82] But there's a lot in this passage, right?
[444.18 --> 446.18] And the first thing Jesus is going after here
[446.18 --> 450.64] is the impermanence of our earthly possessions and our stuff and our money,
[451.14 --> 453.08] that they do not last forever, right?
[453.66 --> 457.42] And he talks about moths and rust and thieves stealing stuff.
[458.00 --> 461.06] And I'm intrigued by how those were, you know, the rot and theft,
[461.16 --> 462.90] those are issues people really had to worry about then,
[463.00 --> 465.04] and we still worry about them now, don't we?
[465.04 --> 468.16] We still are worried about our stuff getting old.
[468.38 --> 470.00] We're still worried about our stuff getting stolen.
[470.16 --> 472.86] In fact, is anyone here on the Clayton Heights Facebook page?
[474.24 --> 475.70] Oh, you're better off for not being on it.
[475.74 --> 476.60] It's a den of conflict.
[476.72 --> 477.68] You probably know this.
[478.28 --> 479.84] But if you're on that Facebook page,
[480.14 --> 483.06] half the posts are just people's Amazon packages getting stolen
[483.06 --> 483.66] and people saying,
[483.76 --> 484.84] Does anyone know who this is?
[485.16 --> 486.86] And I'm like, yes, we still deal with theft,
[487.00 --> 488.10] even here in Clayton Heights.
[488.76 --> 490.18] But what Jesus is saying is,
[490.24 --> 492.30] your stuff's not going to last, right?
[492.30 --> 493.64] And I'll just highlight this.
[493.72 --> 496.18] Even though we have our money in these financial institutions,
[496.34 --> 498.60] it experiences all the turbulence of the markets.
[498.70 --> 500.76] It goes up and it goes down.
[500.88 --> 502.00] We gain and we lose,
[502.22 --> 504.18] especially if you have Bitcoin, right?
[505.32 --> 507.06] Our houses get old.
[507.90 --> 509.74] Our clothes wear out and need to be replaced.
[509.86 --> 512.60] Our technology is designed to not last long.
[512.82 --> 514.10] We have to keep getting new things.
[514.18 --> 515.02] And let me say this.
[515.30 --> 518.10] That car or truck that you really love,
[518.18 --> 518.80] maybe you have it,
[518.80 --> 520.26] maybe you envy others who do,
[520.64 --> 522.12] it will end up in a junkyard.
[522.62 --> 524.26] And your kids and grandkids will mock you
[524.26 --> 525.24] for thinking it looked good.
[525.62 --> 527.44] It's going to happen if it hasn't already.
[528.00 --> 529.12] And the point of this is,
[529.18 --> 529.62] Jesus is saying,
[529.72 --> 531.88] your stuff is not going to last forever.
[532.06 --> 534.24] So don't place all your hope in it.
[534.68 --> 536.06] Don't let that be your master.
[536.16 --> 539.14] It's going to fail you over and over and over again.
[539.30 --> 539.74] And friends,
[539.94 --> 542.54] we live in a society where people continually try
[542.54 --> 543.76] to find their meaning,
[544.08 --> 544.60] their purpose,
[544.78 --> 545.68] and their satisfaction
[545.68 --> 548.40] in stuff that can't give it.
[549.44 --> 550.36] And there are many people
[550.36 --> 551.64] who will come to the end of their life,
[551.72 --> 552.94] just like the fellow in that comic,
[553.20 --> 554.98] and wish they had done it all differently
[554.98 --> 556.84] because their idols will fail them.
[557.10 --> 558.46] And their idols, more pointedly,
[558.50 --> 560.06] will not bring them up from the grave.
[561.82 --> 563.08] And what Jesus is saying here,
[563.16 --> 564.72] very important detail to emphasize,
[564.94 --> 566.58] is not that our possessions are evil
[566.58 --> 567.74] or that money is bad.