WEBVTT 00:00.700 --> 00:03.500 Grace, mercy and peace to you from God, our Father and from our Lord 00:03.500 --> 00:03.900 and Savior 00:03.900 --> 00:04.900 Jesus Christ. 00:05.400 --> 00:10.200 Amen. Early on during my service, as a missionary, in 00:10.200 --> 00:14.600 French-speaking West Africa, I spent some time in a village. I slept 00:14.600 --> 00:19.200 in a mud hut, the floor was mud, the walls were mud. I slept on a 00:19.200 --> 00:23.500 match without a blanket or a pillow. I washed using a bucket. 00:23.600 --> 00:28.400 I ate, whatever one else ate. I engaged in the activities that everyone 00:28.400 --> 00:30.100 else engaged in. 00:32.000 --> 00:38.300 And I learned some things about myself and about many people. Maybe I 00:38.300 --> 00:40.400 learned something about you. 00:41.900 --> 00:46.300 I learned that many of us have a tendency to objectify the poor. 00:46.500 --> 00:52.300 We form a we and they are they separate from us and different. 00:52.300 --> 00:56.200 And once you put someone in the poor category, you know, all you need 00:56.200 --> 00:57.300 to know about them. 00:58.500 --> 01:02.500 Poor people are essentially interchangeable their names, their faces, 01:02.500 --> 01:05.900 their dreams are not particularly important. 01:07.100 --> 01:12.700 Their role is to receive material gifts from us. To receive pity from 01:12.700 --> 01:17.000 us and to be inferior to us. 01:18.500 --> 01:24.100 And the idea that a poor person, might give us something or teach us 01:24.100 --> 01:28.200 something or serve as a model to us in some way 01:29.600 --> 01:31.900 is downright disconcerting. 01:34.600 --> 01:39.900 I saw this objectification in action in the United States when my 01:39.900 --> 01:44.300 youth group helped out at a soup kitchen. Each person had a role. 01:44.300 --> 01:46.700 One person gives fish sticks. 01:46.700 --> 01:50.500 One person gives french fries and so everyone went through and got 01:50.500 --> 01:56.900 their food and then a man came back and said fish sticks 01:57.000 --> 02:02.500 only please. The young woman who was there wasn't really paying 02:02.500 --> 02:03.000 attention. 02:03.000 --> 02:05.600 She was chatting with her friend and before anything knew it was 02:05.600 --> 02:06.100 happening. 02:06.400 --> 02:10.000 He had a whole lot of food that he didn't want. 02:12.100 --> 02:15.400 He grabbed the fish sticks through the rest of the way in the trash 02:15.400 --> 02:17.200 with a flourish and walked away 02:17.200 --> 02:21.500 angry. She didn't mean to do it. 02:23.000 --> 02:25.400 But she had negated his humanity. 02:26.300 --> 02:31.600 She had acted as if he didn't exist, as if when he spoke 02:32.800 --> 02:33.900 people didn't hear. 02:37.400 --> 02:42.300 During my time in the village I got to know a lot of people by name. 02:43.300 --> 02:46.800 I got to know Comati and Janelleway and Tayada. 02:46.800 --> 02:50.900 I got to know their personalities and their sense of humor 02:51.900 --> 02:52.900 and their dreams 02:54.600 --> 02:55.600 and their faith. 02:57.300 --> 02:59.800 They didn't think of themselves 03:00.000 --> 03:00.800 as poor. 03:01.400 --> 03:05.100 Surely, they had less material wealth and a lot of people and 03:05.100 --> 03:07.900 sometimes they appreciated a little help in that area. 03:08.700 --> 03:12.800 But they were grateful for all that God had given them. And they were 03:12.800 --> 03:16.900 grateful for his grace. And they were living the life that God gave 03:16.900 --> 03:18.900 them to live with joy. 03:21.900 --> 03:26.700 And yet, one of the refrains that I heard from Americans, when I was a 03:26.700 --> 03:29.600 missionary was focused on pity. 03:32.100 --> 03:33.600 We're so sorry for those people. 03:34.600 --> 03:38.600 It must be terrible to try to live with so little I could never live 03:38.600 --> 03:39.300 like that. 03:41.900 --> 03:47.300 Those sorts of thoughts and comments reveal just how important many of 03:47.300 --> 03:50.500 us make material wealth. 03:54.800 --> 04:02.000 And we also realize that we have this tendency to respect admire and 04:02.000 --> 04:06.400 want to be like people who are rich and powerful and successful 04:06.500 --> 04:09.600 whether they believe in Jesus or not. 04:11.900 --> 04:16.899 And we have a tendency not to respect or to want to be like people who 04:16.899 --> 04:20.399 are full of faith, and receiving the grace of Jesus and living by him, 04:21.100 --> 04:23.200 if they happen to be poor. 04:26.400 --> 04:29.800 We breathe the air of materialism and we take it in without even 04:29.800 --> 04:34.500 realizing it and the next thing we know we trust mammon more than we 04:34.500 --> 04:35.800 trust the Lord. 04:37.000 --> 04:41.000 We appreciate the gift more than we appreciate the giver. 04:42.600 --> 04:46.900 After all, it certainly seems that it is money, that pays the rent. 04:49.900 --> 04:54.900 Our text exposes these sorts of thoughts for what they are. 04:56.100 --> 05:01.300 And describes the kind of sins that flows that flow out of them. 05:04.800 --> 05:11.000 Probably we do not literally think about selling wheat during chapel 05:11.000 --> 05:16.000 and Sunday services. But it's easy to get thinking about work, some 05:16.000 --> 05:19.800 things, we're going to do to earn money to show, people our value. 05:22.800 --> 05:28.600 We do not literally make the ephah small, but we do 05:28.600 --> 05:35.100 so figuratively, when we serve the Lord and our Earthly employers 05:36.000 --> 05:46.300 half-heartedly. And when we engage in the sin of using pornography, we 05:46.300 --> 05:49.400 create a market for human trafficking. 05:51.200 --> 05:53.300 And much more literally 05:54.800 --> 05:57.500 by the poor for silver. 05:54.800 --> 05:57.500 By the poor for silver. 06:00.700 --> 06:07.200 Our text reminds us how serious our sin is and how hopeless we are. 06:08.600 --> 06:14.000 Our text says, surely I will never forget any of their deeds. 06:15.900 --> 06:17.100 And left to ourselves 06:17.300 --> 06:18.500 that's the end of it. 06:20.600 --> 06:24.700 The Lord judges us rightly and punishes us with the kinds of 06:24.700 --> 06:27.000 punishment described in the surrounding verses. 06:30.900 --> 06:33.200 But Jesus has not left us 06:34.500 --> 06:35.700 to ourselves. 06:36.400 --> 06:37.700 He has not left us alone. 06:37.700 --> 06:39.000 He has not left us hopeless. 06:39.200 --> 06:40.600 He has intervened. 06:42.200 --> 06:45.800 Jesus has received the punishment that we deserved 06:47.300 --> 06:48.500 to save us from it. 06:51.100 --> 06:55.500 Jesus has done everything necessary to save us so that he could give 06:55.500 --> 06:57.600 to us eternal life. 06:58.400 --> 07:00.800 Salvation is a gift. 07:02.600 --> 07:07.200 And the Holy Spirit has worked faith in our hearts so that Faith like 07:07.200 --> 07:10.900 the hands of a beggar, receive that free gift of Grace, 07:12.200 --> 07:13.700 like much needed bread. 07:14.700 --> 07:16.100 Like much needed, Grace. 07:18.000 --> 07:21.100 And we are saved. 07:22.700 --> 07:25.500 This gift from Jesus, is so large, 07:25.500 --> 07:28.000 so extraordinary, so amazing, 07:28.000 --> 07:33.200 so unique that I doubt that any human being can fully understand the 07:33.200 --> 07:34.700 greatness of this gift. 07:36.500 --> 07:40.400 But we are wise to try to understand it. 07:42.700 --> 07:46.700 And with that in mind, I'm going to tell you a story from my own life 07:46.700 --> 07:48.600 to try to illustrate my point. 07:50.200 --> 07:53.100 And I would appreciate it if you would not tell this story to the 07:53.100 --> 07:53.900 authorities. 07:57.300 --> 08:00.800 Not long ago, I realized that it was time to cut down a tree 08:00.800 --> 08:05.200 in our front yard. There was just one small issue on one side of the 08:05.200 --> 08:06.900 tree was an electric line. 08:08.000 --> 08:11.500 The other side was fine but on the one side, there was an electric 08:11.500 --> 08:12.100 wire. 08:12.600 --> 08:16.200 And so I knew it had to fall the other way could fall anywhere in that 08:16.200 --> 08:17.800 other direction and we would be fine. 08:18.400 --> 08:22.300 Now, I had cut down a few trees before, then I had a little bit of 08:22.300 --> 08:26.100 experience and I was pretty sure I was measuring my skill level 08:26.100 --> 08:27.400 correctly and I could do it. 08:28.100 --> 08:31.200 I looked online, I watched videos of how to cut the tree to make it 08:31.200 --> 08:32.200 fall the right way. 08:32.799 --> 08:35.500 I was ready. Just to be extra careful 08:36.200 --> 08:41.200 I put a rope around the tree and I had my strong children, hold onto that 08:41.200 --> 08:43.299 rope, ready to tug it in the right direction. 08:44.300 --> 08:45.200 Foolproof. 08:48.300 --> 08:54.900 And I started cutting.And before long, the tree shifted a little bit, 08:56.200 --> 08:57.600 in the wrong direction. 08:59.000 --> 08:59.800 So, I stopped 09:00.500 --> 09:02.600 I re-evaluated my situation. 09:02.800 --> 09:03.800 I thought it through. 09:03.900 --> 09:09.900 I put a wedge in one of the cuts that I had made and I thought I was 09:09.900 --> 09:10.300 okay. 09:10.300 --> 09:15.200 So, I started cutting a little more and the tree shifted more. 09:16.400 --> 09:17.800 In the wrong direction. 09:19.300 --> 09:23.600 So, I paused to consider my situation and try to come up, with some 09:23.600 --> 09:24.600 solution. 09:25.000 --> 09:29.900 And as I was trying to come up with that solution, the tree decided it 09:29.900 --> 09:34.200 was time to fall. In the wrong direction. 09:36.300 --> 09:38.700 Now, I don't know if any of you have any experience with trying to 09:38.700 --> 09:45.800 hold a tree back with a rope, but once a tree develops, any momentum 09:45.800 --> 09:47.100 at all even strong 09:47.100 --> 09:49.400 people like my kids don't have any hope. 09:49.600 --> 09:51.200 They're not going to make any difference at all. 09:52.700 --> 09:58.700 And so there was this eternal instant during which I thought a great 09:58.700 --> 09:59.600 many things. 10:00.400 --> 10:05.000 I imagined the phone call to the appropriate person in town and I 10:05.000 --> 10:07.100 tried to come up with some way of describing 10:07.100 --> 10:07.800 what happened 10:08.300 --> 10:11.400 that would lead that person to logically conclude that this was not my 10:11.400 --> 10:12.100 fault. 10:15.800 --> 10:19.700 I could not come up with any way of describing the situation that 10:19.700 --> 10:23.100 would lead anyone to logically conclude that it was not my fault. 10:25.200 --> 10:28.900 I wondered how much it costs to repair electric lines. 10:29.500 --> 10:34.800 I wondered if there's a fine involved, when you break an electric 10:34.800 --> 10:42.300 line. I wondered if this would make local news. I wondered if it would 10:42.300 --> 10:43.700 go on my permanent record. 10:45.100 --> 10:49.100 I wondered if maybe someone was filming with their phone at that very 10:49.100 --> 10:53.200 moment and I would be the next unwilling, YouTube sensation. 10:59.100 --> 11:06.900 And while I was wondering these things, that tree fell. Shifted ever 11:06.900 --> 11:07.800 so slightly. 11:09.100 --> 11:09.800 Kissed 11:10.600 --> 11:15.900 the electric line and fell harmlessly to the ground without damaging 11:15.900 --> 11:20.900 anything. And I was overjoyed. 11:24.200 --> 11:29.000 I spent the next, the rest of the day just grinning. I literally 11:29.100 --> 11:32.600 jumped in the air and clicked my heels together with joy. 11:33.800 --> 11:35.100 For the next several days 11:35.500 --> 11:39.900 I was just unusually happy and at this very moment when I describe 11:39.900 --> 11:44.200 what happened, I can't keep myself from smiling with joy. 11:46.100 --> 11:53.600 I deserved to have that tree break that electric line, but the Lord 11:53.600 --> 11:54.700 had mercy on me. 11:56.400 --> 11:57.700 And I thanked him for it. 12:00.600 --> 12:02.800 That act of mercy 12:04.100 --> 12:05.700 is absolutely tiny 12:06.800 --> 12:10.000 compared to the saving Grace of Jesus Christ. 12:10.300 --> 12:12.500 It is infinitesimally 12:12.700 --> 12:18.400 small compared to the saving Grace of Jesus Christ. 12:19.200 --> 12:25.100 It is not just that God saved us from the consequences of a foolish 12:25.100 --> 12:25.900 decision. 12:28.000 --> 12:33.800 Jesus paid for every last sin that we have ever committed and ever 12:33.800 --> 12:44.400 will commit, he's taken care of it. It is not just that, God saved us from 12:44.400 --> 12:46.400 a little bit of embarrassment. 12:48.000 --> 12:49.400 Jesus saved us 12:50.600 --> 12:56.500 from eternity suffering in hell, and separated from our Father. 12:59.200 --> 13:06.200 It is not just that Jesus gave us a little bit of good news, the 13:06.200 --> 13:08.900 possibility of avoiding something unpleasant. 13:10.100 --> 13:11.800 Jesus, gave us 13:13.100 --> 13:17.100 eternal life with him in Paradise. 13:19.200 --> 13:21.000 And he gave all of that to us 13:23.200 --> 13:24.200 as a gift. 13:27.600 --> 13:29.500 He is using this gift. 13:29.500 --> 13:32.100 The holy spirit is using this gift to 13:32.100 --> 13:35.900 teach us how to live our lives in this world. 13:35.900 --> 13:40.600 Knowing that he himself is with us, breaking through breaking in with 13:40.600 --> 13:43.100 his grace and power and love. 13:44.500 --> 13:45.600 And shaping us. 13:46.900 --> 13:53.900 So that we recognize the true value of grace and the secondary value 13:54.100 --> 13:54.900 of wealth. 13:56.300 --> 14:02.700 He is teaching us to appreciate the giver and trust him to give the 14:02.700 --> 14:07.800 gifts that he wants to give. He is teaching us to rejoice over 14:07.800 --> 14:12.500 whatever the Lord gives us knowing that we have this gift of eternal 14:12.700 --> 14:14.300 life and salvation. 14:16.400 --> 14:19.400 He is teaching us to relate to others 14:20.400 --> 14:23.900 who have also received this grace. To enjoy the pleasure of getting to 14:23.900 --> 14:27.600 know other people and building relationships with them and encouraging 14:27.700 --> 14:28.600 each other 14:29.700 --> 14:30.700 with His grace. 14:35.800 --> 14:40.300 Jesus has given us many wonderful gifts. 14:42.600 --> 14:47.200 And he's giving us this life on Earth to live in him and to serve him. 14:48.500 --> 14:53.400 As you go out from this place today and for the rest of your life. 14:54.300 --> 14:55.500 I encourage you to do 14:55.500 --> 14:59.600 so, as one who deserved the death penalty 15:01.800 --> 15:04.400 but instead got eternal life 15:05.700 --> 15:06.700 as a gift. 15:07.700 --> 15:09.300 We are all beggars 15:10.900 --> 15:14.300 and Jesus has given us the kingdom. 15:16.700 --> 15:19.300 And our Father will never forget 15:20.500 --> 15:23.600 what Jesus has done for us. 15:25.500 --> 15:25.900 Amen. 15:27.600 --> 15:30.600 And now may the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, 15:30.600 --> 15:32.400 keep your hearts and your minds in Christ 15:32.400 --> 15:33.300 Jesus, our Lord. 15:34.300 --> 15:34.700 Amen.