WEBVTT 00:00:00.210 --> 00:00:01.150 Thank you, Mike. 00:00:02.130 --> 00:00:06.410 Oh, at least one slide. 00:00:07.640 --> 00:00:09.080 Oh, okay. 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:09.780 Hello again. 00:00:11.360 --> 00:00:14.980 Let me just sort all my bits of stuff out. 00:00:16.150 --> 00:00:16.570 All right. 00:00:16.650 --> 00:00:18.590 Well, just reflecting there, listening to Sheila, 00:00:18.970 --> 00:00:22.370 how many hours and meetings we've had 00:00:22.370 --> 00:00:24.230 talking about vision and strategy 00:00:24.230 --> 00:00:26.490 and then our big mistake was, of course, 00:00:26.530 --> 00:00:27.650 not asking Sheila to come 00:00:27.650 --> 00:00:30.810 because there's the apple and the orange. 00:00:31.070 --> 00:00:32.490 It's just amazing. 00:00:32.490 --> 00:00:36.190 But I do think that that tracks into what I want to say as well this morning. 00:00:36.550 --> 00:00:39.310 So just bear that in mind. 00:00:39.410 --> 00:00:43.580 We're in John chapter 2, verse 13 to 22. 00:00:43.700 --> 00:00:51.180 Last week, Karen spoke to us about Jesus being at the wedding in Cana and turning water into wine. 00:00:52.790 --> 00:00:58.450 And then in verse 13, we go to quite a different account. 00:00:59.350 --> 00:01:00.850 Jesus clears the temple. 00:01:00.850 --> 00:01:04.650 it was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration 00:01:04.650 --> 00:01:06.170 so Jesus went to Jerusalem 00:01:06.170 --> 00:01:08.610 in the temple area he saw merchants 00:01:08.610 --> 00:01:11.110 selling cattle, sheep and doves for sacrifices 00:01:11.110 --> 00:01:13.430 he also saw dealers at tables 00:01:13.430 --> 00:01:14.710 exchanging foreign money 00:01:14.710 --> 00:01:16.650 Jesus made a whip 00:01:16.650 --> 00:01:18.030 from some ropes 00:01:18.030 --> 00:01:19.890 and chased them all out of the temple 00:01:19.890 --> 00:01:21.810 he drove out the sheep and cattle 00:01:21.810 --> 00:01:23.970 scattered the money changers coins over the floor 00:01:23.970 --> 00:01:25.150 and turned over their tables 00:01:25.150 --> 00:01:27.390 then going over to the people who sold doves 00:01:27.390 --> 00:01:27.990 he told them 00:01:27.990 --> 00:01:29.490 get these things out of here 00:01:29.870 --> 00:01:32.250 Stop turning my father's house into a marketplace. 00:01:33.110 --> 00:01:35.750 Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures. 00:01:35.930 --> 00:01:38.350 Passion for God's house will consume me. 00:01:38.870 --> 00:01:40.950 But the Jewish leaders demanded, what are you doing? 00:01:41.190 --> 00:01:44.930 If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it. 00:01:45.490 --> 00:01:49.960 All right, Jesus replied, destroy this temple and in three days I'll raise it up. 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:54.240 What, they exclaimed, it's taken 46 years to build this temple 00:01:54.240 --> 00:01:56.060 and you can rebuild it in three days. 00:01:56.580 --> 00:01:59.240 But when Jesus said this temple, he meant his own body. 00:01:59.620 --> 00:02:02.500 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, 00:02:02.540 --> 00:02:07.040 and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said. 00:02:07.970 --> 00:02:08.990 I find it fascinating. 00:02:09.130 --> 00:02:12.190 Karen said last week about how we need to scratch below the surface 00:02:12.190 --> 00:02:17.630 to get the meaning behind relatively simple stories 00:02:17.630 --> 00:02:20.650 or relatively simple presentations of the Gospel. 00:02:20.650 --> 00:02:26.370 And I've just noticed that in one chapter, 00:02:26.510 --> 00:02:29.310 you've got two very different portrayals of Jesus. 00:02:29.310 --> 00:02:32.530 You've got Jesus at the wedding, just a guest at the wedding, 00:02:32.670 --> 00:02:34.070 just being part of the party, 00:02:34.530 --> 00:02:36.490 and then suddenly the problem comes up, 00:02:36.530 --> 00:02:37.450 oh, they've run out of wine. 00:02:38.470 --> 00:02:41.610 And so his mother appeals to him in a subtle way 00:02:41.610 --> 00:02:43.450 and says, you know, we need to do something. 00:02:43.590 --> 00:02:44.170 And so he does it. 00:02:44.550 --> 00:02:48.830 And for no other reason that he can and that he blesses. 00:02:48.890 --> 00:02:52.250 And Karen emphasised about the generosity and the kindness 00:02:52.250 --> 00:02:55.270 and the blessing of Jesus, of just having Jesus amongst us, 00:02:55.270 --> 00:02:58.650 how he takes care of the simplest things. 00:02:59.790 --> 00:03:03.060 And then immediately from there, 00:03:03.160 --> 00:03:06.060 John has chosen to put this story in, 00:03:06.660 --> 00:03:07.920 Jesus clearing the temple. 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:11.280 And there's a real jolt because we have temple Jesus 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:14.500 and we have wedding Jesus in the same passage. 00:03:15.350 --> 00:03:16.710 And how do we make sense of that? 00:03:17.880 --> 00:03:19.640 Last week he was turning water into wine, 00:03:19.740 --> 00:03:20.620 keeping the party going. 00:03:20.720 --> 00:03:22.700 This week he's whipping people out of the temple. 00:03:25.230 --> 00:03:26.650 And it's not even last week and this week. 00:03:26.650 --> 00:03:28.610 It's in the same passage. 00:03:28.710 --> 00:03:29.650 So what changed? 00:03:30.570 --> 00:03:31.310 What changed? 00:03:31.310 --> 00:03:35.910 How do we reconcile these two sides of the same person? 00:03:36.270 --> 00:03:37.910 And the truth is, nothing has changed. 00:03:38.430 --> 00:03:39.350 This is Jesus. 00:03:40.380 --> 00:03:42.780 There are, not irreconcilable things, 00:03:42.840 --> 00:03:44.620 but there are completely different aspects 00:03:44.620 --> 00:03:45.920 that we have to grapple with. 00:03:45.980 --> 00:03:47.760 We can't have one without the other, 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:50.480 and that probably sums up one of the biggest challenges we face 00:03:50.480 --> 00:03:53.080 in understanding Jesus for ourselves 00:03:53.080 --> 00:03:55.040 and bringing the truth of Jesus to people, 00:03:55.320 --> 00:03:57.440 that we have a tendency to divide him up 00:03:57.440 --> 00:04:00.040 or to take the aspects of Jesus 00:04:00.040 --> 00:04:03.120 that we think we would prefer or we would like 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:06.540 and leave the other ones to the side. 00:04:07.180 --> 00:04:09.480 We're naturally prone to portray one or the other 00:04:09.480 --> 00:04:11.900 depending on what makes us most comfortable. 00:04:12.600 --> 00:04:15.900 So wedding Jesus is kind Jesus, generous Jesus, 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:17.440 the life and soul of any party. 00:04:17.760 --> 00:04:20.640 His presence ensures that our problems are solved when they come up. 00:04:21.140 --> 00:04:22.560 That's the sort of Jesus that we like. 00:04:23.660 --> 00:04:26.100 That's a genuine portrayal of Jesus. 00:04:26.380 --> 00:04:28.360 That's an aspect of his character. 00:04:28.360 --> 00:04:34.570 But then we have table-turning Jesus, temple Jesus, confronting Jesus, 00:04:34.930 --> 00:04:39.390 disruptive Jesus, annoying Jesus, disturbing Jesus. 00:04:40.460 --> 00:04:45.620 And John puts the two side by side, unrelated stories placed together 00:04:45.620 --> 00:04:49.780 to grow and enhance our understanding of who this Jesus is. 00:04:50.100 --> 00:04:51.320 We cannot divide him. 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:53.880 We have to take the whole together. 00:04:55.300 --> 00:04:58.920 The same grace that blesses the wedding party 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:01.400 burns against corruption in the temple. 00:05:02.570 --> 00:05:08.550 The same grace expressed in an angry episode. 00:05:10.410 --> 00:05:12.090 So what was Jesus angry about? 00:05:12.190 --> 00:05:14.370 This was the time for the Passover celebration, 00:05:14.510 --> 00:05:15.290 the Bible tells us. 00:05:15.290 --> 00:05:18.150 It was a time to remember the miraculous deliverance 00:05:18.150 --> 00:05:20.470 of the people of Israel from Egypt, 00:05:20.590 --> 00:05:23.530 where God had spared the firstborn of his people 00:05:23.530 --> 00:05:28.170 by instructing them to place the blood of sacrificed lambs on their doorposts. 00:05:28.170 --> 00:05:32.050 And when God passed through, he would see the blood and pass over them. 00:05:32.050 --> 00:05:37.890 It was sort of a prediction of what Jesus' ministry would be in shedding his blood, 00:05:37.950 --> 00:05:40.310 as we've remembered through the communion today, 00:05:40.510 --> 00:05:45.110 and the freedom that we would find through receiving the blood of Jesus. 00:05:45.940 --> 00:05:48.820 So it was a landmark event in Israel's history. 00:05:48.960 --> 00:05:51.780 It was a time for them to remember, a time for them to reflect, 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:53.500 a time for them to renew their faith. 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:56.140 It was part of the annual rhythm of national life. 00:05:57.230 --> 00:05:59.330 Probably like, you know, we've got in our traditions, 00:05:59.510 --> 00:06:00.970 we've got Christmas, we've got Easter, 00:06:01.270 --> 00:06:04.510 we've got those landmark things that come around year after year after year, 00:06:04.550 --> 00:06:07.230 and there are certain things that we do at that time of year 00:06:07.230 --> 00:06:11.190 that mark it in our memory and in our psyche. 00:06:12.580 --> 00:06:16.360 And so what had happened here is that people needed to make sacrifices at the temple. 00:06:16.460 --> 00:06:19.240 They needed to pay their temple tax as well. 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:23.060 And so what might look like practical measures were introduced. 00:06:23.780 --> 00:06:26.020 So animals for sacrifice could be bought in the temple. 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:27.920 Not only could you go to the temple to make your sacrifice, 00:06:28.200 --> 00:06:29.080 there was a shop there. 00:06:29.280 --> 00:06:30.820 It's like the gift shop. 00:06:30.900 --> 00:06:33.460 You go to these beautiful landmarks and things like that 00:06:33.460 --> 00:06:35.280 and you can't get out until you've gone through the gift shop 00:06:35.280 --> 00:06:37.640 and bought a rubber or a pencil sharpener or something. 00:06:38.380 --> 00:06:42.940 So it's like there was that commercialization of things. 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:45.420 An opportunity also, 00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:50.260 they couldn't pay their temple tax in ordinary money. 00:06:50.260 --> 00:06:53.520 It was deemed sort of unclean or unsuitable. 00:06:53.540 --> 00:06:56.160 to use Roman money to pay a temple tax. 00:06:56.260 --> 00:06:59.720 So you had to pay with what was called a shekel or a Tyrian shekel. 00:06:59.900 --> 00:07:03.700 And so you need, but people didn't usually carry that around in their wallets. 00:07:03.840 --> 00:07:07.580 And so at this time they had to come to the temple and change their money. 00:07:07.940 --> 00:07:10.960 And so that became an opportunity for money changers to make a profit. 00:07:11.760 --> 00:07:15.020 So it was a real commercial venture that was going on here. 00:07:15.020 --> 00:07:18.160 And somehow, slowly, just like our Christmas and Easter 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:21.360 and everything else has got hijacked and commercialized 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:23.400 and turned into something that suits us, 00:07:23.540 --> 00:07:27.240 So even the Passover celebration had been turned into something 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:31.270 that was less than what it was intended to be 00:07:31.270 --> 00:07:34.610 and was actually about making money for people. 00:07:35.620 --> 00:07:39.740 And so it had become commercialized, controlled, profitable, exploitative. 00:07:40.890 --> 00:07:43.550 And so Jesus, who we last saw at a wedding party, 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:49.800 enjoying the celebrations and helping people not to run out of wine, 00:07:49.900 --> 00:07:52.520 is suddenly provoked to extreme anger. 00:07:52.520 --> 00:07:56.380 Stop turning my father's house into a marketplace. 00:07:56.920 --> 00:07:59.400 He didn't say stop turning the temple into a marketplace. 00:07:59.660 --> 00:08:01.540 He said my father's house. 00:08:01.640 --> 00:08:03.100 He personalized it. 00:08:03.460 --> 00:08:04.480 He took it personally. 00:08:04.660 --> 00:08:06.280 It wasn't about a system. 00:08:06.420 --> 00:08:11.480 It wasn't about fighting for the religious status quo. 00:08:12.980 --> 00:08:14.220 He wasn't interested in all that. 00:08:14.300 --> 00:08:16.800 He loved his father and he loved his house. 00:08:17.850 --> 00:08:19.490 And these people were corrupting it. 00:08:21.910 --> 00:08:25.210 Not surprisingly, this version of Jesus caused a reaction. 00:08:26.340 --> 00:08:27.900 And he does cause reactions, doesn't he? 00:08:27.940 --> 00:08:30.800 Sometimes, you know, we're so used to softening everything 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:33.520 that we just want Jesus to reinforce everything that we do. 00:08:33.580 --> 00:08:35.880 Have you ever used chat GPT, the AI thing? 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:38.440 It's really helpful and really useful, 00:08:38.600 --> 00:08:40.340 but also it gets a little bit worrying 00:08:40.340 --> 00:08:41.520 in the sense that everything you put in, 00:08:41.560 --> 00:08:43.320 it's just like, yeah, you're doing really well. 00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:44.020 This is fantastic. 00:08:44.660 --> 00:08:45.740 You put in a little bit, you think, 00:08:45.760 --> 00:08:46.480 what do you think of this? 00:08:46.660 --> 00:08:47.840 Oh, that's amazing. 00:08:47.980 --> 00:08:49.220 I just might tweak it slightly. 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:50.840 It never says that's rubbish. 00:08:52.050 --> 00:08:52.930 It doesn't confront. 00:08:53.370 --> 00:08:54.410 Sometimes you can ask it to. 00:08:54.470 --> 00:08:55.890 Be a bit more brutal, please. 00:08:55.950 --> 00:08:56.530 Help me here. 00:08:56.790 --> 00:08:58.670 Because I don't think everything that I do is that brilliant. 00:08:59.350 --> 00:09:02.280 But most of it, but not all of it. 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:08.300 And so Jesus did disturb and he did provoke. 00:09:09.370 --> 00:09:10.850 And his actions caused a reaction. 00:09:11.450 --> 00:09:13.970 And so the temple leaders, those who had power and control, 00:09:13.970 --> 00:09:16.830 those who the system suited them, 00:09:16.890 --> 00:09:19.410 because no doubt they were also making money from it 00:09:19.410 --> 00:09:21.350 and it was establishing their power, 00:09:21.430 --> 00:09:22.910 they came and they said to him, 00:09:22.950 --> 00:09:24.110 who do you think you are? 00:09:24.190 --> 00:09:26.490 by what authority are you 00:09:26.490 --> 00:09:28.190 acting? Jesus 00:09:28.190 --> 00:09:30.970 coming into the world always 00:09:30.970 --> 00:09:32.850 provokes that sort of reaction from those who are 00:09:32.850 --> 00:09:34.910 powerful and those who are in control 00:09:34.910 --> 00:09:38.020 they challenged him if God 00:09:38.020 --> 00:09:39.920 has given you authority to do this then 00:09:39.920 --> 00:09:42.220 prove it by giving us a miraculous 00:09:42.220 --> 00:09:43.480 sign 00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:47.550 Jesus always seems to be one 00:09:47.550 --> 00:09:50.680 step ahead of people and he doesn't 00:09:50.680 --> 00:09:52.560 answer questions directly or do what people 00:09:52.560 --> 00:09:55.820 demand of him but he always shows 00:09:55.820 --> 00:09:57.800 his hand in a different way and so he says one of 00:09:57.800 --> 00:10:03.360 his curious statements when he said, all right, destroy this temple and in three days I will 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:09.910 raise it up. Deliberately provoking them with stuff they can't understand because they think 00:10:09.910 --> 00:10:15.980 stone and he's talking about flesh. They think building and he means his body. They think in 00:10:15.980 --> 00:10:21.800 institution and he's thinking about incarnation. So he's not talking about improving the temple 00:10:21.800 --> 00:10:27.520 or cleansing the temple or refining what goes on in the temple. He's talking about replacing it. 00:10:27.520 --> 00:10:31.530 it's his temple, his values, his worship 00:10:31.530 --> 00:10:33.110 that's paramount 00:10:33.110 --> 00:10:37.720 we can't shape things just the way we want it 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:38.660 we have to be aware 00:10:38.660 --> 00:10:41.850 what does Jesus want for his temple 00:10:41.850 --> 00:10:44.030 otherwise we're on a collision course 00:10:44.030 --> 00:10:46.870 and so he associated the temple with his body 00:10:46.870 --> 00:10:49.630 he said destroy it and I'll raise it in three days 00:10:49.630 --> 00:10:52.840 they realised this after his resurrection 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:58.140 it was a fundamental shift in what was going on 00:10:58.820 --> 00:11:02.680 Worship and presence was now centred on a person. 00:11:02.980 --> 00:11:05.800 We often say, don't we, that the church is not a building, it's a community. 00:11:06.160 --> 00:11:08.400 The church is what is left when the building burns down. 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:12.920 Say that quietly around the 146, because we don't want anything like that to happen. 00:11:13.480 --> 00:11:16.880 But, you know, it's people, it's not a building. 00:11:17.400 --> 00:11:20.140 It's a community centred and focused on Jesus. 00:11:20.820 --> 00:11:24.260 We are not, this is not the church. 00:11:24.700 --> 00:11:29.180 We are the church, focused and centred on Jesus, shaped by Jesus, 00:11:29.180 --> 00:11:32.900 governed by Jesus, not by anybody else's interests. 00:11:33.280 --> 00:11:36.500 So we don't make the church what we want it to be to suit us. 00:11:37.880 --> 00:11:39.560 And we're so prone to that, aren't we? 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:41.000 Just like we can look at these people and say, 00:11:41.040 --> 00:11:43.640 oh, what terrible things they did, making money in the temple and whatever. 00:11:43.880 --> 00:11:48.540 But we can shape and control the church so that it suits our purposes, 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:50.380 it suits our wants and our desires. 00:11:50.380 --> 00:11:53.040 And if we don't like it, then we think, oh, well, 00:11:53.420 --> 00:11:58.720 we'll either cause a stink or we'll change things 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:00.060 or we'll break things open or whatever. 00:12:00.680 --> 00:12:06.010 And we have to come to understand 00:12:06.010 --> 00:12:09.330 that the church needs to be what Jesus intends it to be 00:12:09.330 --> 00:12:14.070 and to understand what our part to play in it all is. 00:12:14.740 --> 00:12:16.560 Because if Jesus is the true temple 00:12:16.560 --> 00:12:19.100 and the New Testament teaches that we are his body, 00:12:19.280 --> 00:12:21.740 then we have to come to terms with this. 00:12:21.820 --> 00:12:24.340 Because the zeal that he showed in the temple 00:12:24.340 --> 00:12:26.180 when he made that whip and he drove people out 00:12:26.180 --> 00:12:28.400 and he said, why are you corrupting my father's house? 00:12:28.400 --> 00:12:32.640 The zeal for that temple is the same zeal that he has for his temple now, 00:12:33.040 --> 00:12:34.480 his body, the church. 00:12:35.530 --> 00:12:38.550 What he's building, what he's building here locally at MCF, 00:12:38.650 --> 00:12:42.350 what he's building across the globe in terms of his church, 00:12:42.370 --> 00:12:45.930 it has to reflect his passion and his purity. 00:12:46.290 --> 00:12:49.770 It has to reflect his values and his priorities. 00:12:50.510 --> 00:12:52.610 Otherwise, we're on a collision course. 00:12:53.170 --> 00:12:55.870 Passion for purity, resistance to corruption, 00:12:55.870 --> 00:12:59.970 and a demand for our worship to be focused and clear. 00:13:00.690 --> 00:13:04.730 And so we have to hold the whole of Jesus together, 00:13:04.910 --> 00:13:07.150 so not just taking the Jesus that suits us. 00:13:08.850 --> 00:13:10.090 It's quite encouraging, actually. 00:13:10.190 --> 00:13:10.550 It's a little thing. 00:13:10.610 --> 00:13:13.670 Somebody gave me a little plastic Jesus to stick on somewhere 00:13:13.670 --> 00:13:16.070 just to remind me that Jesus loves me, which is very nice. 00:13:16.510 --> 00:13:17.730 And I'm not mocking it at all. 00:13:17.730 --> 00:13:21.890 It's encouraging to know we have to remind ourselves that Jesus loves us. 00:13:22.150 --> 00:13:23.910 I've seen all sorts of things in my time. 00:13:23.910 --> 00:13:28.890 I've seen hot water bottle Jesus where you can fill a Jesus with hot water and you can cuddle 00:13:28.890 --> 00:13:34.070 him at night and it's you know it makes you you know it's there's all sorts of things you can do 00:13:34.070 --> 00:13:42.640 there's a place for that but it's not all not the whole story is it there's wedding Jesus it's full 00:13:42.640 --> 00:13:49.020 of kindness temple Jesus that is all about holiness and purity resurrection Jesus is about 00:13:49.020 --> 00:13:54.500 the presence of God with us and we can't just choose one version we can't just choose the the 00:13:54.500 --> 00:13:56.100 meek and mild baby in the manger 00:13:56.100 --> 00:13:58.460 and ignore the king that 00:13:58.460 --> 00:14:00.280 is coming at the end of all time 00:14:00.280 --> 00:14:02.120 to bring justice 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:04.440 and wrap everything up. So we can't 00:14:04.440 --> 00:14:05.940 we have to hold 00:14:05.940 --> 00:14:08.060 the two together and as we 00:14:08.060 --> 00:14:10.460 consider Jesus in our lives and we consider 00:14:10.460 --> 00:14:12.380 Jesus in our community, yes 00:14:12.380 --> 00:14:14.400 we want to be a welcoming community, yes we want 00:14:14.400 --> 00:14:16.220 to be full of grace and kindness 00:14:16.220 --> 00:14:18.480 we want to be a place where people find 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:20.440 rest and they find relief 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:22.280 and they find deliverance but at a certain 00:14:22.280 --> 00:14:24.340 time there is also a type of 00:14:24.340 --> 00:14:29.260 a version of Jesus that we have to come to terms with, who comes to us, not like chat GPT to say, 00:14:29.340 --> 00:14:33.400 you're just doing fantastically, but say, actually, I'm going to change that. I'm going to change you 00:14:33.400 --> 00:14:37.280 from the inside out. And I'm going to challenge some of the deepest things. And some of the things 00:14:37.280 --> 00:14:41.800 that you think are normal, like changing money in the temple and all of those things, I'm going to 00:14:41.800 --> 00:14:46.580 turn those tables over. And when Jesus, you know, we say, come Lord Jesus, fill your church with your 00:14:46.580 --> 00:14:52.600 presence. Well, when he comes into his temple, sometimes he turns tables. Sometimes he makes a 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:58.260 Sometimes he speaks harshly, not because he wants to confront us or fight us or whatever, 00:14:58.380 --> 00:15:03.600 but because he wants us to be and he wants us to understand what his vision for his father's house is. 00:15:05.960 --> 00:15:09.300 And so if we only want the kindness and the softness of Jesus, 00:15:09.400 --> 00:15:11.940 we reject the cleansing, we reject the transformation, 00:15:12.560 --> 00:15:18.240 we reject the engagement that is necessary in order to discover what Jesus wants us to be. 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:21.360 And if we only emphasize the cleansing and the holiness, 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:24.420 we can forget the generosity and the kindness of Jesus 00:15:24.420 --> 00:15:26.720 and the two come together in a package 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:29.740 grace and truth are not rivals 00:15:29.740 --> 00:15:31.880 they are two aspects of the same person 00:15:31.880 --> 00:15:34.040 Jesus was full of grace and truth 00:15:34.040 --> 00:15:35.620 Jesus is full of kindness 00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:38.340 and Jesus is also passionate for his father's house 00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:39.740 and he's passionate for holiness 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:43.960 and those things affect us at one time or another 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:45.780 as we come to know Jesus 00:15:45.780 --> 00:15:48.420 and so the question for us 00:15:48.420 --> 00:15:52.360 is are we inviting Jesus to bless 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:55.040 what we want the church to be 00:15:55.040 --> 00:15:56.860 and what we want our lives to be? 00:15:56.920 --> 00:15:59.240 Or will we allow him, truly allow him in 00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:01.240 to cleanse us, truly allow him in 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:05.370 to turn over tables and to shape us? 00:16:06.010 --> 00:16:08.070 Will we ask us, Lord, what is it you want of us? 00:16:08.350 --> 00:16:10.790 As a church, individuals, yes, certainly. 00:16:11.190 --> 00:16:13.530 But as a church, what is it that you want of us, Lord, 00:16:13.530 --> 00:16:17.210 in order that we might reflect your Father's holiness 00:16:17.210 --> 00:16:20.010 in this community and in this time 00:16:20.010 --> 00:16:24.170 in order that we might reflect the fullness of Jesus, 00:16:24.290 --> 00:16:28.590 the kindness, the generosity, the welcome, the beauty of Jesus, 00:16:28.950 --> 00:16:33.340 and also that hard word that he could speak into our lives 00:16:33.340 --> 00:16:35.980 that actually changes us and brings us freedom. 00:16:36.420 --> 00:16:39.780 You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free, Jesus said. 00:16:39.860 --> 00:16:42.600 And some clever person added, but first it will make you miserable. 00:16:44.640 --> 00:16:48.340 Truth is difficult to swallow sometimes. 00:16:48.340 --> 00:16:54.810 we have to be ready to accept 00:16:54.810 --> 00:16:57.850 what Jesus coming to us will bring 00:16:57.850 --> 00:16:59.710 what his presence will truly mean 00:16:59.710 --> 00:17:01.210 in our lives 00:17:01.210 --> 00:17:01.990 however challenging 00:17:01.990 --> 00:17:04.570 and sometimes that can be painful as well 00:17:04.570 --> 00:17:09.570 and whatever aspect of Jesus we encounter 00:17:09.570 --> 00:17:10.310 at any one point 00:17:10.310 --> 00:17:11.590 it is always good news 00:17:11.590 --> 00:17:12.170 that's the thing 00:17:12.170 --> 00:17:14.230 good news isn't always about the soft word 00:17:14.230 --> 00:17:14.830 the kind word 00:17:14.830 --> 00:17:16.910 sometimes good news is about Jesus saying 00:17:16.910 --> 00:17:17.270 come on 00:17:17.270 --> 00:17:19.570 you can do better than this 00:17:19.570 --> 00:17:20.870 you can be better than this 00:17:20.870 --> 00:17:22.290 you can be different to this 00:17:22.290 --> 00:17:26.760 you can make that stand 00:17:26.760 --> 00:17:29.480 you can make that sacrifice, you can make that change 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:31.840 in order to find life 00:17:31.840 --> 00:17:40.970 and so as we draw to a close 00:17:40.970 --> 00:17:44.990 I want to give us a little bit of space to think 00:17:44.990 --> 00:17:50.700 and to respond, maybe the team can come back and help us 00:17:50.700 --> 00:18:00.540 there's wedding Jesus as I've said 00:18:00.540 --> 00:18:03.480 who's generous, kind, restoring what has run dry 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:08.740 temple Jesus, zealous 00:18:08.740 --> 00:18:12.610 cleansing, calling us to worship 00:18:12.610 --> 00:18:16.760 and there's resurrection Jesus, present 00:18:16.760 --> 00:18:20.920 and alive at the centre of everything we are 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:22.660 and everything that we do. 00:18:22.800 --> 00:18:24.240 And the question we have to ask ourselves 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:26.040 is not really which one do we prefer, 00:18:26.780 --> 00:18:28.240 which one do we want to pick today, 00:18:28.800 --> 00:18:32.180 but what is he wanting to do in us today? 00:18:35.120 --> 00:18:36.700 And it may be that you need his kindness. 00:18:36.860 --> 00:18:38.740 Like I said, I'm not sidelining that. 00:18:38.800 --> 00:18:42.960 It's all aspects of the same Jesus who comes to us. 00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:45.180 Something in you feels empty 00:18:45.180 --> 00:18:47.620 and maybe you need his grace poured in today. 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:53.800 And it may be, and don't think that this is not God 00:18:53.800 --> 00:18:55.800 if it's happening now, he's putting his finger on something 00:18:55.800 --> 00:18:57.800 because the Holy Spirit comes to convict us 00:18:57.800 --> 00:18:59.920 of sin and righteousness and judgment. 00:19:01.170 --> 00:19:04.670 Not shaming you, but he's clearing space in your heart 00:19:04.670 --> 00:19:07.820 to realign you and to purify you 00:19:07.820 --> 00:19:10.940 and to challenge that which will keep you away from him. 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:13.040 And sometimes there's a harsh word that comes 00:19:13.040 --> 00:19:15.260 and we can feel uncomfortable, I've felt that myself, 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:18.580 where you know that God is putting his finger on something 00:19:18.580 --> 00:19:20.660 and you need to respond 00:19:20.660 --> 00:19:22.700 even though it makes your heart pound. 00:19:24.630 --> 00:19:25.970 Or it may be that you're just hungry 00:19:25.970 --> 00:19:27.250 for more of his presence, 00:19:28.110 --> 00:19:32.350 for your life to be more clearly centered on him. 00:19:34.940 --> 00:19:36.800 And so as we worship now, 00:19:36.800 --> 00:19:38.300 we're going to worship Jesus 00:19:38.300 --> 00:19:43.710 in whatever manifestation he brings himself to us. 00:19:44.630 --> 00:19:47.670 Don't be afraid and don't be one-dimensional 00:19:47.670 --> 00:19:50.330 in our understanding of what he wants to do 00:19:50.330 --> 00:19:53.270 because as we embrace the whole Jesus, 00:19:54.180 --> 00:19:55.360 then we'll have an opportunity 00:19:55.360 --> 00:19:58.860 to be transformed into his likeness 00:19:58.860 --> 00:20:00.620 as we take all that comes 00:20:00.620 --> 00:20:02.680 with all that it means to know him. 00:20:04.130 --> 00:20:06.810 If you'd want somebody to pray with you about anything, 00:20:07.010 --> 00:20:08.770 then please do come here. 00:20:08.970 --> 00:20:10.130 We will stand with you. 00:20:10.210 --> 00:20:12.510 We will pray with you and pray for you 00:20:12.510 --> 00:20:16.610 whatever God is doing in your life this morning. 00:20:16.610 --> 00:20:17.670 Thank you.