Wonderfully Unorthodox | Greg Boyd

a people Sunday to all of you this morning's good to be your worshiping with all of you the message this morning I think it's titled unorthodox what's the titled wholly unorthodox title something anyways whatever styled kind of fits but see I ganden the message notes on Thursday and by Saturday when I first get the message a lot can happen and so I don't know if we can changed it this late date or not but unofficially and maybe even officially I like to title this probably dis labeled probably this labeled anyway probably and you'll see what what's significant about that in a moment and and and really like last week I gave this message some I hope some of you were here if you weren't here you might want to check this out but even after I was giving it this last part of the message I knew that that I I would have to come back to it it was when I said that to love a person in their individuality you've got to get rid of all labels and there's this is I even have a sharing it last week dislike yeah I know there's a feeling of anointing at it or pay attention to this and it's lingered all this week and some of the events have happened this week that I'll Cheryl but later on that have confirmed that I'm supposed to go over that again here's the thing I I have read recently neurologically the brain our brains are stubborn it takes seven hearing something seven times before we really hear it and at seven times that's why commercials and their curses are devised by the the people who know the most about how the brain works they're specializing on how to get you to want their product and and and they they saw the same commercial all movie lines bugs me and that's why I love TiVo and I hate when I have to watch a show and problems like this is a new problem of evil ioann throt sees commercials but the same one what you think like you'd want to vary it some like a different angle on your product or something but it's the exact same thing but that's intentional they don't care if you like it or dislike it if it bugs you but the very the very familiarity of the thing makes it more accepting to you the more you hear something Memorial brain says it okay the very it's familiar to it and our brain likes what's familiar so repetition is the key to learning which means I've got to get a little less per night up and being paranoid about repeating myself too much I've got to be less paranoid about repeating myself too much I need to be less caring about repeating myself too much are you hearing what I'm saying so so this is a problem sending message but it turns out that it's it's gonna be a message that is gonna be recovering a lot of it some what I said last weekend building on it the passage I want to weave and the reason this is so important is this whole thing about labels about getting past judgments too in love individuals and all the individuality is at the center of the center of the center of what we are all about and yet this is so rarely taught that Christians are usually trained to do the opposite of this there's a lot of Christians I met talk to who feel guilty if they love people for free it's true your job is to point out their sin and to notice their sin or whatever and if you just love people oh gosh you know people think that you're one of them one of the sinners kinda like they thought of Jesus when he was hanging out with the prostitutes and the tax collectors if people start making that accusation against you you're going in the right direction okay well I listen up and listen here's the passage Matthew 21 Jesus I just sent the disciples into the town to get a donkey a certain donkey and a Colt so he could ride this into town and then it says this disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them they brought the donkey and the Colt and put their cloaks on them and he sat on them a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road now Jesus is here riding into Jerusalem and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road and the crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting Hosanna to the son of David blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord hosanna in the highest heaven highest praise here and when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was in turmoil asking who is this the crowds were saying this is the Prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee pray with me here Abba Father I pray that you open up our minds and our hearts to receive this word deeply infuse this impregnate these words with your authority to root out lies to liberate your people to free us from the accuser free us to love the way you've called us to love free us to dance in light of your love and spread it with others in Jesus name and all God's people said amen amen okay so this is during the Passover which is one of the most important festivals on the Jewish calendar you're celebrating the the Exodus the Israelites deliverance out of Egypt which involves the vanquishing of the Egyptians and all that's being celebrate it's we do you think tasks over when you hear pastor over think deliverance think victory was a military dimension of this and at this time folks were looking for a messiah like never before the more Rome oppressed Israel the more they longed for the long-awaited Messiah the hope for Messiah someone who would deliver them it was in the air people were we're just sensing it like we know from Josephus and other historians of the time that there were other folks that that that claim to be the Messiah or that people thought were the Messiah it was just in the air people are expecting this so this kind of walk me down to Jerusalem this right down to Jerusalem there's no ordinary ride there's a lot of expectation in the air now Jesus had done some miracles not some he did a lot of miracles and that impressed a lot of people they're thinking man maybe he could be the Messiah he's got the supernatural power and he delivers people from demonic oppression and he just had this kind of authority to him all the Gospels note this said he spoke the people would always say Jesus taught with his unnatural the unprecedented authority and it's not just that he spoke with confidence and used eloquent words he there was a presence to him there's an authority people just sensed a divine anointing on him or something like that this is power on him and so they're thinking he could be the Messiah this could be the one who's gonna deliver us just like God did the Israelites when they were trapped in Egypt this could be the one this could be yet now these got some quirky things to him that's wood for some disqualify him to be the Messiah I mean he he talks about loving your enemies for example and that's not what Ana sayest because the Messiah has come to crush our enemies and he talks about non-violence and never retaliated and whatever he means by that you know that's not what I'm supposed to say and and he hangs out with the wrong people and he ticked off the wrong people he's supposed to get along with the religious authorities but instead he's battling them he's supposed to stay away from and crack down on the sinners but those are the people he hangs out with there's prostitutes and tax collectors so he's gay he's a quirky Messiah and maybe for some people that was a deal breaker but man he's got the miracles and that authority and if he just turned a little that miracle-working power against the Romans that would do it we Jews could never hope to rise up against the Romans on our own power they crushed us in a nanosecond but we got our super action hero figure here this guy's got miracle-working power he's expending his healing people and doing all that stuff but maybe at the end when it comes time when he rides into Jerusalem he'll turn those guns on Caesar and Pilate and zap away now we be restored liberated that's what the Messiah is supposed to do he's got some quirks but lot of people are hailing him as the one and that's why they say Hosanna now Hosanna is an Aramaic word it originally meant Lord save us it was a call for salvation deliver us more specifically deliver us from our enemies but at the time of Jesus language is always evolving and the word of taken on the connotation of praising God for deliverance it's like you're praising God ahead of time you're so confident that this this person is going to deliver us that you praise them ahead of time Hosanna Hosanna in the highest we're trusting in you you're going to deliver us this is the one they're saying and that's why they call him son of David harkens back to the time when David was King and and that was looked to as the golden age of Israel that's when they won their most battles and had their most wealth and had the largest geographical area so to have a messiah who was like David a son of David a descendant of David but one who also is like David a military Messiah a political Messiah a victorious Messiah that's what people want to restore us to the glory days and that's what the glory of God because it's an insult to God if we've Jews who know the true God are being ruled by pagans well that's not glorifying God so they call son of David which are trusting you and units are trusting in is this Davidic Messiah a military Messiah a enemy butt-kicking Messiah and then they they put the palm branches down in front of the palm branches in the greco-roman world we're a symbol of victory when an athlete would win a race or whatever they would give him a palm branch instead of about a nice trophy they got palm branches hey mom I want to branch today so that's why they did a base but it stood for victory so when they're putting this stuff on the road they're releasing we are ascribing victory to you you are going to be victorious Hosanna Stila David you will be victorious and then when they put their coats down for the donkeys to ride on it's the way they're saying we're in service to you were submitted to you we're bowing down before you we know you're gonna get the victory so we're on your side and we will follow you in the battle because all the Jews knew that they would have you know you must have some role to play here and the Messiah will help deliver them but there'll be some fighting that you have to do and so they're pledging their allegiance to this military Messiah he's riding into battle some people are hoping this will be the Messiah that's gonna liberate us and defeat our enemies now one week later much of that same crowd has a very different attitude towards Jesus I just entered this is expectation in the air this could be it he works the miracles he has some quirky stuff but we think he's the one were committed to you Hosanna son of they have a later quote down follow him into battle one week later Jesus gets arrested and Pilate as I guess was a tradition at the time and said I will release out of my graciousness I will release one of these prisoners which ones you want me to release Barabbas it's common criminal or Jesus the so-called King of the Jews and the crowd chooses Barabbas and Pilate says this Matt mark 15 then what do you wish me to do with this man you call King of the Jews and they shouted back crucify him Pilate asked him why would evil has he done and they just shouted the more crucify him crucify him so hosanna in the highest son of David we believe in you a victory to you crucify him crucify him what happened one week and our cross can be fickle but this is kind of a lot what evil did he do what was would change the attitude and the answer is he got arrested and besides that's and that's supposed to get arrested this is all about victory not defeat you're supposed to march into Jerusalem and defeat the Romans not get arrested by the Romans you're supposed to be victorious it's not a loser for some beat up hear that he's not getting arrested by your enemies this was a rule from a mighty throne not hanging from a cross what kind of Messiah is this and yeah he's got miracle-working power but apparently he's too stupid did not use it in the right way what good is miracle-working power if you're gonna use that a couple lowlife people who are blind or crippled or whatever who cares about them use that power where it could be really make a difference for us Israel for people have got out against to get some ungodly Gentiles who are ruling over us yeah you solve your little problems for little people down here but you want to make a big change difference turn those guns on Caesar fire away and what good is your power if you're not going to do that and they're their expectation their desire to have a messiah who is on their side and I guess the other side well that's just that that turns the disappointment when they see that it's not gonna happen which turns to rage and they're like just crucify the bum it's so high if we could go and now they're so low what happened Jesus got arrested they feel duped we don't want some wimpy messiahs telling us to love our enemies and turn the other cheek and go the extra mile and all that stuff we want a messiah who will win we'll be victorious who stand up for truth and righteousness and justice I guess all those ungodly people and really that's all people have ever wanted from a messiah and ever wanted from a God that's why we invent the gods this is the history of religion we want gods who are on our side religion has always been a quid pro quo deal it's it's it's by the way the kingdom is not a religion okay it's a relationship but religions always been a ideal we have with the gods the guys have more power than us and so so we want to use some of that power so we the agreement is will worship you and will do your bidding and we'll sacrifice for you if you will fight for us and protect us and advance our interests we want a god who's for us and against them that's what the role the gods have always played Americans have this weird idea that fighting for God in country some kind of a unique American slogan but acts say August oldest Pig and slogan in the book almost everybody's fought for God in country some God or other and some country other if only because it's hard to more to be people to be willing to kill and die on this they have some kind of eternal interest in it so you appeal to the gods so the Jews are just saying we want a god it's gonna act like everyone else's God except we're going to be more powerful and this goes to the heart of paganism it solves 50 it says this the Lord says that when you did all these evil things and and when I didn't say anything you assumed that I was just like you this is the heart of paganism right here unless God pops down from the sky like a super giant Wizard of Oz head and says I disagree with what you're doing unless that happens we tend to assume guys okay with it we tend to assume that God's just like us we make God after our own image and one of God is not only after own image but but but who is doing our bidding we've some guys just like us and so you know we show the last couple weeks you can show this neurologically and from evolution and but the bottom line is our fallen nature is we love to be right we just love to be right and the only thing we like more than being right is knowing that are these believing that God is on our side God agrees with our rightness oh it tastes so good okay God agrees with our sure and so if it's obvious to people has been throughout history this isn't a uniquely American thing it's obvious that God's on our side got agrees with us our beliefs our God's beliefs our truths our God's truths and our countries God's favorite country and our religions guys favorite religion and so it's us against you and we want a messiah who will help us do that legend see religion just takes all the awesome polarities of the fallen world and and intensifies them it's like you're playing five dollar poker and then religion comes along and not you're playing five thousand dollar poker because you introduced God in the situation so so you know the world has said last week David Fitch in his book the hasta damaged some brilliant book a really good book he shows how the whole world is structured on these us of them polarities because we fallen human beings love our rightness so we want to hang out with people who agree with our rightness so we amplify and magnify and exalt our rightness unfortunately just agrees with those people over there who are doing the same thing but their rightness is not doesn't agree with our rightness so our celebration of our rightness has got to be a kind of nation of the wrongness and now that the merry-go-round goes is the whole world structured like this and and and then what religion does is it introduces God into the whole thing you judge steroids in this because now it's not only us versus them you know we are the vests and this is always superior to the that and you are the that okay that's the whole structure of the fallen world but now if such as that we deduce got into it announced we and God are this and you and the devil are that and when people start to think that way dangerous things are right around the corner we have all of history to show that so introducing guidance the this is the Palm Sunday thinking is it's the guy that you reduce down to your own preferences your own beliefs you personalize that and now you use him to do battle you weaponize God but that's the Messiah they expected the the Palm Sunday Messiah the Messiah they actually got and Good Friday and then on Easter was altogether different because this is not a sign who is at all I got said if this is a messiahs whose characters altogether beautiful and ours is not he's not like us this is the one guy who's not made in our image I mean this is one ways you know it is true when Paul says that the cross is the power of God he's saying something that so revelatory because no human being on the planet in all of history has ever thought that thought because we assume the God is like us we always tend to project onto God the kind of power that we want and we want the kind of power that kills enemies we want the kind of power that protects us the kind of power that can further our interest real power for power all swore snigger power muscle power coercion power I saw that like the guys have always been that Jesus shows up and he shows what real power looks like and what it looks like is him getting crucified on a cross giving his life and the power of God is his willingness to give his life for enemies hallelujah well that God is a God who is altogether different from their own self-made gods and usually a completely different kind of power and what they got was a God who Jesus reveals a God who has nothing to do with the awesome versus them pool air of this world but rather a God who does everything that could possibly be done to change everything for everyone hallelujah does for everybody it's all inclusive got all the parochial gods the the the fighting gods the US versus them gods they all create communities closed communities close gate communities where who's inside and who's outside is all-important gated communities that's what and so many churches are gated communities who are you gonna let in who you're not gonna let in there's got a deal-breaker since who doesn't have a deal-breaker since all this is judgment and that's what you get if you get an us-versus-them got it if you get a poem Sunday God but when Jesus shows up he pulls apart all those awesome categories it blows apart all those labels he filler parts all those hierarchies all of those judgment he blows it all apart there's a passage that I've been coming to you I don't know at least four times in the last that in the last year because it's just gripped me it's every time I read it it's got more depth and insight into it it's just it's so rare and yet it's so beautiful and so I keep coming back to it and I'm gonna stop worrying about that now because I've only come back to have four times once I get to eight I'll start worrying about it because at seven you're gonna start getting it but here's the thing second Corinthians five verses 14 through 17 I just love it Paul says that the love of Christ urges us he's explaining why he does what he does why does he put up he left his cushy life to become a missionary why the love of Christ compels us this is always the motivation in the kingdom folks we should be moved not by fear or guilt or shame or ought to deuce the motivation the core of our heart has got to be the love of God the love that God for us and the love that we have for God and that's why I always say that you're the beauty of your picture of God is the most important fact of your existence do you have a picture of God that compels you to live in a different kind of a way that's the fuel the kingdom suppose says the love of Christ compels us because we are convinced and this is the most beautiful aspect of Christ that Paul's going to mention here that one is died for all and therefore all have died knowing that truth is what compelled Paul in some sense everybody died and some since everybody died when Jesus died 2,000 years ago and he died for all Paul says here's why here's why so that those who live might no longer live for selves but for him who died and was raised for them so Paul is saying if one died for all here's why I do what I do if one died for all then Simpsons all have died and he tells us a little later on what that some sense is he says everything old has passed away behold everything's new and the old is everything that would separate a person from God every thing the enemy ever had on us every fault every broken area every everything that could come between you and God in between you and your true self and between you and other people it was abolished 2,000 years ago on Calvary Colossians 2 Paul says he nailed it on the cross it was all unable to cross so God's not holding anyone sins against them Paul says that explicitly in 2nd Corinthians 5 and that's the good news that we have to spread to the world we get to tell people what's already true guys are holding your sin against you everything is new it's it's this is why Paul says like the cross redefines everything in Romans 5 he says that as one man's condemnation led to death to all that's talking about Adam so also one man's righteous acts talking about Jesus and the cross leads to justification and life for all now some people would interpret that to mean that everybody is going to eventually get saved and I've talked about that before III I don't think it means that because you're free to reject reality we do it all the time in fact it's a very definition of sin every time you sin you have to make him a story that's not true if you were seeing reality as it really is you wouldn't be able to so sin is creating an alternate reality to the reality that God defines God defines all reality like this this is God's definition reality all of you are in the cross applies to all everything has changed for everyone everything that's old has been abolished on the cross has been destroyed it's been obliterated as far as the East is from the West it's been done it's not being held against you God's not got nothing against you now he's not mad at you okay it's done and everything now is new Paul says this is the definition of reality the default is that you're on the inside just don't put yourself on the outside right be reconciled to God he forgives you but will you accept your acceptance will you embrace beautiful truth you still are free but from God's perspective it's a it's a guy who's not a bear-hug around everybody as cleaning everybody as his own he's claiming everybody has his own and then Paul says this here's the difference it needs to make he says therefore in light of this because of what is happening on Calvary therefore we no longer look at anyone from a human point of view can you put that pastors up to Dan from now on well you don't regard anyone from a human point of view anyone a human point of view is simply the natural point of view what you see is what you get we judge on the basis of sense appearances it always involves an evaluation and a judgement an assessment and a comparison all of that other Trent stuff a labeling it always involves that but Paul says we no longer look at people if from a normal point of view no we look at people for the perspective of what God did for them on the cross so he says even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view we saw him this is one more crucified criminal we don't look him in that way any longer we look at him through the eyes of faith knowing that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself now we're gonna get every money that way so if anyone is in Christ look there's a new creation everything old has passed away see everything has become new Lord open our eyes open our eyes that we open the Lices eyes to see are the servants eyes to see that the war is all around for you know like we're saying there's more on our side than there are on their side open your eyes Lord open our eyes right now to see the beauty of what you see because Paul is saying is if you're believing then you're in Christ if you're in Christ don't look at anybody from a normal point of view the way you used to don't look at anybody through the filters of your culture the lens of all the labels don't know rather see what God sees see the truth of who they are because of what Jesus did on the cross and so our job Kingdom people is to when we look at somebody wherever we see whatever we see however old it may be however wrong it may be however much you may disagree with it however much I may revolt you your job as a kingdom person if you're a follower of Jesus your job is to look through that look past that instead of no consequence it was taken care of 2,000 years ago the only thing that matters is the new creation that stands in front of you they maybe don't know it they don't think that way so they don't act that way they don't feel that way maybe they actually that but you know what that's all that matters the questions what do you see what do you see can you see the beauty this agree with God that this person has unsurpassable worth because jesus paid an unsurpassable price for them okay see the preciousness of the human being made in the image of God whatever else they may see whatever else may be there it's just result of the fact that they don't know it yet we don't know yet either do we because we do we don't act like like consistently in Christ so we're not going to go just in the world for that our jobs to look past that see what God sees and then what you see is beauty and what you see what happens if we can see the trouble is we're not like cognition to think like this in the culture all these judgments are the gossip machine their brain but many of us have been raised in the church and we're taught to do it on steroids which is why we feel guilty we don't do it so if people think I'm condoning their saying if I don't point it out to them you know and my job to be the moral police of the universe please your own sin please your own sin we're gonna do a campaign campaign against your own sin right leave all the people alone Paul says what business do we have judging those outside the church we got no business he said first Corinthians 4 says it explicitly we got no business judging those outside the church inside we're gonna walk out this thing together in Christ we all need people who speak into our life and we invite to speak into our life but everybody else you just agree with God that that person was with Jesus dying for they treat them like an insider because God has made them an insider see the kingdom it doesn't buy you the awesome polarities it isn't us without of them it's like we're all facing the cross it gave the diagram up there Dan yeah so if the us versus them we have gated communities and we're against each other because we love to be right but in the kingdom of God we don't get our life for being right we get our life from what God thinks about us as is defined on the cross so we're just moving to the cross and what God has done is all we're an atom so all are in Christ there is there's no parameter here there are no outsiders the people who don't know they're insiders but but and that's where we come in we get to tell them the truth but it's a kingdom events and us without of them how we need to learn how to lose the labels to see the people to love the people whatever label you have on a person they share that characteristic whatever it is you're highlighting whatever your highlighting is arbitrary by the way because there's truly another things you can highlight but you could focus on this because you've been conditioned to maybe the politics is conditioned to think well this is what's really important about this person there are this you see whenever that this is they share that with at least a hundred or a thousand or a million or a billion other people so that's not their individuality that's that's not who they are and you can have a hundred different labels for them and none of them get they share with everybody else it doesn't get to their individuality do you see this if you're going to you can only love individuals this particular person in this particular person and you're only loving them if you're loving them in their engines in their individuality which you can never get to by labels labels can only block the flow of love into their life every label is also an internalized narrative that has all sorts of meaning in that race some high rates some low that whole comparison game evaluation critiquing all of that is of the devil he's the accuser he's the judger our jobs that say free from all of that and see what God sees and affirm what God affirms hallelujah hallelujah now the last part of this message I want to do something here I want to talk about the tap because I'm gonna tell you the tech it's a mystery that we partner with here at Woodland Hills Church and it is God's using it to impact me in some pretty profound ways and it is honestly the most beautiful expression of this label list judgment-free kingdom climate that I'm talking about whenever I go to the tab it feels like breathing fresh air in a world that's polluted with judgments you enter into a space that is just so free and so joyful and so loving it illustrates the kingdom and so I wanted to end this message by asking a good friend of mine I've known this guy for about six seven months now I love this guy Daniel Cashman will you get up here alright give him a good war will the hills work welcome oh yeah you got a crowd here he's got some supporters here okay before terms over the dam for a little bit let me just say this that what's beautiful about tip jesus said this he said when you throw parties don't just invite the people that you know and that are close to you your friends and relatives and they sometimes invite people who'd never get invited to parties as an explicit teaching Luke 14 when does the church do that it's like one command we just feel free to totally ignore but this is exactly the tab does who'd ever get invited to parties who are the most quarantine people in the entire population is people have these disability labels and and you guys just throw parties and this is beautiful now one of these ins I want to have him up here is because I want to illustrate this is how to look at the world in light of a new creation because here's the deal my brother here it's not a believer I'm not I believe a believer yes he knows that I one of these are bringing this ready for it III I'm gonna persuade him he doesn't know yet see this guy's all Kingdom I mean he's Kingdom insight you think Kingdom you Act Kingdom your intuitions all Kingdom amen and I'll tell you something I I'll take a hundred folks who do the kingdom but don't know it over a hundred to think they're doing it but I'm doing it you're livin it up man and so I I keep telling Dan you know you're in the kingdom you just don't know it as beautiful he's doing all this kingdom work but doesn't even know it it's like it's great but he will someday I'm confident we'll see where this goes meanwhile meanwhile here's the thing so you're an unbeliever and so you'd wear the pagan label right hello mister pagan and I'm Christian hello mr. Christian pastor hello mister crew Sebastian and all labels come with evaluations so for a Christian audience probably that set up a thing you might think okay Greg's supposed to bring the truth to my poor brother here I'm gonna help him I will help save him you need rescuing thank you yes and all of that I would do the speaking you'll do the listening cuz I have the truth and you do not and that kind of evangelism just sucks all right it's it's got that's s gets pulled Sunday evangelism that top-down it's arrogant it's it's it's just about relationship I've got something to offer I think but he's got a lot to offer and you know what I'll tell you in this relationship that we've had honestly and I so appreciate this over the last six seven months you have blessed me I don't know what I've been to you but you've been a blessing to me and have taught me stuff about faith and about about love and even about getting attached to my own judgments and so you've been used by God to set me free my brother and I appreciate that and my son so tell us about the tap tap well the tap stands for tapping all possibilities I've been in human services working to support our friends with intellectual and emotional disability labels and in that time the one thing I've noticed is that they have a very hard time being included with the rest of us it's an awesome thing totally and it's so difficult for them at times that they just shut down isolate and segregate themselves from the rest of us and we have to change that and so what we're doing about it is we're asking everyone to come to parties right here at Woodland Hills right over here in the see room we throw a huge dance party a lot of fun tall we party on the planet it's it's awesome and we try to operate as culture operates we got all the great dance music we got a DJ who does a great job but just keeping us dancing and having fun we have video gaming we have people playing cards whatever you like whatever your interests are come and party with us once a month we do that event and then over here on Monday nights every single Monday night we meet as a group just to hang out we play foosball we do karaoke conference love expression we sing and we just have it's just a joy-filled get right on sound a little bit yeah it's a lot of fun it's so we invite you to come and join us because that's where we show them the hey the labels are out and all the judgments out and then that's what love just comes in and that's what's left is love and that's what we're about amen this is why when I first heard about this half and heard that your philosophy there's probably dis labeling I was so interested in it because it embodies what I have believed for the longest time to me this is the core what the kingdom is about like you wouldn't put in these kind terminology but but you're going after the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which is the original sin of the Bible which is the set of judgment because every judgment blocks love and and every label is a narrative of judgment in it blocks leaven and it sucks life out of people sucks the dignity of people but when you can remove those things there's a freedom that happens and joy the party's so fun because everything that would inhibit you is done away with it's the thing that makes us fear things is those labels it's those judgments like it's why I like doing croaky you know a lot of the folks that are there if they were to sing that in a nightclub or something in the embarrassing because everyone's got their credit they're comparing evaluating critiquing you know and so they're bears for them over here you can do anything really there's no you see the individual not the judgment that comparison or how good a compared to whatever it's just the individual so what were the first people I saw when it came on money I'll tell you that's real of a layer but I came here this last Monday and walk in and there's a guy who's seeing at kuroky - Sweet Caroline but he's completely nonverbal he doesn't use words and so he's and I think that was his first time at a tap event that was his first time it was history and and rather atonal but he's up there enjoying himself immensely and so everyone else is enjoying it with him at one point I got caught up and doing and I started singing to it and of course you did and so i joining and it was his coat so right now don't compare it to anything just look at this individual what was his name Adam Adam and and it just entered the joy and see the beauty of this see this and I guarantee if you come to a tap event that guy gets the best applause and lines of the night not kidding no it is beautiful it's just the freedom that's there I have yet to go to one of these events where I don't at some point get choked up just the the beauty of the whole thing so my son died I've shared this before my son has a high-functioning autism and and the unique one of the unique things about mine it bought Nathan I've asked for his permission to talk about it and he's given it but he's while he tests out on the spectrum fairly high in some areas he's socially aware which is a rare combination so he's always been aware of how he's different and it's always pained him and in his whole life his whole goal has been to not appear that way to try to be normal so he's never wanted to hang out with people who have got any kind of visible disability he didn't wanted to distance himself from that and so getting him to come into the tap was was really hard I got him to come one time and I'm really comfortable and and I can see such potential if you could ever internalize this he'd get free and and and in January it looked like he was making some progress and see this is a young man who for the last ten years or so has gone he's not making progress he's got such hangs a anxiety he hardly ever goes out of the house he can't hold the job he's just bound by anxiety and and and so it looked like there's some progress going on I was thinking to have a little bit hope that he might actually become part of this but then he backed out of it and I hit a low in January and then my brother here you came along and injected me with a lot of fate I don't know if you remember what you said but you said you've got a what was it crawl slow cross that slow crawl that runs yeah look at the long game anything that you told me story it just encouraged me so much about Paul so gentleman by the name of Paul my good friend Paul I wish he was here this morning actually he suffered from anxiety depression agoraphobia he wouldn't even leave his apartment sometimes not even his own closet we're not talking about a big walk-in closet we're talking about one of those Holloway closets in the old apartments where it's like two feet wide and he's a big gentleman and he tucked himself in there with a TV and and just held up camp in a closet because of the fear and the anxiety that he felt and then he turned to alcoholism he drank he'd used drugs he tried everything to try to ask well that isolation that loneliness and that it was it was killing him it truly was he was drinking a liter of alcohol a day so when we found him we said hey come to the tap you got to do it I kept asking I kept asking slow crawl and finally he came and he was there for 10 minutes and then he had to go got a little panicked and just left came back again though stayed a little longer stayed a little longer then he started expressing himself he got up he talked in front of the the group he also shared his poetry he starts singing karaoke and now he is giving back he started his own Club called better together where he gets friends right on you guys know better together where he gets his friends who are also in recovery and trying to struggle with recovery to to come and just just be together it's not a formal program or anything it's just friends getting together and supporting each other but I got to tell you the the most fantastic story about this is the tap really did and he would tell you this save his life because when he started coming to the tap he was still drinking and he was still you know suffering from this anxiety and at one point he said Dan I got to check into rehab and I took him but he didn't check into rehab he checked into emergency instead he was in renal failure and he nearly died mm-hmm I got a little choked up there sorry just wait a second anyway the tap he would tell you saved his life and it's simple it's just drop the labels drop the judgment loneliness can kill people absolutely so let's change that yeah and labels kill in other ways I mean the labels when you wear them you internalize whatever message they have and they suck the dignity out of people I mean there's many people can't get motivated to do anything because they've told that you are this it gives us lot in that category where I shared last week that there's a gay couple that I counseled in 90s and and if a Christian would have just led going into this thing I know what God thinks about every relationship there is and this is what God thinks about your relationship you would have just killed one of those young ladies because the only thing keeping her alive was this relationship and so the labeling killed all that whereas I mean that's why it it's all part of the thief who comes to kill steal and destroy they would have every gossip column in your brain oh she's a woman look at that but I can't believe what effect you're participating in the enemies the polluting Empire here you know he's the accuser right he's the one who's always got the judgments and all that got nailed across 2,000 years ago it's all old but we just need to lose it you know that we can love a mint the environment there it's the environment that heals it's now I believe there's more going on there something different going on than what Dan believes I think this is Jesus is all over this and I see Jesus doing all sorts of stuff but the fact that I named it that doesn't change the fact that we're doing the same thing and and and it's it's label-free it's about the idea that we're loving on people and we both agree on that yeah that's it and that's the bottom line right and to do that you gotta let go judgment so this last this last week I was a Monday night I was just heading out to go to my son law's house to watch the national basketball championship because that's what guys are supposed to do a national champs do so I guess III do that because I like basketball because I like but because I want to be a man right that's that's my label bar what do you think of that game the other day if that's what you think's gonna work for you Greg I support that oh by the way Dan is making Sherman a sacrifice to be here this morning because the Masters he loves golf iein totally on masters finally rounded him masters is uh today but the rain they had to move it up so you had to give up watching the Masters to be here with us can you believe it and if you were any kind of guy you could put it up on the big screen can you get people a choice you can watch the Masters or watch me does I watched I watched golf once a year so when I'm really having trouble sleeping because it puts me out like that like it just don't try to explain it to them as you did earlier today yeah the double birdie bogey for under whatever that means so the dancer wins the next Friday dance party well the next Friday dance party I believe is a 26th ok Friday the 26th thank you for helping me out and you can find all of our events at your tap org y ou you are ta P dot org and all our events are under an events button and you can just roll right through and we're always here on Monday night so come check and they do plenty that was a Monday night so what do we do dancing there's no rules around this thing at all so it's the environment that heals it's just so free and so I've just got to walk out the door and Nathan crawlers meets his dad let's go to the tab tonight I go really why and he goes I'm bored and I think the Holy Spirit was nudging him because he's he's bored a lot but never suggest going to tap so we go here and and it was just different it was uh immediately like he wants a video room it but before we need to go to the video room he just get on a video game and play by himself but here he was talking with some folks he seemed like he was enjoying it so he's left him alone and I win the game room and and there's a guy there who he's an expert on poker Justin yeah he competes professionally in a poker even though a.m. he's almost legally blind but but he's great he's teaching his poker I sit down there and and there's about eight or nine people there you were there and then Nathan comes in the room and you offered your seat to Nathan so you want to come play poker I thought no in heaven Italy do that I I asked him I might I might be afraid that Freight I'm gonna slip I'm gonna slip so we'll have great sure what well great yeah here's the troop 8's fine I forgive you Christian pastor he the real pagan but so II the Nathan hates card games because he always feels intimidated by them all the rules you know it's hard to learn a card game but he looks her on the table and who else is on the table and if dad can't parts of eight and these other folks well then maybe he can too so he sits down and he has a time of his life it's it was just a blast then he goes over in place football with you and some others for an hour so I just I could see the environment was was shedding the labels off of him it was it was like loving the labels away and they're loving the fear away and the intimidation it was just just that environment is healing and then I was just getting ready to leave and somebody comes to this Greg you got to come back in here you're not gonna believe this and I walk back in the room and Nathan is karaoking with Sam and they're singing Bohemian Rhapsody the easiest song in the world to say oh man no it was just unbelievable a guy who has had this much anxiety you guys fearing going all the houses will write on buses doesn't like to be around people and all he's up there singing in front of people and it was just it's so I got a little video clip of it I was crying behind the screen the whole time but it was just beautiful so I'm gonna show a little clip of this freedom moment in my son's life [Applause] [Music] we don't do that professionally we don't know man thanks for sticking with them uh the freedom the freedom when you get rid of that it's like coming into pure oxygen out of a world this is a full pollution but see that shouldn't just be I mean that's a unique beautiful thing that they need special occasions like this where you do what Jesus said to do in fact you got invited to come and party together and Jesus so often describes heaven as a party doesn't the kingdom of God is a party celebrating a lost coin and all that and so we need that but it also should be our lifestyle and this should be an environment that is like that where is that's where we can put all the expectations labels and stuff out the door and just be the people that we are and love people as they are that folks this is the kingdom this is the bull's eye this is Christianity 101 and cruciate PhD we're called to love and the love you gotta get rid of labels in the judgments and every time if you can wake up to how your chatterbox machine is yapping about people start to wake up to that and and if you let that serve as a post-it note to remind you what your job is it's not to be the judge of the world and good taste on what people wear and no opinions about Holly parent and everything else your job is to agree with God that every person you see was where Jesus dying for which means they have unsurpassable Worth and that's what it is to love them you just bless them you just love them look past everything else and that very act of loving and blessing people that is that will that will transform the world that that's what's going to win in the end that's the cross is the power of God because the cross is this kind of love this is the power of Gothic nothing else can change my son the way that gonna love can nothing can change you the way God's love could or me or you or any of us it's the love that transforms us it's the love that compels us it's a love that is everything in our jobs just a replicated amen amen what would you stand oh I love this brother dude give me a warm Wilton helps thanks again and Thank You Woodland Hills for having us here it really it means a lot to our friends it means a lot to me thank you all right and feel free to join us Monday nights and then on the 26 on Friday as we leave here arts from the end of this prayer Lord free us free us free us free us from the judgments free us from the accuser free us from the gossip in our brain free us to set aside judgments and just to love the way you love like the rain falls like the Sun shines non-stop without an off button helps in love like that as we leave this place to be your ambassadors to be representatives to the world it so desperately needs it in Jesus name and all God's people said well god bless your God

Channel: The Narrow Gate

Views: 4,392

Rating: 4.6734695 out of 5

Keywords: Jesus, Satan, Sin, God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Bible, Christian, The Gospel, Truth, Lord, Salvation, The Word, Preaching, Study, Sermon, The Father, Faith, Hope, Love, Apostle, Disciples, Heaven, Hell, Demons, Angels, Prophets, Saints, The Cross, Calvary, Crucified, Born Again, Scripture, Prophecy, Holy, Justification, Sanctification, Regeneration, Soul, Church, The Blood, Prayer, New Covenant, Grace, Christianity, Martyr, Pastor, Messiah, Savior, Atonement, PRAYER, repent, Greg Boyd

Id: DzgTGhvXsVY

Length: 48min 4sec (2884 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 21 2019