October 27, 2025 • 40 mins
What if the prayer God always answers is the simplest one: “Be merciful to me”? We take a fresh look at Luke 18’s Pharisee and tax collector and discover a bigger, braver reading of mercy—one that refuses the lie of spiritual scorekeeping and invites us to live free from the need to earn love.
We start by slowing down. As the season turns toward longer nights, we trade the tyranny of the clock for the attentiveness of the Spirit. That shift reframes everything: fasting and tithing become practices of humility, not proof of superiority; prayer becomes communion, not performance. From there, we press into the scandal of grace. The Pharisee’s devotion is real. The tax collector’s harm is real. And yet mercy meets both, not because they’ve balanced the ledger, but because love moves first. It’s the same shock in the story of the prodigal and the older brother—offensive generosity that pulls us into a party we didn’t plan.
Forgiveness, though, is not denial. We name harm clearly, leave unsafe spaces, and get help when trauma sticks. A simple practice—letting some memories pass like white lines on the road—teaches us to stop feeding what doesn’t need to define us. When deeper wounds surface, therapy and the Holy Spirit work well together. Throughout, we return to surrender: choosing release over resentment, mercy over contempt, presence over hurry. And we ground it in action—stopping for the small needs in front of us, practicing interruptible love, and training our hearts to be ready to forgive.
If this conversation stirred something in you, share it with a friend, subscribe for more, and leave a review so others can find it. Your words help us spread mercy’s good news.
This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church you can donate at https://www.firstlovechurch.org/giving
In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Welcome to the First Love Church podcast.
This is a collection of Sundayteachings inspired by the
Revised Common Lectionary andrecorded weekly in Ocalo,
Florida.
This is the 20th Sunday ofPentecost.
And what does that mean?
That means, beloved, four weeksuntil Advent.
And so we don't measure the yearby when Advent comes, but some
(00:23):
of us do, me in particular, inthis idea of what are we looking
for?
How do we learn to watch for thethings that are eternal?
How do we learn to pay attentionto the darkness, to embrace it?
This morning we haven't set ourclocks yet.
That's coming.
But you noticed this morningwhen you got up, your alarm
clock went off, and it was darkoutside.
(00:44):
And these things ought not bebeloved.
We should get up when the sungets up.
This is my opinion.
But you just recognize that Iwas thinking about this before
200 years ago, people didn'tnormal, like regular people,
everyday people, didn't havetime pieces.
That was for the wealthy.
And most people measured theirdays based on the shadows.
(01:07):
They didn't constantly look attheir watch, they didn't
constantly have a calendar thatsaid this is it.
They practiced being and beingaware of when the time was
coming.
In fact, the scripture tells usthat we also, as people who are
led by the Spirit, especiallyduring Pentecost, that we pay
attention to the shadows, thatwe pay attention to the things
(01:29):
that are coming.
And this is the work ofPentecost in us.
The things that we'll talk abouttoday, they are big things
because they're things thatJesus talked about, like loving
your neighbor, like loving yourenemies.
And these things require thework of the Holy Spirit in us.
So as the church, we practicewhat does it mean for us to live
as people so fully connected tothe love of God that we stay in
(01:55):
step with the Holy Spirit?
In fact, one of the NewTestament writers says this in
Him or in God, in love, we liveand move and have our being.
Is it possible to stay soconnected to love that you stay
in the presence of God all thetime?
The answer is yes, beloved, butit will take practice.
(02:15):
And so the good news is wepractice together.
The good news is that there ishope for us and that things can
change because love is eternal,beloved, and love is all
powerful.
SPEAKER_00 (02:28):
You know, we uh remind you of uh the 20th week
of Pentecost, uh, really toremind you in this season and
really hopefully all of ourlives, that we would uh give
heed to the Holy Spirit.
Pay attention, learn how tofollow the voice of Spirit,
amen.
This is how we uh can uh existand and uh and thrive and
(02:52):
succeed in this life is islearning to surrender.
So uh hopefully at church, whenwe week after week remind you in
this season that maybe we welearn to train ourselves to to
listen and and be in tune withspirit, amen.
SPEAKER_01 (03:08):
One of the ways that really helps us a practice is
just slowing down, iseliminating hurry from our
lives, is just taking a moment,a deep breath, and asking God,
how do you see this going?
What would you have me do?
How should I look at this?
And we come here to this texttoday in Luke chapter 18, and in
the past couple weeks, we'vebeen hearing a very similar
(03:31):
thread.
And I want to remind you that inLuke's gospel, we're gonna start
with this particular verse,verse 9.
And this is Luke who ispresenting himself as a
narrator.
I remind you that this is longafter Jesus has gone, he has
resurrected and ascended, andpeople have been practicing
(03:51):
together.
And what does it look like forus to be the people who know
that Jesus and the path thatJesus showed us is the ascended
way?
And Luke is writing this downfor us, and so in this
particular parable, he's tellingus look at it this way.
He also told this parable tosome who trusted in themselves
that they were righteous.
(04:12):
Thank you.
Miss Carroll said the right.
That's what Luke wanted us tosay.
That's exactly what the writerhoped that we would say.
Trusted in themselves that theywere righteous and treated
others with contempt.
Now I just want to tell youthis.
I feel like it's a bit of a StarWars thing, but it's a trap,
beloved.
(04:33):
It's a trap.
The next verse is before youstart going, I know which one is
the right one.
Don't do it, don't do it, it's atrap, it's a trap.
And that's the beauty of aparable.
A parable is supposed to makeyou think.
A parable is supposed to stopyou and go, really?
You should tilt your head alittle bit to the side and go, I
didn't think it was like that.
Jesus kept doing this to us andsaid, There's a great unlearning
(04:54):
that you need to do.
You have heard it say, but I sayunto you, you have heard it
said, but this is another way.
You've heard it said, love yourfriends and hate your enemies,
and Jesus said, but I'm saying,do you love your enemies?
And so a parable is for us a uman invitation to rethink
(05:16):
something, to turn it on itshead, to look at something
differently.
And that's again, a parableshould upset us.
The parable of the GoodSamaritan should really like
make our necks bristle.
The parable of the workers whoall get the same wage, even
though some of them have beenworking since the morning.
I mean, that should turn thingson edge for you.
(05:38):
And this is the invitation thatJesus said when he said, I'm
gonna show you a kingdom that ishere that is so beautiful.
But you're gonna have topractice seeing it.
SPEAKER_00 (05:48):
You know, when you look at this verse, uh those
those righteous people thattrusted in their own
righteousness, uh, you're like,oh, who are those bad people?
Uh you know, they're they'realways somebody else.
Uh how do you how do you open upthe consideration that maybe you
you do that in some areas?
Because it's great to come tochurch and hear the message that
(06:10):
somebody else needs to hear.
But since we're here, it mightbe a good idea for us to get
some help ourselves, amen?
Uh and and I think um I thinkkind of the answers right there
in uh uh how you treat otherpeople.
Uh when you have this confidenceof your own righteousness, then
you treat others with contempt.
(06:31):
Look at those other people whoaren't as good as me.
Look at those other people.
What's wrong with them, the waythey vote?
What's wrong with them, the waythey act uh you know, towards uh
other people, their sexualrelationships, and we just judge
with all thisself-righteousness.
And uh, and ooh, that kind ofstarts hitting home, doesn't it?
I wonder, uh, you know, and I Ithink one thing I've experienced
um, and it's the weirdest thing,giving food to homeless people
(06:56):
every time, almost every timeI've ever done it, they say,
Hey, if you have any more food,I know some other people.
unknown (07:04):
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (07:06):
It's a phenomenon.
Because I would think if you hadnothing, you'd be like, Well,
give me all of that.
But they go, they're so gratefulfor what was given, and then
they immediately go, I know someother homeless people.
And they want what mercy hasbeen given to them, they want it
for other people instead of,well, I I earned this from you,
(07:27):
my homeless self earned this,and so now uh and so don't give
it to those other unrighteoushomeless people.
See, they they see themselves ina way of grateful, and it causes
them to spread gratitude.
And and I wonder sometimes if weget caught up in our own
righteous behavior, and you dosome stuff really good,
(07:48):
incidentally.
Congratulations on that.
SPEAKER_01 (07:50):
We thank you.
Please continue.
But don't rest.
There's more, there's more.
SPEAKER_00 (07:54):
That's my my achievement, and look what I've
done, and nobody else can do itagain, and then we start to get
self-righteous, don't we?
Yeah, we can.
And so let's let's uh let's tryto maintain that heart of
understanding what grace hasbeen given to me, and then I I
tend to not pass that judgmenton other people because I'm
(08:15):
myself am forgiven just likethem.
SPEAKER_03 (08:18):
Amen.
SPEAKER_00 (08:18):
Instead of, well, now I got a different deal
because of my, you know, I'm apastor and I I behave really
good.
SPEAKER_01 (08:26):
Everyone together, Lord in your mercy, Christ in
your mercy.
All of us.
And I thank you so much forhighlighting for us.
And a key word that I would askyou to look at is the word
mercy.
It's not really going to be herea whole lot, but you're gonna
see it.
And we have to ask ourselves,who is Jesus really telling us
this story about?
I'm heard this story, I'm sureyou have many, many times.
(08:48):
And I want to remind you thatit's probably not about tax
collectors and Pharisees.
The story tells us somethingabout God that we're really
uncomfortable with.
The story tells us somethingabout the nature of love that
makes us feel very uneasy.
And so I would ask you to openyour heart to allow the Holy
(09:10):
Spirit to re-enchant this sothat you would be able to hear
what Jesus is actually asking usto do.
And Jesus is provoking thismorning.
It's kind of one of the thingsthat Jesus did all the time.
Jesus provoked the status quo.
Jesus, in his radical love andradical hospitality, made people
(09:31):
have to consider and think, whydo I do this?
Why is that what I believe?
And this is what the Holy Spiritis inviting us to do.
Jesus said, two men went up tothe temple to pray, one a
Pharisee and the other a taxcollector.
I want to take just a moment andremind you that these people
went to the temple.
Congratulations for coming thismorning, but I want to tell you
(09:53):
what happens at the temple, atleast in their minds and in
theirs.
People knew who exactly who theywere.
To a Pharisee, he went to thetemple with a lot of confidence.
I know the rules here.
I know how to do this.
I know that when I walk in, Iwill be accepted.
The tax collector comes and healso knows what will be
(10:15):
expected.
He will be shunned, he will belooked at poorly, he will be
judged.
I love about his courage, hestill comes.
I think his courage is not forthe people that are at the
temple, but what the templerepresented.
At least in this story, weunderstand that temple
represented the dwelling placeof God.
And God no longer dwells intemples, he dwells in us.
(10:38):
And so we're mindful that whenpeople are in our presence, it
is our responsibility to makesure that we are not judging,
that we are not saying, I seeand I know exactly who you are.
And this is an invitation,again, for us to look at how we
see things.
Again, this is a trap, beloved.
Don't let anyone tell you youneed to know who the good guy is
in this.
(10:59):
We love to do this, at least ashumans, I find this.
We want to know it all tied upin a bow, who's right and who's
wrong, who's the good guy andwho's the bad guy?
I have to know who to cheer foror who to, you know, passion
turn my life against.
And Jesus is saying, you don'tknow.
You absolutely do not know.
And this is an invitation intomystery, this is an invitation
(11:21):
into wrestling, this is aninvitation into living
differently.
But there are two men who go tothe temple to pray, one a
Pharisee and the other a taxcollector.
And remind you, the taxcollectors were not fair.
They weren't like just paidemployees.
These are people whointentionally took more than
what they should have.
(11:42):
And they were actually workingon behalf of the empire that was
oppressing people.
And these are people that werecruel and they did terrible
things to their own countrymen.
And Jesus is reminding us thatin the Pharisee and in the tax
collector, you don't want to beeither of those people, but we
do want to see what Jesus isoffering.
(12:05):
The Pharisee, standing byhimself, prayed thus.
Or even like this tax collector.
It didn't tell us it was aside-eye, but I think it may
have been.
SPEAKER_00 (12:24):
Oh, it feels like it.
SPEAKER_01 (12:31):
I fast twice a week.
I give tithes of all that I get.
But the tax collector standingafar off would not even lift up
his eyes to the heaven, but beathis breast saying, God, be
merciful to me, a sinner.
(12:52):
So you have these two peoplestanding in the temple praying.
The invitation of prayer iscommunion with God.
And this tax collect, now,before you start judging his
prayers, beloved, he was doingthe things.
I mean, and we would like tojudge and say his prayers have a
lot of I in them.
Look at what I am doing.
Look at what I am doing.
Okay, but there's more.
(13:14):
He's actually doing thosethings.
He is actually fasting twice aweek, which I want to tell you
is far beyond what the Torahinsisted on.
Nowhere in the law does it saythat you have to fast twice a
week.
So this person is saying whatwas asked of me, I do more.
This person was asked.
In fact, this is again veryclose to what Jesus was talking
(13:34):
about when we mentioned thislast week, where he said,
listen, I give tithes, and Jesussaid, Yes, you should do that,
but don't neglect the weightythings like mercy, like justice,
like social equity.
Jesus said, Do those things.
And so again, this man says heprays, this man says he gives,
this man says he fasts.
(13:56):
In Matthew chapter 6, Jesussays, that's what it's gonna
look like if you follow me.
When you pray, when you give,when you fast.
But this man is really saying,hey, and maybe he's being
thankful.
I do not want to judge thisman's prayer, and I recommend
you don't judge it either.
But maybe he's being thankfulfor the fact that I thank you,
that I am in the position that Ican fast.
(14:19):
You know, you have to have foodin order to choose a fast.
Otherwise, it's called famine.
A fast means that you havesomething that you are giving
up, and so maybe he's just beinggrateful for that.
But the tax collector is on theside and it says that he can't
even lift his head and all heasks for is mercy.
(14:41):
Will you be merciful to me?
I remind you, this is the prayerGod always answers: mercy.
And Jesus is showing somethingto us, not just about praying,
not just about being, but he'sshowing us who God is and what
love really looks like.
SPEAKER_00 (14:58):
You know, uh Heather and I both have a testimony uh
how we came to know Christ, andand but there could not be more
opposite.
My testimony is uh that I hadfiddled around with with drugs
and alcohol and and my rock androll lifestyle and all this, and
and then cut coming to my early20s, I came to the end of myself
(15:21):
and found myself in a church andrepented and and asked for
grace.
Uh and God has been uhtransforming me uh what seems
very slowly uh since then, butconsistently, as I will
surrender in really the slow inhere, uh we we get who that is.
Uh but but Heather's testimony,as as would be, you know, her
(15:42):
hers to share, but I will justsay, you know, born again at
four, filled with the Holy Ghostat six, no, none of those wicked
things ever touching her lips.
She has followed the Lord allthe days of her life, and some
people like my testimony betterbecause it's got juicy details.
But isn't it a greater testimonyto have never fallen in that
(16:07):
place?
But both of us are are atextremes, and this story, two
people are at extremes.
And so sometimes I I think thechurch gets the idea it's just
all about just being theprodigal son.
But actually, the older brotherhas a better testimony, he never
left the father.
But the older brother still hasto be careful, even in that
place, to stay conscious ofwhat's going on.
(16:33):
One of my favorite verses in thewhole world is, oh, you foolish
Galatians who has bewitched you.
That you would start off in thespirit and end up in the flesh.
That's my favorite verse becauseI think, wow, I really am, you
know, I started way back there,you know, with all that
foolishness, and I've come tothe Lord, but but what if I get
lulled to sleep?
(16:54):
What and and that's what thisguy he's doing the right thing,
but but maybe he's I believe Ibelieve he's lost that touch
with mercy, and then we weattribute it always to the one
who is who is the the most ofsinner.
But for us, those are extremes.
You understand we're supposed tolive in a place of grace where
we are aware of our need for it,and we don't have to be in
(17:16):
either one of those ditches.
You actually can drive on theroad.
It's much easier to stay out ofthat place, amen.
SPEAKER_01 (17:23):
Amen.
I love that you brought to ourremembrance the older brother in
the story that Jesus tells againof a merciful God, of a father.
The story is not the story ofsons, it is the story of a
father who is willing, who isalways ready to bring us home.
And the father sees the son, theone who has gone off.
(17:44):
I like the there's we lovedifferent verses for different
reasons, but there's one partwhere it tells the story of the
son who has taken his things andgone off to a far country, he
finds himself in famine, he'seating out of the pig's bowl,
and it says that he came tohimself.
And sometimes it takes a longtime for us to come back to
ourselves.
Wait a second, wait a second, Ido not belong here eating pig
(18:07):
slop.
I have a father, I have a home,I have a place where I belong.
And it says that he comes backto himself and he says, I will
arise and I will go to myfather, and I will tell my
father.
And he starts this prayer thateverybody knew.
And this is the prayer that thepeople that were in leadership
taught him to pray.
Uh, I have sinned against you,and I have sinned against God,
(18:30):
and I am no longer worthy to becalled your son.
And he goes out, he's he's goingto just like really tell how sad
he is and and how much he's donewrong.
And it says that while he wasspeaking, the father threw his
arms around him, doesn't Ilisten to this, and threw a coat
over him.
You are mine.
And then he comes back in and hehas the big party, and the
brother's still in the field.
Because he's been there thewhole time.
SPEAKER_00 (18:51):
Doing the right thing.
SPEAKER_01 (18:52):
And the father comes out and says, Come into the joy.
Oh, come in and celebrate withus.
Your your brother that was deadis now alive.
And I think for many of us, weneed to hear the word of the
Lord, come in and celebrate.
Oh, the person who forgot whothey were is now coming back to
themselves.
Let's have the music and let'scome into joy.
(19:18):
The parable that Jesus tells inthat story, we don't ever know
if he goes in.
I would like to know if he wentin.
I hope he did.
I hope I do.
I hope I will go into the party.
I hope I will go into the joy,into the celebration of that
which is lost that is now found.
But Jesus is telling us, listen,I want you to know about mercy.
It's so much bigger than youcould even imagine.
(19:39):
We pause here for a moment tothank you for joining us today.
If you're finding this episodemeaningful, would you take a
moment to share it with afriend?
This podcast is made possiblethanks to the generosity of
people just like you.
If you would like to support theongoing work of First Love
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(20:01):
firstlovechurch.org, remindingyou to like, follow, and
subscribe.
SPEAKER_00 (20:06):
Sometimes for us, God does some real offensive
things.
SPEAKER_01 (20:10):
If we're paying attention.
Yeah, if we're paying attention,it should be really offensive.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (20:15):
And and uh and it's and it's not fair.
SPEAKER_01 (20:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (20:18):
And and I and I think we we got a fair idea.
Everything should be fair.
One time we we had this friend'sand she found this perfect
present for one of her kids at aat a discount store.
And it was like what the kid hadwanted for the longest time, and
it was super cheap.
And so she went around thatwhole store for like an hour
trying to find three morepresents because she had four
(20:38):
daughters.
And when she couldn't find thatpresent enough for the others,
she put it back.
And Heather was like, Well,because they were they're both
young moms at that time.
She goes, Well, why wouldn't youbuy it?
That's what she wants.
She goes, Well, if I broughtthat home, there'd be fighting,
it wouldn't be fair.
And and we thought, well, that'dbe a great lesson for the girls
to learn, you know, some yourejoice with those that rejoice,
(21:00):
you know, and be that getblessed.
But but we have this wired inus, sometimes as parents, and
then definitely we we think,well, then that's how God should
be, God should be fair.
And we can get really offendedat God.
Because do you realize thatbrother in the story, he spent
half of the stuff, and now whenhe comes back, the the older
brother's got to split now hisstuff that was gonna be his with
(21:23):
this guy, who this freeloaderwho spent it all, you know?
That's not fair.
You know, he should get someconsequence for behaving.
I've been behaving good thewhole time.
Where's my reward?
What's you know, and and God'strying to say, no, there is a
reward, there's plenty.
Come in, but our offense keepsus.
That's the question, and that'sreally the lesson of the story
(21:43):
for those of you that findyourself, and I think that in
our lifetime we're gonna findourselves many times in both of
those ditches.
SPEAKER_01 (21:50):
Yes.
Sometimes we're the prodigal,sometimes we're the older
brother.
SPEAKER_00 (21:53):
Right?
SPEAKER_01 (21:54):
Sometimes we're the fair sea, and sometimes we're
the text coming.
SPEAKER_00 (22:04):
When you judge yourself as doing so good.
Right?
I I don't I don't need gracenow.
I need a pat on the back.
I need some rewards.
Give me the lottery numbers.
Do you know?
I'm righteous, I'll do good withthat money.
You know, reward me.
And so it's so easy to beoffended at God.
SPEAKER_01 (22:24):
And this is one of the reasons why Jesus told us I
want to tell you that God is theone who gives rain to the just
and the unjust.
The sun shines on the just andthe unjust.
The abundance is for everyone.
A tax collector standing afaroff would not even lift his eyes
(22:45):
to heaven, but beat his breastsaying, God, be merciful to me,
a sinner.
The next verse is offensive.
I just want you to know, like,steal yourself up for it.
SPEAKER_00 (22:55):
In advance, reward.
SPEAKER_01 (22:57):
I tell you, this man went to his house justified.
Because let me tell you how Icould let me just explain to you
an error that we could all make.
This man prayed and said, Bemerciful to me, but he didn't
say, I will make restitution.
I will stop doing what I amgoing to do.
He didn't say, I'm giving up,tax collector.
(23:20):
He just said, be merciful to me.
Sounds a lot like the man who'son the cross next to Jesus.
When you go to paradise,remember me.
Very often we would like to seesome kind of contrition, some
kind of change before we wouldgive a mercy.
And Jesus is telling us aboutGod who gives mercy freely to
(23:41):
all.
You ask for it, you get it.
Now there's another part of thestory.
There's a tax collector that'scoming up.
You know this one, Zacchaeus.
You you know the story, and weall know that he was short.
I don't know why, but we do.
We we are aware of that.
Maybe his brother told the storyand he was taller.
For whatever reason, weunderstand that he's a short
guy.
I maybe he would rather tell thestory differently.
Maybe he had like a great beardor something.
I don't know.
Yeah, you don't have to leadwith this short.
(24:02):
We don't have to lead with thisvery short man.
But but Zacchaeus is also a taxcollector, and he's also been
listening to Jesus.
He's also been a man of cruelty,he's been a man who's taken
what's not his, he's been aterrible person from his own way
of seeing things.
And Jesus comes to his house.
Jesus, who is radical in hishospitality, comes to his house.
(24:24):
And when in the presence ofJesus, he said, Oh, I will stop
doing what is wrong.
I will give back everything I'vestolen and give more than that.
I will change.
I am doing a 180.
And Jesus says, This daysalvation has entered your
house.
Like that makes sense to us.
Okay, he's changed.
Salvation has entered the house.
(24:44):
Jesus is saying here in thisparticular parable, that man
left justified.
Now, this is an interesting partof the scripture.
It says rather than the other,but that's not what the original
language says.
A lot of times we have things inour ideas, like there are
reasons why we would say ratherthan the other.
Perhaps the person was justtrying to help us make uh an
(25:08):
idea or a connotation.
It doesn't say that.
It says in the original text, itsays, I tell you this, the man
went to his house justifiedalong with the other.
They were both justified.
Not because of what they know,it should startle you.
They were both justified.
And Jesus was saying, it's notbecause of what they did, it's
(25:29):
because of the mercy of God.
It's not because of all theylearned, it's the mercy of God.
And so I tell you this (25:36):
those people left justified.
They left mercy given to them.
And then Jesus says, foreveryone who exalts himself will
be humbled, but the one whohumbles himself will be exalted.
We see this.
Jesus is telling us this parableand reminding of this.
(25:59):
The first person, the Phariseethat has given us this this
promise of humbling yourself.
Jesus says, Everyone who exaltshimself will be humbled, but the
one who humbles himself will beexalted.
Fasting is a way of humblingyourself.
It's a a just since the verybeginning, it's a practice of
humility.
It's a practice of recognizing Icould, but I refrain from in
(26:21):
solidarity with others and inway of penance.
Tithing is a humbleness.
It is a recognition of sayingall that I have is from God.
And so I return some to God sothat other people can also be
cared for.
And so there are these practicesof humility.
For we see the practice ofhumility in the tax collector
(26:43):
who doesn't even lift his eyesbut says, Mercy, mercy, have
mercy on me.
SPEAKER_00 (26:50):
You know, Heather, a minute ago, you were talking
about, you know, that idea offorgiving and being for
forgiveness and then that wholeor holding on to it or holding
on holding the grudge orholding.
And uh, you know, when it comesto our forgiveness, we want
that, you know, we we want itright away.
(27:11):
And and uh, but I wonder if yourealize maybe how much in our
families of origin we we havebeen trained to like wait for
the penance or wait for todistract some kind of blood or
pound of flesh, some somethingthat's owed, you know?
And so when you see this, it'sstartling that God isn't waiting
(27:35):
for the pound of flesh from theone that they both leave
justified, that just it doesn'tcompute.
And and I tell you that that uhuh how how you might think to
yourself, well, Pastor Dennis,this doesn't apply to me, you're
you're off on this one.
Uh how much of the time whensomebody wrongs you, do you
(27:57):
maybe not even consciouslythink, well, I'm gonna stay mad
at them for a little while?
Or even when they say you'resorry, I don't know if I'm gonna
forgive you right away, and thenwe wait and we and we dolve out
this forgiveness as we judge.
Maybe they've said sorry goodenough or long enough.
Does anyone know what I'mtalking about?
(28:19):
Because it's I think it's soprevalent, you know, and maybe
you don't even realize you'redoing it, you know?
And and can we just be ready toforgive?
What, you know, even when theperson didn't ask for it.
I just want to be graceful overthat person, and I can live in
that place of grace, because ifI can't extend it, I won't, I
(28:39):
won't walk in it for myself.
Not that God isn't bringing itto me, but you understand that
that it's you you've justtrained yourself that that's not
how it works.
And so when you train yourselfthat's not how it works, you
don't live in it.
But if you could train yourselfto just stop holding, you know,
I I remember being a little kid,and my brother would tease me
for a little while, then he'dsay he was sorry.
(29:00):
I'm still mad at you.
And he'd go, come on.
And he'd be poking, you know,stay mad.
And he'd poke, and pretty soon,I'd laughed.
You know, did you ever do thatwhen you were a kid?
And you're like, you tried sohard to be mad.
And then we take that into adultlife, and maybe we don't do
that, but we'd still do thething, I don't know if I'm gonna
forgive you for that.
(29:21):
I don't know, I think that'scrossed the line, and I'm just
and I've decided grace can't goto you.
And so then I begin to practicethe idea grace is limited, and
so we wealth we dole it out invery small portions, and so it
comes back to us as we'vemeasured it out.
(29:42):
What?
That's good preaching.
What if we decided?
I'll be I'll say it if theydon't.
That's good preaching.
Good job, Pastor D.
SPEAKER_01 (29:55):
It sounds a lot like it sounds a lot like the prayer
that Jesus taught us to pray.
Yes, it does.
Forgive us our sins as we havebeen forgiven.
Forgive those who sin againstus.
Just forgive them.
It doesn't mean to stay inharm's way.
It doesn't mean to stay in anabusive relationship.
(30:15):
In fact, you should leave ifyou're in an abusive
relationship.
But you can forgive.
You absolutely can forgive.
You can declare that what hashappened to you is not your
identity.
That's what forgiveness is.
The way you have wronged me,that is not who I am.
Who I am is beloved.
Who I am is a child of God.
(30:36):
Who I am is one with you, whichis terribly hard to say when
that person has wronged you.
SPEAKER_00 (30:44):
Can we go ahead and talk about this?
Because Heather and I have beendoing this thing for a couple
weeks now, and it has beenlife-changing.
Because do you know how you canthink back at some trauma and
some abuses that you've had, andwhen you share them with
somebody else, the same emotioncomes back to you, and they
just, and whether you like it ornot, it's shaped your identity
(31:07):
for good, but mostly for bad.
You know?
But yet we've had millions ofexperiences.
Even today, you've had thousandsand thousands of experiences in
the seconds and moments that thestates have.
But none of those have shapedyou.
You've allowed certain ones toshape you by your choice of not
(31:31):
releasing it.
That's better preaching youramen.
SPEAKER_01 (31:35):
They're thinking about it.
Heather and I've been sayingthis.
SPEAKER_00 (31:38):
Heather's been saying this that when we're
driving down the road, we'vedriven past a million white
lines.
SPEAKER_01 (31:46):
And you have two.
SPEAKER_00 (31:48):
But not one of those I'm hanging on to.
Not one of those moments am Iallowing to define me.
And allowing those moments,because there's been so many
moments in your life, youalready know how to do this.
They don't define me.
They don't affect me.
They're white lines on the road.
I drove past them.
(32:08):
I give them no power.
I give them no cause.
I refuse to let them make meangry because they control me
and tell me where I can andcannot drive.
I refuse to let them fence me inand hold me back.
They're white lines and I justdon't care.
I release it.
What if I could live in thatplace?
(32:32):
Now, am I saying this is easy?
Because I have trauma, I havehurts, I have pain in my life,
but I recognize that's wheregrace stops.
Where I refuse to let it go andI hang on to it.
But but God has said that I cangive it to God.
(32:52):
I can release it.
I can be healed of the yeah, butif I release that person and I
forgive them, they go scot-free.
No, I'm the older brother.
I want justice for this.
But yet I want complete andtotal grace for myself.
Now I'm not saying that when yourelease those people that have
harmed you, all of a sudden Godreleases them.
(33:14):
I'm sure there's there's somereckoning, there's all that
stuff, you know, they still havetheir deal stuff to deal with.
But I am convinced that youhanging on to it doesn't help
you and doesn't hurt them.
I'm convinced that if I couldlook, and and it's so, and if
you say to yourself, well, Idon't know what what you're
talking about, I don't knowwhere.
(33:35):
Give yourself a couple minutes,a couple days, and all of a
sudden you're gonna startgetting heated about something,
and you're gonna remembersomething, it's gonna be a sick
pit in your stomach.
And then you're gonna hear thechubby guy's words.
Oh, there it is.
I won't let it be a white line,I let it be a stumbling block.
I'm tripping over that paintedline on the road.
(33:59):
It's not bigger than you, it'snot defining you.
God has said who you are.
You're loved, you're redeemed,you're the righteousness of God
in Christ Jesus.
You're whole, you're lackingnothing.
Yabat.
SPEAKER_01 (34:18):
And if the parable is doing its job, it should be
making you uncomfortable.
Mercy for everyone?
Yes.
Sometimes letting go orforgiving someone is very
different than having to dealwith the pain of what happened
to you.
There is a difference betweenforgiveness and dealing with the
aftermath of somebody else'schoices.
Beloved, get a good therapist.
(34:41):
Seriously.
Bring the Holy Spirit into it,but get someone that you can
work through some things with.
Jesus and therapists are oftenvery good combinations.
unknown (34:53):
Amen.
SPEAKER_01 (34:53):
The invitation is into forgiveness, not into
denial of the pain.
It's into alignment with theeternal, alignment of things
that are true, alignment ofthings that have power.
Beloved love is the power thatchanges everything that changes
us.
And Jesus is telling us here: listen, this is who God is, (35:10):
undefined
merciful, merciful beyondmeasure, merciful beyond what we
would think that person shouldget.
And this is the hope for all ofus.
Everyone who exalts himself willbe humbled, but the one who
humbles himself will be exalted.
(35:31):
Jesus is saying to us, apractice in humility is
recognizing that we are to bepeople of mercy, that we are to
do works of mercy, that we areto be people who allow in our
minds mercy and mercy forourselves.
Because sometimes the peoplethat we are hardest against are
our own self.
(35:51):
I knew better, I should have.
And to be able to receive thekind of mercy that Jesus is
telling us is available, you arejustified.
How?
Because, beloved, it's allJesus' work anyway.
The reason any of us get anygood thing is because God has
already given it to us.
He loves us.
(36:12):
We are loved by God.
The whole world is loved by God.
I remind you, this is not myidea.
John chapter 3, verse 16.
Perhaps you've heard it.
For God so loved the world, thewhole thing, including the
cosmos, including the nature,including the animals.
(36:33):
My beloved friend Caroline was alittle late this morning.
She sent a text.
I'm on my way.
But there was a dog.
Okay.
We all know how that story goes,right?
I had a plan, and then there wasa dog.
A dog who needed me.
(36:54):
A dog, why did he need Caroline?
Because she was aware.
Jesus shows up to us in allkinds of ways.
In the people that we do not seehim in.
Jesus in distressing disguise.
So she stopped and got it waterand took care of it.
Sometimes that is what we arecalled to do in order to be the
(37:16):
people that God has us to be.
Sometimes we take care of thingsthat we had no plan to take care
of.
We hear someone else's pain, andnow all of a sudden we are
making needs met.
We see someone that has need,and now we are looking around
going, where is the mercy here?
How can I be a part of it?
But Jesus is asking us to changeour minds about God, who God is,
(37:41):
and who God will be merciful to.
SPEAKER_00 (37:44):
You know, this whole thing about changing your mind
is allowing God to do something.
I think the greatest thing, uh,and I'm on this, I've been on
this for a while.
I think the greatest thing aboutbeing a human being is our
ability to change our minds.
You know, to really just likechange your nature, you know
what I mean?
From this is how we used to be,this is my family of origin, but
God is doing something in mylife, you know, and I'm allowing
(38:07):
it.
And so we've talked about someserious things like some trauma
uh uh life-defining things, andthen I'm suggesting that you
release those, you know, and andso, you know, I I heard Carol uh
cry out, just Jesus, you know.
And absolutely in ourrelationship, and Heather's
being very practical sayingsometimes there's things where
(38:27):
you might need to talk tosomebody, you know, and so I'm
not belittling it, you know, andit's not belittling it to say
just let Jesus fix it.
Because, you know, my practicelately has really been when I
need to talk to somebody, I do.
But there's times when when whenthose trauma memories and stuff
(38:47):
come, instead of me goingthrough it and and walking down
that place of anger, I'm saying,I'm saying, Jesus, you know,
Spirit of God, help me let thispass through me.
Because it the thought comes andthen it sticks, and then it, and
then I begin to dwell and thinkabout and or be or or let myself
(39:10):
feel those swing emotions.
And so I'm approaching that inmy own quiet time, because I
don't have to book a therapyappointment every time, that
that God has equipped me withthe Holy Spirit.
But like I say, sometimes youmight be stuck, and something
might be so traumatic and so soabusive.
You need you need help withthat.
But I but I do tell you that Godis the way.
(39:32):
Jesus is the answer, and so soeither you're gonna find a godly
therapist who's gonna help youconnect those dots with Christ,
and you're gonna walk in thatfreedom.
But I also remind you that thatsometimes you don't have to
figure it out.
Because I I don't know, I justknow how I've been dealing with
it, and it's and that andbecause of that, it's not
changing.
And so I'll just I'll justsimply say with the Holy Spirit,
(39:55):
help, help this pass through me.
And without my mind trying torace through and my ego trying
to figure or build new walls orbarriers or all this, I just
simply let the Holy Spirit uh,and I guess for me it's really a
place of surrendering to Spiritgoing, I know you're at work,
giving opportunity.
And I find that there's an easeas that begins to pass.
SPEAKER_01 (40:18):
We hope you've enjoyed this week's sermon.
If you would like moreinformation about us, visit us
online at firstlovechurch.org.
Welcome to the First Love Church podcast.
This is a collection of Sundayteachings inspired by the
Revised Common Lectionary andrecorded weekly in Ocalo,
Florida.
This is the 20th Sunday ofPentecost.
And what does that mean?
That means, beloved, four weeksuntil Advent.
And so we don't measure the yearby when Advent comes, but some
(00:23):
of us do, me in particular, inthis idea of what are we looking
for?
How do we learn to watch for thethings that are eternal?
How do we learn to pay attentionto the darkness, to embrace it?
This morning we haven't set ourclocks yet.
That's coming.
But you noticed this morningwhen you got up, your alarm
clock went off, and it was darkoutside.
(00:44):
And these things ought not bebeloved.
We should get up when the sungets up.
This is my opinion.
But you just recognize that Iwas thinking about this before
200 years ago, people didn'tnormal, like regular people,
everyday people, didn't havetime pieces.
That was for the wealthy.
And most people measured theirdays based on the shadows.
(01:07):
They didn't constantly look attheir watch, they didn't
constantly have a calendar thatsaid this is it.
They practiced being and beingaware of when the time was
coming.
In fact, the scripture tells usthat we also, as people who are
led by the Spirit, especiallyduring Pentecost, that we pay
attention to the shadows, thatwe pay attention to the things
(01:29):
that are coming.
And this is the work ofPentecost in us.
The things that we'll talk abouttoday, they are big things
because they're things thatJesus talked about, like loving
your neighbor, like loving yourenemies.
And these things require thework of the Holy Spirit in us.
So as the church, we practicewhat does it mean for us to live
as people so fully connected tothe love of God that we stay in
(01:55):
step with the Holy Spirit?
In fact, one of the NewTestament writers says this in
Him or in God, in love, we liveand move and have our being.
Is it possible to stay soconnected to love that you stay
in the presence of God all thetime?
The answer is yes, beloved, butit will take practice.
(02:15):
And so the good news is wepractice together.
The good news is that there ishope for us and that things can
change because love is eternal,beloved, and love is all
powerful.
SPEAKER_00 (02:28):
You know, we uh remind you of uh the 20th week
of Pentecost, uh, really toremind you in this season and
really hopefully all of ourlives, that we would uh give
heed to the Holy Spirit.
Pay attention, learn how tofollow the voice of Spirit,
amen.
This is how we uh can uh existand and uh and thrive and
(02:52):
succeed in this life is islearning to surrender.
So uh hopefully at church, whenwe week after week remind you in
this season that maybe we welearn to train ourselves to to
listen and and be in tune withspirit, amen.
SPEAKER_01 (03:08):
One of the ways that really helps us a practice is
just slowing down, iseliminating hurry from our
lives, is just taking a moment,a deep breath, and asking God,
how do you see this going?
What would you have me do?
How should I look at this?
And we come here to this texttoday in Luke chapter 18, and in
the past couple weeks, we'vebeen hearing a very similar
(03:31):
thread.
And I want to remind you that inLuke's gospel, we're gonna start
with this particular verse,verse 9.
And this is Luke who ispresenting himself as a
narrator.
I remind you that this is longafter Jesus has gone, he has
resurrected and ascended, andpeople have been practicing
(03:51):
together.
And what does it look like forus to be the people who know
that Jesus and the path thatJesus showed us is the ascended
way?
And Luke is writing this downfor us, and so in this
particular parable, he's tellingus look at it this way.
He also told this parable tosome who trusted in themselves
that they were righteous.
(04:12):
Thank you.
Miss Carroll said the right.
That's what Luke wanted us tosay.
That's exactly what the writerhoped that we would say.
Trusted in themselves that theywere righteous and treated
others with contempt.
Now I just want to tell youthis.
I feel like it's a bit of a StarWars thing, but it's a trap,
beloved.
(04:33):
It's a trap.
The next verse is before youstart going, I know which one is
the right one.
Don't do it, don't do it, it's atrap, it's a trap.
And that's the beauty of aparable.
A parable is supposed to makeyou think.
A parable is supposed to stopyou and go, really?
You should tilt your head alittle bit to the side and go, I
didn't think it was like that.
Jesus kept doing this to us andsaid, There's a great unlearning
(04:54):
that you need to do.
You have heard it say, but I sayunto you, you have heard it
said, but this is another way.
You've heard it said, love yourfriends and hate your enemies,
and Jesus said, but I'm saying,do you love your enemies?
And so a parable is for us a uman invitation to rethink
(05:16):
something, to turn it on itshead, to look at something
differently.
And that's again, a parableshould upset us.
The parable of the GoodSamaritan should really like
make our necks bristle.
The parable of the workers whoall get the same wage, even
though some of them have beenworking since the morning.
I mean, that should turn thingson edge for you.
(05:38):
And this is the invitation thatJesus said when he said, I'm
gonna show you a kingdom that ishere that is so beautiful.
But you're gonna have topractice seeing it.
SPEAKER_00 (05:48):
You know, when you look at this verse, uh those
those righteous people thattrusted in their own
righteousness, uh, you're like,oh, who are those bad people?
Uh you know, they're they'realways somebody else.
Uh how do you how do you open upthe consideration that maybe you
you do that in some areas?
Because it's great to come tochurch and hear the message that
(06:10):
somebody else needs to hear.
But since we're here, it mightbe a good idea for us to get
some help ourselves, amen?
Uh and and I think um I thinkkind of the answers right there
in uh uh how you treat otherpeople.
Uh when you have this confidenceof your own righteousness, then
you treat others with contempt.
(06:31):
Look at those other people whoaren't as good as me.
Look at those other people.
What's wrong with them, the waythey vote?
What's wrong with them, the waythey act uh you know, towards uh
other people, their sexualrelationships, and we just judge
with all thisself-righteousness.
And uh, and ooh, that kind ofstarts hitting home, doesn't it?
I wonder, uh, you know, and I Ithink one thing I've experienced
um, and it's the weirdest thing,giving food to homeless people
(06:56):
every time, almost every timeI've ever done it, they say,
Hey, if you have any more food,I know some other people.
unknown (07:04):
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (07:06):
It's a phenomenon.
Because I would think if you hadnothing, you'd be like, Well,
give me all of that.
But they go, they're so gratefulfor what was given, and then
they immediately go, I know someother homeless people.
And they want what mercy hasbeen given to them, they want it
for other people instead of,well, I I earned this from you,
(07:27):
my homeless self earned this,and so now uh and so don't give
it to those other unrighteoushomeless people.
See, they they see themselves ina way of grateful, and it causes
them to spread gratitude.
And and I wonder sometimes if weget caught up in our own
righteous behavior, and you dosome stuff really good,
(07:48):
incidentally.
Congratulations on that.
SPEAKER_01 (07:50):
We thank you.
Please continue.
But don't rest.
There's more, there's more.
SPEAKER_00 (07:54):
That's my my achievement, and look what I've
done, and nobody else can do itagain, and then we start to get
self-righteous, don't we?
Yeah, we can.
And so let's let's uh let's tryto maintain that heart of
understanding what grace hasbeen given to me, and then I I
tend to not pass that judgmenton other people because I'm
(08:15):
myself am forgiven just likethem.
SPEAKER_03 (08:18):
Amen.
SPEAKER_00 (08:18):
Instead of, well, now I got a different deal
because of my, you know, I'm apastor and I I behave really
good.
SPEAKER_01 (08:26):
Everyone together, Lord in your mercy, Christ in
your mercy.
All of us.
And I thank you so much forhighlighting for us.
And a key word that I would askyou to look at is the word
mercy.
It's not really going to be herea whole lot, but you're gonna
see it.
And we have to ask ourselves,who is Jesus really telling us
this story about?
I'm heard this story, I'm sureyou have many, many times.
(08:48):
And I want to remind you thatit's probably not about tax
collectors and Pharisees.
The story tells us somethingabout God that we're really
uncomfortable with.
The story tells us somethingabout the nature of love that
makes us feel very uneasy.
And so I would ask you to openyour heart to allow the Holy
(09:10):
Spirit to re-enchant this sothat you would be able to hear
what Jesus is actually asking usto do.
And Jesus is provoking thismorning.
It's kind of one of the thingsthat Jesus did all the time.
Jesus provoked the status quo.
Jesus, in his radical love andradical hospitality, made people
(09:31):
have to consider and think, whydo I do this?
Why is that what I believe?
And this is what the Holy Spiritis inviting us to do.
Jesus said, two men went up tothe temple to pray, one a
Pharisee and the other a taxcollector.
I want to take just a moment andremind you that these people
went to the temple.
Congratulations for coming thismorning, but I want to tell you
(09:53):
what happens at the temple, atleast in their minds and in
theirs.
People knew who exactly who theywere.
To a Pharisee, he went to thetemple with a lot of confidence.
I know the rules here.
I know how to do this.
I know that when I walk in, Iwill be accepted.
The tax collector comes and healso knows what will be
(10:15):
expected.
He will be shunned, he will belooked at poorly, he will be
judged.
I love about his courage, hestill comes.
I think his courage is not forthe people that are at the
temple, but what the templerepresented.
At least in this story, weunderstand that temple
represented the dwelling placeof God.
And God no longer dwells intemples, he dwells in us.
(10:38):
And so we're mindful that whenpeople are in our presence, it
is our responsibility to makesure that we are not judging,
that we are not saying, I seeand I know exactly who you are.
And this is an invitation,again, for us to look at how we
see things.
Again, this is a trap, beloved.
Don't let anyone tell you youneed to know who the good guy is
in this.
(10:59):
We love to do this, at least ashumans, I find this.
We want to know it all tied upin a bow, who's right and who's
wrong, who's the good guy andwho's the bad guy?
I have to know who to cheer foror who to, you know, passion
turn my life against.
And Jesus is saying, you don'tknow.
You absolutely do not know.
And this is an invitation intomystery, this is an invitation
(11:21):
into wrestling, this is aninvitation into living
differently.
But there are two men who go tothe temple to pray, one a
Pharisee and the other a taxcollector.
And remind you, the taxcollectors were not fair.
They weren't like just paidemployees.
These are people whointentionally took more than
what they should have.
(11:42):
And they were actually workingon behalf of the empire that was
oppressing people.
And these are people that werecruel and they did terrible
things to their own countrymen.
And Jesus is reminding us thatin the Pharisee and in the tax
collector, you don't want to beeither of those people, but we
do want to see what Jesus isoffering.
(12:05):
The Pharisee, standing byhimself, prayed thus.
Or even like this tax collector.
It didn't tell us it was aside-eye, but I think it may
have been.
SPEAKER_00 (12:24):
Oh, it feels like it.
SPEAKER_01 (12:31):
I fast twice a week.
I give tithes of all that I get.
But the tax collector standingafar off would not even lift up
his eyes to the heaven, but beathis breast saying, God, be
merciful to me, a sinner.
(12:52):
So you have these two peoplestanding in the temple praying.
The invitation of prayer iscommunion with God.
And this tax collect, now,before you start judging his
prayers, beloved, he was doingthe things.
I mean, and we would like tojudge and say his prayers have a
lot of I in them.
Look at what I am doing.
Look at what I am doing.
Okay, but there's more.
(13:14):
He's actually doing thosethings.
He is actually fasting twice aweek, which I want to tell you
is far beyond what the Torahinsisted on.
Nowhere in the law does it saythat you have to fast twice a
week.
So this person is saying whatwas asked of me, I do more.
This person was asked.
In fact, this is again veryclose to what Jesus was talking
(13:34):
about when we mentioned thislast week, where he said,
listen, I give tithes, and Jesussaid, Yes, you should do that,
but don't neglect the weightythings like mercy, like justice,
like social equity.
Jesus said, Do those things.
And so again, this man says heprays, this man says he gives,
this man says he fasts.
(13:56):
In Matthew chapter 6, Jesussays, that's what it's gonna
look like if you follow me.
When you pray, when you give,when you fast.
But this man is really saying,hey, and maybe he's being
thankful.
I do not want to judge thisman's prayer, and I recommend
you don't judge it either.
But maybe he's being thankfulfor the fact that I thank you,
that I am in the position that Ican fast.
(14:19):
You know, you have to have foodin order to choose a fast.
Otherwise, it's called famine.
A fast means that you havesomething that you are giving
up, and so maybe he's just beinggrateful for that.
But the tax collector is on theside and it says that he can't
even lift his head and all heasks for is mercy.
(14:41):
Will you be merciful to me?
I remind you, this is the prayerGod always answers: mercy.
And Jesus is showing somethingto us, not just about praying,
not just about being, but he'sshowing us who God is and what
love really looks like.
SPEAKER_00 (14:58):
You know, uh Heather and I both have a testimony uh
how we came to know Christ, andand but there could not be more
opposite.
My testimony is uh that I hadfiddled around with with drugs
and alcohol and and my rock androll lifestyle and all this, and
and then cut coming to my early20s, I came to the end of myself
(15:21):
and found myself in a church andrepented and and asked for
grace.
Uh and God has been uhtransforming me uh what seems
very slowly uh since then, butconsistently, as I will
surrender in really the slow inhere, uh we we get who that is.
Uh but but Heather's testimony,as as would be, you know, her
(15:42):
hers to share, but I will justsay, you know, born again at
four, filled with the Holy Ghostat six, no, none of those wicked
things ever touching her lips.
She has followed the Lord allthe days of her life, and some
people like my testimony betterbecause it's got juicy details.
But isn't it a greater testimonyto have never fallen in that
(16:07):
place?
But both of us are are atextremes, and this story, two
people are at extremes.
And so sometimes I I think thechurch gets the idea it's just
all about just being theprodigal son.
But actually, the older brotherhas a better testimony, he never
left the father.
But the older brother still hasto be careful, even in that
place, to stay conscious ofwhat's going on.
(16:33):
One of my favorite verses in thewhole world is, oh, you foolish
Galatians who has bewitched you.
That you would start off in thespirit and end up in the flesh.
That's my favorite verse becauseI think, wow, I really am, you
know, I started way back there,you know, with all that
foolishness, and I've come tothe Lord, but but what if I get
lulled to sleep?
(16:54):
What and and that's what thisguy he's doing the right thing,
but but maybe he's I believe Ibelieve he's lost that touch
with mercy, and then we weattribute it always to the one
who is who is the the most ofsinner.
But for us, those are extremes.
You understand we're supposed tolive in a place of grace where
we are aware of our need for it,and we don't have to be in
(17:16):
either one of those ditches.
You actually can drive on theroad.
It's much easier to stay out ofthat place, amen.
SPEAKER_01 (17:23):
Amen.
I love that you brought to ourremembrance the older brother in
the story that Jesus tells againof a merciful God, of a father.
The story is not the story ofsons, it is the story of a
father who is willing, who isalways ready to bring us home.
And the father sees the son, theone who has gone off.
(17:44):
I like the there's we lovedifferent verses for different
reasons, but there's one partwhere it tells the story of the
son who has taken his things andgone off to a far country, he
finds himself in famine, he'seating out of the pig's bowl,
and it says that he came tohimself.
And sometimes it takes a longtime for us to come back to
ourselves.
Wait a second, wait a second, Ido not belong here eating pig
(18:07):
slop.
I have a father, I have a home,I have a place where I belong.
And it says that he comes backto himself and he says, I will
arise and I will go to myfather, and I will tell my
father.
And he starts this prayer thateverybody knew.
And this is the prayer that thepeople that were in leadership
taught him to pray.
Uh, I have sinned against you,and I have sinned against God,
(18:30):
and I am no longer worthy to becalled your son.
And he goes out, he's he's goingto just like really tell how sad
he is and and how much he's donewrong.
And it says that while he wasspeaking, the father threw his
arms around him, doesn't Ilisten to this, and threw a coat
over him.
You are mine.
And then he comes back in and hehas the big party, and the
brother's still in the field.
Because he's been there thewhole time.
SPEAKER_00 (18:51):
Doing the right thing.
SPEAKER_01 (18:52):
And the father comes out and says, Come into the joy.
Oh, come in and celebrate withus.
Your your brother that was deadis now alive.
And I think for many of us, weneed to hear the word of the
Lord, come in and celebrate.
Oh, the person who forgot whothey were is now coming back to
themselves.
Let's have the music and let'scome into joy.
(19:18):
The parable that Jesus tells inthat story, we don't ever know
if he goes in.
I would like to know if he wentin.
I hope he did.
I hope I do.
I hope I will go into the party.
I hope I will go into the joy,into the celebration of that
which is lost that is now found.
But Jesus is telling us, listen,I want you to know about mercy.
It's so much bigger than youcould even imagine.
(19:39):
We pause here for a moment tothank you for joining us today.
If you're finding this episodemeaningful, would you take a
moment to share it with afriend?
This podcast is made possiblethanks to the generosity of
people just like you.
If you would like to support theongoing work of First Love
Church and the continued work ofour podcast, visit us online at
(20:01):
firstlovechurch.org, remindingyou to like, follow, and
subscribe.
SPEAKER_00 (20:06):
Sometimes for us, God does some real offensive
things.
SPEAKER_01 (20:10):
If we're paying attention.
Yeah, if we're paying attention,it should be really offensive.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (20:15):
And and uh and it's and it's not fair.
SPEAKER_01 (20:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (20:18):
And and I and I think we we got a fair idea.
Everything should be fair.
One time we we had this friend'sand she found this perfect
present for one of her kids at aat a discount store.
And it was like what the kid hadwanted for the longest time, and
it was super cheap.
And so she went around thatwhole store for like an hour
trying to find three morepresents because she had four
(20:38):
daughters.
And when she couldn't find thatpresent enough for the others,
she put it back.
And Heather was like, Well,because they were they're both
young moms at that time.
She goes, Well, why wouldn't youbuy it?
That's what she wants.
She goes, Well, if I broughtthat home, there'd be fighting,
it wouldn't be fair.
And and we thought, well, that'dbe a great lesson for the girls
to learn, you know, some yourejoice with those that rejoice,
(21:00):
you know, and be that getblessed.
But but we have this wired inus, sometimes as parents, and
then definitely we we think,well, then that's how God should
be, God should be fair.
And we can get really offendedat God.
Because do you realize thatbrother in the story, he spent
half of the stuff, and now whenhe comes back, the the older
brother's got to split now hisstuff that was gonna be his with
(21:23):
this guy, who this freeloaderwho spent it all, you know?
That's not fair.
You know, he should get someconsequence for behaving.
I've been behaving good thewhole time.
Where's my reward?
What's you know, and and God'strying to say, no, there is a
reward, there's plenty.
Come in, but our offense keepsus.
That's the question, and that'sreally the lesson of the story
(21:43):
for those of you that findyourself, and I think that in
our lifetime we're gonna findourselves many times in both of
those ditches.
SPEAKER_01 (21:50):
Yes.
Sometimes we're the prodigal,sometimes we're the older
brother.
SPEAKER_00 (21:53):
Right?
SPEAKER_01 (21:54):
Sometimes we're the fair sea, and sometimes we're
the text coming.
SPEAKER_00 (22:04):
When you judge yourself as doing so good.
Right?
I I don't I don't need gracenow.
I need a pat on the back.
I need some rewards.
Give me the lottery numbers.
Do you know?
I'm righteous, I'll do good withthat money.
You know, reward me.
And so it's so easy to beoffended at God.
SPEAKER_01 (22:24):
And this is one of the reasons why Jesus told us I
want to tell you that God is theone who gives rain to the just
and the unjust.
The sun shines on the just andthe unjust.
The abundance is for everyone.
A tax collector standing afaroff would not even lift his eyes
(22:45):
to heaven, but beat his breastsaying, God, be merciful to me,
a sinner.
The next verse is offensive.
I just want you to know, like,steal yourself up for it.
SPEAKER_00 (22:55):
In advance, reward.
SPEAKER_01 (22:57):
I tell you, this man went to his house justified.
Because let me tell you how Icould let me just explain to you
an error that we could all make.
This man prayed and said, Bemerciful to me, but he didn't
say, I will make restitution.
I will stop doing what I amgoing to do.
He didn't say, I'm giving up,tax collector.
(23:20):
He just said, be merciful to me.
Sounds a lot like the man who'son the cross next to Jesus.
When you go to paradise,remember me.
Very often we would like to seesome kind of contrition, some
kind of change before we wouldgive a mercy.
And Jesus is telling us aboutGod who gives mercy freely to
(23:41):
all.
You ask for it, you get it.
Now there's another part of thestory.
There's a tax collector that'scoming up.
You know this one, Zacchaeus.
You you know the story, and weall know that he was short.
I don't know why, but we do.
We we are aware of that.
Maybe his brother told the storyand he was taller.
For whatever reason, weunderstand that he's a short
guy.
I maybe he would rather tell thestory differently.
Maybe he had like a great beardor something.
I don't know.
Yeah, you don't have to leadwith this short.
(24:02):
We don't have to lead with thisvery short man.
But but Zacchaeus is also a taxcollector, and he's also been
listening to Jesus.
He's also been a man of cruelty,he's been a man who's taken
what's not his, he's been aterrible person from his own way
of seeing things.
And Jesus comes to his house.
Jesus, who is radical in hishospitality, comes to his house.
(24:24):
And when in the presence ofJesus, he said, Oh, I will stop
doing what is wrong.
I will give back everything I'vestolen and give more than that.
I will change.
I am doing a 180.
And Jesus says, This daysalvation has entered your
house.
Like that makes sense to us.
Okay, he's changed.
Salvation has entered the house.
(24:44):
Jesus is saying here in thisparticular parable, that man
left justified.
Now, this is an interesting partof the scripture.
It says rather than the other,but that's not what the original
language says.
A lot of times we have things inour ideas, like there are
reasons why we would say ratherthan the other.
Perhaps the person was justtrying to help us make uh an
(25:08):
idea or a connotation.
It doesn't say that.
It says in the original text, itsays, I tell you this, the man
went to his house justifiedalong with the other.
They were both justified.
Not because of what they know,it should startle you.
They were both justified.
And Jesus was saying, it's notbecause of what they did, it's
(25:29):
because of the mercy of God.
It's not because of all theylearned, it's the mercy of God.
And so I tell you this (25:36):
those people left justified.
They left mercy given to them.
And then Jesus says, foreveryone who exalts himself will
be humbled, but the one whohumbles himself will be exalted.
We see this.
Jesus is telling us this parableand reminding of this.
(25:59):
The first person, the Phariseethat has given us this this
promise of humbling yourself.
Jesus says, Everyone who exaltshimself will be humbled, but the
one who humbles himself will beexalted.
Fasting is a way of humblingyourself.
It's a a just since the verybeginning, it's a practice of
humility.
It's a practice of recognizing Icould, but I refrain from in
(26:21):
solidarity with others and inway of penance.
Tithing is a humbleness.
It is a recognition of sayingall that I have is from God.
And so I return some to God sothat other people can also be
cared for.
And so there are these practicesof humility.
For we see the practice ofhumility in the tax collector
(26:43):
who doesn't even lift his eyesbut says, Mercy, mercy, have
mercy on me.
SPEAKER_00 (26:50):
You know, Heather, a minute ago, you were talking
about, you know, that idea offorgiving and being for
forgiveness and then that wholeor holding on to it or holding
on holding the grudge orholding.
And uh, you know, when it comesto our forgiveness, we want
that, you know, we we want itright away.
(27:11):
And and uh, but I wonder if yourealize maybe how much in our
families of origin we we havebeen trained to like wait for
the penance or wait for todistract some kind of blood or
pound of flesh, some somethingthat's owed, you know?
And so when you see this, it'sstartling that God isn't waiting
(27:35):
for the pound of flesh from theone that they both leave
justified, that just it doesn'tcompute.
And and I tell you that that uhuh how how you might think to
yourself, well, Pastor Dennis,this doesn't apply to me, you're
you're off on this one.
Uh how much of the time whensomebody wrongs you, do you
(27:57):
maybe not even consciouslythink, well, I'm gonna stay mad
at them for a little while?
Or even when they say you'resorry, I don't know if I'm gonna
forgive you right away, and thenwe wait and we and we dolve out
this forgiveness as we judge.
Maybe they've said sorry goodenough or long enough.
Does anyone know what I'mtalking about?
(28:19):
Because it's I think it's soprevalent, you know, and maybe
you don't even realize you'redoing it, you know?
And and can we just be ready toforgive?
What, you know, even when theperson didn't ask for it.
I just want to be graceful overthat person, and I can live in
that place of grace, because ifI can't extend it, I won't, I
(28:39):
won't walk in it for myself.
Not that God isn't bringing itto me, but you understand that
that it's you you've justtrained yourself that that's not
how it works.
And so when you train yourselfthat's not how it works, you
don't live in it.
But if you could train yourselfto just stop holding, you know,
I I remember being a little kid,and my brother would tease me
for a little while, then he'dsay he was sorry.
(29:00):
I'm still mad at you.
And he'd go, come on.
And he'd be poking, you know,stay mad.
And he'd poke, and pretty soon,I'd laughed.
You know, did you ever do thatwhen you were a kid?
And you're like, you tried sohard to be mad.
And then we take that into adultlife, and maybe we don't do
that, but we'd still do thething, I don't know if I'm gonna
forgive you for that.
(29:21):
I don't know, I think that'scrossed the line, and I'm just
and I've decided grace can't goto you.
And so then I begin to practicethe idea grace is limited, and
so we wealth we dole it out invery small portions, and so it
comes back to us as we'vemeasured it out.
(29:42):
What?
That's good preaching.
What if we decided?
I'll be I'll say it if theydon't.
That's good preaching.
Good job, Pastor D.
SPEAKER_01 (29:55):
It sounds a lot like it sounds a lot like the prayer
that Jesus taught us to pray.
Yes, it does.
Forgive us our sins as we havebeen forgiven.
Forgive those who sin againstus.
Just forgive them.
It doesn't mean to stay inharm's way.
It doesn't mean to stay in anabusive relationship.
(30:15):
In fact, you should leave ifyou're in an abusive
relationship.
But you can forgive.
You absolutely can forgive.
You can declare that what hashappened to you is not your
identity.
That's what forgiveness is.
The way you have wronged me,that is not who I am.
Who I am is beloved.
Who I am is a child of God.
(30:36):
Who I am is one with you, whichis terribly hard to say when
that person has wronged you.
SPEAKER_00 (30:44):
Can we go ahead and talk about this?
Because Heather and I have beendoing this thing for a couple
weeks now, and it has beenlife-changing.
Because do you know how you canthink back at some trauma and
some abuses that you've had, andwhen you share them with
somebody else, the same emotioncomes back to you, and they
just, and whether you like it ornot, it's shaped your identity
(31:07):
for good, but mostly for bad.
You know?
But yet we've had millions ofexperiences.
Even today, you've had thousandsand thousands of experiences in
the seconds and moments that thestates have.
But none of those have shapedyou.
You've allowed certain ones toshape you by your choice of not
(31:31):
releasing it.
That's better preaching youramen.
SPEAKER_01 (31:35):
They're thinking about it.
Heather and I've been sayingthis.
SPEAKER_00 (31:38):
Heather's been saying this that when we're
driving down the road, we'vedriven past a million white
lines.
SPEAKER_01 (31:46):
And you have two.
SPEAKER_00 (31:48):
But not one of those I'm hanging on to.
Not one of those moments am Iallowing to define me.
And allowing those moments,because there's been so many
moments in your life, youalready know how to do this.
They don't define me.
They don't affect me.
They're white lines on the road.
I drove past them.
(32:08):
I give them no power.
I give them no cause.
I refuse to let them make meangry because they control me
and tell me where I can andcannot drive.
I refuse to let them fence me inand hold me back.
They're white lines and I justdon't care.
I release it.
What if I could live in thatplace?
(32:32):
Now, am I saying this is easy?
Because I have trauma, I havehurts, I have pain in my life,
but I recognize that's wheregrace stops.
Where I refuse to let it go andI hang on to it.
But but God has said that I cangive it to God.
(32:52):
I can release it.
I can be healed of the yeah, butif I release that person and I
forgive them, they go scot-free.
No, I'm the older brother.
I want justice for this.
But yet I want complete andtotal grace for myself.
Now I'm not saying that when yourelease those people that have
harmed you, all of a sudden Godreleases them.
(33:14):
I'm sure there's there's somereckoning, there's all that
stuff, you know, they still havetheir deal stuff to deal with.
But I am convinced that youhanging on to it doesn't help
you and doesn't hurt them.
I'm convinced that if I couldlook, and and it's so, and if
you say to yourself, well, Idon't know what what you're
talking about, I don't knowwhere.
(33:35):
Give yourself a couple minutes,a couple days, and all of a
sudden you're gonna startgetting heated about something,
and you're gonna remembersomething, it's gonna be a sick
pit in your stomach.
And then you're gonna hear thechubby guy's words.
Oh, there it is.
I won't let it be a white line,I let it be a stumbling block.
I'm tripping over that paintedline on the road.
(33:59):
It's not bigger than you, it'snot defining you.
God has said who you are.
You're loved, you're redeemed,you're the righteousness of God
in Christ Jesus.
You're whole, you're lackingnothing.
Yabat.
SPEAKER_01 (34:18):
And if the parable is doing its job, it should be
making you uncomfortable.
Mercy for everyone?
Yes.
Sometimes letting go orforgiving someone is very
different than having to dealwith the pain of what happened
to you.
There is a difference betweenforgiveness and dealing with the
aftermath of somebody else'schoices.
Beloved, get a good therapist.
(34:41):
Seriously.
Bring the Holy Spirit into it,but get someone that you can
work through some things with.
Jesus and therapists are oftenvery good combinations.
unknown (34:53):
Amen.
SPEAKER_01 (34:53):
The invitation is into forgiveness, not into
denial of the pain.
It's into alignment with theeternal, alignment of things
that are true, alignment ofthings that have power.
Beloved love is the power thatchanges everything that changes
us.
And Jesus is telling us here: listen, this is who God is, (35:10):
undefined
merciful, merciful beyondmeasure, merciful beyond what we
would think that person shouldget.
And this is the hope for all ofus.
Everyone who exalts himself willbe humbled, but the one who
humbles himself will be exalted.
(35:31):
Jesus is saying to us, apractice in humility is
recognizing that we are to bepeople of mercy, that we are to
do works of mercy, that we areto be people who allow in our
minds mercy and mercy forourselves.
Because sometimes the peoplethat we are hardest against are
our own self.
(35:51):
I knew better, I should have.
And to be able to receive thekind of mercy that Jesus is
telling us is available, you arejustified.
How?
Because, beloved, it's allJesus' work anyway.
The reason any of us get anygood thing is because God has
already given it to us.
He loves us.
(36:12):
We are loved by God.
The whole world is loved by God.
I remind you, this is not myidea.
John chapter 3, verse 16.
Perhaps you've heard it.
For God so loved the world, thewhole thing, including the
cosmos, including the nature,including the animals.
(36:33):
My beloved friend Caroline was alittle late this morning.
She sent a text.
I'm on my way.
But there was a dog.
Okay.
We all know how that story goes,right?
I had a plan, and then there wasa dog.
A dog who needed me.
(36:54):
A dog, why did he need Caroline?
Because she was aware.
Jesus shows up to us in allkinds of ways.
In the people that we do not seehim in.
Jesus in distressing disguise.
So she stopped and got it waterand took care of it.
Sometimes that is what we arecalled to do in order to be the
(37:16):
people that God has us to be.
Sometimes we take care of thingsthat we had no plan to take care
of.
We hear someone else's pain, andnow all of a sudden we are
making needs met.
We see someone that has need,and now we are looking around
going, where is the mercy here?
How can I be a part of it?
But Jesus is asking us to changeour minds about God, who God is,
(37:41):
and who God will be merciful to.
SPEAKER_00 (37:44):
You know, this whole thing about changing your mind
is allowing God to do something.
I think the greatest thing, uh,and I'm on this, I've been on
this for a while.
I think the greatest thing aboutbeing a human being is our
ability to change our minds.
You know, to really just likechange your nature, you know
what I mean?
From this is how we used to be,this is my family of origin, but
God is doing something in mylife, you know, and I'm allowing
(38:07):
it.
And so we've talked about someserious things like some trauma
uh uh life-defining things, andthen I'm suggesting that you
release those, you know, and andso, you know, I I heard Carol uh
cry out, just Jesus, you know.
And absolutely in ourrelationship, and Heather's
being very practical sayingsometimes there's things where
(38:27):
you might need to talk tosomebody, you know, and so I'm
not belittling it, you know, andit's not belittling it to say
just let Jesus fix it.
Because, you know, my practicelately has really been when I
need to talk to somebody, I do.
But there's times when when whenthose trauma memories and stuff
(38:47):
come, instead of me goingthrough it and and walking down
that place of anger, I'm saying,I'm saying, Jesus, you know,
Spirit of God, help me let thispass through me.
Because it the thought comes andthen it sticks, and then it, and
then I begin to dwell and thinkabout and or be or or let myself
(39:10):
feel those swing emotions.
And so I'm approaching that inmy own quiet time, because I
don't have to book a therapyappointment every time, that
that God has equipped me withthe Holy Spirit.
But like I say, sometimes youmight be stuck, and something
might be so traumatic and so soabusive.
You need you need help withthat.
But I but I do tell you that Godis the way.
(39:32):
Jesus is the answer, and so soeither you're gonna find a godly
therapist who's gonna help youconnect those dots with Christ,
and you're gonna walk in thatfreedom.
But I also remind you that thatsometimes you don't have to
figure it out.
Because I I don't know, I justknow how I've been dealing with
it, and it's and that andbecause of that, it's not
changing.
And so I'll just I'll justsimply say with the Holy Spirit,
(39:55):
help, help this pass through me.
And without my mind trying torace through and my ego trying
to figure or build new walls orbarriers or all this, I just
simply let the Holy Spirit uh,and I guess for me it's really a
place of surrendering to Spiritgoing, I know you're at work,
giving opportunity.
And I find that there's an easeas that begins to pass.
SPEAKER_01 (40:18):
We hope you've enjoyed this week's sermon.
If you would like moreinformation about us, visit us
online at firstlovechurch.org.
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