Latest / In the Stillness Podcast / Learning To Be Willing & Receive

Transcript

Learning To Be Willing & Receive · In the Stillness Podcast

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  What's up y'all? It's Friendsly.
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  We are halfway through the week and welcome to Wednesday's
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  podcast episode. Today we're closing out Matthew
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  chapter 23. And we've seen up until this
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  moment that Jesus has been speaking with some very strong
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  language. He is just rebuking the
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  religious leaders, calling them blind, foolish and very
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  hypocritical. This was because they had grown
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  so hardened to the truth that they were actually leading those
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  that they were teaching astray. And scripture is so clear,
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  specifically Second Peter 2 that says when leaders distort truth,
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  it brings destruction. And this is not just on those
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  they're teaching, but also to themselves.
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  And so we see the weight of that in Jesus rebukes in the passages
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  prior to this one. But then today, everything
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  changes because right after that sharp condemnation, Jesus does
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  not stay in anger. He actually grieves.
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  And this passage might be tempting to kind of skim over
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  because it is so short, so brief, but I want us to slow
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  down and sit with it today because this moment is so
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  meaningful. And it actually parallels very
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  beautifully with Psalm 131, which is the scripture that I
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  picked out ultimately that the Lord led me to to root this
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  podcast in. It's about being in a resting
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  position as a quieted soul, like a child with their mother or
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  father. And so today we are going to be
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  reading Matthew chapter 23, verses 37 through 39.
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  This is titled Jesus grieves over Jerusalem again, Jerusalem,
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  Jerusalem. You who kill the prophets and
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  stone those sent to you. How often I have longed to
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  gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under
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  her wings. And you were not willing.
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  Look, your house is left to you desolate.
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  For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say blessed
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  is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
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  OK, that last line that we see, blessed is he who comes in the
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  name of the Lord. That is coming directly from
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  Psalm 118. This is one that celebrates
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  God's saving power and deliverance.
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  So Jesus is pointing them back to Scripture that they know and
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  showing them that they're actually missing the whole point
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  of it. And what we see here is not just
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  disappointment, it's grief. That is what Jesus is feeling
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  and grief. He is experiencing pain of
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  longing for closeness that's actually being refused because
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  Jerusalem was not just any city. Jerusalem is the capital of
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  Israel, of God's chosen people, and it's where the temple was
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  literally standing, the earthly dwelling place of God's
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  presence. It's even where King David
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  lived. This is the greatest king Israel
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  ever had, and the very line that Jesus the Messiah comes from.
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  So God designed Jerusalem to be the center of worship, a place
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  meant to display His justice and His mercy to the outside world.
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  And it still holds a place in God's redemption plan.
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  But over time, especially as we see the religious leaders
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  failing in their calling and teachings, the people grew more
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  blind and insensitive to their desperate need for God.
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  And Jesus is grieving that. So for today's relevance with
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  this passage, what struck me is how much it mirrors us today.
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  Because God created us for His glory to be displayed among the
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  nations like Psalm 96.3 says, and for us to know Him in
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  relationship. Now something even more
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  significant, Our bodies have become the dwelling place of His
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  Spirit. Like guys, the holy God of the
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  universe chooses to live in our human bodies.
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  That should stop us. But how often have we twisted
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  that design? If we think about it, how often
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  do we take what God intended for his glory and we make it about
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  ourselves for our comfort, for our pleasure, for our
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  preferences? And we can become numb to the
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  very reason why we exist. I believe there's a human
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  tendency to take what God designed as good and to layer
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  our own ideas onto it. And because we're sinful human
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  beings, we end up distorting something holy.
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  And the Lord brought some examples to my mind as I was
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  reflecting on this. First of all, one example would
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  be rest being commanded by God. It's a good thing, but it can
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  slowly become apathy or excuse making and laziness if we're not
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  careful. Maybe food and exercise.
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  These are things to steward God's creation, our temple that
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  He has made us. But they can even turn into
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  gluttony or idolatry. Think about sex being designed
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  as a gift within marriage, but it gets twisted into sexual
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  immorality or adultery. Y'all the heart of all of this
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  truth is you exist to worship God and to display his glory.
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  So I just want to ask ourselves, is there anything in our lives
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  that has shifted into our own version instead of God's
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  version? Are you aiming to showcase his
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  goodness in everything you do or quietly building your own glory?
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  And as we wrestle with these questions, look again at the
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  heart of Jesus. Because here we see it is
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  tender, it is compassionate, it is full of longing.
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  And what's funny is last night at Bible study, we were reading
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  through John 17. This is Jesus praying in the
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  Garden of Gethsemane right before his arrest and betrayal
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  and crucifixion. He's praying for himself, his
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  disciples and future believers. That's us, and we were talking
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  about how essential and crucial it is to truly pause and reflect
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  on the depth of God's love shown through Jesus here.
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  Go back and read John 17 because it is super powerful and
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  intimate. But ultimately, if we do not
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  grasp how deeply we are loved by our Father, we won't love
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  others. Well, First, John 411 says that
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  when we love others, God's love is perfected in us.
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  The way that we love people is one of the clearest ways that we
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  point them and attract them to Jesus.
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  So that's been heavy on my heart lately.
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  I've actually been praying for a softer, more tender heart.
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  And so reading this passage this morning felt like God was just
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  answering that prayer in real time because Jesus longs to
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  gather his people together. He's not indifferent.
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  He's not cold to this. In Psalm 131, it paints the
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  image of a child resting in its mother's lap.
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  And here Jesus uses the image of a hen gathering her chicks under
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  her wings. It's pointing us to who he is.
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  Our God is our protector. He's our provider and he's our
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  comforter and the word comforter.
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  So God gave me this word for 2026.
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  I always choose a year, a word for the year.
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  And honestly, I resisted it at first because I think I tend to
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  think of it as a negative term when really it is actually not
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  all that. Umm, I usually think of strength
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  as endurance and pushing through and holding it all together.
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  But already, and we're barely into the year, God has been
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  reshaping my understanding of comfort, and He's been showing
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  me that He actually delights in comforting His children.
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  It's not a burden to Him. And I'll probably do a full
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  episode on this whole revelation for me later because I don't
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  have enough time to go into this.
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  But we see it here on full display.
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  Y'all. Jesus is grieving because his
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  people were not willing. And that is tragic because it's
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  so simple. I don't know if y'all have
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  listened to the song Privilege by Abby Gamboa.
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  If you haven't, also go listen to that.
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  It is one of my top five favorite songs.
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  But it says in the lyrics it's easier than anything to be the
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  one to just receive. It is so true because all we
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  have to do is say yes, all we have to do is invite the Father
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  in. But sometimes we're so busy
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  wanting to prove that we can do this life on our own out of
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  pride or fear or possibly have it, that we miss the rest that
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  He's offering. Jesus says Matthew 1128, Come to
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  me, all who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you
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  rest. And then we see John 15-4,
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  remain in me, abide in me. It is so simple.
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  We come to Him, we remain in him.
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  All that's required of us is willingness to go to Him.
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  And really, who knows your needs better than your own Creator?
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  So as we reflect on all of this, let's go ahead and closeout in
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  prayer. Dear Father, thank you for your
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  tender heart that is revealed in Jesus in this passage.
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  Thank you that you do not withdraw when we resist, but you
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  grieve because you love us so completely and fully.
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  Would you redirect our hearts toward your original design?
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  Illuminate where we have substituted your glory to try to
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  build our own. Would you reign us back under
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  your wings when we wander away? When we go astray?
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  Remind us that you're near Lord, that you are so, so
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  compassionate, and that you are attentive to our prayers and to
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  our cries. God, may we receive your comfort
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  without resisting it. Would you form our lives into
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  direct reflections of Your love unto others?
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  May we love our neighbors as ourselves and love you with all
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  of our heart, soul, and mind as Your Scripture commands us.
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  We choose to come to you, Jesus. We choose to remain in You, and
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  we believe that Your care is more than enough.
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  Your grace is sufficient for us today.
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  We ask this all in Your name, Jesus.
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  Amen. OK, continuing to pray for you
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  guys. I hope that this passage of
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  scripture just ministers to your heart and that the Lord
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  continues speaking over y'all. Hope you all have a great rest
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  of your day.