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Transcript

"Inconspicuous" Investment · The Holy Pause

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: A reading from Scripture, Luke, chapter 14, verses 7-14.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: When he noticed how the guest picked the places of honor at the table,
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: he told them this parable.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: When someone invites you to a wedding feast,
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: do not take the place of honor,
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: If so, the host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you, Give this person your seat.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Then, Then Jesus said to his host,
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends to
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: If you do, they may invite you back, and so you will be repaid.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: But when you give a banquet,
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Saron believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check,
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: but that is not what I have found.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: I found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keep the darkness at bay.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Simple acts of kindness and love.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Gandalf the Grey This passage talks about hospitality in two different worlds.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: The first world is the present world.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: The passage speaks on how Christ is advocating for a change and how we honor
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: through hospitality right now.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: We ought not to honor those who deserve the honor,
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: the rich,
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: the smart,
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: the powerful,
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: or the famous,
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: but instead we ought to honor those who are seen as outcasts or
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: who are physically ailing.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: This reversal of societal norms ruffles our feathers quite a bit
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: and it would have really upended the system of honoring in the Roman Empire of
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: the first century.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Back then,
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: it was socially encouraged and normal for people to vie for status,
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: wealth, and power.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: They would often throw parties and give gifts to fellows and friends
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: to increase their social standing.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: This is not too far off from our present day,
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: where we too care about making sure we are honored and praised.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Just look at how we make virtual accounts to promote how happy our lives are.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Or how we rebuild resumes that show off our talents and experience.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Of course,
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: the ever-present need to network high-end connections
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: that we can climb our vocational ladder.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: The way it looks may have changed.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: We modern people have our own system of insular honoring.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: The second world is different.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's less about how we are supposed to act today and more about Luke's perspective
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: on the kingdom to come.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: We are currently living in a world that lifts up the wealthy, strong and famous.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: But in God's coming kingdom,
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: the poor,
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: the outcast and the last shall be wealthy and be placed in the seat of honor.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: So the reason you should radically humble yourself now is so that you might be seen
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: for the honorable person you are by God later.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, do not seek the temporary validation from people.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: But seek the internal valuing of God.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Do not invest in what will fade, but in what will last forever.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: I have often seen this passage preached with one of those two worlds in mind.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Either we should change in the present world because it is good,
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: or we should focus on the consolation in the next world because that world is
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: the one that ultimately matters.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: But I think if you split the message of this passage into two, you miss Luke's point.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: The truth is Luke is using this passage to say how these two worlds,
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: the present and the eternal, are ultimately connected.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: One can't simply say that this world doesn't matter,
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: because ultimately your status in the next is what matters.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Neither can one say that all that matters is how you act today
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: and completely disconnect from that eternal meaning.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: For Luke, these two ideas are intrinsically connected.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: How we act today affects the world to come.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: And our view of the world to come affects how we act today.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: It is a lot like investing for your retirement.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: You invest in small seemingly insignificant ways in the present,
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: and through the mathematical power of compound interest,
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: in the passing of 30-ish years, you have grown enough money to retire.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: In the same way the current world and the future world are connected,
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: we can't think of the kingdom to come as something far off.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Investing in eternity starts now.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: When Christ brings you into the family of God, eternal life has already begun.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: How you invest spiritually in people now matters.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: People who might now be seen as less valuable are in fact internally important.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: This is why hospitality has to change.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: It might be so small it's seemingly insignificant,
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: but through the power of mystical compounding,
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: And over the course of eternity, people will grow in ways we can't possibly fathom.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Consider today, in what ways am I investing in people?
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: And how can I diversify those investments?
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Mighty and eternal God,
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  SPEAKER_00: we pray we might be good hosts who can honor those who have been lost,
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: left behind, or are hurting.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: We pray too we might be humble guests in your kingdom to come.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Wrangle our prideful hearts and transform our lives.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: We pray you will see us and invite us into the place of honor.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: This devotion was written by Cullen Capehart with recording by Reverend Elizabeth Troyer.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: These podcasts will always be free,
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: but if you'd like to donate to support our online ministry,
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: you can do so using the link in the description.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Or at wakeforestpres.org.