UDSKRIFT 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:04.719
So thinking uh right now about anger, the problem of anger.
00:00:04.879 --> 00:00:09.199
Anger is at its core what we experience when our will gets violated.
00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:21.440
And if something doesn't work the way that I want to, somebody doesn't do what I want them to do, then I experience frustration and and then my will tends to go real quickly to willing the bad for the person that's gotten in the way.
00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:27.679
Um so the opposite of that is to will the good for someone, and that's what I want to talk about, moving in that direction.
00:00:27.839 --> 00:00:31.039
We'll get to somebody in the Bible who does this in a remarkable way.
00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:42.479
And I want, I want to think today, uh, this is one of those seasons where I've got word from a number of folks that I care about deeply who are struggling with um health issues or loss.
00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:44.560
Think about the people who matter most to my life.
00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:53.600
It is so easy for me to just focus on what have I gotten done, what have I accomplished, uh, the wrong set of metrics.
00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:57.119
And instead of, no, it's the people that matter.
00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:03.200
So Patrick Morley wrote about uh one time when he and his family were just overwhelmed by activity.
00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:07.200
And the more successful they got, the more people wanted them from them.
00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:10.480
And Patrick said to his wife one time, we've arrived.
00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:13.200
And she said, Yes, but we're at the wrong place.
00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:21.519
And then this thought occurred: let's prioritize everything based on who will be crying at our funeral.
00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:30.640
Like, why should I give myself to trying to please people who I don't even know, who don't even really actually care about me?
00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:37.359
According to one study, I'm not making this up, at the average funeral, only 10 people cry.
00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:44.159
All these trials and tribulations and heartaches, and only 10 people cry, seriously.
00:01:44.319 --> 00:01:54.480
The same source says that actually the number one factor that determines whether or not people uh will attend, particularly your graveside, is the weather.
00:01:55.040 --> 00:02:02.719
I'm lying there at the conclusion of my life, and like what the sky is doing is the primary determinant about whether people are going to stay there.
00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:06.560
Who's gonna cry at my funeral and why?
00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:10.560
And I'm am I living now in light of that reality then?
00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:16.960
Uh the defeat of anger is about so much more than just trying not to get angry with people.
00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:23.039
It is being at one with God and then caring for the people who are closest to me.
00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:24.639
That's the most important part of life.
00:02:24.800
Load full transcript
--> 00:02:28.639
Uh, two contrasting figures in the Bible now as we walk through this day.
00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:30.000
Who's going to cry at my funeral?
00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:31.599
That's the question for today.
00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:36.800
And what am I doing to love and care for the people around me?
00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:40.800
So one character is Herod in the New Testament.
00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:43.680
You might know he was called Herod the Great.
00:02:43.919 --> 00:02:51.840
Uh he was the guy that was uh the greatest builder and the most powerful ruler of that century in Palestine.
00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:55.919
Um, but he was not a master of love.
00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:57.520
He had 11 or 12 wives.
00:02:57.759 --> 00:02:59.280
Historians are not certain.
00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:06.800
The only one that he really loved, he's suspected of trying to want his throne, wanting that for their son.
00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:10.000
And so he had her killed and he had their son killed.
00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:12.000
He wanted to be remembered.
00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:26.719
So his descendants had names like Herod Antipas and Herod Philip and Herodias, a little like the boxer George Foreman named his kids George Foreman I and George Forman II and George Foreman III and George Foreman IV and so on.
00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:30.879
But as he lay dying, he realized nobody was going to cry at his funeral.
00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:35.520
So, not making this up, a historian named Josephus wrote about this.
00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:58.080
The story is that Herod the Great actually had 70 of the most prominent citizens of Jerusalem locked up as he was dying, and then left orders that when he died, they were to be executed so that on the day of his death, people in Jerusalem would be crying.
00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:02.400
Just stop for a moment.
00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:06.240
Just thinking about this as an exercise for me, you might think about it with you.
00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:08.879
Who will not be crying at your funeral?
00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:11.919
I'll tell you who will not be crying at my funeral.
00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:14.080
Uh my critics.
00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:19.519
People who write me when they're asking for favors, but I never hear from them otherwise.
00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:25.519
People whose approval I'm constantly trying to gain, but who withhold it.
00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:34.000
Successful people whose success I think might rub off on me, so I want to hang out with them more, but I'm really just trying to use them.
00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:39.360
People I see frequently whose names I do not bother to learn.
00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:45.839
People who I think could make me feel important if I could just get them to notice me.
00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:47.279
They will not be crying at my funeral.
00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:49.439
People who are cooler than me, users, they won't.
00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:52.399
Famous people I never actually met, they won't.
00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:55.199
Uh people I'm afraid of.
00:04:56.079 --> 00:04:57.519
People who are afraid of me.
00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:02.560
Who's likely to cry at my funeral?
00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:07.199
Well, my children, I hope.
00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:10.560
My wife.
00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:15.600
My brother and sister, my brother's younger, so he'll still probably be around.
00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:20.959
My sister's a little older, but she's much shorter than me, so her heart doesn't have to worry as hard, so she'll probably be around too.
00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:23.759
My good friends.
00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:32.480
People that I have genuinely cared for when to the extent that I have done that, they probably will.
00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:46.800
And of course, that question, who's gonna cry at my funeral, is just uh a placeholder, a proxy for the deeper question, whom have I loved?
00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:48.800
Whom have I loved?
00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:55.600
There is a character in the New Testament who is at the opposite scale of Herod the Great.
00:05:55.759 --> 00:05:57.439
Herod was an angry guy.
00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:04.160
He was called Herod the Great, but he executed people so that they would be crying at his funeral.
00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:14.160
There's a woman in the New Testament named Dorcas, and about all that we know of her is from Acts chapter 9 and verse 36.
00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:19.040
The text says, She was always doing good and helping the poor.
00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:23.680
That's an interesting description of somebody's life.
00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:35.759
That'd be an interesting phrase to have go on wherever it is that marks wherever it is that whatever remains or cremates of my life end up always doing good, helping the poor.
00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:44.399
And then one day she became sick and she died, and we're told that her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.
00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:50.480
Now, people in the ancient world were quite concerned about what would happen to their bodies after they died.
00:06:50.800 --> 00:07:07.600
Rome was filled with what were called burial societies that people would join if they paid, wherever they were on the status honor ladder, if they were, you know, real important, they would have very elaborate care for their body after they died, even if they did not have much at all.
00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:13.439
They would join societies, put little bits of money into it if they could to make sure that their corpses were cared for.
00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:20.480
And in fact, Romans were so confused, Romans were so confused about what Christianity was because it wasn't a philosophy.
00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:24.879
It was, it wasn't a family, it was open to like people of all different ethnicities and so on.
00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:32.000
It wasn't a religion, because religions were tribal things, and uh Rome had theirs and Egypt had theirs and and so on.
00:07:32.160 -->
00:07:40.800
And so a prominent theory in Rome held that Christian was a burial society because Christians would take such tender care of the sick and the dying.
00:07:42.399 --> 00:08:01.040
So Dorcas passes, and we're told in verse 39, all the widows stood around uh uh when um Peter had come to visit, showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas made while she was still with them.
00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:04.720
Dorcas was a widow herself.
00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:08.560
Nobody called her Dorcas the Great.
00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:11.600
But she had some resources.
00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:21.120
That little phrase uh doing good, constantly doing good, uh, implies the giving of alms, sharing what she had with other people.
00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:23.920
What am I gonna do with my alms today?
00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:34.559
And out of the resources of her life and the care, the servanthood of her little community flowed goodness to people who were on the outside.
00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:38.720
So people who could not afford clothes, clothes were dressed because of her.
00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:41.759
People who couldn't afford food were fed because of her.
00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:46.559
People who would have been outsiders otherwise became insiders because of her.
00:08:48.159 --> 00:09:06.159
We're told in the text that they laid her out in an upper room, upstairs room, might well be the upstairs room of her house, that because she was a person of some means, she owned her own home and she made it a home for people that otherwise would not have had a home, people that were without a house.
00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:12.159
We're told that her body was washed, which was a part of the Jewish preparation for burial.
00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:18.799
Um there's no mention of her bodies being anointed.
00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:30.000
That would have been the custom of maybe that the community was allowing the poor widows to prepare her body as an act of love, and they would not have had money for anointing, and they were crying at her funeral.
00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:33.679
But how could she have known?
00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:42.000
It is ours to care and to love and to give and devote ourselves to God, God's plan for community.
00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:53.279
Um but uh connection, community, friendship, love comes when it comes at all as a gift.
00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:55.519
One more thing about Dorcas.
00:09:55.759 --> 00:09:59.039
Maybe the main reason the book of Acts told her story, she didn't stay dead.
00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:03.600
Peter got down on his knees and looked at her and said, Get up.
00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:07.120
And she opened her eyes and did as she was told.
00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:11.759
And then it the text says, Peter took her by the hand and helped her to her feet.
00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:23.440
Then he called for the believers, especially to the widows, especially to the widows, especially to the marginalized, to the poor, to people that didn't
have anybody the championship except just her, and presented her to them.
00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:28.799
And uh our great hope is this that we're not gonna stay dead.
00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:51.840
So that as I'm hearing these kind of stories, had a conversation yesterday with Carrie, whose dad just recently died, and um, aging mom uh happened to be watching Big Kung New episode where I talked about reading Psalm 121 for my dad, and they watched that over and over as the news about Carrie's dad was going on.
00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:54.159
Not gonna stay dead, not gonna stay dead.
00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:57.440
Who's gonna cry now this day?
00:10:57.759 --> 00:11:00.799
Whatever my background, I can go about doing good.
00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:06.960
You can go about doing good, and caring for the poor, and giving something, and willing the good.
00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:16.799
And that actually is the opposite of living at the mercy of resentment and bitterness and carrying a grudge and being small-minded and being Herod the Great.
00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:18.080
What an awful way to go through life.
00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:22.960
Herod the Great over here, and Dorcas the Greater, Dorcas the Greater.
00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:25.120
Which which path do I want to take?
00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:47.039
We hope that when you're listening to these teachings every weekday from John, that you're not just listening to John, but you're listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit who knows you, knows your story, knows your circumstances, and cares and wants to help and guide you by the presence of the Holy Spirit.
00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:50.080
So, what was God speaking to you today during that teaching?
00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:56.240
For me, my thoughts were drawn to a funeral that you probably will remember.
00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:02.639
It was a funeral that Jesus attended, Lazarus, and Jesus wept.
00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:10.320
And it just got me thinking: Am I living my life in a way that if Jesus came to my funeral, I know, just go with me.
00:12:10.720 --> 00:12:12.000
Would he weep?
00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:13.600
Would he cry?
00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:19.039
Jesus said, Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not do all these amazing things in your name?
00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:25.120
Release a thousand YouTube videos and help people learn how to be spiritually formed?
00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:28.559
And Jesus will say to them, Depart from me.
00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:30.720
I never knew you.
00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:34.799
Maybe we knew him, but does he know us?
00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:36.080
Have we invited him in?
00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:37.679
Have we made him Lord?
00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:39.360
Have we surrendered?
00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:40.960
That's what I was thinking about.
00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:42.240
How about you?
00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:44.399
What is God speaking to you?
00:12:44.559 --> 00:12:46.159
What are you gonna put into practice today?
00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:48.480
You can drop it in the comments if you're watching on YouTube.
00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:51.519
At Become New, you can spend 10 minutes every weekday with Dr.
00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:52.399
John Orperg.
00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:54.559
To find out more, head over to become new.com.
00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:58.159
All of our resources are there for free for you if you want them.
00:12:58.320 --> 00:12:59.759
I'm Tim, the channel host.
00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:06.960
If you want to never miss a video, just text the word new to our number, 51504, and I'll shoot you a text every time John makes a new video.
00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:10.799
Glad that you're here, and I'll see you next time.