But when the friend comes, the spirit of the truth, she will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. She won't draw attention to herself, but will make sense of what is about to happen. And indeed, out of all that I have done and said, She will honor me, and she will take from me and deliver to you everything the Father has is also mine.
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Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling? Can you hear Madam Insight raising her voice? She has taken her stand in 1st and Main at the busiest intersection right at the city square where the traffic is thickest. She shouts, you, I'm talking to all of you, everyone out there on the streets. Listen, you idiots. Learn good sense. You blockheads, shape up. Don't miss a word of this. I'm telling you how to live well.
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I love those who love me. Those who look for me find me. Wealth and glory accompany me. Also, substantial honor and a good name. My benefits are worth more than a big salary. Even a very big salary. The return on me exceeds any imaginable bonus.
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You can find me on Righteous Road. That's where I walk. At the intersection of Justice Avenue. And handing out life to those who love me. Filling their arms with life. Armloads of life.
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God sovereignly made me. The first, the basic, before he did anything else. I was brought into being a long time ago, well before earth got its start. I arrived on the scene before oceans, yes, even before springs and rivers and lakes. Before mountains were sculpted and hills took shape, I was already there, newborn.
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Long before God stretched out earth's horizons and tended to the minute details of soil and weather, and set the sky firmly in place, I was there. And when God mapped and gave borders to the wild ocean, built the vast vault of heavens, and installed the fountains that fed the ocean, when God drew a boundary for the sea, posted a sign that said no trespassing, and when he staked out the earth's foundation, I was right there with God, making everything fit.
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Day after day I was there, and my joyful applause, always enjoying God's company, delighting with the world of things and creatures, happily celebrating the human family.
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Jesus tells us in this chapter in John, I still have many things to tell you, but you can't handle them right now. And I don't know if you have kids, but it's kind of that way with kids, right? When they're two -year -old and they ask you a question, you might give them an honest answer. Okay. Whatever. but not a complete answer because maybe they can't handle it all right now. They have to grow up a little bit. They have to mature a little bit. They have to have a little life under their belt before they understand it.
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But there's a friend who's coming, the Holy Spirit, the friend who's coming, the spirit of truth. And when she comes, she will take you by the hand and she will guide you into all the truth that there is.
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The gospel isn't frozen in a moment of time somewhere in the far past. The gospel isn't trapped in 2 ,000 years ago. or more time than that ago. It's not this limited, single, cultural lens of life in this one snapshot of time. No, the gospel is unfolding now, in the world now. God is still speaking. God is still speaking very loudly to us.
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When Jesus says that the Spirit will guide us into truth, that doesn't mean that we're already there. All the truth is already here, and we already understand all of it. What it means is that the Spirit is bringing it to us when God is still revealing it to us, still whispering in that still, small voice, still roaring like the waves and the wind and the thunderstorm, and still nudging us. Toward justice. Toward mercy. Toward a radical love. Where love speaks loudly when hate is getting all out of control.
[00:07:51]
The writer of Proverbs paints this breathtaking image of wisdom of the Spirit who was with God in the beginning. She danced at creation's edge. She delighted in the world as it was being created. And she called out to all people day after day. I was there. And I was joyful with applause. Enjoying God's company. Delighting in the world of things and creatures. And happily, happily celebrating the human family.
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Celebrating the human family. the diverse human family. The human family that's not just straight people or white people or just a chosen few. It's a human family that is all, that is everybody, that is inclusive of everyone, that all live and all are called into this wonderful space with God.
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This is Pride Month and we celebrate Pride Month because it's important. It's a holy reminder that everyone, including the LGBTQIA plus community, who are wonderfully and fearfully made in the image of God, deserve to be celebrated. It's not a despite who we are, but it's not a we love you anyway kind of situation. It's that we love you because God made you just as God made you. And we love you just that way. Because inclusion is not an accessory to the gospel. It is the gospel.
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Jesus didn't say love your neighbors unless you don't like their pronouns or unless their pronouns confuse you. Jesus said love your neighbor, period. Actually, he didn't. He said love your neighbor like you love yourself.
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The Spirit doesn't lead us into a half -truth. The Spirit does lead us into a liberating truth.
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God is in the protest. God is in the voices shouting for peace. God is in the voices shouting for equality and equity. God is still speaking through the chants, through the marches, through the holy disruptions that unsettle the status quo. God is still speaking through those who are calling for us to care for our neighbor.
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Inclusion means that we listen. Not just to what was written thousands of years ago. Although that's important. But to what the Spirit is speaking now. That we listen through the queer teenager who's afraid to come out. Through the trans woman who's defending their right to live safely. Through the protester demanding justice for Palestinians and Israelis alike. Through black and brown bodies that are saying we can't breathe under the weight of white supremacy.
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We are not called to be the gatekeepers of grace. We are called to be the co -creators of wisdom. To co -create alongside wisdom. To dance at the edge of what God is doing.
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We, the church, are not a part of a museum of dead doctrines. We are a part of a living body that we are called to grow and to change and to repent.
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So today I challenge you. To tune your ears, to tune our ears, to wisdom's cry. Let's lean into the discomfort of the Spirit's truth. Let us say without hesitation that pride is holy. That protest is prophetic. And that God is still speaking through us, around us.
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So today, friends, let's get out of God's way. Let's let God speak into the world. Speak loudly and boldly and proudly. That radical love is where it's at. That we are called to practice radical love.
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So today, I encourage you, as my shirt says, when hate is loud, love cannot be silent.
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