The Gospel calls us to a life above labels Luke 19:45-20:2 - And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold,saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him,but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words. One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” “For all the Scriptural knowledge the religious leaders had, their biggest problem was they didn’t recognize God when he was standing right in front of them.” We all have “Who do you think you are?” moments with Jesus It’s an amazing adventure following Jesus, but, at times, it can also be a maddening maze Luke 20:9-18 - And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” We all have assumed we are owners when we are really tenants Psalm 2:1-2 - Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed. Ephesians 2:14–16 - For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. Luke 20:19 - The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them. We can avoid God Through: 1. Self-Righteous Activity Isaiah 1:11–13 - “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Isaiah 29:13 - And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,” Matthew 7:21–23 - “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ 2. Self-Righteous Superiority 3. Self-Righteous Insensitivity We all are building our lives on something Luke 20:17-18 - But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” Isaiah 28:16–17 - therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.” Luke 20:18 - “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” If you try to live apart from Jesus as your stone, it will crush you. Break you. But if you live with Jesus as your stone, nothing can ultimately crush or break you.