1 00:00:14,650 --> 00:00:15,022 Hey, guys. 2 00:00:15,076 --> 00:00:16,218 Welcome to Sandals Church. 3 00:00:16,234 --> 00:00:19,610 And we are in this series, 40 days of prayer. 4 00:00:19,690 --> 00:00:23,694 I don't know about you, but my prayer life has been challenged as we've gone through this 5 00:00:23,732 --> 00:00:23,946 series. 6 00:00:23,978 --> 00:00:27,582 How many of you guys have just felt something changing in your prayer life? 7 00:00:27,636 --> 00:00:28,286 Anybody? 8 00:00:28,468 --> 00:00:30,926 And so, man, if you just joined us today, you're like, oh, I missed out. 9 00:00:30,948 --> 00:00:32,078 No, you haven't missed out. 10 00:00:32,164 --> 00:00:36,062 God brought you here at the exact right time that you needed to be here. 11 00:00:36,116 --> 00:00:36,894 And let me say this. 12 00:00:36,932 --> 00:00:39,058 It's never too late to start praying. 13 00:00:39,194 --> 00:00:40,578 It's never too late. 14 00:00:40,674 --> 00:00:45,238 And so today I want to talk about praying with the power of God. 15 00:00:45,404 --> 00:00:47,074 I don't want you just to pray alone. 16 00:00:47,122 --> 00:00:50,566 I want you to pray with the power of God. 17 00:00:50,668 --> 00:00:56,134 And God wants to transform the way you pray by teaching you how not to pray. 18 00:00:56,262 --> 00:01:00,938 Just because everybody prays doesn't mean that God is pleased with how they're doing it. 19 00:01:01,024 --> 00:01:05,870 And so Jesus was super frustrated with the religious culture of his day. 20 00:01:06,020 --> 00:01:12,234 Prayer was very showy, very public, and, let's be honest, really, really fake. 21 00:01:12,362 --> 00:01:17,614 And if we're not careful, as christians, we can get caught up in the routine of prayer and 22 00:01:17,652 --> 00:01:20,800 think that God is simply happy because we're checking a box. 23 00:01:21,250 --> 00:01:26,622 What God wants to do today, I believe, is radically change some of the way that many of us 24 00:01:26,676 --> 00:01:27,390 pray. 25 00:01:28,530 --> 00:01:30,214 Hey, we're so glad that you're here. 26 00:01:30,252 --> 00:01:33,926 We want to just pause even now and take a moment and invite you that if you would like to 27 00:01:33,948 --> 00:01:38,646 be a part of the work that we are doing and God is doing here at Sandals Church, I want to 28 00:01:38,668 --> 00:01:40,182 invite you today to give. 29 00:01:40,316 --> 00:01:43,718 You can do that at give SC and make a donation there. 30 00:01:43,804 --> 00:01:46,114 And for now, let's get back into the message. 31 00:01:46,252 --> 00:01:49,238 And so Jesus, he told this story in Luke 18. 32 00:01:49,334 --> 00:01:51,574 This is one of my favorite, favorite stories. 33 00:01:51,622 --> 00:01:56,038 And if you've been at Sandals, you've heard me teach on this over and over again, and I'm 34 00:01:56,054 --> 00:01:59,854 going to preach on this until I die, because I think religious people need to hear this 35 00:01:59,892 --> 00:02:00,574 story. 36 00:02:00,772 --> 00:02:04,954 Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence. 37 00:02:05,002 --> 00:02:05,534 Listen to this. 38 00:02:05,572 --> 00:02:07,226 In their own righteousness. 39 00:02:07,418 --> 00:02:10,306 Let me just define America for you today. 40 00:02:10,488 --> 00:02:12,414 We think we have political struggles. 41 00:02:12,462 --> 00:02:13,006 No, we don't. 42 00:02:13,038 --> 00:02:15,570 We have a struggle of self righteousness. 43 00:02:15,910 --> 00:02:16,514 Okay? 44 00:02:16,632 --> 00:02:18,270 Republicans are self righteous. 45 00:02:18,350 --> 00:02:19,742 Democrats are self righteous. 46 00:02:19,806 --> 00:02:24,886 They've just created different categories of righteousness, and they judge the people on 47 00:02:24,908 --> 00:02:25,654 the other side. 48 00:02:25,772 --> 00:02:31,362 Be very, very careful that this doesn't happen to you, because religious people are very 49 00:02:31,436 --> 00:02:37,434 susceptible to self righteousness, and they scorned everyone else. 50 00:02:37,632 --> 00:02:42,330 And you can sense this in yourself, when you say, how could someone be so stupid to believe 51 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:43,020 that? 52 00:02:43,710 --> 00:02:45,866 How could someone think that way? 53 00:02:45,968 --> 00:02:48,938 How on earth could someone behave that way? 54 00:02:49,024 --> 00:02:51,678 Just remember, one day you're going to stand before God and he's going to show you a 55 00:02:51,684 --> 00:02:54,782 videotape of you doing probably those very same things. 56 00:02:54,916 --> 00:02:56,526 You've just forgotten about it. 57 00:02:56,628 --> 00:02:59,466 So he says, two men went to pray in the temple. 58 00:02:59,578 --> 00:03:02,750 So in the day and age of Jesus, you would go to the temple to pray. 59 00:03:02,830 --> 00:03:06,594 One was a pharisee, uber super religious person, okay? 60 00:03:06,632 --> 00:03:08,206 This is an olympian athlete. 61 00:03:08,238 --> 00:03:12,278 When it comes to religion, this guy works every single day. 62 00:03:12,364 --> 00:03:14,418 He's what Michael Phelps was to swimming. 63 00:03:14,514 --> 00:03:16,530 This guy is to religion. 64 00:03:16,690 --> 00:03:20,258 And the other guy was a despised tax collector. 65 00:03:20,434 --> 00:03:23,442 He was considered a betrayer of his own nation. 66 00:03:23,586 --> 00:03:28,218 He was considered that he'd sold out, that he served the enemy, that he had gone against 67 00:03:28,304 --> 00:03:32,598 his own jewish people to tax him for the benefit of the roman empire. 68 00:03:32,694 --> 00:03:34,090 He was hated. 69 00:03:34,670 --> 00:03:37,770 The Pharisee stood by himself and he prayed this prayer. 70 00:03:38,110 --> 00:03:40,506 You can learn a lot about yourself by the way you pray. 71 00:03:40,538 --> 00:03:45,422 By the way, he said, I thank you, God, that I'm not like other people. 72 00:03:45,476 --> 00:03:46,960 Don't you already hate this guy? 73 00:03:48,230 --> 00:03:52,050 Cheaters, sinners and adulterers. 74 00:03:52,390 --> 00:03:55,570 I'm certainly not like that tax collector. 75 00:03:55,910 --> 00:03:57,938 I fast twice a week. 76 00:03:58,104 --> 00:04:00,466 I give you a 10th of my income. 77 00:04:00,658 --> 00:04:08,134 But the tax collector, he stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as 78 00:04:08,172 --> 00:04:09,190 he prayed. 79 00:04:09,530 --> 00:04:20,746 Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, oh, God, be merciful to me, for I am a 80 00:04:20,768 --> 00:04:21,606 sinner. 81 00:04:21,798 --> 00:04:23,786 Now listen to what Jesus says. 82 00:04:23,968 --> 00:04:27,142 You see, his audience all assumes the Pharisees, the hero. 83 00:04:27,206 --> 00:04:29,002 And the tax collector's the enemy. 84 00:04:29,066 --> 00:04:29,854 Listen to what he says. 85 00:04:29,892 --> 00:04:36,602 He says, I tell you, this sinner, the tax collector, not the Pharisee, returned home 86 00:04:36,756 --> 00:04:39,060 justified before God. 87 00:04:39,830 --> 00:04:41,534 Now listen to this teaching. 88 00:04:41,662 --> 00:04:49,026 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, but those who humble themselves will be 89 00:04:49,048 --> 00:04:49,890 exalted. 90 00:04:50,310 --> 00:04:55,122 You see, the way up to God is taking down your pride. 91 00:04:55,266 --> 00:04:56,534 That's the way we go up. 92 00:04:56,572 --> 00:04:58,230 That's the way that we connect with God. 93 00:04:58,300 --> 00:05:01,346 You see, I can pray with the power of God. 94 00:05:01,468 --> 00:05:06,890 Listen to this and never forget this by praying with a spirit of humility. 95 00:05:08,030 --> 00:05:10,860 If it sounds arrogant, it's not God. 96 00:05:11,310 --> 00:05:14,140 If it feels arrogant, it's not God. 97 00:05:14,530 --> 00:05:17,870 You see, when we're truly authentic, we're humble. 98 00:05:18,370 --> 00:05:22,666 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer. 99 00:05:22,778 --> 00:05:23,774 I thank you, God. 100 00:05:23,812 --> 00:05:25,680 I'm not like those other people. 101 00:05:26,370 --> 00:05:31,358 Before Tammy and I, we started sandals church, we were at a church near the beach. 102 00:05:31,534 --> 00:05:36,206 And our church was a formal baptist church, a successful baptist church. 103 00:05:36,318 --> 00:05:37,682 We had more money than we needed. 104 00:05:37,736 --> 00:05:39,618 We had more facilities than we needed. 105 00:05:39,784 --> 00:05:43,858 It was truly the greatest facility within 1 mile of the beach. 106 00:05:44,034 --> 00:05:45,926 But we weren't reaching our community. 107 00:05:46,108 --> 00:05:49,314 You see, our community weren't southern Baptists from Oklahoma. 108 00:05:49,442 --> 00:05:52,482 They were sinners and surfers from Huntington beach. 109 00:05:52,626 --> 00:05:55,082 And I just felt so called to reach them. 110 00:05:55,136 --> 00:05:58,474 And I'll never forget when a deacon said this to my face. 111 00:05:58,672 --> 00:06:02,380 If those sinners want a church for them, they should start it themselves. 112 00:06:04,050 --> 00:06:07,534 He wasn't interested at all in reaching people. 113 00:06:07,652 --> 00:06:11,550 He didn't want those sinners to infect their church. 114 00:06:11,970 --> 00:06:14,222 And that's why I started sandals to make room for you guys. 115 00:06:14,276 --> 00:06:14,990 Amen. 116 00:06:18,450 --> 00:06:21,106 One time, I invited my friend, and he brought his mom. 117 00:06:21,208 --> 00:06:22,862 And I said, what did your mom think of sandals? 118 00:06:22,926 --> 00:06:25,010 He said, she said, it's full of sinners. 119 00:06:26,230 --> 00:06:30,350 I was like, well, that's true, but so is every church. 120 00:06:30,510 --> 00:06:34,200 The only difference is some churches know it and other churches fake it. 121 00:06:35,130 --> 00:06:37,794 He said, I'm certainly not like that tax collector. 122 00:06:37,922 --> 00:06:39,334 I fast twice a week. 123 00:06:39,372 --> 00:06:44,362 Be very, very careful that you don't get caught up in what you're doing for God, because 124 00:06:44,416 --> 00:06:47,740 what you're doing for God may be separating you from God. 125 00:06:48,510 --> 00:06:50,570 I give you a 10th of my income. 126 00:06:51,710 --> 00:06:52,634 Let me tell you something. 127 00:06:52,672 --> 00:06:54,220 Pride is a serious problem. 128 00:06:54,690 --> 00:07:02,720 Proverbs 1618 says this pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall. 129 00:07:03,730 --> 00:07:06,554 As I became your pastor the first year, we really struggled. 130 00:07:06,602 --> 00:07:07,122 Nobody came. 131 00:07:07,176 --> 00:07:07,890 I kid you not. 132 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:12,818 One time, I preached a sermon to four people, one of them and was me. 133 00:07:12,984 --> 00:07:13,458 Okay? 134 00:07:13,544 --> 00:07:15,090 When you're a pastor, you count everybody. 135 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:15,970 Amen. 136 00:07:19,190 --> 00:07:21,506 But, you know, in the middle of my sermon, a guy raised his hand. 137 00:07:21,528 --> 00:07:24,134 He had a question, and you can't anoint it. 138 00:07:24,172 --> 00:07:25,046 You can't ignore it. 139 00:07:25,068 --> 00:07:27,222 When there's three people in the room, I'm like, fine, okay. 140 00:07:27,276 --> 00:07:28,582 And it wasn't even about my message. 141 00:07:28,636 --> 00:07:29,830 I was so humiliated. 142 00:07:31,610 --> 00:07:34,034 But, you know, I got better at preaching. 143 00:07:34,082 --> 00:07:35,722 And the better I got, more people came. 144 00:07:35,776 --> 00:07:38,890 And the more people came, I began to struggle with pride. 145 00:07:40,190 --> 00:07:44,050 I remember the first time I spoke at a very famous pastor's church. 146 00:07:44,230 --> 00:07:45,806 And let's be honest, I killed it. 147 00:07:45,828 --> 00:07:47,022 It was super good. 148 00:07:47,156 --> 00:07:48,094 People loved it. 149 00:07:48,132 --> 00:07:49,242 Lives were changed. 150 00:07:49,306 --> 00:07:50,362 Women were crying. 151 00:07:50,426 --> 00:07:51,866 Babies were fed. 152 00:07:52,058 --> 00:07:53,390 It was incredible. 153 00:07:54,850 --> 00:08:02,010 And so I left this gathering of thousands of people, and I had performed really well, and I 154 00:08:02,020 --> 00:08:05,474 was meeting my friends at the movie theater, and we were going to go see the opening of 155 00:08:05,512 --> 00:08:06,590 Star wars. 156 00:08:06,750 --> 00:08:07,074 Right? 157 00:08:07,112 --> 00:08:11,746 It had been years since Star wars had come out, and my friends were waiting in line to hold 158 00:08:11,768 --> 00:08:13,794 me a spot so I could get into the movie theater. 159 00:08:13,842 --> 00:08:15,074 I was still in my suit. 160 00:08:15,122 --> 00:08:16,870 I was wearing a suit. 161 00:08:18,250 --> 00:08:23,254 And I remember as I was running up the steps, full of myself, I could feel my head just, 162 00:08:23,292 --> 00:08:25,654 like, growing like a balloon. 163 00:08:25,702 --> 00:08:29,786 It was just getting bigger and bigger, and I was just so infatuated with how talented I 164 00:08:29,808 --> 00:08:30,380 was. 165 00:08:31,150 --> 00:08:35,610 And I heard a girl in the line say, hey, isn't that Matt Brown? 166 00:08:35,770 --> 00:08:39,760 And I was like, yes, it is. 167 00:08:40,770 --> 00:08:50,846 And as I ran up the steps, I missed a step, and I caught my tuxedo shoes, my fanciest shoes 168 00:08:50,878 --> 00:08:53,794 I owned right on the bottom of the step. 169 00:08:53,832 --> 00:08:56,190 And there's no recovering when you're wearing fancy shoes. 170 00:08:56,270 --> 00:08:57,650 It's like ice skates. 171 00:08:58,710 --> 00:09:04,006 And I fell in front of that entire audience, like, 250 people in line, and I heard them all 172 00:09:04,028 --> 00:09:10,710 go and just straight on my face, road rash as I'm going in the movie theater. 173 00:09:11,130 --> 00:09:15,820 And I heard God say, this is not what I've called you to. 174 00:09:17,470 --> 00:09:18,970 I'm so grateful. 175 00:09:19,470 --> 00:09:22,140 I'm so grateful that the Lord checked me. 176 00:09:22,750 --> 00:09:24,602 I'm so grateful that he humbled me. 177 00:09:24,656 --> 00:09:27,386 I'm so grateful that that proverbs isn't a proverb. 178 00:09:27,418 --> 00:09:29,118 It was a reality for me. 179 00:09:29,284 --> 00:09:31,290 You see, my head was swelling. 180 00:09:31,450 --> 00:09:33,482 And what happens when your head swells? 181 00:09:33,546 --> 00:09:35,790 Your relationship with God shrinks. 182 00:09:37,590 --> 00:09:43,666 James, the half brother of Jesus, says this, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the 183 00:09:43,688 --> 00:09:44,370 humble. 184 00:09:46,470 --> 00:09:52,310 Listen, if you're arrogant at all, you're not connecting with God at all as you pray. 185 00:09:52,650 --> 00:09:54,200 He doesn't want to hear it. 186 00:09:55,050 --> 00:09:56,758 He doesn't care about it. 187 00:09:56,924 --> 00:10:01,110 Nothing cuts you off faster when you pray than arrogance. 188 00:10:01,450 --> 00:10:03,610 So when you pray, don't demand. 189 00:10:03,950 --> 00:10:05,610 Who are you to demand? 190 00:10:06,270 --> 00:10:10,042 I mean, you're lucky and blessed of what God's already done in your life. 191 00:10:10,096 --> 00:10:14,234 What does God owe you and so many people? 192 00:10:14,352 --> 00:10:16,700 I just gave God a piece of my mind. 193 00:10:17,070 --> 00:10:20,960 I'm like, there's not much mind in there, if that's what you think you did. 194 00:10:22,210 --> 00:10:23,870 Who are you to demand? 195 00:10:24,370 --> 00:10:27,038 I mean, some of us, when we pray, we look like a spoiled two year old. 196 00:10:27,044 --> 00:10:27,954 You ever seen a two year old? 197 00:10:27,992 --> 00:10:34,126 Just like all the angels in heaven are just looking at you, is that an idiot? 198 00:10:34,158 --> 00:10:41,006 And the Lord's like, yes, that is a proud idiot, but an idiot don't make deals. 199 00:10:41,038 --> 00:10:41,554 You ever done that? 200 00:10:41,592 --> 00:10:43,380 God, if you do this, I'll do that. 201 00:10:44,390 --> 00:10:47,670 You realize you're negotiating with someone who owns it all anyways. 202 00:10:48,090 --> 00:10:51,462 Lord, if you do this for me, I'll give a little bit back to you of what it was already 203 00:10:51,516 --> 00:10:51,886 yours. 204 00:10:51,938 --> 00:10:54,250 And God's like, oh, my gosh, you're so generous. 205 00:10:56,350 --> 00:10:58,102 So let me get this straight. 206 00:10:58,246 --> 00:11:01,590 I do what you need, and you give me back what's already mine? 207 00:11:01,750 --> 00:11:04,300 Okay, next. 208 00:11:04,990 --> 00:11:07,600 Don't think that pride can't get you. 209 00:11:08,850 --> 00:11:11,438 You see, it'd be really safe for me to say. 210 00:11:11,604 --> 00:11:16,986 Years ago, when I was first becoming a pastor, I struggled with pride, but by the grace of 211 00:11:17,028 --> 00:11:17,620 God. 212 00:11:19,190 --> 00:11:20,606 That's how pastors used to preach. 213 00:11:20,638 --> 00:11:21,940 When I was a kid, they would. 214 00:11:22,390 --> 00:11:28,466 God, that'd be really easy for me to say. 215 00:11:28,568 --> 00:11:33,302 It's something I used to struggle with, don't you think? 216 00:11:33,356 --> 00:11:34,680 Pride can't get you. 217 00:11:36,410 --> 00:11:40,130 Next week, we're going to have a guest preacher preach. 218 00:11:40,290 --> 00:11:43,960 And this guy, every time he speaks, he changes my life. 219 00:11:44,810 --> 00:11:48,822 Some of the most significant changes in my life have come from John Bevere. 220 00:11:48,886 --> 00:11:51,366 And John Bevere will be at Sandals church next weekend. 221 00:11:51,398 --> 00:11:53,274 And let me tell you something you don't want to miss. 222 00:11:53,312 --> 00:11:54,940 If you miss, that's on you. 223 00:11:55,410 --> 00:12:00,058 He has a book out right now called the awe of God, and it's a bestseller instantly. 224 00:12:00,234 --> 00:12:05,470 And he's transforming the church, and he's challenging us to take God seriously. 225 00:12:06,710 --> 00:12:10,494 But when my daughter found out that John Bevere was preaching, she's like, oh, my gosh, 226 00:12:10,542 --> 00:12:12,610 it's my favorite pastor. 227 00:12:17,670 --> 00:12:19,330 I was so offended. 228 00:12:20,970 --> 00:12:22,840 Like, she can like John. 229 00:12:24,570 --> 00:12:27,910 She just can't love John more than her father. 230 00:12:30,090 --> 00:12:31,350 You know what that is? 231 00:12:31,500 --> 00:12:32,870 It's my pride. 232 00:12:34,330 --> 00:12:37,738 You see, pride doesn't rejoice in the talent of others. 233 00:12:37,824 --> 00:12:40,940 You're okay with people being talented, just not as talented as you. 234 00:12:41,630 --> 00:12:42,966 Pride's okay with beauty. 235 00:12:42,998 --> 00:12:43,994 But, girl, back up. 236 00:12:44,032 --> 00:12:45,980 I need to be the prettiest, right? 237 00:12:48,270 --> 00:12:52,426 A couple of weeks ago, I was going snowboarding. 238 00:12:52,538 --> 00:12:56,490 Fridays are my day off, and I like to go up alone, and I like to listen to pastors preach. 239 00:12:56,570 --> 00:13:00,260 It's important for me to listen to other people be used of God. 240 00:13:00,870 --> 00:13:02,770 And I was so convicted. 241 00:13:03,270 --> 00:13:05,090 I was super convicted. 242 00:13:05,990 --> 00:13:10,486 And what I realized is so many of the ways in which I'm offended, anybody ever been 243 00:13:10,508 --> 00:13:11,350 offended? 244 00:13:12,330 --> 00:13:17,000 Offense is just a very, very sneaky way that pride is working in your life. 245 00:13:18,170 --> 00:13:19,718 Well, how dare they? 246 00:13:19,884 --> 00:13:21,910 Don't they know I'm the queen of England? 247 00:13:22,490 --> 00:13:23,480 You're not. 248 00:13:24,090 --> 00:13:26,054 But so many of us are so offended. 249 00:13:26,102 --> 00:13:27,050 And you know what that is? 250 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:29,850 It's pride masquerading as hurt. 251 00:13:31,150 --> 00:13:34,166 And I felt this, and I was just like, oh, my gosh, lord. 252 00:13:34,198 --> 00:13:37,786 And I was so convicted, I sent it to Tammy, and I should have paid attention to the sermon 253 00:13:37,818 --> 00:13:38,106 title. 254 00:13:38,138 --> 00:13:40,430 She's like, do you think I struggle with pride? 255 00:13:42,530 --> 00:13:43,966 I don't know. 256 00:13:44,068 --> 00:13:45,280 Pray about it. 257 00:13:47,830 --> 00:13:49,026 Listen to me. 258 00:13:49,208 --> 00:13:52,622 We all struggle with pride. 259 00:13:52,766 --> 00:13:54,254 And here's the truth. 260 00:13:54,302 --> 00:13:56,340 Can I just confess something to you? 261 00:13:57,190 --> 00:14:00,530 The more I work on it, the more it's revealed. 262 00:14:03,350 --> 00:14:06,306 Working on pride is like trying to empty the ocean with a Dixie cup. 263 00:14:06,338 --> 00:14:08,310 You're like, I've made a lot of progress. 264 00:14:08,970 --> 00:14:11,430 It's like, there's still a lot of water out there, buddy. 265 00:14:12,330 --> 00:14:17,114 Pride is this sneaky thing for some of you in your marriage, you're not fighting about 266 00:14:17,152 --> 00:14:17,546 anything. 267 00:14:17,648 --> 00:14:20,170 You're just defending yourself because of your pride. 268 00:14:21,230 --> 00:14:25,298 And some of you married couples would rather get divorced than get honest and say, I'm 269 00:14:25,334 --> 00:14:25,802 prideful. 270 00:14:25,866 --> 00:14:28,190 Come on, I'm prideful. 271 00:14:29,570 --> 00:14:31,760 People leave churches because of this. 272 00:14:32,370 --> 00:14:33,710 Because of pride. 273 00:14:34,930 --> 00:14:37,920 I have struggled with pride my entire life. 274 00:14:38,550 --> 00:14:42,450 And just when I think I've won, it's like, yes. 275 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:44,130 It's like, wait a minute, that's prideful. 276 00:14:47,030 --> 00:14:48,900 It's just always there. 277 00:14:49,350 --> 00:14:50,274 And here's the thing. 278 00:14:50,312 --> 00:14:55,794 If you care about your relationship with God, you need to 24/7 care about your enemy, 279 00:14:55,842 --> 00:14:58,840 pride, because he destroys you. 280 00:14:59,610 --> 00:15:03,078 And can we just be honest for those of you who don't pray, do you know why that is? 281 00:15:03,164 --> 00:15:03,682 Pride. 282 00:15:03,746 --> 00:15:05,500 You don't think you need to. 283 00:15:06,670 --> 00:15:07,658 I'm good. 284 00:15:07,824 --> 00:15:08,394 I'm good. 285 00:15:08,432 --> 00:15:08,634 Really. 286 00:15:08,672 --> 00:15:09,974 Are you making the earth spin and float? 287 00:15:10,022 --> 00:15:10,474 Is that you? 288 00:15:10,512 --> 00:15:11,194 Thank you. 289 00:15:11,312 --> 00:15:12,940 Thank you for what you do. 290 00:15:13,710 --> 00:15:15,180 Because that's all God. 291 00:15:15,630 --> 00:15:16,880 It's all God. 292 00:15:17,570 --> 00:15:18,174 Next. 293 00:15:18,292 --> 00:15:23,390 I can pray with the power of God by being completely honest when I pray. 294 00:15:25,570 --> 00:15:26,766 I have a book coming out. 295 00:15:26,788 --> 00:15:28,354 It's not going to be like John Bever's book. 296 00:15:28,392 --> 00:15:29,700 Just, everybody settle down. 297 00:15:30,790 --> 00:15:31,886 His is a bestseller. 298 00:15:31,918 --> 00:15:40,066 I'm hoping to sell a couple, but some of the feedback I've got from the book is when I tell 299 00:15:40,088 --> 00:15:42,642 Natasha's story in our church, and it's a powerful story. 300 00:15:42,696 --> 00:15:47,814 But I talk about a soul cry, and what a soul cry is, is when there's nothing left between 301 00:15:47,852 --> 00:15:48,374 you and God. 302 00:15:48,412 --> 00:15:51,174 You don't care how you look, right? 303 00:15:51,212 --> 00:15:51,782 You know when. 304 00:15:51,836 --> 00:15:54,442 When our worship leaders will say, lift your hands. 305 00:15:54,496 --> 00:15:55,500 We're all like. 306 00:16:00,750 --> 00:16:02,358 And you know why we're reluctant? 307 00:16:02,454 --> 00:16:08,202 Because we care more about what people think around us than we care about what the God 308 00:16:08,256 --> 00:16:12,210 who's watching us worship, that's the block. 309 00:16:12,390 --> 00:16:14,106 And so the same thing happens in prayer. 310 00:16:14,138 --> 00:16:15,246 So you know what a soul cry is? 311 00:16:15,268 --> 00:16:16,638 You don't care if it comes out wrong. 312 00:16:16,724 --> 00:16:18,902 You don't care if there's snot from your nose to the floor. 313 00:16:18,986 --> 00:16:22,260 You don't care because all you care about is being heard. 314 00:16:22,630 --> 00:16:24,770 That's the only thing that matters. 315 00:16:25,190 --> 00:16:27,540 And it's when your soul connects with God. 316 00:16:28,950 --> 00:16:31,186 That's what happens in Luke 18. 317 00:16:31,378 --> 00:16:32,950 This is a soul cry. 318 00:16:33,290 --> 00:16:36,722 You see, the Pharisee is preoccupied with the tax collector. 319 00:16:36,786 --> 00:16:39,960 The tax collector is preoccupied with God. 320 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:49,640 So when you're in worship and you're doing this, that's not about God. 321 00:16:52,090 --> 00:16:54,870 The tax collector, he stood at a distance. 322 00:16:55,450 --> 00:17:01,450 He dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. 323 00:17:03,150 --> 00:17:05,930 You ever wonder why we close our eyes in church? 324 00:17:06,430 --> 00:17:11,434 It's a symbol saying God, I can't even look upon you right now as I pray because you're so 325 00:17:11,472 --> 00:17:12,960 holy and I'm so not. 326 00:17:14,210 --> 00:17:15,978 It's an act of humility. 327 00:17:16,154 --> 00:17:19,130 So the one who should have known to be humble was arrogant. 328 00:17:19,210 --> 00:17:22,430 And the one who should have been clueless about humility was humble. 329 00:17:24,450 --> 00:17:26,198 Instead, he beat his chest. 330 00:17:26,314 --> 00:17:28,238 It's a public display of shame. 331 00:17:28,334 --> 00:17:29,410 He doesn't care. 332 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:31,262 He didn't care that he was making a scene. 333 00:17:31,326 --> 00:17:33,140 He didn't care that people were watching. 334 00:17:33,830 --> 00:17:42,790 Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, oh, God, be merciful to me, for I'm a sinner. 335 00:17:46,750 --> 00:17:51,978 When you, as a Christian, begin to grow in how good God is, one of the things you're going 336 00:17:51,984 --> 00:17:54,460 to learn is how bad you are. 337 00:17:57,650 --> 00:18:00,474 And I feel so bad for so many christians. 338 00:18:00,522 --> 00:18:01,566 I meet christians all the time. 339 00:18:01,588 --> 00:18:02,714 Like, I don't have a testimony. 340 00:18:02,762 --> 00:18:05,070 Look, you don't have to be a drug addict to be a sinner. 341 00:18:06,050 --> 00:18:09,090 You didn't have to do a year in prostitution to be a sinner. 342 00:18:11,710 --> 00:18:13,530 There are multiple, multiple ways. 343 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:14,730 You know what I was good at? 344 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:16,614 I was just good at hiding my sin. 345 00:18:16,662 --> 00:18:18,714 I was better at that than most people. 346 00:18:18,832 --> 00:18:20,910 That's what a religious person is. 347 00:18:20,980 --> 00:18:22,990 They're better at cloak and dagger. 348 00:18:23,890 --> 00:18:25,200 They're just not honest. 349 00:18:26,690 --> 00:18:28,282 Psalm 140 518. 350 00:18:28,346 --> 00:18:33,310 This is one of the most important verses for me in my development as a christian. 351 00:18:33,650 --> 00:18:35,182 Psalm 140 518. 352 00:18:35,246 --> 00:18:38,162 The Lord is close to all who call on him. 353 00:18:38,216 --> 00:18:38,930 Here's the problem. 354 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,878 Every time I hear this verse preached, they stop right there. 355 00:18:43,064 --> 00:18:45,366 The Lord is close to all who call on him. 356 00:18:45,388 --> 00:18:46,790 That's not the whole verse. 357 00:18:48,490 --> 00:18:51,430 He is close to all who call on him. 358 00:18:51,500 --> 00:18:52,440 Listen to this. 359 00:18:52,810 --> 00:18:53,990 In truth. 360 00:18:55,850 --> 00:19:00,234 In truth, how many of you guys have ever been lied to? 361 00:19:00,272 --> 00:19:01,306 Raise your hands. 362 00:19:01,488 --> 00:19:01,930 Okay? 363 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:03,900 If you have kids, your hands should be up. 364 00:19:05,230 --> 00:19:07,130 And you're like, not my children. 365 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:08,960 That just means they're good at it. 366 00:19:11,090 --> 00:19:16,446 We've all been lied to by people that we care about people that we work with, people that 367 00:19:16,468 --> 00:19:16,942 we love. 368 00:19:16,996 --> 00:19:18,160 How's that feel? 369 00:19:19,970 --> 00:19:22,420 You don't like it, so why would God like it? 370 00:19:24,470 --> 00:19:28,814 And by the way, if there's one person you shouldn't lie to, it's the one who already knows 371 00:19:28,862 --> 00:19:29,970 all the truth. 372 00:19:34,460 --> 00:19:35,850 So listen to this. 373 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:40,780 We need to be truthful. 374 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:43,016 There's a man in our church. 375 00:19:43,048 --> 00:19:45,324 He's been at sandals for over 25 years. 376 00:19:45,522 --> 00:19:47,580 I met him when he was a teenager. 377 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:49,310 I love this guy. 378 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:54,960 He came from a very, very poor background, the working poor. 379 00:19:56,100 --> 00:19:58,210 And I met him, and he worked with our kids. 380 00:19:58,580 --> 00:20:00,192 And I said, you should go to college. 381 00:20:00,246 --> 00:20:02,240 You have a gift to be a teacher. 382 00:20:02,580 --> 00:20:04,740 He said, no one in my family has ever been to college. 383 00:20:04,810 --> 00:20:06,390 I said, you can be the first. 384 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:11,268 And we've been in relationship for years, and I've watched him and been with him through 385 00:20:11,274 --> 00:20:18,216 the ups and downs, but he recently went through just a really horrible divorce, and it was 386 00:20:18,238 --> 00:20:18,920 ugly. 387 00:20:19,420 --> 00:20:23,364 And he sent me a text the other day, and he said, matt, I'm really struggling in my prayer 388 00:20:23,412 --> 00:20:24,010 life. 389 00:20:25,500 --> 00:20:26,124 Listen to this. 390 00:20:26,162 --> 00:20:28,460 He said, can I pray for justice? 391 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:33,980 See, because in Christianese, what are we taught? 392 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:37,150 It's always about the other person. 393 00:20:38,020 --> 00:20:39,200 Read the psalms. 394 00:20:40,900 --> 00:20:43,250 The psalms aren't like, forgive them. 395 00:20:43,620 --> 00:20:49,730 The psalms are smash their heads against the rocks in Jesus name. 396 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:57,030 Like, you ever read a psalm, and you're like, I don't feel like I should be reading this. 397 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:01,620 This is a little rough. 398 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:05,284 Do you know why the psalms have survived and our scripture? 399 00:21:05,332 --> 00:21:06,410 Because they're real. 400 00:21:07,500 --> 00:21:09,316 He said, can I pray for justice? 401 00:21:09,428 --> 00:21:13,224 Yes, you can. 402 00:21:13,262 --> 00:21:19,500 Say, God, I'm just getting raked over the coals in the courtroom. 403 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:21,452 This is not fair. 404 00:21:21,506 --> 00:21:24,408 God, can you call out to God for justice? 405 00:21:24,584 --> 00:21:28,880 Yes, you can be real with God. 406 00:21:28,950 --> 00:21:32,224 He's the one person you should never be fake with. 407 00:21:32,422 --> 00:21:33,410 That's right. 408 00:21:34,180 --> 00:21:39,408 And so what that means is, if you can't honestly pray, lord, forgive them. 409 00:21:39,494 --> 00:21:40,652 Don't pray it. 410 00:21:40,806 --> 00:21:49,620 Say, God, I want justice, and I want an asteroid in your name to crash on their skull. 411 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:51,556 You know what you just did? 412 00:21:51,578 --> 00:21:52,980 You just wrote a psalm. 413 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:56,820 That's a book of psalms. 414 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:01,780 Some of you, you never read psalms. 415 00:22:02,360 --> 00:22:07,996 He literally says, lord, I wanted to take their infants and smash their skulls against a 416 00:22:08,018 --> 00:22:08,700 rock. 417 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:11,852 That feels like we crossed a line. 418 00:22:11,906 --> 00:22:12,264 Amen. 419 00:22:12,312 --> 00:22:12,908 Anybody? 420 00:22:13,074 --> 00:22:17,004 Just like, I've had some bad days. 421 00:22:17,042 --> 00:22:19,170 I've never wanted to slaughter children. 422 00:22:21,700 --> 00:22:23,104 Proverbs eleven five. 423 00:22:23,222 --> 00:22:26,956 The godly are directed by honesty. 424 00:22:27,068 --> 00:22:27,840 Whoo. 425 00:22:29,940 --> 00:22:32,950 The best thing you can do in your Prayer life is be real. 426 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:38,884 You see, here's the thing, is the religious Pharisee thinks he's being real, but is he? 427 00:22:39,002 --> 00:22:41,750 Lord, thank you for not making me like him. 428 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:47,956 So many of your friends, they can't believe you go to sandals. 429 00:22:47,988 --> 00:22:50,440 You know what's so sad is they probably need to go to sandals. 430 00:22:51,020 --> 00:22:52,356 I can't go to that church. 431 00:22:52,388 --> 00:22:54,840 It's full of unrighteousness and filth. 432 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:00,388 You know what? 433 00:23:00,394 --> 00:23:02,580 They can't smell their filth. 434 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:12,424 Every great movement of God begins with the people of God getting a whiff of their own 435 00:23:12,462 --> 00:23:13,240 stench. 436 00:23:15,500 --> 00:23:16,890 That's how it works. 437 00:23:17,660 --> 00:23:18,970 That's how it works. 438 00:23:22,140 --> 00:23:26,092 So the godly pursue honesty in everything. 439 00:23:26,226 --> 00:23:30,460 The wicked fall beneath their load of sin. 440 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:36,308 God loves to listen to honest prayers. 441 00:23:36,504 --> 00:23:45,514 And if you don't believe me, there's 150 of them in a book called psalms, where people of 442 00:23:45,552 --> 00:23:49,210 God cry out to God, and it's unfiltered. 443 00:23:50,050 --> 00:23:52,880 It's not just rated r, it's rated x. 444 00:23:56,270 --> 00:24:02,460 And by the way, when Jesus prayed, guess which book he loved to use? 445 00:24:03,890 --> 00:24:04,750 Psalms. 446 00:24:07,010 --> 00:24:07,950 Psalms. 447 00:24:09,250 --> 00:24:13,520 Do you know his last prayer was quoting psalm 22? 448 00:24:14,130 --> 00:24:16,640 Father, Father, why have thou forsaken me? 449 00:24:19,270 --> 00:24:23,730 Do you know how many psalms are like, God, where are you, God, do you even care? 450 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:25,780 God, do you even hear me? 451 00:24:26,470 --> 00:24:27,940 They're so real. 452 00:24:28,790 --> 00:24:30,100 They're so real. 453 00:24:31,770 --> 00:24:33,906 Psalm 60, 617 through 18. 454 00:24:33,938 --> 00:24:40,710 Listen this, for I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke. 455 00:24:41,050 --> 00:24:46,810 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 456 00:24:48,030 --> 00:24:50,554 You want to take your Christianity to the next level? 457 00:24:50,592 --> 00:24:52,330 Then get real when you pray. 458 00:24:54,430 --> 00:24:55,998 And here's why we do this. 459 00:24:56,084 --> 00:24:57,230 Here's why we do this. 460 00:24:57,300 --> 00:25:00,750 Because God's grace is more powerful than my sin. 461 00:25:01,810 --> 00:25:05,546 God is a better forgiver than I am a sinner. 462 00:25:05,738 --> 00:25:06,618 Amen. 463 00:25:06,794 --> 00:25:08,110 He's better at it. 464 00:25:08,180 --> 00:25:09,342 He's great at it. 465 00:25:09,396 --> 00:25:13,602 And so many of us christians, if I cornered you and I said, when's the last time you 466 00:25:13,656 --> 00:25:14,526 confessed? 467 00:25:14,638 --> 00:25:16,100 You would have to go. 468 00:25:16,470 --> 00:25:17,700 That's a problem. 469 00:25:18,470 --> 00:25:19,620 That's a problem. 470 00:25:21,430 --> 00:25:27,654 I was on a podcast with a woman from the Bible belt, and in the middle of our podcast last 471 00:25:27,692 --> 00:25:30,200 week, she stopped myself and she said, you're real. 472 00:25:32,250 --> 00:25:35,130 She said, pastors don't do that in the south. 473 00:25:35,550 --> 00:25:37,260 I said, well, they need to. 474 00:25:38,270 --> 00:25:39,900 Because let me tell you something. 475 00:25:40,830 --> 00:25:41,974 I don't just sin. 476 00:25:42,022 --> 00:25:43,290 Like, occasionally. 477 00:25:43,630 --> 00:25:46,460 I sin almost every day. 478 00:25:47,470 --> 00:25:48,734 And here's the scary thing. 479 00:25:48,772 --> 00:25:51,680 When I tell you I'm doing pretty good, I probably am just a little. 480 00:25:55,090 --> 00:25:57,786 Like, when Tammy go to marriage counseling, the counselor says, how we doing? 481 00:25:57,828 --> 00:25:59,220 I'm like, really good. 482 00:26:00,230 --> 00:26:11,460 And then it's her turn to share and I'm like, oh, I had no idea that we were pretty good. 483 00:26:12,950 --> 00:26:14,422 And that's the way it is. 484 00:26:14,556 --> 00:26:15,590 And listen to me. 485 00:26:15,660 --> 00:26:19,142 The purpose of confession and today's message is not to make you feel bad. 486 00:26:19,196 --> 00:26:19,782 Listen to me. 487 00:26:19,836 --> 00:26:21,640 It's to teach you to feel God. 488 00:26:23,770 --> 00:26:25,114 It's to teach you to feel God. 489 00:26:25,152 --> 00:26:26,618 You want to pray with the power of God. 490 00:26:26,704 --> 00:26:27,690 Be humble. 491 00:26:28,510 --> 00:26:29,500 Be honest. 492 00:26:31,390 --> 00:26:32,620 Let's be honest. 493 00:26:33,790 --> 00:26:41,966 Some of you today, when you came to church, you thought the walls would fall in because you 494 00:26:41,988 --> 00:26:45,450 know what you've done, you know where you've been, and yet they didn't. 495 00:26:45,610 --> 00:26:46,254 Why is that? 496 00:26:46,292 --> 00:26:47,566 Jesus didn't come to condemn you. 497 00:26:47,588 --> 00:26:48,900 He came to save you. 498 00:26:51,110 --> 00:26:56,146 I wish the church was the place that people would run when they know they can't fake it 499 00:26:56,168 --> 00:26:56,930 anymore. 500 00:26:58,870 --> 00:27:00,740 I wish that's the way it was. 501 00:27:02,390 --> 00:27:06,486 When I first started this church, I worked at a group home, and several of the kids in my 502 00:27:06,508 --> 00:27:08,354 group home struggled with addiction. 503 00:27:08,402 --> 00:27:10,950 And so I would take them to AA meetings. 504 00:27:11,290 --> 00:27:16,390 And one of the things that's impressed me about AA is the way they begin every meeting. 505 00:27:17,050 --> 00:27:20,746 And if I was at an AA meeting and we were there and I was talking, I would begin with these 506 00:27:20,768 --> 00:27:22,970 words, hi, my name is Matt, and I'm an alcoholic. 507 00:27:23,390 --> 00:27:28,460 It begins with the honest truth of what their struggle is. 508 00:27:29,150 --> 00:27:31,934 Wouldn't that be great if in small group it's like, hey, how's it going? 509 00:27:31,972 --> 00:27:32,346 I'm Matt. 510 00:27:32,378 --> 00:27:33,322 I'm a sinner. 511 00:27:33,466 --> 00:27:34,714 You're like, I thought you were the pastor. 512 00:27:34,762 --> 00:27:35,760 Yeah, that too. 513 00:27:36,210 --> 00:27:40,050 I'm the leading sinner of this church full of sinners. 514 00:27:41,590 --> 00:27:45,166 Like, wouldn't that be great if you put your kids in a christian school and their mascot 515 00:27:45,198 --> 00:27:46,770 was the glorious sinners? 516 00:27:51,350 --> 00:27:52,950 Because that's the truth. 517 00:27:54,570 --> 00:27:55,510 Here's the thing. 518 00:27:55,580 --> 00:27:59,750 Here's the gap between you and God right now in your prayer life is you're not getting real 519 00:27:59,820 --> 00:28:01,400 and you're not feeling God. 520 00:28:02,090 --> 00:28:03,638 One John one nine. 521 00:28:03,804 --> 00:28:07,450 This is one of the most important verses for you never to forget. 522 00:28:08,030 --> 00:28:10,700 Some of you need to get it tattooed right here. 523 00:28:11,310 --> 00:28:12,026 I don't know why. 524 00:28:12,048 --> 00:28:14,214 It's just rock stars with tattoos all over their faces. 525 00:28:14,262 --> 00:28:17,070 Christians just need to come in with verses everywhere. 526 00:28:18,690 --> 00:28:20,474 I mean, some of you need two faces. 527 00:28:20,522 --> 00:28:21,310 Amen. 528 00:28:22,530 --> 00:28:25,086 One John one nine. 529 00:28:25,268 --> 00:28:35,650 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us of all our sins 530 00:28:36,230 --> 00:28:40,130 and to cleanse us from all our wickedness. 531 00:28:41,110 --> 00:28:47,350 This last summer, I was in Rome and we had a guide and we were talking, and she found know 532 00:28:47,500 --> 00:28:51,286 we were a bunch of christians, and she found out I was a pastor, and she couldn't figure 533 00:28:51,308 --> 00:28:54,680 that out because in Rome, Catholicism dominates everything. 534 00:28:55,050 --> 00:28:56,594 And so she was just kind of curious. 535 00:28:56,642 --> 00:28:57,926 I kind of felt like a lab rat. 536 00:28:57,958 --> 00:29:01,866 As she's asking me questions, she's like, so you're married to her? 537 00:29:02,048 --> 00:29:03,946 I was like, yeah, and your church knows it. 538 00:29:03,968 --> 00:29:04,890 I'm like, yep. 539 00:29:07,710 --> 00:29:12,494 She says, because here we've had popes that were single, but they weren't single. 540 00:29:12,612 --> 00:29:13,998 Kept popping out kids. 541 00:29:14,164 --> 00:29:15,322 She said, your church. 542 00:29:15,466 --> 00:29:19,550 But here's the thing she said to me, she said, I don't believe in confession. 543 00:29:19,990 --> 00:29:21,620 I said, well, God does. 544 00:29:22,950 --> 00:29:27,086 And she just looked at me because she thinks that's something the Roman Catholic Church 545 00:29:27,118 --> 00:29:27,922 made up. 546 00:29:28,056 --> 00:29:32,600 Now, it's something the roman catholic church messed up, but they didn't make it up. 547 00:29:34,010 --> 00:29:40,600 You don't need to go talk to some stranger behind a veil where you can't see each other. 548 00:29:42,170 --> 00:29:46,220 You need to talk to a God who can see you and knows everything that you've already done. 549 00:29:49,710 --> 00:29:52,730 You see, when we confess our sins to God, listen to this. 550 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:54,010 He is faithful. 551 00:29:55,230 --> 00:29:59,630 He is just to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. 552 00:30:01,010 --> 00:30:02,602 I have a good friend of mine. 553 00:30:02,746 --> 00:30:07,070 She's Muslim, and she struggles with Christianity. 554 00:30:07,490 --> 00:30:09,054 She says, I don't get it. 555 00:30:09,172 --> 00:30:10,394 So I just believe in Jesus. 556 00:30:10,442 --> 00:30:12,802 And this is what she said, and my sins just go away. 557 00:30:12,856 --> 00:30:15,620 I said, oh, no, they didn't just go away. 558 00:30:16,630 --> 00:30:19,650 They were nailed to Jesus on the cross. 559 00:30:20,630 --> 00:30:21,506 Because here's the thing. 560 00:30:21,528 --> 00:30:24,200 Here's what she knows as a good muslim, somebody has to pay. 561 00:30:25,050 --> 00:30:26,614 Somebody has to pay. 562 00:30:26,732 --> 00:30:30,760 And listen to me, even atheists, somebody has to pay. 563 00:30:31,850 --> 00:30:33,078 And you get to choose. 564 00:30:33,164 --> 00:30:34,600 Jesus or you. 565 00:30:36,810 --> 00:30:40,534 If we confess our sins to him, he's faithful and just to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. 566 00:30:40,582 --> 00:30:40,890 Why? 567 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:43,510 Because Jesus paid the debt. 568 00:30:43,590 --> 00:30:44,570 So listen to me. 569 00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:47,050 Why are you carrying the burden of sin? 570 00:30:50,050 --> 00:30:54,494 I want you to imagine you go to a hospital and it's a cancer ward, and everyone there has 571 00:30:54,532 --> 00:30:56,274 cancer, and everyone's fighting for their life. 572 00:30:56,312 --> 00:30:58,894 But there's this room at the end of the hall with a man named Jesus. 573 00:30:58,942 --> 00:31:02,900 And if they want, they can just go take their cancer and leave it there and go home. 574 00:31:03,670 --> 00:31:07,826 But every day they choose not to be set free from their cancer. 575 00:31:08,018 --> 00:31:10,870 And they choose chemotherapy, they choose work. 576 00:31:11,020 --> 00:31:12,566 Some of them pretend they don't have it. 577 00:31:12,588 --> 00:31:13,654 And that's what christians do. 578 00:31:13,692 --> 00:31:18,346 We have this spiritual cancer called sin, and we just carry it every day wondering why 579 00:31:18,368 --> 00:31:21,866 we're sick, wondering why we're not well, when all you have to do to get rid of it is give 580 00:31:21,888 --> 00:31:22,810 it to Jesus. 581 00:31:24,590 --> 00:31:26,262 Jesus said these words. 582 00:31:26,416 --> 00:31:30,080 Jesus said, the truth will set you free. 583 00:31:32,530 --> 00:31:33,840 Will set you free. 584 00:31:35,570 --> 00:31:37,520 I have prayed so many times. 585 00:31:39,330 --> 00:31:40,686 Lord, set me free. 586 00:31:40,788 --> 00:31:41,966 And some of you, you've done this. 587 00:31:41,988 --> 00:31:44,318 You confess to God over and over and over again. 588 00:31:44,404 --> 00:31:46,290 Some of you are battling addiction right now. 589 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:47,394 Lord, set me free. 590 00:31:47,432 --> 00:31:48,526 I don't want to take another drink. 591 00:31:48,558 --> 00:31:51,460 I'm not going to take another drink just to get drunk the next night. 592 00:31:51,990 --> 00:31:57,446 Some of you battling sex addiction, your greatest fear is being alone with just you and 593 00:31:57,468 --> 00:31:58,280 your screen. 594 00:31:59,610 --> 00:32:00,822 And you just say, I don't understand. 595 00:32:00,876 --> 00:32:03,078 Pastor Matt, I've confessed this sin so many times. 596 00:32:03,164 --> 00:32:04,970 Why hasn't God delivered me? 597 00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:07,260 Why am I not free from this? 598 00:32:08,110 --> 00:32:09,340 Here's the answer. 599 00:32:09,790 --> 00:32:10,940 It's community. 600 00:32:12,750 --> 00:32:14,522 You want to change your prayer life. 601 00:32:14,656 --> 00:32:17,162 You want to pray with the power of God, pray humbly. 602 00:32:17,306 --> 00:32:23,440 Pray with humility, pray honestly, and pray with your christian community. 603 00:32:25,330 --> 00:32:29,470 Let's go back to our story that Jesus taught. 604 00:32:29,970 --> 00:32:36,594 So he talks about two men, and he contrasts them about how different they are in their 605 00:32:36,632 --> 00:32:37,582 approach to prayer. 606 00:32:37,646 --> 00:32:39,294 But I want to look at it from a different angle. 607 00:32:39,342 --> 00:32:41,960 Let's talk about how similar they are. 608 00:32:43,370 --> 00:32:44,840 Both guys are men. 609 00:32:45,770 --> 00:32:47,510 Both guys are Jews. 610 00:32:48,090 --> 00:32:49,142 Listen to this. 611 00:32:49,276 --> 00:32:51,590 Both men are alone. 612 00:32:53,130 --> 00:32:57,930 One is alone with his self righteousness and another is alone with his brokenness. 613 00:32:58,590 --> 00:33:06,762 Proverbs 18 one, whoever isolates himself, seeks his own desire and breaks out against all 614 00:33:06,816 --> 00:33:08,090 sound judgment. 615 00:33:09,310 --> 00:33:13,070 I don't know how many times I've read the Bible, but, you know, I never found that verse. 616 00:33:13,410 --> 00:33:16,720 It was a pastor in our church that quoted that verse to me. 617 00:33:17,090 --> 00:33:20,430 I needed community to find that verse. 618 00:33:21,570 --> 00:33:25,070 What are you missing out by doing your christian walk alone? 619 00:33:25,150 --> 00:33:25,874 I got this. 620 00:33:25,912 --> 00:33:27,060 It's just me. 621 00:33:27,510 --> 00:33:28,530 And isn't it interesting? 622 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:32,760 When Jesus started his ministry, the first thing he did is surround himself with people. 623 00:33:33,610 --> 00:33:35,110 Are you better than Jesus? 624 00:33:36,890 --> 00:33:38,402 Are you stronger than Jesus? 625 00:33:38,466 --> 00:33:40,390 Are you more holy than Jesus? 626 00:33:41,290 --> 00:33:45,494 And yet today, the greatest illness facing the church is christians who think they've got 627 00:33:45,532 --> 00:33:47,900 this good. 628 00:33:48,270 --> 00:33:49,260 I'm good. 629 00:33:50,590 --> 00:33:53,674 James, the half brother of Jesus, says this. 630 00:33:53,712 --> 00:33:54,970 Are any of you sick? 631 00:33:56,670 --> 00:34:00,510 You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you. 632 00:34:00,660 --> 00:34:03,950 Oh, but that's so embarrassing, so awkward. 633 00:34:05,570 --> 00:34:06,654 It drives me crazy. 634 00:34:06,692 --> 00:34:10,846 At our church, each and every week I tell people there's ministers right up here to come 635 00:34:10,868 --> 00:34:11,486 and pray with you. 636 00:34:11,508 --> 00:34:14,434 And then I'm in the lobby, and then people, instead of wanting to shake my hand, want 637 00:34:14,472 --> 00:34:14,910 prayer. 638 00:34:14,990 --> 00:34:18,260 I'm like, why didn't you go up with the people who were prepared for you? 639 00:34:19,110 --> 00:34:21,734 The lobby is not the place for this, the altar is. 640 00:34:21,772 --> 00:34:23,320 That's where we deal with that. 641 00:34:25,210 --> 00:34:27,282 The lobby is for fellowship. 642 00:34:27,346 --> 00:34:29,510 The altar is for confession. 643 00:34:32,090 --> 00:34:34,274 Call the elders to anoint you with oil. 644 00:34:34,322 --> 00:34:36,998 Listen to this in the name of the Lord. 645 00:34:37,174 --> 00:34:38,490 Do you know what that means? 646 00:34:38,640 --> 00:34:44,970 This problem, this disease, this issue we are giving to Jesus, this is no longer mine. 647 00:34:46,050 --> 00:34:48,190 I'm giving this to the Lord. 648 00:34:49,170 --> 00:34:53,710 Such a prayer, offered in faith, will heal the sick. 649 00:34:54,290 --> 00:34:57,680 Listen to this, and the Lord will make you well. 650 00:34:58,210 --> 00:35:04,642 What if the barrier between you and God is the fact that you haven't been real with someone 651 00:35:04,696 --> 00:35:05,300 else? 652 00:35:06,710 --> 00:35:10,130 And if you committed any sins, listen this, you will be forgiven. 653 00:35:11,030 --> 00:35:12,674 Confess your sins to each other. 654 00:35:12,712 --> 00:35:17,750 Listen this, and pray for each other so that you may be healed. 655 00:35:18,970 --> 00:35:20,530 The earnest prayer. 656 00:35:20,690 --> 00:35:22,760 You know what that word earnest means? 657 00:35:23,450 --> 00:35:25,110 It means you're serious. 658 00:35:27,370 --> 00:35:30,234 Like, we used to do a thing in our country called earnest money. 659 00:35:30,272 --> 00:35:34,170 And what it meant is you put a deposit down on something saying you were serious. 660 00:35:35,390 --> 00:35:39,706 The Earnest prayer, not the flippant prayer, not the fake prayer, but the real prayer. 661 00:35:39,738 --> 00:35:47,178 The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 662 00:35:47,354 --> 00:35:49,234 So why don't we do it? 663 00:35:49,352 --> 00:35:50,770 Because it's embarrassing. 664 00:35:52,790 --> 00:35:54,130 It's embarrassing. 665 00:35:56,310 --> 00:36:02,070 I want to talk to you about two men that confessed their sins to me recently. 666 00:36:03,290 --> 00:36:07,270 One guy's super buff, super handsome. 667 00:36:08,490 --> 00:36:15,420 I tell my wife, don't look for too long, because you just can't help it. 668 00:36:16,910 --> 00:36:17,722 Look for a second. 669 00:36:17,776 --> 00:36:19,050 But then it's a sin. 670 00:36:23,150 --> 00:36:28,874 And it's just so interesting for me because he's everything I wish I looked like 671 00:36:28,912 --> 00:36:29,610 physically. 672 00:36:30,750 --> 00:36:31,774 Don't amend that. 673 00:36:31,812 --> 00:36:32,720 But, you know. 674 00:36:34,930 --> 00:36:38,206 But he got into some trouble in his marriage, and he did some things he shouldn't have 675 00:36:38,228 --> 00:36:38,800 done. 676 00:36:41,030 --> 00:36:47,154 And he came into my office last week, and I had this giant man sit in front of me, and he 677 00:36:47,192 --> 00:36:50,340 said, I've been afraid to face you. 678 00:36:53,810 --> 00:36:54,960 Isn't that interesting? 679 00:36:56,770 --> 00:37:03,760 This picture of what a male specimen should look like said, I'm afraid to face you. 680 00:37:05,490 --> 00:37:07,940 But he said, but I knew I had to. 681 00:37:08,470 --> 00:37:16,914 And then he confessed what he did, and he wept and we prayed, and he's been texting me all 682 00:37:16,952 --> 00:37:18,530 week, pastor, I'm healing. 683 00:37:19,430 --> 00:37:21,010 Pastor, I'm healing. 684 00:37:21,670 --> 00:37:25,110 And I just think, what if he would have said no to the Lord? 685 00:37:25,930 --> 00:37:27,286 What if he wouldn't have faced me? 686 00:37:27,308 --> 00:37:28,246 And you don't need to face me. 687 00:37:28,268 --> 00:37:31,958 Maybe you need to face somebody at the front of service today, and you need to look them in 688 00:37:31,964 --> 00:37:34,810 the eyes and you need to say, our marriage sucks. 689 00:37:35,390 --> 00:37:36,506 It's not good. 690 00:37:36,608 --> 00:37:38,140 We're not going to make it. 691 00:37:38,670 --> 00:37:40,502 We need prayer we need Jesus. 692 00:37:40,566 --> 00:37:42,890 We need the blood of Jesus on this marriage. 693 00:37:44,290 --> 00:37:45,440 We need this. 694 00:37:46,690 --> 00:37:51,806 Another guy in our church, his wife, she said, pastor, can my husband and I come in and 695 00:37:51,828 --> 00:37:52,720 talk to you? 696 00:37:53,490 --> 00:37:54,382 I said, sure. 697 00:37:54,436 --> 00:37:55,520 What's going on? 698 00:37:56,150 --> 00:37:59,700 Her husband's addicted to porn, and he can't quit, can't stop. 699 00:38:01,270 --> 00:38:03,540 Been to counseling, done all kinds of things. 700 00:38:05,030 --> 00:38:06,660 And then he sat in my office. 701 00:38:07,750 --> 00:38:09,940 He said, I'm terrified to face you. 702 00:38:10,790 --> 00:38:11,766 And you know what I told him? 703 00:38:11,788 --> 00:38:13,480 I said, I wouldn't want to face me either. 704 00:38:15,450 --> 00:38:18,760 I wouldn't want to tell my pastor what you're about ready to tell me. 705 00:38:19,530 --> 00:38:22,940 But he told me, he confessed it. 706 00:38:23,630 --> 00:38:27,834 We prayed, and I saw him in church a couple of weeks ago. 707 00:38:27,872 --> 00:38:29,002 I said, how are you doing? 708 00:38:29,056 --> 00:38:31,290 He said, wonderful. 709 00:38:32,110 --> 00:38:33,180 It's different. 710 00:38:33,570 --> 00:38:37,040 He said, something changed when I faced you. 711 00:38:39,170 --> 00:38:40,400 Listen to me. 712 00:38:40,850 --> 00:38:43,994 We confess to God to be forgiven. 713 00:38:44,122 --> 00:38:46,850 We confess to each other to be healed. 714 00:38:48,070 --> 00:38:50,530 That is the beauty. 715 00:38:51,190 --> 00:38:52,530 It's the beauty. 716 00:38:54,230 --> 00:38:58,406 If you want to be set free, if you want to take your prayer life to another level, let me 717 00:38:58,428 --> 00:39:01,830 ask you, when's the last time you confessed? 718 00:39:04,570 --> 00:39:09,880 Every great movement of God begins with the confession of the people of God. 719 00:39:11,370 --> 00:39:13,410 When's the last time you confessed? 720 00:39:13,570 --> 00:39:16,650 So we're going to end the service today just with a time of confession. 721 00:39:17,230 --> 00:39:23,238 And so for some of you, man, you came to church today and you like the message, and you're 722 00:39:23,254 --> 00:39:24,106 just going to head out, that's fine. 723 00:39:24,128 --> 00:39:26,974 But what I want to make sure that we do is we leave room for people. 724 00:39:27,092 --> 00:39:28,720 This is a holy moment. 725 00:39:30,850 --> 00:39:31,486 Listen to me. 726 00:39:31,508 --> 00:39:36,450 This is the moment where marriages are healed, lives are changed, people are made. 727 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:39,154 Well, think about this. 728 00:39:39,192 --> 00:39:40,002 Families can change. 729 00:39:40,056 --> 00:39:41,106 Marriages can change. 730 00:39:41,208 --> 00:39:42,754 Generations can change. 731 00:39:42,872 --> 00:39:51,142 In this moment, if somebody says, I'm not going to fake it anymore, I'm going to get real 732 00:39:51,196 --> 00:39:55,670 today, and I'm going to look somebody in the face and I'm going to say, I need prayer. 733 00:39:56,250 --> 00:39:57,094 And here's the thing. 734 00:39:57,132 --> 00:39:59,670 And you're going to confess specifically. 735 00:40:01,050 --> 00:40:02,230 Specifically. 736 00:40:04,570 --> 00:40:05,880 You're going to get real. 737 00:40:07,290 --> 00:40:08,086 You're going to get real. 738 00:40:08,108 --> 00:40:09,546 And some of you are like, well, I don't want to get real. 739 00:40:09,648 --> 00:40:10,810 Let me tell you a funny story. 740 00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:12,746 I got my book, first copy of my book. 741 00:40:12,768 --> 00:40:13,098 I got it. 742 00:40:13,104 --> 00:40:13,910 I was so excited. 743 00:40:13,990 --> 00:40:15,754 I was reading my own book. 744 00:40:15,952 --> 00:40:17,414 Some chapters, I love some chapters. 745 00:40:17,462 --> 00:40:19,360 I'm like, oh, my gosh, this is not good. 746 00:40:20,370 --> 00:40:24,158 But I came across this one part, and I don't know if it's a mistake or an error or 747 00:40:24,164 --> 00:40:27,202 whatever, but I think AI or whoever, they changed the word. 748 00:40:27,256 --> 00:40:30,718 I said pray specifically, and it changed it to explicitly. 749 00:40:30,894 --> 00:40:36,130 And I'm like, of course, sandals church, home of the explicit prayer. 750 00:40:38,970 --> 00:40:43,554 But, you know, honestly, I can't remember if I wrote specific or explicit. 751 00:40:43,602 --> 00:40:46,840 But either way, even explicit prayers are welcome today. 752 00:40:49,050 --> 00:40:50,600 Even those are welcome. 753 00:40:51,130 --> 00:40:54,719 So what I'm going to do is I'm going to pray for you and then your campus pastor is going 754 00:40:54,719 --> 00:40:55,018 to help you. 755 00:40:55,024 --> 00:40:58,794 If you're watching online, you can reach out to us and just say, hey, I need to talk to 756 00:40:58,832 --> 00:40:59,420 somebody. 757 00:41:00,270 --> 00:41:02,250 And maybe it's just over chat. 758 00:41:02,830 --> 00:41:03,902 But here's the thing. 759 00:41:03,956 --> 00:41:08,800 Remember, both these broken men were alone, but they didn't have to be. 760 00:41:10,050 --> 00:41:11,454 Sermons will inspire you. 761 00:41:11,492 --> 00:41:12,174 But listen to me. 762 00:41:12,212 --> 00:41:15,200 Relationships and confession will change you. 763 00:41:15,570 --> 00:41:16,810 Will change you. 764 00:41:16,980 --> 00:41:23,294 So let me pray over this holy moment right now, and let's ask God to give us the strength 765 00:41:23,342 --> 00:41:27,650 and the courage to actually practice the vision of this church. 766 00:41:28,170 --> 00:41:29,654 Which is to be what? 767 00:41:29,852 --> 00:41:30,840 Be real. 768 00:41:31,530 --> 00:41:32,680 To be real. 769 00:41:33,370 --> 00:41:37,014 If you want to heal, you've got to be real. 770 00:41:37,132 --> 00:41:37,938 Let's pray. 771 00:41:38,034 --> 00:41:39,990 Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus. 772 00:41:40,590 --> 00:41:45,530 We pray, Lord, both for specific prayers and explicit prayers. 773 00:41:46,030 --> 00:41:48,570 We pray for a spirit of honesty. 774 00:41:48,910 --> 00:41:55,646 Holy Spirit, move through our 14 campuses, Lord, as people watch this sermon around the 775 00:41:55,668 --> 00:42:02,234 globe, Lord, transform their computer screen, their tv screen, into the holiest of holies 776 00:42:02,282 --> 00:42:03,390 and a temple. 777 00:42:03,890 --> 00:42:09,440 God, let them see it just like the tax collectors saw it, and let them get real. 778 00:42:10,370 --> 00:42:14,094 Let it be a moment where today we change. 779 00:42:14,212 --> 00:42:15,914 Today we confess. 780 00:42:16,042 --> 00:42:22,466 And today we receive Eve forgiveness that you've promised because you are faithful. 781 00:42:22,498 --> 00:42:26,870 And just to cleanse us of all unrighteousness when we confess it. 782 00:42:26,940 --> 00:42:28,818 In Jesus name we pray. 783 00:42:28,994 --> 00:42:30,130 Amen.