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The episodes are the weekly sermons from 922 Ministries campus in Appleton, WI. St. Peter is in the north part of Appleton. The CORE is our downtown Appleton campus.
Jesus Unfiltered
Week 5 - The CORE
Pastor Mike Novotny
Good morning everyone and welcome back to week number 5 of Jesus Unfiltered. There are 3 crucial moments in every person’s spiritual journey that test our commitment to Jesus Christ like few other things.
And I can almost guarantee that if you haven't been in one of these or two of these, or all three of these, you will be very soon.
What's going on with there are three crucial moments in every person's spiritual journey moments that truly test our commitment, to Christianity to Jesus Christ himself. And this faith that we profess, And I can almost guarantee that if you haven't been there yet, you are now or you will be soon. If it's not one, it might be both for some of you. It will be all three. And I want to prepare you for this moment and help get you through those moments or grab a pen. If you're watching at home taking notes, here's the first crucial moment of the Christian faith. I'm going to call it confusion.
Confusion is when you're trying really hard to be a good Christian, but life is not going well.
The time when you're not forgetting to pray but you're praying you're not skipping Church. You're going, you're not ignoring the Bible but opening its pages. You are trying to do the best that you can. And yeah it's the problems that you face aren't getting better. In fact, sometimes they get worse.
It's really confusing when you're trying to be faithful to God. You're trying to turn to him with all of your problems but God, instead of fixing your problems, lets them remain. In fact, sometimes he turns up the intensity of your pain.
It's like when you're trying to be faithful to God with your money. Some people don't give a dollar to anyone else, it's all for themselves but you're not like that. You're trying to think about those who are in need, you're trying to give to the poor, you're going to, you're kind of poor yourself, you're giving money in church to support the spread of the gospel? And yeah it's at the end of the day. Instead of opening for you that Financial door. Instead of giving you that good job that you feel satisfied at giving you the promotion the raise. You see the bills stacking up and your financial stress increasing and it's really confusing. Like, if I'm trying to honor God in this area of my life, I'm trying to follow his teaching. Why wouldn’t he bless me in return? Why are people who don't even believe in God or care about God, who are super greedy and not generous, why do they Prosper financially and not me? Spiritually, logically, it doesn't make much sense.
This confusion. We go to school and you're trying to be the good Christian kid. Some kids get into their cliques, they say mean things about other people, they're bullying one another, jocular do that? You stand up for the little guy. You stand up for what's right? You do the right thing. But sometimes that cost you. And instead of being the good kid that everyone wants to be friends with, sometimes you end up on the outside of the circle, you eat lunch by yourself, you go home, you hate school and you don't go back in this. Confusing. I mean you're not perfect, but you're trying to be good. Why would God give you a better experience? Are you starting a business? And you want that business to have good values. The people enjoy working so that you're not going to cut corners, you're going to take advantage of the system. You're going to treat people with respect. You would assume if you're doing that, God would bring it to you. The right people, the right manager are the right employees who bless you with a great career and experience but that does not happen. Sometimes people walk away from great managers, they leave. Great companies why is that? Well, God, do that.
Or maybe come to church and you learn how God wants relationships to work. You first? And so you do your best to serve your husband, to be a blessing to your wife. You try to listen to what they're going through, speak their love language, put them first as often as you can. But sometimes, spouses don't reciprocate. And you feel like you're giving and giving not just for a day or a week or a month, but a whole year you're trying and yet the relationship doesn't get better. That's confusing. Why would God seems like punishing someone who is trying their best?
Sometimes it happens with Christian couples who take seriously God's commands about sexuality. They're trying to wait. We're trying to be patient and trying to honor the institution and Covenant of marriage and so they don't give in. And even though they want to .
Wedding day comes, and they take their vows and for some couples that part of their life is really complicated. They struggle with their sexual relationship or they want to start a family and have kids but they battle infertility. And meanwhile over here, you have friends who really don't care about the Bible and its teachings and its restrictions and they seem fine. And they seem like they're having fun with kids without even trying and it's super confusing. Why would God look at a family, who sincerely trying to follow him, and not bless them with the things that they want the most? And that's summarized at this way when you're trying to be a good Christian and God does not give you a good life. And you look around and see people who are not even trying to be good Christians and they seem to have a better light that is really disorienting. And that's the crucial moment that I'm calling confusion.
But there's a second moment, right? System that confusion. But the second crucial moment is condemnation.
Condemnation is when you look in the mirror and all you feel about yourself spiritually is negative.
We sing the songs, passages about God and his love, but it just, it can't penetrate because you're just thinking of that thing that you did or the thing that you said or that thing that you keep struggling with, you look yourself in the mirror and it's just so It's fresh. It's raw. And it's hard to believe that God looks at you and sees someone that he actually likes.
For some of you, that's because of something big in your past that you pushed and paid for her abortion. You were unfaithful to your boyfriend years ago, you said something to your mom or your dad or your ex. It just came out of your pain in your heart is ugly. There's a Christian, you remember the words? For some people, it's not a big thing in the past which is a continual struggle. Like I make these promises to God, I confess my sins in church. I tell God that I'm going to do better and try harder and yet again and again. Again I say I'm not going to worry. I'm not going to be afraid. I'm not going to be anxious. I'm gonna trust, I'm going to have fun going to remember God. I failed. I'm not going to get into it with him again or her again. They know how to push my buttons home and be better. I'm gonna be the bigger person and then I'm done with drinking. I'm done with you saying, I'm done with pornography and then with all that and then ….
There's something really big that happened. One time or something. That just happens all the time. It's hard to actually believe God looks at you and loves looks at you. And see someone who is clean inside.
And if those two challenges weren't enough, there's the third crucial moment. Temptation.
Temptation is when you are seriously second-guessing, if you want to keep doing all this stuff, If you're raised in a church, maybe you prayed at home. Bible stories, Sunday school, Christian education. But sometimes you’re alone in life and you seriously wonder is this the kind of person that I want to be?
The Bible has its truth and its rules and its restrictions. Mom, your grandma, would never believed this about Jesus, not to be a church-going Bible, believing Jesus following person. We're tempted to question that when we realize how hard it is to follow Jesus, but especially I would say, when you meet someone who doesn't follow Jesus and their life is fine.
Where you're struggling to be biblical about it and then your best friend, who has no desire to go to church. It's not like their life is a total train wreck and you wonder, is this worth it?
Trying to submit my whole life to the Christian faith, my money, my time, my body, my desires, my everything. And now here's my friend doesn't care at all about any of that stuff and he's fine. His family's fine is happy. Is this worth it?
In most of our spiritual journey we run into confusion, condemnation or Temptation or two at a time or all three. It really makes us wonder when life is bad or when I feel bad or I wonder if Christianity is really that good. What should I do?
And if you can't relate to any of that, just yet, I would propose this for a whole bunch of us in the room right now before this year is over. Those crucial moments are going to happen. It really only takes one tragic car accident or one unexpected diagnosis. Pretty stable Christian to be plunged into confusion. It only takes one night, one choice. One word for us to struggle with condemnation. It only takes one friend who's not following Jesus truly make us rethink our faith and lead us into temptation. So what do you do? What do we do when faced with these three crucial moments?
Well, today Jesus is going to tell us. Because on the Thursday night, before the Friday that Jesus died, he gave this powerful teaching to his closest friends, who's in an upper room with Peter and James and John and the bunch. And he called himself by a certain name, he revealed himself in a certain way that in less than 10 verses Jesus actually tackle these three crucial problems. Today, as I have a chance to teach you John chapter, 15, the words of Jesus were going to find out exactly what to do with confusion and condemnation and temptation.
If you can open to John 15, otherwise you can follow on the screen where we hear Jesus. Speaking these words, when you and I struggle with pain, suffering and spiritual confusion, he says this:
I am the True Vine. And my father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears, no fruit. Every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
You're struggling with confusion, Jesus wants to take you out to the garden. He wants to remind you. That his father is like a good gardener. And when the good Gardener sees a branch with tons of potential one, Jesus says, that does produce fruit. Do you know what a good Gardener does? He prunes it. Snips it, It cuts it, and wounds it. As he's a grumpy gardener. You had a bad day with a spouse. He's taking it out on the garden. Nope. Jesus says he prunes it so that it will be even more fruitful.
Let's imagine for a second that you all are in a big Garden. Each of you is an individual branch stuck into a Vine and I'm the gardener, and I show up with these. I see the look on your face What?. What would, what would you say if I came in for a little snip? You would say somebody you monster you murdering again. I was laughing with a smile on my face, I cut you with her time. What would you think about me? Do you think the worst unless you understood the point of a garden? The point of a garden is not just to give all the plants the most comfortable experience from start to finish. No, point of a garden is to produce fruit. And if you care about producing fruit, if that is the end goal of the game of gardening, then pruning actually isn't confusing at all. Scientifically. It makes perfect sense. Doing the science of how plants produce fruit. All right, so all these nutrients are pumped into it from the ground, but there's only so many nutrients. So if I have to divide up all those nutrients into tons of little branches, we actually don't have enough nutrients to make something really mature and fruitful. So what is a good Gardener do? Snip off this part. Not that part.
It's so all those nutrients can funnel into something that has enough energy, enough nutrients to blossom and grow and to produce what we all want in the end. If the goal is fruitfulness, Then pruning should not confuse you.
That's actually what my friend Marty taught me. I have a picture. Marty owns a Vineyard right here in Central Wisconsin. I've had a chance to sample some of his wines during some events at this beautiful Vineyard. And as soon as I read, Jesus is words, I reached out to Marty and said, hey, as a guy who does this for a living, what can you tell me about pruning? And he told me about the process, he told me what his family does to produce really great grapes that produce really amazing wine. And he said something in his email that I had to share with you today. Here's what the professional pruner said, quote. The biggest mistake that people make. Is not pruning aggressively. The better, the pruning, the more fruitful the grapes.
Apparently, if the goal is to produce the most fruit, the biggest mistake you could make is not pruning aggressively.
And our heavenly father knows that's true about you.
If God's goal for your life was just comfort from birth until death right? Put you in a snuggie, get your nice, warm tea. Don't work. Don't do anything hard. Like, just my goal for you is to be as comfortable. If that was his goal, then pruning would be shocking and pain would be surprising but that's not God's goal. If God's goal for you is to be fruitful. And by that, the Bible means like Jesus, humble, kind, generous, compassionate, empathetic, forgiving, strong. If that's God's goal. Would you not agree that sometimes pain and suffering is the best thing to make us that kind of people?
How about this way when you hear a story about a trust fund baby? Some kid who was born into insane wealth, billions from birth, never wanted for anything, got everything they wanted as comfortable as comfortable can be, like seven years old sitting on some beach that you'll never be able to afford. Do you think…well there is the best human being on Earth. Oh no. You know that sometimes when it's easy. You don't become a great person.
Because you never had to struggle to get something good. If getting grades came for you, without studying, if you were naturally athletic and you didn't have to work for it, just everything came your way. Does that make you a humble kind, patient person? Actually. Sometimes just the opposite. If it's been easy in your life, when other people are struggling, don't know how to help them. Just, well do it. You think like me? But when God, when God cuts something back. Like your health was here, this much in the bank and life was this good. And your mom was there and your dad was there in your family, was there?
Sometimes it is those moments that actually give us a better faith. It humbles us so that we end up humble like Jesus. When you experience pain, we are able to sympathize with people's pain just like Jesus. When God doesn't give us what we want when we want it. It makes us have patience like Jesus. I've actually learned this in life. Most of the best things that I do to help you as a church have been burst out of my hardest experiences. The things that were not easy at the time. Right? I wouldn't have chosen those things, but looking back, I'm not sure if I would change those things, Because the hard times shape us, they refine us or Jesus would say they prune us. So Jesus wants you to know the next time. It happens the next time you want God to do this, and he doesn't, don't assume he's punishing you. He's not, he's pruning you, he is preparing you. Because in all things, God works for the good of those who love him. The old saying that there's always a reason, there's always a purpose there's always a plan that is biblically true.
Jesus said in his teaching every branch that does bear fruit, my father prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. Believe that and you will not be confused by your pain.
Believe that and you'll stop asking the unanswerable question. Why God? And you'll start asking a more biblical question. What now, God? What are you gonna do now? What will you produce in me? You took this away, but you promised it must be where you're redirecting, me, where are you putting my time and energy? I wanted this. You could have it back, but I can do that. Leaving Jesus teaching on pruning and you will overcome the critical and crucial moments called confusion.
That brings us to crucial moment # 2. What about condemnation? Just can't let it go. Can't forgive yourself. Can't get past the past. How do you handle that? When one single verse I Think Jesus is going to give you amazing help. Here's what he says in John 15 verse 3. You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Now, that verse who here is itching for a new Bible tattoo, That's all right. We got here. Like 10. Don't raise your hand in the back. I just saw my mom put my hands out. What if you were this? This verse Jesus is words, if you think about, it, are so stunning. Let's start with the first word you would. Jesus says, you, who is he referring to? He's referring to his friends, Peter, James, John, Thomas, the other people who are with Him on that Thursday night, what do you know about these friends? Here's what I know from this book, if they had a spiritual report card Jesus would have requested a personal conference with their parents, right? These were guys. We did not just have issues way in the past, before after three years of being as close to Jesus, as possible in the present, they were very flawed. In fact, that very Thursday night. They're going to bust into an argument always before Jesus dies about which one of them is the best disciple.
How bad is that? I mean, it's in the middle of my sermon. You all got in like a huge argument and picked up chairs and trade a paper cuts with each other with bulletins about who's the best Christian. I would shake my head in disbelief and just say I'm out. But Jesus says to these guys Peter, who's about to deny him three times, all the men were about to run away and leave him to be arrested and crucified. He says you are the shocking part, you are already clean. Clean. Not dirty to God but clean. Flawed to God, but flawless that doesn't look at you and say, clean yourself up, clean up your life. But he sees something that makes them happy to be beautiful like a bride on her wedding day. The confusing word is already. But we need to discuss our right in the middle of their sin. They’re so far from perfect. Holy people. Jesus, how can you possibly say you are already clean?
And there's the answer.
Not because you're getting better. Not because you tried so hard today. Now, Christian teaching because Jesus Christ himself says, you are already clean because of the word. I have spoken to you.
Jesus, unlike any other religion speaks a word of cleansing power to present-day centers.
It doesn't say once you do enough, have tried enough, once you clean yourself up then I will say that you're clean. No, in the midst of our struggle. He says, to Christians, repented followers of him already. Clean.
Because of what he was about to do because God already saw it happening in the future. You could say with confidence to every Christian because of the mercy and the forgiveness in the love and a celebration of that weekend, the cross and the empty tomb, you who believe in me are already clean. What Jesus said to Peter, James and John. He says, now to you. Might be as flawed as Peter struggling with foot-in-mouth disease every day. You might talk vague like James and John and bail. When the moment gets difficult, he's not waiting for that to get better until he says this already clean. Now, that's hard to believe in moments of self condemnation. So we're going to practice here today. So this is a crowd participation part of church. You're watching at home. You can join us, too. All right, when I do this you're going to say, already clean it. If you kind of whisper and Mumble at this, part is going to be really lame. And then I'm going to be moody for the rest of the sermon. So don't do that to me. All right, so I need all of you to participate. All right. Let's practice ready, already clean? Yeah, very good. Alright. Now I'm gonna pretend like I'm a person who's just struggling with the past, or the present time.
Stuck in my sin. Fixed over to Jesus. Every time I do this you're going to say, okay, let's practice. So let's imagine that I have a really messy legal record. All right, you can look at my name on the Internet and find it and you can find what I did. What the judge said and a price that I have to pay. Maybe I'm still on parole, maybe I'm in a jail cell right now and just think how stupid was that one night? I threw away years. I'm a mess with my family. I have a court case coming up with four people going to say, I don't think less of me. But when God looks at me because of the mercy faith of Jesus. I'm declared. Let's imagine that. I'm a person who just jacked up my own family. All right, I wasn't happy in marriage. So I strayed. I flirted and flirted, let's just do something. I can't forgive myself for not Mike. My marriage ended and my kid and I love those two toothbrushes and two beds. He has to sleep in two schedules to handle. I did that there are consequences to the choices that I made. How could I? Okay, I stand before God and possibly smile. Jesus said, because the blood I shed even you are I'm still struggling. I told God I'm done with drinking. I'm done with smoking. I'm done with clicking. I'm done with losing my cool.
He says, even though you do the things you hate, you don't do the things that you love. I died for people just like that. I declare that you are. But what if I said, But what if I, but what if? But Jesus says stop objecting, this is forgiveness freely. Given this isn't me making you earn it, other religions do that, but I don't. So I can look Peter in the eye hours before he denies me. And I can say, I'm not waiting till you're perfect Peter, because my sacrifice is perfect. I've declared by my blood and through my word that you are already clean. Friends, do you regret these things you've done? I do.
And you should go back and just be a better person. But a Christian I do too. But the good news of our faith is that Jesus doesn't wait until we're perfect. He makes us Perfect by his blood. We feel condemned, run to Jesus.
There's no condemnation for those who trust in him.
And it brings us to our final, crucial moment for today. What about temptation?
I'm curious how many people in the room are under 25, going to see your hands real quick, lots and lots and lots of you when you're younger mom dad. Maybe raised you in church bring you to church. I'll bet as times goes by, you get to make your own decisions, you meet people from all different backgrounds, you date someone here, you meet friends online, you realize that all kinds of people believe all different things and behave in different ways. So I would say no, I would stay. I'm there, especially some parts of the Christian faith that are incredibly hard. I think the Bible is teaching especially about money and about sexuality that are very difficult in our day and age to submit yourself to that, to say, your will be done. Not my desire, but your wildness so challenging for some people in this room, it will, it will cost you for so long. Why would you stick with Jesus? My last big section, Jesus wants to answer that question and frantically.
What he says.
Remain in me. As I also remain in you. No Branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me? I am the vine. You are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you're like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words, remain in you ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. This is to my father's Glory that you bear much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the father has loved me, so have I loved you? Now remain. in my love.
If I repetition is meant to teach us anything, there's one word Jesus doesn't want you to forget.
Remain. He said. remain, remain. remain remain. Remain. Remain. Remain. Remain. Remain nine times. Jesus chooses us would remain in me as I remain in. You remain in My Love. Remain remain remain remain. And why would we remain with Jesus? Jesus is hard to stick with you. It's hard to follow you. It's hard. Not to follow the ways of the world, the ways of my own hard. Why would I do that?
And maybe some Bible study for you is to list all the reasons that Jesus gives, he talks about bearing fruits, he talks about God, answering the prayer of people who are connected to Jesus, but there's one. It's one reason in particular, I want to focus on today. And help you understand. Jesus’ point here, let me tell you the tragic tale of Stan, the branch Once Upon a Time Stan, the branch was stuck to the side of a big old oak tree. Every single morning, every single afternoon, and every single night, that's the worst and stayed because he was a branch stuck to the tree.
He kept him strong and stable and pumped nutrients in so that he could produce beautiful leaves, it turned even more beautiful in the fall. But some days, some days, It's down from way up there in the sky. He wondered what it would be like to not be a branch. You look for the little bit of Envy at the squirrels who are free to explore wherever they wanted in the yard, they weren't stuck to some trunk. They could dig in the dirt, they can run around the house. They could go to new places, see new people and that it's really grew in Stan’s heart. It's a one fateful night an incredible storm blew through the backyard. Like normal, the strong wind started to bend the branches, but this time Stan’s started to lean into it. I want a big gust came, excited, Stanley, do you even more until you heard the small pops by his feet? Until, in one crucial decision. he leaned in, as hard as he could with a big gust until, snap. He disconnected from the trunk and stayed on the branch. Fell, fell, fell all the way down until he plopped into a bed of soft green grass after the initial shock. He looked around.
He saw things that he'd never seen before. He experienced places he had never been before as the wind blew and blew him across the yard and sand squealed with delight. It was more fun than he had in a long, long time. That first night Stanley Branch fell asleep with the twinkling stars over his head stars that he had never seen.
But when the morning came and Stan woke up, he felt drive.
And even though the wind kept blowing and experience new places as interesting as they were, something was off I stand felt themselves starting to shrivel just a bit, The Thirst grew stronger and days past of sun ups, but even worse thirst until one day, a man walked over and saw a not stand the branch. But Stan, the stick.
He picked up the dry stick. Bundled it up. And tossed it into his fire where it was burned.
Quote. If you do not remain in me, you were like a branch that is thrown away and Withers.
Such branches are picked up thrown into the fire. And burned.
Quote.
The unfiltered Jesus says, in John 15, what he has been saying throughout the Gospel of John, That if you don't have him, you are dead.
Just like a sheep without a Shepherd is dead. Just like a plant without light is dead. Just like a body without bread is dead. So, if you want to be an independent person, disconnected from the same old place called the Christian faith, you might have some fun. You made it. Parents' freedom. But she will be dead.
And I know that sounds old school to lots of you. Here today, maybe it's been a long time since you were to fire and brimstone sermon that threatens you with the agony of hell. But listen, I'm not making this up.
Maybe in the past, they overemphasized the Holiness and Judgment of God, maybe that was going too far. But you and I in these modern times, must not put out the fires of hell, because Jesus Christ was the one who taught it.
Jesus Christ said, if you want to be true to yourself, You want to do you? You can.
But you will turn yourself into a spiritual stick. That in the end will be burned.
Here's the fact you don't have to follow Jesus. You don't. You could live your truth, you could spend money, like it's your money, you could call it your body, it's your desire, your sexuality, your words, your whatever, you could do that. You could. But one day you will die, just like me.
And you will stand before God. Just like me.
And God will know everything you've ever done just like me and he will judge you for that. Just like me. Except there will be no Jesus that you're stuck too.
There will be no Advocate with the father to defend you. There will be no word of forgiveness and mercy and Grace that says no father. She's already cleaned. There will just be you
What will you say to God? When he knows. He has a book recorded with every thought when you were 12, every word, when you were 22, everything that you have ever done, what will you say to him to deserve Eternal Paradise?
There will be no answer, not even for the best of us and that's why Jesus is begging you remain? Remain. You could follow the world but please don't remain. Don't turn into a stick. Stay stuck to me. He begs. I wonder what tears in his eyes remain in me. Remain in my truth, remain in my teaching, remain my disciple? What will the world offer you that's worth giving up your eternity? What good is it for a person to get the whole world and lose their soul. And Jesus said, what could a man give in exchange for his soul?
I would say that to the world, but what will you give me for eating for 80-100 years? That makes sacrificing my eternity worth it.
Friends, especially young friends, who are here today. Christianity is not easy. He refuses to let you be God. It refuses to give you the last word, only Jesus gets that and it's hard. No one says otherwise. But the alternative is much harder. Justifying yourself in the eyes of a perfect judge. Remain.
The last thing that Jesus said,
“As the father has loved me. So, have I loved you.” Remain in my love.
Jesus' logic is not just the threat. You can't get into heaven without me. Instead, he offers you this incredible blessing as the Father has loved me. Let's scratch our tattoo plans because this is even better as the father has loved me. How much, how much does God the father loved his son.
How would you describe the love that a perfect father has for his perfectly obedient son?
It could fill up the ocean 10 times over. And Jesus says, this incredible thing is the father has loved me so have I loved you? With that perfect, beautiful love Jesus. It says that's the way I love you. I deserve that kind of love from the father. You don't deserve that kind of love for me but it's not going to change the fact that I give it. I love you. That's why I said who, who in your life has ever loved you like that?
Your dog. Maybe some days. But dogs don't last forever, your grandkids, your grandma. It might be great but there is nothing like the Divine love between Father, Son and Spirit. That Jesus is now offering to you, free of charge, he's saying to his friends, don't walk away from the greatest love the universe has ever known. Are those friends that you want to make happy? There's this guy that you're dating. They might love you a little bit, maybe a lot, but it is nothing compared to the love of father and son that is now given to you. So, let the world have it's fun and enjoy its freedom. I choose Faith because Faith connects me to a God, who forgives and who will love me forever.
And that's how you get through it. Are you confused about your pain? Groaning, you can, you not forgive yourself for what you did or said you are already clean because of the word of Jesus. Are you tempted to leave Christianity? Don't, don't give up. Having don't give up. God's love. Don't put yourself in the danger of the fire. Jesus is worth it. Jesus is Worthy because as the father loved him, so he loves you. That's why Max Lucado loves Jesus. Some of you might know that famous author Max Lucado. When he was 16, though, Max Lucado did a very very very bad thing. He got drunk.
Getting drunk is bad. But for Max, it was very, very, very bad because as his father had so frequently told him he came from a family full of Alcoholics. His dad knew all the branches of the family tree. All the misery that alcohol had brought into their home for Generation after generation. So from the earliest years, he warned his son. Max don't, don't, don't. But one day when he was 16, Max did.
And then he did it again. And he got drunk again.
And again. And hundreds of times before his 20th birthday, he gave in to that temptation. Even though his father loved him, was trying to spare him, he ignored it for the pleasure of the moment. And to faith say he felt bad was an understatement.
Frequent hangovers was the least of his problems. The guilt of knowing he was putting himself on path of Destruction was killing him.
But that's why Max loves Jesus.
One of his recent books, he says that he could take all of us as a tour guide to the city to the church. In fact to the very seat where he was sitting after hundreds of moments of drunkenness, the very seat where he heard about Jesus.
And the light switch flipped that Jesus was so good, so loving and so forgiving that he could make a man like Max already clean. But he could love him even though he had been so far from God, but he ignored the wisdom of his father and his Heavenly Father, but because of Jesus Mercy got the last word. Max heard that. Unconditional love, he believed it. He believed in Jesus.
Enough, four decades, he's known exactly what to do in this world tempts him, offers him something fun. He knows that in Jesus, he has found a savior who is infinitely better.
I hope it doesn't happen to you. The confusion and the condemnation, the temptation. But when it does grab your bible. Open it up to John 15. And Let Jesus tell you exactly how to get through it. Because I'm punishing you he's prone to you. Is I'm done with you. You're already cleaned in his sides, remain in his love. Because it's the Father's love. Jesus. So his he love you.
That's right.
Lord, I don't know the specifics but I got to imagine there's someone watching today who's so confused by their pain. Their body hurts, their family's a mess. On the finances are getting worse and they don't understand why you don't fix it. God help him to not just hear this message, but believe it that you are pruning them. Not because you're mad, but because you want something really good and this is the best way to produce fruits. What was the trust you had when life is difficult too? Remember what job said that sometimes you give and sometimes you take, but your name is always worthy to be praised.
God, I love that our church brings people from all kinds of backgrounds with legal records of multiple divorces in their past, struggling with addiction to drugs in their presence. God, I thank you that they're here to hear this message that people like me and them and Peter and John are already clean because of Jesus. Those aren't just words that you spoke flippantly Jesus, you meant them to help us to believe them. And finally, father, I pray for everyone but especially the younger people here today. This culture has forgotten about eternity. And therefore the present Feels Like Everything. But he does not. Seeing your face, is what eternity is all about. It was to stick with Jesus to not be jealous of the Fun and Freedom of this world. But to believe, whatever we have to sacrifice for him, is worth it because the love of Jesus is in Eternal Treasure. Help us to believe that he is worthy. Finally, father, continue to bless our church. Some messages like today can be hard.
How about we don't have filtered Jesus, we don't want to edit him, we don't want to shape him in our image. We want to be shaped in his so maybe that kind of church and maybe be that kind of people. Okay, the song, Jesus' beautiful name and everyone who agreed said, amen.