Morgan Teruel: Thanks for tuning in to the Sandals Church podcast. Our vision as a church is to be real with ourselves, God, and others. We're glad you're here, and we hope you enjoy this message.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: If I asked you guys to define Christianity in one word, I bet if we went around the room, if I could interview every single person watching live right now, I bet we'd have thousands of words. I wonder what one word Jesus would pick for us. Because some people pick positive words, some people pick negative words, some people pick cuss words. Amen. They've been to church once.
But but here's the word I think Jesus would pick. If he could give us a word, I think he would pick the word different. And so so much of the Christian struggle today is is we're now in a culture where we're actually called to be different, and so many of us got used to being the same. And so culture has decided they don't want to be Christian anymore. I was actually listening to a psychologist who said this.
Here's what the sixties was really all about, the sixties. The sixties was really about America's rejection of Christianity. That's what it was about. We call it the sexual revolution, but it was really the anti Christian revolution. We're gonna decide for ourselves who we are, how we define ourselves with, who we have sex with, and that thing has just gone way far away from traditional Judeo Christian values.
It was a rejection of Christianity. And so now if you're a Christian, you have to live differently. If you're trying to raise your kids to be Christian, you're having you're having to challenge them to be different. But here's the problem with the word different. It's not always positive.
Right? Like, as Christians, we can't talk bad about people. That's called gossip. So we try to find words. You know, that dude, he's a little different.
Right? I mean, you know, that's how Christians cuss. Right? We just make up words. But it sometimes is a positive thing.
Like, I mean, one of the reasons that LeBron James for the Lakers is so amazing is he's just different. Like, his mother, you know, met a Greek god. I don't know what happened. Right? I mean, that wasn't my father.
Amen? But he's just different. He's just different. So different can be positive and different can be negative. But here's what I want you to ask every single week through this series.
I want you to ask, God, how am I going to be different because of this message? How am I gonna be different in my relationships? If I'm married, how is my marriage gonna be different? How are my finances gonna be different? How are my feelings, my thoughts, my actions?
How are my kids going to be different? Because here's the thing I see in the world. What's hilarious is I think we've tried so hard as a culture to be unique, everybody's the same. Like, if your hair is purple, you're about 30 years late. Like, you know what I'm saying?
I mean, what was bizarre 30 years ago is Tuesday today. Amen? Right? It's just it's just normal. It's everyday.
It's ho Like, I'm radical because I don't have a tat. Amen? You know what I'm saying? Like, I have a body tattoo. It's just me everywhere.
That's what it is. But everybody's trying to express themselves. Everybody's trying to be unique. And what's happened is we've all become the same, the same. And even sadly, as I travel around the world here's the thing is, I'm 50 years old now.
As I've traveled around the world, even in the most bizarre places, it's becoming the same. Like, I mean, you're gonna you're gonna discover a target in Cambodia. You're gonna be like, woah. This is weird. It's just all becoming the same.
And let me say this. Trying to be the same as someone else is a sin against God. It's a sin against God. Jesus Christ did not die so you could live someone else's life. God's called you to be you.
Now that doesn't mean that we can't, you know, pattern our marriage maybe after someone who has a a positive marriage, but what ends up happening if you're not careful is you want their marriage. God didn't give you their marriage. He gave you yours. Some of you look at your kids and you look at the other kids. You're like, oh, why can't my kid be coordinated?
You know? I mean, that's why sports is just a truth teller. Amen? It's just like, yeah. Your kid's gonna be an accountant.
There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with that, but, you know. I mean, some of us are so envious. You know? Yeah.
You know, it's like 1 kid at my kid's high school, one kid got every award. I'm like, we couldn't event an award for someone else, you know, so someone else could actually get an award. They should just had one kid stand up there the whole time. You know, we're we're here to honor not your child, this child. But but we feel this way.
We're constantly comparing ourselves, and then that's what Instagram is so unhealthy. We're looking at other people's vacations. We're looking at other people's lives. We're looking at other people's kids, and we're becoming envious of the life Jesus has not called you to live. He's called you to live your life, and your life is to be uniquely different.
So here's the problem. In order to become truly different, I need a different lens. Now I have a problem with this word lens because it makes no sense when you spell it. Like, every time I try to spell this word for my you know, literally, Microsoft Word's like you're an idiot. No.
No. No. No. Lens is an idiot. K?
There's no z in it. It's not lens. Lens. Lens. Sorry.
I had a moment this week when I was preparing. The lens that Jesus offers gives me a vision for the life that should be mine. Do you know why you're depressed and anxious? Because you're not living the life God's called you to. Your soul knows there's a gap between where you are and where you're called.
And you think that gap can be filled by looking at someone else's life. But even if you live someone else's life perfectly, you will miss your life completely. Man, that was good. I hope that landed for you because you know what's wrong with our kids today? They wanna be someone else.
Jesus wants you to become yourself. Your real life is hidden with Christ and God. That's actually a bible verse. That's not a cute saying. It's a bible verse, your life, your real life.
And what happens to teenagers? Right? They all try to become like each other. It's a herd mentality, and some of us have never graduated. Even though you're 70, you're still 17, and you're trying to be like everybody else.
So the lens that that Jesus gives me, it shows me my life as it should be, and that's why, honestly, a lot of people don't like Christianity. And here's the thing is, I don't like going to church because it makes me feel bad. Well, tell me how Vegas makes you feel good. Tell me tell me how it fixes your problems. You see, I don't want you to feel bad.
I want you to learn to feel good and say, okay. I know there's more for me. There's more for me than this. There's more for my finances. There's more for my friendships.
There's more for my career. There's more for my life. There's more for my marriage. I don't have to settle for this. The Holy Spirit is gonna scream at some of you guys today.
And here's the thing is, so many of you, you want to be recognized by someone else. That is a lie from hell. You need to recognize yourself and say, God, this is what I'm gonna be. God, this is what I'm gonna do. I love this verse.
We're we're gonna be in the book of Ephesians for the next 8 or 9 weeks. I'm not exactly sure how many weeks we're gonna go. This series is gonna be different. Amen? You see what I did there?
Yeah. The whole creative team was just like, I have anxiety. But I love this verse because the church at Ephesus started differently, very differently. Actually, you know, like a riot, kinda like sandals. But it started differently, and it had a very different impact.
And here's the thing today. Listen to me. The city of Ephesus no longer exists. It's it's literally a tourist stop. But the lives that those people lived still changes lives today.
I'm a big Gladiator fan. I I I love not like Gladiator movies. That's weird. But, like, Gladiator the movie. Yeah.
I know. Everyone's like, woah. Okay. That was different. But the fame the the line that I love in that movie is what we do in life echoes in eternity, and it's just such a great perspective.
So much of what you worry about doesn't matter tomorrow. It doesn't matter next week. You won't remember next month, but some of the things that we do will echo in eternity. And what the people of Ephesus did echoes to us today and it shouts at us, live differently, live differently. And so Paul writes this letter to the church at Ephesus and he says this, I ask the God of our master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory, to make you intelligent.
We should just stop right there. Amen? Just perk it right there. To make you intelligent and discerning in knowing Him personally. There's a lack of intelligence today about God.
Listen to this. To make you intelligent and discerning in knowing Him personally, listen to this, your eyes focus. That's what lenses do. Right? They help focus our eyes focused and clear so that you can see exactly, listen to this language, what he's calling you to do.
Grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life that he has for his followers. Why aren't people tearing down the doors to get into our church? It's because we're not exemplifying the life and in the immensity that it has for us. People are running from the church to find life because we have not demonstrated it in the church. Listen to this, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him.
Endless energy, boundless strength. You don't need a Red Bull. Amen. You need Jesus. You need Jesus.
And let me just say this. What if in this series, you put the same amount of time into building the life Jesus has for you as you do in following the lives of others? What if you just started scrolling, lord Jesus, through the scriptures? What life might you have for me? Oh, no.
I'd rather look at someone else's life and be envious and depressed. Have you ever ended scrolling and felt better? Have you ever just ended scrolling and I feel encouraged about myself, about my life? Like, I I I I get done scrolling, and I feel like I need a bath. Amen?
I'm just I'm just like, I need a therapist on call. What happened? I was TikTok ing for an hour. You see, here's the thing. The way you see your life shapes your life.
So many of your problems you're putting on other people, the problem is with your eyes. You see, many of us see the world through a couple of things. We see the world through our pain. Your pain is real, but you need to move past that. Pain is what holds us back.
It's what keeps us from becoming who we are. For some of you, it's not pain. It's fear. Pain is in the past. Fear is in is in tomorrow.
I I don't know what's gonna happen. I'm anxious. I'm worried. You know, what about this? What about that?
My wife's always worried about the future. I said, what if it all works out? Woah. What if that happens? Like it has for the previous 26 years.
And then some of us have doubts. Well, I don't know. I don't know. You see, god wants you to not see the world through your pain, not through your fear, and not through your doubts. God wants you to see the world through the eyes of Jesus.
He has a different lens. And just like glasses, he can share them with you. And here's the difference is if I give you my glasses, they might not help. Amen? But when Jesus offers you his lenses, they fit each and every one of us perfectly so we can see ourselves for who we are.
This is the beauty. Think about all the depressed kids, all the anxious kids, all the young people today that don't love themselves at all. Like, we we've done 20 years of self help, self encouragement, self love, and we're worse off than we've ever been. Right? Everybody gets a trophy, everybody's a winner, and everybody feels like a loser.
What happened? We need a different lens. We need a different lens. The lens Jesus offers me shows me the best version of myself. It shows me me, and that's what Paul does.
When he writes the book to the when he writes the letter to the Ephesians, he doesn't tell them the very worst about themselves. He says, I wanna show you the way God sees you. You see, that's what the lens of Jesus shows us. We see our faults, our insecurities. We see the things that are wrong.
Man, the scriptures give us a new angle. Like, I can't take selfies. Any has anybody I can't do it, and it's not it's not that I don't wanna do it. I wanna do it. Like, I wanna do it, like, all day long.
I just wanna be like, You know? Like but I can never get the right angle. I don't I don't understand it. I it makes no sense to me. I I I don't get it.
Like some of you, you look great. And I'm like, my nose is not that big. Why why is that happening? My skin is not that wrinkly. I'm not that gray.
Like, I I will never post a selfie again. I just I there's no filter that can fix this. Amen. It just it doesn't work. And I'm not doing the weird ones where I look like an elf.
Like, I'm not doing that. You know, like, you know, that's not you. That is not you. Like, some of you look like anime characters. I'm like, what is this?
I've met you. Right? Okay. Listen to how Paul begins the letter to the Ephesians. All praise to God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.
Listen to me. You don't need a blessing. You've already been blessed. You just haven't opened it. You haven't used it.
God is not withholding. It's not like we're waiting on FedEx to deliver. Amen? Like your angel was like, no. I was there Friday 9 AM, and you missed it.
He says, no. We've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. You're already more blessed than you will ever know. And some are like, why don't feel blessed? That's because you need new glasses.
You need a new lens. You need to see yourself in a different light. Even before God made the world, even before he made the world. Like this last week, Jews around the world celebrated Rosh Hashanah. You say what means new year actually means head of the year.
Rosh. This is your rosh. Some of you need to use it. Rosh. But what they do is they celebrate the creation of God because Jews believe that God created all of this for us.
God loved us so much that he chose us in Christ, listen to this, to be holy and without fault in his eyes. When did he decide this? Before you were ever made. Before you were ever born. He decided in advance.
Listen to this, to adopt us into his own family. You see, according to Roman law, many Romans, because women were not allowed to inherit property, they had to adopt a son. And when you adopted a son, they became everything legally that you were. They were just as much a son as a biological son. And here's the thing.
Everything passed from the father to the one who was adopted. Ephesians or Romans, wealthy Romans, you're an adopted son, and everything that God has in heaven will be yours. Listen to me. If you're a Christian, you don't need to play the lottery. You already won.
You already won. You are already more wealthy than you will ever imagine. I mean, in heaven, they don't even know do they don't even know what to do with the gold, so they just pave the streets with it. Can you imagine? Like, we can't even get asphalt.
Amen? Like, our like, we're running low on asphalt down here. Can I fill this whole my own money's tight? By bringing us to himself, here's the key, through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do.
When God looked at you, he didn't stay see a a pathetic sinner. He he saw a child that was lost that needed to be loved. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Like, I get irritated with my kids when they were lost. Amen?
Like, how many of you are like, if they're not dead, I'm gonna kill them. Not God. Not God. He was excited to come and get you. Ephesians 2:10 says this.
Paul writes this letter, for we are God's masterpiece. When's the last time you woke up in the morning, you looked at yourself and said, masterpiece? Right? Some of you said, yeah. That's a piece.
Amen. That's a piece. Right? You are God's masterpiece. You are his best work, his greatest work.
And you don't you don't believe that because you haven't seen that. And let me just say this for those of you who are struggling to today. His greatest work is still working. You're a work in project. You have not seen the finished prod finished prod, project.
It it's it's going to happen. It's going to be incredible. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus. So, listen to this, so we can do the good things that he planned for us long ago. I think the thing that was the most humbling when I became a parent was thinking about what what kind of things my children would do.
Like, when you hold a baby, you are just holding potential. Potential. Think about what god must feel about you. You see, when we received our children, they were a surprise. You were no surprise.
You were known before you were ever made. So stop criticizing the work of God and embrace it. Just say, okay, god. I've made some missteps. I've made some mistakes.
I got some pain. I got some wounds. I got a lot of doubt, but I'm gonna trust that you have something for me. Number 3, the lens that Jesus offers reveals the secure future that God has for me. Anybody been a little anxious?
Yeah. You know, and so my kids my kids come to me, like, dad, dad, what what's our plan? Like, what's our plan? And I'm like, well, I don't have a plan. But I do now.
I do now. Last week, I went and visited Sandals Church Fresno. Yes. Amen. Woo hoo.
Yeah. They're different. They're different. And in a very good way, especially if it's world war 3. Like, I love our SoCal churches, but none of our young guys can shoot.
You know? Like like, you can't shoot. I know you've been triggered, but that doesn't count. Right? That doesn't count.
Yeah. You know? But in Fresno, dude, you will be safe in the arms of Jesus. I mean, it's just different, dude. Those dudes wear flannels with no sleeves.
Yeah. Yeah. I so my new plan is, Sandals, Fresno, dude, you have a new neighbor, and he can't hunt and he can't shoot, but, he will feel safe in your arms.
Morgan Teruel: Thanks for listening to the Sandals Church podcast. Our vision here is to be real with ourselves, God, and others. At Sandals Church, we wanna see a movement of authenticity take place all over the world, and donating to the work of Sandals Church helps make that happen. If you want to support this movement here at Sandals Church, I want to invite you to visit donate. Sc.
Thanks again for listening, and God bless.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: But here's the thing is, there there's a lot of anxiety and there's a lot of uncertainty. My future is in the hands of God. Amen. It's in the hands of God. Amen.
So so what does Paul write to a church? This is a military church. K. These are these are ex military Romans who have been given land and property and title because they fought wars for the Roman Empire, the the these are men of war, and they understand how quickly things can change. You think our elections are bizarre?
In Rome, when you lost, they killed you and your whole family. Everybody died. Even your cousins and a friend and your slaves and your servants, they just wanna make sure they they got rid of you. So they understand the volatility of politics in the Roman Empire. Here's what he says.
He says, god has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ, which is which is to fulfill his own good plan. Some of you are like, I don't know what God's doing. That's because he didn't ask you. Yeah. He didn't yeah.
He he doesn't care what you think. He knows how your plans go. Look at your life. Amen? Right?
Yeah. He's like he's like, yeah. It'd be World War 3 yesterday if we let you run the world. And this is his plan. Listen to this.
At the right time when? The right time. Your do you not your time. Not my time. The right time.
And I know you're on TikTok, and people got graphs, and they're figuring it out, and they got charts. You know? Maybe Jesus will return after he can figure out your chart. You know? He's like he's like, I don't understand that, Holy Spirit.
You got anything? Nope. Don't get it either. I thought that was funny too. Thank you.
And this is the plan. At the right time, he will bring everything together, listen to this, under the authority of Christ. And let me say this, especially those of you who are conservative. Jesus isn't coming to save America. He's coming to save Americans.
Right? He he doesn't care about the titles that we call our nations. He cares about the souls that live within those nations. And that's hard for some of us, but it's the truth. Everything's gonna come under the authority of Christ.
Everything, listen to this, in heaven and on earth. Some of you have no idea what it is that Jesus had to fix. We we I think some of our minds are gonna be blown. Like, if aliens are real, Jesus fixed them too. Yeah.
ET needed Jesus. He's saying he believes in Jesus. That's not what I said. I just said if they are real, they need Jesus. Yeah.
Maybe that's why they're here, to learn to follow Jesus. That was that was weird. Okay. Furthermore, because we're united with Christ, we have received an inheritance. This is this is what's weird.
In the Greek, it's present tense. We've received an inheritance. That's a down payment, but you've received it from god for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. I don't know what you're going through. I don't know what you're struggling with, but here's the thing.
Your eyes, the reason you're panicking is you are looking at the battlefield from your perspective. He is not losing. He's already won. Right? The devil got checkmated 2000 years ago, and all the devil is doing is retreating.
Next, let me say this, and this is huge. This is why we need a new perspective. The lens Jesus offers me opens my eyes to the kindness of God, the kindness of God. Listen to this. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear son.
You see, if you're a Christian, you should have a different perspective because you've received something that should have changed every way you think, every way you feel, and the way you live. And what is that? He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his son. Do You think your life is terrible? It's nothing compared to what Jesus had to go through to save your soul.
With the blood of his son, and he forgave our sins. Listen to this. He has showered his kindness on us. Right? And this is not a California drought tolerant shower.
Amen? You know, that that just, like, mists don't you love California? I think it's water, but it's a real shower that pours down on us, listen to this, along with all wisdom and understanding. I want you to hear me. I I was listening to Jordan Peterson talk this week, and he said this.
He said in his vast research of atheists, he said it's not that people don't believe in God. It's that they've been deeply hurt by those who represent God. And, oftentimes, it's at a as a child. They've been hurt. They've been wounded.
And let me just say this. If you are an atheist, I'd probably be an atheist too if I was hurt like you by someone who represented Jesus. I just wanna encourage you. Don't fall for the costume or the title or what someone says, but run back to Jesus and look at him. Because Jesus reveals for us who God really is.
And remember this, it was religious people who killed him. It was religious people. It wasn't the sinners. The sinners loved him. The sinners wept for him.
The powerful elite and the religious people crucified him, and they did it with a smile on their face. They thought they did a good a good thing. Right? And, by the way, that that's what religion without Jesus does. I don't care what it is.
Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, you name it, anything without Jesus is broken and it gets really ugly. It gets really ugly because religion without Jesus will do horrific things like what we're seeing in Iran. Oh, you you you didn't have your hijab on appropriately? You have to die. That's not God.
Our God is the God who died for you. That's God. Listen to this. God's kindness will never lead you to do something bad for you ever, ever. The Bible calls it sin, and some of you guys, well, God God's teaching me to be tolerant.
Well, God has a different definition of tolerance than you do. You see, God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance, not indulgence. Jesus didn't die on the cross to give you permission to continue to sin. That's not why he died. Romans 2 4 says this says 24 says this, don't you see how wonderfully kind and tolerant and patient God is with you?
Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? That's what it's meant to do. And I hear Christians all the time. Well, Jesus hung out with sinners.
No. He didn't. Sinners hung out with Jesus. Sinners hung out with Jesus. And let me tell you, some of you, you have you have a a wrong understanding of what Christianity is about.
Let me give you a different one. This is what most of you think Christianity is about. You think Christianity is about getting people into heaven. I have a different perspective. I think Christianity is about getting heaven into you.
And so many of us, we rush somebody to a prayer, we rush somebody down the aisle, and all we've done is given a terrible picture of what heaven's like, and that's why people don't wanna come to our church. Now don't get it twisted. I'm not saying we earn our salvation, but salvation is not opposed to effort. Number 5, the lens that Jesus offers enlightens me to the power of God that is available to me. Man, so many of you are like, like, I I I don't understand where God is.
God is waiting to empower you. Like, man, in your marriage, if you're struggling, there's power for your marriage. Like, I don't know if you've realized yet. Some of you have been married, like, 8 days. You married a very different person.
Like I like my wife, we've been married 26 years and she still wows me with how different we are. You know? Like, I'm like, woah, That's different. Yeah. Didn't see that coming.
Like, we have different personalities. Like, she's way neat. I'm super messy. You know? I like to be on time.
You know. Yeah, you know, I'm, I'm just saying. Like, we're super different. We're super different. But here's the thing, there's a power that's greater than you that can unite you.
You see, here's the thing is, when we love each other and we get married, we think we complete each other. Let me tell you something. What completes you is Jesus. That's what completes you. That's what you need.
That's what we all need. Man, how many of you guys could use some more power in your finances? Amen? Man, there's power for you. There's power for you.
I don't know if you know how the story ends. You're you're rich. Like, I'm just saying. Like, I I'm gonna blush. You're so rich.
God wants God wants to bless you. He owns a city on a on a 1000 hills, a sheep on a 1000 hills. He owns it all, and he wants to share it with you. Ephesians 119 through 23, I also pray that you will understand, listen to this, the incredible greatness of god's power for us who believe in him. Man, if you're overwhelmed today, stop focusing on your power and focus on the power of God.
What power? This same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead. Have you ever seen someone die? It is the most helpless, awful feeling you will ever see, because we can't bring them back, but God can. God can.
Not only did he bring them back, he let him he let him soak up death for a little bit. 3 days. That's stinky. That's gross. 3 days, Jesus was dead, and he brought him back with a command, with a command, with a shout because when God speaks it happens.
Instead of shouting at each other in your marriage why don't you ask God to shout power into your marriage, into your finances, into your life? Man, your teenagers are driving you crazy? Stick Jesus on them. Jesus. Jesus.
Get the devil out of here. He is present in this place. Man, if you're raising teenagers, man, I'm sorry. I've been in counseling, and and you gotta go through your whole your whole history. And so I remember I went to counseling when I was in 7th grade, and I I didn't know why.
So I so I asked my parents. Because when you're in 7th grade, you're not like, I need therapy. You just end up in therapy. And, I asked my mom. I was like, why why did I go to counseling?
And my mom was like, well, you became difficult. And we thought we needed medical professional help. Alright? I was like, thanks, mom. But teenagers are tough, man.
It's a tough time. You're not a kid anymore, but you're not an adult, and you're frustrated with both. It's a tough time. And let me tell you something, parents. That's not your time to go.
Well, they're in God's hands. No. He placed them in your hands. You know? And some, like, well, they don't wanna go to church.
Well, they don't wanna eat vitamins, go to bed. They don't wanna eat broccoli. Your job is to make them. You know? That's what I told my kids that are teenagers.
Well, I don't wanna I don't remember asking you what what you want. Just saying. But thank you for your unsolicited opinion. I appreciate that. You know, and then Tina's, I can't wait till I'm on my own.
Me neither. I'm super super excited for that day. Yeah. But but let's define on on your own. Right?
Yeah. Gotta define that because we have some 40 year olds in our church who are not on their own. You know? I know. That's your mama's credit card.
Okay. And seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. So think about this. Jesus went from death to the throne of God. Where's your life right now?
Where where is your life? You're like, not where it needs to be. So if God could take Jesus from death to the throne of God, what could he do with your emotional heart? What could he do with your mental challenges, like your mental health? What could he do with your finances?
What could he do with your relationships? What could he do for you at work? Some of you, you go to work every day. You're like, nope, lord. I got this one.
Man, you know the devil's waiting for you. Some of you sit in the cubicle. It's Satan right there right next to you, and they're waiting for you. They've been up all night, scheming and planning how to drive you crazy. When's the last time you invited the power of God into your everyday life?
You know the reason we don't pray? Because we forgot what God did in that tomb 2000 years ago. He spoke and there was an earthquake, and Jesus rose. Here's the thing. This is what living differently is about.
It's about you rising from the dead. It's about you rising from your sin to life. It's about you learning to live like you have some heaven in you because you do. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else. Not only in this world, listen to this, but in the one to come.
He didn't just win this year's Super Bowl. He won them all. Yeah. He won them all. Like you, Wikipedia just says Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus every single year.
He won. And God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him, listen to this, head over all things for the benefit of the church. Can I just tell you the last 3 years? Man, I don't think we're gonna make it. I didn't think we're gonna make it, but we're here.
Do you know they shut the church down? Anybody remember that? They shut us down. We're still here. They've shut us up.
We're still here. Right? We're still here, bigger than ever. The year before the year before COVID, we had 20,000 people. The year of COVID, we had 500,000 people.
You can't shut up, Jesus. You can't. No matter how hard they try, no matter what they do, the church will survive. Do you know why? Because Jesus said it will.
You can't kill the church. You can't. Acts 1911, man. I I love this. This is this is in the book of Acts.
This is the birth of Ephesus, the church in Ephesus. It says God gave Paul in Ephesus the powerful to perform, I love his word, unusual miracles. Anybody need an unusual miracle? Like some of you are at the ATM machine later today. I need an unusual miracle, Lord.
Man, anybody parenting a teenager, you need an unusual miracle. Anybody doesn't have their house payment, you need an unusual miracle. Anybody ready to get divorced, you need an unusual miracle. Pray weird. Just pray weird.
Man, when you're married, the best way to the best way to stop fighting is start praying out loud, screaming at each other. Dear Jesus, help us right now. Do you need an unusual or excuse me. Do you need an unusual miracle for your relationships? Man, is there a friendship that's broken, that's beyond repair?
You know, we just give up. We give up when we have the God who restores all things. Jesus restored your relationship with God, and it wasn't broken. It was dead. Dead.
God can fix it. God can fix it. How about your health? Oh, the doctor says The doctor is quoting statistics. Statistically, people live this long when they have this disease.
I'm just curious. When when people are dead, statistically speaking, I'm just I'm not I'm not a you know, like, my math level's very low, so someone can maybe, you know, teach me the new math. But statistically speaking, when someone's dead, like, a 100% of the time, like, they're dead. Right? Like, you're a doctor.
I'm good. Right? Yeah. Okay. We're good.
It's good. You have emergency room doc on the front. He's like, yeah. Way to go, pastor. So statistically speaking, if god can raise somebody from the dead 100% of the time, they're dead.
What can he do for you if there's only a 5%, a 2% chance that you live for 3 months, for 5 months. Listen to me. My mother-in-law was diagnosed with an aggressive form of uterine cancer, and most people who have it die within 6 months. She's a transplant patient, which means chemotherapy would be almost impossible because her immune system is already lowered. They did a biopsy.
They confirmed the type of cancer. They said we gotta take it out. Listen to me and never forget this. When they took her uterus out, they could find no evidence of cancer anywhere, which we call that a miracle. Hospitals call that a oops.
We oh, you know, they wanted to find cancer. Right? Like, it's gotta be in here somewhere. That's the God that we worship. It's the God that we worship.
Lastly, the lens that Jesus offers opens my eyes to a different way to live. Do you know what Christianity's biggest promise today? We're trying to be cool. We're trying to be relevant. We're not any different.
Like, one of my friends, man, he did the wedding for the Kardashians. I don't know which which wedding it was. There's been there's been a couple. You know? I mean, who's counting?
But I'm like, what what are you doing? Yeah. They're cool. Like, what, like, what what is this? Is there no difference at all?
You see, Jesus said I'm the way, I'm the truth, and I'm the life. He is a different way. He is the real truth, and he is eternal life, and if you're not with him, then you're on your own. Here's why Christianity was so offensive when it began. It was different.
Here's the problem with Christianity today. We've become the same. Right? Sexy worship leaders. Right?
Yeah. I don't know why I thought that was sexy, but that's what I would do if I was the worship leader. I'd be like, We got all the cool lights, man. It's like it's almost like we're at a concert. Can you imagine if Jesus showed up?
He's like, yeah. I don't know if this is cool. But but here's the thing is, here's the thing, we've tried to become so much like the world, they don't see any difference between us and them. Acts 199, but some became stubborn, rejecting the message publicly and speaking against listen to me. This is what Christianity was called in Ephesus, the way.
They didn't speak against Christianity. They spoke against the way because it was a different way. Acts 1923, things got so bad, some serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the way, concerning the way. Man, this summer, I want you to think about taking a different vacation because with Sandals Church travel, we're gonna go to Ephesus this summer, and you can actually stand in the amphitheater where that riot took place. You see, that's the thing about Christianity.
It's not made up. It's real, and we know the places where these things took place. So you can go to Sandals Church, travel, and check it out. Somebody's like, I'm broke. Okay.
Ask God to take care of that. Yeah. And go back to the intelligent wisdom discerning thing, and he'll help you grow your finances. I promise you. But here's the thing, many of us, we we don't need to worry about where we're going this summer, amen.
You need to worry about where you currently are headed. Jesus said this, he said, enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction. Do you know what this means? Most of our friends, most of our family members, even some people in this church are headed down the wrong path. And he said, there are many who go through it.
How narrow is the gate? Listen to this. And difficult is the road that leads to life. It's difficult and there are few that find it. Listen, if you are on the same road as everyone else, you are on the wrong road.
The wrong road. And, unfortunately, that's what our culture is all about. Right? Democracy is all about what the majority thinks. Here's what Jesus is saying.
The majority when it comes to heaven is always wrong, and the minority are the blessed ones that find it. Are you where you need to be with God right now? Are you on the right road? Are you on the right path? I want you to bow your heads and and close your eyes.
I just want you to ask God, God, am I on the right road? Or am I on the wrong road? And here's the beautiful thing, if you just say God right now, I wanna be on the right road, he'll welcome you. You're welcome, he died so you could walk that road. He'll give you your, his power so you can stay on that road.
He'll bless you. But if you if you know you're on the right road, if you know you're a Christian today, would you just say, god, would you help me as a Christian in this series to commit to being different, to changing and becoming everything that you've called me to be. Let me pray for you. Heavenly father, I pray for all of us, lord, that we would be on the right road, the narrow road. And God, I pray in Jesus' name that we would all learn to think, act, and feel differently.
God, give us the lens that we need to see the path that you've called us to walk. Bless us with this. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.