Pastor Brian Burson: Welcome to the Sandals Church podcast. My name is Brian Berson, and I'm the campus pastor at Sandals Church Redlands. We are so happy to have you join us today as we listen to this incredible incredible message. If you've enjoyed our content, consider leaving us a rating to help this podcast reach more people. But for now, let's get into the message.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Hi. And welcome to Sandals Church, man. I'm so glad that you're here today. We we live in a political world where everything's political. You know, sports are political, education's political, Thanksgiving dinner's political.
And for a lot of us we just want a break. And I truly believe that the church should be a place that is not political and especially not partisan. And I try to protect us as an organization from the politicization of everything in our life. I mean some of us as as parents we can't even talk to our kids about birthdays without it going political or our aunts or our uncles, but what we're doing at Sandals Church is we're going through the book of Matthew. And so whatever Jesus talks about we're gonna talk about.
And so today you know he's talking about a political issue that was very very sensitive to them. Now it might not be sensitive to you today, but it was highly volatile and it was highly highly inflammable for people of his day. And what he says in his answer could literally get him killed by either party. And so I just want you to know that there's no way today that I can preach this message and make everybody feel good. So if you're a little offended, you're a little rattled, would say okay, let's let's step into that and ask yourself have I become more political than I am about my personal faith in Jesus?
And so what I want to do is I want to push all of us left and right, or if you're just even confused about your politics, I want all of us today to leave here thinking deeply about the deeper issue that Jesus is getting at. So let's talk today about navigating political questions like Jesus. How many of you guys have a family member, a friend that's too political? Raise your hands, okay? Don't point at them, but just raise raise your hands.
They know who they are, amen? They're gonna send a letter to me this week. But we all have friends, we all have family members. I mean social media has changed politics forever because when I was a kid you didn't know everybody's opinion. You know, now you know everybody's opinion about everything instantaneously.
And so let's open our Bibles and let's look at Jesus' opinion in terms of how to navigate politics. So Matthew twenty two fifteen through 17, these verses if you study this, practice this, and pray through this, will make you a better Christian in an age of political outrage. So let's read it together. Matthew twenty two fifteen through 17. So then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which He could be arrested.
This is a political
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: setup. They want Him done. Now if
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: you look in the old translations, it will say the Pharisees and the Herodians joined together. That's like the Democrats and the Republicans agreeing on something, and what they agree on is we gotta get rid of Jesus. And so they're gonna set Him up. So look at this. They sent some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, that's the Herodians, to meet with him.
So right? It's like, hey, let's get together. Let's talk. Let's all get along. Look what they do.
Teacher, they said. We know how honest you are. That's how you know when someone's gonna take you down, when they're complimenting you. We know how honest you are. Look at this.
You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don't play favorites. Do you feel it? I mean they're just flowering him up. They're just setting him up.
You're the most amazing person on earth. You can trust us. We really have a question. Verse 17, and here's where it shifts.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Now tell us what you think about this. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Anybody pay taxes yet this year? Oh, isn't that fun? Every single year before our tax day I don't sleep. I don't sleep every single year. Now if you're a young person you haven't felt this yet.
I remember during COVID my kids all got stimulus checks. Does anybody remember that? They're like, oh, I got this, and I got was like Christmas. It was like Santa Claus landed in our house, and they were showing each other their stimulus checks. And my daughter said, dad, how much did you get?
And I said, well, we got a bill. We're stimulating you. And so taxes is not something that you get upset about until you have
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: to pay them. And once you have to pay them it's like,
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: wait a minute.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Wait a minute. This feels unfair. Now in Jesus' day it was particularly unfair because they were a conquered people.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: This wasn't taxes to their government, to their elected official. They were conquered by Rome, and
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Rome forced them to pay taxes that they felt were unfair. And so they wanna know, Jesus, should we honor the laws of Rome? And here's the thing, if Jesus says no then Rome's gonna arrest him and kill him.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: If Jesus says yes they're gonna stone him
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: and kill him. You see they think they got him. But look at verse 18. Here's why
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: you don't mess with Jesus. But Jesus knew their evil motives.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: He says, You hypocrites. That's Jesus' favorite cuss word.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: It's not a compliment. You hypocrites, he said, why are you trying to trap me? Here, show me the coin used for the tax. And when they handed him a Roman coin, look
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: at this, he said, whose picture and title are stamped on it? Underline, this is important. Caesar's, they replied. Well then he said, this is one of
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: the most famous lines of Jesus, give to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God. Look at this, some of you like, well that doesn't sound that smart, it's because you didn't have to think of it. Verse 22, and his reply
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: amazed them, and they went away. You see, they
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: thought they had him because he can't answer. Either way he answers it, he
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: smoked. He's done. We're gonna kill him. And Jesus navigates this sensitive, difficult issue with ease. So here's why I wanna challenge you.
Jesus, look at
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: this, you want to navigate politics like Jesus write this down. Jesus never fell for the gotcha question. Never fell for the gotcha question. A great politician knows when not to answer. Knows when not to answer.
And I've learned this with politicians, I've learned this with the news, I've learned it. Just because somebody sticks a microphone in front of your face doesn't mean your lips need to move. Don't fall for the gotcha question. Matthew 22 verse 18, look at this, but Jesus knew their evil motives. Do they really want to know the answer?
Jesus, should we pay taxes to Rome? I've been up all night and I don't know. They don't care at all about taxes. What do they care about? Getting him.
And when you're a born again Christian, when you're sitting around Thanksgiving meal and your family says, what do you think about blank, they may not care at all about your answer. They just want to judge you and you need to be smart. He says, You hypocrites, why are you trying
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: to trap me? I want you
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: to write this down in your notes. Not every question needs an answer. Every parent knows this with a
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: five year old. Why? Why? Why? Why?
Because I got to.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: And you swore you would never say that, amen?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I'm gonna answer every question my child has. Call me in a week, okay?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Look at Proverbs 20 six:four. So Proverbs in the Bible is a book of wisdom. And many of you have been taught wrongly in your church. You think Proverbs is a book of promises. It's not a book of promises.
Proverbs are wisdom that says if you do this generally this is the outcome. That's a proverb. So it's wisdom, not promises. So Proverbs 20 six:four, don't answer the foolish argument of fools. You're like, well somebody's gotta correct
Pastor Fredo Ramos: them.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Yeah, other idiots. Don't answer the foolish arguments of fools or you will become as foolish as they are. Some of you are thinking about getting a Bible verse tattoo, I would recommend this verse. Maybe some of you right on your forehead, amen? It's right there.
Which wouldn't work because you can't read it, right? So maybe like right here. But all of us have gotten entangled with a fool. All of us have gotten in an argument with someone who doesn't care, they just want an argue. And everywhere I go people will do this to me, Pastor what do you think about this?
What does your church believe about this? What do you And they're just coming at me and I have
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: to make real time decisions. Are they sincere or are they trying to trap me? Because if they're trying to trap me I may not
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: be able to answer the question in any way
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: that keeps me from being crucified. And let me say this, some of you you want me to
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: be more political, you want me to say more things, I'm willing to die for Jesus, I am not willing to die for your politics. I'm just not. And and and some of you you say, well you should be brave. Yeah, but you're
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: not the one standing on stage. You're brave at home with your computer. You know, I'm up on stage preaching, and every
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: time somebody goes to the bathroom it pops up I'm like, You know, I don't know why people at our church can't slowly rise to go to the restroom.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I'm just saying. Next, look at this verse, Titus three nine through 11. Some of you
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: have never heard this verse, but avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law. Now, enough, the law he's talking about there is the biblical law, but do
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: you what the biblical law was then? Political. It was political. So we can interpret this, hey, gotta avoid foolish controversies, maybe not genealogies, but immigration really is an argument about who belongs here. So that's what genealogies is, right?
It's like who's an Israeli, who's not. And arguments and quarrels about the law because these are unprofitable and useless. Raise your hand if you're married. Anybody ever fought about dumb stuff? Like single people, you have no idea what marriage is like.
It's like prison. You can break into a fight. You can break into a fight at any time, any moment. Oh my gosh.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: My wife was thinking about cutting her hair and she she said, what do you think? And I said, I'm ready for a change. And that did not come out right. It didn't come out right. I knew the second it left my lips I was like, we're in trouble.
Now if you're a wife, I was trying to be complimentary. I was trying to say I love you no matter how you look or what your hair looks like, and what came out was I'm ready for a change. That's what came out.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: So then we end
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: up fighting, right, about things I don't even feel.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: You know? I just said something stupid. So
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: we've all fought about dumb stuff and we gotta be careful in the church. Man it is so much easier to talk about politics in your discipleship group and your small group than it is about the sermon or about the text. See politics, here's why politics is so attractive, politics is the argument about how others should live. This is a discussion about how you're supposed to live. And that's why we like politics, man.
You guys are idiots. You guys are immoral. This says we're all idiots. We're all immoral. So warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time after that have nothing to do with them.
For the first time in my life I've had to sit down with committed Sandals people and say I need you to pray about going to another
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: church because this is not a political platform for your agenda. It is just not. People get very upset about that. And it's and I'm not saying I've handled it perfectly, I've made mistakes, I've said things that I wish I didn't say, I've been silent when I wish I would have spoken. It's not a perfect process.
But what happens is, you know, we expect perfection from our leaders and then what happens is we don't get leaders. Listen to me very carefully. In ten years in America we will be 10,000 pastors short. Why is that? Because young people see how we treat pastors and they go, I don't wanna do that.
I don't wanna do that. You know, in the eighties when I was growing up I don't ever remember the pastor being confronted in the lobby about something he said. There's almost not a week that goes by where somebody doesn't correct me. So
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I read about it, I prayed about it, I've studied for thirty years, you heard it once, and you're like challenging me every single week.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I'm doing the best I can. It's very, very difficult. And so And sometimes you guys hear things I didn't say, but it's what you heard. So listen to what he says. You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful, and they are self condemned.
Not everybody that goes to church is a good person.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: One of the problems we have in our society is identifying evil. You know what the Bible says? The Bible says that wolves will come up from among yourselves to destroy the flock. Warn a divisive person once, warn them a second time, and then have nothing to do with them.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: And some of you guys don't wanna do that because, oh well they mean Well if they
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: meant well they would listen well. So before you answer someone, what do you think about abortion? What do you think about gay marriage? What do think about transgender? What you think about immigration?
Before you answer one
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: of those questions I want
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: you to ask yourself this.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: This is important. Why are they asking me this? Why are they? Are they sincere? Do they really care about what the Bible teaches?
Do they really care about what our church is convicted by, or are they trying
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: to find a reason to hate us? Why they asking me this? And some of us we don't think about that. You know, when my wife asks me do you think I should cut my hair? I should have thought about it before I answered.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Why is she asking why is she asking me that? Ladies, she's insecure about change. So I should have delicately walked out onto the ice,
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: made sure it was thick,
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: and said I love you just the way you are. Do whatever you wish with your hair. Amen? Or I could have said, I think you look great no matter how long it is. But that's not what came out.
So why why are they asking me this? Okay, next.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Have I had time to properly think about this? A TikTok video is not proper amount of time.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: It's just not. I watched a video. I watched a podcast. Me too. Doesn't
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: mean you're right. Have I had time to properly think about this? Here's the problem with social media, people aren't thinking about anything but they're posting about everything. That was good. I'm gonna say that again.
People people are not thinking about anything but they're posting about everything. And let me say this, if you post your deepest feelings on the internet, it probably means you lack the friendships you need to survive.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Tell those stories to someone that loves you, someone that cares for you, someone that knows you. Okay, next. This is important before I pull out the grenade and pull the
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: pin and jump on it. Okay, here we go. How can I answer this in a way that shows both concern for people and conviction in my answer? Jesus is not wishy washy. Jesus is not avoiding the truth.
But here's what happens in the current political discussion. We treat people as if they're the enemy. This is America's greatest problem. We don't know how to disagree and still respect and honor each other. How do I answer a question that shows my concern for the person my conviction in my answer?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: How do I do that? So here's the thing, Jesus was a master at reframing the discussion. He's not avoiding, he's reframing. So let's say somebody asks a question,
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: and you've, in your mind you're like, you know what, they really want to know. You've had time to think about it, and you're ready to step into this,
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: and you're ready to give them
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: an answer, listen to me, that shows your concern for them and your conviction about the truth. Look what Jesus says, Matthew twenty two nineteen. Here, show me
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: the coin used for the tax. And when they handed him a Roman coin, he asked, whose picture and title are stamped on it? Man, isn't that amazing? Whose picture and title are stamped on it? This is genius.
Because the Romans had a coin, they had a coin, and it had two sides of the coin. How many of guys ever seen a quarter? Half of you are like, no. No. How many of you have
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: seen a quarter? Queso, right?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Heads and tails, right? So on the head side of the quarter it has an image. So the Roman coin would have had Tiberius Augustus on one side. Now listen to this, guess what it said. It said Tiberius, the divine, son of Augustus.
Who's Jesus? Who's Jesus? Son of God. Right? So that was on one side.
Guess what was on the other? His mother. And guess what it said, Pontificus Maximus. Let me translate that for you in English, high priest. What is Jesus?
High priest. Okay?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: So let's take
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: a look at Colossians chapter four verses five and six. Be wise in the way that you act towards outsiders, make the most of every opportunity. Listen to this, let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt. Anybody ever had steak without salt? Does not taste good.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: So that you may know how
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: to answer everyone.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: So when people are asking what does Sandals believe about gay marriage, What does Sandals believe about transgender? What does Sandals believe about immigration? We have to understand that they're not coming from things from the same perspective that we are, so we have to be wise in the way that we answer. It's not that we're lying. It's not that we try to not reveal what we truly believe.
That that's a
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: lack of integrity. We just need to remember that we're answering somebody who doesn't hold the same values that we do. Okay? So let's
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: dip into the pool, into the shallow end before we go into the deep end, okay? So before you leave Sandals Church, right,
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: let's talk about something that's controversial that you might not even think is controversial. Look at this, the church.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: How many of you have a friend that believes in God but does not believe they need to go to church? Raise your hands. Almost every single one
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: of you. I hear this all the time.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I don't need to go to the church, church is a institution, the church just wants your money, the church is just power hungry, the church is this day, the church the church Christians insult the church all the time. It's one of the most controversial topics of our age, and yet none of
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: you would fight about that. You're just like, oh, okay. Look, I understand that people have been hurt by the church, and that breaks my heart. But not being a part of God's church, listen to me friend, breaks the Lord's heart. It violates scripture.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: And listen to me, it robs a person of the blessings and protection of a spiritual family. Just this week, man, was last week there was a family in our church, their son got into trouble with law enforcement, and they weren't making headway the way they wanted. So you know
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: what they asked me to do? Get involved. I have political headway that you do not. Now that's not fair, that's politics.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: See, when we represent 12,000 people, politicians pay attention. Whether they like us or not, whether they agree with us or not, you know what politicians care about? Votes.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: So when somebody walks in who represents a delegation of 12,000 people, they say, hello, sir, even if they don't like me. K? So we need to be there for each other. It's super important. Okay, now let's jump into the
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: deep end. Let's get really, really controversial.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Are you ready? K. Some of you
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: need to start your car right now because you're gonna leave the church. Here we go. Alright? Here it is, immigration. My my Instagram is full of people who insult me.
Call me racist, call me terrible, call me silent, call me all kinds of things. People leave our church for what I say, what I don't say, what I believe, what I think, what I don't believe, what I don't think. It is amazing. And on this issue, listen to me, we will not
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: be united as a church because it's a sensitive issue that affects us differently.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: So before you run off and say, well this white guy said, let me just tell you my experiences with immigration. I've been detained in India by immigration officials at two in the morning in the dark with a light in my face. And the guy said, what do you think of Donald Trump? And I was like, what do you think of Donald Trump? Because whatever you think, that's what I think.
And you wanna know why? Because I wanted to go home. You say, well they separate families. Well, me tell you another story. My wife and I and kids were in Cambodia.
We were going through immigration. The immigration official put my wife and kids right on through and kept me.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: And then he robbed me of all the money I had for me to be united with my family. And you know what? I paid all of it. Even though right behind him there was
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: a sign that said, if you are being robbed call this number. Do you think I called that number? No. I gave him every dollar I had because I was in Cambodia.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I've been detained at LAX. I've been detained.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I've had to say I'm an American. I've literally told immigration officials, Google me, watch my sermons.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: So I get it. Let me say this, I've been to federal immigration court several times to testify on behalf of undocumented people trying to stay in our country. So don't tell
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: me I don't care about immigration.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I have hugged family members in our church who've gotten legal immigration status. I've celebrated with them and I've cried with people who were deported, it's terrible. But let me tell you, there are more people that want in this great country than we can allow, and that's just math. And I get it
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: when it's your family, when it's your friends, when it's somebody that looks like you, I understand that evokes things in us, but as Christians we have to understand every nation on earth has immigration policies and they're all flawed
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: and America will never be perfect.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: But here's the thing, you're a Christian, here's how I would answer this. What do you believe about immigration? Here's how And I've
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: thought about this. I believe all people including police, ICE agents, and the undocumented must be treated with honor and respect, and listen to me, and due process. Amen? All people.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: And so it breaks my heart, and I've been to the White House, I've been to the White House to challenge how people are being treated in that process. But you know what else? We need to challenge how people are treating ICE agents. All people matter to God regardless of the uniform they wear or the color of their skin. They all matter to God.
And we have to start treating people like that rather than just taking sides treating like one group isn't a person.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Because what is the deeper truth here? Whose image is on it? Render to Caesar's what is Caesar's and render to God's what is God's. So whose image is on you and on every human being? God's image.
The
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: deeper truth is we must treat people in the image of God whether we like them or not, agree with them or not. People are to be treated in the image of their creator.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Alright? Let's get more controversial. Here we go. Transgender.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Some of are like, wow, you're an old white guy and you don't know and you're Look, I have a family member that I
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: love dearly that's trans. But do you wanna know what I love more than my family? God's word. So don't tell me I don't know, I don't care, I do. And let me say this, my heart goes out to anyone who struggles with gender dysphoria.
That breaks my heart.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: But I believe the bible teaches that human identity is not found in sexuality or in gender, but in God who created us to be loved by him and known by him. Okay, do you see what I just did? I
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: affirm the struggle, but I'm pointing to the Now some people aren't gonna care. That doesn't that doesn't make everybody happy.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Everybody left amazed. You think everybody was happy with Jesus' answer? Someone's gonna go, I thought we were gonna kill him today. Dang it.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: You know? What am I gonna do with these rocks? Here's the thing about Jesus. Look at this. Jesus used spiritual wisdom to answer political questions.
He used spiritual wisdom. He says here, show me the coin used for the tax. And when they handed him the coin, he asked, whose picture and title are stamped on it? Caesar's, they replied. Now this is the truth I want you to write down.
There's not a bible verse for every question. Don't you wish there was?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Lord, should I get married?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Tie the ox to the tree. You know you're like, wouldn't that have been great? Should we or should we not pay taxes to Caesar?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Well in Leviticus it says. Do you notice that's not what Jesus said?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: He didn't quote the bible, he answered the question. And here's what
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Christians do man, whenever there's a fight on the internet you guys
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: are quoting Leviticus. Take that Exodus.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: And here's the truth, you don't even you don't you never even read that verse in your life.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: But you're like, think I won. Boom.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: You know, and people do that to me, man. Non Christians send me verses. Well what about this pastor? I'm like, I don't think you know what that means.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: And they've read it for five minutes, watched a TikTok video, and they're convinced I'm the idiot. I'm like, okay. So I want you to look at first Corinthians seven twenty five. Okay, so
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Christians in Corinth have a question. I want you to see what Paul does. So the question is in regards to young women and how they should behave, how they should act, what they should do. I want you to notice that Paul does not quote a verse. Look at this.
First Corinthians seven twenty five, now regarding your question about the young women who are not yet married, underline this, I do not have a command from the Lord for them.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: It's not in here. That's what he's saying. Now we still have a problem, don't we? Because there's young women that wanna know what are they supposed to do. So there's not
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: a Bible verse for every question, but look at this. There is enough wisdom in the Bible to arrive at an answer for every question.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: So here's the problem with wisdom, it takes time. All you need for a Bible verse is AI. Google. Wisdom is studying God's word, reading God's word over time, and learning how to apply it to issues. So Jesus, what does the Bible say about whether or not we should pay taxes to Rome?
Rome is not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. But he still has an answer. Okay? So how does he answer with wisdom?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Look at Paul, one Corinthians seven twenty five. But the Lord in his mercy has given me, do you see
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: it, wisdom. So this is the same verse.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I've just divided it into A and B. It's not two separate verses. A was, in regards to your question, the Bible has no answer. The B part of the verse is this, but the Lord in his mercy has given me wisdom that can be trusted, listen to this, and I will share it with you.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Listen to me. If you're a Christian, this
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: is what you're supposed to do to your non Christian friends and your Christian friends. Look, I've prayed about this, I've studied God's word, and the wisdom that God has given me I'm gonna share with you. That's what we're supposed to do, not send a verse, send a tweet, send a protest.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: We're supposed to share wisdom because we all find ourselves in situations where we lack wisdom, all of us.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: All right, so here's here's the big picture. Here's what I want you
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: to leave with. Jesus you wanna you wanna navigate politics like Jesus? Jesus always pointed to the deeper truth. Always.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Matthew twenty two twenty one through 22. Here we go. Well then, he said, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: give to God what belongs to God. The deeper truth is this, political opinions are always easier than personal faith.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: So let me challenge you
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: to live by three truths today. So these are three difficult truths. If you thought what I said about immigration was difficult, if you thought what
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I said about the church was difficult, if you thought what I said about a transgender person was difficult, listen, have no idea what I'm about to say to you. Whose picture and image is on the coin? Caesar, give to Caesar what is Caesar, and give to Gods what is God's. Some of you are new to Christianity or you're old to Christianity, but you don't know your Bible. So let me tell you what Christianity teaches.
Look at this. My body belongs to God. This a controversial topic in our culture. People believe in human agency. Humans have the right to decide for themselves what they do with their body.
Okay, Zamerica, believe whatever you want, think whatever you want. I'm a Christian, I do what the Bible says. Here's what the Bible says. First Corinthians six nineteen, look at it. Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?
Let's pause there. You don't go to church, you are a church. So why do you do things with your body that you would not do in church? Some of you don't know that. You are as a Christian the connection point between God in heaven and us on earth.
You are the place where God connects. Don't you realize that your body is the temple of
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: the Holy Spirit? Some of you never thought about that. And you are making God participate in things with what you do in your body. Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and was given to you by God? Hold on.
Look at this. And you
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price, and so you must honor God with your body. Do you know how many Christians in our church care more about politics when God cares about what they do with their bodies? You want to make decisions for other people's bodies, and God is saying, honor me with your body.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: You ready to get worse? It gets worse.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: My money belongs to God.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: You see, you know why we get offended by taxes? Because taxes is the government taking what we own. Do you know what tithe is? Tithe is giving to God what was always his. You don't pay taxes to God.
God pays taxes to you. He shares his wealth with you. Psalm twenty four one. The earth is the Lord's.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I don't know if you know where you live. You don't live in your house. You don't drive your car. You live on his earth. It's his.
The earth is the Lord's. Well, he has the earth, but it's my car. Okay. And everything in it.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: The world and all its people belong to him.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I hope we get a front row seat about people arguing agency with God on judgment day. I am my own.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Good luck, On. Malachi three eight, this is in the Bible. Will a mere mortal, and
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: if you don't know what
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: a mortal is, that's you. You are not immortal. You cannot live forever on your own. Life emanates from God.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Will a mere mortal rob God, yet you rob me. But you ask, how are we robbing you? In tithes and offerings. Some of you call yourselves Christians, but you'd never give to God. Somebody told me this week, well, why pay my tithes?
I just share it with others.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Well, tell that to the gas company. I
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: can't pay my gas bill because I paid it to others this month. See how that works. You know, Tammy and I
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: had a family member in need a couple weeks ago, and so we gave her a couple thousand dollars. We did not take that from the Lord because that is not my money to take.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: And that's what a lot of Christians do. Well well all of my generosity is my tithe.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: No no no no no no no. The tithe is the Lord's. That's his. That's his. And I and I realize that's difficult.
I realize that's challenging. And it's one of the reasons so many people hate the church, because the church challenges what really is God in your life, and that's your money. Last point, if you don't hate me yet,
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: you're gonna hate me now. My time belongs to God. Look, I I just don't get you guys, man. I don't. I
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Why do you stick it to the one guy that determines your days?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I mean, all you guys are on the internet, I'm gonna live longer, I'm sucking this juice, I'm I'm doing this exercise, and I'm taking this shot, and I and the Lord's like, they don't know.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: They they don't know. There's gonna be
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: a bunch of dead people in heaven. I just did NAD, and he's like, I know. I know. It didn't help. Psalm ninety twelve.
Psalm ninety twelve, look at this. Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: wisdom. You could focus on this for
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: the rest of your life. Here's what it means. God is in charge of the number of your days.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Why would you rob time from the one who grants you time?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I don't have time for church.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Well, maybe the Lord
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: will call you home and talk about that. You got time now.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: You know?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Some of you guys can't make it to church in time for worship. The Lord's like, oh, you're gonna sing with the angels. Here we go. Here we go. We're gonna
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: put you on the front row. Listen.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Politics is so popular because it convicts others. Christianity is unpopular because it convicts you.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: And so I wish some of you can I just be honest, some people are gonna leave our church because of
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: what I said about immigration or transgender issue or and I could have picked mean, I had a list of things that I wanted to talk about? But you know, nobody's gonna leave our church because they were convicted that, man, I need to give my money to God, I need to give my body to God, I need to give my time to God. Nobody's gonna leave the church because of that. They're gonna leave the church because of some peripheral secondary issue, or I didn't say it right, right, right, and you know what, maybe I didn't. But some of you, you're looking for that gotcha statement so you can
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: leave the church. And I would just challenge you, look for the gotcha moment where God gets you, where God challenges you. Because that's why we're here, right? That's why we're here. I don't know about you, but I want to
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: be got by God. Can I get an amen? That's what I want. And so pray through this, and can I just say before we pray, I get this wrong all the time? You know, when people ask me things, I'm not always rested, I'm not always thoughtful.
You know, sometimes I'll finish a debrief episode, they're like, yeah, we should cancel that, you know. You know, sometimes I finish my sermon, and they're all like, hey, what about this phrase?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: I was like, yeah, throw it throw it out. Because we live in a cancel culture, and so I don't wanna be canceled by you, I want you to find Christ. And what he's saying
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: here is render unto Caesar that which
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: is Caesar's. Look, politics is politics, whatever,
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: But render unto God that which is God's. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, let us as a church right here, right now render unto you what is yours. Where in my life, God, do I need to surrender my body? Where in my life do I need to surrender my tithes?
Where in my life do I
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: need to surrender my time? Because the earth and all that is in it is yours.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown: Let me live a life that lives out that verse. I pray this in Jesus' name, and all God's people said, amen.
Pastor Fredo Ramos: Good work, bro. Good work. Now what a needed and timely word for us, and we hope and pray that this week you would practice rendering to God what is God's in your own life. And listen, one of the ways that you can do that is by supporting the work that God is doing in and through Sandals Church. To do that, you can go to sandalschurch.com/support.
Grace and peace.