1 00:00:02,168 --> 00:00:04,337 It's good to be back. 2 00:00:04,337 --> 00:00:08,008 Today, Sean, I were able to be in Idaho last week, 3 00:00:08,708 --> 00:00:12,746 with our young, with our family and our youngest, first birthday. 4 00:00:12,779 --> 00:00:16,950 And so that was a lot of fun for us to get to be there and celebrate them. 5 00:00:17,884 --> 00:00:21,421 We obviously love the opportunity we have to be with family. 6 00:00:22,222 --> 00:00:23,723 But I miss you. 7 00:00:23,723 --> 00:00:26,126 It's so good to be back. 8 00:00:26,126 --> 00:00:29,929 You realize that when I have a week off to preach on, I go long the next week. 9 00:00:29,929 --> 00:00:31,931 So just settle in. 10 00:00:31,931 --> 00:00:33,900 But I thought Michael did a great job last week. 11 00:00:33,900 --> 00:00:35,902 Wrapping up chapter ten. 12 00:00:35,902 --> 00:00:38,905 Today we're going to get into chapter 11. 13 00:00:39,506 --> 00:00:42,675 And, this this really sets up 14 00:00:42,675 --> 00:00:46,312 this four part series that leads us, to Easter 15 00:00:47,313 --> 00:00:51,117 in in our study of the book of Matthew, the first nine chapters. 16 00:00:52,485 --> 00:00:53,253 We saw 17 00:00:53,253 --> 00:00:56,823 how the disciples watched Jesus do ministry. 18 00:00:56,823 --> 00:01:00,393 They just kind of observed for the first nine chapters 19 00:01:00,994 --> 00:01:05,365 in chapter ten, Jesus said, observation is over. 20 00:01:06,332 --> 00:01:08,134 Now you do it. 21 00:01:08,134 --> 00:01:10,937 And so he employed them and sent them out 22 00:01:10,937 --> 00:01:14,574 to do ministry as they had seen him do it. 23 00:01:14,574 --> 00:01:19,846 And he had these the these classic words, the fields are ripe for harvest. 24 00:01:20,513 --> 00:01:24,350 Pray to the father to send out workers into that field. 25 00:01:25,051 --> 00:01:28,054 And then he sent them out to be those workers. 26 00:01:29,422 --> 00:01:31,224 And that led us to 27 00:01:31,224 --> 00:01:34,227 chapters, leads us to chapters 11 and 12. 28 00:01:34,961 --> 00:01:37,964 And in chapters 11 and 12, what we see in these two 29 00:01:37,964 --> 00:01:42,302 chapters is really the hinge point of Jesus's ministry. 30 00:01:43,803 --> 00:01:46,806 People have been amazed at Jesus 31 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:49,742 and now they have to decide about him. 32 00:01:51,277 --> 00:01:52,412 And chapters 11 and 33 00:01:52,412 --> 00:01:56,316 12 make this hinge point in in in Jesus's ministry. 34 00:01:56,316 --> 00:01:58,284 You said you've seen me. 35 00:01:58,284 --> 00:02:01,855 Some of you are amazed and impressed, but now you have to decide. 36 00:02:02,889 --> 00:02:05,892 And really, chapters 11 and 12 are the hinge point 37 00:02:06,326 --> 00:02:09,028 for all of history. 38 00:02:09,028 --> 00:02:12,665 It's the hinge point for you and I in faith. 39 00:02:14,100 --> 00:02:17,070 And in these next four weeks, as we go through these two 40 00:02:17,070 --> 00:02:20,874 chapters, chapter 11 and chapter 12, we're going to walk through 41 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:25,311 where these moments where people must now make a decision, 42 00:02:26,346 --> 00:02:29,182 and I call it kind of the Easter arc over these next, 43 00:02:29,182 --> 00:02:32,819 these, these next four weeks and these two chapters. 44 00:02:33,286 --> 00:02:35,588 Because what we're going to see 45 00:02:35,588 --> 00:02:39,592 starting today is people who doubt, 46 00:02:40,894 --> 00:02:43,696 people who are indifferent, 47 00:02:43,696 --> 00:02:45,899 people who are in opposition to. 48 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:47,367 And then 49 00:02:47,367 --> 00:02:51,104 it's going to culminate with the death and resurrection. 50 00:02:51,104 --> 00:02:55,175 Now it's it's in a different like you look at Matthew 1112 51 00:02:55,175 --> 00:02:58,344 and they don't these don't will not seem like Easter passages, 52 00:02:59,312 --> 00:03:03,183 but in chapter 12 that we'll look at on Easter is the first mention 53 00:03:03,650 --> 00:03:06,653 in the Gospels of the resurrection. 54 00:03:06,986 --> 00:03:08,288 Matthew's the first mention. 55 00:03:08,288 --> 00:03:10,390 It in chapter 12 is the first mention of it. 56 00:03:10,390 --> 00:03:13,393 And so it really does present 57 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:16,596 people who struggle with doubt, 58 00:03:16,596 --> 00:03:20,133 those who are just indifferent, those who are opposed to it. 59 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:23,336 And it culminates with the 60 00:03:23,336 --> 00:03:26,239 the statement, the promise of death and resurrection. 61 00:03:26,239 --> 00:03:28,775 So it really is a an Easter look. 62 00:03:28,775 --> 00:03:31,010 And we're going to get on it today. 63 00:03:31,010 --> 00:03:34,013 Today, as we open chapter 11 64 00:03:34,647 --> 00:03:38,418 is really geared to the disappointed believer, 65 00:03:39,819 --> 00:03:40,887 the person who has followed 66 00:03:40,887 --> 00:03:43,890 Jesus and been disappointed 67 00:03:44,624 --> 00:03:47,527 and now probably has some doubt. 68 00:03:47,527 --> 00:03:49,495 They've prayed. 69 00:03:49,495 --> 00:03:51,431 They believed, 70 00:03:51,431 --> 00:03:53,566 they've tried to follow. 71 00:03:53,566 --> 00:03:56,569 They've done their best to be faithful, 72 00:03:56,970 --> 00:03:59,005 but they've realized 73 00:03:59,005 --> 00:04:03,176 the desires that they have, that they wish that they would have received 74 00:04:03,176 --> 00:04:07,647 from God are different than what's been delivered by God. 75 00:04:09,015 --> 00:04:12,018 You're better. 76 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,123 I call it expectation, frustration. 77 00:04:18,191 --> 00:04:20,460 I've had expectations 78 00:04:20,460 --> 00:04:23,029 and I'm frustrated with the outcome. 79 00:04:23,029 --> 00:04:25,164 Anybody? 80 00:04:25,164 --> 00:04:29,035 Yeah, this happens in every arena of life. 81 00:04:30,003 --> 00:04:33,840 You get a new job and you're thinking, this is going to be fantastic, man. 82 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:36,843 I'm excited, I'm enthused, and then you're in that job for a while 83 00:04:36,843 --> 00:04:38,878 and you think I just I need to get out right? 84 00:04:38,878 --> 00:04:41,881 Teachers. 85 00:04:44,117 --> 00:04:46,953 You open a business and you're so excited, you're thinking, man, everything's 86 00:04:46,953 --> 00:04:49,922 going to be up and to the right, and we're going to just serve people 87 00:04:49,922 --> 00:04:53,826 and make money, and then you're in it for all you think, man, this thing owns me 88 00:04:53,826 --> 00:04:54,861 and I have no freedom. 89 00:04:57,363 --> 00:04:59,632 You get married 90 00:04:59,632 --> 00:05:03,503 and before you say you dues, it's great expectations. 91 00:05:03,503 --> 00:05:06,506 And then you realize, 92 00:05:07,907 --> 00:05:08,908 They're not changing 93 00:05:08,908 --> 00:05:11,911 like I hoped they would. 94 00:05:13,379 --> 00:05:15,782 You have a kid. 95 00:05:15,782 --> 00:05:18,451 And when they're literally think, oh, this is the greatest thing in the world. 96 00:05:18,451 --> 00:05:21,721 When they hit junior high, I think in boarding schools are not a bad 97 00:05:21,721 --> 00:05:24,724 option. 98 00:05:25,425 --> 00:05:28,161 It's the same thing with faith. 99 00:05:28,161 --> 00:05:30,229 We come to faith. 100 00:05:30,229 --> 00:05:32,699 We think, Lord, you know, I'm so excited of what you're doing, 101 00:05:32,699 --> 00:05:35,702 what you're going to do, and then we're in it long enough 102 00:05:37,170 --> 00:05:40,173 and we start thinking, 103 00:05:42,942 --> 00:05:45,712 What I've what I've received is not. 104 00:05:45,712 --> 00:05:48,715 But I was hoping for necessarily. 105 00:05:50,416 --> 00:05:51,351 And most, 106 00:05:51,351 --> 00:05:54,354 most of the time, what happens when we get in these moments 107 00:05:55,321 --> 00:05:58,391 where what's been delivered is not been what we've desired? 108 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:03,963 We begin to quietly back away. 109 00:06:04,130 --> 00:06:07,133 We don't pitch a fit, at least up front, 110 00:06:07,700 --> 00:06:10,169 but don't raise a ruckus. 111 00:06:10,169 --> 00:06:13,306 We just start to quietly back off. 112 00:06:16,376 --> 00:06:19,679 And in every arena it's the same at work. 113 00:06:19,679 --> 00:06:20,680 You're just not enthused. 114 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,249 You don't show up early, you clock out as soon as you're done 115 00:06:23,249 --> 00:06:26,486 and you're just like, you know, my boss and his clients are just terrible. 116 00:06:29,255 --> 00:06:30,990 Same thing with marriage. 117 00:06:30,990 --> 00:06:33,659 You get disillusioned, disappointed, 118 00:06:33,659 --> 00:06:34,660 just not as responsive. 119 00:06:34,660 --> 00:06:35,661 You're not as joyful, you know? 120 00:06:35,661 --> 00:06:38,131 So it's like, you know, you've been around forever. 121 00:06:38,131 --> 00:06:39,232 You're probably gonna be around forever. 122 00:06:39,232 --> 00:06:42,201 I just. 123 00:06:42,201 --> 00:06:43,369 We start to slowly. 124 00:06:43,369 --> 00:06:46,205 And it happens with our faith. 125 00:06:46,205 --> 00:06:49,208 You know, originally we're excited and we're enthused and. 126 00:06:52,145 --> 00:06:55,148 And then we're disappointed and disillusioned and you start backing off. 127 00:06:57,817 --> 00:06:58,618 You used to serve. 128 00:06:58,618 --> 00:06:59,352 You used to give. 129 00:06:59,352 --> 00:07:02,622 You used to show up early and be excited and joyful and hopeful. 130 00:07:02,622 --> 00:07:05,625 And now it's like, 131 00:07:09,762 --> 00:07:12,765 For the people who are in that position, 132 00:07:13,032 --> 00:07:16,035 John the Baptist is your mirror. 133 00:07:16,736 --> 00:07:19,739 This is exactly what John the Baptist experienced. 134 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:23,342 John was faithful 135 00:07:23,342 --> 00:07:25,511 because obedient. 136 00:07:25,511 --> 00:07:28,514 And now he's sitting in a jail cell, 137 00:07:28,981 --> 00:07:31,984 probably wondering if he got it wrong. 138 00:07:33,853 --> 00:07:36,889 The disillusioned believer, the disappointed one. 139 00:07:36,889 --> 00:07:39,892 The one who doubts no. 140 00:07:41,227 --> 00:07:42,562 Let me tell you where I'm coming from. 141 00:07:42,562 --> 00:07:44,130 As far as 142 00:07:44,130 --> 00:07:47,099 this is concerned, 143 00:07:47,099 --> 00:07:50,970 this is the holy and sacred 144 00:07:51,604 --> 00:07:54,607 word of God. 145 00:07:55,341 --> 00:07:56,409 I hear people 146 00:07:56,409 --> 00:07:59,579 ask me all the time, how do I hear from Jesus more? 147 00:08:00,046 --> 00:08:03,049 Here it is. 148 00:08:03,349 --> 00:08:05,952 This, this. 149 00:08:05,952 --> 00:08:09,155 Everything that God wants to say to you today 150 00:08:10,623 --> 00:08:13,259 is here. 151 00:08:13,259 --> 00:08:15,061 Everything that God wants to speak to us 152 00:08:15,061 --> 00:08:18,064 about is right here. 153 00:08:21,667 --> 00:08:24,637 When I open this, 154 00:08:24,637 --> 00:08:27,406 I believe that God is breathing 155 00:08:27,406 --> 00:08:30,676 his words into my mind and into my heart. 156 00:08:31,811 --> 00:08:34,814 That's what the Bible is. 157 00:08:36,082 --> 00:08:38,851 We are never 158 00:08:38,851 --> 00:08:41,854 to get too comfortable with this. 159 00:08:42,855 --> 00:08:45,958 We are never to get too lax about it. 160 00:08:45,958 --> 00:08:49,228 We cannot spend enough time in Scripture. 161 00:08:49,562 --> 00:08:53,132 We cannot get close enough to God through His Word. 162 00:08:53,132 --> 00:08:56,102 Can't do it. 163 00:08:57,236 --> 00:09:00,239 We ought never to get so. 164 00:09:02,642 --> 00:09:05,611 Comfortable that this becomes optional. 165 00:09:09,849 --> 00:09:11,784 And I'm not going to make mention of what 166 00:09:11,784 --> 00:09:14,787 I want to make mention of the fact that 167 00:09:16,022 --> 00:09:19,158 we can go to a place and hear about the word without ever bringing it with us. 168 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:20,359 I'm not going to say that. 169 00:09:24,397 --> 00:09:26,132 Most of us 170 00:09:26,132 --> 00:09:29,101 have grown up with this around the house. 171 00:09:29,302 --> 00:09:32,305 Many of these around the house, 172 00:09:32,972 --> 00:09:34,473 and it's just something we see 173 00:09:34,473 --> 00:09:37,476 and it's there 174 00:09:38,344 --> 00:09:41,347 and it's become so common 175 00:09:41,581 --> 00:09:44,550 and so a part of the fabric of the landscape. 176 00:09:46,352 --> 00:09:49,355 That it's not sacred anymore. 177 00:09:49,655 --> 00:09:52,091 The fact that we can hold this in our hand. 178 00:09:52,091 --> 00:09:55,761 And part of the reason is that we have this. 179 00:09:58,264 --> 00:10:01,267 And I'm just going to look it up here and not. 180 00:10:04,937 --> 00:10:06,238 And so as 181 00:10:06,238 --> 00:10:09,241 I open the Bible and we come to chapter 11 182 00:10:09,775 --> 00:10:13,045 when I see this, like this is the hinge point of, 183 00:10:13,245 --> 00:10:16,115 he says, listen, you might be impressed with me or amazed by me, 184 00:10:16,115 --> 00:10:19,118 or enthralled by me, or intrigued by me or curious about me. 185 00:10:19,285 --> 00:10:20,252 But now 186 00:10:21,420 --> 00:10:22,221 I'm going to force you 187 00:10:22,221 --> 00:10:25,224 to make some decisions about me. 188 00:10:25,291 --> 00:10:28,260 These are his words to understand this. 189 00:10:29,695 --> 00:10:31,897 You understand this. 190 00:10:31,897 --> 00:10:33,265 This isn't to be trifled with. 191 00:10:33,265 --> 00:10:35,034 This isn't to be this blasé. 192 00:10:35,034 --> 00:10:38,037 Like like that's how I approach this. 193 00:10:38,371 --> 00:10:41,374 Especially all the letters that are in red. 194 00:10:43,809 --> 00:10:46,812 And so let me read from you 195 00:10:46,946 --> 00:10:49,949 the Holy Scripture, the words of God, 196 00:10:50,149 --> 00:10:52,418 the very words of Christ. 197 00:10:52,418 --> 00:10:55,421 I'm going to read the first 19 verses. 198 00:10:55,454 --> 00:10:57,823 When Jesus had finished instructing his 12 disciples, 199 00:10:57,823 --> 00:11:00,826 he went on from there to teach and to preach in their cities. 200 00:11:01,494 --> 00:11:04,830 Now when John heard in prison about the death of Christ, he sent word 201 00:11:04,830 --> 00:11:08,601 by his disciples and said to him, are you the one who is to come? 202 00:11:08,601 --> 00:11:10,803 Or should we look for someone else? Or should we look for another? 203 00:11:12,038 --> 00:11:15,041 And Jesus answered them, go and tell John what you hear and see the blind 204 00:11:15,041 --> 00:11:18,310 receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansing, the deaf hear, 205 00:11:18,310 --> 00:11:21,414 and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 206 00:11:21,514 --> 00:11:24,517 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me. 207 00:11:25,151 --> 00:11:28,521 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John. 208 00:11:28,788 --> 00:11:30,589 What did you go out to the wilderness to see? 209 00:11:30,589 --> 00:11:32,625 A reed shaken by the wind? 210 00:11:32,625 --> 00:11:33,092 What then? 211 00:11:33,092 --> 00:11:36,062 Did you go out to see a man dressed in soft clothing? 212 00:11:36,262 --> 00:11:39,265 Behold, those who are soft clothing are in King's houses. 213 00:11:40,199 --> 00:11:40,599 What then? 214 00:11:40,599 --> 00:11:42,535 Did you go out to see a prophet? Yes. 215 00:11:42,535 --> 00:11:44,770 I tell you more than a prophet. 216 00:11:44,770 --> 00:11:47,306 This is he of whom it is written. 217 00:11:47,306 --> 00:11:47,707 Behold, 218 00:11:47,707 --> 00:11:51,544 I send my messengers before your face, who will prepare your way before you. 219 00:11:51,877 --> 00:11:55,514 Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen 220 00:11:55,614 --> 00:11:57,450 no one greater than John the Baptist. 221 00:11:57,450 --> 00:12:00,453 Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 222 00:12:01,253 --> 00:12:04,023 For the days of John, from the days of John the Baptist until now 223 00:12:04,023 --> 00:12:08,060 the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence and the violent take it by force, 224 00:12:09,128 --> 00:12:12,131 for all the prophets and law prophesied, until John. 225 00:12:12,264 --> 00:12:15,301 And if you were willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 226 00:12:15,301 --> 00:12:18,270 He who has ears, let him hear. 227 00:12:18,270 --> 00:12:20,372 But to what shall I compare this generation? It's 228 00:12:20,372 --> 00:12:23,342 like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to their playmates. 229 00:12:23,409 --> 00:12:25,344 We played a flute for you and you and dance. 230 00:12:25,344 --> 00:12:27,880 We sing a dirge for you and you wouldn't mourn, 231 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:30,015 for John came neither eating or drinking. 232 00:12:30,015 --> 00:12:31,817 And they say he has a demon. 233 00:12:31,817 --> 00:12:33,552 The Son of Man came eating and drinking. 234 00:12:33,552 --> 00:12:34,053 They say, 235 00:12:34,053 --> 00:12:37,923 look at him, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend, a tax collectors and sinners. 236 00:12:38,758 --> 00:12:42,027 And he finishes with this statement, yet wisdom is justified by her deeds. 237 00:12:42,027 --> 00:12:43,562 Now let me tell you here, here's the difficulty. 238 00:12:44,730 --> 00:12:48,033 We can sit up here, and I can talk forever about how sacred or holy this is. 239 00:12:48,033 --> 00:12:51,036 In the words of Jesus, the words of God spoken us personally for us, Baba. 240 00:12:51,203 --> 00:12:52,671 And it's like, it absolutely is. 241 00:12:52,671 --> 00:12:55,674 And then we read something like this and we go, okay, wait, what? 242 00:12:56,475 --> 00:12:58,110 What does all this mean? 243 00:12:58,110 --> 00:13:00,079 Right? 244 00:13:00,079 --> 00:13:04,383 Like, like this doesn't seem to have any bearing on me right now in the rituals. 245 00:13:05,551 --> 00:13:08,521 That's why it's good for us to continually be in the word, 246 00:13:08,521 --> 00:13:10,756 because we understand the word by the word, 247 00:13:10,756 --> 00:13:13,759 so we understand it by reading it more and understanding more. 248 00:13:14,193 --> 00:13:16,762 And that's why it's good for us to be, to hear together, 249 00:13:16,762 --> 00:13:17,897 to talk about this together. 250 00:13:17,897 --> 00:13:19,598 So we're going to I want to unpack this. 251 00:13:22,001 --> 00:13:24,804 The big idea for today. 252 00:13:24,804 --> 00:13:26,472 Don't miss this. 253 00:13:26,472 --> 00:13:30,176 The Christian faith was never intended to be a place we attend. 254 00:13:30,509 --> 00:13:33,512 It was intended to be the who we give allegiance to. 255 00:13:34,847 --> 00:13:37,850 The Christian faith was never intended to be the place where we go. 256 00:13:38,384 --> 00:13:41,253 It was intended to be the person that we give our allegiance to. 257 00:13:41,253 --> 00:13:44,957 And in chapter 11, right now, chapters 11 and 12, Jesus has said, 258 00:13:44,957 --> 00:13:46,959 I am the hinge point you're facing. 259 00:13:46,959 --> 00:13:48,427 The hinge point for your future. 260 00:13:48,427 --> 00:13:51,430 You're facing the hinge point for your eternity. 261 00:13:52,164 --> 00:13:55,167 And I'm going to call for your allegiance. 262 00:13:55,701 --> 00:13:56,635 And he starts 263 00:13:56,635 --> 00:13:59,638 with those of us who are in a place 264 00:13:59,672 --> 00:14:02,875 who have believed, to have trusted, who have tried, 265 00:14:04,109 --> 00:14:06,011 and now there's some disillusionment 266 00:14:06,011 --> 00:14:09,014 and doubt. 267 00:14:09,849 --> 00:14:10,683 In verse one, 268 00:14:10,683 --> 00:14:14,653 the Bible says, When Jesus finished in starting his 12 disciples, 269 00:14:14,987 --> 00:14:17,756 he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. 270 00:14:17,756 --> 00:14:18,557 He said, listen, 271 00:14:18,557 --> 00:14:21,560 pray the Lord, the harvest, like all these people, are moving in 272 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:22,828 to riverstone into sorrow. 273 00:14:22,828 --> 00:14:25,064 So pray the Lord will harvest and workers that are there to reach them. 274 00:14:25,064 --> 00:14:25,598 That's what he said. 275 00:14:27,066 --> 00:14:28,567 And they said, okay, now tag, you're it. 276 00:14:28,567 --> 00:14:30,069 You go reach them. 277 00:14:30,069 --> 00:14:31,670 You got a lot of people coming in the ranchos. 278 00:14:31,670 --> 00:14:35,875 Finally, 20 years of no growth and now it's exploding. 279 00:14:36,308 --> 00:14:37,610 So the fields are ripe. 280 00:14:37,610 --> 00:14:40,279 So pray that God sends people to reach them. 281 00:14:40,279 --> 00:14:42,181 And now tag you're at go. 282 00:14:42,181 --> 00:14:43,415 And so they do. 283 00:14:43,415 --> 00:14:47,953 And Jesus follows behind him preaching and teaching in all the cities around there. 284 00:14:49,421 --> 00:14:52,091 And then he says this. 285 00:14:52,091 --> 00:14:53,659 Well, I know, let me say this. 286 00:14:53,659 --> 00:14:57,096 In these two chapters, we're going to see two types of people, 287 00:14:57,096 --> 00:15:01,267 and we're going to really see it today, two types of people, those who are glad 288 00:15:01,267 --> 00:15:04,270 that somebody has gone, 289 00:15:05,671 --> 00:15:08,674 and those who read this. 290 00:15:09,475 --> 00:15:12,111 And are convicted that they want to be the ones to go. 291 00:15:14,413 --> 00:15:17,416 Those are the two people going to see 292 00:15:17,449 --> 00:15:19,385 those who are thankful that somebody did, 293 00:15:19,385 --> 00:15:22,388 and those who are convicted and said, I want to be the one to. 294 00:15:23,789 --> 00:15:26,792 And please understand that only one of those two types 295 00:15:27,326 --> 00:15:30,329 are going to be people who advance the kingdom. 296 00:15:32,264 --> 00:15:35,267 It's a hinge point. 297 00:15:37,770 --> 00:15:38,137 Verse two. 298 00:15:38,137 --> 00:15:39,939 Now in John, 299 00:15:39,939 --> 00:15:42,942 heard it heard in prison about the deeds of Christ, 300 00:15:43,075 --> 00:15:46,378 he sent word by his disciples and said to him, are you the one who's to come? 301 00:15:46,378 --> 00:15:49,381 And should we look for somebody else? 302 00:15:49,481 --> 00:15:51,951 John the Baptist 303 00:15:51,951 --> 00:15:54,019 John was called, 304 00:15:54,019 --> 00:15:57,656 gifted, and set apart well in the womb of his mother 305 00:15:57,856 --> 00:16:01,860 to be the forerunner of Christ Jesus. 306 00:16:01,860 --> 00:16:06,932 And John the Baptist were cousins, and God set John apart before he announced 307 00:16:06,932 --> 00:16:09,935 even that this Messiah would be born to Mary, 308 00:16:10,736 --> 00:16:13,038 called him and set him apart and said, you're my guy. 309 00:16:13,038 --> 00:16:17,643 John, to be the one who will pave the way for the Messiah to come. 310 00:16:18,944 --> 00:16:19,678 John was the 311 00:16:19,678 --> 00:16:22,681 first one to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. 312 00:16:23,849 --> 00:16:26,518 When John was baptizing people in the Jordan River, 313 00:16:26,518 --> 00:16:29,121 the baptism of repentance, Jesus came walking towards 314 00:16:29,121 --> 00:16:32,925 him and John said, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 315 00:16:32,925 --> 00:16:35,961 John was the first human to proclaim that Jesus 316 00:16:35,961 --> 00:16:38,964 was the Messiah. 317 00:16:39,631 --> 00:16:42,634 The John was called and set apart from God. 318 00:16:42,668 --> 00:16:44,103 He lived in the wilderness. 319 00:16:44,103 --> 00:16:45,104 He was tough. 320 00:16:45,104 --> 00:16:48,107 He lived in the wilderness. He was rough. 321 00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:50,175 He was a man who called sin. 322 00:16:50,175 --> 00:16:53,846 Sin who called immorality, immorality. 323 00:16:53,846 --> 00:16:56,248 He was no respecter of persons. 324 00:16:56,248 --> 00:16:59,251 He confronted the king at the time 325 00:16:59,284 --> 00:17:02,921 because the king at the time went to visit his brother 326 00:17:02,921 --> 00:17:08,060 and fell in love with his brother's wife, seduced her, wooed her, 327 00:17:08,694 --> 00:17:12,431 divorced his own wife, and took his brother's wife as his own. 328 00:17:13,399 --> 00:17:15,834 And John says, you are wrong. 329 00:17:15,834 --> 00:17:18,837 Your morality is wrong, 330 00:17:18,837 --> 00:17:21,173 your worldview is wrong, and I'm going to call you out. 331 00:17:21,173 --> 00:17:24,176 And as a result, they silenced him. 332 00:17:25,077 --> 00:17:25,944 Cancel culture. 333 00:17:25,944 --> 00:17:28,947 Back in Matthew 11. 334 00:17:30,682 --> 00:17:33,685 And so now he's sitting in this jail cell 335 00:17:34,653 --> 00:17:37,656 wondering if he got it wrong. 336 00:17:38,157 --> 00:17:41,126 God, I was your guy. 337 00:17:41,126 --> 00:17:42,761 I was you called me. 338 00:17:42,761 --> 00:17:44,530 You asked me to do this. 339 00:17:44,530 --> 00:17:47,533 I've been faithful. 340 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:51,570 And now you've left me in a jail cell. 341 00:17:52,204 --> 00:17:54,039 You're my defender. 342 00:17:54,039 --> 00:17:56,942 You're my shelter, 343 00:17:56,942 --> 00:17:59,912 and you've left me in a jail. 344 00:18:00,612 --> 00:18:03,615 Anybody? 345 00:18:08,220 --> 00:18:09,521 I have to imagine. 346 00:18:09,521 --> 00:18:10,422 John is thinking. 347 00:18:10,422 --> 00:18:13,425 Why haven't you intervened yet? 348 00:18:13,592 --> 00:18:16,562 Why haven't you changed this yet? 349 00:18:17,162 --> 00:18:19,565 Have you ever felt like, God? 350 00:18:19,565 --> 00:18:21,934 You've done so many for so, so much. 351 00:18:21,934 --> 00:18:24,369 For so many others. When is it my turn? 352 00:18:26,839 --> 00:18:29,842 I imagine John thinking. 353 00:18:31,510 --> 00:18:33,679 Who has prepared your way? 354 00:18:33,679 --> 00:18:34,847 Jesus. Me. 355 00:18:34,847 --> 00:18:37,850 Not them. 356 00:18:38,217 --> 00:18:40,752 Who was the first to acknowledge that you're the Messiah? 357 00:18:40,752 --> 00:18:43,755 Me not them. 358 00:18:44,656 --> 00:18:48,293 Who gave up all the comfort in their life to follow your call? 359 00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:51,363 Me, not them. 360 00:18:52,631 --> 00:18:55,000 And why are you so concerned about them 361 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,003 and not me? 362 00:19:01,974 --> 00:19:04,977 Anybody? 363 00:19:05,410 --> 00:19:07,279 God, I've served you more than them. 364 00:19:07,279 --> 00:19:09,381 I've given more than them. 365 00:19:09,381 --> 00:19:11,283 I've sacrificed more than them. 366 00:19:11,283 --> 00:19:13,185 I've been more faithful than they have. 367 00:19:13,185 --> 00:19:16,188 And yet somehow you're there and not here. 368 00:19:21,660 --> 00:19:24,663 And so the question. 369 00:19:24,696 --> 00:19:27,699 I want if I got it wrong. 370 00:19:28,500 --> 00:19:31,470 John the Baptist was the greatest prophet. 371 00:19:32,838 --> 00:19:34,840 The boldest preacher. 372 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:37,843 He's the one who baptized Jesus, 373 00:19:38,544 --> 00:19:41,547 who prepared the way. 374 00:19:42,214 --> 00:19:45,217 And now doubt. 375 00:19:47,186 --> 00:19:49,388 I used to do. 376 00:19:49,388 --> 00:19:50,255 I used to serve. 377 00:19:51,790 --> 00:19:54,459 I used to sacrifice. I 378 00:19:54,459 --> 00:19:56,428 used to give, 379 00:19:56,428 --> 00:19:57,396 I used to witness. 380 00:19:57,396 --> 00:19:58,297 I used to have hope. 381 00:19:58,297 --> 00:20:01,166 I used to have joy. 382 00:20:01,166 --> 00:20:03,669 But now 383 00:20:03,669 --> 00:20:06,672 it's just changed. 384 00:20:08,707 --> 00:20:11,143 I want to understand something. 385 00:20:11,143 --> 00:20:14,846 That faith that stays is not the absence of questions. 386 00:20:15,113 --> 00:20:18,116 It's the refusal to walk away because of those questions. 387 00:20:20,819 --> 00:20:23,822 That's the faith that stays. 388 00:20:24,256 --> 00:20:26,058 For some, for some of us, it's 389 00:20:26,058 --> 00:20:29,061 not even that that you've been disappointed. 390 00:20:29,161 --> 00:20:32,164 It's just that all this stuff is just too familiar. 391 00:20:33,966 --> 00:20:36,201 For some of us, this has just been a part of our life 392 00:20:36,201 --> 00:20:39,204 for as long as we can remember. 393 00:20:39,538 --> 00:20:42,541 So church thing, the Bible, 394 00:20:42,975 --> 00:20:45,877 Jesus, 395 00:20:45,877 --> 00:20:48,880 it's just so familiar. 396 00:20:50,682 --> 00:20:52,084 I mean, we don't 397 00:20:52,084 --> 00:20:54,987 even Sundays like I'm not pick on me, but I'm just saying, like, 398 00:20:54,987 --> 00:20:57,889 we don't even bring this to church anymore. Quite because it's just so familiar. 399 00:21:01,159 --> 00:21:04,162 It's just so common. 400 00:21:06,965 --> 00:21:10,002 The problem is that familiarity breeds 401 00:21:10,202 --> 00:21:13,639 or becomes passivity, and passivity is the breeding ground for doubt. 402 00:21:14,806 --> 00:21:17,809 Is it really that important anymore? 403 00:21:18,944 --> 00:21:19,945 It's so familiar. 404 00:21:19,945 --> 00:21:22,748 I'm just kind of passive about it, and I'm I'm 405 00:21:22,748 --> 00:21:26,051 I remember the days when I was pretty hot and bothered by it all and as excited. 406 00:21:26,051 --> 00:21:29,054 But now. 407 00:21:31,757 --> 00:21:33,292 You know, is your work still worth it? 408 00:21:33,292 --> 00:21:34,593 Is the sacrifice still worth it? 409 00:21:34,593 --> 00:21:36,995 Was giving still worth it? Is a witness still worth it? 410 00:21:36,995 --> 00:21:39,998 I don't. 411 00:21:41,166 --> 00:21:44,002 Reminds me what Jesus said when he was writing to seven churches 412 00:21:44,002 --> 00:21:47,005 as recorded in the book of Revelation, chapter two, verse four. 413 00:21:47,306 --> 00:21:51,009 You're doing a lot of great stuff, man, he says, but I have this against you. 414 00:21:51,510 --> 00:21:53,312 You've abandoned the love you had at first. 415 00:21:56,615 --> 00:21:59,618 It's just become so common. 416 00:22:00,185 --> 00:22:03,188 You become passive about it. 417 00:22:03,689 --> 00:22:05,157 He's basically saying, you know what? 418 00:22:05,157 --> 00:22:05,857 You walked away. 419 00:22:05,857 --> 00:22:08,627 You're looking for something else. 420 00:22:08,627 --> 00:22:10,762 And so 421 00:22:10,762 --> 00:22:14,566 for faith to remain active at faith 422 00:22:14,566 --> 00:22:17,569 must remain active in order for it to stay alive. 423 00:22:19,071 --> 00:22:22,074 It's got to remain engaged. 424 00:22:22,374 --> 00:22:24,409 And so look at what Jesus says, like John's 425 00:22:24,409 --> 00:22:27,212 asked, are you are you are really you? Do we get it wrong? Did I get it wrong? 426 00:22:27,212 --> 00:22:30,215 Should we look for somebody else that I misread this whole thing? 427 00:22:30,782 --> 00:22:31,950 Is it still worth it? 428 00:22:31,950 --> 00:22:34,953 Look at Jesus response, verse four and five. 429 00:22:35,554 --> 00:22:39,124 Jesus answered them, go and tell John what you hear and see the blind 430 00:22:39,124 --> 00:22:41,493 receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, 431 00:22:41,493 --> 00:22:44,496 and the deaf hear the dead are raised up and the poor have good news. 432 00:22:44,496 --> 00:22:45,030 Preach to them. 433 00:22:45,030 --> 00:22:46,398 That's his response. 434 00:22:46,398 --> 00:22:48,533 Go tell John what you see. 435 00:22:48,533 --> 00:22:49,634 Lame people walk. 436 00:22:49,634 --> 00:22:52,704 Blind people see deaf people, hear the lepers or cleanse 437 00:22:53,305 --> 00:22:56,341 the like dead people raise like, go tell him what you see. 438 00:22:57,409 --> 00:22:58,443 What Jesus is 439 00:22:58,443 --> 00:23:01,446 doing is he's quoting from the prophet Isaiah 440 00:23:02,314 --> 00:23:04,516 in Isaiah 35 and Isaiah 61. 441 00:23:04,516 --> 00:23:07,519 Now look at the prophecy that Jesus is quoting from. 442 00:23:07,619 --> 00:23:09,388 I'm going to read it to you, 443 00:23:09,388 --> 00:23:12,858 Isaiah 35 then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, 444 00:23:12,858 --> 00:23:17,763 and the ears of the deaf unstopped and then shall the lame man leap like a deer. 445 00:23:17,763 --> 00:23:20,098 He's saying, look, this is the prophecy of the one who is to come. 446 00:23:20,098 --> 00:23:21,633 The Messiah. 447 00:23:21,633 --> 00:23:24,603 And then Jesus goes to Isaiah 61, 448 00:23:25,237 --> 00:23:28,206 the spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me 449 00:23:28,206 --> 00:23:29,908 to bring good news to the poor. 450 00:23:29,908 --> 00:23:31,777 He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. 451 00:23:31,777 --> 00:23:34,112 Watch this to proclaim liberty to the captives 452 00:23:34,112 --> 00:23:37,082 and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. 453 00:23:37,249 --> 00:23:40,419 Jesus is saying, you go back and tell John the prophet, you that he knows 454 00:23:40,419 --> 00:23:43,422 from the prophet Isaiah that I am that Messiah. 455 00:23:44,055 --> 00:23:46,691 What do you notice about the prophecy 456 00:23:46,691 --> 00:23:49,694 in Isaiah and what Jesus told John? 457 00:23:49,928 --> 00:23:51,430 What do you notice anything. 458 00:23:53,265 --> 00:23:56,034 They're not the same. 459 00:23:56,034 --> 00:23:57,536 What did Jesus leave out 460 00:23:57,536 --> 00:24:00,539 and what he said to John? 461 00:24:02,340 --> 00:24:05,710 He left out liberty to the captives 462 00:24:06,178 --> 00:24:08,847 and opened the prisons of those who are bound. Why? 463 00:24:08,847 --> 00:24:11,349 Because John's in jail. 464 00:24:11,349 --> 00:24:13,852 And I know at this point 465 00:24:13,852 --> 00:24:16,855 John's like. 466 00:24:18,256 --> 00:24:22,227 I. I know what's coming. 467 00:24:23,228 --> 00:24:26,231 I get to that part. 468 00:24:27,566 --> 00:24:30,335 And that what we do like John wasn't blind. 469 00:24:30,335 --> 00:24:31,970 He wasn't deaf, he wasn't lame. 470 00:24:31,970 --> 00:24:33,905 He didn't have leprosy. 471 00:24:33,905 --> 00:24:36,908 He had this other thing that God said that he would do, 472 00:24:38,343 --> 00:24:41,313 and he's sitting there without receiving it. 473 00:24:45,851 --> 00:24:46,251 And I think 474 00:24:46,251 --> 00:24:49,254 one of the things that Jesus is saying is 475 00:24:50,555 --> 00:24:52,791 saying, John, 476 00:24:52,791 --> 00:24:54,993 I am the Messiah. 477 00:24:54,993 --> 00:24:57,996 You don't need to look any further, 478 00:24:58,230 --> 00:24:59,998 but I will not deliver to you 479 00:24:59,998 --> 00:25:03,001 what you desire. 480 00:25:05,904 --> 00:25:07,005 Some of you need to hear that. 481 00:25:10,475 --> 00:25:11,543 You've been disillusioned. 482 00:25:11,543 --> 00:25:13,278 You're disappointed. 483 00:25:13,278 --> 00:25:14,913 You have your doubts now. 484 00:25:14,913 --> 00:25:16,848 You've been faithful. 485 00:25:16,848 --> 00:25:18,250 You've prayed, you've given. 486 00:25:18,250 --> 00:25:20,352 You served 487 00:25:20,352 --> 00:25:23,355 back in the day. 488 00:25:26,358 --> 00:25:29,361 It's just different now. 489 00:25:30,195 --> 00:25:33,298 And Jesus would tell you, I am still the Messiah. 490 00:25:33,298 --> 00:25:35,934 I'm still the King. 491 00:25:35,934 --> 00:25:38,370 Don't back away. 492 00:25:38,370 --> 00:25:40,071 But you will not get what 493 00:25:40,071 --> 00:25:43,074 you've desired from me. 494 00:25:44,342 --> 00:25:47,345 That's not my way for you right now. 495 00:25:48,179 --> 00:25:51,182 And disciples say, okay, 496 00:25:51,883 --> 00:25:54,886 I've pledged to you my allegiance, 497 00:25:54,886 --> 00:25:57,889 and I'm not taking it back. 498 00:26:01,126 --> 00:26:03,161 And I love what Jesus says in verse six. 499 00:26:03,161 --> 00:26:07,399 Watch this, he says, and blessed is the one who is not offended by me. 500 00:26:08,099 --> 00:26:09,534 This is profound. 501 00:26:09,534 --> 00:26:12,537 Let me, let me to tell you what he's saying here when he says, 502 00:26:12,537 --> 00:26:16,207 blessed is the one, it means supremely happy. 503 00:26:17,042 --> 00:26:18,109 So you tell John, 504 00:26:20,011 --> 00:26:20,946 I am the Messiah. 505 00:26:20,946 --> 00:26:24,182 You don't need to look anywhere else, but you're not going to receive 506 00:26:24,182 --> 00:26:27,185 what you're hoping you'll receive. 507 00:26:27,185 --> 00:26:30,188 But, John, you'll be supremely happy. 508 00:26:30,655 --> 00:26:32,457 If you're not offended by me. 509 00:26:32,457 --> 00:26:37,128 Here's what he means when he says not offended by me, he says, bite. 510 00:26:37,128 --> 00:26:42,834 If you're not offended by my way, by my plants, by my timing, by my agenda. 511 00:26:43,001 --> 00:26:46,004 I know it didn't work out for you like you had hoped it would, 512 00:26:47,839 --> 00:26:50,842 but you will be supremely happy when you're not offended 513 00:26:51,343 --> 00:26:54,346 at the way of I've chosen to work out for you. 514 00:26:54,813 --> 00:26:57,816 Do you understand? 515 00:26:58,483 --> 00:26:59,551 See, most of us think about, 516 00:26:59,551 --> 00:27:02,554 well, God, I will be happy when you. 517 00:27:04,089 --> 00:27:04,990 And Jesus says, yeah, 518 00:27:04,990 --> 00:27:07,993 you're offended at my way. 519 00:27:11,363 --> 00:27:14,466 I think it's important for us to understand this word offended. 520 00:27:14,833 --> 00:27:18,303 When Jesus says offended, it's the Greek word scandalized. So 521 00:27:19,938 --> 00:27:21,439 it means don't fall away. 522 00:27:21,439 --> 00:27:25,310 It's the same word that's used in Matthew 26 when Jesus says of his disciples, 523 00:27:25,644 --> 00:27:28,313 all of you will fall away from me. 524 00:27:28,313 --> 00:27:31,182 You'll all be scandalized, 525 00:27:31,182 --> 00:27:34,786 because you'll walk away, because you're offended by my way of the cross. 526 00:27:35,787 --> 00:27:38,790 Happy are those who are not offended by my way. 527 00:27:39,658 --> 00:27:41,159 God, this isn't what I planned. 528 00:27:41,159 --> 00:27:42,927 I am, it's not. 529 00:27:42,927 --> 00:27:45,930 But I'm not going to be offended at what you've chosen. 530 00:27:51,136 --> 00:27:53,071 I'm happy. 531 00:27:53,071 --> 00:27:55,907 Are we who leave the course of our life to the discretion 532 00:27:55,907 --> 00:27:58,910 of Christ? 533 00:28:01,246 --> 00:28:03,348 When things don't go as planned, when things don't 534 00:28:03,348 --> 00:28:07,452 go as our desire, we have to remember Psalm 75, verses six and seven. 535 00:28:07,452 --> 00:28:10,388 It's a wonderful passage to familiarize yourself with. 536 00:28:10,388 --> 00:28:12,924 It says this in Psalm 75. 537 00:28:12,924 --> 00:28:14,292 Promotion. 538 00:28:14,292 --> 00:28:17,862 Your advancement, your goals and desires and dreams 539 00:28:17,862 --> 00:28:21,166 don't come from the East or West, the South. 540 00:28:21,332 --> 00:28:23,134 They come from God alone. 541 00:28:23,134 --> 00:28:25,603 He sets up, he takes down. 542 00:28:25,603 --> 00:28:28,039 He accomplishes, he disposes. 543 00:28:28,039 --> 00:28:28,540 Reward. 544 00:28:28,540 --> 00:28:31,109 Promotion will come from God and nothing else. 545 00:28:34,979 --> 00:28:36,614 When we leave it up to God. 546 00:28:36,614 --> 00:28:38,616 And you know, this is part of our difficulty 547 00:28:38,616 --> 00:28:42,754 because everything in our world, in our culture, is set up for self promotion. 548 00:28:44,089 --> 00:28:46,991 It's all set up for me to go out and grab 549 00:28:46,991 --> 00:28:49,994 and get to make happened 550 00:28:50,095 --> 00:28:53,364 to coerce, to work, to make sure 551 00:28:54,499 --> 00:28:57,869 in Psalm seven five says, listen all that may come, but it comes from God, 552 00:28:57,869 --> 00:29:00,572 not from you. So just relax. 553 00:29:00,572 --> 00:29:04,442 There's so much of our world that's set up to self-promote 554 00:29:05,910 --> 00:29:07,178 right? 555 00:29:07,178 --> 00:29:07,912 Look at me. 556 00:29:07,912 --> 00:29:08,646 Affirm me. 557 00:29:08,646 --> 00:29:10,115 Please. Someone tell me I'm a good parent 558 00:29:10,115 --> 00:29:13,017 by liking all the things I do for my children. 559 00:29:13,017 --> 00:29:15,053 Please, someone affirm who I am as an adult 560 00:29:15,053 --> 00:29:18,056 by how successful my children are. 561 00:29:18,490 --> 00:29:20,125 Promotion, promotion, promotion I God. 562 00:29:20,125 --> 00:29:21,659 So what? You just stop all that? 563 00:29:24,062 --> 00:29:24,929 Let me shut up. 564 00:29:24,929 --> 00:29:27,932 Let me turn down. 565 00:29:29,033 --> 00:29:30,201 And happy is the one 566 00:29:30,201 --> 00:29:35,373 who can let God do that and not be offended by and how God does. 567 00:29:36,074 --> 00:29:39,077 That's what Jesus is saying. 568 00:29:40,812 --> 00:29:41,613 Did you like 569 00:29:41,613 --> 00:29:45,483 when God called John and then God left John in the wilderness? 570 00:29:45,483 --> 00:29:47,152 Did you know that John never traveled 571 00:29:47,152 --> 00:29:49,921 beyond a mile radius of where he was in the wilderness? 572 00:29:49,921 --> 00:29:52,257 Did you know that 573 00:29:52,257 --> 00:29:54,559 he didn't have a big scope. 574 00:29:54,559 --> 00:29:55,660 He had no power. 575 00:29:55,660 --> 00:29:58,663 He had no position. 576 00:30:01,866 --> 00:30:04,869 Popularity does not equal faithfulness. 577 00:30:07,505 --> 00:30:10,141 And up until this point, he was content letting God 578 00:30:10,141 --> 00:30:11,409 do with him whatever he wanted. 579 00:30:11,409 --> 00:30:13,144 Now he had doubts because he was in pain. 580 00:30:13,144 --> 00:30:15,880 I get it. 581 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:18,550 But he had to understand that crowds have never been the calling. 582 00:30:20,919 --> 00:30:22,587 God, I'm going to trust you and let you do your thing. 583 00:30:22,587 --> 00:30:25,590 And I'm not going to be offended by what that is. 584 00:30:27,392 --> 00:30:30,361 There's so much joy in that. 585 00:30:30,662 --> 00:30:34,499 There's so much release in that some of you are worn out, tired 586 00:30:34,499 --> 00:30:37,502 because your life has been about self-promotion. 587 00:30:41,873 --> 00:30:44,876 Look at verse seven through 11. 588 00:30:47,078 --> 00:30:49,447 Where am I? 589 00:30:49,447 --> 00:30:50,014 Right here. 590 00:30:50,014 --> 00:30:53,451 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John. 591 00:30:53,451 --> 00:30:56,454 What did you go out to the wilderness to see? 592 00:30:56,788 --> 00:30:58,456 A reed shaken by the wind? 593 00:30:58,456 --> 00:30:59,691 What did you go out to see? 594 00:30:59,691 --> 00:31:01,593 That a man dressed in soft clothes. 595 00:31:01,593 --> 00:31:04,562 Behold, those who are soft clothed, they are in king's houses. 596 00:31:04,729 --> 00:31:07,098 Well, then, did you go out to see a prophet? Yes. 597 00:31:07,098 --> 00:31:09,634 I tell you, I am more than a prophet. 598 00:31:09,634 --> 00:31:10,935 This is he of whom is written. 599 00:31:10,935 --> 00:31:12,604 Behold, I send my messenger before your face. 600 00:31:12,604 --> 00:31:14,339 You prepare your way before you. 601 00:31:14,339 --> 00:31:16,341 Truly I say to you, among those born of women, 602 00:31:16,341 --> 00:31:19,777 there's never been a risen one, no one greater than John the Baptist. 603 00:31:19,777 --> 00:31:23,581 Yet the one who's least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 604 00:31:25,216 --> 00:31:25,783 Here's what he. 605 00:31:25,783 --> 00:31:27,252 It's so interesting. 606 00:31:27,252 --> 00:31:28,653 Jesus. 607 00:31:28,653 --> 00:31:32,857 There's this gentle correction of John by what he tells his disciples. 608 00:31:32,857 --> 00:31:35,460 Just go tell him what you see in here. 609 00:31:35,460 --> 00:31:38,162 The lame walk, the blind see, lepers are clannish, the dead raise. 610 00:31:38,162 --> 00:31:40,031 It's a gentle rebuke. 611 00:31:40,031 --> 00:31:43,234 Go remind John of what we both know in the prophet Isaiah. 612 00:31:44,302 --> 00:31:46,170 There's a rebuke, but it's a gentle rebuke. 613 00:31:46,170 --> 00:31:49,741 But to the public he champions John. 614 00:31:50,708 --> 00:31:53,711 He celebrates him. 615 00:31:54,479 --> 00:31:57,482 He says, look how great, John to the public. 616 00:31:58,149 --> 00:32:01,152 He says, man, this is my guy. 617 00:32:01,319 --> 00:32:03,054 So what did you think you went out to see? 618 00:32:03,054 --> 00:32:06,891 You think this John was going to be swayed like a reed swayed by the winds? 619 00:32:07,091 --> 00:32:09,761 He's not blown over by your opinion. 620 00:32:09,761 --> 00:32:11,462 You can have all the hot air you want. 621 00:32:11,462 --> 00:32:13,231 He doesn't care. 622 00:32:13,231 --> 00:32:15,233 He's not moved by what you say. 623 00:32:15,233 --> 00:32:17,669 Your opinion of him or the kingdom. 624 00:32:17,669 --> 00:32:20,071 He's not going to bend because you do this down. 625 00:32:20,071 --> 00:32:20,672 The other 626 00:32:21,739 --> 00:32:23,341 he's no respecter of persons. 627 00:32:23,341 --> 00:32:24,842 He lives for an audience of one. 628 00:32:24,842 --> 00:32:27,845 What you say or think about him does not matter to him. 629 00:32:28,446 --> 00:32:31,916 He's not rude or arrogant, he's just secure. 630 00:32:32,684 --> 00:32:34,953 You think you're going to bend him with your opinion? 631 00:32:34,953 --> 00:32:38,556 No words and feet. No what he says. What? 632 00:32:38,556 --> 00:32:41,559 You ought to see a man dressed in soft clothes. 633 00:32:42,093 --> 00:32:45,330 Listen, only soft men wear soft clothes. 634 00:32:46,564 --> 00:32:49,000 And John's not soft. 635 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,003 That's what he's saying. 636 00:32:54,005 --> 00:32:57,842 Soft men who who live in soft homes wear soft clothes. 637 00:32:57,842 --> 00:33:00,678 And that ain't John, 638 00:33:00,678 --> 00:33:03,448 the great greatest of all Old Testament prophets. 639 00:33:03,448 --> 00:33:04,949 Old Testament. But he's in the book of Matthew. 640 00:33:04,949 --> 00:33:08,886 That's New Testament, Old Testament, because he lived and died before the death 641 00:33:08,886 --> 00:33:09,821 and resurrection of Christ, 642 00:33:09,821 --> 00:33:12,123 and the impartation of the Holy Spirit and the gift of grace 643 00:33:13,658 --> 00:33:16,027 in the gospel age. 644 00:33:16,027 --> 00:33:18,129 So get this, 645 00:33:18,129 --> 00:33:20,131 this John 646 00:33:20,131 --> 00:33:22,967 called of God in his mother room, the forerunner of Christ. 647 00:33:22,967 --> 00:33:27,171 The first to announce them is Jesus as the Messiah, the baptizer of Jesus, 648 00:33:27,171 --> 00:33:30,174 the one who prepared the way. 649 00:33:31,209 --> 00:33:34,078 As great as he was, 650 00:33:34,078 --> 00:33:37,415 you and I live in the gospel age 651 00:33:38,149 --> 00:33:41,552 of the resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit. 652 00:33:43,087 --> 00:33:46,057 As far as that 653 00:33:46,057 --> 00:33:49,060 dispensation is concerned, 654 00:33:49,227 --> 00:33:52,230 we are so much greater than John. 655 00:33:54,665 --> 00:33:56,634 Because we've been given grace. 656 00:33:56,634 --> 00:33:59,370 John lived still under Old Testament law. 657 00:33:59,370 --> 00:34:02,040 We live under grace with the indwelling 658 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:05,043 of the Holy Spirit. 659 00:34:06,077 --> 00:34:08,579 You and I are as close to Christ 660 00:34:08,579 --> 00:34:11,582 and the Kingdom as we choose to be. 661 00:34:12,984 --> 00:34:14,852 Greater in this dispensation 662 00:34:14,852 --> 00:34:17,855 than even John the Baptist. 663 00:34:21,092 --> 00:34:24,062 And for most, it's just become too common 664 00:34:24,062 --> 00:34:27,532 and familiar, and we've allowed ourselves to be too disappointed. 665 00:34:35,673 --> 00:34:38,643 Look at verses 12 and following 666 00:34:39,043 --> 00:34:40,511 from the days of John the Baptist. 667 00:34:40,511 --> 00:34:43,581 And now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence and the violence. 668 00:34:43,581 --> 00:34:46,584 Take it by force. I love that line, 669 00:34:46,984 --> 00:34:49,087 the violent take it by force. 670 00:34:49,087 --> 00:34:51,289 That just sounds so 671 00:34:51,289 --> 00:34:51,789 right. 672 00:34:51,789 --> 00:34:54,792 Like, I mean, read it. 673 00:34:55,593 --> 00:34:56,527 The violent. 674 00:34:56,527 --> 00:34:57,528 Take it by force. 675 00:34:57,528 --> 00:34:59,797 That doesn't sound very Jesus like, you know what I'm saying? 676 00:34:59,797 --> 00:35:02,133 But it is. 677 00:35:02,133 --> 00:35:04,335 This passage had been so mis misunderstood. 678 00:35:04,335 --> 00:35:06,471 We'll talk about it. 679 00:35:06,471 --> 00:35:09,474 For all the prophets in the law prophesied, 680 00:35:10,408 --> 00:35:11,642 until John. 681 00:35:11,642 --> 00:35:14,045 And if you're willing to accept it, here's Elijah, who is to come, 682 00:35:14,045 --> 00:35:15,446 who has an ears to hear. 683 00:35:15,446 --> 00:35:18,449 Let him hear. 684 00:35:18,816 --> 00:35:19,784 The way of the kingdom, 685 00:35:19,784 --> 00:35:22,787 the violent have taken it. 686 00:35:25,990 --> 00:35:26,457 On the violent. 687 00:35:26,457 --> 00:35:27,225 Take it by force. 688 00:35:28,726 --> 00:35:30,461 The kingdom of heaven has suffered violence. 689 00:35:30,461 --> 00:35:31,295 The violent take it. 690 00:35:31,295 --> 00:35:35,566 For this is very difficult to really understand. 691 00:35:35,566 --> 00:35:38,569 Jesus's intent here. 692 00:35:39,904 --> 00:35:42,707 But but let me give you three ideas of this. 693 00:35:42,707 --> 00:35:45,676 One is that the way of Christ 694 00:35:45,676 --> 00:35:48,679 is the way of persecution. 695 00:35:49,046 --> 00:35:51,716 Okay? 696 00:35:51,716 --> 00:35:54,719 The way of Christ is the way of persecution 697 00:35:54,886 --> 00:35:56,387 since the days of John the Baptist. 698 00:35:56,387 --> 00:35:58,356 Until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered 699 00:35:58,356 --> 00:36:01,592 violence and people try to take it by force. 700 00:36:01,592 --> 00:36:04,562 Violence is the way of Christ, is the way of persecution. 701 00:36:04,629 --> 00:36:07,632 Jesus was very clear about that. 702 00:36:07,765 --> 00:36:10,034 If we're going to follow Jesus the way he entered, it 703 00:36:10,034 --> 00:36:13,037 is going to lead to persecution. 704 00:36:13,070 --> 00:36:16,407 It that has been the course of the Christian 705 00:36:17,475 --> 00:36:20,478 since the Christians beginning. 706 00:36:22,547 --> 00:36:26,651 The blood of the martyrs is the seed of our faith, 707 00:36:28,052 --> 00:36:31,055 literally, the blood of the martyrs. 708 00:36:32,657 --> 00:36:34,158 We're very fortunate in this country 709 00:36:34,158 --> 00:36:37,161 that this is not our story. 710 00:36:37,595 --> 00:36:41,098 But if you travel with me to Cuba 711 00:36:42,133 --> 00:36:45,136 and Ukraine, you will see this 712 00:36:45,836 --> 00:36:48,839 in real time. 713 00:36:51,142 --> 00:36:55,813 Our persecution is more along the lines possibly of financially or reputation. 714 00:36:55,813 --> 00:36:58,816 So be it. 715 00:36:59,584 --> 00:37:02,320 But the way of Christ is the way of persecution. 716 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:06,490 Don't you ever believe people like Ole Steen and all these other yuks who. 717 00:37:06,490 --> 00:37:10,861 Well, all they say that spews out of the mouth is full of stuff 718 00:37:10,861 --> 00:37:13,831 that stinks really bad. 719 00:37:15,233 --> 00:37:16,834 But secondly, we have to understand that 720 00:37:16,834 --> 00:37:19,837 the way of faith involves spiritual warfare. 721 00:37:20,838 --> 00:37:23,441 That's the way of faith. 722 00:37:23,441 --> 00:37:25,876 Ephesians six tells us we're not wrestling it's flesh and blood, 723 00:37:25,876 --> 00:37:26,811 but against rulers, authority, 724 00:37:26,811 --> 00:37:31,682 the powers of this dark world and evil forces of in the heavenly realms. 725 00:37:31,682 --> 00:37:33,584 That's the fight. It is a fight. 726 00:37:35,753 --> 00:37:36,754 We have to do that first. 727 00:37:36,754 --> 00:37:38,923 Peter. Five eight. 728 00:37:38,923 --> 00:37:42,126 The devil like a roaring lion seeking somebody to devour. 729 00:37:42,193 --> 00:37:43,394 It's a it's a bat. 730 00:37:43,394 --> 00:37:46,264 It's a war. 731 00:37:46,264 --> 00:37:48,899 John 1010 the thief comes to steal, 732 00:37:48,899 --> 00:37:51,902 kill and destroy. 733 00:37:52,236 --> 00:37:56,207 The kingdom of heaven is a violent kingdom, spiritually speaking, 734 00:37:56,641 --> 00:37:58,376 to understand. 735 00:37:58,376 --> 00:38:01,379 But the third way we understand that is this 736 00:38:01,612 --> 00:38:04,548 the kingdom of God does not advance in this world. 737 00:38:04,548 --> 00:38:07,151 It doesn't advance in the ranchos. It doesn't advance in Riverstone. 738 00:38:07,151 --> 00:38:11,522 It doesn't advancing to overthrow by passive men and women. 739 00:38:13,357 --> 00:38:16,327 It advances by active men and women 740 00:38:16,327 --> 00:38:19,330 who engage. 741 00:38:21,399 --> 00:38:21,999 I mean, when Jesus 742 00:38:21,999 --> 00:38:26,037 says, you, you'll you'll you'll push back the gates of hell. 743 00:38:26,037 --> 00:38:29,473 That's a violent interaction by active people, 744 00:38:29,473 --> 00:38:32,476 not by passive people. 745 00:38:34,645 --> 00:38:37,248 We believe that disciples are active. 746 00:38:37,248 --> 00:38:38,249 I'm passive people. 747 00:38:39,483 --> 00:38:39,884 We will 748 00:38:39,884 --> 00:38:42,887 charge the gates of hell with a water pistol. 749 00:38:43,654 --> 00:38:45,189 It's a battle and we'll take it on. 750 00:38:45,189 --> 00:38:47,258 We'll go fishing for Moby Dick in a rowboat 751 00:38:47,258 --> 00:38:49,593 and take the tartar sauce, because we know we're going to win. 752 00:38:49,593 --> 00:38:52,596 But it's going to be a fight. 753 00:38:54,699 --> 00:38:57,702 The violent take it by force. 754 00:38:58,869 --> 00:39:00,304 I'm not talking on human violence. 755 00:39:00,304 --> 00:39:01,739 I'm not talking about protesting. 756 00:39:01,739 --> 00:39:03,641 I'm not talking about standing on the corner of 757 00:39:03,641 --> 00:39:07,445 of Blackstone and knees or whatever and shouting and hollering. 758 00:39:07,478 --> 00:39:10,448 I'm not talking about that. 759 00:39:10,448 --> 00:39:13,451 That's not what the Bible is talking about. 760 00:39:13,951 --> 00:39:16,320 But certainly spiritual warfare from men and women 761 00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:21,025 who are fearless in their witness, men and women who are fearless. 762 00:39:21,325 --> 00:39:25,129 And they're giving men and women who are fearless, and they're serving 763 00:39:25,129 --> 00:39:28,232 men and women who are fearless to go, who are fearless, to do. 764 00:39:32,803 --> 00:39:35,806 This is the hinge point. 765 00:39:37,108 --> 00:39:39,910 I love the fact that Jesus says, what do you expect to see in John? 766 00:39:39,910 --> 00:39:41,379 A man in soft clothes? 767 00:39:41,379 --> 00:39:44,582 Listen, he ain't soft because only soft men wear soft clothes. 768 00:39:48,686 --> 00:39:50,287 He's a Carhartt boy, you know what I'm saying? 769 00:39:50,287 --> 00:39:53,290 Like it's. 770 00:39:54,492 --> 00:39:55,860 Casual Christianity never change. 771 00:39:55,860 --> 00:39:57,528 The city 772 00:39:57,528 --> 00:40:00,531 ever. 773 00:40:02,099 --> 00:40:02,700 Look at what he says. 774 00:40:02,700 --> 00:40:05,703 Verse 16. And following. 775 00:40:05,870 --> 00:40:07,872 But to what shall I compare this generation? 776 00:40:07,872 --> 00:40:10,441 I was like children sit in the marketplace and corner playmates. 777 00:40:10,441 --> 00:40:12,343 We played a flute for you and you didn't dance. 778 00:40:12,343 --> 00:40:14,812 You sing a dirge and you didn't mourn. 779 00:40:14,812 --> 00:40:16,680 For John came neither eating or drinking. 780 00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:18,182 And they say he has a demon. 781 00:40:18,182 --> 00:40:19,650 The Son of Man came eating or drinking. 782 00:40:19,650 --> 00:40:21,919 They say, look at him, a glutton and a drunkard. 783 00:40:21,919 --> 00:40:23,487 A friend attached to sinners. 784 00:40:23,487 --> 00:40:25,623 Yet wisdom is justified by your deeds. 785 00:40:26,724 --> 00:40:28,626 Here's what he's saying. 786 00:40:28,626 --> 00:40:31,395 In some people are never satisfied, man, 787 00:40:31,395 --> 00:40:34,398 no matter what you do, they're never satisfied. 788 00:40:34,532 --> 00:40:36,534 John came abstain from everything they said. 789 00:40:36,534 --> 00:40:38,536 Is he legalistic and demon possessed? 790 00:40:38,536 --> 00:40:41,372 What idiots! 791 00:40:41,372 --> 00:40:42,506 He says the Son of Man came. 792 00:40:42,506 --> 00:40:45,910 I can call me a friend of sinners and a drunk and a glutton. 793 00:40:46,343 --> 00:40:49,346 I don't know what you're talking about. 794 00:40:51,682 --> 00:40:52,383 He said, listen. 795 00:40:52,383 --> 00:40:54,185 Wisdom is justified by her deeds. 796 00:40:54,185 --> 00:40:57,188 What he means is proved right. 797 00:40:57,455 --> 00:40:59,023 What I do is proved right. 798 00:40:59,023 --> 00:41:00,658 What I say is proved by it, by what I do. 799 00:41:00,658 --> 00:41:03,661 See, the Hebrews had a really high value on wisdom, 800 00:41:04,495 --> 00:41:07,731 so they would look at these things and say, listen, let's just talk wisdom wise. 801 00:41:07,898 --> 00:41:10,401 Is it wise to servers it wise not to serve? 802 00:41:10,401 --> 00:41:11,035 What's your answer? 803 00:41:12,870 --> 00:41:14,505 Okay, 804 00:41:14,505 --> 00:41:15,406 just wisdom wise. 805 00:41:15,406 --> 00:41:18,008 It's wise to be generous and give to tithe. 806 00:41:18,008 --> 00:41:21,011 Or is it wise not to? 807 00:41:21,679 --> 00:41:22,713 Okay. 808 00:41:22,713 --> 00:41:26,283 Just by wisdom, is it wise to witness or is it wise to keep your mouth shut? 809 00:41:28,252 --> 00:41:31,255 And so Jesus saying, look, wisdom is proven right by its deeds. 810 00:41:31,789 --> 00:41:33,524 Our problem is we don't value wisdom. 811 00:41:33,524 --> 00:41:36,160 We value comfort. 812 00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:39,330 And so we would say we of those same things, we would say this 813 00:41:40,531 --> 00:41:41,532 does it make me happy. 814 00:41:41,532 --> 00:41:44,535 And is it comfortable for me to serve or to not serve well, 815 00:41:44,935 --> 00:41:47,404 it's more comfortable not to. 816 00:41:47,404 --> 00:41:50,140 Does it make me more happy and more comfortable to tithe 817 00:41:50,140 --> 00:41:52,243 or to save my money for my own wants? 818 00:41:52,243 --> 00:41:55,246 Well, makes me more happy to spend everything on myself. 819 00:41:56,213 --> 00:41:59,850 Does it make me happier, more comfortable to open my mouth and face ridicule, 820 00:41:59,850 --> 00:42:02,019 or to keep my mouth shut and hope someone else does it well? 821 00:42:05,723 --> 00:42:08,726 You understand? 822 00:42:11,161 --> 00:42:14,131 This. 823 00:42:15,533 --> 00:42:16,734 And so is a some wisdom. 824 00:42:16,734 --> 00:42:19,737 So people write about what it does. 825 00:42:20,538 --> 00:42:22,339 Here's what I know A resistant heart 826 00:42:22,339 --> 00:42:25,342 always finds an excuse. 827 00:42:27,311 --> 00:42:30,514 I tell my football team this all the time I get on the football field. 828 00:42:31,081 --> 00:42:34,051 You're either going to find an excuse or find a reason. 829 00:42:34,218 --> 00:42:37,221 You're gonna find excuse for why you can't. 830 00:42:37,955 --> 00:42:40,958 Are you going to find a reason why you will? 831 00:42:42,359 --> 00:42:45,095 And it's a real obvious. 832 00:42:45,095 --> 00:42:48,065 And the players become real obvious 833 00:42:48,065 --> 00:42:51,001 because the players never make an excuse why they can't. 834 00:42:51,001 --> 00:42:52,603 They find a, 835 00:42:52,603 --> 00:42:55,606 a reason to get it done. 836 00:42:56,206 --> 00:42:58,175 And the kids who just want to wear a jersey 837 00:42:58,175 --> 00:43:01,178 always have an excuse. 838 00:43:01,946 --> 00:43:04,949 You follow. 839 00:43:06,283 --> 00:43:09,286 Listen, 20 years ago, 840 00:43:09,320 --> 00:43:13,757 we started this church with the conviction that Jesus alone changes lives. 841 00:43:15,793 --> 00:43:18,796 And the reason we're here is because people 842 00:43:19,396 --> 00:43:22,633 believed it was worth it and sacrificed 843 00:43:23,434 --> 00:43:27,237 and gave and led and invited, 844 00:43:27,805 --> 00:43:31,175 even when it was uncomfortable and inconvenient. 845 00:43:33,577 --> 00:43:36,046 Now things are changing. 846 00:43:36,046 --> 00:43:38,449 People are moving in. 847 00:43:38,449 --> 00:43:40,084 Our community is changing. 848 00:43:40,084 --> 00:43:40,951 It's expanding. 849 00:43:40,951 --> 00:43:43,954 Schools are filling up rapidly. 850 00:43:45,789 --> 00:43:48,792 And so we're left with two questions. 851 00:43:49,460 --> 00:43:52,463 Is it still worth it? 852 00:43:52,696 --> 00:43:54,765 And for those of you who are not here with us, 853 00:43:54,765 --> 00:43:57,768 20 years ago. 854 00:43:58,002 --> 00:44:01,005 Is it worth jumping in? 855 00:44:02,773 --> 00:44:04,908 See what we're in? 856 00:44:04,908 --> 00:44:07,911 And the hinge point of as a church right now 857 00:44:08,312 --> 00:44:10,781 is these next ten years. 858 00:44:10,781 --> 00:44:12,850 They will either be the next ten years 859 00:44:12,850 --> 00:44:16,654 are the most effective and impactful years flip side has ever seen. 860 00:44:17,788 --> 00:44:20,891 Or they'll be the year that we settle into comfort and retirement. 861 00:44:23,527 --> 00:44:25,396 And so Jesus, in this passage, 862 00:44:25,396 --> 00:44:28,399 basically what he's asking us, we translate this to us. 863 00:44:28,465 --> 00:44:31,235 Basically, he's asking us, is this 864 00:44:31,235 --> 00:44:34,238 you still with me? 865 00:44:34,905 --> 00:44:37,908 Don't drift. 866 00:44:42,513 --> 00:44:43,547 Don't start walking away 867 00:44:43,547 --> 00:44:46,550 looking for something different. 868 00:44:47,851 --> 00:44:50,821 Press in more now than you have before. 869 00:44:55,125 --> 00:44:56,627 Because the Ranchos River has shown us 870 00:44:56,627 --> 00:44:59,630 to show our right for harvest. 871 00:45:01,465 --> 00:45:02,800 And active and violent. 872 00:45:02,800 --> 00:45:05,803 Take it. 873 00:45:10,274 --> 00:45:12,009 And the kingdom will advance by people. 874 00:45:12,009 --> 00:45:15,012 Say. Yes, Lord, you still have my full allegiance. 875 00:45:18,582 --> 00:45:21,585 I want you to pray with me. 876 00:45:23,587 --> 00:45:24,555 Friends, I get it. 877 00:45:24,555 --> 00:45:28,125 Sometimes we do get to those places in our lives, in our faith, where? 878 00:45:30,260 --> 00:45:33,030 A little disillusioned and a little doubt. 879 00:45:33,030 --> 00:45:34,498 I understand that God understands that. 880 00:45:34,498 --> 00:45:37,501 And I'm thankful for his mercy and grace. 881 00:45:39,570 --> 00:45:42,106 And I'm thankful that his mercy and grace offers us a way back. 882 00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:52,816 In prayer between you and the father. 883 00:45:52,816 --> 00:45:55,185 This is. This is his deal. It's his kingdom. 884 00:45:55,185 --> 00:45:56,854 It's his word. It's his instruction. 885 00:45:56,854 --> 00:45:58,756 You are his. 886 00:45:58,756 --> 00:45:59,456 You're not mine. 887 00:45:59,456 --> 00:46:02,226 You're not the church is. You are his. 888 00:46:02,226 --> 00:46:05,229 I would encourage you in this moment. 889 00:46:06,296 --> 00:46:09,099 If you've been in that place of disengagement, 890 00:46:09,099 --> 00:46:12,102 disillusionment, doubt. 891 00:46:13,570 --> 00:46:16,573 To allow this day to be the hinge point 892 00:46:17,508 --> 00:46:20,444 where you come back. 893 00:46:20,444 --> 00:46:21,745 Just in. Honestly, father. 894 00:46:21,745 --> 00:46:23,680 I'm sorry. 895 00:46:23,680 --> 00:46:26,450 You become very calm and your words become very calm. 896 00:46:26,450 --> 00:46:29,453 And the whole church thing has become very common. 897 00:46:30,654 --> 00:46:31,922 Tell them. See if I'm honest. 898 00:46:31,922 --> 00:46:34,925 I've been disappointed, disillusioned. 899 00:46:36,460 --> 00:46:39,730 I honestly don't think you've done enough. 900 00:46:39,730 --> 00:46:41,498 So times. 901 00:46:41,498 --> 00:46:44,701 I thank you that in your mercy, you. 902 00:46:46,770 --> 00:46:49,773 You're still good. 903 00:46:50,274 --> 00:46:51,842 And I'm going to speak by faith. 904 00:46:51,842 --> 00:46:52,843 I believe you're good. 905 00:46:54,778 --> 00:46:57,781 I don't want to be offended by your way. 906 00:46:59,750 --> 00:47:01,552 I don't want to be offended anymore 907 00:47:01,552 --> 00:47:04,555 by what you've allowed, chosen, or. 908 00:47:08,058 --> 00:47:11,061 And so this morning. 909 00:47:12,429 --> 00:47:15,432 I want to pledge to you again my allegiance. 910 00:47:17,634 --> 00:47:20,637 I choose to be supremely happy 911 00:47:20,904 --> 00:47:23,574 by you and your way. 912 00:47:23,574 --> 00:47:26,577 It is enough. 913 00:47:29,079 --> 00:47:31,548 Friends want one other option. 914 00:47:31,548 --> 00:47:34,651 If you've never allow Jesus to be the ruler and leader 915 00:47:34,651 --> 00:47:37,621 of your life. 916 00:47:37,855 --> 00:47:40,858 To step into his kingdom, 917 00:47:42,092 --> 00:47:44,862 I want to invite you in this moment to to pray. 918 00:47:44,862 --> 00:47:47,531 This prayer won't save anybody. Only Christ saves. 919 00:47:47,531 --> 00:47:50,968 But this prayer is part of our surrender to him and I want to invite. 920 00:47:50,968 --> 00:47:53,470 You've never done that to do it. Now. 921 00:47:53,470 --> 00:47:57,307 And you say, God, I admit that I've sinned and I've lived life my own way. 922 00:47:57,474 --> 00:47:58,041 I made it, 923 00:47:59,643 --> 00:48:00,310 and I believe that 924 00:48:00,310 --> 00:48:03,313 Jesus died for my sins and rose again. 925 00:48:03,480 --> 00:48:05,616 So forgive me 926 00:48:05,616 --> 00:48:08,619 and I accept your forgiveness. 927 00:48:08,685 --> 00:48:11,688 And today I commit to turn from my sin, 928 00:48:13,190 --> 00:48:14,591 and I dedicate my life 929 00:48:14,591 --> 00:48:17,594 and my allegiance to you. 930 00:48:18,362 --> 00:48:20,731 Help me live for you openly, 931 00:48:20,731 --> 00:48:23,734 without shame and without hesitation. 932 00:48:25,903 --> 00:48:28,338 I'm yours. 933 00:48:28,338 --> 00:48:29,006 In your name I pray. 934 00:48:29,006 --> 00:48:32,009 Amen. 935 00:48:32,042 --> 00:48:32,342 Listen. 936 00:48:32,342 --> 00:48:34,211 I love you, 937 00:48:34,211 --> 00:48:36,446 but please, please take these words 938 00:48:36,446 --> 00:48:39,449 not as my words, but as God's words and their words of love. 939 00:48:40,183 --> 00:48:43,186 And please take them as I preach them as a 940 00:48:43,287 --> 00:48:46,290 as a confession of his love and goodness. 941 00:48:47,758 --> 00:48:49,293 What I'd ask of you as these next, 942 00:48:49,293 --> 00:48:52,195 these next three weeks leading up to Easter, you read chapters 943 00:48:52,195 --> 00:48:55,265 11 and 12 over and over and over, but read them through the eyes of Easter. 944 00:48:55,265 --> 00:48:57,267 There's going to sound a little weird, but just trust me. 945 00:48:57,267 --> 00:48:58,735 Just read them through the eyes of Easter. 946 00:48:58,735 --> 00:49:02,239 And so we're talking about doubt and disillusionment. 947 00:49:02,239 --> 00:49:04,308 Today we're going to talk about opposition. 948 00:49:04,308 --> 00:49:06,777 Next week. We're going to talk about indifference 949 00:49:07,811 --> 00:49:08,745 in the weeks to come. 950 00:49:08,745 --> 00:49:11,882 And then we're going to talk about this, this death and resurrection. 951 00:49:12,849 --> 00:49:16,219 So, so take time and and pour into this word 952 00:49:16,920 --> 00:49:20,357 these two chapters over and over and over, and just let the spirit speak to you. 953 00:49:20,791 --> 00:49:22,359 You understand? 954 00:49:22,359 --> 00:49:25,362 Then secondarily, enjoy some tacos 955 00:49:26,263 --> 00:49:29,199 as our thank you for your generosity 956 00:49:29,199 --> 00:49:32,336 and your prayers on Mexico team's behalf. 957 00:49:33,036 --> 00:49:35,372 Okay, so jump in with that. 958 00:49:35,372 --> 00:49:36,173 Let's sing one more song.