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At Sandals Church, our vision is to be real with ourselves, God and others. This channel features sermons and teaching from Pastor Matt Brown and other members of the Sandals Church preaching team. You can find sermon notes, videos and more content at http://sandalschurch.com/watch
Welcome to the Sandals Church podcast. My name is Chris, and I'm a part of the online team here at Sandals Church. We are so happy to have you join us today as we listen to this message with pastor Matthew Stephen Brown teaching from our soundtrack series. 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:A couple of months ago, Tammy and I were traveling, and we had a layover, which I normally hate layovers, but if I'm gonna have a layover, I love San Francisco airport. And there's only one reason, the food. Man, they have incredible ramen, incredible sushi, sashimi, and so I'm never never ever sad when I have to layover in San Francisco. And so Tammy and I were hustling to my favorite spot in the airport and I got my ramen, I got my sashimi, and I was super excited and I was ready to eat. And right as I looked up, before I prayed, I made eye contact with a young woman sitting in the table directly across from me.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:So it's the airport, so we're kind of close. And she never looked at me but I couldn't stop looking at her. The first thing I noticed was her pale skin, extraordinarily pale. Think vampire. Right?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And then, you know, she was kinda on the heavier side. Her her hair was a a combination of blue and green. And she was listening, she had these huge headphones on her ears, you know, the noise cancelling headphones. And then I looked down at what she was doing and she was coloring. But she was aggressively coloring and scratching and then my eyes made my their way to her forearms And her forearms, both of them, had 100 and 100 of cuts on them.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And my heart just sank. And I thought to myself, I wonder what she's listening to. Now you've never met this woman. You've never seen this woman. But is there anybody in here that thinks that what she was listening to was positive, encouraging, or uplifting?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You see, the reality is we are all affected by what we listen to. And so in this series called soundtrack, some of you feel bad because what you're listening to is bad. And I want you to know this, that what I listen to affects how I feel about my life. And there is no greater story on this than in the book of Genesis. You wanna talk about somebody who had it made?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Adam and Eve. They got no problems. They don't have to have a job. Everything comes to them instantly. They're in charge of everyone and everything, and yet a conversation makes Eve feel like she's missing out on something.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Isn't that interesting how you can feel so blessed and then you have a conversation with somebody or you see somebody on Instagram, and you're like, my life is not that blessed. You go from happy to sad in a few words. In Genesis 3 1 through 5, it says, now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, listen to this, did God actually say? You see, the first conversation with the devil is about what did God really say?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:He said, you shall not eat of any tree in the garden. And the woman said to the serpent, she said, well, we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. Listen to this. But the serpent said to the woman, you surely will not die, for God knows that when you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil. You see, the fall of mankind started with a conversation.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:It started with listening to something that we should have never listened to. So I just wanna say, you know, what are you talking to? Because what you're talking to can affect you. And if it's a talking snake, amen, run. Run.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And I don't care if your name is Harry Potter. Run. But listen to this. What about the music and movies you listen to? Think about this.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:The stuff that we listen to, the music that we listen to now I love eighties music, and some of this stuff, I gotta be honest with you, is depressing. Like, it's depressing stuff. And and I listen to it, and as I've gotten older, I've I've learned this. I may like this, but this is not good for me. And so many young people today, all the music that you're listening to, is it beneficial?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Is it good? Is it beautiful? Is it uplifting? Go back to last week. Whatever is good, beautiful, pure, honorable, focus on these.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Think upon these things. And so much of music isn't. It's actually negative. It's actually depressing. It's actually awful.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Couple years ago, my son was a teenager, and he wanted to watch a Marvel movie. And I just said, you know what? I I read about it. I said, you you just can't watch this. You just can't watch it.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:It it's not it's it's not something that you should watch. And I just said, you know what? I won't watch it either. I love Marvel. He love Marvel.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And we've never watched it, but I'm a big Wolverine fan. And I love Wolverine, and Tammy and I, we'd watch 2 Hallmark movies in a row. Can I get an amen, guys? K? Like, I I need an award.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:K? No man is ever like, let's watch Hallmark. But Tammy had fallen asleep on the couch, and I was just scrolling. I was just scrolling, and I had nothing to do. And I'm normally a very disciplined person, but I wasn't ready for bed yet.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And so I clicked on that movie 10 years ago, I told my son we shouldn't watch. And here's the thing, I started watching it, and and and this is nothing against any Deadpool fans. Don't send me an email or what all the reasons that you find spiritual truth in the movie. Listen to me. I just didn't think it was good.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:It was it was profane. It was crude. And and from my perspective as a 53 year old old man, it just wasn't that good. Good. And I I caught myself going, why am I watching this?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And then my son came home from college and walked through the door. And this is what my son said. He said, dad, I can't believe you're watching that. And I was so convicted. You see, the vision of our church is being real, so I try to go first.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:I I actually disappointed my own son. He's 21 years old, but he still wants his dad to be an example. And I just turned it off. I said, you know what? You're right.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:I shouldn't have watched that. It was stupid. I didn't give any excuses. I didn't say, well, you know, I'm theologically trained, and so I have to observe the sinful content of Hollywood so that I can participate in effective dialogue. I didn't say anything like that.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:I just was like, you know what? You're right. And I don't know who this is for, but some of you who are parents, you've raised your children right, but you've forgotten to live right. And so when your kids challenge you, remember, they just didn't need your instruction then. You may need that instruction that you forgot and taught them then.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You may that instruction that you forgot and taught them then. You may need it now.
Chris Gomez:And so there might be somebody
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:in our church and, you know, you're older, you're free, you got a lot of time, and your eyes and your ears have wandered to things that you should not watch and things you should not listen to. And so don't dismiss your kids. They care about you. They love you. And they remember when you used to think clearly.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And so honor that and say, you know what? You're right. And just turn it off. And by the way, I told my son, your mom wasn't watching it. She was snoring, you know.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:She's like on the couch. I was like, it was just me. I was the sinner. I shouldn't have watched this. And I'm not saying it's a sin if you watch it, but it was for me because I told him, hey.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You shouldn't do this, and then I did it. And by the way, parents, that's called hypocrisy, which I seem to have a varsity letter in. So so listen to what the Bible says. Ephesians 5 19 through 20. Speak to one another with Psalms.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:K? And you're like, I don't even know what a psalm is. Okay? A psalm is literally poetry for God that is often sung. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Now listen to me. It doesn't mean it always has to be positive. Read some of the Psalms. But it does always have to be productive. Is this helping you?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:The apostle Paul writes to the church and he says sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the father for everything. So there needs to be a positive element to what you're listening to. So every time I hear Rocky music play, I gotta do a push up or go for a run. K? Rocky music motivates me to be better.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:There are some things that motivate me to be worse, and so you just gotta know that about you. What motivates you? What motivates you? Like, when I don't wanna work out, I imagine myself fighting mister T or Ivan Drago. You know what I'm saying?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And I get in there, and I do what I gotta do when I don't feel like doing it. So music can be a motivation, but it can also be a depressant. It can also cause you to sin. And some of you are like, well, that's why I don't listen to music. Okay.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Let's talk news. Yeah. All my Fox News warriors out there or CNN or MSNBC, hee haw, whatever it is that you listen to.
McKay Vandenberg:Hey, Sandals Church. Thank you so much for joining in today's message with pastor pastor Matt Brown. I wanted to take a quick moment to invite you into the work that Sandals Church is doing. One way you can do that is by giving financially. If you head to give.sc, you can do so there.
McKay Vandenberg:For now, let's get back into our message.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Man, the news is the news uplifting? No. Is it encouraging? No. Do you need to watch today to find out if anything bad happened?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:No. We're all gonna die tonight at 11. Tune in. The news makes you feel bad. I cannot tell you how many times in the radio I just have to turn it off.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Now that doesn't mean I wanna be blind to the bad things. I just don't wanna be overwhelmed to the bad things. Because you know what the news is gonna report? Whatever the worst thing is of the day. You know what they never report?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:All the people who did it great, all the people who are awesome, all the people who are wonderful. And if you go back to last week's message, we need to focus on those and think on those things because the world is constantly pouring terrible news and awful information into us. And I think there's a direct correlation of our cell phones, which is the constant feed of this bad information and to so many young people feeling depressed and overwhelmed by anxiety. I think I would have been anxious too as a kid if I had non stop 24 hour bad news fed right into my hand. So think about that.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Isaiah 3515. Isaiah says, those who walk righteously Now if you don't know what that word means, it's a person that's trying to live a right life before God. Isaiah says this, those who walk righteously, listen to these words, they stop their ears against plots of murder. K? And I just lost every woman on their Netflix shows.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Amen? You're like, oh, my gosh. I sin every day. We just gotta be careful. So many of the reasons so many ladies are paranoid and scared to death today are the things that you watch.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You know, I always always tell Tanya, should you watch this? Should you be watching this? And she's like, no. But she's like, don't leave the house at night. I'm like, okay.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:It's what I'm talking about. So if you've never heard this phrase, hear no evil, see no evil, it comes from this verse. Stop their ears against plots of murder and shut their eyes against contemplating evil. So maybe your issue isn't music, maybe it isn't movies, maybe it isn't news, maybe it's conversations. And by the way, what trips up Adam and Eve forever?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:It's not a movie. It's not music. It's a conversation. Wrongdoers easily excuse me. Eagerly listen to gossip, and liars pay close attention to slander.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Right? Give me the news. Let's spill the tea. Tell me what's going on. And this is our world.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Some of you have divisive, negative, critical people that are in your ear and they're gonna destroy your life. Think about it. Eve has Adam, great relationship, best husband in the history of the world, and she has the Lord who walks with her, talks with her. She's in the Garden of Eden. Right?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Everything is perfect, and yet what happens? She develops a new relationship with someone who wants to take her away from everything she knows and wants to destroy her family So what are you listening to? Next, who I listen to will make or break my life Do you know the book of Proverbs? 27 times says, listen to me Listen to me, my son. Listen to me, the son of my womb.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:27 times in 31 chapters, it says, listen to me. How many of you have kids, right? Listen, listen. And some of you, you know, you gotta grab their face, listen to mommy, listen to daddy, and you gotta look them right in the eyes. It's difficult to get children to listen.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:That's why Proverbs says over and over and over again, listen. The book of Revelation, the scariest book in the Bible, 8 times. It says you must listen. You must listen. Now think about this.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:The next thing is every time Jesus tells a parable, do you know what he says? Listen to me. Listen to me. It's so important that we learn to listen to Jesus because we're listening to everything else. Every time I see a young person today, you know what they have in their ears?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Headphones. It doesn't matter if they're at the grocery store, if they're walking with their parents, if they're working out with the gym. They're constantly being fed 247 words from someone else, and I'm guessing it almost always isn't Jesus. And you wonder why you feel the way you feel, and you wonder why you think the way you think. So oftentimes, the way we feel starts with what we're listening to.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:So let's take a look at Genesis 3:6 through 11. So remember, Eve starts a conversation with a snake. And the snake says, is there anything in this garden you can't do? Right? Is there anything that's off limits?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:So he automatically starts with the negative. And then he points out, hey, the reason God doesn't want you to experience this is because you're missing out on something, and this is always the temptation of sin. God doesn't know what's best. God's trying to keep you from love, joy, peace, happiness. Right?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:God is against you. No. No. No. God is for you.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Sin is against you. And everything that God calls off limits, listen to me, is always protective. Always. But the woman listened to the snake. And so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food right?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:It's nutritious. You know, I got all my friends that smoke weed. They're like, you know, I don't have that many friends that smoke weed, but occasionally, you know, I just realized how that sound. All my friends smoke weed. No.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:I got a couple of friends that smoke weed, and they're like, well, God wouldn't have made it if he didn't want me to enjoy it. You know what else God made? Arsenic. Arsenic. Right?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And there's a lot of things that are poisonous in this world that you're not supposed to eat, that you're not supposed to touch, but it's a part of the creation. And so we gotta be so careful that we don't just say God made it, I'm gonna enjoy it. Because God made this tree. He placed this tree in the garden, and he said, don't eat it. But she saw that it was good to eat.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And listen to this. It was a delight to the eyes. I want you to remember that when we end the service. It was a delight to the eyes. How many men have fallen because something caught their eye?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Now ladies, it's a woman here where something caught her eye. She saw it on Instagram. She had to have it. Right? She saw that the tree was to be desired to make one wise.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You see, I'm missing out. And she took the fruit and she ate it. And she also gave some to her husband. Right? Because if you're gonna go down, take somebody with you who was with her and he ate.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Now look what happened. Their eyes were both opened and they knew they were naked. They lost their innocence. Look what's happening to the children in our culture. Culture is constantly pushing on them to lose their innocence through the sexualization of children.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And children, being a kid is such an amazing time. Enjoy it. Enjoy it. We got a bunch of 40 year olds that wanna go back in this church. Amen?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You know, you don't get to go back, but enjoy it while you're there. And so what happens? They sewed fig leaves together, and they made themselves loincloths. So the first thing that happens is when they listen to someone who's not good and who is not god, it separates them from the people that they love the most, each other. And then they heard the sound of the lord god walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife, they hid themselves.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:From what? Listen to this verse. From the presence of the Lord God among the trees. Man, I don't know if you're watching online from home, but I ran into a guy at a lake here in Southern California, and he told me he used to watch online. And that's great.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:If that's all you can do, that's great. He said he was so ashamed and afraid to come to church because of what he had done. If that's you, don't let the enemy keep you from God. God is coming right to you today. And I want you to see here, even though Adam and Eve hid, the Lord still came for him.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:But the Lord God called to the man, and some of you are gonna feel that today. The Lord likes, he's like where have you been? What are you doing? Who are you listening to? And the Lord said, where are you?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Where are you? And the man spoke up, and he said, I heard the sound of you. Man, isn't that incredible? I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid. Do you know why so many people don't go to church?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:They're afraid of the sound of God. They're afraid. He said, I was afraid of you because I was naked, and I hid myself. And he said, listen to what God says. Listen to these words and never forget it.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Who told you that you were naked? You see, what I listen to affects how I feel about myself and who I listen to. Who I listen to will make or break my life. You see, Adam and Eve had heard from God and had been spoken to by God, but then they decided to listen to someone else. And what I wanna challenge you to do, if anyone ever speaks to you and says, well, the Bible's not true, and God's not real, and you need to go your own way, and you need to follow your own your own heart, you may not be looking at a snake, but you're talking with a snake.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And you've got to learn this. I watch so many people, person after person, who live faithful lives, godly lives, and then the second they feel like they're missing out on something, they completely abandon their faith for something that looks flashy and they feel like they need. I cannot tell you how many single people I've walked within this church, and they've been so faithful until they fall in love with someone that's not good. And the next thing you know, they're twisting God's words to accommodate their desires. They're saying, oh, but this is what I want.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:This is what I've longed for. This is what I've prayed for. I was like, yeah. But God doesn't want any of these things for you because this person is not good. And by the way, it doesn't have to be a romantic interest.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:It can be a friend. It can be a friend. Oh, we don't need to go to church. You don't need to listen to that. You don't need to do that.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And the next thing you know, they're controlling you because they're telling you what you want to hear, not what you need to hear. And let me just say this. Anybody that wants to pull you away from your family, your friends, or your faith is always the snake. Always. And they may look beautiful, but what they're saying is horrible.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And learn that, man. I have watched young people blow up their lives, middle aged people blow up their lives, and elderly people blow up their lives because they let someone in their ear that should have never had a voice. So how do we counteract as Christians? How do we counteract, like, all of these voices that are coming at us, what we're listening to? How do we count counteract all these relationships in our life, the people who are speaking to us?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And, by the way, I get it. It's really hard to know what truth is. Man, you you listen to one thing on TikTok and it's an expert, and the very next thing is an expert who's saying the exact opposite thing. Here's what I wanna challenge you to do. I don't know what the truth is about every situation, but when it comes to God, when it comes to your spiritual life, and when it comes to heaven, I wanna challenge you, listen to Jesus.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:There is no one else like him. Mohammed's not like him. Buddha's like not like him. No one is like Jesus. And so here's what I want you to know, that learning to listen to Jesus will change my life.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:It'll change my life. You don't need an expert. You need the one who died on the cross for you. Now I want you to think about this verse for those of you who are feeling shame, for those of you who are feeling guilt, you're feeling overwhelmed, you're feeling depressed, you're feeling anxious, you're afraid, You feel like you don't add up. You feel like Adam and Eve.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:I'm naked. I'm no good. I'm afraid. I've gotta cover myself. Listen to what Jesus says to his disciples in John 153.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:These are some of the most beautiful words ever spoken by Jesus. You are already clean because of the word I've spoken to you. You're already clean. If there's someone that can cover your shame, it's Jesus. Take your shame to the cross and say, Jesus, cover this, and he's gonna say the same thing he told the disciples.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You're already clean because of what I've spoken to you. I don't know what you've done. I don't know where you are. I don't know what's happened, but I know this. Jesus is a better forgiver than you are a sinner.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And just like Adam and Eve tried to run and hide, God still came for him. In the same way, I don't know what you've done, but Jesus Christ still came for you, and he died for the cross, for you, and he's gonna speak to you right now. And he's gonna say, stop listening to the snake snake. He's gonna say, listen to me. Listen to me.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:In Mark 1 40 through 41, it says a man with leprosy came. In this culture, this man was untouchable. He was considered cursed. He was cursed. He was off limits.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:He was separated by his family and friends, but this man came and knelt in front of Jesus. He was considered the filthiest of the filthy. Begging to be healed, he said this, if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean. I want you to underline those words. Make me clean.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and he touched the untouchable. He said, I'm willing. Be healed. And the man, the bible says, was instantly changed. Stop running from Jesus and reach for Jesus.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Next, learning to listen to Jesus will direct my life. Here's what I see today. I see so many people who lack direction. They don't know how to live, what to do. They have no idea how to organize their life and direct their life.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:They're literally aimless. They're creating their own rules as they go along, and it is a disaster. It is total chaos as people make it up as they go along. Look, you don't know what you're doing, but Jesus knows what you should be doing, and you gotta trust him. In Matthew 13 12, Jesus said, he said, to those who listen to my teaching, some of you need to memorize this verse today.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:He says more understanding will be given. Look. You don't get it all now, but if you keep studying Jesus, you're gonna get more. He said this, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You need to listen to Jesus. So here's my question. Some of you been in church your whole life and you know this answer. Jesus was asked, what's the most important commandment? K?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Some of you know the answer. Some of you don't know the answer. He didn't hesitate. Jesus replied, the most important commandment is this, listen, oh Israel. Listen.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:The Lord your God is 1, and he is the only Lord. Listen. Now some of you don't know this. This is actually something that Jewish people recite every single morning when they wake up. Not not all Jewish people because you gotta remember, Judaism is both a nationality and a religion.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:So you can be Jewish and not believe in God. And and for some of you, that's really hard to understand, but it's true. But for those Jewish people who believe in God and practice their faith, they begin every single morning with this prayer. It's called the Shema. And what they do is they go over this every single morning when they wake up.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And for so many of you who are struggling with all the words that are coming in, you're listening to talk radio on the way to work, you're listening to your favorite podcast, you're listening to stuff you shouldn't be listening to on Netflix, man, you're constantly overwhelmed with what you see, what you watch, and what you hear, this is a great way to start your day, listen to me, and change your life. It's called the Shema, which literally is the Hebrew word hear, and it's called that because the first word is hear, and it can be translated, listen. So hear, oh, Israel, or listen, oh, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is 1, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your might. Now listen to this, and these words that I command you today shall be on your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and you shall and they shall be frontlets between your eyes.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Now why on earth would Jews repeat this verse, like, as a mantra every single morning when they rise? And here's what's important each and every day. When you wake up, when you start your day, you know the world's coming for you. You know the 91 freeway is gonna be there.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You know the idiots are flocking, right, and and and trying to challenge your day. You know your 2 year old's been up since 4 AM and they're coming for you. You know this. Why do you begin your day with this? Here's what I do when I recite this.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:The Shema reminds me there's only one God in I am, not Him. You wanna know why I get irritated with my family when they don't treat me like a god? You know? So there are some days when I wish I was from Scotland, like, 200 years ago, and everyone would address me as my Lord. Wouldn't that be helpful?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Yes, my Lord. No, my Lord. But that's that's not true. I'm not the Lord. And one of the reasons, you know, England got so wonky is men thought they were the Lord, and they started acting like they were the Lord, and they started mistreating people.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:There's only one God, and I am not Him. And so what that means every single day, when things don't go my way, it's okay because I'm not God. I'm not God. There's only one God. Hear, oh Israel, remind yourself every morning, listen, there's only one God, and you are not it.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Why don't your kids always do what you tell them? I can't even get my dog to do what I tell them. Does anybody have a dog like that? My dog prays about whether or not she should be obedient, you know. I'm like, come on.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:She's like, let me pray. And because I get mad and think I'm God, I wanna smite her. Right? You know, you're done, and I don't do that because you'd call the police. But listen to this.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Every single morning, wake up and remind yourself the first words, I'm not the Lord. I'm not the Lord. The next, I gotta give God I've gotta love God like he loves me. Now you may not feel that in the morning. I didn't feel that this morning.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:I don't know how you felt this morning, but the very next verse is, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. Now some pastors will take this verse, and they'll talk about your soul, your heart, your mind, and all the differences. Let me just help you. You're supposed to love God with everything that you have.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:That's what it means. All that is in you, you don't give God compartments. You give God you. And you say, I'm all in. And why is that?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Because he was all in for you. He didn't just offer up his arm on the cross. He offered his whole body on the cross for you. He went all in, and he invites us every day to go all in. And, by the way, there will be struggles every day, and you will be tempted not to go all in.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:This next one is huge. I have a moral responsibility to teach the next generation to follow God. The older I get, the more this verse bothers me. Some of you, you're like, well, I raised my kids. I raised my grandkids.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:I did my time. The shaman doesn't say you graduate from this. This is one of the reasons I say over and over again, there's nothing more important at Sentil's Church than our kids' ministry and our youth ministry. There is no church of the future if we don't invest in the kids of today. And we need to do this every single day.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And listen to me, parents. I get it. Soccer is calling. Softball is calling. Baseball is calling.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:All of these sports, all of these opportunities. Listen, you have one job. And your one job is to teach your kid every day to honor God. And you're not doing that if something else is more important than God. There's nothing wrong with sports until sports becomes the God you worship.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And that's a problem. That is such a problem. And here's one of the things that breaks my heart for so many young kids that spend their whole life in sports. And there's a there's a lot of great things about sports. But there comes a day and age when you get injured or you get old, where you cannot play them anymore.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Here's the good news about God. No matter if you get injured or you get old, God is still God, and he is still there for you. And a lot of young people don't know who they are when they can't play that sport anymore. The good news of God is you can't out age God. Listen to what the word of God says.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:You shall teach them diligently every day. Why Why do you have to do that? You you think kids just wake up in the morning? Teach me, father. I want to learn today.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:I mean, those of you who are in education, you know how challenging it is to get kids to learn. God didn't say teach children because it's easy. He said teach them because I'm God. Teach them because I'm God. K?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And this past week, I shared with you my son taught me. My 21, dad, I thought we agreed not to watch that. I was like, you're right. You're right. I did a got good job teaching you.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:I didn't do a good job actually living out my teaching. I said, you're right. Shut it off. It was stupid. So teach the kids.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Get involved in Wednesday night. Some of your campuses have family night. Get involved. Be there. See what you can do to help.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Don't just sit in the car in the parking lot, you know, so that we instruct your kids, but be a part of that. Next, my life should center around God. God's at the center. Some of you guys have invited God into a part of your life. God wants to be the center of your life.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Listen to what he says. The the Shema says in Deuteronomy 6:7, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house. Let's just pause there. What do you talk about in your house? What are you talking about?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:I got a good friend of mine. All 3 of their kids left California, and they're heartbroken. And you don't wanna know why they left? Because all they talked about in their home was how terrible California is. I go, that's why they left.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Your kids weren't listening to you. Talk to your kids about something else. Don't just complain to your kids or gripe about your kids or or or get political with your kids, but talk to your kids, talk in your family about God. When you sit down, when you rise up, when you walk by the way, what are you talking about? When you lie down and when you rise.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:We waste so much time talking about stuff that doesn't matter. Oh my gosh. All I talked about last week was the Jake Paul, Mike Tyson fight. Anybody else? Just me?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:It's the dumbest fight I've ever watched in my life. It was horrible, and I loved Mike Tyson as a kid. I I loved Mike Tyson punch out. I loved that game. It was so bad.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Man, I wonder if when we get to heaven, the Lord's just gonna show a movie of our life and all the stupid stuff we watched and all the stupid stuff we talked about. I sat with an old pastor who was in his eighties, and he gave me some unasked for advice, but I'll never forget it. He said, when I was your age, he said, I wasted so much time thinking and talking about stuff that didn't matter. Now I'm not saying we should only talk about God. I'm just saying God should always be something we wanna talk about.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Next, this is huge. My faith should be seen in my work. Some of you've never thought about this. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand. Now if we ever get to go back to Israel again when hopefully there's peace there, you'll see that conservative Jewish people literally bind scripture on their hand.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And I'm not trying to be critical, but that's not what it means. What it means is whatever you're doing with your life, this is what the New Testament says, whatever you do, do for the glory of God. That is the interpretation of that. So whatever I do for a living, am I honoring God with my work? And some of you guys are Christian on Sunday from 9 to 11, but then you're with a snake every other hour of the day for the rest of the week.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:How do you bring God into what you do to make a living? Couple years ago, I was invited to speak at a major church, and, it was a very, very famous church at the time, Pastor Rick Warren, Saddleback Church. It was the first time I'd ever spoken there. And I had a friend of mine who flew there to watch me speak, and he was back in the green room and he was with me all day long, and his commentary on the day really surprised me. Here's what he said, and my friend has been very, very famous.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:He's traveled with very famous Christian people, and he's had a a more influential life than I've had in terms of fame and notoriety and followers on social media. He's very, very famous. But his commentary on me was this. He said, He said, you're different, and here's what he said. He said, you're the same everywhere you go.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Now at first, I felt complimented. I was like, oh, thank you, and then it just broke my heart. This guy runs around with famous Christian people who are one way when they're on the camera and another way when they're off, and I went, oh. You see, I don't just wanna be a Christ follower when the camera's rolling. I wanna be a Christ follower when I'm with my wife, when I'm with my kids, when I'm with, you know, with with everybody.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Amen? That's what I wanna be. And and, again, I'm not trying to say, like, look at me. I just shared with you. I I watched something I shouldn't have been watching, and my son, my 21 year old, confronted me.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:So I don't always get it right. But here's the thing is we need to be the same person both when people are watching and when people aren't because here's the truth. The real you is who you are when no one's watching. So let's bring that you to Jesus today and say change that guy, not my public guy, not the guy when people are watching. Lastly, my faith should guard what I watch, and this is so huge.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:They shall be as frontlets between your eyes. Now, when you go to Israel, they literally will strap scripture, they're called, flatteries, and they will, like it bruises their forehead. They'll tie it to their forehead. And, again, I'm not meaning to be critical. That's not what it means.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Guys, what are you watching? What has your attention? God wants to hit you with his truth right between the eyes. And in our culture, we can be scrolling and just find ourselves looking at something we shouldn't be looking at. We can find ourselves noticing something we shouldn't be noticing, and what we want is we want God's word to guide our vision.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:What happened to Eve? She saw that the fruit was desirable. You see, God's word should have redirected her. Yeah, it looks good, but God said it's not good. It looks good, but God said it's not good.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:It looks nutritious, but God said it's off limits. You see, Scripture should have guided her and guided Adam, but it didn't. And so when they saw that it was good, then what was the next step? They took what was good. They violated the Shema both with their hand and with their eyes.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:So I must learn scripture, listen to me, and apply it to my life. One of the reasons it's so important that at some point in time you get in a community group is the community group and the people that know you, the people that love you, the real you, not the you and me in the lobby, the real you, they talk about these issues in small group. And they know your marriage. They know your kids. They know your life.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:They know your struggles, and you talk about how to apply these things to the real you, not the fake you because God will never bless the fake you. I wanna encourage you. Make sure that God's word is right here. Last point, you shall write them on your doorposts of your house and on your gates. Look.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Whatever you do, wherever you go, God's word should be there. And this last one really to me is evangelism. When people come to your house, when they come into your gates, they should see that you're a believer, and they should wanna know why it is that you have the faith that you have. If you have Jewish friends or at my house, we have a mezuzah. K?
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:It's on our our doorpost. All it means in Hebrew is doorpost. So you have a doorpost on your doorpost. That's all it means. But what it says is we believe in God and we're following God.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And everything that we own, our house and all of our property is the Lord's. It's the Lord's. And so here's what I wanna say to you. The world is overwhelming, and they're not gonna stop. They're not gonna stop, and they're not gonna stop speaking to us, and they're not gonna stop challenging us.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:There are snakes everywhere, but God's truth is right there in front of you. And if you choose to start your day, each and every day with a Shema, and you can start this week, here, O Israel, the Lord your God is 1, and you start your day with God, you're the only Lord and I'm not him. I believe it will change your life as you learn to listen to him. So let's end and let's just pray together. So if you would just bow your heads and close your eyes and just kinda lift out your hands, and let's just start off with a confession.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:Lord, we've all listened to things we shouldn't have listened to, and we've all seen things we shouldn't have seen. Lord, would you just clear those from our mind? And, Lord, would you just help us each and every day to start off with a Shema? Lord, you are 1. God, help us to just trust in you.
Pastor Matthew Stephen Brown:And, God, help us to live this out this week and walk through this beautiful prayer as we learn to listen to you each and every day. Father, change our lives, change our families, and change us, God, by who it is that we are choosing to listen to. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.
Morgan Teruel:Thank you so much for tuning in today. If you want more content from this series, we have the YouTube playlist linked in the description. And if you want more information about who we are and what we do, you can go to sandals church.com.