WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:22.260 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.780 --> 00:00:25.880 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:30.420 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:31.260 the latest message. 00:00:31.680 --> 00:00:32.460 Thanks for listening. 00:00:44.680 --> 00:00:45.520 Good morning. 00:00:46.740 --> 00:00:49.680 I want to say this before we dive in. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:53.880 I hope you all, whether you're here with us or whether you're watching at home or enjoying 00:00:53.880 --> 00:00:58.300 the videos, but I guarantee you there's not a soul enjoying them more than Johnny Cobb. 00:00:58.580 --> 00:01:02.140 And so, Johnny, it is just an encouragement every week to stand up here, buddy, and watch 00:01:02.140 --> 00:01:02.780 you with those. 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:05.020 And so thank you so much for that. 00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:09.240 But hey, to all the dads out there, whether you're gathered here with us or whether you're 00:01:09.240 --> 00:01:10.520 at home, happy Father's Day. 00:01:11.240 --> 00:01:13.760 You know, at our house, we've stretched it out. 00:01:13.860 --> 00:01:16.000 This is Father's Week for me. 00:01:16.100 --> 00:01:19.920 And so I've been leveraging and reminding my kids of that every time I see them. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:21.180 Like, hey, do something special for me. 00:01:21.220 --> 00:01:22.180 Do something special for me. 00:01:22.420 --> 00:01:24.520 And so it's just a good time to be here. 00:01:24.600 --> 00:01:28.680 And so for all the dads out there, godly dads, just striving hard to love your kids. 00:01:28.780 --> 00:01:32.480 Thank you so much for all that you do and how you model that for your family. 00:01:33.320 --> 00:01:37.020 I do want to say this before we dive in to God's Word this morning. 00:01:37.800 --> 00:01:43.720 As much as we say that, we also recognize on days like Mother's Day and on days like Father's 00:01:43.720 --> 00:01:47.800 Day that there are a group of people that right now, it's a bittersweet time maybe. 00:01:48.660 --> 00:01:52.960 You know, for some, you can't be with your kids or maybe you can't be with your dad today. 00:01:53.460 --> 00:01:55.740 For some of you, your dad maybe has passed on. 00:01:56.220 --> 00:01:59.380 Maybe for others in here, you've never had a relationship with your dad. 00:01:59.880 --> 00:02:04.560 And so on the day that everybody celebrates, there's a difficulty within your heart and 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:06.040 in your spirit on days like today. 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:09.640 And so just know if that's you, we're lifting you up and we're praying for you as you're 00:02:09.640 --> 00:02:11.840 going through this day and this battle. 00:02:11.920 --> 00:02:15.820 And just know that God is your heavenly Father who never fails you or forsakes you and who 00:02:15.820 --> 00:02:20.980 deeply, deeply loves you in an unconditional way that we can't even begin to fathom or live 00:02:20.980 --> 00:02:22.160 out accurately in this world. 00:02:22.660 --> 00:02:28.140 I do want to say also before we open up our Bibles, many of you maybe already know that 00:02:28.140 --> 00:02:33.980 Pastor Dave, who's been here for years, longest tenured staff member, probably been here longer 00:02:33.980 --> 00:02:36.120 than most of you have been a part of this church. 00:02:36.820 --> 00:02:42.600 Yesterday, after a battle that his dad had, some health issues that his dad had, his dad 00:02:42.600 --> 00:02:43.200 passed away. 00:02:43.760 --> 00:02:49.040 And so the Allen family is going through the mourning process together, knowing that his 00:02:49.040 --> 00:02:53.480 dad is in heaven, knowing that one day they will be reunited again. 00:02:53.900 --> 00:02:58.840 But I pray as we go from here and do whatever you're going to do today, that you lift up the 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:03.080 Allen family, that you pray for them as they walk through this season of life. 00:03:03.600 --> 00:03:05.860 So would you join me as we go to the Lord in prayer? 00:03:07.320 --> 00:03:12.760 God, I come to you and I thank you for the gift and the privilege that you've given me 00:03:12.760 --> 00:03:13.580 to be a dad. 00:03:15.040 --> 00:03:20.680 Lord, I know though that for so many of us, the word dad is a complicated word, right? 00:03:21.340 --> 00:03:27.260 For so many of us, it could be associated with joy and with happiness, but also for so many 00:03:27.260 --> 00:03:31.320 of us, it's connected to hurt and sorrow and pain. 00:03:32.340 --> 00:03:36.680 So Lord, as we open up your word this morning, Lord, I pray that what we would glean from that 00:03:36.680 --> 00:03:41.680 is the unconditional love of our heavenly father, Lord, of what you do for us. 00:03:41.760 --> 00:03:47.140 And may today not be a day where we boast and we brag about what our earthly dads have done 00:03:47.140 --> 00:03:53.520 or what we as fathers have accomplished, but could today be a reminder of who you are and 00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:56.440 your never failing love for us. 00:03:56.940 --> 00:03:59.100 And so Jesus, we thank you for who you are. 00:03:59.200 --> 00:04:00.240 We thank you for your love. 00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:01.120 And it's in your name we pray. 00:04:01.340 --> 00:04:01.700 Amen. 00:04:02.480 --> 00:04:07.580 And if you got your Bibles, go ahead and open up to Luke chapter 18 as we continue on in 00:04:07.580 --> 00:04:08.780 our series about the parables. 00:04:08.980 --> 00:04:13.940 Now, as we go through this each week, there's three questions that are going to underline 00:04:13.940 --> 00:04:17.120 every message that we're going to have there that I want you to ask yourself. 00:04:17.220 --> 00:04:21.460 And these are three questions that I ask myself every time I read scripture, whether it's in 00:04:21.460 --> 00:04:25.640 preparation for a sermon, whether it's for schoolwork, or whether it's from a personal 00:04:25.640 --> 00:04:27.520 devotion and growth time. 00:04:27.880 --> 00:04:31.920 And so we want to specifically look at these questions as we work through the parables. 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:35.820 Question number one is, as Jesus teaches, what does this teach me about God? 00:04:36.140 --> 00:04:39.200 The second question is, what does this teach me about myself? 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:44.540 And then the third question is, what does this teach me about others, but specifically 00:04:44.540 --> 00:04:47.260 speaking, how I treat others, all right? 00:04:47.280 --> 00:04:52.040 So every time that we walk through these, these are the questions that we can ask. 00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:58.700 Now, in Luke chapter 18, the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector, this has been an interesting 00:04:58.700 --> 00:05:05.160 study for me of what God has done in my years of both going to church, then getting saved, 00:05:05.460 --> 00:05:07.460 then being a part of ministry. 00:05:07.820 --> 00:05:13.280 This is probably the parable that I've preached in or read the second most, the most being the 00:05:13.280 --> 00:05:14.620 parable of the prodigal son. 00:05:14.820 --> 00:05:20.060 But the one of the Pharisee and the tax collector has been one that I've commonly preached from. 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:25.060 And it's been an interesting journey of what God has taken me through this week. 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:30.640 And so I pray for you, if this is a parable that you've heard time and time again, that 00:05:30.640 --> 00:05:35.280 God and his graciousness and his faithfulness will show you something fresh and something 00:05:35.280 --> 00:05:35.580 new. 00:05:35.860 --> 00:05:40.320 And if not, maybe you're sitting there like, I've never heard this before, then wonderful, 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:44.280 excited to see what God's going to teach you as we work through this this morning. 00:05:44.280 --> 00:05:49.720 So Luke chapter 18, we're going to read the entire parable, verses 9 through 14. 00:05:50.300 --> 00:05:56.260 So scripture tells us this, he also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that 00:05:56.260 --> 00:05:59.000 they were righteous and treated others with contempt. 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:01.460 Then Jesus begins to tell the parable. 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:07.200 Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 00:06:07.280 --> 00:06:14.420 The Pharisee standing by himself prayed this, God, I thank you that I'm not like other men, 00:06:14.880 --> 00:06:21.340 extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even this tax collector. 00:06:21.960 --> 00:06:23.840 I fast twice a week. 00:06:24.280 --> 00:06:26.380 I give tithes of all that I get. 00:06:26.920 --> 00:06:32.780 But the tax collector standing far off would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat 00:06:32.780 --> 00:06:36.860 his breast saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. 00:06:38.040 --> 00:06:43.700 Jesus says, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other 00:06:43.700 --> 00:06:52.220 for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. 00:06:52.880 --> 00:06:56.480 And so Jesus tells us this story about two characters. 00:06:57.440 --> 00:07:04.320 Jesus tells us this story of two individuals that would be very common in the context in 00:07:04.320 --> 00:07:06.280 which Jesus gives this parable. 00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:13.460 But what I want us to begin to land on is not diving into the story quite yet, but is helping 00:07:13.460 --> 00:07:19.800 us understand the setting, the audience of which Jesus spoke to, and then also the setting 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:23.620 and the audience in which we will find ourselves here today. 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:30.700 And I want us to begin to think through this concept of viewing yourself versus viewing others. 00:07:31.420 --> 00:07:39.800 Now, in your and my walk with the Lord, if we're not careful, there can begin to be this pattern 00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:47.560 of positioning within the heart of those who say we are Christians, who attend church, who 00:07:47.560 --> 00:07:49.740 do religious things. 00:07:49.880 --> 00:07:55.680 If we're not careful, there can be a piece of our heart that when we look at sin, when 00:07:55.680 --> 00:08:01.880 we look at our response to it, when we look at our pursuit of holiness, which is not a bad 00:08:01.880 --> 00:08:02.480 thing, right? 00:08:02.500 --> 00:08:08.000 We need to pursue that to have a position in the heart that says, I've arrived. 00:08:08.740 --> 00:08:13.500 To have a position in the heart that says, I know what this looks like. 00:08:13.900 --> 00:08:14.940 I'm good. 00:08:15.180 --> 00:08:16.560 I've got this. 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:21.500 And here's some of the telltale signs of this in your life or in my life. 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:26.100 When we read the Bible, when we're engaged in the Bible study, or maybe even today when 00:08:26.100 --> 00:08:32.400 we're listening to the sermon and as truth of what God's Spirit reveals to us begins to 00:08:32.400 --> 00:08:37.160 come into our minds, we begin to think of all of the other people who need to hear it, 00:08:37.340 --> 00:08:37.560 right? 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:41.140 And not us as the recipients of the ones that need to hear this. 00:08:41.760 --> 00:08:46.600 Now, Jesus is very careful about this as from the very beginning of his ministry. 00:08:46.980 --> 00:08:52.640 In Matthew chapter 7, it's in the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus begins to 00:08:52.640 --> 00:08:53.300 deal with this. 00:08:53.380 --> 00:08:59.420 And kind of paraphrased into my own words, Jesus, in speaking about judgment and following 00:08:59.420 --> 00:09:02.000 him, he says, look, here's what you need to do. 00:09:02.400 --> 00:09:04.680 You need to take the log, right? 00:09:04.760 --> 00:09:06.020 Get a picture of this. 00:09:06.380 --> 00:09:14.200 Take the log out of your own eye so that you may see clearly so that you can remove the speck 00:09:14.200 --> 00:09:16.820 from your brother's eye. 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:23.680 There's a very intentional process of what Jesus is conveying to the people who want to follow 00:09:23.680 --> 00:09:31.260 him, that the gospel, that the teachings of Christ cause you and I first to look at ourselves 00:09:31.260 --> 00:09:32.780 and to inspect ourselves. 00:09:32.940 --> 00:09:37.640 And what we will notice is that we have this log out of our eye. 00:09:37.640 --> 00:09:46.080 And as a result of the sin that is in our life, we can't see others clearly until we remove it. 00:09:46.860 --> 00:09:52.380 But our heart sometimes can be, we're walking around with multiple logs sticking out of our 00:09:52.380 --> 00:09:57.460 eyes, pointing to other people, the little teeny tiny specks of dust that they have in their 00:09:57.460 --> 00:09:58.240 own eye. 00:09:58.980 --> 00:10:06.620 So what the gospel calls us to do is to remove, to examine, to work through so that now we can 00:10:06.620 --> 00:10:15.220 see ourselves and see others clearly so that when we go forward into relationship with them 00:10:15.220 --> 00:10:24.280 in humility, in grace, we can speak transparently about our lives, but also about their life. 00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:32.180 So I'm not coming in a judgmental sense to rebuke you, but instead I'm coming as a person who 00:10:32.180 --> 00:10:38.180 knows above all things, I am a work in progress, right? 00:10:38.360 --> 00:10:42.780 I think of my life kind of the way that I view my backyard, right? 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:46.780 I'm getting there, but there's not really grass in these areas yet. 00:10:47.140 --> 00:10:50.560 I'm getting there, but there's two half-built buildings on the other side, right? 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:51.920 Like, that's where we are. 00:10:52.260 --> 00:10:53.360 That's who I am. 00:10:53.560 --> 00:10:59.560 But as I recognize those things, God in his graciousness gives me the ability to see myself, 00:10:59.900 --> 00:11:03.180 see clearly, so I can also speak truth into other people's lives. 00:11:03.260 --> 00:11:06.520 And it comes out of a heart of kindness and compassion. 00:11:06.840 --> 00:11:08.920 And so that's where Jesus is. 00:11:08.920 --> 00:11:14.580 And this is what we need to see as we gather through in this parable, because it's so easy 00:11:14.580 --> 00:11:18.740 in our life to go, Pharisee tax collector, Pharisee tax collector, Pharisee tax collector. 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:21.640 But for us, where does that have to begin? 00:11:22.940 --> 00:11:24.300 A bunch of people walking around with logs. 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:26.980 Pharisee, Pharisee, Pharisee, Pharisee, Pharisee. 00:11:27.540 --> 00:11:28.960 But are we seeing clearly? 00:11:30.040 --> 00:11:32.420 So Jesus comes into this context. 00:11:32.900 --> 00:11:34.980 And I love what Jesus says. 00:11:35.320 --> 00:11:39.220 It says he's told this parable to some. 00:11:39.880 --> 00:11:47.500 Now, Jesus is speaking directly to a group of people who were in the middle of a sin pattern 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:54.180 in their life, whether they had vocalized that to him or whether it was his divine nature to interpret 00:11:54.180 --> 00:11:56.600 that, Jesus begins to speak. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:12:01.880 Now, when Jesus speaks to our heart, Jesus does a wonderfully difficult but refreshing work. 00:12:02.300 --> 00:12:06.720 When Jesus begins to deal with your heart and with my heart and the sin that's there, 00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:11.100 I want to tell you, it's a hard, it's a draining, it's a difficult process. 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:15.600 I don't know about you, but I typically don't like knowing the things that are wrong with me. 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:18.200 I would rather you tell me the things that are good about me. 00:12:18.280 --> 00:12:20.380 But Jesus does that in his kindness. 00:12:20.740 --> 00:12:25.420 And then what we find is as our heart begins to align with his and we acknowledge those things, 00:12:25.560 --> 00:12:30.660 there's the refreshing nature of the Holy Spirit that empowers us and recharges us to go forward. 00:12:31.060 --> 00:12:35.960 So as Jesus is sitting, looking at this group of people and begins to convey this, 00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:37.760 it's the difficult but refreshing. 00:12:38.060 --> 00:12:42.340 So as you're here today and when you leave here, what we don't want this to be about 00:12:42.340 --> 00:12:45.300 is how wonderfully terrible you are, right? 00:12:45.300 --> 00:12:50.960 We want it to be how wonderfully good God is and what God is doing in our lives. 00:12:51.160 --> 00:12:53.120 And that's where the refreshment comes. 00:12:53.820 --> 00:12:55.100 So what is going on here? 00:12:55.780 --> 00:12:57.460 Well, Scripture tells us, Jesus says this, 00:12:58.040 --> 00:13:06.060 He told this to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt. 00:13:06.180 --> 00:13:07.460 So it's kind of this two parts in. 00:13:07.740 --> 00:13:12.160 The first part is this, they trusted in themselves, that's the key. 00:13:12.160 --> 00:13:14.860 They trusted in themselves what? 00:13:15.800 --> 00:13:18.780 They trusted in themselves that they were righteous. 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:22.640 That's where the conflict begins to happen. 00:13:23.140 --> 00:13:29.620 Now oftentimes in our Christian verbiage, we use words and we use phrases and we ask questions like, 00:13:29.960 --> 00:13:30.940 Do you trust Jesus? 00:13:32.300 --> 00:13:34.860 Well, how are you trusting Jesus in this moment? 00:13:35.520 --> 00:13:38.940 And most of the time when I use that phrase, when I hear that phrase being used, 00:13:39.140 --> 00:13:40.800 here's what we're typically talking about. 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:45.660 In this season of life, in this difficulty of what you don't know, what you don't understand, 00:13:45.820 --> 00:13:47.380 of what you're battling through. 00:13:47.540 --> 00:13:51.980 Are you trusting Christ with the planning, with the time and the details? 00:13:51.980 --> 00:13:58.120 We're asking people in this moment, do you trust that God is with you, that God is working things out? 00:13:58.260 --> 00:13:59.480 And that's one way that we use it. 00:13:59.620 --> 00:14:03.200 But this isn't necessarily what he is talking about here. 00:14:03.700 --> 00:14:09.420 Jesus is talking about they trusted in themselves, not necessarily for the day-to-day actions of their lives, 00:14:09.540 --> 00:14:11.680 but for their own righteousness. 00:14:12.500 --> 00:14:19.580 They trusted in themselves for the right standing before God. 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:25.120 And what Jesus is wanting them to get to, what we have to get to here is this, 00:14:25.500 --> 00:14:33.660 that in our standing before God, in the declaration that we are made right before him, 00:14:33.660 --> 00:14:42.220 there is absolutely nothing, nothing we can do to obtain that. 00:14:42.700 --> 00:14:48.360 But then it manifests itself in something else, that they treated others with contempt, 00:14:49.020 --> 00:14:53.900 that they looked at others in their life with who they were, with what they had done. 00:14:54.040 --> 00:15:00.040 And because there was a sense of arrival, because there was a sense of what they had perfected, 00:15:00.040 --> 00:15:04.720 they did not see themselves through the gospel, they did not see others through the gospel. 00:15:05.040 --> 00:15:07.900 And as a result, at the very end, Jesus says, 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:14.080 one went away justified, one went away right before God, and the other not. 00:15:14.920 --> 00:15:15.680 The other not. 00:15:16.520 --> 00:15:20.300 It's very interesting to see from these men's prayers, 00:15:21.140 --> 00:15:24.660 both of their prayers, which we're going to walk through, 00:15:24.860 --> 00:15:26.500 and we're going to give the Pharisees some slack. 00:15:28.400 --> 00:15:30.560 Both come before God. 00:15:31.180 --> 00:15:33.600 One walks away justified, one is not. 00:15:34.180 --> 00:15:35.400 So what is justification? 00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:37.360 Because we'll talk a lot about that today. 00:15:38.100 --> 00:15:40.540 Justification is God's declaration. 00:15:41.260 --> 00:15:45.820 No one else can make before him that someone is righteous in his sight. 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:49.340 It's what you and I have to have to obtain eternal life. 00:15:49.400 --> 00:15:51.960 It's the standing at the judgment of what we're there. 00:15:52.100 --> 00:15:54.160 It's what's written in the Lamb's book of life. 00:15:54.160 --> 00:15:57.300 It is the justification that has happened into these individuals. 00:15:57.680 --> 00:15:59.620 And so justification, it's a one-time act. 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:01.840 You're not repeatedly justified. 00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:06.540 You are justified in the moment of your salvation. 00:16:07.260 --> 00:16:13.160 Justification is when God moves you and I from the guilty crowd to the innocent crowd. 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:19.720 And justification happens when God imputes the work of Christ onto our account. 00:16:19.800 --> 00:16:20.680 So here's what this means. 00:16:21.100 --> 00:16:25.920 We talk about there's the sin debt that you and I racked up. 00:16:26.040 --> 00:16:28.680 And Jesus paid that debt, right? 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:30.200 Jesus paid it all. 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:33.260 The hymn we, many of us, grew up singing. 00:16:33.660 --> 00:16:35.280 So there was this sin debt. 00:16:35.400 --> 00:16:40.580 And through the work of the cross, Jesus came and he paid that debt for us. 00:16:40.640 --> 00:16:42.220 But that's only part of it. 00:16:42.760 --> 00:16:48.580 So Jesus in your sin account did not bring it to zero, all right? 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:52.280 Jesus didn't balance it all out so that you could work up another debt. 00:16:52.540 --> 00:16:58.860 That when Jesus justified you, he justified you unconditionally and eternally. 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:01.960 So that there's this credit that never runs out. 00:17:02.340 --> 00:17:06.180 Because it's not found in your work or my work or your sin or my sin. 00:17:06.280 --> 00:17:08.060 But it's all found in his sin. 00:17:08.540 --> 00:17:09.540 I mean, in his life. 00:17:10.020 --> 00:17:16.440 So that we are not at zero, but we are continually in the positive that we are fully justified. 00:17:17.120 --> 00:17:25.940 And so today what we have to begin to understand is that are you justified in you or are you justified in him? 00:17:26.800 --> 00:17:31.480 Is he where we find our means of justification? 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:34.540 And so we're going to look at these characters. 00:17:35.400 --> 00:17:38.500 Character number one that Jesus talks about is the Pharisee. 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:43.780 And we're going to understand the reality that this Pharisee is deadly moral. 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:46.300 He is deadly moral. 00:17:46.440 --> 00:17:50.940 Now, if you're not aware, the Pharisees were the religious rulers of Jesus' day. 00:17:50.940 --> 00:17:52.760 And Scripture's pretty clear. 00:17:53.060 --> 00:17:56.580 Most of Jesus' conflict comes with the Pharisees. 00:17:56.800 --> 00:18:01.840 But it's also fair for us to say that Jesus didn't always have conflict with Pharisees. 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:08.880 In fact, we have a mindset almost in the church that every Pharisee was the bad enemy of Jesus and was always the enemy of Jesus. 00:18:09.140 --> 00:18:17.800 But Scripture and early church history tells us that there were many Pharisees who actually became followers of Christ and leaders in the early church. 00:18:17.800 --> 00:18:23.720 But what Pharisees were known for was their dedication to following God's law. 00:18:24.760 --> 00:18:27.980 613 laws down to the detail. 00:18:28.800 --> 00:18:30.740 There was no wiggle room for them. 00:18:31.020 --> 00:18:35.580 If there was wiggle room, they sided on the side of the legalistic law. 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:45.880 Because they wanted to make sure that there was no point in time, if in any way, shape, or form, that knowingly or unknowingly, they broke the law of God. 00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:52.680 So they even added laws on top of that just to make sure that they didn't do that ever. 00:18:53.560 --> 00:18:56.220 And so they were known for following the law. 00:18:56.760 --> 00:19:07.860 So the first thing that we know by Jesus even telling us that it's a Pharisee, we know that in their heart, what they long for and what they desire is to fully fulfill the law of God. 00:19:08.580 --> 00:19:09.380 Pretty good guy, right? 00:19:10.220 --> 00:19:11.400 Let's look at what he prays. 00:19:12.060 --> 00:19:14.820 The Pharisee, the first thing is that he thanks God. 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:16.500 He thanks God. 00:19:17.340 --> 00:19:21.660 Let's understand this as we're going to see how this is going to evolve with him. 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:27.340 He opens up his prayer, not with request, but praise. 00:19:28.520 --> 00:19:30.580 That's commendable, right? 00:19:30.660 --> 00:19:32.380 Like that's, I like that. 00:19:32.860 --> 00:19:35.440 I find oftentimes that my prayers aren't like that. 00:19:35.860 --> 00:19:39.340 But the Pharisee begins by, I'm going to thank God. 00:19:39.780 --> 00:19:41.880 And here's what he thanks God for. 00:19:41.980 --> 00:19:43.760 Number one, that he's not a thief, right? 00:19:43.760 --> 00:19:44.460 Not a bad thing. 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:48.780 Secondly, that he's fair, that he does what's right. 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:54.120 He thanks God for his purity of spirit, sexual purity. 00:19:54.820 --> 00:19:57.300 And thanks God for it. 00:19:57.480 --> 00:19:57.960 Do you see what he's doing? 00:19:58.140 --> 00:20:02.240 Like, God, all of these things, I thank you, I thank you, I thank you. 00:20:02.460 --> 00:20:09.760 And then, in something that wouldn't be uncommon, there's someone else in the room, someone who's evil, 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:14.040 someone who does a lot of bad things, and I thank you that I'm not like him. 00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:17.220 Now, maybe that makes us feel a little bit uncomfortable. 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:23.060 But I think we can think of a list of a lot of people who have done a lot of evil things, 00:20:23.120 --> 00:20:25.540 that maybe if we find ourselves in their shoes, we would do the same thing. 00:20:25.900 --> 00:20:31.000 And I do think there's a humility, a graciousness when we recognize that, that I could be like him, 00:20:31.020 --> 00:20:33.000 but God, I thank you that I'm not, right? 00:20:33.260 --> 00:20:34.600 It's only by God's grace that I'm not. 00:20:35.460 --> 00:20:36.720 And that's what the Pharisee does. 00:20:37.840 --> 00:20:42.140 The Pharisee also, very interesting, he thanks God for his growth. 00:20:42.820 --> 00:20:45.860 And we're going to talk about this a little bit so we understand what he's saying. 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:48.840 He thanks God that he fasts twice a week. 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:50.060 So let's understand fasting. 00:20:51.040 --> 00:20:52.700 Most of us don't do it. 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:57.560 It's very, if you want to have a low attendance Sunday, like, let everybody know we're going to be talking about fasting next week, right? 00:20:58.360 --> 00:20:59.440 But fasting. 00:20:59.940 --> 00:21:01.300 It says that he fasts twice a week. 00:21:01.500 --> 00:21:04.580 Well, God's law commanded that everyone fast once a year. 00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:09.200 Religious leaders were commanded by God's law to fast once a week. 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:14.460 But there were some Pharisees who decided that they were going to fast twice a week. 00:21:14.780 --> 00:21:18.080 And it wasn't for boasting in themselves about why they fasted. 00:21:18.340 --> 00:21:20.420 Here's why they fasted. 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:27.700 They fasted as a means and as a time for them to pray for those who would not repent, 00:21:27.880 --> 00:21:31.180 who would not sacrifice, who would not fast themselves. 00:21:31.380 --> 00:21:38.960 In the hope that they could atone for their sins and that God would withhold his wrath from those people. 00:21:39.120 --> 00:21:41.200 So instead they would suffer for them. 00:21:43.520 --> 00:21:44.500 That's commendable. 00:21:45.420 --> 00:21:49.620 God, I want to come to you and I want to pray for you on behalf of all my lost friends. 00:21:49.860 --> 00:21:52.000 God, that I want to fast for them and I want to lift them up. 00:21:52.060 --> 00:21:58.340 And God, just hold back your wrath so that they may know you and know you in your kindness and in your fullness. 00:21:59.760 --> 00:22:01.260 Pharisees doing a lot of good things. 00:22:01.260 --> 00:22:04.400 A lot of what he's done, a lot of who he is. 00:22:05.600 --> 00:22:09.840 He then says that he tithes on everything that he receives. 00:22:10.360 --> 00:22:15.240 And I think this is important because this is tithing to a whole nother level. 00:22:15.380 --> 00:22:20.120 So let me explain for a Pharisee what it meant to tithe on everything. 00:22:20.840 --> 00:22:25.920 So that meant that he would tithe on his income before taxes, not after taxes. 00:22:26.540 --> 00:22:31.260 It meant that if he, if the IRS, which didn't exist back then, right? 00:22:31.280 --> 00:22:33.300 That's not the same tax collectors we're talking about, right? 00:22:33.360 --> 00:22:37.200 But if he got a tax return, he'd have tithed on that too. 00:22:38.260 --> 00:22:43.320 It meant that if he lived right now and got the stimulus check that he would have tithed on that as well. 00:22:43.800 --> 00:22:46.060 Every source of income he would have tithed on. 00:22:46.340 --> 00:22:51.500 If you would have given him a gift, it's his birthday, here's a $50 gift certificate, the Lowe's, right? 00:22:52.080 --> 00:22:52.980 He'd tithe on that. 00:22:53.940 --> 00:22:58.320 If he took out a loan, he would tithe on the loan, which meant this. 00:22:58.660 --> 00:23:07.840 If he needed to purchase something for $200,000, he would have to borrow more than that so that he could tithe on the debt that he would have to repay, right? 00:23:10.340 --> 00:23:19.680 If he was reimbursed for something, if he let someone borrow some money and they paid him back, he would tithe on it. 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:24.480 Do we see the level of dedication in this man? 00:23:25.420 --> 00:23:28.840 Do we see all of the good things that he's done? 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:38.480 But in that moment, when he's asked, where does your justification come from, his answer fails. 00:23:39.640 --> 00:23:41.280 His answer is, I'm not a thief. 00:23:42.580 --> 00:23:44.280 His answer is, I'm not an adulterer. 00:23:45.180 --> 00:23:47.280 His answer is, I'm just. 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:49.340 His answer is, I tithe. 00:23:49.720 --> 00:23:51.900 His answer is, I fast. 00:23:53.660 --> 00:23:56.080 That's how I'm justified. 00:23:57.160 --> 00:24:02.800 Not once, but over and over and over again. 00:24:03.540 --> 00:24:12.580 And here's what I find that many of us as Christians, we thank God for all of the wonderful things that God is doing and all the wonderful disciplines that are working out. 00:24:12.660 --> 00:24:17.080 But there's this little piece in our heart that feels like that's what makes us good before him. 00:24:18.280 --> 00:24:18.980 And it's not. 00:24:18.980 --> 00:24:27.440 Because after the Pharisee being deadly moral, afterwards the tax collector comes in. 00:24:28.380 --> 00:24:32.160 And what we see from the tax collector is he's deadly dependent. 00:24:33.160 --> 00:24:33.800 He's dependent. 00:24:34.660 --> 00:24:43.940 He knows that if he makes this out, it is only, only by the grace of God. 00:24:44.940 --> 00:24:47.820 The tax collector who is evil. 00:24:48.460 --> 00:24:51.840 The tax collector who is corrupt. 00:24:52.960 --> 00:25:02.200 The tax collector who has sold off his own people, seeing them imprisoned, seeing them executed. 00:25:02.980 --> 00:25:12.540 The tax collector making sure Rome had control from India to England over the people that they had occupied. 00:25:12.540 --> 00:25:22.580 Who had sold his own parents, his neighbors, his friends, and his Pharisees away. 00:25:23.960 --> 00:25:26.780 He, he is justified. 00:25:28.020 --> 00:25:28.980 And that's not fair. 00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:31.000 That's not right. 00:25:31.880 --> 00:25:34.220 But look at what's going on. 00:25:35.240 --> 00:25:36.440 Both come to God. 00:25:37.600 --> 00:25:38.960 But look at how he comes to God. 00:25:39.800 --> 00:25:42.480 He comes to God in the word that Jesus used with humility. 00:25:43.540 --> 00:25:57.400 Scripture tells us that he stands in the back with his head down in unworthiness of what the God who he is there to worship. 00:25:58.900 --> 00:26:01.360 Unworthy of his presence. 00:26:02.800 --> 00:26:07.320 And then he begins to beat his chest. 00:26:08.680 --> 00:26:13.860 One of the privileges that God gives me, and I do count him privileges, to officiate funerals. 00:26:15.380 --> 00:26:22.900 What you find in doing different cultures is God giving me the opportunity to do different cultures, do different things at funerals. 00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:27.920 And if it's not something you're used to, sometimes it can catch you off, catch you off guard. 00:26:29.100 --> 00:26:36.200 But the tax collector comes in, and he begins to beat his chest as if he's at a funeral. 00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:47.000 And what he's symbolizing is the death to himself of what he cannot do, of what he is not worthy of. 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:54.040 And then he says this, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. 00:26:59.480 --> 00:27:00.460 Did he need to grow? 00:27:02.360 --> 00:27:03.960 Did he need to work out some things? 00:27:05.360 --> 00:27:06.580 Did he need some accountability? 00:27:08.100 --> 00:27:11.280 Did he need to push forward in the sanctification process? 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:13.500 Absolutely he did. 00:27:14.280 --> 00:27:18.220 Did we need to begin to see the fruit of what's going on in his life, of what we've been talking about before? 00:27:18.820 --> 00:27:20.040 Absolutely he did. 00:27:20.860 --> 00:27:27.000 But his standing before the Lord was not based in his obedience. 00:27:28.100 --> 00:27:33.120 His standing before the Lord was based in Jesus. 00:27:34.860 --> 00:27:37.300 Church, here's, we're going to wrap up with this. 00:27:39.940 --> 00:27:42.180 What makes you worthy to stand before God? 00:27:44.280 --> 00:27:47.020 What makes you worthy to call out his name? 00:27:48.780 --> 00:27:53.700 What makes you worthy to stand here and sing songs of praise? 00:27:54.500 --> 00:27:59.260 What makes you worthy at home to fall down on your knees and cry out to him? 00:28:00.020 --> 00:28:05.520 What will make you worthy one day when we stand before him in judgment? 00:28:05.520 --> 00:28:16.080 And if anything else came to your mind other than Jesus, you've missed it. 00:28:17.180 --> 00:28:23.220 And if you've added anything to Jesus, you've missed it. 00:28:24.280 --> 00:28:31.100 Christ, in Christ alone, through faith in him and in his works. 00:28:32.300 --> 00:28:33.400 Would you pray with me? 00:28:35.840 --> 00:28:42.920 Lord, we come to you this morning thanking you for who you are, for what you've done. 00:28:46.140 --> 00:28:47.820 Lord, we talk about works. 00:28:48.900 --> 00:28:50.480 Your word calls us to that. 00:28:51.620 --> 00:29:00.140 Our relationship is seen and it is known by what we do after we come to faith in you. 00:29:01.500 --> 00:29:07.260 But Lord, I pray that so many of us in here, in this place today, 00:29:08.860 --> 00:29:11.320 in our hearts, if we're honest with ourselves, 00:29:12.060 --> 00:29:14.820 we find ourselves like the Pharisee. 00:29:16.620 --> 00:29:18.800 Of what we deserve, of where we are. 00:29:20.020 --> 00:29:23.840 Lord, in our ability to stand before you, we even thank you for. 00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:26.620 But if it's anything other than Christ, it's insufficient. 00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:29.700 If it's anything other than Christ, it damns us. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:33.200 If it's anything other than Christ, it's not the gospel. 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:42.600 So, Lord, I pray that we would come as the tax collector, 00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:46.420 regardless of the amount of time that we've been saved, 00:29:47.580 --> 00:29:50.480 regardless of how many mission trips we've been on, 00:29:50.860 --> 00:29:52.840 regardless of how much we give, 00:29:53.280 --> 00:29:55.360 regardless of how many things we do, 00:29:55.820 --> 00:29:58.360 regardless of how many people we've shared the gospel with, 00:29:58.520 --> 00:30:02.180 that we come before you in our only means of right standing, 00:30:02.180 --> 00:30:05.940 our only means of justification is Jesus. 00:30:07.460 --> 00:30:10.680 The same justification that Paul received, 00:30:10.960 --> 00:30:14.040 the same justification that the thief on the cross received, 00:30:14.140 --> 00:30:16.780 it was enough, it was sufficient for both. 00:30:21.700 --> 00:30:24.100 Every head bowed and every eye closed. 00:30:27.700 --> 00:30:29.940 The hard part about this 00:30:29.940 --> 00:30:34.520 is it's very easy for us to give lip service. 00:30:36.520 --> 00:30:38.700 But the question I have for you today 00:30:38.700 --> 00:30:41.940 is this. 00:30:42.780 --> 00:30:44.120 Is it Jesus? 00:30:45.760 --> 00:30:46.520 That's it. 00:30:47.520 --> 00:30:48.680 Is it Jesus? 00:30:50.180 --> 00:30:51.260 Him and Him alone. 00:30:52.740 --> 00:30:53.700 Nothing about you. 00:30:54.160 --> 00:30:55.000 Nothing about me. 00:30:55.560 --> 00:30:56.320 Is it Jesus? 00:30:57.700 --> 00:30:59.680 And if it's not, 00:31:00.700 --> 00:31:04.640 do not do what the Pharisee did. 00:31:05.760 --> 00:31:07.380 Do not walk out of here 00:31:07.380 --> 00:31:08.840 in your own righteousness 00:31:08.840 --> 00:31:10.240 that will damn you to hell. 00:31:11.740 --> 00:31:13.540 Walk out of here 00:31:13.540 --> 00:31:16.300 in the life that comes, 00:31:16.640 --> 00:31:17.920 in the hope that comes, 00:31:18.080 --> 00:31:19.740 in the justification that comes 00:31:19.740 --> 00:31:21.920 by Christ and Christ alone. 00:31:22.260 --> 00:31:23.480 It is His life. 00:31:23.720 --> 00:31:24.780 It is His work. 00:31:24.940 --> 00:31:26.000 It is His death. 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:27.360 It is His resurrection. 00:31:27.700 --> 00:31:28.760 It is His blood. 00:31:28.980 --> 00:31:30.100 It is all of Him. 00:31:33.460 --> 00:31:34.420 One day, 00:31:34.760 --> 00:31:37.420 we will all stand there. 00:31:38.500 --> 00:31:39.240 And Lord, 00:31:39.320 --> 00:31:41.240 I pray that our answer 00:31:41.240 --> 00:31:42.980 will be Jesus. 00:31:47.120 --> 00:31:47.640 Lord, 00:31:47.720 --> 00:31:49.000 in only how you can do, 00:31:50.400 --> 00:31:51.940 only who you are, 00:31:53.400 --> 00:31:54.580 draw hearts 00:31:54.580 --> 00:31:56.960 and change lives. 00:31:58.420 --> 00:31:59.740 And it's in Jesus' name we pray. 00:32:00.320 --> 00:32:00.700 Amen. 00:32:01.520 --> 00:32:03.060 Would you stand as we worship Him? 00:32:03.060 --> 00:32:18.960 Thanks again for listening to the Willow Ridge Church 00:32:18.960 --> 00:32:19.960 weekly podcast. 00:32:20.300 --> 00:32:22.600 We hope that you enjoyed listening to this week's message. 00:32:22.880 --> 00:32:24.980 If you'd like to learn more about who we are 00:32:24.980 --> 00:32:26.600 or explore additional resources, 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:31.640 visit us online at www.willowridgechurch.com 00:32:31.640 --> 00:32:33.860 or by searching for Willow Ridge Church 00:32:33.860 --> 00:32:35.220 on Facebook and Instagram.