1 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:10,240 We're going to continue to work our way through Jesus, what is 2 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,960 called the sermon on the plane in Luke chapter 6. 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:15,800 So you can turn to Luke chapter 6. 4 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,880 And as you're turning there, allow me to start with a bit of 5 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,240 headline news more in the lifestyle section. 6 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:28,480 So nothing, nothing crazy, but this, this headline struck me as 7 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:33,560 something that is worth considering as we prepare to 8 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,520 hear the words of Jesus this morning. 9 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:40,680 It says future proof careers, the steady need for the public 10 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:45,160 relations specialist. You might have heard that title 11 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:48,600 as just PR, The Need for PR in the World We live in. 12 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,880 It says as of 2024, the global public relations market is 13 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:57,880 valued at over $100 billion and it's projected to reach 133 14 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,480 billion by 2027. This includes everything from 15 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:06,000 corporate communications to celebrity image management to 16 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:10,080 political campaign strategy. Sadly, all of these people that 17 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:14,600 you follow and you donate your your funds to and you click like 18 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:16,400 and and can't wait for their next album. 19 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,920 It's all a curated image to based off what they think you 20 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:24,600 want to hear and listen to says in an era dominated by media 21 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:28,040 branding and perception, PR is no longer optional. 22 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:32,480 It's modern day essential politicians, CEOs, influencers, 23 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,640 athletes, nonprofits, and here's what struck me. 24 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:40,120 Even churches employ PR management to maintain their 25 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:42,560 image and build trust around their brand. 26 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:47,040 So you stand up, we get our message out and there's an 27 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:51,240 entire industry that can help curate the message so that it 28 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,480 gains the most followers and offends the least amount of 29 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,160 people. And of course, you probably 30 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,400 already feel this pressure in the world that we live in. 31 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,560 Many of you probably have a LinkedIn account, maybe some of 32 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:07,400 you dangerously have a dating profile. 33 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:11,240 You all probably have some social media platform that you 34 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:14,560 think about this, whether you know it or not, how to curate 35 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:18,880 the public facing image that you're projecting. 36 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:24,880 And it's not a new thing. This is an industry not because 37 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:27,920 of modern technology, It's modern technology responding to 38 00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:32,520 just the human way. Humans want to figure out how to 39 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,200 lose the least amount of people with the things that we do in 40 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,120 our lives. Mark Twain once said the best of 41 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,320 us would rather be popular than righteous. 42 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,640 And so I'll just leave that in the air as we now read the words 43 00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:50,440 of Jesus, considering the tension that there's part of you 44 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:53,520 that just wants to be popular and there's part of you that God 45 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,680 designed to be righteous. And Jesus says this Luke chapter 46 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:02,320 6, verse 26. Woe to you when all men speak 47 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:08,240 well of you for so did their fathers to the false prophets. 48 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:11,360 So we've been going through the Sermon on the Mount and the 49 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,160 emphasis for the the first part of this was all the ways that 50 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:18,600 God through Jesus teaching gives us this picture of the blessings 51 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,480 in his Kingdom. And last week and now this week 52 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,280 we looked at wherever there was a blessing and upside down and 53 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,000 surprising blessing, there is now an equal and opposite 54 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:32,640 warning lest you live your life apart from the way God designed 55 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:34,440 it. There was a blessing that was 56 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:37,840 surprising that we looked at where Jesus said blessed are 57 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,800 you. When men revile you and hate you 58 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:45,600 and say evil things and cast out your name against you. 59 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,960 Rejoice in that day because they did the same thing to the 60 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:53,320 prophets. Well now Jesus is saying watch 61 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:57,840 out, be warned. When everyone loves you, when 62 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:01,520 you live your life to be popular, when all people that 63 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:05,400 know you or hear what you believe or have any interaction 64 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,800 with you at all, everyone leaves and says that not offended at 65 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:10,720 all. That seems to be a really great 66 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:14,800 person, an upside down blessing now with an upside down warning 67 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:17,560 because there's part of us that would like all men to speak well 68 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:21,920 of us, and yet Jesus says that we should be warned. 69 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,320 So we'll look at this one simple warning and I'll just frame it 70 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:28,480 for you on the onset a couple ways that we'll try to 71 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,480 understand what Jesus is saying. First, what exactly is Jesus 72 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:36,880 getting at with this warning? And next, what does this look 73 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:39,400 like? What is Jesus warning against? 74 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,800 What is what is a life that has everyone speaking well of them 75 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:45,760 look like? And then wherever there's a 76 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,760 warning, there is a danger on the horizon. 77 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,920 So where does this lead? And then finally, we'll end with 78 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:56,920 some remedies or some solutions to the problem if any of us feel 79 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,600 some of the conviction from us this this morning. 80 00:04:59,840 --> 00:05:01,320 So what is Jesus warning us about? 81 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:04,800 He says woe to you when all men speak well of you. 82 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:09,680 And so let us just clarify with disclaimers that Jesus means 83 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:12,960 this very specifically, that when you live to have an 84 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:15,920 absolute broad appeal when all men. 85 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:21,120 So what he's not saying is that woe to you when some men speak 86 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:23,680 well to you. It is acceptable and good to 87 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:28,640 live your life in such a way that you are respected among the 88 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:32,040 people who really know you. So some encouragement for us, 89 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:35,920 less we go to down the road of trying to lose all popularity. 90 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:40,880 The proverbs say just choose a good reputation over great 91 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:44,640 riches. Being held in high esteem is 92 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:49,280 better than silver or gold. So I hope that all of you who 93 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:52,680 are following Jesus and calling this church family home would 94 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:57,000 receive the message that it is good to have a good reputation. 95 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:02,800 He also is not saying which he could say woe to you when no one 96 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:05,080 likes you. So it's good to have some people 97 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,400 like you and it's bad to have no one like you. 98 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:10,360 So you're not doing this. You know, you don't testing out 99 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:12,800 of this sermon because you came to church and you said, well, I 100 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:16,160 don't need to hear this because everywhere I go people dislike 101 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:17,920 me and I'm never invited back to anywhere. 102 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:21,880 I'll share with you another proverb that says a man who 103 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:25,640 isolates himself, seeks his own desire and rages against all 104 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:28,280 wise judgment. There's a great danger in living 105 00:06:28,280 --> 00:06:31,920 your life to never pick up any relationships anywhere you go. 106 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:36,040 So what Jesus is saying very clearly is that there is 107 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:40,600 something appealing inside the human heart that wherever you 108 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,560 go, you become some sort of chameleon so that everyone in 109 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:47,960 all contexts and all circumstances, in every circle 110 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,000 that you find yourself, you find your way to adapt to the 111 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:55,720 convictions of the community so that no one ever thinks that 112 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,520 you're against them. He says that is not good at all. 113 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:03,040 In fact, woe warning, last week the woe was great. 114 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:04,640 Suffering awaits you if you do that. 115 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:09,440 Just to remind you, I don't think I have to belabor this 116 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:13,240 point, but our current world is a great picture of how divided 117 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:16,560 the world is. The world agrees on nothing the 118 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:20,120 world agrees on. If you got a political opinion, 119 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,040 you are going to be divided with someone else there. 120 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:25,320 There is. Every sports team has a rival. 121 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:29,640 Every fashion has a critic. You know, the everything is a 122 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:34,440 divisible offense and so I will just agree with Jesus just to 123 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:37,480 warn you about trying to be the exception to this rule. 124 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:42,720 The world agrees on nothing. Don't be the exception to the 125 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:44,920 rule. There is no way that you can 126 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:48,240 possibly be the one thing that everyone agrees on. 127 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,160 So if you are someone who wants to have a mass appeal and 128 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:53,560 wherever you go, people like you and you're in with the church 129 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:55,840 crowd and you're in with the world crowd, you are setting 130 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:59,960 yourself up for failure. And you're also setting yourself 131 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:01,960 up to actually not be known by anyone. 132 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:06,360 And you're also setting yourself up to actually not stand for 133 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:09,400 anything. So that leads us to the next 134 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:11,800 question on the list, which is what does this look like 135 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:14,880 practically? Jesus's warning for a reason. 136 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:17,240 He's giving a blessing to those who will be rejected. 137 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:20,880 He's giving a warning to those who have some sort of pattern 138 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:22,480 they're living out that can be seen. 139 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:25,040 And Jesus says there's a picture for this. 140 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:29,440 This is not new, and he has some reference points that he's going 141 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:31,800 to use, and I'll point out what they're not. 142 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,799 He doesn't say woe to you when all men speak well of you like 143 00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:38,919 they do Caesar in Rome, You know, everybody had to bend the 144 00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:41,600 knee to Caesar and you had to, you know, give your allegiance 145 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:43,120 to him whether you liked it or not. 146 00:08:43,919 --> 00:08:46,680 He's not warning US against 100% approval. 147 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:49,080 Rater of a dictator, though, though, that's a different 148 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,600 category all of its own. And Jesus has warnings for 149 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:56,280 dictatorial governments. He's not warning us through a 150 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:58,560 parable of the rich and the famous. 151 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:02,120 He's not telling you, you know, be careful that you don't go 152 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,440 down the road where you actually have a, a PR manager team that's 153 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,240 going to try to curate you so that you can gain a huge 154 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:11,440 following. He actually says this to a crowd 155 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:16,440 of people who have come to hear him speak in, in, in terms of, 156 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:19,160 of religion. They, they want to know the way 157 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:21,200 they want to, they want to study the truth. 158 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:25,360 And there's a, there's a divide in that category even right now. 159 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:28,080 I speak to a mixed bag. There are some of you who want 160 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,120 to follow Jesus at all costs. And there's other of you who 161 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:34,600 would like to, to get your, your, your, your best teaching 162 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:37,080 that causes you the least amount of pain. 163 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:39,960 And that's the reference point he uses. 164 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:44,920 He says woe to you when all men speak well of you, just like the 165 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:48,840 fathers did to the prophets, just like they did when there 166 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:53,240 was a messenger of God that came with a message to cause the 167 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:56,960 least amount of disruption to the audience that he was 168 00:09:56,960 --> 00:09:59,680 speaking. And so now we just have to study 169 00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:02,680 a little bit of history or you know, the the survey of the Old 170 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:06,680 Testament really, because Jesus has now used examples of 171 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:10,040 messengers of God. There are the real prophets and 172 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:13,640 there are the false prophets when he said blessed are you 173 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,280 that are rejected because you line up with the actual 174 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:19,440 messengers of God. If you study the Old Testament, 175 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:23,880 God would raise up prophets, messengers to speak to his 176 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:28,960 people on his behalf using a popular phrase called Thus saith 177 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:31,640 the Lord. And the real prophets were 178 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:34,640 always raised up at a time where the people of God needed 179 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:37,240 revival. They were doing something that 180 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:39,440 God needed them to be reformed in. 181 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:42,680 They had given themselves over to idol worship. 182 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,920 They had become cultural religion where they're they're 183 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:48,160 just adapting to the other nations around them. 184 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:52,040 They've lost their righteousness and they've become comfortable 185 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:56,840 in just the ways of the world. And the prophets would raise up, 186 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:01,880 the real ones would say there is a reform that needs to happen. 187 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:07,040 And they would use this really heavy word that to our day is 188 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:09,400 sometimes a word that people don't like to hear in church. 189 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:15,200 They'd say you need to repent. You have to turn from idols and 190 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:20,240 turn back to God. And those prophets, as Jesus 191 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,400 pointed out in the blessings, the messengers of God that 192 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:28,960 brought reform and repentance and warned of judgment that the 193 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:34,600 people hated, they rejected, they killed and they stoned and 194 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:37,520 they sent them away. But then there was this other 195 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:42,480 wave of people that saw a, a, a, an open market for the message 196 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:45,000 of God. It's like these the markets not 197 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,640 real hot for people that are preaching repentance. 198 00:11:48,560 --> 00:11:50,880 So maybe we could bring a message that the people would 199 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:52,280 want to hear. And so throughout the Old 200 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:55,280 Testament where there was a righteous prophet preaching 201 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:59,080 repentance and coming judgement, there were these false prophets 202 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:00,680 that were like, don't listen to them. 203 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:02,920 You guys are good right where you're at. 204 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:05,680 Don't worry about all this impending doom. 205 00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:09,160 If you don't turn from your sin, there's nothing wrong that's 206 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:12,600 going to happen. And that all through the Old 207 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:16,760 Testament, the pattern is this. Those that bring the real 208 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:19,880 message are rejected and those that bring the fake message that 209 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:24,240 brings comfort and peace and no, no condemnation are accepted. 210 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,080 People like what they want to hear. 211 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:33,720 And Jesus says, woe to you who want to give people what they 212 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:38,040 want to hear. We could study a number of the 213 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,080 different prophets, but you can really zoom in and see this 214 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:45,560 whole pattern in the whole mission that the prophet 215 00:12:45,560 --> 00:12:47,560 Jeremiah was on. We actually referenced him 216 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:49,400 during the the the blessing of weeping. 217 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:51,960 There was a prophet that wept for the people of God. 218 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:55,560 He wanted them to turn from their sin and they wouldn't 219 00:12:55,560 --> 00:13:00,080 listen and Jeremiah actually cried out to God in Jeremiah 220 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:04,840 chapter 5 and said the prophets prophecy falsely and the people 221 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:08,320 love it. The people love to hear the 222 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:13,680 false prophecies later in the as the story unfolds and the people 223 00:13:13,680 --> 00:13:17,200 continue to reject the the message of Jeremiah turn from 224 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:20,480 your sins lest the Babylonians invade and God no longer 225 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:24,240 protects us and the false prophets come and Jeremiah says 226 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:28,080 in chapter 14, I said to God, Lord, behold the prophet say to 227 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,480 them, you're not going to see the sword. 228 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:32,520 You're not going to have a famine. 229 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:37,800 I will give you assured peace. So when we asked the question, 230 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:42,600 what does the message look like for those who just want to be 231 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:46,160 accepted and they want all men to speak well of them. 232 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:50,800 It actually sounds really good. That's why this is a good 233 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,640 message to hear. The temptation is to leave this 234 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:54,800 place. And when you're ever you're 235 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:58,200 confronted with someone who has to hear the hard truth of the 236 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:02,120 gospel, that they're sinners in need of repentance, it actually 237 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:04,200 sounds a lot better to not give that message. 238 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:06,480 Look at what the the the false prophet said. 239 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:08,920 Jeremiah's like the sword is coming. 240 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,360 The false prophets say you're not going to see the sword. 241 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:14,520 The sword was representative of God's judgement. 242 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:17,840 God made a covenant with his people that if, if they would 243 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,360 stay faithful to him that he would protect them, that he'd be 244 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:22,640 with them. And the prophet had to rise up 245 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:26,400 and say you've turned your back on God and the enemies are going 246 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,160 to come and the sword is going to take you away captive. 247 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:30,800 And the false prophet said don't worry about it. 248 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:34,640 Don't worry about your sin. Don't worry about the judgement 249 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:37,680 of God. Don't listen to those wacko 250 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:41,120 prophets that are talking about God being angry about anything. 251 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:44,040 Does that sound familiar? In our day? 252 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:47,160 The false prophet says you shall not see famine. 253 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:52,320 God would pour out his blessings on his people. 254 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:54,680 They'd be holy and set apart, and he would bless them 255 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:58,240 specifically so that they could glorify the God who cared for 256 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:00,920 them with provisions. And yet if they turn their back 257 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:03,200 on God, he said, I'll send a famine to wake you up. 258 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:07,280 And Jeremiah had to warn people of a coming famine. 259 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:11,640 And the false prophet said, don't worry about a famine, the 260 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:13,680 prosperity will continue forever. 261 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:17,640 Just trust God, just love God, do whatever you want, and 262 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,560 prosperity, What happened? Does this sound familiar? 263 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:24,640 In the day that we live in, the messages are very similar. 264 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:29,520 Don't tell people that there's sin and judgment for the way 265 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:31,880 they're living their life. God loves them just the way they 266 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:34,320 are. And why don't we just bring a 267 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:36,560 message? Rather than suffering now for 268 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:38,720 glory in heaven, why don't we bring a message? 269 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:40,920 Well, you can have prosperity now. 270 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:48,320 There's no famine on earth. Jeremiah was rejected and the 271 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:53,680 false prophets were loved. AW Tozer says The true and 272 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:56,640 difficult message is rejected, while the message that the 273 00:15:56,640 --> 00:16:01,280 people want to hear is praised. A man pleased with the praise of 274 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:04,960 men will preach what they love and avoid what they hate. 275 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:10,320 And so, you know, I stand at the tip of the arrow of what it 276 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:13,480 means to be tempted for popularity. 277 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:16,480 And I can tell you there is a temptation just in the message 278 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:20,280 of the PR of church to avoid words like sin, repentance and 279 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:24,160 judgment. And there are growing movements 280 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:28,480 of people that are listening to feel good sermons about being 281 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:32,200 blessed now and just trusting that God wants you to be happy 282 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:36,560 regardless of holiness. And the message isn't just from 283 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:39,680 a stage. Jesus is speaking to people that 284 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,200 belong to his Kingdom, and he's about to tell them, now you're 285 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:45,360 the light of the world. What does it look like in your 286 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:47,560 life when you have a decision to make? 287 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:51,160 As we looked at would you rather be popular or righteous? 288 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:54,280 And when you're faced with people who are living their 289 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:57,800 lives apart from God, and you've heard a message about the 290 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:00,480 dangers of sin and the consequences and the destruction 291 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:03,320 awaits, would you rather be popular with your friends or 292 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:06,319 would you rather tell them that God has a design for their life 293 00:17:06,319 --> 00:17:10,200 and they're outside of it? And this is the challenge of our 294 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,599 day. This is what the message looks 295 00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:16,400 like. It looks good from the outside 296 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:19,240 in the moment, and it kind of feels good to be that messenger. 297 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:25,240 But God has a view on that message as well. 298 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:27,839 This is his encouragement to Jeremiah. 299 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,560 It looks good to the people who hear it, but this is what God 300 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:33,680 sees for people who have that message. 301 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:38,240 God responds to Jeremiah as he cries out and says look at these 302 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:40,720 false prophets are saying and they love it and God says this 303 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:44,000 the prophets prophecy lies in my name. 304 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:48,120 I have not sent them. I didn't command them, I didn't 305 00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:51,680 speak to them. They prophecy to you a false 306 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:58,040 vision, divination, a worthless thing and a deceit of their 307 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:00,480 heart. He says I didn't send them. 308 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:04,240 These are not my people. They are not with me. 309 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:09,160 And as we look forward to where this all leads, one of the 310 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:13,000 dangers of being more concerned with how the message is received 311 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:16,240 and what the message actually is, is that you're choosing who 312 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:20,040 you're with. You can be with people who think 313 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:22,800 you're great in your day, but God looks at those false 314 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:24,600 prophets and says they're not my people. 315 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:29,440 They don't have my message. I didn't tell them to say that 316 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:31,880 you could do whatever you want and avoid all suffering and have 317 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:34,840 prosperity now and never worry about repenting of your sin. 318 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:40,840 Those aren't my people. Then he goes on to say they 319 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:47,760 prophecy a false vision. A worthless message, I have to 320 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:52,760 say, you know, one of the ways that maybe we can over overcome 321 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:57,480 the temptation to be people who praise Jesus and pour out our 322 00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:00,000 hearts on Sunday morning. And then we just go out into the 323 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:04,080 world as as as people who would never want to offend anyone. 324 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:09,600 Well, just the question of the hour is how much do you actually 325 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:13,360 care about these people that you want to think or they that you 326 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:15,240 want to them to speak well of you? 327 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:21,120 Because if you care about them, you'll give them a message that 328 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:24,960 will bless their life. And this is considered a warning 329 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:28,640 of Jesus because he's preventing people from going down a road 330 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:33,240 that will destroy their life and a message that tells people on 331 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:35,720 this side of heaven, don't worry about anything. 332 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:40,480 Your real prosperity is whatever you can get from your, your, 333 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,960 your seeds of faith. And God will bless you now and 334 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:47,160 your real prosperity is going to be happiness now and, and, and 335 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:48,800 avoid all suffering at all costs. 336 00:19:49,360 --> 00:19:51,560 And don't worry about sin. Just do whatever you want. 337 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:55,000 And God is a God of love. The message is worthless. 338 00:19:56,360 --> 00:19:57,800 You're not actually helping anyone. 339 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:00,720 You're buying them a little bit of comfort. 340 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:04,120 You're giving them a little bit of space to enjoy the little bit 341 00:20:04,120 --> 00:20:07,760 of time for their laughter that will turn into weeping. 342 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:12,600 But the comfort that the Lord gives Jeremiah, the comfort that 343 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:18,000 I receive and gives you, is that the message is worthless. 344 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:23,120 To be a person who pleases people, has 0 conviction, and 345 00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:25,600 tells everyone what they want to hear, you're actually not 346 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:30,200 helping them. Proverbs 28 says in the end, 347 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:33,000 people appreciate honest criticism more than flattery. 348 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,000 You might not believe that, but that's true and you'll find that 349 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,480 out in the long run. You know every parent has a 350 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:41,760 decision to make about how you want to parent your kids. 351 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:44,000 Don't give them a worthless message. 352 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:47,880 Don't let your kids just do whatever they want and try to be 353 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:49,720 the cool parent. The cool parents are never cool 354 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,040 in the end. I remember in high school, there 355 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,040 was always that one household that had the cool parent. 356 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:55,400 You could go over there and do whatever you want. 357 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:58,160 Well, as we get older, we look back and we think, what were 358 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:01,080 they thinking? They were actually horrible 359 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:04,280 parents and their children kind of despise them for it. 360 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:08,440 That's just a a small picture. Your children will thank you 361 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:11,560 later. Your friends will thank you 362 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:14,880 later. They they actually want the 363 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:17,800 truth. Tim Keller says one of the 364 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:21,080 greatest temptations in our cultural moment is to modify 365 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:23,280 biblical truth in the name of love. 366 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:28,720 But when we do so, we give people neither truth nor love. 367 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,880 We've modified all these exceptions so that the culture 368 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,400 is never wrong and the church can accept everyone. 369 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:39,680 And in doing so, we have no truth and we have no love. 370 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:43,880 So the question is, where does this lead? 371 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:47,760 And again, Jesus gives a very clear picture of this. 372 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,120 Just look at the pattern of the false prophets. 373 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:54,080 They were loved for a moment, but the moment goes very 374 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:56,960 quickly. Isn't that true of popularity? 375 00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:00,080 I mean, if there's one good thing about how fast popularity 376 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:02,880 moves, it should be. It shouldn't take us long to 377 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,240 realize it's just a cycle that you could never keep up with. 378 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:08,680 You know, your wardrobe was set and then all of a sudden 379 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,280 everything flipped and now you look like your grandpa again. 380 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:14,760 And it's true of the popular message. 381 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:18,600 You can do your very best to curate what you stand for and 382 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:21,200 what you believe in and have all the right political answers and, 383 00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:24,400 and the most, you know, watered down loving religious answers. 384 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:27,200 And it'll flip and it goes so quickly. 385 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:30,800 And that moment that you allowed everybody to hear what they 386 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:36,080 wanted to hear go so fast. And then the real prophet is 387 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:39,000 right. Look what it says Jeremiah 14. 388 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:43,160 It says therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who 389 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:49,480 prophecy in my name, whom I did not send, and who I say sword 390 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:52,640 and famine, or and who say sword and famine shall not be in this 391 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:58,120 land, By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 392 00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:06,520 So it turns out that the false prophets message was pretty 393 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:09,760 short lived. You just keep reading the story 394 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:15,360 of the Bible and the weeping prophet preaching repentance and 395 00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:18,800 judgment actually is warning someone of a reality. 396 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:21,280 It's not a choose your own adventure. 397 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:24,800 It's not this guy seems pretty heavy on sin and and this guy 398 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:26,960 seems pretty, you know, favorable on peace. 399 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:30,040 So I'll go with this one. You have to decide which one is 400 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:36,240 reality and the culture moment we live in right now is you have 401 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:39,840 to make decisions about not the moment that we live in where you 402 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:43,240 have to tell people the truth about sin, but where is all this 403 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:47,480 leading? So we we, we have the returns on 404 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:49,240 a generation. We have a generation that are 405 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:52,600 washed up on the shore of a watered down message of what it 406 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:59,160 means to actually live for God, and they've been sold a lie that 407 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:02,280 sin doesn't matter and there's no condemnation and they can do 408 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:05,520 whatever they want and church is optional and they can choose 409 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,880 their own adventure of faith and Jesus is one way but not the 410 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,160 way. And the results are in. 411 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:17,200 They're shipwrecked with the generation is lonelier, more 412 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:21,400 depressed than ever, and they're longing for a revival. 413 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,560 So great time to be a gospel preacher. 414 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:29,440 It's also a great time to think about the next horizon line. 415 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:34,800 Do you want to be loved in the moment or do you want to warn 416 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:37,000 people of a coming reality that is real? 417 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:41,920 Jesus will go on in the Sermon on the Mount to give a picture 418 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,440 of the stakes. He says in Matthew Chapter 7, 419 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:52,080 verse 13, enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate, and 420 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:54,640 broad is the way that leads to destruction. 421 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:57,560 And there are many who go by in it. 422 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:05,840 Broad is the way mass appeal. You fit in wherever you go, and 423 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:10,360 your message never offends anyone and it will eventually 424 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:15,840 lead to destruction. Your audience is not blessed 425 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:20,320 because they've heard the truth of God's amazing love, that 426 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:24,240 where there is repentance, there is a revival in the soul. 427 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:32,480 And you are not in that instance, someone who's living 428 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:36,560 for God in the slightest. You're living for the appeal of 429 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,720 people. He says that's the Broadway. 430 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:42,920 That's pretty much what everyone does and it doesn't end well. 431 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:46,640 He says narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads 432 00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:48,800 to life, and there are few who find it. 433 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:56,400 To follow Jesus is to follow him through a narrow way of truth, 434 00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:01,240 of the way the world is actually designed by God to be lived in 435 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:06,240 and to be willing to lose people along the way. 436 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:10,120 I mean, if you just think about those two pictures, a Broadway, 437 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:14,160 lots of cars, a narrow way, there's going to be less 438 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:17,800 travelers along the way. You're going to lose people 439 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:22,520 along the way if you're actually standing up for anything, let 440 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:26,280 alone the reality of the resurrection and the power of 441 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:30,840 salvation in Jesus Christ. It will not work. 442 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:35,560 This whole thing will fall apart at the seams if you leave and 443 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:40,240 try to fit in with every other circle that you exist in outside 444 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:45,120 of the sanctuary. So we've looked at what the 445 00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:49,280 warning is saying what, what it actually looks like and this 446 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:50,640 destruction that it will lead to. 447 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:54,480 And so here's the remedy. Very simply, with the time we 448 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:58,160 have left, we have a very clear remedy for this. 449 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:05,000 And I'll say 2 two things. One is you actually have to make 450 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:10,800 a decision. This is this is really there's 451 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:15,800 like 0 stakes in coming to hear a preacher talk about the Bible, 452 00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:18,760 you know, come sing songs on a Sunday morning. 453 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:25,800 The sermon on the Mount is a picture of what it looks like 454 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:28,880 when you're in the Kingdom. So you actually have to decide 455 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:30,840 what Kingdom you want to live in. 456 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,240 You have to make a decision to say, I'm going to follow Jesus 457 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:39,560 and I have counted the cost and it may cost me some things, 458 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:41,920 including the way people talk about me. 459 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:48,200 Paul says for I for do I now persuade men or God? 460 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:52,880 Galatians chapter one verse 10 or do I seek to please men? 461 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:58,600 For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bond servant of 462 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:01,360 Christ. He had to make a decision and 463 00:28:01,360 --> 00:28:03,560 everywhere he went that decision was on the line. 464 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:07,960 I am not here to try to prove to everyone that I'm a Hebrew of 465 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:12,800 Hebrews tribe of Benjamin Torah knowledge, amazing student, 466 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:16,960 self-righteous Jewish person anymore that's behind me. 467 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:20,080 If I still wanted to please man, if I still wanted the people to 468 00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:26,000 speak well of me, I wouldn't be following Jesus. 469 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:29,400 I wouldn't be able to serve him because I'm going to have to 470 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:33,840 lose people along the way. And this was the divide that 471 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:37,720 Jesus walked to on the way to the cross, says in John chapter 472 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:41,800 12 is he's the whole climax of his hour is coming. 473 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:45,400 Says in John chapter 12 verse 42. 474 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:51,000 Many people did believe in him. Crowds of people did believe in 475 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:56,560 him, including some of the Jewish leaders, but they 476 00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:59,840 wouldn't admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them 477 00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:03,280 from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more 478 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:08,080 than the praise of God. This is the very moment of the 479 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:11,560 climax of the ministry of Jesus is there's people who wanted to 480 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:15,800 praise him, but they couldn't risk being cast out and, and, 481 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:19,320 and do we not see that in the modern day that we live in? 482 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:22,920 Many people believe they're just not willing to let it cost them 483 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:27,280 anything. And it says that they were more 484 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:31,360 concerned with the praise of people than the praise of God. 485 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:36,680 So make a decision, do you care more about the praise of people 486 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:40,720 or the praise of God? That's a decision that you have 487 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:44,960 to wrestle with. I have to wrestle with that with 488 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:49,800 you. To be a servant like Paul is to 489 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:57,000 take a risk in truth and love that some people may be offended 490 00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,200 by. The message To be a pastor is to 491 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:05,040 take a series of risks that as I pastor and care and preach, I 492 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:07,960 may have to hurt people's feelings along the way. 493 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:12,400 To tell people about sin and repentance, to remind them that 494 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:16,760 God is love and I just go first. To be a Christian you, you have 495 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:19,520 to take the risk that you may offend some people along the 496 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,680 way. I like this quote. 497 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:26,040 God didn't call you to be light. He called you to be a light. 498 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:30,640 And light by its very nature makes darkness uncomfortable. 499 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:38,160 So make a decision. And as an encouragement for you, 500 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:43,040 once you make that decision that you're more concerned with the 501 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:47,640 praise of God than the praise of man, the next step is actually 502 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:51,720 very easy, and that is to simply stand on the Word of God. 503 00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:54,960 Just like the prophets before you. 504 00:30:55,600 --> 00:31:00,560 They're just messengers. They're not trying to gain a 505 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:04,280 personal following. They're not trying to sell books 506 00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:09,120 or tell people about all their theories and all their opinions. 507 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:14,720 Thus says the Lord. They're just telling people what 508 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,320 the word of God says. They're living their life as 509 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:20,680 though the word of God is actually the lamp unto their 510 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:22,800 feet. And I have to tell you as a 511 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:26,800 preacher who has to risk offending people, that that's 512 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:30,600 the most comforting part of the whole process for me is I open 513 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:34,040 the book and I say, whether you like it or not, here's what it 514 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:36,520 says. So it's not my opinion. 515 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:39,920 This is just the the confidence I have that this is the living 516 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:41,680 word of God. And it's true. 517 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:45,320 And that's your life too. You don't have to go into your 518 00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:48,480 workplace or into a college party and tell people about your 519 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:50,080 opinions and your theories for life. 520 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:51,720 This is not your personal philosophy. 521 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:55,880 What you have to do is stand on the Word of God and live your 522 00:31:55,880 --> 00:32:01,680 life like you believe it's true. So I'll leave you with a charge 523 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:06,440 that Paul left Timothy, our our good friend Paul and Timothy 524 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:10,400 Timothy in in a similar context. He's got to go do a bunch of 525 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:13,480 reform for some people that he's going to have to risk offending. 526 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:17,840 And in a second letter to Timothy, he says this, I charge 527 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:21,880 you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge 528 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:24,520 the living and the dead at his appearing in his Kingdom. 529 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:27,360 He's like, I'm going to give you a charge. 530 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:30,280 I'm going to give you a kind of a final word here, just so you 531 00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:33,800 know, God's going to judge. People are going to judge it and 532 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:37,880 God's going to judge it. Make a decision, preach the 533 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:40,200 word. That's what he said in the end 534 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:43,040 of all of his letters to Timothy said, just preach the word. 535 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:48,240 Be ready in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort 536 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:51,560 with all long-suffering and teaching for a time's coming 537 00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:53,480 where people will no longer want sound doctrine. 538 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:57,600 So the answer is stand on the Word of God. 539 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:03,280 Take out all of the temptations to try to run PR and try to 540 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:06,080 figure out how you can be a modern day Christian in the 541 00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:09,840 culture and in the church. Do what the Word of God says to 542 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:11,800 do. If you stand on the Word, all 543 00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:16,400 you have to be is a messenger, a light of the great light, a 544 00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:19,400 servant of the King, a follower of Jesus. 545 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:23,120 And they rejected Jesus, so they'll surely reject his 546 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:27,600 people. But woe to you when you leave 547 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:33,840 this place and you try to play every side of the aisle, try to 548 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:36,040 be loved by the world and accepted in the church. 549 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:40,000 There's coming a day where God will judge the living and the 550 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,120 dead. So make a decision. 551 00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:45,720 Are you living for the judgment of people or for the judgment of 552 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:49,080 God? Thanks for joining us today. 553 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,120 If you would like to watch the full service, check out the link 554 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:54,960 in the description. For next steps and to learn 555 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:57,240 more, visit calvaryboise.com.