1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,360 What up, Crossing family? How you doing today? 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:05,640 You guys doing good, man. It is good to be with you. 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:08,480 I want to welcome to those of you at all of our different 4 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:12,000 locations, to those of you watching of part of The Crossing 5 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,880 inside. I also want to show a special 6 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,960 welcome to those of you are part of our online ministry. 7 00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:21,800 We are going to be debuting a new online expression at the 8 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:24,840 very end of this sermon series and I hope that it will be a 9 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,160 blessing to each and every single one of you. 10 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:34,880 Today we are beginning A5 week sermon series called Truth, 11 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:42,640 Intention, Balancing Faith and Love on Hot Topic Issues. 12 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:46,920 Here is what I've noticed and maybe you have noticed too. 13 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:48,880 This doesn't happen all the time. 14 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:53,440 There are definitely instances where it doesn't, but by and 15 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:57,200 large this has been what I experienced from my vantage 16 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:03,360 point, that the closer you are to the sin and the person, the 17 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:08,400 more you tend to bend on the truth, and the further you are 18 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:14,280 from the sin and the person, the harder you hit on the truth. 19 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:20,280 In this series, we are going to address very sensitive issues. 20 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:27,660 We're going to talk about L, GB, T issues and abortion now. 21 00:01:27,660 --> 00:01:31,500 This sermon series is going to unfold like chapters in a book 22 00:01:32,220 --> 00:01:34,940 each week, building on the week before. 23 00:01:36,100 --> 00:01:37,660 You probably already know this because you guys are smart 24 00:01:37,660 --> 00:01:40,420 people. But there is no way that one 25 00:01:40,420 --> 00:01:44,740 sermon or one sermon series can encapsulate all the things 26 00:01:44,740 --> 00:01:49,740 surrounding these issues, explain all the nuances, and 27 00:01:49,740 --> 00:01:52,980 bring about the situational specifics related to these 28 00:01:52,980 --> 00:01:56,480 topics. These are complicated waters, so 29 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:58,640 I want to encourage you to be here. 30 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:02,000 If you can't be here, watch online. 31 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:06,640 If your schedule doesn't allow you to watch online, leverage 32 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,720 our playback platforms. Our sermons are posted online by 33 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:14,520 Monday morning every Monday. And to those of you who are 34 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:19,120 watching this sometime in the future, this series took place 35 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:22,400 here at The Crossing on September or in September and 36 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:26,510 October of 2023. I say that because terms keep 37 00:02:26,550 --> 00:02:29,870 changing meaning. And before you start getting 38 00:02:29,870 --> 00:02:32,790 frustrated about the terms that we're using in this series, I 39 00:02:32,790 --> 00:02:36,230 just want you to know that in 2023, to this group of people, 40 00:02:36,230 --> 00:02:38,710 these terms were completely okay, all right? 41 00:02:39,190 --> 00:02:43,630 And if I'm not cancelled by week five, I am desperately asking 42 00:02:43,630 --> 00:02:47,270 you to attend. That's October 12th and October 43 00:02:47,310 --> 00:02:50,630 15th because at the very end of this series, or how we are going 44 00:02:50,630 --> 00:02:54,870 to wrap up, this series I believe will be powerful for you 45 00:02:54,990 --> 00:02:59,270 as you chart a way forward trying to navigate truth and 46 00:02:59,270 --> 00:03:02,830 tension. Now, why this series, you might 47 00:03:02,830 --> 00:03:05,990 be asking? Well, this series has been on my 48 00:03:05,990 --> 00:03:11,630 heart for over a year. I'm telling you that because I'm 49 00:03:11,630 --> 00:03:15,310 not speaking on any of these things, because of any recent 50 00:03:15,310 --> 00:03:18,310 events that have happened or any recent events that will happen 51 00:03:18,310 --> 00:03:21,220 as we go through the series. This was a thoughtful decision 52 00:03:21,380 --> 00:03:26,780 made over a year ago to do this sermon series at this moment in 53 00:03:26,780 --> 00:03:28,580 time. Why the sermon series? 54 00:03:29,300 --> 00:03:32,220 I think we're ready for it. In fact, we've been building to 55 00:03:32,220 --> 00:03:38,140 this series all year, and I think you and I think I'm ready. 56 00:03:38,780 --> 00:03:40,820 At the beginning of the year, I preached the sermon series 57 00:03:40,820 --> 00:03:44,260 called There Has to Be a Place. In fact, I've preached A sermon 58 00:03:44,260 --> 00:03:45,580 series called There Has to Be a Place. 59 00:03:45,860 --> 00:03:49,300 Both January since I've been the lead pastor and during those 60 00:03:49,300 --> 00:03:52,100 sermon series I've been well, I've been giving you a clue. 61 00:03:53,060 --> 00:03:56,820 There has to be a place that gives people time, that allow 62 00:03:56,820 --> 00:03:59,690 people to take their biggest step of faith, that tell people 63 00:03:59,690 --> 00:04:02,130 that their failure is not final and that when God's in the 64 00:04:02,130 --> 00:04:05,290 picture it's never over. That there has to be a place for 65 00:04:05,290 --> 00:04:08,210 lost causes for those who have been shunned and shamed and 66 00:04:08,210 --> 00:04:10,410 given up on. There has to be a place that 67 00:04:10,410 --> 00:04:14,690 believes that Jesus still changes people, that there has 68 00:04:14,690 --> 00:04:18,130 to be a place that's willing to serve those in need, give people 69 00:04:18,130 --> 00:04:22,570 community sacrifice on their behalf and dig today so that 70 00:04:22,570 --> 00:04:27,130 other people can drink tomorrow. Then we did two sermon series on 71 00:04:27,130 --> 00:04:29,570 the family, one last year and one this year. 72 00:04:29,850 --> 00:04:33,410 The one last year was better and the one this year was called 73 00:04:33,450 --> 00:04:37,090 Reclaim. After that of this year we 74 00:04:37,090 --> 00:04:40,610 launched A sermon series called If Then You may Remember It. 75 00:04:40,730 --> 00:04:43,530 We brought in Ken Ham. We talked about questions like 76 00:04:43,530 --> 00:04:48,010 if God is real, if Jesus is alive, if the Bible is true, 77 00:04:48,130 --> 00:04:53,170 that means that we were created by God, redeemed by God, and 78 00:04:53,170 --> 00:04:56,490 will one day be united with God in heaven. 79 00:04:57,220 --> 00:05:01,620 And then we spent 15 weeks going through the Book of Romans, 80 00:05:01,620 --> 00:05:05,300 which is the very best book in the Bible to capture the power 81 00:05:05,300 --> 00:05:09,180 of God, the love of Jesus, and the way that you and I are 82 00:05:09,180 --> 00:05:14,700 supposed to live our lives in response to their redeeming act 83 00:05:15,020 --> 00:05:18,980 on our behalf. The second reason we're talking 84 00:05:18,980 --> 00:05:23,500 about this sermon series is because these issues are being 85 00:05:23,500 --> 00:05:27,640 talked about everywhere else. The things we're going to be 86 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:29,960 talking about, they are being talked about in the classroom. 87 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:32,920 They're being talked about in school board meetings. 88 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:36,040 They're being talked about on TikTok and YouTube and Fortune 89 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:39,560 500 companies, theme parks, big box retail stores. 90 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,960 It's made its way to the bigger aisles, political arenas, 91 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:46,840 Supreme courts and social media. It's everywhere. 92 00:05:47,840 --> 00:05:53,280 So it might as well be here. For the church to be silent on 93 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:57,390 issues like this would be awkward, weird, wrong. 94 00:05:58,030 --> 00:06:00,670 If you're a a well meaning Christian and you're trying to 95 00:06:00,870 --> 00:06:04,390 Orient your life around God's will and God purposes, we need 96 00:06:04,390 --> 00:06:06,990 to make sure that we're speaking into that to help you be able to 97 00:06:06,990 --> 00:06:11,230 walk in that and live in that. Here at the Crossing, we have a 98 00:06:11,230 --> 00:06:16,510 fundamental belief and it's this that God's way is the best way. 99 00:06:17,270 --> 00:06:20,030 We believe that no matter the question, no matter the 100 00:06:20,030 --> 00:06:23,070 situation, no matter the struggle, no matter the 101 00:06:23,070 --> 00:06:27,070 challenge, God has a better way for us. 102 00:06:27,790 --> 00:06:31,110 Here's what I mean to those of you who have friends and family 103 00:06:31,110 --> 00:06:35,670 members or are maybe navigating or have navigated issues 104 00:06:35,670 --> 00:06:38,110 surrounding this. Personally, I want you to hear 105 00:06:38,110 --> 00:06:39,870 me. We love you. 106 00:06:40,350 --> 00:06:45,230 But more importantly, God loves you and has a better way for 107 00:06:45,230 --> 00:06:47,870 you. I'm begging you, please don't 108 00:06:47,870 --> 00:06:51,430 give up on this sermon series. I really think that you will be 109 00:06:51,430 --> 00:06:54,850 glad you stayed through it. To those of you who are new to 110 00:06:54,850 --> 00:06:58,090 the Crossing, or maybe this is your first time in a long time, 111 00:06:58,450 --> 00:07:02,690 you're going, I cannot believe this is the weekend I decided to 112 00:07:02,690 --> 00:07:05,250 show up and I want you to know what I'm thinking. 113 00:07:05,650 --> 00:07:10,450 I am so glad that you are here, even though this might feel like 114 00:07:10,450 --> 00:07:13,090 the wrong weekend to try out a church or to come back after a 115 00:07:13,090 --> 00:07:16,770 long time. If God's way is the best way, 116 00:07:17,010 --> 00:07:22,250 then anytime we are examining God's way is good for us. 117 00:07:22,700 --> 00:07:24,540 Jerry and Allison, they just celebrated their 25th 118 00:07:24,540 --> 00:07:27,900 anniversary and they have cemented in our hearts the 119 00:07:27,900 --> 00:07:31,340 phrase an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 120 00:07:31,780 --> 00:07:34,700 If my math works out, I'm going to get to be a part of this 121 00:07:34,700 --> 00:07:38,380 church for 43 to 45 years, depending on my cholesterol. 122 00:07:38,660 --> 00:07:43,100 And my hope is that my legacy at this church will be that God's 123 00:07:43,100 --> 00:07:47,500 way is the best way. I believe that God's way is the 124 00:07:47,500 --> 00:07:49,700 best way in every area of your life. 125 00:07:50,260 --> 00:07:52,100 It's good for your heart. It's good for your soul. 126 00:07:52,540 --> 00:07:53,740 It's good for your relationships. 127 00:07:53,740 --> 00:07:55,860 It's good for your finances. It's good for your work. 128 00:07:55,860 --> 00:07:58,060 It's good for your family issues, It's good for your 129 00:07:58,060 --> 00:08:01,980 marriages, you name it. And I genuinely believe that 130 00:08:01,980 --> 00:08:07,140 God's way is the best way to handle it, and that includes how 131 00:08:07,140 --> 00:08:12,620 we handle our sexuality. The third reason we're doing the 132 00:08:12,620 --> 00:08:18,260 sermon series is because I don't think many of us, myself 133 00:08:18,260 --> 00:08:22,840 included, are ready to navigate these issues in a way that 134 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:26,880 honors God. I regularly see people on 135 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:31,760 opposite sides of these issues, but rarely do I see a God 136 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:36,120 honoring demonstration about how to handle and love and speak 137 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,320 about these issues. And in order to do that, we're 138 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:43,720 going to need a couple of ground rules here at the crossing for 139 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:48,040 the next 5 weeks. Rule #1, No clapping. 140 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:51,760 OK, now I know some of you, you're like, well, we're going 141 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:53,640 to clap at the end. You can clap at the very end of 142 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:54,520 the sermon. That's fine. 143 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,720 You guys are super polite. You're like, OK, good job, 144 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:00,120 preacher. OK, here's why I'm telling you I 145 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,560 don't want you clapping because I love it. 146 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:06,120 And when some of you guys get verbally engaged in the sermon, 147 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:07,880 you know, makes Jerry and I preach even better. 148 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:14,360 But I am not OK with you clapping at me, taking a hard 149 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:17,840 stance on a sin that you don't struggle with. 150 00:09:20,010 --> 00:09:22,890 If I were to say right now, you know God made Adam and Eve not 151 00:09:22,890 --> 00:09:25,610 Adam and Steve, there'd be some of you who'd be fired up and 152 00:09:25,610 --> 00:09:27,450 you'd want to give, like, a standing ovation, like, preach 153 00:09:27,450 --> 00:09:30,570 it, brother, preach it. But you were silent through the 154 00:09:30,570 --> 00:09:33,170 entire book of Romans when we talked about the mighty saving 155 00:09:33,170 --> 00:09:35,170 power and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 156 00:09:36,290 --> 00:09:38,610 And if you don't clap for the cross, I'm not going to let you 157 00:09:38,610 --> 00:09:40,010 clap for the sin that put in there. 158 00:09:41,970 --> 00:09:42,810 Here's what I'm going to tell you. 159 00:09:43,830 --> 00:09:46,510 If you start clapping when I take a swing at a particular 160 00:09:46,510 --> 00:09:49,630 sexual sin, we're just all going to assume that that's the one 161 00:09:49,630 --> 00:09:53,670 you struggle with. That'll that'll dial you down, 162 00:09:53,670 --> 00:09:56,830 won't it? We ain't clapping now. 163 00:09:56,830 --> 00:09:59,350 OK? At the end of this sermon 164 00:09:59,350 --> 00:10:02,190 series, I'll reinstitute the clapping rule. 165 00:10:02,190 --> 00:10:05,790 OK, All right. The second reason is there are 166 00:10:05,790 --> 00:10:08,950 people sitting at your campus who are holding their breath 167 00:10:08,950 --> 00:10:12,510 right now. There are people who are a part 168 00:10:12,510 --> 00:10:14,970 of this church who are L, GB, TQ. 169 00:10:15,890 --> 00:10:18,530 There are people that just found out that their son or their 170 00:10:18,530 --> 00:10:21,570 daughter, their grandson, their granddaughter identifies as L, 171 00:10:21,570 --> 00:10:25,810 GB, T or Q and they feel like a kite in a storm. 172 00:10:27,290 --> 00:10:29,650 It's been said that when Christian kids come out of the 173 00:10:29,650 --> 00:10:32,330 closet, the Christian parents go in. 174 00:10:34,490 --> 00:10:37,650 So sad. We're just not going to let that 175 00:10:37,650 --> 00:10:39,970 happen here. Here's the crossing. 176 00:10:39,970 --> 00:10:43,090 You are going to be loved and you are going to be cared for. 177 00:10:43,950 --> 00:10:51,150 Rule #2, No emails. Okay. 178 00:10:53,070 --> 00:10:54,830 Hear me. You can continue to send 179 00:10:54,830 --> 00:10:56,830 encouraging emails. They mean the world to me. 180 00:10:56,830 --> 00:11:00,230 I read them, I reply to them, and I save the very best ones to 181 00:11:00,230 --> 00:11:04,590 read on dark days. However, if you have questions 182 00:11:04,590 --> 00:11:07,870 or frustrations during this sermon series, we are going to 183 00:11:07,870 --> 00:11:13,020 have Facetoface conversations. Due to my limited availability 184 00:11:13,020 --> 00:11:15,580 and calendar, one of our team may direct you to a campus 185 00:11:15,580 --> 00:11:18,860 pastor or a staff member, but I'll meet with you as many of 186 00:11:18,860 --> 00:11:21,900 you as I can. We would love to grab lunch with 187 00:11:21,900 --> 00:11:25,380 you, have coffee with you, have a snack with you instead of 188 00:11:25,380 --> 00:11:28,300 trying to figure out nuance and tone over e-mail. 189 00:11:29,260 --> 00:11:30,820 That's like the worst way to communicate. 190 00:11:30,820 --> 00:11:34,940 I want you to hear this. We are here for you and we are 191 00:11:34,940 --> 00:11:37,820 in your corner. We went into ministry because we 192 00:11:37,820 --> 00:11:42,090 love God and we love people, and it is our honor to walk through 193 00:11:42,090 --> 00:11:45,730 difficult questions and difficult seasons with you. 194 00:11:46,850 --> 00:11:51,530 Rule #2, no emails. Rule #1, no clapping. 195 00:11:52,410 --> 00:11:56,930 Rule #3, First Peter 3:15. But in your hearts, Revere 196 00:11:56,930 --> 00:11:59,930 Christ is Lord. Always be prepared to give an 197 00:11:59,970 --> 00:12:03,610 answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope 198 00:12:03,610 --> 00:12:06,370 that you have. But do this with everybody. 199 00:12:06,370 --> 00:12:10,310 Help me out. That's the target. 200 00:12:11,550 --> 00:12:15,390 Somebody comes clapped. OKOK, you're like, I like that 201 00:12:15,430 --> 00:12:22,670 version. Oh, no, I'm with her, OK Our 202 00:12:22,670 --> 00:12:26,390 goal in this series is to address hard things in a way 203 00:12:26,390 --> 00:12:27,950 that gives an answer for our hope. 204 00:12:28,590 --> 00:12:31,430 But we got to do it in a way that is characterized with 205 00:12:31,430 --> 00:12:35,070 gentleness and respect. I want you to hold me 206 00:12:35,070 --> 00:12:37,400 accountable. I want you to think through the 207 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:39,920 lens as you hear us talk through this over the next couple weeks 208 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:43,120 where they being gentle and where they being respectful. 209 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:47,280 In the future, when you go out and you represent the cross and 210 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:50,400 you represent Christ and you represent the crossing, I want 211 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:54,320 you to make sure that when you speak about things, you do so in 212 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:56,760 a way that's gentle and respectful. 213 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,560 Too many times I see people on the far right or the far left 214 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:04,760 make really good points, but they do so in a way that makes 215 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:07,940 me cringe. They do so in a way that's void 216 00:13:07,940 --> 00:13:11,660 of care and compassion. Their answers are dehumanizing 217 00:13:11,660 --> 00:13:14,740 and they repel the very people that Jesus died for. 218 00:13:16,220 --> 00:13:20,220 Why does this matter? Why does gentleness and respect 219 00:13:20,220 --> 00:13:23,860 matter? There was a survey done of 1700 220 00:13:23,860 --> 00:13:28,500 L GB people from and there is people who participated in it 221 00:13:28,500 --> 00:13:35,300 were from every state. 83% of them were raised in the church. 222 00:13:37,260 --> 00:13:44,740 51% of them left the church at the age of 18, and only 3% 223 00:13:44,740 --> 00:13:48,420 stated that their primary reason for leaving was because of their 224 00:13:48,420 --> 00:13:51,860 church's beliefs that their lifestyle was wrong. 225 00:13:53,740 --> 00:13:57,580 The rest cited that it was the way that they were treated, 226 00:13:58,900 --> 00:14:03,620 ostracized. The lack of compassion, tone, 227 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:12,840 gentleness and respect matter. So week one, you've made it 228 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:17,960 through the intro ready. We got to begin with truth, an 229 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:21,760 interpretive lens for understanding God's will. 230 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:24,440 It was laid out by the Wesleyans, and it's called the 231 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:28,850 Wesleyan Quadrilateral. It basically says there are four 232 00:14:28,850 --> 00:14:33,370 ways or lenses through which we understand God's will on any 233 00:14:33,370 --> 00:14:39,930 issue, on any issue. And here's what it is Scripture, 234 00:14:40,930 --> 00:14:45,370 Church history and tradition. Reason and lived experience. 235 00:14:45,730 --> 00:14:48,650 Pay attention to the arrow. Where do you start? 236 00:14:49,210 --> 00:14:52,610 You start with scripture. You move through church history 237 00:14:52,610 --> 00:14:54,890 and tradition. How did they live it out? 238 00:14:54,970 --> 00:14:59,030 How did they follow it then? You reason through what are you 239 00:14:59,030 --> 00:15:01,550 supposed to do? And you apply it to your lived 240 00:15:01,830 --> 00:15:04,590 experience. And the order through which you 241 00:15:04,590 --> 00:15:09,230 approach your discovery of truth can lead you to very different 242 00:15:09,430 --> 00:15:13,870 and dangerous places in the world we live in today. 243 00:15:14,470 --> 00:15:17,510 Because there's been so much pain around sex, because it's so 244 00:15:17,710 --> 00:15:22,150 polarized, because it's so personal, a lot of people don't 245 00:15:22,150 --> 00:15:26,310 start with what does Scripture say or what did church tradition 246 00:15:26,310 --> 00:15:29,430 say. Instead, they start here. 247 00:15:30,470 --> 00:15:32,630 They start with their lived experience. 248 00:15:33,310 --> 00:15:39,350 They'll use phrases like my story, my truth. 249 00:15:40,110 --> 00:15:43,590 Most of the time, the questions I get are not what does the 250 00:15:43,590 --> 00:15:48,750 Bible say, it's how do you explain what happened to me? 251 00:15:50,870 --> 00:15:55,190 So they start here on the lived experience, and then they reason 252 00:15:55,190 --> 00:15:59,070 through what's happened to them. And then they begin to evaluate 253 00:15:59,070 --> 00:16:02,610 and critique how the early church fathers in the early 254 00:16:02,610 --> 00:16:05,770 church or church tradition handled it and how they were so 255 00:16:05,770 --> 00:16:07,930 wrong for it. And then by the time they 256 00:16:07,930 --> 00:16:11,010 actually get to Scripture, scripture is irrelevant. 257 00:16:11,130 --> 00:16:14,010 It's lost its power. There's no way it could mean 258 00:16:14,010 --> 00:16:20,370 what it actually means. However, all throughout church 259 00:16:20,370 --> 00:16:24,650 history, the order has always been the exact opposite. 260 00:16:25,810 --> 00:16:29,850 And the difference on how people who both claim to be Christians, 261 00:16:30,830 --> 00:16:35,110 Jesus followers can end up on completely different sides of 262 00:16:35,110 --> 00:16:40,870 these issues has everything to do with how they approach truth. 263 00:16:41,910 --> 00:16:45,110 I was surprised by this. I follow people on Twitter, and 264 00:16:45,110 --> 00:16:48,030 if you're on Twitter and you follow me and you see the people 265 00:16:48,030 --> 00:16:51,670 I follow, you might go. I don't know if I'm okay with 266 00:16:51,670 --> 00:16:53,030 Clayton following all these people. 267 00:16:54,190 --> 00:16:58,030 I follow the fringes because I want to see what's coming. 268 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:05,000 And I was listening to a Christian pastor who believes 269 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,560 the exact opposite of everything that we're going to talk about. 270 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,480 And I was like, how does he call himself a Christian and yet have 271 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:13,480 a completely different take on everything? 272 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:18,599 And I'll tell you, it's because he starts here, I listen to one 273 00:17:18,599 --> 00:17:23,800 of his sermons and he starts here and then he basically undo 274 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:27,680 does the truth of Scripture as the sermon gets longer. 275 00:17:29,580 --> 00:17:34,580 Here's what you need to know for almost all of church history, 276 00:17:34,900 --> 00:17:41,380 and by almost all of church history, I mean until 1975 and 277 00:17:41,380 --> 00:17:45,500 here at the Crossing, the method and strategy for understanding 278 00:17:45,740 --> 00:17:52,460 and applying God's Word has been and is to start here with 279 00:17:52,460 --> 00:17:56,300 Scripture. You start with the truth of 280 00:17:56,300 --> 00:18:00,500 God's Word, believing that God's way is the best way. 281 00:18:01,380 --> 00:18:04,940 And then you look at how that truth was applied by the people 282 00:18:04,940 --> 00:18:07,300 closest to it and how it was carried on. 283 00:18:07,300 --> 00:18:11,860 Which is why I said until 1970 or 1975, And then reason. 284 00:18:12,100 --> 00:18:17,660 And then how do I apply all of this inertia into my life? 285 00:18:19,620 --> 00:18:23,190 We start there. We start because scripture has a 286 00:18:23,190 --> 00:18:27,550 unified voice on these issues and Scripture cannot contradict 287 00:18:27,550 --> 00:18:29,710 itself. And then you move through the 288 00:18:29,710 --> 00:18:33,430 2000 plus years of church history of people who have 289 00:18:33,430 --> 00:18:38,950 followed Jesus and they have a unified voice on this. 290 00:18:39,670 --> 00:18:43,390 We have sages and spiritual mothers and fathers who have 291 00:18:43,390 --> 00:18:46,510 gone before us and have dealt with about every single issue 292 00:18:46,550 --> 00:18:51,510 under the sun that we deal with. And then we reason. 293 00:18:51,510 --> 00:18:56,670 And then we import all of that into our experience and we 294 00:18:56,670 --> 00:18:59,310 adjust and bend our lives to the truth. 295 00:19:00,270 --> 00:19:06,670 It serves to bring you and me under a far bigger, wiser, 296 00:19:07,390 --> 00:19:15,790 older, cultured, weathered faith authority than us making 297 00:19:15,790 --> 00:19:21,060 ourselves the authority. That being said, let's look at 298 00:19:21,060 --> 00:19:25,540 the three big verses in the New Testament about this Romans 299 00:19:25,540 --> 00:19:29,540 chapter one, verse 26. Because of this, God gave them 300 00:19:29,540 --> 00:19:34,460 over to shameful lust. Even their women exchanged 301 00:19:34,700 --> 00:19:39,140 natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 302 00:19:39,940 --> 00:19:45,980 In the same way, the men also abandoned natural relations with 303 00:19:46,020 --> 00:19:49,140 women and were inflamed with lust for one another. 304 00:19:49,990 --> 00:19:55,230 Men committed shameful acts with other men and received in 305 00:19:55,230 --> 00:19:58,030 themselves the due penalty for their error. 306 00:19:58,790 --> 00:20:01,910 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to 307 00:20:01,910 --> 00:20:05,990 retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved 308 00:20:05,990 --> 00:20:10,270 mind so that they do what ought not be done. 309 00:20:11,190 --> 00:20:15,350 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil 310 00:20:15,990 --> 00:20:19,750 greed, and depravity. They are full of envy. 311 00:20:20,150 --> 00:20:24,550 Murder, strife, deceit, and malice. 312 00:20:25,030 --> 00:20:30,750 They are gossips, slanderers, God haters, insolent, arrogant 313 00:20:31,030 --> 00:20:34,350 and boastful. They invent ways of doing evil. 314 00:20:34,350 --> 00:20:38,270 They disobey their parents. They have no understanding, no 315 00:20:38,270 --> 00:20:43,350 fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God's 316 00:20:43,350 --> 00:20:47,030 righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, 317 00:20:47,530 --> 00:20:51,690 they not only continue to do these very things, but also 318 00:20:51,690 --> 00:20:54,690 approve of those who practice them. 319 00:20:55,250 --> 00:20:57,930 This might be a group of people that we probably need to 320 00:20:57,930 --> 00:21:00,490 navigate carefully during the sermon series. 321 00:21:01,410 --> 00:21:05,770 Is there some people who may not be participating in this, but 322 00:21:05,770 --> 00:21:08,050 they're people who approve of this? 323 00:21:10,090 --> 00:21:12,050 Look what it says in First Corinthians chapter 6. 324 00:21:12,890 --> 00:21:16,330 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the 325 00:21:16,330 --> 00:21:18,900 Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. 326 00:21:19,220 --> 00:21:24,060 Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, 327 00:21:24,140 --> 00:21:29,380 nor men who have sex with men, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor 328 00:21:29,380 --> 00:21:33,540 drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the 329 00:21:33,540 --> 00:21:37,340 Kingdom of God. And that is what some of you 330 00:21:37,940 --> 00:21:42,580 were. But you were washed. 331 00:21:43,420 --> 00:21:47,980 You were sanctified. You were justified in the name 332 00:21:47,980 --> 00:21:52,740 of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God, First 333 00:21:52,740 --> 00:21:56,180 Timothy, chapter One. And we know that the law is good 334 00:21:56,300 --> 00:22:00,820 if one uses it properly. We also know the law is made not 335 00:22:00,820 --> 00:22:04,180 for the righteous but for the lawbreakers and rebels, the 336 00:22:04,220 --> 00:22:08,540 ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who 337 00:22:08,540 --> 00:22:13,110 kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually 338 00:22:13,110 --> 00:22:16,710 immoral, for those who practicing homosexuality, for 339 00:22:16,710 --> 00:22:20,390 slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for whatever else 340 00:22:20,390 --> 00:22:23,070 is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the 341 00:22:23,070 --> 00:22:26,950 gospel concerning the glory of the blessed of God which he 342 00:22:27,030 --> 00:22:32,830 entrusted to me, The Bible makes it abundantly clear that 343 00:22:32,830 --> 00:22:38,430 homosexual behavior is a sin. It is not God's best way to 344 00:22:38,430 --> 00:22:42,610 live. However, I think it's important 345 00:22:42,610 --> 00:22:45,810 to note that it's not the only thing that he mentions. 346 00:22:46,610 --> 00:22:53,810 He mentions wickedness, evil, greedy murderers, gossipers, 347 00:22:53,970 --> 00:22:59,890 slanderers, disobedient kids, thieves, drunks, swindlers, 348 00:23:00,050 --> 00:23:01,930 slave traders, some of your like whoo. 349 00:23:02,970 --> 00:23:05,850 Finally, I'm glad Slave Traders is in there because I've never 350 00:23:05,850 --> 00:23:12,650 done that one. Liars, sexually immoral and 351 00:23:12,650 --> 00:23:16,170 homosexuality. It's an interesting question. 352 00:23:16,890 --> 00:23:20,250 Why is it that Christian parents reach out to us on staff and 353 00:23:20,250 --> 00:23:23,650 wonder if their kid is going to hell because they're gay, but 354 00:23:23,650 --> 00:23:26,090 they don't ever ask if their kids going to hell because 355 00:23:26,090 --> 00:23:30,370 they're living with their significant other watching porn? 356 00:23:31,410 --> 00:23:34,890 Drunk liar. Disobedient. 357 00:23:36,890 --> 00:23:38,490 How come this one got so elevated? 358 00:23:40,420 --> 00:23:42,340 How come this one got a category of its own? 359 00:23:44,700 --> 00:23:48,180 How come we have permission slips galore for all the 360 00:23:48,180 --> 00:23:52,580 heterosexual sin, but we pull the highlighter out for the 361 00:23:52,580 --> 00:23:58,820 homosexual sin? You might be experiencing some 362 00:23:58,820 --> 00:24:02,660 tension right now. You might also be thinking some 363 00:24:02,660 --> 00:24:04,340 of the things. Same things that I thought. 364 00:24:05,660 --> 00:24:13,400 I'm on that list, And if I'm on that list, what right do I have 365 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:16,760 to talk about somebody else who's on that list? 366 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:23,760 I'll tell you why. Because we tell everybody what 367 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:27,160 God wants. Because we deeply believe that 368 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:32,360 God's way is the best way, and we have grace and patience for 369 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:34,520 other people as they navigate their sin issues. 370 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,880 Because people have grace and patience with us. 371 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:42,480 In fact, that's how God treated us. 372 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:48,560 But we don't excuse sin just because we sin because we were 373 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:51,720 called. We were commissioned that when 374 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,560 we made Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, that we became 375 00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:59,240 Harold's messengers of the gospel sinners telling other 376 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:03,290 sinners about a Savior. Some of you might be thinking 377 00:25:03,290 --> 00:25:05,650 this personally. Some of you might be thinking 378 00:25:05,650 --> 00:25:09,370 this corporately. What if I was made this way, 379 00:25:09,850 --> 00:25:13,730 Clayton? What right do I have to say to 380 00:25:13,730 --> 00:25:15,850 somebody who they didn't have a choice? 381 00:25:15,850 --> 00:25:19,450 If they could choose, they would not have chosen this. 382 00:25:20,850 --> 00:25:24,690 Here's what I would tell you. There has been no genetic link 383 00:25:24,890 --> 00:25:28,410 to homosexuality. There appears to be some 384 00:25:28,410 --> 00:25:31,130 combination of nature and nurture. 385 00:25:31,900 --> 00:25:36,220 To make it all Nurture puts an unbelievably heavy and 386 00:25:36,220 --> 00:25:39,220 unnecessary burden on family and friends. 387 00:25:41,140 --> 00:25:44,860 To make it all about nature excuses human responsibility. 388 00:25:46,620 --> 00:25:49,580 There is a difference between disposition and Commission. 389 00:25:49,580 --> 00:25:53,220 I'm not going to tell you which one of my kids, but one of my 390 00:25:53,220 --> 00:25:57,780 kids struggles with anger. One of my kids struggles with 391 00:25:57,780 --> 00:26:01,380 lying. But their struggle, their 392 00:26:01,380 --> 00:26:05,900 disposition, is not a permission slip for Commission. 393 00:26:10,020 --> 00:26:13,860 Just because one kid naturally just seems to want to be a liar 394 00:26:14,060 --> 00:26:17,420 and the other one just naturally seems to want to be angry 395 00:26:18,300 --> 00:26:22,180 doesn't mean that I don't hold God's standard over their life. 396 00:26:24,660 --> 00:26:28,260 There's nothing I'll tell you. Process this one slowly. 397 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:38,320 Attraction is not a sin. Activity is. 398 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:45,400 You probably can't help who you're attracted to, but you are 399 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:51,000 responsible for how you act. We can be tempted to sin, but 400 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:54,320 the Bible tells us we are told to flee sexual immorality. 401 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:57,920 Some of you you might be attracted to redheads. 402 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:01,910 You don't know why, but by golly, you are. 403 00:27:02,470 --> 00:27:04,630 Some of you, you're attracted to blondes. 404 00:27:05,190 --> 00:27:07,470 Some of you are attracted to brunettes. 405 00:27:08,510 --> 00:27:17,630 I'm obviously attracted to short, crazy brunettes, emphasis 406 00:27:17,630 --> 00:27:23,430 on the crazy. And I am sure there has been a 407 00:27:23,430 --> 00:27:27,750 moment or two when Jennifer has been attracted to other men, 408 00:27:28,740 --> 00:27:34,180 which is hard because she has bad eyes. 409 00:27:36,220 --> 00:27:41,100 But while Jennifer may from time to time be attracted to another 410 00:27:41,100 --> 00:27:45,300 man, because of her love for God, because of her love for 411 00:27:45,300 --> 00:27:50,140 herself, because of her love for me, she restrains herself. 412 00:27:51,700 --> 00:27:55,300 You see, you can be tempted to sin and not sin. 413 00:27:57,470 --> 00:27:58,630 We got a really interesting verse for you. 414 00:27:59,110 --> 00:28:02,830 He was chapter 4. Therefore, since we have a great 415 00:28:02,830 --> 00:28:06,070 high priest, this is talking about Jesus who has ascended 416 00:28:06,070 --> 00:28:08,950 into heaven. Jesus, the Son of God. 417 00:28:09,190 --> 00:28:11,310 Let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 418 00:28:11,310 --> 00:28:12,550 Keep it there, Jeff, for just a second. 419 00:28:13,430 --> 00:28:17,230 Because of Jesus, let's hold firmly to the faith that we 420 00:28:17,230 --> 00:28:19,470 profess. This is what we're going to do. 421 00:28:19,670 --> 00:28:22,310 We're going to hang on to it. We're going to hang on to the 422 00:28:22,310 --> 00:28:24,510 scriptures. We're going to hang on to the 423 00:28:24,510 --> 00:28:28,320 truth. Keep reading, for we do not have 424 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:30,600 a high priest who is unable to empathize. 425 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:32,200 Pause. He gets it. 426 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:35,280 He knows what he's asking you to do. 427 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:38,720 He knows what you're he's asking you to go through with our 428 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:41,840 weaknesses. But we have one who has been. 429 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:50,280 Everybody say this word, tempted in just as we are. 430 00:28:53,200 --> 00:29:03,930 Yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God's 431 00:29:03,930 --> 00:29:10,250 throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and 432 00:29:10,250 --> 00:29:14,810 find grace to help us in our time of need. 433 00:29:17,730 --> 00:29:24,170 When you get tempted to operate outside of God's will, I want 434 00:29:24,170 --> 00:29:26,650 you to know Jesus was tempted too. 435 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:35,480 But he didn't give in to it. And because he didn't give in to 436 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:41,120 it, and because we are in Him, we have the power to not give 437 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:45,720 into it too. And because of that, we can 438 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,760 enter in to the throne of room of Grace where He will give us 439 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:52,960 what we need in our time of need. 440 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:57,300 You see, you and I, we were designed on purpose. 441 00:29:58,020 --> 00:30:01,660 We were put together. I like to articulate this 442 00:30:01,660 --> 00:30:04,260 through like knives, lawn mowers, vacuums, and washing 443 00:30:04,260 --> 00:30:06,060 machines. Here's what I mean by that. 444 00:30:06,420 --> 00:30:09,460 Why does a knife take the form that it has? 445 00:30:09,900 --> 00:30:12,420 Why does the knife have the features that it does? 446 00:30:13,260 --> 00:30:16,420 If we look at the different parts of a knife and the process 447 00:30:16,420 --> 00:30:19,140 of making it, we would be looking through the lens of 448 00:30:19,140 --> 00:30:22,900 causality. It's like, it's like this 449 00:30:22,900 --> 00:30:26,860 because they hammered it, they tempered it, they sanded it, 450 00:30:27,020 --> 00:30:29,460 they shaped it. Why did they do all of these 451 00:30:29,460 --> 00:30:33,820 things? Because the making of the knife, 452 00:30:33,820 --> 00:30:38,100 the process of making the knife is guided by the purpose of the 453 00:30:38,100 --> 00:30:41,820 knife. The knife is designed to cut. 454 00:30:42,460 --> 00:30:45,340 And so everything that goes into the making of the knife is 455 00:30:45,340 --> 00:30:50,980 designed to allow it to do that. When you were to look at humans, 456 00:30:51,220 --> 00:30:53,500 how were did we get to where we are? 457 00:30:53,500 --> 00:30:57,380 Why were we made? The way we were made tells us 458 00:30:57,380 --> 00:31:02,460 something about our created and our intended purpose. 459 00:31:03,020 --> 00:31:10,100 Our bodies tell a story. God was purposeful in the way he 460 00:31:10,100 --> 00:31:14,220 created the universe to work, and that includes our bodies. 461 00:31:15,020 --> 00:31:17,700 And by looking at our bodies, we are able to discover that 462 00:31:17,700 --> 00:31:21,390 purpose and live it out. And it is God's right as the 463 00:31:21,390 --> 00:31:24,630 Creator. The Christian response when it 464 00:31:24,630 --> 00:31:28,030 comes to any area of our life, including our sexuality, should 465 00:31:28,030 --> 00:31:32,710 be this. Not my will, but yours. 466 00:31:33,870 --> 00:31:36,670 If you struggle with homosexuality and you want to 467 00:31:36,710 --> 00:31:39,550 act out on it, not my will, but yours. 468 00:31:40,670 --> 00:31:43,310 When you're a heterosexual and you want to have sex before you 469 00:31:43,310 --> 00:31:44,230 get married, you should be going. 470 00:31:44,230 --> 00:31:47,740 Not my will, but yours. When you're engaged and you want 471 00:31:47,740 --> 00:31:48,940 to have sex before you get married. 472 00:31:49,020 --> 00:31:51,340 Not my will, but yours. When you're married and you want 473 00:31:51,340 --> 00:31:53,140 to have sex with somebody else who's married. 474 00:31:53,660 --> 00:31:57,380 Not my will, but yours. We surrender our sexuality to 475 00:31:57,380 --> 00:32:01,340 God's plan and God's purposes. And when you look at our bodies, 476 00:32:01,420 --> 00:32:04,140 it reveals something so we can recognize it. 477 00:32:04,420 --> 00:32:07,580 That God created this natural world, which includes our bodies 478 00:32:08,420 --> 00:32:12,940 with purpose and with goodness. I don't know when the last time 479 00:32:12,940 --> 00:32:14,220 you looked at yourself in the mirror and went. 480 00:32:14,820 --> 00:32:19,920 God made this and it was good. OK, but this is what this is, 481 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:25,160 the natural law that we were put together, and breaking God's 482 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:30,720 natural law is sin, and sin does not lead to human flourishing. 483 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:35,600 You and I, we are morally obligated to honor the bodies 484 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:39,240 that God gave us, and we are obligated to honor the bodies 485 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:41,800 that he gave others and our bodies. 486 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:46,870 Exhibit a plan, design and order a purpose. 487 00:32:47,670 --> 00:32:51,590 And Scripture serves as a moral guide of how we should use our 488 00:32:51,590 --> 00:32:56,110 bodies and make the most of our bodies in worship to glory and 489 00:32:56,110 --> 00:33:00,790 honor our Creator. What's a lawn mower designed to 490 00:33:00,790 --> 00:33:03,710 do? It's designed to mow the grass. 491 00:33:04,470 --> 00:33:07,510 And who decided what the lawn mower's purpose was? 492 00:33:08,470 --> 00:33:12,390 The guy who made the mower. The mower didn't decide. 493 00:33:13,390 --> 00:33:18,070 The grass didn't decide. The maker made the decision. 494 00:33:18,870 --> 00:33:22,270 And who decided how much the lawn mower was worth? 495 00:33:23,390 --> 00:33:25,270 Did the grass decide how much it was worth? 496 00:33:26,230 --> 00:33:28,470 Did the mower decide how much it was worth? 497 00:33:29,150 --> 00:33:34,150 Actually, in this instance, the maker and the buyer decided what 498 00:33:34,150 --> 00:33:37,230 it was worth. The maker sets the price and the 499 00:33:37,230 --> 00:33:41,190 buyer decides whether or not they will buy it based on 2 500 00:33:41,270 --> 00:33:45,800 guiding principles. Can they afford it and do they 501 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:49,640 feel like it is good value? Money well spent. 502 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:54,320 The grass did not set the value and the mower did not set the 503 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,720 value. In the same way, God, our 504 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:04,000 Creator, decided our purpose and our worth in creation and He did 505 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,240 it in the story and how He created us. 506 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:11,960 He created you and I in his image to rule and reign with 507 00:34:12,159 --> 00:34:17,449 gender complementarity to be fruitful and multiply, and when 508 00:34:17,449 --> 00:34:21,409 he was done, he called it very good. 509 00:34:22,650 --> 00:34:27,090 But what happens when a lawnmower has free will and gets 510 00:34:27,090 --> 00:34:32,130 jealous of vacuums, So it tries to come inside and it wants to 511 00:34:32,130 --> 00:34:34,770 help out around the house. However, instead of 512 00:34:34,770 --> 00:34:37,969 strategically pulling up dirt fibers from the carpet and 513 00:34:37,969 --> 00:34:41,370 moving the small toys out of the way as vacuums do, instead it 514 00:34:41,370 --> 00:34:43,449 start to fling toy shrapnel through the windows and the 515 00:34:43,449 --> 00:34:45,909 walls. In addition, the fumes of the 516 00:34:45,909 --> 00:34:48,830 lawnmower hurt the family's heads and the ability to make 517 00:34:48,830 --> 00:34:51,429 decisions. What if the lawnmower decided 518 00:34:51,429 --> 00:34:54,949 that it wanted to be a washing machine and it would destroy 519 00:34:54,949 --> 00:34:57,110 absolutely everything that you threw at it? 520 00:34:58,470 --> 00:35:02,710 God's plan and purposes are visible in our gendered and 521 00:35:02,710 --> 00:35:08,750 sexual design. Hear me And any deviation from 522 00:35:08,750 --> 00:35:14,880 that purpose is sin and causes deep and significant pain. 523 00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:22,480 God's design for sexual expression is reserved for one 524 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:28,360 man and one woman inside of a covenant of marriage. 525 00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:36,240 And anytime sex takes place outside of that, lawnmowers try 526 00:35:36,240 --> 00:35:42,700 to become vacuums. And then they get mad at God for 527 00:35:42,700 --> 00:35:47,980 all the things that the lawn mower broke in the house and God 528 00:35:47,980 --> 00:35:54,860 goes, I made that for the grass. And then hurt happens not just 529 00:35:54,860 --> 00:35:58,900 to you, but to the people you care about, to the people you 530 00:35:58,900 --> 00:36:04,860 love. We have to get to a place, 531 00:36:05,460 --> 00:36:11,980 personally, corporately, where we trust God's vision of what is 532 00:36:12,060 --> 00:36:17,100 best for us, where we go. You have a better way. 533 00:36:17,740 --> 00:36:20,100 Hear me? This is not just about our 534 00:36:20,100 --> 00:36:25,660 sexuality or homosexuality. This is about every part of our 535 00:36:25,660 --> 00:36:28,860 lives. Think about the list again. 536 00:36:31,260 --> 00:36:33,980 Remember the list that I read? The list that you were on? 537 00:36:34,500 --> 00:36:36,780 Oh, tell me you weren't just thinking about the homosexuals 538 00:36:36,780 --> 00:36:39,740 during this sermon. I was wanting you to think about 539 00:36:40,220 --> 00:36:45,100 you because I was thinking about me. 540 00:36:46,900 --> 00:36:52,180 Every one of those sins is a deviation of God's best for us, 541 00:36:53,180 --> 00:36:56,420 and it hurts our families. It impacts our finances and our 542 00:36:56,420 --> 00:36:58,660 futures. It hurts our witness and becomes 543 00:36:58,660 --> 00:37:02,180 the source and pain and misery of the very people we're trying 544 00:37:02,180 --> 00:37:04,740 to reach. The sins devalue us. 545 00:37:05,020 --> 00:37:10,260 We lose sight of our worth, but in the passion story we see the 546 00:37:10,260 --> 00:37:15,060 set price that the maker was willing to pay and the buyer was 547 00:37:15,060 --> 00:37:19,380 willing to pay because we read that the scent of God gave his 548 00:37:19,380 --> 00:37:24,700 life as a ransom for many hear this. 549 00:37:25,100 --> 00:37:29,700 Who did Jesus die for? He died for sinners. 550 00:37:30,340 --> 00:37:35,460 You know the people on the list. One of my favorite things is all 551 00:37:35,460 --> 00:37:37,300 the things that I read to you were written by one guy. 552 00:37:37,300 --> 00:37:40,080 His name was Paul. You might be going. 553 00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:43,320 Paul says really hard things. You know what else Paul says 554 00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:47,920 when it comes to sinning? I'm the chief of all sinners. 555 00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:53,920 Maybe that's what truth intention looks like, that you 556 00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:57,000 say the hardest things even though they're true, but you 557 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:01,280 never take an eye off the fact that you're a Sinner too. 558 00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:05,760 And maybe we should do the same. We're moving to a time of 559 00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:09,030 decision. Yeah. 560 00:38:09,030 --> 00:38:09,870 OK. You know, Yeah. 561 00:38:12,790 --> 00:38:14,710 OK. Alright, We're going to another 562 00:38:14,710 --> 00:38:21,590 church. I recently got a car and it's so 563 00:38:21,590 --> 00:38:23,190 hard to buy a car when you're the pastor. 564 00:38:23,190 --> 00:38:26,990 Like, do you really negotiate hard or do you just go, What is 565 00:38:26,990 --> 00:38:28,990 it? Yeah. 566 00:38:29,270 --> 00:38:31,990 I mean, how how do you do that? Yeah, I mean, that guy's A 567 00:38:31,990 --> 00:38:35,110 cheapskate. But you know, when you're buying 568 00:38:35,110 --> 00:38:38,390 a car, like, you just have this natural inclination to like, 569 00:38:38,790 --> 00:38:42,630 look for every nick. I mean, you just looking at it, 570 00:38:42,990 --> 00:38:45,710 look at that. And will you look at that? 571 00:38:46,670 --> 00:38:48,190 Oh, my goodness. Will you look at that? 572 00:38:48,790 --> 00:38:52,430 And then you take it home and you find one you didn't see. 573 00:38:55,550 --> 00:38:57,990 I didn't know that that one was there, as if you wouldn't have 574 00:38:57,990 --> 00:39:00,390 bought the car. I thought that was a bug. 575 00:39:00,390 --> 00:39:05,070 But no, that's that's real. And your goal of going around 576 00:39:05,070 --> 00:39:09,620 and like picking out every problem in the car is what do 577 00:39:09,620 --> 00:39:15,420 you think? That every neck, every Dang 578 00:39:16,380 --> 00:39:20,820 reduces the price? Oh yeah, not a lot of tread left 579 00:39:20,820 --> 00:39:25,500 on these old tires, the seatbelt belts. 580 00:39:27,820 --> 00:39:30,060 Why is it that the driver's side always has the crack? 581 00:39:30,060 --> 00:39:32,730 Maybe you guys haven't driven old cars like I have, but this 582 00:39:32,730 --> 00:39:34,570 is the first time I have a vehicle where the driver's side 583 00:39:34,570 --> 00:39:36,530 doesn't have, like, the, the foam showing. 584 00:39:36,530 --> 00:39:39,250 I'm pretty jazzed about it. I've already put duct tape there 585 00:39:39,250 --> 00:39:43,130 just in case. All right, Are you go around 586 00:39:43,130 --> 00:39:47,890 there and you're just going, man, what's hoping that the 587 00:39:47,890 --> 00:39:55,450 price would go down? And I wonder if subconsciously, 588 00:39:58,210 --> 00:40:04,610 if that's how you view you. I wonder if subconsciously 589 00:40:05,450 --> 00:40:12,890 that's how you view others. You hear about their sin and 590 00:40:13,930 --> 00:40:17,530 you're like, oh, those seats are a little worn. 591 00:40:19,690 --> 00:40:22,850 Oh, man. You hear about their current 592 00:40:22,850 --> 00:40:25,690 situation, like, oh boy, there's a dent in the side of the bed on 593 00:40:25,690 --> 00:40:30,450 that thing. You hear about their struggles. 594 00:40:30,570 --> 00:40:32,570 Oh boy. The tailgate just doesn't open 595 00:40:32,570 --> 00:40:33,970 and close the way it's supposed to. 596 00:40:35,690 --> 00:40:37,410 Maybe that's the way you think about you. 597 00:40:39,130 --> 00:40:43,970 I mean, because you know you and you know what you've done and 598 00:40:44,970 --> 00:40:46,450 because you know all the problems. 599 00:40:46,450 --> 00:40:48,850 Because that's what's like when you try to sell a car, because 600 00:40:48,850 --> 00:40:51,250 you try to hide all the things that you know are wrong. 601 00:40:51,790 --> 00:40:53,590 Just take it around the block, just not on the street. 602 00:40:53,590 --> 00:40:57,230 Because you know the shift from 2nd to 3rd okay, they're not 603 00:40:57,230 --> 00:40:59,630 buying that okay, just keeping the neighborhood anywhere you 604 00:40:59,630 --> 00:41:01,270 want in the neighborhood, drive on the sidewalks. 605 00:41:05,150 --> 00:41:08,630 But do you know that it's the exact opposite when it comes to 606 00:41:08,630 --> 00:41:17,750 Jesus, He paid for all the sins. The more you sin, the more he 607 00:41:17,750 --> 00:41:22,010 paid. He paid the most for the worst 608 00:41:22,010 --> 00:41:27,610 sinners. He's just that good. 609 00:41:29,530 --> 00:41:33,410 But our dents and our Dings and our mess ups and our mistakes 610 00:41:33,650 --> 00:41:38,650 didn't lower our value. It just cost him more. 611 00:41:41,330 --> 00:41:44,610 And he paid it. And he paid it to give you the 612 00:41:44,610 --> 00:41:49,090 strength to live the life that he called you to and that you 613 00:41:49,090 --> 00:41:53,580 were destined for. God's way is the best way. 614 00:41:54,500 --> 00:41:58,340 And his love is to repurpose you, and I hope that you allow 615 00:41:58,340 --> 00:42:03,260 him to do it this weekend. I'm asking all of you guys to do 616 00:42:03,260 --> 00:42:05,100 me a huge favor, especially those of you who are here. 617 00:42:05,660 --> 00:42:07,820 I'm asking you either to come up to the steps and get down and 618 00:42:07,820 --> 00:42:10,100 pray or pray right where you're at on your knees. 619 00:42:10,740 --> 00:42:11,740 But here's why I want you to do it. 620 00:42:13,900 --> 00:42:17,620 Because I want us as a church holistically to want to live 621 00:42:17,620 --> 00:42:21,390 God's best way and to pray for that in our lives. 622 00:42:22,470 --> 00:42:25,190 Maybe there's a sin that you need to give to God, or you need 623 00:42:25,190 --> 00:42:28,710 to ask for forgiveness. Maybe you need to pray over your 624 00:42:28,710 --> 00:42:31,830 friends and your family members, people that you know are 625 00:42:31,830 --> 00:42:34,030 struggling with truth or struggling with one of these sin 626 00:42:34,030 --> 00:42:37,590 issues, because there has to be a place for them. 627 00:42:38,950 --> 00:42:41,950 And I think it's here, and I think it's with us. 628 00:42:42,990 --> 00:42:44,950 I think it's with a group of people who want to own their own 629 00:42:44,950 --> 00:42:47,950 failures and their own struggles and beg God to do something in 630 00:42:47,950 --> 00:42:49,720 it. Would you join me in that? 631 00:42:49,840 --> 00:42:54,040 Would you stand God, I'm asking you to do a mighty thing in this 632 00:42:54,040 --> 00:42:58,880 church, something that only you can do to bring about 633 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:04,400 restoration and redemption. Not just in the issues that I'm 634 00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:09,640 speaking about, but in every area of our life. 635 00:43:11,400 --> 00:43:14,880 God, we have good news. We have the gospel. 636 00:43:16,800 --> 00:43:20,410 And God, we want everyone to hear it and everyone to submit 637 00:43:20,410 --> 00:43:23,730 their lives to it, including ourselves. 638 00:43:24,370 --> 00:43:26,410 So help us to do that and hear my pray. 639 00:43:26,850 --> 00:43:27,250 Amen.