1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:04,320 Crossing family, I want to welcome you joining at all of 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:07,680 our different locations, those of you watching online and those 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:09,320 of you who are part of our inside family. 4 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:12,480 And I also want to welcome those of you who are new to the 5 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:14,760 crossing, whether it's your first time or your first time in 6 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:17,120 a long time, We are so glad that you are here. 7 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,480 And I hope that before you leave today, if you've never swung by 8 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,160 the new here booth in all of our lobbies, that you would do so. 9 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:26,840 And if you're watching online, type something up in the chat 10 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:28,600 and say, hey, I'm new. Pay attention to me. 11 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:31,280 I had an opportunity last night just to meet some people who are 12 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:33,000 part of our church that watch online. 13 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:36,200 And we're just so thankful for the stories that God is writing 14 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:38,120 in your life, wherever you are at. 15 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:45,960 Before I get into the sermon, I just want to kind of, I know 16 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:54,640 that for many of you, this past week was painful and troubling 17 00:00:55,000 --> 00:01:00,160 and disheartening. And I know between the 24th 18 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,960 anniversary of 911 and the assassination of Charlie Kirk 19 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:07,760 that there is just a lot that you are processing. 20 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:12,280 Karl Barth said that a good preacher should have the Bible 21 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:14,880 in one hand and a newspaper in the other. 22 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,280 So that way he is speaking biblical truth over present day 23 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,760 realities and that is really good coaching. 24 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:28,160 The challenge is that a newspaper had editors and it had 25 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:30,760 ideally an approval process, which is something that's kind 26 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:35,440 of gone by the wayside recently. And now that has been replaced 27 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,840 with social media, which means that on a regular basis you're 28 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,680 inundated from stuff all across the globe all the time. 29 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:46,280 And so as a church, I it is impossible for us to do what we 30 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:50,360 want to do and hit absolutely everything that happens 31 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:53,800 absolutely everywhere in the world, absolutely all the time 32 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:55,800 being reported by absolutely everybody. 33 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:01,560 And so the reason why I'm saying that is I'm, I'm going to do my 34 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:05,000 best when there's a cultural moment to kind of step into it 35 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,680 and try to lead us, guide us and pastor us. 36 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:14,360 And no doubt, what happened this past week with Charlie Kirk is 37 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:19,840 indeed a cultural moment for Gen. 38 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:25,160 Z Charlie Kirk became their older brother and was trying to 39 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:29,400 help them understand the complexities of life and faith 40 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:32,840 and government. And for many of them, it was 41 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:37,960 heartbreaking to watch them lose their digital older brother. 42 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,280 For others of us, we kind of saw Charlie as a person who was 43 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:47,240 speaking wisdom and counsel to people who would kind of lost 44 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:51,160 sight of that. And I know that many of you are 45 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:54,440 feeling a heavyweight, as am I. And So what I want to do is I 46 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:56,720 just want to kind of say 6 things to you, OK? 47 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,240 The first thing I want to say to you is I am so very glad that 48 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,760 Charlie Kirk had a relationship with Jesus Christ because any 49 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,960 loss of life that does not have the hope of eternal life with 50 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:14,960 Jesus is a tremendous loss #2 how you behave on social media 51 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,680 could limit your ability to tell somebody about Jesus. 52 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:26,080 And right now, when you are highly emotive, you should be 53 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:33,080 profoundly quiet because you want wisdom to catch up with 54 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:37,160 your feelings. And how you respond and how you 55 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:41,800 comment and how you post could limit your ability to speak 56 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:44,880 godly truth to people that need Jesus. 57 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:53,520 That unlike Charlie, have not yet found Jesus #3 our fight is 58 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:59,320 not against flesh and blood, but a demonic and sinful fight. 59 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:04,680 It is not on social media. It is not in Washington. 60 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:11,000 It is in you, it is in me, it is in US. 61 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:16,200 Pay attention to this. Any unchecked sin in our lives 62 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,839 will grow and cause unspeakable harm. 63 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:27,600 The Christian response when something like this happens is 64 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,360 mourning. It's brokenness. 65 00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:36,400 It's pain. It is not just a hatred of sin 66 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:43,200 in other people, but a hatred of our own sin because our sin 67 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:50,360 unchecked could lead us to places we never wanted to go #4 68 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:59,880 The shooter has parents. They took him home from the 69 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:01,800 hospital just like I took my boys. 70 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:08,160 They took pictures, probably prayed prayers. 71 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:11,960 They fought with them over what outfit they were going to. 72 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,520 He was going to wear it on school picture day. 73 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:19,640 And never in their wildest imagination did they Would they 74 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:22,880 think that their son would end up doing what their son did? 75 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:27,880 And hear me, the Christian response can both be angry that 76 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:32,600 he did this and love the family and pray for them. 77 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:39,520 So if I can just issue a kind word of rebuke before you post, 78 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:45,400 can you be people who pray? Can you pray for this kid who 79 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:49,560 has a period of time left on this earth before he meets his 80 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:53,880 Maker that he would actually be prepared for that day, repent 81 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:57,160 over his sins and find the same relationship with Jesus Christ 82 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:02,400 that we found that saved us? Let me say this, it seems like 83 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:04,000 recently people are taking shots. 84 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:05,680 This is number 5. If any of you guys are taking 85 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:07,720 notes, which you probably don't need to take notes on this part 86 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:09,440 because there's a lot coming in the sermon. 87 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:12,800 There's people taking shots at thoughts and prayers right now. 88 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:16,280 And I understand the sentiment like thoughts and prayers and 89 00:06:16,280 --> 00:06:19,360 policy or thoughts and prayers and something else. 90 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:25,640 But I want you to know there is only one undefeated power, and 91 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:28,200 that is the power of the Holy Spirit that is released through 92 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:31,360 the prayers of the Saints. And if you're at men's 93 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:34,560 conference this year, I kind of let you into a sneak peek in my 94 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,840 life. I'm becoming more and more and 95 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:43,600 more and more and more and more convinced in the unstoppable 96 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:48,520 power of prayer. And I would love for our church 97 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:54,400 to be a church that wakes up on its knees, that is begging for a 98 00:06:54,400 --> 00:07:00,040 move of God, begging for God to blow on your life and on this 99 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,680 ministry and on this region with an unquenchable fire that the 100 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:09,360 Holy Spirit can't put out. And number six, the church is 101 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:12,480 the hope of the world through the spread of the gospel of 102 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,720 Jesus Christ. And if you are sitting on the 103 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:19,480 sidelines and not doing everything in your power to 104 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,920 advance the Kingdom of God, you are allowing the enemy to win. 105 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,400 So if you've not found a place for you to serve, give 106 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:32,600 sacrifice, lead, disciple, baptize, get in the game because 107 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:36,720 it is a spiritual game that is advanced by spiritual people 108 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:42,880 doing spiritual things. If I had a rule, it would be 109 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:46,120 you're only allowed to comment as many people as you baptize 110 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:51,840 annually. That would shut most of you up. 111 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:56,480 But what it really should do is it should convict us. 112 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:02,160 We know the hope. We know that there is a name 113 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:08,000 above every other name, and by that name is salvation found and 114 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:13,040 sin defeated. And if we do not embrace that 115 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:17,680 oath, we will cling to idols and imposters. 116 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:21,440 And when you and I get radically serious to the point where we 117 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:25,120 would give whatever we have to advance that Kingdom 'cause we 118 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:28,480 would actually see the world that we're wanting, the world 119 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:33,880 we're longing to see. Heavenly Father, I love this 120 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:37,039 church, I love this region. I love the stories that you're 121 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:42,120 writing and I want more. I want more stories of life 122 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:44,280 change. I want more stories of 123 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:46,880 sacrifice. I want more people finding you. 124 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:51,360 We are not satisfied. We do not believe that you are 125 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:56,000 done. Got to pray that you would speak 126 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:02,240 peace over not just Charlie's family, but also the family of 127 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:07,280 the shooter. Got to pray that you would raise 128 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,480 up more people to speak godly truth, not just to our 129 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:13,520 generation, but to the generations that are coming 130 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,920 after us. Yeah, that you'd put a holy 131 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:23,120 conviction on our hearts to be about your business because 132 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:27,000 that's what your Spirit's about. And so if we are not about your 133 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:29,480 business, that means that the Spirit is not guiding and 134 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:31,280 directing us. And God, we know what happens 135 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:33,240 when we are not guided and directed by you. 136 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,040 God, I pray that you would use today to draw people closer to 137 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:40,400 you. In your name, I pray. 138 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:44,760 Amen. I asked my boys, how do you know 139 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:49,640 that someone loves you? We're in the car driving to see 140 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,080 some things as a family. And I told Jennifer to pull out 141 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:56,120 her phone and start, you know, capturing their responses. 142 00:09:56,120 --> 00:10:00,440 And they said you approach us with gentleness, which Jennifer 143 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:01,880 and I were not expecting that one. 144 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:05,920 We were like, hey, OK, apparently they can take more 145 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:07,880 than we were those, but we were surprised. 146 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:14,560 They also said we are slow to anger, which, you know, I guess 147 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:17,680 they were drunk. I don't know how because I was 148 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:20,280 like, I feel like we get pretty angry. 149 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:23,680 They said you want good things for us. 150 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:27,320 That's true. They said you pray over us every 151 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:30,440 day. They said you take care of our 152 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:33,040 needs. They say you teach us 153 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,640 responsibility, how to take care of stuff. 154 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:40,840 You prepare us to be a good spouse one day. 155 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:44,640 That's true. Then they said, sometimes you 156 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:49,200 withhold from us what we want because it's for our own good. 157 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:53,800 Then they said, sometimes you don't give us what we want 158 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:58,440 because you know that we don't need it or aren't ready for it. 159 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:03,640 Sometimes you say things we don't want to hear that we don't 160 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:05,720 appreciate, but we know it's for our good. 161 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:09,000 How do you know that someone loves you? 162 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:14,760 What would you add to the list? Maybe some of you go I know that 163 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:16,720 someone loves me because they listen to me. 164 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:21,480 They make time for me. What do you want to do today? 165 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:27,760 Maybe it's because you've seen them serve you or sacrifice on 166 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:30,440 your behalf. How do you know that Somebody 167 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:34,320 Loves You? Maybe you'd say they encourage 168 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:35,800 you. What are the things that you 169 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:42,160 would add to that list? Well, today we are going to look 170 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:48,680 at one of the most loving things that we can do that is often 171 00:11:48,680 --> 00:11:52,920 times overlooked. We are in the series in First 172 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:57,480 Corinthians where it is a letter written by Paul to the church in 173 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:00,920 Corinth through the power of the Holy Spirit to a church that 174 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:07,920 Paul loves. Paul loves these people and 175 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:12,600 today we're in chapter 5 and tucked away inside of this short 176 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:18,840 chapter with only 13 verses is a powerful tool in the life of 177 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:24,960 every believer who wants to love God and love people well, which 178 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:29,720 by the way is the 1st and 2nd great commandments. 179 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:34,520 However, as good as it is, I'm going to tell you up front, it 180 00:12:34,560 --> 00:12:40,560 is not easy. The goal of the crossing, you 181 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:42,960 guys have heard us talk about this before, is to help people 182 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,680 find an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 183 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,440 We want, we have this big audacious goal that we want to 184 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:51,400 make this region where we do life in ministry the hardest 185 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:53,440 place on planet earth to get the hell from. 186 00:12:53,680 --> 00:12:56,400 And I think if you were to ask the church in Corinth, they 187 00:12:56,400 --> 00:13:01,360 would have had a similar idea, a similar ambition. 188 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,360 However, something was getting in the way of it happening. 189 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:09,000 It seems like the ways of the city and the culture of the day 190 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:10,960 were making their way into the church. 191 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:15,400 The boundaries between the ways of God and the ways of the world 192 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:18,920 had disappeared. The distinction between saved 193 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,680 people and lost people had dissolved. 194 00:13:22,560 --> 00:13:26,080 We pick up in verses one through 5. 195 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:30,880 It is actually reported that there is a sexual immorality 196 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:34,600 among you and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate. 197 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:37,800 A man is sleeping with his father's wife. 198 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:39,680 Let's pause for just a second, OK? 199 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:43,200 The Bible lays out that sex is 1 good. 200 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:46,520 Two, it is for married people of the opposite sex. 201 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,960 And any sex that is not that is not good sex. 202 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:55,160 So if you're having sex with somebody who doesn't have 203 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:58,520 different chromosomes than you and is not married to you, you 204 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:00,360 are outside of God's best for you. 205 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:05,240 So you might go, oh, oh, so you're like, man, I should have 206 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:07,960 thought about that before I came here today because wasn't 207 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:10,000 planned on that. But hear me. 208 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:13,800 God is a good father and has a good gift to give you. 209 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:17,160 And one of the gifts that God gives you in sex is that it 210 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,960 happens inside of the way that God designed it to be. 211 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:22,120 A fire in the fireplace is fantastic. 212 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:27,080 A fire on the stairs of your house, not good. 213 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:30,800 Or in the living room, not good or in the kitchen, Even though 214 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:33,000 you can have a fire in the kitchen, it's not the best place 215 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,600 to have a real fire. God says sex is a great thing 216 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,040 when it is contained inside of a biblical marriage. 217 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,400 It can be a disastrous thing when it is anywhere other than 218 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:45,080 that. And he says, and you are proud, 219 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:47,800 shouldn't you rather have gone into mourning and have put out 220 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:50,120 of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? 221 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,560 We'll circle back to that. For my part, even though I'm not 222 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:56,400 physically present, I am with you in spirit as one who is 223 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:01,560 present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in 224 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:05,840 the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. 225 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:09,840 So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit and the 226 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:13,040 power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to 227 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:17,280 Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that his spirit may be 228 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:21,920 saved on the day of the Lord. This is bad. 229 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:27,960 There is a guy in the church who is having sex with his stepmom. 230 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:33,240 Like how did he get there? Well, more than likely he had a 231 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:37,040 mom and dad and either through death or divorce, the mom is out 232 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:42,320 of the picture. Dad now has a new wife and 233 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:46,160 through either death or divorce, the dad is out of the picture. 234 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:53,560 And so the son is kind of like, you know, let's just stay in the 235 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:57,080 same house. And then it kind of led to them 236 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:01,320 playing house. And now you have a son having 237 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:05,640 sex with his stepmom. And Paul says this is not OK. 238 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:10,920 And the fact that you think this is OK is not OK. 239 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:15,840 In fact, the city that we live in, Corinth, which celebrates 240 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:19,480 people having all kinds of different kinds of sex, where 241 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:23,600 there are no rules, no consequences, nobody cares who 242 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:28,360 you're having sex with, even this culture says that that is 243 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:30,760 not OK. And the fact that you say that 244 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:36,280 it is OK is not OK. And so Paul looks at this church 245 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:41,760 in Corinth that he loves and gives them a reality check and a 246 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:45,240 heart assignment. The 1st is the reality check. 247 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:50,160 Paul looks at him and says stop being proud of what you 248 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:57,720 tolerate. Tolerance is not the Christian 249 00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:04,960 ethic and instead of being tolerant of sin, mourn it. 250 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:11,640 You should see this sin going on and you should be grieved about 251 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,880 it instead of proud of what you are permitting. 252 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:21,040 You should have a broken heart. One of the signs that the Holy 253 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:25,160 Spirit is working on your life is that your heart breaks for 254 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:28,319 the same things that God's heart breaks for. 255 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:36,560 And sin is no laughing matter. It is sin, all sin, that caused 256 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:40,200 the Son of God to die a brutal death on the cross on behalf of 257 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,680 us. Great or small, they nailed them 258 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,720 or they nailed Him to the cross. And then Paul gives them a 259 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:51,000 really hard assignment. You saw and went, oh, no, it's 260 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:52,600 going to be one of those kind of days. 261 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:57,800 Oh, yeah, Look what he says. Put out of your fellowship the 262 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:01,560 man who has been doing this. And I know what some of you are 263 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:04,560 thinking. I thought Christians were not 264 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:08,440 supposed to judge. And I got to be honest, Clayton, 265 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:14,000 this sounds kind of judgy. And you're right. 266 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:18,720 So let's dive into it. One of like the favorite verses 267 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:22,480 of people who are not Christians is Matthew Chapter 7 verse one. 268 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:24,320 They don't know what's Matthew Chapter 7 verse one? 269 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:28,160 US Bible nerds do, but they have quoted this phrase. 270 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:30,480 Judge not or you 2 will be judged. 271 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,000 How many of you have heard somebody tell that to you? 272 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:36,640 Oh yeah. That's like the John 316 of 273 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:41,400 people who don't go to church. The problem is, is that the 274 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:44,640 people in the church don't have an answer for that. 275 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:48,480 And so then they're like, well, maybe I shouldn't say anything. 276 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:50,960 Maybe I shouldn't step into this conversation. 277 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:53,720 So let's actually see what the Bible says. 278 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,400 Let's start Matthew Chapter 7 verse. 279 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:58,160 One does indeed say do not judge. 280 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,240 Therefore you also will be judged. 281 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:02,960 And that's Jesus talking. And a general rule for 282 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:06,480 Christians is if Jesus says it, you should pay attention. 283 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,080 Let's start there. So Jesus said it and we should 284 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:14,040 pay attention. But Jesus has actually a lot of 285 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:16,760 things to say. In fact, in the very same 286 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:19,120 chapter, verses 15 through 20, look what it says. 287 00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:22,960 Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's 288 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,440 clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 289 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:28,400 By their fruit you will recognize them. 290 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:32,000 Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 291 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:36,040 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears 292 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:37,880 bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad 293 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:40,200 fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 294 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,720 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and 295 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:47,560 thrown into the fire. Thus by their fruit you will 296 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:51,040 recognize them. Same chapter, same author Jesus, 297 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:54,600 same sermon. Question. 298 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:58,760 How can you and I look out and watch out for false prophets if 299 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:01,600 we cannot judge the content of their teaching or evaluate the 300 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:07,160 fruit in their lives? If you're to go to the book of 301 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:13,040 John, John Chapter 7. Apparently Chapter 7 has a lot 302 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:16,680 to say about judging people. Look what Jesus says in John 303 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:20,080 Chapter 7. Jesus here stop judging by mere 304 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:24,000 appearances, but instead judge say it. 305 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:27,840 Hold on a second here Jesus you're confusing me. 306 00:20:29,360 --> 00:20:31,640 I thought you said do not judge and now you're telling me don't 307 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:35,480 judge by mere appearances. I'm supposed to judge correctly. 308 00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:41,760 Galatians chapter 6, verse one through 2, Paul teaching here to 309 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,760 the church in Galatia says this. Brothers and sisters, I'm going 310 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:48,400 to circle back to that. If someone is caught in a sin, 311 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:52,680 you who live by the Spirit should restore that person 312 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:56,600 gently, but watch yourselves or you also may be tempted. 313 00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:00,880 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the 314 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:06,640 law of Christ. How can I restore a person 315 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:10,840 caught in sin if I cannot judge whether or not they have sinned? 316 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,720 Furthermore, it appears that one of the things that spiritual 317 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:24,360 people do is acknowledge sinful behavior and step into those 318 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:28,840 moments to restore people gently. 319 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,800 Now let's go back to Matthew Chapter 7, the one that 320 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:36,600 everybody quotes, and let's do something radical. 321 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,840 You ready? Keep reading. 322 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:47,160 Anytime you find yourself with a with a verse that you don't get, 323 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:55,160 the solution is keep reading. OK Matthew Chapter 7 do not 324 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:58,880 judge or you 2 will be judged for in the same way you judge 325 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:00,960 others. You will be judged, and with the 326 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:03,920 measure you use it will be measured to you. 327 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,880 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye 328 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:12,000 and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 329 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:16,520 How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of 330 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:20,280 your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own 331 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:22,040 eye? Now watch this. 332 00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:27,360 Jesus gives instructions, you hypocrite. 333 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:32,560 First take the plank out of your own eye, then you will see 334 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:37,200 clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. 335 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:42,720 Jesus isn't saying we don't get to deal with the specs in our 336 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:44,960 brother's eyes. He's saying before you get to 337 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:47,440 their speck, deal with your plank. 338 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:51,200 Jesus is not saying that there is no place for judging or that 339 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:54,400 judging should not take place. He's saying before you deal with 340 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,040 the small things in somebody else's life, make sure you're 341 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:00,400 dealing with the big things in your own life. 342 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:05,600 And if we don't deal with our own stuff first, we become 343 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:10,600 hypocrites and our message becomes too hard for our hearer 344 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:17,240 to receive. But if we don't deal with their 345 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:23,120 stuff, we are not loving a fellow brother or sister in 346 00:23:23,120 --> 00:23:26,720 Christ. Let me say this to you, OK? 347 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:33,520 You will never be confronted by a perfect person, no matter who 348 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:35,960 comes to you outside of the conviction of the Holy Spirit. 349 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:39,400 Every person who comes to you and says, hey, this is not good, 350 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:42,800 there's going to be plenty of stuff that you could fire back 351 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:44,440 at them because they are not perfect. 352 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:48,960 They are saved, but they are in the process of being sanctified. 353 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:55,160 It's appears from the text that Jesus does not have a problem 354 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:59,600 with people being judged. He just wants it done with the 355 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:07,480 right posture. And for Jesus, it's more than 356 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:11,680 just having the right posture, it's also following the right 357 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:15,760 process. And Jesus actually lays out a 358 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:19,000 process for how to point out the sin in other people. 359 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:22,640 It's in Matthew chapter 18. Look what he has to say. 360 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,520 This is still Jesus talking. If your brother or sister, 361 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:28,600 you'll keep noticing. Brother and sister, brother and 362 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:30,040 sister, I promise I'll get to it. 363 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:34,760 If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault 364 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:38,920 just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have 365 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:41,760 won them over. But if they will not listen, 366 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:45,760 take one or two others along, so that every matter may be 367 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:50,000 established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 368 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,000 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church. 369 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,480 And if they refuse to listen, even to the church, treat them 370 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:00,560 as you would a Pagan or a tax collector. 371 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:04,160 So the right posture is, I'm going to be dealing with my 372 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:05,520 stuff. But I still see this. 373 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:08,080 I'm going to enter into this conversation gently. 374 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,360 I know that I'm not perfect, but I just want you to know I'm 375 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:12,040 seeing this in your life. And one thing's better. 376 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:13,280 I'm going to go to you personally. 377 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:14,920 If that doesn't work, I'm going to bring some other people. 378 00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:16,520 If that doesn't work, I'm going to bring it to the church. 379 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:18,720 If that doesn't work, I don't think we're on the same team 380 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:22,280 anymore. It becomes corporate. 381 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:27,920 We're wearing different jerseys. Now, why does this matter to 382 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:29,720 Paul? Why is he telling the church 383 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:34,400 that he loves about this? It gets explained in verses 6-7 384 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:38,160 and eight. Your boasting is not good. 385 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:42,040 Don't you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of 386 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:44,880 dough? Get rid of the old yeast so that 387 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:49,200 you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. 388 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:53,800 For Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. 389 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:56,760 Therefore let us keep the festival, not with the old bread 390 00:25:56,760 --> 00:25:59,480 leavened with mouse and wickedness, but with unleavened 391 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,880 bread of sincerity and truth. He's talking about two kinds of 392 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:04,480 breads. There's like the the Ritz 393 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:06,880 crackers, which is like the unleavened bread. 394 00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:10,000 And then there's the I'm not a bread person. 395 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:11,120 Well, I mean, I eat bread. What? 396 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:13,160 Texas Roadhouse rolls. OK. 397 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:17,280 And in this context, here's what Jesus is saying. 398 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:20,760 I want you to be more like what you take for communion, which is 399 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:23,000 actually where the whole unleavened thing became a deal. 400 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:29,320 Then the, you know, Subs, same, whatever the what is it called, 401 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:31,240 Jenny? Regular bread, bread. 402 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:35,800 OK, you guys get it. I'm just thinking like there's a 403 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:37,120 junior higher out there. Like I don't. 404 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:39,920 I thought there was just bread. What you got Wonder bread and 405 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:42,640 communion bread and Jesus saying I want you to be communion 406 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:45,640 bread, not Wonder bread. Now why is he saying this? 407 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,960 Because the way you make the difference between comedian 408 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:51,840 bread and Wonder bread is just a little bit of yeast. 409 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,120 And if you allow just a little bit of yeast and it makes its 410 00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:02,920 way through the whole batch, if I were to make you all brownies 411 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:07,680 and put just a little bit of poop in it, you would not call 412 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:11,880 them mostly good brownies. You know what you would call 413 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:13,320 them? Poop brownies. 414 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:18,360 And if I were to say, you know, I, I, I mean, I'm, it's it, I 415 00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:23,360 kid you not, it was just, I was, it's a little bit, I don't think 416 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:25,520 any of you would be like, all right, it'll be OK. 417 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:28,960 You would go hold on a second. You tell me that there's poop in 418 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:30,920 those brownies. I want nothing to do with the 419 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,120 poop brownies. This is what Paul's trying to 420 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:37,480 create in the church. That just a little bit of sin 421 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:40,680 isn't worth it. I don't want it. 422 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:43,760 I don't want it in my life, and I don't want a little bit of sin 423 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:48,240 in your life. And John Wesley famously said 424 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:52,840 that what one generation tolerates, the next generation 425 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:58,120 will embrace. The sin that you were excusing 426 00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:03,440 and allowing in your home will become habitual in those that 427 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:07,600 come after you. And if you and I don't stand for 428 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:11,520 truth and speak out against sin, it will consume those that we 429 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,000 love the most that will follow us. 430 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,840 Now, while Paul's telling this to these people, he says as you 431 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:22,880 really are, he's looking at them and saying, look, you're 432 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:26,760 navigating sin issues, but I want to remind you who you are. 433 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:29,200 He's acknowledging that this group of people who are 434 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:33,320 struggling with sin and tolerating sin are people who've 435 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:38,160 been washed by the blood of Jesus, who've been redeemed by 436 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:41,800 the blood of Jesus, who have been saved by the blood of 437 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:44,000 Jesus. And at the same time, he's 438 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:46,080 saying this is who you are in him. 439 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:50,760 Sin is taking back the ground that the cross of Jesus Christ 440 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:55,600 has claimed over your life. When you and I step into a 441 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:59,360 relationship with Jesus Christ in the area of salvation, we 442 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:04,760 become set apart, holy, made new, and sin loses its power and 443 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:09,160 its dominion over your life. You no longer have to be ruled 444 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:11,440 and governed by it. You don't have to worry about 445 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:15,080 the penalty of it because the penalty was paid in Jesus. 446 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:18,640 But what should happen in the life of a believer is our 447 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:20,920 appetite and our affections change. 448 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,720 Where before we wanted to sin, now we don't want to sin. 449 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:28,120 And while you and I are never going to become sinless, this is 450 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:30,640 you and I in heaven. This is when you and I will be 451 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:35,120 sinless. Right now we are saved but 452 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:39,640 sinful. But over time, we will sin less 453 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:44,360 and less as our appetite for Him outpaces our appetite for the 454 00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:50,400 flesh and the world. And so when we sin, the natural 455 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:54,440 response for a Christian is to repent. 456 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:59,240 I don't want to do that anymore. Mourn, I'm sorry I did it. 457 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:02,520 Confess. I want somebody to help me make 458 00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:09,520 sure that I don't do it again. However, if we are caught 459 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:15,600 sinning or caught up in sinning, we need people to point it out 460 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:20,120 to us. And when they point out a sin to 461 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:24,720 us, you and I have two options. We can either receive it and 462 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:30,320 repent, or we can reject it. That's why there's a process 463 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:33,520 that someone comes along to you and says, hey, do you see this 464 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:35,400 in your life? And you go, forget you. 465 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:37,800 I'm going to keep doing me. And then they're like, OK, well, 466 00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:39,920 one-on-one didn't work. So now we're going to tag team 467 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:41,160 it. We're going to bring some other 468 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:43,200 people in that care about you and care about God. 469 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:45,840 And if that still doesn't work, then we're going to let other 470 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:47,440 people come in. And then eventually we're going 471 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:50,040 hold on a second. So you, you actually do not want 472 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:51,440 to be a part of the Kingdom of light. 473 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:52,960 You want to live your life in darkness. 474 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:54,520 We are wearing different jerseys. 475 00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:57,960 Look what it says in verses 9 through 13. 476 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,240 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually 477 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:04,120 immoral people. Not at all. 478 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:06,400 Meaning the people of this world who are immoral or the greedy 479 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:08,440 and the swindlers and idolaters. In that case, you have to leave 480 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:09,760 the world. Let me pause for just a second. 481 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:15,200 Paul starts off with the sin of the one guy, and I'm assuming 482 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:18,640 that there's nobody here today at any of our locations who's 483 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:21,800 having sex with his stepmom. If you were, you're thinking, 484 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:26,720 wow, this church has data like, yeah, this is my first time. 485 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:31,040 And they emailed Clayton. You're like, what? 486 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:34,960 And it'd be really easy for us to, like, look at that guy and 487 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:36,640 go, yeah, you got to stop your thing. 488 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:39,280 But Paul's saying, hold on a second, you got a thing, too? 489 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:43,280 What's the sin that you've allowed? 490 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:47,080 What's the sin that you've said? Yeah, that's just going to be 491 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:51,240 who I am. Paul starts listening off. 492 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:54,240 You know our sins. Sexually immoral, greedy, 493 00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:56,640 idolaters, slanders, drunkards, swindlers. 494 00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:58,760 Do not even eat with such people. 495 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:02,520 What business? What business is it of mine to 496 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:05,840 judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those 497 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:08,120 inside? God will judge those outside. 498 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:11,000 Expel the wicked person from among you. 499 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:15,040 He's saying this person is claiming to be a Christian but 500 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:19,640 refuses, refuses to acknowledge their sin and turn from their 501 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:21,360 sin. And he's saying that person you 502 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:24,200 do not have fellowship with. I'm not saying that your job is 503 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:26,840 to go around and judge everybody in the world because the world 504 00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:29,280 has a different standard than Christians. 505 00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:33,920 Christians have a king, and his name is Jesus, and we follow 506 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:35,080 him. We submit to him. 507 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:37,720 We believe that God's way is best for us. 508 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:41,040 He goes, but you cannot hold the world to the standard of 509 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:44,280 Christians. Now, as we've been going through 510 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:45,960 this, you've kind of seen this over and over again. 511 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:52,760 It's the phrase, brothers and sisters, confronting sin is 512 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:57,440 something we do for each other because we believe that we have 513 00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:00,560 the same goal and the same ambition that we want to move 514 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:03,000 into the direction and the likeness of Him. 515 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:06,960 It's something we do for each other. 516 00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:10,040 This is not the standard that we are holding the world to. 517 00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:14,280 You can't do church discipline on people who aren't a part of 518 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:16,800 the church. You can't hold people to the 519 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:20,520 standard of Jesus who have yet not yet submitted their lives to 520 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:23,000 Jesus. At the very beginning, I asked 521 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:24,960 you a question. How do you know that you are 522 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:29,520 loved? May I submit to you that one of 523 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:35,160 the ways that you know you are loved and one of the ways you 524 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:39,080 know you truly love somebody is through discipline. 525 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:43,880 Pointing out sin and saying this needs to stop. 526 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:48,800 Most of you guys, you grew up with parents that disciplined 527 00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:51,280 you. Some of you are gone. 528 00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:53,720 No, I never experienced any kind of discipline. 529 00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:55,280 You don't have to raise your hand. 530 00:33:55,760 --> 00:34:00,040 We know who you are. Parents, you know this. 531 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:04,200 One of the most unloving things that you can do is not 532 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:08,000 discipline your children. Show me a kid that no one 533 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,760 corrects, no one disciplines, and I will show you a kid that 534 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:17,199 nobody truly loves. You see, discipline is done out 535 00:34:17,199 --> 00:34:21,800 of love. It is a sign of love and it is a 536 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:26,000 sign of belonging. Do you know how many neighbor 537 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:27,679 kids I've yelled and screamed at? 538 00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:34,920 Zero. Do you know how many of my kids 539 00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:39,239 I have disciplined? I'm batting 100%. 540 00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:43,239 OK. You disciplining your kids, 541 00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:44,600 you're like, yeah, that makes total sense. 542 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:48,239 You doing that same discipline. You can't ground somebody else's 543 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:51,239 kid, right? It's a sign that you're in the 544 00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:53,080 family. When you get disciplined by dad. 545 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:54,639 Watch what? Watch what? 546 00:34:54,639 --> 00:34:57,440 Watch what the Bible has to say. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 6. 547 00:34:58,240 --> 00:35:02,200 The Lord disciplines the ones he loves, and he chastens or 548 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:06,360 punishes everyone he accepts as his son. 549 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:10,680 Part of being in the family of God is God care enough about you 550 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:14,760 to say stop, you're better than that. 551 00:35:15,240 --> 00:35:18,360 I've put something in you that is better than that. 552 00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:23,840 You see, discipline is a sign of love and restoration is the 553 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:27,320 goal. We are not punishing to get a 554 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:30,320 pound of flesh. We are disciplining them so that 555 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:32,320 they can be restored into fellowship. 556 00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:34,560 I want to speak to two groups of people for a second. 557 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:39,120 To those of you who have had somebody point something out in 558 00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:44,240 you that needs to change. I know that Satan in that moment 559 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:46,640 fills you with all kinds of emotions and all kinds of 560 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:49,280 arguments, but I want you to hear me say this. 561 00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:53,520 You were being loved. As you and I get older and 562 00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:56,400 older, there are less people that we actually submit to. 563 00:35:57,600 --> 00:35:59,840 We get to a point where we can kind of do whatever we want, 564 00:35:59,960 --> 00:36:02,840 whenever we want. And so we run out of people who 565 00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:10,520 we allow into our lives to speak truth over us and to speak hard 566 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:14,880 truths to us that are actually good for us. 567 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:19,280 Hear me, the person who pointed something out to you, they may 568 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:23,160 have said it wrong. They may even have had a plank 569 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:26,400 in their own eye. And their motives may not have 570 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:30,760 been perfect, but they just might have been loving you. 571 00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:37,000 And it is unrealistic to think that you are doing everything 572 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:41,280 right. If you're walking through life 573 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:43,920 thinking you're doing nothing wrong, you think you're Jesus. 574 00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:47,640 You're not. Which means that there are areas 575 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:52,280 of your life that you cannot see, that you are not aware of, 576 00:36:52,720 --> 00:36:55,680 that you need somebody to speak into and go. 577 00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:57,720 There's a blind spot in your life. 578 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:01,280 And if we're on the same team and we're both wanting to be 579 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:04,800 more like Jesus, your responses, Thank you for pointing that out 580 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:08,560 because I cannot know all the areas where I fall short. 581 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:11,200 For those of you who've been going through the 1st 582 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:14,320 Corinthians book, I didn't write a lick of it. 583 00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:17,880 There's a guy who is on staff at our church. 584 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:19,280 He doesn't live in the area anymore. 585 00:37:19,280 --> 00:37:22,960 His name is Walt. Walt has done 1000 beautiful 586 00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:26,920 things for this church. And we are what we are in part 587 00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:29,160 because of his service and his sacrifice. 588 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:32,080 And anybody who knows Walt knows that Walt will actually point 589 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:34,560 stuff out to you. And so as you're reading the 590 00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:37,680 First Corinthians, that is Walt pastoring our church. 591 00:37:38,920 --> 00:37:44,400 And one time I was in a meeting and I did something I didn't 592 00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:46,520 know that I did that was wrong, but it was wrong. 593 00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:52,960 And in a Walt fashion, I get an e-mail and it outlines all of 594 00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:58,360 the areas where I had failed. And the problem is when you get 595 00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:03,600 it from Walt, you're like, yeah, I guess that's 100% what 596 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:07,200 happened. And so he just blistered me in 597 00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:11,280 this e-mail. And when I was done reading it, 598 00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:13,960 I realized that I had sinned and I had failed. 599 00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:18,120 And so the appropriate response is I emailed all the people that 600 00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:22,200 were in the room and I said, I am so sorry. 601 00:38:22,320 --> 00:38:25,240 This is what I did. Walt pointed this out to me. 602 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:28,200 I'm sorry. I should be better. 603 00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:31,040 You deserve better. And I have shamed myself and my 604 00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:34,520 family and I have not represented you or our Jesus 605 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:38,080 well. And guess what happened to the 606 00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:40,120 way the people in that room viewed me? 607 00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:45,040 They did not view me as less. They viewed me as more because 608 00:38:45,040 --> 00:38:48,520 somebody pointed out a sin and I responded to it through 609 00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:50,960 repentance. Do you know why you didn't hear 610 00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:54,720 about this until right now? It's because after Walt brought 611 00:38:54,720 --> 00:38:57,880 it to me, I said, you're exactly stinking, right? 612 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:01,960 If I had said, you know what, Walt, here's all the sins in 613 00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:05,760 your life, you know what would have said Fairpoint? 614 00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:08,680 I'll bring somebody else in. And Walt's one of those guys who 615 00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:10,920 would have pulled up a group of people, sat down in my office 616 00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:14,000 and said, OK, I tried the e-mail work, but you did sin. 617 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:17,000 I saw you need to repent. And if that didn't work, they'd 618 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:18,840 have brought it to the board. And eventually you all would 619 00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:21,640 have had somebody up here on this stage reading an e-mail 620 00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:24,640 about a sin in my life that I refused to repent over. 621 00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:27,280 And then if the others were doing their job, they'd have 622 00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:28,880 kicked me out, fired me. Why? 623 00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:32,520 I'll tell you why. Because if we don't grieve sin, 624 00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:38,240 we don't have the same God. If we don't want more of Jesus 625 00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:40,440 in us, we are not on the same team anymore. 626 00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:47,800 And so Walt loved me enough to speak into my life and help me 627 00:39:47,800 --> 00:39:49,840 become a better follower of Jesus. 628 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:52,440 Now I want to talk to the second group of people. 629 00:39:55,600 --> 00:39:58,160 There are some of you who you see people going through a 630 00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:00,600 sinful situation or a sinful season. 631 00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:02,920 And I want you to hear me say this. 632 00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:05,720 One of the most loving things that you can do is to step into 633 00:40:05,720 --> 00:40:09,120 it. It's going to be one of the most 634 00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:12,800 scary things you can do, but it's also one of the most loving 635 00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:15,520 things you can do. And I want to expose something 636 00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:18,400 to you. You might be concerned with what 637 00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:24,320 they are going to think about you, how it could change your 638 00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:27,920 relationship with them. And I want you to know that 639 00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:33,600 those thoughts are of Satan because he is subtly creating in 640 00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:38,080 you idolatry where you are worshiping yourself and your 641 00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:43,200 position and how people view you over how God views you. 642 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:48,960 You see, discipline is a sign of love and its goal is 643 00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:52,160 restoration. Look what happens in First 644 00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:54,680 Corinthians verse 5, verse 5. Why is Paul saying do this to 645 00:40:54,680 --> 00:40:57,280 the guy? Hand this man over to Satan for 646 00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:02,040 the destruction of the flesh so that his spirit may be saved on 647 00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:07,240 the day of the Lord. The goal of telling somebody, 648 00:41:07,240 --> 00:41:10,720 hey, there is sin in your life is that way Sin does not retake 649 00:41:10,720 --> 00:41:14,600 control over their life. So they can turn from their life 650 00:41:14,600 --> 00:41:18,800 of sin and live the life that God has called him to in a 651 00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:25,040 posture of humility, covered in grace, following the godly 652 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:31,000 process with our eyes set on the goal of restoration, we need to 653 00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:36,080 lovingly embrace discipline because we don't want to get to 654 00:41:36,080 --> 00:41:38,680 heaven by ourselves. We want to get to heaven with 655 00:41:38,720 --> 00:41:43,520 other people with us. And the truth is we live in a 656 00:41:43,520 --> 00:41:48,400 world that would much rather tolerate sin, celebrate sin, 657 00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:55,480 then be people who confront it and go I sent to I don't know if 658 00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:58,720 you know that you just did this, but let's work this out with 659 00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:02,040 Jesus together. That's actually the kind of 660 00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:05,040 people that we want to be and we're afraid to be. 661 00:42:05,720 --> 00:42:07,600 But with the power of the Holy Spirit. 662 00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:15,800 It's possible we're moving to a time of decision to those of you 663 00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:18,080 who are in here and you've never started an intimate personal 664 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:23,080 relationship with Jesus Christ. Let me just let me kind of take 665 00:42:23,080 --> 00:42:25,240 this sermon and like boil it down to just something real 666 00:42:25,240 --> 00:42:28,520 small for you to think through. You have two choices. 667 00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:33,720 Sin and shame can be your master or truth and grace. 668 00:42:35,320 --> 00:42:38,440 You can either live a life of sin and try to cover it in 669 00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:41,880 shame, or you can allow the truth of Jesus to speak over 670 00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:44,480 your life and experience the grace that was purchased through 671 00:42:44,480 --> 00:42:48,920 his life. And if you have a choice, if you 672 00:42:48,920 --> 00:42:51,600 want to know what happens if you follow one of those two masters, 673 00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:54,480 you walk down that road. Sin and shame leads to death and 674 00:42:54,480 --> 00:42:56,520 destruction and pain and isolation. 675 00:42:58,360 --> 00:43:01,080 But the truth and grace of Jesus will take you to a place you 676 00:43:01,080 --> 00:43:06,200 never thought possible. It is impossible to tell the 677 00:43:06,200 --> 00:43:09,240 story of Jesus without truth and grace. 678 00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:15,240 Jesus shows up as the sinless Son of God and lives a sinless 679 00:43:15,240 --> 00:43:16,920 life. We didn't. 680 00:43:18,080 --> 00:43:21,200 What does Jesus do? He tells us that we are sinners 681 00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:26,360 who have ran away from the heart of God and our intended created 682 00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:29,720 destiny. Jesus shows up on the scene and 683 00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:37,920 he says look man, you failed. He speaks truth and at the same 684 00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:42,400 time he is speaking truth. He says there is no way that you 685 00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:44,720 could ever be saved. You are too bad. 686 00:43:44,920 --> 00:43:51,040 You are too far gone. I know everything about you. 687 00:43:53,560 --> 00:44:05,840 You're a Sinner. But because I love you, I moved 688 00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:10,640 on your behalf. I paid a price that you could 689 00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:14,080 not pay. I lived a life that you could 690 00:44:14,080 --> 00:44:16,680 not live. And so not only are you a 691 00:44:16,680 --> 00:44:25,160 Sinner, I'm a Savior. And sinners who encounter A 692 00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:31,760 Savior can be saved. And so Jesus shows up, radically 693 00:44:31,760 --> 00:44:35,720 exposing the sin in our lives and at the same time making a 694 00:44:35,720 --> 00:44:38,520 way for us to be changed and redeemed. 695 00:44:40,680 --> 00:44:45,760 And if you're here today, can I just tell you if you've never 696 00:44:45,760 --> 00:44:48,640 started a relationship with Jesus, that's why this church 697 00:44:48,760 --> 00:44:52,000 sings the songs we sing. That's why this church gets down 698 00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:55,240 on our knees and pray. That's why we boldly proclaim 699 00:44:55,240 --> 00:44:59,160 the truth of God's Word because we believe there's no better 700 00:44:59,160 --> 00:45:03,720 place than life in Jesus. And we want that for every 701 00:45:03,880 --> 00:45:07,680 person in here. And so in just a few moments, 702 00:45:07,680 --> 00:45:09,680 when the people around you stand and sing and some of them come 703 00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:12,240 to the steps and pray, I would encourage you to walk right over 704 00:45:12,240 --> 00:45:14,320 there next to the baptistery or talk to a friend and say, what 705 00:45:14,320 --> 00:45:18,600 do I need to do to get that kind of relationship today to the 706 00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:20,880 rest of you in the room, to those of you who are Jesus 707 00:45:20,880 --> 00:45:26,280 followers, two things and I'm going to be super 708 00:45:26,280 --> 00:45:31,760 confrontational about it. One, is there a sin in your life 709 00:45:32,160 --> 00:45:37,920 that needs to be destroyed? Is there a sin in your life that 710 00:45:37,920 --> 00:45:41,040 is growing right now? When we're going through pain 711 00:45:41,040 --> 00:45:44,280 and trauma and we're frustrated and we feel off balance because 712 00:45:44,280 --> 00:45:46,760 of what's happening in the world, it can be so easy to 713 00:45:46,760 --> 00:45:49,440 focus all of our attention on the sin in others than in the 714 00:45:49,440 --> 00:45:54,200 sin that is in US. Deal ruthlessly through the 715 00:45:54,200 --> 00:45:56,600 power of the Holy Spirit with the sin that is in your life. 716 00:45:57,480 --> 00:46:00,720 Develop a godly brokenness over the areas where you fall short 717 00:46:01,560 --> 00:46:04,200 or the areas where you have not yet claimed victory through the 718 00:46:04,200 --> 00:46:08,040 power of Jesus Christ. Deal radically with the sin in 719 00:46:08,040 --> 00:46:11,960 our own lives. And secondly, there's some of 720 00:46:11,960 --> 00:46:15,680 you who through idolatry have been OK watching the lives of 721 00:46:15,680 --> 00:46:22,160 other people spiritually burn to the ground because you're 722 00:46:22,160 --> 00:46:24,480 worshiping yourself instead of worshiping a king. 723 00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:27,840 And maybe it's time for you to go, man. 724 00:46:27,840 --> 00:46:30,280 I don't know if you know this about you, but I just want you 725 00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:32,640 to know I'm seeing this in you and I care about this. 726 00:46:32,640 --> 00:46:35,360 And can I walk with you gently through it? 727 00:46:36,600 --> 00:46:40,080 Are there conversations that you've been putting off that you 728 00:46:40,080 --> 00:46:47,380 finally need to have? I'm going to be upfront with 729 00:46:47,380 --> 00:46:49,460 you. This is First Corinthians 730 00:46:49,460 --> 00:46:53,680 chapter 5. Since I know my Bible, I know 731 00:46:53,680 --> 00:46:56,800 that we got to go through chapter 6, Chapter 7, chapter 8, 732 00:46:56,800 --> 00:47:00,720 Chapter 9, chapter 10, Chapter 11, and chapter 12 before we get 733 00:47:00,720 --> 00:47:02,840 to chapter 13. Love is patient. 734 00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:08,520 We got a road ahead of us. Not an easy Rd. but I actually 735 00:47:08,520 --> 00:47:12,040 think it's the road we need. So would you bathe it in prayer? 736 00:47:12,040 --> 00:47:19,240 Would you stand with me? Heavenly Father, the only thing 737 00:47:19,240 --> 00:47:23,720 we want is a work of your Holy Spirit in our lives and in this 738 00:47:23,720 --> 00:47:27,440 place. We don't want anything that we 739 00:47:27,440 --> 00:47:29,640 can manufacture. We don't want anything that we 740 00:47:29,640 --> 00:47:31,400 can leap through. We don't want anything that we 741 00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:36,440 can manipulate. We want to move of your spirit 742 00:47:36,640 --> 00:47:40,880 in our hearts, in our families, in our community and in this 743 00:47:40,880 --> 00:47:44,840 region got right now we are at our best. 744 00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:48,920 And so God, would you use the momentum created by this moment 745 00:47:48,920 --> 00:47:52,400 right here to draw us further into you to push us further into 746 00:47:52,400 --> 00:47:54,640 your word and to the expansion of your Kingdom. 747 00:47:54,960 --> 00:47:56,440 And you know, I pray. Amen.