1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,360 What up, Crossing family? I am so glad that you guys are 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:06,640 here this week. We are in week three of our 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,560 sermon series called Truth in Tension. 4 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:12,320 And before we get into that message, I want to make you 5 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,280 aware of an incredible opportunity that's coming up 6 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:17,720 very soon. Jennifer and I would like to 7 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:22,240 invite you to a special dinner here at our 48th St. location in 8 00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:27,200 Quincy on Sunday, October 8th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. 9 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:29,970 It's a free dinner. It's no kids, but if you would 10 00:00:29,970 --> 00:00:32,850 like to come and be a part of that dinner, you can actually 11 00:00:32,850 --> 00:00:37,130 use the QR code at your location wherever it's plastered, and you 12 00:00:37,130 --> 00:00:41,250 can RSVP to the Solomon Foundation dinner. 13 00:00:41,610 --> 00:00:44,690 At this dinner, we're going to get the opportunity to share 14 00:00:44,690 --> 00:00:48,290 some stories about how their ministry and our partnership 15 00:00:48,290 --> 00:00:52,650 with their ministry is helping churches across the nation take 16 00:00:52,650 --> 00:00:57,610 their next steps to grow and reach people, lost people, 17 00:00:57,770 --> 00:01:01,020 people that you and I care a lot about. 18 00:01:01,260 --> 00:01:04,140 We're also going to be able to show you a way where you can 19 00:01:04,140 --> 00:01:07,620 partner with them. The Solomon Foundation takes 20 00:01:07,620 --> 00:01:10,740 money from investors. So Jennifer and I and A lot of 21 00:01:10,740 --> 00:01:13,660 the people here in our staff, we take some of our money and we 22 00:01:13,660 --> 00:01:16,020 give it to the Solomon Foundation and we put it on 23 00:01:16,020 --> 00:01:18,300 deposit. And they use that deposit to 24 00:01:18,300 --> 00:01:22,100 make loans to churches, which gives them an opportunity to 25 00:01:22,100 --> 00:01:24,340 grow and make a bigger Kingdom impact. 26 00:01:24,500 --> 00:01:28,300 But at the same time, they give us a great interest rate. 27 00:01:28,550 --> 00:01:31,310 So instead of the money that we have on deposit at a local bank 28 00:01:31,670 --> 00:01:34,870 allowing them to make more beautiful brick branches, it's 29 00:01:34,870 --> 00:01:38,430 used to help people find an intimate personal relationship 30 00:01:38,670 --> 00:01:40,910 with Jesus Christ. Showing up doesn't mean you have 31 00:01:40,910 --> 00:01:42,990 to make a deposit. Showing up doesn't mean you're 32 00:01:42,990 --> 00:01:45,630 obligated to enter into the partnership, but it does give 33 00:01:45,630 --> 00:01:49,230 you an opportunity to see if God could take what you already have 34 00:01:49,430 --> 00:01:52,470 and use it for greater Kingdom purposes. 35 00:01:52,670 --> 00:01:55,560 So before the service is over, take some time and take a look 36 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:57,640 at the QR code. Click on it because we would 37 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:00,400 love to be able to spend some time with you. 38 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:03,600 That being said, we are in week 3. 39 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:06,360 The same rules still apply. Ready. 40 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:09,880 No clapping, no emails. And make sure that the way we 41 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:13,280 operate is with gentleness and respect. 42 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:18,080 And I am so excited to welcome back Mr. Caleb Callenbach. 43 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:19,840 Would you come out? If you're my man, give him a big 44 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:24,480 crossing welcome. Thank you so much. 45 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:31,040 Thank you. All right. 46 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:34,600 Hey, it is so good to be with you again, Crossing. 47 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,400 I I am. I'm so grateful, like I said 48 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:42,680 last week to Pastor Clayton and Pastor Jerry for just his work 49 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:46,080 and here and this church and all the wonderful things that he and 50 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:48,600 his wife and the staff have done and the leadership and. 51 00:02:48,890 --> 00:02:51,450 What Pastor Clayton is continuing on and the staff 52 00:02:51,450 --> 00:02:54,650 here, I I said this last week and I'm going to say it again. 53 00:02:54,810 --> 00:02:58,930 If I lived in this area, this is the church that I would attend 54 00:02:59,170 --> 00:03:01,650 because this is a place where it's okay. 55 00:03:01,890 --> 00:03:06,090 Not to be okay but all of us join together and we follow 56 00:03:06,130 --> 00:03:09,890 Jesus no matter what happens. So anyway, if if you're here and 57 00:03:10,090 --> 00:03:12,330 you know you're you're just, you know, kicking the tires, 58 00:03:12,330 --> 00:03:14,490 checking underneath the hood, I hope that you'll keep on coming 59 00:03:14,490 --> 00:03:16,760 back. For the duration of this series 60 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:18,840 and check out some of the other series that are coming up. 61 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,400 If you've missed any of this series, go on the website and 62 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:26,640 check it out and or on the podcast you can watch, you can 63 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:30,480 listen, engage with this church as much as you possibly can. 64 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,440 So last week we got to know each other a little bit, right? 65 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,920 I I got to tell you my story. I got to tell you what was going 66 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:41,240 on in my life, when and how I grew up and so on and so forth. 67 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:43,600 So today I'm going to tell you a little bit more about that, but 68 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:47,660 I'm, I'm going to start off. With with a statement here and 69 00:03:47,660 --> 00:03:49,500 some of you are not going to like this statement. 70 00:03:49,500 --> 00:03:53,500 As a matter of fact, I'm willing to bet all of you will not like 71 00:03:53,500 --> 00:03:55,540 this statement. As a matter of fact, with my 72 00:03:55,540 --> 00:03:58,940 kids right now, my my son who is 16, my daughter is 14. 73 00:03:58,940 --> 00:04:02,620 I'm trying to convince them to say this statement every single 74 00:04:02,620 --> 00:04:06,300 day and I keep on telling them that if you make this statement 75 00:04:06,420 --> 00:04:10,980 on a regular basis, you will be light years ahead in maturity 76 00:04:11,220 --> 00:04:14,260 and character and faith then a lot of adults I know. 77 00:04:14,740 --> 00:04:17,940 So it might be a rough statement for some of you to make, so I'm 78 00:04:17,940 --> 00:04:20,019 going to make it for you. I hope that's okay. 79 00:04:20,019 --> 00:04:22,180 Don't you love it when people confess your sins for you? 80 00:04:22,380 --> 00:04:24,020 That's what I'm going to do today, Okay. 81 00:04:24,460 --> 00:04:25,900 So here goes. You ready? 82 00:04:26,340 --> 00:04:29,220 This is a statement I want you to make every single day on a 83 00:04:29,220 --> 00:04:33,060 regular basis. I am responsible for every bad 84 00:04:33,060 --> 00:04:39,090 decision that I've ever made. I am responsible for every bad 85 00:04:39,090 --> 00:04:41,290 decision that I've ever made. There's some of you out there 86 00:04:41,450 --> 00:04:45,050 and you automatically say, well, no, but he but she but but Bob. 87 00:04:45,050 --> 00:04:47,290 But surely Bob and Shirley, who cares? 88 00:04:48,130 --> 00:04:49,570 Who cares about Bob? And I don't. 89 00:04:50,090 --> 00:04:53,010 I want them to go to heaven. But in this regards, I don't 90 00:04:53,010 --> 00:04:55,490 care. Because here's the thing, even 91 00:04:55,490 --> 00:04:59,970 if they were involved, you at least cosigned on every bad 92 00:04:59,970 --> 00:05:02,330 decision that you have ever made. 93 00:05:03,170 --> 00:05:05,850 I really do. I think nobody likes saying 94 00:05:05,850 --> 00:05:08,150 that. But I think we said that, man, 95 00:05:08,150 --> 00:05:11,230 we would be so emotionally mature and I think we'd be ahead 96 00:05:11,230 --> 00:05:12,670 of her in our character and our faith. 97 00:05:12,710 --> 00:05:14,510 And hopefully my kids will pick up on this. 98 00:05:14,710 --> 00:05:16,910 But that leads me to the next statement I'm going to make. 99 00:05:16,910 --> 00:05:20,110 And some of you will not agree with me, but here you go. 100 00:05:20,630 --> 00:05:23,470 I don't believe that human beings make good decisions on 101 00:05:23,470 --> 00:05:25,710 their own. I just don't. 102 00:05:25,870 --> 00:05:29,070 I don't trust human beings. As a matter of fact, this is 103 00:05:29,070 --> 00:05:34,110 what I've taught my my kids when they get angry or impatient, you 104 00:05:34,110 --> 00:05:35,620 know? They're like, dad, why are you 105 00:05:35,620 --> 00:05:38,100 so patient? I said, well kids, when 106 00:05:38,100 --> 00:05:43,220 everybody do you look at as a moron, it's easy to have 107 00:05:43,220 --> 00:05:46,100 patience with them. Some of you are like, well, 108 00:05:46,100 --> 00:05:49,620 that's not very Christian. Hey, I'm watering it down from 109 00:05:49,620 --> 00:05:52,700 what Paul said in Romans 3. He said no one is good. 110 00:05:53,180 --> 00:05:55,140 You know, everybody has done evil. 111 00:05:55,540 --> 00:05:58,620 Everybody heads towards malice. So me calling you a moron is 112 00:05:58,620 --> 00:06:02,550 compliment compared to that. Here, here's the deal. 113 00:06:02,670 --> 00:06:06,150 You see it all throughout our society people don't make a 114 00:06:06,150 --> 00:06:10,070 decisions like like a few years ago I was flying on an airplane 115 00:06:10,510 --> 00:06:12,710 and there's this lady sitting right next to me. 116 00:06:12,910 --> 00:06:17,270 I don't know who she is, I just know she was middle-aged lady. 117 00:06:17,270 --> 00:06:19,590 I can say that because she's not here and I don't know how old 118 00:06:19,590 --> 00:06:22,670 she was. I'm just guessing and and we get 119 00:06:22,670 --> 00:06:25,510 to cruising altitude. Home Girl takes off her shoes 120 00:06:25,510 --> 00:06:27,550 and socks and starts clipping her toenails. 121 00:06:29,900 --> 00:06:32,700 I usually don't say anything, but this time I looked at her 122 00:06:32,700 --> 00:06:37,980 and I said seriously. She said, oh, is this bothering 123 00:06:37,980 --> 00:06:42,900 you? I said yes, Your toenail is on 124 00:06:42,900 --> 00:06:48,220 my shoe. It wasn't there like a minute 125 00:06:48,220 --> 00:06:50,180 ago. She said, well, I guess I could 126 00:06:50,180 --> 00:06:53,300 do this when I get home tonight. And I said I love that plan, 127 00:06:54,300 --> 00:06:56,220 let's go with that plan. As a matter of fact, that's when 128 00:06:56,220 --> 00:06:58,180 I clipped my toenails. I said my wife and I. 129 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:01,440 I've been married for like 1718 years and they have. 130 00:07:01,840 --> 00:07:04,040 She has never seen me clip my toenails ever. 131 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:06,880 She's like, well, I'll try cutting them at home next time 132 00:07:08,840 --> 00:07:10,360 people. This is who's running our 133 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:12,960 country right now. Okay, we are in trouble. 134 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:15,480 People don't make good decisions. 135 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:19,640 You see it on social media. You you see people really as a 136 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:22,560 society, we've always done this, but social media either either 137 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:25,760 exasperates it or it brings it out into the light that we 138 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:30,680 undervalue logic and truth and we overvalue reactions and and 139 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:35,080 emotions and feelings. All of a sudden logic and truth 140 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:39,080 do not matter as much as feelings, perception, so on and 141 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:41,960 so forth. This is this is where it comes 142 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:46,320 down to in the history of this world. 143 00:07:47,740 --> 00:07:51,380 You can look all the way back in, in Egyptian history. 144 00:07:51,380 --> 00:07:54,980 You can look in the 1st century history of Rome where there was 145 00:07:54,980 --> 00:08:00,260 a lot of sexual depravity. You don't find any culture that 146 00:08:00,260 --> 00:08:04,420 primarily identifies by their sexuality or their gender 147 00:08:04,540 --> 00:08:08,700 identity. This is literally a new thing, 148 00:08:08,700 --> 00:08:11,500 and I'm of the opinion that if it's something new like that, 149 00:08:12,380 --> 00:08:15,790 then it's not a good thing. I just don't think so. 150 00:08:15,910 --> 00:08:18,430 Now I know Solomon says nothing new under the sun. 151 00:08:18,550 --> 00:08:23,190 So the the idea of of us identifying by anything other 152 00:08:23,190 --> 00:08:26,190 than God, I mean, yes, that is not new, right? 153 00:08:26,190 --> 00:08:30,390 We've been in an identity crisis ever since Genesis 3, when Satan 154 00:08:30,390 --> 00:08:34,070 tempted Adam and Eve and said if you eat this fruit, you will be 155 00:08:34,070 --> 00:08:36,909 just like God. In other words, it's not enough 156 00:08:36,909 --> 00:08:39,950 for you to be you. You've got to be something else. 157 00:08:39,950 --> 00:08:41,110 You've got to be something greater. 158 00:08:41,750 --> 00:08:44,590 You've got to rule the destiny of your own life. 159 00:08:45,570 --> 00:08:49,930 And right now we live in a very dangerous and tumultuous time. 160 00:08:50,530 --> 00:08:56,090 Now as I said last week, we talked about messy grace and and 161 00:08:56,090 --> 00:08:58,570 the and the big idea that I got across to you last week 162 00:08:58,570 --> 00:09:02,570 hopefully is that Grace is for everyone and that includes 163 00:09:02,730 --> 00:09:05,970 anyone. Dot, dot, dot, Even the any ones 164 00:09:05,970 --> 00:09:11,050 we don't like and they don't like us and they voted for 165 00:09:11,050 --> 00:09:14,280 people we didn't vote for. And didn't invite us to that 166 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:17,200 party and work for that organization and go to that 167 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:19,440 church. Of course I'm not talking about 168 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:22,880 anybody in this church. All the other churches, right. 169 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:25,880 Grace is for everyone and that includes anyone even the anyones 170 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,760 that we may not like. And and there are a lot of you 171 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:31,160 I'm sure who who like that. There are some of you who like 172 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:32,480 man. I'm wondering a bit more truth. 173 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,920 Well welcome to you know my second sermon here week three. 174 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:38,400 You're going to get it because those of you who really like 175 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,840 last week, you may not like this this week, and that is part. 176 00:09:42,580 --> 00:09:45,220 Of of tension that Pastor Clayton is going to talk about 177 00:09:45,220 --> 00:09:49,140 later on this series that you've got to live in the middle of. 178 00:09:49,780 --> 00:09:53,060 We're not called to try to reconcile everything. 179 00:09:53,060 --> 00:09:57,540 We're called to follow Jesus. And so this whole idea about us 180 00:09:57,540 --> 00:10:00,660 being able to identify by our sexuality and our gender is 181 00:10:01,180 --> 00:10:04,140 really not only theologically dangerous, it is just dangerous 182 00:10:04,340 --> 00:10:07,660 just in general. Let me let me let me tell you 183 00:10:07,660 --> 00:10:11,460 what I'm talking about. So one time Jesus was teaching. 184 00:10:12,610 --> 00:10:16,090 It was during, I believe, if not near, the last week of his life. 185 00:10:16,410 --> 00:10:19,770 And the Pharisees were always trying to trip up Jesus. 186 00:10:19,890 --> 00:10:22,290 You know, they were the celebrity pastors. 187 00:10:22,290 --> 00:10:23,730 And then you have the teachers in law. 188 00:10:23,730 --> 00:10:28,010 They were the seminary professors that had five 189 00:10:28,010 --> 00:10:31,890 doctorates, and they lived in their mother's and father's 190 00:10:31,890 --> 00:10:33,970 basement playing with her pet tarantula. 191 00:10:33,970 --> 00:10:37,800 They had no life. They played Tortigo together at 192 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:40,880 the age of 70. Still that's who these people 193 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:44,120 were and they hated Jesus and they're always trying to trap 194 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,120 him. And so they find Jesus and 195 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:53,000 they're like, hey, you know can a woman divorce or can a husband 196 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,160 divorce his wife for any reason whatsoever. 197 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:59,760 And I love Jesus's response in Matthew 19 versus 3 through 6. 198 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:03,120 It's a some piracies came to him and asked is it lawful for a man 199 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:05,160 to divorce his wife for any and every reason? 200 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:09,080 Haven't you read? He replied that at the beginning 201 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:14,360 the Creator made them male and female, and said for this reason 202 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:17,600 a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his 203 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:20,240 wife, and the two will become one flesh. 204 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:22,600 So they are no longer 2 but one flesh. 205 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:26,200 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate 206 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:29,360 man. And you talk about a mic drop in 207 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:32,500 that moment? Because the the all the Jewish 208 00:11:32,500 --> 00:11:37,060 people in the 1st century, not only in in, you know, Judea, but 209 00:11:37,060 --> 00:11:40,260 also in Samaria, AKA formerly known as the Northern Kingdom, 210 00:11:40,300 --> 00:11:42,380 they were having these conversations all the time 211 00:11:43,060 --> 00:11:46,140 because wives could not divorce their husbands, but husbands 212 00:11:46,140 --> 00:11:48,180 could divorce their wives and there are a lot of rabbis that 213 00:11:48,180 --> 00:11:50,620 said, hey, you can divorce your wife for anything. 214 00:11:50,620 --> 00:11:54,780 You wake up in the morning and you know your your wife looks 215 00:11:54,780 --> 00:11:55,980 different. You can divorce her. 216 00:11:56,180 --> 00:11:58,300 She doesn't give you the remote. You can divorce her. 217 00:11:58,860 --> 00:12:01,580 Doesn't watch your show. You can divorce her, burn your 218 00:12:01,580 --> 00:12:02,940 food. You can divorce her. 219 00:12:03,260 --> 00:12:05,260 Now, not every rabbi taught that. 220 00:12:05,260 --> 00:12:08,300 But of course you could imagine the most popular rabbis taught 221 00:12:08,300 --> 00:12:11,540 that right? Because we love it when things 222 00:12:11,540 --> 00:12:14,180 are palatable and works out for our own good. 223 00:12:15,020 --> 00:12:21,980 And yet Jesus's response is so. Magnetic and it is so focused 224 00:12:22,020 --> 00:12:23,940 and is so full of grace and truth. 225 00:12:24,180 --> 00:12:27,140 And so first of all, he quotes Genesis 127. 226 00:12:27,340 --> 00:12:30,340 And here's a hermeneutic Bible study methods tip for some of 227 00:12:30,340 --> 00:12:32,460 you who are Bible nerds. Here's a Bible nerd nugget for 228 00:12:32,500 --> 00:12:34,540 you guys. Whenever you see an Old 229 00:12:34,540 --> 00:12:37,100 Testament reference in the New Testament, go back to the Old 230 00:12:37,100 --> 00:12:40,540 Testament and not only read that reference, but read the verses 231 00:12:40,540 --> 00:12:43,300 above and below it. So let's take a look at Genesis 232 00:12:43,300 --> 00:12:46,900 1, verses 26 through 28. It says. 233 00:12:47,180 --> 00:12:49,620 Think, God said. Let us make mankind in our 234 00:12:49,620 --> 00:12:53,300 image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in 235 00:12:53,300 --> 00:12:56,980 the sea and the birds in the sky, and over the livestock, and 236 00:12:56,980 --> 00:12:59,900 all the wild animals, over all the creatures that move along 237 00:12:59,900 --> 00:13:03,380 the ground. So God created mankind in his 238 00:13:03,380 --> 00:13:05,620 image. In the image of God, He created 239 00:13:05,620 --> 00:13:08,460 them. Male and female, He created 240 00:13:08,460 --> 00:13:10,300 them. God bless them. 241 00:13:10,700 --> 00:13:13,340 And said to them, be fruitful and increase in number, fill the 242 00:13:13,340 --> 00:13:16,100 earth and subdue it, rule over the fish and the sea and the 243 00:13:16,100 --> 00:13:19,700 birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on 244 00:13:19,700 --> 00:13:22,500 the ground. Because when Jesus just quoted 245 00:13:22,500 --> 00:13:25,460 Justice 127, have you not heard that in the beginning God made 246 00:13:25,460 --> 00:13:28,340 them male and female? He He's quoting that their minds 247 00:13:28,340 --> 00:13:30,860 would automatically go back to this entire passage. 248 00:13:30,980 --> 00:13:35,020 And what Jesus is saying in that moment, He's saying, not only is 249 00:13:35,020 --> 00:13:38,940 he affirming the original genders, male and female. 250 00:13:39,940 --> 00:13:43,380 But he's also saying that women have value too. 251 00:13:43,460 --> 00:13:45,540 You cannot treat them like livestock. 252 00:13:47,020 --> 00:13:51,340 Do you not remember that God created them as well and that 253 00:13:51,340 --> 00:13:53,900 they are made in the image and likeness of God and in the 254 00:13:53,900 --> 00:13:59,300 Hebrew, that word image, it means to be cut out of a stone. 255 00:13:59,300 --> 00:14:04,060 It's like you're chiseling away at a rock or a piece of wood and 256 00:14:04,060 --> 00:14:06,140 and you're trying to create what's in your mind. 257 00:14:06,140 --> 00:14:08,260 It's not going to be an exact replica. 258 00:14:08,950 --> 00:14:12,950 Like Hebrews 1/3 says that Jesus is the exact replica of God, but 259 00:14:12,950 --> 00:14:15,990 for us, you know, we're just a representation. 260 00:14:16,190 --> 00:14:23,110 But but we look like Him in in our empathy, in our ability to 261 00:14:23,110 --> 00:14:26,550 perceive spiritual things. We have to look like Him if 262 00:14:26,550 --> 00:14:29,630 we're going to be his representatives and subdual and 263 00:14:29,750 --> 00:14:32,950 subdue and rule over the earth. And then he says let us create 264 00:14:32,950 --> 00:14:35,910 them in our likeness. In Hebrew, that means to sketch 265 00:14:35,910 --> 00:14:39,700 something. Again, not an exact replica, but 266 00:14:39,700 --> 00:14:44,260 it looks just like the same. And so we bear that image. 267 00:14:44,380 --> 00:14:48,300 And Jesus is saying you cannot treat women that way for your 268 00:14:48,300 --> 00:14:53,860 own pleasure, for your own good. That is not how God created men 269 00:14:53,860 --> 00:14:56,540 and women. And then Jesus quotes Genesis 270 00:14:56,540 --> 00:14:59,540 224. Now I love this Look at what 271 00:14:59,540 --> 00:15:03,380 Genesis 224 says. That is why a man leaves his 272 00:15:03,380 --> 00:15:05,460 father and mother and he is united. 273 00:15:05,770 --> 00:15:07,930 To his wife and they become one flesh. 274 00:15:07,930 --> 00:15:12,090 Now what's amazing about this is that you you see right here 2 275 00:15:12,090 --> 00:15:15,130 pictures of marriage. You have the marriage between 276 00:15:15,130 --> 00:15:18,210 the father and mother and you have the new marriage between 277 00:15:18,210 --> 00:15:22,730 the son and his wife. And this word, united in Hebrew, 278 00:15:22,730 --> 00:15:25,410 is a covenantal word. Throughout the Old Testament, 279 00:15:25,410 --> 00:15:29,890 it's used to signify different covenants and the binding 280 00:15:29,890 --> 00:15:33,610 together of an agreement between God and between people. 281 00:15:34,070 --> 00:15:35,710 And usually it's made with blood. 282 00:15:35,710 --> 00:15:38,430 And then it says they will become one flesh. 283 00:15:38,710 --> 00:15:42,270 And that one, that word, one there in Hebrew is the word had, 284 00:15:42,670 --> 00:15:45,350 and it means plurality and unity. 285 00:15:45,470 --> 00:15:48,350 Like for instance, Moses sent the spies in the Canaan. 286 00:15:48,430 --> 00:15:52,430 He said bring me back one cluster of many grapes. 287 00:15:53,050 --> 00:15:56,130 It's the same word used in the Shama of Israel, Deuteronomy 288 00:15:56,130 --> 00:15:58,890 6426. Hero Israel, the Lord our God. 289 00:15:58,890 --> 00:16:02,050 The Lord is aha, the Lord is 1, and I think he's kind of 290 00:16:02,050 --> 00:16:05,010 foreshadowing his trying nature in that moment. 291 00:16:06,090 --> 00:16:11,370 And you see, Jesus had every opportunity to define marriage 292 00:16:13,050 --> 00:16:15,650 as anything else, but he doesn't. 293 00:16:17,090 --> 00:16:20,530 He says marriage is as God intended. 294 00:16:20,530 --> 00:16:22,570 He doesn't even deal with the modern day. 295 00:16:23,380 --> 00:16:25,340 Disputes and controversies. No, he says. 296 00:16:25,340 --> 00:16:27,900 Let's go back to the beginning. Let's go back to what God said, 297 00:16:28,020 --> 00:16:30,140 and he affirms that. And he has. 298 00:16:30,300 --> 00:16:33,940 Just when you read on, he has a very narrow view of divorce. 299 00:16:34,020 --> 00:16:36,580 Why in the world would Jesus have an open view of marriage? 300 00:16:38,540 --> 00:16:41,260 Because he says, no. There's one interpretation of 301 00:16:41,260 --> 00:16:45,420 it. And by the way, this, this, this 302 00:16:45,700 --> 00:16:49,380 Genesis 224 is used a couple other times in the New 303 00:16:49,380 --> 00:16:53,710 Testament, both by Paul. Paul uses her first in First 304 00:16:53,710 --> 00:16:58,310 Corinthians 616 and following he says Do you not know that he who 305 00:16:58,310 --> 00:17:01,270 unites himself with the prostitute is one with her and 306 00:17:01,270 --> 00:17:03,470 body? For it is said the 2 will become 307 00:17:03,470 --> 00:17:06,750 one flesh. But whoever is united with the 308 00:17:06,750 --> 00:17:11,630 Lord is one with him and spirit flee from sexual immorality. 309 00:17:11,790 --> 00:17:14,630 All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but 310 00:17:14,630 --> 00:17:17,069 whoever sins sexually sins against their own body. 311 00:17:17,670 --> 00:17:20,190 Do you not know that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit? 312 00:17:20,470 --> 00:17:22,550 Who is in you, whom you have received from God? 313 00:17:22,710 --> 00:17:26,030 You are not your own. You were bought with a price. 314 00:17:26,230 --> 00:17:29,230 Therefore, honor God with your bodies. 315 00:17:29,590 --> 00:17:33,550 A lot of people, when they talk about homosexuality, when they 316 00:17:33,550 --> 00:17:37,510 talk about sexual diversity or the expression thereof, The 317 00:17:37,630 --> 00:17:40,150 quote 1st Corinthians 6, nine through 10. 318 00:17:40,150 --> 00:17:44,470 And while I do believe that that is true, I think that First 319 00:17:44,470 --> 00:17:48,190 Corinthians 616 through 20, specifically 18 through 20, is 320 00:17:48,190 --> 00:17:52,170 so much more powerful because. Basically what Paul is saying is 321 00:17:52,290 --> 00:17:55,250 when you become a Christian, you don't get to do what you want to 322 00:17:55,250 --> 00:17:57,810 do because you do not belong to you anymore. 323 00:17:58,530 --> 00:18:01,010 You belong to God. God defines you. 324 00:18:01,650 --> 00:18:05,010 Not your sexuality, not your gender identity. 325 00:18:05,010 --> 00:18:07,570 Those are a part of you, but they are not the primary aspects 326 00:18:07,570 --> 00:18:09,490 of you. Not your job, not your family, 327 00:18:09,490 --> 00:18:11,810 not your spouse, not a person, not a family. 328 00:18:12,170 --> 00:18:13,210 No. None of that. 329 00:18:13,490 --> 00:18:18,130 You are defined by God. We learn in Colossians one that 330 00:18:18,210 --> 00:18:20,170 ever that Jesus is the head of everything. 331 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:25,040 That he created everything. We were created by God for God 332 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:28,000 to be defined by him and to glorify him. 333 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,880 That's why I love one of my favorite quotes throughout 334 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:35,320 church history is in the Westminster Confession of Faith. 335 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:38,760 The first article where the chief end of people is to 336 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:43,000 glorify God and enjoy him forever because we no longer 337 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,560 belong to us. Like, seriously, you don't make 338 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:48,720 good decisions. Why do you want to belong to 339 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:53,530 you? You don't like we sat down, You 340 00:18:53,530 --> 00:18:55,370 told me your story. I can tell you real quick. 341 00:18:55,370 --> 00:18:56,690 Yeah. You don't make good decisions. 342 00:18:57,890 --> 00:19:01,290 You don't. If you doubt me, go to Los 343 00:19:01,290 --> 00:19:03,610 Angeles International Airport and see how that thing was put 344 00:19:03,610 --> 00:19:07,170 together. Kansas City's just got a new 345 00:19:07,170 --> 00:19:08,330 airport. Brand new. 346 00:19:08,370 --> 00:19:10,690 It's beautiful. You should have seen what we've 347 00:19:10,690 --> 00:19:14,610 had to deal with for the last several, I don't know, 200 348 00:19:14,610 --> 00:19:18,210 years. Whoever made that did not make 349 00:19:18,210 --> 00:19:20,390 good decisions. And by the way, if you're a 350 00:19:20,390 --> 00:19:22,870 Christian, you already admitted you don't make a decision when 351 00:19:22,870 --> 00:19:25,790 you repented. And you said, I have to repent. 352 00:19:25,870 --> 00:19:29,870 I cannot live my life on my own. I need to surrender to God 353 00:19:29,870 --> 00:19:34,310 daily, starting today, and he needs to take priority in my 354 00:19:34,310 --> 00:19:36,710 life, and he needs to live my life for me. 355 00:19:38,470 --> 00:19:39,990 That's what repentance was all about. 356 00:19:40,110 --> 00:19:45,790 But then Paul uses Genesis 224, leverages it in another passage 357 00:19:45,910 --> 00:19:48,840 that you might be familiar with. If you've gone to church at all, 358 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:54,320 in Ephesians chapter 5 it says for this reason a man will leave 359 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:56,800 his father and mother and be nine with his wife and the two 360 00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:00,360 will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery, but 361 00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:02,920 I am talking about Christ and the church. 362 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:07,280 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves 363 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:10,960 himself and the wife must respect her husband. 364 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:14,720 You see, you don't just belong to God, but when you're in a 365 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:16,560 marriage, you belong to that person as well. 366 00:20:18,290 --> 00:20:23,450 And you see that the definition of marriage painted and and 367 00:20:23,530 --> 00:20:28,210 throughout the New Testament and embedded in Genesis 224 that you 368 00:20:28,210 --> 00:20:30,730 have this male female relationship. 369 00:20:30,730 --> 00:20:35,130 And and yet again, somehow we think now that we are smarter 370 00:20:35,130 --> 00:20:37,810 than they were back in the 1st century. 371 00:20:37,810 --> 00:20:41,810 We think that we are smarter than all orthodoxy put together. 372 00:20:41,970 --> 00:20:44,290 And what we figured this out. They didn't know that then, but 373 00:20:44,290 --> 00:20:47,740 they knew that now. Like I've heard people say, you 374 00:20:47,740 --> 00:20:50,060 know, Paul had no idea about monogamous samesex 375 00:20:50,060 --> 00:20:51,860 relationships. Really. 376 00:20:51,860 --> 00:20:54,020 You don't think so? I think so. 377 00:20:55,420 --> 00:20:57,900 Like I really do. We're talking about the guy that 378 00:20:57,900 --> 00:21:03,060 wanted to go to Spain. I I think he knew exactly what 379 00:21:03,060 --> 00:21:06,500 that was. Even Plato refers to that this 380 00:21:06,500 --> 00:21:10,180 is not that is not a new invention but identifying by 381 00:21:10,180 --> 00:21:15,440 that is a new invention. One other First I want to point 382 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:17,840 out to you real quick and then I want to get to the main point 383 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:21,920 because it's it's super super important and I was told I could 384 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,160 go under time. If I go over time there's a 385 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:29,360 sniper. So Matthew 22 Jesus replied you 386 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:32,840 are in error because you do not know the scriptures or the power 387 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:36,480 of God. At the resurrection people will 388 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,560 neither marry nor be given a marriage. 389 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:42,720 They will be like the angels in heaven. 390 00:21:44,270 --> 00:21:49,070 Do you know what this is saying? That marriage as we know it is 391 00:21:49,070 --> 00:21:51,190 not going to be in heaven. You know what else this is 392 00:21:51,190 --> 00:21:53,590 saying? That sex is not going to be in 393 00:21:53,590 --> 00:21:56,190 heaven. I believe personally that God 394 00:21:56,190 --> 00:21:59,230 designed sex to be expressed in a marriage between a male and a 395 00:21:59,230 --> 00:22:02,230 female. Like, I I remember last year I 396 00:22:02,230 --> 00:22:04,710 was talking to my son about about sex and I said, well, you 397 00:22:04,710 --> 00:22:06,270 know, there's not going to be any sex in heaven. 398 00:22:06,510 --> 00:22:14,430 And he looked wounded. He was like, why? 399 00:22:17,470 --> 00:22:19,310 Like, dude, you never even had a girlfriend. 400 00:22:20,790 --> 00:22:23,270 He's like you trying to make me more upset. 401 00:22:25,910 --> 00:22:27,910 I said, Joel, I know hormones are rage. 402 00:22:27,910 --> 00:22:30,790 And you know, you're at that time, he was 15. 403 00:22:30,790 --> 00:22:33,150 I get it, you know? And I really do. 404 00:22:33,150 --> 00:22:34,590 I'm a high school small group leader. 405 00:22:34,590 --> 00:22:36,030 I that's how I volunteer in my church. 406 00:22:36,030 --> 00:22:37,990 Even though I'm on staff, I volunteer by doing that. 407 00:22:37,990 --> 00:22:41,550 And so I get it. I have like 10th grade guys and 408 00:22:41,550 --> 00:22:44,590 I love them, but they're morons, complete morons, but they love 409 00:22:44,590 --> 00:22:45,870 Jesus, and I'm excited about that. 410 00:22:45,870 --> 00:22:48,990 But my son, I told him, you you cannot imagine this, but God has 411 00:22:48,990 --> 00:22:53,830 something greater. And yet we cannot base our 412 00:22:53,830 --> 00:22:56,150 identity on something that will not even be in heaven. 413 00:22:56,150 --> 00:23:00,070 Like when you look at the four loves, you know that that we 414 00:23:00,070 --> 00:23:02,830 find overall in the New Testament Paleo, which is 415 00:23:02,830 --> 00:23:06,070 brotherly relational love, strage, which is parental family 416 00:23:06,070 --> 00:23:10,560 love, Agape which is godly love. And then you have you have 417 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:14,960 Aeros, which everybody knows what Aeros is, #1 aeros is the 418 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,360 only love that cannot exist on its own. 419 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:21,000 All the other loves can exist on their own, but Aeros is the one 420 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:23,960 that has to be within the boundaries of the other three 421 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:26,440 loves. Because anytime Aeros is not 422 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:29,120 joined together with the other three loves, it explodes. 423 00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:31,680 It's like lighting a fire outside of a fireplace. 424 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:33,920 You got to have those boundaries. 425 00:23:35,050 --> 00:23:38,090 But yet Eros and marriage as we know it will not be in heaven. 426 00:23:38,090 --> 00:23:40,010 Why? Because the greater marriage 427 00:23:40,370 --> 00:23:42,450 will come just like in the Old Testament. 428 00:23:42,610 --> 00:23:46,210 People sacrificed sheep and doves and bulls and goats and 429 00:23:46,210 --> 00:23:47,690 lambs. And some of you are glad you 430 00:23:47,690 --> 00:23:50,290 were not alive in the Old Testament right times because 431 00:23:50,290 --> 00:23:54,400 you cannot kill Lammy. But none of that took away sin. 432 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:58,640 But yet all of that set up an understanding of somebody dying 433 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:03,240 in our place for our sins, so that when Jesus came and died, 434 00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:06,680 there's no longer a need for animal sacrificial system. 435 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,960 Genesis 224. The the the covenant of marriage 436 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:16,240 that was designed as we as as Paul teaches in Ephesians 5. 437 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:19,720 And personally, what I think John probably thought of when he 438 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:24,600 wrote Revelation 19 through 22, we see that that marriage, 439 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:29,560 marriage we have today is the greatest point of marriage is to 440 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:33,040 point to the greater marriage between Christ and His bride, 441 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:34,640 Christ in the Church, the bride and the bridegroom. 442 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:36,760 And when that happens, there will no longer be a need for 443 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:39,960 marriage. And so we cannot stake our 444 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:44,520 primary identity in something that will not even be in heaven. 445 00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:47,560 Get all the other loves will be there. 446 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,830 But we always talk about this because it's easy to manipulate 447 00:24:50,830 --> 00:24:52,830 it for ourselves. Here's what I want you to know 448 00:24:52,830 --> 00:24:54,510 today, and here's the messy truth of this. 449 00:24:54,510 --> 00:24:57,190 And truth is not messy. But it feels messy, right? 450 00:24:57,350 --> 00:25:02,270 It feels messy, and we don't agree with it when it enters, 451 00:25:02,310 --> 00:25:05,070 when it kind of collides with our emotions and our life 452 00:25:05,070 --> 00:25:08,470 experience. Here, here's what I want you to 453 00:25:08,470 --> 00:25:12,350 know. Your identity in Christ should 454 00:25:12,350 --> 00:25:14,830 never compete against anything else in your life. 455 00:25:16,890 --> 00:25:20,130 Your identity in Christ should never compete against your you 456 00:25:20,130 --> 00:25:22,090 should never be in competition with your sexuality. 457 00:25:22,090 --> 00:25:26,210 You should never be in competition with anything, with 458 00:25:26,210 --> 00:25:30,290 your gender, with your friends. Because here's what I found, and 459 00:25:30,290 --> 00:25:33,650 this may not be true with you, but I found that with most 460 00:25:33,650 --> 00:25:37,690 humans, most believers, most Christian humans, most of the 461 00:25:37,690 --> 00:25:39,050 time. Not all the time, but most of 462 00:25:39,050 --> 00:25:41,370 the time. When something else competes 463 00:25:41,370 --> 00:25:44,690 with somebody's identity in Christ, this loses. 464 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:49,040 Because everything else you can leverage to make put yourself 465 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:50,640 back on the throne of your own life. 466 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:53,040 And that's what we see happening with sexuality. 467 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,400 And yet you need to remember that you do not belong to you. 468 00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:00,240 If you have become a believer, the last decision you ever made 469 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:02,680 was to accept Jesus. Every other decision belongs to 470 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:07,200 him. Again, I'm not saying that Paul 471 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:08,960 does. Take a look at Glaciers 220. 472 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:12,680 I've been crucified with Christ and I no longer live. 473 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:16,780 But Christ lives in me and the life I now live. 474 00:26:17,100 --> 00:26:20,700 I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave 475 00:26:20,700 --> 00:26:26,580 himself for me. You don't belong to you. 476 00:26:26,940 --> 00:26:32,340 You are dead and you are alive in Christ. 477 00:26:32,500 --> 00:26:35,700 What does it look like to live this out here? 478 00:26:35,700 --> 00:26:37,540 Here are just some quick principles. 479 00:26:37,580 --> 00:26:39,740 Real quick. Got to go through these. 480 00:26:39,940 --> 00:26:42,620 The first one is this. Trust God's words over trends 481 00:26:42,620 --> 00:26:47,700 and traditions. You can't trust traditions. 482 00:26:47,700 --> 00:26:51,580 It had become tradition to divorce whoever you want, marry 483 00:26:51,580 --> 00:26:54,140 whoever you want. And you know, to just throw away 484 00:26:54,140 --> 00:26:57,460 marriage and not to, you know, even care about it. 485 00:26:57,660 --> 00:26:59,900 And they were throwing away marriage in a different way than 486 00:26:59,900 --> 00:27:02,420 we are today. But yet you see this right here. 487 00:27:05,260 --> 00:27:07,580 Traditions are still created by humans. 488 00:27:07,780 --> 00:27:10,180 Sometimes they're good. A lot of the time they're not. 489 00:27:10,180 --> 00:27:14,360 And trends, man. Hey, come and go quickly. 490 00:27:14,360 --> 00:27:18,440 If you build your life and your values on what's trending, 491 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:20,360 you're going to be worn out soon because you're always going to 492 00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:25,320 be changing your values. You see, Jesus was rooted in 493 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:29,400 God's word over and above everything else. 494 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:34,840 OK, here's the second principle. We don't need to know why if we 495 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:39,960 trust who. Like, do I believe that there 496 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,360 are people are samesextracted? Absolutely I do. 497 00:27:43,950 --> 00:27:45,750 Do I believe people were born that way? 498 00:27:45,750 --> 00:27:48,950 I I don't think there's a gene personally, but I know people 499 00:27:48,950 --> 00:27:52,030 that were never abused, never hurt, never beaten, never 500 00:27:52,030 --> 00:27:56,150 bullied, and yet they that has been their perception of 501 00:27:56,150 --> 00:27:58,830 themselves from and how they felt ever since they can 502 00:27:58,830 --> 00:28:04,270 remember. But that doesn't mean that 503 00:28:04,270 --> 00:28:09,070 doesn't invalidate God's word. Because Jesus is interested in 504 00:28:09,070 --> 00:28:13,850 surrender. He's not interested in in us 505 00:28:13,850 --> 00:28:16,690 trying to perfect ourselves. He's interested in surrender. 506 00:28:16,890 --> 00:28:20,570 Daily surrender. Trust me, I have a lot of 507 00:28:20,610 --> 00:28:24,370 unanswered prayers. We don't need to know why if we 508 00:28:24,370 --> 00:28:26,730 trust who. I got to give you an example, my 509 00:28:27,010 --> 00:28:32,210 mother's partner Vera, when she died of cancer that killed me. 510 00:28:32,690 --> 00:28:35,850 We didn't get along that well, but my mom and Vera had been 511 00:28:35,850 --> 00:28:39,450 together for 22 years. When I found out she had cancer. 512 00:28:39,450 --> 00:28:43,250 I flew back to Kansas City, home of the greatest NFL team in the 513 00:28:43,250 --> 00:28:46,530 world, by the way. I said that last week, and some 514 00:28:46,530 --> 00:28:49,130 of you did not come forward at that. 515 00:28:49,210 --> 00:28:51,450 And I think you need to come forward and accept my homes 516 00:28:51,530 --> 00:28:53,890 after service, stop making part of worship. 517 00:28:54,610 --> 00:28:56,010 But we'll have a meeting afterwards. 518 00:28:56,770 --> 00:28:59,610 I flew back there and I made a deal with God. 519 00:28:59,610 --> 00:29:01,810 I know you're not supposed to, but give me a little latitude 520 00:29:01,810 --> 00:29:02,970 here. I think God was okay with it. 521 00:29:02,970 --> 00:29:07,450 I said God, I'm going to be there like like 4 days, three 522 00:29:07,450 --> 00:29:10,680 nights or no. Sorry, four nights 5 days. 523 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:14,040 And it's my last goodbye to Vera, my second mom that I 524 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:17,080 didn't get along well with. But I loved her and I'm like I'm 525 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:18,480 not. I made so many mistakes. 526 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:21,080 When I first became a Christian, I was just beating her over the 527 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:24,680 head with the Bible. Just rip int because that's what 528 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:25,520 I thought you were supposed to do. 529 00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:28,400 I didn't know about relating with people and all that kind of 530 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:29,920 stuff. I had to, you know. 531 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:31,320 Anyway, that's whole another sermon. 532 00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:35,320 But I said, I'm not going to do any of that, but you've got to 533 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:38,890 open up the door. And and my mom had turned our 534 00:29:38,890 --> 00:29:42,050 dining room into a makeshift Hospice room. 535 00:29:43,090 --> 00:29:45,770 And every single day I was waiting for God to open up the 536 00:29:45,770 --> 00:29:47,290 door, waiting for God to open up the door. 537 00:29:47,290 --> 00:29:52,010 Vera's only awake a few times during the day because the 538 00:29:52,010 --> 00:29:54,930 cancer was taking her quickly and she didn't want any 539 00:29:54,930 --> 00:29:57,290 treatment. So it was really eating away at 540 00:29:57,290 --> 00:29:59,610 her. And on the very last night, I 541 00:29:59,610 --> 00:30:01,610 was the one chosen to stay up late with her. 542 00:30:01,610 --> 00:30:05,370 And I was upset. Like you ever had that moment 543 00:30:05,370 --> 00:30:07,650 when you're wrestling with God, you're like You said you would 544 00:30:07,690 --> 00:30:09,090 do this, but you're not doing this. 545 00:30:09,090 --> 00:30:14,730 And that's how I felt. Oh, my God, you've got 546 00:30:14,930 --> 00:30:15,970 something. Please. 547 00:30:15,970 --> 00:30:17,930 I kept my end. Please. 548 00:30:18,330 --> 00:30:20,930 And I kid you not. In that moment, Vera opened up 549 00:30:20,930 --> 00:30:24,130 her eyes. She looked at me and she said, 550 00:30:24,130 --> 00:30:28,370 Caleb, what do you think is on the other side? 551 00:30:32,170 --> 00:30:37,610 I said, Vera Jesus. And if you trust Jesus right 552 00:30:37,610 --> 00:30:41,450 now, that same grace that saves you in this moment will carry 553 00:30:41,450 --> 00:30:46,810 you into the next life. And I told her about Romans 81. 554 00:30:46,810 --> 00:30:48,810 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who in 555 00:30:48,810 --> 00:30:50,810 Christ Jesus. I share the gospel with her. 556 00:30:50,810 --> 00:30:54,330 And you know what? She said no. 557 00:30:56,610 --> 00:30:58,610 And she looked at me and she said, you want to know what I 558 00:30:58,610 --> 00:31:03,490 think about you? You're weak, you're flimsy. 559 00:31:05,090 --> 00:31:07,810 You're not strong enough to make it through life on your own. 560 00:31:08,250 --> 00:31:12,210 Use Jesus as a crutch. And I said, well then, Vera, 561 00:31:12,210 --> 00:31:15,010 you're halfway to salvation because he's not my crutch. 562 00:31:15,010 --> 00:31:19,650 He's my wheelbarrow because I'm not strong enough to walk. 563 00:31:20,290 --> 00:31:22,370 He needs to push me. As a matter of fact, I'm not 564 00:31:22,370 --> 00:31:24,970 even in the passenger seat of the car he's driving. 565 00:31:25,050 --> 00:31:28,170 I'm not even in the back seat. Jesus has got me chloroformed, 566 00:31:28,490 --> 00:31:35,480 bound and gagged with duct tape in the trunk because that's how 567 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:38,800 I cannot live my life. I have to rely on His power and 568 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:41,160 His strength. And she said no. 569 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:46,640 And unless a miracle happened, she went to go face Jesus, went 570 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:48,280 to go face the Father without Jesus. 571 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:52,520 And I mourned that. And that happened because people 572 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:58,880 did not present truth with grace like what we talked about. 573 00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:03,800 They said truth, but as I said last week, you can have correct 574 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:09,280 doctrine but be a heretic and how you treat other people and 575 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:15,800 carry it out and live it out. Here's here's something else. 576 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:18,320 Last last couple things I want to say. 577 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:22,400 First thing is this. Your faith and identity are 578 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:23,960 meant to be lived out in community. 579 00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:28,600 You were baptized into the body of Christ. 580 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:30,440 You are joined together with his body. 581 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:34,460 You are not an island unto yourself. 582 00:32:35,260 --> 00:32:39,300 You cannot survive in that way. You have to have community. 583 00:32:39,300 --> 00:32:42,420 You have to have relationships. People best find and follow 584 00:32:42,500 --> 00:32:45,620 Jesus and community, not in isolation. 585 00:32:46,060 --> 00:32:49,100 And if if here's a question that I want to leave you with, if 586 00:32:49,100 --> 00:32:51,740 you're really kind of struggling through this, and this is a 587 00:32:51,740 --> 00:32:54,140 question that I think you need to be asking yourselves on a 588 00:32:54,140 --> 00:32:59,860 regular basis, here it is. Will you trust what Jesus says 589 00:33:00,140 --> 00:33:05,740 even if you disagree with him? Are you willing to trust what 590 00:33:05,740 --> 00:33:09,500 Jesus says in the words of Scripture, even if you disagree 591 00:33:09,500 --> 00:33:11,140 with him? Are you willing to trust what 592 00:33:11,140 --> 00:33:14,020 Jesus says, even if your romantic dreams never come true? 593 00:33:14,100 --> 00:33:17,500 Are you willing to trust what Jesus says, even if no one 594 00:33:17,500 --> 00:33:19,980 understands you? Are you willing to trust what 595 00:33:20,060 --> 00:33:27,060 Jesus says, even if it means saying no to yourself every 596 00:33:27,380 --> 00:33:31,710 single hour of the day? Are you willing to trust what 597 00:33:31,710 --> 00:33:34,390 Jesus says, even if you disagree with him? 598 00:33:34,390 --> 00:33:37,270 Because I don't agree with Jesus on everything, and you don't 599 00:33:37,270 --> 00:33:39,710 either. Like if God gave me an 600 00:33:39,710 --> 00:33:42,830 infallible eraser. Revenge gone. 601 00:33:43,710 --> 00:33:45,750 I'm good at revenge. I have plans. 602 00:33:49,950 --> 00:33:53,150 You know the whole. Love your enemies. 603 00:33:53,310 --> 00:33:55,150 I'm going to add a footnote. Some. 604 00:33:56,910 --> 00:33:58,110 Some of them. Not all. 605 00:33:58,190 --> 00:34:00,890 Some. I can manage that, because then 606 00:34:00,890 --> 00:34:02,610 I get to choose, right? No. 607 00:34:03,250 --> 00:34:06,890 I was bought with a price. I no longer belong to myself. 608 00:34:06,890 --> 00:34:09,570 I belong to him. I'm in a covenant with my wife 609 00:34:09,810 --> 00:34:13,050 that belongs to him. It is his covenant, not mine. 610 00:34:14,810 --> 00:34:18,650 Truth is not messy, but it feels messy when it intersects with 611 00:34:18,650 --> 00:34:20,210 what we believe and what we think. 612 00:34:21,889 --> 00:34:25,929 Hear me out on this. Your identity in Christ should 613 00:34:25,929 --> 00:34:29,370 never compete against anything else in your life. 614 00:34:30,699 --> 00:34:32,500 Let's move to a time of decision. 615 00:34:39,750 --> 00:34:43,630 Crossing family, you just heard another incredible message. 616 00:34:43,949 --> 00:34:46,550 What I want to ask you is what are you going to deal? 617 00:34:46,550 --> 00:34:49,429 What are you going to do with what you just heard? 618 00:34:50,230 --> 00:34:53,510 You can just simply hear it, or you can figure out a way to put 619 00:34:53,510 --> 00:34:56,630 it into practice. Recently I was interacting with 620 00:34:56,630 --> 00:35:00,390 one of my boys and they were asking me if they could. 621 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:02,800 Have a phone. And we're kind of in that phase 622 00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:04,320 where you're trying to figure out if you can have a phone or 623 00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:08,240 not. And I go, you're just going to 624 00:35:08,240 --> 00:35:12,760 have to trust me. And they go, why? 625 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:14,760 So I started to go through the list. 626 00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:19,040 Have you ever worried about where you're going to sleep at 627 00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:21,200 night? Nope. 628 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:23,520 Took care of that for you. I got your back. 629 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:24,800 Boo. Have you ever worried about 630 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:26,000 where your next meal's coming from? 631 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:27,830 Nope. We take care of that for you. 632 00:35:28,270 --> 00:35:30,470 Do you figure out whether or not you're going to be closed in 633 00:35:30,470 --> 00:35:32,190 time for school to start? Nope. 634 00:35:32,630 --> 00:35:34,710 We got you. Do you worry about whether or 635 00:35:34,710 --> 00:35:36,830 not there's going to be money in the bank to be able to buy a 636 00:35:36,830 --> 00:35:38,230 vehicle to take you where you need to go? 637 00:35:38,630 --> 00:35:39,870 Nope. Already got that. 638 00:35:40,390 --> 00:35:43,590 Do you worry about whether or not we're going to have the A/C 639 00:35:43,590 --> 00:35:46,310 fixed or not fixed, or whether or not we're going to change out 640 00:35:46,310 --> 00:35:48,230 the filters so that way things don't get clogged? 641 00:35:48,230 --> 00:35:50,750 Or do you make sure that the house gets cleaned so that way 642 00:35:50,750 --> 00:35:51,990 there's not stuff getting dirty all over? 643 00:35:51,990 --> 00:35:53,030 Do you worry about any of those things? 644 00:35:53,030 --> 00:35:54,310 Well, no. Why? 645 00:35:55,150 --> 00:35:59,840 Because you take care of it. Yeah, you trusted me in all of 646 00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:02,920 these other areas to be working for your good. 647 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:07,160 So when it comes to your phone, like this little part of your 648 00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:11,520 life, you can trust me here too. And when it comes to a 649 00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:16,760 relationship with God, to be a Jesus follower is to say I am 650 00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:22,840 trusting God with my eternity. I'm trusting you with my sin. 651 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:26,220 And if you're like me. Your sins that you're trusting 652 00:36:26,300 --> 00:36:30,020 Jesus with are not small ones. They're pretty sinking big ones. 653 00:36:31,140 --> 00:36:33,980 If you are trusting Jesus with your eternity, if you are 654 00:36:33,980 --> 00:36:37,580 trusting him with your sin, do you think you can trust him with 655 00:36:37,580 --> 00:36:41,620 your sexuality? Do you think if you've trusted 656 00:36:41,620 --> 00:36:44,700 God with the biggest parts of you, do you think you can trust 657 00:36:44,700 --> 00:36:46,980 him with maybe some of the smallest parts of you? 658 00:36:48,180 --> 00:36:52,740 If God is good anywhere, He's good everywhere. 659 00:36:53,470 --> 00:36:56,230 That means that there is not an area of your life that you 660 00:36:56,230 --> 00:36:59,990 cannot turn over to him. Now this goes for everybody. 661 00:37:00,470 --> 00:37:04,230 Your issue may not be sexuality. Your issue might be anger. 662 00:37:04,230 --> 00:37:06,910 Your issue might be greed. Your issue you have all of us 663 00:37:06,910 --> 00:37:09,630 have an issue. My question is, will you trust 664 00:37:09,630 --> 00:37:12,030 him with it? Because you have two choices. 665 00:37:12,630 --> 00:37:15,470 You can trust your own decisions or what the world is telling you 666 00:37:15,470 --> 00:37:17,430 to do, and the Bible tells us what that's like. 667 00:37:17,590 --> 00:37:19,230 It's like building your house on the sand. 668 00:37:20,190 --> 00:37:22,630 Or you can trust God's plan and God's purposes. 669 00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:26,520 And what he's saying is build your house on the rock. 670 00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:29,200 And we know this because we've been alive long enough to know 671 00:37:29,720 --> 00:37:32,960 that storms are going to come. They're going to come for your 672 00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:34,480 family. They're going to come for your 673 00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:36,160 relationships, they're going to come. 674 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:39,640 My question is, at the end of the storm, there's only one 675 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:43,400 promise, not that stars don't come, but that those who trust 676 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:46,280 in Christ will still be standing after the storm. 677 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:49,760 And if you have never started an intimate personal relationship 678 00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:54,650 with Jesus Christ? You have a bad foundation, and 679 00:37:54,650 --> 00:37:57,290 if you have not started an intimate, personal relationship 680 00:37:57,570 --> 00:38:00,570 with Jesus Christ, your future is bleak. 681 00:38:01,730 --> 00:38:05,170 The Bible says that the way to the Father is through the Son. 682 00:38:05,730 --> 00:38:07,970 He is the way, the truth, and the life. 683 00:38:08,730 --> 00:38:11,650 Jesus says I've come to give you the truth, and the truth will 684 00:38:11,650 --> 00:38:15,290 set you free. He has a good thing for you. 685 00:38:15,410 --> 00:38:17,010 You've been hearing me say it through this series. 686 00:38:17,490 --> 00:38:20,890 God's way is the best way and the best way for you to handle 687 00:38:20,890 --> 00:38:23,770 your life. Is the place it in the hands of 688 00:38:23,770 --> 00:38:26,090 Jesus? And in just a few moments at all 689 00:38:26,090 --> 00:38:27,490 of our different locations, you're going to have an 690 00:38:27,490 --> 00:38:29,370 opportunity to go over by the baptistry. 691 00:38:29,370 --> 00:38:32,370 And somebody on our team would love an opportunity to talk with 692 00:38:32,370 --> 00:38:34,410 you about what it looks like to have an intimate, personal 693 00:38:34,410 --> 00:38:38,050 relationship with Jesus Christ. What it means to trust them with 694 00:38:38,050 --> 00:38:41,730 your whole life, with your sin, your salvation, your 695 00:38:41,730 --> 00:38:44,490 yesterday's, your today's and your tomorrow's. 696 00:38:45,050 --> 00:38:48,170 And for those of you who call yourselves Christians, it is 697 00:38:48,170 --> 00:38:51,530 time for us to embody and live out the love. 698 00:38:51,970 --> 00:38:55,890 And the grace and the truth that Jesus shows to us. 699 00:38:56,290 --> 00:38:59,210 I'm going to ask you guys to come up to the steps and spend 700 00:38:59,210 --> 00:39:01,970 time on your knees praying, praying for the people in your 701 00:39:01,970 --> 00:39:04,370 life that you care about. Pray for your family, your 702 00:39:04,370 --> 00:39:06,090 friends, your coworkers, your neighbors. 703 00:39:06,290 --> 00:39:09,170 Because everybody is struggling with how to pursue a better 704 00:39:09,170 --> 00:39:11,210 future. Everybody's trying to figure out 705 00:39:11,210 --> 00:39:12,890 how to navigate the challenges of this world. 706 00:39:13,130 --> 00:39:16,690 And we have the greater answer. And that answer is Jesus. 707 00:39:17,090 --> 00:39:19,010 And I'm going to ask that you would pray that God would use 708 00:39:19,010 --> 00:39:22,680 you to point people to him. Did you pray with me, Heavenly 709 00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:24,080 Father? I am so thankful for this 710 00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:26,080 church. I'm thankful for what you're 711 00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:29,080 doing in our hearts and our campuses and in this region. 712 00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:33,680 And I'm asking you to do a mighty work in us. 713 00:39:34,280 --> 00:39:36,600 To those of us who are struggling to trust, give us the 714 00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:39,640 ability to To those of us who are having problems with our 715 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:41,680 faith, God. We're asking you to increase our 716 00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:45,120 faith and God to those of us who are navigating sticky and 717 00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:47,440 challenging and painful circumstances. 718 00:39:47,850 --> 00:39:51,010 Got help us to turn them over to you and to your guidance and to 719 00:39:51,010 --> 00:39:53,730 believe deep down in the core of our being that your way is the 720 00:39:53,730 --> 00:39:57,130 best way. And help us as a church to do 721 00:39:57,130 --> 00:40:00,130 our very best to point people to you and you're my pray. 722 00:40:00,450 --> 00:40:00,770 Amen.