1 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:27,520 Good morning, everyone. Hey, you're loud. 2 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:30,920 I like it. Well, my name is Nate. 3 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,280 I am one of the teaching pastors here at RES, and I also serve as 4 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:37,440 the creative director. And happy Father's Day to the 5 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:42,920 dads out there. I'm a, yeah, been a dad for 6 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:46,840 almost five years. And this morning I was given a 7 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:50,480 beautiful Father's Day gift. My son got into our bed last 8 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:54,840 night and he, you know, to, to snuggle, you know, But it was 9 00:00:54,920 --> 00:01:00,040 11:00 PM. So I was gifted with a barrage 10 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:05,160 of tiny kicks to my lower back for the duration of the evening. 11 00:01:06,320 --> 00:01:09,120 And so the first, first service I started, I forgot to say my 12 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:10,560 name. I was just so tired. 13 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:12,880 I'm like, what's up? I'm Nate or something. 14 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,960 And so happy Father's Day. I'm full of energy now and I'm 15 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:19,640 ready to go. And we just finished up a series 16 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:21,800 called Sound Mind, and I really enjoyed that. 17 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:23,600 Did you guys like that? Mental health? 18 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:26,920 It was really cool, really good. I'm hoping to do it again, but 19 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:28,200 we're starting a new series today. 20 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,720 We're jumping back in the book of John, and our sermon series 21 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:33,240 is called. But now I see. 22 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:37,560 And I want to kick this off with a fun story about Nate when he 23 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:42,800 was about 1819 years old and I had gotten involved in a youth 24 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:44,360 group, specifically young adults. 25 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:46,360 You know, when you graduate from youth group, they're like, well, 26 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:49,120 I guess you're a leader now because, you know, you're too 27 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:50,640 old, but they want you to stay. I don't know. 28 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:55,880 So I became a leader and we did this thing called a drama tour 29 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:59,760 and it was basically a bunch of us youngsters. 30 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:02,880 We would get in a caravan and go up and down the West Coast and 31 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:05,120 we would go to churches and high schools. 32 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,320 And sometimes we just like set up out in public. 33 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,280 And we would do these presentations, which were a 34 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:14,160 combination of we did worship music and there was some some 35 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:17,720 preaching and we did something called human videos. 36 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:19,400 Do you guys know what human videos are? 37 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:22,480 Literally no one has heard us. You know what? 38 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,000 I figured it out. I come from Assemblies of God 39 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,840 background, which is more like charismatic, and I think that's 40 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:29,240 why you guys don't know what this is. 41 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:31,960 Let me explain it to you. It's really cool, trust me. 42 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:37,320 It's basically you pick a song, like a Christian song and all of 43 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:40,280 us act out. All of us humans act out the 44 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:44,880 song and create a human video. It's really cool. 45 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:49,320 So we did a bunch of human videos, and one of those human 46 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,320 videos was a court. It was based on a song called 47 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:54,880 The Courtroom. This is going to be a big fat no 48 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:57,360 as well by an artist known as Carmen. 49 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:02,000 Do you guys know who? Oh, this is a Carmen audience. 50 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:08,000 That handsome devil right there, that's Carmen. 51 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:10,320 So if you don't know who Carmen is, it's this person. 52 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,480 And he did like kind of, it was like kids music, right? 53 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:15,560 It was like kids music, but it was like cool. 54 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:20,600 At least our parents thought so. And he would do these really 55 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:24,120 elaborate, actually really well done music videos. 56 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:26,360 You're nodding your head. You've been changed by Carmen. 57 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,040 And so his song was called the courtroom. 58 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,160 Now, the courtroom was, you know, it's a courtroom and you 59 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:37,600 need to cast the part of God, the judge or the person who has 60 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:42,440 brought forth in the courtroom, the Sinner and the part of the 61 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:46,360 prosecution lawyer, which was Satan. 62 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:51,440 So when it was time to cast that, no joke, you guys already 63 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:54,320 know where this is going. The pastor, youth pastor was 64 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:57,400 like, all right, who should be Satan? 65 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:02,240 And no joke, all of them turned around to me sitting back in the 66 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:11,200 22nd row wearing all black, you know, like, and they're like, 67 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:16,360 Nate should be Satan. Nate would be the perfect Satan 68 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:20,920 to their defense. I did have I used to wear 69 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:22,840 eyeliner. I had black fingernail Polish, 70 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:25,960 all the things I had blue hair at that time. 71 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:31,520 And so it's very, you know, Satan like I guess so it's Satan 72 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:33,920 wears evidently. So I I got the part and I 73 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:35,880 graciously accepted, yes, I'll be Satan. 74 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:39,040 And I wore a red blazer and I took it. 75 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:41,000 I'm a method actor. So I took it very seriously. 76 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,720 And one of the performances was in the Bay Area. 77 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:49,080 It was at a high school and it was in the gym full of high 78 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,640 schoolers and gym floors. If you've ever been on one, 79 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:54,520 sometimes they can be a little slick. 80 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,640 And there's a part in my amazing performance where I would jump 81 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:02,120 up onto a folding table with all like the papers, you know, like 82 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:05,480 the evidence and then throw them and then like jump off the table 83 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:09,400 and be like whatever. And so I'm, I'm getting ready to 84 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:13,240 do this signature move and I jump up on the table and as I go 85 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:19,160 to jump, the table slips and it flips up on its side. 86 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:25,280 And at the same time I go and I go up on my bat like a Creed 87 00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:29,920 music video. I'm like, it's taking me higher 88 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:32,600 and I'm like parallel to the ground. 89 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:36,920 And I just literally fall right on the edge of the table on my 90 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,440 back, dude. And that's the sound they made. 91 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:43,920 And that's this other sound they made. 92 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:50,120 So I fall down and and I get and I'm the song's just going, you 93 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:55,840 know, people are still. So I get up and I'm like, you're 94 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:59,880 going to hell. Still kind of walk it off. 95 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:01,640 Make sure you know, I'm not paralyzed, OK? 96 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:05,680 Feels good. And no joke, I still have a like 97 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,480 a knot in my lower back to this day from that. 98 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,880 It's pretty crazy. And ironically, during that 99 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:16,520 human video about the courtroom, that gym had become a courtroom 100 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:22,040 because I was being judged so hard in that moment, I was so 101 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:24,480 embarrassed just being out on display. 102 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:25,800 Has anyone felt like that before? 103 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:28,520 Like everyone knows your business and you're just out 104 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:30,680 there and you're like, OK, it's me. 105 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:35,920 Well, that's exactly where the woman in today's story finds 106 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:38,840 herself. She is dragged into the centre 107 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:42,160 of a crowd, She's exposed and she's being judged. 108 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:45,360 But the difference is, although she didn't know it at the time, 109 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:47,800 she had a defender. And so do you. 110 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,680 And in our text today, the religious leaders, they dragged 111 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:54,800 this woman caught in the act of adultery into a very public 112 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:56,920 courtroom, throw her before Jesus. 113 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:00,440 And what happens next is an absolute scandal. 114 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:03,480 So if you have your Bible or you got a phone, we're going to be 115 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:07,480 in John chapter 8, verses one through 11, John eight, one 116 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:11,080 through 11. Let's read that together. 117 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:14,040 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives early in the morning. 118 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:17,080 He came again to the temple. All the people came to him and 119 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:20,040 he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees 120 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:22,800 brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing 121 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:26,400 her in the midst, they said to him, Teacher, this woman has 122 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:28,040 been caught in the act of adultery. 123 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:31,520 Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. 124 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,480 So what do you say? This they said to test him, that 125 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:38,000 they might have some charge to bring against Him. 126 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:41,680 But Jesus bent down, and he wrote with his finger on the 127 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:44,240 ground. And as they continued to ask 128 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,280 him, he stood up and said to them, Let him who is without sin 129 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:49,760 among you be the first to throw a stone at her. 130 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:54,240 And once again he bent down, and he wrote on the ground. 131 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:57,560 But when they heard it, they went away 1 by 1, beginning with 132 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:00,040 the older ones. And Jesus was left alone with 133 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,080 the woman staying before him. And Jesus stood up and said to 134 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,080 our woman, Where are they? Has no one condemned you? 135 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:10,320 She said no one, Lord, and Jesus said neither do I condemn you. 136 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,440 Go. And from now on, sin no more. 137 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:19,160 So what do we do when our life becomes a courtroom? 138 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:22,400 Well, sometimes in that courtroom, you're the woman 139 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:24,560 caught in adultery. You're the person caught in sin. 140 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:26,840 You're exposed. What do you do? 141 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:33,039 You trust your defender. You have a defender and he is a 142 00:08:33,039 --> 00:08:36,360 defender you can trust. But other times you're one of 143 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,280 the Pharisees and you have the rock and you're ready to go and 144 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:40,760 you you're ready to judge this person. 145 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:42,400 What can you do in this opportunity? 146 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:43,679 What can you do in this situation? 147 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,200 Well, in these situations, you have the opportunity to become a 148 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:49,440 defence attorney for someone else. 149 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:54,560 And in both of these instances, both, both of these people need 150 00:08:54,560 --> 00:08:59,480 to go before the judge. Now, the story starts off in 151 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,720 verse one with Jesus teaching. And if you combine the Greek 152 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:06,600 word for teacher and the Aramaic rabbi, Jesus is referred to as a 153 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:09,960 teacher approximately 59 times in the New Testament. 154 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:14,120 And although we talk a lot about his miracles, Jesus is primarily 155 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:17,440 known as a teacher. I mean, do you ever wonder why 156 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:19,760 we get up here and do this? Like when you get up early and 157 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:23,360 you get the free coffee and you sit there and then some guy 158 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:25,400 talks about Carmen and he's like, yeah. 159 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:27,080 And he's. Do you ever wonder why we 160 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:31,960 actually do that? I mean, simple explanation is 161 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:33,800 because that's what Jesus did, he taught. 162 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:37,720 I mean, all these things we do are the props, the sometimes we 163 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:40,960 bring a backpack or a quilt. One time I brought a a pot with 164 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:43,760 macaroni, if you remember that. But why do we do all that? 165 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:48,080 It's just all an attempt to get you to walk away with more 166 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:51,840 knowledge, more experience, and more spiritual maturity in the 167 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,920 teachings of Jesus. And the older I get, the more I 168 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:59,440 realize that spiritual maturity happens mostly in the mundane, 169 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:05,120 not the miracles maturity. It happens every day. 170 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:08,000 It's in the consistent things, the consistent time in prayer, 171 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:10,440 the consistent time in the teachings of Jesus. 172 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:14,680 And that's where the Pharisees and scribes found him this day. 173 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,080 And he was doing what he did the most, He was teaching. 174 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:21,760 Verse 3 picks it up and it says the scribes and Pharisees 175 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:24,400 brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, placing her 176 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:26,520 in the midst. They said to him, Teacher, this 177 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:28,200 woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 178 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:31,120 Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. 179 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:34,120 So what do you say? And this they said to test him, 180 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:36,640 that they might have some charge to bring against him. 181 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:41,120 So First off, if you're newer to church and you don't know what a 182 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:43,640 scribe or a Pharisee is really quick. 183 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:46,520 The scribes, we're the legal experts. 184 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:48,680 They were scholars in the law of Moses. 185 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:50,280 So they were most likely lawyers. 186 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:54,160 The Pharisees, they were the religious, they were the cold, 187 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:57,240 they were the rigid, but they were deeply committed to 188 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:01,840 upholding God's commands. And now they've drugged this 189 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:04,840 woman out in front of the crowd, the crowd that Jesus was 190 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:07,080 teaching. She was probably not completely 191 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:10,160 dressed because it says that they caught her in the act. 192 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:14,480 So she's ashamed and they throw her down before Jesus and court 193 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,560 was now in session. Before we go any further, I do 194 00:11:17,560 --> 00:11:20,000 have a few questions about this scenario. 195 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,960 Like, if you actually think about this, one of my questions 196 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:31,800 is how did you guys catch her? How did you know where she would 197 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:36,200 be? Typically, these things are done 198 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:40,480 in secrecy, so how did you know where she would be? 199 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:46,680 I mean, were you guys all there? That's weird. 200 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:52,800 That's fishy. I have another question. 201 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:56,480 It's a big question. Where's the dude? 202 00:11:58,560 --> 00:11:59,680 Yeah, right. Who cares? 203 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:04,240 Where's the dude? The law says. 204 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:07,720 Well, the Pharisees say, hey, it's it's we need to stone such 205 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:09,600 women. But what the law actually says 206 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:13,720 is you're supposed to stone the man and the woman. 207 00:12:14,560 --> 00:12:17,400 Two people. So where's the man? 208 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,280 These things usually take two people. 209 00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:26,240 OK, biology or whatever. So what is the simplest 210 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:30,680 explanation here? You ever heard the term Occam's 211 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:34,080 Razor before? Yeah, it's cool. 212 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:36,320 I like to use Occam's Razor a lot in situations. 213 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:38,280 But basically, if you don't know, Occam's Razor is a 214 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:41,920 principle often attributed to 14th century Friar William of 215 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:46,120 Occam that says if you have two competing ideas to explain the 216 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:49,760 same phenomenon, you should prefer the simpler 1. 217 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:53,760 The simplest explanation is often the correct 1. 218 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:58,360 So what is Nate's razor? Well, I think, and don't add 219 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:00,120 this to your Bible, which is just what I think. 220 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:05,080 I think they set her up with one of the Pharisees. 221 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:12,440 That's what I think. That's why they didn't bring the 222 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:16,280 man because he was one of them. And that's how they knew where 223 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:18,400 to find her because he was one of them. 224 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:22,680 And I would not be surprised if they compromised their moral 225 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:26,560 code just to trap Jesus. And Jesus threatened, if you 226 00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:29,280 think about it, he threatened their religious system, which 227 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:31,080 ultimately means he threatened their power. 228 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:36,360 People don't like that. Perhaps in this situation, in 229 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:38,160 their minds, the means would justify the end. 230 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:42,800 And it really reveals their ulterior motive because if they 231 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:46,240 actually wanted justice, like they said, they would have 232 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:48,960 brought both of them. But they did it. 233 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:56,360 It just brought the woman. They did this simply to use her 234 00:13:56,360 --> 00:14:04,840 as bait in a trap set for Jesus. So what's the trap? 235 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:08,360 Jesus is sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place here. 236 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:11,720 Did you? Yeah. 237 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:15,120 Sorry. It's a dad joke. 238 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:20,080 It's Father's Day, I'm going to do all the dad jokes. 239 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:22,440 Jesus was in a tough position here. 240 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:26,320 If he said, all right, guys, let's rock, let's stone her, it 241 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:28,920 would do three things. Number 1, he would contradict 242 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,880 his own teachings about mercy, forgiveness, and compassion. 243 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:37,680 OK #2 he would appear harsh and unloving to the people who saw 244 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:39,640 him as merciful. If he was like, let's stone 245 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:43,480 this, this lady and #3 he would also run afoul of Roman law 246 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:47,160 because Roman, the Romans had restricted Jewish authority from 247 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:50,960 carrying out capital punishment. OK, now if he says, well, hold 248 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:53,120 up, let's just show some grace here. 249 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:55,040 Let's how about we don't stone her? 250 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:57,480 That would have done a few things. 251 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:01,520 Number 1, he would now appear to contradict or dismiss the law of 252 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:05,960 Moses, which clearly commanded death for adultery #2 the 253 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:08,320 Pharisees could accuse him of being a false teacher who 254 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:10,800 undermines God's law. They love that. 255 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:14,480 And #3 they could claim he was leading people away from 256 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:19,160 obedience to scripture. So what the heck does Jesus do? 257 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,280 What he doesn't do is he doesn't engage in their catch 22 258 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:26,600 situation and he doesn't get caught up in their religious 259 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:29,800 rhetoric. He simply takes action. 260 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:32,480 See, the Pharisees made a huge mistake here. 261 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:37,200 They expected Jesus to be her prosecutor, but he was actually 262 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:43,120 her defender. And if you find yourself maybe 263 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:47,760 today, maybe in your life currently, you are the person 264 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:52,160 caught in sin, I want to tell you that you can trust your 265 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:54,160 defender. You have a defender. 266 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,240 He's a defender you can trust. Let me show you why. 267 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,200 He goes on to say that Jesus bent down and wrote with his 268 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,640 finger on the ground and as they continued to ask him, he stood 269 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:05,560 up and said to them, let him who is without sin among you be the 270 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:08,640 first to throw a stone at her and then once more he bent down 271 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:12,600 and he wrote on the ground. You can trust Jesus as your 272 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:15,160 defender because he gets his hands dirty. 273 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:21,000 When my car, the beautiful silver Corolla is there's 274 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,280 something wrong with it never happens, by the way. 275 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:26,720 But if something were to happen wrong with it and I went to a 276 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,120 mechanic or I asked the guy, Hey, do you know anything about 277 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:29,880 cars? Can you help me? 278 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:30,960 He's like, sure, I could help you. 279 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,960 I'm great with cars and he's got beautiful, clean, dainty hands. 280 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:38,760 No, that's like me, like I don't know. 281 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:42,960 But if I go to the guy and say, Hey, my car needs fixed, do you 282 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:44,880 know anything about cars? He's like, of course I do. 283 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:47,840 And his hands are disgusting. And he's got the kind of, you 284 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:50,040 know, like the dirt that just it doesn't you can't get it out. 285 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:52,360 It's just there forever and you're and his hands are all 286 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:55,040 rough. That's the guy I want working on 287 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:58,160 my car because I know that guy gets his hands dirty. 288 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:03,600 He means what he says. That's why you can trust Jesus. 289 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:07,440 He doesn't condemn her. He goes right into action and 290 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:09,359 comes to her defense. Have you, have you ever 291 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:12,400 experienced that in your life where I mean, you messed up 292 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:15,960 really bad, you got yourself into some trouble and you went 293 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:20,480 to a person and they could probably say, hey, you're an 294 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:23,520 idiot man, and they could condemn you and they can do all 295 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:26,440 that stuff. But they didn't, and they lead 296 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:27,880 with love. Have you ever experienced that 297 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:29,160 in your life? I have. 298 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:35,480 When I was in my early 20s, I had a decently paying job and I 299 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:41,160 was single, which means I was really dumb with my money and I 300 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,960 had no savings. And I I had, I had a lot of 301 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,320 money, but not in the bank. I just had a lot of cool stuff 302 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:52,160 in my apartment and my roommate one time wrote me a bad check. 303 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:55,280 So when I, I went and, you know, cashed the check and went on 304 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:58,360 with my life and I got like these notifications that I was 305 00:17:58,360 --> 00:18:02,680 severely overdrawn. And because of that, there was a 306 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,920 overdraft fee. And because of the overdraft 307 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:11,920 fee, there was a another fee, you know, and then because of 308 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:14,760 that, there's a three fee effect that comes in when you have 309 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:16,120 three fees. They had another fee. 310 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:19,320 And so I had all these fees, said the word fee a lot there. 311 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:22,640 But the point is I had like negative like $1000 or 312 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:23,560 something. It was crazy. 313 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:30,360 And So what do I do? So I called my dad and it's 314 00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:32,880 like, dad, I got myself some trouble, wasn't super smart with 315 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:35,720 my money. And now I'm like in the hole, 316 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:37,760 what do I do? And he could have been like, 317 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:40,440 Nate, you're an idiot. I taught you better than that. 318 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:44,160 But he didn't. He's like, well, we both were at 319 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:47,320 the same bank. He's like, you know what? 320 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:50,120 I know a guy. Oh, OK. 321 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,360 Do you ever you know a guy who like knows a guy? 322 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,800 I love those guys. They know guys. 323 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:02,320 Like my dad was AI know a guy guy. 324 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:06,040 Everywhere we went, we could be in a different city hours away 325 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:08,720 from we lived, and there'd be a guy at the bus station like, is 326 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:10,760 that Bill Parrish? What's up? 327 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:14,720 And we're at Disneyland one time and some random person is like 328 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:19,400 Bill Parish, what's up? And he's like, and I was like, 329 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:21,280 how do you know that guy's like, oh, he's a guy. 330 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:27,000 We I know a guy I don't know. And so he knew a guy at the bank 331 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:30,960 and he went to the bank and then he called me the next day and 332 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:32,560 said, all right, Nate took care of it. 333 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:35,160 You're good. What does that mean? 334 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:38,520 And he's like, I went and talked to my friend at the bank, told 335 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,280 him your situation and said, Hey, can you help my son out? 336 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,880 You know, he's kind of dumb and you help them out. 337 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:47,440 And they said, yeah, sure, we'll reverse all the fees and put 338 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:50,360 them back at 0. Awesome. 339 00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:55,440 This is why you can trust Jesus as your defender, because he 340 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:57,800 doesn't defend you from a distance. 341 00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:01,440 My dad went to the bank. You know, he didn't just call 342 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:03,360 them. He got in the car. 343 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:05,720 He drove down there. He walked in, He sat across from 344 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:08,360 his friend. He put his reputation on the 345 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:10,920 line for me. And that's exactly, exactly what 346 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:14,520 Jesus does for you. He doesn't defend from heaven's 347 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:17,560 throne. He came down, he put on human 348 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:20,840 flesh and he got his hands dirty with our mess. 349 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:24,960 So in this story, he, you know, they're, they're bringing all 350 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:26,440 these accusations. You know, it's funny because he 351 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:28,080 doesn't even address their accusations. 352 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:30,080 I just imagined them talking, you know, they're just yapping 353 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:33,280 at Jesus and he doesn't even address our accusation. 354 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:42,400 He just gets to doodling, OK, and just starts, just starts 355 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:45,200 writing. Now, we don't know what he 356 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:47,000 wrote. No one knows what he wrote. 357 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:49,600 Doesn't say. Of course I got to have a theory 358 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:50,480 here. I have a theory. 359 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:54,960 OK, Nate's racer, I think, I think it was something like 360 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:56,440 this. He starts writing and then you 361 00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:58,360 have the two Pharisees. You have Pharisee Carl and 362 00:20:58,360 --> 00:21:01,680 Pharisee Steve or whatever. Sorry, Pastor Steve is not 363 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:06,240 personal, but so Carl's like, what are you going to do? 364 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:07,880 Jesus, You're going to stone her. 365 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:09,600 We're not going to stone her. What are you going to do with is 366 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:11,960 he writing in the what is he doing? 367 00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:16,400 What's he writing there? Steve, can you see it? 368 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:24,320 It says Cynthia. What the heck is Cynthia? 369 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:26,880 And, and Steve's like starting to sweat. 370 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:33,120 Don't you know a girl named Cynthia? 371 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:42,840 I mean, she's not your wife, but she like, and then Carl's like, 372 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:45,520 you know what, turns out I'm late for like a Pharisee thing. 373 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:51,520 So you guys decide you're going to Stoner or whatever and just, 374 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:55,560 I think Jesus started writing the commandments that they had 375 00:21:55,560 --> 00:22:01,400 broken in the dirt. Now we don't know. 376 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:03,920 It's actually not important what he wrote. 377 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:06,760 What's important is who wrote it? 378 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,320 The text says that he wrote with his finger. 379 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:14,800 Now Jesus was God in human flesh. 380 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:17,440 That makes this finger the finger of God. 381 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:22,160 Why is this significant? Well, in Exodus 31 there's a 382 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:24,760 story about Moses getting the 10 commandments right. 383 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:27,200 The 10 commandments are the stone tablets. 384 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:33,440 The the laws were written on the stone tablets with the finger of 385 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:37,880 God. So the same hands that wrote the 386 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:42,560 law on the stone tablets are now riding in the dirt, showing 387 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:45,400 mercy to lawbreakers just like us. 388 00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:49,400 And Jesus did this a lot in his earthly ministry. 389 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:50,920 He, he got his hands dirty a lot. 390 00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:54,440 We read about him washing the disciples feet. 391 00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:57,440 That's not just like, oh, take your shoes and socks off and 392 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:00,200 I'll wash your feet. This is like gross. 393 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:02,920 They all wore, you know, flip flops or whatever. 394 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:07,320 They're walking everywhere, dirt, you know, think of all the 395 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:12,680 other gross stuff that they're walking in and Jesus washes 396 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,520 their feet. Should be the other way around 397 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:17,680 because the servant is the one that washes the feet. 398 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:22,240 But Jesus is a king who comes and serves us and he gets his 399 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:23,960 hands dirty. He washes their feet. 400 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:27,760 He also worked as a Carpenter. So you know the guy I was 401 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:29,800 talking about with like the rough hands that knows what he's 402 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,800 doing, That was also Jesus. So Jesus is not unfamiliar with 403 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,080 hard work in the plight of the blue collar worker. 404 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:42,160 He also healed through touch. He healed the leper with his 405 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:44,120 hands. Now, I don't know if you know 406 00:23:44,120 --> 00:23:46,600 about leprosy, but it's not something that you want to put 407 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:51,280 your hands on, OK? It was actually considered 408 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:55,680 unclean and if you touched them, you were defiled. 409 00:23:56,040 --> 00:24:01,560 But Jesus touched him anyways. There's also a story where 410 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:05,760 there's a blind man and he's asking for healing, so Jesus 411 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:06,840 heals him. And he could have just been 412 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:11,480 like, you're not blind and he's healed what he does and says. 413 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:17,280 He gets dirt, spits in it, makes mud and puts it on the dude's 414 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:18,720 eyes. And it's like, go wash that off 415 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:23,200 and you'll be able to see kind of weird, kind of weird. 416 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:26,840 But it's just another example of Jesus getting his hands dirty. 417 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:30,080 He doesn't defend us from a distance. 418 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:35,600 He gets in our mess. Now, whatever Jesus actually 419 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:39,680 wrote, whether it was Cynthia or whatever, one by one they they 420 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:41,480 all start. I'm sorry if there's anyone 421 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,760 named Cynthia in here. I, it was like the only name 422 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:46,120 that popped into my brain right now. 423 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:48,280 I didn't use a name for services. 424 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:50,000 Like I don't want to be offensive, but I'm sorry. 425 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:54,480 One by one they start leaving, starting with the oldest. 426 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:57,080 I think the oldest left first because they've just lived 427 00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:58,760 longer and they've done more bad stuff. 428 00:25:00,360 --> 00:25:04,680 So they end up all walking away. It says in verse 9. 429 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,320 But when they heard it, they went away 1 by 1 beginning with 430 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:09,320 the older ones. And Jesus was left alone with 431 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:12,040 the woman standing before him. And Jesus stood up and said to 432 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,000 her woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? 433 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:18,640 She said no one Lord. And Jesus said neither do I 434 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:20,520 neither do I condemn you. Go. 435 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:27,800 And from now on sin no more. Some of you currently right now 436 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:29,640 sitting in this room, you're the woman caught. 437 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:34,440 You're the man caught. Just being direct. 438 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:39,000 Stop hiding. Stop hiding. 439 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:42,640 Practically speaking, I'm talking. 440 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:45,640 You need to tell someone. You need to talk to someone. 441 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:49,320 Ask God to show you a person in your mind you need to talk to. 442 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:50,720 Maybe you already know that person. 443 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:52,840 I'm giving you permission right now to text in church. 444 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:56,360 I'm not even going to get you in trouble and text that person, 445 00:25:56,360 --> 00:25:58,840 say, hey, I really messed up, can we talk? 446 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:01,160 Can you get coffee? If you want to talk to me, I'll 447 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:02,960 be at Smitten tomorrow at 7:00 AM. 448 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:06,480 OK? If you know me, you know where 449 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:07,360 to find me. OK? 450 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:11,920 Talk to someone. You don't need to hide. 451 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:16,160 You can enter that courtroom of confession because your defender 452 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:22,200 is already there. Go before the judge. 453 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:24,920 Talk to someone and go before the judge. 454 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:30,280 God pray, ask for forgiveness. You can do that because Jesus 455 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:32,640 made a way. You don't need to hide. 456 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:36,280 He already paid the price for your forgiveness. 457 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:43,680 Sin has a way of compounding interest when you leave it 458 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:48,200 unchecked, when you don't show up for your court date, as it 459 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:51,320 were, you start getting those fees right. 460 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:55,480 There's a time when me and Rachel, we were had just been 461 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:58,160 married not very long and we were super poor and we would 462 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:02,760 take these trips to the Bay Area and the carpool lane in the Bay 463 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:07,120 Area is 3 or more people here. It's two right the heck. 464 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:11,640 So I got in there to to to do it and there's like, oh, it says 3 465 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:14,600 and I got out and it would took like the cop was like waiting 466 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:17,120 and he like pulled me over. You know, you were in the car 467 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:18,640 and I know, dude, I'm not from here. 468 00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:21,800 And so he gave me the ticket, but it wasn't like the real 469 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:23,160 ticket. He was they were going to mail 470 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:26,080 me the real ticket. So months went by and I sort of 471 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:28,040 forgot and I was like, I guess he just let me go. 472 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:33,080 I guess I just charmed him. So am I say he let me go? 473 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:36,360 How nice of him. Instead though, I got another 474 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:40,920 letter in the mail and I was like, this is official looking 475 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:45,520 and it said that I owed like, I want to say I don't remember. 476 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:48,640 I want to say it was like between 700 and $1000 or 477 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:52,480 something crazy like that because evidently I had missed a 478 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:55,680 court date. What? 479 00:27:56,200 --> 00:28:00,760 And so I thought, legitimately thought it was a scam, like this 480 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:03,320 is a scam. It's not real because that cop 481 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:05,320 wouldn't do that to me. So I called the number and said, 482 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:07,400 hey, hey, I'm just calling about the scam. 483 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:10,440 Yeah, you guys got me. Ha ha, ha, ha. 484 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:13,520 It's not real, right? She's like, oh, it's real. 485 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:17,080 It's very real, Mr. Parrish, Like, well, what happened? 486 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:18,880 Like, well, we sent you a ticket. 487 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:20,960 We sent it to your address. I was like, that's not my 488 00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:24,480 address and I live there. She's like, oh, yeah, sorry. 489 00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:26,920 Any who you missed the court date. 490 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:30,280 So now you owe this much money or you're going to be in 491 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:33,160 trouble. And so I we had like, we didn't 492 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:35,920 have this much money, you know, we had like this much money. 493 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:39,120 So I had to do something really difficult. 494 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:41,880 My dad had passed away maybe a year before that and he left me 495 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:46,440 a bunch of jewellery and this didn't occur to me until last 496 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:48,400 night but so I was going to wear his ring today. 497 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:52,320 This is all I have left but I'm not a ring guy. 498 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:54,280 I'm not sure how I feel about it. 499 00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:58,440 What do you guys think? Going to punch someone in the 500 00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:01,600 face with it? It's stuck so it doesn't matter, 501 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:04,920 but I wanted to wear this ring. And then it occurred to me as 502 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:10,680 like my dad, even even from beyond is still saving my butt 503 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:14,800 because I took his jewelry and I and I, I had to sell his jewelry 504 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:16,720 in the pawn guy. The pawn store guy was like, why 505 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:18,120 is this dude crying? What the heck? 506 00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:21,080 And so but I kept this and a few other little things. 507 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:26,600 But the point is, and I missed my court date. 508 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:30,320 But the longer you stay in sin, it just compounds interest. 509 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:34,080 So if you have a court date and let's just say today's your 510 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:38,240 court date, we're going to call it today your court date, go 511 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:41,240 before the judge. Don't let that sin. 512 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:44,880 Emulate because it has ripple. Effects It affects more than 513 00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:48,680 just you. The longer you stay and sin the. 514 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:52,280 Bigger the consequence now. Some of you might be thinking. 515 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:54,080 In this story. Well, that's awesome. 516 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:56,720 This whole story is very convenient, right? 517 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:00,360 The woman caught in adultery and she she broke the law, Nate. 518 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:03,400 Yeah, she did. She she was doing it. 519 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:05,400 She was sinning. She she did break the law. 520 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:09,480 OK, But she just gets to walk away. 521 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:13,720 Where's the justice? And that's. 522 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:15,040 Honestly, a fair. Question. 523 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:19,040 That's a fair question. But here's what I learned. 524 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:24,960 Is that Jesus didn't eliminate consequences. 525 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:28,560 He eliminated condemnation. There's a difference. 526 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:35,240 Sin has real effects. Your choices, positive or 527 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:37,320 negative, are going to have effects. 528 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:40,600 But she didn't have. To face the ultimate 529 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:43,680 consequence, which was separation from God. 530 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:46,960 That's what Jesus took on himself. 531 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:50,800 And I really appreciate that. I really appreciate that The 532 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:53,360 grace Jesus gives to us is not cheap. 533 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:57,560 It's not a throwaway thing. He paid a big price for that. 534 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:03,760 He paid his life for that. And now as a Christian. 535 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:05,360 Myself, I've been a Christian for a while. 536 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:06,880 Maybe you're in here. You've been a Christian for a 537 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:08,880 while. It's, it's, it's a little easier 538 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:13,320 for us seasoned Saints to become Pharisees, you know, because the 539 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:15,200 longer you're like, well, I start to, you know, I don't sin 540 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:16,840 that much anymore. And I do this. 541 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:19,640 And, and then you see someone else who's like really messed 542 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:24,560 up, like, oh, stone them, you know, let's stone them. 543 00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:29,120 Believe it or not, that's that's pretty easy to do. 544 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:33,880 But if you if you, it happens when you forget the grace you 545 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:36,960 were given. Because that grace you were 546 00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:40,080 given? Gives you the opportunity to 547 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:43,440 become a defence attorney for someone else now if you're 548 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:44,200 finding. Yourself. 549 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:46,440 And in the position of the Pharisee, maybe you're not the 550 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:47,920 woman caught, but you're the Pharisee. 551 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:50,600 You have an opportunity because of this grace to become a 552 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:52,280 defence attorney for someone else. 553 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:54,960 So what? Does that look like well? 554 00:31:55,400 --> 00:32:00,200 Simply put, if you look at the order of Jesus's confrontation 555 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:06,440 in this story, it's significant. Jesus leads with compassion, and 556 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:08,800 then he. Leaves. 557 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:12,960 Us with with truth he leads with compassion and leaves us with 558 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:16,560 truth in that order and that's important and that's intentional 559 00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:19,920 when I. Was getting into. 560 00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:24,160 Church again in in my early 20s and there was a friend of mine 561 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:27,880 who is a youth pastor and, you know, I'm like this tattooed guy 562 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:29,960 where I play guitar and it's kind of a mess and he's like, 563 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:32,400 well, how about you join the worship team and you know, we 564 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,800 can, we can help you, OK And join the worship. 565 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:39,280 I had no business being in this worship team, you know, And I 566 00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:42,560 remember there was a night where I had this, I was in this really 567 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:46,680 unhealthy relationship and I knew it was wrong, but I just 568 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:49,800 couldn't like get out of. It or didn't want to get. 569 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:52,400 I wasn't. I wasn't brave. 570 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:54,560 Enough. To get out of it, right. 571 00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:58,200 And so after practice one night, I felt like I just got to talk 572 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:00,000 to Kenny about this. His name's Kenny. 573 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:01,280 What's up, Kenny? Thanks, buddy. 574 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:04,640 So yeah, he's like, how's it going, Nate? 575 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,200 I'm like, it's good, except for super bad. 576 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:10,920 This is going on. And he's like, oh, and I 577 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:13,800 remember this visually because it, it stuck out to me, but 578 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,480 it's, it makes sense now as I'm sitting in my car and Kenny, 579 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:19,680 like, kneels down like, so we're like level. 580 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:23,920 I was like, whoa. I was like Jesus, I was like, 581 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:28,480 what happened, you know, And I just started talking to him and 582 00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:31,280 he was very loving and very compassionate. 583 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:34,760 He didn't judge me. He wasn't like you did that 584 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:36,960 under my. Leadership. 585 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:39,520 Stone. Him. 586 00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:45,840 Let's Stone, Nate. He didn't do that. 587 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:47,040 He's like, tell me. About it. 588 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:49,080 And as I'm talking, you know, I'm, I'm more comfortable 589 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:51,320 because I'm like this guy. I could trust him, right? 590 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:53,040 He's getting his hands dirty with me. 591 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:55,760 I can trust this guy and I spill my guts. 592 00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:59,280 And then after that, you know, he just, he looks for, he waits 593 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,720 for the opportunity and he's like, well, sounds like you need 594 00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:05,320 to end this relationship, mate. I'm like, yeah, totally. 595 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:06,960 He's like, well, how are we going to do it? 596 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:08,800 And so he's like helping me through it. 597 00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:15,639 Perfect example of a person who leads with compassion and leaves 598 00:34:15,639 --> 00:34:17,320 us with truth. And that's what Jesus did. 599 00:34:17,639 --> 00:34:20,520 And that's what you could do instead of being a Pharisee, 600 00:34:20,679 --> 00:34:22,600 That's what I could do. I tend to be more of probably 601 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:23,880 more of a Pharisee in this situation. 602 00:34:24,679 --> 00:34:27,040 That's what we can do. We can become a defence attorney 603 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:30,360 for someone else. So when someone confides in you 604 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:33,360 with their sin, you ask, how can I help? 605 00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:35,560 How can I get my hands dirty in this situation? 606 00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:37,400 And then where can I speak truth? 607 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:41,679 Because at some point we will all be one of these two people 608 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:44,400 sometimes. We're both and. 609 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:47,600 That's really complicated, but you will find yourself in one of 610 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:49,600 these two places at some point in your life. 611 00:34:50,159 --> 00:34:54,480 And here's the thing, both the adulterer and the Pharisee find 612 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:59,960 forgiveness in the same place. Because don't you know, don't 613 00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:02,560 let this slip here. The Pharisee's in the wrong too. 614 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:05,480 Those guys were in the wrong just like she was. 615 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:08,280 They both find forgiveness in the same place. 616 00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:12,920 Before the judge, you got to go. Before the judge now. 617 00:35:13,720 --> 00:35:17,240 I've started this message off with a really cool story about 618 00:35:17,240 --> 00:35:20,360 me being in a human video. Now you guys all know what human 619 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:21,560 videos are. You're welcome. 620 00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:25,640 And years later, I actually got to meet Carmen. 621 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:28,200 I think you have a fabulous picture I can show you. 622 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:32,080 Boom. Now look at the joy on my. 623 00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:35,520 Face, it's just I. Mean that is a. 624 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:39,400 Sincere smile. Beautiful. 625 00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:45,600 So that was 20/17/2018 ish. And the radio station, my buddy 626 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:49,120 Matt Pelischek, he gave me tickets. 627 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:51,800 He's like, hey, do you and your wife you want 2 tickets to see 628 00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:53,960 Carmen? I was like, yes. 629 00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:57,160 And we saw Carmen. I was just. 630 00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:01,000 Like sitting there like yeah, do do the one about the courtroom 631 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:03,960 or whatever. And afterwards we got to meet 632 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:07,360 Carmen. And it's funny because you know 633 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:10,240 Danny that plays bass up here. You know Danny, he all know. 634 00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:15,960 Give it up for Danny. So I didn't know Danny at the. 635 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:19,800 Time but he was doing security right and he was the one that 636 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:23,400 was like guarding Carmen and so when I got into the front of the 637 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:26,480 line he goes hey Carmen, that guy plays in Cutlass and I'm not 638 00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:28,600 joking. Carmen goes what? 639 00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:36,080 I love Cutlass. And so. 640 00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:40,960 We we talked for like right, a long time, actually got in 641 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:42,560 trouble because they're like, what are you guys doing? 642 00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:46,400 We were just like talking about music and like comparing tattoos 643 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:48,520 and he he had just gotten tattoos, you know, so he's like, 644 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:52,720 I don't show people, but check it out, you know, and it was so 645 00:36:52,720 --> 00:36:56,360 dude, it was so cool. And so just kind of casually, I 646 00:36:56,360 --> 00:37:00,600 bring up like, man, thank you for doing what you did. 647 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:03,480 Like he, you know, he was doing his thing in the in the 80s and 648 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:05,200 he was filling stadiums and doing all that. 649 00:37:05,200 --> 00:37:06,960 And I was like, thank you for doing that. 650 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:09,840 Because, you know, without guys like you, you know, Cutlass 651 00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:11,080 wouldn't, we wouldn't be where we're at. 652 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:15,880 And he like starts crying. I know he starts crying. 653 00:37:15,960 --> 00:37:16,400 I was like. And. 654 00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:21,320 It was the most beautiful thing. And he's like, no one's ever 655 00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:23,600 said that to me. I was like, well, people are 656 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:28,040 stupid, Carmen. And we should stone them. 657 00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:33,240 I was like, well, let me. Be the first. 658 00:37:33,240 --> 00:37:38,000 As a dude that plays in Cutlass, thank you for paving the way, 659 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:39,640 dude. And it was like this beautiful 660 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:42,000 thing. And then the someone came over 661 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:43,400 and they're like, what are you guys doing? 662 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:46,760 The line is like 1000 years long and you're talking and, and 663 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:48,760 Carmen's like chill. This is my friend Nate. 664 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:52,280 And it was great. And he and sadly he passed away 665 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:56,480 a few years after that. And so I was super stoked. 666 00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:01,480 Yeah. Just going to look at this for a 667 00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:05,040 while. It was really cool. 668 00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:09,720 And when I was putting this message together, that courtroom 669 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:11,960 song that he did popped into my head. 670 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:13,880 I don't know why. I mean, it makes sense now, but 671 00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:16,760 that's what popped into my head as I was preparing the sermon. 672 00:38:16,760 --> 00:38:18,840 So I went back. I was like, I should probably 673 00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:20,240 listen to the song. And I haven't listened to it in 674 00:38:20,240 --> 00:38:23,800 like 20 years. And it is a, it's a pretty 675 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:29,120 cheesy song, I'm not going to lie, you know, but I, I read the 676 00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:33,920 lyrics to this song and wow, they're like, it's like a very 677 00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:37,960 powerful presentation of the gospel in like a creative way, 678 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:39,280 you know, this courtroom scenario. 679 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:41,680 So I'm going to actually read you some of these lyrics. 680 00:38:42,560 --> 00:38:44,400 I'm not going to like sing it or do it like Carmen. 681 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:45,840 I mean, I'll do it a little bit, but not really. 682 00:38:47,200 --> 00:38:49,480 But basically this summarize the first part of the song is you're 683 00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:53,640 in the courtroom of heaven, OK? And you walk in and God the 684 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:58,760 judges before you, and Satan gets up, jumps up on a table, 685 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:01,640 doesn't fall, and he does his whole thing. 686 00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:03,640 He lays out his whole case. He talks about all the sins 687 00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:05,600 you've done, all the things you've done. 688 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:07,480 And God's like, Yep, Yep, Yep, OK, Yep. 689 00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:09,080 And this is where the song picks up. 690 00:39:10,720 --> 00:39:13,360 It says now if it's true. You are standing there in the 691 00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:17,800 courtroom of eternity with God to your front and Satan Nate, 692 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:21,520 the prosecutor to your left. There's one remaining remaining 693 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:25,160 eternal truth, one that's crucial to remember, one you 694 00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:29,200 should never, ever, ever forget. Then on the other side of the 695 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:34,520 courtroom, Dun, Dun, I said, on the other side of the courtroom, 696 00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:38,560 Dun Dun, you ain't hearing me tonight. 697 00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:43,680 I said on the other side of the courtroom, yes, is the one and 698 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:47,720 only Son of God revealed in time and space, and he's your defense 699 00:39:47,720 --> 00:39:50,600 attorney who has never lost a case. 700 00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:54,360 It's not Buddha, Muhammad or Krishna. 701 00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:55,760 Or any others who succumbed to death. 702 00:39:55,760 --> 00:39:58,640 Ladies and gentlemen, on the other side of the courtroom is 703 00:39:58,640 --> 00:40:04,640 Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Then Jesus jumps up and says 704 00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:05,800 Now. Wait a minute, Judge, I got 705 00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:08,240 something to say. May I remind you that on a cross 706 00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:10,640 2000 years ago, I washed his sins away. 707 00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:12,520 I was crucified. I died. 708 00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:14,920 They put me in a tomb. About the midnight hour, the 709 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:18,200 power of God hit me and I walked out of that grave alive and well 710 00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:21,520 with resurrection power. Then the devil says it's in the 711 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:23,920 book, it's written in the book, check the book. 712 00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:27,720 God said, OK, He takes the book out, lays it open. 713 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:30,920 He says, now we'll see what this book has to say. 714 00:40:31,720 --> 00:40:35,720 Turns to the first page, the second, the third. 715 00:40:36,360 --> 00:40:38,280 By the 4th, the devil seems shook. 716 00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:41,800 God closes it and says the blood of Jesus must have worked 717 00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:43,920 because there's nothing in this book. 718 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:50,200 And the devil says, wait a minute. 719 00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:52,640 Check that book again. All his sins are written. 720 00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:55,000 They're all right there. God says, devil, Maybe you're 721 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:57,080 mistaken altogether. Maybe it's this other book down 722 00:40:57,080 --> 00:41:00,920 here and the devil cries. No, not that book, not that one. 723 00:41:01,040 --> 00:41:06,040 I actually remember doing that. So God said, devil, why are you 724 00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:08,840 so uptight? God sets the book down. 725 00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:11,560 The dust flies the cover. It says the Lamb's book of life 726 00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:13,960 that goes on and says your name in that book. 727 00:41:14,760 --> 00:41:17,200 If you've been forgiven and your name is written, then raise your 728 00:41:17,200 --> 00:41:21,280 hands, praise the Lord and the song ends with this court is 729 00:41:21,280 --> 00:41:23,240 adjourned. It's pretty cool, man. 730 00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:26,240 I expect to get like emotional reading that, but it's pretty 731 00:41:26,240 --> 00:41:30,960 cool. Good old Carmen. 732 00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:35,960 But maybe you're here today and you know, you actually don't 733 00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:39,120 know where you're standing is in the courtroom of heaven before 734 00:41:39,120 --> 00:41:41,560 God. I want to. 735 00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:42,520 Tell you that no matter what, you've. 736 00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:45,920 Done. No matter what you're doing, you 737 00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:48,480 can be forgiven because you have a defender. 738 00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:52,640 Your defender is Jesus, and although he lived a sinless 739 00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:56,480 life, he took your sins away, was crucified on the cross, 740 00:41:57,080 --> 00:42:00,280 paying the debt we owed for God, paying the debt we owed to God 741 00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:03,920 for breaking his laws. He rose again. 742 00:42:03,920 --> 00:42:05,840 Three days. Later, for all justification, 743 00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:10,920 you have a defender he gets his hands dirty in. 744 00:42:10,920 --> 00:42:12,280 Fact. He gets his hands bloody. 745 00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:19,920 For us, if you're here today and you don't know Jesus as your 746 00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:23,240 Lord and Savior, you need forgiveness of your sins and you 747 00:42:23,240 --> 00:42:25,440 want to follow Jesus today I'm going to lead us in a prayer. 748 00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:28,280 So if you do me a favour, would everyone bow your heads, close 749 00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:28,680 your eyes? I'm. 750 00:42:32,480 --> 00:42:35,720 Going to say this prayer. And you can repeat after me out 751 00:42:35,720 --> 00:42:37,680 loud if you want. You can repeat quietly to 752 00:42:37,680 --> 00:42:39,840 yourself. But if this is you, I want you 753 00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:42,840 to repeat this prayer after me, Jesus. 754 00:42:42,840 --> 00:42:45,120 I know I am a Sinner who? Cannot save myself. 755 00:42:45,760 --> 00:42:47,880 I want you to save me and adopt me into your family. 756 00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:51,800 Forgive me of my sins. I surrender everything to you. 757 00:42:53,240 --> 00:42:57,040 I receive your promise of forgiveness, adoption, and 758 00:42:57,400 --> 00:43:01,120 eternal life. Jesus will you today. 759 00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:05,040 Be my Lord. If you said that prayer. 760 00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:08,240 With no one else looking around just for me, would you do me a 761 00:43:08,240 --> 00:43:10,360 favor and raise your hands just so I could see it? 762 00:43:11,960 --> 00:43:15,760 Thank you. Amen. 763 00:43:16,800 --> 00:43:20,440 OK, guys can look up if you. Just committed your life to 764 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:22,120 Jesus. For the very first time, welcome 765 00:43:22,120 --> 00:43:29,360 to the family of God. Just a moment, we're going to 766 00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:29,880 continue on. We're. 767 00:43:29,880 --> 00:43:31,400 Actually going to take communion, we're going to sing 768 00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:33,720 another song together, and we're going to have prayer up front. 769 00:43:34,120 --> 00:43:36,400 As always, there will be people up here that want to pray with 770 00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:37,640 you. So if you need prayer, please, 771 00:43:37,640 --> 00:43:40,320 please, please come up. And if you did raise your hand 772 00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:43,400 or said that prayer, please go to the back. 773 00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:45,080 We have these tables that say I raised my hand. 774 00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:48,840 We want to meet you, pray with you, give you a gift, whatever, 775 00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:51,080 whatever you need. We want to be there for you and 776 00:43:51,080 --> 00:43:53,640 help you on your next steps in your journey. 777 00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:57,600 But hey man, I want to say man, happy Father's Day to all the 778 00:43:57,600 --> 00:44:01,080 dads out there. And if your dad is here, send 779 00:44:01,080 --> 00:44:05,920 him a text, call him, give him a hug and give him a steak because 780 00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:06,520 we like. That. 781 00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:08,280 Hey man, love you guys.