1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:05,480 All right, we are going to be continuing today in our Saints 2 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:08,200 and Scoundrel series talking about Jacob. 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:14,680 We're going to be in Genesis 29, verses 31 through Genesis 30, 4 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:18,800 verse 24. If you do not have a copy of the 5 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:22,160 Bible with you, there are Bibles under your chair. 6 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,480 If you do not have a Bible, we would love for you to take this. 7 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:30,800 It's our gift to you. But it'll be on pages 22 and 23 8 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,400 of the Bible under your seat. If you're using a different 9 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:36,800 Bible, I cannot possibly tell you what page number that it's 10 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:38,480 on, but it's close to the beginning. 11 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:41,680 First book of the Bible. For those of you who might be 12 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,760 new to church, new to reading the Bible, the big numbers are 13 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:48,960 chapters, small numbers verses. So when we're saying we're 14 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:51,320 reading a certain part of the Bible, first numbers chapter, 15 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:53,760 second number is verse. So we're going to start in 16 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:59,040 Genesis 2931. When the Lord saw that Leah was 17 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:02,720 hated, he opened her womb. But Rachel was barren, and Leah 18 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:05,680 conceived and bore a son. And she called his name Reuben. 19 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:08,800 For she said, because the Lord has looked upon my affliction, 20 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:12,360 for now my husband will love me. She conceived again and bore a 21 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,720 son, and said, Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he 22 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:19,640 has given me this son also. And she called his name Simeon. 23 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,600 Again she conceived in Bora's son, and said, Now this time my 24 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:26,640 husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three 25 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:29,680 sons. Therefore his name was called 26 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,200 Levi. And she conceived again in 27 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:35,680 Bora's son, and said, This time I will praise the Lord. 28 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:38,000 Therefore she called his name Judah. 29 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,920 Then she ceased bearing. When Rachel saw that she bore 30 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,600 Jacob no children, she envied her sister. 31 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,640 She said to Jacob, give me children, or I shall die. 32 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:50,480 Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel. 33 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:54,040 And he said, Am I in the place of God, who is withheld from 34 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:57,080 you, the fruit of the womb? Then she said, Here is my 35 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,960 servant Bilhah, go into her, so that she may give birth on my 36 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,320 behalf, that even I may have children through her. 37 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,120 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went 38 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,440 into her, and Bill ha conceived and bore Jacob a son. 39 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:16,200 Then Rachel said, God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, 40 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,080 and given me a son. Therefore she called his name 41 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:21,280 Dan. Rachel's servant Bill ha 42 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,640 conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 43 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:27,440 Then Rachel said, with mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with 44 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:31,360 my sister and have prevailed. So she called his name Naftali. 45 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:35,520 When Leah saw that she had cease sparing children, she took her 46 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,440 servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 47 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,080 Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 48 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:43,600 And Leah said Good fortune as has come. 49 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:48,120 So she called his name Gad. Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob 50 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,200 a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I, for 51 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:55,520 women have called me happy. So she called his name Asher and 52 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,400 the days of wheat harvest. Reuben went and found mandrakes 53 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:00,440 in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. 54 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:03,760 Then Rachel said to Leah, please give me some of your son's 55 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,120 mandrakes. But she said to her, is it a 56 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:08,880 small matter that you have taken away my husband? 57 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:11,200 Would you take away my son's mandrakes also? 58 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:15,120 Rachel said then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your 59 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,080 son's mandrakes. When Jacob came from the field 60 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:21,360 in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, You must come 61 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,280 in to me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes. 62 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,520 So he lay with her that night, and God listened to Leah, and 63 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:29,880 she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 64 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:33,840 Leah said, God has given me my wages because I gave my servant 65 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,520 to my husband. So she called his name Issachar. 66 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,240 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 67 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:43,640 Then Leah said, God has endowed me with a good endowment. 68 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:47,280 Now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six 69 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,000 sons. So she called his name Zebulon. 70 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,240 Afterwards she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah. 71 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,760 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened 72 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,280 her womb. She conceived and bore a son, 73 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:01,640 and said, God has taken away my reproach. 74 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:04,840 And she called his name Joseph, saying, May the Lord add to me 75 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:07,520 another son. This is the true word of God. 76 00:04:18,220 --> 00:04:20,019 What's going on? Port City family and friends. 77 00:04:20,019 --> 00:04:21,860 How we doing? Good. 78 00:04:21,860 --> 00:04:24,240 My name is Tanner. It's a joy to be with you and 79 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:26,440 the lead pastor here. I really enjoyed Pastor will 80 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:28,120 sermon last week. I hope you did too. 81 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:30,560 If you didn't get to hear it, go listen on Spotify or Apple 82 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:33,440 podcast y'all. And I want to just point 83 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:35,200 something out that you've probably noticed by now. 84 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:36,680 I'm not the only one who preaches here. 85 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:40,680 I preach about 2/3 of the time and y'all I don't need a break. 86 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:42,640 I'm just trying to be honest like this is this. 87 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:45,240 I'm just trying to be honest with you about why we do what we 88 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:47,960 do. Y'all need to hear from people 89 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:50,480 that preach to you on Sunday and then on Monday are dealing with 90 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:52,520 risk management. Y'all know what I'm saying like 91 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,440 people that are are in the trenches just like y'all. 92 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:58,840 My calling is full time, full time vocational ministry and and 93 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:04,600 I'm proud of Cam Newton, Joe Rogan. 94 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:06,920 These dudes don't know nothing about walking with Jesus and we 95 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:11,440 need to be full of the spirit doing iron sharpening iron stuff 96 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,080 in this church. And you have access to men in 97 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:16,160 this church who love Jesus and want to walk with you. 98 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:18,920 So it's the summer and to the young man, I just want to call 99 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:21,840 you to like take advantage, like take a guy out to lunch, ask him 100 00:05:21,840 --> 00:05:24,600 to invest in you. Ask him to tell you some advice, 101 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,320 things they've seen in your life and and give them the keys to 102 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:29,160 speak in and to the Alderman in the church. 103 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,440 Let's look for those young guys. We can we can invest in. 104 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,560 In my experience, our sisters in Christ are better at saying they 105 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:37,480 need help and doing life together than the men are Amen 106 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:42,120 somebody I heard a Amen and looking at Amen. 107 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,720 So I don't want to be a podcast discipleship church. 108 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:49,160 I want to be a like people discipleship church. 109 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:51,840 Amen. So I pray that encourages you 110 00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:53,400 and and we do life together here. 111 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:57,200 OK, we'll pray with me and then we'll dive into the chaos that 112 00:05:57,200 --> 00:05:58,840 is the scripture we just had read. 113 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:03,880 OK, our Father, we love you God, that really is just my my heart 114 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:06,840 is that life changes when we really rub shoulders with 115 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:08,440 people. God, you know, I love podcasts 116 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:12,600 and listen to a lot of them, but God and just the the the culture 117 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:16,880 of some toxic masculinity in our culture and then just some 118 00:06:17,280 --> 00:06:20,200 absent masculinity. God, we need real men who are 119 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:23,400 living life in front of us and want to just help one another. 120 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:25,640 So I pray that over the men in this church, may we not be too 121 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:30,360 proud to ask for help. May we not be too passive and 122 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:32,560 just sit back. I just teach us a spirit 123 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,680 empowered humility to ask for help and and may iron sharpen 124 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:38,080 iron in this church for your glory. 125 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:39,280 I got so thank you for this time. 126 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:41,120 Thank you for your word. What we know not right now, 127 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:43,880 would you teach us. What we have not, would you give 128 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:46,000 us who we are not? Would you make us and let the 129 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,000 words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be 130 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,000 acceptable in your sight? And everybody you agree with 131 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,560 that said Amen. Y'all have you ever? 132 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:57,600 Not known something had a name, but you knew what it was before 133 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,080 you knew the name to it. You know what I'm talking about. 134 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:02,600 Like kids, you might not know what the word stalling means, 135 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:04,720 but you do it every night at bedtime. 136 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,920 Your water is not full. You didn't get tucked in right? 137 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:10,600 You were not kissed. Whatever it was. 138 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:14,480 That is what we call stalling. OK, we all in. 139 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,080 Today's text, There is something happening that you have seen 140 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:20,480 your entire life and you didn't know there was a word for it. 141 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:22,680 There's a fancy Bible word for what we're going to see. 142 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:24,800 You saw it maybe for the first time. 143 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:27,600 And y'all, I'm not judging. The situation's about to tell 144 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:29,800 you. I'm just saying something we had 145 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:31,640 a word for. Something's off here, OK? 146 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:33,880 When somebody gets a 98 and they're crying because they 147 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:37,520 didn't get 100. When a coach is berating their 148 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:39,880 players in front of the parents because they're embarrassed of 149 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:43,640 their team's performance. When a kid getting 30 points a 150 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,280 game gets 20 and their team loses and he's in his feelings, 151 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:53,200 like what is going on here? Something is not right or? 152 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:56,480 A grown man thinking that marrying a beautiful woman will 153 00:07:56,480 --> 00:08:00,360 satisfy him, or that if I have another baby, the woman thinks 154 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:03,560 that'll make my husband happy. Baby after baby after baby. 155 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:07,280 Or if I can have a baby like my. Sister, I'll be happy y'all. 156 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,360 The big Bible word for that is a word called idolatry. 157 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:16,360 Somebody say idolatry. Idolatry is when we seek things 158 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:21,120 to fulfill and satisfy and make us feel safe other than the Lord 159 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:24,840 God Himself. God is not bad to want to feel 160 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:27,520 safe and to feel satisfied. In fact, you were created to 161 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:29,120 feel those things and experience that. 162 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:31,720 It is the. Source You go to y'all. 163 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:34,840 We were meant to find that in the Lord God Himself in a 164 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:39,799 covenant relationship with Him through Jesus Christ on in 165 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:43,440 today's text, but in everyday life is the insanity of 166 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,160 idolatry. It is insane we do these. 167 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:48,520 Things and it's not just the people in this text and it's not 168 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,920 just those examples we saw. Insanity comes from idolatry 169 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,360 because, and this is what's important in the moment, the 170 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:59,800 pool to do that which you see done by that coach or by that 171 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:02,880 person or the serial dating middle school person, right, who 172 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:05,040 just has a boyfriend 5 minutes after the last one. 173 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:09,800 They don't even realize how compulsively the need feels to 174 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:13,200 satisfy that itch. And what's insane about it is we 175 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:15,920 can logically remove ourselves and say, well, that's not going 176 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:18,880 to fulfil you. But then in our own lives, we do 177 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,600 the same thing, right? And we do it over and over and 178 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:24,360 over. So my prayer for us is that we 179 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:26,840 walk out of here trust in Christ, not idols. 180 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:30,000 We walk out of here killing idols, OK? 181 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:32,000 And to get there. We're going to talk about the 182 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,120 fruits of idols, then we're going to talk about the roots of 183 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:37,400 idols and then the end of idols. OK, if you're ready, let me hear 184 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:40,000 you say I'm ready. OK, let's start with the fruits 185 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,320 of idols. Y'all, it's one of those things 186 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:43,640 we know it when we. See it? 187 00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:46,280 OK, so let's just walk through the text where we're seeing it 188 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:49,520 because we know it when we see it. 4 evidences of idolatry in 189 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:52,600 our text. The first one is going all 190 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:57,000 outgoing, all out. Jacob in chapter 29, verse 10 191 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:02,520 went all out for Rachel. This is what is said now. 192 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:07,200 As soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban his mother's 193 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:10,200 brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, Jacob came 194 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:12,720 near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the 195 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:14,480 flock of Laban, his mother's brother. 196 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:18,440 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 197 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:24,720 Later it tells us this after his time he promises Laban to to be 198 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:27,160 with Rachel says. Then Jacob said to Laban, give 199 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:31,400 me my wife that I may go into her from my time is completed. 200 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:35,440 You know the first evidence of idolatry is when you're going 201 00:10:35,560 --> 00:10:38,840 you're not even like thinking. It's like an almost like animal 202 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:41,400 like all out pursuit for something that you think will 203 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:42,960 satisfy you. That is Jacob here. 204 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:44,680 You know Jacob. Is on the run. 205 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:48,200 We know from earlier in the story that Esau was preferred. 206 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:50,400 By his dad. So Jacob did not have his dad's 207 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:51,960 favor. He had his mom's favor. 208 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:53,280 And then he was kicked out of the house. 209 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:55,040 OK. And we got to be careful when we 210 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:57,600 psychologize the Bible. But I want to be clear. 211 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:01,400 That a lot of times the reason we run to those idols. 212 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,200 To make a safe. Is rooted in our story OK, so 213 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:07,200 when you can't get the approval of somebody in your household, 214 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:09,320 you tend to look for it somewhere else now listen 215 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:11,400 carefully just because that makes. 216 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:14,880 Sense, and you understand it, it does not excuse your idolatry. 217 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:18,880 It makes sense of your idolatry, OK, as you grow in awareness 218 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:21,760 over where you go to make you feel safe and satisfied. 219 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,400 It's God's way of inviting you to reality, not to excuse the 220 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:28,240 mess you keep making. OK, so we don't go sit in the 221 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:31,000 counselor's chair to get people to feel sorry for us. 222 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:34,200 It's to help us. I'm in counseling for years, is 223 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,640 to understand the mechanism of our heart and what we're doing. 224 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:40,760 And God through that process is inviting you into reality. 225 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:44,160 OK, But Jacob, he's on the run. He's on exile. 226 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:46,160 He's exiled, so to speak, from his home. 227 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:49,120 And he sees a beautiful woman and he thinks being with her 228 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:52,840 will make me happy to the point that he promises 7 years of 229 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:56,600 service to Laban. That's an exorberant price to 230 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:58,640 pay, so to speak in this time period. 231 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:01,480 It says that he kissed her when he first saw her and wept. 232 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:05,360 It's like he was like like he just, he was taken aback by her 233 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:08,800 beauty. And he promises 7 years and then 234 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:12,920 he basically tells his potential father-in-law, let me have your 235 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:14,880 daughter so I can go be with her. 236 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:17,360 That's pretty bold to tell your father-in-law. 237 00:12:17,560 --> 00:12:19,680 OK. And then look what happens in 238 00:12:19,680 --> 00:12:22,160 the text. Famously, he gets duped in verse 239 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:24,960 22. Laban ain't no fool. 240 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,280 Laban gathered together all the people the place and made a 241 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:31,720 feast, but in the evening he took his daughter. 242 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:34,360 Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went into her. 243 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,720 Laban gave his female servant Zilpa to his daughter Leah to be 244 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,640 her servant. And in the morning, behold, it 245 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:43,200 was Leah. And Jacob said to Laban, What is 246 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:45,800 this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for 247 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:48,320 Rachel? Why then have you deceived me? 248 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,960 Jacob was going so hard and probably drank enough that night 249 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:55,960 that he played right into getting fooled. 250 00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:58,080 He didn't even know who he was laying next to. 251 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:00,640 Okay. And y'all, this sentence right 252 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:02,960 here that he went to bed thinking it was Rachel and woke 253 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:06,040 up and it was Leah is what idolatry does to us in a 254 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:08,000 nutshell, is it not? You go to bed. 255 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,200 Think of this one thing and you wake up and realize it is not 256 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:12,560 what you thought it was. This is what we call over 257 00:13:12,560 --> 00:13:16,160 promising and under delivering. He thought he would be fulfilled 258 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:18,240 and he realized he was duped. Y'all? 259 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:22,320 That is what idolatry does to us in a nutshell. 260 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:25,080 It promises just one more. Or just get that thing. 261 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:27,640 Go all out and once you have. It you'll be good. 262 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:32,360 And the wake up feeling is I've been duped y'all. 263 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:33,880 That's it. It's buyer's remorse. 264 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:36,440 Anybody remember the first time you bought something as a kid 265 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:39,000 and you felt that feeling? I remember I was at the dollar 266 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,400 store buying a pellet gun with $1.00. 267 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:45,480 I thought I literally would play with this thing until Jesus came 268 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:47,680 back. I will never have. 269 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:49,880 No, I will have fun every second for the rest of my life. 270 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:54,120 Within like 18 minutes, I'd shot all six of them little things 271 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:56,800 and I was like, man, what in the world? 272 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:00,760 And y'all buyer's remorse is just a tiny little sting that's 273 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:03,000 meant to show us a bigger truth, right? 274 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:05,600 Some of us feel buyer's remorse with a political candidate. 275 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,080 Some of us feel it with that next boyfriend or girlfriend in 276 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,520 high school. We feel it with the next job 277 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:13,720 promotion. We can feel it even with the 278 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:15,840 weekend. You can live Monday, y'all. 279 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:17,920 You walk around your office, people on Tuesday are already 280 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:20,040 living for Friday. I heard you say that last week, 281 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:22,680 y'all. And it's not a bad thing to live 282 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:24,640 for, you know, to want Friday to come. 283 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:27,200 But do we hear the insanity, right? 284 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:31,040 And the insane thing would it be to do it again once you realize 285 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:33,040 you're duped, right? So let's talk about the. 286 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:36,320 Second, evidence of idolatry, which is to keep going to the 287 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:41,360 same thing over and over again. We see this primarily in Leah 288 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,160 for Leah verse 31. When the Lord saw that Leah was 289 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:47,520 hated, he opened her womb. But Rachel was barren. 290 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:49,200 And Leah conceived and bore a son. 291 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:51,920 And she called his name Reuben. For she said, Because the Lord 292 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:57,320 has looked upon my affliction, for now my husband will love me. 293 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:00,880 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, Because the Lord 294 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:03,760 has heard that I'm hated, He has given me this son also. 295 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:06,520 And she called his name Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a 296 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:09,720 son and said Now this time my husband will be attached to me 297 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,720 because I have borne him three sons. 298 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:15,200 Therefore his name was called Levi. 299 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:19,840 Yo Leah, it's a sad, it's a sad tale right? 300 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:23,920 Leah wants the affection that Rachel gets for her beauty 301 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:30,320 through Jacob and then she gets the kids that Rachel craves. 302 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:32,960 But neither of them are content or happy and thinks if they had 303 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:34,240 what the other had they would be. 304 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:36,560 Y'all see that? And y'all, we've talked about 305 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:39,320 this all throughout the series. The Bible is not prescribing 306 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:41,440 polygamy. And some of the things we see 307 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:43,280 here. We have talked about the mess ad 308 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:45,480 nauseam, OK, and we'll continue to. 309 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,360 We're focusing particularly on the idolatry here. 310 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:52,320 But y'all and Leah, we see her thinking just one more, right? 311 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,480 One more. Kid and he'll see me y'all. 312 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:59,440 She thinks. If my husband smiles over me, 313 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,960 looks at me the way he looks at her, I'll be happy. 314 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,240 Is it a bad thing? To want to be smiled over by 315 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:08,840 your spouse? No, that's not a bad thing. 316 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:10,840 Which is important to note about idolatry. 317 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:14,120 It's not that the thing itself is evil, it's the weight we 318 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:16,160 give. It which is what's killing us 319 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:20,560 it's not that it's bad to want jacob's smile it's that thinking 320 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:24,000 that smile is the smile you really need we've. 321 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:27,160 Given that smile, too much weight and it's not going to do 322 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,800 what we think it's going to do. Does that make sense? 323 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:33,040 So she thinks, one more kid and we see. 324 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:35,440 We're like, oh, poor Leah every. Time, she says. 325 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:37,760 Like this time we'll be a test. Like No he won't, girl. 326 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:42,280 We see OK, and that's what's crazy is with idolatry. 327 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:44,400 Everybody else can see how crazy you look. 328 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:48,400 We can all see and can't we run like we can see that person 329 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:52,920 crazy and they but idolatry makes us all a little crazy. 330 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:57,000 This is normal life to us. The third. 331 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:02,720 Evidence of idolatry in our text comes from Rachel chapter 30, 332 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:04,960 verse one. When Rachel saw that she bore 333 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:07,839 Jacob no children, she envied her sister. 334 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:10,480 She said to Jacob, Give me children. 335 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:16,599 Or I shall die, The third evidence of idolatry. 336 00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:20,880 Is envy and rage isn't interesting, She says give me 337 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:23,560 kids or I'll die. She's not going to die if you 338 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:26,079 don't have a kid. But idolatry can make you feel 339 00:17:26,079 --> 00:17:28,560 like if you don't get what you've convinced yourself you 340 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:31,960 need, you will. It's so interesting because we 341 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:35,240 know her family lineage right? Like Rebecca and Sarah were 342 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:40,120 barren for years between the two of them. 45 years plus and they 343 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:44,400 walked through their barrenness alone and in a way hers is 344 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:46,840 unbearable because she has comparison. 345 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:50,560 Isn't that interesting how envy makes her Baroness feel? 346 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:52,160 It's like. You're in the lineage of 347 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:55,360 Baroness being a good thing girl, but she can't see that 348 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:57,880 because she's consumed with envy and rage. 349 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,000 I also find it interesting if you remember Isaac. 350 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:02,800 What did Isaac do when Rebecca was Baron? 351 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:07,440 He prayed nonstop for her and she ended up like giving birth. 352 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:09,760 What does Jacob do? He tells his wife the truth. 353 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:13,120 He says, who am I in a position? He says, woman, who am I in the 354 00:18:13,120 --> 00:18:15,480 place of God who is withheld from you, the fruit of the womb. 355 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:17,760 So he tells her the truth, I'm not God. 356 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:21,800 But notice how Jacob didn't do what his dad did, which was 357 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:24,480 enter her pain. He told her the truth to avoid 358 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:26,600 entering her pain. Has any man ever done that? 359 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:30,720 Hello don't we or dads to our kids we. 360 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,000 Tell the truth so we don't have to enter the pain. 361 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:35,480 Anybody. Hello. 362 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:38,600 We can do both. You earn the right to tell the 363 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,480 truth when you enter with pain. It's not that he's wrong that 364 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:43,240 he's not God. It's that you're saying that so 365 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:44,720 you don't have to get on your knees and pray you. 366 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:49,600 See what I'm saying? So we see in the text that her 367 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:53,720 rage is evidence that she is not well, she's not sober minded. 368 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:57,400 It can make you think, I have to have this thing or I'm going to 369 00:18:57,400 --> 00:18:58,720 die. It's like, girl, you ain't going 370 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:03,480 to die, but in that moment it feels so central to your well. 371 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:06,440 Being to have that thing that it's as if you will if you 372 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:12,120 don't. 4th evidence of idolatry in the text is control of 373 00:19:12,120 --> 00:19:14,800 outcomes. It gets crazy now don't it? 374 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:18,280 Once we take matters into our own hands. 375 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:23,400 Verse 3 Then she said, here's my servant Bilhah go into her so 376 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:27,920 that she may give birth on my behalf that even I may have 377 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:30,440 children through her. So she gave him her servant Bill 378 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:33,400 as a wife and Jacob went into her and Bill how conceived and 379 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:36,160 and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said God has judged 380 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:38,680 me and has also heard my voice and given me a son. 381 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:42,480 Y'all gets crazy and we could read it all the mandrakes become 382 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,200 involved selling your husband for some mandrakes which 383 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:48,240 mandrakes are you know popular lives by Harry Potter. 384 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:51,400 There's so many layers to this, they were convinced this will 385 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:53,520 help. She thinks y'all listen, think 386 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,520 about this. Rachel was seeking the mandrakes 387 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,240 and willing to sell her husband because she thinks she can 388 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:03,360 control her giving birth because she had convinced herself this 389 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:05,280 plays into fertility and all this stuff. 390 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:08,800 And so she gets the mandrakes and don't have a kid, Leah, 391 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:11,240 because the husband has a kid. It just gets crazy and they 392 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:15,120 control their outcomes, which seems insane to us, but this is 393 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:17,840 what we do. And again, it's worth mentioning 394 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:21,720 y'all in the. Sovereignty of God, the just 395 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:26,480 amazing mind blowing economy of God. 396 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:31,040 Every kid born to the servants to Rachel d'elia constitutes the 397 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:35,840 12 tribes of Israel. How mind blowing is that? 398 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:39,240 Here, take my servant, the use of a servant to you. 399 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:43,360 Go have my kid and the idiom in Hebrew as you go have a kid on 400 00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:45,440 your knees and it's almost like you're birthing. 401 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:48,600 I'm going to sit here. That's my kid that you just it's 402 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:53,800 it's insane, but God uses their insanity and idolatry in his 403 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:59,720 Kingdom masterpiece. Isn't that just amazing That 404 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,840 doesn't green light try idolatry, but it is to say God 405 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:05,680 is up to something bigger even in the midst of it. 406 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,200 But the control. Of outcomes is where things just 407 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:10,400 get wild. They get crazy. 408 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:12,520 Idolatry, y'all. It makes us crazy. 409 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:17,560 We think these people are crazy. Recently my wife was at a 410 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:20,840 baseball game for one of our kids and adjacent to it. 411 00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:23,040 So the field right here is AT ball game. 412 00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:25,240 OK. And one of those like videos you 413 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,520 see a parent's about to throw down and punch each other over a 414 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:29,640 kids t-ball game almost happened right in front of her. 415 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:31,360 OK. And the cops had to get called. 416 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:35,200 OK. I don't think any of those men 417 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:36,760 and I know it was men even though I wasn't there. 418 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:39,200 Amen. I know no moms are about to 419 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:41,840 throw down for their kids honor over AT ball game. 420 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:45,320 None of those dads woke up thinking I'm throwing down 421 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:47,480 today. Somebody look at me wrong over 422 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,280 Johnny not getting a hit. I'm a throw down if that umpire 423 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:53,320 calls a strike that. I, you know, nobody wakes up 424 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:56,120 thinking that whatever it is they're idolizing is going to 425 00:21:56,120 --> 00:22:00,640 make them do something stupid. But in the moment, it feels like 426 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:03,880 you can't help it. It feels like you're gonna die 427 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:08,600 if your value becomes attached to your kid and you're at a game 428 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:11,360 where something's happening. The way you're calling strikes, 429 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,080 the way that coach didn't put my kid in the way this guy said 430 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:16,360 this, or even the craziest thing. 431 00:22:16,360 --> 00:22:19,720 And I know this, 'cause I'm an idolatry who's done this, I can 432 00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:23,720 begin to hate a parent of another kid who's a cool kid and 433 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:25,840 just got a hit, but I want people. 434 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,280 It's just insane what idolatry will make you do. 435 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:32,040 And it's not like you cosign, you're not like I agree to this 436 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,520 idolatrous moment. You're just in the moment, 437 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:38,320 driven by a value that has become so disproportionately 438 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:42,920 large it feels automatic. We gossip about our best 439 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:46,680 friends, don't we? Students? 440 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:49,080 Hello, we tech. I remember one time in high 441 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:55,160 school, I listen, listen, this is a true story. 442 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:57,960 I wasn't in Christ, but don't let that make you think that 443 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:00,120 something like this couldn't happen to one of you who are in 444 00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:03,200 Christ now. I sent a narrative talking trash 445 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,600 about my friend named Taylor to another friend in our friend 446 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:08,280 group. We were all best friends. 447 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:12,800 Then I had the audacity once caught to say, oh, I was talking 448 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,480 about this guy with one letter name difference at a different 449 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:17,480 school and my friend went oh all good. 450 00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:21,480 I remember when I sent the text and he sent it back, my body was 451 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:23,320 like in shock and like shivering. 452 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:26,280 I was sweating but I could sneak my way out of it. 453 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:30,240 But in that moment, we don't wake up thinking I'm going to 454 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:31,800 gossip about a best friend today. 455 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:34,760 But when your value is on the line, you'll do it. 456 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:37,440 If it's about me being cool, I will. 457 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:39,320 I'll put down a friend. Behind their back. 458 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:43,280 Won't we do that? Idolatry makes us a little 459 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:45,520 insane. It just does. 460 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:48,920 And this is deeper than any psychology can take you. 461 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:52,920 This is the level of like, it's almost like a God is telling you 462 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:55,240 to obey. The idea is you do what your God 463 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,040 tells you to do. And if your God is your value 464 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:01,520 system around how you're viewed in the moment, it feels like you 465 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:05,880 cannot say no. That's how it works now that 466 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,200 we've seen the examples. Of idolatry, Let's talk about 467 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:10,640 the roots of idolatry. The roots of idolatry. 468 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,240 Let's get the mechanics a little bit first. 469 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:17,800 Idolatry feels natural because we are. 470 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:21,360 Fallen. OK, God made us in his image. 471 00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:27,040 Idolatry was not His intent. OK, He made us to worship him. 472 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:28,440 Think. About it like this, OK. 473 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:31,080 You were. Created and at the center of who 474 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:32,640 you are. Let's use the analogy of an 475 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:33,560 engine. OK? 476 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:36,000 If your soul is an engine that was made to operate a certain 477 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:38,960 way, you're made to operate on gasoline, all right? 478 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:43,000 Loving God focused on others, serving others, naked and 479 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:44,680 unashamed purpose, all the stuff. 480 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:47,280 And when sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, their 481 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:49,560 deception? You didn't go from being an 482 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:52,920 engine to like being a house. You're still an engine, but now 483 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,080 you think you run on Maple. Syrup. 484 00:24:56,880 --> 00:24:59,920 OK, so here's what's crazy about the image of God in you. 485 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:02,920 Some things are still going to go well, it's crazy. 486 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:06,520 God is so kind, common grace is so good that the wheels won't 487 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:08,440 always fall off. You're going to be full of 488 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:10,640 purpose. You'll even be praised for your 489 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:14,680 life running on Maple syrup at times, which makes it really 490 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:17,360 confusing because you're still capable of great beauty and 491 00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:20,000 great purpose, and you can love people and do kind things 492 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,400 because that's a testament to God's image in you. 493 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:26,400 And running on Maple syrup all the while driven by what people 494 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:27,960 think of you. You're getting praise like you 495 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,920 love people when in reality you're using them to make people 496 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:32,800 think that you're a good person or whatever it is. 497 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:37,560 And the idea is it's Maple syrup. 498 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:42,080 Like this is insane, right? This is crazy. 499 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:44,040 This is not how I was meant to run. 500 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:48,440 I was meant to run on gasoline. But you so normalize life in 501 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:51,120 Maple syrup, you begin to think I was created to run on Maple 502 00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:52,840 syrup. Does that make sense? 503 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:57,040 Second. Thing idolatry is an exchange. 504 00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:59,200 It's a foolish exchange. Somebody say exchange. 505 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:03,840 So this gasoline Maple syrup thing is the exchange of true 506 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:06,440 worship for false worship. You need to hear this. 507 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:09,840 The conversations we have in this leopard carpet print room 508 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,280 are human conversations, not religious conversations. 509 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:15,880 Because if you take what I'm saying today. 510 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:18,640 And you try to categorically reject it and say that's that 511 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:21,800 Christian religious talk you're going to leave here and think 512 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:25,240 you're a human being that exists outside of these categories, but 513 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:25,800 it's not. True. 514 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,800 Your soul's an engine. You're either on Maple syrup or 515 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,280 gasoline. Whether you think I'm crazy or 516 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:32,040 not. Are you with me? 517 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:35,800 What I'm saying is true because God made you in his image. 518 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:38,160 So if you want to go run on Maple syrup, you go for it. 519 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:41,040 But don't try to categorically reject the conversation just 520 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:42,440 because you want to call it spiritual. 521 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:45,040 This is human stuff. Does that make sense? 522 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:49,080 And so the exchange that has occurred is we've exchanged 523 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:51,120 worship of God for worship of other things. 524 00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:52,600 OK. This is how Romans one talks 525 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:54,720 about it. I'm about to quote from a song. 526 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:58,160 Kids, if you can quote this song to me next week in The Way the 527 00:26:58,160 --> 00:26:59,120 Artist. Quotes it. 528 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,280 I'll go Pastor Will on them and give you a candy bar. 529 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:05,280 OK, you're not going. To be able to do it, it's going 530 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:08,160 to take a lot of practice. This song is called Messiah by 531 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:11,200 Beautiful Eulogy. Beautiful Eulogy. 532 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:14,640 Go look it up. Hey, the album is called Worthy. 533 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,120 The song is called Messiah, and I'm going to say it slow. 534 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:18,400 Then I'm going to say it how he says it. 535 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:22,040 He says when a good God gives good gifts, we generally tend to 536 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:24,000 twist the list. And take the good list that God 537 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,600 tends to give and make a general God out of gifts. 538 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:29,000 But he does it really fast. He goes when a good God gives 539 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:30,760 good gifts, we generally tend to twist the list. 540 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:33,000 And take the good list that God tends to give and make a general 541 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:34,880 God out of gifts. Listen. 542 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:40,400 The idea is in exchange has occurred that you did not know 543 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:44,320 you made but then in your sin Co signed and volitionally 544 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:49,520 submitted to over and over and over, which is God went from the 545 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:52,440 giver of gifts. He is gift who gives gifts to. 546 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:54,760 He is subservient to the gifts. When a good. 547 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:58,320 God gives good gifts. We generally tend to twist the 548 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:01,920 list and take the good list, good gifts that God tends to 549 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:03,800 give and make a general God out of gifts. 550 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:06,840 So now we ask God. We either say he doesn't exist 551 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:09,240 or we let him continue in our orbit. 552 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:12,600 But he only serves the purpose of helping us chase after the 553 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:13,800 gift that. We want more than him. 554 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:16,640 So you can play a role. You can make me feel good about 555 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:19,040 my conscience and my morality if I'm having a bad day. 556 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:21,240 God becomes primarily your consoler. 557 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:25,040 This is what I see all kinds of times in young people who really 558 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:27,760 just want a comfortable life, a person to love them, all these 559 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:29,480 things. And God becomes primarily your 560 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:32,400 consoler. But you could still grow up your 561 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:34,440 entire life in a religious environment. 562 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:38,240 No Bible verses and he's still. Serving the gifts, He is your 563 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:40,840 servant as you chase what you want more than him, but He is 564 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:42,840 there to make your conscience. Feel good as you do it. 565 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:46,440 And that's what religion is. It is a system where you have 566 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:50,120 convinced yourself you're in. But really, God is a part of 567 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:53,040 your system. He is serving the gift with you. 568 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:56,920 He's there to console you. It's a great exchange. 569 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:00,640 So y'all some of what the preaching the gospel. 570 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:03,960 Does is it's just to awaken your heart to this dynamic that is 571 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:05,640 Maple syrup? Does that make sense? 572 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:10,280 Even the greatest gift, spouse, kids, whatever it is, if it 573 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:13,840 takes on God like governing authority in your mood and 574 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:16,680 behavior, it's Maple syrup. Does that make sense? 575 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:19,840 That's all it is and you're invited. 576 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:21,920 Watch this. What if getting saved? 577 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:26,640 What if aligning yourself with reality and putting God back in 578 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:30,120 first place is actually as simple as just living in 579 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:32,080 alignment with reality as it really is? 580 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:34,080 What it? Putting gas in the car is just 581 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:37,840 how life works and the ease of life. 582 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:41,080 There is a burden lifted when you stop asking things that are 583 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:44,120 not God to govern you. Life just gives way easier when 584 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:47,040 you live in alignment with God in first place and who he is and 585 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:49,480 let a good gift be a good gift but it's not a good God. 586 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:52,520 Does that make sense? And life gets a lot easier once 587 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:55,320 you're saved just because things take on their proper 588 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,840 proportional size and part of what makes your life. 589 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:01,760 Miserable is that you're being governed by things that are bad 590 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:03,760 governors. That make sense? 591 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:07,160 They're good gifts, bad gods, good gifts, bad governors. 592 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:11,880 Which leads us to the third root of idolatry. 593 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:15,960 Idolatry. Can become the means by which 594 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,120 God invites you to reality. Isn't that amazing? 595 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:24,320 Once you realize this Maple syrup, you almost feel like 596 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:27,080 you've been tricked. You mean to tell me that's why 597 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:30,400 my my life is miserable? And y'all I don't want to over 598 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:32,360 sanitize once God goes in first place. 599 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:35,200 It doesn't make every second a party of reality. 600 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:36,280 Please just listen to all of our. 601 00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:38,120 Other sermons and read the Psalms. 602 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:41,200 Amen, somebody. I'm just telling you that in 603 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:45,680 general. Yes, the false size of the false 604 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:49,440 gods is what's making you miserable, and you have an 605 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:51,080 opportunity to get out of that rat race. 606 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:54,720 That's what's amazing. And that false chase, you're 607 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:56,720 like, oh, so the category of worship. 608 00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:59,440 Isn't the problem. My object of worship has been 609 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:01,760 the problem? Yes, that's what I'm telling 610 00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:03,800 you. Here's how CS Lewis famously put 611 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:05,160 it. I I'm reading this from 612 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:07,240 Counterfeit Guys by Keller. You need to read it. 613 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:08,720 Somebody like I read that back in college. 614 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:11,560 Read it again. Don't we do that, y'all? 615 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:13,680 We think we learn things, then we don't go back to them. 616 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:14,800 Read it again. Let me. 617 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:20,800 See if I can find it. If I find in myself a desire 618 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:23,960 which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most 619 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:27,400 probable explanation is that I was made for another world. 620 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:32,080 What CS Lewis was saying so well, and the reason we keep 621 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:35,640 reading him is he's helping us understand the categorical 622 00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:38,680 issue, which is that. Worship is not the problem. 623 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:40,320 Your desires are not the problem. 624 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:42,480 It's not bad that you want that smile. 625 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:44,520 It's not bad that you're craving that thing. 626 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:47,160 It's where you're going to get it that is the problem. 627 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,280 Does that make sense? And getting tired of the rat 628 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:52,640 race can be part of the means by which God invites you into 629 00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:54,600 reality. Let's talk about the end of 630 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:57,680 idolatry. The end of idolatry. 631 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:01,160 We understand the fruits. We see it in action at T-ball 632 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:04,880 games and in our life. We understand the mechanics of 633 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:06,320 the roots. Let's talk about the end of it 634 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:08,920 first. We are invited to see Jesus 635 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:11,960 Christ as the source of life itself. 636 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:16,600 Amen, somebody. We're invited to see Jesus 637 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:18,920 Christ as the source of life itself, y'all? 638 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:22,640 When we look. At the cross. 639 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:28,080 We are not seeing merely an example of love. 640 00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:32,480 What? We are seeing is God begging us 641 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:37,440 to see that He alone is the one worthy of our worship. 642 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:39,480 That's part of what it is. There's a great. 643 00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:42,920 Exchange going on. Where y'all the Bible message is 644 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:45,680 not If you stop idolizing things, God will love you. 645 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:48,320 OK. The message of the Bible is that 646 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:52,080 there is a God so good, so loving, so kind, who made you 647 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:54,800 the engine that you are, gave you all the good gifts you've 648 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:58,560 ever had, and has watched you suffer in the misery your own 649 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:01,320 sin created. And instead of demanding that 650 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:04,160 you figure it out, stop loading your tank with Maple syrup and 651 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:05,880 trust him. Then he'll love you. 652 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:10,560 He's the God who comes and lives a perfect, sinless life. 653 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:13,640 Though you're an. Idolater and dies as if he was 654 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:17,480 the idolater in your place. That's the gospel. 655 00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:20,080 The gospel is not. If you get it together and stop 656 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:23,760 idolizing, God will love you. Is that when you were blowing 657 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:26,280 it? When you went to partner after 658 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:29,040 partner after partner? When you trusted candidate after 659 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:31,120 candidate after candidate. When you think the next 660 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:33,720 promotion, the next promotion, next promotion will satisfy you 661 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:37,000 instead of God, When you keep yawning at God and thinking that 662 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:39,680 can govern your life in that moment, Christ. 663 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:42,200 Died for you? That's what the Bible teaches. 664 00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:46,760 That's the gospel that will actually break the hold idols 665 00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:51,840 have. I love preaching at summer camps 666 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:55,160 with students because they get some things within seconds and 667 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:59,560 they're honest about things. Adults just, well, I didn't like 668 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:01,680 that stuff about Jacob and those women and let me go Google some 669 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:02,240 stuff. I didn't. 670 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:05,160 It's like adults just have this ability to go like, and I'm 671 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:07,320 like, look, we could talk about all that man, but can I take you 672 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,440 to summer camp where like a handful of like 16 year old 673 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:11,960 girls are just honest within seconds? 674 00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:14,920 Here's what happens, OK? They come in. 675 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:19,800 I'm generalizing and I'm encouraging the young women. 676 00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:22,679 OK, Thank you, John, he said we get it. 677 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:26,960 Listen. I go to camp, I preach Christ 678 00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:30,639 can satisfy you in ways other things can't and I just see in 679 00:34:30,639 --> 00:34:32,520 their eyes are like, I hope what you're saying is true. 680 00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:34,679 And by the end of the week, they believe it's true. 681 00:34:34,679 --> 00:34:37,600 And by the end of the week, they dump their boyfriends. 682 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:43,800 Not all of them, but every once in a while this happens. 683 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:46,320 OK, one of them will want to talk to me and my wife. 684 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:49,080 Hey, can I talk to you? Then eventually they're and 685 00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:51,400 they've got some objections and some struggles and by the end of 686 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:54,440 the week they're ignoring us. And I remember one time one of 687 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:55,880 them had a conversation with my wife. 688 00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:00,280 I just feel like if I say yes to Jesus, I have to dump him. 689 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:03,600 And listen, I did not give a talk on how you need to dump 690 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:06,200 your boyfriend. That's kind of the point. 691 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:10,520 The point is immediately. Our souls can recognize only one 692 00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:14,000 gets to be in first place. And actually, you're asking me 693 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,440 to put Johnny down on 2nd, 3rd, whatever. 694 00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:21,640 And I've so attached the essence of what it means to be me to it 695 00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:24,600 being 1st that I don't know who I am without Johnny. 696 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:29,120 See how that works? So I'm scared to lose my idol 697 00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:31,960 because to lose my idol is to lose me. 698 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:36,320 We've become so attached to these things, what people think 699 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:40,400 of us or whatever it is for you, that our sense of selfhood has 700 00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:43,080 wrapped itself up with something else. 701 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:47,600 And guess what? Like Rachel said, give me 702 00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:50,200 children or I die. We think, give me Johnny or I 703 00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:52,240 die. Give me the next candidate or I 704 00:35:52,240 --> 00:35:53,960 die. Get the liberals out of here, I 705 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:55,080 die. Get the conservatives out of 706 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:57,360 here, I die. And we begin to be driven in our 707 00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:00,680 behavior by that thing. Does that make sense? 708 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:07,120 And what I'm trying to tell you is that's not that this, this is 709 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:09,920 a crazy thing. They're right in a way. 710 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:13,160 It will feel like death. I'm not here to tell you it 711 00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:15,560 won't feel like you're dying to get rid of Johnny or your sense 712 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:17,480 of selfhood being attached to that thing. 713 00:36:17,720 --> 00:36:22,840 The point is, there is somebody who took a death that when you 714 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:26,920 see that, it allows you to get over the fear and the pain that 715 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:29,720 it is to lose your false self, to find your true self. 716 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:34,160 But I can't tell you it won't feel like dying because it will, 717 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:37,040 because you've so attached yourself to it that it's going 718 00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:39,800 to be death to lose it. Does that make sense? 719 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:47,200 So in a way, losing an idol will feel like killing something 720 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:48,800 precious. But here's the amazing thing. 721 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:53,040 Is you actually once you trust Christ and receive Christ, you 722 00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:56,320 get the gift back as it was intended to be, not giving you 723 00:36:56,320 --> 00:36:58,280 your value but just playing a role in your life. 724 00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:00,800 Does that make sense? It actually becomes what it was 725 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:03,760 designed to be, which is a gift, not a God, not a governor. 726 00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:06,640 It doesn't run the shots, it just plays a part. 727 00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:09,840 And that's the beauty of it. But you're going to, I can't 728 00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:11,280 tell you that's not going to be full of fear. 729 00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:14,880 Second thing, we're invited to choose Christ and kill idols. 730 00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:18,200 Over and over and over. Lest you think I'm saying this 731 00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:24,520 is a one time process. Amen Somebody y'all, KB once 732 00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:27,120 said. My idols are mimicking Jesus. 733 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:29,880 I bury them in three days, they're back again. 734 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:35,800 His idea was that, as John Calvin famously put once, that 735 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:38,560 our hearts are idle making factories. 736 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:42,360 As long as sin still indwells you, you're going to be duped 737 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:44,120 back into this over and over and over. 738 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:46,040 So we're not here to shame anybody. 739 00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:48,160 I'm not asking which ones of y'all's got idols. 740 00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:50,640 I know all y'all got them. That's what I know. 741 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:52,840 I don't know if you know that yet, but I do. 742 00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:55,600 And I know I've got them. OK. 743 00:37:56,160 --> 00:37:58,920 Now for the believers in the room, what I hope the experience 744 00:37:58,920 --> 00:38:02,520 of killing your idols is is less whack A mole and more like a 745 00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:06,560 more like a weekly, daily, you know, more like gardening where 746 00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:07,760 you're just like, hey, I got to pay. 747 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:11,160 Attention to this thing we were we were looking at the proverbs 748 00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:14,600 earlier and Drew pointed out the one about a little in Proverbs 749 00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:17,880 24 where if you he walked by the field of a sluggard and a little 750 00:38:18,440 --> 00:38:21,160 folding of the hands a little laying to rest and poverty will 751 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:23,440 overtake you like a like a bandit, right? 752 00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:25,600 There's something similar with idols. 753 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:28,800 Just like if you are. Not diligent in the idol killing 754 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:30,320 game they going they going to swarm you. 755 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:32,840 Does that make sense? If I walk by the field of a man 756 00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:35,680 who doesn't think they have idols and in about 5 years they 757 00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:37,400 going to be governed by them, does that make sense? 758 00:38:37,720 --> 00:38:41,560 So be in the habit of assuming you have them, not shaming 759 00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:45,000 yourself that you do, inviting Christ and community somebody 760 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,080 into the process. Of killing them, because 761 00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:49,040 sometimes there's probably somebody in your life who can 762 00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:51,000 see some insanity in you that you can't see. 763 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:57,160 Hey, I love you. I just got a question. 764 00:38:57,160 --> 00:39:01,480 You spent like $2000 in the last month and this thing over here, 765 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:03,880 I think that might be disproportionately affecting 766 00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:04,400 your life. I love you. 767 00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:09,760 Or you could be so bold as to ask somebody, is there anything 768 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:11,640 that seems to have a disproportionate effect in my 769 00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:14,680 life? That's scary, but I bet your 770 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:16,520 friends are going to be like you. 771 00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:17,600 Sure. You want me to answer that? 772 00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:21,680 You sure? Because this is what we like to 773 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:23,160 do. We like to think we know. 774 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:26,680 I know what idols I have. I know and I know how big they 775 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:29,600 are and like what we like, what we don't like is the thought of 776 00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:32,440 somebody else. But guys, you need help to be 777 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:34,960 sober. So sobriety is a community 778 00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:37,840 project as the a, a community models so well for us. 779 00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:40,480 But we in the church just think we're so strong. 780 00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:42,280 We think we can kill idols on our own. 781 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:46,160 And I've got my idols listing. So let me not propel you towards 782 00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:48,560 pride, towards your own idols. The point I'm trying to make is 783 00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:52,320 to do all of this outside of the context of a local church in 784 00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:55,920 confession and community is insanity and you might be 785 00:39:55,920 --> 00:40:01,040 idolizing your own self and your own brand as being a idol 786 00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:01,760 killer. I don't know. 787 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:06,920 But the point is you need help. To be sober, it takes a team to 788 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:11,080 do this and do it with grace when you get handed the mic. 789 00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:13,480 Hey, let me just ask you a question with this one part. 790 00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:15,720 I know your job's big right now, so let's not assume just because 791 00:40:15,720 --> 00:40:18,720 you're giving that a lot of energy, you're an idolater, OK? 792 00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:21,040 Sometimes you have this thing called a deadline, OK? 793 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:24,080 So let's be careful. Some of you are like, can't wait 794 00:40:24,080 --> 00:40:26,040 for Bob to ask me this because I'm going to tell him they got 795 00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:27,880 an idol. You need to be quiet. 796 00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:31,800 And you do not have authority to tell them that. 797 00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:38,880 OK, third thing, we are invited to trust God with good gifts and 798 00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:40,800 just wait and trust He knows best. 799 00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:44,120 We cannot read this text. A couple of these. 800 00:40:44,120 --> 00:40:47,040 Verses are amazing and hard at the same time. 801 00:40:47,040 --> 00:40:50,560 You probably noticed them. Chapter 29 verse 31 says this. 802 00:40:51,240 --> 00:40:54,120 When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, He opened her womb, but 803 00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:56,800 Rachel was barren. Then later in chapter 30, verse 804 00:40:56,800 --> 00:40:59,520 22, it says this. Then God remembered Rachel and 805 00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:02,040 God listened to her and opened her womb. 806 00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:07,120 You know, Genesis is giving us a God who opens the womb and 807 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:10,760 closes it. That's hard. 808 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:13,440 We just got to acknowledge that's hard. 809 00:41:14,240 --> 00:41:16,640 What it does is it helps us realize God is involved in 810 00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:20,120 everything all the time. Contra secularism, which wants 811 00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:22,480 us to think God is here now, but he won't be when you walk out 812 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:25,040 the door or when you work on Tuesday and you're a plumber or 813 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:26,600 whatever it is. God is always involved. 814 00:41:26,600 --> 00:41:29,920 But what scares us about that is why doesn't he open every womb, 815 00:41:30,720 --> 00:41:32,480 right? Why doesn't everything go a 816 00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:34,760 certain way? So Genesis is going to give you 817 00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:38,200 a God who hears, who sees. Who cares? 818 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:42,880 And you can't contain. And that's hard because it says 819 00:41:42,880 --> 00:41:46,840 he saw Leah, he heard Leah, he saw Rachel, he heard Leah, he 820 00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:51,600 saw Rachel, he saw Hagar. Back in in in the early 20s 821 00:41:51,600 --> 00:41:54,400 chapters of Genesis, I just want you to hear I don't know what 822 00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:58,520 good gift it is that you know, competes into God like governing 823 00:41:58,520 --> 00:42:02,480 authority. And I just want to tell you, I'm 824 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:07,040 sure that's really hard. I know it is and I don't know if 825 00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:09,760 you'll ever get it. I don't know that we don't know 826 00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:13,840 that we know we can trust this God. 827 00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:16,800 We can. The God of Genesis can be 828 00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:18,720 trusted. The God of the Cross. 829 00:42:18,720 --> 00:42:22,080 Can be trusted. He has given you everything you 830 00:42:22,080 --> 00:42:25,520 need for life and godliness. He has given you the abundant 831 00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:28,240 life in Christ. Set your mind on things above it 832 00:42:28,240 --> 00:42:32,400 doesn't mean stop wanting it, but some of it again is our 833 00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:35,960 selfhood gets tied up in while I get that gift and I'm here to 834 00:42:35,960 --> 00:42:38,880 tell you your selfhood. Is not tied to any gift. 835 00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:43,320 Your identity is in. Christ. 836 00:42:43,320 --> 00:42:45,640 And that's where I want to close and we'll be done. 837 00:42:46,080 --> 00:42:48,320 Another way of thinking about this idolatry thing is where is 838 00:42:48,320 --> 00:42:50,960 your identity? Your identity, y'all, is not in 839 00:42:50,960 --> 00:42:52,880 how much money you make. It's not in how much you're 840 00:42:52,880 --> 00:42:55,720 crushing your goals. It's not in how well you attack 841 00:42:55,720 --> 00:42:57,920 the Atomic Habits. It's not how well you control 842 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:00,080 your destiny. It's not how much people like 843 00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:04,880 you. Your identity is in Christ. 844 00:43:05,480 --> 00:43:08,400 I'm going to be very clear. Jesus Christ is not your 845 00:43:08,400 --> 00:43:11,920 consolation prize when the gifts don't work out, y'all? 846 00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:14,240 Part of the problem is it's hard. 847 00:43:14,240 --> 00:43:16,840 And I get it. I'm a white man, I'm in my 30s, 848 00:43:16,840 --> 00:43:19,040 and I've got a lot of the good gifts people want. 849 00:43:19,200 --> 00:43:23,600 But I'm here to tell you that Christ is gift, not gift giver 850 00:43:23,880 --> 00:43:26,840 only. And what we've got to be careful 851 00:43:26,840 --> 00:43:31,720 of is recruiting God and being enlisted into a mission where He 852 00:43:31,720 --> 00:43:35,080 helps us pursue the gifts. He is the gift. 853 00:43:35,080 --> 00:43:38,160 That's the gospel. We get saved because we want 854 00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:41,400 Christ more than anything. Whom have I in heaven but you? 855 00:43:41,640 --> 00:43:44,000 And then we get into walking with God and through 856 00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:48,000 disappointment and pain, we so, and part of what our culture 857 00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:50,080 wants you to be labeled by is your pain. 858 00:43:50,200 --> 00:43:52,920 Your pain's not your identity. Christ is. 859 00:43:52,920 --> 00:43:55,640 Does that make sense? And I think we so attach 860 00:43:55,640 --> 00:43:58,200 ourselves to anything but Christ. 861 00:43:58,520 --> 00:44:02,480 And that's sort of the issue is that he becomes on trial for 862 00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:07,080 what he is not doing. And hear me say, I understand 863 00:44:07,080 --> 00:44:11,680 that, but that itself is part of the dynamic that has to change. 864 00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:14,840 Does that make sense? Your identity is in him. 865 00:44:15,600 --> 00:44:17,760 It's not even something he gives you from him. 866 00:44:17,920 --> 00:44:19,760 Your identity isn't what he hands you. 867 00:44:19,760 --> 00:44:21,520 It's him. He is your identity. 868 00:44:21,520 --> 00:44:24,520 Does that make? Sense and it's as we are found 869 00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:29,440 in Him, it's as we are satisfied, as we are filled in 870 00:44:29,440 --> 00:44:32,240 Christ that life just becomes free. 871 00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:37,960 And until then, if life still has something it can give you 872 00:44:37,960 --> 00:44:40,600 that you haven't gotten yet, you're chasing it. 873 00:44:41,160 --> 00:44:44,240 That makes sense. And then you can play the game 874 00:44:44,240 --> 00:44:56,440 and do the things differently. Not and listen yo, if I would 875 00:44:56,440 --> 00:44:59,720 wake up at 4:00 AM. To go do the workouts and the 876 00:44:59,720 --> 00:45:02,120 things that high school boys do when they watch a Kobe video and 877 00:45:02,120 --> 00:45:04,680 then go do stuff or whatever it is for whatever version of life 878 00:45:04,680 --> 00:45:05,800 stage you're in where you do that. 879 00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:08,440 You listen to podcasts of somebody, David Goggins, Lord 880 00:45:08,440 --> 00:45:09,800 help us, and then you go try to copy him. 881 00:45:11,040 --> 00:45:14,800 When you do that, OK, and then you get saved in Christ, you're 882 00:45:14,800 --> 00:45:17,360 delivered from that. How much more should we chase 883 00:45:17,360 --> 00:45:19,640 good gifts and things to help build the Kingdom? 884 00:45:19,640 --> 00:45:21,880 I'm not talking about dampering ambition. 885 00:45:22,040 --> 00:45:24,840 I'm not talking about doing away with doing good. 886 00:45:24,840 --> 00:45:27,920 I'm talking about what does it look like to do those things 887 00:45:27,920 --> 00:45:30,960 when I don't actually need it for my value. 888 00:45:31,480 --> 00:45:34,960 You see how that works? How much better should I be when 889 00:45:34,960 --> 00:45:38,000 I'm not a 17 year old boy who needs applause? 890 00:45:39,560 --> 00:45:45,200 But if I went this hard when I was needing you to like me, that 891 00:45:45,200 --> 00:45:47,320 doesn't put me on the couch. Now that I'm in Christ, I don't 892 00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:49,440 need to do nothing. No, dude, there's this thing 893 00:45:49,440 --> 00:45:51,400 called a neighbor that you're called to love. 894 00:45:51,640 --> 00:45:55,280 Now the motivation for why you do what you do is different. 895 00:45:55,360 --> 00:45:57,080 I don't need the bag. I don't need the praise. 896 00:45:57,080 --> 00:45:58,400 I don't need the girl. I don't need the stuff. 897 00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:02,240 I got Christ. Now what is he calling me to do? 898 00:46:02,280 --> 00:46:04,640 Does that make sense? So I want to be very clear, this 899 00:46:04,640 --> 00:46:07,840 conversation is not how Jesus is your consolation prize when your 900 00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:10,880 idols fail you. The goal is that Christ 901 00:46:10,880 --> 00:46:15,360 satisfies that which you think you need apart from him, you 902 00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:18,840 find in him. And once found in him, as as 903 00:46:18,840 --> 00:46:21,960 Paul says, you've been, you found him and then he says or 904 00:46:21,960 --> 00:46:25,600 have been found by him. Now you strain harder than ever, 905 00:46:25,600 --> 00:46:29,680 but not for your glory, his. So don't hear me saying now life 906 00:46:29,680 --> 00:46:32,480 is just chilling. We just, we just chilling. 907 00:46:32,480 --> 00:46:35,880 No, we're not. But the motivation, the goal, 908 00:46:35,880 --> 00:46:38,400 the reason, all of it now is for the glory of God, good of 909 00:46:38,400 --> 00:46:41,440 neighbor, not for my sense of selfhood, which is all good now. 910 00:46:41,640 --> 00:46:43,600 Does that make sense? That's why we kill idols. 911 00:46:43,800 --> 00:46:46,960 We don't kill them when? All else fails, go to Jesus. 912 00:46:47,280 --> 00:46:50,920 No, that's idolatry. I think actually what I'm saying 913 00:46:50,920 --> 00:46:53,480 is. Christ is 1st, and when he is, 914 00:46:53,720 --> 00:46:55,640 these things will. Take their proper place and you 915 00:46:55,640 --> 00:46:58,720 get the joy of killing idols because if you don't, they'll be 916 00:46:58,720 --> 00:47:02,680 killing you. OK, let's pray our Father. 917 00:47:05,200 --> 00:47:08,760 God, I thank you for just that image of somebody hearing this 918 00:47:08,760 --> 00:47:12,520 is so simple and realizing God, they've been on Maple. 919 00:47:12,520 --> 00:47:14,240 Syrup their whole life. Maybe they've been in church 920 00:47:14,240 --> 00:47:16,960 their whole life, but they've never chosen Christ. 921 00:47:16,960 --> 00:47:19,600 First, never repented, never agreed with you that you are the 922 00:47:19,600 --> 00:47:21,720 most satisfying being in the whole universe. 923 00:47:21,720 --> 00:47:23,600 God, I pray somebody would get saved right now. 924 00:47:24,160 --> 00:47:27,320 Looking at the cross, understanding that you are the 925 00:47:27,320 --> 00:47:32,720 satisfying, safety giving, pleasing God, that nothing else 926 00:47:32,720 --> 00:47:36,480 can be or ever will be. We declare you are more valuable 927 00:47:36,480 --> 00:47:40,720 than anything. God, if we have you and nothing 928 00:47:40,720 --> 00:47:44,080 else, we have everything, and if we have everything else but you, 929 00:47:44,440 --> 00:47:46,880 we have nothing. God, may that be true in our 930 00:47:46,880 --> 00:47:48,680 souls. Would you save somebody by the 931 00:47:48,680 --> 00:47:52,120 power of the Spirit right now? Thank God for the believers in 932 00:47:52,120 --> 00:47:55,160 the room. God in all the ways that we are 933 00:47:55,160 --> 00:47:59,160 tempted to just attach our value to the littlest things, God we 934 00:47:59,160 --> 00:48:02,560 find them and God we identify ourselves with our trauma, our 935 00:48:02,560 --> 00:48:07,520 story, everything but God may our identity be in Christ 936 00:48:08,480 --> 00:48:10,840 doesn't erase our story. It doesn't erase these things 937 00:48:10,840 --> 00:48:13,840 God, but it it just changes the conversation. 938 00:48:13,840 --> 00:48:17,240 God wrap us up. Help us to be found in Christ, 939 00:48:17,240 --> 00:48:21,560 rooted in Christ. Please God, please help us to 940 00:48:21,560 --> 00:48:24,200 kill idols once again and may we do this in community well at 941 00:48:24,200 --> 00:48:25,720 Port City. Got to pray more people would 942 00:48:25,720 --> 00:48:27,400 understand what the local church. 943 00:48:27,400 --> 00:48:29,840 Is God just shine light on confession? 944 00:48:29,840 --> 00:48:32,080 Got to pray that even today, maybe before we leave, there 945 00:48:32,080 --> 00:48:34,040 will just be some liberation in this room. 946 00:48:34,720 --> 00:48:38,280 So God help us, we love you. We pray these things in Christ 947 00:48:38,280 --> 00:48:38,880 name, Amen.