1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,120 We like to say we're a church on a mission, and that mission is 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:05,920 to see people far from God discover their real life and 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,680 their purpose in Jesus. And all that really means is 4 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:10,520 this is that when you walk through this world long, if you 5 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,080 get kicked in the teeth, you get beat down and sometimes you 6 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:15,360 don't know where to go. You don't have an answer, you 7 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:16,640 don't know what the next step is. 8 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,520 And a lot of times we have people that walk in and they're 9 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:22,800 giving God this last chance and they don't know what else to do. 10 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:25,800 And our opportunity, our blessing is to reunite them with 11 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,040 the purpose that God has always had for them and they're just 12 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:31,160 not getting ready to discover. So we're excited that you're on 13 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:33,520 mission with us here in real life, and we can't wait to see 14 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:35,960 what God's going to do in so many people's lives today. 15 00:00:36,480 --> 00:00:37,880 You guys are here on our awesome Sunday. 16 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:40,440 We are continuing in the middle of a message here is called 17 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:42,480 heaven. If you guys have been here, the 18 00:00:42,480 --> 00:00:44,920 idea is this is a lot of us. We think that our best days are 19 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:45,720 behind. That's right. 20 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:47,920 And that's not the truth. That's a lie from the enemy. 21 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:51,040 And through this heaven series, we've been re evaluating and re 22 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:53,800 clarifying what our values are, what we're looking forward to. 23 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:55,920 And we've talked about questions of what does heaven look like? 24 00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:58,840 What are we going to do there? And so it has been so awesome 25 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:01,960 just to see Pastor Sean just share with a vision of what 26 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:03,560 heaven is. But I don't know if you guys 27 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:06,520 know this or not. Heaven isn't just a destination, 28 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:10,640 it's part of a Kingdom of God. That Kingdom of God isn't just a 29 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:14,080 later, it's a now. And so the Kingdom of God really 30 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:18,720 shapes the way we live, what we do, what we value and what we 31 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:21,680 want and how we follow Jesus. So today we're going to continue 32 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,440 in our seven series, our heaven series about salt and light. 33 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:26,920 And I want you guys to woke up Logan Hardy as we continue the 34 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:36,560 series. Like that balancing act. 35 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,160 Well spoiler alert sorry to burst you guys a bubble, I'm not 36 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:42,920 Sean. I think we're similar. 37 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:45,680 If Sean was 5 inches shorter and had a few 1000 less hair 38 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:48,160 follicles I really don't think would be that far off. 39 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,680 But man, I had like a whole lot I wanted to say to start this 40 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:54,800 message, but I don't know about you guys, but I was a little bit 41 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:57,320 floored by the worship today. Did you guys enjoy the worship 42 00:01:57,320 --> 00:01:58,400 today? So if you guys don't mind, I'm 43 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,400 just going to open a prayer and just kind of set our hearts on 44 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:02,560 God. So if you guys all would bow 45 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:05,320 your head, close your eyes, Thank God you are not just good, 46 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,600 but you are so, so good. If we take nothing else away 47 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:12,320 from today, if I just bumble my words the entire morning, let us 48 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:15,880 take away that we should praise your name for forever and 49 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,480 forever and forever, not just in church, but our everyday lives 50 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:21,040 and our workplaces and every the aspect of our lives. 51 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:22,920 We should show the light of Jesus to others. 52 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,680 Jesus name. Hey, man, well, I'm super 53 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:27,880 excited to be up here this morning. 54 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:29,280 I've been, I don't know about you guys. 55 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:31,400 Raise your hand real high. If you haven't been enjoying 56 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:33,640 this message series on heaven real high. 57 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:35,240 I have glasses on and the lights are on. 58 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:36,960 So I'm just gonna take your word that the hands are up. 59 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:40,200 But I'm gonna I'm gonna ask for you guys hands a few times 60 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:42,720 because this has kind of been like one of those sermon series 61 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,080 or message series that you just don't want to end, right? 62 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,120 So if during this series on heaven, if you have learned 63 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:52,080 something new, raise your hand. OK, Again, taking your word that 64 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:53,520 your hands are up, my hand is up. 65 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,720 If you've been encouraged by this series, raise your hand if 66 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,240 you found a reason to kind of push forward with a little bit 67 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,080 more of a smile on your face, face because you know that you 68 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:04,960 have heaven waiting for you. OK. 69 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,320 And then last question specifically talking about last 70 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:10,680 week, because you guys remember the message last week that Sean 71 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:12,440 did. We talked about how Heaven helps 72 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,560 us persevere through pain and he gives us a reason for 73 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:18,400 forgiveness. If you were challenged by either 74 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:20,480 last week's message or any message in this series, would 75 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:22,960 you raise your hand real high? This should be all of us. 76 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:25,960 I feel like if you take nothing else out of a series through 77 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:27,280 heaven, you should be challenged. 78 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,960 So what we're going to continue in today is I hope that you walk 79 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:33,160 away with a heart of being challenged based off this 80 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:35,560 message. I know I was challenged when I 81 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:38,000 was writing it. And spoiler alert, if you're 82 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,360 here and you are in real life youth, you heard something very 83 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:44,280 similar this last Wednesday. But I knew I was super 84 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:45,480 challenged when I was writing this. 85 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:47,920 And before we get into the scripture, I'm going to set this 86 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,400 morning up with an illustration. I want you guys to imagine for 87 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:53,640 me. I want you to imagine the most 88 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,560 stereotypical American tours that you can. 89 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:58,960 Country doesn't matter. Maybe for the sake of this 90 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:00,680 illustration, we'll say it's Venice, Italy. 91 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,840 I want you to think of the most stereotypical American tours 92 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:06,480 that you can, going through the streets of Venice, Italy. 93 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:09,720 We'll build 1 together. We'll give this fictionary 94 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:12,160 fictional person a fake name. We'll call it Drew. 95 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:16,000 We'll call this person Drew. So when I think of Drew, again, 96 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:18,399 a fictional person has no connection with anybody here. 97 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,480 What I think of what Drew would look like in going through 98 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:25,280 Venice, Italy, I imagine Drew with just globs and globs of no 99 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:27,760 sunscreen just dripping off of his nose. 100 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,680 When I picture Drew, I picture Drew in a big ridiculous hat. 101 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:33,760 You know, like a straw hat thing. 102 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,360 Kind of goes out four foot each direction. 103 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:38,840 Gives him shade for all of him and his kids. 104 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:42,160 I think of Drew rocking is slightly a three quarter of the 105 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:45,640 way buttoned up Hawaiian shirt. I think of him in khaki shorts 106 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:48,280 sporting the biggest Fanny pack you've ever seen. 107 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:50,840 When I think of Drew going through Venice, Italy, I think 108 00:04:50,840 --> 00:04:53,560 of Drew going on a bird scooter through the sidewalks, pushing 109 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:56,240 all the locals out of his way just to get to the next 110 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,440 restaurant for his bread or whatever he likes. 111 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:01,560 I don't know. So when I think of Drew, would 112 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,000 you guys agree that we think of a person as an American tourist, 113 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:08,160 somebody that stands out, right? The idea of American culture and 114 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:12,360 American identity is so pervasive and it's so strong, it 115 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:14,760 is going to be very hard to miss an American in a place that 116 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:17,320 they're not supposed to be. If you're in Italy and you see 117 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:20,040 an American on the street, it is going to be obvious. 118 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,080 It is going to be obvious that Drew is not the culture of 119 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:26,840 Italian that we think he is. So when we think about today, 120 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:29,160 here's what I want you to have on your heart is when you're 121 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,440 actually marked by a strong identity and when you actually 122 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:36,480 are a foreigner in a foreign place, you should stand out. 123 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:39,240 In the same way Drew stands out in Italy when he's on his bird 124 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:41,920 scooter with his nose sunscreen and is slightly buttoned up 125 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:44,760 Hawaiian shirt. If we truly are citizens of 126 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:47,400 heaven, we should stand out when we're here on earth, correct? 127 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:50,520 So that's going to be the heart behind this message today. 128 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:54,040 My dad, Barry asked a few weeks ago, I don't know if if you were 129 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,960 here for it, he gave a message series on asking what is your 130 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,000 tribe? Where do you really plant your 131 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,320 flag? Where do you find your sense of 132 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:04,760 identity? You know, where do you find your 133 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:07,360 sense of culture and how does it stand out among other people? 134 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:10,200 So if we follow the logic of that tourist illustration, if we 135 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,680 are truly marked by Jesus and if we are truly destined for 136 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,640 heaven, it should be very obvious that this person is not 137 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:18,480 of earth. In the same way you're in Italy, 138 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:20,480 like man, that guy has to be an American if you're on earth, 139 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:22,200 like that guy has to be bound for heaven. 140 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:24,680 So that's a challenge. If you have your Bibles going to 141 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:29,160 start in Philippians chapter 3 and we're going to see Paul 142 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:30,560 talking to the Church of Philippi. 143 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,440 And Philippians is one of the like one of the coolest books in 144 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:35,800 the whole Bible because it's if you read a lot of Paul's 145 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:38,080 letters, it's a whole lot of you do this wrong, you do this 146 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,080 wrong, you do this wrong. But Philippians really isn't 147 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:42,840 that much of a letter of correction and more it's a 148 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:45,400 letter of exhortation. So we're going to be starting in 149 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:50,080 chapter 3, verse 17, and it starts join together and 150 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:51,920 following my example, brothers and sisters. 151 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:54,960 And just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those 152 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,160 who live as we do before we get into anything. 153 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:00,640 I pulled a lot of meaning out of this one verse. 154 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,800 This doesn't really tie that neatly into the message, but I 155 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:06,520 think that if you follow the the verse 17, if you follow verse 156 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:09,480 17, everything that we're going to talk about gets a whole lot 157 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:11,200 easier. Verse 17, what does it start 158 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:13,720 with? Join together. 159 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,920 Is it or is it not a lot easier to live as a Christian when 160 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,400 you're living among Christian brothers and sisters? 161 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:22,640 Man, if you guys are not in a life group right now, I would 162 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:25,040 encourage you to join a life group as soon as possible. 163 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:28,080 If you're coming to church every other week, or even less so than 164 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,360 that, I'd insure, I'd encourage you come to church consistently. 165 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:32,800 Find a church to get planted into. 166 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:36,400 It is so much easier to live a godly life when you're 167 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:40,320 surrounded by godly people. Full stop. 168 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,120 I'm in the way scripture group. So depending on how you feel 169 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:45,320 about me, that could either be a really good group or it might be 170 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:49,240 a group to avoid. Talk to Jamie or Brett, 171 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:51,920 depending on how you think about me and then look at. 172 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,160 So join together and following my example. 173 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:57,840 Paul is writing the Church of Philippi in this letter and he's 174 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:00,880 saying that the Church of Philippi is going to have a lot 175 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:04,360 easier of a time to live a godly life if they follow the example 176 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:06,360 set by Paul. And as you get later on in 177 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:09,880 Timothy and Titus, if you're not in here this morning and you 178 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:13,920 don't have a mentor or somebody that you can look up to, if you 179 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:16,960 don't have an older gentleman or an older lady in your life that 180 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:19,840 has walked the walk that you're trying to live and lives a godly 181 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:23,040 life that you can emulate, you are starting behind the curve. 182 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,640 It is so much easier to live a godly life when you have 183 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:29,960 somebody to emulate. So that's my charge for you guys 184 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,080 as we get into start do life together, join a life group, 185 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:35,760 find somebody to emulate. Amen, Amen. 186 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,799 All right picking up going on verse 18 for I has often told 187 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:42,400 you before and now tell you again even with tears. 188 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:44,920 Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 189 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:48,480 Their destiny is destruction. Their God is their stomach and 190 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:51,000 their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on what 191 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:54,640 earthly things? Verse 20. 192 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:58,160 Notice the contradiction. But our citizenship is in 193 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,400 heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord 194 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:03,720 Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables Him to bring 195 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:07,200 everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies 196 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:08,640 so they will be like His glorious body. 197 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:14,000 A lot to unpack here. Notice in verse 18 and 19 you 198 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:17,040 have the characteristics and the distinctives of those bound for 199 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:19,800 destruction and notice in verse 20 and 21 you have the 200 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:22,040 distinctives of those that are bound for heaven. 201 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:25,240 So what I'd like to think is, is you look at verse 18 and 19, you 202 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,200 get a blueprint and a step by step guide on how to blend into 203 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:30,400 the world around you. If you want to blend into the 204 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:32,720 world around you, you're going to let God, your God be your 205 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:34,560 stomach. You're going to be driven and 206 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:37,680 you're going to be dictated by indulgence in the pleasures of 207 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:39,280 the world. That could look like gluttony. 208 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:43,080 If you're like me and like you choose your restaurant based on 209 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:45,880 how big the serving sizes are, that could that could, that 210 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,720 could be sexual immorality, addiction to partaking in that 211 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,440 kind of pleasure. Really it all roots back to self 212 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:54,480 worship. If you want to blend into the 213 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,520 world around you, put yourself first. 214 00:09:56,720 --> 00:09:59,600 Put your feelings 1st and put your wants 1st. 215 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:02,360 And moving forward from that, if you want to blend into the 216 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:04,520 world, you're going to find glory in your shame. 217 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:08,080 If you want to blend into the world, the things that distaste 218 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,120 and disappoint God the most, you're going to find the most 219 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:13,400 pleasure in, like sexual immorality. 220 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:16,120 Like we're talking about finding pride in the opposite of what 221 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:18,120 God calls. And if you want to blend into 222 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:22,120 the world, the way of the world leads to an unmistakable end. 223 00:10:22,560 --> 00:10:25,560 It leads to an unmistakable ending for your life. 224 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:28,400 I don't say this to scare you guys, but I say this because it 225 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:29,920 is a reality. How many you guys know that we 226 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:33,760 are all eternal beings, For better or for worse, we are all 227 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:35,800 going to live forever. The only question is, are you 228 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:38,960 going to live in eternal life or are you going to live in eternal 229 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:40,800 death? And following the way of the 230 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:44,480 world leads to the latter. Paul writes that their destiny, 231 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:47,760 destiny is destruction because where Christ brings life, the 232 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:51,200 secular lifestyle in the secular world brings the opposite. 233 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:53,760 But the good news, because I'm not, if this isn't a sad 234 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:55,040 message, this is a hopeful message. 235 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:58,000 The good news is that Jesus gives us a way to stand out. 236 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:00,400 And the way to stand out is by following the way of Jesus. 237 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:03,760 I mean, your citizenship is in heaven if you follow Jesus. 238 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:06,120 And in like the same way that American tourists find 239 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:09,480 themselves sticking out wherever they go, citizens of heaven 240 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:11,240 should stick out wherever they go. 241 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:13,240 I mean, if you have a citizenship in heaven, you have 242 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:14,640 a promise that you will be made holy. 243 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:18,240 If you're a citizen of heaven, you have a reason to stand out. 244 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:22,440 And that's because we're eagerly awaiting who Jesus. 245 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:24,520 We're eagerly awaiting our Savior. 246 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:26,520 What would it look like if you lived? 247 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:29,320 And if I lived, because I'm not, I'm not just talking at you 248 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:32,480 guys, this is me a part of this. What would it look like if we 249 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,080 lived like we actually believe that Jesus was coming back? 250 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:38,320 What would it look like if every single action we took, every 251 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:40,800 single day, we understood we were giving account to Jesus for 252 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:42,720 it? How much easier to say like, 253 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:45,680 yeah, Jesus, I messed up this day, but I felt regret for it 254 00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:48,680 and I fixed it moving forward rather than, yes, Jesus, I fell 255 00:11:48,680 --> 00:11:50,520 into habitual sin and I never got out of that. 256 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:53,720 I never got out of that rut. So this is going to frame what 257 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:54,920 we're going to talk about this morning. 258 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:58,920 You have two ways to live. You have the way of blending in, 259 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:02,040 which is the way of the world, or you have the way of standing 260 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:06,200 out, which is the way of Jesus. So what does that look like 261 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:07,640 practically? If you guys still have your 262 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:09,360 Bibles out, and I hope you all have your Bibles, this is going 263 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:12,240 to be a lot easier to read. I encourage you guys all to read 264 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:13,800 out of your Bible rather than on the screen. 265 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:15,040 If you don't have a Bible, that's awesome. 266 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,200 But if you can follow along in your physical Bible and practice 267 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:20,840 studying in that, it is going to be so much more fruitful for 268 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:22,000 you. So if you do have it, we're 269 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:28,320 going to be in Matthew chapter 5 and Jesus is just getting, he's 270 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:29,680 preaching the Sermon on the Mount. 271 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:32,240 He just got out of the Beatitudes and he's picking up 272 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,680 and he is talking about two specific, I don't know exactly 273 00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:36,880 what to call it. It almost feels like they're 274 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:39,720 metaphors, but they're charges for the people of God and 275 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,480 they're going to be talking about what does it look like to 276 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:45,720 be the salt of the earth and what does it look like to carry 277 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:49,640 the light of the world? So salt of the earth 513 Jesus 278 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:51,160 says you are the salt of the earth. 279 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:54,240 But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made 280 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:57,040 salty again? It is no longer good for 281 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:00,760 anything except to be thrown out and trampled under foot. 282 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:04,120 I don't know about you guys, but I'm very thankful that salt does 283 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:06,120 not blend in. But salt stands out. 284 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:08,800 The first time I ever tried cooking anything, I tried to 285 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:10,960 make steak bites. I was not aware that you don't 286 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:14,840 fill up an entire like like inch of oil on the bottom of your 287 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:16,520 pan. So when I dropped my steak in, 288 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:18,520 it spotted up on me and my skin got all bubbly. 289 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:21,000 It was really bad. That should tell you the level 290 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,680 of a cook I am. If salt did not exist, nothing I 291 00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:26,920 made would be edible. If Heinz 57, it didn't exist. 292 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:29,080 Nothing I made would be edible. But salt? 293 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:31,440 Salt stands out. It doesn't blend in. 294 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:33,720 You notice salt when you bite into a Chick-fil-A fry that's 295 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,000 too salty. Like it's very obvious that salt 296 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,040 is present. So my question is for you. 297 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:40,560 Are you like salt? Do you stand out in your 298 00:13:40,560 --> 00:13:43,200 everyday life? Like, do you make in the same 299 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:46,480 way salt makes Logan's cooking bearable, Do you make the 300 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:48,560 downtroddenness of the world bearable? 301 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,640 Are you salt mixing into the nasty food of life? 302 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,480 I mean, I'll tell you guys that I'm saying this as a reflective 303 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:57,800 piece on my end because I don't know how many of you know, it 304 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:00,240 used to be full time, but now I go to school and whatnot. 305 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:04,120 So two days a week, I work for my dad and we work concrete. 306 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:06,280 So concrete work. I don't know what you guys 307 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:07,120 should. I don't know what you guys know 308 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:09,080 about concrete work. It is not the most edifying 309 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,400 place I've got not really in any sense at all. 310 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,160 And so I'm up here preaching, right? 311 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:18,560 I, I, I help run our youth group. 312 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:22,040 I go to Bible college. It should stand to reason that 313 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:24,640 Man Logan sticks out like a Thor sum on the concrete site. 314 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:27,400 There's like all these Pagan heathens pouring concrete, and 315 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:30,560 then there's this godly guy over here that's paving the way for 316 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:32,680 them to know Jesus. That's what it should be, right? 317 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:36,200 What do you think it really is? No, I blend in. 318 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,400 I behave the exact way that they do on the job site. 319 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:43,200 Man, when I'm at work, I say things that I shouldn't say. 320 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:48,120 The jokes I come up with at work rival like anything I'll find on 321 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,400 the Internet and it is so funny in the moment. 322 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:53,040 But then I get home and I'm like man, is that really like how I 323 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:55,480 should carry myself? Like I'm going to have to give 324 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:57,520 account to God for that joke I just told. 325 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:00,360 That was the most afraid thing I could think of and I got 2 326 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:05,200 minutes of laughter, man. When I'm on the job site, I act 327 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:09,040 in ways that I shouldn't act. The fruit of the Spirit is 328 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,440 kindness, forbearance, and patience, among other things. 329 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:17,920 I am not kind at work. I do not have patience at work. 330 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:19,320 I, I do not have forbearance at work. 331 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:22,920 I don't carry myself in the way God calls me to at work or how I 332 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:26,160 carry myself here at church. Man, I am not like salt at all 333 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:28,720 on my job site. I more often than not, I blend 334 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:32,440 in and there is no salt to make that nasty food a little bit 335 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:34,640 more bearable and a little bit more tenable. 336 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:38,440 So that's me. I asked you guys, how do you 337 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:40,720 look at your job site? I don't know where you work. 338 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:43,160 If you work outside, maybe you work in a school, maybe you work 339 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:45,520 in an office. How do you blend into your work? 340 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:49,320 Is it very obvious that there's an ambassador of Christ among 341 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:52,120 the world at your work? Is it very obvious in the same 342 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:54,600 way Drew rides his Bird scooter across the Venice streets? 343 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,720 Do you stand out in that same manner or you just like your 344 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:01,080 coworkers? Do you carry yourself just like 345 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:02,480 your coworkers? And how do you? 346 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:04,160 Here's another one. OK, we'll pick up off last week. 347 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:05,840 How do you present yourself on social media? 348 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:08,400 This is not as much of an area for struggle for me, but I know 349 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:09,840 for some of you this is an area of struggle. 350 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:12,960 Are you like the rest of the world on social media? 351 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:17,200 Are you full of judgement, superiority, moral casting down 352 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:18,640 on other people? Or are you different? 353 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:20,960 Are you salt that you stand out in the way that you're full of 354 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,760 grace and you're full of encouragement on social media? 355 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:27,400 What about everyday life? Not how we carry ourselves on 356 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:29,680 the phone, not how we carry ourselves at our job site. 357 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:32,400 But when you're going to the grocery store, when you're when 358 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:35,400 you're taking your evening walk in the park to get your calories 359 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:39,240 cut meant do you blend into the rest of the grocery store? 360 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:42,320 Do you blend into everybody else around you at the park? 361 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:45,920 When you see a crying stranger on the park seat, do you stop to 362 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:49,920 comfort her or do you be, are you more on your itinerary? 363 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,360 I got to be home by this time. I got to do this. 364 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:54,920 I got to do that. Do you stand out in public? 365 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:56,920 And here's maybe the most simple example of all. 366 00:16:57,440 --> 00:16:59,680 If you guys are like me, is it awkward sometimes just to pray 367 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:03,040 in public just to stand out in any way possible? 368 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:06,160 I mean, some of us are just scared and uncomfortable to pray 369 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:10,960 in public because it stands out. One of the biggest temptations 370 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:12,480 of being a Christian is to blend in. 371 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:16,640 What if they think I'm weird? What if they think any number of 372 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:18,800 things? I'm going to reference a movie 373 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:21,079 that I am not allowed to name on the stage. 374 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:23,640 Suffice to say that it's not a movie I should have watched, but 375 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:27,960 this picture is really good. So in in Asian cultures there is 376 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:32,240 a rice dish called Joe and what it is, is it's soft rice boiled 377 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:34,320 in water and serve mostly to the elderly. 378 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:38,680 Joe is safe. It's inoffensive, it is 379 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:41,040 unmemorable, it is easily digestible. 380 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:44,280 And a big temptation for us Christians is to be like the Joe 381 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:49,680 to be, to be inoffensive, to not stir the pot, to not cause any 382 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:53,160 waves, to play it safe, to not leave a mark. 383 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:56,640 But the, the, the, the truth is that God calls the opposite of 384 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,280 us. We are so scared by what people 385 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:00,960 think of us. I mean, what if this person 386 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:02,720 thinks I'm scared? Not scared, I'm sorry. 387 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:04,320 What if this person thinks I'm weird? 388 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:07,680 What if this person calls me name names? 389 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:11,200 What if I'm called intolerance? What if the world around me says 390 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:13,280 that my views aren't only outdated, but they're actually 391 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,680 immoral? What if the people around me 392 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,960 push for me to lose my job? I was talking to somebody on my 393 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:21,320 youth team who actually has been running into issues at his 394 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:25,480 workplace because he was telling people he was giving people 395 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:27,040 blessings at the end of an e-mail. 396 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:31,400 Like simple stuff like that causes reactions and those are 397 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:34,680 real temptations that cause us to not stand out as much as we 398 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:36,760 should. So we're called to be the salt 399 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,680 of the earth. And in my opinion, it is a lot 400 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:41,760 easier to be Joe than it is to be salt. 401 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:45,200 But God calls us to be salt. And the way to be salt is by 402 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:47,280 showing the light of the world to those around you. 403 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:49,360 So we're going to pick up again in Matthew chapter 5. 404 00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:55,560 We're going to keep going in verse 14, but you are the you're 405 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:58,640 the light of the world. That picture of light, that same 406 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:00,840 light that blinds me coming from the spots that makes me can't 407 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:02,520 see. I want you to picture that for 408 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:04,680 the rest of the message. Light is going to be 409 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:07,360 instrumental to the rest of what we're going to be talking about. 410 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:11,320 You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be 411 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:15,040 hidden, neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl, 412 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:18,320 but instead they put it on a stand and it gives light to 413 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:20,840 everyone in the house in the same way. 414 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:24,800 In the same way being as what it looks like to take your lamp and 415 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:27,960 put it on a shelf rather than throwing a blanket over in that 416 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:31,680 same way, in that same manner, let your light shine before 417 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:33,240 others. So that's the action right here. 418 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:35,560 What is the action? Let your life shine before 419 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:37,120 others. And what is the result? 420 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:41,040 That they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in 421 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:42,760 heaven. This is the best news of the 422 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:45,800 heaven, best news of the heaven. This is the best news of the 423 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:47,960 morning. That everything that we're 424 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:50,200 talking about, what does it look like to stand out? 425 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:52,680 What does it look like to carry, to carry the light of Jesus? 426 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:54,960 What does it look like to be an ambassador of Christ? 427 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:57,800 The best news of the morning is that that one's doing the heavy 428 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:00,960 lifting is not us, but is actually Jesus within us. 429 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:02,680 We're going to come back to John. 430 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:04,360 We're going to come back to Matthew 5 in a minute. 431 00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:07,440 But I want to give some context for what this light really is, 432 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:10,840 because that's cool in theory. But what is it in practice? 433 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:14,120 What is the light of God in all practicalities? 434 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:17,440 So in John 11 it says that in the beginning was the Word. 435 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:20,200 And for those of you who don't know the Word here, this capital 436 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:24,640 word, this is Jesus. And the Word was with God, and 437 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:26,680 the Word was God. He was with God in the 438 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:28,120 beginning. Through Him all things were 439 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:29,560 made. Without Him nothing that was 440 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:34,120 made had been made. In Him was life, and that life 441 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,800 was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the 442 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:40,200 darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 443 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:44,080 You see what John here is saying about light in relation to 444 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:46,040 Jesus? Because in Jesus is life, 445 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:48,920 eternal life, and in that eternal life is the light of 446 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:50,360 Jesus. So let's go back up to Matthew 447 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:52,480 5. Let's reread it. 448 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:55,040 And instead of light, let's plug in Jesus. 449 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:59,760 As we reread this Matthew 514, you carry Jesus before the 450 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:02,480 world. A town built on a hill cannot be 451 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:04,440 hidden. Neither do people light a lamp 452 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:07,240 or put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on a stand, 453 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:09,440 and it gives Jesus to everyone in the house. 454 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:13,560 In the same way, let Jesus shine before others so that they may 455 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:17,080 see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. 456 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,560 When you're putting your light in front of the world, when 457 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:23,240 you're putting your light in front of the stand, you are not 458 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:24,840 putting yourself up in front of the world. 459 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:27,520 You are letting Jesus shine in front of the world. 460 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:31,240 Man, when I got serious about my faith in my works started to 461 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:33,440 match up with where my faith should have had them at. 462 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:35,600 It was not Logan being glorified. 463 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:38,120 When you do the things that you should be doing, when you're 464 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:41,880 acting actually like the salt of the earth, it is not Mike that 465 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:45,080 is being glorified, but it is Jesus working within Mike that 466 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:47,360 gets all the glory. And what is the purpose? 467 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:49,160 Why do we show our light before others? 468 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:51,600 What did the verse just say? What's the purpose of it? 469 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:57,360 Not just to glorify God, because that is a part of it, but so 470 00:21:57,360 --> 00:22:00,600 that others may glorify God. How many you guys know that a 471 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:03,520 part of the plan of salvation is you? 472 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:08,120 A part of God's plan to have His love and have His world reach 473 00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:12,360 the World is your guys's willingness to share the hope 474 00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:15,840 that you have been given. The world around you needs to 475 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:18,720 see Jesus in you. I don't frame that for a minute. 476 00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:22,600 The person around you that's an atheist, that is an agnostic, 477 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:26,120 that's XY or Z, whatever they might be, that doesn't worship 478 00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:30,120 and glorify God, they can't afford for you to blend in and 479 00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:33,280 be Joe. They cannot afford for you to 480 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:36,280 put a blanket or a bowl over the light that you have been given. 481 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:39,040 The world desperately needs to see Jesus in you. 482 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:41,880 Verse 16 says in the same way, let your light shine before 483 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:46,160 others so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your 484 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:49,680 Father in heaven. Your willingness to share your 485 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:54,800 hope is a part of God's plan of salvation, and God help us if we 486 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:57,920 can keep that to ourselves. Man, I don't know, how about you 487 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:01,000 raise your hand real high? If the radical transformation of 488 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,200 the Holy Spirit has made a tangible difference in your 489 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:07,160 life, raise your hand real high. Now here's what I want you to 490 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:09,600 do. Picture where you were without 491 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:13,200 the Holy Spirit and apply that to everybody around you that 492 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,520 doesn't know God. See how much more difficult that 493 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:18,720 makes it to put a blanket over your life. 494 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:22,160 See how much more difficult that makes it to blend into your job 495 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,080 site. See how much more difficult it 496 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:27,760 makes it to not pray with the mother crying on the bench. 497 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:30,920 See how much more difficult it makes it to not show the hope 498 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:32,680 that you've been given before everybody. 499 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,640 If you leave with nothing else today, leave with the 500 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:40,720 encouragement to share your hope because you don't know how far 501 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:42,720 God is going to use it and you don't know what it's going to 502 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:48,160 lead to. We're going to be ending the, 503 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:49,360 we're going to be ending the message. 504 00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:51,200 We're going to be ending it in Second Corinthians. 505 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:53,360 We're going to be looking at 2nd Corinthians because there's a 506 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:56,160 really cool picture that is painted by Paul here. 507 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:01,680 We're talking this whole morning so far about the reality that is 508 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:05,200 not Jesus shining in US, right? No, sorry, it's not us shining 509 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:07,200 before others, but it's Jesus shining in US. 510 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:11,000 And Paul lays out this beautiful picture of this idea that we are 511 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:14,200 nothing more than jars of clay in Second Corinthians chapter 4, 512 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:19,680 verse 7, we'll read, but we have this treasure. 513 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:23,360 What is this treasure? This treasure is the Holy 514 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:25,800 Spirit. This treasure is the work in our 515 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:28,280 lives that has been performed by the Holy Spirit. 516 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:32,320 This treasure is the light in the promise of salvation that 517 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:35,040 has been given to us. This treasure, being all the 518 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:37,240 good stuff that God gives us through the promise of the Holy 519 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,200 Spirit, is what we have in jars of clay. 520 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:44,600 And it's to show that this all surpassing power is from who? 521 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:47,720 It's from God, and it is not from us. 522 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,680 I had Buffalo Rollers this morning for breakfast, and it's 523 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:57,120 coming back up. Man, this is such a beautiful 524 00:24:57,120 --> 00:25:01,320 picture. Into take another drink. 525 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:06,160 I should have what I should have, Joe. 526 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,760 Yeah. Soft price, man. 527 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:12,080 Look at verse 8. This is a powerful reminder and 528 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:15,120 a sobering reminder of what the world does to us. 529 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:19,360 We are hard pressed on every side, but we're not crushed. 530 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:23,200 We are perplexed, but we're not in despair. 531 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:26,720 We are accuser. We're persecuted, but we're not 532 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:29,520 abandoned. We are struck down, but we are 533 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,320 not destroyed. We always carry around in our 534 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:34,760 body the death of Jesus. So what? 535 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:38,440 So the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 536 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:41,040 Are you guys picking up a theme so far this morning? 537 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:45,480 Are you picking up a major purpose of what Jesus does in 538 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:48,200 your life and how it can be used in the lives of others? 539 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:50,520 Let's go back up. And so if we have, I'm not done 540 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:52,640 reading there, but I really want to touch base here. 541 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,160 If we have this treasure in jars of clay, what does this treasure 542 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:57,440 give us? And just for the sake of the 543 00:25:57,440 --> 00:25:59,640 morning, let's say the promise of heaven, because we're talking 544 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:01,400 about heaven. If we have the promise of 545 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,440 heaven, and if we are citizens of heaven, what can we overcome? 546 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:07,400 Well, we can overcome the hard pressing of the world. 547 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:10,120 I don't know about you guys, but life gets very, very, very 548 00:26:10,120 --> 00:26:13,040 difficult sometimes. I find a million reasons to hang 549 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:16,120 my head every single day, but I'm never crushed because I have 550 00:26:16,120 --> 00:26:19,160 a Father in heaven who says I am enough and I have a Father in 551 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:23,240 heaven who gives me the power to get through anything that is 552 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:26,960 maybe, maybe faces me. Psalm 23 says that he anoints my 553 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:30,000 head with oil, that whenever the issues and the troubles of life 554 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,640 come, I have a Father that is here by my side so that I am not 555 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:36,960 crushed by the power of life. Man, how many guys know that 556 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,440 life is perplexing? How many guys know that life is 557 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:43,280 confusing sometimes? There's been so many things I've 558 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:46,320 been, I've been getting a lot better about learning the 559 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:49,080 stories of the people that I serve with in youth. 560 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:52,160 There's been some particular stories that have stood out 561 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:55,680 lately where you just can only ask God from a very human 562 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:57,200 perspective, like God, what are you doing right now? 563 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:00,760 Why are you letting this happen? Why is this happening to this 564 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:03,080 person who's doing all these good things and is carrying 565 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:04,960 themselves in a godly way? Who is not Joe? 566 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:07,960 This person who is salt but is being crushed by something that 567 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:12,000 just isn't fair. Man, the life in the fallen 568 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,200 nature of this world, as we've been talking about in this 569 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:18,360 series, it perplexes us, but we are never in despair because 570 00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:21,320 these, in these people who are the salt of the earth, they have 571 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:24,600 a promise of heaven. We have not lost our hope. 572 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:26,760 I mean, how do you guys know that we're persecuted? 573 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:32,200 Well, to varying degrees. But when you actually stand out 574 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:35,560 as salt to some degree or another, there is going to be 575 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:37,560 pushback. There is going to be somebody 576 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:40,160 that has a problem with you actually carrying the light of 577 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:42,240 Jesus. Because as Paul says, with 578 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:45,960 tears, which by the way should be our orientation this morning, 579 00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:48,840 we should have tears in our eyes when we think about the fact 580 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:51,120 that there is not everybody that carries the same light that we 581 00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:54,360 have but cross. But Paul says with tears that 582 00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:57,560 there are enemies of the cross, there are enemies of the life 583 00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:00,120 that you carry within you and you will lead that will lead to 584 00:28:00,120 --> 00:28:04,120 persecution, but you won't be abandoned. 585 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:08,040 Psalm 23 again. He walks with you in the darkest 586 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:09,640 of valleys and in the lowest of valleys. 587 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:13,480 Man, we're struck down. Life gets hard and it knocks us 588 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:16,480 to our feet, but we are able to get back up because we're not 589 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:18,120 destroyed because of the promise of Jesus. 590 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,880 And all this is done because we carry in our body the death of 591 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:24,960 Jesus, the power of his resurrection, the power of his 592 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:28,600 sacrifice on our behalf, so that it may also be revealed in our 593 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:31,000 body. Verse 11 For we who are alive 594 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:34,120 are always being given over to the death, over to death. 595 00:28:34,120 --> 00:28:36,800 For whose sake? For Jesus sake? 596 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,400 Is it for our sake? Is it for our glory? 597 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:42,320 Is it for our glory that we overcome the hardships of the 598 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:44,080 world? Is it for our glory that we're 599 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:45,520 able to show our lights to others? 600 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:48,640 No, like everything else we've been talking about, it is for 601 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:52,320 Jesus's sake, to his glory, so that his life may also be 602 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:55,240 revealed in our mortal body. And that's such a good way to 603 00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:57,760 describe what we are. Mortal body. 604 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:01,000 What do you guys think of? We think of mortality, decay. 605 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:07,280 Punctuality is not the right word like shortened vapor. 606 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:11,280 Our mortal bodies are very are very much just that they are a 607 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:16,480 vapor verse 12 so then death is at work in us but what life is 608 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:19,040 at work in you. It's about the best news I can 609 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:21,920 give you this morning. This really could probably be 610 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:23,920 just a message on how to keep persevering through pain. 611 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:28,040 The world is going to press down on you when you they see that 612 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:29,760 you really are a citizen of heaven. 613 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:33,200 If you really are the salt of the earth, the earth though, the 614 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:34,640 world is going to fight back in that. 615 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:38,400 And even though all these things are at work in you, Jesus is 616 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:39,880 also at work in you. And how many of you guys know 617 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:42,200 that Jesus is going to overcome any power that's going to come 618 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:45,040 against you, any pain that's going to come against you, any 619 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:46,440 hardship that's going to come against you? 620 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:50,440 Man, at the start of this verse, Paul writes to us as if we're 621 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:52,040 clay jars. How many of you guys remember 622 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:55,120 back in elementary art, you guys made like you had like the kiln 623 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:57,280 in your art class, you made like the clay pots. 624 00:29:57,280 --> 00:29:59,080 You guys remember that? Or is that just like 625 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,600 specifically me? No, OK, I want you to picture 626 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:06,160 these clay jars. And mine was really pathetic 627 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:08,400 because I was bad at it. So it was like like a hand sized 628 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:09,920 open bowl. But I want to imagine you're 629 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:12,440 good at it and it's actually like a full size jar. 630 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:15,840 I want you to imagine dropping that jar, picking it back up, 631 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:18,880 piercing it together, gluing it together, taping it together. 632 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,440 That's what we are, man. As as as Paul writes, we're clay 633 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:23,600 jars. And in that same way, we're 634 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:25,600 pressed on every side. We're perplexed, we're 635 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:29,680 persecuted, we're struck down, but in the cracks that form 636 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:32,880 underneath the weight of the world, Jesus shines all the 637 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:35,120 brighter. And that shining through the 638 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:38,560 cracks that you have is for the sake of others coming to know 639 00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:41,160 Him. His power is made perfect in our 640 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:44,960 weakness. But find the joy to be a jar of 641 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,560 clay for Jesus. Find the joy of understanding 642 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:49,440 that you're nothing more than just a vessel to carry His 643 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:51,880 light. Life gets so much easier and 644 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:54,840 it's so much more enjoyable when you understand that it's Jesus 645 00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:56,840 working within you. And it's not on my shoulders. 646 00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:00,200 I don't carry the burden of bringing others to Christ. 647 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:02,960 I carry the burden of being faithful to show how Jesus has 648 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:05,800 changed mine. And in changing my life, Jesus 649 00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:08,480 is going to use that power to change the lives of others. 650 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:11,000 But find the humility be a clay jar. 651 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:13,520 Because like I said, it is the power of Jesus. 652 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:15,720 But Jesus has to be on the footstool, not you. 653 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:18,760 You are simply the side character in the main story that 654 00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:21,320 is Jesus. Find the humility to be that 655 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:23,800 clay jar. May be the person who does not 656 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:28,200 say what his Co worker says, Be the person who like I should be, 657 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:32,240 stands out on the job site, does not say the same thing as my 658 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:34,160 coworkers. But be the person who builds 659 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:36,640 people up on Facebook rather than tearing people down. 660 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:40,920 Be the person who who who comforts the crying stranger who 661 00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:44,640 takes an extra 5 minutes to have a human relation with somebody 662 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:45,840 else. Gross. 663 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:49,040 Be the person who actually wants to connect with people. 664 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:52,080 That is so countercultural. We love staring on our screens 665 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:54,560 and we love staring on our feet, but be the kind of person who is 666 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:56,720 intentional with connecting to those around you. 667 00:31:57,160 --> 00:31:58,960 Be the kind of person who's not afraid to pray. 668 00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:02,280 Be the kind of person who is not afraid to talk to their father 669 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:05,320 in front of a watching world because that watching world 670 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:07,120 needs the Father that you have. Amen. 671 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:09,720 Amen. How different. 672 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:10,680 This is what we're going to end with. 673 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:14,080 How different would the world be if you were ambassadors of 674 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:17,240 Christ? Like we're talking about my 675 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:20,000 terrible cooking, my pathetic cooking, my awful cooking. 676 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:24,040 I'm so pathetic in that same way that my cooking is so unbearable 677 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:27,040 until I add salt. How much more bearable do you 678 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:30,400 make the life around you? How much more bearable do you 679 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:32,360 make the hardships of the world, of the world? 680 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:34,760 And how much different would it be if we showed our life to 681 00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:36,920 others? I wonder if we all made a 682 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:39,840 commitment this week and moving forward to constantly be 683 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:41,400 vigilant about showing our lives of others. 684 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:43,400 I wonder how many more salvations we'd see. 685 00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:45,800 I wonder how much healthier our churches would be. 686 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:48,440 I wonder how many more churches would sprout up. 687 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:50,560 I wonder how different our workplaces would look. 688 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:52,680 I wonder how different our grocery stores would look. 689 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:56,640 I wonder how every single aspect of our lives would be touched if 690 00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:58,720 we were just willing to show Jesus a little bit more. 691 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:03,880 My prayer for you is that you would be the salt of the earth. 692 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:07,400 My prayer for you is that you would find the joy and the 693 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:10,280 humility to consider yourself nothing more than a vessel 694 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:13,680 carrying the light of Jesus, showing that the world has 695 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:16,280 broken you down and beaten you over, but you've been put 696 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:19,400 together and all the cracks in the jar that you are has been 697 00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:21,400 filled with the holy light of Jesus. 698 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:24,640 My prayer for you is that you would find that joy. 699 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:27,200 So if you guys all would bow your heads and close your eyes, 700 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:30,080 there's a couple groups of people in here with every head, 701 00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:32,080 every head bowed and every eye closed. 702 00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:36,120 There's, there's the first group of people in here that I, I'm 703 00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:38,160 really confident there's somebody here like this that is 704 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:40,360 feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit. 705 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:43,400 And maybe you're in here and you find yourself in a similar 706 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:47,440 position to me, man, I don't stand out in my life. 707 00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:49,880 I blend into all the things around me. 708 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:54,000 I am a citizen of heaven and yet I look like a citizen of earth. 709 00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:56,920 I mean, if that's you and you find yourself, I, you find 710 00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:00,600 yourself having an identity marked by, by the world around 711 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:02,200 you rather than the problems that you've been given. 712 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:04,760 Would you raise your hand? If that's, if that's you right 713 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:06,720 now and you're in here and you recognize that you could be 714 00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:08,840 doing a better job of standing out like me. 715 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:11,280 Would you raise your hand if you're in here and you feel like 716 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:13,239 you might have been putting a blanket over the life that 717 00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:15,199 you've been given and you're feeling a little bit of a 718 00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:17,880 conviction because you have not been showing the hope that you 719 00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:19,760 have been given to the degree you should, But you raise your 720 00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:22,360 hand. I mean, that's you and you're 721 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:23,400 here. I do see your hands. 722 00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:26,280 I appreciate your honesty. Let's pray together real quick. 723 00:34:26,679 --> 00:34:29,120 Thank God you're so good. You're not just good, you are 724 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:31,840 so, so good. Thank you so much for the light 725 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:34,480 that you have given us. Thank you for changing our lives 726 00:34:34,639 --> 00:34:37,080 from the inside out. Thank you for everything that 727 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:40,159 you have done in our lives. And give us the wisdom, and more 728 00:34:40,159 --> 00:34:42,280 than anything, give us the courage and the boldness to show 729 00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:45,920 that light and the world around us, Father, we know cannot 730 00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:48,520 afford to live any longer with you without you. 731 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,520 Give us wisdom and give us courage and give us submission 732 00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:55,600 to live as you have called. With every head still bowed and 733 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:59,120 every eye still closed. I get the feeling that there's 734 00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:02,960 another person in here. I get the feeling that there's a 735 00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:06,120 person in here that can't say that they're the salt of the 736 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:08,720 earth because they can't say that they have been given the 737 00:35:08,720 --> 00:35:12,160 light of the world. If you're in here and you've 738 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:14,800 been thinking about giving your life to Jesus, if you've been 739 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:18,040 like wrestling and grappling with this idea of Christianity, 740 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:20,320 just understand that every head is bowed right now. 741 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:22,680 Every eye is still closed. And I would invite you just to 742 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:25,920 focus on these words. If you've been struggling with 743 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:29,560 blending in and you're ready for a light to plug up the cracks of 744 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:32,640 the jar, understand that in order to get to heaven, which 745 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:35,480 what we've been talking about in this whole message series, you 746 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:37,880 have to be perfect. You have to be holy. 747 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:40,160 And if you're anything like me, you are not perfect. 748 00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:43,520 You are not holy. You sin and you sin and you sin. 749 00:35:43,720 --> 00:35:48,360 But Jesus and God, being as gracious as God is, sent Jesus 750 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:51,760 to die on the cross after living a life that we were supposed to 751 00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:55,960 live to pay a debt that I never could pay, that you never could 752 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:57,760 pay. And the only thing that is 753 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:00,840 waiting, if that's you and you are in here and you're almost 754 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:03,480 ready to make a decision to follow Jesus, the only thing 755 00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:06,840 that is waiting is a response to surrender, to believe that Jesus 756 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:10,160 died on the cross for your sins and have faith in Jesus and to 757 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:13,200 live as Jesus calls. So if that's you, if you're in 758 00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:14,960 here, if you've been thinking about starting a relationship 759 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:16,800 with Jesus, you're ready to take that first step today. 760 00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:20,240 Would you raise your hand? If you're in here and you're 761 00:36:20,240 --> 00:36:23,040 ready to find the light and find the hope that I've been talking 762 00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:23,960 about, would you raise your hand? 763 00:36:25,120 --> 00:36:28,120 I mean, God, you know the hearts, you know the 764 00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:31,000 orientations of all of us. I mean, if that's you, we'll go 765 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:32,120 ahead and pray this prayer after me. 766 00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:33,360 And it's not the prayer that saves you. 767 00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:35,320 It's not the words that do anything, but it is your 768 00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:39,400 orientation towards God. May God, I am a Sinner in need 769 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:42,520 of a savior. I mess things up all the time. 770 00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:45,280 I so constantly. But I believe that you sent your 771 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:49,920 son Jesus to die on the cross after living a perfect life, to 772 00:36:50,240 --> 00:36:51,920 pay a debt that I never could pay. 773 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:54,680 I put my life in you. I surrender my life to you, 774 00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:57,600 Jesus name, Amen. I give it up for everybody that 775 00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:01,240 made that decision today. Thank you all so much for the 776 00:37:01,240 --> 00:37:02,840 opportunity to come up here and talk to you today. 777 00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:06,000 I hope you were challenged. And my final exhortation, my 778 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:10,120 final encouragement is to be the salt of the earth, to let your 779 00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:13,160 light shine and to look for all the change that is going to 780 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:14,000 make. Thank you guys.