Welcome To The River. City Church podcast and a
message by our lead. Pastor Jason Powers our prayer
is that this message would Inspire and encourage you, build
your faith and point you to the life-changing love Jesus, may
you enjoy the goodness of God as you follow him today?
Hi everybody. Hey, listen.
Before we're going to do our, our confession, we're going to
do that in just a second, but before I have to, I have to say
something like to address something.
So first of all, Jesus loves you, that's the most important
and everything gets filtered through that.
Fortunately or, unfortunately, in certain moments, I get to be
his mouthpiece and I am less perfect than he is.
And so, last week we were talking about We're talking
about all kinds of and I made a comment that that was not
necessarily untrue but maybe could have been delicate.
Here's the thing about a stage here, it resists.
Nuance just utterly, right? Like cause you got to talk to a
lot of people so it's Hardy. So here's the deal last week.
We're talking about, we're kind of talking about marriage and
staying on the side and I talked about divorce boy, if there's a
subject that needs some Nuance, huh, right?
I spent about 14 seconds on it, right?
But not that you can't say everything that there is to say
about that, in that time, needless to say, I just didn't.
And so, so here's the idea, the idea that we kind of said last
week was like, man, if your marriage is in trouble, if
you're being abused, if you are being, you know, whatever, get
out like leave the Lord, didn't create you to be a punching bag
and it kind of left it like that.
And what that didn't do is leave a lot of context for a lot of
other really, really hard things in marriage aside, from raising
kids, being married is the hardest thing that I've ever
Ever done that. I'm continue to do it.
I have a really, really great wife, right?
It's even harder for her than it is for me because she doesn't
get to be married to herself. She has to be married to me,
right? So, here's the thing that I want
to say, here's where I think, sometimes we can look over the
time, right. I think maybe the church has
lost some of her moral voice and culture.
One of the reasons I think that comes from is I think it's not
enough for the church to say that's bad, don't do that,
right? Because underneath all of this
is in my heart is sin and left to my own devices that's in is
going to come out telling somebody to not sin it's you
might as well just sell them flap.
Your arms and fly to Tuscaloosa. Can't get there from here,
right? So here's what I want to say.
If you're married, if you are in a relationship and your today
going, it's harder than I think I can bear and navigate what I
want you to do. Like we talked about last week
is not give up hope, but I want you to know is there's help you
don't have to figure it out by yourself.
What I I promise you is as your church as his congregation.
We want to help you promises. I can make no judgment.
We don't judge. That's not what we do because
it's hard and because we all need help.
We will stand with you and we will walk with you.
We will my promises we will point to Jesus as Faithfully as
we can. And that may be difficult for
you and that may he may say some things that you don't want to
hear, but I promise you, I have seen it happen.
When people say I'm not quitting.
I'm going to fight for this and we're going to figure this out.
You can make it and we want to help hearing will you raise your
hand? This is Harry and Karen Taylor.
They are a part of caring. You can raise your hand to, as
well. They are part of our marriage
Ministry, they head up our marriage Ministry, there's help,
we can get you counseling, we can get talk to, we can send
you, we all kinds of things that we can do.
So if that's you, if you left last week, feeling beat up.
Listen, that's me. That's not the Kingdom, right?
Jesus will talk to you. Jesus will say things that will
feel like conviction. It may offend you and hurt your
feelings, whatever. But Jesus will lead you to life.
Okay. So if I if If I was in delicate
last week, and you walked out feeling beat up instead or
judged, instead of loved and encourage that's on me, please
forgive me for that, I'll do my best not to do that anymore.
Good, which brings us to our it seems like a good time for our
confession, right? Our confession as the church is
we are badly broken. Yes, you are Grace and peace to
you. You know, what made me think
about that this week, I had a guy who is a friend of mine
called me on the phone and just go.
Jason, I love you, you know, I love you, right?
Is it, hey, can you think about this?
And I did and he was right. And that's a faithful friend,
that's a trusted, that's a trusted brother.
So you can be that kind of brother to write in love, talk
to people. My brother face, a choice that
day, he made a choice and it paid off good.
That is what life is about the life that you're in right now is
a product of the choices that you've made.
Do you live here? Do you live somewhere else?
Do you work here or do you work somewhere else?
You go to college here and you go to college somewhere else, or
do not go to college at all. What do you do with your parents
relationship? What do you do with your
friends? How do you spend your time?
How do you spend your money? It reminds me of my favorite
poem by Robert Frost. I'm sure you've heard it was
studied, right? Two roads, diverged, in a yellow
wood. And sorry, I could not travel
both and be one. Traveler long, I stood and
looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the
undergrowth. And some of that is and I took
the One Less Traveled by and that has made all the
difference, the decisions that we make lead us on paths and
those paths lead us directions and they get us somewhere.
So the questions are the question.
I have for you is what are the decisions that you've made in
your life that have been most impactful?
What are the things? What are the decisions?
The choices that you've made that have guided and shaped your
life? Here's another question.
Do you remember me? In those choices, or did you
wake up one day? And just realize that you had
made a choice that changed, everything.
And you felt stuck maybe or you feel caught or you felt lost
This is relevant and big because we have to make a choice.
What we do with Jesus's teaching in The Sermon on the Mount,
because it confronts us at every turn.
It confronts us with a reality that it's not, okay, to just
have it on the outside, it's not.
Okay. To just choose some good things
and go do those. Good things?
Jesus is Calling his invitation to us, is to be made good from
the inside out, and that's harder to work harder to do and
it's often Invisible often difficult to see.
So what do we do with the Sermon on the Mount?
When we read Jesus saying if you call a brother, if you tell a
brother, you fool, You've committed murder.
Do we have a choice to do? What do we do?
There we go. Jesus, you're just being crazy.
You're just being yet. Stop exaggerating Jesus, not
that bad or do we believe him and look at him, just go, that's
a big thing that I need to check in the question becomes.
If I harbored that on my heart, do I have pain and hurt and
wounds in my heart? Do try to do both, do you go?
Oh well I'll just tolerate a little bit of content in my
heart. I'll be mad at people.
I won't lie people. All be really kind of loud and
obnoxious and public spaces, but I'll go to church all, you know,
and we'll figure that Jesus Will Make A Deal me and Are you
making deals with Jesus? See, the problem is if we find
ourselves or if we believe we are, or if we feel like we are
in a position to negotiate with Jesus on the kingdom terms, that
means that we make some day. Are you ready?
That means if we're like Jesus like, hey, how about this?
Jesus, you give a little here and I'll give a little bit here,
and I'll get a little bit here. We may find, we may come to find
some day that Judgment day will be a surprise to many.
We may find that the choices that we have made come to bear
on Judgement Day and here's the deal, I say all the time, the
mortality rate for the human race continues to hover right
around 100 percent. And the uncomfortable truth is
on the day that we die on the day that we stand there and we
take our last breath, we will have chosen the choices of Our
Lives will have been made and we will stand and listen, you may
not believe in eternity and that's okay.
There are certain things that exist Our list of what we feel
about them and what we believe them.
But what so what I believe in what I'm pointing to and we
talked about him, scripture is on that day, when life ends, we
will have chosen. And so the question is, what do
we choose is a little scary the prospect of standing before God
one day and having it not go. Maybe the way that we think it
should or the way that we feel would.
Maybe it gets you a little uncomfortable, right?
So who's that for who are the people that are going to be
surprised? Now, here's the thing that I
want to tell you've got, we've got to settle this right up
front. You don't have to wonder, you
don't have to guess, you don't have to be biting your nails.
And the Heavenly line. There is a way that you can be
assured. That what is just not everybody
believes it. So how can we find that?
What are we going to find Jesus stood?
And remember, he's been talking from the beginning, right?
He started with repent and this idea of repentance is like to
turn around to walk a different way.
The very context of the word repentance means a direction
change. So Jesus said, change directions
because the kingdom is here. And so the And then becomes, if
you don't change directions, if there is no Direction, Change
whatsoever, what really has happened.
And so, Jesus is painting this big picture of life in the
Kingdom of life, where we discipline our discontent, where
we discipline, our anger, where we discipline our
self-righteousness, and we worship Him and we humble
ourselves, and we navigate, and we nurture, and we seek out and
we repair the relationships and Jesus stands before.
His disciples who had would have heard this, and they would have
been perplexed for sure. And Jesus says this enter
through the narrow gate for wide, is the gate and Broad is
the road that leads to destruction and many many enter
through it. But small is the gate and narrow
is the road that leads to life and only a few find it.
People are going to be surprised on Judgement Day or people that
take the path of least spiritual resistance.
Maybe the good news. Is that on that day?
That we stand. For Jesus, there's going to be a
big, huge wide open gate, and it's probably going to have big
like, curlicue metal like lots of good iron works right.
Apparently st. Peter's going to be there,
right? That's good.
This is what we're expecting and what we imagine is we're going
to come and we're gonna stand and we're going to have all of
our baggage with us. Right?
All of our insecurities, we're going to bring all these and we
go hey I'm going to need you. Jesus to accommodate all these
things right. Like I need to listen, I'm
afraid of people so I don't really like to have to get
involved with people, right? And the good news is on the
wide. Gay on The Wide road, is a whole
bunch of people that are walking going.
Yeah, me too, I'm insecure too. Let's hurry.
And let's get in and so, you just go good.
I can bring all of my stuff, all of my sin and all of my fear and
all of my Prejudice and hatred of my anger.
I can bring all of that because there's plenty of room through
the gate. And you know how I know we're
going to believe that because Jesus said the kingdom is here
and there's all kinds of Christians that do that now.
We're told is the path is Broadwell.
Paid lots of room. You can walk six, but six beside
right. Lots of room for us, to hold on
to our failures and our weaknesses, and our sins, and
our preferences in our things. Jesus said, but there's another
way a narrow road and it's like hidden like the big like the big
girls got like, blinking lights and flashing, signs and music,
right Thunder to write and draw on everybody.
And then you gotta leave that and you gotta go walking, you
got to go hon through the woods and you find there's this little
narrow path. You look like Even know.
That's a gate and it's stick and it's wood and it's like this
big, right? So you got to like narrow
through it. You just like, okay I'm just
gonna bring one insecurity all but it won't come.
It won't go and see your like so now you stand back and now you
got a choice. It's easier over there and you
read my Bible, I can do my quiet time, I can go to church, I do I
can go over there, that's one that lets me have some stuff,
but if I come here, I have to leave everything.
And so you make your choice and you go.
Yeah. So you leave your stuff and you,
oh my gosh. How am I going to live?
Without that, that it secures protected me and it's made me
look. So you just squeeze through the
Geitner, right? You're sucking, then you get
through, oh, and you give me like, oh, and you're looking
back. Like, oh my gosh, how am I ever
going to make that? And you turn around, you know
what? Jesus is right there.
Hey, let's go. Yeah, but Jesus almost like he's
like that. Let's go.
Come on, and you start walking and then you get to some, then
there's another person there. And there aren't a lot of people
read, says, Narrows the get rough.
You, or Any walking, fine. And another person.
And this is a person that, you know, they're they're bigger
than you, or they're better looking than you or whatever it
is, that makes you insecure. Whatever it is that makes you
feel like you're less than and you see him coming in.
You're like, Jesus hide me. And she's like, no, I'm proud of
you. Come on, you're mine.
You're with me and you like, oh God, if they see me there and
Kami, right? And she says, we live wide open
here. You're going to have to trust
me. The Kingdom of Heaven is at
hand. It's here.
It's now we can choose that and live that now and the only
reason, the only way we do that, That is because Jesus see the
crowded path where you bring all your stuff and you make all your
provision. I got got my wallet, I got all
my money, I had everything I need.
I can provide for myself, I got a good line of credit.
I got a good job, I got to do all that.
I got my sins, and I mean security.
So nobody takes advantage of you.
Nobody hurts me and everything's good.
The good news about that is, you don't even need Jesus for that.
So if you choose that, just go, you don't even need to be here
though on Sundays because you can carry all your stuff with
you through life. You can take all of your stuff.
But what Jesus said is give it Me what Jesus said is Follow Me
Jesus said, take the gate right? Take the narrow gate because on
the narrow gate, you're never alone and it's not like just a
map to get where you're going. You've got a guide on the guide
is well God himself, who loves you, who left eternity to come,
find you and it come chase you. And so, if you don't want to be
surprised on Judgement Day, the big question that we have to
ask, is what are you doing with Jesus?
Not what do you believe about Jesus?
What are you doing with Jesus? Because Jesus said, follow me,
So do we follow Jesus, or do we forget him.
We follow Jesus, or do we fight with him?
Do we follow Jesus, and we call them out.
Do we argue with him? Do we Heckle with him?
Here's the question. Now again, I'm not going to
assume that you're that you're a Jesus follower.
I don't, I don't make that assumption.
So if you're here and you're not a Christian and you haven't
been, then you are welcome here. This is a great place, you can
hear. And you can you can you know,
find what we're talking about and get the secret code words
and all that stuff. It'll be good, right?
But for those, if you are a Believer, if you've been to
believe even if you just been a believer, Jesus and a follower
of Jesus for 10 minutes. The question is how is Jesus
changed? You has there been any
different? Let's talk specifically based on
some of the Sermon on the Mount stuff.
Can you name anybody that used to be an enemy that is now
closed? Can you name somebody that you
used to keep at arm's length? And at arm's distance who you
have now loved and started to serve and built a relationship
with, if none. If there's nobody, we have to
ask the question. Jesus told us to love our
neighbors, to love our enemies and to go after, and he painted
the picture again, you know, of God, the father and the prodigal
son in Luke chapter, 16, he chasing after the Sun.
And if that's what God is like, and if we're following him, then
we should have some of that too. Who are the people?
Who don't know Jesus. That you have a burden for that
you care, deeply about you pray and love, and serve, and talk to
because Jesus is loving and serving and talking to and
inviting people as well. So the question is, what are we
doing with Jesus? Because believing in is not the
same as believing believing. Jesus means following him
because Jesus said my father in Knows what you need and he'll
provide all of that. My father in Heaven, takes care
of the flowers. My Father in Heaven, takes care
of the birds, won't he take care of you too.
And you go, yes, Jesus. He will do then, I want you to
go love that person that can do that Jesus.
Because that's dangerous. Jesus says, but you just told me
that you believe me that it was going to be safe.
I do, but that's the danger. You see?
Believing Jesus leads us the following him and it will lead
us to Gaspard sometimes and go and get it in the, you get it.
It's gonna be terrible and then you find out.
Oh my gosh. Once again, Jesus has come
through. What are you doing with Jesus?
Are you just believing in him or you following him?
Are you going where he goes? And this is a sobering thought.
This is a challenge to me. I have Back here, we can just
go. What am I doing?
Am I following you? Lord does my life look more like
you than it did back then and so now you start going okay well
how do I follow? What does that look like?
Is that sobering thought right? Well The Company You Keep
matters. I try to tell my kids this all
the time, right? Then that's one of the biggest
things about, you know, as they're kind of growing up, is,
man, the friends that you make matter, you become the friends
that you are not to remind myself.
Well, I should tell myself that as well, right?
Because Jesus talks about this as he goes.
And verse, 15, 13 says, watch out for false prophets.
They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, they are
ferocious wolves. So the idea of a prophet is a
prophet is not a person who tells the Future, Okay?
A prophet is a person who speaks God's word, the kind of the
calling card of profit is thus, says, the Lord God says this.
So when a prophet speaks, it comes untrue.
And so, what Jesus is saying here, is that not everybody who
claims to speak Or God actually does speak for God.
Watch out for false prophets. Now, here's one of the times, I
love when Jesus like tries to make a point because Jesus is
typically pretty succinct, right?
He speaks his words and his and it comes through Jesus right
here just flat starts rambling. He says the same thing like 16
different ways. Ready notice the thing that he
says, what does he say by their fruit?
You will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from
thornbushes or figs from thistles likewise, every Good
tree Bears. Good fruit.
But a bad tree Bears. Bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear, bad fruit and a bad tree.
Cannot bear. Good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good.
Fruit to come down and thrown into the fire.
Thus, by their fruit. You will recognize them.
What do you think? Jesus is main idea in this is
fruit. Fruit.
It's like you keep saying it didn't even sound like a word
anymore, right? Fruit fruit.
Fruit fruit, right? What does that mean?
well, this isn't just for profits.
People are going to be surprised on Judgement Day when they don't
evaluate based on fruit, but they evaluate based on something
else. Anything else volume, right.
That's a method that I use a lot, right?
Try to get you to believe me. I'm just going to talk louder.
Sometimes anger, right? I can get you angry and if I can
convince you that somebody else is the bad guy that I can make
you angry at them. And I can make you side with me
and I can make you get with me. But what Jesus said is that it's
not how many Bible verses a person memorizes, a person can
be Wicked thoroughly and decidedly Wicked.
In their heart and memorize every verse in this Bible.
And you wouldn't know a person can call everybody brother a
brother and they can have a Caleb sticker and a Jesus fish
on their car and they can wear all of Shirts and they can go
all the places and do all of the things.
But at the end of the day, it's not about that.
It's not about your shirt, it's not about the sticker on your
car, it's about what's in your heart, right?
So what is your life producing? What does you're like?
What is the fruit of your life look like?
And not only you, the people that you're listening to because
what Paul said is the fruit of the spirit, right?
The fruit of a fig tree is what. Good.
That was good. The first try to get in the try.
Another one. The fruit of a grapevine is the
fruit of the. Holy spirit is joy.
Peace patience. Kindness goodness, faithfulness.
Gentleness self-control all those things.
Now what does a great Vine have to do to produce grapes?
Nope. Do you know what a grapevine has
to do to produce grapes? Be planted in the ground and
stay healthy and it will just come out.
So when Paul says, the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience. Kindness goodness, faithfulness.
Gentleness self-control. He says, against these things,
there is no law. Here's what that means.
When we touched on this before, that means that as a follower of
Jesus, not only are you allowed, but you are supposed to love
everybody. You see in a way that other
people will go, you can't do that.
You've tracking and you know why we do that because that's what
Jesus did for you. See, we labor under this idea
that Jesus came to us and got us because we're so awesome.
But Jesus up there, right? Like, I'm I'm running away from
him. I'm rejecting him, right?
I'm you know, this world-class recreational chemist and
college, and I'm doing all of these things, right?
And I'm up there, like Jesus is just going, oh my gosh, the
Kingdom's, never going to happen without him.
That ain't it. Jesus is the kingdom and he
lovingly invites us. So here's what we need to do and
this is really relevant for us. And and again The internet age
means that you have access to every single person's thoughts.
That's not good. What that means is that you can
hear some really wonderful and beautiful and life-giving
Biblical teaching on the internet.
But also means that you can find some rank garbage.
And on the internet, it can be hard to tell the difference
because what we need to look at is the fruit of a leader.
Beware of hearing, a leader of listening to a leader who every
time you're done, you feel guilty, you feel ashamed, you
feel small, beware of a Christian leader who every time
they speak every time they talk to you, you feel afraid of
somebody. Like you have to dig in and
protect yourself from somebody. I can have it on good authority.
That Jesus is not afraid of anybody.
Jesus is not afraid of any movement, Jesus, not afraid of
any ideology. With the scripture tells me is
that Jesus has conquered, I've read the end of the book.
It says that he will reign once and for all.
So beware of these leaders that make you feel small that make
you feel powerless, because that's not what you said.
Now, listen, my hope. Is that, every time you come in
here, my hope is that every time you enter into this place you
feel conviction, my hope is it in your heart.
Every time. Jesus speaks something to you
that says give me that attitude. Stop.
Holding that grudge against those people.
That's not the path to the joy, that you need.
Your protection, isn't in a party or an election.
Your protection is in the Kingdom.
My hope, is that every single time you walk into this room and
hear my voice, you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit?
Do you know why? I don't want to save you from
that. Do you know why?
Because when you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I
have really good news for you. Jesus loves you, and he cares
for you. And that thing that he's putting
his finger on, he wants to take away from From you.
Nobody gets angry that the doctor wants to take their
cancer away from them. Do they?
Oh no. Doc you can't have this.
This is mine and I love it. So know we're begging, get it.
Jesus is the same way. Hey, I can take that insecurity
from you and it will allow you to love your spouse better know.
Jesus. It's mine.
What are you talking about? My Hope Is that we will be
convicted, so then we can hear Jesus go.
If you'll give me that, I'll set you free, My Hope Is that we
would be that. So the question is the question
that we ask is. Who are the people helping you
find and follow Jesus? Are the deepest and closest
relationships in your life. People that are pointing you
rabidly to Jesus. Sang, follow him more, give him
your. Have you prayed about that?
Are you following? What are you doing?
Who are the people in your life? Are the people closest to you?
Making it more difficult or making it easier for you to
follow. Jesus are all the people in your
life on the wide Road or on the narrow road.
Because I know, I remember what I look at my kids, my kids
become their friends, their friend groups, I know that
because I did, now does this mean that we have to hide and
ricotta? Never talk to anybody?
That's outside Church. Absolutely.
Not. We just recognize and understand
what that is. They're not going to point us to
Jesus. It's our job to point them to
the life that he offers. And so, this is so crucial for
the internet age. Listen, here's the deal.
And I just, and I say this, kind of lightly, but also not if a
person has ever said the phrase, God told me that Any person has
ever said that about an election, about an idea about a
thought. God told me that good news, that
person has claimed to be a prophet, the Old Testament tells
us what to do with profits, instead of a prophet speaks for
me, if God says of a prophet speaks for me, it will come
true. So a person who says thus saith
the Lord, and that doesn't come true, that makes them a false
prophet, you know what the Old Testament tells us to do with
false prophets, Kill him. Take him outside of town and
throw rocks at them until they're dead.
Now we're under the New Covenant, we don't do that.
We don't kill that old. We don't don't do that.
But are you listening church? That person does not have
authority. If you continue to listen to the
people who claim to speak for God and don't you or walking
down the wide Road of people, who will say whatever it is that
you want to hear. Whatever it is that agrees with
you. What Jesus says comes true.
What Jesus says happens. And listen, it is.
Okay to go. Oh, remember that time where you
said the sunrise was going to be purple and it wasn't you said
God told me the sun. Yeah, so I love you.
We can play Canasta, but you're not the prophet in my life
anymore. You're not the one who gets to
tell me, because that's fine. I'm not mad at you.
I want you to listen. I want you to know I want to.
Let's figure that out because maybe someday God will use you.
But we've got to get close and we've got to get connected to
him. We have to have people in our
life who point us to the way and the truth, and the life that is
Jesus. So now he goes, this is again, I
told you this is a phrase that gives me nightmares.
Not everyone who says to me, Lord Lord will enter the kingdom
of heaven. Lord means boss, it is a, it is
a position, right? And so the idea is, if you go to
your work and your go, hey boss, I'm here for the day, boss.
Hey, boss, I'm here for the day and the boss goes.
Hey, I need you to go. Pick up that box and move it
over. There you go.
No. Why do you call me boss and not
do what I say? Why do you act like you're
submitting? But not submitting, they will
never enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who
does the will of my father, who is in heaven, will what's the
will of my Father in heaven? Love your enemies.
Pray for those who persecute you.
Like, why do it? I already read that.
Right? Many, will say, to me, on that
day. Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy
in your name? Didn't we drive out demons?
And in your name, perform many miracles, you know, it's
interesting, right? There is, they just said, didn't
we do? Didn't he didn't talk about love
joy, peace patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness self-control. Do you know why?
Because I would honestly, if I'm telling you the truth, right?
Maybe just once I would rather do a miracle than have patience.
Cuz if I could do Miracles, I wouldn't need patience, right?
But the Lord saying you're going to be late Lovejoy Pete?
Right? Didn't say that.
But didn't we do all this? And then this is the one.
Then I will tell them plainly. I never knew you away from me,
you evildoers. Now this can make me nervous.
I'm like oh my God, what if he doesn't know me, what if he
doesn't know the picture here is a people who have intentionally
and deliberately chosen to just make their life based on the
actions on the words, right? Because this is the world.
The World values you by your work, the work, the world
values, you by what your output is, right?
And so, listen in Revelation. Jesus talking to a church at a
place called Ephesus and he explains it.
Like this Revelation Chapter 2 starting in verse 12, the angel
of the Church of Ephesus. Write these are the words of him
who holds the Seven Stars in his right hand and walks among the
seven golden lampstands. Jesus, Here's Jesus, words to
the church in Ephesus. Are you ready?
Listen, I know your Deeds, your hard work, and your perseverance
and you're just like, amen. Yes, Lord, I know that.
You know, my Deeds, I know that, you know, Lord, you're welcome.
Lord, You're hard working person.
I know that you cannot tolerate, Wicked people.
And we listen, we're like, that's right here, the wicked
one. We little tolerate, anybody,
your, I know, that's right. Boy, you know, it look that you
have tested those who claim to be Apostles, but are not.
That's right. Lord, we listen and we judge, we
draw Fruit, you do that. You have persevere and endure,
hardships, for my name and you have not grown weary and he
goes, yes, Lord. Yet, I hold this against you.
I don't want that. That's the phrase that I don't
want to hear. So the Lord's word that you
didn't do enough to combat wickedness, tolerate to not
tolerate evil people. This is what I have against you.
You have forsaken. What I just wanted you to say
it, so I don't have to say it all the time. you've forsaken
love oh you're right doctrinally boy your Doctrine sweet and
nobody cares because you don't love Consider, how far you have
fallen repent and do the things that you did it first.
If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your
lampstand from its place. See the world loves to evaluate
and judge you based on your work based on what you do.
And Jesus says, yeah, really it comes down to about Love.
She belonging or being used by God is not the same thing as
belonging to him. God in the scripture, used a
donkey to speak to a King. He used demon-possessed people,
God is remarkably creative in all the ways that he can speak,
he does not need our work. Now, he invites us to share, he
invites us to serve. And I believe that when we
follow him and when we get him and His life gets in us.
I believe we will make work, we will do things.
He said in Ephesians 2:10, right?
He created you to do, good works.
But it is not the good works on which we stand.
Jesus said I never what new you. So the question is, are you
focused on being with Jesus or just working for him?
Do you work for him? As much as you spend time with
him? Do you spend time with him at
all? Jesus, Miss under Jesus.
Cautioned about misunderstanding the kingdom.
He talked about religion in terms of intimacy and talk in
terms of closets and hiddenness and rewards in secret.
Jesus said don't misunderstand the kingdom.
So how do we do that? Are you ready?
Because this is a warning and listen, the, the goal in this
Jesus is goal is not to scare at.
This is not one of those like Halloween things right where
we're trying to scare people into following Jesus, this isn't
that, but Jesus is faithful. And he is fair, and he tells us,
listen your choices matter. It's not like every choice is
the same. Not all roads lead to the same
Pace there. I know, we know that there
aren't all roads lead to the same place.
We know that one road goes, right.
One load goes left. Those are different.
That's Aaron. What?
Jesus saying he wants you to have all the information so that
you can choose. So what do we do?
Intentionally? Choose the way of Jesus.
Every day, you have to wake up and choose this and I have to
wake up every day and choose it. And there will be no inertia and
there will be no. I'm gonna have to wake up every
day and go. I'm going to choose this over
that because every voice in your head is going to say, get them
fight, back retaliate, you do you, it's your voice, your the
manual, all of those. And we're gonna have to listen,
and we got to choose every day and decide every day.
Where we follow Jesus or we do the other.
How do we do that before you activate contemplate?
You ready? This is a process before you
activate before you. Somebody sends a thing on
Facebook and you look at it and you know that is wrong.
I must bring Justice to this, right?
And so you sit down and you're ready to go before you activate
contemplate. Hmm.
Have I prayed?
Before I fire that off. Have I prayed for that person?
Hi May write something very this time.
He's our Men's Ministry, right? Hi May write something on
Facebook that I look at it and go.
Well, that is not true. I must fix it.
The Lord is, have you prayed about your own heart?
Have you prayed for Jaime? Have you stopped and brought
High met before The Throne of God and said, Lord, I know that
you love High me and I thank you that you love High me and I
thank you that you sent him here even though he's just wrong all
the time about this. Lord I just helped him to be
right like me and you Jesus. Right.
Sorry. What did you give her sit in the
front row, bro. A second question is, have you
taken the plank out of your own eye?
Because you're about to crush someone for the speck of dust
and there, I have you taken time to go before the Lord and go
Lord. I'm going to be judged too.
Someday, your word says, to do unto others as I would have
them. Do unto me.
How would I like Jason to handle this?
Have I how I prayed have? I stopped?
How I considered do that first. Listen to what Jesus said?
John chapter 12. Jesus says, for I did, he's
talking to in and you can find the story in context with the
pictures. Jesus is perspective.
Like I did not speak on my own, but the father who sent me
commanded me to say, all that I have spoken.
I know that his command leads to eternal life.
So whatever I say is just what the father has told me to say
you almost, get the picture of Jesus standing there, and
there's a Pharisee here, tell him all well, you're not
supposed to do that on the Sabbath and you're a lawbreaker
and you're going to hell and you're terrible in your
authorized. And Jesus is like fight him,
right? But in To do not Jesus.
I got his ears. Like tell me Father.
What you owe me to get them. I got some things I could say
no. Forgive love quiet.
Okay. And wait, have you prayed have
you contemplated? Have you considered if Jesus
needs to hear from the father before he speaks?
So do I, I can assure you before you activate contemplate, as you
contemplate. Evaluate ask yourself the
question. What fruit will this bear?
Now, this is where we have to be careful because I have convinced
myself that I am such a persuasive argue.
That all they need to do is hear my comp It's wisdom spoken
eloquently and surely their mind will change and then we will all
be on the same side. Said that almost never happens
like that. So if I do this, if I send this
post, what's going to happen more than likely, they're going
to respond back. Now we're in a war.
Now, we're fighting each other shooting missiles at each other.
What if we stopped is this a demonstration?
And my life is this what I'm about to type and put out there
is this love joy, peace, patience.
Kindness. What will it Inspire in them?
Lovejoy. Am I the kind of person that
inspires these good things. He's fruitful things than other
people. And if not, what does that say
about me is Jesus going to use me to Bear bad fruit in someone
else's life? I don't think so.
So what if it's up to me evaluate, how does this require
trust? Listen, Hebrews 11:6 says this
without faith. It is impossible to please.
God, listen, we listen for just a second because here's the
thing. You cannot be right enough to
make God pleased with you. You cannot not do enough good.
You because those who come to him
must believe that he is, and that he rewards that he is a
rewarder of those who seek him. What that means, is that if this
decision, if my response to this person doesn't require some
measure and aspect of faith in me, it may not be the right one.
And, you know why we require Faith.
Because I'm going to be like this, quivering wanting to
retaliate because of the sin in my life and Jesus says, just
don't do it. Stop giving voice to the sin in
your life and start giving voice to the humility in your life and
quivering because I just want to fight because my heart's not
yet, but guess what? The first time we do that, the
second time gets easier and the third time gets easier and the
fourth time gets easier. And then don't just ruminate
Activate, see how we've gone full circle.
Don't just activate contemplate, contemplate evaluate.
Now, once you've contemplated a new venue, evaluated, now, it's
time to get busy. Now, we've got things that we
can do right now. We've got to go because Jesus is
life, is the model Jesus didn't just send us a lectionary.
Jesus didn't just send us an elementary school primer.
Jesus didn't just send us a book.
God sent life, God sent a human and he showed us.
He showed us how to love. And for people, he showed us how
to deal with overtly religious people.
He showed us how to pray. He showed us everything that we
know for Life. Jesus is life is our example,
right? Listen to this, brings it all
together. John chapter 10, starting in
verse 7. Jesus says this.
Very truly, I tell you. I am the gate, enter the narrow
gate, right? It's hidden.
It's out of the way. I am the gate.
All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the
sheep have not listen to them. I am the gate.
Whoever comes through me, will be saved.
They will come in and go out and find pasture.
The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I have
come that they may have life and have it to the full, all that
stuff that gets squeezed out. And the narrow gate is all the
stuff that's keeping you from the Abundant Life that God has
for you. All that stuff that Jesus wants
you to leave his stuff that keeps you from the Redemption
and the life that he has planned for you.
It's hard. It's a hard walk.
But here's the perspective for those who followed Jesus, may
live for 80 or 100 years, in really difficult seasons and
times, and you may feel like you don't have enough in this life
and people are against you. And then for eternity, you will
hear the voice of father that says come and enter your rest.
For the rest of Eternity, you will have nothing or you can
fight for your goodness and your piece right now and this this
will be the best of your experience for all of eternity.
So, get your way. Climb the mountain.
Climb the ladder fight to the top because death is coming.
And on that day, we will have chosen.
The invitation of the church is to choose the narrow way to help
people follow and walk the narrow way.
Life is hard. People will abandon you, people
will betray you and they will hurt you.
Good things will happen to bad, people and bad things will
happen to good people, but Jesus calls us to Eternity not to a
good day, not to a good week to an eternity.
And so my listen, I said at the beginning, I don't know where
you are. I don't know where you're where
you're coming from. I don't know if you're a Jesus
follower. What I know is.
Jesus didn't come and tell people to be good.
Jesus didn't come, and stay and say, stop come cussing, Jesus
came and said, follow me. And let me just tell you.
This Jesus is far more open and accommodating to our way
weaknesses and our failures than Christians often are That's why
we follow Jesus and not Christians.
That's why we follow Jesus. Because listen, I have a
brother. Name is Aaron.
He's been here spoken before my tell you secretly.
Don't tell him he's a pain in the butt.
That's my brother. And we used to fight like dogs,
you can't be a part of my family and not get my brother.
You can't be a part of the father's family and not get the
brothers and sisters. And in fact, that's what it's
about, that's what love looks like.
That's the way the narrow way, not a flashy gate, not lights,
not the helicopters, buzzing, and all that.
A narrow path of the garden with Jesus.
Father, I ask that you would help us find that. and when all
the things, That I want to inflict on this world.
Save the world from me, Jesus. I don't want to try to squeeze
my baggage to the gate. That's what confession is
confession says, I have a lot of baggage that I have tried to
carry down this road with you. I have defended my insecurities
rather than fought for freedom. So make us free today's
Juneteenth. What a beautiful reminder
Freedom the cost of freedom, but the goodness that comes Lord,
let us be free. Make us free.
May your church be an example. In this world.
May we love as you loved met. The people who were drawn to you
be drawn to us, and may, we look more and more like you every
day. For those in this room who
haven't followed you. But today are going.
I want that, I want eternity. I don't want to get, I don't
want to be surprised on that day and I don't want to hear.
Jesus say, I never knew you if that's you and this place you
just confess Jesus. I don't think that I know you,
but I want to and ask him. Jesus said, if you asked he will
come and just like that he begins to lead and he begins to
guide you. Pray this with me, if that's
you. Jesus, forgive me for my sins.
Every day. I'm going to need that.
And Lead Me in the way of righteousness and peace.
Make me part of your family as we trust in you, Jesus.
I ask these things in your name and for your glory.
Amen, thank you for joining us today.
River City Church is all about experiencing and expressing
God's love in our lives and community.
And we hope that you've been able to experience that today as
grateful. As I am.
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May the Lord bless, and keep you in all Grace and peace.