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Welcome to Mars Hill church.

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Jesus is using Mars Hill
to make disciples

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and plant churches
all over the world

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and this wouldn't be happening
without your help.

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Your gifts enable
what you're watching right now

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and help plant churches,
equip evangelists,

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and translate resources
and study materials

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for people who have never
had access to them before.

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Whether you're a part
of a local Mars Hill church

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or you're one of hundreds
of thousands of people

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listening and watching sermons
each and every week,

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you're a part of our global family
and I want to thank you.

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I encourage you to pray
about giving to Mars Hill.

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You make this content available
for free to anyone in the world,

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send out more pastors,
plant more churches,

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and bring the kingdom
of Jesus Christ to our world today.

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Thank you.

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All right Mars Hill.

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It's that time of year again.
Great time.

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Best Sermon Ever's where we
bring in some guests

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and I get a little break with
my wife and kids.

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And today, I'm bringing
back Larry Osborne.

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He taught for us last
summer, and you loved him,

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and a lot of people said,
"Please bring Larry back."

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He's also done
training for our staff.

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He's on our Board of
Advisors and Accountability.

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He is the one who has been
incredibly helpful

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for many years,
helping Mars Hill Church

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to go to video,
and multiple locations,

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and sermon-based
small groups.

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Those are all his investments
and deposits

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and we're profoundly grateful
for him.

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He's got a great wife,
great family.

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Pastors a great church
down outside of San Diego.

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We've had the privilege of being
there and seeing what God

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is doing through him.

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And I want to sincerely say
that he's been nothing

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but wise counsel, a friend,
super helpful, godly man,

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great insight.

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Pastor Larry reminds me
of the book of Proverbs.

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He will distill wisdom into
nuggets that are life-changing

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and deeply impactful.

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So, we're very honored, and
grateful, and glad to have him.

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And every year at
Best Sermon Ever,

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we also include a little gift
that's a little fun and kitschy,

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and so he is now going to get
from us a Tommy Bahama's

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gift card, because if you
know Pastor Larry,

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you know he's going to use it.

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God bless you.
Thank you, Larry.

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And see you guys
after our break.

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I wonder what comes to your
mind when you hear the word,

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"Pharisee."

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If you've had the privilege of
being a Christian for

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a long period of time, I've
got a pretty good idea.

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You think of someone
who's pompous,

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you think of someone who's
arrogant, and on top of that,

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hypocritical.

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If you're just beginning you're
journey with Jesus

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and checking out the Bible

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and all of that,
you still probably have,

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just through our culture,
a negative concept.

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You realize if somebody
calls you a Pharisee,

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that hasn't exactly
been a compliment.

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Today though, we're going to
take a look at who these people

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really were and how accidentally
we can find ourselves

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walking down the same path
that they walked down.

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But I want you to understand
that if we could go back in time

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a couple of thousand years,
and we heard the Pharisees,

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our response would
be like, "Oh, them."

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No, our response
would be, "Wow,"

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because
the contemporaries of Jesus,

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when they thought of a Pharisee,
thought of more or less

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the spiritual Navy SEALS,

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the top
of the spiritual food chain,

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the most committed and most
passionate of the committed

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and passionate followers of God.

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So much so that Jesus
played the Pharisee card.

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I don't know if you know that,
but in a famous passage called

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the Sermon on the Mount,
in Matthew 5:20-48,

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he has a series of
six statements from

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the Old Testament law where he
says, "You have heard,

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but let me tell you."

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So, you've heard
the Old Testament law

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that says you shall not murder,

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but I want to talk to
you about a murderous heart

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that shows up in anger,
and gossip, and slander,

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and other things.

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You have heard that you
shall not commit adultery,

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but let's talk about an impure
heart that would if it could,

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and the whole idea of looking
upon a woman to lust being

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the same thing as far
as a heart attitude

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as actually acting it out.

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He had six of these.

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"You'll have heard,
but I tell you."

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Now, he bookends these six
statements with a couple of

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rather shocking statements.

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The first one is found in
Matthew 5:20 where he says,

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"For I tell you, unless your
righteousness exceeds that of

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"the scribes and Pharisees,
you will never enter

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the kingdom of heaven."

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You've heard, but I tell you.

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You've heard,
but I tell you.

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You've heard, but I tell you.

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Six times.

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And then he sums it all up in
verse 48 with this, "You therefore

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must be perfect, as your
Heavenly Father is perfect."

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Now help me out, is that
one depressing sermon?

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You want to enter
the kingdom of heaven?

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All you'll have to do is have
righteousness that exceeds

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the Pharisees and be perfect
like the Heavenly Father.

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Well, I want to make sure you
understand something

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crystal clear, and that is
that when they heard it,

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they didn't on the back
side go, "Oh my gosh,

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"how are we going to be
like the Heavenly Father?

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But at least we're better than
those Pharisee loser guys."

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No, they were like, "How can you
be more righteous than

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the most righteous
of anybody we know?"

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You see, what Jesus was giving
in that Sermon on the Mount

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is he was giving us a measuring
rod so we could see how high

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his righteousness is
and how short ours is,

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that we could never make it by
our own works and our own effort

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to find ourselves acceptable
to God or to pay off our sin,

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if you will.

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And the whole purpose of
the Sermon on the Mount

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was to drive us to our knees

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and to drive us to
the cross where Jesus

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was going to be hanging
and paying for our sins.

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But instead, we do
the strange thing,

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and we've always been that way.

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I bet you guys are that way.

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I've done it in my own life
where God gives me this

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measuring rod to see how short
I am, and I say thank you,

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and I take it over here and look
for a bunch of people

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who are shorter than I am.

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And I go, "Look how short
you are and how tall I am."

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And we've done
that, have we not,

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with the Sermon on the Mount,
over and over as we nit pick

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and we argue about
certain things in it.

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And the whole point was,
"You're in deep weeds.

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You need Jesus."

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He played the Pharisee card.

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The Apostle Paul also played the
Pharisee card at one point when

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he was talking about supremacy,
and following Jesus

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above all things, and nothing
else can measure it up.

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One of the things he said was
that he had been a Pharisee,

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and he counted it "skubala,"
which was an earthy Greek term

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that the King James Bible
translated as dung.

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And all the translations since
still kind of dance around.

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He was basically saying it
is absolutely worthless,

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and none of them went,
"Well, I know that."

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They were, "You're kidding!"

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You see, the Pharisees, as I
said, were the best of the best.

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So how did it happen that those
who were most passionate and

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those who were most committed
to God ended up as arch-enemies,

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the caricature of all that is
against what Jesus stands for?

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Well, I want you to know
it happened accidentally.

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It was never their intent.

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They started out as the most
zealous, knowledgeable,

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and sacrificial.

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Nobody knew more,
studied harder,

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or made sure that if anything
was towards the line that

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they were back from that line.

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They became widely acknowledged
by everybody as the best

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of the best, and then they
made a fatal mistake.

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They took it upon themselves
to become God's watchdogs,

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rottweilers for poor, old God

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who needed someone
to protect him.

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And they decided that they were
going to be the guardians of

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the gate, the defenders of God.

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And one day, when God actually
showed up in the flesh in

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the form of Jesus Christ, they
became his arch enemies.

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As I said, how did it happen?

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Accidentally.

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They never, ever intended
to be what they became.

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It's a lot like having
dinner at Denny's.

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No one plans to go there,
you just end up there, right?

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And in our own lives, just as
the pathway they took

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took them where they didn't want
to go, in our own lives,

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we today can become accidental
Pharisees without realizing it,

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and before we know it, we're
eating at spiritual Denny's.

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And so today, what I want to do
is I want to explore how that

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happens, and I want to explore
what we can do so that it

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doesn't happen to us.

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Obviously, a passionate
pursuit of God is a good thing.

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Would you all agree
with me on that?

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I mean, that's
a wonderful thing.

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But as all good things, it
can have its own dark side.

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And if you want to jot
a couple of things down,

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these are the dark sides
of our spiritual passion

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if we are not careful to keep
our eyes on Jesus.

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The first one is this,
if we aren't careful,

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our passion can drown
out our compassion.

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That's what happened to
the Pharisees of old.

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Their passion and zeal for
God just slowly covered up

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and drowned out their
compassion,

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so that when Jesus
overlooked things

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they weren't
willing to overlook,

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or when Jesus was compassionate
to people they felt were worthy

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of judgment, they turned on him
as a false prophet

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and a false teacher.

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We can lose our heart
for the struggling.

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We can lose our heart
for the back of the line

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and the not yet ready.

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There's a fascinating
passage that talks about it,

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and I invite you to find
it in your Bibles.

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It's found in the book of
Revelation, Revelation 2:1-7.

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And we see a church that
had, in its passion,

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lost its compassion.

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It's known as
the Church at Ephesus.

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And in the Book of Revelation,
the Apostle John is taken up

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to heaven in a heavenly vision,
and in the beginning of it,

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the Lord gives him seven letters
for seven churches.

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And they're all written,
and some are rebuke,

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some are encouragement,
some are rather harsh,

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and some are a mixture.

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And one of the churches he wrote
to is a church known as

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the Church at Ephesus.

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In our New Testament, we have
a book of Ephesians

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that was written to that church.

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Now, let me give you a little
of that church's pedigree.

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It was founded by
the Apostle Paul.

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Now, would you agree with me

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that's a pretty good pedigree
spiritually?

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Okay, and then their next
pastor was a guy named Timothy,

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who in your Bible we have
1 Timothy and 2 Timothy

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written to.

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He was left in the region
of Ephesus to kind of give

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oversight to the various
outstretches that were there.

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So you've got a church
planted by Paul,

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then you have Timothy
as its pastor,

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and not that much time has
passed as the book of Revelation

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is written because it was
written by the Apostle John,

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who was one
of the apostles of Jesus.

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He's not yet died, so
within his lifetime,

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something has happened.

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Here's what's happened.

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We read it in Revelation 2
beginning in verse 1,

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"To the angel of the church
in Ephesus write,"

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00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:04,458
these are the words of Jesus,

240
00:12:04,500 --> 00:12:07,667
"'The words of him who holds the
seven stars in his right hand,

241
00:12:07,708 --> 00:12:09,417
who walks among
the seven golden lampstands.'"

242
00:12:09,500 --> 00:12:11,625
A picture of Jesus.

243
00:12:11,667 --> 00:12:16,792
"I know your works," your
deeds, "your toil,"

244
00:12:16,833 --> 00:12:19,333
how hard you work at
all of these things,

245
00:12:19,417 --> 00:12:24,000
"and your patient endurance,"
you keep on keeping on when

246
00:12:24,042 --> 00:12:29,583
others are ready to quit, "and
how you cannot bear with those

247
00:12:29,667 --> 00:12:33,667
who are evil," you deal with
sin, you don't wink at it,

248
00:12:33,750 --> 00:12:36,042
"but have tested those who
call themselves apostles

249
00:12:36,125 --> 00:12:38,583
and are not, and found
them to be false."

250
00:12:38,667 --> 00:12:41,667
Doctrinally, they
were dialed in.

251
00:12:41,708 --> 00:12:44,375
"I know you are enduring
patiently and bearing up

252
00:12:44,458 --> 00:12:48,292
"for my name's sake,
and you have not grown weary.

253
00:12:48,333 --> 00:12:51,875
"But I have this against you,

254
00:12:51,958 --> 00:12:55,875
that you have abandoned the love
you had at first."

255
00:12:55,958 --> 00:13:01,833
Now, the more famous
translations use it this way.

256
00:13:01,917 --> 00:13:04,958
"You've left your first love."

257
00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,625
Now, I grew up thinking of this
passage in the terms

258
00:13:08,667 --> 00:13:11,667
of a band of my era called
The Righteous Brothers.

259
00:13:11,708 --> 00:13:15,375
I thought it was a "You Lost
That Loving Feeling" passage.

260
00:13:15,458 --> 00:13:18,500
And what Jesus was saying to
the church here was,

261
00:13:18,542 --> 00:13:20,583
"Man, you used to be
all on fire.

262
00:13:20,667 --> 00:13:22,792
"You were ready to do
all of these things.

263
00:13:22,833 --> 00:13:25,458
"And you've become complacent
and you've just lost your fire

264
00:13:25,500 --> 00:13:27,250
and your passion for me."

265
00:13:27,333 --> 00:13:30,167
I mean, I can't tell you how
many drive-by guilting sermons

266
00:13:30,250 --> 00:13:32,292
I heard based on this passage.

267
00:13:32,333 --> 00:13:34,500
And they would talk about maybe
a dating relationship

268
00:13:34,542 --> 00:13:35,875
and then you get married.

269
00:13:35,958 --> 00:13:38,667
And you know, in the dating
relationship you're all excited

270
00:13:38,750 --> 00:13:40,167
just to talk on the phone.

271
00:13:40,250 --> 00:13:41,875
You're opening
the door and all that.

272
00:13:41,958 --> 00:13:44,667
A few years later, it's like,
"You can open the door."

273
00:13:44,708 --> 00:13:46,583
And you know, like,
what's with this?

274
00:13:46,667 --> 00:13:52,167
And just kind of a rip on you're
not as wired in your passion

275
00:13:52,208 --> 00:13:54,667
for God as you were
in the beginning.

276
00:13:54,750 --> 00:13:56,875
But that's not what
this passage says.

277
00:13:56,958 --> 00:14:00,333
The passage doesn't say, "You
lost your first passion."

278
00:14:00,375 --> 00:14:03,667
It says, "You lost your
first love," or here,

279
00:14:03,708 --> 00:14:05,167
"You've abandoned it."

280
00:14:05,208 --> 00:14:08,167
You know what the Greek word
for love in this passage is?

281
00:14:08,208 --> 00:14:10,625
It's the word "agape."

282
00:14:10,667 --> 00:14:13,417
It's the word that really has
nothing to do with feelings

283
00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:15,375
and everything to do with
actions.

284
00:14:15,458 --> 00:14:17,083
It's being kind.
It's being gentle.

285
00:14:17,167 --> 00:14:18,875
It's not keeping
account of wrongs.

286
00:14:18,958 --> 00:14:20,875
It's not being
prideful, jealous,

287
00:14:20,958 --> 00:14:24,292
and a whole series of things
that many of us have even heard

288
00:14:24,333 --> 00:14:26,667
at weddings where
the 1 Corinthians love passage

289
00:14:26,750 --> 00:14:28,667
is read, and agape
love is described,

290
00:14:28,750 --> 00:14:31,458
and comments will be made,
"It's not about how you feel.

291
00:14:31,500 --> 00:14:33,667
It's about what you do."

292
00:14:33,750 --> 00:14:37,250
And what the church in Ephesus
had lost was they had lost

293
00:14:37,333 --> 00:14:40,583
their tendency to put the needs
and interests of others

294
00:14:40,667 --> 00:14:42,875
as more important
than their own.

295
00:14:42,958 --> 00:14:45,167
They were incredibly passionate.

296
00:14:45,250 --> 00:14:47,667
They were doing more
deeds than everybody else.

297
00:14:47,708 --> 00:14:49,667
They were working harder
than everybody else.

298
00:14:49,750 --> 00:14:51,667
They were more doctrinally
pure than everybody else.

299
00:14:51,708 --> 00:14:53,083
They were on it.

300
00:14:53,167 --> 00:14:56,583
We would be getting on airplanes
to go study that church today.

301
00:14:56,667 --> 00:15:00,333
And Jesus is saying,
"You don't understand.

302
00:15:00,417 --> 00:15:06,333
If you have lost agape,
you've lost everything."

303
00:15:06,417 --> 00:15:10,333
In fact, in 1 Corinthians 13, he
talks about all kinds of things

304
00:15:10,417 --> 00:15:11,833
that we could do.

305
00:15:11,875 --> 00:15:16,042
If I can have a prayer language
that prays in the language

306
00:15:16,125 --> 00:15:19,667
of angels, if I understand
all biblical mysteries,

307
00:15:19,750 --> 00:15:23,375
if I have so much faith
that I can move a mountain,

308
00:15:23,458 --> 00:15:26,167
but I don't have
love, I have what?

309
00:15:26,208 --> 00:15:27,958
Nothing.

310
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:30,000
That's where
the church found itself,

311
00:15:30,042 --> 00:15:34,042
and that's where accidental
Pharisees always end up.

312
00:15:34,125 --> 00:15:35,875
Whether they're
the Pharisees of Jesus' day,

313
00:15:35,958 --> 00:15:38,167
they were the people in
the Church of Ephesus,

314
00:15:38,250 --> 00:15:41,500
or they were people like
you and people like me,

315
00:15:41,542 --> 00:15:45,083
they never intend to
end up at Denny's.

316
00:15:45,167 --> 00:15:49,833
But there they are,
eating a patty melt.

317
00:15:49,917 --> 00:15:52,000
What are you--how
did this happen?

318
00:15:52,042 --> 00:15:55,000
Sometimes enjoying
the patty melt

319
00:15:55,042 --> 00:15:56,792
and not understanding
all that God

320
00:15:56,833 --> 00:15:59,292
actually has for
them somewhere else.

321
00:15:59,333 --> 00:16:01,333
If we aren't careful,

322
00:16:01,417 --> 00:16:03,458
our passion can drown out
our compassion.

323
00:16:03,500 --> 00:16:06,708
And the second thing to jot down
about the dark side of spiritual

324
00:16:06,792 --> 00:16:10,417
zeal is if we're not careful,
we end up sending a message that

325
00:16:10,500 --> 00:16:16,583
God's grace is only available
to those who deserve it.

326
00:16:16,667 --> 00:16:18,583
You see, we sing about grace.

327
00:16:18,667 --> 00:16:21,792
Some of our churches, we have
grace on the name of our church.

328
00:16:21,833 --> 00:16:24,667
In fact, sometimes I say
the bigger the "grace" letters

329
00:16:24,750 --> 00:16:27,167
are and the bigger
the font, you know,

330
00:16:27,250 --> 00:16:31,583
if it's in Arial--you
know, bold Arial, 16 font,

331
00:16:31,667 --> 00:16:33,083
the more that it's like that,

332
00:16:33,167 --> 00:16:35,167
the less grace
sometimes we give.

333
00:16:35,250 --> 00:16:37,167
You know, we're all
about theologically

334
00:16:37,250 --> 00:16:40,083
grace is unmerited favor, amen,

335
00:16:40,167 --> 00:16:43,292
but then we go,
"Well, they don't deserve that."

336
00:16:43,333 --> 00:16:48,292
If you have to deserve
grace, that's an oxymoron.

337
00:16:48,333 --> 00:16:50,667
Mercy is unmerited,

338
00:16:50,708 --> 00:16:55,333
grace is unmerited,
and slowly, slowly,

339
00:16:55,417 --> 00:16:59,083
the spiritual leaders,
the Bible scholars,

340
00:16:59,167 --> 00:17:03,167
the Navy SEAL disciples,
if you will, of Jesus' day,

341
00:17:03,208 --> 00:17:07,333
found themselves in a zone where
they wanted to give grace

342
00:17:07,375 --> 00:17:10,833
and they wanted to give mercy
to everybody who deserved it.

343
00:17:10,875 --> 00:17:13,625
And they were so mad at Jesus
because he showed up

344
00:17:13,667 --> 00:17:17,667
and gave it to everybody who
didn't deserve it,

345
00:17:17,750 --> 00:17:21,375
and they had no idea what
had just happened to them.

346
00:17:21,458 --> 00:17:24,667
Now there are a couple of things
we need to remember when it

347
00:17:24,708 --> 00:17:27,167
comes to following Jesus,
and we're going to look in

348
00:17:27,208 --> 00:17:30,667
a few minutes at the most
unlikely of Jesus' followers

349
00:17:30,750 --> 00:17:34,667
and how God used him
and how we need to think

350
00:17:34,708 --> 00:17:36,667
about those kind of
people in our lives.

351
00:17:36,708 --> 00:17:39,583
But there are a couple of things
to remember about following

352
00:17:39,667 --> 00:17:45,000
Jesus that will help us avoid
this dangerous trap of becoming

353
00:17:45,042 --> 00:17:47,083
an accidental Pharisee.

354
00:17:47,167 --> 00:17:48,833
And the first one is this.

355
00:17:48,917 --> 00:17:51,667
As you walk with Jesus, whether
you're just beginning

356
00:17:51,750 --> 00:17:54,542
your journey or you've been
at it for a long time,

357
00:17:54,625 --> 00:17:58,583
you always need to remember that
the most dangerous place

358
00:17:58,667 --> 00:18:02,042
to be is not the back
of the following Jesus line,

359
00:18:02,125 --> 00:18:05,042
it's at the front of the line.

360
00:18:05,125 --> 00:18:09,167
It's totally counterintuitive,
but the most dangerous place

361
00:18:09,208 --> 00:18:12,125
to be when you're a follower
of Jesus is towards the front

362
00:18:12,167 --> 00:18:14,458
and not at the back.

363
00:18:14,500 --> 00:18:16,750
Let me help you with that.

364
00:18:16,833 --> 00:18:20,458
Imagine for a moment that I'm
a world-class mountain climber.

365
00:18:20,500 --> 00:18:24,125
I know, I know, but just hang
with me and imagine, okay?

366
00:18:24,167 --> 00:18:27,750
And I want to go to all of
the top peaks in the world.

367
00:18:27,833 --> 00:18:32,500
Where is my danger greatest, at
base camp or towards the peak?

368
00:18:32,583 --> 00:18:35,208
Clearly towards the peak, right?

369
00:18:35,292 --> 00:18:40,042
Every year, on the top mountains
in the world, very experienced,

370
00:18:40,125 --> 00:18:42,667
high quality mountain
climbers are killed,

371
00:18:42,708 --> 00:18:45,000
sometimes through no
fault of their own.

372
00:18:45,083 --> 00:18:47,625
I think of the avalanche that
happened this year on

373
00:18:47,667 --> 00:18:50,833
Mount Everest and wiped out
a whole bunch of people.

374
00:18:50,917 --> 00:18:54,833
But also every year, there are
some top tier mountain climbers

375
00:18:54,917 --> 00:18:57,667
who are killed because as
they got better, and better,

376
00:18:57,708 --> 00:19:01,125
and better, they became
cockier and cockier,

377
00:19:01,167 --> 00:19:04,125
and they took risks that
a beginner would not take.

378
00:19:04,167 --> 00:19:07,000
And as they got up towards
the top and the weather began

379
00:19:07,083 --> 00:19:09,875
to change, people said, "Man,
it's not time for an ascent."

380
00:19:09,958 --> 00:19:11,583
They go, "Oh, now I'm
experienced enough,"

381
00:19:11,667 --> 00:19:15,042
and they would try to go
when everybody else wouldn't.

382
00:19:15,125 --> 00:19:18,250
Or there would be a crevice that
seems to have had some movement

383
00:19:18,333 --> 00:19:20,250
or whatever, and they
go, "Oh, I'm experienced.

384
00:19:20,333 --> 00:19:26,000
I can get over this,"
and they'd go down.

385
00:19:26,083 --> 00:19:29,167
The most dangerous place to be
is at the front of the line,

386
00:19:29,208 --> 00:19:30,833
and here's the reason.

387
00:19:30,875 --> 00:19:35,333
Pride lives there.

388
00:19:35,417 --> 00:19:38,333
And pride is not a small thing.

389
00:19:38,417 --> 00:19:42,250
You know, we often--sometimes
in Christian circles,

390
00:19:42,333 --> 00:19:46,542
we talk about pride because it's
kind of just this generic word

391
00:19:46,625 --> 00:19:48,833
as if it's
an occupational hazard

392
00:19:48,917 --> 00:19:51,042
of being on fire for Jesus.

393
00:19:51,125 --> 00:19:53,458
I remember hearing a radio
preacher once talk about,

394
00:19:53,500 --> 00:19:55,958
"Well, I struggle with pride,"
as if he was saying,

395
00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:58,542
"And I drive too fast on
the highway occasionally."

396
00:19:58,625 --> 00:20:01,042
Well, here's the problem.

397
00:20:01,125 --> 00:20:04,750
In the book of Proverbs where
God says, There are six things,

398
00:20:04,833 --> 00:20:06,167
yea, seven I hate.

399
00:20:06,208 --> 00:20:09,167
And I always want to ask
him, "Is it six or seven?"

400
00:20:09,208 --> 00:20:10,542
Someday I'll find out.

401
00:20:10,625 --> 00:20:13,208
But he says, There's six
things, yea, seven I hate.

402
00:20:13,292 --> 00:20:15,375
The first thing
on the list is guess what?

403
00:20:15,458 --> 00:20:17,667
Pride.

404
00:20:17,750 --> 00:20:20,500
But fortunately, the word
"pride" is not the Hebrew word

405
00:20:20,542 --> 00:20:23,167
that is used there because
pride is so generic,

406
00:20:23,208 --> 00:20:24,542
I kind of get it,

407
00:20:24,625 --> 00:20:27,750
but I don't kind of get my
hands around it in real life.

408
00:20:27,833 --> 00:20:29,167
Here's the phrase that's used.

409
00:20:29,208 --> 00:20:30,875
Haughty eyes.

410
00:20:30,958 --> 00:20:33,667
Looking down on others.

411
00:20:33,708 --> 00:20:37,292
And I want to tell you, I get
a lot more scared when I hear

412
00:20:37,333 --> 00:20:39,083
that phrase than when
I hear pride.

413
00:20:39,167 --> 00:20:41,792
Because haughty eyes simply
means when I meet you,

414
00:20:41,833 --> 00:20:44,000
I'm looking for what's wrong
with you rather than

415
00:20:44,042 --> 00:20:45,792
what's right with you.

416
00:20:45,833 --> 00:20:48,000
Haughty eyes means that when
I've overcome something you

417
00:20:48,042 --> 00:20:50,333
haven't overcome,
I'm looking down on you.

418
00:20:50,417 --> 00:20:52,875
Haughty eyes means when I know
something you don't know

419
00:20:52,958 --> 00:20:56,292
or you understand it wrong,
I look down on you.

420
00:20:56,333 --> 00:21:01,417
Haughty eyes is a sense of
superiority in my relationships.

421
00:21:01,500 --> 00:21:04,417
And the Lord says, "That's
the number one thing I hate."

422
00:21:04,500 --> 00:21:06,542
I like to tell the guys
at North Coast,

423
00:21:06,625 --> 00:21:08,042
"You know, God would rather have

424
00:21:08,125 --> 00:21:09,542
you struggling with
porn than pride,"

425
00:21:09,625 --> 00:21:11,833
and does that get
their attention.

426
00:21:11,875 --> 00:21:14,958
Now, please don't text or
blog that Larry is pro-porn.

427
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,083
I'm not saying that.

428
00:21:17,167 --> 00:21:20,042
I'm simply saying when he has
his list of things he hates

429
00:21:20,125 --> 00:21:22,500
the most in my heart
and my soul,

430
00:21:22,542 --> 00:21:25,750
it's my tendency the longer
I walk with God

431
00:21:25,833 --> 00:21:29,167
to see what's wrong with other
people who are walking with God

432
00:21:29,208 --> 00:21:32,250
and to take my
eyes off Jesus.

433
00:21:32,333 --> 00:21:34,958
Let me just share from
my own spiritual journey.

434
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,083
I was one of these guys that
made a 180 degree turn when

435
00:21:38,167 --> 00:21:40,042
Jesus came into my life.

436
00:21:40,125 --> 00:21:43,250
You know, the kind that you go
back to a high school reunion

437
00:21:43,333 --> 00:21:45,250
and they go, "I hear
you're a preacher.

438
00:21:45,333 --> 00:21:47,000
No way."

439
00:21:47,042 --> 00:21:48,667
And here's what happened.

440
00:21:48,750 --> 00:21:51,875
At the beginning of that, I
mean, I was, like, on jet fuel.

441
00:21:51,958 --> 00:21:55,458
I was so on fire, I'm just--my
eyes are on Jesus and I'm

442
00:21:55,500 --> 00:22:00,250
running as fast as I can because
he is completely out of reach.

443
00:22:00,333 --> 00:22:03,167
And not to earn his
favor or my salvation,

444
00:22:03,208 --> 00:22:06,125
but simply to become what
he has called me to be,

445
00:22:06,167 --> 00:22:09,458
the Spirit of God is giving
me this desire and drive.

446
00:22:09,500 --> 00:22:13,333
And I'm trying to catch up, and
he is so far in front of me,

447
00:22:13,417 --> 00:22:15,875
and I'm just running
the best I can.

448
00:22:15,958 --> 00:22:21,667
And somewhere around year 2
maybe in my walk with God,

449
00:22:21,750 --> 00:22:24,667
a damnable thing happened.

450
00:22:24,750 --> 00:22:29,250
I began to notice out of the
side corner of my spiritual eyes

451
00:22:29,333 --> 00:22:33,875
those who had started with
me and hadn't run as far,

452
00:22:33,958 --> 00:22:37,333
those who had stopped
to take a break,

453
00:22:37,417 --> 00:22:40,000
those who had actually gotten
a little scared and started

454
00:22:40,042 --> 00:22:45,542
to turn around as if they
were going to head back.

455
00:22:45,625 --> 00:22:49,167
And instead of having my eyes on
Jesus and how far

456
00:22:49,250 --> 00:22:50,833
I still had to go,

457
00:22:50,917 --> 00:22:53,833
instead of using the word
of God as a mirror that

458
00:22:53,917 --> 00:22:57,083
kept showing me every single
thing that was out of place,

459
00:22:57,167 --> 00:23:01,042
it became a set of binoculars so
I could check out everybody else

460
00:23:01,125 --> 00:23:05,333
and notice everything that
was out of place with them.

461
00:23:05,417 --> 00:23:12,208
And I was starting to have salad
at Denny's, and I had no clue.

462
00:23:12,292 --> 00:23:17,792
It's an incredibly
dangerous place to be.

463
00:23:17,833 --> 00:23:21,458
The place where we meet people,
we hear people,

464
00:23:21,500 --> 00:23:25,250
we hear stories, we watch,
we whatever it would be,

465
00:23:25,333 --> 00:23:29,250
and we go to the place of what's
wrong with them instead of

466
00:23:29,333 --> 00:23:32,042
what's wrong with me.

467
00:23:32,125 --> 00:23:36,875
We've begun the journey to
becoming an accidental Pharisee.

468
00:23:36,958 --> 00:23:41,167
The fact of the matter is the
Bible's definition of a disciple

469
00:23:41,250 --> 00:23:45,167
includes some people you
and I would never, ever expect.

470
00:23:45,250 --> 00:23:48,583
The kind of people that if
we could be a fly on the wall

471
00:23:48,667 --> 00:23:51,667
watching the New Testament
days happen or today happen,

472
00:23:51,750 --> 00:23:53,958
we'd look at those people
and we'd go like,

473
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,875
"Psh, how do they belong?

474
00:23:56,958 --> 00:23:59,583
What in the world
are they doing here?"

475
00:23:59,667 --> 00:24:03,667
And God would say, "Well, they
belong in powerful ways

476
00:24:03,708 --> 00:24:06,333
that you have no clue
and no idea."

477
00:24:06,417 --> 00:24:09,917
One of them is a guy
named Joseph of Arimathea,

478
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:12,833
and we're going to explore him
today and see

479
00:24:12,875 --> 00:24:14,750
what made this guy tick.

480
00:24:14,833 --> 00:24:17,292
Now, Joseph of Arimathea,
if you've been a Christian

481
00:24:17,333 --> 00:24:20,083
very long, you've heard of his
name because it's his tomb

482
00:24:20,167 --> 00:24:22,667
that Jesus was buried in.

483
00:24:22,750 --> 00:24:25,292
But he's the most important
disciple that nobody knows

484
00:24:25,333 --> 00:24:27,292
anything about.

485
00:24:27,333 --> 00:24:30,167
We just hear his name
and don't know much about him.

486
00:24:30,250 --> 00:24:32,667
His story is found in
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,

487
00:24:32,750 --> 00:24:35,167
all four gospels, but it
just goes over our head.

488
00:24:35,250 --> 00:24:36,583
It goes over my head.

489
00:24:36,667 --> 00:24:39,792
For many years, I was a pastor,
and I heard of the guy,

490
00:24:39,833 --> 00:24:41,292
but I didn't know his story

491
00:24:41,333 --> 00:24:43,833
and it's quite simple
to explain why.

492
00:24:43,917 --> 00:24:46,792
Basically, I knew a whole lot
about the death of Jesus Christ.

493
00:24:46,833 --> 00:24:48,375
I had studied those passages.

494
00:24:48,458 --> 00:24:51,333
Once I became a pastor, I
would teach on those passages.

495
00:24:51,417 --> 00:24:53,667
I knew cross-references on them.

496
00:24:53,750 --> 00:24:57,375
I really dug into the death
of Jesus on our behalf

497
00:24:57,458 --> 00:24:58,833
for our sins.

498
00:24:58,917 --> 00:25:01,750
And then there was this
conjunction like on

499
00:25:01,833 --> 00:25:04,500
a run-on sentence called
Joseph of Arimathea

500
00:25:04,583 --> 00:25:06,417
and the tomb that
connected the death

501
00:25:06,500 --> 00:25:08,042
with the resurrection.

502
00:25:08,125 --> 00:25:10,417
And I had studied
the resurrection of Jesus

503
00:25:10,500 --> 00:25:12,042
in great depth as well.

504
00:25:12,125 --> 00:25:13,500
I mean, I'm a pastor.

505
00:25:13,583 --> 00:25:17,292
You've got to preach
on it every year.

506
00:25:17,333 --> 00:25:19,458
I've been a pastor--this
September I'll start my

507
00:25:19,500 --> 00:25:22,083
35th year at the same church.

508
00:25:22,167 --> 00:25:25,000
I want to tell you,
how many times can you preach

509
00:25:25,042 --> 00:25:26,458
an Easter message?

510
00:25:26,500 --> 00:25:29,292
You know, some day,
here's my dream.

511
00:25:29,333 --> 00:25:34,500
Some Easter, I'm going to
walk up and go, "He's alive.

512
00:25:34,542 --> 00:25:37,750
"I've been telling you
that for 35 years.

513
00:25:37,833 --> 00:25:40,083
"He's still alive.

514
00:25:40,167 --> 00:25:43,250
Live like it,"
and just walk off.

515
00:25:43,333 --> 00:25:44,958
Yes!

516
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:46,833
Wouldn't that be cool?

517
00:25:46,917 --> 00:25:50,833
It'll be my last one,
but I'll do it someday.

518
00:25:50,917 --> 00:25:54,500
So I knew all about this, I knew
all about that, and then Joseph,

519
00:25:54,542 --> 00:25:57,167
it's like, yeah, whatever, of
course he had to be buried.

520
00:25:57,208 --> 00:26:00,542
And the problem is what we do is
we often read the Bible

521
00:26:00,625 --> 00:26:03,042
through the lens of our own
culture and experiences,

522
00:26:03,125 --> 00:26:05,042
not really understanding
how different the world was.

523
00:26:05,125 --> 00:26:07,750
It's kind of like you ask
a fish, "How's the water?"

524
00:26:07,833 --> 00:26:09,167
The fish goes, "What water?"

525
00:26:09,208 --> 00:26:10,833
because it's all
it's ever known.

526
00:26:10,875 --> 00:26:13,833
And we do that with the Bible,
and I did that with

527
00:26:13,875 --> 00:26:16,292
the burial of Jesus because we
bury dead people.

528
00:26:16,333 --> 00:26:18,292
Okay, even if nobody
knows you or whatever,

529
00:26:18,333 --> 00:26:20,000
there's a pauper's
grave over here.

530
00:26:20,042 --> 00:26:22,875
What I didn't understand is
that's not what was done in

531
00:26:22,958 --> 00:26:26,667
the days of Jesus,
especially to a criminal

532
00:26:26,750 --> 00:26:30,833
who was nailed to a cross.

533
00:26:30,917 --> 00:26:34,667
It was such a shameful death
that a Roman citizen

534
00:26:34,708 --> 00:26:36,875
couldn't even have
that happen to him.

535
00:26:36,958 --> 00:26:41,083
And there was no ACLU to make
sure you died nicely or you

536
00:26:41,167 --> 00:26:44,500
had an exercise room in
your jail, you know,

537
00:26:44,542 --> 00:26:46,083
or any things like that.

538
00:26:46,167 --> 00:26:48,958
It was a tough,
blood-thirsty culture.

539
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:51,083
And here's what they did
with crucified bodies.

540
00:26:51,167 --> 00:26:55,375
They took them down and they
threw them on the garbage heap,

541
00:26:55,458 --> 00:27:00,417
where within mere hours they
were picked apart by

542
00:27:00,500 --> 00:27:04,542
scavenger birds and wild dogs.

543
00:27:04,625 --> 00:27:09,333
The first time I got that
I went, "Oh my goodness."

544
00:27:09,417 --> 00:27:13,542
Joseph became a lot more
important because no Joseph,

545
00:27:13,625 --> 00:27:19,292
no Easter.

546
00:27:19,333 --> 00:27:23,958
He also fulfilled an incredibly
bizarre Messianic prophecy.

547
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,458
In the early days of the church,
one of the ways they would try

548
00:27:27,500 --> 00:27:30,542
to prove that Jesus was indeed
the promised Jewish Messiah,

549
00:27:30,625 --> 00:27:34,167
both to Jews and Gentiles,
was to look at Old Testament

550
00:27:34,250 --> 00:27:36,875
passages that were
Messianic prophecies

551
00:27:36,958 --> 00:27:38,458
about the coming Messiah.

552
00:27:38,500 --> 00:27:40,792
You see them scattered
throughout the book of Matthew

553
00:27:40,833 --> 00:27:45,000
in particular, which was written
primarily to Jewish Christians.

554
00:27:45,042 --> 00:27:47,583
And some of the prophecies
about the Messiah

555
00:27:47,667 --> 00:27:49,167
were quite easy to fulfill.

556
00:27:49,250 --> 00:27:51,500
I mean, there were numerous
babies born in Bethlehem

557
00:27:51,542 --> 00:27:52,875
for instance.

558
00:27:52,958 --> 00:27:55,792
But there are some that
only Jesus could fulfill,

559
00:27:55,833 --> 00:27:58,875
and one of them is
found in Isaiah 53:9,

560
00:27:58,958 --> 00:28:03,750
where this is what we are
told about the Messiah.

561
00:28:03,833 --> 00:28:05,750
That he's going to die
a condemned man,

562
00:28:05,833 --> 00:28:07,667
which Jesus did on the cross.

563
00:28:07,708 --> 00:28:11,042
He's going to be assigned
a grave with the wicked.

564
00:28:11,125 --> 00:28:13,542
That's what happens to you.

565
00:28:13,625 --> 00:28:17,542
Yet, he will be
buried with the rich.

566
00:28:17,625 --> 00:28:21,542
Man, I would so love to be
a part of one of their, like,

567
00:28:21,625 --> 00:28:23,542
Messianic prophecy conferences.

568
00:28:23,625 --> 00:28:26,667
You know, we have ours today
where we try to figure out

569
00:28:26,708 --> 00:28:28,667
all this--you know, like
people at North Coast,

570
00:28:28,708 --> 00:28:30,958
they're always asking me,
"Will you teach through

571
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:32,333
the book of Revelation?"

572
00:28:32,417 --> 00:28:34,542
They don't really want me
to teach through Revelation,

573
00:28:34,625 --> 00:28:38,042
they just want me to tell
them who the antichrist is,

574
00:28:38,125 --> 00:28:39,542
as if I have a clue.

575
00:28:39,625 --> 00:28:42,542
You know, so I go, "Yeah, we
can have a 5-week speculation

576
00:28:42,625 --> 00:28:45,042
series, or 2 year, or
whatever, but I don't know."

577
00:28:45,125 --> 00:28:47,542
I just know this.
I've read the book, we win.

578
00:28:47,625 --> 00:28:49,542
Right?
And he's coming back.

579
00:28:49,625 --> 00:28:52,250
And when he comes back, all
the things that were prophesied,

580
00:28:52,333 --> 00:28:54,750
people will read and go,
"Yep, that's how it was."

581
00:28:54,833 --> 00:28:56,958
Well it was the same
way with the prophecies

582
00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:58,333
about Jesus coming.

583
00:28:58,417 --> 00:28:59,833
And they speculated,
and guessed.

584
00:28:59,917 --> 00:29:02,917
We're actually told in 1 Peter
some of the prophets that wrote

585
00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,417
these things search intently to
find out, "What's with this?"

586
00:29:05,500 --> 00:29:07,625
and God told them,
"It's none of your business.

587
00:29:07,667 --> 00:29:09,000
"It'll make sense later.

588
00:29:09,083 --> 00:29:10,417
It's written for others."

589
00:29:10,500 --> 00:29:12,292
And so when he came,
it matched.

590
00:29:12,333 --> 00:29:13,917
Well, how bizarre is it?

591
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,250
The Messiah will die a criminal,

592
00:29:16,333 --> 00:29:20,542
be assigned to a grave
with the wicked,

593
00:29:20,625 --> 00:29:25,917
and then Joseph pops up,
"Let me bury him with the rich."

594
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:27,917
Pretty bizarre, huh?

595
00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:29,708
And Joseph--one more
thing about this guy

596
00:29:29,792 --> 00:29:31,708
before we dive
into the passages.

597
00:29:31,792 --> 00:29:38,708
I believe he had the privilege
of giving to Jesus

598
00:29:38,792 --> 00:29:44,208
the first honor in his
exaltation after the cross.

599
00:29:44,292 --> 00:29:49,833
I get that from Philippians
where we are told in chapter 2,

600
00:29:49,917 --> 00:29:53,458
we are told to do nothing out
of selfishness or empty conceit,

601
00:29:53,500 --> 00:29:56,500
but with humility of mind to
consider the needs and interests

602
00:29:56,583 --> 00:29:59,250
of others as more
important than our own.

603
00:29:59,333 --> 00:30:03,458
We are to have the same
mind in us that Jesus had,

604
00:30:03,500 --> 00:30:06,458
who though existed in the form
of God did not regard that

605
00:30:06,500 --> 00:30:09,333
equality with God as something
to be held onto and grasped,

606
00:30:09,417 --> 00:30:11,833
but he emptied himself,
becoming a man.

607
00:30:11,917 --> 00:30:14,458
And then over and over it
talks about his humbling,

608
00:30:14,500 --> 00:30:17,458
all the way to his humbling on
the cross when he died

609
00:30:17,500 --> 00:30:19,667
for your sins and mine.

610
00:30:19,750 --> 00:30:21,167
And then the passage
goes,

611
00:30:21,250 --> 00:30:24,667
"Therefore,
God highly exalted him."

612
00:30:24,708 --> 00:30:26,375
Now think with me for a moment.

613
00:30:26,458 --> 00:30:29,667
In the act of his humbling,
when the King of kings,

614
00:30:29,708 --> 00:30:32,375
Creator of
the universe incarnated,

615
00:30:32,458 --> 00:30:36,083
and took on a human body, and
showed up here on this earth,

616
00:30:36,167 --> 00:30:40,292
where was the first place
that he was placed?

617
00:30:40,333 --> 00:30:46,458
In a manger,
a stinking feeding trough.

618
00:30:46,500 --> 00:30:49,667
Nobody wants to put their kid in
that no matter how much you

619
00:30:49,750 --> 00:30:52,042
try to clean it up.

620
00:30:52,125 --> 00:30:55,750
It was the ultimate act of
humility that his first place

621
00:30:55,833 --> 00:30:59,667
was a borrowed animal's
feeding trough.

622
00:30:59,750 --> 00:31:03,917
Now, after he finishes
his journey, paid in full,

623
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,042
it's all done and the Father
begins to exalt him,

624
00:31:07,125 --> 00:31:10,958
where is the very first place
that he's placed?

625
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:16,292
Not just in a tomb,
in the tomb of a rich man.

626
00:31:16,333 --> 00:31:19,042
What an amazing guy.

627
00:31:19,125 --> 00:31:21,667
What an amazing privilege.

628
00:31:21,750 --> 00:31:25,333
So, let's kind of find
out who this guy was.

629
00:31:25,417 --> 00:31:28,292
And we're going to take a look
at what I call

630
00:31:28,333 --> 00:31:31,167
a different kind of disciple,

631
00:31:31,250 --> 00:31:34,167
because the Bible's
definition of a disciple

632
00:31:34,208 --> 00:31:38,375
includes some people
we would never, ever,

633
00:31:38,458 --> 00:31:43,083
ever, ever expect.

634
00:31:43,167 --> 00:31:45,000
The first one is
found in Matthew,

635
00:31:45,042 --> 00:31:50,000
so if you have your Bible with
you, find Matthew 27:57-61.

636
00:31:50,042 --> 00:31:52,875
And then we're going to look
at Mark, the next book over,

637
00:31:52,958 --> 00:31:54,292
then Luke, and then John.

638
00:31:54,333 --> 00:31:56,792
We're going to look at all
four passages where Joseph

639
00:31:56,833 --> 00:31:58,792
is mentioned, that as
I said, for years,

640
00:31:58,833 --> 00:32:04,542
I just skimmed right over as the
conjunction in the Jesus story

641
00:32:04,625 --> 00:32:07,167
of the death
and the resurrection,

642
00:32:07,208 --> 00:32:08,542
connecting them.

643
00:32:08,625 --> 00:32:13,250
First of all, Matthew 27,
starting in verse 57.

644
00:32:13,333 --> 00:32:16,333
"When it was evening, there
came a rich man from Arimathea,

645
00:32:16,417 --> 00:32:20,375
"named Joseph, who
also was a disciple of Jesus.

646
00:32:20,458 --> 00:32:23,292
"He went to Pilate and asked
for the body of Jesus.

647
00:32:23,333 --> 00:32:25,583
"Then Pilate ordered
it to be given to him.

648
00:32:25,667 --> 00:32:27,042
"And Joseph took the body

649
00:32:27,125 --> 00:32:29,042
"and wrapped it in
a clean linen shroud

650
00:32:29,125 --> 00:32:31,250
"and laid it
in his own new tomb,

651
00:32:31,333 --> 00:32:33,083
"which he had cut
in the rock.

652
00:32:33,167 --> 00:32:35,792
"And he rolled a great stone to
the entrance of the tomb

653
00:32:35,833 --> 00:32:37,167
"and went away.

654
00:32:37,250 --> 00:32:39,375
"Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary were there,

655
00:32:39,458 --> 00:32:40,875
sitting opposite the tomb."

656
00:32:40,958 --> 00:32:43,375
Now, I want you to note
a couple of things,

657
00:32:43,458 --> 00:32:45,875
and if you treat your
Bible as a life textbook,

658
00:32:45,958 --> 00:32:48,875
which I certainly hope you do,
you might want to mark up

659
00:32:48,958 --> 00:32:51,167
a couple of things about him.

660
00:32:51,208 --> 00:32:53,750
The first thing is
found back in verse 57.

661
00:32:53,833 --> 00:32:56,333
"When it was evening,
there came a rich man."

662
00:32:56,417 --> 00:33:00,167
So the first thing we know about
him is that he was a rich man.

663
00:33:00,208 --> 00:33:04,167
Somewhat important today, where
sometimes you get the idea that

664
00:33:04,208 --> 00:33:06,667
to be a rich follower,
committed follower of Jesus

665
00:33:06,708 --> 00:33:08,042
is an oxymoron.

666
00:33:08,125 --> 00:33:10,958
You know, but
that's what he was.

667
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:12,833
He was a rich man.

668
00:33:12,917 --> 00:33:17,583
And the second thing is he was
a genuine disciple of Jesus.

669
00:33:17,667 --> 00:33:20,875
You find that at
the end of verse 57.

670
00:33:20,958 --> 00:33:24,375
Not who was about to become,
but who actually was

671
00:33:24,458 --> 00:33:25,875
a disciple of Jesus.

672
00:33:25,958 --> 00:33:28,083
Now the third thing to note
in the passage

673
00:33:28,167 --> 00:33:29,500
we just read is this.

674
00:33:29,542 --> 00:33:31,167
Who was at the tomb?

675
00:33:31,208 --> 00:33:34,083
Joseph and the women.

676
00:33:34,167 --> 00:33:38,375
And who does Matthew make quite
clear was not at the tomb?

677
00:33:38,458 --> 00:33:41,792
All of those disciples who had
given up everything

678
00:33:41,833 --> 00:33:44,458
to follow Jesus.

679
00:33:44,500 --> 00:33:48,167
Not one of them was there.

680
00:33:48,250 --> 00:33:51,083
Now the passage goes--
the story of Joseph goes on.

681
00:33:51,167 --> 00:33:54,167
Turn to the right and find
the next book, which is Mark,

682
00:33:54,250 --> 00:33:59,583
and find Mark 15:42-47.

683
00:33:59,667 --> 00:34:06,250
Mark 15:42-47,

684
00:34:06,333 --> 00:34:09,458
we find this.

685
00:34:09,500 --> 00:34:11,167
"And when evening had come,

686
00:34:11,208 --> 00:34:13,125
"since it was
the day of the Preparation,

687
00:34:13,167 --> 00:34:15,000
"that is,
the day before the Sabbath,

688
00:34:15,042 --> 00:34:16,792
"Joseph of Arimathea,

689
00:34:16,833 --> 00:34:20,292
a respected member
of the council,"

690
00:34:20,333 --> 00:34:23,458
very key point, "who was also
himself looking for

691
00:34:23,500 --> 00:34:26,000
the kingdom of God,"
looking for the Messiah,

692
00:34:26,042 --> 00:34:28,375
"took courage and went to
Pilate and asked for

693
00:34:28,458 --> 00:34:29,875
the body of Jesus."

694
00:34:29,958 --> 00:34:31,292
And the story goes on.

695
00:34:31,333 --> 00:34:33,292
So, we find two more things
about him.

696
00:34:33,333 --> 00:34:35,875
He was rich, he was
a genuine disciple,

697
00:34:35,958 --> 00:34:41,292
he was a respected or prominent
member of the council,

698
00:34:41,333 --> 00:34:43,667
and in God's eyes he
was bold and courageous.

699
00:34:43,750 --> 00:34:46,000
So, let me step back.

700
00:34:46,042 --> 00:34:48,875
A respected, prominent
member of the council.

701
00:34:48,958 --> 00:34:50,667
What's that?

702
00:34:50,750 --> 00:34:52,875
It's called the Sanhedrin.

703
00:34:52,958 --> 00:34:55,458
The Sanhedrin was a group of
70 Jewish leaders

704
00:34:55,500 --> 00:34:57,000
and the high priests.

705
00:34:57,042 --> 00:34:59,458
They were essentially
the senate for

706
00:34:59,500 --> 00:35:02,333
the Jewish nation religiously.

707
00:35:02,375 --> 00:35:05,250
And he wasn't just
a member of that group,

708
00:35:05,333 --> 00:35:09,500
he was a prominent or
respected member of that group,

709
00:35:09,583 --> 00:35:11,958
which is going to
become very important.

710
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:15,583
And in the eyes of God,
he was bold and courageous.

711
00:35:15,667 --> 00:35:17,750
And you get that.

712
00:35:17,833 --> 00:35:20,875
As I said, there was no ACLU or
anything like that around then,

713
00:35:20,958 --> 00:35:23,875
so you go up to Pilate who
has just crucified a guy,

714
00:35:23,958 --> 00:35:27,083
and you say, "You know that guy
you just killed as a criminal?

715
00:35:27,167 --> 00:35:28,500
"He's my main man.

716
00:35:28,542 --> 00:35:31,250
Can I have his body
and bury it in my tomb?"

717
00:35:31,333 --> 00:35:33,042
That takes guts.

718
00:35:33,125 --> 00:35:35,667
And if you're a part of
the council, the Sanhedrin,

719
00:35:35,750 --> 00:35:39,375
which is the group that
condemned Jesus as a blasphemer

720
00:35:39,458 --> 00:35:42,167
and turned him
over to the Romans,

721
00:35:42,208 --> 00:35:45,875
that takes guts too,
doesn't it?

722
00:35:45,958 --> 00:35:49,792
He's rich, a genuine disciple,
a prominent member

723
00:35:49,833 --> 00:35:52,375
of the Sanhedrin,
bold and courageous,

724
00:35:52,458 --> 00:35:56,000
and then Luke tells us
something more.

725
00:35:56,042 --> 00:36:01,750
Turn further to the right
and find Luke 23:50-54.

726
00:36:01,833 --> 00:36:06,500
Luke 23:50-54.

727
00:36:11,833 --> 00:36:14,208
"Now there was
a man named Joseph,

728
00:36:14,292 --> 00:36:15,875
"from the Jewish
town of Arimathea.

729
00:36:15,958 --> 00:36:17,583
"He was a member of the council,

730
00:36:17,667 --> 00:36:22,083
"a good
and righteous man,

731
00:36:22,167 --> 00:36:26,667
"who had not consented to
their decision and action;

732
00:36:26,750 --> 00:36:31,875
and he was looking
for the kingdom of God."

733
00:36:31,958 --> 00:36:36,250
Now I don't know about you, but
that creates a bit of a problem.

734
00:36:36,333 --> 00:36:40,792
You've got a prominent,
respected member of the council

735
00:36:40,833 --> 00:36:43,875
that declares
Jesus a blasphemer,

736
00:36:43,958 --> 00:36:46,083
turns him over to the Romans,

737
00:36:46,167 --> 00:36:49,000
and he doesn't agree
with the decision,

738
00:36:49,042 --> 00:36:51,500
but there's nothing in
the Bible that indicates in even

739
00:36:51,542 --> 00:36:54,958
the slightest way that he
objected or in any way

740
00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:57,750
stepped forward
to put a stop to it.

741
00:36:57,833 --> 00:37:00,458
How can that be?

742
00:37:00,500 --> 00:37:02,750
First I go, "Well,
maybe he wasn't there."

743
00:37:02,833 --> 00:37:04,458
Well, if you've ever
been to Jerusalem,

744
00:37:04,500 --> 00:37:05,958
it's not a very big place.

745
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,958
You can walk around the entire
city wall in half a day

746
00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:10,833
very, very easily.

747
00:37:10,875 --> 00:37:14,333
And on a major decision like
that, with only 70 people,

748
00:37:14,417 --> 00:37:17,958
and all this going on, everybody
kind of isolated in this small,

749
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:20,667
little place, nobody's
going, "Oh, where's Joseph?"

750
00:37:20,750 --> 00:37:22,750
"Oh, I don't know,
he's taking a nap."

751
00:37:22,833 --> 00:37:24,167
"That's okay, let's go on."

752
00:37:24,208 --> 00:37:27,500
He was clearly there.

753
00:37:27,542 --> 00:37:31,583
He didn't consent with
the decision to turn Jesus

754
00:37:31,667 --> 00:37:33,750
over to the Romans.

755
00:37:33,833 --> 00:37:37,583
How could that be?

756
00:37:37,667 --> 00:37:43,792
John tells us with the most
bit of shocking news ever.

757
00:37:43,833 --> 00:37:45,333
So find the next Gospel.

758
00:37:45,417 --> 00:37:47,792
We've seen Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and now we're in John,

759
00:37:47,833 --> 00:37:53,833
John chapter 19,
beginning in verse 38.

760
00:37:58,333 --> 00:38:01,167
"After these things
Joseph of Arimathea,"

761
00:38:01,208 --> 00:38:03,708
and now for the second time,
here's what we're told,

762
00:38:03,792 --> 00:38:06,458
"who was a disciple of Jesus,"

763
00:38:06,500 --> 00:38:12,500
he's a genuine disciple
of Jesus,

764
00:38:12,583 --> 00:38:17,750
"but secretly
for fear of the Jews,

765
00:38:17,833 --> 00:38:21,000
"asked Pilate that he might
take away the body of Jesus,

766
00:38:21,083 --> 00:38:22,667
"and Pilate gave him permission.

767
00:38:22,708 --> 00:38:24,458
"So he came and took away his body.

768
00:38:24,500 --> 00:38:28,167
Nicodemus also, who earlier
had come to Jesus by night,"

769
00:38:28,208 --> 00:38:33,333
in John 3, "came bringing,"
and it's the rest of the story.

770
00:38:38,792 --> 00:38:41,750
He laid low in the weeds

771
00:38:41,833 --> 00:38:46,833
because he was afraid
of what he would lose.

772
00:38:46,875 --> 00:38:53,833
A respected, prominent member
who was a disciple of Jesus,

773
00:38:56,292 --> 00:38:59,958
when push came to shove,
hid in the corner,

774
00:39:00,083 --> 00:39:04,000
afraid of what he would lose.

775
00:39:04,083 --> 00:39:06,208
Now you help me out.

776
00:39:06,292 --> 00:39:10,208
Is that
one big time loser himself?

777
00:39:10,292 --> 00:39:13,625
But here's what I
want you to catch.

778
00:39:13,667 --> 00:39:16,917
You and I would often look
at a not yet ready

779
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:22,917
Joseph of Arimathea, or
a chicken Joseph of Arimathea,

780
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:27,667
and we would have
haughty eyes towards him.

781
00:39:27,708 --> 00:39:29,708
We would look down on him.

782
00:39:29,792 --> 00:39:31,708
We would write him off.

783
00:39:31,792 --> 00:39:34,458
We would say sometimes even,
"You're not radical enough.

784
00:39:34,500 --> 00:39:36,458
"You're not this enough.
You're not that enough.

785
00:39:36,500 --> 00:39:38,167
You're not a real disciple."

786
00:39:38,208 --> 00:39:39,542
But here's the problem.

787
00:39:39,625 --> 00:39:41,500
Who calls him a disciple?

788
00:39:41,583 --> 00:39:43,833
God does.

789
00:39:43,917 --> 00:39:46,917
You see, disciple is a little
Greek word "mathetes,"

790
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:50,000
and it simply means followers.

791
00:39:50,083 --> 00:39:53,333
and it includes
the very last person

792
00:39:53,375 --> 00:39:55,250
in the following Jesus line.

793
00:39:55,333 --> 00:39:59,250
I mean, the last one,
it includes the middle,

794
00:39:59,333 --> 00:40:01,667
and it includes the front.

795
00:40:01,708 --> 00:40:04,167
Sadly, we've kind of
reinterpreted discipleship

796
00:40:04,208 --> 00:40:06,667
so it's something you
know, that--again,

797
00:40:06,708 --> 00:40:08,333
the Navy SEAL
spiritual, you know,

798
00:40:08,417 --> 00:40:10,542
extra credit for those
who are really into it.

799
00:40:10,625 --> 00:40:12,708
No, you're either
a follower or you're not.

800
00:40:12,792 --> 00:40:15,667
And I admit, some are
pretty sucky followers.

801
00:40:15,750 --> 00:40:18,333
And Joseph, I mean,
I'm not saying, "Hey,

802
00:40:18,417 --> 00:40:22,750
Joseph is where you want to
be," but I am saying this.

803
00:40:22,833 --> 00:40:27,375
God forbid that I start raising
the bar higher on other people

804
00:40:27,458 --> 00:40:30,875
than Jesus has
raised it himself.

805
00:40:30,958 --> 00:40:34,583
Because the next thing I know
I'm having now my main course

806
00:40:34,667 --> 00:40:37,000
at spiritual Denny's.

807
00:40:37,042 --> 00:40:40,250
Plowed through the salad,
having the main course.

808
00:40:40,333 --> 00:40:43,667
I think Jesus is
so happy with me,

809
00:40:43,708 --> 00:40:46,000
lucky to have me on his team.

810
00:40:46,042 --> 00:40:48,875
And he's going, "Larry,
you don't get it.

811
00:40:48,958 --> 00:40:50,958
You don't get it."

812
00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:57,667
Joseph falls into a category
I call "the not yet ready"

813
00:40:57,750 --> 00:41:02,833
and he's a huge warning for me
and my desire to make sure

814
00:41:02,917 --> 00:41:06,417
I don't walk down that
accidental Pharisee path.

815
00:41:06,500 --> 00:41:08,917
Because the hard thing is,
as I talked about earlier,

816
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:12,125
when I take my eyes off Jesus
and I begin to notice who

817
00:41:12,167 --> 00:41:14,250
I've passed, who's sitting
by the sideline,

818
00:41:14,333 --> 00:41:20,375
who's not doing very well,
what happens is I get puffed up

819
00:41:20,458 --> 00:41:25,000
thinking God's lucky to have me,
and then I start to get angry,

820
00:41:25,042 --> 00:41:31,750
frustrated, or judgmental
on those that he loves

821
00:41:31,833 --> 00:41:36,833
but I don't respect, and I now
have haughty eyes.

822
00:41:36,917 --> 00:41:42,833
And again, I think he's
pleased with me at the time.

823
00:41:42,917 --> 00:41:45,792
Before we lash out at those
lingering at the back of

824
00:41:45,833 --> 00:41:48,167
the line, there's some things
we need to remember.

825
00:41:48,250 --> 00:41:54,292
And I want to leave you with
three take home principles

826
00:41:54,333 --> 00:41:57,167
out of the accidental
Pharisee theme,

827
00:41:57,208 --> 00:42:00,542
the lesson from
the church at Ephesus,

828
00:42:00,625 --> 00:42:03,250
and the things we can
learn from the most unlikely

829
00:42:03,333 --> 00:42:06,250
of disciples,
Joseph of Arimathea.

830
00:42:06,333 --> 00:42:07,750
And here they are.

831
00:42:07,833 --> 00:42:13,833
Number one, the story is
never over until it's over.

832
00:42:13,875 --> 00:42:16,792
The story is never
over until it's over.

833
00:42:16,833 --> 00:42:19,667
You know, if I could have
been a fly on the wall

834
00:42:19,750 --> 00:42:21,667
back in the days of Jesus,

835
00:42:21,750 --> 00:42:24,167
and especially somehow
on a time machine so I know

836
00:42:24,250 --> 00:42:27,167
most of the end of the story
but not all of it.

837
00:42:27,250 --> 00:42:29,958
I'm not yet a Bible scholar
or whatever it would be.

838
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:32,958
And I'd be watching, and I
would see over here a Peter,

839
00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:36,167
and a James, and a John who
when Jesus comes up and says,

840
00:42:36,208 --> 00:42:38,083
"Come and follow me,"
they go, "Okay!"

841
00:42:38,167 --> 00:42:39,583
They leave everything behind.

842
00:42:39,667 --> 00:42:41,375
They leave their
business behind.

843
00:42:41,458 --> 00:42:43,375
They are just full on
in following Jesus.

844
00:42:43,458 --> 00:42:45,583
And man, I'd be looking
at that and going,

845
00:42:45,667 --> 00:42:47,667
"That's what a disciple is.

846
00:42:47,750 --> 00:42:51,083
That is amazing.
That's what we need to be."

847
00:42:51,167 --> 00:42:54,500
And then somehow, I'm able to
see Joseph of Arimathea

848
00:42:54,542 --> 00:42:57,500
and Nicodemus sneaking up at
night and listening to Jesus,

849
00:42:57,542 --> 00:43:00,208
and I realize they become
disciples of him but they're

850
00:43:00,292 --> 00:43:03,625
hanging out in the not yet ready
part of the back of the line,

851
00:43:03,667 --> 00:43:07,000
and it's because they're afraid.

852
00:43:07,083 --> 00:43:10,000
I'd look at them and go,
"Psh, what is this?"

853
00:43:10,083 --> 00:43:12,750
And we can do this
by the way, because, you know,

854
00:43:12,833 --> 00:43:14,458
Jesus made some pretty
strong statements, right?

855
00:43:14,500 --> 00:43:16,667
He said, you know,
"If you're ashamed of me,

856
00:43:16,708 --> 00:43:18,042
"I'll be ashamed of you.

857
00:43:18,125 --> 00:43:21,042
"If you say, 'I'll follow later,
but first let me wait until

858
00:43:21,125 --> 00:43:24,250
my dad dies so I can bury him,'
you're not worthy of me."

859
00:43:24,333 --> 00:43:25,667
But here's the problem.

860
00:43:25,708 --> 00:43:28,000
We often take some of
Jesus' words in red

861
00:43:28,042 --> 00:43:30,667
and we ignore others.

862
00:43:30,750 --> 00:43:33,375
So the more I move to
the front of the line,

863
00:43:33,458 --> 00:43:35,375
the more I get my
favorite verses,

864
00:43:35,458 --> 00:43:39,000
and they always have to do
with something I've overcome,

865
00:43:39,042 --> 00:43:40,542
and I love those.

866
00:43:40,625 --> 00:43:42,750
I put them on coffee mugs
and Jesus junk,

867
00:43:42,833 --> 00:43:45,667
sell them in the store.

868
00:43:45,708 --> 00:43:49,292
And Jesus is saying, "No,
all of Scripture matters."

869
00:43:49,333 --> 00:43:52,792
All of the Scripture matters.

870
00:43:52,833 --> 00:43:56,292
And as I'm looking at Joseph,
just ready to nail him with

871
00:43:56,333 --> 00:43:59,292
a whole bunch of verses, Jesus
is saying he's a real disciple.

872
00:43:59,333 --> 00:44:00,750
He's saying it twice.

873
00:44:00,833 --> 00:44:02,750
He's saying he's got
an incredibly important role,

874
00:44:02,833 --> 00:44:04,250
and he's saying this.

875
00:44:04,333 --> 00:44:07,250
When push comes to shove,
all of these, Larry,

876
00:44:07,333 --> 00:44:09,917
you are so impressed with,
they're not even going to show

877
00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:15,083
up after Jesus' body is lying
limp and dead on the cross.

878
00:44:15,167 --> 00:44:19,875
Joseph, the one you
think's a loser,

879
00:44:19,958 --> 00:44:23,750
he's the one who's
got that part.

880
00:44:23,833 --> 00:44:27,500
You know, John the Baptist's
disciples had the guts to come

881
00:44:27,542 --> 00:44:30,667
and get his body after
his head was cut off.

882
00:44:30,750 --> 00:44:32,542
He was beheaded.

883
00:44:32,625 --> 00:44:36,667
It's amazing to me the guys who
gave up everything weren't even

884
00:44:36,750 --> 00:44:40,083
around to see that his body
wasn't cast aside

885
00:44:40,167 --> 00:44:44,583
and eaten within hours.

886
00:44:44,667 --> 00:44:46,750
The second principle is this.

887
00:44:46,833 --> 00:44:49,500
I always want to remember that
we will be judged

888
00:44:49,542 --> 00:44:51,583
as we judge others.

889
00:44:51,667 --> 00:44:57,167
We will be judged
as we judge others.

890
00:44:57,250 --> 00:45:02,542
It comes from Matthew 7:2-5,
where we are told,

891
00:45:02,625 --> 00:45:04,750
Judge not, lest ye be judged.

892
00:45:04,833 --> 00:45:06,958
And then it goes on,
The measure we use

893
00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:09,708
to judge others is what's
going to be used on us.

894
00:45:09,792 --> 00:45:12,333
So the passage isn't saying,
"You can't call sin 'sin',"

895
00:45:12,417 --> 00:45:14,583
because if Jesus calls
something sin and I say

896
00:45:14,667 --> 00:45:17,583
it's not sin, well, then I'm
arguing with Jesus.

897
00:45:17,667 --> 00:45:19,000
That's not a good thing.

898
00:45:19,042 --> 00:45:21,000
I always am going
to lose that one.

899
00:45:21,042 --> 00:45:23,833
But he says--when he says,
"Judge not," he continues it,

900
00:45:23,917 --> 00:45:25,875
"lest you be judged.

901
00:45:25,958 --> 00:45:27,542
"For this reason
the measure, Larry,

902
00:45:27,625 --> 00:45:29,667
"that you use on
others is the measure

903
00:45:29,750 --> 00:45:31,333
I'm going to use on you."

904
00:45:31,417 --> 00:45:34,875
It goes something like this.

905
00:45:34,958 --> 00:45:37,833
God's up there and he's got
a measurement he wants to

906
00:45:37,917 --> 00:45:40,292
pour out on my sin in my life.

907
00:45:40,333 --> 00:45:44,792
It's called grace,
unmerited favor.

908
00:45:44,833 --> 00:45:46,875
It's called mercy.

909
00:45:46,958 --> 00:45:49,375
I don't receive
the judgment I should.

910
00:45:49,458 --> 00:45:53,250
It's called paid in full by
Jesus Christ on the cross.

911
00:45:53,333 --> 00:45:54,750
But he's up there watching me,

912
00:45:54,833 --> 00:45:57,500
and as I move further to
the front of the line

913
00:45:57,542 --> 00:46:00,542
and I begin to nit pick
at those who are back

914
00:46:00,625 --> 00:46:04,250
or where I used to be and
forget that I was once there,

915
00:46:04,333 --> 00:46:07,208
the Lord's up there going like,
"Hmm, that's interesting, Larry.

916
00:46:07,292 --> 00:46:08,958
"I really would
rather give you this,

917
00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:11,167
but if that's how you
want to be judged."

918
00:46:11,208 --> 00:46:13,333
It's like, "It's really okay,
but I don't think

919
00:46:13,417 --> 00:46:15,792
you're going to like it."

920
00:46:15,833 --> 00:46:21,375
See, I'm just crazy
enough, really crazy,

921
00:46:21,458 --> 00:46:26,000
that I think sometimes
Jesus meant what he said.

922
00:46:26,042 --> 00:46:29,750
I know that's bizarre, but I
really believe that when he

923
00:46:29,833 --> 00:46:32,250
said, "Larry, the measure you
use to judge others

924
00:46:32,333 --> 00:46:34,792
for what they do is
the measure used on you,"

925
00:46:34,833 --> 00:46:37,000
and it's not just
about where I am today.

926
00:46:37,042 --> 00:46:42,292
It's also where I
struggled yesterday.

927
00:46:42,333 --> 00:46:46,042
I want to tell you, that
changes a whole lot of things.

928
00:46:46,125 --> 00:46:48,958
It changes a ton of things.

929
00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:52,292
I actually believe that when
Jesus said--taught us to pray,

930
00:46:52,333 --> 00:46:58,458
"Father, forgive me as I forgive
others," he maybe meant it.

931
00:46:58,500 --> 00:47:00,833
Or in a parable in
the book of Matthew,

932
00:47:00,917 --> 00:47:04,208
I think it's Matthew 18, where
he tells the story of a guy who

933
00:47:04,292 --> 00:47:06,917
was forgiven billions of dollars
and then wouldn't forgive

934
00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:08,917
somebody who owed him something.

935
00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:11,542
And then the king in
that story takes the guy

936
00:47:11,625 --> 00:47:14,333
who wouldn't forgive, he says,
"Oh, I thought you wanted mercy.

937
00:47:14,417 --> 00:47:16,292
I forgave you,
but I guess you don't."

938
00:47:16,333 --> 00:47:19,292
And then he takes the guy,
and he puts him in prison,

939
00:47:19,333 --> 00:47:22,292
and he says, "So, you can stay
there until you pay off

940
00:47:22,333 --> 00:47:26,875
the billions you owe,"
which means forever.

941
00:47:26,958 --> 00:47:32,375
And then Jesus said, "If you
don't forgive others as you've

942
00:47:32,458 --> 00:47:36,583
been forgiven, this is how
it's going to work for you."

943
00:47:36,667 --> 00:47:38,667
Now, can we be honest?

944
00:47:38,708 --> 00:47:41,792
In our marriages,
in our community,

945
00:47:41,833 --> 00:47:47,792
in our social gatherings, in our
church and the church at large,

946
00:47:47,833 --> 00:47:54,500
we don't often act like we
really believe that's true.

947
00:47:54,542 --> 00:48:00,458
And I want to exhort every one
of you as an individual to give

948
00:48:00,500 --> 00:48:05,000
to others the mercy you have
received and give to others

949
00:48:05,083 --> 00:48:09,333
the grace you want, both
of which are unmerited,

950
00:48:09,417 --> 00:48:13,667
because Jesus commands it.

951
00:48:13,708 --> 00:48:17,458
And we're always going to find
Joseph of Arimatheas when

952
00:48:17,500 --> 00:48:20,750
we've given up our business,
and followed Jesus for 3 years,

953
00:48:20,833 --> 00:48:25,417
and we think we are so cool.

954
00:48:25,500 --> 00:48:29,958
And the story's not yet
over and God is watching,

955
00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:32,750
in ways I will not fully
understand until I'm in his

956
00:48:32,833 --> 00:48:38,000
presence, but he's watching
and saying, "Okay, Larry.

957
00:48:38,083 --> 00:48:41,708
"I had a different measure
I wanted to use on you,

958
00:48:41,792 --> 00:48:44,167
"but you get to pick.

959
00:48:44,208 --> 00:48:48,125
You get to pick."

960
00:48:48,167 --> 00:48:51,042
If our definition
of a disciple--

961
00:48:51,125 --> 00:48:52,958
the third thing is this.

962
00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:55,667
If our definition of a follower
of Jesus or disciple

963
00:48:55,708 --> 00:48:59,625
doesn't have room
for a Joseph of Arimathea,

964
00:48:59,667 --> 00:49:05,833
we don't have the same
definition Jesus has.

965
00:49:05,875 --> 00:49:11,500
Remember, it was the Pharisees
who disdained those

966
00:49:11,583 --> 00:49:13,917
at the back of the line.

967
00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:15,708
It wasn't Jesus.

968
00:49:15,792 --> 00:49:18,750
It was the Pharisees who
preferred to thin the herd to

969
00:49:18,833 --> 00:49:23,250
help out God and got angry when
instead of raising the bar,

970
00:49:23,333 --> 00:49:25,667
he lowered the bar.

971
00:49:25,708 --> 00:49:30,417
It was the Pharisees who ran
around elevating sacrifice

972
00:49:30,500 --> 00:49:35,042
above mercy and Jesus
who came and said,

973
00:49:35,125 --> 00:49:41,542
"No, I elevate mercy
above sacrifice."

974
00:49:41,625 --> 00:49:44,625
Here's kind of a weird thing
a lot of people don't notice.

975
00:49:44,667 --> 00:49:48,167
Jesus was a friend of
sinners, so sometimes again,

976
00:49:48,208 --> 00:49:50,250
fish in water that I
talked about earlier.

977
00:49:50,333 --> 00:49:52,417
We see that and we
think, "Oh, okay,

978
00:49:52,500 --> 00:49:55,042
"the more hardcore somebody is
anti-God and I'm a friend

979
00:49:55,125 --> 00:49:57,333
of them, the more God
is pleased with me."

980
00:49:57,417 --> 00:50:00,542
And there's a good thing in that
because we're not called to be

981
00:50:00,625 --> 00:50:03,917
at spiritual war, we're called
to be persuaders, right?

982
00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:05,333
Persuasion is the picture,

983
00:50:05,417 --> 00:50:07,667
not warfare when it comes
to our community.

984
00:50:07,708 --> 00:50:12,500
But at the same time,
we can forget the sinners

985
00:50:12,583 --> 00:50:13,917
Jesus hung around.

986
00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:15,875
You know who they were?

987
00:50:15,958 --> 00:50:20,792
They weren't Gentile, demon,
idol-worshiping people.

988
00:50:20,833 --> 00:50:26,875
They were fellow Jews who
knew better but were living

989
00:50:26,958 --> 00:50:29,792
in some area of sin.

990
00:50:29,833 --> 00:50:32,292
And they thought it was really
okay because they weren't

991
00:50:32,333 --> 00:50:34,792
as bad as all the hardcore
Gentiles.

992
00:50:34,833 --> 00:50:37,167
And they thought they were
somehow under the contract

993
00:50:37,208 --> 00:50:40,292
or covenant that God had with
Abraham and all of his

994
00:50:40,333 --> 00:50:44,000
descendants, so they could live
like hell and it'd be all okay.

995
00:50:44,042 --> 00:50:46,667
Does that not sound like some
back of the line Christians

996
00:50:46,708 --> 00:50:52,167
you've known in your life?

997
00:50:52,250 --> 00:50:54,750
Jesus went towards those people.

998
00:50:54,833 --> 00:50:56,167
He never excused sin.

999
00:50:56,250 --> 00:50:58,667
He never said, "Oh, it's
okay to stay there."

1000
00:50:58,750 --> 00:51:00,250
He always called it to themself,

1001
00:51:00,333 --> 00:51:03,417
but he went with
grace and mercy.

1002
00:51:03,500 --> 00:51:07,500
Grace and mercy
100% of the time.

1003
00:51:07,583 --> 00:51:11,833
And it was the Pharisees,
as they chomped down dinner

1004
00:51:11,917 --> 00:51:16,667
at Denny's, who thought
they were helping out God.

1005
00:51:16,708 --> 00:51:20,542
When he had a banquet for them,

1006
00:51:20,625 --> 00:51:23,750
they were eating
cold French fries.

1007
00:51:23,833 --> 00:51:28,792
It's crazy, but we
can do the same thing.

1008
00:51:28,833 --> 00:51:35,292
Jesus found a bruised reed and
he said he would not break it.

1009
00:51:35,333 --> 00:51:37,583
Jesus found a smoldering
wick and didn't go,

1010
00:51:37,667 --> 00:51:40,167
"Pfft, what are you doing here?"

1011
00:51:40,208 --> 00:51:42,875
He fanned the flame.

1012
00:51:42,958 --> 00:51:46,000
I tell you, I want to
be a lot more like Jesus

1013
00:51:46,042 --> 00:51:48,792
than the accidental Pharisees.

1014
00:51:48,833 --> 00:51:52,083
I want to run
for the front of that line.

1015
00:51:52,167 --> 00:51:56,083
I want to be a man that is
passionately pressing into God.

1016
00:51:56,167 --> 00:52:00,167
But I never want to be a man who
is doing that to the point

1017
00:52:00,208 --> 00:52:05,667
I've lost my compassion
for people who are where I was

1018
00:52:05,708 --> 00:52:07,625
or where I am,

1019
00:52:07,667 --> 00:52:12,458
calling down God to
have a standard of judgment

1020
00:52:12,500 --> 00:52:16,958
that's not the judgment that he
would love to give me.

1021
00:52:17,000 --> 00:52:19,792
It's our choice.

1022
00:52:19,833 --> 00:52:22,667
Pharisee or mathetes?

1023
00:52:22,708 --> 00:52:28,292
We get to pick.

1024
00:52:28,333 --> 00:52:32,083
If we would only grasp this, can
you see what that would do

1025
00:52:32,167 --> 00:52:35,833
to our marriages, to our
sons and daughters

1026
00:52:35,917 --> 00:52:37,833
as we try to raise them?

1027
00:52:37,917 --> 00:52:40,542
What it would do in our
community as we have our

1028
00:52:40,625 --> 00:52:43,375
disagreements politically
and all kinds of things?

1029
00:52:43,458 --> 00:52:45,333
What it would do in
our small groups

1030
00:52:45,417 --> 00:52:47,833
as we have to bear
with one another?

1031
00:52:47,917 --> 00:52:51,542
What it would do
in our church

1032
00:52:51,625 --> 00:52:54,875
and what it would do
for the kingdom?

1033
00:52:54,958 --> 00:52:59,083
Amazing stuff.

1034
00:52:59,167 --> 00:53:01,000
Be crazy.

1035
00:53:01,083 --> 00:53:07,667
Live like Jesus really meant
what he said

1036
00:53:07,708 --> 00:53:11,958
and you won't be stuck
with a patty melt.

1037
00:53:12,000 --> 00:53:13,500
Let's pray.

1038
00:53:13,583 --> 00:53:15,458
Father, I ask you to take
the things

1039
00:53:15,500 --> 00:53:17,375
that we have looked at today,

1040
00:53:17,458 --> 00:53:19,750
and would you speak
to our hearts individually?

1041
00:53:19,833 --> 00:53:23,792
And Lord, help us so much not
to use your word as a pair

1042
00:53:23,833 --> 00:53:27,167
of binoculars to run around
checking out everybody else,

1043
00:53:27,208 --> 00:53:33,875
but to use it as a mirror to see
every little thing that you

1044
00:53:33,958 --> 00:53:37,000
want to work on
in our own lives.

1045
00:53:37,042 --> 00:53:40,500
That we inch by inch would
become a little more like

1046
00:53:40,542 --> 00:53:44,500
our Savior and our
Lord Jesus Christ.

1047
00:53:44,542 --> 00:53:46,958
To his fame and his
glory I ask you.

1048
00:53:47,000 --> 00:53:49,000
Amen, thanks.

1049
00:53:51,083 --> 00:53:52,417
Pastor Sutton Turner here.

1050
00:53:52,500 --> 00:53:53,792
The sermon just finished

1051
00:53:53,833 --> 00:53:56,708
and you can still play a role
at Mars Hill church.

1052
00:53:56,792 --> 00:54:00,792
Whether you're part of one
of our local Mars Hill churches,

1053
00:54:00,833 --> 00:54:04,167
or part of our global
Mars Hill community,

1054
00:54:04,208 --> 00:54:07,833
if you value this sermon,
please consider making a donation

1055
00:54:07,917 --> 00:54:12,417
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1056
00:54:12,500 --> 00:54:15,500
Sermons like this are recorded
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1057
00:54:15,583 --> 00:54:18,667
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1058
00:54:18,708 --> 00:54:20,333
and living their faith.

1059
00:54:20,375 --> 00:54:23,667
And I'd like to ask you
to support making that happen

1060
00:54:23,708 --> 00:54:27,167
by making a gift,
even a small one, to Mars Hill,

1061
00:54:27,250 --> 00:54:31,417
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1062
00:54:31,500 --> 00:54:36,625
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1063
00:54:36,667 --> 00:54:40,667
Your gift also helps plant churches,
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1064
00:54:40,750 --> 00:54:45,208
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1065
00:54:45,292 --> 00:54:48,083
Let's see
more materials translated,

1066
00:54:48,167 --> 00:54:51,167
more pastors sent out,
more churches planted,

1067
00:54:51,250 --> 00:54:53,625
and more people saved
by Jesus Christ.