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Howdy Mars Hill Church.

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Pastor Sutton Turner here
and I'm in Ethiopia.

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And I just want to thank Jesus

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for continuing to use
Mars Hill Church

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to make disciples 
and plant churches.

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Mars Hill Global
is the arm of Mars Hill Church

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that makes disciples

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and plant churches 
all over the world.

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We not only do church planting,

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but we help better equip 
church planters.

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Most recently we shipped 
and now distributed

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1,000 bibles into Amharic,

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which is the language 
here in Ethiopia.

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And we launched a project

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to translate Pastor Mark Driscoll's 
doctrine book into Spanish.

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We have people 
from over 29 different countries

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that are giving on a monthly basis
to Mars Hill Global.

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So whether you're a member

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of one of our Mars Hill 
church locations

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in the United States,

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or you're 1 of 100,000 podcasters
every single week,

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we encourage you to pray

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about giving above 
and beyond your tithe

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to Mars Hill Global.

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Thank you and let's see
more materials translated,

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more pastors sent out,
more churches planted,

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and more people 
saved by Jesus Christ.

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Brotherhood: It's a bond
as old as time,

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it's a love that runs deep.

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It's bold,
it's strong, it's enduring.

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There's a trust that's built
among brothers,

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from the trials to the triumphs.

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It's a trust that comes
from living life together.

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No one knows you
like your brother.

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He knows your strengths,
he knows your weaknesses.

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A bold brother will lay it
all down for his family.

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It is difficult to describe
that kind of loyalty,

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that kind of courage,
that kind of strength.

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It's the love of a brother,
it's that kind of love

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that compelled James to become
Jesus' bold little brother.

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Well, it's a new year.

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We've got a brand-new book
of the Bible.

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We're starting James.

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We're gonna be in it
for about 4 months.

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So, before we get into the book,
I want you to get to know

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the author, this man named
James, because the truth is,

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if you want to get
to know somebody,

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you need to get to know them,
and their friends,

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and especially
their family, amen?

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That was Grace and I's
story 25 years ago.

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Grace and I started getting
to know one another.

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I got to know her, and then I
got to know some of her friends.

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Liked her, liked her friends.

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Then I had to go meet
her family.

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How many of you guys
remember that day?

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Oh, that was a tough day.

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I was a 17-year-old kid,
Grace's dad was a pastor,

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and I was terrified to go
meet with a pastor

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for obvious reasons.

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I was so scared.

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I jumped in my first car,
a 1956 Chevy.

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Hear this, guys.

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This has nothing to do
with the sermon,

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but it's very important.

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It had 60,000 total original
miles, and I sold it

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because I didn't think it
was cool.

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And every morning I wake up
and slap myself for selling

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the 19--I didn't think
it was cool

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because it had four doors.

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And today, that
I've got five kids,

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we could use four doors.

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And anyways, I jumped in my
old Chevy and I went to pick up

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Grace and meet her family,
because you really get to know

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somebody when you get
to know their family.

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Because the family knows stuff
about you that no one else

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knows, right, and usually tells
it to people

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to humiliate you publicly.

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So, I went to meet
Grace's family,

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and they lived on a cul-de-sac,
and I was so nervous,

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I drove by the house
multiple times,

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just trying to muster up
the courage to pull over,

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and go meet her family
and her dad who was a pastor.

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But as I got to know
Grace's family,

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I got to know more about Grace,
and who had influence to her,

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and who had shaped her, and why
she grew to be the person

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that I grew to fall
in love with.

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What's true for all of our
relationships is true

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for our relationship with Jesus.

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If you really want
to get to know Jesus,

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you've got to listen to him and
you've got to learn from him.

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You need to get to know
his friends.

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In the Bible,
they're called "apostles,"

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the guys that he spent
most of his time with.

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But especially, you need
to get to know his family.

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And that's what we're
going to do today.

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We're going to get to know
Jesus' family.

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And the truth is, there's not
a lot said about Jesus' family,

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and there's not a lot known
about Jesus' early years.

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In fact, some of the early
church creeds that are

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very important to Christian
belief say it like this,

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that he was born of
the virgin Mary and suffered

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and died under Pontius Pilate.

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What they skip is his life.

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He was born, and he died.

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Wouldn't that be
a terrible obituary for you?

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Yeah, Tom was born,
and then he died.

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They're like, "That's it.
That's all we've got."

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That's all the creeds say
because there's not a lot of

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information about those years
where Jesus grew in wisdom,

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stature, and favor with men
and God like it says in,

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I think, Luke 2:52.

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But you know who was there?

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His family.

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Jesus' family was there to see
him as a little boy, adolescent,

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young man, grown man.

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If he had any sin, they
would have seen it

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and they would tell us, just
like your family does, right?

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They tell people the worst
things you've ever done.

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If Jesus had any faults,
failures, or flaws,

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his family would be the one
to know and his family

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would be the one to tell.

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They were there for years of
his life before he was public,

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before he was famous,
before he was well-known.

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They knew him the most and they
saw him in the years

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when no one else observed him.

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That being said, his family's
testimony is incredibly helpful

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and insightful as we
learn about this man,

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the most important man
in the history of the world,

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the most significant man
in the history of the world,

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the most worshiped man
in the history of the world,

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Jesus Christ.

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And so we're going to jump into
the book of James today

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and we're going to get to know
Jesus' bold little brother.

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We'll start in James 1:1,

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and the whole sermon's going
to be on one verse of the Bible,

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and then we're going
to go back and study

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some other related
sections of Scripture,

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but we begin here.

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"James, a servant of God
and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

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to the twelve tribes in
the Dispersion: Greetings."

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Well, who's he writing to?

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The 12 tribes.

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This echoes the Old Testament
12 tribes of Israel.

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That was the Old Testament
language for God's people,

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so he's writing to God's people,
and they are scattered.

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So, it's a network of churches
in various locations together

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under the leadership of
James, kind of like Mars Hill.

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We are one church, scattered
into multiple locations.

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It would be accurate
to call it a dispersion.

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We are dispersed across
various locations,

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but one church
under one message.

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So here, James is
the senior leader.

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He's a teacher, and a preacher,
and a writer,

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and he has authority over
a whole network of churches.

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And this message that he is
giving goes out to all of those

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churches, kind of
like--not identical

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but like the way we do things
here at Mars Hill Church.

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There's a biblical precedent
and pattern here,

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and most of these people
would have been Jewish.

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This is believed to be one
of the first books written

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in the New Testament,
and at that point,

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a lot of the Christians
were Jewish,

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though later many
Gentiles would join.

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And today, the few billion
people on earth who worship

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Jesus, the majority of us
are Gentiles, not Jews.

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But at this point, the majority
of them were, in fact, Jewish.

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Well, that's who
he's writing to,

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and he is writing
as a servant of God

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and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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So, his position for Jesus is
Lord, he's high and exalted,

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ruling and reigning
in authority over all.

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Jesus, he is the Savior come
to save us from our sins

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and Christ the Anointed One
of God.

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So, in those three titles,
he tells us who Jesus is.

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He's the Lord who saves us
and was chosen by God

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the Holy Spirit to be empowered
for a life

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that was perfect
and without sin,

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that we might be
saved through him.

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And he says that
he is his servant.

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Now, I'm going to make
the argument that James

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is Jesus' brother.

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And some would ask, "Why does he
not say, 'I'm Jesus' brother'?"

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I believe there's a few reasons.

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Number one,
he didn't need to.

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If you were Jesus' brother,
everybody knew that.

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You didn't have to put
that on your résumé
.

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"I'm James."

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Number two, there's
a lot of guys named James

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in the New Testament,

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and they'll say,
"James, son of this guy,"

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or "James, son of that guy,"
to denote who it is.

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Any time it just says "James,"
this guy's so well-known,

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he doesn't need any
additional information.

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Thirdly, to say he was
Jesus' brother could give

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the impression
that he was proud,

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and here he wants to follow

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in his brother's
example of humility.

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So, he doesn't say,
"I'm Jesus' brother";

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he says, "I'm Jesus' servant.

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"When he was on earth, yeah,
maybe we shared bunk beds

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"together, but now that
he's exalted in heaven,

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he's Lord over me,
and I'm servant under him."

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Do you get that?

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And so he's following the
example of his big brother Jesus,

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who said that he did come
to be served, but to serve.

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Jesus' example is one of
servanthood and humility,

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and James is not only Jesus'
brother, he's Jesus' disciple,

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and he's following in his
big brother's example.

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He says, "My job
is to serve Jesus.

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That's why I'm here."

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The question then is
which James is this?

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Depending upon which
scholar you believe,

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there's between
40 and 60 occasions

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in the New Testament

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where somebody named James
is mentioned, and it refers,

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again depending upon which
scholar you prefer,

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to 5, 6, 7, 8 different men.

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It was a popular name.

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It was a derivative of
the Old Testament name "Jacob,"

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one of the patriarchs,
so it's a very popular name.

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Well, there's a number
of guys named James,

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and usually it tells us
who their father was.

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Usually when it tells us
just that it was James,

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it's in reference
to Jesus' brother.

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But there are three positions
regarding Jesus' relationship

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with this man, James.

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The first is that they were
step-brothers, and it is taught

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that Jesus' father Joseph, his
adoptive earthly father, Joseph,

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had a marriage prior to Mary

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and that he had children
including James.

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And then perhaps his wife
died, and he became a widower,

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and then he married Mary.

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That was his second wife.

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Therefore, James would have been
from the first marriage

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and was a step-brother to Jesus.

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There's no evidence
for this in the Bible.

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I think it is
speculative at best.

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It doesn't seem to fit with
the preponderance of evidence

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that we receive in God's Word.

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Every indication is that Mary
and Joseph were a young, poor,

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rural couple, that they
were getting married for

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00:11:26,500 --> 00:11:27,917
the first time.

243
00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,042
There's no mention
of any prior wife;

244
00:11:30,167 --> 00:11:33,500
there's no mention
of any prior children,

245
00:11:33,583 --> 00:11:36,083
so let's dismiss that position.

246
00:11:36,167 --> 00:11:40,708
The second is that Jesus
and James were cousins,

247
00:11:40,833 --> 00:11:44,042
that the word for brothers and
sisters that is going to be used

248
00:11:44,167 --> 00:11:47,167
throughout the Scriptures
regarding Jesus' extended family

249
00:11:47,250 --> 00:11:50,417
and immediate family, it is
a broad word they would say.

250
00:11:50,500 --> 00:11:52,000
It is not a narrow word.

251
00:11:52,042 --> 00:11:54,250
It doesn't refer just to
your brothers and sisters,

252
00:11:54,333 --> 00:11:56,917
but to your kin, your
clan, your extended family.

253
00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:02,000
And that is probable,
but not likely.

254
00:12:02,083 --> 00:12:03,500
Let me say it this way:

255
00:12:03,583 --> 00:12:05,833
It is possible
but not probable.

256
00:12:05,917 --> 00:12:07,542
That's a better way
to state it.

257
00:12:07,667 --> 00:12:09,417
It is possible that
they were cousins,

258
00:12:09,500 --> 00:12:12,208
but it is not probable
for a couple of reasons.

259
00:12:12,333 --> 00:12:15,833
One is that they
receive a lot of attention

260
00:12:15,917 --> 00:12:17,542
in the Bible,

261
00:12:17,667 --> 00:12:20,708
and why would his extended
family receive more attention

262
00:12:20,833 --> 00:12:22,708
than his immediate family.

263
00:12:22,833 --> 00:12:24,917
Like, for example, we know
very little about Joseph,

264
00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:27,500
Jesus' adoptive father,
but it keeps mentioning

265
00:12:27,583 --> 00:12:30,083
his brothers and sisters.

266
00:12:30,167 --> 00:12:31,875
In addition, that's not
the clearest reading

267
00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,333
of Scripture, and in addition,

268
00:12:34,375 --> 00:12:37,708
it's not the historical
reading of Scripture.

269
00:12:37,833 --> 00:12:41,667
What it is is motivated by
something where there was

270
00:12:41,708 --> 00:12:44,917
a council that met
hundreds of years after Jesus,

271
00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:47,042
and they came up
with this phrase,

272
00:12:47,167 --> 00:12:53,833
that Jesus' mother Mary was
ever virgin, semper virgo,

273
00:12:53,917 --> 00:12:55,417
that she was ever virgin.

274
00:12:55,500 --> 00:12:58,875
And so the teaching was that not
only was Mary a virgin when she

275
00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,083
was betrothed to Joseph
and conceived, by a miracle of

276
00:13:02,167 --> 00:13:05,375
the Holy Spirit, Jesus before she
had any relation with any man,

277
00:13:05,500 --> 00:13:07,875
that not only was she
a virgin at that point,

278
00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,583
that she remained a virgin
for the rest of her life,

279
00:13:10,667 --> 00:13:13,333
that she never had any
consummation with her husband,

280
00:13:13,375 --> 00:13:14,708
Joseph.

281
00:13:14,833 --> 00:13:17,375
She never had any intimate
relation with her husband.

282
00:13:17,500 --> 00:13:21,375
The Catholic Church
still teaches this today,

283
00:13:21,500 --> 00:13:24,083
and I believe that these
first and second positions are

284
00:13:24,167 --> 00:13:28,583
motivated by trying to compel us
to see Mary as a virgin

285
00:13:28,667 --> 00:13:30,333
for the totality of her life.

286
00:13:30,375 --> 00:13:32,000
How many of you were
raised Catholic?

287
00:13:32,083 --> 00:13:33,708
How many of you were
raised Catholic?

288
00:13:33,833 --> 00:13:35,208
OK, welcome, good
to have you.

289
00:13:35,333 --> 00:13:36,708
I was raised Catholic too,
OK?

290
00:13:36,833 --> 00:13:38,208
Inside joke for us
former Catholics.

291
00:13:38,333 --> 00:13:40,000
I was raised Catholic too,

292
00:13:40,083 --> 00:13:43,875
and I was taught, Mary
was always a virgin.

293
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,417
To be fair, some Protestant
reformers like Calvin and Luther

294
00:13:47,500 --> 00:13:50,417
also said similar things.

295
00:13:50,500 --> 00:13:54,167
And the goal is to present
her as a perpetual virgin,

296
00:13:54,208 --> 00:13:56,208
but I don't think
that was the case.

297
00:13:56,333 --> 00:13:58,208
I don't think that's
the case in Scripture.

298
00:13:58,333 --> 00:14:01,500
It says in Luke that she was
a virgin until Jesus was born,

299
00:14:01,542 --> 00:14:04,000
and then we get every indication
that Mary and Joseph

300
00:14:04,042 --> 00:14:07,375
had a normal marriage that
was consummated with

301
00:14:07,500 --> 00:14:09,375
normal relations.

302
00:14:09,500 --> 00:14:11,500
So, that brings us
to the third alternative.

303
00:14:11,583 --> 00:14:14,583
And the first again was
that James and Jesus

304
00:14:14,667 --> 00:14:16,333
were step-brothers.

305
00:14:16,375 --> 00:14:18,000
The second is that
they were cousins.

306
00:14:18,083 --> 00:14:20,500
The third position, I believe
it's the most accurate reading

307
00:14:20,583 --> 00:14:22,875
of Scripture, and it's
the position I'll be taking

308
00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:25,042
for the totality
of our time together.

309
00:14:25,167 --> 00:14:27,208
And that is that
they're half-brothers,

310
00:14:27,333 --> 00:14:33,333
that Jesus' mother and father,
it was their first marriage,

311
00:14:33,375 --> 00:14:34,875
they got married.

312
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:37,083
Through a miracle
of the Holy Spirit,

313
00:14:37,167 --> 00:14:40,583
the virgin Mary conceived
and birthed the Lord Jesus.

314
00:14:40,667 --> 00:14:44,208
After Jesus was born, they
consummated their marriage.

315
00:14:44,333 --> 00:14:48,333
They went on to have a normal,
loving marriage that produced

316
00:14:48,417 --> 00:14:51,417
a lot of kids, and they
had a big family,

317
00:14:51,500 --> 00:14:55,167
and that James was one of Jesus'
brothers and sisters, OK?

318
00:14:55,208 --> 00:14:58,333
And I'll show you why I've come
to that conclusion as we study

319
00:14:58,417 --> 00:14:59,708
Scripture together.

320
00:14:59,833 --> 00:15:03,000
And what you'll find is that
we learn a lot in the Bible,

321
00:15:03,083 --> 00:15:04,708
particularly the New Testament,
about, let's say,

322
00:15:04,833 --> 00:15:07,333
Paul or Peter.

323
00:15:07,375 --> 00:15:09,708
We don't learn
a lot about James.

324
00:15:09,833 --> 00:15:11,833
And when we do learn
about Jesus' family,

325
00:15:11,875 --> 00:15:14,333
the spotlight tends to go
on Mary--godly,

326
00:15:14,375 --> 00:15:16,000
devout, amazing woman.

327
00:15:16,042 --> 00:15:19,083
But sort of off to the side
in the dark shadows are his

328
00:15:19,167 --> 00:15:22,083
brothers and sisters, and very
little is taught regarding them.

329
00:15:22,167 --> 00:15:24,583
And some of you may have been
church--in church, rather--

330
00:15:24,667 --> 00:15:27,833
for a long time, and not heard
a lot about Jesus' family.

331
00:15:27,875 --> 00:15:30,708
Would you like to get
to know Jesus' family?

332
00:15:30,833 --> 00:15:32,375
That's what we're going to do.

333
00:15:32,500 --> 00:15:35,208
So let us start
in Mark's gospel.

334
00:15:35,333 --> 00:15:41,708
And I can't cover every single
text that covers Jesus' family.

335
00:15:41,833 --> 00:15:44,750
I'll cover many of them,
and I'll put all of them on

336
00:15:44,833 --> 00:15:47,917
a big blog for you so you can
study it for yourself.

337
00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:51,583
But the first thing we learn is
that James disbelieved Jesus.

338
00:15:51,667 --> 00:15:56,708
Mark 3:21, 31-32, "And
when his family heard it"--

339
00:15:56,833 --> 00:15:59,667
this is Jesus' family--
"they went out to seize him,

340
00:15:59,708 --> 00:16:02,333
for they were saying,
'He is'"--what?

341
00:16:02,375 --> 00:16:05,333
"'He is out of his mind.'

342
00:16:05,375 --> 00:16:10,042
"And his mother
and his brothers came,

343
00:16:10,167 --> 00:16:12,500
"and standing outside they
sent to him and called him.

344
00:16:12,583 --> 00:16:15,500
"And a crowd was sitting around
him, and they said to him,

345
00:16:15,583 --> 00:16:17,500
'Your mother and brothers
are outside, seeking you.'"

346
00:16:17,583 --> 00:16:19,708
So, early on, Jesus is
preaching and teaching,

347
00:16:19,833 --> 00:16:22,875
and at this point, he has
left his father and mother.

348
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,542
He's been working
as a carpenter with his dad.

349
00:16:26,667 --> 00:16:30,542
At this point, he's in
his early 30s, around 30.

350
00:16:30,667 --> 00:16:33,750
Think of it like a guy who goes
off and joins the military,

351
00:16:33,833 --> 00:16:36,750
or heads off to college, or
moves out of his parents' house

352
00:16:36,833 --> 00:16:38,167
to start his career.

353
00:16:38,250 --> 00:16:40,083
He's at that season
and stage of life.

354
00:16:40,167 --> 00:16:41,875
He's not a little boy at home.

355
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:44,583
He's a grown man, single,
living on his own,

356
00:16:44,667 --> 00:16:47,333
and he's beginning
his public ministry.

357
00:16:47,375 --> 00:16:51,000
So, the family is not
with him consistently,

358
00:16:51,083 --> 00:16:53,708
but they're with
him intermittently.

359
00:16:53,833 --> 00:16:57,042
Just like if you've
grown up and left home,

360
00:16:57,167 --> 00:16:59,542
your family's not there every
day like when you lived

361
00:16:59,667 --> 00:17:02,083
in the same house, but they do
intersect your life

362
00:17:02,167 --> 00:17:03,500
at strategic points.

363
00:17:03,583 --> 00:17:05,250
You get holidays together
and time together,

364
00:17:05,333 --> 00:17:07,375
and you know one another,
you love one another,

365
00:17:07,500 --> 00:17:08,875
and your lives are
intertwined together.

366
00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,875
None of Jesus' brothers were
chosen as his 12 disciples.

367
00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,500
His disciples tended to be
with him almost full-time

368
00:17:16,542 --> 00:17:18,000
for 3 years,

369
00:17:18,083 --> 00:17:21,500
and the family weaves in
and out of occasions and events

370
00:17:21,583 --> 00:17:23,000
throughout his life.

371
00:17:23,083 --> 00:17:25,667
And here's an indication
of what they thought:

372
00:17:25,750 --> 00:17:30,833
they thought he had lost his
mind because he kept saying that

373
00:17:30,875 --> 00:17:34,375
he was God, that he was
Savior, that he was Creator,

374
00:17:34,500 --> 00:17:39,375
that he was King,
and his family was concerned.

375
00:17:39,500 --> 00:17:42,000
How many of you, if your
brother started saying this,

376
00:17:42,083 --> 00:17:44,083
you'd be concerned, too?

377
00:17:44,167 --> 00:17:47,167
If your brother--you know,
you check his Facebook status,

378
00:17:47,208 --> 00:17:48,833
and it says he's God.

379
00:17:48,875 --> 00:17:50,208
You're like, "Really?

380
00:17:50,333 --> 00:17:52,042
"I knew he had
a high self-esteem,

381
00:17:52,167 --> 00:17:54,208
but it seems like
he's overshot."

382
00:17:54,333 --> 00:17:55,667
God.

383
00:17:55,708 --> 00:17:57,042
You're like, "Oh wow."

384
00:17:57,167 --> 00:17:59,208
All of a sudden, your
brother's in the news,

385
00:17:59,333 --> 00:18:01,333
and your brother's getting
a lot of attention,

386
00:18:01,375 --> 00:18:04,000
and crowds are coming out, and
people are listening to him.

387
00:18:04,083 --> 00:18:05,375
Well, what's he saying?

388
00:18:05,500 --> 00:18:07,583
He's saying he created
the heavens and the earth,

389
00:18:07,667 --> 00:18:10,333
and he's come down to judge
the living and the dead.

390
00:18:10,375 --> 00:18:12,500
The family's like, "We've
got to get him home.

391
00:18:12,583 --> 00:18:14,000
"We've got to get him home.

392
00:18:14,083 --> 00:18:16,000
"We've got to shut
and lock the door.

393
00:18:16,083 --> 00:18:18,000
"We've got to get him some
chamomile tea,

394
00:18:18,083 --> 00:18:20,000
"and nobody needs to listen
to him.

395
00:18:20,083 --> 00:18:23,000
"He has...
The oars are not in the water.

396
00:18:23,083 --> 00:18:24,708
He is not doing good."

397
00:18:24,833 --> 00:18:26,083
You get that?

398
00:18:26,167 --> 00:18:28,875
OK, and this is important
because some of you have

399
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,083
the same perspective of
Jesus as his family did.

400
00:18:32,167 --> 00:18:35,208
A guy says he's God,
that's crazy.

401
00:18:35,333 --> 00:18:36,708
They started there.

402
00:18:36,833 --> 00:18:38,375
It's OK for you
to start there.

403
00:18:38,500 --> 00:18:41,167
I want you to see their
progression, and I want you

404
00:18:41,250 --> 00:18:42,542
to have their same progression.

405
00:18:42,667 --> 00:18:47,333
What's important here as well is
to understand that Christianity

406
00:18:47,417 --> 00:18:51,667
is founded on the claim
that Jesus is God.

407
00:18:51,708 --> 00:18:53,667
And some would say,
"Well, it's a ruse.

408
00:18:53,708 --> 00:18:55,042
"It's a shell game.

409
00:18:55,167 --> 00:18:58,833
It's put together by a con man,
and his family was in on it."

410
00:18:58,917 --> 00:19:01,833
His family was not in on it.

411
00:19:01,875 --> 00:19:06,083
His family did not originally,
initially believe his claims

412
00:19:06,167 --> 00:19:07,542
to be God.

413
00:19:07,667 --> 00:19:09,208
They had resistance to it.

414
00:19:09,333 --> 00:19:10,583
They were concerned for him.

415
00:19:10,667 --> 00:19:13,083
But do you get in this:
his family loved him?

416
00:19:13,167 --> 00:19:15,333
They didn't just disown
him and let him go.

417
00:19:15,375 --> 00:19:16,833
They show up. There's a crowd.

418
00:19:16,875 --> 00:19:18,208
"Somebody go get Jesus.

419
00:19:18,333 --> 00:19:22,250
Tell him his mom's here
and his brothers are here."

420
00:19:22,333 --> 00:19:24,083
They love him, they're
concerned about him,

421
00:19:24,167 --> 00:19:25,500
they're worried about him.

422
00:19:25,583 --> 00:19:27,500
We would call this
an intervention today.

423
00:19:27,583 --> 00:19:29,708
Jesus got an intervention.

424
00:19:29,833 --> 00:19:33,500
And if you're here, his claims
to be God are either true or

425
00:19:33,542 --> 00:19:38,542
false, but he made those claims.
And his family

426
00:19:38,667 --> 00:19:41,542
knew he made those claims.

427
00:19:41,667 --> 00:19:45,833
The story continues in Mark 6.

428
00:19:45,875 --> 00:19:49,375
James dishonored
Jesus, Mark 6:3-4.

429
00:19:49,500 --> 00:19:51,583
So, here's the conversation
that's happening.

430
00:19:51,667 --> 00:19:54,708
"'Is not this the carpenter,
the son of Mary'"--

431
00:19:54,833 --> 00:19:56,708
and then here's some
of the family members--

432
00:19:56,833 --> 00:20:00,708
"'the brother of James and
Joses and Judas and Simon?'"

433
00:20:00,833 --> 00:20:04,417
Jesus and his mother, and then
here it names four brothers.

434
00:20:04,500 --> 00:20:06,417
You're going to hear
about sisters as well,

435
00:20:06,500 --> 00:20:08,667
so this is a big family.

436
00:20:08,708 --> 00:20:11,083
Tangentially, how bummed
is the brother whose name

437
00:20:11,167 --> 00:20:12,708
happened to be Judas?

438
00:20:12,833 --> 00:20:14,708
How bummed is that guy?

439
00:20:14,833 --> 00:20:16,708
"Oh, you're Jesus' brother?
What's your name?"

440
00:20:16,833 --> 00:20:18,167
"Judas."

441
00:20:18,208 --> 00:20:19,542
"Oh, I heard about you."

442
00:20:19,667 --> 00:20:22,167
"I'm not that Judas," right?

443
00:20:22,208 --> 00:20:23,583
"I'm Tom Bin Laden.

444
00:20:23,667 --> 00:20:25,667
I'm a totally
different guy," right?

445
00:20:25,708 --> 00:20:32,167
Like, it just--so,
bummer for that guy.

446
00:20:32,208 --> 00:20:34,167
But it's a different Judas.

447
00:20:34,208 --> 00:20:36,333
Just like there's a lot
of guys named James,

448
00:20:36,417 --> 00:20:39,083
there's a lot of guys named
Judas in the New Testament.

449
00:20:39,167 --> 00:20:41,083
"And are not his
sisters here with us?"

450
00:20:41,167 --> 00:20:43,708
So, Jesus, James,
Joses, Judas, Simon.

451
00:20:43,833 --> 00:20:45,750
Four kids, Jesus makes
five, and sisters.

452
00:20:45,833 --> 00:20:49,167
That's at least two, big family.

453
00:20:49,250 --> 00:20:52,417
Big family.
Big family.

454
00:20:52,500 --> 00:20:54,042
"And they took"--what?

455
00:20:54,167 --> 00:20:56,417
"Offense at him."

456
00:20:56,500 --> 00:20:59,042
They were offended by some of
the things Jesus was saying.

457
00:20:59,167 --> 00:21:01,833
How many of you've been offended
by some of the things

458
00:21:01,917 --> 00:21:03,333
Jesus says?

459
00:21:03,417 --> 00:21:05,333
"And Jesus said to
them, 'A prophet.'"

460
00:21:05,417 --> 00:21:07,375
He says he's a prophet--
big statement.

461
00:21:07,500 --> 00:21:10,417
Big statement—"prophet."

462
00:21:10,500 --> 00:21:14,417
"You read the Old Testament?
I'm like Moses.

463
00:21:14,500 --> 00:21:16,167
"I'm bigger than Moses.

464
00:21:16,208 --> 00:21:18,708
"Moses said that a prophet
would be coming in Deuteronomy.

465
00:21:18,833 --> 00:21:21,542
I'm here, that's me."

466
00:21:21,667 --> 00:21:24,208
"A prophet is not without honor,
except in his hometown

467
00:21:24,333 --> 00:21:28,583
and among his relatives
and in his own household."

468
00:21:28,667 --> 00:21:30,000
Here's what Jesus is saying:

469
00:21:30,083 --> 00:21:33,000
"I go out and preach and teach,
and lots of people come

470
00:21:33,083 --> 00:21:35,208
and listen to me,
but not my own family."

471
00:21:35,333 --> 00:21:36,875
How many of you've
had that experience?

472
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:40,542
Like, "Man, I'm respected
except with my family.

473
00:21:40,667 --> 00:21:43,917
"I'm honored except
by my family.

474
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:45,750
I'm listened to,
except by my family."

475
00:21:45,833 --> 00:21:48,417
How many of you have tried to
teach your parents something

476
00:21:48,500 --> 00:21:50,042
and found it didn't go well?

477
00:21:50,167 --> 00:21:52,833
How many of you've tried to
teach your brother or sister

478
00:21:52,917 --> 00:21:56,875
something and realized
they weren't listening?

479
00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:02,000
That was Jesus' situation.

480
00:22:02,083 --> 00:22:05,000
His brothers, and his
family, and his sisters,

481
00:22:05,083 --> 00:22:07,708
they didn't honor him.

482
00:22:07,833 --> 00:22:10,208
Others were listening to him;
they weren't listening to him.

483
00:22:10,333 --> 00:22:11,667
Others were following him;

484
00:22:11,708 --> 00:22:15,917
they were not necessarily
following him.

485
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:17,417
He was dishonored by them.

486
00:22:17,500 --> 00:22:19,667
How many of you felt hurt
because your family

487
00:22:19,708 --> 00:22:21,042
didn't support you?

488
00:22:21,167 --> 00:22:23,208
How many of you felt hurt
because your family

489
00:22:23,333 --> 00:22:24,667
wasn't there for you?

490
00:22:24,708 --> 00:22:27,375
How many of you felt hurt
because your family didn't have

491
00:22:27,500 --> 00:22:29,167
a great dignity toward you?

492
00:22:29,208 --> 00:22:31,833
This had to be lonely for Jesus.

493
00:22:31,917 --> 00:22:34,417
I mean, he's walking
into a stiff headwind

494
00:22:34,500 --> 00:22:36,042
of resistance.

495
00:22:36,167 --> 00:22:37,917
He knows that his
days are numbered,

496
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:40,917
and his death is coming,
and he doesn't have the support

497
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:42,542
of his family.

498
00:22:42,667 --> 00:22:44,917
Now again, they don't oppose
him, they don't hate him,

499
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,417
they're not mean to him,
they're not cruel to him.

500
00:22:47,500 --> 00:22:49,208
I don't want to
overstate my case.

501
00:22:49,333 --> 00:22:51,208
They keep pursuing him,
and speaking to him,

502
00:22:51,333 --> 00:22:53,917
and they're trying to help
him, and trying to love him,

503
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,667
and trying to serve him, but
they don't yet fully understand

504
00:22:56,708 --> 00:23:02,333
or at least receive who he is.

505
00:23:02,375 --> 00:23:08,208
Sometimes your family are
the last people to see you

506
00:23:08,333 --> 00:23:11,000
for who you've become.

507
00:23:11,083 --> 00:23:12,500
Now, Jesus had no sin.

508
00:23:12,542 --> 00:23:15,000
For those of us who are
sinners, it makes sense.

509
00:23:15,042 --> 00:23:17,000
Our family was there
when we were little.

510
00:23:17,042 --> 00:23:19,500
Our family was there for
the best and worst parts

511
00:23:19,542 --> 00:23:22,000
of our life, and sometimes,
who we've become is tainted

512
00:23:22,042 --> 00:23:24,042
by who we were.

513
00:23:24,167 --> 00:23:26,000
But for Jesus,
he was without sin,

514
00:23:26,083 --> 00:23:29,333
so his family and their
unwillingness to see him

515
00:23:29,375 --> 00:23:32,500
for who he is, is not based upon
anything he's done.

516
00:23:32,583 --> 00:23:35,375
But true or false, it would
be hard to see, ladies,

517
00:23:35,500 --> 00:23:38,375
your son as God?

518
00:23:38,500 --> 00:23:39,875
True or false?

519
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,375
You're like, "I changed his
diaper, and I'm supposed

520
00:23:42,500 --> 00:23:44,375
to worship him?"

521
00:23:44,500 --> 00:23:48,208
How many of you, it would be
hard to see your brother as God?

522
00:23:48,333 --> 00:23:50,583
Any of you have a brother?

523
00:23:50,667 --> 00:23:56,833
Like many of us, they warm
up to Jesus as God over time.

524
00:23:56,917 --> 00:24:01,500
They love him, they respect and
appreciate things about him,

525
00:24:01,542 --> 00:24:05,250
they're staggered by his claims
and resistance comes

526
00:24:05,333 --> 00:24:08,583
to some of his instruction,
but you're going to see

527
00:24:08,667 --> 00:24:10,083
that they warm up over time.

528
00:24:10,167 --> 00:24:11,583
Some of you are like that.

529
00:24:11,667 --> 00:24:13,583
Some of you know
a little about Jesus.

530
00:24:13,667 --> 00:24:15,583
Maybe you try
to be a good person;

531
00:24:15,667 --> 00:24:17,583
you believe a little
bit of the Bible.

532
00:24:17,667 --> 00:24:19,833
You don't hate Jesus,
you're not opposed to Jesus,

533
00:24:19,875 --> 00:24:21,708
but you're not
convinced yet he's God.

534
00:24:21,833 --> 00:24:26,083
You're in the warming up
process as his family was.

535
00:24:26,167 --> 00:24:31,208
Well, the story continues
that James also doubted Jesus.

536
00:24:31,333 --> 00:24:34,875
John is one of the most
significant gospels to give us

537
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:39,500
insight into the thinking
of Jesus' brothers.

538
00:24:39,583 --> 00:24:42,042
In John 2, they are
with him, the family is,

539
00:24:42,167 --> 00:24:44,833
at his first miracle
in Cana of Galilee,

540
00:24:44,875 --> 00:24:46,417
where he turns water into wine.

541
00:24:46,500 --> 00:24:48,917
So, they've seen him do some
things that are supernatural

542
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:50,333
and miraculous.

543
00:24:50,417 --> 00:24:53,208
They are traveling some
with him at that point.

544
00:24:53,333 --> 00:24:57,333
The story then
jumps to John 7:2-5.

545
00:24:57,417 --> 00:24:59,833
"Now the Jews' Feast
of Booths was at hand."

546
00:24:59,875 --> 00:25:02,333
So, it's like a holiday like
Thanksgiving, or Christmas,

547
00:25:02,375 --> 00:25:03,750
or Easter.

548
00:25:03,833 --> 00:25:06,083
You know, the family gets
together--it's a holiday.

549
00:25:06,167 --> 00:25:07,833
"So his brothers said to him."

550
00:25:07,875 --> 00:25:09,208
So, the brothers are together.

551
00:25:09,333 --> 00:25:10,667
They're like-minded.

552
00:25:10,750 --> 00:25:12,208
They're thinking
the same things,

553
00:25:12,333 --> 00:25:14,375
so they approach him as a group.

554
00:25:14,500 --> 00:25:16,875
They say to Jesus, "Leave
here and go to Judea,

555
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:19,708
"that your disciples also may
see the works you are doing.

556
00:25:19,833 --> 00:25:23,208
"For no one works in secret if
he seeks to be known openly.

557
00:25:23,333 --> 00:25:25,833
If you do these things,
show yourself to the world."

558
00:25:25,875 --> 00:25:28,000
Here is the tell.

559
00:25:28,083 --> 00:25:31,875
Here's the tell: "For not even
his brothers believed in him."

560
00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:33,375
Here's what his
brothers are saying.

561
00:25:33,500 --> 00:25:34,875
"You think you're a big deal?

562
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:36,375
"Then leave our small town.

563
00:25:36,500 --> 00:25:38,375
"You think you're God,
and Lord, and King,

564
00:25:38,500 --> 00:25:39,750
"and Savior, and Christ?

565
00:25:39,833 --> 00:25:43,875
"Go to the big city, go public,
preach that to the world,

566
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:45,708
"show that to the world.

567
00:25:45,833 --> 00:25:47,417
Go for it."

568
00:25:47,500 --> 00:25:49,667
How many of have reached
a point with somebody,

569
00:25:49,708 --> 00:25:51,083
you're in disagreement
with them.

570
00:25:51,167 --> 00:25:52,583
You say, "You know what?

571
00:25:52,667 --> 00:25:54,583
If that's what you
think, go do it."

572
00:25:54,667 --> 00:25:56,333
And you're convinced,
"They're wrong, I'm right,

573
00:25:56,375 --> 00:25:59,167
and this'll prove that I'm
right and they're wrong."

574
00:25:59,208 --> 00:26:02,083
That's the heart of what's
going on with Jesus' brothers.

575
00:26:02,167 --> 00:26:05,375
"You say you're God.
You say you're Creator.

576
00:26:05,500 --> 00:26:09,333
"You say you're Savior.
Go to the big city.

577
00:26:09,375 --> 00:26:12,583
"Go tell it publicly.
Go prove it openly.

578
00:26:12,667 --> 00:26:14,875
Go prove us wrong."

579
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,875
Sometimes families can be
complicated and discouraging.

580
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,375
And some of you look at
your family, you're like,

581
00:26:20,500 --> 00:26:21,875
"Man, I had a hard family."

582
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,875
You're not alone.

583
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:29,000
Jesus had a devout, good, godly
family, but even a good, devout,

584
00:26:29,083 --> 00:26:32,042
godly family has moments
of failure where they

585
00:26:32,167 --> 00:26:36,083
discourage you
or they oppose you.

586
00:26:36,167 --> 00:26:38,375
So did Jesus.

587
00:26:38,500 --> 00:26:40,500
I love the humanity in this.

588
00:26:40,583 --> 00:26:43,208
I love that the whole family
isn't just walking around with

589
00:26:43,333 --> 00:26:47,417
halos saying pithy statements
and raising dead people.

590
00:26:47,500 --> 00:26:52,208
I love the fact that they are
real people with real doubts

591
00:26:52,333 --> 00:26:57,208
in a real process, coming to
real faith in a real Jesus.

592
00:26:57,333 --> 00:27:00,333
I love that, because the Bible's
the most honest book

593
00:27:00,375 --> 00:27:02,500
that's ever been written.

594
00:27:02,583 --> 00:27:07,500
Now, what happens is that
Jesus does leave town.

595
00:27:07,542 --> 00:27:09,375
Jesus does go to the big city.

596
00:27:09,500 --> 00:27:11,708
Jesus does preach
and teach that he's God.

597
00:27:11,833 --> 00:27:13,250
Jesus does do miracles.

598
00:27:13,333 --> 00:27:17,333
Jesus does it all,
and he is arrested

599
00:27:17,375 --> 00:27:20,000
and tried for this claim:

600
00:27:20,042 --> 00:27:21,875
he said he was God.

601
00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:24,000
If you're here
and you're not a Christian,

602
00:27:24,083 --> 00:27:26,167
you need to understand this.

603
00:27:26,250 --> 00:27:30,583
Jesus was put to death
because he claimed to be God.

604
00:27:30,667 --> 00:27:34,000
The governmental leaders saw
that as an offense to their

605
00:27:34,042 --> 00:27:35,375
political leadership.

606
00:27:35,500 --> 00:27:37,875
The religious leaders saw
that as an offense to their

607
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,500
theological convictions.

608
00:27:40,542 --> 00:27:43,333
And they agreed together.

609
00:27:43,375 --> 00:27:46,167
The Bible says those who were
Jewish, those who were Gentile,

610
00:27:46,208 --> 00:27:50,833
those who were Roman, everybody
agreed, that guy needs to die.

611
00:27:50,875 --> 00:27:52,542
That guy needs to die.

612
00:27:52,667 --> 00:27:54,667
He says he's God.

613
00:27:54,708 --> 00:27:56,667
He says he's God.

614
00:27:56,708 --> 00:27:58,917
When they came to arrest
Jesus, he asked them,

615
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:01,208
"For what cause do
you put me to death?"

616
00:28:01,333 --> 00:28:04,833
and the answer was,
"Because you, a mere man,

617
00:28:04,875 --> 00:28:06,375
claim to be God."

618
00:28:06,500 --> 00:28:07,750
That was the answer.

619
00:28:07,833 --> 00:28:09,167
Jesus claimed to be God.

620
00:28:09,250 --> 00:28:11,833
If you're here, you
have to address this.

621
00:28:11,875 --> 00:28:13,375
You have to wrestle with this.

622
00:28:13,500 --> 00:28:15,833
You cannot ignore this.

623
00:28:15,875 --> 00:28:17,833
Jesus said he was God.

624
00:28:17,875 --> 00:28:20,875
His family was resistant,
initially, to that,

625
00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:25,583
and others opposed him,
ultimately murdered him,

626
00:28:25,667 --> 00:28:27,583
because he said he was God.

627
00:28:27,667 --> 00:28:29,375
And that claim is true or false.

628
00:28:29,500 --> 00:28:33,083
It's not made by the founder of
any other major world religion.

629
00:28:33,167 --> 00:28:37,083
Jesus stands alone
in a category unto himself.

630
00:28:37,167 --> 00:28:40,833
And who was there at the death
of Jesus when he was beaten,

631
00:28:40,875 --> 00:28:42,208
and flogged, and crucified?

632
00:28:42,333 --> 00:28:45,000
The Bible tells us that
at the foot of the cross

633
00:28:45,042 --> 00:28:46,833
was his mother, Mary.

634
00:28:46,875 --> 00:28:48,667
There was his mother.

635
00:28:48,708 --> 00:28:52,500
Ladies, imagine
the horror of that day.

636
00:28:52,583 --> 00:28:59,417
Your firstborn son, a miracle,
a miracle baby

637
00:28:59,500 --> 00:29:01,833
that God gave you.

638
00:29:01,875 --> 00:29:04,542
When you held him, counted
ten fingers, ten toes,

639
00:29:04,667 --> 00:29:07,042
you weren't thinking that they
would end up nailed to

640
00:29:07,167 --> 00:29:09,333
a Roman cross.

641
00:29:09,375 --> 00:29:13,333
Your son is being
murdered openly, publicly,

642
00:29:13,375 --> 00:29:18,750
shamefully because of
his claim to be deity.

643
00:29:18,833 --> 00:29:21,875
You feared this day was coming.

644
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:24,500
That's why you got
the family together

645
00:29:24,542 --> 00:29:27,708
and tried to bring him home.

646
00:29:27,833 --> 00:29:31,500
You feared that this was
going to be his fate.

647
00:29:31,542 --> 00:29:35,500
I don't think it's
unreasonable to assume

648
00:29:35,542 --> 00:29:39,333
that the family was there.

649
00:29:39,375 --> 00:29:45,417
I mean, if your day of execution
came and your mother was there,

650
00:29:45,500 --> 00:29:48,208
I would hope that your brothers
and sisters would be there

651
00:29:48,333 --> 00:29:52,708
to support her.

652
00:29:52,833 --> 00:29:55,667
And Jesus is murdered.

653
00:29:55,708 --> 00:29:57,833
He is crucified.

654
00:29:57,875 --> 00:30:03,042
He's then wrapped in upwards of
100 pounds of burial linens

655
00:30:03,167 --> 00:30:04,417
and spices.

656
00:30:04,500 --> 00:30:06,167
His body is put in a tomb.

657
00:30:06,208 --> 00:30:09,708
His family knows he's dead.

658
00:30:09,833 --> 00:30:16,167
Mary is devastated,
the sisters are destroyed,

659
00:30:16,208 --> 00:30:19,667
and the brothers are distraught.

660
00:30:19,708 --> 00:30:22,375
And the family is weeping,
and the brothers are trying

661
00:30:22,500 --> 00:30:26,333
to encourage Mary,
and love their sisters,

662
00:30:26,417 --> 00:30:31,708
and make sense of the death
of their big brother.

663
00:30:31,833 --> 00:30:34,583
The family has a funeral.

664
00:30:34,667 --> 00:30:36,500
The family sheds their tears.

665
00:30:36,583 --> 00:30:40,875
The family mourns their loss.

666
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:46,542
And then 3 days later,
unprecedented in the history

667
00:30:46,667 --> 00:30:50,333
of the world, vindicating
everything Jesus ever said

668
00:30:50,417 --> 00:30:53,750
or did, Jesus rises from death.

669
00:30:53,833 --> 00:30:56,333
Jesus alone conquers death.

670
00:30:56,417 --> 00:30:59,542
The wage for sin is death,
and because Jesus had no sin,

671
00:30:59,667 --> 00:31:02,333
death could not contain him.

672
00:31:02,417 --> 00:31:05,042
This is the most
magnificent, unprecedented,

673
00:31:05,167 --> 00:31:07,667
epic event in
the history of the world.

674
00:31:07,708 --> 00:31:13,167
Jesus rises from death
and Paul records historically

675
00:31:13,208 --> 00:31:16,042
what happened in
1 Corinthians 15:7.

676
00:31:16,167 --> 00:31:19,500
"Then he appeared to"--who?

677
00:31:19,583 --> 00:31:24,542
"James, then to
all the apostles."

678
00:31:24,667 --> 00:31:29,583
Can you imagine that?

679
00:31:29,667 --> 00:31:32,917
Can you imagine that reunion
between James

680
00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:34,333
and his big brother Jesus?

681
00:31:34,417 --> 00:31:36,083
I don't know what
it looked like.

682
00:31:36,167 --> 00:31:38,083
I don't know if it
was a...

683
00:31:38,167 --> 00:31:39,833
James opens the door,
and there's Jesus,

684
00:31:39,917 --> 00:31:42,333
nail-scarred hands.

685
00:31:42,417 --> 00:31:44,417
"I'm back.
I conquered death.

686
00:31:44,500 --> 00:31:46,667
I told you I was God."

687
00:31:46,750 --> 00:31:51,833
"Yes sir, you are."

688
00:31:51,917 --> 00:31:53,833
Amen?

689
00:31:53,917 --> 00:31:56,250
Friends, that's how
it happened, OK?

690
00:31:56,333 --> 00:32:01,042
That's how it happened.

691
00:32:01,167 --> 00:32:04,333
Well, wherever James was
on the continuum of faith

692
00:32:04,417 --> 00:32:10,500
in Jesus, this is where
the switch got flipped.

693
00:32:11,708 --> 00:32:13,167
He's in.

694
00:32:13,208 --> 00:32:16,167
"Jesus is God.
Everything he said is true.

695
00:32:16,208 --> 00:32:18,875
"He's my Creator,
he's my substitute,

696
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:20,917
"he's my resurrected Savior.

697
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:22,833
I'm in."

698
00:32:22,917 --> 00:32:27,167
James appears to be hot
and cold, and in and out,

699
00:32:27,208 --> 00:32:30,417
until Jesus is risen from death
and they have their

700
00:32:30,500 --> 00:32:32,208
face-to-face reunion.

701
00:32:32,333 --> 00:32:33,833
Let me say this as well.

702
00:32:33,875 --> 00:32:36,833
Others will teach
that Jesus didn't die,

703
00:32:36,917 --> 00:32:40,167
that someone who looked like
Jesus died, a body double,

704
00:32:40,208 --> 00:32:41,708
a stunt double.

705
00:32:41,833 --> 00:32:43,083
You know who would know?

706
00:32:43,167 --> 00:32:45,542
His family.

707
00:32:45,667 --> 00:32:49,542
You can fool a lot of people,
but not a guy's mom,

708
00:32:49,667 --> 00:32:52,083
not a guy's brother.

709
00:32:52,167 --> 00:32:55,542
James saw it with his own eyes.

710
00:32:55,667 --> 00:32:58,875
James testimony for us
is credible, historical,

711
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:01,375
and truthful.

712
00:33:01,500 --> 00:33:05,375
Jesus rose from death
and they had this reunion.

713
00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:07,208
Can you imagine
what that was like?

714
00:33:07,333 --> 00:33:10,375
When we get to the kingdom
of God, I want to ask James,

715
00:33:10,500 --> 00:33:12,708
"How did that go?
Like, were you laughing?

716
00:33:12,833 --> 00:33:14,083
"Were you crying,
like,

717
00:33:14,167 --> 00:33:16,208
"'I am sorry.
I am so sorry'?

718
00:33:16,333 --> 00:33:18,333
"Or like, 'Jesus, you're back!'

719
00:33:18,375 --> 00:33:21,375
"Or stunned, or
shocked--or what happened?

720
00:33:21,500 --> 00:33:24,333
"Did you fall down and
worship him like Thomas did?

721
00:33:24,375 --> 00:33:27,333
"Did you just embrace
and weep upon him?

722
00:33:27,375 --> 00:33:28,875
"Did you rejoice?

723
00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:32,833
Did you pick him up?
What did you do?"

724
00:33:32,875 --> 00:33:34,833
Amazing.

725
00:33:34,875 --> 00:33:39,083
There was James, and once he
saw his big brother

726
00:33:39,167 --> 00:33:43,500
risen from death, he changed.

727
00:33:43,583 --> 00:33:46,875
Friends, I want you to receive
Jesus as risen from death,

728
00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,042
and I want you to change.

729
00:33:49,167 --> 00:33:51,167
Wherever you've been on
your continuum of faith,

730
00:33:51,208 --> 00:33:53,833
I want you to come to
the place that James arrived.

731
00:33:53,875 --> 00:33:56,875
"Jesus is God,
he died for my sin,

732
00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:01,000
he rose to conquer sin and
death, he's my God and Savior."

733
00:34:01,042 --> 00:34:04,333
And this is one of
the most credible,

734
00:34:04,375 --> 00:34:07,500
historical evidences for
the resurrection of Jesus,

735
00:34:07,583 --> 00:34:10,000
friends.

736
00:34:10,083 --> 00:34:12,583
Cause and effect.

737
00:34:12,667 --> 00:34:16,000
What I'm going to show you in
a moment is how James became

738
00:34:16,083 --> 00:34:18,583
a leader, and a pastor,
and a preacher,

739
00:34:18,667 --> 00:34:20,583
and ultimately a martyr.

740
00:34:20,667 --> 00:34:22,167
Cause and effect.

741
00:34:22,250 --> 00:34:25,583
But what accounts for
the change in James?

742
00:34:25,667 --> 00:34:27,333
He didn't believe in Jesus.

743
00:34:27,375 --> 00:34:28,708
He didn't worship Jesus.

744
00:34:28,833 --> 00:34:32,375
He didn't agree with all
the teaching of Jesus.

745
00:34:32,500 --> 00:34:35,000
And then he did.

746
00:34:35,042 --> 00:34:39,333
He went from trying to get his
brother to stop saying what he

747
00:34:39,375 --> 00:34:44,500
was saying to saying the same
things that his brother said.

748
00:34:44,542 --> 00:34:46,917
Cause and effect.

749
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,583
The burden of proof--for those
of you who would disagree with

750
00:34:50,667 --> 00:34:54,833
the testimony of the historical
record of God's Word,

751
00:34:54,917 --> 00:34:58,208
the burden of proof is with you.

752
00:34:58,333 --> 00:35:03,750
How else can you account for
the transformation in James?

753
00:35:03,833 --> 00:35:08,833
If Jesus died and didn't rise,
why in the world would he become

754
00:35:08,875 --> 00:35:14,667
this bold preacher
and servant of Jesus as God?

755
00:35:14,750 --> 00:35:16,875
The burden of proof is on you.

756
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:19,833
The only thing that accounts
for that kind of radical

757
00:35:19,875 --> 00:35:23,083
transformation in thinking and
commitment is the resurrection

758
00:35:23,167 --> 00:35:25,500
of Jesus from death.

759
00:35:25,583 --> 00:35:32,083
If someone dies, we tend not to
devote our life to them as God.

760
00:35:32,167 --> 00:35:35,167
We tend not to follow in their
footsteps and pattern ourselves

761
00:35:35,250 --> 00:35:36,833
after their example.

762
00:35:36,875 --> 00:35:39,208
We tend to mourn their
loss and move on.

763
00:35:39,333 --> 00:35:41,083
Not James.

764
00:35:41,167 --> 00:35:44,167
In fact, James joined
the early church.

765
00:35:44,250 --> 00:35:46,708
We see this in Acts 1:14.

766
00:35:46,833 --> 00:35:49,167
This is the account
of the early church.

767
00:35:49,208 --> 00:35:51,708
It's not a lot of people.

768
00:35:51,833 --> 00:35:55,833
Today, Christianity is--arguably
a few billion people on

769
00:35:55,875 --> 00:35:58,417
the earth say Jesus is God.

770
00:35:58,500 --> 00:36:01,708
In that day, there was
only about 120 of them,

771
00:36:01,833 --> 00:36:06,375
and it's recorded historically
in the book of Acts,

772
00:36:06,500 --> 00:36:08,500
and they gathered together.

773
00:36:08,583 --> 00:36:11,708
And here's what we read,
"And these with one accord"--

774
00:36:11,833 --> 00:36:13,708
so there's unity
in the early church--

775
00:36:13,833 --> 00:36:16,250
"were devoting themselves"--
so it's ongoing and habitual--

776
00:36:16,333 --> 00:36:19,583
"to prayer, together
with the women and"--who?

777
00:36:19,667 --> 00:36:26,167
"Mary the mother of Jesus,
and his brothers."

778
00:36:26,250 --> 00:36:28,208
Who are the first converts?

779
00:36:28,333 --> 00:36:31,708
Who's the first core group
for the church plant?

780
00:36:31,833 --> 00:36:36,375
Who are the first people who
sign up for Christianity?

781
00:36:36,500 --> 00:36:40,000
Jesus' mother and brothers.

782
00:36:40,083 --> 00:36:42,875
Do you feel the weight of that?

783
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:46,333
They didn't believe this until
he rose from death,

784
00:36:46,417 --> 00:36:50,917
and they were a devout
Jewish family.

785
00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:53,917
Think of the most devout,
religious family you know,

786
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,708
maybe very devout Jewish
or very devout Muslim.

787
00:36:57,833 --> 00:37:00,667
They are all about doing it
right, following the rules,

788
00:37:00,750 --> 00:37:02,500
obeying the Lord.

789
00:37:02,542 --> 00:37:05,375
Like, whatever their
understanding of God's commands

790
00:37:05,500 --> 00:37:10,333
are, they're very
devoted to those.

791
00:37:10,375 --> 00:37:14,167
Every indication is that
Jesus' family was like that.

792
00:37:14,250 --> 00:37:18,500
Mary and Joseph,
devout Jewish people.

793
00:37:18,583 --> 00:37:21,667
They make their
pilgrimage to the temple.

794
00:37:21,750 --> 00:37:24,333
They offer the sacrifice
of those who are poor.

795
00:37:24,375 --> 00:37:29,000
These are devout people.
These are devout people.

796
00:37:29,042 --> 00:37:30,500
And they know
the Ten Commandments,

797
00:37:30,542 --> 00:37:32,667
the first of which is,
"There's only one God,"

798
00:37:32,750 --> 00:37:34,875
and the second is,
"You only worship that God

799
00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:37,250
or the consequence is you
go to hell forever."

800
00:37:37,333 --> 00:37:40,167
So, they're not people like
us who dabble in spirituality,

801
00:37:40,250 --> 00:37:44,083
and try on religions, and maybe
experiment with a new concept

802
00:37:44,167 --> 00:37:45,875
of divinity.

803
00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:47,917
They're not like that.

804
00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:51,542
They're devout,
and all of a sudden,

805
00:37:51,667 --> 00:37:53,542
they worship Jesus as God.

806
00:37:53,667 --> 00:37:57,708
Jesus' own mother
worshiped him as God.

807
00:37:57,833 --> 00:38:00,167
Jesus' own brothers
worshiped him as God.

808
00:38:00,250 --> 00:38:01,542
This is amazing.

809
00:38:01,667 --> 00:38:04,333
How many of you would not
worship your brother as God?

810
00:38:04,375 --> 00:38:07,583
Like, if you could pick anybody
on the earth, OK, you'd say,

811
00:38:07,667 --> 00:38:10,667
"Yeah, brother,
last guy I'd pick.

812
00:38:10,750 --> 00:38:12,167
"Satan?

813
00:38:12,250 --> 00:38:15,167
"I'd pick him as Satan, but
I'd not pick him as God.

814
00:38:15,250 --> 00:38:17,167
"I lived with that guy.
He was horrible.

815
00:38:17,250 --> 00:38:21,083
He did horrible things."

816
00:38:21,167 --> 00:38:23,167
We know the sins
of our brothers,

817
00:38:23,250 --> 00:38:25,375
we know the failures
of our brothers,

818
00:38:25,500 --> 00:38:28,375
we know the faults
and flaws of our brothers.

819
00:38:28,500 --> 00:38:35,375
And they worshiped their brother
as sinless God and Savior,

820
00:38:35,500 --> 00:38:38,000
and they're part of
the early church.

821
00:38:38,083 --> 00:38:43,208
In addition, James and his
brother Jude, Jesus' brothers,

822
00:38:43,333 --> 00:38:46,708
they become very
powerful pastors.

823
00:38:46,833 --> 00:38:49,375
OK, so we've
looked at James 1:1,

824
00:38:49,500 --> 00:38:53,542
and Jude 1:1 is going to echo
much of what is said

825
00:38:53,667 --> 00:38:55,375
in James 1:1.

826
00:38:55,500 --> 00:38:58,208
"Jude, a servant
of Jesus Christ."

827
00:38:58,333 --> 00:39:00,500
So again, "servant."

828
00:39:00,583 --> 00:39:05,375
Not boastful, Jesus' brother;
humble, Jesus' servant.

829
00:39:05,500 --> 00:39:08,250
"And brother of"--who?

830
00:39:08,333 --> 00:39:11,500
"James."

831
00:39:11,583 --> 00:39:17,667
Mary and Joseph apparently
had quite a family.

832
00:39:19,667 --> 00:39:25,583
They raised Jesus,
and James, and Jude.

833
00:39:25,667 --> 00:39:28,250
One of their sons is
the point of the whole Bible.

834
00:39:28,333 --> 00:39:32,000
The other two sons wrote
books of the Bible.

835
00:39:32,083 --> 00:39:34,375
That's a pretty amazing family.

836
00:39:34,500 --> 00:39:37,583
Some of you need to know that
the most amazing ministry

837
00:39:37,667 --> 00:39:42,000
you will do is not by you,
but through your children.

838
00:39:42,083 --> 00:39:46,208
Joseph never wrote a book
of the Bible; his sons did.

839
00:39:46,333 --> 00:39:48,083
His sons did.

840
00:39:48,167 --> 00:39:52,542
You can be humble, you could be
poor, you could be hard-working,

841
00:39:52,667 --> 00:39:56,917
you could be blue collar,
and very effective if you raise

842
00:39:57,000 --> 00:39:59,583
your children to love
and serve the Lord.

843
00:39:59,667 --> 00:40:01,333
We don't know
a lot about Joseph,

844
00:40:01,417 --> 00:40:02,833
but everything we need to know,

845
00:40:02,917 --> 00:40:06,333
we can know by looking
at his family.

846
00:40:06,417 --> 00:40:08,542
We know a little bit more
about Mary,

847
00:40:08,667 --> 00:40:10,042
but everything
we need to know,

848
00:40:10,167 --> 00:40:12,083
we know by looking
at her family.

849
00:40:12,167 --> 00:40:14,875
The grace of God through
the Holy Spirit at work through

850
00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:18,417
this mother and father led
to servants of God

851
00:40:18,500 --> 00:40:20,208
that are amazing.

852
00:40:20,333 --> 00:40:23,333
This is a family that is worth
modeling ourselves after

853
00:40:23,417 --> 00:40:25,417
by the grace of God.

854
00:40:25,500 --> 00:40:28,708
These men have such authority
that they write books

855
00:40:28,833 --> 00:40:31,500
of the Bible, James and Jude.

856
00:40:31,583 --> 00:40:34,375
We hear a lot about Paul;
we hear a lot about Peter.

857
00:40:34,500 --> 00:40:38,417
We don't hear a lot
about Jesus' brothers.

858
00:40:38,500 --> 00:40:41,833
Well, you can add
Jude to the list.

859
00:40:41,917 --> 00:40:44,708
This is a very large family
with a lot of brothers

860
00:40:44,833 --> 00:40:48,042
and some sisters.

861
00:40:48,167 --> 00:40:50,708
The story continues.

862
00:40:50,833 --> 00:40:54,042
In Acts 15, there is one of
the most important meetings

863
00:40:54,167 --> 00:40:57,667
in the history of the world, and
that's not an overstatement.

864
00:40:57,750 --> 00:41:00,875
Early Christianity, Jesus was
Jewish, his family was Jewish,

865
00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:04,333
they were waiting
the Old Testament Messiah.

866
00:41:04,417 --> 00:41:08,167
They converted to
worshiping Jesus, some did.

867
00:41:08,208 --> 00:41:11,833
The original converts
to Jesus were Jewish.

868
00:41:11,917 --> 00:41:14,708
And then as
Christianity spreads,

869
00:41:14,833 --> 00:41:18,208
Gentiles start to be
saved of their sin,

870
00:41:18,333 --> 00:41:21,875
and filled with the Holy Spirit,
and worship Jesus as God.

871
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:23,917
So, like you and me.

872
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:27,208
Most of us are not
Jewish, we're Gentile.

873
00:41:27,333 --> 00:41:30,917
The question then was what do
we do with all the Gentiles.

874
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:32,417
It was a big question.

875
00:41:32,500 --> 00:41:34,500
A lot of the New Testament
is dedicated

876
00:41:34,583 --> 00:41:36,167
to answering that issue.

877
00:41:36,208 --> 00:41:38,333
The question was, "Well,
do all the men need

878
00:41:38,375 --> 00:41:40,000
to get circumcised?"

879
00:41:40,083 --> 00:41:42,208
because we told the Gentile
men to get circumcised.

880
00:41:42,333 --> 00:41:44,542
They're like, "Double check.
We're not sure.

881
00:41:44,667 --> 00:41:46,875
"Make sure before
we just do that.

882
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:50,500
We're not ready to sign up.
Go check."

883
00:41:50,542 --> 00:41:52,875
We told them they couldn't eat
ham sandwiches anymore

884
00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:55,042
or pork ribs.

885
00:41:55,167 --> 00:41:58,250
They said, "Yeah, run
it by a committee.

886
00:41:58,333 --> 00:41:59,750
"Double check.

887
00:41:59,833 --> 00:42:01,917
"We're not ready to give up
pork products

888
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:03,667
and go get circumcised."

889
00:42:03,708 --> 00:42:06,500
Like if there's a plan B,
all the Gentiles voted,

890
00:42:06,583 --> 00:42:08,333
"Yeah, we'll take plan B."

891
00:42:08,417 --> 00:42:12,333
So, there was a question, do all
the Gentiles need to convert

892
00:42:12,417 --> 00:42:14,917
to Judaism?

893
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:19,042
So, they convened
a meeting in Jerusalem.

894
00:42:19,167 --> 00:42:21,333
Jerusalem was the mother church.

895
00:42:21,417 --> 00:42:23,667
Jerusalem was headquarters.

896
00:42:23,708 --> 00:42:25,833
We use the language
at Mars Hill

897
00:42:25,875 --> 00:42:28,500
of a trunk and branches.

898
00:42:28,583 --> 00:42:30,833
So, Mars Hill Bellevue
is the trunk.

899
00:42:30,917 --> 00:42:32,583
And you could pray,
we're looking for

900
00:42:32,667 --> 00:42:34,208
a couple hundred thousand
square feet,

901
00:42:34,333 --> 00:42:36,167
more seating,
offices, classroom,

902
00:42:36,208 --> 00:42:39,667
studio, undergrad,
graduate program.

903
00:42:39,708 --> 00:42:42,375
We need all of that
together at the trunk.

904
00:42:42,500 --> 00:42:46,208
And the goal of the trunk is to
nourish and feed the branches.

905
00:42:46,333 --> 00:42:49,208
Well, Jerusalem was like that.

906
00:42:49,333 --> 00:42:51,708
So, we've got our 15 churches.

907
00:42:51,833 --> 00:42:55,042
Fourteen are beyond
Mars Hill Bellevue,

908
00:42:55,167 --> 00:42:58,375
but Mars Hill Bellevue exists
as a trunk to nourish those

909
00:42:58,500 --> 00:43:01,333
branches and then to help
plant new churches, right,

910
00:43:01,375 --> 00:43:03,375
new branches on the tree.

911
00:43:03,500 --> 00:43:07,583
Well, in that day, Jerusalem was
the trunk, and the resources,

912
00:43:07,667 --> 00:43:10,333
and the training,
and the authority went out from

913
00:43:10,375 --> 00:43:14,083
Jerusalem and the people who
were spiritual leaders across

914
00:43:14,167 --> 00:43:18,083
the various churches, they
would come into Jerusalem.

915
00:43:18,167 --> 00:43:20,875
One of the ways that you know
that someone has significant

916
00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:25,042
spiritual authority is
they have convening power.

917
00:43:25,167 --> 00:43:28,708
So, when a meeting
is called somewhere,

918
00:43:28,833 --> 00:43:31,375
not everybody's going to go,
but if a meeting's called in

919
00:43:31,500 --> 00:43:33,208
Jerusalem, everybody's
going to come.

920
00:43:33,333 --> 00:43:34,708
You know why?

921
00:43:34,833 --> 00:43:37,000
The highest ranking
spiritual leaders are there.

922
00:43:37,083 --> 00:43:39,750
Now, in the New Testament, there
are people who are itinerant

923
00:43:39,833 --> 00:43:41,333
and they travel around.

924
00:43:41,375 --> 00:43:43,083
The quintessential
example is Paul,

925
00:43:43,167 --> 00:43:46,167
and there's guys like Timothy
and Titus who do that with him.

926
00:43:46,208 --> 00:43:47,542
Barnabas as well.

927
00:43:47,667 --> 00:43:49,708
They're traveling,
planting churches.

928
00:43:49,833 --> 00:43:53,708
Two guys stayed put
in Jerusalem, right,

929
00:43:53,833 --> 00:43:58,208
the trunk: Peter,
the leader of Jesus' disciples,

930
00:43:58,333 --> 00:44:01,000
always named first in the list
of disciples because he is

931
00:44:01,083 --> 00:44:03,083
the human leader
appointed by Jesus,

932
00:44:03,167 --> 00:44:06,708
and James, Jesus' brother.

933
00:44:06,833 --> 00:44:09,708
They stayed in Jerusalem,
they oversaw the trunk,

934
00:44:09,833 --> 00:44:11,083
and they nourished the branches.

935
00:44:11,167 --> 00:44:13,833
And when the controversy erupts
out at the new church plants,

936
00:44:13,875 --> 00:44:15,833
"What do we do with
all the Gentiles?"

937
00:44:15,875 --> 00:44:18,000
then it was,
"We need to have a meeting.

938
00:44:18,083 --> 00:44:19,375
"Everybody come into Jerusalem.

939
00:44:19,500 --> 00:44:22,375
"We all need to sit down
and we're going to figure out

940
00:44:22,500 --> 00:44:24,083
what God's will is
for the Gentiles."

941
00:44:24,167 --> 00:44:28,375
Not everybody got to
go to that meeting,

942
00:44:28,500 --> 00:44:30,083
only the highest ranking
spiritual leaders.

943
00:44:30,167 --> 00:44:32,333
You need to see that
in the New Testament,

944
00:44:32,375 --> 00:44:34,250
there are levels of
spiritual leadership

945
00:44:34,333 --> 00:44:35,875
and spiritual authority.

946
00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:37,500
Not everybody goes
to the meeting;

947
00:44:37,583 --> 00:44:39,333
it's not a congregational vote.

948
00:44:39,375 --> 00:44:41,333
They don't, you know,
cast a ballot

949
00:44:41,375 --> 00:44:43,000
across all the churches.

950
00:44:43,083 --> 00:44:48,000
The senior leaders get
together, they open God's Word,

951
00:44:48,083 --> 00:44:51,000
they study, they pray, they seek
the will of the Holy Spirit.

952
00:44:51,083 --> 00:44:53,500
They try and figure out
what God's will is for

953
00:44:53,583 --> 00:44:58,000
the Gentile converts, and
they're doing so in Jerusalem,

954
00:44:58,083 --> 00:45:01,875
which is overseen
by Peter and James.

955
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:05,583
And everything turns in the most
important meeting--one of

956
00:45:05,667 --> 00:45:09,083
the most important meetings in
the history of the world.

957
00:45:09,167 --> 00:45:12,333
Our fate is at stake, those
of us who are Gentiles.

958
00:45:12,375 --> 00:45:14,083
Here's what we
read in Acts 15,

959
00:45:14,167 --> 00:45:16,583
in the middle of that
meeting, verses 12 and 13.

960
00:45:16,667 --> 00:45:20,375
"And the assembly fell silent,
and they listened to Barnabas

961
00:45:20,500 --> 00:45:23,875
"and Paul as they related what
signs and wonders God had done

962
00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:26,833
through them among
the Gentiles."

963
00:45:26,875 --> 00:45:31,375
Not everybody's there, but
certain guys are there.

964
00:45:31,500 --> 00:45:33,500
Peter's there.

965
00:45:33,583 --> 00:45:36,500
It'd be hard to argue that
anybody has more spiritual

966
00:45:36,583 --> 00:45:39,000
authority on earth
in that day than Peter,

967
00:45:39,083 --> 00:45:41,667
appointed by Jesus to lead.

968
00:45:41,750 --> 00:45:45,917
Paul's there, any living
apostles/disciples of Jesus

969
00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:49,417
are there.

970
00:45:49,500 --> 00:45:53,333
This was an invite-only,
closed-door meeting.

971
00:45:53,417 --> 00:45:59,333
Not everybody gets to come, and
not everybody gets to speak.

972
00:45:59,417 --> 00:46:03,667
And it gets very quiet,

973
00:46:03,750 --> 00:46:06,167
and the floor is given
to Paul and to Barnabas,

974
00:46:06,250 --> 00:46:07,875
who have been doing
itinerant ministry

975
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:09,583
out on the branches.

976
00:46:09,667 --> 00:46:12,000
"Tell us about the new fruit.

977
00:46:12,083 --> 00:46:14,042
"Tell us about who's
meeting Jesus.

978
00:46:14,167 --> 00:46:16,708
"Tell us about who
the Holy Spirit is filling.

979
00:46:16,833 --> 00:46:19,708
Tell us about what
is happening."

980
00:46:19,833 --> 00:46:24,500
And they give a report:
"There's an explosion.

981
00:46:24,542 --> 00:46:26,708
"The Holy Spirit's
been unleashed.

982
00:46:26,833 --> 00:46:29,583
"Gentiles are meeting Jesus.
They're repenting of sin.

983
00:46:29,667 --> 00:46:33,000
"They're falling in love
with the God of the Bible.

984
00:46:33,042 --> 00:46:36,833
"And there are many of them,

985
00:46:36,875 --> 00:46:40,042
"and churches are getting
planted all over the place,

986
00:46:40,167 --> 00:46:43,583
"and what God
is doing is extraordinary.

987
00:46:43,667 --> 00:46:48,542
"And we're bringing you a report
back to the trunk of what God

988
00:46:48,667 --> 00:46:52,833
is doing with new fruit
at the edge of the branch."

989
00:46:52,875 --> 00:46:59,833
And everybody's quiet, and
there's that dramatic pause,

990
00:46:59,875 --> 00:47:02,083
and in one of the most
important meetings

991
00:47:02,167 --> 00:47:05,500
in the history of the world,
the question is,

992
00:47:05,542 --> 00:47:09,208
"Who will stand up
and speak for God?"

993
00:47:09,333 --> 00:47:15,375
Who will the Holy Spirit
speak through?

994
00:47:15,500 --> 00:47:18,083
"After they finished speaking,
James replied,

995
00:47:18,167 --> 00:47:24,708
"'Brothers, listen to me.

996
00:47:24,833 --> 00:47:28,500
"'Paul, listen to me.

997
00:47:28,583 --> 00:47:31,333
"'Barnabas, listen to me.

998
00:47:31,375 --> 00:47:35,375
Peter, listen to me.'"

999
00:47:35,500 --> 00:47:40,208
Do you sense
the weight of that?

1000
00:47:40,333 --> 00:47:41,875
I don't have that
kind of authority.

1001
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:44,375
I doubt I would have
been let in the room.

1002
00:47:44,500 --> 00:47:47,417
If so, I would have been in the
corner, quiet, taking notes,

1003
00:47:47,500 --> 00:47:50,208
not standing up, saying,
"Brothers, listen to me."

1004
00:47:50,333 --> 00:47:53,542
I don't have that
spiritual authority.

1005
00:47:53,667 --> 00:47:59,708
James does, and James
teaches the Old Testament,

1006
00:47:59,833 --> 00:48:03,208
and James leads
the early church.

1007
00:48:03,333 --> 00:48:07,208
And James sets the trajectory--
yes, along with Peter, and yes,

1008
00:48:07,333 --> 00:48:10,708
along with Paul, and yes, along
with Barnabas and the apostles,

1009
00:48:10,833 --> 00:48:15,000
because the Holy Spirit brings
them to unity of mind

1010
00:48:15,083 --> 00:48:19,167
regarding God's will
for the Gentile converts.

1011
00:48:19,250 --> 00:48:20,875
Here's why I tell you this:

1012
00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:23,833
we're going to spend
almost 4 months together

1013
00:48:23,875 --> 00:48:27,375
looking at the book of James,

1014
00:48:27,500 --> 00:48:32,000
and his Word is,
"Listen to me, listen to me,

1015
00:48:32,083 --> 00:48:34,250
listen to me."

1016
00:48:34,333 --> 00:48:37,250
If Peter is willing to sit,
and Paul is willing to sit,

1017
00:48:37,333 --> 00:48:40,000
and Barnabas is willing to
sit, and they're all willing to

1018
00:48:40,083 --> 00:48:41,375
listen to James, Mars Hill,

1019
00:48:41,500 --> 00:48:44,208
we need to be willing to listen
to James.

1020
00:48:44,333 --> 00:48:46,833
If they're willing to sit under
his spiritual authority--these

1021
00:48:46,875 --> 00:48:50,167
are men who wrote
books of the Bible

1022
00:48:50,208 --> 00:48:53,042
and they're under his authority.

1023
00:48:53,167 --> 00:48:55,208
So, as we study his
book of the Bible,

1024
00:48:55,333 --> 00:48:56,917
I want you to respect
his authority,

1025
00:48:57,000 --> 00:48:59,083
I want you to honor
his authority,

1026
00:48:59,167 --> 00:49:04,708
I want you to hear
him as they heard him.

1027
00:49:04,833 --> 00:49:06,875
The story continues.

1028
00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:10,708
Paul speaks of James in his
letter to the Galatians.

1029
00:49:10,833 --> 00:49:14,208
Here's what he says
in Galatians 1:18-19:

1030
00:49:14,333 --> 00:49:16,708
"Then after three years
I went up to Jerusalem," right?

1031
00:49:16,833 --> 00:49:22,875
Convening power, everybody's
got to come, give your report.

1032
00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:26,875
"To Cephas"--that's Peter--"and
remained with him fifteen days."

1033
00:49:27,000 --> 00:49:28,667
We don't know what
they talked about,

1034
00:49:28,750 --> 00:49:30,083
but apparently
they covered a lot.

1035
00:49:30,167 --> 00:49:34,208
Think of a meeting between
Peter and Paul for 15 days.

1036
00:49:34,333 --> 00:49:37,583
All right, this is
quite a meeting.

1037
00:49:37,667 --> 00:49:40,833
"But I saw none of the other
apostles except

1038
00:49:40,875 --> 00:49:43,375
James the Lord's brother."

1039
00:49:43,500 --> 00:49:47,000
James the Lord's brother.

1040
00:49:47,083 --> 00:49:52,167
Paul submitted to the authority
of Peter and James.

1041
00:49:53,500 --> 00:49:56,208
Now, when you and I
read the New Testament,

1042
00:49:56,333 --> 00:49:59,875
the guy who's written more
books than anybody's who?

1043
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:02,083
Paul.

1044
00:50:02,167 --> 00:50:08,417
Paul wasn't just in authority;
he was under authority.

1045
00:50:08,500 --> 00:50:11,583
Hugely important.

1046
00:50:11,667 --> 00:50:14,500
All right, I'm not just in
authority; I'm under authority.

1047
00:50:14,583 --> 00:50:18,375
I have pastors do my performance
review, can rebuke me,

1048
00:50:18,500 --> 00:50:21,333
can terminate me,
whatever the case may be.

1049
00:50:21,417 --> 00:50:25,375
It's important to know that
everyone needs to be under

1050
00:50:25,500 --> 00:50:28,375
spiritual authority,
including those who are

1051
00:50:28,500 --> 00:50:31,667
in spiritual authority.

1052
00:50:31,708 --> 00:50:34,333
Repeatedly in the book of Acts,

1053
00:50:34,417 --> 00:50:35,917
this happens more than
one occasion.

1054
00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:37,708
It reports it here
in Galatians.

1055
00:50:37,833 --> 00:50:42,417
Paul makes the long journey to
Jerusalem--it's not easy--so

1056
00:50:42,500 --> 00:50:45,417
that he can sit down and get his
performance review

1057
00:50:45,500 --> 00:50:48,542
with Peter and James.

1058
00:50:48,667 --> 00:50:51,375
Do you see that?

1059
00:50:51,500 --> 00:50:54,542
What this does, friends,
this puts James in a level

1060
00:50:54,667 --> 00:50:57,917
of authority with the apostles--
that's what he does right here--

1061
00:50:58,000 --> 00:51:01,333
and with Peter who is
appointed by Jesus to be

1062
00:51:01,375 --> 00:51:06,833
the human leader of the entire
movement of early Christianity.

1063
00:51:06,917 --> 00:51:09,208
We've not studied James enough.

1064
00:51:09,333 --> 00:51:11,000
We've not considered
James enough.

1065
00:51:11,083 --> 00:51:13,917
We've not honored James enough.

1066
00:51:14,000 --> 00:51:15,833
He's been overlooked.

1067
00:51:15,875 --> 00:51:21,042
Not entirely, but he's not
received the kind of regard that

1068
00:51:21,167 --> 00:51:24,333
he is worthy of based upon
simply what the Bible

1069
00:51:24,417 --> 00:51:25,708
says about him.

1070
00:51:25,833 --> 00:51:28,208
So, I'm so excited
we're going to do that.

1071
00:51:28,333 --> 00:51:31,208
We're going to study James
for almost 4 months together.

1072
00:51:31,333 --> 00:51:36,833
But I want you to see him for
who he is, a bold preacher,

1073
00:51:36,917 --> 00:51:40,708
teacher, writer of the Bible,
leader of Christianity,

1074
00:51:40,833 --> 00:51:45,000
working from the most important
church on the earth, feeding,

1075
00:51:45,083 --> 00:51:48,917
nourishing the other churches
and church-planting movements,

1076
00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:51,542
and men like Paul
will travel many,

1077
00:51:51,667 --> 00:51:56,542
many miles to sit across from
him and to learn from him.

1078
00:51:56,667 --> 00:52:00,167
It's magnificent that
James wrote a book for us,

1079
00:52:00,208 --> 00:52:02,833
and that we get to sit
down like Paul sat down,

1080
00:52:02,875 --> 00:52:06,000
and we get to learn from him
as Paul sat down from him.

1081
00:52:06,083 --> 00:52:09,000
And I would say this: those who
would tell you--and we're going

1082
00:52:09,083 --> 00:52:12,000
to get into this in James,
and I don't want to get

1083
00:52:12,083 --> 00:52:14,167
too far down the road,
but some would say,

1084
00:52:14,208 --> 00:52:16,167
"Well, I see conflict between
James and Paul."

1085
00:52:16,208 --> 00:52:17,542
I don't.

1086
00:52:17,667 --> 00:52:19,542
Paul seems very happy
to learn from James.

1087
00:52:19,667 --> 00:52:22,833
Paul seems very happy to travel
and meet with James.

1088
00:52:22,875 --> 00:52:27,667
Paul seems very happy to honor
and submit to James.

1089
00:52:27,708 --> 00:52:32,708
He says this as well
in Galatians 2:9:

1090
00:52:32,833 --> 00:52:38,167
"When James and Cephas
and John"--what a team.

1091
00:52:38,208 --> 00:52:41,375
Jesus' brother, the leader
of Jesus' disciples,

1092
00:52:41,500 --> 00:52:43,542
and Jesus' best friend.

1093
00:52:43,667 --> 00:52:46,583
"John is the one whom Jesus
loved," the Bible says.

1094
00:52:46,667 --> 00:52:48,917
What a team.
What a team.

1095
00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:51,333
Jesus' brother, leader
of the disciples,

1096
00:52:51,417 --> 00:52:52,708
and best friend.

1097
00:52:52,833 --> 00:52:58,000
The guy who--at the cross, he
told John, "Look after my mom."

1098
00:52:58,083 --> 00:53:03,250
Nobody's closer relationally
to Jesus than John.

1099
00:53:03,333 --> 00:53:06,708
"When James, Cephas
or Peter, and John,

1100
00:53:06,833 --> 00:53:09,375
who seemed to be pillars."

1101
00:53:09,500 --> 00:53:11,000
Here's a nickname
Paul gives them:

1102
00:53:11,042 --> 00:53:12,583
they're the "pillars."

1103
00:53:12,667 --> 00:53:14,542
You know what a pillar does?

1104
00:53:14,667 --> 00:53:17,208
Carries a load.

1105
00:53:17,333 --> 00:53:19,333
Not everybody has
equal spiritual authority.

1106
00:53:19,375 --> 00:53:22,333
Not everybody carries
the same load.

1107
00:53:22,375 --> 00:53:24,333
If you're remodeling
a house and you say,

1108
00:53:24,375 --> 00:53:27,500
"I'd like to take out that wall
and make it an open concept,"

1109
00:53:27,583 --> 00:53:29,708
the first thing you've
got to figure out is,

1110
00:53:29,833 --> 00:53:31,083
"Is that a load-bearing wall?

1111
00:53:31,167 --> 00:53:33,333
"Because if it is,
I take the wall down,

1112
00:53:33,375 --> 00:53:34,833
I'm going to take
everything down."

1113
00:53:34,875 --> 00:53:38,167
All right, what he's saying is
these guys are load-bearing.

1114
00:53:38,250 --> 00:53:42,375
"Boy, on these three guys, it's
kind of all...humanly-speaking.

1115
00:53:42,500 --> 00:53:45,583
"Yeah, the Holy Spirit's
empowering them, but these guys,

1116
00:53:45,667 --> 00:53:47,208
"they're load-bearing.

1117
00:53:47,333 --> 00:53:50,042
"Lots riding
and resting on them.

1118
00:53:50,167 --> 00:53:52,208
"One of them decides
to betray the faith,

1119
00:53:52,333 --> 00:53:54,708
"or run off with another
woman, or lose his mind,

1120
00:53:54,833 --> 00:53:58,208
we've got a real problem."

1121
00:53:58,333 --> 00:54:00,250
But he said, "They're pillars.

1122
00:54:00,333 --> 00:54:02,708
"They're like marble columns
in the temple.

1123
00:54:02,833 --> 00:54:05,708
"They were there last year;
they'll be there next year.

1124
00:54:05,833 --> 00:54:08,500
"They don't move.
They are rock-solid.

1125
00:54:08,583 --> 00:54:12,583
"They can handle
a serious load.

1126
00:54:12,667 --> 00:54:14,708
They're "pillars."

1127
00:54:14,833 --> 00:54:16,375
What a nickname.

1128
00:54:16,500 --> 00:54:18,708
We could use a lot
of men like that.

1129
00:54:18,833 --> 00:54:20,875
"Perceived by the grace
that was given to me,

1130
00:54:21,000 --> 00:54:24,333
"they gave me the right hand of
fellowship to Barnabas and me,

1131
00:54:24,375 --> 00:54:27,000
that we should go
to the Gentiles."

1132
00:54:27,083 --> 00:54:30,875
This is staggering.

1133
00:54:31,000 --> 00:54:34,333
Who came down,
converted Paul,

1134
00:54:34,375 --> 00:54:38,083
and called him to be
a missionary to the Gentiles?

1135
00:54:38,167 --> 00:54:39,667
Who did that?

1136
00:54:39,750 --> 00:54:41,333
Jesus Christ.

1137
00:54:41,375 --> 00:54:44,333
After Easter, we're going to get
back into the book of Acts

1138
00:54:44,375 --> 00:54:47,917
and we're going to study it.

1139
00:54:48,000 --> 00:54:50,917
Even though Jesus came
down--Jesus came down

1140
00:54:51,000 --> 00:54:52,333
from heaven, right?

1141
00:54:52,417 --> 00:54:54,542
He died for our sin,
rose as our Savior,

1142
00:54:54,667 --> 00:54:56,917
ascended to heaven where
he rules and reigns.

1143
00:54:57,000 --> 00:54:59,417
One day, he got off his throne
and came down

1144
00:54:59,500 --> 00:55:03,000
for a short meeting with a guy
named Saul.

1145
00:55:03,083 --> 00:55:06,375
Blinded him, converted him,
changed his name to Paul, said,

1146
00:55:06,500 --> 00:55:12,000
"Go preach to the Gentiles," and
then Jesus went back to heaven.

1147
00:55:12,042 --> 00:55:14,875
What Paul didn't do
is walk around saying,

1148
00:55:15,000 --> 00:55:17,333
"Jesus told me I get
to plant a church.

1149
00:55:17,375 --> 00:55:19,583
"Jesus told me I
get to write books.

1150
00:55:19,667 --> 00:55:22,375
"Jesus told me I get
to preach sermons.

1151
00:55:22,500 --> 00:55:24,500
That's what Jesus said."

1152
00:55:24,542 --> 00:55:29,500
Here's what Paul says: "I went
to Jerusalem, and I sat down with

1153
00:55:29,583 --> 00:55:32,583
"James, and Peter, and John.

1154
00:55:32,667 --> 00:55:35,750
"And I brought Barnabas
with me, and I told them,

1155
00:55:35,833 --> 00:55:38,708
"'Here's what Jesus has done in
my life, and here's what Jesus

1156
00:55:38,833 --> 00:55:41,500
"'has called me to do with
the rest of my life.'

1157
00:55:41,583 --> 00:55:43,375
"And I submitted it to them

1158
00:55:43,500 --> 00:55:47,708
for spiritual authority
and oversight."

1159
00:55:47,833 --> 00:55:49,708
Those of you who feel
called to ministry,

1160
00:55:49,833 --> 00:55:51,583
those of you feel
called to leadership,

1161
00:55:51,667 --> 00:55:53,833
particularly those of you who
feel called to preaching

1162
00:55:53,917 --> 00:55:59,417
or church-planting,
you are not above Paul.

1163
00:56:01,000 --> 00:56:02,875
You have no right
to just say,

1164
00:56:03,000 --> 00:56:05,500
"Well, God told me and I'm
going to go do it."

1165
00:56:05,583 --> 00:56:10,250
No one had a more magnificent
calling than Paul.

1166
00:56:10,333 --> 00:56:11,875
Whatever calling
you've received,

1167
00:56:12,000 --> 00:56:16,083
I tell you this: Jesus
didn't come down from heaven

1168
00:56:16,167 --> 00:56:19,000
to convert you and to call you.

1169
00:56:19,083 --> 00:56:24,833
And even Paul, receiving that
direct calling from Jesus

1170
00:56:24,875 --> 00:56:28,875
himself, submitted to
the authority that Jesus

1171
00:56:29,000 --> 00:56:31,667
placed over him.

1172
00:56:31,750 --> 00:56:38,500
There is no spiritual ministry
apart from spiritual authority.

1173
00:56:39,375 --> 00:56:42,375
There's not.

1174
00:56:42,500 --> 00:56:46,500
Paul says, "I took what Jesus
said and did and I brought it

1175
00:56:46,583 --> 00:56:49,542
to the men that Jesus
appointed over me."

1176
00:56:49,667 --> 00:56:52,708
Paul is saying, "I saw James
as an authority over me,

1177
00:56:52,833 --> 00:56:57,333
"and Peter an authority over me,
and John an authority over me.

1178
00:56:57,375 --> 00:57:00,083
"And before I preached,
and before I planted churches,

1179
00:57:00,167 --> 00:57:03,375
"and before I wrote
books, I asked them,

1180
00:57:03,500 --> 00:57:06,083
'Do I have your blessing?'"

1181
00:57:06,167 --> 00:57:08,833
Because see, God works
through spiritual authority.

1182
00:57:08,875 --> 00:57:11,833
There's nothing more dangerous
than just a renegade leader

1183
00:57:11,875 --> 00:57:14,500
who wants to go do their
own thing and say,

1184
00:57:14,583 --> 00:57:18,250
"Jesus told me, and I'm
only accountable to him."

1185
00:57:18,333 --> 00:57:21,375
It's dangerous, it's
deadly, it's devastating,

1186
00:57:21,500 --> 00:57:25,333
and sometimes damnable.

1187
00:57:25,375 --> 00:57:28,875
Your authority, my authority, is
nowhere near Paul's authority,

1188
00:57:29,000 --> 00:57:31,333
and he submitted his
authority to higher authority,

1189
00:57:31,375 --> 00:57:35,000
and so should we.

1190
00:57:35,042 --> 00:57:36,500
So should we.

1191
00:57:36,542 --> 00:57:38,375
When I felt called
to start Mars Hill,

1192
00:57:38,500 --> 00:57:39,875
I went and met with elders.

1193
00:57:40,000 --> 00:57:41,375
When I felt called
into ministry,

1194
00:57:41,500 --> 00:57:43,375
I went and met with
my first pastor.

1195
00:57:43,500 --> 00:57:46,375
I said, "I think this is
what God's telling me to do."

1196
00:57:46,500 --> 00:57:49,042
He said, "I think that's right,
but you're nowhere near ready.

1197
00:57:49,167 --> 00:57:51,042
It's going to be
a really long time."

1198
00:57:51,167 --> 00:57:53,208
"OK, I've got
a lot of work to do."

1199
00:57:53,333 --> 00:57:56,208
When I felt called to plant, I
went through a full assessment.

1200
00:57:56,333 --> 00:57:58,208
Pastors oversaw me,
a team interviewed me,

1201
00:57:58,333 --> 00:58:02,500
a church sent me, an overseer
had authority over me.

1202
00:58:04,583 --> 00:58:08,500
The Bible talks about
laying on of hands.

1203
00:58:08,583 --> 00:58:13,333
What this is saying is that not
only has God chosen this person,

1204
00:58:13,375 --> 00:58:15,875
but he's confirmed their calling
through godly leadership

1205
00:58:16,000 --> 00:58:18,000
in authority over them.

1206
00:58:18,083 --> 00:58:20,583
And placing a hand on somebody
is demonstrating authority

1207
00:58:20,667 --> 00:58:22,333
over somebody.

1208
00:58:22,375 --> 00:58:24,375
And when leaders are
installed in the Bible,

1209
00:58:24,500 --> 00:58:26,375
oftentimes it's through
the laying on of hands.

1210
00:58:26,500 --> 00:58:30,375
Here's what Paul's saying:
"There were six hands on me.

1211
00:58:30,500 --> 00:58:33,500
"Can you see it?

1212
00:58:33,542 --> 00:58:37,375
"Peter put his two hands
on me, prayed over me.

1213
00:58:37,500 --> 00:58:42,333
"James put his two hands
on me, prayed over me.

1214
00:58:42,375 --> 00:58:47,542
"John put his two hands
on me and prayed over me.

1215
00:58:47,667 --> 00:58:50,708
"And I'm called by Jesus,
but I'm sent by these men,

1216
00:58:50,833 --> 00:58:52,708
"and I'm under the authority
of these men,

1217
00:58:52,833 --> 00:58:55,708
"and I give report to these men,
and I return and meet

1218
00:58:55,833 --> 00:58:58,583
with these men, and I submit
to these men."

1219
00:58:58,667 --> 00:59:04,500
Part of Paul's greatness was
the greatness of his submission.

1220
00:59:04,583 --> 00:59:08,500
It put him in a safe place where
God could use him in a big way.

1221
00:59:08,583 --> 00:59:10,833
Do you see that?

1222
00:59:10,875 --> 00:59:13,250
We all need that,
myself included.

1223
00:59:13,333 --> 00:59:17,750
Perhaps myself more than anyone.

1224
00:59:17,833 --> 00:59:21,208
And it's James.

1225
00:59:21,333 --> 00:59:23,167
I mean, have you ever thought,

1226
00:59:23,250 --> 00:59:26,500
"Who did Paul's performance
review?"

1227
00:59:26,583 --> 00:59:29,167
"Well, that was a pretty good
sermon, and you're doing OK."

1228
00:59:29,250 --> 00:59:33,250
Like, who did--who does
your performance review?

1229
00:59:33,333 --> 00:59:36,875
Who's going to do Paul's
performance review?

1230
00:59:37,000 --> 00:59:42,083
James does Paul's performance
review in Jerusalem.

1231
00:59:42,167 --> 00:59:44,750
Paul travels to James.

1232
00:59:44,833 --> 00:59:47,875
James doesn't travel to Paul,
Paul travels to James.

1233
00:59:48,000 --> 00:59:50,208
That's convening power,
that's spiritual authority,

1234
00:59:50,333 --> 00:59:54,208
that's incredible leadership.

1235
00:59:54,333 --> 00:59:57,583
Well, what happens
to James from here?

1236
00:59:57,667 --> 00:59:59,917
He continues to
preach and teach.

1237
01:00:00,000 --> 01:00:01,833
It's reported historically,
apart from Scripture,

1238
01:00:01,917 --> 01:00:04,375
but it's the most accurate
historical record we have,

1239
01:00:04,500 --> 01:00:09,208
that he was murdered, martyred
around 62 or 63 A.D.,

1240
01:00:09,333 --> 01:00:12,333
and he was Jesus' bold
little brother.

1241
01:00:12,417 --> 01:00:14,875
Man, he stayed in Jerusalem.

1242
01:00:15,000 --> 01:00:16,500
He stayed the course.

1243
01:00:16,583 --> 01:00:18,167
He was a rock-solid pillar.

1244
01:00:18,208 --> 01:00:21,167
He did not move, he did not
crumble, he did not tumble,

1245
01:00:21,208 --> 01:00:23,333
he did not waver.

1246
01:00:23,417 --> 01:00:26,042
In addition to the nickname
that Paul gave him, the Pillar,

1247
01:00:26,167 --> 01:00:28,708
church history, the early church
historians say that he had

1248
01:00:28,833 --> 01:00:30,167
two other nicknames.

1249
01:00:30,208 --> 01:00:33,083
"James the Just"--what a name!

1250
01:00:33,167 --> 01:00:34,833
That's like "Holy Hank."

1251
01:00:34,917 --> 01:00:37,208
Really?
That's amazing.

1252
01:00:37,333 --> 01:00:39,833
"James the Just."

1253
01:00:39,875 --> 01:00:42,667
And his other nickname
was "Camel Knees."

1254
01:00:42,708 --> 01:00:45,875
OK, you know
what that's from?

1255
01:00:46,000 --> 01:00:48,042
Praying a lot.

1256
01:00:48,167 --> 01:00:55,042
James was on his knees so much
that his knees were hardened.

1257
01:00:55,167 --> 01:00:58,375
So, he's known as being
a pillar, a righteous man,

1258
01:00:58,500 --> 01:01:05,208
who has always on his knees
until they came to murder him.

1259
01:01:06,208 --> 01:01:08,667
And history records that
they took him to the top

1260
01:01:08,708 --> 01:01:10,042
of the temple.

1261
01:01:10,167 --> 01:01:11,708
This is supposed
to be God's house,

1262
01:01:11,833 --> 01:01:15,333
all foreshadowing the coming
of Jesus, the presence of God,

1263
01:01:15,375 --> 01:01:17,167
the sacrifice, the priest.

1264
01:01:17,208 --> 01:01:18,833
It's all about Jesus.

1265
01:01:18,917 --> 01:01:21,333
And they take James to
the top of the temple,

1266
01:01:21,417 --> 01:01:26,208
the religious leaders do,
the same group-thinking team

1267
01:01:26,333 --> 01:01:28,875
of religious leaders
who murdered Jesus.

1268
01:01:29,000 --> 01:01:31,042
Not everybody converts.

1269
01:01:31,167 --> 01:01:34,875
Religious people
sometimes are the worst.

1270
01:01:35,000 --> 01:01:38,000
They murdered Jesus;
he rose from the dead.

1271
01:01:38,083 --> 01:01:40,917
You think they would
have learned something.

1272
01:01:41,000 --> 01:01:45,208
No, instead they continue
opposing Jesus' people

1273
01:01:45,333 --> 01:01:47,000
after he's ascended
back to heaven.

1274
01:01:47,042 --> 01:01:49,500
They take Jesus' brother,
the leader of the church at

1275
01:01:49,542 --> 01:01:52,542
Jerusalem, they bring him up
the pinnacle of the temple,

1276
01:01:52,667 --> 01:01:55,250
and they throw him off
to openly, publicly,

1277
01:01:55,333 --> 01:01:59,875
shamefully murder him
as they did his brother.

1278
01:02:00,000 --> 01:02:02,000
And history records
that he hit the ground,

1279
01:02:02,083 --> 01:02:06,042
apparently a pretty
tough guy, didn't die.

1280
01:02:06,167 --> 01:02:12,167
So, then they stone him
and beat him to death.

1281
01:02:12,208 --> 01:02:15,833
Now the family's
got another funeral.

1282
01:02:15,917 --> 01:02:21,500
Mary buried some sons.

1283
01:02:21,583 --> 01:02:24,708
And history records
that James' successor,

1284
01:02:24,833 --> 01:02:29,542
probably chosen by James, was
one of his other brothers.

1285
01:02:29,667 --> 01:02:31,208
What a family!

1286
01:02:31,333 --> 01:02:32,667
Kill the big brother.

1287
01:02:32,708 --> 01:02:34,042
"I'm here to preach."

1288
01:02:34,167 --> 01:02:35,417
Kill that guy.

1289
01:02:35,500 --> 01:02:36,833
"Well, we've got
another brother."

1290
01:02:36,917 --> 01:02:39,042
I wonder if they had
beards and duck hunted.

1291
01:02:39,167 --> 01:02:44,167
This is quite a family.
This is quite a family.

1292
01:02:44,208 --> 01:02:46,083
I mean, they're
pretty durable, amen?

1293
01:02:46,167 --> 01:02:48,167
You get that feeling?

1294
01:02:48,208 --> 01:02:49,833
That guy's name is
Simeon or Simon,

1295
01:02:49,917 --> 01:02:53,000
depending upon which
historian you follow.

1296
01:02:53,083 --> 01:02:56,208
What an amazing family this is.

1297
01:02:56,333 --> 01:02:57,917
The brothers write
books of the Bible,

1298
01:02:58,000 --> 01:02:59,583
the brothers are willing to die,

1299
01:02:59,667 --> 01:03:01,375
the brothers are willing
to step in.

1300
01:03:01,500 --> 01:03:04,083
How many of you, if your
brother died on the job,

1301
01:03:04,167 --> 01:03:05,583
you would not be his successor?

1302
01:03:05,667 --> 01:03:11,083
This family is utterly convinced
Jesus is God, Jesus is Savior,

1303
01:03:11,167 --> 01:03:12,833
Jesus rose.

1304
01:03:12,875 --> 01:03:15,083
"You can kill us,
we'll go see him.

1305
01:03:15,167 --> 01:03:19,583
It's going to be OK."

1306
01:03:19,667 --> 01:03:22,042
And if you're here,
and you're not a believer,

1307
01:03:22,167 --> 01:03:27,500
I have got to ask you, how in the
world do you account for this?

1308
01:03:27,583 --> 01:03:31,833
What motive could they
have possibly had?

1309
01:03:31,875 --> 01:03:35,583
There was no fame, there was
no glory, there was no fortune.

1310
01:03:35,667 --> 01:03:40,042
There was death, and they
endured it because they

1311
01:03:40,167 --> 01:03:43,083
no longer feared death
because they'd seen their

1312
01:03:43,167 --> 01:03:48,375
God-brother conquer it.

1313
01:03:48,500 --> 01:03:53,333
Now, what I don't want you to
do is just admire this family.

1314
01:03:53,375 --> 01:03:55,333
I want you to join this family.

1315
01:03:55,375 --> 01:03:58,333
I'll close with the words of
Jesus because you can't do any

1316
01:03:58,375 --> 01:04:00,375
better than that.

1317
01:04:00,500 --> 01:04:04,875
Mark 3:35, "For whoever
does the will of God, he,"

1318
01:04:05,000 --> 01:04:08,875
Jesus says, "is my brother
and sister and mother."

1319
01:04:09,000 --> 01:04:11,083
How many of you guys
here, you're like, "Man,

1320
01:04:11,167 --> 01:04:14,083
it would have been great to
have Jesus as a big brother"?

1321
01:04:14,167 --> 01:04:16,083
Jesus says,
"I'll be your big brother.

1322
01:04:16,167 --> 01:04:19,500
"Do what I tell you to do
and I'll be your big brother.

1323
01:04:19,542 --> 01:04:22,375
"I'll love you, help you,
encourage you, be there for you.

1324
01:04:22,500 --> 01:04:23,875
I'll be your brother."

1325
01:04:24,000 --> 01:04:26,042
How many of you ladies
hearing this say, "Boy,

1326
01:04:26,167 --> 01:04:29,042
it would have been great to
have Jesus as a big brother."

1327
01:04:29,167 --> 01:04:31,042
Jesus says,
"I'll be your big brother.

1328
01:04:31,167 --> 01:04:33,083
Do what I tell you to do."

1329
01:04:33,167 --> 01:04:34,875
How many of you
ladies think, "Man,

1330
01:04:35,000 --> 01:04:39,042
it would have been amazing to
be Mary, to be Jesus' mom."

1331
01:04:39,167 --> 01:04:42,208
Jesus says, "I'll love you
like I love my own mom

1332
01:04:42,333 --> 01:04:47,167
if you'll obey me and do
what I tell you to do."

1333
01:04:47,208 --> 01:04:51,833
Jesus invites us
into his family.

1334
01:04:51,917 --> 01:04:54,208
You may not have been
born into his family,

1335
01:04:54,333 --> 01:04:56,833
but you can be born again
by the Spirit of God

1336
01:04:56,917 --> 01:04:59,333
into the family of God.

1337
01:04:59,417 --> 01:05:02,833
And men, Jesus is like a big
brother, puts an arm around us.

1338
01:05:02,875 --> 01:05:06,500
"Hey, we got stuff to do.
Look at James, look at Jude.

1339
01:05:06,583 --> 01:05:08,875
We got stuff to do."

1340
01:05:09,000 --> 01:05:10,375
Puts his arm
around the ladies,

1341
01:05:10,500 --> 01:05:11,875
"I'm your big brother.

1342
01:05:12,000 --> 01:05:13,375
"Sisters, come on, support.

1343
01:05:13,500 --> 01:05:15,500
"We need you on the team;
you're very important.

1344
01:05:15,583 --> 01:05:16,875
"Older women, you too.

1345
01:05:17,000 --> 01:05:18,375
"You're like mothers,
super important.

1346
01:05:18,500 --> 01:05:19,875
"We need you in the family.

1347
01:05:20,000 --> 01:05:22,833
You're a big deal.
You got stuff to do."

1348
01:05:22,875 --> 01:05:26,083
And James pick up
this tenor and tone.

1349
01:05:26,167 --> 01:05:28,875
And the book of James is all
active present tense verbs,

1350
01:05:29,000 --> 01:05:31,875
"Do this, do this, do this,
do this, do this, do this,"

1351
01:05:32,000 --> 01:05:36,167
because the family of God
is seen by the works of God.

1352
01:05:36,250 --> 01:05:38,583
If you're here
and you're not a Christian,

1353
01:05:38,667 --> 01:05:41,833
the first thing you need to do,
you need to turn from sin

1354
01:05:41,875 --> 01:05:43,500
and trust in Jesus.

1355
01:05:43,583 --> 01:05:46,000
You need to cross that
line of faith that James

1356
01:05:46,083 --> 01:05:47,583
and his family cross.

1357
01:05:47,667 --> 01:05:50,208
They went from knowing him,
knowing a little bit about him,

1358
01:05:50,333 --> 01:05:52,417
kind of liking him, being
concerned about other things,

1359
01:05:52,500 --> 01:05:54,208
receiving certain teachings,
struggling with others,

1360
01:05:54,333 --> 01:05:58,167
to full-hearted, full-throated
commitment to Jesus

1361
01:05:58,208 --> 01:06:00,000
as God and Savior.

1362
01:06:00,083 --> 01:06:03,833
And I'm inviting you not to just
admire Jesus' family but to join

1363
01:06:03,875 --> 01:06:09,042
it, and you do so by turning
from sin and trusting in him.

1364
01:06:09,167 --> 01:06:14,000
For those of you that are
here and you are Christians,

1365
01:06:14,042 --> 01:06:17,375
the book of James is written
largely to religious people

1366
01:06:17,500 --> 01:06:21,208
who know a lot but they
don't do a lot.

1367
01:06:21,333 --> 01:06:26,875
And he's trying to move them
from conviction to action,

1368
01:06:27,000 --> 01:06:28,875
from belief to behavior.

1369
01:06:29,000 --> 01:06:31,000
And for some of you
religious people,

1370
01:06:31,042 --> 01:06:33,000
this is the perfect
time of year.

1371
01:06:33,083 --> 01:06:34,708
It's the new year.

1372
01:06:34,833 --> 01:06:36,375
And my question to you would be:

1373
01:06:36,500 --> 01:06:38,250
what is Jesus commanding you
to do?

1374
01:06:38,333 --> 01:06:40,250
What is his will
for you this year?

1375
01:06:40,333 --> 01:06:43,500
What's on the to do list from
the risen Lord for your life

1376
01:06:43,542 --> 01:06:46,417
starting right now?

1377
01:06:46,500 --> 01:06:49,167
And some of you say, "I don't
feel close to Jesus

1378
01:06:49,208 --> 01:06:50,542
"like a brother.

1379
01:06:50,667 --> 01:06:52,708
"I don't feel close
to Jesus like a sister.

1380
01:06:52,833 --> 01:06:54,917
I don't feel close
to Jesus like my mother."

1381
01:06:55,000 --> 01:06:57,667
Well, then, here's the issue:
maybe you're not serving him.

1382
01:06:57,708 --> 01:06:59,417
Maybe you're not
doing what he's doing.

1383
01:06:59,500 --> 01:07:01,333
Maybe you're not working
where he's working.

1384
01:07:01,375 --> 01:07:03,042
Maybe you're not obeying
where he's commanding.

1385
01:07:03,167 --> 01:07:05,250
And it's not that
he is far from you,

1386
01:07:05,333 --> 01:07:08,500
but that you're not
in sync with him.

1387
01:07:08,542 --> 01:07:11,833
So, I'm going to give
you a chance to respond.

1388
01:07:11,875 --> 01:07:13,875
We're going to collect
our tithes and offerings.

1389
01:07:14,000 --> 01:07:17,083
As we do, this is where
we give Jesus our best,

1390
01:07:17,167 --> 01:07:20,583
that we would be able,
by the grace of God,

1391
01:07:20,667 --> 01:07:24,250
to see the gospel still
go out to the Gentiles.

1392
01:07:24,333 --> 01:07:26,250
And as we collect our
tithes and offerings,

1393
01:07:26,333 --> 01:07:27,667
we're giving God our best,

1394
01:07:27,750 --> 01:07:30,708
I want to give you
a good news report.

1395
01:07:30,833 --> 01:07:34,083
We asked you
to give generously,

1396
01:07:34,167 --> 01:07:38,667
those that are at Mars Hill and
those who are listening online

1397
01:07:38,750 --> 01:07:42,583
and part of our global family
of support.

1398
01:07:42,667 --> 01:07:45,708
We asked you to give generously
so we could meet budget, OK?

1399
01:07:45,833 --> 01:07:49,208
Did we meet budget this year?
Yes or no?

1400
01:07:49,333 --> 01:07:54,375
Yes, yes we did,
OK?

1401
01:07:54,500 --> 01:07:57,000
Now, if you're not used to
clapping during an offering,

1402
01:07:57,083 --> 01:07:59,000
it's a good day,
all right?

1403
01:07:59,083 --> 01:08:00,500
Not often
in a church,

1404
01:08:00,542 --> 01:08:02,208
"We're going to collect
the offering, yay!"

1405
01:08:02,333 --> 01:08:04,333
Everybody's like...

1406
01:08:06,500 --> 01:08:09,208
OK, we asked you to give
$2 million above and beyond

1407
01:08:09,333 --> 01:08:11,333
the budget to get
Mars Hill Tacoma,

1408
01:08:11,375 --> 01:08:14,000
Mars Hill Everett,
Mars Hill Olympia,

1409
01:08:14,042 --> 01:08:16,083
and Mars Hill
Huntington Beach into new homes,

1410
01:08:16,167 --> 01:08:18,667
and also to launch
Mars Hill Phoenix,

1411
01:08:18,750 --> 01:08:21,167
and to support more church
planters internationally.

1412
01:08:21,250 --> 01:08:26,375
Did you give $2 million over
and above budget, yes or no?

1413
01:08:26,500 --> 01:08:29,333
Yes, you actually gave
more than $2 million.

1414
01:08:29,375 --> 01:08:32,500
So, we beat budget,
OK?

1415
01:08:32,583 --> 01:08:34,833
Here's the good news:

1416
01:08:34,875 --> 01:08:39,208
we are in the strongest,
healthiest financial

1417
01:08:39,333 --> 01:08:41,875
fiscal position that we have
ever been in the history

1418
01:08:42,000 --> 01:08:43,875
of Mars Hill Church.

1419
01:08:44,000 --> 01:08:47,167
That 18 years ago this month, we
had our first core group meeting

1420
01:08:47,208 --> 01:08:50,167
with just a few dozen people,
it was not a big deal,

1421
01:08:50,208 --> 01:08:52,917
and many years later, God has
been very gracious to us

1422
01:08:53,000 --> 01:08:55,708
and through you, and I
want to say thank you.

1423
01:08:55,833 --> 01:08:57,708
And as we collect our
tithes and offerings,

1424
01:08:57,833 --> 01:09:00,583
the Bible says that God
loves a cheerful giver,

1425
01:09:00,667 --> 01:09:04,000
and thank you for being cheerful
and thank you for giving.

1426
01:09:04,083 --> 01:09:06,542
Lastly, one way you
can respond as well is,

1427
01:09:06,667 --> 01:09:10,000
in addition to taking Communion
to remember Jesus' broken body

1428
01:09:10,083 --> 01:09:13,583
and shed blood in our place for
our sins is through baptism.

1429
01:09:13,667 --> 01:09:16,875
And if you've given your
life to Jesus today

1430
01:09:17,000 --> 01:09:18,875
or if you've given
your life to Jesus

1431
01:09:19,000 --> 01:09:20,375
at some point previously

1432
01:09:20,500 --> 01:09:23,500
but not been baptized, this is
part of obeying his commands.

1433
01:09:23,542 --> 01:09:24,875
He says to be baptized.

1434
01:09:25,000 --> 01:09:26,875
He commands us to be baptized.

1435
01:09:27,000 --> 01:09:29,750
And this is showing that Jesus
lived, died and was buried,

1436
01:09:29,833 --> 01:09:32,833
and rose in my
place for my sins.

1437
01:09:32,875 --> 01:09:36,500
As water cleanses me from filth,
Jesus cleanses me from sin.

1438
01:09:36,583 --> 01:09:38,208
And in Christ,
I'm clean.

1439
01:09:38,333 --> 01:09:39,667
In Christ,
I'm forgiven.

1440
01:09:39,750 --> 01:09:41,875
In Christ,
I am new.

1441
01:09:42,000 --> 01:09:45,083
And we are going to baptize
people today, and at Mars Hill,

1442
01:09:45,167 --> 01:09:48,417
we celebrate that, we rejoice
in that, we love that,

1443
01:09:48,500 --> 01:09:50,167
we enjoy that.

1444
01:09:50,208 --> 01:09:53,042
And so I want you to sing
and to celebrate the goodness

1445
01:09:53,167 --> 01:09:54,667
of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1446
01:09:54,708 --> 01:09:56,833
I want you to welcome
new brothers and sisters

1447
01:09:56,917 --> 01:09:58,208
into the family of God.

1448
01:09:58,333 --> 01:09:59,875
And if you've never
been baptized,

1449
01:10:00,000 --> 01:10:03,167
today is the day for you to be
baptized in obedience to Jesus,

1450
01:10:03,208 --> 01:10:05,167
to start your obedience
through baptism.

1451
01:10:05,208 --> 01:10:07,333
And you may say,
"I don't have a towel.

1452
01:10:07,417 --> 01:10:09,542
I don't have shorts.
I don't have a shirt."

1453
01:10:09,667 --> 01:10:10,917
We do.

1454
01:10:11,000 --> 01:10:13,167
Jesus told us you were
going to need them

1455
01:10:13,208 --> 01:10:14,833
so we're all ready to go,
amen.

1456
01:10:14,917 --> 01:10:16,208
All right,
let me pray.

1457
01:10:16,333 --> 01:10:18,708
Father, thank you that I
get to teach the Bible.

1458
01:10:18,833 --> 01:10:21,417
Thank you that this is
going to be the 18th year

1459
01:10:21,500 --> 01:10:22,833
from core group phase

1460
01:10:22,917 --> 01:10:25,542
that I get to teach the Bible
at Mars Hill Church.

1461
01:10:25,667 --> 01:10:28,917
God, I thank you that we get to
go through books of the Bible.

1462
01:10:29,000 --> 01:10:31,917
I thank you for the patience
of our people as I take

1463
01:10:32,000 --> 01:10:33,333
an hour-plus a week.

1464
01:10:33,417 --> 01:10:36,542
And God, thank you so much that
you work in and through people

1465
01:10:36,667 --> 01:10:40,708
like us, families, people who
have struggles and doubts,

1466
01:10:40,833 --> 01:10:42,667
people who are in process,

1467
01:10:42,708 --> 01:10:46,375
people who are radically changed
and greatly used.

1468
01:10:46,500 --> 01:10:49,542
God, we thank you for
the testimony of Jesus' family.

1469
01:10:49,667 --> 01:10:53,000
I pray that the ladies would
be like Mary and his sisters.

1470
01:10:53,042 --> 01:10:55,750
I pray that us men would be
like his father Joseph

1471
01:10:55,833 --> 01:10:59,250
and his brothers, guys like
James and Jude.

1472
01:10:59,333 --> 01:11:01,667
And God, thank you,
thank you, thank you,

1473
01:11:01,708 --> 01:11:05,375
thank you for the Holy Spirit,
that he comes to empower us

1474
01:11:05,500 --> 01:11:07,708
to live new lives
as new people,

1475
01:11:07,833 --> 01:11:10,583
born again as part
of God's family.

1476
01:11:10,667 --> 01:11:13,667
And Jesus, we come to sing
and celebrate right now.

1477
01:11:13,708 --> 01:11:17,333
And we know that James and Jude,
Mary, your brothers, sisters,

1478
01:11:17,417 --> 01:11:21,667
your father, Lord Jesus, they're
in your presence right now.

1479
01:11:21,708 --> 01:11:25,208
They see you unveiled
in full glory.

1480
01:11:25,333 --> 01:11:28,208
They're rejoicing in who you are
and what you've done along with

1481
01:11:28,333 --> 01:11:31,000
the angels, and we
come now to join them,

1482
01:11:31,083 --> 01:11:34,333
and to sing and celebrate
in Jesus' great name, amen.

1483
01:11:36,000 --> 01:11:37,375
Pastor Sutton here,

1484
01:11:37,500 --> 01:11:40,375
we've just finished our services
here in the Bellevue church

1485
01:11:40,500 --> 01:11:46,208
and really excited today to tell
the extended family of Mars Hill Global

1486
01:11:46,333 --> 01:11:47,875
about Text to Give.

1487
01:11:48,000 --> 01:11:50,667
Just came out
and many of you know my story:

1488
01:11:50,708 --> 01:11:54,833
2007 heard Pastor Mark
at a pastor's conference

1489
01:11:54,875 --> 01:11:57,083
went there, started podcasting.

1490
01:11:57,167 --> 01:12:00,083
I still gave my tithe
to my local church,

1491
01:12:00,167 --> 01:12:03,500
however, gave a contribution amount
to Mars Hill Church.

1492
01:12:03,583 --> 01:12:08,167
So this Text to Give, the video
that we have produced for you,

1493
01:12:08,250 --> 01:12:10,417
you're going to love,
so check this out.

1494
01:12:12,583 --> 01:12:15,250
Hey Mars Hill, my name is Rene
and I work here

1495
01:12:15,333 --> 01:12:17,833
at the Media and Communications
team at Mars Hill Church.

1496
01:12:17,875 --> 01:12:19,542
If you're a mobile user like me,

1497
01:12:19,667 --> 01:12:21,708
I've got some exciting news
to share with you.

1498
01:12:21,833 --> 01:12:24,208
There's a new way to give
at Mars Hill Church

1499
01:12:24,333 --> 01:12:26,500
and it's just as easy
as sending a text.

1500
01:12:26,542 --> 01:12:29,208
Now, many of you take advantage
of our online giving options,

1501
01:12:29,333 --> 01:12:32,000
which is a great way
to set up recurring gifts,

1502
01:12:32,042 --> 01:12:35,208
but until now, we haven't had a way
to set up mobile,

1503
01:12:35,333 --> 01:12:38,083
where you can give on the spot
during our services.

1504
01:12:38,167 --> 01:12:40,167
If you're like me,
you don't carry cash

1505
01:12:40,208 --> 01:12:43,708
you don't carry a checkbook,
so Text to Give is the way to go.

1506
01:12:43,833 --> 01:12:48,167
It's fun, it's simple,
and best of all, it's secure.

1507
01:12:48,250 --> 01:12:50,167
I want you
to do something with me.

1508
01:12:50,208 --> 01:12:52,042
Take out
your smart phone right now;

1509
01:12:52,167 --> 01:12:53,875
we're going to do
something together.

1510
01:12:54,000 --> 01:12:55,833
Don't worry,
you're not obligated to give,

1511
01:12:55,917 --> 01:12:57,833
but try this out.

1512
01:12:57,917 --> 01:13:00,750
Simply send the amount
you want to give

1513
01:13:00,833 --> 01:13:06,833
and the word "Mars Hill" at the end
to the following number: 45777.

1514
01:13:08,000 --> 01:13:09,667
The first time
you give via text,

1515
01:13:09,750 --> 01:13:12,333
you will be asked to fill out
a one-time form,

1516
01:13:12,417 --> 01:13:15,417
which will safely link your card
to your smart phone.

1517
01:13:15,500 --> 01:13:18,875
Now, this new way of giving
doesn't go into your phone bill,

1518
01:13:19,000 --> 01:13:20,750
and in case you make a mistake,

1519
01:13:20,833 --> 01:13:24,500
you can always get a refund
for the gift that you've given.

1520
01:13:24,583 --> 01:13:26,542
And that's it;
you're done.

1521
01:13:26,667 --> 01:13:28,708
You'll receive a text back
confirming your gift

1522
01:13:28,833 --> 01:13:31,208
and from this moment forward,
you'll be able to give

1523
01:13:31,333 --> 01:13:34,000
anywhere, anytime
with just a single text.

1524
01:13:34,042 --> 01:13:36,708
Don't forget to save the number
in your contact list.

1525
01:13:36,833 --> 01:13:39,875
I've saved it
as "Mars Hill Text to Give."

1526
01:13:40,000 --> 01:13:41,708
For more information
about our giving options

1527
01:13:41,833 --> 01:13:45,000
you can visit marshill.com/give.

1528
01:13:49,542 --> 01:13:52,417
Each year, over 10 million
Mars Hill church sermons

1529
01:13:52,500 --> 01:13:55,500
are downloaded
worldwide for free.

1530
01:13:55,583 --> 01:13:58,167
This ministry is generously supported

1531
01:13:58,250 --> 01:14:00,833
by Mars Hill church members
and listeners like you.

1532
01:14:00,917 --> 01:14:04,375
If you'd like to support our efforts
to preach Jesus to the world,

1533
01:14:04,500 --> 01:14:07,375
Please consider making
a tax-deductible donation

1534
01:14:07,500 --> 01:14:10,333
by visiting marshill.com/give.