1 00:00:15,458 --> 00:00:16,750 Howdy Mars Hill Church. 2 00:00:16,833 --> 00:00:19,833 Pastor Sutton Turner here and I'm in Ethiopia. 3 00:00:19,875 --> 00:00:21,667 And I just want to thank Jesus 4 00:00:21,708 --> 00:00:25,000 for continuing to use Mars Hill Church 5 00:00:25,042 --> 00:00:28,583 to make disciples and plant churches. 6 00:00:29,167 --> 00:00:34,292 Mars Hill Global is the arm of Mars Hill Church 7 00:00:34,333 --> 00:00:35,917 that makes disciples 8 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,833 and plant churches all over the world. 9 00:00:38,917 --> 00:00:40,375 We not only do church planting, 10 00:00:40,458 --> 00:00:43,333 but we help better equip church planters. 11 00:00:43,417 --> 00:00:47,042 Most recently we shipped and now distributed 12 00:00:47,125 --> 00:00:49,500 1,000 bibles into Amharic, 13 00:00:49,542 --> 00:00:52,125 which is the language here in Ethiopia. 14 00:00:52,167 --> 00:00:54,042 And we launched a project 15 00:00:54,125 --> 00:00:59,250 to translate Pastor Mark Driscoll's doctrine book into Spanish. 16 00:00:59,333 --> 00:01:02,583 We have people from over 29 different countries 17 00:01:02,667 --> 00:01:06,167 that are giving on a monthly basis to Mars Hill Global. 18 00:01:06,208 --> 00:01:08,125 So whether you're a member 19 00:01:08,167 --> 00:01:11,083 of one of our Mars Hill church locations 20 00:01:11,167 --> 00:01:12,542 in the United States, 21 00:01:12,625 --> 00:01:18,208 or you're 1 of 100,000 podcasters every single week, 22 00:01:18,292 --> 00:01:19,667 we encourage you to pray 23 00:01:19,750 --> 00:01:23,083 about giving above and beyond your tithe 24 00:01:23,167 --> 00:01:24,625 to Mars Hill Global. 25 00:01:24,667 --> 00:01:28,958 Thank you and let's see more materials translated, 26 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,167 more pastors sent out, more churches planted, 27 00:01:32,250 --> 00:01:34,500 and more people saved by Jesus Christ. 28 00:01:54,958 --> 00:01:58,708 Brotherhood, it's a bond as old as time. 29 00:01:58,792 --> 00:02:00,833 It's a love that runs deep. 30 00:02:00,917 --> 00:02:05,042 It's bold, it's strong, it's enduring. 31 00:02:05,125 --> 00:02:07,500 There's a trust that's built among brothers, 32 00:02:07,542 --> 00:02:10,667 from the trials to the triumphs. 33 00:02:10,750 --> 00:02:14,083 It's a trust that comes from living life together. 34 00:02:14,167 --> 00:02:17,042 No one knows you like your brother. 35 00:02:17,125 --> 00:02:20,375 He knows your strengths; he knows your weaknesses. 36 00:02:20,458 --> 00:02:25,292 A bold brother will lay it all down for his family. 37 00:02:25,333 --> 00:02:29,042 It is difficult to describe that kind of loyalty, 38 00:02:29,125 --> 00:02:33,042 that kind of courage, that kind of strength. 39 00:02:33,125 --> 00:02:35,000 It's the love of a brother. 40 00:02:35,042 --> 00:02:37,000 It's that kind of love that compelled James 41 00:02:37,042 --> 00:02:40,708 to become Jesus' bold little brother. 42 00:02:46,417 --> 00:02:49,333 All right, Bible trivia time, you ready? 43 00:02:49,417 --> 00:02:51,833 Bible trivia time, you ready? 44 00:02:51,917 --> 00:02:53,250 You're not. 45 00:02:53,333 --> 00:02:54,750 All right, we'll do it anyways. 46 00:02:54,833 --> 00:02:56,167 All right, first question, 47 00:02:56,208 --> 00:02:58,167 we're going to start with the easy ones. 48 00:02:58,208 --> 00:02:59,875 OK, we're in the book of James. 49 00:02:59,958 --> 00:03:01,458 You can go to chapter 1. 50 00:03:01,500 --> 00:03:02,833 James had a big brother. 51 00:03:02,917 --> 00:03:04,333 Who was James' big brother? 52 00:03:04,375 --> 00:03:06,958 Jesus. I gave you an easy one out of the shoot. 53 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:08,458 First-time visitor, non-Christian's like, 54 00:03:08,500 --> 00:03:09,833 "I'm going to say 'Jesus.'" 55 00:03:09,917 --> 00:03:12,042 Good job, all right, you got the first one. 56 00:03:12,125 --> 00:03:13,542 Going to get a little tougher. 57 00:03:13,625 --> 00:03:15,042 OK, Jesus and James, they're brothers. 58 00:03:15,125 --> 00:03:17,750 They've got a mom and dad. Who's their mom and dad? 59 00:03:17,833 --> 00:03:19,167 Mary and Joseph. 60 00:03:19,208 --> 00:03:20,542 You guys did so good. 61 00:03:20,625 --> 00:03:24,250 OK, now we're going to get a little more difficult. 62 00:03:24,333 --> 00:03:28,542 OK, James and Jesus, did they grow up rich or poor? 63 00:03:28,625 --> 00:03:30,333 Poor. 64 00:03:30,375 --> 00:03:32,042 All indications are they grew up poor. 65 00:03:32,125 --> 00:03:34,417 They grew up in a town called Nazareth, right? 66 00:03:34,500 --> 00:03:38,333 Really rural, little, poor, hick, 67 00:03:38,375 --> 00:03:40,208 middle-of-nowhere town in that day. 68 00:03:40,292 --> 00:03:42,458 Somebody in the Bible asked the question rhetorically, 69 00:03:42,500 --> 00:03:44,667 "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" 70 00:03:44,708 --> 00:03:46,167 It was that kind of town. 71 00:03:46,208 --> 00:03:48,333 Maybe you grew up in a town like that. 72 00:03:48,417 --> 00:03:49,792 Congratulations, you made it out. 73 00:03:49,833 --> 00:03:51,958 In addition, the other indicators that they were poor 74 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:53,875 are--what was his dad's job? 75 00:03:53,958 --> 00:03:56,167 What was James' father's job? 76 00:03:56,250 --> 00:03:57,667 Carpenter. 77 00:03:57,750 --> 00:04:00,458 Don't make a lot as a carpenter in a small town, 78 00:04:00,500 --> 00:04:02,958 and he had a big family, a lot of kids. 79 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:04,417 Probably a poor family. 80 00:04:04,500 --> 00:04:06,917 And it tells us, I think it is in Luke, 81 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,042 when his family went to the temple in Jerusalem, 82 00:04:09,125 --> 00:04:10,458 they made the pilgrimage, 83 00:04:10,500 --> 00:04:12,208 they were going to bring their sacrifice. 84 00:04:12,292 --> 00:04:14,208 If you were someone who could afford it, 85 00:04:14,292 --> 00:04:16,208 you would bring a certain kind of animal, 86 00:04:16,292 --> 00:04:17,625 a little more valuable. 87 00:04:17,667 --> 00:04:20,833 If you were poor, there was a provision and a law for you 88 00:04:20,875 --> 00:04:22,208 to bring a lesser sacrifice. 89 00:04:22,292 --> 00:04:23,625 They brought that sacrifice. 90 00:04:23,667 --> 00:04:27,458 They were not a rich family; they were a poor family. 91 00:04:27,500 --> 00:04:30,667 So, James and Jesus grew up together poor. 92 00:04:30,708 --> 00:04:33,500 Here's the next question, a little more difficult: 93 00:04:33,583 --> 00:04:37,917 Should Christians be rich or should Christians be poor? 94 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,542 Some of you went to college and you said "yes." 95 00:04:41,625 --> 00:04:45,417 That was money well spent. That was money well spent. 96 00:04:45,500 --> 00:04:48,042 It's the wrong question, isn't it? 97 00:04:48,125 --> 00:04:51,167 That's a question that's economical or political, 98 00:04:51,250 --> 00:04:52,792 but it's not biblical. 99 00:04:52,833 --> 00:04:55,667 If you ask the wrong questions, you head down the wrong road, 100 00:04:55,750 --> 00:04:58,292 and you end up in the wrong place. 101 00:04:58,333 --> 00:05:00,250 There's a lot of class warfare, 102 00:05:00,333 --> 00:05:02,208 there's a lot of rich versus poor, 103 00:05:02,292 --> 00:05:04,208 there's a lot of political infighting. 104 00:05:04,292 --> 00:05:05,708 And if you ask the question, 105 00:05:05,792 --> 00:05:07,500 "Should Christians be rich or poor?" 106 00:05:07,583 --> 00:05:10,917 you're like, "I don't know, that's not the right question." 107 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:16,042 Here's a better question: should Christians be godly or ungodly? 108 00:05:16,125 --> 00:05:19,042 You didn't say it as enthusiastically 109 00:05:19,125 --> 00:05:21,417 as I would have hoped. 110 00:05:21,500 --> 00:05:22,833 It's pretty clear, right? 111 00:05:22,875 --> 00:05:25,458 Christians should be, by the grace of God, godly. 112 00:05:25,500 --> 00:05:26,833 Godly. 113 00:05:26,917 --> 00:05:29,333 So, it doesn't matter if you're rich or you're poor. 114 00:05:29,417 --> 00:05:31,542 The question is, how are you living your life, 115 00:05:31,625 --> 00:05:33,250 particularly in regards to your wealth? 116 00:05:33,333 --> 00:05:35,333 Is it godly or ungodly? 117 00:05:35,417 --> 00:05:37,333 So, what you're going to meet today are 118 00:05:37,417 --> 00:05:39,500 two categories of people, the rich and the poor. 119 00:05:39,583 --> 00:05:42,750 They are going to appear in James 1, starting in verse 9, 120 00:05:42,833 --> 00:05:45,333 and they're going to appear repeatedly through the course 121 00:05:45,417 --> 00:05:47,417 of our study of the book of James. 122 00:05:47,500 --> 00:05:49,667 So, I want to introduce these categories today 123 00:05:49,750 --> 00:05:51,583 so that you're familiar with them 124 00:05:51,667 --> 00:05:53,583 through the remainder of our study 125 00:05:53,667 --> 00:05:56,250 in the ensuing weeks and months through the book of James. 126 00:05:56,333 --> 00:05:59,583 And so our sermon today is--Jesus, of course, is 127 00:05:59,667 --> 00:06:02,750 the centerpiece, and it's "Rich Jesus and Poor Jesus." 128 00:06:02,833 --> 00:06:06,250 And I want to share with you the four kinds and categories 129 00:06:06,333 --> 00:06:08,625 of people that we see in the Bible. 130 00:06:08,667 --> 00:06:11,125 And the reason I want to do this is today, 131 00:06:11,167 --> 00:06:13,958 when we learn about the poor and the rich, 132 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:17,958 those are two of the four categories in the Bible, OK? 133 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:19,625 Here are the four categories. 134 00:06:19,667 --> 00:06:21,250 Number one, the godly poor. 135 00:06:21,333 --> 00:06:23,333 Can you think of people in the Bible, 136 00:06:23,417 --> 00:06:26,042 they're poor but they're godly? 137 00:06:26,125 --> 00:06:28,542 Can you think of people like that in the Bible? 138 00:06:28,625 --> 00:06:30,917 Actually, there's a lot of them, right? 139 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,667 We just looked at the fact that Jesus' family, 140 00:06:33,708 --> 00:06:35,208 they were a godly family. 141 00:06:35,292 --> 00:06:36,958 He had a devout mother and father, 142 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:38,500 but they were a poor family. 143 00:06:38,583 --> 00:06:40,833 A lot of people in the Bible, they're godly, 144 00:06:40,917 --> 00:06:43,833 they love the Lord, but they're poor. 145 00:06:43,917 --> 00:06:47,042 There's a widow in the Bible who gives a percentage of her income 146 00:06:47,125 --> 00:06:49,000 generously, but she was very poor, 147 00:06:49,042 --> 00:06:52,000 but the Bible commends her as being very godly. 148 00:06:52,042 --> 00:06:54,583 Godliness regarding your wealth is, how do you get it, 149 00:06:54,667 --> 00:06:58,250 how do you invest it, how do you tithe it, how do you save it, 150 00:06:58,333 --> 00:06:59,667 how do you spend it? 151 00:06:59,708 --> 00:07:01,125 Category two, the godly rich. 152 00:07:01,167 --> 00:07:03,125 Can you think of anybody in the Bible 153 00:07:03,167 --> 00:07:04,500 or people in the Bible, 154 00:07:04,583 --> 00:07:06,000 they're rich but they're very godly. 155 00:07:06,083 --> 00:07:09,167 The way they get it, the way they share it, and spend it, 156 00:07:09,208 --> 00:07:11,333 and save it, and invest it, it's very noble. 157 00:07:11,417 --> 00:07:13,042 Can you think of anybody like that? 158 00:07:13,125 --> 00:07:15,042 There's a lot of people like that, actually. 159 00:07:15,125 --> 00:07:17,042 Joseph is overseeing a tremendous amount of wealth 160 00:07:17,125 --> 00:07:18,458 in Egypt, right? 161 00:07:18,500 --> 00:07:20,458 Daniel has a lot of influence in Babylon 162 00:07:20,500 --> 00:07:21,958 and is in a prominent position. 163 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:24,708 A man named Nehemiah, he raises a great amount of money 164 00:07:24,792 --> 00:07:26,417 to rebuild the entire city of Jerusalem. 165 00:07:26,500 --> 00:07:27,917 Abraham was a very affluent man. 166 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:29,917 Job was rich, and then he lost everything, 167 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,125 and then he kind of got it all back. 168 00:07:32,167 --> 00:07:34,750 Joseph of Arimathea is a wealthy guy, and when Jesus dies, 169 00:07:34,833 --> 00:07:36,250 he gives Jesus his own tomb. 170 00:07:36,333 --> 00:07:38,958 There are some godly people who are wealthy in the Bible. 171 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,458 Category three, can you think of people in the Bible 172 00:07:41,500 --> 00:07:45,750 who are ungodly and poor? 173 00:07:45,833 --> 00:07:47,542 Ungodly and poor. 174 00:07:47,625 --> 00:07:49,667 Proverbs talks a lot about these people. 175 00:07:49,708 --> 00:07:53,667 The sluggard, like, the guy who literally won't work. 176 00:07:53,750 --> 00:07:55,583 The people who, they get their check, 177 00:07:55,667 --> 00:07:58,833 and the first thing they do is run to the casino 178 00:07:58,917 --> 00:08:00,417 and they gamble away their money. 179 00:08:00,500 --> 00:08:02,500 They're not smart with it. 180 00:08:02,583 --> 00:08:04,833 People who chase "get rich quick" schemes. 181 00:08:04,917 --> 00:08:08,500 People who are involved in nefarious business dealings, 182 00:08:08,583 --> 00:08:11,667 and as a result, it doesn't go well for them. 183 00:08:11,708 --> 00:08:13,667 You need to be careful to think biblically 184 00:08:13,708 --> 00:08:15,042 and not just politically. 185 00:08:15,125 --> 00:08:17,833 Just because someone's poor doesn't mean they're godly. 186 00:08:17,917 --> 00:08:20,750 Category four, the ungodly rich, and of course, 187 00:08:20,833 --> 00:08:22,958 we're very familiar with them, right? 188 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,667 We're the nation that loves the story of Robin Hood, 189 00:08:25,708 --> 00:08:28,667 that the rich guys are bad and the poor guys are good. 190 00:08:28,708 --> 00:08:31,958 And the truth is that there are some ungodly rich, 191 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:33,542 and they're mentioned in the Bible. 192 00:08:33,625 --> 00:08:36,917 A lot of the political leaders like Pharaoh, or Herod, 193 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,417 or Nebuchadnezzar, they're godless people. 194 00:08:40,500 --> 00:08:42,542 They're not godly people, but they're very powerful 195 00:08:42,625 --> 00:08:44,042 and rich people. 196 00:08:44,125 --> 00:08:46,042 Maybe the most legendary example is a guy 197 00:08:46,125 --> 00:08:47,458 who comes to Jesus. 198 00:08:47,500 --> 00:08:49,167 He's called the rich, young ruler, 199 00:08:49,250 --> 00:08:51,875 and he basically asks Jesus, "How do I inherit eternal life?" 200 00:08:51,958 --> 00:08:54,542 And Jesus says, "Well, you can't love me and your money. 201 00:08:54,625 --> 00:08:56,292 You've got to pick between the two." 202 00:08:56,333 --> 00:08:59,000 And the Bible says that he literally turned his back on 203 00:08:59,042 --> 00:09:02,167 Jesus and walked away because when it came down to his stuff 204 00:09:02,208 --> 00:09:06,500 or his Savior, he loved his stuff more than his Savior. 205 00:09:06,583 --> 00:09:08,000 He was ungodly and rich. 206 00:09:08,083 --> 00:09:09,750 Why do I give you these categories? 207 00:09:09,833 --> 00:09:13,167 Because I want you to figure out what category you're in. 208 00:09:13,208 --> 00:09:15,667 Are you godly and poor? 209 00:09:15,708 --> 00:09:17,958 Are you godly and rich? 210 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:19,958 Are you ungodly and poor? 211 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:22,333 Are you ungodly and rich? 212 00:09:22,375 --> 00:09:25,500 And I don't want you just to think, "Am I rich or poor?" 213 00:09:25,583 --> 00:09:28,250 I want you think, "Am I ungodly or godly?" 214 00:09:28,333 --> 00:09:30,750 And as we get into the book of James today, 215 00:09:30,833 --> 00:09:32,458 we're going to be dealing primarily with 216 00:09:32,500 --> 00:09:33,917 categories one and four. 217 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:36,125 We're going to be dealing with the godly poor 218 00:09:36,167 --> 00:09:38,667 and the ungodly rich. 219 00:09:38,708 --> 00:09:41,625 And here's the last question for you: 220 00:09:41,667 --> 00:09:46,833 Jesus Christ, rich or poor? 221 00:09:46,917 --> 00:09:50,667 Which one's Jesus? 222 00:09:50,750 --> 00:09:54,292 What a timid crowd you are. 223 00:09:54,333 --> 00:09:57,875 What a timid--you're the worst sports fans ever, right? 224 00:09:57,958 --> 00:10:02,667 You're like--it's like we're in a library. 225 00:10:02,708 --> 00:10:04,750 You're like... 226 00:10:04,833 --> 00:10:06,375 very quiet, OK. 227 00:10:06,458 --> 00:10:10,000 Jesus--how many of you think Jesus Christ, poor? 228 00:10:10,042 --> 00:10:15,042 OK, OK, Jesus Christ, rich? 229 00:10:15,125 --> 00:10:17,583 OK, OK, yes. 230 00:10:17,667 --> 00:10:19,083 OK, yes. 231 00:10:19,167 --> 00:10:20,583 OK, yes. 232 00:10:20,667 --> 00:10:22,083 I'll read a verse to you. 233 00:10:22,167 --> 00:10:23,792 I have a verse, 2 Corinthians 8:9. 234 00:10:23,833 --> 00:10:25,292 Here's what the Apostle Paul says, 235 00:10:25,333 --> 00:10:27,667 "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 236 00:10:27,750 --> 00:10:30,833 that though he was rich," it says, 237 00:10:30,917 --> 00:10:34,292 "yet for your sake he became poor, 238 00:10:34,333 --> 00:10:37,167 so that you by his poverty might become rich." 239 00:10:37,250 --> 00:10:41,167 What he says is, "Jesus Christ has known riches and poverty, 240 00:10:41,250 --> 00:10:44,167 "therefore it's not simply riches or poverty. 241 00:10:44,250 --> 00:10:47,667 "Jesus Christ is God, but he also acted, of course, 242 00:10:47,750 --> 00:10:50,875 in a godly way when he was rich and when he was poor." 243 00:10:50,958 --> 00:10:54,083 And the big idea is, it doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, 244 00:10:54,167 --> 00:10:55,833 it matters if you're godly or ungodly. 245 00:10:55,875 --> 00:10:58,000 So, what he's saying is, "Jesus Christ was rich." 246 00:10:58,042 --> 00:11:00,167 So, for eternity past, Jesus is ruling and reigning, 247 00:11:00,250 --> 00:11:03,083 King of kings, Lord of lords, in his heavenly kingdom. 248 00:11:03,167 --> 00:11:04,500 Rich? 249 00:11:04,542 --> 00:11:08,375 Yeah, yes, yes. 250 00:11:08,458 --> 00:11:11,500 I mean, the picture of heaven and God's kingdom in Revelation, 251 00:11:11,542 --> 00:11:14,292 I told you before, streets paved with gold. 252 00:11:14,333 --> 00:11:17,333 All right, that's even--even rap moguls are like, 253 00:11:17,417 --> 00:11:19,292 "That's amazing. I didn't even think of that. 254 00:11:19,333 --> 00:11:21,042 That's unbelievable." 255 00:11:21,125 --> 00:11:25,667 OK, so, rich, and then he came down to earth and he was poor. 256 00:11:25,750 --> 00:11:29,583 He couldn't pay his taxes, had nowhere to lay his head. 257 00:11:29,667 --> 00:11:31,000 He was poor. 258 00:11:31,042 --> 00:11:34,292 Didn't have the economic income to purchase a tomb 259 00:11:34,333 --> 00:11:36,667 to put his own body in after they murdered him. 260 00:11:36,750 --> 00:11:38,542 So Jesus, on the earth, was poor. 261 00:11:38,625 --> 00:11:40,750 So, it says he went from glory to humility, 262 00:11:40,833 --> 00:11:42,458 from riches to poverty. 263 00:11:42,500 --> 00:11:46,083 And so if you are poor, we want you to, by the grace of God, 264 00:11:46,167 --> 00:11:47,500 be poor like Jesus. 265 00:11:47,542 --> 00:11:50,500 And if you're rich, we want you, by the grace of God, 266 00:11:50,542 --> 00:11:51,875 to be rich like Jesus. 267 00:11:51,958 --> 00:11:53,750 And it's less about rich and poor, 268 00:11:53,833 --> 00:11:56,000 and it's a lot more about godliness and ungodliness, 269 00:11:56,042 --> 00:11:58,583 and it's always about Jesus. 270 00:11:58,667 --> 00:12:01,458 Well, now he's going to talk firstly to category one, 271 00:12:01,500 --> 00:12:03,958 and then secondly to category four. 272 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,833 So, Jesus' bold little brother has this to say 273 00:12:06,875 --> 00:12:09,000 to the godly poor: 274 00:12:09,083 --> 00:12:11,833 James 1:9, "Let the lowly brother boast 275 00:12:11,917 --> 00:12:13,708 in his exaltation." 276 00:12:13,792 --> 00:12:15,167 We learn a lot here. 277 00:12:15,208 --> 00:12:17,042 First of all, he's writing to Christians. 278 00:12:17,125 --> 00:12:18,958 He calls them brothers. 279 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,167 Some of you ladies, maybe you're offended. 280 00:12:21,208 --> 00:12:22,958 Maybe you say, "Well, there it is. 281 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:25,542 "It's a sexist, discriminatory book. 282 00:12:25,625 --> 00:12:28,667 "Written by guys, talking about guys, 283 00:12:28,708 --> 00:12:30,958 and only refers to the brothers." 284 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,667 Let me tell you that nothing could be further from the truth, 285 00:12:34,708 --> 00:12:37,167 that in that culture, it was the brother who had 286 00:12:37,208 --> 00:12:39,125 the legal position to represent the family, 287 00:12:39,167 --> 00:12:40,917 receive the inheritance. 288 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:44,625 And by calling all of God's people to the position of 289 00:12:44,667 --> 00:12:49,375 brother, it is actually taking women and elevating their status 290 00:12:49,458 --> 00:12:52,542 to being equal to men, equal in the sight of God, 291 00:12:52,625 --> 00:12:55,292 and equal to the inheritance. 292 00:12:55,333 --> 00:12:58,500 And so ladies, this is the Bible honoring you as they 293 00:12:58,542 --> 00:13:01,333 would have heard it 2,000 years ago. 294 00:13:01,375 --> 00:13:03,833 But he's talking to Christians, calls them brothers. 295 00:13:03,875 --> 00:13:05,250 So, we're brothers and sisters. 296 00:13:05,333 --> 00:13:07,208 Jesus is our big brother. 297 00:13:07,292 --> 00:13:09,542 As James' big brother is Jesus, 298 00:13:09,625 --> 00:13:12,042 so Jesus is our big brother spiritually. 299 00:13:12,125 --> 00:13:15,458 He comes to help, and to seek, and to save, and to serve us. 300 00:13:15,500 --> 00:13:17,667 And through him, we get adopted into the family 301 00:13:17,708 --> 00:13:19,208 and God becomes our Father. 302 00:13:19,292 --> 00:13:20,958 So, he's talking about Christians, 303 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,125 and he says that they are lowly. 304 00:13:24,167 --> 00:13:27,000 Lowly. 305 00:13:27,083 --> 00:13:30,542 You know, some religions, it's really about the rich, 306 00:13:30,625 --> 00:13:32,625 and the affluent, and the powerful. 307 00:13:32,667 --> 00:13:35,333 And the more money you give, the more access you have. 308 00:13:35,417 --> 00:13:36,750 All right, certain religions, 309 00:13:36,833 --> 00:13:38,833 you actually buy your seats like you would 310 00:13:38,875 --> 00:13:40,958 for a sporting event, and the more you have, 311 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,667 the closer you sit up front, and the less you have, 312 00:13:43,708 --> 00:13:45,917 you stand up in the back. 313 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,667 Some religions, it's all about a caste system where, well-- 314 00:13:48,708 --> 00:13:50,167 how much do you make? 315 00:13:50,208 --> 00:13:54,333 And that's where you are on the order of priority. 316 00:13:54,417 --> 00:13:57,792 Here, God starts by talking to those who are lonely--lowly, 317 00:13:57,833 --> 00:14:01,458 and what this means is they're poor, they're not rich. 318 00:14:01,500 --> 00:14:04,458 How many of you feel lowly? 319 00:14:04,500 --> 00:14:06,458 I put out the category of lowly-- 320 00:14:06,500 --> 00:14:08,958 you don't have to raise your hand, but you say, 321 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:10,333 "Yeah, lowly." 322 00:14:10,417 --> 00:14:11,750 Here's what that feels like: 323 00:14:11,833 --> 00:14:13,833 I'm not rich, I'm poor. 324 00:14:13,917 --> 00:14:16,542 I'm not brilliant, I'm average. 325 00:14:16,625 --> 00:14:18,000 I'm a C student. 326 00:14:18,083 --> 00:14:21,667 I'm not beautiful, I'm pretty typical. 327 00:14:21,708 --> 00:14:27,917 I'm not successful, I'm average. 328 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,458 People don't ask my opinion; they don't want to be like me. 329 00:14:31,500 --> 00:14:34,333 People don't pay a lot of attention to me. 330 00:14:34,417 --> 00:14:37,417 They sort of overlook me. 331 00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:41,042 I'm lowly. 332 00:14:41,125 --> 00:14:44,958 This is the identity that they have received from the culture 333 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:48,250 around them. And the truth is the culture we live in today 334 00:14:48,333 --> 00:14:51,458 is not trending favorably toward Christians. 335 00:14:51,500 --> 00:14:54,458 And for the most part, those who follow and love Jesus, 336 00:14:54,500 --> 00:14:59,083 they're seen as lowly--not that smart, not that gifted, 337 00:14:59,167 --> 00:15:02,833 not that competent, not that capable, not that valuable. 338 00:15:02,875 --> 00:15:08,667 People can do a lot better than that, so off to the side you go. 339 00:15:08,708 --> 00:15:11,667 And here's what's happened for them, and it can happen for you: 340 00:15:11,708 --> 00:15:16,625 Their net worth has established their self-worth. 341 00:15:16,667 --> 00:15:18,833 You need to know there's a difference between 342 00:15:18,875 --> 00:15:21,458 your net worth and your self-worth. 343 00:15:21,500 --> 00:15:23,958 In their day, like our day, if you make more, 344 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:26,417 you're more valuable. 345 00:15:26,500 --> 00:15:27,917 Well, that may be true economically, 346 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,042 but that's not true emotionally, that's not true spiritually, 347 00:15:31,125 --> 00:15:35,542 that your net worth and your self-worth are not corollary. 348 00:15:35,625 --> 00:15:38,167 In fact, there's no one more valuable than Jesus, 349 00:15:38,208 --> 00:15:41,500 and while he was on the earth, he was poor. 350 00:15:41,583 --> 00:15:43,708 So, how many of you are feeling that today? 351 00:15:43,792 --> 00:15:46,208 You feel like, "Yeah, I feel very typical, very average, 352 00:15:46,292 --> 00:15:50,458 very normal, very regular, not very special, lowly." 353 00:15:50,500 --> 00:15:53,667 Here's what he says: "Boast." 354 00:15:53,750 --> 00:15:57,000 Doesn't that sound weird? 355 00:15:57,042 --> 00:16:00,542 "I'm a D student!" 356 00:16:00,625 --> 00:16:03,833 "I got fired!" 357 00:16:03,917 --> 00:16:07,000 "I was engaged!" 358 00:16:07,083 --> 00:16:12,167 You're like, "Boast?" 359 00:16:12,208 --> 00:16:13,917 Right, boast? 360 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,833 I mean, they never do a parade for the losing team. 361 00:16:16,917 --> 00:16:18,833 Have you noticed that? 362 00:16:18,917 --> 00:16:22,458 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 363 00:16:22,500 --> 00:16:24,958 They never do a parade for the losing team. 364 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:26,750 What, boast? 365 00:16:26,833 --> 00:16:29,042 Get happy, celebrate, what? 366 00:16:29,125 --> 00:16:31,000 What is this? 367 00:16:31,083 --> 00:16:32,833 It's a paradox. 368 00:16:33,833 --> 00:16:35,167 It's a paradox. 369 00:16:35,208 --> 00:16:36,542 G. K. Chesterton, 370 00:16:36,625 --> 00:16:38,042 the great British writer, he says, 371 00:16:38,125 --> 00:16:40,667 "A paradox is truth standing on its head, 372 00:16:40,708 --> 00:16:43,667 shouting for attention." 373 00:16:43,708 --> 00:16:45,667 He says, here's something to be excited about: 374 00:16:45,708 --> 00:16:49,667 "In his, in your, in our exaltation." 375 00:16:49,708 --> 00:16:53,167 You're like, "But I'm not up there, I'm down here." 376 00:16:53,250 --> 00:16:57,667 God says, "Boast because I see you up here 377 00:16:57,750 --> 00:17:00,167 "and I'm bringing you up here. 378 00:17:00,208 --> 00:17:01,917 "You're starting down there, 379 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,000 "but you're going to follow the Lord Jesus 380 00:17:04,083 --> 00:17:07,667 "as the Lord Jesus has been exalted into heaven so you too 381 00:17:07,708 --> 00:17:11,458 will be exalted with the Lord Jesus in heaven." 382 00:17:11,500 --> 00:17:14,458 That's how the Lord sees you. 383 00:17:14,500 --> 00:17:17,667 He sees you not where you are, but where you will be 384 00:17:17,708 --> 00:17:19,667 when he's done with you. 385 00:17:19,708 --> 00:17:22,167 And that's to give you an identity along the way, 386 00:17:22,208 --> 00:17:26,500 an identity that's received from the Lord, not achieved by you. 387 00:17:26,583 --> 00:17:28,750 And I want to revisit briefly, if I might, 388 00:17:28,833 --> 00:17:31,750 some of the things that we hit in the book of Ephesians. 389 00:17:31,833 --> 00:17:34,417 But he's really here getting to the issue of identity because 390 00:17:34,500 --> 00:17:36,417 in the eyes of the world, they're lowly. 391 00:17:36,500 --> 00:17:38,917 Some of you feel that way, and as a result, 392 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:40,542 it's hard to boast. 393 00:17:40,625 --> 00:17:41,958 And this is good boasting. 394 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:43,458 This is not boasting in yourself; 395 00:17:43,500 --> 00:17:45,167 this is boasting in the Lord. 396 00:17:45,208 --> 00:17:47,250 This is not saying, "Here's what I've done." 397 00:17:47,333 --> 00:17:49,833 It's saying, "Here's what he's done for me." 398 00:17:49,917 --> 00:17:52,000 Any of you have a problem with boasting, 399 00:17:52,042 --> 00:17:53,667 the solution is boasting in the Lord. 400 00:17:53,750 --> 00:17:55,667 That's the corrective. 401 00:17:55,708 --> 00:17:59,167 And so, what he's saying is that your identity cannot be received 402 00:17:59,208 --> 00:18:02,125 from the culture around you and the way that others see you, 403 00:18:02,167 --> 00:18:04,042 it has to be received from the Lord 404 00:18:04,125 --> 00:18:08,042 and how much he values you. 405 00:18:08,125 --> 00:18:11,458 Even if you can't afford anything, it's OK, 406 00:18:11,500 --> 00:18:13,833 because when it comes to salvation, on the cross, 407 00:18:13,917 --> 00:18:15,750 Jesus paid for everything. 408 00:18:15,833 --> 00:18:20,333 Aren't you glad you don't have to buy eternal life? 409 00:18:20,417 --> 00:18:23,333 Today, you are lowly, but one day you'll be exalted 410 00:18:23,375 --> 00:18:25,250 with Jesus forever. 411 00:18:25,333 --> 00:18:29,333 The only rich and powerful person that may ever choose you 412 00:18:29,417 --> 00:18:32,125 is Jesus Christ, and his choice is truly the only one 413 00:18:32,167 --> 00:18:34,708 that really matters. 414 00:18:34,792 --> 00:18:37,542 Today you are poor, but one day you will receive 415 00:18:37,625 --> 00:18:39,958 a rich inheritance from Jesus. 416 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:42,833 And today, you may not have any treasure, 417 00:18:42,917 --> 00:18:45,708 but you are rich if Jesus is your treasure. 418 00:18:45,792 --> 00:18:47,667 That's what he's saying. 419 00:18:47,708 --> 00:18:50,083 So, they're seeing themselves through the world's eyes, 420 00:18:50,167 --> 00:18:52,875 that their net worth establishes their self-worth, 421 00:18:52,958 --> 00:18:55,583 that they're lowly. 422 00:18:55,667 --> 00:18:58,833 And here, through James, who's a pastor--and this is what 423 00:18:58,917 --> 00:19:02,042 a pastor's supposed to do: take the Word of God and present it 424 00:19:02,125 --> 00:19:03,958 to you so that you see yourselves 425 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:06,667 through the eyes of God. 426 00:19:06,708 --> 00:19:10,958 And this is God the Father through Pastor James, 427 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:14,708 meeting with his kids and saying, "Kids, you're sad, 428 00:19:14,792 --> 00:19:17,125 "you're bummed out, you're discouraged, you're depressed. 429 00:19:17,167 --> 00:19:21,250 "You feel like you've been rejected and dejected. 430 00:19:21,333 --> 00:19:23,458 And you've got this trial going on"-- 431 00:19:23,500 --> 00:19:25,667 which is where he begins in chapter 1. 432 00:19:25,708 --> 00:19:29,250 "And the trial is that you're poor and godly, 433 00:19:29,333 --> 00:19:32,250 "and you're looking at all the people who are rich and ungodly, 434 00:19:32,333 --> 00:19:35,667 "and you're asking, 'How come life works like this? 435 00:19:35,708 --> 00:19:39,500 "'All right, I understand the people who are ungodly and poor. 436 00:19:39,583 --> 00:19:42,250 "'All right, they made bad decisions, and life is hard. 437 00:19:42,333 --> 00:19:44,250 "'I understand people who are godly and rich. 438 00:19:44,333 --> 00:19:46,542 "'They're really generous, and good tithers, and givers, 439 00:19:46,625 --> 00:19:49,583 and stewards, and so God gives more to them.'" 440 00:19:49,667 --> 00:19:52,083 But how many of you find yourself in a similar 441 00:19:52,167 --> 00:19:55,292 predicament emotionally where it's like, "I love the Lord, 442 00:19:55,333 --> 00:19:58,500 "and life is hard, and I'm a nobody, and I got nothing, 443 00:19:58,542 --> 00:20:01,000 "and all the people who are somebody and got something, 444 00:20:01,042 --> 00:20:02,875 "they use it to dishonor the Lord. 445 00:20:02,958 --> 00:20:05,042 "How does that work? That doesn't seem fair. 446 00:20:05,125 --> 00:20:08,167 "That doesn't seem right. How come I'm lowly? 447 00:20:08,250 --> 00:20:10,000 Why is it like this?" 448 00:20:10,042 --> 00:20:11,375 Have you been there? 449 00:20:11,458 --> 00:20:15,333 Today? 450 00:20:15,417 --> 00:20:19,292 And James says, "Let me explain how this works. 451 00:20:19,333 --> 00:20:25,292 Boast in your exaltation." 452 00:20:25,333 --> 00:20:29,500 See yourself as the Father sees you. 453 00:20:29,542 --> 00:20:36,375 I'll give you--we all, we all, we all deal with this. 454 00:20:36,458 --> 00:20:40,083 If I asked you this question, "I wish I was--," 455 00:20:40,167 --> 00:20:42,500 fill in the blank, how would you fill it in? 456 00:20:42,542 --> 00:20:45,000 "I wish I was beautiful. I wish I was smart. 457 00:20:45,042 --> 00:20:47,500 "I wish I was funny. I wish I was rich. 458 00:20:47,542 --> 00:20:51,500 "I wish I was popular. I wish I was successful. 459 00:20:51,583 --> 00:20:54,833 I wish I was promoted." 460 00:20:54,875 --> 00:20:59,000 However you would fill in that blank indicates the way 461 00:20:59,083 --> 00:21:02,583 in which you feel lowly. 462 00:21:02,667 --> 00:21:05,083 So, what he does here-- God's a Father 463 00:21:05,167 --> 00:21:09,167 and James has the Father's heart. 464 00:21:09,250 --> 00:21:11,000 That's what a pastor should have. 465 00:21:11,042 --> 00:21:14,292 And it's literally like a dad who's got a daughter. 466 00:21:14,333 --> 00:21:17,292 I'll use--I've got daughters, and I love them with all my heart. 467 00:21:17,333 --> 00:21:20,000 I'll use them as a hypothetical analogy and illustration. 468 00:21:20,042 --> 00:21:23,292 Let's say one of my daughters went to school and it was one 469 00:21:23,333 --> 00:21:26,292 of those days at school where the kids were picking on them, 470 00:21:26,333 --> 00:21:28,292 making fun of them, bullying them, criticizing them, 471 00:21:28,333 --> 00:21:30,292 discouraging one of my girls. 472 00:21:30,333 --> 00:21:33,042 Not beautiful enough, not smart enough, not successful enough, 473 00:21:33,125 --> 00:21:36,333 not popular enough, whatever the case may be. 474 00:21:36,417 --> 00:21:38,792 Let's say one of my girls came home, my daughters, 475 00:21:38,833 --> 00:21:41,292 and you could just tell, lowly, and literally lowly, 476 00:21:41,333 --> 00:21:44,792 like their cadence, their gaze, it's low. 477 00:21:44,833 --> 00:21:46,875 Their shoulders are low. 478 00:21:46,958 --> 00:21:48,333 Their posture is low. 479 00:21:48,417 --> 00:21:54,792 They're just--everything about them is just discouraged. 480 00:21:54,833 --> 00:22:00,708 As a father, this would be my opportunity to do ministry. 481 00:22:00,792 --> 00:22:03,250 And literally, what a dad should do at that moment, 482 00:22:03,333 --> 00:22:06,250 dad should get right down at the eye level of the daughter. 483 00:22:06,333 --> 00:22:08,125 "What did they say?" 484 00:22:08,167 --> 00:22:09,625 "They said I'm ugly." 485 00:22:09,667 --> 00:22:12,417 "You're not. They're lying. You're beautiful." 486 00:22:12,500 --> 00:22:14,042 "They said I'm stupid." 487 00:22:14,125 --> 00:22:16,333 "They're wrong. You're not. 488 00:22:16,417 --> 00:22:18,000 You're great." 489 00:22:18,083 --> 00:22:19,417 "They said I'm not valuable." 490 00:22:19,500 --> 00:22:21,750 "Oh, they're wrong. You're priceless." 491 00:22:21,833 --> 00:22:23,458 "They don't want to be with me." 492 00:22:23,500 --> 00:22:26,250 "Well, that's OK. I can't live without you." 493 00:22:26,333 --> 00:22:31,250 What a father's trying to do is take the spectacles that others 494 00:22:31,333 --> 00:22:35,333 have put in front of the eyes of the child, take them off, 495 00:22:35,417 --> 00:22:38,125 take his spectacles, put them on. 496 00:22:38,167 --> 00:22:42,167 "I need you to see yourself as I see you. 497 00:22:42,208 --> 00:22:44,708 "I need you to see not just who you are, 498 00:22:44,792 --> 00:22:46,708 "but who you're becoming. 499 00:22:46,792 --> 00:22:50,167 "I see you as a grown woman, I see you as a mature woman, 500 00:22:50,250 --> 00:22:55,792 "I see you as a glorious woman, and I need you to see yourself 501 00:22:55,833 --> 00:22:59,667 as I see you so that you can become who you really are." 502 00:22:59,708 --> 00:23:02,542 Do you understand that? 503 00:23:02,625 --> 00:23:05,208 This is where our identity is received from our Father; 504 00:23:05,292 --> 00:23:07,750 it's not achieved by us. 505 00:23:07,833 --> 00:23:09,917 Our identity is received by our Father; 506 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:14,667 it is not achieved by others' perceptions of us. 507 00:23:14,708 --> 00:23:17,333 And here, James is having a pastoral moment 508 00:23:17,375 --> 00:23:18,750 with his church, 509 00:23:18,833 --> 00:23:21,500 and I'm glad to have one with you to say, 510 00:23:21,583 --> 00:23:24,125 "You're not lowly, you're exalted. 511 00:23:24,167 --> 00:23:26,042 "You're not unimportant, you're important. 512 00:23:26,125 --> 00:23:31,417 "You're not worthless, you're priceless. 513 00:23:31,500 --> 00:23:34,208 "You're not somebody that he can live without; 514 00:23:34,292 --> 00:23:37,167 you're somebody he can't live without." 515 00:23:37,208 --> 00:23:40,333 And immediately, you'd say, "But I'm not great," 516 00:23:40,375 --> 00:23:44,333 and I would say, "But your Father is." 517 00:23:44,417 --> 00:23:48,500 Your Father is great, and your Father sees your eternity, 518 00:23:48,583 --> 00:23:52,375 and your Father's plan is to make you great. 519 00:23:52,458 --> 00:23:55,333 Do you understand that? 520 00:23:55,417 --> 00:23:58,333 There's so much hope and encouragement there. 521 00:23:58,417 --> 00:24:00,208 It's not lying to someone and saying, 522 00:24:00,292 --> 00:24:03,458 "Oh, that's not true. You're tall." 523 00:24:03,500 --> 00:24:07,250 They're like, "No, I'm short." 524 00:24:07,333 --> 00:24:12,333 It's being honest about where someone is. 525 00:24:12,417 --> 00:24:19,333 It's about being honest about who someone is and having hope 526 00:24:19,417 --> 00:24:24,458 for who they will become when God is finished with them 527 00:24:24,500 --> 00:24:27,958 in exaltation, after the work of Jesus is fully completed, 528 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:34,542 and they're like him and with him, together forever. 529 00:24:34,625 --> 00:24:39,708 Boast in your exaltation. 530 00:24:39,792 --> 00:24:41,667 If you belong to the Lord Jesus, 531 00:24:41,708 --> 00:24:44,667 the seat in the kingdom alongside of him 532 00:24:44,708 --> 00:24:48,208 is already reserved for you and fully guaranteed. 533 00:24:48,292 --> 00:24:50,667 And the Father sees where you're going, 534 00:24:50,750 --> 00:24:53,833 and the Father is going to take your hand and walk with you, 535 00:24:53,917 --> 00:24:56,333 and he is going to help you, and mature you, 536 00:24:56,417 --> 00:24:57,833 and love you, and grow you. 537 00:24:57,917 --> 00:25:01,333 And then one day, he is going to call you forth from your grave, 538 00:25:01,375 --> 00:25:05,167 and you will be absolutely perfect as he always intended. 539 00:25:05,208 --> 00:25:08,250 And between now and then, you need to see who you are becoming 540 00:25:08,333 --> 00:25:11,958 instead of who you've been, and how he sees you 541 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:15,125 instead of how others see you. 542 00:25:15,167 --> 00:25:18,000 If you do that, there's great joy and then you can obey 543 00:25:18,083 --> 00:25:21,833 his decree, "Boast in your exaltation." 544 00:25:21,875 --> 00:25:24,833 Even if somebody comes along and criticizes, you can say, 545 00:25:24,875 --> 00:25:26,208 "You know what? 546 00:25:26,292 --> 00:25:29,167 "Praise be to God, my Father loves me, he's working on that, 547 00:25:29,208 --> 00:25:31,333 "and in this life or the life to come, 548 00:25:31,417 --> 00:25:33,500 "that's going to be totally different. 549 00:25:33,583 --> 00:25:36,042 "I'm really excited that what you're saying 550 00:25:36,125 --> 00:25:39,667 will not always be true." 551 00:25:39,708 --> 00:25:42,667 And then he transitions to the ungodly rich, OK. 552 00:25:42,708 --> 00:25:44,167 How many of you are poor? 553 00:25:44,208 --> 00:25:45,667 The question is, are you godly? 554 00:25:45,708 --> 00:25:47,167 How many of you are rich? 555 00:25:47,208 --> 00:25:48,667 The question is, are you godly? 556 00:25:48,708 --> 00:25:51,292 Here's what he says to the ungodly rich: 557 00:25:51,333 --> 00:25:53,083 "Let the rich boast." 558 00:25:53,167 --> 00:25:55,500 That's the context in accordance with chapter 1, verse 9. 559 00:25:55,542 --> 00:25:57,083 "Boast in his humiliation." 560 00:25:57,167 --> 00:26:00,333 How many of you don't boast in your humiliation? 561 00:26:00,417 --> 00:26:02,667 Right? 562 00:26:02,708 --> 00:26:04,708 "I got fired!" 563 00:26:04,792 --> 00:26:07,667 "I lost!" 564 00:26:07,708 --> 00:26:13,833 It's--again, those who are humble will be exalted. 565 00:26:13,917 --> 00:26:16,458 Those who are exalted will be humbled. 566 00:26:16,500 --> 00:26:17,833 There's only two options: 567 00:26:17,917 --> 00:26:19,250 God's plan A is humility. 568 00:26:19,333 --> 00:26:21,000 God's plan B is humiliation. 569 00:26:21,083 --> 00:26:23,458 If you don't take plan A, you get plan B. 570 00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:25,667 You say, "Pastor Mark, how do you know that?" 571 00:26:25,708 --> 00:26:27,042 Experience. 572 00:26:27,125 --> 00:26:29,750 Lots, and lots, and lots of experience. 573 00:26:29,833 --> 00:26:33,458 So, God tells those who are lowly, "Be humble. 574 00:26:33,500 --> 00:26:34,958 Let God exalt you." 575 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:37,667 He tells those who are arrogant, "If you have exalted yourself, 576 00:26:37,708 --> 00:26:42,667 God will not just humble you, he will humiliate you." 577 00:26:42,708 --> 00:26:45,333 "Because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 578 00:26:45,417 --> 00:26:47,833 "For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers 579 00:26:47,917 --> 00:26:50,958 "the grass; its flowers fall, and its beauty perishes. 580 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,292 "So also will the rich man fade away 581 00:26:53,333 --> 00:26:55,083 in the midst of his pursuits." 582 00:26:55,167 --> 00:26:57,167 One great New Testament commentator translates 583 00:26:57,208 --> 00:27:03,292 that Greek to say, "While he's still working on his business." 584 00:27:05,708 --> 00:27:09,250 Now, I believe he's talking here about a non-Christian. 585 00:27:09,333 --> 00:27:11,625 The scholars disagree. 586 00:27:11,667 --> 00:27:13,000 They're split 50/50. 587 00:27:13,083 --> 00:27:15,000 You could talk about it in Community Group 588 00:27:15,083 --> 00:27:16,417 and study it for yourself. 589 00:27:16,500 --> 00:27:19,417 But he just told us that the poor were brothers. 590 00:27:19,500 --> 00:27:21,167 Here, he doesn't say anything about brothers. 591 00:27:21,208 --> 00:27:23,333 And there, he talks about their eternal exaltation, 592 00:27:23,417 --> 00:27:26,917 but here he talks about their eternal damnation. 593 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:30,417 So, I believe he's talking about the ungodly rich, 594 00:27:30,500 --> 00:27:33,167 and in light of that, what he's really getting at is 595 00:27:33,208 --> 00:27:34,542 the issue of identity. 596 00:27:34,625 --> 00:27:37,250 And you need to know that when it comes to riches, 597 00:27:37,333 --> 00:27:39,708 much of the reason that we treasure our treasure is 598 00:27:39,792 --> 00:27:43,125 because the identity we can purchase, right? 599 00:27:43,167 --> 00:27:45,667 You say, "I'm not smart. I'm not powerful. 600 00:27:45,708 --> 00:27:48,667 I'm not popular. I'm not beautiful." 601 00:27:48,708 --> 00:27:51,667 If you get enough money, you can fix that. 602 00:27:51,708 --> 00:27:57,000 All right, you could pay to correct almost anything, 603 00:27:57,042 --> 00:28:00,917 physically, socially speaking, not spiritually speaking. 604 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:04,667 And then you can reestablish yourself and represent yourself 605 00:28:04,708 --> 00:28:07,667 with a new identity so you're not lowly anymore. 606 00:28:07,708 --> 00:28:10,000 You're not one of those people over there, 607 00:28:10,083 --> 00:28:11,458 out there, down there. 608 00:28:11,500 --> 00:28:15,958 You're one of the people in here, up here, right there. 609 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:17,958 And this is why we treasure our treasure, 610 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:19,667 because of the identity it can provide. 611 00:28:19,708 --> 00:28:22,667 We can go from lowly to exalted, from nobody to somebody, 612 00:28:22,708 --> 00:28:27,667 from unpopular to popular, from unattractive to beautiful, 613 00:28:27,708 --> 00:28:30,958 from someone that no one knows that everyone knows about. 614 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:34,333 And it's an issue of glory, and we want to be in the center, 615 00:28:34,417 --> 00:28:37,333 and we want to be in the seat that God sits in, 616 00:28:37,417 --> 00:28:40,333 and we want everybody to know who we are what we do, 617 00:28:40,417 --> 00:28:42,833 says the guy up front with a light on him 618 00:28:42,917 --> 00:28:44,417 who's feeling convicted right about now. 619 00:28:44,500 --> 00:28:48,167 And the sociologists will talk about conspicuous consumption, 620 00:28:48,208 --> 00:28:50,500 and this is where we buy things, not because 621 00:28:50,542 --> 00:28:52,583 of their functionality but because of the identity 622 00:28:52,667 --> 00:28:55,292 that they provide for us. 623 00:28:55,333 --> 00:28:56,875 I'll give you some examples. 624 00:28:56,958 --> 00:29:00,833 We do this with clothing. 625 00:29:00,875 --> 00:29:03,542 How you dress says who you are. 626 00:29:03,625 --> 00:29:05,042 I noticed this not long ago. 627 00:29:05,125 --> 00:29:07,542 I was in the SoHo district in New York, 628 00:29:07,625 --> 00:29:10,333 and they've got a couple shops for old guys like me, 629 00:29:10,417 --> 00:29:12,333 and one of them was a suit store. 630 00:29:12,375 --> 00:29:14,333 High end, really nice, custom-made, tailored suit. 631 00:29:14,375 --> 00:29:16,958 You can go in, spend a whole bunch of loot, 632 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:19,167 get a really nice suit, walk out, walk around, 633 00:29:19,208 --> 00:29:22,667 everybody knows, "Boy, there's a business leader, power broker, 634 00:29:22,708 --> 00:29:24,333 Wall Street." 635 00:29:24,417 --> 00:29:26,833 Look, that says something. 636 00:29:26,917 --> 00:29:30,250 Not far down the street, another guys' shop for old guys my age. 637 00:29:30,333 --> 00:29:32,250 How do I know it's for old guys? 638 00:29:32,333 --> 00:29:33,667 Things are expensive. 639 00:29:33,708 --> 00:29:35,833 Any time it's expensive, it's for an old guy. 640 00:29:35,917 --> 00:29:37,958 But this was an old punk rock club, 641 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:42,333 and it was filled with like $500 pairs of vintage Levis. 642 00:29:42,417 --> 00:29:45,208 So, it's like faux chic humility, kind of weird, 643 00:29:45,292 --> 00:29:46,833 but really expensive humility. 644 00:29:46,917 --> 00:29:49,167 "I don't wear a suit; I wear $500 jeans, 645 00:29:49,250 --> 00:29:50,792 more expensive than the suit." 646 00:29:50,833 --> 00:29:54,000 Anyways, in addition, old Levis jackets, Sid Vicious T-shirts, 647 00:29:54,042 --> 00:29:55,667 old Ramones T-shirts. 648 00:29:55,750 --> 00:29:57,667 You kids don't know who I'm talking about, 649 00:29:57,708 --> 00:30:00,667 but old guys like me, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, 650 00:30:00,708 --> 00:30:02,042 it feels pretty good." 651 00:30:02,125 --> 00:30:05,042 So, you can go in there, and actually to get an outfit 652 00:30:05,125 --> 00:30:08,042 at the punk rock store was more expensive than the suit store, 653 00:30:08,125 --> 00:30:11,542 but both of which were presenting an identity. 654 00:30:11,625 --> 00:30:14,500 One is, "I'm the man," the other is, 655 00:30:14,542 --> 00:30:16,167 "I'm down with the man," right? 656 00:30:16,250 --> 00:30:19,542 Those are the two men's fashion alternatives. 657 00:30:19,625 --> 00:30:22,167 We do this with our clothes. Right, ladies? 658 00:30:22,250 --> 00:30:23,792 OK, moving on. 659 00:30:23,833 --> 00:30:27,583 We do this also with technology, right? 660 00:30:27,667 --> 00:30:30,583 Because your technology, it establishes your identity. 661 00:30:30,667 --> 00:30:33,333 How many of you feel lowly if the phone rings, 662 00:30:33,417 --> 00:30:35,875 and you pull out a flip phone? 663 00:30:35,958 --> 00:30:37,292 A flip phone. 664 00:30:37,333 --> 00:30:38,667 You just turn around. 665 00:30:38,750 --> 00:30:41,167 You're like, "I don't want people to see me. 666 00:30:41,250 --> 00:30:42,583 I'm so ashamed." 667 00:30:42,667 --> 00:30:44,083 Because they have a smart phone, 668 00:30:44,167 --> 00:30:48,250 that means you have a dumb phone. 669 00:30:48,333 --> 00:30:49,833 Really? 670 00:30:49,875 --> 00:30:53,000 OK, now, I had this experience not long ago. 671 00:30:53,083 --> 00:30:55,708 Our contract on our phones came up, so as a family, 672 00:30:55,792 --> 00:30:57,125 we got in the car. 673 00:30:57,167 --> 00:31:00,375 For those of us who have phones, we went to get new phones. 674 00:31:00,458 --> 00:31:03,375 We're driving in the car, one of my children who will remain 675 00:31:03,458 --> 00:31:05,667 nameless because this is a negative illustration said, 676 00:31:05,750 --> 00:31:08,167 "Hey Dad, what kind of phone you going to get?" 677 00:31:08,250 --> 00:31:11,583 I said, "I said, I'm gonna get a new flip--" not a flip phone. 678 00:31:11,667 --> 00:31:13,583 No. 679 00:31:13,667 --> 00:31:15,375 If I was more secure in Christ, 680 00:31:15,458 --> 00:31:17,375 I probably would have got a flip phone. 681 00:31:17,458 --> 00:31:23,667 What I said was, "I'm going to get an iPhone." 682 00:31:23,708 --> 00:31:27,083 And my child said something to the effect of, 683 00:31:27,167 --> 00:31:32,083 "Yeah, that's what all the old people get." 684 00:31:32,167 --> 00:31:35,500 Really? 685 00:31:35,542 --> 00:31:42,500 I'm driving and we have not yet purchased your phone. 686 00:31:42,542 --> 00:31:47,167 You may want to rethink the timing. 687 00:31:47,250 --> 00:31:53,000 I prophesy a flip phone in your soon-to-be future. 688 00:31:53,042 --> 00:31:57,083 So, to defend myself, I said, "Well, you know, 689 00:31:57,167 --> 00:32:00,417 "a lot of people love iPhones, and when a new iPhone comes up, 690 00:32:00,500 --> 00:32:02,458 they line up down the block." 691 00:32:02,500 --> 00:32:06,417 He said, "Yeah, the old people do line up around the block." 692 00:32:06,500 --> 00:32:10,833 Really? OK, clunk, OK. 693 00:32:10,875 --> 00:32:12,458 It's true, right, because your technology 694 00:32:12,500 --> 00:32:14,833 says something about you. 695 00:32:14,917 --> 00:32:18,208 We do this as well with our vehicles, right? 696 00:32:18,292 --> 00:32:21,250 Do you drive a scooter? 697 00:32:21,333 --> 00:32:24,542 Is that cool or not cool? 698 00:32:24,625 --> 00:32:26,833 It depends on the scooter, right? 699 00:32:26,917 --> 00:32:28,250 "I drive a Vespa." 700 00:32:28,333 --> 00:32:29,667 "Oh, you're cool." 701 00:32:29,708 --> 00:32:31,042 "Why?" 702 00:32:31,125 --> 00:32:32,833 "I don't know, because we decided." 703 00:32:32,917 --> 00:32:34,667 Like, a committee got together and said, 704 00:32:34,708 --> 00:32:36,167 "That scooter's not cool. 705 00:32:36,208 --> 00:32:38,167 That scooter is cool." 706 00:32:38,208 --> 00:32:39,833 How about, do you drive a car? 707 00:32:39,917 --> 00:32:41,542 Now, what kind of car? 708 00:32:41,625 --> 00:32:47,250 German car...Korean car... OK, it's different. 709 00:32:47,333 --> 00:32:49,292 Hey, this is offensive but true. 710 00:32:49,333 --> 00:32:52,958 And then it's like, do you have a two-door or a four-door, 711 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:56,167 because four-door is not cool. 712 00:32:56,208 --> 00:32:58,333 Two-door, it's cool. 713 00:32:58,417 --> 00:33:00,333 Do you have a truck or an SUV? 714 00:33:00,417 --> 00:33:04,917 Yeah, I can get a whole deer in there. 715 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:07,958 A whole deer and a table saw. 716 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,667 That's good. 717 00:33:10,708 --> 00:33:13,667 Do you drive a minivan? 718 00:33:13,708 --> 00:33:18,708 Whoever marketed the minivan, if they were hoping to entice men, 719 00:33:18,792 --> 00:33:20,750 shouldn't have started with the word "mini." 720 00:33:20,833 --> 00:33:24,750 Just throwing it out there as a marketing insight. 721 00:33:24,833 --> 00:33:27,125 Because if you're a man, you drive a minivan, 722 00:33:27,167 --> 00:33:28,833 you feel like a mini-man, right? 723 00:33:28,875 --> 00:33:32,208 I mean, it's--right? 724 00:33:32,292 --> 00:33:37,042 Some of you guys are like, "How am I now going to go out 725 00:33:37,125 --> 00:33:41,458 "and get into my minivan to drive away 726 00:33:41,500 --> 00:33:44,458 from Mars Hill Church?" 727 00:33:44,500 --> 00:33:46,167 No, here's what I'm saying: 728 00:33:46,208 --> 00:33:52,833 the lowly will be exalted, right? 729 00:33:55,000 --> 00:34:00,333 Mr. Harley, you know, he'll be driving a minivan 730 00:34:00,375 --> 00:34:02,958 in the kingdom of God, OK? 731 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:07,917 And your minivan, at the end of time, God will set it on fire, 732 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:11,750 glory be to God, and you will enter into the eternal kingdom 733 00:34:11,833 --> 00:34:15,333 never to drive a minivan again, forever. 734 00:34:15,417 --> 00:34:18,333 So, this life is a short while, right? 735 00:34:18,417 --> 00:34:20,333 "Endure hardship," the Bible says, 736 00:34:20,417 --> 00:34:24,167 and that's what you're doing, and we respect that. 737 00:34:24,208 --> 00:34:26,333 I'll talk about myself. 738 00:34:26,417 --> 00:34:29,333 It's this issue of identity, that we want to spend money to 739 00:34:29,417 --> 00:34:32,417 set up an identity so we're not considered lowly culturally. 740 00:34:32,500 --> 00:34:33,958 And I'll just be honest. 741 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:36,458 Since I picked on everybody else, I'll pick on myself. 742 00:34:36,500 --> 00:34:41,333 I am at the age where there are some complex variables 743 00:34:41,417 --> 00:34:42,958 regarding my appearance. 744 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:44,625 Can I say it like that? 745 00:34:44,667 --> 00:34:46,958 People ask, "Why do you wear boots?" 746 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:49,875 I've always worn boots, my dad wore boots, 747 00:34:49,958 --> 00:34:52,875 my grandpa wore boots, and boots make you taller. 748 00:34:52,958 --> 00:34:54,333 I'm short. 749 00:34:54,417 --> 00:34:56,292 This stage is 57 feet high. 750 00:34:56,333 --> 00:34:58,500 I am short and I wear boots, in part, 751 00:34:58,542 --> 00:35:01,250 just to be honest with you, because I'm not that tall. 752 00:35:01,333 --> 00:35:03,917 People always come up to me, they see me on video, 753 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:06,125 "Oh, Pastor Mark, I've always wanted to meet you. 754 00:35:06,167 --> 00:35:07,625 I thought you would be taller." 755 00:35:07,667 --> 00:35:10,125 My answer is always, "I always wanted to meet you. 756 00:35:10,167 --> 00:35:11,500 I thought you'd be nicer." 757 00:35:11,583 --> 00:35:12,917 You know? 758 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:14,917 "Pastor Mark, why do you wear a vest?" 759 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:16,917 Because I have a bit of a gut. 760 00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:19,542 I wish I had a six pack, but I have a cooler. 761 00:35:19,625 --> 00:35:22,542 And what I find is that if I tuck my shirt in, 762 00:35:22,625 --> 00:35:25,042 it sort of does things that I'm not pleased with. 763 00:35:25,125 --> 00:35:27,042 And then if I put a jacket on, 764 00:35:27,125 --> 00:35:28,542 I'm left with a horrible dilemma. 765 00:35:28,625 --> 00:35:31,542 Do I just wear the jacket and stick my gut out there 766 00:35:31,625 --> 00:35:34,542 or do I close the jacket, then everybody knows what I'm doing 767 00:35:34,625 --> 00:35:35,958 and it looks ridiculous. 768 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:39,750 So, I bought a vest, OK? 769 00:35:39,833 --> 00:35:44,750 And then I used to have a lot of hair, now I have less hair here. 770 00:35:44,833 --> 00:35:46,833 I still have the same amount of hair, 771 00:35:46,875 --> 00:35:49,375 it's just relocated without permission, OK? 772 00:35:49,458 --> 00:35:54,833 I don't--and how many men, you're understanding this? 773 00:35:54,917 --> 00:35:57,167 You're feeling my pain, OK? 774 00:35:57,250 --> 00:36:00,833 And all of a sudden now, my hair has gotten what color? 775 00:36:00,917 --> 00:36:02,542 Sort of gray, pretty white. 776 00:36:02,625 --> 00:36:06,458 Like, I went from young guy to Santa in like 15 minutes. 777 00:36:06,500 --> 00:36:07,958 I don't know what happened. 778 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:09,958 Some of you are like, "I'm going gray." 779 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:11,333 I'm like, "I'm going white." 780 00:36:11,417 --> 00:36:12,750 I'm going white. 781 00:36:12,833 --> 00:36:14,750 And so then you reach a point where--men, 782 00:36:14,833 --> 00:36:16,750 you reach a point where you're like, 783 00:36:16,833 --> 00:36:19,458 "OK, I'm seen as lonely--lowly, and old, 784 00:36:19,500 --> 00:36:21,667 and not very cool, and not very hip." 785 00:36:21,708 --> 00:36:23,958 Not that I ever was but less so. 786 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:26,750 So then the question is--men, what's the question then? 787 00:36:26,833 --> 00:36:29,750 Do I dye my hair? 788 00:36:29,833 --> 00:36:31,333 OK, so we'll vote on this. 789 00:36:31,375 --> 00:36:33,042 We're going to have a little congregational 790 00:36:33,125 --> 00:36:34,458 Baptist meeting here. 791 00:36:34,500 --> 00:36:36,750 Vote yes, dye my hair? 792 00:36:36,833 --> 00:36:38,750 How about orange? 793 00:36:38,833 --> 00:36:40,167 OK, no. 794 00:36:40,208 --> 00:36:41,708 So, you're with this dilemma. 795 00:36:41,792 --> 00:36:43,708 So then you're at this dilemma, you're like, 796 00:36:43,792 --> 00:36:45,917 "Maybe if I dye my hair, I'll look younger." 797 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:48,500 Maybe, but then the problem is my beard. 798 00:36:48,583 --> 00:36:53,083 My beard, it's like Kenny Rogers and Santa got together 799 00:36:53,167 --> 00:36:54,833 and made my beard. 800 00:36:54,917 --> 00:36:57,667 And so I have this really--my beard comes in really, like, 801 00:36:57,750 --> 00:36:59,167 sort of Gandalf white. 802 00:36:59,250 --> 00:37:02,250 And so then the question is, "Well, if I dye my hair 803 00:37:02,333 --> 00:37:05,542 and I don't dye my beard, don't I look crazy?" 804 00:37:05,625 --> 00:37:07,625 Yeah, because it's like the top--like, 805 00:37:07,667 --> 00:37:10,958 the northern hemisphere he's 30, 806 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:13,500 in the southern hemisphere, he's that guy's grandpa. 807 00:37:13,583 --> 00:37:15,958 So, you look kind of crazy. 808 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,458 So, then you got two choices. 809 00:37:18,500 --> 00:37:23,625 You shave your beard, but I get another one in 17 minutes. 810 00:37:23,667 --> 00:37:26,625 I've timed it; I grow a beard in 17 minutes. 811 00:37:26,667 --> 00:37:28,833 My dad's a Wookie, my mom's a Chia Pet, 812 00:37:28,875 --> 00:37:31,542 and I grow a beard in 17 minutes, OK? 813 00:37:31,625 --> 00:37:34,042 I mean, I'm just letting you in on my life. 814 00:37:34,125 --> 00:37:37,042 And so--and I can tell you this because, like, 815 00:37:37,125 --> 00:37:40,208 it used to be I'd preach all day, and I'd preach the morning, 816 00:37:40,292 --> 00:37:41,708 and then I'd preach the afternoon, 817 00:37:41,792 --> 00:37:43,208 and then I'd preach the evening. 818 00:37:43,292 --> 00:37:46,208 I asked the video guys, "Well, the part of the first message 819 00:37:46,292 --> 00:37:48,958 "was good and the part of the second message was good. 820 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:50,333 Can we splice them together?" 821 00:37:50,417 --> 00:37:52,542 They're like, "We can't because in the first sermon 822 00:37:52,625 --> 00:37:55,542 you don't have a beard and in the last sermon you do." 823 00:37:55,625 --> 00:37:56,958 I'm not even kidding. 824 00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:59,667 So, then the question becomes, OK, 825 00:37:59,750 --> 00:38:02,417 I can't clean shave because then I'd have to just literally 826 00:38:02,500 --> 00:38:04,833 walk around shaving all the time to preserve 827 00:38:04,875 --> 00:38:06,250 the illusion that I'm young. 828 00:38:06,333 --> 00:38:09,625 So then the question is, do you dye your beard? 829 00:38:09,667 --> 00:38:11,042 Do you? 830 00:38:11,125 --> 00:38:14,250 OK, if you're a guy who came to Mars Hill today and you 831 00:38:14,333 --> 00:38:17,250 dye your beard, I admit, this is a bad day for you, 832 00:38:17,333 --> 00:38:19,625 but I just won't. 833 00:38:19,667 --> 00:38:21,958 I just think--because what I would have is, like, 834 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,458 a half-dark beard and a half-white beard, 835 00:38:24,500 --> 00:38:25,833 and my wife's even laughing. 836 00:38:25,917 --> 00:38:27,917 But you know what I'm going through, OK? 837 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:32,042 And here's the big idea: there are so many things and ways 838 00:38:32,125 --> 00:38:37,167 that all of us are made to feel lowly. 839 00:38:37,208 --> 00:38:39,042 Lowly. 840 00:38:39,125 --> 00:38:42,458 And we struggle with, "Well, how can I fix that 841 00:38:42,500 --> 00:38:44,000 "and create an identity. 842 00:38:44,083 --> 00:38:46,750 "Maybe if I had more resources, I could reinvent myself 843 00:38:46,833 --> 00:38:48,917 "and then I wouldn't be lowly, I'd be exalted. 844 00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:52,083 "I'd not be one in the margins; I'd be one in the center. 845 00:38:52,167 --> 00:38:53,500 "I'd be different. 846 00:38:53,542 --> 00:38:55,167 It'd be better for me." 847 00:38:55,250 --> 00:38:57,292 And that's where he's going with this issue. 848 00:38:57,333 --> 00:39:01,000 So he says, "Hey, if you're lowly, 849 00:39:01,083 --> 00:39:04,458 "rejoice and be glad that God's going to exalt you 850 00:39:04,500 --> 00:39:08,500 and he sees you as he'll be done with you." 851 00:39:08,583 --> 00:39:11,250 If you're exalted, and proud, and full of yourself, 852 00:39:11,333 --> 00:39:13,542 and all about you, 853 00:39:13,625 --> 00:39:18,333 he says--it's a bit of a scathing rebuke. 854 00:39:18,417 --> 00:39:19,750 You can quote, unquote, "boast." 855 00:39:19,833 --> 00:39:21,167 You want to brag? 856 00:39:21,208 --> 00:39:23,250 In your humiliation. 857 00:39:23,333 --> 00:39:27,333 He says it's like a flower, and some people are like a flower. 858 00:39:27,417 --> 00:39:32,417 You ever seen a beautiful flower, straight, tall, alive, 859 00:39:32,500 --> 00:39:34,250 flourishing, glorious? 860 00:39:34,333 --> 00:39:39,333 You don't even want to pick it because it's so amazing. 861 00:39:39,417 --> 00:39:40,958 People are like that. 862 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:42,542 Some people are amazing. 863 00:39:42,625 --> 00:39:45,333 We're all looking at them, we're like, "Gosh, look at that. 864 00:39:45,375 --> 00:39:49,792 That's a--what a person. There's a real special person." 865 00:39:49,833 --> 00:39:51,375 He says, "But you know what? 866 00:39:51,458 --> 00:39:54,375 "At the end of time, the heat comes, and the wind comes, 867 00:39:54,458 --> 00:39:58,792 and it scorches, and it torches, and the flower is gone." 868 00:39:58,833 --> 00:40:03,792 Here's the big idea: always live with the end in mind. 869 00:40:03,833 --> 00:40:06,458 We're all like a carton of milk in the fridge. 870 00:40:06,500 --> 00:40:08,167 We've all got an expiration date. 871 00:40:08,208 --> 00:40:09,667 We're all going to die. 872 00:40:09,708 --> 00:40:12,333 It's all going to come to an end. 873 00:40:12,417 --> 00:40:16,292 All that we have, all that we do, all that we are, 874 00:40:16,333 --> 00:40:20,083 it comes to an end and we stand before God. 875 00:40:20,167 --> 00:40:24,042 And so much of what we've done just burns. And I hope, 876 00:40:24,125 --> 00:40:26,958 and I trust, and I pray that you don't burn. 877 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:29,458 And he's inferring and referring here to eternal judgment, 878 00:40:29,500 --> 00:40:32,667 that for some of you, this life is as close as you'll ever 879 00:40:32,708 --> 00:40:35,042 get to heaven, and hell awaits you. 880 00:40:35,125 --> 00:40:37,792 And for some of you, this is as close to hell 881 00:40:37,833 --> 00:40:40,583 as you'll ever get, and heaven awaits you. 882 00:40:40,667 --> 00:40:44,167 So then he teaches us, he tells us, 883 00:40:44,250 --> 00:40:47,667 he trains us in what the solution is. 884 00:40:47,750 --> 00:40:51,500 Whether you're rich or poor, here's the key to being godly. 885 00:40:51,542 --> 00:40:53,708 Do you want to be godly? 886 00:40:53,792 --> 00:40:55,833 Here's the key to being godly: 887 00:40:55,875 --> 00:40:59,208 God gives good gifts. 888 00:40:59,292 --> 00:41:00,750 James 1:16-18. 889 00:41:00,833 --> 00:41:02,875 We're going to jump down, and then next week 890 00:41:02,958 --> 00:41:05,083 we're going to cover the section in the middle. 891 00:41:05,167 --> 00:41:07,167 "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers." 892 00:41:07,250 --> 00:41:08,583 There's your identity. 893 00:41:08,667 --> 00:41:10,333 He's going to say God's a Father 894 00:41:10,417 --> 00:41:11,750 and you're beloved. 895 00:41:11,833 --> 00:41:13,167 God loves you. 896 00:41:13,208 --> 00:41:14,542 God adores you. 897 00:41:14,625 --> 00:41:15,958 God is committed to you. 898 00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:17,333 God has affection for you. 899 00:41:17,417 --> 00:41:20,000 And some of you say, "But I'm not special." 900 00:41:20,042 --> 00:41:21,375 He is. 901 00:41:21,458 --> 00:41:22,792 "But I'm not good." 902 00:41:22,833 --> 00:41:24,167 He is. 903 00:41:24,250 --> 00:41:25,583 "I don't deserve it." 904 00:41:25,667 --> 00:41:27,000 That's why it's grace. 905 00:41:27,042 --> 00:41:29,500 The Father loves you. 906 00:41:29,542 --> 00:41:30,958 You're his beloved. 907 00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:33,000 Us, corporately, absolutely. 908 00:41:33,042 --> 00:41:36,875 You, individually, especially. 909 00:41:36,958 --> 00:41:39,750 When's the last time that somebody told you they really, 910 00:41:39,833 --> 00:41:44,000 deeply, truly, passionately, committedly loved you? 911 00:41:44,042 --> 00:41:47,542 God does with a perfect, never-ending love. 912 00:41:47,625 --> 00:41:50,667 "Every good and perfect gift is from"--where? 913 00:41:50,708 --> 00:41:54,875 Good things don't come from the bottom up, 914 00:41:54,958 --> 00:41:57,167 they come from the top down. 915 00:41:57,250 --> 00:41:59,542 "Coming down from the Father"-- God's our Father—"of lights 916 00:41:59,625 --> 00:42:02,833 "with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 917 00:42:02,875 --> 00:42:05,333 Of his own will, just because he wanted to, 918 00:42:05,375 --> 00:42:08,042 just because he's good, just because he loves us. 919 00:42:08,125 --> 00:42:11,542 "Of his own will he brought us forth by the Word of truth, 920 00:42:11,625 --> 00:42:16,167 that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creation." 921 00:42:16,208 --> 00:42:19,000 He gives us a warning, "Don't be deceived." 922 00:42:19,083 --> 00:42:21,542 You can be a Bible-believing, Spirit-filled, 923 00:42:21,625 --> 00:42:26,958 Jesus-following Christian and still susceptible to deception. 924 00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:29,625 You can believe things that are not true. 925 00:42:29,667 --> 00:42:32,125 You can receive an identity that's not from the Lord. 926 00:42:32,167 --> 00:42:34,833 You can live in light of things that are not connected 927 00:42:34,917 --> 00:42:36,333 to God's reality. 928 00:42:36,417 --> 00:42:38,542 You say, "Well, I don't want to be deceived." 929 00:42:38,625 --> 00:42:40,250 None of us wants to be deceived. 930 00:42:40,333 --> 00:42:42,750 The Bible says--actually, Paul says on a few occasions in 931 00:42:42,833 --> 00:42:44,250 the New Testament that the problem 932 00:42:44,333 --> 00:42:46,542 with our first mother Eve was she was deceived. 933 00:42:46,625 --> 00:42:49,583 I don't want to be deceived, so how do I avoid deception? 934 00:42:49,667 --> 00:42:52,792 He says, "By the word of truth," that the spiritual life he 935 00:42:52,833 --> 00:42:56,083 births in us and through us to get us around the opportunities 936 00:42:56,167 --> 00:42:58,792 for deception come from the word of truth. 937 00:42:58,833 --> 00:43:00,833 It comes from the Word of God. 938 00:43:00,917 --> 00:43:04,125 If you want to avoid deception, you need to familiarize yourself 939 00:43:04,167 --> 00:43:05,542 with the truth. 940 00:43:05,625 --> 00:43:08,458 If you want to combat lies, you need to know the truth, 941 00:43:08,500 --> 00:43:11,458 and the truth is found, he says, in the word of truth, 942 00:43:11,500 --> 00:43:12,833 the Word of God. 943 00:43:12,917 --> 00:43:15,000 And so, friends, I just-- every opportunity I get, 944 00:43:15,083 --> 00:43:17,750 I want to encourage you, read your Bible, study your Bible, 945 00:43:17,833 --> 00:43:19,458 pray over your Bible, memorize your Bible, 946 00:43:19,500 --> 00:43:21,458 get in a community group, discuss your Bible. 947 00:43:21,500 --> 00:43:24,208 Spend time in God's Word and get God's Word into you 948 00:43:24,292 --> 00:43:26,417 so when the enemy comes and lies to you 949 00:43:26,500 --> 00:43:28,750 and deception sets its face in front of you, 950 00:43:28,833 --> 00:43:31,417 you're able to see it for what it is because Jesus 951 00:43:31,500 --> 00:43:34,833 says, "My sheep hear my voice, and they know me." 952 00:43:34,875 --> 00:43:37,708 You say, "That's not Jesus, I'm not going to go that direction. 953 00:43:37,792 --> 00:43:40,000 I'm not going to believe that instruction." 954 00:43:40,083 --> 00:43:43,417 He then tells us three things, that, first of all, 955 00:43:43,500 --> 00:43:45,833 God is our Father, and he doesn't change. 956 00:43:45,917 --> 00:43:48,708 There's no variation or shadow due to change. 957 00:43:48,792 --> 00:43:52,583 See, tomorrow, you and I will not be anxious, 958 00:43:52,667 --> 00:43:55,375 "Will the stars be in the sky?" 959 00:43:55,458 --> 00:43:57,333 They'll be there. 960 00:43:57,417 --> 00:43:59,583 So it is with the Father of lights. 961 00:43:59,667 --> 00:44:01,833 He'll be there. 962 00:44:01,917 --> 00:44:05,542 God does not change, and for us, that is good news. 963 00:44:05,625 --> 00:44:08,542 When he decides to love us, when he decides to seek us, 964 00:44:08,625 --> 00:44:11,542 when he decides to serve us, when he decides to save us, 965 00:44:11,625 --> 00:44:12,958 he doesn't change. 966 00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:15,458 He's a Dad who doesn't walk out on his kids, 967 00:44:15,500 --> 00:44:16,958 doesn't give up on his kids. 968 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:19,458 He always loves, and pursues, and invests in his kids, 969 00:44:19,500 --> 00:44:22,333 and that's really good news, that God the Father does not, 970 00:44:22,417 --> 00:44:24,750 will not, cannot change. 971 00:44:24,833 --> 00:44:27,042 And in a world filled with so much change, 972 00:44:27,125 --> 00:44:29,708 the one thing that will never change is the Father 973 00:44:29,792 --> 00:44:31,208 heart of God toward his people. 974 00:44:31,292 --> 00:44:33,667 The second thing he says is that all good gifts 975 00:44:33,708 --> 00:44:35,458 come from the Father. 976 00:44:35,500 --> 00:44:37,667 It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, 977 00:44:37,708 --> 00:44:40,542 the way you can live a life filled with joy, and rejoicing, 978 00:44:40,625 --> 00:44:44,208 and boasting in your exaltation is to acknowledge 979 00:44:44,292 --> 00:44:48,458 that everything that is in your hand came from his hand. 980 00:44:48,500 --> 00:44:54,000 I would beg you, spend time thinking about what you have 981 00:44:54,042 --> 00:45:01,042 more than what you don't have, more about what he has given 982 00:45:01,125 --> 00:45:07,917 than what you wish had already been given. 983 00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:09,625 One of the great deceptions is, 984 00:45:09,667 --> 00:45:11,625 "What I have is what I've earned." 985 00:45:11,667 --> 00:45:15,458 No, what I have is what he's granted. 986 00:45:15,500 --> 00:45:18,333 And this is all by grace; it's gifts. 987 00:45:18,375 --> 00:45:21,958 For those of us who are fathers, dads, hear me in this: 988 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:23,750 One of the ways we can practically, 989 00:45:23,833 --> 00:45:27,333 functionally teach our children the gospel is by being generous 990 00:45:27,375 --> 00:45:29,833 and good gift-givers. 991 00:45:29,917 --> 00:45:35,208 OK, my son Gideon, he came up to me recently with a candy bar, 992 00:45:35,292 --> 00:45:39,250 and he looked at me, and he said, "Dad, if I do my homework, 993 00:45:39,333 --> 00:45:42,333 can I eat the candy bar?" 994 00:45:42,375 --> 00:45:46,708 OK, there's a gospel moment right there. 995 00:45:46,792 --> 00:45:52,167 I said, "Gideon, just eat the candy bar. 996 00:45:52,250 --> 00:45:56,292 Eat the candy bar before you do your homework." 997 00:45:56,333 --> 00:45:58,792 He says, "What if I don't do my homework?" 998 00:45:58,833 --> 00:46:00,417 We had this little negotiation. 999 00:46:00,500 --> 00:46:02,667 I said, "Eat the candy bar. 1000 00:46:02,708 --> 00:46:07,542 "If I make you do your homework and then give you the candy bar, 1001 00:46:07,625 --> 00:46:09,417 "I'm teaching you to be religious 1002 00:46:09,500 --> 00:46:13,333 "and to do works to earn gifts. 1003 00:46:13,417 --> 00:46:16,667 "If I give you the gift and tell you I love you, 1004 00:46:16,708 --> 00:46:18,625 "I hope that that would compel your heart 1005 00:46:18,667 --> 00:46:20,250 "to do the right thing, 1006 00:46:20,333 --> 00:46:23,250 "not to earn my love, but as a result of the love 1007 00:46:23,333 --> 00:46:24,750 I've freely given you." 1008 00:46:24,833 --> 00:46:26,542 God is like that. 1009 00:46:26,625 --> 00:46:29,958 God doesn't look at you and say, "If you obey me, 1010 00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:31,833 I will love you." 1011 00:46:31,917 --> 00:46:34,958 Jesus says, "If you love me, you'll obey me." 1012 00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:36,333 It starts with God's love. 1013 00:46:36,417 --> 00:46:37,750 It starts with God's grace. 1014 00:46:37,833 --> 00:46:44,167 It starts with God's generosity, and he gives gifts. 1015 00:46:44,208 --> 00:46:47,667 You don't need to do anything to make God give you gifts. 1016 00:46:47,708 --> 00:46:51,083 God is a God who loves to give gifts, and I would encourage you 1017 00:46:51,167 --> 00:46:53,792 to be thinking, "What are the gifts that he's given me?" 1018 00:46:53,833 --> 00:46:56,000 If everything that I have is a gift--salvation, 1019 00:46:56,042 --> 00:46:57,375 eternal life, the Holy Spirit, 1020 00:46:57,458 --> 00:46:59,583 the saving power of Jesus, the Scriptures-- 1021 00:46:59,667 --> 00:47:02,167 what gifts has he given you? 1022 00:47:02,208 --> 00:47:04,667 And those are all gifts that he has given you 1023 00:47:04,708 --> 00:47:06,333 because he loves you. 1024 00:47:06,375 --> 00:47:08,042 And as you meditate on those things, 1025 00:47:08,125 --> 00:47:14,833 you're able to have joy and to boast in your exaltation. 1026 00:47:14,875 --> 00:47:20,500 And number three, the greatest gift that God gives is people. 1027 00:47:20,583 --> 00:47:22,458 All the gifts come down from above. 1028 00:47:22,500 --> 00:47:25,250 Ultimately, the greatest gift that comes down from above is 1029 00:47:25,333 --> 00:47:32,333 Jesus, and the greatest gift that God gives is people. 1030 00:47:33,833 --> 00:47:36,750 That's what he says, that we should be a kind of "firstfruits 1031 00:47:36,833 --> 00:47:38,167 of his creation." 1032 00:47:38,208 --> 00:47:40,833 That concept of firstfruits, it's really a mind-blowing one 1033 00:47:40,917 --> 00:47:42,250 in the Bible. 1034 00:47:42,333 --> 00:47:44,417 It's the first, it's the best. So Proverbs says, 1035 00:47:44,500 --> 00:47:45,917 "Give your firstfruits to the Lord, 1036 00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:48,250 your first and best," right? 1037 00:47:48,333 --> 00:47:51,458 Jesus is called the firstfruits, right? 1038 00:47:51,500 --> 00:47:55,167 His resurrection is the beginning of our eternal life. 1039 00:47:55,250 --> 00:47:57,583 He's the firstfruits, the first and the best. 1040 00:47:57,667 --> 00:47:59,167 And this is mind-bending. 1041 00:47:59,250 --> 00:48:01,917 I have not yet fully gotten my mind around this. 1042 00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:03,833 I've studied it, I've prayed about it, 1043 00:48:03,875 --> 00:48:05,458 I've been working on it. 1044 00:48:05,500 --> 00:48:08,667 I'm going to give it to you as far as I've got it, 1045 00:48:08,708 --> 00:48:11,000 and I need you to take it from there. 1046 00:48:11,083 --> 00:48:17,250 God sees you as his firstfruits. 1047 00:48:17,333 --> 00:48:22,917 He loves you, he sees you as first and best, 1048 00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:24,667 and he sees you as a gift. 1049 00:48:24,708 --> 00:48:26,833 Some of you would come to the Lord Jesus 1050 00:48:26,917 --> 00:48:28,333 and you say, "I am lowly. 1051 00:48:28,417 --> 00:48:33,042 I don't have anything to give," and God is saying, "Give me you. 1052 00:48:33,125 --> 00:48:34,667 Give me you." 1053 00:48:34,708 --> 00:48:37,167 And you'll say, "But I'm not in a good place," 1054 00:48:37,208 --> 00:48:38,667 and God says, "I'm a Father. 1055 00:48:38,708 --> 00:48:40,042 "I take kids like you, 1056 00:48:40,125 --> 00:48:42,250 "and I give them gifts, and I help them, 1057 00:48:42,333 --> 00:48:43,667 "and I change them. 1058 00:48:43,708 --> 00:48:46,667 "So, give me you, and I'll love you, and I'll help you, 1059 00:48:46,708 --> 00:48:48,833 "and I'll serve you, and I'll change you, 1060 00:48:48,875 --> 00:48:53,542 and one day I'll exalt you, and you can be forever with me." 1061 00:48:53,625 --> 00:48:56,458 At that point, your mind should explode because there's no god 1062 00:48:56,500 --> 00:49:02,333 or person like this, but that's how God is. 1063 00:49:02,375 --> 00:49:07,833 That's how God is. 1064 00:49:07,875 --> 00:49:10,708 And I want you to know that the people in your life 1065 00:49:10,792 --> 00:49:12,708 are a gift. 1066 00:49:12,792 --> 00:49:15,708 And I want you to know that those of you who call 1067 00:49:15,792 --> 00:49:18,958 Mars Hill Church home, you're a gift. 1068 00:49:19,000 --> 00:49:20,917 You're the greatest gift that God has given. 1069 00:49:21,000 --> 00:49:24,250 The greatest gift that God has given other than, of course, 1070 00:49:24,333 --> 00:49:26,708 God giving us himself 1071 00:49:26,792 --> 00:49:32,250 is giving us his people. 1072 00:49:32,333 --> 00:49:34,958 And what this means is we receive gifts 1073 00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:38,333 and particularly the gift of certain people in our life. 1074 00:49:38,375 --> 00:49:41,958 We give glory to God, and we give gratitude to them. 1075 00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:44,958 And I want you to know that all good gifts come from 1076 00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:46,958 the Father's hand, and sometimes they come through 1077 00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:48,458 the hand of another. 1078 00:49:48,500 --> 00:49:50,792 And I want to do some course correction, 1079 00:49:50,833 --> 00:49:54,083 because occasionally religious people misunderstand this. 1080 00:49:54,167 --> 00:49:58,500 Someone does, or says, or gives something nice to them, 1081 00:49:58,542 --> 00:50:00,667 and instead of saying, "Thank you, God bless you, 1082 00:50:00,708 --> 00:50:03,250 I appreciate you," they say, "Glory be to God," 1083 00:50:03,333 --> 00:50:07,292 and they overlook the giver through whom God gave the gift. 1084 00:50:07,333 --> 00:50:09,500 And sometimes even religious people have a hard time 1085 00:50:09,542 --> 00:50:10,875 receiving a compliment. 1086 00:50:10,958 --> 00:50:12,292 "Thank you." 1087 00:50:12,333 --> 00:50:13,792 "Well, all glory be to God." 1088 00:50:13,833 --> 00:50:17,875 "I know, I'm just trying to say thanks." 1089 00:50:17,958 --> 00:50:20,042 And there's a difference between gratitude and glory. 1090 00:50:20,125 --> 00:50:21,583 All the glory goes to God, 1091 00:50:21,667 --> 00:50:24,000 but gratitude can go to his faithful servant. 1092 00:50:24,042 --> 00:50:27,875 I glorify God for the book of James and I'm grateful 1093 00:50:27,958 --> 00:50:30,333 that James wrote it down. 1094 00:50:30,417 --> 00:50:33,083 God brought us his word through his servant. 1095 00:50:33,167 --> 00:50:34,667 I'll give you an analogy. 1096 00:50:34,750 --> 00:50:38,292 The greatest gift in my life are people, 1097 00:50:38,333 --> 00:50:44,833 especially the ones with my last name, Grace and the kids. 1098 00:50:44,917 --> 00:50:48,500 Recently, Gideon had his 8th birthday, 1099 00:50:48,542 --> 00:50:51,625 and my quirky little line I always say to Grace when 1100 00:50:51,667 --> 00:50:54,375 the kids are around or we're visiting someone, I'll walk up, 1101 00:50:54,458 --> 00:50:58,167 put my arm around her, and I say, "Thanks for the people. 1102 00:50:58,250 --> 00:51:00,667 Thanks for the people." 1103 00:51:00,750 --> 00:51:04,792 See, Jesus gave me these people through my wife. 1104 00:51:04,833 --> 00:51:08,333 Literally, without my wife, we don't have these people. 1105 00:51:08,417 --> 00:51:11,667 I want you to understand that God gives great gifts, 1106 00:51:11,750 --> 00:51:14,667 he's a great Father, and sometimes he gives those gifts 1107 00:51:14,708 --> 00:51:17,375 through brothers and sisters, and sometimes those gifts 1108 00:51:17,458 --> 00:51:19,083 are brothers and sisters. 1109 00:51:19,167 --> 00:51:21,375 And if you see your life in this way, 1110 00:51:21,458 --> 00:51:25,875 that you're a recipient of great gifts from a great God and that 1111 00:51:25,958 --> 00:51:28,000 you're high, and exalted, and he loves you, 1112 00:51:28,042 --> 00:51:30,000 and he sees you in the completed, resurrected, 1113 00:51:30,042 --> 00:51:34,333 exalted state in his kingdom where you are like you were 1114 00:51:34,417 --> 00:51:39,000 intended to be and as he sees you, that who you've become, 1115 00:51:39,042 --> 00:51:40,583 and between here and there, 1116 00:51:40,667 --> 00:51:42,750 the Father lavishes gift upon gift, 1117 00:51:42,833 --> 00:51:46,667 grace upon grace toward you, then you're able to do 1118 00:51:46,750 --> 00:51:50,292 exactly what he says: "Let the lowly brother 1119 00:51:50,333 --> 00:51:52,792 boast in his exaltation." 1120 00:51:52,833 --> 00:51:54,375 This is who my God is. 1121 00:51:54,458 --> 00:51:56,042 This is what my God does. 1122 00:51:56,125 --> 00:51:58,083 This is where my God is taking me. 1123 00:51:58,167 --> 00:52:01,750 And everything I have comes from a Father who loves me, knows me, 1124 00:52:01,833 --> 00:52:05,250 sees me, adores me, is aware of my imperfections 1125 00:52:05,333 --> 00:52:08,708 but has overcome that with Jesus' perfection, 1126 00:52:08,792 --> 00:52:12,042 and is bringing me eternally into his presence to be with, 1127 00:52:12,125 --> 00:52:15,042 like, for, through to Jesus forever. 1128 00:52:15,125 --> 00:52:18,417 And the result is you can boast in your exaltation as you have 1129 00:52:18,500 --> 00:52:19,833 an attitude of gratitude, 1130 00:52:19,875 --> 00:52:22,542 and that's where he wants us to be as God's people, 1131 00:52:22,625 --> 00:52:25,208 to get our eyes off of how people see us 1132 00:52:25,292 --> 00:52:28,167 and to understand how the Father sees us 1133 00:52:28,208 --> 00:52:31,333 and why he lavishes such good gifts upon us. 1134 00:52:31,417 --> 00:52:33,167 And so Mars Hill, I love you 1135 00:52:33,208 --> 00:52:35,917 and I am so excited to teach this to you. 1136 00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:37,667 And as we now transition our time, 1137 00:52:37,708 --> 00:52:39,833 we're going to give of our tithes and offerings. 1138 00:52:39,875 --> 00:52:41,542 That's our firstfruits. 1139 00:52:41,625 --> 00:52:43,625 We're going to partake of Communion and remembering 1140 00:52:43,667 --> 00:52:46,042 the broken body and shed blood of Jesus, 1141 00:52:46,125 --> 00:52:48,542 that he is God's gift of firstfruits. 1142 00:52:48,625 --> 00:52:51,500 He is the good gift come down from the Father, 1143 00:52:51,542 --> 00:52:53,792 the greatest gift come down from the Father. 1144 00:52:53,833 --> 00:52:56,542 And then we're going to sing and we're going to celebrate, 1145 00:52:56,625 --> 00:53:00,458 and as we do, I need you to be considering and contemplating, 1146 00:53:00,500 --> 00:53:03,833 "What are the gifts that the Father has given me?" 1147 00:53:03,917 --> 00:53:06,125 And I want you to, in light of that, 1148 00:53:06,167 --> 00:53:08,042 obey chapter 1, verse 9 1149 00:53:08,125 --> 00:53:12,042 and to boast in exaltation, to boast, 1150 00:53:12,125 --> 00:53:14,667 to thank God, to brag on God, to praise God, 1151 00:53:14,708 --> 00:53:17,833 to enjoy God for what he's done and doing, 1152 00:53:17,917 --> 00:53:19,625 and what he's given and giving. 1153 00:53:19,667 --> 00:53:21,708 And as you're doing that, I'm really excited 1154 00:53:21,792 --> 00:53:23,667 because I get to share with you today 1155 00:53:23,708 --> 00:53:25,958 what God is doing at the Mars Hill Churches. 1156 00:53:26,000 --> 00:53:29,042 People are gifts. You are gifts. 1157 00:53:29,125 --> 00:53:31,958 And last week alone, we opened 4 new buildings, 1158 00:53:32,000 --> 00:53:35,250 we planted a brand-new church, we set record attendance, 1159 00:53:35,333 --> 00:53:37,417 over 100 people were baptized. 1160 00:53:37,500 --> 00:53:40,750 Amazing things are happening because our Father is 1161 00:53:40,833 --> 00:53:44,167 a good Father, and he is grabbing a whole bunch of kids, 1162 00:53:44,208 --> 00:53:46,708 and we get to exalt and rejoice, 1163 00:53:46,792 --> 00:53:50,333 and it's such a honor to share that with you. 1164 00:53:52,167 --> 00:53:56,000 Howdy Mars Hill, just a little after 6 a.m. 1165 00:53:56,042 --> 00:54:00,167 Pastor Dave and I are heading down to Olympia, 1166 00:54:00,208 --> 00:54:03,958 and we're going to go to Tacoma, and then to Everett. 1167 00:54:04,000 --> 00:54:05,542 It's a big day. 1168 00:54:05,625 --> 00:54:10,042 It's a big day that many of you, not only across our 15 locations 1169 00:54:10,125 --> 00:54:14,250 and 5 states have been praying for over the last 40 days, 1170 00:54:14,333 --> 00:54:18,125 but across Mars Hill Global. 1171 00:54:18,167 --> 00:54:20,458 I know many of you are praying as well, 1172 00:54:20,500 --> 00:54:23,000 and so I want to thank you personally. 1173 00:54:23,083 --> 00:54:26,250 Then we ended in 5 days of fasting 1174 00:54:26,333 --> 00:54:27,667 and it's just been amazing. 1175 00:54:27,708 --> 00:54:30,333 And so we just wanted to show you--Pastor Dave and I 1176 00:54:30,417 --> 00:54:32,042 were like, "Let's get in the car. 1177 00:54:32,125 --> 00:54:33,458 "Let's go early. 1178 00:54:33,500 --> 00:54:36,708 "Let's see all three churches that we can in the Puget Sound 1179 00:54:36,792 --> 00:54:39,208 "this morning, and then let's get reports back 1180 00:54:39,292 --> 00:54:41,708 from Huntington Beach and Phoenix." 1181 00:54:41,792 --> 00:54:46,333 So today, by God's grace, we're going to plant a new church, 1182 00:54:46,375 --> 00:54:52,167 our 15th church in our 5th state, Mars Hill Phoenix. 1183 00:54:52,250 --> 00:54:58,875 And then Huntington Beach, Olympia, Everett, and Tacoma, 1184 00:54:58,958 --> 00:55:01,542 all four of those churches are moving in 1185 00:55:01,625 --> 00:55:05,458 and publicly launching in their new locations today. 1186 00:55:05,500 --> 00:55:09,542 So, I just want you guys to enjoy all of the video. 1187 00:55:09,625 --> 00:55:12,125 We're going to do some interviews with our lead pastors 1188 00:55:12,167 --> 00:55:14,167 and it's going to be an awesome day. 1189 00:55:14,208 --> 00:55:17,667 All the glory goes to Jesus Christ. 1190 00:55:19,875 --> 00:55:23,875 Here we are, just a few minutes away from launch Sunday. 1191 00:55:23,958 --> 00:55:26,208 What are you thinking? What are you praying for? 1192 00:55:26,292 --> 00:55:27,708 Man, we are so excited. 1193 00:55:27,792 --> 00:55:31,792 We have had so much time and energy go into this building, 1194 00:55:31,833 --> 00:55:33,792 time and talent, and about to be treasure. 1195 00:55:33,833 --> 00:55:36,917 So, we are just so thankful for the body of Mars Hill Church, 1196 00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:39,125 Mars Hill Church, the local churches, and for global, 1197 00:55:39,167 --> 00:55:41,333 for pouring money into this building, 1198 00:55:41,375 --> 00:55:43,708 allowing us to move in, get this place retrofitted, 1199 00:55:43,792 --> 00:55:46,333 and to bless and serve the people of Olympia 1200 00:55:46,375 --> 00:55:48,458 and greater region today, four counties. 1201 00:55:48,500 --> 00:55:51,667 Just a lot of people we're praying are going to know Jesus. 1202 00:55:51,708 --> 00:55:53,167 Howdy Mars Hill. 1203 00:55:53,208 --> 00:55:56,667 We're here with Pastor Bubba, and an amazing service 1204 00:55:56,708 --> 00:55:58,167 that we just saw. 1205 00:55:58,208 --> 00:56:00,917 And so, Pastor Bubba, thanks for all that you're doing. 1206 00:56:01,000 --> 00:56:05,875 And tell us your vision for 2014 of what the church here 1207 00:56:05,958 --> 00:56:07,667 is--what's going to happen? 1208 00:56:07,750 --> 00:56:11,500 Well, what I'm praying for is we'd see 200 baptisms in 2014. 1209 00:56:11,583 --> 00:56:13,125 We want to see lives changed. 1210 00:56:13,167 --> 00:56:16,667 Also, I'm praying that we would be able to raise up 10 pastors 1211 00:56:16,750 --> 00:56:18,917 to plant 60 new Community Groups. 1212 00:56:19,000 --> 00:56:20,917 It would give us about 100 Community Groups. 1213 00:56:21,000 --> 00:56:23,625 And our mission really is to see every neighborhood in 1214 00:56:23,667 --> 00:56:25,833 the south end have a Community Group in it. 1215 00:56:25,875 --> 00:56:28,500 Eventually, I'm hoping and praying that we would be so full 1216 00:56:28,583 --> 00:56:31,708 we'd have to plant another Mars Hill Church, okay? 1217 00:56:31,792 --> 00:56:33,125 We love you very much. 1218 00:56:33,167 --> 00:56:34,500 We appreciate you, Pastor Bubba. 1219 00:56:34,583 --> 00:56:35,917 Love your team. 1220 00:56:36,000 --> 00:56:37,708 Thanks, Pastor Bubba. Thank you. 1221 00:56:37,792 --> 00:56:39,125 Howdy, Mars Hill. 1222 00:56:39,167 --> 00:56:40,917 We're here in Everett, Washington, 1223 00:56:41,000 --> 00:56:42,583 at Mars Hill Church Everett. 1224 00:56:42,667 --> 00:56:45,000 Pastor Ryan, big day today. 1225 00:56:45,083 --> 00:56:46,417 Tell us about what happened. 1226 00:56:46,500 --> 00:56:47,833 Huge day. 1227 00:56:47,875 --> 00:56:49,333 We had our biggest day ever. 1228 00:56:49,375 --> 00:56:50,708 We had over 1,100 people. 1229 00:56:50,792 --> 00:56:52,125 We had 25 baptisms. 1230 00:56:52,167 --> 00:56:55,125 Just tons and tons of new people coming out. 1231 00:56:55,167 --> 00:56:58,125 I mean--and the best part about it was the people who call 1232 00:56:58,167 --> 00:56:59,500 Mars Hill Everett home, 1233 00:56:59,583 --> 00:57:01,583 they just went from coming here to church 1234 00:57:01,667 --> 00:57:03,083 to hosting all our new people. 1235 00:57:03,167 --> 00:57:04,833 It was amazing. Everything was alive. 1236 00:57:04,875 --> 00:57:06,333 It was a great, great day. 1237 00:57:06,375 --> 00:57:07,708 That's awesome. 1238 00:57:07,792 --> 00:57:10,167 Well, we saw some baptisms too, and some spontaneous, 1239 00:57:10,250 --> 00:57:11,917 so that was super exciting. 1240 00:57:12,000 --> 00:57:13,333 Pastor Dave? 1241 00:57:13,375 --> 00:57:14,708 Yeah, it's an exciting day. 1242 00:57:14,792 --> 00:57:17,208 I know that people have been praying for this day 1243 00:57:17,292 --> 00:57:18,625 for 40 days. 1244 00:57:18,667 --> 00:57:20,833 Give us a couple answered prayers that you saw 1245 00:57:20,875 --> 00:57:22,208 personally today. 1246 00:57:22,292 --> 00:57:24,292 We've been praying for legacies to be changed, 1247 00:57:24,333 --> 00:57:27,417 and we had a dad baptize his little boy. 1248 00:57:27,500 --> 00:57:30,208 The dad got baptized at our summer baptisms, 1249 00:57:30,292 --> 00:57:32,667 and today he got to baptize his little boy, 1250 00:57:32,750 --> 00:57:36,875 and that whole family's legacy is being changed. 1251 00:57:36,958 --> 00:57:39,208 Jesus is becoming made great, 1252 00:57:39,292 --> 00:57:41,625 and that is just a huge answer to our prayer. 1253 00:57:41,667 --> 00:57:43,000 Well, we will be praying. 1254 00:57:43,083 --> 00:57:45,792 A big, big day here in Everett for a big pastor 1255 00:57:45,833 --> 00:57:47,167 and a growing church. 1256 00:57:47,208 --> 00:57:48,542 We're so thankful for you. 1257 00:57:48,625 --> 00:57:51,333 Thank you for all the hard, hard work you put in. 1258 00:57:51,375 --> 00:57:52,833 We love you and appreciate you. 1259 00:57:52,875 --> 00:57:55,000 We can't wait to see what the future holds. 1260 00:57:55,083 --> 00:57:57,750 Pastor Sutton, other churches that we didn't get to go to 1261 00:57:57,833 --> 00:57:59,250 today were relaunched or launched. 1262 00:57:59,333 --> 00:58:00,708 Tell us about Huntington Beach. 1263 00:58:00,792 --> 00:58:02,708 Well, Huntington Beach today, which launched in their 1264 00:58:02,792 --> 00:58:05,583 new church home there in Huntington Beach, 1265 00:58:05,667 --> 00:58:12,417 had 713 people in attendance today and over 10 baptisms. 1266 00:58:12,500 --> 00:58:15,208 And they're not--actually as we're speaking right now, 1267 00:58:15,292 --> 00:58:17,167 they're not finished with their baptisms, 1268 00:58:17,250 --> 00:58:18,917 so that number might grow. 1269 00:58:19,000 --> 00:58:23,708 Phoenix, which is our 15th church in our 5th state-- 1270 00:58:23,792 --> 00:58:29,500 Phoenix launched today with 743 total people 1271 00:58:29,583 --> 00:58:31,583 and 10 people were baptized. 1272 00:58:31,667 --> 00:58:33,333 So, two amazing stories. 1273 00:58:33,375 --> 00:58:34,917 One would be in Phoenix. 1274 00:58:35,000 --> 00:58:38,125 The first baptism there in Mars Hill Phoenix, 1275 00:58:38,167 --> 00:58:41,125 it was actually an 8-year-old boy. 1276 00:58:41,167 --> 00:58:43,708 His dad, who is a community group leader-- 1277 00:58:43,792 --> 00:58:48,042 his dad brought the son to the church service today 1278 00:58:48,125 --> 00:58:49,458 and the son said, 1279 00:58:49,500 --> 00:58:52,167 "I want to be baptized today," and he got baptized. 1280 00:58:52,208 --> 00:58:55,417 The second story is an amazing story from Huntington Beach. 1281 00:58:55,500 --> 00:58:59,125 A community group leader brought his dad to church 1282 00:58:59,167 --> 00:59:02,500 and was able to baptize his dad. 1283 00:59:02,542 --> 00:59:05,333 Just this morning in Ballard, 1284 00:59:05,375 --> 00:59:07,208 of course, they've got evening services, 1285 00:59:07,292 --> 00:59:10,292 but we had eight baptisms there in Ballard, 1286 00:59:10,333 --> 00:59:12,625 and six of those were spontaneous. 1287 00:59:12,667 --> 00:59:17,625 So, we're just on the beginning days of 2014, 1288 00:59:17,667 --> 00:59:22,833 which we're really praying is our most prosperous year of 1289 00:59:22,875 --> 00:59:26,667 Mars Hill Church ever for the gospel of Jesus Christ. 1290 00:59:26,750 --> 00:59:30,000 More people growing in Jesus, more people meeting him, 1291 00:59:30,083 --> 00:59:33,375 churches growing, flourishing, all with the light 1292 00:59:33,458 --> 00:59:34,792 of Jesus Christ. 1293 00:59:34,833 --> 00:59:36,875 So, thank you. It's been an amazing day. 1294 00:59:36,958 --> 00:59:39,083 Thank you. 1295 00:59:50,042 --> 00:59:51,417 Pastor Sutton here, 1296 00:59:51,500 --> 00:59:54,458 we've just finished our services here in the Bellevue church 1297 00:59:54,500 --> 01:00:00,292 and really excited today to tell the extended family of Mars Hill Global 1298 01:00:00,333 --> 01:00:01,958 about Text to Give. 1299 01:00:02,000 --> 01:00:04,667 Just came out and many of you know my story: 1300 01:00:04,750 --> 01:00:08,833 2007 heard Pastor Mark at a pastor's conference 1301 01:00:08,917 --> 01:00:11,167 went there, started podcasting. 1302 01:00:11,208 --> 01:00:14,083 I still gave my tithe to my local church, 1303 01:00:14,167 --> 01:00:17,500 however, gave a contribution amount to Mars Hill Church. 1304 01:00:17,542 --> 01:00:22,167 So this Text to Give, the video that we have produced for you, 1305 01:00:22,208 --> 01:00:24,375 you're going to love, so check this out. 1306 01:00:26,542 --> 01:00:29,250 Hey Mars Hill, my name is Rene and I work here 1307 01:00:29,333 --> 01:00:31,792 at the Media and Communications team at Mars Hill Church. 1308 01:00:31,833 --> 01:00:33,542 If you're a mobile user like me, 1309 01:00:33,625 --> 01:00:35,708 I've got some exciting news to share with you. 1310 01:00:35,792 --> 01:00:38,167 There's a new way to give at Mars Hill Church 1311 01:00:38,250 --> 01:00:40,458 and it's just as easy as sending a text. 1312 01:00:40,500 --> 01:00:43,208 Now, many of you take advantage of our online giving options, 1313 01:00:43,292 --> 01:00:45,958 which is a great way to set up recurring gifts, 1314 01:00:46,000 --> 01:00:49,167 but until now, we haven't had a way to set up mobile, 1315 01:00:49,250 --> 01:00:52,083 where you can give on the spot during our services. 1316 01:00:52,167 --> 01:00:54,125 If you're like me, you don't carry cash 1317 01:00:54,167 --> 01:00:57,708 you don't carry a checkbook, so Text to Give is the way to go. 1318 01:00:57,792 --> 01:01:02,208 It's fun, it's simple, and best of all, it's secure. 1319 01:01:02,292 --> 01:01:04,167 I want you to do something with me. 1320 01:01:04,250 --> 01:01:06,125 Take out your smart phone right now; 1321 01:01:06,167 --> 01:01:07,958 we're going to do something together. 1322 01:01:08,000 --> 01:01:09,875 Don't worry, you're not obligated to give, 1323 01:01:09,958 --> 01:01:11,875 but try this out. 1324 01:01:11,958 --> 01:01:14,750 Simply send the amount you want to give 1325 01:01:14,833 --> 01:01:20,792 and the word "Mars Hill" at the end to the following number: 45777. 1326 01:01:22,000 --> 01:01:23,667 The first time you give via text, 1327 01:01:23,708 --> 01:01:26,333 you will be asked to fill out a one-time form, 1328 01:01:26,375 --> 01:01:29,417 which will safely link your card to your smart phone. 1329 01:01:29,500 --> 01:01:32,833 Now, this new way of giving doesn't go into your phone bill, 1330 01:01:32,917 --> 01:01:34,750 and in case you make a mistake, 1331 01:01:34,833 --> 01:01:38,500 you can always get a refund for the gift that you've given. 1332 01:01:38,542 --> 01:01:40,500 And that's it; you're done. 1333 01:01:40,583 --> 01:01:42,667 You'll receive a text back confirming your gift 1334 01:01:42,750 --> 01:01:45,208 and from this moment forward, you'll be able to give 1335 01:01:45,292 --> 01:01:47,958 anywhere, anytime with just a single text. 1336 01:01:48,000 --> 01:01:50,708 Don't forget to save the number in your contact list. 1337 01:01:50,792 --> 01:01:53,833 I've saved it as "Mars Hill Text to Give." 1338 01:01:53,917 --> 01:01:55,708 For more information about our giving options 1339 01:01:55,792 --> 01:01:59,000 you can visit marshill.com/give. 1340 01:02:03,625 --> 01:02:06,542 Each year, over 10 million Mars Hill church sermons 1341 01:02:06,625 --> 01:02:09,667 are downloaded worldwide for free. 1342 01:02:09,708 --> 01:02:12,250 This ministry is generously supported 1343 01:02:12,333 --> 01:02:14,875 by Mars Hill church members and listeners like you. 1344 01:02:14,958 --> 01:02:18,458 If you'd like to support our efforts to preach Jesus to the world, 1345 01:02:18,500 --> 01:02:21,458 Please consider making a tax-deductible donation 1346 01:02:21,500 --> 01:02:24,333 by visiting marshill.com/give.