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Howdy Mars Hill Church.

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Pastor Sutton Turner here
and I'm in Ethiopia.

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And I just want to thank Jesus

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for continuing to use
Mars Hill Church

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to make disciples 
and plant churches.

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Mars Hill Global
is the arm of Mars Hill Church

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that makes disciples

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and plant churches 
all over the world.

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We not only do church planting,

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but we help better equip 
church planters.

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Most recently we shipped 
and now distributed

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1,000 bibles into Amharic,

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which is the language 
here in Ethiopia.

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And we launched a project

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

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We have people 
from over 29 different countries

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

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So whether you're a member

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of one of our Mars Hill 
church locations

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in the United States,

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

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we encourage you to pray

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about giving above 
and beyond your tithe

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to Mars Hill Global.

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Thank you and let's see
more materials translated,

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more pastors sent out,
more churches planted,

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and more people 
saved by Jesus Christ.

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Brotherhood,
it's a bond as old as time.

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It's a love
that runs deep.

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It's bold.
It's strong.

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It's enduring.

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

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from the trials
to the triumphs.

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

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No one knows you
like your brother.

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He knows your strengths;
he knows your weaknesses.

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

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It is difficult to describe
that kind of loyalty,

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that kind of courage,
that kind of strength.

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It's the love of a brother.

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It's that kind of love that
compelled James to become

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Jesus' bold little brother.

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All right, I got my seat,
you got your seat.

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I'm going to ask you
a question.

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Think back in your life.

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Where was the best seat
you ever enjoyed?

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It could be a sporting event,
it could be a concert.

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I can remember one time Grace
and I were going to do

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date night and somebody gave us
tickets to the Seattle Mariners.

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One of the benefits of going to
a Mariners game with your wife,

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it's a beautiful field

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and you can really
have some quality time

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without being distracted by
things that are happening

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on the field 'cause nothing is
ever happening on the field.

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So, it was a nice, sunny day.

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The roof was open.

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I was with my very best friend,
holding her hand, walking in.

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And I didn't know
where the seats were,

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I was just glad to get tickets.

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And we kept walking,
and walking, and walking,

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and next thing I know we're
very close to the game.

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Now we're really
close to the game.

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We're just a few rows
behind home plate,

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and as a former catcher, I
was very excited to be there.

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And I remember sitting
there thinking,

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"I would never pay
for these seats,

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"but I'm really
glad to have them,

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and this is amazing
to be so close to the game."

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You could actually hear
what they're saying,

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and some of it was not that
good, so pray for them.

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But I thought, "Wow, how great
it is to be in this seat

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"on a sunny day

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"and to have this few hours
in this amazing place

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with my very best friend."

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Think about the best seat
you've ever had.

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Think about the worst seat
you've ever had.

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And it was probably
on an airplane, amen?

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I mean, we can just
all agree to that.

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I've had a lot of
bad airline seats.

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I still remember some years ago
I had a quick connecting layover

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and the window of
opportunity was very close,

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so I'm running from one end
of the terminal to the other,

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dragging my bag.

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And I'm hot, and sweaty, and
more grumpy than I normally am,

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and I get on the plane.

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I'm one of the last guys on
the plane and I go way toward

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the back, and my seat is the
middle seat between two guys

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who could stuff the run
for an NFL defense.

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They're like 300 plus pounds
and they're already buckled in.

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And somehow, they had conspired
to put the armrests up,

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which meant that there
was no room for me at all.

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There's no way I could
sit in this seat.

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And so I waited for
everyone else to sit down,

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it was a full flight.

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So, I hit the button, the flight
attendant comes over and says,

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"Can I help you?"

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"Yeah, you really could.
I need a seat."

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She said,
"Well, that's your seat."

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I said, "No, it's not.

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"It's occupied by
Bigfoot and Chewbacca,

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"and their extra
has gone into my vicinity.

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I have no place for myself."

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She said, "I'm sorry,
we have no other seats."

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I said, "Bathroom?"

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I honestly asked if I could sit
in the bathroom for the flight.

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She said,
"No, there's no seatbelt."

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I thought, "Well, I'll
duct tape myself in.

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How about--" I'm trying
to negotiate the deal.

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I ask her, "Can I go
in the overhead bin?"

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She says, "No, you can't
go in the overhead bin."

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So I sat down,
and then Pete and Repeat,

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they sat in front of me
and on top of me.

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And I'm trying to breathe so
I don't die on the flight.

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I spent the rest of the flight
standing up in the back

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the entire flight.

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Worst seat I ever had.

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What's the best seat
you've ever had?

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What's the worst seat
you've ever had?

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And what we're getting into
today in James is where we sit

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says something about who we are,

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or at least what we think
we deserve.

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So, let me ask you
a couple other questions.

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Let's say you wanted to go to
a concert, and you went online,

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and you realized, "Oh boy,

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there's different
tiered pricing."

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You thought, "Boy, VIP,
I can't afford that.

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"You know, near the stage,
can't afford that.

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Festival seating,
I can afford that."

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Click.

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You show up early, but it's
already packed so you're way,

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way, way in the back,
but it was a cheap seat.

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You paid for a cheap ticket.

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And then as the concert starts,
you notice they move that

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golden rope out of the way

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and in comes all the VIP right
to the front of the stage,

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and they paid
a mint for their seats.

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Does that bother you that they
get a better seat than you?

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Would that bother
you, yes or no?

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No, no, probably not.

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You're like, "Well, you
get what you pay for."

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How about same thing
for a sporting event?

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You go online and you decide,
"Well, I want to go a game.

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"I don't want to be--no, that's
too much, too much, too much.

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I'll go up to
the 300 level, that's okay."

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And you show up,
and you've got a cheap seat,

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and you realize that some people
are really close to the field

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or they're close to the court.

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They paid a lot more.

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Does it bother you that they
get a better seat than you,

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yes or no?

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No.

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Okay, let's do one more
since I have the time.

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You decide you're going to
come to Mars Hill Church.

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You try to figure out,
"Is there a location near me?

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What are the service times?"

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You go online and it says,
"If you'd like to attend,

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click here to buy a ticket."

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And you click, and it goes
to a seating chart just like

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the concert or just like
the sporting event.

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And there's different tiered
pricing based upon what location

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and what service and what seat.

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You want to sit near the front?

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Well, that's going to be more.

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You want to sit in the back?
That'll be less.

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If you want to stand up in
the back, that'll be cheaper.

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If you want to sit on the floor,
we'll give you a discount.

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But then we try and upsell you.
Oh, you want to be prayed for?

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That's gonna be a fee,
you know?

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You want to take Communion?
Click.

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Somebody's got to
pay for the wine.

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Hey, you want to join
a Community Group?

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That's a double click.

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And all of a sudden,
like your Amazon account,

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they're asking for
your credit card,

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and to get a ticket to come to
church, you have to pay for it.

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Does that bother you?

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Oh, you hypocrites.

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It didn't bother you
for the sporting event,

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it didn't bother
you for the concert,

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but it does bother
you for the church.

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Here's my question: why?

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Okay, we'll read the Bible.

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All right, James chapter 2,
we'll start in verse 1.

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Here's the case study, okay?

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"For if a man
wearing a gold ring."

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So, this guy's really
bedazzled, all right?

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He just--here he comes.

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"And fine clothing," right?

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Nice suit, all done
up, looks great.

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"Comes into your assembly,"
he shows up to church service,

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"and behind him comes a poor
man in shabby clothing."

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You can tell this guy doesn't
make the same as the other guy.

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"And if you pay attention
to the one who wears

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the fine clothing,"
the guy who's very affluent,

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"and say, 'You sit here
in a good place.'"

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"We have reserved seating for
guys in suits who rolled up

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in Bentleys and showed
up with an entourage."

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"While you say to the poor
man, 'You stand over there.'"

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"Get out of the way.
Don't block anybody's view.

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"No, we don't have
a seat for you.

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Stand up in the back,"
or, "You know what?

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"I do need a foot rest.
How about that?

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You could sit on
the floor with my feet."

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Which, in that culture,
you walked to church with

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you share with a lot of animals.

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Your feet are not
in great shape.

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He continues, "Have you
not then made distinctions,"

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he's talking about partiality,
"among yourselves and become

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judges with evil thoughts?"

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You're like, "You know what?

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"That guy's rich,
that guy's poor.

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That guy's worth
more than that guy."

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"Listen."

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He's saying, "I need you
to pay attention to this.

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Heed this.
Hear this."

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"My beloved brothers, has not
God chosen those who are poor

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in the world to be rich
in faith?"

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Sometimes people who have
nothing trust God because

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they have to trust him
in a way that others don't.

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"And heirs of the kingdom."

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What he's saying is
these people are rich,

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they just don't get
their inheritance yet.

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Like Jesus said, they've stored
up their treasures in heaven.

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These people who are poor
on earth but rich in faith,

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they have a massive inheritance,

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they just haven't cashed it
in yet.

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"Which he has promised
to those who love him."

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He continues, "But,"
here's the problem,

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"you've dishonored
the poor man."

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You've dishonored
the poor man.

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James, here, is a pastor,

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and apparently what's
happening at their church

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is somebody decided
that what you would do

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at a sporting event or what
you would do at a concert

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is a good idea for the church.

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James is saying, "You're
dishonoring those who are poor

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like my father," right?

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James' father,
Jesus' father was Joseph.

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He was a poor man.

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James is saying,
"This isn't right.

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"If my mom and dad
came to church,

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00:11:22,208 --> 00:11:25,167
"you'd put them on the floor
or stand them in the back,

243
00:11:25,208 --> 00:11:29,417
"but it's the pastor's parents,
it's the Lord's parents.

244
00:11:29,500 --> 00:11:32,417
This is not right."

245
00:11:32,500 --> 00:11:35,250
If Jesus came to this church,
they would have sat him

246
00:11:35,333 --> 00:11:38,083
on the floor or made him
stand up in the back

247
00:11:38,167 --> 00:11:41,250
because he was poor.

248
00:11:41,333 --> 00:11:44,250
James says that's dishonorable.

249
00:11:44,333 --> 00:11:47,417
You start to get the sense that
the world and the church

250
00:11:47,500 --> 00:11:50,500
are supposed to operate
differently.

251
00:11:50,583 --> 00:11:53,458
None of us would have a problem
going to a sporting event

252
00:11:53,500 --> 00:11:57,000
or going to a concert
and paying for a seat,

253
00:11:57,083 --> 00:12:01,000
and then whatever money we
pay determines where we are.

254
00:12:01,042 --> 00:12:06,375
And in church, it troubles
us if that were the case.

255
00:12:06,458 --> 00:12:08,833
"Are not the rich
the ones who oppress you,

256
00:12:08,917 --> 00:12:10,792
and the ones who
drag you into court?"

257
00:12:10,833 --> 00:12:13,292
Not all rich people are evil,
but in this case,

258
00:12:13,333 --> 00:12:14,917
the rich people were evil.

259
00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,125
They were oppressing and taking
advantage of the poor

260
00:12:17,167 --> 00:12:19,333
who could not legally defend
themselves.

261
00:12:19,417 --> 00:12:22,083
"Are they not the ones who
blaspheme the honorable name

262
00:12:22,167 --> 00:12:23,542
by which you were called?"

263
00:12:23,625 --> 00:12:26,042
He says there's even some
unbelievers that are showing up

264
00:12:26,125 --> 00:12:29,208
or some people who are like
Judas who claim to be believers

265
00:12:29,292 --> 00:12:32,333
but they're not,
and they've got a lot of money,

266
00:12:32,417 --> 00:12:34,667
and they're suing,
and taking advantage of,

267
00:12:34,708 --> 00:12:38,292
and hiring but not paying
the Christians who are poor

268
00:12:38,333 --> 00:12:39,667
and defenseless.

269
00:12:39,750 --> 00:12:42,875
And he says, "How do you think
that feels when the poor people

270
00:12:42,958 --> 00:12:45,875
"come in and the people who are
suing them and stealing from

271
00:12:45,958 --> 00:12:48,625
"them get the seats up front,
and they're supposed to sit

272
00:12:48,667 --> 00:12:52,375
on the floor like a piece
of furniture?"

273
00:12:52,458 --> 00:12:54,875
Here's my question.

274
00:12:54,958 --> 00:12:58,292
Does this bother you?

275
00:12:58,333 --> 00:12:59,792
That's my first question.

276
00:12:59,833 --> 00:13:02,667
How many of you say, "Yeah,
actually, this bothers me."

277
00:13:02,708 --> 00:13:04,875
Here's my second question.

278
00:13:04,958 --> 00:13:06,917
Why?

279
00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:09,167
Immediately, you just want
to rush to indignation.

280
00:13:09,250 --> 00:13:11,750
"This is just wrong.
We shouldn't be like this.

281
00:13:11,833 --> 00:13:14,667
"You should be seated wherever
you want to be seated.

282
00:13:14,750 --> 00:13:16,458
"All people
should be treated equal.

283
00:13:16,500 --> 00:13:19,292
There should not be
partiality like this."

284
00:13:19,333 --> 00:13:21,542
Okay, well there's the
conscience that God gave you,

285
00:13:21,625 --> 00:13:22,958
but here's my question.

286
00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,917
On what basis?

287
00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,667
On what basis would you
make that kind of

288
00:13:28,708 --> 00:13:31,000
moral determination?

289
00:13:31,083 --> 00:13:33,000
If you're here
and you're not a Christian,

290
00:13:33,083 --> 00:13:36,000
let me submit to you that if you
believe in a pure

291
00:13:36,083 --> 00:13:40,417
evolutionary theory, you
have no right to be upset.

292
00:13:40,500 --> 00:13:44,000
You're being a hypocrite because
if you believe in a purely

293
00:13:44,042 --> 00:13:47,042
evolutionary world view,
here's the idea.

294
00:13:47,125 --> 00:13:50,333
Some people are more advanced
and evolved than others.

295
00:13:50,417 --> 00:13:52,333
Some people win,
some people lose.

296
00:13:52,375 --> 00:13:56,792
It's the weak against the strong
and only the fittest survive.

297
00:13:56,833 --> 00:14:00,208
So, if the rich guy wins
and the poor guy loses,

298
00:14:00,292 --> 00:14:03,750
that's just natural selection
as applied to

299
00:14:03,833 --> 00:14:07,542
church seating charts.

300
00:14:07,625 --> 00:14:10,750
You have no right, if you
believe in a purely evolutionary

301
00:14:10,833 --> 00:14:13,417
world view, to start
throwing around words like

302
00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:18,167
"discrimination," or
"partiality," or "prejudice."

303
00:14:18,208 --> 00:14:19,667
You don't.

304
00:14:19,750 --> 00:14:24,250
You just need to put your moral
flag down and you need to

305
00:14:24,333 --> 00:14:27,750
deal with your ideology because
it doesn't allow you

306
00:14:27,833 --> 00:14:30,208
to argue against partiality.

307
00:14:30,292 --> 00:14:31,792
It doesn't.

308
00:14:31,833 --> 00:14:34,292
Okay, some of you would come
here and you're part

309
00:14:34,333 --> 00:14:36,208
of another religion.

310
00:14:36,292 --> 00:14:39,208
You have a more religious
ideology and you might say,

311
00:14:39,292 --> 00:14:43,667
similarly, "This really troubles
me, profoundly bothers me."

312
00:14:43,708 --> 00:14:46,333
My question is, "Why?"

313
00:14:46,417 --> 00:14:49,708
See, the difference between
Christianity and other religions

314
00:14:49,792 --> 00:14:53,333
is in other religions,
you get what you earn.

315
00:14:53,375 --> 00:14:55,000
It's works.

316
00:14:55,083 --> 00:14:57,583
Well, in Christianity,
you get what Jesus earns.

317
00:14:57,667 --> 00:14:59,583
It's grace.

318
00:14:59,667 --> 00:15:03,083
Because we believe in grace,
we believe in Jesus,

319
00:15:03,167 --> 00:15:07,250
we believe that people
should be treated equal.

320
00:15:07,333 --> 00:15:09,750
But if you believe in
a religious ideology

321
00:15:09,833 --> 00:15:13,750
or philosophy,
you believe in karma,

322
00:15:13,833 --> 00:15:16,167
that some people have paid
off more debt than others,

323
00:15:16,250 --> 00:15:18,917
and if they're suffering in this
life, we shouldn't help them,

324
00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:21,375
because after all, we could be
interrupting their

325
00:15:21,458 --> 00:15:26,875
karmic debt payback.

326
00:15:26,958 --> 00:15:29,417
Some religions teach levels of
enlightenment that some of us

327
00:15:29,500 --> 00:15:32,167
have reincarnated, some of us
have become more enlightened,

328
00:15:32,208 --> 00:15:34,500
some of us are more evolved.

329
00:15:34,542 --> 00:15:37,000
I remember having a debate with
Deepak Chopra on "Nightline"

330
00:15:37,042 --> 00:15:39,500
and he talked about how he
had reached higher levels

331
00:15:39,542 --> 00:15:43,167
of consciousness.

332
00:15:43,250 --> 00:15:46,958
What that means is, "I'm more
spiritually advanced than you.

333
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,917
You're more," and he used
this language, "primitive."

334
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,667
If you believe that, well, then
the primitive people sit on

335
00:15:53,750 --> 00:15:57,333
the floor or stand in the back,
and us more enlightened people,

336
00:15:57,375 --> 00:15:59,708
we sit up front because
we've earned it.

337
00:15:59,792 --> 00:16:04,833
We've gotten to a higher
state of consciousness.

338
00:16:04,875 --> 00:16:06,583
I learned this some years ago.

339
00:16:06,667 --> 00:16:13,500
I was in Florida and I met a
very affluent Jewish businessman

340
00:16:13,542 --> 00:16:16,333
who I built a bit of
a relationship with

341
00:16:16,417 --> 00:16:17,833
at the time.

342
00:16:17,875 --> 00:16:20,542
And I was talking to him
about Jesus and he said,

343
00:16:20,625 --> 00:16:22,542
"Oh, you want to come
see my synagogue?"

344
00:16:22,625 --> 00:16:24,542
"Yeah, I never--yeah, sure,
I've read about--you know,

345
00:16:24,625 --> 00:16:25,958
okay, whatever."

346
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:27,667
Go to the synagogue.
It was beautiful.

347
00:16:27,750 --> 00:16:29,167
This was a very
affluent neighborhood.

348
00:16:29,250 --> 00:16:31,833
Very nice, like,
wow, synagogue.

349
00:16:31,917 --> 00:16:36,917
And he said,
"My family sits here."

350
00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,167
I said, "All the time?"

351
00:16:39,208 --> 00:16:41,500
He said, "Yeah, well,
these are our seats."

352
00:16:41,583 --> 00:16:43,042
I was like, "What?"

353
00:16:43,125 --> 00:16:46,375
He said, "Yeah, we
bought these seats."

354
00:16:46,458 --> 00:16:47,792
What the?

355
00:16:47,833 --> 00:16:50,583
I was like, "Okay, this is evil
and a potential way

356
00:16:50,667 --> 00:16:52,125
to make budget at Mars Hill."

357
00:16:52,167 --> 00:16:54,125
This was some years ago, okay?

358
00:16:54,167 --> 00:16:55,500
I said, "Explain that."

359
00:16:55,583 --> 00:16:58,250
He said, "Well, you know, a lot
of the Jewish people

360
00:16:58,333 --> 00:17:00,833
"in this community, we don't go
to synagogue very often,

361
00:17:00,875 --> 00:17:03,083
"but for the holidays,
the High Holy Days,

362
00:17:03,167 --> 00:17:05,542
the place is packed
and you can't get a seat."

363
00:17:05,625 --> 00:17:08,833
So he said, "It's kind of
like getting box seating

364
00:17:08,875 --> 00:17:10,750
"at a sporting event.

365
00:17:10,833 --> 00:17:15,875
"You can buy seats that belong
to your family so you have good,

366
00:17:15,958 --> 00:17:19,542
reserved seating for
the High Holy Days."

367
00:17:19,625 --> 00:17:26,208
Huh, oh, just like
James is talking about.

368
00:17:26,292 --> 00:17:32,833
See, religion teaches
you you earn it.

369
00:17:32,917 --> 00:17:36,333
You pay for your seat
through your enlightenment,

370
00:17:36,417 --> 00:17:38,667
through your good works,
through your reincarnation

371
00:17:38,750 --> 00:17:40,750
and paying off your karmic debt,

372
00:17:40,833 --> 00:17:43,292
through your evolutionary
consciousness.

373
00:17:43,333 --> 00:17:46,708
You earn your seat.

374
00:17:46,792 --> 00:17:49,583
And some people get a better
seat than other people because

375
00:17:49,667 --> 00:17:52,375
some people are better
than other people.

376
00:17:52,458 --> 00:17:54,667
If you're troubled by this,

377
00:17:54,708 --> 00:17:57,500
it's because God gave you
a conscience.

378
00:17:57,583 --> 00:18:01,125
But if you believe in a purely
evolutionary world view or

379
00:18:01,167 --> 00:18:06,292
a purely religious world view,
you have no right to get upset,

380
00:18:06,333 --> 00:18:08,958
and if you are upset,
you're a hypocrite.

381
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:10,917
You're inconsistent.

382
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:15,542
You have no basis
for your frustration.

383
00:18:15,625 --> 00:18:22,167
That being said,
here's their problem.

384
00:18:22,250 --> 00:18:25,333
Their problem is that the church
is behaving in a worldly way,

385
00:18:25,417 --> 00:18:26,833
okay?

386
00:18:26,875 --> 00:18:29,375
And when it comes to
biblical thinking,

387
00:18:29,458 --> 00:18:31,167
there's the kingdom of God.

388
00:18:31,250 --> 00:18:34,333
This is where Jesus is alive
ruling and reigning right now as

389
00:18:34,417 --> 00:18:36,833
King of kings and Lord of lords,

390
00:18:36,917 --> 00:18:43,042
and that God's people will be
together forever in his kingdom.

391
00:18:43,125 --> 00:18:45,625
Today, we're in the world.

392
00:18:45,667 --> 00:18:50,000
We're in cultures and nations
that don't think in a way

393
00:18:50,042 --> 00:18:53,917
that is biblical and don't
submit to King Jesus.

394
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,958
In the middle is the church.

395
00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,667
The church is in the world
but belongs to the kingdom.

396
00:19:00,708 --> 00:19:03,125
These are God's people,
Jesus' people.

397
00:19:03,167 --> 00:19:07,292
And the problem is that
sometimes the church thinks in

398
00:19:07,333 --> 00:19:12,167
a way that is more worldly
and less like Jesus' kingdom.

399
00:19:12,208 --> 00:19:14,583
That's exactly what's
happening here.

400
00:19:14,667 --> 00:19:18,167
And James is saying the church
shouldn't be like the world.

401
00:19:18,208 --> 00:19:21,667
The church
should be like the kingdom.

402
00:19:21,750 --> 00:19:26,000
And their problem,
ultimately, is partiality.

403
00:19:26,083 --> 00:19:28,708
Don't get hung up on
the finances here.

404
00:19:28,792 --> 00:19:32,500
The case study here is
one of finances, and wealth,

405
00:19:32,542 --> 00:19:35,208
and affluence, but
the underlying issue that

406
00:19:35,292 --> 00:19:38,750
we'll get to in just a moment--
I started in chapter 2, verse 2.

407
00:19:38,833 --> 00:19:40,667
We'll revisit
chapter 2, verse 1.

408
00:19:40,750 --> 00:19:43,292
The underlying issue is
partiality.

409
00:19:43,333 --> 00:19:47,167
Their problem is they
think rich people are good

410
00:19:47,208 --> 00:19:50,125
and poor people are bad, okay?

411
00:19:50,167 --> 00:19:51,958
We have a theology
for that today.

412
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:53,375
It's a very worldly theology.

413
00:19:53,458 --> 00:19:56,458
It's called prosperity theology.

414
00:19:56,500 --> 00:19:59,000
Now some of you immediately,
especially if you're at

415
00:19:59,083 --> 00:20:00,542
Mars Hill Downtown,

416
00:20:00,625 --> 00:20:03,458
maybe Mars Hill U-District,
maybe you're poor,

417
00:20:03,500 --> 00:20:06,417
maybe you live near a city,
maybe you went to college and

418
00:20:06,500 --> 00:20:10,083
studied too much philosophy,
maybe if you're an indie rocker

419
00:20:10,167 --> 00:20:13,292
who plays in a band, right, you
would lean to the other side

420
00:20:13,333 --> 00:20:15,083
and say, "That's wrong.

421
00:20:15,167 --> 00:20:17,167
"I think like Robin Hood.

422
00:20:17,208 --> 00:20:23,208
Rich people are bad,
poor people are good."

423
00:20:24,583 --> 00:20:26,500
That's called poverty theology.

424
00:20:26,542 --> 00:20:28,833
Well, which is it?

425
00:20:28,875 --> 00:20:31,125
Rich people are good
and poor people are bad,

426
00:20:31,167 --> 00:20:33,542
or rich people are bad
and poor people are good.

427
00:20:33,625 --> 00:20:36,625
And the Bible says
everybody's bad, okay?

428
00:20:36,667 --> 00:20:38,458
It's equal.

429
00:20:38,500 --> 00:20:40,375
It's equal.

430
00:20:40,458 --> 00:20:45,333
And the issue is that different
churches behave in worldly ways

431
00:20:45,417 --> 00:20:49,500
where they show partiality
either to the rich or the poor,

432
00:20:49,583 --> 00:20:54,542
but both--both--are wrong.

433
00:20:54,625 --> 00:20:57,167
The answer to those
who favor the rich

434
00:20:57,208 --> 00:20:58,667
is not to favor the poor.

435
00:20:58,708 --> 00:21:01,625
The answer to those who favor
the poor is not to favor

436
00:21:01,667 --> 00:21:03,000
the rich.

437
00:21:03,083 --> 00:21:06,417
The answer is not to show
partiality to anyone

438
00:21:06,500 --> 00:21:09,458
but to treat everyone equally.

439
00:21:09,500 --> 00:21:12,500
I'll give you a verse,
Leviticus 19:15.

440
00:21:12,542 --> 00:21:15,292
Jesus and James, they would have
been very familiar with this.

441
00:21:15,333 --> 00:21:17,833
This is actually
a very well-known verse

442
00:21:17,875 --> 00:21:21,125
in a lot of ancient Jewish
theology.

443
00:21:21,167 --> 00:21:25,208
This was a principle that guided
a lot of their social ethic.

444
00:21:25,292 --> 00:21:28,833
"Do not show"--what?

445
00:21:28,917 --> 00:21:33,833
"Partiality,"
favoritism, preference,

446
00:21:33,917 --> 00:21:40,500
"to the poor or
favoritism to the great,

447
00:21:40,542 --> 00:21:42,875
but judge your neighbor fairly."

448
00:21:42,958 --> 00:21:44,583
What he's saying is this.

449
00:21:44,667 --> 00:21:47,167
Don't show partiality
to the rich

450
00:21:47,250 --> 00:21:50,208
and don't show partiality
to the poor.

451
00:21:50,292 --> 00:21:54,625
Treat everyone fairly,
rightly, justly.

452
00:21:54,667 --> 00:21:57,167
This is the church,
this is in the culture,

453
00:21:57,250 --> 00:22:00,167
this is in the legal realm.

454
00:22:00,208 --> 00:22:04,500
See, if we don't understand
this, we read James and we say,

455
00:22:04,542 --> 00:22:06,958
"Okay, then all the poor
people, stand in the back.

456
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:08,708
"Well, no, we need to fix this.

457
00:22:08,792 --> 00:22:11,208
"All the poor people come
to the front and now

458
00:22:11,292 --> 00:22:13,208
all the rich people
stand in the back."

459
00:22:13,292 --> 00:22:16,500
Either way, all we're doing
is changing our partiality.

460
00:22:16,583 --> 00:22:19,000
We're not resolving
our partiality,

461
00:22:19,083 --> 00:22:21,292
we're changing our partiality.

462
00:22:21,333 --> 00:22:25,667
Now, let me say that this is
not only in the economic realm.

463
00:22:25,750 --> 00:22:29,750
You say,
"Women need to be up front

464
00:22:29,833 --> 00:22:32,083
and the men need
to go to the back."

465
00:22:32,167 --> 00:22:34,583
"No, no, no, the men need to be
up front

466
00:22:34,667 --> 00:22:36,792
and the women
need to go to the back."

467
00:22:36,833 --> 00:22:39,292
"No, no, no, the young
need to come up front

468
00:22:39,333 --> 00:22:41,458
and the old need to go
to the back."

469
00:22:41,500 --> 00:22:44,167
"No, no, no, the old
need to go to the front

470
00:22:44,250 --> 00:22:47,500
and the young need to go
to the back."

471
00:22:47,583 --> 00:22:50,542
"Well, those who are white
need to go to the front."

472
00:22:50,625 --> 00:22:54,500
"No, no, no, no, no, all the
whites need to go to the back."

473
00:22:54,583 --> 00:22:57,333
See how this works?

474
00:22:57,417 --> 00:23:04,500
We want people like us
to be up front.

475
00:23:06,833 --> 00:23:13,500
And James says,
Moses says, God says, "No."

476
00:23:15,167 --> 00:23:18,625
We're not going to say that
people like you are good

477
00:23:18,667 --> 00:23:21,750
and people that are not like you
are bad so that we

478
00:23:21,833 --> 00:23:24,792
can show preference to you
and people like you,

479
00:23:24,833 --> 00:23:29,625
because that's idolatry,
that's favoritism,

480
00:23:29,667 --> 00:23:32,000
that's partiality.

481
00:23:32,083 --> 00:23:36,250
But how many of you women
wish that women got more?

482
00:23:36,333 --> 00:23:38,875
How many of you men
wish that men got more?

483
00:23:38,958 --> 00:23:41,542
How many of you young people
wish young people got more?

484
00:23:41,625 --> 00:23:44,292
How many of you old people
wish old people got more?

485
00:23:44,333 --> 00:23:47,000
How many of you white people
wish white people got more?

486
00:23:47,083 --> 00:23:52,292
How many of you non-white people
wish people like you got more?

487
00:23:52,333 --> 00:23:56,125
This leads to our classism,
our ageism, our racism,

488
00:23:56,167 --> 00:24:00,042
our nationalism,
and our tribalism.

489
00:24:00,125 --> 00:24:06,708
He's really hit
a deep root, hasn't he?

490
00:24:06,792 --> 00:24:10,833
So, what's the solution?

491
00:24:10,917 --> 00:24:13,917
Well, the solution biblically
is that we treat people equally

492
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,917
because they're equal, because
that's what the Bible says.

493
00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:18,417
You can't get there
through evolution

494
00:24:18,500 --> 00:24:20,750
and you can't get there
through religion.

495
00:24:20,833 --> 00:24:23,333
Okay, let's do
a little quiz, Mars Hill.

496
00:24:23,375 --> 00:24:26,833
Okay, according to the Bible,
everyone is equally made

497
00:24:26,917 --> 00:24:29,875
in the image and likeness
of God.

498
00:24:29,958 --> 00:24:31,292
True or false?

499
00:24:31,333 --> 00:24:32,667
True.

500
00:24:32,750 --> 00:24:37,208
Men and women, young and old,
rich and poor, black and white,

501
00:24:37,292 --> 00:24:40,792
equally made in the image
and likeness of God.

502
00:24:40,833 --> 00:24:46,833
Number two, all people are
equally fallen and sinful.

503
00:24:46,917 --> 00:24:49,083
True.

504
00:24:49,167 --> 00:24:52,083
There's not a race,
or a gender,

505
00:24:52,167 --> 00:24:53,583
or a class, or a kind,

506
00:24:53,667 --> 00:24:57,417
or a type of people
that are not sinful.

507
00:24:57,500 --> 00:25:01,208
We're equal in our humanity.

508
00:25:01,292 --> 00:25:03,625
We're equal in our depravity.

509
00:25:03,667 --> 00:25:06,167
The Bible says
that all have sinned

510
00:25:06,208 --> 00:25:08,833
and fallen short
of the glory of God.

511
00:25:08,917 --> 00:25:13,125
So, people like you are no
better than people unlike you.

512
00:25:13,167 --> 00:25:15,375
We're all sinners.

513
00:25:15,458 --> 00:25:17,792
We're all fallen.

514
00:25:17,833 --> 00:25:20,750
And we're equal.

515
00:25:20,833 --> 00:25:25,542
Number three, true or false,
those who belong to Jesus

516
00:25:25,625 --> 00:25:30,542
are equally saved, equally
loved, equally forgiven.

517
00:25:30,625 --> 00:25:32,167
True or false?

518
00:25:32,208 --> 00:25:34,167
True.

519
00:25:34,208 --> 00:25:39,458
So, according to the Bible,

520
00:25:39,500 --> 00:25:42,792
we're equal.

521
00:25:42,833 --> 00:25:46,458
As a result, we shouldn't show
favoritism and partiality

522
00:25:46,500 --> 00:25:49,375
toward people like us.

523
00:25:49,458 --> 00:25:53,375
But only through biblical
thinking does this strong desire

524
00:25:53,458 --> 00:25:58,042
for cultural equality
have any basis in reality.

525
00:25:58,125 --> 00:26:01,500
I find it amazing that sometimes
those who yell the loudest

526
00:26:01,542 --> 00:26:07,458
for equality have a world view
that causes them hypocrisy.

527
00:26:07,500 --> 00:26:11,500
Only through a biblical
ideology, a world view, a lens,

528
00:26:11,542 --> 00:26:16,875
a thought process, a mindset, is
there any basis for considering

529
00:26:16,958 --> 00:26:20,167
everyone equally valuable
and treating everyone

530
00:26:20,208 --> 00:26:22,875
without partiality.

531
00:26:22,958 --> 00:26:26,083
Okay, we looked at chapter 2,
verses 2-7.

532
00:26:26,167 --> 00:26:29,292
I skipped chapter 2, verse 1.

533
00:26:29,333 --> 00:26:31,917
Here's the real issue.
Take a look at it.

534
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,000
"My brothers, show no partiality
as you hold the faith

535
00:26:35,083 --> 00:26:38,708
in our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Lord of glory."

536
00:26:38,792 --> 00:26:43,833
What he's saying here
is don't play favorites.

537
00:26:43,917 --> 00:26:50,125
And this is very important to
remember that God is a Father.

538
00:26:50,167 --> 00:26:53,417
Okay, I'm a father.

539
00:26:53,500 --> 00:26:57,208
I don't have favorites.

540
00:26:57,292 --> 00:27:02,250
I have three sons,
two daughters, zero favorites.

541
00:27:02,333 --> 00:27:06,750
I ask my kids often,
because I need to know,

542
00:27:06,833 --> 00:27:11,000
"Do you think that I have
any favorite or favorites?"

543
00:27:11,083 --> 00:27:14,458
My kids always tell me, "No Dad,
we're different

544
00:27:14,500 --> 00:27:16,667
"and you love us all the same.

545
00:27:16,750 --> 00:27:20,042
"And we each do different things
with you because you're trying

546
00:27:20,125 --> 00:27:23,125
to do things we like to do."

547
00:27:23,167 --> 00:27:24,833
So, my sons want to play catch.

548
00:27:24,875 --> 00:27:28,125
My youngest daughter
doesn't want to play catch.

549
00:27:28,167 --> 00:27:30,458
So, I'll do different things
with different kids, love,

550
00:27:30,500 --> 00:27:33,125
serve in different ways
because they're different,

551
00:27:33,167 --> 00:27:35,833
but I love them equally.

552
00:27:35,917 --> 00:27:40,958
Horribly things happen when
parents start playing favorites.

553
00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:42,375
Horrible things happen.

554
00:27:42,458 --> 00:27:46,083
Jealousy, anger, violence.

555
00:27:46,167 --> 00:27:48,833
We read this very early
in the book of Genesis.

556
00:27:48,875 --> 00:27:50,500
Parents start playing favorites

557
00:27:50,542 --> 00:27:53,125
and things go really bad
really fast.

558
00:27:53,167 --> 00:27:57,417
Okay, we are--that's what
he's saying here--brothers.

559
00:27:57,500 --> 00:27:59,667
We're God's family.

560
00:27:59,708 --> 00:28:01,667
We're God's children.

561
00:28:01,750 --> 00:28:03,458
God's our Father.

562
00:28:03,500 --> 00:28:06,958
Our Father doesn't
play favorites.

563
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,292
How horrible would it
be if my kids grew up,

564
00:28:10,333 --> 00:28:12,708
and they all came over
for dinner, and I said,

565
00:28:12,792 --> 00:28:16,708
"Okay well, kids,
tell me your income."

566
00:28:16,792 --> 00:28:18,125
"Why Dad?"

567
00:28:18,167 --> 00:28:21,625
"Well, the more you make,
the closer you sit to me

568
00:28:21,667 --> 00:28:24,292
at my dinner table."

569
00:28:24,333 --> 00:28:27,833
"Really, we're
going to do this?"

570
00:28:27,875 --> 00:28:31,083
God's not like that.

571
00:28:31,167 --> 00:28:33,833
"Hey kids, bring
your report card."

572
00:28:33,917 --> 00:28:35,708
"Why Dad?"

573
00:28:35,792 --> 00:28:40,833
"Highest GPA sits next
to me and gets dessert.

574
00:28:40,875 --> 00:28:47,292
Lowest GPA can sit
in the other room."

575
00:28:47,333 --> 00:28:50,000
God's not like that.

576
00:28:50,042 --> 00:28:54,958
God's a Father who loves
all his kids

577
00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:58,167
and he doesn't play favorites.

578
00:28:58,208 --> 00:29:03,208
But the problem is sometimes
his kids play favorites.

579
00:29:03,292 --> 00:29:07,000
And what's happening here with
the case study in James is that

580
00:29:07,042 --> 00:29:12,500
God doesn't play favorites, but
the kids are playing favorites.

581
00:29:12,583 --> 00:29:14,000
They have partiality.

582
00:29:14,042 --> 00:29:18,083
That's the real, underlying,
fundamental problem.

583
00:29:18,167 --> 00:29:21,750
So, who are you partial toward?

584
00:29:21,833 --> 00:29:24,750
Do you prefer men or women,
young or old, single or married,

585
00:29:24,833 --> 00:29:27,500
black or white,
highly educated, uneducated,

586
00:29:27,583 --> 00:29:29,708
those who have
their life together,

587
00:29:29,792 --> 00:29:31,542
those whose life
is falling apart?

588
00:29:31,625 --> 00:29:33,958
Who do you prefer?

589
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:37,792
Don't let your preferences
become your prejudices.

590
00:29:38,958 --> 00:29:44,167
Don't let your preferences
become your prejudices.

591
00:29:44,250 --> 00:29:50,167
It's interesting, non-Christians
tend to think that one of

592
00:29:50,208 --> 00:29:54,000
the big problems with
Christianity is partiality.

593
00:29:54,042 --> 00:29:57,000
I'm working on a book.

594
00:29:57,042 --> 00:29:58,458
I'd appreciate your prayers.

595
00:29:58,500 --> 00:30:00,792
It's the biggest project
I've ever worked on.

596
00:30:00,833 --> 00:30:05,083
And we tried to find out from
the unchurched and dechurched,

597
00:30:05,167 --> 00:30:08,083
what are their primary
objections to Christian faith?

598
00:30:08,167 --> 00:30:10,458
So, we did a big national survey
and study

599
00:30:10,500 --> 00:30:12,500
and got all the research
and data.

600
00:30:12,542 --> 00:30:17,833
The number six most popular
issue for the unchurched,

601
00:30:17,875 --> 00:30:19,625
those that have
never been to church,

602
00:30:19,667 --> 00:30:21,792
and the dechurched--their
primary objection

603
00:30:21,833 --> 00:30:23,917
to Christianity,
number six, was this.

604
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:28,000
All people are not created
equal in the Christian faith.

605
00:30:28,042 --> 00:30:31,667
That's not true.

606
00:30:31,708 --> 00:30:34,958
Some of you are here and you may
think that Christianity is not

607
00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,000
a religion of equality.

608
00:30:37,042 --> 00:30:38,958
It is--I would submit to you

609
00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:43,458
it's the only religion
of equality.

610
00:30:43,500 --> 00:30:46,458
Biblical thinking that
we're equally made by God,

611
00:30:46,500 --> 00:30:48,667
we're equally fallen into sin,
and we're equally loved,

612
00:30:48,750 --> 00:30:52,000
and saved, and forgiven by God,
and that God's a Father

613
00:30:52,083 --> 00:30:53,958
and he loves
all of his kids equal,

614
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:55,333
and he doesn't have favorites,

615
00:30:55,417 --> 00:30:58,000
and he doesn't have
prejudices and preferences,

616
00:30:58,083 --> 00:31:02,083
it is really informed
Christianity in such a way that,

617
00:31:02,167 --> 00:31:03,500
apart from Christianity,

618
00:31:03,542 --> 00:31:06,708
the world is much different
and much worse.

619
00:31:06,792 --> 00:31:09,708
I mean, it's the Bible that
tells us that men and women

620
00:31:09,792 --> 00:31:12,458
are equal and they're equally
made in the image and likeness

621
00:31:12,500 --> 00:31:13,833
of God.

622
00:31:13,917 --> 00:31:16,333
It's the Bible that shows us
that Jesus befriended women,

623
00:31:16,417 --> 00:31:19,083
which was very unusual for
a religious leader in that day,

624
00:31:19,167 --> 00:31:21,292
and that Jesus taught women,
which was perhaps even

625
00:31:21,333 --> 00:31:25,000
scandalous in that day, and that
part of Jesus' ministry team

626
00:31:25,083 --> 00:31:28,167
included godly women, and they
were the first at his tomb

627
00:31:28,250 --> 00:31:31,708
to see that he
had risen from the dead.

628
00:31:31,792 --> 00:31:34,000
Go to nations where the gospel
has not spread

629
00:31:34,042 --> 00:31:39,917
and see if women are treated
as equals under the law.

630
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:43,250
In addition, this has
affected education,

631
00:31:43,333 --> 00:31:48,042
that it was historically
the case that only the sons

632
00:31:48,125 --> 00:31:51,375
of the wealthy
were given an education

633
00:31:51,458 --> 00:31:52,792
and taught to read.

634
00:31:52,833 --> 00:31:54,167
Why?

635
00:31:54,250 --> 00:31:56,917
Because then they could win
in court, they could own land.

636
00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:59,833
It gave them a preferential
position in society.

637
00:31:59,875 --> 00:32:02,417
Well, as Christianity spread,
we're people of the book.

638
00:32:02,500 --> 00:32:05,708
We believe that young, and old,
and rich, and white, and black,

639
00:32:05,792 --> 00:32:10,708
and all people should have
the ability to read God's word.

640
00:32:10,792 --> 00:32:14,333
So, wherever Christianity
spread, education spread.

641
00:32:14,417 --> 00:32:16,583
The first schools,
almost exclusively

642
00:32:16,667 --> 00:32:20,083
in the United States of America,
were all Christian.

643
00:32:20,167 --> 00:32:24,417
Because of our view of equality
according to the Bible,

644
00:32:24,500 --> 00:32:27,417
we believe that not just
men should know how to read,

645
00:32:27,500 --> 00:32:31,500
but also women, and not just
the rich, but also the poor,

646
00:32:31,583 --> 00:32:34,250
because Jesus was poor
and he knew how to read,

647
00:32:34,333 --> 00:32:37,500
and he knew how to read so that
he could read the Scriptures.

648
00:32:37,583 --> 00:32:39,167
So, wherever
Christianity is spread,

649
00:32:39,250 --> 00:32:41,667
the sense of equality
has led to education,

650
00:32:41,708 --> 00:32:44,625
and I find it fascinating that
then education would argue that

651
00:32:44,667 --> 00:32:47,458
Christianity is intolerant and
doesn't believe in equality,

652
00:32:47,500 --> 00:32:49,167
because without Christianity,
you wouldn't even have

653
00:32:49,250 --> 00:32:54,000
institutions of higher learning
to argue against Christianity.

654
00:32:54,083 --> 00:32:56,583
Just something to think
about on the way home.

655
00:32:56,667 --> 00:33:01,167
This has a profound effect,
this issue of impartiality,

656
00:33:01,208 --> 00:33:03,500
on history.

657
00:33:03,542 --> 00:33:06,833
Racism is, in large part,

658
00:33:06,917 --> 00:33:09,833
the result of
unbiblical thinking,

659
00:33:09,875 --> 00:33:11,833
that people are part
human and part animal.

660
00:33:11,875 --> 00:33:13,750
Can you get there
from the Bible?

661
00:33:13,833 --> 00:33:15,167
Yes or no?

662
00:33:15,208 --> 00:33:16,542
No.

663
00:33:16,625 --> 00:33:19,042
There are animals and there
are image-bearers of God,

664
00:33:19,125 --> 00:33:22,083
and we don't believe that there
are variations in between.

665
00:33:22,167 --> 00:33:28,250
This is why racism is
completely antithetical,

666
00:33:28,333 --> 00:33:32,833
it's deplorable to
the view of the Bible.

667
00:33:32,875 --> 00:33:36,833
This is why those who argued
against slavery historically

668
00:33:36,917 --> 00:33:39,167
tended to do so from the Bible.

669
00:33:39,250 --> 00:33:41,167
It was very popular
to have slaves

670
00:33:41,250 --> 00:33:42,583
in the early Roman Empire.

671
00:33:42,667 --> 00:33:45,042
Many of the early Christians,
first Christians, were slaves.

672
00:33:45,125 --> 00:33:48,875
And once biblical teaching
spread in the church,

673
00:33:48,958 --> 00:33:51,583
the slaves became deacons,
the slaves became elders,

674
00:33:51,667 --> 00:33:53,333
the slaves became leaders,

675
00:33:53,375 --> 00:33:55,667
and they would have spiritual
authority over their masters,

676
00:33:55,750 --> 00:33:58,875
and this led the church
to help bring

677
00:33:58,958 --> 00:34:01,833
the kind of transformation
into the culture that the gospel

678
00:34:01,875 --> 00:34:04,917
had brought into the church.

679
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:06,667
This is why, in Great Britain,

680
00:34:06,750 --> 00:34:08,292
you have men like
William Wilberforce

681
00:34:08,333 --> 00:34:10,875
who were arguing strongly,
and passionately,

682
00:34:10,958 --> 00:34:13,542
and effectively against slavery
and racism

683
00:34:13,625 --> 00:34:16,833
because of biblical conviction.

684
00:34:16,875 --> 00:34:18,625
This is why
the Civil Rights Movement

685
00:34:18,667 --> 00:34:20,333
in the U.S. was,
in large part,

686
00:34:20,417 --> 00:34:23,667
led by preachers
from pulpits,

687
00:34:23,750 --> 00:34:26,417
preaching that all people are
made equally in the image

688
00:34:26,500 --> 00:34:28,958
and likeness of God, and that
certain human beings

689
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:30,333
are not partly animal.

690
00:34:30,417 --> 00:34:31,750
They're all image-bearers

691
00:34:31,833 --> 00:34:33,500
and these are our
brothers and sisters.

692
00:34:33,542 --> 00:34:35,083
And our Father doesn't
play favorites,

693
00:34:35,167 --> 00:34:39,167
and if we do we are
sinning against him.

694
00:34:39,208 --> 00:34:42,000
This is why you have men
like Martin Luther King Jr.

695
00:34:42,042 --> 00:34:44,500
who was a preacher

696
00:34:44,583 --> 00:34:48,958
and he worked from
biblical imagery and thinking.

697
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:53,167
This is why Jackie Robinson was
not just a great baseball player

698
00:34:53,250 --> 00:34:57,792
and liberator,
but also loved Jesus.

699
00:34:57,833 --> 00:35:01,208
And the situation we see here
in Luke 2

700
00:35:01,292 --> 00:35:06,000
is kind of like Rosa Parks.

701
00:35:06,083 --> 00:35:09,375
Because of her race,

702
00:35:09,458 --> 00:35:14,000
she's told to sit
in the back of the bus,

703
00:35:14,083 --> 00:35:15,833
just like the poor
are being told

704
00:35:15,917 --> 00:35:18,667
to sit in the back
of the church.

705
00:35:18,750 --> 00:35:21,250
Rosa Parks refused to do that,
and what they oftentimes

706
00:35:21,333 --> 00:35:25,333
don't tell you is that
she was a Christian.

707
00:35:25,417 --> 00:35:28,833
Her thinking was
from the Scriptures,

708
00:35:28,917 --> 00:35:34,375
and she was right.

709
00:35:34,458 --> 00:35:37,083
Dear friend, if you want to
argue for equality--and some of

710
00:35:37,167 --> 00:35:40,500
you say, "I think he's trying
to hijack a cultural value."

711
00:35:40,542 --> 00:35:42,250
No, it's been hijacked.

712
00:35:42,333 --> 00:35:45,250
I'm trying to get it back.

713
00:35:45,333 --> 00:35:50,083
Biblical thinking alone
leads to dignity, value,

714
00:35:50,167 --> 00:35:56,000
equality among all people, and
nothing else accomplishes that.

715
00:35:56,083 --> 00:35:58,083
Do you understand that?

716
00:35:58,167 --> 00:36:00,583
That's why at Mars Hill today,
there are rich people

717
00:36:00,667 --> 00:36:02,000
sitting next to poor people,

718
00:36:02,042 --> 00:36:03,708
single people sitting
next to married people,

719
00:36:03,792 --> 00:36:05,458
black people sitting
next to white people,

720
00:36:05,500 --> 00:36:07,792
people that are highly educated
sitting next to people

721
00:36:07,833 --> 00:36:12,250
that are not highly educated.

722
00:36:12,333 --> 00:36:16,250
Because this is what
Christianity brings into

723
00:36:16,333 --> 00:36:20,250
existence through the clear
instruction of the Bible.

724
00:36:20,333 --> 00:36:23,083
It's why even as Christians we
value those who are born

725
00:36:23,167 --> 00:36:25,833
and those who are not yet born.

726
00:36:25,875 --> 00:36:29,750
We believe that all
people are valuable.

727
00:36:29,833 --> 00:36:33,500
We believe that all people are
equally loved by their Father,

728
00:36:33,542 --> 00:36:34,875
our Father.

729
00:36:34,958 --> 00:36:38,333
And we believe that they
all have rights, and worth,

730
00:36:38,417 --> 00:36:45,125
and that to show partiality is
to behave in a way that is evil.

731
00:36:46,333 --> 00:36:48,750
Do you understand that?

732
00:36:48,833 --> 00:36:51,667
For those of you
who are Christians,

733
00:36:51,750 --> 00:36:54,375
next time somebody's arguing,
"Equality, equality, equality,"

734
00:36:54,458 --> 00:36:59,167
ask the 2-year-old kid question,
"Why?"

735
00:36:59,250 --> 00:37:02,042
And if they say,
"Because,"

736
00:37:02,125 --> 00:37:05,333
ask "Why?" again.

737
00:37:05,417 --> 00:37:09,792
What we have here is not
only a moral condemnation

738
00:37:09,833 --> 00:37:13,542
of partiality,
but an entire world view

739
00:37:13,625 --> 00:37:16,542
that helps us
not only to see ourselves,

740
00:37:16,625 --> 00:37:18,000
but to see our neighbor

741
00:37:18,042 --> 00:37:22,958
and to see our brothers
and sisters as God sees them.

742
00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:26,458
Now, here's what's
going on in James 2.

743
00:37:26,500 --> 00:37:29,875
The problem is partiality
and here's God's prescription

744
00:37:29,958 --> 00:37:32,042
for partiality.

745
00:37:32,125 --> 00:37:33,583
"My brothers."

746
00:37:33,667 --> 00:37:36,750
So, what he's talking
about is seats, okay,

747
00:37:36,833 --> 00:37:40,083
and what we've established is
that different seats

748
00:37:40,167 --> 00:37:45,500
give the impression of
different value, okay?

749
00:37:49,167 --> 00:37:51,833
Where should you sit?

750
00:37:51,875 --> 00:37:54,917
Where should your seat be?

751
00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:57,875
Where should my seat be?

752
00:37:57,958 --> 00:37:59,417
He says, "We're brothers."

753
00:37:59,500 --> 00:38:01,000
What he's saying
is we're family,

754
00:38:01,042 --> 00:38:02,500
so think of it like this.

755
00:38:02,542 --> 00:38:04,542
Think of it like
dinner at my house.

756
00:38:04,625 --> 00:38:09,792
Okay, I ask my kids often,
"Do I have any favorites?"

757
00:38:09,833 --> 00:38:11,750
And if they ever say yes,

758
00:38:11,833 --> 00:38:15,667
then I've done something
terribly wrong.

759
00:38:15,708 --> 00:38:17,708
God's a Father,
has no favorites.

760
00:38:17,792 --> 00:38:19,125
Here's the deal.

761
00:38:19,167 --> 00:38:23,167
He's glad that you
would sit at his table.

762
00:38:23,250 --> 00:38:25,125
He loves all of his kids.

763
00:38:25,167 --> 00:38:28,333
It really doesn't matter
what seat you sit in.

764
00:38:28,375 --> 00:38:32,208
The Father's going to serve you
the same meal,

765
00:38:32,292 --> 00:38:34,500
he's going to love you
with the same affection,

766
00:38:34,583 --> 00:38:37,042
he's going to give
you the same embrace.

767
00:38:37,125 --> 00:38:38,458
Your Dad loves you.

768
00:38:38,500 --> 00:38:41,833
Who cares if you're on the left
side of the table or right side?

769
00:38:41,917 --> 00:38:43,250
Who cares?

770
00:38:43,333 --> 00:38:45,250
Because I'm here with my
brothers and sisters

771
00:38:45,333 --> 00:38:50,792
and we're here with our Father,
what a great place to be.

772
00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:57,792
And then he transitions in
the most magnificent way

773
00:38:57,833 --> 00:39:03,500
and he talks about the only
seat the real matters.

774
00:39:03,583 --> 00:39:07,875
Okay, so I'll get off my seat.

775
00:39:07,958 --> 00:39:11,083
And what we're talking
about, ultimately here,

776
00:39:11,167 --> 00:39:15,167
we're talking about
the glory seat.

777
00:39:15,250 --> 00:39:20,250
Because what they understood
wrongly

778
00:39:20,333 --> 00:39:24,542
was that certain seats

779
00:39:24,625 --> 00:39:28,000
come with different glory.

780
00:39:28,083 --> 00:39:31,458
Certain seats come
with different glory.

781
00:39:31,500 --> 00:39:36,083
And so their fight over the seat
is ultimately a fight

782
00:39:36,167 --> 00:39:39,000
over the glory.

783
00:39:39,042 --> 00:39:45,667
"I want to be up front!"

784
00:39:47,333 --> 00:39:49,833
Who deserves to sit
in the seat of glory?

785
00:39:49,875 --> 00:39:51,833
That's the battle.

786
00:39:51,875 --> 00:39:53,417
What does he say?

787
00:39:53,500 --> 00:39:59,208
"Our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Lord of glory."

788
00:39:59,292 --> 00:40:03,667
What he's talking about is
the glory of Jesus Christ

789
00:40:03,750 --> 00:40:08,375
means that his seat alone
is the seat that matters,

790
00:40:08,458 --> 00:40:10,625
that you and I shouldn't be
particularly concerned

791
00:40:10,667 --> 00:40:14,000
about our seat,
even in this life.

792
00:40:14,042 --> 00:40:16,958
And we shouldn't be arguing
that people like us

793
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:18,625
should get a better seat.

794
00:40:18,667 --> 00:40:21,125
"I'm arguing for the rich.
I'm arguing for the poor.

795
00:40:21,167 --> 00:40:23,625
"I'm arguing for the black.
I'm arguing for the white.

796
00:40:23,667 --> 00:40:26,125
"I'm arguing for the urban.
I'm arguing for the rural.

797
00:40:26,167 --> 00:40:28,625
I'm arguing for the single.
I'm arguing for the married."

798
00:40:28,667 --> 00:40:31,292
What we do is we want
people like us up front,

799
00:40:31,333 --> 00:40:32,667
even in the church.

800
00:40:32,750 --> 00:40:34,667
"We need more women.
We need more poor.

801
00:40:34,750 --> 00:40:36,667
"We need more arty.
We need more young.

802
00:40:36,750 --> 00:40:38,083
"We need more old.

803
00:40:38,167 --> 00:40:39,833
"Get more people
like me up front.

804
00:40:39,875 --> 00:40:42,125
"More glory on us,
more attention to us,

805
00:40:42,167 --> 00:40:44,792
"more authority for us,
more focus on us,

806
00:40:44,833 --> 00:40:47,333
"more concern for us,
more open ears,

807
00:40:47,375 --> 00:40:48,917
"and open hearts,
and open wallets,

808
00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:53,458
and open minds to accommodate,
to tolerate, to prefer us!"

809
00:40:53,500 --> 00:40:57,167
James says that's
the wrong place for the glory.

810
00:40:57,208 --> 00:41:01,375
Glory's a mega-theme
of the Bible.

811
00:41:01,458 --> 00:41:04,000
Augustine, the church father,
rightly said that when the issue

812
00:41:04,042 --> 00:41:08,083
of glory is settled--I'm
paraphrasing--the other issues

813
00:41:08,167 --> 00:41:11,667
are all settled, that all issues
are ultimately glory issues

814
00:41:11,750 --> 00:41:17,583
and all conflicts are
ultimately glory conflicts.

815
00:41:17,667 --> 00:41:22,167
This theme of glory appears
about 275 times in the Bible.

816
00:41:22,250 --> 00:41:26,458
It's a massive theme and it
means a number of things:

817
00:41:26,500 --> 00:41:29,292
splendor, beauty, magnificence,
radiance, heaviness,

818
00:41:29,333 --> 00:41:32,167
weightiness, prominence,
preeminence, luminescence,

819
00:41:32,250 --> 00:41:37,333
splendor, majesty, holiness,
purity, worthiness.

820
00:41:37,417 --> 00:41:41,708
What everybody is saying is,
"Hey, give me the glory seat.

821
00:41:41,792 --> 00:41:45,833
"Put me up front high and
exalted, everybody can see me.

822
00:41:45,917 --> 00:41:50,125
"And bring people like me around
because we're more valuable.

823
00:41:50,167 --> 00:41:53,333
We want the glory seat."

824
00:41:58,042 --> 00:42:01,333
Jesus is saying no

825
00:42:01,375 --> 00:42:08,125
and he's saying it
through his brother James.

826
00:42:11,042 --> 00:42:13,250
Jesus is the only one
who deserves to sit

827
00:42:13,333 --> 00:42:16,625
on the glory seat.

828
00:42:16,667 --> 00:42:19,500
It doesn't matter where you sit,
it doesn't matter where I sit.

829
00:42:19,583 --> 00:42:25,583
It only matters where he sits.

830
00:42:29,500 --> 00:42:32,625
One of my favorite images,
perhaps my favorite image

831
00:42:32,667 --> 00:42:36,333
in the whole Bible is a chair.

832
00:42:36,375 --> 00:42:38,167
It's called a throne.

833
00:42:38,250 --> 00:42:39,667
You can study it for yourself.

834
00:42:39,750 --> 00:42:42,292
There are various thrones
that appear in the Bible,

835
00:42:42,333 --> 00:42:45,000
and kings sit upon them,
and they rule over kingdoms,

836
00:42:45,042 --> 00:42:49,833
and some are evil
and some are godly.

837
00:42:49,875 --> 00:42:55,000
The last book of the Bible,
it's about the kingdom of God.

838
00:42:55,083 --> 00:42:57,167
It's the book of Revelation.

839
00:42:57,250 --> 00:42:59,500
And really, the tension that
they're experiencing in James

840
00:42:59,542 --> 00:43:02,208
and the tension that we
experience is that we live in

841
00:43:02,292 --> 00:43:05,625
the world, the world that
is fallen and corrupted,

842
00:43:05,667 --> 00:43:10,583
and it is chased glory
that it does not deserve.

843
00:43:10,667 --> 00:43:14,167
And we belong to
the kingdom of God,

844
00:43:14,250 --> 00:43:17,167
and the way things will be
is not the way things are.

845
00:43:17,250 --> 00:43:20,333
And in the middle is the church,
and the church is to represent

846
00:43:20,375 --> 00:43:23,292
the kingdom in the world, but
sometimes what the church does

847
00:43:23,333 --> 00:43:25,542
is the church brings the world
into the church

848
00:43:25,625 --> 00:43:28,333
and dishonors the kingdom.

849
00:43:28,417 --> 00:43:30,750
And that's what's
happening in James 2,

850
00:43:30,833 --> 00:43:34,125
and so the answer is to always
be looking to the kingdom,

851
00:43:34,167 --> 00:43:38,083
and the key to the kingdom
is, "Who's the king?"

852
00:43:38,167 --> 00:43:40,833
The key to the kingdom is
always this, "Who's the king?"

853
00:43:40,875 --> 00:43:44,000
And we know who the king is
because the king is the one

854
00:43:44,083 --> 00:43:47,167
who sits on the--the king is
the one who sits on the throne.

855
00:43:47,250 --> 00:43:49,208
That's how you know
who the king is.

856
00:43:49,292 --> 00:43:51,875
And as you unveil the book of
Revelation and the curtain

857
00:43:51,958 --> 00:43:56,667
of history opens up--in 17 of
the 22 chapters of the last book

858
00:43:56,708 --> 00:43:59,708
of the Bible that gives us
a glimpse into the kingdom,

859
00:43:59,792 --> 00:44:01,250
the throne appears.

860
00:44:01,333 --> 00:44:03,208
Some 45 times, if my
memory is correct,

861
00:44:03,292 --> 00:44:05,667
in the book of Revelation,
it explodes.

862
00:44:05,750 --> 00:44:07,708
There's the throne.
There's the throne.

863
00:44:07,792 --> 00:44:09,167
There's one seat.

864
00:44:09,208 --> 00:44:12,083
There's one glory seat
and there's only one

865
00:44:12,167 --> 00:44:13,500
who's sitting upon it.

866
00:44:13,542 --> 00:44:14,875
Who is it?

867
00:44:14,958 --> 00:44:16,333
It's Jesus Christ.

868
00:44:16,417 --> 00:44:18,375
He's King of kings,
he's Lord of lords.

869
00:44:18,458 --> 00:44:22,292
And his throne,
his glory seat, it's the center.

870
00:44:22,333 --> 00:44:24,333
It's the center of all creation.

871
00:44:24,417 --> 00:44:26,708
It's the center of all history.

872
00:44:26,792 --> 00:44:28,833
It's his throne that's
high and exalted,

873
00:44:28,875 --> 00:44:33,167
and he alone sits upon it,
and he alone is worthy of it.

874
00:44:33,250 --> 00:44:35,333
And around Jesus are
all the nations,

875
00:44:35,417 --> 00:44:37,667
and all the tribes,
and languages.

876
00:44:37,750 --> 00:44:40,667
The rich are there, the poor
are there, the black are there,

877
00:44:40,750 --> 00:44:43,792
the white are there, the highly
educated, the uneducated,

878
00:44:43,833 --> 00:44:45,458
they're all there.

879
00:44:45,500 --> 00:44:47,458
The men are there,
the women are there,

880
00:44:47,500 --> 00:44:50,708
everybody who belongs to that
King and is a citizen of that

881
00:44:50,792 --> 00:44:52,750
kingdom, they're there.

882
00:44:52,833 --> 00:44:54,625
And they don't care
where they sit,

883
00:44:54,667 --> 00:44:58,458
all they care is that they're
around his throne

884
00:44:58,500 --> 00:45:01,917
because he's the one
who gets all the glory.

885
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:07,500
And the angels fall down,
and the leaders fall down,

886
00:45:07,583 --> 00:45:09,167
and the people fall down.

887
00:45:09,208 --> 00:45:12,500
And the picture in Revelation
is not that you and I would be

888
00:45:12,542 --> 00:45:15,500
seated on the seat of glory with
Jesus telling everyone

889
00:45:15,542 --> 00:45:18,417
all the things that we've done,
and all the ways we've given,

890
00:45:18,500 --> 00:45:21,000
and all that we've accomplished,
and all that we've become,

891
00:45:21,042 --> 00:45:24,167
and all that we are, and that
we would bask in our glory,

892
00:45:24,208 --> 00:45:25,875
and that others would
sing our praises.

893
00:45:25,958 --> 00:45:27,875
The only imagery in
Revelation is this.

894
00:45:27,958 --> 00:45:33,833
Everybody gets off their chair,
and he sits on his throne,

895
00:45:33,917 --> 00:45:39,833
and we fall down,
and we give him glory,

896
00:45:39,917 --> 00:45:41,708
that he loves us,

897
00:45:41,792 --> 00:45:45,250
that he saves us, that he
seeks us, that he forgives us,

898
00:45:45,333 --> 00:45:49,625
that he gives us
his inheritance,

899
00:45:49,667 --> 00:45:52,708
that it is all about him,
it is not about us.

900
00:45:52,792 --> 00:45:55,333
And praise be to God,
praise be to God,

901
00:45:55,417 --> 00:45:59,250
when the glory is removed
from us--glory, friends,

902
00:45:59,333 --> 00:46:02,583
means heaviness and weightiness,
and those who pursue it

903
00:46:02,667 --> 00:46:05,333
are crushed by it.

904
00:46:05,417 --> 00:46:09,667
He alone is worthy of glory,
he alone can shoulder glory,

905
00:46:09,750 --> 00:46:14,500
he alone can endure glory, and
we get to bask in his glory

906
00:46:14,583 --> 00:46:17,042
which is our joy.

907
00:46:17,125 --> 00:46:19,667
We were made not
to sit on a throne,

908
00:46:19,708 --> 00:46:22,375
but to fall before a throne.

909
00:46:22,458 --> 00:46:25,875
We were made not to be
worshiped by God in our glory.

910
00:46:25,958 --> 00:46:29,667
We were made to worship
God in his glory.

911
00:46:29,750 --> 00:46:33,458
And the more that we understand
this, the happier we are,

912
00:46:33,500 --> 00:46:36,125
the freer we are.

913
00:46:36,167 --> 00:46:40,792
We're liberated from worldly
thinking into kingdom thinking.

914
00:46:40,833 --> 00:46:46,000
And we realize, "It doesn't
matter where I sit

915
00:46:46,083 --> 00:46:49,833
"because nobody's
looking at me anyways.

916
00:46:49,917 --> 00:46:52,625
"It doesn't matter
where I sit

917
00:46:52,667 --> 00:46:56,500
"as long as I am seated
around him

918
00:46:56,583 --> 00:47:00,833
and his throne,
high and exalted."

919
00:47:00,917 --> 00:47:05,292
Mars Hill, Jesus
is alive right now.

920
00:47:05,333 --> 00:47:08,375
He is the Lord of glory.

921
00:47:08,458 --> 00:47:10,667
He is high and exalted.

922
00:47:10,750 --> 00:47:13,375
He is seated on a throne.

923
00:47:13,458 --> 00:47:15,708
Angels are singing his praises.

924
00:47:15,792 --> 00:47:19,625
Holy, holy, holy is
the Lord God Almighty.

925
00:47:19,667 --> 00:47:26,292
Heaven and earth are
full of his glory.

926
00:47:26,333 --> 00:47:29,917
The departed brothers
and sisters in faith

927
00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:36,375
are around his throne,
and they are crying out,

928
00:47:36,458 --> 00:47:39,917
"Worthy, worthy, worthy

929
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:44,625
to receive
glory, glory, glory."

930
00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:49,792
And child of God,
if you belong to Jesus,

931
00:47:49,833 --> 00:47:53,667
that is where you are going and
that is what you will be doing.

932
00:47:53,750 --> 00:48:00,125
And it does not matter today
where you are seated because

933
00:48:00,167 --> 00:48:06,667
when you're in his presence,
you won't even be seated.

934
00:48:06,708 --> 00:48:11,042
You'll be face down,
full of joy,

935
00:48:11,125 --> 00:48:14,667
basking in his glory.

936
00:48:14,708 --> 00:48:19,833
Amen?

937
00:48:24,458 --> 00:48:27,500
So, we need to
worship now, amen?

938
00:48:27,542 --> 00:48:31,458
Okay, we worship God by giving
our tithes and offerings.

939
00:48:31,500 --> 00:48:34,792
And as the servants
collect those,

940
00:48:34,833 --> 00:48:37,292
let me explain to you
that at Mars Hill Church,

941
00:48:37,333 --> 00:48:39,000
we're a family.

942
00:48:39,042 --> 00:48:41,625
We have 15 kids called
local Mars Hill locations

943
00:48:41,667 --> 00:48:44,667
and we don't have partiality.

944
00:48:44,750 --> 00:48:49,167
The rich churches have the same
budget as the poor churches.

945
00:48:49,250 --> 00:48:53,500
We base everything on
people, not their income.

946
00:48:53,542 --> 00:48:55,667
So, the poor churches
like Rainier Valley,

947
00:48:55,708 --> 00:48:58,000
University District, and
the new church in Phoenix,

948
00:48:58,083 --> 00:49:01,875
they are helped and supported
by more generous churches

949
00:49:01,958 --> 00:49:03,917
like Sammamish,
Bellevue,

950
00:49:04,000 --> 00:49:07,292
West Seattle,
and also Ballard.

951
00:49:07,333 --> 00:49:10,750
I want you to know that if
you're in a poor church hearing

952
00:49:10,833 --> 00:49:14,500
this sermon--one of our poor
Mars Hill Churches--we love you,

953
00:49:14,542 --> 00:49:16,792
and all the kids sit
at the father's table,

954
00:49:16,833 --> 00:49:19,458
and they all get the same
meal and the same portions,

955
00:49:19,500 --> 00:49:21,500
and we don't
play favorites.

956
00:49:21,542 --> 00:49:23,333
And that
comes out of James 2,

957
00:49:23,417 --> 00:49:26,000
and that comes out of
the Father heart of God.

958
00:49:26,083 --> 00:49:29,000
And so, if you are hearing this
sermon at one of our

959
00:49:29,083 --> 00:49:31,875
richer churches, what you
give will not all be spent

960
00:49:31,958 --> 00:49:33,458
at the church you are at.

961
00:49:33,500 --> 00:49:35,625
Some of it will go to
the poorer churches,

962
00:49:35,667 --> 00:49:37,792
and some of it's going
to go to Ethiopia,

963
00:49:37,833 --> 00:49:40,000
and some of it's
going to go to India,

964
00:49:40,042 --> 00:49:43,167
because they don't have what we
have and so they're part of our

965
00:49:43,250 --> 00:49:44,667
family too, brothers
and sisters, amen?

966
00:49:44,750 --> 00:49:46,667
That's how we do
it at Mars Hill.

967
00:49:46,750 --> 00:49:48,667
Secondly, we'll worship God
by partaking of Communion.

968
00:49:48,750 --> 00:49:50,167
And if you're
not a Christian

969
00:49:50,250 --> 00:49:51,917
and you're living
for your own glory,

970
00:49:52,000 --> 00:49:53,417
you're living
for your own misery.

971
00:49:53,500 --> 00:49:55,625
The most miserable people are
the people who seek

972
00:49:55,667 --> 00:49:57,292
and obtain their own glory.

973
00:49:57,333 --> 00:50:00,625
And I want you, today, to give
Jesus your sin and then live

974
00:50:00,667 --> 00:50:02,500
for his glory.

975
00:50:02,583 --> 00:50:04,958
He lives without sin,
he died for your sin,

976
00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:08,333
he rose for your salvation,
he ascended into heaven,

977
00:50:08,417 --> 00:50:11,583
and today he is
the Lord of glory.

978
00:50:11,667 --> 00:50:13,333
And as we partake of Communion,

979
00:50:13,375 --> 00:50:16,542
we're remembering
the Lord Jesus.

980
00:50:16,625 --> 00:50:22,667
We're remembering that God
has given us richly of his

981
00:50:22,750 --> 00:50:25,708
only beloved Son.

982
00:50:25,792 --> 00:50:27,792
And then lastly,
we're going to sing.

983
00:50:27,833 --> 00:50:30,792
And as we sing, and as
we get out of our seats,

984
00:50:30,833 --> 00:50:36,125
I want you to be mindful that
Jesus is on his seat and that

985
00:50:36,167 --> 00:50:40,958
our singing is a prayer that
ascends into his presence,

986
00:50:41,000 --> 00:50:43,667
and it joins the chorus
of the angels

987
00:50:43,708 --> 00:50:45,917
and the departed brothers
and sisters

988
00:50:46,000 --> 00:50:49,167
who have gone before
us to give him glory

989
00:50:49,208 --> 00:50:52,042
as we practice together
for our eternity.

990
00:50:52,125 --> 00:50:55,667
And so, Lord Jesus, I thank
you that you came in humility,

991
00:50:55,708 --> 00:50:58,958
but I thank you that today
you are the Lord of glory.

992
00:50:59,000 --> 00:51:03,333
Lord Jesus, I thank you for this
incredibly practical word

993
00:51:03,375 --> 00:51:06,500
from your brother James.

994
00:51:06,583 --> 00:51:10,250
And Lord Jesus, I pray that we
would not turn this into

995
00:51:10,333 --> 00:51:14,500
yet another economic
class warfare conflict

996
00:51:14,542 --> 00:51:16,833
between the rich and the poor,

997
00:51:16,917 --> 00:51:20,208
that we'd let this be
about partiality and glory,

998
00:51:20,292 --> 00:51:23,250
that it's about
who gets the glory.

999
00:51:23,333 --> 00:51:26,250
Lord Jesus, may you get
the glory in our lives,

1000
00:51:26,333 --> 00:51:28,333
may you get
the glory in our church,

1001
00:51:28,375 --> 00:51:31,458
may you get the glory
in our eternity.

1002
00:51:31,500 --> 00:51:38,458
Lord Jesus, I thank you so much
that you are so worthy

1003
00:51:38,500 --> 00:51:41,000
of all glory.

1004
00:51:41,042 --> 00:51:44,958
When we worship ourselves, we
worship someone who is unworthy.

1005
00:51:45,000 --> 00:51:49,875
When we worship anyone else, we
worship someone who is unworthy.

1006
00:51:49,958 --> 00:51:52,500
And when we worship you,
we worship the only one

1007
00:51:52,583 --> 00:51:55,333
who's ever worthy of all glory.

1008
00:51:55,417 --> 00:51:59,917
And for that, we say thank you
that you made us to enjoy you

1009
00:52:00,042 --> 00:52:04,708
and we come now to enjoy you
as your people, together,

1010
00:52:04,792 --> 00:52:07,000
equally made in your
image and likeness,

1011
00:52:07,083 --> 00:52:11,208
equally fallen into sin,
but equally loved and saved

1012
00:52:11,292 --> 00:52:14,375
to the glory of God,
amen.

1013
00:52:16,292 --> 00:52:17,667
Pastor Sutton here,

1014
00:52:17,708 --> 00:52:20,667
we've just finished our services
here in the Bellevue church

1015
00:52:20,750 --> 00:52:26,500
and really excited today to tell
the extended family of Mars Hill Global

1016
00:52:26,583 --> 00:52:28,167
about Text to Give.

1017
00:52:28,250 --> 00:52:30,917
Just came out
and many of you know my story:

1018
00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:35,083
2007 heard Pastor Mark
at a pastor's conference

1019
00:52:35,167 --> 00:52:37,375
went there, started podcasting.

1020
00:52:37,458 --> 00:52:40,333
I still gave my tithe
to my local church,

1021
00:52:40,375 --> 00:52:43,708
however, gave a contribution amount
to Mars Hill Church.

1022
00:52:43,792 --> 00:52:48,375
So this Text to Give, the video
that we have produced for you,

1023
00:52:48,458 --> 00:52:50,625
you're going to love,
so check this out.

1024
00:52:52,792 --> 00:52:55,500
Hey Mars Hill, my name is Rene
and I work here

1025
00:52:55,542 --> 00:52:58,000
at the Media and Communications
team at Mars Hill Church.

1026
00:52:58,083 --> 00:52:59,792
If you're a mobile user like me,

1027
00:52:59,833 --> 00:53:02,000
I've got some exciting news
to share with you.

1028
00:53:02,083 --> 00:53:04,500
There's a new way to give
at Mars Hill Church

1029
00:53:04,542 --> 00:53:06,750
and it's just as easy
as sending a text.

1030
00:53:06,833 --> 00:53:09,500
Now, many of you take advantage
of our online giving options,

1031
00:53:09,583 --> 00:53:12,250
which is a great way
to set up recurring gifts,

1032
00:53:12,333 --> 00:53:15,500
but until now, we haven't had a way
to set up mobile,

1033
00:53:15,542 --> 00:53:18,375
where you can give on the spot
during our services.

1034
00:53:18,458 --> 00:53:20,417
If you're like me,
you don't carry cash

1035
00:53:20,500 --> 00:53:24,000
you don't carry a checkbook,
so Text to Give is the way to go.

1036
00:53:24,083 --> 00:53:28,458
It's fun, it's simple,
and best of all, it's secure.

1037
00:53:28,500 --> 00:53:30,417
I want you
to do something with me.

1038
00:53:30,500 --> 00:53:32,333
Take out
your smart phone right now;

1039
00:53:32,417 --> 00:53:34,167
we're going to do
something together.

1040
00:53:34,250 --> 00:53:36,125
Don't worry,
you're not obligated to give,

1041
00:53:36,167 --> 00:53:38,125
but try this out.

1042
00:53:38,167 --> 00:53:41,000
Simply send the amount
you want to give

1043
00:53:41,042 --> 00:53:47,000
and the word "Mars Hill" at the end
to the following number: 45777.

1044
00:53:48,208 --> 00:53:49,875
The first time
you give via text,

1045
00:53:49,958 --> 00:53:52,542
you will be asked to fill out
a one-time form,

1046
00:53:52,625 --> 00:53:55,667
which will safely link your card
to your smart phone.

1047
00:53:55,708 --> 00:53:59,083
Now, this new way of giving
doesn't go into your phone bill,

1048
00:53:59,167 --> 00:54:01,042
and in case you make a mistake,

1049
00:54:01,125 --> 00:54:04,792
you can always get a refund
for the gift that you've given.

1050
00:54:04,833 --> 00:54:06,833
And that's it;
you're done.

1051
00:54:06,875 --> 00:54:09,000
You'll receive a text back
confirming your gift

1052
00:54:09,042 --> 00:54:11,500
and from this moment forward,
you'll be able to give

1053
00:54:11,583 --> 00:54:14,250
anywhere, anytime
with just a single text.

1054
00:54:14,333 --> 00:54:17,000
Don't forget to save the number
in your contact list.

1055
00:54:17,083 --> 00:54:20,167
I've saved it
as "Mars Hill Text to Give."

1056
00:54:20,208 --> 00:54:22,000
For more information
about our giving options

1057
00:54:22,083 --> 00:54:25,292
you can visit marshill.com/give.

1058
00:54:29,792 --> 00:54:32,708
Each year, over 10 million
Mars Hill church sermons

1059
00:54:32,792 --> 00:54:35,833
are downloaded
worldwide for free.

1060
00:54:35,875 --> 00:54:38,417
This ministry is generously supported

1061
00:54:38,500 --> 00:54:41,042
by Mars Hill church members
and listeners like you.

1062
00:54:41,125 --> 00:54:44,625
If you'd like to support our efforts
to preach Jesus to the world,

1063
00:54:44,667 --> 00:54:47,625
Please consider making
a tax-deductible donation

1064
00:54:47,667 --> 00:54:50,500
by visiting marshill.com/give.