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 00:01:51,500 --> 00:01:55,250 Brotherhood, it's a bond as old as time. 29 00:01:55,333 --> 00:01:57,750 It's a love that runs deep. 30 00:01:57,833 --> 00:02:00,208 It's bold. It's strong. 31 00:02:00,292 --> 00:02:02,000 It's enduring. 32 00:02:02,083 --> 00:02:04,625 There's a trust that's built among brothers, 33 00:02:04,667 --> 00:02:07,708 from the trials to the triumphs. 34 00:02:07,792 --> 00:02:11,208 It's a trust that comes from living life together. 35 00:02:11,292 --> 00:02:14,000 No one knows you like your brother. 36 00:02:14,042 --> 00:02:17,583 He knows your strengths; he knows your weaknesses. 37 00:02:17,667 --> 00:02:22,208 A bold brother will lay it all down for his family. 38 00:02:22,292 --> 00:02:25,833 It is difficult to describe that kind of loyalty, 39 00:02:25,875 --> 00:02:29,833 that kind of courage, that kind of strength. 40 00:02:29,875 --> 00:02:31,833 It's the love of a brother. 41 00:02:31,875 --> 00:02:34,500 It's that kind of love that compelled James to become 42 00:02:34,583 --> 00:02:38,167 Jesus' bold little brother. 43 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,333 So, how many of you took the bus to school? 44 00:02:44,375 --> 00:02:45,833 Any of you take the bus? 45 00:02:45,875 --> 00:02:47,208 Did you hate the bus? 46 00:02:47,292 --> 00:02:48,958 I hated taking the bus to school. 47 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:50,708 In fact, when I started high school-- 48 00:02:50,792 --> 00:02:52,458 I went to a big high school, 49 00:02:52,500 --> 00:02:55,625 and I was a freshman, and I knew I'm going to have to 50 00:02:55,667 --> 00:02:57,000 take the bus to school. 51 00:02:57,083 --> 00:02:58,500 Just absolutely dreaded taking the bus 52 00:02:58,583 --> 00:03:00,083 for all of the obvious reasons. 53 00:03:00,167 --> 00:03:03,708 As soon as I found some guys who lived near me that would give me 54 00:03:03,792 --> 00:03:05,917 a ride, I started bumming a ride to school, 55 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,125 but there was one day I was really glad to take the bus 56 00:03:09,167 --> 00:03:10,500 to school. 57 00:03:10,583 --> 00:03:13,000 It was one of those weird days at my school, 58 00:03:13,083 --> 00:03:15,000 and I didn't go to the best school, 59 00:03:15,083 --> 00:03:17,708 but early on in the day there was sort of chatter 60 00:03:17,792 --> 00:03:19,708 among the student body and people were talking, 61 00:03:19,792 --> 00:03:21,417 "There might be a fight after school." 62 00:03:21,500 --> 00:03:22,833 You're like, "OK." 63 00:03:22,875 --> 00:03:25,500 And then, as the day went on, around lunch, it was, 64 00:03:25,583 --> 00:03:28,583 "There's going to be a fight after school on the front lawn." 65 00:03:28,667 --> 00:03:30,000 So, it's all set. 66 00:03:30,042 --> 00:03:33,000 And then as we're approaching the end of the day, it was, 67 00:03:33,042 --> 00:03:36,000 "There's going to be a fight after school on the front lawn. 68 00:03:36,042 --> 00:03:37,375 What side are you on?" 69 00:03:37,458 --> 00:03:40,500 I was like, "Wow, this has moved from a conflict, to a fight, 70 00:03:40,583 --> 00:03:43,000 to what looks like it's going to be a riot." 71 00:03:43,042 --> 00:03:46,333 And I had to go home, so I had to get on the bus. 72 00:03:46,375 --> 00:03:49,000 So, I'm sitting on the bus, and you're high and elevated, 73 00:03:49,083 --> 00:03:51,458 so you kind of get to see what's going on. 74 00:03:51,500 --> 00:03:53,958 And as we pull along the side of the school, 75 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,250 off to the left is the green grass, 76 00:03:57,333 --> 00:04:01,125 and there's a few dozen kids just beating on one another, 77 00:04:01,167 --> 00:04:02,625 and then hundreds of kids watching, 78 00:04:02,667 --> 00:04:05,292 trying to figure whether or not they're going to beat on 79 00:04:05,333 --> 00:04:06,667 one another. 80 00:04:06,750 --> 00:04:08,875 And then on the right side of the bus 81 00:04:08,958 --> 00:04:10,292 is the school parking lot, 82 00:04:10,333 --> 00:04:13,125 and there's cars driving into the parking lot from 83 00:04:13,167 --> 00:04:16,292 I don't know where, and people piling out of the cars, 84 00:04:16,333 --> 00:04:19,000 and I see a trunk open, and people are grabbing bats 85 00:04:19,083 --> 00:04:22,667 and clubs and running to the front lawn of the school. 86 00:04:22,750 --> 00:04:26,208 And people are absolutely assaulting one another, 87 00:04:26,292 --> 00:04:29,875 and this is the only time I'm really glad to be on the bus. 88 00:04:29,958 --> 00:04:32,833 And so, I'm on the bus, and the bus is driving away. 89 00:04:32,875 --> 00:04:35,833 And it's like, "What is happening at my high school?" 90 00:04:35,875 --> 00:04:40,583 People were hurt, the cops did show up, some were arrested, 91 00:04:40,667 --> 00:04:43,833 and it was subdued before anyone was killed, 92 00:04:43,875 --> 00:04:47,208 but it was one of those very surreal days I remember 93 00:04:47,292 --> 00:04:48,833 as a teenage kid. 94 00:04:48,917 --> 00:04:53,833 A conflict becomes a fight, becomes a riot, that's going to 95 00:04:53,917 --> 00:04:56,458 end up with somebody really getting hurt or even killed 96 00:04:56,500 --> 00:04:58,750 unless others get involved. 97 00:04:58,833 --> 00:05:02,583 And the truth is that this kind of thing, 98 00:05:02,667 --> 00:05:04,500 it happens all the time. 99 00:05:04,583 --> 00:05:08,417 It happens physically where people get in conflict, 100 00:05:08,500 --> 00:05:11,833 it happens digitally where they invite others to join in on 101 00:05:11,875 --> 00:05:16,083 the riot, and it's part of being sinners in a sinful 102 00:05:16,167 --> 00:05:18,208 and fallen world. 103 00:05:18,292 --> 00:05:21,708 Pastor James today, as we study the book of James, 104 00:05:21,792 --> 00:05:24,500 he's really talking about conflict. 105 00:05:24,583 --> 00:05:27,208 And what he doesn't say is, "There's a way to live 106 00:05:27,292 --> 00:05:29,625 your lives so you never have any conflict." 107 00:05:29,667 --> 00:05:33,125 He knows that when you're dealing with sinners in a sinful 108 00:05:33,167 --> 00:05:36,000 and fallen world, and Satan and demons want to empower 109 00:05:36,042 --> 00:05:39,167 all kinds of conflict, that you're going to have conflict. 110 00:05:39,250 --> 00:05:41,500 Somebody's going to get hurt, somebody's going to fail, 111 00:05:41,583 --> 00:05:43,292 somebody's going to misunderstand, 112 00:05:43,333 --> 00:05:45,708 somebody's going to get bitter, somebody's going to get angry. 113 00:05:45,792 --> 00:05:47,375 It's going to happen. 114 00:05:47,458 --> 00:05:50,833 And what Pastor James is going to lay out for us is really that 115 00:05:50,875 --> 00:05:52,333 there are two options. 116 00:05:52,375 --> 00:05:54,833 And we've been in the book of James for, gosh, 117 00:05:54,917 --> 00:05:59,750 almost 3 months, I guess it is, and today we're in James 4:1-12, 118 00:05:59,833 --> 00:06:02,833 and we're looking at Jesus' conflicts and your conflict, 119 00:06:02,875 --> 00:06:04,833 or I could even say our conflicts. 120 00:06:04,875 --> 00:06:07,708 And option number one, Pastor James is going to tell us, 121 00:06:07,792 --> 00:06:09,708 is worldly conflict. 122 00:06:09,792 --> 00:06:14,500 The second option he's going to give us is godly conflict. 123 00:06:14,583 --> 00:06:19,167 He doesn't give us a third option, no conflict. 124 00:06:19,250 --> 00:06:22,167 And some of you, you wish there was a third option, 125 00:06:22,250 --> 00:06:25,375 that you could live your life in such a way that there was 126 00:06:25,458 --> 00:06:29,792 no conflict, but there was, and there is, and there will be. 127 00:06:29,833 --> 00:06:32,000 The question is, what do we do with it? 128 00:06:32,083 --> 00:06:35,917 And when James starts talking, he's talking from deep, 129 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:37,792 profound, personal experience. 130 00:06:37,833 --> 00:06:39,667 He, as the little brother of Jesus, 131 00:06:39,750 --> 00:06:42,500 would have seen all the conflict in Jesus' life. 132 00:06:42,542 --> 00:06:45,000 He would have seen the people who opposed him, 133 00:06:45,083 --> 00:06:47,542 who mistreated him, who slandered him, 134 00:06:47,625 --> 00:06:51,208 who ultimately arrested him, who ultimately crucified him. 135 00:06:51,292 --> 00:06:55,625 And so he saw worldly conflict launched 136 00:06:55,667 --> 00:06:57,542 on his big brother Jesus, 137 00:06:57,625 --> 00:07:01,208 and then he saw Jesus respond in a perfect, gracious, 138 00:07:01,292 --> 00:07:04,500 godly, truthful, helpful way. 139 00:07:04,583 --> 00:07:07,083 And James himself is aware of conflict. 140 00:07:07,167 --> 00:07:09,417 He's the pastor at a church in Jerusalem. 141 00:07:09,500 --> 00:07:10,917 It's kind of the mothership. 142 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:14,417 It's a big church, lots of influence. 143 00:07:14,500 --> 00:07:16,708 Any time there's a doctrinal controversy, 144 00:07:16,792 --> 00:07:19,125 people come to Jerusalem and they hammer it out, 145 00:07:19,167 --> 00:07:20,625 so they've got theological conflict. 146 00:07:20,667 --> 00:07:24,333 Any time they need to deal with a pastor or a leader at one of 147 00:07:24,375 --> 00:07:29,000 the churches, the issue gets taken care of in Jerusalem. 148 00:07:29,083 --> 00:07:32,208 That's why Paul and others travel to Jerusalem to meet with 149 00:07:32,292 --> 00:07:34,125 James and also Peter, 150 00:07:34,167 --> 00:07:36,500 and they're ruling from Jerusalem as pastors. 151 00:07:36,542 --> 00:07:38,667 So, there's a lot of conflict around Jerusalem. 152 00:07:38,750 --> 00:07:40,667 Even if you go to Jerusalem today-- 153 00:07:40,750 --> 00:07:42,125 anybody been to Jerusalem?-- 154 00:07:42,167 --> 00:07:44,000 there's still a lot of conflict there. 155 00:07:44,083 --> 00:07:47,208 It's one of the most conflicted places on the earth, 156 00:07:47,292 --> 00:07:49,750 and it's been that way for a very long time. 157 00:07:49,833 --> 00:07:52,750 And there's James, pastoring a church of Christians, 158 00:07:52,833 --> 00:07:57,042 in the middle of what was still predominately a Jewish city 159 00:07:57,125 --> 00:08:00,500 of Jerusalem, and there's a ton of conflict. 160 00:08:00,542 --> 00:08:04,708 And what's interesting is that James ultimately would die 161 00:08:04,792 --> 00:08:10,417 because of conflict that led to a fight, that led to a riot. 162 00:08:10,500 --> 00:08:13,708 History tells us that he was a pastor, 163 00:08:13,792 --> 00:08:16,875 and there were some who really rose up against him, 164 00:08:16,958 --> 00:08:19,875 and they wanted him to stop preaching and teaching about 165 00:08:19,958 --> 00:08:22,000 Jesus and leading the church. 166 00:08:22,042 --> 00:08:26,375 And ultimately, a riot got together and they took Jesus-- 167 00:08:26,458 --> 00:08:29,375 or James, rather, as they did Jesus--and they seized him. 168 00:08:29,458 --> 00:08:32,125 And then they took him to the top of the temple 169 00:08:32,167 --> 00:08:34,208 and they threw him off, 170 00:08:34,292 --> 00:08:38,083 and he didn't die, so then the riot encircled him, 171 00:08:38,167 --> 00:08:40,500 and beat him, and murdered him. 172 00:08:40,583 --> 00:08:45,083 So, when we read about conflict from Pastor James, 173 00:08:45,167 --> 00:08:48,500 he's a guy who's seen it firsthand in his brother, 174 00:08:48,583 --> 00:08:51,500 and he's experienced it firsthand in his ministry, 175 00:08:51,583 --> 00:08:54,250 and he's lived it firsthand in his life. 176 00:08:54,333 --> 00:08:57,625 And what he tells us is there's really only two options when you 177 00:08:57,667 --> 00:09:01,000 have a conflict: to handle it in a worldly way or to handle it 178 00:09:01,083 --> 00:09:03,208 in a godly way. 179 00:09:03,292 --> 00:09:07,000 And so he begins with option number one, worldly conflict, 180 00:09:07,083 --> 00:09:09,208 and here's what Pastor James has to say: 181 00:09:09,292 --> 00:09:12,125 "What causes quarrels and causes fights among you?" 182 00:09:12,167 --> 00:09:14,208 This is his thesis statement. 183 00:09:14,292 --> 00:09:16,000 This is his question. 184 00:09:16,042 --> 00:09:17,875 This is the big idea. 185 00:09:17,958 --> 00:09:21,375 The remainder of what he's going to say in these 12 verses 186 00:09:21,458 --> 00:09:23,583 really is the answering of this question. 187 00:09:23,667 --> 00:09:26,000 How many of you have ever asked this question? 188 00:09:26,042 --> 00:09:29,125 Maybe you see a couple and they're fighting. 189 00:09:29,167 --> 00:09:30,875 You say, "Why are they fighting? 190 00:09:30,958 --> 00:09:33,417 Why are they adversaries and enemies?" 191 00:09:33,500 --> 00:09:35,833 You see a family that's fractured, and conflicted, 192 00:09:35,875 --> 00:09:37,917 and separated. 193 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:39,625 You're asking, "What happened there?" 194 00:09:39,667 --> 00:09:41,833 You see people who used to be business partners, 195 00:09:41,875 --> 00:09:44,833 and all of a sudden it gets very contentious and acrimonious. 196 00:09:44,875 --> 00:09:47,542 You see people who were friends, and all of a sudden 197 00:09:47,625 --> 00:09:48,958 they're enemies. 198 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,458 And we all ask this question in varying ways at 199 00:09:51,500 --> 00:09:53,458 various times--what causes that? 200 00:09:53,500 --> 00:09:57,042 What causes that? 201 00:09:57,125 --> 00:09:59,917 And if you ask one side, they'd say, 202 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:01,917 "Well, they said this and they did that." 203 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,125 And then you ask the other side, and they'd say, "No, no, no, 204 00:10:05,167 --> 00:10:06,833 they said this and they did that." 205 00:10:06,917 --> 00:10:08,833 And here's Pastor James pulling back and saying, 206 00:10:08,917 --> 00:10:11,333 "I've got a unique perspective. 207 00:10:11,417 --> 00:10:13,333 "I'm not the one who's in the middle 208 00:10:13,417 --> 00:10:15,542 of some of these conflicts," Pastor James is saying, 209 00:10:15,625 --> 00:10:19,042 "so I'm able to see some themes and some threads. 210 00:10:19,125 --> 00:10:22,958 So, I want to ask this question," Pastor James says. 211 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:24,958 "What causes the fights and quarrels? 212 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,250 What's underlying it? What's the root?" 213 00:10:27,333 --> 00:10:30,542 "Is it not this?" 214 00:10:30,625 --> 00:10:33,708 You know, he's sort of inviting us. 215 00:10:33,792 --> 00:10:35,833 "Come along. 216 00:10:35,875 --> 00:10:38,042 Consider this." 217 00:10:38,125 --> 00:10:41,167 "That your passions are at war within you," 218 00:10:41,208 --> 00:10:43,167 that before there's a problem out there, 219 00:10:43,208 --> 00:10:45,833 there's a problem in here. 220 00:10:45,875 --> 00:10:49,667 "You desire and you do not have, so you murder," right? 221 00:10:49,750 --> 00:10:53,875 And conflict, unresolved, it escalates toward injury 222 00:10:53,958 --> 00:10:56,375 or even death. 223 00:10:56,458 --> 00:11:00,250 "You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. 224 00:11:00,333 --> 00:11:03,000 You do not have because you do not ask." 225 00:11:03,083 --> 00:11:06,000 He continues, "You ask and you do not receive because you ask 226 00:11:06,083 --> 00:11:08,167 "wrongly to spend it on your passions. 227 00:11:08,208 --> 00:11:10,917 You adulterous people"--there's a rebuke there 228 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:12,333 from Pastor James. 229 00:11:12,417 --> 00:11:14,542 "You do not know--do you not know," rather, 230 00:11:14,625 --> 00:11:18,042 "that friendship with the world is enmity with God? 231 00:11:18,125 --> 00:11:20,667 "Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend to the world 232 00:11:20,708 --> 00:11:24,417 makes himself an enemy of God." 233 00:11:24,500 --> 00:11:26,917 When he's talking about the world here and worldly conflict, 234 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,542 let me give you a simple definition of what it means 235 00:11:29,625 --> 00:11:30,958 to be "worldly." 236 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,458 "Worldly" means that things are put together in a way 237 00:11:33,500 --> 00:11:34,833 that Satan likes. 238 00:11:34,917 --> 00:11:36,542 That's all that it means. 239 00:11:36,625 --> 00:11:38,625 It means that things are put together, organized, 240 00:11:38,667 --> 00:11:42,833 brought together in a way that causes Satan to be glad 241 00:11:42,917 --> 00:11:45,667 and causes Jesus to grieve. 242 00:11:45,708 --> 00:11:47,958 It's when anything is put together and Satan's like, 243 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:50,667 "That's the way that I want it," and Jesus is like, 244 00:11:50,708 --> 00:11:52,917 "That's not the way that I want it." 245 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:55,833 That, by definition, is worldliness. 246 00:11:55,875 --> 00:12:01,333 This is our natural desires, our natural proclivities. 247 00:12:01,375 --> 00:12:06,333 I don't know about you, but one of the first things I learned 248 00:12:06,375 --> 00:12:09,667 when I started driving a car is, if you're on an old road that's 249 00:12:09,750 --> 00:12:13,417 been traveled on for a long time and hasn't been well-maintained, 250 00:12:13,500 --> 00:12:15,917 you get grooves in the road. 251 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:17,917 My first car was a 1956 Chevy, 252 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:21,208 and I had the old bias ply tires, not even the radials. 253 00:12:21,292 --> 00:12:24,000 I couldn't afford to get radials on it yet, and man, 254 00:12:24,083 --> 00:12:26,708 the bias plys would just slip right into the groove, 255 00:12:26,792 --> 00:12:29,208 and they would get stuck in the groove, 256 00:12:29,292 --> 00:12:31,708 and it was hard to get out of the groove. 257 00:12:31,792 --> 00:12:34,000 Worldliness is like that. 258 00:12:34,042 --> 00:12:37,125 This is how everybody thinks, this is how everybody acts, 259 00:12:37,167 --> 00:12:39,500 this is where everybody travels. 260 00:12:39,583 --> 00:12:42,792 These are well-worn ruts in the road, and it's very easy 261 00:12:42,833 --> 00:12:46,000 to fall into them, and it's very hard to get out of them. 262 00:12:46,083 --> 00:12:48,542 And James is going to give us some aspects, 263 00:12:48,625 --> 00:12:52,458 three in particular, of worldly conflict. 264 00:12:52,500 --> 00:12:55,667 The first, he says, it begins with passions. 265 00:12:55,708 --> 00:12:58,833 Your emotions become untethered. 266 00:12:58,917 --> 00:13:01,833 You're hurt, you're angry, you're upset, you're frustrated, 267 00:13:01,875 --> 00:13:03,625 you're scared, OK? 268 00:13:03,667 --> 00:13:06,333 True or false, we've all been there? 269 00:13:06,375 --> 00:13:10,000 We've all been there, and we'll all get there again. 270 00:13:10,083 --> 00:13:12,875 And what he says is, it starts internally with your emotions, 271 00:13:12,958 --> 00:13:15,625 with your affections, with your passions, 272 00:13:15,667 --> 00:13:19,125 and all of a sudden your emotions are untethered, 273 00:13:19,167 --> 00:13:24,125 and you start reacting, you start responding. 274 00:13:24,167 --> 00:13:27,292 I've done this, you've done this, we've all done this. 275 00:13:27,333 --> 00:13:34,125 But it starts internally, and it starts with our emotional life 276 00:13:34,167 --> 00:13:38,708 becoming unhealthy, or untethered, or unhelpful. 277 00:13:38,792 --> 00:13:43,708 He says, well, it also then is combined with coveting, 278 00:13:43,792 --> 00:13:49,708 that we see someone or some group of people--and the essence 279 00:13:49,792 --> 00:13:51,458 of coveting is this: 280 00:13:51,500 --> 00:13:54,917 we want--that's what he says--what they have. 281 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,833 We want what they have. 282 00:13:57,875 --> 00:14:00,792 They have power; we want power. 283 00:14:00,833 --> 00:14:04,292 We're single, they're married; we wish we had a spouse. 284 00:14:04,333 --> 00:14:06,708 They're married and have kids, and we don't have kids; 285 00:14:06,792 --> 00:14:08,125 we wish we had kids. 286 00:14:08,167 --> 00:14:10,125 They got a job; we lost a job. 287 00:14:10,167 --> 00:14:12,125 They got good grades; we got bad grades. 288 00:14:12,167 --> 00:14:13,875 They're healthy; we're sick. 289 00:14:13,958 --> 00:14:19,500 They have something that we want, 290 00:14:19,542 --> 00:14:24,625 and so what happens then is, we want to take it from them 291 00:14:24,667 --> 00:14:29,792 so that we can have it, or we want to take it from them 292 00:14:29,833 --> 00:14:32,792 so that they can't have it and we can't have it, 293 00:14:32,833 --> 00:14:37,083 because if we can't have it, they can't have it either. 294 00:14:37,167 --> 00:14:43,708 And he says, "You forgot to ask God for it." 295 00:14:43,792 --> 00:14:49,750 If you want whatever they have, you shouldn't covet them, 296 00:14:49,833 --> 00:14:52,500 you should ask him. 297 00:14:52,583 --> 00:14:56,417 And he says, "And sometimes you get frustrated--we get 298 00:14:56,500 --> 00:15:01,125 frustrated because we did ask God and he said what?" 299 00:15:01,167 --> 00:15:03,625 No. 300 00:15:03,667 --> 00:15:07,833 So, actually, what then looks like a conflict with a person is 301 00:15:07,875 --> 00:15:11,208 actually a conflict with God. 302 00:15:11,292 --> 00:15:13,625 That they asked God for something and he said yes, 303 00:15:13,667 --> 00:15:16,125 and we asked God for something and he said no, 304 00:15:16,167 --> 00:15:19,792 so we want to have conflict with them 305 00:15:19,833 --> 00:15:26,083 because we're covetous of them. 306 00:15:26,167 --> 00:15:28,875 We're not accepting what God had for us. 307 00:15:28,958 --> 00:15:33,000 So he says it starts with our passions; 308 00:15:33,042 --> 00:15:37,875 it includes covetousness--all of this is within us--and then 309 00:15:37,958 --> 00:15:42,625 it explodes outside of us in something that he calls 310 00:15:42,667 --> 00:15:45,583 fighting and quarreling. 311 00:15:45,667 --> 00:15:48,167 In the original Greek that this is written in, 312 00:15:48,208 --> 00:15:53,000 the Bible uses this word elsewhere to talk about war. 313 00:15:53,083 --> 00:15:57,042 Sometimes it's used of spiritual war, where Satan and demons 314 00:15:57,125 --> 00:16:00,125 are fighting against Jesus, and God's people, 315 00:16:00,167 --> 00:16:01,625 and his holy angels. 316 00:16:01,667 --> 00:16:04,208 Sometimes it's actually a physical war where, like, 317 00:16:04,292 --> 00:16:08,000 two armies march out and there's bloodshed. 318 00:16:08,042 --> 00:16:09,833 It's very strong language--fighting, 319 00:16:09,875 --> 00:16:13,208 and quarreling, and warring. 320 00:16:13,292 --> 00:16:16,917 And let me submit to you 321 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:21,375 there are some ways that we contribute 322 00:16:21,458 --> 00:16:24,417 to fighting, and quarreling, and warring. 323 00:16:24,500 --> 00:16:28,833 One is questioning the motives of another. 324 00:16:28,875 --> 00:16:32,125 We can see people's actions, but sometimes their motives 325 00:16:32,167 --> 00:16:34,208 are only seen by God. 326 00:16:34,292 --> 00:16:36,208 And we know this about ourselves, right? 327 00:16:36,292 --> 00:16:38,583 Let's say someone comes up to you and says, 328 00:16:38,667 --> 00:16:40,083 "I know why you said that. 329 00:16:40,167 --> 00:16:41,583 "I know what you did that. 330 00:16:41,667 --> 00:16:43,583 Because this was what was in your heart." 331 00:16:43,667 --> 00:16:45,000 Our first response is what? 332 00:16:45,042 --> 00:16:46,708 "Don't pretend that you knew my motive. 333 00:16:46,792 --> 00:16:48,125 You can't read my heart." 334 00:16:48,167 --> 00:16:51,750 But we then quickly do that to others. 335 00:16:51,833 --> 00:16:53,250 "You know why they said this? 336 00:16:53,333 --> 00:16:54,750 "You know why they did that? 337 00:16:54,833 --> 00:16:56,750 "Because this was what was in their heart. 338 00:16:56,833 --> 00:16:58,750 This was their motive." 339 00:16:58,833 --> 00:17:00,833 Sometimes the fighting and the quarreling, 340 00:17:00,875 --> 00:17:02,833 it's contributed to by speculation. 341 00:17:02,875 --> 00:17:06,000 We know part of the story, and we feel free to write 342 00:17:06,042 --> 00:17:07,917 the rest of the story. 343 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:11,125 Sometimes the warring is contributed to 344 00:17:11,167 --> 00:17:12,583 through exaggeration. 345 00:17:12,667 --> 00:17:14,000 Well, that did happen, 346 00:17:14,042 --> 00:17:17,917 but actually you added a little to it. 347 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,792 You put some things in there that weren't entirely true, 348 00:17:20,833 --> 00:17:24,125 so it took what was true and then caused it to be something 349 00:17:24,167 --> 00:17:27,208 that was not entirely accurate. 350 00:17:27,292 --> 00:17:30,125 Number four, sometimes we contribute to the warring 351 00:17:30,167 --> 00:17:31,917 through half-truths. 352 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,917 We tell half the story, not the whole story. 353 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:38,000 And I don't know about you, I think we're all prone to this-- 354 00:17:38,083 --> 00:17:39,417 I certainly am. 355 00:17:39,500 --> 00:17:42,417 If it makes me look bad, those tend to be the facts 356 00:17:42,500 --> 00:17:45,500 that I conveniently overlook or omit in the story. 357 00:17:45,583 --> 00:17:49,167 And in addition, what contributes to fighting 358 00:17:49,208 --> 00:17:52,042 and quarreling is gossip. 359 00:17:52,125 --> 00:17:56,042 This is where we talk about someone rather than to someone. 360 00:17:56,125 --> 00:17:58,542 What we're looking for are people to join our side 361 00:17:58,625 --> 00:18:04,083 of the fight, not trying to reconcile but to have victory. 362 00:18:04,167 --> 00:18:07,500 And all of this combines, and I would submit to you 363 00:18:07,542 --> 00:18:12,125 that in a digital age, it's more complicated. 364 00:18:12,167 --> 00:18:15,500 It used to be you lived on a farm miles away from your 365 00:18:15,542 --> 00:18:18,708 neighbor, and you'd have to really work pretty hard 366 00:18:18,792 --> 00:18:23,667 to get a war or a riot. 367 00:18:23,750 --> 00:18:25,917 Today, it's not so hard. 368 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:27,333 It's a lot easier. 369 00:18:27,375 --> 00:18:32,958 This is what happens when there's worldly conflict: 370 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:38,667 nobody wins, everybody loses, Satan dances, and Jesus weeps. 371 00:18:38,708 --> 00:18:44,167 And he has this amazing line--if you guys could give me 372 00:18:44,208 --> 00:18:46,333 the next slide. 373 00:18:46,417 --> 00:18:50,042 "Whoever wishes to be a friend to the world 374 00:18:50,125 --> 00:18:51,958 makes himself"--what? 375 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,000 "An enemy of God." 376 00:18:55,083 --> 00:19:01,208 And so what he's saying is, if we decide to have worldly conflict, 377 00:19:01,292 --> 00:19:02,917 we think we're fighting our enemy, 378 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:08,833 but we're really fighting God, because God doesn't want us 379 00:19:08,875 --> 00:19:11,083 to be fighting, or if we are fighting, 380 00:19:11,167 --> 00:19:16,583 he doesn't want us to be fighting like that. 381 00:19:16,667 --> 00:19:19,833 I'll tell you a story. 382 00:19:19,917 --> 00:19:24,333 There's a tradition in some tribal societies called 383 00:19:24,417 --> 00:19:28,542 spearing, OK, and here's what happens: 384 00:19:28,625 --> 00:19:31,458 One tribe lives over here, one tribe lives over here, 385 00:19:31,500 --> 00:19:34,125 and at some point, there's conflict between the tribes, 386 00:19:34,167 --> 00:19:38,250 and one tribal member harms or kills the member 387 00:19:38,333 --> 00:19:44,042 of another tribe, usually in a battle with a spear. 388 00:19:44,125 --> 00:19:50,667 And then, the tribe that had someone die, 389 00:19:50,708 --> 00:19:52,542 they wait, 390 00:19:52,625 --> 00:19:58,333 and they plan to send one of their members into the other 391 00:19:58,417 --> 00:20:01,500 tribe, usually more quietly and secretly, 392 00:20:01,583 --> 00:20:04,250 and stab one of the members of that tribe. 393 00:20:04,333 --> 00:20:06,333 Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. 394 00:20:06,417 --> 00:20:08,750 You killed one of ours; we kill one of yours. 395 00:20:08,833 --> 00:20:10,750 And then they go back to their tribe, 396 00:20:10,833 --> 00:20:12,833 and they're revered as a hero. 397 00:20:12,917 --> 00:20:17,167 And then the other tribe puts together a plan that one of 398 00:20:17,208 --> 00:20:20,875 their soldiers is going to, when they're vulnerable, 399 00:20:20,958 --> 00:20:25,000 sneak over to the other tribe and spear one of their members. 400 00:20:25,042 --> 00:20:30,833 And this goes on, and on, and on for years, 401 00:20:30,917 --> 00:20:32,875 for decades, 402 00:20:32,958 --> 00:20:39,375 for generations, and the body count just goes up. 403 00:20:39,458 --> 00:20:44,667 And if Jesus were to show up, 404 00:20:44,750 --> 00:20:50,375 the first thing that both tribes would want to do is say, 405 00:20:50,458 --> 00:20:52,750 "Here's who they killed." 406 00:20:52,833 --> 00:20:54,375 OK, go over to this--OK. 407 00:20:54,458 --> 00:20:55,792 "No, here's who they killed." 408 00:20:55,833 --> 00:20:57,167 OK, OK. 409 00:20:57,250 --> 00:20:58,583 "Here's who they killed." 410 00:20:58,667 --> 00:21:00,042 OK, OK. 411 00:21:00,125 --> 00:21:02,458 "Here's who"--you could do that forever. 412 00:21:02,500 --> 00:21:08,417 Jesus would show up and say, "You don't kill them, 413 00:21:08,500 --> 00:21:10,833 "and you don't kill them. 414 00:21:10,917 --> 00:21:12,833 "I'll die for both of you. 415 00:21:12,875 --> 00:21:14,958 Stick the spear in me." 416 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,833 And the Lord Jesus goes to the cross, 417 00:21:17,917 --> 00:21:21,708 and he dies for the sin, 418 00:21:21,792 --> 00:21:24,708 and what did they do to his side, Mars Hill? 419 00:21:24,792 --> 00:21:31,625 They spear him so that there can be peace and reconciliation 420 00:21:31,667 --> 00:21:35,333 instead of worldly conflict. 421 00:21:35,417 --> 00:21:41,167 Worldly conflict is where people spear one another and don't 422 00:21:41,208 --> 00:21:44,958 rejoice in the fact that Jesus was speared for them both. 423 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:50,250 So, they keep spearing one another and the result 424 00:21:50,333 --> 00:21:54,208 is they forget that Jesus said, "It's finished." 425 00:21:54,292 --> 00:21:56,208 That's worldly conflict, OK? 426 00:21:56,292 --> 00:21:57,667 I'm guilty of it. 427 00:21:57,708 --> 00:21:59,833 Anybody else guilty of it in your life? 428 00:21:59,917 --> 00:22:03,417 Is there an option? 429 00:22:03,500 --> 00:22:06,125 Well, there's worldly conflict and there's godly conflict. 430 00:22:06,167 --> 00:22:08,000 And before I get into godly conflict, 431 00:22:08,083 --> 00:22:11,917 let me submit to you that some of us want a third option, 432 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:18,083 and that is no conflict. 433 00:22:18,167 --> 00:22:20,750 You are a sinner. 434 00:22:20,833 --> 00:22:22,542 I am a sinner. 435 00:22:22,625 --> 00:22:23,958 We're all sinners. 436 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:25,833 Everybody we meet is a sinner. 437 00:22:25,917 --> 00:22:28,833 We're in a fallen, sinful world. 438 00:22:28,917 --> 00:22:31,542 There's going to be conflict, amen? 439 00:22:31,625 --> 00:22:34,750 Some of you, in an effort to not have conflict, 440 00:22:34,833 --> 00:22:39,125 what you will do is you'll retreat and you'll isolate. 441 00:22:39,167 --> 00:22:41,167 You'll say, "If I don't have relationships, 442 00:22:41,208 --> 00:22:44,833 then I won't have conflict." 443 00:22:44,917 --> 00:22:47,833 This is where people grow up in a home and they see 444 00:22:47,917 --> 00:22:49,542 so much conflict between the parents 445 00:22:49,625 --> 00:22:52,542 that they never want to get married. 446 00:22:52,625 --> 00:22:55,750 This is where people grow up in a home that has so much 447 00:22:55,833 --> 00:22:58,917 conflict, they don't even want to have a family. 448 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:01,500 This is where someone feels betrayed by a close friend, 449 00:23:01,542 --> 00:23:03,000 so they realize, "You know what? 450 00:23:03,042 --> 00:23:05,500 "Friendship equals conflict, equals pain. 451 00:23:05,583 --> 00:23:09,000 "I'm going to isolate. I'm going to retreat. 452 00:23:09,083 --> 00:23:13,125 "I will not leave an opportunity to be hurt. 453 00:23:13,167 --> 00:23:15,833 "Nobody's going to spear me because nobody's going to be 454 00:23:15,875 --> 00:23:19,042 close enough to get the spear in me." 455 00:23:19,125 --> 00:23:21,542 The result is, we withdraw emotionally, 456 00:23:21,625 --> 00:23:23,750 we withdraw relationally. 457 00:23:23,833 --> 00:23:26,042 This is where someone was hurt in a church, 458 00:23:26,125 --> 00:23:29,250 and all of a sudden, they leave and they never go to church 459 00:23:29,333 --> 00:23:33,417 again--no church. 460 00:23:33,500 --> 00:23:39,708 The only way to avoid conflict is to avoid relationship. 461 00:23:41,333 --> 00:23:44,958 If your goal is, "I'm not going to have any conflicts," 462 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:46,458 then what you're saying is, 463 00:23:46,500 --> 00:23:49,833 "I'm not going to have any relationships." 464 00:23:49,917 --> 00:23:56,042 Part of the cost of a relationship is conflict. 465 00:23:56,125 --> 00:23:58,958 This is true with coworkers, this is true with spouse, 466 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,417 this is true with friends, this is true with people 467 00:24:01,500 --> 00:24:03,125 in your Community Group, your Redemption Group. 468 00:24:03,167 --> 00:24:05,625 This is inevitable, 469 00:24:05,667 --> 00:24:07,167 and the more relationships you have, 470 00:24:07,250 --> 00:24:10,708 the more conflict you will have. 471 00:24:10,792 --> 00:24:15,708 So, let me submit to you that the goal is not to avoid 472 00:24:15,792 --> 00:24:20,833 all conflict, but to have godly conflict, if and when that 473 00:24:20,917 --> 00:24:24,333 opportunity is set before you. 474 00:24:24,375 --> 00:24:29,542 And so Pastor James proceeds from worldly conflict, 475 00:24:29,625 --> 00:24:34,708 which is the well-worn rut in the road, to godly conflict, 476 00:24:34,792 --> 00:24:38,708 which is an entirely different path. 477 00:24:38,792 --> 00:24:43,333 Worldly conflict is natural; godly conflict is supernatural. 478 00:24:43,417 --> 00:24:48,708 Worldly conflict is easy; supernatural conflict is hard. 479 00:24:48,792 --> 00:24:50,542 Here's what he says about godly conflict: 480 00:24:50,625 --> 00:24:52,625 James 4:5-10, 481 00:24:52,667 --> 00:24:55,625 "Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture 482 00:24:55,667 --> 00:24:58,417 says"--and this isn't a direct quote of any Scripture. 483 00:24:58,500 --> 00:25:01,333 This is him pulling a theme from all of Scripture. 484 00:25:01,375 --> 00:25:04,000 "'He yearns jealously over the Spirit that he has made 485 00:25:04,083 --> 00:25:05,417 "'to dwell in us?' 486 00:25:05,500 --> 00:25:08,000 "But he gives more grace. 487 00:25:08,042 --> 00:25:10,417 Therefore it says"--and he quotes Proverbs and Peter 488 00:25:10,500 --> 00:25:13,708 quotes this verse as well-- "'God opposes the proud, 489 00:25:13,792 --> 00:25:16,292 "'but gives grace to the humble.' 490 00:25:16,333 --> 00:25:20,417 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. 491 00:25:20,500 --> 00:25:23,250 Resist the devil." 492 00:25:23,333 --> 00:25:26,125 A lot of people who have worldly conflict, 493 00:25:26,167 --> 00:25:28,833 they forget there is a devil. 494 00:25:28,917 --> 00:25:31,333 "Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 495 00:25:31,417 --> 00:25:34,042 "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. 496 00:25:34,125 --> 00:25:36,833 "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, 497 00:25:36,917 --> 00:25:38,333 "you double-minded. 498 00:25:38,375 --> 00:25:40,042 "Be wretched and mourn and weep. 499 00:25:40,125 --> 00:25:41,917 Let your laughter be turned to mourning." 500 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:43,958 Sometimes if people are having worldly conflict, 501 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:47,000 they're joyful, they're celebrating, they're gloating, 502 00:25:47,083 --> 00:25:50,542 they're laughing, and God is weeping. 503 00:25:50,625 --> 00:25:54,833 "Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 504 00:25:54,917 --> 00:25:56,833 "Humble yourselves before the Lord, 505 00:25:56,917 --> 00:25:58,458 and he will exalt you." 506 00:25:58,500 --> 00:26:00,625 Well, when it came to worldly conflict, 507 00:26:00,667 --> 00:26:04,125 Pastor James said it's very simple. 508 00:26:04,167 --> 00:26:07,417 You get emotional, you're frustrated with somebody, 509 00:26:07,500 --> 00:26:09,708 they have something that you want, 510 00:26:09,792 --> 00:26:13,208 and so you go to war to get it. 511 00:26:13,292 --> 00:26:17,500 He's going to give us a lot more things to enjoy, and appreciate, 512 00:26:17,583 --> 00:26:21,833 and examine when it comes to godly conflict. 513 00:26:21,917 --> 00:26:26,167 He's going to say, first of all, the Holy Spirit is in you. 514 00:26:26,208 --> 00:26:29,833 He uses this language: "The Spirit that he has made 515 00:26:29,917 --> 00:26:31,500 to dwell in us." 516 00:26:31,583 --> 00:26:34,500 What he's saying is, we don't need to just be governed 517 00:26:34,583 --> 00:26:35,958 by our emotions. 518 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,000 We can be governed by the indwelling person, presence, 519 00:26:39,083 --> 00:26:43,208 and power of the Holy Spirit. 520 00:26:43,292 --> 00:26:46,250 If you look at the life of Jesus and you ask yourself, 521 00:26:46,333 --> 00:26:48,417 "How did he do it?" 522 00:26:48,500 --> 00:26:51,542 and if you've not read the Gospels, 523 00:26:51,625 --> 00:26:53,042 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 524 00:26:53,125 --> 00:26:54,542 the biographical sketches of Jesus, 525 00:26:54,625 --> 00:26:57,542 if you do read them, true or false, for those of you 526 00:26:57,625 --> 00:26:59,417 that have, you'll see Jesus has conflict. 527 00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:01,125 Can we all agree on that? 528 00:27:01,167 --> 00:27:02,917 Jesus had a ton of conflict. 529 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,625 Some of it was private, some of it was public, 530 00:27:06,667 --> 00:27:13,625 some of it was with one person, some of it was with a mob. 531 00:27:13,667 --> 00:27:19,333 How did Jesus have godly conflict? 532 00:27:19,417 --> 00:27:21,958 How did he do it? 533 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:23,833 Jesus never had worldly conflict. 534 00:27:23,917 --> 00:27:26,667 He had conflict, but he never had worldly conflict. 535 00:27:26,708 --> 00:27:28,333 I've had worldly conflict. 536 00:27:28,417 --> 00:27:29,917 You've had worldly conflict. 537 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:31,333 Jesus, no worldly conflict. 538 00:27:31,375 --> 00:27:34,042 How did he do that? 539 00:27:34,125 --> 00:27:37,542 By the power of the Holy Spirit, 540 00:27:37,625 --> 00:27:39,958 that God became a man, 541 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:43,958 that in addition to his divinity, he added humanity, 542 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,542 and he walked humbly on the earth. 543 00:27:47,625 --> 00:27:51,542 He walked as we must walk. 544 00:27:51,625 --> 00:27:54,833 He didn't cheat, leaning into his divinity. 545 00:27:54,917 --> 00:27:59,458 Instead, he lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. 546 00:27:59,500 --> 00:28:03,417 So, what this means is when our passions are flaming 547 00:28:03,500 --> 00:28:10,000 and we're emotional, whatever the case may be, 548 00:28:10,083 --> 00:28:13,917 we need to remember that the Holy Spirit is in us 549 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:16,917 and to invite and to ask the Holy Spirit 550 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:18,958 to govern our emotions 551 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,333 and to govern our reactions. 552 00:28:22,375 --> 00:28:27,833 The second thing that he says, that God is gracious. 553 00:28:27,917 --> 00:28:31,542 It says, "He gives more grace." 554 00:28:31,625 --> 00:28:34,542 Now, what happens in worldly conflict? 555 00:28:34,625 --> 00:28:38,042 Well, it's not the Holy Spirit who's in charge, 556 00:28:38,125 --> 00:28:42,250 and grace is not present. 557 00:28:42,333 --> 00:28:44,750 But it says, "He gives more grace." 558 00:28:44,833 --> 00:28:47,042 So, what it's saying is, when there's a conflict, 559 00:28:47,125 --> 00:28:51,500 God pours out--he dumps out of his bucket of grace 560 00:28:51,583 --> 00:28:57,167 more grace--grace for everyone involved, 561 00:28:57,208 --> 00:29:01,000 grace for both tribes that are spearing, 562 00:29:01,083 --> 00:29:03,000 because he loves them both. 563 00:29:03,083 --> 00:29:05,208 So when you hear, "He gives grace," don't think, 564 00:29:05,292 --> 00:29:09,125 "Yes, there's grace for me but no grace for them." 565 00:29:09,167 --> 00:29:11,333 No, there's grace for them, too. 566 00:29:11,375 --> 00:29:13,500 There's grace for everyone involved, and God is saying, 567 00:29:13,583 --> 00:29:16,083 "I love everyone. I want to help everyone. 568 00:29:16,167 --> 00:29:18,833 "I want to serve everyone. 569 00:29:18,917 --> 00:29:21,833 "Maybe everybody else in the high school picked a side 570 00:29:21,875 --> 00:29:23,542 "and is going to have their riot. 571 00:29:23,625 --> 00:29:28,500 "I'm trying to serve, and love, and help everyone because 572 00:29:28,583 --> 00:29:32,500 I'm not on anyone's side, and no one's on my side." 573 00:29:36,083 --> 00:29:42,167 When people are having a conflict, they want grace, 574 00:29:42,208 --> 00:29:47,250 but they're prone not to give grace, and God's not like that. 575 00:29:47,333 --> 00:29:49,833 The third thing he says is, "Choose humility." 576 00:29:49,917 --> 00:29:52,333 He quotes Proverbs 3:34. 577 00:29:52,417 --> 00:29:59,250 He says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." 578 00:29:59,333 --> 00:30:03,250 Worldly conflict is marked by pride, 579 00:30:03,333 --> 00:30:07,333 and godly conflict is marked by humility. 580 00:30:07,375 --> 00:30:13,750 Four things I would say on pride. 581 00:30:13,833 --> 00:30:17,333 Pride says, "I am more important." 582 00:30:17,417 --> 00:30:20,083 OK, how do I know that? 583 00:30:20,167 --> 00:30:22,000 Because I've done that. 584 00:30:22,042 --> 00:30:25,875 Pride says, "I am better." 585 00:30:25,958 --> 00:30:30,292 Pride says, "I am right." 586 00:30:30,333 --> 00:30:33,083 And pride says, "I will win." 587 00:30:33,167 --> 00:30:34,750 That's pride. 588 00:30:34,833 --> 00:30:39,375 OK, what's consistent there is, it's about me, 589 00:30:39,458 --> 00:30:42,167 it's not about we. 590 00:30:42,208 --> 00:30:45,000 It's about me; it's not about we. 591 00:30:45,042 --> 00:30:49,333 It's not, "We need to win." 592 00:30:49,417 --> 00:30:51,167 "I need to win." 593 00:30:51,250 --> 00:30:57,667 It's not, "He needs to win"; it's, "I need to win." 594 00:30:57,750 --> 00:31:00,958 And friends, this happens, again, in friendships, 595 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:05,667 it happens in marriages, it happens in families, 596 00:31:05,708 --> 00:31:08,667 it happens in businesses, and since Pastor James 597 00:31:08,708 --> 00:31:13,417 is talking about it, it happens in churches. 598 00:31:13,500 --> 00:31:17,542 Again, pride is a well-worn groove. 599 00:31:17,625 --> 00:31:24,167 We'd even found a way to make it noble--self-esteem. 600 00:31:29,292 --> 00:31:33,542 "God opposes the proud," he says, 601 00:31:33,625 --> 00:31:37,833 "and he gives grace to the humble." 602 00:31:37,917 --> 00:31:41,458 Worldly conflict is all about pride; 603 00:31:41,500 --> 00:31:46,167 godly conflict requires the pursuit of humility. 604 00:31:46,208 --> 00:31:48,333 One author says it well: 605 00:31:48,417 --> 00:31:51,333 "No one can ever say, 'I'm humble,'" right? 606 00:31:51,417 --> 00:31:54,000 If I came to you today and I started my sermon, 607 00:31:54,083 --> 00:31:55,500 "Hi, my name's Pastor Mark. 608 00:31:55,583 --> 00:31:57,250 "Welcome to Mars Hill Church. 609 00:31:57,333 --> 00:31:59,958 "You know, I've been your pastor for 17 years. 610 00:32:00,083 --> 00:32:02,625 "A couple things I'd like you to know about me. 611 00:32:02,667 --> 00:32:05,208 First of all, I'm humble." 612 00:32:05,292 --> 00:32:10,375 True or false, that would sort of negate my entire thesis? 613 00:32:10,458 --> 00:32:16,333 Well, a humble person wouldn't tell us how humble they are. 614 00:32:16,375 --> 00:32:18,958 We can never say, "I'm humble." 615 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:22,333 All we can say is, "I'm a proud person pursuing humility 616 00:32:22,417 --> 00:32:24,833 by the grace of God." 617 00:32:24,917 --> 00:32:27,000 It's like perfection. 618 00:32:27,083 --> 00:32:29,417 No one can ever say, "I'm perfect." 619 00:32:29,500 --> 00:32:32,708 All we can say is, "I'm an imperfect person pursuing 620 00:32:32,792 --> 00:32:37,708 perfection by the grace of God." 621 00:32:37,792 --> 00:32:40,667 When it comes to humility, he says that God opposes the proud 622 00:32:40,708 --> 00:32:42,333 but gives grace to the humble. 623 00:32:42,417 --> 00:32:45,250 Here's what humility allows us to do: 624 00:32:45,333 --> 00:32:47,625 humility in the middle of a conflict allows us 625 00:32:47,667 --> 00:32:51,958 not just to see your sin but to see mine, too. 626 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:55,625 Because when our emotions and our passions get enflamed, 627 00:32:55,667 --> 00:32:59,333 we're so aware of how they're wrong that we tend to overlook 628 00:32:59,417 --> 00:33:03,708 that we might be wrong, too. 629 00:33:03,792 --> 00:33:08,917 Number two, humility allows us to get quieter, 630 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:10,833 not louder. 631 00:33:10,875 --> 00:33:14,417 You can tell when it's going from a conflict to a fight, to 632 00:33:14,500 --> 00:33:16,417 a riot because it gets louder. 633 00:33:16,500 --> 00:33:18,708 I mean, literally, even if it's just two people, 634 00:33:18,792 --> 00:33:22,333 you can tell that they're going to have a serious riot because 635 00:33:22,417 --> 00:33:24,167 what happens to the volume? 636 00:33:24,208 --> 00:33:26,500 It goes up. 637 00:33:26,583 --> 00:33:28,500 "I'm going to win." 638 00:33:28,583 --> 00:33:29,958 "No, I'm going to win." 639 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,417 "No, I'm going to win." "No, I'm going to win!" 640 00:33:32,500 --> 00:33:34,542 You're like, "It's getting loud." 641 00:33:34,625 --> 00:33:40,708 Humility turns the volume down. 642 00:33:40,792 --> 00:33:42,708 Humility says, "If you're going to get louder, 643 00:33:42,792 --> 00:33:45,458 "I'm going to get quieter, and I'm going to invite you 644 00:33:45,500 --> 00:33:47,667 "to get quieter so we can have a conversation 645 00:33:47,708 --> 00:33:50,167 "that's a little more private 646 00:33:50,208 --> 00:33:54,833 and doesn't invite the whole riot to get involved." 647 00:33:54,875 --> 00:34:01,333 Number three, humility allows us to listen more and speak less. 648 00:34:01,375 --> 00:34:03,833 What can I learn? 649 00:34:03,875 --> 00:34:06,000 What do I need to hear? 650 00:34:06,083 --> 00:34:08,125 What's true in this? 651 00:34:08,167 --> 00:34:10,500 What's helpful in this? 652 00:34:10,583 --> 00:34:13,500 It allows us to listen more and speak less. 653 00:34:13,583 --> 00:34:15,500 It's interesting because previously in James 3, 654 00:34:15,583 --> 00:34:19,042 he talked a lot about the tongue and he said that we're like 655 00:34:19,125 --> 00:34:25,125 wild horses, right, and that God needs to get a bit in our mouth 656 00:34:25,167 --> 00:34:29,500 to keep us under control, particularly our speech, 657 00:34:29,583 --> 00:34:34,625 and our tongue, and our language, and our communication. 658 00:34:34,667 --> 00:34:38,667 And what humility allows us to do is to see that 659 00:34:38,708 --> 00:34:40,833 as a good thing, not, 660 00:34:40,917 --> 00:34:43,542 "I need to spit this bit out of my mouth, 661 00:34:43,625 --> 00:34:45,750 "and I need to run out of the pen, 662 00:34:45,833 --> 00:34:48,333 and I need to be free to run passionately." 663 00:34:48,375 --> 00:34:51,167 No, it's, "I need to be under control. 664 00:34:51,208 --> 00:34:53,167 "I need to be under authority. 665 00:34:53,208 --> 00:34:57,500 I need to be broke in." 666 00:35:03,875 --> 00:35:07,708 Number four, humility allows us to submit to godly authority. 667 00:35:07,792 --> 00:35:11,583 You shouldn't submit to all authority, 668 00:35:11,667 --> 00:35:14,333 but you should submit to godly authority. 669 00:35:14,375 --> 00:35:16,417 We all should. 670 00:35:16,500 --> 00:35:19,667 Humility allows us to submit to godly authority because in 671 00:35:19,708 --> 00:35:22,833 certain moments, we want to be our own authority, or what 672 00:35:22,875 --> 00:35:26,542 we want is victory, so we ignore other authority. 673 00:35:26,625 --> 00:35:28,500 I mean, the riot at my high school-- 674 00:35:28,583 --> 00:35:31,542 everybody knew you weren't supposed to have a riot. 675 00:35:31,625 --> 00:35:34,208 I mean, you didn't need to read the manual for that. 676 00:35:34,292 --> 00:35:37,333 It's like, you know, you don't need to hand a student 677 00:35:37,417 --> 00:35:39,750 a manual that says, "Do not call your relatives, 678 00:35:39,833 --> 00:35:43,333 "have them drive into the school with baseball bats 679 00:35:43,375 --> 00:35:45,333 to club your fellow students." 680 00:35:45,417 --> 00:35:46,958 You don't need a manual. 681 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:50,958 Everybody knows that, but what happens when the goal 682 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:54,625 becomes winning, then you have to jettison 683 00:35:54,667 --> 00:35:58,458 and reject all authority. 684 00:35:58,500 --> 00:36:02,917 And you may feel--we feel, I've felt--in a moment, 685 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:07,417 that's a good thing, but long term, it's a very bad thing. 686 00:36:07,500 --> 00:36:11,625 This is where a husband will not listen to the leadership 687 00:36:11,667 --> 00:36:14,375 of the church and the way he is treating his wife 688 00:36:14,458 --> 00:36:15,875 is just not right. 689 00:36:15,958 --> 00:36:17,875 He's like, "Well, the heck with that church. 690 00:36:17,958 --> 00:36:19,250 I'm out of here." 691 00:36:19,333 --> 00:36:22,458 Well now, what he wants is his wife to be under his authority, 692 00:36:22,500 --> 00:36:24,458 but he doesn't want to be under authority. 693 00:36:24,500 --> 00:36:27,042 That means she's in danger. 694 00:36:27,125 --> 00:36:33,125 Humility allows us, particularly when our emotions are raging, 695 00:36:33,167 --> 00:36:35,708 to be under authority, to be under the authority 696 00:36:35,792 --> 00:36:39,333 of godly people. 697 00:36:41,708 --> 00:36:46,458 Number four, Pastor James says, "Submit to God." 698 00:36:46,500 --> 00:36:48,167 Submit to God. 699 00:36:48,208 --> 00:36:50,167 All right, here's what this means: 700 00:36:50,208 --> 00:36:54,208 conflict is never about winning. 701 00:36:54,292 --> 00:36:56,458 I wouldn't have told you this some years ago 702 00:36:56,500 --> 00:37:00,833 because I didn't believe this. 703 00:37:00,875 --> 00:37:06,167 Conflict is never about winning; it's about worshiping. 704 00:37:06,250 --> 00:37:10,917 Conflict is not about winning; it's about worshiping. 705 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:14,375 It's not, "How can I emerge victorious in glory?" 706 00:37:14,458 --> 00:37:17,917 but it's about, "What honors the Lord? 707 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:21,167 "What glorifies the Lord? 708 00:37:21,208 --> 00:37:23,208 What pleases the Lord?" 709 00:37:23,292 --> 00:37:24,958 When he says, "Submit yourself to God," 710 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:27,125 that's what he's saying. 711 00:37:27,167 --> 00:37:29,917 Worldly conflict-- it's about winning. 712 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:34,208 Godly conflict-- it's about worshiping. 713 00:37:34,292 --> 00:37:39,500 Number five, he says to submit who? 714 00:37:39,583 --> 00:37:41,542 Excuse me, not submit. 715 00:37:41,625 --> 00:37:43,458 You definitely don't want to do that. 716 00:37:43,500 --> 00:37:45,667 Just so you know, I'm getting old and things 717 00:37:45,708 --> 00:37:47,042 are getting blurry. 718 00:37:47,125 --> 00:37:49,542 I went to the eye doctor recently and I said, 719 00:37:49,625 --> 00:37:50,958 "I'm having trouble reading." 720 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:53,708 He said, "Men at your age do," which was not encouraging, 721 00:37:53,792 --> 00:37:57,250 but was clarifying, OK? 722 00:37:57,333 --> 00:37:59,333 So, sometimes I read things and they're blurry. 723 00:37:59,375 --> 00:38:01,125 And he said, "You need glasses." 724 00:38:01,167 --> 00:38:03,625 I said, "I will pray about that." 725 00:38:03,667 --> 00:38:07,167 So, pray about me and my glasses. 726 00:38:07,250 --> 00:38:10,833 So, what I wasn't going to tell you is, "Submit to the devil." 727 00:38:10,875 --> 00:38:15,000 OK, that was not what I was hoping to tell you because 728 00:38:15,083 --> 00:38:18,500 that's not the word, but it was to my old eyes for a moment. 729 00:38:18,542 --> 00:38:20,417 It says to, what, the devil? 730 00:38:20,500 --> 00:38:22,042 Resist. 731 00:38:22,125 --> 00:38:25,833 And this is language of combat, OK? 732 00:38:25,917 --> 00:38:28,167 So when there's a conflict, there's a fight, 733 00:38:28,208 --> 00:38:30,458 but here's the thing to remember, Christian: 734 00:38:30,500 --> 00:38:33,750 You're not fighting the person. 735 00:38:33,833 --> 00:38:36,125 You're fighting the devil. 736 00:38:36,167 --> 00:38:37,958 This is where Paul says in Ephesians, 737 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:41,250 "Our war is not against flesh and blood." 738 00:38:41,333 --> 00:38:43,333 It's not against people but against powers, principalities, 739 00:38:43,417 --> 00:38:45,542 and spirits. 740 00:38:45,625 --> 00:38:48,333 When he says, "Resist the devil," 741 00:38:48,417 --> 00:38:52,542 this is language like a military engagement 742 00:38:52,625 --> 00:38:55,958 where he's telling the soldiers, "Don't retreat. 743 00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,833 Hold your ground," 744 00:38:58,875 --> 00:39:02,000 because Satan's going to launch an assault. 745 00:39:02,042 --> 00:39:04,292 This is what happens in a military campaign. 746 00:39:04,333 --> 00:39:07,792 The army gets together, and they all march forward, 747 00:39:07,833 --> 00:39:10,208 and their hope is that you will retreat 748 00:39:10,292 --> 00:39:12,208 so that they can have victory. 749 00:39:12,292 --> 00:39:15,125 What he's saying is that, really, 750 00:39:15,167 --> 00:39:19,167 behind the marching army is the enemy, 751 00:39:19,208 --> 00:39:21,333 and you've got to resist him 752 00:39:21,417 --> 00:39:24,125 because you're not fighting those people. 753 00:39:24,167 --> 00:39:30,333 Those people are captives in war. 754 00:39:30,375 --> 00:39:34,000 And resisting the devil means, very practically, 755 00:39:34,083 --> 00:39:37,542 he's going to hand you a script for worldly conflict, 756 00:39:37,625 --> 00:39:42,167 and he's going to want you to read that script. 757 00:39:42,208 --> 00:39:45,833 And resisting the devil says, "No, by the grace of God, 758 00:39:45,875 --> 00:39:47,542 "through the power of the Holy Spirit, 759 00:39:47,625 --> 00:39:49,958 "following the example of the Lord Jesus, 760 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:54,375 I want to respond in a way that is godly, not worldly." 761 00:39:58,083 --> 00:40:03,125 Some things that Satan is going to do--we'll call them tactics. 762 00:40:03,167 --> 00:40:05,458 He's going to make us defensive. 763 00:40:05,500 --> 00:40:06,833 "You don't understand. 764 00:40:06,917 --> 00:40:08,333 Let me explain. No, let me--" 765 00:40:08,417 --> 00:40:09,833 Stubborn. 766 00:40:09,875 --> 00:40:14,833 "Well, I'm not going to--I'm not going to--I'm not." 767 00:40:14,917 --> 00:40:16,833 Self-righteous. 768 00:40:16,917 --> 00:40:18,250 "I didn't do anything wrong. 769 00:40:18,333 --> 00:40:24,042 Their way was--let me tell you what they did." 770 00:40:24,125 --> 00:40:28,875 And/or, again, 771 00:40:28,958 --> 00:40:32,667 Satan will want us to come out from 772 00:40:32,750 --> 00:40:36,375 godly authority and to be our only authority, 773 00:40:36,458 --> 00:40:42,458 or to pursue ungodly authority. 774 00:40:42,500 --> 00:40:45,292 And every dad who's got a teenage daughter 775 00:40:45,333 --> 00:40:46,875 who's dating the wrong guy, 776 00:40:46,958 --> 00:40:50,167 knows exactly how dangerous this is. 777 00:40:50,208 --> 00:40:51,667 "Sweetheart, he's not the right guy." 778 00:40:51,708 --> 00:40:53,667 "Oh but, Dad, I've decided I trust him, 779 00:40:53,708 --> 00:40:55,167 and I'm going to follow him." 780 00:40:55,208 --> 00:40:57,292 "No, don't do that." 781 00:40:57,333 --> 00:40:59,167 "But I--" 782 00:40:59,250 --> 00:41:00,958 what's the teenage daughter always say? 783 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:03,750 "I feel--" 784 00:41:03,833 --> 00:41:07,333 Dad's like, "That's why I'm here. 785 00:41:07,417 --> 00:41:11,750 "Your emotions are leading you to be under authority 786 00:41:11,833 --> 00:41:15,750 "that is not helpful for you. 787 00:41:15,833 --> 00:41:19,708 They're going to use you; they're going to harm you." 788 00:41:19,792 --> 00:41:24,625 So, we've got to resist the devil. 789 00:41:24,667 --> 00:41:31,542 And I would ask you, how does he tend to tempt you? 790 00:41:31,625 --> 00:41:33,458 Let me ask you a question. 791 00:41:33,500 --> 00:41:36,625 Can the devil use a Christian? 792 00:41:36,667 --> 00:41:39,042 Yes or no? 793 00:41:39,125 --> 00:41:40,750 Yes. 794 00:41:40,833 --> 00:41:44,167 Now, he can't possess them in terms of owning them. 795 00:41:44,208 --> 00:41:47,917 Once you belong to Jesus, you belong to Jesus forever. 796 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:51,042 He says, "No one can snatch you out of my hand." 797 00:41:51,125 --> 00:41:54,333 But you can belong to Jesus, and on occasion, 798 00:41:54,417 --> 00:41:56,542 even as a Christian, even a mature Christian, 799 00:41:56,625 --> 00:42:01,125 even a godly Christian, have an ungodly moment where 800 00:42:01,167 --> 00:42:03,667 Satan uses you. 801 00:42:03,750 --> 00:42:06,500 And this becomes very confusing because you're like, 802 00:42:06,542 --> 00:42:08,500 "Well, they're a great person, 803 00:42:08,583 --> 00:42:10,333 "and I know they're a Christian, 804 00:42:10,375 --> 00:42:15,000 and maybe they're right," or maybe, in this instance, 805 00:42:15,042 --> 00:42:18,125 not to malign their whole character, not to attack them, 806 00:42:18,167 --> 00:42:19,708 because we've all done this. 807 00:42:19,792 --> 00:42:21,708 Have you said or done anything you regret? 808 00:42:21,792 --> 00:42:23,125 I have. 809 00:42:23,167 --> 00:42:25,000 We've all had these moments. 810 00:42:25,083 --> 00:42:28,958 There's one recorded in Matthew 16:23. 811 00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:32,167 OK, Jesus and Peter are going for--let's say 812 00:42:32,208 --> 00:42:33,542 they're going for a walk. 813 00:42:33,625 --> 00:42:35,458 They're having a conversation. 814 00:42:35,500 --> 00:42:40,125 Jesus looks at Peter and says something that the other guys 815 00:42:40,167 --> 00:42:43,500 probably had a conversation about later, and it was, 816 00:42:43,583 --> 00:42:47,458 "Get behind me, Satan." 817 00:42:47,500 --> 00:42:49,625 They go, "That's not his name. 818 00:42:49,667 --> 00:42:53,042 His name's Peter." 819 00:42:53,125 --> 00:42:56,542 Are Peter and Satan the same guy? 820 00:42:56,625 --> 00:42:58,000 No. 821 00:42:58,083 --> 00:43:00,500 Did Peter belong to Jesus or Satan? 822 00:43:00,542 --> 00:43:01,917 Jesus. 823 00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:05,125 But in that moment, who was he speaking for? 824 00:43:05,167 --> 00:43:07,333 Satan. 825 00:43:07,375 --> 00:43:11,000 The context is that Peter was saying something that Satan 826 00:43:11,083 --> 00:43:15,333 wanted him to say, and Jesus got right to the heart of the matter 827 00:43:15,375 --> 00:43:18,625 and said, "That's not what I told you to say. 828 00:43:18,667 --> 00:43:22,917 Satan told you to say that, so get behind me, Satan." 829 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:26,000 So, Jesus is resisting Satan speaking through Peter, 830 00:43:26,083 --> 00:43:27,833 and he's inviting Peter and the disciples 831 00:43:27,875 --> 00:43:30,333 to make this distinction and to do the same. 832 00:43:30,375 --> 00:43:33,958 Resist the devil. 833 00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:35,542 "Get behind me, Satan." 834 00:43:35,625 --> 00:43:37,250 That's Jesus' language. 835 00:43:37,333 --> 00:43:43,833 And he makes a promise, if you will resist the devil, 836 00:43:43,917 --> 00:43:46,458 he will what? 837 00:43:46,500 --> 00:43:50,458 Flee, but you got to hang in there awhile, OK? 838 00:43:50,500 --> 00:43:52,667 You got to hang in there a while. 839 00:43:52,708 --> 00:43:54,042 It's like a fight. 840 00:43:54,125 --> 00:43:56,542 It's like, if you don't run and you don't quit, 841 00:43:56,625 --> 00:43:58,625 eventually the other guy might. 842 00:43:58,667 --> 00:44:03,333 And here, it promises that Satan will. 843 00:44:03,375 --> 00:44:07,917 Number six, he says, "Draw near to God." 844 00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:14,833 In ancient military campaigns, this nation would go out, 845 00:44:14,875 --> 00:44:17,833 and this nation would go out, and as the battle raged, 846 00:44:17,875 --> 00:44:24,458 you didn't know where you were because it's just overwhelming, 847 00:44:24,500 --> 00:44:27,333 it's exhausting, it's hand-to-hand combat. 848 00:44:27,417 --> 00:44:30,042 You're like, "Are we over there? 849 00:44:30,125 --> 00:44:31,542 "Are we over there? 850 00:44:31,625 --> 00:44:33,208 "Are we over--like, where's my guys? 851 00:44:33,292 --> 00:44:35,042 I don't even know where to go." 852 00:44:35,125 --> 00:44:37,500 You completely lose sight of where you're at 853 00:44:37,583 --> 00:44:39,042 and where you're going. 854 00:44:39,125 --> 00:44:42,958 It's disorienting. 855 00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:45,625 So he says, "Draw near to God." 856 00:44:45,667 --> 00:44:48,625 He says, "In the middle of everything, find the Lord," 857 00:44:48,667 --> 00:44:50,000 right? 858 00:44:50,083 --> 00:44:51,542 Get to the Lord. 859 00:44:51,625 --> 00:44:53,333 Stick with the Lord. 860 00:44:53,417 --> 00:44:59,333 Stay close to the Lord. 861 00:44:59,375 --> 00:45:02,500 You ever read in the Scriptures or sing some of those songs 862 00:45:02,583 --> 00:45:06,333 that talk about the Lord and his banners or 863 00:45:06,375 --> 00:45:08,125 "His banner over me is love"? 864 00:45:08,167 --> 00:45:11,125 What they would do in a military campaign is some guy-- 865 00:45:11,167 --> 00:45:13,292 I think he drew the short straw. 866 00:45:13,333 --> 00:45:16,667 He didn't get a weapon; he got a flag. 867 00:45:16,750 --> 00:45:18,208 It's kind of hard to--you're like, 868 00:45:18,292 --> 00:45:20,458 "They have a sword, and I have a flag. 869 00:45:20,500 --> 00:45:23,458 I don't feel like this is going to go well for me." 870 00:45:23,500 --> 00:45:26,833 But the guy with the flag--his job was to get the flag up. 871 00:45:26,917 --> 00:45:28,833 And you'd say, "Well, there's my flag, 872 00:45:28,917 --> 00:45:31,167 "so I need to get over to my team. 873 00:45:31,208 --> 00:45:33,667 "And I know where my team is because I know 874 00:45:33,708 --> 00:45:35,750 where our flag is." 875 00:45:35,833 --> 00:45:38,667 What he's saying here is, "In the middle of the conflict, 876 00:45:38,708 --> 00:45:41,625 look up, and find the Lord, and get to him." 877 00:45:41,667 --> 00:45:47,125 The only way out of the conflict is to get to the Lord. 878 00:45:47,167 --> 00:45:49,333 I don't know what that looks like for you--prayer, 879 00:45:49,417 --> 00:45:52,833 Bible study, maintaining relationships with godly people, 880 00:45:52,917 --> 00:45:56,250 seeking godly counsel, spending time in prayer 881 00:45:56,333 --> 00:45:58,833 and song to the Lord. 882 00:45:58,917 --> 00:46:03,000 Sometimes those are the first things that we get rid of 883 00:46:03,042 --> 00:46:08,667 when we need them as our first priority. 884 00:46:08,750 --> 00:46:14,000 And he says, number seven, "Get cleaned up." 885 00:46:14,042 --> 00:46:18,083 He uses, actually, some strong language. 886 00:46:18,167 --> 00:46:21,667 "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, 887 00:46:21,708 --> 00:46:23,333 you double-minded." 888 00:46:23,417 --> 00:46:26,458 When we were in Ephesians, I told you that almost every time 889 00:46:26,500 --> 00:46:28,625 in the Bible that God speaks to believers, 890 00:46:28,667 --> 00:46:32,042 he calls us saints and not sinners because our identity 891 00:46:32,125 --> 00:46:35,625 is saint, and sometimes our activity is sin. 892 00:46:35,667 --> 00:46:37,333 But here, James uses strong language. 893 00:46:37,417 --> 00:46:41,125 He says, "You're sinners." 894 00:46:41,167 --> 00:46:44,833 And what this means is that even saints have moments 895 00:46:44,875 --> 00:46:47,542 where they act like sinners. 896 00:46:47,625 --> 00:46:53,708 Saint may be our identity, but sometimes sin is our activity. 897 00:46:53,792 --> 00:46:57,250 And what he says is, "You've got to cleanse yourself. 898 00:46:57,333 --> 00:47:00,417 You've got to get this cleaned up." 899 00:47:00,500 --> 00:47:05,583 So, start by washing your own hands, looking at your own life, 900 00:47:05,667 --> 00:47:07,417 saying, "Hey, did I do anything wrong? 901 00:47:07,500 --> 00:47:08,833 "Did I say anything wrong? 902 00:47:08,875 --> 00:47:11,500 "Is there anything I need to fix, apologize for, get right, 903 00:47:11,542 --> 00:47:17,625 in the future, do different?" 904 00:47:17,667 --> 00:47:24,333 Only through humility is it possible to even pursue that, 905 00:47:24,417 --> 00:47:27,625 because in the middle of a conflict, 906 00:47:27,667 --> 00:47:30,333 our hands are filled with what? 907 00:47:30,417 --> 00:47:34,833 Mud, and it's just a lot of this... 908 00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:40,042 And James says, "Hey, look at your hand. 909 00:47:40,125 --> 00:47:42,250 "It's covered in mud. 910 00:47:42,333 --> 00:47:48,333 "Time to put the mud down. 911 00:47:48,417 --> 00:47:51,583 Time to wash your hands." 912 00:47:56,125 --> 00:48:03,000 What this means is if we're wrong, we own it. 913 00:48:03,042 --> 00:48:06,167 If we think we're wrong, we own it. 914 00:48:06,250 --> 00:48:12,000 If the godly mediator says we're wrong, we own it. 915 00:48:12,083 --> 00:48:16,000 And number eight, be patient. 916 00:48:16,083 --> 00:48:18,417 Here's what he says: "Humble yourselves before the Lord, 917 00:48:18,500 --> 00:48:19,833 and he will exalt you." 918 00:48:19,875 --> 00:48:21,542 Some of your translations will say, 919 00:48:21,625 --> 00:48:23,500 "And he'll exalt you when it's time." 920 00:48:23,583 --> 00:48:26,250 I don't know about you, the first time I heard 921 00:48:26,333 --> 00:48:29,750 a gunshot--you ever been around when there's a gunshot? 922 00:48:29,833 --> 00:48:32,208 Not like at the range or out duck hunting-- 923 00:48:32,292 --> 00:48:35,250 an unexpected gunshot. 924 00:48:35,333 --> 00:48:39,000 First thing I did first time I heard a gunshot, I went down. 925 00:48:39,083 --> 00:48:42,458 Literally--oop--I'm not smart, but I know that less of me 926 00:48:42,500 --> 00:48:46,042 is advantageous right about now, OK? 927 00:48:46,125 --> 00:48:49,042 You know, the wrong guy's like, "Huh, I wonder what that was." 928 00:48:49,125 --> 00:48:50,458 Get down, right? 929 00:48:50,500 --> 00:48:53,625 The first thing they tell you in combat: you hear bullets fly, 930 00:48:53,667 --> 00:48:55,458 get down. 931 00:48:55,500 --> 00:48:58,250 When there's conflict and bullets start flying, 932 00:48:58,333 --> 00:48:59,958 what he says is, "Humble yourself. 933 00:49:00,083 --> 00:49:04,125 Get down. Stay down." 934 00:49:04,167 --> 00:49:09,208 Don't rise up; fall down. 935 00:49:09,292 --> 00:49:12,833 What he says is, "And he will lift you up when it's time," 936 00:49:12,875 --> 00:49:18,125 meaning the Lord loves you, and he says, "You know what, 937 00:49:18,167 --> 00:49:19,542 "just stay down right now. 938 00:49:19,625 --> 00:49:21,458 "The bullets are flying. 939 00:49:21,500 --> 00:49:27,000 "And when it's safe, I'll come, and pick you up, 940 00:49:27,083 --> 00:49:33,333 and help you out, and move you forward." 941 00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:41,458 And then he ends with a great question. 942 00:49:41,500 --> 00:49:43,833 He starts with a great question: 943 00:49:43,917 --> 00:49:45,958 "What causes fights and quarrels among you?" 944 00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:47,500 That's a good question. 945 00:49:47,583 --> 00:49:50,250 And then he ends with another really good question: 946 00:49:50,333 --> 00:49:52,750 "Who are you to judge?" 947 00:49:52,833 --> 00:49:55,667 Now, we say this all the time, right? 948 00:49:55,708 --> 00:49:59,167 And what we mean is, "I'm judging you. 949 00:49:59,208 --> 00:50:01,250 Who are you to judge me?" 950 00:50:01,333 --> 00:50:03,667 He's saying this to how many people? 951 00:50:03,708 --> 00:50:05,667 Everybody. 952 00:50:05,708 --> 00:50:10,750 "Do not speak evil against one another." 953 00:50:10,833 --> 00:50:13,458 Wow. 954 00:50:13,500 --> 00:50:17,958 In my worst moments, I would say, "This is true." 955 00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:22,375 But is it negative, is it critical, is it hurtful? 956 00:50:22,458 --> 00:50:24,792 Well, then it's evil. 957 00:50:24,833 --> 00:50:27,500 "Do not speak evil against"--who? 958 00:50:27,542 --> 00:50:33,167 One another, fellow Christians, brothers, family. 959 00:50:33,208 --> 00:50:35,375 How many of you grew up in a family 960 00:50:35,458 --> 00:50:37,583 and they had conflict? 961 00:50:37,667 --> 00:50:42,500 If you didn't have conflict, you didn't have a family. 962 00:50:42,542 --> 00:50:47,583 Families are going to have conflict, but nobody should die, 963 00:50:47,667 --> 00:50:51,833 or be kicked out of the family, or quit the family, 964 00:50:51,917 --> 00:50:54,167 or set the house on fire. 965 00:50:54,250 --> 00:50:57,583 "The one who speaks against a brother 966 00:50:57,667 --> 00:50:59,458 "or judges his brother, 967 00:50:59,500 --> 00:51:01,917 "speaks evil against the law and judges the law. 968 00:51:02,000 --> 00:51:05,250 "But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law 969 00:51:05,333 --> 00:51:06,667 "but a judge. 970 00:51:06,708 --> 00:51:09,250 There is only"--how many lawgivers? 971 00:51:09,333 --> 00:51:10,667 One. 972 00:51:10,708 --> 00:51:12,458 Oh, that job's taken? 973 00:51:12,500 --> 00:51:13,958 I applied for it. 974 00:51:14,000 --> 00:51:15,333 I was hoping. 975 00:51:15,417 --> 00:51:17,333 Well, how about judge? Is judge still open? 976 00:51:17,417 --> 00:51:22,667 And--oh, really, judge was filled, too. 977 00:51:22,708 --> 00:51:24,917 "He who is able to save and to destroy." 978 00:51:25,000 --> 00:51:26,542 Here's his question. 979 00:51:26,625 --> 00:51:29,167 His first question was, "What causes fights 980 00:51:29,208 --> 00:51:31,042 and quarrels among you?" 981 00:51:31,125 --> 00:51:36,125 His last question is, "Who are you to judge your neighbor?" 982 00:51:38,333 --> 00:51:42,458 And the big question is, 983 00:51:42,500 --> 00:51:47,667 why do we think that we have the right to be the judge? 984 00:51:47,750 --> 00:51:52,083 Because here's what happens in worldly conflict. 985 00:51:52,167 --> 00:51:57,792 Something happens and somebody decides, "I'll be the judge, 986 00:51:57,833 --> 00:52:03,875 and I'll convene a jury, and I'll render a verdict." 987 00:52:05,500 --> 00:52:07,833 How many of you have done this? 988 00:52:07,875 --> 00:52:09,958 I've done it. 989 00:52:10,000 --> 00:52:15,250 Sometimes we convene a jury physically, talk to people. 990 00:52:15,333 --> 00:52:17,375 Sometimes we convene a jury digitally, 991 00:52:17,458 --> 00:52:21,083 try to get everybody on our side, whatever the case may be. 992 00:52:21,167 --> 00:52:24,292 And what happens when you go to a court, 993 00:52:24,333 --> 00:52:27,167 where does the judge sit? 994 00:52:27,250 --> 00:52:31,167 The judge sits in the high seat, OK? 995 00:52:31,208 --> 00:52:37,167 So, it takes a little pride to get up to the high seat. 996 00:52:37,208 --> 00:52:39,667 "I'll be the judge, I'll sit in the high seat, 997 00:52:39,750 --> 00:52:44,333 "and I'll convene the jury, and I'll render a verdict, 998 00:52:44,417 --> 00:52:50,000 and I'll execute a punishment so that there can be justice." 999 00:52:50,042 --> 00:52:53,833 And Jesus walks in the courtroom and is like, "What's going on?" 1000 00:52:53,917 --> 00:52:55,875 "We're holding court." 1001 00:52:55,958 --> 00:53:00,542 "I didn't get invited. 1002 00:53:00,625 --> 00:53:02,542 Who's on the bench?" 1003 00:53:02,625 --> 00:53:04,042 "Well, they are." 1004 00:53:04,125 --> 00:53:06,417 "I didn't appoint them. 1005 00:53:06,500 --> 00:53:08,250 "In fact, that's my seat. 1006 00:53:08,333 --> 00:53:15,167 Why are they sitting in my seat?" 1007 00:53:17,667 --> 00:53:20,500 "Well, we've rendered a verdict!" 1008 00:53:20,542 --> 00:53:27,458 Jesus said, "That's my job. I give the law and I judge. 1009 00:53:27,500 --> 00:53:30,375 "There's only one. 1010 00:53:30,458 --> 00:53:35,458 There's only one, and that's no one else." 1011 00:53:38,000 --> 00:53:40,333 That's how worldly conflict goes. 1012 00:53:40,417 --> 00:53:43,583 Here's how godly conflict goes: 1013 00:53:43,667 --> 00:53:48,875 Jesus walks in, goes up to the bench, 1014 00:53:48,958 --> 00:53:52,667 "You're dismissed. 1015 00:53:52,750 --> 00:53:57,000 You're now former judge." 1016 00:53:57,042 --> 00:54:02,500 He sits down, looks at both parties, and says, 1017 00:54:02,583 --> 00:54:04,250 "You're guilty." 1018 00:54:04,333 --> 00:54:07,042 And the other side cheers, "Yay!" 1019 00:54:07,125 --> 00:54:09,458 And then he says, "And you're guilty!" 1020 00:54:09,500 --> 00:54:11,667 You're like, "What?" 1021 00:54:11,708 --> 00:54:16,083 "You're all guilty 1022 00:54:16,167 --> 00:54:20,750 "and the punishment is death. 1023 00:54:23,833 --> 00:54:30,167 "And I'm going to die for you both, 1024 00:54:30,208 --> 00:54:34,667 "so put your spears down. 1025 00:54:34,750 --> 00:54:40,583 "It's not about winning, it's about worshiping. 1026 00:54:40,667 --> 00:54:45,000 "And I'm going to reconcile with them, 1027 00:54:45,042 --> 00:54:47,750 "and I'm going to reconcile with them, 1028 00:54:47,833 --> 00:54:52,542 and you're going to reconcile with each other." 1029 00:54:52,625 --> 00:54:57,792 And that's the verdict of the judge. 1030 00:54:57,833 --> 00:55:00,500 That's godly conflict. 1031 00:55:00,583 --> 00:55:02,417 You say, "Where's the justice?" 1032 00:55:02,500 --> 00:55:04,042 At the cross. 1033 00:55:04,125 --> 00:55:05,542 "Well, who's going to pay?" 1034 00:55:05,625 --> 00:55:09,708 Jesus already did. 1035 00:55:13,167 --> 00:55:16,292 You know, I'll tell you a story. 1036 00:55:16,333 --> 00:55:17,833 I thought I was done. 1037 00:55:17,917 --> 00:55:21,667 I often think I'm done and I'm not. 1038 00:55:21,708 --> 00:55:25,542 This week, Grace and I celebrated 26 years together 1039 00:55:25,625 --> 00:55:27,583 since our first date. 1040 00:55:27,667 --> 00:55:30,500 If you're new, Grace is my wife's name, 1041 00:55:30,542 --> 00:55:32,375 also my best friend. 1042 00:55:32,458 --> 00:55:34,792 And when we got married, 1043 00:55:34,833 --> 00:55:37,542 we were between our junior and senior year of college, 1044 00:55:37,625 --> 00:55:39,042 flat broke. 1045 00:55:39,125 --> 00:55:41,375 Flat broke. College broke. 1046 00:55:41,458 --> 00:55:44,500 And so we rented a little cabin-- 1047 00:55:44,542 --> 00:55:46,167 cottage off the Oregon coast, 1048 00:55:46,250 --> 00:55:49,333 drove down to get a few days together before we drove off 1049 00:55:49,417 --> 00:55:52,333 to college to finish our senior year. 1050 00:55:52,417 --> 00:55:55,167 And I was so excited to get married, 1051 00:55:55,250 --> 00:55:57,167 so looking forward to it. 1052 00:55:57,250 --> 00:56:01,333 And we went to the Oregon coast and we checked in at this 1053 00:56:01,417 --> 00:56:05,708 little kind of bed and breakfast cottage off the beach, 1054 00:56:05,792 --> 00:56:09,542 and didn't know it, but it was run by a Christian woman. 1055 00:56:09,625 --> 00:56:13,542 Very sweet, pleasant, likeable lady. 1056 00:56:13,625 --> 00:56:17,542 So, you know, filling out the paperwork, and she says, 1057 00:56:17,625 --> 00:56:19,083 "So you guys were just married!" 1058 00:56:19,167 --> 00:56:20,833 I said, "Yeah, we were just married." 1059 00:56:20,917 --> 00:56:23,042 She said, "Well, I've been married"--I don't know, 1060 00:56:23,125 --> 00:56:25,042 30 years, 40 years, whatever it was. 1061 00:56:25,125 --> 00:56:27,833 To me being married 30 minutes, 40 minutes, very impressive. 1062 00:56:27,917 --> 00:56:29,667 All right, very impressive. 1063 00:56:29,708 --> 00:56:32,667 So I ask her--I said, "You got any advice?" 1064 00:56:32,708 --> 00:56:35,292 She said, "Yes I do." 1065 00:56:35,333 --> 00:56:38,500 And it was one of the moments I felt like the Holy Spirit 1066 00:56:38,542 --> 00:56:42,833 gave her wisdom to deposit into our family. 1067 00:56:42,917 --> 00:56:49,042 She said, "Right now, you're a family." 1068 00:56:49,125 --> 00:56:51,792 And I knew Grace was going to be my wife, 1069 00:56:51,833 --> 00:56:56,083 but I hadn't thought of the fact that we were a family. 1070 00:56:56,167 --> 00:56:59,458 I thought she is my wife, but we are a family. 1071 00:56:59,500 --> 00:57:01,125 Yeah, we are. We're a family. 1072 00:57:01,167 --> 00:57:03,833 I have a family. We're a family. 1073 00:57:03,917 --> 00:57:08,542 And she said, "The key to your marriage is to know that when 1074 00:57:08,625 --> 00:57:15,333 you have conflict, that they're your family, not your enemy." 1075 00:57:16,833 --> 00:57:19,458 She said, "There are times that they're going to feel like 1076 00:57:19,500 --> 00:57:20,833 your enemy." 1077 00:57:20,917 --> 00:57:23,958 Twenty-six years later, yes, OK? 1078 00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:26,500 Any of you married and say, "I felt that." 1079 00:57:26,542 --> 00:57:31,000 We've been married 21, been together 26. 1080 00:57:31,042 --> 00:57:33,750 She said, "There'll be times that they're going to feel like 1081 00:57:33,833 --> 00:57:37,292 your enemy," she said, "but they're not your enemy." 1082 00:57:37,333 --> 00:57:39,875 She actually made us face one another. 1083 00:57:39,958 --> 00:57:44,458 She said, "You're not enemy; you're family." 1084 00:57:44,500 --> 00:57:50,667 And she said, "But you do have an enemy. 1085 00:57:50,750 --> 00:57:53,167 "You do have an enemy, 1086 00:57:53,250 --> 00:57:57,375 "and the enemy wants to turn the family 1087 00:57:57,458 --> 00:58:00,708 into a bunch of enemies." 1088 00:58:00,792 --> 00:58:05,333 She said, "That's Satan's tactic and trick for the family is 1089 00:58:05,417 --> 00:58:09,750 to cause you to think that your family is your enemy." 1090 00:58:09,833 --> 00:58:13,583 She said, "Family is not enemy. 1091 00:58:13,667 --> 00:58:16,583 "You have family, and there's an enemy, 1092 00:58:16,667 --> 00:58:19,583 "and the enemy will attack your family, 1093 00:58:19,667 --> 00:58:22,583 "and your family needs to resist your enemy, 1094 00:58:22,667 --> 00:58:24,000 and he'll flee from you." 1095 00:58:24,042 --> 00:58:26,833 She quoted this verse. 1096 00:58:26,917 --> 00:58:29,667 I felt, "What a wise woman." 1097 00:58:29,750 --> 00:58:31,583 I remember that moment. 1098 00:58:31,667 --> 00:58:33,500 I thought, "This is a gift." 1099 00:58:33,542 --> 00:58:37,250 There have been times in our marriage and in our family that, 1100 00:58:37,333 --> 00:58:39,250 quite frankly, Grace and I have had conflict 1101 00:58:39,333 --> 00:58:40,792 and we felt like enemy. 1102 00:58:40,833 --> 00:58:42,292 Any married people been there? 1103 00:58:42,333 --> 00:58:45,000 And I keep going back to the Scriptures and the wisdom 1104 00:58:45,042 --> 00:58:49,750 of the Spirit-filled woman, saying, "I choose to be family. 1105 00:58:49,833 --> 00:58:53,250 I choose to not see as enemy." 1106 00:58:53,333 --> 00:58:55,458 And the times I've gotten it wrong, 1107 00:58:55,500 --> 00:58:58,792 I've then repented to Grace to get it right. 1108 00:58:58,833 --> 00:59:01,333 Because if it's family, even if you made it wrong, 1109 00:59:01,417 --> 00:59:05,958 you can always make it right, because that's what families do. 1110 00:59:06,000 --> 00:59:09,250 And James here is speaking, and here's what he's saying: 1111 00:59:09,333 --> 00:59:14,750 "Church is a family, 1112 00:59:14,833 --> 00:59:19,833 "and the family has an enemy. 1113 00:59:19,917 --> 00:59:24,292 "And if you forget that, you'll act in a way that is worldly 1114 00:59:24,333 --> 00:59:26,750 and not godly." 1115 00:59:26,833 --> 00:59:29,792 The times that I have not believed that or not walked in 1116 00:59:29,833 --> 00:59:36,083 that, I have acted in a way that is worldly and not godly. 1117 00:59:36,167 --> 00:59:39,500 So, what we're going to do together now is 1118 00:59:39,542 --> 00:59:44,375 we're going to respond as a family. 1119 00:59:44,458 --> 00:59:47,375 We're going to collect our tithes and offerings. 1120 00:59:47,458 --> 00:59:49,875 After that, we're going to take Communion. 1121 00:59:49,958 --> 00:59:51,292 When we take Communion, 1122 00:59:51,333 --> 00:59:55,292 we remember Jesus was speared by me. 1123 00:59:55,333 --> 00:59:57,792 Not just for me, by me. 1124 00:59:57,833 --> 01:00:00,292 And he was also speared for the one that 1125 01:00:00,333 --> 01:00:03,042 I would consider my enemy. 1126 01:00:03,125 --> 01:00:07,000 And together, he causes peace, he reconciles, 1127 01:00:07,042 --> 01:00:08,750 and he makes us family. 1128 01:00:08,833 --> 01:00:11,167 And I would say, if you're here, and there's someone 1129 01:00:11,250 --> 01:00:15,375 that you're with and you're in conflict with, 1130 01:00:15,458 --> 01:00:20,292 this is a wonderful opportunity for you to begin that process 1131 01:00:20,333 --> 01:00:24,292 of reconciling, and apologizing, and loving, 1132 01:00:24,333 --> 01:00:27,750 and being family and not enemy. 1133 01:00:27,833 --> 01:00:31,292 And then we're going to sing, OK? 1134 01:00:31,333 --> 01:00:35,500 This is our way of submitting ourselves to God. 1135 01:00:35,542 --> 01:00:40,167 This is our way of looking up and seeing the Lord Jesus 1136 01:00:40,250 --> 01:00:42,583 sitting on the bench, high and exalted, 1137 01:00:42,667 --> 01:00:48,000 saying he has condemned us all, he has died for us all, 1138 01:00:48,042 --> 01:00:52,042 he has risen for us all, he has forgiven us all, 1139 01:00:52,125 --> 01:00:57,667 he has loved us all, he has embraced us all. 1140 01:00:57,750 --> 01:01:00,958 We get to rejoice. 1141 01:01:01,000 --> 01:01:02,708 Father God, thank you for an opportunity 1142 01:01:02,792 --> 01:01:04,750 to teach the Bible at Mars Hill Church 1143 01:01:04,833 --> 01:01:07,458 for 17 years. 1144 01:01:07,500 --> 01:01:12,292 Thank you, Lord, that your timeless word is always timely. 1145 01:01:12,333 --> 01:01:18,542 Thank you that the Scriptures are not just for the people, 1146 01:01:18,625 --> 01:01:21,375 but they're also for the pastor. 1147 01:01:21,458 --> 01:01:24,083 And I thank you for Pastor James and this 1148 01:01:24,167 --> 01:01:27,750 wonderful Spirit-inspired, truthful, helpful, 1149 01:01:27,833 --> 01:01:30,583 insightful letter that he has written. 1150 01:01:30,667 --> 01:01:36,333 And Lord Jesus, I have to believe that he endured 1151 01:01:36,417 --> 01:01:40,667 a lot of worldly conflict and he responded with godly conflict. 1152 01:01:40,708 --> 01:01:44,083 Help me and help us to do the same. 1153 01:01:44,167 --> 01:01:47,792 And Lord Jesus, thank you that James is with you right now, 1154 01:01:47,833 --> 01:01:50,292 that he gets to hang out with his big brother. 1155 01:01:50,333 --> 01:01:53,333 And we look forward to the day when we get to meet 1156 01:01:53,417 --> 01:01:56,542 the entire family, and all is made whole and good, 1157 01:01:56,625 --> 01:02:00,333 and well in the presence of Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen. 1158 01:02:01,917 --> 01:02:03,292 Pastor Sutton here, 1159 01:02:03,333 --> 01:02:06,333 we've just finished our services here in the Bellevue church 1160 01:02:06,375 --> 01:02:12,167 and really excited today to tell the extended family of Mars Hill Global 1161 01:02:12,208 --> 01:02:13,833 about Text to Give. 1162 01:02:13,875 --> 01:02:16,542 Just came out and many of you know my story: 1163 01:02:16,625 --> 01:02:20,708 2007 heard Pastor Mark at a pastor's conference 1164 01:02:20,792 --> 01:02:23,000 went there, started podcasting. 1165 01:02:23,083 --> 01:02:25,958 I still gave my tithe to my local church, 1166 01:02:26,000 --> 01:02:29,333 however, gave a contribution amount to Mars Hill Church. 1167 01:02:29,417 --> 01:02:34,000 So this Text to Give, the video that we have produced for you, 1168 01:02:34,083 --> 01:02:36,250 you're going to love, so check this out. 1169 01:02:38,417 --> 01:02:41,125 Hey Mars Hill, my name is Rene and I work here 1170 01:02:41,167 --> 01:02:43,667 at the Media and Communications team at Mars Hill Church. 1171 01:02:43,708 --> 01:02:45,417 If you're a mobile user like me, 1172 01:02:45,500 --> 01:02:47,583 I've got some exciting news to share with you. 1173 01:02:47,667 --> 01:02:50,042 There's a new way to give at Mars Hill Church 1174 01:02:50,125 --> 01:02:52,333 and it's just as easy as sending a text. 1175 01:02:52,375 --> 01:02:55,083 Now, many of you take advantage of our online giving options, 1176 01:02:55,167 --> 01:02:57,833 which is a great way to set up recurring gifts, 1177 01:02:57,875 --> 01:03:01,125 but until now, we haven't had a way to set up mobile, 1178 01:03:01,167 --> 01:03:04,000 where you can give on the spot during our services. 1179 01:03:04,083 --> 01:03:06,042 If you're like me, you don't carry cash 1180 01:03:06,125 --> 01:03:09,667 you don't carry a checkbook, so Text to Give is the way to go. 1181 01:03:09,708 --> 01:03:14,083 It's fun, it's simple, and best of all, it's secure. 1182 01:03:14,167 --> 01:03:16,042 I want you to do something with me. 1183 01:03:16,125 --> 01:03:18,000 Take out your smart phone right now; 1184 01:03:18,042 --> 01:03:19,833 we're going to do something together. 1185 01:03:19,875 --> 01:03:21,750 Don't worry, you're not obligated to give, 1186 01:03:21,833 --> 01:03:23,750 but try this out. 1187 01:03:23,833 --> 01:03:26,625 Simply send the amount you want to give 1188 01:03:26,667 --> 01:03:32,667 and the word "Mars Hill" at the end to the following number: 45777. 1189 01:03:33,833 --> 01:03:35,500 The first time you give via text, 1190 01:03:35,583 --> 01:03:38,167 you will be asked to fill out a one-time form, 1191 01:03:38,250 --> 01:03:41,292 which will safely link your card to your smart phone. 1192 01:03:41,333 --> 01:03:44,708 Now, this new way of giving doesn't go into your phone bill, 1193 01:03:44,792 --> 01:03:46,625 and in case you make a mistake, 1194 01:03:46,667 --> 01:03:50,333 you can always get a refund for the gift that you've given. 1195 01:03:50,417 --> 01:03:52,375 And that's it; you're done. 1196 01:03:52,458 --> 01:03:54,542 You'll receive a text back confirming your gift 1197 01:03:54,625 --> 01:03:57,083 and from this moment forward, you'll be able to give 1198 01:03:57,167 --> 01:03:59,833 anywhere, anytime with just a single text. 1199 01:03:59,875 --> 01:04:02,667 Don't forget to save the number in your contact list. 1200 01:04:02,708 --> 01:04:05,792 I've saved it as "Mars Hill Text to Give." 1201 01:04:05,833 --> 01:04:07,667 For more information about our giving options 1202 01:04:07,708 --> 01:04:10,917 you can visit marshill.com/give. 1203 01:04:12,625 --> 01:04:15,542 Each year, over 10 million Mars Hill church sermons 1204 01:04:15,625 --> 01:04:18,667 are downloaded worldwide for free. 1205 01:04:18,708 --> 01:04:21,250 This ministry is generously supported 1206 01:04:21,333 --> 01:04:23,875 by Mars Hill church members and listeners like you. 1207 01:04:23,958 --> 01:04:27,458 If you'd like to support our efforts to preach Jesus to the world, 1208 01:04:27,500 --> 01:04:30,458 Please consider making a tax-deductible donation 1209 01:04:30,500 --> 01:04:33,333 by visiting marshill.com/give.