1 00:00:00,015 --> 00:00:02,932 My name is Mark, one of the pastors here at the church, 2 00:00:03,016 --> 00:00:06,518 and I do have a few announcements for you. 3 00:00:06,601 --> 00:00:09,269 First announcement, I'm going to be leading a trip 4 00:00:09,352 --> 00:00:11,561 to the nation of Turkey. 5 00:00:11,603 --> 00:00:16,772 It'll be coming up July 18-24 this summer. 6 00:00:16,855 --> 00:00:21,440 The reason I'm leading a tour there is I actually really love 7 00:00:21,524 --> 00:00:24,441 this country and the sites I'll be taking you to. 8 00:00:24,483 --> 00:00:27,192 My family and I had the privilege of going to Greece, 9 00:00:27,276 --> 00:00:32,528 Israel, and Turkey a little over a year ago and briefly hit 10 00:00:32,611 --> 00:00:36,405 a few sites in Turkey and said, "I need to go back." 11 00:00:36,446 --> 00:00:39,281 So we went back--I went back with a team in November 12 00:00:39,364 --> 00:00:40,782 and loved it. 13 00:00:40,865 --> 00:00:43,783 Of all the places I've ever been, to be honest with you, 14 00:00:43,824 --> 00:00:45,200 Turkey is my favorite. 15 00:00:45,284 --> 00:00:47,951 And I liked it even more than Israel because it is 16 00:00:48,035 --> 00:00:50,786 not touristy, the sites are wide open, 17 00:00:50,869 --> 00:00:54,245 the countryside is beautiful, and a lot of the places 18 00:00:54,287 --> 00:00:58,247 mentioned in the Bible are in modern day Turkey. 19 00:00:58,289 --> 00:01:01,791 This includes places that Paul ministered to and from, 20 00:01:01,874 --> 00:01:05,250 as well as the first few chapters of Revelation. 21 00:01:05,292 --> 00:01:09,002 A lot of what is modern day Turkey was historically 22 00:01:09,085 --> 00:01:11,420 the place where the gospel initially spread. 23 00:01:11,461 --> 00:01:14,671 So I'm going to be leading a tour and here are the details. 24 00:01:14,754 --> 00:01:17,463 You're welcome to pick up a flyer on your way out 25 00:01:17,547 --> 00:01:21,132 or visit at marshillchurch.org/turkey. 26 00:01:21,215 --> 00:01:24,133 We're going to go to Izmir, Pergamum, Thyatira, 27 00:01:24,216 --> 00:01:28,385 Philadelphia, Sardis, Laodicea, Hierapolis, Kusadasi, 28 00:01:28,468 --> 00:01:32,553 and then we're going to end in Ephesus, which is epic. 29 00:01:32,636 --> 00:01:34,762 This is a city that, in its day, had 30 00:01:34,804 --> 00:01:37,180 a quarter of a million people, the temple of Diana, 31 00:01:37,263 --> 00:01:39,472 one of the seven great wonders of the world. 32 00:01:39,556 --> 00:01:42,557 Paul worked from there for a few years, Timothy was there, 33 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:45,600 Luke's grave is still there, the guy we're studying the book 34 00:01:45,642 --> 00:01:48,518 of the Bible of, you can actually go to his tomb. 35 00:01:48,601 --> 00:01:50,977 It is silly awesome. 36 00:01:51,061 --> 00:01:54,520 And it is one of the most significant archaeological digs 37 00:01:54,603 --> 00:01:56,563 and finds in the history of the world. 38 00:01:56,646 --> 00:01:58,439 Mark Antony, Cleopatra were there. 39 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:02,816 It's amazing, they've excavated the 20-plus thousand seat 40 00:02:02,857 --> 00:02:05,858 amphitheater in which Paul preached and incited a riot. 41 00:02:05,942 --> 00:02:08,984 We're going to show it all to you and I thought it 42 00:02:09,068 --> 00:02:12,028 would be cool if we could just have Ephesus to ourselves, 43 00:02:12,111 --> 00:02:15,237 to wander around, investigate, maybe have dinner and a sermon, 44 00:02:15,321 --> 00:02:18,322 so we rented the whole city of Ephesus. 45 00:02:18,405 --> 00:02:22,157 Why not? 46 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:24,616 If you're going to do it, do it big. 47 00:02:24,658 --> 00:02:26,867 That's what we like to say at Mars Hill. 48 00:02:26,951 --> 00:02:30,493 So, we've got the whole city of Ephesus to ourselves. 49 00:02:30,535 --> 00:02:34,037 And I'll be teaching along the way at various places. 50 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:35,955 We'll bring the film crew with us. 51 00:02:35,996 --> 00:02:37,580 We'll capture some footage. 52 00:02:37,663 --> 00:02:40,456 We'll also capture some sermons and this will be part 53 00:02:40,497 --> 00:02:43,874 of the preaching series in 2012 where we're going to go through 54 00:02:43,958 --> 00:02:47,292 the whole book of Ephesians and also going to go through 55 00:02:47,334 --> 00:02:49,543 the seven churches of Revelation. 56 00:02:49,626 --> 00:02:51,919 There's an add-on to the tour as well, 57 00:02:52,002 --> 00:02:54,170 where we'll take you to Istanbul, Turkey. 58 00:02:54,253 --> 00:02:57,129 You can see the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. 59 00:02:57,171 --> 00:02:59,922 You can go to the Grand Bazaar, the spice market, 60 00:03:00,006 --> 00:03:01,798 pretty fantastic. 61 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:04,007 There are two informational meetings that are forthcoming. 62 00:03:04,049 --> 00:03:06,175 November 2 at the Ballard Campus, 63 00:03:06,258 --> 00:03:08,676 November 3 at the Bellevue Campus, 64 00:03:08,759 --> 00:03:10,510 and you're welcome to come. 65 00:03:10,594 --> 00:03:13,011 At that meeting I'll show you some slides and footage 66 00:03:13,095 --> 00:03:15,804 and answer your questions, and the head of the tour 67 00:03:15,846 --> 00:03:17,722 will also answer logistics questions. 68 00:03:17,805 --> 00:03:20,348 Secondly, I gave you a letter today. 69 00:03:20,431 --> 00:03:22,849 You should have obtained it on your way in. 70 00:03:22,890 --> 00:03:25,850 If not, please feel free to get one on your way out. 71 00:03:25,891 --> 00:03:28,851 It's a little letter from me, kind of a good news report, 72 00:03:28,892 --> 00:03:30,518 where we're going, what we're doing. 73 00:03:30,602 --> 00:03:32,644 What church experts will tell you is that, 74 00:03:32,686 --> 00:03:34,979 as a church grows and it hits certain sizes, 75 00:03:35,020 --> 00:03:38,480 it needs certain adjustments, not unlike when you buy a car. 76 00:03:38,521 --> 00:03:41,065 You buy a car, they tell you at 40,000 miles, 77 00:03:41,148 --> 00:03:42,565 you're going to need new tires. 78 00:03:42,648 --> 00:03:45,066 And at 60,000 miles, you're going to need a tune-up. 79 00:03:45,149 --> 00:03:47,567 And at 100,000 miles, you're going to need to overhaul 80 00:03:47,650 --> 00:03:49,026 a lot of the systems. 81 00:03:49,110 --> 00:03:51,027 And lo and behold, right around that mileage 82 00:03:51,111 --> 00:03:52,569 that's exactly what happens. 83 00:03:52,652 --> 00:03:54,570 It's kind of like that with a church. 84 00:03:54,653 --> 00:03:58,489 As a church matures, ages, grows, 85 00:03:58,530 --> 00:04:01,198 there are a few alterations, adjustments that need 86 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:03,199 to get made along the way. 87 00:04:03,282 --> 00:04:06,658 October marks the 14th year anniversary of Mars Hill, 88 00:04:06,700 --> 00:04:11,327 so Mars Hill recently turned 14 and I recently turned 40, 89 00:04:11,369 --> 00:04:13,578 so the church is young and I am old. 90 00:04:13,661 --> 00:04:16,162 And that's where we find ourselves this month. 91 00:04:16,204 --> 00:04:19,748 And so what I've been doing is handing off 92 00:04:19,831 --> 00:04:21,498 a lot of my responsibilities. 93 00:04:21,539 --> 00:04:23,040 Our church planting network, Acts 29, 94 00:04:23,082 --> 00:04:25,541 is now fully overseen by Pastor Scott Thomas. 95 00:04:25,583 --> 00:04:27,209 The Resurgence, our training network, 96 00:04:27,292 --> 00:04:29,835 is fully overseen by Pastor Justin Holcomb. 97 00:04:29,877 --> 00:04:32,961 And I have centralized and focused a lot more of my energy 98 00:04:33,044 --> 00:04:35,462 just to make sure that Mars Hill doesn't get neglected 99 00:04:35,545 --> 00:04:37,463 and overlooked because, to be honest with you, 100 00:04:37,546 --> 00:04:39,214 I'm as happy as I've ever been. 101 00:04:39,256 --> 00:04:41,214 I'm totally thrilled with what God is doing. 102 00:04:41,256 --> 00:04:44,049 I love this church and I don't feel like we're done. 103 00:04:44,091 --> 00:04:48,050 I feel like we got a lot left to do and God has a lot left 104 00:04:48,092 --> 00:04:49,468 for us to pursue. 105 00:04:49,551 --> 00:04:52,844 But we are at that point at about 10,000 people a Sunday, 106 00:04:52,886 --> 00:04:56,388 spread across our 9 campuses, 2 states, 25 services, 107 00:04:56,429 --> 00:05:01,806 1,340 services this last year, over 1,600 services, roughly, 108 00:05:01,890 --> 00:05:03,932 we'll have this year by God's grace. 109 00:05:04,016 --> 00:05:06,433 So it's a big, complex situation. 110 00:05:06,517 --> 00:05:08,434 And so I visited all of the campuses, 111 00:05:08,518 --> 00:05:10,268 met with the campus pastors, the elders, 112 00:05:10,351 --> 00:05:13,020 community group leaders, hundreds of hours of work. 113 00:05:13,061 --> 00:05:16,271 Met with some of the pastors of the largest churches in America. 114 00:05:16,354 --> 00:05:18,397 Along the way, we got a nice award. 115 00:05:18,438 --> 00:05:21,564 We're the 54th largest and 30th fastest growing church 116 00:05:21,606 --> 00:05:23,024 in America. 117 00:05:23,065 --> 00:05:24,774 That's out of 400,000. 118 00:05:24,857 --> 00:05:29,067 And so God has been exceedingly gracious to us. 119 00:05:29,151 --> 00:05:31,777 And some of you say, "Is it all about the numbers?" 120 00:05:31,860 --> 00:05:34,779 Well, we want more people to know Jesus and have their life 121 00:05:34,862 --> 00:05:37,446 changed, so we would like that number to go up. 122 00:05:37,530 --> 00:05:39,947 And what we want to do is prepare for that, 123 00:05:40,031 --> 00:05:41,782 just like when a mother gets pregnant, 124 00:05:41,865 --> 00:05:44,283 the first thing she asks the doctor is, "How many?" 125 00:05:44,366 --> 00:05:45,741 Because if she's having quadruplets, 126 00:05:45,824 --> 00:05:48,492 that's different than one and she just needs to be prepared, 127 00:05:48,575 --> 00:05:49,910 all right? 128 00:05:49,993 --> 00:05:53,161 There's a lot of car seats and bottles and details to tend to. 129 00:05:53,244 --> 00:05:56,078 As a church we've, by God's grace, hit 10,000. 130 00:05:56,162 --> 00:05:57,746 Okay, what's next? 131 00:05:57,829 --> 00:05:59,580 Who all might God be bringing? 132 00:05:59,622 --> 00:06:01,331 How can we prepare to love, welcome, 133 00:06:01,415 --> 00:06:04,666 serve them in this family we call Mars Hill? 134 00:06:04,749 --> 00:06:07,417 So the details are in here, things we're working on, 135 00:06:07,500 --> 00:06:09,459 things to be praying for. 136 00:06:09,543 --> 00:06:12,585 A couple of big things, the hope and prayer is to build 137 00:06:12,627 --> 00:06:15,378 essentially a world-class band development 138 00:06:15,420 --> 00:06:17,546 and worship leader's school. 139 00:06:17,587 --> 00:06:19,380 We have 1,300 services. 140 00:06:19,422 --> 00:06:21,381 The need for bands is continuous 141 00:06:21,423 --> 00:06:23,174 and we've been doing that decently. 142 00:06:23,257 --> 00:06:25,215 I think we can do that excellently. 143 00:06:25,258 --> 00:06:27,801 Kid's ministry, you'll see some upgrades and we'll be explaining 144 00:06:27,884 --> 00:06:29,884 that to you in forthcoming months. 145 00:06:29,926 --> 00:06:31,760 Want to upgrade the kid's ministry space. 146 00:06:31,843 --> 00:06:33,844 Also, we're working on a curriculum for kids 147 00:06:33,928 --> 00:06:35,887 that's age appropriate based on the "Doctrine" book, 148 00:06:35,929 --> 00:06:38,846 the same thing we use for membership, and also, 149 00:06:38,930 --> 00:06:41,847 it's not official, but we are working on a Mars Hill 150 00:06:41,931 --> 00:06:44,473 children's study Bible that's kind of Mars Hill, 151 00:06:44,557 --> 00:06:48,975 which means it will be dark and cool. 152 00:06:49,059 --> 00:06:50,810 So, a lot of good things there. 153 00:06:50,893 --> 00:06:53,894 We want to improve what we're doing for children and for kids 154 00:06:53,936 --> 00:06:55,353 in the next season. 155 00:06:55,437 --> 00:06:57,646 We're raising up more campus pastors and pursuing new 156 00:06:57,729 --> 00:07:00,355 campuses, so the Bellevue Campus is opening a second location 157 00:07:00,439 --> 00:07:02,523 and opening a brand new facility next year 158 00:07:02,606 --> 00:07:04,774 that will accommodate a lot more seats. 159 00:07:04,816 --> 00:07:07,483 The Shoreline Campus is relocating into a bigger, nicer, 160 00:07:07,567 --> 00:07:10,276 better facility than we have had, 161 00:07:10,318 --> 00:07:12,027 so they can continue to grow. 162 00:07:12,110 --> 00:07:14,153 They'll be pushing up and next year launching 163 00:07:14,236 --> 00:07:15,611 Mars Hill Everett. 164 00:07:15,695 --> 00:07:17,612 It is official and I'll announce it today: 165 00:07:17,696 --> 00:07:19,947 Pastor Tim, our longstanding worship pastor for the last 166 00:07:20,030 --> 00:07:23,949 decade, will be moving with his wife Beth and their daughters 167 00:07:23,990 --> 00:07:25,615 to Portland. 168 00:07:25,658 --> 00:07:27,075 We will launch Mars Hill Portland 169 00:07:27,116 --> 00:07:29,076 by God's grace next year. 170 00:07:29,117 --> 00:07:30,618 [congregation applauding] 171 00:07:30,660 --> 00:07:33,286 Hoo-rah. 172 00:07:33,328 --> 00:07:36,787 And we are working on Mars Hill Orange County 173 00:07:36,870 --> 00:07:39,621 after that, going to southern California. 174 00:07:39,663 --> 00:07:41,372 So, a lot going on. 175 00:07:41,456 --> 00:07:44,582 Other than that, it's all laziness and naps. 176 00:07:44,623 --> 00:07:47,542 We're busy, pray for your leaders. 177 00:07:47,625 --> 00:07:51,543 And so what we like to do at the end of the year is have 178 00:07:51,626 --> 00:07:53,961 a big push financially to end the year strong, 179 00:07:54,044 --> 00:07:56,253 finish budget well, have some surplus to pursue 180 00:07:56,295 --> 00:07:58,796 these new opportunities, so in the ensuing weeks 181 00:07:58,838 --> 00:08:01,380 you will hear about the Generous Campaign 182 00:08:01,464 --> 00:08:04,757 and Pastor Jamie will kick it off next week with a book 183 00:08:04,799 --> 00:08:07,467 that I'm going to give you and explain to you 184 00:08:07,508 --> 00:08:09,926 and it just ties into the gospel of Luke. 185 00:08:09,968 --> 00:08:12,302 That being said, it's now sermon time. 186 00:08:12,344 --> 00:08:15,970 We are in Luke 12:1-12, Jesus and fear. 187 00:08:16,011 --> 00:08:18,637 What book of the Bible have we been in? 188 00:08:18,679 --> 00:08:20,055 Luke. 189 00:08:20,138 --> 00:08:22,056 What book of the Bible are we in? 190 00:08:22,139 --> 00:08:23,514 Luke. 191 00:08:23,598 --> 00:08:26,015 For the next 18 months when I ask that question, 192 00:08:26,100 --> 00:08:27,475 you can answer, "Luke." 193 00:08:27,558 --> 00:08:29,476 We're taking 2 1/2 years going through Luke. 194 00:08:29,559 --> 00:08:32,227 Because we like the Bible and we thought, "What the heck? 195 00:08:32,310 --> 00:08:35,061 "Two and a half years looking at the life of Jesus? 196 00:08:35,144 --> 00:08:37,395 That's a good way to spend 2 1/2 years." 197 00:08:37,479 --> 00:08:39,396 Some of you called it your freshman year, 198 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:40,856 2 1/2 years. 199 00:08:40,939 --> 00:08:43,690 This is a much better way to spend 2 1/2 years. 200 00:08:43,773 --> 00:08:46,149 So, I'll pray, we'll study the Bible together. 201 00:08:46,233 --> 00:08:49,650 Father God, you are great and you are helpful and you are holy 202 00:08:49,734 --> 00:08:52,944 and you are truthful, and as we open your word, Lord God, 203 00:08:52,986 --> 00:08:54,777 we want to come under its authority. 204 00:08:54,819 --> 00:08:56,653 We want to hear from you. 205 00:08:56,695 --> 00:08:58,738 We want to learn from Jesus. 206 00:08:58,821 --> 00:09:01,864 So Holy Spirit, please come and illuminate the Scriptures which 207 00:09:01,947 --> 00:09:06,199 you have inspired to be written, and empower us to live a life 208 00:09:06,282 --> 00:09:09,325 patterned after Jesus by the grace that you give. 209 00:09:09,408 --> 00:09:11,534 In his good name, amen. 210 00:09:11,618 --> 00:09:13,452 All right, let me set it up. 211 00:09:13,494 --> 00:09:16,620 Throughout the course of Luke's telling of Jesus' life, 212 00:09:16,661 --> 00:09:21,080 one thing that is frequent are these series of conflicts 213 00:09:21,163 --> 00:09:23,164 between religious people and Jesus. 214 00:09:23,206 --> 00:09:28,125 It just keeps happening and it's going to happen again this week. 215 00:09:28,166 --> 00:09:32,793 And so this week I want us to learn from Jesus' conflict 216 00:09:32,835 --> 00:09:36,337 with religious people how to deal with bullies. 217 00:09:36,420 --> 00:09:39,296 And these are religious bullies that he is dealing with. 218 00:09:39,338 --> 00:09:41,672 They are called the Pharisees. 219 00:09:41,714 --> 00:09:44,840 We read of them in Luke 12:1. 220 00:09:44,923 --> 00:09:48,634 "In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people 221 00:09:48,675 --> 00:09:52,510 "had gathered together that they were trampling one another, 222 00:09:52,593 --> 00:09:55,344 "he began to say to his disciples first, 'Beware 223 00:09:55,428 --> 00:09:58,679 of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.'" 224 00:09:58,721 --> 00:10:03,723 Now what we see here is that there is Jesus and a multitude 225 00:10:03,806 --> 00:10:07,057 of people who are trying to get to him to learn from him. 226 00:10:07,141 --> 00:10:09,183 The Bible says thousands of people. 227 00:10:09,225 --> 00:10:12,184 By definition, 2,000 or more people 228 00:10:12,268 --> 00:10:14,102 is what constitutes a megachurch. 229 00:10:14,185 --> 00:10:16,561 Jesus is here a megachurch pastor. 230 00:10:16,645 --> 00:10:20,355 Thousands of people are coming and it's like they opened 231 00:10:20,438 --> 00:10:24,899 the gates to the Radiohead world tour first night. 232 00:10:24,982 --> 00:10:27,816 Everybody is running in and stepping and climbing 233 00:10:27,858 --> 00:10:30,192 over one another to get to Jesus. 234 00:10:30,234 --> 00:10:32,985 He's exceedingly popular and this is in a day 235 00:10:33,027 --> 00:10:36,069 when the average town is 40, 60, 80, 100 people. 236 00:10:36,153 --> 00:10:38,529 So to get thousands of people, that's a big deal. 237 00:10:38,612 --> 00:10:40,155 People are walking miles. 238 00:10:40,196 --> 00:10:41,656 Towns are emptying. 239 00:10:41,697 --> 00:10:46,199 People are venturing over rough terrain on foot for hours. 240 00:10:46,283 --> 00:10:48,199 This is a big deal. 241 00:10:48,283 --> 00:10:50,951 And between Jesus and the multitudes are literally 242 00:10:51,035 --> 00:10:55,702 religious people, and they're getting in the way, prohibiting, 243 00:10:55,787 --> 00:10:58,204 inhibiting people getting to Jesus. 244 00:10:58,288 --> 00:10:59,871 It's always been that way. 245 00:10:59,913 --> 00:11:01,539 It remains that way. 246 00:11:01,580 --> 00:11:04,540 Until Jesus returns, it will be that way. 247 00:11:04,581 --> 00:11:08,542 Thousands of people need to get to Jesus and religious people 248 00:11:08,625 --> 00:11:11,043 make it tough. 249 00:11:11,126 --> 00:11:14,044 And so Jesus is going to have a public conflict 250 00:11:14,085 --> 00:11:16,211 with the religious people. 251 00:11:16,295 --> 00:11:18,046 He's not going to pick the fight. 252 00:11:18,087 --> 00:11:20,297 He's also not going to lose it. 253 00:11:20,380 --> 00:11:23,423 They are going to pick a fight with him. 254 00:11:23,506 --> 00:11:26,924 And what we see is, number one, they are bullies. 255 00:11:27,007 --> 00:11:28,841 They're bullies. 256 00:11:28,883 --> 00:11:31,467 There's all kinds of bullies. 257 00:11:31,551 --> 00:11:33,427 You can have a bully who's a boss. 258 00:11:33,510 --> 00:11:35,428 You can have a bully who's a pastor. 259 00:11:35,511 --> 00:11:37,512 You can have a bully who's a coach. 260 00:11:37,554 --> 00:11:40,221 You can have a bully who's supposed to be a friend. 261 00:11:40,305 --> 00:11:42,222 You can have a bully who's a parent. 262 00:11:42,306 --> 00:11:43,972 I've even seen kids who are bullies, 263 00:11:44,056 --> 00:11:45,432 sometimes bullying one another, 264 00:11:45,515 --> 00:11:47,099 sometimes bullying their own parents. 265 00:11:47,183 --> 00:11:48,934 I saw this recently at a restaurant, 266 00:11:49,017 --> 00:11:52,226 where the family was having dinner and the child 267 00:11:52,268 --> 00:11:54,936 decided--young child, they didn't want to eat dinner, 268 00:11:55,019 --> 00:11:56,603 just dessert. 269 00:11:56,687 --> 00:11:59,604 And they looked around and they knew, "If I throw a fit, 270 00:11:59,688 --> 00:12:02,355 freak out, my parents will give me whatever I want." 271 00:12:02,397 --> 00:12:04,190 So that's exactly what they did. 272 00:12:04,231 --> 00:12:07,691 Blood-curdling scream, freaking out, total tantrum. 273 00:12:07,732 --> 00:12:10,901 The parents looked at the child in an effort to stave off their 274 00:12:10,943 --> 00:12:13,860 horrific embarrassment and said, "Just knock it off. 275 00:12:13,902 --> 00:12:16,653 I'll give you whatever you want." 276 00:12:16,736 --> 00:12:18,529 That's a little terrorist. 277 00:12:18,571 --> 00:12:20,655 That's what that is. 278 00:12:20,738 --> 00:12:23,573 That's a dessert-loving terrorist. 279 00:12:23,614 --> 00:12:27,700 This has turned into a hostage negotiation. 280 00:12:27,741 --> 00:12:30,576 Bullies come in all sizes, shapes, and forms. 281 00:12:30,659 --> 00:12:32,952 Some bullies are mean and cruel and rude. 282 00:12:33,035 --> 00:12:35,203 Some are really sweet and nice. 283 00:12:35,244 --> 00:12:38,412 They smile and flirt with you and say nice things to you 284 00:12:38,495 --> 00:12:42,331 and encourage you while they push you around. 285 00:12:42,414 --> 00:12:45,082 Jesus here is dealing with a particular kind of bully. 286 00:12:45,123 --> 00:12:46,665 There's lots of kinds of bullies. 287 00:12:46,748 --> 00:12:49,334 He's dealing with religious bullies. 288 00:12:49,417 --> 00:12:51,876 They've been pushing people around and now they want 289 00:12:52,001 --> 00:12:54,586 to show up and they want to push Jesus around. 290 00:12:54,627 --> 00:12:56,753 They want to tell him what to do. 291 00:12:56,795 --> 00:12:58,420 They realize, "Thousands are following him, 292 00:12:58,462 --> 00:12:59,796 "they're not following us. 293 00:12:59,879 --> 00:13:01,797 "If we get him to follow us, 294 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,090 then they will be following us as well." 295 00:13:05,173 --> 00:13:09,508 Number two, Jesus says that these religious bullies are 296 00:13:09,592 --> 00:13:12,259 hypocrites, hypocrites. 297 00:13:12,301 --> 00:13:13,719 What's a hypocrite? 298 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:15,760 Well, a hypocrite is someone who, 299 00:13:15,802 --> 00:13:17,720 according to the definition of the word 300 00:13:17,761 --> 00:13:20,387 in the original Greek text, they're wearing a mask, 301 00:13:20,429 --> 00:13:22,930 or they're like an actor playing a role. 302 00:13:23,013 --> 00:13:24,931 So if you look at religious people, say, 303 00:13:25,014 --> 00:13:27,765 "Well, they must love God. Look, they dress a certain way. 304 00:13:27,849 --> 00:13:30,266 "They act a certain way. They speak a certain way. 305 00:13:30,308 --> 00:13:33,393 "They're against all the sinful things and they seem 306 00:13:33,435 --> 00:13:36,186 very sincere and very committed and very devout." 307 00:13:36,269 --> 00:13:39,687 And Jesus says, "I know their heart and I can tell you 308 00:13:39,770 --> 00:13:41,188 "they don't love me. 309 00:13:41,271 --> 00:13:43,147 "They love control. They love piety. 310 00:13:43,231 --> 00:13:44,606 "They love morality. 311 00:13:44,647 --> 00:13:48,483 They love religion, but they don't love me." 312 00:13:48,566 --> 00:13:50,900 Now, Christians are often accused of being hypocrites 313 00:13:50,942 --> 00:13:53,318 and let me say a few things on this. 314 00:13:53,401 --> 00:13:56,277 Number one, some people who say they're Christians aren't. 315 00:13:56,319 --> 00:13:58,278 Some aren't, like if you asked these guys, 316 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:00,488 "Do you believe in God, love God, worship God?" 317 00:14:00,571 --> 00:14:01,947 They'd say, "Yeah." 318 00:14:01,989 --> 00:14:04,781 But Jesus says they don't really know him or love him. 319 00:14:04,823 --> 00:14:07,282 Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' 320 00:14:07,324 --> 00:14:08,782 "will enter the kingdom of heaven. 321 00:14:08,824 --> 00:14:11,576 "Some will hear, 'Depart from me, I don't even know you. 322 00:14:11,618 --> 00:14:12,993 We don't have a relationship.'" 323 00:14:13,076 --> 00:14:16,786 Number two, some Christians are hypocrites and a hypocrite 324 00:14:16,828 --> 00:14:21,622 is one who pretends they're something they're not. 325 00:14:21,705 --> 00:14:23,998 But that's not only Christians. 326 00:14:24,081 --> 00:14:27,290 Politicians do it, leaders do it, non-Christians do it. 327 00:14:27,374 --> 00:14:30,291 We give the presentation that we're holy and devout and pious 328 00:14:30,375 --> 00:14:33,668 and moral and good, and if you followed us around and looked 329 00:14:33,752 --> 00:14:36,586 at what we were doing, you would see some inconsistency. 330 00:14:36,628 --> 00:14:41,046 Number three, most Christians aren't hypocrites because to be 331 00:14:41,130 --> 00:14:46,340 a Christian you have to confess and profess that you're a what? 332 00:14:46,423 --> 00:14:47,841 A sinner. 333 00:14:47,924 --> 00:14:50,175 So sometimes non-Christians will look at Christians and say, 334 00:14:50,259 --> 00:14:51,592 "Well, you're a hypocrite." "Why?" 335 00:14:51,634 --> 00:14:52,968 "Because you're sinning." 336 00:14:53,051 --> 00:14:55,469 "I--to become a Christian I had to raise my hand 337 00:14:55,552 --> 00:14:57,303 "as being a sinner. 338 00:14:57,387 --> 00:15:01,554 "If being a Christian means you say you're a sinner, and I sin, 339 00:15:01,638 --> 00:15:03,514 "that's not hypocrisy. 340 00:15:03,597 --> 00:15:06,723 "I'm just being consistent. 341 00:15:06,806 --> 00:15:08,766 "I said I was a sinner. I sin. 342 00:15:08,807 --> 00:15:11,725 That's not a hypocrite." 343 00:15:11,809 --> 00:15:14,935 By definition, a Christian is one who says, "I'm a sinner. 344 00:15:14,977 --> 00:15:17,520 "Jesus died for me, that's how bad I am. 345 00:15:17,603 --> 00:15:20,687 I really need help. God, help me." 346 00:15:20,771 --> 00:15:23,022 That's a Christian. 347 00:15:23,105 --> 00:15:25,023 Now, the hypocrite is the one who says, 348 00:15:25,106 --> 00:15:27,524 "You have a lot of sin, I don't have it. 349 00:15:27,607 --> 00:15:29,025 "You struggle with it, I don't. 350 00:15:29,108 --> 00:15:30,775 I'll judge you, you can't judge me." 351 00:15:30,816 --> 00:15:32,984 And then you follow them around and you realize, 352 00:15:33,067 --> 00:15:35,318 "Hey, they're ripping people off and committing sexual sin 353 00:15:35,402 --> 00:15:37,319 "and all the stuff they're telling everybody else 354 00:15:37,403 --> 00:15:40,320 "not to do, and all of the stuff that they deny doing, 355 00:15:40,404 --> 00:15:41,821 that's the very thing they're doing." 356 00:15:41,905 --> 00:15:44,156 These guys are bullies, pushing people around, and hypocrites, 357 00:15:44,239 --> 00:15:46,573 judging people for things that they're guilty of. 358 00:15:46,657 --> 00:15:49,699 Now here's how it works. 359 00:15:49,783 --> 00:15:53,451 Bullies use tactics, and these are religious bullies, 360 00:15:53,493 --> 00:15:55,035 but there's all kinds of bullies 361 00:15:55,118 --> 00:15:57,161 and the principles are consistent. 362 00:15:57,202 --> 00:15:59,495 And because we've been spending so much time with 363 00:15:59,537 --> 00:16:01,996 the Pharisees, and they will continue to show up throughout 364 00:16:02,079 --> 00:16:06,790 the remainder of the book until they murder Jesus, 365 00:16:06,831 --> 00:16:11,667 it's important for us to understand how they work. 366 00:16:11,708 --> 00:16:15,960 And I'm going to give you some of their tactics and tricks and 367 00:16:16,002 --> 00:16:19,378 how they're going to use all of these in this event with Jesus. 368 00:16:19,462 --> 00:16:22,297 And this is how bullies work in our life as well. 369 00:16:22,338 --> 00:16:24,005 And if you're a bully, 370 00:16:24,047 --> 00:16:26,674 you're probably familiar with some of these also. 371 00:16:26,715 --> 00:16:32,009 Threatening with punishment, "If you do that, you will pay. 372 00:16:32,051 --> 00:16:35,343 "If you don't do what I tell you to do, you will suffer. 373 00:16:35,427 --> 00:16:37,344 "You're going to pay, you're going to hurt, 374 00:16:37,428 --> 00:16:38,804 it's going to cost you." 375 00:16:38,845 --> 00:16:41,346 Threat of punishment or withholding of reward. 376 00:16:41,430 --> 00:16:44,806 Sometimes they seek to embarrass or humiliate. 377 00:16:44,847 --> 00:16:47,140 That's exactly what they're doing to Jesus. 378 00:16:47,182 --> 00:16:49,599 They're not pulling him aside, one on one, 379 00:16:49,683 --> 00:16:51,142 "Okay, Jesus, we disagree. 380 00:16:51,184 --> 00:16:52,600 Can we talk about this?" 381 00:16:52,684 --> 00:16:54,810 No, they're going to publicly shame him, humiliate him. 382 00:16:54,851 --> 00:16:56,311 They're going to pick a fight 383 00:16:56,352 --> 00:16:59,603 in front of this large crowd of thousands. 384 00:16:59,687 --> 00:17:02,021 Also, they work through intimidation. 385 00:17:02,063 --> 00:17:06,356 Sometimes this is sheer force of personality, 386 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:08,566 a little overwhelming. 387 00:17:08,649 --> 00:17:13,234 It can also be commanding and demanding, "I order you. 388 00:17:13,318 --> 00:17:15,735 I'm telling you. You need to." 389 00:17:15,819 --> 00:17:19,736 Bossing, bullying, shoving you around. 390 00:17:19,821 --> 00:17:23,113 Some people are just pushy and they're rude 391 00:17:23,197 --> 00:17:25,198 and they won't take no for an answer. 392 00:17:25,281 --> 00:17:27,490 They just keep pushing, they just keep demanding, 393 00:17:27,532 --> 00:17:30,700 they just keep inserting, and they wear you down. 394 00:17:30,783 --> 00:17:32,742 That's a bully. 395 00:17:32,826 --> 00:17:34,660 Sometimes they're just inconsiderate. 396 00:17:34,702 --> 00:17:36,243 All they care about is themselves. 397 00:17:36,327 --> 00:17:39,204 They don't think of you, other people, it's all about them. 398 00:17:39,245 --> 00:17:43,205 They're the center and everybody needs to work around them. 399 00:17:43,246 --> 00:17:47,165 Sometimes bullies are just rude. 400 00:17:47,207 --> 00:17:50,291 The things they ask for, demand, how they always want to be 401 00:17:50,374 --> 00:17:53,751 a priority and get cuts in the line of your life, 402 00:17:53,835 --> 00:17:55,710 it's fascinating. 403 00:17:55,793 --> 00:18:02,213 Also, some bullies are the self-appointed rule maker. 404 00:18:02,296 --> 00:18:06,215 In your life or in your family or in your community, 405 00:18:06,298 --> 00:18:10,382 they just choose to be the rule maker. 406 00:18:10,466 --> 00:18:13,134 So they're going to make the rules, tell everybody the rules, 407 00:18:13,218 --> 00:18:15,469 enforce the rules, and if you break the rules, 408 00:18:15,552 --> 00:18:18,220 they're going to tell everybody else that you broke the rules 409 00:18:18,261 --> 00:18:20,554 to shame you to get you back in line. 410 00:18:20,596 --> 00:18:23,305 Now all of these things they're going to do with Jesus, 411 00:18:23,388 --> 00:18:25,223 and when it comes to the rule-making 412 00:18:25,306 --> 00:18:28,849 and shame-causing religious type of control freaks and bullies, 413 00:18:28,890 --> 00:18:31,266 sometimes it starts when you're little. 414 00:18:31,350 --> 00:18:33,351 You ever seen kids play together? 415 00:18:33,392 --> 00:18:36,018 I've got five kids, love them, sometimes I'll pretend like 416 00:18:36,060 --> 00:18:38,519 I'm leaving the room but I'll eavesdrop just to see 417 00:18:38,561 --> 00:18:40,062 what's going on. 418 00:18:40,104 --> 00:18:43,396 And usually there's one kid who decides, "There's no adults, 419 00:18:43,438 --> 00:18:45,231 I'm in charge." 420 00:18:45,314 --> 00:18:47,898 And they make rules about the Legos and the Barbies 421 00:18:47,982 --> 00:18:51,233 and everything else, and they announce the rules 422 00:18:51,274 --> 00:18:52,817 to all of the other children. 423 00:18:52,900 --> 00:18:55,818 And if the other children break the rules, "You can't do that. 424 00:18:55,901 --> 00:18:58,152 "You broke a rule. Do you kids see that? 425 00:18:58,236 --> 00:18:59,612 They broke a rule." 426 00:18:59,695 --> 00:19:01,112 That's just a little Pharisee. 427 00:19:01,195 --> 00:19:02,571 Just a little Lego Pharisee. 428 00:19:02,613 --> 00:19:03,947 That's all it is. 429 00:19:04,030 --> 00:19:06,781 And I've heard parents say, "Oh, my child is a leader." 430 00:19:06,865 --> 00:19:08,406 No they're not. 431 00:19:08,448 --> 00:19:10,699 They're not, they murdered Jesus. 432 00:19:10,741 --> 00:19:13,576 Your child murdered Jesus. 433 00:19:13,659 --> 00:19:17,285 Well, that's where they're going if you don't correct this. 434 00:19:17,369 --> 00:19:21,579 They're on the wrong team. 435 00:19:21,662 --> 00:19:24,997 But it happens even when you're an adult, doesn't it? 436 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:27,456 Certain people you know, they make rules that aren't 437 00:19:27,539 --> 00:19:30,082 in the Bible and they tell you to obey them 438 00:19:30,124 --> 00:19:32,416 and if you don't then their wrath comes down 439 00:19:32,500 --> 00:19:34,417 and they'll shame you and tell everyone else 440 00:19:34,501 --> 00:19:36,710 and no one else wants to endure their wrath, 441 00:19:36,752 --> 00:19:39,878 so they agree with them and all of a sudden you're backing up 442 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:41,379 and you're feeling pushed around. 443 00:19:41,420 --> 00:19:43,963 They're going to use all of these tactics and tricks 444 00:19:44,046 --> 00:19:46,297 with Jesus, the bullies will. 445 00:19:46,381 --> 00:19:48,923 And what bullies really use, and what the Pharisees 446 00:19:48,965 --> 00:19:51,299 have used to bully the multitudes, 447 00:19:51,383 --> 00:19:53,425 the Pharisees have bullied the multitudes. 448 00:19:53,509 --> 00:19:56,593 Now they want to bully Jesus. 449 00:19:56,635 --> 00:19:59,094 It's something called fear of man. 450 00:19:59,136 --> 00:20:02,471 They want you to be scared of them. 451 00:20:02,554 --> 00:20:06,264 Proverbs 29:25 says that the fear of man is a trap 452 00:20:06,347 --> 00:20:08,598 or a snare. 453 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:12,058 They want you to be afraid of them. 454 00:20:12,100 --> 00:20:14,976 There's a guy named Ed Welch who's written a lot on this. 455 00:20:15,059 --> 00:20:16,477 He's a good biblical counselor. 456 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:19,478 He's got a book, "When People Are Big and God Is Small." 457 00:20:19,561 --> 00:20:21,604 He gives us this functional working definition 458 00:20:21,646 --> 00:20:23,605 of fear of man. 459 00:20:23,647 --> 00:20:26,314 "Fear in the biblical sense," and here, 460 00:20:26,398 --> 00:20:28,189 Jesus is going to--let me say this. 461 00:20:28,274 --> 00:20:31,858 Jesus is going to use the word "fear" five times. 462 00:20:31,941 --> 00:20:34,526 Some of you say, "Where is he going with this?" 463 00:20:34,609 --> 00:20:37,485 Jesus is going to use the word "fear" five times 464 00:20:37,568 --> 00:20:41,570 in this section, so one of the big mega themes is fear. 465 00:20:41,612 --> 00:20:44,571 He's going to use the word "anxious" once, 466 00:20:44,613 --> 00:20:47,615 so anxiety is often caused by fear. 467 00:20:47,657 --> 00:20:50,449 You're scared of someone, you're scared of consequences, 468 00:20:50,491 --> 00:20:52,283 you're scared of what's going to happen, 469 00:20:52,324 --> 00:20:54,284 you're scared of what they're going to do, 470 00:20:54,325 --> 00:20:55,701 you're fearful of them. 471 00:20:55,785 --> 00:20:58,411 You have fear of man issues. The result is anxiety. 472 00:20:58,452 --> 00:21:00,495 You're stressed, you can't sleep, 473 00:21:00,578 --> 00:21:02,663 you got a nervous eye twitch, you know. 474 00:21:02,746 --> 00:21:05,372 You don't want to see them, you try to avoid them, 475 00:21:05,455 --> 00:21:07,790 you can't sleep at night, your blood pressure is up, 476 00:21:07,873 --> 00:21:10,624 you're stressed out, you're freaked out, you're anxious. 477 00:21:10,707 --> 00:21:13,125 And you go to your doctor and maybe your doctor, 478 00:21:13,208 --> 00:21:16,627 in an effort to try and help, is going to try and deal with 479 00:21:16,669 --> 00:21:18,335 all of your physical symptoms and complications. 480 00:21:18,419 --> 00:21:20,128 And that can be helpful and good, 481 00:21:20,170 --> 00:21:22,504 but if you don't deal with the fear-causing source, 482 00:21:22,587 --> 00:21:27,714 you're going to still have the anxiety-causing consequence. 483 00:21:27,798 --> 00:21:29,590 You're scared. 484 00:21:29,632 --> 00:21:33,842 So Jesus is going to talk about fear and how it leads to anxiety 485 00:21:33,926 --> 00:21:36,802 and how to overcome the problem of anxiety through dealing 486 00:21:36,885 --> 00:21:39,844 with the source of the fear. 487 00:21:39,928 --> 00:21:41,512 Ed Welch says it this way. 488 00:21:41,595 --> 00:21:43,763 "Fear in the biblical sense... includes being afraid 489 00:21:43,805 --> 00:21:48,723 "of someone, but it extends to holding someone in awe, 490 00:21:48,807 --> 00:21:51,599 "being controlled or mastered by people, 491 00:21:51,641 --> 00:21:53,434 worshipping other people." 492 00:21:53,475 --> 00:21:54,850 I'll explain that. 493 00:21:54,934 --> 00:21:57,226 "Putting your trust in people," as opposed to God, 494 00:21:57,310 --> 00:21:58,727 "or needing people." 495 00:21:58,811 --> 00:22:01,187 Because if you're needing someone, you're using them, 496 00:22:01,270 --> 00:22:03,688 which means you're not loving them. 497 00:22:03,771 --> 00:22:06,772 "The fear of man can be summarized this way: 498 00:22:06,814 --> 00:22:09,148 "We replace God with people. 499 00:22:09,190 --> 00:22:11,357 "Instead of a biblically guided fear of the Lord, 500 00:22:11,441 --> 00:22:12,817 "we fear others... 501 00:22:12,900 --> 00:22:15,568 "When we are in our teens, it is called 'peer pressure.' 502 00:22:15,651 --> 00:22:18,277 "When we are older, it is called 'people-pleasing.' 503 00:22:18,319 --> 00:22:23,071 Recently, it has been called 'codependency.'" 504 00:22:23,154 --> 00:22:25,905 See, the book is not old. 505 00:22:25,988 --> 00:22:31,240 The book is timeless and so it's good for all times. 506 00:22:31,324 --> 00:22:33,992 And ours is a day when people are filled with anxiety 507 00:22:34,076 --> 00:22:38,327 and fear of man issues and Jesus is going to talk about it 508 00:22:38,410 --> 00:22:41,537 because he loves us. 509 00:22:41,620 --> 00:22:48,290 And what he tells us is to beware, to be aware. 510 00:22:48,332 --> 00:22:52,208 To beware is to be aware. 511 00:22:52,291 --> 00:22:57,043 Let me ask you a few questions pastorally to help you ascertain 512 00:22:57,126 --> 00:23:03,129 if you have fear of man issues, and if so, to what degree. 513 00:23:04,754 --> 00:23:08,048 Again, this is adapted from Welch's work. 514 00:23:08,131 --> 00:23:11,507 Number one, have you struggled with peer pressure? 515 00:23:11,549 --> 00:23:13,175 What people think, what they say, 516 00:23:13,258 --> 00:23:14,675 being accepted by that person, 517 00:23:14,758 --> 00:23:17,427 being approved by that group of people? 518 00:23:17,510 --> 00:23:19,761 Number two, are you overcommitted, a people pleaser? 519 00:23:19,845 --> 00:23:22,096 Your answer to everything is, "Yes, I'll do that. 520 00:23:22,179 --> 00:23:24,096 Yes, I'll do that. Yes, I'll do that." 521 00:23:24,179 --> 00:23:25,847 You say, "I'm being holy like Jesus." 522 00:23:25,930 --> 00:23:29,056 Maybe not, because sometimes serving becomes sinning, 523 00:23:29,139 --> 00:23:32,850 and you can't say no because you want to please everybody 524 00:23:32,933 --> 00:23:36,267 and in so doing you can't really please God because 525 00:23:36,351 --> 00:23:40,061 God would tell you, "Sometimes you got to say, 'No.'" 526 00:23:40,144 --> 00:23:42,479 Is self-esteem a critical concern for you? 527 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:44,980 It's a big deal. 528 00:23:45,021 --> 00:23:48,647 Number four, are embarrassment or shyness common for you? 529 00:23:48,690 --> 00:23:51,608 Embarrassment is, "I just don't want anybody to make fun of me. 530 00:23:51,691 --> 00:23:54,192 "I don't want to be the center of attention. 531 00:23:54,234 --> 00:23:56,193 "I don't want to get into any trouble, 532 00:23:56,235 --> 00:23:58,861 "so what I'm going to do, I'm going to withdraw, retreat. 533 00:23:58,902 --> 00:24:02,028 "I'm just going to be shy and hide and try not to get 534 00:24:02,070 --> 00:24:03,821 in any visible conflict or trouble." 535 00:24:03,863 --> 00:24:06,072 Number five, do you second-guess decisions 536 00:24:06,155 --> 00:24:07,614 because of what people might think? 537 00:24:07,697 --> 00:24:09,031 "Yeah, I'll do that. 538 00:24:09,115 --> 00:24:11,032 "Oh, but they're not going to like that. 539 00:24:11,116 --> 00:24:14,033 "Yeah, I'd love--oh, but what are they going to say? 540 00:24:14,117 --> 00:24:16,284 What are they going to think? Oh, boy." 541 00:24:16,368 --> 00:24:19,327 And you're always second-guessing your decisions. 542 00:24:19,369 --> 00:24:21,536 "Yeah, God would like me to do that. 543 00:24:21,620 --> 00:24:23,204 "But they wouldn't. 544 00:24:23,287 --> 00:24:25,372 Uh oh, what am I going to do?" 545 00:24:25,413 --> 00:24:27,247 I had this conversation with a woman 546 00:24:27,331 --> 00:24:28,664 a little bit earlier today. 547 00:24:28,706 --> 00:24:31,165 "I want to be a Christian and walk with Jesus." 548 00:24:31,207 --> 00:24:32,583 "Okay, why don't you?" 549 00:24:32,666 --> 00:24:34,709 "I don't think my husband would like that." 550 00:24:34,792 --> 00:24:37,210 Okay, so you've got two lords here and you've got 551 00:24:37,293 --> 00:24:40,044 to figure out which one you're going to go with. 552 00:24:40,086 --> 00:24:44,963 Number six, do other people often make you angry, depressed, 553 00:24:45,046 --> 00:24:47,464 or drive you crazy? 554 00:24:47,547 --> 00:24:51,549 If so, they may be inordinately centered in your life. 555 00:24:51,633 --> 00:24:54,759 They're too big of a deal. 556 00:24:54,842 --> 00:24:56,801 Number seven, do you avoid people? 557 00:24:56,885 --> 00:25:00,052 Okay, I'll just come clean, that's my tactic. 558 00:25:00,136 --> 00:25:03,679 Certain people, it's like, "You are very emotionally expensive. 559 00:25:03,721 --> 00:25:05,513 I'm going to avoid you." 560 00:25:05,554 --> 00:25:08,139 Okay, I have tricks and I'll tell them to you. 561 00:25:08,222 --> 00:25:13,141 I avoid eye contact and I avoid certain situations and people. 562 00:25:13,225 --> 00:25:15,392 I'm not saying it's holy and it's not loving 563 00:25:15,475 --> 00:25:18,185 and it's not helpful to people, but it's what I've done. 564 00:25:18,227 --> 00:25:21,186 Grace will be like, "Do you want to go talk to them?" 565 00:25:21,228 --> 00:25:22,645 "No. I don't." 566 00:25:22,728 --> 00:25:25,062 "Well, they look like they want to talk to you." 567 00:25:25,146 --> 00:25:27,688 "I know, I know, I know." 568 00:25:27,731 --> 00:25:30,649 She's very sweet. 569 00:25:30,732 --> 00:25:32,900 "But you should help them, you're their pastor." 570 00:25:32,983 --> 00:25:35,901 "Yeah, I know, I know, I know, I know." 571 00:25:35,942 --> 00:25:37,402 "So why don't--" 572 00:25:37,443 --> 00:25:39,360 "Yeah, it's not going to happen, okay?" 573 00:25:39,402 --> 00:25:41,653 So that's how I deal with it. 574 00:25:41,736 --> 00:25:44,988 It's not holy, it's not helpful. 575 00:25:45,071 --> 00:25:47,406 Number eight, do you take too much responsibility 576 00:25:47,447 --> 00:25:48,781 for other people? 577 00:25:48,864 --> 00:25:51,032 If so, maybe you're wanting to be their lord. 578 00:25:51,073 --> 00:25:54,241 "I'll save you, I'll fix you, I'll heal you." 579 00:25:54,284 --> 00:25:56,284 What, is your name Jesus? 580 00:25:56,367 --> 00:25:57,785 Oh, it's not? 581 00:25:57,868 --> 00:25:59,744 Okay, then maybe you've given yourself 582 00:25:59,786 --> 00:26:02,662 the wrong job description. 583 00:26:02,745 --> 00:26:05,246 Number nine, are you too committed to being nice, 584 00:26:05,329 --> 00:26:07,330 keeping peace, and avoiding conflict? 585 00:26:07,414 --> 00:26:09,581 Some of you were taught, "Christians are nice. 586 00:26:09,665 --> 00:26:11,791 They make peace and they avoid conflict." 587 00:26:11,874 --> 00:26:13,792 You're like, "I'm being a good Christian." 588 00:26:13,875 --> 00:26:19,544 You may be a bad Christian because Jesus isn't always nice, 589 00:26:19,585 --> 00:26:21,753 Jesus doesn't always make peace, 590 00:26:21,836 --> 00:26:24,504 and Jesus doesn't avoid conflict. 591 00:26:24,587 --> 00:26:26,672 You're going to see it today. 592 00:26:26,755 --> 00:26:29,256 When it's time to rebuke, when it's time to correct, 593 00:26:29,298 --> 00:26:31,840 when it's time to exhort, that's what he does. 594 00:26:31,924 --> 00:26:34,175 Now, Jesus isn't rude, he doesn't pick a fight, 595 00:26:34,258 --> 00:26:36,426 but when somebody picks a fight with him, 596 00:26:36,467 --> 00:26:40,886 he doesn't just accommodate and acquiesce and submit to them. 597 00:26:40,928 --> 00:26:43,679 Because here's really what's going on. 598 00:26:43,762 --> 00:26:47,431 Fear of man is that somebody wants to be, 599 00:26:47,472 --> 00:26:50,015 or you want somebody to be, the lord. 600 00:26:50,098 --> 00:26:52,599 So, think of if it in this way with me. 601 00:26:52,641 --> 00:26:55,517 Jesus is the only Lord, Jesus is the real Lord, 602 00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:58,601 but we're talking about here functional, false lords. 603 00:26:58,643 --> 00:27:03,312 So think, if you will, over your life is a throne. 604 00:27:03,395 --> 00:27:06,855 And on it is written the word "Lord." 605 00:27:06,939 --> 00:27:11,607 Someone sits on it. Somebody sits on it. 606 00:27:11,691 --> 00:27:14,483 In your heart, in your mind, somebody sits on it. 607 00:27:14,567 --> 00:27:18,359 Who is it? Who is it? 608 00:27:18,443 --> 00:27:21,778 Fear of man is when somebody other than Jesus 609 00:27:21,861 --> 00:27:24,612 sits on that throne. 610 00:27:24,696 --> 00:27:28,072 And what you want to do then is you want to please them 611 00:27:28,113 --> 00:27:31,449 and appease them, that's what you want to do. 612 00:27:31,532 --> 00:27:33,825 You know what that is? 613 00:27:33,908 --> 00:27:36,367 Worship. 614 00:27:36,451 --> 00:27:40,452 So they're the most important relationship in your whole life. 615 00:27:40,493 --> 00:27:44,079 What they think matters at least as much as God. 616 00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:45,955 You want them to bless you. 617 00:27:45,996 --> 00:27:48,456 You want them to never leave you nor forsake you. 618 00:27:48,497 --> 00:27:50,457 You want them to tell you, "Well done, 619 00:27:50,498 --> 00:27:52,708 good and faithful servant." 620 00:27:52,791 --> 00:27:56,292 Functionally, they're your god. 621 00:27:56,334 --> 00:28:00,127 Again, this could be somebody who's horrific and bossy 622 00:28:00,169 --> 00:28:06,171 and rude, somebody who is nice and sweet and kind. 623 00:28:08,214 --> 00:28:10,881 How many of you, this makes sense of your whole life? 624 00:28:10,965 --> 00:28:12,924 I talked to an atheist earlier today. 625 00:28:12,966 --> 00:28:15,675 He said, "I'm an atheist, I don't believe in God." 626 00:28:15,758 --> 00:28:17,426 He said, "But I struggle with anxiety. 627 00:28:17,468 --> 00:28:18,968 "I struggle with depression. 628 00:28:19,009 --> 00:28:21,177 "I struggle with suicidal thoughts. 629 00:28:21,260 --> 00:28:22,845 I've got a lot of anxiousness." 630 00:28:22,928 --> 00:28:24,679 And he was crying, he was shaking. 631 00:28:24,762 --> 00:28:27,430 It was a cool conversation, he was a really honest guy, 632 00:28:27,472 --> 00:28:28,805 a really nice guy. 633 00:28:28,889 --> 00:28:30,306 I enjoyed my time with him. 634 00:28:30,389 --> 00:28:32,932 He said, "I'm not sure what you're saying is true, 635 00:28:32,974 --> 00:28:34,933 "but if what you're saying is true 636 00:28:34,975 --> 00:28:37,392 then my whole life makes sense." 637 00:28:37,476 --> 00:28:40,560 He said, "Somebody other than Jesus has been on the throne and 638 00:28:40,643 --> 00:28:43,895 it's not working for me, but I'm not sure that Jesus is Lord." 639 00:28:43,979 --> 00:28:45,645 I said, "Well, do you have questions?" 640 00:28:45,687 --> 00:28:48,356 He said, "Yeah, would somebody be willing to talk to me?" 641 00:28:48,439 --> 00:28:51,357 "I have 10,000 people who would be willing to talk to you. 642 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:53,858 "You know, like we'd all love to talk to you 643 00:28:53,941 --> 00:28:56,234 because we've all been there." 644 00:28:56,317 --> 00:28:58,235 This might make sense of your whole life, 645 00:28:58,318 --> 00:29:00,652 so as we unpack this, let me tell you this, 646 00:29:00,736 --> 00:29:02,653 this isn't something you're going to learn today 647 00:29:02,737 --> 00:29:05,154 and then be fine for the rest of your life. 648 00:29:05,238 --> 00:29:07,989 This is something you're going to learn today and be working 649 00:29:08,072 --> 00:29:11,198 on for the rest of your life because sometimes people 650 00:29:11,281 --> 00:29:14,574 in various ways get themselves on the throne. 651 00:29:14,657 --> 00:29:17,951 In other ways, we just put them there. 652 00:29:17,993 --> 00:29:20,035 And even with ourselves, sometimes we're 653 00:29:20,119 --> 00:29:25,204 on somebody else's throne. 654 00:29:25,287 --> 00:29:27,247 What do we do with this? 655 00:29:27,330 --> 00:29:34,040 Jesus is going to give us four truths that are most helpful. 656 00:29:34,125 --> 00:29:35,916 We're going to look at his example, 657 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,584 we're going to examine his words, starting with these. 658 00:29:38,667 --> 00:29:44,920 Number one, we overcome fear of man by living for judgment day. 659 00:29:45,004 --> 00:29:47,713 Jesus says, Luke 12:2-3, "Nothing is covered up that 660 00:29:47,796 --> 00:29:50,381 "will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 661 00:29:50,464 --> 00:29:53,173 "Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard 662 00:29:53,215 --> 00:29:55,842 "in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms 663 00:29:55,884 --> 00:29:57,425 shall be proclaimed on the housetops." 664 00:29:57,509 --> 00:29:59,176 Here's what bullies want to do. 665 00:29:59,218 --> 00:30:02,677 They want to be the judge, they want you to come before them, 666 00:30:02,761 --> 00:30:07,013 and they want to judge you, oftentimes based on rules 667 00:30:07,054 --> 00:30:11,515 they made, not rules that God made. 668 00:30:11,598 --> 00:30:13,766 And what Jesus here is saying is, 669 00:30:13,849 --> 00:30:18,226 "Don't let them sit on the seat of judgment." 670 00:30:18,309 --> 00:30:21,144 Let's say, for example, hypothetically you and I had 671 00:30:21,185 --> 00:30:23,936 a big conflict and we disagreed about something and it was 672 00:30:24,020 --> 00:30:27,438 a legal matter and you thought I was guilty and I thought I was 673 00:30:27,522 --> 00:30:30,314 innocent and we met and we went through mediation 674 00:30:30,356 --> 00:30:34,608 and arbitration and we had no resolution and I kept meeting 675 00:30:34,691 --> 00:30:37,692 with you and I kept telling you, "Look, I think you're wrong. 676 00:30:37,776 --> 00:30:39,943 I think you're wrong. I think you're wrong." 677 00:30:40,027 --> 00:30:42,944 And you said, "You know what? I don't think I am." 678 00:30:43,028 --> 00:30:45,695 Would you let me judge you? Would you let me decide? 679 00:30:45,737 --> 00:30:48,780 No, what you would say is, "Let's both go before the judge. 680 00:30:48,863 --> 00:30:51,573 "Let's have our day in court, let him render the verdict, 681 00:30:51,657 --> 00:30:54,033 or her render the verdict." 682 00:30:54,074 --> 00:30:58,367 And you would wait until your day in court. 683 00:30:58,409 --> 00:31:01,036 All right, you wouldn't come before me and let me have 684 00:31:01,119 --> 00:31:04,662 a robe on and a gavel and pretend like I was a judge. 685 00:31:04,703 --> 00:31:07,413 You'd say, "You don't have authority, that's not your role. 686 00:31:07,496 --> 00:31:10,372 "You can render whatever verdict you like and I'm not going 687 00:31:10,455 --> 00:31:14,124 to submit to it because that's not your job." 688 00:31:14,207 --> 00:31:16,667 Some people literally, you need to see them, 689 00:31:16,708 --> 00:31:18,959 they walk around with a gavel and a robe 690 00:31:19,043 --> 00:31:21,044 and they act like a judge. 691 00:31:21,085 --> 00:31:23,378 "Sit down, I'm going to tell you some things. 692 00:31:23,461 --> 00:31:25,379 "I'm going to confront you on some things. 693 00:31:25,462 --> 00:31:27,379 I'm going to judge you on some things." 694 00:31:27,462 --> 00:31:29,713 You're like, "Pfft, look a gavel and a robe 695 00:31:29,797 --> 00:31:31,881 "does not a judge make. 696 00:31:31,964 --> 00:31:33,632 "You're a hypocrite. 697 00:31:33,715 --> 00:31:36,341 You're playing a role you don't possess." 698 00:31:36,383 --> 00:31:39,092 What we're not talking about here is not submitting 699 00:31:39,176 --> 00:31:40,552 to godly authority. 700 00:31:40,635 --> 00:31:43,553 If you have parents who love the Lord and you're a kid, 701 00:31:43,636 --> 00:31:45,304 honor your mother and father, you know. 702 00:31:45,387 --> 00:31:48,221 If you've got pastors who love you and are giving you counsel 703 00:31:48,263 --> 00:31:50,097 from the Bible, respect that authority. 704 00:31:50,181 --> 00:31:53,223 What we're talking about here are people that have no right 705 00:31:53,265 --> 00:31:56,474 to be in authority over you and the only power they have 706 00:31:56,559 --> 00:31:58,850 is the power you give them. 707 00:31:58,892 --> 00:32:00,601 This could be a bossy, pushy boyfriend, 708 00:32:00,685 --> 00:32:03,144 a horrible husband, all right. 709 00:32:03,227 --> 00:32:07,563 Somebody who's just not rightly exercising authority in your 710 00:32:07,604 --> 00:32:12,231 life or they have no right to authority at all in your life. 711 00:32:12,315 --> 00:32:15,232 Jesus says, "Don't let them be the judge." 712 00:32:15,316 --> 00:32:17,358 First of all, it's not good for you. 713 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:20,401 Second of all, it's not good for them. 714 00:32:20,443 --> 00:32:22,444 Jesus alone is the judge. 715 00:32:22,527 --> 00:32:24,445 It says in John 5, Jesus says, 716 00:32:24,528 --> 00:32:26,446 "The Father has entrusted all judgment to me." 717 00:32:26,529 --> 00:32:28,447 Ultimately, no one knows our heart but God. 718 00:32:28,530 --> 00:32:32,031 Ultimately, no one determines our destiny but God. 719 00:32:32,073 --> 00:32:36,283 We don't decide who goes to heaven and hell, Jesus does. 720 00:32:36,366 --> 00:32:38,617 We don't ultimately 100% know everybody 721 00:32:38,701 --> 00:32:40,243 who's a Christian or not. 722 00:32:40,327 --> 00:32:42,077 God knows the heart. 723 00:32:42,118 --> 00:32:45,579 And so these kinds of judgments, Jesus says, "Leave them to me." 724 00:32:45,620 --> 00:32:48,080 And what he says is, "I am the perfect judge. 725 00:32:48,121 --> 00:32:50,789 "I know things that have been said when nobody else was 726 00:32:50,872 --> 00:32:53,915 a witness because I'm God and I hear and know all." 727 00:32:53,998 --> 00:32:57,500 And so Jesus knows all, Jesus sees all, Jesus hears all, 728 00:32:57,584 --> 00:33:01,001 Jesus will judge all, Jesus is the only judge, 729 00:33:01,085 --> 00:33:02,919 and there is a judgment day coming, 730 00:33:03,002 --> 00:33:06,796 and if you let bullies make judgment day today 731 00:33:06,879 --> 00:33:09,714 and you let them wear a robe and hold a gavel, 732 00:33:09,755 --> 00:33:12,590 you're enabling their sin. 733 00:33:12,673 --> 00:33:15,757 You're guilty of giving them power. 734 00:33:15,799 --> 00:33:18,425 So ignore them, refute them, argue with them, 735 00:33:18,467 --> 00:33:21,677 have a conversation like this, walk away. 736 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:25,595 Number two, Jesus says to overcome fear of man 737 00:33:25,636 --> 00:33:27,804 by being willing to suffer. 738 00:33:27,887 --> 00:33:30,555 Luke 12:4-5, "I tell you, my friends," 739 00:33:30,597 --> 00:33:32,431 Jesus loves you, right. 740 00:33:32,514 --> 00:33:34,432 These are words to help. 741 00:33:34,515 --> 00:33:37,433 "Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that 742 00:33:37,516 --> 00:33:38,934 "have nothing more they can do. 743 00:33:39,017 --> 00:33:42,227 "But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, 744 00:33:42,268 --> 00:33:46,395 "after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. 745 00:33:46,437 --> 00:33:48,646 Yes, I tell you, fear him!" 746 00:33:48,730 --> 00:33:51,147 Here's what Jesus says. 747 00:33:51,231 --> 00:33:54,941 If you refuse to worship people like gods 748 00:33:54,983 --> 00:33:58,900 and live out of fear of man, if you refuse to allow them 749 00:33:58,942 --> 00:34:02,110 to sit on the throne of your life, 750 00:34:02,152 --> 00:34:05,945 some of them will cause you to suffer. 751 00:34:06,028 --> 00:34:08,696 You're going to suffer. 752 00:34:08,779 --> 00:34:12,115 This could be emotionally, 753 00:34:12,156 --> 00:34:14,449 they're just going to make it hard for you. 754 00:34:14,532 --> 00:34:16,700 This could be financially, they're going to sue you, 755 00:34:16,783 --> 00:34:19,243 divorce you, rob you. 756 00:34:19,284 --> 00:34:22,035 This could be spiritually, they could take verses out of context 757 00:34:22,119 --> 00:34:24,786 and hammer you and get a whole bunch of Christians involved 758 00:34:24,870 --> 00:34:27,579 and poison your community. 759 00:34:27,621 --> 00:34:31,038 This could be mentally, they could play games with you 760 00:34:31,122 --> 00:34:35,499 and make it very difficult for you. 761 00:34:35,582 --> 00:34:38,041 I'm mindful of one friend of mine right now, 762 00:34:38,125 --> 00:34:39,792 she's in the midst of a divorce 763 00:34:39,876 --> 00:34:43,378 from a controlling, overbearing, religious bully. 764 00:34:43,461 --> 00:34:47,754 This guy makes rules about the rules about the rules. 765 00:34:47,795 --> 00:34:50,296 His wife is not flourishing, she's dying, 766 00:34:50,380 --> 00:34:53,548 his kids are not blessed, they're burdened. 767 00:34:53,632 --> 00:34:56,466 Everybody's miserable. 768 00:34:56,549 --> 00:34:58,800 When confronted on it, he says, 769 00:34:58,842 --> 00:35:01,176 "I don't see what the problem is." 770 00:35:01,260 --> 00:35:03,969 Well, you don't see what the problem is because in this 771 00:35:04,052 --> 00:35:07,513 little house you're god, lord, king, and Christ, 772 00:35:07,596 --> 00:35:10,639 and you get to make rules and render verdicts and judge people 773 00:35:10,722 --> 00:35:14,223 and oppress and condemn them, so it works for you. 774 00:35:14,306 --> 00:35:16,974 It isn't working for them. 775 00:35:17,016 --> 00:35:19,142 She's miserable, the kids are miserable. 776 00:35:19,183 --> 00:35:23,185 It's horrible, horrible what this guy does to his family. 777 00:35:23,269 --> 00:35:26,687 And Jesus says sometimes it can even be physical violence, 778 00:35:26,771 --> 00:35:32,356 all the way to the point of death. 779 00:35:32,439 --> 00:35:34,857 Okay, now in telling you that, 780 00:35:34,940 --> 00:35:38,776 I'm warning you that if you're going to follow Jesus, 781 00:35:38,817 --> 00:35:41,026 you're going to have to suffer. 782 00:35:41,109 --> 00:35:43,235 Jesus suffered. 783 00:35:43,318 --> 00:35:45,444 The bullies, they harmed him physically, 784 00:35:45,486 --> 00:35:47,112 they harmed him emotionally. 785 00:35:47,154 --> 00:35:50,363 All right, they beat him. 786 00:35:50,446 --> 00:35:51,781 They arrested him. 787 00:35:51,822 --> 00:35:53,907 They lied about him. 788 00:35:53,990 --> 00:35:56,241 They harmed his reputation. 789 00:35:56,324 --> 00:35:58,159 They ripped the flesh off his body. 790 00:35:58,242 --> 00:35:59,950 They crucified him. 791 00:35:59,992 --> 00:36:02,368 That's what the bullies did. 792 00:36:02,451 --> 00:36:04,661 They made him suffer. 793 00:36:04,744 --> 00:36:06,870 So if we're going to follow Jesus, 794 00:36:06,953 --> 00:36:09,371 and we don't need to be self-righteous and haughty and 795 00:36:09,454 --> 00:36:12,497 proud about this, we need to be humble and heartfelt about it. 796 00:36:12,581 --> 00:36:15,832 It's like, "Well, If I'm going to follow Jesus, who suffered, 797 00:36:15,916 --> 00:36:19,250 I'm going to suffer." 798 00:36:19,333 --> 00:36:22,043 And I don't tell you that so that you become fatalistic, 799 00:36:22,126 --> 00:36:24,961 but I tell you that so that you prepare yourself. 800 00:36:25,003 --> 00:36:29,337 People are going to say and do things. 801 00:36:29,421 --> 00:36:35,424 And Jesus says, "Don't be afraid of even losing your life." 802 00:36:36,424 --> 00:36:38,008 So here's what he's saying. 803 00:36:38,091 --> 00:36:39,759 If you're going to be a Christian, 804 00:36:39,842 --> 00:36:42,760 you've got to be willing to die for Jesus if that's what 805 00:36:42,843 --> 00:36:46,637 it comes to, or live for Jesus if that's what it comes to. 806 00:36:46,679 --> 00:36:49,971 And sometimes the living for Jesus can be harder 807 00:36:50,013 --> 00:36:51,806 than the dying for Jesus. 808 00:36:51,847 --> 00:36:54,848 And I don't want to denigrate martyrs who have died for their 809 00:36:54,932 --> 00:36:56,849 faith, but if somebody walks up and says, 810 00:36:56,933 --> 00:36:58,684 "If you're a Christian, I'll kill you," 811 00:36:58,767 --> 00:37:00,684 it's over pretty quick. 812 00:37:00,725 --> 00:37:03,644 If you convert to Christianity and your mother hates that, 813 00:37:03,686 --> 00:37:07,020 it's going to be weird for 40 years. 814 00:37:07,062 --> 00:37:09,271 Christmas is going to be awkward, 815 00:37:09,354 --> 00:37:11,564 Uncle Tom's going to give you the stink eye, 816 00:37:11,647 --> 00:37:13,190 Thanksgiving's going to be brutal. 817 00:37:13,231 --> 00:37:16,691 As soon as you get engaged to a believer and want to get married 818 00:37:16,732 --> 00:37:19,692 in a church, they're just going to fire up the carnival music 819 00:37:19,733 --> 00:37:21,859 and the whole fiasco's going to start again. 820 00:37:21,943 --> 00:37:27,153 Forty years of getting opposed and neglected and threatened 821 00:37:27,195 --> 00:37:29,862 by your family or friends or coworkers, 822 00:37:29,947 --> 00:37:34,448 sometimes living for Jesus is as hard as dying for Jesus, 823 00:37:34,531 --> 00:37:37,783 and you've got to be willing to do both. 824 00:37:37,866 --> 00:37:39,992 And here's what Jesus says. 825 00:37:40,034 --> 00:37:44,703 "The worst they could do is kill you. 826 00:37:44,786 --> 00:37:46,703 That's all." 827 00:37:46,787 --> 00:37:49,246 All right, and we kind of chuckle, and you're like, 828 00:37:49,330 --> 00:37:50,996 "Well, that's sort of a big deal. 829 00:37:51,038 --> 00:37:52,622 "On my to-do list is breathing. 830 00:37:52,706 --> 00:37:54,582 "Like, it's a thing for me. 831 00:37:54,665 --> 00:37:57,708 I'd like to continue to check that box." 832 00:37:57,791 --> 00:37:59,167 Here's what he's saying. 833 00:37:59,209 --> 00:38:01,000 "All they can do is kill you." 834 00:38:01,042 --> 00:38:05,336 "Really, is there something worse, Jesus, than death?" 835 00:38:05,377 --> 00:38:07,378 He says, "Yeah, there's something worse than death." 836 00:38:07,462 --> 00:38:08,879 "What is it?" 837 00:38:08,921 --> 00:38:11,380 "Hell," Jesus says hell is worth than death. 838 00:38:11,422 --> 00:38:16,216 Jesus talks about hell more than anyone in the Bible. 839 00:38:16,257 --> 00:38:20,050 So Jesus is saying for the non-Christian who remains 840 00:38:20,092 --> 00:38:24,844 separated from Jesus, this life is their heaven. 841 00:38:24,885 --> 00:38:26,678 This is as good as it gets. 842 00:38:26,720 --> 00:38:29,179 They sit on their little throne and they have their 843 00:38:29,221 --> 00:38:31,180 little kingdom and they render their little verdicts, 844 00:38:31,222 --> 00:38:33,681 and then they die and they meet the real king. 845 00:38:33,723 --> 00:38:35,349 They stand before the real throne, 846 00:38:35,390 --> 00:38:37,057 they get judged by the real judge, 847 00:38:37,140 --> 00:38:39,058 and they go to the real hell 848 00:38:39,141 --> 00:38:41,476 where they suffer conscious, eternal torment. 849 00:38:41,559 --> 00:38:43,310 For how long? 850 00:38:43,393 --> 00:38:45,019 Forever. 851 00:38:45,061 --> 00:38:48,645 Jesus says, "That's way worse than dying." 852 00:38:48,729 --> 00:38:52,856 If you belong to Jesus, this life is as bad as it gets. 853 00:38:52,897 --> 00:38:55,690 This is your hell. 854 00:38:55,732 --> 00:38:59,066 Their heaven is your hell. 855 00:38:59,149 --> 00:39:01,275 It only gets better from here. 856 00:39:01,359 --> 00:39:03,110 Paul says to die is? 857 00:39:03,193 --> 00:39:04,736 Gain. 858 00:39:04,819 --> 00:39:08,237 So even if you get killed, you're going to die and then 859 00:39:08,278 --> 00:39:10,904 you're going to be with Jesus and you're going to go, 860 00:39:10,988 --> 00:39:13,197 "This is better. 861 00:39:13,239 --> 00:39:17,741 This is totally better than what I had." 862 00:39:17,824 --> 00:39:19,408 It's better. 863 00:39:19,450 --> 00:39:23,577 It's not like we want to die, but if we do, it's all right. 864 00:39:23,619 --> 00:39:26,078 I talked to a guy today, his heart's failed him, 865 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:27,786 he's dying a bit at a time. 866 00:39:27,870 --> 00:39:29,746 He's an older man, member of the church. 867 00:39:29,829 --> 00:39:31,330 I said, "How are you doing?" 868 00:39:31,413 --> 00:39:34,414 He said, "I'm in no hurry, but I'm looking forward to going." 869 00:39:34,456 --> 00:39:36,082 That's a good answer. 870 00:39:36,124 --> 00:39:37,499 I said, "Why's that?" 871 00:39:37,582 --> 00:39:39,833 He said, "I'm going to hang out with Jesus." 872 00:39:39,916 --> 00:39:41,584 Yeah, it's better. 873 00:39:41,667 --> 00:39:44,252 So all they can do is--so even if they're like, 874 00:39:44,293 --> 00:39:46,253 "We're going to kill you!" 875 00:39:46,336 --> 00:39:49,045 "Well, I'll tell Jesus you said hi 876 00:39:49,087 --> 00:39:54,006 and you can figure it out with him later." 877 00:39:54,089 --> 00:39:57,132 It's not so bad. 878 00:39:57,216 --> 00:40:00,925 Because truthfully, this life, in light of the life 879 00:40:00,967 --> 00:40:05,636 we will have forever with God, it's really not that long. 880 00:40:05,719 --> 00:40:08,220 And I know right now it doesn't feel way. 881 00:40:08,262 --> 00:40:11,138 Right now in your suffering it feels like a really big deal 882 00:40:11,221 --> 00:40:14,140 today because the bullies make it hurt. 883 00:40:14,223 --> 00:40:16,724 But when you've been with Jesus for, I don't know, 884 00:40:16,766 --> 00:40:19,767 a billion years, in eternity future and the kingdom of God, 885 00:40:19,808 --> 00:40:23,769 if you're a Christian, it's not going to be that big of a deal. 886 00:40:23,810 --> 00:40:25,477 Let me ask you this. 887 00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:28,854 Do you remember the first day of third grade? 888 00:40:28,937 --> 00:40:30,896 I just occasionally ask random questions to see 889 00:40:30,937 --> 00:40:33,230 if you're still with me. 890 00:40:33,272 --> 00:40:35,356 You're going, "I don't know." 891 00:40:35,439 --> 00:40:39,025 Now, the first day of third grade, at the moment, 892 00:40:39,108 --> 00:40:41,567 it felt like a really big deal. 893 00:40:41,609 --> 00:40:44,193 You were anxious, you were stressed out, you were worried, 894 00:40:44,277 --> 00:40:46,778 you were uncomfortable, you're freaking out a little bit. 895 00:40:46,861 --> 00:40:49,112 But now in hindsight, you're like, "I don't know. 896 00:40:49,195 --> 00:40:51,946 "It seemed like a big deal, there's been a few days 897 00:40:52,030 --> 00:40:53,531 "between now and then. 898 00:40:53,614 --> 00:40:55,532 It's really not that big of a deal." 899 00:40:55,615 --> 00:40:59,283 Your whole life is the first day of third grade. 900 00:40:59,324 --> 00:41:01,409 That's it. 901 00:41:01,450 --> 00:41:04,326 Your whole life is the first day of third grade. 902 00:41:04,410 --> 00:41:05,827 You're going to die. 903 00:41:05,911 --> 00:41:08,578 If you belong to Jesus, you're going to be with Jesus. 904 00:41:08,620 --> 00:41:10,413 In a billion years, people will ask, 905 00:41:10,454 --> 00:41:12,414 "Well, tell me about your life on earth." 906 00:41:12,455 --> 00:41:15,415 You're like, "I don't know, I think I wore a hat. 907 00:41:15,456 --> 00:41:17,082 "I don't know. I don't know. 908 00:41:17,124 --> 00:41:20,625 It seemed like a big deal at the time." 909 00:41:20,708 --> 00:41:23,959 Jesus continues that we overcome fear of man 910 00:41:24,001 --> 00:41:26,044 with the love of God. 911 00:41:26,127 --> 00:41:27,878 He says, "Are not five sparrows," 912 00:41:27,961 --> 00:41:30,212 just little almost worthless birds, 913 00:41:30,296 --> 00:41:33,130 "sold for two pennies? And yet not one of them is 914 00:41:33,213 --> 00:41:34,964 "forgotten before God. 915 00:41:35,048 --> 00:41:37,215 Why, even the hairs on your head are numbered." 916 00:41:37,299 --> 00:41:40,175 And some of you the number is decreasing. 917 00:41:40,258 --> 00:41:44,052 "Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows." 918 00:41:44,135 --> 00:41:46,969 See, when you're suffering, you can wonder, and if the bullies, 919 00:41:47,011 --> 00:41:50,095 it looks like they're winning, you may wonder, 920 00:41:50,137 --> 00:41:53,639 "God, do you really love me? 921 00:41:53,722 --> 00:41:56,473 "Are you really paying any attention? 922 00:41:56,515 --> 00:42:00,308 Do you even care?" 923 00:42:00,349 --> 00:42:01,934 Jesus says four things. 924 00:42:01,975 --> 00:42:04,893 Number one, God knows you perfectly. 925 00:42:04,976 --> 00:42:07,061 He sees and knows all. 926 00:42:07,144 --> 00:42:09,103 Number two, God remembers you continually. 927 00:42:09,145 --> 00:42:11,354 He hasn't forgotten about you. 928 00:42:11,438 --> 00:42:14,147 Number three, God watches you carefully. 929 00:42:14,189 --> 00:42:16,356 He's paying attention. 930 00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:20,400 And number four, God values you deeply. 931 00:42:20,483 --> 00:42:23,109 He does love you. 932 00:42:23,151 --> 00:42:28,320 And I'll tell you what, if we assume that God loves us and by 933 00:42:28,361 --> 00:42:32,488 faith know that he's paying attention and keeping account, 934 00:42:32,572 --> 00:42:37,949 and he remains lovingly committed to us, it changes 935 00:42:37,990 --> 00:42:43,617 how we suffer and it frees us from the fear of man. 936 00:42:43,659 --> 00:42:45,785 First of all, you realize as you're suffering, 937 00:42:45,827 --> 00:42:48,453 "You know what? I've caused Jesus to suffer. 938 00:42:48,494 --> 00:42:52,288 "He died for my sin, so as I'm suffering it makes me even more 939 00:42:52,330 --> 00:42:55,497 "thankful for Jesus, that he would love me so much that God 940 00:42:55,539 --> 00:42:58,374 "would become a man and that he would suffer for me. 941 00:42:58,458 --> 00:43:00,458 "Now that I'm suffering, I really appreciate 942 00:43:00,499 --> 00:43:03,167 what Jesus has done for me." 943 00:43:03,210 --> 00:43:07,211 Number two, it causes you to be humble and repentant and to ask, 944 00:43:07,294 --> 00:43:10,170 "Not only am I suffering, but I've probably caused 945 00:43:10,253 --> 00:43:13,297 "other people to suffer. 946 00:43:13,339 --> 00:43:15,590 "Who have I been a bully to? 947 00:43:15,673 --> 00:43:18,424 "Who have I sat on the throne for? 948 00:43:18,507 --> 00:43:20,258 "Who have I harmed? 949 00:43:20,342 --> 00:43:26,344 Who do I need to apologize to, ask forgiveness of?" 950 00:43:30,179 --> 00:43:33,097 See, if we believe that God loves us, 951 00:43:33,180 --> 00:43:36,181 then we believe that even if what's happening to us isn't 952 00:43:36,264 --> 00:43:40,016 good and holy and just, it'll be used by a good, holy, 953 00:43:40,100 --> 00:43:43,434 and just God to teach us more about Jesus 954 00:43:43,517 --> 00:43:45,935 and to make us more like him. 955 00:43:46,018 --> 00:43:48,686 So we overcome fear of man with the love of God. 956 00:43:48,769 --> 00:43:50,729 God loves me. 957 00:43:50,812 --> 00:43:55,064 One way or another, he's going to get me through. 958 00:43:55,147 --> 00:43:59,358 And then Jesus closes with sort of the culminating big idea, 959 00:43:59,441 --> 00:44:04,985 that you overcome fear of man with the fear of God. 960 00:44:05,026 --> 00:44:09,612 Luke 12:8-12, "And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me 961 00:44:09,695 --> 00:44:11,613 before men, the Son of Man," 962 00:44:11,696 --> 00:44:13,947 that's a title of himself from Daniel. 963 00:44:14,030 --> 00:44:15,906 He uses it about 80 times. 964 00:44:15,990 --> 00:44:17,698 It means God become a man. 965 00:44:17,740 --> 00:44:19,699 "Also will acknowledge before the angels of God," 966 00:44:19,782 --> 00:44:21,700 who will serve as the witnesses, 967 00:44:21,742 --> 00:44:24,701 "but the one who denies me before men will be denied 968 00:44:24,784 --> 00:44:26,285 "before the angels of God. 969 00:44:26,369 --> 00:44:29,036 "And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man 970 00:44:29,078 --> 00:44:33,205 "will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes 971 00:44:33,288 --> 00:44:37,331 "against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 972 00:44:37,374 --> 00:44:40,041 "And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers 973 00:44:40,083 --> 00:44:42,751 and the authorities," the bullies are going to get you, 974 00:44:42,834 --> 00:44:45,293 you're going to suffer at some point. 975 00:44:45,377 --> 00:44:51,379 "Do not be anxious," fear, fear, fear, fear, fear. 976 00:44:52,380 --> 00:44:55,714 "Do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself 977 00:44:55,756 --> 00:44:58,673 "or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you 978 00:44:58,715 --> 00:45:01,091 in that very hour what you ought to say." 979 00:45:01,174 --> 00:45:05,551 Here's the big idea: fear of man or fear of God. 980 00:45:05,635 --> 00:45:07,052 Those are your options. 981 00:45:07,136 --> 00:45:09,553 There is no alternative. 982 00:45:09,595 --> 00:45:12,054 Someone is the most important person. 983 00:45:12,138 --> 00:45:18,223 Someone is the biggest dominant personality in your life. 984 00:45:18,265 --> 00:45:23,809 Okay, if it's someone other than Jesus, you have fear of man. 985 00:45:23,893 --> 00:45:26,019 You're worshiping them. 986 00:45:26,060 --> 00:45:27,644 They're your functional lord 987 00:45:27,727 --> 00:45:30,604 even if Jesus is your theological Lord. 988 00:45:30,687 --> 00:45:35,731 Proverbs 29:25 again, "The fear of man is a trap or a snare." 989 00:45:35,814 --> 00:45:38,232 It won't work for them, it doesn't work for you, 990 00:45:38,315 --> 00:45:40,816 it doesn't work at all. 991 00:45:40,900 --> 00:45:43,276 The alternative is the fear of the Lord. 992 00:45:43,359 --> 00:45:45,152 Proverbs 1:4, "The fear of the Lord 993 00:45:45,235 --> 00:45:47,110 is the beginning of wisdom." 994 00:45:47,193 --> 00:45:49,486 Before you can get anything straight in your life, 995 00:45:49,569 --> 00:45:52,655 you have to get straight who the Lord is. 996 00:45:52,780 --> 00:45:54,864 Jesus is Lord. 997 00:45:54,906 --> 00:45:58,740 The shortest confession of Christian belief is, 998 00:45:58,823 --> 00:46:04,743 has always been, Jesus is Lord. 999 00:46:04,785 --> 00:46:10,745 And so you and I have this very important choice to make. 1000 00:46:10,787 --> 00:46:14,372 In our lives functionally, practically, emotionally, 1001 00:46:14,414 --> 00:46:16,581 relationally, who's the Lord? 1002 00:46:16,665 --> 00:46:21,333 Who sits on the throne? 1003 00:46:21,417 --> 00:46:25,251 If it's not Jesus it'll be someone else. 1004 00:46:25,293 --> 00:46:29,753 It's not good for you, it's not good for them. 1005 00:46:29,836 --> 00:46:33,880 And if Jesus is on the throne and Jesus is Lord and Jesus is 1006 00:46:33,922 --> 00:46:38,382 God and Jesus is savior and you belong to Jesus and his death 1007 00:46:38,424 --> 00:46:43,426 was for your sin and his life is for your reconciliation, 1008 00:46:43,467 --> 00:46:47,302 Jesus says, "I can forgive anyone of anything." 1009 00:46:47,385 --> 00:46:51,012 What an enormous claim. 1010 00:46:51,095 --> 00:46:56,264 Friends, Jesus can forgive anyone of anything, 1011 00:46:56,347 --> 00:46:57,932 except for one thing. 1012 00:46:58,015 --> 00:46:59,682 That's what he says. 1013 00:46:59,765 --> 00:47:02,475 There is one thing Jesus can't forgive. 1014 00:47:02,559 --> 00:47:05,185 There's one thing that Jesus won't forgive. 1015 00:47:05,268 --> 00:47:08,936 Of all the sins you can commit, there's one sin you can commit 1016 00:47:09,019 --> 00:47:15,272 there is no forgiveness for, you just go to hell. 1017 00:47:15,314 --> 00:47:18,356 You just go to hell to suffer conscious, 1018 00:47:18,440 --> 00:47:21,274 eternal torment which is just. 1019 00:47:21,316 --> 00:47:27,319 The punishment will fit the crime forever. 1020 00:47:29,153 --> 00:47:33,529 It's really important we know what that sin is, isn't it? 1021 00:47:33,612 --> 00:47:35,780 This would be like there's a land mine 1022 00:47:35,822 --> 00:47:37,781 somewhere in your house. 1023 00:47:37,864 --> 00:47:41,908 You can walk anywhere you want, you step on that one, it's over. 1024 00:47:41,950 --> 00:47:47,993 You say, "It's very important for me to know where that's at." 1025 00:47:48,077 --> 00:47:52,204 All right, Jesus is saying here, "Any sin you commit, 1026 00:47:52,287 --> 00:47:55,288 I can forgive, but there's one I won't." 1027 00:47:55,330 --> 00:47:58,123 Okay, what one is that? 1028 00:47:58,165 --> 00:48:04,084 I would like to know where is that land mine in my life. 1029 00:48:04,125 --> 00:48:08,794 Jesus says, "It's blasphemy against the Holy Spirit." 1030 00:48:08,877 --> 00:48:11,420 How many of you have freaked out about this? 1031 00:48:11,462 --> 00:48:12,963 Okay, you can be honest. 1032 00:48:13,046 --> 00:48:15,797 Let me tell you this, if you're freaking out about it, 1033 00:48:15,880 --> 00:48:17,381 you probably haven't done it. 1034 00:48:17,465 --> 00:48:18,881 "Oh, thank you, Pastor Mark." 1035 00:48:18,965 --> 00:48:20,549 You're welcome. 1036 00:48:20,632 --> 00:48:22,842 Okay, if you have a tender conscience and you're 1037 00:48:22,925 --> 00:48:26,885 freaking out about it, you've probably not committed it. 1038 00:48:26,969 --> 00:48:29,094 Let me tell you what the blasphemy 1039 00:48:29,135 --> 00:48:31,636 of the Holy Spirit isn't. 1040 00:48:31,721 --> 00:48:33,471 It's not cursing God. 1041 00:48:33,554 --> 00:48:36,598 That's wrong, but that's not the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. 1042 00:48:36,639 --> 00:48:38,139 It's not denying God. 1043 00:48:38,223 --> 00:48:40,890 Peter is going to do that and he's going to get 1044 00:48:40,974 --> 00:48:42,350 reconciled with Jesus. 1045 00:48:42,433 --> 00:48:43,809 It's not doubting. 1046 00:48:43,851 --> 00:48:47,977 Thomas doubted and he was reconciled back to God. 1047 00:48:48,060 --> 00:48:50,561 It's not suicide. 1048 00:48:50,644 --> 00:48:52,770 Some have said that it is. 1049 00:48:52,895 --> 00:48:55,105 They're wrong. 1050 00:48:55,146 --> 00:48:57,647 It's not murder. 1051 00:48:57,689 --> 00:48:59,815 It's not a sexual sin. 1052 00:48:59,857 --> 00:49:03,150 It's not an ongoing sin that you struggle to overcome. 1053 00:49:03,234 --> 00:49:05,610 It's none of those things. 1054 00:49:05,651 --> 00:49:08,319 What is it? 1055 00:49:08,402 --> 00:49:12,570 Well, in Luke 11:15, which is the section that kicks off this 1056 00:49:12,653 --> 00:49:18,865 entire narrative, the religious bullies, the Pharisees, 1057 00:49:18,948 --> 00:49:23,992 they confront Jesus and they have a face-to-face conflict. 1058 00:49:24,075 --> 00:49:26,284 And they basically declare, 1059 00:49:26,326 --> 00:49:29,494 "Jesus, you have a lot of power and authority. 1060 00:49:29,577 --> 00:49:32,162 "You do miracles and cast out demons, 1061 00:49:32,246 --> 00:49:38,498 but you do it by the power of Satan." 1062 00:49:38,581 --> 00:49:42,791 Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is resisting all of the work of 1063 00:49:42,833 --> 00:49:49,128 the Holy Spirit and ultimately rejecting the person of Jesus. 1064 00:49:49,169 --> 00:49:53,004 See, the Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity. 1065 00:49:53,087 --> 00:49:57,506 He is God, he exists to, the Bible says, convict us of sin, 1066 00:49:57,589 --> 00:50:01,591 show us where we're unholy and unrighteous. 1067 00:50:01,674 --> 00:50:04,884 The Holy Spirit empowered the life of Jesus. 1068 00:50:04,967 --> 00:50:07,551 The Holy Spirit reveals to us Jesus. 1069 00:50:07,635 --> 00:50:11,262 The Holy Spirit inspires the writing of the Bible so we 1070 00:50:11,345 --> 00:50:15,429 can know that we are sinners and that Jesus is our Savior Lord 1071 00:50:15,513 --> 00:50:18,848 and we can turn from sin and trust in him. 1072 00:50:18,931 --> 00:50:24,017 And if we do, Jesus forgives anyone of anything, 1073 00:50:24,100 --> 00:50:27,518 and anyone of everything. 1074 00:50:27,602 --> 00:50:32,604 But if you grieve, quench, resist, 1075 00:50:32,687 --> 00:50:37,356 blaspheme the Holy Spirit--this is not something that happens 1076 00:50:37,439 --> 00:50:41,524 once and then you meet Jesus and have a change of mind. 1077 00:50:41,565 --> 00:50:45,817 This is something that is a life commitment and you die remaining 1078 00:50:45,859 --> 00:50:50,319 committed to this position, the position that you and Jesus 1079 00:50:50,361 --> 00:50:54,196 are essentially face to face, 1080 00:50:54,238 --> 00:50:57,156 and you come to this conclusion: 1081 00:50:57,197 --> 00:50:59,948 "Jesus, you are evil and I am good. 1082 00:51:00,032 --> 00:51:02,699 "Jesus, you are wrong and I am right. 1083 00:51:02,783 --> 00:51:09,036 "Jesus, you are not Lord, but I am. 1084 00:51:09,119 --> 00:51:12,078 "I reject you, Jesus. 1085 00:51:12,162 --> 00:51:15,871 You are not God, you are not Savior, you are not Lord." 1086 00:51:15,955 --> 00:51:18,956 That was the commitment of the Pharisees all the way 1087 00:51:19,040 --> 00:51:22,666 to the point of murdering him. 1088 00:51:22,707 --> 00:51:26,959 And he came back 3 days later to prove them wrong. 1089 00:51:27,043 --> 00:51:31,420 And it serves as evidence historically that he is God, 1090 00:51:31,503 --> 00:51:35,004 Lord, Savior, Judge, and Christ. 1091 00:51:35,046 --> 00:51:37,463 Do you know Jesus? 1092 00:51:37,547 --> 00:51:39,548 Do you love Jesus? 1093 00:51:39,589 --> 00:51:41,215 Do you trust Jesus? 1094 00:51:41,257 --> 00:51:43,008 Is Jesus your God? 1095 00:51:43,050 --> 00:51:44,508 Is Jesus your Lord? 1096 00:51:44,550 --> 00:51:46,759 If not, you're already presently guilty of blasphemy 1097 00:51:46,842 --> 00:51:48,968 against the Holy Spirit. 1098 00:51:49,052 --> 00:51:51,011 You're grieving, quenching, resisting, 1099 00:51:51,053 --> 00:51:53,554 blaspheming all of his work in your life. 1100 00:51:53,637 --> 00:51:56,221 Some of you say, "So am I going to hell?" 1101 00:51:56,305 --> 00:51:58,306 If you die now, you will. 1102 00:51:58,389 --> 00:52:01,640 But as long as you're breathing, there's hope for you. 1103 00:52:01,723 --> 00:52:04,892 I dealt with another young man earlier today, he came up to me, 1104 00:52:04,934 --> 00:52:07,560 he said, "I don't believe in Jesus, I'm not a Christian, 1105 00:52:07,643 --> 00:52:09,144 "I'm getting off drugs and alcohol, 1106 00:52:09,227 --> 00:52:11,478 "I'm at the third step in the 12 steps, 1107 00:52:11,562 --> 00:52:14,229 and I got to figure out who the higher power is." 1108 00:52:14,271 --> 00:52:16,730 I said, "Well, I don't know about the 12 steps 1109 00:52:16,772 --> 00:52:18,230 "and the higher power. 1110 00:52:18,314 --> 00:52:19,856 Jesus, let's talk about him." 1111 00:52:19,898 --> 00:52:22,566 He said, "So if I die, am I committing the blasphemy 1112 00:52:22,649 --> 00:52:25,067 of the Holy Spirit and will I go to hell?" 1113 00:52:25,150 --> 00:52:27,068 I said, "What do you know about Jesus?" 1114 00:52:27,151 --> 00:52:28,569 He told me. 1115 00:52:28,610 --> 00:52:30,569 I said, "What do you think about Jesus?" 1116 00:52:30,610 --> 00:52:33,279 He said, "I don't believe in him, I don't know him, 1117 00:52:33,362 --> 00:52:35,362 I don't trust him, I don't love him." 1118 00:52:35,404 --> 00:52:36,905 I said, "You are committing blasphemy 1119 00:52:36,947 --> 00:52:38,614 "against the Holy Spirit. 1120 00:52:38,698 --> 00:52:40,449 "You're resisting and quenching and rebelling against 1121 00:52:40,532 --> 00:52:41,990 all of the truth of Jesus." 1122 00:52:42,074 --> 00:52:43,450 And he said, "You know what? 1123 00:52:43,533 --> 00:52:45,576 I want to know the truth about Jesus." 1124 00:52:45,659 --> 00:52:48,077 And he said, "If Jesus is God, I'll worship him." 1125 00:52:48,118 --> 00:52:50,161 Great, just follow the truth wherever it leads. 1126 00:52:50,244 --> 00:52:52,954 It always leads to Jesus. 1127 00:52:53,037 --> 00:52:57,288 I told him, "As long as you're alive, there's hope. 1128 00:52:57,372 --> 00:53:00,832 "God's kept you alive because he still loves you! 1129 00:53:00,915 --> 00:53:02,874 "He's still pursuing you! 1130 00:53:02,916 --> 00:53:04,416 He's still welcoming you!" 1131 00:53:04,458 --> 00:53:07,251 Here, Jesus is welcoming the multitudes and the Pharisees 1132 00:53:07,335 --> 00:53:09,919 to both receive him as Lord. 1133 00:53:09,961 --> 00:53:13,170 Jesus loves the sinners and he loves the religious guys. 1134 00:53:13,253 --> 00:53:15,338 Jesus loves the multitudes. 1135 00:53:15,421 --> 00:53:17,172 Jesus loves the bullies. 1136 00:53:17,255 --> 00:53:19,673 Jesus is welcoming them all. 1137 00:53:19,756 --> 00:53:22,757 It's not too late, friend. 1138 00:53:22,799 --> 00:53:28,509 Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is someone who dies fighting Jesus, 1139 00:53:28,593 --> 00:53:31,928 thinking they're good, he's bad, they're right, he's wrong, 1140 00:53:32,011 --> 00:53:34,637 they're Lord, he's not. 1141 00:53:34,721 --> 00:53:40,514 Is that you? Is that you? 1142 00:53:40,598 --> 00:53:45,141 If so, you've declared yourself to be an enemy of God 1143 00:53:45,225 --> 00:53:48,185 and there's nothing left for you when you die than to stand 1144 00:53:48,268 --> 00:53:50,728 before the judge and to be sentenced to hell, 1145 00:53:50,769 --> 00:53:52,853 to suffer forever. 1146 00:53:52,979 --> 00:53:55,104 It's far worse than death. 1147 00:53:55,145 --> 00:53:58,272 And I'm amazed at how many people buckle up and eat their 1148 00:53:58,314 --> 00:54:01,898 vitamins and drink bottled water and watch their cholesterol 1149 00:54:01,940 --> 00:54:04,608 and don't even think about their eternity. 1150 00:54:04,649 --> 00:54:07,443 They're so consumed with their life they don't remember 1151 00:54:07,485 --> 00:54:11,319 that they will live forever somewhere. 1152 00:54:11,402 --> 00:54:14,779 Jesus says, "Don't just be afraid of losing your life, 1153 00:54:14,863 --> 00:54:20,865 be afraid of losing your life and going to hell." 1154 00:54:22,366 --> 00:54:25,617 I'm going to ask you three questions in closing 1155 00:54:25,658 --> 00:54:28,993 and you've got a big decision to make. 1156 00:54:29,076 --> 00:54:35,246 Are you going to leave here with Jesus as Lord or someone else? 1157 00:54:35,287 --> 00:54:40,581 So, number one, whose throne are you on? 1158 00:54:40,623 --> 00:54:45,500 Who right now worships you like a little god? 1159 00:54:45,583 --> 00:54:51,211 And you like it, there's a lot of benefits for you. 1160 00:54:51,294 --> 00:54:53,837 Whose throne are you on? 1161 00:54:53,920 --> 00:54:58,088 My encouragement to you, get off the throne. 1162 00:54:58,131 --> 00:55:01,132 Get off the throne. 1163 00:55:01,173 --> 00:55:05,174 Number two, who's on your throne? 1164 00:55:05,258 --> 00:55:08,135 Who's on your throne? 1165 00:55:08,176 --> 00:55:11,136 Is it someone other than Jesus? 1166 00:55:11,177 --> 00:55:17,304 Repent of that, get them off the throne, receive Jesus, 1167 00:55:17,346 --> 00:55:21,973 acknowledge that he is the one who sits on the throne. 1168 00:55:22,056 --> 00:55:28,184 Number three, my final question, what difficult conversations 1169 00:55:28,268 --> 00:55:33,145 do you need to have by the power of the Holy Spirit? 1170 00:55:33,186 --> 00:55:38,022 Jesus says when you've lived under fear of man and you're 1171 00:55:38,105 --> 00:55:42,524 going to do like he is doing and have that difficult, tense, 1172 00:55:42,607 --> 00:55:46,984 conflicted conversation, "I'm not going to do that anymore. 1173 00:55:47,067 --> 00:55:49,318 "I can't accept that. I need to rebuke you. 1174 00:55:49,360 --> 00:55:51,319 "We can't be friends. We're breaking up. 1175 00:55:51,361 --> 00:55:53,278 "We need counseling. You need to stop. 1176 00:55:53,319 --> 00:55:55,404 "I can't tolerate this. 1177 00:55:55,487 --> 00:55:58,113 Unless things change, we're not going to be close anymore." 1178 00:55:58,155 --> 00:56:00,948 You've got to have that hard conversation. 1179 00:56:00,990 --> 00:56:03,198 Jesus says when you've lived under fear of man 1180 00:56:03,282 --> 00:56:06,075 and it comes time to have that painful conversation, 1181 00:56:06,159 --> 00:56:07,784 you're going to become anxious. 1182 00:56:07,825 --> 00:56:09,451 You're going to be stressed out. 1183 00:56:09,493 --> 00:56:11,286 You're going to have a panic attack. 1184 00:56:11,327 --> 00:56:12,995 You're going to have a sleepless night. 1185 00:56:13,078 --> 00:56:14,787 You're going to have high blood pressure. 1186 00:56:14,828 --> 00:56:16,496 You're going to give yourself an ulcer. 1187 00:56:16,579 --> 00:56:17,997 You're going to be freaking out. 1188 00:56:18,080 --> 00:56:19,830 And he says, "So don't be anxious." 1189 00:56:19,914 --> 00:56:24,291 This is where theology conquers biology. 1190 00:56:24,332 --> 00:56:27,876 This is where understanding Jesus is Lord changes 1191 00:56:27,959 --> 00:56:32,711 how your body physically responds to conflict. 1192 00:56:32,795 --> 00:56:38,005 And he says, "Don't worry about what you're going to say. 1193 00:56:38,088 --> 00:56:41,673 "The Holy Spirit will give you the words. 1194 00:56:41,714 --> 00:56:47,509 "So don't be anxious, be honest, and the Holy Spirit will give 1195 00:56:47,592 --> 00:56:49,593 you the words to say." 1196 00:56:49,677 --> 00:56:53,261 He'll tell you what to say, and you know what? 1197 00:56:53,344 --> 00:56:57,513 He did that right here for the Lord Jesus Christ, 1198 00:56:57,555 --> 00:57:02,140 who had the hard conversation by the power of the Holy Spirit. 1199 00:57:02,182 --> 00:57:04,558 And he sends the Holy Spirit to all the Christians 1200 00:57:04,641 --> 00:57:07,100 to have those same hard conversations. 1201 00:57:07,184 --> 00:57:10,351 And he sends the Holy Spirit so that those who are not 1202 00:57:10,393 --> 00:57:16,188 Christians have a conversation with Jesus that maybe for them 1203 00:57:16,271 --> 00:57:18,314 is a hard conversation. 1204 00:57:18,355 --> 00:57:20,690 "Jesus, I'm a sinner and I need you. 1205 00:57:20,773 --> 00:57:25,983 I acknowledge that you are Lord and I come to you for life." 1206 00:57:26,025 --> 00:57:28,443 Father God, I pray for the people here 1207 00:57:28,526 --> 00:57:31,027 whom Jesus calls friends. 1208 00:57:31,110 --> 00:57:34,820 God, I thank you that the Bible is not just truthful. 1209 00:57:34,861 --> 00:57:37,362 It is, it's also helpful. 1210 00:57:37,446 --> 00:57:40,489 This is really helpful. 1211 00:57:40,531 --> 00:57:44,825 For a day when the leading prescription medication is 1212 00:57:44,866 --> 00:57:48,284 antidepressants, when most people's troubles are 1213 00:57:48,367 --> 00:57:51,035 anxiety and stress related, 1214 00:57:51,077 --> 00:57:53,536 this is really helpful. 1215 00:57:53,578 --> 00:57:58,205 Thank you, Lord Jesus, for loving those of us who are 1216 00:57:58,246 --> 00:58:02,873 on the throne and loving those of us who worship someone else 1217 00:58:02,915 --> 00:58:06,709 on the throne and loving us enough to have a Spirit-filled 1218 00:58:06,750 --> 00:58:13,044 hard conversation and loving us enough to suffer and loving us 1219 00:58:13,086 --> 00:58:17,213 enough to die and to rise and to love and to forgive. 1220 00:58:17,254 --> 00:58:20,297 I pray that none of my friends here would commit their lives 1221 00:58:20,380 --> 00:58:22,715 to the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. 1222 00:58:22,756 --> 00:58:26,467 I pray they would not remain stiff necked, hard hearted, 1223 00:58:26,550 --> 00:58:30,009 that instead, Lord God, they would turn from sin and trust 1224 00:58:30,051 --> 00:58:34,386 in you and realize that they are bad and you are good, 1225 00:58:34,428 --> 00:58:37,512 and they are liars and you're a truth teller, 1226 00:58:37,554 --> 00:58:41,389 and they're lost and you're the Lord. 1227 00:58:41,473 --> 00:58:44,807 I pray this for my friends because it's liberating. 1228 00:58:44,890 --> 00:58:46,266 Life makes sense. 1229 00:58:46,350 --> 00:58:48,101 In Jesus' name, amen.