1 00:00:15,458 --> 00:00:16,750 Howdy Mars Hill Church. 2 00:00:16,833 --> 00:00:19,833 Pastor Sutton Turner here and I'm in Ethiopia. 3 00:00:19,875 --> 00:00:21,667 And I just want to thank Jesus 4 00:00:21,708 --> 00:00:25,000 for continuing to use Mars Hill Church 5 00:00:25,042 --> 00:00:28,583 to make disciples and plant churches. 6 00:00:29,167 --> 00:00:34,292 Mars Hill Global is the arm of Mars Hill Church 7 00:00:34,333 --> 00:00:35,917 that makes disciples 8 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,833 and plant churches all over the world. 9 00:00:38,917 --> 00:00:40,375 We not only do church planting, 10 00:00:40,458 --> 00:00:43,333 but we help better equip church planters. 11 00:00:43,417 --> 00:00:47,042 Most recently we shipped and now distributed 12 00:00:47,125 --> 00:00:49,500 1,000 bibles into Amharic, 13 00:00:49,542 --> 00:00:52,125 which is the language here in Ethiopia. 14 00:00:52,167 --> 00:00:54,042 And we launched a project 15 00:00:54,125 --> 00:00:59,250 to translate Pastor Mark Driscoll's doctrine book into Spanish. 16 00:00:59,333 --> 00:01:02,583 We have people from over 29 different countries 17 00:01:02,667 --> 00:01:06,167 that are giving on a monthly basis to Mars Hill Global. 18 00:01:06,208 --> 00:01:08,125 So whether you're a member 19 00:01:08,167 --> 00:01:11,083 of one of our Mars Hill church locations 20 00:01:11,167 --> 00:01:12,542 in the United States, 21 00:01:12,625 --> 00:01:18,208 or you're 1 of 100,000 podcasters every single week, 22 00:01:18,292 --> 00:01:19,667 we encourage you to pray 23 00:01:19,750 --> 00:01:23,083 about giving above and beyond your tithe 24 00:01:23,167 --> 00:01:24,625 to Mars Hill Global. 25 00:01:24,667 --> 00:01:28,958 Thank you and let's see more materials translated, 26 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,167 more pastors sent out, more churches planted, 27 00:01:32,250 --> 00:01:34,500 and more people saved by Jesus Christ. 28 00:01:55,583 --> 00:01:59,542 I grew up in a Catholic family that left the church 29 00:01:59,625 --> 00:02:01,333 pretty early in my life. 30 00:02:01,375 --> 00:02:05,208 Then it was as a young man of about 19 years old 31 00:02:05,292 --> 00:02:07,500 that I found Jesus. 32 00:02:07,583 --> 00:02:10,125 And I became the first in a movement that's going 33 00:02:10,167 --> 00:02:12,833 a very different direction in my family. 34 00:02:12,875 --> 00:02:16,833 Yeah, I was in the army at the time I met her, 35 00:02:16,875 --> 00:02:20,000 and Denise used to send me a Bible and gospel tracks 36 00:02:20,042 --> 00:02:21,375 all the time, 37 00:02:21,458 --> 00:02:23,583 and I wasn't all that much interested in that, 38 00:02:23,667 --> 00:02:26,000 so I'd throw those away and I'd read her letters. 39 00:02:26,083 --> 00:02:28,333 And when I came to the states, 40 00:02:28,375 --> 00:02:31,208 I came up to the state of Washington 41 00:02:31,292 --> 00:02:34,125 to meet her for the first time, and boy, 42 00:02:34,167 --> 00:02:36,625 I just fell head over heels in love with her 43 00:02:36,667 --> 00:02:40,792 and she didn't have the same kind of reaction to me. 44 00:02:40,833 --> 00:02:42,708 And after about 3 days, 45 00:02:42,792 --> 00:02:45,500 I asked her to take me back to the bus station. 46 00:02:45,583 --> 00:02:48,000 It was on the way to the bus station 47 00:02:48,083 --> 00:02:50,917 that we were involved in a terrible car accident 48 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:52,667 and I broke my back, 49 00:02:52,708 --> 00:02:56,250 and I was in the local hospital there, 50 00:02:56,333 --> 00:02:59,542 and Denise came in to visit me, and she left a Bible 51 00:02:59,625 --> 00:03:02,000 and some gospel tracks on my nightstand. 52 00:03:02,083 --> 00:03:04,500 And I picked them up and started to read them, 53 00:03:04,583 --> 00:03:08,500 and read about Jesus' substitutionary death, 54 00:03:08,583 --> 00:03:11,500 and his grace for me, and forgiveness of sins, 55 00:03:11,583 --> 00:03:14,292 and that he wanted a different kind of life for me. 56 00:03:14,333 --> 00:03:16,417 So, it was in the hospital bed 57 00:03:16,500 --> 00:03:19,833 that I received Christ as my Savior. 58 00:03:19,875 --> 00:03:23,208 And Denise and I got married about 6 months later, 59 00:03:23,292 --> 00:03:27,417 and had 3 boys, and I went to graduate school 60 00:03:27,500 --> 00:03:30,292 and got my degree in biblical counseling 61 00:03:30,333 --> 00:03:33,125 from Grace Seminary, opened a private practice. 62 00:03:33,167 --> 00:03:36,333 I was in practice for about 25 years 63 00:03:36,375 --> 00:03:41,000 and I did just a ton of marriage counseling, 64 00:03:41,042 --> 00:03:43,292 and counseling with single people 65 00:03:43,333 --> 00:03:45,208 that were struggling with things, 66 00:03:45,292 --> 00:03:49,208 and helping them through those times to get close to Jesus 67 00:03:49,292 --> 00:03:51,125 in a different kind of a way 68 00:03:51,167 --> 00:03:53,208 that wasn't just a behavioral fix, 69 00:03:53,292 --> 00:03:56,958 but a transformation in the heart. 70 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:59,333 I'm the lead pastor of Mars Hill Sammamish. 71 00:03:59,375 --> 00:04:02,792 I have been for about 2 years, and one of the greatest things 72 00:04:02,833 --> 00:04:06,125 in the world is that my whole family is there. 73 00:04:06,167 --> 00:04:10,500 My wife, my boys, their wives, and their children 74 00:04:10,583 --> 00:04:12,667 all worship together with us. 75 00:04:12,750 --> 00:04:16,833 To see my boys serving Jesus and loving the church, 76 00:04:16,875 --> 00:04:20,000 to see them leading their family in worship, 77 00:04:20,083 --> 00:04:23,333 and my grandchildren, seeing them love Jesus 78 00:04:23,375 --> 00:04:25,708 and worship them every Sunday. 79 00:04:25,792 --> 00:04:28,833 They bring them with them when they serve at the church, 80 00:04:28,875 --> 00:04:31,500 they bring them when we're worshiping at the church. 81 00:04:31,583 --> 00:04:34,292 It's been one of the real blessings of my life 82 00:04:34,333 --> 00:04:38,667 to have them be a part of what Jesus is doing through me. 83 00:04:38,750 --> 00:04:41,000 That's mine to enjoy every Sunday at 84 00:04:41,083 --> 00:04:44,042 Mars Hill Sammamish Church. 85 00:04:45,500 --> 00:04:47,125 All right, think back in your life. 86 00:04:47,167 --> 00:04:51,333 Who's your favorite teacher, your best teacher? 87 00:04:51,375 --> 00:04:54,250 For me, I only remember one of my elementary school teachers. 88 00:04:54,333 --> 00:04:56,000 Her name was Mrs. Hitchcock. 89 00:04:56,083 --> 00:04:58,000 She had long, red hair, wore red glasses, 90 00:04:58,083 --> 00:05:01,792 loved to wear red clothes, and drove a red Volkswagen Bug. 91 00:05:01,833 --> 00:05:04,375 She was a big personality, super encouraging, 92 00:05:04,458 --> 00:05:06,875 and I just really loved her, liked her, enjoyed her, 93 00:05:06,958 --> 00:05:08,292 appreciated her. 94 00:05:08,333 --> 00:05:10,292 I was asking Gracie yesterday--we were driving out 95 00:05:10,333 --> 00:05:11,708 to get a Christmas tree. 96 00:05:11,792 --> 00:05:13,917 I asked her, "Well, who was your favorite teacher?" 97 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:16,417 She remembers every teacher she had in elementary school. 98 00:05:16,500 --> 00:05:18,500 I only remember one, Mrs. Hitchcock. 99 00:05:18,542 --> 00:05:20,500 Who's the worst teacher you ever had? 100 00:05:20,542 --> 00:05:22,917 I won't tell you the name of my worst teacher, 101 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:24,417 but I'll tell you the story. 102 00:05:24,500 --> 00:05:27,167 It was a teacher that was headed toward retirement, 103 00:05:27,250 --> 00:05:30,792 but had basically given up a little before that. 104 00:05:30,833 --> 00:05:33,375 And so this teacher would show up with a thermos 105 00:05:33,458 --> 00:05:35,833 that was full of "coffee." 106 00:05:35,875 --> 00:05:39,000 It was a little bit of coffee and a lot of liquor. 107 00:05:39,083 --> 00:05:43,417 And wasn't a very good teacher, the first period. 108 00:05:43,500 --> 00:05:46,500 By the second period, was not a very good teacher 109 00:05:46,583 --> 00:05:48,417 but a happier teacher. 110 00:05:48,500 --> 00:05:52,208 By the fourth period, was a slurred speech, 111 00:05:52,292 --> 00:05:55,542 making no sense, but fairly entertaining teacher. 112 00:05:55,625 --> 00:05:59,500 By sixth period, was a snoring, face-down-on-the-desk teacher, 113 00:05:59,583 --> 00:06:01,917 passed out from all the liquor. 114 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,375 No, I was not homeschooled. 115 00:06:04,458 --> 00:06:08,917 And it's amazing 116 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:13,667 because teachers positively and negatively impact us. 117 00:06:13,750 --> 00:06:17,000 A good teacher can really change your life; so can a bad teacher. 118 00:06:17,042 --> 00:06:20,125 A bad teacher can teach you some things that you've got to spend 119 00:06:20,167 --> 00:06:22,333 the rest of your life unlearning. 120 00:06:22,375 --> 00:06:26,167 And some of what we learn in life comes through experience, 121 00:06:26,250 --> 00:06:30,417 but most of what we learn comes through instruction. 122 00:06:30,500 --> 00:06:33,500 And even as we have experiences, we don't know how to interpret 123 00:06:33,542 --> 00:06:37,000 them or respond to them apart from teaching. 124 00:06:37,042 --> 00:06:39,167 And so the Bible has a lot of teaching, 125 00:06:39,250 --> 00:06:42,167 it has a lot of teachers, it has a lot of admonition 126 00:06:42,250 --> 00:06:45,625 and exhortation for teachers, and to speak of it more broadly, 127 00:06:45,667 --> 00:06:51,042 this would include parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, 128 00:06:51,125 --> 00:06:53,833 small group leaders, student ministry leaders, 129 00:06:53,875 --> 00:06:58,167 children's ministry, workers, elders, deacons, coaches, 130 00:06:58,208 --> 00:07:02,500 older siblings, schoolteachers, authors who speak into our life, 131 00:07:02,583 --> 00:07:06,333 mentors, pastors, preachers, you name it. 132 00:07:06,375 --> 00:07:10,917 And in our day of technology, we have at our disposal 133 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:14,917 more teachers and teaching than at any point in the history 134 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:16,417 of the world. 135 00:07:16,500 --> 00:07:19,000 So, this means that students need to be discerning, is this 136 00:07:19,083 --> 00:07:21,917 a good teacher or a bad teacher, and that teachers 137 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:27,500 need to be working out of a love for God and a love for people, 138 00:07:27,583 --> 00:07:30,708 and not just themselves where they're using the people 139 00:07:30,792 --> 00:07:34,500 and using God, but they're loving God and loving people. 140 00:07:34,542 --> 00:07:37,500 And so our instruction today is going to be a lot about 141 00:07:37,542 --> 00:07:39,667 teachers, and you're going to learn about good teachers 142 00:07:39,750 --> 00:07:41,083 and bad teachers. 143 00:07:41,167 --> 00:07:44,625 Good teachers uplift God and help people; 144 00:07:44,667 --> 00:07:49,500 bad teachers upset God and harm people. 145 00:07:49,542 --> 00:07:52,250 And not every teacher in the Bible is a good teacher. 146 00:07:52,333 --> 00:07:53,667 There are some bad ones. 147 00:07:53,708 --> 00:07:56,667 You're going to meet some today in Malachi 2:1-9. 148 00:07:56,708 --> 00:07:58,667 As you find that place in your Bible, 149 00:07:58,708 --> 00:08:01,333 I want you to understand the tone. 150 00:08:01,375 --> 00:08:04,917 How many of you have misunderstood a communication, 151 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:08,083 a letter, an e-mail, a text 152 00:08:08,167 --> 00:08:10,875 because you didn't hear the tone. 153 00:08:10,958 --> 00:08:14,125 There was no facial expression or emotion behind it. 154 00:08:14,167 --> 00:08:18,000 You didn't have access to that so you misrepresented-- 155 00:08:18,083 --> 00:08:20,708 you misinterpreted the information. 156 00:08:20,792 --> 00:08:23,208 It's important for us, as we come to the Bible, 157 00:08:23,292 --> 00:08:27,125 that we don't just understand the content of what is being 158 00:08:27,167 --> 00:08:30,917 said, but understand the context in which it is said, 159 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,417 so that we have not just the words, 160 00:08:33,500 --> 00:08:35,708 but the tone and the facial expression, 161 00:08:35,792 --> 00:08:38,500 if I could use that metaphor of the Lord behind it, 162 00:08:38,583 --> 00:08:40,583 including the human author that he is speaking 163 00:08:40,667 --> 00:08:42,833 and working through. 164 00:08:42,875 --> 00:08:44,833 And when it comes to the Bible, 165 00:08:44,875 --> 00:08:47,708 sometimes it's like a wedding, right? 166 00:08:47,792 --> 00:08:50,542 The information is super exciting, we're all celebrating, 167 00:08:50,625 --> 00:08:53,458 Jesus is alive, sin is forgiven, somebody got healed, 168 00:08:53,500 --> 00:08:56,708 we live forever in heaven-- really great stuff. 169 00:08:56,792 --> 00:09:00,208 Number two, some sections of the Bible are like a funeral, 170 00:09:00,292 --> 00:09:03,792 somebody died, Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed, 171 00:09:03,833 --> 00:09:06,167 a flood came in the days of Noah, 172 00:09:06,250 --> 00:09:09,167 we murdered God on a cross, and the sky turned dark, 173 00:09:09,250 --> 00:09:12,000 and it was a funeral. 174 00:09:12,083 --> 00:09:15,000 There are other times that it's more like a classroom: 175 00:09:15,083 --> 00:09:19,375 it's not super emotionally up or down; it's pretty consistent. 176 00:09:19,458 --> 00:09:21,875 You need to learn this, know this, think about this, 177 00:09:21,958 --> 00:09:23,292 work on this. 178 00:09:23,333 --> 00:09:24,667 Proverbs is like that. 179 00:09:24,750 --> 00:09:27,167 Here's what you need to know about relationships, and money, 180 00:09:27,250 --> 00:09:29,292 and marriage, and sex, and investments, 181 00:09:29,333 --> 00:09:31,792 and here's some things to learn and think about. 182 00:09:31,833 --> 00:09:33,208 Oh, OK. 183 00:09:33,292 --> 00:09:34,625 It's like a classroom. 184 00:09:34,667 --> 00:09:37,417 I've got to capture that, and I've got to consider that. 185 00:09:37,500 --> 00:09:41,083 Sometimes the tone of the Bible is more like a half-time speech 186 00:09:41,167 --> 00:09:42,500 by a football coach. 187 00:09:42,542 --> 00:09:44,333 How many of you guys played football? 188 00:09:44,375 --> 00:09:46,333 I can still remember, I'd never played football-- 189 00:09:46,375 --> 00:09:49,667 I tried out in high school, I made the varsity somehow, 190 00:09:49,708 --> 00:09:52,208 mainly just to stand on the sideline. 191 00:09:52,292 --> 00:09:54,958 And we went in; we were down. 192 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:57,167 I think it was for our first game. 193 00:09:57,208 --> 00:09:58,833 Half-time, we're down. 194 00:09:58,917 --> 00:10:01,500 We get in the locker room-- coach is a big guy, 195 00:10:01,583 --> 00:10:04,500 got a big mustache, kind of like a walrus--and he gets up 196 00:10:04,583 --> 00:10:09,167 and just starts losing his mind, saying stuff I can't tell you, 197 00:10:09,208 --> 00:10:12,208 and his face is all red, 198 00:10:12,292 --> 00:10:14,958 and "We're going to war, men. We're going to war. 199 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:17,167 You've got to be willing to die for this." 200 00:10:17,208 --> 00:10:19,833 And you know, we're all teenagers, so, "Whoo!" 201 00:10:19,917 --> 00:10:22,625 He's all fired up, we're running out of the locker room, 202 00:10:22,667 --> 00:10:24,833 running down the-- "We're going to kill you!" 203 00:10:24,875 --> 00:10:26,208 You know? 204 00:10:26,292 --> 00:10:28,417 And some parts of the Bible are like that. 205 00:10:28,500 --> 00:10:30,917 You read it and you're like, "It's war time, boys! 206 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:32,333 Let's go! Whoo!" 207 00:10:32,375 --> 00:10:33,708 But not all the time. 208 00:10:33,792 --> 00:10:36,167 Other times, the Bible is more like a drill sergeant. 209 00:10:36,208 --> 00:10:38,667 Any of you from a military background? 210 00:10:38,708 --> 00:10:41,167 How many of you, boot camp didn't go like this? 211 00:10:41,208 --> 00:10:44,333 You showed up, the drill sergeant hugged you 212 00:10:44,417 --> 00:10:48,000 as you got off the bus, rubbed you on the back, and said, 213 00:10:48,083 --> 00:10:49,417 "Tell me about your dad. 214 00:10:49,500 --> 00:10:50,875 "Do you have any father issues? 215 00:10:50,958 --> 00:10:52,667 "Tell me about your background. 216 00:10:52,750 --> 00:10:55,375 "Is there anything I can be praying for you about? 217 00:10:55,458 --> 00:10:57,875 "Is there anything we can do to make your stay 218 00:10:57,958 --> 00:10:59,292 more comfortable?" 219 00:10:59,333 --> 00:11:02,542 Did he earn the right to be heard so that he could speak 220 00:11:02,625 --> 00:11:03,958 into your life? 221 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:05,458 Did he say, "You know what? 222 00:11:05,500 --> 00:11:07,208 "I don't want to push on you. 223 00:11:07,292 --> 00:11:10,417 "The first thing we need to do is build a relationship of trust 224 00:11:10,500 --> 00:11:12,625 so that then I could give you some advice." 225 00:11:12,667 --> 00:11:15,125 No, it was, "Shut up, maggot, and stand over there!" 226 00:11:15,167 --> 00:11:16,833 "Oh, yes sir. OK, OK," you know? 227 00:11:16,917 --> 00:11:18,917 And they just--they're commanding and they're 228 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:23,542 demanding, and sometimes the Bible's like that. 229 00:11:23,625 --> 00:11:25,167 And here's what happens: 230 00:11:25,208 --> 00:11:27,625 Topical preachers tend to pick a tone 231 00:11:27,667 --> 00:11:29,250 that they're most comfortable with 232 00:11:29,333 --> 00:11:31,833 and then teach sections of the Bible 233 00:11:31,917 --> 00:11:35,042 that are in that emotional category. 234 00:11:35,125 --> 00:11:38,458 If we're gonna walk through whole books of the Bible, 235 00:11:38,500 --> 00:11:40,750 you're gonna have a lot of variance. 236 00:11:40,833 --> 00:11:44,417 So today, not really a wedding sermon. 237 00:11:44,500 --> 00:11:47,958 More like a drill sergeant sermon, OK? 238 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,125 So you're going to get yelled at and God's going to say 239 00:11:51,167 --> 00:11:56,958 some intense things, really strong, difficult things. 240 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:01,292 But hear me on this: it's in love. 241 00:12:01,333 --> 00:12:05,333 He says in chapter 1, verse 2, "I have loved you." 242 00:12:05,375 --> 00:12:07,000 That's the banner that flies, 243 00:12:07,083 --> 00:12:08,917 the flag that flies over the whole book. 244 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,500 So, just because God has strong words, 245 00:12:11,583 --> 00:12:15,333 they're strong words from a loving Father. 246 00:12:15,375 --> 00:12:17,500 He tells us that he's our Father in Malachi 247 00:12:17,583 --> 00:12:19,917 and that he loves us early on. 248 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,083 "I love you. I'm your Dad." 249 00:12:22,167 --> 00:12:24,917 So when Dad is going to have something a little intense 250 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:28,375 to say, it must be because he's very passionate, 251 00:12:28,458 --> 00:12:31,375 it's very important, and there's a sense of urgency. 252 00:12:31,458 --> 00:12:34,792 And hear me in this: the God of the Bible tends not to use 253 00:12:34,833 --> 00:12:38,000 this tone all the time or for everyone, 254 00:12:38,083 --> 00:12:41,625 but he reserves it most of the time for men, 255 00:12:41,667 --> 00:12:44,708 particularly men who are leaders. 256 00:12:44,792 --> 00:12:49,542 So, God turns up the volume for male leaders. 257 00:12:49,625 --> 00:12:51,833 That's what we do at Mars Hill, right? 258 00:12:51,917 --> 00:12:56,667 I yell at men more than single moms, OK? 259 00:12:56,708 --> 00:12:59,917 And here, God's going to turn up the volume, 260 00:13:00,042 --> 00:13:03,333 and it's for everyone, but especially for you men, 261 00:13:03,375 --> 00:13:05,875 us men who are leaders. 262 00:13:05,958 --> 00:13:07,833 OK, you ready? 263 00:13:07,875 --> 00:13:09,500 Here we go: 264 00:13:09,542 --> 00:13:12,000 The first thing we learn is that bad Bible teachers 265 00:13:12,042 --> 00:13:14,500 harm their family. 266 00:13:14,542 --> 00:13:17,500 Malachi 2:1-3, "And now, O priests." 267 00:13:17,542 --> 00:13:19,000 The priests in the Old Testament 268 00:13:19,083 --> 00:13:21,000 are like pastors. 269 00:13:21,083 --> 00:13:23,000 They had the temple; we have the church. 270 00:13:23,083 --> 00:13:25,000 They had the priests; we have the pastors. 271 00:13:25,083 --> 00:13:27,000 It's like that. 272 00:13:27,083 --> 00:13:30,417 Spiritual leaders. 273 00:13:30,500 --> 00:13:33,625 "This command is for you." 274 00:13:33,667 --> 00:13:38,333 So, it's specifically for the male leaders among God's people. 275 00:13:38,375 --> 00:13:45,333 "If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart 276 00:13:45,375 --> 00:13:49,417 to give honor to my name"-- it's not about you-- 277 00:13:49,500 --> 00:13:50,833 "says the Lord of hosts"-- 278 00:13:50,917 --> 00:13:53,417 the God who rules over the angels and the demons, 279 00:13:53,500 --> 00:13:55,417 "then I will send the curse upon you, 280 00:13:55,500 --> 00:13:57,167 and I will curse your blessings." 281 00:13:57,208 --> 00:13:58,542 Children are a blessing. 282 00:13:58,625 --> 00:14:01,417 He is going to curse their blessing. 283 00:14:01,500 --> 00:14:03,000 "Indeed, I have already cursed them, 284 00:14:03,083 --> 00:14:05,000 "because you do not lay it to heart. 285 00:14:05,083 --> 00:14:08,125 Behold, I will rebuke your offspring." 286 00:14:08,167 --> 00:14:10,333 So, they're bad Bible teachers. 287 00:14:10,375 --> 00:14:12,833 How did they get to be a bad Bible teacher? 288 00:14:12,875 --> 00:14:16,500 And you and I are all capable of this, susceptible to this. 289 00:14:16,583 --> 00:14:20,833 Well, he tells us two things: closed ears and hard heart. 290 00:14:20,875 --> 00:14:25,833 Closed ears-- you will not listen. 291 00:14:25,875 --> 00:14:28,583 Who should you be listening to? 292 00:14:28,667 --> 00:14:31,333 What should you be listening to? 293 00:14:31,375 --> 00:14:34,000 What areas or aspects of your life, 294 00:14:34,083 --> 00:14:37,292 that when God starts to speak to you about them through his Word, 295 00:14:37,333 --> 00:14:39,208 through your conscience, through someone else, you're like, 296 00:14:39,292 --> 00:14:41,833 "I don't want to hear that. 297 00:14:41,875 --> 00:14:45,208 "Don't talk to me about--fill in the blank--money, relationships, 298 00:14:45,292 --> 00:14:48,292 "attitude, sex, theology. 299 00:14:48,333 --> 00:14:51,542 "Whatever it is, don't talk to me about that. 300 00:14:51,625 --> 00:14:53,333 "I don't want to hear about that. 301 00:14:53,417 --> 00:14:58,042 I don't have ears for that"? 302 00:14:58,125 --> 00:15:00,208 And they have a hard heart. 303 00:15:00,292 --> 00:15:03,708 God says, "And you won't take it to heart." 304 00:15:03,792 --> 00:15:08,375 The Bible here is connecting our heart and our ears, 305 00:15:08,458 --> 00:15:14,292 that listening requires both, that the truth comes in, 306 00:15:14,333 --> 00:15:17,792 and it needs to sink in. 307 00:15:17,833 --> 00:15:21,792 And oftentimes, the resistance to the truth is not that 308 00:15:21,833 --> 00:15:27,292 we don't understand it, but it's that we don't like it. 309 00:15:27,333 --> 00:15:29,500 This is like a kid who covers their ears, 310 00:15:29,542 --> 00:15:32,208 or puts their earbuds in, or "La, la, la, la," 311 00:15:32,292 --> 00:15:34,917 makes a lot of noise to drown out their father's voice, 312 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,375 or walks away-- "I'm not listening to you." 313 00:15:37,458 --> 00:15:40,167 That's what these adult children of God are doing, 314 00:15:40,250 --> 00:15:46,917 particularly the pastors, the leaders. 315 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:53,333 And he says there will be a consequence for their family, 316 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:58,833 that their children will be cursed and rebuked. 317 00:15:58,917 --> 00:16:00,917 Cursed and rebuked. 318 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,917 Now, you would think, with this much hanging in the balance that 319 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,125 they would have a sense of urgency to get it right, 320 00:16:07,167 --> 00:16:13,417 but they don't, and what they're afraid of is 321 00:16:13,500 --> 00:16:15,917 change and conflict. 322 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,583 When your ears are closed and your heart is hard, 323 00:16:19,667 --> 00:16:21,667 it is because you don't like change 324 00:16:21,750 --> 00:16:24,000 and you don't like conflict-- 325 00:16:24,083 --> 00:16:26,208 “change” meaning, "I am the way I am. 326 00:16:26,292 --> 00:16:28,375 "It works for me. I like it this way. 327 00:16:28,458 --> 00:16:29,792 "It's too much work. 328 00:16:29,833 --> 00:16:32,792 If I do change, do you know what that'll cost me?" 329 00:16:32,833 --> 00:16:35,917 How many of you, there are areas of your life God can't speak 330 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,625 to you because you don't want to change? 331 00:16:38,667 --> 00:16:41,333 You're not listening. 332 00:16:41,375 --> 00:16:44,583 And what God wants to do with the leaders is get them 333 00:16:44,667 --> 00:16:50,167 to change and then be agents of change to go teach others 334 00:16:50,208 --> 00:16:52,708 what it's like to change. 335 00:16:52,792 --> 00:16:55,833 But the leaders won't change and they don't want to tell others 336 00:16:55,917 --> 00:17:01,167 to change, in part because that leads to conflict. 337 00:17:01,250 --> 00:17:05,167 And they're demonstrating this by having conflict with God. 338 00:17:05,250 --> 00:17:08,667 God says, "I want you to change and help these people change." 339 00:17:08,750 --> 00:17:10,667 That's what leaders are supposed to do. 340 00:17:10,750 --> 00:17:12,875 And they say, "God, we don't want to change 341 00:17:12,958 --> 00:17:14,375 "and we have conflict with you, 342 00:17:14,458 --> 00:17:16,875 "and we're not going to tell these people to change 343 00:17:16,958 --> 00:17:18,500 because they'll have conflict with us." 344 00:17:18,583 --> 00:17:19,917 Hear me on this: 345 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,625 if your life is committed to resisting change 346 00:17:23,667 --> 00:17:27,000 and avoiding conflict, 347 00:17:27,042 --> 00:17:31,333 you'll end up where they are. 348 00:17:31,375 --> 00:17:36,083 And now it's infecting and affecting their children. 349 00:17:36,167 --> 00:17:39,667 Their children now will be cursed and rebuked, OK? 350 00:17:39,750 --> 00:17:41,375 I've got five kids. 351 00:17:41,458 --> 00:17:45,000 At this point, God's got my ear. 352 00:17:45,083 --> 00:17:47,708 See, and some of you have lived under the myth that 353 00:17:47,792 --> 00:17:50,208 you're an individual and that the decisions you make 354 00:17:50,292 --> 00:17:52,542 don't affect anyone else. 355 00:17:52,625 --> 00:17:55,542 And the same people that I hear say that oftentimes are bitter 356 00:17:55,625 --> 00:17:58,958 against their parents, saying, "The decisions they made 357 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,708 "have implicated my life, and I'm very angry about that. 358 00:18:01,792 --> 00:18:04,208 "But I'm an individual, and the decisions I make 359 00:18:04,292 --> 00:18:06,625 don't affect anyone else." 360 00:18:06,667 --> 00:18:09,208 That's what blind hypocrites do. 361 00:18:09,292 --> 00:18:12,000 They clearly see how other sin has affected them 362 00:18:12,083 --> 00:18:15,333 and they refuse to see how their sin is affecting others. 363 00:18:15,375 --> 00:18:17,500 They close their eyes. 364 00:18:17,583 --> 00:18:20,167 And here, God is trying to open their eyes and say, 365 00:18:20,250 --> 00:18:22,625 "What you're doing is affecting your legacy, your children, 366 00:18:22,667 --> 00:18:24,292 your blessing." 367 00:18:24,333 --> 00:18:28,625 And some of you will be emotionally resistant 368 00:18:28,667 --> 00:18:30,333 to this for this reason. 369 00:18:30,375 --> 00:18:33,208 You will think it is an injustice and unfair. 370 00:18:33,292 --> 00:18:36,000 For you, it will read like, you know, 371 00:18:36,083 --> 00:18:39,917 "Dad was drinking and driving, and they arrested his kids." 372 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:41,917 That's not fair. 373 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:47,000 Why should the kids be penalized for what their father has done? 374 00:18:47,083 --> 00:18:50,000 The only way--and this is what happens too, is that atheists 375 00:18:50,083 --> 00:18:52,458 and critics of the Bible, they'll come along and say, 376 00:18:52,500 --> 00:18:54,417 "See, God is unfair. God is unjust. 377 00:18:54,500 --> 00:18:56,042 "God is mean. God is angry. 378 00:18:56,125 --> 00:18:57,542 "God is harsh. 379 00:18:57,625 --> 00:18:59,750 The God of the Old Testament is an ogre." 380 00:18:59,833 --> 00:19:02,833 The only way you can get there is to wrongly assume that 381 00:19:02,875 --> 00:19:05,417 the entire family is innocent. 382 00:19:05,500 --> 00:19:07,000 They're not. 383 00:19:07,083 --> 00:19:10,333 Have you ever seen where a family is in something together? 384 00:19:10,375 --> 00:19:13,000 He's talking here about the priests. 385 00:19:13,083 --> 00:19:15,000 They come from this line. 386 00:19:15,042 --> 00:19:16,708 He's going to call them the “Levites,” 387 00:19:16,792 --> 00:19:18,917 so you go way back in the Old Testament 388 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:20,333 to a guy named Levi. 389 00:19:20,375 --> 00:19:21,833 And the priesthood was, generally speaking, 390 00:19:21,875 --> 00:19:24,833 a family business. 391 00:19:24,875 --> 00:19:27,625 Dad's a priest, has sons, the sons become priests. 392 00:19:27,667 --> 00:19:31,000 Those sons have his grandsons; they become priests. 393 00:19:31,083 --> 00:19:32,500 So, they're all in it together. 394 00:19:32,583 --> 00:19:33,917 They're all on the payroll. 395 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:35,333 They're all on the staff. 396 00:19:35,375 --> 00:19:37,000 They're all in the same events. 397 00:19:37,083 --> 00:19:39,000 They're all teaching the same doctrine. 398 00:19:39,083 --> 00:19:40,417 They're all working together. 399 00:19:40,500 --> 00:19:43,125 So, God can't just say, "Mom and dad are really off." 400 00:19:43,167 --> 00:19:45,333 Dad and mom are leading the family, 401 00:19:45,375 --> 00:19:48,625 but the family is following them headlong over the cliff. 402 00:19:48,667 --> 00:19:50,333 And these are not just little kids; 403 00:19:50,417 --> 00:19:52,458 these are grown adults that should know better, 404 00:19:52,500 --> 00:19:54,417 and they have access to the same Scriptures 405 00:19:54,500 --> 00:19:57,958 and the same Holy Spirit. 406 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,833 Why is God so upset? 407 00:20:01,875 --> 00:20:03,500 Why is God so angry? 408 00:20:03,583 --> 00:20:06,250 Why is God trying to get their attention? 409 00:20:06,333 --> 00:20:07,833 Why is his volume raised? 410 00:20:07,875 --> 00:20:11,167 Why is his tone intense? 411 00:20:11,208 --> 00:20:16,250 Because he loves, because he's concerned, 412 00:20:16,333 --> 00:20:20,167 because it's reached a point of crisis. 413 00:20:20,208 --> 00:20:22,417 I had a guy one time say, 414 00:20:22,500 --> 00:20:27,458 "A father should never raise his voice at his children." 415 00:20:27,500 --> 00:20:31,458 I said, "Well, what if the house is on fire?" 416 00:20:31,500 --> 00:20:36,167 There are occasions where it's urgent. 417 00:20:36,208 --> 00:20:38,958 Here's what's happening in Malachi 2 418 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:43,000 and why God is so concerned. 419 00:20:43,083 --> 00:20:45,458 Next week, we'll look into it. 420 00:20:45,500 --> 00:20:47,667 Bring a helmet, OK? 421 00:20:47,708 --> 00:20:50,292 It's going to be intense. 422 00:20:50,333 --> 00:20:53,375 The next section, Malachi 2:10-16, 423 00:20:53,458 --> 00:20:56,958 here's what the pastors are doing. 424 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,667 They're marrying believing women. 425 00:20:59,750 --> 00:21:04,542 As they get older, they divorce their believing wife without 426 00:21:04,625 --> 00:21:09,333 any good reason, to run off with younger, hotter, unbelieving, 427 00:21:09,417 --> 00:21:12,833 godless women that they've been committing adultery with, 428 00:21:12,875 --> 00:21:15,833 and they're still the pastors. 429 00:21:15,917 --> 00:21:21,333 Then, the children of these pastors are asking their dad 430 00:21:21,417 --> 00:21:24,125 to officiate their wedding to unbelievers, and dad does it. 431 00:21:24,167 --> 00:21:26,625 And these children are asking their dad to bless their 432 00:21:26,667 --> 00:21:28,333 relationship where they're living and sleeping together, 433 00:21:28,417 --> 00:21:29,833 and their dad does it. 434 00:21:29,875 --> 00:21:31,958 And then the other leaders in the church decide, 435 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,750 "Well, we'd like a trophy wife instead of a trophy marriage, 436 00:21:34,833 --> 00:21:37,750 "so how about if we trade in our wife and go get 437 00:21:37,833 --> 00:21:39,750 a couple other options?" 438 00:21:39,833 --> 00:21:41,333 And the pastor says, "That's OK. 439 00:21:41,417 --> 00:21:42,833 "Who are we to judge? 440 00:21:42,917 --> 00:21:44,458 "We believe in tolerance and diversity, 441 00:21:44,500 --> 00:21:46,958 and God's a God of love." 442 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:48,500 And everybody's getting divorced, 443 00:21:48,583 --> 00:21:50,000 and everybody's committing adultery, 444 00:21:50,083 --> 00:21:52,500 and all the singles are dating people that are unbelievers, 445 00:21:52,583 --> 00:21:54,750 and it all starts with corruption at the top. 446 00:21:54,833 --> 00:21:59,458 Imagine if I came to you and I said this week, 447 00:21:59,500 --> 00:22:03,583 "Grace and I are both 43, and I've met a 22-year-old girl 448 00:22:03,667 --> 00:22:05,125 "and a 21-year-old girl, 449 00:22:05,167 --> 00:22:07,333 "and I'm trading her in for those two girls. 450 00:22:07,375 --> 00:22:10,208 "We're getting a divorce, but that's OK. 451 00:22:10,292 --> 00:22:13,792 "I'll still be here next week to preach; bring your Bible. 452 00:22:13,833 --> 00:22:17,417 "Oh, and by the way, the gals I'm running off with, 453 00:22:17,500 --> 00:22:19,417 "they're not Christians. 454 00:22:19,500 --> 00:22:22,417 "And I've talked to my sons about this, and I want them 455 00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:23,833 "to marry non-Christians. 456 00:22:23,875 --> 00:22:25,833 "And my daughters are welcome to marry non-Christians. 457 00:22:25,875 --> 00:22:28,500 "And I was talking to some other elders in the church, 458 00:22:28,542 --> 00:22:30,208 "and they're not feeling very sexually satisfied, 459 00:22:30,292 --> 00:22:32,333 "so they're going to get girlfriends and divorces. 460 00:22:32,375 --> 00:22:35,000 "And all of you singles who are living and sleeping together, 461 00:22:35,083 --> 00:22:37,208 "feel free to sign up for our premarital class. 462 00:22:37,292 --> 00:22:39,333 "We just edited our curriculum, and God's OK 463 00:22:39,375 --> 00:22:43,167 with everything you're doing." 464 00:22:43,250 --> 00:22:49,000 Yes or no, that has some massive implications? 465 00:22:49,042 --> 00:22:51,458 That's exactly what's happening in Malachi. 466 00:22:51,500 --> 00:22:55,208 Read ahead next week to the rest of Malachi 2. 467 00:22:55,292 --> 00:22:57,167 God's like, "No, I'm not OK with this. 468 00:22:57,208 --> 00:22:59,750 "This is wrong. You're ruining your marriage. 469 00:22:59,833 --> 00:23:01,917 "You're ruining your church. You're ruining your family. 470 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:05,000 "You're ruining your legacy. You're dishonoring my name. 471 00:23:05,083 --> 00:23:09,833 We can't reach anybody if you're lost." 472 00:23:09,875 --> 00:23:11,917 It's urgent. 473 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,792 OK, I'll tell you this. 474 00:23:14,833 --> 00:23:16,333 As a leader, 475 00:23:16,375 --> 00:23:21,167 I live under this burden of responsibility. 476 00:23:24,583 --> 00:23:29,792 All leaders should live under that burden of responsibility, 477 00:23:29,833 --> 00:23:35,875 and they are not, and it's harming their family. 478 00:23:35,958 --> 00:23:39,833 Number two, bad Bible teachers harm themselves. 479 00:23:39,875 --> 00:23:45,000 OK, before we read it, this is pretty intense. 480 00:23:45,083 --> 00:23:50,833 This next section, you would be very--some of you, 481 00:23:50,875 --> 00:23:52,667 some of you religious people, 482 00:23:52,708 --> 00:23:54,333 you're head is going to explode, OK? 483 00:23:54,417 --> 00:23:56,542 So, if you're sitting next to a religious person, 484 00:23:56,625 --> 00:23:58,750 lean over because their head's going to explode here 485 00:23:58,833 --> 00:24:00,583 in a minute. 486 00:24:00,667 --> 00:24:02,667 And as a religious person, you're like, 487 00:24:02,750 --> 00:24:04,833 "You should never say mean things, or bad things, 488 00:24:04,875 --> 00:24:11,000 or say--use bad words," and then God does, 489 00:24:11,083 --> 00:24:16,917 and their head explodes because they're holier than God. 490 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,208 OK, should we read the Bible together? 491 00:24:20,292 --> 00:24:21,625 Yes or no, Mars Hill? 492 00:24:21,667 --> 00:24:23,125 Should we read the Bible together? 493 00:24:23,167 --> 00:24:25,208 OK, well, what's God say? 494 00:24:25,292 --> 00:24:28,917 "I will spread dung on your faces." 495 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:30,917 How many of you didn't see that coming? 496 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,125 How many of you have been in church a long time, you're like, 497 00:24:34,167 --> 00:24:36,333 "I never got the dung- on-my-face sermon. 498 00:24:36,375 --> 00:24:37,708 "I never got that one. 499 00:24:37,792 --> 00:24:39,125 I never got that one." 500 00:24:39,167 --> 00:24:41,833 How many of you are like, "I didn't see that VeggieTale. 501 00:24:41,875 --> 00:24:43,333 "Did VeggieTales pick that one up? 502 00:24:43,375 --> 00:24:45,292 I don't think they picked that one up." 503 00:24:45,333 --> 00:24:47,417 I was in Baptist church, we had a flannelgraph. 504 00:24:47,500 --> 00:24:49,125 We didn't have a... on our flannelgraph 505 00:24:49,167 --> 00:24:54,958 to put on their faces. 506 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:57,417 It's awkward, right? 507 00:24:57,500 --> 00:24:59,250 It's 2,500 years ago. 508 00:24:59,333 --> 00:25:03,000 It was no more appropriate then than it is now. 509 00:25:03,042 --> 00:25:05,208 How many of you, if your kids said this, 510 00:25:05,292 --> 00:25:08,208 you'd put a bar of soap in their mouth, right? 511 00:25:08,292 --> 00:25:11,208 If you had two sons and one looked at the other like, 512 00:25:11,292 --> 00:25:15,417 "I'm going to poop on your face," you're like, 513 00:25:15,500 --> 00:25:17,000 "You can't say that." 514 00:25:17,042 --> 00:25:20,208 "It's in the Bible. I read it in Malachi. 515 00:25:20,292 --> 00:25:21,917 Biblical." 516 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:23,917 Some of you, you're immediately doing the Hebrew. 517 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,125 You're like, "Well, what does dung mean in Hebrew?" 518 00:25:26,167 --> 00:25:27,625 You're trying to find an off-ramp. 519 00:25:27,667 --> 00:25:30,125 You're just like, "I don't like where this is going. 520 00:25:30,167 --> 00:25:31,500 I need an off-ramp." 521 00:25:31,583 --> 00:25:34,292 It's dung, feces, turds, crap. 522 00:25:34,333 --> 00:25:35,792 Yes, that's what it says. 523 00:25:35,833 --> 00:25:38,500 Some of you are like, "I can't believe he said that." 524 00:25:38,583 --> 00:25:39,917 It's in the book. 525 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:42,625 Now you know why some people don't preach through whole books 526 00:25:42,667 --> 00:25:44,000 of the Bible. 527 00:25:44,083 --> 00:25:45,500 What do you do with that? 528 00:25:45,583 --> 00:25:47,000 Drive around it. Drive around it. 529 00:25:47,083 --> 00:25:52,583 Do you think--OK, do you think this was an odd day for Malachi? 530 00:25:54,125 --> 00:25:55,750 "Malachi?" "Yes, Lord." 531 00:25:55,833 --> 00:25:57,833 "I need you to write some stuff down." 532 00:25:57,875 --> 00:25:59,333 "Really? OK. 533 00:25:59,375 --> 00:26:01,417 What about the priests, can't they do it?" 534 00:26:01,500 --> 00:26:05,125 "No, actually, this is for them. 535 00:26:05,167 --> 00:26:07,208 Get something to write with, son." 536 00:26:07,292 --> 00:26:08,708 "OK, all right, Father. 537 00:26:08,792 --> 00:26:10,125 OK, OK." 538 00:26:10,167 --> 00:26:12,667 So Malachi's, you know, sitting, "All right, I'm ready, Lord. 539 00:26:12,750 --> 00:26:15,875 "I'm ready, OK. I'm ready, OK. 540 00:26:15,958 --> 00:26:18,125 What do you want me to write down?" 541 00:26:18,167 --> 00:26:19,625 "All right, tell them--you ready, son?" 542 00:26:19,667 --> 00:26:21,000 "Yeah, I'm ready, Dad. 543 00:26:21,083 --> 00:26:23,208 OK, what do you want me to write down?" 544 00:26:23,292 --> 00:26:26,500 "OK, write this: 'I will spread dung on your face!'" 545 00:26:26,583 --> 00:26:28,083 "Really? Really? 546 00:26:28,167 --> 00:26:30,500 "We're going to do this? Really? 547 00:26:30,583 --> 00:26:35,750 "This is my first book. Do I have to start here? 548 00:26:38,500 --> 00:26:40,875 "Oh, this is going to go so bad on Twitter. 549 00:26:40,958 --> 00:26:42,417 "I can't believe it. 550 00:26:42,500 --> 00:26:45,500 "Like, this is going to Tweet horribly. 551 00:26:45,583 --> 00:26:47,708 "Are you sure, Lord, because cell coverage 552 00:26:47,792 --> 00:26:49,125 "is terrible out here. 553 00:26:49,167 --> 00:26:53,167 "I thought you said, 'dung.' Oh, you did? 554 00:26:53,208 --> 00:26:57,458 "Oh, OK, well, do I get any royalties from this book? 555 00:26:57,500 --> 00:26:59,167 "No, it's a--really? Oh boy. 556 00:26:59,208 --> 00:27:01,917 OK, well, what do you want me to do with it?" 557 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,125 "I want you to go on a book tour. 558 00:27:04,167 --> 00:27:06,833 "We're going to call it, 'Spread Dung on Your Face Tour.' 559 00:27:06,875 --> 00:27:09,000 "And you're going to go from city to city 560 00:27:09,083 --> 00:27:10,417 "and yell at people, 561 00:27:10,500 --> 00:27:14,833 and talk about me smearing dung in their face." 562 00:27:14,875 --> 00:27:18,833 How many of you, if they were advertising this job 563 00:27:18,875 --> 00:27:20,875 on Craigslist, you'd just let it go? 564 00:27:20,958 --> 00:27:24,875 You'd be like, "I'll find something else for a career." 565 00:27:24,958 --> 00:27:28,583 Looking for one crazy prophet 566 00:27:28,667 --> 00:27:30,917 who does not have a fear of feces. 567 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:33,417 I mean, this is a bizarre text, amen? 568 00:27:33,500 --> 00:27:34,833 Yes. 569 00:27:34,875 --> 00:27:37,000 How many of you read ahead, saw it coming, 570 00:27:37,083 --> 00:27:38,417 that's why you're here? 571 00:27:38,500 --> 00:27:41,417 You're like, "I can't wait to see what he does with this." 572 00:27:41,500 --> 00:27:43,417 OK, God doesn't use this language a lot. 573 00:27:43,500 --> 00:27:45,625 It's not like Dung-on- Your-Face Tuesday, right? 574 00:27:45,667 --> 00:27:52,250 It's--God uses strong language rarely in extreme circumstances 575 00:27:52,333 --> 00:27:55,542 where people aren't listening, OK? 576 00:27:55,625 --> 00:27:58,000 So, you young guys, don't just be like, "That's it. 577 00:27:58,083 --> 00:28:02,000 I've got a poopy verse and I'm just going to use that." 578 00:28:02,083 --> 00:28:03,500 No, OK? 579 00:28:03,542 --> 00:28:05,875 He doesn't do this all the time. 580 00:28:05,958 --> 00:28:10,417 This is very rare because the circumstances are very dire, 581 00:28:10,500 --> 00:28:13,125 but he uses bad words for bad things. 582 00:28:13,167 --> 00:28:15,208 "I will spread dung on your faces, 583 00:28:15,292 --> 00:28:16,708 "the dung of your offerings, 584 00:28:16,792 --> 00:28:18,708 "and you shall be taken away with it. 585 00:28:18,792 --> 00:28:21,708 "So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, 586 00:28:21,792 --> 00:28:24,708 "that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. 587 00:28:24,792 --> 00:28:27,208 "My covenant with him was one of life and peace, 588 00:28:27,292 --> 00:28:28,708 "and I gave them to him. 589 00:28:28,792 --> 00:28:31,708 "It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. 590 00:28:31,792 --> 00:28:34,333 "He stood in awe of my name. 591 00:28:34,375 --> 00:28:36,000 "True instruction was in his mouth, 592 00:28:36,042 --> 00:28:38,625 "no wrong was found on his lips. 593 00:28:38,667 --> 00:28:40,792 "He walked with me in peace and uprightness, 594 00:28:40,833 --> 00:28:42,833 "and turned many from iniquity or sin. 595 00:28:42,875 --> 00:28:45,125 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge,"-- 596 00:28:45,167 --> 00:28:47,583 he's a teacher-- 597 00:28:47,667 --> 00:28:49,417 "people should seek instruction from his mouth, 598 00:28:49,500 --> 00:28:51,917 for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts." 599 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:53,917 He talks about a covenant. 600 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,250 God says, "I made a covenant with the Levites, 601 00:28:57,333 --> 00:29:00,417 the priests, the leaders." 602 00:29:00,500 --> 00:29:02,625 And a covenant is this: 603 00:29:02,667 --> 00:29:07,875 God blesses us and gives us burdens. 604 00:29:07,958 --> 00:29:13,000 The burdens are obedience that is going to be difficult. 605 00:29:13,083 --> 00:29:14,833 It's going to come with a price. 606 00:29:14,875 --> 00:29:18,833 God blesses and gives us burdens. 607 00:29:18,875 --> 00:29:21,500 And the blessing here is, "I'm going to bless you 608 00:29:21,542 --> 00:29:23,833 and your family," but the burden is, 609 00:29:23,875 --> 00:29:26,000 "You're going to be my messenger. 610 00:29:26,083 --> 00:29:27,917 "You're not allowed to say what you want. 611 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:29,917 "You're not allowed to say what you think. 612 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:31,500 You need to echo me." 613 00:29:31,583 --> 00:29:34,917 All right, it's like a father teaching their kids to talk. 614 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:37,500 Dad says something; kid says what Dad says. 615 00:29:37,583 --> 00:29:39,000 That's how we learn to speak. 616 00:29:39,042 --> 00:29:41,000 God says, "It's going to be like that. 617 00:29:41,042 --> 00:29:42,375 "I'm going to say something, 618 00:29:42,458 --> 00:29:44,875 "and then you're going to say it to the people. 619 00:29:44,958 --> 00:29:46,583 "And for every action, there's a reaction. 620 00:29:46,667 --> 00:29:48,583 "There's going to be a backlash against you. 621 00:29:48,667 --> 00:29:50,333 It's going to come at a price." 622 00:29:50,375 --> 00:29:52,333 All right, the prophets are exiled, they're out-cast, 623 00:29:52,375 --> 00:29:53,833 they're hated, they're murdered. 624 00:29:53,875 --> 00:29:55,208 There's a burden with that. 625 00:29:55,292 --> 00:29:57,958 The blessing is, "I'll take care of you and your family." 626 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,167 The burden is, "You need to be my messenger." 627 00:30:00,208 --> 00:30:02,167 They wanted to renegotiate their deal, 628 00:30:02,208 --> 00:30:04,167 and you can't do that in a covenant. 629 00:30:04,208 --> 00:30:05,958 It's not a contract; it's a covenant. 630 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,000 And their deal was this: "All right, Lord, 631 00:30:08,083 --> 00:30:14,042 "how about we say whatever we want 632 00:30:14,125 --> 00:30:16,042 "and you still bless us? 633 00:30:16,125 --> 00:30:17,542 Deal?" 634 00:30:17,625 --> 00:30:20,333 And the answer is no. 635 00:30:20,417 --> 00:30:22,500 It's like a husband and a wife get married. 636 00:30:22,583 --> 00:30:25,500 The terms of the covenant are fidelity. 637 00:30:25,583 --> 00:30:27,500 The wife looks at the husband and says, 638 00:30:27,583 --> 00:30:32,333 "OK, how about you keep all of your vows and I rewrite mine? 639 00:30:32,417 --> 00:30:36,250 I put in boyfriend and some other things." 640 00:30:36,333 --> 00:30:42,208 No, you can't rewrite the covenant once you're in it. 641 00:30:42,292 --> 00:30:46,458 You need to know that Christianity's a covenant, 642 00:30:46,500 --> 00:30:49,667 that God has a relationship with his people on his terms, 643 00:30:49,708 --> 00:30:52,292 and you don't get to be an exception to the rule, 644 00:30:52,333 --> 00:30:54,542 getting all the benefits and blessings like eternal life, 645 00:30:54,625 --> 00:30:56,292 and none of the burdens and obligations 646 00:30:56,333 --> 00:30:58,375 walking with him faithfully. 647 00:30:58,458 --> 00:31:00,458 It's an all-or-nothing deal. 648 00:31:00,500 --> 00:31:04,458 And they wanted to receive all from the Lord 649 00:31:04,500 --> 00:31:07,625 and give nothing to the Lord. 650 00:31:07,667 --> 00:31:11,458 God says, "No." 651 00:31:11,500 --> 00:31:16,042 The consequence for breaching the covenant was God threatening 652 00:31:16,125 --> 00:31:21,708 to wipe feces on their face. 653 00:31:21,792 --> 00:31:24,917 And what's going to happen, then, 654 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:28,458 is, this is going to get all over their lips, right? 655 00:31:28,500 --> 00:31:32,542 The lips they use to teach with. 656 00:31:32,625 --> 00:31:37,917 And what God is saying is, "As bad as that sounds to you, 657 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:42,167 your instruction is to me." 658 00:31:42,208 --> 00:31:47,458 God's saying, "Since it's nothing but dung coming out, 659 00:31:47,500 --> 00:31:50,833 "we may as well rub some dung on it so that everybody knows 660 00:31:50,875 --> 00:31:56,833 what comes out of your mouth is nothing but waste." 661 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:02,208 Strong words. 662 00:32:02,292 --> 00:32:05,333 A couple of things about this: 663 00:32:05,375 --> 00:32:11,500 God holds teachers accountable because students follow their 664 00:32:11,542 --> 00:32:14,833 teacher, and if their teacher is heading off a cliff, 665 00:32:14,875 --> 00:32:17,625 it's bad for the students. 666 00:32:17,667 --> 00:32:22,208 Number two, God not only sees the external, 667 00:32:22,292 --> 00:32:24,417 but he sees the internal. 668 00:32:24,500 --> 00:32:28,000 And externally, if you looked at these religious professionals, 669 00:32:28,083 --> 00:32:29,917 oh, they seem so holy. 670 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:32,417 Before they go in the temple, they wash their hands, 671 00:32:32,500 --> 00:32:34,917 they change their clothes, they say their prayers. 672 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,417 They visit the sick in the hospital. 673 00:32:37,500 --> 00:32:38,833 They smile. 674 00:32:38,875 --> 00:32:40,417 They have those compelling eyes. 675 00:32:40,500 --> 00:32:44,292 They're so compassionate. 676 00:32:44,333 --> 00:32:48,000 God says, "I see your heart, 677 00:32:48,083 --> 00:32:52,833 "and it's disgusting. 678 00:32:52,875 --> 00:32:55,958 "You're not loving me; you're using me. 679 00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:59,333 "You're not loving people; you're using people. 680 00:32:59,417 --> 00:33:00,917 "And the people are confused 681 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:02,917 "because they can't see your heart. 682 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,125 "All they see is your face, so I'm going to take the contents 683 00:33:06,167 --> 00:33:09,375 "of your heart and smear it on your face so that the people 684 00:33:09,458 --> 00:33:15,792 see you as I see you." 685 00:33:15,833 --> 00:33:20,833 Number three, this is as bad as it gets. 686 00:33:20,875 --> 00:33:25,500 A priest was to stay clean, pure, ritually-speaking, 687 00:33:25,583 --> 00:33:30,208 so they could be in the presence of God. 688 00:33:30,292 --> 00:33:33,333 How many of you have gone fishing and gutted a fish, 689 00:33:33,375 --> 00:33:35,208 or gone hunting and gutted an animal, 690 00:33:35,292 --> 00:33:38,917 or been a butcher and gutted your own meat? 691 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,917 The first thing you learn is, this part we keep, 692 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,417 this part we don't. 693 00:33:44,500 --> 00:33:46,000 Know what I'm talking about? 694 00:33:46,083 --> 00:33:50,167 OK, if you catch a fish, don't eat all of it. 695 00:33:50,208 --> 00:33:53,542 Get rid of certain portions of the fish. 696 00:33:53,625 --> 00:33:55,542 So it is in the sacrificial system. 697 00:33:55,625 --> 00:33:58,542 The priest would offer sacrifices of animals, 698 00:33:58,625 --> 00:34:01,500 and it was to be offered unto the Lord, 699 00:34:01,583 --> 00:34:04,583 but there were parts that were ritually unclean, 700 00:34:04,667 --> 00:34:06,000 the nasty parts. 701 00:34:06,083 --> 00:34:09,208 According to the law, those were to be taken outside of the camp 702 00:34:09,292 --> 00:34:11,583 and burned. 703 00:34:11,667 --> 00:34:16,125 And God is saying, "I'm going to take those unclean parts 704 00:34:16,167 --> 00:34:18,167 "and smear them on your face. 705 00:34:18,250 --> 00:34:21,583 Because you are unclean, I will show you as unclean." 706 00:34:21,667 --> 00:34:23,708 This means that they're defiled. 707 00:34:23,792 --> 00:34:26,500 This means that they are disgraced. 708 00:34:26,583 --> 00:34:29,125 This means that they are disqualified. 709 00:34:29,167 --> 00:34:30,833 They can no longer be priests. 710 00:34:30,875 --> 00:34:35,083 God is threatening here, and he says it twice with a preface 711 00:34:35,167 --> 00:34:36,833 of "if" in this section. 712 00:34:36,875 --> 00:34:38,833 So he's giving them an opportunity to repent, 713 00:34:38,875 --> 00:34:42,417 but he's saying, "I'm going to fire all the priests. 714 00:34:42,500 --> 00:34:43,833 "You're all unemployed. 715 00:34:43,875 --> 00:34:45,500 "You're all cast away from my presence. 716 00:34:45,583 --> 00:34:48,875 "You're all former ministers of mine. 717 00:34:48,958 --> 00:34:54,667 I'm getting rid of everybody." 718 00:34:54,708 --> 00:34:56,542 Why is this? 719 00:34:56,625 --> 00:34:59,250 It's bad enough when someone harms themselves, 720 00:34:59,333 --> 00:35:04,500 but when they start harming their students, 721 00:35:04,542 --> 00:35:05,875 God takes it very seriously. 722 00:35:05,958 --> 00:35:07,375 So that's his next point, 723 00:35:07,458 --> 00:35:10,333 that bad Bible teachers harm their students. 724 00:35:10,375 --> 00:35:14,792 Malachi 2:8-9, "But you have turned aside from the way." 725 00:35:14,833 --> 00:35:17,500 All right, you were walking down a straight path, 726 00:35:17,583 --> 00:35:19,833 and now you're going down another path. 727 00:35:19,875 --> 00:35:21,833 "You have caused many to stumble." 728 00:35:21,875 --> 00:35:24,583 You're putting sin, and folly, and rebellion in front of people, 729 00:35:24,667 --> 00:35:26,417 and they're tripping over it. 730 00:35:26,500 --> 00:35:29,417 "You've corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, 731 00:35:29,500 --> 00:35:33,833 "so I make you despised and abased before all the people, 732 00:35:33,875 --> 00:35:36,667 "inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality 733 00:35:36,750 --> 00:35:39,125 in your instruction." 734 00:35:39,167 --> 00:35:45,167 A teacher of God's word is to be imparting life and nourishment 735 00:35:45,250 --> 00:35:46,917 to people. 736 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:51,000 This is why Jesus looks at Peter after his resurrection and says, 737 00:35:51,083 --> 00:35:53,250 "Peter, feed my sheep." 738 00:35:53,333 --> 00:35:57,542 Peter's feeding is teaching. 739 00:35:57,625 --> 00:36:00,583 The teaching of God's Word is to be nourishment 740 00:36:00,667 --> 00:36:03,833 and sustenance that people would grow in Christ's likeness. 741 00:36:03,875 --> 00:36:07,333 That's why Paul tells a young man to teach sound doctrine, 742 00:36:07,375 --> 00:36:11,292 and the word there is literally "healthy." 743 00:36:11,333 --> 00:36:17,417 The reason why God is so frustrated is, imagine a mother 744 00:36:17,500 --> 00:36:22,667 who changed her child's diaper and then fed it to the child. 745 00:36:25,500 --> 00:36:28,167 There's no nourishment in it. 746 00:36:28,250 --> 00:36:32,375 The kid's going to get sick and eventually they're going to die. 747 00:36:32,458 --> 00:36:34,667 Some spiritual leaders are like that. 748 00:36:34,750 --> 00:36:40,833 They feed people nothing but waste, and it causes people 749 00:36:40,875 --> 00:36:47,333 to get sick, spiritually speaking, and to die. 750 00:36:47,375 --> 00:36:49,083 And see, we would say, 751 00:36:49,167 --> 00:36:50,750 "Oh, but there's different interpretations 752 00:36:50,833 --> 00:36:52,833 "and perspectives, and pluralism, and tolerance, 753 00:36:52,917 --> 00:36:55,125 "and diversity, and 'Who are you to judge?' 754 00:36:55,167 --> 00:36:56,500 and 'That's not loving.'" 755 00:36:56,583 --> 00:36:59,333 God's like, "I'll tell you what's loving. 756 00:36:59,417 --> 00:37:06,375 Not feeding waste to people and making them sick." 757 00:37:06,458 --> 00:37:13,375 And here, they've come to serve up trays of waste, dung, 758 00:37:13,458 --> 00:37:18,625 through what he calls corruption and partiality. 759 00:37:18,667 --> 00:37:20,667 “Corruption” meaning, "I'm getting a good living, 760 00:37:20,750 --> 00:37:23,000 "and if I tell these people this is wrong, 761 00:37:23,042 --> 00:37:24,417 "they're going to stop giving 762 00:37:24,500 --> 00:37:25,917 "and they're going to start leaving. 763 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,583 "And they could hurt my bottom line, make my life harder. 764 00:37:28,667 --> 00:37:30,000 "I've got to work more. 765 00:37:30,042 --> 00:37:31,375 Don't want to do that." 766 00:37:31,458 --> 00:37:33,375 Partiality, "Oh, well, is it right or wrong? 767 00:37:33,458 --> 00:37:35,000 "Well, tell me, who are you? 768 00:37:35,042 --> 00:37:37,708 "You're rich and powerful; you get to do what you want. 769 00:37:37,792 --> 00:37:39,125 "You're poor and powerless; 770 00:37:39,167 --> 00:37:40,625 "the rules are different for you. 771 00:37:40,667 --> 00:37:42,333 "We have different rules for different people 772 00:37:42,375 --> 00:37:44,208 "because we show partiality. 773 00:37:44,292 --> 00:37:46,417 "We have partiality for different doctrines. 774 00:37:46,500 --> 00:37:48,917 "Oh, there's certain doctrines we like--God loves us. 775 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:51,417 "Other doctrines we don't like--God's angry with us. 776 00:37:51,500 --> 00:37:54,208 "Certain doctrines we love, oh, there's heaven. 777 00:37:54,292 --> 00:37:56,333 "Oh, other things, oh hell, don't like that, 778 00:37:56,417 --> 00:37:58,208 "so we're going to be God's editors 779 00:37:58,292 --> 00:37:59,708 "and not God's messengers. 780 00:37:59,792 --> 00:38:02,333 "We want this to be easy for us as leaders. 781 00:38:02,375 --> 00:38:08,667 We want to take this and make it into a job." 782 00:38:11,667 --> 00:38:17,000 And it's amazing that, though the book is 2,500 years old, 783 00:38:17,083 --> 00:38:22,333 the issues aren't. 784 00:38:22,375 --> 00:38:26,292 We don't like to speak negatively of other churches, 785 00:38:26,333 --> 00:38:29,583 but let me just say this: 786 00:38:29,667 --> 00:38:32,417 just because there's a cross on the top doesn't mean 787 00:38:32,500 --> 00:38:37,083 you'll walk in and hear Christ from the pulpit. 788 00:38:37,167 --> 00:38:40,125 There are some churches that hate sin, love Jesus, 789 00:38:40,167 --> 00:38:41,625 and teach the Bible. 790 00:38:41,667 --> 00:38:43,375 There's a lot of them. 791 00:38:43,458 --> 00:38:48,667 There's a lot of them that smell like Malachi chapter 2. 792 00:38:48,750 --> 00:38:50,208 I'll give you an example, 793 00:38:50,292 --> 00:38:54,000 an illustration of a Malachi 2 moment: 794 00:38:54,083 --> 00:38:57,333 We started Mars Hill; I was 25. 795 00:38:57,417 --> 00:39:00,125 Started teaching the Bible-- most of you guys know the story-- 796 00:39:00,167 --> 00:39:03,583 a little Community Group Bible study on our couch, Grace and I, 797 00:39:03,667 --> 00:39:05,083 for about a dozen people. 798 00:39:05,167 --> 00:39:07,583 And a handful of them are still at Mars Hill, 799 00:39:07,667 --> 00:39:09,125 and we appreciate that. 800 00:39:09,167 --> 00:39:12,333 And I didn't get paid for the first 3 years. We were small; 801 00:39:12,375 --> 00:39:13,833 there was no money coming in. 802 00:39:13,875 --> 00:39:17,375 I didn't know if I'd ever get to stop my side job, 803 00:39:17,458 --> 00:39:19,000 which was fine. 804 00:39:19,083 --> 00:39:20,917 I just wanted to teach the Bible, 805 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:23,000 so I worked a side job. 806 00:39:23,042 --> 00:39:26,417 And we had Ashley by that point, so Grace was home, being a mom, 807 00:39:26,500 --> 00:39:29,500 and I was taking any gig I could to preach. 808 00:39:29,542 --> 00:39:32,500 I'd go and preach at a youth camp or a student ministry-- 809 00:39:32,542 --> 00:39:33,875 anything. I'd go teach. 810 00:39:33,958 --> 00:39:35,625 I wanted to get more hours in 811 00:39:35,667 --> 00:39:37,333 and learn how to teach the Bible. 812 00:39:37,375 --> 00:39:39,833 And I got what I thought was a big gig. 813 00:39:39,875 --> 00:39:43,000 They're going to put me on an airplane, which was a big gig, 814 00:39:43,083 --> 00:39:45,708 and they flew me to Florida for a national conference of 815 00:39:45,792 --> 00:39:48,500 a main line liberal Protestant denomination that I didn't know 816 00:39:48,542 --> 00:39:50,917 anything about because I didn't grow up Protestant-- 817 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:52,458 I grew up Catholic. 818 00:39:52,500 --> 00:39:54,750 And they wanted me to do a breakout seminar 819 00:39:54,833 --> 00:39:58,125 on how to reach young people, and I was a young person, 820 00:39:58,167 --> 00:40:00,167 so apparently I was ready to do that. 821 00:40:00,208 --> 00:40:03,542 This was a long time ago when I had no gray in my beard, 822 00:40:03,625 --> 00:40:06,917 I could eat carbohydrates, I could stay up past 10-- 823 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,542 long time ago. 824 00:40:09,625 --> 00:40:12,833 So, I show up and I had--I was scheduled to teach a number 825 00:40:12,875 --> 00:40:14,833 of lectures through the course of the day, 826 00:40:14,875 --> 00:40:18,000 and the first one I started in, Romans 1--full tank of gas, 827 00:40:18,083 --> 00:40:19,417 ready to go. 828 00:40:19,500 --> 00:40:20,917 "I'm not ashamed of the gospel. 829 00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:22,917 "It's the power of God for the salvation 830 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:24,333 "of everyone who believes. 831 00:40:24,375 --> 00:40:26,958 "It all rises and falls--it all begins and ends with 832 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:29,167 "the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 833 00:40:29,208 --> 00:40:31,167 "He died in our place for our sins! 834 00:40:31,208 --> 00:40:34,333 He rose from the grave! He alone saves!" 835 00:40:34,417 --> 00:40:36,333 And I'm going for it. 836 00:40:36,417 --> 00:40:38,542 "And you've got to preach this to young people. 837 00:40:38,625 --> 00:40:39,958 Get them excited about Jesus." 838 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:42,667 And a pastor raises his hand. 839 00:40:42,708 --> 00:40:45,833 He said, "What if you don't really believe that?" 840 00:40:45,917 --> 00:40:48,542 I was like, "What?" 841 00:40:48,625 --> 00:40:51,583 He said, "The resurrection part." 842 00:40:51,667 --> 00:40:55,083 I was like, "Do you not believe in the resurrection?" 843 00:40:55,167 --> 00:40:56,875 He said, "Well, I'm not sure." 844 00:40:56,958 --> 00:40:59,083 I said, "What do you do for a living?" 845 00:40:59,167 --> 00:41:01,042 He said, "I'm a pastor." 846 00:41:01,125 --> 00:41:03,333 This is like I'm teaching at a vegan conference 847 00:41:03,375 --> 00:41:06,042 and they're not sure that vegetables exist. 848 00:41:06,125 --> 00:41:07,458 Like, what? 849 00:41:07,500 --> 00:41:09,542 What are you doing here? 850 00:41:09,625 --> 00:41:11,458 What are you doing? 851 00:41:11,500 --> 00:41:15,542 How did you get in here? 852 00:41:15,625 --> 00:41:19,333 He said, "Well, I'm not sure I believe 853 00:41:19,375 --> 00:41:20,958 "in the resurrection of Jesus. 854 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:22,958 Is there any way to reach young people?" 855 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:25,958 I said, "You can't reach young people if you're going to hell." 856 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:29,542 OK, today, this is the sanctified version of me. 857 00:41:29,625 --> 00:41:32,542 Imagine 15 years ago what that guy looked like. 858 00:41:32,625 --> 00:41:34,750 I was two guys back on the evolutionary chart, 859 00:41:34,833 --> 00:41:37,500 with a sloped forehead saying crazy stuff, you know? 860 00:41:37,583 --> 00:41:39,708 And I was like, "Well, you're going to hell. 861 00:41:39,792 --> 00:41:41,125 "You shouldn't teach anybody. 862 00:41:41,167 --> 00:41:43,333 "If they'll follow you, they'll follow you to hell. 863 00:41:43,375 --> 00:41:44,833 You're going to burn in hell." 864 00:41:44,875 --> 00:41:49,417 And I just kept going for it in front of all the other pastors 865 00:41:49,500 --> 00:41:52,167 who were his peers. 866 00:41:52,208 --> 00:41:55,167 And then I looked around and I realized that I wasn't getting 867 00:41:55,208 --> 00:41:56,750 the groundswell of support 868 00:41:56,833 --> 00:41:59,250 from the crowd that I was anticipating. 869 00:41:59,333 --> 00:42:02,667 They're all looking at me like, "Hmm." 870 00:42:02,750 --> 00:42:05,875 And I said, "OK, how many of you are not certain that Jesus 871 00:42:05,958 --> 00:42:07,292 rose from the dead?" 872 00:42:07,333 --> 00:42:10,000 and a bunch of hands went up from the pastors. 873 00:42:10,083 --> 00:42:11,500 So, I went for it again. 874 00:42:11,583 --> 00:42:12,917 "You're all going to hell. 875 00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:14,625 You're all going to burn forever!" 876 00:42:14,667 --> 00:42:16,500 Like, I've got no reverse gear, right? 877 00:42:16,583 --> 00:42:18,500 Like, I'm forward, you know? 878 00:42:18,583 --> 00:42:21,417 And so I thought, "I'm going to do an altar call. 879 00:42:21,500 --> 00:42:23,833 "I'm going to invite them to turn from sin. 880 00:42:23,875 --> 00:42:27,500 "We're going to do Billy Graham right here with the pastors. 881 00:42:27,583 --> 00:42:29,333 "This'll be like the best day ever. 882 00:42:29,375 --> 00:42:31,500 All the pastors got saved." 883 00:42:31,583 --> 00:42:34,167 So I'm like, "All right, who wants to give their life 884 00:42:34,250 --> 00:42:35,583 to Jesus?" 885 00:42:35,667 --> 00:42:38,708 Did not get the response that I was anticipating. 886 00:42:38,792 --> 00:42:40,875 People did get up to walk the aisle, 887 00:42:40,958 --> 00:42:44,083 but it was to walk out of the seminar that I was teaching, 888 00:42:44,167 --> 00:42:45,833 not to come forward to receive Jesus. 889 00:42:45,875 --> 00:42:48,500 Next thing I know, an older person comes in and says, 890 00:42:48,542 --> 00:42:50,333 "Mark, thank you for your time. 891 00:42:50,417 --> 00:42:53,042 Feel free to take the rest of the day off." 892 00:42:53,125 --> 00:42:55,542 I was like, "Oh man, I have two more lectures." 893 00:42:55,625 --> 00:42:58,000 They're like, "No you don't, OK?" 894 00:42:58,083 --> 00:43:00,792 So I was talking to one of the honest pastors afterward. 895 00:43:00,833 --> 00:43:05,208 I was like, "Dude, why are you a pastor if you don't believe 896 00:43:05,292 --> 00:43:06,833 in the resurrection?" 897 00:43:06,875 --> 00:43:08,333 I'm, you know, in my 20s. 898 00:43:08,375 --> 00:43:09,875 I didn't understand this. 899 00:43:09,958 --> 00:43:12,375 He said, "Well, I kind of grew up in church. 900 00:43:12,458 --> 00:43:15,000 "And then I went to seminary, and I got a degree. 901 00:43:15,083 --> 00:43:18,208 "And you know, I've read a lot, and I'm not sure Jesus rose 902 00:43:18,292 --> 00:43:20,708 "from the dead, and I've got a lot of questions. 903 00:43:20,792 --> 00:43:22,500 "And once you get a seminary degree, 904 00:43:22,542 --> 00:43:24,208 "you can't really go get another job. 905 00:43:24,292 --> 00:43:25,917 "There's no way to pay the bills. 906 00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:27,417 "And my retirement account's tied up, 907 00:43:27,500 --> 00:43:29,167 "and we're living at the church house, 908 00:43:29,250 --> 00:43:30,583 "the parsonage. 909 00:43:30,667 --> 00:43:33,083 "And you know, I've got my benefits, my wife's sick, 910 00:43:33,167 --> 00:43:34,500 "and everything's tied up. 911 00:43:34,542 --> 00:43:37,667 "And so, you know, I just am trying to do a good job 912 00:43:37,750 --> 00:43:40,875 and just hang in there and help people." 913 00:43:40,958 --> 00:43:44,458 That's what's going on in Malachi 2. 914 00:43:48,333 --> 00:43:51,667 That's what's going on in Malachi 2. 915 00:43:51,708 --> 00:43:55,833 And people are following these people, 916 00:43:55,875 --> 00:43:58,208 and they're headed off a cliff. 917 00:43:58,292 --> 00:44:01,000 Now, in saying this, I don't want to give this impression. 918 00:44:01,083 --> 00:44:02,708 I want to be careful in this. 919 00:44:02,792 --> 00:44:05,417 I'm not saying, "The world is filled with bad Bible teachers, 920 00:44:05,500 --> 00:44:10,417 and me," because that would be bad Bible teaching. 921 00:44:10,500 --> 00:44:13,083 There's actually a lot of good Bible teachers, 922 00:44:13,167 --> 00:44:16,208 and there's some that aren't. 923 00:44:16,292 --> 00:44:18,917 Some of you are visiting. 924 00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:20,708 You need to find a home church. 925 00:44:20,792 --> 00:44:23,208 Some of you, God's going to move you because there's 926 00:44:23,292 --> 00:44:25,417 other churches that love Jesus and preach the Bible, 927 00:44:25,500 --> 00:44:27,625 and you're really needed there to help them grow, 928 00:44:27,667 --> 00:44:29,000 and that's a good thing. 929 00:44:29,083 --> 00:44:32,000 Some of you, for school or work, God's going to relocate you. 930 00:44:32,083 --> 00:44:33,583 Podcasters will hear this. 931 00:44:33,667 --> 00:44:36,000 I need to plug into a local church. 932 00:44:36,042 --> 00:44:39,417 Because our job is not to preach the Bible at a local church 933 00:44:39,500 --> 00:44:42,417 and send it out to the world so that people wouldn't care 934 00:44:42,500 --> 00:44:45,375 about their local church. 935 00:44:45,458 --> 00:44:49,917 That being said, I would like to give you five things to look for 936 00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:52,833 when you're looking for a good Bible teacher, 937 00:44:52,917 --> 00:44:55,833 and they come from Malachi 2:5-7. 938 00:44:55,917 --> 00:44:59,250 And I really do love the people that I have an opportunity 939 00:44:59,333 --> 00:45:03,417 to teach, and whether or not I ever get to teach them again, 940 00:45:03,500 --> 00:45:05,208 I want them to learn God's Word. 941 00:45:05,292 --> 00:45:08,792 It doesn't matter necessarily who is teaching; 942 00:45:08,833 --> 00:45:11,125 it matters what's being taught. 943 00:45:11,167 --> 00:45:13,500 And if it's me, great, if it's somebody else, great. 944 00:45:13,583 --> 00:45:16,000 As long as the Bible's open and it's about Jesus, 945 00:45:16,083 --> 00:45:18,708 I want you to eat well, OK? 946 00:45:18,792 --> 00:45:21,417 And here's five things to look for in a Bible teacher. 947 00:45:21,500 --> 00:45:24,667 And I say this as well because some of you want to be 948 00:45:24,750 --> 00:45:26,083 Bible teachers. 949 00:45:26,167 --> 00:45:27,583 You want to lead Community Groups, 950 00:45:27,667 --> 00:45:29,083 Redemption Groups, Student Ministry, 951 00:45:29,167 --> 00:45:30,500 Kids' Ministry, Women's Ministry, mentoring. 952 00:45:30,542 --> 00:45:33,875 Some of you want to be deacons, some of you want to be elders, 953 00:45:33,958 --> 00:45:36,000 some of you want to be church planters, whatever. 954 00:45:36,083 --> 00:45:39,000 OK, these are things to aspire to for those who feel called 955 00:45:39,083 --> 00:45:41,792 to teach and these are things to look for for those 956 00:45:41,833 --> 00:45:43,167 who are under teaching. 957 00:45:43,250 --> 00:45:44,583 Number one, character. 958 00:45:44,667 --> 00:45:47,333 It says of Levi, and I'm just pulling from Malachi 2:5-7, 959 00:45:47,375 --> 00:45:48,833 quote, "He feared me," God says, 960 00:45:48,875 --> 00:45:52,167 "and he stood in awe of my name." 961 00:45:52,208 --> 00:45:53,542 All right, Levi's issue was, 962 00:45:53,625 --> 00:45:56,833 "What does this say about the Lord? 963 00:45:56,875 --> 00:46:00,667 How I live my life, it says something about the Lord." 964 00:46:00,750 --> 00:46:02,417 We'd say he lived coram Deo. 965 00:46:02,500 --> 00:46:04,417 He lived in the face of God. 966 00:46:04,500 --> 00:46:06,917 Malachi is a man of character as well. 967 00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:08,625 He fears God, and he loves people. 968 00:46:08,667 --> 00:46:10,375 They can't look at him and say, 969 00:46:10,458 --> 00:46:12,708 "You committed adultery. You ran off on your wife. 970 00:46:12,792 --> 00:46:14,208 You're no better than us." 971 00:46:14,292 --> 00:46:16,917 No, no, they can't throw any of that at Malachi because 972 00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:21,333 he wasn't a perfect man, but he was a man of character. 973 00:46:21,375 --> 00:46:22,833 OK, and let me say this. 974 00:46:22,875 --> 00:46:24,208 I want to be careful. 975 00:46:24,292 --> 00:46:26,792 Some of you are religious neatniks and nitpicks because 976 00:46:26,833 --> 00:46:29,375 you've been hurt by spiritual authority over you or because 977 00:46:29,458 --> 00:46:31,417 you don't want spiritual authority over you. 978 00:46:31,500 --> 00:46:33,917 You will find any fault or flaw with any leader. 979 00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:35,917 Like, if Jesus came back, you'd be like, 980 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:39,208 "I don't like his sandals. I just don't like his look. 981 00:46:39,292 --> 00:46:41,500 "He looks hippie; he reminds me of the leftists. 982 00:46:41,583 --> 00:46:42,917 I don't like it." 983 00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:45,792 You'll find some way to criticize everyone. 984 00:46:45,833 --> 00:46:51,500 I'm not talking to you about giving you permission to go 985 00:46:51,583 --> 00:46:55,042 seeking ways to discredit teachers so that you're 986 00:46:55,125 --> 00:46:58,958 an authority unto yourself and under no one's authority. 987 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:04,083 The issue here is not a minor one; it's adultery, 988 00:47:04,167 --> 00:47:06,000 and unbiblical divorce, 989 00:47:06,042 --> 00:47:09,000 and remarriage to unbelieving women. 990 00:47:09,042 --> 00:47:10,708 That's huge. 991 00:47:10,792 --> 00:47:13,417 It's not just, "Well, I have a criticism of this leader. 992 00:47:13,500 --> 00:47:15,083 It's a big deal." 993 00:47:15,167 --> 00:47:18,667 Character, character, character. 994 00:47:18,750 --> 00:47:20,167 Are they faithful to their wife? 995 00:47:20,250 --> 00:47:21,583 Are they stealing money? 996 00:47:21,667 --> 00:47:23,000 Are they out of control? 997 00:47:23,042 --> 00:47:29,000 Number two, clarity, meaning you know what they're talking about. 998 00:47:29,042 --> 00:47:31,917 It says this of Levi, "True instruction was in his mouth, 999 00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:33,917 and no wrong was found on his lips." 1000 00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:35,625 You knew what he was talking about. 1001 00:47:35,667 --> 00:47:38,208 Malachi, true or false, we pretty much know what 1002 00:47:38,292 --> 00:47:39,708 Malachi's talking about? 1003 00:47:39,792 --> 00:47:41,708 How many of, you read Malachi, you're like, 1004 00:47:41,792 --> 00:47:44,417 "I think God's angry, and the priests are nasty. 1005 00:47:44,500 --> 00:47:46,833 That's kind of what I got out of it." 1006 00:47:46,875 --> 00:47:48,208 Good. 1007 00:47:48,292 --> 00:47:51,250 I remember some years ago there was a sort of young, hip, 1008 00:47:51,333 --> 00:47:52,958 up-and-coming teacher, and everybody's like, 1009 00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:55,000 "Man, so arty, so cool, 1010 00:47:55,083 --> 00:48:02,000 so poetic, amazing stories, mind-bending, so cool." 1011 00:48:02,083 --> 00:48:05,583 I was like, "What is he saying? What is he saying?" 1012 00:48:05,667 --> 00:48:12,333 They're like, "We don't know. It's so amazing." 1013 00:48:12,375 --> 00:48:17,417 That's a turd with sprinkles, not a candy bar. 1014 00:48:17,500 --> 00:48:20,125 There's nothing there. 1015 00:48:20,167 --> 00:48:23,792 There's no nourishment in it, right? 1016 00:48:23,833 --> 00:48:25,875 It's fine to be a good communicator, 1017 00:48:25,958 --> 00:48:28,875 but you need to have good content. 1018 00:48:28,958 --> 00:48:31,125 Clarity. 1019 00:48:31,167 --> 00:48:32,875 OK, so let me make it clear: 1020 00:48:32,958 --> 00:48:38,000 There's one God. He made you. You sinned against him. 1021 00:48:38,042 --> 00:48:43,500 He loves you, so he came as Jesus Christ to save you. 1022 00:48:43,542 --> 00:48:47,417 Jesus lived without sin, died on the cross in your place 1023 00:48:47,500 --> 00:48:51,833 for your sins. Three days later, rose from death. 1024 00:48:51,917 --> 00:48:54,208 He's ascended, seated in heaven right now, 1025 00:48:54,292 --> 00:48:56,417 coming again to judge the living and the dead. 1026 00:48:56,500 --> 00:49:00,333 You've got two options, bottom line: 1027 00:49:00,375 --> 00:49:03,167 You close your ears, you harden your heart, 1028 00:49:03,250 --> 00:49:05,375 you live in your sin, you stand before him, 1029 00:49:05,458 --> 00:49:07,833 and you spend forever in the conscious, 1030 00:49:07,875 --> 00:49:12,417 eternal torments of hell. Or you open your ears, 1031 00:49:12,500 --> 00:49:14,875 you soften your heart, you confess your sins, 1032 00:49:14,958 --> 00:49:16,625 you receive him as Lord and Savior, 1033 00:49:16,667 --> 00:49:20,917 you close your eyes in death, you awaken to see him 1034 00:49:21,000 --> 00:49:24,333 face-to-face and to be with him forever in heaven. 1035 00:49:24,375 --> 00:49:27,000 Clear. 1036 00:49:27,083 --> 00:49:31,000 OK, there's nothing worse than someone who opens the book 1037 00:49:31,042 --> 00:49:33,708 and fog comes out. 1038 00:49:33,792 --> 00:49:36,917 It's like, "I don't know where we're going. 1039 00:49:37,000 --> 00:49:39,833 "I can't see what we're talking about. 1040 00:49:39,875 --> 00:49:43,833 The guy opened the book and fog came out." 1041 00:49:43,875 --> 00:49:47,208 Clarity. 1042 00:49:47,292 --> 00:49:54,250 I try to be clear, and not everybody likes that. 1043 00:49:54,333 --> 00:49:56,542 And sometimes it's my personality, 1044 00:49:56,625 --> 00:50:00,542 my resurrected personality, 1045 00:50:00,625 --> 00:50:02,917 going to be a sweet guy-- that guy. 1046 00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:04,917 And by God's grace, I'm getting more sweeter. 1047 00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:07,417 Those that have been around for a while will tell you, 1048 00:50:07,500 --> 00:50:09,917 "He's a nice guy compared to the guy he was." 1049 00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:12,542 But for me, I never want to back away from clarity. 1050 00:50:12,625 --> 00:50:14,542 I always get frustrated watching a media interview, 1051 00:50:14,625 --> 00:50:16,042 and the interviewer will be like, 1052 00:50:16,125 --> 00:50:17,458 "All right, millions are watching. 1053 00:50:17,500 --> 00:50:18,833 Is Jesus God?" 1054 00:50:18,917 --> 00:50:20,333 They're like, "Well, there's various perspectives, 1055 00:50:20,417 --> 00:50:22,125 and critics believe, and the ancient hieroglyphics--" 1056 00:50:22,167 --> 00:50:23,500 And I'm like, "Say yes!" 1057 00:50:23,583 --> 00:50:25,250 I'm just slamming the TV, "Say yes! 1058 00:50:25,333 --> 00:50:26,667 Come on!" 1059 00:50:26,708 --> 00:50:28,667 "Well, what will people think of me?" 1060 00:50:28,708 --> 00:50:30,042 That you were clear. 1061 00:50:30,125 --> 00:50:33,208 See, the Bible teacher's job is not always to be liked, 1062 00:50:33,292 --> 00:50:36,750 but to always be clear. 1063 00:50:36,833 --> 00:50:39,333 Number three, consistency. 1064 00:50:39,375 --> 00:50:42,750 It says of Levi, quote, "He walked with me in peace 1065 00:50:42,833 --> 00:50:44,458 and righteousness." 1066 00:50:44,500 --> 00:50:46,458 When the Bible uses the language of "walk," 1067 00:50:46,500 --> 00:50:49,417 this is a lifestyle, walking with God. 1068 00:50:49,500 --> 00:50:52,292 It's not like, "Well, he walked with me one season, 1069 00:50:52,333 --> 00:50:55,167 "and then he walked with his girlfriend when his wife 1070 00:50:55,250 --> 00:50:58,250 "wasn't looking, and then he walked over to the church 1071 00:50:58,333 --> 00:50:59,667 "and embezzled some money, 1072 00:50:59,708 --> 00:51:02,333 "and then walked away from the ministry because he just 1073 00:51:02,417 --> 00:51:05,125 "didn't feel like it, and then walked back in 1074 00:51:05,167 --> 00:51:06,542 and asked for his job." 1075 00:51:06,625 --> 00:51:09,250 It's like, that's not a good walk. 1076 00:51:09,333 --> 00:51:10,667 "Walked with me." 1077 00:51:10,708 --> 00:51:12,042 Eugene Peterson calls this 1078 00:51:12,125 --> 00:51:14,333 "long obedience in the same direction." 1079 00:51:14,417 --> 00:51:16,333 All right, a true teacher of God's Word 1080 00:51:16,417 --> 00:51:19,000 can't have a reverse gear. 1081 00:51:19,083 --> 00:51:21,208 They're like, "I love Jesus, and now I don't, 1082 00:51:21,292 --> 00:51:23,750 and I'm walking with Jesus, and now I'm not." 1083 00:51:23,833 --> 00:51:27,000 Like, you've got to keep going forward. 1084 00:51:29,667 --> 00:51:33,750 Like Billy Graham, consistency. 1085 00:51:33,833 --> 00:51:37,042 What's Billy Graham been talking about his whole life? 1086 00:51:37,125 --> 00:51:38,542 The cross of Jesus Christ. 1087 00:51:38,625 --> 00:51:40,750 Billy just preached his last sermon. 1088 00:51:40,833 --> 00:51:42,750 What was it on? 1089 00:51:42,833 --> 00:51:44,167 The cross of Jesus Christ. 1090 00:51:44,208 --> 00:51:45,542 Good job, Billy. 1091 00:51:45,625 --> 00:51:47,625 I praise God for Billy. 1092 00:51:47,667 --> 00:51:49,833 Right, you're like, "What's Billy talking about?" 1093 00:51:49,917 --> 00:51:53,458 Sin, and Jesus, and salvation. 1094 00:51:53,500 --> 00:51:54,958 Anything else? 1095 00:51:55,000 --> 00:51:57,333 That's it. 1096 00:51:57,375 --> 00:52:01,208 And then when he dies, Jesus will say, "Good job, Billy. 1097 00:52:01,292 --> 00:52:04,917 That was consistency." 1098 00:52:05,000 --> 00:52:08,333 Some of you get enamored by what is new and you get bored with 1099 00:52:08,375 --> 00:52:12,625 what is eternal. 1100 00:52:12,667 --> 00:52:15,000 The key is to be consistent over time. 1101 00:52:15,042 --> 00:52:17,167 I've had people come up and say, "Pastor Mark, 1102 00:52:17,250 --> 00:52:20,375 what you told us today, we already knew that." 1103 00:52:20,458 --> 00:52:23,500 Well, maybe you needed to hear it again--that's why sometimes 1104 00:52:23,583 --> 00:52:26,500 the Bible says things more than once--or maybe somebody 1105 00:52:26,583 --> 00:52:30,000 just showed up and they never heard it. 1106 00:52:30,042 --> 00:52:32,417 Consistency. 1107 00:52:32,500 --> 00:52:34,292 Courage, number four. 1108 00:52:34,333 --> 00:52:38,417 It says, "Levi turned many from inequity." 1109 00:52:38,500 --> 00:52:41,000 This takes courage. 1110 00:52:41,083 --> 00:52:43,875 What this means is sin--and here in this, 1111 00:52:43,958 --> 00:52:48,333 most doctrinal problems are actually sexual problems, 1112 00:52:48,375 --> 00:52:51,333 historically, even in our own day. 1113 00:52:51,417 --> 00:52:54,750 What it is is people want to have some sort of sex that God 1114 00:52:54,833 --> 00:52:57,750 says no to, and all of a sudden they will couch it 1115 00:52:57,833 --> 00:52:59,167 as theological problems. 1116 00:52:59,208 --> 00:53:00,708 That's what's going on in Malachi. 1117 00:53:00,792 --> 00:53:03,917 Guys are like, "I want to be with that girl, not my wife. 1118 00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:05,333 We have theological issues." 1119 00:53:05,375 --> 00:53:09,500 No we don't; we have pant issues-- with theological implications. 1120 00:53:09,542 --> 00:53:13,500 We have pant issues. 1121 00:53:13,542 --> 00:53:15,917 And when everybody's got an appetite to go do something 1122 00:53:16,000 --> 00:53:19,792 sinful, to turn them from their inequity, 1123 00:53:19,833 --> 00:53:22,000 oh, that takes some courage. 1124 00:53:22,083 --> 00:53:24,792 Single people, "No, no, no, no, no, no, 1125 00:53:24,833 --> 00:53:27,000 "you can't sleep with them, can't live with them. 1126 00:53:27,083 --> 00:53:29,000 "They're not a believer, you can't date them. 1127 00:53:29,083 --> 00:53:30,417 "No, turn, turn, turn. 1128 00:53:30,500 --> 00:53:32,333 "Married couples, no, no, no, no adultery. 1129 00:53:32,375 --> 00:53:34,833 "No, no, no, no coveting anybody else's spouse. 1130 00:53:34,875 --> 00:53:36,375 "No, no, no, no pornography. 1131 00:53:36,458 --> 00:53:39,625 No, no, no, no, no, turn, turn, turn, turn, turn, turn." 1132 00:53:39,667 --> 00:53:43,375 There's resistance because people's desires for evil can be 1133 00:53:43,458 --> 00:53:45,917 very strong, and so to redirect them, it can be 1134 00:53:46,000 --> 00:53:50,750 very, very complicated. 1135 00:53:50,833 --> 00:53:56,750 True or false, Malachi's got some courage? 1136 00:53:56,833 --> 00:54:01,000 I mean, to say what he has to say, courage. 1137 00:54:01,083 --> 00:54:02,833 You young guys, hear me in this: 1138 00:54:02,875 --> 00:54:04,333 it's not enough to be courageous, 1139 00:54:04,375 --> 00:54:06,500 you need to be courageous for the right thing. 1140 00:54:06,583 --> 00:54:08,500 All right, that's the difference between a soldier 1141 00:54:08,583 --> 00:54:10,667 and a terrorist. 1142 00:54:10,750 --> 00:54:13,625 They both have courage, they just don't have the right cause. 1143 00:54:13,667 --> 00:54:15,917 At least, the terrorist does not. 1144 00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:18,417 As soon as I say courage, there's immediately young guys 1145 00:54:18,500 --> 00:54:20,917 who are like, "Yeah, I'm going to fight with all 1146 00:54:21,000 --> 00:54:22,333 "religious leaders. 1147 00:54:22,375 --> 00:54:23,708 I'm going to be Malachi." 1148 00:54:23,792 --> 00:54:25,333 No, you're not. No, you're not. 1149 00:54:25,375 --> 00:54:28,417 Be courageous for the glory of God and the good of others, 1150 00:54:28,500 --> 00:54:33,583 not for your own power base. 1151 00:54:33,667 --> 00:54:36,208 And number five, Christ. 1152 00:54:36,292 --> 00:54:38,833 Every good Bible teacher points you to Jesus Christ. 1153 00:54:38,875 --> 00:54:41,917 If you forget everything I said, and you probably will except for 1154 00:54:42,000 --> 00:54:46,500 the feces part, remember this: 1155 00:54:46,583 --> 00:54:50,625 a good Bible teacher understands 1156 00:54:50,667 --> 00:54:54,667 that the Scripture is for us, but it's not about us-- 1157 00:54:54,708 --> 00:54:57,125 it's about Jesus. 1158 00:54:57,167 --> 00:55:01,417 Any time that the Bible is open and Jesus is not proclaimed, 1159 00:55:01,500 --> 00:55:05,417 the Bible was not rightly opened. 1160 00:55:05,500 --> 00:55:09,208 Malachi is all about Jesus. 1161 00:55:09,292 --> 00:55:11,708 You're going to see it in the next few weeks 1162 00:55:11,792 --> 00:55:13,583 and you can read ahead. 1163 00:55:13,667 --> 00:55:17,708 Malachi 3, "The Lord you are seeking will come to 1164 00:55:17,792 --> 00:55:19,417 his temple." 1165 00:55:19,500 --> 00:55:21,708 Hmm, so the Lord's going to become a man, 1166 00:55:21,792 --> 00:55:23,125 walk around on the earth, 1167 00:55:23,167 --> 00:55:25,125 and go to a place called the Temple 1168 00:55:25,167 --> 00:55:28,208 that was destroyed in 70 A.D., historical continuum. 1169 00:55:28,292 --> 00:55:31,625 The Lord Jesus is going to come to his temple. 1170 00:55:31,667 --> 00:55:33,667 How will we know that he's coming? 1171 00:55:33,750 --> 00:55:37,500 Chapter 4, the end of Malachi, a guy who's a prophet like 1172 00:55:37,583 --> 00:55:39,292 Elijah's going to come and preach repentance 1173 00:55:39,333 --> 00:55:41,708 and get people's hearts ready for the coming of Jesus. 1174 00:55:41,792 --> 00:55:43,375 What's his name? 1175 00:55:43,458 --> 00:55:46,500 John the Baptizer. 1176 00:55:46,583 --> 00:55:53,000 And then this is God's final word for about 400 years. 1177 00:55:53,083 --> 00:55:57,000 What he's saying is, "Get ready for the coming of Jesus!" 1178 00:55:57,083 --> 00:55:58,833 And we're in the same position. 1179 00:55:58,917 --> 00:56:00,625 They were awaiting Jesus' first coming; 1180 00:56:00,667 --> 00:56:02,625 we're awaiting his second coming. 1181 00:56:02,667 --> 00:56:05,792 I don't know if you know this: we're waiting for Jesus Christ 1182 00:56:05,833 --> 00:56:08,333 to come again, to judge the living and the dead. 1183 00:56:08,375 --> 00:56:10,083 They were waiting for him to come; 1184 00:56:10,167 --> 00:56:11,833 we're waiting for him to come again. 1185 00:56:11,875 --> 00:56:15,083 And they kind of got bored, and they kind of got tempted, 1186 00:56:15,167 --> 00:56:16,875 and they kind of got indifferent, 1187 00:56:16,958 --> 00:56:19,917 and they kind of got settled in, they kind of got wearisome. 1188 00:56:20,000 --> 00:56:22,125 And God's trying to get their attention to say, 1189 00:56:22,167 --> 00:56:24,833 "No, no, no, no, no, it's going to be 400 years. 1190 00:56:24,875 --> 00:56:26,583 "What about your legacy? 1191 00:56:26,667 --> 00:56:28,083 "What about your kids, your grandkids? 1192 00:56:28,167 --> 00:56:30,083 "What about the people in your Community Group? 1193 00:56:30,167 --> 00:56:31,833 "What about the people in your church? 1194 00:56:31,875 --> 00:56:34,333 "What about those people? Are they going to be faithful? 1195 00:56:34,375 --> 00:56:36,625 "When you're dead and gone, will anybody be waiting 1196 00:56:36,667 --> 00:56:38,792 for the coming of Jesus?" 1197 00:56:38,833 --> 00:56:42,000 He's trying to get them up from their circumstance and get 1198 00:56:42,083 --> 00:56:44,708 their eyes and our eyes fixated on the horizon of opportunity 1199 00:56:44,792 --> 00:56:48,625 in our future. 1200 00:56:48,667 --> 00:56:52,250 And then Jesus Christ does come, and then we realize why God 1201 00:56:52,333 --> 00:56:54,167 was so frustrated with the priests. 1202 00:56:54,208 --> 00:56:58,125 The priests were a temporary placeholder until the coming 1203 00:56:58,167 --> 00:57:03,583 of Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, 1204 00:57:03,667 --> 00:57:07,000 and he comes to mediate between men and God. 1205 00:57:07,083 --> 00:57:08,500 That's what priests do. 1206 00:57:08,542 --> 00:57:10,875 And he does it as God becoming a man. 1207 00:57:10,958 --> 00:57:13,375 Well, these priests were not mediating between men and God. 1208 00:57:13,458 --> 00:57:15,917 They were not holy; they were unholy. 1209 00:57:16,000 --> 00:57:19,208 We needed Jesus to be our mediator. 1210 00:57:19,292 --> 00:57:21,208 Jesus comes as well to teach. 1211 00:57:21,292 --> 00:57:23,625 They were supposed to teach, but they weren't great teachers. 1212 00:57:23,667 --> 00:57:26,125 Jesus comes as a rabbi, the perfect teacher, 1213 00:57:26,167 --> 00:57:29,708 and he teaches that all the Scripture's about him. 1214 00:57:29,792 --> 00:57:31,125 And they're offering sacrifices, 1215 00:57:31,167 --> 00:57:34,083 but they're offering lame sacrifices. 1216 00:57:34,167 --> 00:57:36,875 And Jesus comes and offers himself as the perfect sacrifice 1217 00:57:36,958 --> 00:57:40,792 in our place for our sins. 1218 00:57:40,833 --> 00:57:44,208 So, the whole point of the priesthood was foreshadowing 1219 00:57:44,292 --> 00:57:49,542 the forthcoming of Jesus as our mediator, teacher, sacrifice. 1220 00:57:49,625 --> 00:57:52,458 As Hebrews says, our great High Priest. 1221 00:57:52,500 --> 00:57:55,750 And these priests are taking advantage of this opportunity 1222 00:57:55,833 --> 00:57:57,708 and they're corrupting this ministry 1223 00:57:57,792 --> 00:58:00,125 that ultimately belongs to Jesus. 1224 00:58:00,167 --> 00:58:05,167 And hear me in this: the ministry belongs to Jesus. 1225 00:58:05,250 --> 00:58:07,125 The problem with the priests was they thought 1226 00:58:07,167 --> 00:58:09,625 it was their ministry. 1227 00:58:09,667 --> 00:58:12,000 It's Jesus' ministry. 1228 00:58:12,083 --> 00:58:14,500 They couldn't do with it as they wanted. 1229 00:58:14,542 --> 00:58:18,708 They needed to do with it as he wanted. 1230 00:58:18,792 --> 00:58:23,917 Mars Hill is not my ministry. It's Jesus' ministry. 1231 00:58:24,000 --> 00:58:28,667 It's not your ministry; it's not our ministry. It's his ministry. 1232 00:58:28,750 --> 00:58:30,583 They lost sight of that. 1233 00:58:30,667 --> 00:58:35,000 They lost sight of that, and as a result, 1234 00:58:35,083 --> 00:58:41,208 they were not ready to meet Jesus at his coming. 1235 00:58:41,292 --> 00:58:45,500 If you give me a moment, I'd like to fix your eyes 1236 00:58:45,583 --> 00:58:48,333 toward the horizon. 1237 00:58:48,375 --> 00:58:50,000 That's what God is doing here. 1238 00:58:50,083 --> 00:58:52,250 He's trying to get people ready for 400 years. 1239 00:58:52,333 --> 00:58:55,167 I don't know how many years it'll be until Jesus comes back, 1240 00:58:55,208 --> 00:58:56,542 but between now and then, 1241 00:58:56,625 --> 00:59:01,000 we want to build and leave a legacy. 1242 00:59:01,083 --> 00:59:04,792 Looking back and forward--those of you who know my story--it's 1243 00:59:04,833 --> 00:59:07,917 not all about my story, but some things to pray for for me. 1244 00:59:08,000 --> 00:59:10,625 God saved me when I was 19. 1245 00:59:10,667 --> 00:59:13,000 I was a religious guy, moral and spiritual, 1246 00:59:13,083 --> 00:59:14,417 didn't know Jesus. 1247 00:59:14,500 --> 00:59:16,125 I was like the guys in Malachi. 1248 00:59:16,167 --> 00:59:19,333 I would say I believed in God, and I was going to do 1249 00:59:19,375 --> 00:59:20,708 whatever I wanted. 1250 00:59:20,792 --> 00:59:22,917 And then when I became a Christian at 19, 1251 00:59:23,000 --> 00:59:25,667 God spoke to me at a men's retreat for my church. 1252 00:59:25,750 --> 00:59:27,167 And it was an awesome church. 1253 00:59:27,250 --> 00:59:29,375 I'm glad I didn't have to unlearn a lot 1254 00:59:29,458 --> 00:59:30,792 from my first pastor. 1255 00:59:30,833 --> 00:59:32,167 He was awesome. 1256 00:59:32,250 --> 00:59:33,583 God spoke to me. 1257 00:59:33,667 --> 00:59:35,792 He said, "Marry Grace, preach the Bible, train men, 1258 00:59:35,833 --> 00:59:38,000 plant churches"--four things. 1259 00:59:38,083 --> 00:59:41,417 Audible voice of God doesn't happen a lot. 1260 00:59:41,500 --> 00:59:45,000 So, I was unsure. 1261 00:59:45,042 --> 00:59:48,500 This had never happened to me, so I took it to my pastor. 1262 00:59:48,542 --> 00:59:50,958 I said, "OK, here's what I heard. 1263 00:59:51,000 --> 00:59:52,917 What should I do?" 1264 00:59:53,000 --> 00:59:54,833 Because there's nothing worse than a 19-year-old guy 1265 00:59:54,917 --> 00:59:57,417 with a "Jesus told me" flag. 1266 00:59:57,500 --> 01:00:01,250 You 19-year-old guys, you're like, "Jesus told me. 1267 01:00:01,333 --> 01:00:03,750 Jesus told me that you're supposed to be my wife." 1268 01:00:03,833 --> 01:00:05,167 Really, really? 1269 01:00:05,208 --> 01:00:07,833 Ask her dad if that's what Jesus put on the flag. 1270 01:00:07,917 --> 01:00:09,417 You know, go ask. 1271 01:00:09,500 --> 01:00:11,333 "Jesus told me to be an elder." 1272 01:00:11,417 --> 01:00:13,833 OK, Jesus told me it'll be 50 years. 1273 01:00:13,917 --> 01:00:16,417 Hmm, interesting how we both got a call. 1274 01:00:16,500 --> 01:00:19,167 You know, there's nothing worse than somebody running around 1275 01:00:19,208 --> 01:00:21,167 with a "God told me" flag. 1276 01:00:21,208 --> 01:00:23,833 So, if you think you've got a "God told me" flag, 1277 01:00:23,917 --> 01:00:26,750 take it to godly leadership and see if godly leadership agrees 1278 01:00:26,833 --> 01:00:28,750 it's a flag that Jesus gave you. 1279 01:00:28,833 --> 01:00:31,833 So, I came to my pastor and the elders and I said, 1280 01:00:31,875 --> 01:00:33,542 "Here's what I think Jesus told me, 1281 01:00:33,625 --> 01:00:36,250 "but you're my pastor. I don't know, 1282 01:00:36,333 --> 01:00:37,667 what do you think?" 1283 01:00:37,708 --> 01:00:40,417 He said, "I'm going to think about it, pray about it. 1284 01:00:40,500 --> 01:00:41,833 We'll get back to you." 1285 01:00:41,875 --> 01:00:43,208 "OK, thanks." 1286 01:00:43,292 --> 01:00:45,958 He came back, he said, "I believe that was a word 1287 01:00:46,000 --> 01:00:47,333 "from the Lord. 1288 01:00:47,417 --> 01:00:50,292 "That's what you need to do with the rest of your life. 1289 01:00:50,333 --> 01:00:51,667 I'll pray for you." 1290 01:00:51,750 --> 01:00:53,083 "OK." 1291 01:00:53,167 --> 01:00:54,583 He started discipling me and encouraging--OK. 1292 01:00:54,667 --> 01:00:57,083 He said, "OK, you are supposed to preach the Bible. 1293 01:00:57,167 --> 01:00:58,500 "You're not ready. 1294 01:00:58,542 --> 01:01:00,958 "You should plant a church, but you're nowhere near ready. 1295 01:01:01,000 --> 01:01:03,833 You should marry Grace if she'll have you, and you're not ready." 1296 01:01:03,917 --> 01:01:06,750 I was like, "OK, so there's a lot of work to do." 1297 01:01:06,833 --> 01:01:08,958 Just because God calls you doesn't mean you're ready. 1298 01:01:09,000 --> 01:01:10,958 I had a lot of work to do. 1299 01:01:11,000 --> 01:01:13,167 I married Grace at 21. Pastor did the service. 1300 01:01:13,208 --> 01:01:14,667 We graduated, moved back to Seattle. 1301 01:01:14,708 --> 01:01:16,167 I did college ministry for a while. 1302 01:01:16,208 --> 01:01:18,333 At the age of 25, started Mars Hill Church 1303 01:01:18,417 --> 01:01:20,542 in the fall of 1996, and I wasn't ready. 1304 01:01:20,625 --> 01:01:21,958 I should have waited longer. 1305 01:01:22,000 --> 01:01:23,458 I should have gotten more training. 1306 01:01:23,500 --> 01:01:25,333 I learned how to fly, you know, 1307 01:01:25,375 --> 01:01:28,333 while in the air with passengers. 1308 01:01:28,375 --> 01:01:30,958 OK, so, those that have been around a while will be like, 1309 01:01:31,000 --> 01:01:33,042 "Oh yeah, I got really sick." 1310 01:01:33,125 --> 01:01:37,042 I'll tell you why, rookie pilot, OK? 1311 01:01:37,125 --> 01:01:40,708 I needed to sit in the other seat with a seasoned pilot 1312 01:01:40,792 --> 01:01:43,542 before I ever got on a plane, but God was gracious 1313 01:01:43,625 --> 01:01:46,458 and kept it out of the trees. 1314 01:01:46,500 --> 01:01:48,917 We started it at the same time that something called 1315 01:01:49,000 --> 01:01:50,333 the Internet came into existence. 1316 01:01:50,417 --> 01:01:52,542 I don't know if you've heard of this thing. 1317 01:01:52,625 --> 01:01:54,500 It's really taken off, this Internet thing. 1318 01:01:54,583 --> 01:01:58,667 And a lot of our early core, they were working at 1319 01:01:58,708 --> 01:02:02,917 a little company you might have heard of called Microsoft. 1320 01:02:03,000 --> 01:02:07,167 And it's like we paddled out on our little surfboard 1321 01:02:07,250 --> 01:02:10,000 and then this huge wave comes. 1322 01:02:10,042 --> 01:02:13,833 We started putting sermons online in the '90s. 1323 01:02:13,875 --> 01:02:15,375 In the '90s. 1324 01:02:15,458 --> 01:02:17,708 At that time, churches had cassette ministries. 1325 01:02:17,792 --> 01:02:19,375 Remember these things? 1326 01:02:19,458 --> 01:02:22,125 And we didn't do a cassette ministry because we couldn't 1327 01:02:22,167 --> 01:02:25,833 afford a cassette recorder or a cassette duplicator. 1328 01:02:25,875 --> 01:02:28,833 So, they're like, "Well, we'll throw it on the Internet and see 1329 01:02:28,875 --> 01:02:30,833 if anybody's out there." 1330 01:02:30,875 --> 01:02:33,500 They were. 1331 01:02:33,583 --> 01:02:36,417 And I'm amazed that God was gracious enough to allow us 1332 01:02:36,500 --> 01:02:39,625 to live at a time in history when Bible teaching can go out 1333 01:02:39,667 --> 01:02:41,333 further and faster than at any time. 1334 01:02:41,375 --> 01:02:43,083 So, I asked the guys this week, 1335 01:02:43,167 --> 01:02:46,125 "What have we done by God's grace?" 1336 01:02:46,167 --> 01:02:50,250 They guesstimate I've preached 3,000 different sermons-- 1337 01:02:50,333 --> 01:02:55,208 at least 7 of them were great. 1338 01:02:55,292 --> 01:03:01,125 I've preached about 15,000 hours. 1339 01:03:01,167 --> 01:03:04,500 I've preached through 21 books of the Bible. 1340 01:03:04,583 --> 01:03:07,625 Malachi is 22. 1341 01:03:07,667 --> 01:03:09,833 James starts in January, 23. 1342 01:03:09,875 --> 01:03:14,333 We pick up a chunk of Acts after Easter as we're working on 24. 1343 01:03:14,375 --> 01:03:16,333 I've written or contributed to 21 books. 1344 01:03:16,375 --> 01:03:18,333 I don't even know how many study guides. 1345 01:03:18,375 --> 01:03:21,000 I've written 1,400 blogs. 1346 01:03:21,083 --> 01:03:23,292 Every year, my sermons are downloaded 1347 01:03:23,333 --> 01:03:26,500 15 to 18 million times. 1348 01:03:26,583 --> 01:03:30,417 I've been hit on YouTube, total about 16 million times. 1349 01:03:30,500 --> 01:03:32,500 I also do leadership coaching interviews, 1350 01:03:32,583 --> 01:03:36,000 and I do media interviews, I do conference messages, 1351 01:03:36,042 --> 01:03:39,000 I teach classes, I write articles for Fox or CNN, 1352 01:03:39,083 --> 01:03:43,708 or whoever will have me, and I'm on social media as well. 1353 01:03:43,792 --> 01:03:48,000 We've always believed at Mars Hill that the teaching 1354 01:03:48,083 --> 01:03:52,333 of the Bible about Jesus is central and essential, 1355 01:03:52,417 --> 01:03:54,708 that a church is not just a sermon, 1356 01:03:54,792 --> 01:03:57,458 but a church is certainly not less than a sermon. 1357 01:03:57,500 --> 01:04:00,500 It's a sermon plus a whole lot of other things that all 1358 01:04:00,583 --> 01:04:03,125 revolve around loving and serving the people. 1359 01:04:03,167 --> 01:04:06,375 I want to thank you for letting me teach for 17 years. 1360 01:04:06,458 --> 01:04:09,208 I think I'm better than I was 17 years ago, 1361 01:04:09,292 --> 01:04:12,333 and by God's grace I hope to be better 17 years from now, 1362 01:04:12,375 --> 01:04:15,625 still teaching at Mars Hill. 1363 01:04:15,667 --> 01:04:21,500 I live under a burden that I make mistakes, 1364 01:04:22,333 --> 01:04:24,500 and sometimes it causes me grief, 1365 01:04:24,542 --> 01:04:29,125 and other times depression. 1366 01:04:29,167 --> 01:04:32,125 I give it all I've got, and sometimes I get it wrong 1367 01:04:32,167 --> 01:04:34,292 and I need to do it again. 1368 01:04:34,333 --> 01:04:37,167 And if you would just pray for me, 1369 01:04:37,250 --> 01:04:39,625 I've got plenty of critics that I could probably use 1370 01:04:39,667 --> 01:04:41,792 some more prayer. 1371 01:04:41,833 --> 01:04:45,333 By God's grace, I'm really glad that I get to do what I do, 1372 01:04:45,375 --> 01:04:47,333 which is teach the Bible at Mars Hill. 1373 01:04:47,375 --> 01:04:49,500 I'm glad that we get to do campaigns, 1374 01:04:49,583 --> 01:04:51,917 building Community Groups and the life of the church 1375 01:04:52,000 --> 01:04:53,417 around the teaching of the Bible. 1376 01:04:53,500 --> 01:04:55,625 If you're going to put anything at the bedrock, 1377 01:04:55,667 --> 01:04:57,833 I think the teaching of the Bible about Jesus 1378 01:04:57,875 --> 01:05:00,917 is the way to go and the place to begin. 1379 01:05:01,000 --> 01:05:03,083 And I would tell you this, too; 1380 01:05:03,167 --> 01:05:06,333 In Mars Hill, my work is primarily priestly, 1381 01:05:06,375 --> 01:05:08,000 to use the language of Malachi. 1382 01:05:08,042 --> 01:05:09,500 Love people, set up the systems, 1383 01:05:09,542 --> 01:05:10,875 try and help people. 1384 01:05:10,958 --> 01:05:15,333 Outside of Mars Hill, my work is largely prophetic, like Malachi. 1385 01:05:15,375 --> 01:05:18,625 Say something a bit provocative and then watch 1386 01:05:18,667 --> 01:05:21,208 the mushroom cloud, OK? 1387 01:05:21,292 --> 01:05:23,833 Have any of you noticed this? 1388 01:05:23,875 --> 01:05:29,083 And I live in those two worlds, but don't let that world 1389 01:05:29,167 --> 01:05:32,292 distract you in any way. 1390 01:05:32,333 --> 01:05:34,292 "Love one another, be the people of God, 1391 01:05:34,333 --> 01:05:37,500 and don't waste your time on foolish and stupid arguments," 1392 01:05:37,542 --> 01:05:40,708 the Bible says. 1393 01:05:40,792 --> 01:05:44,000 That being said, some years ago when I first started teaching at 1394 01:05:44,083 --> 01:05:49,333 Mars Hill, I was with a group of young pastors that started to go 1395 01:05:49,375 --> 01:05:52,208 astray into all kinds of weird, abhorrent doctrine 1396 01:05:52,292 --> 01:05:54,708 in the name of hip innovation. 1397 01:05:54,792 --> 01:05:57,917 And I was like, "I don't want to be a part of that." 1398 01:05:58,000 --> 01:05:59,417 They're denying hell, and the Bible, 1399 01:05:59,500 --> 01:06:00,875 and the resurrection. 1400 01:06:00,958 --> 01:06:02,375 I mean, like, what the heck? 1401 01:06:02,458 --> 01:06:03,792 No way. 1402 01:06:03,833 --> 01:06:07,667 And I was young and I didn't have enough training, 1403 01:06:07,750 --> 01:06:10,000 and so I tried to find a school. 1404 01:06:10,083 --> 01:06:11,875 But I couldn't find one in Seattle 1405 01:06:11,958 --> 01:06:13,417 that I was super thrilled about, 1406 01:06:13,500 --> 01:06:15,833 so I found Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, 1407 01:06:15,875 --> 01:06:18,875 and I got in my truck, 1978 Chevy pickup truck 1408 01:06:18,958 --> 01:06:22,083 that we affectionately referred to as Chuck the Truck. 1409 01:06:22,167 --> 01:06:24,417 And I jumped in Chuck the Truck. 1410 01:06:24,500 --> 01:06:26,083 He's got low-gear ratios, 1411 01:06:26,167 --> 01:06:27,833 doesn't go over 55 miles an hour, 1412 01:06:27,875 --> 01:06:30,625 gets about 2 miles a gallon, has no air conditioning, 1413 01:06:30,667 --> 01:06:33,500 or cruise control, or arm rest, and it's so loud 1414 01:06:33,542 --> 01:06:36,208 you can't talk on the phone in it because it's loud. 1415 01:06:36,292 --> 01:06:39,333 So, I jumped in Chuck the Truck, which was my daily driver 1416 01:06:39,375 --> 01:06:42,000 at the time, and I drove down to Portland, Oregon, 1417 01:06:42,083 --> 01:06:43,625 to go to Western Seminary. 1418 01:06:43,667 --> 01:06:46,125 And I sat down with a professor and I said, 1419 01:06:46,167 --> 01:06:49,125 "I need more Bible training," and he said, "I've heard of you. 1420 01:06:49,167 --> 01:06:53,208 You do." 1421 01:06:53,292 --> 01:06:56,750 I said, "But I can't quit my church and go to school," 1422 01:06:56,833 --> 01:07:00,333 and he said, "Then I'll build a program for you, 1423 01:07:00,375 --> 01:07:03,208 and I'll be a mentor to you, and I'll invest in you." 1424 01:07:03,292 --> 01:07:04,917 His name was Dr. Gerry Breshears, 1425 01:07:05,000 --> 01:07:08,708 and he taught me a lot, and he worked on some books with me. 1426 01:07:08,792 --> 01:07:12,000 And so I think I took the longest to finish 1427 01:07:12,042 --> 01:07:15,000 a master's degree of anyone in the history of the universe. 1428 01:07:15,083 --> 01:07:18,000 And I would drive down once a month in Chuck the Truck 1429 01:07:18,083 --> 01:07:20,708 in the morning, drive back in the evening for years, 1430 01:07:20,792 --> 01:07:22,125 working on my degree. 1431 01:07:22,167 --> 01:07:23,833 Well, I finally got my master's degree. 1432 01:07:23,875 --> 01:07:26,833 And part of my hope at Mars Hill has been to build 1433 01:07:26,875 --> 01:07:30,708 a Bible-teaching institution that outlives all of us, 1434 01:07:30,792 --> 01:07:32,708 something that when you're gone, and I'm gone, 1435 01:07:32,792 --> 01:07:35,208 and our kids are gone, and our grandkids are gone, 1436 01:07:35,292 --> 01:07:37,208 there's still a place where there's robust, 1437 01:07:37,292 --> 01:07:41,500 faithful Bible teaching, and we teach Bible teachers. 1438 01:07:41,583 --> 01:07:44,500 And this was part of my vision 17 years ago when we 1439 01:07:44,542 --> 01:07:47,125 put together the original vision for Mars Hill Church. 1440 01:07:47,167 --> 01:07:49,333 I am very happy to report that God 1441 01:07:49,375 --> 01:07:52,542 answered those prayers recently. 1442 01:07:52,625 --> 01:07:55,667 Starting next fall, we will be offering accredited 1443 01:07:55,708 --> 01:07:58,833 undergraduate education at Mars Hill Bellevue 1444 01:07:58,917 --> 01:08:00,625 through Corban University. 1445 01:08:00,667 --> 01:08:02,292 We'll start with a 1-year certificate 1446 01:08:02,333 --> 01:08:03,667 in Bible and Theology, 1447 01:08:03,750 --> 01:08:06,417 and I've raised my hand to be one of the professors, 1448 01:08:06,500 --> 01:08:07,833 along with some others. 1449 01:08:07,875 --> 01:08:10,083 We also will be welcoming Western Seminary, 1450 01:08:10,167 --> 01:08:14,917 fully-accredited master's, MA and MDiv, 1451 01:08:15,000 --> 01:08:18,000 in theological education at Mars Hill Bellevue. 1452 01:08:18,042 --> 01:08:20,625 Those two institutions will be 1453 01:08:20,667 --> 01:08:22,833 the degree-granting institutions. 1454 01:08:22,875 --> 01:08:25,500 They've got a long history and a good partnership. 1455 01:08:25,542 --> 01:08:27,792 We will be the host and also participating 1456 01:08:27,833 --> 01:08:29,708 in the instruction. 1457 01:08:29,792 --> 01:08:33,083 For those of you who want to learn more Bible, this is it. 1458 01:08:33,167 --> 01:08:35,833 For those of you who want to become Bible teachers 1459 01:08:35,875 --> 01:08:38,417 in some capacity, here it is. 1460 01:08:38,500 --> 01:08:41,000 We're just waiting for final pending approval from 1461 01:08:41,083 --> 01:08:43,792 the state of Washington for all the accrediting purposes. 1462 01:08:43,833 --> 01:08:45,917 I would ask you to pray for that. 1463 01:08:46,000 --> 01:08:47,375 I'm really excited about it. 1464 01:08:47,458 --> 01:08:49,375 And if you want to find out more, 1465 01:08:49,458 --> 01:08:51,333 you can go to marsHill.com/schools. 1466 01:08:51,417 --> 01:08:54,333 And in light of that, one of the big problems in Malachi 1467 01:08:54,417 --> 01:08:57,917 was whoever was teaching the teachers was teaching them 1468 01:08:58,000 --> 01:09:03,000 poorly, and then the teachers were teaching the people poorly, 1469 01:09:03,083 --> 01:09:06,000 and then the people were suffering as a result of that. 1470 01:09:06,042 --> 01:09:09,625 And so our hope and our goal is to create a place where there is 1471 01:09:09,667 --> 01:09:12,292 good teaching to teach good teachers to teach good things 1472 01:09:12,333 --> 01:09:15,792 so that people might have good lives by God's grace. 1473 01:09:15,833 --> 01:09:18,292 I hope you're excited about that, because I sure am, 1474 01:09:18,333 --> 01:09:21,500 and I want to welcome Corban and Western. 1475 01:09:25,375 --> 01:09:28,000 I'm over time. I know that's shocking. 1476 01:09:28,083 --> 01:09:30,208 So what we're going to do at this point, 1477 01:09:30,292 --> 01:09:32,708 we're going to collect our tithes and offerings to give 1478 01:09:32,792 --> 01:09:35,875 toward the legacy of our future and what God has for us. 1479 01:09:35,958 --> 01:09:38,208 In addition, we'll then partake of Communion, 1480 01:09:38,292 --> 01:09:41,000 where we give God our worst, our sin, 1481 01:09:41,083 --> 01:09:43,167 and we receive from God his best, 1482 01:09:43,250 --> 01:09:45,667 the death of Jesus in our place for our sins 1483 01:09:45,750 --> 01:09:48,125 as our substitute and Savior. 1484 01:09:48,167 --> 01:09:50,833 And as we are transitioning our time of worship, 1485 01:09:50,875 --> 01:09:53,333 I want you guys to see what God is doing, 1486 01:09:53,417 --> 01:09:55,500 and I hope that it opens your heart. 1487 01:09:55,583 --> 01:09:58,917 So, open your ears and open your heart to hear and see what Jesus 1488 01:09:59,000 --> 01:10:01,000 is up to right now. 1489 01:10:14,708 --> 01:10:17,042 Howdy Mars Hill Church, this is Pastor Sutton. 1490 01:10:17,292 --> 01:10:18,833 I'm here with my family. 1491 01:10:18,917 --> 01:10:21,792 My wife, Marcy, my daughter, Grace, 1492 01:10:21,833 --> 01:10:24,292 my daughter, Faye, and Joe Joe. 1493 01:10:24,333 --> 01:10:27,292 We're just here to say thank you for being a part of 1494 01:10:27,333 --> 01:10:29,792 the extended family of Mars Hill Global. 1495 01:10:29,833 --> 01:10:33,958 And Jesus has done some crazy, awesome things through 1496 01:10:34,000 --> 01:10:35,833 Mars Hill Global this last year. 1497 01:10:35,917 --> 01:10:39,458 As you guys know, we support church planters and evangelists 1498 01:10:39,500 --> 01:10:41,500 in Ethiopia and India. 1499 01:10:41,542 --> 01:10:43,208 This last 12 months, 1500 01:10:43,292 --> 01:10:47,292 we've supported 20 evangelists in Ethiopia. 1501 01:10:47,333 --> 01:10:50,667 They preach the gospel to 11,000 people 1502 01:10:50,750 --> 01:10:54,333 and 890 people have been saved, 1503 01:10:54,375 --> 01:10:55,875 so it's just pretty amazing. 1504 01:10:55,958 --> 01:10:58,000 And in India, as a partnership 1505 01:10:58,292 --> 01:11:00,417 with Arjuna and Vision Nationals, 1506 01:11:00,500 --> 01:11:04,667 we've planted over 53 churches. 1507 01:11:04,750 --> 01:11:07,667 And next year, what's super exciting is is that 1508 01:11:07,708 --> 01:11:11,000 our 43 church planters and evangelists 1509 01:11:11,042 --> 01:11:13,583 are going to grow to 73. 1510 01:11:13,667 --> 01:11:18,458 So, I just ask that you guys continue to pray and continue 1511 01:11:18,500 --> 01:11:22,333 to give to Mars Hill and to Mars Hill Global. 1512 01:11:22,417 --> 01:11:25,458 And I just pray that through Mars Hill Church, 1513 01:11:25,500 --> 01:11:30,458 that legacies will be transformed, changed by Jesus, 1514 01:11:30,500 --> 01:11:34,500 not only in the United States, but in Ethiopia and in India. 1515 01:11:34,542 --> 01:11:36,583 Thank you. 1516 01:11:36,667 --> 01:11:39,292 Pastor Bubba here with my wife, Shelly, our son, Jones, 1517 01:11:39,333 --> 01:11:41,833 and our son, Jackson, and we are in Tacoma, Washington, 1518 01:11:41,917 --> 01:11:43,542 where the need is great. 1519 01:11:43,625 --> 01:11:45,708 There are over a million people in this area 1520 01:11:45,792 --> 01:11:47,208 who've yet to meet Jesus. 1521 01:11:47,292 --> 01:11:49,833 And I say yet because we are planting Mars Hill Tacoma 1522 01:11:49,917 --> 01:11:51,958 in the area to be a regional church 1523 01:11:52,000 --> 01:11:53,708 to reach multiple cities. 1524 01:11:53,792 --> 01:11:55,708 And we would ask, be praying for us. 1525 01:11:55,792 --> 01:11:57,208 Pray for more leaders. 1526 01:11:57,292 --> 01:11:59,625 We need 10 more pastors, 60 more Community Groups. 1527 01:11:59,667 --> 01:12:02,750 As well, we would ask to be praying for conversions, 1528 01:12:02,833 --> 01:12:05,500 that people would meet Jesus, that Jesus would save people. 1529 01:12:05,583 --> 01:12:08,500 I'm praying for 200 baptisms in 2014. 1530 01:12:08,583 --> 01:12:10,667 And so we just want to say thank you. 1531 01:12:10,708 --> 01:12:12,917 Thank you for praying, thank you for giving, 1532 01:12:13,000 --> 01:12:17,625 thank you for helping build the legacy in Tacoma. 1533 01:12:17,667 --> 01:12:18,917 Hey, Mars Hill. 1534 01:12:19,000 --> 01:12:20,750 Pastor Ryan here from Phoenix. 1535 01:12:20,833 --> 01:12:23,917 This is my family, my wife, Kate, our daughter Ella, 1536 01:12:24,000 --> 01:12:25,625 and our Son, Liam. 1537 01:12:25,667 --> 01:12:27,333 We are standing in our building. 1538 01:12:27,417 --> 01:12:28,667 It's an art gallery. 1539 01:12:28,750 --> 01:12:30,000 It's in downtown Phoenix. 1540 01:12:30,292 --> 01:12:31,750 It's a really cool place to meet, 1541 01:12:31,833 --> 01:12:33,500 and we're really excited to be here. 1542 01:12:33,583 --> 01:12:35,500 We have over 4 million people that live 1543 01:12:35,583 --> 01:12:37,333 in the surrounding areas of downtown Phoenix, 1544 01:12:37,417 --> 01:12:39,583 and a lot of them don't know Jesus, 1545 01:12:39,667 --> 01:12:42,750 so we have an amazing opportunity to invite people 1546 01:12:42,833 --> 01:12:44,833 into a relationship with Jesus Christ. 1547 01:12:44,917 --> 01:12:48,375 So far, we've already been very blessed here in Phoenix, 1548 01:12:48,458 --> 01:12:50,625 where our 1st quarter gathering a few weeks ago, 1549 01:12:50,667 --> 01:12:53,500 we had 386 people come. 1550 01:12:53,583 --> 01:12:54,958 And then this last week, 1551 01:12:55,000 --> 01:12:56,958 we launched our first 14 Community Groups, 1552 01:12:57,000 --> 01:12:58,958 and we had nearly 100 people show up 1553 01:12:59,000 --> 01:13:00,833 to our first week of Community. 1554 01:13:00,875 --> 01:13:05,458 So, God's do amazing things, but we need for our public launch on 1555 01:13:05,500 --> 01:13:08,500 January 12th, we need a lot more leaders. 1556 01:13:08,583 --> 01:13:10,917 We need more production help, more kids volunteers, 1557 01:13:11,000 --> 01:13:13,792 more security, more Community Group leaders. 1558 01:13:13,833 --> 01:13:16,667 So please be praying for that as we head towards 1559 01:13:16,750 --> 01:13:18,250 our public launch. 1560 01:13:18,333 --> 01:13:20,833 Thank you for praying, thank you for giving as we live 1561 01:13:20,875 --> 01:13:22,667 for a legacy here in Phoenix. 1562 01:13:22,750 --> 01:13:24,417 Hey, Mars Hill. Pastor Ryan here. 1563 01:13:24,500 --> 01:13:26,250 This is my awesome wife, Natasha, 1564 01:13:26,333 --> 01:13:28,625 and we are standing in the auditorium of 1565 01:13:28,667 --> 01:13:31,458 Mars Hill Church Everett, the armory. 1566 01:13:31,500 --> 01:13:34,333 This is about to be transformed into the place where we're going 1567 01:13:34,417 --> 01:13:37,292 to have about 700 seats available for people to come 1568 01:13:37,333 --> 01:13:38,917 and hear the gospel of Jesus proclaimed 1569 01:13:39,000 --> 01:13:40,458 in the heart of Everett. 1570 01:13:40,500 --> 01:13:42,458 We are super excited about being here. 1571 01:13:42,500 --> 01:13:43,792 We have been given 1572 01:13:43,833 --> 01:13:46,833 such an amazing opportunity right in the heart of Everett 1573 01:13:46,917 --> 01:13:49,292 to minister to this city and to this county. 1574 01:13:49,333 --> 01:13:51,625 We trust that Jesus is going to continue doing 1575 01:13:51,667 --> 01:13:53,875 what he's been doing for the last 2,000 years, 1576 01:13:53,958 --> 01:13:55,542 building his church. 1577 01:13:55,625 --> 01:13:58,708 And so we want to invite you guys to pray for us. 1578 01:13:58,792 --> 01:14:00,792 We need tons of volunteers. 1579 01:14:00,833 --> 01:14:03,542 We've had so many new people come to our church already. 1580 01:14:03,625 --> 01:14:05,292 We've outgrown our old space. 1581 01:14:05,333 --> 01:14:07,292 We're about to move into this new space. 1582 01:14:07,333 --> 01:14:09,833 So, would you guys pray that more volunteers would come here, 1583 01:14:09,917 --> 01:14:11,375 that they'd get involved? 1584 01:14:11,458 --> 01:14:13,667 We believe that this building is going to stand 1585 01:14:13,708 --> 01:14:15,083 for over 100 more years, 1586 01:14:15,333 --> 01:14:17,667 and we believe that legacies are going to be changed 1587 01:14:17,708 --> 01:14:20,667 here by Jesus for his glory, and that families, 1588 01:14:20,708 --> 01:14:23,833 generation after generation of families, 1589 01:14:23,875 --> 01:14:26,000 are going to worship Jesus right in this space, 1590 01:14:26,250 --> 01:14:28,000 that their hearts are going to be changed, 1591 01:14:28,250 --> 01:14:30,583 and that thousands of people are going to be baptized 1592 01:14:30,667 --> 01:14:31,875 for God's glory. 1593 01:14:31,958 --> 01:14:33,667 Howdy, Pastor Mark here with the family, 1594 01:14:33,708 --> 01:14:35,667 part of our "Living for a Legacy" series, 1595 01:14:35,708 --> 01:14:37,833 is letting you know what's coming up this summer. 1596 01:14:37,917 --> 01:14:40,833 We've got something brand-new and super cool. 1597 01:14:40,875 --> 01:14:42,625 We're calling it the Jesus Festival. 1598 01:14:42,667 --> 01:14:45,542 We'll pick a nice day, be outside. 1599 01:14:45,625 --> 01:14:47,542 We're going to have bouncy houses for kids, 1600 01:14:47,625 --> 01:14:49,000 lots of fun stuff. 1601 01:14:49,292 --> 01:14:51,375 We're also going to do baptisms, and preaching, 1602 01:14:51,458 --> 01:14:52,958 and music at Marymoor Park. 1603 01:14:53,000 --> 01:14:54,875 All the Mars Hill churches are welcome. 1604 01:14:54,958 --> 01:14:56,667 We want to see you all there. 1605 01:14:56,750 --> 01:14:58,375 We started the church 17 years ago. 1606 01:14:58,458 --> 01:14:59,708 We didn't have any kids. 1607 01:14:59,792 --> 01:15:01,792 Ashley was one of the first kids born, 1608 01:15:01,833 --> 01:15:04,375 and now that first generation is getting ready for college, 1609 01:15:04,458 --> 01:15:07,500 so it's time for us to get ready to help them get ready 1610 01:15:07,583 --> 01:15:08,833 for their future. 1611 01:15:08,917 --> 01:15:11,292 So, fully accredited undergraduate and graduate 1612 01:15:11,333 --> 01:15:15,667 Bible-based, Jesus-focused education through Mars Hill. 1613 01:15:15,708 --> 01:15:18,625 The credits will be able to transfer to other universities. 1614 01:15:18,708 --> 01:15:20,625 Both institutions are accredited. 1615 01:15:20,708 --> 01:15:22,417 We're excited about that, and with 1616 01:15:22,500 --> 01:15:25,292 3,000 kids ages 10 and under, we've got to get ready 1617 01:15:25,333 --> 01:15:26,667 for the future leaders. 1618 01:15:26,708 --> 01:15:30,667 And the Driscoll family wants to give the church family 1619 01:15:30,708 --> 01:15:34,125 a very merry Christmas. 1620 01:15:34,167 --> 01:15:35,667 Good job. 1621 01:15:43,667 --> 01:15:46,625 Each year, over 10 million Mars Hill church sermons 1622 01:15:46,667 --> 01:15:49,708 are downloaded worldwide for free. 1623 01:15:49,792 --> 01:15:52,333 This ministry is generously supported 1624 01:15:52,375 --> 01:15:54,958 by Mars Hill church members and listeners like you. 1625 01:15:55,000 --> 01:15:58,500 If you'd like to support our efforts to preach Jesus to the world, 1626 01:15:58,583 --> 01:16:01,583 Please consider making a tax-deductible donation 1627 01:16:01,667 --> 01:16:04,500 by visiting marshill.com/give.