Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Almighty God,
[00:00:03] Speaker B: you welcome you. Hey, there.
[00:00:06] Speaker C: If you're new to Restored Church, we want to welcome you and thank you for tuning in. You're listening to a portion of our Sunday worship gathering. We believe the church is not an event, but a family you belong to, so we would love the opportunity to connect with you. If you want to learn more about our church or if we can help you in any way, please Visit our website, www.restoredtemecula.church, and click on Contact. With all that said, we, we hope you enjoy the message.
[00:00:35] Speaker B: All right.
Hey, you. Incoming sixth graders, can I have your attention?
I know you got cake.
[00:00:44] Speaker A: I know you got donuts. Incoming sixth graders.
[00:00:46] Speaker B: I speak on behalf of every single person in this room when I say we are genuinely so glad that you're
[00:00:54] Speaker A: in here with us.
Yeah, you should really cheer for them. It's a big transition for their life.
[00:01:02] Speaker B: And so I just want to really quickly tell you incoming sixth graders, this might feel funky at first.
[00:01:09] Speaker A: It might feel like, oh, this is weird.
[00:01:12] Speaker B: You might get tired of hearing me talk.
But let me just say this. You can even ask the students that
[00:01:18] Speaker A: have gone before you.
Give it a few weeks, and you'll hit your stride.
[00:01:24] Speaker B: Give it a few weeks, and you'll
[00:01:25] Speaker A: feel more comfortable in this space, opening God's word, learning about the scriptures, experiencing God, responding to his grace, and his goodness and praise.
[00:01:34] Speaker B: And you have a whole room full of adults and other students to model for you. Right, Adults to model for you.
[00:01:41] Speaker A: What it looks like to live a life devoted to God. Okay?
[00:01:44] Speaker B: That's what we're all about.
[00:01:45] Speaker A: We want to be a church that
[00:01:46] Speaker B: is devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ
[00:01:48] Speaker A: because He has been so kind to us, so good to us. And so we worship him because he's worthy. Amen.
[00:01:53] Speaker B: Amen. Okay, if you're a guest with us this morning, I just want to welcome you. So glad that you're here. Our prayer is that you would encounter God among us, that you would encounter and experience his grace. And that grace would strengthen you and refresh you this morning.
And at the chance that there's anybody here in the room that you're not yet in Christ.
My prayer is that you would see
[00:02:17] Speaker A: him for who he truly is this morning.
[00:02:20] Speaker B: That there really is nobody like Jesus. He's holy. He's kind. He's faithful. He's all powerful. He's merciful. He's just.
[00:02:29] Speaker A: He's loving.
[00:02:31] Speaker B: There's nobody in the world, nobody in past, present, future, nobody in the universe like Jesus Christ. And nobody loves you like Jesus Christ.
[00:02:39] Speaker A: And so my prayer is that this
[00:02:40] Speaker B: morning that you would put your trust
[00:02:42] Speaker A: in him and that the trajectory of your eternity would be forever changed as a result.
[00:02:46] Speaker B: One of the things that you've heard me say regularly recently is that there's a difference between being in church and being in Christ.
[00:02:54] Speaker A: And my hope is that each one
[00:02:56] Speaker B: of us would experience every spiritual blessing
[00:02:58] Speaker A: of being in Christ, enjoying him and obeying him, and operating like him.
[00:03:05] Speaker B: So this morning, go ahead and grab your Bibles. They're gonna be in Matthew chapter 22.
We are continuing on in our series, the King and His Kingdom, where we've been going through Matthew and we've been going through Matthew's Gospel through the lens of. We want to learn as much as we can about the King Jesus Christ and his kingdom, the kingdom of God,
[00:03:23] Speaker A: the kingdom of heaven.
[00:03:24] Speaker B: Those phrases, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven, they're used synonymous in the Scriptures.
And when we speak about the kingdom, we're not just talking about this ethereal place that you go to after you die. Yes, you will experience the fullness of the kingdom of heaven after you die,
[00:03:40] Speaker A: if you're in Christ.
[00:03:41] Speaker B: But when we talk about the kingdom of God, what we're talking about is the rule and the reign of a king and specifically Jesus Christ. What does it look like when God is ruling and reigning in every single area of creation, every single area of your life, every single area of your neighbor's life? Like, what does that look like when God gets His way? That's what we're exploring through this series,
[00:04:00] Speaker A: the King and His Kingdom.
[00:04:02] Speaker B: And so this morning we'll be in Matthew chapter 22. We'll start in verse 15. You can put your finger there, but because we want to be a people who don't just pray sometimes, but who live a lifestyle of engaging with God in prayer.
[00:04:17] Speaker A: Before we open the Scriptures together, I want to invite you to join me in praying and inviting God's spirit to teach us through His Word.
So pray with me.
What a privilege it is to be together this morning, Father.
What a privilege it is to, regardless of our condition, individually, we get to come and offer you praise and thanksgiving.
You've been so kind to every single one of us, so generous to every single one of us.
And I want to ask right now that you would help us to put Jesus on the throne of our heart and to experience unparalleled pleasure as a result.
I believe that you have joy for us this morning. Lord, I pray for precious men, women, students in this room who maybe Were having a difficult time during a difficult season. I pray that your spirit would comfort them.
I pray for those that are like lit up on fire, like feeling really, really inspired.
I pray that you would blow wind into the sails of their spirit and that they would press in more and more to pursuing your kingdom.
Jesus, I love you, I worship you. We worship you.
Spirit, we invite you to teach us this morning.
Have your way among us. We pray. And all God's people said Amen.
[00:06:00] Speaker B: Okay, so we're going to start here in verse 15.
What's the first word in verse 15 then?
Typically that means that something just happened, right? Let me give you a little context.
So Jesus, he just had this run
[00:06:13] Speaker A: in with some of the Jewish religious leaders.
[00:06:16] Speaker B: And during that run in, Jesus exposes these guys. He exposes them publicly, he exposes their incompetence as leaders, he exposes their lack of integrity, he exposes their hypocrisy and he exposes their idolatry that they were worshiping things, they were putting something above God in their lives. And even while they're claiming to be the spiritual religious leaders by position and both by their position, by their role and by their conduct.
So Jesus, he exposes these guys publicly.
[00:06:46] Speaker A: And that's where we pick up here in verse 15.
[00:06:49] Speaker B: Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to trap him. Him. There's Jesus by what he said.
[00:06:56] Speaker A: Okay, pause for just a second now. I want you to remember, Jesus just
[00:07:00] Speaker B: got done kind of exposing the ungodliness in these guys lives.
He exposed their pride, he exposed their idolatry, he exposed their hypocrisy. He actually addressed it.
He didn't brush it under the rug. He didn't look the other way. He didn't like, you know, mince his words. He addressed it. Now I was looking through this this week and studying this passage and just praying with the Lord and I just had this sense guys of like gratitude in my heart, thankfulness in my heart. I'm so thankful for the people in my life, hear me, who love me
[00:07:34] Speaker A: enough to bring my sin to my attention.
[00:07:40] Speaker B: Like, and when I say that, I don't mean like a jerk. You know, there's the people who like call you out, but they do it in just such a, like a mean, like arrogant way.
[00:07:48] Speaker A: That's not what I'm talking about.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Not people who do it as a jerk, but like people in my life that do it like a friend, right?
Listen, if your friends don't address your sin when it pops up, hear me,
[00:07:58] Speaker A: you don't actually have friends.
I know that's, like, a tough thing
[00:08:02] Speaker B: to say, but it's true. If the people in your life who you call friends don't actually love you enough to say, hey, there's this thing that I see that isn't consistent with how God would have you to live and how you want to live for God. Like, if they're not doing that, then they're not actually your friends.
[00:08:18] Speaker A: Okay?
[00:08:19] Speaker B: If you don't have people who lovingly call you on your sin, hear me, you don't actually have biblical community.
And one of the things that we, as a church, like, we really are serious about is being a community that's centered on the gospel.
[00:08:30] Speaker A: That's why we have gospel communities.
[00:08:32] Speaker B: And part of this is to create communities where people are safe and there's an environment where they can grow in their spiritual formation. And part of that is recognizing some of the brokenness in me that I don't see.
Like, right now, I can smile. I genuinely have no idea if there's anything in my teeth.
Is there?
Cool.
Sometimes there is, right?
And sometimes I need you to help me see what I can't see.
[00:09:03] Speaker A: If you don't have people in your
[00:09:04] Speaker B: life who lovingly call you on your
[00:09:06] Speaker A: sin, you don't actually have biblical community.
[00:09:08] Speaker B: Because here's the thing. When we talk about friendship and community, like authentic biblical community, friends, they love each other. They guard each other.
When a friend sees sin in you, they address it with you directly because they care about you. And I, just before I get into the rest of this passage, I just remember this week just feeling gratitude, friends, like, I'm so thankful for my wife who loves me enough to sometimes tell
[00:09:32] Speaker A: me the truth about myself.
[00:09:34] Speaker B: I'm so thankful for the closest people to me who love me enough to
[00:09:38] Speaker A: call me on my sin. And again, not like a jerk, but like a comrade, you know, like an
[00:09:44] Speaker B: ally, like a humble friend.
And what we see in the very beginning here, like the. Then that first word, Jesus, he just called these Pharisees out on their sin, and he calls them to repent, to turn away from it, and yet they avoid it.
[00:10:01] Speaker A: We're about to see the depths of that in just a second. In the rest of this passage, they
[00:10:05] Speaker B: avoid it, they resist it, they reject it. If you're a note taker, my first point comes really, really fast this morning, and it's this. Conviction is not something to be avoided.
[00:10:15] Speaker A: It's something to be embraced. Conviction's a good thing.
[00:10:23] Speaker B: Hear me? It's a really good thing. It's One of the greatest evidences of God's grace in your life.
Cause he doesn't have to tell you about the stuff in your teeth. He can allow you to live your life causing havoc, hurting yourself, hurting others. No, but he loves us enough to tell us the truth about ourselves. Conviction is not something to be avoided. It's something to be embraced. It's a good thing. And because God loves us, he will at times expose ungodliness in us.
[00:10:51] Speaker A: Why?
To invite us, to call us, to repentance because he loves us.
[00:10:58] Speaker B: And that will ultimately. Sin will ultimately lead to your demise and to harming other people.
And is there anybody in the room here?
[00:11:04] Speaker A: You don't ever struggle to do things, to not do things God's way? Or am I the only person here that.
Yeah, all of us, God sometimes will expose ungodliness in you. That's what happened with these Pharisees. And listen, instead of repenting, their hearts got even more hardened. Okay?
[00:11:25] Speaker B: It says they plotted against Jesus.
So my question, as we get started,
[00:11:31] Speaker A: I want you to search your heart.
What do you do when God convicts you?
[00:11:38] Speaker B: Or what do you do when God sends a friend on his behalf to
[00:11:42] Speaker A: do some of the convicting?
How do you respond?
[00:11:45] Speaker B: What do you do when your sin is brought to your attention, friend? Do you take responsibility and repent?
Like, you know, make things right with God, make things right with other people? Or does your heart harden like we
[00:11:58] Speaker A: see here with these Pharisees?
These Pharisees, they should have repented, but they didn't.
[00:12:04] Speaker B: Instead, they plotted. They devised a plan against Jesus. Let's keep reading. Verse 16.
So they sent their disciples to him. To him. There's Jesus. So these Pharisees, they send their disciples to Jesus. It says, along with the Herodians. Okay, I know I'm interrupting a lot,
[00:12:22] Speaker A: but we gotta pause again.
[00:12:23] Speaker B: Cause there's so much here that you
[00:12:23] Speaker A: need to be aware of.
[00:12:24] Speaker B: What we just read is absolutely.
[00:12:26] Speaker A: It's wild.
Okay?
[00:12:28] Speaker B: These Pharisees, they're not just unrepentant, they're cowards, too. You catch it. They don't even go themselves. They send their kind of interns.
They send their disciples, right? And not only that, it says they recruited the Herodians.
If you're not familiar with who the Herodians are, we'll get into this in just a second. But what we see here is they go and recruit the Herodians. Very different than the Pharisees. I'll break that down in just a second. But they go and recruit the Herodians listen to me. This is called recruited offense.
It's when you go and recruit people to join you in the same offenses that you have. And listen, it happens in any environment where there are people.
You've probably seen it in your workplace.
[00:13:16] Speaker A: You know, someone kind of, like, shows up at your office door, kind of knocks a little bit. Hey, what's going on? How you doing?
Hey, what do you think about the boss?
Yeah, he's kind of controlling, isn't he? He's kind of a jerk.
What do you think about that co worker down the hall?
I agree. I don't think they really have it together either. I think they kind of stink at their job. Like, why are they even here? You know what I'm talking about, right?
[00:13:43] Speaker B: No. Yes. Oh, I see big eyes in the room right now. Some of you.
[00:13:47] Speaker A: This is hitting you straight in the heart. This is good.
[00:13:48] Speaker B: But you know what I'm talking about. It's that, like, the gossip kind of starts.
[00:13:53] Speaker A: Hey, what do you think about.
[00:13:54] Speaker B: It's like a baiting thing.
The gossip starts, the criticism starts.
And then what happens is pride starts
[00:14:02] Speaker A: to multiply in the human heart.
And listen, if it gets bad enough, plotting starts.
[00:14:13] Speaker B: Guys, I've literally seen people lose their
[00:14:15] Speaker A: jobs because of recruited offense.
[00:14:21] Speaker B: I remember in high school, like, friend groups that were really tight.
Someone gets offended somehow, and they start recruiting offense.
And the next thing you know, someone now is kind of, like, excluded from the friend group. I can think of this happening multiple times in high school, just thinking like, oh, dang.
[00:14:46] Speaker A: People lose their friendships because of recruited offense.
And it doesn't just happen in the workplace.
[00:14:52] Speaker B: It doesn't just happen amongst, like, students in school.
[00:14:56] Speaker A: Listen, recruiting offense, it even happens in the church.
Hey, what's your experience been, like, with this ministry or that ministry or that GC leader or that elder or that deacon or.
Gossip starts, and then criticism starts and the same thing. And then pride starts to multiply in the human heart. God, they don't know what they're doing.
Listen, it's my second point, and it's a hot one, but I'm gonna say it. Cause it needs to be said, because we see it in this passage. Please hear me.
[00:15:37] Speaker B: Recruiting offense is a satanic cancer.
It's a satanic cancer.
[00:15:45] Speaker A: Listen, if God forbid, you find cancer
[00:15:48] Speaker B: somewhere on or in your body, what happens if you don't cut it out, it spreads. And if it spreads too far, what happens?
[00:15:58] Speaker A: The body loses life.
[00:15:59] Speaker B: Correct.
If it's not cut out of the body, it will kill the body. Can I just Tell you, this is not unique to our church.
[00:16:07] Speaker A: This is any church on the planet.
[00:16:09] Speaker B: But for our church in our context specifically, please hear me.
[00:16:12] Speaker A: If you love this church, if you
[00:16:15] Speaker B: care about this community, both the young disciples and the more seasoned disciples, if you love this church and you want it to continue treating recruiting offense, I'll
[00:16:28] Speaker A: say it this way.
[00:16:29] Speaker B: It's important for us to treat recruiting offense like the cancer that it is.
If you care about the church, if you love the church, you gotta treat recruiting offense like the cancer that it is when it shows up, get rid of it when it shows up. Like, do what you gotta do to eliminate it. When it shows up, call it out, rebuke it. Don't look the other way, address it. Don't let the cancer spread.
[00:16:54] Speaker A: Because you know what happens when the cancer spreads, Guys?
When recruiting offense happens in the church, division starts to happen.
Maybe you've seen this.
Churches that at one time were really united, not perfect people deal with conflict all the time because all of us are sinners.
But Jesus has us all in a process of becoming more like him.
But maybe you've seen this happen.
[00:17:37] Speaker B: Maybe you've seen a church where one
[00:17:38] Speaker A: time united and the next thing you know, it's split. Like, churches actually split, split.
[00:17:44] Speaker B: What happens when recruiting offense happens is there's division. Churches that at one time were united, split. Godly leaders resign. I've seen godly leaders just go, you know what?
[00:17:54] Speaker A: I'm out.
I'm gonna go somewhere else.
[00:17:56] Speaker B: Cause this cancer, it can't be stopped.
[00:18:02] Speaker A: Relationships fracture and people get hurt.
[00:18:05] Speaker B: And all the while, do you know what happens all the while?
[00:18:07] Speaker A: Satan's just laughing.
[00:18:14] Speaker B: If you see someone recruiting a fence,
[00:18:16] Speaker A: please shut it down.
And at the same time, if you
[00:18:21] Speaker B: are someone who is recruiting a fence,
[00:18:23] Speaker A: hear me, the Lord rebuke you.
This isn't my church.
This church doesn't belong to the elders. It doesn't belong to the deacons. It doesn't belong to the gospel community leaders.
This church belongs to Jesus.
[00:18:40] Speaker B: This church is his girl.
Don't think for one second that Jesus
[00:18:44] Speaker A: isn't passionate about his girl.
[00:18:46] Speaker B: If someone's trying to harm Jesus, girl, watch out.
[00:18:54] Speaker A: If that's you, I wanna call you lovingly, but sternly. Repent.
[00:18:57] Speaker B: Okay, so these Pharisees, they recruit the Herodians. Now, what makes this even more wild? Friends, some of you have already tuned me out. Stay back with me. I know that was intense, but it was necessary. Okay? The Pharisees, they recruit the Herodians. And what makes this even more wild is that the Pharisees and the Herodians were adversaries.
These two groups were in opposition to one another. They were enemies, if you will. They were adversaries.
They did not see eye to eye,
[00:19:26] Speaker A: hear me, at all.
They didn't see eye to eye religiously.
[00:19:31] Speaker B: They didn't see eye to eye politically or economically.
[00:19:35] Speaker A: Think like, Think like Republicans and Democrats.
[00:19:38] Speaker B: Okay, they didn't see eye to eye.
[00:19:41] Speaker A: Now correct me if I'm wrong, but
[00:19:42] Speaker B: we don't typically see enemies teaming up
[00:19:45] Speaker A: together, do we, in life?
[00:19:47] Speaker B: That's not a common thing, but that's
[00:19:49] Speaker A: exactly what we see here in this passage.
[00:19:53] Speaker B: Why on earth would two adversarial groups team up?
[00:20:01] Speaker A: Because they want to get rid of Jesus.
They want to get rid of Jesus.
[00:20:05] Speaker B: Let's see how they go about it. Verse 16.
So they.
[00:20:10] Speaker A: There's the Pharisees.
[00:20:12] Speaker B: They sent their disciples, cowards to Jesus along with the Herodians recruiting offense.
[00:20:19] Speaker A: Teacher, they said, we know that you are truthful and teach truthfully the way of God.
You don't care what anyone thinks, nor
[00:20:31] Speaker B: do you show partiality.
[00:20:34] Speaker A: Verse 17. Tell us then what you think.
Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
Pause again.
[00:20:44] Speaker B: Okay, these two adversarial groups, they come to Jesus, right?
[00:20:49] Speaker A: And what do they start doing?
[00:20:51] Speaker B: They start buttering Jesus up.
They start flattering Jesus. They use that term teacher to us. We just think, oh, the teacher. No, that's like a term of respect.
That's a respectful, honoring way to describe or call Jesus. And they say, jesus, you're truthful. They say, jesus, you teach the way of God.
Now what's crazy about this is like, if they actually meant the things that they said, then wouldn't they, like, follow Jesus ways?
[00:21:20] Speaker A: But they don't, right? What are they doing?
[00:21:22] Speaker B: They're using flattery, but they lack follow through.
[00:21:27] Speaker A: Listen to me, young people in the room. Can I talk to you for just a second?
[00:21:31] Speaker B: Young people in the room, I want to encourage you.
[00:21:33] Speaker A: Beware of flattery without follow through.
Young ladies, there's coming a day.
There's coming a day when that really cute boy starts giving you attention and he's saying all the right things, you know, he's saying all the things that make you feel like, wow, like, okay, cool.
[00:21:55] Speaker B: This is great. I like this, right? He's cute. He says the nice things, but listen. But he doesn't live a godly life.
[00:22:04] Speaker A: Beware of flattery without follow through. Okay, young men, same thing.
You like the way she's looking?
[00:22:13] Speaker B: You're like, oh, yes, she's giving you that attention. You're like, this feels great, dude. She's saying the things that you like to hear, and it feels real good.
[00:22:23] Speaker A: But she's not exactly living a godly life.
Beware.
Beware of flattery without follow through.
Here's why.
It's a form of manipulation.
[00:22:36] Speaker B: It's a form of manipulation, and I'm here to tell you as your pastor. Beware of anyone who tries to manipulate you.
They do not have your best interest at heart.
[00:22:45] Speaker A: Okay?
[00:22:46] Speaker B: Now the reason I bring that up is because that's exactly what we see here with this group of Pharisee interns and Herodians. That's what they're doing. They flatter Jesus and they try to trap him by posing a question. Did you catch what the question was?
[00:23:01] Speaker A: Talk to me.
Taxes.
[00:23:03] Speaker B: Should we pay taxes to Caesar or not?
Now, remember I told you the Pharisees and the Herodians were different, right?
Let's get into it for just a second. The Pharisees, they were a group of people. They were religious leaders, but they were a group of religious leaders and they were staunchly opposed to Roman rule in Israel, right? Rome superpower. They occupied the nation or the geography around Jerusalem in Israel. And so these Pharisees, they hated Rome. They resented Rome and they hated the tax that the Romans were imposing on them. And not only that, but they believed that paying that tax, hear me to a pagan ruler, contradicted God's lordship over them.
So in essence, they believe that the tax to Caesar was like robbing God. So it wasn't just that they didn't like to be taxed. It was like this was violating their. Their worship.
So they're anti Rome, they're anti tax. That's the Pharisees, the Herodians,
[00:24:09] Speaker A: they supported Roman rule.
[00:24:11] Speaker B: And the reason they supported Roman rule is because they directly benefited from the tax revenue. You've heard of Herod, right? The Herodians, Herod was like the puppet king of Galilee, right? Installed by the Roman government.
And so they're benefiting. The Herodians are basically the people that side with Herod's family.
[00:24:29] Speaker A: Okay?
[00:24:29] Speaker B: So they're the people. They're like a political group. They're the people that are like, yeah, we're all about the Romans taxing. Because that tax revenue helps benefit us
[00:24:37] Speaker A: and keep us in power, if you will.
So I want you to get the picture. Look at this, okay?
[00:24:45] Speaker B: If Jesus says he supports the tax to Caesar, he sides with Rome and not with Israel.
If Jesus says he disapproves of the tax to Caesar. He's seen as treacherous against Rome.
So do you see the trap that
[00:25:01] Speaker A: they're trying to lay for Jesus here?
[00:25:03] Speaker B: They're trying to lay a trap for Jesus. And the trap for Jesus is this. Pick your poison, Jesus, pick your poison. If you support the tax, you position yourself in opposition to Israel and all the people.
[00:25:14] Speaker A: It would be gnarly, right?
[00:25:15] Speaker B: But if you disapprove the tax, you position yourself in opposition to Rome.
You see this?
They want to trap Jesus.
[00:25:24] Speaker A: Pick your poison.
[00:25:26] Speaker B: Which people group do you want to
[00:25:29] Speaker A: position yourself to be in opposition of Israel? The people of God or Rome? The superpower who can end your life in an instant.
Look at verse 18. Let's keep going.
So they put Jesus, they try to
[00:25:45] Speaker B: trap him with that question.
It says this.
[00:25:48] Speaker A: Perceiving their malicious intent, Jesus said, why are you testing me? Hypocrites.
[00:25:56] Speaker B: Pause again.
[00:26:02] Speaker A: Dude, Jesus is like, anything but soft.
Like, he's not the kind of leader, teacher, rabbi, to, like, back down.
He calls them hypocrites.
Why?
Because their flattery's dishonest.
It's manipulative.
He doesn't just, like, brush under the rug.
[00:26:33] Speaker B: He doesn't just, like, come to that conclusion in his mind and then live that way.
[00:26:37] Speaker A: No, no, no. What does he do? He addresses it publicly, even. He calls it out.
[00:26:43] Speaker B: He calls it like it is. He doesn't water it down. Hypocrites.
[00:26:49] Speaker A: What is he doing again?
[00:26:51] Speaker B: He's calling out the ungodliness.
[00:26:55] Speaker A: Do you see this?
[00:26:56] Speaker B: He's calling out the ungodliness.
[00:27:00] Speaker A: This got me thinking this week. Like, there's something about Western Christianity that's absolutely beautiful.
And there's things about Western Christianity that are not.
One of the things that is not
[00:27:14] Speaker B: is that I think that we'd rather tolerate sin than offend someone.
I think we'd rather tolerate certain sins than offend someone.
[00:27:26] Speaker A: We'd rather tolerate dishonesty instead of calling out the ungodliness.
[00:27:32] Speaker B: Not like a jerk, like a friend.
We'd rather tolerate gossip.
[00:27:40] Speaker A: I don't want to offend anybody.
[00:27:42] Speaker B: We'd rather tolerate gossip instead of calling out the ungodliness.
[00:27:49] Speaker A: Not like a jerk, like an ally who's fighting against the same enemy.
[00:27:55] Speaker B: Who's our enemy?
[00:27:57] Speaker A: Satan in sin, who's hell bent, pardon the pun, on destroying you and making a mockery of your life, your worship,
[00:28:06] Speaker B: your discipleship to Jesus.
We'd rather tolerate perversion instead of calling out the ungodliness.
[00:28:16] Speaker A: Not like a jerk, but like a comrade, a friend.
I'M telling you, it's not biblical.
[00:28:26] Speaker B: It's not biblical. And it certainly isn't the way of Jesus that all of us in this room, at least to some degree, subscribe
[00:28:32] Speaker A: to and are building our lives around.
[00:28:38] Speaker B: Again, we're not called to be prideful, arrogant jerks.
No, we remove the plank in our own eye before helping remove the splinter in our brother's eye. But hear me. But nowhere in all of scripture does God say to tolerate sin.
You show me where it says it.
[00:28:53] Speaker A: Nowhere sin is serious.
[00:28:57] Speaker B: Nowhere in all of scripture does God say to tolerate sin. Not in other people, and certainly not in ourselves.
[00:29:05] Speaker A: I received that.
[00:29:08] Speaker B: But listen, you look at Jesus here. He doesn't water it down, does he?
He doesn't brush it under the rug, does he? He doesn't water things down. He calls it like it is. Hypocrite.
[00:29:22] Speaker A: I want you to notice what it says here.
[00:29:24] Speaker B: It says, Jesus knew their intent.
[00:29:30] Speaker A: Holy smokes.
[00:29:33] Speaker B: He knew their intent.
[00:29:38] Speaker A: I remember when my kids were toddlers, which, both of them are in this room now, which is wild to me, but I remember when they were toddlers. And listen, I'm not trying to puff myself up or make myself look good, but I dominated them in hide and seek.
[00:29:55] Speaker B: Like, it wasn't even a contest.
[00:29:57] Speaker A: I dominated them in hide and seek, okay?
[00:29:59] Speaker B: Because they would do things. Like they would try to hide behind the music stand.
Do you know what I'm saying? You parents know exactly what I'm talking about. They'd hide behind the curtains, but their feet would be, like, out. You know what I'm saying? Like, you could totally see where they were. Like, I knew where they were all the time.
[00:30:13] Speaker A: Right?
[00:30:14] Speaker B: Their attempts to hide were so cute. They were super cute. My kids thought they were able to hide from me, but I could see them the whole time. I dominated them in hide and seek.
[00:30:25] Speaker A: Listen.
Amen.
But listen, these Pharisees and these Herodians, they thought they could hide from Jesus, But he saw what was really going on in their heart. Hear me the entire time.
My next point for you, if you're a note taker, is, humans cannot hide from God. He sees the heart.
Humans cannot hide from him.
You can't hide from your heavenly Father.
He has his eyes on you the whole time.
[00:31:09] Speaker B: He sees the heart.
Some of you, you're living as though
[00:31:12] Speaker A: you can hide from God.
[00:31:13] Speaker B: You're living as though you are somewhere where he isn't.
You know, God's omnipresent.
[00:31:17] Speaker A: He's all over the place. Right?
[00:31:19] Speaker B: There's nowhere you can go Psalm 139. There's nowhere I can go where I'm not near your spirit.
I can go to the bottom of the ocean and you're there.
There's nowhere we can go. There's nowhere we can hide. Some of you, you're living as though you can hide from God, but He can't. He sees you, man. He sees you at all times. Some of you, that makes you like, oh, God, afraid. Others of you, that should comfort you.
[00:31:42] Speaker A: He sees you in the struggle that you're in.
[00:31:44] Speaker B: He sees your feeble attempts to follow him and to honor him, your imperfect
[00:31:48] Speaker A: ways of worshiping him.
[00:31:49] Speaker B: He sees it and it brings him a smile, just like a toddler who's learning to walk.
He's proud of you in your attempts to follow him. It's beautiful. It's good. That should comfort you.
[00:31:59] Speaker A: Others of you, it should terrify you.
[00:32:01] Speaker B: Because he's holy.
He sees what's really going on in your heart. He sees your motives. He sees and knows what you're really truly after.
[00:32:13] Speaker A: Humans cannot hide from God.
He sees the heart.
Hopefully this comforts some of you. Hope, hopefully this humbles some of you.
Whoa.
Like, He sees you right now, Like, for real.
He sees the thoughts that you're thinking, maybe even some of the judgments that you're making.
So these Pharisees and these Herodians, they try to trap Jesus.
You know, Jesus, is it lawful for
[00:33:01] Speaker B: us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
[00:33:05] Speaker A: Verse 19. Jesus replies to their question, check it out.
[00:33:09] Speaker B: Jesus is like, hey, show me the coin used for the tax.
They brought him a denarius.
[00:33:15] Speaker A: You know what a denarius is?
Denarius is a small silver coin, right, with Caesar's face on it.
[00:33:23] Speaker B: Like our money has like presidents faces
[00:33:25] Speaker A: on it and stuff, right?
[00:33:26] Speaker B: This coin, this denarius was worth a day's wage.
[00:33:29] Speaker A: This silver coin had Caesar's face on it.
[00:33:31] Speaker B: Verse 20.
[00:33:32] Speaker A: This is Jesus speaking. Whose image and inscription is this on the coin?
He asked them. Verse 21. Caesar's, they said to him.
Then he said to them, here it is.
[00:33:47] Speaker B: Give then to Caesar the things that
[00:33:50] Speaker A: are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.
When they heard this, they were amazed.
So they left him and went away.
In the history of the world, I don't know if there's been a better mic drop moment than what we just read.
[00:34:09] Speaker B: These guys try to trap Jesus, and
[00:34:13] Speaker A: in his brilliance, in his holiness, in his truth telling, in his divine godliness as a man, this is the answer he gives.
[00:34:24] Speaker B: Now this Is one of. If you know, you've probably heard this before, even if you have a lot
[00:34:27] Speaker A: of experience in church gatherings or even
[00:34:30] Speaker B: with the Bible, this is one of the most famous things that Jesus ever said, Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.
Bible theologian Stuart K. Weber says this
[00:34:43] Speaker A: quote, check this out.
[00:34:45] Speaker B: Jesus answered by saying there was nothing wrong with giving to each authority what was rightfully His.
That is, it was right to give to the Roman Empire what was rightfully theirs.
As indicated by Caesar's image and inscription
[00:35:04] Speaker A: on the coin, such payment of tax was not robbery from God.
[00:35:08] Speaker B: Remember, they thought they were robbing God
[00:35:09] Speaker A: by giving them the tax.
Keep going.
[00:35:11] Speaker B: On the other hand, we also have an obligation to give to God what he demands.
The two claims by the two authorities
[00:35:19] Speaker A: were not in conflict with each other.
[00:35:22] Speaker B: Obedience to both was not contradictory. Look at this. Both God and civil government were valid authorities.
Okay, so just get the picture. Remember the trap, right, Jesus, pick your poison. Position yourself in opposition to Israel or position yourself in opposition to Rome. Jesus doesn't take either position, does he? Instead, he says both God and civil government were valid authorities.
[00:35:53] Speaker A: You honor and obey and respect authorities, right? Now listen, I don't have time to get into.
[00:35:58] Speaker B: There's so many implications here for how we engage politically.
[00:36:02] Speaker A: I don't have time to get into really any of them. But I will say this.
Hear me. Jesus says it's right to obey the authority of the civil government that you are a citizen of.
Hear me? Even when you don't want to, even when you disagree.
Hear me?
It's right according to Jesus to obey
[00:36:27] Speaker B: the authority of the civil government that you are a citizen of, even when you don't want to, even when you disobey or even when you disagree.
[00:36:33] Speaker A: As long.
[00:36:33] Speaker B: As long as obeying the civil government doesn't cause you to disobey God. There's a hierarchy here.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: You with me?
[00:36:40] Speaker B: So we're not anti American. We're not. Our allegiance isn't to America. We honor and respect the authorities of the civil government and the land that we have the privilege of living in, who provides our roads and all the. All the benefits that we get to, we get to experience because of the governing authorities above us. We honor them, we obey them, we respect them. But we do not bend the knee to them.
We bend the knee to one.
[00:37:04] Speaker A: What's his name? Jesus.
[00:37:05] Speaker B: So there's an order here, okay?
[00:37:08] Speaker A: And I don't have time to get into all the political implications, but you Know, kind of hopefully, you know what I'm saying here?
There's more here that I need to focus on.
[00:37:15] Speaker B: So Jesus says, what does he say? He goes, bring me the coin.
Bring me the coin. And he goes, whose image is imprinted on the coin?
Caesar's image is imprinted on the coin. He says, therefore, the coin belongs to Caesar. And then Jesus gives a command. Not a suggestion, not advice. He gives a command. What's the command that he gives there?
Give to Caesar.
[00:37:40] Speaker A: What is Caesar's.
[00:37:41] Speaker B: Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. Now, that word give, it's deeper than what you see there. Some translations, maybe you've heard this.
[00:37:51] Speaker A: Render.
Render to Caesar that which is Caesar's.
[00:37:55] Speaker B: So some translations say render. I think render is actually more appropriate, and here's why. Because that word in the CSV, that's translated, give the original Greek word there. Here's what it means. It means to pay back that which is rightfully due.
So it's this idea of giving back. Jesus is saying, give back to Caesar the things that belong to him.
Now, stay with me. According to Jesus, what determined who the coin belonged to?
[00:38:26] Speaker A: Talk to me.
[00:38:28] Speaker B: The image imprinted onto the coin, right?
[00:38:31] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:38:32] Speaker B: Nod with me if you're tracking great. So according to Jesus, what determined who the coin belonged to was the image imprinted on it?
[00:38:39] Speaker A: Do you realize what Jesus is teaching here? It's so good.
[00:38:43] Speaker B: Do you see it?
Every Jew who was listening to this, they would have been like, ugh. They would have seen it right away.
The coin, it has an image imprinted on it. That image determines who the coin belongs to.
The coin, it has an image imprinted on it.
[00:39:01] Speaker A: So do you.
So do I.
[00:39:05] Speaker B: So does every person.
Why?
[00:39:08] Speaker A: Genesis, chapter one, verse 26 and 27. Will you guys throw it up there for me?
[00:39:12] Speaker B: This is the beginning.
This is before sin enters the picture. Then God said, let us make man in our image.
[00:39:20] Speaker A: Image
[00:39:23] Speaker B: according to our likeness.
[00:39:24] Speaker A: There's the Trinity right away, our plural.
They, Mankind, humans, will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and
[00:39:39] Speaker B: the creatures that crawl on the earth. Verse 27.
[00:39:41] Speaker A: So God created man in his own in.
[00:39:46] Speaker B: He created them in the image of God.
[00:39:48] Speaker A: He created them male and female.
Do you see it?
[00:39:54] Speaker B: It's the image on the coin that determines who it belongs to. And hear me, it's the image on
[00:40:00] Speaker A: you that determines who you belong to. Friend.
Guys like you have so much dignity.
Some of you are so hard on yourselves, way harder on yourself than God is.
You are Made in the image of God.
[00:40:27] Speaker B: There's no other species on the planet
[00:40:29] Speaker A: that can say that,
[00:40:32] Speaker B: like, you're the masterpiece.
You're. Like, you're so special, you're so unique.
You're made in the image of God. His image was imprinted onto you. That means something.
[00:40:46] Speaker A: That means you belong to him.
But we don't always live that way, do we?
My life is my life.
Like, I call the shots. I get to determine what my life is for, and it belongs to me.
I think humanity suffers from a plague, like a spiritual plague, and it's this.
A lot of people don't know their purpose.
[00:41:25] Speaker B: A lot of people will spend their whole lives trying to build a purpose for themselves, trying to acquire a purpose for themselves, trying to even discover a purpose for themselves. They'll spend a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of resources trying to manufacture their own purpose for their life.
[00:41:45] Speaker A: We prefer to determine our purpose ourselves.
[00:41:51] Speaker B: And I'm technically a millennial.
And there was a question that we
[00:41:56] Speaker A: got asked quite a bit growing up.
And tell me if this sounds familiar.
[00:42:00] Speaker B: Hey, what do you want to be
[00:42:01] Speaker A: when you grow up?
We laugh because it's true.
[00:42:07] Speaker B: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Well, because I get to decide. It's my call. My life is my own. I'm in control of my life, right? And typically, when we were asked that, always involved, like, a vocation of some sort, right? Or at least that's where my mind went.
Anybody else in the room, People ask that. Your first part of your mind goes, oh, what am I gonna do? Like, what vocation am I gonna have? What job am I gonna have? Right? And oftentimes, I would think. I remember in high school, I remember I got asked that question in, like, a guidance counselor situation. And there was like a three ring binder.
[00:42:42] Speaker A: Youth, you won't know what that is.
[00:42:43] Speaker B: A three ring binder. It was like paper. They had paper inside of a binder and that you'd read through it, and every page of that paper had different jobs.
And on the job, it had the title of the job, the salary of the job, and then like a paragraph that described what the job was. Do you know what I did when
[00:43:00] Speaker A: I flipped through that thing?
[00:43:02] Speaker B: I just looked at the salary. I didn't look at anything else. I was like, what am I gonna do with my life? What thing pays you the most money? That's what I'm gonna do. Why? Because in our culture, we build our lives around that. We kind of manufacture our own purpose. So that we can gain the validation and the approval of our peers.
And there's something about having a lot of money, or at least more money than other people that tends to cause other people to say, that person's a
[00:43:28] Speaker A: little bit more important.
[00:43:34] Speaker B: And so we kind of manufacture our
[00:43:36] Speaker A: own purposes for ourselves.
But what if God never told you to do that?
Can I ask you a question?
Don't answer out loud.
Do you know what your purpose is?
Like, are you convinced? Are you certain where you can go?
I am 100% sure this is my purpose. Do you know what your purpose is?
I'm gonna tell you right now. Jesus tells you what your purpose is in this passage.
Note takers. Here it is. Your purpose is to give your life back to God.
[00:44:28] Speaker B: It's literally the purpose of your life is to give that life back to God. To place all of yourself into his hands, to yield completely to his will. For you hear me, in every area and in every moment, hear me.
[00:44:45] Speaker A: It's what the Bible calls worship.
[00:44:49] Speaker B: It's what the Bible calls worship. It's what you were made for. Please hear me. It's the purpose of your life.
St. Augustine Old Church. Father long, long time ago says this quote to Caesar, his coins to God, your very selves.
Your purpose is to give your life back to God in worship. Okay, you gotta see what Jesus is saying here. You gotta see what he's teaching. Cause it has implications for every area of your life. Jesus is saying, Caesar should be honored.
Earthly authorities, whether you agree with them or not, earthly authorities should be obeyed to the degree that they don't call you to disobey God. Caesar should be honored. Earthly authority should be obeyed. But God should be worshiped.
Those are different things.
God should be worshiped. Your purpose is to give your life back to God in worship.
[00:45:58] Speaker A: Hypothetical.
If I asked to use your car this afternoon, like, I genuinely need it.
Tracy, can I use your car this afternoon? Tracy's giving me a yes.
Justin, can I ask, can I use your car? Justin, saying yes. Scott, can I use your car? Great. I like Scott's sequoia. It's really cool.
I want to use your car for a second.
Can I use your car this afternoon? Okay, so just imagine with me, I
[00:46:29] Speaker B: asked to use your car this afternoon,
[00:46:31] Speaker A: and you generously and graciously let me use your car.
And then tonight I don't bring it back.
And then tomorrow
[00:46:44] Speaker B: I don't get around
[00:46:45] Speaker A: to bringing it back tomorrow.
[00:46:48] Speaker B: Then the end of the week, I mean, you're calling, hey, Tom, I gotta take my kids to School. I gotta go get groceries. I gotta go to work. Are you bringing the car back, man? Like, what's going on?
[00:46:58] Speaker A: And I don't bring the car back.
[00:47:00] Speaker B: And months go by and years go by even, and I don't bring your car back. What would you call that?
Theft?
[00:47:09] Speaker A: Stealing?
[00:47:09] Speaker B: Yeah. 100%, right?
You're familiar with the Ten Commandments?
[00:47:14] Speaker A: Kind of a big deal, right?
[00:47:17] Speaker B: Ten Commandments. In other words, the guidelines for human flourishing. You want to see human beings flourish?
[00:47:24] Speaker A: Just everybody say yes to the Ten Commandments. Things are going to go real, real good for everybody.
[00:47:28] Speaker B: Do you remember what the eighth commandment is?
[00:47:31] Speaker A: Do not steal out a boy.
[00:47:33] Speaker B: Do not steal. Right.
[00:47:37] Speaker A: Some of you, you can't remember the last time you stole something, but you've been stealing from God for years.
You've been stealing from God for years.
[00:47:47] Speaker B: You've been stealing the life that he gave you.
You haven't given your life back to God. Hear me in worship.
[00:48:00] Speaker A: There's a song here that we sing all the time and I love it.
You've heard it, right?
You are worthy of it all.
You know that song?
[00:48:13] Speaker B: Remember, man, God sees your heart.
He sees my heart so often, it's
[00:48:21] Speaker A: like, you are worthy of some of my life.
You are worthy of what's convenient.
You are worthy of what's practical.
Sorry, it's not just you. I struggle with it, too.
What's God worth to you?
Is he worth your life?
Because listen to me, you were worth his.
At the cross, the God man, Jesus Christ, willingly offers himself up in the most brutal, agonizing, painful execution as a completely innocent man divine
[00:49:42] Speaker B: at the cross.
He says, no one takes my life from me. I willingly lay it down at the cross of Jesus.
[00:49:48] Speaker A: He demonstrates his intense love for you.
[00:49:53] Speaker B: He gave himself.
He gave his life.
[00:49:59] Speaker A: You're that valuable to him.
[00:50:00] Speaker B: Why would he do that? Because according to God Almighty, you and me, praise God, were worth it.
[00:50:11] Speaker A: Some of you, like, listen real talk. Some of you, your life would look
[00:50:16] Speaker B: completely different if you stopped stealing it from God.
Your life would look completely different if you stopped stealing it from God. Your calendar would look different.
Your job would look different.
Your relationships would look different. Your finances would look different.
The life you are living would look utterly different if you gave it back
[00:50:35] Speaker A: to him in worship.
So my question for you this morning, are you fulfilling God's purpose for your life?
I look around the room and some of you are. It gets me excited.
Many of you are.
Some of you are you.
I don't say that as an arrogant jerk.
I say that as someone who really cares about you, genuinely care about you and your well being and your eternity and your worship unto the Lord.
Nothing brings me more pleasure in life than standing there and hearing the saints offer him offerings of worship and praise because he's worthy.
He's worth it all.
Are you fulfilling God's purpose for your life? Or are you consumed with your purpose for your life?
Friend, Are you stealing the life that God gave you?
Your purpose is to give your life back to God in worship.
Caesar, get your coins.
God gets your entire being.
All right, I'm going to close. Van, Will you come up?
So maybe you're here and in light of Jesus teaching, you feel a little unsettledness.
Maybe you even feel a little bit of conviction.
Remember, conviction's not something to be avoided.
Please hear me. It's something to be embraced.
[00:52:37] Speaker B: It's an evidence of God's love. It's good for you. You know what it is?
[00:52:40] Speaker A: It's God fathering you.
[00:52:43] Speaker B: And I'm telling you, you let God father you.
He will transform your life. He will empower you. He will guide you. He will enlighten your path to things that are spectacular.
Maybe you're here and you feel a little conviction. I'm here. Can I just tell you, as a brother, as a pastor, as an ally, as someone who's with you in the fight against sin, Satan and death. Cause it's a fight. It's hard for all of us, myself included. Can I just encourage you?
[00:53:10] Speaker A: When that feeling of conviction comes, don't avoid it. Don't resist it.
[00:53:14] Speaker B: Don't reject it. Don't be a Pharisee.
[00:53:18] Speaker A: Embrace it.
[00:53:18] Speaker B: It's God trying to father you. Maybe you're here this morning and you feel that conviction. That's a good thing.
[00:53:23] Speaker A: Okay?
God wants to make you new, man.
[00:53:28] Speaker B: He wants to make you new. I'm reminded of Jesus words.
Gosh, I know it's John, but I
[00:53:33] Speaker A: don't remember the chapter.
[00:53:34] Speaker B: But Jesus, he basically says that unless a seed dies, it can't actually grow
[00:53:42] Speaker A: into the thing that it's supposed to be.
[00:53:45] Speaker B: So you could have like. Let's just use like a lemon tree, right?
[00:53:48] Speaker A: Lemon tree starts as a what?
As a seed.
[00:53:52] Speaker B: For that seed to become. Excuse me, to become the lemon tree, that seed first has to die.
There are parts of you this morning. Listen to me. There are parts of you this morning that if it doesn't die, you don't fulfill your purpose.
A call to repentance is Jesus message. Come back to me. Come back to me. Come Back to me. I want to be your Lord. I want to save you. I. I love you. Come back to me. The call to repentance is a call for something in you to die. Why? Resurrection.
New life.
Some of you, he's calling you to new life this morning. Some of you for the first time. Some of you, it's been a long time. Some of you gave up on Jesus a while back, and you've kind of been going through the motions.
You're doing your best, but you feel dead inside. Come alive in Christ. There's an invitation. You can give your life to him now. You can embrace his lordship now. Maybe you've been following Jesus for a long time. It's been a tough week. Guess what? Renew. Renew. Renew yourself at the foot of the cross where the grace and the mercy exists for you.
[00:54:55] Speaker A: Turn away. Repent.
[00:54:56] Speaker B: He wants to make you new.
He wants you to bear the fruit
[00:55:01] Speaker A: that he purposed for you to bear. And hear me, it's glorious fruit.
It's good fruit.
How do I know that?
Because you were made in His.
Yes.
[00:55:19] Speaker B: Do you believe that?
[00:55:27] Speaker A: So just imagine with me as I close.
Imagine what your life could look like.
[00:55:35] Speaker B: Imagine what your life could look like if you just did a simple reset.
It's available to you because of the
[00:55:41] Speaker A: grace and the mercy and the love of God.
[00:55:43] Speaker B: It's available to you because Jesus has already paid it all for your sin.
[00:55:48] Speaker A: You don't have to hide.
But imagine if every day of your life you just did a simple reset, I don't know, three times a day, morning, noon and night.
[00:55:59] Speaker B: Imagine you do a simple reset three times a day and you give your
[00:56:03] Speaker A: life back to God in worship God. Here I am again.
I offer all of me to you.
Nothing is off limits.
Nothing.
All of me.
Have your way in me.
God. Here's my life.
[00:56:22] Speaker B: What do you desire?
[00:56:26] Speaker A: And here's the kicker.
And then you just simply did whatever he told you to do.
Do you know what would happen?
The kingdom of God would happen.
The rule and the reign of God would happen.
[00:56:42] Speaker B: God would get his way and it would be spectacular. Like, it would be so cool. The story that he's written for your life would start to play out in the way that he wants it to. And you'd be the adventure of a lifetime of following God, of enjoying him and obeying him and operating like Him. And not only that, could you imagine, like if your brother and your sister who's sitting next to you did the same thing and just the, like, compounding effect, the like, the multiplying effect. Like, it would be so amazing, huh?
[00:57:12] Speaker A: That's God's desire for you and everybody sitting around you.
Could you imagine what things could look like?
I get so excited when I see these young people.
I can't wait to see what God does with you guys.
It's the honor of our lives to walk alongside you.
Let me pray for us. Will you stand with me if you're able.
If you're here this morning and you're like, I'm not stealing from God anymore, Jesus, you're worth my life if that's you. I just want you to.
I want you to take a. I want you to act in some way.
I want you to put your hands together and go like this. I'm going to pray for you.
Put your hands together and put them above your head as an offering to the Lord God, I give you my life. If that's you, no more stealing.
Let me pray for you, Father. I pray for every single person in this room whose hands are lifted up to you as an offering. They're giving their lives to you.
I thank you that you see every single one of them, that you see us.
You don't turn your back on us, ever.
You're not that kind of father.
You're not that kind of leader.
And I pray for everyone right now who's acting in faith, offering their life up to you. I pray, God, that you would pour your spirit out on them now in
[00:58:47] Speaker B: the name of Jesus. Yes, right now, in the name of Jesus.
[00:58:49] Speaker A: I see you.
[00:58:50] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:58:51] Speaker A: I pray, Father, that you would pour
[00:58:52] Speaker B: your spirit out, that there'd be an overflow, that the trajectory of our lives, the trajectory of our eternity would be changed.
This like mediocre, lukewarm form of worship that the Western church gives themselves. I pray it would die in the name of Jesus. I pray that seed would die and the fruit tree of righteousness would rise up in its place.
God, you're good to us.
[00:59:18] Speaker A: Pour your spirit out on us, I pray.
[00:59:20] Speaker B: We all need your mercy, Jesus. Sit on the throne of our lives. This isn't a game. You're coming soon.
I believe it. I see it all around me. And I pray. And I ask you to pour your spirit out on us. Apart from you, we can do nothing.
There are things at stake.
There are people that. They will not hear the gospel unless it's shared from someone in this room. I pray that you would fill us with your spirit, with power, with confidence, to talk about the kingdom of God with people we love. Please, Jesus.
[00:59:55] Speaker A: May our lives be a fragrant offering to you because you're worthy.
[01:00:00] Speaker B: Jesus. We all together say, you are worth it.
[01:00:06] Speaker A: You're worth it, Jesus.
Thank you for giving yourself to us. We give ourselves back to you in faith and all God's people said together, amen.
