[00:00:15] Andrea: Hi, my name is Andrea Bomstad and I am a member at Restore Temecula. If you are new, we want to welcome you and thank you for tuning in. We believe the church is not an event, but a family that you belong to. So. So we would love the opportunity to connect with you. If you want to learn more about our church or if we can help in any way, please visit our website at www.restortemecula.com and click on contact. We also have a mobile app with resources including our Sunday messages, information about upcoming events, and other ways to connect. You can download our app on the Apple or Android App Store. With all of that said, we hope you enjoy the mess.
[00:01:01] Tom: It's the best. Before I get started this morning, I want to share something with you that I feel like we were worshiping and thanks, Kev.
And I felt like just God spoke to my heart really clearly for somebody in the room and I just want to share this before I get started. As an act of obedience, I really got the sense that, that somebody in the room. You felt kind of cold spiritually and not because you haven't been trying, not because you're not like anti the things of the kingdom of God or anything like that, but you've just been feeling this like, just like coldness. And I got this very clear picture and I felt like it was the spirit of the Lord for you this morning of like, come draw near the flame, like come warm yourself by the fire. I really feel like God wants to bless somebody this morning. You felt spiritually cold. I think he wants to spark somebody something in you this morning. I think he wants you to be able to warm yourself by the fire by men and women who are pressing into the kingdom of God and its King Jesus in ways that are igniting who they are. And you can actually come near and warm yourself by the fire and maybe, just maybe catch fire yourself. And so that's what I think God has for somebody this morning. That being said, go ahead and grab your Bibles. We're gonna be in Matthew chapter 13 this morning.
You can put your finger on verse 47.
We are in a series entitled the King and His Kingdom where we're going through Matthew and we're going through Matthew's Gospel all through the lenses of we want to learn as much as we can about the kingdom of God and the King of the kingdom of God, Jesus the Christ the Savior, the Messiah. Now, if you're newer with us and you haven't been journeying throughout this series, when I talk about the Kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God. Those phrases are synonymous. When I speak about the kingdom of God, I'm talking about what does it look like when God gets his way. We're talking about the rule and the reign of God. Now, you don't need me to tell you this, but you can look around the world currently and you can see all sorts of things that are not operating in alignment with the will of God. He has a will, a good, perfect. It's beautiful. And the problem is that so do all of we, or so do all of us. We all have our own will. And sometimes that doesn't exactly line up with his will and crappy things happen. Pardon my language, but it's true.
And so we wanna learn as much as we can about what does it look like when God gets his way. So that's when I said. When I say the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, that's what I'm talking about. That's what we're giving ourselves over to in this series. Now, we're in a section of Matthew where Jesus is teaching a bunch of. What do you remember? Parables. Yes, he's teaching a bunch of parables. He's using these stories, these illustrations to teach people about reality.
And primarily here, he's teaching them about the kingdom of God. And he uses these parables both to teach and to confront. Okay? Jesus loves you and I enough to tell us the truth about ourselves.
And I want you to think of these parables. I've been saying this every week. I want you to think about these parables as both a mirror and a window, okay? Because that's how Jesus kind of utilizes them. When I say mirror, I mean, you know what it's like when you look in the mirror. You see a reflection of you in the state that you're in, the good, the bad and the ugly. And Jesus wants to confront us with truth, but the reason that he does that is ultimately he's doing it. Such an act of grace and an act of love to reveal reality to us so that he can pull us more and more and invite us more and more into his lordship, which is essentially where humans thrive, is in the kingdom of God, the rule of God. But not just a mirror. He uses these parables as like a window to show us to. To. To show us more about what the kingdom is like. That's a window into his rule and his reign, the way that he designed all of creation to operate. You and I. You and I included. Now, this morning, we're going to be in chapter 13, verse 47. This is the second to last parable in this kind of chunk of parables. We're going to cover the last one, most likely next week.
But before I jump in, I want to. I want to pray before we read God's word together. I want to ask God to teach us and help us. So I would love it if you would join me in prayer right now.
Father in heaven, we come to you because you invite us to as your children.
I just can't get this person out of my head this morning, Lord, and I think it's your heart.
I pray right now for those that just have been feeling spiritually cold, that by your spirit, they would warm themselves by the fire of your love and your grace. Through your word this morning, I ask that you fill me with your spirit. Fill me with power. I pray that this morning I would not get in the way and I would not even wuss out on what you want to say this morning. Please, you're worthy, Jesus.
We are here for you.
This is all primarily for you. We get to benefit in spectacular ways, but this is for you. So we yield our hearts and our minds and our bodies and our attention over to you. Would you teach us? Would you lead us? Would you help us? Would you bless us through your word? This morning, we pray in your name, Jesus. Amen.
All right, I want you to get the picture here. I'm gonna start in verse 47, but a little bit of context. Jesus, he was on this boat, all these people around the shore, and he's teaching them in these parables. And then he leaves those big crowds, right? Teaching them in parables. And he goes inside with his closest disciples, and they start asking him questions about these parables. Jesus, what does this mean? Show us more. This is kind of a. This is hard to understand. And he begins to expound on his teachings. He begins to help them understand more clearly. And he begins to tell them parables that he didn't tell everybody else. Okay, that's where we pick up here. He's in the house. I want you to get the picture. Imagine sitting around the table with Jesus.
This is cool. They're sitting around, they're talking, and Jesus is teaching them in parables. Matthew, chapter 13. Starting in verse 47, Jesus, God in the flesh, says this again. The kingdom of heaven is like. That's what he's been saying with all these parables. The kingdom of heaven is like this. The kingdom of heaven is like this. The kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the Sea.
Pause for just a second.
You Bible scholars in the room, you will know this.
Several of these men that are sitting around this table had a similar vocation.
They were fishermen, okay? They knew all about working on the sea. They knew all about catching fish.
And Jesus says to them, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea.
This is a whole nother sermon, but I feel like I have to share this piece. This morning, Jesus was speaking a language they totally understood.
I need you to know the spirit of God. When he speaks to his people, he will speak to you in a language that you understand, things that make sense to you, concepts that you have good understanding. If you're a techie person, he's gonna speak to you in kind of like techy ways. If you're really creative and really artsy, he's gonna speak to you in those ways. Like he will speak to you in a language you understand. Cause he's very personable.
He knows you and he loves you. He speaks your language. It's very personal. Let's keep going. The kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish, and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down. That means they were really intentional and gathered the good fish into containers. They would put the good fish into these containers of water to keep them alive, right?
But he says, but they threw out the worthless ones.
Verse 49. So it will be at the end of the age, the angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous, and throw them into the burning furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And that's our passage.
I just want to kind of warn you, this one's going to be a little heavy, so just kind of buckle up this morning. But I promise you, if you're able to, like, this week was. This was a tough one for me. God challenged me personally in a lot of different ways. And I think he wants to challenge some of us this morning in ways that might be really uncomfortable, but that are for your good cause he loves you. Okay? Now this parable, if you notice, it's pretty closely related to the parable that we went through a couple few weeks back on the wheat and the weeds, right? There's some things in common, actually a lot of things in common here with these two parables. I covered that one a couple weeks ago. So what I'm gonna do this morning is I'm try to avoid much of the things that I covered back a couple few weeks ago. If you Want to listen back to that message? You can.
So what I want to do before I get into my main points is I want us to get on the same page. I want us to identify together the elements of this parable that Jesus shares. Okay? So I want you to talk to me right now. The fish, what does that represent?
People. Specifically, what kinds of people?
All kinds of people. Very good. What about the net? What does the net represent?
Okay, what does it say? Keep going. The kingdom of God. Okay, so so far we have a bunch of fish that represent all kinds of people.
And then you have this net that represents the kingdom of God. What about the sea?
It's my favorite is when you hear, just like the.
So the sea is simply where the fish live, okay? It's the world that the fish live in now. And we know that fish is all kinds of people. So we can kind of identify ourselves with the fish in this parable. So think of the sea as the world that you and I live in, okay? Now remember, what is the net?
The kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of God. Okay? So hear me. Hear me. My first point, it's really simple, but it's profound. If you're taking notes, write this down. The sea we are swimming in is not the kingdom.
What was the kingdom in the parable?
The net. Stay with me. I know this is, like really intense. You guys are tired. I can see it.
The kingdom is the net. So my first point. The sea we are swimming in is not the kingdom.
My folks, they moved our family out here in this valley in the late 80s from Orange county, along with maybe many of you. I'm sure that was a pretty consistent and common thing. And what's interesting about that is I've had kind of a front row seat and watching this whole area, this whole valley just grow over the years. I mean, there was nothing out here. I want to say, like the 15 had two lanes or something crazy. It was like there was nothing here. And you just see, over the years, man, oh, man, a bunch of folks have come out here to live, and they've come out here for a reason, right? I want you to engage with me. I want you to talk to me loud and proud, and there's no wrong answers here. But, like, for those of you that are, like, local here, maybe you're not just visiting, but you live in this valley, in this area. What are some of the reasons that people choose to come live here?
Someone said.
Chloe said wine. Yeah.
She ain't no fool. She knows what's up.
What else we Got. We got wine.
Good schools.
Did somebody say affordable? That is not true.
I'm kidding. It's cheaper, considering. It really is. What else?
Sorry?
Safety. Say it again. Slower pace. What else?
The schools.
Bigger houses. More space. Yes. What else?
Clean air. Okay.
Old town. Yeah.
Politics. Okay.
Comfortable. Interesting.
I would say that that probably sums up the vast majority of the reasons that people choose to come live here. It's just simply, it's more comfortable than other places. Doesn't mean it's the most comfortable. Doesn't mean it's the best. It just means that where they're coming from, there might be a little bit more comfort available to them in this place. Now, as we go through this, I think it would be wise for us not to confuse comfort with. With peace.
When I use the word peace, I'm talking about the Jewish concept of peace. It's shalom. It means wholeness.
So while this place certainly feels more comfortable in some ways, it still lacks shalom.
Peace.
Just because it seems comfortable doesn't mean it's the kingdom.
We're talking about the kingdom of God, right? That the sea that we are swimming in is not the kingdom, even if it feels more comfortable.
I'm of the opinion that there are few things on the planet more beautiful than a pristine beach. Can I get an amen? Okay.
Like, it's starting to warm up, which feels good.
I look forward to the winter seasons for different activities, but I also, I'm in a space right now where, like, I'm ready for a good beach day. Like, I'm ready for, like, to get a nice little, like a. Not too much of a sunburn, but enough to. Where your skin feels a little bit on fire the next day. Like, I want that. Like, I want to go swim in the ocean and not like, you know, not like 55 degree Pacific Ocean. Like, did anybody go to the beach late summer last year? Dude, the water was glorious. It was warmer than I can ever remember. I want to go swim in the warm ocean. Like, I just. I'm in a spot right now. I think it's because it's spring. I'm like, I'm ready for a good beach day. And there's. But there's something about that. Like, not a gross beach. Like a pristine beach, like a Hawaiian beach. If you've ever been to Hawaii, the water's clear, the water's warm. There's animals. You can look at them. Like, I am ready for that right now. Okay.
Thank you. Thank you.
Have you ever seen, though, a beach that's like, pretty gross.
I don't want to swim in that beach.
I don't want to be there.
It's crazy. I was talking to my dad, I don't know, several months back, and he was just saying, reminiscing. He grew up in Orange county, born and raised, and he was just saying how when he was a young kid, the beaches were like, I mean, they're still beautiful, don't get me wrong. But he was like, they were different, man. It was before all the pollution kind of, you know, kicked in and we didn't steward our oceans very well.
But, like, if you've ever seen, like, on the news, whenever there's like an oil spill or some just toxic thing that sewage that seeps into the ocean and stuff. You ever seen this? Like, the oil spills are particularly gross where, like, the animals are just covered in oil and you can literally see, like, it's. It's so obvious when there's some pollution, like, you know, like an oil spill.
Have you seen how much, like, plastic and garbage and stuff has kind of been like, thrown in the ocean and stuff? I remember a couple summers ago, I was swimming in the ocean and like, a thing of garbage. Like, it was like. It was like a Cheetos bag and like, gross stuff, just like cans. And it was like, how did this get here? Like, not the same. It was interesting.
I was looking at some of the statistics around pollution in the ocean, and you have, like, the obvious oil spills, right? You can see it. It's really clear. But there's the less obvious pollution, too. There's like, the chemical runoff, like, the ag stuff. You have all these, like, just these different gross chemicals that are toxic. But the crappy thing about those is that they're clean, so you can't see them as much as you can. Like the oil spill, right? But I was
[email protected], i'm just going to geek out with you really quickly and share some stats with you.
According to oceanproject.org since 2003, there's been a, quote, significant increase in chemical pollutions in the ocean.
From 2003 to 2012, in the Pacific Ocean alone, there was a 50% increase. Anything that increases in 50% is pretty significant. Okay? Those of you that are saving for retirement or investing in different things, if you can get a 50% increase, that's a big deal. That's a lot. So from 2003 to 2012, in the Pacific Ocean alone, a 50% increase in fertilizers, pesticides, and Agricultural chemicals they found in the Pacific Ocean. It's a lot. Okay, here's what's crazy about that. That doesn't even include the microplastics.
There's so much talk right now about microplastics and how dangerous they are for organic life.
But I think the thing that's tough is, I mean, all that stuff, it's incredibly dangerous for ocean life.
But what's really worth noting is that you can't see it.
It's in the water, but it's not like the oil spill. Right? The oil spill is obvious. The chemicals, they're clear. They're not.
Both are incredibly dangerous to ocean life.
Brace yourself.
Real talk.
The valley that you live in is incredibly dangerous.
Like, listen, sure, there's way less violent crime here. That's why a lot of people move here.
You're way less likely to get mugged. You're way less likely to have your car stolen. You're way less likely to have your home broken into and burglarized. Absolutely. There's less of that obvious danger. There's less oil spills in this part of the ocean.
But just because the water looks clear doesn't mean it's clean.
Please hear me. Like, I'm not trying to freak you out, but I do want you to. I want you to see reality. This valley. Valley, it's more dangerous than you probably think it is.
One could argue it's the most dangerous kind of place. Because the toxins that we swim in, they aren't as obvious.
The oil spill is obvious. The chemicals, they're not as obvious.
Let me give you just one example. Okay? I'm going to ask you a question I actually don't want you to answer out loud right now. I just want you to have an answer for you, in you. Okay? No wrong answers. No judgment at your answer. Just be honest with yourself, okay? What would you say is the most important thing in your life?
Not like, the right answer to the test. Like, what's the most important thing in your life?
If you're having trouble identifying what it is, I want you to consider, what's the functional center of your life? What's the thing in your life that everything else revolves around? Your schedule revolves around it. Your budget revolves around it. Your attention revolves around it. It's like the most important thing, like the functional center of your life.
Are you able to identify what that is?
Now, believe it or not, how people answer that question is hugely influenced by the sea that they swim in.
I'll give you another example. Typically, people in the city, they will say things like, career. That's the function. That's why they move to the city. It has greater economic benefit. They can upward mobility. Like you go to the urban cores and people are like, I'm here to grind. I'm here to make as much money as I possibly can. I'm here to really.
The functional center of my life is my career. That's the city. The suburbs are a little different. The sea we swim in is a little bit different. What I've come to discover in the suburbs is that the answer for most folks is family.
It's family.
The sea that you're swimming in influences how you answer that question. Now, I would say it's kind of hard to argue with family being the most important thing. Right? Can we agree on that? Like, family matters. Great show.
The front row doesn't get it, which is awesome.
So great.
It was a show.
It was a show that we all grew up watching. Most of us grew up watching Urkel.
No, but it's hard to argue with that.
Serious question.
And again, guys, no judgment.
God really has been convicting me this week big time.
So no judgment for you. But serious question. Where in the Bible does it say that family is the most important thing?
Don't throw things at me right now.
I love you enough to talk about this. Open and honestly, where does it say that?
So the sea that we are swimming in, it says that family is the most important thing. So go ahead and idolize it.
Everybody else is doing it.
Go ahead.
Please hear me. Jesus is not anti family, but he is anti idolatry.
Now, it's a little different in the city, man. When we were living in the city, like, again, career tends to be that most important thing. And so everyone kind of go ahead and idolize it.
Go ahead. Everybody else is doing it. You know, it's not a big deal.
The problem is, it is a big deal.
It's a really big deal. The sea that we're swimming in, guys, is not the kingdom.
And I want you to know something. I want you to know that this comfortable valley is more dangerous than you think it is.
Oil spills are rare here, right? The obvious dangers are rare here, but the spiritual deception here is off the charts.
Just because our ocean looks clear doesn't mean it's clean.
So what's the answer to that question I asked you, if you're totally honest, today? And it changes, doesn't it? It changes for me, like, week to week.
What's the functional center of your life today?
What's the thing that is the highest priority. Everything else revolves around that. What is that for you?
The Bible says that whatever that thing is, that's what you worship.
That's what you're ascribing ultimate worth to. That's what the word worship means. And here's what's crazy. If it isn't God, which goodness, for me, so often I find myself it's not. And I'm, like, proud to say that in front of you, that's, like, embarrassing.
But if it isn't God, it's a false God.
The Bible calls false gods idols.
And here's the thing.
Good things, wonderful things, beautiful things can become idols.
Amazing things like family, wonderful things like a career.
Beautiful things like. Like your sexuality. These things can become idols. An idol, it's. It's something other than God that you ascribe ultimate worth to a functional center. But here's the crazy part. In the kingdom of God, there can be only one God, right? Ten Commandments, right? What did God say? Like, he's like, no, no, no, no. You can have no other gods before me.
Is it because he doesn't want us to live a good life? Is it because he doesn't want us to thrive? Is it because he wants to eliminate pleasure from our life? No, it's because he knows that he is the only thing. He is the pinnacle. He is the supreme thing being that would give our life meaning and significance and pleasure and goodness and all the things that our hearts crave.
He's a loving father who knows that all of the other lesser gods, the idols, they're actually counterfeit. They're worth enjoying. They're not worth worshiping. And that when we do that, it actually robs us as his people, as his children, of life, the way that he created for us to enjoy it.
And I suspect that as the designer, he knows more than I do.
Although I confess to you, if I'm honest, I don't always live that way.
More often than I'd like to admit. I live my life thinking I actually know what's best for me.
One more thing with this, our church, we unapologetically value children.
Like, I get, you know, our church, it probably isn't for everybody. We unapologetically value children. We want to leverage every resource we have to invest in the next generation we really love. Like, it's a big deal. We really value children a lot. But did you know something even as good as children can become an idol?
I see it happen all the time. I see it in my own Life, guys, I see it happen all the time, even with Christians, right? More time spent on extracurricular activities for the kids than on spiritual health.
More energy on youth sports than on strengthening your marriage for you single folks. Cause children and family tends to be idolized here, right?
The deception that you're faced with is that according to the sea that you are swimming in, you're less of a person if you're not married with kids.
It doesn't agree with the Bible.
It doesn't agree with the Gospel.
The true king says that's not true.
But so often it is. The sea that we swim in here in this place, this valley, is more dangerous than I think we realize.
So one of my big questions for us this morning, one of the things that I've been wrestling with is, are you aware of the sea that you are swimming in?
Like, are you aware of what's going on around you, of the culture that you are living in, the sea that you're swimming in? Or is the illusion of comfort that suburban culture offers, is it deceiving you?
The sea we're swimming in is not the kingdom. Now, do you realize what that means?
It means that you are living in enemy territory all the time, whether we like it or not. I know it feels comfortable, but it is a war zone spiritually.
How many of you guys watch the show or have ever seen the show? The Chosen? Raise your hand high so I can see you. Okay. A good chunk of the room. If you've never seen it, it really is a great show. It's all about the life of Jesus, his ministry, and his disciples. I think they're. Their new episodes are coming out soon, I believe, or they already have. Am I kind of in theaters? Thank you, Chloe. If you've ever seen the show, those of you that have seen the show, have you seen the intro, like the opening credits, you know, when it lists the names?
I want to. I want to play it for you this morning because I think it has really powerful imagery. I think it's an outstanding image intro. Now, when I play. We're gonna play it in just a second. When we play it, I don't want you to primarily focus on reading the names and all the people who have, you know, given themselves to put the show together. I want you to watch the fish.
I think it's brilliant. It's really simple. It's not, like, overly spectacular. But the concept, I believe, is brilliant.
It's brilliant for the chosen people who God chooses to be his children and be disciples of Jesus. Okay, I Want to just. I want you to see it visually. Those of you that have already seen it, you already know where I'm going with this. It's fine. But I want you to watch this because I think it's a powerful visual for discipleship unto Jesus. Would you guys play this for us? Quick, what did you notice?
Hold on. You can clap. Cool. What did you notice? Talk to me.
Yeah. Swimming against the current. Totally swimming against the current.
The sea that we're swimming in is not the kingdom. We're living in enemy territory.
You and I, we can either go with the flow or we can swim against the current. Like Chris said.
You can go with the flow of idolizing good things like family or kids or marriage or career or comfort or whatever, or you can swim against the current by embracing the kingdom of God, which is moving in a different direction.
Guys, please hear me.
That's what disciples of Jesus do.
That's what Christians do. They don't just fill their schedules with church stuff.
As good as that is, it's actually a really wise move to do that. However, that's not all they do.
The sea that we're swimming in is not the kingdom. It's more dangerous than we realize. If you want to dive deeper into this, into the spiritual dangers of the sea, the unique sea that we swim in, here in the suburbs is a book that I think will be helpful for you. It's called Death by Suburbs by David Goetz. Strong language. Listen, the city has its own issues, okay? There's oil spills in this city. There's awful, terrible. Every place you go, you're not gonna get away from the toxins, but you need to understand the reality of the toxins that are in the sea that you are swimming in if you are going to swim against the current. Okay, yeah. Death by Severance by David Goes. You can check that out. I'm running out of time. Okay, I want you to go with me here to the end of verse 47.
At the end of verse 47, it says, the net of the kingdom collected every kind of fish. This is my favorite verse in this entire passage.
The net of the kingdom collected every type of fish. That's my second point. The net of the kingdom embraces every kind of fish.
I want you to get this picture. The net of the kingdom, all these fish, right? Swimming in the sea, the world that they live in.
The net of the kingdom embraces every kind of fish. Young fish. I don't care how young you are.
Middle aged fish.
Maybe you have gray hair like me. Older fish. Regardless of age or stage of life, the net of the kingdom embraces every kind of fish. Big fish, small fish. It's like the Dr. Seuss book, you know, One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish, all of the fish. That was a good joke. You guys should have laughed at that one. Okay, Rich fish, middle class fish, poor fish. Like, really poor fish in our area. I think sometimes I'm not gonna go there. I'm gonna filter that hard.
Think about, like, I mean, I talk in every kind of fish.
Anxious fish, depressed fish, skeptical fish. If you're sitting here now and you're like, I don't agree with what you're saying, I'm offended. The kingdom of heaven. The net of the kingdom embraces every kind of fish. Injured fish.
You've been through it. You've been hurt, you're grieving, you're exhausted.
Young moms, you're exhausted.
You're given all that you have and another 10% more.
The kingdom of heaven embraces every kind of fish. Hear me. Even guilty fish.
Like, really guilty fish. Like fish that are guilty of things that if other fish found out about it, they would run and hide.
Scandalous guilt fish that have more than just blown it. It's been bad.
Get this.
Idolatrous fish.
Even fish that ascribe ultimate worth to false gods. Good things, but not things to be worshiped. Even idolatrous fish. The net of the kingdom of God embraces every kind of fish, friend. Like, do you realize how scandalous the gospel is that God would die for sinners?
Like, not for the good people, for the bad ones, for the people like me that have blown it over and over and over again, that I'm so susceptible in my flesh to making the functional center of my life something other than my maker, something other than my Savior, something other than my Jesus.
Something that is good but is not worth my worship. Meanwhile, my Savior with the holes in his hands patiently waiting on the outside of my heart knocking, as the Scriptures say, can I come in and eat with you?
Isn't he kind? Isn't he patient? Isn't he faithful to us?
The net of the kingdom embraces every kind of fish. Listen to me. No one is too far gone.
Some of you have been praying for people in your life for a long time that they would come to know the love of Jesus, that they would receive the gospel and be transformed. I'm here to tell you, no one is too far gone. Read the Bible, man. King David, mess. Saul, who became the apostle Paul, mess. Terrible things. No one is too far gone. No one is too big or small. No one is too idolatrous. Even the kingdom of God embraces all kinds of fish, Every kind of fish.
I don't know about you, that's really good news for me this week as I'm trying to. I'm trying to digest this and stew and study this passage. And every five seconds I'm being convicted for all of these things that I put at the functional institution center of my life.
Because this place is very comfortable.
If you're not careful, this place will lull you to sleep, friends.
Luke 21. Jesus, he warns his people against essentially like ungodliness, lulling them to sleep.
Listen to me. The oil spills obvious.
The chemicals are not.
Satan is cunning. This place is more dangerous than you think.
The net of the kingdom embraces every kind of fish. That means that the net of the kingdom embraces you right where you are. No matter what you're facing, no matter how you've blown it, no matter what idols are at the functional center of your life.
The kingdom of heaven would embrace you. The question is not will the kingdom embrace you? The question is, will will you embrace the kingdom?
That's the question. That's Jesus. Invitation over. And that's the gospel that he preached. He preached the gospel of the kingdom. He says, repent, because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It's near change. What an incredible invitation. What a gracious, loving invitation that he consistently offers. But there is an expiration date. We're going to get to this.
Can I just camp out here for just one more second? Can we talk about this?
When a person embraces the kingdom, what's the result, Biblically speaking?
Yeah. Freedom and transformation.
Salvation. That's what freedom is, right? Freedom from sin. Freedom from Satan and his just cunning schemes to destroy your life. Freedom from death. It's salvation, man. You are free from condemnation, free from guilt, free from shame. Cause Jesus took it all for you on the cross. And then transformation that through that, like literally, when you embrace God's rule and reign in your life, it transforms you. Check this out. When you obey Jesus, you start to operate like Jesus.
As obedience increases in our life, we become more like him.
That's a transformation. That's a miracle.
Check this out. When I embrace the obedience, like when I embrace the kingdom of God, I become left selfish.
I'm preoccupied with the lover of my soul in pleasing him, in receiving his love. And it starts to make me different. I start to want the things that he wants. My desires were one Thing. And now they're transforming into something else. Freedom and transformation. When a person rejects the kingdom, what's the result?
Destruction, according to Jesus the king. Destruction, man. And ultimately, as we see in this parable and other parables that we've gone through eternal judgment.
What does he say? He says a blazing furnace, weeping, gnashing of teeth.
He's talking about hell again.
Somebody way smarter than me. One Bible scholar says this quote. I think I have the quote back there, guys.
Great. Perhaps listen to this. This is big. Perhaps no doctrine is harder to accept emotionally than the doctrine of hell.
Yet it is too clear and too often mentioned in scripture either to deny or to ignore Jesus. Check this out. Jesus spoke more of hell than any of the prophets or the apostles did, perhaps for the reason that its horrible truth would be all but impossible to accept had not the Son of God himself absolutely affirmed, had special emphasis in Jesus teachings from the beginning to the end of his earthly ministry. Check this out. He said more about hell than about love, more than all other teachers in the Bible combined. He warned men of hell, promising no escape for those who refused his gracious, loving offer of salvation.
The net of the kingdom embraces every kind of fish. But sadly, and this is what drives a preacher, but sadly, not every kind of fish embraces the kingdom.
In fact, there's a whole mess of fish that wants the benefits of the kingdom, but they don't want the king.
This is all great and wonderful, but I still want to call the shots. So can I have access without submitting to his authority?
And one of the most terrifying verses in the Bible, Jesus goes, people are gonna come to me at the end, and they're gonna say, hey, didn't we, like, do all this wonderful ministry? Didn't we do all this stuff?
And Jesus says, depart from me, you workers of iniquity.
I never knew you. You.
It's terrifying.
The kingdom embraces every kind of fish.
It's great news for guys like me.
But sadly, not every fish embraces the kingdom.
Friend, what about you? Can we just. Like. So I feel like this morning I believe this with all my heart. I feel like the alarm clock's going off.
It's like, are we gonna snooze or are we gonna wake up?
Wake up.
There's so much grace for us, friend.
Unending, unmeasurable grace for us.
But if we hit the snooze button, he will respect your decision.
What about you? If you're honest right now, are you going with the flow?
Are you going with the flow? Everyone else is doing it.
It's the sea that we swim in.
Are you going with the flow? Are you embracing the idol worship? And maybe it's become such a habit, you don't even realize anymore. It's just second nature. The functional center of my life is this thing that isn't Jesus.
If you hear you're not a Christian, you have a different functional center. How's that working for you?
When Jesus isn't the functional center of my life, do you know how I feel? I feel really anxious.
I feel really unsettled.
That's God's grace on my life. What is it for you?
Are you going with the flow? Are you embracing idol worship? Are you embracing the king and his kingdom? That's the invitation and I want to encourage you. It's really good news. The kingdom, it embraces every kind of fish.
It's the gospel. All right, I'm way over time. I'm going to fly. Look back at verse 47.
I'm going to cut some stuff, but I want you guys to get some of these big pieces. I'm going to read this quickly. Look back at verse 47 again. The kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. Collected every kind of fish, Praise God. And when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. Listen to this. So it will be at the end of the age.
So it will be at the end of the age. The nlt, the new living translation, it translates it. So it will be at the end of the world.
It's okay, friends.
The world as we know it will end.
Most of what we strive for gone at the moment, right? You guys know this. All people will stand before God, give an account for our life, be judged accordingly.
But the world as we know it will end.
If you've ever gone to the grocery store, let me just put it this way. So fairly recently, I was in a hurry. I needed to go to the grocery store, I needed to get some groceries. But it was like quick. Like I had to get in and out. It was fast. I go in there, I grab some stuff, I leave, I bring it home. And I discover that I think it was bread. The bread that I had bought. The expiration date was like two days away.
And so I'm like, gosh, I shouldn't have grabbed the one in the front. I should have grabbed the one in the back that has like the, you know, two week expiration date or whatever.
It's like, man, like, have you ever Done that, you know, it's like, crap, I just wasted my money. Like, it's gonna. Maybe I'll have some of it in the next couple days. We'll make kids sandwiches or whatever, but it's gonna be gone.
But here's the thing about the grocery store.
Everything in the grocery store has an expiration date. Doesn't everything?
All the dairy products have an expiration date.
Every aisle you walk down, all those products have an expiration date.
Everything in the grocery store has an expiration date. Even the people.
My third point for you this morning, my final point, the world and everything in it has an expiration date.
We don't live that way.
I don't live that way. I just confess to you.
I don't. I want to. I should. It's wisdom. It's sober living.
But the sea that I'm swimming in, it's pretty comfortable. Sometimes, guys, too many people are spending their life on things that are expiring.
Like, do you realize the greatest resource that you have is not your money, it's your time?
And just too many people spending their life on things that are expiring. And you know what's happening in the heavenlies, in the heavenly realms? Satan is celebrating.
Listen, if Satan's ever cheering you on, you're in a bad spot, man.
Satan is cheering. He's celebrating. Guys, do you realize Satan is at war?
He's at war against the Kingdom of God. And you don't need me to tell you this, but all wars aren't fought for no reason.
Every war that's ever been fought is fought for something.
Okay, but here's the thing. Satan's very smart.
Like, he's not after things that will expire.
He's not after things that will expire?
No.
What's he after? He's after souls, dude. And he's stoked when people spend their life pursuing things that will expire.
Why?
Because to pursue things that expire is to neglect things that are eternal.
The words of Jesus have been haunting me.
Mark, chapter eight. This is verse 36 and 37. This is the new living translation. This is what Jesus says.
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?
Is anything worth more than your soul?
I don't see Jesus saying this like a jerk.
I see my Jesus saying this with an urgent compassion for you. And I did not hit the snooze button.
Is anything worth more than your soul?
Friends, to pursue things that expire is to neglect things that are eternal. And listen to me, Satan is so cunning.
He's so cunning, he's evil.
Your soul has an enemy.
Like the oil spills are obvious, the chemicals in the water are not.
And yet they are equally as dangerous.
Young people in the room. Can I talk to you guys for just a second?
If our church offers you anything, I hope and I pray that it offers you a kingdom vision for your life.
A kingdom vision for your life. A life that does not settle for a world that's expiring.
A life that's not distracted by pulling you into investing and spending your life on things that are expiring, but instead a life that pursues a kingdom that will never end.
It's an eternal perspective, okay? Like a life that is devoted to the king, the lover of your soul. The one who will never let you down. The one who will never return void. The false gods always return void. They're counterfeit. Okay, like, and not just the young people, but like everybody in the room. Do you have a vision for your life?
Do you have a vision for your life? I don't care how long you've been going at this, you could be a teenager, you could be 80.
Do you have a vision for your life?
Hear me, God does.
And it is spectacular.
It's incredible.
Dare I say it blows your imagination out of the water.
And listen, it's not like a 70 or 80 year vision.
10,000 times 10,000 times 10,000 years and you're just getting started.
Do you have a vision for your life?
Do you have a million year vision for your life?
God does.
And it's amazing.
This world and everything in it has an expiration.
I told you this one was heavy.
But I really don't want you to be deceived.
I don't want anybody in this room to waste their life and I don't want to waste mine.
All right, I'm going to call the band up.
I'm going to close.
You feel that that is.
The scriptures say that he disciplines those he loves.
There's no condemnation, no space for condemnation in this room.
I'm going to close with a story and then we're going to pray and we're going to worship.
I was in the prayer room on Tuesday morning.
And for those of you that were in the room, it was for, I should say for me it was one of the heavier beautiful. Like that morning I could. I felt so close to him, like he was speaking to me and encouraging me me and challenging me and disciplining me at the exact same time. It was like the best I Honestly, I felt like a secure child.
I felt like. I felt like a secure child. I felt like, oh, my gosh, I'm being fathered. So he's like, he's disciplining me. He's protecting me. He's saying no. But he's also lavishing me with, like, goodness and mercy and grace. Grace and love and provision. It was just like. It was like the best feeling. Like a secure child is maybe the best feeling on this side of heaven. So I'm in the prayer room. I'm feeling that.
And Mark is leading our time of blessing God. We're praising.
And there's probably 10 or 12 of us in the room or something like this.
And my parents were two of them.
And so I'm sitting in kind of the back.
I'm looking straight ahead. My brother is leading us right in front of me. My parents are right here to my left.
And I just remember thinking, like, I wonder how much pleasure my parents feel right now.
Like, I wonder what it must feel like for them to watch Mark, to listen to him leading us in, praising God and them sitting under his leadership in God's presence, knowing his story, knowing what he's been through, knowing the sacrifices that this man has made for the kingdom.
I'm not trying to, like, take treasures away from him in heaven right now. I'm going to disclose just a little bit.
Like, I just remember sitting there and being like, I wonder how much pleasure they're experiencing right now as his. As his parents, the sacrifices that he makes on the regular, like, real talk.
I'm not trying to glorify him. He's just one example of this. I think it's important.
If Mark left vocational ministry tomorrow, his salary would probably triple or quadruple, like, quick.
By worldly standards, he's falling way behind.
But the kingdom, not by kingdom standards.
And I just thought about how much pleasure they must feel like watching their son live a life caught up in the net of the kingdom.
I want that.
I want it.
I'll do whatever it takes, man.
I'll leverage every resource I have so I can sit in a room and watch my biological children and my spiritual children lay down their lives, pick up their cross for the kingdom, for the king. Do you hear me?
The pleasure.
Far too many people are spending their life on things that are expiring.
Don't waste your life.
Not everybody in this room is called the vocational ministry.
But God has got an outstanding, spectacular plan for your life. But it requires you yielding to his kingship.
It requires you becoming aware of the sea that you're swimming in and the dangerous toxins, the current that's taking you somewhere.
But I'm telling you right now, the net of the kingdom of God embraces every kind of fish. It's really good news, friends.
And so if you're here this morning and you recognize that today it changes, but today there's a functional center of your life that isn't the true king.
In John 15, Jesus says, I am the true vine.
He's the only vine that, as you attach yourself to true, you're actually going to get life apart from, he says, apart from me, you can do nothing. He says, if you abide in me, you stay with me, you remain with me, and my words remain in you. You'll bear a bunch of fruit. You'll live the life I created you to live. But if you don't, apart from me, you can do nothing.
He's the true vine.
If you're here this morning and you recognize I have a different functional center, I don't want this to be the functional center of my life anymore. I want Jesus to be the functional center of your life. I want to pray for you. If that's you, I want you to stand up right now where you're at. If you're killing it right now and that's not you, you can stay seated. That's fine. Praise be to God. But if that's you, I want to ask you to stand right now so I can pray for you.
Beautiful pray, Father, you see all and you know all.
And I just want to praise you right now in this moment for your patience. I want to praise you right now for your grace.
There's nobody like you, Jesus.
There's nobody like you.
I pray for every person who acted in faith, who publicly confessed to idolatry. I pray right now that the blood of Jesus would cleanse every part of their being, that they would experience the joy and the freedom of being forgiven.
I pray right now for the detox of heaven to wash over every single one of them.
The detox of heaven to wash over every single one of them and empower them to live differently. To live not with the flow, but against the flow. And not to leave the areas in their life, but to do it in the areas of life that they're already in.
This is the sea that you've called them to. This is where they're at.
And so whether it be in their workplace, in their homes, in their marriages, I pray that every single one of us would yield to the leadership of Your spirit and we would live life your way. We would pursue pleasing you and in the process, experiencing the pleasure of the Father.
I pray freedom and transformation for every single one of us. I pray what you pray, Jesus.
Let the kingdom of the Father come.
Let the Father's will be done in me, in every single one of us, as it is in heaven.
Father. I feel it. I feel the alarm clock going off.
Everything in this world is expiring. Let us not be men and women who spend the currency of our lives on expiring things.
Let us be men and women who, in faith, grab ahold of forgiveness, grab ahold of grace and swim against the current.
We want your kingdom, Jesus.
Bless us. We pray in your name, Jesus. Amen.
If you're on the prayer team this morning, would you make yourself available in the front, please?
What we're gonna do for the next several minutes is we're gonna respond so you can come forward for prayer at any time. If you're like, hey, I got a functional center, I want to boot this thing and put Jesus back on the throne. Come receive prayer. If there's something that's just weighing heavily on you, come receive prayer. I believe God wants to minister to you. If you want to. If you want to, come warm yourself by the fire if that's you. Come receive prayer. Okay, we're going to fill this room with prayers and gratitude for God's grace and his love. He's not done with us. He's not done with you. He's just getting started. Come receive prayer, and let's fill this room with praise. And then Mikey will pastor us to close in a bit, okay? Love you guys very much. No condemnation. Freedom.
