1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,940 So the theology in that wonderful hymn, trust and obey, 2 00:00:07,940 --> 00:00:12,540 there is no other way to be happy in Jesus. 3 00:00:12,540 --> 00:00:16,140 Growing up I always thought that was a weird lyric. 4 00:00:16,140 --> 00:00:18,340 To be happy in Jesus. 5 00:00:18,340 --> 00:00:19,520 I don't know why. 6 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:22,880 I'm not sure why that came off as weird to me. 7 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:25,780 Now as an adult it still hasn't gotten a whole lot better. 8 00:00:25,780 --> 00:00:30,320 But there's an understanding of two, really two things. 9 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:34,000 And it's what we talked about last week, Lord's Day 7. 10 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:35,700 What is true faith? 11 00:00:35,700 --> 00:00:36,000 Right? 12 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,200 It is not only a knowledge but a conviction. 13 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:45,700 Really boiled down to trusting in Jesus and obeying his word. 14 00:00:45,700 --> 00:00:48,040 That if we're equating that with quote unquote happiness, 15 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:50,280 and maybe that's why I don't like it as much, 16 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,140 is because happy is very temperamental. 17 00:00:53,140 --> 00:00:53,520 Right? 18 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:57,520 We can be happy one minute and we can be sad the next. 19 00:00:57,520 --> 00:00:58,320 How do I know? 20 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,600 Have you guys ever watched those surprise return videos 21 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:03,460 from veterans? 22 00:01:03,460 --> 00:01:05,540 Those in the services when they surprise, 23 00:01:05,540 --> 00:01:06,760 like you're shaking your head. 24 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:08,140 You know what I'm talking about. 25 00:01:08,140 --> 00:01:11,400 Like within seconds I am a mess. 26 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:12,700 I am weeping. 27 00:01:12,700 --> 00:01:13,200 Right? 28 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:14,040 And more of joy. 29 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:15,080 I don't know these people. 30 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:16,080 I'll never meet them. 31 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:18,880 But the joy they see in their kids 32 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:20,380 thinking they're going to gym class, 33 00:01:20,380 --> 00:01:23,080 and then like one of the greatest ones 34 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:24,920 was I think he was eight or nine years old. 35 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:26,420 He was going up to bat. 36 00:01:26,420 --> 00:01:30,460 And dad who had come home from being on tour for years 37 00:01:30,460 --> 00:01:32,100 was the umpire. 38 00:01:32,100 --> 00:01:33,900 And he takes the mask off and the boy 39 00:01:33,900 --> 00:01:35,360 doesn't really understand what's going on. 40 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:37,200 Then finally he does and he just kind of melts. 41 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:40,040 I'm bawling the entire time. 42 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,700 I'm not 100% sure why I brought that up. 43 00:01:42,700 --> 00:01:43,500 Well happiness. 44 00:01:43,500 --> 00:01:43,740 Got it. 45 00:01:43,740 --> 00:01:44,500 Being temperamental. 46 00:01:44,500 --> 00:01:47,880 Again, our happiness is fleeting. 47 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,340 This morning even, some of you might have woken up happy. 48 00:01:51,340 --> 00:01:53,280 Some of you didn't. 49 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,320 And then it's, I don't know why. 50 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:57,420 I won't take that personally. 51 00:01:57,420 --> 00:02:00,280 Like oh church again. 52 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:04,600 But happiness, to be happy in Jesus is to trust and obey. 53 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:09,760 And I guess happiness in Jesus really is one of the goals. 54 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:10,500 Right Morgan? 55 00:02:10,500 --> 00:02:12,260 You are way happy in Jesus. 56 00:02:12,260 --> 00:02:15,240 She leans on the former more than the latter. 57 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:18,600 But there's an understanding that when our kids always 58 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:23,040 desire to be happy as parents, it's exhausting. 59 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:26,980 That at times your kid's just not going to be happy. 60 00:02:26,980 --> 00:02:29,660 Because happiness is temporary. 61 00:02:29,660 --> 00:02:30,620 It is fleeting. 62 00:02:30,620 --> 00:02:32,160 This idea of this too shall end. 63 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:33,420 Both sides of the coin. 64 00:02:33,420 --> 00:02:34,820 Good things and bad. 65 00:02:34,820 --> 00:02:38,900 And so what the first 11 chapters of the book of Hebrews 66 00:02:38,900 --> 00:02:41,760 have done is really given us a foundation 67 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:43,840 of why Jesus is the best. 68 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:46,260 Why Jesus is greater than Moses. 69 00:02:46,260 --> 00:02:48,180 Jesus is greater than angels. 70 00:02:48,180 --> 00:02:49,880 Jesus is greater than the prophets. 71 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:52,280 Jesus is the greatest covenant. 72 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,020 That he has done, the writer of Hebrews for us 73 00:02:55,020 --> 00:02:59,920 and for the readers in this time, or more so listeners, 74 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:01,320 is that Jesus is the best. 75 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,180 Why would we go anywhere else? 76 00:03:04,180 --> 00:03:07,660 Why would we subscribe to any other belief system? 77 00:03:07,660 --> 00:03:09,520 It's Jesus period. 78 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:11,560 End of discussion. 79 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:13,860 Yet even some of us in here struggle with that. 80 00:03:13,860 --> 00:03:16,660 Some of you online struggle with that today. 81 00:03:16,660 --> 00:03:19,840 Is Jesus the best? 82 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,240 Because what I'm dealing with right now is not the best. 83 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,880 So if Jesus is the best but I'm dealing with junk right now 84 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:32,080 and I'm a follower of Jesus, then maybe Jesus is junk. 85 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:35,180 That some of us have that weird algorithm 86 00:03:35,180 --> 00:03:37,360 that what I'm feeling in the moment really 87 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:40,960 tells me about who God is. 88 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,000 Friend, that's not how it goes. 89 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:45,760 It's never been about you. 90 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:47,160 It's never been about me. 91 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:53,040 It's been about trusting and obeying. 92 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:54,900 I'm going to ask a question. 93 00:03:54,900 --> 00:03:58,840 What if it was obey and trust? 94 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:01,140 Now obviously it wouldn't work for the songwriter 95 00:04:01,140 --> 00:04:03,620 because you're working on the rhyming and the flow 96 00:04:03,620 --> 00:04:05,980 and the melodies of the hymnist and that's great. 97 00:04:05,980 --> 00:04:09,160 But what if it was, it's trust and what if it was obey 98 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:11,580 and then trust? 99 00:04:11,580 --> 00:04:14,620 Does that change it for you? 100 00:04:14,620 --> 00:04:17,300 Anybody? 101 00:04:17,300 --> 00:04:19,200 What? 102 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:20,340 It's authoritarian. 103 00:04:20,340 --> 00:04:23,340 Mel Brooks, one block. 104 00:04:23,340 --> 00:04:25,900 I will give you to the end of Mel Brooks 105 00:04:25,900 --> 00:04:29,280 and then you will continue on and I will be proud of myself 106 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:31,040 that I ran a block. 107 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:32,080 But there's endurance. 108 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:34,040 She's doing this to build up. 109 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:37,020 And what the writer of Hebrews and what in the first century, 110 00:04:37,020 --> 00:04:38,620 this would have made a lot more sense 111 00:04:38,620 --> 00:04:40,620 because running was it. 112 00:04:40,620 --> 00:04:42,520 Right, they had the Olympics and different things 113 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:46,960 and all these different events and wrestling, javelin, 114 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:48,000 all of those things. 115 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,400 But running was like the creme de la creme. 116 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:56,400 It was the greatest athlete that you could have was a runner. 117 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:58,440 Another reason why I would not have made it 118 00:04:58,440 --> 00:04:59,340 in the first century. 119 00:04:59,340 --> 00:05:01,980 We'll just add that to the list of the reasons why. 120 00:05:01,980 --> 00:05:04,340 But running was such a big deal. 121 00:05:04,340 --> 00:05:07,920 The writer of Hebrews is saying something very specifically 122 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:12,480 here because you just don't decide one day you're a runner 123 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,520 and then not do anything. 124 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:20,320 No couch potato ever said my greatest hobby is running. 125 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:24,060 No, that runners, you have to build up to it. 126 00:05:24,060 --> 00:05:27,260 That running, and especially running a race, 127 00:05:27,260 --> 00:05:30,840 is you have to do your due diligence in your training. 128 00:05:30,840 --> 00:05:31,480 Right? 129 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:34,240 I look over at the Wearing a Girls and they're in softball. 130 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:36,940 Do you guys like to run? 131 00:05:36,940 --> 00:05:37,440 Yes? 132 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:39,040 One saying no. 133 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:39,720 I love them. 134 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:40,640 They're great. 135 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:45,240 But for softball and baseball, you only have to sprint. 136 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:46,680 And we have Abacus, right? 137 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:47,720 She hits bombs. 138 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:49,680 And Homer, so she just gets to trot. 139 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:53,200 But for me, I just had to sprint 90 feet. 140 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:54,160 That's it. 141 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:56,160 And then I was good. 142 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:57,960 Most of the times because I got thrown out. 143 00:05:57,960 --> 00:05:59,160 And so I didn't have to run. 144 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:00,080 I was in the dugout. 145 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:03,840 But understanding that running, you are enduring it. 146 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:05,800 This is something that you have to endure. 147 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,880 I've known people that have run marathons. 148 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:13,240 That's 26.2 miles. 149 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:15,480 That's insanity. 150 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:16,560 You have a bike. 151 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:17,920 You have a car. 152 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:19,200 You have a scooter. 153 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,000 You have roller blades if it's 1993. 154 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:23,520 Do that. 155 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:24,040 Right? 156 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:26,160 It makes so much more sense. 157 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:27,360 But they want to run. 158 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,320 And I've heard wonderful stories of people that have finished. 159 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:32,800 I've also heard horrible stories about people that didn't. 160 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:36,000 But understand that to run something like that 161 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:37,400 takes endurance. 162 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,240 It takes encouragement. 163 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:42,160 It takes an example. 164 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:48,480 It takes a lot to run a race encapsulated in these verses. 165 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:50,080 And here's the thing. 166 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:53,240 First century arenas, they would have the track. 167 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:53,720 Right? 168 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:56,160 It's very similar if you go to the local high school now. 169 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:58,000 You have the track around the football field. 170 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,680 And you have these grandstands on either side. 171 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:04,120 It was very different in the first century. 172 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:06,600 Yes, they had some grandstands on the side. 173 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:10,560 But the biggest one was in the front of the stadium. 174 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:13,200 That the stadiums had these elevated seats. 175 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:14,640 It's where the royalty was. 176 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:16,920 Because when you ran, you weren't running 177 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:18,400 for the people around you. 178 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:21,480 You were running for the person in front of you. 179 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,240 You were running for the royalty. 180 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:26,120 Because for whatever reason, they 181 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,920 were the ones that are giving the money, giving the freedom. 182 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:31,040 Sometimes people ran to set themselves free, 183 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,960 much like gladiators did back in the day. 184 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:35,840 And understanding that you weren't 185 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:37,240 running for the people around you. 186 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:39,360 You were running for the people in front of you. 187 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:41,560 The royalty, the kings and the queens, 188 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:44,680 it makes this verse really pop out. 189 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:48,280 We are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. 190 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:52,120 We had just come off the chapter about faith. 191 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:53,800 And if we go to chapter 11, right? 192 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:55,440 By faith, Abraham. 193 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:56,800 By faith, Moses. 194 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:59,960 By faith, the people across the Red Sea, the Israelites. 195 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:03,560 By faith, Gideon and David and Samuel. 196 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:04,280 By faith. 197 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:05,000 By faith. 198 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:07,600 By faith. 199 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:10,680 Now what the writer is saying is you have all of these people 200 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,680 that have run their race, yet there 201 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:16,960 is one for which you run. 202 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:17,960 That's Jesus. 203 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:18,760 Thank you, Siri. 204 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:24,720 That's Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith. 205 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:26,600 Friends, that means something. 206 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:30,960 That means your faith does not have to be defined by you. 207 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:33,640 Because then we're going to get into the obey and trust. 208 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,120 I've also heard horrible stories about people that didn't. 209 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,320 But understand that to run something like that 210 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:40,720 takes endurance. 211 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:43,560 It takes encouragement. 212 00:08:43,560 --> 00:08:45,480 It takes an example. 213 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:51,800 It takes a lot to run a race encapsulated in these verses. 214 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:53,360 And here's the thing. 215 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:56,880 First century arenas, they would have the track. 216 00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:59,480 It's very similar if you go to the local high school now. 217 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:01,400 You have the track around the football field, 218 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:05,040 and you have these grandstands on either side. 219 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:07,480 It was very different in the first century. 220 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:09,960 Yes, they had some grandstands on the sides, 221 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:13,960 but the biggest one was in the front of the stadium. 222 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:16,560 That the stadiums had these elevated seats. 223 00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:18,040 It's where the royalty was. 224 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:21,000 Because when you ran, you weren't running for the people 225 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:21,760 around you. 226 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:24,880 You were running for the person in front of you. 227 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:27,640 You were running for the royalty. 228 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:29,640 Because for whatever reason, they 229 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:32,280 were the ones that are giving the money, giving the freedom. 230 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:34,400 Sometimes people ran to set themselves free, 231 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:37,280 much like gladiators did back in the day. 232 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:39,560 And understanding that you weren't running 233 00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:40,600 for the people around you. 234 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:42,720 You were running for the people in front of you. 235 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:44,920 The royalty, the kings and the queens, 236 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:48,040 it makes this verse really pop out. 237 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:51,640 We are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. 238 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:55,480 We had just come off the chapter about faith. 239 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,800 And if you go to chapter 11, by faith Abraham, 240 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,320 by faith Moses, by faith the people across the Red Sea, 241 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:06,920 the Israelites, by faith Gideon and David and Samuel, 242 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:10,960 by faith, by faith, by faith. 243 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:14,000 Now what the writer is saying is you have all of these people 244 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,000 that have run their race, yet there 245 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:20,320 is one for which you run. 246 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:21,280 That's Jesus. 247 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:22,120 Thank you, Siri. 248 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:28,080 That's Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith. 249 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:29,960 Friends, that means something. 250 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:34,320 That means your faith does not have to be defined by you. 251 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,000 Because then we're going to get into the obey and trust. 252 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,960 If your faith is defined by what you want to define it about, 253 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:42,480 it's going to be faith in self. 254 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:44,320 It's not going to be faith in anybody else. 255 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:46,680 Even if you're a real believer, you 256 00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:51,040 have that flesh side in you that loves to be worshiped. 257 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:55,680 That flesh side inside of you that loves to sin. 258 00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:58,440 And if we're going to be the ones that author and perfect 259 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:03,240 our faith, how can we perfect something as imperfect beings? 260 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:06,440 It doesn't work. 261 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:10,240 And so understanding that Jesus, the author and perfecter 262 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:14,440 of the faith, for the joy set before him, 263 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:20,120 we're looking to him because he ran his race. 264 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:22,400 And it's such a beautiful set of verses. 265 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:25,640 For the joy set before him endured the cross, 266 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:28,560 despising the shame, and is seated 267 00:11:28,560 --> 00:11:31,480 at the right hand of God. 268 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:37,440 That that is the definition of your faith. 269 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:41,720 Your faith is defined by Christ, your relationship with Christ, 270 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:47,880 and his covenants with you, with us, with the church. 271 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:49,560 And so what we have to understand 272 00:11:49,560 --> 00:11:54,520 is our duty is to trust the faith that God 273 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:56,560 has set in our hearts. 274 00:11:56,560 --> 00:11:58,240 The spirit is put in your hearts. 275 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:01,120 We use the term regenerated in the Reformed faith. 276 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:03,960 That faith has been made known to you. 277 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,120 You don't come up with it. 278 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:09,280 It's the joke that I think I tried a couple of weeks ago. 279 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:12,320 It's like watching a URC church sing, 280 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:13,760 I've decided to follow Jesus. 281 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:17,480 Wow. 282 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:21,360 OK, that we don't actually believe that. 283 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:22,160 I have Dan. 284 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:23,960 Well, he laughed, so that's good. 285 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:28,800 But understand that we're taking the us out of it. 286 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:30,480 I'm taking the you out of it. 287 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:32,760 I'm taking the us out of it. 288 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:36,400 Jesus had to set it first. 289 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:40,640 We would not have known how to do this if it wasn't for Jesus. 290 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:43,200 We couldn't say, well, I follow the faith of Moses. 291 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:43,760 Nope. 292 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:44,260 Why? 293 00:12:44,260 --> 00:12:45,360 Because he was fallible. 294 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:46,840 He sinned. 295 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:47,880 He disobeyed. 296 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:48,380 Why? 297 00:12:48,380 --> 00:12:49,960 I follow the faith of Noah. 298 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:51,360 Well, that's a good one. 299 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:52,760 That's a good example. 300 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:54,760 But he didn't go all the way. 301 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:58,360 Jesus is the one that went all the way to the point of death. 302 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:03,440 That he followed the Father's call for his life. 303 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:06,080 For the joy set before him endured the cross, 304 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:08,280 despising its shame, and is seated 305 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:09,240 at the right hand of God. 306 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:11,960 James, next verses. 307 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:15,920 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility 308 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:20,000 against him so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 309 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:21,920 In your struggle against sin, you 310 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:26,040 have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. 311 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:33,680 That's huge that Christ did it. 312 00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:36,920 Now, some of us, we still may. 313 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:39,680 We think about the martyrs that have gone before us. 314 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:41,040 You think about Jim Elliot. 315 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,520 You think about those in the first and second century 316 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:46,800 that were put to death for their faith. 317 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:49,280 The Roman Empire did a great job of killing most 318 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:53,280 of the disciples in very ugly ways. 319 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:56,480 You could go back and read about 10 of the 12 320 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:00,840 that were executed, martyred in really disgusting ways 321 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,640 by the Romans. 322 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:07,640 But they followed the example of Christ. 323 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:12,640 And that's really easy to say in 2023 at 214 Ridge Road. 324 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:16,080 Because I look out and I go, hmm, Northwest Indiana, 325 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:21,280 Chicagoland area, Midwest, we're all somewhat similar. 326 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:25,600 There's not a lot of quote unquote, 327 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:27,280 there is persecution going on. 328 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:29,080 I don't want to say that. 329 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:32,800 But we don't really have a group like the Roman Empire 330 00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:35,840 seeking us out in our homes to kill us. 331 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:39,840 There are freedoms of religion in our country. 332 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:42,680 There are freedoms of belief. 333 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:45,280 Though we need to be on guard and though we need to keep 334 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:48,480 an eye, because yeah, there are some areas it's like, 335 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:50,880 oh, it's coming. 336 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,880 It wasn't like this. 337 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:57,280 Yet that is the example that our faith has been given 338 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:01,680 and that we need to trust and obey. 339 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:03,600 Because I don't know, I don't know if I'm going to be 340 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,480 able to do that, because I don't know. 341 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:07,680 I don't know the future. 342 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:09,640 I don't have a crystal ball, nor do we believe in that. 343 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:11,680 In the name of asking our kids to clean their room, 344 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:16,280 I may or may not say I bet Jesus' room was always clean. 345 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:18,680 You don't want to do that because biblically I don't know 346 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:21,640 if it's accurate, but also understand that you don't want 347 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:24,880 to use Jesus as kind of a slam that way. 348 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:28,400 And you don't want to use that as a guilt. 349 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:31,680 But it's hey, we are your parents, we're asking you 350 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:35,400 to clean your room, and part of what it means to be a believer 351 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:38,480 is to honor your parents. 352 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:45,280 So it would honor me greatly if you would clean your room. 353 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:48,080 That's more the way I feel like it should be done, 354 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:51,800 because the Jesus guilt doesn't always work, right? 355 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:56,080 And it may mess some kids up far along the way later in life. 356 00:15:56,080 --> 00:16:00,800 But understand that active discipline, just because you're 357 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:03,280 saved doesn't mean you get away with it. 358 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:05,080 Just because you're saved doesn't mean there aren't 359 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:08,200 consequences for bad choices. 360 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:11,200 Some people have that weird understanding of Christianity 361 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:13,400 that I can do whatever I want. 362 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:16,400 I'm a believer, I'm saved, I'm good, we're reformed. 363 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:20,280 We can't lose our salvation, so I'm going to do whatever I can. 364 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:24,080 Go back two weeks, where we started talking about false 365 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:26,600 conversions and what that looks like. 366 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:29,200 Do you not think God knows what you're doing? 367 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:31,800 God is the ultimate parent. 368 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:35,200 God understands what you're going to do before you do it. 369 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:38,200 Though we try, we're getting kind of good at it. 370 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,400 Sometimes we're way off. 371 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:42,000 God's not. 372 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:43,000 God sees it. 373 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:44,000 God knows. 374 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:45,880 God understands. 375 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:48,400 And then we could turn, well, if God doesn't, why does He let 376 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:52,800 me do it? 377 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:57,480 How would that always work in your household? 378 00:16:57,480 --> 00:16:59,600 Your kids would never do anything. 379 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:01,400 Your kids would probably be in their room by themselves 380 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:02,800 forever. 381 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:04,800 And some of you are like, good, I'll sign on to that. 382 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:07,600 No, that's not how it's supposed to go. 383 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:09,600 Because we're supposed to walk things out. 384 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:11,200 We trust and obey. 385 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:15,600 Hopefully my boys trust that we have their best, their 386 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:17,600 livelihood, for the best.