WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.640 Man, so good to be with you guys today. Good 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:04.679 to just be able to open God's word, get to hang 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:07.480 out today. I want to welcome everyone online 00:00:07.480 --> 00:00:09.759 that are watching, our online fam that's joining 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:12.660 us from everywhere you can imagine. They're here 00:00:12.660 --> 00:00:16.500 joining us, and we get to be one family worshiping 00:00:16.500 --> 00:00:19.500 God together. Super excited about that. Hey, 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:21.300 have you ever had something important to say, 00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:23.679 but not a lot of time to say it? Anyone here 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:25.179 know what I'm talking about? Like, you're like, 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:27.140 man, I got really important things to say. I 00:00:27.140 --> 00:00:29.109 just don't have a lot of time. to say it, right? 00:00:29.149 --> 00:00:30.870 Usually this happens for me when I'm in line 00:00:30.870 --> 00:00:33.909 at the grocery store and I call my wife and I'm 00:00:33.909 --> 00:00:36.409 like, hey, did I get everything that you asked 00:00:36.409 --> 00:00:38.329 me to get? And she's like, well, let me tell 00:00:38.329 --> 00:00:40.189 you about my day. And I'm like, I don't got time. 00:00:40.670 --> 00:00:43.229 Like I'm getting close. I have a limited amount 00:00:43.229 --> 00:00:45.609 of time in order to tell you the things that 00:00:45.609 --> 00:00:48.130 I need to tell you. I think that was Jesus's 00:00:48.130 --> 00:00:51.729 entire ministry. He had three years to tell us 00:00:51.729 --> 00:00:53.770 the most important information that this world 00:00:53.770 --> 00:00:56.619 will ever hear. He had only three years to pack 00:00:56.619 --> 00:00:58.759 in the most important information that we will 00:00:58.759 --> 00:01:01.799 ever hear. And he lived this story of his life. 00:01:01.859 --> 00:01:04.739 And in these three years we have recorded in 00:01:04.739 --> 00:01:06.459 the Bible, we can read about his life. We can 00:01:06.459 --> 00:01:08.519 read about his birth, a little bit of his raising, 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:11.560 but his ministry primarily in the book of Matthew, 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:15.040 Mark, Luke, and John. And we see that, but we 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:17.099 see everything that Jesus said was important. 00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:19.680 But when you get down to the end of what someone 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:23.129 says, the last words, The last things that they're 00:01:23.129 --> 00:01:24.670 gonna say, usually that's the most important. 00:01:24.849 --> 00:01:26.989 All right, I'm gonna let you in on a secret here. 00:01:27.269 --> 00:01:29.430 The secret is when John and I prepare a message, 00:01:29.650 --> 00:01:32.069 we usually put the thing that we want you to 00:01:32.069 --> 00:01:34.969 remember the most at the very end. We're like, 00:01:35.049 --> 00:01:36.890 man, okay, all of it's great, but listen, this 00:01:36.890 --> 00:01:38.670 is what I want you to hear the most. These are 00:01:38.670 --> 00:01:40.450 the last words. These are the important ones. 00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:43.030 All right, now that's not permission for you 00:01:43.030 --> 00:01:45.269 to check out. All right, some of you are like, 00:01:45.290 --> 00:01:47.250 all right, I can check back in in 25 minutes, 00:01:47.430 --> 00:01:49.750 right? Or if John's preaching, 35 minutes, I 00:01:49.750 --> 00:01:52.879 can check back in. I'm not saying that. All of 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:55.840 it's good stuff. All of it's good stuff. But 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:57.620 man, usually the last words are the most important 00:01:57.620 --> 00:01:58.840 ones. These are what I want you to remember. 00:01:59.159 --> 00:02:01.719 I do that with my kids. When my older ones are 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:04.219 watching my younger ones and I go, okay, I'm 00:02:04.219 --> 00:02:05.680 going to leave the house. I give them instructions, 00:02:05.819 --> 00:02:07.680 but I got to know these are the last words you 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:10.580 need to know. These are the last words. Okay, 00:02:10.659 --> 00:02:12.439 the food on the counter, that's what you are 00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:15.240 going to eat. Do not open the door for anyone. 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:17.960 I don't care who they are. Okay, keep the two 00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:19.539 -year -old locked in the cage. Ready, bye. Boom, 00:02:19.639 --> 00:02:22.840 right? Listen, I don't lock a two -year -old 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:25.300 in the cage that much, okay? I'm just saying, 00:02:25.419 --> 00:02:27.680 I'm just saying. No, I don't at all. Don't write 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:30.319 me an email. I don't at all. But usually the 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:31.719 last words are the important ones, man. This 00:02:31.719 --> 00:02:34.939 is what I want you to know. See, Jesus, he has 00:02:34.939 --> 00:02:37.680 a few last words that he says when he's in the 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:41.060 end of his life. When he's on a cross, he says 00:02:41.060 --> 00:02:43.099 some things that, man, when you know you don't 00:02:43.099 --> 00:02:45.379 have a lot of time, those things are really, 00:02:45.460 --> 00:02:48.479 really important. What you say carries weight. 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:51.060 And so we're gonna look over the next couple 00:02:51.060 --> 00:02:53.620 of weeks leading up to Easter at Jesus's last 00:02:53.620 --> 00:02:56.180 words. We're gonna look at what he said and what 00:02:56.180 --> 00:02:59.639 we can learn as we look at just the end of his 00:02:59.639 --> 00:03:02.560 life, right? The end of Jesus's life here and 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:05.539 how he handles those last couple of hours of 00:03:05.539 --> 00:03:08.780 his life. So before we hop into God's word, would 00:03:08.780 --> 00:03:12.060 you pray with me? God, thank you so much that 00:03:12.060 --> 00:03:14.199 we are here today. God, I pray that you would 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:17.500 use me, speak through my words to our hearts. 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:21.919 I pray this in Jesus' name, amen. So Jesus is 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:24.900 falsely convicted. Jesus is on trial and he's 00:03:24.900 --> 00:03:26.800 falsely convicted and he's sentenced to death, 00:03:26.900 --> 00:03:29.719 death on a cross. And so Jesus finds himself 00:03:29.719 --> 00:03:32.020 in this place where he is headed to a cross and 00:03:32.020 --> 00:03:35.060 he is nailed to a cross and he is hung on a cross. 00:03:35.620 --> 00:03:37.479 And there's different types of people around 00:03:37.479 --> 00:03:40.219 this area that are looking because Jesus, as 00:03:40.219 --> 00:03:41.740 he's nailed to this cross, he's at this place 00:03:41.740 --> 00:03:43.740 called Golgotha, which means the place of the 00:03:43.740 --> 00:03:46.270 skull. And I think when we think of this place 00:03:46.270 --> 00:03:48.030 where Jesus was crucified, where the cross is, 00:03:48.169 --> 00:03:50.909 we think of the artist's rendition of this, where 00:03:50.909 --> 00:03:52.550 there's kind of a mountain and three crosses 00:03:52.550 --> 00:03:55.090 on top of this mountain. But when I was in Israel 00:03:55.090 --> 00:03:57.189 a couple of years ago, I was able to see the 00:03:57.189 --> 00:03:59.610 place they call the place of the skull, Golgotha. 00:03:59.629 --> 00:04:01.849 And really what it was, was this giant rock that 00:04:01.849 --> 00:04:04.810 resembled a skull. And they would crucify people 00:04:04.810 --> 00:04:08.069 below this rock on ground level. In fact, it 00:04:08.069 --> 00:04:10.110 was right in front of this road, this main road, 00:04:10.210 --> 00:04:11.930 this main thoroughfare that people would go on. 00:04:12.030 --> 00:04:14.069 And the reason that the Romans did this is because 00:04:14.069 --> 00:04:16.829 they wanted people that were walking by to see 00:04:16.829 --> 00:04:18.790 the people that were crucifying and say, oh man, 00:04:18.870 --> 00:04:20.290 if that's the punishment, I'm not doing that. 00:04:20.709 --> 00:04:24.069 They get a front row seat to look at the punishment 00:04:24.069 --> 00:04:26.490 for if they mess up, if they do anything against 00:04:26.490 --> 00:04:28.149 what the Roman empire wants them to do. And so 00:04:28.149 --> 00:04:30.410 that's where this place was. So there's onlookers 00:04:30.410 --> 00:04:32.089 that are in this place as Jesus is hanging on 00:04:32.089 --> 00:04:34.600 this cross. There's different groups of onlookers, 00:04:34.620 --> 00:04:37.019 right? You have the soldiers who are crucifying 00:04:37.019 --> 00:04:38.699 Jesus. And at this point, what they're doing 00:04:38.699 --> 00:04:40.980 is they're dividing up his clothes and they're 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:42.959 casting lots to say, who gets the free clothes? 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:44.980 This guy's not gonna need them. He's about to 00:04:44.980 --> 00:04:48.379 die. So who gets free clothes? So they're dividing 00:04:48.379 --> 00:04:50.420 their clothes there. All right, you have a part 00:04:50.420 --> 00:04:52.019 of the crowd out there that's watching and they're 00:04:52.019 --> 00:04:53.980 looking. And these are the ones that are cheering 00:04:53.980 --> 00:04:55.519 on because they're like, man, kill this guy. 00:04:55.579 --> 00:04:58.420 We want him to be crucified. And you have this 00:04:58.420 --> 00:05:00.060 other part of the crowd that's there that's maybe 00:05:00.060 --> 00:05:02.220 just onlookers. They're walking past and they're 00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:03.459 looking. They're like, I wonder what's going 00:05:03.459 --> 00:05:05.740 on here. Doesn't look like a good day for that 00:05:05.740 --> 00:05:07.639 guy. They don't know what's going on, but they're 00:05:07.639 --> 00:05:10.100 kind of just seeing what's happening. And then 00:05:10.100 --> 00:05:12.579 you have a small group of Jesus's supporters 00:05:12.579 --> 00:05:14.980 because most of them had scattered. You know, 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:17.459 Peter, he's off denying Jesus somewhere. Thomas 00:05:17.459 --> 00:05:19.220 is probably off doubting somewhere. I don't know 00:05:19.220 --> 00:05:21.600 what he's doing. Come on, that's a church joke 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:23.819 right there. Doubting Thomas? You all need to 00:05:23.819 --> 00:05:27.550 read your Bible more. But there's a small group 00:05:27.550 --> 00:05:29.769 of actual supporters that are still there for 00:05:29.769 --> 00:05:32.069 Jesus. And as Jesus is on the cross, he addresses 00:05:32.069 --> 00:05:36.129 them in John chapter 19, verse 25. He says this, 00:05:36.290 --> 00:05:39.689 near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his 00:05:39.689 --> 00:05:43.449 mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Colopus, and 00:05:43.449 --> 00:05:46.370 Mary Magdalene. He's looking at his little tiny 00:05:46.370 --> 00:05:47.970 group of supporters, and these are the ones that 00:05:47.970 --> 00:05:49.750 are still there for him. These are the ones that 00:05:49.750 --> 00:05:52.290 are still there in the midst of him being crucified 00:05:52.290 --> 00:05:55.089 on this cross. And he says something here that 00:05:55.089 --> 00:05:58.449 is completely unexpected, completely unexpected. 00:05:58.790 --> 00:06:01.649 Like Jesus is in a terrible situation. He's in 00:06:01.649 --> 00:06:03.949 the ultimate tough situation. There is not one 00:06:03.949 --> 00:06:05.610 of us in here that can relate to what Jesus was 00:06:05.610 --> 00:06:07.230 going through because none of us have been crucified 00:06:07.230 --> 00:06:10.209 before. Jesus is crucified. He's on a cross. 00:06:10.269 --> 00:06:12.529 He's about to die. He's beaten, not just with 00:06:12.529 --> 00:06:14.930 physical pain, but with the spiritual pain of 00:06:14.930 --> 00:06:16.670 taking the sin of the world on him. And he's 00:06:16.670 --> 00:06:19.980 on this cross. He says something completely unexpected. 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:22.740 See, when I'm in a tough situation, I say exactly 00:06:22.740 --> 00:06:25.779 what's expected, right? Like I stub my toe and 00:06:25.779 --> 00:06:28.779 I'm not like, oh, praise Jesus right now, right? 00:06:28.819 --> 00:06:31.779 Like I say what's expected in that moment, right? 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:33.579 Like if I'm driving and someone cuts me off, 00:06:33.660 --> 00:06:35.560 I'm not like, oh, but just blessings on your 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:37.939 family right now, right? Like that's not me. 00:06:37.980 --> 00:06:39.639 I say what's expected, right? I usually wave 00:06:39.639 --> 00:06:41.459 at them with one finger. You know what I'm saying? 00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:44.420 Like, I don't do that. I don't do that. But some 00:06:44.420 --> 00:06:46.470 of you do. And listen to me. You need to take 00:06:46.470 --> 00:06:48.449 that height sticker off the back of your car. 00:06:50.029 --> 00:06:51.689 Some of you driving with that height sticker 00:06:51.689 --> 00:06:57.370 and I'm like, yo, chill. Right, in those moments, 00:06:57.430 --> 00:06:59.189 I say what's expected, right? If I'm in the backyard 00:06:59.189 --> 00:07:01.490 and I'm playing cornhole and someone beats me, 00:07:02.230 --> 00:07:04.310 oh, come on, that's not happening. Come on, you 00:07:04.310 --> 00:07:07.689 know that. You know that's not happening. But 00:07:07.689 --> 00:07:10.129 I say what's expected in those tough situations, 00:07:10.370 --> 00:07:13.029 in those moments. Jesus here is in the ultimate 00:07:13.029 --> 00:07:17.529 tough situation. And what he says is not expected. 00:07:17.930 --> 00:07:21.550 What he says is this in verse 26. When Jesus 00:07:21.550 --> 00:07:24.170 saw his mother there and the disciple whom he 00:07:24.170 --> 00:07:27.490 loved standing nearby, he said to her, woman, 00:07:27.689 --> 00:07:31.509 here is your son. And to the disciple, here is 00:07:31.509 --> 00:07:34.610 your mother. If you're taking notes today, write 00:07:34.610 --> 00:07:37.730 this down. Jesus is still caring for and focusing 00:07:37.730 --> 00:07:42.149 on others. Jesus is still caring for and focusing 00:07:42.149 --> 00:07:44.829 on others in the middle of this situation. Listen, 00:07:44.910 --> 00:07:47.750 he's worried about his mom. He's like, mom, what's 00:07:47.750 --> 00:07:49.709 gonna happen to you when I'm gone? Because Mary, 00:07:49.889 --> 00:07:52.410 who's married to Joseph, we know the Christmas 00:07:52.410 --> 00:07:55.069 story, Joseph passes away, she's a widow now. 00:07:55.329 --> 00:07:57.149 And in that culture, you have to have someone 00:07:57.149 --> 00:07:58.769 to take care of you or you don't have shelter, 00:07:58.949 --> 00:08:01.410 you don't have food, you don't have a life. You 00:08:01.410 --> 00:08:03.949 need somebody to take care of you. And he knows 00:08:03.949 --> 00:08:08.029 the husband's gone, Joseph's gone. Jesus as the 00:08:08.029 --> 00:08:09.930 oldest son is the one taking care of his mother. 00:08:10.389 --> 00:08:12.769 And if you look at this, if you know Jesus had 00:08:12.769 --> 00:08:15.389 brothers, and so the question a lot of times 00:08:15.389 --> 00:08:17.750 is, well, what about his brothers? Why would 00:08:17.750 --> 00:08:19.589 Jesus choose this disciple here for his mom to 00:08:19.589 --> 00:08:21.829 take care of his mom when it would just be the 00:08:21.829 --> 00:08:23.930 duty of the brothers to step in here? And we 00:08:23.930 --> 00:08:26.250 know from scripture, Jesus's brothers were named 00:08:26.250 --> 00:08:29.430 James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. But here's the 00:08:29.430 --> 00:08:32.610 thing, they didn't believe in him. They didn't 00:08:32.610 --> 00:08:34.809 believe. It says in John chapter seven, verse 00:08:34.809 --> 00:08:38.039 five, for even his own brothers, did not believe 00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:42.440 in him. And side note, I think this is one of 00:08:42.440 --> 00:08:45.960 the most incredible things about the resurrection 00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:49.559 that proves its validity, that proves its truth, 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:52.519 is that Jesus' brothers did not believe in him 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:55.919 before the resurrection. He said, hey, I'm gonna 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:57.360 die and I'm gonna raise again. And his brothers 00:08:57.360 --> 00:08:59.139 are like, listen, you crazy, bro. That's not 00:08:59.139 --> 00:09:01.799 happening. I don't believe that. They weren't 00:09:01.799 --> 00:09:03.840 even there. They weren't even present. Jesus 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:05.500 couldn't even pass them on to his brothers. He 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:07.620 had to pick a disciple here because his brothers 00:09:07.620 --> 00:09:10.379 weren't even there. But then after the resurrection, 00:09:10.759 --> 00:09:13.379 you can look in your Bible. One of Jesus's brothers 00:09:13.379 --> 00:09:15.659 wrote a book called James. It's in the Bible. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:18.820 And he believed. Jesus's brothers then believed 00:09:18.820 --> 00:09:20.559 after his resurrection. Listen, if your brother 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:22.519 told you he was gonna die and raise again, you'd 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:23.759 do the same thing they did. We don't believe 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:27.899 that unless he actually did it. Unless you see 00:09:27.899 --> 00:09:29.940 him afterwards and you go, wow, this is true. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:33.679 I believe this. But at the time of the crucifixion, 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:35.379 Jesus is on this cross and he's going, listen, 00:09:35.460 --> 00:09:39.059 my mom's got nowhere to go. And Jesus, man, listen, 00:09:39.179 --> 00:09:43.179 he had every right to be selfish in this moment. 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:46.100 If anyone has a right to be selfish, it's Jesus 00:09:46.100 --> 00:09:49.659 in this moment. I can imagine none of us would 00:09:49.659 --> 00:09:51.639 judge Jesus if in this moment you were to go, 00:09:51.700 --> 00:09:54.320 listen, I did nothing wrong to be hanging on 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:57.120 this cross right now. Like, mom, this is my time 00:09:57.120 --> 00:10:01.659 to hurt. Mom, this is my time. Like, hey, mom, 00:10:01.779 --> 00:10:03.820 I know, but listen, don't you realize what I'm 00:10:03.820 --> 00:10:06.779 going through right now? Jesus had all the right 00:10:06.779 --> 00:10:09.379 to do that, but he did not do that. Instead, 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:12.379 he was focused on others. See, we go through 00:10:12.379 --> 00:10:14.519 victim mentality when we go through tough situations, 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:17.320 though. In our life, when things get hard, we 00:10:17.320 --> 00:10:20.179 become the victim of it. Man, why is this happening 00:10:20.179 --> 00:10:23.539 to me? The world's just out to get me. Everything's 00:10:23.539 --> 00:10:25.039 hard. Everything's tough. It's all about me. 00:10:26.340 --> 00:10:27.820 All right, this is me. When I go through tough 00:10:27.820 --> 00:10:30.519 situations, I get in the spiral. This victim 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:32.539 mentality spiral. I'm like, man, I'm stressed 00:10:32.539 --> 00:10:34.080 about the bills that I have to pay. I don't know 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:36.820 if I can do it. This is getting hard. And then 00:10:36.820 --> 00:10:38.720 I go, but I can't work anymore than I already 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:40.399 am because work's really busy right now and work's 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:41.779 so hard I can't even do it. And I have so many 00:10:41.779 --> 00:10:43.179 kids and I gotta take them here and there and 00:10:43.179 --> 00:10:44.919 everywhere and life's so hard. And I get in this 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:46.980 spiral, right? And I turn into this monster. 00:10:47.539 --> 00:10:49.720 Man, I'm so grateful for a wife that knows how 00:10:49.720 --> 00:10:52.139 to pull me out of the spiral that I'm in. She 00:10:52.139 --> 00:10:53.919 gets a tranquilizer and she shoots me and she 00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:55.620 puts me on the ground and she goes, listen, I 00:10:55.620 --> 00:10:57.159 need to speak some truth into you because you've 00:10:57.159 --> 00:11:00.649 turned into a monster. And she goes, listen, 00:11:00.769 --> 00:11:02.769 your problem is this, is you're only focused 00:11:02.769 --> 00:11:05.850 on you instead of looking up and looking out 00:11:05.850 --> 00:11:07.309 and seeing about that there's plenty of other 00:11:07.309 --> 00:11:10.029 things around you. When we get in tough situations, 00:11:10.129 --> 00:11:12.350 sometimes we only focus on us instead of seeing 00:11:12.350 --> 00:11:15.190 the world around us, instead of seeing other 00:11:15.190 --> 00:11:18.929 people. All right, what Jesus does is Jesus shows 00:11:18.929 --> 00:11:21.610 us how to be others focused even in our pain. 00:11:22.669 --> 00:11:24.509 All right, even in our pain, he shows us how 00:11:24.509 --> 00:11:29.279 to be others focused. He says, listen, it's not 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:31.879 about you. We should have the same mindset that 00:11:31.879 --> 00:11:34.580 he had. Paul writes about this in Philippians 00:11:34.580 --> 00:11:36.419 2. He says, listen, this is the mindset you should 00:11:36.419 --> 00:11:39.259 have. He said, make my joy complete by being 00:11:39.259 --> 00:11:42.539 like -minded, having the same love, being one 00:11:42.539 --> 00:11:44.919 in spirit and one of mind. Do nothing out of 00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:48.659 selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in 00:11:48.659 --> 00:11:52.720 humility, value others above yourself. Not looking 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:54.759 to your own interests, but each of you to the 00:11:54.759 --> 00:12:00.279 interests of others. being others focused. See, 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:02.519 I think if we were to be people that took after 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:04.720 Jesus and in the middle of our pain, in the middle 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:06.720 of our struggle, we didn't just look at ourself, 00:12:06.740 --> 00:12:08.580 but instead we looked up at others, we'd find 00:12:08.580 --> 00:12:10.519 a way to get through what we're going through. 00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:14.659 It would start changing our mindset so that we 00:12:14.659 --> 00:12:16.019 could make it through what we're going through 00:12:16.019 --> 00:12:18.100 when it's not all about us anymore, but it's 00:12:18.100 --> 00:12:22.779 about other people. Jesus shows us here. Jesus 00:12:22.779 --> 00:12:26.809 shows us how to be others focused. He says this, 00:12:26.830 --> 00:12:29.250 he looks at the disciple in verse 27 and to the 00:12:29.250 --> 00:12:31.090 disciple, he said, here's your mother. And it 00:12:31.090 --> 00:12:35.289 says this, from that time on, this disciple took 00:12:35.289 --> 00:12:38.529 her into his home. From that time on, he took 00:12:38.529 --> 00:12:41.809 her into his home. All right, number two is this, 00:12:41.870 --> 00:12:44.389 Jesus shows us what family truly looks like. 00:12:44.929 --> 00:12:47.210 Jesus shows us what family truly looks like. 00:12:47.690 --> 00:12:49.230 Listen, we talk about it all the time in here. 00:12:49.289 --> 00:12:51.789 We say, hey, you're a family. Heights is a family. 00:12:51.870 --> 00:12:53.409 Welcome to the family. We're glad you're a part 00:12:53.409 --> 00:12:55.250 of the family. We talk about family all the time. 00:12:56.339 --> 00:12:58.500 And for some of you, you're like, listen, I grew 00:12:58.500 --> 00:13:00.879 up with a family that was whack. My family was 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:03.679 cray -cray. They were nuts. Your family was like 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:05.139 an episode of Jerry Springer. You know what I'm 00:13:05.139 --> 00:13:08.299 saying? You weren't raised. You escaped. You 00:13:08.299 --> 00:13:11.340 got out of there. I escaped. I'm done. I'm gone. 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:13.919 That was you. And so for you, this is really 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:16.879 good news because you need a family. You're going, 00:13:16.899 --> 00:13:18.460 man, the family I was raised with, they're crazy. 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:21.860 But this is the family. That's great news. See, 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:23.779 others of you, you were raised in a family that 00:13:23.779 --> 00:13:26.299 was amazing. It was awesome. And so you know 00:13:26.299 --> 00:13:28.460 what it's like. So this is good news for you 00:13:28.460 --> 00:13:30.000 too, because you're like, man, I know what it's 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:32.740 like to have a good family. And if this is the 00:13:32.740 --> 00:13:35.440 family, that's amazing. This is incredible. We 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:40.460 get to be the family here. And Jesus said this, 00:13:40.460 --> 00:13:42.600 this idea that we are family here is not one 00:13:42.600 --> 00:13:44.720 that we came up with. Jesus said it. In fact, 00:13:44.740 --> 00:13:46.899 Jesus was teaching one time. And as he was teaching, 00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:48.879 someone came up and they said, hey, your mom 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:50.779 and your brothers and your sisters, they're outside. 00:13:51.580 --> 00:13:54.440 And Jesus says this in Mark 3, verse 33. He said, 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:57.899 who are my mother and brothers? He asked. And 00:13:57.899 --> 00:13:59.799 he looked at those seated in a circle around 00:13:59.799 --> 00:14:03.159 him. He looked at the church around him. He looked 00:14:03.159 --> 00:14:04.639 at the people of God that were right in front 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:06.299 of him as he was teaching, just like we're sitting 00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:10.399 here today. And he says this. He said, here are 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:12.740 my mother and my brothers. Whoever does God's 00:14:12.740 --> 00:14:17.100 will is my brother and sister and mothers. That's 00:14:17.100 --> 00:14:19.139 who it is. All right, whoever does God's will, 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:21.029 that's my brother, that's my sister. All right, 00:14:21.029 --> 00:14:22.649 you ever been to an old Baptist church before? 00:14:23.289 --> 00:14:25.889 That's all they call you? Hello, brother. Greetings 00:14:25.889 --> 00:14:27.549 in the name of the Lord, brother. You're like, 00:14:27.610 --> 00:14:30.490 oh, sweet. Everyone's brother, everyone's sister. 00:14:31.370 --> 00:14:33.450 That's who we are. God says, listen, if you do 00:14:33.450 --> 00:14:34.990 the will of God the Father, you're my brother, 00:14:35.049 --> 00:14:38.029 you're my sister. We are a family. We are the 00:14:38.029 --> 00:14:40.850 family of God. Do you know what family does, 00:14:40.970 --> 00:14:44.429 though? Family sticks together. Because sometimes 00:14:44.429 --> 00:14:47.429 what we do as people, we go, okay, but here's 00:14:47.429 --> 00:14:50.850 the deal. Church is fine. That's what I do. Family, 00:14:50.850 --> 00:14:53.009 that's something else. And we like to separate 00:14:53.009 --> 00:14:55.210 those two. We wanna keep those. We go, I got 00:14:55.210 --> 00:14:56.990 it on my own. The church is great. It's something 00:14:56.990 --> 00:14:59.169 that I go to, but I don't need a family. I got 00:14:59.169 --> 00:15:02.570 this on my own. And you don't understand the 00:15:02.570 --> 00:15:04.789 need that you have for this family. There's no 00:15:04.789 --> 00:15:07.830 such thing as being a lone wolf. They don't exist 00:15:07.830 --> 00:15:10.830 because wolves travels in packs. They understand 00:15:10.830 --> 00:15:14.490 why they need to be in a pack. We need to understand 00:15:14.490 --> 00:15:16.490 why we need to be in the family of God. There's 00:15:16.490 --> 00:15:19.580 a need for you to be in the family of God. See, 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:22.179 I think part of the reason why we don't embrace 00:15:22.179 --> 00:15:24.879 this idea of family is because church a lot of 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:28.419 times is a checklist, not a lifestyle. And when 00:15:28.419 --> 00:15:30.259 church is a checklist, it's just something that 00:15:30.259 --> 00:15:32.039 you do to check off your list. I did it, I showed 00:15:32.039 --> 00:15:35.360 up, I was there, but it's not a lifestyle. Then 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:37.759 you separate the act of going to church with 00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:40.580 being a part of the family of God. If we're gonna 00:15:40.580 --> 00:15:42.179 be a part of what God has called us to, we need 00:15:42.179 --> 00:15:43.820 to be a part of the family of God. So what does 00:15:43.820 --> 00:15:46.120 the family of God do? The family provides for 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:49.200 each other's needs. Mary was in a place where 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:51.059 she needed some stuff. She needed food, she needed 00:15:51.059 --> 00:15:53.740 shelter. What John was doing, taking her in was 00:15:53.740 --> 00:15:55.259 saying, hey, listen, I'm gonna provide for your 00:15:55.259 --> 00:15:59.519 needs. The family of God provides for our needs. 00:16:00.659 --> 00:16:02.700 I remember when my wife was pregnant with our 00:16:02.700 --> 00:16:04.799 first kid that ended up being two, we had twins. 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:07.159 And man, she was so sick. She was throwing up 00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:11.080 nine to 12 times a day. It was wild. I'd be sitting 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:13.419 on the couch watching TV and this commercial, 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:15.639 the most beautiful hamburger you've ever seen 00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:18.500 in your life came on. I mean, it was gorgeous. 00:16:18.620 --> 00:16:20.179 I'm like, man, I'm getting so hungry right now. 00:16:20.259 --> 00:16:21.679 And she just gets up and runs to the bathroom. 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:25.360 And I'm like, what are you doing? I would sit 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:27.659 close to her, like closest in 10 to 12 feet from 00:16:27.659 --> 00:16:29.379 her. And she'd go, listen, you stink really bad. 00:16:30.539 --> 00:16:32.179 I'm like, I just took a shower. She's like, I 00:16:32.179 --> 00:16:34.679 know, it smells horrible. I'm like, I love you 00:16:34.679 --> 00:16:37.620 too. Thank you. That's awesome. Right, everything 00:16:37.620 --> 00:16:39.240 made her sick. I couldn't eat because the house 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:41.399 apparently would stink, right? And so I would 00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:43.860 be like in the bathroom eating cereal. Like I 00:16:43.860 --> 00:16:45.580 lived on that for like a month. I was like squatting 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:47.179 in my own house. I was just eating cereal in 00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:50.639 the bathroom. That's how I lived. Like this isn't 00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:53.019 normal. All right, people in the church got wind 00:16:53.019 --> 00:16:54.980 of this and they were like, man, he might die 00:16:54.980 --> 00:16:58.039 of starvation. And so they started showing up 00:16:58.039 --> 00:16:59.980 and they would bring me food and they would set 00:16:59.980 --> 00:17:01.860 the plate out on the front porch. And I would 00:17:01.860 --> 00:17:03.600 go outside and sit on the front porch and eat 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:05.319 it like an animal, right? Right under my front 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:09.299 porch. But listen, I had a need and the church 00:17:09.299 --> 00:17:12.660 said, we're gonna step into that need. I lived 00:17:12.660 --> 00:17:15.380 in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. 00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:17.579 And if you don't know, in the Bay Area, you have 00:17:17.579 --> 00:17:19.740 to make $10 million a year in order to live there. 00:17:20.299 --> 00:17:23.440 And in case you're wondering, I did not make 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:27.160 $10 million a year. I mean, if I'm honest, there 00:17:27.160 --> 00:17:29.140 was weeks where I truly didn't know if I was 00:17:29.140 --> 00:17:31.279 gonna be able to feed my kids. I didn't know 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:33.299 if we were gonna have food. And there was a man 00:17:33.299 --> 00:17:35.339 in the church named Roland and he would knock 00:17:35.339 --> 00:17:38.019 on the door. He'd say, hey, I got a box of groceries 00:17:38.019 --> 00:17:41.680 and some gift cards to Safeway. See, what the 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:45.500 church does is they show up for needs. About 00:17:45.500 --> 00:17:48.140 a year ago, I was speaking a message in here. 00:17:48.220 --> 00:17:49.680 I was talking to you guys and I was telling you 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:52.319 about my ghetto car. And I was telling you about 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:55.019 this thing. It's missing a hubcap. It's got a 00:17:55.019 --> 00:17:58.000 list of things that's wrong with it. I mean, 00:17:58.019 --> 00:17:59.740 I was only telling you that because I was trying 00:17:59.740 --> 00:18:01.619 to get you to laugh about it. I never do that. 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:03.819 I try never to make you laugh. But with that 00:18:03.819 --> 00:18:07.640 one, I was trying to. man, so many people came 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:08.799 up to me and they said, hey, I wanna buy you 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:10.940 tires. I wanna help you. I'm like, that's not 00:18:10.940 --> 00:18:12.500 why I said that. They said, I know, but I heard 00:18:12.500 --> 00:18:14.920 of a need and I'm here to help. All right, that's 00:18:14.920 --> 00:18:17.140 what the church does. They step in. My wife is 00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:20.559 a leader in our youth ministry. She leads a group 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:22.299 of girls and she was texting with her girls the 00:18:22.299 --> 00:18:23.640 other day, just saying, hey, how are you guys 00:18:23.640 --> 00:18:25.680 doing? Checking in on them. They were all checking 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:28.240 in on her. And she said, my back really hurts. 00:18:28.259 --> 00:18:31.180 I just threw my back out. And that night, one 00:18:31.180 --> 00:18:33.079 of her students, a high school student, with 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:34.839 their own money, shows up and said, hey, we brought 00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:36.400 you dinner. I bought you dinner. I'm going to 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:38.759 show up and give it to you. See, that's what 00:18:38.759 --> 00:18:40.799 the family does. The family provides for each 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:43.319 other's needs. The family shows up and said, 00:18:43.380 --> 00:18:45.599 listen, I see a need. I'm going to provide for 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:47.819 it. And listen, Heights has incredible ministries. 00:18:47.859 --> 00:18:50.200 We have a ministry. Our local ministry feeds 00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:52.160 people and takes care of people and gives to 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:53.980 the needs of the people in our community and 00:18:53.980 --> 00:18:55.519 in our church. And that's amazing. But I'm not 00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:57.400 talking about the ministry that the church provides 00:18:57.400 --> 00:18:59.200 because the church is not a ministry. The church 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:03.740 is people. It's you. It's you looking over and 00:19:03.740 --> 00:19:05.319 saying, man, there's a need in the person that 00:19:05.319 --> 00:19:07.400 is next to me. There's a need around me. Family 00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:09.400 steps in for the needs of the people around them, 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:11.180 not point them to a ministry so someone else 00:19:11.180 --> 00:19:14.640 can do it. But then it's my job to step up and 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:16.339 to say, hey, listen, we provide for each other's 00:19:16.339 --> 00:19:22.019 needs. Family is also there for each other. Family's 00:19:22.019 --> 00:19:26.799 there for each other. Man, Mary, her son, her 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:30.450 only son, her miracle baby. conceived by the 00:19:30.450 --> 00:19:32.970 Holy Spirit, who never did anything wrong, raised 00:19:32.970 --> 00:19:35.269 his entire life, is now on a cross in front of 00:19:35.269 --> 00:19:37.950 her, nailed and beaten and bloody and bruised 00:19:37.950 --> 00:19:40.829 to a cross. And she watched her only son die. 00:19:42.430 --> 00:19:44.890 I can only imagine the amount of emotional support 00:19:44.890 --> 00:19:47.630 that Mary needed. John didn't just take care 00:19:47.630 --> 00:19:49.069 of her physically and go, okay, yeah, yeah, I 00:19:49.069 --> 00:19:51.230 got you with a meal. I got you a bed over in 00:19:51.230 --> 00:19:53.730 the corner. You're good. No, he was there for 00:19:53.730 --> 00:19:55.670 her. What he was signing up for was saying, hey, 00:19:55.710 --> 00:19:58.529 I'm here for emotional support. I'm here to help 00:19:58.529 --> 00:20:03.140 you. We are there for each other. There's a lady 00:20:03.140 --> 00:20:06.059 in our church who I really care about. She's 00:20:06.059 --> 00:20:08.940 a friend of mine. And this week is the anniversary 00:20:08.940 --> 00:20:12.299 of her mother's passing. And she also found out 00:20:12.299 --> 00:20:14.200 that her mentor passed away this week as well. 00:20:14.859 --> 00:20:16.980 And man, she's just, I know she was going through 00:20:16.980 --> 00:20:19.420 a lot and she was just heavy on my heart. And 00:20:19.420 --> 00:20:21.539 I reached out to her and I just said, hey, how 00:20:21.539 --> 00:20:23.880 are you doing? How are you doing? I wanna be 00:20:23.880 --> 00:20:26.759 there for you. And she calls me and we were talking 00:20:26.759 --> 00:20:28.769 and. I said, how's your day been? She said, well, 00:20:28.809 --> 00:20:30.690 I was talking to some people from our church. 00:20:31.210 --> 00:20:33.170 She's talking to them and she's telling me about 00:20:33.170 --> 00:20:34.589 the conversation she had with them that were 00:20:34.589 --> 00:20:36.809 there for her, that were there to talk to her. 00:20:37.289 --> 00:20:38.990 And then I continued to talk to her and she said, 00:20:39.069 --> 00:20:40.170 hey, I have to go. I said, well, where are you 00:20:40.170 --> 00:20:42.210 going? She said, I have to go meet up with someone 00:20:42.210 --> 00:20:43.809 else who's reached out to me and is here for 00:20:43.809 --> 00:20:46.769 me as well. So that's what the family does. The 00:20:46.769 --> 00:20:49.369 family is there for each other. They walk alongside. 00:20:49.589 --> 00:20:51.730 They're there when we go through difficult times. 00:20:51.809 --> 00:20:54.069 It is absolutely inevitable. In fact, Jesus said 00:20:54.069 --> 00:20:55.869 it, listen, in this world, you will have trouble. 00:20:56.109 --> 00:20:58.400 You're gonna go through it. But we have a family 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:01.680 to walk alongside of us in it. That's why when 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:03.319 we talk about life groups, we talk about it so 00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:05.539 much. And some of you just let it go in one ear 00:21:05.539 --> 00:21:06.920 and right out the other. But life groups are 00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:09.059 so critical because that's who you do life with. 00:21:10.259 --> 00:21:12.319 That's who you walk alongside of you when things 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:14.519 get hard. That's who walks you through when you 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:16.480 have the death of a loved one. That's who walks 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:18.220 you through when you have an illness. That's 00:21:18.220 --> 00:21:19.859 who walks you through when a divorce happens. 00:21:19.960 --> 00:21:21.500 That's who walks you through when things get 00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:24.880 really hard. We have people in our life to come 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:30.190 alongside. And that's what the family does. That's 00:21:30.190 --> 00:21:32.369 what the family does. And the family does not 00:21:32.369 --> 00:21:35.490 mean a pastor. Because a lot of times we think, 00:21:35.509 --> 00:21:36.970 okay, if the church is going to show up for me, 00:21:36.990 --> 00:21:38.829 if we're really a family, then I need a pastor 00:21:38.829 --> 00:21:41.269 to show up. I was talking to someone the other 00:21:41.269 --> 00:21:43.349 day and they're going, man, I'm going through 00:21:43.349 --> 00:21:45.450 this and the church just didn't show up for me. 00:21:45.490 --> 00:21:47.150 You say you're a family, but the church didn't 00:21:47.150 --> 00:21:48.690 show up. And I said, well, did this person show 00:21:48.690 --> 00:21:50.450 up? And they said, yeah. What about this person? 00:21:50.529 --> 00:21:53.390 Yeah. What about this person? Yeah. But a pastor 00:21:53.390 --> 00:21:55.549 didn't. Listen, I'm going to tell you right now, 00:21:55.630 --> 00:21:57.230 if you're going through something, you don't 00:21:57.230 --> 00:22:01.650 want me to show up. You don't. I love teaching 00:22:01.650 --> 00:22:03.390 God's word. I believe it's a gift that I have 00:22:03.390 --> 00:22:05.250 to be able to teach God's word. I don't know 00:22:05.250 --> 00:22:06.950 what to do when I sit down with somebody who's 00:22:06.950 --> 00:22:09.329 going through a difficult time. I don't know 00:22:09.329 --> 00:22:10.690 what to say, right? I turn into Ricky Bobby. 00:22:10.789 --> 00:22:11.789 I'm like, I don't know what to do with my hands 00:22:11.789 --> 00:22:14.470 right now. I'm just getting weird, getting awkward. 00:22:16.009 --> 00:22:18.170 I don't know what to do. You don't want me. But 00:22:18.170 --> 00:22:21.309 the family, that's who you want. The family of 00:22:21.309 --> 00:22:22.769 God does not mean a pastor. It means all of us. 00:22:22.809 --> 00:22:24.970 But here's the thing. A lot of times people get 00:22:24.970 --> 00:22:26.890 upset with heights because we didn't show up 00:22:26.890 --> 00:22:30.069 when we didn't know what happened. It's a two 00:22:30.069 --> 00:22:32.490 -way street. If you don't let us know what's 00:22:32.490 --> 00:22:33.990 going on and you don't let us know the needs 00:22:33.990 --> 00:22:35.890 that you have, then we can't show up for you. 00:22:37.509 --> 00:22:40.170 If you never let anyone in, if you're not in 00:22:40.170 --> 00:22:42.170 life with anyone, if you're not continuing to 00:22:42.170 --> 00:22:44.250 walk in the family, but you've distanced yourself 00:22:44.250 --> 00:22:46.549 from the family, we won't know what's going on. 00:22:46.589 --> 00:22:49.609 It's not because we don't like you. It's not 00:22:49.609 --> 00:22:51.009 because we're like, oh, it's that person that 00:22:51.009 --> 00:22:54.950 needs something. We're not helping. That's because 00:22:54.950 --> 00:22:56.890 we don't know. You have to let us know what's 00:22:56.890 --> 00:22:58.630 going on. We are not mind readers. There's not 00:22:58.630 --> 00:23:00.509 a single person at Heights that is a mind reader. 00:23:01.470 --> 00:23:04.930 You have to let us know what's going on. See, 00:23:05.009 --> 00:23:07.789 the church is as big or as small as you make 00:23:07.789 --> 00:23:09.869 it. I hear this all the time, and I understand 00:23:09.869 --> 00:23:11.650 people have different preferences when it comes 00:23:11.650 --> 00:23:13.150 to size of church, but I hear it all the time. 00:23:13.210 --> 00:23:15.230 This is just too big. I can't get connected here. 00:23:15.849 --> 00:23:17.490 And I need you to know that the church is as 00:23:17.490 --> 00:23:20.309 big or as small as you make it. And I've worked 00:23:20.309 --> 00:23:22.369 on staff. I've been a pastor on staff of a church 00:23:22.369 --> 00:23:25.089 of 80 people. and a church of 7 ,000 people. 00:23:25.829 --> 00:23:27.950 And I'll tell you this, you can slip in and slip 00:23:27.950 --> 00:23:30.710 out of a church of 80 people and be just as anonymous 00:23:30.710 --> 00:23:32.930 and no one will know who you are if you're not 00:23:32.930 --> 00:23:35.109 involved. And you can also be a part of a church 00:23:35.109 --> 00:23:37.269 of 7 ,000 people and you can be as connected 00:23:37.269 --> 00:23:40.210 as possible. The church is as big or as small 00:23:40.210 --> 00:23:42.809 as you make it. Are you in a life group? Are 00:23:42.809 --> 00:23:46.089 you on a serve team? Do you just slip in and 00:23:46.089 --> 00:23:47.630 slip out and say, I hope no one talks to me? 00:23:48.549 --> 00:23:50.849 Or are you involved? Are you getting to know 00:23:50.849 --> 00:23:53.809 people? Because the church was created to be 00:23:53.809 --> 00:23:55.630 a family. That's what we are. We are a family. 00:23:55.650 --> 00:23:57.529 When we say we're a family, that means families 00:23:57.529 --> 00:24:02.049 are here for each other. Next is this. Families 00:24:02.049 --> 00:24:05.210 challenge each other spiritually. Family challenges 00:24:05.210 --> 00:24:08.309 you spiritually to be better. It's calling you 00:24:08.309 --> 00:24:12.210 out and calling you up in love. See, some of 00:24:12.210 --> 00:24:13.730 you, this is your favorite part. Calling you 00:24:13.730 --> 00:24:16.549 out, calling you up. I can do that. But it's 00:24:16.549 --> 00:24:18.690 not in love, and that's not a family. That's 00:24:18.690 --> 00:24:21.009 not what families do. It's in love saying, hey, 00:24:21.029 --> 00:24:24.089 I want the best for you. The reason I'm saying, 00:24:24.170 --> 00:24:26.069 hey, there's more for you. The reason I'm saying 00:24:26.069 --> 00:24:27.670 that there's standards in the way that you act 00:24:27.670 --> 00:24:29.509 needs to be this way is because I want what's 00:24:29.509 --> 00:24:33.329 best for you. All right, family doesn't mean 00:24:33.329 --> 00:24:36.210 just doing what you want. I think a lot of times 00:24:36.210 --> 00:24:38.710 people weaponize this statement of we are family. 00:24:39.170 --> 00:24:41.210 I hear it often, people go, well, heights set 00:24:41.210 --> 00:24:44.410 of their family, but families don't. And then 00:24:44.410 --> 00:24:46.349 what they want is to do exactly what I want. 00:24:46.869 --> 00:24:48.549 And what they say is you didn't do what I wanted, 00:24:48.569 --> 00:24:51.819 therefore. You're not doing family. Families 00:24:51.819 --> 00:24:53.140 don't do what you want. Families want what's 00:24:53.140 --> 00:24:56.140 best for you. I think the contrast that we see 00:24:56.140 --> 00:24:58.779 in this is that Jesus is on a cross and what 00:24:58.779 --> 00:25:01.279 is happening is the soldiers are dividing the 00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:03.779 clothes up and going, I want this, I want that. 00:25:03.940 --> 00:25:06.279 I want what I can get in this moment when the 00:25:06.279 --> 00:25:08.579 contract is the other side of it, the family 00:25:08.579 --> 00:25:10.420 of God that's concerned about each other's wellbeing. 00:25:11.079 --> 00:25:12.660 It's not about what they can get. It's about, 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:15.599 man, how do I care for one another? How do I 00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:18.299 get what's best for you? I want what's best. 00:25:18.859 --> 00:25:22.339 For you. I'd say probably the number one way 00:25:22.339 --> 00:25:24.380 that I'm challenged spiritually, that I grow 00:25:24.380 --> 00:25:26.420 spiritually is just reading the word of God. 00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:29.839 The word of God challenges me spiritually. It 00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:31.539 challenges me to be better. I read it and I go, 00:25:31.559 --> 00:25:34.180 man, God's calling me to more. But a very close 00:25:34.180 --> 00:25:38.180 second is the family of God. It's the people 00:25:38.180 --> 00:25:41.119 in my life that I do life with. It's the people 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:43.240 like Pastor Bob and like Pastor Ben, like Pastor 00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:45.579 Jordan that I get to do life with and say, hey 00:25:45.579 --> 00:25:47.480 man, I think there's more for you. And there's 00:25:47.480 --> 00:25:49.200 been so many times where I've been in a conversation 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:51.559 with Pastor Ben and him and I are just challenging 00:25:51.559 --> 00:25:54.019 each other to be the best that we can be when 00:25:54.019 --> 00:25:56.920 it comes to our spiritual life. The family of 00:25:56.920 --> 00:26:01.200 God challenges us spiritually and moves us closer. 00:26:02.500 --> 00:26:05.380 See, God created this idea of family. Now, listen, 00:26:05.619 --> 00:26:07.400 I don't want anyone in here to hear me wrong. 00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:11.339 I did not say that family is perfect. Families 00:26:11.339 --> 00:26:13.559 make bad decisions. I'm telling you right now, 00:26:13.579 --> 00:26:16.160 families make bad decisions. Pastor Jordan and 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:17.799 I decided that this month we were going to grow 00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:21.319 mustaches. And some of you right now are like, 00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:23.180 oh, I noticed that thing is glorious. That's 00:26:23.180 --> 00:26:25.599 all I can stare at this whole message. You didn't 00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:26.900 even know I was giving a message. You were just 00:26:26.900 --> 00:26:29.759 looking at the stash the whole time. Listen, 00:26:29.900 --> 00:26:31.740 it's amazing. Pastor Jordan and I, we look like 00:26:31.740 --> 00:26:35.279 Mario and Luigi walking around here. He's Luigi, 00:26:35.420 --> 00:26:38.859 I'm Mario. You know what I'm saying? Man, it's 00:26:38.859 --> 00:26:40.700 glorious, but here's the deal. It's a bad decision. 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:43.000 It's a bad decision, not because it looks bad. 00:26:43.059 --> 00:26:44.619 You know it doesn't look bad. You're seeing it. 00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:47.299 You got eyeballs. It's a bad decision because 00:26:47.299 --> 00:26:49.859 I'm at a point right now where the mustache is 00:26:49.859 --> 00:26:52.660 eating more of my food than I am. You know what 00:26:52.660 --> 00:26:54.779 I'm saying? Yesterday, I had a bagel with cream 00:26:54.779 --> 00:26:56.940 cheese. I ate the bagel. The mustache ate the 00:26:56.940 --> 00:26:59.859 cream cheese. I was like, what is going on here? 00:27:00.799 --> 00:27:02.099 All right, in the middle of the night, I wake 00:27:02.099 --> 00:27:03.839 up. It's in my mouth. I'm like flossing my teeth 00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:06.460 with mustache hair. It's awful. It's terrible. 00:27:07.849 --> 00:27:09.829 I go to kiss my kids and they run from me. They're 00:27:09.829 --> 00:27:11.390 like, you get that caterpillar away from me right 00:27:11.390 --> 00:27:16.309 now. Right? Listen, those of you who rock mustaches 00:27:16.309 --> 00:27:19.930 permanently, mad props to you. You are a better 00:27:19.930 --> 00:27:24.769 man than me. It's a bad decision. We make bad 00:27:24.769 --> 00:27:26.490 decisions. Listen, and not just on silly things. 00:27:26.569 --> 00:27:28.730 When it comes to church, we make bad decisions. 00:27:28.950 --> 00:27:30.730 Your leadership of this church is going to make 00:27:30.730 --> 00:27:33.349 bad decisions. We will let you down. You know 00:27:33.349 --> 00:27:36.799 why? Because we are messed up humans. The church 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:38.480 is made up of humans and humans are messed up 00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:40.640 and we will let you down. We will make bad decisions. 00:27:40.859 --> 00:27:43.119 The family will make bad decisions. We will make 00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:45.200 decisions that you will go, man, I didn't like 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:48.119 that. I disagreed with that. That bothered me. 00:27:48.140 --> 00:27:52.740 That was hard for me. We will make bad decisions. 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:56.200 That's going to happen. The family doesn't mean 00:27:56.200 --> 00:27:59.839 perfect, but it means perseverant. It doesn't 00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:05.200 mean perfect, but it means perseverant. Listen, 00:28:05.299 --> 00:28:07.299 don't jump ship when we make a decision that 00:28:07.299 --> 00:28:10.519 you don't like. I'm out of here. I'm out of here. 00:28:11.420 --> 00:28:13.680 That's not what family does. Family does not 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:15.400 mean perfect. It means perseverance. And we're 00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:17.220 going to move forward in this. And that means 00:28:17.220 --> 00:28:18.920 we're not going to jump ship. We're not just 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:21.539 going to leave every time we disappoint you. 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:24.279 Because we will. Listen, if we haven't disappointed 00:28:24.279 --> 00:28:27.660 you yet, you haven't been here long enough. Just 00:28:27.660 --> 00:28:30.880 wait. It's coming. I was talking to somebody 00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:33.789 who's been at Heights for over 20 years. really 00:28:33.789 --> 00:28:36.890 long time. And they were saying people who've 00:28:36.890 --> 00:28:39.329 left often come to them and say, why are you 00:28:39.329 --> 00:28:41.789 still there? Haven't they disappointed you? Haven't 00:28:41.789 --> 00:28:43.890 they let you down? Haven't they made bad decisions? 00:28:44.029 --> 00:28:45.329 And she's like, oh yeah, they've made a lot. 00:28:45.450 --> 00:28:47.910 They made a lot. They go, why are you still there? 00:28:47.990 --> 00:28:50.470 She said, because they're family. And family 00:28:50.470 --> 00:28:52.650 doesn't just jump ship because it's not about 00:28:52.650 --> 00:28:57.049 perfection. It's about perseverance. Jesus said, 00:28:57.109 --> 00:28:59.789 listen, you're a family. He shows us what true 00:28:59.789 --> 00:29:03.190 family is. Man, but there's something else I 00:29:03.190 --> 00:29:05.089 want you to notice here. There's something I 00:29:05.089 --> 00:29:06.089 want you to notice. Some of you might've picked 00:29:06.089 --> 00:29:08.029 up on this, but as you're looking at this passage, 00:29:08.089 --> 00:29:09.829 it says this, when Jesus saw his mother there 00:29:09.829 --> 00:29:12.210 and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, 00:29:12.369 --> 00:29:16.970 he said to her, woman, Jesus, you just call your 00:29:16.970 --> 00:29:21.450 mom a woman? Really, bro? Are you serious, right? 00:29:21.470 --> 00:29:23.730 Some of the moms in here, your blood pressure's 00:29:23.730 --> 00:29:25.430 rising. You're like, oh man, if one of my kids 00:29:25.430 --> 00:29:29.230 called me that, like the disrespect, Jesus, woman. 00:29:30.830 --> 00:29:33.190 Right? Some of you who have a mom in here, you're 00:29:33.190 --> 00:29:34.390 getting scared. You're about to go run and hide 00:29:34.390 --> 00:29:35.769 under a bed right now because she's coming with 00:29:35.769 --> 00:29:37.769 a belt. You know what I'm saying? You talk to 00:29:37.769 --> 00:29:40.349 your mama like that? Jesus, why are you talking 00:29:40.349 --> 00:29:43.789 about your mama like that? He calls her woman. 00:29:45.349 --> 00:29:46.930 And in the culture, you have to understand that 00:29:46.930 --> 00:29:49.069 wasn't a term, it wasn't disrespectful what Jesus 00:29:49.069 --> 00:29:51.730 was saying. But we do see him, Jesus, do this 00:29:51.730 --> 00:29:54.430 another time in scripture. Right? They're at 00:29:54.430 --> 00:29:56.309 this wedding and it is the beginning of Jesus's 00:29:56.309 --> 00:29:58.049 public ministry and Jesus hadn't done anything 00:29:58.049 --> 00:30:01.640 yet to show. His divinity. He hasn't showed his 00:30:01.640 --> 00:30:03.859 miracle power. He hasn't showed any of that. 00:30:03.940 --> 00:30:06.019 And they're at this wedding. And this is what 00:30:06.019 --> 00:30:08.900 it says in John chapter two, verse three. When 00:30:08.900 --> 00:30:10.920 the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, 00:30:11.019 --> 00:30:15.019 they have no more wine. Woman, why do you involve 00:30:15.019 --> 00:30:18.000 me? Jesus replied. My hour has not yet come. 00:30:18.539 --> 00:30:22.759 See, and in both instances, Jesus is about to 00:30:22.759 --> 00:30:24.619 do something that only the Lord of the universe 00:30:24.619 --> 00:30:27.940 can do. In both instances, he's about to do something 00:30:27.940 --> 00:30:29.859 that only the Lord of the universe can do. Nobody 00:30:29.859 --> 00:30:31.480 in the history of the world has turned water 00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:33.559 into wine and nobody will since. It's not gonna 00:30:33.559 --> 00:30:37.079 happen again. He's doing something only the Lord 00:30:37.079 --> 00:30:39.059 of the universe can do. And then again, we see 00:30:39.059 --> 00:30:41.880 him on a cross, dying to purchase and redeem 00:30:41.880 --> 00:30:44.660 humanity with his blood, something that only 00:30:44.660 --> 00:30:47.400 the Lord of the universe can do. And so in this 00:30:47.400 --> 00:30:49.980 moment, what Jesus is doing is he's going, hey, 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:53.700 mom, hey, mom, recognize what's about to happen. 00:30:54.160 --> 00:30:57.339 And he switches. He switches from speaking to 00:30:57.339 --> 00:31:02.759 her as a son to speaking to her as Lord. And 00:31:02.759 --> 00:31:05.559 in this moment, what Jesus shows us is that his 00:31:05.559 --> 00:31:08.160 departing words to her, his departing words to 00:31:08.160 --> 00:31:10.640 humanity, his last words, man, this is what I 00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:15.980 want you to get. Jesus says to her this, mom, 00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:18.700 these are not words of love for a mother, but 00:31:18.700 --> 00:31:21.799 rather a symbol of the love and provision of 00:31:21.799 --> 00:31:24.509 my redemption. for the weak and the vulnerable 00:31:24.509 --> 00:31:29.849 whom I'm purchasing with my blood. Last is this, 00:31:29.869 --> 00:31:32.130 write this down. Jesus's care and compassion 00:31:32.130 --> 00:31:35.890 is for your soul. That's why Jesus went to a 00:31:35.890 --> 00:31:39.509 cross. His care and compassion is for your soul. 00:31:40.089 --> 00:31:41.990 Jesus went to a cross because he said, listen, 00:31:42.069 --> 00:31:44.150 I loved you enough that I'm willing to go to 00:31:44.150 --> 00:31:45.829 a cross. And it's not just about providing for 00:31:45.829 --> 00:31:47.250 your physical needs. It's not just for you to 00:31:47.250 --> 00:31:49.109 show up to church on a Sunday and check it off 00:31:49.109 --> 00:31:51.500 your list. It's because I am. purchasing your 00:31:51.500 --> 00:31:57.559 soul. Can we just talk about adoption for a moment? 00:31:58.700 --> 00:32:00.619 Listen, I have five kids and they're wonderful 00:32:00.619 --> 00:32:02.559 and they're beautiful and I didn't choose any 00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:06.259 of them. It's just what I got. But when you adopt 00:32:06.259 --> 00:32:12.299 someone, you choose them. You pay the price for 00:32:12.299 --> 00:32:17.240 them. You go through a process for them. And 00:32:17.240 --> 00:32:18.640 when you've gone through the process, when you've 00:32:18.640 --> 00:32:21.259 paid the price, when you've chosen them, you 00:32:21.259 --> 00:32:22.920 get a legal document, you get a piece of paper. 00:32:23.619 --> 00:32:27.880 And on that piece of paper, they have your name. 00:32:28.900 --> 00:32:30.819 They get your name, which means that they have 00:32:30.819 --> 00:32:33.359 access to everything that you have access to. 00:32:33.799 --> 00:32:35.480 Which means that they have an inheritance and 00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:37.539 a right to everything that is yours. It is theirs 00:32:37.539 --> 00:32:39.039 because they've been bought. They've been purchased. 00:32:39.119 --> 00:32:42.140 They've been brought into your family. Listen, 00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:45.339 Jesus adopted you. Jesus went to a cross and 00:32:45.339 --> 00:32:48.039 Jesus said, listen, I'm purchasing you. I'm paying 00:32:48.039 --> 00:32:49.880 the price. I'm going through the process and 00:32:49.880 --> 00:32:52.259 I'm willing to give you my name and give you. 00:32:52.599 --> 00:32:55.880 to everything that I have, to stand on the name 00:32:55.880 --> 00:32:58.059 of Jesus and the grace that is only found in 00:32:58.059 --> 00:33:00.440 Jesus. Because on the cross, what he did is he 00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:03.460 wrote an invitation, an invitation for adoption. 00:33:04.839 --> 00:33:08.339 He wrote an invitation for adoption. And he said, 00:33:08.400 --> 00:33:11.480 listen, this is a free invitation to you, to 00:33:11.480 --> 00:33:14.180 me, to everyone. And he's saying, come to my 00:33:14.180 --> 00:33:21.980 family. My care is for your soul. The call is 00:33:21.980 --> 00:33:27.740 to run to his family. Man, I wonder who in here 00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:30.619 today needs to make some decisions this morning. 00:33:31.920 --> 00:33:36.240 I wonder who in here today needs to accept the 00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:40.019 invitation for adoption and say, listen, I know 00:33:40.019 --> 00:33:44.619 that Jesus died on the cross for me. I know that 00:33:44.619 --> 00:33:47.000 he gave his life for me to purchase me with his 00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:49.900 blood. I'm tired of doing it on my own. I wanna 00:33:49.900 --> 00:33:52.559 take the invitation and step in to his family. 00:33:54.900 --> 00:33:57.900 I wonder who in here today needs to start living 00:33:57.900 --> 00:34:00.579 like they're a part of the family. And maybe 00:34:00.579 --> 00:34:02.980 you've already accepted that invitation, but 00:34:02.980 --> 00:34:06.019 you've pushed church away and you need to start 00:34:06.019 --> 00:34:09.739 living like you're a part of the family. All 00:34:09.739 --> 00:34:12.139 right, next week, we're gonna have life group 00:34:12.139 --> 00:34:14.199 signups. We're gonna have opportunity for you 00:34:14.199 --> 00:34:15.940 to sign up for Growth Track. And we talk about 00:34:15.940 --> 00:34:17.539 life groups, we talk about Growth Track, we talk 00:34:17.539 --> 00:34:19.639 about that all the time. But for some of you 00:34:19.639 --> 00:34:22.139 in here today, your step is to pray about what 00:34:22.139 --> 00:34:24.539 it would look like for you to sign up and say, 00:34:24.579 --> 00:34:26.000 God, is this what you want? Do you want me to 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:28.880 take this step to join, to get to know more about 00:34:28.880 --> 00:34:30.559 the church, to get to know more about living 00:34:30.559 --> 00:34:32.480 in community and being with people and going 00:34:32.480 --> 00:34:34.280 through life with them and allowing people in 00:34:34.280 --> 00:34:36.300 so that I'm not just a participant of, but I'm 00:34:36.300 --> 00:34:38.679 someone who's actually a part of what's going 00:34:38.679 --> 00:34:46.139 on in this church. Listen, you are loved by God, 00:34:46.199 --> 00:34:51.340 a God who sent his son so that you could be a 00:34:51.340 --> 00:34:54.599 part of the family. Let's pray. God, thank you 00:34:54.599 --> 00:35:00.460 so much for the invitation to adoption. Thank 00:35:00.460 --> 00:35:04.119 you, God, that when you went to the cross, you 00:35:04.119 --> 00:35:08.320 were extending an invitation. God, I pray for 00:35:08.320 --> 00:35:11.039 the people in here today that need to accept 00:35:11.039 --> 00:35:13.599 that invitation. I pray for the people in here 00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:15.460 today, God, that need to say, listen, I am done 00:35:15.460 --> 00:35:19.239 trying to do it on my own. I want to accept you. 00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:22.719 God, I pray for those of us in here that have 00:35:22.719 --> 00:35:27.219 been avoiding family, but know that we need to 00:35:27.219 --> 00:35:31.039 come to the family. That need to change church 00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:37.099 from a checklist to a lifestyle. God, I pray 00:35:37.099 --> 00:35:43.349 for those in here today. that need to take the 00:35:43.349 --> 00:35:45.909 step of joining a life group, that need to take 00:35:45.909 --> 00:35:51.150 the step of living out the faith within the family. 00:35:54.409 --> 00:35:56.429 But ultimately, God, we just praise you. We thank 00:35:56.429 --> 00:35:58.989 you. We thank you for who you are. We thank you 00:35:58.989 --> 00:36:00.570 for what you have blessed us with, what you have 00:36:00.570 --> 00:36:02.710 given us. We thank you for the invitation to 00:36:02.710 --> 00:36:05.289 be a part of the family. We pray this in Jesus' 00:36:05.409 --> 00:36:06.630 name. Amen.