WEBVTT 00:00:04.060 --> 00:00:08.039 Hello everybody and welcome to the Pursuing Jesus 00:00:08.039 --> 00:00:11.500 podcast. On today's episode, we're going to be 00:00:11.500 --> 00:00:14.380 looking at a number of passages in Mark 9 that 00:00:14.380 --> 00:00:17.019 all deal really at the heart of it about pride. 00:00:17.320 --> 00:00:20.079 So we're glad you're here. Get buckled up, grab 00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:27.359 some coffee and come join us. Well, good morning 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:30.920 or evening midday midnight happy 2 a .m. And 00:00:30.920 --> 00:00:33.700 we ever follow up with those 4 a .m. Listeners 00:00:33.700 --> 00:00:37.079 No, we didn't we didn't you just your intro reminded 00:00:37.079 --> 00:00:38.780 me and I haven't thought about it since we talked 00:00:38.780 --> 00:00:41.619 about it Yeah, no, I as of yet. I have nobody 00:00:41.619 --> 00:00:43.829 at 4 a .m Yeah, I don't. I don't think we're 00:00:43.829 --> 00:00:45.929 going to get those. I think this will be a personal 00:00:45.929 --> 00:00:47.969 challenge to at least one person who I will not 00:00:47.969 --> 00:00:49.670 name on the podcast. They've gotten a lot of 00:00:49.670 --> 00:00:56.570 name drops lately from our church. Anyways, howdy. 00:00:56.590 --> 00:00:59.570 It's a good like time neutral greeting. Welcome 00:00:59.570 --> 00:01:03.590 to Pursuing Jesus. I am we in the West. Howdy. 00:01:03.750 --> 00:01:07.030 We're in the South. Howdy. I've heard several 00:01:07.030 --> 00:01:08.989 howdy's it's most of mostly from the older crowd 00:01:08.989 --> 00:01:11.329 and if you say howdy to them They usually like 00:01:11.329 --> 00:01:14.010 howdy duty do they have a ten gallon hat and 00:01:14.010 --> 00:01:17.769 boots on no, but I assure you that if I had any 00:01:17.769 --> 00:01:20.329 kind of Country in me. I would be showing up 00:01:20.329 --> 00:01:23.010 in cowboy boots and a ten gallon hat, you know 00:01:23.010 --> 00:01:26.010 That's I've never ever owned a single pair of 00:01:26.010 --> 00:01:28.950 cowboy boots neither of either. However, however 00:01:28.950 --> 00:01:32.329 I think I could wear cowboy boots. So I feel 00:01:32.329 --> 00:01:35.670 like it's I've seen cowboy boots with everything 00:01:35.689 --> 00:01:38.650 Like I've got a buddy from Texas and he wears 00:01:38.650 --> 00:01:42.390 a Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts everywhere. 00:01:42.549 --> 00:01:45.390 And he's from Texas. And so on occasion, he will 00:01:45.390 --> 00:01:48.810 wear a Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts and cowboy 00:01:48.810 --> 00:01:52.969 boots. Boots with the shorts. Boots with the 00:01:52.969 --> 00:01:56.250 shorts. I can see Sean rocking that. It's impressive. 00:01:56.370 --> 00:01:57.950 I guess it's better than boots with the fur. 00:02:05.309 --> 00:02:08.550 Oh my head, the whole church was looking at her. 00:02:10.889 --> 00:02:15.909 How's the next line go? John? Nope. This one. 00:02:17.050 --> 00:02:19.419 Oh man, that's good. That's good stuff. guys. 00:02:19.419 --> 00:02:21.199 I think I'm going to just kind of draw us right 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:23.099 back in here. I we got to get to our text. This 00:02:23.099 --> 00:02:25.639 is a great idea. I haven't even said the title 00:02:25.639 --> 00:02:28.840 of our podcast yet. This is pursuing Jesus with 00:02:28.840 --> 00:02:32.139 Memorial Baptist. I'm Ben Smith and that is Sean 00:02:32.139 --> 00:02:35.400 Griffin. Hello people, I see them and that is 00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:40.699 a Dr. Johan Ferguson Jeff and I'm going to start 00:02:40.699 --> 00:02:44.729 with our first text mercy. So, the day that I 00:02:44.729 --> 00:02:49.389 zeroed in on was April the 19th. So, this is 00:02:49.389 --> 00:02:50.810 one of those where it's like there are parallel 00:02:50.810 --> 00:02:55.169 accounts here. We'll primarily pull from the 00:02:55.169 --> 00:02:59.330 Mark account. So, this comes from Mark 9 and 00:02:59.330 --> 00:03:01.909 it's right after Jesus has healed a demonized 00:03:01.909 --> 00:03:04.229 boy here and they think he's dead and then he 00:03:04.229 --> 00:03:06.830 raises the kid up. So, but it's starting in verse 00:03:06.830 --> 00:03:10.129 30 and it says, they went on from there and passed 00:03:10.129 --> 00:03:12.990 through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know 00:03:12.990 --> 00:03:15.409 for he was teaching his disciples saying to them 00:03:15.409 --> 00:03:17.770 The son of man is going to be delivered into 00:03:17.770 --> 00:03:20.770 the hands of men and they will kill him and when 00:03:20.770 --> 00:03:23.189 he is killed after three days He will rise, but 00:03:23.189 --> 00:03:25.469 they did not understand the saying and were afraid 00:03:25.469 --> 00:03:29.379 to ask him so This is one of those texts, and 00:03:29.379 --> 00:03:31.500 Sean has talked about this before, where like, 00:03:31.620 --> 00:03:33.979 first reading didn't really yield much for me. 00:03:34.099 --> 00:03:37.539 I mean, it's a small little kind of interjection. 00:03:37.879 --> 00:03:42.819 It's like a traveling side quest, you know? But 00:03:42.819 --> 00:03:44.439 as I continue to read it and pray through it, 00:03:44.599 --> 00:03:47.219 I felt like a couple of things stood out to me. 00:03:47.539 --> 00:03:50.680 One is just like, Jesus's tenderness for his 00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:52.599 disciples. Because like, this is not the first 00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:54.979 time that he talks about like, hey, I'm going 00:03:54.979 --> 00:03:57.259 to be executed. They're going to grab me. They're 00:03:57.259 --> 00:04:00.259 going to kill me. And like, he goes through Galilee 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:02.460 and he's intentional to take that time with them. 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:05.699 Even if they still don't get it. And of course, 00:04:05.780 --> 00:04:08.379 that's something that he would know that they 00:04:08.379 --> 00:04:10.180 weren't going to get it. But my second thing 00:04:10.180 --> 00:04:13.319 is like, how do we feel about the disciples, 00:04:13.560 --> 00:04:16.699 like continuing not to understand? Like, Jesus 00:04:16.699 --> 00:04:18.259 has said it, Jesus has said it, Jesus has said 00:04:18.259 --> 00:04:21.860 it. Is this an opportunity to like... dunk on 00:04:21.860 --> 00:04:24.040 them? Is this like I would do the same thing? 00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:26.800 What do you guys think? Well, when you look at 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:28.240 the scriptures of the Old Testament, you know, 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:30.879 they're predicting a messiah to come and rule 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:34.319 and reign, and he's talking about death. They're 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:36.160 seeing it from the perspective the Pharisees 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:38.699 were looking for, and it's all they've been taught, 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:41.889 so it's... a course correction for them. Yeah, 00:04:42.009 --> 00:04:43.069 I was actually going to, I mean, I was thinking 00:04:43.069 --> 00:04:45.250 the same thing. It's expectations. You know, 00:04:45.389 --> 00:04:48.490 it's, they had one thing, they had, as John was 00:04:48.490 --> 00:04:50.430 saying, their minds were set on what they thought 00:04:50.430 --> 00:04:52.509 the Messiah was going to be. And even getting 00:04:52.509 --> 00:04:55.850 to know Jesus there, but I feel like, you know, 00:04:55.889 --> 00:04:58.290 we don't know this exactly from Scripture, but 00:04:58.290 --> 00:05:01.490 I feel like they still struggled. with that expectation 00:05:01.490 --> 00:05:05.889 of wanting to have that ruler to come in and 00:05:05.889 --> 00:05:09.730 take over Rome, to put Israel back, to be a king 00:05:09.730 --> 00:05:13.230 again. They wanted a King David, you know? And 00:05:13.230 --> 00:05:15.449 so yeah, so I think having those expectations 00:05:15.449 --> 00:05:17.529 and now all of a sudden they're hearing that 00:05:17.529 --> 00:05:20.449 he's going to be killed, you know? And it's like, 00:05:20.610 --> 00:05:22.430 no, no, no, that's not what we want. We want 00:05:22.430 --> 00:05:24.209 someone to come in here and rule and take over. 00:05:24.829 --> 00:05:27.870 And we talked about that last week with Jesus 00:05:27.870 --> 00:05:29.509 talking to Peter and the disciples about it, 00:05:29.730 --> 00:05:32.529 and Peter saying, nah. And then Jesus saying, 00:05:32.689 --> 00:05:35.470 get behind me, Satan. That is Satan's agenda 00:05:35.470 --> 00:05:37.850 for this world, not God's agenda for this world. 00:05:38.790 --> 00:05:43.209 So I'm curious, with the line of talking about 00:05:43.209 --> 00:05:46.269 expectations, what are some areas that you guys 00:05:46.269 --> 00:05:48.889 feel like people have expectations of the church 00:05:48.889 --> 00:05:52.389 or of the Christian life that just aren't true? 00:05:52.600 --> 00:05:55.139 What is that? How have y 'all seen that? Well, 00:05:55.180 --> 00:05:57.720 it depends on what bracket you are in your age 00:05:57.720 --> 00:05:59.779 group. If you're a senior adult, you're looking 00:05:59.779 --> 00:06:01.879 for a church that's got a great senior adult 00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:03.339 program. If you've got children, you're looking 00:06:03.339 --> 00:06:05.360 for a church with a great children's program. 00:06:06.180 --> 00:06:08.660 It really depends on what part of life you're 00:06:08.660 --> 00:06:11.259 in, I feel like. And so the expectation is based 00:06:11.259 --> 00:06:13.860 on what season of life you're in and what you're 00:06:13.860 --> 00:06:15.939 going through. I feel like one area that I've 00:06:15.939 --> 00:06:20.240 seen expectations need shifted in not just our 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:22.600 church, but in the capital C church. community 00:06:22.600 --> 00:06:26.500 here in the West is like, the expectation that 00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:29.180 church is one of many extracurricular options. 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:33.160 Like, yeah, dude, we've got church scheduled 00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:36.040 for, depending on when you meet, let's say, 830 00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:39.220 or 11 o 'clock on Sunday morning. And this is 00:06:39.220 --> 00:06:42.120 an addition to my life, not the Christian life 00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:45.980 as a foundation of my life. I remember when I 00:06:45.980 --> 00:06:51.170 was interning at a church. the pastor said that 00:06:51.170 --> 00:06:55.490 in order for a church to thrive, it has to stand 00:06:55.490 --> 00:07:01.209 on three legs, preaching, worship, and children's 00:07:01.209 --> 00:07:03.560 student ministry. Okay. And so it's kind of, 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:05.959 and it shows the culture of what is expected. 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:07.899 We want good worship. We want good preaching 00:07:07.899 --> 00:07:10.620 and I want something for my kids. It's a shoppers 00:07:10.620 --> 00:07:12.339 mentality. Yeah. You know, it's so funny that 00:07:12.339 --> 00:07:14.759 you say that when, when my grandfather, um, a 00:07:14.759 --> 00:07:17.459 couple of years ago moved into a new area, he 00:07:17.459 --> 00:07:19.220 wrote down a list of three things and it was, 00:07:19.259 --> 00:07:21.040 he had this deep John Wayne voice and it was 00:07:21.040 --> 00:07:23.439 like, I want to find a church with good preaching 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:26.660 something for the kids. and they got a place 00:07:26.660 --> 00:07:30.339 in Southern gospel. And ironically, he never 00:07:30.339 --> 00:07:32.220 found a church that did all three well. And so 00:07:32.220 --> 00:07:34.620 he ended up settling on preaching and kids. See, 00:07:34.660 --> 00:07:36.740 I think the expectations there is a big deal 00:07:36.740 --> 00:07:39.279 for this text. But my other question is this, 00:07:39.639 --> 00:07:43.759 have y 'all ever been told something that only 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:47.500 made sense later? Because I look at the disciples' 00:07:47.720 --> 00:07:51.519 response here, and they're scared to ask him 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:55.100 further. And I think part of this is about disappointing 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:56.839 those expectations that you talked about, Sean. 00:07:57.300 --> 00:07:58.519 Yeah. Well, you think about all the times your 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:00.500 parents probably told you, you'll get this when 00:08:00.500 --> 00:08:02.970 you have your own kids. I've heard that many 00:08:02.970 --> 00:08:04.870 a time. And then when you do have your kids, 00:08:05.110 --> 00:08:07.329 you're exactly right. I mean, my parents used 00:08:07.329 --> 00:08:09.529 to say that when they would spank me, you know, 00:08:09.529 --> 00:08:11.829 this hurts me more than it hurts you. And I used 00:08:11.829 --> 00:08:13.810 to think, well, give me the belt and I'll prove 00:08:13.810 --> 00:08:16.050 it does. And, you know, that never happened. 00:08:16.050 --> 00:08:18.689 But then I had to discipline my own kids and 00:08:18.689 --> 00:08:21.550 I then understood exactly what they're referring 00:08:21.550 --> 00:08:23.850 to. You know what always freaked me out about 00:08:23.850 --> 00:08:25.350 that? What always freaked you out about that? 00:08:25.689 --> 00:08:30.879 So I was, I was a hellion. Let's just let's just 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:32.779 leave it at that. I was a terrible I was a terrible 00:08:32.779 --> 00:08:36.200 teenager And so one of the things that was stuck 00:08:36.200 --> 00:08:39.220 in my brain for the longest time was the the 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:42.419 idea of reaping and sowing and then and basically 00:08:42.419 --> 00:08:45.000 I was I was so afraid when me and Tiffany started 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:48.820 having kids that my kids were going to be Insane 00:08:48.820 --> 00:08:52.299 and I'm like I apologize Tiffany. It is my fault 00:08:52.299 --> 00:08:56.139 You are going to you are going to Tiffany She 00:08:56.139 --> 00:08:57.700 she calls, you know, she even says again. She 00:08:57.700 --> 00:09:01.610 was a goody goody in school Um, and so like but 00:09:01.610 --> 00:09:04.250 i'm the one like i'm the rebellion one. I was 00:09:04.250 --> 00:09:06.990 the one that that tried all the stupid stuff 00:09:07.309 --> 00:09:11.090 And I was literally freaked out when we first 00:09:11.090 --> 00:09:13.690 started having kids. My kids are going to be 00:09:13.690 --> 00:09:17.509 terrible. And it was solely because I'm reaping 00:09:17.509 --> 00:09:20.129 what I'm sowing. Not thinking that I'll also 00:09:20.129 --> 00:09:22.289 get the chance to sow in good deposits to my 00:09:22.289 --> 00:09:24.429 own children. That never came across my brain. 00:09:24.970 --> 00:09:27.389 But just that because of who I was, I'm going 00:09:27.389 --> 00:09:33.009 to be paying for that. Thank God I was I sewed 00:09:33.009 --> 00:09:36.330 great deposits into my kids and I have some amazing 00:09:36.330 --> 00:09:39.509 kids so far shout out Griffin clan I will say 00:09:39.509 --> 00:09:41.490 though. I think there's like a little so I've 00:09:41.490 --> 00:09:45.029 heard that before right even even from pulpits 00:09:45.029 --> 00:09:47.789 like, you know You don't don't make dumb decisions 00:09:47.789 --> 00:09:50.049 because your kids will too and there's there's 00:09:50.049 --> 00:09:52.690 some degree of like even biological precedent 00:09:52.690 --> 00:09:54.690 for that this ends the father visited on the 00:09:54.690 --> 00:09:57.159 Sun, but I I think there's a little bit of like 00:09:57.159 --> 00:09:59.779 legalism and works built in there too. Like, 00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:02.399 like, you know, it's, it's, it's fear among, 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:05.259 it can be fear mongering in that regard. Well, 00:10:05.299 --> 00:10:07.379 and in the same sense too, I remember that when 00:10:07.379 --> 00:10:10.919 I was, I had a really good friend. Yeah. He grew 00:10:10.919 --> 00:10:13.379 up like incredible Christian from a young age 00:10:13.379 --> 00:10:15.480 from like, you know, young middle school got 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:19.259 saved. I mean, evangelized, shared the gospel 00:10:19.259 --> 00:10:25.279 at school, never slept with a girl. I mean, just 00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:28.460 all this stuff. And then here I am, just the 00:10:28.460 --> 00:10:31.340 complete opposite person in high school. And 00:10:31.340 --> 00:10:33.620 then me and him, we got married around the same 00:10:33.620 --> 00:10:38.659 age. And his marriage ended up not working out. 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:41.500 And once again, like this whole concept of like, 00:10:41.559 --> 00:10:44.240 I'm the one that doesn't deserve this, you know? 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:47.279 Like I put that on myself of like, because of 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:50.399 how I acted, I should not be the one that has 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:52.840 a great marriage with a great wife that's lasted 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:55.940 this long. He's the one that did everything right, 00:10:55.980 --> 00:10:59.399 but then didn't marry the right person, you know? 00:10:59.419 --> 00:11:01.600 And it's just, but it's that whole concept of 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:03.820 this is what was ingrained in my brain of like, 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:07.559 no, I should suffer for what I used to do, not 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:10.039 realizing that I'm also on the grace of God. 00:11:10.700 --> 00:11:12.340 Seriously. I mean, that's the gospel right there. 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:14.320 But we do that to ourselves, right? We think, 00:11:14.659 --> 00:11:17.860 and it is, I deserve. I don't deserve Tiffany. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:20.519 I don't deserve a good marriage. I don't deserve 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:23.259 any of these things because of the life that 00:11:23.259 --> 00:11:26.840 I lived. But all of that was covered by the blood 00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:29.120 of Jesus on the cross. Come on. You don't make 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:31.519 me think of the proverb that Israel used to use 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:33.539 in the book of Ezekiel. And it would say that 00:11:33.539 --> 00:11:35.919 the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:38.820 teeth are set on edge. And God had to come in 00:11:38.820 --> 00:11:41.039 and say, listen, you're going to pay for your 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:44.139 own sins. Your sins are not going to impact your 00:11:44.139 --> 00:11:47.299 children. their sins will impact them. Just as 00:11:47.299 --> 00:11:48.919 the children's sins won't affect the father, 00:11:49.019 --> 00:11:50.320 the father's sins won't affect the children. 00:11:50.759 --> 00:11:53.399 And I am so thankful we live in an age of grace 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:57.399 and not rules, laws, and everything else in between. 00:11:57.539 --> 00:12:00.659 Yeah. And it's easy to get back to that law place 00:12:00.659 --> 00:12:04.500 in our head. Like, even your fear of having crazy 00:12:04.500 --> 00:12:07.240 kids, like, you were saved. You knew the gospel. 00:12:07.299 --> 00:12:09.700 You knew those things. But that... applying it 00:12:09.700 --> 00:12:11.860 in a new category was something that you had 00:12:11.860 --> 00:12:13.500 to come into. Yeah. I mean, going back to the 00:12:13.500 --> 00:12:14.639 text you read, it was kind of like, you know, 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:18.279 I had these expectations in my brain of, yeah, 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:21.980 like, and even that, this was me post, you know, 00:12:22.139 --> 00:12:25.659 going to Bible college, having been being trained 00:12:25.659 --> 00:12:27.500 under these amazing professors and doing this. 00:12:27.879 --> 00:12:30.220 But because I had this thought, because someone 00:12:30.220 --> 00:12:32.980 in my past probably, maybe even only one time, 00:12:33.470 --> 00:12:35.529 said, oh, just wait till you have kids. They're 00:12:35.529 --> 00:12:37.669 going to be crazy. You know? We share that all 00:12:37.669 --> 00:12:39.190 the time. You know, it might, it might just be 00:12:39.190 --> 00:12:41.049 that someone said at one time it was stuck in 00:12:41.049 --> 00:12:43.350 my head. And I think of, I don't know how many 00:12:43.350 --> 00:12:44.870 of our podcast listeners, maybe there's something 00:12:44.870 --> 00:12:46.750 in their life like that because someone said 00:12:46.750 --> 00:12:49.950 something one time to them. Yep. Here's, here's 00:12:49.950 --> 00:12:51.649 one. And I'll, and I'll keep it a little bit 00:12:51.649 --> 00:12:54.049 vague. But our church people will know, but there's 00:12:54.049 --> 00:12:56.370 someone that I pray with most every 11 o 'clock 00:12:56.370 --> 00:12:59.330 service, right? When he comes down to pray with 00:12:59.330 --> 00:13:03.210 me, there are two sins. that he asked for forgiveness 00:13:03.210 --> 00:13:06.769 from every single Sunday. And I talked to his 00:13:06.769 --> 00:13:10.009 mom about it, and the reason he does that is 00:13:10.009 --> 00:13:11.509 because someone told him he was going to hell 00:13:11.509 --> 00:13:16.039 because of those two sins. Come on man. Yeah, 00:13:16.200 --> 00:13:18.679 but but you're exactly right And so it is and 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:21.080 then and then and then for those that don't under 00:13:21.080 --> 00:13:24.000 the context, you know, he is He has a mental 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:26.899 disability and it has stuck with him for his 00:13:26.899 --> 00:13:29.360 in for his and this was when he was younger Yeah, 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:31.460 and it is still stuck with him and he asked for 00:13:31.460 --> 00:13:35.120 forgiveness every Sunday. Wow. Yeah power of 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:38.200 words. Yeah I've heard a pastor say one time 00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:41.159 that our words create worlds. I mean, I think 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:44.399 the biblical version of that is the tongue is 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:47.019 a small little organ, but it can steer the whole 00:13:47.019 --> 00:13:50.600 ship. It's a small little spark that can start 00:13:50.600 --> 00:13:56.740 a forest fire. Man, I think for us who are ministers 00:13:56.740 --> 00:13:59.480 of the gospel, there's a, I think that's one 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:01.039 of the reasons that there's higher accountability 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:04.539 for us. Because what we say, particularly what 00:14:04.539 --> 00:14:07.700 we say and also hold up a Bible and say, thus 00:14:07.700 --> 00:14:11.980 saith the Lord, really, really matters. But I 00:14:11.980 --> 00:14:14.139 don't think it's just limited to us as pastors. 00:14:14.580 --> 00:14:19.240 If you bear the name of Jesus, whether you say 00:14:19.240 --> 00:14:22.019 that you're speaking on his behalf or not, people 00:14:22.019 --> 00:14:24.629 will remember what you say. Yeah. So speak grace. 00:14:25.090 --> 00:14:28.149 If you get nothing else from this, speak grace. 00:14:29.149 --> 00:14:32.009 Well, John, you want to go ahead and pivot to 00:14:32.009 --> 00:14:35.009 your text here? Sure. Yeah, I chose the one that's 00:14:35.009 --> 00:14:40.950 on April 18th on my wife's birthday. But I love 00:14:40.950 --> 00:14:43.389 this story. I could not wait to get this story. 00:14:43.409 --> 00:14:45.779 It is. One of my favorites. And I'm really just 00:14:45.779 --> 00:14:47.779 going to touch on two things out of the story. 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:50.919 There's so much to unwrap here. Is there a particular 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:52.059 passage you're going to with, or are you just 00:14:52.059 --> 00:14:54.720 kind of bringing them all together? Mark 9 is 00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:56.799 the one that's got a lot more in it. Mark 9, 00:14:56.799 --> 00:15:01.419 14 through 29. So what we have is this falls 00:15:01.419 --> 00:15:04.000 on the heels of the transfiguration. In fact, 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:06.940 the first part of it actually happens while the 00:15:06.940 --> 00:15:09.559 transfiguration is taking place. James, Peter, 00:15:09.659 --> 00:15:11.460 and John are all up on the mountain with Jesus. 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:13.879 And the father comes to these nine disciples 00:15:13.879 --> 00:15:15.899 and he asks them to heal his son. His son is 00:15:15.899 --> 00:15:17.659 demon possessed, throws him in the water, throws 00:15:17.659 --> 00:15:20.220 him in the fire, tries to hurt him. And he asks 00:15:20.220 --> 00:15:24.700 the disciples to heal him. Now, they can't. And 00:15:24.700 --> 00:15:26.820 so I want to ask you guys, why do you think that 00:15:26.820 --> 00:15:28.759 this was? Because they've already been sent out. 00:15:28.779 --> 00:15:30.279 We've talked about them being sent out as the 00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:33.480 twelve. They've cast out demons. They've healed 00:15:33.480 --> 00:15:36.139 blind people. They've made lame people walk. 00:15:36.679 --> 00:15:39.000 Why do you think they couldn't do it? Why could 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:44.139 these nine not heal this young boy? I was trying 00:15:44.139 --> 00:15:45.899 to read this passage as you were talking so I 00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:49.200 can get caught up in it, but I don't think it 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:51.860 was this passage, but there is one where the 00:15:51.860 --> 00:15:54.120 disciples couldn't heal and it was sold because 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:56.399 it was their faith. They didn't have faith. And 00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:58.059 I think that's the passage where it goes on and 00:15:58.059 --> 00:16:00.879 says where Jesus says, if you had the faith of 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:02.860 a mustard seed, you could move a mountain. That's 00:16:02.860 --> 00:16:05.059 the Matthew account of this? Okay. So that is 00:16:05.059 --> 00:16:07.279 this one. It's just a different one. Okay. So, 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:10.299 I mean, I'm going to go with Jesus' words there, 00:16:10.299 --> 00:16:15.559 but at the same time, I don't know. I mean, you 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:18.789 know. just hearing that from Jesus, that if we 00:16:18.789 --> 00:16:22.070 have the faith of a mustard seed, I think about 00:16:22.070 --> 00:16:25.110 my faith, and I think about the times that I 00:16:25.110 --> 00:16:28.210 fail personally, right? About the times that 00:16:28.210 --> 00:16:32.730 either I have fallen to sin in the past, or I 00:16:32.730 --> 00:16:35.269 think about times where I didn't trust the Lord 00:16:35.269 --> 00:16:39.009 like I knew I should have. And, you know, sometimes, 00:16:39.190 --> 00:16:41.870 like, I've talked about how I've been in a season 00:16:41.870 --> 00:16:44.009 where I feel like I'm waiting on the Lord to 00:16:44.009 --> 00:16:46.539 do things in my life, and And sometimes when 00:16:46.539 --> 00:16:48.559 you're in those seasons, you want to try to rush 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:53.240 God. So I used the example, I used a stupid example 00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:55.580 with our students in our small group. We were 00:16:55.580 --> 00:16:57.139 kind of talking about the same kind of concept. 00:16:57.779 --> 00:16:59.259 And I was like, you know, and we were talking 00:16:59.259 --> 00:17:01.799 about how it was actually, oh, it was the virgin 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:05.460 birth. And we went back to the original prophecy 00:17:05.460 --> 00:17:09.259 of, you know, of Jesus being born from a virgin. 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:11.339 And it was this whole thing of being asking for 00:17:11.339 --> 00:17:13.859 a sign. And, you know, I was telling like, hey, 00:17:13.880 --> 00:17:16.490 you know, when the then that when the king would 00:17:16.490 --> 00:17:18.630 have heard this, it's kind of like this, like 00:17:18.630 --> 00:17:20.450 really, this is the sign I'm waiting for, something 00:17:20.450 --> 00:17:22.849 that's absolutely impossible. And I kind of, 00:17:23.049 --> 00:17:24.490 it's kind of like, you know, hey guys, if you 00:17:24.490 --> 00:17:26.930 were asking the Lord for something and he's like, 00:17:26.950 --> 00:17:28.950 well, when a purple horse runs out in front of 00:17:28.950 --> 00:17:31.329 you, then you know that it's time. You know, 00:17:31.430 --> 00:17:32.769 it's kind of like some of the things like some 00:17:32.769 --> 00:17:35.039 of you. you're going to go find a horse. You're 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:37.119 going to paint that sucker purple. You're going 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:39.619 to smack its butt and try to get it to run in 00:17:39.619 --> 00:17:41.400 front of you, you know, like because we're trying 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:44.319 to rush what the Lord is doing when it's like, 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:46.000 but no, but that's not, that's not what the Lord 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:47.960 wants. You know, there's, so there's that lack 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:50.099 of faith element. And I think the lack of faith 00:17:50.099 --> 00:17:52.180 matters because like at the end of this text, 00:17:52.180 --> 00:17:56.200 like the disciples ask him like 27 and 29, like 00:17:56.200 --> 00:17:57.859 when they enter into the house that he's going 00:17:57.859 --> 00:17:59.920 to, why can't you cast it out? And he says, this 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:01.920 kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer. 00:18:02.509 --> 00:18:05.009 But that ties with the beginning of the passage 00:18:05.009 --> 00:18:08.049 to me. Look at what happens as Jesus walks up 00:18:08.049 --> 00:18:12.970 on the scene. They're arguing. And I picture 00:18:12.970 --> 00:18:14.750 this here. There's the commotion. There's the 00:18:14.750 --> 00:18:16.750 commotion. And somebody from the crowd just shouts 00:18:16.750 --> 00:18:19.190 out, teacher, I brought you my son. And I asked 00:18:19.190 --> 00:18:20.650 your disciples to cast it out. And they were 00:18:20.650 --> 00:18:23.630 not able. How on earth did it get from I can't 00:18:23.630 --> 00:18:27.509 do this to arguing? And I think about times where 00:18:27.509 --> 00:18:30.490 I have tried to do ministry in my own strength. 00:18:30.759 --> 00:18:33.380 times where I've not included the Lord in things 00:18:33.380 --> 00:18:35.680 as simple as song choice or decisions that I 00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:37.599 feel like He's leading me one direction, and 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:41.299 I've gone the other way. I wonder, and tying 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:43.299 that with the theme of prayer, I wonder if this 00:18:43.299 --> 00:18:46.200 was the disciples got a little cocky, or I wonder 00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:49.019 if this was the disciples trying to do something 00:18:49.019 --> 00:18:52.180 that is supernatural from a place of their own 00:18:52.180 --> 00:18:55.319 physical strength, or just not being tapped into 00:18:55.319 --> 00:18:57.849 the Lord because... It not being cast out by 00:18:57.849 --> 00:19:02.049 prayer is a real thing. I mean, I have participated 00:19:02.049 --> 00:19:04.710 in deliverance ministry where we've prayed over 00:19:04.710 --> 00:19:07.710 people who have dealt with spiritual oppression. 00:19:08.009 --> 00:19:10.630 And I can say from my own personal experience, 00:19:10.750 --> 00:19:12.390 there are times that I have walked into that 00:19:12.390 --> 00:19:15.390 and have not done the hard work beforehand. And 00:19:15.390 --> 00:19:20.259 it's been ineffective. Even people having like 00:19:20.259 --> 00:19:22.380 mocking attitudes or dispositions towards me 00:19:22.380 --> 00:19:23.900 where like you hear it in the New Testament, 00:19:23.980 --> 00:19:26.400 you know, Paul I know, Jesus I know, who the 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:30.140 heck are you? And so I wonder here if this was 00:19:30.140 --> 00:19:33.099 another example of like kind of their lack of 00:19:33.099 --> 00:19:35.480 faith, lack of connection with the Lord, because 00:19:35.480 --> 00:19:38.019 the power for things like this comes from Him, 00:19:38.299 --> 00:19:41.109 apart from Him we can do. nothing. Yeah. And 00:19:41.109 --> 00:19:43.250 I think they finally get it right, you know, 00:19:43.289 --> 00:19:44.950 when it comes to the book of Acts. But here, 00:19:45.049 --> 00:19:47.269 I think that's it. I think it was an overconfidence, 00:19:47.450 --> 00:19:49.369 an overconfidence in themselves because they've 00:19:49.369 --> 00:19:52.210 done this before. You know, Peter in the book 00:19:52.210 --> 00:19:55.109 of Acts, he realizes that it's all about Christ. 00:19:55.130 --> 00:19:56.829 And when he looks at the man who's lame at the 00:19:56.829 --> 00:19:58.609 house, he says, silver and gold have I not, but 00:19:58.609 --> 00:20:00.329 what I have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ, 00:20:00.369 --> 00:20:03.150 rise up and wall. And so, I think that that's 00:20:03.150 --> 00:20:05.809 exactly what it was, is they just found themselves 00:20:06.579 --> 00:20:08.880 Trusting in themselves. We've done this before 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:10.839 this should be easy We should be able to accomplish 00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:13.940 this and then it doesn't happen And so when Jesus 00:20:13.940 --> 00:20:16.759 comes there and he makes a statement about belief 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:20.059 He says it several times and but the last one 00:20:20.059 --> 00:20:21.779 he says in verse 23 says but Jesus said to him 00:20:21.779 --> 00:20:25.940 if you can all things are possible for the one 00:20:25.940 --> 00:20:29.380 who believes But my favorite part of this is 00:20:29.380 --> 00:20:33.380 his response the father's response. I do believe 00:20:33.589 --> 00:20:39.549 help my unbelief. And I am fascinated with this 00:20:39.549 --> 00:20:44.509 guy because I lose faith sometimes. I lose sight 00:20:44.509 --> 00:20:49.650 sometimes. And I want to believe and I really, 00:20:49.650 --> 00:20:53.410 really know who God is, but there are those moments, 00:20:53.490 --> 00:20:55.849 those fleeting moments where it just kind of, 00:20:55.849 --> 00:20:59.730 you know that you're not like all there. And 00:20:59.730 --> 00:21:04.569 so this guy is just... genuine, truthful admission 00:21:04.569 --> 00:21:09.089 to God is mind -blowing. And I think the problem, 00:21:09.509 --> 00:21:13.470 we treat prayer sometimes like Pharisees where 00:21:13.470 --> 00:21:17.029 we're like, Lord, I believe. I believe. I believe. 00:21:17.170 --> 00:21:20.029 And we go in with that mindset that, yeah, we're 00:21:20.029 --> 00:21:21.450 not going to falter. We're not going to fail. 00:21:21.750 --> 00:21:26.049 But this guy is just genuine. He's real. He's 00:21:26.049 --> 00:21:29.369 truthful. I do believe, but help my unbelief. 00:21:29.490 --> 00:21:32.650 If there is some miniscule part in me that is 00:21:32.650 --> 00:21:34.809 keeping this from happening, this is my child, 00:21:35.170 --> 00:21:39.930 I am begging you, you are the only one I so desperately 00:21:39.930 --> 00:21:45.250 need you. And I wish we as Christians would get 00:21:45.250 --> 00:21:49.609 to that point of desperation where all we do 00:21:49.609 --> 00:21:52.769 is trust God for every situation in life. I think 00:21:52.769 --> 00:21:55.490 it's also an attitude of humility too, where 00:21:55.490 --> 00:21:59.390 he's coming, like, he's admitting to Jesus, like, 00:22:00.170 --> 00:22:03.430 I'm not there. I'm not there. And I think that's 00:22:03.430 --> 00:22:05.549 what Jesus wants from all of us as well, is to 00:22:05.549 --> 00:22:07.849 come to him and be like, hey, you know, none 00:22:07.849 --> 00:22:10.170 of us are ever going to say, yay, I made it. 00:22:10.690 --> 00:22:12.970 I have reached the pinnacle of Christianity. 00:22:13.809 --> 00:22:17.230 And if we ever do have that attitude. You're 00:22:17.230 --> 00:22:19.819 probably entering the gates of heaven. Yeah, 00:22:19.859 --> 00:22:23.400 it's not the gates of hell. Oh yeah. Very true. 00:22:24.259 --> 00:22:26.319 But so that's, that's really what I see here 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:28.799 is this, this man's like, Hey, I don't have it 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:31.880 all together. I don't know it all. I'm just trusting 00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:35.299 you. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that that belief 00:22:35.299 --> 00:22:37.980 and that attitude, I believe help my unbelief 00:22:37.980 --> 00:22:40.859 is a case by case in our lives. Like, I feel 00:22:40.859 --> 00:22:43.099 like the Lord shows us that like the first thing 00:22:43.099 --> 00:22:46.859 we learn is the gospel in genuine faith and the 00:22:46.859 --> 00:22:52.109 next 70, 80, however long you live years, is 00:22:52.109 --> 00:22:55.069 though I think the gradually broadening expanse 00:22:55.069 --> 00:22:57.569 of how that touches different things. And so 00:22:57.569 --> 00:22:59.289 he allows things to happen in our lives where 00:22:59.289 --> 00:23:02.750 it's like, I believe, ooh, help my unbelief. 00:23:03.069 --> 00:23:06.569 Okay, I believe. Oh, not in that area, help my 00:23:06.569 --> 00:23:10.069 unbelief. And so that's one of the ways that 00:23:10.069 --> 00:23:12.069 I think he works us, you know, talks about working 00:23:12.069 --> 00:23:14.049 out our salvation with fear and trembling, for 00:23:14.049 --> 00:23:17.160 it is the Lord who works in you. It's both halves 00:23:17.160 --> 00:23:19.880 right there. We are believing. We're making the 00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:22.779 effort. We're coming to Jesus, but he's the one 00:23:22.779 --> 00:23:26.019 who is continuing to work in and on our hearts. 00:23:26.660 --> 00:23:29.119 One other thing that was interesting about this 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:30.740 text when I found it, I'm curious what you guys 00:23:30.740 --> 00:23:33.819 think about this. I see Satan at work in two 00:23:33.819 --> 00:23:37.420 distinct ways here. One is with the boy, right? 00:23:37.420 --> 00:23:41.119 And it's super duper obvious. Verse 21 and 22. 00:23:41.769 --> 00:23:43.930 Jesus asks, how long is this happening to him? 00:23:43.930 --> 00:23:46.490 And he said, from childhood, it is often cast 00:23:46.490 --> 00:23:49.450 him into fire and water to destroy him. Very, 00:23:49.470 --> 00:23:52.549 very simple. That is Satan's goal for us, to 00:23:52.549 --> 00:23:56.710 destroy us. But do you see that also in the disciples, 00:23:56.829 --> 00:24:00.529 if it is lack of faith, that the temptation towards 00:24:00.529 --> 00:24:04.269 pride and leaning on our own strength is another 00:24:04.269 --> 00:24:07.059 way that Satan is trying to destroy us? That's 00:24:07.059 --> 00:24:09.920 a, that's a, it's a more insidious way, but it's 00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:11.839 that, it's that little bit of ego that you got 00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:14.759 this. You know what? You don't need to, like, 00:24:14.859 --> 00:24:16.339 you don't need to pray about that, dude. Just, 00:24:16.339 --> 00:24:17.680 just make the best decision. You know what's 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:20.480 going on. And I think that, that if we get too 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:23.759 comfortable as believers, we can become like 00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:26.799 the disciples in this regard and do the things 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:30.240 that look like faithful actions without faith. 00:24:30.859 --> 00:24:33.299 Yeah. Wow. That's good. Well, Sean, how about 00:24:33.299 --> 00:24:36.089 you? What about your passage this week? So we've 00:24:36.089 --> 00:24:38.869 done it again, guys, um, where we've all got 00:24:38.869 --> 00:24:41.269 our passages that line up together right after 00:24:41.269 --> 00:24:44.329 each other. We all kind of settled in Mark, um, 00:24:44.369 --> 00:24:47.269 except we went way out of order this time. So 00:24:47.269 --> 00:24:50.930 Ben took the middle passage. John then took the 00:24:50.930 --> 00:24:53.069 passage before that. And now I'm going to go 00:24:53.069 --> 00:24:58.089 right back to right after Ben, but what's so 00:24:58.089 --> 00:25:00.490 cool about this is even though we are out of 00:25:00.490 --> 00:25:04.390 order here, um, it's all got these underlying 00:25:04.390 --> 00:25:07.109 same kind of themes and principles, especially 00:25:07.109 --> 00:25:09.049 from what we just picked up from John's passage. 00:25:10.470 --> 00:25:14.029 Yeah. And so, um, so I've got, I picked this 00:25:14.029 --> 00:25:17.029 really fun passage where the disciples are arguing 00:25:17.029 --> 00:25:19.329 about who's the greatest, which once again, we 00:25:19.329 --> 00:25:21.210 were talking about the failings of the disciples 00:25:21.210 --> 00:25:23.430 and why are they doing this? And here you go. 00:25:23.509 --> 00:25:26.500 You've got these guys that couldn't Cast out 00:25:26.500 --> 00:25:28.400 a demon. We just talked about maybe there's some 00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:30.759 pride issues going on there And then what do 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:34.220 we see but not not too long after this? We don't 00:25:34.220 --> 00:25:36.099 know exactly how much time maybe it's right here 00:25:36.099 --> 00:25:38.700 in the same kind of time frame It says and so 00:25:38.700 --> 00:25:40.180 yeah, that's what I'm saying. I think it's right 00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:42.440 there at it and they're like man We couldn't 00:25:42.440 --> 00:25:44.640 cast out that demon. Hey, who's the greatest 00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:51.369 first things first? That was good. I enjoyed 00:25:51.369 --> 00:25:54.349 that one. And so yeah, so you have these guys 00:25:54.349 --> 00:25:55.950 and they're arguing about who's the greatest 00:25:55.950 --> 00:26:00.309 and then Jesus gives this incredible response 00:26:00.309 --> 00:26:03.089 of if anyone wants to be first he must be left 00:26:03.089 --> 00:26:05.289 and be servant of our and then he takes a child 00:26:05.289 --> 00:26:08.809 and he has a child come among them and taking 00:26:08.809 --> 00:26:14.089 him in his arms and what a just the most beautiful 00:26:14.089 --> 00:26:17.990 picture of Jesus to me in this time with the 00:26:17.990 --> 00:26:20.210 disciples, where he just brings a child, right? 00:26:20.269 --> 00:26:23.390 I mean, because really, when you see this question, 00:26:24.289 --> 00:26:26.529 I mean, we're talking about, I mean, these guys 00:26:26.529 --> 00:26:31.690 are arguing about something stupid. But extremely 00:26:31.690 --> 00:26:34.569 human at the same time. Extremely human. And 00:26:34.569 --> 00:26:37.089 so he just takes the child and then Jesus says 00:26:37.089 --> 00:26:40.690 in Mark 9 37, whoever welcomes one little child 00:26:40.690 --> 00:26:42.890 such as this in my name welcomes me and whoever 00:26:42.890 --> 00:26:46.099 welcomes me. does not welcome me but him who 00:26:46.099 --> 00:26:49.400 sent me. I think this is another case for why 00:26:49.400 --> 00:26:51.960 I believe the disciples were very young, because 00:26:51.960 --> 00:26:54.180 I think the whole pride or the whole question 00:26:54.180 --> 00:26:56.720 of who's the greatest is a young man's thing, 00:26:57.039 --> 00:27:01.779 right? Because it reminded me of when I was younger, 00:27:02.460 --> 00:27:05.180 and I worked at Corning in Wilmington at the 00:27:05.180 --> 00:27:08.460 fiber optic plant. And at our job at the end, 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:10.519 I think it was at the end of the week, we would 00:27:10.519 --> 00:27:12.720 get metrics for how well we were doing, and they 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:14.700 would do those metrics, and they would print 00:27:14.700 --> 00:27:17.579 it out on a colored sheet of paper, or a colored 00:27:17.579 --> 00:27:19.740 printout, and you would either have, you'd have 00:27:19.740 --> 00:27:21.519 your numbers, but then there was also green, 00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:23.799 yellow, and red with the numbers. And so if the 00:27:23.799 --> 00:27:25.920 number was highlighted green, you're in the top 00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:29.720 percentage of your group. Yellow, you did pretty 00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:33.299 good. Red, you did terrible, right? And me and 00:27:33.299 --> 00:27:36.579 two other guys, every time we got those papers, 00:27:36.740 --> 00:27:40.069 it was a who is the greatest conversation. We 00:27:40.069 --> 00:27:44.049 got together and we wanted to be the ones that 00:27:44.049 --> 00:27:47.049 had the most green on the paper. Now we had to 00:27:47.049 --> 00:27:49.809 be really quiet about this as well, because this 00:27:49.809 --> 00:27:53.130 was a union and people didn't like seeing a lot 00:27:53.130 --> 00:27:56.910 of green on the paper. Because they're like, 00:27:56.910 --> 00:27:58.670 stop it, you're going to make us work harder. 00:27:59.109 --> 00:28:01.730 And so we just kind of got together. We had our 00:28:01.730 --> 00:28:05.289 own little who's the greatest. But we couldn't 00:28:05.289 --> 00:28:07.690 brag about it to other people because they didn't 00:28:07.690 --> 00:28:10.079 like that at all. But we'll move on from that 00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:14.220 one. That's hilarious But what I love here is 00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:16.859 really and what I what I was writing as I was 00:28:16.859 --> 00:28:20.660 looking at this is there is an issue of pride 00:28:20.660 --> 00:28:23.519 here that Jesus is dealing with. And because 00:28:23.519 --> 00:28:27.160 you get a child, and what I love is when I look 00:28:27.160 --> 00:28:30.619 at this, and I look at a child, I look at someone 00:28:30.619 --> 00:28:34.500 that is dependent on everything. They are dependent 00:28:34.500 --> 00:28:38.140 on their parents to provide them food, to provide 00:28:38.140 --> 00:28:41.119 them clothing, to provide them safety and shelter. 00:28:41.660 --> 00:28:46.759 And truly, when you come, and you have a child 00:28:46.759 --> 00:28:52.339 that is like, you are completely relying on someone 00:28:52.339 --> 00:28:56.220 else to keep you alive. Seriously. And so what 00:28:56.220 --> 00:28:59.420 type of faith does a child have? A child has 00:28:59.420 --> 00:29:03.059 just unending faith because they can't provide 00:29:03.059 --> 00:29:06.119 for themselves. They can't do anything for themselves. 00:29:06.539 --> 00:29:10.569 They have to rely on their parents. I mean, even 00:29:10.569 --> 00:29:14.410 now, like I've got, you know, Judah, my, my youngest, 00:29:14.910 --> 00:29:17.029 you know, we're, we're, we're trying to get him 00:29:17.029 --> 00:29:20.230 to start preparing food for himself. You know, 00:29:20.509 --> 00:29:22.250 like he's still at that age where it's like, 00:29:22.250 --> 00:29:24.029 dude, you can put the chicken nuggets in the 00:29:24.029 --> 00:29:26.190 air fryer, right? You can do it. Oh man. You 00:29:26.190 --> 00:29:28.069 don't need, cause like the thing is like, like 00:29:28.069 --> 00:29:30.289 mommy doesn't have to do everything for you. 00:29:30.289 --> 00:29:33.470 We're trying to start to instill independence 00:29:33.470 --> 00:29:37.849 on him. But as a young child, that's not what 00:29:37.849 --> 00:29:40.339 it is. as a young child, you're still relying 00:29:40.339 --> 00:29:43.420 on mom and dad to do everything. And so, your 00:29:43.420 --> 00:29:47.160 faith is in your parents for everything. And 00:29:47.160 --> 00:29:51.299 so, you can't, you look at the world and we look 00:29:51.299 --> 00:29:55.000 at this and who wants to be first must be last. 00:29:55.440 --> 00:29:57.319 Once again, I think that Jesus is saying, hey, 00:29:57.460 --> 00:30:00.019 do you want to be a leader? Hey, you want to 00:30:00.019 --> 00:30:02.950 be the man? You want to be the man? This is where 00:30:02.950 --> 00:30:05.869 that servant leadership comes into perspective 00:30:05.869 --> 00:30:08.730 where you need to be willing to humble yourself 00:30:08.730 --> 00:30:12.589 below anybody that you are with and just say, 00:30:12.829 --> 00:30:17.750 Hey, I'm here with you and I am putting myself 00:30:17.750 --> 00:30:21.349 below you. How can I serve you? Yeah. And going 00:30:21.349 --> 00:30:24.930 back to like the metrics conversation, what are 00:30:24.930 --> 00:30:28.910 some, Oh, I had a lot of green, you know, You 00:30:28.910 --> 00:30:32.069 had the most green, right? I had the most green. 00:30:32.069 --> 00:30:37.349 Of course you did. So I think we've all got that 00:30:37.349 --> 00:30:41.009 metric tally running in the background. And I 00:30:41.009 --> 00:30:43.029 think it's different for everybody, but I think 00:30:43.029 --> 00:30:45.309 there's some cultural metrics that are just very 00:30:45.309 --> 00:30:47.670 simple. Like we all, you know, like the metric 00:30:47.670 --> 00:30:50.849 of how much money do I make? And then what kind 00:30:50.849 --> 00:30:53.549 of car do I drive? Well, let's ask the question, 00:30:53.650 --> 00:30:56.759 what are the Christian metrics? I think they're 00:30:56.759 --> 00:30:58.819 some of the same ones. I think we dress them 00:30:58.819 --> 00:31:01.539 up really pretty, but it's kind of the same, 00:31:01.559 --> 00:31:04.460 you know? Even to what we... Look what I did 00:31:04.460 --> 00:31:06.039 for the Lord. Look what I did for the Lord. Look 00:31:06.039 --> 00:31:08.079 what I did for the Lord. Or look how nice I look 00:31:08.079 --> 00:31:11.279 for the Lord today. Look how nice. Look how good 00:31:11.279 --> 00:31:13.519 my kids are for Jesus, but it's actually for 00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:17.519 me today. I think we can all end up there really 00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:20.480 quickly. The scary part of those metrics, I mean, 00:31:20.519 --> 00:31:22.599 like in the words of the prophet, Qui -Gon Jinn, 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:29.180 there's always a bigger fish. You end up comparing 00:31:29.180 --> 00:31:31.240 and comparing and comparing, and suddenly you're 00:31:31.240 --> 00:31:34.359 not chasing godliness. You might be chasing the 00:31:34.359 --> 00:31:37.640 appearance of godliness, which is so insidious, 00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:40.160 but you're essentially chasing yourself. Keeping 00:31:40.160 --> 00:31:42.440 up with the chums, this man. Yeah, but there's 00:31:42.440 --> 00:31:43.900 always somebody who's better at it than you. 00:31:43.960 --> 00:31:48.059 Exactly. And the kindest, hardest thing God can 00:31:48.059 --> 00:31:51.039 do for you at that point is to take that away. 00:31:51.039 --> 00:31:55.670 There's a biblical word for that. an idol. Yeah. 00:31:56.269 --> 00:31:57.650 Whether you get yourself on the throne, your 00:31:57.650 --> 00:32:03.630 perception of others, but the child -likeness, 00:32:03.930 --> 00:32:06.450 that dependence is the opposite of those things. 00:32:07.009 --> 00:32:10.769 Idolatry says, I can do this. I can make myself 00:32:10.769 --> 00:32:15.130 big. I can present well. I can provide for myself. 00:32:15.789 --> 00:32:19.009 But to put your arms up and say, Father, I cannot. 00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:23.460 I think that's truly countercultural and counter 00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:27.140 flesh. Yeah, yeah. It's one of the reasons that 00:32:27.140 --> 00:32:30.339 I love partnering with the organization Student 00:32:30.339 --> 00:32:33.019 Leadership University with our students. SLU. 00:32:33.019 --> 00:32:36.099 SLU, it's an incredible organization and we take 00:32:36.099 --> 00:32:39.859 our students to their... Conferences, that's 00:32:39.859 --> 00:32:41.799 what is hard. It's not a youth camp. It's a conference 00:32:41.799 --> 00:32:44.819 each summer. And I tell my students, I want every 00:32:44.819 --> 00:32:46.339 student to go to the first leg of that, which 00:32:46.339 --> 00:32:49.420 is called SLU 101. Just one, I want every student 00:32:49.420 --> 00:32:51.980 to try to go there because it gives you such 00:32:51.980 --> 00:32:54.539 an incredible perspective of what it really means 00:32:54.539 --> 00:32:57.359 to be a servant leader because SLU 101 is all 00:32:57.359 --> 00:33:00.039 about finding out who you are as a person, your 00:33:00.039 --> 00:33:02.599 identity, your personality, and using that for 00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:05.859 Christ and using it with that servant leadership 00:33:05.859 --> 00:33:08.099 mindset. And I absolutely love it. That's awesome. 00:33:08.440 --> 00:33:12.160 Well, dude, this has been fun. It's funny. We've 00:33:12.160 --> 00:33:14.339 been talked before. We pressed record here about 00:33:14.339 --> 00:33:16.500 what text are we going to do and did not occur 00:33:16.500 --> 00:33:19.019 to any of us or maybe just to you. Didn't occur 00:33:19.019 --> 00:33:20.880 to me that we had picked three concurrent texts 00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:23.099 again. Yeah, no. I know. We should have looked. 00:33:23.519 --> 00:33:25.619 I feel like we need to do these in order. Forget 00:33:25.619 --> 00:33:27.619 whatever order we've done, but we need to do 00:33:27.619 --> 00:33:30.480 these texts in order. Birth order, reverse birth 00:33:30.480 --> 00:33:33.740 order. Whatever it is. Who has the lowest social 00:33:33.740 --> 00:33:35.799 security number? I think we've actually talked 00:33:35.799 --> 00:33:38.730 about that before. Have we? the podcast, but 00:33:38.730 --> 00:33:40.769 like in the office, we've just talked about the, 00:33:40.769 --> 00:33:43.769 the distance in, in numbers between our, between 00:33:43.769 --> 00:33:45.470 our, it was either like the starting, I think 00:33:45.470 --> 00:33:46.809 it was the starting number, maybe the ending 00:33:46.809 --> 00:33:48.369 numbers. Is it different in digits? Like John, 00:33:48.450 --> 00:33:50.349 don't you have like a different number of digits 00:33:50.349 --> 00:34:02.339 than we? Yeah, he's only got four. Listen, you 00:34:02.339 --> 00:34:05.440 serve it up on a platter, and I can't let it 00:34:05.440 --> 00:34:08.960 go. I did not serve that one up. I'm talking 00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:11.900 about Ben over there. Ben served it up. I meant 00:34:11.900 --> 00:34:14.860 no offense. I was just, it was genuine curiosity. 00:34:15.460 --> 00:34:18.400 Oh man. Well, I have been your worship pastor. 00:34:18.579 --> 00:34:20.380 I don't know if I'll have a job next week. I 00:34:20.380 --> 00:34:21.780 don't know if you'll have a job next week, but 00:34:21.780 --> 00:34:25.280 I am pursuing Jesus. I am Sean Griffin. And I'm 00:34:25.280 --> 00:34:28.969 John. And we'll see, John may see you next week. 00:34:29.969 --> 00:34:34.909 Pursuing Jesus. We'll catch you guys later. Pursuing 00:34:34.909 --> 00:34:38.010 Jesus is a ministry of Memorial Baptist Church 00:34:38.010 --> 00:34:40.369 in Norwood, North Carolina. To learn more about 00:34:40.369 --> 00:34:44.429 our church, please visit Memorial4Norwood .com.