WEBVTT 00:00:02.279 --> 00:00:05.259 Welcome to the Life Bible Church podcast. We 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:07.660 want to thank you for joining us today and we 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:10.179 hope you find today's sermon impacting as you 00:00:10.179 --> 00:00:12.699 listen to it wherever you are in your daily walk. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:15.960 To find service times and watch messages online, 00:00:16.179 --> 00:00:20.120 see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now, 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:24.519 enjoy this week's message. I want you to turn 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:27.800 in your Bibles to the book of Matthew. We are 00:00:27.800 --> 00:00:30.309 going to get to, and this is... where I'd like 00:00:30.309 --> 00:00:34.250 you to turn to Matthew 9, Matthew chapter 9. 00:00:34.310 --> 00:00:35.670 We're going to get there. We've been talking 00:00:35.670 --> 00:00:38.789 about last weekend, we did our fire over the 00:00:38.789 --> 00:00:41.469 altar weekend, and that's our special once a 00:00:41.469 --> 00:00:43.850 quarter, Saturday night service, and then one 00:00:43.850 --> 00:00:47.090 Sunday service. And we talked about the Holy 00:00:47.090 --> 00:00:50.329 Spirit. We talked about the ministry of the Holy 00:00:50.329 --> 00:00:53.890 Spirit and he comes to fill and he comes to baptize 00:00:53.890 --> 00:00:56.270 and he comes to, and we talked a little bit about 00:00:56.270 --> 00:01:00.509 who he is and the greatness of how Jesus sent 00:01:00.509 --> 00:01:03.149 the Holy Spirit as he is the baptizer of the 00:01:03.149 --> 00:01:05.950 Holy Spirit. This morning, as I was in the prayer 00:01:05.950 --> 00:01:09.969 room and as I was praying with all the early 00:01:09.969 --> 00:01:13.209 service prayer people, there was a theme that 00:01:13.209 --> 00:01:15.390 I think you guys need to know about here in second 00:01:15.390 --> 00:01:19.250 service that was over and over and over. I was 00:01:19.250 --> 00:01:22.250 studying, God was dropping some thoughts for 00:01:22.250 --> 00:01:24.450 my message today in addition to what we had. 00:01:24.939 --> 00:01:27.939 And the theme was this, that God had been sending 00:01:27.939 --> 00:01:31.560 the rain in the spirit, sending the rain of his 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:35.500 peace and his grace to this house to prepare 00:01:35.500 --> 00:01:42.359 us for the wind and the fire. Now, that can mean 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:44.480 a lot of different things, but to me, I knew 00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:47.500 exactly, I knew what the Lord was speaking in 00:01:47.500 --> 00:01:50.799 that meaning. There is a... confidence that has 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:54.120 to come as you enter into times of pressing and 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:57.560 you enter into times of trial, which we've been 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:00.239 in, come on, with this riverbank and corporately, 00:02:00.260 --> 00:02:02.180 and we've been in just in your own individual 00:02:02.180 --> 00:02:05.739 lives. There has been, even in the midst of the 00:02:05.739 --> 00:02:09.000 trial and the pressure, there has been a significance 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:13.240 of the Lord trying to put our hearts at rest 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:16.199 in the midst of a storm. That's what he's trying 00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:19.599 to work on, right? From my heart to your heart 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:23.500 is what does it mean to put your faith and your 00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:28.699 whole trust in God? You didn't stop asking. You 00:02:28.699 --> 00:02:32.560 didn't stop pulling on the rope of heaven, so 00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:37.800 to speak, but your level of trust. In him has 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:42.180 now found a rest that you believe him and there's 00:02:42.180 --> 00:02:44.960 not a struggle between the back and forth between 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:49.340 fear and faith. The goal is to get you to move 00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:54.000 into that rest or that completeness of you completely 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:58.780 trust how God has got this. While keeping slack. 00:02:59.370 --> 00:03:01.650 out of the rope and keeping the rope of faith 00:03:01.650 --> 00:03:05.729 tight, right? And so the whole goal is to send, 00:03:05.849 --> 00:03:08.969 if you will, the rain of his presence, the atmosphere 00:03:08.969 --> 00:03:12.270 of the Holy Spirit to water our hearts with peace 00:03:12.270 --> 00:03:16.069 because part of the rest of faith has a peace 00:03:16.069 --> 00:03:19.069 to it. But then the Lord was saying this morning 00:03:19.069 --> 00:03:22.789 as everybody was just cluing in on it, God is 00:03:22.789 --> 00:03:27.310 wanting to bring a holy fire and a cleansing 00:03:27.310 --> 00:03:31.370 fire to prepare us for the harvest. And as soon 00:03:31.370 --> 00:03:33.409 as I heard that said, I thought, well, Lord, 00:03:33.430 --> 00:03:35.449 that's exactly what you showed me last week. 00:03:35.770 --> 00:03:38.349 And I didn't really spend much time on it at 00:03:38.349 --> 00:03:40.810 Fire on the Altar. I mentioned it, but John the 00:03:40.810 --> 00:03:44.610 Baptist really talked about it. He said, I baptize 00:03:44.610 --> 00:03:48.830 you now in water, but one who comes after me 00:03:48.830 --> 00:03:53.870 is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I'm not 00:03:53.870 --> 00:03:58.539 even worthy to untie. I baptize in fire, but 00:03:58.539 --> 00:04:02.639 he who comes after me has a winnowing fork in 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:07.840 his hand and his baptism will be with fire. Now, 00:04:07.879 --> 00:04:11.979 that's a significant thing that Jesus was talking 00:04:11.979 --> 00:04:15.460 about, that John was saying, when Jesus comes, 00:04:15.659 --> 00:04:22.879 he's gonna bring a baptism of fire. He takes, 00:04:22.899 --> 00:04:26.519 that full scripture talks about, he has the winnowing 00:04:26.519 --> 00:04:30.720 fork in his hand. He comes to clean his threshing 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:34.680 floor and gather the wheat into his barn. That's 00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:37.000 the fullness of the scripture. And you have to 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:40.980 get a, before I bring you into our kingdom, add 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:43.860 a part, whatever part we're in right now, add 00:04:43.860 --> 00:04:46.319 this too. I want you to get this picture. Have 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:49.019 you ever seen the old picture of the farmer? 00:04:49.610 --> 00:04:51.990 and his wife just standing there with a pitchfork. 00:04:52.769 --> 00:04:55.670 Okay, you need to understand something. That's 00:04:55.670 --> 00:04:59.029 not the pitchfork that Jesus uses to winnow and 00:04:59.029 --> 00:05:02.399 to gather in the wheat. But you do, often we 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:04.620 picture Jesus kind of with the shepherd's crook. 00:05:04.620 --> 00:05:07.379 Well, in this particular passage, John was saying 00:05:07.379 --> 00:05:10.279 Jesus is coming with the baptism of fire, but 00:05:10.279 --> 00:05:13.100 he comes with his winnowing fork in his hand 00:05:13.100 --> 00:05:16.399 to clear his threshing floor and to gather wheat 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:19.180 into his barn. There is such a thing called a 00:05:19.180 --> 00:05:22.120 winnowing fork. And a winnowing fork doesn't 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:25.300 have... a bunch of metal tips like you would 00:05:25.300 --> 00:05:29.740 have for the hay or the manure. It has more of 00:05:29.740 --> 00:05:33.579 a wooden tip and it looks more like a fan. And 00:05:33.579 --> 00:05:37.199 as it comes out from the shaft, the wood rake 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:40.339 type thing is meant to stick into the grain, 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:43.959 whether it's barley or whether it's wheat or 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:47.120 whether it's corn. And there's several instruments 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:52.079 that is used when you thresh. Now today, in our 00:05:52.079 --> 00:05:55.319 great Western culture, we don't have threshing 00:05:55.319 --> 00:05:59.560 floors. We don't have... winnowing piles. Fact 00:05:59.560 --> 00:06:02.779 is, those great big things called combines do 00:06:02.779 --> 00:06:05.699 it for you. That's all the shakers and the sieves 00:06:05.699 --> 00:06:09.079 in the middle of the combine and wind machine 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:12.300 that comes up through there. It does it all in 00:06:12.300 --> 00:06:15.920 one thing. It harvests, it shakes out the chaff, 00:06:15.980 --> 00:06:19.600 it blows wind up through the sieves, and it separates 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:22.699 the seed from the chaff and the straw. But that 00:06:22.699 --> 00:06:26.220 isn't how it was back in Jesus' day. Fact is, 00:06:26.220 --> 00:06:29.050 that's only changed. in the last 150 years of 00:06:29.050 --> 00:06:31.290 having even threshing machines that have even 00:06:31.290 --> 00:06:34.029 moved through. The classic definition was you 00:06:34.029 --> 00:06:39.389 found a place where there was air tunnels. Fact 00:06:39.389 --> 00:06:42.930 is, there's places here in the valley, we don't 00:06:42.930 --> 00:06:45.550 call them air tunnels, but they were places that 00:06:45.550 --> 00:06:49.939 currents of air would normally go. And sometimes 00:06:49.939 --> 00:06:52.259 it comes down through a valley, up through a 00:06:52.259 --> 00:06:55.160 ravine. And there's more wind that typically 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:57.879 blows on certain areas. So what would the people 00:06:57.879 --> 00:07:01.360 of God do? They'd take their grain and they would 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:03.920 bring that grain to a threshing floor. Then they 00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:06.949 would take out whatever threshing. tool they 00:07:06.949 --> 00:07:10.329 needed to use. Sometimes the seed that they would 00:07:10.329 --> 00:07:14.269 use, like mint and dill or cumin, sometimes some 00:07:14.269 --> 00:07:16.649 of those spices and seeds, if they were harvesting 00:07:16.649 --> 00:07:19.449 that crop, needed to have a wagon cart rolled 00:07:19.449 --> 00:07:22.250 over the top to actually break the husk from 00:07:22.250 --> 00:07:25.430 the seed. But most of the time, they would use 00:07:25.430 --> 00:07:28.199 what they would call a threshing sledge. And 00:07:28.199 --> 00:07:30.199 a threshing sledge would be used by hand, just 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:32.980 like a little bit of a mallet or a sledgehammer, 00:07:33.100 --> 00:07:35.560 but it would have teeth on it and it would break 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:39.480 up the husk of the wheat and the barley and the 00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:43.160 corn to get to the kernel. And then they would 00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:46.459 pile it up on the threshing floor and they would 00:07:46.459 --> 00:07:50.019 take that winnowing fork and they would stick 00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:53.779 that fork into the pile and they would lift that 00:07:53.779 --> 00:07:58.529 fork and throw that grain From one pile into 00:07:58.529 --> 00:08:02.129 another pile. And as they threw that grain, the 00:08:02.129 --> 00:08:05.529 current of air would come because they put it 00:08:05.529 --> 00:08:08.149 on a place where the air and the wind would move 00:08:08.149 --> 00:08:11.730 and it would blow the chaff from the grain and 00:08:11.730 --> 00:08:15.029 the grain would begin to settle back down. Now 00:08:15.029 --> 00:08:16.750 you need to understand something. That was the 00:08:16.750 --> 00:08:22.889 picture that John told his whole crowd as he 00:08:22.889 --> 00:08:25.930 was the forerunner. I come to baptize you in 00:08:25.930 --> 00:08:28.589 water. Why was that so important? He came to 00:08:28.589 --> 00:08:31.889 baptize with a baptism of repentance, but his 00:08:31.889 --> 00:08:35.429 message was, I'm one crying out in the wilderness. 00:08:35.750 --> 00:08:38.289 When the Pharisees asked, who are you? Are you 00:08:38.289 --> 00:08:41.490 a prophet? No. Who are you? I'm the voice of 00:08:41.490 --> 00:08:43.610 one crying out, prepare the way of the Lord. 00:08:43.850 --> 00:08:47.210 So John's whole message and John's whole ministry 00:08:47.210 --> 00:08:51.450 was what? Prepare people to encounter the king. 00:08:51.710 --> 00:08:54.960 But to encounter the king, Most people don't 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:59.919 understand the king that we serve, that king 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:06.340 desires a clean, pure heart. Now he'll take you 00:09:06.340 --> 00:09:09.139 as you are, right? Billy Graham's song at the 00:09:09.139 --> 00:09:12.039 altar, just as I am without one plea, right? 00:09:12.200 --> 00:09:17.279 But he doesn't say just stay as you are. The 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:20.080 reaping of your life by the message of the gospel 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:26.259 always brings you to the threshing floor. Let's 00:09:26.259 --> 00:09:27.720 turn to somebody and just say he's preaching 00:09:27.720 --> 00:09:30.799 to you right now. He's preaching to you. Why? 00:09:30.980 --> 00:09:34.340 Because he moves you from the place of where 00:09:34.340 --> 00:09:37.580 he pulled you from the field and he brings you 00:09:37.580 --> 00:09:40.480 before he puts you in your barn he brings you 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:44.200 to a place To a place where he can remove from 00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:47.480 you the things that need to get out of your life 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:50.159 so that he can actually put you in the barn. 00:09:50.340 --> 00:09:53.059 So what does that mean? It doesn't mean eternal 00:09:53.059 --> 00:09:55.960 security. It means that he can put you in the 00:09:55.960 --> 00:09:59.399 barn to use your life to touch others and feed 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:04.860 others. The whole point of the barn is not security. 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:09.240 The barn was distribution. Turn to somebody and 00:10:09.240 --> 00:10:13.340 say, okay. Folks, don't make me come out here 00:10:13.340 --> 00:10:15.820 because we're going to get really vocal. The 00:10:15.820 --> 00:10:21.000 whole point of a barn was to get that grain ready 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:26.580 to be released and sold or sent somewhere else 00:10:26.580 --> 00:10:30.940 for others to eat. It meant that God wanted to 00:10:30.940 --> 00:10:33.440 do something on, I'm gonna use you, Daniel, here. 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:37.299 God wanted to do something on the inside to remove 00:10:37.299 --> 00:10:41.820 the chaff and the stuff on the inside that came 00:10:41.820 --> 00:10:46.460 with the grain that was harvested. All of us 00:10:46.460 --> 00:10:51.940 come to the Lord with stuff. Now here's what 00:10:51.940 --> 00:10:58.389 chaff is. Chaff can look like. Little pieces 00:10:58.389 --> 00:11:02.730 of straw, right? When you take that threshing 00:11:02.730 --> 00:11:05.850 sledge and you begin to thresh through a pile 00:11:05.850 --> 00:11:10.049 of grain, you're gonna have husks of the, like 00:11:10.049 --> 00:11:11.649 you take wheat, for example. Let's just take 00:11:11.649 --> 00:11:14.110 wheat. You can run wheat like this ahead of grain 00:11:14.110 --> 00:11:16.509 in your hand, and what happens? You'll see the 00:11:16.509 --> 00:11:18.809 kernels that get shucked out, but you'll also 00:11:18.809 --> 00:11:21.429 see all of the little whisks. that held that 00:11:21.429 --> 00:11:24.529 grain, you'll see all of the straw that's there 00:11:24.529 --> 00:11:26.490 and there'll be a pile of, and so what do you 00:11:26.490 --> 00:11:28.309 do? You kind of just hold that grain, you go, 00:11:28.330 --> 00:11:31.250 and now all of a sudden you can take that grain 00:11:31.250 --> 00:11:33.429 and it's ready to eat right out of your hand 00:11:33.429 --> 00:11:36.570 if you're eating at least soft white wheat. If 00:11:36.570 --> 00:11:38.210 you're eating red hard wheat, you might crack 00:11:38.210 --> 00:11:41.909 a tooth. But the reality is, the whole point 00:11:41.909 --> 00:11:46.769 was, chaff can look like straw, but the more 00:11:46.769 --> 00:11:51.019 deceitful chaff is the chaff that actually looks 00:11:51.019 --> 00:11:55.360 like seed. Now, especially in the grass seed 00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:58.059 industry, what we have here, there's a lot of 00:11:58.059 --> 00:12:01.419 times where we call, it looks like seed, but 00:12:01.419 --> 00:12:06.019 it has no weight. And a shriveled seed or an 00:12:06.019 --> 00:12:10.179 empty seed actually gets blown out with the chaff. 00:12:10.860 --> 00:12:17.519 It's a seed that refuses to receive the weight. 00:12:18.570 --> 00:12:23.590 Of what it was designed to be. Let me say that 00:12:23.590 --> 00:12:30.710 again. Mature seed that develops. Receives the 00:12:30.710 --> 00:12:35.190 destiny. And gets weight to it on the inside. 00:12:35.230 --> 00:12:39.470 Because that's what it carries. Is other crop 00:12:39.470 --> 00:12:45.029 in its future. The seed that will not receive 00:12:45.029 --> 00:12:49.559 the weight. of the nature of who it is, stays 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:54.059 shriveled and gets blown out at the threshing 00:12:54.059 --> 00:12:58.100 floor. Now listen, if it was just about the Holy 00:12:58.100 --> 00:13:02.340 Spirit being wind, please hear me say this. Jesus 00:13:02.340 --> 00:13:05.980 didn't say, my winnowing fork is in my hand and 00:13:05.980 --> 00:13:09.159 I baptize in the wind. Notice what he says. The 00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:13.080 winnowing fork is in my hand and he has a baptism 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:17.350 of fire. Why is this so important? Because wind 00:13:17.350 --> 00:13:23.750 and fire belong together. The Holy Spirit always 00:13:23.750 --> 00:13:31.070 comes as wind and fire. Why? Because God is not 00:13:31.070 --> 00:13:34.210 content for the chaff just to stay next to the 00:13:34.210 --> 00:13:40.889 wheat. The chaff has been destined to burn. God 00:13:40.889 --> 00:13:46.149 never leaves chaff to blow. Why? Because in the 00:13:46.149 --> 00:13:50.230 wind, if it's not destroyed, there are certain 00:13:50.230 --> 00:13:54.009 powers of weed seeds that are in that chaff. 00:13:54.029 --> 00:13:56.529 There are seeds that aren't of the original, 00:13:56.649 --> 00:13:59.929 what he's looking for, that will spread. And 00:13:59.929 --> 00:14:03.149 so what does he do? He always brings the chaff 00:14:03.149 --> 00:14:06.730 to the fire. And that's why he has a baptism 00:14:06.730 --> 00:14:10.409 of fire. It brings a cleansing wind, a sorting 00:14:10.409 --> 00:14:14.879 wind, a... They renew a wind, but it always comes 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:17.220 with the fire of the Holy Spirit. That's why 00:14:17.220 --> 00:14:19.919 when you see in the book of Acts, what did they 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:23.240 see? They heard and felt the sound of the mighty 00:14:23.240 --> 00:14:26.620 rushing wind. And they saw, and notice how it 00:14:26.620 --> 00:14:31.100 says it in the Greek, as it were, they saw, as 00:14:31.100 --> 00:14:34.100 it were, divided tongues of fire on each one. 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:37.460 The divided tongues of fire was a seeing thing, 00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:41.639 but the experiencing thing was the wind that 00:14:41.639 --> 00:14:46.500 the fire was highlighting. Now, what does that 00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:49.519 have to do with Matthew 9? Well, let me try to 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:52.379 get you there. When we're talking about the something 00:14:52.379 --> 00:14:55.690 more church, And we're talking about what Jesus 00:14:55.690 --> 00:14:58.850 is actually asking his church to do. I'll build 00:14:58.850 --> 00:15:00.970 my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail. 00:15:01.049 --> 00:15:03.730 I'll give you the keys of the kingdom. Whatever 00:15:03.730 --> 00:15:06.269 you bind shall be bound. Whatever is loosed, 00:15:06.269 --> 00:15:09.629 you shall loose. Now listen, Jesus operated in 00:15:09.629 --> 00:15:14.960 that not as a king, but as a servant. picking 00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:17.259 up where we left this off a couple weeks ago, 00:15:17.379 --> 00:15:21.220 because Jesus modeling what it means to be a 00:15:21.220 --> 00:15:25.100 servant and live as a servant is key to releasing 00:15:25.100 --> 00:15:28.179 the something more church. The key of releasing 00:15:28.179 --> 00:15:31.399 the gifts of the Spirit and operating out of 00:15:31.399 --> 00:15:34.360 the very nature of what propels the Spirit, which 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:37.960 is love and humility, has to be the hallmark 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:43.080 of God's people. Are you there? Now, Jesus, let 00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:45.490 me just... Quickly remind us where we said. We 00:15:45.490 --> 00:15:48.789 said last, two weeks ago, Jesus never bypassed 00:15:48.789 --> 00:15:52.129 the little day -to -day encounters only to live 00:15:52.129 --> 00:15:55.970 for big cross moments. It was the little day 00:15:55.970 --> 00:15:58.070 -to -day stuff that led him to the big cross 00:15:58.070 --> 00:16:03.129 moment. Number two, Jesus purposely, and you 00:16:03.129 --> 00:16:06.909 can put this on the screen, Jesus purposely chose 00:16:06.909 --> 00:16:11.730 the path of humility. He embraced it. He was 00:16:11.730 --> 00:16:15.289 willingly born in a manger in Nowheresville and 00:16:15.289 --> 00:16:19.070 grew up in Nazareth in Nowheresville. He did 00:16:19.070 --> 00:16:22.570 not grow up strategically in Jerusalem or in 00:16:22.570 --> 00:16:27.129 some major metropolitan city. He lived outside 00:16:27.129 --> 00:16:33.450 the ring of the big and the influential. He moved 00:16:33.450 --> 00:16:36.789 with the bigness of his heart into the small 00:16:36.789 --> 00:16:40.210 areas of most all the surrounding villages. That 00:16:40.210 --> 00:16:42.289 was the nature. If you read Matthew, Mark, Luke, 00:16:42.370 --> 00:16:45.710 and John, it's not that Jesus never encountered 00:16:45.710 --> 00:16:53.549 the celebrities or the rulers, but that was the 00:16:53.549 --> 00:17:00.389 least of his ministry. Jesus really discipled 00:17:00.389 --> 00:17:04.230 only a few people prospectively out of all the 00:17:04.230 --> 00:17:07.309 people that heard him. And they were not persons 00:17:07.309 --> 00:17:11.660 of great. influence. He didn't go after celebrities. 00:17:12.099 --> 00:17:15.480 He didn't go after influential people, worldly 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:19.039 leaders, but instead the majority of his ministry, 00:17:19.180 --> 00:17:23.440 Jesus sided with people without power and without 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:26.720 status, right? Isn't that what the gospel or 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:29.980 what it brings us to in Corinthians? First Corinthians, 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:33.940 I think it's chapter one. It says, and God called 00:17:34.329 --> 00:17:37.309 the weak and the foolish of this world to confound 00:17:37.309 --> 00:17:40.490 the wise. Not many of you wise, not many of you 00:17:40.490 --> 00:17:43.250 wealthy, not many of you. He starts going all 00:17:43.250 --> 00:17:45.809 the way and you shuck it down and read that first 00:17:45.809 --> 00:17:49.029 chapter. You go, wow, we were really a bunch 00:17:49.029 --> 00:17:52.670 of idiots that God is using. Why? Because he 00:17:52.670 --> 00:17:56.569 wasn't looking for people who'd already been 00:17:56.569 --> 00:18:01.190 self -made. Fact is the self -made people were 00:18:01.190 --> 00:18:04.210 the ones that had the most difficult time. with 00:18:04.210 --> 00:18:07.069 who Jesus wanted to actually use and change. 00:18:07.490 --> 00:18:12.769 Come on, somebody. So Jesus constantly moved 00:18:12.769 --> 00:18:17.390 around the lowest rungs of society. So that's 00:18:17.390 --> 00:18:20.009 why we now lead into Matthew 9. I told you we'd 00:18:20.009 --> 00:18:21.829 get here. It just took me a little bit to get 00:18:21.829 --> 00:18:24.369 here. Matthew 9. I want you to see this for a 00:18:24.369 --> 00:18:28.369 second. Matthew 9, verse 9 through 13. As Jesus 00:18:28.369 --> 00:18:33.519 passed on from there, Jesus saw a man. called 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:37.779 Matthew sitting at a tax booth and he said, follow 00:18:37.779 --> 00:18:42.119 me. And Matthew rose and followed Jesus. And 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:45.359 as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:49.779 many tax collectors and sinners came and were 00:18:49.779 --> 00:18:52.519 reclining with Jesus and his disciples. Now, 00:18:52.579 --> 00:18:55.740 I just want to ask you this question. How many 00:18:55.740 --> 00:18:59.440 people have... really close friends with people 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:03.599 that are IRS agents or Oregon internal revenue 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:08.160 or external federal revenue agents. Okay, just 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:16.000 one person. Okay, why is that? There you go, 00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:18.180 there you go. I mean, I'm not saying that to 00:19:18.180 --> 00:19:21.539 you, but for the most of us, we don't gravitate 00:19:21.539 --> 00:19:25.859 toward people that can levy taxes. or send us 00:19:25.859 --> 00:19:29.900 to jail if we do anything wrong with them. Right? 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:37.920 The point is, in the Jewish mindset, for Matthew, 00:19:38.140 --> 00:19:42.900 that name representing who he was, to take a 00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:48.119 Roman job of tax collecting was considered great 00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:53.059 betrayal on behalf of the Jewish people. because 00:19:53.059 --> 00:19:56.920 Rome was looking for people who would know their 00:19:56.920 --> 00:19:59.700 people, know their trades, know their lifestyle, 00:19:59.779 --> 00:20:04.599 and so then they would pay a better wage to have 00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:06.960 somebody do that, to take taxes from their own 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:10.279 people. And the taxes of their own people, that 00:20:10.279 --> 00:20:13.819 power allowed them, just like we see with certain 00:20:13.819 --> 00:20:16.759 things that have been going on in our government 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:20.160 all along, is that when you have access to other 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:23.049 people's money, there's a chance that you might 00:20:23.049 --> 00:20:25.309 take a little more than what you were legally 00:20:25.309 --> 00:20:28.309 supposed to do. And Rome wasn't gonna say anything. 00:20:28.529 --> 00:20:31.690 So now it became a person, not only am I taking 00:20:31.690 --> 00:20:34.529 from my own countrymen and brother, but I might 00:20:34.529 --> 00:20:37.109 be exacting a little bit more to pad my pocket 00:20:37.109 --> 00:20:40.849 and pay for that new SUV that's sitting in the 00:20:40.849 --> 00:20:43.750 driveway. Whatever it was, maybe it was a new 00:20:43.750 --> 00:20:46.589 borough back in the day. But whatever it was, 00:20:46.829 --> 00:20:50.849 the reality was, tax collectors became one of 00:20:50.849 --> 00:20:54.309 the most despised occupations among the Jewish 00:20:54.309 --> 00:20:58.930 people. So when Jesus comes along and taps Matthew 00:20:58.930 --> 00:21:06.170 and says, come follow me, there was like, oh 00:21:06.170 --> 00:21:13.430 my. And so Jesus goes to a house with his disciples, 00:21:13.589 --> 00:21:17.789 Matthew's in tow, and Matthew is like, This was 00:21:17.789 --> 00:21:22.769 big news. He invites other tax collectors with 00:21:22.769 --> 00:21:26.970 him. And now there is an entourage going to this 00:21:26.970 --> 00:21:31.589 house for a lunch with multiple tax collectors. 00:21:32.369 --> 00:21:37.369 Let's just say, when you have three or more tax 00:21:37.369 --> 00:21:40.869 collectors in your lunch party, it's dangerous. 00:21:42.609 --> 00:21:45.250 He's got tax collectors, and then the Bible says, 00:21:45.349 --> 00:21:48.710 the Pharisee says, and sinners. And sinners, 00:21:48.789 --> 00:21:52.589 for the sake of just defining it, means anyone 00:21:52.589 --> 00:21:56.910 that lived a lifestyle that was not in accordance 00:21:56.910 --> 00:22:00.390 to what was written under the law of Moses in 00:22:00.390 --> 00:22:03.589 honoring God. So that meant you had potentially 00:22:03.589 --> 00:22:08.529 prostitutes, tax collectors, drunkards, thieves. 00:22:09.950 --> 00:22:13.329 a smattering of people at this personal lunch 00:22:13.329 --> 00:22:16.549 that Jesus was having with his disciples. Now, 00:22:16.609 --> 00:22:23.029 the Pharisees asked Jesus, well, let's set the 00:22:23.029 --> 00:22:25.490 text up here because it's very interesting how 00:22:25.490 --> 00:22:28.650 this goes. It said, and when the Pharisees saw 00:22:28.650 --> 00:22:37.150 this, they said, they said to his disciples, 00:22:38.450 --> 00:22:42.430 why does your teacher eat with tax collectors 00:22:42.430 --> 00:22:45.130 and sinners? Now, you've got to get this. Have 00:22:45.130 --> 00:22:47.849 you ever, Garrett, has this ever happened to 00:22:47.849 --> 00:22:50.289 you where you're engaged with a conversation 00:22:50.289 --> 00:22:54.289 with somebody and then across the room, maybe 00:22:54.289 --> 00:22:56.849 one of your kids is talking to somebody. You 00:22:56.849 --> 00:22:59.369 knew they were over there, but you weren't paying 00:22:59.369 --> 00:23:03.369 much attention until they said a word. And all 00:23:03.369 --> 00:23:05.569 of a sudden, your conversation, just your ears. 00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:08.700 just shut down here. And all of a sudden this 00:23:08.700 --> 00:23:12.359 was like, and you could hear them across the 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:14.900 room. That's exactly what's happened. Jesus was 00:23:14.900 --> 00:23:17.859 having a full conversation here. The Pharisees 00:23:17.859 --> 00:23:19.960 were on the outside and they're asking the disciples, 00:23:20.140 --> 00:23:22.759 why is your teacher eating with tax collectors? 00:23:22.940 --> 00:23:26.420 And Jesus just right in the middle of everything, 00:23:26.619 --> 00:23:32.819 just announced, just kind of dropped this terrible 00:23:32.819 --> 00:23:36.400 on them, kind of like a. proverb -esque type 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:38.980 parable. He says, without even addressing the 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:41.740 Pharisees proper or the disciples, he didn't 00:23:41.740 --> 00:23:44.859 say, Levi, come here. What were you guys talking 00:23:44.859 --> 00:23:46.900 about? He didn't do it. He just, he heard it, 00:23:47.019 --> 00:23:51.819 and he said, those who are well, you can just 00:23:51.819 --> 00:23:54.480 see Jesus kind of reclining at the table, probably 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:56.440 sits up a little bit. He says, those that are 00:23:56.440 --> 00:24:02.619 well have no need of a physician, but those who 00:24:02.619 --> 00:24:09.089 are sick. Go and learn what this means. I desire 00:24:09.089 --> 00:24:14.789 mercy and not sacrifice. I came not to the righteous 00:24:14.789 --> 00:24:21.710 but to sinners. Now, we would look at that and 00:24:21.710 --> 00:24:24.230 go, okay, we know what that means. I don't know 00:24:24.230 --> 00:24:28.529 if we really do. Because Jesus was doing something 00:24:28.529 --> 00:24:32.910 so marvelous in this text that most of us just 00:24:32.910 --> 00:24:38.509 skip over it. He was actually quoting scripture 00:24:38.509 --> 00:24:46.829 to the Pharisees as a point to actually, in love, 00:24:46.930 --> 00:24:53.670 trying to get them to woo themselves back to 00:24:53.670 --> 00:24:57.529 the Father and get a primary principle of what 00:24:57.529 --> 00:25:00.769 the Father really wanted from their lives. See, 00:25:00.829 --> 00:25:03.480 most of the time, You and I have heard messages 00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:06.180 all through our life that Jesus was angry with 00:25:06.180 --> 00:25:11.000 the Pharisees all the time. Well, he did get 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:13.279 angry with the Pharisees. I mean, Matthew 23, 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:15.920 between the scribes and the Pharisees, I mean, 00:25:15.940 --> 00:25:19.119 it's seven statements of scathing. I mean, each 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:22.420 one of them is a bullwhip to the hind end. All 00:25:22.420 --> 00:25:28.599 right? But the reality is, Jesus was not... mad 00:25:28.599 --> 00:25:31.220 at the Pharisees all of the time or a righteous 00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:34.740 anger. Fact is in this passage in Matthew 9, 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:37.299 I hope to prove to you this morning that it was 00:25:37.299 --> 00:25:40.420 actually one of his greatest forms of love reaching 00:25:40.420 --> 00:25:45.160 out to them and actually offering them the key 00:25:45.160 --> 00:25:48.720 that would unlock them from their perspective. 00:25:49.960 --> 00:25:53.559 You see, when you understand when Jesus says, 00:25:53.640 --> 00:25:59.730 I want you to go and learn, that phrase was only 00:25:59.730 --> 00:26:04.529 a phrase that could be said by somebody that 00:26:04.529 --> 00:26:08.430 had the authority to actually tell them to go 00:26:08.430 --> 00:26:10.769 do that. And you go, well, he was the son of 00:26:10.769 --> 00:26:12.930 God. No, but they didn't believe he was the son 00:26:12.930 --> 00:26:16.359 of God. So what would have been, you see, for 00:26:16.359 --> 00:26:18.400 you and I, we read the end of the story, we go, 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:22.279 he's the written word of God. He's the word made 00:26:22.279 --> 00:26:26.200 flesh. I mean, he has the authority to say what 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:29.619 the word should represent. He was Jesus. They 00:26:29.619 --> 00:26:32.400 didn't think he was the Messiah. They didn't 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:34.680 think he was the one to come. They were still 00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:37.279 grappling with whether or not he was even a prophet 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:40.200 sent by God. They still were convinced that Jesus 00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:43.490 operated under the power of Beelzebub. Are you 00:26:43.490 --> 00:26:46.470 there? Just in a few chapters, you're going to 00:26:46.470 --> 00:26:50.029 read their thought process on he casts out demons 00:26:50.029 --> 00:26:52.930 by the ruler of demons, Beelzebub. They were 00:26:52.930 --> 00:26:56.670 so far from understanding who this was in their 00:26:56.670 --> 00:27:02.450 midst. So when he said, go and learn what this 00:27:02.450 --> 00:27:08.410 means, he was speaking on the reality of being 00:27:08.410 --> 00:27:14.259 a master teacher rabbi. a master teacher rabbi. 00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:16.859 We're going to talk about that in just a little 00:27:16.859 --> 00:27:21.140 bit. It was what they called the shmika. In the 00:27:21.140 --> 00:27:24.299 Jewish custom, in the Jewish way, and I haven't, 00:27:24.299 --> 00:27:26.880 there's whole books written on this, but in my 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:30.319 research, the reality of boiling a shmika down 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:36.740 is this. Shmika means that you have proven on 00:27:36.740 --> 00:27:42.109 the teaching ship of the calling of God in, the 00:27:42.109 --> 00:27:46.250 law of Moses or the Torah, that signs, wonders 00:27:46.250 --> 00:27:50.069 have followed your teaching and you now have 00:27:50.069 --> 00:27:54.029 the ability to explain and interpret what God 00:27:54.029 --> 00:27:57.769 meant in certain texts and that was only given 00:27:57.769 --> 00:28:01.619 to a Shemekah rabbi. It was where some of the 00:28:01.619 --> 00:28:04.579 schools of knowledge and understanding actually 00:28:04.579 --> 00:28:07.720 went to. It would be like today, like Cambridge 00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:14.220 or Oxford. It would be Yale or Harvard or maybe 00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:18.920 Brown where you actually became a professor. 00:28:19.900 --> 00:28:22.819 understood the subject you were teaching, and 00:28:22.819 --> 00:28:26.019 that teaching now became the standard in which 00:28:26.019 --> 00:28:28.740 everybody that followed used that revelation 00:28:28.740 --> 00:28:32.019 and understanding to have further instruction 00:28:32.019 --> 00:28:35.740 in the things of God. Jesus was operating in 00:28:35.740 --> 00:28:39.660 a shmika rabbi. Why? That's why he could say 00:28:39.660 --> 00:28:43.400 all the time in his teaching, if you don't believe 00:28:43.400 --> 00:28:47.619 me, believe the works, for the works themselves 00:28:47.619 --> 00:28:52.049 testify of me. The works of what was done by 00:28:52.049 --> 00:28:56.250 the master rabbi constantly validated his life 00:28:56.250 --> 00:28:59.089 as the master teacher and why they would call 00:28:59.089 --> 00:29:03.710 him rabbi. Are you there? And now Jesus takes 00:29:03.710 --> 00:29:09.349 in this phrase, go learn what this means. Go 00:29:09.349 --> 00:29:14.950 learn. And then he takes, are you ready? Hosea 00:29:14.950 --> 00:29:23.420 6, 1 Samuel 15. and Micah 6, and he wraps them 00:29:23.420 --> 00:29:26.119 up in a package because the Bible says what? 00:29:26.259 --> 00:29:28.980 On the mouth of two or three witnesses, maybe 00:29:28.980 --> 00:29:31.039 turn me down just a little bit. On the mouth 00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:33.779 of two or three witnesses, let everything be 00:29:33.779 --> 00:29:36.900 established. So what did Jesus do? Jesus took 00:29:36.900 --> 00:29:43.500 three Old Testament passages taught by prophets, 00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:48.099 Hosea, Micah. And what was said in 1 Samuel by 00:29:48.099 --> 00:29:51.380 the prophet of prophet Samuel, and he wrapped 00:29:51.380 --> 00:29:56.279 this thing, and here it is, I desire mercy and 00:29:56.279 --> 00:29:59.900 not sacrifice. Now, what was he saying to the 00:29:59.900 --> 00:30:02.539 Pharisees? I wish I had time to go into the context, 00:30:02.599 --> 00:30:06.140 but I don't have each of these verses. I'll just 00:30:06.140 --> 00:30:10.619 give you a little bit of it. It says in Hosea 00:30:10.619 --> 00:30:15.039 6, 6, for I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice. 00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:18.799 For the knowledge of God is greater than burnt 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:22.279 offerings. First Samuel 15, 22 says, has the 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:24.759 Lord great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices 00:30:24.759 --> 00:30:28.299 as opposed to obeying the voice of the Lord? 00:30:28.359 --> 00:30:33.019 For behold, to obey is better than sacrifice 00:30:33.019 --> 00:30:38.079 and to heed is better than the fat of rams. And 00:30:38.079 --> 00:30:42.500 then again in Micah 6, 6 through 8, what shall 00:30:42.500 --> 00:30:44.900 I come before the Lord? To bow myself before 00:30:44.900 --> 00:30:46.900 the Lord on high. Shall I come to him with burnt 00:30:46.900 --> 00:30:49.779 offerings and calves of a year old? Will the 00:30:49.779 --> 00:30:53.359 Lord be pleased with a thousand rams or 10 ,000 00:30:53.359 --> 00:30:56.700 rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn in transgression 00:30:56.700 --> 00:30:59.279 the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 00:30:59.500 --> 00:31:02.019 And then the answer from the Lord is this. The 00:31:02.019 --> 00:31:05.119 Lord has told you, oh man, what is good and what 00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:08.519 does the Lord require of you? But to do justice, 00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:12.980 to love kindness and to walk humbly for God. 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:19.160 So let me just bring this down here and Jenny, 00:31:19.240 --> 00:31:20.740 wherever you're at, you can come up and play 00:31:20.740 --> 00:31:25.200 if you would. Or you are? Okay, good. Daughter 00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:29.920 number two, Jessica, come on up. The passing 00:31:29.920 --> 00:31:33.059 of the mantle today, hallelujah. All right, so 00:31:33.059 --> 00:31:40.380 why was that such a big deal? Because only a 00:31:40.380 --> 00:31:45.809 seasoned master teacher could actually tell scholars 00:31:45.809 --> 00:31:52.130 and religious people what they needed to do to 00:31:52.130 --> 00:31:56.490 be able to get God's perspective. And so he now 00:31:56.490 --> 00:32:00.069 quoted three prophets that they would have had 00:32:00.069 --> 00:32:03.569 in their Torah. Three prophets in the fullness 00:32:03.569 --> 00:32:05.269 of the Old Testament that they would reveal. 00:32:05.470 --> 00:32:08.289 He boiled it down and he said, I want you to 00:32:08.289 --> 00:32:13.980 go and learn, I desire mercy. and not sacrifice. 00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:21.640 Folks, that was God's love for the Pharisees. 00:32:22.160 --> 00:32:25.359 Why? Let me just take it off of Pharisees and 00:32:25.359 --> 00:32:28.660 let's put it onto you and I. That's God's love 00:32:28.660 --> 00:32:34.319 for us who have been Christians any amount of 00:32:34.319 --> 00:32:39.880 time. You know why? Because it's easy to get 00:32:39.880 --> 00:32:46.319 into the routine of worship and prayer and being 00:32:46.319 --> 00:32:50.039 in the house of the Lord. And it becomes rote 00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:55.039 if it doesn't actually, your heart isn't held 00:32:55.039 --> 00:32:59.259 in his hand. The thing that actually stumbled 00:32:59.259 --> 00:33:02.980 the Pharisees was that they knew way more about 00:33:02.980 --> 00:33:08.880 God than they actually knew God personally. And 00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:14.599 fact is, If I just go to 1 Samuel 15, 22, and 00:33:14.599 --> 00:33:17.740 I have a whole 10 pages on this, maybe we'll 00:33:17.740 --> 00:33:22.259 get to it in time. But the reality is Saul's 00:33:22.259 --> 00:33:27.380 indictment was this. God gave Saul a clear command. 00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:30.160 He said, I want you to go do something and do 00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:35.279 it thoroughly. And Saul did what? He didn't do 00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:37.960 it thoroughly. He brought back some of the stuff 00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:40.680 that he was supposed to not. touch or bring back 00:33:40.680 --> 00:33:45.480 and he argued with the prophet representing a 00:33:45.480 --> 00:33:49.200 type of the Holy Spirit he argued with God that 00:33:49.200 --> 00:33:52.720 he had obeyed God yet right beside him was all 00:33:52.720 --> 00:33:56.660 the evidence of disobedience and in that evidence 00:33:56.660 --> 00:34:01.579 he thought that by disobeying God he could bring 00:34:01.579 --> 00:34:06.079 more honor To God in worship in front of the 00:34:06.079 --> 00:34:10.019 people than honoring God where nobody else saw 00:34:10.019 --> 00:34:13.159 it and just simply obeying and honoring from 00:34:13.159 --> 00:34:16.400 the heart. And that's where that statement comes 00:34:16.400 --> 00:34:21.280 from. To obey is better than sacrifice. And to 00:34:21.280 --> 00:34:25.820 heed is better than any form of outward manipulation 00:34:25.820 --> 00:34:30.920 of your lips or your worship. What's he driving 00:34:30.920 --> 00:34:35.389 at? He's getting to the inside of us. Do you 00:34:35.389 --> 00:34:40.750 realize it is highly offensive to the Holy Spirit, 00:34:40.889 --> 00:34:46.469 Chris? It is highly offensive to be able to know 00:34:46.469 --> 00:34:49.650 what God has actually spoken over your life through 00:34:49.650 --> 00:34:52.469 his declared word in the scripture. And I'm going 00:34:52.469 --> 00:34:56.289 to say this carefully. And if he's actually spoken 00:34:56.289 --> 00:35:00.190 over your word. with confirmed prophetic words, 00:35:00.250 --> 00:35:04.110 not just one, multiple, multiple times to actually 00:35:04.110 --> 00:35:07.630 disobey what God says is the premium for your 00:35:07.630 --> 00:35:11.070 life and his perfect will for you to malign it 00:35:11.070 --> 00:35:13.769 and come up and give God something else that 00:35:13.769 --> 00:35:18.329 says, but this is better. Do you know how many 00:35:18.329 --> 00:35:21.900 people I know? that have had and sat under the 00:35:21.900 --> 00:35:25.179 prophetic counsel of God, had clear words, had 00:35:25.179 --> 00:35:27.860 prophets come in, had teams of ministry come 00:35:27.860 --> 00:35:30.559 in that did not know them from Adam, spoke the 00:35:30.559 --> 00:35:32.000 word of the Lord that they would say, and I'll 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:34.119 use you Trent, spoke the word of the Lord that 00:35:34.119 --> 00:35:36.460 they would know without a shadow of a doubt God 00:35:36.460 --> 00:35:39.559 was calling them to, only that they would turn 00:35:39.559 --> 00:35:43.179 and decide to say, yeah, but I think the Lord 00:35:43.179 --> 00:35:47.119 could do that word over here. When the parameters 00:35:47.119 --> 00:35:50.539 of the word were very clear in where the fruitfulness 00:35:50.539 --> 00:35:53.159 was supposed to be and what God said. Now does 00:35:53.159 --> 00:35:57.280 God love them enough to grace them and to keep 00:35:57.280 --> 00:36:00.480 them in his love? Yes, he does. But many times 00:36:00.480 --> 00:36:03.019 the prophetic word never comes to pass. Why? 00:36:03.260 --> 00:36:07.239 Because we tried to manipulate God. with sacrifice 00:36:07.239 --> 00:36:10.719 and with worship and saying we're all in where 00:36:10.719 --> 00:36:13.599 our heart said, but I don't want to obey that 00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:16.559 the way it was said. I want to obey it the way 00:36:16.559 --> 00:36:22.960 I want it. That's close to blasphemy. Remember 00:36:22.960 --> 00:36:27.659 what the Bible says? To him to know to do what 00:36:27.659 --> 00:36:30.400 is good, if he doesn't do it, to him it's sin. 00:36:33.019 --> 00:36:37.670 You see, That's the power of the soul. That's 00:36:37.670 --> 00:36:41.349 the power that had locked up the Pharisees. The 00:36:41.349 --> 00:36:45.969 Pharisees had taken God's word and they had viewed 00:36:45.969 --> 00:36:48.730 it one way. And Jesus was actually saying to 00:36:48.730 --> 00:36:54.789 them, now go and learn again. Why? Because you 00:36:54.789 --> 00:36:58.030 missed a core tenet and the way that you're ending 00:36:58.030 --> 00:37:01.000 up. is actually offensive to God because you 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:04.079 can't even see that I, your God, am standing 00:37:04.079 --> 00:37:07.760 right in front of you. Now listen, listen to 00:37:07.760 --> 00:37:11.840 what this word go means. Go, I mean, we know, 00:37:11.940 --> 00:37:16.019 okay, go. But he's actually saying it this way. 00:37:22.239 --> 00:37:33.130 Go is take leave and depart. How do I say this? 00:37:33.289 --> 00:37:38.929 Depart on a journey, not physically, but mentally, 00:37:38.929 --> 00:37:44.769 and get yourself ready to move from the place 00:37:44.769 --> 00:37:49.510 that you thought you've anchored in. And as you 00:37:49.510 --> 00:37:54.510 prepare your heart, you prepare it to find something 00:37:54.510 --> 00:37:59.969 new, deeper, and richer, which will cause you 00:37:59.969 --> 00:38:04.389 to inherit something more precious than what 00:38:04.389 --> 00:38:09.909 you have. The word learn means, means to hear 00:38:09.909 --> 00:38:13.429 and learn. In the Greek, it means to increase 00:38:13.429 --> 00:38:16.949 one's understanding of knowledge. But more than 00:38:16.949 --> 00:38:21.449 that, it means to what? Develop a new habit that 00:38:21.449 --> 00:38:26.030 is, this is the kicker, that is based on new 00:38:26.030 --> 00:38:30.289 insight and revelation of the light that God 00:38:30.289 --> 00:38:34.130 shows you. Do you understand that that's Jesus's 00:38:34.130 --> 00:38:39.030 mercy to the Pharisees? At the table with sinners, 00:38:39.150 --> 00:38:42.369 which they didn't see themselves as, but they 00:38:42.369 --> 00:38:44.469 actually included them. They were included in 00:38:44.469 --> 00:38:49.289 that. With the table with the IRS or the Jerusalem 00:38:49.289 --> 00:38:54.519 Revenue Service people. Okay, the JRS and everyone 00:38:54.519 --> 00:38:58.199 else there in category and the disciples. Jesus 00:38:58.199 --> 00:39:01.659 did not stand and say, he didn't do what John 00:39:01.659 --> 00:39:04.280 the Baptist did. You brood of vipers, who warned 00:39:04.280 --> 00:39:07.360 you to flee from the wrath to come? Okay, John 00:39:07.360 --> 00:39:09.659 was kind of just shucked it down to the cob, 00:39:09.780 --> 00:39:14.280 pretty straight prophet. But Jesus actually in 00:39:14.280 --> 00:39:21.360 his rabbi, teaching master teacher scenario said, 00:39:21.539 --> 00:39:27.559 I desire mercy and sacrifice. Go and learn. He 00:39:27.559 --> 00:39:32.579 directed them back to who? God's word, God's 00:39:32.579 --> 00:39:36.820 context, God's heart. And if they would actually 00:39:36.820 --> 00:39:42.460 learn that he wanted mercy instead of external 00:39:42.460 --> 00:39:46.219 sacrifice, it would do what? It would unlock 00:39:46.989 --> 00:39:50.429 the shackles over their eyes and over their understanding. 00:39:51.510 --> 00:39:55.769 I love, I love what Jesus said. You say, well, 00:39:55.829 --> 00:39:58.050 how do you, what does this shemika mean? And 00:39:58.050 --> 00:40:01.630 I'll close it here with this. Jesus demonstrated 00:40:01.630 --> 00:40:04.070 shemika. We don't even, we don't even, it's not 00:40:04.070 --> 00:40:06.550 mentioned in the, in the Greek, but it would 00:40:06.550 --> 00:40:10.250 be mentioned in Jewish custom and culture. Here's 00:40:10.250 --> 00:40:13.530 evidence of shemika. You ready? When a rabbi 00:40:13.530 --> 00:40:17.840 would actually give, and in this case, our rabbi, 00:40:17.840 --> 00:40:21.940 Jesus Christ, would actually give intent of God's 00:40:21.940 --> 00:40:25.659 scripture to bring new light. You ready? You 00:40:25.659 --> 00:40:28.980 might remember some of these. Matthew 5, 21. 00:40:30.280 --> 00:40:34.940 You've heard it said, to those of old, you shall 00:40:34.940 --> 00:40:37.840 not murder, and whoever murders will be liable 00:40:37.840 --> 00:40:40.539 of the judgment. That's quoting directly out 00:40:40.539 --> 00:40:44.199 of the scriptures of Deuteronomy, right? But 00:40:44.199 --> 00:40:49.059 I say to you, There's Shemekah. That everyone 00:40:49.059 --> 00:40:52.079 who's angry with his brother will be liable to 00:40:52.079 --> 00:40:55.619 judgment. And whoever insults his brother will 00:40:55.619 --> 00:40:59.320 be liable to the council. How about Matthew 5, 00:40:59.400 --> 00:41:03.559 33 again? Again, you've heard it said, of those 00:41:03.559 --> 00:41:06.519 you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform 00:41:06.519 --> 00:41:10.579 to the Lord what you've sworn. But I say to you, 00:41:10.679 --> 00:41:15.679 there's a Shemekah rabbi again. I say. Do not 00:41:15.679 --> 00:41:19.199 take an oath at all, either by heaven or by its 00:41:19.199 --> 00:41:21.480 throne or by earth, for it is his footstool, 00:41:21.519 --> 00:41:23.800 or by Jerusalem, it is the city of the king. 00:41:23.940 --> 00:41:26.340 Do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot 00:41:26.340 --> 00:41:30.099 make one hair white or black, or just hair, period. 00:41:30.199 --> 00:41:35.860 Let what you say be a simple yes or no. Anything 00:41:35.860 --> 00:41:41.800 else that comes is evil. Every time you hear 00:41:41.800 --> 00:41:45.039 Jesus say, you've heard it said of old, But I 00:41:45.039 --> 00:41:50.619 say, he wasn't quoting some old person. He was 00:41:50.619 --> 00:41:53.460 quoting that which was originally given. And 00:41:53.460 --> 00:41:56.699 every time he stood and say, you've heard it 00:41:56.699 --> 00:41:59.619 said, he's saying, you've heard the heart of 00:41:59.619 --> 00:42:04.280 God, but I'm telling you as the Shemekah rabbi, 00:42:04.280 --> 00:42:07.599 and we know him as the living word of God, this 00:42:07.599 --> 00:42:12.659 is the heart of what the father was after. What 00:42:12.659 --> 00:42:16.130 he's after this morning, Pastor Trent comes and 00:42:16.130 --> 00:42:23.030 gets ready to close us shortly. Is this. He chooses. 00:42:24.809 --> 00:42:28.590 Yes, he loves your worship. He loves your prayer. 00:42:29.369 --> 00:42:32.670 He loves to develop and get with you and develop 00:42:32.670 --> 00:42:36.070 a routine of meeting with him. Reading your Bible. 00:42:36.610 --> 00:42:39.730 Being in community with the saints of God. Being 00:42:39.730 --> 00:42:43.250 encouraged. Taught. Listening to the apostles 00:42:43.250 --> 00:42:45.760 doctrine. breaking bread, having the community. 00:42:45.820 --> 00:42:49.980 He loves all of that. But if all of that is only 00:42:49.980 --> 00:42:53.760 a way for you to prove to God that on the inside 00:42:53.760 --> 00:42:56.420 of your heart, you're still wanting to do what 00:42:56.420 --> 00:43:00.239 you want to do, you need a revelatory moment 00:43:00.239 --> 00:43:03.940 to break you out of that. You need the key of 00:43:03.940 --> 00:43:07.360 understanding. I desire mercy. Meaning what? 00:43:07.480 --> 00:43:12.699 I desire mercy and love. The greatest thing he 00:43:12.699 --> 00:43:17.300 wants to do. is to be the very essence of your 00:43:17.300 --> 00:43:20.960 life, to love the Lord with all your heart, all 00:43:20.960 --> 00:43:23.699 your mind, all your strength. And the second 00:43:23.699 --> 00:43:26.179 is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. 00:43:27.059 --> 00:43:30.079 As we heard a great story today, and they're 00:43:30.079 --> 00:43:32.960 not just stories, they're true accounts about 00:43:32.960 --> 00:43:38.219 Ethiopia, Nigeria, and the need for lost, lost 00:43:38.219 --> 00:43:44.119 people that need to know Jesus. Jesus is desperately 00:43:44.119 --> 00:43:49.679 looking for us here in the Western culture of 00:43:49.679 --> 00:43:53.719 the world to not be so preoccupied with ourselves 00:43:53.719 --> 00:43:58.199 and keep manipulating the core. It's time to 00:43:58.199 --> 00:44:01.280 fall in love with the King and to bring everything 00:44:01.280 --> 00:44:04.480 in our hearts in alignment with him and say, 00:44:04.539 --> 00:44:08.880 Lord, we love you above the way we love our lives. 00:44:09.159 --> 00:44:12.940 We love you above every convenience. We love 00:44:12.940 --> 00:44:18.300 you above all of the things that we have so easily 00:44:18.300 --> 00:44:21.679 and so wonderfully have at our fingertips. Will 00:44:21.679 --> 00:44:24.639 you give us a love for the lost? And will you 00:44:24.639 --> 00:44:29.039 give us a love to obey your voice that when you 00:44:29.039 --> 00:44:32.579 speak to us, we wouldn't try to manipulate it. 00:44:32.639 --> 00:44:36.500 We wouldn't try to redefine it. We would submit 00:44:36.500 --> 00:44:39.500 to your voice, to your counsel. Yes, it needs 00:44:39.500 --> 00:44:41.480 to be checked. Yes, it needs to be validated. 00:44:41.900 --> 00:44:45.179 Yes, it needs to be approved, but we won't try 00:44:45.179 --> 00:44:48.820 to shift it to what we want. We'll shift our 00:44:48.820 --> 00:44:52.940 lives because it's what you want. Would you bow 00:44:52.940 --> 00:44:54.940 your head and close your eyes for a moment? Father, 00:44:54.980 --> 00:45:01.280 even now, in Jesus' name, Lord, I'm asking that 00:45:01.280 --> 00:45:05.920 you You are bringing your wind and your fire 00:45:05.920 --> 00:45:12.280 before the great harvest of the wheat. And I'm 00:45:12.280 --> 00:45:15.519 asking now, Lord, that we would prepare our heart 00:45:15.519 --> 00:45:20.099 in rest and in faith that the wind and the fire 00:45:20.099 --> 00:45:23.719 is coming, not just to burn something up that 00:45:23.719 --> 00:45:27.699 we love, Lord, but to prepare us to be sent, 00:45:27.940 --> 00:45:32.820 used. and to be vessels in your hand to help 00:45:32.820 --> 00:45:36.539 feed, strengthen, and be hope and strength to 00:45:36.539 --> 00:45:43.420 others. Lord, help us make the shift. Help us 00:45:43.420 --> 00:45:48.000 not be people of outer works only, but that our 00:45:48.000 --> 00:45:52.400 inner and our outer would match. We love you, 00:45:52.420 --> 00:45:56.179 Jesus. And we ask that you would do this great 00:45:56.179 --> 00:45:59.849 work inside of each one here today. In Jesus 00:45:59.849 --> 00:46:05.869 name I pray, amen. Thank you for taking the time 00:46:05.869 --> 00:46:09.070 to listen to this week's message. We are so grateful 00:46:09.070 --> 00:46:11.670 for those who tune in each week and have given 00:46:11.670 --> 00:46:14.909 generously to this ministry. If you would like 00:46:14.909 --> 00:46:17.469 to give, click the link in the episode description 00:46:17.469 --> 00:46:20.630 below. You can also help us by subscribing to 00:46:20.630 --> 00:46:22.730 this podcast and sharing it with your friends 00:46:22.730 --> 00:46:26.110 and family. Lastly, if you are in need of prayer 00:46:26.110 --> 00:46:32.070 send us a text message at 541 -625 -1365. We 00:46:32.070 --> 00:46:33.269 would love to pray with you.