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PODCAST That's a Good Question Unpacking the Image of God & Defining a Healthy Church October 17, 2023 Jon Delger & Ryan DB Kimmel Listen to this Episode JonHey everyone, welcome to That's a Good Question, a podcast at Peace Church. This is a place where we answer questions about the Christian faith in plain language. I'm Jon, I serve as a pastor at Peace and I also get to serve as the weekly host of this show. And I'm here today with... RyanHey, I'm Ryan, I'm the lead pastor here at Peace Church. That's right. JonExcited to get to have a conversation. If you want to submit questions, you can do so at peacechurch.cc/questions. The big one we got to cover today is this, what is a healthy church? Question #1: What is a healthy church? RyanYeah, yep. RyanThis is an important topic, and it's a topic close to my heart because I am a lead pastor, but also because I'm a Christian and member of the church. And oddly enough, I just addressed this not too recently, or actually very recently in a sermon. And it is an important topic. And I think in our day and age when the world is so divided on so many issues, it's easy for the church to feel that and therefore, on health creep in and become part of the church's life, which is not what Jesus wants. I mean, if you look at Jesus' final prayer, hours before his arrest, torture and crucifixion, one of the primary thrusts of his final prayer was that we would be one, that we would be unified. And while he didn't use the term health, I think that's exactly what he's pointing at. That we would be unified, we would be healthy, we would be strong, effective for his mission in this world. JonYeah. All right, so let's start historically. So historically, going back to the Reformers 500 years ago, guys who started the Protestant church broke off from the Roman Catholic church. Those guys talked about some marks of a true and healthy church. They had three. First one was proper preaching of the word. RyanProper preaching of the word. They also talked about the proper or right administration of the sacraments. And then everybody's favorite topic, church discipline. JonThat's right. That's right. That's kind of unique to think about those three things. I think, you know, obviously if you know the history, you know that makes sense to you, but you know, thinking just from where we sit today, who would think of church discipline as one of the markers of a healthy church? RyanYeah, I think it's because discipline carries such weight in our world. And I think another way you might think about it is like just true accountability. Are church members being held accountable to the life that God's called us to live. And when we go wayward, the church is doing what God's called them to do, to bring back those wayward souls. JonThat's right. That's right. And that's such an important way, when we talk about church discipline, we'll have to do a future episode on that at some point. RyanYeah, we probably should, actually. Yeah. But for now, I mean, it's just important to realize that discipline has a positive goal. It has the goal of bringing back wayward people. Church discipline, you know, people might think of kind of just plain old kicking people out of the church, but that's not quite what it means. What it means is holding brothers and sisters accountable for sin in their lives and inviting them to follow Jesus more closely. It's not about reprimand, it's about restoration. Yeah, exactly, exactly, totally. So I think what I like about when the Reformers identified those three things, it wasn't, the qualification wasn't, is everybody happy at your church? Is everyone agreeing with what the elders are saying? Does everyone like what the pastor is preaching? It wasn't contingent on people's happiness towards their church or the direction of the church. It's, are the church doing the right things? Is the church preaching God's Word? Is it rightly dividing the Word of God? Is the sacraments being held to the esteem that they should be? And are members being held accountable to the life that they've signed up to live? As opposed to our day and age where we probably think things like the church is healthy because no one's gossiping, everybody's happy, you know what I mean? Those sort of markers. I love how the reformers kind of bring it down even deeper, just to the base level of, no, no, no, no, is the church doing the right things? Right. JonYeah. They're starting more with the Bible and what Jesus says the church should be. RyanYeah, exactly. JonInstead of just what puts smiles on people's faces, keeps them content and showing up. JonSo, cool.So, thinking about, that's kind of our historical perspective, but thinking about today and our unique situation of what it's like in the world today, what are some of the things that you think stand out most about a church that are markers of health in the world today? What stands out as like, oh wow, that makes a healthy church just pop out in the world today? RyanWell, let me kind of throw back a question on you. I remember in seminary we had a professor who had this sign on his door and it caused a lot of conversation and the sign said healthy things grow, healthy churches grow. And it was this notion of like part of the sign that your church is healthy is that it's growing. And I know in our world we're really averse to quantifying things down to numbers but that's a way to understand if your church is growing or not. Now you could also say there's also growth as in spiritual growth and spiritual death and those sort of things but I'm just kind of curious Pastor Jon in your estimation do you put numerical attendance growth as a marker of a healthy church? JonYou gotta just make it hard for me don't you? Yeah I wanted you to answer first. That's funny. Here's how I would say it. I would say that a numerical numerical growth is a byproduct of a healthy church. So in that sense, it's an important metric to watch, but it's not the sum total of being a healthy church. So I've talked with guys that have talked about, they started with a church of X amount, and they'll say, I grew it down to about 30 people or something like that. I think the biblical term for that is pruning. Right, right, totally. And the point is to say that, you know, they grew it in terms of spiritual health, but not numerical health at first. But then, so, actually I'm thinking of a specific of a church in our area that's very large, that the lead pastor, you know, 30 years ago or whenever, when he started that church, he talked about it was, you know, it involved pruning at first, but then once the church became truly healthy, it did take off in numerical growth. And so it doesn't have to look like, you know, going from 30 people to thousands, but yeah, I would say in general, it is true, yeah, that healthy churches are going to grow. RyanYeah, I would say, you know, attendance growth is a, it definitely can be a marker of health, but it's not exclusively an indication of health because we know plenty of unhealthy churches that are preaching a man-centered message. I was going to say man-centered gospel, I don't even believe in that term. A man-centered message that are growing and obviously that's not a healthy church. So we think it's a definitely it's a good indication like you're saying it's a metric that's helpful to understand you know as a church has to make certain logistical decisions but that's just that's one of the ones, that's a question that comes up immediately when we talk about church health. Church health must mean growth, growth must mean more people coming to your church, which is like, yeah, let's talk about that. It can be. I kind of, during my sermon, when I talked about how I believe that we are largely a healthy church, and I made a very clear distinction, I'm not saying we're a perfect church. I was very clear we're not a perfect church. We have room to grow. There's areas that we can become more like Jesus. But I said we are a healthy church and some of the indications I said to that was I did say yes because our attendance is growing but also even more so I'd say we preach the Bible, we seek to teach the Bible, our membership is growing, we're multiplying as a church, we're not just staying local, we're going regional. I believe that we have people who are out there sharing the gospel both relationally and also just through evangelism Just getting on the getting out there and talking with strangers about Jesus financially people are giving their Demonstrating a level of generosity our church is becoming more connected as people are finding a relationship with one another I mean There's there's lots of markers that help indicate growth and I'd say even when you look at some of the negative markers of growth Like what what are not growth? So what are some of the negative markers that would indicate a church is unhealthy? I would say I don't have a lot of examples of those. Things like, you know, a real vibe of cynicism in the church, or I don't think gossip is rampant in our church. Those sort of like, those real sort of, again, those what I'd say markers of unhealth, I can't point to a lot of that happening. And when it does happen, we address it, which is what a healthy church does. When we know people who are going wayward or being hurtful or detrimental, pastors or elders or leaders discipline or hold people to account. So those are some of the things I would respond to church health. JonYeah, well to that point, if somebody in our church or another church, church member, thinks that their church is unhealthy, what do you recommend they do? Who should they talk to? What should they say? Question #2: If a church member thinks that their church is unhealthy, what do you recommend they do? RyanFirst thing I would say is pray, and not because that's just like the quote unquote Christian answer, but because I think that's the right answer. Number one, pray, and then I think you need to go to your elders. If there's, I think if you're identifying one person who's the seed of unhealth, I think Matthew 18 says you probably should go and talk to that person one-on-one, but if a Christian just thinks in a general sense they don't see health in their church or they see unhealth, then I would say pray and then approach your elder or one of your elders depending on how your government structure is. That's what I'd say. What would you say? JonYeah, totally. I totally agree. For example, in our church, the congregation each has an elder, a specific elder that is part of their zone, their shepherding elder that they can go to. And so if you're going to contact that elder, I would recommend that phone call or that email ought to be full of questions. You know, you're sending an email to that guy and you're saying, hey, I've noticed this, can you please tell me why that's happening or what you think about that? Or... RyanAlso, I think 100%, emails that have questions are received so much better than emails that are full of accusations or statements. And also, I would say, it's very helpful to bring like some examples like if someone's gonna come to me and say I feel like Our church is unhealthy. I would say why do you say that and if they just say I don't know I just feel that way that does not help right like what do you actually mean? Like if you care enough to actually have the conversation with your elder then care enough to come with some specifics But I I completely agree with you. I'm so glad you said it and I want to underscore it again, come with questions. If you think one thing, seek clarification just to make sure that what you're observing is accurate. Or maybe there's a piece of the puzzle that you're missing that a question could help fill that in. JonYeah, awesome. Awesome, well hey, there's tons we could say about what is a healthy church. We'll have to talk more about that in the future. But I got one more I want to talk about, a question that came in from a fourth grader. That question is this: If God made us in His image, then why aren't we exactly like Him? Question #3: If God made us in His image, then why aren't we exactly like Him? RyanSo fourth grader, wow, what a profound, great theological question. I'm so, so I think one of the ways to think about it is when you talk about something that is imprinted or stamped, it's not gonna be what that thing is. It's just gonna be an image of that thing. If you think about it like a stamp, not like a postage stamp, but like when you stamp, what's the word I'm looking for? Like a rubber stamp or play-doh. Yeah, you press an image into something and it reflects that image, but it doesn't become that thing. And so that's what I would say to this fourth grader with such a phenomenal question. We bear God's image, which means we're imprinted with God's image. Not that we become his being. We don't become God. RyanThat's not what it means. It's we are imprinted with his image. And now we can talk about what that means and what it doesn't mean. We talk about there's communicable attributes and incommunicable attributes of God. And I know that's probably too big of a term for a fourth grader. But what that means is that there's qualities that God has. Some of those qualities we share. Some of those qualities, by the fact that he is God, we cannot share. The fact that he's all-knowing. We're not all-knowing. But there are communicable attributes, those attributes that we can share, such as we can know what love is and share love like God, not in the full God sense, of course. We can know things, we have intelligence, God has intelligence, wisdom, those sort of things. That's something we know when we talk about what it means to be made in God's image. It's not that we become God, we don't become the thing that God is, we just bear an image of what God is. And what we mean by that is that we share attributes, qualities of God. Some, but not all. Jon Yeah, I love that. That's really good. I was thinking also of just like a son or a daughter to their parent. You know, you often, kids look like their mom or dad, but they don't look exactly like them, but they look like them. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's a, scripture talks about us being God's children. And so I think that's another way to talk about it. RyanYeah, and also, for instance, my son Jed, he bears my image in the fact that he's absolutely obsessed with the Legend of Zelda video game series. It's like all he talks about, and all he wants to do, and all he wants to play, and everything for Christmas is Link and Zelda related, and I'm like, my son bears my image. I love it. JonThat's awesome, yeah. So shared interests, I like that. RyanYeah. JonSweet, well that's awesome. That's all the time we've got for today. Finally, I want to say that several of you have sent in questions about Israel, asking about Israel. And so we're actually going to take time to answer those questions next week. So, next week's special episode, we're going to talk specifically about some of the world things going on over in Israel. And we are not political commentators, but we do want to talk about Christian worldview and theology and what the Bible says and so we're gonna spend next week Getting into that so look forward to that tune in next week. RyanYep. Yeah, we want to underscore This is this is near and dear to our heart We're obviously concerned as the world is But we're gonna be spending the next week kind of watching how things unfold praying Discerning searching the scriptures and we're excited to talk about that next week. That's right I want to take some time so we can talk about it intelligently. JonAbsolutely. Yeah. Awesome. Hey, thanks everybody for listening. Thanks Pastor Ryan. RyanThanks Pastor Jon. JonHave an awesome week.

PODCAST That's a Good Question Decoding the Divine: Exploring Profound Biblical Passages April 30, 2024 Jon Delger & Stephanie Delger Listen to this Episode So Hey everyone, welcome to That's Good Question, a podcast of Peace Church and a part of Resound Media. You can find more great content for the Christian life and church leaders at resoundmedia.cc . That's Good Question is the place where we answer questions about the Christian faith in plain language. I'm Jon. I get to serve as a pastor at Peace Church as well as get to serve as part of this show. You can always submit questions at peacechurch.cc/questions . Today, I am here with one of the hosts of the Mom Guilt podcast, a teacher in our women's ministry at Peace Church, as well as, she's also my lovely wife. Hello, good to be here. Thanks for being here, Stephanie. Excited today to get to talk about some tough texts. People have asked some questions about some very specific Bible passages. And so that's what we're going to talk about today, is they write into some verses that are hard to understand. Love those kind of questions, people send those in, that you're just studying along in your Bible and you come across something really hard. Always feel free to submit those questions. So we're going to try to tackle at least three of those today and see how that goes. So here we go. All right, the first one is this. In my devotions this morning, I was reading 1 Timothy 2.15, and the question is what does childbearing have to do with a woman's salvation? Such an interesting question such an interesting passage, so I'll read the passage a minute. Yeah, well initially okay as you pull it up Initially I would say that it has a lot to do with it because it points out my need for salvation that much more Because so much in motherhood is like oh, no I messed up. Oh, no, you know it revealed the ugly sin I need salvation, but I kind of doubt that that might be what they were asking it for. That's funny. And actually it's almost like you could do a podcast about that. Almost. The guilt that comes with motherhood. Hey, I'm here to help. I'm here to help you. All right. First, Symphony 215. Here's what it says. Well, actually I'll tell you what, let me, I'll read the verse even leading into it. This is a big paragraph. You're going to have more questions. Okay, go for it. Yeah. I'll just read the first couple of verses. There's lots in this paragraph we can talk about. There is. And we have talked about in the past on this show, but here's, I'm gonna start in verse 13. It says, For Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Here's verse 15. Yet she will be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control. Yeah, so the question is, what does a woman's salvation have to do with childbearing? Because at first you read that and it seems that you are saved by having children. You almost read that and go, well, all moms go to heaven, just like that, that movie, all dogs go to heaven, all moms go to heaven. Right. But we would say, no, we don't think that that's really what that verse is talking about. But on first glance, I think this is a great question because it seems to say that, yeah, if you're a mom, you go to heaven, you're saved because you have had a child. Yeah, it seems that way. We know that's not true, right? This wise man once told me that the Bible doesn't contradict itself. And you have always encouraged me in asking questions. Sometimes it's really helpful to start of what does it not mean? And I think this might be a good start of what does this not mean? Because we would say there's other verses in the Bible that talk about you're saved through faith alone, right? It makes me think of Ephesians 2, 8, and 9. That's exactly what I was going to say. Yeah, so it's not that we're saved by the work of childbearing, but what does it mean? Yeah, so we're saved by grace, by God's grace as a gift through faith in Jesus, not by works. Ephesians 2, 8, and 9 is a great passage to look at for that. So that's what we know it doesn't mean. Yeah, so to give a couple of, so I read today a few different perspectives on this. So this is one of those passages that is kind of unclear as to exactly what it means. Many of us look at it and think it's not quite clear exactly what it's talking about. I think there's some gray area, maybe some possible interpretation. So two of the main ones that I saw, I'll just give you the two main ones and then kind of what I think. But the two main lines of thought are these either either one that word saved isn't meaning so much like salvation being justified becoming right with God as much as it means like being sanctified that you're saved through childbearing that you become more like Jesus through childbearing which you kind of joked about and said that that's true that happens. Yeah I mean that I see in my heart with motherhood all of the time. There are so often where through motherhood, it's really, especially in that newborn stage, you right away are really tired and you want to just sleep, but you can't. You kind of die to yourself. We talk about that sometimes in the church, you die to yourself to provide for something else that I might want to go take a nap, but I can't because I have this screaming newborn who needs to be fed and clothed and taken care of. And so through motherhood, it really teaches me to put aside my needs of what I need and to really lay that down so I can take care of another person. Yeah. Which I think in a lot of ways really images what Christ did. I mean, he died himself for our salvation. And so there's some different ways that we can, through motherhood, kind of be a Christ-like figure to our child. But there's also some other ways in motherhood where it's just this constant battle of, you know, trying to fight this sin in my life, trying to fight this self-control, the selfishness that I have in order to show love to somebody else, which doesn't come as naturally as what I thought it would be. Like before you're a mom, you think, oh, of course, this is so easy. You're going to love your child. And yes, I love all of our children, as I'm sure you do as well. But it does come with this ugly side that really reveals your sin. Yeah, totally. Shows your selfishness. I've said before that marriage and having kids are two things that show you that you're a sinner. Well, it's like that nursery school rhyme, like, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage. Like there's kind of that progression with showing sanctification too. I think sometimes you can say, oh, I'm a really great person, and then you fall in love with somebody else and it kind of reveals maybe some lust that you're struggling with. You get married and you think, oh, I'm not that selfish. And then you get married and that marriage reveals your selfishness. And then you have kids. And I think that level, again, just shows this deeper level of selfishness that I had in my heart. And so I just see this progression through marriage and then through childbearing, too, that it really is revealing of that sin. Yeah. So it makes practical sense. Right. The argument makes practical sense. Some of the other there's some textual arguments that guys made. I mean, one is that in this paragraph, Paul's talking about the sanctification or what it's like to be a godly woman, like verses 9 and 10 in this paragraph. Talk about also kind of just the context and the setting, talking about in 1 Timothy 1, 3, there's false teaching going on in this church. In 4, 1, we see that there's talk about people turning to evil spirits. Later in chapter 4, there's talk about asceticism, people trying to be religious and earn their way. It talks about even having abstinence within marriage, which is not really something God prescribes but something people were doing because they thought it would make them look even more holy. Maybe Paul is just saying that this normal domestic stuff of having kids is a good thing. So those are some of the arguments that I read for just this concept that So the argument about what the text means is that saved doesn't mean salvation But it means being sanctified and maybe that's what Paul's saying. So that's one argument. The other perspective The other major perspective is that the reference is To the seed of the woman going back to Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 So right before this verse in verses 13 and 14 in 1st Timothy, it's talking about Adam and Eve, so you can see how that makes sense, that's the context. And then, so if you don't know, in Genesis chapter 3, that's where the fall into sin happens. That's where Adam and Eve sin, they eat of the tree like God told them not to, they fall into sin, and in Genesis 3 verse 15 is where God promises hope. It's actually, I would say, it's the storyline of the whole rest of the Bible. So let me read it to you real quick, so you can make sense of this argument. It says, so there's God speaking to the serpent, the snake. He says, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel. Okay, so Genesis 3.15 is God's promise that there's going to be war for the rest of humanity, the rest of history, between the woman and the offspring of Satan, essentially. So there's going to be Satan and his people, there's going to be God and his people, and they're going to be at war with each other. And the day is going to come when a man, a descendant of the woman, on God's team is going to be bruised or injured or hurt by a follower of Satan. But ultimately, that son of the woman is going to have victory through defeat. Ultimately, that man is going to have victory over Satan by being defeated. And you can sort of imagine in the future what that looks like. So we'd say that points to Jesus. Jesus is a seed of the woman. He's a child of Eve, and yet he's also the son of God who comes and he is defeated on the cross, or so he appears defeated, and yet actually he gets victory through that defeat and ultimately crushes the head of Satan. That makes a lot of sense too, because really then it's saying that women are safe through childbearing. Also, if that's what the verse is meaning, men are also safe through childbearing if the child that's referred to is Jesus. Yeah, yeah. So personally I think that's actually the better argument, just based on the context of that they're already talking about Adam and Eve and I just think it makes, I just think it makes the most sense. It is a tough passage. You look at it and you're like, what in the world is going on here? Saved through childbearing. But yeah, to me that makes the most sense to just say that yeah, childbearing is this amazing thing that God is gonna work through woman. It's one of the glories of woman that she gets to be the bearer of children and that ultimately the Savior's gonna come through that way and save all of humanity by coming and crushing the head of the serpent. We'll be right back after this break. Hi, I'm Elizabeth, one of the co-hosts of MomGuilt, a podcast with new episodes every Monday. MomGuilt is a podcast about the daily struggles of motherhood. Stephanie and I share real experiences of MomGuilt and how we have found freedom from that guilt through the gospel. Listen to us on Resoundmedia.cc or wherever you find podcasts. Either way, the answer is Jesus. You're saved through Jesus. Yeah. Whether it's sanctification, it's still by Jesus. Yeah. So, awesome question. Totally a hard text. I'm so glad that it was asked. So, let's go on. We got at least two more here. Let's talk about. All right. So, the next one. Jacob and Esau. Let's talk about that story for a minute So here's the question as it came in person says I've always wondered about the story of Jacob and Esau Why does God bless Jacob and his descendants after he deceives his father and steals his brother's blessing? It doesn't seem fair All right, so good question So the passage if you want to look at it Genesis 25 and 27 those two chapters are kind of the biggest chapters that talk about this story between Jacob and Esau. Quick, if we remember the story, remember Jacob and Esau are both children of Isaac and Rebekah. Before they're even born, while they're in the womb, God says to Rebekah that the older will serve the younger. So Esau comes out first, but ultimately God has already said Jacob's the one who's going to be the promised line, the one for whom the nation of Israel is eventually going to come, ultimately going to come. And then the story goes on that Esau sells his birthright to his brother for a bowl of soup at one point. And then at the end of Isaac's life, before their dad passes away, Jacob ultimately deceives his dad, tricks him into thinking that he's Esau so that he gets his blessing as well. So that's kind of the story. You can read it if you want to in Genesis 25 through 27. But the question is, what in the world does Jacob, dude, does some bad things, and yet it all works out great for him in the end. As you're saying this story, man, wouldn't this be like a great story for like a Christian soap opera? Like, can you just imagine the drama and all of these like turns it takes? It just makes me think of this would be some good television. I don't know if I could put Christian and Soprano in the same sentence. I don't know if that works. But you make a good point. Yeah, no, it's a great. Yeah, the Bible has some of the best stories. They're great stories. Yeah. And I think as you're saying that, yeah, it doesn't seem fair. It seems like Jacob is this deceptive, conniving man, and why would God choose him? And I wonder if that's possibly the point of when you're reading this, so often I think good things should happen to good people and bad things should happen to bad people. And Jacob and Esau are not only brothers, but they're twins. And I think this is a case study almost of that's not the way God works. Wow. I think that's a really good point. Yeah, so we totally expect that the dude who does bad things should be punished. Now actually one of the things that we, so you look at Jacob's name, Jacob's name actually literally in Hebrew means deceiver or cheater. That is so, like, okay, we have two sons. When we name one like cheater, deceiver, that's such an odd name. We would not do that. No, we didn't. We didn't do that. Our daughters actually, if you remember, they were recently reading in their Bible storybook, Hosea. Remember they came across how Hosea's children were named, not my people, and no mercy. And they were pretty horrified at that idea. Yeah, that's just an interesting idea too, that they named their son that because he was named before he acted or did any of that. Sure. You know, usually you would think a parent is going to name a child after something they aspire to. Like our son is named Levi because we want him to be a man of the Lord with the Levites. And that just doesn't even seem like why would a parent name their child deceiver? Yeah. It's a great question. I don't know the answer to that. We can ask when we get to heaven. Yeah, right. What were you thinking? So to try to unpack the answer, so I mean, first of all, I think it's true that it's not fair. I think that's kind of what you're saying, right, is that the story doesn't come across fair and that's, we're not misreading it. That's the point. It doesn't seem fair that Jacob ends up with God, with Isaac's blessing and God's blessing in the end. He's, you know, he's the father of the nation of Israel. That doesn't seem fair because he did some messed up bad things. He lied. He actually, I was rereading the story this morning thinking about this. Um, and I, I, one of the things that he says strikes me, his, uh, his dad starts to kind of get a sense that he's being tricked and he says, my son, how did you get the game so quickly to bring me this meal? And Jacob's answer is the Lord provided so quickly the animal. And I just, yeah, yeah. It really struck me that this just, man, he, yeah. Took it to the next level. It really kind of does. It takes it to the next level. You're lying about God. So Jacob does some bad stuff, but here's, I'll try to break down kind of what I think is going on in the passage. I think one of the things we got to realize is actually, first of all, Isaac's error and sin in the whole matter. So Isaac knew from before the boys were born what God's will was for Jacob and Esau, that God had designed for Jacob to be the one, for Jacob to be essentially the chosen line. And yet we read throughout their story that Isaac favors Esau, he prefers Esau, he's more manly, he's very hairy, the text tells us many times. Red, red and yellow. Red, red, yeah. I don't know if this is, you know, the first Irishman or how that works, but he's also just an outdoorsman. He likes to hunt, whereas Jacob, it says, he was more inside, hung out with his mom, did some gardening instead of the hunting, you know. So Isaac makes a point of favoring the son that God has already said is not the chosen son. So Isaac's in error here. And then even, you know, leading up to the blessing, Isaac sort of seems to be driven more by his stomach than he is by actually sort of following God's will for passing down to the next generation. Esau also married Canaanite women. Remember that part of the text? That was a no-no. Yeah, so Esau himself is also not going in the direction that God wants him to go, which should be another hint that for Isaac. Doesn't the text also say that him and his wives cause trouble or stir up sorrow for his parents as well? Yeah. So you got to start there with Isaac is actually in the wrong early on and throughout the boy's lives. Kent Hughes, who I read his commentary on this earlier today, he says, there's no heroes in this story, only sinners. I think that's what you were saying, is that part of the point of this story is that, yeah, none of us are good none of us have earned or deserve God's blessing but God decided to do it anyways and I think that's the best explanation of the story is is it fair no it's not fair but God actually determined who is going to be blessed before either of the boys was born neither of them had the possibility to earn it it was it was just it was God's design it was God's plan and that's what played out more I'd say, in spite of each of the characters than because of what each of the characters did. And I think as you were talking, too, you were saying that the dad favored kind of the more masculine one, the one that you would think of, and God didn't favor that. He chose Jacob. And I think, is there something to be said there about how culture views manhood? Because I think there's a conversation happening right now of almost like this toxic masculinity of what does it mean to be a man? And I just, what do you think about that? Oh boy, there's a lot we could say about that. There's a ton we could say about that. Oh man, I wouldn't even know where to begin on that. I mean, I think God, yeah, one thing we could say from that is that I don't think scripture says anywhere that being a man means being super hairy or hunting or having a big beard. But that's not, yeah, so there are definitely some things in our culture that we have elevated and said, these things make you a manly man, a masculine dude, and are not healthy, godly things. Now, I think, unfortunately, in our culture, we do sort of somewhat see an overcorrection too, in the other direction, of saying, well, we're going to just be everything that's opposite of that. So some people have cried out that there's toxic masculinity. And so we've created an alternate form of masculinity that seems to be the opposite of that. And that's not healthy each either. And that's what the world tends to do is we create a pendulum. We're going to see this and we're going to react to it and go to the opposite side. And that's going to be bad. And the next generation is going to react to that and go to the other side. Whereas actually usually the biblical vision of something, for example, the biblical vision of man is probably somewhere in between those two things. So God has given men, I think, a certain level of natural, how do I want to say it, strength, physically, mentally, emotionally, aggressiveness, maybe you could call it, because God has called men to provide and protect and to have that aspect to them. So there is that, but obviously that can become abused. Men can become aggressive to the point where they abuse women or children or others. So tons we could say about that. All right, so let's hit the next question. So the next story that somebody brings up is a story about King Saul and the evil spirit that comes to him. So this is 1 Samuel chapter 16. Let me jump to the question. Here's what they say. They say, In my personal devotions, I was reading 1 Samuel 16, and I read this, Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. Or in other translations, it says evil spirit. And then they go on to say, It just doesn't fit with anything else. I read about God. I think of God as only doing good. How could he send a harmful spirit to Saul to torment him? I have had this question, and I think this is one of, to me, one of the scariest texts. I think this one and the text where Jesus can turn to somebody and say, depart from me, I never knew you. These two texts I think are really hard and are some of the maybe most scary Bible verses for me. So I was really glad somebody asked this question because I want to talk about it. Interesting. Yeah, yeah, I mean it strikes you as, I think if you're reading along the story in 1 Samuel, it strikes you as very strange that all of a sudden there's an evil spirit and it was sent by God to one of the characters. Yeah, because God chose Saul to be king out of the people. I mean, we see in some sense God chose Saul, right? Like it was evident from the beginning that this wasn't really God's choice or first choice. We see God saying, well, I'm going to give you what you want. You want a king like the other nations. Well, here he is, here's Saul. And I think this was so interesting as well, because we really see that Saul was the first king in some ways. I mean, he's the king that all of God's people wanted. They said, we want a king like the other nations. And God says, OK, here's Saul. And so it seems like God gave Saul favor. And now all of a sudden he's taking that away. And instead of, you know, just taking something away, he's actually taking it a step further and giving him a spirit that's going to torment him. That's scary. Hmm. Yeah, I get that. That, I mean, that is essentially what you just described is what's happening in the story. I mean, so Saul has, yeah, I mean, so the people's desire for a king wasn't good in the first place, right? So God was their king. God very clearly said that they're rejecting God as their king and Saul, you know, is given to them, but Saul has a chance to be a godly king. Saul fails at being a godly king and then actually right before this passage we read that God withdraws his spirit from Saul and right before that we read that God is beginning to send his spirit on David. Okay, so there's already the transition, we're reading something right in the middle of a transition that God has withdrawn his spirit from Saul, he's given his spirit to David, God has already decided he's going to put a new king in place, a different chosen person. Can I ask a question about the Spirit? Yeah. So I have heard it said that in the Old Testament, God's Spirit is resting on one person in one time for a specific thing. Is that true? Because I've heard people say that about the Old Testament, and then in the New Testament, we receive the Holy Spirit as Christians, and so it's different now. That's a great question. There's a lot we could say about that. I'll just say a little bit. It is different between the Old Testament and the New Testament, how this works. I think that's just part of the progressing of God's story and how He works. So in the Old Testament, what we see is God's Spirit enables them to do something for a certain period of time, that kind of thing. Whereas in the New Testament, we've got this promise that the Spirit rests in us, on us, He's our guarantee, He's our seal of our inheritance to come, of our relationship with the Lord. Now I also want to say though that we know that, you know, the New Testament tells us that nobody has faith, nobody comes to faith, nobody receives salvation apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. So we can't say that the Holy Spirit was totally absent from the everyday believer's life in the Old Testament. He was, because it's only through the power of the Spirit that somebody can be born again, that somebody can come to faith. So the Holy Spirit was doing that in the Old Testament, but we don't have passages telling us like we do in the New Testament, that he was resting on us sort of continually. So when the text is saying that God is removing his spirit from him, that's not speaking to say that Saul is like somehow losing his salvation of some type? Or do you think that is what it means? No, I don't think. I would say Old Testament, New Testament, you can't lose your salvation. Saul's salvation is an interesting question. You know, did he ultimately have faith faith that resulted in righteousness in God and in God's promises. I don't know about Saul's eternal state and where that ended up. If he had repentance and received forgiveness for his sins and all those kinds of things, I can't speak to his eternal state, but I wouldn't say it. I would say this is not a passage about salvation so much as about who God's anointed king is, who God's Spirit is uniquely working through to lead the people and be his representative to the people. That's really helpful. I think that helps me put distinct markers on what this is talking about. Sure, sure. So this evil spirit comes, which seems kind of crazy to us, but really this evil spirit is, that's how David gets into the story, right? This is how David, so later, Saul's buddies, his staff, say, hey Saul, we need to bring in an awesome harp player to help you out with this evil spirit. And that's how David gets into kind of the throne room, into the cadre of Saul's people. Because this is almost like a hinge text between Saul disobeying the Lord because he was told to go and destroy this nation and all of their possessions. He doesn't. He disobeys the Lord. There's this hinge and then doesn't it immediately talk about David being brought in like you were saying the harp? Yeah. Okay. And then after that, we've got the story of David Goliath. So this is the beginning of, you know, sort of David's ascension. So it's not the only passage we have in the Bible about evil spirits either so I jotted down a couple. So one is Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira, so the Apostle Peter says that they've an evil spirit is at work in that whole situation. 2 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about his thorn in the flesh and he also calls it a messenger of Satan. I think of the book of Job of course where Satan is allowed to torment Job. So this isn't the only example we have in the Bible of an evil spirit coming from God or is the result of God's action or even allowed by God is another way to phrase it. But whether you say God sent it or God allowed it, I think the ultimate question here is, if God is good, how come he can either cause or let bad things happen to people? Whether it be an evil spirit or something else. I mean, to me, I think this is the same question as how can God be good and let hurricanes happen? How can God be good unless somebody get cancer? This is probably what a lot of the Old Testament people thought when they were part of the people of Israel and this evil nation would come in and conquer them. I think they probably would ask a very similar question. Sure. So to try to, so that's a topic we've talked about in other episodes, we have to talk about in longer length. So in short, I think there's a few really important points we got to bear in mind. So the first is that God made the world perfect and we broke it with our sin. So yeah, you know whether whether you're talking about the hurricane or you're talking about cancer or you're talking about the sinful behavior of a person, God made the world perfect and good. We broke it with our sin. I think you have to remember that fundamental piece in the story. Now we can talk about what's behind that, we can talk about God's design and plan, but I think we do have to remember just about that God is good and he made it good. Okay, the creation did originally reflect God's character of being perfect. Then it got broken. Sin came into it. So, there's that. Another important point would be to just kind of remember that I think it's true that something can be against God's moral design and yet within his will. So for years, theologians have talked about that. They've talked about there's two wills of God. There's the moral will of God and there's the sovereign will of God. So on the one hand, it's true that everything that happens is part of God's will, right? There's nothing that happens that's outside of God knowing it's gonna happen, God being in control of it happening, God is sovereign over all things. So in one sense, everything that happens is within his will. But on the other hand, we know that God's will is for certain things not to happen. Like God says, do not murder. So whenever somebody's murdered, on the one hand, it's within God's will because God knew it was gonna happen. God was in control of that happening. So on the one hand, it's within his will. But on the other hand, it's totally against his will. God doesn't want it to happen. God has said we're not supposed to do it. So you can kind of see that there's these two different aspects of God's moral will and design for the universe. And then there's also everything that happens, the fact that he is sovereignly in control of everything. Everything's within his will. But again, kind of keep those two perspectives in your mind. And then kind of last step I'll say here is that God, we do know from the Bible that God uses temporal bad for ultimate good. So one great example is Joseph. Genesis 50 makes it really clear that Joseph says to his brothers, you meant this for evil. God meant it, designed it, intended it for good. So God all along, it was God's plan all along that even though his brothers did this terrible thing, they sold him into slavery, he was falsely accused of something, he was in prison. Joseph had a rough life, and yet it was God's plan for that temporal bad to result in ultimate good. It's actually how the nation of Israel ultimately comes to be about. You know, the line of Jacob, the line of Joseph, that all would have ended in starvation if it hadn't been for Joseph going ahead of them to be Pharaoh's right-hand man, to save up the food and to give it to his family eventually. I think if that idea sounds really interesting to you, the Peace Women's Conference this fall at Peace Church will actually be talking about that whole story, pairing it along with one of the Psalms. So if you're in the area, here's Shameless Plug. Check out this fall Peace Women's Conference. You're really good at these Shameless Plugs. Absolutely. Hey! So I think that idea that I just shared is really, it can be really hard to swallow, and yet it's what the Bible tells us is true. So I think we've got to have the humility to accept that God's ways are higher than our ways, that he tells us that he's good, that he demonstrates that he's good, and that the temptation for us to think that he's not good is as old as Adam and Eve. I mean, that was the temptation to Adam and Eve in the garden was Satan went to them and said, you know, if God was good, why would he put this tree here? Why wouldn't he let you have all these good things that you want? You know, when in reality God had given them all the trees in the garden to eat of except for one, but Satan tries to reframe that and tempt them to think, man, God must not actually be good. God must not actually want good things for me because there's this thing that he says that I can't have. So this is the ultimate temptation is to think that God is not good, but he tells us that he is. He demonstrates that he is, and I think there are some times in this life, there are some things that we witness in the world that we do have to trust Him. We have to trust that that is His character. That's what we see in the Bible. Even though our current moment, our situation, our experience might feel like that's not the case. Romans 8, 28 is one of the key verses, obviously, that reminds us of that. For those who love God and are called according to His purpose, God works together all things for their good. And I think listening to you talk to it's so often in my life where I feel something I feel that emotion and Emotions are good. They're a gift from the Lord, but we need to be careful to not root our beliefs in emotion But rather in truth And so I think just what you were saying of this may feel that God is not good But we know the Bible says God is good and so base You know what we're thinking on and what the Bible says rather than what we're feeling because we know we can be deceived by our emotions. Yeah, totally. Well, I think that's all we've got time for today, but great questions, everybody. Thanks so much for them. Stephanie, thanks for being part of the conversation. Thanks for having me. Thanks, everybody, for listening. You can always send in more questions at peacechurch.cc /questions. You can follow us on Instagram. You can follow us on resoundmedia.cc . Look forward to seeing you next time. You can find That's a Good Question at resoundmedia.cc or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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A Psalm of David | Psalm 8 Sermon Series: Honest To Goodness Jon Delger Multiplication Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: Psalm 8 Transcript Hey Peace Church, great to see you all this morning. My name is Jon, I get to serve as the executive pastor here, and it's also my privilege this morning to get to bring us the word. So if you've got a Bible, would you turn with me to Psalm 8, Psalm 8. Great to see all of you this morning, whether you're here in the worship center, over in the chapel, or downstairs in the family venue, or joining us online, camping somewhere up north. Great to have all of you with us this morning. As you're turning in your Bibles to Psalm 8, did you know that we are just four Sundays away from launching Peace Church Wayland? Praise God. That's right. It's okay. You can get excited about that. We're excited. On August 27, our Peace Church, our Peace Wayland launch team starts off their first two soft, what we call our soft launch services chance for that team to get to worship together and get to work out some kinks in our new location. And then on September 10 fall launches when we go public. So be sure to tell your friends from Wayland, September 10, join us over there. We are excited to have another body of believers worshiping Lord and preaching the word. Amen. Amen. Scripture Reading Awesome. Hey, if you got Psalm 8 in front of you, I'm going to read it, then we'll pray, then we'll get to work. So I'll make here we go. 1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! This is God's word, let's pray. Prayer Father God, we thank you for your word this morning. God, thank you for being here with us. Please open up our minds and our hearts to hear your word, to be transformed, to become more and more like Jesus. Father, I pray that you would fill me with your Holy Spirit to preach your word to your people, a broken instrument, bringing your perfect word to your people. God, may you be glorified, may your church be built up, and may we have an impact on the world with the good news of the gospel. Father we love you, pray the song Jesus precious and powerful name. Amen. Amen. Is it Cake? Well, very recently my wife and I stumbled across a TV show that maybe you've heard of, maybe you haven't. It's called Is It Cake? Which is a great question to ask. Is it cake? And the whole show, the whole premise of the show is they put in front of you objects that look like real life objects and make you answer that question. Is this real or is it cake? And to me, it's just so much better than real or fake, right? Because it's not just fake, it's covered in sugar and delicious goodness. Isn't that just a beautiful thing? So I don't know what it is about this show, if it's just that attraction to something sweet or if it's, I don't know, something attracted me to the show. I love it. And so just for kicks this morning, we're gonna take a quick pop quiz, okay? So I'm gonna put a couple of images in front of you, make you choose. And so keep an eye on your neighbor, make sure they're being honest, get their hand up and admit if they're right or wrong and also make sure that they vote because if you don't vote, you're a coward. So make sure you vote, pick an answer. All right, here we go. Real or cake? Real? Ooh, not very many. Or is it cake? Believe it or not, that's a real shoe. Oh man! Psyched you guys out on the first one. That was awesome. All right, second one, here we go, we're gonna try it again. Real or is it cake? Oh yeah, that's cake, that's cake. Is it real? Either way, it's food, right? Or is it cake? Oh, it's cake, it's cake. All right, last one for you, last one, cheeseburger. Is it a real cheeseburger or is it cake if you said cake you are so right I heard somebody say you don't worry I don't think there's real ketchup or mustard or anything like that in there that would be an you know it's I think that's sugary sweet delicious goodness in there I don't know what it is about this but it's just it doesn't that just grab you and you just want to know is that is that a real thing or is it cake and I think this plays on our interest in whether something is real, genuine, or authentic. And I think that's the same question that we come to the book of Psalms with this morning. As we kick off our new sermon series, it's called Honest to Goodness, how the authors of the Psalms teach us about authentic faith. And this is the question we're asking, is it real or is it fake? Not cake this time, but is it real or is it fake? And we're gonna be looking at the book of Psalms that contains a hundred and fifty Psalms written by seven or more authors. There's actually forty-eight Psalms that are left anonymous. We don't know who wrote them, so there's at least seven authors, maybe more. But each of them represents a different person's situation, good times, bad times, whatever situation they're in. Some of them are praising God, some of them are crying out to God, some of them are lamenting, some of them show a little bit of a little anger and frustration even I'll admit as I read through some of the Psalms I kind of asked myself a question is it okay to say that is it okay to feel that way to think that way as a Christian and so I'm excited as we walk through a few sermons in this in this series in the book of Psalms to get that experience of what is an authentic genuine faith look like what does it look like to talk to God to pray to God to express ourselves before the Lord and this morning we're going to get to see the first in that series looking at Psalm 8, a Psalm of David. So, you guys know King David. He was a king of Israel. He was a shepherd. He was a warrior. He was a husband. He was a father. He was a grandfather and we're going to get to see in Psalm 8, him express himself before the Lord and get to learn from that experience. So, as we walk through the Psalm, we're going to see three parts and three points. You ready to go? Let's do it. Authentic faith has a proper view of God Here we go. Point number one. Authentic faith has a proper view of God. Authentic faith has a proper view of God. Look with me at the first couple of verses here. Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens. I don't know how many people are dog people or cat people in the room. But I think dogs and cats actually teach something about this psalm. I don't people try to get in the head and think about the difference between a dog and a cat. But if you think about a dog, I think about it this way if you think about a dog a dog sits there and thinks, "My my person who I live with they give me food. They give me water. They give me shelter They give me love and affection. They must be God." Whereas a cat says, "this person who I live with, they give me food, they give me water, they give me shelter, they give me love and affection. I must be God." That is the essential difference between a dog and a cat. And I think Psalm 8 reminds us that we should be more like a dog than a cat. Sorry, cat people. David says, how majestic is your name, your name God, not my name, but your name. One definition of the word majestic is having or showing impressive beauty or dignity. When you think of your majesty, you think of somebody who's royalty, right? A king or a queen, this is the way we refer to them, your majesty. Or you think of the mountains or the Grand Canyon, something that's got breathtaking beauty and grandeur, right, something that is both great to look at, but also big, right, it's awesome in the sense of that word. I think of, personally, I think of like a bald eagle, right, when you see that picture, the word that springs to mind is not pretty, but the word, but beauty is there, there's beauty there, but there's so much more, there's also just this sense of bigness and just strength right and I think that word majestic communicates that also about God and that's what David is saying is that God is both beautiful, but he's also Powerful somebody who deserves our reverence and our respect take a look at that second verse I think this takes a little bit more explanation out of the baby out of the mouths of babies and infants you've established strength because of your foes to still the enemy and the Avenger. I think the simplest way that I can come up with to explain what this verse is saying is this, is that God is so great that he uses the littlest instruments to bring down the biggest foes. It's kind of like when I was a kid, my dad would go to arm wrestle me and instead of using his right arm, he'd use his left arm, right? I'm so strong, I'm going to take you down with my weak arm. Although my dad, as I think about it right now, was left-handed, so maybe that wasn't, I don't know. But he uses the weakest thing he's got available to take down the strongest thing in order to demonstrate his strength. It reminds me also of 1 Corinthians 1. For consider your calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. So Christians, we were not chosen for our smarts or for our strength, God shows in fact what was weak in the world as his instruments in order to shame those who thought they were wise or strong in their own eyes. This is the way that God works. God is so great and so powerful and so strong that he uses the weakest of instruments to demonstrate his strength when he takes down his foes. Think of David in his own life, right? You think of David who gets his fame from his fight with Goliath, right? David is a teenage boy. He's a young, skinny boy with a slingshot standing in front of a giant clad in armor carrying a spear and a sword, right? I mean, it's laughable. And yet God demonstrates his strength because he uses David to win the fight. Or I think of Matthew 21, where Jesus actually quotes from Psalm 8, this passage that we're looking at this morning. In the passage, Jesus just turned over the tables of the temple, right, because of the money changers. They're not living according to God's word for the temple. And so he turns over the tables and then the Pharisees come to rebuke him. And yet the Pharisees are almost drowned out because you've got these little kids shouting, Hosanna, Hosanna, son of David, Hosanna in the highest behind him. The praises of children drown out the rebuke of these enemies of our Savior. Authentic faith has a proper view of God, namely that our God is majestic, that He's high, that He's above. Now, as we begin to talk about the greatness and the glory of God, which we're going to talk about a lot in the book of Psalms, right? In the book of Psalms, we see a ton of this kind of thing. I think it's important that we address may be a question that's already in your minds and that has been in the minds of many people over the centuries as they come to the book of Psalms. And that's this question. Is it selfish for God to ask us to worship him? Is it narcissistic for God to say, look at me, worship me, call me majestic, bow down, and praise me? Is that wrong? Is that bad? I want to answer that question with just a couple of quick principles. I also want to warn you, we're going to take kind of a quick deeper dive into thinking about this. And so if you need some time to just hear this and just chew on it over the course of the week, there's nothing wrong with that. Feel free to just take it in, chew on it over the course of the week and come back to it. But I want to just share with you two principles, I think, that answer this question. Answer number one, God must be all about his own glory and worship, otherwise, he is not God. So the logic goes something like this. If God is not about his own glory, and he's about somebody else's glory, then that somebody else is God. Right, if we're supposed to bow down to God, but God bows down to somebody else, well, the person that God is bowing down to, well, that person's actually God. God is the highest and greatest being in the universe, and that's why he deserves worship and praise. If he wasn't the highest being in the universe, he wouldn't deserve that. If he didn't ask us to praise him, if it wasn't just and right and good for us to praise him, then he wouldn't be the greatest person in the universe. Have you ever heard the phrase, it ain't bragging if it's true? It's kind of like that, right? For God to say I am the greatest being in the universe is not bragging, it's simply true. It's just a fact. Now if I were to stand up here and say I am the greatest thing in the universe, you all should bow down and worship me. Now that would be bad. That would be a bad thing. You should all leave if I ever do that or throw me out. But when God does it, it's simply right and proper for him to do so. So God must be all about his own worship and glory, otherwise, he's not God. Answer number two is, worshipping God is where humans find the fullest joy. Have you ever experienced something amazing and just felt the need to tell somebody about it? Right, if you're standing and looking at mountains or at Lake Michigan or the Grand Canyon or just something beautiful I think there's something in us that says I don't want to just see this myself I want to kind of nudge somebody and say look at that. Isn't that amazing? I experienced this all the time when my wife goes to bargain bins and then text me a picture of the great deal that she just got, right? She gets so much joy out of a good deal that she just got she has to share it, express it with somebody. I think that's kind of what worship is, right? That there's something, we see God in the scriptures, we see him through his works and creation, we see God and we just sort of bubble over into expressing what we see. We just express, oh man, oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. All right, we just have to express it and the actual joy comes with expressing it. Worship, it's amazing how God has designed the universe and that worship is not just the thing that God deserves it's also the thing that brings us the greatest joy. Isn't that amazing of our God to design the universe in such a way that that happens? That it is just and right and perfect for God to get worship but it's also the most joyful thing in the universe for you and I to do is to give him worship. All right, so point number one is that authentic faith has a proper view of God and who he is. Authentic faith has a proper view of self The second one, next couple of verses is this, authentic faith has a proper view of self. Take a look at verses three and four. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him." So I sort of imagine David writing this psalm as he's maybe doing his evening devotions, sitting out on the balcony, he's sort of looking up at the sky and seeing the moon and the stars and he's just thinking about God and he just sort of pulls out a pen and paper and writes down a few things. And he sort of thinks about how small he is, how small we are in the span of the universe. All right, is this something you've reflected on? Let's just reflect on it for just a moment. The nearest star to us, the sun, inside the sun you can fit 1.3 million earths. So we live on this big planet called Earth, 1.3 million Earths inside the nearest star to us, the sun. And yet the sun is nowhere near the largest star. Of the stars that we know of, and there might be more that we don't know of, we can only see so far into the vastness of space, UY Scudy, I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing that quite right, but UY Scudy is five billion times the size of our sun. Five billion. That little pixel right in there is our sun. You and I are very small in the span of the universe. I also get the same sense when I go to a place that I make a pilgrimage to about once a year, the big house. When you sit in this stadium and you look out 107,501 seats in the bowl and a few more as you go up on each side, you get a sense of how small you are. 110,000 shouting, screaming, excited fans shouting, go blue. And you get this sense of how small you are in comparison with all that's around you. John Newton, who's famous for being the author of amazing grace said not only is it amazing that God would send his son to die For me, it's amazing that God would think about me at all We think about the size of us in the span of the universe It's amazing that God would even think of us and as what David says What is man that you are mindful of him the son of man that you care for Him. Authentic faith has a proper view of the self. And I think that proper view has at least two aspects that it holds in tension, that we are small and that God cares for us. You are small and yet God sees your struggling marriage. You are small and yet God sees your battle with addiction. You are small and yet God sees that you had very little sleep last night and you've changed your 101st diaper for the day. God sees as you go off to work, working two jobs, doing whatever you can to make ends meet. You are small and yet God sees you, loves you, and cares for you. That's amazing. I think there's another principle here for us and it's this, that there is huge freedom in knowing that I am not the center of the universe. I think of a movie that my kids like to watch, Horton Hears a Who, Dr. Seuss' story. And the whole story is about, well, there's an elephant who finds a flower, who on the flower there's a little tiny speck, and we find out that on that little speck is a whole world of people. And the main character who we follow is the mayor of Whoville, who has 96 daughters and one son, and he's mayor of the entire town and he's running around frantic and furious, trying to keep his hands on everything that's going on in his family and in his town, and he thinks the whole weight of the universe is on his shoulders. He thinks that all this stuff that's in front of him is just the weight of the world and it's all on his shoulders. But actually, he finds out that he is just a tiny little man on a tiny little speck on a tiny flower being carried by an elephant. And that truth gives him great comfort. He finds out that he is not the center of the universe. That it doesn't actually all come down to him. That the weight of the world does not belong on his shoulders. There's something freeing, I think, about knowing that. I think about King David. King David is the head of state, he's royalty, he's the commander of the armies, he's God's chosen one, he's the one who's supposed to protect God's people. Twice in his lifetime, his sons rise up and try to take the throne from him. David sees some hard stuff. David's gotta be a man who thinks that it's all on his shoulders. I sort of imagine him sitting before God just sort of with this weight on his shoulders and thinking, just, I'm the guy. I gotta carry it all. I gotta do it all. And in that moment, as he sits there and looks at the stars and the moon, and he's got Bible in hand, it's almost like he hears God say to him, hey David, you're not the guy. I'm the guy. The weight is actually not on your shoulders. The weight's on my shoulders. You are not the center of the universe. I am the center of the universe. That's a very good thing for you. You almost hear David say, thank you. Thank you God that I am not the center of the universe. What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him. I am small and yet you care for me. Praise God. Authentic faith has a proper view of God and also has a proper view of the self. Authentic faith sees God's greatness through our greatness The third part of this psalm. Authentic faith sees God's greatness through our greatness. Now that might seem like a reverse of everything we've just said, but hang with me. Let's take a look at verses 5 and 6 here a moment. Verse 5, Yet you have made him, human beings, a little lower than the heavenly beings, and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet. And he goes on in the next couple of verses to list all those things that he's put under his feet. So we've seen that God is really big, that we are really small. And yet David now says, even though we're small, we have a really significant role to play in the universe. The scripture says that we are just a little lower than the heavenly beings or the angels, right? The angels are right around God and the throne room of God serving God day and night and yet we're just outside of that right God has made us in his own image God has Created us he's reached in to save us. He's gonna spend eternity an intimate relationship with us says even though we are small That small place that we are is still a very significant place in the scheme of things We're close to the Lord. We're close to God. Also points out in verse six that God gave us dominion. Think of Genesis one and two. In Genesis one and two, God says that human beings are supposed to be that his representatives, his rulers on the earth, that everything that he created is under their charge. They're supposed to be his, like his vice regents over the whole world. So when we look out at nature, we should be amazed by God, but also when we look at the mirror, we should see ourselves and think about what an amazing God that created human beings. Authentic faith sees the greatness of God through the greatness of man. I think it's really important that we get that in the right order. We see the greatness of God through the greatness of man. The greatness of man is not an end in itself. There's a lot of preaching out there that wants to tell you that you are really great. I think you all are wonderful people, but there's a lot of preaching out there that wants to tell you that you are really great, and a lot of people see that as the solution to the self-esteem problem that people talk about in our nation. Let me just share with you a quote from one preacher. He says, "You have to know who you are. God breathed his life into you. You have royalty in your blood. You are excellent in every way. Now put your shoulders back, hold your head up high, and start carrying yourself as royalty. You are not average, you are not ordinary, you are a masterpiece." Now let me ask you a question. Is there truth in there? Yeah. We've just seen how it's amazing that God has made human beings in his image. God's going to spend eternity with us. God loves us. There's some truth there. And yet, where is the focus of the people walking out the doors after hearing a message like this? Is their focus on themselves or is it on God? Unfortunately, I think it's on themselves. I think some of the most dangerous things in the world are not outright lies, but half-truths, or in this case, a misapplied truth. Unfortunately, there's a lot of Christians out there that walk around with the idea that God exists to make much of me. Maybe a little bit like the cat. He provides for me. He created me. He sustains me, He saved me because I am so great. I would pose a different idea. Psalm 8, King David would pose a different idea. When you look in the mirror and you think, man, human beings are amazing. You should also look straight through that mirror and say, the God who made human beings is truly amazing. That's the point, that's what it's all about. I think the biggest, for the bigger problem in our nation, is not self-esteem, but God-esteem, lack of God-esteem. God doesn't exist to make much of us, we actually exist to make much of God, and that's where joy and freedom are found. Right, joy and freedom don't come when we make ourselves the center of the universe. You and I actually weren't made to bear that weight. You and I can't hold up under the weight of holding the entire universe. It's the wrong tool for the job. Think of yesterday, I was working around my house and I was up on a ladder and I had a drill in one hand and I needed to beat something in. And so I took my drill with the back end of it and I started beating it in. And I could sort of hear a voice in the back of my head, my dad saying, it's a drill, not a hammer, John. He was right. The wrong tool for the job, it won't work. You and I weren't designed to carry the weight of the universe. But God will not be crushed under that weight. We make God the center of the universe. We are free. We can have joy in being exactly who He designed us to be His creatures, under His care, loved by Him, small but deeply loved. Psalm 8 concludes with the same words that it started with, O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth. The psalm closes with the same words that it started with, and so will we. Is your faith real or is it cake? Do you have a proper view of who God is? Do you have a proper view of who you are? Do you know God's place in the universe and your place in the universe? Authentic faith holds these two things in the right place and says with the psalmist, Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. Would you please stand with me and let's pray. Prayer Father in heaven, we adore you. You are majestic. God, we are awestruck by who you are, by what you've done, by what you've created us to be, thank you for loving us. We love you, Father. We pray this all in Jesus' precious and powerful name. We love you, Father. We pray this all in Jesus' precious and powerful name. Amen.

Personal Distraction vs. Truth and Righteousness Sermon Series: Withstand Ryan DB Kimmel Lead Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: Ephesians 6:14 Transcript Today is the day that the Lord has made. So let us rejoice and be glad in it. And everyone everywhere said with all their hearts, Amen. Did you know that the ancient Roman Empire, before it was an empire, it was a republic? Full of problems, yes it was, but before it became an empire, it was a republic. Until 27 BC when Caesar Augustus deemed himself the first emperor. Now you can debate whether or not Augustus made improvements to Rome and beyond, but the truth is that Rome went from being a republic to an empire. From the people having power to one person having power. And when commenting on this, the satirical writer juvenile made this statement. He said the people who used to grant power high office the legions everything now curtails its desires and Reveals its anxiety for only two things bread and circuses. He was saying the people lost their power, but they didn't care as long as they were fed and entertained. Here's a history lesson. People are willing to give up their influence as long as they are satisfied and pacified. Our world can come to ruin, our culture given to wickedness as long as we have snacks and sports to watch. Keep us distracted and we'll give up our influence. And what's true about society is even more true when it comes to the spiritual. When faithful people are distracted, the devil is most effective. And with this sermon and sermon series, Withstand, this is about seeing how the Bible gives us the perspective and the eyes to see and reminding us that the culture war and the things that are going on around us ultimately find their root in the spiritual. That the people, the people around us are not our enemy. The devil and his schemes are our enemy The world around us is our neighbor and Christ calls us to love our neighbor as we recognize the devil is having massive influence in this world and in response to this God has given us not just the beauty and the power of the Gospel, but God has given us spiritual armor and with that a call to stand a call to stand strong. We started this series last week, but as we continue it from here on out, we're gonna look at each piece of the armor and what it means and how we might wear it as we stand and face the battles of our time. But before we talk about what's going on out there, we gotta make sure that we're addressing the battles in here. So that's where we're gonna start as we look at the notion of our personal distractions versus the truth and righteousness that's given to us. If you have your Bibles, please turn to Ephesians chapter 6. If you were with us last week, you should already have a bookmark in that page, because this is where we're going to be for this entire sermon series. Ephesians chapter 6. Now, as you turn in there, if you weren't with us last week, let me remind you, Ephesians is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote from prison to the church in Ephesus, and in it he writes about certain doctrines of the Christian faith and how do we live out certain ethics of the Christian life. But then he closes this letter by talking about the spiritual reality around us, the spiritual battle and how God has dressed us with a special suit of armor to be able to face the battles that are around us. And so, hopefully you are to Ephesians chapter 6. We're going to read simply and only verse 14 today. And so with that, would you hear God's word? Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness. Amen. This is God's word. Let's pray. Let's continue. Let's pray. Father, Lord, we ask that you would help us find our rest, our assurance and our strength in you. Protect us from the evil one. During this series and in our lives, please continue to pour out your Holy Spirit. In Holy Spirit, we pray that you will fill us, guide us, fuel us for the lives you're calling us to live, that we might know the truth, that we'd be able to take our stand. We pray these things in the precious and perfect and powerful name of Jesus. And everyone said, Amen. Amen. So, church, I hear a lot of talk these days about how people are frustrated and angry with all that's going on in our world and in our country. And a lot of this frustration gets pointed towards Christians, that Christians are not stepping up. In fact, many of us are asleep, distracted when the call on our lives is so great. The devil, it appears, is having so much sway in this world while Christians just sit idly by, not engaging, and we won't engage as long as we are entertained and have food. We're going to confront this today. And that's what this series is all about. But before, again, I said it before, I'll say it again, before we can turn our attention to the brokenness that's out there, we must first address it in here, in our own hearts, in our own lives. Before we can talk about being awake for the battle out there, we need to make sure that we are aware that we are dressed for the battle that we face on a daily basis. And so, main point for today, as we get going, is this. Main Point: We are most vulnerable when we are most distracted. We are most vulnerable when we are most distracted. And as we look at this one verse, we're gonna look at three key ideas that come from this one verse. And here's what we're gonna be looking at here this morning. First thing we'll see is that attention is the antidote for distraction. We're then going to see how truth is the antidote for deception. And we'll close it up by looking at how righteousness is the antidote for dishonor. Attention is the antidote for distraction Truth is the antidote for deception Righteousness is the antidote for dishonor 1. Attention is the antidote for distraction And so let's look at this first one here. Let's get going. Attention is the antidote for distraction. Our passage starts out very simply. Have your Bibles open. The very first two words here, stand therefore. This is what God calls us to do. This is the opposite of what the devil wants us to do. The devil wants us to fall. Now we use phrases like, you maybe even heard me use a phrase something like this, the devil's trying to trip you up. What we're trying to do in this series is help us to understand the gravity of the situation. The devil is not trying to trip you up. The devil is trying to destroy you. He's trying to devour you. He's trying to keep you from God. He's trying to make you fall. What does that mean? It means to fall into the pattern of this world rather than stand for the kingdom of God. Stand, therefore. What's it mean to stand? It means to be established. It means to be steadfast. It means to hold your ground when evil advances. And let me just make one observation. I'm going to speak directly to the American church here. Unless if you're not American, number one, thank you for being here. Welcome. Welcome to the family. But I want to speak to the American church here for a second. I think many people are falling, not because they don't engage the battle. They're content just to live their lives. They're satisfied and pacified. We have food, we have our nice houses, and we're the most entertained people of all time. And so the devil has all the power he needs because we're putting up no resistance. You literally have a 24-hour distraction device in your pocket, and we let it distract us rather than using it as a tool to help sharpen us. The devil has everything he needs. He has a powerful church that's satisfied and pacified, happy to stay in the corner as long as they have food and entertainment. Now, let me remind you, attention is the antidote for distraction. Now if you know me at a personal level, you know that it was probably only a matter of time before I brought up chess as an illustration in the sermon. I love to play chess. Does anyone else in here like to play chess? Okay, like five of us? Okay. My wife and I play chess all the time. My wife and I, we played six games yesterday. That's how we know we're getting old. Now, if you want to know who the better chess player is between my wife and I, you're gonna have to ask her. But I can tell you this, when we play chess, we typically play at our kitchen table, and if you sit right at our kitchen table, you can see into the living room, and like many people, we have a TV in our living room. Now , if I sit playing chess with my wife where I can see the TV. And if the kids are watching a show, I am most always going to lose. Even if they're watching a show that I would never personally choose to watch, just the fact that there's something on the TV is a distraction enough for me to lose the game every single time. Why? Because I'm distracted. And when you're distracted, your attention is divided. And you can't win a battle if you are entertained elsewhere. So here's the question. Where are you entertained to the point where you are distracted? Where are you entertained to the point where you are distracted? Where are you so entertained you are to the point of no longer being effective for the kingdom of God? Maybe it's entertainment, maybe it's sports, maybe it's money. Where are you entertained to the point where you're no longer effective for the kingdom of God? Distraction is how the enemy divides your attention. He may not be able to get all of your attention, but if he can distract you and divide you, then he's already won. Now, we talk about this notion of divide and conquer is an ancient military strategy to control or to win against an opposing army or nation? I think it's evolved into this notion that when we talk about divide and conquer, like we're a group of people, so we're going to split up so we can attack more. That's not the genesis of divide and conquer. Divide and conquer was about an army holding together, breaking through a rank so that that army was divided, and then you'd fight and win. Divide and conquer is a strategy of the enemy. It should not be one for the church. The church needs to be unified. I'll remind you, Jesus says in Matthew 12, he said, no city or house divided against itself will stand. The enemy's tactic is to divide and conquer, to divide us and so conquer us, to divide our attention and so conquer us. Divide and conquer is the enemy's tactic, not ours. Church, I'm gonna say something here that's gonna ruffle some feathers and will probably fill my inbox tomorrow. So here's what I'm gonna say. Bring this sermon series full circle before you come at me. You're happy to do what you want, you're an adult, you want to email me, go ahead. But I'm just going to ask you, bring this sermon series full circle, but I'm going to say something here that I know might ruffle some feathers here. Church, let me say one more qualifier. Again, this is about giving us the right perspective, elevating the seriousness of the battle that's around us, because I'm afraid that many of us, we're fighting the wrong battles. So, here's what I'm gonna say. Church, our fight is not simply about imposing our moral ethic upon the nation. Our fight is much bigger than that. We are trying to win the hearts of the people to the gospel, so that then we can have true unity in our nation, in our world, under the name of King Jesus, and with him as our King, then the kingdom ethic can flourish. Now, do I believe the Christian moral ethic is the best and right ethic out there for humans? Yes, I think it's the best for everybody. We most flourish when we follow God's design. Not saying that, but I am saying many of us, we're just trying to win the cultural battle rather than winning the hearts of the people to the gospel. We have to stand for the kingdom. We'll never win people to the gospel if they think that we just see them as an enemy to be defeated, rather than our neighbor to be won over. We're not trying to defeat anyone. We're trying to save them. We're trying to bring them from a lost and broken world into God's good and glorious kingdom. And until they see that in our hearts, the culture war will rage on, fueled by an enemy who is happy to see us fight the wrong battles. So when we stand, what we've got to do, and this is the extra effort on our part, we have to make sure that the world knows that we don't stand against them, we stand against the enemy. But here's the reality of the situation. The world has so tied up their identity with the brokenness of the world that when we attack the lies of the enemy They will feel like it's an attack on them because they've so tied their identity to the falsehood of the enemy And so that's why we constantly have to have the extra burden constantly repeat ourselves. We're not against you We're against the forces of evil in this world. We're trying to show you a better, more kingdom gospel way. It's the extra burden on us. It's our burden to bear. The world and the enemy will fight at whatever base tactics they want, but we're the ones that have to constantly rise above, holding the mantle of truth and love with every interaction. It is tiresome. But you've got the Spirit. You've got the Holy Spirit within you to fill you when the world drains you. And so, before we can have a battle of morals, we need to realize we're in a battle for truth. And the reason that we're in a battle for truth is because we're distracted rather than paying attention. And let me just, you can write this down, two of the primary ways that we are distracted, two of the primary ways that our attention is divided is because one, we've given ourselves to the lies of the world, empowered by the enemy, but also we've given ourselves to the desires of our heart, which has been broken by sin. And what's interesting is that the first two pieces of armor mentioned address both of those realities. Two primary ways that we are distracted: 1. We've given ourselves to the lies of the world, empowered by the enemy 2. We've given ourselves to the desires of our heart, which has been broken by sin 2. Truth is the antidote for deception And so let's look at the first one, the belt of truth, as we look at how truth is the antidote for deception. So Paul writes to the Ephesians and by the extension and by extension the Holy Spirit still says to us, having fastened on the belt of truth. The belt of truth helps us to recognize the lies of the world. Now it should be noted that when Paul, again writing under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, when Paul was talking about armor, the image that came to his mind and the people of Ephesus, their mind, was not that of an American soldier, it was a Roman soldier. Rome had occupied most of the world at that point, so they saw Roman soldiers all the time. They would have thought of a Roman soldier. And so, what's interesting to know is that when it came to a belt, a Roman soldier wore that underneath his armor. He wore that underneath his armor to hold all things together and to hold up his pants. So when we talk about the belt of truth, I've often heard people say, well, that means that a belt encircles you so that truth should encircle your life. Yeah, and that's a fine way to understand. I think that's one implication, but I think what you need to understand is that truth is the thing that holds it all together. We cannot lose truth. Our battle first is to make sure we're talking about the same thing, and that's a battle for truth. And so, this world at large is entrapped by the lies of the evil one. They're in a prison cell of lies, and do you know what the key is to break them out of that cell? It's truth. It's truth. One of the most famous sayings of Jesus, one of the most well-loved sayings of Jesus Christ is when he said, the truth will set you free. Now even a recent Marvel movie quoted that line. If you go to secular college campuses across the nation, you'll see that phrase engraved in stone on secular college campus buildings, the truth will set you free. But what these places fail to realize is that phrase comes at the end of a much larger thought and sentence from Jesus. Let's put it in context. Here's what Jesus actually said. He said, if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. It's not just knowing the truth. It's being a disciple of Jesus. And who is Jesus? He told us in John 14 verse 6 when Jesus said, I am the way and the truth. Jesus is the truth. In a world of opinions and preferences, in a world of popularity and progressivism, to have the belt of truth means that we look to Jesus as our firm foundation to who he is, to what he taught, and what he's done. Truth may not be fashionable because it confronts what's popular in our culture and it pushes back what's trending online, but truth is eternal. It predates us and it will outlast us. And to put on the belt of truth, here's what it actually means. To wear the belt of truth means that we weigh the message of the world against the message of Christ. We weigh the so-called wisdom of the world against the words of Christ. That's what it means to wear the belt of truth. We're constantly filtering the message of this world. And this is why we must know the scriptures so well. This is why we must be in God's Word every single day, seeking it deep into our hearts, getting solid biblical teaching. So here's a question. How often should you do this? Well, I'm going to blow your hair back. Every single day. Why? Because you're being lied to every single day. And if you're not constantly equipping yourself with the truth, you're gonna fall prey to the lies of the world and the enemy, which are so pretty. And they're so attractive and they seem so right. But they're insidious. We need to be in God's word every day because we're being lied to every day. Every day the world buys more and more into the lies of the enemy and tries to regurgitate it to people. So every day we must be equipped with the truth. Psalm 1, verse 2 says this, says, blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord What? Day and night. So not just every day. Every day and all night long. We are immersed in the truth so that we will know what the lies are. Every day we must find at least a few moments to be saturated in God's truth. And if you think you don't have time, let me see your phone. I'll show you your screen time. I'll show you you've got time for this. I talked to a person after first service and they were talking about, maybe I just need to set my alarm to read God's word. And I'm like, do you need to set your alarm to check your social media? Hmm, someone needed to hear that. Every day, every day, just a few moments, a few moments in God's eternal truth will have an internal impact on you. So use your phones to promote truth rather than keep you distracted. Because truth is the antidote for deception. It's available to you through God's word, open to the teachings of Jesus. And knowing the truth, that's how we pursue righteousness. That's how we know what righteousness is, which is our second piece of armor, third point here today. 3. Righteousness is the antidote for dishonor Righteousness, righteousness is the antidote for dishonor. Our verse continues, having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness. Now the imagery here should be painfully obvious to you. Physically speaking, a breastplate protects your heart. Spiritually speaking, that's what righteousness does. It's about protecting our hearts. It's about keeping us focused on godly things that fill us up rather than worldly things that empty us and drain us and defeat us. We are distracted by the lies of the enemy. We said that. That's why we need to know truth, so that we know the lies of the enemy. But righteousness helps us to battle against the brokenness of our hearts. As we looked at, let me remind you what Jeremiah 17 verse 9 It says that the heart is deceitful above all things and is desperately sick. Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? The Bible is saying you don't follow your heart because your heart will lead you astray. You are to follow Jesus and he will lead you into the ancient ways full of life. The enemy is after our heart and our heart's already broken. That's why we're so prone to fail and to fall because our hearts are already broken and the devil feeds lies and their broken heart wants to believe. And so we need to have eyes open to the message of the world. We need to keep our eyes open with the truth we're given and the righteousness that we wear. These lies are all around us, such as when you see billboards like this, when they say "Life is short, get a divorce". We who are wearing the spiritual armor of God, we need to be asking ourselves, what is spiritually being communicated here? What's the spiritual message behind this and how does truth and righteousness combat this? There are messages like this that the enemy uses to prick our hearts, to tease us. It's the enemy saying to us, is your marriage hard? Yes, your marriage is hard, isn't it? You shouldn't waste your life with someone who doesn't make you happy. Life's too short for that. This is a lie. It 's a lie the enemy is using against people who are struggling in their marriage, speaking to the broken parts of their hearts and the broken parts of their marriage, which is why we need the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. You know why this is a lie? Because it doesn't tell you everything. What it doesn't tell you is that on the other side of divorce, it doesn't make you happier. Now listen, let me just say this real quickly. The Bible does provide a path for divorce in certain instances, and God can grant new life after a failed marriage. I've seen it happen, but I'll tell you now, I've had proximity to far too many divorces in my time as a pastor. And more often than not, you're just trading in one level of brokenness for another. Rather than sticking it out for the long haul and seeing what God can do over time, people take the quick route, because life's too short and they want to be happy, so they take the path of divorce and they destroy their life and they destroy their kids, they destroy their families. Again, I'm not saying God can't grant new life, but I'm saying His plan is for unity. If God can save our souls, He can save our marriages. Life is short, get a divorce, and messages like this, this is not just a cultural message, this is a spiritual message. And so we, as people wearing the armor of God, you need to have your eyes always open to see the messages of the world. I challenge you, look at some billboards and ask yourself, what's the spiritual message behind that? Filter that through the belt of truth to see what the world is trying to sell you, how the devil is trying to lie to you. This is why we need to be dressed with the belt of truth and the breastplate. That's a defensive mechanism. But righteousness is life-protecting, yes, but it's also life-giving. Christians in the house, pop quiz, what is righteousness? I'll give you the answer. Righteousness is what is right before God. There's your simple Sunday School answer. Righteousness is what is right before God, and if it's right before God, then it's good for our souls, it's good for our families, it's good for our culture. And righteousness is the pursuit we have in our lives towards God, but it's also a defense. And so, men and women, many of us are not engaging the fight. We've given ourselves to the folly of the world. But here's what I want to say to you, that's not who we are in Christ. We are people equipped with righteousness. So let me just speak to the husbands and dads for a moment here. Men, you are the defender, you are the protector. Now, I know that in many ways I'm a stereotypical dad. I can't help it. I like to be in the garage just because it's the garage. I listen to dad rock. I can't help it. And the other day, I was quote unquote helping, I was helping quote unquote get the kids ready the other day. And my wife yells from the bedroom, hey, can you grab Georgia's, and by the way, Georgia's my six year old. She said, hey, can you grab Georgia's white tights and her white dress with the headband and the flower on it? I'm like, babe, I don't know where any of that is. I'm thinking it's in the house, you're not telling me to go buy it, so, and she's like, oh, for Pete's sake, I'll just do it myself. Like, I get it, but dads, hear me. You may not be the one getting your kids dressed for the day, but you need to be the ones getting them dressed for battle. You need to be the one making sure that they are wearing the armor of God. Men, do you want to protect your families? You won't always be there. It's the way you protect them when you're not there is making sure that they are wearing the armor of God. That's how you protect your families when you're not there. And when you equip them with the armor of God, you're helping them to be able to both understand and withstand the evil and the pressures of the world that are around us. Men, if you want to protect your family, I'm telling you now, it's not just by having you know what in that locked box, ready to go at a moment's notice. It's making sure that your family, your kids, are dressed with the armor of God. And how do you do that? You talk to them. You help them process the world. You disciple them. Helping them to see how the lies of the enemy speak to the brokenness of our hearts. And the thing about armor and really any uniform is that when I see a soldier dressed in armor, dressed for battle, there's a sense of duty and honor that comes with that, isn't there? It's kind of a majestic, powerful thing. That's how Christians are to be all the time. Because what does sin do? Sin dishonors God. And so when we walk in righteousness before God, that's the antidote for dishonor. But here's the hard truth. Here's the hard truth about righteousness. To wear the breastplate of righteousness is to constantly be reminded that the righteousness you wear does not come from you, it comes from God. He is the one who gives it to you and puts it on you. It's not some part of you that needs to be unlocked so that you can find your inner righteousness. You don't have any. You have to be given it from God. That's why it's the armor of God, meaning the armor from God. It's His. And we wear this armor when we place in Jesus. Psalm 31 tells us, in you, O Lord, do I take refuge. Let me never be put to shame, in your righteousness deliver me. I'm gonna say something that's gonna go against the grain of our American culture, but I need to say it because it's biblical truth. Righteousness is not earned, it's imputed to you from God. That's an important term here. And so, I need to wade into some deeper theological waters for a second here, because you need to understand the power and the beauty of righteousness, and when you do, it will change the way you go to work tomorrow, it'll change the way you go to school tomorrow, it'll change your entire outlook on life when you truly understand righteousness. And to do that, you kind of have to understand it theologically. And so Romans chapter 4 tells us that when we believe in Christ, His righteousness is counted towards us. The term here is imputed, not imparted. Imputed is an accounting term. So it's like when you become a Christian, you open a checking account and God deposits your right, His righteousness in your account. That's imputation versus impartation where God writes you a check and you have to go and cash it and find it from within. We're not talking about impartation, we're talking about imputation. That it's counted towards you, it's not yours, it's not given to you, it's His that He ascribes to your account. So when you wear the breastplate of righteousness, you're wearing something that's not yours, that you did not earn, that you did not deserve, yet God gives it to you anyway. This is why we wear the breastplate of righteousness, not in pride, but in gratitude. Because it does not come from us, but yet we wear it. We wear it and we stand as God's righteous own. And it's a powerful and it's a beautiful thing. And we get this when we believe in what Jesus has done and what has he done? He took our place on the cross, dying for our sins and rising again on the third day. But why did Jesus do this? Well, 2 Corinthians chapter five, in one of the most powerful gospel verses tells us why. It says, for our sake, for our sake, he, meaning God the Father, He made Him, His own Son, Jesus. For our sake, He made Him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Here's what happened. Meaning God placed on Jesus Christ the weight of all of our sin, all of our shame, all of our guilt, He took all of that, placed it on the shoulders of His Son, and then nailed His Son to a cross and watched him die. And when he died, so did your sin. So did your guilt. So did your past. So did your shame. It died with Christ and it stayed dead. Although Jesus did not. Jesus rose on the third day and when he rose, he left your sin and shame in the grave, but he rose to a new life that he now gives to you that we live eternally with as we wear the righteousness not from ourselves but from Him. So wear it on your chest. Let it protect your heart and let it remind you of who you are that when God looks at you, He does not see the sin of a sinner. He sees the righteousness of His Son. That's the power of the breastplate of righteousness and that's why we wear it, not out of pride but out of immense gratitude because we stand counted as righteousness in God's sight. So don't leave here distracted by bread and circus. You're made for more than that. You're made for much more than that. Don't be distracted by the routine life and mindless entertainment that's so available to us. Through it all, you got to remember Christ has won the war. He has secured the victory, but the battle rages from now until the last day. And that's why we are dressed for battle because we are in a battle for the until the last day and the last days I'm telling you you got to be prepared for them be prepared for them We need to be reminded that life and faith can be hard can be really hard Which is why we really need spiritual armor so that we can stand ready and stand at attention Because we are most vulnerable when we are most distracted so stand stand at attention. And by all means, at least once a week, sit down and relax and unwind. This is a good and godly thing. God calls us to rest. We can have rest, and we can take a day of rest. It's a godly thing to do, but you must remember the devil doesn't take a day off like that. Never forget the devil is waiting for you to take your eyes off the prize. He wants you to be distracted. He wants you to forget there's a spiritual battle all around you. This past week I had someone contact me and they said, Pastor, are you going to actually talk about what it means to actually wear the armor, not just describe the armor, but what does it mean to actually wear the armor? And I said, certainly am, sir. So let me boil it down for you. As I said, I'll say it again. To wear the belt of truth means to be ever weighing the message of the world against the message of Christ. That's what it means to wear the belt of truth, that you are surrounded by truth, that truth undergirds your life, and you are constantly weighing the message of the world against the message of Christ. That's what it means to wear the belt of truth. To wear the breastplate of righteousness means that we protect our hearts with the truth, that we have a righteousness counted to us from God as we pursue the righteous path of God with our lives, as we seek to be Christ-like in this world, knowing that we are already dressed in His righteousness. And this is all empowered by the one and only Holy Spirit, who fills us, fuels us, and guides us, calling us to live into the life that God has called before us. And so, to wear this armor means to be attentive to the spiritual battle that's all around us. So now that we are taking a self-assessment, looking in the mirror, making sure that we're dressed for battle, making sure that we are aware, from here on out we can look at the battles going on out there and how Christians can present something that can literally change the world. To wear the armor means to be attentive, awake to who the true enemy is, not our neighbor, but the enemy, the devil. So don't be entertained to the point where you're no longer effective. Don't be pacified to the point where you've surrendered all of your influence. Rather, stand. Stand at attention because we are most vulnerable when we are most distracted, distracted by the lies of the devil and distracted by the desires of our broken hearts. So put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand. Amen. So let's stand at attention right now and give our attention to God in worship. Let's stand. Would you bow your heads? Would you consider the armor of God and the fact that you are dressed in it right now? Would you raise one hand in the air? With your heads down, arm one hand in the air, preparing to give your full attention to God and what He's done for us in the Gospels we celebrate now. So Father, we come before you asking God that you would again fill this place, fill this people with the power and presence of your spirits and with the knowledge of the Gospel for your glory, God. Unite us that we may be able to give our attention to you here now in praise and adoration and worship. Help us to be people standing, singing loudly for your namesake. We pray these things in Jesus' powerful name. And everyone said, amen. And everyone said, amen. Let's worship, everyone.

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A Faith That Obeys God Above All Else Sermon Series: A Faith that Endures Ryan DB Kimmel Lead Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: 2 Kings 1:9-17 Transcript Today is the day that the Lord has made. So let us rejoice and be glad in it. And everyone said, Amen and Amen. Have you ever seen those videos where you have a mom and a dad and they stand a few feet apart and they have their toddler a couple feet in front of them and they're both parents are calling to the child to see which one the child goes to. You ever seen those videos? That's horrendous. That's like torture. That's terrible. I think those videos are so mean, but what are those videos trying to do? You know what they're trying to do. These parents are trying to figure out who does the child love more. I Would never do that to my child Because I know I would lose But in that, you know, I know psychologically there's a lot going on there with familiarity and a sense of security and all that sort Of stuff but here's what I think is happening, and I think here's what we're trying to see. Right? The parents are trying to figure out who does the child love more, and the way they're going about that is they're trying to figure out who is the child going to obey. When they're calling out to the child, the voice, the person that the child obeys, it's kind of like revealing who the child loves more. At least that's the notion of this whole game that they're playing. When the parent calls out to the child, which one will the child obey? Now here's the point I'm trying to make. When we are free to choose, what we obey shows what we love. Again, when we are free to choose, I know that's not always the case, but when we are free to choose, what we obey shows what we love. I understand that is a very loaded and complex statement. So let me just make it a little bit more hometown for us here and put it like this. I want my children to obey me, not just because I'm the authority in their life, but I want my children to obey me because they know that I love them and because they love me. And that sentiment should be challenging for us today, but it's exactly the notion that we're going to need as we walk through this passage here today. It's a very challenging passage and we are walking alongside the life of Elijah and that's going to cause us to skip a couple of chapters in the Bible, but we're not, we're just following the path of Elijah. So here's what I'm going to invite you to do. If you have your Bibles, would you go ahead and please now turn to 2 Kings. We've been in 1 Kings, but we're going to jump a couple of chapters and go to 2 Kings 1, verses 9-7. Now, let me catch you up to speed with what's been happening since we last were in our Bibles together. So, at the end of 1 Kings, here's what happens. The wicked king Ahab dies. He dies in war. And his son, now Ahab was wicked, but his wicked son Ahaziah has risen to the throne. He's the king in Israel. Ahab ruled for about 22 years, but his son Ahaziah rules only for a few years, and we're about to find out why. But with the emergence of Ahaziah to the throne, we see the return of the prophet Elijah, God's prophet. Now, early in his kingship, Ahaziah has a terrible accident. He falls out of a window, and he's wondering if he's going to die or not. And so what does he do? He doesn't pray. He doesn't consult the priests of the temple. He doesn't read the scriptures. What he does is he gets a group of people, like a convoy, and he sends them to a foreign country to consult their foreign god to find out whether or not he's going to live or die. Now, God tells Elijah that this is going to happen and he sends Elijah to intercept this convoy of people with a message for the king. And so Elijah goes and he intercepts this convoy of people with a message from God for the king. And here's the message. You're going to die. God basically is saying to Ahaziah, you didn't come to me, you went to a false God. God is basically saying to this king, you've rejected me, and you're leading your kingdom away from me, and you looked for life and for answers where there's only death, and so death is what you shall have. Now, Elijah gives this message to this convoy, and they take it back to the king, and they give the king this message, and the king is like, who told you this? And they said, we don't know. It was just some rough looking dude with a leather belt. And Ahaziah goes, I know that was Elijah. So what he does is he gets a platoon of men, soldiers, and he sends this platoon to go find Elijah and bring Elijah back to him. And that's where we're going to pick up our story. But I'm just going to warn you right now, we're going to read a little bit longer of a section and it's a gritty and a gruesome passage. But here at Peace Church, we don't shy away from passages like this. We're going to enter into them. We're going to see what's going on, because there's so much there. So with that, would you hear the word of the Lord? 2 Kings 1:9-17 Then the king sent to him a captain of 50 men with his 50 men. He went up to Elijah who was sitting on the top of a hill and he said to him, Oh man of God, the King says, calm down. But Elijah answered the captain of 50 and said, if I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his 50. Again, the King sent to him another captain of 50 men with his 50 and he answered him and said oh man of God this is the King's order come down quickly notice the difference there verse 12 but Elijah answered them if I am a man of God let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50 then the fire notice before it said heaven but now it says then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Again, the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty, and the third captain of fifty went up and came, look at the difference here, and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, O man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of 50 men with their 50s. But now let my life be precious in your sight. Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, go down with him and do not be afraid of him. So he arose and went down with him to the king. And he said to him, thus says the Lord, because you have sent messengers to inquire of Beelzebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no god in Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up. You shall surely die.' Then he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken." Prayer This is God's word. Let's take a moment and pray and we'll continue. Let's pray together. Father in heaven, Lord, you are great and you are good. Would you help us in our weak understanding and our limited knowledge to know how your greatness and your goodness did not just coincide with this passage, but Father, are revealed in it. Help us to see and to know you better today by the words that you've given to us through the scriptures. Help us to obey you above all else. It's by the power of the spirit and in the name of Jesus we pray these things. And everyone said? Amen. All right, so as we walk through this passage, there's so much we could do with the prophet Elijah, but we've been using this one specific lens for this series, and it's about how to have a faith that endures. Main Point And so our main point for this morning will be this. A faith that endures obeys God above all else. A faith that endures obeys God above all else. Yes, in this life there are authorities that we need to obey, whether parents or teachers or government or maybe even the elders of the church. But this all falls under the canopy of our first love and our first allegiance, which is to God. This is what it means to be the people of God. That we obey God above all else. And so as we walk through our passes, we're going to look at three specific things I'll give them to you ahead of time here. Elijah, the man of enduring faith shows us that God's people know God's seriousness. God's people extend God's grace. God's people share God's message. God's people know God's seriousness All right, first thing, God's people know that God's serious, that God is serious. Now, I am fully, fully aware that with a text like this, our Western, American, enlightened, compassionate, and romanticized ears, we come to a passage like this and let's just be honest. We really only have one question Why did those men have to die? Why were they consumed by fire why did Elijah do this why did God allow this why all the death and all the killing And I need to share something here like not every culture on the face of the planet would come to this text and that be their first question. The reason that's our first question is that that's exposing something about our worldview, about the way that we are told to think, about the ways that our society works. That exposes something about us with that being the first question that we come to, that we come with for a passage like this. But here's the thing, I'm not saying that's a bad question. It's a fair question. I'm just trying to help us all recognize that's not everybody's first question. That's us Americans. And so, fair enough though. Let's talk about that. Why? Let me pose a philosophical inquiry for you for a moment. So I have four children, a sophomore down to a kindergartner. Now, I'm going to ask you a question here. Am I, as the father, am I entitled to do things that my children are not allowed to do? It's not a trick question. What I mean by that is I'm not assuming an answer for you. I don't know what people think nowadays. In fact, I'm willing to tell you that, yeah, cards on the table, the answer is yes. But I believe there is an emerging generation that's parenting differently, and I think that will become more pronounced in the next 15 to 30 years. I think a lot of us here, we assuming the answer is yes. Yes, there's things that you're allowed to do that your children are not allowed to do. But I'm here to tell you, I think that tide is turning, and I think there even may be some parents in here who are not sure what the answer is to that. So let me ask you this again Are there things that I as the father that I am morally allowed to do that would be sinful for my children to do Yes, is it hypocritical if I do things that I don't allow my children to do is that hypocritical? No Okay, so that shows me that you're already on your way To understanding the passage like this if you struggle with that scenario that I just proposed, you're probably gonna struggle with a passage like this. We cut right to it. God has the right to take the life of sinful people whenever it pleases His good and righteous divine will. Why can He do it and not us? Because he's the father and we're the kids. And if we don't understand that about God, we are really gonna wrestle with faith. If we think that God is equal to us, we're really gonna struggle. Number one, I would tell you, you don't want a God like that. You want a God who has more authority than you do. But that whole notion tells us something about the relationship we have with God and the authority that God has. I'll say it again. God has the right to take life. God has the right. It's not morally wrong for God to take the life of sinful people whenever it pleases his good and moral and divine will. As we look at the pages of Scripture, we do see a God who loves us. We see a God who challenges us. But listen to me, we do not see a God who is equal to us. And this passage is a case in point. He is the creator of all the universe. He's the father. We're the kids. He's the creator of humanity and all that is good. And the life that he's given to us all here, me church, the life that he's given to us, and the faith that he's instilled in us is serious. This is the fabric of our life. This is the reality of who we are. These are the guiding principles in life. We as God's people, know something. We know that God's serious, that God is serious. He's serious about our life. He's serious about our love. He's serious about our faith and he's serious about our obedience to him. This is all not just one big joke or test. What we're doing here, we're not doing here because we like and have fun doing it, we're doing something because we believe we're here because God is real, doing something real in this world, doing something real in our lives, and it's serious. And we need a passage like this to remind us of this. God doesn't play around. So let's go to our verses and find out more about this. Go to verse 9. Please keep your Bibles open. Then the king sent to him a captain of 50 men with his 50. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of the hill. This captain did, and said to him, oh man of God, the king says, notice that the king says, come down. But Elijah answered the captain of 50, if I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50. Then fire came down from, what's it say there in your Bibles from heaven and consumed him in his 50 so let me just stop right here for a second and I want to speak to a few of you and if you're struggling with this if you read a passage like this and you are shocked by the brutal murder of innocent men at the hand of an evil God I'm here to tell you you're already off to a bad start this is this is not the brutal murder of innocent men. This is the righteous divine judgment upon wicked men. Wicked men who did the wicked works at the order of a wicked king. Elijah is saying, if I am a man of God, then it will show because the judgment will be from God. It will be godly. And then God brings the judgment upon these men with fire. And what happens next for me is just absolutely nuts. This king sends another group of 50 plus one. Verse 11 In verse 11, he doubles down on this. Again, the king sent to him another captain of 50 men with his 50, but listen to the tone this next guy takes. And he answered him, and the captain said to Elijah, oh man of God, this is the king's order. The first captain just said, the king says, now this guy comes with an order. This is the king's order. Come down. The last guy just said, come down. This guy doesn't just say come down. He says, come down quickly. Kind of like when I was growing up, my dad wanted me to come over here when he was mad at me. He would say, get your blank over here now. That's kind of the tone these guys are taking. Verse 12 Look at verse 12. But then Elijah answered him, if I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50. Then the fire of what? What does it say this time of God? Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his 50. Listen to me, people. God's not trying to get off the hook here. He wants to make sure that you understand this isn't from Elijah, this is from Him. God doesn't answer to us, we answer to God. He does whatever His good, moral, and divine will allows and pleases Him to do. Then the fire came down from heaven, and then the fire came down from God from heaven and consumed Him and His fifty. Listen, I know I gave a quick answer, that God can do this because He is God, but 102 men died. This is not to be taken lightly, even if they deserved it, this is not to be taken lightly. Church, this needs to bring sobriety to our faith and to our life. Hear me on this. Faith is a matter of life and death. It is the most important thing in your life. Faith isn't a cute little thing for your wife to do. It's not a silly little thing that your youth group attending kid does. Faith is not a box that you check at night by praying once a day. Faith is everything. Faith is life. There's nothing. There is nothing more serious in your life than your faith. God knows this. God takes second place to no one and to nothing. And the church, hear me on this. You can't fool God with a faith that doesn't obey him. Let me say that again, you cannot fool God with a faith that does not obey him above all else. Elijah shows us this, and God's people know this because God's people know that God's serious. God is serious. When someone tells me that they're a Christian, and it's clear that faith isn't the primary thing in their life, for me it's like a person who's sitting in a house and that house is on fire and they're not doing anything about it. It's like I don't think you understand the seriousness and the gravity of the situation here. And I think in large part the reason they have that perspective is because they truly don't understand God's love and God's grace in their life. If you call yourself a Christian, then it's because you have accepted the grace of God and you cannot accept the grace of God without it changing the very fiber and fabric of your being. I'm not saying it makes you perfect, but I'm saying it changes you from the inside out. Grace does this. Grace is the truth that our salvation is a free gift from God. Elijah knew that as he looked forward to Christ. We know this as we look back on the cross. Grace is the truth that our salvation is a free gift from God. We cannot earn it. We just receive it. You can't earn it by giving money. You can't earn it by attending church. You can't even earn it by being nice to people. You can only receive it. And it's made possible because of the finished work of Jesus Christ who died on the cross in our place. Taking the punishment for our sins and then rising on the third day He proved that he was who he said he was and rising on the third day. He proved that the promises of God are real Elijah Called down fire on these men. He called down the judgment of God on these men. But here's why Jesus is better than Elijah. Jesus stood in our place and took the judgment that should have been ours. Because he was obedient to God. The Bible says that Jesus was obedient to God to the point of death. He was obedient in the ways that we should be but aren't. And because we're not, we deserve judgment. But Jesus took that judgment, that wrath, for us. I don't know how a Christian can believe this and have it not envelop their entire life. How it changes us from the inside out. When we repent and place our faith in Christ, then we are saved. Not by what we have done, but by what Christ has done. And this is called grace. We can't receive it. We can't earn it. We can only receive it. I don't know how we can receive it and not be changed by it. Because when you get God's grace, you extend God's grace. God's people extend God's grace And that's what we see in this next section. God's people extend God's grace. Verse 13 Go to verse 13. Again the captain, again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty, and the third captain of fifty went up and look at the difference here. Look at the difference between this guy and the third captain of fifty who went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, meaning he pleaded with him in a kind and compassionate way. Oh, a man of God, please let my life and of these 50 servants of yours, not servants of Ahab, but servants of the prophet of the true God. Let my life and the life of these servants of yours be precious in your sight. And right there, we see a key difference. This platoon of men, while they were following the king's orders, had their ultimate allegiance to God. And look what happens. The king says, behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of 50 men in their 50s. But now let my life be precious in your sight. Do you see what's happening here? He's asking for grace. And so Elijah gives him grace. God tells him to. Verse 15 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, go down with him, do not be afraid. So Elijah rose and went down with the captain to the king. So, look at this. This is so key for us here nowadays. Elijah and this platoon of men, do you notice, they are still obeying the orders of this wicked king, but they're doing it because their ultimate allegiance is to God. They're ultimately obeying God. We live in a time of a godless society ruled by godless authorities. How are we to live in the midst of such wickedness? Well, here's what I tell you, church. Start by looking at the life of Elijah. It's because we ultimately obey God. And so when we obey a wicked government, we all come to the Bible with things that we don't want to hear. Because whether or not we like it, passages like Romans 13 and Titus 3 remind us that the people who are in authority are the people who God allows to be. In this passage, do we really think that God had no control over Ahaziah being crowned king? Having obedience to a wicked government is an act of faith in God's providence. Having obedience to a wicked government is an act of faith in God's providence. But hear me, when we submit to them, we do so within our submission to God. But our obedience to wickedness, our wicked government, our obedience to a wicked government should never lead us to sin because we obey God above all else. We see this even in Jesus Christ's own disciples. In Acts 5, the authorities tell them, you all better stop preaching or you're going to pay for it. And what did the disciples say? God has called us to do this and we obey God, not man. That leads nicely to this next notion. For those of us who are up and ready to go and defy the government in obedience to God, let me tell you what that means. That means sharing God's message. God's people share God's message For those of us who wish to be faithful, for those of us who want a faith that endures, share his message. Share his message. Let's go to the end of verse 15. Verse 16 So Elijah arose and went down with him to the king, verse 16, and Elijah said to him, thus says the Lord, because you have sent messengers to inquire of Beelzebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there's no God in Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.' So he, King Ahaziah, died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken." Now if we think sharing God's message is a hard thing to do in this difficult, is a difficult thing to do in this world, then imagine being a prophet, trying to tell a king he's gonna die. But here's the thing, Elijah brought a message of death. But for those who believe in Christ, our message is one of life. It's one of love, it's one of the gospel. We are to bring the gospel, which is life. It's the good news of Jesus Christ that brings life to those who believe this is what we are called to do if we are going to be faithful and obedient to God because God's people share God's message. Fruit baskets & Evangleism Before I went into ministry, before I was in college, I was also working at a grocery store. I was doing many things during that time, but I was working at a grocery store, specifically in the produce department. And during Christmas time, we would always get these big orders for fruit baskets, okay? And this one year, we got this massive order for like a ton of fruit baskets. And so they paid me and this other dude to work through the night, get paid overtime, to put together these like 150-some-odd fruit baskets. Okay, so this is like, I've only been a Christian for a few years at this point, but I am a Christian, I said I was a Christian, and I go into the back room this night with this other dude, and we got this boxes of fruit that we had to put in the fruit baskets, and it was like this moment where God was like, well, you got eight hours alone with this guy. And so I was like, well, time to share my faith. And again, I was young in my faith, but I knew the gospel. And I'll tell you, even nowadays, I'm not any like a big evangelist, but I started the conversation just by asking what he believed about God. I just wanted to open the door. He gave the typical answer that most people nowadays do, which is normally something like, I believe there's probably a God, but who really knows? And so I asked him about this God that he thinks may or may not exist. And you know what he said about this God? Oddly enough, this God that may or may not exist, the moral ethic of this God looked oddly similar to progressive American society. Surprise, surprise. And I just said to him, can I share with you what I believe? Hey, listen, I didn't want to shove it down his face. I just, man to man, I gave him my testimony, I shared about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I, you know, again, I was young in my faith, I didn't know everything, I still don't, but I just shared what I knew, which is what the Bible said, that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he was raised again on the third day. I shared with him the gospel. And you know what? Not only did he start asking questions, but he started attacking the Christian faith. I mean like, he brought out his fangs and he went after the Christian faith. And you know what? I sat there and I did what I could to provide a defense and try to answer his questions. But you want to know what really happened? For eight hours of time and a half pay, I got utterly destroyed. He took me to task and he destroyed me. He was smart and articulate. It was terrible. I made no headway. I sounded like a fool. My answers were weak. They were lacking. But you know, it didn't discourage my faith. I'll be honest with you. I felt bad. The next morning, I couldn't eat or sleep. I did feel sick to my stomach about it, but it didn't discourage my faith. Do you know what it actually did? It forced me to go deeper in my faith. Because here's the thing, I was getting comfortable. If you're not sharing your faith, you're getting comfortable. I was getting comfortable, so I needed to share my faith. And you know what he did? He started asking questions that I should have been asking, but I was too comfortable in my faith to ask those questions. And so he started challenging me with questions that I should have already been asking. And what he did, so it forced me to go drive deeper into my faith and try to seek answers. Some of them I found easy answers to. For some of them, I was a little digging. Some of them I'm still wrestling with. But he forced me to ask questions and to drive my faith deeper. And here's what I'd say to you. It didn't discourage my faith. It made me seek answers. And church, when the Bible calls us to share our faith, which it does, by the way, it calls us to share our faith, but you know what? It never promises it's going to go well. It never promises it's going to go well. And here's the truth, and here's why you can rest at night because you can't convert anyone anyway. Only God can. We plant the seeds and we water the seeds, but it's God who makes it grow. In that conversation with that guy, you know what? He didn't get his answers, but he saw my faith. He didn't get his answers, but he saw me willing to step to the plate and try. He saw that my faith was alive. And sometimes sharing God's message simply results in people seeing your faith and that's awesome. I consider that night a key moment in my faith journey. Honestly, it was a terrible night, but I consider it a key moment in my faith journey because God used it to help me develop a faith that endures. that even among my sloppy answers, I know a seed was planted in his heart. And I pray that God's people along the way do what they're meant to do and continue to water that seed. Challenge Church, my prayer for us all, all of us who call Peace Church home, my prayer is that as we approach Easter, you are considering who you would invite. I don't know if you noticed it, but there's a card on your seat, maybe you sat on it, that is yours to give away to someone and invite them to Easter. But here's what I'm going to say to you. Would you share with them the gospel before I do? You're going to invite someone to Easter? Would you share with them the gospel before I do? That's what I'm asking for the Peace Church people. Because there's no faith in God without obedience to God, and your faith will not endure if you don't obey God above all else. Like that video of those two parents calling to their child to see which one the child loved more, there are two calling to you now. God and everything else. Who are you going to obey? Who are you going to show that you love more? Like the righteous Father that He is, God is calling to you in love, that you might have a faith that endures by obeying Him above all else. Yes, because He's God, but also because He loves you. And the love that He's shown to you is made evident in the gospel of Jesus Christ. So go and share that. Obey God above all else and you'll see your faith endure. Amen. Would you please stand and let's prepare our hearts to worship? Would you bow your heads for a moment? Let me just share something with you before we pray. I just want you to answer in your own heart. Is faith, is your faith alive? Is your faith driving you to obey God above all else? Let that be the faith that drives you now to worship. Don't just sing because everyone else is. Sing because you have a God in heaven who is turning your heart towards him. Sing because you have a God in heaven who has shown his love to you and his son. Sing because you're obedient to God because you are walking in step with the Spirit. Ending Prayer So let's pray together. Father, we come before you, thankful that we worship the one who is perfectly obedient, Jesus Christ, even to the point of death, dying in our place so that we might have life, not wrath, not death, not judgment, that we might have life. So, Father, I pray, Lord, that you, by the power and presence of your Spirit, would develop in this church a faith that endures because we obey you above all else. Father, let our submission to the authorities here on earth be under the canopy of our ultimate submission to you. And so Father, I would pray here and now that we sing, that the words we're about to sing, we just don't sing them because they're on the screen. We sing these words because they are the cry of our hearts. So Father, I just pray in Jesus' name that you would fill the people in this room as you fill this place, that we would sing unto you because we honor, love, and obey you above all else. Father, I pray, Father, that our song would be known. So help us to sing it now in Jesus' name. So help us to sing it now in Jesus' name. And everyone said, Amen.

Is There a Line? Theology Jon Delger Multiplication Pastor Peace Church Published On: January 4, 2024 So you have a great candidate in front of you. You’ve had this church staff position posted for months. You have reviewed countless resumes, and conducted many interviews, and now you think you have finally found that special individual. They have character, they have skills, people like them, and they agree with, well… most of your church’s beliefs. Not all of them. But most of them. Is that ok? Do they have to agree with ALL of them? What percentage is required? Which ones count the most? Where is the line? I’ve pondered this question many times myself. At times, it has led me to make an extra phone call, schedule an extra interview, or let an otherwise great candidate pass by. Taking staff alignment seriously can be costly. But what could be more important than a healthy staff culture? And what could be more central to that culture than shared convictions? Ranking Our Beliefs I recently recorded a podcast where we discussed which issues in Christianity are secondary issues [link]. There are some issues we should be willing to die for and others we probably shouldn’t. Not everyone will agree about which issues are which, but having a basic set of categories will be immensely helpful when forced to make tough decisions about staff alignment. The following 4 tiers represent my own attempt to rank our theological convictions for practical purposes such as deciding who to hire. Tier 1 The first tier is for things that make us Christian. Disagreement here is the difference between being a Christian and being something else. For example: belief in the Trinity, that Jesus is the Son of God, that he died for our sins, that we need to put faith in him as Lord and Savior to receive eternal life, and other core teachings of the Christian faith. Tier 2 Secondary issues are not first issues, but they are still very important. Disagreement here means that the other party can still be Christian, but they are out-of-sync with Scripture. Some examples might be views on sexuality and gender. Scripture is clear that God created human beings male and female, and marriage to be between one and and one woman. If someone believes homosexual behavior is not sin, that person may still be saved, but they are living or believing in disobedience to the clear teaching of Scripture. Tier 3 Tertiary issues are those in which both parties can disagree while still recognizing each other as faithful brothers and sisters who are walking according to Scripture. One example may be differing views on baptism. I hold a strong conviction for one position and could make strong biblical arguments for why my position is correct and the other is wrong, and yet I would not say that those with an alternate view of baptism are unfaithful to the Bible. They are using the same faithful rules of good hermeneutics and coming to a different conclusion. They are my brothers and sisters, and when Jesus returns we will celebrate together… and they will find out that they were wrong on this issue (I say that with a smile on my face and my tongue in my cheek). Tier 4 This final tier is for issues that are not very clear in Scripture and for which all of us might ultimately find out that we got some of it right and some of it wrong. Some examples might include one’s view of the millennium in Revelation 20 or of the Nephilim in Genesis 6. A few notes about the tiers Once again, not every church leader will put the same issues in the same tiers. Different churches will have different convictions or may place different emphasis on certain convictions. It should also be noted that this is a very general framework. Not every issue will fit neatly into one of these 4 categories. I think it will probably be more helpful to think of this as a sliding scale. For example, I would place the issue of gender roles in the home and in the church somewhere between the issue of homosexuality (Tier 2) and baptism (Tier 3). The difference between complementarians and egalitarians is a serious difference in hermeneutics (so much more serious of a problem than disagreement on baptism), but I would say that it is not at the same level as calling homosexual behavior ‘not sin.’ So we might call it a 2.3 on the scale. Final note: I realize that setting forth any kind of ranking such as this makes me vulnerable to lots of criticism. My hope here is not to have the last word on such a ranking but to demonstrate the kind of thought process that will help you in making hiring decisions. So Where Is The Line? Alright, back to the candidate in front of you. How did they do? Hopefully, you have found alignment in Tiers 1 & 2. If not, this should be a pretty easy decision. Remember, the real foundation of unity in your church is truth. Alignment around God’s Word is where real unity comes from. Tiers 3 & 4 can be a little more tricky. At this point, other factors can help us in making our decision. What kind of position are we hiring for? Is this someone who will be teaching, providing significant leadership, or be a faith role model for others? Then the standard is higher. Is this a part-time custodian? Then beliefs still matter because they are still a member of your team, but the requirement for specific theological alignment on lower-tier issues is less. What is the level of knowledge of this person? In the areas where they don’t align, is it merely because they haven’t studied that issue and need further education? For example, are they resistant to calling themselves Calvinists simply because they have never heard a biblical and winsome explanation of what it is? What is their level of passion or commitment to the lower-tier issue you disagree with? Is it an area they would be willing to joyfully submit to leadership? Or is the issue actually part of a bigger theological system, such as covenant theology versus dispensationalism? If so, this may have bigger implications than you originally thought. Spend lots of time in prayer, keep your Bible open, and may God lead you as you make this decision that will impact your church for years or even generations to come. More Blogs You'll Like Do the Resurrection Accounts Contradict? How differences in the Gospel accounts strengthen rather than undermine the credibility of the resurrection Read More What is 'Probably' Missing From Most Nativity Sets Miracle, Myth, or Meteor? Identifying What the ‘Star of Bethlehem’ Truly Was Read More Is The Bible Really Without Error? A Closer Look at Scripture’s Reliability, Inerrancy, and Historical Trustworthiness Read More

My Food is God's Will: The Woman at the Well (Part 3 of 3) Sermon Series: It Had To Be Said Ryan DB Kimmel Lead Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: John 4:27-42 Transcript Words today is the day that the Lord has made so let us rejoice and be glad in it and everyone said Amen, so here's what I want to know Who here? When you were growing up You had chores to do Let me see. Okay. Let me ask you this get your hands down. Um Other venues want you to be raising your hands too on this one Who here got your first job as a teenager? Would you raise your hand? Interesting. Okay, put your hands down. By every study that's being conducted, kids are having less and less chores they're responsible for in the house. On top of that, there's been a 20-point drop in the number of teenagers who have a job versus 50 years ago. The truth is, is that kids these days, I know we like to talk about kids these days, but the truth is kids these days are not being instilled with a sense of contribution and responsibility like they used to. And what we are finding out in studies is that this is having massive effect on how people don't go on to contribute to society. Having chores and having responsibility is a massive part of what it means to learn to be a functional part of a system and it starts within the home. And it affects every single part of their life. And when I say every single part, I also mean their faith. And so what you have is you have an emerging generation of adults who are part of the church, but don't know what it means to actively contribute to what God's doing through the church. Because all their life, they've been allowed to just receive without contributing. They've been allowed to just be given things without being taught the responsibility of what those things are. Cell phones. So here's the thing, kids are not growing up to learn this simple truth. Kids are not growing up learning this simple truth that we have a job to do. So today as we look at this we are continuing a sermon series called It Had to be Said. Now this is a tried-and-true old-school red-letter sermon series. This entire summer we are just looking at the words of Jesus Christ himself in scripture and I told you a couple weeks ago that I was going to kick off this sermon series with a little three-part sermon series to start this summer with and so today we are at part three of three looking at the story of the woman of the woman at the well and we're looking at these famous words of Jesus when he said that my food is to do God's will so if you haven't yet, would you please turn in your Bibles to John chapter 4 Jump down to verse 27 if you want if you could John chapter 4 We're on page 1131 if you want to use the Bibles that we have provided if you are just joining us here for the first time. Welcome. I am so happy that you're here. Let me catch up the speed where we're at in our scripture So Jesus is at this well and this woman comes up and they have this conversation. Jesus uses this opportunity to reveal some pretty amazing things to her. This woman is drawn water from a well and Jesus says to her, that water will satisfy you for a time, but I have water that will satisfy you for eternity. That sparks a theological conversation that results with Jesus for the first time revealing that he is in fact the Christ. He is the coming Messiah, but he is not just the Savior. He is her Savior. And one of the amazing things we see in this conversation is that Jesus brings her life out into the light with all of its brokenness. And one of the amazing things about that is that Jesus shows us how to do this in a way that doesn't come across as condemning, but as a way that is caring, because He's showing her that there is something better that God has for her. And He's having this conversation, and that's where we're gonna pick up in our Bible. So would you hear the word of God, John chapter four, verses 27 to 42. Would you hear God's word? John 4:27-42 27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him. 31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” 39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” This is God's word. Let's pray and we'll continue. Let's pray. Father in heaven above, Lord, we thank you for the truth of your word. We thank you for these words of our Savior, words that had to be said. And we ask you here and now by the truth of your word and by the power and presence of your Holy Spirit that you would be with us now that we might not just hear your word, but we receive it, do it, and be transformed by it. And it's in Jesus' name that we pray these things and everyone said amen. Amen. So as we close up this three part sermon series, let me remind you of where we come from. Week one we looked at how Jesus reveals that he offers eternal life and you don't get to just say that without actually delivering on it. So week one we see how Jesus makes us this huge promise that he reveals eternal life, which led to the second week where we see that Jesus reveals that he is the Christ. That's a claim there's no coming back from. He reveals he is the Christ and today, as we close up this little story, we'll see this. That Jesus reveals he has a job to do and so do we. Jesus Reveals He Has a Job to Do - And So Do We! Now as we look at this passage here today, we're gonna break it up into two main parts and here's what we're looking at. Jesus says he has a job to do and so do we. First thing we'll see how our job is to continue gospel work. So let's jump right into it here today. 1. Jesus' job is to do God's work (vv. 27-34) Jesus' job is to do God's work. So the last few weeks as a church, we've been looking at this powerful conversation that Jesus has between himself and this woman at the well. And Jesus reveals that he offers eternal life because he's the Christ. They discuss theology together. Jesus brings her life out into the open. He reveals her sin, but through it all, doesn't condemn her. He cares for her. This woman's amazed, and what she does, she runs back and tells everybody, "'Don't let that just be black and white words on a page.'" That was a very powerful thing this woman just did. She went back and told everyone. And for Jesus, it's like all in a day's work But I want to look at that first first point here the sub point here to this is the woman responds to Jesus Look at your Bibles. Please keep your Bibles open verse 27 just then as he was having that conversation the disciples came back. They were marveled that he was talking with a woman as you remember we talked about In that context in that culture that really wasn't appropriate. That didn't happen very often But they but no one asked. What do you seek or why are you talking with her? Basically, they come back they stumble on this what would appear to be a somewhat awkward conversation But no one asks questions They just kind of let it be so the woman Left her jar verse 28 the woman left her jar and went away into the town and said to the people Come see a man who told me all that I ever did could this be the Christ and they all went out of the town and were coming to him. Church. That that was so powerful. I'm not for making some words bigger in the Bible and other words smaller They all they all carry equal truthful weight But sometimes I think we just pass over something that was said and we'd miss the immense power that was behind this. I Love this because do you know what this is? This woman shows us what a right response is to a true encounter with Jesus Christ. When you look at scripture, every time people have an interaction with Jesus and they acknowledge who He is, their knee-jerk reaction is to go and tell people about Him. I know that we are just rolling into summer, praise God. I know that we're looking at multiple days of 90 degree heat. I still say praise God. Praise Him in the storm and in the heat. I know we're getting into summer and it's getting hot, but this interaction here with this woman, it reminds me of Christmas. Remember that story of the shepherds who were out in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night? Remember that? And the angel of the Lord comes to them and tells them that Jesus has been born and so they go to see Jesus in the manger Remember what happens once they see Jesus in the manger the baby Jesus verse Luke chapter 2 look at verse 17 and 18 says this says when they when the shepherds had seen him the Christ child When they had seen him they spread the word concerning What had been told them about this child and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to him, said to them. They see the baby Jesus, even the Christ child, even the baby Jesus they see and they have to go and tell everyone about him. This woman encounters not the baby Jesus but the adult Jesus and she has to go and tell people about him. And this is what we see time and time again. When people have a true encounter with the risen Christ and they acknowledge who He is, their knee-jerk response is to go and tell people about Him. I'm afraid some of us have had a real experience with a Christian tradition, but you have not had the experience with the risen Christ. Because when you have an experience with the risen Christ, when you truly acknowledge who He is and allow His atoning work to work in your life, I don't know how it's possible to contain that to yourself. I entirely get how it's possible to contain a tradition to yourself, but I don't get how you can understand who Jesus Christ truly is, how the Spirit works within you. I don't understand how you cannot go in some form or fashion, share that with others. So my question for you is, have you just been coming to church or have you been going to the feet of Jesus? I think your life kind of shows us the response. This is a massive challenge to us all because it needs to be. Every day that goes by is one day closer to the end. I don't know when it is, I just know that every day that goes by we get closer to it. Which means the window is shutting. Are you seizing the opportunities that God is providing for you every day? Here's the reality, church. We are all, all of us, we're natural evangelists for something. Whenever you encounter something good, I know you share it. Whether it's your favorite sports team just winning something, whether it's a new hair product, whether it's a new song. Some of us are very quick to share political memes. Yeah, I'm going to let that one hang for a second. Are you so quick to share Jesus? Because what do you think the world really needs to know? Jesus is too good not to share and this woman, mind you, if you were here with us in the sermon series, you know, this is a rejected, ostracized woman who has an extremely checkered past of being used and abused and constantly giving herself to the wrong guy. This woman has a true encounter with Jesus and she goes back to the very people who were rejecting her and ostracizing her she goes back to them to tell them about Jesus she's doing something that many of you hard working men are too scared to do and that's actually speak the name of Jesus let this woman's testimony be a grand challenge to us all. And yes, to do this means we have to set aside our pride. But if you've spoken against or if you hate Pride Month, then you best be the one setting your pride aside. And one of the ways that we do that is by having a conversation with someone about who Jesus Christ is. Christians who keep their mouth shut about Jesus, I just don't know how you do that. This woman shows us the right response to a true encounter with Jesus, and that's to go and tell people. That leads to the second sub-point I want to talk about here, that Jesus relies on God. This is a powerful thing we see from our Lord. So the disciples had gone into town to get some food, they come back, they left Jesus at the well, and they come back to Jesus, we'll pick up in verse 31. It says, meanwhile, the disciples were urging him, Rabbi, again, means teacher, Rabbi, eat, eat something. But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. So the disciples said to one another, has anyone brought him something to eat? Where's he gotten food from? But Jesus said to them, no, no, no, guys, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. I tell you, with my experience doing evangelism, this happens all the time. When I share about Jesus and what he teaches, so many people want to respond or they want to engage the conversation simply through worldly or natural means. But Jesus, one thing you need to understand, Jesus is always bringing us to a deeper spiritual truth. I'll say something like this to someone when I talk about Jesus. I'll say Jesus is the way. And you know what I hear so often? It's like, the way to what? The way to live? It's like, yes, that's definitely a big part of it. But the deeper spiritual truth is that Jesus is the way back to God. Because people don't automatically think deeper or more spiritual. That's what Jesus helps us to do. See, the disciples said, teacher, eat something, eat something. He says, I have food you know nothing about. So what do they think? They think he's already had lunch. But Jesus is announcing his mission and that it's a heavenly and spiritual one from God. That's another clear example. What we see here, when Jesus talks about how he has food to eat, that's the will of God. This is a beautiful example of Jesus living out his very own teaching. Remember that story in the Bible where Jesus is out in the wilderness and he's fasting and the devil comes to him and the devil is trying to tempt him to break his fast? And the devil says, hey, I know you can turn those stones into bread. Just turn them into bread and just have a bite to eat. We all know you're hungry. Remember what Jesus says? I love this. Matthew chapter 4 verse 4, but Jesus answered, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Jesus is living out his own teaching here. Because even Christ shows us something that we've all forgotten, that we need to rely on God. That's a nice little statement, isn't it? We need to rely on God. Let's finish the sentence. We need to rely on God for everything. In fact, I want you to say that with me. We need to rely on God for everything. Everything. The very breath you take is an act of grace from God. That's a kindness and a goodness from God to you that you don't deserve, that He does not have to give to you. Every breath is an act of grace of God. We need to rely on God simply for the air that we breathe. I talk to so many Christians and so many Christians say things like this. They'll say I Want to see God move more in my life. I want to see the moving of God more in my life I get it. But the first thing I want to say to them is Open your eyes. Like open your eyes. He is he's moving every single day that next breath. That's God's gift to you God is always moving in your life But then I'll say something like this because I know they want to have a real conversation. I'll say, the reason that you're not seeing God move is because you're not relying on God for every single thing. Because, Church, the reality is the more we walk with God for every single step, the more we see Him in every single moment. Christ is saying, even the food I eat is a reminder that I'm here to do God's work. Christ came from heaven with a job to do. He's modeling for us what it means to rely on God for every part of it. And then we see him turn to his disciples and he teaches them, sharing with them this simple truth that it's our job now to continue gospel work. Christians, let me give you a question that I think is a challenge that many of us need to hear. How engaged are you in gospel work? How engaged are you in gospel ministry? How engaged are you in any work that involves the clear sharing of the message in the name of Jesus? I'm not asking what good things you do in the name of God to make us have a better society. That's great. There's a place for that. I'm asking you what work if you are a Christian, what work are you engaged in that actually goes to advance, announce, promote and share the name of Jesus Christ and the gospel? Because here's the thing, I'm challenging you to think about this not just because you should be doing it, but also because the world so desperately needs us to be doing it. To be out there doing work that shares the message of Jesus. Christ is going to show us that it's our job to continue gospel work. 2. Our job is to continue Gospel work (vv. 35-42) So let's look at this first point, that it's our turn to work. So Jesus is speaking to his disciples and he goes and he speaks to them on their level. Go to verse 35. He says, Do you not say there are yet four months, then comes the harvest? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest. So at this point, the disciples and us should already be aware that Jesus is not speaking just physically here. He's speaking spiritually. So when Jesus says, quote, the fields are white for harvest, what he's doing is he's giving a visual image of a grain field. I know that many of us are not farmers, we probably don't understand what's going on here. So when grain is ready to be harvested, it turns a white type of color. So when Jesus says that the fields are white for harvest, that just means ripe or ready to be harvested. But Jesus, you know, isn't speaking about fields of grain here. He's talking about people. He's not speaking physically. He's speaking spiritually. Jesus, I've said this before, in this story, you can't forget the powerful context to the story. So Jesus just had this amazing, but relatively brief conversation with this woman that would forever change her life. And so Jesus tells his disciples, look around guys, look around. This is a perfect example. People are so ready for the truth. The time is ripe. People are ready for it. So I want to propose something here and I want to see if you agree with me. I think we are living in a somewhat similar time. I think we're living in a time where people are desperate for truth. I'm telling you, now is the time. I don't like to speak in these terms, but with how far the woke side has gone and is going, a lot of people right now are being like, hold on a second here, I don't know if I can go that far. With everything that's happened in our culture and the world in the last four years, I think a lot of people are like, hold on a second, I'm not sure I'm getting the whole truth here. And some level, I think in their heart or in their mind people are waking up to a colossal lie that they've been told They've been they're seeing how the direction that the world is going. They know isn't ultimately good, but they don't know the actual truth. They just know something's wrong. This is where we step in taking our time to work to share that truth You say to them? Yes, you're right. Things are not pointed in the right direction But let me show you the right way that it is. And that's where you announce Jesus and his plan. Jesus has this amazing conversation. He says, look it, I'm telling you guys, people are ready for the truth, so go out there and share it. People are ready for something real. I mean, I think so. Do you think so? So let's go out there and be the ones that actually give them the answer that they're looking for. But before we go on to verse 36, I want to make sure that we clarify our terms here, because while I know that hobby farming is like all the rage right now, I know not all of us are farmers, so let's make sure we clarify our terms here. When the Scriptures talk about reaping and sowing, let's just clarify here, a more common way that we would talk about this would just say picking and planting. Those who sow are the ones who plant. But when harvest times come and your veggie garden, your salsa garden is ready, you go in here, you pick your veggies, you harvest them, you reap your vegetables. Clear, are we clear on this? So this passage, Jesus is the one who plants or sows, but the disciples are reaping and harvesting. So let's go to verse 36. Verse 36, already the one who is reaping is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life. And this is where you stop as a good student of the Bible and you say, okay, what are the wages and what is the fruit of eternal life? Well, the wages, again, Jesus is not speaking physically here. It's not money. It's the spiritual reward for the work of the gospel, which Jesus answers very clearly for us at the end of this verse. It's joy. And if you think, well, that sounds very underwhelming, then that shows me that you've never experienced the joy of seeing the fruit of gospel work. Because when you see and experience the fruit of gospel work, it is better than all the money in the world. The joy of seeing people receive and flourish in the gospel, there's nothing like it. Jesus is saying to the disciples, He says, you guys haven't even gotten to experience the pleasure of heaven yet, but you are already receiving your eternal reward because you're getting to experience the joy of gospel work. Because that's what Jesus means when he talks about gathering the fruit of eternal life. When Christians share the gospel with others and people believe in the name of Jesus for eternal life, well, that's experiencing the joy of gospel work. That's reaping the harvest of eternal life and then Jesus says this he says so that the sower and the reaper so the planter and the picker may rejoice together Jesus is saying the reward or the wages of what we get for gospel work is joy and again if that sounds underwhelming to you you've just shown that you haven't experienced the joy of gospel work because once you experience that, it's better than everything else. And I just want to say, that's what I want to be a part of. I want to be a part of gospel work with gospel people doing God's work in this world. I'm sick of the political strife. I'm sick of the cultural brokenness. I just want to share the gospel and hang out with gospel people, and I want to rejoice in my Savior as part of that work. Is anybody here with me? Church, this is all about laboring together. Together. Gathering on Sunday morning, then dispersing and going out. Doing this together. That the sower and the reaper may rejoice together. Look at verse 37 and verse 38. Jesus says here, for the saying holds true, one sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap for that which you did not labor. Others have labored and you have entered into their labor. So there's a lot going on here. Let's just do a Bible study here. Jesus is saying, yes, yes, boys, you've got a job to do, but remember, you can't take all the credit. You're just continuing what someone else started here. Because that's gospel work. We are continuing the work that started so long ago. It's just our time. The question is, is are you going to respond in this moment because it's your time to? Our job is to share the gospel, but let me remind you that we cannot make anyone believe that's the Holy Spirit's work. That's why we can't take all the credit. We share the gospel and we let the Holy Spirit do the work in someone's heart, but it's our job to share the gospel. Our job is to continue the work of the gospel, but now, once we do that, it's people's turn to receive. Church, we need to give people a chance to respond to the gospel by sharing the gospel with them. The woman that Jesus had been speaking with, remind you, let me remind you, she'd already gone back into the town to tell people about Jesus. And just as Jesus said, the fields are ready for harvest, people are ready to receive the gospel, they receive what she says, they want to come see for themselves. Go to verse 39. So many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony. He told me all that I ever did. So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them. And he stayed for two days, and many more believed because of his word. Church, it's our job to model Christ. It's our job to tell people about him, but then we have to let the Holy Spirit do his work. But we have to do ours as well. So ease your soul from being the burden of someone's Savior. You're not, Jesus is. Also ease your soul from the burden of this is of thinking that you you do this in order to attain or retain your salvation. That's that's an act of grace. We don't respond in order to receive salvation, we respond because we have received salvation. But people have to hear the gospel so that they can get a chance to receive it, and that's what Christians do. Verse 42, they said to the woman, it's no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world. So Christians in the house, hear me on this. As we go out there and share the gospel, it's not your job to fulfill some sort of quota about how many souls lead to Christ. You lead to Christ. Your job is not to fulfill a quota, your job is to be faithful to Christ. So it's like this. Let's say that you work on a farm and the boss comes and says, hey, I'm going away for a little bit, go out and work in the field and go out and pick the corn. And you say, okay, okay, boss, how much, how many bushels you want me to pick today? And the boss says, it's not, it's not about how many bushels you gather. You just keep working until the end of the day or until I return. There are numerous parables in the Bible that are just like that, making that point that Jesus has left, but he's left us with a job to do. And we do that job until God calls us home or until our king returns So whether Christ returns or you breathe your last breath either way you must be found doing the king's business Church. When Christ returns, what will he find you doing? With your last breath. What will you be doing because I'm here to warn you about something. Christians in the house, let's be real honest with ourselves. Some of you work really hard at your job, but you've gotten real lazy with the King's work. You crush it at your job. You get in those promotions, you're advancing every opportunity, you're seizing the day. You're advancing in your kingdom of this world, but you're not working for the kingdom of God and His business. Some of you are real good at swinging a hammer, but you have not yet once ever shared the name of Jesus. Some of you are real good at twisting wires, some of you are real good at closing that sale, but you haven't ever actually shared the name of Jesus. Before I go on sabbatical, I just want to lay an enormous challenge before us all that I am also giving to myself, that we're not going to let this summer go by without doing the King's work. Amen. If you're a Christian in the house, let me just tell you, you don't do this alone. You do this with the truth of God's Word and with the power of the Holy Spirit. Your job is to continue the gospel work until you're called home or the King returns. Let me give you a couple of verses to encourage you. Colossians 3 says, whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord, the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 1 Corinthians 10 says, whatever you do, do all things for the glory of God. Christians, where do you serve God? Where do you serve God that's advancing the name of Jesus? Where are you given financially to the work of the name of Jesus? Jesus says to us, look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest. Now is the time. Yes, this is a terrible time to be alive, but it's also an amazing time to be alive. This is an amazing time to be alive. The opportunities are just endless for Christians right now to go out there and share the gospel. So are you doing it or are you just sitting lamenting, posting about how terrible the world is right now? This is the time God's given to us in all the history of the world. God decided for you to be born at this time. How amazing is that? So get to work. Join in the gospel work of what Christ has started. He invites you into the king is coming back. Let's be found preparing for his return because church. Let me remind you, Jesus reveals that he has a job to do. And so do we. Our king has died on the cross in our place for our sins and then he conquered death when he rose again on the third day. Why wouldn't you share that? So church, the gospel is such a wonderful beautiful thing. We're gonna actually gonna we're gonna celebrate the gospel right now through having communion together and my prayer is that it spiritually nourishes you to go and do the King's work. So let's prepare our hearts right now. Let's pray as we prepare for communion.

Divine Discipline or Unfair Treatment? Theology Stephanie Delger Podcast Host Mom Guilt Podcast Published On: Is God Too Harsh? Genesis 3:16 “To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” What do morning sickness, fighting with your husband, and labor pain have in common? They are all a result of the fall. What’s more, they are all painful things that women face. When I read this verse, I do wonder momentarily, is God being mean to women? This seems harsh. Is this fair? This is one of those hard passages for women. So let’s look carefully at the text and try to understand what God is saying. Sin has consequences. Adam and Eve sinned, and now the world is fallen (broken). Eve questioned God’s goodness and believed the lie that she should be in charge rather than God. Then, rather than help her husband follow God’s commands, she led him into sin. Eve would see the devastating impact sin would have on all her relationships. Eve was now alienated from God her creator and told that pain would infiltrate her relationships with her husband and children. Pain In Childbearing God tells Eve, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.” Women know this to be true. Nausea, headaches, body aches, ligament pain, back pain, swelling, and many other ailments start even before it’s time to deliver our babies. The greatest pain most women feel, happens during the many hours of childbirth. But the pain doesn’t stop in the delivery room for a mother. The postpartum contractions bring pain as her body tries to bring its internal organs back to their pre-pregnancy size. Women have post-operative pain with episiotomies or c-sections. The statement “in pain you shall bring forth children” rings true. The word pain in this verse, can be translated as “painful toil.” {1} When God tells Eve that childbirth will be painful, He is referring to both physical and emotional pain. Death, miscarriage, and infertility are now a part of our lives as women. Sometimes we yearn to hold a baby in our arms that God has taken or never given in the first place. This is a result of sin entering into the world. I have cried out to God in moments of intense pain, “Don’t you care God?” “How can you be good if you just let this happen?” The answer is yes. Yes, God is good and yes, God cares. In fact, God cares more than you or I ever could. This was never part of God’s good design. God grieves the consequences of sin more than you or I ever could. This is because He is the only being who sees the full extent of sin’s consequences and the pain it inflicts. In our moments of anguish, we must remember that pain and suffering are a result of the fall. In these moments, rather than being angry at God, we have the opportunity to draw near to Him. We have the chance to grieve with God over the devastating consequences that sin has brought into the world. Pain In Marriage God goes on to tell Eve, “Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” Not only will childbirth be painful, the relationship babies come from, will be painful as well. Eve’s marriage will be impacted by the consequences of sin. God’s beautiful design for marriage will become distorted. Adam’s role of headship wouldn’t always feel like a blessing to Eve. Eve’s desires would no longer be pure and good. The word “desire” here is very much like the word “desire” we read about in the next chapter of the Bible. [2] In Genesis 4:7, God warns Cain, “And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” This desire Eve would have for her husband, would not be a healthy desire. Eve would be tempted towards two extremes. On one hand, she would try to fight Adam for the leadership role in marriage. Eve would struggle to submit to Adam’s authority, which God had placed her under. On the other hand, she would have too much desire for her husband. Eve would be tempted to place her desire for Adam above her desire for the Lord. God should be first in our life, but now Eve would be tempted to place Adam in the role reserved only for God. Eve and every wife after her, is left to fight these temptations. We struggle to follow the Lord and the design that He created for marriage. God’s Grace I want to circle back to our original question, “Is God being fair to Eve?” I believe the answer is actually... no. If God was being fair, he would have given the just punishment of death to both Adam and Eve as soon as they sinned. Eve would never have lived to hear the consequences of her sin. God warned Adam and Eve that if they ate the fruit, they would die. Rather than being fair, God chose to show them grace. God lets them live. And not only does God let them live, He promises to save them. God, before talking to Eve, tells Satan, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) Eve heard the painful consequences of her sin with this promise ringing in her ears. Eve was shown that sin leads to pain. These two things are forever connected, but God promised that He would send a savior. God would send someone, a descendent of Eve, who would take the painful punishment that we deserve. This descendent would experience the pain that sin deserves and come out victorious. This is exactly what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. In the gospels, the writers tell us that Jesus refused wine mixed with myrrh on his way to be crucified. In the ancient world, wine was mixed with myrrh to numb or dull the senses. It was customary for those being crucified to drink this myrrh/wine so that they wouldn’t experience the full force of pain. Yet, we see that Jesus denies this drink. Jesus knew that in order to take our place on the cross, he needed to feel every ounce of the judgment that our sin deserves. He needed to feel the pain that sin inflicts. Jesus felt every strike of the nails, every sting of the thorns placed around his head, every sliver of wood piercing his already mutilated back. He felt this pain so that you and I wouldn’t have to. Jesus experienced both the physical pain and the spiritual pain that sin deserves on the cross. When we feel pain, rather than questioning if God is loving, we can remember all He has done for us. God is our loving savior who cares for us. There is a day coming when we will no longer feel the pain of sin. Someday, we will see Jesus. We will see the scars covering his body. We will see the proof that He took our place and bore our punishment. We will fall down at the feet of our Savior, forever singing praises of his goodness and grace. References: Hughes, R. K. (2012). Paradise Lost: Curse and Judgement. In Genesis: Beginning and blessing (pp. 88). essay, Crossway. Hughes, R. K. (2012). Paradise Lost: Curse and Judgement. In Genesis: Beginning and blessing (pp. 88). essay, Crossway More Blogs You'll Like Do the Resurrection Accounts Contradict? How differences in the Gospel accounts strengthen rather than undermine the credibility of the resurrection Read More What is 'Probably' Missing From Most Nativity Sets Miracle, Myth, or Meteor? Identifying What the ‘Star of Bethlehem’ Truly Was Read More Is The Bible Really Without Error? A Closer Look at Scripture’s Reliability, Inerrancy, and Historical Trustworthiness Read More

The Glory Is Forever Sermon Series: Contender Ryan DB Kimmel Lead Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: Jude 24-25 Transcript Today is the day that the Lord has made. So let us rejoice and be glad in it. And everyone said, amen. So I'm at the point in my life, I'm old enough, I should say, to where all of my grandparents are gone. Thankfully, praise be to God, all of my grandparents called upon the name of the Lord as their savior. And so I know I'll see them all again one day and I was blessed to have three sets of grandparents when I was growing up And every single one of my grandparents told me something taught me something Beautiful about love and life and what it means to be a great grandparent And I was also at the bedside for a few of them as they left this world for the next world. If you've ever been in that situation, you know those are very powerful moments. And I remember when my grandfather was nearing the end of his time. He only had a few days left, and I was sitting there with him and my mom, and my grandfather just kind of stared off into the distance for a moment. And my mom said to him, dad, what are you thinking about? And he said this, and this was both haunting and sobering to me. This is like a tattoo on my soul. I'll never forget, not just those words, but how he said those words in that moment. My mom said, what are you thinking about dad? And my grandfather said, it all went so fast. The Bible is really clear on how short the human lifespan actually is. Psalm 39 says, show me the measure of my days, Lord, show me how fleeting my life is. James chapter 4 says that your life is a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. I love how Psalm 103 says it. Psalm 103 says, men are like grass. We flourish like a flower and then the wind passes over us and we're gone. The Bible's really clear. Our life is very short. And for the watching world, for those who are just listening to this, that may sound really sad. That probably doesn't sound like good news. But if you are a Christian, if you know your destiny, if you know what Jesus has done for you, and you've called that upon your own life and faith, then you know eternity is not the black nothingness that we will eventually vanish into. Eternity is full of hope and glory. Eternity is heaven and heaven awaits us. That's what it means to be a Christian. That we don't fear the night, we long for the dawn. But I'm here to tell you, when that day comes, when you sit and you say, it all went so fast, I wonder what are you doing from now until then? Are you doing things that show that you approach that day with great anxiety, or are you living a life that shows that you're approaching that day with great anticipation? What are you doing from now until the day where you say, it all went so fast because I'm here to tell you that day is coming so much sooner than you could possibly imagine. You will blink and that day will be here. So what are you doing now so that on that day, you don't look back and wish you had done something else? Are you living in the ways that God has called us to live? Do you approach that day with anxiety or anticipation? Because I'm telling you, there's only one way you can approach that day with great anticipation, and that is through the Savior, Jesus Christ. It is through him and his gospel promises that we can long for eternity, that we don't have to fear it. And so I'm here today to tell you about him, and his name is Jesus Christ. So would you please, in your Bibles, open to the book of Jude. It's the second to the last book of the Bible, quick reference there. This is our final message in our four-part series on this letter. And if you've been joining us for the last number of weeks, you know that we are arriving to the last verses of Jude. Jude, we call it a book, but it really was a letter. It was a letter that a brother of Jesus wrote to Christians. And it's a short letter. It's so short, there's no chapters. There's only verses. And we're going to look at verses 24 to 25 here today. And we're going to look at this one beautiful, profound idea. And it's this, that glory is eternal. See, when you read Jude, you find out that he has kind of one main idea he's trying to get across to Christians, and that's that we need to contend for the faith. That on this side of eternity, there's gonna be a struggle. There's gonna be opposition. And so we are to stand strong. We are to contend for the faith. And as we get to these final verses, Jude does something amazing. He shares a doxology with us, and we'll get to what that is in just a moment. But right now, let's just read the last two verses of Jude as we close up this series. And so I would ask, if you are able, would you please stand for the reading of God's word? the letter of Jude verses 24 and verses 25 Not to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy To the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory and majesty Dominion and authority before all time and now and forever Amen now and forever. Amen. Before you have a seat, let's take a moment, let's just pray together. Father of glory, would you be with us here and now through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit that we would know your truth more deeply today, that we might live more fully for the name of Jesus, our Lord, God, and Savior. And Lord God, we do say these things and we pray these things with those throughout the ages who have said to yours be the glory and the power and the majesty forever, forever and ever. Amen. And amen. Go ahead and have a seat. Church, I will say it plainly today. I hope that you are impacted by the notion that we're not just talking about eternal things. As we close up this letter from Jude, and I pray it's been a blessing, an enriching and challenging blessing for you as we've walked through this letter together. But for those who weren't here, let me just kind of recap real quick. We're on week four, the final week, but here's what we looked at for the last few weeks. Week one, we looked at this notion that the fight is now, that we are to contend for the faith right here, right now. Not tomorrow, not later, not after you graduate, not after you have kids, not after the kids leave the house. The fight is now. We are to contend right now. Then at week two, we looked at how the judgment is real. And that may sound scary, but what that actually tells us is that our life has meaning, our life has purpose, our actions really do matter. They matter so much that our actions will be held to account at the end of all things. You are not just an amoeba that found its way to existence in this universe. You are a person made in the image of God and that matters and that means something and your actions mean something. And so week two we had a very sober reminder that the judgment is real. But last week we looked at how we are to contend for the faith because the purpose is personal. That God doesn't just call a nation or a church, he calls individuals. And so we are to have a personal faith because we have a personal God and a personal Savior. The creator of the universe has revealed himself not just as Lord, God, and master, but as our Father. He calls us into a personal relationship and so we are to contend for the faith because the purpose is personal. And today, let it be known, as we wrap up this series, that we are to contend for the faith because the glory is forever. Hopefully you were reading along with me as we read this passage together. And if you did, you'd notice this is one sentence in two verses. Let's just go ahead and make it three points today, shall we? So let's look at this first one. The glory is forever, so contend, because God is your strength. So after Jude's epic call to contend for the faith, he begins to close this letter with what's known as a doxology. Maybe some of your Bibles have that as a heading right here. Doxology is a combination of two Greek words, the word for glory and the word for, well, words. A doxology is words of glory. So a doxology is a praise giving God the glory and Jude starts the end of his letter with a doxology which starts like this. The first part of verse 24. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling. Let's just stop right there for a moment. The him, make no mistake, is God. And what is stumbling? Well, in short, it's sin. Through the salvation we have in Jesus Christ and through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit within us, God is able to keep you from stumbling, to keep you from tripping and falling into sin. Through the salvation we have with Jesus, this is possible and attainable and given to us. But here's the reality, too many Christians do not know this because we rely on our own strength. This is one of the saddest things I see about Christians is we try to live this life based on our own strength and this is why we continue to fall into sin, this is why we continue to stumble. If you're trying to live life on your own strength let me just ask you how is that going? Probably not very well and I'll tell you this, the older I get, the more I realize one of the great faults of men is our inability or our unwillingness to ask for help. I would, for some reason, rather spend three hours in the garage trying to fix my truck myself when I could just call my dad or my father-in-law or my friend to come help me, who could turn what I would take into three hours, they could make it one hour. But no, I'm going to do it myself because apparently I like to waste my life in the garage. What is with us that we just won't ask for help? Men, you need to understand, pride truly does come before the fall. Let me just get very real for a moment. Too many men are trapped in the addiction of pornography when help is so abundantly available but we just can't bring ourselves to ask for that help. Whether shame, fear, or pride, Christian you need to understand the church is here to help you. We are called to carry each other's burdens. If you are a slave to pornography, call out to a brother in Christ. I guarantee if that brother loves the Lord, he will say, I will fight this battle with you, I will carry this burden with you. We have a whole group at church here willing to help men do that so they can find victory in the name of Jesus over this demonic thing called pornography that's a blight on our society. We are meant to carry each other's burdens. We're meant to be in fellowship. You are meant to be connected. The Christian who says they don't need the church is, well, I'll just tell you, I feel very sad that a person comes to that point. When we are meant to be together, God is our help and he uses his church so that Christians can have that help. But Christians don't rely on God for help. And we don't ask God for help. And I'm gonna say something right now that's gonna sting a little bit. So I'm gonna give you a moment. Breathe, prepare your heart for this. The reality is, many of us do not ask for help because we don't want help because you love your sin. You love your sin and you love the brokenness and you're too fearful to part with it because the truth is, is you love the sin more. If that's you, my friend, then you hear me. You're not contending for the faith. You've surrendered to sin. And Christian, Christian men, is this really what you want? Is this really the type of man that you wanna be, that you'll just roll over and let sin have its way with you? We are called to contend, men and women, we're called to contend for the faith with the power of the Holy Spirit within us through the gospel of Jesus. We are meant to fight. My friends, we need to remember that we contend for the faith because the glory is forever. We're in the business of eternity. So let me level with you for a moment. We're talking about eternity here, and I fully recognize that some of us right now, you can't think about eternity because you just want to get through this next season. You can't think about eternity because you just want to get through this next week. Maybe some of you, you just want to get through the day. If that's you, call upon the Lord. But remember, we must always keep the long view before us. Christians are the ones who recognize that we are part of eternity. I think most of us realize, unfortunately, either first hand or second hand, most of us realize that a momentary sin can lead to a lifetime of hurts I'm sorry to tell you this But I'm here to tell you it's even worse than that It's not just a lifetime of hurt, but a momentary sin is a an eternal offense against the Holy God I'm sorry your actions really do matter. And when we sin, we can, yes, we run the risk of ruining things for a lifetime, but we also have to understand that when we sin, that's an offense against an eternally holy God. We're dealing with eternity here. We're dealing with an eternal glory that God is calling us to, but many of us are forsaking it for this momentary pleasure we call life. This is why God has said that he knows he's the one that needs to step in, that we have the strength to do this on our own. We cannot save ourselves, that's why God sent his son to die on the cross in our place for our sin, to pay the penalty for our sin, and on the third day rise again so that we could have eternal life, and in that eternal life God is still our help. He's still our strength. He still steps in. Because God knows what we're dealing with. We're dealing with a forever glory. We are to contend for the faith because God is our strength. And this leads to the second thing, that the glory is forever. So contend because the joy is your hope. So let's go back to verse 24 and let's complete the thought here. I started off by saying, not to him who is able to keep you from stumbling, but let's focus on this next part. And to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy. I want to share a few things that hopefully forever change how much you love that phrase. So I understand that not any one person can understand all things, but I want all of us here to understand this one thing. My friends, the presence of God is the most terrifying place in all existence of any reality. Only that which is blameless, sinless, faultless, and holy can be in the presence of God. And even the thought of entering the presence of God with even an ounce of sin should fill you with terror. Now imagine entering the presence of God with a life of sin. You cannot do it, you will be destroyed. This is why the prophet Isaiah, when he was given just a vision of God's throne room, his only response was, woe is me, I am undone. My friends, but we know the good news. That through Jesus Christ, the presence of God is not to be feared, it's to be longed for. Why? Because through Christ we are brought blameless into God's presence. So instead of terrifying fear, we long for the presence of God with overwhelming joy. And this is not because of anything we've done, but because of what Jesus Christ has done for us through his life, death, and resurrection. Church, Why do we contend for the face? Because we know the outcome. The war has been won. And yes, there's a little battle between now until eternity and until glory, but we know our destiny. It's one of joy. It's one of hope, not hope as in wishful thinking, but hope as an eager anticipation for our future is filled with joy. But you have to understand what Judah's saying here. And so let's read it again. To present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy. You have to permit me to geek out for just a second here, okay? This is not just any old standard issue joy. Okay, in the New Testament, the common word for joy is kara. We find it about 60 times in the New Testament. It's a beautiful word. We love kara, joy. We want this joy. You learn it in Greek 101. But this word, this word that Jude uses here is a different word. It's a far more rare word. In fact, it's one word, it's one word in Greek, but it takes two English words to understand what is being said here. And this word, we only find a total of five times in the New Testament. Again, the common word for joy we find nearly six times. This word for joy we only see it five times in the entire New Testament. And it means exaltation, wild joy, ecstatic delight, here's my favorite definition, exhilaration. Do you remember that scene when Mary is pregnant with Jesus, and she goes to visit Elizabeth, and Elizabeth is also pregnant. Who's Elizabeth pregnant with, anybody remember? Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist. So you got pregnant Mary with Jesus, comes to visit Elizabeth, who's pregnant with John the Baptist. And when Mary enters the room, you remember what John the Baptist does? He leaps for joy. This is one of those other times that we see this very rare word for joy. Exhilaration, thrill. What Jude is reminding us is that friends, we can anticipate heaven not just with hope as if that wasn't enough, but with thrill, with exhilaration. This is what the gospel does for us. When we should be utterly horrified at the notion of coming into the pure presence of God, yet through the cleansing blood of Jesus, we don't have to fear that moment, but it says that we are presented blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy. I understand not wanting to die, but we do not fear what's on the other side. Rather, we enter into eternity and the presence of God blameless, faultless. Think about all the wretched things you've done and thought in your life. You carry none of that into the presence of God because of Jesus Christ. Listen, I've never been to the spiritual realm. I don't know what it's like, but we get glimpses of it from the Bible. Let me just share a few things because it's beautiful, unlike anything we could experience here. We're told that God's throne, if you read the Bible, the God's throne is composed of rainbow. How beautiful is that? And you know that we talk, we often talk about the pearly gates of heaven. Do you know that that's actually biblical? The gates of heaven actually are made of pearl, not composite pearl, not a bunch of little pearls put together, but the gates of heaven are made out of one giant pearl. Imagine how beautiful that is. And it says that heaven is filled with the glory of God. As if English words could ever explain this. What is the glory of God? It is the radiating holiness and goodness of God. Heaven is to be longed for. And the Bible tells us that through Jesus, this is what we can anticipate. Who here knows who the duck commander is? Duck commander has a very famous quote. I love this. And I'm sure you probably heard this at some point. He says, I keep life simple. I spend as much time in the woods as I can. And we love God and we love our neighbor. And for the life of me, I cannot figure out why more people don't get on board with this. I'll tell you what, that's how I feel about what we are talking about today. I just don't understand how more people don't wanna get on board with this. Like literally, what in the world, what in this world do you think is better than what we are talking about that you would wanna give yourself to the things of the world rather than what the Bible is describing here. What in the world do you think is better than this? Like literally, what in the world do you think is better than what we're talking about here? For the life of me, I cannot understand why more people do not get on board with this. The only thing I can understand is that you just love the brokenness and you love the sin of the world this much. And that is just painfully sad. For the life of me, I cannot understand why more people don't get on board with this. The future of heaven is waiting for us after this fleeting life, which is our last point. The glory is forever, so contend because heaven is your future. My friends, in the grand scheme of things, you must understand understand that heaven is just around the corner. I want to stop for a moment. I want to pull you back in because too many of us are just listening to a preacher preach right now. You're not listening to what I'm saying. And I am desperate for you not just to be listening to a preacher preach. I want you to hear what I'm saying. In the grand scheme of things, you are going to blink and you yourself are going to say, it all went so fast. So what are you doing right now that you'll be thankful for in that moment? Because that day is coming, it is coming so fast. And you must remember that if you are in Christ, then heaven is your future. And the last verse of Jude says this, verse 25, says, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, be glory and majesty and dominion and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen. And so, Jude, what he does here, Jude ends his letter with modeling something that's so important for us. And it's that God gets the glory. That all of this is about bringing God glory. Church, put God's glory into your vocabulary. Those two words, God's glory, talk about God's glory. Speak that to your family, speak that to your children and grandchildren, use, bring God's glory, those words into your vocabulary. Let's practice right now. Let's say God's glory together. Ready, one, two, three. God's glory. See, you didn't need me to say it, you got it. Bring it into your vocabulary. Bring it into the language of your family that our lives are meant to be lived unto God's glory because God's glory is the highest good. So when we live unto God's glory, we're living our lives unto the highest possible good. Why would you give your lives to anything less than that? And look at the word choice that Jude uses here. Glory, majesty, dominion, authority. Let's talk about those real quick. Glory. We already said this. It's God's powerful control over creation. And authority, meaning God's sovereign right to have control over creation. So what does dominion and authority mean? It means God has the power and the rights to be over all. And as Jude says, this is before all time, now, and forever. The past, the present, and the future. And our future is heaven with God. And I can't help but read this verse and not think about experiencing this day, the day that will come oh so quickly. I'll tell you one thing that I think men in particular, I'll tell you one thing that I think men gotta do more of these days. And that's sit on the tailgate of an old truck and talk about God's goodness with one another. A couple years ago I was doing just that with a friend of mine who was struggling with his faith and here's what he said to me. He said, you know, when it comes to the gospel, the thing I can't get around is how boring heaven sounds. I said, boring? What are you talking about boring? He said, I get that we can't be good enough to enter into heaven, that Jesus needs to die for our sins. He said, I fully understand that, but I cannot get excited about heaven. I said, why man, it's paradise. It's paradise. And this is what he said. He said, I'm sorry, I'm just not looking forward to sitting there, worshiping God forever and ever and ever and ever. He said to me, dude, I get bored after three worship songs at church. I said, brother, you are looking at this from such the wrong angle. You are missing the boat big time here. I said, first of all, if heaven is not a 24-7 worship service like what you think it is. Heaven is a place. Heaven is a city. And in this place we will have responsibility. Or to put it another way, we'll have a job to do. And if you think that that sounds like not a good thing, let me just tell you, no, no, no. This is the job that fills our hearts. This is the job that we're meant to do. This is the job that fills our heart with joy. And in heaven, our fellowship and friendship with other people will be perfect. There's no gossip and there's no backstabbing. There's no criticism. It is joy. It is how things are meant to be. And so let me tell you what this means because it'll blow your mind. When we say God is eternal, what this means is it does not matter how long you are in heaven, there will always be more to learn about him. That is the mind-boggling reality of the infinite. See, you have to understand who we're talking about when we're talking about God. Boring in His presence? Please. However long we travel down the road of heaven, the path ahead of us is always longer than the path behind. And that's a beautiful, powerful thing. And definitely it should humble us, but one thing it should not do is make us think this is boring. I said, you're thinking about heaven as a person still stained by sin, but in heaven, your heart is free to do that which it was meant to do, to worship God in the presence of God, where our hearts were never so full as they will be in that moment. My friends, if you're struggling with this, let me just posit this right clearly before you. You've got two options. Option A, things are just the way that they are. Neither good nor bad, and you can debate all the live long day with people on the other side of the aisle about how things should be, but either way, things just are the way they are. That's one option. Or the other option is that things are not how they're meant to be. That there truly is an objective standard from which creation has fallen. And I'm here to tell you, I think if you're honest with your own heart, you realize things are not the way they are meant to be. That there is something better, truly something better. There's a standard for which all the creation should be at, but we've fallen from that. You have two options before you, so I ask you to think carefully about which reality you wanna live in. Because I think in your heart, you know this to be true, there is a way things are meant to be and this is not it. But I'm telling you, in heaven it is. And the awesome thing about heaven is that at the end of all things, God will make heaven and earth one. Did you know that? God will recreate all things so that heaven and earth are one. And did you know in the new heavens and the new earth, that there will be no sun? Because we won't need a sun because God will be our light. This is the beauty of what we get to look forward to. Or if you think things are just the way they are, then you get to live in a universe that will eventually experience heat, death, and slowly expand forever into the infinite void. And if you think that's what your life is, if you think that's the end of your life, I'm here to tell you there is a better story being told and being written, and God is the author. Because the glory is forever. In heaven we realize what we know in our hearts to be true, that there is a way that things are meant to be, and we get to experience it for all time. I said to my friend, board, please. And then I quoted this line from Amazing Grace. When the song Amazing Grace says this, it says, when we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun. Boring? In some beautiful way, it only ever gets better. Listen to me, my friends. We get to live right now, your life, in light of eternity, the eternity that God is calling us into. And so contend for the faith because the glory is forever. Amen. Amen. Can we stand and let's prepare our hearts to worship.

PODCAST That's a Good Question Sanctity of Life: Looking at Abortion Through A Biblical Lens January 15, 2024 Jon Delger & Rachel Bailey Listen to this Episode Jon Oh Hey everyone, welcome to That's a Good Question, a podcast of Peace Church and a part of Resound Media. You can find more great content for the Christian life and church leaders at resoundmedia.cc . That's a Good Question is a place where we answer questions about the Christian faith in plain language. I'm Jon, I get to serve as a pastor here at Peace Church. I also get to serve as the weekly host of this show. You can always submit questions at peacechurch.cc/questions . Now we had planned to do a second episode in our marriage series this week, an episode on men's, because last week we talked about women and their role in marriage in our series going through Ephesians chapter five. You can find the sermons that go along with that series at resoundmedia.cc or at peacechurch.cc . But due to the snow and all that kind of weather going on this past weekend, we actually postponed that. So it's going to be one week back. So next week, tune in to That's a Good Question. We're going to be answering questions talking specifically about the role of men in marriage. But instead, this week, we're going to be talking about sanctity of life. This Sunday is actually Sanctity of Life Sunday. We're going to talk more about that in a minute. But I'm here today with Rachel Bailey, the executive director of the Alpha Women's and Family Center. Rachel, welcome. Rachel Thank you. It's good to be here. Jon Great to have you. Excited to talk about Sanctity of Life. The Alpha Women's and Family Center is an organization that has a lot to do with protecting life and caring for people. We'll get into that in just a minute. But yeah, this Sunday is Sanctity of Life Sunday, and it's a Sunday that churches especially take to get to celebrate and reflect on the value of life and especially the value of unborn human lives. So we're going to take a few questions on that topic. Ready to rock? Rachel I'm ready. Jon Cool. Let's do it. Producer Mitchell, you want to hit us with some questions? Mitchell Yep, here we go. Why do churches talk about abortion? Isn't this a political issue? Question #1: Why do churches talk about abortion? Isn't this a political issue? Jon Shouldn't the church not interfere in politics? Yeah, good question. So let's talk about that. Why do churches talk about abortion? Is it political or is it biblical? My quick answer to that is that this is actually not a political issue, this is a biblical issue, this is a Bible issue. The Bible speaks to it pretty clearly in several places. To think of one, in the Psalms, Psalm 139 talks about being knit together in the womb, that human beings are knit together by God in the womb. Other parts of scripture talk about, I think of David, even speaking about his son in the womb as a person, a human being who is alive. Rachel, any scripture you want to add to that list? Rachel Yeah, I mean I think of, yeah, just the idea of us being image bearers in general, going back to Genesis. You know, we don't start to become an image bearer of God once we are born. That is from the very beginning, from our very conception. So because of that, yeah, it's not a political issue. Sometimes it becomes a political issue, and in some ways, maybe that's okay, because it becomes really, it goes out to more people. It's shown in the world more often. But the church should really care about it as well. The church should care about life because the Bible cares about life and our Lord cares about life. Jon Yeah, amen. Yeah. Yeah, so it's a biblical issue, something that God speaks to. It's a moral issue. And like you were saying, it's not a bad thing that it becomes a political issue because I've said many times, you know, politics is not a bad thing. Politics literally means like the affairs of the city, you know, the palace is the city. So politics are just the affairs of the city. It's the things going on in our world. So in fact, it's a really good thing that a biblical value like life and unborn human life goes out into the world and becomes an actual issue that we talk about. So it's not bad that it's a political issue, but, you know, this is not, when we talk about abortion in the church, it's not an instance of the church becoming too political, getting engaged in things that are beyond its jurisdiction. This is the church talking about what God's Word says and how it applies to everyday life. Rachel Yeah, correct. Jon So, one other one would be like John the Baptist jumps in Elizabeth's womb, his mother's womb. You know, there's a story of him already celebrating the coming of the Messiah when Elizabeth and Mary come together. Or you could think of even Romans 9, scripture talks about God thinking about Jacob and Esau even before they're born. So I think all over the place it's clear that scripture sees human beings as made in God's image of inherently valuable. They're not the same as animals, they have special and unique value, and that their life begins before they are birthed in the womb. So I think that's clear in scripture, but also we could say it's even clearer outside of Scripture. I think we could make arguments from science that it's true that human life is going on before the baby comes out of the womb. Rachel Right, yeah. I mean, you think about viability has changed, and 21 weeks and 5 days right now, scientifically, a baby can be viable outside of the womb. And so, they're fully formed enough to be able to take their first breaths outside of the womb, with help of course. And again, I do hesitate to share that number because it has changed even in the last few years. It has changed to be even lower. And so I definitely could see it, seeing a baby be viable outside of the womb even earlier than that in the coming years. But yeah, and a heartbeat is detectable at six weeks. I remember going in for my ultrasound around eight weeks and hearing my baby's heartbeat for the first time and just the joy and excitement over that and realizing, yes, this is a human life that is valuable even at this early moment. Jon And one of the other interesting scientific things I've heard about is the spark of life that scientists have observed when the egg and the sperm meet each other, there is actually some kind of change that immediately happens, a spark that can be seen, visible, that life comes to be when the egg and the sperm meet each other. So in the Bible and in science we can see evidence that there is life going on in the womb. So let me just kind of even zoom out a little bit and talk about kind of how we're coming at this topic. So if you're listening to this, and we just wanna be abundantly clear about the biblical worldview and perspective about where life begins and about the value of human life. And we are saying that then resulting that abortion is the ending of a human life. And so that becomes a moral problem. But I also wanna right away jump in and say, if you're listening to this and you are somebody who has had an abortion, I just want to speak in your mind that that is not the unforgivable sin. Jesus died to take away all sin. When we put our faith in Him as our Lord and our Savior and our treasure, our sin is taken away, including the sin of abortion. So I want to be abundantly clear about what the Bible says, but I don't want that clarity to also result in condemnation. Think of passages like Romans 8, 1 that says, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So if you're listening and coming from that place, you've been involved in some capacity as a mom or as a dad or as a friend or as a grandma and grandpa, some way related to an abortion or as a health care worker, that's the gospel news from Jesus that all sin can be free. There's no sin that's too big for the cross. So whatever situation we're coming from at this topic, we want to just be really clear about a biblical worldview and what Scripture does say about this important topic. Mitchell I think that's a great place to jump into our next question. Should there be exceptions to abortion in certain situations. Question #2: Should there be exceptions to abortion in certain situations? Rachel Yeah, so that is kind of the sticking point for a lot of people. Many people even consider themselves pro-life, but might say that there's quite a few exceptions to that rule where, you know, sometimes abortion is okay. I think we have to go back to the definition of abortion. It's, it's the killing of a baby and more specifically it's the violent killing of a child. There's a difference between abortion and an early labor as well. So again those exceptions might be something like rape or incest or something like the the mother, I just read about it this morning, a mother might be going through cancer treatment soon and and that baby can't survive with those cancer treatments, and so they need to deliver that baby early. That process of delivery is much different than the process of violently killing that child in the womb. And so I think that's where we really have to land is if we are truly pro-life, there isn't really any exceptions for abortion. There might be times when early labor is required to save either the baby or the mom, but that's very different. Jon Yeah, right. Yeah, I mean those situations that you bring up are horrible situations. You know, take the instance of rape, for example. What an awful situation, can't imagine. And And yet what we're saying is that this additional wrong, this additional horrible thing of killing a child violently isn't the solution. Mom and child have now been put into an incredibly difficult situation as a result of that terrible act. But the solution isn't abortion. There are other solutions. Let's try to have that human life receive the best care and love as possible, as well as that mother. Rachel Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, and rape and incest specifically, there's no real reason to punish the child or punish the mother for the sins of the father that brought those about. And yeah, that's just really important to remember. And specifically, abortion isn't just something that ends the life violently of a baby. It also leaves the mother with a lot of trauma. There's a lot of research about that. And so do we really want to put a mother through even more trauma than she's already experienced? Jon Sure. Mitchell Yeah. Are pro-life people actually just pro-birth and do not care about women, mothers, and children after they're born? Question #3: Are pro-life people actually just pro-birth and do not care about women, mothers, and children after they're born? Jon Yeah, good question. So that's an accusation that's come against pro-life people quite a lot in the last couple of years. So the accusation or the argument is essentially to say, hey, you guys only advocate for unborn babies but you don't actually care about people after they're born or about mothers who have just had a child, who haven't had an abortion. And so you say you're pro-life, but you're not actually pro-life, you're just pro that unborn baby, and that's all you care about. You're taking an idealistic stance on that one issue and not actually caring for life in general. Now, I would argue that that's not true. And actually, the Alpha Women's and Family Center is one example of how that's not true. Rachel, do you mind sharing a little bit about how that is? Rachel Yeah, I think since starting my job at Alpha Women's and Family Center, I have just realized that that accusation is truly untrue. That a lot of the services that we provide are for after the mother has given birth to that baby or a family, a mom and a dad, that just want a little extra support. support, whether it's physical support like diapers and wipes and formula, we provide that or mentoring and parenting classes, we provide that as well. So there's just a lot of different opportunities for the church to step in and be the hands and feet after a baby is born. And I think part of the issue is that you hear a lot in the media and just around the world about abortion specifically. You don't hear as much about the solutions and resources after the fact, after a baby is born, or post-abortive care as well. But specifically after a baby is born, that's just not as glamorous, I would say, to talk about some of those really hard things where a mom and a dad just need a little bit extra help. And we're here for that. And we care about those families in our community that are struggling. Jon Yeah, yeah, exactly. So that's been that's been true for us at Peace Church. And in our relationship with ministries like the Alpha Women's and Family Center, as well as the Pregnancy Resource Center in Grand Rapids, each of those ministries supports, especially the mothers of children. And so I yeah, like you said, I think that accusation is untrue. But also, I kind of want to address even just the logic of the argument to say, OK, it's really not, you know, you're not actually answering our argument about abortion and the killing of a child. So, you know, get back to the issue instead of subverting. So, you know, let's say if it was true and if it was true that we were only pro unborn baby and not pro the other things. Now, you know, we should address that, but the answer is not to pull back and get weaker on advocating for the life of the unborn child. You know, that's not actually an argument about the topic. It's kind of a subversion, a step aside to sort of talk about a different issue instead of actually addressing the main issue of we want to advocate for those who absolutely can't advocate for themselves. If there was ever somebody who couldn't advocate for themselves as the unborn child, they have no way to do that. Mitchell For people or for people in churches who may hear that criticism and may feel convicted right now that maybe they aren't stepping as much into that after-birth care for women and children and families, where have you seen that? Like how would you respond to someone who's saying, yeah, you know what, I really care about unborn children, but maybe I need to grow a little bit. Rachel Yeah, I think if someone came to that realization, that's awesome. You know, of course we do care about that unborn child and that is so good that this person cares about this and is advocating for the voice of the unborn. But yes, there are lots of opportunities for individuals and churches to get involved with women and families once that child is in the world, and there's lots of needs. I can think of a few very specific ways that churches can get involved that here at PEACE we've gotten involved is supporting foster care families. We have quite a large group of foster care families here at Peace and adoptive families as well. And they are all very connected with each other. Peace has really helped facilitate that as well, helped facilitate that connection. So that's something you can do as a church is even just hosting a dinner for foster care families and adoptive families to just come together and share about the struggles and share about the joys and the beauty of being in that type of ministry. Another one is Care Portal, which is something that is somewhat new to Michigan, but it's something that we've been involved in here at Peace. And it connects churches to centers like Alpha Women's Center in Grand Rapids and Pregnancy Resource Center in Grand Rapids. And those centers will give out, will say a need that they have. So hey, we have this mom that came in that needs a crib. And these churches get to respond directly to that need. That is a really, you know, feet on the ground way to support families in our community. Again, being both pro-life at the beginning of life and once that baby is in the world and beyond. Mitchell Yeah, I like that. Can you say that website again? Yeah, Care Portal. Okay, we'll make sure to put that in the show notes for everyone. Jon Okay, perfect. Yeah. Rachel That's awesome. Jon Sounds good. Yeah, I love that. So, thinking back to New Testament times, Christians were known for being those that, you know, when a family would have a baby that they didn't want, that baby would literally end up on the trash heap, you know, at the city dump. It's an awful, tragic thing. But Christians were known for being those who went there and found those babies and took them home with them, to care for them. And so now, I mean, that's how we want to be known. We want to be known as the church, the Christians who are involved, who care, who not only advocate, but also reach in and try to help young moms and families and children. So whether that's through foster care, like you mentioned, or through partnering with Pregnancy Resource Center or Alpha Women's Center, supporting women. But yeah, we want to be known as those who show Jesus' love in that way by trying to reach in and support and help those. Awesome. Rachel, anything else you want to share about the Alpha Women's and Family Center, other ministry that you guys do? Rachel Sure, yeah. So Alpha Women's and Family Center is a small but mighty, I would say, ministry in Hastings. And so we serve all of Berry County. We do mentoring for moms and young families. They can come in. I'll even watch your kids while you come in and do mentoring. It's been quite fun to watch kiddos. And we offer parenting classes and all of those types of things. We also offer more material resources like I mentioned before, diapers, wipes, shampoo, some of the things that aren't covered on WIC as well. And we also pretty recently just started a clothing exchange that is open to the entire community. So anyone can come in and exchange their baby's clothes that are, you know, gently used for the next size up or if they're having a new baby for their new baby's clothes or whatever. So I really encourage you to check that out. We are located right next to the Wendy's so you can grab some lunch and then kind of come on over and visit us during the week. So yeah, those are some of the big things that are happening there right now. There's lots more things that are coming in this year, and that includes, we are in pretty extensive training right now to offer ultrasounds, limited ultrasounds at our facility. So that's really gonna change a lot of the dynamics of our center, but we're excited for it, we're ready for it. Really looking forward to hopefully bringing in more moms that just don't realize the value of that beautiful baby inside of them and maybe they get to see see and hear the heartbeat of that baby for the first time. That would be such a joy. So that's some of the awesome things we do. Yeah. Yeah. Jon Amen. That's awesome. Well, Rachel Thanks so much for your ministry and thank you so much for being here to get to talk with us. Just to remind everybody that this Sunday is Sanctity of Life Sunday, so great opportunity to get to remember, reflect on, pray for the value of unborn human life. Mitchell Can I ask one more thing? Jon Oh yeah. Mitchell Yeah. So if people wanted to connect with you, ask you more questions about this, or if they had questions or just wanted to see more about what you do. Where could they find you? Rachel Find Alpha? Yeah. So we have a website of alphawomenscenterbc.org and we also are on Facebook. My goal is to get us on Instagram as well. It's where all the trendy hip people are, you know. So you can look at any of those. My email is also on our website so you can go right on there and I will receive those emails directly and would love to connect with you. Jon Awesome. Yeah. You can find That's a Good Question at resoundmedia.cc or wherever you listen to podcasts.