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Protect Life Sermon Series: Words To Live By Ryan DB Kimmel Lead Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: Proverbs 24:10-12 Transcript Today is the day that the Lord has made, so let us rejoice and be glad in it. And everyone said extremely loudly, Amen and Amen. So if there's one thing that life, marriage and ministry has taught me, it's that it's easier to speak than it is to listen. Everybody got something to say. Not everybody got a listening ear. And for Christians, this should not be the case. I mean, the good book has told us for 2000 years, something pretty clear here. James one nine says, Know this, beloved brothers, meaning know this fellow Christians, let every person and if you can see this, say it with me, be quick to hear slow to speak. Two thousand years of the Bible have been telling us that. You know, as I said, we are continuing the sermon series today. We're calling it Words to Live By, Wisdom the World Has Forgotten. Last week we looked at how we need to be discerning in this world, and today we're gonna look at what I believe to be a very challenging notion of a call to listen well. Listen well. Please turn in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 24 verses 5 to 9. If you're gonna stick with us for the sermon series, I hope you do. This is again a verse-by-verse walkthrough of Proverbs chapter 24. So go ahead just put your bookmark in your Bible. If you're unfamiliar with the book of Proverbs, while you're turning there, hear this. It's an Old Testament book. It's really a collection of wise sayings that King Solomon, the son of King David, collected and he probably wrote some of these. But it's clear that this is a book that he wrote for his son. All over the book of Proverbs, he's addressing his son, saying, my son, my son, listen to me, listen to these words, listen to this, my son. It's clear he wants his children to be wise and side note, gonna call us all out here for a moment. This is such a contrast to parents today. Parents today, parents today want their kids to be trendy, cool and well-liked. They want them to go viral. They want them to be athletic. They want them to be intelligent. But how many of you parents can say you are seriously instilling wisdom in your children in a proactive way? That you're sitting with your children saying, my children, my daughter, my son, here's how you'd be wise in such a broken world. How many of you are opening up the book of Proverbs and sharing this wisdom? We are called to share wisdom and to teach our children wisdom, and with that comes a key notion of how to listen well. Do we know how to listen well? And so with that question kind of looming over us, would you hear the word of the Lord? Proverbs chapter 24, verses five to nine. A wise man is full of strength and a man of knowledge enhances his might. For by wise guidance, you can wage war and in the abundance of counselors, there's victory. Wisdom is too high for a fool. In the gates, he does not open his mouth. Whoever plans to do evil will be called a schemer. The devising of folly is sin. And the scoffer is an abomination to mankind. This is God's very challenging word. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord remains forever. Thanks be to God. Let's pray and then let's get at it. Let's pray together Father God in heaven above. How amazing are you? Oh God? You are of infinite wisdom and yet you hear us and yet you listen to us Your word tells us that when we worship you and when we follow you you listen to us So father, I would ask this morning that by the power and presence of your Holy Spirit that you would give us ears to listen well, that we might grow in wisdom, to be more like your son and our savior. And it's in his name we pray, in Jesus' perfect name. And everyone said, amen and amen. So as we look at this very challenging and I would say, inditing passage, let me give you a thought for today. And here's your take home. Those who are wise, listen well. Not those who are wise listen well. See the difference there? Do you know that right off the bat in the book of Proverbs, chapter 1 verse 5, it says this, it says, Proverbs chapter 1 verse 5, let the wise hear and increase in learning because the wise person knows they've always got something more to learn. The wise person listens. Jesus Christ himself tells us this in Luke 8 18. He says consider carefully how you hear, meaning how you listen. Why? Because people who are wise are people who know how to listen. Those who are wise listen well. And as we wade into the waters of our passage, we're going to get one coin from two different sides as we break apart our passage. Here's your two thoughts for this morning, listening well is leading. Listening well is leading. The second part of our passage is gonna remind us that listening well is life giving. It's life giving. All right, first thing, listening well is leading. Hopefully you have your Bibles open. Verse five says this, a wise man is full of strength and a man of knowledge enhances his might. Okay, I want you to stop for a moment and I want you to think who is the wisest person that you personally know? Maybe they've passed on to glory, maybe they're here, but who is the wisest person that you have personally, personally known? Number one, I'm praying someone came to mind, which I'm fairly certain for hopefully most of you, someone did, I'm willing to guess that that person is, how do you say, seasoned in life. Maybe their hair is gray, a little salt and peppery. And you know, side note, I spend 10 minutes every morning picking out the gray hairs of my beard. Maybe if I left those in there, you'd all think I was a lot wiser than I am. But you know, when you think about this, like, yeah, when we think about the wise, we think of those who have, who have some life under their belt, right? But even in that, no offense, physical dominance normally isn't their defining feature. So what does the Bible get in that here when the Bible says a wise man is full of strength and a man of knowledge enhances his might? Now like with all things when we come to the Bible and we're unclear, I think one of the first things that we should be doing is, and this is a bonus for you here this morning, keep reading. Keep reading. Because when you do, you'll find something really interesting. Verse 5 is followed by verse 6. And when you read verse six, you'll see this it starts with this very important word for Now just like in English in Hebrew what this was originally written in the word for in Grammar is known as a conjunction a Conjunction is a word that connects two thoughts verse five is explained by verse six Verse 5, a wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might. How or why, you might ask? For or because, for by wise guidance you can wage war. A wise man is mighty because he listens to wisdom. Young men in the house, listen to me. Wisdom makes our strength mean something. And this comes by listening, learning to listen. And as the Bible says, to wise guidance and an abundance of counselors. I'm old enough to begin to realize that our strong backs will fail us, but wisdom will stand the test of time. So listen well. Church, I want to say something. I'm going to say it twice because this is how important I want you to hear this, how much I want you to hear this. Your ability to succeed in the long run is connected to your wisdom to listen well. I'll say it again. Your ability to succeed in the long run is connected to your wisdom to listen well. Men in the house, you may be able by your strength to get people to fear you. But it's by wisdom is how people will respect you. People hear these words, hear these words of scripture, this goes for marriage, business, life, and war. Wisdom is listening well, and listening well is leading. Now I want to hang on verse 6 here, because verse 6 is a very popular verse in the Bible. So let's look at it, verse six. Again, please have your Bibles open if you have them with you. For by wise guidance you can wage war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory. All right, especially for guys like me who are in a leadership position, or if you are in a leadership position, maybe in management, here's what I'd say to you. Everyone needs to grasp this, but I'd say especially those in authority or leadership. Authority or leadership. Wise guidance does not mean popular opinion. Wise guidance does not mean a majority vote. Wise guidance does not mean the easy way. Wise guidance means just that. Guidance that is wise, not mandatory or compulsory. An abundance of counselors. Church hear me on this. The abundance of counselors does not mean everyone with an opinion, because we all have one. So let's just flip this for a moment, because I want to address something that as a pastor, I hear, safe to say, at least on a fairly regular basis. And it's this phrase. I wonder if you've ever said this. They just don't listen. They just don't listen. Have you ever said that? They'll say this about the other person or the other side of the argument, they just don't listen to me. Now church, I'm the one making the argument that most people are terrible at listening, but to make sure that you understand what you are saying when you say the words, they don't listen to me, let me just share some wisdom here for a moment. Just because your spouse, your parents, your pastor, or your boss, just because they don't do what you say or take your advice, that doesn't mean they aren't listening to you. See, people think that the marker of being heard is being obeyed. Listen to me, that's only true for dogs and soldiers. So if you want your relationship to feel like the military or like animals, then you need a two-way communication and you need to understand that just because someone doesn't enact what you say doesn't mean they didn't hear you. Again, I would say this to spouses, children, people who are employed, church members. So it's important to listen well And we're going to talk about this. I want to talk about specifically how we listen. Well, I want to talk for a few moments about active listening How to how to be an active listener? Now if you've ever done premarital counseling with me, then you know how I teach this And if you've ever been married to me, you know how terrible I am at this. Most people think that listening is a passive thing, that listening is doing nothing while you let the other person speak. And do you know how many friendships are broken and how many marriages are ruined because people have that mentality? That's not helpful. When we communicate, and when we listen, we have to be active in this. And I would say that our inability to listen well has led to the political and cultural divide of this country, or at least contributed massively towards it. Listening is not doing anything while letting the other person speak. Listening is an active thing. So let's talk about what we do when we listen with a wise ear, how to listen well, and how to be an active listener. So active listening is listening firstly to understand. When someone is speaking and you're listening, one of the first things you're doing is that you're listening to try to understand this person. What are they saying? How are they saying it? Why are they saying it? You're listening to understand. Also, the other reason that we listen well and we have active listening is not. Active listening is not assuming you know what is going to be said. I don't know if you're like me, but if there are times that you know me and my wife and have friction, we'll call it, she may begin to say something and I will immediately cut her off and say something like, I know what you're gonna say. Apparently, me and Kevin are the only ones. That's not active listening. Active listening is not assuming you know what is gonna be said. And here's the second one, gentlemen. Active listening is not just waiting to respond. Active listening is not just waiting for your turn to speak. Again, if you've done premarital counseling with me, then you know this exercise. I have an engaged couple sit on the couch and they face each other and I instruct one person to share their thoughts or feelings and to be assertive in that. Not domineering or not a jerk, but just assertive. Take ownership of what you want. And so they say, I would like this. I want that. I want more of this. I want less of that. One person. So one person's sharing their thoughts, desires, or opinion. And another person who's listening is to be active listening, actively listening. And this person has a job. And this job is, number one, they need to hear correctly what this person is saying. And so when this person is done speaking, their response is not to immediately give their rebuttal. The first response is to establish that communication has happened. The first job of the active listener is to ensure that they heard this person correctly. So they do that by rephrasing what the person said, not repeating, because anyone can just regurgitate what someone said. You have to rephrase what the person said, which shows that you've internalized it and you understood it. This is also a chance to ask questions and to get clarification because what you want to do is ensure that you have understood what they said and you want to make sure that that person feels understood and feels heard. So once that's established then you can continue to build a conversation and listen to me if you think this sounds clunky in the communication you've just exposed that you're not great at communicating because communication is hard, especially in marriage. And so when we communicate, you need to actively listen. What are they saying? Why are they saying that? And when they're done, what you say is, okay, if I heard you correctly, what I think you mean is X, Y, and Z. And then you give that person a chance to confirm and affirm that. Once that's established, then A, you've done active listening well is leading so men. Men hear me if you want to be the leader in your home in your community in your marriage You must master this And I would say you shouldn't be a leader until you've mastered this ability to listen well. A wise man is full of strength and a man of knowledge enhances his might. For by wise guidance, you can wage war and in an abundance of counselors, there is victory. The assumption there is that that leader knows how to listen. This is not just for kings and generals. This is not just for husbands and fathers. This goes for mothers and daughters, pastors, and for politicians. This goes for progressives and conservatives. This goes for anyone who wants to fancy themselves to be a wise person. Wisdom is listening well, and listening well is leading. And when a leader stops listening, they should stop leading. Hold me to that, people. This leads to the second, or I should say the other side of the coin, that listening well is life-giving. It's how we instill life. Now as we turn our attention to verses 7 to 9, we're going to immediately see a contrast here that Solomon props up. It's a constant contrast that he makes throughout the entire book of Proverbs. You may know it. It's the contrast between the wise and the foolish. Those who are wise and those who are fools. Solomon, as he wrote Proverbs for his son, he's constantly warning his son to put into practice these words of wisdom so that he won't be a fool. He doesn't care if his son is good at basketball, he wants his child to be wise. Now this is important, I wanna remind us of something about the Book of Proverbs. The Book of Proverbs is 3,000 years old. Let me put this in context for you the book of Proverbs was written before English was a language The book of Proverbs was written before the Enlightenment It was written before Rome conquered the world the book of Proverbs was written before Confucius Plato or Aristotle The words here have stood the test of time We are still reading it or at least we should be still reading it, and we still should be challenged and learning from it. How foolish it would be to cast aside this book as having nothing to offer you. In fact, we would all do well to spend more time in the book of Proverbs. And honestly, church, as I envision how this year is going to unfold for our church, there's a reason I wanted to start with the book of Proverbs, we're going to need the wisdom to know how to continue to minister to this broken and wicked culture, and to how to respond faithfully to what God's doing in this world. How foolish it would be to cast aside this book, but some will, some will. And the Bible tells us why. Verse seven, because wisdom is too high for a fool, and in the gate, he does not open his mouth. Wisdom is a lofty thing, and not everyone has the humility to receive it. So let me ask you when was the last time someone gave you godly advice and you took it and you did something with it? Do you have those people in your life sharing those words with you? And do you listen so much that it changed your approach to life? Write this proverb down, it's a good one. Proverb 17:10. I love this. It says a rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool. Meaning, the wise person knows he always has more to learn, but you can't even beat wisdom into a fool. Because wisdom is too high for a fool, verse 7 says. And then verse 7 says something interesting here. It says, in the gate, he does not open his mouth. Now what's that all about? Now, anybody who wants to read the Old Testament understands what the Bible talks about when it talks about the gate or in the gate. It's all over. It's so important. Please don't think of it like a white picket fence with this little door swinging. That's not what we're talking about when the Bible talks about the gate. The gate, as described by Baker Bible Dictionary, is this. In the Old Testament, the city gate has a central role in that city's military, economic, judicial, political, and religious aspects of life. It wasn't just a fence with a door. It was a structure. In the Old Testament, when people talked about the gate, this is what they thought of. They thought of a structure, they thought of a building. It was not just used for protection. The city gate was a building, often two structures with a courtyard space in between them. And in this space is where the official business of the city happened, kind of like modern-day township halls. It was at the city gates where the prophets of old would proclaim the word of God. It was at the city gates where military action was planned, where a city's leaders and elders would convene to make determinations. The gate was not just a passageway, it was a critical meeting space for the life of the city. So the gate is where the official business would happen. Today we might call it the boardroom or the leadership table. And we don't let fools at the leadership table. So when Proverbs says in verse 7, wisdom's too high for a fool, in the gate he does not open his mouth, it's like saying there's no place at the leadership table for fools. When leaders meet, the fool has nothing to say. Not because in wisdom he's listening, but because the fool is out of his league and has nothing to contribute, so he keeps quiet. But here's an interesting thought, but follow me on this. Remaining silent is often the wisest thing to do. Proverbs 17:28 says, "'Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise.'" When do we keep quiet? Because Ecclesiastes 3:7 says, "'There's a time to keep silent and a time to speak.'" So this begs the question, people, when is it wise to keep quiet? Let's look at a few reasons why it would be wise to keep quiet. Reasons to remain silent. First thing is to keep yourself in check. Proverbs 29:11 says, "'A fool gives full vent to his spirit, "'but a wise man quietly holds it back.'" It's wise to keep silent to keep yourself in check, meaning silence is a key indicator of self-control. It's the unwise man who loses control and says things that they need to repent of. And if there's anyone on the hot seat right now, it's yours truly. Proverbs 13:3 says, "'Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life.'" This ties into the whole point that wisdom is life-giving. The second reason it would be wise to keep quiet is as we're talking about because you are active listening because you're listening well. Proverbs 18:13 I would never tell someone the need to get a tattoo but men this might be a good one to put backward on your face so that when you look in the mirror you can read this every single day. Proverbs 18:13 13, if anyone gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. See, the wise person listens so that he knows how to respond. See, if you are speaking before you are finished listening, then chances are you are just emotionally reacting rather than wisely responding. And everyone said, welcome to social media. That is all that happens. Something happens in this world and immediately people start throwing out their thoughts. And I'm thinking, you've had no time to process this. You're just emotionally reacting. You're not wisely responding. So let's not be that people. Ask my wife, she will tell you this is one of my greatest weaknesses. I respond before I listen. I get charged up, I think I know the answer. The alpha comes out in me and I bowl over people because I think that I Know better and here's what God's telling me that I think we all need to learn the lesson meant is this is that you don't know If you know better until you first listen well My mama used to say something and When she would say this to me, she actually had a hand gesture that went with it Tell me if your mama ever did this for you. When I was little, she would say this, zip it. And she's actually like, making a little gesture like my mouth was actually zipping shut. She'd say, zip it. And you know what? I don't want to overstate this, but my mom was saving my life. She was teaching me that sometimes you just need to shut it. You need to zip it. And that leads to kind of the third thing, a reason why it's wise to remain silent. It's to discern whether or not you are dealing with a wise person or a fool. You listen to this person to discern if you're listening to a fool or a wise person. Proverbs 10, 19. When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. Meaning, if a person is rambling, chances are there's guilt or foolishness, but we can only know that if we are wise enough to remain silent and listen. And the reason that we need to know this is because foolishness and folly do not lead to life. Do you know where it leads? To sin. It leads to sin. Verse 8 says something really important to us. It says, whoever plans to do evil will be called a schemer. Whoever plans to do evil will be called a schemer. Who here in their life either have children or you have grandchildren who are 10 years old and younger. Anyone? In our venues, online, let me know. Okay, who here has ever been 10 years old or younger? Okay. I'll tell you what, this is what I am so trying to instill into my children, especially my boys. I think the way that we can translate this idea of like, don't be a schemer, I think one of the ways we can say this nowadays, and this is how I say it to my sons, is don't be sneaky. Don't be sneaky. Dad can't stand that. Don't do things behind my back. Don't be sneaky. If you don't want people to know about it, then don't do it. Not because we're trying to seek approval, but because that's a key indicator if something is right or wrong. Do we want people to know about it? Gossiping, backstabbing, or here's something in my time I've seen people do, which is just such a scheming thing, it infuriates me, is they build a coalition. They go and scheme and build a coalition rather than confronting the problem. This is what schemers do. I tell my son, that's not befitting of children of God. That's not befitting of godly men. We don't scheme We stand up and confront if you've dealt like people if you dealt with people like this, you know, they are toxic Don't be a schemer. Don't be sneaky because the Bible says something that it does not mince words in verse 9 The devising of folly is sin and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind. The devising of folly is sin. Now don't sit there and think, oh come on preacher, are you saying we can't have any fun? Listen here, don't confuse folly with fun. That's what man-boys do. Godly men and godly women know the difference. You know the difference between folly and fun. It goes back to the principle of wisdom Which is the fear of the Lord folly has no fear of the Lord fun on the other hand Fun is part of how we live life to the fullest in Jesus' name Christians should be the most joyful fun people because we know how to have real true fun that gives life Folly has no fear of the Lord, but fun is living life to the fullest in Jesus name and there are sinful hearts that plan and devise folly. And the Bible tells us that only sinful people plan to do stupid things on purpose, so be cautious about what you laugh at on YouTube. Because you just may be encouraging someone to sin. The devising of folly is sin; the Bible says the scoffer is an abomination to mankind. You know the scoffers. I know you do. Right, these are the critical people of the world who complain but don't care to make anything better. They'll tell you everything that's wrong, but they'll never celebrate what's right. They're the scoffers. In the Bible, not me, the Bible says they are an abomination to mankind. They don't make things better, they only make things worse. So, my friends, discern wisely what you are critical of, but have nothing to contribute to. I'm going to say that again. Be careful of what you are critical of but have nothing to contribute to. There is no wisdom in the words of scoffers. They are not life-giving, they are life-sucking. Listen, as the leader and as one of the leaders here, I want to be humble enough to learn from every godly critique that I need to hear it. But so often scoffers are only critical and they just suck the life out of you. They kill relationships, they kill pastors, they kill ministries. But those who are wise, but those who are wise are those who give life by their words, even in words of rebuke. The wise person knows how to rebuke in a way that still gives life. Jesus was the master at this. His words were only life-giving and yet at times we see Jesus push back. We see Jesus rebuke, but he was always life-giving. Why? Because Jesus was the master at listening. He listened to the conversation. He listened to people. Jesus embodied how listening well is leading. He embodied how listening well is life-giving. Jesus is the one who shows us that those who are wise listen well. Of all the reasons I follow this guy, this is definitely one of them. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God the Son, who by his own right didn't have to listen to anyone. There's nothing any one of us could say to Jesus that would add value to what he already knows. Jesus didn't need or have to listen to everyone and yet he listened with intention. He listened carefully. He listened compassionately. His response was always wise. Even his rebuke, his words were life-giving because they always came off the heels of listening. If you want life-giving words, turn to Jesus, which is why we all need to ask ourselves right now, who are you listening to and are you listening to the words of the one who has the words of life, Jesus? I wanna end by kind of just looking at a quick story from the Bible real quick. And this is where Jesus has kind of amassed like a following. And he is talking about, he's introducing the concept of communion. And he's talking about how we need to have his life in us. And Jesus goes like real gritty, real vivid imagery here. He says that we need to have his life in us. And the way that we have that is that we actually eat his flesh and drink his blood. Okay, as gritty and vivid imagery as possible. And there's a bunch of people who are following Jesus, who love him, who are like, whoa. I wanna read to you the response. This is from John 6. It says, when many of his disciples heard this, they said, this is a hard saying, who can listen to it? And after this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus turned to the 12 and said to them, do you want to go away as well? And Simon Peter answered him, Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. My friend, my friend's life, true life is found in listening, listening to the words of Jesus, whose words were not just life, but eternal life. This is the gospel that Jesus died on the cross in our place for our sins, but that wasn't the end. In His resurrection, He was raised to new life. This is the promise and the guarantee of our new life, eternal life when we believe in the gospel. And the gospel, you know this, the gospel is the good news. You hear the news, you listen to the news, you receive news. So believing in Jesus is listening and receiving the good news of salvation in His name. And Jesus Himself even said in Matthew 7, 24, Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Amen. Would you please stand. As we prepare our hearts for worship, I want to preface something here for a moment. We're going to sing one of my favorite songs to Old Hymn called Come Thou Fount. And I want to read to you some of the words from this song. It says, Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace. We need to sit in a posture where we are reflecting on what God has done for us, what Jesus has done for us, and what the Spirit's doing through us, and we let Him tune our hearts to His goodness, knowing that our salvation is by grace, the grace of God. So as we sing, we're coming into conformity with God's plan for us, with God's good and loving salvation plan for us. So if you are a saved Christian, then you best be singing out loud. And if you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior yet, He's inviting you today, and I'd love to help you with that. Come find me, let's talk. And we can find how you can have life, not just life to the full, but life eternal. So Father God, as we come before you now, Lord, we sing unto your glory in the name of Jesus by the power of the Spirit, we do ask, Lord, that you would tune our hearts to sing thy grace. Fill this place with your Spirit that we may lift up praises to you, our God, who hears and listens because of the blood of Jesus Father you're so good to us and we're so thankful help us now even if we are weak to respond in worship to you God we love you and we thank you we pray this in to respond in worship to you God we love you and we thank you we pray this in Jesus name and everyone say amen and amen

Sermon Discussion Questions 1 Title Sunday, October 20, 2024 Take Courage 2 Chronicles 15:8-15 Make Covenant 2 Overview Main Idea: God calls us to make covenant with Him! Sermon Outline: 1. Remove ungodly influence (vv8-9) 2. Renew heart-filled faith (vv10-13) 3. Remember we are God's! (vv14-15) 3 Pre-Questions What comes to mind when you hear the word “covenant”? How does this concept differ from a simple promise or agreement? Reflect on a biblical covenant that stands out to you (e.g., Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, or New Covenant). How did God initiate and fulfill that covenant? 4 Questions Covenants throughout the Bible show God’s commitment to His people. How does God’s covenantal faithfulness provide security in your own relationship with Him? How can reflecting on God’s covenants help you trust Him more in your current challenges? How does understanding that we are part of a New Covenant through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 8:6) influence your daily walk with God? What are practical ways you can renew or deepen your commitment to live faithfully within the covenant of grace God offers? Is there an area of your life where you sense God is calling you to “make a covenant” or recommit yourself to Him, such as a new direction in ministry, personal holiness, or community involvement? What steps can you take this week to live out the commitments you’ve made to God in your personal covenant with Him? PDF Download

Gold; Jesus is King Sermon Series: Fit for a King Ryan DB Kimmel Lead Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: John 18:33-37, Matt 2:11 Transcript Today is the day that the Lord has made. So let us rejoice and be glad in it. And all the faithful said with all their heart, Amen. Amen. So here we are. Yes, the first week of Advent. And I thought we'd, as we continue through this Christmas season, let's start with a little, a little brain game to get you guys, get your minds working here this morning. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to read part of the lyrics of a Christmas song. And as soon as it registers what song it is, tell your neighbor the name of the song. Okay? You don't got to wait till I'm done reading. Just as soon as you recognize the song, tell your neighbor what song it is. Okay, ready? We'll start very easy. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room and heaven and nature sing. What is it? Joy to the world. Very easy, okay, here we go. If you're in first service, you don't get to answer this next one. Next one, here we go. I can see me now on Christmas morning, creeping down the stairs. Oh, what a joy and what a surprise when I open up my eyes to see my hippo hero standing there. I want a hippopotamus for Christmas. Did the hippo part not give it away? All right, let's dig a little deeper here. Let nothing you dismay. Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day to save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray. And that is, God rest ye merry gentlemen. Alright last one. Who has gotten none of them so far? Anybody want to call out their neighbor and say not one? Okay. Last one. Born a king on Bethlehem plain, gold I bring to crown him again, king forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign. And that is a line from We Three Kings. Did you know that the song We Three Kings is of course based off the story from scripture where baby Jesus or the child Jesus is visited by, well, we three kings, although the Bible doesn't say they were kings and the Bible doesn't say there was three of them. So it's wrong on two accounts. What we have is a visit from what the Bible says the wise men or the magi doesn't specifically say they were kings, although they do give Jesus a kingly gift in the gift of gold. And we're going to get into all the gifts given in this series, but make no mistake about one thing. These wise men knew that Jesus was a king. Matthew 2, verse 2 says this, says, when they came to Jerusalem, they asked, where is he who has been born the king of the Jews. For we saw his star when it rose and we have come to worship him." Now, they came with a kingly gift of gold, but here's the reality. I think you don't have to be a Christian. I think it's fairly common knowledge to know what the three gifts were that the wise men gave. Say it with me. Gold and frankincense and myrrh that comes right out of scripture. Matthew chapter 2 verse 11 says, and going into house, they, the wise men, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. They did what they said they're going to do. Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Now, if you listen to the full lyrics of the song, We Three Kings, it says something interesting about each of the gifts that were given to Jesus. The song, what it does, it actually picks up on something that theologians and commentators have been doing for hundreds of years. And that, what they did was they look at the gifts given to Jesus as symbolic of unique aspects of who Jesus is. Gold represents Jesus as King frankincense points to Jesus as God and mer points to Jesus as Savior that's what we're going to be doing with this series over the next three weeks today we're gonna be looking at how gold signifies Jesus as King next week probably the most controversial of all of the messages we'll look at how frankincense pulls out the reality that Jesus is God and then pastor Kevin Harney will join us in a couple weeks and teach us on how Murr shows us that Jesus is Savior. But I need to say one thing and I need to make it very, very clear. Let me make something very clear. Otherwise, my Presbyterian friends will get all over me. So here's what I want to say. The Bible never actually draws that direct connection. The Bible never says gold means king. Frankincense means God. The Bible never actually says that. That's something commentators and Christians have done out of tradition over the centuries. But Jesus as King, Jesus as God, Jesus as Savior are very profound themes in Scripture. So we're going to have a little fun with the gifts as we look at these very real aspects of who Jesus is. But I do need to make a mention the Bible never draws that connection, although the Bible does say Jesus is King God and Savior as we'll look at. So today, the gift of gold and how it points to Jesus as our King. Would you please turn in your Bibles to John chapter 18. John chapter 18, we'll look at verses 33 to 37. Now listen, I know that it's Christmas time. I know here we are the first Sunday of Advent, but rather than looking at the birth of Christ, what we're going to do here today is we're going to look at the end of Jesus' life, actually just hours before he is killed and crucified, when during his trial, Jesus is brought before the governor of Judea, a man I'm sure whose name you've heard before, Pontius Pilate. Alright, so as you turn in there, here's the scene. You really got to get the scene in your mind here. Jesus has been arrested. He's been falsely accused of blasphemy and trying to start a revolt against Rome. Remember Rome had occupied the land. And so what the, so the Jewish religious leaders, they whip up the crowd into a frenzy and the Jewish leaders with this mob, they bring Jesus to the governor during this like fake trial. Why do they bring Jesus to the governor? Well, it's because they wanted to put Jesus to death and they couldn't legally do it. They needed the occupiers. They needed the ruling body to consent to the capital punishment for Jesus. So they bring Jesus to pilot because they want pilot to sentence Jesus to death. And so pilot is standing there and he's got these religious leaders pressuring him. He's got the mob that's been whipped up to a frenzy. And then he has this man, Jesus, standing here, and Pilate's trying to figure out what he's supposed to do. And so what he does is he pulls Jesus into his headquarters and he wants to talk to Jesus to find out what's going on. And that's where we're gonna pick up in our story. So would you hear God's word? John 18:33-37 33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?”35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?”36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” This is God's word. Let's pray and we'll continue. Let's pray. Father God in heaven above, Lord, we thank you for the start of Advents, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, your son and our savior. Father, we ask here now by the power and presence of your Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, would you be with us now as we look and see that Jesus is not just born, but he's the newborn King. And it's in his name that we pray. And everyone said, amen. All right, church, here we are. Week one of Advent, and as we look at today's passage, here's a main idea that I want you to bring throughout the entire Advent series, and it's this. Here's your main point for this morning. King Jesus deserves everything from us, yet He gave up everything for us. And to drive this point home here this morning, as we look at our passage, just two points I want to draw from Scripture here this morning. It'd be these two. 1. Our King doesn't answer our questions, rather He tells us the truth. And by the way, that's better. Our King doesn't answer our questions, rather he tells us the truth. 2. Our King doesn't give in to pressure, rather, He fulfills his purpose. And Church, before we get going here, let me just say one thing real quickly. the notion of Jesus as King really just mean to you that Jesus has some sort of authority, but it has no bearing on your life. When we talk about Jesus as King, that means he's in charge, not just of our destiny, but of our daily life. Daily, we lay down everything before him, just as those wise men do. We bow down and worship him. We do this not monthly, not weekly. We do this daily with every moment of our lives. So when we talk about Jesus as King, please remember that means he's in charge, not us. And so, in our world, we don't trust people who have authority. We don't trust mainstream media, and we are increasingly losing trust in our government leaders. Why so much loss of trust? Well, it's because we don't think they're telling us the truth. And it's hard to trust those who we don't think are telling us the truth. And yet, here's one thing our passage tells us. Jesus, what he does is tell us the truth. This is why we trust him. 1. Our King doesn't answer our questions, rather He tells us the truth So let's look at our passage here. Pilate calls Jesus aside. Remember, religious leaders pressuring him, the mobs in a frenzy. Pilate calls Jesus aside and he says, are you the king of the Jews? And Jesus, in perfect Jesus fashion, answers his question with, you guessed it, a question. But I'll tell you now, the power behind the questions Jesus asks, we always underestimate. Something very profound is going on here. See, we think that Jesus is avoiding the question, but by doing this, what Jesus is doing is bringing out deeper levels of truth. So Jesus responds with a question, not because he's trying to divert the question, not because he's stalling and not because he doesn't know the answer. Rather, Jesus answers a question with a question to get us to think and not just think, but think deeper. We so often come with just surface level questions, but the wealth and knowledge and wisdom of Jesus is rich and deep and he wants to bring us there. He doesn't answer our questions. He tells us the truth. And so when we ask him a question, he responds with the truth to bring us deeper. So pilot says, are you the king of the Jews? And Jesus is like, so are you asking me because that's a question for all of us. Your knowledge of Jesus, is that something you've found? Or is that something you got from someone else? Too often in our world, we are developing our theology from snarky memes. We're getting our notion of Jesus from the comment section on social media, or our news outlets or podcasts, rather than diving into scripture and see who Jesus himself has revealed himself to be. So Jesus says, where'd you get this from? Are you asking or do you get it from someone else? And so Pilate, because Pilate's not in a posture to listen, he immediately snaps back and says, am I a Jew? Am I a Jew? I don't know you. Your own people brought you to me. I don't know anything about you." And then he asked Jesus this powerful and very important question. It's a question that really illuminates what's going on here. Pilate asked Jesus, what have you done? And I love how Jesus responds. I just love how Jesus responds in verse 36, my kingdom is not of this world. He's not answering a question. He's telling the truth. That's what Jesus does. He says, if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews, but my kingdom is not from the world. It's like Jesus is saying, I am a king in ways you cannot begin to comprehend. You only think about kingdoms through your earthly way. I have a better and bigger and more spiritual way. Jesus says, I don't play by your rules. I'm not here to destroy cities or to oppress people. And then Jesus shares what he is here to do. But check this out. You have to remember the context here. Pilot is trying to decide whether or not he's going to give Jesus the capital punishment Pilate is trying to figure out am I gonna put this man to death or am I gonna let him go? Pilate seems like he's the one in authority, but yet Jesus is the one who's in charge Jesus will not get bullied here. This leads to our second point. 2. Our King does not give in to pressure, rather He fulfills his purpose. So Jesus says, my kingdom's not of this world. And then Pilate, who still does not see the spiritual significance to what's happening, pressures him more, but Jesus does not give in. Look at verse 37. Then Pilate said to him, so you are a king. And Jesus answered, you say that I'm a king. Okay, now we need to time out here. Like, this is such an important passage that people use to try to say that Jesus is lying or Jesus never spoke the truth or that Jesus never said he was king. It's because people don't understand what's actually happening here. Okay, so Jesus says, you say that I'm a king. See, listen to me. Jesus is not avoiding the question and he's not giving a non-answer. Let's make it clear. Let's make it so clear. Jesus is not denying that he's a king. There's something much larger and immediate happening here. You see, what was going on here was Pontius Pilate was caught in a terrible spot. See, Pilate, he wants to appease the crowd. He's being pressured by the cultural religious leaders at the time, but he also does not want to condemn Jesus if Jesus is innocent. And so Pilate is pressuring Jesus to give him a clear answer. Pilate wants Jesus to say the words, I am a king. And you know what I'm willing to bet? You want him to as well. You want Jesus to say, I am king. You want Jesus to say, I am God. You want Jesus to say, I am a Savior. When Jesus is bringing out something so much richer and deeper than just these surface level answers. There's a profound moment going on here with literally all of humanity hangs in the balance. You say that I'm a King. Now listen, Pilate wants Jesus to say the words, I am a king. Why? Here's why. Because that would make Pilate's job a whole lot easier. If Jesus would just say the words, I am a king, then Pilate would have his proof to accuse him of staging an insurrection against Rome and be able to hand him over to death with a clear conscience. But Jesus isn't going to play ball here. Jesus doesn't give in to pressure. Yes, Pilate had the power to hand Jesus over to death, and it may seem like Pilate has all the control here, but he doesn't. Jesus is the one. Jesus is the one in control. Jesus is the one who's going to tell the truth. He's not going to answer questions. Jesus already said if he wanted to put a stop to this, he very well could have. He could have called down angel armies to stop it right then and there if he wanted. But Jesus, because He's in control, He's allowing this to continue because that is Jesus' purpose. Jesus is on mission, fulfilling His mission. This is why He was born. To die on the cross for our sins. Jesus is allowing this to continue because he is fulfilling his purpose. He is fulfilling his mission, which he was about to do in a matter of hours. So Pilate says, so you are a king. And Jesus says, you say that I'm a king. Again, Jesus doesn't answer our questions. He tells us the truth. He doesn't answer Pilate because he does not answer to Pilate. Pilate says, so you're king then and Jesus is like, if you say that, if that's what you say, and then Jesus gives this beautiful, epic response. And Church, if you think this passage sounds too much like Easter, let me just say right now, this is a Christmas verse if there ever was one. Look what Jesus says at the end of verse 37. Jesus says, for this purpose I was born, and for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. Church, our King doesn't give into pressure. Rather, he fulfills his purpose. And you notice, Jesus puts this in two different ways. He says, for this purpose, number one, I was born, and for this purpose, number two, I have come into the world see I think Jesus is pointing both both to his humanity the fact that he was born a human child but he's also pointing to his divinity the fact that he came from heaven to the earth that he came into this world this is why we call Jesus both God and man or as theologians have said throughout the ages he's the God man the God man is represented in that little baby in your nativity set. Now, if you've been at Peace before, you've seen this picture. I showed it before, but this is one of the nativity sets that my family has up in our house. In fact, this one we have set up all year long in our display case. This is a very special nativity set to me. My grandmother hand-painted this set. And so you'll know which one of my children is the favorite because that's the one who will get this when I die. So my grandmother hand painted this set and we have it set up all year long. And when I look at this little child, yes my grandmother painted a Scandinavian child. Jesus was much more brown than what this is reflected of. But either way, that child and the one that you have set up, that's representative of the King. That's the God-man. That's the one who left heaven to come to earth to save you and to save me. This is the Son of God who left His throne in heaven to be born a baby boy in that little manger. He left a seat of gold surrounded by angels to be born in a manger of straw surrounded by farm animals. And He did this for you, and He did this for me. This is our King. He's our newborn King. And let me tell you, our King doesn't answer our questions. Rather, He tells us the truth And second our king doesn't give into pressure. He fulfills his purpose So back to our story what happens? Well, Jesus is before Pilots and Jesus could have given pilot answers to get out of the situation to save his own life He could have said no governor. I'm not a king. I don't know why i'm here. I'm completely in this They're doing this to me. Jesus could have gotten out of this, but he doesn't. And when we see this interaction, people want to say, Oh, Jesus is avoiding the question. Are you kidding me? Jesus could have gotten out of that situation either by calling down angel armies or given the answer pilot wanted to hear avoiding the question, not in the least our King, he's embracing his purpose in this mission. In this moment, his purpose was to bring the truth, the truth that he came to die for the sins of the world, for the sins of his people. And so we all know what happens is that Pilate gives in to pressure, and he sentences Jesus to both torture and crucifixion. And Jesus, our King who deserves everything from us, gave up everything for us. Christ died on the cross for our sins, taking our punishments. The punishment for our sins, the punishment our sins deserve. I wonder, how many times have you seen those movies where you've got this king in his shiny armor, sitting on his high horse, sitting on some hill, wearing armor that will never actually see battle as this king oversees a war happening of his own soldiers fighting battles. You ever seen this? I tell you what, that couldn't be the opposite of our Lord. That is so the opposite. See, Jesus stepped into our place. He left his high horse, he left his throne in heaven, stepped into the battle to fight it for us, to take the victory over our sins. Jesus stepped into the world to win us back, and that first step was being born at Christmas So that nativity scene you best believe that means something That means something amazing For your daily life and for your destiny Jesus being born at Christmas This is our King coming to save us in The King who is in the cradle in Bethlehem is the King who would be on the cross in Jerusalem Hanging there to win us back. So let me leave you with one challenge as we prepare our hearts for both the Advent season, but also communion here this morning. This Christmas, This Christmas, don't listen to the lies of our culture. Don't listen to the ads trying to sell you something. Don't listen to your emotions in the heat of a moment. Don't listen to that inner voice that wants you to believe that what you've done makes you beyond saving. This Christmas, listen to the voice of truth, the voice of your King. When things come and it seems confusing, or things come and it strikes fear into your heart, or you're just filled with anxiety because of the quote-unquote holiday. Don't listen to any of that. Listen to the voice of your King, because that's the voice of truth. Jesus says, everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. In our world, to our world, this must be one of the most offensive things that anyone could say, yet Jesus says it to the person who has the power to put him to death and by extension the Holy Spirit says this to us all. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice, the voice of Jesus. So church, listen to him. Listen to his voice. Listen to his teaching. Listen to him and follow him. And so one last time, let me give you lyrics of a song, see if you can figure out what song it is. Again, as soon as you know it, share it with your neighbor. One last time, here we go. Born by people to deliver, born a child and yet a king, born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring. And that song is Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. Church, during this Christmas time, as you listen to Christmas songs, here's what I want you to do. As you listen to Christmas songs, I want you to listen to how many Christmas songs and Christmas carols actually talk about Jesus as King, because it's all over the place. And whenever you hear that, I want you to think during this Christmas, Lord, this is a call for me to listen to the voice of my King, the voice of truth. And as you listen to the voice of your King, be reminded that King Jesus deserves everything from us, yet he gave up everything for us. Amen. Would you bow your heads that we might spend a moment preparing our hearts for communion? Father, we come before you, and just like those wise men did, we want to bow down and worship our King. Father, we come before you here and now, thankful yet again that we can gather as your people. Father, that we might be reminded of the gospel as we touch, taste, and see the gospel through communion. Father, I pray, Lord, as your sons and daughters, we would take this meal with grateful hearts, reminded again that our King came to save us and it started on that Christmas morning. So Father, I pray now by the power and presence of your Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, would you be with us now, illuminating in our hearts, reminding us again of the great sacrifice of our Lord as we receive with thanksgiving the gift of communion. It's in Jesus' name we pray. And everyone said, Amen. Amen.

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3 Tips For Your Christmas Series Ministry Ryan DB Kimmel Lead Pastor Peace Church Published On: November 10, 2023 As a pastor who connects with other pastors, there are a few things I know to be true about this most wonderful time of the year. We love Christmas, and when we are honest, we kind of dread it too. We love it because we are celebrating something incredibly powerful, the incarnation of our Lord and Savior. We love it because it’s a great chance to welcome visitors to our church, but we dread it because there is so much work that comes with it. We dread it because when it comes to the Christmas message, it can feel like the same thing year after year… How do we keep the Christmas sermon series both true to the message, but also feeling fresh enough to where we can approach it with renewed energy? Here are some thoughts as we approach Christmas each year… 1. It’s Christmas. Yes, focus on it! You may get sick of preaching the same story year after year, but your church doesn’t get sick of hearing it. Or worse, the over-commercialization of Christmas has turned you off to a Christmas focus. You may be tempted to use this time to focus on something else you’re itching to preach on, but don’t stray from the birth of Christ. Not only is the incarnation a critical aspect of Christian theology, but it’s a tenet of our faith that doesn’t get enough attention, so don’t miss the change to detail this beautiful theology. Christmas is a unique time where the hopeless world is looking for hope, so don’t forget to show the lost world the power of hope that Christmas brings! I spoke to an unbelieving neighbor of mine who went to church (not the church I am pastoring, but a different one) for a Christmas series. She told me she just wanted to hear what Christmas really meant and if hope was possible in this world. But instead of the birth of Christ, this pastor used the Christmas season to talk about Jesus challenging the chief priests. I’ll never forget her words when she said, “I went to church on Christmas to hear what Christmas was all about, but instead I learned that Jesus debated religious people…” This, to me, just sounded like the pastor was using pulpit time to get something off his chest rather than a time to give the people something they needed to hear. This first point is simple: It’s Christmas – focus on Christmas, not because it’s the commercial season, but because people need to hear the Christmas story. 2. Don’t try to be so creative that you forget the actual Christmas message! Here is what I have fallen prey to when I’ve come to write a Christmas series: I get tired of saying the same thing every year at Christmas, so I try to be so creative with the Christmas message that I’ve missed the point entirely. The truth is, there is so much to Christmas that you can be very creative and still share the simple message that God came to earth. Whether through surveying the Old Testament prophecies that point to Christmas or hearing the news of Christmas through each of the major players of the nativity scene, Christmas doesn’t need to be re-envisioned; it simply needs to be retold. Here are samples of some of our previous Christmas series. Vintage Christmas This series is about how the old and already fulfilled prophecies of Christmas still show us something new. We had vintage-themed branding, and we set up our lobby with Christmas trees decorated with the different styles of the decades. Home for the Holidays In this series we blended the Christmas series with a family focus as we looked at how Christmas is not something for your family just to survive, but how it’s a time to thrive. We did an expositional walkthrough of Matthew 1 as we learned how a family can thrive at Christmas when we (and these were the sermon titles) 1) Remember God’s Plan, when we 2) Receive God’s Son, and when we 3) Recognize God’s presence. *Check out the link for details on this series And when it comes time to plan out your Christmas series, remember this last point: 3. Let your soul be filled by remembering the power of the incarnation. If you are not first finding the joy of Christmas yourself by immersing yourself in the Christmas story, I’m afraid you won’t deliver a message that also fills the souls and the hearts of the people who gather at Christmas. One thing I do is I spend time in the Scriptures reflecting on the birth of Christ, and as I survey the stories and prophecies of Christmas, I look for a word or phrase that the Spirit really highlights for me, and I often use that as the seed for a series. For instance, one year I was reading Luke and came to the line from the angel, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” In that simple phrase are a number of powerful statements that we used to blossom into a full series. Using each of these phrases as a sermon theme for each message in the series, we looked at how Christmas is 1) Good News. It’s the root of the Gospel! We then saw how Christmas brings us 2) “Great Joy” and then we looked at how Christmas is an invitation to 3) “All people” to come see and believe in the newborn King. God used this series to bless hundreds of people and it started when the Holy Spirit highlighted those words for me as I sat and read the story of Christmas, being filled personally in my own soul. You cannot pour out what you have not been filled with, so fill yourself with the powerful message of Christmas! So, no matter if you listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving, or if you can’t stand it even on Christmas Day, the birth of Christ is a momentous time that we should be eager to announce. I pray these tips are helpful to you, what else would you add? Also, I’d love to hear what series you’ve come up with – contact me and let’s share more ideas. More Blogs You'll Like What Is a Deacon? Exploring the Role, Qualifications, and Purpose of Deacons in the Church Read More What Is An Elder? A biblical definition of those who are called to lead Read More Why Church Membership Understanding the Biblical Foundations of Church Membership Read More

Sermon Discussion Questions 1 Title Sunday, November 17, 2024 Obadiah Obadiah 19-21 The Hope of Joy 2 Overview Main Idea: God shakes things up to reveal the hope of joy. Sermon Outline: 1. God changes things to bring conformity to his plan (v19) 2. God redeems people to restore justice to the land (v20) 3. God speaks prophecy to foreshadow salvation to the world (v21) 3 Pre-Questions Think about a time when a major change in your life brought unexpected hope or joy. How did that experience shape your perspective on trusting God’s plan? This ties to the theme of God shaking things up to bring hope and joy. When you hear the word ‘restoration,’ what comes to mind? Why is restoration such an important theme in both the Bible and our personal lives? 4 Questions In verse 19, territories are reassigned according to God’s plan. How does this demonstrate that God’s purposes prevail even in the midst of upheaval? Reflect on Isaiah 55:8-9, where God says His ways are higher than ours. How does this truth help us trust Him when life feels uncertain or shaken? Verse 20 highlights the return of exiles to their rightful places. How does God’s work of redeeming people show His commitment to justice? Read Amos 5:24, which calls for justice to “roll on like a river.” What practical steps can we take as followers of Christ to partner with God in restoring justice in our communities? In verse 21, God’s plan extends beyond Israel to include salvation for all nations. How does this point to the ultimate hope we have in Jesus? Reflect on Revelation 7:9-10, which describes people from every nation worshiping God. How does this promise shape our understanding of God’s global mission and our role in it? How can you respond with faith and hope when God allows changes in your life to conform you to His plan? In what ways can you actively participate in God’s redemptive work in bringing justice and salvation to those around you? PDF Download

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Have Honor Sermon Series: Words To Live By Ryan DB Kimmel Lead Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: Proverbs 24:23-34 Transcript Today is the day that the Lord has made. So let us rejoice and be glad in it. And everyone in every venue said, Amen. My name is Ryan. I'm the lead pastor here at Peace Church. I am blessed to be able to have a front-row seat of what God is doing here. But I want to start off by with this very strong and stark reminder to everyone here. We are here because Jesus Christ rose again. Every other religion's leader is dead, but ours is alive. So here's what I'd say to you, church, don't walk in and don't sit here like dead people. We follow the one who is alive, so you act alive. Are you excited about this day, yes or no? Amen. Church, Jesus is alive, and I know that we are in February and so it seems like Christmas is a distant memory But I want to remind us about what we believe about Jesus that he is God the Son Who left heaven? Came and was born that little boy in that manger. He lived a perfect life So that he could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins So that we wouldn't have to pay the price for our sins. He did that for us upon the cross. And when he went to the grave, he took death with him. But he left the grave and death stayed there so that we could have life. And his resurrection is our guarantee and our promise for a new life in our own hearts, in our lives, in our spirits. And I love what Hebrews 2, verse 9 says about this. I love how the writer of Hebrews puts this. He says, But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, saying that Jesus Christ humbled himself. He left the glory of heaven and was born. He was made lower than the angels. He took on human form. But now, listen to Now he's crowned, he's crowned with glory and honor. And because of the suffering of his death, so that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. What scripture is saying is that Jesus came with a mission. He humbled himself, and when he completed that mission by his death on the cross and his resurrection to new life, and his ascension back to heaven. Yes, he is our humble Savior, but he is crowned with glory. And what was that H word? Did you hear it? Crowned with glory and honor. Honor. And this is available, this salvation is available for everyone who puts their faith in him. But I love what it says here that he was clothed in glory and honor. He was first clothed in humility and coming to earth, but after being victorious, he is now clothed in honor. But the thing about honor is our culture doesn't really talk about that word a whole lot. But we need to. And I want to spend some time today talking about honor. Because Christians, that's what we are called to. As we reflect Christ in this world, we reflect the one who's crowned with glory and honor, and speaking of Hebrews the last chapter verse chapter 13 verse 18 says pray for us for we are sure that we have a clear conscience desiring to act honorably in all things Romans 12 17 says give thought to do what is honorable in the all. So let me ask you a very difficult question. Church, this goes for you. Are you an honorable person? Do you consider honor as a marker of your life and how you conduct yourself in the world? Because honestly, when I look out in our world and I look at the lives of Not sure we're guilty of a lot of honor these days. I mean, people wearing pajamas out in public. Teenagers openly swear without any regard for who's around them. Drag queens reading Story Hour to kindergartners. I mean, you can't even hold a door for a woman anymore without someone accusing you of upholding the patriarchy. It just seems like our culture, in our culture, there's nothing that's universally held in honor or seen as honorable these days. Because everything offends somebody. And so church, we just have to recognize the fact that we're called something different. And as I'm gonna make an argument for today, that something different is to walk in honor. So if you are just joining us today, and I know there's a number of people who are joining us today because of new members and for baptism, so bless you. Thank you for being here if you're visiting with us today. Today we are closing up. We're finishing up a five-part sermon series we've called Words to Live By. Wisdom the world has lost. And this has really just been a verse-by-verse walkthrough of Proverbs chapter 24. So would you go ahead and turn there now? Because we're talking about wisdom right now here at Peace Church because let's just face it in 500 years when they look back at our time they're not going to say that was a group of wise people unless something changes and that something needs to be from and through the church and so as you're turning there let me just say a couple of things. Number one, I'm not claiming to be a wise man. I'm claiming to be a man pursuing wisdom because what I want you to know is that wisdom is available. It's available to us all, and not just conventional wisdom, godly wisdom that has stood the test of time. And it's found in the book of Proverbs. And it's lasted for 3,000 years. The wisdom found in the book of Proverbs predates Plato, predates Confucius and predates English as a language, and yet we're still learning from it. And so, as we close up this series, we're going to look at these verses here. Proverbs 24: 23-34, is the last part of this chapter. And this section really is indicative of what we see throughout the book of Proverbs. It's sort of a potpourri of wise sayings, just seemingly these randomly wise sayings. But as we read this passage together, I'm wondering, could you pick up a common theme? Like what's a thread? Yes, it's wisdom, but is there another thread that's woven through this passage? Let's read it and let's find out together. And so would you hear the word of the Lord, Proverbs 24. We'll start at verse 23 and we'll head to the rest of the chapter. Would you hear God's Word? 23 These also are sayings of the wise. Partiality in judging is not good. 24 Whoever says to the wicked, “You are in the right,” will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations, 25 but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them. 26 Whoever gives an honest answer kisses the lips. 27 Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house. 28 Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips. 29 Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.” 30 I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, 31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. 32 Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. 33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. This is God's word. Let's pray and let's continue. Let's pray. Father God in heaven above, Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth, and all wisdom and all truth are yours. So we humbly ask in the name of Jesus that by the power of the spirit and by the truth of your word that you would grant us wisdom this morning, that we'd be people marked by a heavenly honor and godly wisdom in a world of darkness. It's for your glory that we pray these things. Amen and amen. So I'm just going to say right off the bat, today is a meat and potatoes type sermon. Today is just one of those meals that we need to have and just consume to stay healthy and spiritually alive. I know we like to hit on hot topics at Peace Church, and we're not afraid to venture into that realm, but sometimes we just need to have a healthy meal. And I think that's what this section of Proverbs gives us this morning. So again, as we look at this collection of wise sayings, again, there are so many descriptors I think that we could say about this passage, but if there's one thing that I think is a unifying word that hits both the general thrust of this section but also hits at what is severely lacking in our day it would be honor and so the words to live by today if I could give you two words it'd be this have honor for those who walk in Christ have the honor and to have a heavenly honor we need a godly wisdom and that's something that we're going to talk about today. So here's the outline, if you'd like that ahead of time. Here's where we're going with this section. Wise people live honorably. And honorable people create a blessed example, they create a better society, and they create a beautiful life. Blessed example, a better society, and beautiful life. So let's look at our first section here. Honorable people create a blessed example. Christians in the house, you are to set a good example for the church and for the world. Your life, yes, is on display and you need to be setting a good example. Let me just give you a selection of scripture here real quick. 1 Timothy 4:12 speaks to the youth in the church and it says, let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example. You saw that just now With all of our youth making profession of faith and getting baptized and coming to Jesus and declaring their faith They're setting an example for the rest of us 1 Thessalonians 1: 6-7. The Apostle Paul commends the Christians there because he says this you became Imitators of us and the Lord so that you became an example to all believers. Philippians 3:17 says keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 1 Peter 5:3 tells the elders of the church that they are to set an example quote not domineering over those in their charge, but being examples to the flock of course our greatest example is Jesus Christ himself, 1 Peter 2:21 says, For to this you have been called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you might follow in his steps. Christians, when we are honorable people, we create a blessed example. And these three verses show us some markings of this. The first thing that we see is that honorable people create a blessed example marked by fairness. Please keep your Bibles open in front of you today. Proverbs 24, verse 23, look at what it says. It says these are also the sayings of the wise, partiality in judging is not good. Brothers and sisters, do you know how much that statement just confronts everything about our world right now? I mean, everyone, both sides of the aisle need to be deeply challenged by this right here and right now. This is about fairness. And you know how this plays out in our society? This plays out by being fair, by looking at the facts of the matter. Not letting our emotions get the best of us, but looking at the facts of the matter. Not that we don't have compassion. We most certainly do. Christians are called to have compassion, but our judgment is not influenced by narrative, by hype, or what is trending at the moment, we are to look at the facts, not show partiality. And let me just say something here that's probably gonna get me somewhere between canceled and crucified. We are not to show partiality to those who are marginalized or to those who are powerful. We are to judge by the truth of the matter because Christians are people of truth. Yes, love. Yes, compassion. Yes, empathy. But we judge not with partiality, but by truth. Wise people who judge fairly because we are people of the truth. So I would say this to you, my friends, be cautious of the news and the media that you get, that they're not partial in their judgment, thereby making you partial in yours. Because wise people are people who are fair. The other marker of being a blessed example, yes, is fairness, but it's also integrity. Keep your Bibles open, verses 24 and 25. Whoever says to the wicked, you are in the right, will be cursed by peoples abhorred by nations. Abhorred means really hated. But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight and a good blessing will come upon them. So our integrity stems from our wisdom and our honor, wisdom, and honor that guard against taking part in what is wicked, even if what is wicked is celebrated and popular or powerful. Rather, we take a stand for what is right in this world even when no one else does. Even when it leads you to be canceled. Because this is called integrity and God blesses that. Which is why we can say we are to be a blessed example. So fairness, integrity, and the third thing we see here is honesty. Honesty. Go back to verse 26. This is an important one to make sure you don't misinterpret here. Verse 26, whoever gives an honest answer kisses the lips. So obviously there's an imagery going on here. This sign of truthfulness has levels of intimacy and love. Because when you don't share the truth with someone, you might be kissing the other end, either out of envy, jealousy, or fear. But we are people who communicate truth, and that's like kissing the lips, which means it must be done in intimate ways, in loving ways. If your truth feels like a slap on the face, you're not doing it right. And I'm not saying the truth doesn't sting, but I'm saying our approach must be like a kiss on the lips. So Christians here's a challenge for us. We need to be able to receive honest critique and we need to be able to give it. Meaning we need to be able to have and handle those awkward conversations that we need to hear and have at times. So, friends, have friends who will have those conversations with you. If your friends never share things that you never want to hear, I wonder how deep your conversations really are. An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. Let me just say this real quick, and this one is especially I'd say for maybe the married people here. Everything that's said needs to be true, but not everything that's true needs to be said. Wisdom helps to determine when and what you say, especially when you say it. And so when we do speak, make sure it's true and as intimate as a kiss on the lips, meaning it's done in love, not a weak and deceptive way like you're kissing, again, the other end. Because Christians, we are to follow the example we have in Christ. So honorable people create a blessed example marked by fairness, integrity, and honesty. And honorable people also create a better society. If I can say that, I'm going to say that. Let's talk about what we mean. If you want to know if honor is a part of your society and just look at your culture? Do we show that we demonstrate honor? That we value honor? Because honestly, I don't see much of it these days. And I'm not saying there are not sparks of hope out there, we're all still made in the image of God, capable at times of doing great and godly things for one another. But do we even smile at each other anymore? Are we teaching our kids how to act in public? I mean, dads, are you teaching your sons about the respectful nod to another man? What's up? Or, that's what you say to a peer, or to another man out of respect. Because men are to respect other men. Like, are we teaching our kids, especially our sons, like when a lady enters the room, you stand up because we honor women? Do we have honor as a value in our society I think a lot of us will say, well, that feels old-fashioned. Does that make it bad? Don't we want to be a society that has more honor? Honoring others out in public is just another way that we love our neighbor and create a better society. And wise and honorable people know this. Let's look at the picture that Solomon paints for the type of man that he wants his son to be. Again, Solomon wrote and compiled the book of Proverbs. He says he wrote it to his son. Let's break this down. What are some markers of this? Honorable people create a better society marked by responsibility. Look at verse 27. It says, prepare your work outside. Get everything ready for yourself in the field and after that build your house. Okay, so what Solomon is saying here is actually quite simple. Don't overcomplicate this. Yes, he's speaking from an agricultural society, but again, don't overcomplicate this. What he's saying is to take care of first things first. He's saying to live within your means. He's saying to be a responsible person. Live according to the reality of your life. Buy what you can afford. Make sure that your home is relative to your income. Make sure that your farm is appropriate to the amount of land that you own. And listen to me. I know this goes against the American dreamer spirit. I mean, I was that 22-year-old who left everything and moved to Nashville to be a songwriter. This goes against the American dreamer spirit here, but responsible people create a better society. And I am not saying, please hear me on this, I am not saying don't be a dreamer, but I am saying don't be a fool. And sometimes our world confuses those two. I'm not saying don't be a dreamer, I'm saying don't be a fool. Because responsible people build a better society. So, get everything ready and then build your house. Which leads to the second thing. First marked by responsibility, but a better society is also marked by justice. Verse 28, be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips. Okay, do you see what this passage is saying here? It's saying don't be a social justice warrior that is quick to condemn everything the media tells you to condemn. It's saying be someone who stands for actual justice in your world. A justice that's not rooted in narrative or talking points, but a justice rooted in truth. Don't be deceptive with your lips. Don't push a false narrative about people or each other. It's like we said earlier, everything that we say needs to be true. It doesn't have to be accepted. But everything we say needs to be true. Because a better society has justice as a defining marker, a justice driven not by deception or bigoted narratives, but justice driven by truth. And I'll tell you what about our society. One thing I know in our world of 24-hour news, we are so quick to hear a story and then jump right to judgment, even though we weren't even there. And I'm not saying that some things aren't obvious at the front, but I am saying that I agree with the Word of God here. Don't be a. Don't be a witness against your neighbor without cause and your assumptions about what you heard are not cause. AKA, don't cast judgment. Let us be honorable people who create a society marked by wisdom, honor, responsibility, and justice, but justice, interesting, goes with this next part, marked by forgiveness. Marked by forgiveness. Look at verse 29. Solomon says to his son, do not say, I will do to him as he has done to me. I will pay the man back for what he has done. So this is interesting here. On the one hand, there's a very clear call for justice, but then right here, there's a clear call for forgiveness. But the honorable wise person can do both and is capable of both. What forgiveness does is it stops the cycle of retribution? The Bible calls us to this take the higher road knowing that ultimately God will tamp God will handle the evildoer this is connected to what Proverbs says early in verse Chapter 20 verse 22 says do not say I will repay evil wait for the Lord and he will deliver you So yes, this is a call to take the higher road, but it's a call to trust God. The evil man does not get away with it in the end. We have the righteous judge who will see to that. Trust God. But we just have to look in the mirror, the mirror of our society, and we have to ask, would we rather live in a society marked by retribution or forgiveness? Look in your own hearts. Would you rather have a life that holds on to bitterness or enjoys the freedom of forgiveness? What would you rather have? Because this final section is a look in the mirror. It's a look in the mirror of our own hearts, seeing if wisdom and honor is there. Because this last section I think shows us that honorable people create a beautiful life marked by contrast, humility, and diligence. First contrast, look at verses 30 and 31. Now I'm gonna tell you before we start reading this passage, this is a very easy one to misapply. So let's just walk through it slowly real quick. It says, I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was overgrown with thorns, and the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Now this may sound like Solomon is looking down on his neighbor, sluggard being, of course, the lazy man. But he's not looking down, he's simply pointing out the obvious to make a point that wise people are in contrast to the sluggards of the world who don't even take ownership of what they have. Honorable people create beautiful life because we take care of what God has given us. Not, oh man please hear me on this, not that we're prim and proper people who keep up with the Joneses who never have dirty windows. That's not what we're talking about here. What we're talking about is not being lazy people. We don't sit on our duffs when there's stuff to do. That's a little bit of a middle proverb there for you. But notice he's talking about a sluggard here, an intentionally lazy person. He's not talking about the single mom working two jobs who can't get around to mopping her floor. It's the sluggards he's drawing a contrast to. And yet, and yet he's humble enough to learn from them. Which is the second marker, humility. In verse 32, he's looking at this slugger, he's looking at this scene, he says, Then I saw it and I considered it, I looked and received instruction. It's not that he walks by him, scoffs at him, says, get a job, and then walks on with his own merry way. He looks, he humbles himself, he looks at the situation, and he says, Lord, what do you want to teach me? He doesn't raise his nose, he doesn't scoff, he looks at this and says, God, what can I learn? I want to be humble enough to learn. And he says, I looked and received instruction. Why? Because honorable people are wise. They create a beautiful life marked by humility, not arrogance, not pride, not entitlement, not self-righteousness, but humility. And humility is many things, but I'll tell you this, humility is the ability to learn from anyone. And that's wise. What we learn, what Solomon learns, and what we need to learn is diligence. Look at 34, 33, and 34. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber and wants like an armed man Basically what Solomon is saying is you let your guard down. You get comfortable with your comfortable life and you could lose it all in a moment In church, I'm here to say to Christians in the house. We've gotten comfortable with our comfortable lives and It's beginning to wash away. And so, the question is, are we going to respond with wisdom and honor or not? Because we are to set an example. We are to show the world that a faith-filled, wise, and honorable life is a beautiful life. It's a beautiful life marked by contrast, humility, and diligence. The question I want to come back to though is what are you living your life by? And is honor part of that? Do you live honorable lives? Because here's the hard truth, here's the reality the Bible tells us. We don't live by honor, we live in a life marked by sin. Following our own desires, not learning from others, but scoffing at them, and doing everything the Bible tells us not to do. We don't have a society that talks about honor. Do you know why? Because we don't want to talk about the opposite of honor, which is dishonor, disgrace, and shame. And yet this is exactly why Jesus Christ came to the world. To take our dishonor and our disgrace. Or to sum it up, he took our sin upon himself, on his own shoulders, as he the shame of the cross. Did you know? Did you know that when they crucified someone, they crucified them naked? Jesus, despite what all the sculptures show, Jesus Christ was crucified naked, and hung up there for all the world to see. See, when we talk about Jesus taking on humility. Like we're not just saying that he was a baby born in a barn. We're saying that this perfectly righteous person was crucified naked, taking your sin and your shame. It should have been you hanging up there naked on the cross for all the world to see. But Jesus took our sin and our shame and paid the price for it so that we wouldn't have to. So that our lives now don't have to be marked by disgrace and dishonor and shame and sin, but it can be marked by righteousness and honor because we are to reflect Christ in the world who took our shame and by doing that was victorious in his mission who is now crowned with glory and honor and that's what he gives to us when we place our faith in him. When we place our faith in Jesus we get his righteousness and now we are to reflect him in the world. So whatever shame you think you have in your life, hear me, Christ paid for that on the cross. So bear your sin and your shame no more. Lay it at the foot of the cross and embrace what Christ has done for you. He did it in love, in faith, in obedience, and in honor. And so, church, as we close up this series and we go forth from here, we need to live differently than the world. And part of that is by having honor. Amen. Would you please stand? Would you bow your heads and pray with me? Father, we come before you here and now. Lord, we come before you. We're thankful, Lord, that Jesus is now crowned with glory and honor because he did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He died the death that we should have died. He paid the penalty that we should have paid. And Father, we agree with Scripture. Help us to live into the passage that says that we are now to look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame. Rising victorious is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. So, Father, I would pray here now, that we would be people who do cast off our sin and shame before the cross, embracing the righteousness of Jesus, looking to Him for our model of honor, and reflecting Him in this world. So Father, as we sing these words, be Thou my vision. Father, I pray that we do not look to the world, we don't look to the American dream, we look to the Savior for how to reflect honor in this world. Be with us now as we lift up these praises to our precious Savior. It's in His name we pray. It's in His name we pray. Amen and amen.

I Am He (Woman at the Well - Part 2 of 3) Sermon Series: It Had to Be Said Ryan DB Kimmel Lead Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: John 4:15-26 Transcript Today is the day that the Lord has made. So let us rejoice and be glad in it. And all of God's people said, Amen. So this summer we are in a sermon series. That's basically what they'd call like a red letter series. We're looking at the words of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus, and we're calling it, it had to be said. As we look at quotes from Jesus Christ that changed the world. And I'll just tell you right now. I know, I know that we love it when things are said that had to be said. Right? I know that we love it, especially in our wacky world right now. We love it when people say the quiet part out loud. Right? Isn't there something kind of refreshing when someone actually says what we're all thinking? You know I'm talking about? I think when we talk about the fact that it had to be said, we generally think, yes, finally, someone said it. We think it's a good thing. But when you look at the words of Jesus, especially when the words of Jesus are like pointed at you, are you so happy to hear things that had to be said? Because here's the hope behind it all. The things that Jesus says, while hard to hear at times, the things that Jesus says always bring us to a better place. Amen? Amen. So in this sermon series, all summer long, we're looking at just the teachings of Jesus. But for the three weeks that I have with you, before I go on sabbatical, I wanted to do within this series a little three-part mini-series looking at the famous interaction that Jesus has with this woman at a well, found in John chapter 4. So we're on week two of three of that. I'm preaching for you this week, I'll preach next week, and then I won't see you for a number of weeks until later in the summer. But right now, would you please turn to John chapter four. If you want to use the Bible as we provided, that's on page 1131. Now last week, we were introduced to the story of Jesus having this encounter with this woman at the well. She's a Samaritan woman. And last week we looked at this powerful declaration that Jesus says that he offers living water. And we talked about like, who gets to offer that? Like who gets to offer that, not deliver and still be considered a good person? See, Jesus is speaking spiritually. That that when we put our faith in him, that what happens is that within us is produced this well a well that constantly is producing fresh spiritual water and so the challenge for us Christians in the house is if we ever feel spiritually dry that's an indication that we've stopped going back to the well of Christ that Christ is have put not just outside of us but within us so Jesus says that he offers this living water and this woman says tell me more about that and that's where we're going to pick up here in our Bibles as we look today. We're going to see that Jesus claims something absolutely groundbreaking amazing Something that should and eventually will get him killed But let's read our passage first. And so would you hear the Word of God? The Gospel of John chapter 4 we will look at verses 15 to 26 today. And so would you hear God's Word? John 4:15-26 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” This is God's Word, let's pray and we'll continue. Let's pray. Father God in heaven above, Lord, we thank you for the truth of your word. We thank you that it fills us, fuels us, and forms us to live more faithfully, joyfully, and ready for you. Holy Spirit, by the power and presence, by your power and presence, we ask that you would be with us here and now, here this morning, helping us not only know and understand these truths, but that we'd be transformed by them into the image of our Savior. And Father, we ask, I ask, Lord, that you'd guard my mouth from teaching or saying anything that is not true, that's not glorifying to you or helpful for the people gathered here this morning. And it's in his name, the name of Jesus, that we pray. And everyone said, Amen. Amen. So we're in this two-part, second part of this three-part miniseries. Part one, we looked at how Jesus reveals that he offers eternal life. And so today we're going to follow up with this simple main point here today and it's this. Jesus reveals he is the Christ. Jesus reveals He is the Christ. If anyone ever says to you that Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah, you bring them right to this very passage here today. So it's a good one to have bookmarked in your Bibles. This is an incredible passage. In it we see that Jesus clearly says that he is the Messiah, he is the Christ. And so let's keep it simple today as we look at this simple truth that Jesus reveals he is the Christ. And as you, as we look at our passage here today, we're gonna pull out three points as we journey through this passage. If you want to know where we're going ahead of time, here's the structure of today's sermon. Jesus reveals he is the Christ, and in the first part we're gonna see that Jesus sees the sinner's hurts. We'll see how Jesus reveals the sinner's hearts. And finally, we'll see that Jesus is the sinner's hope. All right, church, let's learn from our Lord and from the Bible here today. 1. Jesus sees the sinner's hurts. I love this story. This is a awesome, powerful story that gets played out. I hope that you are just diving in. I'm hoping that you're learning this story so that you could go and tell it to someone else because it's so beautiful. Let's just stick to what the Bible says here today. So Jesus says that he's offering living water and this woman, rightly in my mind, responds correctly by saying, she says, sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty or have to come back here to draw water. But then look here, Jesus takes her request and he brings it into a different direction. And this different direction is going to reveal things about herself and about himself. Things that need to be known. Jesus said to her, verse 16, He said, go call your husband and come here. The woman answered him, I have no husband. And then he, he exposes. He looks into her heart, he sees it. He says, for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you've said is true. Now listen, this is, this has got to be a hard truth for this woman. Because here's the reality, I doubt that she's been widowed five times. The truth is that these men used her and then left her. And the one who's with her now doesn't even have the decency to put a ring on her finger. And as we talked about last week, we were reminded that the fact that this woman is coming to the well in the middle of the day by herself culturally shows us this woman's an outcast. If you remember that traditionally in that culture, in that society, women went as a group early in the morning to draw the water while it was still cool in the day. She's going in the middle of the day by herself. She's clearly an outcast in her society. She's not welcomed into the friend group. And then Jesus, and then Jesus basically announces to her, yes, and you've also been bounced around from guy to guy to guy. Listen, in any culture, that would have been embarrassing. In any culture, that would have been hard, very hard for a woman to hear. How painfully obvious the truth of this woman's life is coming to the forefront. She's been with five guys and the guy now doesn't even love her enough to marry her. How lost and how hurt this woman must have felt here in that moment. No one to care for her, no one to take care of her, no one to love her, no one to even befriend her. No friends, no social circles, no one to walk and talk and get water with, a track record of constantly choosing the wrong guy. And let me just tell you right now, church, if you're thinking in your heart right now, well, I would have been a friend to her. No, you wouldn't have. Don't make yourself the hero of this story. You're not. You would have rejected her just like everyone else did. There's a reason she was completely alone. And Jesus calls this out. He says, the guy's now, it's not even your husband. Where is he? It would have been very, very easy for this woman to feel judged by what Jesus just announces. But I want you to see that even though Jesus sees into her hurt, and in a sense, he's revealing her heart, we'll get to in a second. 2. Jesus reveals the sinner's heart. I want you to see how Jesus, he has such an open and honest conversation about her past, about her sin, yet he does this without condemnation, without judgment. You're gonna see how Jesus masterfully, carefully speaks to this woman, and for me, I'll just tell you right now, this is like a master class in being a pastor. He is pastoring this woman right now, and yes, pastors need to have hard conversations about people's real sin. But you'll see that one of the things that makes this woman so distinct, it's that she's willing to talk about her sin. She's being honest with Jesus. I think some of us here, love you, some of us here, you come here with a church face. And if that wasn't even enough, you put on your church face when you pray. You don't even take the church face off to have an honest conversation when it's just you and Jesus alone in the quiet of your room and praying. And yet this woman, an outcast rejected by literally everyone, is showing us what it's like to encounter Christ. Because she's being open and honest and real. And Jesus speaks to her, and in ways that many of us will feel judged, but yet Jesus doesn't judge her. In fact, he is calling out her sin, but he's going to call her to something better. Why? Because Jesus is the true shepherd. He's bringing out painful truths, and in doing so, Jesus is going to show her that yes, he sees her hurt, but he won't judge her. He's calling her to something even better. Jesus commends her honesty. And I think for many of us, we probably do judge that woman. But I'll tell you right now, as a pastor, I sit with many people who simply won't recognize their own sin. Who don't and won't and refuse to acknowledge they have any faults. And I'm telling you right now, as a pastor, my ability to pastor people goes as far as they are willing to be honest with me. And that's what we see here with Christ. Your relationship with Christ will only go as far as you're willing to be open and honest with Him. And this woman is so honest with Christ. And Jesus, the Christ, God incarnate, the Son of God, speaking to her, sees into her hurt, has an open and honest conversation about her sin, and yet she doesn't feel judged. That's a powerful, powerful statement, that you can call out sin without seeming like a judgmental jerk. Guarded my word there for a second. Again, some of you need to have this level of heart-to-heart with Christ. Jesus is seen into this sinner's hurts, and He sees into ours as well. There's a reason that you need to be honest with Christ, it's because He sees you anyway. The reason we've got to be open and honest with Christ because he sees into our heart anyway. He knows our past and yet he still approaches us with such a pastor's heart. I love this beautifully raw conversation where Jesus reveals that he sees into our hurts. Listen to me, my friends. Jesus sees us truly before we see him fully, and yet he still seeks to rescue us. I can't tell you a better reason why you need to follow him. I can't tell you a better reason why you need to lay down your life for him. He is the King on high, stepped down into his creation to save us when we didn't deserve it, and yet rescues us, and then welcomes us into his kingdom where he sits enthroned where we are welcomed as sons and daughters into his kingdom forever. I don't know why you would pass on that. So don't accept what Christ has offered to us. You get a God, you get the best pastor, you get a friend, and you get to be with the King. And this is a king who sees into our hurt, but he also reveals our hearts so so this woman Her sin and her life has been brought wide out into the open and mind you we're reading this 2,000 years later billions of people have read this woman's story. Her story has been known Jesus reveals that he sees into her heart that he sees her hurt, but he sees into her heart and he also sees the sin that's there. Right? He's not condoning her past. He's exposing that it's sin and her heart is riddled with sin, but she quickly realizes that no mortal man could know everything that Jesus knows. She knows that something else is going on here. And look how she responds. I love this. Verse 19, please have your Bibles open here. The woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Okay, okay, okay. I'm not a super big fan of the way that's translated. I perceive that you are a prophet. I mean, who is she, Sherlock Holmes? Nobody speaks like that. Let alone a rejected woman at a well. Now listen, there's a reason that the translators who are infinitely smarter than I am chose to use that word, but let's talk about that word when she says, I perceive that you are a prophet. The word there in the original Greek is the word theoreo. And it means to gaze or behold. And for you word geeks who like this sort of thing, that Greek word is the root word for our English word, theater. Now here's how one resource put it. Theo Retto is about concentrating on the meaning of an action like when we watch a play or a theater. Meaning she's seeing something play out in real life before her and she's captivated. She's drawn in, she's watching intently. She's like, okay, you got me, I'm hooked. I don't know another word to say. I'm just saying, I perceive that you are a prophet. Just doesn't sound like what a woman at a well would have said but you get what's going on here now this woman's response is is is utter fascination it's intrigued there's focused which is why we then see her take this conversation and she goes she goes spiritual with it i love this she realizes that jesus is a prophet a true blue prophet right before him and look at her very next question. Her very next question, she says this, verse 20. She says, our fathers, meaning her ancestors, worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship. Okay, so we don't have time to get into it here this morning about the history of the Samaritans or the conflict between the Jews and the Samaritans. But here's what she's basically saying. She's saying, my people and my tradition say to worship here on this mountain, but you Jews say to worship in the temple. So which is it? Listen to me. We do, we do that all. We do that same sort of question with God all the time. We want to know, is it this or that? God is it this or that? Is this right or wrong? We, we, we like black and white language. We like clarity of that. We like this or that, and we want God to choose from our selection that we provided. Need I remind you, Jesus is never a slave to a conversation that he's in. He's always the master of the conversation. He's going to answer it, not in the way that she's posed, but in the truthful way that it should be answered. that this woman has a true blue prophet who just said her sins with precision. She realizes he's a prophet and her very next question has to do with worship. I wonder, my friends, if you had a true blue prophet who knew the mysteries of the universe right before you, what would be your first question? What would be the very first thing that came to your mind? If you could find out any answer of anything that was ever posed, what would be the very first question you asked? And yet this rejected, lost, lonely, sinful woman, her very first question is about worship. She wants to know how to rightly worship God. Where to worship? Would you ask such a faithful God-centered question? Because this is what an encounter with Christ does. It reveals our heart, and there's something amazing that's being revealed in this woman's heart, which is a sinful heart. She asks a theological question, but as we'll see, Christ is not going to be bound by the parameters of her question, but He is going to answer it. So she asks this either or question because we like those types of questions But listen to how Christ responds verse 21. He said to her woman believe me the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem Will you worship the Father you worship what you do not know we worship what we know now listen that may sound a little sharp Okay, I I know we Midwesterners, we like things to always be couched in utter niceness, but sometimes the truth just isn't so conducive to niceness. Sometimes we have to just be okay with things feeling a little sharp as long as they're true, right? Because we'd rather have truth rather than kind lies. Or is it just me? He says, you worship what you do not know, we worship what we know. And then he says this, he says, for salvation is from the Jews. Okay, let's, let's clarify here real quick. I know this is a very hot topic right now. Rather than trying to set up, set up a superiority of one race, what Jesus is actually doing here is he's setting up a conversation that's going to end with him revealing something about himself. That's the object. That's the trajectory of this question. He's not trying to elevate the Jews above the Samaritans because he's about to smash both of their traditions and religiosity. This is so powerful church. Hear the words of Christ here. Verse 23 and 24. He says, but the hour is coming and is now here. Everyone say now here, now here, when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth for the father is seeking such people to worship him God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirits and truth. Okay, hold on a second here Hold on a second here. Jesus Jesus just laid some groundwork here. He just he just put up some walls here Jesus just said you don't get to worship in whatever way you connect with God in. You worship according to God's way. God is looking for those who worship according to the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and truth, the Holy Scriptures. The Holy Spirit who inspired the truth of Scripture. You come to God through the power of the Holy Spirit and through the truth that He's revealed, not through your own emotional preferences. This is a very anti-American church way to worship, that we don't get to worship according to our preference, but to a way that God has called and revealed, because he's showing us what type of worshippers he wants. Does he say passionate, emotional worshippers? No, he says those who are filled with the Spirit and truth. Okay, let's get into this though, because there's other things going on here. Jesus is saying it doesn't matter if you're a Jew or a Samaritan, doesn't matter if you're black or white, doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman. This is not about a people's story or history or location or tradition. This is about the spirits. This is not about the temple. This is about the truth. Jesus is saying to worship God is to worship God according to the ways that God has revealed, which is by the Word of God and the Spirit of God. And you can do that anywhere, with anyone who looks to approach God rightly on his terms. Not our terms, but His. God wants those who worship Him in spirit, and in, say it with me, truth. But far too many people, far too many people worship God, not in spirit and truth, but in style and preference. And we expose ourselves when we see this, when people won't worship according, when we see this, people expose their own heart when they won't worship because they don't like the style of worship being presented to them. And that exposes your heart, you're more concerned about style or tradition or preference than the Spirit and the truth. The question should be, is this Holy Spirit led? Is this, is this according to the truth of God's word? Now listen, song is song and there's poetic license and we have to leave room for that. Otherwise we'd have a really hard time reading the entire book of the Psalms. Not saying that, but I am saying there is a standard that we have to adhere to as long as it is in accordance with God's word. Spirit and truth is what not simply place and space. Now I'm going to say something that's true, but I hate to qualify stuff, but here's what happens. Sometimes if you say things that are true, but don't give some clarity, people will take it in the wrong direction. So here's what I'm going to say to you. You can truly worship outside of this wall, outside of these walls on Sunday morning. Yes, you can worship from a deer stand. Yes, you can worship around a bonfire, but it has to be according to spirit and truth, not as an excuse to not come to church on Sundays. Because if you truly do worship according to the truth of God's word, you're gonna see that there's a priority of the church gathering on Sunday mornings, that we don't forsake the gathering of the saints, that we come and worship among fellow believers. But the beauty is, it's not the only time we are to worship. That's not the only time we can worship. So don't take this excuse that you can worship anywhere as an excuse not to worship here with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Brothers and sisters in Christ on Sunday morning. Amen? Okay, I saw who said that. I'm gonna hold you to it. Come November 15th. I'm watching. Let me talk about something else here. It's about spirit and truth, not style, preference, or song choice. So, I often hear this phrase, Man, worship was so good today. Now unfortunately what that means is I was emotionally moved and the whole church was singing. That's typically our litmus test of what's good worship. That I was personally moved and it seemed like everyone else was singing. Does that, is that what we just read? Is that the litmus test for what's actually good worship? No, no, no. What matters is that it's spirit-led and it's according to the truth of God's Word. That's what matters. Now listen, I know that we are culturally conservative and we think the best form of worship is to stand there like a statue and to never clap and never be expressive because we don't want to, you know, draw attention to ourselves or those sorts of things. I get all that, but here's the thing. Don't be so bound by the parameters of tradition or culture that you don't actually engage in true spirit-led, truth-centered worship. The Holy Spirit is our true worship leader. And the true worship, what is quote-unquote good worship, is when he leads us according to the truth that he's revealed. True worship is not defined by how emotionally moved you were. It's not even defined by how much of the church congregation was engaged in worship. Listen, I know you in the back calling you out right now. I know it can very easy feel like you're the spectators and what's happening is really up here. Do you think this Holy Spirit is regulated only to up here? He's back there. He's everywhere. This is why we all need to, and sometimes I want us to hold hands just to make sure that we're all connected. I know I won't do that, but it's this notion of making sure that we are rightly approaching God, not according to our preference or comfortability, but according to the Spirit and truth. Now listen, listen, listen. I do love it. I do love it when all the church is singing and when it seems like everyone is engaged. Yes, I I love that. But that's not the litmus test of what's good worship. What's good worship is that the Holy Spirit is present, making sure that we are worshiping according to the way that God has revealed, according to the truth of His Word. And that may not make us the sexiest church on the block, but I'd rather be faithful. I'd rather live according to the scriptures. I said this yesterday at our elder orientation I don't want to be known as a church that just preaches the Bible I want to be known as a church where we actually live out the truth of the Bible. Worship is defined by God what is glorifying to him because it's truth focus and spirit led. Let me man I don't want to be on the soapbox here, but I let me hit on another hot topic Some of you probably don't know this is a hot topic, or maybe you're the ones stirring the pot. Either way, here's what I'd say to you. Spirit-led doesn't simply mean spontaneous. The spirit can just as much work through a worship, quote on quote, worship set that's rehearsed as one that is spontaneous. Amen? When I was 22 years old, I literally packed everything I had into an old Saturn and I drove to Nashville, Tennessee without knowing a soul to pursue a career in songwriting. I know many of you, you don't think of me as a musician, you don't think of me as a songwriter. Those days are beyond, I'm beyond those days now, but there was a time in my life, a dark time in my life, where I would have literally sold my soul for music. To tell you, I can't even begin to express to you how deep, deep music expression of worship is to me. I take it very serious, and on the other hand, I also know it was a great idol of my life at one point. I love to worship in the form of music in ways I can't even begin to describe. But here's what challenges me here, that Christ calls us to worship in spirit and truth. He's revealing something about our hearts here because that's what Jesus does if we let him challenge us. I think many of us, we need to realize something here. It's going to be really hard for some of us here, but I think the modern church loves to worship more than the one we do worship. Because like me, many of us, we just love music so much. Make sure you don't love to worship more than the one that you do worship. Because Christ calls us to worship in spirit and in truth. To many of us, we love traditions of hymns rather than the truth of Him. To many of us love the hymns more than we love Him. Too many of us love our style more than the spirits. The woman wanted to know, the woman asked Jesus, Jesus, is it our tradition or your tradition that's the right way to worship? And Jesus just says, no, not neither, but no. No, worship isn't about a space and a place, it's about the truth and the Spirit. So church, I hope you are led by the Spirit to worship. That the truth of God's Word and the power of the Gospel simply compels you to worship. Yes, we have a Savior who sees our hurt. We have a Savior who reveals our heart. 3. Jesus is the sinner's hope. But it doesn't stop there. I pray that He's the King who's taken His place in your hearts. He's not just a prophet. He's the Savior. And this concludes, when we see this, that Jesus is the sinner's hope. Look at verses 25 and 26, they are among the most powerful verses, at least in clarity of Christ declaring things about himself. And he said this, take note, Jesus said this alone to a woman at a well. Yes, Christ knew this was going to be revealed in the scripture later on, but in that moment, this was the first time in the gospel of John we see Jesus declare who he is and he does it alone to a woman who's been rejected. He doesn't hold a press conference, he doesn't do it during a sermon, he doesn't do it when the masses are there while he's on the side of a mountain, he does it intimately, personally with a woman at the well because that's the kind of God that we have. He doesn't stand at a distance calling the masses to submit. He is a Savior who steps into our lives and calls us to something better. This is why we don't care what people think about us when we worship. Because Christ calls you by name into his kingdom. He's the one who left the 99 to seek the one. And this is why you as the one respond and worship. The woman said, I know the Messiah is coming, who's called the Christ, and when he comes, he will tell us all things. And Jesus said to her, I who speak to you, and he, I tell you right now, I think Jesus said that with authority. I mean, I wasn't there. I can't tell you the tone of his voice, but something in my soul just says he just declared with authority who he truly is. And there it is. Jesus just told us he's not just the Messiah, He's the coming Messiah. This is the first time in Scripture we see Jesus explicitly do this. And to clarify, when the writer of John wrote this down, he clarifies that this is the Messiah. That's the Old Testament Hebrew word, same exact word, that He is the Christ. This is why John makes that clarification. Christ is the Greek New Testament word here, but it means the same thing. He's the anointed one, He's the Savior, He's the coming Savior who is here. Because what we see here in this beautiful declaration of our Savior is that Jesus is the sinner's hope. And let me tell you, that's us. We are the sinners who need a true hope. And not only is Jesus our only hope, He's the greatest possible hope that we could have. Because He is the hope that's a revealed guarantee. He's the coming Messiah. He is the Christ. He is the anointed one. He's the one who takes our shame and then turns us into saints. He's the one who gathers a bunch of sinners, pays for our sins so that we can be welcomed as sons and daughters into the kingdom of God. We stand, there's a reason we stand in worship, it's because we are sons and daughters. We are princesses and princesses Princes and princesses in the kingdom of God. That's who we are And that's not because of we've earned it. That's because Christ has bestowed this upon us when Christ announced that he was the Messiah That was his way of saying yes. He is not just the prophet, but he's the final prophet to fulfill all prophecy He's the last one there is and the last one we need. What that means is that Christ said He is the one who would fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies, to take our sin and shame all the way to the cross, taking our punishment so that we wouldn't have to. But church, here's where it gets good. The reason that He is our hope is because His bones are not decaying in some grave in the Middle East. But He rose again on the third day, where He now rules and reigns from heaven on high, and he is coming back again. And I'm telling you right now, when Christ returns, I want him to find me doing one of two things. Either worshiping him, or ministering in his name. And right now, we get to do one of those, and that's worship him. And right now, we get to do one of those, and that's worship him. Amen.

Fulfill Commitment Sermon Series: Take Courage Ryan DB Kimmel Lead Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: 2 Chronicles 15:16-19 Transcript Today is the day that the Lord has made. So let us rejoice and be glad in it. And all of us said with all of our heart, Amen. Amen. So it's been great over the last few weeks here at Peace to be reminded of what God is doing through this campaign as we are on the eve of a new season at Peace Church. It's pretty exciting because I really think that right now, right now before us, we are seeing history play out before our eyes. What we are doing right now, the next generation will talk about. And hopefully they'll be thankful for what we're doing. And not only that, but hopefully they'll be inspired by this. Today we are beginning year two of our two year proclaim campaign. As we look to yes, raise the finances to continue to expand building, but also so that we can unite our hearts and prepare for increased ministry. Because that's what we want to do. We want to see more people come to know the power of the gospel and the love of God through Jesus. That's what we are doing here. And John already prepped you. So with that, we also say amen to that. But before we get into talking about our financial and spiritual commitments at the end of the service, we want to spend some time in God's Word. Sound good? So if you've been with us, you know that we've been journeying through 2 Chronicles chapter 15. We've been looking at this phenomenal story, at least I think it's phenomenal, the story of King Asa. Hopefully you've liked to know, getting to know this guy a little bit better. So if you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to 2 Chronicles chapter 15. We're going to close up this chapter today as we bring conclusion to this three-part sermon series. If you've been using our devotionals, we're excited for you to do that. Here's your first fill-in, and that's the title of today's message, which is simply this, Fulfill Commitments. God has fulfilled His promises, God has kept His promises towards us, and God has called us to respond. And that's what we're doing here today. We're talking about fulfilling our commitments. So that's on page 57 if you want to use the devotionals we've provided. Otherwise that's on page 467 if you want to use the Bibles that are around this room. And so before we read our passage, let's just recap what's happening here. We are looking at the story of King Asa. King Asa was the king of the southern kingdom. If you remember at this point in biblical history, God's people, unfortunately, are broken into two different kingdoms, the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. The southern kingdom was called Judah. The northern kingdom was called Israel. Jerusalem was in the southern kingdom. And at this point we see King Asa assume the throne. Now Asa is recorded as a good king. His father, Abijah, was not a good king. King Abijah, the king before, had allowed all sorts of wicked practices to come into the kingdom. But when Asa, his king, assumes the throne, he seeks to bring the heart of people back to God. What happens early on in King Asa's reign is that his kingdom is attacked by another kingdom to help them out? No. Does he kowtow to this new army? No. Does he run away? No. He seeks the Lord. He goes before the Lord and says, Lord, will you grant us a victory? And then he trusts the Lord and he brings his army into battle and they have this massive upset of a victory. And so they're coming back to Jerusalem, they're coming back as victors, and the city in Jerusalem is waiting for them, they're waiting to receive their victors. So the king and his army come back after this battle, the city is there waiting, and then right at this moment, the prophet Ezraiah stands up before his king, before the army, and before the city, and he calls them to make sure that they don't use this victory as a time to get lazy in their faith. He says, now is the time to press even further into God. Yes, God gave us an amazing victory. It'd be very easy to sit back and say, oh, okay, all good. We're good, God. We got it from here. But Ezraiah says, no, this is the time to press even further into God. This is the time to rely on God all the more. And I think there's an incredible parallel, an incredible warning for us specifically at Peace Church Yes, things are going well here are we perfect no But things are going largely. Well, we are meeting and surpassing budget people are coming to faith in Jesus. Our church is growing We're building a building that's gonna be twice the size of this room I mean like God is doing amazing stuff here and we should be very, very thankful. But it'd be very easy in this moment to look back and say, wow, God, thanks for all you've done. You can take it easy. Now we got it from here. It'd be very easy for us to say, wow, Lord, 2000 people come into a medieval campus. That's insane. No, no more though. God, we're good. We're good with this. That's not the type of church we are. And that's not the type of church we're going to be. We're not going to get lazy in our faith. We're going to press in even harder. God has been so good to us in year one of this proclaim. We want to seek Him all the more in year two. Amen? Amen. So, Azariah calls King Asa and the people to do the same thing. Take courage, press into God. And what does Asa do? He responds. In the moment. He responds to the challenge and so he brings the heart of his kingdom back to God. He goes and cleans house of his kingdom, removing all the places of false worship, and he makes commitments and a covenant with God. And the people rejoice, and the people give their heart back to God. But that's not the end of the story. And so that's what we're going to pick up as we continue. And so with that, would you hear the word of the Lord? Second Chronicles chapter 15, verses 16 to 19. Would you hear God's word? 2 Chronicles 15:16-19 16 Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. 17 But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days. 18 And he brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels. 19 And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa. Amen. This is God's Word. Let's pray and we'll continue. Let's pray. Father God, as we consider commitments and fulfilling commitments, I ask that today that you would please send the Holy Spirit to illuminate our hearts and our minds to your beautiful truth. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would take this truth of Scripture and use it to transform our lives, we'd be in more in alignments with the image of our powerful Savior, Jesus Christ. For it's in His name we pray. And everyone said, Amen, Amen. So church, as we conclude this sermon series and this little spiritual journey that we've been on together, as we look to the second half, to year two of the Proclaim campaign, let's focus on this one main idea. If you have your devotionals, you can go ahead and fill this in. Here's our main idea for today. In a world turning from Him, God calls us to fulfill our commitments to Him. In a world turning from Him, God calls us to fulfill our commitments to Him. And as we journey through these last couple verses of this chapter that we've been walking through, there's just two points we want to pick up on here today, and it's these. To truly fulfill our commitments, we go all the way. And secondly, to truly fulfill our commitments,we give all to God. So let's go ahead and jump right in. First point here this morning is this, to truly fulfill our commitments, we go all the way. With your Bibles open, let's look at these verses. So when you look at verse 16, you're seeing Asa do exactly this, he goes all the way. Now you may say, he's being kind of ruthless here. He's kind of being cutthroat. I don't think so I think he's being courageous and a faithful leader look at verse 16 even Mecca his mother King Asa removed from being Queen mother because she made a detestable image for Asherah So who's Asherah? What's Asherah? Asherah was the name of a false and fake goddess that the surrounding cultures and societies would worship. And the worship of Asherah had crept into God's people, even to the point where his mother, it probably actually was his grandmother, she set up her own place of worship to worship Asherah. But Asa, Asa has no tolerance for false worship of fake gods. He wants his kingdom to be pure. And there was no nepotism for King Asa. Even his grandmother gets the boots. That's how committed he was to his kingdom being holy and pure before the Lord. Asa looked at the places of worship of Asherah and the idols of the land and he said, not here, not on my watch, not among God's people. And then look what he does back to our verse. And I got to be honest with you, the second part of this verse, I love this. I love the second part of this verse. This is awesome. Asa cut down her image, Meacah's image of Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook of Kidron. Now a little Old Testament factoid for you here, the brook of Kidron, also called the Valley of Kidron, that was the place where you would take the idols in the false worship of a false god, these false images. That's where you were to properly dispose of these things. This is how you officially took care of the false gods. You didn't just destroy them, you didn't just burn them, you brought them to the Valley of Kidron and that's where you disposed of them. us that to truly fulfill our commitments we go all the way. Some of you, you say you have rejected your sin, but to truly repent means you remove it from your life. Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about. Some of you know that, that sin. That sin that you are particularly vulnerable towards. That sin that is especially sweet to you. Oh, you say you've repented of it, but you keep access to it. Oh, you say that you've repented of it, but you keep it in your back pockets. Listen, there is no repentance until there is removal of it as far as you are able. Asa removes all access to the temptations to worship another God from his kingdom, even to the point where he kicks his grandmother out of her own seat of authority. He breaks this image, he burns it, and then he brings it to the Valley of Kidron to show the people, we are properly gonna do this. We are properly gonna clean house in this kingdom because it's leading us astray. But look what goes on. It says in verse 17, it says this, it says, "'But the high places were not taken out of Israel.'" Now to clarify the high places, those were other places of worship to false gods. So you may be thinking, I would understand it. You may be thinking right now, wait a second, pastor. Asa didn't go all the way, because the Bible says here that some things were left intact. This is where we need to also know our Bible geography. No, actually Asa did go all the way. Israel is referring to the northern kingdom. Asa is the king of the southern kingdom. Again, what's the southern kingdom called? Anybody remember? Judah. And that's where Jerusalem was. The northern kingdom was called Israel. The southern kingdom was called Judah. Asa is king of Judah, the southern kingdom. So Israel was outside of his jurisdiction. So what Asa could do, he did do. And the Bible is drawing a huge contrast here between the southern kingdom cleaning house and the northern kingdom keeping their demonic practices. Now listen, listen to how this verse ends. Look at the end of verse 17. This is so powerful, this is so beautiful. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all of his days. I tell you what, right there, right there, at the end of your days, let them say that about you. I have done and probably will do a number of funerals in my life and time and time again people get up and they share funny stories and they reminisce and they do these sorts of things. But the funerals that I like the best are when people stand up and they say, this person loved the Lord with all their heart. That's what needs to be said about you at the end of your days. I don't care how many trucks you bought. I don't care how much money you earned. I don't care how powerful your business was. I don't care how influential your social media was. I don't care how big of a worship center you built. What I want to know is, is your heart right with the Lord. Is your heart holy, true? And you may ask, holy, true to what? Great question. That's exactly what we figure out with this next section. To truly fulfill our commitments, we give it all to God. So not only does Asa purify the land, he gives it all to God. Not only does he get rid of demonic practices, he gives his heart to God. Look at verse 18. It says, And he brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father, which clearly his father didn't do but should have done. He brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver and gold and vessels. Now, okay, honestly, there's a little mystery here as to what this is exactly referring to. Sacred gifts could be things that they won from war, we don't really know, but either way we get the notion here that Asa brought things of immense value into the house of God. And I love how it says the sacred gifts of his father, because if you remember what we said in the beginning, his father's Abijah. Abijah was a bad king, did not worship God. And what you kind of see here is Asa, he wants to set a new trajectory for his family. He's saying, with my kingdom, with my family, we're starting something new. We're going to come before the Lord and bring things to the Lord. But I love the contrast here. Here's your tweetable. The things of false worship Asa cut down and brought to the Kidron Valley where they could be properly destroyed. But the things of value Asa brings into the house of God as a true act of worship. Again, you can't just get rid of things. You have to also give things to God. This is a great model for us today as we consider our commitment to God through proclaim. Do not bring your least, bring your best. Do not bring your leftovers, bring your most, bring your first. Church, we've said it before and it's a very challenging thing, but we can tell God's place in your life by where He is in your finances. If God is first in your finances, that's a pretty good indication He's first in your life. But if God is not first in your finances, you have a hard time convincing me that He's first in your life. Asa brings the sacred gifts before the God, the gifts of his Father and his own gifts. And look what God does in response. He gives them peace. Look at verse 19. And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa. So to clarify for those who are just joining us, this whole setting is happening around 900 BC. This story takes place in the fifteenth year of King Asa, which means, and if there is no more war until the thirty-fifth year, that means for the next twenty years in a world riddled with constant war for the next 20 years, Judah has peace. Now listen, King Asa, while he is recorded as a good king, he was not perfect. If you read ahead in his final years, he makes some pretty big mistakes, but all in all, the Bible records him as a good king. But I have to say real quick, I just love what it says about King Asa's funeral. This is in the next chapter, in chapter 16, verse 14. It says that after they buried him, it says, quote, they made a very great fire in his honor. They had a bonfire at his funeral. Would you do that for me, please? That is, that is awesome. They built a bonfire at his funeral. I love this. But did you also know that Asa's successor is one of his sons? And do you know what the son's name is? Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat. Okay, so follow this. They throw a bonfire at his funeral. His son Jehoshaphat, he names his son Jehoshaphat, takes over for him. Do you know what the Bible's trying to tell us in Asa was a redneck. His son was Jehoshaphat, bonfire at his funeral. That's a life that I want to replicate right there. He was a straight up redneck. He did amazing things. He's recorded as a good king. Yes, there was faltering at the end, but that, my friends, listen to me. Asa's faltering at the end is just another reminder that we don't ultimately look to King Asa. We look to a different king, actually one of Asa's descendants, who would come around a thousand years later, and his name is Jesus Christ. That's who we ultimately look to. Asa was a good king, but he was not a perfect king, but Jesus is a perfect king. The book of Matthew records the genealogy of Jesus, and in Matthew chapter 1 verses 7 and 8, it says that we see that Asa is recorded as a distant grandfather of Jesus Christ. We see this because Jesus is the fulfillment of everything the Bible builds up to. Jesus delivers on this fulfillment. Jesus is the Son of God who has come as the perfect King. Jesus does what every bad king should have done and he is better than what any good king could have been Our king goes all the way, but he does not give silver and gold Jesus gives his own flesh and blood Jesus shows us what it means to truly give it all to God for he gives of himself He gives up himself when he dies on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. He gives it all to God for us. He gives up his very life and he is the reason that we gather. He is the reason that we've named this campaign Proclaim because we don't worship a dead king. We proclaim the name of the one who rose from the dead, who even now rules and reigns from heaven. We live out what Colossians chapter 1 verse 28 says. Colossians 1 28 says, him, meaning Jesus, him we proclaim. That's why we named this campaign Proclaim, because the world needs to hear the name of Jesus. Amen. In a world turning from him, God calls us to fulfill our commitments to him. And that's what we're trying to do with this Proclaim campaign. pain. So in a few moments, in a few moments, our church will enter into a powerful time, that I believe a spiritually powerful time, where we spiritually hold hands and we promise to commit to recommit or recommit to God's work through proclaim. And so to help you prepare for that, I want to give you a couple of points of encouragement and challenge as we consider making this commitment together, because now is the time. The commitment, the time of commitment is here and now. Listen here, when Asa heard the call of God, he didn't wait. When Asa heard the call of God, he didn't say, you know what, let me go, let me go process this with my mentor. He didn't say, let me go and do a time of prayer. When Asa heard the call of God, he knew it was the call of God, and he responded right there in that moment. And my friends, that moment for us is now. Now is our time. As a church, we've been diving into God's Word for the last couple weeks, as we've been going through the spiritual journey together, seeking the Lord. We're about to enter into a commitment or a time of recommitment that we've been spiritually preparing for. For those of us who are part of the Peace Church family, you probably fall into one of two camps. You were either here last year and you were given a chance to commit to proclaim, or you weren't with us, you've come since then, and now is your chance to join on to the Proclaim campaign. So depending on which one you are, I want you to think about one of two things that we're going to look at here real briefly. First one is this, maybe for you now is the time to recommit and see it through so that we can finish strong. This means that you've already made a pledge and it's time to recommit your pledge. If that's you, then I join you with that because me and my wife and family, we've already made our pledge and it's time for us to recommit to that, to make sure that we end stronger than what we started. And if you remember, we had a really strong start. Maybe it's time to recommit to finish your pledge. Or maybe you're new to the church family and this is now your time to jump on to a commitment what God is doing. Maybe for you it's simply now is the time to commit to bring your gifts and take courage. Asa was called to immense courage and when the people responded in faith and courage the kingdom became secure. They entered into a time of prosperity. Peace fell upon the people as the king led the way and he brought his precious gifts before the Lord showing that his heart was right before the Lord. Asa did this. Now friends, you really have to understand this part. Asa did this knowing and trusting the promises of God, but we stand in the promises of God already fulfilled. We stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ who is the fulfillment of every good promise that God made to us. Asa looks forward to the promises of God. We get to look back on the promises of God fulfilled. Therefore, how much more should our gifts be than Asa's? For those of us who have been saved by Christ, who are now in a covenant, the new covenant with God, then let's fulfill our commitments to Him and invest in the work that He's doing in this world. Because in a world turning from Him, He calls us to make our commitments to him church. I know you know this This is this is not about sticks and bricks This is about Kingdom work with a generational legacy This is us showing the future generations what it's like to take a courageous step of faith.

The Place and Power of Sin in the Christian Life Sermon Series: The Church Never Preaches On... Ryan DB Kimmel Lead Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: 1 John 3:1-10 Transcript Today is the day that the Lord has made. So let us rejoice and be glad in it. And everyone said, amen. So if you are joining us for the first time here at Peace Church, I want to let you know we're in the midst of a kind of a unique series, not something we typically do, but we're in a series where we ask the congregation what they wanted to hear be preached on. So a couple months ago, we asked our congregation to submit topics that they think that you all think the church never preaches on, whether that's peace church or the church in general, because here's one thing I want you to know about peace church. If it's in the Bible, we're going to preach on it. Bible talks about a lot of great stuff. We want to get to all of it. And so we asked the church, what do you think the church never preaches on whether here or across the nation or wherever. And the church submitted a bunch of topics. We consolidated those down, put them back to the congregation and asked the congregation to vote on the top six. And so I would say some of the topics that came in, no surprise. A couple of them were a surprise, but I'll tell you this about this topic, the one here today. If I can, if I can say this, I got to say that this question, this topic that the church chose, this one made me really proud of the church. I hope I can say that. And the reason is, this wasn't like a hot topic. This wasn't like some newsworthy thing that's just our little moment in history. This was a great, eternal, biblical, Christian question. I was so, so pleased that it made it to the top, and I'm excited to preach on it today. So here's what it is. The church never preaches on the place and power of sin in the Christian life. I think that is a very mature and thoughtful, great question. And there's many places in the Bible that we could go to investigate and answer, but this morning we're going to look at 1 John 3, verses 1-10. Would you go ahead and turn there now? If you want to use the Bible to be provided, that's on page 1303. Let me just clarify real quick. This is first John, not the gospel of John. The gospel of John comes early in the scriptures. This is a set of three letters that come later in your Bible. So it's first John written by the same guy, not John the Baptist, but John the apostle. John writes three letters. And the one we're looking at today, first John, this is really a letter that John writes to Christians and he's calling Christians back to the true faith back to the true doctrine see at this point John John was living old enough to see how some false teachings were beginning to creep in among the church and with him being the last living Apostle at this point he wants to write and make sure that Christians are not following their own thoughts about God but they are following what God has revealed about himself they want to make sure that Christians aren't creating a God in their own image but we're worshipping the true God who sits on the throne. And so John writes this letter calling Christians back to the truth and essence of the Christian faith so that we might rightly know and worship the true God. And he comes to chapter 3 of his first letter and it hits on I think exactly what we're asking here this morning. And so with that, would you hear the word of the Lord? First, John chapter three, we'll look at verses one to 10. Would you hear God's word? 1 John 3:1-10 1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears[a] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's[b] seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. Some heavy things here, but this is God's Word. So let's pray and we'll continue. Let's pray Father in heaven above. Lord, we ask by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit that you would help us to rightly understand the truth of this word We'd know the power of the gospel to overcome sin and what Jesus has already done for us and so we ask this here and now for your glory for our joy and for the good of our neighbor. And it's in Jesus name that we pray. And everyone said amen and amen. So church, as we look at this one passage here today, here's, here's one thought I'd love for you to chew on. And it's this. Christ victory over sin gives us a new identity from sin. Now, as we walk through this passage here, verse by verse here today, we're going to pick up three things here that I want to let you know where we're, where we are going to be going ahead of time. And it's this, with this new identity that we have in Christ, we also get a new trajectory, we get a new morality, and we get a new family. 1. With our new identity, we get a new trajectory (vv. 1-3) So, with this new identity that we have because of Jesus, we get a new trajectory. I'm gonna tell you now, we always say this, and I mean it every single time, but I mean it here today too, keep your Bibles open as we walk through verse by verse. So, with our new identity, we get a new trajectory. Go back to verse one of chapter three. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we shall be called children of God. And I love this little phrase, and so we are. Church, listen, by the power of the gospel, God not only loves us, but he's adopted us. He's welcomed us into his house as his children. Through Christ, we are now adopted into the family of God and with this new identity as God's children. Did you see what the passage says? We've adopted this new identity. We're made new. We're welcomed into God's house. But did you notice what this passage says here? It's going to be hard for the world to recognize us. With this new identity that we have, the world is gonna have a hard time recognizing us. Look it, it says, the reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him, meaning Jesus. So here's how it works. Many of you know I've adopted son named Will. We adopted Will from Ethiopia about 10 years ago. Now listen, we flew over to Ethiopia, we adopted our son and we brought him back and we are raising him as our own. We've given him our name. We are instilling our values in him. He is assimilating to our family's culture. All the weird quirks about the Kimmel family, he is adopting to himself. And so here's how it works. If we were to take Will and fly back to Ethiopia with him, the Ethiopians would not recognize him. Culturally speaking, they would say, he's not like us. He's got a different value system. He has a different language. He has a different name. They wouldn't recognize Will anymore. They would say, this kid is an American kid. Because, I'll tell you right now, Will is, he's owned the whole American thing. I mean, not only that, this kid is about as Midwestern as it gets. Will puts ranch on his steak. Ethiopians have no category for that. And neither do we. Some of you are judging me right now as a father. But here's the reality. They wouldn't recognize him because he's not, he doesn't belong to them. He's part of our family now. And the same goes for those of us who are in Christ. That we've been welcomed into God's family that he's raising us now. We're he's instilling his values and morals into us his culture into us. So the world around us that doesn't know Christ They're not going to recognize us They may say yeah, you wear somewhat of the same clothing, but we don't recognize you. You're part of something else You are foreign you are alien your other and that's how it should be The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him, Jesus. So, you have to understand, the world doesn't recognize us because of who we belong to, that we're part of a different family, we're part of God's family, but also the world does not recognize us because of who we are becoming. Look at verse 2, beloved, we are God's children now. And listen to this, and what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know that when he, when Jesus appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. Okay, again, this is why you need to have your Bibles open here. I love what the apostle's getting at here. The apostle's getting at the fact that the truth here is that we, the people of God, we are ever becoming more like Jesus, right, Christians? We are to ever becoming more like Christ. But listen here, the transformation won't be complete until we are fully with Jesus. Because we are still locked in this mortal body of sin to an extent. That transformation is ever happening, but it won't be complete until we are with Jesus himself. Either through our death and entrance into heaven, when we leave this mortal body of sin, or as the apostle alludes to here when Christ returns. As the Bible says, it will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. Which by the way, for those of you who are curious, we're closing up this series next week and we will be looking at the end times. We are in serious times and that's an important topic and so we're gonna be looking at what does it look like? What does that mean for Christ to return? Part of it is the Bible says that we'll be changed to be like him. Because Christ, who died upon the cross as the atoning sacrifice for sins, is the same Christ who three days later was resurrected from the dead, which was the victory over Satan, sin, and death. The resurrection of Christ is the promise and the guarantee that he is who he said he is. And his promises are true, that we have eternal life that starts now. And Christ's resurrection points to our own resurrection when we will eventually inherit new bodies New bodies that will be finally fully and completely and forever free of sin. That's our trajectory That's who we are becoming. We are heaven-bound and ever becoming more like Christ. Amen And a trajectory is a direction. That's the direction of our lives. That's where we are headed And we are to live like Christ unto Christ ever becoming more like him. And so sin, back to our topic, sin has no place in that trajectory other than, listen here, sin has no place in that trajectory other than to be an ever-diminishing aspect of our life. What place does sin have? An ever-diminishing place in our life. That's the trajectory, that's our trajectory, that's the trajectory away from sin that through Christ we are free from the judgment of sin but the effects of sin still linger until we are fully with Christ but our trajectory is less sin and more Jesus every day so Christians it's hard to do but it's time to look in the mirror can you look at your life and can you say over the last year, yeah, I have become more like Jesus. Because if you can't, if you've been a Christian for some time and you can't look over the last year and say, yep, over this last year, I have grown in faith. I have become more like Jesus. If you can't say that, then here's my question. What are you doing? What are you doing with your life? Are you falling back into the, to the ways of the world that Jesus saved you from? Are you starting to blend back into the world so that they see you as one of their own rather than something different? What are you doing with your life? What trajectory are you actually on? Because here's the thing, we say this, and I'm saying this, and I want you to think about this, not to judge you, but to challenge you, to challenge you to see if you lost hope. Because look at what John says in verse 3. It says, Everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. So let me put it like this. The focus of your hope is what hones you. Like your hope is that grinding stone that you press yourself against that sharpens you. So if you're not becoming more like Christ, my question for you is, have you lost your hope? Have you lost sight of your true hope? Because look what the Bible says, everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. The more we place our hope in Christ, the more we grow in him and more like him, and he is pure. And so the more that we press ourself into Christ, the more that we will become pure. But this is if we stay in Christ on that trajectory. 2. With our new identity, we get a new morality (vv. 4-7) But with this, with this new identity, we get this new trajectory, but we also get a new morality. And John absolutely lays down the law here. Look at verses four, five, and six. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. You know that he, Jesus, appeared in order to take away our sins. And in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning. No one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Listen, I know what Christians like to do is we like to, we like to reduce sin down to that thing that we can't help but do. Like the sin, I'm sorry, we don't want to do it. We don't like to do it. But sin is that thing we just can't help but do. But here's what I'm going to say to you. That's not exactly how the Bible talks about that here. Look at here. John talks about how sin is lawlessness, meaning sin is what is outside God's plan for what's glorifying to him. Sin is what is outside God's character. Sin is what is outside God's instructed plan for human flourishing, for moral order and for our good and our joy, sin is lawlessness. So rather than sin being that thing that you can't help but do, John speaks about sin as that thing that is you doing whatever you want, living as your own authority, meaning that there's no external force or there's nothing external that informs your values or your morality. Let me just stop right there. Modern people, especially Americans, we would say, whoa, that sounds like freedom. That sounds like freedom to me. Nothing, nothing outside myself is going to tell me how to live. That's freedom. What I'd say to you is that is a lie. That's not freedom. That's death. It's that age old picture of the fish outside of the bowl. Some people say that's freedom. I say that's death. Sin is lawlessness, meaning that we're outside of God's law. And again, God's law is good and it's what brings us joy and flourishing. It brings order. Yeah. Because sin is outside God's plan and it's destructive to our souls. Because it's outside of God's good plan for our flourishing, it's destructive to who he's calling us to be, to our soul, to our lives, to our family, and to, obviously, to our culture. That's not bringing freedom, that's bringing death. Doesn't bring unity, it brings separation. So, where are the parents in the house? Let me see, parents, raise your hand. So let me ask you a question, parents. If your kids go against what you say, are there consequences? But actually, you know what, now that I think about this, maybe this isn't the generation I should be asking you millennials in your never-say-no gentle parenting. Let me, oh, so. Let me ask the parents from 30 years ago. If you were a parent 30 years ago, if your kid went against what you said, were there consequences? Yeah, because that's how good parents parent. Same goes with God. Sin is against God's law. It's lawlessness. As our passage says, it's lawlessness. And so when you break a law, if there's not consequences, how good was that law? Sin is lawlessness and that comes with consequences, namely separation from God. But I wanna do something here for a moment. I wanna take some precious time and I wanna explain something. And I wanna call out something. See, you've heard me say, and I will continue to say, because it is true, that sin separates us from God. Okay, that's a very popular notion about sin that you're gonna hear from me and other modern-day preachers. But I think I've come to realize something about that term. Is we really like to say sin separates us from God? Because it doesn't sound as bad as what it actually is. When we talk about how sin separates us from God, do you know what that actually means? Do you know what separation from God actually results in? Condemnation, death, judgment, hell. Now, we'll shorthand and say separation from God without actually explaining what that means because I think in some way it keeps God in a light that we like to look at rather than the reality that when we are separated from God that means we are separated away from light into darkness away from salvation into condemnation not on a trajectory for heaven but a trajectory for hell and so when we break God's law there are consequences and it is separation from God but when you hear that you need to understand what that actually means that's eternal final and permanent. It's condemnation. It's not a nice thing to think about. It's a terrible, horrendous thing to think about. Sin also brings brokenness. Brokenness to our families, to our souls, to our lives, to our world. But church, that's not who we are to be or what we are to bring into the world. We are the one who don't live according to lawlessness, but we live according to the good law that brings joy and flourishing and glory to God. As the Apostle Paul, look at what he says in verse 7, or the Apostle John here. Look what he says in verse 7. He says, little children, not actually toddlers here, he's speaking about all God's children, both young and old. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous as he is righteous. I know the only time we use the word righteous in our vernacular is when we say self-righteousness. Righteousness sounds like an arrogant thing, but here's what I'll tell you. Here's your definition for righteousness. Righteousness is living out what is morally right in God's eyes. And so we are given a new sense of morality because of our heavenly father now. I know some of us here don't like the word code So let me put it this way and I'm completely fine with saying it this way too You could you could say as God's children we follow God's culture of righteousness That's who we embody as a church. We embody the culture of righteousness. What is morally right in God's eyes? Now let me just say, there are many things that we are losing in our world. There are many things that are washing away in our culture, and there's some things that need to go. But I'll tell you right now, there's something that's being lost in our culture, I'm afraid it already might be lost, and I lament over this. And it's this. It's when a father, as the man of the house, stands as the head of the house with his wife by his side. And he starts a sentence with these four words, in this house we. And then he proceeds to lay out a vision for what the standard of the home should be, not in a domineering way, but in a way that demonstrates his loving authority and his inspirational leadership. And so when kids go wayward, he reminds them of the values and the morals of the home and he calls them back to that. Such as like this you got to figure out a way to stay in your own home and your own family But so here's an example such as when a father says in this house. We serve the Lord speak the truth and help others Or in this house, we worship God work hard and walk the extra mile Men, does your family know what your vision is for the family? Men, does your family know what the standard is, what the culture of righteousness is like? Do you articulate it here? Whatever it may be, the notion here is that the Father sets the cultural and moral direction of the home. But listen, He lives that out firstly Himself. Just like our Father in heaven does for us. Parents, listen to me, don't do, oh man. Parents, don't buy into this whole idea that your job is to help kids discover who they want to be. Christian parents, your job is to help kids discover who God has created them to be. Because that's better. I'm telling you, that's better for your kids. They will choose a lesser version of themselves every single time But God has called them to something greater. This isn't about restricting them This is about blossoming them bringing freedom to their life that they are to be all that they're called to be Don't buy into the lie that your job is to help kids discover Who they want to be or who they are your job is to help them discover who God has created Created them to be a good parent and stills good values into their kids like our Heavenly Father does for us. God is our Father. We are His children. And with Him being our perfect Father, He has stood and said to us, in this house we. And then He has told us, His culture of righteousness, that He Himself lives out first and we are to follow. And with this new identity we have in Christ, we have a new trajectory for our lives, we have a new morality, which makes us distinct from the world. 3. With our new identity, we get a new family (vv. 8-10) And with it, as we've been talking, we also get a new family. So let's take these last three verses, verse by verse, because here's what I'm gonna tell you right now. These last three verses are black and white. So let's look at them. Verse eight, whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. So here's the deal church Jesus has come to undo what the devil does in our lives yet. So many of us keep playing the devil's game It's like this Let's say there's this dog that keeps being aggressive towards your kids. So what you do is you go and you take this dog and you tie it up to a post But your kids go and grab a stick and they keep going up to this dog and they keep poking it. Now what would you say to that kid? Now listen, that's Christians when we willfully give ourselves to sin. God has destroyed the works of the devil, but when you sin you keep going back to it and keep poking with it. And for whatever little bit of just anger you got towards a kid who would poke a dog that you What's God supposed to think? When we've been saved from the very thing that we keep giving ourselves to. That's basically a picture of what happens when Christians make a practice of sinning. But Jesus, by his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead, he's destroyed the devil's stronghold upon us. But if we keep choosing to sin, it's like we are saying, I belong to the family of the devil, not the family of God. And that's simply what the scriptures are pointing to. John continues in this very black and white language. Look at verse 9. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he's been born of God. Born of God, meaning born into the family of God. We're now his children. We have a new identity as we are now part of God's family. So let's get something really clear here because I already hear the objections. Some of you are already writing an email. So let me just hit something here real quick. John is warning against what we would call living in sin, living in a way or in such a way that we know displeases God and is against his good plan for our lives. John is warning against conscious and continual sin. That is, knowing what's wrong but choosing to keep doing it. John is saying you can't live like that and still call yourself a Christian. Listen, Christians, becoming a Christian or confessing Jesus for the first time, let me tell you what that does. That makes you justified before God. God that gives you a salvation that nothing can take away, but it doesn't make us perfect. At least not yet. We still live in this mortal body of sin. We are ever being sanctified. That means we are ever becoming more holy. And yes, that's a trajectory. Some of us who are newer in the faith are not as sanctified as others, but none of us are perfect yet. Here's the reality. Christians will still sin because we are not yet made perfect. We are still being sanctified. The difference, though, is between those who fall into sin in moments of weakness because it's all around us versus those who consciously, continually sin in rebellion to God. Those who keep on sinning. The apostle says that he, meaning the born-again Christian, he cannot keep on sinning because he's been born of God. The notion here is keep on. We cannot keep on sinning, cannot keep on doing what we know is wrong in God's eyes. So here's a question I often get. I get this as a pastor and it honestly breaks my heart. So we'll talk about this, we'll talk about how Christians need to reject sin in our lives and that you can't keep on sinning and call yourself a Christian. And then here's a question that comes up. What about those who are enslaved to addiction, such as alcoholism or pornography, that they are addicted? Chemically so, they are enslaved and they cannot help themselves. What about them? Well, here's what I would say. If you are to the point where you know you are truly addicted to the sin and you cannot break the habit, then you need to realize you can't do it on your own and you must seek help. Here's what I'd say. If you are addicted and you know it, but you're not seeking help, if you are addicted and you realize it, but you're actively choosing to not seek help, are you really enslaved to sin or are you just giving yourself to it? We are the church who stand to care and love for one another. I have sat with people in the throes of grievous addiction and I will tell you, I do not judge them. My heart breaks for them. I want them to know the power of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome. And as a church, we're gonna lock arms and lift each other up and move forward together. If that's where you are, I'm telling you, God has brought you a church to help you get out of the sin that Christ has already broken. So, if you're caught in addiction, reach out to the church. We are a family. We won't judge you, we wanna help you. Romans chapter eight says that we need to live by the spirits and put to death the sinful deeds of the body, and then we will live. When Romans says put to death, you rednecks know how to translate that. Put to death means to kill. We kill our sin. Or as John Owen said back in the 1600s, be killing sin or it will be killing you. Now I'm gonna read our last verse for today, and I'll just tell you right now, you can't be mad at me. This is what the scriptures say. Look what John says in verse 10. It says, by this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. Let me summarize. Your life makes it very clear whether you follow the ways of the devil or the ways of God. No one is saying you're going to do it perfectly. Stop using that scapegoat answer. No one's saying you're going to do it perfectly, but your life shows are you pursuing the trajectory of Christ or the direction of the devil? Your actions show which path you are on. I need to stop and say something to you Midwest people. I'm Midwest myself, speaking to my own people, gotta call something out here. We're not talking about niceness. We're not talking about kindness here. There are plenty nice and kind people who do the devil's work. If your response is, well, they're so nice or they're so kind, it's like, okay, that's great, but that's not what we're talking about here. Christians are the ones who pursue not niceness, but righteousness. Kindness is wonderful, it's a fruit of the Spirit, but it's one of the fruits of the Spirit. It can't be the only defining factor of who we are or the only prevailing ethic in our culture. We need to be the ones who model not just niceness and kindness, but righteousness. And that will put us in opposition. That's when the world says, I don't recognize who you are. The question is not, are you nice? The question is, do you pursue righteousness? The question is not, are you perfect? But do you pursue Jesus? Here's a down-home way to put it. What family are you part of? Like, what family do you model that you're part of? God's or the devil's? So let's wrap it up here Let's look at these questions. What is the place and power of sin in the lives of Christians number one? Sin has no place in our lives Sin has no place in our lives. We are not to be marked by defined by or give ourselves to sin We are given a new identity in Christ. This is a new trajectory. This is a new morality This is a new family sin has no more place in our life than a hippo does in your living room. It don't belong there. It's not becoming of who we are. It's got no place in our life. Sin has no place in our life other than to be an ever diminishing aspect of our life. So the question is, what power does it have? Well, in a sense, you know the answer to this. The reason that the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. So for those of us who walk in step in the power of the Holy Spirit, who live according to God's Word, sin has no power over you. Let me tell you right now, you have the cheat code for this. Let's see if there's anyone else who recognizes what I'm about to say. Up up, down down, left right, left right, VA start. Old Super Nintendo cheat code for video games. My friends, you've been given the cheat code. I hope I don't get emails over this. The cheat code is the power of the Holy Spirit, who lives withinside of us. Jesus has destroyed the works of the devil, and when he returned to heaven, he said, I'm gonna send the Holy Spirit to fill, fuel, and guide your lives. So when the devil tries to come at you, when sin tries to come at you, you just apply the cheat code, which is the Holy Spirit inside of you, empowering you to live according to God's word. What power does sin have? It doesn't have any power over us. Romans 6 says it has no dominion over you, but listen, sin is still very powerful. Sin is still the bent heart of the culture around us. Sin is still the environment that's ever around us. It's like this. There's a room filled with smoke, and we have to live in this room. We as Christians. Now there's some of us who think, well, I'm redeemed, I'm saved, I can breathe this air all day long, and just constantly breathing it in. What you do when you're just giving yourself to sin. Listen, Jesus has extinguished the fire, but that smoke remains. Versus the Holy Spirit being our oxygen. And that's who we breathe in an environment of sin. The best example I can put is like this. The poison ivy plant is dead. It's been killed. It's been uprooted. Jesus has killed the poison ivy plant, but its effects still make us itchy. Sin has no dominion over you, but its effects linger. Christ has overcome Satan, sin, and death itself. And so by the power of the cross and through the resurrection of Jesus, through the truth of God's word and the power of the Holy Spirit within us, as we live according to the gospel, you need to know that the stain of your sin has been removed. Yes, we are to wage war against our sin, but it's only Christ who is ultimately overcome. When you sin, you shouldn't feel like guilt shouldn't be the dominating factor, because you're gonna sin. We live in the world, we fall short. The difference is that Christians don't give ourselves to it. We don't live in it. When Jesus died on the cross, he paid for your past, present, and future sins. That's not an excuse or license to sin. That's so that you would know that the power of the cross covers it all. Which is why, no matter what hurt or pain or sin you do fall into, we are the ones who can still stand and sing, it is well with my soul. Because Christ has control. Because we've given ourselves to Jesus and nothing can separate us in him, nothing can separate us from the love of God when we are in him. So here's my hope for you Christians, that by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit and through the message of the gospel, may you understand that Christ's victory over sin should empower you to wage war on your sin, to put to death and kill what Christ has already removed, so that you may live righteously before God, because Christ's victory over sin gives us a new identity you may live righteously before God, because Christ's victory over sin gives us a new identity from it.

David and Bathsheba Sermon Series: Nate Harney Executive Pastor Peace Church Main Passage: 2 Samuel 11 Transcript Well, 12 years ago, almost to the exact day, I remember getting an email that I opened that set me on a path that set me for one of the most surreal and strange experience of my life. I was graduating college, I needed a summer internship at a church, and so I was going to this little, what was a little country church in Middleville, Michigan. And I got an email saying, right when you get into town, you're gonna get right close to VBS week, and we need some more helpers, would you jump right in? So I wanted to make a good first impression, of course. So I said, yes, I'll jump in. And they said, well, we have a couple different major needs. What are you willing to do? And so I made the mistake of saying, whatever, anything you need, I hope you make that same mistake that I did for our VBS coming up because we have a lot of needs. No, it's a blessing from God, but they gave me the role that would be the last thing I'd ever choose for myself. And they said, great, you're gonna be on the drama team. So I got an email from the drama director of VBS and she said, perfect, just a couple things. We're just finalizing the scripts, plural, okay? And she said, we're gonna be sending them to you. What we know is you're gonna be playing a character named David, and so you'll see his lines that you can memorize on the scripts, great. So I pull up the email eventually, looking through the scripts, and I realize the title of the full week is the life of David and my character named David is David King David from the Bible and as I continue to read through these I see that as we near the end of the week they're gonna have us act out dramatically on the day where we want to see the kids introduced to the full gospel of Jesus that he lived, died, rose again, that gospel that Pastor John just talked about, that heartbeat of what we proclaim, what we want every single child in our church, in our community to know and follow. To bring that point home, we are going to be dramatically acting out 2 Samuel 11, which is the story of David and Bathsheba. For kids. And I thought it had to be a mistake. Turns out it wasn't. And I did what I will never do again. This is my guarantee to you as a church, but we acted out the story of David and Bathsheba. And if you are kind of new to the Bible, new to church, and you don't know why people are laughing, the reason why they're laughing is because that is absolutely insane to do. Because I think there's probably young adults gathered here today that I introduced to you at a very young age, the concepts of adultery and drunkenness and the gross misuse of positions of authority, and maybe just generally how babies are made. So I am sorry, and I can tell you as the executive pastor now of that same church, is my promise to you, if something like that came across my desk again, it would get my fastest back to the drawing board, to our kids team. That is my promise to you. I think it's the least I can do after all I've done. I'm still working through it. And I remember that and I can joke about it, but in all honesty, that chapter, that passage in God's word has stuck with me. And in a lot of ways, it has been a life-saving place that I've had to return time and time again because it paints this hard to look at at time this grim but clear view of the power of sin. So I want to go there together today to 2 Samuel chapter 11. Turn there in your Bibles. It's on page 333 in our provided Bibles. And as you turn there, just know, so we're coming into the life of David here. The first 10 chapters of 2 Samuel, everything has been going great for him. Military triumphs, spiritual successes, but chapter 11 presents a turn where sin shows up on the scene. Gross, deep, dark sin. And it affects David for the rest of his life. So 2 Samuel chapter 11, I'm gonna give you a heads up, this is a longer chapter, it's a story that I wanna read from God's word for you, but if you are able, you can stand now for the reading of God's word. 2 Samuel 11. In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab and his servants with him and all of Israel, and they ravaged the Ammonites and they besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. And it happened late one afternoon when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house that he saw from the roof a woman bathing. And she was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite? So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Then she returned to her house, and the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, I am pregnant. So David sent word to Joab, send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. And when Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and how the people were doing, and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, go down to your house and wash your feet. And Uriah went out of the king's house, and there followed him a present from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of the Lord and did not go down to his house. When they told David, Uriah did not go down to his house, David said to Uriah, have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house? And Uriah said to David, the ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, in tents. And my Lord Joab and the servants of my Lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.' Then David said to Uriah, Remain here today also, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his Lord, but he did not go down to his house." So in the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. And in the letter he wrote, set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting and then draw back from him that he may be struck down and die. And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. And he instructed the messenger, when you have finished telling all the news about the fighting of King David, then if the king's anger rises, and if he says to you, why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? Who killed Abimelech, the son of Jerubbeth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebes? Why did you go so near the wall? Then you shall say, Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. The messenger said to David, The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.' And David said to the messenger, Thus shall you say to Joab, Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it, encourage him. And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah, her husband, was dead, she lamented over her husband. And when the morning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." Pray with me. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. We thank you for the wisdom and the warnings that it provides us. And our prayer today is that we would learn from the life of David and be transformed by your spirit here and now to live differently as we leave this place. We pray all this in your son's name, in the name of Jesus. Amen. Please be seated. So what do we take away, what do we learn from this sad and this strange story from the life of David? Well, as we just read it and as we now study this passage, again, the Bible is going to paint this clear, horrible picture about the real power of sin, which is what you and I are up against every single day. So as we jump into this first section of the chapter, I want us to see from the scriptures that God is being clear that sin is attractive. So back to verse one, it's the spring, the season we're hoping for right now. The weather is just lightening up just right for war. David's army's out fighting. He's back in his palace lounging around and scholars kind of debate on whether or not this is, David's doing something wrong already. If this was his first mistake, some say, you know, he's just staying back because at this point in his life, he's older. He's 50, which I don't think is old, just for the record. Old for professional sports, maybe for battle, but I actually think the Bible is being very intentional and God is telling us already an important detail that starts off this sad chapter, that David is already shirking his duties. He should be out with his men fighting and he's already making bad decisions, staying home, lounging around, walking about the palace on the hilltop in Jerusalem, looking out over his kingdom. And we read in verse 2 that it happened, happened late one afternoon when David arose from his couch, he was walking on the roof of the king's house, in his high position on the palace, he saw something. He saw a woman bathing. And the Bible tells us that that woman was very beautiful. In fact, the Hebrew here really emphasizes Bathsheba's beauty in a way you don't see almost anywhere else in Scripture. And I think in our, through our modern lens, which has these progressive influences on us at all times, we can read that going, well God, you're fully aware of what's coming next. Why is this detail even important? David's abusing his position of power. He's about to enter this grotesque cycle of sin. Do we really need to preface it by talking about how beautiful Bathsheba was? Is that even relevant to the story we're about to hear? This is someone's daughter. This is someone's wife. This is a king taking advantage of a woman. His position, not just in the palace, but his position as king of the kingdom. position, not just in the palace, but his position as king of the kingdom. Abusing that, he calls her in and he sleeps with her. Why make the point of talking about how beautiful Bathsheba is? Well, God's word doesn't hide the fact that sin is actually attractive. And don't misunderstand or please don't misquote me here. In no way am I saying that Bathsheba was sinning by being attractive. No, beauty is a gift of creation. It's a gift from the hands of the Creator, from God. And in no way am I or is the Bible excusing David's behavior. No, what it's painting is a real picture of the attractiveness of sin. David was a man who saw a very, very beautiful woman. He wanted to be with her. So he gave in to his temptation and he gave in to his sin. It was actually attractive to him. I just read for the first time this classic Christian work of fiction. And I've always felt a little guilty being a pastor and having not read it, but it's called Pilgrim's Progress. And it's a story of, it's this kind of story that paints a picture of the Christian walk and the Christian life. And so the main character, whose name is Christian, which is a little on the nose, but I'll give it to him. But he's being given directions to the celestial city. And this is what he's told. It says, that is the way you must go. It was built by the patriarchs, the prophets, was built by Christ and the apostles. And it is as straight as could be. Walk that path. And to be honest, I read that and the first thing that started going off in my brain is going, you know what, they're not actually characterizing the Christian walk of obedience properly because that's too simple, that's too easy, that's too clear, even I could do that. I can put one foot in front of the other and walk in a straight line. I just don't go this way, don't go that way, just go that way, I could do that. And the Christian walk of obedience is so much harder than that, right? But it hit me, just like King David in this instance, most of us know God's law, we know right and wrong. That's typically not the problem. It's simple, it's clear. But if obeying Christ is that easy, just walk straight, how do so many of us mess up? Well, even though the way is clear, there are so many tempting, attractive, sinful distractions that come at us from all sides, aren't there? And oftentimes, even though the path that God wants for us is clear and we know it. Sometimes the destination feels farther off and less gratifying than what's right here in front of us, off the path. Sin is actually attractive. It's okay for us to acknowledge that. We need to acknowledge that. Because if we don't, we become ignorant to its power, we become arrogant to our strength to say no to it if we're doing it on our own will, and where we become ignorant or arrogant, we become vulnerable to sin. Because it is attractive. And part of the reason it is attractive is because in the short term, in ways, sin is enjoyable. David saw what he wanted and he went after it to provide short-term satisfaction and he gave up so much more. Sin is attractive, but that's not the only reason it's powerful. It's also powerful because sin is relentless. And we see that in the next section. As we keep reading, David learns, as we do, that Bathsheba is pregnant. And that's a big, big problem for David because her husband, Uriah the Hittite, is off with David's armies fighting David's battles. And we know, they actually know, the Bible includes that, what might have struck you as a strange little sentence in the parentheses in your Bible about Bathsheba and her purifying herself from the ritual from her uncleanness. What that is clarifying is what David knew and what they knew at that time. Because of that there's no way it could have been her husband who made her pregnant. We know definitively that this baby is And so David's sin, his one night of sin, is going to be exposed by this pregnancy. Unless, if he just sins just a little bit more, maybe tells a lie or just dives a little bit deeper into it, all this can get covered over, it can get put behind us. You know and in fact if he sends just a little bit more right and in some ways it could be seen as a Blessing to some because there are things that happen that can't be taken back now That are gonna hurt people to know about that. It's just not gonna be good for the kingdom It's not gonna be good for anybody here, right? So if we just send a little bit more we can get through this It's behind us and we can close this dark chapter and start fresh, right? It's not how it works, is it? We see that in the life of David. I won't read through every verse between 6 and 25 again, but to summarize, David calls Uriah back from war, saying that he just wants an update from him, which is a lie, another sin. He tries several times to get Uriah to go to be with his wife so that maybe David could get off the hook for this terrible thing he did. He even goes so far as to try to get him drunk so he's not thinking in his right mind. Another sin, but it doesn't work. So David then dives deeper and this dark web of sin that he is weaving and David writes and signs and seals by his own hand Uriah's death warrant and places it into Uriah's hands to deliver himself unto death. More sin. Sin after sin after sin after sin. And we see it as a passing sentence, but you might have noted it wasn't even just Uriah that David murdered, but many of his other servants and soldiers died as David was trying to get rid of the sin and prevent the exposure of it. And for David, and when we read it, it's one short sentence, it's just some collateral damage for him, but for Israel, they lost fathers and husbands and sons. Sin is relentless. It's like the pounding waves of the ocean. When we get caught in that sin cycle, sin leads to sin leads to sin. And so we have to read here that a hero of our faith, King David, a man who we read as after God's own heart as he looks across the wreckage that he's caused. How does he respond? Verse 25, David said to the messenger, thus you shall say to Joab, do not let this matter displease you for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it and encourage him, encourage the troops. He says, do not let this matter displease you. Remember that line. You'll hear something like it again. So God's word doesn't sugarcoat it. Sin is powerful because it's relentless. And this last point we see about sin, I think it's gonna be hard for some of us to even see these words up on the screen in our church, but sin is attractive, sin is relentless, and sometimes sin actually wins the day. Often in our failed, fallen world, sin is victorious. Look at the final verses of the chapter with me. Verse 26, when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah, her husband, was dead, she lamented over her husband. And when the mourning was over David sent and brought her to his house and she became his wife and Bore him a son and stopped there with me This is just a couple of short verses But they contain a lot of time passing within them Bathsheba mourns the loss of her husband for a season and then there's a wonderful royal royal wedding. And finally, months later, months would have had to go by, right? And a son is born. And for a time, it seemed like David's lies and his deceit and his murder, it's all behind him, right? It seemed to be the end of the story. Sin is victorious. And for some of you today, you might feel like you're sitting in one of those seasons, maybe even in your own life. You were attracted to the sin, it's been relentless in your life and you're stuck in a cycle that you just feel like you can't get out of and it feels like sin is victorious in your life, day after day. Some of you might not be there, but you might be being harmed, being affected by someone else in your life who is there, and their sin is causing you day after day to feel like sin is victorious. But we gotta finish the verse and finish the chapter because there's one more tiny little sentence here at the end of this chapter. It says, but the thing David had done displeased the Lord." Do you notice where God had been mentioned earlier in this chapter? Because he wasn't. But was God absent? No. David was ignoring him. He was ignoring his will and his ways. He was ignoring the law and what I'm sure was a lot of conviction that a man after God's own heart would be feeling throughout all these actions, relentless sin after sin after sin. God was ignored, but he was not absent because God is always present. He is always knowing, he is always seeing. And in fact, the most literal, like you'd say the wooden translation of this verse from the Hebrew, this last sentence, sentence is that, but the thing David had done was seen as evil in the eyes of the Lord. The most laughable pursuit that we ever go after, and that unfortunately many of us go after often, as we deal with attractive, relentless, what feels like victorious sin, is that we hope, we think, we kid ourselves that we can hide it. If I just tell one little lie about this, it'll be behind me. Or if I just quick delete my history, then nobody will know. Or even just as simple as, hey, come here, come here. I gotta, okay, you gotta close the door. You gotta hear this. God sees, God knows, there is no hidden sin. You know, I, at the last church I worked at, I unfortunately, I was approached by a person who brought some hidden sin from another one of our pastors sin that he thought was hidden and only this one person knew who was Essentially helping him and they said, you know The reason I haven't brought this forward is because this pastor when we talked about it He said hey if this gets exposed you're gonna ruin my ministry And you're gonna ruin my family and you're gonna ruin my life. If anyone knows about this, then I'm ruined. If anyone knows about this, someone knows. God knows. God always knows. And that's scary, but it's good, because it's freeing to know that this endless pursuit of hiding our sin from our family, from our friends, from co-workers, even we try to justify our sin to in a way hide it from ourselves. We can maybe convince ourselves that this isn't a problem or that it'll never happen again. But our sin is never hidden from God. And in David's case, God actually exposes David's sin. If you have time this week you can read the next chapter chapter 12 God brings the prophet Nathan to Give a parable to David that will expose the sin David as thought was covered up and in the rearview mirror and Then if you want to keep reading you can read Psalm 51 because by God's grace David who was a man after God's own heart. Even after everything we read today, even after everything we know, he asked for forgiveness. And he pled with God for mercy for what he called his blood guiltiness. You can read about that in Psalm 51. Even though David and the saints of old, they didn't know about the bloodied cross and they didn't know about the empty grave, but they did know to look forward to a future sacrifice to a Messiah, someone who would cover their sins, not because of their good works or faithfulness, but because the grace of God. And when King David failed and gave in to sin, do you know what he couldn't know but what we know now? That the true King, the King of Kings, King Jesus, he never gave in to the attractiveness of sin. He never got caught up in the relentless cycle that happens when we do. And Jesus shows us once and for all that sin is not ultimately victorious because Jesus was victorious over sin. So much so, he didn't just not sin himself, but what he earned was the opportunity to take our place, to trade us all of our sin for his righteousness, to take our punishment if we believe in him, and if we repent of our sin and give it to Jesus. Stop trying to hide it and give it to Jesus. Sin is attractive. It really is. And it's relentless. We know after even receiving freedom from the penalty of sin, when we have faith in Jesus, we still wage war with it in our daily thoughts and our words and our actions. But because of Jesus and because of the Spirit he sent to dwell in us, sin will not be victorious. Not eternally, of course, but not, doesn't even need to be each day of our lives because we have the calling and we have the power to say no to sin. And when we don't, we can be forgiven, just like David was. But as we launch into the season of Easter expectation. We're launching into a series starting this next week where we're looking at the life of Jesus and the gospel of John as we follow Jesus to the cross and eventually to the empty grave and celebrate that on Easter. What we can continue to remember is that we can both receive forgiveness for sin and continue to battle sin. Because sin is attractive, but Jesus is more attractive. So when temptation is at your door, focus your eyes on Jesus and dig into his word every single day. And remember that he offers more true and more deep satisfaction than any temptation to sin could ever dream. Jesus is more. And when sin is relentless, we need to remember that Jesus is more relentless. We might feel like sin has surrounded you on all sides, and how can I get out of this mess, or how can I ever say no to it? But while sin surrounds you, Jesus sent His Spirit to dwell within you. So you pray every day for the strength to know that I can walk this path of obedience. And even when we do forget, we ignore and neglect God, he is relentlessly pursuing you. Jesus is more. And here and now, it can feel truly like sin is victorious in our own lives, in this broken world, but we know, we followers of Jesus know that Jesus is more victorious. The sacrifice doesn't just cover our sins, but walking with Jesus every day, we have the power to say no to sin, walking in the victory of Christ. And so I ask you every time you think of the sad story of David and Bathsheba, you remember that sin is actually attractive and its pull, its path, just feels relentless at times, but ultimately remember that sin is never victorious when Jesus shows up on the scene, amen? So if you walk away with nothing else today, remember this, that Jesus is better than sin. Would you stand and pray with me? Remember this, that Jesus is better than sin. Remember this, that Jesus is better than sin. Would you stand and pray with me?