WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.980 This morning we'll be looking at a story where Jesus confronts a group of people 00:00:04.980 --> 00:00:09.080 that went through great lengths on the outside to look good, 00:00:09.300 --> 00:00:12.140 to do all the right things, to say all the right things, 00:00:12.660 --> 00:00:15.560 and to convince people that they were close to God. 00:00:15.660 --> 00:00:20.420 But inwardly, they missed God, that their hearts were far from God. 00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:26.000 Will you join with me? Follow the screen in a responsive prayer. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:36.280 Father God, the lie of empty, dead religion is that we can be good enough or better than other people, 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:42.960 then you will love us, but you are not impressed with our pitiful attempts to appear righteous. 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:48.939 We can do nothing to earn your grace, and we are no better than anyone else. 00:00:48.939 --> 00:00:56.519 It's only through your Son, His life, death, and resurrection that we can be made right with you. 00:00:57.420 --> 00:01:02.099 Save me from dead religion and all its self-righteousness. 00:01:02.699 --> 00:01:05.420 Forgive me for a cheapened view of grace. 00:01:06.459 --> 00:01:11.539 You see into the depths of our hearts and know the reality of who we are. 00:01:12.099 --> 00:01:16.780 Our deepest thoughts and darkest sins are not hidden from you. 00:01:16.780 --> 00:01:23.099 Change my heart. Give me the desire to live a life surrendered to you. 00:01:24.219 --> 00:01:29.320 You don't desire a life filled with empty routines or deeds that look good on the outside. 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:35.379 But Jesus died and rose to bring us into a living relationship with you 00:01:35.379 --> 00:01:39.439 that you would transform us from the inside out. 00:01:40.540 --> 00:01:43.879 Help me to know you. Help me to love you. 00:01:43.879 --> 00:01:47.319 Help me to serve you with every part of my life. 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:52.599 May your compassion and grace transform our lives 00:01:52.599 --> 00:01:58.840 and the lives of the 95% of Hong Kong who don't yet know you. 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:00.159 Amen. 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:05.179 The scripture reading comes from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 11. 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:06.719 Please follow along your bulletin. 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:12.020 Now when he had spoken, a Pharisee asked him to have lunch with him. 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:14.539 And he went in and reclined at the table. 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:20.139 When the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that he had not first ceremonial washed before the meal. 00:02:20.840 --> 00:02:22.060 But the Lord said to him, 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:25.539 Now you Pharisees, clean the outside of the cup and of the platter. 00:02:26.099 --> 00:02:28.879 But inside of you you are full of robbery and wickedness. 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:33.159 You foolish ones, did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 00:02:33.780 --> 00:02:38.460 But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean for you. 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:43.719 But woe to you Pharisees, for you paid tithe of mint and roe and every kind of garden herb, 00:02:44.079 --> 00:02:46.780 and yet disregard justice and the love of God. 00:02:47.219 --> 00:02:50.539 But these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 00:02:51.259 --> 00:02:55.000 Woe to you Pharisees, for you love the chief seats in the synagogues 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:57.199 and the respectful greetings in the marketplaces. 00:02:57.199 --> 00:03:02.899 Woe to you, for you are like concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it. 00:03:03.839 --> 00:03:06.099 One of the lawyers said to him in replying, 00:03:06.659 --> 00:03:09.299 Teachers, when you say this, you insult us too. 00:03:09.899 --> 00:03:10.759 But he said, 00:03:11.159 --> 00:03:15.099 Woe to you lawyers as well, for you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:19.159 while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:24.819 Woe to you, for you built the tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. 00:03:24.819 --> 00:03:28.299 So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers, 00:03:28.799 --> 00:03:31.840 because it was they who killed them, and you built their tombs. 00:03:32.340 --> 00:03:34.299 For this reason also the wisdom of God said, 00:03:34.680 --> 00:03:36.359 I will send to them prophets and apostles. 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:37.680 Some of them they will kill. 00:03:37.939 --> 00:03:39.259 And some they will persecute. 00:03:39.419 --> 00:03:43.019 So that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, 00:03:43.359 --> 00:03:45.000 may be charged against this generation. 00:03:45.379 --> 00:03:46.219 From the blood of Abel. 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:50.280 To the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God. 00:03:50.280 --> 00:03:53.979 Yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation. 00:03:54.740 --> 00:03:57.819 Woe to you lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge. 00:03:58.379 --> 00:04:01.699 You yourselves did not enter, and you have hindered those who were entering. 00:04:02.560 --> 00:04:06.020 When he left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile, 00:04:06.460 --> 00:04:08.439 and to question him closely on many subjects, 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:11.460 plotting against him to catch him in something he might say. 00:04:11.460 --> 00:04:13.820 This is God's word. 00:04:13.820 --> 00:04:15.939 How are you guys doing? 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:20.400 So I've got to ask, you know, if you're a lawyer in here, will you raise your hand? 00:04:21.379 --> 00:04:22.500 I'm teasing you. 00:04:23.259 --> 00:04:25.980 I know, they found out we were doing this passage today. 00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:30.040 What a beautiful day, isn't it? 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:35.759 I mean, it is amazing what God has given us to enjoy and spend time with him. 00:04:37.400 --> 00:04:40.759 Well, we are continuing in our Gospel of Luke series. 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:48.680 And we are at a passage today that I think I would just rather not teach, to be honest. 00:04:49.300 --> 00:04:54.800 This is one of those passages, if you could call in a sick day, you would call in a sick day. 00:04:55.620 --> 00:04:57.800 This passage definitely isn't sexy. 00:04:58.620 --> 00:04:59.740 It's not excellent. 00:04:59.860 --> 00:05:01.959 It's not sex-cellent, if you put those two together. 00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:03.159 It's intense. 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:08.699 And it's just raw. 00:05:08.699 --> 00:05:16.639 If you go to any church planning seminar, the guys aren't going to suggest that you teach this passage if you want your church to grow. 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:21.259 Because once people hear this passage, they don't want to come back. 00:05:21.259 --> 00:05:37.959 And it's interesting because Jesus, in his passage, he comes at these guys, these Pharisees, and he talks to them, these holders and keepers of the faith, these people who are very pious and righteous. 00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:41.859 And he basically does surgery on them. 00:05:42.599 --> 00:05:46.479 Now, the Pharisees, they're not, they didn't start off bad. 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:47.279 You've got to realize this. 00:05:47.399 --> 00:05:52.319 You know, in between the Old and New Testament, there's about 400 years of silence. 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:55.560 And in that time, the people of God were scattered everywhere. 00:05:55.699 --> 00:05:56.680 The Babylonians had come in. 00:05:56.740 --> 00:05:57.540 The Assyrians had come in. 00:05:57.579 --> 00:05:58.319 They were in captivity. 00:05:59.099 --> 00:06:03.199 And what was happening in captivity was that the people started to lose their faith. 00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:07.219 I mean, they stopped being able to speak in Hebrew. 00:06:07.879 --> 00:06:09.860 They stopped being able to read the Torah. 00:06:09.980 --> 00:06:12.339 They stopped being able to understand all the cultural things. 00:06:12.620 --> 00:06:17.259 And they were quickly becoming like the people that had assimilated them. 00:06:17.259 --> 00:06:21.139 And a group of men came and said, we've got to stop this. 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:32.480 And so about this time, about the third century B.C., these groups of Pharisees who were middle class workers and Sadducees who were the movers and shakers and the scribes and the Essenes, 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:37.800 they all came together and they started to help God's people hold on to truth so that it wouldn't be lost. 00:06:38.360 --> 00:06:42.199 So they wouldn't forget what it meant to be God's person. 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:49.699 But by the time Jesus came around and the New Testament began, the Pharisees had a problem. 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:53.079 They had a major problem. 00:06:53.159 --> 00:06:53.699 They had a sickness. 00:06:56.039 --> 00:07:00.919 It was May 23, 2003. 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:03.199 It was a day and a night that I'll never forget. 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:06.719 I had not felt very good that day. 00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:07.899 I felt like I had indigestion. 00:07:07.899 --> 00:07:13.719 And I went to bed that night and ate a whole bunch of Tums. 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:18.979 And about 1.30 I woke up and I had this incredible burning sensation on my chest. 00:07:20.339 --> 00:07:25.019 Now I'd worked in a trauma unit and I looked at my nail beds and I have no pain coming down my shoulder. 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:28.099 I'm not having a heart attack, at least that I know of. 00:07:28.439 --> 00:07:31.560 But I feel very uncomfortable. 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:37.100 After about an hour up, I went to Christina and said, I've got to go to the hospital. 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:39.220 Something's wrong. 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:43.860 So God allowed us to walk outside the door. 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:45.439 And the minute we got there, there was a taxi. 00:07:45.579 --> 00:07:48.879 And we got in this taxi at 2 o'clock in the morning on a Sunday morning. 00:07:50.180 --> 00:07:52.220 And we drove to the hospital and we went to the ER. 00:07:52.740 --> 00:07:53.860 And the guy did all the tests. 00:07:53.939 --> 00:07:57.420 And he goes, as far as I could tell, your EKG and everything's going well. 00:07:58.019 --> 00:07:59.220 We had this blood test. 00:07:59.220 --> 00:08:00.520 We're going to take it and see what happens. 00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:04.280 But I think that you're just having really bad indigestion. 00:08:04.380 --> 00:08:05.620 You just go home and gut it out. 00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:08.080 And I'm like, okay. 00:08:08.600 --> 00:08:09.620 And it will go away. 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:10.920 And I go, well, how long will it go away? 00:08:10.960 --> 00:08:13.900 Like one hour or five hours or eight hours? 00:08:13.980 --> 00:08:15.460 And he goes, no, like within an hour or two. 00:08:15.500 --> 00:08:15.940 It will be okay. 00:08:16.980 --> 00:08:18.100 I said, well, I can handle that. 00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:20.580 So we got in a taxi and we drove back home. 00:08:20.580 --> 00:08:26.700 And on the way home, incredible amount of pain hit me in the chest. 00:08:26.699 --> 00:08:31.019 And my arm started to become really sore. 00:08:31.800 --> 00:08:34.919 And I walked in the house and I'm kind of pacing around like an animal. 00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:38.039 And Christina's like, but you're not having a heart attack, so you're okay. 00:08:38.120 --> 00:08:39.419 And I go, yeah, I just don't feel very good. 00:08:39.620 --> 00:08:41.259 And I'm walking around and I'm walking around. 00:08:41.500 --> 00:08:46.460 And finally I get to the point where the pain is so much that I'm kind of hitting against the wall. 00:08:46.460 --> 00:08:53.120 And as I hit against the wall, I feel relief from the pain in my arm and in my chest. 00:08:54.180 --> 00:08:57.259 And finally I go to Christina and say, hey, we have to go back. 00:08:57.320 --> 00:08:57.960 Something's happened. 00:08:59.460 --> 00:09:02.740 And we go back to the hospital and we call them up and they say, come in right away. 00:09:02.800 --> 00:09:07.820 We come there and immediately they start doing a test and they say, you're having a heart attack. 00:09:07.820 --> 00:09:12.700 And it was an incredible amount of pain. 00:09:12.780 --> 00:09:15.280 The guy kept pushing morphine in me, pushing morphine in me. 00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:20.100 And you see in the movies, the guy gets the arm blown off and takes some morphine and you go, oh, I feel so happy. 00:09:21.520 --> 00:09:24.180 But it doesn't happen like that when you have a heart attack. 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:29.280 And finally the doctor comes in and says, you're having a heart attack. 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:30.660 Your right coronary artery is blocked. 00:09:30.740 --> 00:09:31.500 I'm almost positive. 00:09:31.740 --> 00:09:34.140 The only thing that's going to relieve the pain is taking you into surgery right now. 00:09:34.139 --> 00:09:36.299 And I was willing to die. 00:09:37.620 --> 00:09:41.259 I mean, if you said, hey, the only thing that's going to relieve you is kill Lincoln, I would have killed Lincoln. 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:45.939 Because the pain was so intense. 00:09:46.299 --> 00:09:48.600 And I feel like I have a very high threshold of pain. 00:09:49.899 --> 00:09:53.519 And so I went in and the doctor came in and he prepped me for surgery. 00:09:53.980 --> 00:09:56.679 And they pushed me through and Christina was there. 00:09:56.960 --> 00:09:58.639 And at that time I took my ring off. 00:10:00.059 --> 00:10:01.120 I gave it to her. 00:10:01.259 --> 00:10:03.700 I said, I'll see you in heaven. 00:10:04.139 --> 00:10:09.000 I think at that time she realized, okay, something serious is going on. 00:10:09.059 --> 00:10:11.539 Because that's when she got out of her phone and started calling everybody to pray. 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:14.679 But I didn't think I was going to make it. 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:17.360 Because it was so intense. 00:10:18.340 --> 00:10:19.699 Something was wrong with my heart. 00:10:20.539 --> 00:10:21.659 I was having heart problems. 00:10:21.659 --> 00:10:35.299 Well, God allowed me to survive that heart attack and come out of it very much different and very changed in marriage and perspectives and things like that. 00:10:35.299 --> 00:10:40.319 One of the things that we started as a mantra was live life with no regrets. 00:10:41.659 --> 00:10:43.639 So we say that often on our date nights. 00:10:43.740 --> 00:10:44.939 We have date nights on Thursday nights. 00:10:45.079 --> 00:10:46.079 Do we have any regrets? 00:10:46.839 --> 00:10:47.859 Do we have regrets with our kids? 00:10:47.939 --> 00:10:49.120 Do we have regrets with each other? 00:10:49.500 --> 00:10:53.399 If I were to die right now, would you have regrets in our relationship? 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:55.759 No regrets. 00:10:56.639 --> 00:10:57.480 Life's too short. 00:10:57.480 --> 00:11:05.200 Another thing that's changed is I became acutely aware of my heart and heart issues. 00:11:05.879 --> 00:11:08.639 I studied heart disease and I looked about this thing. 00:11:09.019 --> 00:11:18.800 And as I went on this journey continuing in life, I realized as I looked around that heart disease is everywhere. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:29.679 That whether you know it or not right now, you have problems with your heart. 00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:35.679 I started to think about what would that look like and what are the symptoms? 00:11:36.179 --> 00:11:43.079 And as I started to read scripture, I realized that heart disease isn't just in me, but it's widespread among all Christians. 00:11:44.179 --> 00:11:46.039 The Bible talks about it all the time. 00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:56.339 We use words like I'm overzealous or I'm uptight or I'm a type A person or I'm a type D person or I want to be very holy. 00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:01.219 But the Bible and Jesus use different words. 00:12:03.019 --> 00:12:04.099 They use Pharisee. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:07.099 They use religious. 00:12:09.579 --> 00:12:10.980 They use legalism. 00:12:13.719 --> 00:12:15.579 You all know what a Pharisee means, don't you? 00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:17.959 I mean, it's one of these phrases. 00:12:18.079 --> 00:12:20.459 I think it's coined from this passage that we're going to look at today. 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:21.699 To be a Pharisee. 00:12:21.879 --> 00:12:22.740 What does that mean? 00:12:25.139 --> 00:12:29.159 If someone were to say you were acting as a Pharisee, how would you take that? 00:12:30.519 --> 00:12:31.319 Would you be offended? 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:37.799 Again, as I said, this passage is tough. 00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:43.759 And Jesus is going to look at our hearts and he's going to look at the hearts of these men and he's going to say that they have this problem. 00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:45.699 And this problem is legalism. 00:12:45.799 --> 00:12:48.199 This problem is Phariseeism. 00:12:48.339 --> 00:12:49.719 This problem is... 00:12:49.720 --> 00:12:55.040 A problem we all have. 00:12:55.039 --> 00:13:02.620 Now, for the sake of this sermon, I'm going to say that being a Pharisee means that we attempt to gain favor with God. 00:13:03.379 --> 00:13:07.919 And we attempt to gain favor with the people around us while ignoring what's going on in our heart. 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:16.319 And we gain that favor by either doing things that everybody thinks that we should do, like go to Bible study and come to church and read our Bible and tithe. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:25.300 And we gain that favor by not doing things that we think everyone says you shouldn't do, like cuss and smoke and drink and whatever their culture says. 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:33.520 But we all try to do and not do these things because we want to earn favor with the people around us and we want to earn favor with God. 00:13:35.020 --> 00:13:39.400 But as we do it, we forget what's going on in our heart and what's happening. 00:13:39.780 --> 00:13:42.600 And today's passage, man, it is intense. 00:13:42.600 --> 00:13:49.399 The only way I can preach this passage is by sharing that this passage is one part of Christ's journey. 00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:52.019 And this journey is ending at the cross. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:58.080 Because if you preach this passage just by itself and you don't talk about grace, you don't talk about redemption. 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:03.180 You walk away just depressed because it's so intense. 00:14:04.340 --> 00:14:07.379 So what I want to do is really quickly through this next couple moments, 00:14:07.379 --> 00:14:11.940 look at some warning signs that maybe you and I have some heart issues. 00:14:13.460 --> 00:14:16.779 I think there's about ten of them in here, but I'm only going to look at four of them. 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:21.920 Verse 37, now when he had spoken, a Pharisee asked him to have lunch. 00:14:22.379 --> 00:14:24.639 And he went with him and he went in and reclined at the table. 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:26.639 Now everybody knows what's going to happen here. 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:29.560 I mean, Jesus knows he can read the guy's mind. 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:30.480 He knows why it's there. 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:31.420 It's an ambush. 00:14:31.920 --> 00:14:36.180 He's going to, they're going to try to go after Jesus because Jesus is this young radical guy 00:14:36.179 --> 00:14:41.199 who is the liberal coming on the scenes and trying to change things. 00:14:42.039 --> 00:14:44.879 And so Jesus goes in there and he does something very unusual. 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:46.519 He doesn't wash his hands. 00:14:48.139 --> 00:14:53.559 When the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that he had not first ceremony washed before the meal. 00:14:53.559 --> 00:14:57.939 So what you would do is you would come into this house and you would go to a special side 00:14:57.939 --> 00:15:00.719 and there would be a special basin and a special pitcher of water. 00:15:01.719 --> 00:15:06.079 And you would take the water and you would have your hands like this and you would pour 00:15:06.079 --> 00:15:08.879 and you would pour from the tip of your fingers to your wrist. 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:12.100 And you'd stop. 00:15:12.700 --> 00:15:15.740 Because if anyone poured back onto your arm, you'd be unclean. 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:17.980 And then you'd do that with both hands. 00:15:18.059 --> 00:15:20.480 You'd pull from the tip of your finger to your wrist and you would stop. 00:15:21.980 --> 00:15:26.460 And then you'd take your palm and you'd kind of rub it, your fist, and you'd rub it into your palm. 00:15:28.299 --> 00:15:30.200 And you'd take your other fist and rub it into your palm. 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:33.320 And then you'd put your hands out like this again. 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:37.379 And then this time you'd pour the water from your wrist to your fingertip. 00:15:39.500 --> 00:15:42.100 And when you did that, you were clean. 00:15:43.139 --> 00:15:46.600 And you would do that after every dish in the meal. 00:15:47.539 --> 00:15:50.460 So you'd eat your first course and you'd get up and you'd go off and you'd pour. 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:55.139 And you'd come back and you'd eat your second course. 00:15:55.379 --> 00:15:58.960 There'd be a lot of water wasted at a Chinese banquet, wouldn't there be? 00:15:59.439 --> 00:16:00.919 How many courses is this going to be? 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:01.580 Like 14? 00:16:01.580 --> 00:16:02.879 Okay, I have my hands. 00:16:02.940 --> 00:16:07.279 I'm going to need some chapstick or some kind of lotion afterwards because they're going to be really worn out here. 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:08.879 But this is what would happen there. 00:16:09.159 --> 00:16:11.779 And the guy looks at Jesus and says, why didn't you do this? 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:18.139 And Jesus walks into him and he says, what the Lord said to him, now you Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup and the platter. 00:16:18.220 --> 00:16:22.120 But inside you are full of robbery and wickedness. 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:24.759 Now can you imagine this conversation? 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:27.360 Because it's not just with the Pharisees. 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:31.039 Everybody is there watching this confrontation. 00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:37.659 You foolish ones, did not he who make the outside make the inside also? 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:39.759 But give that which is within. 00:16:39.899 --> 00:16:40.740 Give your heart. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:41.779 Give it out. 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:43.060 Surrender your heart. 00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:50.480 And if you surrender your heart to God, all things are clean for you. 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:54.899 Jesus looks at these Pharisees and he realizes right away they have a heart problem. 00:16:55.200 --> 00:17:00.840 And their heart problem is that they're focusing on these small outward things. 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:04.160 But they're forgetting about the inward heart. 00:17:05.819 --> 00:17:11.799 They've done all these ceremonies and rituals to clean themselves outwardly and they don't think about their heart. 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:13.920 And Jesus looks at them and says, no. 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:16.799 No. 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:16.860 No. 00:17:16.859 --> 00:17:16.899 No. 00:17:19.419 --> 00:17:23.019 Your heart is what God wants. 00:17:24.459 --> 00:17:28.839 I mean, you can look really great on the outside, but you can have a very, very bad heart. 00:17:30.639 --> 00:17:39.119 There's an amazing passage in 1 Samuel 16, I think 8, and it's when they come to find David as a king because Saul has failed for the people. 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:43.119 And Samuel walks in and he sees David as a king. 00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:46.500 And he sees David as a brother walk in who's handsome and tall and strapping. 00:17:46.819 --> 00:17:48.599 And he goes, surely that's the next king. 00:17:49.699 --> 00:17:50.699 And God speaks to him. 00:17:50.739 --> 00:17:51.159 He says, no. 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:53.279 No. 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:56.699 Because I see not as men see. 00:17:58.159 --> 00:17:59.399 I see the heart. 00:18:00.859 --> 00:18:02.779 Whereas men look on the outside. 00:18:02.779 --> 00:18:13.740 And so Jesus goes after these Pharisees and he goes after us and he says, be careful when you take this standard of holiness and you lower it. 00:18:15.259 --> 00:18:19.660 Be careful when you take God's command and you say, I don't know if I can do that, but I can do this. 00:18:21.220 --> 00:18:22.619 And if I do that, I'm clean. 00:18:22.619 --> 00:18:29.099 Because when you do that, whenever you take this standard of holiness and you try to change it, you always make it less. 00:18:30.299 --> 00:18:32.779 You always turn it into something that you can do. 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:35.759 Maybe others can't do it. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:42.239 But it's always less than what God wants because God wants our heart. 00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:45.259 I was talking to a Muslim friend in China. 00:18:45.399 --> 00:18:46.779 We spent a lot of time. 00:18:46.839 --> 00:18:47.459 He was a Uyghur. 00:18:47.460 --> 00:18:52.960 And he was kind of culturally Muslim, but he was studying the Koran with a guy. 00:18:53.660 --> 00:18:59.059 And we were talking about everything that he did in his life every day to make the outward clean. 00:18:59.480 --> 00:19:00.880 And I finally asked him this question. 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:03.799 I don't know what made me ask it, but I think God just gave it to me. 00:19:04.100 --> 00:19:07.640 And I said, but does all that make your heart clean? 00:19:10.900 --> 00:19:12.640 How do you make your heart clean? 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:18.740 And the guy looked at me and he said, I don't know. 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:22.600 They haven't taught me that yet. 00:19:24.900 --> 00:19:31.420 And here Jesus is going after these Pharisees and he's saying, guys, you're paying attention to all the things on the outward, but you're not looking at the heart. 00:19:31.700 --> 00:19:39.080 And the question we have to ask ourselves is when someone walks into our church or into our house, do we ever make judgments on them? 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:42.639 By what we see outwardly? 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:50.139 I mean, do we ever look at how they dress or what they do and say, okay, something's going on there? 00:19:51.699 --> 00:19:58.039 Do we ever make these standards of holiness and perfection really small, little, inconsequential things? 00:20:00.179 --> 00:20:01.059 It's amazing to me. 00:20:01.099 --> 00:20:01.939 I always watch women. 00:20:01.940 --> 00:20:05.759 And I got cued into this after I got married because as a single guy I was clueless. 00:20:06.120 --> 00:20:09.220 But guys, I think, can care less what each other looks like. 00:20:09.860 --> 00:20:16.400 But when girls come together, you can see there's like this two seconds eyes go up, eyes go down, and there's this immediate, okay, they're wearing this. 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:17.720 They didn't have time to fix their clothes. 00:20:17.799 --> 00:20:19.100 They got last year's Pradas on. 00:20:20.620 --> 00:20:21.740 They're just frumpy. 00:20:22.539 --> 00:20:24.620 And they make an assessment of what's going on right away. 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:28.100 And guys, you know, maybe we look at the guy's watch and say, oh, he has a cool watch. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:30.000 But that's about it, right? 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:36.160 But what Jesus says here is he says, be careful when you look at someone outwardly and you judge them. 00:20:36.779 --> 00:20:41.000 Because all the things that you do outwardly don't clean your heart. 00:20:44.140 --> 00:20:50.160 He goes on and he talks about another symptom of being and having heart problem in this verse 42. 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:56.019 But woe to you Pharisees, for you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, 00:20:56.019 --> 00:20:59.359 and you disregard justice and love of God. 00:21:00.220 --> 00:21:03.160 But these are the things that you should have done without neglecting the others. 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:07.599 I mean, he looks at these legalists and he says, guys, you have a heart problem. 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:09.259 You're focusing on the minor things. 00:21:09.339 --> 00:21:12.220 You're focusing on these little things. 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:14.220 And you're making these minor things major things. 00:21:14.259 --> 00:21:17.200 And you're not focusing on the major things. 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:20.879 And it's interesting because Pharisees were well known for tithing. 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:23.240 I mean, they had their act together. 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:25.700 I mean, they tithed everything. 00:21:25.820 --> 00:21:27.380 A tithe at that time was about one-tenth. 00:21:28.120 --> 00:21:29.440 Now, we talk about it here. 00:21:29.760 --> 00:21:33.380 We don't pass the plates because we want it to be a response to your worshiping of God. 00:21:33.420 --> 00:21:35.680 I was talking to Mormon friends this week. 00:21:35.820 --> 00:21:36.800 We had them in our house. 00:21:37.120 --> 00:21:38.740 And I said, so what do you guys do about tithing? 00:21:38.980 --> 00:21:42.100 He goes, well, we take our bank statement to the head bishop. 00:21:42.099 --> 00:21:46.740 And he knows exactly how much we tithe, how much we make. 00:21:47.639 --> 00:21:53.679 And then we have to tithe exactly 10% of everything that we make. 00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:55.839 I thought, wow. 00:21:57.259 --> 00:22:00.799 So next week, I'm teasing. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:05.799 And I said, well, what happens if you don't tithe 10% of whatever you make? 00:22:07.439 --> 00:22:08.980 He says, you get kicked out of the church. 00:22:12.099 --> 00:22:14.240 You don't get to go to heaven. 00:22:14.719 --> 00:22:15.879 Or you don't get to go to the highest heaven. 00:22:17.500 --> 00:22:20.319 And these Pharisees, they had tithing down to an art. 00:22:20.639 --> 00:22:22.939 They would pour out their tea leaves. 00:22:23.899 --> 00:22:27.639 And they would count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. 00:22:28.500 --> 00:22:29.299 1, 2, 3. 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:30.259 Can you imagine doing that? 00:22:31.159 --> 00:22:32.459 They counted all their tea leaves. 00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:35.039 And at the end of the day, they took their tithe and they gave it to the priest. 00:22:35.099 --> 00:22:35.839 Here's my tea leaves. 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:38.919 Now, don't be bringing your tea leaves next week laughing, okay? 00:22:39.539 --> 00:22:40.819 But that's what they did. 00:22:40.819 --> 00:22:43.799 And Jesus looks at them and he goes, guys, you have heart problem. 00:22:46.059 --> 00:22:49.159 You're dealing with these really simple, easy things to do. 00:22:49.220 --> 00:22:53.339 And as you do them, you neglect what God wants you to do. 00:22:55.339 --> 00:22:56.679 Love the people around you. 00:22:58.500 --> 00:23:01.259 Have mercy on the people around you. 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:03.500 Love God. 00:23:04.299 --> 00:23:08.119 I mean, there was a story, and actually it was a well-known practice among the Pharisees. 00:23:08.119 --> 00:23:09.519 It was this word called corbin. 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:13.799 And what they would do is they would basically say, okay, I know that Joe needs money. 00:23:13.899 --> 00:23:14.899 He's going to come see me. 00:23:15.339 --> 00:23:18.219 And by rights of hospitality, I need to help him. 00:23:18.399 --> 00:23:21.099 But I don't really want to help him because I want to keep my stuff, my stuff. 00:23:21.399 --> 00:23:24.259 And so what I'm going to do is I'm going to take my money, and I'm going to take it to the temple, 00:23:24.439 --> 00:23:26.479 and I'm going to corbin it for two weeks. 00:23:27.779 --> 00:23:29.219 And it's basically like putting it into a bank. 00:23:29.220 --> 00:23:34.940 So when my friend comes and he asks for help, which I would normally be obligated to do, 00:23:35.140 --> 00:23:37.380 I can say, well, I'm sorry, but I corbin my money. 00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:41.440 I mean, it looks really holy. 00:23:44.019 --> 00:23:45.720 I put it aside for God. 00:23:46.740 --> 00:23:48.079 I can't help you this time. 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:53.240 And the Pharisees were experts at that, and I started thinking through my life, 00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:58.000 how many things in our life do we corbin? 00:24:00.859 --> 00:24:03.099 We're walking out the door, and I'm looking at myself, 00:24:03.279 --> 00:24:04.839 and I see someone who's really hurting, 00:24:05.099 --> 00:24:08.120 and I know that I need to go talk to them and spend time with them and pray with them, 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:09.579 but I really don't have the time. 00:24:10.579 --> 00:24:13.680 I need to corbin that time and put it aside because I have something else I need to do. 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:17.140 And maybe in two weeks I'll have that time, and I'll uncorbin it and give it to a person. 00:24:17.140 --> 00:24:17.220 Listen. 00:24:22.220 --> 00:24:25.280 Jesus looks at them and goes, you guys are Pharisees. 00:24:29.340 --> 00:24:32.840 Because you're focusing on these little, simple things to do, 00:24:33.520 --> 00:24:35.640 and you're not focusing on your heart. 00:24:36.800 --> 00:24:38.600 What are some things we focus on in the church? 00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:42.860 I mean, we're a young church. 00:24:42.920 --> 00:24:43.740 We're one year old. 00:24:43.740 --> 00:24:48.400 Sometimes we focus on our dress code. 00:24:50.920 --> 00:24:53.940 Sometimes we focus on what Bible translation we read. 00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:56.980 You ever got any big discussion with somebody over a Bible translation? 00:24:57.700 --> 00:24:59.079 Just walk away, okay? 00:24:59.940 --> 00:25:00.819 It's not worth it. 00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:04.039 Sometimes we focus in on how much we tithe. 00:25:04.759 --> 00:25:07.140 Sometimes we focus in on how much we baptize. 00:25:08.200 --> 00:25:11.339 But in doing these really simple, easy things that we can do, 00:25:11.339 --> 00:25:14.899 we forget about other things that God calls us not to do. 00:25:16.419 --> 00:25:17.619 We forget about gossip. 00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:22.139 We forget about greed. 00:25:22.459 --> 00:25:23.619 We forget about pride. 00:25:24.500 --> 00:25:28.419 I think sometimes we're so worried about these small little things 00:25:28.419 --> 00:25:31.599 that we forget about loving each other. 00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:37.119 When Christine and I first came and we interviewed at our sister church, 00:25:37.199 --> 00:25:38.679 Ireland, I preached. 00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:42.559 And then that next hour, I was in a room with about 100 people 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:44.959 who just grilled me and asked me questions, 00:25:45.439 --> 00:25:46.799 theologically and other things. 00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:48.639 And all of a sudden, this one lady stood up, 00:25:48.679 --> 00:25:51.939 and she said, and her husband was right beside her, 00:25:51.959 --> 00:25:53.299 and he was kind of sheepishly there. 00:25:53.619 --> 00:25:55.980 And she goes, what do you say to your husband who smokes cigarettes? 00:25:55.980 --> 00:25:59.420 Isn't he a sinner? 00:26:01.860 --> 00:26:03.360 And I'm like, okay. 00:26:04.500 --> 00:26:07.799 Danger, Will Robinson, you know, all these little flags going off in my head. 00:26:08.140 --> 00:26:09.900 And everybody kind of snickered and laughed, 00:26:09.960 --> 00:26:11.900 and I guess there was something that had been going on there. 00:26:12.200 --> 00:26:15.920 And I said to her, I said, you know, 00:26:16.380 --> 00:26:21.200 there are a lot of famous people in the church who smoke cigarettes. 00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:27.860 Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Martin Luther. 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:34.140 And if that is the worst issue that your husband has, 00:26:35.120 --> 00:26:36.940 and his heart is fully for God, 00:26:37.580 --> 00:26:40.100 that's pretty good, isn't it? 00:26:42.220 --> 00:26:44.059 I looked at her, and what I wanted to say is, 00:26:44.100 --> 00:26:47.880 I'm sure he has greater problems, hint, hint, 00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:50.600 than smoking cigarettes. 00:26:51.880 --> 00:26:55.519 But sometimes we become so caught up in these little small things, 00:26:55.700 --> 00:26:57.740 and I'm not saying go start smoking, okay? 00:26:58.480 --> 00:26:59.500 We had a staff meeting, 00:26:59.580 --> 00:27:02.180 and we realized that almost everyone on our staff team and volunteers 00:27:02.180 --> 00:27:04.299 had smoked at least one time in their life. 00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:07.400 And so I thought that was very interesting, okay? 00:27:08.140 --> 00:27:10.759 But I'm not saying smoking is good, do that. 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:12.460 If you're a little kid here and you hear me say that, 00:27:12.460 --> 00:27:13.140 I'm not saying that. 00:27:13.140 --> 00:27:16.779 But what I'm saying is, God wants our heart. 00:27:16.779 --> 00:27:22.019 God wants our heart. 00:27:24.779 --> 00:27:26.220 And let me tell you one thing else, 00:27:26.440 --> 00:27:28.519 and this is just for me personally because I struggle with this. 00:27:28.879 --> 00:27:32.960 If I focus on really small things in my life, 00:27:33.019 --> 00:27:35.619 and if you find me obsessed with small things like, 00:27:35.859 --> 00:27:39.119 it used to really freak me out when guys come walking into church with hats on. 00:27:40.460 --> 00:27:42.160 Because there's something about growing up in the South, 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:44.080 and you take your hat off, and yes ma'am and no ma'am, 00:27:44.120 --> 00:27:46.160 and you walk into somebody's house, you don't wear a hat. 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:49.440 And people walk in, and they were wearing their hats. 00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:51.240 And I was like, oh man, I'm just, oh, 00:27:51.380 --> 00:27:52.840 that guy's wearing a hat in church. 00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:54.740 It's okay for girls to do that, but guys, no. 00:27:55.220 --> 00:27:57.160 And I realized, just like these Pharisees, 00:27:57.200 --> 00:27:59.660 that when I focus on small things like that, 00:28:01.560 --> 00:28:03.620 it's probably a really good indicator 00:28:03.620 --> 00:28:06.980 that there's something bigger in my heart 00:28:06.980 --> 00:28:09.420 that I'm trying to hide. 00:28:09.420 --> 00:28:15.640 That sometimes it's easier to focus on the small things 00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:18.500 and to forget about the big things 00:28:18.500 --> 00:28:20.000 and the massive holes in our life. 00:28:20.080 --> 00:28:21.460 And Jesus looked at their hearts, 00:28:21.560 --> 00:28:22.440 he looks at our hearts, 00:28:22.759 --> 00:28:24.920 and he says, hey, don't neglect loving people. 00:28:26.900 --> 00:28:28.820 Don't neglect caring for each other. 00:28:28.980 --> 00:28:30.860 Don't neglect compassion and mercy. 00:28:31.220 --> 00:28:33.480 Make sure that those things are important in your life. 00:28:33.660 --> 00:28:35.460 And he goes on, and he gives us another symptom, 00:28:35.840 --> 00:28:36.920 verse 42 and 43. 00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:38.680 He said, but woe to you Pharisees, 00:28:39.140 --> 00:28:41.000 verse 43 and 44. 00:28:41.519 --> 00:28:43.560 Woe to you Pharisees, for you love the chief seats 00:28:43.560 --> 00:28:45.620 in the synagogues and respectful greetings 00:28:45.620 --> 00:28:46.440 in the marketplaces. 00:28:46.940 --> 00:28:48.460 Woe to you, for you are like concealed tombs. 00:28:48.700 --> 00:28:50.000 And woe is a bad word. 00:28:50.980 --> 00:28:51.860 It's like horror. 00:28:53.100 --> 00:28:54.340 It's like terrible. 00:28:54.960 --> 00:28:56.680 It's like you're going down this track, 00:28:56.740 --> 00:28:58.259 and you're gonna fall off into this river 00:28:58.259 --> 00:29:00.340 full of sharks and piranhas and everything else. 00:29:00.500 --> 00:29:01.400 You need to turn around. 00:29:02.759 --> 00:29:03.620 And so when he said it, 00:29:03.640 --> 00:29:06.039 and when we read it in our nice Aussie accents up here, 00:29:06.039 --> 00:29:07.119 woe. 00:29:08.379 --> 00:29:10.599 I mean, it was bad. 00:29:12.299 --> 00:29:13.319 And so he says to them, 00:29:13.659 --> 00:29:15.279 woe, because you're heading down this road, 00:29:15.420 --> 00:29:16.480 and you're doing these things, 00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:17.960 you want to be seen by people. 00:29:18.059 --> 00:29:18.799 You love the greetings. 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:19.700 You love the recognition. 00:29:19.879 --> 00:29:22.000 You love the reputation. 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:29.440 You love the being thought more well by people 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:31.640 than by God. 00:29:35.099 --> 00:29:36.839 Jesus looks at them, and he looks at us, 00:29:36.859 --> 00:29:37.500 and says, be careful. 00:29:37.619 --> 00:29:38.279 Watch your heart. 00:29:39.640 --> 00:29:41.839 Because if your motives are driven by outward appearance, 00:29:41.900 --> 00:29:43.819 if your motives are driven by what people think of you, 00:29:44.039 --> 00:29:46.160 if your motives are driven by how I respond 00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:48.360 and how I perform so that everybody sees this, 00:29:49.259 --> 00:29:49.980 that's bad. 00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:53.400 The Pharisees were all about image, 00:29:53.600 --> 00:29:55.019 how they dressed, how they acted. 00:29:55.380 --> 00:29:56.080 The greetings. 00:29:56.220 --> 00:29:57.900 Remember when Jesus sent his disciples in to get food? 00:29:57.940 --> 00:29:58.860 He said, hey, don't greet anybody. 00:29:59.400 --> 00:30:01.160 Because sometimes the greetings lasted 30 minutes, 00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:02.640 and sometimes they lasted two hours. 00:30:03.779 --> 00:30:04.680 Because they loved this, 00:30:04.779 --> 00:30:07.820 oh, pastor so-and-so of the first prefect, 00:30:07.900 --> 00:30:08.920 blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 00:30:09.400 --> 00:30:10.980 And it was a huge thing. 00:30:12.660 --> 00:30:14.880 And he said, be careful if that's your motive. 00:30:16.320 --> 00:30:18.420 Be careful if that's what you want to see. 00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:21.259 Be careful of being concerned about your outward appearance. 00:30:21.480 --> 00:30:23.900 Because if you're concerned about what people think of you, 00:30:24.180 --> 00:30:26.640 you have to spend a lot of work to get that going. 00:30:28.080 --> 00:30:29.240 You ever notice, like, movie stars? 00:30:30.380 --> 00:30:32.880 I mean, they have to be in every magazine all the time. 00:30:32.940 --> 00:30:34.240 It's not just to be in one magazine. 00:30:34.920 --> 00:30:36.779 Because if you're in one magazine that's two years old, 00:30:36.800 --> 00:30:38.279 it's like, well, that was two years ago. 00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:42.100 But if appearance and outward performance is important, 00:30:42.380 --> 00:30:44.759 you have to be doing that all the time. 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:50.100 And Jesus is looking at the Pharisees and saying, guys, no. 00:30:53.880 --> 00:30:54.240 No. 00:30:57.800 --> 00:30:59.720 Don't be worried about the other people around you. 00:30:59.740 --> 00:31:01.039 Don't be worried about their appearance. 00:31:01.539 --> 00:31:02.779 We all need grace. 00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:04.000 We all need Christ. 00:31:04.120 --> 00:31:05.240 We all need the cross. 00:31:05.600 --> 00:31:07.560 We all are under massive condemnation. 00:31:07.559 --> 00:31:09.159 We all are sinners. 00:31:10.919 --> 00:31:12.419 And when God looks at each one of us, 00:31:12.460 --> 00:31:14.980 he sees the same heart and the same need. 00:31:17.179 --> 00:31:19.799 It doesn't matter how you dress or what you do or how you act. 00:31:20.019 --> 00:31:22.559 In front of God, our hearts are the same. 00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:27.079 And Jesus is giving us a warning. 00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:28.059 He's saying, be careful. 00:31:28.419 --> 00:31:30.179 Don't separate yourself from other people. 00:31:30.379 --> 00:31:33.119 Because if you separate yourself, you become a hypocrite. 00:31:33.119 --> 00:31:37.459 Be careful. 00:31:37.559 --> 00:31:39.419 Don't think of yourself more than other people. 00:31:39.959 --> 00:31:41.539 Because in God's eyes, we're all the same. 00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:42.319 We all have this need. 00:31:42.479 --> 00:31:43.659 We all, we're all sinners. 00:31:43.759 --> 00:31:44.899 We're all saved by grace. 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:47.839 And the minute we forget that, we start acting like a Pharisee. 00:31:47.839 --> 00:31:50.619 And we say, well, I did this. 00:31:50.699 --> 00:31:51.939 And I did that. 00:31:52.019 --> 00:31:52.980 And I'm here. 00:31:53.119 --> 00:31:54.619 And how come they don't respect me? 00:31:54.659 --> 00:31:56.359 And how come they don't say hi to me? 00:31:56.379 --> 00:31:58.019 And how come they don't do these things? 00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:00.359 And that's what the Pharisee's world was all about. 00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:05.159 My girls come home from school. 00:32:05.299 --> 00:32:06.279 And I say, well, how was your day today? 00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:07.099 And they said, that was terrible. 00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:08.439 I said, why? 00:32:08.559 --> 00:32:09.659 He goes, well, they X'd me out. 00:32:10.839 --> 00:32:11.699 They X'd you out? 00:32:11.720 --> 00:32:12.279 What does that mean? 00:32:12.679 --> 00:32:13.839 Well, they stopped paying attention to me. 00:32:14.759 --> 00:32:15.699 So they X'd me out. 00:32:16.779 --> 00:32:19.039 Now, boys, again, we never talk about being X'd out. 00:32:20.839 --> 00:32:22.839 But for girls, that was really important for them. 00:32:22.859 --> 00:32:23.679 And I'm warning a lot. 00:32:23.779 --> 00:32:27.139 As I said over and over, I'm highly teachable right now as a parent. 00:32:28.220 --> 00:32:29.220 Especially with my daughters. 00:32:30.919 --> 00:32:34.139 But Jesus looks at these people who are so concerned about their appearance. 00:32:34.139 --> 00:32:35.480 And he says, be careful. 00:32:35.859 --> 00:32:39.579 Because if you head down that road, not only will you corrupt yourselves, 00:32:40.819 --> 00:32:42.500 but you're going to be this tomb. 00:32:43.839 --> 00:32:47.399 And when all the people walk by you or get near you, you're going to corrupt them. 00:32:49.639 --> 00:32:52.740 It was very important for a Pharisee not to touch on a dead body. 00:32:52.779 --> 00:32:55.659 Because if they touched a dead body for seven days, they couldn't go to church. 00:32:57.000 --> 00:32:59.099 And so they had this big campaign in Jesus' day. 00:32:59.199 --> 00:33:01.699 And before all the festivals, they would send people out. 00:33:01.859 --> 00:33:04.599 And the people would whitewash all the tombs everywhere 00:33:04.599 --> 00:33:06.799 just to make sure that no one, as they walked around, 00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:08.339 stepped on a tomb and got undefiled. 00:33:08.799 --> 00:33:09.759 And not knowing it. 00:33:09.759 --> 00:33:14.059 And Jesus looks at these guys that were concerned by their outside 00:33:14.059 --> 00:33:16.400 and by their appearance and who they are and what they do 00:33:16.400 --> 00:33:17.099 and how they're seen. 00:33:17.420 --> 00:33:18.599 And he says, be careful. 00:33:18.700 --> 00:33:20.839 Because if you don't deal with your heart, 00:33:21.379 --> 00:33:23.779 you're going to corrupt your family. 00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:28.119 Be careful. 00:33:28.220 --> 00:33:30.099 If you don't deal with this issue there, 00:33:30.279 --> 00:33:31.200 you're going to be a tomb. 00:33:31.200 --> 00:33:33.940 And people are going to walk beside you or beside you or along you. 00:33:34.099 --> 00:33:35.400 And you're going to corrupt them. 00:33:36.039 --> 00:33:37.700 And they're going to become just like you. 00:33:37.700 --> 00:33:45.259 And woe to you who love the chief seats in the synagogues 00:33:45.259 --> 00:33:46.920 and have respectful greetings in the marketplace. 00:33:47.940 --> 00:33:50.340 The chief seat was this bench in the front. 00:33:51.759 --> 00:33:52.880 And it faced outward. 00:33:55.019 --> 00:33:57.180 And everybody important wanted to sit there 00:33:57.180 --> 00:33:59.960 so that when everybody walked in the back, 00:33:59.960 --> 00:34:01.059 they could be seen. 00:34:02.220 --> 00:34:03.500 And they could see everybody. 00:34:03.500 --> 00:34:07.900 And Jesus says, be careful of your heart. 00:34:09.739 --> 00:34:11.840 Because if you do this, it's going to destroy you. 00:34:13.280 --> 00:34:14.059 How's your heart doing? 00:34:16.599 --> 00:34:18.219 One last thing he looks at here, 00:34:18.280 --> 00:34:22.460 and I think it's all 45 through 54. 00:34:22.619 --> 00:34:24.219 If you're the lawyers, you hate this passage. 00:34:25.219 --> 00:34:26.719 The lawyer said to him in reply, 00:34:26.880 --> 00:34:28.179 teacher, when you say this, 00:34:28.599 --> 00:34:29.940 you're insulting all of us. 00:34:29.940 --> 00:34:33.159 Because you're not just picking my Pharisee brethren, 00:34:33.340 --> 00:34:35.940 but you're insulting all of us. 00:34:36.760 --> 00:34:38.300 He said, woe to you lawyers as well, 00:34:38.360 --> 00:34:39.740 for you weigh men down with burdens 00:34:39.740 --> 00:34:41.679 that are hard to bear. 00:34:41.780 --> 00:34:45.460 These large loads like a boat put on their shoulder, 00:34:45.900 --> 00:34:47.760 while you yourselves don't even touch the burdens 00:34:47.760 --> 00:34:48.700 with one of your fingers. 00:34:49.400 --> 00:34:51.240 Woe to you, for you build a tomb to the prophets, 00:34:51.340 --> 00:34:52.700 and it was your fathers who killed them. 00:34:53.539 --> 00:34:54.760 So in building these things, 00:34:54.820 --> 00:34:55.900 what you're basically saying is, 00:34:56.840 --> 00:34:58.340 my fathers did the right thing. 00:34:58.340 --> 00:35:00.720 There was a saying in Israel 00:35:00.720 --> 00:35:04.039 that the only good prophet was a dead prophet. 00:35:05.940 --> 00:35:08.000 And the Pharisees and the scribes 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:10.820 and the lawyers agreed with that. 00:35:12.280 --> 00:35:13.740 For this reason, the wisdom of God, 00:35:13.820 --> 00:35:14.600 which I will send to them, 00:35:14.920 --> 00:35:15.920 the prophets and apostles. 00:35:16.059 --> 00:35:17.860 So he puts the Old Testament prophets 00:35:17.860 --> 00:35:19.760 and apostles, New Testament together. 00:35:19.860 --> 00:35:21.519 So you have a blending of the old and new 00:35:21.519 --> 00:35:22.300 in this one verse. 00:35:22.700 --> 00:35:23.680 Some of them will kill, 00:35:23.780 --> 00:35:25.039 and some of them they will persecute. 00:35:25.300 --> 00:35:26.400 But all of their blood, 00:35:26.400 --> 00:35:28.519 all of their blood that's shed from all these foundations 00:35:28.519 --> 00:35:30.360 were going to be charged against your generation 00:35:30.360 --> 00:35:32.420 because you know the truth. 00:35:32.980 --> 00:35:33.920 From the blood of Abel, 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:35.280 the first person who was innocent, 00:35:35.460 --> 00:35:36.340 killed in Genesis, 00:35:36.740 --> 00:35:37.920 to the blood of Zechariah, 00:35:38.079 --> 00:35:39.940 the last prophet in 2 Chronicles, 00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:41.099 who was killed between the altar, 00:35:41.200 --> 00:35:41.840 the house of God. 00:35:42.180 --> 00:35:42.700 Yes, I tell you, 00:35:42.740 --> 00:35:44.099 it should be charged against you this generation. 00:35:44.660 --> 00:35:45.539 Woe to you, lawyers, 00:35:46.960 --> 00:35:48.639 for you've taken away the key of knowledge. 00:35:49.980 --> 00:35:51.460 And you yourselves did not enter, 00:35:51.460 --> 00:35:52.679 and you've hindered those 00:35:52.679 --> 00:35:54.559 who were entering into them. 00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:57.579 And what Jesus says is the last heart check is, 00:35:58.000 --> 00:35:58.940 is your life 00:35:58.940 --> 00:36:02.960 so unattractive 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:06.220 that when people look at you, 00:36:06.280 --> 00:36:07.199 they can't see Jesus? 00:36:12.260 --> 00:36:14.920 Is your life so concealed and so hidden? 00:36:15.119 --> 00:36:16.559 The lawyers wore this key, 00:36:16.720 --> 00:36:18.519 actually a symbol of a key around their neck, 00:36:18.559 --> 00:36:19.579 and it was a symbol of the truth, 00:36:19.579 --> 00:36:20.639 that they held the truth 00:36:20.639 --> 00:36:21.699 and they could unlock the truth. 00:36:22.059 --> 00:36:23.000 And what he's saying to them is, 00:36:23.159 --> 00:36:24.579 be careful if this is you 00:36:24.579 --> 00:36:26.579 because your life is going to be 00:36:26.579 --> 00:36:28.940 not filled with love, 00:36:29.840 --> 00:36:31.880 not filled with compassion. 00:36:32.960 --> 00:36:34.319 And you're going to look at different ways 00:36:34.319 --> 00:36:35.019 to get to God, 00:36:35.059 --> 00:36:36.460 and you're going to try rules 00:36:36.460 --> 00:36:37.960 and ceremonies 00:36:37.960 --> 00:36:39.519 and all these things. 00:36:39.579 --> 00:36:40.819 You're going to try to work harder. 00:36:40.940 --> 00:36:42.920 You're going to try to tithe more. 00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:44.420 You're going to try to eat better. 00:36:44.519 --> 00:36:45.500 You're going to not sleep. 00:36:45.699 --> 00:36:46.719 And all these rituals 00:36:46.719 --> 00:36:47.559 and all these rules 00:36:47.559 --> 00:36:48.539 the lawyers brought on, 00:36:48.539 --> 00:36:49.779 there were 6,000 of them 00:36:49.779 --> 00:36:50.759 that they put together 00:36:50.759 --> 00:36:51.139 and they said, 00:36:51.279 --> 00:36:52.159 okay, you have to follow 00:36:52.159 --> 00:36:53.400 these 6,000 rules. 00:36:54.039 --> 00:36:55.699 And if you follow these 6,000 rules, 00:36:55.779 --> 00:36:56.219 then you're good, 00:36:56.320 --> 00:36:56.800 you're holy, 00:36:57.119 --> 00:36:58.679 and you're in. 00:37:00.099 --> 00:37:01.400 And Jesus looks at them and says, 00:37:01.779 --> 00:37:02.239 guys, 00:37:02.920 --> 00:37:05.759 you're living a life 00:37:05.759 --> 00:37:08.500 that's so difficult to live. 00:37:10.880 --> 00:37:12.619 No one's going to want to be that part. 00:37:12.619 --> 00:37:17.239 What does that look like today? 00:37:19.639 --> 00:37:21.119 It might look like a different thing 00:37:21.119 --> 00:37:22.059 for each one of us, right? 00:37:23.779 --> 00:37:24.859 I grew up in a culture 00:37:24.859 --> 00:37:26.380 where you went to church Sunday, 00:37:26.799 --> 00:37:27.940 you went to Sunday school Sunday, 00:37:28.319 --> 00:37:29.400 you went to church Sunday night, 00:37:29.900 --> 00:37:31.299 you went to Bible study Wednesday, 00:37:31.900 --> 00:37:33.380 you went to a men's group on Friday, 00:37:33.819 --> 00:37:35.159 and you might have done something 00:37:35.159 --> 00:37:35.719 on Saturday. 00:37:37.179 --> 00:37:38.679 Now, if we ran the church like that 00:37:38.679 --> 00:37:39.679 in Hong Kong and said, 00:37:39.679 --> 00:37:41.219 this is what you're expected to do, 00:37:41.299 --> 00:37:42.759 you have to do these things, 00:37:43.119 --> 00:37:44.039 would that be attractive 00:37:44.039 --> 00:37:44.699 to people here? 00:37:47.799 --> 00:37:49.019 Maybe for some of us 00:37:49.019 --> 00:37:50.699 who grew up that way, 00:37:50.779 --> 00:37:51.599 but for a lot of us, 00:37:51.619 --> 00:37:52.440 it would run us away, 00:37:52.519 --> 00:37:52.799 and we say, 00:37:52.859 --> 00:37:53.799 man, I don't want to have anything 00:37:53.799 --> 00:37:55.119 to do with that. 00:37:56.119 --> 00:37:57.000 I don't want to have anything 00:37:57.000 --> 00:37:57.779 to do with your religion, 00:37:57.899 --> 00:37:58.399 I don't want to have anything 00:37:58.399 --> 00:37:59.119 to do with your traditions, 00:37:59.219 --> 00:37:59.839 I don't want to have anything 00:37:59.839 --> 00:38:00.940 to do with your legalism. 00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:02.859 Because in the midst 00:38:02.859 --> 00:38:03.819 of all these things 00:38:03.819 --> 00:38:04.319 that you're centered 00:38:04.319 --> 00:38:05.179 in your life around, 00:38:05.919 --> 00:38:07.559 Jesus looks at their heart, 00:38:07.659 --> 00:38:07.980 and he says, 00:38:07.980 --> 00:38:11.860 you don't know God. 00:38:14.980 --> 00:38:16.159 The problem is that you're not 00:38:16.159 --> 00:38:17.920 doing enough things, 00:38:18.500 --> 00:38:19.820 the problem is you're doing 00:38:19.820 --> 00:38:20.780 all these things, 00:38:22.579 --> 00:38:23.960 but you don't know God. 00:38:27.820 --> 00:38:30.159 God hasn't seen your heart, 00:38:30.219 --> 00:38:31.699 you haven't given your heart to God. 00:38:33.059 --> 00:38:36.240 Be careful if you head down this road 00:38:36.239 --> 00:38:39.119 maybe a question I've thought 00:38:39.119 --> 00:38:40.699 about a lot these last two weeks 00:38:40.699 --> 00:38:42.279 as I've read and thought 00:38:42.279 --> 00:38:43.299 and read and thought about that 00:38:43.299 --> 00:38:44.619 is what do people see 00:38:44.619 --> 00:38:45.459 when they look at you? 00:38:50.859 --> 00:38:52.399 When you walk into your home, 00:38:53.759 --> 00:38:55.099 what do people see? 00:38:57.619 --> 00:38:59.179 When you walk into your workplace, 00:38:59.179 --> 00:39:02.199 what do people see? 00:39:02.199 --> 00:39:05.839 When you walk into church, 00:39:06.339 --> 00:39:08.759 what do people see? 00:39:11.279 --> 00:39:12.719 Do they see a heart that loves? 00:39:14.679 --> 00:39:16.000 A heart that cares? 00:39:17.500 --> 00:39:18.759 A heart that serves? 00:39:18.839 --> 00:39:20.279 A heart that knows God intimately? 00:39:20.460 --> 00:39:21.500 A heart that wants to share 00:39:21.500 --> 00:39:23.019 Him with everybody? 00:39:23.019 --> 00:39:25.940 Or do they see a church 00:39:25.940 --> 00:39:27.780 and a people that want rules 00:39:27.780 --> 00:39:28.800 and rituals 00:39:28.800 --> 00:39:31.400 and things that only make it harder 00:39:31.400 --> 00:39:32.219 for us 00:39:32.219 --> 00:39:34.539 to get to God? 00:39:37.579 --> 00:39:39.300 Maybe a question to ask would be, 00:39:40.300 --> 00:39:41.960 what does it look like 00:39:41.960 --> 00:39:43.539 to have a clean inside 00:39:43.539 --> 00:39:45.599 and a clean outside also? 00:39:45.599 --> 00:39:53.619 Finally, as I said before, 00:39:53.719 --> 00:39:54.480 this passage to me, 00:39:54.539 --> 00:39:55.119 I was looking at this 00:39:55.119 --> 00:39:55.360 and I was like, 00:39:55.400 --> 00:39:56.279 man, this is a hard passage. 00:39:56.380 --> 00:39:57.179 This is really difficult 00:39:57.179 --> 00:39:59.360 and I have no hope 00:39:59.360 --> 00:40:00.719 in this passage by itself. 00:40:04.159 --> 00:40:06.000 But this passage isn't by itself. 00:40:08.079 --> 00:40:08.900 Because as we've said 00:40:08.900 --> 00:40:09.559 over and over again 00:40:09.559 --> 00:40:10.719 that Jesus is on His way 00:40:10.719 --> 00:40:11.819 to Jerusalem. 00:40:13.860 --> 00:40:14.639 In Jerusalem, 00:40:14.639 --> 00:40:16.699 He's going to be crucified 00:40:16.699 --> 00:40:18.239 for us. 00:40:23.179 --> 00:40:24.279 After my heart attack, 00:40:24.359 --> 00:40:25.500 I started doing a couple things. 00:40:25.599 --> 00:40:27.139 I read and I did all these things 00:40:27.139 --> 00:40:29.420 and I put a heart monitor on 00:40:29.420 --> 00:40:30.259 when I worked out. 00:40:31.400 --> 00:40:32.139 And the heart monitor 00:40:32.139 --> 00:40:33.619 goes to my watch 00:40:33.619 --> 00:40:36.259 and I measure my heart 00:40:36.259 --> 00:40:37.059 and intake 00:40:37.059 --> 00:40:38.019 and how it's doing 00:40:38.019 --> 00:40:39.199 and watching it 00:40:39.199 --> 00:40:40.099 and regulations. 00:40:40.559 --> 00:40:41.819 And I learned that medically 00:40:41.819 --> 00:40:43.440 there are a lot of different ways 00:40:43.440 --> 00:40:44.440 to deal with heart disease. 00:40:45.639 --> 00:40:47.199 There's at least three common ways 00:40:47.199 --> 00:40:48.579 that people try and do things. 00:40:48.679 --> 00:40:49.799 There's the old traditional way, 00:40:49.879 --> 00:40:50.460 there's a new way, 00:40:50.759 --> 00:40:51.980 and there's kind of a progressive way. 00:40:52.279 --> 00:40:52.779 And each one of them 00:40:52.779 --> 00:40:53.539 have different ideas 00:40:53.539 --> 00:40:54.039 of what it means 00:40:54.039 --> 00:40:55.000 to fix your heart 00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:56.239 and change your heart. 00:40:58.400 --> 00:40:59.619 And the Pharisees did too. 00:41:02.559 --> 00:41:03.639 They said you fix your heart 00:41:03.639 --> 00:41:04.420 by being smarter, 00:41:06.000 --> 00:41:07.619 by going to Bible study, 00:41:07.619 --> 00:41:10.599 by being better, 00:41:11.179 --> 00:41:12.239 by tithing more, 00:41:12.679 --> 00:41:14.199 by being seen, 00:41:14.739 --> 00:41:16.339 all of these things. 00:41:16.819 --> 00:41:19.099 And God's word says 00:41:19.099 --> 00:41:20.139 there's only one way 00:41:20.139 --> 00:41:21.239 to fix our heart. 00:41:23.259 --> 00:41:24.920 Medically, there's a lot of ways. 00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:25.759 This is very interesting 00:41:25.759 --> 00:41:27.880 because even nine years ago 00:41:27.880 --> 00:41:29.139 after my first heart attack, 00:41:29.199 --> 00:41:29.940 the common wisdom 00:41:29.940 --> 00:41:30.480 of what it means 00:41:30.480 --> 00:41:31.159 to fix your heart 00:41:31.159 --> 00:41:33.259 then and now 00:41:33.260 --> 00:41:34.880 is pretty different. 00:41:36.040 --> 00:41:36.660 There are certain drugs 00:41:36.660 --> 00:41:37.360 you do take now 00:41:37.360 --> 00:41:38.080 and you don't take then. 00:41:38.340 --> 00:41:39.060 There are certain stints 00:41:39.060 --> 00:41:39.540 that are coated 00:41:39.540 --> 00:41:40.260 and you don't coat 00:41:40.260 --> 00:41:41.200 and you want to use 00:41:41.200 --> 00:41:42.440 an uncoated stint now 00:41:42.440 --> 00:41:43.060 because it causes 00:41:43.060 --> 00:41:45.100 a certain coagulation. 00:41:45.580 --> 00:41:46.760 And within nine years, 00:41:46.900 --> 00:41:48.320 all of that terminology 00:41:48.320 --> 00:41:49.160 and thought 00:41:49.160 --> 00:41:49.700 and wisdom 00:41:49.700 --> 00:41:50.520 changed. 00:41:50.519 --> 00:41:53.659 But in Scripture, 00:41:54.400 --> 00:41:56.480 it's never changed. 00:41:59.219 --> 00:42:00.739 How you fix a human heart 00:42:00.739 --> 00:42:02.259 has always been the same 00:42:02.259 --> 00:42:03.420 for 2,000 years. 00:42:04.599 --> 00:42:05.480 The Bible says 00:42:05.480 --> 00:42:06.460 that we fix our hearts 00:42:06.460 --> 00:42:07.179 by coming to it 00:42:07.179 --> 00:42:07.800 and realizing 00:42:07.800 --> 00:42:08.800 that we've all 00:42:08.800 --> 00:42:09.860 rebelled against God. 00:42:10.840 --> 00:42:11.639 The Bible says 00:42:11.639 --> 00:42:12.759 that we've all decided 00:42:12.759 --> 00:42:13.940 to worship ourselves 00:42:13.940 --> 00:42:14.679 instead of God. 00:42:14.780 --> 00:42:15.659 We've worshipped idols 00:42:15.659 --> 00:42:17.179 and we've clung to things 00:42:17.179 --> 00:42:17.980 to give our lives 00:42:17.980 --> 00:42:19.139 ultimate meaning 00:42:19.139 --> 00:42:20.480 instead of temporary meaning. 00:42:21.340 --> 00:42:22.519 That we've all come 00:42:22.519 --> 00:42:23.699 under God's judgment 00:42:23.699 --> 00:42:24.500 and we've all 00:42:24.500 --> 00:42:25.219 are guilty 00:42:25.219 --> 00:42:26.280 because of our sin. 00:42:27.280 --> 00:42:28.360 That we've all tried 00:42:28.360 --> 00:42:30.440 to cover ourselves up 00:42:30.440 --> 00:42:33.239 with masks 00:42:33.239 --> 00:42:35.199 or clothes 00:42:35.199 --> 00:42:37.199 or rituals 00:42:37.199 --> 00:42:39.519 or things that we've learned 00:42:39.519 --> 00:42:40.059 how to do 00:42:40.059 --> 00:42:41.000 from our parents. 00:42:42.340 --> 00:42:43.739 Or sometimes we just pretend 00:42:43.739 --> 00:42:44.539 that it isn't there. 00:42:45.820 --> 00:42:47.380 That I'm really not that bad. 00:42:49.159 --> 00:42:50.179 The Bible says 00:42:50.179 --> 00:42:50.980 that we all 00:42:50.980 --> 00:42:52.779 deserve condemnation. 00:42:54.139 --> 00:42:55.019 We all try 00:42:55.019 --> 00:42:56.099 to fix ourselves. 00:42:56.859 --> 00:42:57.599 But then we see 00:42:57.599 --> 00:42:58.980 that we can't do that. 00:43:00.259 --> 00:43:01.440 That there's only one hope 00:43:01.440 --> 00:43:02.859 and that hope is God. 00:43:04.539 --> 00:43:05.299 And God has given 00:43:05.299 --> 00:43:05.940 the good news 00:43:05.940 --> 00:43:06.480 and the good news 00:43:06.480 --> 00:43:07.079 is his son, 00:43:07.440 --> 00:43:08.159 Jesus Christ. 00:43:08.279 --> 00:43:09.359 And we come to Christ 00:43:09.359 --> 00:43:11.319 by faith and trust 00:43:11.319 --> 00:43:12.480 in his sacrifice 00:43:12.480 --> 00:43:13.139 in the life 00:43:13.139 --> 00:43:13.719 that he lives. 00:43:13.719 --> 00:43:17.439 that's the only way 00:43:17.439 --> 00:43:18.259 to fix our hearts. 00:43:21.399 --> 00:43:22.799 We see that we can't 00:43:22.799 --> 00:43:23.500 be God. 00:43:24.739 --> 00:43:25.899 That there is a God. 00:43:27.480 --> 00:43:28.359 And he's given us 00:43:28.359 --> 00:43:29.359 the gospel message 00:43:29.359 --> 00:43:29.819 of his son, 00:43:29.879 --> 00:43:30.619 Jesus Christ. 00:43:31.619 --> 00:43:32.839 And as we come to him 00:43:32.839 --> 00:43:33.659 and we put our faith 00:43:33.659 --> 00:43:34.739 and our trust in Christ 00:43:34.739 --> 00:43:35.759 and the sacrifice 00:43:35.759 --> 00:43:36.759 that he's done for us, 00:43:36.899 --> 00:43:37.699 we are able 00:43:37.699 --> 00:43:38.819 to then allow 00:43:38.819 --> 00:43:39.599 God's spirit 00:43:39.599 --> 00:43:40.899 to enter into our life 00:43:40.900 --> 00:43:42.420 and it changes us. 00:43:46.840 --> 00:43:47.539 We would have 00:43:47.539 --> 00:43:48.539 10 billion people 00:43:48.539 --> 00:43:49.200 in this church 00:43:49.200 --> 00:43:50.240 if we came up 00:43:50.240 --> 00:43:50.740 with a pill 00:43:50.740 --> 00:43:51.460 that would make you 00:43:51.460 --> 00:43:52.619 go take it 00:43:52.619 --> 00:43:53.599 and you go to church 00:43:53.599 --> 00:43:54.720 but go to heaven. 00:43:55.980 --> 00:43:56.800 But the scripture says 00:43:56.800 --> 00:43:57.619 that there's only one thing 00:43:57.619 --> 00:43:58.860 that fixes our hearts. 00:44:00.019 --> 00:44:00.599 The only one thing 00:44:00.599 --> 00:44:01.700 that brings us back to God 00:44:01.700 --> 00:44:02.440 and that's a personal 00:44:02.440 --> 00:44:03.900 relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:44:04.840 --> 00:44:05.519 Now are there things 00:44:05.519 --> 00:44:06.180 that we can do 00:44:06.180 --> 00:44:07.340 in that relationship? 00:44:07.519 --> 00:44:07.700 Yeah. 00:44:09.099 --> 00:44:09.940 The scripture's very clear 00:44:09.940 --> 00:44:10.880 that we're to be in community. 00:44:10.900 --> 00:44:13.420 The Bible's really clear 00:44:13.420 --> 00:44:14.420 that we're to read the Bible. 00:44:15.340 --> 00:44:16.400 The Bible's really clear 00:44:16.400 --> 00:44:17.160 that we're to pray. 00:44:18.420 --> 00:44:19.460 The Bible's really clear 00:44:19.460 --> 00:44:20.220 that we're to surrender 00:44:20.220 --> 00:44:20.780 our lives 00:44:20.780 --> 00:44:21.860 and to confess our lives 00:44:21.860 --> 00:44:22.800 and to continually 00:44:22.800 --> 00:44:24.000 examine our lives 00:44:24.000 --> 00:44:25.400 to see do we have 00:44:25.400 --> 00:44:26.660 heart problems. 00:44:29.340 --> 00:44:30.240 And as we do, 00:44:30.300 --> 00:44:31.280 we come before the Lord 00:44:31.280 --> 00:44:32.539 and we confess those to him 00:44:32.539 --> 00:44:33.139 and we surrender 00:44:33.139 --> 00:44:34.059 those things to him 00:44:34.059 --> 00:44:35.240 and we allow him 00:44:35.240 --> 00:44:36.700 to change us. 00:44:40.900 --> 00:44:42.800 How's your heart? 00:44:51.420 --> 00:44:52.920 Jesus looked at some men 00:44:52.920 --> 00:44:54.539 who on the outside 00:44:54.539 --> 00:44:56.000 had their acts all together. 00:44:56.780 --> 00:44:57.720 They were the leaders, 00:44:57.900 --> 00:44:58.599 they were the powerful, 00:44:58.780 --> 00:44:59.340 they were the beautiful, 00:44:59.559 --> 00:45:00.639 they were who everybody 00:45:00.639 --> 00:45:01.559 wanted them to be. 00:45:03.160 --> 00:45:04.539 And he saw that their heart 00:45:04.539 --> 00:45:05.340 was not good. 00:45:05.340 --> 00:45:08.240 And he shares for us 00:45:08.240 --> 00:45:08.720 in scripture 00:45:08.720 --> 00:45:10.039 these symptoms 00:45:10.039 --> 00:45:13.039 that we need to be aware of. 00:45:14.680 --> 00:45:15.880 And I would say that 00:45:15.880 --> 00:45:17.940 we all have this problem. 00:45:19.760 --> 00:45:20.960 And I hope that you're not 00:45:20.960 --> 00:45:21.780 hearing me say, 00:45:22.240 --> 00:45:23.240 I don't have this problem 00:45:23.240 --> 00:45:24.579 because I'll say over and over 00:45:24.579 --> 00:45:25.519 that I have this problem 00:45:25.519 --> 00:45:26.320 more than anybody else 00:45:26.320 --> 00:45:26.720 in this room. 00:45:26.719 --> 00:45:31.299 I shared that one time 00:45:31.299 --> 00:45:32.219 at a church I was preaching 00:45:32.219 --> 00:45:32.679 to who, 00:45:34.699 --> 00:45:35.719 and the elder came up 00:45:35.719 --> 00:45:36.279 to me afterwards 00:45:36.279 --> 00:45:36.639 and he said, 00:45:36.799 --> 00:45:37.599 you can't say that. 00:45:39.219 --> 00:45:40.000 I said, what? 00:45:41.039 --> 00:45:41.859 He said, you can't say 00:45:41.859 --> 00:45:42.799 that you struggle with sin 00:45:42.799 --> 00:45:43.699 and you have these problems 00:45:43.699 --> 00:45:44.839 and you're broken 00:45:44.839 --> 00:45:45.619 and you're needy 00:45:45.619 --> 00:45:46.799 because we expect 00:45:46.799 --> 00:45:47.939 our pastor to be perfect. 00:45:50.659 --> 00:45:51.659 We expect our pastor 00:45:51.659 --> 00:45:52.599 to have his act together 00:45:52.599 --> 00:45:53.259 because if our pastor 00:45:53.259 --> 00:45:54.239 doesn't have his act together, 00:45:54.519 --> 00:45:55.299 then what hope is there 00:45:55.299 --> 00:45:56.559 of us having our act together? 00:45:56.719 --> 00:45:59.059 I was like, dude, 00:46:00.480 --> 00:46:03.959 heavy burden, right? 00:46:04.899 --> 00:46:05.539 I said, 00:46:05.879 --> 00:46:07.939 you don't need 00:46:07.939 --> 00:46:08.719 a perfect pastor. 00:46:11.000 --> 00:46:12.539 You need a perfect savior. 00:46:14.639 --> 00:46:15.839 If you had a perfect pastor, 00:46:15.939 --> 00:46:16.759 you wouldn't need Jesus. 00:46:18.639 --> 00:46:19.679 You need Christ. 00:46:21.879 --> 00:46:22.679 Because he's the only thing 00:46:22.679 --> 00:46:23.559 that's going to change your heart. 00:46:27.119 --> 00:46:27.379 Father, 00:46:27.439 --> 00:46:27.959 we just thank you 00:46:27.959 --> 00:46:28.480 for this day. 00:46:28.579 --> 00:46:29.519 We thank you for your word. 00:46:29.719 --> 00:46:30.459 We thank you that it is 00:46:30.459 --> 00:46:31.239 living and active. 00:46:31.739 --> 00:46:32.579 We thank you that even 00:46:32.579 --> 00:46:33.459 in the hard, 00:46:33.559 --> 00:46:35.799 very difficult passages 00:46:35.799 --> 00:46:37.459 of woes and terrible 00:46:37.459 --> 00:46:38.799 and you're in trouble, 00:46:39.239 --> 00:46:40.339 we see the cross 00:46:40.339 --> 00:46:41.239 and you point us to, 00:46:41.299 --> 00:46:43.659 you point us to Golgotha 00:46:43.659 --> 00:46:45.359 and we see your son 00:46:45.359 --> 00:46:46.139 hanging there 00:46:46.139 --> 00:46:48.419 and we see his blood 00:46:48.419 --> 00:46:48.959 spilled 00:46:48.960 --> 00:46:51.119 so that you would fix 00:46:51.119 --> 00:46:51.740 our hearts. 00:46:52.780 --> 00:46:53.840 And so we come before you 00:46:53.840 --> 00:46:54.599 as a church 00:46:54.599 --> 00:46:55.400 and as individuals 00:46:55.400 --> 00:46:56.500 and we just ask you 00:46:56.500 --> 00:46:57.840 to look at us 00:46:57.840 --> 00:46:58.920 and to change us 00:46:58.920 --> 00:47:00.300 and to show us 00:47:00.300 --> 00:47:00.980 and bring people 00:47:00.980 --> 00:47:01.840 into our lives 00:47:01.840 --> 00:47:03.619 to encourage us 00:47:03.619 --> 00:47:04.619 and to point us 00:47:04.619 --> 00:47:06.220 to your son. 00:47:08.220 --> 00:47:08.619 Father, 00:47:08.720 --> 00:47:09.360 help us to realize 00:47:09.360 --> 00:47:10.220 that we're on a journey 00:47:10.220 --> 00:47:11.619 and none of us 00:47:11.619 --> 00:47:12.519 are going to be perfect, 00:47:13.199 --> 00:47:14.199 not even the pastor, 00:47:14.199 --> 00:47:16.179 until we get to heaven. 00:47:17.839 --> 00:47:18.719 But in the meantime, 00:47:18.919 --> 00:47:19.039 Lord, 00:47:19.079 --> 00:47:20.679 help us just to trust you 00:47:20.679 --> 00:47:22.219 and to surrender 00:47:22.219 --> 00:47:25.119 and spend time with you. 00:47:27.739 --> 00:47:28.099 Father, 00:47:28.139 --> 00:47:28.500 we thank you 00:47:28.500 --> 00:47:29.279 for this heart check 00:47:29.279 --> 00:47:29.719 and we pray 00:47:29.719 --> 00:47:30.619 for our heart check. 00:47:31.659 --> 00:47:32.599 We pray that our hearts 00:47:32.599 --> 00:47:34.059 would be hearts of love 00:47:34.059 --> 00:47:35.099 and compassion 00:47:35.099 --> 00:47:36.619 and caring 00:47:36.619 --> 00:47:39.239 as they reflect your son 00:47:39.239 --> 00:47:41.239 who's given us 00:47:41.239 --> 00:47:41.779 a new heart 00:47:41.780 --> 00:47:44.380 and a new hope. 00:47:46.200 --> 00:47:47.040 We love you. 00:47:48.560 --> 00:47:49.540 We pray all these things 00:47:49.540 --> 00:47:50.980 for your son Jesus' holy name. 00:47:51.560 --> 00:47:51.820 Amen.