And if you would open up your Bibles, please open up to the book of Judges, chapters 17 and 18.
If you've got a pew Bible, it's on page 256 of your pew Bible.
Do you know what it means to give lip service?
Lip service is essentially a kind of hypocrisy.
It's saying one thing, but you actually mean or are doing something else.
For example, you tell your spouse that you're going to do something, but then you don't do it.
I'm sure that doesn't apply to anybody in the room.
They become empty words.
And if you keep on doing that, you lack integrity.
You're saying one thing and you're doing another thing.
Another example would be a close Christian friend comes up to you and asks,
how are you doing spiritually?
A very specific question from a person who loves you, and you say, just fine.
Or maybe you say something like, I'm a blessed man, blessed.
But the reality is you are in a spiritual tailspin.
It's lip service, empty words, lack of integrity.
Let's say that there's a sister in our church who's claiming that Jesus Christ is her king,
but in reality, this sister is the king of her own life.
Her profession is lip service.
Because actually she is reigning on high in her own life.
Hypocrisy is when you say one thing but do another.
Do you know what the opposite of hypocrisy is?
Integrity.
It's when your words and your life, they line up.
Have you been in a situation where a non-Christian says this to you?
The church is full of hypocrites.
I've heard that.
I'm sure you've heard that.
And in one sense, it's true.
We're all hypocrites.
We all have a gap between our profession of Christ and our practice of living for Christ.
Anybody heard of the album Jesus Freak?
DC Talk?
Third track, What If I Stumble?
Brendan Manning is recorded by saying this.
The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips,
but walk out the door and deny Him with their lifestyle.
This is what an unbelieving world finds unbelievable.
Friends, I want you to know something.
Lip service Christianity.
Hypocrisy.
It's not the cause of worldliness.
It's a symptom of it.
If your skin breaks out with itchy little pock-like lesions that are spreading over your body,
they're not telling you that you may have chicken pox.
They're telling you,
you've got the virus.
We're going to see a virus
hitting full tilt
in the people of Israel.
The no-king virus.
It canonizes people.
If you're acknowledging Jesus with your lips,
but denying Him with your lifestyle,
you got the virus.
We've reached the end of the book of Judges.
And just as Judges began with a double introduction,
Judges ends with a double conclusion.
And so next week,
we're going to look at Judges 19, 20, and 21,
where the people of Israel hit rock bottom,
and you see it because they've been completely canonized,
made,
they've become just like the nations around them morally.
Today, we're going to look at 17 and 18,
where this complete canonization of the people of Israel,
they are religious apostates.
They say one thing, but they do another.
Hypocrisy isn't the cause of worldliness.
It's a symptom of it.
And do you know what the cure is?
Do you know what the cure of a divided heart over Jesus is?
It's a united heart in Jesus.
And He specializes in that work.
So what we're going to do is,
I'm going to walk you through chapter 17 and 18,
and then we're going to bring it to bear towards the end of the sermon.
So we're going to see that this
canonization of Israel
starts in a household,
it moves to the clergy,
and then it affects a tribe.
You ready?
Let's dig in.
Chapter 17,
we're going to see a compromised household
in verses 1 through 6.
Let me read it for you.
There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim
whose name was Micah.
By the way,
Micah means,
who is like the Lord.
No one.
That's what his name means.
Whose name was Micah,
and he said to his mother,
the 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you,
about which you uttered a curse
and also spoke in my ears,
behold, the silver is with me.
I took it.
And his mother said,
blessed be my son by the Lord.
And he restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother,
and his mother said,
I dedicate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son
to make a carved image and a metal image.
Now therefore, I'll restore it to you.
So when he restored the money to his mother,
and his mother took 200 pieces of silver
and gave it to the silversmith,
who made it into a carved image and a metal image,
and it was in the house of Micah,
who is like the Lord.
And the man Micah had a shrine,
literally a house of God,
and he made an ephod and a household gods
and ordained one of his sons,
who became his priest,
his priest.
In those days,
there was no king in Israel.
Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Let me just summarize what we just read.
We're introduced to this guy named Micah.
His name means who is like Yahweh.
He steals 1,100 silver pieces from his mom.
He hears her curse.
Whoever steals it,
he freaks out,
and so he confesses it.
Not because he fears Yahweh.
He fears his mom.
He returns the 1,100 silver pieces
after his mom blesses him in the name of the Lord.
This is crazy.
Well, he returns the 1,100 silver pieces.
His mom takes 200,
gives them to a silversmith,
and she's like,
I'm dedicating this to the Lord for my son,
so let's go make an idol.
It's crazy.
Micah puts the image in his,
quote-unquote,
house of God,
makes an ephod,
which is a fancy kind of dress,
priest's wear.
Household gods.
What?
And he ordains his own son as his priest.
Not Yahweh's priest,
his priest.
Okay,
what you're going to find out about Micah
as we go through 17 and 18
is he is an opportunist,
a self-serving opportunist.
He's looking for opportunities
to advance what he wants
when he wants it,
but he is also quite a disobedient dude
in other respects as well.
He steals.
Exodus 20, 15.
No, no.
He dishonors his mom.
Exodus 20, 12.
No, no.
His confession is totally suspect.
His mom blesses her disobedient son
in the name of Yahweh
like she's trying to reverse the curse
she just spoke.
What?
He did not need blessing.
He needed to be spanked.
Both mom and son
were involved in creating
and worshiping an idol.
Carved images of Yahweh
were not allowed.
Exodus 24.
And household gods
were a big no-no.
You shall have no other gods before me.
Exodus 23.
This is a mess.
And they're doing it
in the name of the Lord.
You know what's crazy about it?
They seem oblivious to it.
They seem like everything's fine.
Now,
this household
has been Canaanized!
They're just doing
what everybody else does around them.
And then the author
in 17.6
tells us why.
He gives us an explanation.
He says,
in those days,
there was no king in Israel.
Everyone did what was right
in his own eyes.
Their worshiping this way
is a doing what was right
in their own eyes,
just like everybody else.
Because there's no king
in the land.
Now, you may see that phrase,
there's no king in the land.
You might be thinking,
well, they're talking
about a human king.
And Judges,
what follows Judges
is Ruth.
They talk about this
coming one
from the line of
kind of like David guy.
And then 1 Samuel
rolls around.
And it's 1 Samuel
that Saul
is anointed
the first king
of Israel.
Israel.
So this is decades out.
So you might think
this is talking
about a human king.
There's no king
in the land.
No king in Israel.
But I think the author
is being a little
tongue-in-cheek here.
Because there is
a king in Israel.
King Yahweh.
As we've been going
through the book of Judges,
do you remember
the cycle?
Israel sins.
God sends
an oppressor.
Israel cries out.
God sends a deliverer.
God has been
at work in Israel
since the book
of Judges began.
What do you mean
there's no king?
In fact,
in 1 Samuel 8,
the people demand
from Samuel
a human king
to lead their armies.
Just like all the nations.
And do you know
what God says
to Samuel?
Samuel,
they're not rejecting you.
This is 1 Samuel 8.8.
They have rejected me
from being king
over them.
There's no king
in the land
as a way of explaining
how Israel
has deceived herself.
She doesn't think
there's a king
in Israel.
They're ignoring
King Yahweh.
And when you ignore
God as king,
do you know
what you're left with?
lip service.
They're acknowledging
Yahweh with their lips
but denying him
with their lifestyles.
This household
is representative
of all the households
in Israel at the time.
We're seeing
a kind of compromise
on the household level.
And what we'll see
again and again
is that Micah
is this self-serving
opportunist
who's using Yahweh
for his own gain.
Is your household,
brother, sister,
paying lip service
to King Jesus?
Moms, dads, kids,
are you acknowledging
King Jesus
with your lips
but functionally
denying him
with your lifestyle?
Have you been infected
with the no king virus?
Okay, we've seen
a compromised household.
Let's look at
a compromised clergy,
a lip service
Levite.
It's in verses
7 through 13.
Let me read it for you.
Now there was a young man
of Bethlehem in Judah
of the family of Judah
who was a Levite
and he sojourned there
and the man departed
from the town of Bethlehem
in Judah to sojourn
where he could find a place.
And as he journeyed,
he came to the hill country
of Ephraim
to the house of Micah,
the guy that we were
just reading about.
And Micah said to him,
where do you come from?
And he said to him,
I am a Levite
of Bethlehem in Judah
and I am going to sojourn
where I may find a place.
And Micah said to him,
the opportunist that he is,
stay with me
and be to me
a father and a priest
and I will give you
ten pieces of silver a year
and a suit of clothes
and your living.
And the Levite went in
and the Levite
was content
to dwell with the man
and the young man
became to him
like one of his sons.
And Micah ordained
the Levite
and the young man
became his priest
and he was in
the house of Micah.
Then Micah said,
now I know
the Lord will prosper me
because I have
a Levite
as a priest.
Now I know
God will prosper
our church
because we have
a Trinity
Evangelical Divinity School
grad as a pastor.
Let me kind of
summarize what just happened.
Not what I just said,
but the story.
We have
a sojourning Levite.
He's a young man,
probably just over 30.
He's unnamed
at least for now.
And he's sojourning
from Bethlehem.
A sojourn is a wanderer.
And he's a Levite,
which means he's
of the tribe
of the Levites,
which means
he is one
of those
precious Levites
in Israel.
They don't have
a land allotment
because Yahweh
is their allotment.
They have been
uniquely called
and set apart
to serve the Lord
in his house.
And at this point
in Israel's history,
the house of the Lord
was in Shiloh.
You can see it,
1831.
Well,
this Levite
is sojourning
and he just happens
to sojourn
up to the hill
country of Ephraim
and he comes across
Micah's house
and Micah greets him
and starts a conversation
with him.
Where do you come from?
Verse 9.
And this Levite
says to him,
I'm a Levite
of Bethlehem
and Judah.
I'm going to sojourn
where I may find a place.
That little phrase,
where I may find a place,
shows up twice
in this passage
and it's getting
at something.
You know who's restless?
The sojourning Levite.
He wants to find
a place.
He wants to lay
some roots.
But he's not
consulting Yahweh.
He's making this thing
up as he goes.
He's a pastor
for hire.
Well,
he's an opportunist
and Micah's
an opportunist
and so Micah
sees the opportunity
because he's got
his house of God
that he's been
filling with trash
and now he wants
a priest
from the people
of Levite
and it'll just
round it off
and make it beautiful.
So he starts
cooking on a scheme.
Where do you come from?
Oh,
stay with me
and be to me
a father or priest.
That is appealing
to this young man's
ambition.
A father
and a priest.
Status.
Hey,
you'll have authority
over me
and then you'll be
a priest
at 32.
And then he appeals
to his wallet.
I'll give you
a salary
of 10 silver pieces
a year.
You'll have
a clothing allowance
so you will be
dressed
beautifully
and then,
you know,
I'll take care
of your room
and board too.
Quite a deal.
And so this Levite
says,
I'm in
literally.
And the Levite
went in.
The Levite
in verse 11
is happy.
He is content
to dwell with the man.
That word content
should make you think,
where is he
finding his happiness?
Because it's not
in the house
of the Lord
in Shiloh.
In verse 12,
Micah
ordains him
as his priest.
Sorry son,
you are fired
as my priest.
We have a Levite
now who will
be my priest.
Not a priest
of Yahweh,
a priest of Micah.
And then in verse 13,
Micah is happy.
Now I know
that the Lord
will prosper me
because I have
a Levite
as a priest
as though that
is what will
cause God
to prosper you.
So,
I'm guessing
somewhere along
the line,
Micah threw out
to this Levite.
Hey,
this is a win-win
situation,
buddy.
Hey,
hey,
we have two
opportunists
who are
ignoring God.
They think
that there is no God,
no king in Israel,
but there is.
They're disobeying,
they're seemingly
unaware,
they're totally
misguided.
What the Levite
should have done
is said this,
no way,
buddy,
no way.
I'm not going to be
your priest,
I'm Yahweh's priest.
I'm not serving
in your house,
I'm serving
in the house
of the Lord
where the Lord
says he will
be worshipped.
You know what
this is?
This is a sober
warning for anybody
who provides
for their families
in the service
of God.
Do you know
what's possible?
Within Christian
ministry,
it's possible
to serve
in the name
of the Lord
Jesus,
but you're
actually
serving
yourself.
There's a no
king virus
with this
clergyman
in the hill
country of Ephraim
and there's a
no king virus
plaguing
much of the
pastors in the
United States
of America.
They're in it
for themselves.
It's representative.
Do you know
what happens
when spiritual
leaders
are infected
by this
no king
virus
where you
are
just
acknowledging
Jesus
with your lips
but you're
denying him
with your
lifestyle?
Do you know
what happens?
Here's what
happens
to pastors
is that
they start
seeing spiritual
positions
as self-serving
opportunities.
That's what
happens.
And they do
it all
in the
name
of the
Lord.
You know
what the
test is?
Where do
you find
your
contentment?
What makes
you happy?
And if it's
not Jesus
you got
some hard
work.
So so far
here's what
we've seen.
We've seen
a compromised
household.
The no king
virus affects
Micah and
his mom.
And now this
no king virus
is showing up
in the clergy.
Levite,
this priest.
It is a
comprehensive
compromise
of God's
people.
Now let's
turn to the
tribe.
Chapter 18.
The tribe
of Dan.
Instead of
reading all
31 verses
I'm just
going to
kind of
walk you
through in
summary.
In chapter
18,
1-6,
here's what
happens.
We're
first shown
in one.
In those
days there
was no
king in
Israel.
They think
Yahweh
isn't
reigning.
But he
is.
And then
we're
introduced
to this
people of
Dan who
are seeking
for itself
an inheritance
to dwell in.
For until
then no
inheritance
among the
tribes of
Israel had
fallen to
them.
Oh no,
the people
of Dan,
they don't
have an
inheritance.
Here's what
we know from
Judges 1
34-36,
they did
have an
allotment.
They're
talking about
a land
allotment.
God had
given them
a land
allotment.
And you
know what
Dan did?
They didn't
do anything.
Of all the
tribes named
in chapter
1,
Dan is the
last.
And of all
the tribes
named,
we see
repeatedly
again,
they couldn't
put out
the Canaanite
indwellers
as they
were supposed
to.
What happened
with Dan
was this,
they couldn't
push out
the Amorites,
the Amorites
pushed them
back.
Here's what
that does.
It makes you
realize Dan's
already disobedient.
We have a
compromised
people who
aren't being
faithful to
their God.
And so here's
what we see
happen.
In verse 2,
they're like,
hey,
let's have a
Dan rally.
Okay,
let's get
five spies
to go find
some land
of our
own choosing,
not what
the Lord
has given
us.
And so they
send out
five spies.
And those
spies are
supposed to
be kind of
like make
you think
of Joshua
2,
those spies.
But these
spies are
under false
pretense.
The tribe
God is,
the land
God is
allotted,
is still
there,
just west
of Jerusalem,
just west
of Ephraim,
just north
of Judah,
right in the
middle of
Israel,
the promised
land,
right on
the shores
of the
Mediterranean.
But no,
no,
they don't
go there.
They head
north.
They're in
a town,
two towns
called Zorah
and Eshterol,
and they move
north.
And you know
whose house
they come
across in
the hill
country of
Ephraim?
The house
of Micah.
And while
there,
they hear
the voice
of the
Levite,
they recognize
it.
Bethlehem
and Zorah
Eshterol,
they're pretty
close,
so the chances
are they
already knew
each other.
And so they
now stop by
these five
spies and
they check
out Micah's
place.
They ask
the Levite,
you know,
what's the
story?
Hey,
how'd you
get here?
And then
in verse
five,
they ask
him to
inquire of
God.
They don't
really,
everything's
suspect here,
gang.
They're in
disobedience.
I think
they're
playing
them.
Because the
tribe of
Dan,
they're
opportunists
too.
Inquire of
God,
please,
that we
may know
whether the
journey on
which we
are setting
out will
succeed.
In the
priest,
the Levite
says,
go in
peace.
The
journey in
which you
go is
under the
eye of
the Lord.
Do you
know what?
That's a
mess.
Because we
already know
they're in
disobedience.
that Levite
isn't speaking
on behalf
of God.
But man,
it's exactly
what the
tribe of
Dan wanted
to hear.
And so,
in verses
7-13,
they send
the spies
north to
this city
of Leish,
and it's
actually in
the inheritance
of Naphtali,
another tribe
of Israel,
but they come
across these
unsuspecting
people who,
man,
they are
unprotected,
and they're
living in a
rich and
fertile land,
so they're
like,
let's do
it.
So they
send a
report back
to their
brothers and
sisters in
Zorah and
Eshter all in
verses 8-10,
and they say,
hey, we found
the land,
let's go do
it.
And if you
look at
verse 9,
you start
seeing some
interesting
language.
Arise,
let us go
up.
And look at
verse,
that last
sentence,
do not be
slow.
10,
as soon as
you go,
let's do
this.
Woo,
woo,
woo.
Woo.
They rally
600 men
of war,
and they
send them
north.
Let's go
take Laish.
Guys,
let's,
there's a little
spot,
hill country
of Ephraim.
Let's stop
there first.
So in
verse 14,
this 600
people,
600 men
of war,
with these
five spies,
they stop
at Micah's
house,
because they're
on a mission.
In verse 14,
we read this,
the five spies
say their 600
brothers,
do you not
know that in
these houses
there are an
ephod,
household gods,
a carved
image,
and a metal
image?
Now,
therefore,
consider what
you will do.
Wink,
wink,
wink.
Take it.
They meet
the Levite,
it's false
pretense,
small talk,
they ask him
about his
welfare.
The 600
men are
outside the
gate,
flexing their
muscles,
sharpening
their swords,
and then in
verse 17,
the five spies
go into
Micah's house,
and they take
the carved
image,
the ephod,
the household
gods,
the metal
image,
while the
priest stood
there and
watched.
And then in
verse 18,
the priest
says,
hey,
what are you
doing?
And then in
verse 19,
they say,
shh,
please be
quiet.
Oh,
we've got a
job offer
for you.
They appeal
to his
ambition.
They know
he's an
opportunist.
So,
these five
spies in
the house
of Micah,
holding on to
this image,
say to the
false priest,
hey,
what's better,
being a priest
of a one-man
household,
or being a
priest of the
people of
Dan.
Promotion,
baby.
And look
what he
says in
verse 20,
the author,
and the
priest's
heart was
glad.
Yes!
Finally,
they see the
talent.
What's
making him
glad is
that his
self-serving
opportunist
heart is
being
satisfied.
In 21
through 26,
I forgot
to mention
this one
point.
Not only
was the
heart of
the priest
glad,
this Levite,
he took
the ephod,
household gods,
in the
carved image,
and went
along with
the people
of Dan.
He became
a thief.
So,
in verses
21 through
26,
the 600
men with
this Levite,
with this
carved image,
they bolt.
They're going
up to
Laish.
Micah finds
out.
He chases
them down.
In verse
24,
he confronts
them.
Hey,
you take
my gods
that I
made,
verse 24,
and the
priest,
and go
away,
and what
have I
left?
This is
my
everything.
This is
my
treasure.
To
which
these
people of
Dan respond
in verse
25,
would you
shut your
face?
Lest
one of the
angry ones
in our
midst
should cause
you to
lose your
life with
your
household.
Wink,
wink.
Murderous,
thieves,
idolaters.
Don't miss
the irony.
Micah,
who stole
silver from
his mom and
made a
carved
image,
has now
had that
stolen from
him by
the God
that he
trusted.
In
verses
27-31,
Micah goes
home without
anything.
In
verse 27-31,
we read that
this people
of Dan,
they go up
to Laish
and they
decimate the
place.
They did
to Laish
what they
were supposed
to do to
the land
allotted to
them by
Yahweh
down south.
They wipe
it out.
They bring
the edge
of the
sword to
bear on
it.
It's
complete
destruction.
It's
completely
under
false
pretense.
This
isn't
Yahweh's
doing.
This is
Dan's
doing.
In
fact,
you start
actually
feeling pretty
bad for
the Canaanites
that just
got wiped
out.
That's the
irony of
it all.
But there's
more surprises.
In verse
30, as
we're coming
to the end
of this
account,
we finally
learn the
name of
the Levite.
Check it
out.
The people
of Dan set
up the
carved image
for themselves
and Jonathan,
the son of
Gershom,
son of
Moses,
and his
sons were
priests to
the tribe
of the Danites
until the
day of the
captivity.
Do you
see what
just happened
there?
Two
generations
from Moses,
his grandson
is leaving
a tribe
in the
false
worship
of Yahweh.
Complete
Canaanization
of Israel.
That
it hit
so close.
And then
in verse
31,
surprise
number two,
so they
set up
Micah's
carved image
that he
made as
long as
the house
of God
was at
Shiloh.
What's
being here
is the
origin story
for the
false
worship
in the
northern
kingdom
for
hundreds
of
years
to
follow
that
eventually
result
in
Yahweh
sending
the
Assyrians
to take
the northern
kingdom
into
captivity
and to
decimate
in judgment.
what we
have here
is the
origin story
of a
deep
and
long
standing
false
worship
in
Israel.
It was all
accomplished
through
hypocrisy.
Lip
service.
Opportunists,
disobedient,
oblivious
seemingly to
what they're
doing,
completely
misguided.
They're
setting up
a worship
place for
Yahweh
when they
are setting
up something
abhorrent
to Yahweh.
Hypocrisy,
it turns out,
can affect
a whole tribe
of people,
a whole
denomination
of people.
We've all
watched what's
been happening
to the
Methodist church
over the
last few
decades.
It can
affect
American
evangelicalism,
make us
opportunistic.
It makes
you start
asking the
question,
who are
we really
serving
when we
declare
certain
political
partnerships?
Who are
we doing
it for?
Really?
the
accumulated
effect
of a
compromised
household,
a
compromised
clergy,
and a
compromised
tribe is
to make
you realize
the extent
of the
religious
canonization
that has
taken place
in Israel.
They have
reached rock
bottom
spiritually.
this
hypocrisy,
this
lip
service,
it's
not the
cause
of their
canonization,
it's a
symptom
of it.
There's
no noble
characters
in this
account.
The name
of Yahweh
is used
as a
byword.
There's
lip
service
of
self-serving
opportunists
all the
way
through
disobedient
idolatrous
thieves
who are
murderous,
disobedient
to their
parents,
misguided,
seemingly
oblivious.
Do you
know what
you could
say at
this
point?
Israel,
you're
full of
hypocrites.
Just like
the charge
against the
church.
The church
is full
of hypocrites.
It's
true.
We've
all got a
gap between
our
profession
and our
practice.
Here's
the question.
Are you
aware of
it?
Or are
you
ignoring
it?
Are you
comfortably
numb
in your
compromise?
Are you
acknowledging
Jesus with
your lips
but denying
him with
your
lifestyle?
This has
plagued
God's
people
for
millennia.
In
Matthew
15,
7-8,
Jesus
confronts
the
Pharisees
who were
insisting
that God's
people
obey the
commands of
man over
God.
And this is
what he says
in verse
7-8.
You
hypocrites,
well did
Isaiah
prophesy
of you
when he
said,
this people
honors me
with their
lips,
but their
heart is
far from
me.
In vain do
they worship
me.
Teaching as
doctrines the
commandments of
men.
Jesus could
have quoted
Isaiah to
Micah.
He could
have quoted
that to
Jonathan,
the son of
Gershom,
the son of
Moses.
He could have
quoted it to
the five
spies of the
tribe of
Dan.
and he
could quote
it to
us.
Are you
honoring Jesus
with your
lips, but
your heart
is far
from him?
If Jesus
Christ, if
King Jesus
is not the
controlling
center of
your life,
I doubt
that you're
going to
publicly
disavow
him.
I'm going
to guess
though you
will pay
him lip
service.
Because
that's
what I
do.
You
acknowledge
him with
your lips
and then
walk out
the door
and deny
him with
your
lifestyle.
Brothers
and sisters,
this no
King virus
that we
see back
in Judges,
wow,
that virus
is around
a day.
Do you
know what
the cure
to the
virus is?
Do you
know what
the cure
for hypocrisy
is?
Do you
know what
the cure
for acknowledging
Jesus with
your lips,
but denying
him with
your lifestyle?
Do you
know what
it is?
Do you
know what
the cure
of a
divided
heart
is?
It's a
heart
fully
united
in the
worship
of Jesus.
That's
the cure.
King
Jesus
is the
cure
to our
hypocrisy.
he is
no
hypocrite.
He
never
said this
and did
that.
Never.
In fact,
in Revelation
19,
when he's
coming back
on a
white war
horse,
his title
is faithful
and true.
He's
true to
his word,
faithful to
what he
says.
And this
king,
he died
for you
and he
died for
me.
He died
for our
hypocrisy
so that
when he
was raised,
we'd be
raised with
him to
live whole,
united,
integrity
lives
by his
power,
by his
grace.
Jesus is
not some
imperfect
small
S
savior
who
accomplishes
a little
salvation.
He is
totally
God,
totally
man,
the perfect
capital
S
savior
who has
accomplished
a forever
salvation
and you know
what that
begins with?
salvation,
that salvation
starts in
your heart
where he
flips you
by his
grace and
transforms a
self-serving
opportunistic
heart and he
transforms it by
this grace
into a
Christ
magnifying
opportunistic
heart.
Now we're
looking for
opportunities to
magnify him
as our
king.
There is a
king in
our land.
There is a
king reigning
on high
in 2024.
The risen
king,
King
Jesus.
Let me
press you.
Are you
aware of
some hypocrisy
in your
life?
Are you
aware of
the gap
between your
profession and
your practice?
Don't run
from that.
Run to
Jesus with
that.
Say to
him,
Lord,
I see it,
I see the
gap between
what I say
about you to
be true and
my actual
living of
that.
Thank you
for showing
me this.
Would you
change me,
please?
Could you
imagine if
one of your
children comes
up to you
and says
this?
You know,
dad,
I'm not
going to
become a
Christian.
The church
is full of
hypocrites.
You know what
you get to
say?
Yes,
I'm one of
them.
There's a gap
between my
profession and
my practice.
Son,
what are you
seeing?
Help me to
see it.
I don't want to
live that way.
I'm living for
Jesus.
You're right.
That's why I
need Jesus.
do you need to
repent of some
hypocrisy in
your life?
Do you need to
turn from it?
Do you need to
ask Jesus to
unite your heart
to fear Him?
Do it.
For the glory
of His name.
When it comes
to our
households,
parents,
don't bless
your children
when they're
sinned against
God.
Don't bless
your children
when they
sin against
God.
Help them to
understand that
they're sinning
against God.
If your son is
lying and you
catch him in a
lie, you help
your son realize,
son, you're
lying.
And it's not
just affecting
this throne of
lies that you're
sitting on with
your people who
are around you,
but you're
actually sinning
against the
God of truth.
And this God
of truth died
for your lying in
order to help
you be a truth
speaker.
your lying
shows you need
Jesus, son.
Don't pat
your children's
backs when
they sin.
Lovingly confront
them with truth.
Spiritual
leaders,
where's your
gladness?
If it's not
the glory of
King Jesus
among the
nations,
you've got some
hard work to
do, can I
encourage you to
memorize 2 Corinthians
4 or 5?
What we proclaim
is not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus
as Lord and
ourselves as your
servants for
Christ's sake.
as leaders in the
church,
it's not about us,
it's about him,
King Jesus.
This is how we
push back against
the no king
virus.
Brothers and
sisters, if you're
not praying for your
elders of this
church, pray for us
when it comes to
tribes.
American
evangelicalism is a
tribe.
And if Jesus
Christ is not the
controlling center of
American evangelicalism,
something else will
be.
We saw in Dan
that they rejected
the promised land
that God had given
them to pursue a
land of their own
choosing.
You know what the
mistake we can make?
We can make the
mistake that thinking
that the soil of the
United States is God's
promised land.
It's not.
Brothers and
sisters, we are
strangers and
aliens.
We're passing
through.
We're going to be
faithful citizens
here under the
kingship of Jesus.
Do you know where
our promised land
is?
He's given us an
inheritance.
It's our heavenly
homeland.
It's where Jesus
is.
We're one day
closer to seeing
him face to face
in his place
with his people.
Brothers and
sisters, let's
not confuse
promised lands.
let's be
faithful citizens
of the United
States
unto Jesus.
Is the church
full of hypocrites?
How would you
answer that?
Yes.
If I asked you to
raise your hand if
you're a hypocrite,
I think all of us
should raise our
hands.
There's a gap.
You know who
fills the gap?
Our King
Jesus.
We ask
him,
Lord, show
us how we can
be faithful to
you.
He's the
controlling center
of our lives.
There was a
king in Israel
and there is a
king reigning
on high over
the whole world
in 2024.
The risen
King
Jesus
Christ.
So let's
live for
him.
Let's put
away our
hypocrisy as
best as we
know it.
Let's
press into
a unified
heart for
him together.
And as we
acknowledge him
with our
lips,
let's magnify
him with our
lifestyle.
live lives of
integrity for
the glory of
Jesus.
Will you pray
with me?
Lord Jesus,
we know we
don't obey
you all the
time.
forgive us for
getting
distracted,
for giving
ourselves to
things that
are not
you,
for living as
if you're not
the king of
kings and
lord of
lords,
reigning over
all things.
Forgive us,
forgive us,
Lord Jesus.
We do not
want to grieve
you that way.
We want to
please you,
we want to
magnify you,
we want to
live for you,
at cost
even,
if that's
your will.
So God,
would you do
by your
spirit a
work in
us in
which you
would expose
our hypocrisy
and conform us
to the image
of Jesus
Christ
together,
following
Jesus.
Amen.