WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.280 You can open your copy to Luke 12. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.880 So I hope you brought your sack lunch with you. 00:00:34.100 --> 00:00:38.840 Now, what I am excited about, what God has for us here, and we're going to close out chapter number 12. 00:00:38.920 --> 00:00:42.320 We're going to pick up in verse number 49 where Jesus says this, 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:48.539 I am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I if it already be kindled? 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:53.700 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am straightened till it be accomplished. 00:00:54.579 --> 00:00:57.340 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on the earth? 00:00:58.040 --> 00:01:00.420 I tell you nay, but rather division. 00:01:01.940 --> 00:01:07.840 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 00:01:08.219 --> 00:01:11.280 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father, 00:01:11.480 --> 00:01:14.260 and the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, 00:01:14.379 --> 00:01:19.640 and the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 00:01:20.140 --> 00:01:23.060 That verse is not talking that you can have family feud all the time. 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:25.960 Not what it's talking about. We'll get into it here in a minute. 00:01:27.340 --> 00:01:29.719 Verse 54, and he said also to the people. 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:32.020 So he's talking to his disciples, but now he kind of turns to the crowd. 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:35.800 When you see a cloud arise out of the west, straightway you say, 00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:38.020 there cometh a shower, and so it is. 00:01:38.600 --> 00:01:41.000 And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 00:01:41.219 --> 00:01:43.260 there will be heat, and it cometh to pass. 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:47.620 Ye hypocrites, you discern the face of the sky and of the earth, 00:01:47.620 --> 00:01:51.260 but how is it that you know that you did not discern this time? 00:01:51.260 --> 00:01:56.000 Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:00.400 When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, 00:02:00.780 --> 00:02:03.980 give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him, 00:02:04.260 --> 00:02:06.020 lest he hail thee to the judge, 00:02:06.219 --> 00:02:09.280 and the judge deliver thee to the officer, 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:10.879 and the officer cast thee into prison. 00:02:11.500 --> 00:02:14.540 I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, 00:02:14.980 --> 00:02:18.620 till thou hast paid the very last might. 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:23.860 So Jesus here in this final kind of closing section of Luke chapter 12, 00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:26.280 he's really bringing us to a decision point. 00:02:27.379 --> 00:02:29.920 And sometimes when we have to make decisions in our life, 00:02:29.980 --> 00:02:31.460 we say, I'll worry about that later. 00:02:32.140 --> 00:02:34.920 Sometimes you avoid decisions at all costs. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:37.180 Okay, just making sure I'm on the same page. 00:02:37.939 --> 00:02:40.360 But Jesus says there's a decision that you cannot avoid. 00:02:41.140 --> 00:02:42.560 And we must be ready for it. 00:02:42.780 --> 00:02:47.180 And he gives us the reasons why here this morning that we cannot delay. 00:02:47.180 --> 00:02:50.080 So let's go to the Lord in prayer and ask him to bless our time together. 00:02:50.180 --> 00:02:54.080 Father, Lord, we pray that you would bless this time as we open up your word. 00:02:54.960 --> 00:03:01.040 Lord, I know that the context of this is sometimes somber, 00:03:01.159 --> 00:03:02.780 but Lord, I'm thankful you give us the truth, 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:06.120 that you remind us that you are coming back one day, Lord, 00:03:06.219 --> 00:03:09.540 that you came the first time to seek and to save that which is lost. 00:03:09.580 --> 00:03:12.420 But when you come back, you're not coming as a lamb, 00:03:12.480 --> 00:03:14.319 you're coming as a lion, you're coming as a judge. 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:16.939 And Lord, I pray that you would help us to be ready for that. 00:03:17.560 --> 00:03:21.659 Lord, you didn't give this passage to scare us, to worry us. 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:25.280 You gave it to us so that we would be ready, that we would make a decision today. 00:03:25.739 --> 00:03:29.259 Lord, I pray that if there is someone here that doesn't know you as their Savior, 00:03:29.359 --> 00:03:30.379 that today would be that day. 00:03:30.819 --> 00:03:31.819 Lord, I pray you'd be with me now. 00:03:31.900 --> 00:03:32.819 You would empty me of self. 00:03:32.900 --> 00:03:33.819 You'd cleanse me of sin. 00:03:34.180 --> 00:03:35.240 Lord, fill me with your spirit. 00:03:35.359 --> 00:03:37.479 Give me the words to say that it would be a help to your people. 00:03:37.900 --> 00:03:39.379 And we ask it in Christ's name. 00:03:40.039 --> 00:03:40.359 Amen. 00:03:40.519 --> 00:03:41.259 Thank you so much for standing. 00:03:41.299 --> 00:03:41.740 You may be seated. 00:03:41.740 --> 00:03:46.879 Don't you love all this lovely stuff in the air? 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:49.659 It just makes you sleepy. 00:03:50.100 --> 00:03:52.140 I mean, we're on so much antihistamines right now. 00:03:52.180 --> 00:03:54.080 We're just kind of trying to stay awake a little bit. 00:03:54.800 --> 00:03:58.260 You know, and I've sometimes watched like the animal planet, 00:03:58.640 --> 00:04:02.800 and they're like, and the so-and-so animal hibernates for six months. 00:04:03.760 --> 00:04:04.660 Doesn't that sound awesome? 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:07.520 I mean, I wish you could just hibernate right now. 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:09.240 Like, I just want to go to sleep. 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:10.540 I mean, we got hands raised. 00:04:10.640 --> 00:04:13.400 I mean, we're about to have people running around this auditorium in a second. 00:04:13.780 --> 00:04:15.200 I mean, especially if you're a mom, you're like, 00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:17.560 if I could just get a little bit of sleep. 00:04:17.900 --> 00:04:19.699 If I could just get a little bit of rest. 00:04:20.300 --> 00:04:22.000 So let's pretend that you do. 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:26.160 You go home, and you go to bed, and you sleep for 30 straight weeks. 00:04:27.019 --> 00:04:27.720 Wouldn't that be awesome? 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:32.240 And you wake up, and as you exit your hibernation, 00:04:32.640 --> 00:04:35.260 and you kind of work your way back into society, 00:04:35.420 --> 00:04:37.620 you hear some music that's going. 00:04:37.880 --> 00:04:40.280 And it sounds like there's lots of bells in it, 00:04:40.320 --> 00:04:44.280 and it talks about the most wonderful time of the year. 00:04:44.880 --> 00:04:48.160 You turn on the TV, and you're trying to find a movie, 00:04:48.320 --> 00:04:49.980 and every time you turn the movie on, 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:53.740 it's the same plot, just a different channel and a different title 00:04:53.740 --> 00:04:57.439 about some executive from New York that travels back to their hometown 00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:00.400 to find love at this special time of the year. 00:05:03.579 --> 00:05:04.740 It's what it is. 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:06.720 It's what it is. 00:05:07.560 --> 00:05:11.079 Every commercial, every advertisement is about the perfect gift, 00:05:11.160 --> 00:05:14.019 and I'm still waiting to go out that morning. 00:05:14.180 --> 00:05:15.139 You know what I'm talking about? 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:17.939 There's a giant bow on a $100,000 car. 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:19.819 That's not real life, by the way. 00:05:21.900 --> 00:05:23.540 Christmas lights are on the houses. 00:05:24.680 --> 00:05:25.900 Sometimes there's cold weather. 00:05:25.960 --> 00:05:27.379 It depends on what Texas wants to do. 00:05:28.600 --> 00:05:30.800 No parking space anywhere you go. 00:05:32.500 --> 00:05:35.400 And I say all this as kind of a silly illustration. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:43.500 I doubt you would need a calendar to determine what time of the year it is. 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:45.860 You wouldn't see all of these things and say, 00:05:45.980 --> 00:05:47.199 I wonder what it is. 00:05:47.460 --> 00:05:50.340 I wonder what time of the year it is. 00:05:50.339 --> 00:05:53.199 The signs would give it away immediately, 00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:56.139 and then you would ensue in panic because you're behind in shopping. 00:05:56.599 --> 00:05:59.099 Honestly, you're probably behind in shopping right now anyway, 00:05:59.259 --> 00:06:01.139 so you might as well get started today. 00:06:01.139 --> 00:06:08.979 What Jesus is doing here as we come to these last little bit of the section in chapter number 12, 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:14.459 really beginning in verse number 35, as we looked at quite a bit back, a few weeks back, 00:06:14.459 --> 00:06:18.099 Jesus begins to teach about the end times. 00:06:18.620 --> 00:06:21.719 Jesus begins to teach about his second coming. 00:06:21.799 --> 00:06:23.919 And let me remind you, he is coming again. 00:06:24.299 --> 00:06:26.120 The world keeps saying, well, where is he? 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:27.500 It's been 2,000 years. 00:06:27.719 --> 00:06:29.919 No, he will come again. 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:36.140 In fact, the second coming is the second most mentioned thing in all of Scripture behind salvation. 00:06:36.780 --> 00:06:40.319 So it is a, Jesus wants us to get a hold of this truth. 00:06:40.860 --> 00:06:43.000 He wants us to be ready. 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:45.780 I love when I tell my kids, hey, I'm going to be home in 10 minutes. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:47.520 We want to be ready to go. 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:50.280 How many of you think they're ready to go? 00:06:51.240 --> 00:06:51.639 No. 00:06:52.200 --> 00:06:54.240 No, we struggle with that sometimes. 00:06:55.540 --> 00:06:57.300 But Jesus wants us to be ready. 00:06:57.300 --> 00:07:00.699 He doesn't call us to get ready someday. 00:07:01.540 --> 00:07:04.540 No, he calls us to live ready today. 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:06.379 That he is coming back. 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:10.660 And since we don't know the time of the day, we should always live ready. 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:12.300 But we can know the seasons. 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:15.680 We can look at the signs of the time. 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:19.500 And just like we know it's Christmas time, so it is with Christ's return. 00:07:20.300 --> 00:07:24.620 I think if you just watch a little bit of the news and you read a little bit of your Bible 00:07:24.620 --> 00:07:30.740 and you kind of see things going on in this world, you're going to realize the sign of a second coming is all around us. 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:33.280 I believe like the Apostle Paul when he says, 00:07:33.899 --> 00:07:37.319 We which are alive and remain shall see the coming of the Lord. 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:38.500 I believe that. 00:07:38.860 --> 00:07:42.379 I believe we should live with the imminent return of Christ in our life. 00:07:43.420 --> 00:07:47.620 But when we start talking about the end times, we start talking about Christ coming again, 00:07:47.620 --> 00:07:51.100 again, sometimes if we're just being real, that scares us. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:53.120 We think, well, I'm not sure. 00:07:53.340 --> 00:07:56.079 And there's a lot of kind of things we don't know. 00:07:56.840 --> 00:07:58.220 But don't let that scare you. 00:07:58.740 --> 00:08:03.959 I think these are amazing and exciting times which we can live in as Christians. 00:08:05.100 --> 00:08:09.160 I mean, the world is changing in extraordinary ways. 00:08:09.740 --> 00:08:12.879 Things you read in the book of Revelation, you think, how would that even be possible? 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:16.759 I bet John was writing some of those things down thinking, how is the whole world going to see? 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:19.480 I mean, now we're connected to the whole world like that. 00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:21.699 And we got this AI and we have the Internet. 00:08:21.800 --> 00:08:23.120 We have all of these things. 00:08:23.300 --> 00:08:26.759 And the world's changing in this extraordinary ways. 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:30.540 And the Bible is playing out in front of our very eyes. 00:08:31.879 --> 00:08:34.340 And yet, people are missing it. 00:08:35.299 --> 00:08:36.439 I mean, people can read the culture. 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:37.879 They can check the weather. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:39.179 They can determine the weather. 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:40.220 They can read the economy. 00:08:40.220 --> 00:08:43.560 But can completely miss what God is trying to do. 00:08:43.980 --> 00:08:45.680 What he is trying to get across. 00:08:46.500 --> 00:08:51.220 And as we come to our text this morning that we read in verse 49 through 59, 00:08:51.740 --> 00:08:56.740 Jesus is continuing his teaching on being ready for his return. 00:08:57.620 --> 00:09:02.019 And the reason that Jesus is pressing so deeply into this, 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:04.960 and really, he's bringing us to a decision point. 00:09:05.019 --> 00:09:08.480 You read those verses, you think, man, Jesus, calm down a little bit. 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:14.519 No, he wants us not just to be looking, not just to be aware. 00:09:15.220 --> 00:09:19.720 He wants us to make sure we've decided how we're going to approach this day. 00:09:20.100 --> 00:09:22.480 How we are going to be when he comes again. 00:09:23.340 --> 00:09:29.600 And the key truth in these final verses is that readiness for Jesus' return is not optional. 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:32.659 You will respond one day. 00:09:32.659 --> 00:09:35.819 You can respond either now or then. 00:09:36.959 --> 00:09:41.360 But the reality is you are going to stand before the Lord one day. 00:09:42.419 --> 00:09:46.219 That it is appointed unto man once to die, the Bible says, and after this the judgment. 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:49.980 And so Jesus, he's not saying this to scare us or to be mean. 00:09:50.100 --> 00:09:52.000 He's saying this so we can be ready. 00:09:52.719 --> 00:09:54.159 That we're not shocked by it. 00:09:54.519 --> 00:09:56.659 That we're not shocked that he is coming again. 00:09:56.659 --> 00:09:57.139 Again. 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:00.059 Because here's the truth. 00:10:00.539 --> 00:10:05.659 Delay, when it comes to this decision, is extremely dangerous. 00:10:07.259 --> 00:10:11.659 You cannot afford to delay your response to Jesus. 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:14.279 And so as we walk through this text this morning, 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:19.559 Jesus is going to show us some realities that why delay is dangerous. 00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:25.959 The first thing we see in verse 49 through 53, it's dangerous because Jesus calls for a response. 00:10:26.859 --> 00:10:31.199 He lays out all the situation and he comes and he says in verse 59, 00:10:31.479 --> 00:10:34.579 I am come to send fire on the earth. 00:10:35.539 --> 00:10:39.439 Now when you hear that, you're thinking, that doesn't sound like stuff Jesus says. 00:10:39.979 --> 00:10:42.619 That doesn't sound like the loving Jesus of the Bible. 00:10:42.919 --> 00:10:43.979 Isn't God love? 00:10:44.059 --> 00:10:44.599 He is. 00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:49.879 In this statement, maybe when you read it, it kind of maybe rubs you the wrong way. 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:54.340 I'd submit to you that this statement would have shocked his disciples as well. 00:10:55.240 --> 00:10:56.960 That's not what they were looking for. 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:00.580 That's not the Messiah that they were thinking was coming. 00:11:00.820 --> 00:11:05.820 No, they thought the Messiah would bring peace and he would bring unity and he would bring deliverance. 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:08.180 That's what they were looking for. 00:11:08.180 --> 00:11:12.500 And now Jesus is saying, I'm come to send fire on the earth. 00:11:12.500 --> 00:11:14.879 Why would he do that? 00:11:15.799 --> 00:11:17.379 Because he wants us to understand this. 00:11:17.659 --> 00:11:20.879 Before there can ever really be peace, there must be purification. 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:23.559 That's the thought behind it. 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:29.460 And really what he's talking about in this verse is a purifying and judging fire. 00:11:30.840 --> 00:11:33.820 Listen, fire all throughout scripture is never casual. 00:11:34.700 --> 00:11:35.820 I'll just say this. 00:11:36.019 --> 00:11:37.740 Fire's not really casual today. 00:11:38.139 --> 00:11:40.100 You don't look at a fire and say, oh, that fire looks casual. 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:41.179 Let me just put my hand in there. 00:11:42.500 --> 00:11:43.960 You don't mess around with fire. 00:11:45.080 --> 00:11:47.399 It can do some extreme damage. 00:11:47.399 --> 00:11:51.340 And really throughout scripture, it represents God's holiness confronting sin. 00:11:52.100 --> 00:11:56.639 It represents God's judgment exposing what is false. 00:11:57.480 --> 00:12:03.059 But it also can represent God's refining work, purifying what is real. 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:05.379 We see it in Malachi chapter 3. 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:07.159 It talks about a refiner's fire. 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:12.980 In 1 Corinthians chapter 3 as well, our works one day will be tested by fire. 00:12:13.779 --> 00:12:19.299 If we're going to stand before the Lord, if we know him as our Savior, all the things that we've done is going to be tried. 00:12:19.860 --> 00:12:23.199 See, whether it's gold, silver, and precious stone, or wood, hay, and stubble. 00:12:24.579 --> 00:12:28.360 See, fire just reveals what something really is. 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:32.720 Gold and precious stones, they don't fear the fire. 00:12:32.820 --> 00:12:33.039 Why? 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:36.460 Because it just improves it. 00:12:36.580 --> 00:12:38.460 It removes it of the impurities. 00:12:39.460 --> 00:12:46.120 But what is false and what is empty and what is worthless cannot survive the fire. 00:12:47.019 --> 00:12:51.000 So what Jesus is teaching here, we're going to see as we walk through this text, he's saying this. 00:12:51.220 --> 00:12:55.120 When I come again, it's going to expose everything. 00:12:56.019 --> 00:12:58.940 When he comes, everything is going to be set right. 00:12:59.659 --> 00:13:01.179 Anybody ever thought life's not fair? 00:13:02.580 --> 00:13:02.860 Yeah. 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:06.139 You think, well, Lord, I'm doing this and I'm trying to live for you. 00:13:06.139 --> 00:13:07.860 And it seems like I'm in the negative. 00:13:08.139 --> 00:13:10.399 And these people are living for themselves and living for the world. 00:13:10.560 --> 00:13:11.680 And it seems like they have everything. 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:14.580 Listen, there's coming a day where it's going to all be set right. 00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:17.100 It's not our job to keep score. 00:13:17.300 --> 00:13:18.560 It's not our job to judge. 00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:20.580 No, that's what Jesus is going to do. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:23.020 That he will expose everything. 00:13:23.300 --> 00:13:25.180 And what is true will be seen. 00:13:25.240 --> 00:13:26.639 And what is false will burn. 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:28.460 That's what he's saying. 00:13:28.900 --> 00:13:31.060 That it's not going to last. 00:13:32.700 --> 00:13:37.379 But this fire, this judgment, is not something Jesus is just talking about. 00:13:38.259 --> 00:13:40.520 No, here's something we need to really lean into. 00:13:40.660 --> 00:13:44.400 It's something that he himself would experience. 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:46.780 Notice what he says in verse number 50. 00:13:47.800 --> 00:13:51.400 But I have a baptism to be baptized with. 00:13:52.820 --> 00:13:55.020 I just want to make sure we understand this. 00:13:55.259 --> 00:13:58.120 He's not speaking of water baptism. 00:13:58.700 --> 00:14:03.280 He's not talking about when we have here and we fill up with water and we have a glorious baptism. 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:09.280 Somebody puts their faith and trust in Christ in a public profession saying, hey, I want to follow the Lord. 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:10.959 That's not what he's talking about. 00:14:11.699 --> 00:14:13.159 No, the idea here is this. 00:14:13.379 --> 00:14:15.519 He is speaking of suffering. 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:21.299 The word baptism has the idea of being overwhelmed. 00:14:21.299 --> 00:14:22.620 Immersed. 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:23.479 Immersed. 00:14:24.620 --> 00:14:25.139 Engulfed. 00:14:25.939 --> 00:14:27.579 See, the disciples are struggling. 00:14:27.839 --> 00:14:32.559 But really from this moment on, Jesus is moving at a rapid speed towards the cross. 00:14:33.319 --> 00:14:34.599 That's always been the goal. 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:37.720 And he's saying, listen, guys, I want you to understand. 00:14:37.980 --> 00:14:40.600 I'm coming so that people can be ready. 00:14:40.860 --> 00:14:42.620 But in order to be ready, I have to suffer. 00:14:43.620 --> 00:14:51.279 For the Son of Man came not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:53.500 And so that's what Jesus is talking about. 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:59.819 And I want to remind us that the cross of Calvary is not just an event. 00:15:00.839 --> 00:15:05.860 It's not just something that we celebrate on Easter that Jesus died on the cross and was buried and rose again. 00:15:06.659 --> 00:15:08.379 No, no, here's what the cross is. 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:14.959 When you think about the cross, when we sing about the cross, it's the place where the fire of God's judgment fell. 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:17.819 Because you know whose cross that should have been? 00:15:19.019 --> 00:15:19.720 This guy. 00:15:19.720 --> 00:15:23.160 It was my sin that held him there. 00:15:23.620 --> 00:15:28.759 In his body, he bare our sins that we might be made the righteousness of God. 00:15:28.980 --> 00:15:35.460 What Jesus did on the cross of Calvary is he took the wrath of God for all mankind on himself. 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:39.259 And he's going there and he's marching towards the cross. 00:15:39.580 --> 00:15:43.240 And I just want to, instead of falling on us, it fell on him. 00:15:44.100 --> 00:15:49.139 He who knew no sin took my place. 00:15:49.720 --> 00:15:50.820 And notice what he says. 00:15:50.920 --> 00:15:52.759 I had this baptism to be baptized with. 00:15:53.180 --> 00:15:56.660 How am I straight until it be accomplished? 00:15:56.659 --> 00:16:08.039 What Jesus is saying is, until this day comes, until the pain and the suffering of the cross comes, it's pressing on me. 00:16:08.819 --> 00:16:10.279 We've all experienced that, haven't we? 00:16:10.980 --> 00:16:17.319 I mean, I know sometimes when you get a project in school and it's coming up, anybody got a big project due in the next couple weeks? 00:16:17.620 --> 00:16:18.039 Yeah, you do. 00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:18.699 Better get started. 00:16:18.700 --> 00:16:22.040 I know he's my son, so he may have not started yet. 00:16:23.660 --> 00:16:27.400 But you know, like sometimes when it's a far, you know, at the beginning of the school year, they pass the syllabus out. 00:16:27.580 --> 00:16:29.860 And then like the teacher says, next week that's due. 00:16:29.900 --> 00:16:31.540 You're like, nobody told me that. 00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:34.060 Yeah, you just kind of put it off. 00:16:34.540 --> 00:16:35.820 But then you start feeling the pressure. 00:16:36.379 --> 00:16:39.320 And you got that work project due and you're feeling that pressure. 00:16:39.420 --> 00:16:40.620 It's pressing against you. 00:16:40.620 --> 00:16:45.919 And I know that's a silly illustration, but the closer it gets, it just weighs and it weighs and it weighs. 00:16:46.100 --> 00:16:47.299 That's the idea here. 00:16:47.379 --> 00:16:51.720 When he's straightened until it happens, that he's constrained, that he's burdened. 00:16:51.779 --> 00:16:54.539 And it's going to be that way until it's finished. 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:57.019 That's what Jesus is talking about. 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:00.279 Listen, the cross of Calvary wasn't an accident. 00:17:00.580 --> 00:17:03.159 It was always the plan of God. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:06.180 It was how we are to be saved. 00:17:06.180 --> 00:17:10.560 Jesus was moving towards the cross with purpose and with urgency. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:13.500 And he's saying, listen, you need to be ready. 00:17:13.980 --> 00:17:16.940 Because I'm doing this for you so that you can have hope. 00:17:17.120 --> 00:17:18.220 That you can have life. 00:17:18.420 --> 00:17:20.200 That you can have all of these things. 00:17:21.580 --> 00:17:23.539 But we kind of get a glimpse here. 00:17:23.900 --> 00:17:27.340 And we'll see it later when Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:17:28.080 --> 00:17:33.000 That the Lord was hard pressed between the suffering and the purpose. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:35.480 Listen, was he God 100%? 00:17:35.640 --> 00:17:36.039 Yes. 00:17:36.900 --> 00:17:38.920 But he was also 100% man. 00:17:39.580 --> 00:17:40.759 And he knew the purpose. 00:17:40.900 --> 00:17:42.039 He knew why he came. 00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:44.019 But he also knew the suffering that was coming. 00:17:44.539 --> 00:17:47.860 He would have been pressed between the pain and God's plan. 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:52.360 He would have been pressed between enduring the cross for the joy set before him. 00:17:54.200 --> 00:18:01.019 And that desire to be restored to the glory and set at the right hand of God where he was before he came to this earth. 00:18:01.600 --> 00:18:03.240 You realize we're all trying to get to heaven? 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:05.700 And Jesus left that for us. 00:18:05.700 --> 00:18:08.799 He came all the way down and he humbled himself. 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:13.940 And he became like a man and as a servant and became obedient unto the death of the cross. 00:18:13.940 --> 00:18:18.320 We see here in this text that Jesus is pressed. 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:22.100 That he's burdened between his own will and his father's will. 00:18:22.099 --> 00:18:27.000 And yet, he never wavered. 00:18:27.679 --> 00:18:29.839 He never moved off the plan. 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:31.099 He didn't turn back. 00:18:31.219 --> 00:18:32.119 He didn't hesitate. 00:18:32.379 --> 00:18:33.259 He didn't compromise. 00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:34.599 He pressed forward. 00:18:34.879 --> 00:18:35.199 Why? 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:38.480 For the glory of God the Father and the salvation of sinners. 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:39.819 And I'm thankful for that. 00:18:40.580 --> 00:18:42.980 Because I'm the chief of sinners, as Paul says. 00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:45.860 That's why Jesus kept going forward. 00:18:46.120 --> 00:18:50.039 And his disciples are all worried about, hey, can we sit on your right hand and left hand? 00:18:50.039 --> 00:18:52.180 And Jesus says, that's not the problem. 00:18:52.259 --> 00:18:53.799 That's not what you should be looking for. 00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:56.920 And he says, because of this mission. 00:18:57.559 --> 00:18:59.339 Because of what I'm about to do. 00:18:59.579 --> 00:19:01.720 Because of this fire that's going to judge. 00:19:01.980 --> 00:19:04.799 Because of this baptism, this cross that I'm going to endure. 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:07.480 However, you have to make a decision. 00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:11.460 You cannot remain neutral about Jesus Christ. 00:19:12.619 --> 00:19:14.619 And here's the rub, though. 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:18.879 When we make a decision concerning Christ, you know what it often causes? 00:19:19.639 --> 00:19:20.099 Division. 00:19:21.299 --> 00:19:23.019 It causes problems. 00:19:23.379 --> 00:19:24.740 Even within families. 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:27.859 That's what we see in verse 52 and in verse 53. 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:31.619 Jesus asked this question in verse 51 to the disciples. 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:34.200 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on the earth. 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:35.299 I tell you, nay. 00:19:36.500 --> 00:19:39.460 I hope one day we can see the disciples' face. 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:41.900 Like when Jesus asks questions, it's like YouTube. 00:19:42.059 --> 00:19:43.100 We can go back and watch it. 00:19:43.420 --> 00:19:44.620 And he like asks this question. 00:19:44.840 --> 00:19:46.100 They've got to be so confused. 00:19:46.420 --> 00:19:47.700 Like, what? 00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:49.240 What are you talking about? 00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:53.340 And then Jesus begins to talk about like these families kind of falling apart. 00:19:53.500 --> 00:19:55.039 What does he mean here? 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:57.480 Here's what Jesus is teaching. 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:02.680 Before peace with God can take place in your life, there has to be a decision about Christ. 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:07.039 We don't just, we don't just don't have the peace of God because we're here on this earth. 00:20:08.080 --> 00:20:08.519 No. 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:13.620 We can experience the peace of God and the peace with God when we make a decision about God. 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:15.820 About who Jesus Christ is. 00:20:16.080 --> 00:20:18.980 About his death on the cross of Calvary. 00:20:18.980 --> 00:20:22.700 And I'm sure many in this room have experienced it. 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:27.980 You made that decision to follow Christ and it divided you. 00:20:29.420 --> 00:20:32.079 You believe, someone else rejects. 00:20:32.259 --> 00:20:34.339 You surrender, somebody else resists. 00:20:34.599 --> 00:20:37.940 And it takes place even within the closest relationships of our life. 00:20:39.099 --> 00:20:45.360 I mean, you might be here and your husband might have gotten saved and you see it in lives and a wife doesn't understand. 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:50.379 A teenager chooses to follow Christ and maybe at school, they don't understand that decision. 00:20:50.919 --> 00:20:57.119 They begin to pull away and maybe a family member takes a stand for the Lord and others push back on it. 00:20:58.319 --> 00:20:59.779 Some of you have walked through that. 00:21:00.199 --> 00:21:01.679 Some of you are walking through it right now. 00:21:02.159 --> 00:21:05.139 Every time you show up to a family function, they're like, oh, here's the holy roller. 00:21:06.019 --> 00:21:07.839 I mean, that's sometimes the reality of it. 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:11.039 Jesus says, listen, that's going to happen. 00:21:11.500 --> 00:21:13.879 Because there's no neutral ground when it comes to Christ. 00:21:13.880 --> 00:21:14.960 Why is that? 00:21:15.120 --> 00:21:17.100 Because Jesus forces a response. 00:21:19.120 --> 00:21:24.560 And you cannot follow Jesus, is what he's reminding us, without it costing you something. 00:21:25.480 --> 00:21:29.360 But I do want to remind you, if you were here Wednesday when Brother Dan preached, is it worth it? 00:21:29.800 --> 00:21:30.240 Absolutely. 00:21:31.160 --> 00:21:32.200 It's always worth it. 00:21:32.780 --> 00:21:35.380 It's going to all pan out in the end. 00:21:35.600 --> 00:21:37.300 That he's going to make all things new. 00:21:37.340 --> 00:21:39.000 He's going to make all things right. 00:21:39.860 --> 00:21:42.140 But just, I want to bring it down to where we live. 00:21:42.140 --> 00:21:46.320 Because sometimes we look at it and say, well, I understand what he's saying, but what does it look like in my life? 00:21:48.520 --> 00:21:52.140 Maybe at work you've chosen integrity instead of cutting corners. 00:21:53.600 --> 00:21:55.420 Not everybody's going to appreciate that. 00:21:56.259 --> 00:21:57.920 They think, oh, you think you're better than us. 00:21:58.740 --> 00:22:00.700 You know, well, that's not what the boss wants us to do. 00:22:01.280 --> 00:22:02.660 That's not what he asks us to do. 00:22:02.660 --> 00:22:06.680 But listen, you have to do what's right no matter who's watching and who asks. 00:22:08.740 --> 00:22:14.380 Maybe with friends and in relationships, sometimes it's easy to laugh at what dishonors Christ. 00:22:15.019 --> 00:22:16.440 You don't want to stick out like a sore thumb. 00:22:17.540 --> 00:22:19.580 You don't want to say, hey, let's not say that. 00:22:20.259 --> 00:22:22.000 Let's not talk about that. 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:23.720 Oh, what's your problem, man? 00:22:24.420 --> 00:22:25.940 I mean, these are things that we deal with. 00:22:26.100 --> 00:22:33.160 Sometimes even in our own home, when your priorities begin to shift towards God, instead of comfort, your kids are thinking, what is mom and dad doing? 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:35.819 Here's what mom and dad are doing, trying to live for the Lord. 00:22:36.700 --> 00:22:37.779 And sometimes we don't understand that. 00:22:37.819 --> 00:22:39.920 Sometimes it makes life a little different. 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:44.920 Listen, sometimes social media, we'd rather blend in than stand for the truth. 00:22:45.059 --> 00:22:46.019 But let me just mention this. 00:22:46.019 --> 00:22:47.579 If you're standing for the truth, do it in love. 00:22:48.700 --> 00:22:49.579 I just want to say that. 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:51.140 I think it's a good thing. 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:54.440 Sometimes I think things on Facebook, I'm like, don't tell him you come here. 00:22:55.020 --> 00:22:55.740 It's a joke. 00:22:57.180 --> 00:22:57.400 You know? 00:22:57.980 --> 00:22:59.480 You're like, hey, come to my church. 00:22:59.700 --> 00:23:02.040 Please don't tell him you come to this church if you're so mad about it. 00:23:02.280 --> 00:23:03.920 And I'm like, I don't want to go to that person's church ever. 00:23:04.820 --> 00:23:05.680 But here's the reality. 00:23:06.440 --> 00:23:12.460 The moment that you take Jesus seriously, some people in your life will not understand it. 00:23:13.620 --> 00:23:14.380 They won't. 00:23:15.020 --> 00:23:16.380 And you know what's going to make you feel? 00:23:17.120 --> 00:23:17.480 Awkward. 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:20.140 Like, maybe I shouldn't have said that. 00:23:20.140 --> 00:23:22.000 It's going to make you feel misunderstood. 00:23:22.420 --> 00:23:24.040 At times you're going to be even rejected. 00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:27.259 Like, hey, if that's how you're going to live your life, hey, nice knowing you, bud. 00:23:28.180 --> 00:23:30.040 We don't want to be around you anymore. 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:31.240 But don't miss this. 00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:34.880 The tension is often not a sign that we're doing something wrong. 00:23:35.120 --> 00:23:37.080 Sometimes it's saying, hey, we're doing what's right. 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:42.780 Because if we're going to live by this book, Peter tells us in 1 Peter, we're going to be peculiar. 00:23:43.580 --> 00:23:44.840 That doesn't mean weird. 00:23:44.839 --> 00:23:47.179 God's not calling you to be a weirdo. 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:49.659 But he is calling you to be different. 00:23:50.359 --> 00:23:53.519 That our life should look different from the world around us. 00:23:55.799 --> 00:23:58.459 And so if Jesus demands a response, the question is this. 00:23:58.699 --> 00:24:02.359 Why do so many people delay in responding to Jesus? 00:24:02.359 --> 00:24:02.559 Jesus. 00:24:03.639 --> 00:24:04.339 Here's why. 00:24:04.740 --> 00:24:06.279 They ignore the signs. 00:24:07.559 --> 00:24:10.539 Because going back to Christmas, I hear the music. 00:24:11.139 --> 00:24:13.899 I see all the commercials. 00:24:14.119 --> 00:24:14.799 And guess what I do? 00:24:14.979 --> 00:24:18.439 I wait until the last minute to get presents. 00:24:18.959 --> 00:24:20.519 Because I'm a man and that's what you do. 00:24:21.539 --> 00:24:21.819 You know? 00:24:22.139 --> 00:24:22.379 Yeah. 00:24:22.619 --> 00:24:23.939 Praise the Lord for Amazon. 00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:28.139 Like, what can get here in two days that seems like I put effort into this? 00:24:28.140 --> 00:24:29.660 I can say this because she's in the back. 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:31.140 It's just what it is. 00:24:33.259 --> 00:24:36.100 Kenzie had a birthday Friday and we opened presents. 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:38.200 I said, I cannot wait to see what we got you. 00:24:40.660 --> 00:24:41.960 You know what I'm talking about. 00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:45.660 Listen, I knew her birthday was coming. 00:24:45.740 --> 00:24:46.600 It's on everything we were talking about. 00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:47.500 I know Christmas is coming. 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:48.580 But you know what I do so many times? 00:24:48.620 --> 00:24:49.380 I ignore the signs. 00:24:50.820 --> 00:24:52.600 And here's what Jesus reminds us in these verses. 00:24:52.860 --> 00:24:54.300 You cannot ignore the signs. 00:24:55.420 --> 00:24:57.620 That's what he begins to talk about in verse number 54. 00:24:58.140 --> 00:25:00.940 When you see a cloud arise out of the west straightway, you say, 00:25:01.060 --> 00:25:02.560 there come with a shower and so it is. 00:25:02.860 --> 00:25:05.960 And we're going to experience this verse in just a couple weeks probably. 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:08.920 When you see the south wind blow, you say, there will be heat. 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:12.140 When that south wind starts blowing, it's here. 00:25:12.860 --> 00:25:14.420 The grass is about to wither. 00:25:14.500 --> 00:25:17.300 I mean, we know all these Bible verses because we live in Texas. 00:25:18.780 --> 00:25:22.440 But what Jesus does is he's teaching his disciples these first truths. 00:25:22.520 --> 00:25:24.220 Because he's saying, listen, you're going to deal with this. 00:25:24.920 --> 00:25:26.460 And we don't know all the disciples' background. 00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:31.079 But maybe some of them that have left all and followed Jesus, their family didn't understand it. 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:33.000 Like, hey, what are you doing, man? 00:25:33.079 --> 00:25:36.559 Why would you leave your successful fishing business and follow Christ? 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:40.059 But he's reminding them, hey, listen, you're doing what I've called you to do. 00:25:40.340 --> 00:25:42.779 And you're preparing yourself for a coming day. 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:46.259 But now he kind of looks out at the crowd that was gathered around him. 00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:50.500 And he says, listen, you can see all of these things happening. 00:25:50.500 --> 00:25:54.480 They didn't have weather observation equipment. 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:56.259 But they knew how to read the sky. 00:25:57.220 --> 00:25:59.299 He said, you look and you see the clouds gathering and they're dark. 00:25:59.400 --> 00:26:00.779 You're going to realize rain's coming. 00:26:01.359 --> 00:26:03.880 You're going to feel the wind blow and the heat's going to come. 00:26:04.059 --> 00:26:05.359 And you're dead on about that. 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:08.380 But then in verse 56, he uses some strong language. 00:26:08.500 --> 00:26:10.420 He says, ye hypocrites. 00:26:11.720 --> 00:26:15.900 Listen, Jesus didn't say this because they didn't know what was happening. 00:26:15.900 --> 00:26:20.880 No, he said this because they saw Christ standing in front of them. 00:26:21.820 --> 00:26:25.640 And they refused to acknowledge who he was. 00:26:26.300 --> 00:26:30.620 Even though every single sign pointed to the truth. 00:26:31.100 --> 00:26:33.140 That he was not some rogue rabbi. 00:26:33.340 --> 00:26:36.540 He wasn't some carpenter with a ragtag group of followers. 00:26:36.820 --> 00:26:38.420 No, he was God in the flesh. 00:26:38.960 --> 00:26:42.680 And when he spoke and when he talked and when he worked miracles, 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:45.440 everything pointed to all the prophecies. 00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:47.820 That he was Emmanuel. 00:26:50.180 --> 00:26:52.580 And he's saying, how did you miss that? 00:26:53.340 --> 00:26:56.700 You want to say that you're all about and you love God, 00:26:56.779 --> 00:26:59.539 but you can discern the face of the sky and of the earth. 00:26:59.700 --> 00:27:02.700 But how is it that you do not discern this time? 00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:04.900 He's like, you should have seen this coming. 00:27:05.480 --> 00:27:06.519 It's been predicted. 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:08.160 It's been forecasted. 00:27:08.259 --> 00:27:11.539 But they could not see the Son of God standing right in front of them. 00:27:11.539 --> 00:27:16.000 And what he's calling out, he said, this is not ignorance. 00:27:16.759 --> 00:27:18.799 This is willful blindness. 00:27:19.899 --> 00:27:24.220 Because when Jesus showed up, they thought he was just going to pat them on the back and make life easier. 00:27:25.180 --> 00:27:27.339 But here's the hard truth. 00:27:27.740 --> 00:27:28.920 Here's what Jesus called them to do. 00:27:29.399 --> 00:27:30.740 Follow me. 00:27:30.740 --> 00:27:32.900 He tells them things like this. 00:27:33.180 --> 00:27:35.519 Take up your cross and follow me. 00:27:36.259 --> 00:27:40.880 We see all throughout Scripture that following Christ many times is not a life of luxury. 00:27:41.120 --> 00:27:42.240 It's not a life of comfort. 00:27:42.500 --> 00:27:45.819 No, it's a life of compromise and leaning on him. 00:27:45.940 --> 00:27:47.440 But it's going to be worth it. 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:53.980 But when they started seeing like, hey, I'll show up when he feeds me, feeding of the 5,000. 00:27:54.759 --> 00:27:58.480 But when he asked me to do this, we're going to say, whew, that's a hard saying. 00:27:59.059 --> 00:28:00.299 I don't know about that. 00:28:01.059 --> 00:28:04.720 You know, you go to somebody's house and you start, you go there to eat and then they start working. 00:28:04.820 --> 00:28:06.400 You think, yeah, okay, I got to go. 00:28:06.500 --> 00:28:07.240 Boss just called me. 00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:07.799 I got to leave. 00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:09.680 You know, we'll show up when it's easy. 00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:12.039 But sometimes when hard times come, we run the other way. 00:28:12.600 --> 00:28:14.120 That's kind of what was taking place here. 00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:21.119 And let me remind you that this willful blindness still happens today. 00:28:22.579 --> 00:28:30.939 We live in a world that is obsessed with information but is absolutely starving for the truth. 00:28:32.139 --> 00:28:34.319 I mean, it is unreal. 00:28:34.559 --> 00:28:36.159 Some of you people, I admire you so much. 00:28:36.379 --> 00:28:41.339 I don't know how you made it through school without Google or ChatGPT. 00:28:42.479 --> 00:28:43.519 I mean, how did you do it? 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:46.079 Like, did you have to, like, read something? 00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:54.420 I mean, because when you type it in, if you type it in Google, you look at the thing, it says 30,000 answers in .00008 seconds. 00:28:55.339 --> 00:28:57.900 So much information is at our fingertips. 00:28:58.400 --> 00:29:00.559 Even information about the Word of God. 00:29:00.920 --> 00:29:06.839 And people can spend hours checking the markets and watching the news and predicting the trends of the time 00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:10.099 but won't give five minutes to consider their own soul. 00:29:10.099 --> 00:29:15.539 When it comes to eternity, we just kind of shrug it off and say, hey, I'll deal with that later. 00:29:16.039 --> 00:29:18.279 I just want to remind you what Jesus is saying here. 00:29:18.619 --> 00:29:20.939 Ignoring the truth does not eliminate judgment. 00:29:21.159 --> 00:29:21.799 Here's what it does. 00:29:21.899 --> 00:29:22.879 It guarantees it. 00:29:23.899 --> 00:29:26.639 Because judgment's coming whether you ignore it or not. 00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:29.500 That deadline at work is coming whether you ignore it or not. 00:29:29.619 --> 00:29:31.579 That project at school is coming whether you ignore it or not. 00:29:31.579 --> 00:29:36.059 And Jesus Christ is coming in whether we ignore it or not. 00:29:37.539 --> 00:29:41.740 And if we're honest, I think we're really good at paying attention to what feels urgent. 00:29:42.099 --> 00:29:43.899 You know what I was watching very closely last night? 00:29:44.019 --> 00:29:44.659 The weather. 00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:48.619 Not that I could change anything, but I was at least going to go hide. 00:29:50.019 --> 00:29:50.980 Praise the Lord we didn't get a lot. 00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:52.460 But I have some friends that live out in White Wright. 00:29:53.059 --> 00:29:54.480 They don't have any windows this morning. 00:29:54.579 --> 00:29:56.359 I mean, it knocked everything out of their house. 00:29:56.639 --> 00:29:58.379 Hail, the size of softballs coming down. 00:29:58.380 --> 00:30:03.780 I was watching that weather real closely because I didn't want any part of that. 00:30:04.380 --> 00:30:09.420 We pay attention to the news headlines because a lot of times it affects our financial things. 00:30:09.480 --> 00:30:13.380 I'm thinking, when are they going to open this Strait of Hormuz so the gas will go down? 00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:17.100 That affects me. 00:30:17.660 --> 00:30:18.660 So I'm paying attention. 00:30:18.760 --> 00:30:19.740 I feel like that's urgent. 00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:24.440 But how often do we ignore what's eternally urgent? 00:30:24.440 --> 00:30:29.220 Like, where's our soul going? 00:30:31.180 --> 00:30:33.740 What's our relationship with God look like? 00:30:34.340 --> 00:30:37.500 What's your standing before Him right now? 00:30:38.140 --> 00:30:39.160 Listen, we can be saved. 00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:41.779 We can know Him as our personal Savior, but we can still be distant. 00:30:42.519 --> 00:30:45.580 We cannot lose our salvation, but sometimes we allow sin in our life. 00:30:45.820 --> 00:30:47.100 We allow things that shouldn't be in there. 00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:47.799 And here's what it does. 00:30:47.880 --> 00:30:49.539 It creates a wedge in that fellowship. 00:30:49.539 --> 00:30:54.059 Maybe we can think about it like this as a practical way to think about it. 00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:59.759 You know, every Sunday, I guess, I don't know if your phone does this, my phone says, 00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:03.279 here's your weekly iPhone usage. 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:05.960 You know what I did? 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:08.339 I turned that notification off. 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:12.599 I don't need it to tell me how much I looked at my phone. 00:31:13.940 --> 00:31:15.879 But I think it's shocking how much we look at our phone. 00:31:16.500 --> 00:31:18.159 I mean, it has all these kind of stats in there. 00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:19.180 It is wild. 00:31:19.740 --> 00:31:22.200 It's like you spent four hours and 57 minutes on the phone, 00:31:22.320 --> 00:31:24.580 and you picked it up 300 times in a day. 00:31:25.660 --> 00:31:26.720 I was like, golly. 00:31:27.560 --> 00:31:28.759 I didn't realize that. 00:31:29.720 --> 00:31:32.980 How much time did you spend watching the news, scrolling social media? 00:31:33.620 --> 00:31:35.160 It's so easy to do that, isn't it? 00:31:36.680 --> 00:31:38.840 Compare that to the time you spent in God's Word. 00:31:40.600 --> 00:31:45.080 In prayer this week, examining your heart, following Him. 00:31:45.079 --> 00:31:47.539 I know, it's convicting. 00:31:48.939 --> 00:31:51.220 But that just kind of shows how we're wired. 00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:54.960 We're so ready to kind of do the things that feel urgent. 00:31:55.059 --> 00:31:57.419 But Jesus is saying, this is more urgent than that. 00:31:58.359 --> 00:31:59.579 You have to be ready. 00:31:59.839 --> 00:32:02.460 And even if we know Christ is our Savior, we still need to be ready. 00:32:03.199 --> 00:32:04.919 It's not, salvation's not the end. 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:06.480 Listen, it's just the beginning. 00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:08.519 That we begin to live for Christ. 00:32:08.519 --> 00:32:13.220 That when we see Him, I don't want to see Him and say, man, I know I wasn't doing what I was supposed to. 00:32:14.160 --> 00:32:15.839 I'm still going to see Him as my Savior. 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:18.359 But that's the exact thing Jesus is saying. 00:32:18.879 --> 00:32:22.579 He's saying, listen, I'm coming again, and there's no time to delay. 00:32:22.740 --> 00:32:24.720 How can you not discern the times? 00:32:25.639 --> 00:32:27.240 It's all around you. 00:32:27.240 --> 00:32:37.660 And He's reminding us, He's challenging us not to be informed in every other area of our life except the things that eternally matter. 00:32:38.599 --> 00:32:40.160 That we let those go by the wayside. 00:32:41.880 --> 00:32:45.740 So maybe we just need to ask ourselves, what am I paying attention to? 00:32:46.700 --> 00:32:47.680 And what am I ignoring? 00:32:48.620 --> 00:32:50.640 Sometimes our priorities can get swapped real easy. 00:32:51.299 --> 00:32:52.380 That's what Jesus is teaching. 00:32:52.819 --> 00:32:55.839 So if you cannot ignore the signs, what should you do about them? 00:32:55.839 --> 00:32:57.179 Here's what we should do, number three. 00:32:57.439 --> 00:32:58.480 We have to settle them now. 00:32:59.319 --> 00:33:00.459 We have to settle them now. 00:33:01.339 --> 00:33:01.879 Verse 57. 00:33:02.259 --> 00:33:05.539 Yea, and why even yourselves judge ye not what is right? 00:33:06.359 --> 00:33:12.500 When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou may be delivered of him. 00:33:12.919 --> 00:33:18.039 Lest he hail thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. 00:33:18.919 --> 00:33:22.559 So what Jesus does in these last few verses is He kind of moves from observation. 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:25.000 He's saying, listen, you can see the times. 00:33:25.500 --> 00:33:26.659 You can see all the situation. 00:33:26.759 --> 00:33:27.619 You've got to take care of it. 00:33:27.799 --> 00:33:29.039 But here's what it looks like. 00:33:29.319 --> 00:33:30.779 He gives a picture they would have understood. 00:33:31.099 --> 00:33:33.259 It's a man on his way to court with an adversary. 00:33:33.899 --> 00:33:34.940 He's been subpoenaed. 00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:37.019 He's got to go stand before the judge. 00:33:37.139 --> 00:33:38.659 And he knows he's guilty. 00:33:39.039 --> 00:33:40.519 He knows he's not in a good situation. 00:33:40.899 --> 00:33:45.319 And in this culture especially, once you reach the judge, the verdict was final. 00:33:45.940 --> 00:33:50.279 There was no court of appeals that you could tie up in litigation for years and years to come. 00:33:50.279 --> 00:33:51.599 There's no second chances. 00:33:51.859 --> 00:33:53.960 Hey, when the judge comes, it's final. 00:33:54.339 --> 00:33:56.359 When he drops the gavel, it's the end. 00:33:57.180 --> 00:34:02.859 And what Jesus is saying is He says this, that's exactly what judgment will be like when I come again. 00:34:04.339 --> 00:34:06.759 Listen, people want to say, well, God is a God of judgment. 00:34:06.859 --> 00:34:08.599 You know, actually, He is a God of love as well. 00:34:09.219 --> 00:34:11.279 He is just, and He is righteous, and He will judge. 00:34:11.619 --> 00:34:13.300 But you know the only reason He hasn't come back yet? 00:34:13.820 --> 00:34:15.559 He's not slack concerning His promises. 00:34:15.559 --> 00:34:16.840 Some men count slackness. 00:34:17.420 --> 00:34:20.900 But He's weather and reeling that all should come to repentance. 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:22.519 You know what He's waiting on? 00:34:22.679 --> 00:34:25.119 He's saying, listen, I want them to be ready. 00:34:25.719 --> 00:34:27.139 That's what Christ is doing. 00:34:27.400 --> 00:34:30.139 And since that is true, here's what we need to do. 00:34:30.360 --> 00:34:32.739 Verse 58 says this, give diligence. 00:34:34.019 --> 00:34:36.619 It has this urgency of reconciliation. 00:34:37.159 --> 00:34:39.179 It's saying, hey, make every effort. 00:34:39.559 --> 00:34:40.400 Do what it takes. 00:34:40.779 --> 00:34:41.619 Settle it now. 00:34:41.619 --> 00:34:45.759 Because once you stand before the judge, it's too late to negotiate. 00:34:46.539 --> 00:34:47.559 I think we understand this. 00:34:47.739 --> 00:34:51.159 That's why you see when things go to trial, you know what the lawyer is trying to do? 00:34:51.259 --> 00:34:53.279 They try to make a deal before it gets to the judge. 00:34:54.119 --> 00:34:57.799 Because they think, I don't want to stand before the judge because when he drops the hammer, 00:34:58.219 --> 00:35:00.019 I don't want that to be the final verdict. 00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:04.960 And Jesus says, listen, this is not something to take lightly. 00:35:04.960 --> 00:35:12.300 Verse 59 tells us, I tell thee that thou shalt not depart thence till thou hast paid the very last might. 00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:15.039 You know what Jesus is saying there? 00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:17.820 You're never going to pay the debt. 00:35:19.059 --> 00:35:22.579 You want to make sure that debt is settled before you stand before the Lord. 00:35:23.420 --> 00:35:25.300 And that is a terrifying statement. 00:35:26.940 --> 00:35:30.059 And Jesus makes it clear that this debt cannot be paid off quickly. 00:35:30.360 --> 00:35:32.539 It's a consequence that cannot be escaped. 00:35:32.740 --> 00:35:34.460 But He doesn't say this to scare us. 00:35:34.460 --> 00:35:36.480 He says it because here's the great news. 00:35:36.880 --> 00:35:39.400 The debt has been paid. 00:35:40.099 --> 00:35:43.340 On the cross of Calvary, Jesus said this to Telestai. 00:35:44.119 --> 00:35:46.519 It is finished. 00:35:46.820 --> 00:35:49.699 That word means this, paid in full. 00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:55.659 Sometimes you might be here this morning carrying a debt that has been paid for. 00:35:55.840 --> 00:35:58.099 I would imagine if somebody paid off your house, you'd say, you know what? 00:35:58.179 --> 00:35:59.599 I still want to pay off this house. 00:35:59.800 --> 00:36:00.659 I'm going to keep paying the payments. 00:36:00.840 --> 00:36:01.099 No. 00:36:01.559 --> 00:36:02.679 You would celebrate. 00:36:02.679 --> 00:36:05.539 You would accept that gift and say, hey, praise the Lord. 00:36:05.639 --> 00:36:06.879 Somebody paid off a debt. 00:36:07.119 --> 00:36:09.319 Listen, you had a debt much greater than that. 00:36:09.819 --> 00:36:11.619 We were buried in a mountain of sin. 00:36:11.819 --> 00:36:13.019 And the question is simply this. 00:36:13.219 --> 00:36:14.839 Have you accepted the payment? 00:36:15.500 --> 00:36:16.779 Because we've all sinned. 00:36:16.940 --> 00:36:18.539 And we've all come short of the glory of God. 00:36:18.759 --> 00:36:21.259 And Jesus is saying, listen, there's only two options. 00:36:21.500 --> 00:36:23.960 You either trust that I paid it at the cross. 00:36:23.960 --> 00:36:26.480 Or you can pay it when you stand in front of the judge. 00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:28.599 And Jesus is the judge. 00:36:30.500 --> 00:36:32.440 And I know we're going a few minutes in overtime, but it's okay. 00:36:32.519 --> 00:36:33.480 We're going to make it. 00:36:34.539 --> 00:36:35.780 Here's the common misconception. 00:36:36.940 --> 00:36:39.139 I do this in my life on a lot of things. 00:36:39.139 --> 00:36:41.719 I'll take care of this later. 00:36:42.619 --> 00:36:47.179 I have a honey-do list that is so long, I'll never get done with it. 00:36:48.139 --> 00:36:52.279 So if something happens to me, Brother Garrett's going to come and just fix all things in my house. 00:36:53.539 --> 00:36:55.159 And we know that's not going to happen. 00:36:57.059 --> 00:36:58.699 But how often do we say that in our life? 00:36:58.739 --> 00:36:59.639 Well, I'll get to that later. 00:37:00.719 --> 00:37:01.179 I'll do. 00:37:01.579 --> 00:37:05.659 Some of you have been dealing with those things for next week since like 2005. 00:37:06.299 --> 00:37:07.559 I'll deal with that next week. 00:37:08.279 --> 00:37:09.099 I say this. 00:37:09.239 --> 00:37:13.319 When it slows down, when does that happen? 00:37:13.980 --> 00:37:15.059 I don't think it does. 00:37:16.239 --> 00:37:18.239 And sometimes it might work in life, but here's the reality. 00:37:18.420 --> 00:37:19.420 It doesn't work spiritually. 00:37:20.460 --> 00:37:21.659 That's what Jesus is saying. 00:37:22.799 --> 00:37:25.619 See, because delayed obedience becomes prolonged disobedience. 00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:29.079 And over time, something dangerous happens. 00:37:29.839 --> 00:37:33.399 What convicts you right now may not bother you anymore. 00:37:33.400 --> 00:37:37.900 What once felt urgent now feels optional. 00:37:38.220 --> 00:37:41.039 And you start telling yourself, I've got time. 00:37:42.780 --> 00:37:44.360 We don't know how much time we have. 00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:48.099 We don't like to talk about it, but this could be our last day. 00:37:48.900 --> 00:37:50.599 I mean, it's just the reality is. 00:37:51.019 --> 00:37:52.079 And so let me ask you this. 00:37:52.340 --> 00:37:55.220 What has God already shown you that you've been putting off? 00:37:56.380 --> 00:37:58.160 Maybe there's a sin that you just keep. 00:37:58.320 --> 00:38:01.820 It's like a pet sin and you just keep it in your life. 00:38:02.140 --> 00:38:02.760 Confess it. 00:38:03.460 --> 00:38:06.340 Maybe there's a relationship in your life that needs to be made right. 00:38:06.700 --> 00:38:09.320 Maybe there's a step of obedience that God is calling you to. 00:38:09.480 --> 00:38:10.660 And you just keep pushing back. 00:38:10.780 --> 00:38:11.720 And you keep pushing back. 00:38:11.920 --> 00:38:13.200 Maybe it's salvation itself. 00:38:13.280 --> 00:38:14.760 You're all around the things of God. 00:38:14.860 --> 00:38:16.220 But you don't know Him as your Savior. 00:38:16.500 --> 00:38:17.880 Take that step. 00:38:18.980 --> 00:38:21.180 Don't delay if God is pressing to your heart. 00:38:21.180 --> 00:38:24.539 What you delay now might become impossible. 00:38:25.480 --> 00:38:26.980 Because when He comes back, it's done. 00:38:27.820 --> 00:38:28.980 The time is at hand. 00:38:28.980 --> 00:38:31.420 So we'll finish with this. 00:38:31.480 --> 00:38:32.960 How do you settle with God now? 00:38:33.619 --> 00:38:35.619 First thing we have to do is we have to see our sin clearly. 00:38:37.139 --> 00:38:38.219 Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, 00:38:38.360 --> 00:38:40.039 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:38:40.900 --> 00:38:43.400 Blessed are those that realize they are bankrupt before God. 00:38:43.840 --> 00:38:44.800 That they have no hope. 00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:45.960 That they have no option. 00:38:46.119 --> 00:38:47.159 Because a lot of people say this, 00:38:47.260 --> 00:38:48.440 Well, I'm not that bad. 00:38:48.619 --> 00:38:49.659 I'm a good person. 00:38:50.559 --> 00:38:51.420 The Bible says otherwise. 00:38:51.420 --> 00:38:53.980 The Bible says that we are, 00:38:54.320 --> 00:38:56.700 Our righteousness is as filthy rags. 00:38:58.200 --> 00:38:59.720 Maybe we need to ask questions like this. 00:38:59.800 --> 00:39:02.200 What sin in my life have I been minimizing? 00:39:03.200 --> 00:39:05.380 Is there something I know is wrong, 00:39:05.480 --> 00:39:07.280 But I keep justifying it? 00:39:07.940 --> 00:39:08.460 I don't know about you, 00:39:08.519 --> 00:39:10.420 But I can justify almost anything in my life. 00:39:11.599 --> 00:39:13.400 Until the Word of God presents itself. 00:39:13.400 --> 00:39:19.619 Have I become more comfortable with sin than convicted by it? 00:39:20.599 --> 00:39:21.440 Get it settled. 00:39:22.300 --> 00:39:25.139 You can't get ready until you get honest. 00:39:26.099 --> 00:39:27.460 But not only do we have to see our sin, 00:39:27.539 --> 00:39:29.220 Number two, we have to turn completely from it. 00:39:29.619 --> 00:39:30.220 When the Bible talks, 00:39:30.260 --> 00:39:31.400 We talk about repentance all the time. 00:39:31.460 --> 00:39:32.280 Here's what repentance is. 00:39:32.480 --> 00:39:33.400 You're going one way, 00:39:33.619 --> 00:39:35.340 And you turn around and you change directions. 00:39:36.119 --> 00:39:37.900 It's easy to recognize our faults. 00:39:37.980 --> 00:39:38.300 You know, we say, 00:39:38.360 --> 00:39:39.039 Oh, I'm a sinner. 00:39:39.480 --> 00:39:40.480 I'm a bad person. 00:39:40.880 --> 00:39:42.500 But you can't just keep going the same direction. 00:39:43.400 --> 00:39:44.740 You've got to turn the other way. 00:39:45.220 --> 00:39:46.440 You've got to make a U-turn, 00:39:46.720 --> 00:39:48.639 Because that's what God is calling you to do. 00:39:48.880 --> 00:39:52.019 It looks like when God is convicting you on your speech, 00:39:52.079 --> 00:39:52.720 And in your habits, 00:39:52.800 --> 00:39:53.559 And in your influences, 00:39:53.760 --> 00:39:55.039 You start speaking differently. 00:39:55.180 --> 00:39:57.320 You start cutting things out that shouldn't be in your life. 00:39:57.360 --> 00:39:59.340 You start changing what you allow in. 00:39:59.500 --> 00:40:01.079 Because here's the reality. 00:40:01.440 --> 00:40:03.700 Real repentance shows up in real life. 00:40:04.220 --> 00:40:06.559 It's going to show up in how you live your life. 00:40:07.440 --> 00:40:09.559 And that change leads to one final step. 00:40:09.880 --> 00:40:11.500 Trust Christ fully. 00:40:11.500 --> 00:40:13.719 We mentioned the verse already, 00:40:13.820 --> 00:40:14.280 Hebrews 9. 00:40:14.960 --> 00:40:16.380 It's appointed a man once to die. 00:40:17.300 --> 00:40:18.199 And after this, the judgment. 00:40:19.420 --> 00:40:21.639 I know this is not the most popular kind of preaching, 00:40:21.800 --> 00:40:23.860 But your appointment is already set. 00:40:25.119 --> 00:40:26.760 You do not control the timing, 00:40:26.880 --> 00:40:27.880 But here's the wonderful news. 00:40:28.300 --> 00:40:29.900 You can control the response. 00:40:30.980 --> 00:40:32.820 That's why Jesus gave this text. 00:40:33.519 --> 00:40:34.619 He's not trying to scare us. 00:40:34.820 --> 00:40:37.860 He's not trying to get us fearful of all the things. 00:40:37.860 --> 00:40:39.780 No, he's trying to get us ready. 00:40:40.480 --> 00:40:42.840 He says, settle up before that day comes. 00:40:43.559 --> 00:40:45.079 Because before that day comes, 00:40:45.300 --> 00:40:46.039 And when that day comes, 00:40:46.079 --> 00:40:47.380 The opportunity is gone. 00:40:47.700 --> 00:40:51.640 And this is the most important thing you will ever decide in your life. 00:40:52.420 --> 00:40:54.280 To trust Christ for your salvation. 00:40:55.660 --> 00:40:57.180 Or to let it just play on out. 00:40:58.059 --> 00:40:59.340 It's a dangerous place to be. 00:40:59.340 --> 00:41:04.140 Listen, you're not saved by trying harder. 00:41:04.880 --> 00:41:07.059 You're not saved by being better. 00:41:07.820 --> 00:41:09.920 You're not saved by cleaning up your life. 00:41:10.600 --> 00:41:16.140 You are saved by putting your faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. 00:41:16.420 --> 00:41:18.519 And His death and His burial and His resurrection. 00:41:18.519 --> 00:41:21.539 So I'm just going to ask you real plainly. 00:41:21.759 --> 00:41:24.320 Have you trusted Christ as your Savior? 00:41:25.159 --> 00:41:26.559 That's the only way you're ready. 00:41:27.300 --> 00:41:28.599 Not I grew up in church. 00:41:29.219 --> 00:41:30.400 I believe in God. 00:41:30.800 --> 00:41:31.980 I'm a good person. 00:41:32.539 --> 00:41:32.659 No. 00:41:32.980 --> 00:41:36.860 Have you placed your faith in what Jesus did for you? 00:41:38.579 --> 00:41:42.500 Because there is a difference between being ready and being unprepared. 00:41:43.360 --> 00:41:45.440 This passage is not about information. 00:41:46.159 --> 00:41:47.320 It's about a decision. 00:41:47.320 --> 00:41:49.860 And it's not any decision. 00:41:49.980 --> 00:41:52.680 It's a decision you cannot avoid. 00:41:53.880 --> 00:41:56.840 Philippians 2 tells us there's coming a day where every knee shall bow. 00:41:57.300 --> 00:42:01.019 Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. 00:42:02.180 --> 00:42:03.140 Why not here? 00:42:04.180 --> 00:42:04.840 Why not now? 00:42:05.720 --> 00:42:06.780 This is the time. 00:42:06.860 --> 00:42:08.320 This is the day of salvation. 00:42:10.280 --> 00:42:15.180 The worst decision you can make about Jesus is not making a decision. 00:42:15.179 --> 00:42:17.919 Because ultimately you will one day. 00:42:19.059 --> 00:42:21.259 Would the Lord make sure that we're ready? 00:42:21.379 --> 00:42:23.519 Would we respond as He spoke to our hearts? 00:42:23.579 --> 00:42:24.599 Would you stand with your heads bowed? 00:42:24.759 --> 00:42:24.759 00:42:24.759 --> 00:42:24.759 00:42:24.759 --> 00:42:24.759 00:42:24.759 --> 00:42:24.759 00:42:24.759 --> 00:42:24.759 00:42:24.759 --> 00:42:24.759 00:42:24.759 --> 00:42:24.759 00:42:24.759 --> 00:42:24.759 00:42:24.759 --> 00:42:24.759 00:42:24.760 --> 00:42:54.740 Thank you.