More Practical Faith Living

1 (1s): Welcome to churchy stand. As we worship this morning, how beautiful it is to be in the house of the Lord. 0 (14s): Finding the nine. She Oh, to him. 0 (1m 35s): And before the I stand complete, Jesus died. She To him. 0 (3m 11s): I see. And have that to cramped and stayed. He watched Jesus, paid it 2 (3m 27s): All 0 (3m 28s): To him. I 2 (3m 31s): See 0 (3m 32s): Dan had left a crazy insane. He watched, he washed, he washed it a wide as, 3 (3m 52s): Hey, everybody. Welcome to harvest church. My name is Curtis and I just got a couple of announcements for you. But first you should know that the info center is like the hub around here. So if you want to get connected, then that's the way that's where you should go from here. You just go up the driveway. If you're in the patio, you go down the driveway. If you're in the left, you'd like to the left. You'll you'll figure it out. It's got big signs. Can't miss it. So if you want to get connected with any life groups, there's life groups for men and women, recreational groups, there's every kind of group you can imagine. So please, if you want to get further connected, you can join a life group there. Let's say, if you want to give, you can give in here at the collection boxes in every venue at the collection box or online at the gift task. 3 (4m 37s): So with that, let's just pray. And also if you have kids sixth grade and up visit six fifth, and they're going to be released after worship. So just be aware of that. So Lord Jesus, we just thank you so much that you paid it all. Lord, you paid it all on our behalf. Jesus, and you have given you gave everything so that we could have life in you so we can have relationship with you. And so that we don't have to feel condemnation because of her sins because of her doing so Jesus, we are so eternally grateful for setting us free for giving us new purpose in you and God. 3 (5m 21s): So we just want to worship you with everything in us. And we just, we just praise you, Lord Jesus name. Amen. 1 (5m 35s): Where should you this morning? Jesus. We are expecting God. You are here. You are. So this morning we, we don't waste time depressing. We know that you were the king of Kings and the Lord 0 (6m 4s): The people see The people. 2 (6m 38s): See 4 (10m 54s): I just want to speak the name of Jesus, Every heart and every mind. Cause I know there is peace within your breasts. I speak G I just want to speak the name of Jesus. Every God Declare me there is hope and there is free. 4 (11m 38s): I speak G Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. 4 (13m 36s): In the dark, every yen I fam I span the whole 5 (15m 14s): Thank you, Lord. Thank you for the power. That is the name of Jesus. Goodness. I think we forget sometimes Lord, the power of your name to break through strongholds Lord. As we speak the power with the name of Jesus, the person and the work finished work of the Lord Jesus over our lives and families. Lord there's there's hope. There's the ability to endure Lord God in your name. Jesus. So Lord God, give us a glimpse of your power. The resurrection power of Jesus that heals the sick and raises the dead and sets people free. Thank you, Lord God. 5 (15m 54s): We're wherever we need to be healed in Jesus' name. We pray that your power would just touch our lives. Lord God, I think about pastor Rick at Calvary chapel in Nepal, Mo and Cheryl are missionary to Israel. Lord, both of them battling cancer right now, we just got, we just ask Lord God that you would release your power in their bodies. Lord God, for the host of others who are dealing with chronic illness and pain and discomfort in their bodies, Lord God cancer and sickness and disease. Lord, I just pray in Jesus name God that you would work powerfully and intentionally in our lives. Lord God, there would just be a healing outpour of your power and your grace. 5 (16m 35s): Lord God. So minister, Lord to minister, to our friends and family who are in need today. Bless pastor Rick Jenkins, Lord touch every spot in his body. Those five areas that he's got cancer. We just pray that you would touch him and heal him. God, that you would encourage his wife, Tina encourage their congregation. I'd pray their church in Nepal Mo bless them with hope and encouragement, guidance, provision, and direction. Lord for Cheryl Lord as she's she's been so faithful Lord to preach the gospel, to proclaim the good news in Israel and everywhere she goes, Lord God. We just pray to God that you'd bless her Buster with healing and grace and power for what she's needed, what for what she needs in her body. 5 (17m 22s): Lord God do wonderful and supernatural things. Lord things that only you can do, God, God, we call out to you for things that only you can do. And we ask that you would do that now. Lord, thank you for your grace. We love you, Lord. Thank you for loving us in Jesus name. Amen. Turn to greet your neighbor. We'll come right back. 8 (18m 38s): The words 5 (19m 47s): Alrighty. Welcome back. Yeah. I had to get a little throat lozenge. My throat was I'm not cooperating and the while I'm back there, my son's on the, on the command central back there and he gave me just this amazing little massage just now. So that's why I was taking a while. He's like, let me get it. He's just digging into me. Have you ever gotten a good back rub, whatever We're in Hebrews chapter 13 today and the title of the message. More practical faith livings. We talked about practical faith living last week. We're talking about even more practical faith, this, this week more practical faith living and kind of be covering some verses. 5 (20m 31s): So Thank you Lord. 9 (20m 38s): Yeah, I feel like we should, 5 (20m 39s): Again, Lord, we just invite your presence. God, God, that we've, we've all kind of greeted and worshiped and prayed together Lord, and we're praying together some more Lord. I just pray that you would have opened our hearts to you. God, I, I just know that you're going to speak something to us and encourage us and challenge us. And we want you to do that. Lord. We want you to do all of those things, building us up in our most holy faith Lord. So God do what you want to do. Lord will, will be submitted to that. Lord harvest church is your church and where your people. So we want to hear your, your, your word today. So bless us as we do in Jesus name. Amen. 5 (21m 20s): More practical faith living Hebrews 13, eight says keep focused on the changeless or excuse me, Jesus. That's the first title. Go ahead and put it up there. First point. Keep, I just preach this message. Do you think I'd have it like down right now, but I got, I think I got distracted from that neck rub. So I've got to get focused again. Number one in your notes, keep focused on the changeless. Perfection of Jesus. Hebrews 13, eight says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. I grew up in a Foursquare Foursquare church for about six years. And that's like their theme verse as Hebrews 13, eight, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He's immutable. 5 (22m 1s): He doesn't change. He is faithful. He is reliable. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He's our past sacrifice for sin yesterday. Like he died for our sins past present and future sins. He is our present intercessor today. Like he's at the right hand of the throne of God, constantly making intercession for us. He's praying for you. He's praying for me. So he's died for us, cleansing us of our sin, removing sin from our lives and then he's interceding for us. And he is our future forever. 5 (22m 43s): He is the purpose of our lives. Not before we know him, but when we come to faith in him, we realize that he is the purpose for our lives. He saves us out of darkness and he plants our feet on a solid foundation who is Christ the Lord. And then he gives us purpose in the earth. When we come to faith in Jesus, we begin to realize that whatever it was before, it's not it now, whatever our focus and our priorities were before now, Jesus takes the throne of our lives and he is our priority and our focus. And honestly he makes everything else better. So if you're your family was your priority for make Jesus your priority, your family will be better than ever. 5 (23m 24s): If your marriage was your priority before make Jesus your priority and your marriage will be better than ever. If your vocation was your priority before make Jesus your priority. And you'll bless that area of your life as well, seek first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness and everything else, everything else will be added unto you. The scripture says, so we need to keep focused on the changeless perfection of Jesus. So the writer of Hebrews is challenging the people to stay focused in a world that is full of distractions. Then, and now we have to constantly be thinking about Jesus, making him our priority, keeping focused on the change of this perfection of Jesus. 5 (24m 7s): Jesus Christ is changeless and perfect in every way. His sacrifice on the cross is the only answer to man's sin. So he met our needs. He, he is constantly interceding for us on our behalf and he's got this incredible eternal plan. Jesus, his sacrifice, intercession, his plan. It's all about Jesus. And it's all because of Jesus, his plan, his purpose, his way. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. He's immutable, eternal and final. He is the judge. He's the bedrock of our faith. And so we always need to come back to Jesus, right? 5 (24m 47s): We never graduate and beyond Jesus, we never moved beyond Jesus. We're always in this state of dependence on him, where we need to forever make him our priority and the foundation of every area and arena of our lives in a culture that says you're the most important person in a culture that says your needs are the most important needs in a culture that says you are your own little God. We confront that culture with the reality that Jesus has God in Jesus is Lord of our lives. And when we come to faith in him, scripture says, if you confess with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart, that God has raised him from the dead. You will be saved. 5 (25m 29s): And so we're talking about Lordship leadership. I mean, he gets to tell me what to do. He gets to tell me how to do it. He gets to tell me how to spend my life, gets to tell, tell me how to spend my time, my money, everything he gets to tell me whatever he wants to tell me, because I've submitted my life. I've come under the authority of the person of the Lord, Jesus Christ. I wonder if we fully grasp our need for Jesus and his gospel or is Jesus and the gospel something we've just kind of added to our lives. It's an appendage. We carry it around with us or has it been all consuming? Has, has Jesus made himself so real in our needs? So of him so real that we've just, we've taken him in and breathed him in and we've consumed him and we've allowed him to consume us. 5 (26m 14s): If we haven't done that, then we probably are missing the reality of the situation that we are desperately lost without him. We are not good at all in a culture that tells us we're good. The Bible says there is none righteous. No, not one, not even one. John Calvin wrote only those who have learned well to be earnestly dissatisfied with themselves and to be confounded shame at their wretchedness, truly understand the Christian gospel. We don't like the word shame, but, but as we look at the sinfulness of our lives, we need to be ashamed of that. 5 (26m 58s): We need to, we need to have a humble disgust Discontentment with our lives. I'll read that again. Only those two have learned well to be earnestly dissatisfied with themselves and to be confounded with shame at their wretchedness, truly understand the Christian gospel next verse, Hebrews 13, nine. So do not be attracted by strange new ideas then. And now the church has to be challenged, not to be attracted and distracted by strange new ideas. The enemy will always try to attract us to strange new ideas and the enemies pretty. 5 (27m 43s): I was actually reading this recently. The enemy is actually pretty good at delivering on his promise for a moment. Like if you do this sin, that will feel good and he's right for a moment. Right? But, but we don't see the full cost of that decision because the enemy is not going to show us that I was reading a story about a pastor who had many, many affairs extramarital affairs. And you know, the temptation is if it feels good, do it. And it feels good for a moment, whatever it is. But the price tag is unbearable. 5 (28m 26s): So for that guy, the price tag was his marriage for that guy. The price tag was his children for that guy, that price tag was his grandchildren for that guy. The price tag was his church and his ministry and his life as he knew it. And so the enemy will deliver on his promise to please you for a moment. But we got to remember the wages of sin is death. The penalty is always death. There's always a price to be paid. What are we willing to pay? So, Nope, don't be attracted by strange new ideas. Your strength comes from God's grace, not from rules about food, which don't help those who follow them. So let's look at these two, this verse in two sections, the first part of this verse. 5 (29m 10s): So do not be attracted by strange new ideas. First of all, there's nothing new under the sun. So everything that we're being tempted with today, the enemy has been tempting. People for generations, for thousands of years, strange or new stranger, new would be anything contrary or foreign to God's plan of salvation, anything different than the good news that Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross provided that Jesus provided the means of forgiveness and eternal life. If we're beginning to build our lives on anything else we're missing the mark, the enemy will always try to introduce subtle changes to sound doctrine. 5 (29m 50s): Why? Because if your doctrine can be corrupted, then your conduct can be corrupted. And if your conduct can be corrupted, your lives can be destroyed. And that's the goal is to steal, kill, and destroy. That's his purpose in the earth is steal, kill and destroy the apostle Paul address. This problem in gold, in the Galatians church in Galatians one six through eight, he wrote, I'm shocked that you are turning away so soon from God who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. They began to fall back into their old ways of relating to God and maybe earning God's favor that they begin to move back into the old covenant way of thinking the old law way of thinking and Paul so surprised, but I kind of get it. 5 (30m 47s): You know, we can kind of manage the law in our, you know, when we're delusional and think we can actually keep the law. The Bible says, if you break one part of the law, you're guilty of breaking all the laws. So the reality is that we can't keep any of the law, even if we're good in one area, we broken the other. And so we're guilty of breaking the whole law. So, but we, we kind of come up with this convoluted idea that I can do a, B and C one, two and three. And so the enemy gets us focused on those things, but in doing so where we've divorced ourselves from our need for Christ, whose grace is sufficient, who said, Hey, because you weren't or enabled to keep the whole law because you weren't able to attain righteousness in your own works. I came and it became your sacrifice. 5 (31m 28s): Your final sacrifice, you were following a different way. Paul said that pretends to be the good news, but it's not the good news at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. And this is the reality. Every other faith, every other religion under the sun will always twist the truth about who Jesus is. So they describe him and define him in a lesser way than this. Holy scripture is define and describe him. They will always limit him. He will always be less than what the scriptures declare him to be. 5 (32m 10s): So he's not the king of all Kings. He's not God incarnate. He's a God. The Jehovah's witnesses will say, he's not the king of the eternal one. He's the spirit brother of Lucifer Mormons will say new agers will say that he was a good teacher, that he was an enlightened leader, but that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says he is king. That is eternal. And that he is the one way to the father. Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the life. And no man comes to the father except through me. Every other faith in the world, humanism secularism in any ism will, will define and describe Jesus in lesser terms than what the scripture describes and defines Jesus. 5 (32m 55s): And so this is why we always go back to the scripture. We always find our theology and our, our beliefs about who God is through the word of God, not even internal sources, although some external sources will help us understand the word of God, but that's the word of God that ultimately speaks to our understanding. Galatians one continues, let God's curse fall on anyone, including us, or even an angel from heaven who preaches a different kind of a good news than the one we preach to you. I say it again. What we have said before, if anyone preaches any other good news, then the one you welcome. Let that person be cursed because that person is leading people astray. 5 (33m 42s): God's coming, that we might have life and life abundantly. People preaching a different gospel. Once you lay heavy burdens on us and distract us from the life that God has called us to live. Second part of verse nine says your strength comes from God's grace, not from rules about food, which don't help. Those who followed them. Paul explains to Timothy in first Timothy four, one through five. Now the holy spirit tells us clearly that in the last times, in the last days, some will turn away from the true faith. They will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 5 (34m 22s): So I'm going to say something it's unpopular. Every other faith in the world that isn't about Christ is demonic. It's it's, it's, it's, it's in their religion and their experiences. Four is informed by the enemy of our soul. It's demonic. Even those who seem like they're doing some incredible work. It is. It's an invention of Satan. It's a counterfeit, it's demonic. And this is what we see here. I'll read it again. Now the holy spirit tells us clearly that in the last times, in the last days, some will turn away from the true faith and they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 5 (35m 8s): These are people, these people are hypocrites and liars and their consciences are dead. They will say it's wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods, but God created those foods to be eaten with. Thanks by faithful people who know the truth, since everything God created is good. We should not reject any of it, but receive it with thanks for, we notice made acceptable by the word of God and prayer. So there's this temptation to become a POS state, to begin to move away from the truth of the gospel, to begin to dilute and to redefine what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. And we begin to mix in like, it's our option to mix in new age philosophies and ideologies and thinking and other religious and worldly things we get. 5 (35m 56s): We think we can kind of mixed all that in and serve Jesus. When the reality is that we need to examine our lives, eliminate everything that is godless and new age and contrary to the scripture and eliminate it and just make the word of God, our focus and our priority. So there's this apostasy, this kind of falling away. We see it. More people just begin to slip, begin to compromise, begin to change, begin to fall away from the truth. It's demonic. It's this apostasy is falling away. It's demonic, it's deceptive. And it's distorted in its origin. 5 (36m 38s): These deceiving spirits are evil and work in individuals to promote chaos and to seduce them into believing false doctrines concerning God, Jesus concerning the church concerning the Bible and especially the way of salvation. So the enemy is constantly trying to confuse us about the truth. And so we just need to be constantly opening up the word of God. Every time I open up the Bible old or new Testament, I get clarity. No matter what I'm dealing with. If it's an old Testament passage or a new Testament passage is I open up the scripture and just avail myself to the word of God, my heart, my mind, my spirit. I just get clarity about things. I get clarity about who I am in Christ. 5 (37m 20s): I get clarity about who God is and about what he's doing in the world. I get peace. I get, I get joy. I get clarity because of the truth that is spoken to me. So our spiritual strength comes from God's grace, which is communicated to us through God's word, not from religious rules, that demand conformity, but lack any ability to spiritually strengthen or give eternal life. I mean, that's what the religious elite in Jesus' day were all about. The Sadducees and the Pharisees. They were about he being expectations on the people, never lifting a finger to actually help them work called as the body of Christ to use our gifts, to Edify, to build up the church, to build people up in their most holy faith. 5 (38m 0s): And so God has called us to do what he's doing. He's speaking to people to lighten their load. Jesus said, come to me, all you who labor and every lady I will, I will give you rest of your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. So anything that's contrary to scripture, maybe you're feeling experiencing it. If you're, if you're feeling the weight of something on your, your shoulders or in your soul, you need to figure out what it is. Maybe the Lord's trying to convict you. Sometimes conviction and condemnation seem very similar. But the difference is that when we ask the Lord, what's going on, am I feeling convicted? Or am I condemned? And the Lord will show us, he'll show you a sin that you're being convicted about, or he'll show you that it's the enemy of your shoulder trying to condemn you. 5 (38m 43s): And so if it's the enemy of your soul, trying to condemn you, then you just need to cast that out in Jesus name. I just say, Lord, would you get rid of that in Jesus' name? That's not from you. I don't want to carry that around. And if it's a conviction for a sin or something, I've in word thought or deed, I've done. I say, Lord, forgive me. And then we just move forward. I always encourage us to keep short accounts with Jesus, keep short accounts. If you stumble, acknowledge it, admit it, repent of it and move forward. That's the gospel. That's your whole life. You'll be doing that until you go to meet Jesus until he arrives until he takes us home, we will be doing that same thing. Get used to it, get humble about it. Get excited about it. 5 (39m 23s): Because when we confess our sins, he is faithful. And just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, our spiritual strength comes from God's grace that is communicated through his word and his, the reality of who we are in Christ, Romans 14, 17 says this for the kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the holy spirit. When you're walking with Jesus, the way that God has invited us to walk with him, this is what you'll be experiencing life of goodness and peace and joy in the holy spirit, goodness, and peace and joy in the holy spirit. And that our aim like I wanna, I wanna experience that. 5 (40m 6s): Well, w the way you experience it as just by honoring Jesus, by walking with Jesus, to just be with the Lord, constantly be praying with, without ceasing. You're just, you're, you know, I was out in the garden yesterday, pruning things, and I'm just praying the whole time. And I, it just, there's just something about that lifestyle. Yeah. I don't do it perfectly, but there's something about it that brings goodness and peace and joy in the holy spirit. Verse 18. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, in that great news. We're always wondering how do I please, God, right? This is how you please God living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the holy spirit. 5 (40m 49s): If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God and others will approve of YouTube verse 19. So then let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up harmony in the church when we're operating out of any other priority, out of any other motivation, there's going to be pride in our lives. I don't know about you, but well, pride I'm con I'm like harsh with people and critical of people think I'm better than I really am. And then God gets my attention. Then I realize, and then all of a sudden, out of that reality, that truth I'm I I'm able to extend grace and I'm able to do what God has called me to do in my life. 5 (41m 30s): Not just as a leader, pastor, but as a father, husband, grandfather, all of us things let's continue. Continue in Hebrews 13, 10. It says we have an altar from which the priests in the tabernacle have no right to eat. Why? Because that old system, that old religious system is dead. It's obsolete. Jesus has made it dead and obsolete. So the writer's making a clear distinction here, the old and the new system, Jesus has called us into this new covenant, whereby we are saved by grace through faith, and that he has offered himself as the final sacrifice. 5 (42m 13s): And so these priests who are stuck in the old system have no access to this. Alter the priest under the operating under the old system, have no access to the altar of the Lord. Jesus Christ. When we're operating out of works and trying to please God through our good works, we've got no access to the grace of Lord Jesus Christ. We're saying, Hey, I'm choosing works. We need to choose Jesus Christ offered his life on the altar of sacrifice once for all time, making final atonement for the sins of man once. And for all the old covenant is obsolete. Hebrews 1311 says that under the old system, under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the holy place as a sacrifice for sin. 5 (43m 1s): And the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. Under the old covenant, constant sacrifice was needed to atone for the sins of the people. Hebrews 7 23 says this. There were many priests under the old system for death, prevented them from, from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever. He's eternal. His priesthood lasts forever there for, he is able once and forever to save to save. And that word means to save completely. The word is so Zoho. It means to save completely, to make whole and to heal. This is the power of the salvation that's available to us in Christ. 5 (43m 44s): He's able to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. Hebrews seven continues. He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people, but Jesus, but Jesus did this once for all. When he offered himself as a sacrifice for the people's sins, as we serve God, it's imperative that we keep focused on the changeless perfection of Jesus. 5 (44m 30s): There's a thousand things that try to distract us. Why do we need to stay focused on the changeless perfection of Jesus? Because our strength comes from his grace. Our strength comes from the reality of who he is and the reality of who we have become as followers of Jesus. Hebrews four 16 says, so let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There, we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it. Most. Number two more practical, faith living number two, live boldly, and be willing to look the fool for Jesus, Live boldly and be willing to look the fool for Jesus. 5 (45m 13s): Most of us aren't willing to do that. We're uncomfortable even bringing up the name of Jesus. If we're honest, most of us would have a hard time even telling somebody that Jesus loves them, let alone look the fool for Jesus, but really that's what he's called us to do to live completely devoted and committed to him, Willing to say, do, go wherever, whatever the Lord would have us to do. Verse 12 says, so also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. So Jesus is crucified out side. The city, a picture may be of his separation from the old religious system. 5 (45m 57s): Normally the priests Could eat, whatever was left over after the sacrifice was made. But on the day of a Toma, the leftover sacrifice is taken outside the city to be burned. Jesus' atoning work was accomplished outside the city, outside the religious system of the day. So verse 13 says, so let us go out to him outside the camp and bear the disgrace. He bore. What disgrace did he bear? He hung naked on a cross 9 (46m 27s): Scorned, 5 (46m 28s): Beaten, pierced Crucified for my sin. He hung there naked in front of everybody dying for my sin. And I'm afraid to even tell somebody about him. 9 (46m 43s): There's 5 (46m 43s): Something's got to shake loose in us, Whereby we decide in Jesus' name, that we're not going to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ whereby we're. We're going to stand firm as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And we're going to point people to him. We're, we're declaring to the world, to our friends, with our family, with, with tastes, but with kindness and love and with conviction, we're declaring that Jesus is his Lord. So let us go out to him outside the camp and bear the disgrace Gracie board. We should be willing to at least emulate the one we follow. Maybe this will change your mind. The Bible says here in verse 14 for this world is not our permanent home. 5 (47m 26s): This world is not our permanent home. We are looking forward to a home yet to come. And yet we're so settled in into this life. We're trying to make this life so comfortable and so amazing. We're not even thinking about the world to come. So we're not thinking about our friends and family who will die one day apart from Christ and go straight to their judgment straight into the fiery pits of hell. We're not thinking about that because we're just trying to, we're just trying to make this life comfortable. We're just trying to make investments so that we can retire someday and travel and do all of the things that we want to do. Not once thinking about the people around us, I was talking to a friend of mine over lunch on Friday, and he was saying, my dentist, that I've been going to for 25 years passed away. 5 (48m 12s): And I realized when I heard that he passed that I had never once shared the gospel with him. And I'm thinking to myself, I've never once shared the gospel with my dentist. You know, we've got these people in our lives and we compartmentalize them. Like I'm here for a checkup. I'm not going to bring Jesus into the conversation. I'm just here for this or my gardeners here to cut the lawn. I'm not going to bring Jesus into the conversation or my coworkers, or I've been working with them for decades, but I'm not going to bring Jesus into the conversation. I don't want things to become awkward. I don't want things to be come uncomfortable. The gospel is awkward. 5 (48m 52s): It's uncomfortable. It confronts our sinfulness and it needs to confront our sinfulness. I'm so glad that the gospel was communicated to me. It radically changed my life forever and all my descendants forever. It's changed my life. So glad somebody decided to broach that uncomfortable conversation. Tell me that I'm a sinner in need Jesus. We want to soft pedal it. Jesus will make your life great. And you give your life to Jesus is going to be like one of the hardest things did you ever do? Trying to walk that out, trying to remain faithful, opening up the word every day. Praying constantly. I'm reading the scripture in the old Testament king David, before he's anointed king, but he's not there yet. 5 (49m 35s): He becomes king at age 30, but as he's working his way there, he's praying at every turn about battles about confrontations, Lord, what do you want me to do? It's just, it's this life of surrender to God where we're saying, God, is this what you want for my life? Is this the path? Is this the conversation? Is this the confrontation? Whatever it is, Lord, I w I'm willing to do that. So we can't soft pedal it because soon as things get difficult for people like we know it gets difficult for people. Is it ever been difficult for you as a follower of Jesus? Absolutely. So don't say it's going to be easy and all you're going to receive as God's grace. I mean, that's, you'll receive God's grace, but you're entering into a battle. That's worth it. It's like you've got enlisted into the Marine Corps and you're going to the front lines. 5 (50m 20s): So we need to be honest about the truth of what's going on. Hey, you need Jesus. He died for your sins. Give him control of your, and he will radically change your life forever. That's really what it's all about, right? It's not about just showing up to church on a Sunday morning, click in that box. And it's about giving your life to Jesus. If you confess with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord, how do we miss that Lord over everything. My time, my talent, my treasure, my whole life. Jesus. I'm surrendered to you. My whole life belongs to you. Nothing is withheld. That's that's the call. Jesus said to his disciples, come and follow me and I'll make you fishers of men. 5 (51m 2s): Leave your boats, leave your family, come and follow me. And I will give you a whole new purpose in life. We had Christianity like it's an appendage or like something in our tool belt. Like it's something, you know, and we totally miss it. And I wonder, we've never felt passionate about sharing the gospel with people. It's, hasn't really impacted our lives very much. When Jesus begins to impact your life, you'll start telling people about him. Cause he matters to you. He's transformed your life. I was talking to a friend of mine earlier this last week and she was talking about a pastor in north county. His name is pastor Pete. Before he got saved. 5 (51m 42s): His name was pistol. Pete. Not because it's cute, but because he had 15 felonies on his record and he earned his nickname, pistol, Pete. Now they call him pastor Pete, because his life has been completely transformed. I don't think that needs to be. That's not like the rare thing. That's like the thing. This is what God does. He trans forms our lives. And if he hasn't transformed your life, you've got to go back to the drawing board. Yes, he got I'm I'm coming back because I don't feel like I'm getting it. My life has not been transformed. I'm still watching the same stuff. I still talk the same way. I still entertained by the same things. 5 (52m 22s): I'm still having sex outside of marriage. I'm still lying on my taxes. I'm still cheating my employer. I'm still doing all these things. My life hasn't changed. Go back to the drawing board and confess and just let Jesus know that you've missed it because you have, you can't do those things and follow Jesus. You can't do those things and follow Jesus. It's oxymoron. It's your swimming up. There's two separate places you're trying to go. And you're gonna just be miserable For this world is not our permanent home. 5 (53m 3s): God will bless us with places to live and roof and all of those things, but that's not the priority. Jesus. And the kingdom is his priority. I was reading in second Samuel chapter six recently. And in this chapter king, David is bringing in the Ark of the covenant back into, into Jerusalem. And he's so excited. He's so excited that the presence of God, the Ark represents the presence and the power and the blessing of God. He's so excited that the arc of the covenant is coming back into Jerusalem. He's dancing and celebrating as the arc is ushered in. 5 (53m 44s): This is the king of Israel, but he realizes he's not the king, but Jesus is the king. He's the king of Israel, but God is the king of all Kings. And he will be submitted and live his life before the Lord. David's wife was embarrassed by his adoration of the Lord. Why was she embarrassed? Because she didn't know God, she'd never been touched and encountered the God of king David. So she said in first 16, first Samuel six, it's not up there, but it's an Ark of the Lord to enter the city of David. Michael, the daughter of Saul looked down from her window. And when she saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him. 5 (54m 30s): That's, that's what the world will think about us for a while, till Jesus shows up and they're going to think completely different about us. And if we haven't shared the gospel with people, with love and grace and conviction and, and truth and compassion, w w w David was, was willing to live boldly and he was willing to look the fool for Jesus. Number three, more practical faith living demonstrate faithful allegiance to Jesus. It's kind of what we've been talking about. 5 (55m 12s): Demonstrate faithful allegiance to Jesus. Therefore, first 15, let us offer through Jesus. A continual sacrifice of praise to God proclaiming our allegiance to his name. Our praise should proclaim our allegiance. It has to be focused and our praise should be committed to the focus and the allegiance of Jesus or a love for him. Verse 16 says, don't forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please, God, person's greatest need salvation. 5 (55m 53s): Everything else is secondary and temporal. Person's greatest need is salvation. They need the gospel. Everything else is secondary and temporary. The gospel is what is primary and eternal. Our actions should proclaim our allegiance. The way that we live should demonstrate that our allegiance is to Jesus. And yet we live as if our allegiance is our retirement accounts. Our next vacation, our family, our kids are animals. 5 (56m 34s): Our hobbies are sports, anything but Jesus and people look at our calendars and they see church from nine to 10 on Sunday morning that doesn't demonstrate allegiance to Jesus because the other hours of the week are focused on everything else. It's not to be a condemning message. It's just to wake us up in this culture. What is our allegiance to is our allegiance to Jesus, or is it to everything else in our lives? Does Jesus get to decide what we do with our lives? With our time, our talent and our treasure? Does Jesus get to the side or are we just deciding and hoping he blesses it? 5 (57m 14s): Does Jesus get to the side is again, as David would go into battle before he would even go into battle, he'd say, Lord, is this the direction that you would have me to go before I move into a town? Lord, is this the town that you want me to go before? I have this conversation? Is this the conversation that you want me to have? And you let God be God, and you let him direct. You you'll save yourself a whole lot of heartache. If you let God be God in your life, you've come to Jesus. I've come to Jesus because I can't be God in my own life. I've messed it up from start to finish. Jesus comes in and everything gets put in his proper place. And don't forget to do good and to share with those in need. 5 (57m 54s): These are the sacrifices that please God. So our actions should proclaim our allegiance. Our words, thoughts and deeds should demonstrate our faithful allegiance to Jesus. The use of our time, our talent and treasure should demonstrate faithful allegiance to Jesus time. I don't know what the statistics are at harvest church, but everybody should have a ministry in their lives. God has equipped each of us with a, a talent that's to be used for the kingdom. So maybe it's work within the church. Maybe it's work within ministries like lifeline or whatever it is, but you've gotta be using your gifts for kingdom work. 5 (58m 40s): And so none of us should be here without being a part of it. Like every one of us should have a job, like a responsibility within the kingdom, within the body of Christ time, reflecting our allegiance to Jesus. We spend our time doing everything else, making time for everything else, except for Jesus time talent using our gifts to do what Jesus has called us to do our treasure. What are you doing with your money? 5 (59m 21s): Is it demonstrating your allegiance to Jesus? Where is it demonstrating your allegiance to your next vacation, your retirement? What's your priority with your resources? I, from the earliest time I talked to my kids about tithing giving 10% of your income. I was show them, check, see, this is what tide looks like. Here's my paycheck. Here's my tie. That's 10% at least of what I make I'm giving to the work of the kingdom, because I want to disciple my kids in truth. So many young people are growing up and they're not giving their time, talent or treasure to the kingdom. So many old people are living life, not giving anything of their time, talent, or treasure to the kingdom. 5 (1h 0m 2s): It demonstrates your allegiance to the world. When you live like that, it doesn't demonstrate your allegiance to Jesus. What are you doing with your time, talent, your treasure? Does it reflect your allegiance to Jesus time? Are you investing yourself talent, using your talents to expand the kingdom? We pray every, every day, every morning, Jolene and I pray and we pray that everything we do, we would just expand the kingdom that we would use our gifts and talents to expand the kingdom. We've been praying that not just for, since we've been in vocational ministry, but since we've been married for the last 32 years, we just pray this all the time. We want the kingdom to be expanded. Not because we're professional ministers, pastors, not because I'm a pastor. 5 (1h 0m 42s): I've done this my whole life. Since I knew Jesus. Since I've known Jesus, we're all called to do what God has called us to do. What has God called you to do are using your time talent? Your treasure ties means 10%. So if you make a thousand bucks, a hundred bucks goes into kingdom work. That's how that works. 10%, not 1% or 2% or 3%, 10%. That's just, that's what the ties means. Say, well, I don't believe in the tithe. Well then you don't believe in the Bible. Not saying it God's bus. Do what you want with this information, but I hope I've at least triggered something in your soul that helps you to realize, helps me to realize that Jesus, I, every part of my life needs to be reflect my allegiance to him. 5 (1h 1m 34s): So I could preach a softer message that would fill seats. But you don't want to hear that. I don't want to preach that kind of stuff. My job is to preach the gospel. And if you get mad at me, it's okay. It's probably good. I got kicked out of puppet ministry when I was in high school. Junior high school. Yeah. I joined the puppet ministry cause Jolene was in a puppet ministry, but my life wasn't quite squared away with the Lord. And so I was partying on the weekends and doing all kinds of stupid stuff. And my youth pastor said, you can't do puppet ministry until you get your life squared away. 5 (1h 2m 15s): And I was mad about it. It's like, you can't do that. And he's like, I just did. All right. We need people to yank our chains from time to time. It's not gonna do any good. If I just stand up here and both smoke, you need to hear the gospel need to hear the truth and your life needs to reflect your allegiance. So don't leave here and just go back to life. As it is, go back and reflect and think, how is my life reflecting? Jesus. We've got work to do. I don't want to do it alone. I know I'm not, but what has God called you to do? What has God called you to do with that? Let's go and stand up and invite the worship team. 5 (1h 2m 56s): More practical, faith living Lord, if we need it, thank you for it. Lord convict us where we need conviction. Encourage us, where we need encouragement, help us, where we need help. Lord, forgive us where our faith is. Small. Forgive us for our lack of belief. Our lack of obedience. God, we repent in Jesus name. Repent means I'm not doing that anymore. So I pray God from the youngest to the oldest, everybody would use their gifts, their time, talent, and treasure to honor you to reflect the allegiance. Thank you, Lord. Proper allegiance. 5 (1h 3m 37s): Amen. 0 (1h 3m 45s): Jesus paid it 2 (1h 3m 50s): All 0 (1h 3m 51s): To him. I see it had led to cribs and Steed. He washed . She says 1 (1h 5m 44s): Thank you, Jesus, that you have washed our sin away. Thank you that you have made us clean. Thank you for the cross for salvation That we get to have a hope in eternity because of your son. Thank you. That we got to be in the house this morning and worship your name In Jesus name. We pray. Amen. If you would like prayer this morning, we have a prayer team at Fred, so you can make your way forever forward. Otherwise have a wonderful day and we'll see you next week.