WEBVTT 00:00:02.319 --> 00:00:08.720 Welcome to the Manitoured Stafford Podcast, where we're all about equipping God's people to change their world. 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:17.679 We're thankful you're here, and we're praying that this message encourages you to love God, love others, and love the world more fervently than before. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:19.920 Now, let's get to it. 00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:30.559 Yes, we doing well? 00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:32.320 We can do better than that. 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:33.359 How we doing, guys? 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:34.159 Are we good? 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:37.520 Y'all, I just tell you, I missed you guys last week. 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:41.679 I was uh I was away, I was at a men's retreat in Colorado Springs. 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:43.280 We had several of our guys from here. 00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:45.840 We linked up with our Manna Church from Colorado. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:47.280 You guys might not know this. 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:51.039 Manna Church owns a ranch in the mountains. 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:52.880 Now, we got it for free. 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:54.399 We didn't pay for some bougie ranch. 00:00:54.479 --> 00:00:56.079 It was given to us for free 99. 00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:58.960 But it's been there for like 60 years. 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:00.320 It's amazing. 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:02.799 It sleeps about 150 people. 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:06.000 So we had a fantastic time. 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:10.400 Uh it was, it was literally, it was the best uh men's retreat I have ever been on. 00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:11.760 I've been on several of them. 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:14.159 Uh great fellowship, great experiences. 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:16.879 We we went up to Pikes Peak as soon as we flew in. 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:19.599 I made sure everybody got altitude sickness like right away. 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:22.560 I drove them up Pikes Peak just to see them all get woozy. 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:24.000 Uh I got a little woozy myself. 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:24.719 It was awesome. 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:30.480 We did hiking, we did repelling, we um axe throwing, we had great stories. 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:35.439 Like one of these days, I'm gonna have to tell you the legend of Tacoma John Donahue. 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:37.840 Man, uh we had great connections. 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:42.480 We we baptized five men up there in freezing cold water, by the way. 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:44.159 Uh mountain water. 00:01:44.319 --> 00:01:48.799 Um life change happened, and I'll be honest, it was nice. 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:56.480 I love you guys, but it was nice preaching to a room full of men that wasn't recorded because I can say whatever I wanted. 00:01:56.640 --> 00:01:57.200 You know? 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:00.480 The internets are forever, so uh, you know, you gotta be real careful. 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:01.519 But um it was good. 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:15.840 I had a word I was really excited to share with them, and um, I tell you that because this morning I think that that God has given me a word for us today, um, but it's not one that I'm actually eager to share. 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:19.199 At least, at least not in the same way that I was eager to share that one. 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:25.280 Um, because I I think it's gonna be a word that's gonna be challenging to a lot of us here, but it's one that's necessary. 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:34.000 So Josh talked last week about questions and how we all come with those as a part of our progress in faith. 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:40.159 And it's part of how we we get closer to becoming the men and the women that God called each one of us to be. 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:42.400 In fact, we got an anchor verse we're using for this series. 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:44.560 It's Philippians chapter 1, verse 6. 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:46.719 We're gonna read it, it'll be on the Sky Bible behind me. 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:54.560 It says, I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus. 00:02:54.719 --> 00:03:01.439 So some of you, when you came in, you went and you already connected at one of the small group tables and you got a puzzle piece. 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:03.439 And some of you still have it. 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:04.000 That's okay. 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:05.759 You're not finished with it yet, right? 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:07.280 You're not finished with the puzzle. 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:10.639 The pieces aren't broken, but they're not complete either. 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:12.319 It's the same way our faith can be. 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:14.400 It's still not done, it's still in progress. 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:15.360 We're still making it. 00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:22.960 And part of the reason that I have questions about how I connect with the rest of the picture is I don't necessarily know how it's gonna turn out. 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:25.840 I don't know what it's gonna look like when I get to the end of the progress bar. 00:03:25.919 --> 00:03:29.919 I don't know what it's gonna look like when my piece fits in to the rest of it. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:35.280 And when we come to Jesus, a lot of times we can come with our doubts, we can come with our questions, our struggles. 00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:37.120 We don't have to have everything figured out. 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:41.199 We don't have to know what the whole puzzle looks like when we first come to Jesus. 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:43.919 But this morning, I'm gonna start off with a different question. 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:46.560 It's a more challenging one, it's a more provocative one. 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:49.120 Um, last week Josh talked about questions about faith. 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:54.960 He talked about the the things that we need to reconcile in here before we jump in, up here, really. 00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:59.680 Um is this thing I'm considering doing, this following Jesus, is it a real thing? 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:01.680 Is this God I'm considering serving? 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:03.120 Is he a real God? 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:05.120 So today we're gonna take a different direction. 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:08.240 I'm gonna ask you to ask a question about yourself. 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:14.879 And I'm again, it's not necessarily a sermon I wanted to preach, but I think it's one that we need to preach. 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:17.519 Um, it's a relevant question that we have to ask. 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:28.879 And as we progress on this faith bar, this progress bar, the question we need to need to really have resolved in our mind is is the faith I have an authentic faith? 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:31.120 Is it real? 00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:34.959 Is it actually faith in Jesus? 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:41.600 So before we ask how far our faith has progressed on the bar, we need to ask if we're actually on the bar. 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:43.759 Am I actually there? 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:45.839 You can tell it got really quiet. 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:56.240 And some of you are gonna take umbrage with the statement, and you're gonna say, like, Jake, but you you say every single Sunday at the end of the service, you say, Man, if you believe in your heart that Jesus was raised from the dead, you're gonna be saved. 00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:56.959 I would agree. 00:04:57.040 --> 00:04:58.160 I do say that. 00:04:58.399 --> 00:05:00.800 But that's not all that I say. 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:03.279 And I'm gonna make a super provocative point here. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:18.959 Um, that idea alone, the idea that Jesus lived, died, and rose again, believing that idea in your head is actually not enough for you to clear the barrier to be a part of the body of Christ. 00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:23.680 Some of you are super confused. 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:27.040 You're like, man, Pastor Jake went to the men's retreat and he came back a heretic. 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:29.040 What in the world? 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:30.560 Just just stick with me. 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:37.839 Okay, if that feels like if that feels like something that you don't understand, just stick with me till we get to the end because I'm gonna explain it and I think it's gonna make more sense to you. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:39.360 James 2 says this. 00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:40.800 This is Jesus' little brother. 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:41.439 Here's what he says. 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:43.040 We're gonna read it from the New Living Translation. 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:47.920 He says, You say you have faith because you believe that there's one God. 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:49.600 Good for you. 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:52.160 I feel like it's a little sarcastic when he says that. 00:05:52.720 --> 00:05:56.959 Even the demons believe this and they tremble in terror. 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:08.560 So there's there's different types of belief, and there's at least one type of belief that associates you more with devils and demons than it does with the body of Christ. 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:10.079 Think about that for a second. 00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:13.279 That is super challenging. 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:16.639 You may hear that and you may start to get really uncomfortable. 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:17.040 Good. 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:18.319 That's the point today. 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:22.560 We fed you crispy creams, and I'm gonna make you super sick to your stomach. 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:28.639 So sometimes when we preach, we we preach for people, we preach messages for people who are outside of the church. 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:38.240 You know, people inside the church that get all excited because it's like you're giving them red meat, talking about all those people who are sinners outside the church, and they're like, Yeah, amen. 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:40.480 This isn't one of those messages. 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:41.120 Okay? 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:44.879 This is a message for us who are inside the church. 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:53.120 I want every single one of us to seriously evaluate where we are on this progress bar and if we're actually plugged in at all. 00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:59.439 A question I want you to ask yourself is not is Jesus real. 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:03.839 I want you to ask yourself this question: Does Jesus rule? 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:07.839 Not is he real, but does he rule? 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:15.839 I'm gonna start with it with a story that Jesus shared to ill illustrate this kind of miscalculation a lot of people make. 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:17.439 So I'm not gonna read it. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:19.519 It's actually, it's in Matthew chapter 25. 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:20.560 Um, you can look it up. 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:22.319 It's it's verses 1 through 13. 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:24.000 He talks about a wedding party. 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:27.920 And if you guys have been to wedding parties, sometimes you go, like, I got a wedding coming up. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:29.439 I'm really close to the groom. 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:31.120 I don't really know the bride that well. 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:33.759 I know her, I know her well enough, but I'm not super close. 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:38.399 In fact, we went to a wedding not that long ago in the summer where Danielle knew the bride. 00:07:38.560 --> 00:07:40.560 I didn't know pretty much anybody there. 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:42.800 Um, I'd met the bride a few times. 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:55.120 Um, and Jesus talked about this dynamic at a wedding one time where there's a bridal party, and the groom is getting ready, and nobody in the bridal party knows when the groom's gonna call us. 00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:58.160 You can get into whole like dynamics of how Jewish weddings went. 00:07:58.319 --> 00:07:59.759 We're not gonna talk about all that. 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:07.759 But the the point that they get to in this whole wedding party situation is the groom comes when some of the bridesmaids are not expecting it. 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:10.240 And the groom says, Hey, it's time for the wedding. 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:15.199 And so half of the bridesmaids go with the bride and the groom to the wedding. 00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:22.560 And then the other half later on try to get into the wedding, and the groom says to them, I don't actually know you. 00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:23.839 Right? 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:29.680 It's like we go to the wedding with Danielle and her friends, and I show up, you know, three hours late. 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:30.560 I'm trying to get in. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:32.720 It's an invite-only kind of a party. 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:35.519 I go to the door and they're like, dude, who are you? 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:37.279 Oh, I'm with I'm with Danielle. 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:38.799 Like, who's Danielle? 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:40.480 She's not the bride, right? 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:41.919 No, but but I'm with her. 00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:43.759 And they're like, who is that? 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:47.039 That actually happens in the kingdom. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:48.720 Jesus is trying to relate that to the kingdom. 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:52.240 And here is at least one of the points that Jesus is trying to make. 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:56.159 You can know the bride without knowing the groom. 00:08:57.039 --> 00:08:59.519 And the bride of Christ is the church. 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:01.759 You can actually know the church. 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:04.480 And that's a scary thing when the bride's taken away. 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:07.600 You may be left wondering why you weren't invited to the party. 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:10.639 You can know the church and still not know Jesus. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:16.799 Being ready for church is not the same thing as being ready for Christ. 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:21.919 Serving the church is not necessarily the same thing as serving Jesus. 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:24.720 Sometimes it can be, but it's not always the same thing. 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:30.480 There's a difference between being connected to Christ and being connected to Christianity. 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:32.559 Not always the same thing. 00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:35.679 In fact, we have all kinds of people like this in our society. 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:39.679 They're connected to the church, but they don't really know how to connect to Jesus. 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:47.039 And don't take this as an excuse to be disconnected from the church because you're like, oh, I'm just connected to Jesus. 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:49.360 I'm I don't have to be a part of the church. 00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:51.679 That's actually not how it works, right? 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:56.000 Like, if you are a friend of the groom, you will also be a friend of the bride. 00:09:56.320 --> 00:10:01.679 So if you are Jesus' friend, you will also love his church and be connected to his church, okay? 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:05.679 But you can be connected to his church, but not really know who he is. 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:08.639 I have a turn for people like this. 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:11.600 It's one that you're probably not gonna like. 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:14.240 It's cultural Christians. 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:18.240 We have we have unreached people groups all over the world. 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:26.320 They're all over the world where where less than 2% of the society actually have ever even heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:28.320 America is the opposite. 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:33.440 We're actually an overchurched area, but we are still an underreached area. 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:40.240 In fact, church planters would say that the Bible belt is one of the worst places to plant a church. 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:42.320 They get frustrated when they go there. 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:45.840 I didn't realize this because people there aren't one or the other. 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:48.799 They're not either an atheist or a Christian. 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:53.440 They're Christians because they've been to church once or twice and they live in America. 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:55.840 Like, oh yeah, I'm a Christian. 00:10:56.240 --> 00:10:58.399 I I experienced this phenomenon. 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:01.200 It wasn't long after we planted the church. 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:04.080 Um, I had a conversation with somebody who was attending. 00:11:04.159 --> 00:11:07.440 They'd been here, they were serving, they were like commenting on stuff. 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:09.360 Um they enjoyed it. 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:10.639 So we put them in a specific role. 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:13.039 We're like, okay, great, you would be great for this role. 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:15.679 Fill the role, they start to help out more. 00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:21.440 And and one of the things you'll find is as you get more connected to the church, you invite more accountability in your life. 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:26.720 You invite more fellowship and more, more um, I guess, inspection. 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:29.360 Um that that's just that's just how it works, right? 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:32.000 Um, and man, love this person. 00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:39.440 Um, I started giving some counsel, um, talk to them about things in their life, like, hey, some of the content they were consuming, like, do you think that's good for you? 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:40.480 You know, how's that doing? 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:45.120 I started to, you know, their marriage, like some of the choices that they were making weren't the best choices. 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:48.399 Parenting, um, you know, just a few things. 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:54.240 There were priorities that they were setting that they were leaving God completely out of the equation. 00:11:54.639 --> 00:11:56.879 And so, I mean, money was a huge thing for them. 00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:59.759 I didn't press on that too hard because I could tell it was a stronghold. 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:00.960 I didn't want to scare them away. 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:04.480 It was like, okay, we'll get there eventually, right? 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:13.120 Um, they'd get challenged, they get inspired by the messages, they they'd talk to me afterwards about it. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:23.440 But it was almost like there was a disconnect between what should have been transformative truth and what they thought was just really like, oh, that's just good advice. 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:25.919 Or that's just like a reel that I saw online, right? 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:28.639 It's just, oh, that's cool, yeah, that that's neat, right? 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:31.519 It's not like spiritual truth from God. 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:33.279 It's just that's good advice. 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:34.960 It's like a TED talk. 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:55.519 What I found after being here, what they found actually after being here for about a year, was that the things we talked about on Sunday and the things that we talked about as we would get together one-on-one, it wasn't just good advice that I was giving them, that we actually believe the things that we're saying. 00:12:56.080 --> 00:12:59.200 Not just saying words up here, like, hey, try this, maybe it'll work. 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:01.200 It's like, no, we're teaching the word of God. 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:05.919 We believe that this is supposed to transform our lives, and this is what we're supposed to submit to. 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:10.799 And Jesus should have lordship over every single area of our life. 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:16.240 That that's what this walk, that's what this progress bar is about, is giving him more and more and more lordship. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:20.720 And the areas where we don't know that he's got it yet, when we find that out, we're like, oh, have this too. 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:22.960 Didn't realize I was holding that back. 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:28.000 At that point, it actually came really, really difficult for that person to be here. 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:35.759 Because there was a disconnect between everything we said that we believed and what they actually believed and lived. 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:39.519 And they eventually left because they couldn't reconcile the disconnect. 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:42.240 They couldn't handle it. 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:47.279 Um what broke my heart was this they was a great person. 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:54.399 They were funny, they were smart, they were um, they had tons of friends, they were like the poster child for people that were trying to reach, you know? 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:58.799 Like, man, you you're such a great person to be in the kingdom. 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:02.480 Um and so I was super frustrated when they left. 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:07.360 You know, like people come and leave the church, it's just it's just part of part of the job, part of the world. 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:13.759 Um, but this one bugged me a lot on in a different way because I started to question like, am I being too rigid? 00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:16.240 Am I am I setting the bar too high? 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:18.080 Like, am I am I doing something wrong? 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:21.919 So I actually called another pastor in our our network, one another one of the manna pastors. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:24.399 If you don't know, we got like 33 mana locations. 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:27.200 Um so I called one of the pastors I respect. 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:29.200 I respect them all. 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:32.559 But I called this particular one. 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:38.159 I called this particular one because he knows he knows that I'm a little bit more intense and he's a little bit less intense. 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:42.000 So I was like, if anyone's gonna tell me something contrary to what I think, it'll be this guy. 00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:42.720 So I called him. 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:44.480 I said, man, am I being too hard? 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:45.919 Am I being too rigid? 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:49.840 Like, and what they said, it actually upset me a lot. 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:52.480 It's probably not what you would expect. 00:14:52.960 --> 00:14:57.120 What they said to me was they said, Jake, I I don't think that you're being too hard on him. 00:14:57.679 --> 00:14:59.279 I don't think you're being too rigid. 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:04.960 I think what you need to do is admit to yourself that they're probably just not a Christian. 00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:26.159 In fact, I think that I could say that person and thousands, maybe millions, of other Americans would fit into a category that one author who wrote a book recently would categorize as unsaved Christians. 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:30.480 Another way to describe them would be cultural Christians. 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:36.320 And cultural Christians, just to make sure I'm describing what they're not, so we can make sure we land on what they are. 00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:39.519 Cultural Christians aren't people who are struggling with questions. 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:40.480 That's not that. 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:46.879 Cultural Christians aren't people who are just immature, they're not people who have issues in their life. 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:52.639 These are people who have embraced Christian culture without surrendering to Jesus. 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:58.879 Cultural Christianity, it actually does give Jesus a place in your life. 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:01.679 It just doesn't give him lordship over your life. 00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:04.000 And those are dramatic different things. 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:06.080 So I think about it this way. 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:08.399 Jesus talked in metaphors. 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:10.159 I love talking in metaphors too. 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:12.399 Um I think about it like Disney. 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:13.759 Amazing place, right? 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:15.440 Disney is an amazing spot. 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:17.120 If you've never been there, it's great. 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:18.240 I I've been three times. 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:22.080 Millions of people visit each year and spend bajillions of dollars there. 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:23.759 They know how to take your money. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:32.799 Um if you meet somebody who has been to Disney and you're talking, like if I'm talking about being to Disney three times, we can have a conversation. 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:34.480 If you've been to Disney too. 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:43.919 Or if I if I meet somebody who says, Well, I've actually been six times, I'd be like, wow, one of the questions I might ask him is, what's your favorite park? 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:47.120 And they'd be like, Oh, well, um, I don't know. 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:54.799 Be like, well, I mean, you know, like, you know, when you walk in Animal Kingdom, they've got the big tree in the middle, you know, and they've got like the music going. 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:56.559 It sounds like the Lion King. 00:16:58.399 --> 00:16:58.960 Right? 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:00.960 Like, man, like, I want to go there. 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:05.839 Or you go to Epcot and they got the big ball, or you go to the Magic Kingdom and they've got the Cinderella cast. 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:07.279 Like, which one do you like the best? 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:11.920 And like, I've actually never, I've never seen any of those. 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:12.960 You're like, what? 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:13.759 Wait, hold on. 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:15.359 You say you've been to Disney six times. 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:18.880 They're like, yeah, I've, I mean, I go, I just I've been in the parking lot. 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:22.799 What would you say to that person? 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:26.000 They would, they would, they would attest, I've been to Disney. 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:28.960 You would say, no, you haven't. 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:30.880 You've never been. 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:33.519 You've never actually experienced Disney. 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:38.319 You sat in the parking lot, but you never went in and got any of the good stuff. 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:40.160 You never paid the money. 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:42.160 You know it if you went into the park. 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:43.039 Let me tell you. 00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:48.559 You buy that three-day park hopper pass, and you know you went to Disney when it's over. 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:53.599 See, cultural Christians identify as Christians. 00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:56.799 True followers of Jesus belong to him. 00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:59.039 Cultural Christians, they know about him. 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:00.799 Real Christians know him personally. 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:04.319 Cultural Christians think that religion is a part of their life. 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:09.519 Real Christians believe and they understand Jesus is the central part of my life. 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:11.119 Like he's right in the middle. 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:12.799 Everything else revolves around him. 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:16.640 He's the sun, and my whole constellation orbits around him. 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:19.359 Cultural Christians, they want Jesus as a savior. 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:20.559 I believe that. 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:24.960 Real Christians, they don't just want him as a savior, they want him as a Lord. 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:28.160 I mean, every single one of us wants a savior when we're drowning, don't we? 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:30.240 Like we want a savior when we're drowning. 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:34.000 But real Christians want him to be Lord even when they're comfortable. 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:40.559 I'm gonna tell you, Lordship, Lordship starts when Jesus tells you no and you answer. 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:42.559 That's when you know he's Lord. 00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:45.759 Cultural Christians, they obey when it's convenient. 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:49.200 Real followers of Jesus obey when it costs them. 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:52.960 Cultural Christians, they attend church, y'all. 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:54.480 They do. 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:58.240 Real Christians are a part of the body of Christ. 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:00.000 There is a difference. 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:02.960 Cultural Christians seek comfort. 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:06.559 Real Christians seek Christ even when you're suffering. 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:11.680 Cultural Christians, they'll measure their faith by the number of activities that they're a part of. 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:14.160 Hey, I went to an outreach last week. 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:19.519 Hey, I gave somebody a$5 bill at the stoplight when I was going to the mall the other day. 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:22.079 Hey, um, I did something nice with this person. 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:25.759 So they're like, my faith must be good because I did all these things. 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:30.960 Real Christians measure their faith by how faithful they are in all activities of life. 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:33.920 You know, I went home and I loved my wife well. 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:39.440 I I stewarded the finances God gave me in a way that He wanted me to. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:45.440 I I served at work as serving God, not as serving the boss that I really don't like. 00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:50.559 I was on the phone with somebody and they were frustrating because they were making me wait for a really long time. 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:52.400 And I just wanted to get the answer to my question. 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:53.119 But you know what? 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:55.599 I was faithful to Jesus and I was patient. 00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:58.559 It's a there's a difference. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:02.160 Cultural Christians, they love Christian values. 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:03.599 They're great values, y'all. 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:05.920 It's the way that the universe was built to work. 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:10.400 Real Christians love Christ Himself, not just his values. 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:13.759 Cultural Christians obviously are driven by the culture. 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:20.720 So when culture says, hey, yeah, that part of the Bible, that's actually that that's just cultural and old. 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:23.279 We have a new way of looking at things now. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:28.960 This is kind of, you know, the the Bible can be reinterpreted as as history unfolds. 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:32.240 Like that's that's how cultural Christians look at the word. 00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:40.079 Real Christians let Christ transform us and renew our minds and conform us into his likeness, not the other way around. 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:49.759 Church attendance, Christian music, Christian parents, Christian politics, Christian vocabulary, none of those make you a Christian. 00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:51.359 None of them. 00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:55.039 That just puts you in the parking lot. 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:58.160 It just puts you in proximity to Jesus. 00:20:58.559 --> 00:20:59.839 That's all it does. 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:06.480 And in this series, next week particularly, we're gonna talk about difficult questions people have. 00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:17.680 The truth is, questions don't disqualify you, struggles don't disqualify you, imperfections do not disqualify you, but failing to make Jesus your Lord absolutely does disqualify you. 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:20.160 I just I just have to be super clear. 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:24.400 If he is not your Lord, you're not a part of the body of Christ. 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:33.519 And what you can actually do is you can you cannot make this yes or no binary decision, fully commit or don't. 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:37.119 And you can hide among the body of Christ. 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:39.519 It's almost like social camouflage. 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:44.799 In fact, Jesus told a story about this in the New Testament. 00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:46.319 Matthew chapter 13. 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:49.680 I'm gonna read it, starting in verse 24. 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:50.640 It says this. 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:51.839 I'm gonna read the whole parable. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:59.759 It says he put another parable, another story before them saying, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:05.920 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went and went away. 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:10.079 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:15.680 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, Master, didn't you sow good seed in your field? 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:17.759 How then does it have weeds? 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:21.440 And he said to them, An enemy has done this. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:25.039 So the servant said to him, Then do you want us to go and gather them? 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:29.839 And he said, No, lest in gathering the weeds, you root up the wheat along with them. 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:42.319 Let both grow together in the harvest, until the harvest, and at harvest time, I will tell the reapers gather the weeds first and bind them into bundles to be burned, and gather the wheat into my barns. 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:47.039 So the weeds, another word for them is darnell. 00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:52.880 It's it's actually um it's a special type of weed that actually grows and it looks very similar to wheat, actually. 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:54.799 Looks really, really similar to it. 00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:56.880 At least when it's immature, it does. 00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:03.599 When it's mature, what happens is, and they they probably would have known this, they're a very agrarian society. 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:16.000 When it's mature, it actually can grow a fungus, and if it's not separated from the wheat, it will not only impurify the harvest, it will actually uh corrupt the entire batch of flour that you make. 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:21.440 So it's absolutely essential at some point to separate the weeds from the wheat. 00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:23.440 That has to happen at some point. 00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:29.200 And as they grow together, what happens is the roots start to entangle themselves. 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:34.720 The roots get all tied up together between the weeds, the darnell, and the wheat. 00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:38.000 And again, when they're immature, it's almost impossible. 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:42.640 It's like millimeters of difference between the leaves that come out of them. 00:23:43.119 --> 00:23:45.839 But when they're full grown, you can very clearly see a difference. 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:50.880 But the roots at that point, they're so interwoven that you can't you can't pull them out without harming. 00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:52.720 So his disciples, they have questions. 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:54.720 They're like, So what do you do? 00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:56.079 Like, what does this even mean? 00:23:56.240 --> 00:24:01.039 This is actually one of only three parables that Jesus took the time to explain to his disciples. 00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:01.920 And this is what he said. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:08.000 You skip down, he told another story, and then it says he went away to a house, and his disciples are like, Jesus. 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:10.960 What in the world is going on? 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:12.559 Explain this, please. 00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:13.839 And so he does. 00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:20.720 Verse 36, it says, Then he left the crowds and went to the house, and his disciples came to him saying, Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field. 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:25.759 And he answered, The one who sows the good seed is the son of man, God. 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:32.319 The field is the world, and the good seed are the sons of the kingdom. 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:38.160 The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. 00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:42.400 The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels, not people. 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:43.680 The reapers are the angels. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:44.799 That's important. 00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:49.519 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:57.200 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all lawbreakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. 00:24:57.279 --> 00:25:00.079 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:03.039 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:05.119 He who has ears, let him hear. 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:07.039 Every single one of us got ears. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:09.039 We should listen to this. 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:11.839 There's a lot you can take from this parable. 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:13.279