WEBVTT 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:11.679 You're listening to the rogue with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt. 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:15.519 Church, you are a jewel. 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:17.440 You are beloved. 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:19.440 You're a child of God. 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:20.480 You're a son of God. 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:21.920 You're a daughter of God. 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:27.039 Not because you produce fruit yet, but because that's your identity. 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:39.039 So as you stay in a healthy environment of a local church, you stay in a healthy environment of having some blood-stained allies, you stay in a healthy environment of learning to worship and pray, you're gonna produce fruit. 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:40.479 It's gonna come. 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:46.719 At The Road, our vision is to raise up wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ. 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:51.200 For more information on the road, visit theroad.org. 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:56.640 We hope you are encouraged by today's message from Pastor Teacher Steve Holt. 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:03.520 Turn to Malachi chapter 3. 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:06.000 We've been talking about the refiners fire. 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:12.079 And this is the last week we're going to talk about the refiners fire. 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:22.079 Because God's really been speaking to us as a whole family, but also to the road leadership team and to our road ministry here. 00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:24.959 That God's bringing a refiners fire. 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:27.359 He's doing something. 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:30.319 And for the last six weeks we've been talking about the refiners fire. 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:31.840 Go back to Malachi 3. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:40.719 For you that are guests with us today, I'm going to read our kind of seminal passage that we've been reading, and then we're going to finish up with chapter 4 in Malachi. 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:45.519 Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:53.760 And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight. 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:58.480 Behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:01.439 But who can endure the day of his coming? 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:04.400 Who can stand when he appears? 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:10.479 For he is like a refiner's fire, and like launder's soap. 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:14.319 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver. 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:17.840 He will purify the sons of Levi. 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:25.759 Purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness. 00:02:26.719 --> 00:02:28.479 Say fire with me. 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:32.000 Say breakthrough. 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:39.120 Say joy, righteousness, and peace. 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:43.280 Say refiner's fire. 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:51.599 Because the refiner's fire of God brings, don't miss this, righteousness, peace, and joy. 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:53.599 That's the kingdom of God. 00:02:53.919 --> 00:03:06.960 God never comes with a refining fire in your life except to purify you as gold and silver that you might experience the kingdom of God in a deeper way. 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:13.360 You've heard me say that in the church, he's not a forest fire, he's a refiner's fire. 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:18.159 He doesn't come and just indiscriminately burn, but we're going to look at chapter 4. 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:24.879 And those who are not saved, those who do not have a personal relationship with Christ, he is a forest fire. 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:32.639 He comes in because he hates wickedness and he hates immorality. 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:35.120 But he loves you. 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:38.000 And he cares about you. 00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:51.759 And if we'll embrace the refiner's fire, which is really, really hard, 1,764 degrees Fahrenheit to refine silver. 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:57.759 So if any of you feel like you're in that kind of heat, welcome to the refiner's fire. 00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:04.479 But God is guiding you to righteousness, peace, and joy. 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:26.959 He's enabling us to experience the kingdom at a new level that because of the sin in our life, because of rebellion, because of laziness, I mean it's different in everybody's life, because of our catatonic spiritual state, we're not experiencing it all. 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:30.319 And this is actually the way he works, church. 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:32.480 Because he loves you. 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:45.680 So look at chapter 3 at the very end, and I want to start there, and then we're going to go into chapter 4 because I want to embrace these two verses, 17 and 18, again. 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:47.759 We talked about them last week. 00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:53.759 They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I make them my jewels. 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:56.079 He's talking about you, church. 00:04:56.480 --> 00:04:57.519 He's talking about you. 00:04:57.600 --> 00:04:59.120 You're a jewel to him. 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:01.600 I will spare them. 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:04.800 As a man spares his own son, you know why? 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:07.199 Because you're his own sons and daughters. 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:09.279 You are his sons and daughters. 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:10.879 He spares you. 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:22.160 As a man spares his own son who serves him, then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:32.480 So, so God says to all of us here, and it's really important that we hear this before I say any more about the refiner's fire, is that you're beloved. 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:40.800 Most people do not feel and experience their belovedness. 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:42.079 You're a jewel. 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:44.879 And I don't think that's a mistake. 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:51.519 He uses the word jewel when he's talking about a refiner's fire of silver and gold. 00:05:51.839 --> 00:05:58.800 Some of you have beautiful gold lockets around your neck or bracelets on your wrist. 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:06.000 Some of you have piercings and it's and it's gold and it's silver on you. 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:07.920 Those are jewels. 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:10.079 You're his jewel. 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:13.759 But that jewel had to be refined. 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:15.759 We were walking through. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:20.399 Does anybody ever don't don't anybody raise their hand? 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:31.600 But I was thinking, I was in California this week and I was walking through the airport, and there's a jewelry store right there in the airport. 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:33.839 And there's a person, there was actually people talking. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:37.199 I was thinking, who buys jewelry in an airport? 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:41.199 So don't answer that because it's wonderful if you do. 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:42.959 I just want you to know, God bless you. 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:46.240 You probably forgot something and you needed it and you're going to a meeting or whatever. 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:47.360 I think that's what people do. 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:48.000 I don't know. 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:49.040 But I don't go. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:52.399 Does anybody go to the airport to look for jewelry? 00:06:53.920 --> 00:07:03.600 I can't wait to go to DIA with my boarding pass so I can go and look at that one jewelry section on the way to my gate. 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:06.639 Kind of cheapens it a little bit. 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:16.319 Right now, Liz has noticed, we've been married a while, that one of the diamonds is loose in a ring, and so she hasn't been wearing the diamond ring. 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:25.759 She's been wearing wearing the uh the actual wedding ring, which comes from her great-grandmother, but it's not the diamond, and it kind of and it bugs me. 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:27.839 Kind of makes me mad. 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:29.680 She says, Well, we could lose the diamond. 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:31.120 I said, Well, then don't wear it. 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:32.480 I mean, I I dig that. 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:38.240 But I want to go to the jewelry store and I want to get this thing fixed and put it into a beautiful arrangement. 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:43.439 I'm gonna go to a jewelry store because jewelers do jewelry stuff. 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:48.000 They they're jewelers at church. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:56.959 Jesus is a jeweler, and he's honing you, and he's and he's polishing you, and he's making you beautiful. 00:07:58.319 --> 00:07:59.439 Don't miss this point. 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:01.759 You're beautiful. 00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:04.800 And we're gonna talk about family today. 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:13.199 We're gonna talk about how important it is that we treat each other with honor and that every person that comes in this room encounters God as best we can. 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:18.079 We set it up where they can encounter God, but most people encounter God through people. 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:24.800 I mean, if we had the Shekinah glory come down and angels appear, man, that would be super cool. 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:34.320 But probably the way we're gonna encounter God is through someone loving us and through someone giving us honor and someone who cares about us. 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:39.440 That's that's what a marriage is, that's what a family is, and that's the way the church is supposed to be. 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:49.039 Because we believe there's gold in every person, there's silver in every person. 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:57.919 Our job is not to criticize the old man, it's to polish the new man, to pull that out of you. 00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:00.639 That's what a good coach does. 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:03.679 That's what a good dad does, that's what a good mom does. 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:07.440 We we we look and okay, the room's not cleaned up again. 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:22.080 But but in the midst of the discipline, and I'm not saying you shouldn't have to have discipline in your home and stuff, but I am saying that the way in which we interact and the way in which we coach our kids is to bring out the gold, right? 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:26.879 Because God has made them beautiful and they're precious. 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:38.960 For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. 00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:41.679 This is that forest fire part of God. 00:09:41.919 --> 00:09:45.279 He is a forest fire to those who are wicked. 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:54.559 And the day which is coming shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, that will leave them neither root nor branch. 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:59.360 Now, keep your finger in chapter four or use your marker, whatever you have. 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:05.039 I want you to flip to the right and look at 1 Timothy. 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:06.559 So just keep moving to the right. 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:07.679 I always go like this. 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:12.559 Just go like that until you go through 1, 2 Thessalonians, you'll see 1 Timothy. 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:22.799 Come to 1 Timothy chapter 1, starting at verse 12, he begins this dialogue. 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:29.840 Paul's writing to Timothy, his pastor in Ephesus, about the church there. 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:32.720 And then he says a very interesting thing. 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:40.480 He gives us admonition about enablement, empowerment, but then look at verse 15. 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:45.039 He says, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:48.399 So he's about to make a doctrinal point. 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:53.759 This is, aside from what I'm telling you, Timothy, don't miss this. 00:10:54.159 --> 00:11:05.360 He says, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:19.039 He's saying that the primary purpose that Christ came was to save us from our sin, to save us from ourselves, so that he could make you a jewel. 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:23.120 So that he could make you gold and silver. 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:26.399 Now he's not done though. 00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:28.559 Look at verse 16. 00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:30.240 He says this. 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:42.960 For this reason I obtained mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might show all long suffering as a pattern. 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:45.919 Then jump down. 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:59.440 Verse 18, this I charge you, I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by then you wage good warfare. 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:08.639 Then chapter 2, verse 4, he almost says the same thing again, who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:10.080 Here's why I'm saying this. 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:23.200 You read Malachi 4, 1, and you might come away with an impression that I believe many of us in this room have, because of our religious background, of a wrathful God. 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:32.159 That God in his wrath kind of can't wait to kind of get the wicked and get the sinners and burn them all up. 00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:58.159 But looking always from a New Testament perspective, we see that at the very core of the heart of Jesus, and the very core in the heart of Timothy as a pastor in Ephesus, is that Christ came to save those who do not have a personal relationship with him, and that his passionate desire is that every man, woman, and child would get saved. 00:12:58.399 --> 00:12:59.759 That is his heart. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:07.759 That is primarily the purpose of the church is to save these jewels. 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:10.240 These beautiful jewels. 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:16.000 You know, there's no other creation in all of creation created in the image of God but us. 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:20.000 I'm not saving elk. 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:21.759 I shoot them. 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:23.519 I don't save deer. 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:25.039 We don't save fish. 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:27.679 And by the way, I believe in all the environmental stuff. 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:28.639 Most of it is fine. 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:29.279 It's great. 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:33.679 If we didn't have environmental laws, then we wouldn't have any animals or fish. 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:34.720 So I'm for that. 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:37.759 But my point is fish are not created in the image of God. 00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:39.679 Elk are not created in the image of God. 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:40.559 We are. 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:45.679 That's why we are so passionate about pro-life issues. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:52.159 Because every little baby is created in the image of God, whether it's in the womb or outside the womb. 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:53.840 It really matters to God. 00:13:54.799 --> 00:14:08.799 So God's heart is he wants to make take this tarnished, this tarnished life, this broken life, this life that's been full of sin and rebellion and drug addiction or whatever it might be. 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:13.200 And he takes that life and he turns it into a beautiful jewel. 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:16.480 He gives it a new heart and a new spirit. 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:21.200 And then what he does for the rest of our life, church, is he polishes you. 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:26.000 He takes that jewel and he polishes us. 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:28.080 And he polishes us. 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:28.960 You know why? 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:33.039 Because he wants you to shine like the sun. 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:36.000 Shine like the sun. 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:40.799 Because look at the next verse in chapter 4, verse 2 of Malachi. 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:55.200 But to you who fear my name, the sun, S-U-N, the Son of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings, and you shall go out and grow fat. 00:14:56.480 --> 00:15:00.720 Grow fat like stall-fed calves. 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:06.320 For any of you that struggle with your weight, you can always use this verse as an apologetic for where you're at. 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:12.159 He wants you to grow fat in Christ, Son of righteousness. 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:17.679 The most powerful metaphor for Jesus Christ is the sun. 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:23.600 Nothing more powerful in all of the creative order than the rising sun. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:30.080 I've been up in the mountains of sub-zero weather so many times I can't even count them all. 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:36.240 And I'm hunting or I'm hiking or I'm fishing or whatever it is I'm doing, and that sun starts to rise. 00:15:36.879 --> 00:15:40.000 Oh man, it's awesome. 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:48.960 And if you know anything about the outdoors, you tend to want to be on the shadow side of the mountain so it doesn't just blast into your eyes. 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:56.559 But most of us that are freezing run over to the other side when it first comes up because we're so numb. 00:15:56.720 --> 00:15:59.840 And our lives have been numb without the sun. 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:02.399 And the sun of righteousness is rising. 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:07.200 And the rising just began today for some of these kids and for some of these young people. 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:11.120 But for the rest of their life, it's going to be a son of righteousness. 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:18.080 We'll be understanding more of God's righteousness as the days go by. 00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:28.799 And so, this son of righteousness, I can't think of a better quote than what Charles Spurgeon wrote of this passage. 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:46.240 Jesus, like the sun, is the center and soul of all things, the fullness of all that is good, the lamp that lights us, the fire that warms us, the magnet that guides and controls us. 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:52.879 He is the source and fountain of all life, beauty, fruitfulness, and strength. 00:16:53.200 --> 00:17:07.200 He is the foster of tender herbs of penitence, the quickener of the vital sap of grace, the ripener of fruits of holiness, and the life of everything that grows within the garden of the Lord. 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:20.880 Whereas to adore the Son would be idolatry, it would be treason not to worship ardently the divine Son of righteousness. 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:36.880 And so, men and women, some of you are new to the Lord, and you're just starting to grow, or some of you are at Sappha and you're in the training center right now, and some of you are in our discipleship classes and you're coming to some things that we do, and the sun's just starting to rise. 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:42.880 You may have known the Lord a long time, but you're starting to experience righteousness, peace, and joy. 00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:47.200 And because of that, you've got to stay with the sun. 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:58.960 Because it's part and parcel of the Jesus Training Center, is that He's developing you inside. 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:07.519 You see, if I were to tell you, if we went in our backyard of my house and said, that is an apple tree. 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:09.519 And you go, that's not an apple tree. 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:10.880 I said, No, it's an apple tree. 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:12.079 That's not an apple tree. 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:13.359 Yes, it is an apple tree. 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:14.720 Well, how do you know? 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:17.440 Because I know. 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:20.319 They go, well, I don't see any apples. 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:28.480 And my question would be, do you have to see apples to be able to prove that it's an apple tree? 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:30.559 No, you don't. 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:37.200 Because the identity of that tree is that it's an apple tree. 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:38.640 But guess what? 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:50.960 If it keeps getting water, and if it keeps getting sunshine, and if the environment is around it so that it's healthy, guess what it produces next year? 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:52.000 Apples. 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:57.839 But it didn't become an apple tree because it produced apples, it already was an apple tree. 00:18:58.880 --> 00:19:01.839 Church, you are a jewel. 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:03.759 You are beloved. 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:05.680 You're a child of God. 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:06.799 You're a son of God. 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:08.319 You're a daughter of God. 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:13.359 Not because you produce fruit yet, but because that's your identity. 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:25.279 So as you stay in a healthy environment of the local church, and you stay in a healthy environment of having some blood-stained allies, you stay in a healthy environment of learning to worship and pray, you're gonna produce fruit. 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:26.880 It's gonna come. 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:30.559 But don't look around at other apple trees. 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:39.920 If all the apple trees in the orchard produced exactly at the same time, there wouldn't need to be for a month of harvest of apples. 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:44.079 But different trees produce at different times. 00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:46.480 And some of you are pretty damaged. 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:53.359 You've had some terrible stuff done to you, and some pain and hurt and betrayal. 00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:54.960 It really hurts. 00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:57.920 We welcome you here. 00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:00.079 We want you here. 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:06.799 We need a church made up of the healthy, the unhealthy, and the and the growing and the nurturing. 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:09.119 We're all at different places in the grove. 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:11.200 Isn't that exciting? 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:15.359 For you that are struggling, it's not exciting. 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:17.119 I know it's the refiner's fire. 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:18.960 But you're gonna get there. 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:21.119 You will get there. 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:23.839 You're gonna produce great fruit in your life. 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:33.920 So then he goes on, and he says, This you shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this, says the Lord of hosts. 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:36.319 And he does this with a broken heart, church. 00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:43.119 Remember the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all of Israel, with the statutes and judgments. 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:59.119 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:00.480 Here's what he's saying. 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:06.960 That at the very core of who the Lord is, is he's building family. 00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:10.960 He's building mothers and fathers. 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:15.200 He's building children in the faith, and he's building family. 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:22.240 I like what Jonathan Edwards, the great first great awakening, great pastor, probably one of the greatest theologians America ever produced. 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:25.920 He said that every family is a little church. 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:29.279 Every family is a little church. 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:36.480 The last five years I've been planting two churches: the road and the holts. 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:40.880 Your family is a little church. 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:49.279 Now it may be a dysfunctional church, it may be an awesome church, but God's polishing it. 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:51.920 It's okay wherever you're at. 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:59.440 Because as we as we press into righteousness, peace, and joy, God is making a family and he's turning our hearts to each other. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:01.519 We'll flow with that. 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:11.279 If we'll flow with that church, God will turn the hearts of mothers and fathers to their children and children to their mothers and fathers. 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:14.720 That's God's righteous kingdom way. 00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:26.160 Well, let me give you, in closing, what I think is the purpose of the road at Chapel Hills in relation to being a family. 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:29.119 I want to give you five thoughts here. 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:30.480 Five things. 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:33.440 Number one, we're a culture of honor. 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:37.039 We are building here a culture of honor. 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:42.480 That means, here's what that means: that we honor everybody here. 00:22:43.119 --> 00:22:45.279 Everybody is honorable. 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:48.400 Even when they're acting like a jerk. 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:53.680 Does anybody know that in the church it's made up of sinners who act like jerks sometimes? 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:56.480 Okay, if you don't, you'll find out really soon. 00:22:56.799 --> 00:23:11.039 But but a culture of honor is that we begin to build a culture here of the kingdom of God where we are looking for the gold and the silver, not the ore and the iron. 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:18.079 In other words, we're calling out the good in every person rather than punishing the bad. 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:20.559 Because we are saint and sinner, right? 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:22.319 We are saint and sinner. 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:26.480 God wants us as a church to call out the good, so a culture of honor. 00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:29.680 Number two, an atmosphere of forgiveness. 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:32.880 An atmosphere of forgiveness. 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:35.920 And all of this applies to our homes too. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:38.720 But that we're quick to forgive each other. 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:41.839 Number three, a covenant of harmony. 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:53.839 That when we have disagreements or we have struggles, that we go to that person, and in humility, we ask for forgiveness, for misunderstandings, and we begin to work things out. 00:23:54.079 --> 00:24:05.119 Some of you in this room, albeit most of you in this room have left churches in the past because of something that was done to you or something that happened to you and you got hurt and you never worked it out. 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:09.519 Let's stop that trend here and work stuff out. 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:21.359 I can't tell you in these first five years, dozens of situations where we followed these steps, a covenant of harmony, and we always, in every case, we got it all worked out because we talked about it. 00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:25.200 Number four, a kingdom of priests and kings. 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:28.319 We are priests and kings. 00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:30.079 We're a kingdom of priests and kings. 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:36.000 Here's what that means: that means that God has called us, another way to say it is worshipers and warriors. 00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:41.279 And I'm going to start the series, worshiper and warrior on the life of David next week. 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:43.039 But we are priests. 00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:46.640 That means, church, that we're becoming worshipers. 00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:51.279 Come to the road ready to worship. 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:58.160 Come to the road ready to encounter God in worship. 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:03.440 Sometimes, like today, you probably know almost every song because there were some ancient hymns in there. 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:05.759 And sometimes it's going to be all new stuff. 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:08.079 Because we're writing new music. 00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:10.480 I'm challenging Michael and others. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:11.680 Write songs, man. 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:12.880 I want a new song. 00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:16.559 The scriptures are about God inaugurating new songs. 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:17.920 I want new songs. 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:22.720 I want new songs that speak to the next generation, to the millennials and the Gen Zers. 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:23.920 I want new songs. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:24.960 How about you? 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:27.279 And some of you are like, I don't know that song. 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:28.640 We'll just we'll teach it to you. 00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:29.759 We'll equip you in it. 00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:30.720 I promise. 00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:34.000 And see, worship is declaration, gang. 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:38.880 Worship is declaring to God truth that we believe in. 00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:41.440 Some of us have never discovered that. 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:50.400 That actually, when you worship, it should be good theology, it should be good processes of righteousness, peace, and joy that we're experiencing in our life. 00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:57.519 And we're declaring it to God and experiencing intimacy with God at the same time. 00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:02.000 And so I grew up in a hymn-singing church with hymnals. 00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:04.240 You want to talk about a war? 00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:12.240 The war in the Lutheran church in the 60s was they changed the color of the hymnal. 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:17.519 This was big-time warfare. 00:26:18.400 --> 00:26:24.960 Churches left the denomination because it went from red to green. 00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:28.000 Let's get over it. 00:26:29.200 --> 00:26:33.359 And let's go and experience what God's doing today, and that's intimacy with Christ. 00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:37.200 And then lastly, fifthly, a kingdom revolution vision. 00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:39.680 A kingdom revolution vision. 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:45.359 We are building revolutionaries in this church. 00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:50.720 God has called this church to last for a hundred years if he tarries. 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:59.680 When the Puritans and the pilgrims came to America, they came to lay good foundations and they believed that America was a light on a hill. 00:26:59.839 --> 00:27:01.279 And they built like that. 00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:10.640 And we have such a short-term mentality because of an eschatology and a last days perspective sometimes that, well, it's all gonna just end really soon anyway. 00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:14.480 I don't know if it is or isn't, but I want to be building until he comes. 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:15.920 I read that somewhere. 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:20.960 And so, church, we need to have a long-term vision for our city. 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:32.960 That we have men and women touching it, people in the business world, in the government world, in sports, in our schools, among our teachers, among our doctors, among our nurses, among our churches. 00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:42.400 As kingdom revolutionaries that bring the love and the power and the joy of the kingdom in whatever mission field God's given you. 00:27:43.680 --> 00:27:45.279 God will show up. 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:51.519 And I know He'll honor that because that's how those 12 disciples changed the world. 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:53.519 I love Acts 17:6. 00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:56.160 Acts 17, 6. 00:27:56.960 --> 00:28:04.400 Those people who have turned the world upside down have come here also. 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:07.599 The Romans were flipping out. 00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:14.640 The Jewish scribes and Pharisees did not know what to do, which started with 12 and then it got subtracted down to 11. 00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:18.079 Then the men, women, and children, it grew to 120. 00:28:18.880 --> 00:28:23.519 And then Paul came along and they changed the world. 00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:30.559 And God wants to continue to change the world with the revolution of the kingdom of God. 00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:36.559 You've been listening to The Road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt. 00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:39.680 We hope you have been blessed by today's message. 00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:43.759 To connect with us further, visit theroad.org. 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:47.759 If you are walking through a difficult time, we want to pray for you. 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:55.119 Go to theroad.org, click on the ministries tab, and go to our prayer page to send us your prayer request. 00:28:55.359 --> 00:29:03.119 Thanks again for tuning in today, and be sure to listen to the next edition of The Road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt.