WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:02.720 I'm gonna start the message in an unusual way for me. 00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:09.199 I'm gonna ask you for some prayer personally because I have an upcoming potential crisis, and this is what it is. 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:13.839 Two weeks from now, I begin coaching my son's uh rec basketball team. 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:16.719 I don't know if you know this or not, but I have a son who plays basketball. 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:18.879 And uh I talk about it every once in a while. 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:20.399 And here's the problem with that. 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:30.239 I did this two years ago and I decided to take a break because I decided it may not be a good idea for me to be a pastor and a coach in the same community. 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:39.920 Like maybe if I could go to like Ostell, like maybe that that would be an appropriate distance where I can coach and not have to worry about the ramifications of being a pastor and a coach. 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:40.320 Here's why. 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:46.240 There's something about sports that bring up emotions in you that you may not have known existed. 00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:47.119 You know what I mean? 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:56.560 Like there can be this like anger and rage and vitriol that can come out of you when you're when you're into a sport, especially when something happens like, I don't know, a referee makes a really bad call. 00:00:56.719 --> 00:01:02.159 Like a really bad call, and you find yourself intensely lashing out at that referee. 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:04.879 But here's the thing you don't know those players on TV. 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:07.359 You you're not you're not related to them. 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:12.319 If it's your child, it's like that emotion turned up to 11. 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:17.439 And that's what happened to me when I coached a few years ago, because again, um, it's important. 00:01:17.599 --> 00:01:23.120 If you're a youth league uh referee, you're probably great. 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:26.159 But you're also probably the only one, okay? 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:30.480 Because youth league referees are just horrible. 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:32.000 They're so bad. 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:33.200 They're just are. 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:35.519 It's just it's the starting point. 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:39.439 No one dreams, no one dreams of being a youth league referee, right? 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:49.519 No one, no one dreams of refing second grade basketball where the score is eight to four, and the team with eight uh scored the other four points for the other team just on the wrong goal. 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:52.799 Like that's not what anyone dreams about. 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:59.680 And so, typically speaking, I I say that a good ref in youth sports is kind of like a unicorn, that you just don't see them. 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:01.040 You just don't ever see them. 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:03.040 Maybe they exist, but I've just never seen one. 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:04.719 And so if you are one, don't be offended. 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:10.960 You're probably awesome, and I really hope you ref the games because in my experience a few years ago, just so bad. 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:14.560 And I have a hard time when something is obvious. 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:17.280 Like if it's if it's 50-50, I'm like, eh. 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:20.800 But if it's obvious, it's really hard for me to just be like, ah, no big deal. 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:22.319 I don't, I'm not wired that way. 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:26.240 When there's some obvious offense, I'm just like, wrong, wrong. 00:02:26.719 --> 00:02:27.759 How did you miss that? 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:33.360 And I had games where I want you to know I never I never got thrown out of a game as your pastor, never happened. 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:35.120 Never got a technical foul. 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:37.599 I was never even threatened to be thrown out of a game. 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:40.719 My wife was one time, but that's a whole different story. 00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:46.479 Some refs are too sensitive. 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:51.919 I never crossed the line, but let's say that the edge of the stage is the line. 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:56.080 I never crossed it, but I sort of just lived like right here. 00:02:56.639 --> 00:03:07.120 And I I I had this one game in the playoffs a couple years ago, and this one ref, I mean, he made five or six calls in a row that were just the they were so bad, guys. 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:09.520 And I made sure he understood my opinion. 00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:12.800 Um not inappropriately. 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:20.159 You know, my my my words were, none of the words were offensive, but the manner in which I delivered those words, yes, for sure. 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:24.080 And it got to the point where where he made a call, and I swear, I swear this happened. 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:31.919 He made a call, and it was wrong, and he did it on purpose, because then he looked at me like daring me to say something because he wanted to throw me out. 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:39.759 He made a horrible call, I'm just like, uh, you know, and I'm like, I'm doing this, and he looks at me like, go ahead. 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:49.199 And I I kept my calm, and we just had a moment, like I looked at him, and it was sort of this like, okay, okay, I see how it is, okay, fine. 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:50.159 This is what's gonna happen. 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:50.400 Okay. 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:51.840 I had that moment. 00:03:52.159 --> 00:04:01.520 Three, four weeks later, I'm in Publix, and I'm walking down this serial aisle at Publix, and I got my cart, and there's another guy walking toward me with a cart. 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:05.120 And you know when you bump into someone and you can't quite place them? 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:09.919 Like you see someone, you're like, I think I know that person, but your brain can't figure out where you know them from. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:11.439 And maybe they look at you and it's the same thing. 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:13.599 They're like, I see I you both have this awkward moment. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:14.960 Like, do we do we know each other? 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:16.079 Where do we know each other from? 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:17.519 You know what I'm talking about? 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:19.199 This was not that moment. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:24.079 Like, we knew exactly who the other person was. 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:26.639 It was so awkward and horror. 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:30.319 We just like we just passed each other and just kind of like did one of these. 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:31.839 You know? 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:36.240 And that was like a personal crisis for me because it occurred to me, like, what if that was here? 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:41.600 What if, instead of bumping into that guy at Publix, he comes here to visit our church? 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:50.160 He's like, Man, I really want to get closer to God, and I've heard good things about this his hands church, and he walks in and I come up on the stage, and he's like, Nope, I'm out. 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:51.439 You know? 00:04:52.160 --> 00:05:02.560 I said, God, I clearly have to get some things in order because I don't want to have I I want, I even want the referees to come to his hands, you know? 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:03.920 So maybe I shouldn't coach. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:08.800 And I took last year off, but I decided this year to do it, and I just need your prayers, okay? 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:11.040 Please, please pray. 00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:17.279 I want you to, I want you to put, put like a mental pin in the idea of a bad referee for just a minute. 00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:19.759 We're gonna come back to that a little bit later. 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:21.360 It's not just a random prayer request. 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:23.680 I do need your prayers, though, but put a pin in that. 00:05:23.759 --> 00:05:25.279 We'll come back to it in a little bit. 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:29.279 If you're just joining us, we've been in a series since July called A King and His Kingdom. 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:32.399 We're talking about essentially the teachings of Jesus. 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:35.600 If you study the teachings of Jesus, you notice a theme that runs through them. 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:36.639 It's the theme of kingdom. 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:38.240 He's always talking about this kingdom. 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:40.959 The kingdom of God is like this, the kingdom of heaven is like this. 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:47.040 It's Jesus' way of telling us what life lived under the reign of God looks like. 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:49.199 And it's a beautiful life. 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:53.279 When you submit yourself to God and say, God, I belong to you. 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:54.560 How do you want me to live? 00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:58.079 You become, in Jesus' words, a citizen of the kingdom. 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:05.199 And yeah, you're here on this earth and you're part of the kingdoms of this world, sure, but you're you're really in your heart, you're you're part of his kingdom. 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:08.000 In his kingdom, it works completely differently. 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:12.800 It's about self-sacrificial love, it's about service, it's about generosity. 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:24.959 His kingdom, it's upside down to the values of this world, so much so that Jesus has to teach us at length to help us acclimate to the ways of his kingdom. 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:27.040 And that's what his teachings are all about. 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:30.560 It's him saying, hey, let me show you what life looks like with me. 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:36.160 It's different, it's amazing, it's powerful, it's beautiful, but you need to learn this. 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:41.839 And so we've just been pouring through the teachings of Jesus so that we can become accustomed to living as part of his kingdom. 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:44.800 As Jesus followers, and I know that not everyone here is a Jesus follower. 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:48.079 Many of you are probably trying to figure out where you stand, just trying to check it out. 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:51.120 But if you are a Jesus follower, you've got to know what Jesus said. 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:52.879 It's not enough just to know what he did. 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:57.519 You need to know what he said because he taught a lot, and everything he said is valuable. 00:06:57.680 --> 00:06:59.279 Everything he said is truth. 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:02.560 So we've been looking at the kingdom specifically for the last few months. 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:05.199 We've been going through this one specific teaching of Jesus. 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:07.519 It's it's Matthew chapter 5, 6, and 7. 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:10.800 It's the longest uninterrupted teaching of Jesus that we have. 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:13.199 It's often called the Sermon on the Mount. 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:14.800 That's a title we've given it. 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:16.480 It's really orientation class. 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:20.319 Early in his ministry, he gets his followers together and he says, here's the way it's going to work. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:27.279 And he has gone on at length about the love of God, how inclusive God is, how there are people in this world that everyone thinks are on the outside. 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:28.399 God brings them in. 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:36.800 He's talked to us about how God is more willing to give than we are to ask, and we can go to him with confidence that he hears us, that he loves us, that we can go to him with anything. 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:42.319 He has gone on and on about how good God is and how approachable he is to us. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:45.120 But now we're right at the end. 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:49.759 In fact, after next week, we'll have gone through the entirety of the Sermon on the Mount. 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:54.240 And Jesus chooses to end with some pretty intense warnings. 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:59.920 And if you're just joining us, please understand, this is not where Jesus started. 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.800 So you're entering the conversation right at the end, which is never a good time to jump into a conversation. 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:10.639 And you're just gonna have to trust me with this because what we're gonna read today, it's one of the most intense things Jesus ever said. 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:16.800 It has the potential to be divisive, but it isn't. 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:19.680 If we'll just be willing to wrestle with it. 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:27.360 But just understand and trust me that before he said this, Jesus has laid this incredible groundwork, this foundation of God's love. 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:32.960 And knowing that, let's look at what he says in Matthew chapter 7, verses 21 through 23. 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:42.399 He says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only one who the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:56.240 Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons, and in your name perform many miracles, and then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you away from me, you evildoers. 00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:03.679 This teaching forces us to wrestle a little bit. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:05.440 And that's okay. 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:06.879 We can wrestle with God. 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:11.759 In fact, the word Israel, that's the name that God gives to the people who follow him in the Old Testament of the Bible. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:15.039 The word Israel literally means to wrestle with God. 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:16.720 That's what it means. 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:22.480 And we have to ask ourselves as followers of Jesus Am I willing to wrestle with God? 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:26.879 Am I willing to get into the hard stuff? 00:09:27.679 --> 00:09:29.600 Because sometimes, sometimes we're not. 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:35.519 Imagine if you hired a personal trainer and you said, I want to get in killer shape, but I don't want to do anything hard. 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:39.039 I just I don't want to I don't want it to hurt, you know? 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:41.919 They would they would not, they'd probably just laugh. 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:49.600 We have a tendency sometimes in our faith to try to avoid the hard stuff. 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:53.279 And it's detrimental for our development. 00:09:54.399 --> 00:10:01.679 Sometimes with the teachings of Jesus, we have this temptation to try to make like a greatest hits album out of the teachings of Jesus. 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:08.240 Like if you ever see a band and they've been around for a long time, you go to their concert, like you go there to hear the hits, right? 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:19.600 Like if I if I went to see Bon Jovi, I love 80s music, and if I went to see Bon Jovi and they didn't play Living on a Prayer or You Give Love a Bad Name, if they didn't play that, you'd be like, why? 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:21.440 That's why I bought the ticket. 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:23.840 Play the crowd pleasers, you know? 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:27.759 That's why you go to see an older band to hear the hits. 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:30.559 And sometimes we we want to do the same with with Jesus. 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:36.000 We want to take his teachings and make a greatest hits album out of it and only play the crowd pleasers. 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:38.159 But Jesus is not some band. 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:42.000 He's he's the king. 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:48.240 And everything he says, everything he says, is vital. 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:51.200 And we we can't skip it. 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:55.759 And if you're here, if you're new, I want you to understand this is a big passion for us as a church. 00:10:55.919 --> 00:10:57.919 We are committed to your growth. 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:02.559 And it's not like I woke up this week and said, hmm, what do I want to talk about? 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:04.559 I'm gonna talk about my favorite verse. 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:05.759 Get away from me. 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:06.720 I never knew you. 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:07.519 Oh, I love it. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:08.639 Say it again, Jesus. 00:11:08.799 --> 00:11:10.960 Away from me, I never knew you. 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:14.000 I've never met a Christian who says, This is my favorite verse. 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:17.519 And I didn't wake up on Monday saying, This is what I'd love to talk about this week. 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:19.279 But we we go through scripture. 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:21.840 And when we get to something hard, we don't skip it. 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:28.480 And even if this isn't where you stick, find a place that's willing to challenge you. 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:33.360 Because I have found in my faith that it's the challenging things that cause me to grow the most. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:35.759 And so we're gonna wrestle a little bit today. 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:52.879 I want to say on the forefront, the concepts that this brings up, the concepts that are in this teaching, the things this makes us think about, there is no way for me in however much time we have to tie a nice tidy bow around this and everyone go, I get it now, and I have no questions. 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:56.320 And if I did that, I'd be disingenuous because the Bible doesn't even do that. 00:11:56.399 --> 00:12:01.840 This is one of those ideas and concepts that the Bible leaves a lot of wiggle room on. 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:05.600 There's like a lot of questions that come with this type of stuff. 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:19.200 And if you read the New Testament, you are you are clear on who Jesus is, and you are clear on the way he feels about us, and you're clear on a lot of different things, but the whole like afterlife and final destiny, like that stuff, there's it's there. 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:24.480 But God does not make it a priority to give it to us in a way that we're like, oh, I completely get it and I have no questions. 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:25.440 Thank you. 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:27.120 It's kind of frustrating sometimes. 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:29.919 It's almost like God wants us to, I don't know, trust him. 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:32.480 For there to be some mystery. 00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:38.799 In fact, once Jesus was asked by his disciples a specific question about something in the end. 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:41.360 And he responded by going, I don't know. 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:43.440 Only the Father knows that. 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:49.440 So even God the Father was okay with Jesus the Son not knowing some things, and Jesus seemed to be okay with that, but we have a hard time with that. 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:51.840 I need to know it all, and I need to know it exactly, God. 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:54.320 If I don't understand it completely, I can't follow you. 00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:55.759 That's not faith. 00:12:56.559 --> 00:13:02.000 So as we go through this, if you leave today and you're like, well, he didn't answer every one of my questions, yeah, probably not. 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:04.000 I have questions too. 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:11.759 But what I want us to understand is that scriptures like these are important for us to understand and wrestle with. 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:19.919 It's important for us to understand the heart of God, and these ultimately lead us to this test of sorts. 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:21.600 Do I really trust God? 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:24.159 Do I really trust his character? 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:26.399 Do I really trust his judgment? 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:28.559 And so let's start with that word. 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:29.919 Let's start with judgment. 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:34.080 I want to go back to the scriptures that we read, 21 through 23 in Matthew 7. 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:40.639 Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:48.159 Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:52.559 Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you away from me, you evildoers. 00:13:52.799 --> 00:14:07.440 Now, in verse 22, he says, Many will say to me on that day, some of your translations, depending on if you have a Bible with you and whatever you're reading out of, they may actually say, on the day of judgment, instead of that day. 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:12.960 Now, when Jesus said this in the original language, the word judgment isn't there. 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:23.600 But some translations of the New Testament translate that day to day of judgment, and that's not inaccurate, because when Jesus says that day, he's referencing something very specific. 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:28.240 And to his audience, there was this concept called the day of the Lord. 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:32.639 Remember, Jesus is teaching to first century Jewish people. 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:40.480 And and in their Bible, which for us is the Old Testament, there was this idea called the day of the Lord. 00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:45.440 And the day of the Lord was a day where God was going to judge the world. 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:51.440 And they were looking forward to that day when God would come and judge. 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:52.639 The day of the Lord. 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:59.919 And Jesus, when he says, on that day, clearly to his followers, he's referencing a day of judgment. 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:04.559 We actually see this talked about many other times in the New Testament. 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:12.399 Matthew 12, 36, Jesus says, and I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:14.000 Anyone in the room a talker? 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:15.279 I am. 00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:18.399 I do not like this verse at all. 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:22.720 Because I have said many words, many of them are idle. 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:24.320 Okay, so judgment day. 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:31.600 Hebrews 9.27 begins this way: just as each person is destined to die once, and after that comes judgment. 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:38.080 Acts 17.31, for he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed. 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:40.960 And he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead. 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:44.399 So we see this concept of a coming day of judgment. 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:50.799 This is what Scripture teaches us that all of history is moving toward a judgment day. 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:52.879 When God is going to judge the world. 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:55.759 Now we're told as followers of Jesus not to judge people. 00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:59.759 We have to have good judgment and practice good judgment with who we trust. 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:04.879 We talked about that a few weeks ago, but but when it comes to judging a person's heart, we're never told to do that. 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:09.840 In fact, in Matthew 7, the same chapter we're in, Jesus begins by saying, Do not judge. 00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:11.919 Don't judge others. 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:24.559 But God is a judge, He has perfect judgment, and we are told over and over again in the scriptures and in the teachings of Jesus that he's going to judge the world. 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:27.519 And oftentimes there's very intense language used there. 00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:38.879 There's language like fiery furnace, weeping and gnashing of teeth, outer darkness, the place, the place that was prepared for the devil and his demons. 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:40.720 Like that's the language used in the Bible. 00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:42.960 And that doesn't give any of us warm fuzzies. 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:45.600 There's actually one word that that makes all of us think about. 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:46.240 What is that word? 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:46.960 You can say it out loud. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:47.759 I'm giving you permission. 00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:48.559 Go ahead. 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:49.519 Hell. 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:59.759 In fact, I sent an email out this week, knowing that this is what we're going to be talking about, just as a preview, and I just made the title of the email Hell, because I thought, well, that might get people's attention. 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:06.720 And I had a person that responded and they said, um, this email made me feel very uncomfortable. 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:11.119 And I was like, well, that's that's good, right? 00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:17.200 Because it'd be real weird if you felt comfortable when you heard that word, you know? 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:20.720 It'd be kind of an odd thing to be like, ooh, my favorite subject. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:27.200 Like if your favorite subject is hell, I don't I don't know if I don't want to be friends with you, probably, because that's that's concerning. 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:28.559 But let me ask you this question. 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:33.839 When Jesus said what he said in Matthew, I mean, this is like, look, we're going through this because this is what Jesus said. 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:35.839 These are his words. 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:38.400 And I love Jesus. 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:42.240 And I want to hang on every word that Jesus says. 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:50.559 When Jesus said, away from me, you evil doers, do you think his intention was to bring comfort to the people around him? 00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:52.559 Like, I just want to put you guys all at ease. 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:54.160 And so here's what I'm gonna say. 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:56.160 And they're all like, Oh, thank you. 00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:59.839 That's no, like it's clearly intended for discomfort. 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:02.160 It makes us wrestle with some things. 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:08.240 There's very intense language used in Scripture about judgment. 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:11.759 And it brings up that word hell, and that's a word that we don't like. 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:15.359 We have a lot of ideas about hell that we have to unlearn. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:23.920 You have to understand words have this way of over time evolving, and they they pick up pictures and meanings that they they didn't have a few thousand years ago. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:27.920 The same is is true of a lot of the words in scripture, definitely this concept of hell. 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:34.960 When we picture hell, we almost always picture something that's more rooted in medieval art and literature than it is the Bible. 00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:43.519 So if you've ever pictured the devil with like horns and a tail, maybe like a pitchfork or something like that, that is not in the Bible. 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:46.079 To my knowledge, there are no pitchforks in the Bible anywhere. 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:49.039 Um that's that's rooted from literature. 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:56.400 Things like Dante's Inferno and even modern media, we see these images, and that's what we think of, and and that's not that's not really what the Bible teaches. 00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:03.440 Like a really typical oversimplification that a lot of Christians are like, yeah, that's what it is, is that we live on the earth. 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:09.759 And you got the earth, and then you have heaven and you have hell, and when you die, you either go to heaven or hell. 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:13.680 And and that that's not really what scripture teaches. 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:20.480 Because, first of all, the Bible is not ultimately the story of heaven and hell. 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:22.880 It's the story of heaven and earth. 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:30.240 It begins in Genesis 1.1 by saying, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:36.480 And heaven in in Revelation at the end is not a place that's floating up in the sky. 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:39.200 Heaven is a recreated earth. 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:40.640 Earth and heaven come together. 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:46.880 The story basically goes that when God created the earth, there was this beautiful overlap between heaven and earth. 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:50.160 And God walked on the earth, and there was relationship, and then that broke. 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:57.359 And what we see happen after that is God began this process of re-unifying, reuniting heaven and earth. 00:19:57.599 --> 00:20:02.960 And when Jesus comes to the earth, we see that that reunification really begin and in full swing. 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:05.759 And here's God Himself on the earth, one of us. 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:08.079 And he begins his kingdom and his spirit begins to move. 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:13.680 And those of us who have entrusted our lives to Jesus, we're like little pockets of heaven on earth. 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:22.400 Because God's doing his work inside of us, and and there's this collision that's happening, but ultimately in Revelation, it's it's complete, it's a consummation. 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:25.920 And heaven and earth are one. 00:20:27.440 --> 00:20:31.279 So it's not earth and then heaven, because they're they're coming together. 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:36.880 And when we first get introduced to hell and anything related to hell, we actually see it on the earth. 00:20:37.359 --> 00:20:46.880 And so, for example, the first kind of I guess idea of hell we have in the Bible would be the serpent in the garden in Genesis chapter 3, chapter 4, and that that section. 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:48.880 And where does that take place? 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:50.640 That's here. 00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:53.440 We look at the story of Jesus. 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:54.880 We see Satan tempt Jesus. 00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:55.920 Where does that happen? 00:20:56.880 --> 00:20:58.480 That's here, that's on the earth. 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:04.240 We see people in the story of Jesus who are afflicted and oppressed by what scripture calls demons. 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:06.480 And where is that? 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:07.759 That's that's here. 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:09.519 And what does Jesus do with Satan? 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:10.079 He resists. 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:11.119 What does he do with the demons? 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:12.240 He kicks them out. 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:20.160 And so when hell starts to show up, hell's almost described like this invading force, that Jesus is intent on getting out. 00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:33.200 And yes, hell is described as a as a destination, but it's it's what I'm trying to say is that we have this oversimplified idea, and we've got to be willing to look at what scripture actually teaches and say, what do I really believe about this? 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:34.319 Because it's important. 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:42.720 This hell language for us, it's it's loaded with all kinds of thoughts and ideas that we just have to understand did not come from Scripture. 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:45.519 They've just come from a lot of other things throughout history. 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:47.599 We have to unlearn some of that. 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:51.759 But the language is intense. 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:54.400 It's very, very intense. 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:57.119 So let's let's look at a few examples. 00:21:58.480 --> 00:22:00.799 I'm gonna start with a really odd One. 00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:03.119 John 3, 16 and 17. 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:05.039 For this is how God loved the world. 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:09.599 He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:14.240 God sent his son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:19.039 See, Jesus' followers thought when he first came, it's judgment day. 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:20.799 He's the Messiah, He's the prophet. 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:21.680 It's judgment day. 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:25.599 He's here, he's gonna take names, he's gonna do his thing. 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:28.400 And Jesus is like, no, I'm not here to judge the world. 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:29.839 Not right now. 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:32.240 He says, I'm here to save the world. 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:33.680 I'm here to give my life. 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:44.319 I'm here to open up an invitation to everyone to come and to know me, to have a relationship with God, to be, to be completely and totally included in God's purposes in this world. 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:46.960 And we all like that, right? 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:50.000 Like that's anyone here like what Jesus says there? 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:50.720 I do. 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:51.519 That's beautiful. 00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:52.240 I love it. 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:56.799 Very, very few people are familiar with John 3.36, though, which is the same chapter and it's still Jesus. 00:22:56.880 --> 00:22:59.359 He says, anyone who believes in God's Son has eternal life. 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:04.559 Anyone who doesn't obey the Son will never experience eternal life, but remains under God's angry judgment. 00:23:05.359 --> 00:23:07.200 I'm not as big of a fan of that. 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:11.039 You will see people at football games holding up signs that say John 3.16. 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:13.839 You will not see a lot of John 3.36 signs. 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:16.559 It's the same chapter, though. 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:18.720 Is Jesus talking? 00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:22.400 There's this idea of judgment. 00:23:24.720 --> 00:23:29.599 And this idea that some will experience that in a negative way. 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:31.039 It's concerning. 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:33.039 Matthew 13, 40 through 42. 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:34.559 Again, this is Jesus talking. 00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:38.480 Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the world. 00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:48.640 The Son of Man will send his angels, they will remove from his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil, and the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:51.279 Not my favorite verse. 00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:55.680 Matthew 25, 41. 00:23:56.079 --> 00:24:03.039 Then the king will turn to those on the left and say, Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:07.279 This is hard stuff. 00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:11.359 It brings up a lot of things in us. 00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:14.559 First off, God makes it really clear his intentions. 00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:19.599 Does he intend any of us to experience judgment in a negative way? 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:21.279 No, right? 00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:22.160 He loves the world. 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:24.559 He loves the world so much that he gave his son. 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:38.000 He gave his son, he gave everything you could imagine to make a way for us, to provide an opportunity for us to know him and to be known by him, to be loved by him, to be a part of his family. 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:47.119 And Jesus says, but to those who don't, and the language is intense, and this brings up all kinds of things for us, all kinds of questions. 00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:51.200 You probably thought these questions, things like, okay, well, what about what about someone who's a really good person? 00:24:51.359 --> 00:24:54.640 They're like awesome, they're really good, they're sweet, they're kind, and they just don't believe in Jesus. 00:24:54.799 --> 00:24:56.559 What about the person who's never heard about Jesus? 00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:03.440 What about the person who has heard about Jesus, but the Jesus they heard about was like a fake Jesus because they grew up in a very hypocritical Christian home? 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:05.279 And it like, what about all this stuff? 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:12.799 And and we have these questions because part of us deep down inside is a little worried that God's gonna get it wrong. 00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:21.359 Deep down inside, I think all of us to some degree have wrestled with this concern. 00:25:21.759 --> 00:25:29.519 What if God is like a youth league referee and he just makes the wrong call? 00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:33.440 Like, what if God's gonna make the wrong call? 00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:37.759 Because judgment in Scripture, it's certain. 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:42.640 Like, there's there's no way to read the New Testament and be like, yeah, I'm not sure about that whole judgment thing if that's gonna happen. 00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:46.640 It is spoken of in certain terms over and over and over again. 00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:52.880 And that that means everyone will be judged. 00:25:52.960 --> 00:25:56.480 And what if what if God gets it wrong? 00:25:57.519 --> 00:26:01.599 If you have that concern, it just means that you're a human being. 00:26:01.839 --> 00:26:03.680 And you're in really good company, by the way. 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:11.200 In Genesis chapter 18, Abraham, who's this incredible follower of God, has a conversation with God in a really intense moment. 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:19.039 Says, the Lord told Abraham, Abraham, I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah because their sin is so flagrant. 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:22.559 I'm going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I've heard. 00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:24.240 If not, I want to know. 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:27.279 The other men turned and headed towards Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham. 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:31.599 Abraham approached him and said, Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? 00:26:31.839 --> 00:26:38.079 Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city, will you sweep it away and not prepare it for their sakes? 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:41.920 Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked? 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:44.640 Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same. 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:46.480 Surely you wouldn't do that. 00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:49.519 Should not the judge of all the earth do what is right? 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:55.519 And the Lord replied, If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake. 00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:58.880 Abraham is concerned that God's gonna be too harsh. 00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:03.920 And so he starts this really interesting conversation with the Lord. 00:27:04.079 --> 00:27:05.839 And you keep reading and it keeps going. 00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:07.599 It's like an auction, but in reverse. 00:27:07.839 --> 00:27:10.480 You know, like an auction, you go, anyone, will anyone buy this for$10? 00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:11.920 How about 15, 20? 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:13.440 Abraham keeps going down. 00:27:13.599 --> 00:27:17.759 God's like, no, if there's 50 good people, I'm not gonna do anything. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:19.920 He's like, all right, God, that's good. 00:27:20.079 --> 00:27:21.519 What about 45? 00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:25.839 And the Lord says, No, if there's 45, I will not destroy the city. 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:27.839 What about what about 40? 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:28.720 35? 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:29.839 25? 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:30.799 15? 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:32.319