SPEAKER_00: This podcast is a ministry of Grant Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God.
SPEAKER_00: For more information about Grant Parkway, visit GrantProquay.org.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, one of the most compelling things about you is that you say in the Bible, and you said in real life, uh, Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and you'll find rest for your souls.
SPEAKER_01: You provide for us something that nobody or no thing in this world can.
SPEAKER_01: That's why we sing and say that this world is empty, pale, and poor.
SPEAKER_01: We're not a bunch of negative uh Debbie Downers going around just raining on people's parade.
SPEAKER_01: We've just been brought by the Holy Spirit to the place of understanding that what we most need cannot be found in this world.
SPEAKER_01: That doesn't mean that we uh don't enjoy life.
SPEAKER_01: No, we enjoy life.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna eat and drink to the glory of God.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna have meaningful uh mutual nourishing friendships.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna buy houses and send our kids to college.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna shop and buy new shoes, we're gonna eat out, we're gonna have chicken and fajitas and ice cream, all because God is good.
SPEAKER_01: But we're gonna do all that with the understanding that what we most need can only be found in you.
SPEAKER_01: And so we've come today to run hard after you, to not make a little 20-yard dash.
SPEAKER_01: Christianity is not a 20-yard dash, it's not a 100-yard dash.
SPEAKER_01: It's a it's a long obedience in the same direction, it's a marathon.
SPEAKER_01: It's a sometimes it's bloody.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes it's like the Iron Man.
SPEAKER_01: People just lose control.
SPEAKER_01: They can't make their muscles do what they want to do.
SPEAKER_01: And yet the Bible understands that.
SPEAKER_01: Paul said, the good that I want to do, I don't do.
SPEAKER_01: But the sin, the bad thing that I keep telling myself I don't want to do, that's the thing I do.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, wretched man that I am.
SPEAKER_01: People right now have two parents, and both of them have cancer, and they've buried family members, and they still stand up here and say, I'm I just want to follow hard after God.
SPEAKER_01: And so, Holy Spirit, speak to us today.
SPEAKER_01: In this textured thing called the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: We don't want to abuse the freedom that you've given us, God.
SPEAKER_01: And so speak to us about that right now.
SPEAKER_01: From the Bible, not from a man.
SPEAKER_01: We don't need to hear from a man, we need to hear from the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: That's our prayer.
SPEAKER_01: I prayed in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: And everyone said, Amen.
SPEAKER_01: If you've got a Bible, take it and open up if you would to Romans chapter 14.
SPEAKER_01: And if you don't have one, there's one on your row.
SPEAKER_01: I'm on page 949.
SPEAKER_01: How are we doing this morning?
SPEAKER_01: We okay?
SPEAKER_01: Uh I was in part of the team that got to go to Costa Rica, part of the dirty dozen, and so we're all a little weary, so I don't know how long I can do this.
SPEAKER_01: Uh and so that's to your benefit today, amen?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I see y'all kind of going, I bet you'll manage.
SPEAKER_01: Uh anyway, I want to talk to you today about the responsibility of maturity.
SPEAKER_01: The responsibility of maturity, or my alternative title for the sermon today is How to Not Be a Religious Jerk.
SPEAKER_01: Uh How to Not Be a Religious Jerk.
SPEAKER_01: And what do you mean?
SPEAKER_01: Uh Romans chapter 14 really divides into two sections.
SPEAKER_01: The first section, and Lance talked about last week, or preached from last week, is really kind of geared more towards the people that the Bible would say is weak.
SPEAKER_01: Now, don't take offense to that.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, what he means by weak is people that aren't as strong in their faith.
SPEAKER_01: They're kind of still kind of coming to some points of decision about different things.
SPEAKER_01: The last half and the part we'll look at today, Paul is writing to people in the church at Rome who are strong.
SPEAKER_01: People that for whom a lot of things were issues for other people, weren't issues at all.
SPEAKER_01: Like meat that was maybe offered to idols, uh, they would go down.
SPEAKER_01: Let me give you the context because at first glance you can kind of read this section of scripture today and kind of go, I don't really know what that means, and it doesn't sound like it means much.
SPEAKER_01: Actually, it means a whole lot.
SPEAKER_01: Especially in this day and age when people are trying to finally figure out what it means uh to live in this freedom Christ died for us to have.
SPEAKER_01: If you've been coming to Grand Park way any length of time, uh you will know, you've heard me say this, and and I'll say it a lot because I want you to I want it to sink in that that Christ came to give back to us the freedom that Adam and Eve forfeited in the garden.
SPEAKER_01: When God spoke to them and said, You're free to eat of any tree in the garden, he meant that.
SPEAKER_01: Do you realize that?
SPEAKER_01: That's the first thing that God said to created humanity, Adam and Eve, you are free.
SPEAKER_01: And they they screwed that up.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus comes, and one of the things Jesus said was, You'll know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
SPEAKER_01: And so there's this, God intends this level of freedom on our life, but he also intends for you and I not abuse that freedom because some of the people that meat was used in these pagan uh uh rituals, and and wine was used in these pagan rituals, and then the meat would be sold in the market in Rome, and it was discounted.
SPEAKER_01: It was kind of like day-old bread.
SPEAKER_01: And people are like, hey, that doesn't bother me.
SPEAKER_01: I don't believe in those idols.
SPEAKER_01: I'll take that meat that's discounted.
SPEAKER_01: And people say, hey, they use wine in these services to these pagan deities, and I'm not, therefore, I'm not gonna drink wine.
SPEAKER_01: And some very mature Christians would say, Hey, I don't believe in that.
SPEAKER_01: They may as well be praying to Casper of the Friendly Ghost.
SPEAKER_01: I'll drink that wine and I'm fine with it.
SPEAKER_01: Well, and that was great until those people got together for dinner, and the one guy ordered a glass of wine, and the next guy said, What are you doing ordering wine?
SPEAKER_01: That's what the pagans do.
SPEAKER_01: And he's like, I'm not a pagan.
SPEAKER_01: Why should I be limited by that?
SPEAKER_01: So in the church at Rome, what happened was is there was kind of some contention because people were like, You shouldn't do that.
SPEAKER_01: And some people are like, Who are you?
SPEAKER_01: Why don't hate on me?
SPEAKER_01: You can't judge me who died and left you in charge.
SPEAKER_01: And so Paul writes a very uh instructive and very shaping section of the Bible that we're going to read this morning in Romans chapter 14, verse 13, he says, This, therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or a hindrance in the way of a brother.
SPEAKER_01: I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
SPEAKER_01: For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you're no longer walking in love.
SPEAKER_01: By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.
SPEAKER_01: So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.
SPEAKER_01: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.
SPEAKER_01: So then, let us pursue what makes for peace, for mutual upbuilding.
SPEAKER_01: Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for someone to make another stumble by what he eats.
SPEAKER_01: It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.
SPEAKER_01: The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God.
SPEAKER_01: Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.
SPEAKER_01: But whoever doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith.
SPEAKER_01: For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible has this beautiful habit of kind of inviting us into something bigger and better.
SPEAKER_01: And what Paul does in this section is kind of invites the believers in Rome, and you and I, sitting here in Sugarland this morning, to kind of invite us into something bigger and better.
SPEAKER_01: And actually, there's four things he invites us to.
SPEAKER_01: If you don't want to be a religious jerk, and you say, What what do you mean by that?
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like sitting by the guy on the plane that's a know-it-all.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you've ever sat by somebody because like we were flying back.
SPEAKER_01: I'm always kind of checking out who do I'm at the gate area, whom I might be sitting by.
SPEAKER_01: And so uh I Dennis Scott and I sat by a lady who was born in Hungary, educated in Germany, and now lives in Canada and runs a spa in the uh European uh facial clinic.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Hey, somebody said to me one time, I need a spa facial.
SPEAKER_01: And she leaned over and she said, Yeah, you do.
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Well, nice to meet you, by the way.
SPEAKER_01: My name's Neil if you're going to offend me.
SPEAKER_01: And she said, You need that.
SPEAKER_01: And she goes, You need to have your poor your skin exfoliated and your pores cleansed, and then you need to have a mask applied.
SPEAKER_01: And Dennis Scott was standing between us just giggling the whole time.
SPEAKER_01: So, and she said, and don't go to an American.
SPEAKER_01: You Americans get it wrong.
SPEAKER_01: Like your massage therapist.
SPEAKER_01: I said, I think I need a massage too.
SPEAKER_01: And she said, Yes, but don't go to any place that says, What is your problem?
SPEAKER_01: Where are you hurting?
SPEAKER_01: I said, That's what a massage is about.
SPEAKER_01: It's about relaxing your whole body and aligning your skeletal structure with the muscles the way God intended.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, I'll lay down on the floor right now, lady.
SPEAKER_01: You can just rub my back right here.
SPEAKER_01: I've been on a mountain sleeping on the ground in a tent infested by ants, and Todd Elder, who said, I don't snore.
SPEAKER_01: That liar's going to hell, okay?
SPEAKER_01: By the way, Bob Razica can suck the paint off the wall.
SPEAKER_01: I about put a pillow over him and suffocated him in his sleep.
SPEAKER_01: And that ain't good because I'm his pastor.
SPEAKER_01: I'm standing over him with an axe and a clown mask at 418 in the morning thinking, shut your mouth.
SPEAKER_01: So I just went and walked outside with an axe looking for a rooster out in the out in the jungle.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they got roosters in the jungle up on the mountain.
SPEAKER_01: So it's kind of like, oh, what do you mean not being a religious jerk?
SPEAKER_01: You're sitting by the person that's in know it all.
SPEAKER_01: You're like reading car and drive, or like, oh man, that Corvette, that's a bad year.
SPEAKER_01: They got a bad manifold intact.
SPEAKER_01: Just let me read that magazine.
SPEAKER_01: There's people in the church at Rome that were that way about Christianity.
SPEAKER_01: And Paul says, hey, let me just kind of invite you into something differently.
SPEAKER_01: Four things he says to us.
SPEAKER_01: The responsibility of being a mature believer involves four things.
SPEAKER_01: Number one, he says, walk in love.
SPEAKER_01: Walk in love.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 15.
SPEAKER_01: That's kind of the thrust of it.
SPEAKER_01: Let me start in in verse 13.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Therefore, because actually let me start in verse 12, which is the end of the last section.
SPEAKER_01: He says, So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
SPEAKER_01: Each of us will give an account of himself to God.
SPEAKER_01: Really kind of summarizes that whole section.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, but Lance talked about it last week.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, hey, you don't have to be obsessed with everybody else because when you stand before God, you're not going to give an account for them.
SPEAKER_01: You're going to give an account for yourself.
SPEAKER_01: So he begins this section with, because of that, therefore, in light of what I'm just said, let me tell you how to get ready to give an account of yourself to God.
SPEAKER_01: Therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or a hindrance in the way of a brother.
SPEAKER_01: I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself.
SPEAKER_01: Do you realize the Bible says that?
SPEAKER_01: Nothing is unclean.
SPEAKER_01: Nothing is off limits.
SPEAKER_01: If you want to eat meat, that's great.
SPEAKER_01: If you want to drink wine, that's great.
SPEAKER_01: But here's the deal you've got to do that stuff in the context of other people.
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes you exercising your freedom might cause them to stumble.
SPEAKER_01: Like, for example, I'm sitting there in Costa Rica this week, talking to our missionary friend Bart, having coffee cooked over an open fire.
SPEAKER_01: I felt like festus on gunsmoke.
SPEAKER_01: I was like, this is awesome.
SPEAKER_01: And we were talking about clean and unclean.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, What are you preaching on this Sunday?
SPEAKER_01: I said, actually, this passage in Romans that I think is very instructive for life today in the 21st century.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, I said, about the clean and unclean.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, You know, in Acts 10, Peter saw this sheet because there was a time in biblical times that people kind of distinguished themselves and identified themselves as Christians by what they didn't do.
SPEAKER_01: And I don't mean not just in biblical days, in current days.
SPEAKER_01: Like some of you grew up in towns where you knew the Christians because they didn't go to PG 13 movies, they didn't play cards, they didn't drink, they didn't do all these specific things, but never, they never somehow got around to all the things that the Bible says they somehow should be doing.
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm talking to Bart about cleaning up, and he started laughing.
SPEAKER_01: He said, Yeah, that passage in Acts 10 where Peter says it's, I mean, the the the the Peter has a dream and the sheet comes down, it's full of all these animals, and the voice says, Rise and eat.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, Yeah, I led a guy to Christ in one of our other villages with that exact same passage.
SPEAKER_01: I said, Tell me about that.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: I uh we were talking, and the guy looked at me and said, Is it wrong?
SPEAKER_01: Is it a sin to eat monkey?
SPEAKER_01: And I just held my coffee cup and I thought, I can now die a happy man.
SPEAKER_01: I've never had a conversation that began with that question.
SPEAKER_01: Is it a sin to eat monkey?
SPEAKER_01: Oh, go ahead with your bad self and talk about that some.
SPEAKER_01: Because people had come along, religious people, and said, Hey, if you're a Christian, you shouldn't eat monkey.
SPEAKER_01: That's an unclean animal.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm just thinking, by the way, I had a pet monkey growing up.
SPEAKER_01: So I'm really interested in this.
SPEAKER_01: And Bart said, I just turned over in the Bible and said, everything is clean for the believer.
SPEAKER_01: You're free to eat.
SPEAKER_01: If you want to eat monkey, eat monkey.
SPEAKER_01: And Bart said, Hey, long story short, I led the guy to Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Because he lived in fear that he was going to go to hell because he ate monkey.
SPEAKER_01: And some of you lived in fear.
SPEAKER_01: Not because you've eaten monkey, but because there's things that you enjoy and you've always kind of wondered, well, people kind of make me feel bad about, and I like I have a friend that will not eat shrimp or shellfish.
SPEAKER_01: Because he read a part in the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_01: Old Testament dietary laws that said, don't these things are bottom feeders.
SPEAKER_01: He tells me this while we're having seafood.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, hey man, you're in a seafood restaurant.
SPEAKER_01: Why are you having chicken fingers?
SPEAKER_01: You're not six, okay?
SPEAKER_01: You want a plastic bib and a sippy cup?
SPEAKER_01: And he said, I grew up in a church where the pastor harped on not eating shrimp and not eating shellfish, and I was just kind of, it was ingrained in me that that's the way I demonstrate to the world that I'm a Christian.
SPEAKER_01: And I just thought to myself, oh man.
SPEAKER_01: So I peeled a big bowl of shrimp and dipped it in some cocktail sauce and horseradish and said, come on over to the dark side.
SPEAKER_01: And I looked up and he had tears in his eyes.
SPEAKER_01: And I realized he wasn't kidding.
SPEAKER_01: That's what religion will do to you.
SPEAKER_01: It will make you so unnecessarily unhappy that you can't enjoy anything.
SPEAKER_01: And what Paul is saying to these people is, hey, walk in love.
SPEAKER_01: Let's just keep reading the Bible so you can hear the flow and the nuance of it.
SPEAKER_01: He says, hey, don't pass judgment on another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or a hindrance in the way of a brother.
SPEAKER_01: I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it is unclean.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 15, for if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love.
SPEAKER_01: By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.
SPEAKER_01: Now, the reason I read the keep kind of coming back to the Bible is I want you to see how subtle Paul is in the Bible is when he says, walk in love.
SPEAKER_01: It's not just some innocuous, hey, just try to do better.
SPEAKER_01: When he's saying, hey, the Bible has this way of kind of introducing these theological truths that kind of change the dialogue.
SPEAKER_01: You say, what do you mean?
SPEAKER_01: Well, when when some aspect of the gospel is introduced into the dialogue, ask yourself, can you keep doing what you've been doing?
SPEAKER_01: Like back to the seafood restaurant, and I'm holding out, and the guy's like, I'm not kidding.
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Neither am I, but I don't want to make you stumble.
SPEAKER_01: I said, here's the deal.
SPEAKER_01: I'll send this back and I'll order chicken fingers if you think I'm going to hell or I'm tempted you to do something you're not comfortable doing.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, I just I've just lived my whole life wondering what shrimp tastes like.
SPEAKER_01: You've never had boiled shrimp.
SPEAKER_01: Never in my life.
SPEAKER_01: You've never had one of these seahorses I'm holding here in my hand.
SPEAKER_01: These aren't these long John Silver little scrimps that are like triple battered that all you can taste is deep-fried dough.
SPEAKER_01: This is just naked goodness right out of the ocean.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, I really want to try it.
SPEAKER_01: And you're telling me I'm not going to like break God's law if I eat that?
SPEAKER_01: I'm telling you, everything is clean for the believer.
SPEAKER_01: And I just put it down on the table in front of him and said, But you got to do what your conscience tells you to do.
SPEAKER_01: Me, I'm going to eat all these and order some more because it's all you can eat.
SPEAKER_01: And he just kind of sat there eating his chicken fingers, and after about five minutes, he reached over and cut a little piece off and put it in his mouth, and he went, Wow, that's better than I imagined.
SPEAKER_01: And I just smiled back and said, Freedom usually is.
SPEAKER_01: See, because that's what the Bible, if you're here today and you're new to this whole thing, someone invited you.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible's not like a big list of rules and regulations that says you can't do this, you can't do that, and by all means, don't ever do that.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says you're free.
SPEAKER_01: And why are you free?
SPEAKER_01: Because for you, it's not what goes inside of you that condemns you, it's what comes out of you.
SPEAKER_01: See, that's what the Bible teaches.
SPEAKER_01: When he says walk in love, and now I said something a minute ago.
SPEAKER_01: Let me demonstrate what I meant.
SPEAKER_01: I said that Paul kind of introduces these theological truths that kind of call us to something bigger.
SPEAKER_01: He does it in verse 15.
SPEAKER_01: Hear it again.
SPEAKER_01: For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you're no longer walking in love.
SPEAKER_01: By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.
SPEAKER_01: There's two things Paul introduces in this conversation.
SPEAKER_01: The first one that kind of changes the way you think about it.
SPEAKER_01: The first one is the cross.
SPEAKER_01: He says, hey, by what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.
SPEAKER_01: Now the Bible says in John 3.16, very popular verse, you see it at football games and that, you know, John 3.16 says, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
SPEAKER_01: Translation, if God loves this person enough to die for them, by what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.
SPEAKER_01: If God so loved this person that he was willing to die for them, the Bible's saying to you and I, then you and I should be willing.
SPEAKER_01: We should so love this person that we'd be willing not to eat things or drink things that would offend them.
SPEAKER_01: My wife and I, one of the great privileges of our life is to just be friends with people that in our church that we pastor and we have a relationship with.
SPEAKER_01: We're friends with a couple in this church, and we go to dinner on occasion, and and and anytime we go to dinner, and the wife will say, Hey, I'm gonna have a glass of wine.
SPEAKER_01: Would that offend you?
SPEAKER_01: And what she's doing is practicing what the Bible says right here.
SPEAKER_01: And I smile back and say, wouldn't bother me at all.
SPEAKER_01: And she says, Oh, it is so refreshing to have a pastor that just doesn't make me feel guilty.
SPEAKER_01: Why is that my job?
SPEAKER_01: Try to follow you around like your internal little sister, going, um.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna tell mom and dad.
SPEAKER_01: And so we just kind of sit there.
SPEAKER_01: It's interesting.
SPEAKER_01: I've been around people.
SPEAKER_01: One guy said one time, he said, I've never had a p uh a pastor that I could drink a beer in front of.
SPEAKER_01: You feel what just happened in this room?
SPEAKER_01: Some of you are like, you just went somewhere, I'm not comfortable with you going.
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I've sat with sinners in this room while they've had alcoholic beverages.
SPEAKER_01: Just like Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And it's always funny because there's a way you drink when your pastor's not around, and then there's a way you drink when your pastor is around.
SPEAKER_01: When your pastor's not around, it's like, hey, can we get one more of these over here for all my buddies?
SPEAKER_01: When I walk up, it's like, hello, pastor.
SPEAKER_01: All things in moderation here, you know, no one's out of line, no one's inebriated, and I'm kind of like, relax, I'm not the police, okay?
SPEAKER_01: Because here's the thing freedom is not your native environment.
SPEAKER_01: Because some of you right now, you're tensing up, just kind of thinking, I don't know if I want to be a part of her church like this.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, by the way, my wife doesn't care for alcohol one iota.
SPEAKER_01: And we have friends who go to them like, oh, come on, try some, try some.
SPEAKER_01: And finally she's like, hey, I'm comfortable with you drinking.
SPEAKER_01: Why are you not comfortable with me not drinking?
SPEAKER_01: Because, see, there's the other side of this thing, because that's when you're abusing your freedom.
SPEAKER_01: You want everyone to do what you do.
SPEAKER_01: She's like, I had two alcoholic grandfathers.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not really interested in starting down that road.
SPEAKER_01: I might have the X factor.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, we'll just take a sip and let's just see what happens.
SPEAKER_01: And she knows I'm kidding, and she's like, whatever.
SPEAKER_01: But see, here's the thing: when you don't understand the freedom that Christ has given you, you use things in a way they were never intended to be used.
SPEAKER_01: And the Bible says, hey, if it offends somebody, you i i if for the sake of food or drink you're doing something that causes somebody to stumble, you're not walking in love.
SPEAKER_01: That's what he does when he kind of just inserts the cross in there and says, Oh, by the way, by what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.
SPEAKER_01: Oswald Chambers says this.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Unguarded strength is actually double weakness.
SPEAKER_01: Because that is the least likely temptation will be because that is where the least likely temptation will be effective in sapping strength.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible characters stumbled over their strong points, never their weak ones.
SPEAKER_01: Paul says, hey, if you want to be responsible with your Christian maturity, the first thing you've got to do is walk in love.
SPEAKER_01: Secondly, you've got to prioritize the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Are you still with me?
SPEAKER_01: Did I lose anybody there?
SPEAKER_01: Any questions about anything I just said?
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not kidding, I'm being serious.
SPEAKER_01: You're like, you're gonna let us ask questions in church?
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
SPEAKER_01: This is not a play.
SPEAKER_01: This is not a production up here.
SPEAKER_01: I don't want you walking out today and kind of going, uh, did he say what I think he said?
SPEAKER_01: No, I just want to say everything the Bible says.
SPEAKER_01: Because the Bible is not about behavior modification, it's about glory demonstration.
SPEAKER_01: Do you hear the difference in the two?
SPEAKER_01: It's not about trying to control and modify your behavior, it's about you living a life that brings God glory.
SPEAKER_01: Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_01: Are we done with that point?
SPEAKER_01: Can we go on to the second one?
SPEAKER_01: Email me if you have questions.
SPEAKER_01: Because some of you are like, I want to raise my hand in church and ask, but I'm not going to because other people think I'm silly.
SPEAKER_01: No, they won't.
SPEAKER_01: Second thing the Bible says is that, hey, the responsibility of maturity is prioritize the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 17.
SPEAKER_01: Look at what he says.
SPEAKER_01: After he says, introduces this kind of theological reality of the cross and kind of says, hey, hey, don't destroy someone for whom Christ died.
SPEAKER_01: If Christ loved them enough to die for them, you should love them enough to say no to your freedom so they won't be offended.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 17, he introduces a second theological reality.
SPEAKER_01: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.
SPEAKER_01: So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
SPEAKER_01: Now, what is he saying there?
SPEAKER_01: When he says prioritize the kingdom, well, that's that second theological reality that Paul kind of introduces.
SPEAKER_01: The first one's the cross.
SPEAKER_01: The second one is the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: Now, when we talk about the kingdom of God here, we're not talking about a bunch of nerds in their basement of their mom's house playing risk or strategico, okay?
SPEAKER_01: The kingdom of God is Is the realm within which what God wants done gets done.
SPEAKER_01: And when he says, prioritize the kingdom, it's what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6, about verse 33.
SPEAKER_01: He said to on the Sermon on the Mount, he said, Hey, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
SPEAKER_01: And all these things you worry about will be added to you.
SPEAKER_01: So this is not a one-off thing in the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible's always about, hey, prioritize the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: And the kingdom is not you and your opinions and your preferences.
SPEAKER_01: And verse 18 and 19 kind of puts out the threefold benefit of when you and I prioritize the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: Let me just point them out to you.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 18.
SPEAKER_01: He says this.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Whoever thus serves Christ, whoever kind of lives their life this way, whoever kind of remembers and prioritizes what the kingdom of God is about, number one, is acceptable to God.
SPEAKER_01: And number two, approved by men.
SPEAKER_01: He says, So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
SPEAKER_01: The three benefits when you and I prioritize the kingdom is you're acceptable to God, you're approved by men, and you're what's known as a peacemaker.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus, back in that same Sermon on the Mount, said, Blessed are the peacemakers.
SPEAKER_01: Blessed are the peacemakers.
SPEAKER_01: Now, by the way, when he says there in verse 18, whoever lives like this is acceptable to God and approved by men, don't get those out of order.
SPEAKER_01: They're in order for a reason.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says that your first priority, your first thing you should be concerned about is being acceptable to God.
SPEAKER_01: Be accepted, accepted by God.
SPEAKER_01: And not just approved by men, but be somebody that, hey, I'm accepted by God.
SPEAKER_01: When you go to bed tonight, before you go to sleep today, some point in the day, just remind yourself, oh, by the way, I'm not trying to earn this.
SPEAKER_01: I'm accepted by God.
SPEAKER_01: And when I live in this freedom that my accepting God has given me, I be approved by men.
SPEAKER_01: Finally, the Bible says that you're this peacemaker, this person that life that kind of produces as a byproduct this mutual upbringing.
SPEAKER_01: People are kind of built up by being around you.
SPEAKER_01: Third thing the Bible says to us, just the responsibility of being mature believers is thirdly, keep in mind the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 20.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Do not for the sake of food destroy the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: Paul kind of juxtaposes these two things against each other and says, Hey, not for something as small as food do you destroy the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.
SPEAKER_01: It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.
SPEAKER_01: Just hear that, beloved.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Hey, I get it.
SPEAKER_01: Don't for the sake of food destroy the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: Yes, everything is really clean, but it's wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.
SPEAKER_01: Now, when I say keep in mind the work of God, here's simply as I can put it, folks.
SPEAKER_01: When Paul uses this phrase, what he's saying to the people in Rome and to you and I sitting in this room today is simply this.
SPEAKER_01: You're part of the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: How you live your life matters.
SPEAKER_01: The choices you and I make matter.
SPEAKER_01: When I became a Christian, I could no longer just kind of say, well, I'm fine with it.
SPEAKER_01: I don't have a problem with it.
SPEAKER_01: Well, that's your opinion, and I respect that, but I'm going to do what I'm going to do because it's my life, it's my body, or whatever.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says, now wait a minute.
SPEAKER_01: Once I become a Christian, I become part of the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: And so I now, that's not pressure.
SPEAKER_01: That's privilege.
SPEAKER_01: That's a reminder that wait a minute.
SPEAKER_01: It matters how I live my life when no one's looking.
SPEAKER_01: It matters the choices that I make in light of the freedom that Christ gave me.
SPEAKER_01: I believe what the Bible says, that it is for freedom that Christ has come to set us free.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus said, You'll know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
SPEAKER_01: He said, Anyone the Son sets free is free indeed.
SPEAKER_01: And so, what are you saying?
SPEAKER_01: What I'm saying is what the Bible is saying is that you are a part of the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: Don't shrink it down to just what you prefer to do.
SPEAKER_01: Step into the bigness, the wideness, and the wonder of being a part of the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: When you walk around here in a few hours at the meeting greet, just kind of look around and see how textured the work of God is.
SPEAKER_01: That there's people that aren't anything like you.
SPEAKER_01: There's people that have totally different political affiliations, and they're part of the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: We finally got to our little hotel, and I use the word hotel loosely.
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of a little bungalow with no hot water, and had a TV, and everything was in Spanish, and we finally were flipping channels, and we got up to like channel 625 on the Sky Network, and they had Fox News channel in English.
SPEAKER_01: Bob Rosica thought he had died and gone to heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Alas! Yes, mothership beat me up! And all the men were gathering around, and I just I was and they were talking about this, and as Hillary Clinton, as liberals we think, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
SPEAKER_01: And I was just reminded, even on this trip, there's people that love this, and there's people staring at that TV thinking, are we really going to watch this?
SPEAKER_01: Is this the best we can do?
SPEAKER_01: I'd rather watch Spanish soccer in Spanish.
SPEAKER_01: Guess what?
SPEAKER_01: The work of God is the only thing big enough, broad enough, deep enough, and strong enough to contain everybody in this room.
SPEAKER_01: And you get to be a part of that.
SPEAKER_01: So when you walk out of here in a few minutes, just be reminded.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, it matters the choices I make in the name of my freedom.
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm a part of the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: Last thing he says to us is simply this don't make your freedom the standard.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 22.
SPEAKER_01: The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God.
SPEAKER_01: Now that's not saying never share your faith.
SPEAKER_01: He's saying that, hey, you're you're you're you're you're walking in faith about some of the decisions you make by the things you do and don't do.
SPEAKER_01: That's great.
SPEAKER_01: Keep that between yourself and God.
SPEAKER_01: Don't make that the standard for everybody else, because he goes on and says, Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.
SPEAKER_01: But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats.
SPEAKER_01: Because the eating is not from faith.
SPEAKER_01: For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
SPEAKER_01: Here verse 23 again.
SPEAKER_01: But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats.
SPEAKER_01: Because the eating is not from faith.
SPEAKER_01: Whoever has doubts, the Bible calls you and I to not live with this sense of doubt.
SPEAKER_01: Not this is, oh, is this okay?
SPEAKER_01: This meat might be sacrificed to idols, or they they might have used this wine in some pagan festival.
SPEAKER_01: Is it that or they use wine?
SPEAKER_01: Therefore, I shouldn't.
SPEAKER_01: Well, whoa.
SPEAKER_01: It says, hey, you got to get to the point where you have faith that your relationship with God and here's the other part, your reputation with people is not at stake every time you make a decision out in public or in private.
SPEAKER_01: Let me close with what I think is a great example of what the Bible says.
SPEAKER_01: Don't make your freedom the standard.
SPEAKER_01: Years ago, Billy Graham and his wife Ruth had dinner with the Queen of England.
SPEAKER_01: And they set it in.
SPEAKER_01: Billy tells the story in one of his books.
SPEAKER_01: They walked in and he said it was just impressive.
SPEAKER_01: And there was just crystal and this fine china and servants and tuxedos and everything.
SPEAKER_01: And they sat down and there were two glasses.
SPEAKER_01: And Ruth leaned over and said, Billy, are we that thirsty?
SPEAKER_01: And he said, No.
SPEAKER_01: One of them is for water and one of them is for wine.
SPEAKER_01: And a servant in a tuxedo and white gloves came to the end of the table and began to pour the wine in a little bit, and the person would taste it, and the switch sifted around, set it back down, give the nod, and then begin to pour all the guests some wine.
SPEAKER_01: And they're coming down the road to get to Billy and Ruth Graham.
SPEAKER_01: And the guy didn't know any better.
SPEAKER_01: In England, I don't know if you've ever been to England, everybody drinks wine.
SPEAKER_01: It's like in Germany, everybody drinks beer and they drink it hot.
SPEAKER_01: Go figure.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know why.
SPEAKER_01: And so they're getting there, and Billy Graham didn't want to make a scene.
SPEAKER_01: He said, I didn't want to be disruptive.
SPEAKER_01: I didn't want to say, oh, we're believers, we don't do this.
SPEAKER_01: He says, because in reality, this is Billy Graham talking.
SPEAKER_01: He says, in reality, I know what the Bible teaches.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says this is not sin.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says drunkenness is a sin.
SPEAKER_01: But then Billy Graham said this.
SPEAKER_01: He said, But I was in that moment I was reminded that I have the freedom to do a lot of things, but for the sake of my testimony, I choose not to.
SPEAKER_01: And he reached up and took his wine glass and just turned it upside down and set it on the table.
SPEAKER_01: And Ruth later said, I thought that was a good idea, so I turned mine over too.
SPEAKER_01: And they got to him, and the waiter just kind of stopped, and he just kind of smiled and walked around them and went to the next couple and just continued to pour.
SPEAKER_01: And they're sitting there, and Billy looked at them and he says, It's not a problem at all.
SPEAKER_01: You folks enjoy your wine.
SPEAKER_01: Ruth and I will just have water.
SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of things I have the freedom to do, but for the sake of my testimony.
SPEAKER_01: Translation, because I'm a part of the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: I choose not to.
SPEAKER_01: You're part of the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: It was for freedom that Christ set you free.
SPEAKER_01: However, do not become a prisoner to your freedom.
SPEAKER_01: That's what Paul is saying in Romans 14.
SPEAKER_01: That's what he's saying to you and I today.
SPEAKER_01: Stand to your feet.
SPEAKER_01: We speak a blessing over you.
SPEAKER_01: Hold your hands out.
SPEAKER_01: It is for freedom that Christ set you free.
SPEAKER_01: Be done with bondage.
SPEAKER_01: Be done with rules and regulations.
SPEAKER_01: But never forget the truth.
SPEAKER_01: Because it is the truth that really sets you free.
SPEAKER_01: Get out of here now.
SPEAKER_01: And live the kind of free lives Jesus died for you to have.
SPEAKER_01: He loves you that much.
SPEAKER_01: He's delivered you from bondage.
SPEAKER_01: In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Bless you, you dismiss it.