WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:04.879 You should ask yourself, are you a moral person or are you a spiritual person? 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:10.960 You should ask yourself, am I raising my kids to be moral or am I raising my kids to be spiritual? 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:13.039 Easy to be moral. 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:16.000 The devil is not bothered at all by you being moral. 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:18.640 He's bothered if you become spiritual. 00:00:19.039 --> 00:00:23.760 See, outward religious behaviors are that's nothing. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:28.079 What is the indication of God's presence in your life? 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:32.479 And I just wonder today if there's anybody here that's like, yeah, I'm moral, but I don't know that I'm spiritual. 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:41.759 You cleaned your act up a few times, but God has never moved in and said, listen, I'm not here to clean everything up, I'm here to change everything. 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:51.359 This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:57.200 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit our website at grandparkway.org. 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:00.640 Amen. 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:01.359 Amen. 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:06.480 We don't just sing and say we trust you. 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:08.239 We trust you when life is easy. 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:09.760 We trust you when it's hard. 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:16.079 Uh and so, Lord, uh, speak from your word today and by your spirit, and in so doing, increase our capacity to trust you. 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:20.879 We respond to news like we heard earlier with that great hymn of the faith that says, Praise the Lord. 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:22.560 Let the earth hear his voice. 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:29.680 We want people to hurt to hear what we've heard because that changed our life when we heard God speaking to us in a language that we understand. 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:33.840 So, God, would you speak to everybody in this room, everybody watching online today? 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:38.239 Speak to them in a language they understand and remind them you were created for this. 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:41.680 This is not religion, this is a relationship with God. 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:43.599 And this is what we were created for. 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:45.359 Lord, teach us that today. 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:48.400 Reveal it to our head and to our heart, we pray. 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:52.079 We ask for this in Jesus' name, and everyone said, Amen. 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:52.560 Amen. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:53.680 You could have a seat. 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:57.359 If you got a Bible, I invite you to take it, open up to Matthew chapter 12. 00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:01.200 Matthew chapter 12, if you're our guest, let me say, uh, welcome. 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:02.400 I'm so glad you're here. 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:03.359 My name is Neil. 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:05.200 I'm a lead pastor at Grand Park Way. 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:07.840 Uh, and if God should so lead, I want to be your pastor. 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:12.719 Uh what that means is I don't want to just be a guy that stands up on Sunday and talks to you from the Bible. 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:14.719 That's my privilege and responsibility. 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:20.719 I also want to be the guy when you see me in a restaurant or at H E B, your kids will go, Oh, there's Pastor Neil. 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:22.639 Man, that guy is for us, okay? 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:24.560 Uh and so you just come today. 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:25.520 There's no pressure. 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:28.080 Uh we're we're teaching, like I said, through the book of Matthew. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:34.400 We preach through books of the Bible uh because we think that's the way you nourish the faith of a congregation over the long haul. 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:36.000 We're up to Matthew chapter 12. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:37.360 I'll start reading verse 38. 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:39.039 If you don't have a Bible, don't sweat it. 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:40.560 Everything I say will come up on the screen. 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:44.319 I want to talk to you this morning, though, about the unness of Jesus. 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:46.080 The unness of Jesus. 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:47.840 You cannot put him in a category. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:49.360 You can't compare him to anybody. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:54.960 Somebody came after me after the first service and said, Hey, I was reading this week about AI, and I was like, who hasn't? 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:55.280 Okay. 00:02:55.520 --> 00:03:02.159 Uh but AI, they put in, they said, in this some AI system, they said, uh, would you list all the gods of the world? 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:04.400 And they put in all the gods of the world. 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:08.639 And they said, now eliminate all the ones that are false gods and give a reason. 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:10.800 And so they he said they'd eliminate AI. 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:12.800 And I'm like, oh, okay, this will be interesting. 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:15.360 He said, it eliminated all except Jesus Christ. 00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:24.879 And it said, the reason we selected Jesus Christ as God is because he's the only one that died and bodily resurrected from the dead, rose from the dead. 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:27.039 This is why we believe he's the one true God. 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:29.599 I said, well, if AI says it, that settles it. 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:34.240 But but I think, oh, oh, oh, okay, whatever. 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:41.039 But what my point is that you cannot put him in a category and just say he's a moral teacher, he was a prophet, he's a good example. 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:52.479 I'm gonna tell you this morning uh from the Bible, okay, that that there's something about Jesus that he doesn't fit in a category because he stands alone in the solitude and the sufficiency of himself, okay? 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:58.400 Now, this is one thing I want all of you, if you're here, I don't assume everybody here is a Christian already, and that's great. 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:02.479 I want you to come, but I want you to ask yourself this question while you listen today. 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:08.080 Why would I not want to have a relationship with that God that this guy's talking about if it's that real? 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:08.479 Okay? 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:09.599 Does that question make sense? 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:10.479 Say amen. 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:11.840 All right, let's jump in. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:13.520 Matthew chapter 12, verse 38. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:20.800 Jesus is talking, he says, Then some of the scribes and the Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:28.800 But he answered them, an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:36.800 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:45.920 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:53.519 The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:56.879 And behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 00:04:57.040 --> 00:05:04.480 When the unclean spirit has gone out from a person, he passes through waterless places, seeking rest, but he finds none. 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:07.839 And then it says, I will return to my house from which I came. 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:12.079 And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 00:05:12.319 --> 00:05:17.120 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:20.959 And the last state of that person is worse than the first. 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:24.560 So also will it be with this evil generation. 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:26.560 Now, what do you mean by the unness of Jesus? 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:31.839 There's four things I want you to see in the text this morning that place Jesus Christ in a category all by himself. 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:34.639 The first one is this it's an unwilling generation. 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:36.079 An unwilling generation. 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:37.839 It's verses 38 and 39. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:48.319 It's important to pay attention to what the Bible's actually saying instead of turning it into a self-help manual where Jesus is your life coach and the goal is to feel better about yourself. 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:52.639 See, notice in verse 38, it starts off uh with this phrase. 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:58.800 It says that uh then some of the scribes and the Pharisees answered him, saying, We wish to see a sign from you. 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:04.399 Now, if because it says they answered him, then your mind should ping and go, okay, well, what's the question? 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:08.560 What's the question they were answering, or in this case, not answering? 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:11.279 And you have to go up to verse 34 to see the question now. 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:16.720 By the way, you you should pray today before you go to bed that you have friends that are this honest with you. 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:19.839 Because look at the question Jesus asked them in verse 34. 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:22.879 He says, How can you speak good when you are evil? 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:28.480 You most people do not have anybody in their life that is that honest with them. 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:31.439 Okay, it's just like we had an elder retreat this weekend. 00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:33.920 Uh that we're if you're visiting that we're an elder-led church. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:35.519 I'm the pastor, but I'm not in charge. 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:38.879 It is not biblical for one man to make all the decisions for a church. 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:43.199 And so we have 10 elders that give wisdom and oversight to a church. 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:47.680 We went off for a weekend retreat, and while we were there, we did a thing called IPR. 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:50.879 It's an exercise called, and it stands for interpersonal reflection. 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:56.000 And basically, we're sitting around a big long table, and they say, Oh, okay, the the person's weighed. 00:06:56.079 --> 00:07:01.759 And you, everybody has to go around the table and pick a word or phrase that best explains how they experience weights these days. 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:02.800 And there's two rules. 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:04.560 You cannot be defensive, okay? 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:08.720 You can't say, Oh no, you don't experience me that way, but you can ask for clarity. 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:11.759 Some of y'all writing this down. 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:12.319 Mm-hmm. 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:13.199 And then what? 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:15.600 Yeah, and it was great, it was wonderful. 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:22.399 Uh, it we we were packing up to leave yesterday afternoon to come back, and one of the elders said, Man, I want us to do IPR again sometime. 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:24.000 More, I want us to do IPR more often. 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:28.879 I said, Absolutely, absolutely, because you should be in the habit of being honest with each other, is my point. 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:33.120 Jesus asked him, How can you speak good when you are evil? 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:41.759 You see, Jesus is going to make the point that they refuse to acknowledge as to how evil they really are, which is why he says, You are an evil and adulterous generation. 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:42.879 You seek for a sign. 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:44.240 He doesn't let them up, okay? 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:48.160 Even when the question, even when they don't answer, he doesn't take the question back. 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:54.959 Now, here's one thing if you read the Bible, you need to understand, God, all through the Bible, God asks questions to make a point. 00:07:55.120 --> 00:07:58.560 Like I just kind of looked and started making notes of different questions that God asked. 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:00.399 And I brought them, don't try to write this down. 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:02.160 You can pull the phone out and take a picture. 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:05.839 There's 14 questions there that God asked people in the Bible. 00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:06.800 Where are you? 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:08.319 What is this you've done? 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:09.360 Where's your brother? 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:12.240 You should look around today and kind of go, hey, where's my brother? 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:14.000 There's a guy who used to sit close to me. 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:15.279 I hadn't seen him in a while. 00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:18.000 And don't call him or text him and go, hey, bro, where were you? 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:19.920 Just say, hey, hey, I missed you at church today. 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:21.279 Hope everything's okay. 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:23.439 Uh, what is that in your hand? 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:31.040 When it's 10:30 at night and your wife's already gone to bed, and you got that third bourbon in your hand, and God says, What's that in your hand? 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:33.279 Yes, what's that in your hand? 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:35.440 Where have you come from and where are you going? 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:36.639 What is your name? 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:37.519 Here's one. 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:38.799 What are you doing here? 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:40.879 See how practical God is? 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:43.440 Whom shall I send and who will go for us? 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:45.840 Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:50.960 Just because this guy, the Bible named Job, is copping an attitude with God, and God's like, Skippy, really? 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:53.360 Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:53.759 Okay? 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:56.720 Uh, do you have a right to be so angry? 00:08:56.960 --> 00:09:01.600 Ask yourself that the next time you're stuck behind somebody going too slow in the fast lane. 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:05.039 Or somebody that doesn't believe in using blinkers. 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:06.320 Yes, yes. 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:08.000 Do you have a right to be so angry? 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:09.279 Can these bones live? 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:12.799 Translation, that's from Ezekiel 38, a valley of just bones. 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:17.200 And it basically says, Hey, can God do something that people couldn't do from this? 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:18.960 Uh, who do you say that I am? 00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:20.159 Do you want to get well? 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:22.159 There's the Theo Vaughn question. 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:23.600 Why do you doubt? 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:25.679 See, of all those questions, here's the thing. 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:27.840 Which one most applies to you right now? 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:30.159 Which one do you think God's asking you right now? 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:32.559 See, they're an unwilling generation. 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:35.360 The second thing we see in the text is an undeniable sign. 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:36.799 An undeniable sign. 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:37.360 What do you mean? 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:38.480 It's in verse 39. 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:39.200 We'll pick it up. 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:39.919 He says this. 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:48.399 They said, uh he says, an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:56.080 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:57.440 Now, an undeniable sign. 00:09:57.519 --> 00:09:58.000 What do you mean? 00:09:58.159 --> 00:09:59.600 He says the sign of Jonah. 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:00.480 What's he talking about? 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:06.159 That's a metaphor that Jesus used uh to foreshadow his own death, burial, and resurrection. 00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:10.080 It's the last sign that Jesus gives as to his identity and authority. 00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:11.279 And so what are you saying? 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:14.879 I'm saying the resurrection is a sign of Jesus' identity. 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:19.759 Even AI, and by the way, I don't think AI is gonna destroy the human race, okay? 00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:23.600 Let's stop giving power uh uh to something that men program. 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:29.279 I know I'm novel, I mean simple, and and and you're like, oh, you don't understand. 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:31.519 Uh oh, okay, I'm not gonna fear that. 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:37.679 But even AI says, by the way, the resurrection is a thing that distinguishes Jesus from all the other false gods in the world. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:42.000 Now, the Bible says that the resurrection is a big deal, and here's why. 00:10:42.159 --> 00:11:06.320 Like the very first at the very beginning of the book of Romans, the apostle Paul writes this he says, Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, to be called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures concerning his son, who was descended from David according to the flesh, and was declared to be the son of God in power, according to the spirit of holiness, by his resurrection from the dead. 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:08.000 Jesus Christ, our Lord. 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:08.960 Hear that again. 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:14.240 He was declared to be the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead. 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:18.559 Jesus Christ is the Son of God, not just because he said so, that would be enough. 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:22.080 But he says, listen, you're not gonna get another sign except the sign of Jonah. 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:35.200 And what Jesus is saying to these people in Matthew 12 is just as Jonah died, was buried, and resurrected out of this great fish, the Son of Man is going to die, be buried, and go spend three days and three nights in the in the belly of there, and then he's gonna come out. 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:39.600 He's like, I I don't know what whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you saying there? 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:46.000 See, the story of Jonah is a story of disobedience, death, resurrection, and obedient proclamation. 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:59.279 The prophetic purpose of Jonah is to be a sign of death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, which is why the text says, just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:07.200 I think and I teach uh that just as the two words just as refers to the experience and the manner. 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:13.840 Now, a couple of years ago at Easter, uh, some of y'all lost your mind and started sending me emails like, oh my gosh, Pastor. 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:16.399 Uh, like I said, Jesus had a girlfriend or something. 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:18.720 Uh uh and you say, What do you mean? 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:20.799 Like if you grew up in church, say amen. 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:26.159 Okay, if you did not grow up in church, you have an advantage over all the people who just said amen. 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:27.200 And here's why. 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:28.559 Because I brought some pictures. 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:32.159 If you grew up in church, this is what you're taught about Jonah in the well. 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:39.440 There's Jonah, he ain't got no clothes, but he's got a fire going inside the well, and he's got a stick, and he's cooking a fish. 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:41.919 And I'm just like, hello? 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:42.720 Really? 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:43.840 But here's my favorite one. 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:45.120 Here's another one I found. 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:47.039 Uh uh yeah, there's another picture. 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:47.600 Bring it up. 00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:48.240 There it is. 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:50.960 Jonah has got some houseplants in the well. 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:55.679 And here's my favorite part: he's got a window with an ocean view. 00:12:57.679 --> 00:12:58.639 Now, look at me. 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:00.799 I did not become a Christian since I was 18. 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:05.039 And so when I started reading the Bible and I just listened to the preachers, they didn't have online back then. 00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:08.000 And so I had to read the Bible and understand the Bible for what it says. 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:09.840 And so I'm never a guy. 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:11.120 I remember I was sitting in first class. 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:14.720 I used to, before I became the pastor here, I traveled and preached all over the country. 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:16.960 I was on the road like 195 days a year. 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:20.080 So I had a lot of frequent flyer miles and a lot of perks in a rental car. 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:22.879 I'd go to the rental car, they'd go, kneel, take whatever you want. 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:26.000 Uh and and so I'm sitting, I got bumped up to first class. 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:29.679 And I'm reading my Bible because I'm gonna speak at a conference in Portland when I land. 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:31.759 And a guy goes, You don't believe all that, do you? 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:34.799 And I said, I believe it from Genesis to maps. 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:38.559 And he's like, Y'all, he was like, uh. 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:45.759 And then he pulls out his barney, he pulls out his bullet and goes, So you believe that dude lived like three days in in the whale? 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:51.200 And I said, No, I think Jonah died, was resurrected, and then he repented and went and preached to Nineveh. 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:54.799 And all of a sudden, everybody in first class wanted to be my best friend. 00:13:55.120 --> 00:13:58.480 Because they were like, he's like, dude, I mean, I'm like, I'm like an engineer. 00:13:58.559 --> 00:13:59.440 I just couldn't believe that. 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:01.679 And I said, Yeah, I don't believe that either. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:04.879 So, yes, I believe that Jonah died inside the great fish. 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:05.919 He was resurrected. 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:11.679 Here's why because the book of Jonah says he called out from the depths of Sheol, which is the place of the dead. 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:19.200 Now, back a couple years ago at Easter, when I just referenced this and I thought this is an obvious thing, and some of y'all like, it sent me emails. 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:20.720 How dare you say that? 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:22.480 I've never heard this in my life. 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:25.360 And I politely wrote back, why is that my fault? 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:29.200 Why have you not gone to a church that taught the whole council of God's word? 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:30.799 I don't know what's up there. 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:38.720 Uh, because see, here's the thing: when you go out in the world, you have a harder time explaining that all well, you know, Jonah was in there roasting hot dogs. 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:42.559 People look at us like, dude, y'all aren't very intellectual. 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:46.000 Uh uh, you say, well, no, what's the big deal? 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:50.559 I believe that when the Bible, in the book of Jonah, says he cries out from the depths of Sheol. 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:52.240 Sheol is the place of the dead. 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:55.759 How do you go to the place of the dead without dying? 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:57.759 Well, since somebody, and I love this. 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:01.919 And by the way, if if I'm making you doubt right now or making you angry, send me an email. 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:03.039 I'll buy you lunch. 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:05.840 One guy said, Well, if he's dead, how does he cry out? 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:08.000 And I wrote back, great question. 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:14.320 And I said, Here's how he cries out, because when you die, there's consciousness after death. 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:28.480 Like if you think that I'm just gonna live a crazy life and then die and go to sleep for the rest of my life, don't turn there, but in Luke chapter 16, about verse 19, there's a story Jesus tells of the it's called the the rich man and Lazarus, and they both die, and they both go to Sheol. 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:30.639 They go to the place of death. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:36.399 And the the guy, the rich guy who didn't go to hell because he was rich, he went to hell because he was indifferent. 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:37.360 But he's in agony. 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:40.639 Matter of fact, he says this not only is he conscious, he's talking. 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:41.600 You can read it yourself. 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:43.039 It's in Luke chapter 16. 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:48.080 Uh, he's talking, and he says, Oh man, Abraham, dip your finger in the water and touch it to my tongue. 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:49.440 I'm in agony here. 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:56.720 See, here's the thing about dying: the the wicked are immediately punished, and the righteous are immediately rewarded. 00:15:57.120 --> 00:15:59.519 It's like when you die, you're like, Well, I'm just going to sleep. 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:00.080 No. 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:01.840 Because you're smart people. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:02.399 Think about it. 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:09.200 If you die, when you die, if you just go to sleep and there's no consequence for how you lived or what you believed, why believe anything? 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:11.919 Again, you're smart people. 00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:16.559 And this guy was like, Wow, I never thought about it. 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:17.840 I never thought about that. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:23.840 Yeah, not only that, but the guy says, Hey, you go tell my brothers not to come to this place of torment. 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:25.120 So people are conscious. 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:29.679 When you again, when you die, if you die as a Christian, you're immediately comforted. 00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:33.679 If you die as a non-Christian, you immediately begin to experience punishment. 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:37.679 And and later do you are you are you cast into hell? 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:41.679 See, the Pharisees, they want more signs, but they won't believe what they've already seen. 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:43.039 So he says, Hey, you want a sign? 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:45.679 There's not going to be a sign given except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:51.039 Translation, I'm going to die, be buried, and I'm going to rise from the dead, just like he did. 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:57.600 They won't believe the sign of Jonah, which is when Jesus does what Jonah did, and he dies and rises from the dead. 00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:03.279 Now, it's easy for us to look and think, oh my gosh, how could these guys not believe after all they've seen? 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:08.079 It's easy to judge them for their unwillingness to believe, but we do the same thing. 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:14.559 And here's what we do we start with a preference, which really uh uh it determines our conclusions. 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:15.839 Let me say that again. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:20.720 We start with a preference, and that preference determines our conclusions. 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:25.440 Or I say it like this we start with our appetites, and then we get to our beliefs. 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:28.000 You can want things so badly. 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:31.519 If your appetites are really big, your beliefs will be small. 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:36.000 But if your beliefs are really big, your appetites can be small. 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:40.480 But if you're ruled by your appetites, I promise you, what you can believe is really small. 00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:41.599 It sounds like this. 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:43.680 Well, we love each other, so it's okay. 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:49.039 And I'm like, because I do a lot of counseling, because I love people, I care about people, I want them to know the truth. 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:51.920 Jesus said, You'll know the truth, the truth will set you free. 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:58.480 The goal of being a Christian and understanding the Bible is not becoming more religious, it's becoming more free. 00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:00.880 The truth sets you free. 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:02.640 And people say, Well, we love each other. 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:09.039 See, you've started with a preference, and your preference has kind of determined the conclusion that you can come to. 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:12.400 You can only come to so many conclusions when that is your preference. 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:16.559 All right, it sounds like this in the LGBTQIA community these days. 00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:23.279 Well, you know, oh, I I I I God made me this way, and I want to live this way, and so I'm gonna reject anything that tells me this is wrong. 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:25.680 I won't believe anything that tells me differently. 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:27.119 And I'm like, oh, okay. 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:29.200 You're starting with a preference, okay? 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:31.039 You're starting with your appetites. 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:34.319 And so your appetites are limiting what you can believe. 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:41.440 Now, by the way, if I said the name uh excuse me, if I said the name uh Aldous Huxley, would any of y'all knew who I was talking about? 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:42.240 Say amen. 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:45.440 He wrote a book called The Brave New A Brave New World. 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:47.599 He was famous for his unbelief. 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:49.440 Now, again, look at me. 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:53.440 Most people they profess, oh, Christianity, that's a farce. 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:56.720 I don't believe that Jesus was a good moral example, blah, blah, blah, blah. 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:00.160 That's not, they're not telling you what they believe, they're telling you what they prefer. 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:04.000 And their appetites that they prefer limit what they can believe. 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:06.720 Huxley was a great example towards the end of his life. 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:07.440 He said this. 00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:10.640 He said, I had motives for not wanting the world to have meaning. 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:20.240 For myself, as no doubt for most of my contemporaries, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation from a certain system of morality. 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:25.039 We objected to the morality of Christianity because it interfered with our sexual freedom. 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:30.960 There was one admirably simple method of justifying ourselves, agnosticism. 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:35.440 By the way, Huxley was the one that came up with the phrase agnostic. 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:41.680 He was so famous for his unbelief, and towards the end of his life, he said, it wasn't really about my belief, it was about my appetites. 00:19:41.839 --> 00:19:42.880 You should ask yourself. 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:51.279 Now, again, for many people today, their their cause, the cause of their unbelief is not from a lack of evidence, it's from a love of sin. 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:53.119 Let me say this again. 00:19:53.359 --> 00:20:02.079 For many people, I'd say most people today, the reason for the unbelief is not there's a lack of evidence about Jesus or Christianity or the Bible. 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:03.039 No, no, no. 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:06.720 That's all uh uh that's all straw man, that's a smoke show. 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:08.880 The real thing is their love of sin. 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:11.920 Their sin is their preference, which informs their conclusions. 00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:15.039 Because I love this, I cannot believe this. 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:19.839 Because if I believe this, it changes everything I love and how I love it. 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.240 Ask yourself this question: what preferences have informed your conclusions? 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:28.880 What preferences have informed your conclusions? 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:32.240 Here's the third thing we see in the text: an uncomparable God. 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:34.160 Now, don't email me. 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:39.440 I know it's incomparable, but when the sermon is called The Unness of Jesus, it's uncomparable. 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:43.119 I know some of you English teachers are like, I need to help the preacher out. 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:45.599 Listen, I went to public school, leave me alone. 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:47.359 An uncomparable God. 00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:48.079 What do you mean? 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:49.440 Look at verse 41. 00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:51.839 This is what I mean by uncomparable, okay? 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.039 Jesus is not threatened, and he's also not a narcissist. 00:20:55.119 --> 00:20:55.920 He just tells the truth. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:21:01.039 He says, Then the men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it. 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:05.519 For they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:08.480 Then he says, the queen of the south, Paula Deen. 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:11.200 No? 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:13.519 It's actually the queen of Sheba. 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:15.119 It's a true story in the Bible. 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:18.640 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it. 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:19.039 Why? 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:21.920 Because she came from the end of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:24.559 And behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:26.880 Now, what is he talking about? 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:28.319 What do you mean? 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:29.599 Let me say it like this. 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:34.240 Once you have an experience with something, you cannot act like you didn't experience it. 00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:40.319 And you are both culpable, morally culpable, and morally responsible for what you experienced. 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:40.960 Okay? 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:42.160 That's a big phrase. 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:42.960 Let me say it again. 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:47.440 Once you have an experience with something, you can't act like you didn't experience it. 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:52.079 And not only that, but you are morally culpable and morally responsible for what you experience. 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:54.720 And Jesus is trying to convey this to them. 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:57.759 I'll use a very maybe a more accessible illustration. 00:21:57.920 --> 00:21:59.839 If you know what wild goose stakes are, say amen. 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:03.440 Now, I've heard of Wagyu steaks my whole life. 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:06.720 All I knew about them is I think they're expensive, okay? 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:08.160 That's all I knew. 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:13.039 But about a month or so ago, maybe six weeks ago, even, a friend of mine called me and said, Hey, are you home? 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:14.319 I said, Yeah, I'm home. 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:15.039 It's my day off. 00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:21.279 He said, Well, I was just came from a farm and uh I picked up some wagoo steaks and I got you embarks a couple fillets. 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:23.680 And I just thought, oh, wagoo, I've heard that word before. 00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:27.200 It was just a word of like kind of expensive, but supposedly really good. 00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:28.319 How good can it be? 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:31.759 Because I'm not cynical, I just require a lot of evidence. 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:32.480 Amen. 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:39.519 And so he pulls up to my house, he has a cooler, he says, Here, answer, I walk in the garage, put them in the freezer, forget all about them. 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:43.519 My wife texted me probably two weeks ago, and she said, What time? 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:46.160 This is like 1.30 in the afternoon, what time will you be home tonight? 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:49.359 I said, Well, my last counseling session is at 5, so probably 6:30. 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:53.680 It's about an hour counseling, and I chart, make notes, and she says, All right, dinner will be ready at 6:30. 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:57.039 I walked in, my wife had seared some Brussels sprouts. 00:22:57.119 --> 00:23:05.440 She took some little Yukon gold, little baby potatoes, boiled them, and then smashed them flat and put uh sea salt on them and roasted them in the oven. 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:08.079 Oh, sweet angel kisses. 00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:12.160 And then next to that, she had grilled those two Wages. 00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:17.440 She goes, Hey, I grilled these Wagou filets, and I just thought, okay, that can't be that good. 00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:20.640 And then I cut it into it and took a bite. 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:23.759