WEBVTT 00:00:01.919 --> 00:00:09.439 This podcast is a ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:14.320 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:15.359 --> 00:00:15.599 Amen. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:16.320 Amen. 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:17.199 Let's pray together. 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:22.559 Lord, when we say things like, Now my life and my fat and my salvation will be found in you alone. 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:25.440 We're saying great things that the Bible has said all along. 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:30.960 Like in Psalm 62, when the Bible says, My salvation and my honor depends upon God. 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:33.439 And so, Lord, we come to you because you're the truth. 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:35.520 We open the Bible because it's the truth. 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:38.000 It's authoritative and it's understandable. 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:39.520 You're not hard to understand. 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:46.880 You lay it out there in plain talk so we can get our head and our heart around it so that our hands can give expression to it this week. 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:48.640 And so, Lord, that's what we ask for. 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:50.399 We're blessed to be your people. 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:53.359 Thanks that we get that we're surrounded by people who have a story. 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:54.960 We look forward to hearing their story. 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:59.280 Lord, we open the Bible because we want to hear a little bit more of your story. 00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:01.359 So bring it to bear on our lives today. 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:02.640 We ask in Jesus' name. 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:04.400 And everyone said, Amen. 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:05.200 You can have a seat. 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:08.719 If you've got a Bible, I invite you to take it and open it up to John chapter 2. 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:09.680 John chapter 2. 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:11.840 If you're a guest, we're going through the Gospel of John. 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:16.159 It's just kind of a recount, a retelling, a focus of the life and ministry of Jesus. 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:18.239 And so we are in John chapter 2. 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:21.519 I want to talk to you this morning about why church is not a business. 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:23.040 Why church is not a business. 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:27.439 There's a lot of conversation and a lot of even debate, and a lot of people are like, oh, church is a business. 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:28.959 You should just run it like a business. 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:31.359 I fundamentally, I put all my cards on the table. 00:01:31.519 --> 00:01:34.000 I fundamentally and radically disagree with that. 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:41.920 Now, I'm not saying that there's not principles that we have to use to be good stewards and we do all that stuff, uh, but when it comes down to it, church is not a business. 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:46.159 Let me just give you two practical reasons, and then I'll show you three reasons right out of the Bible. 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:47.280 Two practical reasons. 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:51.359 Number one, we depend more on volunteers than we do employees. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:54.560 We depend more on volunteers than we do employees. 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:58.480 We have altogether about 15 full and part-time employees. 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:01.120 Most of those 15 people here at the church are part-time. 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:02.159 They're not full-time. 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:08.319 Any given Sunday, we have a little under or a little over a thousand people total attendance here on our campus. 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:14.080 There's no way that the 15 full and part-time people that work here could could make all that happen. 00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:18.639 So every Sunday, every Wednesday, and every day during the week, volunteers to make that happen. 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:19.759 You say, What do you mean? 00:02:19.919 --> 00:02:23.919 When you go to work tomorrow, look at your coworker and say, Hey, are you getting paid for this? 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:27.520 And be prepared for them to say, Why do you think I'm here? 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:29.280 If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here. 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:32.000 That's something that's fundamentally unique about the church. 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:34.159 The second thing is we value different things. 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:39.919 Now, let me just say this: if you're a businessman or you have a business or you work in a business, nothing wrong with that, okay? 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:41.599 I'm not bashing on businesses. 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:44.639 I'm just saying we value different things and we should. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:48.080 Like if you're in business, you should value profit. 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:49.919 Profit's a good thing, amen. 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:52.319 Yeah, you're nothing wrong with making a profit. 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:55.360 Or our stock price, our market share, all that. 00:02:55.439 --> 00:02:56.800 All that stuff's well and good. 00:02:56.960 --> 00:03:00.639 Here at the church, we value one thing we value souls. 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:03.919 It's just a weird, you say, well, what do you mean? 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:15.360 Because when we become like a business, and see, there's a lot of uncalled uh people, especially men in ministry nowadays, and because they're not called by God, they take business maxims and they apply it and they run their church. 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:23.599 Somebody said recently, I was in a conversation, I try not to say crazy things out loud, but sometimes I have spiritual tourette and words just fly out of my mouth. 00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:34.800 Uh I was talking with a friend of mine who I love, and he said, We were on a golf course, and he said to me, He lives up in the woodlands, and he said, Yeah, my pastor runs our church just like a business, and he said, and we love it. 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:35.520 You know what I mean? 00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:40.479 And I just, out of my mouth, I just said, that's the crazy tragedy right there. 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:41.599 I'm sorry to hear that. 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:42.479 I pray for your church. 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:45.680 He goes, Oh, what do you what do you mean? 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:47.439 I mean, it is a business, right? 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:48.639 No, it's not a business. 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:51.120 And here's what I'm saying: we value different things. 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:55.520 The Bible says, you know, again, in business, value profit, value market share. 00:03:55.680 --> 00:04:01.120 I hope that God blesses your business beyond your wildest imaginations as you wind down the air. 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:02.080 I hope that's great. 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:11.039 But the Bible says this Mark chapter 8, verse 36, Jesus says, What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and he forfeits his own soul? 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:18.639 We do what we do to focus on your soul, the spiritual, eternal part of you, because we believe you were created by God for a relationship with God. 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:20.639 And so those are just a couple practical reasons. 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:21.839 We said, What do you mean? 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:23.360 Why church is not a business? 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:25.519 Uh let's just look into what the Bible says. 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:28.560 John chapter 2, starting in verse 13. 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:32.319 The Passover, the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:37.360 In the temple, he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons and the money changers sitting there. 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:44.959 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep of the oxen, and he poured out the coins of the money changers, and he overturned the tables. 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:50.560 He told those who sold the pigeons, Take these things away and do not make my father's house a house of trade. 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:55.600 His disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for your house will consume me. 00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:59.360 And so the Jews said to him, What sign do you show us for doing these things? 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:02.879 Jesus answered, Destroy this temple in three days, I will raise it up. 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:08.720 The Jews then said, It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it in three days? 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:11.040 He was speaking about the temple of his body. 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:19.360 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:21.439 Now, this is where Jesus goes. 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:23.759 This is referred to as the cleansing of the temple. 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:28.800 When I say that why why the church is not a business, let me just give you three reasons right out of the text. 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:30.800 Number one, because this is sacred space. 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:32.240 Because this is sacred space. 00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:34.319 Look in verse 14, the first three words. 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:38.959 If you've got a pen or pencil, underline those first three words in the temple. 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:40.000 In the temple. 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:41.680 See, what they're doing is not bad. 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:44.079 It's just not the thing that you do in the temple. 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:45.839 And that's the thing Jesus is making. 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:47.839 They were not in the actual building. 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:54.720 Uh, if it was like here this morning, they were cut, they were in what's called the court of the Gentiles, kind of the outer court where people would gather for worship. 00:05:54.800 --> 00:06:01.040 Uh, and and and and so it's not that what they were doing was wrong because people came for a specific reason to the Passover. 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:02.560 And we'll get to that in just a minute. 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:06.720 But when he said this is sacred space, Jesus goes crazy. 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:08.560 And wouldn't you love to have been there to see that? 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:10.879 Because most people think Jesus was a pacifist. 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:14.079 He rode in on a donkey, you know, passing out rose petals. 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:16.079 Hey, everybody, can't we all just get along? 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:18.959 By the way, that was Rodney King, not Jesus. 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:24.639 Jesus, he said things in the Bible like, hey, I didn't come to bring peace but a sword, okay? 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:31.680 And and he just, one of the things he will not tolerate, and I'll show you why at the end this morning. 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:37.199 One of the things he will not tolerate is people using the sacred space of God for other purposes. 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:39.600 And so when I say, in the temple, what do you mean? 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:43.920 Temple is a word that denotes something sacred, something consecrated to God. 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:46.639 Therefore, it is to be devoutly revered. 00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:55.920 Now, what they had in there, they had sheep and oxen and pigeon and doves and money changers, and all of a sudden, these things, Jesus makes a whip. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:59.040 He looks around, sees these strands of rope and stuff laying around. 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:00.399 They tied the animals up with. 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:03.439 He quickly whips up a little home craft because he's DIY. 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:05.839 He gets up a little whip and he goes to town. 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:13.120 They cute up Indiana Jones, dun-da-dun-dun, whap pow! And animals are running everywhere, and coins are filling the air. 00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:16.240 Wouldn't you at least once before you die like to see something like that? 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:19.439 You'd just be like, hey kids, Jesus is setting it off in here. 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:20.399 Get a load of this. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:21.839 And he's driving everything out. 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:24.879 And here's the best part: no one says anything. 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:28.240 No one is like, hey, there's a neurotic Jew over here with a bull whip. 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:29.680 Somebody call the cops. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:34.959 No, because they know deep inside what they're doing is not what they're supposed to be doing in this space. 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:35.519 Why? 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:36.800 Because it's the temple. 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:38.879 There's something sacred about this. 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:41.920 Ask yourself, hey, what is sacred to you? 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:43.439 What is sacred to you? 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:46.079 That's a question no one asked you this week, have you noticed? 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:49.279 Because when I said what is sacred to you, some of you are like, ooh. 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:51.759 I don't know. 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:53.199 What is sacred? 00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:56.319 What is what what is devoutly revered? 00:07:56.480 --> 00:07:58.480 What is consecrated to God? 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:00.560 Because, see, here's what I'm saying, beloved. 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:07.040 Nowadays it's not, we don't have, when you drove up, it wasn't oxen and sheep and pigeons and doves, and people weren't selling. 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:20.560 There weren't money changers out there in the lobby, kind of, hey, uh nowadays it's professional fundraisers and and like enjoy solutions, and it's companies like a company called Vanderblumen that'll call and say, Hey, we want to help you with your staffing needs. 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:24.800 I got a call this week from a person that said, Hey, Pastor, I just need 15 minutes of your time. 00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:26.000 I don't have it. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:37.840 I'm not a mean person, but the guy called because what they send you emails, and if you don't respond to the emails, because it's just, I probably get in a given week 25 to 35 emails or phone calls about what they want to do. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:44.639 This week it was, hey, Pastor, we got six steps to guarantee the largest Christmas offering ever in the history of your church. 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:48.240 And I was like, uh, it's like delete, delete, delete, delete. 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:48.960 So they call. 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:56.159 They get through the call screener, and when they get through the call screener, I take it as a sign from God, Neil, I want you to have some fun today. 00:08:57.279 --> 00:08:58.320 And so I do. 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:01.279 I said to the guy said, Hey, Pastor, can I talk about your church? 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:02.320 Can I talk about your church? 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:04.480 And you're I'm sure like other churches, you're struggling. 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:05.600 No, we're not. 00:09:06.159 --> 00:09:07.440 That's assumptive language. 00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:08.559 Don't assume that about us. 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:10.240 Our people they do what God tells them to do. 00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:14.240 Well, Pastor, I need to see 15 minutes, and I can almost guarantee you, almost, great word. 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:17.919 I can almost guarantee you the largest Christmas often ever in the history of your church. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:18.960 And, you know, what is your plan? 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:19.600 What is your strategy? 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:20.320 Blah, blah, blah. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:25.039 I said, I am not here to extradite and extract money from my people. 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:28.879 He said, Well, I'm sure you got it, you got it, you got to be aware of your donor base. 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:30.080 I'm not aware of my donor base. 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:31.039 I don't know who gives what. 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:31.840 It's none of my business. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:36.720 The Bible says don't your right hand, not your left hand is doing, therefore, your pastor probably shouldn't know. 00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:39.440 Well, pastor, how do you gonna know who to count on? 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:41.679 Great phrase. 00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:49.279 And that's where I had my weight on my back foot, and I just sit anywhere in here, because Jose Altuve is up the bat. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:52.399 And he said, How do you know who to count on? 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:56.080 And I said, I count on the same person I've counted on, and it ain't my people. 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:57.039 I love my people. 00:09:57.120 --> 00:10:00.240 But if God doesn't come through, we are up the creek, my man. 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:01.360 We don't have a plan B. 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:02.960 Oh, Pastor, it doesn't have to be that way. 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:04.879 And at that point, I snapped, okay? 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:09.840 And I started spit started flying out of my mouth, and I was like, absolutely it has to be that way. 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:11.279 Because here's what you want to do. 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:17.360 You want me to pay you money so you can teach me a strategy to get involved in something that I don't need to be involved in in the first place. 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:22.080 He says, Well, can I ask you, do you have a catastrophic financial plan for the future of your church? 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:23.360 What are you talking about? 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:25.919 Well, I mean, let's just say something happens and giving goes down. 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:26.960 Yes, I got a plan. 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:28.799 I'm gonna fire Don Minton. 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:32.320 And he goes, excuse me? 00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:34.000 And I said, Yeah, yeah. 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:35.519 Yeah, he's an old guy. 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:37.200 I'll put him out the pastor first. 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:40.159 Well, and if it doesn't get any better, what are you gonna do then? 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:42.720 I'll fire our women's pastor, Marcy McClendon. 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:44.960 And he made the connection. 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:47.519 He said, Well, she's got your same last name. 00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:49.600 She related, yeah, that's my wife. 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:52.879 She's only part-time, it ain't that much anyway. 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:54.720 He said, Pastor, I'm trying to be serious. 00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:55.759 I said, I'm being serious. 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:56.799 I said, let me tell you something. 00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:03.440 I would fire myself first of all, and then we would just lay off everybody before I would hire somebody like you. 00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:07.759 And I said, This is and this is the part, I said, don't check out on me. 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:08.720 I'm not mad at you. 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:13.360 I'm just saying, I think what you do is so unbiblical and so unnecessary. 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:17.919 And I think we're getting sheep and oxen in the temple, and that ain't a good thing. 00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:19.679 This is sacred space. 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:22.799 We don't need to be crammed up with entrepreneurs and entrepreneur ideas. 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:25.039 I'm not saying don't be entrepreneurial. 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:27.039 I've got friends that are entrepreneurs. 00:11:27.200 --> 00:11:27.919 I can't even say it. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:32.879 I mean, they're always starting businesses, and I'm like, okay, wonderful, that's glorious. 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:38.639 But here's the thing: when it comes to this thing, the church is not a business because this is sacred space. 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:41.840 We're not here to make a profit, we're here to make a difference. 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:46.240 And he says, Well, uh, this has been uh mildly entertaining. 00:11:46.320 --> 00:11:47.279 Oh, I've had a good time. 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:49.039 Call back next week. 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:52.559 And he said, Well, can I ask you how this I'm not me? 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:54.960 He said, Can I ask you how you go about your staffing needs? 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:57.440 Because you know, we have a relationship with Land Blumen. 00:11:57.519 --> 00:11:58.240 I said, I know what they are. 00:11:58.320 --> 00:11:59.279 It's the head of an agency. 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:00.799 I said, let me ask you a question. 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:04.399 I said, you want me to pay them money to find somebody to be on our staff? 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:05.600 He said, Are you currently looking? 00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:07.039 I said, no, we're just kind of waiting. 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:08.639 I'd love to hire a teaching pastor. 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:18.320 I'd love to teach about, I'd love to preach about 30, 32 times a year and let somebody else preach once a month, and then the month of July and that, just to expose my congregation to various gifts and personalities. 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:21.039 Oh, oh, Pastor, we would love to help you with that. 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:22.720 Why would I pay you to help me? 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:24.799 You don't know my church, you don't know what we're like. 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:27.759 He said, Well, we've helped out and starting to listen off all these churches. 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:28.480 That's great. 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:29.759 But let me ask you something. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:40.960 The Bible, I hate to bring up the com the Bible in a conversation with people like you, but the Bible says in Jeremiah chapter 22, God says, Who has stood in the counsel of the Lord to see his word? 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:42.720 And he goes, Okay. 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:44.000 I said, to see his word. 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:48.080 In other words, God's word, God's direction for our church is so obvious. 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:52.000 If we'll stand in God's counsel, we won't just hear it, we'll see it. 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:54.559 Why should I hire you to see it for me? 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:58.399 If I don't hear from God anymore, my church should fire me. 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:01.039 I'm just a guy taking up space on the bench. 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:03.759 They need somebody else that still walks with God and hears from God. 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:07.039 Well, you know, Pastor, uh, you know, this is the wave of the future. 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:08.559 I'm not interested in the future. 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:12.080 It may be the wave of the future, but you ought to ask yourself where you're going. 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:18.080 Because here's what we're doing: we're setting up a scenario within which you no longer need called men and women. 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:23.120 You just need a checkbook and a consultant. 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:29.120 So it's no longer sheep and oxen and pigeon and doves. 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:31.679 But I just want to say, hey, why is church not a business? 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:33.840 Because this is sacred space, okay? 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:37.039 And secondly, because we value content over convenience. 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:38.879 We value content over convenience. 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:41.519 The Bible says the Passover, the Jews was at hand. 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:42.480 Allow me to explain. 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:47.039 People were coming to Passover where they would make sacrifices and they would pay the temple tax. 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:48.399 And it's what they did. 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:49.200 That's great. 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:51.120 Jesus just says, not in here. 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:59.360 It's like when you were a little kid and you ran in the house and your mom was on the phone and she's cooking, and with that one leg, she kicks the cat and she sees you, goes, ah-a-a-outside. 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:00.480 Not in here. 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:02.720 Anyway, girlfriend, what were you saying? 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:04.000 That's what Jesus said. 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:06.080 She said, uh, no, that's great. 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:08.240 People were coming to Passover and they did two things. 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:13.200 They made sacrifice, okay, to keep the Passover feast, which is why the animals were there. 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:15.440 And then, secondly, they paid the temple tax. 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:19.440 The reason money changers were there is they only accepted one form of currency. 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:22.399 People came from far away that had different currency. 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:31.279 And you ever rented a car at the airport and you're driving back and you forget to gas it up, and you're like, oh man, I gotta get gas right here. 00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:32.240 They got you. 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:35.840 That gas ain't$2.09 like it is at Kroger up here. 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:37.360 It's$3.49. 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:43.600 And you're jammed up for time and you just pay it, and you get on the plane, you're like, man, the man stuck it. 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:44.320 To me. 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:46.159 That's what they're doing. 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:52.480 They charge as much as 12% interest for the currency exchange. 00:14:52.960 --> 00:14:57.519 And Jesus said, Hey, these people are coming to worship me, not make you rich. 00:14:57.679 --> 00:14:58.799 What do you think you're doing? 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:02.480 See, that's the second reason we we value content over convenience. 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:14.159 They set up right there in the court, right outside the front door of the temple where people came to worship God and said, Hey, I know you came from a long way and you didn't have an animal to sacrifice, and you got some some crazy, strange money. 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:18.960 We'll exchange your money and we'll still get an animal for sacrifice, and it's this much. 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:20.320 And people were stuck. 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:22.399 They came to worship God, so what'd they do? 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:23.600 They paid it. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:26.000 God hates exploitation. 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:31.039 And especially when you exploit people in the name of God, he hates that twice as much. 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:37.759 And so, what I mean when I say we value content over convenience, here's three reasons why we value content over convenience. 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:45.840 Number one, if we're not careful, we're gonna make things so convenient for you that you'll forget what you're supposed to do while you're here and why you do it. 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:48.879 You forget, hey, it becomes so convenient. 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:52.240 You're in and out before you know, you're like, hey, that was painless. 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:53.120 Hey, look at me. 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:54.480 I'm not supposed to say this. 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:56.639 It shouldn't be painless every Sunday. 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:04.240 You should be so mad at me some Sundays, you should walk by and go, I'm gonna get you for that. 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:05.759 This happened right here. 00:16:05.840 --> 00:16:08.639 One Sunday, a lady walked by and I just said morning. 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:12.480 She went, I said, that good, huh? 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:14.480 She goes, I ain't talking to you after that. 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:15.759 All right, hey, I'm available. 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:16.960 Have me over for coffee if you'd like. 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:18.720 You and your husband, I'm available all week. 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:20.720 She said, but don't sit by your phone. 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:22.960 Somebody said, That bother you? 00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:23.759 Not at all. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:25.600 No, this shouldn't be convenient. 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:28.720 It should be consequential, but not always convenient. 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:39.519 Here's the the second reason we value content over convenience is because churches should be more about content than convenience, because content is what prepares you for the realities of the gospel. 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:41.360 Content. 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:50.159 Meaty, thought-provoking, expository, right out of the Bible teaching that tells you this is what it says and this is what it means. 00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:52.240 Let's think about and apply that to our life. 00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:59.679 That's what prepares you for the realities of the gospel because the gospel, and by the gospel, I mean the good news of Christianity and the Christian life. 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:02.080 Hear this, beloved, it's not always convenient. 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:04.880 I ask my kids, I say this a lot. 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:06.880 Hey, loving people is not convenient. 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:08.319 It's just not. 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:10.319 It's not a complaint, it's just an acknowledgement. 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:16.640 Thirdly, this is where you should hear things that create and sustain and nourish in you a deep hunger for God. 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:27.359 This is where you and I should come, we should hear things that create in us and stir in us and sustain in us and nourish in us a deep hunger for God. 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:35.599 You should, if you're in this room and you're 14, you should hear things when you come to this church that affect the way you think and live when you're 21. 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:38.000 And people say, Hey, how'd you get this way? 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:44.000 Well, I went to a church and they they taught the Bible and it was compelling and it was like pop rocks in my brain. 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:46.160 Sometimes I was like, I gotta think about that. 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:49.200 That's that's why we're not a bit a business. 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:52.000 Because uh I didn't I didn't read you my quote that I brought. 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:55.039 I I I I read other things beside the Bible, actually. 00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:01.519 Uh and if I'm not careful, I could have made this a sermon about convenience because we in America are addicted to it. 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:13.680 I read this magazine, it's a business magazine, and the guy says this he says, the consumer of today recognizes the shortage of time, they want to get the most out of every nanosecond, and retailers need to cater to this preference. 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:21.039 Convenience means whatever suits you best, it means being able to choose what you want, when, and where you want it. 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:24.000 Now, why do I tell you that? 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:30.319 Because someone used this quote at a conference talking to pastors to say you should adapt to this reality. 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:34.720 That is the greatest disservice we could do to you. 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:37.759 Because it's not, I mean, that's great in business. 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:38.640 Again, use that. 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:41.519 Write that down, pull out your phone and take a picture of that if you want. 00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:45.599 But that that's not how you become conformed to the image of Christ. 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:58.480 Uh most I was talking with Travis, our connections pastor, and most churches, he was in a class, he's working on his uh uh uh on his D Man, his doctorate ministry, and in one of his classes they were talking about how every church has a subtext. 00:18:58.880 --> 00:19:01.839 It's kind of an unspoken, hey, this is what we're really all about. 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:04.400 He says there's four subtexts in all churches. 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:06.079 Uh and let me listen for you briefly. 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:08.000 He said there's social reinforcement. 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:10.559 Uh that that asked the question, aren't we great? 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:12.000 Aren't we great? 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:15.279 That's the group that gets in their community group and they're like, hey, our community group is great. 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:16.160 This is wonderful. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:16.880 We love this. 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:18.480 Uh secondly, there's selling. 00:19:18.640 --> 00:19:20.000 Isn't this a great church? 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:21.839 Isn't this a great church? 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:23.680 Thirdly, there's training. 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:26.240 Uh a lot of Bible churches fall in this category. 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:31.359 No disrespect to a Bible church, but uh that subtext is, isn't this information great? 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:32.960 But here's the fourth one. 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:35.519 Here's where we want to be as a church is worship. 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:39.359 And this this subtext asks the question, isn't God great? 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:41.440 Isn't God great? 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:45.599 We want you to walk out on Sunday and put the keys in the bucket and just kind of sit there for a minute. 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:50.000 Your kids are like, hurry, dad, my friends are beating us to the pizza place. 00:19:50.319 --> 00:19:52.720 And you're like, just give me a second. 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:55.839 I just oh man, God is so good, kids. 00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:57.200 Do you get how good God? 00:19:57.519 --> 00:19:58.079 Yes, God's good. 00:19:58.240 --> 00:19:59.119 Crank the car. 00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:01.519 Yeah. 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:06.240 Because this is the question we want you to have just emblazoned on your soul. 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:07.839 Isn't God great? 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:09.519 What are you great? 00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:14.960 It's like David said in the Psalms, I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:18.559 Here's the last reason I say that the church is not a business. 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:19.839 We have one audience. 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:21.680 We have one audience. 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:23.440 It's it's verse 17. 00:20:23.599 --> 00:20:28.319 His disciples remembered that it was written, zeal for your house will consume me. 00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:36.960 The life and the reaction of Jesus in this context makes no sense unless you realize he says, Zeal for your house will consume me. 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:42.640 This happened back in 1981 because I was a junior in high school and I thought, that is crazy. 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:46.559 I didn't know what Texas AM was, but apparently it's a college here in town. 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:48.160 Uh, and have a football team. 00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:51.599 I don't know if you could tell from yesterday, uh, but they do. 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:53.519 We good? 00:20:53.759 --> 00:20:54.240 You good? 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:55.920 You're like, you're on thin ice. 00:20:56.319 --> 00:20:58.640 Whoop, I'll say it for you, you sister kissers. 00:20:58.799 --> 00:21:01.759 Anyway, uh this happened. 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:03.599 It's just a joke. 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:05.039 Yeah. 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:07.920 Give me give you a moment to come back. 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:09.599 Don't pinch the baby. 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:10.160 We're leaving. 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:11.519 He and something AM. 00:21:12.640 --> 00:21:16.319 Make sure you don't take more offense over your alma mater than you do God. 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:18.559 That's free. 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:20.480 That's that's a little side right there. 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:22.400 But this happened in 1981. 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:29.039 One of the core of cadets, he was charged with, he was down the field, and an SMU cheerleader ran out on the field. 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:31.920 And apparently you're not supposed to step on the field at Kyle Field. 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:38.240 And the cheerleader thought that, I mean, I mean, the the the the core guy thought, oh, this is the this is a sacred field. 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:41.279 And the dude ran out there and kicked him and pulled a sword. 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:46.880 If you go to an AM game, they don't allow them to have swords on the sideline anymore because this happened in 1981. 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:48.480