Mission Sent
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Mission Sent
Jesus Didn't Call for Solo Artists, He Built a Choir
What would happen if 3.3 billion Christians around the world truly became one unified force? It's a question that unlocks the revolutionary potential behind Paul's seemingly simple instruction in Romans 12:16: "Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight."
Like a choir where sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses create beautiful music despite their different ranges, the church combines diverse gifts into something greater than any individual could accomplish alone. This wasn't just Paul's idea—it was Jesus' heartfelt prayer in John 17 that believers would be united "so that the world may believe." Unity isn't just about getting along; it's a powerful testimony that validates our message.
Our human tendency to judge by appearances directly contradicts God's values. Remember when Israel demanded a king? They chose Saul because he looked impressive—tall, handsome, the walking definition of leadership. Yet God saw something different in David, the overlooked shepherd boy. How many potential "Davids" do we miss because they don't fit our preconceived notions of what a leader should look or sound like?
Perhaps most dangerous is becoming "wise in our own sight"—convinced we have everything figured out and closed to correction. It's the spiritual equivalent of refusing directions while wandering lost, or believing we can dabble in sin without consequences. None of us is immune to pride's subtle grip. In fact, the more committed you become to Christ's mission, the more strategic the enemy's attacks, knowing that preventing one person's faithful obedience might disrupt generations of spiritual influence.
Where do you stand with these three principles today? Are you contributing to harmony or creating discord? Do you associate only with those who enhance your status? Have you maintained the humility to recognize how much you still need to grow? Your answers don't just determine your individual spiritual health—they shape the collective witness of Christ's body in a world desperate for authentic community.
All right. So Romans 12, 16, I'm going to just jump into the verse, then I'm going to pray, then we're going to jump into it. It says this live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
Speaker 1:Father, I pray that as we go through this this morning, that God, it be your words, that people are hearing. That God, it be your words that people are hearing. That God, I am just a vessel you use to talk to your people. That we are changed from the inside out to look more like your son. Father, we pray this in Jesus name, amen, and I'm going to start with that. If you notice almost every week, that's my prayer. Right, that we look, that we are changed from the inside out to look more like your son. That is why we study scripture, that's why we do what we do, so that we can look more like your son. That is why we study scripture. That's why we do what we do, so that we can look more like Jesus.
Speaker 1:But understand that that's going to take effort on our part too. Like these aren't just good words to live by, these aren't just like catchy little sayings, like when Paul's writing this. He is literally sitting here going, hey, if you want to look like Jesus, if you're sitting here going, hey, I want to follow Jesus. This is the stuff you should be doing. These aren't suggestions. These are sitting here going. This is the stuff Jesus did. This is the stuff we should do, and he starts here with this. Now I know it's broken into three parts, but they actually all do go together. We're going to look at them individually, but they don't just exist on their own like that. We're going to start with this live in harmony with one another. This is huge, especially for the church, and we're going to get into, like, what Jesus had to say about this in just a second.
Speaker 1:But first let's understand real quickly what Paul is talking about, and the easiest way to understand it is where do we see that word harmony? Usually In music. Right, we sing in harmony with one another, and here's what that means. In a chorus, you have all of these different parts and Lord knows, I'm not a musician I'm probably going to get some of this wrong, but just follow with me, it'll still make sense in the end.
Speaker 1:You have sopranos, you have altos, you have tenors, you have baritones and then you have bass, okay, and that's going from, like, the high notes down to the super low notes and that's going from the high notes down to the super low notes. Now, when they are separate, they sound very, very, very dissimilar from one another. In other words, if you were to hear someone singing in soprano and then you were to hear someone singing bass, and the most famous bassist I can even think of is Thurl Ravenscroft I think that's how you say his name and if you've ever seen how the Grinch Stole Christmas, the cartoon, he's the guy that sings. So in all those old Disney movies, that voice that you hear and you're like, oh, I know who. That is the guy who, for us millennials, they're great that you know. Tony the Tiger guy. That is him, see. And if you were to hear him sing, he sounds nothing like Mariah Carey, though right With her super high, 18 octave, like what is it called Whistle notes, like she's on the other end of that spectrum.
Speaker 1:But when you take all of these different pieces and you put them together, they create what we would call a beautiful noise, because all of these things come together to complement one another in harmony and balance. They don't sing as individuals. They sing as one voice, because if they were to sing as individuals, it would sound very bad. The church, and what Paul is driving at, needs to understand the same thing that we're taking a bunch of different pieces that look different, that sound different, that think different, and we're putting them together to create one mind. In Ephesians, paul would say this that I hope that you have one mind, being of one accord, because there is one spirit, and here's what he's saying again.
Speaker 1:If you're a millennial and you ever grew up watching Three Ninjas, remember the three brothers that got together. Their grandpa taught them karate. They wind up saving the world at you know 10. If you saw that, they talk a lot about the rope of three cords and how three cords are stronger than one single cord. It's the same kind of analogies, see, and this is what Jesus actually prayed for in John 17.
Speaker 1:Okay, anybody in here, are you familiar with the Lord's Prayer? What is it? That's what most of us think. Right, this is the lord's prayer. This one right here in john 17, though, is actually jesus praying. This is called the high prayer. This is the lord's prayer. See the lord's prayer that we think of our father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name, that thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, like that we say before football games and stuff like that. J? Jesus's disciples came to him and went hey, how do we pray? And that's something completely different.
Speaker 1:But here's what Jesus's prayer actually was, starting in verse 20, he says this I do not only ask for the, I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. Here's what he's talking about as he's praying to the father. He's their word. Here's what he's talking about as he's praying to the Father. He's sitting here, going. I'm not just talking about these disciples, I'm talking about us. I'm talking about the ones that are going to come after him. I'm talking about the world that is going to exist after these disciples. That they may all be one, just as you, father, are in me and I in you. That they may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Here's what Jesus is saying I want them to be one. You've heard me say this over and over and over.
Speaker 1:Most statisticians say that there is somewhere in the area of 3.3 billion professing Christians in the world. Now, I know we just passed the 7 billion mark of people on the planet, but what we have to understand is you're still talking about. Almost 50% of the world's population is sitting here going. Hey, I'm a Christian, I believe in Jesus. Hey, I follow after Jesus. What if we were of one mind? How does the world compete with that? If 3.3 billion people got together with one mind on one mission? Do you understand that? That is how we change the world. Here's how we don't change the world when I have a singular mind and I am on my own mission. Think about that. There's almost a hundred000 people that live right here in Arizona. And who am I? I'm one person.
Speaker 1:For those of you that get into internet memes and stuff like that, who wins? A hundred guys or one gorilla? Well, I'm going to sit here and tell you this If the hundred guys are fighting as one guy the 100 people you're just overwhelming. It doesn't matter how much stronger that gorilla may be than any individual person. You are an overwhelming force. When I was a cop, that's what we would talk about all the time, like when those you know what you guys would assume fun calls. We call them hot calls right, shots fired, there's a robbery in progress, those kind of calls.
Speaker 1:It wasn't just one or two guys going, it was. We're going to send as many people as we can because we want an overwhelming force so that there's not a fight. And if the church was of one mind, living in harmony with one another, it is an overwhelming force. There isn't even a fight. The devil has nothing against that. At that point, you want to know the devil's greatest thing though Division. Because if I can keep you divided and I can keep you distracted and I can keep you fighting with each other, then what am I worried about? Because you're going to be so busy that I can just do whatever I want over here in the background. And he does a really good job of that.
Speaker 1:Think about it. Just think about our country. For those of you that may not remember your 8th grade civics class, how many members are there in the House of Representatives? 435. Good job, whoever said that? What about in the Senate? A hundred. Good job, whoever said that? One. And then we have a president and a vice president, right? How many people are you talking about there? 537 people. That's a lot of people, right? 537. That's not something to shake a stick at. But how does 537 people control 300 million Division Division?
Speaker 1:We're divided on the left and the right. We're divided with white and black. We're divided with male and female. We're divided with all of these different things. You know why? Because if you're fighting each other, you can't fight me, and that's why Jesus's prayer is sitting here, going, and that's Father, make them one as we are one. That's why Paul is sitting here going hey, live in harmony with each other. Understand that there are differences among us, but the one thing that we share is Christ. Think about this my family, all five of us that live in my house, we're different than each other. We look different, we think different, we react to situations different.
Speaker 1:Kayla knows what I'm talking about. Like we got into this terrible accident when we were on vacation. I was cool as a cucumber sitting here going. Like I went back to my training and like, hey, we're just going to do this thing. All right, let's assess the situation, let's not panic, let's make sure everyone is accounted for, all their limbs are intact. Like, this is my role.
Speaker 1:Kayla, on the other hand, didn't care who else was in that car. She wanted you to know that she couldn't breathe and there wasn't even a physical ailment going on. There was a lot of smoke from the airbags, I will give her that. But she was having a panic attack Because you know what? Thank God she hasn't been in that situation a lot, jt. Jt was just angry Because how dare Florida Highway Patrol make him wait on the side of the road for as long as they did? And they actually had a really fast. Coming from someone who has dealt with Florida Highway Patrol as a law enforcement officer, they actually had a much faster response time than I am used to.
Speaker 1:But see, we all had these different reactions because we're all different people, but you know what we do. We work really well together because we're all in the same family, because when one of us is hurt, the other ones have to jump in and pick up the slack for that. And they do it without complaining, without stumbling, as Paul would say in Philippians. Why? Because their family is in need. We live in harmony with one another. That's why, when JT is picking on his sisters, what do you think our response is? Stop, don't do that. Why, one, you're bigger and stronger. You don't realize how much you're going to hurt her. Why, one you're bigger and stronger. You don't realize how much you're going to hurt her. Two, you're meant to protect and provide, not beat down. Three, because you're to live in harmony with each other.
Speaker 1:See, jesus builds his church. That's what he says in Matthew 16. And here's what he does he takes all of these different pieces and puts them together to make one church. So, in other words, he goes hey, I'm going to take someone that can preach my word, and I'm going to put them here. And I'm going to take someone who can teach children, and I'm going to put them here. And I'm going to take someone whose heart is for the youth, and I'm going to put them here.
Speaker 1:And I'm going to take someone who's really good at organizing, and I'm going to put them here. And I'm going to take someone who's really good at organizing, and I'm going to put them here. And I'm going to take these people right here that are really good at singing, and I'm going to put them here. And I'm going to take these people that are really good with accounting, and I'm going to put them here. And I'm going to take these people that are really good at building things, and I'm going to bring them in and I'm going to put them here. And I'm going to take these people that are really good about going out into the community and just using their voice for influence and I'm going to bring them in and I'm going to put them here. And I'm going to take these counselors and I'm going to bring them in and I'm going to put them here and I'm going to take all of these different things and then so many more than I can even imagine and I'm going to call it my church and it's going to go seek and save what is lost using the tools that I have given to it.
Speaker 1:When it works in harmony with one another, when everything and everyone is sitting here, going. I know my role and I'm going to fill my role as it fits into this big thing right here. That's when the church is powerful. That's when the church is out seeking and saving what is lost. That's when the church is doing exactly what Christ called the church to do, what Christ called the church to do. But when we work alone, that's when we run into problems. When we sit here and we go, my gifting is greater than your gifting. That's when we run into problems, when we sit here, even on the flip side of that and go. My gifting isn't as good as someone else's gifting. That's when we run into problems. You know why? Because we're being and I love this word.
Speaker 1:My next tattoo may have this word in it we're being haughty. I don't even like the word because of what it means. It is just such a fun word to say. We're being haughty, right, like it would be very easy to stand up and go. Well, I'm just going to use Christy, for example. Y'all heard me sing this morning, right, it was beautiful.
Speaker 1:So you guys, if you want, I'm going to set up a booth over here and on your way out I'll sign autographs. And here's my mixtape Five dollars a pop. Some of you all are too young, you don't even know what a mixtape is. But see, that's being haughty. That's sitting here going. My gifting is better than your gifting. That's sitting here going. Hey, without me, this whole thing crumbles.
Speaker 1:Here's the deal had I died Monday during this accident, you know what would have kept going? The church of Jesus. Now, I'm not saying it would have been in this building, I'm not saying it would have been under this name, I'm not saying any of that. But guess what? Jesus's church would have existed going long without me. It existed long before me and it will exist until Jesus returns to come get his church. It is not dependent upon me. I am fully aware that there are people that do this much better than me. I am fully aware that there are pastors that would run circles around me as far as theological knowledge went, as far as their ability to get up and stir a crowd up, as far as their ability to gather more people. There are people who do this way better than me. Now, do I say that because I'm trying to beat myself down? No, I'm trying to not be haughty. I'm sitting here going.
Speaker 1:I'm only one part of all of this Without you. You guys hear me say this every single week. We cannot do this without you, because if you're not here, I can preach to these chairs all day long. Guess what's never going to happen? Well, let me not say never, because Jesus said if he wants, the rocks will worship him, so he could do whatever he wants with the chairs too. But I'm going to have a hard time pulling everything else off, ain't I? Because it's just me, see, and that's what we got to understand, one. You're valuable because Jesus gifted you in a way he didn't gift me and I can't do this. Without your gifting I could have sat up here all day long and stared at the air conditioning unit, but had someone not brought in their equipment to help me lift the air conditioning unit up, guess what wouldn't have happened? It wouldn't have gotten installed Because as strong as me and JT may be holding a 350-pound air conditioning unit eight feet up off the ground while you try to wire and do all of the things ain't gonna work. The ladders were shaking pretty much, which is me and jt on them. I would have hated to see, if we added the extra weight, what would have happened.
Speaker 1:But see, we as humans, we focus on the wrong things. Paul is sitting here going. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Too many times we base everything on the wrong thing, we judge everything on the wrong things. Paul is sitting here going. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Too many times we base everything on the wrong thing, we judge everything on the wrong thing because we are looking for something that we don't understand.
Speaker 1:I'm going to give you an example from the Bible with Israel, found in 1 Samuel 9, 1 through 2. Now, a little pre-warning before we get to this, so this makes more sense. Israel, at this time, did not have a king. They lived by God and prophets. So the prophets would go hey, here's what God said. Now let's go live. They're a bunch of tribes.
Speaker 1:Israel doesn't like that, though, because they're looking around at all the other nations and they go. We want to be like them. We want to have a king like all the other nations, and they go. We want to be like them. We want to have a king like all the other nations have. Now God, at this point, is blessing Israel like crazy. I mean, they have gotten the promised land. God is literally feeding them in the wilderness, like God has his hand on Israel. And they go no, no, no, no, no. We want a king like everyone else has. We want to look like everyone else. We want to be the world.
Speaker 1:And Samuel even warns against this, and he goes. You don't want a king, because here's what a king's going to do he's going to send your sons off to war and he's going to marry your daughters. In other words, a king's going to take everything from you. You don't want that. Nope, don't tell us what we do and don't want. We want a king. So then we get to 1 Samuel 9, right here After Samuel's. Like fine, you guys want a king. I'm going to go to God, we're going to see what happens. And here's what happens.
Speaker 1:There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abel, son of Zeror, son of Bekoroth, son of Aphiah oh, that's a cool name A Benjamite, a man of wealth, and he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward, upward, he was taller than any of the people. Some of y'all in here. You know what that's like. Right, like all all some of you have to do is walk into a room, right, people are already intimidated because they're like whoa, he's really tall, he's got a big bushy beard, right, he just looks scary. I mean, here we have a son, he's 17,. He ain't a little boy, not tall, but he ain't little Super strong, was scared to death to talk to some of y'all for like months because of what Well, he's taller than I am. He looks the part, daddy. I'm surprised he didn't pull up on a Harley with his chain just hanging low.
Speaker 1:That's the same thing Israel is doing. Right, they're going. We want a king. They didn't even go. Hey, here's the qualifications. We want him to be a godly man, we want him to be fair, we want him.
Speaker 1:They weren't worried about all of that. They were like hey, he's the most handsome, fair. They weren't worried about all of that. They were like, hey, he's the most handsome, best looking, looks like a warrior, taller than everybody else. That's the guy we want to lead us, because he looks the part. This is what we do. You look the part, you sound the part, you act the part. Guys, we do this every four years. You realize that, right, the part. Guys, we do this every four years. You realize that, right, we sit here and go. Hey, here's who we want to lead us. Because they look the part, because they match my values, because they use a certain phrase or keyword. And when Israel went looking for a king, they did what we all did and they went. We want someone that looks like a king. And here's the problem with that. Who do we overlook, then? Everyone else, Every single other person, because they don't look the part. They don't look like someone that should be in that role. They're too old, they're too young, they wear skinny jeans, they're tatted up.
Speaker 1:I was watching a comedian last night and just pretty funny. He's talking about the way he looks right. You know a lot of comedians are self-deprecating, and so he's talking about the way he looks right. You know a lot of comedians are self-deprecating, and so he's talking about the way he looks and he goes. And here's the good thing about the way I look. I could be either on the far right or the far left, and you guys have no idea. I can be a barista, or I can be in the woods stacking ammo, and you have no idea which one of those camps just on the outward appearance. But see, this is what we do when we start overlooking who could be in that position. See, I'm going to go ahead and let you know the end of the story here.
Speaker 1:They do make Saul king. How does that work for Israel? Not good. Saul doesn't even get one like transition of power to Jonathan before his kingdom is stripped away from him. Who's he replaced with?
Speaker 1:In Acts 13, 22, we read this and when he had removed him, when God had removed Saul is what Luke is saying. He raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said I have found in David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do my will. No one was looking at David. Why? David wasn't even the biggest of his brothers. David was just a kid out in a field watching his father's flock, like when Samuel first came to his house. Jesse didn't even call David in from the field because he went you don't want to, don't, don't, don't. He's the runt of the litter. And yet Samuel went God's telling me, this ain't all there is, there's someone else. Until Jesse had to get to the point where he calls David in, he goes here's, here's that someone else? See, no one was looking at David because David didn't look the part.
Speaker 1:It's the same thing like in 2 Timothy I forget off the top of my head where Paul is talking to Timothy who's going to pastor this church at Ephesus. Timothy is probably JT's age at this point going to pastor one of the biggest churches in the ancient world. And Paul goes this let no one despise you because of your youth. Why does Paul tell him that? Because all of us in here. If JT were to come up and try to correct you. What is the first words out of your mouth? Dude, you're a kid, you don't know any better. Think about it Like could you imagine if we were at the house and I'm like really laying into JT and he's like, well actually, daddy, you're like what Belts coming off Like we're about to have at it at that point, right, why? Because I look at him and I go you're a kid, you don't know any better. We're doing the same, the same thing.
Speaker 1:What Paul is sitting here saying is sometimes, when you don't associate with the lowly, here's what you do you miss the man after God's own heart, because they didn't look the part, because they didn't sound the part, because they look different than you, or they didn't look like they were meant for that, and we judge on the world standards, opposed to understanding that Jesus has his own grading scale. It ain't even like close to what we need to look at, and the danger we run into when we do this is very, very simple, and it's what Paul ends this section with Never be wise in your own sight. I will tell you this is something some of us in this room I know struggle with. How do I know that? Because I've talked to you. You've heard me talk. Some of us are very wise in our own sight and this is super dangerous Because this is when you get to the point where you go, I got it. And when we get to the point where we go, I got it. Pride comes before what. In other words, when you get to a point where you're like I'm good, I don't need help, I'm not going to ask any questions because I don't want to look a certain kind of way I get it.
Speaker 1:We went to go fishing on our vacation. We got to this one beach there was a sign that said no fishing in designated swimming area. I literally sat for like 10 minutes staring at the sign, looking at the ocean and trying to guess where the designated swimming area was. Finally, debbie's, like you know, it would be much quicker for me just to walk over to that lifeguard and ask where's the designated fishing area or swimming area. It's the same thing, right?
Speaker 1:I go into Lowe's like that person comes up to me in their little blue vest. I'm like hey, or red vest, hey, can I help you? No, you can't help me. I know what I'm looking for. We have spent literally hours just walking around Lowe's trying to find what I was looking for because it should have been in this department. Oh, but this actually doesn't go with plumbing, it's more of an electrical issue, so it's going to be on the other side of the store.
Speaker 1:The other day I was trying to find shelving. I walked down four different aisles trying to look for it, because it wasn't where I thought it should be. And in my mind I'm like, if Lowe's would actually organize their store in a way that it should be, this wouldn't be happening. And I go, and this is what we do. We're wise in our own sight. No one can tell me anything. I got this here's the warning I'm going to give you from the book of Judges. It's the very last verse in the book of Judges, in Judges 21-25,.
Speaker 1:The Bible says this in those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Guess where we live right now? I literally, yesterday, driving through town, saw people holding a sign that said no king. Now, granted, I understand what they're talking about, right, like, oh, we don't live in a monarchy, we live in a democracy, and blah, blah, blah, blah. They have no idea what we're talking about because we don't even live in a democracy. We live in a constitutional republic. But when you try to have that conversation, what do you get? Nothing, but see they're sitting there holding the sign going we don't have a king. This is how we live nowadays. There is no king in America and everyone does what is right in their own eyes. No king in America and everyone does what is right in their own eyes. And you want to know when you start fights with people, when you disagree with them, because they'll tell you how tolerant they are until you disagree with what they have to say and all of a sudden they are not tolerant people, republicans too.
Speaker 1:There's plenty of blame to go around. Look in stube. There's plenty of blame to go around and see we become wise in our own sight. And if we think about it, we live in this time where boys can say they're girls, where men can literally say I'm gonna get pregnant and I'm gonna have a child because I have a cycle, like understand, there have been men in this country that have argued to try to get feminine products put in men's restrooms and I'm sitting here going why you have nothing that you're going to need that for. But we can't use fact we can't use truth. We live in a time when the world could literally erupt into another world war at any moment, at any moment. It's like and I wasn't alive for it, but like the stories I've heard like back in the day when you guys used to have to hide under your desk because apparently desks were the only thing that were going to be strong enough to stop a nuclear explosion, and I go. You know there are houses you can still go by in this country that have bomb shelters built underneath the house, because at any moment it was about to just pop off.
Speaker 1:Why? Because we're wise in our own sight, because we're not going to be humble to any kind of correction, even if that correction is given to us by the God of the universe, because we know better. We are bratty little teenagers Like I'm going to tell you if you've never dealt with teenagers, come volunteer up here anytime you want to, because you know what you can't tell a teenager You're wrong. You know why? Because they're going to sit there and try to argue with you for 15 minutes on why they're right and you're wrong, and they know everything about everything because they have Google. And it's like yeah, great man, you got all of all this knowledge, but wisdom is different than knowledge. And I go. But that's who we are when it comes to God, because I have no problem sitting here arguing with Jesus and I know everyone in this room will go. I don't do that. Yeah, you do those little hidden areas of your heart that you really like. You have no problem arguing with Jesus on that.
Speaker 1:No, jesus, when you wrote this, there is an asterisk in the Bible and it says except for Josh. Josh, you're pretty wise. You have like Jesus, solomon, and then like me right in here, so I can be wise. Here's the thing. And the problem with that is it's kind of like when you describe yourself to people and you're like I'm a very humble person, and it's like you don't understand what that word means. If you're using it to describe yourself. If you are truly wise, you would understand that you lack wisdom. In the book of James, it's very clear too. If you lack wisdom, what should we do? Ask for it, think about it too. If you lack wisdom, what should we do? Ask for it, think about it.
Speaker 1:We live in a time, and this is something I tell kids all the time, especially when they're like. I saw a video on YouTube. Great, do you know that anyone who has a smartphone can make a YouTube video? And where you're getting your information from matters? Now there's a kid in class and none of y'all know him. Well, some of the younger kids do and their parents, I'm assuming but I'm like sitting here and he's always my example because he makes amazing videos. And I go understand this. Owen can at any time, go on YouTube and do a video about anything, and if you're taking that as your information, best of luck to you, bro. Think about that.
Speaker 1:We don't value source information anymore. We're not critical on the source, we just want something that agrees with us already, because I'm already bent to want that. So when I hear something that already agrees with that, of course I'm going to go. It's credible. How many of us actually take time to research the other side too. And the only example I'm going to pick on JT, because I don't want to hurt anyone else's feelings. Like, if JT were to see a video that confirms that we did not land on the moon, he's already primed to believe that, so at that point, of course, he's not going to be critical of everything they're saying in this video, he's just going to go hey daddy, yeah, they brought in.
Speaker 1:What is it? Stuber, canley, stanley, or whatever he filmed it all Like? Here's how it is, here's the film set, here's this, here's this, here's this. Oh look, you can see this mouse running right here. Oh, why does the flag do this?
Speaker 1:And then you bring up counterpoints, and what do they do? Nothing. No, that's not true. Okay, well, what fact and evidence are you using to actually substantiate your claim? Oh, it's not about facts and evidence. It's about what I believe, because that's what matters, because I'm wise in my own sight. I don't want to have a conversation with you about this, I just want to believe what I want to believe, because if I want to believe what I want to believe, then guess what? My heart is good and all my little idols that I worship are fine in their places. It's when you come to me with something that I don't agree with, why is our first reaction always anger? Because you're attacking my heart idol, and I don't like that, because do you not know who you're talking to? I am wise, and this is why Paul is sitting here going. Don't be wise in your own sight. I'll tell you right now.
Speaker 1:The church isn't even immune from this. Spend 15 minutes at some point today and just look up, like church has gone crazy. You have pastors that are sitting here and making mock sanctuaries on their stage in their sanctuary and for those, if you're just listening yes, those were air quotes around that Because you're not a church, you're not a sanctuary, you're not worshiping Jesus, and they literally would take breakfast items and just throw them all over the sanctuary and take syrup and pour it all over the Bible. You literally have quote-unquote pastors that are sitting here telling their congregations hey, since Romans 8 says that we are heirs with Christ, here's what that means. When Jesus says I am, you say I am. Well, here's the deal. You ain't I am, you don't have the power to speak, and things just happen. See, I go. This craziness and this being wise in our own sights isn't even like. The church isn't immune to that.
Speaker 1:I've been telling you guys this for years who you listen to matters. The information you put into your head matters. The devil came as an angel of light. Here's what that means. He didn't look nasty. If sin wasn't tempting, you wouldn't do it. You wouldn't be tempted if sin wasn't tempting.
Speaker 1:Like, think about this, if you were to sit here and go, hey, like, I just met a crackhead who was full-on 15 years into this lifestyle and they came to you no, teeth, sores all over, homeless, all the things. And they went. Hey, you want to sores all over, homeless, all the things. And they went. Hey, you want to try crack? What would your response be no, because I'm looking at the result of bad decisions. But what if someone who came to you, completely put together and was like hey, you want to try this cigarette because this is just an enhancement? Now, most of us, because you're good Christian people in here would go oh no, no, no, I'm good. However, some of us, if we're honest, would go oh yeah, everyone else cool, like, if we're honest would go. Oh yeah, everyone else cool, like, there we go. And that's where it starts.
Speaker 1:See, I've never met a person addicted to anything that thought that they wouldn't be in that position. In fact, what, what do you hear all the time? I can stop at any time, but see, we don't realize that by the time we get down to that point because we were wise in our own sight and we went. I got this, I got this. That sin has such a grip on our heart that we can't just stop at any time, that we can't just break those chains at any time. This is why Paul is sitting here warning us at this moment. Do not be wise in your own sight. Understand, you ain't got this. Understand that any one of us in this room, myself included. Guys, when I preach, understand the first person I'm preaching to is me. None of us are immune to that. None of us are sitting here going, hey, we are so far down this path that the devil can't attack me. I would argue that the further you are down that path, the more the devil's going to attack you.
Speaker 1:So I was listening to a podcast on our way up to Pensacola this week and Joby Martin he's a pastor up here in Jacksonville. He was on the podcast and one of the questions on the podcast was this Like when you get to heaven, if you could ask any question about any statistic of your life, what would you ask? And the host who he's not even one of my favorites, so I'm not even gonna share his name he was like well, I'm gonna ask you know, throughout my life, how much weight in total did I lift? Like, if you add up every deadlift and every bench and every, all of these things Like what is the total absurd amount I'm going to lift? And Job went. Okay, I get that. Here's what I'm going to ask God can you show me the pyramid effect of my life in your kingdom? And he goes on. He tells a story about his old football coach who led him to Christ and he goes.
Speaker 1:Think about how many people this man affected through one person. He led to Christ. And just so you know the church that Jobie preaches at, I mean, we're talking about a 25,000-member church. That's how many people are there every week. That's how many people are there every week. Think about that. How many lives has this one person impacted because one person did what they were supposed to do?
Speaker 1:Now, if you're the devil, what if you could have stopped that one person? What if you could have attacked that one person? What about all of these people down range from that? What happens to them? So I would argue that the more you're leaning in, the more you're pressing in, the more you're sitting here going hey, I'm going to get my house right, then I'm going to get my neighborhood right, then I'm going to get the next neighborhood, then I'm going to get my city, then my county.
Speaker 1:The more you're leaning into that, I would argue, the more the devil is going to come after you. Because what if you affect that one person, then what? That one co-worker? You have that one child? You have what if? But see, that's what happens when we're wise in our own sight.
Speaker 1:So, as we close today, where do you find yourself? What are you sitting here looking at? Are you sitting here looking at? Are you sitting here going? Hey, you know what I need to live in harmony with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I need to be a part of this. I need to lean in more to this, because I believe that if we all did what we were supposed to do, we're going to be a force, an overwhelming force against darkness in our community. Maybe you're sitting here going.
Speaker 1:You know what? I am an elitist. I do look at certain people in a certain light and you know what. I need to associate more with people that I look at and go. Hey, we have nothing in common, because you would be shocked at what you find out about people and how much you actually do have in common with others, even if they don't look like you, even if they don't sound like you.
Speaker 1:We were in Pensacola, seven and a half hours away from where we live. Right, we ran into someone who was from guess where Sanford. What are the chances of that? We went on family vacation a couple years ago to Washington DC. We are literally in another state and I ran into someone I grew up street from, like think about this, what I need to associate with, because I have no idea what I'm going to find in someone else. Or are you sitting here this morning and you're like? You know what? I am guilty of being wise in my own sight. Maybe I do need a little more humility. Maybe I don't have it all together.
Speaker 1:Whatever one it is, my prayer is that God break our hearts and show us so that we are transformed from one degree of glory to the next. So, father, as we close today, I ask and I pray that, if there is someone in here, father, that you are sitting here tugging on their heart, that, god, you allow them the strength and the boldness to go. Hey, hey I need help with this that you allow us the opportunity to sit here and go. Hey, just break it, god, take it from me and build me up in your image. Father, I ask and I pray for each and every one of us that, as we move from this point, that, father, as we continue to just go in throughout our lives, that, god, we live in harmony with one another, we associate with the lowly, that we are not haughty and that, father, we are not wise in our own sight. Father, I pray that we continue to drill down and build up so that we can look more and more like you. Father, we pray this all in Jesus' name, amen.