Dangerous To The Right Kingdom

What if the most dangerous person in your city isn’t loud, angry, or famous—but quietly loyal to a different King? We trace Matthew’s relentless theme of kingdom and ask why the birth of Jesus rattled Herod and unsettled Jerusalem’s religious elite. The answer cuts close to home: counterfeit kingdoms—whether political or religious—survive only as long as people surrender their allegiance. When Jesus claims all authority and proves it by freeing captives, dead systems panic.

We walk through Herod’s playbook—public works, image-building, and iron-fisted control—and how fear fuels violence. Then we turn to the temple establishment and the ancient drift from service to leverage, from Levi’s calling to Eli’s corruption. That context reveals why true kingship feels threatening: a Messiah who sets people free collapses black markets in power. From there, we confront our own mini-thrones: the chase for influence, the comfort of consumption, and the temptation to treat church as a weekly product instead of a people on mission.

The conversation lands where life happens. Spiritual warfare is real, but it looks like obedience: truth that steadies, prayer that persists, and presence that refuses to abandon hard places. We share a clear, workable path—read a one-page devotional all week, have one gospel conversation with someone you don’t live with, invite a neighbor to the February 28th barbecue, and consider entering someone’s struggle with patient love. Steward your resources to push back darkness locally and globally through trustworthy partners. Small steps, taken together, make the ruler of this world nervous, because they announce a different reign.

If this resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe for more kingdom-first conversations, and leave a review so others can find the show. What’s your next step to bring light into the dark this week?

Chapters

• 0:00 The Big Question: Are You Dangerous
• 1:00 Matthew’s Theme Of Kingdom Unpacked
• 3:50 Why Herod And Jerusalem Tremble
• 9:30 Power, Religion, And Corruption At The Temple
• 16:30 The Kingdom Of This World Exposed
• 21:00 Light In Darkness And Real Warfare
• 26:00 From Consumers To Warriors
• 30:00 Practical Ways To Push Back
• 35:20 Resources, Service, And Stewardship
• 42:00 Prayer To Move And Advance

Transcript

Josh: 0:00

Alright, well, good morning, kids. As always, on family worship, if you want a color or something like that, if you guys head over here, Miss Lively has stuff for you guys to cover. Adults, if you want a color, I guess you could go over there too. No one's stopping you. Just make sure you stay paying attention. Well, good morning. I'm gonna start and jump right into it because I don't want this to go super long, as I have the tendency to do. And I'm gonna start with our big idea, and that is this are you dangerous to the kingdom of this world? See, one of the big things about the book of Matthew, and we talked about this when we first started the book, is this Matthew's book is all about kingdom. That's why, even in our Advent series, when we start in Matthew 1, what is he proclaiming? That a new king is being born. That's why Matthew traces Jesus' lineage all the way to King David. In just another couple of chapters, when we get to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5, what we're going to see is the upside down kingdom. Even if we go all the way back to Genesis, when we see the creation of the world, why did God make us in his image so that we can be. Now I just totally blinked on the word. Wow. So that we can be his ambassadors to his kingdom. The entire Bible is talking about kingdom and which king we are serving. See, stop and think about it for a second. Why on earth, if you really were to think about it in the natural, why on earth would they have wanted to crucify Jesus? That was more of a rhetorical one, but yes, all of those were right. Think about it. What did he do that was so horrible and terrible that they went, hey, crucifixion is what we need to do with this one? I mean, he literally healed the blind, right? Like gave them their sight. Like, this kind of seems like someone you might want to keep around. And yet they went, no, we're gonna kill him. Let me ask you like, does anybody in here know any verses that point to Jesus going, hey, rebel against the government? In fact, I would argue the opposite. That in many places the Bible tells us to be in subjugation to the government. See, Jesus wasn't trying to cause a rebellion. He wasn't sitting here going, hey, there is this new world order. But what made him dangerous then? To the point that they went, we need to crucify him. And as a follower of Jesus, are you dangerous? To the same powers that Jesus was. So I'm gonna pray and then we're gonna jump into that. Father, I ask and I pray that as we go through this, that God, you strengthen me and allow me to be your mouthpiece and speak to your people. Father, I ask by the power of your spirit that we are changed from the inside out, and that God, by the end of this, we are dangerous to the kingdom of this world. Father, I pray this in your name. Amen. So Matthew 2, starting in verse 3, it says this. And all Jerusalem with him, and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. Now remember, last week we looked at the wise men came from the east. These kingmakers from Persia came looking, and they walked all around Jerusalem, and they were just asking people, where is this new king? Where is this promised king? And when Herod hears this news, look at what his response was. He's troubled. Think about this: this promised Messiah, this promised king, this promised prince of peace. When the new king hears about it, he's troubled. And I'm sure most of us in here we have an idea of who Herod is. But a little background, just in case you're not, you know, up to date on this, Herod, for the most part, well not for the most part, for all part, Herod's not a Jew. Yet he is king of the Jews. Herod marries a Jewish woman trying to gain some kind of legitimacy for his throne. He's appointed by Rome to govern over the Jews. He's basically what we call a vassal king. So, in other words, the emperor went, hey, I can put this guy over here, I can control him, and then I can control them. And that, like, that is what Herod is. Now, I'm not saying he didn't do anything good. In fact, he drives the Parthians out of the land. Um, he rebuilds the temple, he rebuilds aqueducts and roads and everything so that he could get water to the city. He does a lot to try to get people to follow him. But the thing about Herod is, he is so power-hungry, and when people don't just immediately follow after him, he has them killed. He actually kills his own kids because he thinks his kids are trying to take over his throne. Like he's kind of paranoid, and when you give that much power to a paranoid person, you're not gonna have good things that come from that. So what would happen is the Jews are sitting here going, hey, not my king. Sound familiar? Just throwing that one out there. And when Herod would hear this, he would get mad. He would want to get more control. So what he would do is he would tighten everything more, which would cause all these micro rebellions to happen. And then when the people would rise up to revolt, Herod would just have them killed, which, I'm not sure if you're aware or not, that's not a good way to gain brownie points with your citizens. So no one ever really got on team Herod. Everyone looked at him and went, No, you're just an extension of Rome. And I'm sure Herod got to the point that he's sitting here going, What else do I have to do? Like I rebuilt your stupid temple so you have a place to worship. I've brought you water, I drove out the Parthians that were in this land. What else do I need to do to get you to follow me? See, Herod's worried about a kingdom, but the only kingdom Herod's worried about is his own. And you know what? If all of us in here were really honest with ourselves, what do we gain on social media? What's the term? I forget now. Oh, because that's what we want to chase, right? Follows. I want to have people follow me. I want people to look at my kingdom. I want people to see how awesome I can do. I'll go ahead and let you know. Your kids, they say things like this when I grow up, I want to be an influencer. I want all eyes on me. I want to create this channel so that people will give me their time and they will follow me. I want to matter. I want to be somebody. And honestly, even if you're like me and you're not really a social media user, hasn't that been like the saying since way back in the garden? Like, isn't that why Adam and Eve first ate the fruit? Because they wanted to be like God? See, this is all of us. And I say all of this because it's really easy for us, who have like all the knowledge of the rest of the book, to look at someone like Herod and go, he's the villain. He's the bad guy. And I'm not saying he's not. In fact, in a couple of weeks, we'll get into just how villainous he can become. But what I want us to do is instead of just looking at Herod and going, hey, he's the bad guy of this story, I want us to look at ourselves and go, but am I any different than him? Okay, I get it. Maybe you haven't had anyone killed yet. And I'm gonna guess that's probably because you're afraid to go to jail. If you were here early enough, you heard a story where it could have very easily happened yesterday at a volleyball tournament. And I go and think about this. Like, we're not that different when we're honest with ourselves. Especially if you're someone in this room that sits here and just uses social media all day, every day. Sitting here going, I want to make a name for me. So again, Herod, he's been working on all these things to make his kingship legitimate, and then these magi show up from the east, these kingmakers of Persia, and they're like, hey, there's a new king born. Well, again, if you're Herod and you're only worried about your own kingdom, what are you gonna do when a new king is born? Think about this. Like, that's a threat to what? Your kingdom. And we can't have that. Because everybody knows that two kings aren't gonna work. Just like, can anyone name a company that has two CEOs? Can you name a marriage that has two sets of couples? Like stuff like that doesn't work, right? And this verse continues that Herod is troubled. He's troubled because he's sitting here going, there's a threat to my power, but then it says, but also all of Jerusalem is troubled. Now, it's really interesting when you hear like how Matthew words that again, were the Jewish people happy with Herod? Were they sitting here going, hey, he's my king? No. So why would they be troubled then when they hear a new king is born? Like, think about that. If you're sitting here going, I mean, and and this happens every four years here in America, doesn't it? Power goes from here to here, then back over to here, then back over to here, and then back over to here, because you know, the next one's gonna make everything alright. But think about this. Why, if you hear a new king is born, why wouldn't you have been like ecstatic? Because the king you don't like can be on his way out. Well, the way Matthew words this is first of all, he doesn't say all of Israel. He says all of Jerusalem. Now, what was Jerusalem known for? It's the city of David, right? And what's there? The temple. See, when Matthew is talking about all of Jerusalem, he's not talking about all of Israel. He's talking about the temple. He's talking about the leaders specifically at the temple. That's why he goes on to say, and Herod gathered who? All of the scribes and the Sadducees. See, why would they be troubled though? See, these Pharisees, the Sadducees and Scribes, guess what they enjoyed a lot of? Power. See, back then it worked a lot different than it does today. Like, I don't have the power and authority to arrest any one of you in this room. At any time, you could just stand up and walk out, and I couldn't be like, no, stop that person. Like, it doesn't work like that, right? I can't come to your house and take your stuff because you didn't tithe enough. You know what they could do? All of those things and more. They could even have you killed. See, these Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes, they they got a lot of power. See, the temple turned from what God had established in the wilderness with the tribe of Levi. Because here's what, like when God first establishes it, here's what we see. The Israelites are walking through the wilderness, and God knows they need an in-between between him and them. And so he takes the tribe of Levi and He goes, hey, when you guys get to the land, you're not allowed to own property. You're not allowed to work a job. Here's what I want you to do: I want you to spread out amongst all the 11 tribes, because everywhere you go, I'm gonna set up a temple for me so that you can be that in-between. And that's a great responsibility. Like I do not take what I do here lightly on any level whatsoever. I spend a lot of time throughout the week making sure that what I'm doing is what we're supposed to be doing. Why? Because the book of James tells me, one, not many of us should be teachers because you will be judged more strictly. Like when I stand in front of Jesus that day, he's gonna go, what about all those people that I put in front of you? I'm gonna hold you accountable for every single word you told them. Y'all got it easy. Think about it. But see, that's a responsibility we shouldn't take lightly. But what we saw is throughout the years, we saw this drift away from the tribe of Levi going, hey, we're gonna be the in-between between God and God's people, and we see them go, uh-oh, you can make some serious money at this. Unfortunately, I was listening to a podcast a couple of weeks ago, and and this guy was just like railing against the church. And he he started some like nonprofit foundation, and and he was going on and on and on about no, he didn't start a nonprofit. He was going on and on and on about nonprofit organizations. And he was like, they're just thieves. You sell your soul so that you don't have to pay taxes. And unfortunately, yes, 90% of his arguments I could have probably rebuttaled very easily, with the exception of like a few churches that we've all heard about in the news. However, unfortunately, we've given him ammunition to think that too, haven't we? As the church, not us in particular. See, because the church has turned into something that God never established it to be either. And we see this very clearly in Scripture. In fact, in 1 Samuel 2.12, the prophet Samuel was talking about Eli. He at the time was the prophet in Israel, and it says this, now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. In fact, like everybody would come to Eli and they would go, hey, you gotta do something about your sons, man, because you got them like running everything, and they're in there taking bribes, and they're in there taking the Lord's share of the offering. Like you gotta do something. They're just corrupt. And Eli tries to like defend them. But when when God Himself calls you worthless, I mean, one, there goes your whole theology about God loves everybody. Two, I mean, that's pretty bad, right? And yet, this is what the tribe of Levi had turned it into. See, Satan crept into the worship of God, and priests started seeing what they could get for themselves. I grew up in that magical time of you could turn on certain TV channels in your house, and I could hear that for only a thousand dollars, God will hear my prayer, and my faith and my seed that I sow would be enough to bend God's ear to me. And that's what I got to grow up with. And then I married someone who actually went to the church. And I was like, man, with as blessed as you should have been, like, I don't understand why you have student loan debt. Because, see, we turned this into something that God didn't intend it to be. We as the church have given the world enough ammunition to go, hey, you guys aren't perfect. And every time someone tells me that, I'm like, you are absolutely right, which is why you'll fit in. Because we're all fallen. The difference between us is we realize we're not perfect. And see, but we've given them so much ammunition because it seems like every week there's another story about another pastor or another church of abuse and corruption. And you know what that causes? People to lose trust in it. And can you blame them? And you know the easiest way to fix it? Anybody? Have a conversation with them. Let them know that no, we're not all the same. There are plenty of people, I have no problem going, no, like we're not the same as them. Even picking songs today. Like originally I had all these different songs picked, and I was like, no, you know what, we're not gonna sing a song from that church. And we're not gonna sing a song from that church. Because although the songs are amazing, I just couldn't, in good conscience, sing that song. Because I know what their church represents, and I don't want to point anyone to them. So by the time we get to the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the scribes, long day, long gone are the days of people genuinely seeking God. And what we see is now a small group of uh people with an immense amount of power and control, and they don't want to lose that either. They're sitting here going, no, we got a pretty sweet gig. So Herod calls them together, and they all realize the same thing. If there's a new king being born, then that means this new king is dangerous. Because this new king might actually take away their power and control and give it away. See, and for the leaders of the temple, and for Herod, this new king could be the one that sets the captive. Free, especially if we're following along with prophecy. And we can't allow that to happen. Because let me ask you, and this is a serious question I really want you to ponder. How much power, or not not how much, but what power does anyone have over you? Like in really, let's let's think through it, right? Like the police. You're driving down the road, and all of a sudden you see them blue lights behind you. Do you have to stop? Listen very carefully, because I'm gonna flirt with this line of sovereign citizen, okay? And if you're not familiar with what that is, go home and YouTube it. Do you have to stop? No, you don't. You choose to stop, and and I'm gonna tell you that's the right choice to make. But you don't have to. You could choose to run. And then you get a fleeing and a looting charge, and now you just went from a misdemeanor up to, or sometimes maybe just a warning up to a felony. So I mean you chose that, but but think about it, what power does anyone have over you? The only power people have over you is the power that you allow them to have. Think about it, the president, the mayor, Congress, your wife, your husband, your parents. The only power people have over you is the power you're willing to give them. And this is why Jesus was viewed as so dangerous. This is why he had to be stopped. Because Jesus was sitting here saying like crazy things like this: all authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. And all of a sudden, all the other kingdoms of the world went, uh-oh. What does he mean, all authority? And then you're sitting here going, how do I compete with someone who can literally walk up to tombs and do things like Lazarus, come forth, and the dead come out to him? Like, how do you compete with that? Like, hey, we'll give you a stimulus. Like, think about this, Jesus is sitting here going, no, no, no, no, no, you don't understand. I'm in control. And they don't like that. Because the kingdom they're worshiping isn't the kingdom of God, it's uh the kingdom of the world. See, one of the temptations, and we'll get into this in Matthew 4. One of the temptations of Jesus was this. The devil takes him and tells him, If you will, just bow down and worship me. And he shows him all the kingdoms of the earth. And he goes, I will give you them. Think about it. John uh Jesus himself in the book of John and in chapter 12 says this. Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. Well, Jesus is saying there's a ruler of this world, and in Jesus' temptations, the devil looks at Jesus and goes, Hey, I'll give you the kingdoms of this world. Does anybody want to take a guess at who the ruler of this world is? Satan. See, and this is what salvation is. See, it's hard, man, because like, even in Bible class, and I'm gonna tell you, we got some teenagers that are like hard-hitting theologians. That I that I'll tell you right now, I would put up against most adults I know. But even in Bible class, like one of the questions I ask often is this what's the point of salvation? Because this is what we're told since we're little, right? Just say the prayer, just accept Jesus, just you know, you'll get a new heart. But what's the point of salvation? And 95% of the time, you will hear an answer that sounds something similar to this. So when I die, I can go to heaven. Theologically, is that true?

unknown: 24:20

Yes.

Josh: 24:21

No. No. No, you don't go to heaven. Heaven comes to here. There's a new heaven and a new earth. So theologically, right out the gate, we're we're way off topic, right? And then number two, if that was indeed the point, then as soon as Christ resurrects you, why don't you just like beam me up, Scotty, and now you're not here? Why do we get saved and then we're still here? See, we miss like the church, because, and and honestly, it's because from the time they're little, it's listen, mommy and daddy are gonna go to heaven when we die. Do you want to go to heaven with us and be with Jesus, our best friend? Or do you want to burn for all eternity with the devil? What little kid in their right mind is sitting here going, I'm gonna take option B. Some of you might have kids that are like that simply because you said you're going there, and they're like, I'm not. But think about this. There's a reason we're left here. There's a reason why Christ stepped into creation. There's a reason why, even way back in our Advent series, I said, this isn't a divine intervention, this is a divine invasion. There's a reason why, because God in his infinite wisdom went, My son will take upon flesh and will enter into my creation, become an invader, and overtake it all. Why are we saved? Well, Ephesians 2.10 tells us very clearly why. So that you may walk in good works that God prepared beforehand. Why? So that others may see. This is what salvation is: Jesus freeing us, delivering us, giving us freedom, but freedom from what? The kingdom of this world. See, because when we were born, we were all born into the kingdom of this world. We were all born to be a slave to sin. Think about this. Ephesians 2 says that we were all once dead in our trespasses and sin. Anybody in here ever been around a dead body? I've been around a lot of them. You know what they do? Nothing. I've never once went to a dead body call or a dead person call. And I went, hey buddy, do you want to stay dead or do you want to get up? And they were like, you know what? I don't like this dead thing. I'm gonna just get up. There's a reason why the author of the Bible uses the words that they do. It's because dead people can't choose to do uh do different, they can't choose to not be dead. And yet, the same was true for us. And Jesus steps in and he goes, I'm gonna take your place so that I can give you the opportunity to no longer be dead, so that your spiritual eyes will open to see this world, this kingdom for what it is. And listen to me very carefully, church. This is what makes you dangerous as a follower of Jesus. That scared the bejesus out of me. I thought that was an animal. But this is what makes us dangerous because now you can see where the fight is, and you can go to it with the most powerful weapon of all, Jesus. Think about this, and it's funny because like four different people this week have asked me the same question in different ways. And it's what should we be doing as Christians? I've answered this a thousand times from up here, and I'm gonna answer it the same way again. Here's what you were called to do bring light to the darkness. See where light is, darkness can't be. And here's what that means. Look around this room right now. Do you see darkness anywhere? No. Why? Because all of the lights are on. That was Jesus' intent for his church. To go into the darkness and bring the light. The problem is, is we don't want to go to the darkness. We just want to stay in the light because the light's where it's comfortable. If you saw this past week, there was this church where, you know, these people, I don't even, Minneapolis maybe, I don't know. It was somewhere else. These people stormed in and they were yelling, and I've had people reach out and go, hey, what will we do? What do you mean, what would you do? The darkness is literally coming to you. You don't even have to go anywhere for that. Like, this is an easy one. Here's what we'll do: preach the gospel. Because faith comes from hearing and hearing the word of God. So if the world wants to run into here, guess what I'm gonna keep doing? Preaching the gospel. And if they think they can get louder than me, they've never heard a dad voice. And if they'd heard a dad voice, maybe they wouldn't be where they are. But just saying, see, that's what we're called to do, and that's what makes us dangerous. Is we can now see the craziness, all of the things going on, the transgendered arguments, the child slavery, the corruption, the drug abuse, and the list goes on and on and on. We can literally see the kingdom of this world at work, and you now have the opportunity to go be a light. See, God never called the church to be a consumer. This whole idea we have that all we're called to do is show up here on a Sunday morning and sit and listen to me ramble and sing a couple of songs is one of the most anti-biblical views of the church that we have. The Bible doesn't call us to be consumers, the Bible calls us to be warriors. Listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 6, you ready? For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers, over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in this evil day, having all done all to stand firm. We should be dangerous. We should be warriors, we should stop being fat, lazy Christians that think our whole Christian life is I went to church. Think about that. This is the first question we ask people, right? Hey, are you a Christian? Yeah, where do you go to church? The disciples would have never, ever, ever asked, where do you go to church? Because they would have known that church isn't a place you go, it's a people you are. And let me ask you this. This is why Herod and all of Jerusalem are troubled. Why? Because they're worried about that. Can the same be said of us? Is the ruler of this world sitting here shaking because mission came together? Is the ruler of this world sitting here going, uh-oh, we're about to lose some more because they're planning another barbecue? Is the ruler of this world sitting here going, hey, they're about to feed people, they're about to clothe people, like they have a whole sharing center dedicated to that? Is the leader of this, the kingdom of this world, is he sitting there shaking, going, uh-oh, they're gonna take away from my kingdom? Or is he sitting here going, you know what, let them stay comfortable. We don't have to worry about them. They ain't doing nothing. And I would argue, for the most part, the latter is true. Because, see, as disciples of Jesus, we shouldn't be worried about our kingdom. We should be calling people to a different kingdom. A kingdom that looks nothing like the temporary but the eternal. A kingdom that looks nothing like this world. The question is, are you dangerous to the kingdom of this world? Because, see, this only works if everybody's on board with it. This can't just be one or two people. One of the things I'm trying to get better at in 2026 is what we call a call to action, right? We don't do altar calls. And every week I say the same things, right? Every week I go, oh, you know, if this is you and you need to talk and you need to pray, I'm right over here. And like three times someone has walked over and been like, hey, can you pray with me? And I go, and then we wonder why things don't change, right? Because, see, we should have a reaction to any time we hear the proclamation of God's word. So here's what I'm gonna do. Instead of giving you this ambiguous, hey, come over and pray with me if I'm if the spirit is moving with you, I'm gonna give you actual things that you can do throughout this week to help you be dangerous to the kingdom of this world. Number one is this, like you heard in the announcements, every week we are developing a new resource and a five-day devotional. It's literally one page. I get it, if you're not a big reader, neither am I. It's one page that you can read through every day this week so that you can dive deeper into this. And all you gotta do to get it is go to missionscent.org forward slash resources. If you're on the text chain, you already get it sent out to you. All you literally have to do is click on a button. It'll be live tomorrow morning. And that way you can dive deeper throughout the week. Next, here's the deal: everyone in this room make it a goal to have one gospel conversation with someone in your life that you don't live with. Like, understand this. Me and Debbie are gonna probably talk about Jesus at some point this week. I don't really count that. I'm gonna have a gospel conversation, honestly, every day this week because I teach Bible. It's super easy for me, right? But someone that doesn't live with you. Maybe it's a coworker, maybe it's a neighbor, maybe it's someone you ran into at the store. Someone. You can't sit here and lie to me and go, hey, I never see anyone throughout the week. Number three, share. The easiest way to do any of this is share. If you're that person that's like, hey, I'm uncomfortable talking to people. I get it. I'm an introvert too. I hate meeting new people. Like it just you don't understand what it does on the inside of me when I have to talk to someone I don't know like that. But just share. Just go, hey, here's a flyer. February 28th, we're having a free barbecue. You are more than welcome. And there's gonna be a raffle prize for it, too. First, second, and third place. Like, it's that easy. You're like, well, I don't know my neighbor. You want to know an easy way to get to know your neighbor? Knock on their door and go, hey, do you like barbecue? Like, I will buy you barbecue on February 28th. I've told you guys this before, right? As a cop, I'm gonna tell you just another little thing for law enforcement. Are you allowed to lie to someone in their interrogation room? Yes, you are. All day long. I do not have to be full front and honest with you. I can sit there and go, yeah, your buddy's in the next room, and guess what? He just flipped on you. And we haven't even found your buddy yet. But you don't know that, so and then you're like, oh crap, well, if he's gonna turn, I better turn first. Here's the thing: I don't condone lying. But if you tell your neighbor, hey, I'm gonna buy you free uh barbecue, whatever. You can come up and go, hey, here's 10 bucks. Can we just like donate this? And that way you didn't lie. How's that? That sounds much better as a pastor, right? Just share what we got going on. There's a podcast, uh podcast that comes out every Monday or every first and third Monday of the month. All you gotta do is go, hey, here's a link. The sermon usually gets posted either Sunday afternoon or Monday morning. All you gotta do is go, here's a link. And if you're like an overachiever and that stuff's too easy for you, enter into someone else's struggle this week. Here's what that means. It gets messy, it gets uncomfortable, it's awkward. But guess what? So is discipleship. Like, there's nothing more awkward than sitting down with someone and having an intimate conversation, especially if it's not someone you know that well. But that's what we're called to do. See, it's hard to be a light in the darkness if we don't go to the darkness. Like, I can promise you, when you walk out this door when I am done in a couple of minutes, you know what you're not gonna do? Get your phone out of your pocket and turn your flashlight on. Why? Because it's light outside. You don't need a light. But if you're anything like me, you have a spouse who consistently waits till like 11:30 or midnight to realize she has left something of vital importance in the car that you have to go get right now. And then what do you need? A flashlight. Because it's never where she says it is either. It's like in between the seat or under it, right? See, and that's what God is calling us to do. So this week, enter into someone else's struggle. Invite someone to dinner. It's super easy. Guess what? You're eating dinner anyway. Or you can lie to me again and go, no, I don't eat dinner every night. So just go, hey, let's make one more plate. It isn't that hard. You know what? Take someone fishing. Let me tell you how easy this one is. You literally just sit there. It's super easy. And you know what? I have never heard from someone when we went fishing? How stressful it was. You know what I always hear? I can't believe how relaxing that really was. I feel so. So much better right now. You know how many words I might have told that person throughout the day? Some of y'all have been out on the boat with me. Maybe you got like three or four sentences. And it was probably something along the lines of don't cast over me like that again. Just gonna be honest. Probably wasn't like a devo. Do something is the whole point. Anything. Because here's the deal. I get asked all the time how we really push back against darkness. I think that clock broke because it's been at the same time. So I apologize, but whatever. I've been going by the clock and the clock broke. Okay, look, if Joshua stopped the sun, I'm pretty sure Jesus could have won. I'm gonna stop the clock. Now, that being said, I've been asked, like I said, by like three or four different people this week. Like, what kind of things should we be doing? Here's the thing I would rather you try and fail at something than not try anything at all. And that's what the church needs to start doing. We have resources for you. You go to missionscent.org forward slash resources. There's podcasts on there, there's blogs on there, there's devotionals on there. Like, I will make sure you have whatever resources you need. And if you need something that's not on there, let me know, because I'll create that too. Because that is what I love to do. But at some point, it doesn't matter how much knowledge you have up here if you're not actually doing anything with the knowledge. Again, if you had the cure for cancer but didn't pass it out, what good does it do that you have the cure for cancer? See, we have to start doing something. And if you're someone who's sitting here going, hey, I want to be a part of something even bigger than all of this, two things. One, Jesus called you to beware first. First in Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, then the ends of the earth. So if you're not doing it here first, why are you looking to go there next? Number two, if you are though, there are good foundations out there that always need help. The Temtibo Foundation, for instance. You want to fight some human trafficking and child, I forgot it's Family Sunday. Abuse, thank you. They do it. There's another one, uh, Compassion International. Y'all don't know this, but well, some of y'all might not know this. But you already sponsor kids to have food and education and medicine and stuff like that, especially if you're giving here. Because we do that. We have gamma mil and mayori. One lives in the Dominican Republic, the other one lives in Guatemala. And this year we're looking to add some more. I go, why? Because that's what we're called to do. That doesn't mean we have to go there and do it. Because you know what we have? Money. I was explaining to the kids this week in personal finance. If you make$30,000 a year in America, do you realize that you are in the top 1% of richest people in the world? Wrap your head around this. Other people look at you if at$30,000 a year and go, I wish I had your life. And you're sitting here going, this ain't nothing, I need more money, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Man, you were to take something like that down to like Venezuela now? Man, they'd look at you like a prince. See, the question is though, what are we doing? So those are three things this week that you can be doing to start pushing back against the darkness, to start being a warrior and being dangerous to the kingdom of this world. Now, Father God, I ask and I pray that as we move from this moment, that God, we do. We do something, we do anything. That God, we stop being complacent in our Christian life, and God, we just start putting one foot in front of the other, realizing that there is a war that has been and will continue to rage on. And Father, I just ask and I pray that we here today enter into that. That God, we are equipped with the resources we have, and that Father, we are ready to go to war. Father, I pray by the power of your spirit, that even right now the forces of darkness around us start trembling, going, uh oh. They're about to move. And Father, I ask and I pray by the power of your spirit we do that. And that we fight back and that we push back. And that, Father, we do it all for your glory. Father, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.