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Don't Play Church (Matthew 7:24-29) | Louis Azuma

Published on: 21st February, 2025

The Foundation of True Obedience - A Study of Matthew 7:24-29

In this sermon from Matthew 7:24-29, Louis Azuma teaches about the importance of heartfelt obedience to Jesus' words over mere familiarity or respect. The difference between wise and foolish builders, as depicted in the passage, emphasizes that true wisdom lies in obeying Jesus. The sermon also warns against mistaking religious activities or knowledge for genuine faith, and encourages worshiping Jesus out of love, trust, and awe rather than just respecting Him from a distance. The sermon concludes with a call for serious commitment to Jesus, whose words are the very words of God and crucial for a stable, meaningful life.


00:00 Introduction and Context

00:26 A Personal Tornado Experience

04:53 The Importance of Obedience to Jesus

22:18 The Consequences of Ignoring Jesus' Teachings

23:51 The Security in Following Jesus' Teachings

28:56 The Authority and Worship of Jesus

Transcript
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We are continuing on the gospel of Matthew.

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We're going to be in Matthew.

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Matthew chapter 7, we're finishing up the

Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7, 24 to 29.

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So why don't you turn there in

your Bibles, Matthew 7, 24 to 29.

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After this, we're going

to be going real fast.

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We're going to be doing a chapter

a week starting next week.

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So make sure you're,

you're ready for that.

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While you're turning there,

I want to ask you a question.

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If you were driving, what would

you do if you got this text?

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If you were dryou're in the car,

you're at least an hour or two away

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from any place of, of refuge, what

would you do if you got this text?

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Tornado warning, right?

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Tornado sighted.

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Seek shelter immediately, right?

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Your car is not a safe refuge.

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You don't want to stay in the car

because your windows are going to get

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blown out and you're going to die.

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You don't want to stay in your

car, so you have to find a

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place that will keep you safe.

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You've got to find somewhere,

right, no windows, inside of a

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building, hopefully underground.

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That's where you've got to be,

because otherwise, something bad

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is going to happen to you, right?

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I was in this exact

situation not too long ago.

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In May of last year, I

was driving down to Texas.

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And I got not one, but two

of these when I was driving.

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I'm on I 35.

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It's like 10 at night.

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Thunderstorms, raining.

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People are going through

puddles on the freeway.

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Everyone's got their hazards on.

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It's 45 on the freeway.

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We're driving, we're

supposed to be driving 75.

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We're driving like 40 miles

an hour on the freeway.

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You can't see very far in front of you.

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And I get one of these.

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So, my first thought, being, having

been in Kansas City in the past

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couple years was, no big deal, right?

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We get these all the time.

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That was my first thought.

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Everyone else who's on

the freeway, I'm good.

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So I keep going, I'm like an hour

away from where I'm trying to go,

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I really gotta go to the bathroom.

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So I was like, alright, I'm just

gonna pull into this gas station,

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use the bathroom, keep going.

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On my way out of the bathroom,

I get another one of these.

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And there's people sitting

on the floor, in the hallway,

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leading up to the bathroom.

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So I was like, alright, this is

probably, probably a big deal.

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So I called my fiancé at the

time, and I was like, hey babe, I

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won't, I won't be there on time.

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I'm gonna have to wait here

at this gas station for a bit.

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While I'm on the phone, power goes out.

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Then, I'm like, alright,

I'm gonna go, love you.

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Someone yells, Everyone get

in the hallway, right now.

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Alright, bye Shay, love you.

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See you later.

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So I get in the hallway, go to his

bathroom, crouch down, and you know

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they always say, it sounds like a train.

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I don't know if that's true because I

plug my ears, but the ceiling starts

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falling down and you can just feel the

building shaking and there's dust and

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then you can start feeling the water.

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You know why?

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Because there's no ceiling anymore.

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That's why I was in a gas station

that got hit directly by a tornado.

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I was inside there.

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This is what it looked like the night of.

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So I, I could have taken this photo.

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I have a photo that looks just like this.

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So I walked out of that building.

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If you want to see it in the

daylight, that's what it looks like.

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That's super blurry.

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The reason I have this picture is

because, see this blue car right here?

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That's my car.

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That's my car with all my stuff in it.

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That's my car.

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So, when there's a storm coming, right,

when you get your tornado warning text

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on your phone and you hear someone

yell, everyone get in the hallway

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right now, you want to make sure that

the building you're in is strong.

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You want to make sure that the

building you're in will keep

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you safe and protect you, right?

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I don't, I don't really care about.

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Anything else at that moment.

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I don't care if the building has Wi Fi.

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I don't care if the building,

the gas station has good snacks.

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I don't even care what the

price is of the gas, right?

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All I care about is, is this

building going to keep me safe?

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And see, your safety is dependent

on the strength of this building.

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In our passage we're looking at today,

tonight, there's a storm in this passage.

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And it's much worse than this tornado.

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And your safety, according to this

passage, depends not on the strength

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of the building you choose to hide in,

but on your response to Jesus words.

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Your safety, your well being, is dependent

on how you respond to what Jesus says.

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We're going to be looking

at Matthew 7, 24 29,

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and what I want you to understand is

that Jesus isn't to be taken lightly.

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Jesus isn't a tornado warning text that

you can just hope you can ignore and

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outrun and maybe you'll make it through.

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Maybe if I didn't stop at the gas

station I could have made it through.

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Jesus is much more serious than that.

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There's much more at stake than even your

life, your physical life, in this sermon

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and in your response to what Jesus says.

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Your eternal destiny is at stake

and Jesus is not to be ignored or

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muted or maybe I'll take his advice.

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This is a big deal, and this

isn't anything to be trifled with.

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I want you to take Jesus as seriously

as you possibly can, because His

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words determine life or death for you.

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So we're finishing up the Sermon on

the Mount, right, Jesus is teaching,

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and we're coming to the conclusion

of the greatest sermon of all time.

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So read with me, Matthew 7, verse 24.

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Everyone then who hears these words

of mine and does them will be like a

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wise man who built his house on the

rock and the rain fell and the floods

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came and the winds blew and beat on

that house but it did not fall because

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it had been founded on the rock.

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And

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everyone who hears these words of

mine and does not do them We'll be

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like a foolish man who built his

house on the sand, and the rain fell,

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and the floods came, and the winds

blew, and beat against that house,

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and it fell, and great was its fall.

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There's a lot at stake

here in this passage.

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The difference between these two

people, whether they're wise or foolish,

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whether they survive or not, is not

how much they listen to Jesus, It's

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not whether they read their Bible.

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It's not whether they serve at church.

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It's not whether they're a good kid.

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It's not whether they like

Jesus or respect Jesus.

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The difference is whether

they obey Him or not.

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It's whether they do what He says.

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Both people hear Jesus words.

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You see that?

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Both people hear the same words.

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They get the same message.

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They sit in True North

and hear the same sermons.

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They go to Compass Bible Church

North Texas and hear the same pastor.

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But they have two very different

futures, two very different

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lives that they end up living.

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See, knowing a lot about Jesus,

hearing his teaching week in and week

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out, growing up in church, knowing

your Christian terms, serving in kids

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ministry, hearing and knowing Jesus

words are not what Jesus is after.

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Familiarity with Jesus is not good enough.

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Jesus is calling for a

response to his words.

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So our first point tonight, don't

mistake familiarity for obedience.

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If you make the mistake of being

familiar with Jesus words and never

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doing anything about them, according

to this passage, you'll die.

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You'll be destroyed.

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The storm comes and your

house won't stand up.

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Hearing and knowing what Jesus says, doing

the church thing, but not the Jesus thing,

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will not protect you.

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See, there's a contrast here, right?

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Jesus is setting up this, this

mini parable of two people, right?

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And this is really the difference, right?

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Everyone who hears these words

of mine and does them is wise.

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Everyone who hears these words of

mine and does not do them is foolish.

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So, Jesus is saying the smartest

thing you can do is do what I say.

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The dumbest thing you can do is

the opposite, is not do what I say.

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It's ridiculous not to do it.

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That's it.

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Dumb.

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Right?

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But it's actually smart.

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It's genius to do what Jesus says.

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See, it's foolish to think you can have

a surface level relationship with Jesus

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and not, or and make it to heaven.

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It's foolish to think you can

have a surface level relationship

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with Jesus and make it to heaven.

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Religious activity is not enough.

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Remember, Pastor Rod, a few weeks

ago, or a few months ago, maybe at

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this point, preached on Matthew 5,

and he brought a bowl of fake fruit.

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Remember that?

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And he talked about, oh, what,

you know, is this fruit edible?

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Is this fruit good for you?

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Is this fruit anything worth eating?

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And we're all like, no, right?

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It's not anywhere close to real fruit.

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It might look like it from far

away, but once you feel it,

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once you smell it, it's Right?

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If you try to put it in a

blender, it's not, not gonna work.

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So a surface level relationship, a

plastic fruit relationship with Jesus

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is foolish.

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It's foolish to expect that to get

you anywhere close to eternal life.

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You're, the only person

you're tricking is yourself.

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Jesus isn't fooled.

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Jesus knows your heart.

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Jesus knows.

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He knows.

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Exactly what's going on in your life.

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Jesus half brother,

James, puts it this way.

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He says, You believe that God is one?

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You do well.

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Even the demons believe that, and shudder.

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Is the extent of your Christian life

one that Satan could check a box to?

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Would Satan be able to say, Yeah,

I agree with everything that

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that person believes about God?

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Great.

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Satan would love for you to

believe all the right things and

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never do anything about them.

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Because then you'd be just like him.

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And then James goes on to say, The

body apart from the spirit is dead.

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Right?

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That's, that's how you

know someone's dead.

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If their, their spirit is gone.

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The spirit is what animates the body.

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I heard one pastor talk about it.

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It's like the software to

the hardware of your body.

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So like a computer needs software to run.

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Otherwise it's just a piece of metal.

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Your body needs a spirit.

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It needs a soul to animate

it, to make it alive.

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Your faith, your trust in Jesus,

without any animation, without any

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life to it, without any software,

without any electricity, is dead.

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It's useless.

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Which, James, what, right here,

what he means by faith, is believing

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the right things about God.

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Your doctrine, your theology, your belief.

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It's dead.

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It's useless.

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It won't get you anywhere.

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It's, in fact, demonic.

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It's like exactly what Satan believes.

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So don't mistake

familiarity with obedience.

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You can know all the right things,

hear all the right words, and not

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have a relationship with Jesus.

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See, I grew up in this category.

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I grew up being familiar with Jesus.

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Going to church.

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I knew all the books of the Bible.

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I liked going to church even, but

I had no relationship with Jesus.

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And something that was really helpful

for me was a list that a pastor

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put together of, and he titled it

differently, but it's characteristics

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easily mistaken for being saved.

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Things that a lot of people

think, oh yeah, if I have all of

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these things, I'm a Christian.

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And I think a lot of you

might be in this boat.

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A lot of you say, yeah,

I'm a good person, right?

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I'm not that kid at school.

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I'm not doing drugs.

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I'm not going to all those parties.

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I'm not looking at that stuff online.

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I'm not saying those things.

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I'm not making those jokes.

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I'm a relatively good person.

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Or I know a lot about God.

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I know a lot about the Bible.

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I'm involved at church.

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I feel bad when I sin.

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I'm sure I'm saved, even.

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I know I'm saved.

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Or, you have an experience

when you got saved.

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You walked the aisle, you prayed a prayer,

you had an emotional moment at camp.

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None of these things

mean that you're saved.

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Right?

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Good people, being a good person.

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Great.

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You can be a Mormon and be a good person.

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Cool.

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You can know a lot about God in the Bible.

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Satan knows a lot about God in the Bible.

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You can be involved in church.

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Pharisees were pretty involved at church.

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You can feel bad about your sin.

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Judas felt really bad about his sin,

and he hung himself, and guess what?

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Didn't repent.

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Didn't turn from his sin.

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You can be sure you're saved.

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A lot of people are sure they're saved.

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Remember what we heard last week?

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I never knew you.

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You can have a memorable experience

when you think you became a Christian.

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You can have a moment where you feel

like you responded to the gospel.

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The moment doesn't save you.

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Jesus saves you.

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So don't put your trust in, in a moment.

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It's an easy mistake to make, and Jesus

loves you enough to tell you, to warn you.

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Don't make this mistake.

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Don't mistake being familiar with God,

growing up in church, having Christian

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parents, being a pastor's kid, knowing

all the right answers in small groups.

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Don't make that mistake of saying, Oh,

if I have all those things, I'm good.

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That means I have a relationship with God.

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So what kind of obedience is

Jesus really talking about?

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Because didn't he just say, right,

your, your righteousness has to exceed

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that of the scribes and Pharisees.

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Isn't this all about faith?

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What happened?

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Where did, where did saved by faith

and grace and not by works go, Lewis?

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What happened?

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Well, what words, Jesus, these

words of mine, what words has Jesus

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been talking about this whole time?

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He's, he, he just preached a sermon.

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. So what did he say?

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Well, look at, think about the Beatitudes.

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The beatitudes are all

heart postures, right?

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These are all external things, except

maybe feeling bad about your sin, but

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the beatitudes are being poor in spirit.

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Being humble, being meek, mourning.

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Hungering and thirsting for righteousness,

having a desire for God and for His ways.

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Being pure in heart.

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It's pure in heart, not pure externally.

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Being a peacemaker, being

persecuted for righteousness sake.

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These are all heart things.

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These are all things that

come from your desires.

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And you're a new, changed life.

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Not from an external, outside

in conformity, because you

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grew up in a Christian home.

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Or even think about when he

does talk about Pharisees,

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what does he go after that?

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He says, you've heard it said,

right, the external command, don't

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murder, don't commit adultery,

don't retaliate, pray like this.

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Those are all external things.

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He says, you've heard it one

way, but I want to bring out the

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true intention of God's word.

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The true intention is

about your heart, right?

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If you, about anger.

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Rather than just not being You

know, a murderer, how about dealing

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with the anger in your heart?

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That's the obedience that Jesus is after.

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He's after heart obedience.

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Or rather than just not committing

adultery, are you pure in heart?

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Do you have pure thoughts?

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Or what about your anxiety?

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Maybe you're on the outside all good,

but on the inside you don't trust God.

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Jesus is after righteousness

from the heart.

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That's why it has to be different than

the scribes Because outwardly They're

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more righteous than, than most of us.

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They look more Christian

than a lot of us do.

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Probably had more scripture memorized

than all of us combined in the room.

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But Jesus is after righteousness from the

heart, and it's foolish to try to impress

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Jesus with your external righteousness.

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With your church involvement, or with your

Christian heritage even from your parents.

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You see, perfect righteousness

is required to enter heaven.

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Jesus said that in, in

Matthew 5 as well, remember?

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He said, uh, um, You have to be perfect,

just as my heavenly Father is perfect.

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So really, Jesus is not saying that

your works get you into heaven.

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But, what He is saying is that a

true relationship with God produces

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heartfelt obedience to God, as a

response to what He's done for you.

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So, Jesus is after heartfelt, real

obedience, and the only way that's gonna

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come is if you first trust God, and

have a relationship with Him, where you

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say, you know what, I'm not good enough.

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That's what the whole

Beatitudes are about.

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I'm not good enough to enter on my own.

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I'm never gonna be more righteous

than the scribes and Pharisees.

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Jesus, I can't obey the way you're

telling me to, unless God changes me,

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and God puts his Holy Spirit inside me

and gives me a new desire to love him.

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That's the only way I'm going to be

able to do anything from the heart.

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Because as Jesus is pointing

out through this whole sermon

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is we're not good enough.

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Our obedience, no matter how hard we try,

is never going to get us into heaven.

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And so we need heartfelt obedience

that only comes after We trust Jesus

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and turn from our sin and realize

we know we're not good enough

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to make it to heaven on our own.

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We have to give up our pharisaical

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desire to be good enough to

say, God, look at all my works.

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Isn't that what the people

in last week's sermon did?

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They said, Lord, Lord, did I

not do all these things for you?

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They're never going to be good

enough because they're never perfect.

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So it's foolish to think you can

have your superficial, surface level

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relationship with Jesus and impress Him.

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You can't bring your spiritual

resume to the table and say, Oh,

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here Jesus, let me into heaven.

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It's never going to be good enough.

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It has to be a heartfelt,

I, I need you, Jesus.

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I'm a sinner.

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Please save me.

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And that's going to produce obedience from

the heart, like we've been talking about.

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Now, I also want you to see

how Jesus describes these men.

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Because maybe you're not just thinking,

oh, I've tried to do the right thing

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and fit in at church and be a good kid.

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Maybe you're the person who says, I

heard Jesus words and I don't want them.

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I've heard Jesus words, they're

not, they're not my thing.

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They're boring.

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They're lame.

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Jesus isn't for me.

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I want to go do my thing.

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I want to live the way I want to live.

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And maybe you're just waiting until you

move out of your parents house and go to

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college and you can do whatever you want.

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You've heard Jesus words and you've

said, I don't want to do them.

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If that's you, I, I, I really want

you to see that it is foolish to

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think you can hear Jesus teaching and

ignore it without any consequence.

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Jesus has only put two

people in this story.

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There's a wise man and

there's a foolish man.

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The wise man is the one who obeys.

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The foolish man is foolish

because he doesn't disobey,

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or he, he, he does disobey.

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Sorry.

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The foolish man is, he's foolish

because he disobeys and he

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thinks he's going to be fine.

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Right?

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He goes on building his house.

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Both of these men are

building a house, right?

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They're both building a house,

and it's foolish to build a house

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when you know it won't stand up.

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Right?

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That's why people, you've

heard the phrase, the house,

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the house of cards, right?

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It's foolish to build a house of

something that will just get blown over.

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:

Both of these men are

building their lives.

396

:

They're living their lives, and

there's a different foundation

397

:

that they're living out of.

398

:

One of them is living

on a foundation of rock.

399

:

One of them is living

on a foundation of sand.

400

:

If you are living your life

ignoring Jesus teaching, you hear

401

:

it, and you say, I don't want it.

402

:

You're living a life that's

gonna just wash away in a storm.

403

:

It's gonna be destroyed.

404

:

You're gonna come up empty.

405

:

You can build your perfect

house, your perfect life.

406

:

You can get the job you want, the

career you want, the friends you

407

:

want, the reputation you want.

408

:

And you'll stand before God and

you'll watch it all burn up.

409

:

Because your house will be on sand.

410

:

You're building a house

that will just fall down.

411

:

Every time you're rejecting Jesus

words, every time you're saying,

412

:

I don't want what you have to say.

413

:

The storm will come, either when you stand

before God, or it might even come sooner.

414

:

You might realize, like King

Solomon did, after years of trying

415

:

to do what he wanted to do, living

for himself, he tried everything.

416

:

He tried pleasure, he tried money,

he tried fame, he tried everything.

417

:

And he came up empty, and broken, and he

realized there's, there's nothing here.

418

:

It's just a mirage.

419

:

It's like trying to grab smoke.

420

:

That's what it is trying to

find pleasure apart from God.

421

:

It, you just need more and more

and more and it never satisfies.

422

:

It's foolish to chase after.

423

:

It's foolish to ask the

world to fill you up.

424

:

You're building a house that's

just gonna come crashing down.

425

:

And see, the opposite is

that Jesus offers, He offers

426

:

you a secure, stable life.

427

:

You don't have to worry about your

house falling down in a storm.

428

:

See, living by Jesus

teaching keeps you safe.

429

:

The wise man builds his house on the rock.

430

:

And he doesn't have to worry

about his house falling down.

431

:

He knows the storm is going to come,

but he also knows he's going to be okay.

432

:

He knows he's gonna make it.

433

:

The first thing that Jesus, obeying Jesus

keeps you safe from is the wrath of God.

434

:

Because if you're obeying Jesus, the,

Jesus intention here is that you're

435

:

obeying him out of love and trust.

436

:

You have a relationship with him.

437

:

And so obeying Jesus keeps you

safe from the wrath of God.

438

:

But also, if we're thinking

about the Sermon on the Mount,

439

:

right, we're thinking about being

440

:

People who realize we're not good

enough to work our way to heaven, so it

441

:

keeps us safe from self righteousness.

442

:

We're not gonna say, Jesus,

look how much I obeyed you.

443

:

Aren't you proud of me?

444

:

Don't I deserve to be in heaven?

445

:

Because Jesus commands, how he started

the sermon, was you should be sad.

446

:

You should mourn.

447

:

You should be humble.

448

:

You should not try to

work your way to heaven.

449

:

That's how he started his sermon.

450

:

And so, if you're obeying Jesus

words, you'll be protected

451

:

from self righteousness.

452

:

You'll also be protected from the

trap of believing the world has more

453

:

to offer, just like we talked about.

454

:

Because you'll realize, you know what?

455

:

It will leave me empty.

456

:

It is just like building

a house that'll fall down.

457

:

Even though many people go down the

narrow, the wide road, the narrow

458

:

road is the one that leads to life.

459

:

And so you'll be protected from,

from this lie of believing.

460

:

That it's better for you to disobey

Jesus and do whatever you want.

461

:

Living by Jesus teaching also keeps

you safe from hearing I never knew you.

462

:

It keeps you safe from self deception.

463

:

This is what we've been talking about

at the beginning of this sermon,

464

:

is so many people go to heaven,

465

:

or stand before, sorry, stand

before God in heaven and

466

:

realize I'm not going to be in.

467

:

I'm not going to make it.

468

:

I'm not, I've thought I was

a Christian this whole time.

469

:

But really, I've always built

my house on my own works.

470

:

I've built my spiritual resume and tried

to be good enough, or I've relied on

471

:

one of those things we talked about.

472

:

I've relied on my church involvement,

I've relied on my spiritual experience

473

:

that I had at camp, or I prayed this

prayer with my mom when I was eight.

474

:

Hearing Jesus words and doing them

will protect you from standing before

475

:

God and realizing He never knew me.

476

:

I never had a relationship with Jesus.

477

:

It also keeps you safe from turning

your back on God and abandoning Him.

478

:

Because you're establishing

a pattern of doing what Jesus

479

:

says and living by His words.

480

:

You're not going to stray

off the narrow road.

481

:

Living by Jesus teaching keeps

you safe from ruining your life.

482

:

Sin will kill you.

483

:

It'll either kill you on this earth, or

it'll kill you forever in hell, or both.

484

:

Jesus isn't trying to give you a

bunch of rules to ruin your life.

485

:

The rules are to help

you not ruin your life.

486

:

That's the goal.

487

:

Jesus doesn't want you to be anxious.

488

:

He wants to take care of you.

489

:

He doesn't want you to be enslaved by sin.

490

:

Because every sin you commit isn't

looking out for your best interest.

491

:

It's looking to, to keep you, to hook

you, to trap you, to rope you in and

492

:

pull you and keep you coming back to it.

493

:

Every sin is trying to master you.

494

:

Anxiety is trying to master you.

495

:

Lust is trying to master you.

496

:

Anger is trying to dominate

you and control you.

497

:

Pride, they're all trying to be

a snare and control your life.

498

:

To make that the dominating

influence in who you are.

499

:

But living by Jesus words will

keep you safe from those things.

500

:

That's why Jesus gives you command.

501

:

That's why Jesus says don't do things.

502

:

It's cause he's a loving parent who says

don't drink the poison, it'll kill you.

503

:

Or don't do the drugs,

you'll get addicted.

504

:

It's a loving command.

505

:

It's a wise command.

506

:

It's a good command.

507

:

It's not a burden to make you feel bad.

508

:

That's why Jesus gives you commands.

509

:

That's why Jesus comes across so strongly.

510

:

That's why these sermons

come across so strongly.

511

:

It's not because Jesus hates you.

512

:

It's because He loves you.

513

:

And we're messed up, and we

think poison tastes good.

514

:

And so we want to drink it.

515

:

And Jesus is like, no, stop.

516

:

That's why He gives us commands.

517

:

See, these last two verses

here are the crowd's reaction.

518

:

Jesus has been talking for a long time.

519

:

If you have a red letter Bible, it's

been all red for like two chapters.

520

:

And you're finally about to get

out of the red into the black.

521

:

Maybe we should call it Black Wednesday.

522

:

I don't know.

523

:

But, that was mostly for the adults

because no one understands why it's called

524

:

Black Friday except grown ups, I guess.

525

:

But, I'm not gonna explain that right now.

526

:

But, the last two verses are the crowd's

reaction to the whole sermon, which is

527

:

Kind of cool, because when the Bible

gives you, like, an, an author's reaction

528

:

to something, that's really helpful.

529

:

Like when the author of the book

tells you, hey, here's what people

530

:

thought about what Jesus just said.

531

:

That's a really good thing to see.

532

:

So when you're reading the Bible, keep

your eye out for those type of things.

533

:

But this is what, does Matthew

want you to know about how the

534

:

audience responded to Jesus sermon?

535

:

What does Matthew think the crowd thought?

536

:

What does Matthew think the

people listening to Jesus Thought.

537

:

How did the audience respond to

the greatest sermon of all time?

538

:

Well, let's look.

539

:

Matthew 7 28.

540

:

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the

crowds were astonished at his teaching.

541

:

They're shocked.

542

:

They're amazed.

543

:

For he was teaching them as one who had

authority, and not as their scribes.

544

:

Probably could have put

that on screen for you.

545

:

There you go.

546

:

The crowd is shocked.

547

:

They're amazed.

548

:

They're like, whoa.

549

:

And what are they amazed at?

550

:

They're not amazed at

necessarily what He said.

551

:

They're amazed at the implication.

552

:

They're amazed at what Jesus is saying

means that Jesus is claiming authority.

553

:

Unlike anyone they've ever heard.

554

:

They've never heard anyone

teach like Jesus before.

555

:

They're not amazed at the specific things

He said, but they're shocked and amazed

556

:

at His authority with which He says them.

557

:

Now, if you just read through this

in your Bible, I don't think this

558

:

is the conclusion you'd come to.

559

:

Right?

560

:

If you just read through Matthew 5

or 7, you wouldn't be like, Whoa,

561

:

Jesus is claiming so much authority.

562

:

I don't, I don't think

that's how you respond.

563

:

So that means we're missing something.

564

:

Right?

565

:

We have to put our shoes or in

the sandals, we have to put our

566

:

feet in the sandals of this.

567

:

Those Jews who heard Jesus and think,

okay, what, what happened here?

568

:

Well, the whole sermon, Jesus

has been establishing self

569

:

as more than just a teacher.

570

:

He's been saying, you heard it taught

one way, but I say to you now, most

571

:

Jewish rabbis would never say that they

would never say, here's what I say.

572

:

They would say, well, see, I say this

because the other rabbi and this rabbi and

573

:

this rabbi and this rabbi, I'll say that.

574

:

And that's kind of our tradition.

575

:

And that's what we teach.

576

:

Jesus isn't appealing to anyone.

577

:

He's saying, you've heard it

this way, but I say to you.

578

:

Jesus is claiming that He has the

right interpretation of God's law.

579

:

He's saying, I am, and if you've really

followed Matthew's point, He's saying,

580

:

I am actually the prophet like Moses

who was prophesied going to come.

581

:

Jesus is on a mountain, and He

comes down the mountain, With a law.

582

:

Well, how does that sound like?

583

:

It sounds like Moses, right?

584

:

He also, if you think about it before,

Jesus, in Matthew 3, he goes through

585

:

the water when he gets baptized,

and he goes into the wilderness, and

586

:

then he comes up to the mountain.

587

:

Now, what does that sound like?

588

:

That sounds like Exodus, right?

589

:

So, we're getting this idea of,

Matthew was showing us that Jesus

590

:

is more than just a teacher.

591

:

Jesus It is the long awaited, promised

King of Israel who would bring to pass all

592

:

the promises of God in the Old Testament,

establish the Kingdom of God to the ends

593

:

of the earth, bring all the nations under

his authority, destroy sin, destroy Satan.

594

:

This is what the whole Bible's about.

595

:

Now, that's probably not

amazing news for you.

596

:

That's probably either old news

for you, or you didn't care.

597

:

And see, you're actually

more similar to the crowds.

598

:

than you might think.

599

:

See, the crowds were very

impressed with Jesus.

600

:

I'm sure they were interested

in what he had to say.

601

:

I'm sure they would like to

come listen to him teach.

602

:

But, less than three years later,

guess what these crowds are doing?

603

:

In three years, they would make fun

of him, trade him for a criminal,

604

:

and scream until he was crucified.

605

:

That's what these crowds would

do with the man that they were

606

:

so amazed by in these verses.

607

:

For all their amazement about Jesus

and his teaching, these crowds

608

:

have no desire to worship Jesus.

609

:

They have no affection for Jesus.

610

:

They have no sense of loyalty to Jesus.

611

:

He's just interesting.

612

:

He's just respected.

613

:

He's not worshipped and loved.

614

:

And I think you can make the same mistake

they do, and I really don't want you to.

615

:

So our second point is don't

mistake respect for worship.

616

:

Don't be like the crowds who respect

Jesus and have no loyalty, no affection,

617

:

no true heartfelt worship for Him.

618

:

See, one of Matthew's main points

throughout his whole gospel is

619

:

that Jesus has all authority.

620

:

That's why he started with

a big long list of names.

621

:

Jesus, the son of David,

the son of Abraham.

622

:

Jesus is the king, the son of David.

623

:

That's why David's first in

that sentence, before Abraham.

624

:

You wouldn't put David before Abraham

unless you were trying to say something.

625

:

Jesus is the king.

626

:

David's the king.

627

:

Abraham wasn't a king.

628

:

Jesus is a king like David.

629

:

And then, Matthew ends his gospel

with, All authority in heaven and

630

:

on earth has been given to Jesus.

631

:

And then he says, Go, and make disciples.

632

:

So Matthew has presented his whole

story of Jesus life with the intent to

633

:

communicate, Jesus has all authority.

634

:

Jesus isn't just to be considered,

or respected, or admired.

635

:

Jesus is to be worshipped.

636

:

Jesus is to be submitted

to, to be bowed before.

637

:

And it seems like these

crowds get it, don't they?

638

:

They're astonished.

639

:

They're amazed.

640

:

Jesus is teaching them.

641

:

They're like, Whoa, Jesus, you're amazing.

642

:

You're unique.

643

:

No one's ever taught like you.

644

:

And I think a lot of us are similar.

645

:

See, it might seem like you get it.

646

:

It might seem like you like Jesus.

647

:

You agree with Jesus teaching.

648

:

You think most of it makes sense.

649

:

If Jesus was a teacher at your school,

you would pay attention in class.

650

:

If Jesus was a coach on your team,

you would do his drills, and you

651

:

wouldn't roll your eyes too often.

652

:

Maybe.

653

:

But, like the crowds,

when push comes to shove

654

:

He isn't your master.

655

:

You might agree with what he says on

the surface, or you might agree that

656

:

God exists or that the Bible's true,

but you want Jesus to stay in his

657

:

corner and not interfere with your life.

658

:

You respect Jesus enough not to

totally, openly reject him, but you

659

:

want him to stay over there and not

mess with your personal life too much.

660

:

I heard one person illustrate this,

as you, you want Jesus to be a guest

661

:

in your house, but not the owner.

662

:

You want to keep Jesus in his room.

663

:

My mother in law just stayed with

us this past weekend, and it's funny

664

:

when you, when one of your parents

come stay at your house, it's,

665

:

it's always interesting, right?

666

:

Because they're like, Like, they raised

you, they're in charge, they were in

667

:

charge of you for a while, and then they

stay at your house, and you're like,

668

:

okay, well, like, you know, we're not

gonna like, give up our bed, because

669

:

we only have one, but like, you know, I

feel bad making her sleep on the couch.

670

:

It's a real awkward kind of situation.

671

:

When you have a guest in your house,

what if the guest in your house, what

672

:

if Shay's mom just starts, you know,

we're getting ready for bed, and she's

673

:

like, oh, just heads right into our

room, puts her PJs on, gets in bed,

674

:

and we're like, wait, hang on, what?

675

:

Like, that would be weird.

676

:

Because she's a guest, right?

677

:

We want her to stay over there.

678

:

We want her kind of out of our space.

679

:

Right?

680

:

When you're a guest in someone's house.

681

:

I spent a lot of time at the

Daniel's house this summer.

682

:

Partly because I got hit by a tornado.

683

:

But, um, I was a guest.

684

:

Right?

685

:

I didn't just come in and be

like, alright guys, here's what

686

:

I'm doing today in your house.

687

:

Right?

688

:

No.

689

:

That would be weird.

690

:

That would be kind of wrong.

691

:

I'm sure I would not have

stayed as long at their house

692

:

as I did if I had done that.

693

:

I even did my own dishes.

694

:

Anyway, so, um,

695

:

A lot of you probably

feel that way about Jesus.

696

:

You want Jesus to stay in His corner.

697

:

You want Him in your room.

698

:

You want to keep your space the way it

is, and you want Jesus to stay over there.

699

:

You don't want Him to interfere with,

Oh, Jesus, you can't tell me who to date.

700

:

Jesus you can't tell me

what videos to watch.

701

:

Jesus you can't decide what sport I

play or how I talk to my siblings.

702

:

Jesus, you can tell me how to feel?

703

:

You want Jesus to do some stuff for you?

704

:

Right?

705

:

Oh, Jesus, can you get me to heaven?

706

:

Great.

707

:

Then just leave me

alone until I get there?

708

:

That's not worship.

709

:

That's not even a relationship with Jesus.

710

:

You just want Jesus, bumper

sticker, and go on with your life.

711

:

Worship means complete

submission to Jesus.

712

:

Jesus isn't just a guest in your life.

713

:

He owns every room of your life.

714

:

That's what worshiping Jesus is.

715

:

That's what a real Christian is.

716

:

And I think even for us Christians, if

you're a Christian in the room, you can be

717

:

in danger of making this mistake as well.

718

:

There can be times where you and I

We don't want to worship Jesus, even

719

:

though we still trust him and love

him as a general pattern of our life.

720

:

Maybe illustrate it like this, Jesus

bought your house already, but sometimes

721

:

we wish we could have our own space,

or have a pet that he doesn't like,

722

:

or throw a party without him knowing.

723

:

So,

724

:

see, maybe you want to date that

person that you know is bad for you,

725

:

or you're putting off baptism because

you're scared of being in front of

726

:

people, or you read the Bible but you

don't give it your best effort, or

727

:

you're afraid to freely mention to your

friends, what'd you do this weekend?

728

:

Oh, I went to church.

729

:

It was great.

730

:

Bad move, right?

731

:

You look stupid.

732

:

Do you love Jesus?

733

:

Are you embarrassed by Him?

734

:

Or maybe you really don't feel like

having a good attitude when your

735

:

parents tell you to do something.

736

:

Jesus has authority over that.

737

:

Maybe you're not putting up

much of a fight against lustful

738

:

thoughts or angry words.

739

:

Jesus has authority over those.

740

:

So worship motivates an enduring

desire to live for Jesus.

741

:

See the difference between a crowd

member who respects Jesus and a disciple

742

:

who worships Jesus is that worship for

Jesus is fueled by love, trust, and awe.

743

:

You love Jesus.

744

:

He's precious to you.

745

:

He's your treasure.

746

:

He's the most important

thing in your life.

747

:

He's the thing you most want, the

person you most want to be with.

748

:

That's what love for Jesus really is.

749

:

You trust Jesus, right?

750

:

He's wise.

751

:

He's good.

752

:

He's powerful.

753

:

You want to do what he says.

754

:

When, when you have a conflict, you're

like, well, Jesus is smarter than me.

755

:

I'll do what he says.

756

:

That's trust.

757

:

And awe, or as the Bible

would put it, even fear.

758

:

Jesus is the king, he's holy, he's

glorious, and he's terrifying.

759

:

That's what Jesus really is.

760

:

Don't settle for a tame Jesus

who you only give respect to and

761

:

leave in one corner of your life.

762

:

Jesus is the king of kings and he

deserves everything you have to give.

763

:

Everything is on the table

when you follow Jesus.

764

:

You can't partly give

him some of your life.

765

:

He has all authority.

766

:

See, Jesus words are the focus.

767

:

He says, these words of mine, everyone

who hears them and does them, is a

768

:

wise person, who builds his house on

a rock, perfectly safe in a storm.

769

:

That's because Jesus words

are the very words of God.

770

:

Believing him is like planting yourself.

771

:

Into a solid rock, never to

be shaken or moved, right?

772

:

The grass withers, the

flower, flower flit, fades.

773

:

Well, the flower fades, but the

word of our God stands forever.

774

:

Right?

775

:

The law of the Lord is

perfect, reviving the soul.

776

:

Jesus words bring the dead to life.

777

:

His words always accomplish their purpose.

778

:

They never return unsuccessful.

779

:

They guard the souls of Christians and

their swords to fight the devil himself.

780

:

Jesus words are sweeter than

honey, a delight to your heart.

781

:

His words are a guide and a light

when you don't know what to do.

782

:

They're living active, piercing between

the thoughts and intentions of your heart.

783

:

His words cannot be broken.

784

:

Every word of God proves

true, Proverbs says.

785

:

See, Jesus words are to live by.

786

:

They're everything

because they're from God.

787

:

They're God's words.

788

:

And they claim all authority in your life.

789

:

Let's pray.

790

:

Father, I pray that you help

us to take your son seriously.

791

:

I pray that we would not just

isolate him to part of our life.

792

:

I pray that we would not just I don't

want to have a label that says we

793

:

like Jesus, but I pray that we would

see that Jesus is worthy of our full

794

:

attention, our full devotion, all

of our affection in our very lives.

795

:

Help us to focus in small groups, help

us to be respectful of our leaders and

796

:

of each other, help us to be honest,

and help us to give glory to you.

797

:

I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

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Compass Student Ministry Sermons Podcast
Compass North Texas Student Ministry Podcast
All the sermons preached at Compass Bible Church North Texas in the student ministry.

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Compass Bible Church