1 00:00:00,050 --> 00:00:03,770 Speaker: We are still looking at questions Jesus asked, and we 2 00:00:03,770 --> 00:00:05,119 are gonna be in Matthew again. 3 00:00:05,230 --> 00:00:07,759 Uh, mostly because I know Matthew better than the other gospels. 4 00:00:08,179 --> 00:00:11,539 Um, but we are gonna be in Matthew chapter 12. 5 00:00:11,780 --> 00:00:17,920 And this question that Jesus asks almost sounds like he's sinning. 6 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:20,809 So let's go ahead and, and take a look at it. 7 00:00:20,819 --> 00:00:24,439 Matthew 12, we're gonna be starting in verse 45. 8 00:00:24,659 --> 00:00:25,970 Or sorry, verse 46. 9 00:00:26,389 --> 00:00:31,986 Okay, this question, um, that Jesus asks- If you know the, the Ten Commandments, 10 00:00:32,125 --> 00:00:33,766 it seems like he's breaking one of them. 11 00:00:33,866 --> 00:00:34,306 Okay? 12 00:00:34,936 --> 00:00:36,386 So here's what's happening. 13 00:00:36,396 --> 00:00:39,235 Matthew 12, Jesus is talking to some people. 14 00:00:39,316 --> 00:00:43,396 Verse 46: While he's speaking to the people, behold, I think it 15 00:00:43,396 --> 00:00:47,036 just means look, his mother and his brothers, so his family, right? 16 00:00:47,036 --> 00:00:50,725 Jesus obviously didn't have a dad on Earth, 'cause his 17 00:00:50,726 --> 00:00:52,336 father was in heaven, right? 18 00:00:52,656 --> 00:00:55,706 Um, his mother and his brothers stood outside, and they're 19 00:00:55,706 --> 00:00:56,676 asking to speak with him. 20 00:00:57,445 --> 00:01:00,555 But he replies to the man who, who told him that. 21 00:01:00,695 --> 00:01:02,296 He says, "Who's my mom?" 22 00:01:02,396 --> 00:01:02,596 Right? 23 00:01:02,596 --> 00:01:03,246 "Who's my mother? 24 00:01:03,405 --> 00:01:04,905 And who are my brothers?" 25 00:01:04,916 --> 00:01:05,906 Now, imagine if this was you. 26 00:01:06,465 --> 00:01:07,846 Imagine if your parents were looking for you, right? 27 00:01:07,846 --> 00:01:11,425 Maybe it's Sunday after church or Wednesday after True North, and someone 28 00:01:11,425 --> 00:01:13,475 comes up to you and says, "Hey, your, uh, your parents are looking for you." 29 00:01:13,556 --> 00:01:14,956 And you're like, "Who are my parents?" 30 00:01:16,096 --> 00:01:17,815 Probably wouldn't go so well for you, right? 31 00:01:18,006 --> 00:01:19,305 Or, "Who's my family?" 32 00:01:19,355 --> 00:01:19,575 Right? 33 00:01:19,576 --> 00:01:21,914 Is, is Jesus disowning his family right here? 34 00:01:22,455 --> 00:01:25,185 So this is kind of a crazy question to ask, right? 35 00:01:25,725 --> 00:01:28,055 Um, is he sinning? 36 00:01:28,085 --> 00:01:29,276 Is he disrespecting, right? 37 00:01:29,276 --> 00:01:31,655 Is he breaking the fifth commandment, honor your father and mother? 38 00:01:32,256 --> 00:01:37,475 Well, I think, to answer that question, um, we have to really see how he responds 39 00:01:37,476 --> 00:01:39,455 and what he's talking about here, right? 40 00:01:39,455 --> 00:01:41,976 But before we do, you may have noticed something. 41 00:01:42,604 --> 00:01:47,565 Um, because if you're in your … Look at, uh, uh, look at a screen or look 42 00:01:47,565 --> 00:01:49,055 at your Bibles if you got your Bibles. 43 00:01:49,425 --> 00:01:53,435 I want you to s- uh, to find verse 47 and put your finger on it. 44 00:01:54,875 --> 00:01:58,936 All right, so if you see verse 47, once you find it, raise your hand, okay? 45 00:02:00,155 --> 00:02:01,526 Anyone see verse 47? 46 00:02:05,167 --> 00:02:05,898 Who's got verse 40? 47 00:02:05,898 --> 00:02:07,088 Josh, do you have verse 47? 48 00:02:07,097 --> 00:02:07,148 Yeah, I do. 49 00:02:08,018 --> 00:02:08,588 Where is it? 50 00:02:10,904 --> 00:02:13,004 Oh, so it's not in the Bible, it's like underneath? 51 00:02:13,014 --> 00:02:13,044 Oh, yeah. 52 00:02:13,594 --> 00:02:14,614 Is that where yours is, Adam? 53 00:02:15,444 --> 00:02:15,804 Or where's… 54 00:02:15,834 --> 00:02:16,784 You have it in your Bible? 55 00:02:18,434 --> 00:02:18,504 I don't think so. 56 00:02:18,504 --> 00:02:19,394 Oh, you're just raising your hand? 57 00:02:20,614 --> 00:02:21,803 Where's verse 47? 58 00:02:21,894 --> 00:02:23,954 Why is it down below, like Josh said, right? 59 00:02:23,964 --> 00:02:24,743 It's not on the screen. 60 00:02:25,393 --> 00:02:27,633 If you notice, it just goes 46 to 48. 61 00:02:27,633 --> 00:02:31,924 My Bible just goes 46, 48, and then there's a little number 2 somewhere that 62 00:02:31,924 --> 00:02:33,253 tells me to look down at the bottom. 63 00:02:33,463 --> 00:02:34,293 But why is it gone? 64 00:02:34,694 --> 00:02:35,753 There's no verse 47. 65 00:02:35,754 --> 00:02:37,414 Did someone take verse 47 out of the Bible? 66 00:02:37,543 --> 00:02:38,063 Like, what happened? 67 00:02:38,063 --> 00:02:41,454 Did verse 47, I don't know, is it like on the JV team of the Bible? 68 00:02:41,454 --> 00:02:42,164 Did it get benched? 69 00:02:42,164 --> 00:02:43,224 And maybe if one of… 70 00:02:43,233 --> 00:02:46,383 If verse 48 does bad, they'll call it up and, and see if it does better and… 71 00:02:46,923 --> 00:02:48,004 What, what's happening, right? 72 00:02:48,013 --> 00:02:50,803 So well, verse 47 is… 73 00:02:50,803 --> 00:02:53,474 So b- this is a quick Bible history lesson for you, okay? 74 00:02:53,474 --> 00:02:55,463 This is like adjacent to the sermon. 75 00:02:55,473 --> 00:02:56,183 This isn't the sermon. 76 00:02:56,223 --> 00:02:59,114 This is like helpful to understand about the Bible. 77 00:02:59,114 --> 00:03:01,934 'Cause maybe you're confused, maybe you're like, "Why, I didn't even notice that. 78 00:03:01,934 --> 00:03:02,604 Why is it not in there?" 79 00:03:02,824 --> 00:03:03,484 So here you go. 80 00:03:04,123 --> 00:03:08,473 The reason, first of all, that the verse numbers are in there is 'cause some 81 00:03:08,524 --> 00:03:13,874 Christians, um, put them in there to help you reference the Bible better, right? 82 00:03:13,874 --> 00:03:16,394 'Cause otherwise you'd be like, "Uh, well, it's in Matthew. 83 00:03:16,394 --> 00:03:18,473 It's, you know, it's right after the part where Jesus is talking to the 84 00:03:18,513 --> 00:03:21,683 Pharisees about you'll know a tree by their fruit, and then you know 85 00:03:21,683 --> 00:03:24,904 that part when h- he talks to his, his family and they're looking for 86 00:03:24,904 --> 00:03:26,193 him, and then you know he says that." 87 00:03:26,994 --> 00:03:29,863 Instead, we can just say, "Oh yeah, Matthew 12:46. 88 00:03:29,863 --> 00:03:30,334 Go there." 89 00:03:30,713 --> 00:03:31,033 Right? 90 00:03:31,463 --> 00:03:33,063 So that's why th- people put those in. 91 00:03:33,073 --> 00:03:35,634 So when Matthew was writing the Gospel of Matthew, was he 92 00:03:35,634 --> 00:03:38,853 putting like chapter 12, verse 46? 93 00:03:39,283 --> 00:03:39,563 No. 94 00:03:39,983 --> 00:03:40,213 Right? 95 00:03:40,393 --> 00:03:43,303 Matthew wasn't writing with this system in there. 96 00:03:43,373 --> 00:03:44,184 Matthew just wrote. 97 00:03:44,733 --> 00:03:44,983 Right? 98 00:03:44,983 --> 00:03:48,192 And then later, Christians came along and said, "Okay, let's put the 99 00:03:48,192 --> 00:03:52,723 verse numbers and chapter numbers in, so that way we can just navigate 100 00:03:52,774 --> 00:03:54,563 and talk about the verses easier." 101 00:03:54,653 --> 00:03:54,893 Right? 102 00:03:54,893 --> 00:03:58,123 'Cause otherwise, I mean, think about like a book you may have read 103 00:03:58,123 --> 00:03:59,703 in school, like The Odyssey, right? 104 00:03:59,983 --> 00:04:03,584 Imagine if there was no chapters in The Odyssey, and you'd be like, 105 00:04:03,584 --> 00:04:07,204 "Okay, you know that part, um, when he, you know, when Odysseus is, 106 00:04:07,233 --> 00:04:08,994 is doing that thing and whatever." 107 00:04:08,994 --> 00:04:11,343 You can tell I remember The Odyssey really well from school. 108 00:04:11,643 --> 00:04:16,123 But uh, you know when he's like in the boat and there's the, the sirens and, 109 00:04:16,134 --> 00:04:19,332 you know, not the police sirens, but like the sirens that wanna kill him, right? 110 00:04:19,594 --> 00:04:21,683 You, that's how you have to describe it, right? 111 00:04:21,683 --> 00:04:24,004 'Cause you don't know, "Oh yeah, it's in chapter 13 of The Odyssey 112 00:04:24,004 --> 00:04:24,753 that this happens," right? 113 00:04:24,954 --> 00:04:26,663 So th- that's why those are in there. 114 00:04:26,663 --> 00:04:29,453 So anyway, that's why we have those verse numbers. 115 00:04:29,463 --> 00:04:29,733 Now- 116 00:04:31,776 --> 00:04:40,876 Today, we have access to a lot more copies of the Bible than the people 117 00:04:40,885 --> 00:04:43,166 who put the verse numbers in did. 118 00:04:43,245 --> 00:04:43,615 Okay? 119 00:04:44,046 --> 00:04:48,055 So when you think about it, when we do archeology and stuff, right, we 120 00:04:48,055 --> 00:04:53,806 get to find old copies of the Bible from, like, the 100s, from the 200s, 121 00:04:54,065 --> 00:04:56,595 from the 300s, and the 400s, right? 122 00:04:56,836 --> 00:05:00,456 And so naturally, the old copies of the Bible, right, that are closer 123 00:05:00,456 --> 00:05:03,825 to when it was originally written, right, like, um, when Matthew wrote 124 00:05:03,825 --> 00:05:09,065 this in, you know, 65 AD, right, we wanna use the copies of the Bible that 125 00:05:09,065 --> 00:05:11,795 are from, you know, 100 AD, right? 126 00:05:12,065 --> 00:05:14,595 Not the one from 700 AD, right? 127 00:05:14,595 --> 00:05:14,915 'Cause this… 128 00:05:14,985 --> 00:05:16,016 That would be closer to the original. 129 00:05:16,045 --> 00:05:21,916 So the copies of the Bible that are closer to the original don't have verse 47 in it. 130 00:05:22,515 --> 00:05:23,515 That sentence isn't in there. 131 00:05:24,336 --> 00:05:27,956 So that's why we're like, "Okay, let's go with the older copies 132 00:05:28,025 --> 00:05:29,995 rather than the newer copies." 133 00:05:30,385 --> 00:05:30,735 Okay? 134 00:05:31,005 --> 00:05:33,235 So then how did verse 47 get in some Bibles? 135 00:05:33,395 --> 00:05:36,255 Well, if you were copying the Bible, let's say you're, you're 136 00:05:36,275 --> 00:05:38,325 making a copy of the Bible to someone who doesn't have it, okay? 137 00:05:38,555 --> 00:05:45,485 Let's say, um, let's say the, the high school girls are making a copy of the 138 00:05:45,485 --> 00:05:49,126 Bible for the junior high boys, and the junior high boys, they've never 139 00:05:49,126 --> 00:05:50,526 read the Gospel of Matthew before. 140 00:05:51,576 --> 00:05:54,276 And the high school girls have the copy of the Gospel of Matthew, and they're 141 00:05:54,276 --> 00:05:57,115 like, "Hey, we want the junior high boys to read the Gospel of Matthew," okay? 142 00:05:57,625 --> 00:06:01,345 And so they're like, "Let's make a copy of this," and they're writing this down, 143 00:06:01,345 --> 00:06:03,855 "While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and brothers 144 00:06:03,856 --> 00:06:06,086 stood outside, asking to speak with him." 145 00:06:06,565 --> 00:06:08,135 And then they're like, "You know what? 146 00:06:08,176 --> 00:06:10,995 I don't know if the junior high boys are gonna understand what's going on, okay? 147 00:06:10,995 --> 00:06:11,945 They might get confused. 148 00:06:12,216 --> 00:06:18,039 So let's add, like, on the side-" what verse 47 says, which if you look at 149 00:06:18,039 --> 00:06:21,260 your footnote, mine says, "Someone told him, 'Your mother and your brothers are 150 00:06:21,260 --> 00:06:24,009 standing outside asking to speak to you.'" 151 00:06:24,470 --> 00:06:24,789 Right? 152 00:06:25,070 --> 00:06:26,710 So it's like a clarifying comment. 153 00:06:27,260 --> 00:06:29,299 It's adding more detail to the story, right? 154 00:06:29,539 --> 00:06:30,549 'Cause maybe they're like, "You know what? 155 00:06:30,549 --> 00:06:32,859 They might not understand what's happening here." 156 00:06:33,199 --> 00:06:33,529 Right? 157 00:06:34,199 --> 00:06:35,599 And so then they add that on the side. 158 00:06:35,619 --> 00:06:38,100 And then the junior high boys get this copy of, of the Gospel of Matthew, and 159 00:06:38,100 --> 00:06:39,789 they see that note on the side, right? 160 00:06:39,789 --> 00:06:40,889 And they're like, "Oh, that's helpful," right? 161 00:06:40,890 --> 00:06:43,199 "Helped me get a clearer picture of what's going on." 162 00:06:43,980 --> 00:06:46,849 And then let's say the junior high boys are like, "We need to make a copy so we 163 00:06:46,849 --> 00:06:48,929 can give one to the high school boys." 164 00:06:49,179 --> 00:06:49,589 Okay? 165 00:06:49,879 --> 00:06:52,640 And then the junior high boys are like, "Okay, well, the, this, 166 00:06:52,679 --> 00:06:55,279 this comment that the high school girls added was really helpful. 167 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:59,558 Let's just put it with the rest of the story," because let's say 168 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:01,960 they don't know how to use margins or footnotes or anything, right? 169 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:04,409 That's, that's like a ju- that's a junior high boy thing to do, right? 170 00:07:04,409 --> 00:07:06,289 So they're like, "I, I don't know how to use footnotes, so 171 00:07:06,289 --> 00:07:07,249 I'm just gonna put it in there." 172 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:11,020 And so it can help them understand what's going on. 173 00:07:11,339 --> 00:07:13,570 So then they make a copy of the Gospel of Matthew, and they give it to the 174 00:07:13,570 --> 00:07:16,380 high school boys, and the high school boys are like, "Oh, wow, this is great." 175 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:18,939 And they, they know, "Oh yeah, verse 47, that's something they 176 00:07:18,959 --> 00:07:20,169 added just to help us explain it." 177 00:07:20,539 --> 00:07:22,900 And then the high school boys make a copy for the junior high girls, 178 00:07:23,359 --> 00:07:26,009 and they forget to say that that's not actually part of the Bible. 179 00:07:27,289 --> 00:07:27,780 See what I mean? 180 00:07:28,129 --> 00:07:34,200 Now we've got the, the footnote that actually got added into the, the Bible 181 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:35,420 that now the junior high girls have. 182 00:07:36,119 --> 00:07:36,890 Did you track with that? 183 00:07:37,729 --> 00:07:39,509 If, uh, you didn't, you can go this way. 184 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:42,009 But if you did, you can go this way 185 00:07:44,164 --> 00:07:44,464 Okay. 186 00:07:44,474 --> 00:07:46,294 Some of you were just doing nothing, which is not helpful. 187 00:07:47,014 --> 00:07:47,204 But 188 00:07:49,532 --> 00:07:54,822 So, um, now what we could do, right, what we do today is we 189 00:07:54,822 --> 00:07:56,012 look back at the oldest one. 190 00:07:56,012 --> 00:07:58,212 So which, which of the small groups Bibles would we look at? 191 00:07:58,992 --> 00:07:59,662 Someone shout it out 192 00:08:04,251 --> 00:08:07,692 Starts with high school and ends with- Girls … girls, right? 193 00:08:07,702 --> 00:08:10,722 So we go to the oldest copy and we'd say, "Oh, we have the high school 194 00:08:10,722 --> 00:08:12,602 girls copy of the Bible," right? 195 00:08:12,921 --> 00:08:17,781 We have the oldest one, so let's go ahead and see what the oldest one says. 196 00:08:17,801 --> 00:08:21,291 And in the oldest copy, we would say, "Oh yeah, there's no verse 47." 197 00:08:22,201 --> 00:08:25,541 It just goes from verse 46 to verse 48, okay? 198 00:08:26,501 --> 00:08:29,011 Mostly clear or not clear at all? 199 00:08:29,751 --> 00:08:30,831 It's okay if you're confused. 200 00:08:31,732 --> 00:08:32,092 Okay. 201 00:08:32,101 --> 00:08:35,332 If you have more questions, you can ask your leader later, 202 00:08:35,332 --> 00:08:36,491 or you can talk to me after. 203 00:08:36,751 --> 00:08:40,661 But I just wanted to briefly, as brief as I can, explain why there's a 204 00:08:40,671 --> 00:08:42,691 verse missing from your Bible, right? 205 00:08:42,691 --> 00:08:45,491 And if you notice, there's other places in the Bible that do this, 206 00:08:45,881 --> 00:08:47,521 um, and that's the reason why. 207 00:08:47,551 --> 00:08:50,301 Usually, if you've got a good Bible, they are down below. 208 00:08:50,301 --> 00:08:52,531 See this really small stuff at the bottom of my Bible? 209 00:08:52,851 --> 00:08:54,422 That's where it puts it, okay? 210 00:08:54,441 --> 00:08:55,651 Some translations just put it in. 211 00:08:55,822 --> 00:08:58,611 Actually, if y- with this specific verse, every other translation 212 00:08:58,612 --> 00:09:03,081 besides the ESV has it in the Bible, um, just, just for free. 213 00:09:03,191 --> 00:09:07,691 Anyway, all that to say is your Bible's not wrong, right? 214 00:09:07,691 --> 00:09:10,242 There's, there's a reason there's not a verse 47 in there. 215 00:09:11,051 --> 00:09:12,911 Okay, back to where we were at, right? 216 00:09:12,972 --> 00:09:14,141 Jesus is asking. 217 00:09:14,152 --> 00:09:15,872 He's saying, "Who's my mother? 218 00:09:15,872 --> 00:09:16,591 Who's my brothers," right? 219 00:09:16,591 --> 00:09:18,212 He, is he disrespecting his parents? 220 00:09:18,521 --> 00:09:21,721 Well, let's see what Jesus is trying to say. 221 00:09:23,516 --> 00:09:26,466 What he's saying here in… 222 00:09:26,486 --> 00:09:28,536 Actually, my slides are out of order. 223 00:09:28,555 --> 00:09:29,136 What do I do? 224 00:09:29,206 --> 00:09:30,356 Now, uh, don't look. 225 00:09:30,376 --> 00:09:30,656 Okay. 226 00:09:30,776 --> 00:09:33,185 So then he says, "Who's my mother and who are my brothers?" 227 00:09:33,226 --> 00:09:37,876 Verse 49, "Stretching his hand out towards disciples, he said, 'Here, the disciples, 228 00:09:37,886 --> 00:09:40,096 tho- that's my mother and my brothers.'" 229 00:09:40,655 --> 00:09:41,466 So what's Jesus saying? 230 00:09:41,895 --> 00:09:46,615 He's saying that who I consider to be my family, right? 231 00:09:46,616 --> 00:09:51,375 Jesus says, "My family, who, who I think they are, are my disciples." 232 00:09:52,165 --> 00:09:55,795 And then in verse 50 in your Bible, he says, "Whoever, anyone who does 233 00:09:55,795 --> 00:10:00,785 the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." 234 00:10:01,195 --> 00:10:05,046 So Jesus, what he's doing is redefining who his family is. 235 00:10:05,645 --> 00:10:11,695 He's saying that his family, his closest relationships, are not his biological 236 00:10:11,695 --> 00:10:14,675 family but his spiritual family. 237 00:10:15,205 --> 00:10:20,075 He's saying his closest relationships, his, his, his core family is not 238 00:10:20,075 --> 00:10:24,755 the people that share the same DNA as him, right, or the, the 239 00:10:24,755 --> 00:10:28,516 same, you know, eye color as him or the same hair texture as him. 240 00:10:28,755 --> 00:10:36,815 He's saying that, "My closest relatives are the people who follow God." 241 00:10:37,615 --> 00:10:40,625 Those are the people that he considers to be his family. 242 00:10:41,505 --> 00:10:46,725 So we're gonna see tonight what I, what I want three, three points 243 00:10:46,725 --> 00:10:49,705 or, or three things I wanna tell you about God's family, right? 244 00:10:49,705 --> 00:10:50,805 'Cause God doesn't have DNA. 245 00:10:51,725 --> 00:10:56,846 God doesn't have, you know, um, right, a biological family line. 246 00:10:57,395 --> 00:11:01,965 But what God says is that his spiritual family, Jesus' spiritual family, 247 00:11:02,355 --> 00:11:06,406 is actually, if, if you're part of that family, that's your new family. 248 00:11:06,645 --> 00:11:10,075 Even more important than your biological family, okay? 249 00:11:10,215 --> 00:11:12,815 So three things that you need to know about Jesus' family. 250 00:11:12,825 --> 00:11:15,336 The first one is that Jesus starts his family. 251 00:11:16,565 --> 00:11:20,995 If you notice in our verses, Jesus is the one who points it out. 252 00:11:21,005 --> 00:11:23,545 He says, "Here, that's my mother and my brothers." 253 00:11:24,525 --> 00:11:26,475 So Jesus starts this family. 254 00:11:27,376 --> 00:11:29,985 The disciples aren't like, "Jesus, pick me. 255 00:11:30,035 --> 00:11:30,935 I wanna be part of your family." 256 00:11:31,926 --> 00:11:34,235 Jesus says, "You're part of my family," before they even ask. 257 00:11:34,915 --> 00:11:36,065 Maybe some of them didn't even know. 258 00:11:36,215 --> 00:11:37,896 Maybe they were like, "Where? 259 00:11:38,635 --> 00:11:39,215 Oh, us. 260 00:11:39,305 --> 00:11:39,675 Okay. 261 00:11:39,706 --> 00:11:41,136 Maybe, yeah, I guess that's us, right?" 262 00:11:43,740 --> 00:11:47,050 You can't earn your way into Jesus' family, right? 263 00:11:47,050 --> 00:11:47,580 Very simple. 264 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:49,060 Maybe you probably knew that already, right? 265 00:11:49,260 --> 00:11:54,020 But you don't get into Jesus' family because you're really great, 'cause you're 266 00:11:54,060 --> 00:11:58,569 super fun to be around, or because you know a lot about the Bible, or because 267 00:11:58,579 --> 00:12:00,170 you spend a lot of time in church. 268 00:12:00,330 --> 00:12:01,820 That's not how you get into Jesus' family. 269 00:12:02,349 --> 00:12:03,819 Jesus starts the family. 270 00:12:03,830 --> 00:12:05,559 He picks his family 271 00:12:08,636 --> 00:12:11,476 There's no, there's nothing that you bring to the table that's 272 00:12:11,476 --> 00:12:12,256 like, "You know what, Jesus? 273 00:12:12,716 --> 00:12:16,476 You should consider making me part of your family," right? 274 00:12:16,706 --> 00:12:19,006 Maybe you do your Shark Tank pitch, and you're, like they did at 275 00:12:19,006 --> 00:12:21,945 women's retreat, and you're like, "Here, here's my, my pitch," right? 276 00:12:21,945 --> 00:12:23,615 "You should pick me to be part of your family because 277 00:12:23,826 --> 00:12:24,986 I know a lot of Bible verses. 278 00:12:25,025 --> 00:12:26,026 I'm a really good kid. 279 00:12:26,156 --> 00:12:27,396 I listen to my parents. 280 00:12:27,545 --> 00:12:29,305 That's why I should be part of your family." 281 00:12:29,616 --> 00:12:31,135 That's not what happens, right? 282 00:12:31,146 --> 00:12:32,875 Jesus chooses people. 283 00:12:33,005 --> 00:12:36,165 He says, "Look, this person, I'm gonna adopt them. 284 00:12:36,185 --> 00:12:37,345 I'm gonna save them." 285 00:12:38,435 --> 00:12:38,605 Right? 286 00:12:38,605 --> 00:12:42,266 It's Jesus's idea to save people and make them part of his family. 287 00:12:43,035 --> 00:12:46,665 Now, what that also means is not everyone's part of Jesus' family, right? 288 00:12:47,366 --> 00:12:49,885 Maybe you've heard someone say something like, "Oh, we're all God's children." 289 00:12:51,005 --> 00:12:51,486 Not true. 290 00:12:52,656 --> 00:12:54,375 Everyone is not one of God's children. 291 00:12:55,116 --> 00:12:58,045 Only some people are part of God's family. 292 00:12:59,746 --> 00:13:02,695 So don't assume that you're part of God's family, and we'll 293 00:13:02,695 --> 00:13:03,645 talk about that more later. 294 00:13:03,675 --> 00:13:04,896 How, how do I know I'm in God's family? 295 00:13:05,366 --> 00:13:10,606 But what- first thing I want you to see is that Jesus started this family, right? 296 00:13:10,606 --> 00:13:13,026 And not because the disciples were so great, and he was 297 00:13:13,026 --> 00:13:14,965 like, "Yeah, I definitely, I wanna live with them," right? 298 00:13:15,926 --> 00:13:18,785 But because he cares for them, and he loves them. 299 00:13:19,545 --> 00:13:22,336 But something else I want you to notice is that Jesus didn't 300 00:13:22,345 --> 00:13:24,635 have to make a family, right? 301 00:13:24,636 --> 00:13:25,866 He could have just made a club. 302 00:13:26,865 --> 00:13:27,235 He could've… 303 00:13:27,246 --> 00:13:28,746 That Christianity doesn't have to be a family. 304 00:13:28,755 --> 00:13:29,875 The church doesn't have to be a family. 305 00:13:30,246 --> 00:13:31,365 It could have been a club. 306 00:13:31,375 --> 00:13:33,696 It could have been an, an army. 307 00:13:34,426 --> 00:13:34,496 Right? 308 00:13:34,505 --> 00:13:36,175 Think of all the different types of groups there are. 309 00:13:36,956 --> 00:13:42,335 There's armies, there's clubs, there's all sorts of different, right? 310 00:13:42,335 --> 00:13:42,505 There… 311 00:13:42,565 --> 00:13:42,815 I don't know. 312 00:13:42,815 --> 00:13:43,025 You could… 313 00:13:43,225 --> 00:13:45,886 Jesus could have made the church a book club about the Bible, right? 314 00:13:46,165 --> 00:13:48,495 Jesus could have made the church, uh, he could have called these people 315 00:13:48,496 --> 00:13:51,325 his servants or his employees, right? 316 00:13:52,005 --> 00:13:56,245 But instead, he says, "They're going to be my family." 317 00:13:57,685 --> 00:14:00,845 Now, maybe you haven't thought about that before, but Jesus 318 00:14:00,845 --> 00:14:02,115 didn't have to say that, right? 319 00:14:02,115 --> 00:14:05,055 And, and the, the family idea adds… 320 00:14:05,285 --> 00:14:07,955 There's, there's a, there's a loyalty, right, to your family. 321 00:14:08,265 --> 00:14:09,205 There's affection. 322 00:14:09,246 --> 00:14:11,115 There's love for a family. 323 00:14:11,625 --> 00:14:14,595 There's closeness that comes with a family. 324 00:14:14,636 --> 00:14:16,495 There's belonging that comes with a family. 325 00:14:17,136 --> 00:14:22,645 So Jesus chose to, to call it a family, to call them his brothers, on purpose. 326 00:14:24,386 --> 00:14:24,605 Right? 327 00:14:24,606 --> 00:14:28,495 He- because Jesus is trying to, to make a point to you, right? 328 00:14:28,496 --> 00:14:32,195 If, if, if you are a Christian, you aren't just working for Jesus. 329 00:14:33,496 --> 00:14:35,595 You're part of his family, right? 330 00:14:35,595 --> 00:14:36,905 You're close with Jesus. 331 00:14:37,055 --> 00:14:39,825 Jesus loves you, and it's his idea. 332 00:14:40,886 --> 00:14:41,085 Right? 333 00:14:41,085 --> 00:14:43,206 He decided, "I'm gonna love you." 334 00:14:43,735 --> 00:14:43,835 Right? 335 00:14:43,835 --> 00:14:46,275 If you're a Christian, he said, "I'm going to love you," right? 336 00:14:46,296 --> 00:14:48,425 I'm going to love Morgan. 337 00:14:48,845 --> 00:14:49,896 Jesus decided that. 338 00:14:50,035 --> 00:14:50,995 He said, "I'm gonna… 339 00:14:51,445 --> 00:14:55,045 I care about him, and I want him to be part of my family." 340 00:14:55,085 --> 00:14:57,456 So if you're a Christian, that's just such an amazing thing, right? 341 00:14:57,456 --> 00:15:02,935 Jesus loves you, and he chose you and wanted you to be part of his family. 342 00:15:04,838 --> 00:15:07,978 Now, the other thing about that, right, Jesus loves his family, 343 00:15:08,668 --> 00:15:14,347 is that if you don't like another Christian, what you're telling Jesus 344 00:15:14,358 --> 00:15:16,368 is, "I don't like your family." 345 00:15:17,788 --> 00:15:17,948 Right? 346 00:15:17,948 --> 00:15:20,377 If there's, if there's a Christian a- and you, you know, maybe there's 347 00:15:20,387 --> 00:15:23,447 someone in your small group or someone at your school a- and you're both 348 00:15:23,447 --> 00:15:26,987 Christians, and you guys have beef, you guys have, have conflict, there's 349 00:15:26,998 --> 00:15:32,917 problems, then you're saying, you're telling God, "I don't like your family." 350 00:15:34,877 --> 00:15:38,528 And so that should put some importance on your relationships, 351 00:15:38,688 --> 00:15:40,267 right, with other Christians. 352 00:15:40,637 --> 00:15:44,317 Because if, if you're saying, "I'm not gonna forgive that person," right, 353 00:15:44,317 --> 00:15:49,137 you're saying, "I'm not gonna forgive someone who's part of God's family," 354 00:15:50,367 --> 00:15:51,597 or, "I'm not gonna love that person." 355 00:15:53,227 --> 00:15:58,087 So Jesus starts his family, right? 356 00:15:58,087 --> 00:15:58,888 He, he didn't have to. 357 00:15:59,008 --> 00:15:59,648 It was free. 358 00:15:59,817 --> 00:16:00,538 He wanted to. 359 00:16:00,977 --> 00:16:05,837 He wasn't obligated to, um, but he wanted to, to love people and 360 00:16:05,837 --> 00:16:07,928 make them part of his family. 361 00:16:08,377 --> 00:16:08,717 Um- 362 00:16:10,747 --> 00:16:14,658 Something else that you notice in these verses, especially this last part, 363 00:16:15,438 --> 00:16:17,158 uh, there's not like a, an option. 364 00:16:17,527 --> 00:16:19,488 There's not like an opt-out from Jesus' family. 365 00:16:19,488 --> 00:16:20,327 He just says, "Here they are. 366 00:16:20,478 --> 00:16:21,327 They're part of my family." 367 00:16:22,057 --> 00:16:25,117 And so kinda like what we were just talking about is, is being 368 00:16:25,117 --> 00:16:27,447 part of Jesus' family isn't… 369 00:16:28,207 --> 00:16:30,797 Uh, you don't get to say, "Well, Jesus, I wanna go to heaven, but I don't 370 00:16:30,797 --> 00:16:32,678 wanna be part of your family," right? 371 00:16:32,867 --> 00:16:35,947 Or, "Jesus, I want a relationship with you, but I don't want a 372 00:16:35,947 --> 00:16:37,287 relationship with your family." 373 00:16:37,697 --> 00:16:38,188 You notice that? 374 00:16:38,307 --> 00:16:38,937 Like, think about this. 375 00:16:38,937 --> 00:16:42,617 What if the disciples were like, "Well, okay, Jesus, I wanna 376 00:16:42,627 --> 00:16:44,377 be, I wanna be your brother. 377 00:16:44,478 --> 00:16:45,717 I wanna be a part of your family. 378 00:16:46,257 --> 00:16:50,447 But this Peter guy, I don't wanna be part of his family," right? 379 00:16:50,687 --> 00:16:53,277 Or, "Oh, that Andrew guy, I don't wanna be a part of his family. 380 00:16:53,967 --> 00:16:56,257 I wanna be part of your family, Jesus, but, but not those people." 381 00:16:57,527 --> 00:17:03,347 And what I want you to see is that if you want a relationship with Jesus, the 382 00:17:03,347 --> 00:17:08,268 relationship with the other people in Jesus' family is not optional, okay? 383 00:17:08,268 --> 00:17:08,967 That's our second point. 384 00:17:09,178 --> 00:17:10,537 Family isn't optional. 385 00:17:11,537 --> 00:17:15,547 If you're a Christian, your spiritual family is not optional. 386 00:17:17,196 --> 00:17:19,767 You can't say, "Well, I want a relationship with Jesus, but I don't 387 00:17:19,767 --> 00:17:21,047 want a relationship with the church." 388 00:17:23,796 --> 00:17:23,846 Right? 389 00:17:23,846 --> 00:17:26,096 I, I, I want, I, I want Jesus. 390 00:17:26,096 --> 00:17:29,556 I, I, I wanna get to know him, but I, I don't really want to love these other 391 00:17:29,556 --> 00:17:31,466 people that he's, he's put in my life. 392 00:17:32,596 --> 00:17:34,866 I don't wanna, I don't wanna be discipled by people. 393 00:17:35,536 --> 00:17:37,746 Or, ugh, I don't wanna disciple other people. 394 00:17:38,716 --> 00:17:40,195 I don't wanna have to forgive people. 395 00:17:40,946 --> 00:17:42,925 I don't wanna have to pray for people. 396 00:17:44,395 --> 00:17:46,606 I don't wanna have to care about other people's problems. 397 00:17:47,756 --> 00:17:52,036 If that's you, but you're saying, "I love Jesus," there's, 398 00:17:52,055 --> 00:17:53,105 there's a disconnect there. 399 00:17:55,076 --> 00:17:59,805 Being part of what Jesus is doing means being part of what his people are doing. 400 00:18:01,505 --> 00:18:04,726 You can't opt out of the church part but opt into the Jesus part 401 00:18:07,132 --> 00:18:10,432 And that's really popular nowadays for people to say, "Oh, I'm a, I'm a 402 00:18:10,432 --> 00:18:12,342 Christian, but I don't go to church." 403 00:18:13,122 --> 00:18:13,342 Right? 404 00:18:13,342 --> 00:18:14,002 Or, "I'm a, I'm a… 405 00:18:14,032 --> 00:18:17,062 I love Jesus, but I, I don't really need to be part of, 406 00:18:17,062 --> 00:18:18,152 like, I don't like religion." 407 00:18:19,222 --> 00:18:20,442 Maybe you've heard it like that before. 408 00:18:22,162 --> 00:18:25,482 Right, being, having a relationship with Jesus also means having a 409 00:18:25,482 --> 00:18:27,621 relationship with his family. 410 00:18:28,821 --> 00:18:33,642 Just like if you get married, you, you also end up in a relationship with all of 411 00:18:33,642 --> 00:18:37,252 these other people that you maybe didn't even know before you got married, right? 412 00:18:37,462 --> 00:18:40,071 There's aunts and there's uncles and there's cousins and there's siblings 413 00:18:40,071 --> 00:18:42,191 and there's, right, the in-laws, right? 414 00:18:42,321 --> 00:18:46,951 You, a- along with the person that you marry, you also get a brand-new family. 415 00:18:46,961 --> 00:18:49,491 You get all of these people that now y- are part of your life, 416 00:18:49,501 --> 00:18:50,321 whether you like it or not. 417 00:18:51,431 --> 00:18:53,552 That's kinda like how it is when you become a Christian, right? 418 00:18:54,082 --> 00:18:56,612 You, you, you, you marry Jesus, right? 419 00:18:56,632 --> 00:18:58,321 You're, you're the bride, he's the groom, right? 420 00:18:58,331 --> 00:19:00,462 That's, that's what the illustration is in Ephesians 5. 421 00:19:01,731 --> 00:19:04,912 And the family, the i- the in-laws are the church. 422 00:19:06,121 --> 00:19:10,561 You're now immediately related to all of these people, whether you like it or not. 423 00:19:11,042 --> 00:19:15,832 If you're a Christian, you are related to all of the other Christians in the world. 424 00:19:16,632 --> 00:19:17,741 In history, in fact. 425 00:19:18,191 --> 00:19:18,541 Ever. 426 00:19:19,321 --> 00:19:20,731 You are related to all of them. 427 00:19:22,041 --> 00:19:27,852 And so this isn't something that you can say, "Well, when I'm older, then I'll 428 00:19:27,852 --> 00:19:29,342 worry about being part of a church." 429 00:19:29,482 --> 00:19:32,411 If you're a Christian, you are part of a church right now. 430 00:19:33,161 --> 00:19:35,971 You have family right now who need you to love them and 431 00:19:35,971 --> 00:19:37,411 care for them, pray for them. 432 00:19:38,452 --> 00:19:40,851 This isn't, "Oh, when I get older I'll, I'll do this." 433 00:19:46,396 --> 00:19:48,826 And, and maybe you're thinking, "Oh, well, you know, Christians are 434 00:19:48,826 --> 00:19:52,516 boring, or Christians aren't fun, or, or my un- my non-Christian friends 435 00:19:52,516 --> 00:19:53,506 are way more fun to hang out with. 436 00:19:53,536 --> 00:19:58,036 They understand me better, or they're not as weird, or they're not as awkward." 437 00:19:59,476 --> 00:19:59,696 Right? 438 00:19:59,705 --> 00:20:04,575 Those aren't qualifications for, for you to say, "Well, that means great. 439 00:20:04,615 --> 00:20:05,825 Don't have to worry about it anymore. 440 00:20:06,126 --> 00:20:08,846 I can hang out with the people I like to hang out with, not with God's family." 441 00:20:10,376 --> 00:20:11,615 'Cause whether you like it or not, if you're a Christian, 442 00:20:11,615 --> 00:20:12,755 you are part of God's family. 443 00:20:14,355 --> 00:20:14,435 Right? 444 00:20:14,445 --> 00:20:15,956 You don't get to say, "Well, too bad. 445 00:20:16,376 --> 00:20:17,045 That's not for me." 446 00:20:17,705 --> 00:20:21,136 If you want Jesus, you get to be part of His f- which is 447 00:20:21,136 --> 00:20:22,696 such a great thing, by the way. 448 00:20:23,346 --> 00:20:23,536 Right? 449 00:20:23,536 --> 00:20:25,355 That you don't have to follow Jesus on your own. 450 00:20:25,436 --> 00:20:27,935 You don't have to deal with all the struggles and hardship 451 00:20:27,936 --> 00:20:29,235 and, and trials on your own. 452 00:20:29,236 --> 00:20:30,745 Jesus gives you a support group. 453 00:20:30,745 --> 00:20:31,236 He, He… 454 00:20:31,396 --> 00:20:36,176 There's built-in friends and protection and love and care that 455 00:20:36,176 --> 00:20:40,345 come with following Jesus, not just from Jesus, but from His family 456 00:20:45,532 --> 00:20:48,312 And then the last thing that I want you to see about this comes from our 457 00:20:48,312 --> 00:20:49,802 last verse here in verse 50, okay? 458 00:20:50,142 --> 00:20:50,972 Matthew 12:50. 459 00:20:52,262 --> 00:20:54,951 "For whoever," so Jesus is saying, right, these are my brother and 460 00:20:54,952 --> 00:20:56,841 my brothers, those are my family. 461 00:20:57,302 --> 00:21:01,622 And then he says, "For whoever," anyone, "who does the will of my Father in heaven 462 00:21:02,112 --> 00:21:04,662 is my brother and sister and mother." 463 00:21:06,352 --> 00:21:09,991 So here Jesus is giving us kind of the family resemblance, right? 464 00:21:10,331 --> 00:21:13,712 I don't know if you've ever seen a family where they all look really similar, right? 465 00:21:14,051 --> 00:21:17,952 Jesus is saying, "This is how you can tell who's part of my family." 466 00:21:19,322 --> 00:21:23,681 And what does he say is the, the distinguishing feature? 467 00:21:24,091 --> 00:21:28,921 It's people who obey the Lord, people who follow God, people who love God. 468 00:21:29,161 --> 00:21:32,602 Those are the people who are part of Jesus' family. 469 00:21:32,642 --> 00:21:35,301 So third thing I want you to know about Jesus' family is that 470 00:21:35,331 --> 00:21:38,001 the family obeys their father 471 00:21:50,554 --> 00:21:53,804 Now there's something that you might easily get confused 472 00:21:53,804 --> 00:21:55,664 by when I say this, okay? 473 00:21:57,714 --> 00:22:00,524 Obeying the Father, is that how you get into the family? 474 00:22:03,460 --> 00:22:04,540 No, right? 475 00:22:04,940 --> 00:22:06,850 Obeying the Father is not how you get into the family. 476 00:22:08,020 --> 00:22:12,520 That's just how the family is, right? 477 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:16,060 Does, does looking like your parents make you part of their family? 478 00:22:17,610 --> 00:22:18,760 No, right? 479 00:22:19,779 --> 00:22:22,190 It's a product of being part of the family. 480 00:22:22,539 --> 00:22:25,180 That's how you, you're just like, "Yeah, that, that just happens," right? 481 00:22:25,180 --> 00:22:28,450 You didn't decide to look like your parents, right? 482 00:22:28,450 --> 00:22:33,210 You didn't decide to, to have some of the same mannerisms or, or phrases 483 00:22:33,219 --> 00:22:35,699 that your, your parents have, right? 484 00:22:35,699 --> 00:22:38,639 But you end up looking like your family 485 00:22:41,082 --> 00:22:44,732 Obeying God is not how you get into God's family, right? 486 00:22:44,742 --> 00:22:46,812 You don't obey God and then God's like, "You know what? 487 00:22:46,812 --> 00:22:49,102 You're obeying me, I'm gonna put you in my family." 488 00:22:50,481 --> 00:22:52,272 What happens is God puts you in his family, right? 489 00:22:52,272 --> 00:22:54,462 He saves you, and then you start obeying God. 490 00:22:55,052 --> 00:22:57,491 So if you're out there and you're, you're trying to obey your way 491 00:22:57,492 --> 00:23:00,751 into God's family, right, you've, you've got the order messed up 492 00:23:03,086 --> 00:23:03,116 Right? 493 00:23:03,126 --> 00:23:05,136 Obeying God is not how you get into God's family. 494 00:23:05,306 --> 00:23:07,076 It's not even how you stay in God's family. 495 00:23:08,596 --> 00:23:11,786 But everyone who's in the family will obey God. 496 00:23:13,276 --> 00:23:15,846 That's just part of being in the family. 497 00:23:15,846 --> 00:23:18,815 Now, also something that you need to know about this obedience, right, is 498 00:23:18,816 --> 00:23:20,945 this, this is heartfelt obedience, right? 499 00:23:20,946 --> 00:23:22,406 It's inside-out obedience. 500 00:23:23,306 --> 00:23:24,935 This isn't like, "Well, you know what? 501 00:23:24,956 --> 00:23:27,645 I'm really scared of not being in the family, so I better start obeying." 502 00:23:28,725 --> 00:23:30,945 This is, "I, I, I love being part of this family. 503 00:23:31,095 --> 00:23:33,455 I, I love the way this family does things. 504 00:23:33,936 --> 00:23:38,366 I love the way that, that my Father has instructed me to live. 505 00:23:38,376 --> 00:23:41,375 He's given me great things to live by. 506 00:23:41,475 --> 00:23:44,336 He's given me so much, so much great wisdom and so many great 507 00:23:44,336 --> 00:23:45,396 commands that are for my good. 508 00:23:45,396 --> 00:23:46,225 He cares for me. 509 00:23:46,356 --> 00:23:48,835 I trust Him, so of course I'll listen to Him." 510 00:23:49,865 --> 00:23:52,315 That's why the family obeys the Father. 511 00:23:53,955 --> 00:23:56,325 It's not like, "Well, you know, I gotta try really hard to, to 512 00:23:56,325 --> 00:23:57,925 impress Him so He still likes me." 513 00:23:58,905 --> 00:24:00,445 That's not how this family works 514 00:24:04,188 --> 00:24:08,218 But also obedience, it, it really happens, right? 515 00:24:08,358 --> 00:24:11,958 It, this isn't good intentions to obey God one day. 516 00:24:13,388 --> 00:24:15,848 This isn't, "Oh, I'll be better tomorrow." 517 00:24:17,980 --> 00:24:20,900 This is real obedience that really happens in real life. 518 00:24:21,590 --> 00:24:25,780 Real decisions that you really make to love God and, and say no to sin. 519 00:24:26,220 --> 00:24:30,719 Real feelings that you have of, of awe, amazement at God, and love for 520 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:31,990 God and wanting to be with Jesus. 521 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:37,100 This isn't, "Well, yeah, I really wish I could," or, "I, I really will start soon," 522 00:24:37,740 --> 00:24:40,069 or, "I really want to obey God, but…" 523 00:24:40,539 --> 00:24:41,300 Fill in the blank. 524 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:42,240 Right? 525 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:43,189 This isn't good intentions. 526 00:24:43,189 --> 00:24:44,700 This is real obedience. 527 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:49,349 You're really thinking and feeling and doing the things that God, your 528 00:24:49,349 --> 00:24:53,100 Father, has asked you to do because He loves you, and that's why He, 529 00:24:53,100 --> 00:24:53,790 He asks you to do these things. 530 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:58,370 So this is, this is real obedience, but it's from the heart, right? 531 00:24:58,370 --> 00:25:00,359 It's not outside in obedience 532 00:25:02,684 --> 00:25:06,714 And so if you really are a part of Jesus' family, you'll show it over time, right? 533 00:25:06,714 --> 00:25:09,764 Maybe you won't show it if you just zoom in on a week of your life. 534 00:25:10,004 --> 00:25:12,274 There might not be a ton of evidence that you're part of God's family. 535 00:25:13,444 --> 00:25:18,434 But over time, as you zoom out to months and, and years, 536 00:25:19,053 --> 00:25:20,104 you should see, you know what? 537 00:25:20,104 --> 00:25:23,004 I actually do bear the family resemblance. 538 00:25:23,004 --> 00:25:24,934 I actually do look like, like my father 539 00:25:28,188 --> 00:25:30,018 But be honest about that, right? 540 00:25:30,018 --> 00:25:36,308 Don't, don't make excuses if there's really no obedience happening, right? 541 00:25:36,308 --> 00:25:38,768 It's better for you to be honest and say, "You know what? 542 00:25:38,768 --> 00:25:43,828 I, I don't look anything like my family," than to say, "I, I really, 543 00:25:44,458 --> 00:25:46,368 I really am trying and I wanna be." 544 00:25:46,418 --> 00:25:47,687 It, it's better for you to say, "You know what? 545 00:25:47,717 --> 00:25:49,088 I, I'm gonna be honest with myself. 546 00:25:49,387 --> 00:25:52,217 I, I don't, I don't look like my family." 547 00:25:52,637 --> 00:25:57,707 And then you say, "But I want to be part of this family, so God, please save me 548 00:25:58,098 --> 00:26:00,107 and make me part of this family," right? 549 00:26:04,636 --> 00:26:12,706 So again, God's family is not everyone in the world, but it's 550 00:26:12,936 --> 00:26:14,655 people that God chose, right? 551 00:26:14,666 --> 00:26:16,066 To, to be part of His family. 552 00:26:16,116 --> 00:26:17,536 His idea, right? 553 00:26:17,536 --> 00:26:20,476 To, to bring them into that close, loving relationship. 554 00:26:21,355 --> 00:26:24,325 And because of that, right? 555 00:26:24,415 --> 00:26:29,975 That means that if you're a Christian, you have real res- responsibilities and 556 00:26:29,976 --> 00:26:32,265 relationships with other Christians. 557 00:26:33,235 --> 00:26:37,756 That there's people in your family that you need to love and spend time with and 558 00:26:37,756 --> 00:26:39,836 pray for and think about and get to know 559 00:26:42,084 --> 00:26:44,504 And those should be the people you're closest with. 560 00:26:45,454 --> 00:26:47,414 And those, those are the people that you should have your, your 561 00:26:47,414 --> 00:26:49,724 deepest relationships with, your best conversations with 562 00:26:52,118 --> 00:26:55,828 And that's because they all obey their Father, right? 563 00:26:55,838 --> 00:26:57,388 All these people, those are the people you wanna be around. 564 00:26:57,388 --> 00:26:59,968 If you're a Chris- if you're really a Christian, you're gonna want to 565 00:26:59,968 --> 00:27:02,647 be around other Christians because they, they love the things you love. 566 00:27:02,997 --> 00:27:04,958 They love the person you love the most, right? 567 00:27:04,958 --> 00:27:07,818 If you're, if you're a Christian, you don't wanna be around the people that 568 00:27:07,818 --> 00:27:10,167 are, that are trashing your savior. 569 00:27:11,108 --> 00:27:13,518 Just like if you wouldn't hang out with your friends anymore if 570 00:27:13,528 --> 00:27:16,197 all they did was, was make fun of your girlfriend or boyfriend. 571 00:27:17,008 --> 00:27:20,078 You'd say, "These are bad friends 'cause they, they don't like the person I love." 572 00:27:21,428 --> 00:27:26,127 And so we, right, when you, when you're thinking about your friends, when you're 573 00:27:26,127 --> 00:27:28,848 thinking about your relationships, right, make sure they're, they're with 574 00:27:28,857 --> 00:27:31,597 people, and even the person you date, right, make sure that they're with 575 00:27:31,607 --> 00:27:34,308 people who are part of God's family. 576 00:27:35,368 --> 00:27:37,907 Let's pray, and we'll go to small groups. 577 00:27:40,806 --> 00:27:43,726 Heavenly Father, uh, thank you that you've adopted people. 578 00:27:43,906 --> 00:27:45,006 You didn't have to do this. 579 00:27:45,026 --> 00:27:47,466 You didn't, you didn't have to save anyone at all. 580 00:27:47,536 --> 00:27:50,986 You have the right to send every single person to hell because 581 00:27:50,986 --> 00:27:53,036 we've all sinned against you. 582 00:27:53,046 --> 00:27:54,646 We've all broken your rules. 583 00:27:54,646 --> 00:27:57,176 We're all evil and opposed to you. 584 00:27:57,526 --> 00:27:59,875 But you saved some people. 585 00:27:59,876 --> 00:28:04,036 You didn't just save us to make us your employees or your servants. 586 00:28:04,396 --> 00:28:06,165 You didn't even save us to make us your friends. 587 00:28:06,185 --> 00:28:07,846 You saved us to make us your family. 588 00:28:08,645 --> 00:28:15,466 And so I pray that, um, you would help us who are saved to really just enjoy 589 00:28:15,485 --> 00:28:19,896 the love that you have for us, that you care for us, you know us, you want 590 00:28:19,956 --> 00:28:21,295 us, you're not just putting up with us. 591 00:28:21,906 --> 00:28:24,855 Um, and I pray for anyone here who's not part of your family, that they 592 00:28:24,855 --> 00:28:28,555 would be honest and, and realize that, and that you'd help them to want to 593 00:28:28,555 --> 00:28:32,345 be part of your family, to want to have the, the relationship with you 594 00:28:32,345 --> 00:28:34,365 that you offer freely to all of us. 595 00:28:35,255 --> 00:28:37,885 Um, help us to have good conversations in small groups. 596 00:28:37,886 --> 00:28:38,685 Help us to be honest. 597 00:28:38,685 --> 00:28:41,495 Help us to think about what we're gonna say and, and to think about 598 00:28:41,495 --> 00:28:44,055 how what we're saying is good for, for everyone else to hear. 599 00:28:44,555 --> 00:28:46,445 Um, we pray this all in Jesus' name. 600 00:28:46,895 --> 00:28:47,255 Amen.