1 00:00:33,859 --> 00:00:34,491 Well, amen. 2 00:00:34,555 --> 00:00:36,319 Thank you, brother Caleb, for that song. 3 00:00:36,739 --> 00:00:39,307 I'm just so thankful Jesus has been merciful to me. 4 00:00:39,363 --> 00:00:42,239 If you're thankful as well for that, would you say amen? 5 00:00:42,819 --> 00:00:43,679 Amen. 6 00:00:44,099 --> 00:00:47,451 Well, if you have your Bibles tonight, turn to Matthew, chapter 7 00:00:47,515 --> 00:00:48,411 23. 8 00:00:48,595 --> 00:00:50,919 Matthew, chapter 23. 9 00:00:51,539 --> 00:00:55,759 We'll begin reading in verse number 23 in here in just a moment. 10 00:00:56,319 --> 00:00:59,271 I just want to thank pastor for allowing me the opportunity to 11 00:00:59,295 --> 00:01:00,299 preach tonight. 12 00:01:00,719 --> 00:01:03,847 This is his pulpit, and I try not to take that lightly. 13 00:01:03,943 --> 00:01:06,951 And it's an honor and a privilege to preach in front of you 14 00:01:06,975 --> 00:01:07,579 guys. 15 00:01:09,679 --> 00:01:15,959 I came across this sermon actually studying for my Sunday school 16 00:01:15,999 --> 00:01:16,343 class. 17 00:01:16,431 --> 00:01:19,059 And this is actually one of the lessons that we talked about. 18 00:01:19,359 --> 00:01:23,399 And when I had found this lesson and I was starting to study 19 00:01:23,439 --> 00:01:27,889 and go over it, I found it to be very profound of the modern day 20 00:01:27,929 --> 00:01:29,309 that we live in. 21 00:01:30,809 --> 00:01:36,369 If you look in verse number 23, it says, Woe unto you scribes 22 00:01:36,449 --> 00:01:39,025 and Pharisees, hypocrites. 23 00:01:39,137 --> 00:01:41,229 This is Jesus speaking, by the way. 24 00:01:41,609 --> 00:01:47,057 For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin and have omitted 25 00:01:47,073 --> 00:01:52,149 the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith. 26 00:01:52,309 --> 00:01:58,085 These ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone. 27 00:01:58,277 --> 00:02:03,925 Verse number 24, it says, Ye blind guides which strain at a gnat 28 00:02:04,037 --> 00:02:06,053 and swallow a camel. 29 00:02:06,181 --> 00:02:08,293 Let's pray, and we'll continue reading here in a moment. 30 00:02:08,421 --> 00:02:10,757 Lord, I pray that you would hide me behind your cross today, 31 00:02:10,813 --> 00:02:14,501 God, I pray that I would say every word that you would have me 32 00:02:14,525 --> 00:02:18,015 to say, Lord, I know this is not Noah Day's message, Lord. 33 00:02:18,047 --> 00:02:21,183 This is your message, God, that you've given to me. 34 00:02:21,271 --> 00:02:24,431 Lord, I pray that you would just speak the words that you'd have 35 00:02:24,455 --> 00:02:25,023 me to speak. 36 00:02:25,071 --> 00:02:28,527 Lord, let me be your mouthpiece, Lord, hide me behind 37 00:02:28,583 --> 00:02:28,975 your cross. 38 00:02:29,007 --> 00:02:30,079 In Jesus name I pray. 39 00:02:30,159 --> 00:02:30,979 Amen. 40 00:02:32,039 --> 00:02:33,579 Let me ask you something. 41 00:02:34,759 --> 00:02:38,739 What would you do if Jesus walked in the back door? 42 00:02:40,519 --> 00:02:42,801 I know what may have of us would have done. 43 00:02:42,825 --> 00:02:46,657 We'd run and hug his neck, probably and fall flat on our face 44 00:02:46,713 --> 00:02:47,617 and worship him. 45 00:02:47,673 --> 00:02:48,269 Right? 46 00:02:48,569 --> 00:02:50,929 But let's think about this for a moment. 47 00:02:51,089 --> 00:02:55,569 If Jesus walked in the back door tonight, what do you think he 48 00:02:55,609 --> 00:02:56,749 would say to us? 49 00:02:57,369 --> 00:03:02,961 Looking at Heritage Baptist Church, what would be the first words 50 00:03:03,025 --> 00:03:04,869 to come out of his mouth? 51 00:03:06,089 --> 00:03:10,471 I think it's a very scary thought, especially if we start thinking 52 00:03:10,535 --> 00:03:15,047 about, what do you think Jesus would say if he came into your house 53 00:03:15,103 --> 00:03:15,899 tonight? 54 00:03:16,719 --> 00:03:18,739 What would he say about your home? 55 00:03:19,999 --> 00:03:24,599 Maybe for you kids out there, what would Jesus say if he came to 56 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,223 school, came into your classroom? 57 00:03:27,271 --> 00:03:28,899 What would he say about you then? 58 00:03:29,199 --> 00:03:32,647 What would Jesus say if he came into your work? 59 00:03:32,703 --> 00:03:35,539 From you people who are adults, right? 60 00:03:36,079 --> 00:03:38,839 What would he do if he walked into the office one day? 61 00:03:38,959 --> 00:03:40,231 What would he say to you? 62 00:03:40,255 --> 00:03:41,699 What would he have to say? 63 00:03:42,959 --> 00:03:46,983 I find verses 23, and we'll see here in a moment. 64 00:03:47,031 --> 00:03:53,339 Verses 23 through 32 is speaking about the modern day Christian. 65 00:03:55,279 --> 00:04:00,535 Have you ever had a maybe growing up for Christmas, you've 66 00:04:00,567 --> 00:04:02,503 wanted the special toy, right? 67 00:04:02,591 --> 00:04:06,485 And you were wishing for that all Christmas season. 68 00:04:06,557 --> 00:04:09,413 It was on your Christmas list, right? 69 00:04:09,581 --> 00:04:13,845 And you go to open it the first day or the Christmas morning, 70 00:04:13,997 --> 00:04:18,933 you open that box up and that toy is not exactly what it looks 71 00:04:18,981 --> 00:04:21,009 like on the packaging, right? 72 00:04:21,309 --> 00:04:24,837 I think of these certain, like Nerf guns, right? 73 00:04:24,893 --> 00:04:28,757 They show like the bullets just flying, the little rubber bullets, 74 00:04:28,773 --> 00:04:31,169 they fly, flying like 50ft, right? 75 00:04:31,209 --> 00:04:33,329 And speed of light, right? 76 00:04:33,449 --> 00:04:37,521 And when you go and shoot it, it just kind of is all it does, right? 77 00:04:37,705 --> 00:04:41,345 And it's just like, this isn't quite what I was looking for. 78 00:04:41,417 --> 00:04:42,289 This isn't. 79 00:04:42,449 --> 00:04:43,761 Something's off here. 80 00:04:43,865 --> 00:04:46,029 Maybe I'm not quite seeing this, right? 81 00:04:46,809 --> 00:04:50,257 Maybe some of you have booked an Airbnb. 82 00:04:50,353 --> 00:04:52,017 I know me and my wife have done this before. 83 00:04:52,073 --> 00:04:54,225 We've booked an Airbnb before. 84 00:04:54,297 --> 00:04:58,297 We were just staying away and we saw this Airbnb. 85 00:04:58,393 --> 00:04:59,113 It was pretty cheap. 86 00:04:59,161 --> 00:05:00,713 So we're like, hey, that looks pretty nice. 87 00:05:00,761 --> 00:05:03,657 Let's just go stay there for one night and we'll get away, we'll 88 00:05:03,673 --> 00:05:05,177 get out of town for a little bit. 89 00:05:05,313 --> 00:05:09,721 And lo and behold, when we get there, we pull up, we go inside, 90 00:05:09,785 --> 00:05:14,681 and it is not like what the pictures had shown on the Airbnb 91 00:05:14,745 --> 00:05:15,749 website, right? 92 00:05:16,689 --> 00:05:19,609 You go and look at the bed sheets and there's stains all over 93 00:05:19,649 --> 00:05:24,777 it and there's bugs in the sink and grime and grits all in the 94 00:05:24,833 --> 00:05:25,193 shower. 95 00:05:25,241 --> 00:05:28,601 It's just not a very pleasant thing, right? 96 00:05:28,705 --> 00:05:30,633 On the outside, didn't look too bad. 97 00:05:30,721 --> 00:05:33,801 It had a nice fresh coat of paint on it. 98 00:05:33,985 --> 00:05:36,729 The door at least locked, right? 99 00:05:36,849 --> 00:05:42,069 And as soon as you walk inside, you're like, man, this place 100 00:05:42,769 --> 00:05:44,009 is kind of filthy. 101 00:05:44,089 --> 00:05:46,041 It's kind of disgusting in here. 102 00:05:46,225 --> 00:05:49,305 And lo and behold, we did not stay at the Airbnb. 103 00:05:49,417 --> 00:05:51,149 My wife would not let us, right? 104 00:05:51,329 --> 00:05:54,129 So we got our money back and all that, right? 105 00:05:56,509 --> 00:06:00,181 But if you look at those examples, and those are silly examples, 106 00:06:00,245 --> 00:06:05,849 if we really look into it, we may see our own lives in those situations. 107 00:06:06,429 --> 00:06:10,101 Maybe on the outside we look good, but on the inside we don't. 108 00:06:10,245 --> 00:06:14,341 And we're gonna see here In a moment of what Jesus has to say to 109 00:06:14,365 --> 00:06:15,349 the Pharisees. 110 00:06:15,509 --> 00:06:19,239 And the Pharisees aren't just anybody, right? 111 00:06:19,539 --> 00:06:25,003 They're not just Joe Blow across the street, right? 112 00:06:25,171 --> 00:06:31,019 These are religious leaders, guys that knew more Bible than we 113 00:06:31,059 --> 00:06:32,779 probably do today, right? 114 00:06:32,899 --> 00:06:38,331 At least in the Old Testament speaking, these are the cream of 115 00:06:38,355 --> 00:06:42,651 the crop, as you would say, or what a lot of the men would say back 116 00:06:42,675 --> 00:06:42,859 then. 117 00:06:42,899 --> 00:06:45,617 When looking at them, they look up to them, right? 118 00:06:45,803 --> 00:06:47,829 And this is what Jesus has to say. 119 00:06:47,869 --> 00:06:54,005 The first thing he says, woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. 120 00:06:54,197 --> 00:06:58,549 I like how right there in that verse in my KJV Bible, it has an 121 00:06:58,589 --> 00:07:00,449 exclamation point right there. 122 00:07:01,069 --> 00:07:04,021 That means Jesus was like, hey, you hypocrites. 123 00:07:04,085 --> 00:07:07,209 No, he was getting to the point going, you hypocrites. 124 00:07:08,749 --> 00:07:11,829 I would be pretty scared of Jesus just talking to me that way, 125 00:07:11,949 --> 00:07:12,821 Just saying. 126 00:07:13,005 --> 00:07:14,069 Let's continue reading here. 127 00:07:14,109 --> 00:07:14,997 Let's see what happens here. 128 00:07:15,053 --> 00:07:19,909 Verse number 25, it says, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, 129 00:07:19,989 --> 00:07:20,917 hypocrites. 130 00:07:21,013 --> 00:07:25,381 For ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but 131 00:07:25,405 --> 00:07:28,757 within they are full of extortion and excess. 132 00:07:28,933 --> 00:07:33,685 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup 133 00:07:33,757 --> 00:07:38,077 and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 134 00:07:38,253 --> 00:07:41,709 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. 135 00:07:41,789 --> 00:07:46,781 For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful 136 00:07:46,845 --> 00:07:52,369 outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness 137 00:07:52,709 --> 00:07:56,989 even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within 138 00:07:57,109 --> 00:07:59,869 ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 139 00:08:00,029 --> 00:08:03,101 Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. 140 00:08:03,165 --> 00:08:07,093 Because ye build the tombs of the prophets and garnish the sepulchres 141 00:08:07,141 --> 00:08:07,973 of the righteous. 142 00:08:08,101 --> 00:08:12,197 And say, if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not 143 00:08:12,253 --> 00:08:16,165 have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 144 00:08:16,277 --> 00:08:20,581 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves that ye are the children 145 00:08:20,685 --> 00:08:23,173 of them which killed the prophets. 146 00:08:23,301 --> 00:08:27,529 Fill ye up then, the measure of your fathers. 147 00:08:28,589 --> 00:08:31,169 I would like to talk to you tonight. 148 00:08:31,349 --> 00:08:35,177 The three woes of a modern day Christian. 149 00:08:35,353 --> 00:08:38,349 The three woes of a modern day Christian. 150 00:08:38,849 --> 00:08:39,989 Number one. 151 00:08:40,529 --> 00:08:46,153 Woe to the blind guides the blind guided Christians. 152 00:08:46,281 --> 00:08:50,681 Right here in verse number 23 it says, Woe unto you scribes and 153 00:08:50,705 --> 00:08:52,361 Pharisees, hypocrites. 154 00:08:52,505 --> 00:08:57,949 For ye pay tithe of mints and anise and cumin, and have omitted. 155 00:08:58,809 --> 00:09:03,057 Sorry, have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, 156 00:09:03,153 --> 00:09:08,193 mercy, and faith, these ought ye to have done and not to leave 157 00:09:08,241 --> 00:09:09,409 the other undone. 158 00:09:09,489 --> 00:09:11,329 And it goes right here into verse 24. 159 00:09:11,369 --> 00:09:13,669 It says, ye blind guides. 160 00:09:14,329 --> 00:09:19,089 What Jesus is saying here is that these Pharisees, they got their 161 00:09:19,129 --> 00:09:20,029 act together. 162 00:09:20,809 --> 00:09:21,169 Sure. 163 00:09:21,209 --> 00:09:24,659 When they go into the synagogues and you see them doing 164 00:09:24,699 --> 00:09:28,835 their duties and they go and they find their mints in their garden, 165 00:09:28,867 --> 00:09:33,043 and they get the 10% of that mint and they place it on the altar, 166 00:09:33,091 --> 00:09:33,491 right? 167 00:09:33,595 --> 00:09:39,011 And they go into the Annie's and they go into the cumin, and they 168 00:09:39,035 --> 00:09:43,795 get that 10% and they put it in there, that tithe, oh, so nicely. 169 00:09:43,987 --> 00:09:45,839 Oh, they look so good. 170 00:09:46,779 --> 00:09:50,997 They probably straighten their jacket a little bit as they walk 171 00:09:51,053 --> 00:09:54,289 past the peasants, I guess you could say. 172 00:09:57,389 --> 00:10:02,661 But Jesus is calling them out, saying, hey, you're taking this a 173 00:10:02,685 --> 00:10:04,049 little bit too far. 174 00:10:04,829 --> 00:10:09,029 You got the actions right, but the means behind it, you've got it 175 00:10:09,069 --> 00:10:09,969 messed up. 176 00:10:10,269 --> 00:10:13,797 He says that you've omitted the weightier matters. 177 00:10:13,973 --> 00:10:16,005 See, you've got it backwards. 178 00:10:16,117 --> 00:10:20,525 The things that don't matter as much, you're putting emphasis 179 00:10:20,557 --> 00:10:20,701 on. 180 00:10:20,725 --> 00:10:24,409 But the things that do matter, you're not putting emphasis on. 181 00:10:25,829 --> 00:10:30,141 Jesus goes to say, the law, the judgment, the mercy and the faith, 182 00:10:30,285 --> 00:10:32,269 those are some heavier matters. 183 00:10:32,349 --> 00:10:36,525 And they don't really pay attention much to it because they're 184 00:10:36,557 --> 00:10:39,789 too worried about what others see in them. 185 00:10:39,909 --> 00:10:40,569 Right? 186 00:10:41,989 --> 00:10:44,729 Is that not our modern day church today? 187 00:10:45,579 --> 00:10:49,315 Going into churches, you may see those people that, oh, they're 188 00:10:49,347 --> 00:10:51,107 dressed just right for Sunday. 189 00:10:51,163 --> 00:10:54,387 They got the right Sunday dress on, they got the right suit 190 00:10:54,403 --> 00:10:57,651 and tie on, their hair's done, their makeup's done, They've got 191 00:10:57,675 --> 00:11:00,691 their $10 bill they've brought to church, and they're gonna put 192 00:11:00,715 --> 00:11:03,683 in that offering plate and make sure when they pull it out of 193 00:11:03,691 --> 00:11:05,971 their wallet, they kind of come like this and they stick it 194 00:11:05,995 --> 00:11:07,635 in the offering plate, Right? 195 00:11:07,707 --> 00:11:09,359 We've seen those people before. 196 00:11:09,739 --> 00:11:10,947 I'm not one of those people. 197 00:11:11,003 --> 00:11:12,279 Okay, I'm just kidding. 198 00:11:13,859 --> 00:11:18,859 But we see that and then we see right here that the weightier 199 00:11:18,939 --> 00:11:20,719 things have been put aside. 200 00:11:21,059 --> 00:11:26,459 The things that the Pharisees should have been concerned about, 201 00:11:26,579 --> 00:11:28,839 they are no longer concerned about. 202 00:11:30,099 --> 00:11:34,187 In this day and age, we need to be very careful about how we do 203 00:11:34,243 --> 00:11:37,691 things here at Heritage Baptist Church, for one, but in our 204 00:11:37,715 --> 00:11:40,797 own lives, our own churches, because we. 205 00:11:40,933 --> 00:11:45,021 Right, we can look so good on the outside, but the motive on the 206 00:11:45,045 --> 00:11:47,129 inside, not right. 207 00:11:48,149 --> 00:11:49,929 And I'm guilty of it, too. 208 00:11:50,549 --> 00:11:54,029 Coming into Sunday morning, I got my suit on. 209 00:11:54,069 --> 00:11:54,973 I'm ready to go. 210 00:11:55,061 --> 00:11:59,449 I carry my Bible I look like I know what I'm doing, right? 211 00:12:01,189 --> 00:12:06,639 But then I had come in with some pretty sorry attitudes sometimes. 212 00:12:07,689 --> 00:12:11,201 And I'm about to go preach to a bunch of children that want to 213 00:12:11,225 --> 00:12:12,549 hear from God's word. 214 00:12:13,449 --> 00:12:17,041 And I have to check myself every time walking in these doors 215 00:12:17,185 --> 00:12:20,989 going, noah, is your heart in the right place? 216 00:12:21,369 --> 00:12:23,309 Maybe you need to take a second. 217 00:12:24,489 --> 00:12:29,953 These other things that may not matter so much, let's replace 218 00:12:30,001 --> 00:12:31,829 them with some more weightier matters. 219 00:12:34,379 --> 00:12:37,763 This is one of the biggest problems in the churches in America 220 00:12:37,811 --> 00:12:44,643 today is that when we walk in the back door of our auditoriums, 221 00:12:44,771 --> 00:12:46,079 we look the part. 222 00:12:46,939 --> 00:12:50,479 But as soon as someone that comes in that doesn't look the part, 223 00:12:50,939 --> 00:12:52,639 why do we look down on them? 224 00:12:53,579 --> 00:12:57,539 Sure, they're sinners, sure they may not be living a life for 225 00:12:57,579 --> 00:13:00,939 God, but maybe we should be glad that they're here. 226 00:13:02,759 --> 00:13:05,167 Maybe we should go and offer a helping hand. 227 00:13:05,223 --> 00:13:06,511 Hey, how you doing, sir? 228 00:13:06,575 --> 00:13:07,919 My name is Noah. 229 00:13:08,079 --> 00:13:11,103 I see that this may be your first time here. 230 00:13:11,271 --> 00:13:12,543 Can I help you with anything? 231 00:13:12,591 --> 00:13:14,779 Can I be a blessing to you in any way? 232 00:13:16,759 --> 00:13:20,299 What's happened to our churches in America today? 233 00:13:21,719 --> 00:13:24,899 I've been to several churches that when you walk in the back door, 234 00:13:25,039 --> 00:13:26,759 everyone just kind of looks at you. 235 00:13:28,419 --> 00:13:32,811 And I would check myself and make sure all my tithe's done and 236 00:13:32,835 --> 00:13:33,259 all that. 237 00:13:33,299 --> 00:13:38,555 And I look around and go, why in the world has no one come to shake 238 00:13:38,587 --> 00:13:39,399 my hand? 239 00:13:42,099 --> 00:13:45,931 You see, we could have it all put together on the outside, but 240 00:13:45,955 --> 00:13:51,439 on the inside of our churches, those waiter matters have been omitted. 241 00:13:53,179 --> 00:13:55,639 When was the last time you've been sewing? 242 00:13:56,059 --> 00:13:59,219 When was the last time you went and visited that person who 243 00:13:59,259 --> 00:14:00,019 was sick? 244 00:14:00,179 --> 00:14:04,403 When was the last time you went to that brother, that sister 245 00:14:04,451 --> 00:14:06,355 who's having a going through a hard time? 246 00:14:06,507 --> 00:14:07,779 And you don't have to say much. 247 00:14:07,819 --> 00:14:12,755 I'm not saying that you're completely ignoring them, but maybe 248 00:14:12,787 --> 00:14:16,159 we should be a little bit more caring about one another. 249 00:14:20,709 --> 00:14:22,409 I'm so guilty of this. 250 00:14:23,509 --> 00:14:26,169 I've omitted the weightier matters at times. 251 00:14:27,109 --> 00:14:30,621 And I've put into the things that aren't as weighty, aren't as 252 00:14:30,645 --> 00:14:30,925 important. 253 00:14:30,997 --> 00:14:32,717 And I've made them the most important thing. 254 00:14:32,773 --> 00:14:34,809 Cause it makes me look like a better person. 255 00:14:36,149 --> 00:14:37,965 And Jesus says this to us. 256 00:14:38,037 --> 00:14:42,607 Ye blind guides, which strain at anatomy. 257 00:14:42,653 --> 00:14:43,787 This is pretty hilarious. 258 00:14:43,883 --> 00:14:47,279 Strain a net and swallow a camel. 259 00:14:48,579 --> 00:14:51,051 Basically, Jesus went to these Pharisees. 260 00:14:51,115 --> 00:14:55,611 He said, y'all have such a hard time with these things that 261 00:14:55,635 --> 00:14:56,839 other people do. 262 00:14:57,299 --> 00:15:01,559 But that camel that you're swallowing, that's no problem. 263 00:15:03,059 --> 00:15:05,239 That's Basically what Jesus said. 264 00:15:05,859 --> 00:15:09,611 And it is a very funny situation because I felt like if 265 00:15:09,635 --> 00:15:12,171 I was one of the people standing in the crowd listening to 266 00:15:12,195 --> 00:15:16,001 Jesus yell at these Pharisees, I probably would have laughed. 267 00:15:16,065 --> 00:15:19,409 But at the same time, I've been terrified because Jesus is not 268 00:15:19,449 --> 00:15:20,749 messing around here. 269 00:15:22,089 --> 00:15:25,073 Society today has painted Jesus as. 270 00:15:25,161 --> 00:15:26,577 Jesus is all just love. 271 00:15:26,633 --> 00:15:28,321 And he's just all. 272 00:15:28,505 --> 00:15:29,889 He loves me no matter what. 273 00:15:29,929 --> 00:15:31,697 And yes, Jesus does love. 274 00:15:31,753 --> 00:15:32,737 And God is love. 275 00:15:32,793 --> 00:15:34,001 Don't get me wrong there. 276 00:15:34,105 --> 00:15:38,449 But they have taken out that other half of God that he is righteous 277 00:15:38,529 --> 00:15:38,733 and. 278 00:15:38,761 --> 00:15:41,089 And that he is judge as well. 279 00:15:42,029 --> 00:15:43,589 And one day he comes back. 280 00:15:43,629 --> 00:15:45,573 He doesn't come back as the Savior. 281 00:15:45,621 --> 00:15:47,449 He comes back as the judge. 282 00:15:50,029 --> 00:15:51,077 And guess what? 283 00:15:51,213 --> 00:15:55,461 That way, that society has transformed Jesus in their minds. 284 00:15:55,525 --> 00:15:58,729 It's now spreading into our churches across America. 285 00:15:59,709 --> 00:16:04,213 And preachers are no longer standing up and preaching God's word, 286 00:16:04,261 --> 00:16:07,461 but they're motivational speakers, glorified motivational 287 00:16:07,525 --> 00:16:08,249 speakers. 288 00:16:08,929 --> 00:16:10,873 I'm all for the love of Jesus. 289 00:16:10,921 --> 00:16:14,649 I'm all for the painting of God's love properly. 290 00:16:14,729 --> 00:16:19,469 But God is also a God of righteousness and a God of holiness. 291 00:16:21,329 --> 00:16:26,601 We have to be careful in our own lives to not paint God as the 292 00:16:26,625 --> 00:16:28,029 genie in the bottle. 293 00:16:32,369 --> 00:16:33,909 Verse number 25. 294 00:16:34,369 --> 00:16:38,489 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. 295 00:16:38,649 --> 00:16:43,849 For ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but 296 00:16:43,889 --> 00:16:47,229 within they are full of extortion and excess. 297 00:16:47,569 --> 00:16:52,809 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup 298 00:16:52,849 --> 00:16:57,109 and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 299 00:16:58,289 --> 00:17:00,935 This is awesome. 300 00:17:01,047 --> 00:17:02,579 Two verses right here. 301 00:17:03,839 --> 00:17:05,783 Jesus paints the perfect picture. 302 00:17:05,831 --> 00:17:11,911 Here at my home, my job usually is my wife cooks most of 303 00:17:11,935 --> 00:17:15,079 the time, and I clean most of the time. 304 00:17:15,199 --> 00:17:16,871 At least the dishes, right? 305 00:17:17,055 --> 00:17:20,739 That was kind of the agreement that we made at home. 306 00:17:21,039 --> 00:17:24,663 She cooks, I clean, I cook, I clean. 307 00:17:24,711 --> 00:17:25,015 Okay? 308 00:17:25,047 --> 00:17:25,815 That's just how it goes. 309 00:17:25,847 --> 00:17:30,805 Right now, I'm just messing around, and she does clean the dishes 310 00:17:30,837 --> 00:17:32,565 at times, But I do it to. 311 00:17:32,637 --> 00:17:33,877 I want to be a blessing to my wife. 312 00:17:33,893 --> 00:17:35,569 And I'm not perfect, right? 313 00:17:35,949 --> 00:17:41,541 But imagine if I went over to the sink after my wife was done cooking, 314 00:17:41,605 --> 00:17:45,925 and I grabbed that plate that we used or that pot or that pan that 315 00:17:45,997 --> 00:17:49,061 we used to make spaghetti, and I just took it, flipped it over and 316 00:17:49,085 --> 00:17:51,461 just cleaned the outside, went, oh, that's good enough, and 317 00:17:51,485 --> 00:17:53,849 just put it in the cabinet. 318 00:17:55,038 --> 00:17:59,078 You would probably look at me like, did you forget your glasses 319 00:17:59,158 --> 00:17:59,898 somewhere? 320 00:18:00,878 --> 00:18:02,886 Is this your first time doing this? 321 00:18:02,942 --> 00:18:03,538 Right? 322 00:18:04,798 --> 00:18:05,718 But guess what? 323 00:18:05,758 --> 00:18:07,938 We do that in our very own lives. 324 00:18:09,118 --> 00:18:11,778 And this is what the Pharisees were doing right here. 325 00:18:12,078 --> 00:18:14,550 The outside of them, they looked good. 326 00:18:14,734 --> 00:18:17,126 They dressed the part, they sounded the part. 327 00:18:17,182 --> 00:18:20,118 When they prayed, it sounded like they were in the throne room 328 00:18:20,158 --> 00:18:20,938 of God. 329 00:18:21,489 --> 00:18:24,349 But it was just full of so much emptiness. 330 00:18:27,169 --> 00:18:32,585 It was full of that extortion and that excess, all the filth that's 331 00:18:32,617 --> 00:18:34,229 in their own lives. 332 00:18:34,609 --> 00:18:39,113 They're so worried about the cleanliness of everyone else and 333 00:18:39,201 --> 00:18:44,153 how the way that they look on the outside, that they are neglecting 334 00:18:44,201 --> 00:18:45,309 what is inside. 335 00:18:47,259 --> 00:18:52,003 My friend, tonight, if you have not put your faith and trust 336 00:18:52,051 --> 00:18:56,119 into Jesus, there's no way you can be clean on the inside. 337 00:18:56,859 --> 00:19:01,587 If you have never put your full faith and trust into Jesus Christ 338 00:19:01,643 --> 00:19:05,159 as your personal Savior, you cannot be clean on the inside. 339 00:19:06,379 --> 00:19:09,719 Now, on the flip side of that coin, let's say you are saved. 340 00:19:10,459 --> 00:19:14,131 If we do not keep the sin within our lives within check, we 341 00:19:14,155 --> 00:19:15,959 become very dirty on the inside. 342 00:19:18,069 --> 00:19:20,109 And it's so interesting what Jesus says here. 343 00:19:20,149 --> 00:19:22,669 He says, we got the outside part right. 344 00:19:22,709 --> 00:19:27,677 We look the part, we know the words to say, we know the way to 345 00:19:27,733 --> 00:19:28,429 act, right? 346 00:19:28,469 --> 00:19:32,529 But on the inside, our heart's full of just sin and filth. 347 00:19:33,189 --> 00:19:35,309 And we say, that's good enough, right? 348 00:19:35,429 --> 00:19:37,965 We say, well, no one else knows. 349 00:19:37,997 --> 00:19:39,629 So I guess it's not that big a deal. 350 00:19:39,669 --> 00:19:44,015 The preacher didn't fully touch on my sin, so I guess I'm good, 351 00:19:44,087 --> 00:19:44,699 right? 352 00:19:47,159 --> 00:19:49,459 My friend, get back in the Word of God. 353 00:19:50,199 --> 00:19:52,271 Turn with me real fast to James. 354 00:19:52,415 --> 00:19:54,299 James, chapter number one. 355 00:19:55,399 --> 00:19:56,847 James, chapter number one. 356 00:19:56,983 --> 00:19:58,383 I want us to see this real fast. 357 00:19:58,431 --> 00:19:59,471 James, chapter number one. 358 00:19:59,495 --> 00:20:02,139 I should have marked it down James chapter number one. 359 00:20:02,439 --> 00:20:06,463 And look at verse number 22. 360 00:20:06,551 --> 00:20:07,695 It says right here. 361 00:20:07,847 --> 00:20:10,269 But be doers of the Word and. 362 00:20:10,319 --> 00:20:13,921 And not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 363 00:20:14,065 --> 00:20:17,985 For if any be a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like unto 364 00:20:18,017 --> 00:20:21,829 a man beholding his natural face in a glass. 365 00:20:22,249 --> 00:20:27,905 For he beholded sorry for he beholdeth himself and goeth his way, 366 00:20:28,057 --> 00:20:32,481 and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 367 00:20:32,665 --> 00:20:36,401 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, that's the 368 00:20:36,425 --> 00:20:39,095 Word of God, and continueth therein. 369 00:20:39,207 --> 00:20:42,887 He being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work. 370 00:20:43,023 --> 00:20:46,699 This man shall be blessed in his deed. 371 00:20:47,519 --> 00:20:51,463 You see, the Bible, James right here kind of explains it. 372 00:20:51,471 --> 00:20:55,319 So this way, when you spend time in the Word of God, it is like 373 00:20:55,359 --> 00:20:56,699 looking in the mirror. 374 00:20:57,359 --> 00:20:58,899 That is what it's like. 375 00:21:00,639 --> 00:21:05,809 This Word of God right here doesn't focus on what you look like 376 00:21:05,849 --> 00:21:06,669 on the outside. 377 00:21:07,449 --> 00:21:13,969 I've never found a verse in the Bible that says, make sure you 378 00:21:14,009 --> 00:21:15,229 shave every morning. 379 00:21:16,329 --> 00:21:19,441 I've never found a verse in the Bible that says, make sure your 380 00:21:19,465 --> 00:21:22,309 makeup is done just right before you go to church. 381 00:21:22,649 --> 00:21:24,229 Never found a verse. 382 00:21:25,929 --> 00:21:30,753 Make sure that your clothes are just right, they're not too wrinkly. 383 00:21:30,801 --> 00:21:32,065 Make sure they're just ironed. 384 00:21:32,097 --> 00:21:32,481 Right? 385 00:21:32,585 --> 00:21:34,449 I know these are silly illustrations, right? 386 00:21:34,489 --> 00:21:36,161 But I've never found that in the Word of God. 387 00:21:36,225 --> 00:21:38,429 But you know what God's Word says? 388 00:21:39,929 --> 00:21:42,869 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 389 00:21:44,649 --> 00:21:48,389 You know, in our lives, it's just full of sin. 390 00:21:49,689 --> 00:21:53,809 And Jesus wants to cleanse that, but he cannot cleanse it until 391 00:21:53,849 --> 00:21:54,689 we come to him. 392 00:21:54,729 --> 00:21:59,399 We say, lord, I am like that cup that you described. 393 00:21:59,739 --> 00:22:04,119 Clean on the outside, but full of filth and dirtiness on the inside. 394 00:22:06,619 --> 00:22:11,699 May our prayer be tonight that God don't focus on what everyone 395 00:22:11,739 --> 00:22:12,643 else sees. 396 00:22:12,771 --> 00:22:15,039 Focus on what you only see. 397 00:22:15,499 --> 00:22:18,819 And God may show you some things in your life that maybe you 398 00:22:18,859 --> 00:22:20,479 don't even know that it's there. 399 00:22:22,469 --> 00:22:29,005 Going back to our passage in Matthew 23, we saw first the woe 400 00:22:29,037 --> 00:22:33,329 of blind guides, the blind guided Christians. 401 00:22:34,229 --> 00:22:37,169 We saw the woe of the unclean. 402 00:22:38,869 --> 00:22:42,269 And going on the second part of this woe of the unclean, it says 403 00:22:42,309 --> 00:22:47,661 right here in verse number 28, it says, even so, ye also outwardly 404 00:22:47,725 --> 00:22:51,315 appear righteous unto men, but within you are full of hypocrisy 405 00:22:51,347 --> 00:22:52,439 and iniquity. 406 00:22:52,779 --> 00:22:56,019 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you 407 00:22:56,059 --> 00:22:59,043 build the tombs of the prophets and garnish the sepulchers 408 00:22:59,091 --> 00:22:59,987 of righteousness. 409 00:23:00,083 --> 00:23:02,259 Sorry, back up real fast to verse number 27. 410 00:23:02,299 --> 00:23:06,115 It says, Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye 411 00:23:06,147 --> 00:23:10,771 are like unto white sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful 412 00:23:10,835 --> 00:23:15,879 outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness. 413 00:23:17,829 --> 00:23:21,289 You see, we look so beautiful on the outside. 414 00:23:22,789 --> 00:23:28,269 We look so good to our fellow Christian, but we're just full of 415 00:23:28,309 --> 00:23:29,729 dead man's bones. 416 00:23:31,429 --> 00:23:34,797 I've been to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier before. 417 00:23:34,933 --> 00:23:37,005 If you ever have a chance to go, I encourage you to go. 418 00:23:37,077 --> 00:23:38,569 It's a very humbling experience. 419 00:23:39,109 --> 00:23:43,409 But that tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a very beautiful, very 420 00:23:43,449 --> 00:23:44,593 beautiful sepulcher. 421 00:23:44,721 --> 00:23:46,229 It's a beautiful tomb. 422 00:23:47,049 --> 00:23:51,793 When you look at the outside, you're like, whoa, this is amazing. 423 00:23:51,841 --> 00:23:53,549 And they don't know who that guy was. 424 00:23:56,729 --> 00:23:59,521 And they have a guard there that guards it day and night. 425 00:23:59,625 --> 00:24:00,801 I got to see the. 426 00:24:00,905 --> 00:24:03,601 When the guards come and they switch the guards, that's a really 427 00:24:03,625 --> 00:24:04,429 cool experience. 428 00:24:05,769 --> 00:24:09,865 But on the inside of that sepulcher, inside that tomb, it's 429 00:24:09,897 --> 00:24:11,229 just dead man's bones. 430 00:24:11,649 --> 00:24:14,729 Now, I do think we should honor the ones that have given their 431 00:24:14,769 --> 00:24:15,609 lives for our country. 432 00:24:15,649 --> 00:24:20,345 I'm not saying anything like that, but I'm using that as an example 433 00:24:20,377 --> 00:24:25,069 of on the inside, we are just dead man's bones. 434 00:24:27,329 --> 00:24:31,949 Let me ask you, is Jesus alive in you tonight? 435 00:24:33,489 --> 00:24:35,625 Is he the forefront of your life? 436 00:24:35,697 --> 00:24:36,539 Are you the. 437 00:24:36,569 --> 00:24:38,419 The one in the driver's seat right now? 438 00:24:39,279 --> 00:24:40,739 Because guess what? 439 00:24:41,919 --> 00:24:46,247 God says when we're in the driver's seat, we're just dead men 440 00:24:46,303 --> 00:24:47,019 walking. 441 00:24:48,799 --> 00:24:52,699 We're dead full of dead men's bones. 442 00:24:54,319 --> 00:24:57,367 And it says right here, verse number 28, it says, even so, ye also 443 00:24:57,423 --> 00:25:01,559 outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full 444 00:25:01,599 --> 00:25:04,179 of hypocrisy, iniquity. 445 00:25:05,239 --> 00:25:08,819 I would hate to live a life of just emptiness, nothing. 446 00:25:10,039 --> 00:25:13,295 God has called us to do something greater in this world. 447 00:25:13,447 --> 00:25:17,359 He's called us to be a witness to him, to live a life for him, a 448 00:25:17,399 --> 00:25:18,619 joyful life. 449 00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:22,559 And we keep trying to take our lives back. 450 00:25:22,599 --> 00:25:24,299 I do all, every single day. 451 00:25:25,239 --> 00:25:27,823 I don't want to do what God wants me to do because I want to 452 00:25:27,831 --> 00:25:29,259 do what Noah wants to do. 453 00:25:31,709 --> 00:25:35,409 And yet I have to go back and I look at this passage and I say, 454 00:25:36,669 --> 00:25:39,489 I can't let the dead man's bones win. 455 00:25:41,469 --> 00:25:44,329 I can't be full of dead men's bones. 456 00:25:44,669 --> 00:25:47,249 I want to be full of Jesus who's alive today. 457 00:25:50,509 --> 00:25:55,721 We saw the woe to the blind guides and woe to the unclean in 458 00:25:55,745 --> 00:25:57,389 the dead bones. 459 00:25:57,889 --> 00:26:02,109 And number three, woe to the self righteous. 460 00:26:02,769 --> 00:26:06,505 Look, right now in verse number 29, it says, Woe unto you 461 00:26:06,577 --> 00:26:11,081 scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because ye build the 462 00:26:11,105 --> 00:26:14,793 tombs of the prophets and garnish the sepulchers of righteousness 463 00:26:14,921 --> 00:26:15,753 of righteous. 464 00:26:15,881 --> 00:26:20,249 And say, if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not 465 00:26:20,289 --> 00:26:23,959 have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 466 00:26:24,129 --> 00:26:28,731 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves that ye are the children 467 00:26:28,915 --> 00:26:32,799 of them which killed the prophets. 468 00:26:34,099 --> 00:26:37,723 You see, the biggest problem with the Pharisees, Jesus kind of 469 00:26:37,731 --> 00:26:39,307 builds up to this point right here. 470 00:26:39,443 --> 00:26:43,243 He says, the biggest problem with you Pharisees is that you're 471 00:26:43,291 --> 00:26:45,799 so blind to how you actually look. 472 00:26:46,419 --> 00:26:49,739 You're so self righteous about it that you're willing to stand here 473 00:26:49,779 --> 00:26:54,321 today and say that, oh, if we were back then, we wouldn't have 474 00:26:54,345 --> 00:26:55,793 argued against Moses or God. 475 00:26:55,841 --> 00:26:58,469 We wouldn't have been the children of Israel complaining. 476 00:27:00,969 --> 00:27:02,801 That's basically what they were saying. 477 00:27:02,905 --> 00:27:04,829 We wouldn't have been partakers of that. 478 00:27:05,609 --> 00:27:07,429 We're better than those guys. 479 00:27:08,249 --> 00:27:10,225 We would have had the prophets backs. 480 00:27:10,337 --> 00:27:11,109 Yeah. 481 00:27:12,649 --> 00:27:17,807 And Jesus looks at him and says, you are the exact same people 482 00:27:17,953 --> 00:27:19,119 that killed him. 483 00:27:25,019 --> 00:27:30,131 I think we have to be very careful with how we view the men 484 00:27:30,155 --> 00:27:31,479 of God sometimes. 485 00:27:33,339 --> 00:27:36,851 I think we have to be very careful about how we view what the 486 00:27:36,875 --> 00:27:38,719 Bible says about certain things. 487 00:27:39,979 --> 00:27:42,639 We can't take half measures with things. 488 00:27:43,749 --> 00:27:46,941 We can't just see one side of the coin. 489 00:27:47,005 --> 00:27:49,889 We have to look at the picture as a whole. 490 00:27:51,509 --> 00:27:54,861 And too often we dwell on the little things, right? 491 00:27:54,965 --> 00:27:59,289 We say, well at least I'm not that way, so I must be pretty good. 492 00:28:00,309 --> 00:28:02,909 At least I'm not acting this way. 493 00:28:02,949 --> 00:28:05,089 At least I'm not making that choice. 494 00:28:07,429 --> 00:28:13,059 But yet we are and we don't even see it. 495 00:28:15,439 --> 00:28:18,871 And it says right here in verse number 31, it says, wherefore 496 00:28:18,935 --> 00:28:21,527 ye be witnesses unto yourselves that ye are the children 497 00:28:21,583 --> 00:28:23,499 of them which killed the prophets? 498 00:28:24,719 --> 00:28:28,459 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 499 00:28:31,599 --> 00:28:34,819 What kind of legacy are you leaving behind in your home? 500 00:28:36,939 --> 00:28:43,759 What kind of name are you leaving behind when you come home? 501 00:28:44,779 --> 00:28:51,731 Fathers, mothers, do your children see a Christian or do they 502 00:28:51,755 --> 00:28:53,199 see a completely different person? 503 00:28:54,619 --> 00:28:58,959 They see the mom and dad when they walk into the church building 504 00:29:00,069 --> 00:29:02,749 and it's a completely different person when they step foot 505 00:29:02,789 --> 00:29:04,169 through their own home. 506 00:29:07,669 --> 00:29:09,741 I'm not here pointing out anyone tonight. 507 00:29:09,885 --> 00:29:11,101 I'm preaching to myself. 508 00:29:11,165 --> 00:29:13,049 I have to be careful of this. 509 00:29:16,149 --> 00:29:17,981 But you know what doesn't cut it? 510 00:29:18,005 --> 00:29:20,301 Is that do as I say, not as I do. 511 00:29:20,325 --> 00:29:21,809 That doesn't cut it anymore. 512 00:29:24,149 --> 00:29:29,483 That kind of thinking, that kind of lessons being taught is what 513 00:29:29,491 --> 00:29:31,079 got us in this mess today. 514 00:29:32,499 --> 00:29:34,799 Maybe that's why America is so backwards. 515 00:29:36,499 --> 00:29:40,239 Maybe that's why our churches are becoming just more liberal. 516 00:29:42,099 --> 00:29:43,839 It's just a pep rally. 517 00:29:46,259 --> 00:29:51,515 Why have so many Christians nowadays stop going back to God's 518 00:29:51,547 --> 00:29:56,509 word and, and looking in the mirror and going, wow, I'm filthy 519 00:29:57,009 --> 00:30:00,905 and I want to get clean because I want to be that clean vessel 520 00:30:00,937 --> 00:30:01,789 for Jesus. 521 00:30:02,609 --> 00:30:04,789 I want to be that witness for him. 522 00:30:07,409 --> 00:30:12,429 And Jesus says right here in verse number 33, he says, Ye serpents, 523 00:30:12,929 --> 00:30:18,669 ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 524 00:30:21,829 --> 00:30:26,365 I think that is one of the best lines to describe America today. 525 00:30:26,437 --> 00:30:30,769 In our world today just full of vipers and snakes. 526 00:30:37,749 --> 00:30:43,277 I wonder what Jesus would say coming in the back door of Herod's 527 00:30:43,293 --> 00:30:44,289 Baptist Church. 528 00:30:46,449 --> 00:30:50,089 I would hope he would look around and he would say, wow, this 529 00:30:50,129 --> 00:30:52,473 is exactly what I started with my disciples. 530 00:30:52,521 --> 00:30:54,389 This is what I intended to happen. 531 00:30:55,169 --> 00:31:01,273 Or he'd come in and look around and say, woe unto you modern 532 00:31:01,321 --> 00:31:04,829 day Christians, hypocrites. 533 00:31:08,049 --> 00:31:10,841 And I'm not preaching to you tonight, I'm preaching to myself, 534 00:31:10,905 --> 00:31:13,949 because I'm the biggest hypocrite in this room. 535 00:31:16,409 --> 00:31:19,829 Even Paul said himself he's the chiefest among sinners. 536 00:31:22,569 --> 00:31:25,429 Paul, the man who wrote over half the New Testament. 537 00:31:35,209 --> 00:31:46,469 I can remember when I was working in the city of South Lake 538 00:31:47,449 --> 00:31:50,689 and I had turned my back on God a little bit. 539 00:31:50,729 --> 00:31:53,153 I didn't show it on the outside, but I did a little bit on 540 00:31:53,161 --> 00:31:53,989 the inside. 541 00:31:55,369 --> 00:32:00,149 And I found myself not acting how I should be acting. 542 00:32:01,049 --> 00:32:04,469 I found myself not caring about the things of God. 543 00:32:05,999 --> 00:32:06,951 And it scared me. 544 00:32:06,975 --> 00:32:14,839 One day I said, whoa, I'm going down a path that I do not want 545 00:32:14,879 --> 00:32:15,859 to go down. 546 00:32:16,959 --> 00:32:20,295 And thankfully, the Lord got ahold of me through His Word and 547 00:32:20,447 --> 00:32:22,807 his Spirit and he got ahold of my life. 548 00:32:22,863 --> 00:32:29,019 And he said, noah, I called you to the ministry. 549 00:32:29,769 --> 00:32:31,829 What are you doing working in South Lake? 550 00:32:33,529 --> 00:32:38,449 And so I said, okay, Lord, I'll do what you want me to do. 551 00:32:38,489 --> 00:32:39,361 I started working here. 552 00:32:39,385 --> 00:32:40,789 I started cleaning the church. 553 00:32:42,409 --> 00:32:43,681 Has life been easy? 554 00:32:43,745 --> 00:32:45,505 No, life's still tough. 555 00:32:45,537 --> 00:32:50,029 But the burden is light. 556 00:32:54,729 --> 00:33:01,139 You see, if we finally just looked in the mirror, we would see 557 00:33:01,179 --> 00:33:04,119 ourselves as Pharisees. 558 00:33:05,259 --> 00:33:07,759 We look so good on the outside. 559 00:33:10,379 --> 00:33:12,159 We've played the part right. 560 00:33:13,899 --> 00:33:17,479 We work properly in Fall Fest. 561 00:33:18,619 --> 00:33:20,851 We do all the things for vbs. 562 00:33:20,995 --> 00:33:21,629 We. 563 00:33:21,779 --> 00:33:24,777 We help out at the Spring Flinger. 564 00:33:24,873 --> 00:33:25,881 We sing in the choir. 565 00:33:25,945 --> 00:33:28,789 Whatever it is, you look good. 566 00:33:31,249 --> 00:33:33,429 What kind of motive are you putting behind it? 567 00:33:36,369 --> 00:33:38,393 Are you actually living for Jesus? 568 00:33:38,441 --> 00:33:40,429 Or is it just iniquity? 569 00:33:41,969 --> 00:33:43,629 Is it just full of emptiness? 570 00:33:45,889 --> 00:33:54,339 Turn with me to one more passage in Revelation, Revelation 571 00:33:54,419 --> 00:34:00,483 chapter chapter number three, and look at verse number 14. 572 00:34:00,571 --> 00:34:07,011 It says, and unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans writes 573 00:34:07,075 --> 00:34:09,559 these things, saith the Amen. 574 00:34:09,899 --> 00:34:13,811 The faithful and true witness the beginning of the creation of 575 00:34:13,835 --> 00:34:14,439 God. 576 00:34:15,409 --> 00:34:22,149 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. 577 00:34:23,009 --> 00:34:25,989 I would thou wert cold or hot. 578 00:34:26,529 --> 00:34:31,909 So then, because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, 579 00:34:32,369 --> 00:34:36,029 I will spue thee out of my mouth. 580 00:34:38,689 --> 00:34:39,833 Verse number 17. 581 00:34:39,921 --> 00:34:44,328 Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods and have 582 00:34:44,368 --> 00:34:48,840 need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable 583 00:34:48,904 --> 00:34:51,468 and poor and blind and naked. 584 00:34:56,208 --> 00:34:58,948 God has just now given us a mirror right here. 585 00:35:02,928 --> 00:35:05,948 Here's the biggest description of the modern day Christian. 586 00:35:10,299 --> 00:35:14,399 They're not cold and they're not hot. 587 00:35:14,939 --> 00:35:16,919 Just right here in the middle. 588 00:35:18,539 --> 00:35:22,179 And if I'm God, I'm probably going, this is probably the most 589 00:35:22,219 --> 00:35:27,123 frustrating thing I've ever seen in my life because they can't 590 00:35:27,171 --> 00:35:28,339 choose one or the other. 591 00:35:28,379 --> 00:35:31,475 They just want to be right here in the middle and it's just 592 00:35:31,547 --> 00:35:32,759 disgusting. 593 00:35:37,589 --> 00:35:43,009 Modern day Christianity right there summed up, it's just lukewarm. 594 00:35:45,909 --> 00:35:48,609 When was the last time you'd been on fire for God? 595 00:35:51,429 --> 00:35:56,013 When was the last time you got excited about going to church, hearing 596 00:35:56,061 --> 00:35:57,101 from the preaching? 597 00:35:57,245 --> 00:36:00,365 When was the last time you got alone and knelt on your knees and 598 00:36:00,437 --> 00:36:02,689 spent a time of prayer with God? 599 00:36:03,789 --> 00:36:06,405 It may have not been about anything important, just talking 600 00:36:06,437 --> 00:36:07,289 with God. 601 00:36:08,349 --> 00:36:10,789 He desires to have relationship with you. 602 00:36:10,909 --> 00:36:14,757 He desires to fulfill a plan in your life. 603 00:36:14,813 --> 00:36:20,261 He wants to use you, but he cannot use you if you are a lukewarm 604 00:36:20,325 --> 00:36:24,037 Christian and you are full of those dead man bones. 605 00:36:24,133 --> 00:36:28,661 And he cannot use you if you are full of that dirty sin in your 606 00:36:28,685 --> 00:36:29,249 life. 607 00:36:34,119 --> 00:36:36,339 Where is God in our nation tonight? 608 00:36:37,399 --> 00:36:39,139 Where is God in our church? 609 00:36:42,039 --> 00:36:43,579 You know what God would say? 610 00:36:44,519 --> 00:36:45,739 I'm right here. 611 00:36:48,119 --> 00:36:52,139 All you have to do is turn back towards me. 612 00:36:55,249 --> 00:36:58,281 Every head bowed, every eyes closed as the musicians began to 613 00:36:58,305 --> 00:36:58,869 come. 614 00:37:02,609 --> 00:37:04,389 I don't know where you are in life. 615 00:37:06,289 --> 00:37:08,389 I don't know what you're going through. 616 00:37:10,929 --> 00:37:13,129 But maybe, maybe it takes some time. 617 00:37:13,169 --> 00:37:18,889 Maybe it's time to take some time to examine our own lives and 618 00:37:18,929 --> 00:37:21,529 say, Lord, am I full of iniquity? 619 00:37:22,269 --> 00:37:24,329 Am I full of that uncleanness? 620 00:37:24,749 --> 00:37:27,529 Am I full of those dead man's bones? 621 00:37:28,829 --> 00:37:31,609 Lord, help me not to be a lukewarm Christian. 622 00:37:33,309 --> 00:37:35,925 Use me and cleanse me. 623 00:37:35,997 --> 00:37:36,869 Let's pray. 624 00:37:37,029 --> 00:37:39,221 Lord, we want to thank you so much for the time that you've given 625 00:37:39,245 --> 00:37:39,605 us, Lord. 626 00:37:39,637 --> 00:37:43,829 Thank you for this message that you've used to speak to me, 627 00:37:43,869 --> 00:37:44,085 Lord. 628 00:37:44,117 --> 00:37:47,253 Lord, I am exactly what you described here to the Pharisees, 629 00:37:47,301 --> 00:37:47,669 Lord. 630 00:37:47,749 --> 00:37:48,927 And Lord, I need you. 631 00:37:49,013 --> 00:37:52,667 I need you to come in and cleanse my life, Lord. 632 00:37:52,763 --> 00:37:54,395 Thank you Lord for this message. 633 00:37:54,507 --> 00:37:57,131 I pray that it spoke to hearts, Lord, and please be the rest 634 00:37:57,155 --> 00:37:57,707 of our services. 635 00:37:57,763 --> 00:37:58,939 In Jesus name I pray, Amen.