Priests | Rodrigo Vargas

What's good, Houston, Texas? Let me hear you out there, baby. It's good to be back from the Middle East. Also, I want to say a personal thank you for all of you that. Take your giving serious, your walk with Christ serious, taking the mission that Jesus left us of making disciples. It's because of your ties and your offerings and your gifts that I was able to make that trip a success. You have no idea how many people I had to bribe so that I wouldn't get in trouble. Amen? It's because of your giving that I'm back home safe and the kingdom of God has advanced a little bit more in the darkest region in the world. Listen, if this is your first time with us, we want to say that we're so glad that you're here. You're an honored guest, but more than a special guest. We believe that you're an answered prayer for we pray every week that God sends us those that are looking for a relationship with him that are looking for a community of faith that believes in family and kingdom and growing in Christ. We want you to know that we exist. Union began its journey as a church by a simple vision statement. It says connecting people to God. Well, we do that by preaching the gospel of Jesus. And that gospel says that regardless of your past, regardless of your present, messy, broken, painful situation. And in spite of your doubt, Jesus died on that cross and we just took communion because he loves you

right where you are. That was the father's expression of his love that he gave Jesus before you believe. But he also loves you too much to leave you where you are. And I believe today, if this is your first time, if this is your first time watching, there's going to be a divine encounter. Speaking of those that are watching, this includes every man and woman that is incarcerated and watching us through the panda wack. Union Houston, can you help you welcome our Union prison campus? We love you just because we can't see. It doesn't mean that you're never out of our hearts. We look forward for the day that you walk in through those doors. The end, the end is our sermon series on the book of Revelation. Now we called it the end because it is the last book in the Bible and it also is how John shows us how we can live in light of Jesus, being revealed to us and awaiting for his return and how the end is actually the ushering of a new beginning. This book, the book of Revelation, reveals Jesus to his church. I showed you that on week one, us. As we read these pages, as we read these words, Jesus is being revealed to you. Jesus is being revealed,

watch this into your situation, whatever that may be, into that problem you have, into that addiction you have, into that temptation you constantly fall into, that Jesus is being revealed into that. Jesus is being revealed into your past and he wants to redeem that and he is being revealed even into your future. This is exactly what this letter is all about. Now, I wanted to teach from it because it's often misunderstood. People read it with the wrong perspective. Let me say it this way, I like this word better. They view these words with the wrong lens. Now, to some, that's a religious lens, a legalistic lens, right? Some people read this with a sensationalist lens, right? And some read it just to confirm their conspiracy theories biases. Amen, how many of you out there watching the conspiracy theories podcast? Don't lie in church, don't lie in church. And I know you out there listening to that stuff. But sometimes we take what we heard in the world and we tried to put a lens to see what God is trying to tell me personally in this season. We're gonna change that today. With the right lens, just make no mistake about it, I want to make sure that you understand. This is a book about God will judge everyone in the end. But those of us that have been saved by Jesus through faith

don't have to worry too much about that, amen? And if you're looking for faith in Jesus, that's what this book tells you and if you give your life, in other words, by faith you believe Jesus is the son of God died for your sins and was resurrected sitting on the throne, you don't have to worry about that judgment. It is a book about prophecy, about what will happen and it is a book describing the end. But more importantly, it's a love letter to who, to us, to you, to your situation, to your pain, to that problem, to your relationship, to your children, to your marriage, to your finances. It's a love letter letting us know that Jesus is still at work and working through us and in us and he loves us. This is filled with warning but yet a lot of encouragement. And most importantly, it fills us with strength. Now in a world that is shaped by Google, right? A world that's shaped by social media, right? You try to give advice to young people and I say, well I saw on TikTok, I'm like, my goodness. Right? In a world that's shaped by the news. And it doesn't matter what news you watch, they're owned by corporations that need to sell advertisement and you can only sell advertisement if you sensationalize what's happening in the world. Are you getting what I'm saying? It's no longer journalism. It is exactly that. It's news entertainment. A world that's shaped by everybody's opinion. Everybody got one. Everybody's got an opinion about this or that, the other. And to be honest with you, most of this is shaped, your world view is shaped by propaganda. It's really easy to see this book with the wrong

lens, with a bias lens. A psychologist called this a confirmation bias. We want to confirm what we're already biased to believe in. But Jesus is trying to get us to put on a new lens to see him being revealed to us the way he revealed himself to John on Patmos. Now I spent eight days in the Middle East encouraging Christians in that region. But let me give you some perspective. The right lens. Let me give you a lens to look at faith here where we are. And I tell you this, not to shame you, but for you to be encouraged and for you to take a step forward, not just in your faith, but in your discipleship and you're giving and you're serving in everything we do, to take faith in Jesus serious because in Egypt there's only 10% of the population are Christian. Now of that 10% only 3% of that 10% are evangelical Christians. That's like us. That means that 7% are Coptic and Catholic. And these are on the high end estimates. Some estimates are a little bit lower. The United Arab Emirates where I visited, I spent two and a half days there, is 6.6% and nearly all of the believers are foreigners and not citizens. In Jordan, by the way they have anti-prosletizing laws there and in UAE and Egypt and I'm walking around going make disciples t-shirt. Pastor Steve's like, hey Rod you know they got anti- but I said these people don't know how to speak English. And then after they figure out what it says they're going to try to figure out where it came from. You know what I'm saying?

Most of the church don't know what going make disciples means. Yeah what makes you think people are? I'm going to wear it. Jordan, 2% of the population. This is sliver. Now here's the saddest one. Palestine is 2% and shrinking every year. Palestine because they can't handle the persecution because settlers Israeli Jewish I know this ain't popular with my Christian brethren but I saw it I witness it Jewish Israeli settlers come kick you out of your house and you can't touch them because the moment you try to defend yourself they call the IDF and they move you out by rifle point and put you in a jail and now all of a sudden your home is their home and they start building a compound and they invite their cousins and their brothers and their sisters and their parents and all of a sudden this neighborhood that used to be a thriving Christian community is no longer that it is a what's called a settlement protected by the government of Israel as you can see I came back I already knew this but I came back when you see it firsthand it's different that's why shrink it the land Jesus was born in walked in perform miracles it's slowly dying but I gotta tell you there's some good use here God is rising up a people God is rising up a people that are not gonna stand for this anymore God is rising up a people of faith that is a remnant in the land that God walked in that God stepped out of heaven and walked in humanity he is raising up a people that are gonna race the political agendas they're gonna erase the legalism they're gonna erase all kinds of theology that is not biblical and that are gonna pray intercede give and help build a church where God wants to once again walk in now not only are these brothers and sisters in inspiration but they are some of the most persecuted people in the world and you know what they don't do they don't complain they don't criticize they don't take their faith lightly they're aware that they are on the front lines of a spiritual battle Pastor Nihod stood before me at it one o'clock in the morning after

dinner and he said Pastor Rod this is a spiritual battle and what we need is intercession and I told them I have some intercessors that are gonna begin to intercede for you for your wife for your church and for Palestine can I tell you these people cannot take afford to take a day off nor they can afford to be burnt out when they leave their house they leave for the full armor of God now last week while I was in while I was there Pastor Sarah preached a powerful word of unendurance people money to remain under that whatever we endure with Christ that's the key with Christ is producing a strength in us and it was wonderful but we're gonna apply a lens to this we're gonna get to the scriptures just a moment this past week or actually last night I was making notes in my sermon and I heard voices in my other in the other room I was in my office and and and what I was making notes on and what I was reading sounded familiar to what they were reading and it's amazing because what they were it was my daughter Eva and my boy Aiden they're in the other room they're studying the book of Daniel now I'm gonna talk about this in the next few weeks but the book of Daniel is very intertwined with the book of revelations I was like wait what are they reading so I got up quietly I didn't interrupt him I went and I sat to watch them do a Bible study on the book of Daniel kids are crazy they're doing a book Bible study on the book of Daniel you hear me and as they're sitting there talking about it they finished up we talked or whatever and then Aiden says oh I bought that lens and I said what lens he says I bought that lens I got a good deal I got this lens it's a 10 millimeter lens and I said 10 millimeter lens what's the difference between I'm new to photography so this is all interesting to me like what's the difference between a 10 millimeter lens and a 35-minute millimeter lens he was like well it allows you to take a picture see it allows you to take a picture up close but with a wider range and it's gonna capture a wider, a fuller picture. I kept my mouth shut and I kept thinking, that's what I'm gonna do tomorrow. I'm gonna take, I'm gonna take the same passage,

Pastor Sarah, but I'm applying a 10 millimeter spiritual lens to it, we're gonna get it right close to it, but we're gonna see a fuller picture. Are you with me? Perfect. Relative Revelations, chapter one, verse four through eight, would you stand with me as we read from the Word of God? John to the seven churches that are in Asia. Grace to you and peace from him. Now, I wanna tell you that the reason John uses the salutation of grace and peace is an indication that he is writing to churches that both have Gentiles and Jews. The Gentile greeting is grace and the Jewish greeting is Shalom, peace. And so what he is saying is, hey, grace and peace, he is already greeting us as a vibrant and diverse church. He is talking to us, Union Houston. Grace and peace to you from him who is, who was and is to come. And from the seven spirits who are before his throne and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born from the dead and the ruler of kings on earth. My God, we're gonna have some fun with that. To him who loves us and has freed us. From our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom. He made you a kingdom. Priests to his God and Father, to him be the glory and dominion forever and ever, amen.

Behold, here's the hope he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him. They may scoff at us. They may mock us. They may persecute us, but every eye will see him and know that we were right. Even those who pierced him and all tribes of the earth will wail on the account of him even so am. He says, I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the beginning and the end. I am the author and the finisher. Says the Lord God, who is, who was and is to come the Almighty, El Shaddai. Father God, we thank you for this word. Thank you that in my worship time you shifted me and you've got a special word today. So use me in all my capacities to deliver that what you want to tell your people. Soften every heart, open the eyes of them, give the lens, you need them to see this passage and this word with and open our minds to see and hear what you want us to know and I pray this in Jesus' mighty name and the people of God said, amen, amen, you may be seated. Today with my 10 millimeter lens that I learned about last night, I want to preach to you from a title. Now I want to tell you that originally this sermon was called Priest and Kings. Today I just want to talk to you

from the title, priests, priests. I believe this is important. This is probably, this is one we have to get probably really good before we go in to start talking and wielding around the authority Jesus has given us. But before I take a step further, we need to be reminded of I need you to see who, like Pastor Sarah, you've been enduring it remaining under because endurance only makes sense when you know who is carrying you, do you know him? All this is gonna make sense as I unravel the sermon, but if you're not reading his word, you don't know him. Right? Listen, if you're not praying to him, if you're not asking him for guidance, you're not really, you don't know him. Like that word, no skills, is an ongoing relationship. And I say this sometimes, week to week to week to week, we've got, you can't leave your house. My encouragement to you and stuff are gonna change. If you want to know who is carrying you, you've got to read his word. Who is covering you? Who is your protector? Who goes before you and behind you? Who is walking alongside of you? There's a moment I am at the Cairo airport and we got up early. We did everything we were supposed to. 3.30 in the morning, in my hotel room,

we're breaking apart boxes of Christian material, written in Arabic. I've got two problems. I'm smuggling in Christian materials out of a Muslim country and I'm sneaking them into Israel and it's written in Arabic. I've got a double edged sword that I'm messing with here and I'm stuffing them in my bag and I'm making room and we're doing all the stuff, we get out to the lobby, we go out to the airport, we tell the guy, "Hey, this is our airline, we're flying out of this line." And he drops us off at the wrong gate. So we go and we get in line for security, we're standing in line for 20 minutes, they get to the front, they say, "No, you got to go to the other gate." We run, we grab our luggage, we go to the other gate, we stand another 15, 20 minutes, we get through and we got to stand another 20 minutes to check our bags. When we get to the front of the line to check our bags, we had to pay extra because our luggage was too heavy. And over there, it's not like America, okay? This is the third world, okay? Yes, it's the land of Egypt, but you can't pay the guy. You got to go to another booth, three miles down the road, go pay. So we're running down the hallway to pay and then they won't take our cash 'cause it has a little rip. True story, they do this in my home country too

and show you can't, not a single tear. And at that point, I texted our team, I need you to pray for me, I can tell right now, I'm in a spiritual battle, everything's going against us for a reason, we have a divine appointment and I'm determined to get in there and I started walking around and I pulled out my Bible and I prayed Ephesians chapter one verses 17 through 23 and I was walking like this and I knew my team was praying and all of a sudden I had this spine stood up and I looked at one of the guys I was traveling with and I said, it'll be fine. Pastor Steve didn't feel the same way, but what I'm trying to tell you is at that point, I knew who was protecting me and who was keeping me. I knew it and I gotta tell you, my persecution and my obstacles did not end there. The day was full of them, but in these verses, we see here Jesus revealed to us in three powerful ways. First, write this down, eternal. When it says who is who was and who is to come the Alpha and the Omega, literally they're describing the name Yahweh and you can reference this in Exodus 3 14. He doesn't run out, he holds your beginning and he holds your end, he is through it all, he will be rain faithful. Second thing is it's the fullness of God. That's what the seven spirits before his throne are described to us in Isaiah chapter 11 verse two. You never ever endure on empty.

Let me say that again. You will never ever endure on empty. The complete spirit is yours, but are you drinking of that spirit? Three, victorious. Jesus is victorious. He is described to us here as the faithful witness. He is described to us as the force born from the dead. Does anybody know what that means? It means that he was the first to be resurrected. And he is the ruler of the kings of the earth. And that's a reference to Psalms 89. Can I tell you this? That's what we need to talk about today and possibly next week, because the same king bid something for you in verse 6 that changes everything. I've labeled this this is the text or the verse that gives you a name. In this verse, verse 6, in this one verse, John reveals something that should shape. Let me get you're not only your perspective, it should give you a new lens to see your life, your problem, your blessing, your finances and text, the scriptures, made us to be a kingdom. We are talking about royalty, not a peasant, not a beggar, but a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father. Revelation is 1-6 plain and simple. He didn't just save you and yes, he saved you when you came to believe he saved you, but he didn't just save you. He commissioned you as priests and kings. Today, we're going to focus in on priests. This is a direct quote. Watch this. How many times did I tell you on the first week? How many interlaced with the Old Testament? This is a direct quote. It is a direct quote from the Exodus chapter 19, verse 6. You shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. And what was spoken over of people at Mount Sinai today is spoken over us. This made a nation of freed slaves into God's own royal priesthood. Come in, lean in a little bit. I'm trying to tell you that he took, God took a bunch of slaves out of captivity, split the Red Sea, put them in a wilderness and after he freed them and had them in a wilderness, he called them a royal priesthood. Today, I'm telling you, I came

to church hyped up to tell you he is saying that over you, over our prison campus, over everyone that is broke, over everyone that's struggling, over everyone that has sinned before, over every addiction he is saying you are royalty. You see, the verse begins with to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. And we took communion today. He has made you into a kingdom, a royal priesthood. Before you were ever called royalty, you were first loved is what you got to remember though. I am royal because God loved me. And I am royalty because he has freed me. And let me ask you something. How many of you would think if a king had an enemy, right? We're talking about a king. He's very powerful. He had an enemy and he had defeated that enemy, right? And he conquered his land. How many of you think he would go back and re-fight that battle? Seems silly, right? And yet so many of us are fighting the same battle day after day. This is, it's going to seem like it's unloving, but it's the most loving thing I did. You're just not walking in the life that God has commissioned for you. You are not living as kingdom. You are not living as a priest. You are not living as a freed person. Because your crown was bought with blood. We took communion. Now there's a problem. Most Christians are living like neither. Christians and paupers. They're not. See, a priest is a nation called to holiness. Wait a minute. You said, some of you are thinking, I know I'm not a pastor. I never said you are a pastor. I say, God has commissioned you to be a priest. Men, fathers, you're the priest of your home. Mothers, wives. young work and professors? You should be a priest in your workplace. You should be a priest in your workplace. You should be a priest to where you go. You're at your run club, at your pickleball games, at your gym. You should be a priest wherever you go. You have been commissioned to be a priest, but to do that you have to understand that means that you are a nation, a royal nation, nation meaning people group. We are a people group. You are not your ethnicity. You are not your race. Listen to me. You are not your heritage. I don't care if your people were indigenous. I am a kingdom. I have to argue with mom all the time. I don't care about her indigenous background. I know my father in heaven. I am a king and a kingdom. I may sound like it's racist. I don't care. It may sound like it's mean. I don't care. I am a king. I know. And you are too. You are too. But I

also know that I'm a nation called the holiness. So let's start with that first word priest. Let's dive into that. In the old covenant a priest wasn't a casual title. A priest whole life was set apart, consecrated. This word consecration has been on my heart for months. Clean. The priest was clean. He had to wash before he served. He wore garments that marked him as different. He walked in the presence of a holy God on behalf of the people. I'm gonna tie all this together for you okay? And he if he was careless if he got up late because he stayed up too late scrolling on Instagram and he he got up late passed his alarm and he hit the the dreaded snooze button and he didn't get his word and he didn't pray and if he stepped into God's present he wasn't coming out. He wasn't coming out. And I'm afraid so many of us are walking around life that way. We are getting up late not spending time with God. We're making excuses. We're saying all this and that. Oh poor me. I can't do this. I can't do that. I can't. And you know what? You're trying to step into God's presence and you're coming out on empty. So let me define this for you. Holiness means to be set apart for God and to live like you belong to him. Consecrated, clean. Listen to me. Someone needs to hear this. No matter what is happening in your life. No matter what pain you're carrying today. No matter what problem is weighing in your mind. You should be wearing a garment of praise in every season. This is the why you are a priest to God for the people. What people? The people that don't know him yet. In Scripture something was called holy because it was no longer common. You're no longer common. You are a child of God. You are a child of the Most High God. You have a big brother that defeated death and he sits on a throne and he has all power and authority and he walks with you and you live filled with the Spirit of the Living God. You have been set apart. You're no longer common. But you've been set apart for God's purpose. God is holy because there's no one like him. He is completely pure. He is completely righteous. He is completely unlike sin. Sin doesn't live anywhere near him. When God makes us holy he isn't just changing our behavior. That'll come in time. He is changing who you belong to. He is changing who you are. He is changing that label

that you give in yourself. And you have to believe in that daily. You don't get a day off because the men and women that I encountered specifically in Palestine they don't have the luxuries of not reading their Bible, not praying and not believing this truth. Holiness means I have been set apart by Jesus. I'm being transformed. This is the second step. It's not just one day. Oh yeah he saved you. But it also means when you're living in holiness you are being transformed by the Holy Spirit. And my life is So holiness isn't isolation, it's consecration, it's not pretending to be perfect. It's not. So many of us know how to walk in the church and say how many verses you read and what books you're reading and what podcasts you heard and blessed be the Lord and all this other funky Christianese stuff y'all love to say but you still got the same old rigmaroo problems you had a year ago. When those problems are no longer, when you are comfortable, listen, I'm gonna speak to the men real quick because I've been identified as a, you need to know who you are. You need to know who you are. You're always going to try to play the big boy. I got a bigger toy game with other men and in life until you realize who you are in Christ and you're special and you're powerful and you got a calling on your life and you don't need to impress anyone. You need to lead. It isn't pretending to be perfect. It's surrendered, what's this?

Broken bread poured out wine for the one who is holy. It's not just staying away from sin. It's being completely devoted to God. See, you keep fornicating, not because you're bad. It's because you're not completely devoted to God. You haven't given him everything. You're still dragging your feet on that decision. You're waiting for the perfect time, not because God hasn't answered you. He's already answered you. It's because you're not completely devoted to him. We continue to struggle with our finances. We continue to struggle with the paycheck to paycheck. We continue to struggle with not getting ahead in life. Listen, I'm gonna overwhelm you with the testimonies of this church, that when people decided in their hearts by faith, they heard the conviction, I'm gonna begin the talk. You know what started happening in their lives? Their debt got smaller and their income got bigger. Their open doors began to open and fly open and they began, but I don't want you to hear from me. I want you to hear from them. The point is they became completely devoted to God in their finances. That's the end of the story, point blank. That's all it is. They became completely devoted to God in their finances. There's a holiness you were given and there's a holiness you're growing into, two parts.

The moment Christ saved you, he declared you're holy. You've been washed, you've been sanctified, set apart. Scriptural reference, first Corinthians 6-11. Now there's something interesting that's been gnawing on me for two days and I was talking with the kids last night after their Bible study after I was, by the way, I came back obsessed with the Mediterranean for Arabic food. So last night I was having an Arabic dinner. And in the Old Testament where God consecrated a priest and he declared that an exodus, we need to go all the way back. And I'm gonna show you something that God revealed to me that's rather fascinating. God tells the Israelites while they're still in Egypt, while they're still in bondage, okay? While you were still in sin, hey listen, you need to slay this lamb, kill it. While you were still in sin, God was telling you to kill yourself, to kill that flesh, to kill that sin, right? But in the Old Testament, this was a lamb was used to replace the firstborn. In the New Testament, Jesus has stepped into that place where you should have died for your sins, right? And you are saved, you kill it. And then what were they to do? They were all told to eat it. But this is what hit me. They, he said, eat it all.

Ah, see, a lot of us have come into church and we say, I believe in Jesus. Okay, we've killed our flesh. But you're not eating all of Jesus. You're not taking this whole word of God. You're not taking them all in. You gotta consume it all. You gotta take it all in. You gotta take in what he's told you not to do and what he told you to implement. You've got to take it all. And some of it's going to be uncomfortable. I'm okay with that, you need to be okay with that. The third thing is this is the most powerful thing. Now hear me out, after he had them eat, he passed over them. He saved them, right? He saved us, right? We've consumed all of Jesus. Where does God send the Israelites to a wilderness? I'm here to tell you, there's a thought in Christianity, especially in the West, where you think you get saved, you start tithing, you start serving, you start learning, and you're never going to go into a wilderness. Let me tell you something that is unbiblical, it is heretical, and you need to fix that. 'Cause God's going to send you into a wilderness. He's going to have you, but here's the part that you need to remember, he was with them. He was with them, he's going to be with you.

The strength of the Israelites was that by day, he was a pillar of cloud, and by night, he was a pillar of fire, and my God, I'm telling you, when I'm crossing borders, and I'm sneaking in books, and I'm preaching to these people, I know that the pillar of cloud is there by day, and the pillar of fire is there by now. I ask why I say it, it'll be fine. I know who is with me. Your whole life may seem like a wilderness, because glory is only going to be had when we meet Him face to face. For the rest of your life, the Holy Spirit will transform you into what He's already called you. What is the gift? The other's a process, and you need both. We'll come back to that on how that actually works. Not today, but next week, I want to ask you something. Are you living like a priest, or like a casual, because some of us are lukewarm. And I didn't come up with that word on my own, because in this very book, the same seven churches John begins to write to, he specifically tells one, the Leo Decean Church. So because you are lukewarm, Jesus says, and neither hot nor cold, I will speak you out of my mouth. Lukewarm is the faith you turn on for an hour on Sunday, and turn off in the parking lot. It's the faith you got when you're in worship,

but not when you, but the faith you turn off during warfare. It's the worship you give when it's convenience, and the obedience you skip when it's not. Oh, 'cause it doesn't go with your planes. Jesus says that kind of faith makes him sick. And remember what I told you, when a priest in the Old Testament walked in casually to the presence of the holiest of holy, he didn't come out. We can't be casual about our holiness. Some of us are entitled, we got it backwards. Some of you have more complaints, more criticism, than you have contribution. We feel butthurt about things. Right? We have a lot to say about Susie Joe, 'cause Susie Joe gave me them eyes, and you don't know what Susie Joe went through. You don't know if her boyfriend beat her, if she just had an abortion last week, but you gotta promise Susie Joe because I swear Susie Joe got an attitude and all this other stuff. And listen, and Susie Joe's Instagram looks fresh, and you're like, man, how come Susie Joe don't invite me? Man, she's a jerk and all this other stuff, but you don't know that she's probably just posting on stuff because she's lonely. We got a lot to say, and not enough to do. And a priest, I don't know if you saw it in the text, priest who serve,

priest serves. He doesn't demand to be safe. Listen, I've dealt with, like, men, not every man's meant to be mentored by me. I'm just telling you right now. You know, I gotta be your flavor. You know. [ Laughter ] We're on the edges a little bit, you know, but I love you. I'm gonna be there, call me at three in the morning. I'll be there, but I'm gonna tell you like it is, right? One of the things that drives me up the wall is when I see a man struggle in his marriage, struggle in his finances. And he comes on Sunday and he sits every week right there and never grabs a towel, never serves humanity. Never says, hey, I need to get on a team. I need to do something for the Lord. I need to, I need to give of myself. Priests serve, they don't demand to be served. And what I'm afraid we've done is we've turned grace into a credit card. We swipe it on Sunday, we run up the bill all week and expect heaven to cover it when Elsie sings beautifully on stage. We made Christianity about comfort and convenience instead of consecration church. Holiness is not a cage. Holiness is the clean hands and the pure heart of someone that gets to stand in the presence of God

and not flinch and represent him to people that don't know him. It's the privilege of a priest and it takes the deep work, the daily work of discipleship. Not by force, but by surrendering to the convictions of the Holy Spirit. And that's why we have connect groups. If you're new with us, if you wanna know more, if you wanna know what our culture's like, the church is connect groups. Go out there to connection point, you could tap on the little tap things that's so cool that we got now in our chairs and you can get into a connect group. We do discipleship study groups. We study the word of God because here Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2 9, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people from his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous life. Romans 12 1, Paul says, I appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is pure, your worship, spiritual worship. Hebrews 12, 14, strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will ever

see the Lord. A priest doesn't serve his comfort. He serves as God. And I believe that God is doing something new in his church in the East and in the West. I believe that if you're here today, if you're watching right now, I believe that you felt that church should be more uncommon, that it should be more of sacredness, that it should be more of the presence of God than a performance for God. And if that's you, I believe that today, God is calling you to holiness, not to be pretentious, not to be holier than that, but to be different, to be set apart, to be cleaned, to be washed, to be consecrated, to wear the garments of a priest. I believe that God has given us a new anointing in this house. Would you pray, would you stand with me? And we have prayer partners here. If you're new, you need prayer for anything. They prepare all week for this moment. Before I can ever ask you to live a life of holiness, I need to ask you to be his. What does it take? It's you receive grace by faith. That means that you believe. You need to know what you believe. You need to believe that God stepped out of heaven

and into earth in the form of Jesus' Son. Jesus, born of a virgin, lives, suffered, and died for all our sins. Truth is, past, present, and future sins. 'Cause he loves us, and he desires a relationship with you. And then he was buried, and on the third day, he was risen back to life. And he was risen so that you may have not just eternal life but eternity living inside of you. And if you want to make that decision today of the heart, just of the heart, no rituals, no membership forms, nothing jumping through hoops, I just want you to make that decision. Maybe you're sitting in a living room, maybe you're in a dorm room, maybe you're in a pod, maybe you're in your cell by yourself. Watch in through that tablet. Want you to close your eyes and bow your heads right there where you may be. If that's you, just raise your hand so I can pray for you, even if you're in your cell phone. Thank you, Lord. Father God, we thank you. Thank you, that you stepped into our time and space, that you lived, suffered, and died for us, and that you called us to be a kingdom, a nation of priests. Today I ask you to move in this place, to stir the people's hearts, to strive for holiness, to strive to read your word, to strive to be in your presence, to strive to wear the garment of praise in all situations, Lord. We ask you, via your spirit, that you give us the strength to endure. Father God, we thank you, and I pray this in the mighty name of Jesus. Come on, Church, give God praise for the word of the Lord that has gone forth.