SOME OF YOU ARE GOOD AT MAKING GOD LOOK BAD | 1 Peter 2:9–10 | Chris Durso

I just noticed two people that I love very dearly in the crowd, and they did not tell me they were going to be here. They are pastors from Louisiana. They pastor a great church called Bethany Church, Pastor Jonathan and Angie Stockstill are right here in the middle. Can you guys just stand real quick? Come on. Can we thank God for them? I do a little bit better of a job, they are absolutely amazing, they love you, they honor you. Thanks for being here and not telling me because you probably would have been preaching. I would have been like, great, you're here, we need you to serve. Jonathan is not only one of the best preachers and pastors, he's actually one of the greatest worship leaders, and I still listen to him all the time. I always tell him that every time I see him, his song is on replay in my car, in my home, and I cannot believe you're here. It's amazing. I love you. I can't wait to talk later. All right. If you have your Bibles, I want you to open up with me to the book of 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 2, I'm going to be reading to you from the Amplified translation, so it's probably going to be, it's probably going to read a little bit differently than yours. But as Peter is writing this message, he's writing to all believers, both the Jews and Gentiles, and he's having a conversation with them about what's happening in their world. He's like, look, I know the world is chaotic. I know it's difficult. I know there's a lot going on and allow me to remind you what you already know about you.

He says this in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9, but you are a chosen race. It is important to note that when he says race, he is not talking about one specific group of people, he's specifically talking about those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ. So when he says a chosen race, he's talking about Christians, not an ethnic group, but because we've decided together to follow Jesus, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a special people for God's own possession so that you may proclaim the excellencies, the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people at all, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Come on, isn't that good news? You guys are way too quiet this morning. Isn't that good news? You know what? You know what? I want you to just turn up a little bit, can I just get you to stand up real quick? I know. I know. You don't want to stand. You're already comfortable. It's all good. I want you to proclaim this over yourself. I want you to proclaim this over yourself. So let's walk this, let's walk this through together because what's so powerful about this verse is that it's not just powerful words. This is actually our identity as believers. Any believers in the room? Anybody would say that I profess with my mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, he is my King, he is my Lord, he is my Savior.

If I am not certain about anything, I am certain that Jesus is King. Come on, all of you people, make some noise, make some noise. There we are. There we are. Welcome. As we're standing, let's proclaim this together. I want you to say this together, I am chosen by God. I am a part of a royal priesthood. I am consecrated and set apart for him. I belong to God. I am called to proclaim his excellencies. He has called me out of darkness into his marvelous light. I am part of God's people. I have received his mercy. Okay, that was a good warm up. We're going to do it one more time. We're going to do it one more time. This time, I want you to say it like you believe it. And when we get to the very end, I want you to cheer with everything you've got. You ready? You ready? Come on, let's walk through it again. I am chosen by God. I am a part of a royal priesthood. I am consecrated and set apart for him. I belong to God. I am called to proclaim his excellencies. He has called me out of darkness and into his marvelous light. I am a part of God's people. And I have received his mercy.

And I have received his mercy. He does not treat me as my sins deserve. I receive his mercy. Come on, if you agree with that and believe that, make some noise. (crowd cheering) Isn't that incredible? That this God that knows everything about us. He says I choose you, I love you, I've called you, I ask you to be consecrated, I want you to speak about me, even though I know all the other things that you've said about life and you've said about me, I don't hold any of it against you, I love you, receive this mercy. This is some of the most humbling news in the world. When I think about this, when I think about the goodness of God, when I think about His grace and I think about His mercy, and I think about the fact that He knows everything about me and He knows everything about you and He would still call us all these beautiful things. If there's anything worth celebrating, this is worth celebrating. He loves us and He's for us. If that's true. (gentle music) That's true. Then the question I come to is why is it then so difficult for other people who are still in the darkness, not to feel the love of Christ coming from us?

If this is true, is it true? Is all that we just write true? If this is true, then why is it that all the other people that are still lost, all the other people that are not aware of this mercy, all the other people that have not had this revelation of grace that we've had, why is it when they talk about us? They say things about us like, I like they're Jesus, but I don't like the Christian. I love this idea of the teachings of Jesus, but don't tell me to go to church. I'm not going to church. And if we're being honest, I don't think it's hate speech. I think it's experience. I think they've had experiences where they've been mistreated and they've been looked at differently and they've been marginalized and they've been made to feel dumb because they simply didn't understand, but they came across some type of post on Instagram or on TikTok of somebody saying all the right things, but they said in the spirit that they recognize because it reminds them of the very place that they're still in. (gentle music) I gotta be honest, I love the church. That's why I've given my life to, but I believe as the church,

my brothers and my sisters, we have to do better. I'm not responsible for all the other churches. So I'll just say this for me and my household, for me and good company. If I'm going to be your pastor and we're going to do this and we're going to commit to this, then we're going to commit to loving people. We're going to commit to proclaiming the truth. Well, we're going to say truth, but we're not going to forget about the grace because it's grace and truth, not truth, than grace. (congregation applauding) We're going to stand on the word of God and we will not misrepresent the one that has only shown us mercy. I want to take the next few moments that I want to preach to you from this idea. Some of you are good at making God look bad. Some of you are good, not you, the other ones. Some of you are good at making God look bad. Let's pray one more time. Holy Spirit, speak. Fall upon us, fill us and allow us to represent you well in Jesus' name. Come on, if you agree, can you shout amen? Amen, amen, go on ahead, grab your seat. Grab your seat, grab your seat. When Peter's writing this letter, it's important to note that he's not just trying to encourage us.

He's not just trying to encourage the community that he's talking to. He is reminding Jews and Gentiles. He's reminding all the people that have now put their faith in Jesus. And he's not just speaking and coming up with this language. He's actually borrowing language from Exodus 19. God speaks to Moses. Moses comes down from the mountain and he talks to the Israelites and he tells them all these things. And he says, you're supposed to go out and you're supposed to be a royal priesthood and you're supposed to represent us well. And yet the Israelites then failed. But not just failed once. Like you and I, we failed to keep it together. We failed to be consistent within our character and our lifestyles did not match the very things that we were preaching. So now in the Old Testament, God tells Moses to say this. And then in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit also inspires Peter to remind the church again. He says, hey, let them know who they are. let them know that they are consecrated, remind them that that they were once in darkness, and now they've been brought into this marvelous light, not by anything that they've done,

but because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, He made way for us, therefore we have this beautiful mercy that each and every one of us get to receive. So I want to remind you, I want to tell you, I want to tell you who you are, who you are, and what you're called to do. I want to tell you who you are. I want to tell you who you are, and what you're called to do. I want to tell you that you are a child of God, and you are not some child that lives without a father. You have a father in heaven who loves you, He calls you by name, and His name is Jesus. He is the one that died in your place and mine, and you're to go out, and you're to talk about Him, and you're to share His praises. You are to share His praises. You are to share what His-- - Praises. - Simple enough, and yet look at the day and age that we're living in. Anyone else notice the trend in Christianity right now? Anyone notice the language, the conversations that are being had that aren't necessarily wrong, but they don't feel right? I think that it's possible to study so much of the Word of God, that you become full of the Word of God without carrying the heart of God.

I don't think that people don't know, I just wonder if they know Jesus. It is one thing to know about Him, it's another thing to know Him. It is one thing to speak about Him, it's another thing to be intimate with Him. Now, I think the reason why we are where we are is because culture is doing what culture always does. See, if you're new to the faith, if you're new to church, if you're new to Christianity, I want you to know that what you're in the middle of right now has always been what it's always been. Here's what I mean. There are trends that happen in Christianity, and for years, there have been different movements that have come to the forefront of Christianity, and these movements are well-meaning. These well-meaning movements only stepped up and became popularized in an attempt to correct what has been going on wrongly in the church, but what always happens is that there's this over-correction and the pendulum swings all the way to the other side. Let me give you a timeline. Can you put this, that graph up on the screen for me? I wanna show you something that I came up with. There's not like any official documentation, but if you did some studying, you would figure it out on your own, and maybe if you're like me, I'm 43 years old, you've lived through some of this.

There's from the 1800s to the early 1900s, you have the holiness movement. And the holiness movement is what I grew up in. I grew up in a church called Christ Tabernacle that was out of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, and it's a beautiful church that still exists, by the way, that was built on prayer and worship. Charismatic and Pentecostal, but non-denominational. Some of you are like, what does that mean? It means that we believe in the gifts of the Spirit. We believe in prophecy, we believe in speaking in tongues. We believe that healing is possible through the power and the name of Jesus. And in the church that I grew up in, it was a heavy prayer culture. So it wasn't the kind of Pentecostal that had flags. It wasn't the kind of Pentecostal that had dancing. Look at me, I can't even dance. I got one leg off the ground. (congregation laughing) It was the kind of Pentecostal that simply believed in the gifts of the Spirit. Now, I'm just telling you my own experience, okay? And that experience was the holiness movement. Here's what it got right. It got right prayer, consecration, obedience, and a serious pursuit of holiness. Here's what it got wrong. Often became legalistic, defined by rules and restrictions rather than relationships with Jesus.

So let's say somebody came to church and it was their first time in church. And maybe their skirt was a little bit higher or their shirts were a little bit lower or tighter than most church people would normally wear. The church people, instead of loving on them and inviting them, they would turn their back on them and they would send them home to change so that they could show up appropriately. They got that wrong. I don't care what you walk in here with. If somebody walks in here wearing nothing, but a thong, I'm accepting them. (congregation laughing) Maybe they don't know better. I'll give them a seat right up in the front and we will preach the gospel to them and we will pray over them. And if there's a change that happens on the other side of it, amen. But I'm not gonna turn anyone away because they're not dressed appropriately because with all due respect, when our righteousness is buffetly rags. But I digress. So then in an attempt to overcorrect the harshness of the holiness movement, we got the seeker sensitive movement. The seeker sensitive movement was really popularized by a church in Chicago called Willow Creek. I know this because I actually used to work for them.

In my early 20s, they would fly me in to help plan their conferences. There's still a conference that exists today called the World Leadership Conference or the World Leadership Summit. It used to be called the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. And I would fly in one to two times a month or every other month. And I would help them plan these conferences. Well, this church helped to popularize the seeker sensitive movement. And the attempt of the seeker sensitive movement was good in its intent to remove barriers, to create a welcoming environment and prioritize reaching people that are far from God. So if somebody walked in dressed inappropriately, they didn't shun them. The idea was, how do we make it comfortable enough so that we could just get them to Jesus? That was the intent. But in this attempt to correct what did they do? They overcorrected. And then they downplayed sin. And they minimized. They minimized the exclusivity of Jesus and made the message more culturally acceptable than biblically clear. I've been in rooms where they would say, hey, let's not use the name Jesus. Let's point them to God.

I was 23 years old, completely confused. I was the youngest person on that team. Everyone else was in their 40s and up. And I just felt privileged to be there. But I remember leaving there, wait a minute, we're not gonna say Jesus. And I was confused as a young person because I looked up to them and I'm thinking, are they right? I don't think they're right. And in an attempt, hear me, in an attempt to reach people, they over corrected and they went too far. So then what came next? What came next was the grace movement. The grace movement re-centered the church on the person and the work of Jesus and emphasized the cross and highlighted God's mercy and forgiveness. I gotta be honest with you, that description, that's where I wanna live all day. Let's just preach Jesus. Let's point people to the cross. I don't wanna point people to me. I'm just gonna say, you could follow me and I'm gonna make my way to the cross as we follow Jesus. This is important. This is where a lot of our worship, some of you got saved through these movements. This is where a lot of our worship comes from. That has become centered on Jesus,

where they got it wrong, where we got it wrong. Grace became an excuse for passivity with a less emphasis on repentance, obedience and transformation. And as a result of it, it was just grace, grace, grace without any expectation of consecration. And it was just as long as I'm coming to church and I'm singing the songs, I'm good. And my brothers and my sisters, that's not true. You're good that you're coming to church. You come as you are, however, when you get here and you enter into a relationship with Jesus, you don't remain as you are. You change for the better. Not for approval, he already accepts you, but you change for the better, why? Because he starts cutting away the parts of you that are inappropriate and wrong. And then there were two other movements that became like subcultures within the grace movement. And you can put those up there for me. I made them red because I wanted you to know, but they're blue, that's okay. The two here, the hyper-grace movement and the Christian celebrity movement, these were under the banner of the grace movement. Again, I made this up, you can't find this in a book, but because I lived through a lot of it, I was trying to do my best to put it in to words and I'm sure even Pastor Jonathan and Pastor Andrew

could even tell you like they've seen it in Louisiana. We've seen it here in New York. The hyper-grace movement emphasized God's love, kindness and salvation that is by grace, not by works. One of my favorite verses in all the Bible says there's nothing in all this world that could separate me from the love of God through Christ Jesus, our Lord, neither death nor life. Angel nor demon. Past nor present can separate you from the love of God. That's a powerful verse, that is a very true verse, but that verse does not give you the license to keep on living however you want to live without repentance. There was a preaching that came through this movement that said you don't even have to repent anymore because when Jesus died on the cross, he said it was finished and because he said it was finished, you now no longer even need to apologize because it was already taken care of on the cross. That's not true. You are forgiven absolutely, but accepting forgiveness means change. This is all throughout the Bible. This is why after we have the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we have these letters to the churches and if you were to read these letters, whether it's Corinthians or Romans and Galatians or Colossians or Peter or 2 Peter, and you're gonna get first Timothy and second Timothy,

and it's these arrows pointing us to live a life of holiness. This is important. They push grace to the extreme, suggesting sin had no real consequences and that discipleship and accountability were optional. Remember that, because that's why we are where we are right now, I'll get there in a second. What also was birth within it was the Christian celebrity movement. And this was good, and no one called it by that, by the way, other people called it that, 'cause that's a really weird term, Christian celebrity, it's like kick rocks, okay. The Christian celebrity movement used influence and cultural, cultural reverence to amplify the message of Jesus and reach new audiences. And now all of a sudden pop culture started hearing about Jesus. And now some of the pop stars that you know, like I know, started talking about Jesus publicly. And this was a beautiful thing because we had been praying about this for years. We've been praying for the gospel to reach Hollywood and we've been praying for the gospel to reach people that were in the highways and the byways. So then we started to see different people get saved who had great influence and that was exciting. The issue that came with it, it elevated personalities over character.

And even though we saw that there were some kind of character issues, what was accepted was the influence and we thought, well, there's no way that they would have the influence if God wasn't with them. So you know what, even though I don't agree with that, I'm gonna just stay quiet about it. And then became platform over discipleship and visibility over spiritual death, depth, which is then an attempt to overcorrect because when COVID happened and everyone was locked up and people started doing the math and thinking to themselves, wait a minute, and started reading the word of God for themselves, they started to think to themselves what I've been hearing being preached isn't actually true and what I've been witnessing isn't actually true. And because they had all this time on their hands, they started to now share and talk about the things that have been bothering them, which led to this age of deconstruction and then now leads us to where we currently are. It's this age where the education and politics and self-awareness movement, which by the way, I really named it that and I really just wanna put a question more 'cause I didn't really know what to put in it, but now because we have social media, what's happening is people are now sharing publicly what they believe in, who they're voting for.

Why they are, where they are, and in an attempt to reach other people, but what's happening is because no one's listening and they're just talking at one another, they're not hearing one another. The attempt is good. A renewed focus on biblical literacy, praise God. A cultural awareness, we're not gonna allow this to continue in our world. We need to stand against sin, absolutely. Now, a level of discernment and accountability, we need accountability. Accountability is a part of our vision statement, the law saying, the saying discipled, the discipled accountable. I am all for accountability. Here's where we're getting it wrong. It leans towards a constant critique. It's not a Jesus identity, it's a political identity. And so focused, where being informed and right can take priority over being Christ-like. So everyone is being preached at and nobody's converting. Because there's a spirit that we are to carry when we proclaim what's true. Because if the truth sounds mean, it's not God. I'm not talking about uncomfortable. The truth is uncomfortable. I'm not talking about correcting, truth corrects. But the truth is not mean-spirited. It doesn't say because you don't look like me

and don't vote like me, I don't care what happens to you. The truth is we all need mercy. Whether they're on the left side or the right side, or they're independent, we all need mercy. And because it is the cross that leads us, we don't look at them and say, because they didn't vote like us and they don't look like us, good for them. It's Christ's love that composes. In the same way Jesus left the right-hand side of the Father, not because He needed anything from us, but because He wanted to include us in His glory and in relationship with Him. I mean, if we're really talking about right and wrong, which one of us could match up with the purity and the goodness of God? None. No one. So in an attempt to overcorrect what has been inappropriate, I think we've gotten harsh. We're not wrong, we're just mean. And now we're posting videos for clicks. And you think because something's going on, But if all you're getting are more people that already agree like you, what are you really getting? I refuse to be the kind of church that just invites people to agree like me. I think what makes the beauty of Christianity is the fact that God loves me so much that he doesn't leave me nor forsake me

and he walks with me. What's another way of saying it? Even when I'm a mess, even when there's pain, he sits with me, he does not run from tension. Neither can we. I pray that there's another movement that takes place. I want to see this movement take place. Not as a sense of over-correcting, but just simply correcting. Can I tell you what I would love to see happen? This is what I want to see happen. This is my prayer that this movement would happen. Now. (congregation laughing) This one, that it would be the Christ-like movement. We look, talk, behave, and live like Jesus. What do we do? We speak truth with compassion. We operate in holiness with humility. And why'd I write it that way? Because your holiness should not allow you to become an elitist. Because you're consecrated and you're not living like everyone else that does not make you better. Holiness is the result of me spending time with God. The more I spend time with Jesus learning about Jesus, getting intimate with Jesus, the more in love I fall with him. I fall in love with him because I realize how undeserving I am of him.

That's what holiness looks like. I am set apart and I want to be with Jesus. And then therefore my heart starts to break for what his heart breaks for. That's why I'm not looking at someone and thinking I'm better than them. This was the mistake of the holiness movement. They became such elitist and who was who? And they didn't mean it, but they did. And so many people walked away hurt and offended because they simply didn't dress appropriately or talk appropriately or didn't have the same upbringing as them. We need holiness with humility. We extend grace with transformation. Man, I'll walk with you. Let's walk through this. You're struggling. You've made some mistakes. All right, let's walk together. You're doing something. You're living a lifestyle that's inappropriate. It's contradictory to the Bible. You're having sex outside of marriage. You're doing things that you shouldn't be doing. All right, let's walk together through this. And I'm going to keep walking with you, but I'm not just walking with you. I'm talking with you. And as I'm talking with you,

I'm responding to what you're asking me. And then I'm telling you the things that you may not know you need to hear. And we're doing it in love. We're challenging one another. Man, I want to carry influence. And we're going to reach New York City. The most influential city in the world. I'm praying for influence, not for celebrity sake, but to point people to Jesus. I want people to know about the goodness of Jesus. I want people to come to our church and I want them to be transformed. I want them to have a moment in the presence of God. I am praying for the kinds of influence that we could walk into radio stations and we could walk into city hall and we could walk up to people that are leading our police department or leading the fire department or people that are candidates running for office. I want the kinds of influence that will be able to be leveraged for Jesus. I say that unapologetically, not for fame, not for bragging rights, not so that people could read good company in lights. That is not the point of it. The point is that we get influence so that we could point people to Jesus with integrity. We're not above holiness. We're men and women of character.

We're not just taking things and treating things misappropriately. We're not spending money inappropriately. We're not living lifestyles that are contradictory to what it is that we're preaching when it comes to our sexual purity, when it comes to how we talk, how we treat people. You know how you treat people really matters to God. How you treat people matters. Because if you disagree with them but you can't treat them with kindness, what does that say about the God that's in you? How is it that the same power that conquered the grave lives in you and you can't even have a conversation where your nervous system remains regulated? (congregation laughing) You're telling me the same power lives in you and we can't even have a one-on-one conversation without you losing your cool? We hold conviction with gentleness and respect. That's what you believe in. That's okay, I don't agree with you. What do you mean you don't agree with me? Oh, I don't agree with you. (congregation laughing) I'm not gonna take a shot at you. I'm not trying to embarrass you. I have a conversation with you it anymore, you don't have to talk to me about it anymore. But what you're not going to get for me

is cruelty. And I'm saying this because I hate when I hear preachers say, "You know what? I'm sick and tired of it." As if their level of tolerance has been met and now they feel the right to say whatever it is that they want to say. Now, man, take a nap. Eat a Snickers. Go look at a pond or something. I don't do whatever you have to do to chill out and cool down. But when you start telling me, "I'm sick of it." So it's you've reached the maximum level of holy tolerance that that now gives you permission to just speak irresponsibly and marginalize people and make people feel horrible and make people feel silly and dumb because you got some moment. Maybe you drank too much Red Bull like I'm sick of it. Chill out, bro. I'm going to be okay. Let's walk through this thing together and let's point people to Jesus. We hold conviction with gentleness and respect. And what do we do? We live spirit-led in every area. If I were to ever build a soapbox, it would be this one right here because I grew up around people that knew how to prophesy. They knew how to speak in tongues. But in the same way they could prophesy, they could gossip. How could you prophesy being led by the Spirit talking about I see angels and I see the elders and you start speaking King James and all of a sudden this other language comes out of here like your Shakespeare and the holy, this nice righteousness of God. You can't stop gossip. You can't be kind. Don't tell me you could live spirit-led to talk about the future, but you can't behave in the present. You're a man of God, you got to work from God, but you're flirting? Which by the way, stop being impressed by talent. Too often you are impressed by talent and you will allow the talent to become the thing that you're attracted to and you notice the other things in their character. And I know you notice because you have eyes like I have eyes and we're from New York. So we know how to peep somebody and we check somebody and when we see them behaving a certain way, we're going, that don't sit right with me. But because they could sing it and because they could preach it, you just allow that thing to keep on going and you keep continuing to support it. And what I'm telling you is my brothers and my sisters, we need to be spirit-led in every area because if they could sing a song and preach a sermon, but we can't be present for their family, we missed it. We are a generation that represents what? The fullness of Jesus. We are a generation that represents what? The fullness of Jesus. Write this down. When you know who you are, you know what you are not. When you know who you are, who am I? I belong to Jesus. I am born again, spirit-filled. I belong to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I belong to Jesus and my Jesus loves me. He teaches me. He guides me. He corrects me.

But never wants does he demean me. Disagreement does not mean you demean someone. I don't disrespect. I know who's I am. Therefore, I know what I'm not. You know what I'm not mean. There are times where I want to be mean. That's not the spirit of God. That's my flesh. When I know I'm a child of God, I know that I'm supposed to be kind to who, people, which ones? All of them. The tall ones and the short ones. For a short person like me, I could have a lot of resentment for tall people. God, why them? Not me, you know. But I know who I am. I know who I belong to. So I'm not going to look at somebody just because they're different. Just because they behave differently. Just because they believe differently. Just because they identify differently. We might disagree. But I know who I belong to. I belong to the God that does not treat me as my sins deserve. But he walks with me and he challenges me and he does not leave me as I am. Who here remembers elementary school, right? Anyone remember the line leader? I was so, I never got picked to be a line leader. It was always the kids that were like the teachers, pets, and the teachers, pets always had like the name. Like Jerome Johnson, you know? Richie Rivera, Mary McDonald, you know what I mean? Like Chris Derso, it's not that pretty. So I never got here. But you ever noticed with the line leader, the moment they got that title, they changed up. You know what I mean? Like bro, yesterday you were one of us. And now, now they're behaving like they're the vice principal. Sit down. (audience laughing) Be quiet. I'm out of order on my line. I'm gonna tell the teacher, it's like, bro, what? All you were asked to do was to lead us to the cafeteria. (audience laughing)

The only thing you have to do is to get us from where we are to where we need to be. And I think we have confused what leadership actually is. We lead people, we do not Lord over them. It is our responsibility to lead them to the cross, to lead them to Jesus, not ostracize them on the way there. Because even though we may sin differently, we all still sin. And because we are aware that each and every one of us need new mercies each and every day, we are humbled by the fact that this God would love us, He would see us and He would continue to walk with us. We lead. We don't Lord. Where do we lead them to the cross? You know what I love about the cross? Each and every one of us stand the same height at the foot of the cross. I'm not better than you. You're not better than me. Well, you're a pastor, man, actually. I know. I'm not better than you. I'm gonna be held to a higher standard because of the position that I've taken. I take full responsibility. I get that and I understand that. But at the end of the day, I'm a man just like you and you're a man just like me. I once heard it said that the best of men are just men.

Just men, just you. This is why, hey, I'll lead you. Where are we going? Oh, we're going to Jesus. How are we getting there? Are we just gonna keep walking one foot in front of the other? Why happens when we stumble? Yeah, I'll wait with you. Let's get back up and let's walk together. Well, the Bible says, how could you walk together if they disagree? Oh, no, I get you. Yeah, yeah, I get you. So what kind of disagreement are we talking about? Are we talking about the tenets of our faith? 'Cause if you want to talk about the tenets of our faith, well, those principles, I'm not sure we disagree on them. Let's start with the tenets of our faith. What would that look like? Oh, you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord? I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. Okay, so we got one out the way. Do you believe in the Trinity? Okay, yep, I believe in the Trinity. The God, the Father, God, the Son, God, the Holy Spirit, three are one. Okay, do you believe that the Word of God is the final authority? You believe that the Word of God is the final authority? Yep, me too.

Okay, so we got three for three going for one another. Do you believe that Jesus is gonna return one day? Yep, I believe that Jesus is gonna return one day too. I believe that he's coming back for his people. Okay, so we got four for four. Okay, do you believe, do you believe that it is by faith through grace that we are saved? You believe that? I believe that too. Okay, so here we go. We got five, we're good. Do you believe, do you believe in the deity and the humanity of Jesus? He's 100% God, 100% man, you believe that? I believe that too, okay, six or six. Do you believe that all men have fallen short and need forgiveness? You believe that? You believe that too? Look, we agree. We agree a lot more than we realize we agree. What about these policies? Yeah, I don't agree with you on that. But let's have a conversation. Because if you believe, like I believe, that all men and women are fallen in need of a savior, it means that we can't always be right. So maybe I'm wrong and you're right. But if I'm wrong, don't leave me in my wrongness. Keep walking with me so that we can get to right together.

Or if you're wrong and I'm right, do you wanna remain wrong? We're not gonna film it. I'm not trying to make content out of it. I'm trying to have relationship. The one of the worst things that has ever happened to society are cameras. Because now we don't even know why we're filming. We're filming in hopes that other people could watch the very thing that we're supposed to be enjoying in the moment. And instead of enjoying in the moment, we're making it about something else. And my brothers and my sisters just put down the camera for a second. And let's walk with one another and talk with one another. And let's stay consistent. And even if we hang up the phone disagreeing, it doesn't mean that I can't call you back. I can't make it on my own and neither can you in the same way? I need a Savior new need a Savior. So let's encourage one another on and let's do like what the Bible says and spur One another on toward the cross toward the beauty and the splendor of King Jesus Let's just get after Jesus and if you need correction, I'm gonna correct you and if I need to be corrected, please correct me Next week me and the prettiest woman to ever exist Celebrate 21 years of marriage 21 years of marriage, do you think we would have made it to 21? Without any disagreements, there's probably a few. It's more than a few. All my fault, by the way Now she tells you she had moments where she was wrong. Have moments where I was wrong But we don't walk away because we disagreed We we stood together because we were committed to work through the disagreements and what I am asking you

I am not asking you to abandon your convictions I am just asking you to be convicted enough about this world that Jesus was willing to die for That you do not separate yourself for them in an attempt to overcorrect them Because if you are fine arguing with someone and Looking back and never seeing any of those people surrender their lives to Jesus Then what's the point? When I read the scripture It's so evident That I'm the chosen race Which means I'm chosen you're chosen we're chosen together. So we're going in the section of being chosen We're a royal priesthood. That sounds like a lot of pressure Well, how do priests behave? They behave committed in prayer to God They're kind They're clear. They understand what they believe in. Okay, a consecrated nation I'm content. I am committed to following Jesus and because I'm committed to following Jesus I'm gonna have disciplined some of you some of you are more committed to your meal plan than you are holiness And this is the issue you have so much tolerance for your lifestyle But you won't ever allow anyone to mess with your diet You have to have a greater conviction about your consecration Then you do anything else because what's the point of looking good or being rotten on the inside? And can I tell you something I know it's voting season or was all parties carry this by the way They have what they're convicted about and Then things that they're not as convicted about They can care less about But we're consecrated people a special people for God's own possession for his possession We belong to him, which means he calls the shots, which means even when you're sick of it. I Gotta say it I'm sick of it. I don't even know what that is

I belong to him. He doesn't belong to me So I follow his ways So that what can you put that up there for me? Oh, thank you so that what so that you may proclaim So that you may proclaim so that you may proclaim my brothers and my sisters. That's a privilege That you get to proclaim the excellencies of our God or the translation say the praises of our God So that you may exclaim the praises of our God. What's the last time you just spoke to someone to tell someone how good God is? That's why you're here. By the way, that's what according to the scriptures Not look at them and tell them how ugly they are and how wrong they are and how much of the need of a Savior They are I promise you if you tell them about the goodness of God, that's gonna lead them to want to follow this Jesus That's gonna lead them to want to change you ever notice when you're around somebody That's dressed a little bit nicer than you and is a little bit better put together than you all of a sudden You start reevaluating all your decisions and they didn't have to say anything to you It was the fact that you are around them that you thought man I Left the house like this. I Thought this was a good idea And they got it on right now dang I got a sweater like that You want to see people get better Point to them the goodness of God Let's talk about the praises of God. Let's talk about the fact that he doesn't treat us as our sins as a He left what was perfect harmony, beauty, and splendor so that he could be amongst us. My brothers and my sisters, I don't know if you know this yet, but I'm so aware. I'm not that special and yet this Jesus would see me and love me. Man, you want to have a conversation about anything and you want to talk about some stuff. Let me tell you about my Jesus. He did not leave me as my sins deserve. He did not leave me lost. He did not leave me broken. He did not leave me anxious. He did not leave me angry. There are moments where anxiety came out of nowhere. I don't know why I went through what I went through and he met me. There are other moments that I did it to myself and you know what he still did? He met me. He loved me. Let me talk to you about this Jesus. Let me talk to you about this God that sees you, knows you, and still loves you.

He does not look at you as your mistake. He does not look at you as sin. He says, "Child, I love you. Son, I love you. Daughter, I love you." If you want to talk about this God, that's how we have to talk about this God. Because right now what most people, what Christians are doing, not all of them, but the ones that seem to be popularized are talking about all the things that everyone else is doing wrong. We're not at the end of the day. This is not the permission to sin. It's the beautiful opportunity to get it right and if we're going to get it right, we focus our eyes on the one who is right. Do you want to point out all my flaws? Man, go for it. It's going to be our all day. Can we point out His goodness? I could do that for eternity. I'm concerned that people are more aware of what you are against than who you are for. He talked to them about the praises of God, and He saw you. Before you were born, He knew you and your mother's womb. He knew every part about you. He put you together bit by bit, piece by piece, and He loves you. Those things that you consider imperfections, He knew that and He called you. He predestined you. The worship team, you come on up, please. How is it that we've been freely given the light of Christ, and yet we guard it as if we have to police anyone else from joining? You've been given the light of Christ freely. So let's point to the light and say, "Welcome." I feel like it's easier to get into heaven than it is most churches. You're standing in front of the light like a guardian of the galaxy. Stop. How many Bible verses do you know? I don't have to police it. Come with me, man. You want to come too? I know me too. This God is so good. Let's go know Him together. I'm telling you, the more time you spend with Jesus, the bigger heart you have for the people He died for. And if you do not have a heart for the people He died for, my brothers and my sisters, maybe just maybe you are spending a lot of time learning about God and not becoming like God. Two days ago, I was flying from Virginia to Seattle. And as we're about to take off, the doors made all the announcements. All of a sudden, this woman behind me starts to scream at the top of her lungs. Richard,

like Richard, her husband started to shake uncontrollably. She didn't know if he was having a heart attack or a seizure, but she's screaming. And we noticed that she's screaming the flight attendants can't hear from where they are. So the rest of us start screaming, "Help! Help!" The flight attendants run over, "Run over, what's the matter? I don't know my husband!" In the midst of it, he wakes up. He's like, "Hey, what's the problem here?" She's like, "You're having a seizure." He's like, "Why did I have to sleep?" No, you weren't. Two seconds later, he goes right back into it. Starts having another seizure. Doctor was a doctor three doctors wrong board they all run over the I'm watching, but I'm praying, I'm sticking myself, God, would you touch this man? I noticed a man across the aisle, he started to pray as well, he put his hand out. It wasn't like a big day, he was just like this. He was like, "God." (congregation laughing) It was like a cool Pentecostal. (congregation laughing) Like, "God, you can get him, you know?" (congregation laughing) But he was praying. And then, I noticed all the commotion. Everybody else went back to what they were doing, but the man was still having a seizure. People started talking again, started texting again, put their headphones back on, started watching movies again, and you got, this man's fighting for his life. His wife is appropriately concerned that she's about to lose her husband. And because they didn't know him,

they didn't care. And if there was ever an issue that we need to correct it to that one, because you cannot tell me all the things you are pro, and not be for the one that's right in front of you. Listen, when it comes to policies, I'm probably the same as you. I care about all of it. I care about all of it. But we cannot care about all these things, and not care about the person that's to our left, and to our right. I am talking about salvation. That's it. I'll try to read between the lines. I posted something the other day, right? Can we just love people? All of a sudden, it's like, what? You're pro this? You're pro that? I'm like, hey, you got that from what I posted. I refused to entertain a conversation that I wasn't having. Where am I talking about? The gospel. For Christ so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that no man or woman would perish. That's why I came, man. Today, can I ask you to stand?

I think it's easy to be in a room like this, and talk about people as if we're not people. Don't come to me after service. Hey, what do you think of this person? What do you think of this leader? Man, I pray for him, which one? All of them. I pray for the Democrat, and I pray for the Republican. I pray for him. I pray that God, show up. Pray for the Independent. I pray. My praying does not mean agreement. In fact, my prayer suggests something else. My prayer is suggesting that help is needed. You think they need help? I think so too. Let's pray. That's not a passive way. Just say pray and shut up. That's not what I'm saying. You got convictions. Follow those convictions. But if you're going to follow those convictions, follow them with the love of Christ. Not the love of man. Because one more thing, one more thing. I'm more close here. It says offer His praises, not yours.

Offer His praises. I get blown away how often people are so good about talking about themselves. This is what I believe. This is what I do. His praises. Point Him to Jesus. Talk about how good He is. If you're going to talk about yourself, be honest. Don't just give me the highlight room. Give me the stuff you wanted to edit out. Give me the stuff you wanted to filter over. Be honest. Let's talk about that. But we're going to talk about anything when we're going to talk about the goodness of God. Here's the thing. There are some of you right now that are thinking. All right, I want to love my neighbor. But I could really use God's love for me right now. I believe that. I want to pray for you. I want to pray that if you're living in sin, that you would turn away from your son. If you're living a life that does not honor God for other reasons like convenience or finances, I pray that you would turn and give your life to Jesus. You could even be a follower of Jesus. Okay, good. You're a follower of Jesus?

Great. Then follow Him all the way. Because when you follow Jesus, it is not convenient. Oh, but there's nothing like it. It's uncomfortable. Ooh, there's nothing better. I promise you that. Because until we work on whatever that is that you need to work on, you're not going to be able to love people the right way anyway. Now, if you've never given your life to Jesus or you want to give your life to Jesus for the first time, I'm going to pray for you right now. Then I'm going to pray for all levels. If you've never given your life to Jesus, I'm gonna count to three. And if that's you, you wanna become a believer, a follower of Jesus. I wanna lead you to a very simple prayer. One, Jesus loves you and he died specifically for you. Two, tomorrow's not promised any man or any woman, but today is the day of salvation. He will not treat you as your sins deserve. He will meet you right where you're at. Three, if that's you, lift up your hand, lift it up. Yeah. One, great. Two, great. I count two hands, beautiful.

I want all of you that lifted up your hands. I want you to repeat this with me. In fact, let's repeat it together loud and proud. Jesus, you are King. You are Lord. Forgive me of all my sins and all my foolishness. I love you, I give my life to you. In Jesus' name, amen. Come on, can we put our hands together for the two that gave their lives to Jesus? (congregation applauding) Now, whether you're the two that just lifted up your hands or you are a believer, would you lift up your hands all over this room? I want you to lift up your hands right now and before I pray anything, before I say anything over you, before I do anything else, I just want you to lift up your hands and I just want you to begin to worship. And here's what I believe. I believe that as you worship the name of Jesus, as you praise the name of Jesus, the Holy Spirit's gonna begin to minister to you. And maybe you're gonna become aware of things that you've been aware of or maybe he's gonna point out to you things that you were completely unaware of. But regardless of what it is, allow the presence of God to meet you where you're at.

Team, can we sing whatever song you wanna sing? And let's just engage with Jesus in this moment. Hallelujah, God.