The Line in the Sand - Misogyny

We asked the Baptists to make sure we celebrate with them. Goodbyes to think I'm living in the light of the Disney I won't waste another minute in my voice Raise the Lord, I've been born again Goodbyes to think I'm living in the light of the new day I won't waste another minute in my voice Raise the Lord, I've been born again I've been born again I've been born again Again and again and again You rescue me out of the mess I was in You trade my soul for some fixing Now dancing on the brain that I once did Goodbyes to think I'm living in the light of the new day I won't waste another minute in my voice Raise the Lord, I've been born again Goodbyes to think the spirit of the Lord is upon I've been born again Goodbyes to think I'm living in my voice Raise the Lord, I've been born Again and again and again and again You rescue me out of the mess I was in You trade my soul for some fixing Now I'm dancing on the brain that I once did Again and again and again and again You rescue me out of the mess I was in You trade my soul for some fixing Now I'm dancing on the brain that I once did I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn down

I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back

I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back

I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back I have decided to follow Jesus World behind cross before I won't turn back We thank you for free I'm throwing caution to the wind No, I am not ashamed to braise like this Someone say it's foolishness But I say it's worth the risk I can't forgive what Jesus said No, I am not ashamed to braise like this Where are those chains that won't tell me? I'm free, I'm free, I'm free My sin is gone, how can it be? I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free And look at what the Lord has done I'm never going back to the way I was I'll sing out dance 'cause I'll be I'm free, I'm free, they got all free I've found a friend that never quits No, I've got this real basis And I don't care what anyone says I'll never be ashamed to braise like this Where are those chains that won't tell me? I'm free, I'm free, I'm free My sin is gone, how can it be? I'm free, I'm free, I'm free And look at what the Lord has done I'm never going back to the way I was I'll sing out dance 'cause I'll be I'm free, I'm free, they got all free He took the cross and he broke his body He took one, now the sinner can't see My bed is made and my record is clean I couldn't do it so you did it for me He took the cross and he broke his body He shed his blood, now the sinner can't see My bed is made and my record is clean I couldn't do it so he took the cross He took the cross and he broke his body He shed his blood, now the sinner can't see My bed is made and my record is clean I couldn't do it so he did it for me He took the cross and he broke his body He shed his blood, now the sinner can't see My bed is made and my record is clean I couldn't do it so he did it for me

Where are those chains that once held me? I'm free, come on church, my sin is gone, how can it be? I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, they got all free Look at what the Lord has done, I'm never going back to the way I was known I'll sing out dance 'cause I'm free, I'm free He took the cross and he broke his body He shed his blood, now the sinner can't see My bed is made and my record is clean I couldn't do it so he took the cross He took the cross, oh he shed his blood I shed his blood, now the sinner can't see My bed is made and my record is clean I couldn't do it so he did it for me I couldn't do it so he did it for me I couldn't do it so he did it for me I'm free, I'm free, he's a root, I'm in the end I once was gone, right now I'm down, I'm on the sea He'll watch the number one, I am free, I am free He'll watch the number one, I am free, I am free, I am free He'll watch the number one, I am free, I'm free He'll watch the number one, I am free, I am free ♪ I am free, I am free, I am free ♪ ♪ Help us another one, I am free ♪ ♪ I am free, I am free ♪ ♪ How many free people do they have in the room ♪ ♪ How many people have been free ♪ ♪ Bright Jesus Christ and King of Kings ♪ ♪ And the heart of heart ♪ ♪ Come on over here you sing ♪ ♪ Tell us another way ♪ ♪ One, two, three, and every ♪ ♪ I am free, I am free ♪ ♪ Come on over here you sing ♪ ♪ Come on over here you sing ♪

♪ I am free, I am free ♪ ♪ I am free, I am free ♪ ♪ I am free, I am free ♪ ♪ Come on over here you sing ♪ ♪ I am free, I am free ♪ ♪ I am free, I am free ♪ ♪ Another big deal, turn me around ♪ ♪ Place my feet on solid ground ♪ ♪ I thank the master, I thank the Savior ♪ ♪ Because you heal my heart ♪ ♪ Change my name forever freedom ♪ ♪ Not the same, I thank the master ♪ ♪ I thank the Savior, I thank God ♪ ♪ I thank the Savior, I thank God ♪ ♪ Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah ♪ ♪ I thank the Savior ♪ ♪ Come on over here you sing ♪ ♪ Yes, you thank the Lord, you thank you ♪ ♪ Where are those chains that once had me ♪ ♪ I'm free, I'm free, I'm free ♪ ♪ My sin is gone, how can it be ♪ ♪ I'm free, I'm free, I'm free ♪ ♪ And look at what the Lord has done ♪ ♪ I'm never going back to the way I was ♪ ♪ I'll sing and dance 'cause I believe ♪ ♪ I'm free, I'm free ♪ ♪ Thank God I'm free ♪ ♪ Yes, thank you for freedom God ♪ ♪ Thank you for freedom ♪ ♪ That freedom can only come ♪

♪ By Jesus dying on the cross ♪ ♪ And raising up on that third day ♪ ♪ How many can say amen to that ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ Will you take your communion? Maybe you guys go back to your seats, get your communion cup ready, you can have a seat. When I was seven years old, some people came to my door and talked to my mom about Jesus. My dad didn't want to have anything to do with that at that time, but my mom, she had a Jesus experience. She gave her life to God and she just had this hunger and thirst for him. And I remember being in church and really just at seven years old, having an awareness of God that he loved me, I had just had known his presence. See, my mom was 15 when she had me and had grown up in an alcoholic home where there was abuse and trauma and she really suffered. And really, I was supposed to follow in that first step in her footsteps because she was following her parents and those before her. But God said, "No, I choose you. "You're not gonna go down that path again." And so, I'm here to say that God has chosen you. No matter what you've gone through in your life, whatever path right here, right now, God has ordained this time for you and I to worship him together and to experience his freedom. And so when his body was broken and bruised on the cross,

he took that guilt and that shame, our mistakes on his back and then his blood was poured out and that was for our cleansing, our salvation. It was for our healing and our freedom. And so Jesus asked us to remember. So when you take the cracker and the juice of represents this sacrifice that Jesus made, would you thank him for that freedom? Would you accept that freedom and healing for forgiveness in your life as you take? Go ahead and take it when you're ready. (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) (gentle music) [MUSIC PLAYING] (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music)

(soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) - Hey Pantano, I'm Brittany, and I'm so glad you're here. At Pantano, we believed change people are connected people. Community is essential because we're not meant to do life alone. When we connect with God and with others, we grow, find encouragement, and experience transformation. Whether you're looking to meet new people, grow in your faith, or figure out what's next in your journey with Jesus, we want to help you get connected. If you're joining us on campus, stop by next steps after service. We'd love to meet you, answer any questions, and help you find your place here at Pantano. If you're joining us online, make sure to fill out a connect card through our next steps page. It's a great way to get connected and stay up to date with everything happening at Pantano. Don't forget to follow We Are Pantano on social media. That's where you'll find encouragement, event updates, behind-the-scene moments, stories, and all the things happening around campus. Next week is Baptism Week. Baptism is a powerful way to celebrate what Jesus is doing in your life and say "yes" to following Him. You can take this step anytime, but each month we set aside a week to celebrate life change together as one church family. If you've been thinking about getting baptized, head to next steps for more information or to sign up. We can't wait to celebrate with you. One of our core values is radical generosity reshapes our world. As a kingdom-first church, we share our resources and our lives selflessly so people can experience the love of Jesus in real, tangible ways. If you feel led to give, you can drop your gift in a giving box, give online through our website, or text Give to 46-356. Thank you for being a church that puts generosity into action and helps us love people to Jesus wherever they are. We're so grateful for each of you. Thanks again for joining us. We're so glad you're here. [Music] [Applause]

It is really, really good to be with you. I want to introduce you to somebody. This is Jennifer Whitlock. She's on our team here. She was on our -- yeah. Give it up for her. She has been on our outreach team, and now she's been demoted to now my executive assistant, so she has to put up with this all the time. But Jennifer, being a part of our outreach team for the last few months, she was a part of our Convoy of Hope, one day initiative that we just went through. And so if you've been around or not been around, let me remind you, Convoy of Hope is a brand new organization that we are supporting as a church. They are the largest Christian relief organization globally. They're involved in just about everything you see on the news that's going on relief efforts around the world. But we were part of their One Day of Hope, where we give up One Day's wage, and that money goes to help, literally, kids all over the world get to eat. And so, Jennifer, why don't you celebrate some good news with us today? Well, Celebration Week for Convoy of Hope, and I want to announce that with our seven-day campaign, the One Day's wage, we were able to raise $27,000. Yeah, that's amazing, so we just want to say thank you. and that's exactly why I love this church. - Yeah, well, and I would say, I think that's the tip of the iceberg. We also partner with Feed My Starving Children. Anybody packed meals for Feed My Starving Children? Convoy of Hope actually takes those meals and takes them across the globe. And so we're really excited about that partnership. But do me a favor, would you thank Jennifer for being a part of this with us. Give us a love. (audience cheering) Well, I also wanna welcome our online audience. We've got people all over the world with us. We've got our Benson Campus with us. We've got all of you on the Panda Wap and prisons all over the United States with us. We've got our Gospel Rescue Mission crew with us as well. (audience cheering)

So glad you guys are tuned in with us. But we are in this series called The Line in the Sand. In this whole series, we've been talking about these issues that people will draw a line in the sand and say, this is why I don't follow Jesus. This is why I don't go to church. Now, here's my hope in this series. We've had some really hard topics in this series. And my hope is that if you've drawn any of these lines in the sand that maybe you've challenged your thinking a little bit to go, maybe I need to rethink some things. That's my hope. And then there are some of you that have known Jesus for a long time. And my hope is that you've heard these topics and you're like, man, that's rough, that's hard for me to get my head around, but I need to rethink how I love people that don't know Jesus. Let me ask you, how many have you been challenged just a little bit in this series? Show of hands. Okay, like seven of you, good job. We'll do it again next month and see how it goes, all right? This week is no different as we dig in. The topic that we're gonna talk about today is one that in 28 years of ministry, I've never talked about from a stage. I don't know how I have it. It's just never been a topic that we've put in our preaching calendar for the year, right? And this is one that I think is,

when you hear it, you go, oh, that makes sense, but I bet you've never heard anything about this either. And it's this little word called misogyny. It's the line in the sand is, is I don't go to church. I don't associate with Jesus because the church is full of a bunch of misogynistic people that want to oppress women. Now, there was a song that I wanna see if you know how it ends. Anything you can do, oh, you know it too. It's funny that some of you might know that because it actually comes from the 1946 Broadway musical about a sharp shooting Annie Oakley and Frank Butler. Each of them were convinced they were better than the other. Anything you can do, I can do better. Now, when we hear it in 1946, it's a playful duet and a musical, but today that exchange is not a song. It's actually a line in the sand and there's this real tension between men and women right now that I think is louder in culture than I can ever remember in my lifetime. It's like one of the most explosive things in culture, like one of the greatest questions in our culture right now that if you wanna cause some debate is what is a woman? Now, some of you just started singing a country song. Man, I feel like a woman, which is kind of weird. I don't know why you did that, but it's in the air we breathe. Like, there's this thing like it's real and it's palpable. Now, you gotta know something about me.

I live in a house full of women. I love it, it's great. Not quite how I dreamed it up when I was a teenage. I was like, I'd love to live in a house full of women and God's like, gotcha. (audience laughing) And he gave me daughters. Here's what she didn't know about my girls though. Like, about our house is like, my wife and I were like, we're not raising pansies in our house. We're raising lionesses in our house. Like, our girls are like, they're strong women. (audience applauding) Sometimes I wish they weren't as strong. You know what I'm saying? Like, they can get one on dead. But I love that my girls have leaned into like, they're God-given talents. Or God-given gives they have a voice in the kingdom of God. We've always wanted our girls to be able to use their voice in the kingdom of God. And here's the good news as we go further. If scripture has a lot to say about women and a lot to say about men, and what it should do is give us hope, not more division. And so if you got Bibles, once you go over to Genesis chapter one, we're gonna start there. I always think a great place to start in scripture is the beginning.

The word Genesis actually means beginning. So if you learn nothing else, you're like, hey, I never knew that. That means beginning. So if you go to Genesis chapter one, I wanna drop into verse 27 and 28. Here's what it says. So God created human beings in his own what? What's it say, church? Image. In the image of God, he created them male and female. He created them. Then God blessed them and said, be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and govern it. Now, some of you guys are like, are we talking about that today? No, we're not talking about that today. That's like a February series, okay, Valentine's Day. We'll talk about that then. (congregation laughing) But here's what I know is God made men and women. He didn't make man in his image and not woman. He made men and women in his image, and then it says he blessed them both. So honestly, I don't know if you're like me, but I'm like, well, that should settle it. The problem is that doesn't settle it. It kind of feels like a minefield, doesn't it? And I really think there's these three reasons why it's a minefield, even though it shouldn't be. Here's the first one.

Is we kind of just ignore it because silence feels safer. So if we just don't talk about it, then we don't have to deal with it. That's one. Here's the second thing. What God says about men and women often gets ignored or twisted, and people get hurt, specifically women. In fact, ladies, can I say something to you? If you've been around church or not around church because of the way the church has treated you as a woman, can I just say, I'm really sorry. Like, I hate that you've been minimized. I heard a pastor tell me one time, and I'm just gonna warn you to advance. This is not my stance, but it made me want to help him get introduced to Jesus faster. You can interpret that how you want. He was like, I think the place for women in the church is the nursery rock and babies and holding doors. I was like, I wouldn't say that out loud. (congregation laughing) 'Cause ladies are gonna rock something. I think it's gonna be your job, bro. If you say that out loud, you know what I'm saying? (congregation laughing) But I'm sorry if you've been hurt. Here's the third reason that I think this thing is a minefield, is Satan wants it that way. Like, he can't touch God, so you know what he does?

He goes after the image bearers of God. See, that's the easiest way to wreck one is to change their posture towards another one. That's what he does. So here's where I want to plan a flag to start today. So when God made Eve, I don't know if you realize this, he took a rib from Adam, do you guys know this? And when he took it, and where he took it from, it says everything. Like, it's not just random, he was like, I don't know, grab a rib, that feels good, there's a lot of them. (congregation laughing) He's like, I love chilies, baby back ribs. Like, I don't think that's what he was doing, right? That's not what was happening. (congregation laughing) But here's what's interesting to note. Like, this is on purpose. He didn't take it from the front because a woman was never meant to walk ahead of a man leading him around. It also wasn't taken from his back because she was never meant to trail behind him either. So God took it from the side because men and women were built to stand side by side. So there's this commentator. (congregation applauding) There's this commentator Matthew Henry. This is what he said. He said, the woman was not made out of his head to rule

over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him under his arm to be protected, near the heart of the beloved. That's why God took it out of the rib. And I just wanna give you a framework to lean into today that we're gonna keep coming back to. And it's just simply this, is men and women were meant to be side by side, not toe to toe, side by side, not toe to toe. In fact, what does she repeat? That side by side, not toe to toe. (congregation murmuring) That's what God has called us to. The enemy doesn't want side by side. The enemy wants his toe to toe. In fact, his tactic is simple. Convince one they're better than the other. Convince one they are less, and then light the fuse and watch it blow up. And can I tell you, it's worked. It's worked. And here's what you need to know. Christianity does not erase that line by erasing the differences. Christianity erases the fight without erasing the design. That's what we're gonna tap into. So what about you? See, for a lot of you, this is your personal line in the sand.

I know some of you ladies, you're probably even sitting here going, "I showed up and this is my line." Like, "Why would I want to become a Christian?" Because Christianity's full of a bunch of misogynistic men that just wanna rule over women. And maybe you've been oppressed. Maybe you've been made to feel less than. Maybe that's your objection. Or maybe you followed Jesus already, but you never knew what to say when this comes up. So let's talk about it. Like, let me ask you this. Have people been hurt in the name of Christianity? Absolutely. Some people who have hurt women were not even Christians, but they wore the label of a Christian. Others were Christians who twisted scripture to control or to dominate. Like, I've watched clips of men calling themselves pastor and saying women should be subordinates. Just keep, no, don't amen that. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He was like, "Amen, they should be." No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. (audience laughing) He's probably sitting in an all-woman section over there. He's gonna get violent real quick. I'm just saying, I'm just struggling. (audience laughing)

Can I just tell you when I hear that? Makes my blood boil. It makes me angry because it's not true. Some of you have lived it though. The wound is still open and if that's you, I want you to know something. We see you and we know that God has put gifts in you that you're way more capable, that you've got way more gifting inside of you than what some churches would allow you to even use. A couple of weeks ago we talked about how Jesus has created this beautiful song of humanity. We've just played it really badly sometimes. And Jesus wrote a song that is good, that is true, that is beautiful, and we're supposed to play it by how we live. And at times we've played this song about women horribly out of tune, but a bad performance doesn't mean that the music was written poorly. There have also been incredible performances, ones that change the world for women and that's where we want to lean in. So I want you to go back to the beginning. I want you to go back to that Genesis text because this is where the real song starts. That verse 27 and 28 tells us God made human beings, male and female, he made them in his own, do you remember? Image. And he blessed them both. And so there's no hierarchy in verse 27. Both are fully made in his image. Both are fully blessed. Together given the job of governing the earth. That's the starting line for how God views women as Genesis 1. And honestly it couldn't be higher. And then we get to verse 18 and chapter 2. If you got Bibles, just go over one chapter.

You're like, where's chapter 2? Right after chapter 1? Just flip the page, okay? And go to verse 18. It says, "Then the Lord God said it is not good for man to be what, alone. I will make a helper that is just right for him." Now ladies, I know some of you, you read that and you're like, "helper, cool." You don't like that word. I did a wedding a few years ago. And we were going to read Ephesians where it talks about wife's submit to your husbands and she goes, "I'm not going to let you read that." I was like, "Oh." She's like, "I'm not doing that." You don't know what that word means. And she's like, "Well, if you say it, we're not getting married." I'm like, "Maybe you should just reconsider, right?" But let me tell you why sometimes we get hung up on helper. It's not what we think it means. See, we hear helper and we think, "Oh, like a default assistant." We think, "Maybe I'm a backup. Maybe I'm somebody who just steps in when the main person can't get it done." That's not close to what this word means. This is actually a Hebrew word. The Hebrew word is "Ezzar," E-Z-E-R. And let me tell you, this word is not a weak word. It actually shows up in the context of rescue and strength. And if you go over to the book of Daniel, chapter 10, verse 13, this is what the word says here. It says, "Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to do what?" What's it say?

Help me, Ezzar. It came to help me. Same word. Now, let me help you understand, Michael didn't show up as the archangel to fetch coffee. He didn't show up to make copies for Yahweh God. He didn't show up to take some phone calls and write down some messages like, "I don't know if you understand the archangel," but Michael is more like a recon marine. He's repelling out of airplanes. He's spiritual reinforcement. That's what he is in the spiritual battle. Same word that God says about women. And then speaking about himself, God uses the same word to describe himself over and over in his relationship with his people. So if helper made someone small, God would never have chosen it for himself. He didn't ever have chosen it for himself. See, Ezzar at its very core, here's what it means. Strength brought alongside someone who needs it. You know why I know God knows that I need help? He gave me three of them in my house. I didn't need just one. I needed three. He was like, "Bro, you're so stupid. Let me give you three. You need all the help you can get." Tried to buy a male rabbit. He's not smart either. Like, "I don't even know. I don't understand what's going on." See, women strengthen and then men serve through sacrifice and neither is a lesser role. They're not lesser.

So let's go back to the rib. The rib matters. See, God didn't build Eve from Adam's skull, positioned over him to rule him, didn't build him from the heel positioned under him to be walked on, but from his side. Equal. Protected under his arm, close to his heart. See, that's the blueprint God used on day six, side by side, not toe to toe. So, we've learned about how God's designed this from the beginning. We've even seen how helper is weaved out through the Old Testament, but now let's forward to Jesus. Like, if you want to know how seriously God takes women, watch how his son treats them. You want to know how somebody feels about women, watch how their son treats women. Like we will learn how that boy was brought up, by the way he treats my daughter. Now I can either confirm or deny that there may be a young man missing somewhere. I can't either confirm or deny that. He said he wanna know Jesus, I just wanna help him get there faster. That's all I wanna do. That was it. (congregation laughing) Lay hands on, doesn't say how hard. Just says lay hands on. I didn't commit homicide. Just in case anybody's wondering, I did not do that as far as you know. Okay, that's all I will say. (congregation laughing) But if you wanna know how someone feels about women,

watch how the sun treats women. So before Jesus, understand, before Jesus hits culture, a woman ranked just above property in this century. With almost no legal standing, they had no rights. And then Jesus rewrites the posture completely. Let me tell you this, of everybody in human history, Jesus did more to bring value to women than anyone in history prior. - Women. - Like Jesus literally brings value to women. So yeah, you can applaud Jesus. Like we can applaud Jesus. (congregation applauding) I don't know why it just looked like a circus monkey. I won't do that again. (congregation laughing) But in Luke chapter seven, I don't know if you remember this story in Luke seven, that there's this woman, almost certainly a prostitute. Jesus has been invited to this Pharisees house for a dinner party. Jesus is hanging out at the dinner party. In walks this woman, everybody knows her reputation and they start to talk. What's she doing here? Nobody invited her. She's not allowed to be here. And then she kneels at Jesus' feet. And she washes them with her tears and wipes them with her hair.

And then she pours expensive perfume over Jesus. One man at the table, completely disgusted. He thinks to himself, by the way, if you ever had a party with Jesus, here's a tip. Think nothing. Just stand in the corner and be like, "Nothing, nothing, nothing, I got nothing." Nope. But Jesus speaks to what he's thinking. And Jesus says, "Look at this woman kneeling here." He's like, "Look at her." See, they wouldn't have even given her value to look at her. He says, "Look at her. "When I entered your home, "you didn't offer me water to wash the dust from my feet." She washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn't greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she's now stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she anointed my feet with rare perfume. And then he says, "I tell you, her sins and their many." He's not dismissing her sin, but he says, "They've been forgiven." So she showed me much love. See, in a culture that saw her as disposable, Jesus made her the example everyone should follow. Now, can you imagine that dinner party? Like, just put it in your own house. You invite the rabbi over.

And then the prostitute shows up at your house. First of all, I'm like, "How'd she know where you live?" (audience laughing) Obviously, she's been here before. (audience laughing) And you're like, "Oh my gosh, "there's a prostitute in my house." The rabbi and the rabbi is like, "You should be like her." Not by her sin, but by the forgiveness that she knew where to go for forgiveness. Jesus brings value to her. You see, Jesus made her the example for all of them. And then you go to Luke 21. Like, that's not just one example. Like, if there's just one example, you're like, "Okay, Jesus did a solid for some lady in town, "but then you go to Luke 21." And they're in the temple, and there's these big receptacles in the temple. They're made out of copper. And they look like big trumpets. They're big circular. They're about this big and about this tall. And when you would come into the temple, you would take your coins and dump them in there to show how generous you were. So when they'd go in there big ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, you'd hear it. The rabbi'd be like, "Oh, that guy's rich." God, generous he is.

It's like when I was growing up in church. I don't know if you grew up in a church like this. We used to pass plates, remember that? And we had metal plates in our church. Some of y'all had wooden ones. We had metal ones. Newsy church, right? We had the metal plates. And you know, they had the felt on the bottom. Green or red, depending on what kind of church you were in. Anybody, anybody grew up in this? Yeah. So my mom would always give me quarters to put in the offering plate. Is an eight year old little boy. That was the best part of my week. Because I wanted everyone to hear mine hit the plate. So I wouldn't go for the felt. No way. You shoot for the edges. It come by, I'd be like, "Ping, ping, ping, ping." My mom would be like, "Stop it." I'd be like, "Then give me dollar bills." (audience laughs) Like I wanted people to know like, he's generous with my four quarters at eight years old. That's what they're doing in the temple. she has, two small little bits of a coin worth about a 64th of a day's wage, a 64th, nothing. She was poor. But listen to what Jesus says in Luke chapter 21 about her, he says, "I tell you the truth.

This poor widow has given more than all the rest of them." For they've given a tiny part of their surplus, but she's poor as she is, has given everything she has. Like, in this moment, Jesus calls him out. He held her up as the model of generosity. He's like, "Y'all gave out of a lot, and you gave just a little of your a lot, but she gave everything that she had. You should be like her." See, these kind of statements get Jesus crucified. You should be like a woman, oh, scandalous. You should be the model of generosity in front of the men whose gifts tried to drown hers out. See, Jesus was even more scandalous. He would let women sit at his feet as students, rabbis didn't do that. It was unheard of a rabbi to train a woman like Jesus was like, "Come on, come hang out. Let me teach you how to live out the image you've been created in." Now at this time, Jesus began to put teachings in like Christianity began to condemn divorce on a whim, and the widespread practice of abandoning baby girls to die. Let me read you from historian Rodney Stark. He quotes a first century husband writing to his pregnant wife. This is what he said. If you are delivered of a child, if it's a boy, keep it, if it's a girl, discard it. Like, I don't know a world where that feels okay, but it was in this one. Like as a dad of two daughters, I can't imagine the doctor going, "Hey, it's going to be a girl," and I go, never mind, not a chance. Like they were discarding girls because they didn't have value. That was the standard then. It was shocking to us now, and it was shocking to the early church. They called it evil. So because of Jesus, like Christians took in these baby girls, everyone else threw away.

They brought value to them. See, they brought value to the discarded. That's what Jesus calls us to. So we know what the Old Testament says. We know how God designed this. We know how Jesus treats women. So now the question is, what does a godly woman look like? What does it mean to be a godly woman? Now there are hundreds of scriptures about this. One of the most famous Proverbs 31. Let me ask you, ladies, any ladies you know Proverbs 31, anybody read Proverbs 31? Men. Any men you know Proverbs 31? Yeah, the four of you that figured that out, good job. The rest of y'all, that's free. Go learn it. Go read it. But Proverbs 31 gives us one of the richest pictures of what a godly woman looks like. Go to Proverbs 31, 10. I love this. It says, "Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?" By the way, I didn't have to look far. She was right there. It says, "She's more precious than rubies than the next 20 verses describe women who build and who manage and run businesses and speak wisdom and care for the poor, not weak, not background characters, like strong, that they're capable for all sorts of good in the world." So before you feel the pressure, ladies, you're like, "Wait, I got to do all that. Let me help you understand how the chapter ends." Proverbs 31, 30, through 31, it says, "Charm is deceptive and beauty does not last." Now some of you ladies are like, "Thanks, appreciate that, that's cool."

But a woman who fears the Lord, she'll be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise. So Proverbs opens by telling us that the fear of the Lord is where wisdom begins, but it closes with a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised for it, not her performance, her posture towards God. That's what it means. So let me ask you, what does this mean for you? Because we have both sitting in this room, men and women, we have both online with us. We have both at our campuses, men and women. So what does this mean for you? Let me talk to men first, and then ladies, I'll come back to you. Take men as much as women have been mistreated, and I would say it's been significant. There's actually an attack on you right now too. Now let me say this, being a man is not the problem, sin is the problem. Now let me tell you what a real man does. A real man stands in the gap, a real man protects, a real man builds people up instead of tearing them down. He encourages, he equips, he does not control. And the goal is to get men to compromise and to walk away from their role, because when men fall, everyone around them falls with them. If you've been around painting and you know, we go hard after helping men figure out what it means to live biblically. We make no apologies for that. (audience cheering and applauding) You can be excited about that. Men, I'll come back to you. Women, I want to share something with you.

There's a strange fact that I want you to sit with. I read this study from the National Bureau of Economic Research. And this was an interesting statistic. It found that women's overall happiness has declined since the 1970s, even though education, health, and opportunity for women have all objectively improved. I began to talk through that with a couple of pastor friends of mine. And we all began to wonder the same thing. What if a part of this is we've told women the goals that shed anything feminine become more like men to compare rather than compliments? Because, I mean, anything you can do, I can do better. I think Frank and Annie were both a little right and a little wrong. Like, there are things that men tend to do better. There are things that women tend to do better. That was never supposed to be a competition. It was supposed to be a partnership. Like, my wife does not bring the same physical strength that I do. Well, sometimes she does. She's ripped. I mean, she's pretty strong. (audience laughing) She is pretty strong. And I don't bring the same empathy she does. Because sometimes I look at people and I'm like,

just don't be stupid and your life will be better, right? That's how I feel sometimes. She's like, you should be nicer. I should be, that's true. Now, if you ask my girls, if they get hurt, who do you want? Mom or dad? They're probably gonna say mom. One mom's a nurse. So they're gonna be like, of course we're gonna go to mom. Dad, are you a doctor? No, we're going to mom. Mom's smart, she knows medical things. Like, I'm gonna go to mom because if I hurt, I want mom. Now, if we're in the woods and a bear comes up. You know who they're gonna choose? Mom, no, I'm just joking, I'm just kidding. (audience laughing) They actually probably would. But surely they're probably gonna pick dad because one, they want a sacrifice dad to get away with mom, right? That's what they wanna do. That's what's gonna happen. But they're probably gonna pick dad if there's a bear that was like dad, fight the bear. Now, there's a caveat to my story. If there's a snake, God gave all of them legs

and those two little girls can run too. So if they choose not to, that's on them. I will not hang out for that little fight. I will let them die by snake if they have to because they're dumb enough to hang out with a devil. They can die by the devil, okay? That's all I mean. Well, there's different strengths of my wife and I bring to the table. Equal and identical are two different words. We were never meant to be identical. See, there will be conflict wherever we do the identical thing. There'll also be conflict whenever a man abuses or belittles a woman. Guys, if that's you, that's not a man, that's a boy who happens to shave. If you abuse a woman, (audience applauding) if you're abusing a woman, if you're belittling a woman, can I just tell you in the name of Jesus, stop it. There's no place for that in the kingdom. There's no place for that in the world around us. In the name of Jesus, please stop. Masculinity does not demean at disciples. That's what you're called to. (audience applauding) And ladies, can I tell you, there will be conflict wherever a woman tears a mountain down

and makes them feel like the problem. Ladies, your words carry more weight than you know. Like encouragement can build a man up faster than almost anything on earth and public disrespect can shut him down just as fast. Now let me tell you, I love you all, you all are so kind to me. Like people will come up and say, oh man, that was, man, you're such a good preacher for how dumb you are sometimes. We love it, thank you. (audience laughing) And I appreciate your compliments. I appreciate the feedback. The encouragement is so nice. And it lasts 'til I get it home in the afternoon. Can I tell you, if my wife says to me, hey, that's one of the best rooms I've ever heard you preach. I'm like, hey, you wanna live out Genesis one? Be free for a multiply. (audience laughing) (audience laughing) It's biblical. I'm just saying. (audience laughing) Y'all are like, that's more information we ever wanted from you. I know it's true. If my girls, I'm just telling you, like there's been moments in my life where like, my girls will send me a message and like,

hey, Dad, we just wanna let you know we love you. We're so proud of you. Thank you for doing this, this or this. I'm like, man, I can live off of that for months. I can also tell you, if they come to me like, Dad, you're the dumbest human being on the planet earth. I'm like, cool, I'm gonna quit doing everything I do and go break rocks for a living. That's what I'm gonna do now, I think that's a job. (audience laughing) See, underneath it all is a deeper issue. [MUSIC PLAYING] We try to make this about men's and women's rights. I think it's all about self. Like our culture's highest value is self-determination. My rights, my truth elevate me. When I'm focused on me, here's what happens. I collide with everyone else who's focused on themselves. But if you actually look at what Jesus calls us to as Christ followers, he says, "Come in humility." Like following Jesus, by the way, he had every right in the universe and he laid all of it down for all of us. So when men and women live like Jesus, we lay down our rights and we go side by side and start a toe by toe. And here's what happens when that happens. We both come out blessed. So if we let this settle in us here at Pantano, and everywhere we go this week, I'm just telling you,

it changes everything. Like men and women are equal in value and worth. You have all been created in the same image of God, both made fully in the image of God himself. And here's what I know, we need women who are fully women. We need men who are fully men, not a watered down indistinguishable version of either one. We each bring different. God gives strength to each every one of us at the table. Equal but not identical. Built to compliment, never to compete. And Jesus who had every right to walk away from us, gave himself up instead. He showed us how to live this. And now we, men and women together, get to follow his lead. So here's your line in the sand this week, the good kind. Refuse to go toe to toe, choose side by side. In your marriage, don't go toe to toe. Go side by side. In your friendships, don't go toe to toe, go side by side. And how you talk about the opposite gender when they're not in the room, side by side, not toe to toe. See, that's the line God drew at creation. Still the best line we've got is side by side. Ladies, I wanna say again to you, if you've experienced anything other than somebody leaning into your gifts and saying you have a place in the kingdom of God to use those, I'm sorry. I'm sorry if the church has made you feel less then.

I'm sorry if pastors and leaders in the church have made you feel like you don't belong. If you've got a gifting and a calling, we wanna help you lean into that. Now we also wanna make sure it's actually you're gifting and calling. Let me explain. I've had people go, God has called me to sing. (congregation laughing) I'm like, we've heard you. (congregation laughing) God did not call you to sing out loud. (congregation laughing) You're welcome. (congregation laughing) Or maybe you're like, man, God's called me to greet at the door hard and you're like, you don't like people. We've got a great position and a closet backstage for you. It'd be fantastic, you'll love it. We wanna help you lean into where God has called you to be gifted. And we believe man or woman, God's given you something to use for his kingdom. - Yes. - And ladies, can I tell you, it's more than just rocking babies and holding doors. And you're like, but I love to rock babies. Think of rock babies. I like to rock babies too. Effects some Sunday, I might do this

and just go rock babies. That sounds like a lot of fun. (congregation laughing) But the truth is, God's called us each to something and we wanna help you discover that something here. Now every week of this series, we've actually encouraged you to download a digital guide. It's called The Deeper Dive. And the first week, literally over a thousand of you download it and then the second week over 900 of you and then the third week like six of you downloaded it. So this week I'm gonna encourage you. But once you text the word dive to 46356. And because I don't have enough time to unpack all of this on our platform, I want you to go dig deeper into this. No, you're all looking at me. This is where I'm telling you, you can look at your phone, go ahead and text that number, okay? It's gonna send you a PDF and you can go through it this week. Use it in your personal time. Use it with your spouse. Use it with your friends. Maybe you're a small group or just in your personal time. But may we be a people who understand we're gonna live side by side, not toe to toe. So what I wanna do is I wanna pray with you. And then I'm gonna ask you,

this is where some of you guys are like, now we can get to the food faster. No, I don't want you to do that. You're like, but we can beat the Baptist to fries and get our groceries, don't do that, okay? But here's what I want you to do. I want you to go ahead and stand where you are and I wanna pray with you. And then I want you to just lean into this last song. Think this your prayer. Make this what God is calling you towards. And let's see how God will use us this week as we go side by side. Not toe to toe, let's pray Father today. God, we thank you for being a God. each and every one of us in our image and God for the ladies that are hearing this. God remind them that their gifts are so much greater than maybe what they've been told in the past. God, they too created in the exact same image of everyone else. God, we repent of times the church is not modeled this well. Times where we've made it more about our man-made rules and what you have empowered us to be. So, God, we pray right now that this would be a place the gates of hell would never prevail against. This would be a place where all people are valued with the gifts you've given them. And God, we look a little more like you each and every day. God, we love you.

We think of being a God who brings us value. Man and woman, God, we pray we'd leave into that today. We love you in your name, we pray. All God's people say, amen. Love you, church. (congregation applauds) (congregation applauds) - What a powerful word. Let's continue to worship God and just ask Him to continue to change us, to heal us, to set us free. God, we want more of you. (gentle piano music) ♪ Yes ♪ ♪ We want more of you, Jesus ♪ ♪ We thank you all ♪ ♪ God, up in your presence ♪ ♪ I just wanna sit here at your feet ♪ ♪ I'm caught up in this holy moment ♪ ♪ I never wanna leave ♪ ♪ Oh, I'm not here for blessings ♪ ♪ Jesus, you don't owe me anything ♪ ♪ But more than anything that you can do ♪ ♪ I just want you ♪ ♪ And I'm sorry ♪ ♪ When I've just gone through the motions ♪ ♪ I'm sorry ♪ ♪ When I forgot another song ♪ ♪ Take me back to where I started ♪ ♪ I opened up my heart to you ♪ ♪ And I'm sorry ♪

♪ When I've come with my agenda ♪ ♪ I'm sorry ♪ ♪ When I forgot that you're enough ♪ ♪ Take me back to where I started ♪ ♪ I opened up my heart to you ♪ ♪ I'm caught up in your present ♪ ♪ I just wanna sit here at your feet ♪ ♪ I'm caught up in this holy moment ♪ ♪ And I never wanna be ♪ ♪ Oh, I'm not here for blessing ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, you don't owe me anything ♪ ♪ But more than anything that you can do ♪ I just want you, and I just want you, and nothing else, nothing else, nothing else will do. ♪ I just want you and nothing else ♪ ♪ Nothing else, nothing else will do ♪ ♪ I just want you and nothing else ♪ ♪ And nothing else, Jesus ♪ ♪ Nothing else will do ♪ # And nothing else, nothing else will do # # I just want to give you # # Nothing else, nothing else # # Nothing else will do # # I just want you, nothing else # # And nothing else, nothing else # # Nothing else will do # # Oh, and nothing else # # And no one else # # Oh, I just want you, Jesus # # More of you, more of you # # I just want you #

# And nothing else # # And nothing else # # Nothing else will do # # I just want you # # And nothing else, nothing else # # And nothing else # # Nothing else will do # # We just want more of you, Jesus # # More of your presence # # More of your freedom # # More of your love # # Your mercy and grace # # Thank you for loving us the way you do # Now, if you've come and you have needs that need prayer across the courtyard, we have a prayer room. And if you have questions about things happening on campus across the courtyard as well, is next steps, thank you for all our guests online who have joined us today. We love you, and thank you for joining us. You guys have a great blessed week. Have a great day today, guys. # # [MUSIC] (upbeat music) (upbeat music)