The Tragedy of Self Sufficiency [LIVE] 09/27/2026

- Come on 930, it's Sunday. It's time to worship Jesus. Good to see y'all. Come not with empty words, but with open hearts. We come to worship in spirit and in truth. God calls us to do what is right, not only just to say it, and to let our worship shape how we live. Let us worship the God who is patient with us. Let us worship the God who calls us forward. God of mercy teach us to trust you even when the way is hard. Give us the mind of Christ, humble and willing. Help our actions to match our words. In Jesus' mighty name we pray, amen. Amen. - Brother, you're viewing online or in person for the first time. Welcome to Christ's way. ♪ I know a name ♪ ♪ That can silence roaring waves ♪ ♪ I know a name ♪ I hear you ♪ ♪ I can empty out a grave ♪ ♪ I know a name ♪ ♪ It's the only name that saves ♪ ♪ And it's worthy of all praise ♪ ♪ I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ I call you, I call you ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, risen and reigning in power ♪

♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ I call you, I call you Savior ♪ ♪ Worthy of glory forever ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call you faith ♪ ♪ I have a key ♪ ♪ With dominion over death ♪ ♪ Holds the key ♪ ♪ In His holy nail scarred hands ♪ ♪ He is the heel ♪ ♪ Hey, that has crushed the turpentine ♪ ♪ Our resurrecting great, I am you ♪ ♪ I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ I call you, I call you ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, risen and reigning in power ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ I call you, I call you Savior ♪ ♪ Worthy of glory forever ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name ♪ ♪ Change, break, drive, hold, wait ♪ ♪ Every time I call you name ♪ ♪ Love, wait, oh ♪ ♪ Hail, shake ♪ ♪ Every time I call you, come on ♪ ♪ Change, break, drive, hold, wait ♪ ♪ Every time I call you name ♪ ♪ Love, cage, oh, hell, shake ♪

♪ Every time I call you name ♪ ♪ Love, wait, oh ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ♪ Come on, can you shout the name, Jesus in this place? Come on! ♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Death is now ♪ ♪ You're see ♪ ♪ Heaven ♪ ♪ Oh, great ♪ ♪ You're a bit ♪ ♪ To be ♪ ♪ I am ♪ ♪ And the Lord ♪ ♪ Death is now ♪ ♪ You're see ♪ ♪ Heaven ♪ ♪ Heaven ♪ ♪ Oh, great ♪ ♪ You're a bit ♪ ♪ To be ♪ ♪ Where oh death is now your scream ♪ ♪ And where oh great, oh death is coming ♪ ♪ Death things come a lot, death things come a lot ♪ ♪ Death things come a lot ♪ (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language)

(singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) ♪ Every time I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ I call you like my Savior ♪ ♪ Worthy of glory forever ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ Change the brain ♪ ♪ Drive, hold the way ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name ♪ ♪ The gates of hell shake ♪ ♪ Every time I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ Change things come alive ♪ ♪ Change things come alive ♪ ♪ Change things come alive ♪ ♪ Name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Change things come alive ♪ ♪ Change things come alive ♪ ♪ Change things come alive ♪ ♪ It's the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Come on, 9.30 ♪ ♪ If you believe that there's power in the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ I want you to shout the name Jesus ♪ All right, Chancellor, we've got a new song for you all today. It's called "Who Else?" It's originally sang by Gateway Worship. And it says, "Who else is worthy?"

"Who else is worthy of all of our worship, all of our praise?" A life fully surrendered. "Who else is worthy?" "Who else is one and only Son Jesus to die?" "For you and for me." "Come on, who else is worthy?" "There is no one, only you Jesus." And so it's okay if you don't know the words just yet. But if you do, I want you to sing it out real loud. If you don't, I just want you to worship and listen to the lyrics of the song, all right? Okay, come on, let's worship. ♪ ♪ I am an instrument of exaltation ♪ ♪ And I was born to lift your name above all names ♪ ♪ You hear the melody of all creation ♪ ♪ But there's a song of praise that only I can bring ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus ♪ ♪ You are the infinite God of the ages ♪ ♪ Yet you chose to make my heart your dwelling place ♪ ♪ You healed my brokenness ♪ ♪ Show me your glory ♪ ♪ So I have songs to think and even make you see ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus ♪

♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus ♪ # Wasn't near as an ear to come # # Sheaded on the throne above # # Holy, holy # # Righteous one # # Who shed his blood # # You proved to us # # The Father's love # # Jesus Christ # # Believed it up # # Holy, holy # # Love of God anointed one # # Wasn't near as an ear to come # # Sheaded on the throne above # # He's holy # # Holy, holy # # Righteous one # # You shed your blood # # You love us, you love # # You're holy # # Sheaded on the throne above # # Holy, holy #

# Righteous one # # Who shed his blood # # You proved to us # # The Father's love # # Sheaded on the throne above # # Holy, holy # # Righteous one # # Who shed his blood # # You proved to us # # The Father's love # # You're holy # # The world is worthy # # There is no one # # Holy, holy # # The world is worthy # # The world is worthy # # The world is worthy # # There is another # # Holy, holy # # There is another # # I'm holy # # Holy, You Jesus # # There is no one # # Holy, You Jesus # # I'm so proud # Welcome to Graceway. My name is John Stevens, and I'm so glad you're joining us today. Whether this is your first time with us, or you've been watching for a while, we're really glad you're here.

You are a valued part of the Graceway family, and it's a privilege to worship with you each week. No matter where you've been, or what your story looks like, God isn't finished with you. Throughout the Bible, we see Him using ordinary people with imperfect pasts, doing incredible things. Your past doesn't define your future. In Christ, there's always hope. There's always purpose, and there's always the next step. If you have a family or friends who use the Pando app, encourage them to watch Graceway, too. This is a great way to experience the same message together, even when you're in different places. One of the best things we can do is grow in our faith together, encourage one another, and keep the conversation going long after the service ends. If you're currently in a correctional facility in Kansas or Missouri, and would like to see Graceway offered where you are, let your chapel know. They can learn more about bringing Graceway to your facility by visiting visitgraceway.org/prison. As we get started, don't just watch the service, jump in. Worship, pray, and listen, and ask God to speak to you. I believe He has something He wants to say to you today. (gentle music) (gentle music) ♪ The precious mountain ♪ ♪ From Calvary's mountain ♪

♪ Flowing down to you and I ♪ ♪ It washes thus clean ♪ ♪ Oh, what a mystery ♪ ♪ That red blood makes me white ♪ ♪ And isn't it wild ♪ ♪ And doesn't it make you want ♪ ♪ Something so profound ♪ ♪ Could be so simple ♪ ♪ The blood, the blood, the blood ♪ ♪ Oh, the wonderful blind ♪ ♪ You love, you love, you love ♪ ♪ Oh, the merciful is love ♪ ♪ Let there be tears in your song ♪ ♪ Where there's blood to the song ♪ ♪ The blind, the blind, the blind ♪ ♪ Oh, the wonderful blind ♪ heart rose tender, to the end, to fill my eyes, and isn't it why oh, and doesn't it make you wonder, something so profound, could be so simple, and isn't it why oh, and doesn't it make you wonder, how something so divine, could be so simple, ♪ The blind, the blind, the blind ♪ ♪ All the words are full ♪ ♪ All the words are full ♪ ♪ All the words are full ♪ ♪ Sing it out ♪ ♪ You love, you love, you love ♪ ♪ All the mothers are ♪ ♪ In the rhythm we teach ♪ ♪ We sing a song ♪ ♪ Crazy's belong to a song ♪ ♪ The blind, the blind, the blind ♪

♪ All the words are full ♪ ♪ All the words ♪ ♪ The blind, the blind, the blind ♪ ♪ We can sing down ♪ ♪ And then I'd like to invite our brothers and sisters down ♪ ♪ So we can take communion together ♪ ♪ And remember the blood that was shed on Calvary ♪ ♪ The crown of thorns on his head ♪ ♪ The nails in his hands ♪ ♪ The nails in his feet ♪ ♪ Brothers and sisters at top ♪ ♪ We've got communion right here in the middle for you ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ The work you did is finished ♪ ♪ All of our sins were given ♪ ♪ And now we get to living ♪ ♪ The wonder of the working blood ♪ ♪ The cross was your decision ♪ ♪ But it was not the ending ♪ ♪ You're losing now where is it ♪ ♪ The wonder of the working blood ♪ ♪ The work you did is finished ♪ ♪ All of our sins were given ♪ ♪ And now we get to the wonder ♪ ♪ The wonder of the working blood ♪ ♪ The cross was the end ♪ ♪ The cross was your decision ♪ ♪ But it was not the end ♪ ♪ You're losing now where is it ♪ ♪ The wonder of the working blood ♪

♪ The one is the one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one is the one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The blind, the blind, the blind, the blind ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪

♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪

♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ ♪ The one to run the working girl ♪ (enthusiastic music) - Come on, family, let's pray together, God. I thank you for the blood of Jesus. That means, that means you always wanted me. That means even though you knew that we would rebel and sin, even though you knew that our choices would make us your enemy. Before the foundations of the earth, you intend to descend your son. You intended to allow him to be murdered by your creation so that you could take the blood of the spotless lamb that is Jesus and apply it to my life. Lord, I pray for everyone within the sound of my voice who's walked in with shame or regret who's walked in with wounds from decisions that they've made or other people have made.

Lord, I pray today that the blood of Jesus would be applied to their life. (enthusiastic music) It's a simple thing, but it changes everything. So we thank you, Lord, for your will. We thank you, Lord, for the work of Jesus. We thank you for your Holy Spirit who teaches us and reminds us who assures us that we are kept. We pray now, Lord, for your will to be done. We pray now for you to not just push back the plans of the enemy, but destroy them. Keep them under your feet. We pray, Lord, that your spirit would rest and speak, challenge, and grow. Build this church for your glory and our good. We love you today, Lord. Thanks for the privilege that it is to be here. Make much of Jesus in our hearts. We pray these things in His name and all God's people said. Amen and amen. Hey, welcome to church. Are you good today? So good to see you. Take a couple minutes, show some love to each other, pass some peace, then grab your seat. (people chattering) All right, all right, all right. Family, how we doing? (audience cheering) No, no, I know I've been gone.

We're out of the habit, but come on, 930. You can do better than that. How you doing? (audience cheering) All right, man, it's so good to see you. Hate being away from you. So glad to be back. If you, and I haven't met, my name's Tim, I'm the lead pastor here. We're honored to have you here. Yes, man, thanks for being here. We appreciate it. You've been prayed for the seat that you're in, has been prayed over. We love, love, love having you here. If you're watching us online, man, thanks for joining us. We appreciate it. And then brothers at Crossroads and at Ozarks. Come on, church. Say hello to the men at Crossroads and at Ozarks. And hey, if you're watching us on the Pando app, like literally thousands of you are doing every single week and you want us to bring a Graceway to your church. Doesn't matter if you're in Kansas or Missouri. There's an email address right up here. Give it to your chaplain and say, we need a Graceway up in this church, or a Graceway up in this church, a Graceway up in this prison.

Y'all know what I mean, all right? Tell them whatever you want to tell them. Just get us out there, okay? We would love, love, love to be connected of what God's doing there in that prison. What a beautiful thing to say what God's doing in that prison, amen? Hey, so a little different get up today, all right? We got some swag that we dropped to be fair, though. I think we sold it out in the 8 a.m., all right? But we got some more coming. We got some more coming, but let me just, I don't know if you can see this. This says Kansas City belongs to Jesus. Yeah, yeah, and in case you can't see this, we put it real big on the back, so you can, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you know, y'all know I typically get suited and booted and all that stuff. But this matters a little bit more to me right now 'cause of what's happening in our community. And I gotta be honest with you, I'm clear that this happens in communities all over Kansas City, but this is our community. And some of the things that I saw in the news while I was traveling, I'm mad, I am. 'Cause I, not at the folks who did the thing, but at the enemy thinking he can come into our neighborhood and do the type of things that he's dealing with shootings and things of that nature.

I think it's important for God's people whenever we see the news and we see the enemy flexing on our community to remind ourselves, no, no, no, no, this place belongs to Jesus, right? And to bring, come on, 930, are you with me? statement here at this church is to bring the future kingdom of God into the present. It's the reason that we're building the community center. It's the reason that I'm meeting with the mayor. It's the reason that we're doing the things that we do because we don't just want to say we believe Kansas City belongs to Jesus, we want to show it, okay? And so be praying if you would for our schools, for our teachers, for our students right now and let it, and let it what's going on, and if you need a reminder of who Jesus is, we got some very comfortable and lovely hoodies in the resource center. I am told we got some other color ways to feel like, I don't like gray. We got other colors coming. I know that some of y'all like for me to be a little bit more dressed up, trust me when I tell you, even though the hoodie is casual, the word won't be amen. All right, so we're all good. We're all good. Hey, if you have a Bible, get over to Revelation chapter three. We are going to finish our series, Dear Church Today. We are going to start a new series next week called Heaven on Earth. I'm excited about this so much of what we talk about has to do with this, but let me ask God to bless his word one more time. Are y'all happy to be here today? We speak to us in power and in glory, rest on this house. We pray the name of Jesus over every mind, over every heart, over every marriage, over every relationship. We pray the name of Jesus over Raytown in Kansas City. We bring the power and the authority of who you are to bear on the realities that we face.

We ask now that your Holy Spirit would speak to us, would change us, would challenge us. We ask now that you will move this church in the direction that you want her to go and build her in the way you want her built. We thank you. We love you. And in Jesus' name we pray and all God's people said, amen and amen. In 1923, there was a Jewish Austrian author by the name of Felix Sultan who wrote a novel in the aftermath of World War I. It looked on the surface like a light whimsical story, kind of a coming of age story of some of the animals who were living in the forest, but it was really a dystopian telling on the heels of the war about issues like mortality, violence, fear, loneliness, human responsibility. And the punchline of the story was that the forest isn't safe. The animals spend the whole story worrying about he coming and killing them, humanity. And the overarching principle is that death is normal, a little light read before dinner, right? Ten years later, MGM producer Sidney Franklin purchased the screen rights intending to take the book and make it into a live action movie, but he ultimately realized that the technology wasn't there to bring his vision to pass, so he called a man in 1935 by the name of Walt Disney. And he said to Walt Disney, I wanted this to be a live action film, but I think it might work as an animated film, and Disney read the book, and seven years later, the animated film was presented in the United States in 1942, one year before this church was planted, and the title of that movie was "Bambi." So Disney recognized that the book was a little heavy for an animated movie, and so they wrote some different characters, some warmth, some humor, some childhood personalities, my personal favorite being a rabbit by the name of Thumper, who is famous for saying something that you have said to your kids many times. If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all, or I will knock the, you didn't say that, oh no, maybe I, maybe I added that part, that's my bad. Yeah, if you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all.

When it comes to the church at Laodicea, Jesus does not take Thumper's advice. Jesus has a lot to say about the seventh and final church, but he doesn't have anything good to say. It's the only church that does not have a commendation from Jesus, and so let's dive into it. Laodicea has no narrative in the book of Acts. The only thing we know about Laodicea comes from Paul's letter in the book of Colossians to the church at Colossi when he was in prison in Rome in the early 80s, 60s, and he tells the church of a paphorous who he calls our beloved fellow servant who was a Colossian himself. And he had been laboring on their behalf, and Paul says, and for those in Laodicea and in higher opolis So a paphras likely heard the gospel from Paul in the city of Ephesus, to which the book of Ephesians is written, and took it back to Colossae, his hometown, to which the book of Colossians is written. And he's functioning there as the valley's apostolic founder and leader. So Laodicea was founded in the mid-third century B.C. by a saluted king whose name was Antioch II. He founds this city and he names it for his wife. Ladies, don't expect this moving forward, all right? But her name was Laodice. And so the city became known as Laodicea. It was founded in the Lycus River Valley in this tri-cluster. Six miles to the north was higher opolis. 10 miles to the east was Colossae. And it straddled this east-west trade route, which made it commercially positioned to receive a lot of affluence.

It also sat in this very fertile valley that made it easy to grow crops and raise livestock. Laodicea is known for three things. The first, and probably the most famous, is in 8060. We read a man by the name of Tacitus, who was a Roman senator and historian who says this, that one of the famous cities of Asia, Laodicea, was in that same year overthrown by an earthquake. And without any relief from us, Rome, recovered itself by its own resources. So here's what you need to understand. The Asia minor, the Lycus Valley, was in a seismically active region. And so these cities would have earthquakes come through them and they'd be absolutely decimated. And Rome would come along and they would offer tax subsidies or even cash to help out these cities. And so in 8060, Laodicea has an earthquake that levels it. Rome shows up and says, "Here's some money." And Laodicea says, "Now we good, we'll pay for it ourselves." And it becomes this story of civic pride that we don't need help from anybody. We don't need Rome, we don't need you, we got it. We are self-sufficient. Secondly, the Lycus Valley produced a lot of flocks, but this really distinct kind of sheep that was glossy and soft black wool. And so if you were walking down the street and you were rocking one of these black tunics or cloaks, it was like, "Okay, I see you out here, right?"

By in Kansas City belongs to Jesus hoodies in the Resource Center at Graceway. Very similar, very, very similar, right? No, this would have been like real swaggy, real drippy, real like, "Oh, you must have got that from Laodicea." And so the city has this banking revenue and then they also have this fashion industry that everybody knows. Ooh, that black wool comes from Laodicea. Are you all with me, 930? Okay. Thirdly, the city is known as a center of medicine, particularly around its mineral and pharmacological resources. And they produce this famous eye ointment that was known as Fergian powder that was used to treat eye ailments, okay? So they're known for self-sufficiency, they're known for their clothes and they're known for their medicine around eye treatments. But they're infamous for one thing and that's their water. So Laodicea has this rich and extensive water infrastructure but they don't have their own water source and so they draw water from hieropolis which has healing hot springs but they're full of minerals. And then from Colossi, which is known to have all these cold springs and there was one small source of body, just south body of water, just south of the city. So they're bringing all this hot water and cold water in

but the hot water's got a bunch of minerals in it and by the time it gets to Laodicea, it's like real chalky, right? And full of minerals and it's lukewarm. That's what the city is known for. Okay, so now you know a little bit about Laodicea. I wanna remind you that these are seven letters that Jesus has written to real churches and in real places and that what Jesus is saying has relevance and truth to those people. It has to be true to them before it can be true to us, say amen if you're with me. And so they come to church and in first century, LaShia leads them in worship and we take the Lord's supper and we give and we pray and the pastor stands up and says, okay, let's hear from the word of the Lord and it's what we know as Revelation 3, 14 through 22. Here it is. To the angel of the church and Laodicea, right? The words of the amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. I know your works that you are neither cold or hot. "so because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, "I will spit you out of my mouth. "For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, "and I have need of nothing, "but you do not realize that you are wretched, "pityable, poor, blind, and naked, "and so I counsel you to buy from me gold, "refined by fire, so that you might be rich,

"and white garments, so that you might clothe yourself, "and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, "and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may also see, "to whom I love, I reprove and discipline, "so be zealous and repent, behold, "I stand at the door and knock. "If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, "I will come into him and eat with him, "and he with me, the one who conquers, "I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, "as I also conquered and sat down with my father "on his throne, he who has an ear, "let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. "Jesus begins and says, 'Allow me to introduce myself.'" The words of the Amen, this is the only time that Jesus uses this title for himself, and he's harkening back to Isaiah 65 and verse 16, where God is twice called the God of Amen in Hebrew, or the God of the truth in English. And he's contrasting himself as God, a God who always tells the truth, and is always a reliable witness against false gods who always lie and are not reliable witnesses. But here, Jesus says, "Allow me to introduce myself." I'm the one who tells the truth. I'm the one who is the Amen, and why is he saying this to this church at this specific time because the church is bearing witness of itself to Jesus, and Jesus is saying, you're not seeing this

the way that it is. You're not seeing the truth, and I'm here to give you the truth because I'm the God of the Amen. And then, on top of that, this is a city that's very self-sustaining. We've built this utopian city in the Lycus Valley. Our water's a little janky, but other than that, we got it all worked out. We got clothes, we got medicine, we got food. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing. And Jesus says, "I see what you're doing here." I see what you've built. I see what you've created, but allow me to introduce myself. I'm the beginning of creation. I love what y'all been doing, but I've been doing this long before you were a twinkle in your mama's eye. So please tell me about what you've built here, Laodicea, please tell me what you think about yourself. Please give me the tour. I am the Amen, the beginning of creation. He goes on and he says, I know your works. They're neither cold or hot. And I know that you say you're rich and prospered and have need of nothing, but you don't realize that you're wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Remember what I told you about Laodicea

and Jesus takes hot water and cold water and frames them both as good. Hot water for healing, cold water for refreshing. You're a healing church. You're a refreshing church. Laodicea had chosen neither. Laodicea was a useless church. Laodicea was a nominal church. Laodicea was an apathetic church, and as Jesus is talking, (coughing) What'd I talk about y'all? You make me want a gag. (sighing) He says, I know y'all are rich and prospered and have need of nothing, but as the God of Amen, let me introduce him. Let me tell you what I see. I see that you're wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked, and Jesus uses five terms for the reader. Starts with inward misery, goes to social shame, goes to economic destitution, goes to sensory incapacity, goes to physical exposure. He literally is dismantling every category that Laodicea imagines itself to be and says to them, everything you think you are, you aren't. Everything you think you see you're seeing wrong, everything you think is true isn't true.

All the things that you use as identifiers of my goodness and grace for your success is not from me, and so I counsel you and it gives them three things. He says, I want you to buy gold, buy white garments, and buy ISAB. Now think about this, Laodicea is the place the name is synonymous with liquidity. The name is synonymous with affluence. The name is synonymous with financial reliability. They're the city that didn't need Rome to give him. what you need is some gold. What you need is some gold watch, refined by the fire so that you can be rich. The gold that Jesus offers is the gold we see of in the Old Testament, Job 23, Psalm 66, Zechariah 13, Malachi 3. You see, the layout of sins believed that their economic security had immunized them from needing to be refined. And Jesus says, because you haven't been refined, you think you're rich, but you actually broke. And this is an interesting thing because we see that the church and layout of Sia thought to themselves because we've never found ourself in a place that we had significant need, we must be doing well. And Jesus says, no, you would be doing well if when you had significant need, you had something that met the need bigger than green paper with dead guys on it. That's what Jesus says.

And you all think you're rich 'cause your 401Ks are flush, but you're actually broke. And so I wish you'd go through some suffering. I wish your faith would be tested. I wish you would find yourself in a corner all by yourself so you could see that I'm actually what you need, but all you really want is just more cash. He goes on and he says, you need to buy some white garments. Now, what color were the garments in layout of Sia? They were black. And so Jesus speaks to purity and speaks to holiness and says, I know you all have your drippy, swaggy, black cloaks and tunics, but what you really need is some white garments to cover your nakedness. Now watch, this is like Milan or Paris. This is like fashion-central and going up and being like, y'all ain't even got jeans. What do you mean we ain't got jeans? Look at all the things we have. And Jesus says, no, no, I see all the things that you have, but I see past what you think you have to your nakedness. And you need some white garments, you need some purity, you need some holiness. And thirdly, he says, let's talk about your medical industry, how you're helping people see and he counsels them to buy of him ISAB so that they can see. You heal physical eyes, but you're spiritually blind and watch, not for lack of information, not for access to good theology,

not for access to D1 or D2 or the study or the curriculum. That's not the issue. Access isn't the issue. Arrogance is the issue. The reason you can't see is 'cause you think you know, the reason that you can't see your brokenness and your nakedness is 'cause you got all your nice clothes. The reason that you can't see that you're broke is that you can see your 401K, but you're good in all the wrong ways. You got gold, but you can't buy what you actually need. You got high-end clothes, but you're actually naked. You can heal their sight, but you're actually blind. Watch, Jesus doesn't rebuke the wealth of Laodicea. He rebukes the world view that the wealth creates. So he says, "Those whom I love, I reprove and I discipline, "so be zealous and repent." Jesus says, "Because I love you, I gotta discipline you. "Because I love you, I gotta say some hard things to you." And he says, "In response to the discipline "that I'm bringing, be zealous." He uses the word opposite of lukewarm. He says, "Don't respond calmly to what I'm saying. "Don't respond in a measured way to what I'm saying. "Don't be moderate, don't be lukewarm. "Don't be apathetic to what I'm saying. "Get your heel in the ground, turn around and sprint "the opposite direction," is what he's saying. This is Jesus coming and saying, "Things are really wrong, Laodicea,

"and you think things are really right. "Things are really bad, Laodicea, "and you think things are really wrong. "You are driving toward a cliff, "and I need you to not subtly whip the car around "and go the other direction, "because if you use the same energy "that got you here, you're going over the cliff." (audience applauding) Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." This is a sobering diagnosis, because if Jesus talking to a church is saying, "I stand at the door and knock, "what does it mean about where he is?" He's outside. They're in the church, singing to a dude who isn't in the room. They're in the church preaching about a dude who isn't invited in, and Jesus says, "I'm on the outside. "I'd love to be in with you all, and he says this in perfect present tense it means to take up a position into remain there so this is jesus and i'm at the front door a grace way and i'm just this is the ringer that never goes off this is the alarm that doesn't have a snooze this is just jesus hey whenever y'all are ready here i am out here church waiting to come in someone gonna answer this door that's what jesus says and he says to him who repents he will conquer and sit with me on the throne and this is why because this is jesus giving the

highest grace to the worst church this is the best invitation of all the seven churches and it's given to the to the lousyest church the invitation does not scale to the merit are you with me so jesus is saying i will give you something that i have that you don't deserve and i earned it and i will give it to you i did it so no matter how far you've gone no matter how impoverished you are no how matter how naked you are no matter how bad you've made it if you will turn around i will not only receive you but you will rule and reign with me you know there's some of you in this room right now and you're saying to yourself it's too far gone man you don't understand how many times i've messed it up you don't understand how many times i've lit it on fire you don't understand how many times i've slept with it i've smoked it i've drank it i've called it i've clicked on it you don't understand how many times we've argued you don't understand how many times we've gone bankrupt you don't understand how many times i've got fired and jesus says hey baby this is never up to you and if you heading this direction will today not soft not subtle get your heel on the ground and come back this way watch doesn't mean you deserve it the merit does not scale to the invitation but if you will repent i will give you what i have earned if you will believe me i will do what you can't do if you will trust me i will bless you like i've always wanted come on i'm preaching 97 percent better than you all are responding right now this is a sobering text because it's a text about self-deception and self-deception is is sobering because nobody intends to deceive themselves listen nobody when they're getting they're getting married intends to have an affair nobody intends whenever they they make a baby to raise that baby to not love jesus no no no christian intends to do it no pastor who gets in the ministry intends to be on the front page as a

scandal so how do we get to these places here's how we stop being able to see the truth for what it is we start lying to ourselves and especially when things are going well or appear to be going well there's this temptation to self-sufficiency especially when things are going well yeah lady walls and screens and a bigger vip section we got swag come on this is happening all over this country you walk in and go oh this looks like it's going well but a lot of places where it looks like it's going well are actually tombs and a lot of lives that are put together you know how to show up and hello brother and hello sister and god bless and two blessed to be stressed and blessed and highly favored and all these foolish things that we say to each other and you you're a whitewashed tomb because you can't see the truth when it's standing right in the face and so self-deception especially when it looks like it's going well nothing's on fire creates this sense of self-sufficiency which is not just spiritually detrimental it's fatal there is nothing that will kill your spiritual vitality quicker than self-deception there's nothing that will kill a church quicker than self-deception there's nothing that will kill a marriage quicker than self-deception there's nothing that will destroy a life quicker than your inability to look into the mirror of god's word and go that it that ain't me because it forecloses on the very posture that requires You see, when I look in the mirror and I go, I'm good, I don't need God. When I look in the mirror and go, I'm clean, I don't need God to wash me. When I look in the mirror and go, I can heal myself, look how much money I have, look how much stuff I have, look how much influence I have.

I don't come to God and go, who else do I have the turn to? This is why Jesus says, blessed are the poor in spirit. This is why Paul says God's power is made perfect in weakness. Listen, the scripture never speaks ill of success or material prosperity. Doesn't ever say it's a sin, but it does say it's dangerous. It's dangerous because wealth can become a metaphor, success can become a metaphor for our entire spiritual self-understanding. This is a church that had withstood an earthquake and watched, migrated their self-sufficiency. Unnotice to them, over to their relationship with the living God. And they ended up mistaking strength for what sustains. They ended up mistaking blessings for self-sufficiency. They ended up mistaking success for the presence of God. They ended up ultimately mistaking discipline for persecution. I'm gonna get myself in trouble, but I've been gone for two weeks, so why not? Can I tell you a few years ago, I heard a lot of Christians talking about persecution in this country. I heard a lot of Christians during COVID, talking about, oh, we're just being persecuted. Can I say, we weren't being persecuted. We were being exposed. We were being exposed. And can I tell you it wasn't pretty?

We didn't get better under hard times, did we? We got more divided under hard time. Why do you think? And I'm not saying all of COVID was to that specific ends, but we got exposed and we're so self-sufficient that when we weren't getting our way, we were saying we're being persecuted. In a church, when they are self-deceived, can end up graceless. A church when it's self-deceived can end up presenceless. A church when it's self-deceived can end up powerless. Watch with full rooms and paid bills. (audience chattering) When we trust in self based on what looks like success, what feels good, external trappings watch, it makes us confident when we should be concerned. And it makes us think we're safe when we're actually susceptible. Look at what I did. Look at what I know. Look at who I am. I'm good. Woo. Be careful. Be careful. So how do we protect ourselves against self deception? Are you all still with me? (audience chattering) You have to have practices that give God the authority to contradict your self-assessment.

You have to have practices that give God the authority to protect yourself or to contradict your self-assessment. And I think God gives us many, but I'm gonna give you three. I'm gonna give them two you quickly. Are you with me? The first is your relationships. Give trusted people permission to tell you the truth. How do I protect myself against self-deception? I have people in my life who have perception, who have permission to tell me the truth. Why? Because self-deception cannot be defeated with introspection. The issue isn't that you can't see. The issue is that you can't see what is real. And so if you just think about it more, you're gonna continue to think about it wrong. You need somebody to stand beside you and look into the same mirror and go, yeah, that. That's what I'm talking about. You go, what do you mean? You don't see that? You're not gonna come to it on your own. Why? Because I am capable of deceiving myself. I am capable, my heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. And so I need perspective outside of myself. So you have to build relationships with people that are two things.

Proximate and who have permission. They gotta be close enough and they have to have permission to speak the truth. They have to be able to be close enough to see patterns and they have to have enough relational collateral and security that they can go, that. That's what I'm talking about. And then you have to regularly ask them, what do you think that I don't see in me that you do see in me? And then when they answer you, you have to not get defensive. You have to not justify. You have to not give context. You have to not explain. Because if people have to pay a relational price for telling you the truth, watch. They'll stop. Can I tell you? into your mirror doesn't mean she's lying, but what do we do? We look into our mirror and we go let's talk about your mirror or let me explain to you what's in the mirror or we blow up on or we gaslight or we do all these things and eventually what ends up happening is the people who would have told us the truth say it just ain't worth it. It just ain't worth it. And so they stop. They stop. Listen, if your spouse has learned you can't talk to him about that, watch. They aren't going to talk to you and you're going to be worse off than when you started. Number two, treat disproportionate reactions and repeated criticisms as helpful data.

What do I mean by that? Your emotions are God-given, but they are not infallible. Sometimes I feel things that are real to me, but that don't make them true. Are you with me? They are, however, always informative. So watch, when criticism makes you unusually defensive, have you had this happen before? Somebody says something and you can feel yourself clench in every orifice of your body. Yeah, the thing that you don't know, the thing that I've had that happen before, or have you had some disagreement that made you disproportionately angry? I'll give you an example. Some 89-year-old lady, she, baby, she don't know. She can't see you. And she just pulls out in front of you and you go atomic on her, right? And you tell her she's number one and you're screaming out and you pull up a cider and you finger gunner and you do all the things, and it's like bro, what's wrong with that? What's wrong with you? You decaf, sweetheart, what's going on? So when this happens, when I have this pop, this volcanic pop, don't manage the emotion investigate it. Ask yourself, why does this bother me so much? Ask yourself, what am I protecting right now? And resist rationalization, resist spiritualization, oh, they're jealous. They don't understand, they don't understand me. The enemy is attacking me. You know, I'm doing some god stuff and now the enemy, get out of here. Listen, maybe that is happening, but Jesus says to those I love, I reprove and discipline, which means this, that sometimes discomfort is grace. Sometimes discomfort is, somebody saying you're the man is God's grace. Sometimes you're mocking and rejecting and rebuking the grace of God because you don't want to hear it because you think you know and this is a church, this is a church, watch

that's inside worship in Jesus and Jesus is outside knocking on the door. Thirdly, regularly compare your public self to your private self. And be harder on your private self than you are on your public self. If some of us spent half the time on our character that we do on our get up, the world would be a better place. Be harder on the private reality, listen, the uglier realities, and let me do you say this, Christian, Christians get a bad rap for being hypocrites and I'm here for it because we are, we are, we are hypocrites. Everybody in this room is a hypocrite because there's a version of you that you don't want anyone to see, but it's real. And what I'm saying is be more concerned with what we don't see than what we do. So don't call sin slip-ups, don't call sin, I'm just struggling, don't blame your lack of integrity on external things, circumstances, culture, family of origin. It happened, they happened, they said, so why, don't, no, no, no, whatever the fuse that lit the bomb was, I get it, there's a fuse, but the fuse isn't the problem. But the bomb is the problem, you're the bomb. Build practices that dismantle the image that you have constructed of yourself. So confess specifically, not generally, how's it going? I'm just struggling with some slip-ups, you know what I mean? No, I don't know what you mean. What slip-ups? Oh, just some stuff, yeah, what stuff? Hey, baby. [BLANK_AUDIO] Maintain spiritual practices that produce no applause. Pray when God's not answering and nobody knows. Give when nobody can thank you. Read scripture even when it's dry. Serve when your title has no value and you don't get an attaboy for it. Listen, the goal is not to think less of yourself.

The goal is to become increasingly willing to encounter a reality without requiring a reality that flatter you. And this is a church and this is a terrifying church. And this is a terrifying sermon to me because there's a lot that's going right here at Graceway. And because for a lot of years, God has blessed this place. And for a lot of years, God has been kind to this place. And it's so easy to wake up one day and have all the trappings of Jesus without the person and work of Jesus. And so I wanted to end and I was trying to say, think to myself, what is the picture that we need to have of ourself, to keep ourself close to the truth? And I came across a clip of an old Scottish preacher that I love. And he was talking about getting to heaven and he was talking about the pronouns of heaven. And he said, if you get to heaven and you stand at the gates and they open the door and they go, all right, why should we let you in? If you start with I, you're already wrong. I gave, I served, I believed, I knew, I acted. He said, the only pronoun that will grant you entrance is he. The only reason I'm here is because of him. And he went to the thief on the cross. And maybe you've not thought about the thief on the cross much. But imagine being a criminal. And imagine being on either side of a man who claimed he was the son of God. And imagine observing everything that that thief observed. And imagine your friend cussing him out and you joining in a little bit. And then somewhere along the way, the blinders come off and you turn to this man and you repent.

And you ask him to save you. And he says, today you will be with me in paradise. And imagine that that Roman soldier comes along and he breaks your legs and you can no longer hold yourself up. And so you suffocate in your own bodily fluid. And then you open your eyes and you find yourself in heaven. And imagine that an angel with a clipboard comes up to you and says, oh, you're a late entry. I need to get some information about you. Tell me about yourself. How much money do you have? Oh, none. I was actually a thief. That's how I got here. I was stealing other people's stuff because I didn't have any. Well, what did you do to bring the future kingdom of God into the present? I don't know. I don't know what any of that means. OK, fair enough. Let's talk about your doctrine. Let's talk about justification of your sin by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. I've never heard anybody say that since in my entire life. I don't know. I don't know what that means. Let's talk about your doctrine of the Bible. Do you believe in the infallibility of Scripture, the inerrancy of Scripture? And as it pertains to matters of faith and practice, I've never read the Bible. I actually don't even know anybody who's ever had-- I'm sorry.

I don't know what you're talking about. Oh, well, I just got an email. Let me pull up your file here real quickly. It actually says-- oh, boy. It says that in your life you're pretty wretched. Yeah. Yeah, it was. It says that you were pitiable. Yeah, I wasn't it. And that you were poor, not only economically, but like your character. Like you were bankrupt, man. And that spiritually you were blind, that your whole life you didn't really see Jesus for who he was. And it says that you were naked, that all your sin, and that you died on a cross, stark naked in front of everyone, because that's exactly what you deserved. [MUSIC PLAYING] Oh, that's true. Well, why, this being the case, do you think that we should, I mean, look over my shoulder at all this. Do you think you deserve that? No, I don't. So why should we let you in? All I know is that the man on the middle cross said I could come. (audience applauds) And everything you said is right. I'm broke, and I'm blind, and I'm poor, and I'm pitiful, and I don't deserve to be here. And I don't know any of the words that you're saying.

I just know, I just know that in my last breath, the man on the middle cross said that I could come, and I wanted to come, and here I am. (audience applauds) And here's why I am here. I'm not talking to you if you're not a Christian. I'm talking to you if you're a Christian. You don't ever graduate being the thief on the cross. You don't ever come to God and go, look at what I built, look at what I know, look at what I did, look at what I've read, look at what I've accomplished, look at how I dress, look at what I see, look at, look at, look at me. I'm just here because the man on the middle cross said I could be. (audience applauds) I want you to close your eyes for a minute with me. And if you're a Christian, I want you to ask this very simple question. Holy Spirit, where are the areas that I do not see myself truthfully? Where are the areas that I'm lying to myself? Where are the areas that I'm deceived? And if you're not a Christian, man, you've come on a good day, you come on a good day. Maybe you're starting to think some things you haven't thought or see some things that you haven't seen and maybe given your life to Jesus is making sense to you for the first time. And I get it, it's a bit of a whirlwind.

But if you're here and you say, I want to give my life to Jesus, I want to pray a prayer with you, I just want you to pray it along with me, okay? It goes like this, Jesus, I need you. I confess that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. I have trusted myself, depended on myself and tried to build a life that I could manage on my own. But today, I recognize that everything I need is found in you. I believe that you are God. I believe that you died on the cross from my sin and that you rose from the dead. I believe that your grace is greater than my sin and that what you did for me is enough. So today I repent, I turn from my sin, forgive me, make me new, I receive your grace and from this day forward, my life belongs to you. In Jesus' name, I pray, amen. With every head bowed and every eye closed, Christian, keep talking to God. If you're in the room and you've never prayed that prayer but today you prayed that prayer with me, would you do me a favor and just throw your hand up? Put your hand up. Right down here, on the back. Keep them up high if you would, up in the balcony. What's gonna happen is somebody from our team

is gonna come by and they're gonna put a Bible in your hands. Two things I want you to do. The first is that's bookmarked to the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John was written by Jesus' best friend and I want you to get to know Jesus. He's incredible. You're gonna love him. He already loves you. I just want you to read a chapter of John a day. Tomorrow read John one, next day read John two. Keep going until you get to the end, 21 chapters. I also want you to pull out that connect card. I want you to fill that thing out. Give it to me, give it to somebody the next steps. Give it to prayer team down front. Not gonna spam me, not gonna sell your stuff, man. We just wanna celebrate what God's doing. We wanna welcome you into the family. And we don't wanna acknowledge what God was up to today, okay? Church One, we do that right now. Let's thank God for saving people today, blessing people today, for speaking today. Church, why don't you stand up? If you came prepared to give and you didn't, you can do it in the back. Prayer team, come on down. We'd love to pray for you. Growth track step four, helping you make a difference. Understand that God has plans and purposes

for your life happening in the third service. We'll watch your kids. Got some snacks for you through that room. Make sure you get connected to that. love you thank you for loving us thank you for always telling us the truth thank you that the truth is found in Jesus and that all the ways that I am pitiful and broken and blind and poor and naked the answer is in Jesus I thank you Lord that I cannot save myself but that I have a savior I thank you Lord that I cannot win but I have a conqueror I thank you Lord that I cannot heal myself but my father is the great physician I thank you Lord that the middle man on the middle cross said I could come and I have and everything is different speak to us this week lead us this week be glorified this week in Jesus name we pray amen and amen I love you church have a great week