This Year Can Be Special

We're going to be opening that up together. But first, a question. Have you ever played a stupid game and won a stupid prize? Oh, man, right? I remember once I was on a bicycle. There was a season of my life where I was riding bicycles a lot, like Tour de France bicycles, you know, like fast, skinny spandex, and had more than my fair share of beer cans thrown at me, Montana. Thank you very much for that, by the way. And I thank you very much for that, by the way. But I was on a bike ride. I was going through a neighborhood. I was going at 20, 21 miles an hour. And my phone rang. And I just, out of impulse, reached to grab it and hit a parked car. Not so much here or here. Mostly right here is where I got it. Broke this bone in my skull. It's called the maxillary fascial bone. And it was fine. It didn't require surgery. I just heard whistling inside my head whenever I made an S sound for about a month. And fortunately, it all healed up well. This finger also snapped in half. It was a great day. But I played the stupid game.

And what did I win? I won a stupid prize. I had no one to blame but me. I should have been focused on the road and the ride and not on that screen. Well, I think one of the stupidest games we could possibly play that will guaranteed deliver a stupid prize our way is to procrastinate till tomorrow what God is calling you to do today. Turn to Matthew 7, if you have a copy of the scriptures, as we begin a message series and a season in our church that we're calling It's About Time. Come on, does that title just even minister to your spirit? It's About Time. It is all about, this series is all about getting past what's holding you back. Because time is short, your life is precious, God has a plan, and you have a purpose. So let's quit drifting. Let's quit stalling. Let's get over the hurdles and step into all that Jesus Christ has for us in this new year. Amen? Do you receive it? I'm going to fight for future you today. I promise you that. And a big part of this series is going to be about identifying and eliminating strongholds that we have tolerated in our lives so long

that we've accepted them, we've gotten used to them, we've forgotten to dream about a life without them, we've become stuck in them, and even in some cases, blind to them. But I have a declaration about 2026. Might be a little underwhelming to you, but I promise you this could change your life. There's the title of this message. This year can be special. This year, 2026, you see you're not even responding like you should. This year, let me tell you, it can be special. Or not. It's totally up to you. I think sometimes we get a little jaded about the new year, a little cynical, a little snarky, a little pessimistic. Maybe we've just been around the block a little bit. It's like, oh, yeah, the ball fell in Manhattan, so now I got to get all excited. I got to buy a new calendar, yawn, right? Same old, same old, just a new year, just with a different number, right? And let me tell you something. If that's what you want, Henry Ford said whether you believe you can or you can't, you're right. It is entirely a mindset issue. But I understand why we would start to feel a little bit like, ah, cynical about it. We tried before, the resolution, the workout plan,

the diet, the emotional regulation technique we saw on TikTok. And soon, we see our aspirations for change, they fall by the wayside. And so eventually, the new year comes, and we just sort of say, it's going to be same old, same old. It's going to be what was. It is what it is. But let me just declare over you, in the power of the name of Jesus, things don't have to stay the same another moment. And why not now? Why not here to draw a bloodline in the sand and rise up and walk in the new that God is always doing? He is, after all, the one who says, behold, I do a new thing. That's what the Lord says today. I'm doing something new. You want to get down with that? You want to just be like, what is what? If you want to stick with it is what it is, have fun. I'm rocking into the new. I'm going into the new. I want to be a part of all that God has. I want to see Him do a brand new thing in me. I want to see Him do a brand new thing in my family. I want to see Him do something brand new in our ministry. in our city, in our day, in our youth, if he's doing it, I want to be with him on it. And we actually have biblical grounds

to prophetically believe that with the passing of the new year, there is something particularly special about what God wants to do in our lives. It's not just the commercialism of change, right? It's also scripture. Psalm 6511, you, God, crown the new year with your goodness. Hello. Something with a crown on it is important. I know that from Downton Abbey, you know? I watched The Crown on Netflix. I understand once a crown's on, that's big. That's a big deal, right? And if God crowns something, God crowns a year. Here we are, a new year. What is it? Crowned. Do you want to see it as just the same old, same old? Not if it's got a crown on it, and not if the crown was put on it by Yahweh himself. Hello. If Father God, if he chose to put a crown on something, and he did, and it's crowned with what? With his goodness. And then his paths, they drip, the verse continues, with abundance. What I'm saying is that regardless of what's behind me, he has chosen in this new year to shake that etch-a-sketch. Come on, fresh mercies. He's here. He's ready.

He's willing. He's able, more than able. And if he's crowned this year with goodness, I'm going to acknowledge that. I'm going to participate in that goodness. I want abundance. I want blessing. Are you hungry for more of God? Then let's go. Where does it start? Where are we going to begin? Now, I'm just going to caution you, today is just introductory. Today is the amuse-bouche. We're just going to really just begin a little bit here. You'll want to come back every week of this series. You owe it to your future self. But we begin with the subject of identity. We begin with the subject of identity, answering this question, who do you think you are? Take some time this week and think about that. Just who do you think you are? We ask that sarcastically. We ask that when someone kind of is acting like they're God's gift to the world. Who do you think you are? Someone cuts in front of it. But it's a question we should ask to ourselves. Who do I think I am? And in Matthew 7, verse 6, here's

how we are to think about it. Here's a word from Jesus. There's a rare proverb from Jesus. I realize we have a book of proverbs, but there are occasionally proverbs from the mouth of Christ. And in verse 6 of Matthew 7, this is my assignment this week. I was confused when he first gave it to me, but I'm so excited I said yes. Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you in pieces. I wish I had time to talk to you about how this is what's known as an A-B-B-A structure. It's not A-B-A-B or A-A-B-B. If you look at the verse one more time, put it back up, please, on the screen. It's A-B-B-A. You can think like Abba, like the band, right? So the first sentence line in this proverb relates to the last, and the second one relates to the third. So if you give what's holy to the dogs, they will eat it, be displeased, and devour you. If you give what's precious, the pearl, to the pigs, they'll just trample it underfoot, OK? So what's the point of this? Why did God assign this to be the first thought we would have beginning this new year, beginning this new season,

helping us frame how we are to think about ourselves? Here's why. When you know something is valuable, it changes how you treat it. When you know something's got a crown on it, you don't just flippantly roll in, right? You don't turn your back on royalty. When you know something's special, it changes. Doesn't it? Doesn't it just alter? Doesn't it just transform? Doesn't it just change how you treat it? Heard about a couple in New York State. They went to a yard sale. Anybody like yard sales? Anybody? To me, a yard sale is like the seventh circle of hell, right? Actually, I have more junk than I want in my life. I don't need your junk in my life. Because I know full well the only reason you're having that yard sale is you decide, I need to get rid of junk. And you, therefore, have declared this to be junk. I don't want what you eliminated into my life, right? So I didn't say it to shame you. I just don't understand you, OK? So my wife loves a yard sale, though. She loves a garage sale. She's all about that. So I get it.

And you know, occasionally, it can go very well. Well, I have, like in the story, heard about people who just had an amazing day at a yard sale. Like this one couple, they went to the, here's what they bought. I'm going to show you a picture of the bowl they bought. This is a bowl they bought. They bought a bowl. It's a pretty good bowl. Someone say Lucky Charms. You know what I'm saying? Like, yeah. But do you get that West Elm? Like, is that Crate and Barrel? Is it Target? Like, to me, this could be, like, full of peppermints. Like, they're on holiday still. They bought this bowl for $3 and had it in their home for several years, until someone said, hey, what's the deal with that bowl? I don't know. Got it at a yard sale. Have you ever thought about getting it appraised? Why would I get this appraised? It's a stupid thing that you grab it and toss it across the room to each other, like Frisbee or whatever with it. And it probably had candy in it or something. And so it just kind of stuck with them. They got it appraised. Turns out it is a Ding bowl from the Northern Song Dynasty,

about 1,000 years old, from China. It sold at auction for $2.2 million. I would like you to think about how different this bowl was treated when they drove it home from the yard sale to their house versus how they drove it home from the appraiser while they prepared to take it to Sotheby's. You change everything about how you treat something once you know it is special, once it's different. How do you treat things that are worth a couple dollars? Eh. Eh. How do you treat something that's worth a couple million? Well, I mean, at the very least, you're going to seat belt it in, you know what I mean? At the very least, it's getting a little bubble wrap. And that is Jesus's exact point. What is holy shouldn't be given to the dogs. A pearl ought not to be given to a swine, right? You're like, yeah, get it. That makes a lot of sense. Now, this passage is generally, though it's a proverb, and proverbs are open to broad application, but it's generally used to describe preachers, which is why I was so confused when God first gave it to me, and their strategy when it comes to preaching, OK? It's cross-referenced, you might notice in your Bible, often, to the passage where Jesus tells the disciples, when they go to a place to preach, if it's received, stay there and preach and let their peace

fall upon the place they're doing ministry. And if the people don't receive it, don't like, no, you're going to listen anyway. You know what I'm saying? No. And on your way out of town, wipe the dust off your face. Pretty punk rock. Jesus has his moments, you know? I thought of it this week, because when we came here to plant this ministry in 2007, we weren't going to stay forever. We had told the Lord we would set up a church for five years, and after five years, evaluate whether this was a place where he had opened a door, because the Bible says God opened a door to the church. And we had told the Lord, we would set up a church for five years, and after five years, he opens doors that no one can shut, and he shuts doors that no one can open. And we left a vibrant ministry where God was working, where there was momentum, where there was lots of people to reach and more opportunities than we could even say yes to where we were at. And so when he called us here, it didn't make sense, but we kept thinking about that sentiment. Shake the dust off your feet if it's not received well. Now, after five years, we could conclusively say the ministry was being received well, and so we made the decision and have made the decision each new year to stay here, believing God's hand is on it,

his blessings in it, and we will continue to do so. We have no plans of going anywhere else. But let me just tell you, should the day come where you no longer want this word to be received into your life with eagerness, and there wasn't the vibrancy of that, there wasn't the obvious hand of God upon this ministry, we would shake the dust off of our feet and go somewhere else. We currently have more opportunity than we can say yes to. There's not a year that goes by hardly where there's not some offer for another ministry, offer for another job, offer for another thing. And obviously, we don't have to preach at our church at all. We could just write books and do those things. So we would not force our pearls on swine. That's Jesus' language. You're not a swine. You're here to hear the word of God. You're excited. I'm excited. Everybody's excited. What I'm saying to you is, should you vote with your feet and tell us you don't want this ministry anymore and God's hand's not on it, guess what? We would follow the blessing and the hand and the call of God and see what he's doing somewhere else. You see what I'm saying? That's primarily and principally the way

that this text is exposited, that Jesus is saying. And it's funny because it's Jesus. Jesus gets to be. It's funny. It comes right after Jesus saying, don't judge lest you be judged. And then he's like, but let me tell you something. You've got to make sure you don't give your pearls to swine. And in order to do that, what do you have to do? Who's a swine? Who's a dog, right? So obviously, in saying don't judge, he knows some people are going, well, we're not going to judge. He's like, but you've got to judge sometimes, right? Otherwise, you can't be a snake bird, which is to be harmless and as cunning as a serpent. It's one of our values, to be snake birds. So we're going to trust God for what only he can do, but we're going to do whatever we can do. We're going to be wise. We're not going to be stupid. We're going to be savvy where we can. So Jesus's point here is that there is a time and a place for judging. And we're not to be judgy, but there is a time for wise judgment. And one commentator, D.A. Carson, said disciples here are exhorted in the Sermon on the Mount, which is what we're in, to love their enemies and not to judge, right?

To not go around getting specks out of eyes when you've got a two by four sticking out of yours. You don't want to be that guy who just knows how everybody else should change. And by the way, if when you hear me preach, you're there, I got to tell you, this, my so-and-so needs this message, you might have a two by four sticking out of your eye. If you're more focused on, man, I wish my wife was listening to this talk. She really needs to change, right? You might be blind to your own blind spots. But having said all of that, he knows that we might fail to consider the subtleties of his argument and in the process become undiscerning simpletons. This proverb, then, guards against such an outcome because we don't want to be simpletons. We don't want to misunderstand the value of what we have in our hands, what we have in our lives, what we have in handling the word of God to preach it, that we're not flippant or frivolous about that, about where we preach. I mean, you see, Paul, when he would go to preach to people, if they did not listen, he didn't just stay there and say, I'm going to preach to you anyway, get a megaphone or something like that, right? He would, what would he do? He'd wipe the dust off his feet. He'd say, hey, if you've judged yourself unworthy of eternal life, that's OK.

I'll go preach somewhere else. And that's how the book of Acts, he would constantly be moving about. People would vote with their feet and not want him to preach to them. So he used wise judgment. So the point is there is a time for wise judgment. And that's what we're trying to exercise. But this verse also tells us how to approach all things that are valuable, all things that the text says are holy. Don't give what's holy. Don't give what's precious to those who can't appreciate it. Neither a pig nor a feral dog are worthy of what's holy because they're both unclean, all right? Now, what is holy? What does it mean to be holy? The Greek word is hagios. The Hebrew word is kadosh. And theologians tell us that basically holiness is God's primary or essential attribute. Now, you go, wait a minute. God's a lot of things. God's loving, right? Does the Bible say God's love? Yeah, of course. The Bible says God's life. Well, yeah, God's life. God's light. OK, but there's only one attribute of God

that's ever repeated in triplicate. And in Hebrew thought, you stack on duplicates of the same word to tell how something is, what degree something is. So in Hebrew, you might find it's not just gold. It's gold gold. These pits aren't just pits. They're pit pits, right? It's a way to say, wow, it's like the ultimate example of what that is. But there's only one time in the entire Bible, or one word in the entire Bible, that we're ever given to tell what God is that's repeated three times. God isn't just holy. God's holy, holy. He's not even just holy, holy. He's holy, holy, holy. The point is, listen to me, God is special, special. I know we overuse that word, so we've lost and dulled the blunt, the edge of it. We've blunted the tip of it. But special means unique or singular, OK? We were just singing it. There is no one like you, God. We were crying out, holy, holy, holy. And so if God's going to make a day, that day that he's going to make for us to honor him and spend time with him and rest from our efforts is going to be a day that is the Sabbath day and the Sabbath day which is holy. If God's going to meet someone and speak to them

through a burning bush, that person's going to hear, hey, take off your sandals. The low ground that you are meeting with me on is if God's going to have a tabernacle built and there's going to be a component of it where he's going to meet with them, it's going to be called the holy place. And if within that tabernacle, there's going to be a zone that so sacred, in an unworthy manner, you are going to die on the spot. that if you enter in and inside the middle being, And only the high priest, with the words holiness you will be also going to be filled up with a righteous to the Lord written on him, with bells on his jacket, form of heavenline peace. so if he is unholy and dies inside, If you are touched by that region and you they'll hear the bells stop ringing, they'll have a rope tied to his foot, they'll be able to pull him out. You think there's a long line of people wanting that job? That guy's quiet time that morning went on for hours. That place, we're on that mercy seat of that Ark of the Covenant, that mobile location for meeting with God, is not only going to be within the holy place, it's going to be called the holy of holies, because God is holy. So if a lampstand is built for use in his worship, it's going to be a holy lampstand. Garments are going to be holy garments.

You see what I'm trying to say. His spirit isn't just any old spirit. His spirit is the Holy Spirit. And what does it say on the spine of your Bible? It's not just God's word, it's the holy. Look at it, the Holy Bible. We recognize that, even if we don't even fully participate in that. Why, for so many thinking human beings in this country, has there been some kind of stirred up feeling about the mayor of New York City being sworn in with his hand, not on the book that George Washington put his hand on, because his country was founded on Christian principles, but on a Quran? Why is there some kind of feeling about the monument to the 3,000 slaughtered Americans being lit up green in honor of the Muslim Heritage Month? Why are people saying, what happened to never forget? It turns out we forgot. Because we recognize there's something different about this book. I was on the plane looking up verses about holiness, and the flight attendant came by and said, sir, could I get you anything to drink? And I said, I would love a black coffee, please. You know, she said to me, I would love to give you a black coffee. Would you like any cream or sugar in it? And I said, no, I would like blackness in my coffee that is black.

And so she goes, oh, my mistake, and began to pour it, and kind of chuckled as she was pouring it, and moved from the cup and just began pouring. You can see it. Literally, the entire holy column in my concordance in my Bible is now black coffee. It smells like bad airplane coffee. And I was like, ah! And she looked down and saw me and was, ah! She goes, I spilled it on your journal! And then I go, oh, no, and I turn it over. She goes, that's a Bible! This woman almost came out of her skin. It's like she had just been personally notified she's going to hell. You know, she's like, she goes, I can't pour coffee on the word of God! I said, no, no, ma'am, it's OK, it's OK, it's OK, it's OK, it's OK, it's OK. I have a new memory. I'll think of you. I prayed for her. It's like, we're getting ready to preach. It's OK, it's OK, it's OK, it's OK. But why do we recognize there's something about this book? It's not just any old word. This is the word of God to be trembled before, to be the authority for our lives. It's meant to be the authority for culture. It's meant to be the authority for every part

of our civilization and soul. And in so doing, we will receive blessing. And listen to me, in turning from it, we will sow to the wind and reap the whirlwind. So God is holy. His word is holy. His spirit is holy. His tent is holy. His day is holy. What about you? You are meant to, 1 Peter 1, verse 16, be holy for I am holy. When we talk about not giving what's holy to the dogs, we should see this as advice for 2026. Don't give what's precious to the pigs. He's telling you how to think through your year. For you are not common. You are not $3 bowl to be chomped on from Lucky Charms out of. Millions? Are you kidding me? What were you worth to God? The blood of Jesus. There's never been anything more expensive that's purchased than you in human history. The incarnate Son of God was the price for your freedom. You are not ordinary. Oh, you're going to sit in science class and be told about how you're just smart mud, and you're just monkeys wearing pants.

Don't you believe it? You were made by an intelligent God, made in His image, made by purpose, for purpose, with intentionality and design. You, Peter says, are a chosen generation. You are a royal priesthood. You are a holy, holy, you're a holy nation. His own, say it with me, special people that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Another way of describing holy or special would be to think of it as reserved for royal use. A couple of years ago, some good friends of ours gave Jenny and I a gift that we felt unworthy of, silver goblets for Christmas. It came with shine to shine them, a special cloth to buff them. It came with a box to present them in. I said, man, I aspire to be good enough to have this cup in my home. I've never had such a thing, a silver goblet. A couple of weeks ago, we had to take all of the water out of one of our tanks in our toilets. You know what I didn't grab? The silver goblet. We've got to get all the water. This will fit perfectly. Get it all out. Yeah, yeah. When you know something's valuable, I don't know what we're gonna do with them. They're in a box above our refrigerator. I'm thinking one day, Brad Pitt's coming over for tea or something. I'm gonna, F1 was great, man. You want some tea? I got a silver goblet for you. I don't know, what am I gonna do with a silver goblet? Better question, how are you gonna live considering God doesn't dwell in the Holy of Holies anymore? He moved. The moment Jesus yelled, it is finished, the temple tore in two. That's, that location, no one's dying for walking in there because God's not there anymore. You know where he lives? You. Whoa. He moved into your heart. He lives in you. You are the holiest location in the universe. Not church. We are the church. We gather in his name to worship and exalt him. You are the Holy of Holies now. This is the wonder. Christ in you, the hope of glory. So how do you see yourself? Do you treat yourself? And are you giving you, what is holy, you, what is precious, you, what is essentially to dogs and to swine? 2nd Timothy chapter 2, in a well-furnished kitchen, there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but there are also waste cans and compost buckets. Some containers are used to serve fine meals, others to take out the trash. Become, this is advice now, life advice for your 2026, become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing. Some people will say, like, what do you think your God's gift to the world? Yeah. Yeah. A

container full of his spirit to be used for people all around the world to receive blessing. Why? So that they could become the dwelling place for God in the spirit as well. We are walking around this world as God's gifts to it, full of God, to be overflowing on people and sharing and imparting and giving and caring and working and loving and seeking and repenting. You're the dwelling place now. You're the silver goblet now. Don't you, what are you doing in the toilet? What are you doing with that dog? Why would you give your pearl to the swine? Run, Paul told Timothy, run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Pursue righteous living. What is it going to take to run from lust, to run from sin, to run from temptation, to pursue living faithfully? Because we don't just run from something, we run towards something. The goal is not to just not sin because then your life's a vacuum and nature abhors a vacuum. The goal is to fill your life with what's good. There will be no more room for what's bad. Run after God. Run hard after him this year. Pursue faithfulness. Pursue love. Pursue peace. Be ruthless. Ask yourself, is this going to pull me towards God or away from him? If not, I'm plucking out an eye. I'm cutting off. I'm going to get violent with sin because sin wants to get violent with me. I'm going to run after God with all my heart. I'm going to say, is this going to lead to the fruit of the spirit or the work of the flesh? If it's not the fruit, I don't want it. I'm going to, look at this next part. Enjoy the companionship. Underline that word companionship. 2 Timothy 2, 2, 2. 2 Timothy 2, 2, 2. Flee youthful lusts and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. Be holy. Because I'm holy and I live in you. And I don't want to, I'm not comfortable. You see, I'm not comfortable living in. a heart that's going into the toilet bowl. I'm not comfortable. I don't like it. That's why the Bible says the Holy Spirit can be grieved, quenched, blasphemed. He lives in you. Ooh, he's grieved sometimes. Some things we do, some things we say. He's like, I don't like it. And that's why he acts like a rumble strip sometimes, your conscience.

He's going, don't do this. Don't go there. Don't do this. Don't go there. I don't like it, right? So what he's not saying is be holy for I'm holy, and if you stop being holy, you stop being holy. No, no, no. At the cross, God, once and for all, declared you holy forever because of Jesus. So we don't clean ourselves up so that eventually God will say, all right, you're holy enough. No, no, no. That strategy will never work. You can go to hell from being bad. You can go to hell from trying to be good. Only by going to God because of Jesus can you become holy. And then once that holiness is on your life, your motivation to change isn't to get holy. It's because when you look in the mirror and listen to him, he's saying, you are holy. So now act like what you are. That's why identity has to come first. I can't talk to you about finances and emotions and relationships and decisions and time management if I don't start with the most fundamental thing, which is, who are you? And if you go, I'm a child of God, I'm the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, not because of what I did, but because of his own purposes

and grace, well, then all of a sudden, I have the motivation to be what I know I am, because I am something. I can do something. I'm not doing something to get something. I'm not trying to be righteous and holy this year so I don't make God mad. I don't want to make my beloved sad. Do you see the difference? Which immediately eradicates the, how much can I do and still be OK? We're not going to ask that. We're like, I love you. Do what makes you happy. So 2026 is going to be special to the extent that you see yourself as special, because of what he sees in you. And that's why I just want so bad for you to see you like he sees you. If you could see you like he sees you, I know. You see you, and you see a list of things you want to change and some weight you want to lose and some blah, blah, blah. I get it. That's not how he sees you. He sees you like my heart sees my kids. Love them. I'd die for any of them at any moment. There's nothing I wouldn't do to bring them to their best in this world. That's how your father sees you.

You can't lose his favor. He's chosen forever to put it on you. And I want you to start seeing you like he sees you. He is obsessed with you. And if you look at yourself that way, you're going to hold your head high. If you live that way, it's going to change everything about this year. This year's not going to be common or normal or blase. It's going to be, what's this year going to be? Special. And that's my sermon. I hope you liked it. That's my message. That's the whole thing. I know you don't have to listen. You can choose to do different. You can play stupid games. And you know what you're going to win? Stupid prizes. I was studying for this talk in Lenox. He was snuggling up next to me, and he said, Daddy, what are you preaching this week? I said, buddy, I'm going to preach about don't give important special food to dogs. And he laughed. I said, what do you think would happen if we made a fancy dinner and gave it all to Tabasco? We have a poodle named Tabasco. Pray for us.

His vision is failing. He's not as young as he used to be. He's getting a little up there in years. And his gastric system is very temperamental. And so Lenox immediately, he knew the answer. He said, oh, if we gave that fancy food to Tabasco, he said he wouldn't appreciate it. We would go hungry, and he would get diarrhea. Stupid prizes. And such will come from failing to exercise wise judgment when it comes to how we treat the holy things that are us. I have application. Just jot them down as they come up on the screen real quick. What you focus on this year, you'll be formed by. Whatever you give your eyes to, whatever you give your focus to is forming you. It's shaping you. It's molding you. We've heard it said the eyes are the window to the soul. Jesus affirms the lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye goes good, your whole body will be full of light. If it goes bad, it's not going to go well for you. What are you watching? Is it forming you to Christ? Are you, like the psalmist said, deciding, I will set no unclean thing before my eye? I'm not. giving my focus to the dogs and to the pigs. It's not what I'm for.

I hate the work of those who fall away. It shall not cling to me. I shall set the Lord God always before me. I want to meditate on his word day and night. I want it to be like cud. I'm not just reading it and closing it and going my way. I want to delight in the law of the Lord. I want it to be like a cow regurgitating, continuing to get the truth out of it and the essence out of it and things coming to mind. And I want to walk in singing hymns and spiritual songs. I want to delight. I'm the holy of holies. You see what I'm saying? You went to that tabernacle. There was all kind of pageantry and beauty and worship. And that's because God's in the building. God is in your building. The king is in your room. Focus on him. Be formed by him. Let your imagination, your desires, your thinking be shaped from a biblical, scriptural, Christian world view, not culture, not your flesh. God forbid your feelings, right? No, his word, the authority for us. Focus on it. Let it warm your heart. Let it guide you. Let it be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.

In his light, we will see light. Number two, it's easier to stick with what you start with. Why does the Bible go on and on about first? Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Why is it so important? Because it's easier to continue with the momentum of whatever you start with. Why quiet time as you first begin your day? Why? Because it's going to set the pace for the dominoes to fall. Don't you reach over and grab that phone and start scrolling. Don't you look at your stocks. Don't you look at your crypto account or the news. God forbid the news. You know what I'm saying? It's easier to stick with what you start with. So start every day with God. Start every week with God. Let's worship together. Let's adore Jesus. Let's start the weeks with him. Let's start the year with God. Let's get paid and start every dollar with God. Let's get into trouble. And we'll start every difficulty with God. Let's get into disagreements with people and start the disagreement with God. What does God want me to do? We're going to start with him.

It's easier to stick with him. Then thirdly, whatever you let dazzle you needs to be able to deliver you. This is a question of idolatry. That's another way. It's a fancy way to say don't have idols in your heart. Tear down strongholds. Tear down idols in your life. An idol is simply whatever dazzles you the most. What are you the most dazzled by? What's the first thought you have waking? What's the last thought you have going to sleep? Or here's the easiest way to get through to your idols is this question. What are you most anxious about? Augustine said, anxiety is simply the over love of good things. Things we were meant to enjoy and appreciate, but we love them too much that they've crowded out God's place in our heart. Thus, we're dazzled by them. Because the only thing we're meant to over love or to love so much that every other love looks like hate in our life too, right, as we follow him, is God. That's why David said, Psalm 27, for one thing. How many things? How many things, church? I have desired. That will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

Look at this. To behold the beauty of the Lord. If we're dazzled by diamonds, dazzled by our collection of fine wines, if we're most dazzled by staring at and looking at Instagram followers or this on Influence on Tick, if we're most dazzled by the vert we ski, if we're most dazzled by being the most fittest or the most, you see what I'm saying? If that dazzles you the most, hey, honey, it better be able to deliver you. But it won't be able to when you need it the most. End of your life? Standing before God? Can that which you let dazzle you in this world now deliver you in a trial? Can it save your marriage? Can it help your kids? No. So be dazzled most by the Lord, because He can deliver you. He will deliver you. And as you seek Him first, listen to me. Listen to me. All these other things are going to be added unto you. Oh, you're going to hear so many people tell you, happy new year, happy new year, happy new year. I got a new HNY for you. Let's have a holy new year, and the happiness will take care of itself. Let's seek Him first and His righteousness, fresh life. Let's go hard after God.

All the other stuff. You could be blessed or not blessed. You could be in the penthouse or the poorhouse, but you got God. You got God. If I got God, I have everything I need. If I got Jesus, I got everything I need. We're going to be fine. So we're going to, number four, we're done here. Who you listen to, you will be led by. We're going to get choosy with our friends this year, lest we give what is sacred to the dogs, give holy, what's precious to the pigs. You'll notice back in Paul's advice to Timothy, he said, you have to enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord Jesus with pure hearts. Show me your friends, my friend Pastor Craig Groeschel likes to say. Show me your friends. Friends, I'll show you your future. You cannot outlive the quality of your friendships. Now, this is a tension, right? Like, don't judge, but judge. We're like, OK, well, everybody at school, everybody at work, you're all pigs, swine, out, deleted, right? Hold on, we can't reach a world we've abandoned. So what's the fine line of tension? The fine line is this. You can be in my life without speaking into my life. I'm going to stay in your life.

As long as you love me. If you don't want to hear, I'm not going to, right? But as long as there's any kind of doubt, if I'm going to have a chance, I'm going to point you to Jesus, invite you to church. I'm going to be kind. I'm going to do what I can do to be a good neighbor, right? But that does not mean you have the right to speak into my life, because I will not follow you unless I know where you're going is where I want to go. The man who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates in it day and night, he does not sit in the seat of the scornful. If you're scornful, I'll bless you however I can. I'm not following you. I'm not going to let you speak into my life if you've got a critical negative spirit. If your thoughts on life and how to spend finance and time and if your priority is in the kingdom of God, you do not get to have a hand on my steering wheel. I don't want the 10 spies. I want the two that have a different spirit in them who aren't like, we can't. Who are like, we can't. In his name, we can't. You see what I'm saying? I want Joshua and Caleb kind of people in my life. And I want that for you too. You need to have your people who you're

allowing to speak into your life be godly people, planted in the house of the Lord, focused on his kingdom. We're going to pour jet fuel on your walk with God, not put a wet towel on top of it. That doesn't mean we don't ostracize people. It just means we have categories of people. Jesus did it. Bible says he would not go when his brother said go. He had physical brothers, blood family on Mary's side, and his stepdad Joseph's kids. And they would say, you need to do this, you need to do that. And he would not do what they said because they did not believe in him. So he was always there to love and serve them. But until they came to faith in him, he was not at a place where he was willing to let them speak into his life. The Bible says he would not commit himself to them because he knew what was in them. So God bless you. I'm going to pray that God will turn you from a pig into a sheep. But I'm giving you my pearl. Does that make sense? This is not the fun part of the sermon, but this is the important life-changing part of the sermon. Who you listen to, you will be led by, and do not be misled, 1 Corinthians says. Bad company corrupts good character. In Jesus' name, we're going to be picky eaters

and selective listeners. We are not going to put anything into our heart, our body, or our emotions that is not going to point us towards the holiness that is true about us. If you need any question trying to clarify, I don't know, just remember, you belong to Jesus. I'm not one to tell you what tattoos to get or to get tattoos. But I am saying, I belong to Jesus, will be pretty good words to see every day, whether a sticky note on your mirror or a tattoo on your wrist because I belong to Jesus in Christ is true of you. And everything we do should run through the filter of, would Jesus, who owns me, want me to do this? If I borrowed your truck and someone said, hey, buy that truck, I'm not just going to sell it without checking with you first. Don't make any decisions with a possession that's not yours. You, who do you think you are? You belong to Jesus. And I want you to be warned as you go that to live this way, to live holy, oh, it's going to hurt. Things they never tell you, holiness hurts, right? You're going to start living this way. Someone's going to treat you or actually say to you, what do you think, you're holier than thou? Holy holier than thou? I don't want you to say it to them, but I give you permission in Jesus' name to think, I hope so.

I sure hope so. Because anybody who would say something like that, I hope, I hope so. I belong to Jesus. And me trying to follow him, you're jeering, you're pulling back, they're just winking at you, bro. If they say, holy, love him in Jesus' name, but I hope, I want to be holy. That's not an insult. In this world, it might be an insult to be like Jesus, but that's the greatest compliment you could give me, that you're noticing I'm trying to follow after him imperfectly. I don't want to be a prideful, arrogant prig about it all, but I want to follow Jesus. My dad, before he went to heaven, got his hips replaced, double hip replacement surgery, one after the other. And it was really hard for him. It was really hard for him, specifically, coming off of the pain medication. That's really hard. And he didn't taper it right. And. He had some agonizing days where he called me in a lot of discomfort. When it was all over, and the hips were functioning, the legs were functioning, he had this little window before the cancer showed up where he was so agile. He's like, I'm a new man, he would say.

And I said, but remember how hard it was? Remember the agony you were in? Was it worth it? And you know what he said to me? He said, Levi, I wish I'd done it sooner. I wish I'd done it sooner. He's talking about going through something so unpleasant. You, whatever it is that God's calling you to do this year, different, that's gonna hurt, that's gonna be painful, right, what do they say, nothing tastes like skinny, nothing tastes as good as skinny, right? Which is a way to say, whatever effort it takes to get to where God's calling you to go, you're gonna look back on it in his presence, and look, you're gonna say, I wish I'd done it sooner. It's about time. Father, would you help us to see us like you see us? I pray for my brothers and sisters. I pray, God, that you would help their identity to be formed on, not who they were, where they've been, what they've done, but who lives in them. And I know everything will change. If you would say, and this is not an all-scale, like I just want everyone to raise their hand, but if you would say you've heard the Holy Spirit who lives in you, and you would say, I wanna honor this silver, I wanna be a vessel of honor, special, I want this year to be special, because I realize I'm a special possession, I'm a royal priest at a holy nation.

If that's you I'm describing, can you just raise a hand up all across the church, church online, you could write there in the chat, I'm a special, I'm special, I'm special, I'm special. I wanna treat my life like it's special, this year to be special, thank you, Jesus. Thank you for crowning our years with goodness, and thank you that your paths are up with abundance. We pray your blessing. You can put your hands down, I wanna now invite anybody who's not trusted Christ for Savior, to be your Savior and Lord, to do so. You're like, man, Levi, I don't know, I've got a long way to go. No, no, you have to Jesus to go. You come to Christ, you don't get to good to get to God, you go to God to get to good. You watch him change you from the inside out. If you're here and you would say, I wanna give my life to Jesus, I want 2026 to be a brand new year with Jesus as King. I'm crowning him as my King in this moment, with the promise of life after death because of the cross, with the promise of forgiveness of sin, he rose from the dead, he died to save you, he rose to set you free from death. You can have the promise of eternal life, but you gotta trust him. So I'm gonna pray, and I want you to pray this prayer after me, no one's praying alone,

I'm asking the church to pray with us, all of us praying together. Say this, say dear God, thank you for dying to set me free. For rising from the dead. I'm sorry for my sins. I repent from them. I crown you as my King, my Savior and Lord. Help me to follow you. Thank you for new life, in Jesus name.