The Church of Eleven22 - It Shouldn't Have to Be This Difficult: Be Free - Wk 4

Episode Date: April 28, 2024

In Galatians 2:1-10, Paul emphasizes the lack of importance of gentiles conforming to Jewish traditions to follow Jesus. Likewise, Christians today often get caught up in the unnecessary traditions when it comes to how we practice our faith. We must remember to not judge or make it difficult for people to find a relationship with Jesus. Let the gospel be the most important thing! - The Church of Eleven22® is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. Eleven22 is led by Pastor Joby Martin and based in Jacksonville, Florida, with multiple campuses throughout Jacksonville and the surrounding areas. To find out more about how God is moving at Eleven22, go to CoE22.com

Amen and amen, amen. How are we doing, church? Good? You look great. If you got your Bibles, grab them, we're going to be in Galatians chapter 2. We're in this series teaching through. The Book of Galatians took us four weeks to get through chapter one. It's going to be fun, all right, dig in.

We are talking about freedom. It's the point of the Book of Galatians that Paul is dealing with this group of people called the Judaizers who have moved in and tried to add to the gospel. And if you add anything to the gospel, it corrupts all of the gospel. And it is not a bunch of laws that you obey. in order to stand right before God, but the gospel is a free gift from God because of His grace, purchase for you at the cross. And it is for freedom that we have been set free. And freedom is a word that has been redefined by the world. The world says freedom is you get to do what you

want. You follow somebody around that does whatever they want, whenever they want. They're the least free people on the planet. That's just true. And religious people are afraid of freedom because you can't control it. And the good news of the gospel is that Jesus has come to sin. us free. Chapter 2, verse 1, says then. So we've got to stop and talk about what happened. Because what he's talking about is in chapter 1, verse 11 to the end, verse 24, the apostle Paul is sharing a bit of his testimony, how he ended up being an ambassador for the gospel. And this idea that you've got to follow a bunch of rules in order to know who God is, that is the burden of the law that Paul used to live under. That Paul, according to Philippians chapter 3,

He says, my resume is better than your resume. He says that he was born in the right tribe. He was circumcised on the right day. He was the smartest of the smart. If righteousness made you right before God, then he could boast about all the right things that he had done. And so if you think you're good, Paul would say to you, I'm better than you. Like some of you think you're good because you've been to church for a long time.

Did you memorize many verses? Paul would be like adorable. I've memorized the entire Old Testament frontwards and backwards. So you know what this means? this is really good news for us. Even if you're good, you can be saved too. That's just true. And then on the other end of that, no matter how bad you've been, Paul would say,

Ann, I've been worse than you. There's no thing you could do that could out sin the grace of Jesus poured out for you at the cross. In fact, the Apostle Paul, what he was doing when he got saved is that he was trying to stamp out Christianity. He was opposed to the message of Jesus. And he wasn't just opposed to it philosophically. He was trying to systematically wipe out murder Christians.

He had gone to the bosses in Jerusalem and got some papers, and he was going to this place called Damascus because he was going to systematically wipe out Christians. He was a religious terrorist. So if you would walk up to Paul, and Paul would say, hey, salvation is for anyone who would believe. And you would say, Paul, I don't think you've understood what I've done. And Paul would say, have you been a religious terrorist and tried to systematically wipe Christians. And if you have in this room, I would love to introduce you to our safety and security

ministry, and we would minister to you from our prison campuses. No problem. But no matter what you're done, Paul is like, I'm worse than you. So, no matter how good you've been or bad you've been, I've got good news, the gospel applies to you. And so Paul's on his way to this place called Damascus. He's got the papers and the plans to go arrest and kill Christians. And on his way, the resurrected ascended Jesus Christ, shows up on the road to Damascus in the form of a bright light, thumps Paul off of his horse. At that point, his name is Saul of Tarsus, and he says, why do you persecute me? Now, who was Paul persecuting?

He was persecuting the church, but the church is the body of Christ, so to persecute the church is to persecute Jesus. And then Paul says, who are you, Lord? And in that moment, Jesus reveals himself to Paul, extends the grace that Jesus purchased for Paul and for you and for me at the cross extends it to him, adopts him into his family, changes his name from Saul of Tarsus to the Apostle Paul, and calls him into ministry. And then, this is pretty cool, he doesn't immediately put him into ministry. He sends him to Arabia for this kind of, it's hard to even explain, this supernatural Bible study

where Jesus reveals the gospel to Paul personally, which, by the way, oh, you know, you gifted kids on the first row. How many years did Jesus disciple the disciples? Three years. How many years did Jesus disciple the Apostle Paul in Arabia? Three years. He got the exact same training as all of the other apostles before he was sent out to go into ministry. And then he says in chapter one for about 15 days, he rolls into Jerusalem to let all the believers know that he has gone from team Pharisee to team Jesus. Now, I don't know if you've thought about this, but when he showed up for the first time at church, everybody wasn't super stoked because he used to kill Christians. You ever been one of those churches were like any visitors we have please stand up? And Saul of Tarsus is like who are like, oh no, all right?

And so they wouldn't let him in disciple group. And so Barnabas, who was like real friendly. So Barney comes along and he's like, no, no, no, no, no, he's one of us now. And so after he hifes the Apostle Peter and some of those guys for about 15 days, two weeks, then he goes back to where he was from and he just puts his nose down and he starts teaching the gospel. So that's all that has happened in chapter one. Then after 14 years, that's how long Paul has been serving where he lives, after 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. And here's why he went up. Verse two, I went up because of a revelation and set before them. These are like the hoity totoitys of the church. All right. He's going to call them the pillars in Acts 15. To set before them,

though privately before those who seemed influential the gospel that I proclaimed among the Gentiles. So Paul for 14 years has been preaching the gospel. He did a two-week stint in Jerusalem, but for the last 14 years, he's just been preaching the gospel. Now, what's happened? We've talked about this every week in Galatians. A group of people called the Judaizers are trying to add to the gospel. They're saying believing in Jesus is not enough. You've got to believe in Jesus, plus you've got to obey the mosaic law.

Plus, you've got to be circumcised. And Paul is like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, you don't add to the gospel. Because if you have to do anything to earn it, then you're ruining everything that Christ has purchased for you. And so, just in case you're new here, here's what the gospel is. When the Bible talks about the gospel, the gospel just means good news. It's good because it enters into bad places, and it's news because it actually happened. And the gospel starts this way, that you were created by God and for God.

You were an image bearer of God, and you were created to be in a right relationship with him. This is why, if you don't know him, even if you can accomplish everything this world offers, it still just can't scratch that eternal itch that you've got deep down in your soul. And you lay your head on the pillow at night and think, is this it? And the answer is, nope, this isn't it. You were created for so much more. You were created for a right relationship with God. And then, all the way back in Genesis chapter 3, sin entered the world.

And when sin entered the world, it broke everything. And not only did it dislocate our relationship with a holy and perfect God, but when sin enter the world, it held the door open for all of the bad things, all of the pain, all of the tragedy that you've ever endured. And sinful people cannot be in the presence of a holy and righteous God. And every single one of us, by nature and nurture, are sinners. wretched, crooked, and depraved sinners. And I know you're like, but wait a minute,

my kindergarten teacher told me that I was a cupcake and a snowflake and a skittal. All right, Skiddle. She was lying to you, okay? Because she's a liar. That's who she is. I mean, not only can we not keep the law of God, we can't even keep our own rules, right? And by the way, I've been using this example for 12 years now. anybody that does not believe that we are sinners by nature or nurture has never raised a little human being.

Anybody raised a toddler? Have you ever met a toddler that is full of the spirit? Love and joy and peace and patience. Has a toddler ever been like, Dad, you've probably had a hard day. Why don't you just sit down and take your load off? No. No.

They are crooked, precious, fearfully and wonderfully made little evil creatures that are trying to kill you. It's just true. Amen, Mama. I'm just telling you, man. They're like the seagulls out of Nemo, just going mine, mine, mine, mine. That's just who we are. And sin separates us from an almighty God, but God being rich in mercy because of his great love for you, not even because you're lovable, but because he is love. Sent his son, Jesus Christ, to make a way where there's no way, to do something for us that we could not do for ourselves. And so the second person of the Trinity, God the Son, puts on flesh, shows up on the scene, lives a point. perfect life accomplishes every promise and prophecy of the entire Old Testament, is tempted in every

way that we are and every single time submits to the will of the Father instead of the will of man. And he nails it. And then he goes to the cross by his own will in accordance with the will of the Father. And he not only dies for you, but he dies instead of you. And he pushes up on his nail-pier's feet and he says, to tell us die. It is finished. Paid in full that your sin debt and my sin debt has been paid in full by Christ's death on the cross. And then in the greatest deal ever offered to anybody ever, for anyone who would believe that when Jesus died on the cross, somehow that counted for me, then he takes our sin upon himself and makes the full payment and we get credit for his perfect righteous life.

Therefore, we stand back where original man was created to stand in a right standing with God. that is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not by anything that you've done, but it's a free grace gift. And so Paul lays out the gospel in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. Pay attention to this. Paul is a man under authority. Paul is a man under authority. Even though he's got this direct experience with Jesus showing up and downloading the gospel to him,

He still takes his marching orders from the Lord and lays them before the people that are in charge the authorities in the Church of Jerusalem. You see, in our culture today, man, we've got some authority problems. And one of the things that I would say to you is why in the world would you ever expect God to give you any measure of authority if you've never learned to live under the authority that God has already put in place? Listen, I mean, if you look at Matthew chapter 16 where Jesus says, so who to people? people say that I am, and they're like, I, you know, they kind of give all these weird answers, like a religious teacher, maybe reincarnated, John the Baptist, we're not sure. And then he says, but who do you say that I am? And who's going to talk first and most, Peter?

And Peter, you know, even a blind squirrel founds an acorn every once in a while. And so Peter says, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus is like, winter, winter, chicken dinner. This has not come from you. This was revealed to you by my father. And then he says, I'm going to change your name to Rocky. And upon this rock, the public declaration that I am who you say am, the Christ, the Son of a living God.

Upon the preaching of the gospel, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And then right after that, he says, and Peter, I'm about to give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. That's some serious authority. And you're going to bind some stuff on earth. It's going to be bound forever. You're going to lose some stuff on earth. It's going to be loose forever. But he was not given that authority until Peter declared that he lived under the authority of Jesus Christ.

Listen, one of the reasons that we get to sit in the blessing that we get to sit in at 1122 is because by God's grace, when Gretchen and I moved here in 2003, I was put under the authority of my pastor, Pastor Jerry Sweat. The best Christian I've ever met in my life. I'm just telling you, man. That brother wakes up, reads this Bible and acts like it all day. He's the best Christian I've ever met. that includes all of you Christians that I know. Just think about that, okay?

And we got to a place where he leveraged his authority and said, I think you should plant a church. And he laid his hand a blessing on me and our team and this whole movement. And I'm just, I don't know how to explain it, but something happens in the supernatural where God's blessing flows through authority. And we are getting to sit in the benefit of that because of the blessing of the authorities that he put over us. And so that's what Paul does, man.

Paul lays this before the apostles. And he keeps going. So he lays out the gospel. Now remember, the question that they're dealing with is, do you have to be circumcised in order to be saved? Verse three, but even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.

Yet, because of false brothers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus so that they might bring us into slavery. Listen, Galatians are going to use the word slavery a lot. If you've ever heard people say, well, the Bible condone slavery. You've got to read the Bible.

It's not what it says. First Timothy chapter 1 says, anybody that steals and sells people is an abomination. This word is due loss. This was like a bond servant. Don't think transatlantic slavery that happened was an atrocity in the Americas.

That's not what we're talking about here. These people would be bond servants. They would sell themselves into a servitude that they could get out of whenever they paid their debt. That's what would happen. And it wasn't race-based. And it wasn't people weren't held by force. That's not how it worked. And here's what he's saying.

He goes, you dummies? What are you doing? You were a slave to your own sin and flesh. And then Jesus came and set you free. So why in the world now would you be a slave to religious laws that can't save you? See, the reality is that every single one of us will be mastered by something. But when you are mastered by Jesus Christ, when you surrender your life to him, that's where you find freedom. And freedom is not a freedom to sin.

Freedom is a freedom from sin, from the penalty of sin, from the power of sin, and one day from the presence of sin. And the reason that we walk in obedience to Christ, his ways are better than our ways. God's law is a gift to us because it reveals his character, and when you live in line with the way the creator created you, it just goes better. So he keeps going. He says, to them, to the Judaizers, we did not yield in submission even for a moment

so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. Listen, sometimes, especially in churches, people say, hey, can't you just go along to get along? Not when it comes to the gospel. not when it comes to the gospel. There are some things. There are secondary issues that aren't worth fighting over, and then there are some things that if you jack around with them,

it's not the gospel anymore. And so, again, religious people are terrified of the gospel of grace, because then you have no control, and you can't conform people to your measure of morality. But the gospel sets people free to be who they are in Christ Jesus, and the law cannot save us. The law cannot save us. The law can only diagnose the disease, and the only cure is Jesus.

Verse six. And from those who seemed to be influential, and then in parentheses, what they were makes no difference to me. This is last week's sermon. Why does it make no difference to him? Because he says, am I now still trying to win the approval or of God? Am I trying to win the approval of man or of God? And he's like, so, you know, the people that have name badge, at the church, I don't care who they are,

that I care what God thinks. He goes on and says, God shows no partiality. Those I say who seen influential added nothing to me. In other words, he's not saying he didn't learn anything. What he's saying is,

I laid down the gospel before them, and they confirmed that I was preaching the whole gospel. I think this is actually a shot at the Judaizers, because the Judaizers would show up from Jerusalem, and they were like, we're from corporate. And Paul's like,

I don't care where are you from. I've been hanging out with Jesus for three years teaching the gospel, and I'm going to stick to the gospel. Because honestly, on the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised. Notice, there's just the gospel. The way you present it to a different group of people may matter, may be different a little bit in the way it's presented, but there's just the gospel. There's not one gospel to this group of people and another gospel to another group of people.

Verse eight, for he who worked through Peter, for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised, worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles. Paul is saying, we've got the same spirit. The same spirit that filled the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost has filled me to do my ministry too. And when James and Seiface and John, Seiface is just the Aramaic name for Peter, and when James and Seaf and John, who seem to be pillars, these are really big deals, these are the dudes when they walk into the meeting, everybody's like, oh, everybody sit up straight, the

bosses are here. And when they perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, and we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcise. Only they asked us to remember the poor of the very thing I was eager to do. So here's what they're saying. Paul brings the gospel to the pillars, Peter James and John, and says, this is what I've been teaching for 14 years. And the gospel is not that you've got to do something in order be saved. It is a gift to be received. Jesus is not my partner in salvation that he gets me most of the way there and then my right activity gets me the rest of the way there. That's not it at all. And so Peter James and John, high five him and they say that's absolutely right. But when you surrender

your life to the Lordship of Christ, you don't neglect the responsibility that God has given you as a kingdom ambassador. You gladly adopt it and then you try to push back darkness by pushing the kingdom forward. That's what they're talking about at the end. Now, One of my favorite things about the Bible. I hope you love the Bible like I love the Bible. I've told you this for a long time. The best way to do Bible study is always allow the Bible to be commentary unto itself. Because there's multiple different writers, all inspired by the same Spirit of God,

and they're all teaching the same thing. And one of the things that we know is the apostle or the gospel writer Luke. He writes Luke and Acts. And if you'll back up to Acts chapter 15, he records a Jerusalem. what's called the Jerusalem Council, and they are dealing in Jerusalem with the exact thing the Apostle Paul is talking about in Galatia. And so in Acts chapter 14 and 50, and I want you to take a look at it. I'm going to start in Acts 1421. It says this, they, that's the Apostle Paul, and he's got a couple of missionary buddies with him. It says they preach the gospel in that city,

and they want a large number of disciples. And then they returned to Lisher and Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. Then he says, we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. And they said, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church. And with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord in whom they had put their trust. So this is what Paul has been doing for 14 years. He moves into a town, preaches the gospel, people get saved, he raises up elders, appoints them, and then starts the church and then goes to the next town.

Why? because that's what gospel people do. The plan of God to accomplish the Great Commission is the local church. The churches plant churches that plant churches. The disciples make disciples that make disciples. And so you'll know that we, you through the 10-10 life, by the end of the 10-10 life, we will have partnered to plant over 700 churches all over the world. Why?

Because this is what gospel people do. You share the gospel, people get saved, you raise up leaders, you put people in charge, you get a church going, and then you do it again and again and again. We didn't make this up. It's been happening since Acts 14. Verse 24, and after going through Poseidia, they came to Pamphalia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Atalia. From Atalia, they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace

of God for the work. They had now completed. And on arriving there, they gathered the church together, and they reported all that God had done through them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. They just, they glorify God by sharing testimonies of the lives that have been changed to the gospel. By the way, this is why Beach Baptism makes such a big difference next weekend. It's why you should go. Do you know what's going to happen?

I'm hoping more than a thousand people give that kind of testimony. I'm hoping more a thousand people say these words, Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. And then we get to watch an astonishment and give God the glory because it's the gospel that continues to save people. amen, that's what they're doing there over and over and over. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples. So this is happening. A bunch of Gentiles, and it means people that did not grow up in their religious system. They're getting saved.

Verse 15. But some men came down from Judea and they were teaching the brothers unless you were circumcised according to the custom of Moses. You cannot be saved. This is the same thing that's happening in Galatia. Now, theologians kind of argue about what happened first, the meeting. in Acts 15 or the letter of Galatians. It's right in the same time period. But they're obviously talking about the same issue. And after Paul and Barnabas, check this out, had no small dissension

and debate with them. In case you're new to Greek, when it says no small dissension, that means they had a big dissension. Some things that were fighting for, especially when you're fighting for the gospel with church people. Because what can happen in every organization, particularly churches and religious organizations, when they get bigger and bigger and bigger and they get more complex and they get older, they tend to get highly focused on themselves and they want more and more and more control and more rules and more policies. I hate a policy.

I'm just going to tell you. You know what a policy is? A policy is scar tissue for some leader didn't make the right decision. You can jot that down, leaders. That's what that is. and more churches die because of that. Because when it started, man, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, right? But then leaders and high control people invest a lot and they're scared and fear leads to control.

And now you're trying to control everything. And you know what you can't control? The Spirit of God. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. You know where the Spirit of the Lord is? Where he's wanted. And we want him in this place. And it is worth the fight.

It is worth the fight to constantly stay focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now listen, man, they had no small dissension and debate with them. I've had some people be like, hey, why you've got to be so intense? Because this is intense. This is the most intense thing you will ever deal with in your whole life. I'm telling you, whatever you think is most important, is it even close to the most important thing? I know you think this November is the most important thing ever.

In 10,000 years, it won't even matter. I'm just telling you. I'm not saying it's not important. I'm just saying in regards to eternity, it ain't even close. Some of you think, like, where your house is and where your kid goes to school, I'm not saying it's not important. It is just this important as compared to the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some of you think that what your stocks are doing is the most important.

Every time you look at whether that line is going up or down, I need you to put you there. If you don't know Jesus, you're going to be like your crappy stock. to tanks and going to hell. That's important. And if you do, you're going to live with him forever. Where your kid goes to college, it's important. It's not the most important.

Some of you spend more time, effort, and energy where your kids are going to spend the next four years than where they're going to spend eternity? What are you doing, man? That's why I'm intense. You should be more intense. I mean, I had a guy. He was like, hey, man, just lighten up.

A preacher told me to light. What? I don't even know what you're talking about. Lighten up. Bro, you don't get this right? The Lord's going to light you. up in hell forever. You understand what I'm saying? This matters. Paul didn't lighten up. Now, he didn't yell in everybody. It depended on who he was talking to. When he talked to the

Jewish people that had the Bible, I mean, you know, they were born on third base thinking they hit a triple. And he was like, how come you can't get home, man? What's wrong with you? He'd wear him out. But then sometimes he'd be talking to some pagan people, like he'd been Morris Hill, it's this town in Greece. And he would just start where they are. He was like, man, I checked out all your statues and you're a smart people and I see that you've got one statue to an unknown God and that's where he started. He was like Buddy the Elf at Christmas. He's like, I know him. They're like, what? He's like, yeah. The statue to the unknown God, I've met him personally. And he started there and quoted some of their pagan philosophy and poetry and led those people to

Jesus. But this matters. The gospel's worth fighting for. A especially fighting religious people, especially fighting church people to preserve the gospel. And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and the elders about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both. Fidisha and Samaria describing in detail the conversations of the Gentiles and brought great joy to all the brothers.

Paul is pumped because people far from God are getting saved. The religious people aren't pumped because they're like the salvation police. Listen, man, if people coming to Christ doesn't get you excited, you might want to check what team you play for. Because it might not be team Jesus. It's just true, man. But you remember in the gospels, Jesus is healing people. He's walking through Jerusalem and he walks by the pool of Betheson. There's his dude laying on a mat and he's crippled.

He's been there for 38 years. Remember, Jesus walks up to the dude, is like, hey man, do you want to be healed? And what does the dude? He's, he's like, oh my God, it's not my fault. It's not my fault. This is, thank goodness, I'm not the Savior because that dude would still be crippled. I'd be like, fine, you want to be healed? I'd be handing out healings like Oprah giving out cars, and you get a healing and you get a healing and you get a healing.

What about me? You had your chance, bro, but that's not what Jesus does. He's full of grace and heals the brother. And then he says, take up your mat and follow me. And the guy picks up his nasty mat. And what do the religious people do? You weren't supposed to carry your mat because he did it on the wrong day. The gospel writer sees a miracle.

The religious people see a mat. What do you see when God changes somebody's life? Because I'll get questions next week about Beach Baptism. All these people call me and they'll be like, well, how do you know all those people actually are saved? What are you talking about, man? I'll tell you what. If you happen to make it to heaven, which it doesn't look like you're going to right now, but if you happen to, I'll introduce you to them.

You wanted to be saved, right? We want to celebrate every single time somebody moves towards the good shepherd saying, come on and follow me. We want to get in the business where we don't judge first, man. We celebrate. So it brought great joy to all the brothers that people were getting saved. And when they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders. And they declared all that God had done with them.

They were just celebrating God via testimony. but some believers who belong to the party of the Pharisees to make you go, what? All through the Gospels, the Pharisees were like anti-Jesus. Now you got some people in the church that are Pharisees. What happened? Hey, listen, if you grew up in church, I got good news. Even you could be saved.

It's harder because you think you already are, but that's fine. But here's what happened. How did the Pharisees come to faith in Christ? It wasn't the sermon on the mount. It wasn't the story about the kid that went off and fed the pigs and came home. Uh-uh. there was a dead man named Jesus who he claimed to be God, died on a cross, was doorknob dead in Jerusalem. And then three days later, he's walking around alive.

And the Pharisees is like, all right, we're switching teams. We're with him, man. Because if you can predict your own death and resurrection and pull it off, then these people put their faith in Jesus. But they're dragging some religious baggage into the church. It says, but some believers who belong to the party of the Pharisees rose up and says, it is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses. This is no gospel. They're saying it's not enough to believe in Jesus.

You've got to believe in Jesus plus you've got to do some stuff. And I'm telling you, when it comes to your faith, Jesus plus anything ruins everything. It's not mostly him and some of you. So that's what they're saying. Verse six, the apostles and the elders gather to. together to consider this matter. This is a classic church move. This is a classic church move that churches will do this man. Get together and vote on whether God can do what he's already been doing. I mean, God's been already been saving people all over the place. And now the church leaders

are going to get together and vote on whether they can do this or not. Again, man, churches can get very, very complex. I mean, over and over, Peter and Paul have been leading uncircumcised Gentiles to Christ and they've been getting saved and they've been filled with the Holy Spirit. And again, the reason I'm preaching this 1122, so far we're doing pretty good, but this is a warning to us that we would never make what is simple and clear faith in Jesus and get real, real complex, that we would never take our eyes off that we're a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ and just everybody turn in here and get focused on us. So here's the meeting.

verse seven and after there had been much debate Peter stood up of course he's going to talk first right three people are going to are going to speak into this debate one is going to answer theologically one is going to answer experientially and one is going to answer philosophically and again the debate they're having is do you have to become like us in order to believe like us like is there a set of man-made rules and regulations that you have to check off in order for what

Christ doing on the cross to count for you. That's what they're saying. And so here's what Peter says. And now this is really big because they're particularly talking about circumcision. So you've got to understand. There's a bunch of men back to the church of Antioch awaiting the decision. They're like, are we going to just be onliners or are we going to actually join the church? You know what I'm saying? Do we have scheduled surgery or not? Can we just believe? So after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and here's what Peter says. Brothers, you know that in the early days, God made a choice among you that by my mouth, the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. He's talking about Acts 10, because Peter was a little

waffly on this too. At first, I mean, in Acts 1-8, Jesus tells Peter and the boys, and you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. That includes the Gentiles. And they were like, we'll just stay here in Jerusalem. And Peter was trying to obey the rules, man. And he had this weird mix of, like, racism. We'll talk about that next week about Peter getting called out. He had this weird mix of, like, racism against the Gentiles

and, like, religious elitism. And he was like, I ain't going in a Gentile house. And I ain't eating Gentile food. I'm not doing that stuff. Everybody knows that stuff's unclean. And then he goes into this trance in Acts 10, and God, like, lowers this sheet, and on the sheet are all different kinds of foods

that previously had been called unclean. They were like reptiles and ducks and geese and bacon-wrapped fillets, cook medium rare, and all the things you weren't supposed to eat, like pickle pig feet and, you know, whatever. And then God says, don't call anything unclean that I have said that it's clean. And then we get one of the greatest verses,

like a life verse for me in Acts 1013, and it says, rise up, kill, and eat. Amen. Okay? And I know, man, sometimes we get a few people. I got an email last week, don't you love animals? Uh-huh, grilled, just like,

like Acts 1013 says they start to look now and if you're like well I don't eat that it's obvious man we can tell you should probably have a hamburger all right you need some son too that's a different message and then but Peter's like oh don't call unclean what you have called clean you're not just talking about food are you you're talking about people and God's like right there is no image bearer of me that because of the category of people they are in they are unclean that this gospel is a movement for all people. So then he tells him, so go to Cornelius's house. Cornelius is a Gentile. And he rolls in there and shares the gospel with Cornelius and Cornelius gets filled with the spirit and he's speaking in tongues like they did in Acts 2. And Peter's like, I can't believe this.

So that's what he's talking about. He's like, brothers, you know that in the early days, God made a choice among you that by my mouth the Gentile should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God who knows the heart bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us and he made no distinction between us and them having cleansed their heart by faith. Peter is saying this movement of the gospel is a movement for all people. It's what he's say. Now therefore, why are you putting God to the test? Literally in Greek, that is, why are you opposing God? Like God looked down at sinful man and because of his great love for them, he didn't just make a way. He sent Jesus to be the way. And then you're coming along with your religious rules

and you're setting up roadblocks between God and people who he's trying to draw onto himself. Whose team are you on? Why are you putting God to the test? By placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear, you say they have to keep the law? Can you keep the law?

That's what he's saying. Because if you think keeping the law is going to save you, you've got to keep all of them all the time, past, present, and future. James 2.10 says it this way, for whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of it all. Verse 11. He says, but we believe that we will be saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus just as they will. That's the gospel. It is by grace that we are saved through faith, period, add nothing to it. First 12. And the assembly fell silent.

Just mic drop. Boom. Next up. And all the assembly fell silent and they listened to Barnabas and Paul. Barnabas and Paul are going to share their experience. And they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. Verse 13. And after they finished speaking, James replied.

Now here's what you got to understand. When James stands up, he's the dude. And everybody's like, that's the brother. I mean, think about it. You want to know some stuff about Mary? Ask James. He grew up in our house, all right? And I don't mean like spiritual brother.

This is like the literal brother of Jesus, which, by the way, I've got to bring this up James because I know we've got some skeptics in the house, all right? James was the brother of Jesus and then believed that his brother was God. At first, he didn't believe that. Like early in Jesus' ministry, James and his brothers and sisters, they're trying to get Jesus a baker active.

They show, they're like, this man, it's crazy. Cravee, you can read about it. Later, in his life, he trusts that his brother is also his Savior. What happened? Jesus came out of the grave. That's what happened. He met his resurrected brother, who is the Savior. Now, listen, man, just put it in context because I know some of you are still a little bit skeptical.

All right? Anybody got a brother? I got a brother. Anybody else, brothers? Good. What would it take for your brother to convince you? you he's God. Like my brother's probably at our St. John's campus right now. He's a great dude. He's a deacon at our church. But if he came to me and was like, behold, I'm the son

of God. I'm like, you're the son of something, but you ain't God because I grew up with you, son, and you can't be the savior and do the shady stuff we did in Dillon. You would be disqualified. And James believes his brother is who he says he is. And so James stands up. He says, brothers, listen to me, he's going to answer biblically, philosophically. He says, Simon has related how God first visited to Gentiles to take from them a people for his name. I love that line right there. That God is going to take from every tribe, tongue, and nation a people for his name. There's no tryouts, man. This ain't the voice and you try out, and maybe you get in, maybe you don't, depending on how good you are. No, no, no, no. This is Red Rover, Red Rover. You send my children right over.

That's what he's going to do from every tribe, from every tongue, for every nation. And that's why the church ought to look like what heaven's going to look like, right? For every part of our city, and every people group, all the things. And then he's going to quote the Bible. He says, and with this, the words of the prophet agree, just as this is written. What James is going to say is we are not going to look at the scriptures through the lens of our experience. We're going to look at our experience through the lens of the scripture. The scripture has authority.

And he's going, you dummies, it's been in the Bible. the whole time. Look what Amos said in Abis 9, 11, and 12. This is what he quotes. After this, I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen. I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it. That the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from old. And so, James is saying, hey, man, we have been here to be a conduit of the grace of God to the Gentiles from the very beginning. Verse 19. Therefore, so James says, based on what the Bible says, therefore, my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God. Like, why are you making trouble

for what God is trying to accomplish? And you can't just think Gentiles like people born not Jew, people that did not grow up in that religious establishment. God is reaching out to those people and drawing them unto himself. Why are you trying to hinder that is what he's saying? the way the new international version translates it is this. I love this. James says, it is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult

for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 1122, why in the world would we make it difficult for people that are turning to God? Why in the world did some churches make it difficult for people that are turning to God? I mean, we're all supposed to be like on the welcome team. Come on in. And a bunch of people are like, bouncer, let me see your idea.

It's very different. Very different. I think a lot of, some people do it from like really, from really bad motives. And some people just do it very unintentionally because they just forget, man. They just forget. And they just get focused on their little forward and no more. And they just don't, they forget that we're here to try to be a conduit of the grace of God. I've told you before, I didn't really grow up in church.

So there was a bunch of church things that I thought are very, very strange, you know. And then I go to camp. And I've never been treated like that, never been loved like that. They put things on the bottom shelf, so a bunch of little kids and Dylan, we could understand much of teenagers. Like, we could understand it. And I met Jesus. And then when I got home, I tried to find a church.

I was at a Baptist camp, so I went to a Baptist church. And I remember thinking, is there like two Jesus? Is that like Camp Jesus and Church Jesus? Because this don't seem like the same guy. I mean, they were just talking about all the things you can't do. You ever had that kind of experience? or you go to a church, let me tell you, I'm going to tell you some things that can make it difficult for those who are turning to God. When a church gets so focused on its traditions, it forgets about glorifying God by sharing the gospel with people that don't know Jesus yet.

And listen, man, there's nothing wrong with church traditions as long as you grew up in that tradition. Like, it's fine. Like, if you know when to stand up, when to sit down and when to sing and when to do the hokey, fog, it would do the thing, then you know. It's great. It's what we do. But when you don't know the things, like I started going to Baptist Church, and they have their own thing, right? And just out of nowhere, nobody called an audible, bro.

Just you all bust up and doxology. Here it goes. Praise God from hope. That's low. You got to sing as low as you can. I don't know why, but you do. And you've got to draw out that one part. Blessings flow.

Why is that part so long? Nobody knew. I think the first God dozed off. blessings flow praise God and they're like yep that's how you do it and that's what they did man okay

now again is there anything wrong with being a baby? No absolutely not that's not what we're saying you're just saying you got to pay attention if you're just doing this thing to take care of the people who are already in

how about this? You ever go to a tradition that's like really really traditional and maybe they didn't even want you to go I mean again I got saved in high school at camp and then I go to church with one of my buddies and it was a different denomination man totally different denomination,

that believe some different things. And it was like a, and there was nobody to tell you what's coming. Like we're just sitting, everybody stands up, so I'm, okay, let's do this. And then we sing, and then you sit down. And then when they start to move again, boom, I go up, everybody kneels.

And I'm like, sweet, I'm new. First time. You're just off, man. Then at one point, we're going to pass the peace. You ever done that? Well, I wouldn't listen to what they were saying. Everybody stands up, and the guy over here next to me says,

peace to be with you. Well, I didn't hear what he says. So it's like, pretty good. How about you? And he was like, you didn't say the right thing, man. Oh, I didn't know the code. Then, then we lined up for communion.

And I thought, I'm in. I love Jesus. Yes, I do. I love Jesus. How about you? I asked him into my heart at camp. Pretty sure he came in. So I get to do communion.

So I line up for communion, and I'm looking to like what's happening. And I get to the front. This dude's all dressed up in his stuff, man. And he asked me the code word. He asked me, it's like a secret phrase. And I didn't know the code word. I didn't say the right word.

And he was like, are you one of us? I'm Baptist. And he looked at me and said, you should not have come. Well, guess what? I ain't ever coming here again in my whole life. I was like, I didn't want to drink out of your cup anyway because the guy before me had a slobber bridge

all the way out of the same cup, man. I'm telling you, I'm saved by grace. I don't need a, you know, slobber juice on me. That's fine. Just straight up. So here, 1122, if we're not careful, man, we can become like we can just keep doing the same thing over and over over and forget.

There's some people that don't know what's going on. So a part of what we try to do here is explain what we're doing. Like we're like, all right, everybody's stand up. We're going to sing. Why does God in? Is he like a big karaoke fan? Is that what's going on?

No, no, no, no. We make much of him because he's worth it. That's what worship is. And we'll say, hey, man, lift your hands in the sanctuary. Why? First and foremost, because he said it. It'd be good if you do what he says. But also, you know what it means to lift your hands?

You know how you lift your hands? Victory. When you win, you lift your hands. And listen, I'm telling you, since Dougie P came to town, we get to do this a lot more at the Jag Stadium. Let's go, right? You know why I'll should lift your hands? Remember when you were a little kid and you wanted your mom or dad to hold you?

Like, I need you. And you get here in worship, you're like, I need you. That's what it is. When you were in school, if you knew the answer, you'd lift your hands. How many of you know Jesus is the answer? So we sing, we'll lift our hands. Now, some of you know this real well. Sometimes you go, all right, you got me.

I surrender. And you're welcome here. I'm glad you're here. And that's what it is. And then we said, and somebody comes up here. It's like, all right, everybody gets the Bible. We're going to teach the Bible. It's just what we do.

We're going to teach the Bible. And I don't try to teach sermon. that impress my dead seminary professors. I don't care. I just try to teach it in such a way that we can all discover and deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ. And then at the end we respond.

Hey, we'll sing, we'll go bring, we'll go come and pray. And we just try to put handles on this thing because we don't want to be a hindrance to you turning to the Lord. We are here so that you can turn to the Lord. It's what we're for. One of the things that keeps people,

it makes it difficult for people coming to the Lord, Is you ever go to a church And it just seems completely irrelevant? You're like, what are we doing? Everything you say may be true about kings from 3,000 years ago, but I don't know what we're talking about here. You see, I don't have time to waste on just impressing you with history.

This is the living, active word of God. And honestly, man, only the spirit of God can teach you the Bible. You realize this? That I'm an expository preacher. So I can expose you to some things in the Bible, but only the Spirit of God can expose the Word of God to you. So anytime anything goes good here, it's because the Spirit of God is the real preacher. I've told you this a million times.

My sermons are moderately delivered and exceptionally received. But this is, you know what is applicable to your life? The gospel? The truth of the Word of God, you need it more than you even know. And so that's what we do here. Or how about this? Some of you that maybe grew up in church and took a little hiatus, because when you were a kid or a student trying to go to church.

You'd rather go to after-school detention. You know? And so here, in our student and kids' ministry, in a babysitting, that we make disciples that make disciples with our kids and with our students, and we have an incredible staff that is teaching it at a level where our students and our kids can be engaged, because why in the world will we make it difficult for elementary age kids and middle school kids and high school kids who want to come to the Lord? Here's a big one that is crazy in my mind.

Sometimes dress codes can make it difficult for those that want to come to the Lord. I mean, I can remember this when I was in college. I'd leave one of my fraternity brothers to Christ and then I'd invite them to church and they would say, well, I can't. I don't have church clothes. Do you think for a minute when Jesus was on the cross, he was like, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do and may they wear pleaded khakis till my return? What are we even talking about here, man? dress codes. That's why we just wear normal clothes here.

I mean, it's just your basic Christian modesty. That's it. And even then, we don't happen to police, obviously. So, I'm kidding. You're fine. Oh, man. Listen, right when I got out of seminary, I get hired at this church. Great church, great pastor.

And the guy's like, hey, you know, as you come on staff, what's your robe size? I was like, what? I'm more of a towel guy, but if you want to get me a robe, that's fine. He's like, no, on the first Sunday of every month, we wear robes. I was like, why? I don't know. They were just doing it when I got here. We're still doing it.

I was like, this is crazy. Robs. All right. So, I, dude, I felt like Harry Potter up there. It was the weirdest thing in the world. I just wanted, shab-dib-dib-dib-de-bed. I thought, I was cast and spail. I couldn't worship.

My friends from the dream was like, why do you make you wear a dress? I'm like, I don't know, man, that's terrible. Do you know how robes started at church? It was actually for the unity of the church. Because the church was moving to a community and to reach all kind of people. And so there would be like businessmen coming to church on a Sunday morning and people like fresh off the plow and they didn't want people to feel different. So they gave everybody a robe so everybody would be the same at the foot of the cross. And then over time, only the man of God got a robe and a hat and a smoke thing and a wand.

You know, it's all the things, man. And then people just start making it. And again, if you grew up in that tradition, it makes a ton of sense. If you don't, people are like, why you dress like a wizard? I don't know. Just because it's silly. Sometimes it's just dates and distance. You know why we do a Thursday night service and two on Sunday?

If you're going for the weekend, you come on Thursday night. Or some of you live a long way away. People used to drive from two hours, two and a half hours from Jessup. So we just put a campus there. The reason we put campuses everywhere that we can is simply this. Why will we make it difficult for those who are turning to the Lord? Some of you are watching online from all over the place. Here's what we have decided.

If you can get the internet cord to your house and you can, and you say, will you disciple me, The answer from the Church of 1122 is yes, we will. Yes, we will. Why? Because we don't want to make it difficult. So we launch campuses, we expand rooms, we keep going. Another thing that makes it difficult is we run out of room. It's hard to hear the good news of the gospel when you don't have a seat and can't get inside.

So we're going to do whatever it takes, man, whatever it takes. Why? Because God did whatever it takes to draw us unto himself. He sent his son, Jesus Christ. Now, here's a really big one. You know what one thing that makes it difficult for people coming to the Lord? The judgmentalism of the church. I mean, I know, man.

There's been some of you that walked into a church and they said, you should not have come because of whatever reason. Like if you've ever been told because you're in this category of people, you don't get to come here. So listen, man, if you're divorced, if you're a drug addict, whether you have a drug problem like your parents drugged to church every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, or it's like heroin, whatever, man. No matter who you are, you are welcome in this place.

because we're a movement for all people to discover a deep in a relationship with Jesus. Listen, last Sunday, I met this girl at front. So I go to the lobby at the end of the services. And listen, I've been deeply scarred in my past. Some of you that have been around, you know my experience with the girl named Sunshine and how I took this girl to church and that church told me, those people aren't welcome here. And I thought, well, if I ever get to be in charge of one of these things,

then all people will be welcome here. And so I'm standing in line last week, or I'm standing there meeting people and shaking hands and praying with people doing all things. And I look back in the line and about six or eight people back, there's this young girl, like 20-something-year-old girl.

Lovely girl. She looks terrified. She just had that look like she doesn't wait in line to talk to the preacher very much, right? Terrified. And she gets up front and she starts telling me her story.

She'd move here from the left coast, you know, so that's dangerous. And if you're from the left coast, welcome. We love you. We're so glad you're here. And so, but there's a reason you left. so just remember that. So anyway.

And here's what she said. She's going through it. And the lobby is not necessarily the greatest place to share all the details of your testimony. You know what I'm saying? And I ain't even asking, man. But she's trembling. And she shared just a little bit. She's going through it.

And she said, I know I need God. And I think he's at church. So I showed up here. It's like her second or third week. And here's what she said. She's like, I was terrified for two things. I didn't know what to wear. And I didn't know if I'd be excited.

How terrible is that? That the church has been so judging for so long that a person far from God that says, you know what I need? I need God. I think he's a church. And that would be, I'm very glad to say that she goes on to say, I've never been loved like this, I've never been accepted like this, I've never been treated like this in my entire life. And I got to stand next to this girl and point up to the lobby.

And I say, hey, you see that big sign up there, says that we're a movement for all. all people to discover a deep in relationship of Jesus Christ? That's me and you. Me and you are part of that. All people. And Jesus came for all people. So we will do whatever it takes to reach all people with the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we will never be the kind of church that makes it difficult for those who are coming to the Lord.

And here's why. You know who? One of my favorite passages is in Mark chapter 2. There's this man and he's crippled on a mat, but he's got four boys, four friends. and they pick that dude up, each one of grabs a corner, and they hear that Jesus is teaching in a house in Copernium. And they're just thinking, if we could just get our friend in the presence of Jesus, Jesus could change everything.

And then they get there and there's no room. But they don't let that stop them. They climb up on the top and they tear a hole in the roof so that they can get their friend to Jesus. They do whatever it takes. And then Jesus not only heals the man but forgives him his sins. Let me tell you who loves a growing church. Let me tell you people who love a church that's willing to do whatever it takes, spend whatever money it costs,

a church that's willing to make all the people that already have a seat really uncomfortable so some other people can get into the presence of Jesus, people that have been on that mat. Or especially if you've got a loved one, if you've got a son or a daughter and he's crippled on a mat, maybe physically, but maybe emotionally, maybe spiritually, you got a prodigal son, you got a husband, a cousin, a coworker, a friend, somebody that you love dearly, and you know that at your church, if you could just get these people into the presence of God,

and you know that the presence of God is at your church because you're lifting them up and worshiping Word, and you don't know how to explain it, but you can't deny it. When you show up in this place, the Spirit of God is here, and you're just thinking, if I could just get you into the presence of God, he could change everything because he is the only answer. the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Church of 1122, may we always be the kind of church that is willing to tear off the roof and do whatever it takes to not hinder people far from God that want to come to know him. And listen, man, if you have ever been beaten up battered and bruised by another church or some religious people, I am so sorry. I think the word church

church might get thrown around a little bit too much, but there is some legitimate abuse that has happened and I want you to hear as an ambassador for Jesus himself you are welcome in this place we love you we're going to teach the Bible if it offends you sweet it offends me all the time no problem but we love you and we just want you to meet him meet him and he can change everything we just stay and let me pray for you our good and gracious heavenly Father God we love you more than anything would you please protect us from us? Oh, we're a big old church with campuses and all the things.

God, may we always just keep it really, really simple, just focused on you. Maybe just love God and love people. Preach the gospel and war against the complexities that would tangle us up and take our eyes off anything but the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. God, for any man, woman, student in this place that has been beaten up because of a negative experience with religious people. Spirit of God, I pray that you would pour yourself out on them and you would minister to them deep in their soul and that you would use them as an ambassador of your grace to other people one day, that you would never, ever, ever waste that pain.

God, I thank you for this place. And God, we give you all the glory because you're the only one that deserves it, because there's one name, one and only name under heaven whereby we must be save the good strong name of Jesus and we pray it in his name amen church we respond to the gospel we respond to the gospel we're going to lift our voices we're just going to say i'm going to make room for you i'm not going to let traditions and religion bog me down i just want to be with you we're going to bring our tides and offerings we leverage every single bit of it to do everything we talked about today to not make it difficult for those who are coming to the lord and we pray some of you just need to come and pray because you've been beat up this is a safe place

for you to lean into Jesus. Next week is a great time to bring your one more. Okay? You never know. They might walk out of here, go to the beach, and get baptized all in one day. And this would be a great opportunity for you to come and beg God that you would be the kind of person that he uses to bring people into himself. Let's sing, let's bring, let's pray.

Let's respond.