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What a kick. Good morning. I lost in that. How many of you were here last week? Raise your hands. Very good. How many of you were not here last week? Raise your hands. Wow, you are all here and all not here. That was amazing. Well, I want to just encourage you. I'm going to open up a little bit of a quick review, but if you have a Bible, I want to encourage you to open a Matthew chapter 23. I'm going to share a parable from Luke chapter 18, but we'll get into that. Last week we basically looked at the first of two parables, this concept of if we're approaching God through religion, it's never going to be enough. But in a relationship, that's where the fullness comes from. And last week I shared that this week I'm going to share one four-letter word that has literally transformed my walk with Christ. And it's happened in the last six months. And I've known the Lord for over 20 years, and there's this one four-letter word that's just, wow. At first it's underwhelming of, that's it? That's the word. But then as it unravels and unpeels and it just kind of permeates everything that I am, it's like, this is everything. This is everything good, and it removes everything bad, and removes all the religion and fulfills all the relationship. And it's this one word. This word was kind of manifest to me this past week because it took and it takes us from this concept of powerful effort to be what God wants us to be, to effortless power of just who we are. I got a call about a week and a half ago from a friend of my boys' school's kids' mother who works with this group called Blue Skies. And she said, you know what? Next week, it was like on a Thursday, and she said, Next week, uh we have this event, we have one of our retreats, and the guy who was going to be the pastor for it wasn't able to do it, and we were wondering if you could. And I'm just, my first thought was, I'm not a pastor, why would you ask me? And like, well, you speak at churches and stuff, and that's close enough for us. And I'm like, okay. And I said, wow, and I thought through it. And Blue Skies, for you who don't know, it's a relatively new organization in the past couple years. It's basically where families get together and they serve for a week at a retreat at the beach for families who have a child going through cancer. And they just dote on them and they take care of all the details and they let them have a break from the just the torrent of pain and life that is cancer. And for those of you who don't know, my daughter, who's actually here today, she's back in the kids' area, uh, she's a cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with ALL when she was three years old, and we lived through that. And I my first response to it is gonna be, you know what? I've had a busy summer. I haven't had five days in a row to do anything all summer. And it was one of those where I said, let me check my calendar and I'll get right back to you. And I looked at my calendar, and for the first time this summer, there were five days in a row that were open. And I'm like, okay, Lord, um, wow, this seems like a fit. I don't have any prep time, and God just really laid on my heart, Ken, this isn't about prep. It's not about that. It's just be. Just be. And I went down there and I've never experienced in my life a more effortless power of just being me and being able to connect with these parents and these families because I've been there. I've walked in those shoes. And to be able to just hear them and go, I know exactly how you feel, and pile onto that, and for the first time see the weight that I felt when I was in their shoes and see it on them and see that weight just dissipate. Because as I got to share with them, there were families that were just doting on them, cleaning their rooms, bringing them meals, and doing everything, and all they had to do is have fun. And they got to be around other families that were going through the same piece. And the reality of God's community came together, and the overwhelming reality for them was I am not alone. I'm not alone. And the word is kind of all about that. It's not that, it's a four-letter word, it's not alone, that's too many letters, and we'll get to it in just a second. But it really does come back to the concept of this relationship. And if I could share it this way, I'll never forget when I was in college. I did not realize the wisdom of this concept, and I believe that God was right there saying, Hey, this is the way to handle this. I was speaking to some students, and this one kid came up, he goes, Hey, uh, I need to ask you a question. I'm like, okay. And he goes, Um, I listen to this group and people say they're satanic, but they're not. They're not satanic, and I just want to listen to it. What should I do? Is that okay? Because they're not satanic. I'm like, okay. And he says, Everybody tells me I shouldn't listen to it because it's not Christian, but they're not satanic, and what should I do? Should I listen to them or not? I said, I don't know. And he's like, what do you mean? And I said, Well, I said, I can tell you how to find out. Okay, should I listen or not? I said, I can tell you how to find out. Here's the way you do it. And I asked him, I said, Are you a Christian? Yeah, I'm a Christian. I listen to the music, but they're not satanic. I'm like, okay, okay, I'm with you there. Um, here's what you do. If you're a Christian, here's the cool part of God that no matter what we ask him, he'll show us. And what I want you to do is, I want you to literally take that cassette. It was a long time ago, take that cassette, and I want you to hold it in an open hand. And I want you to just kneel beside your bed or when you're alone. And I just want you to say, God, I'm gonna do whatever you say. I'm gonna do whatever you lay on my heart. And Lord, it doesn't matter what everybody else thinks or says, but here's my heart, and I'm gonna do whatever you say. Lord, if this isn't best for me, then I'll never listen to it again. And if it's not a big deal, then I'm not gonna worry what others think about it. And God, I just lay this before you, I'll do whatever you want. And he goes, So can I listen to it? And I was like, Ask God. He's gonna show you. And he just walked away a little bit frustrated, but that is the core. And what we're gonna look at today is the reality that God wants to do much more through us to reveal who he made us to be than he wants us to do for him. The word is the opposite of for him. That's the four-letter word. We'll get to it in a second. But I want to just read to you Luke chapter 18, verses 9 through 14. Then we're gonna get to Matthew because these are what they call synoptic gospels. These are two stories, the two guys were with Jesus and they both heard it. And I want to see, I wanted you to see the personalities that come through. The first one is this to some who were confident in their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable. Two men went to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself. God, I thank you that I am not like other men, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, and even this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance and he wouldn't even look up to heaven, but he beat on his breast and said, God have mercy on me, sinner. I tell you that this man rather than the other went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Now Jesus tells that story. In Matthew 23, Matthew writes it this way: He tells it not as a parable, but as an actual experience. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you, but do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for people to see. Their phylacteries are wide, their tassels on their garments long, they love the place of honor at banquets and most important seat in the synagogue. They love to be greeted with respect in the marketplace and be called rabbi by others. But you are not to call them rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers, and do not call anyone our father, for you have one father, and he is in heaven, nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Quick aside, I love, I love the personalities and how real these guys were. I can't help but think Jesus tells this. And the disciples are walking away and they're talking about it. God, you know, what do you think he meant by that? It was what a great parable. And I can just hear, I can hear Matthew going, that wasn't a parable. He's talking about the teachers. No, it was a parable, it was a parable, it wasn't the teachers, and they're going back and forth, and I just can't help but see him finally go, oh, you write it the way you want, I'll write it the way I want, and we'll just be done. And it's one of the few times in Scripture where you hear this personality come through where it's two views of the same exact piece, but they end on the same area. What I see is there's this fork in the road, and every one of us in our faith is gonna get to this fork in the road, and we're either gonna go down the fork in the road where I have heard good meaning, well-meaning people teach the truth of going and follow this. Look what God did for you. Look what he did for you. Truth. Jesus died for you, he paid the price for your sins for you, he's done all this for you. What are you going to do for him? I've heard it put this way. Are you doing anything for God that if he doesn't show up, it will fail? And I can tell you from personal experience, I have. And it failed. And I think, God, what's going on? See, God is not interested in us doing for him. That is not why he came. He didn't come to have all thousands of millions of unique slaves out there doing for him. It's about a relationship. And here's the word God, throughout Scripture, and when I tell you this word, you're gonna start seeing it pop up over and over and over and over in almost everything Jesus says. And he says it this way: at the very end, he says, I am with you always. I'm with you. The purpose of God is not for us to do for him or him to do for us, it's for us to be with him. Don't miss this. Quick history: God creates the heavens and earth, God creator in the Old Testament. He's God and He creates, and it's amazing. And the Pharisees are sitting here looking at the creator God, going, that's awesome. Here's the rules, here's the laws, we're gonna do everything by this. This is awesome. Jesus shows up and they're just like, Look, Creator God, this is awesome. And Jesus goes, I am God. They're like, No, this is God, this is God, and He's standing right there, and they missed Him because they were looking back on what they can do for God, and they missed Him. And then I'm afraid I see in our time that same tragedy happening that we got the New Testament and we saw God in the flesh, and He came, Emmanuel, God with us. And we're looking and going, see, we've got the gospels and we've got the accounts, and we're staring at this, and we're looking just like they didn't know there was Jesus, and there it is. And we're missing. I have missed it so long, too often, because I've looked back. And Jesus says, I have to leave, and but I'm sending the comforter, the counselor, the healer. I'm I'm coming in the form of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. And when you accept me, the Spirit comes and lives within you. I am with you. But if all we're doing is staring at the written word, which is powerful and it is unchanging, and it is God breathed, and it is God, but it points us to the reality that God is the creator. He did come in the flesh, but he is within us in the spirit. He is with us. I love taking communion. And I literally, in the past few months, I can't take it without feeling as if I'm in the exact same place the disciples were. I'm right there, as if Jesus were breaking the bread himself and then going, hey, every take a take a piece off. Break this, okay? Now, every time you do this, remember I'm with you. I'm with you right here, right now. And whatever you're broken at today, that's why I died. And I'm with you, and I'm fixing that within you. I'm with you. I'm not leaving you hanging, I'm with you. And then when you take the cup, yes, I spilled my blood to cover your sins. But my blood is the power that raised me from the cross and flows through you. And that power I want you to experience because I am with you. I'm with you right now, right here. I'm with you. And when I start walking and living that, I realize there's the for life and there's the with life. For too long in too many areas. I tried so hard to do for God. Lord, here's an area of my life I'm struggling with. Okay, I'm gonna get better. Okay, God, forgive me again, but I'm gonna get better. Forgive me again, I'm gonna get better, I'm gonna get better, forgive me again, and I just get tired of asking for forgiveness. And the whole time Jesus is standing there going, Don't do it for me. The whole reason I died is so that I can do it with you. And I can guide you through it. That you can't do it on your own. And that's why I totally understand this. Yeah, I used to go to church and it didn't work for me. I understand. I fully understand. Because what is preached is here's what you do for God. And after a short amount of time, usually it's like, I can't do this. This is too, if this is a book of rules to be abided by, it's too thick. I don't even know them all, and I'm sure I'm breaking some without even knowing it. And that doesn't work. But when it's a relationship, we start to see some characteristics of for verses with. And I just want to break them down real quick. In verse three, it's the unrealistic expectations. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you, but do not, do not do what they do. They do not practice what they preach. If I'm doing for God, then there's this tendency for me to look at myself and judge myself to others and then try to get high enough to where I can look down and go, well, I'm not perfect, but I'm better than most people. I'm doing pretty good compared to you guys. I was always one of the you guys. I could never reconcile it. I was never good enough. And yet I tried. But in the with, on the with side, we begin to see there's grace. And that grace is full. If I could put it to you this way, in a very practical sense, I remember learning to drive. I remember learning to drive. I remember knowing, not knowing all the rules. I remember thinking, what is this? And I remember feeling a little bit out there. And I remember those feelings so much that now my son is 15 and he's driving. And and we've talked over and over. And he's like, Dad, I don't know if I'm ready to be on the highway or not. I said, you know what? We need to go practice. We need to do it late at night so that you're not dealing with people coming on and getting off. And there's there's some details to that. But I'll get in the car and I'll literally sit in the seat and I just sit quiet. He's like, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my bad, my bad. I'm like, what? He's like, well, I just I hit the brakes too hard. I'm like, you're learning. Don't worry about it. And then he'll just kind of hit the little rumble thing on the side. Oh, my bad, my bad. Oh, my bad, my bad. And I don't care how fearful I am of my life, I'm not gonna react. I'm just gonna go, don't worry about it. You're learning. I said, remember, we're not in a rush. Never be in a rush when you're driving. That's when you get in trouble. Okay, never rush. Okay. And I see him going really slow, and now he's got this thing, and I hope he never grows out of it. He's like, Dad, watch this. And we're pulling up to a red light, and he'll suddenly say, You're not even gonna feel it. You're not gonna feel it. And we're like going this fast for like a tenth of a mile, you know, and it's like, okay, it's already turned green and red again. Go ahead and go ahead and go again and just. But it's become this relationship. Dad, I I what about this? And we're driving one time, coming back from the beach. He's like, Dad, what about? I said, What is something about driving you don't understand? And he's like, insurance. I don't get insurance. I'm like, okay, well, it's not technically driving, but here's the way it works. And he's like, oh man. See, it's that relationship. I'm doing it with him. I'm doing it with him. He doesn't have to worry about all the rules as long as he knows I'm there and that he's gonna, that I'm gonna correct him. I'm gonna give him the guidance he needs. That's where grace comes in. Because I drove for the first time. I remember being terrified. And I remember going, you know what? I just wish somebody was with me that was understanding. That's God's grace. That's with. Then there's in verse four, there's the unmerciful. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. In other words, I hear on the foreside, if you're doing for God, here's what you're gonna do. If you love God and you appreciate what he did for you, then you're gonna do this for him. And the rules are never enough. And we don't keep them all. And we try and try, but there's always more, and it feels like it's never enough. With God, there is mercy. How confusing must it be to hear all about the love of Christ? And then once we accept it, okay, here's the rules. It doesn't make sense. Kind of like last night I thought about this in the movie. Heather and I went to a movie last night, and I thought, this doesn't make sense. They spend all this time, okay, put your phones on silent and turn them off, and don't text, and don't do this, and don't do this, and don't do this, and don't do this, and because we don't want to disturb those around us. And then they sell in buckets the loudest food possible. It's gonna sound like there's a horse eating oats in your ear. But it's not, it's a guy three rows back who apparently hasn't eaten in a month. Just he has an inability to close his mouth when he's chewing. Just I'm just like, my texting is not that loud. You know, it's just like, really? And I get it, but it doesn't make sense. We're gonna do all these things to make it quiet, but then we're gonna give everybody popcorn, bottomless popcorn, so they can eat the whole time. It doesn't make sense. Christianity doesn't make sense if it's all for. If I'm all for, it's like the doing the right things but missing the whole point. When it's with God, it is the mercy and the realization of wow, this is this is not about being perfect. It's about allowing God to perfect me. I'm not I'm not there yet, but he doesn't expect me to be. He just expects me to be with him. And when I face those challenges, then I'm like, God, I've failed here so many times, I can't count. And for him to go, I know. But let me be with you here. I'll tell you my favorite prayer in the past several months. God help. Help. God, I'm I'm tempted this in my mind, or I'm struggling here. Help! Just help. Because I know you're with me. I look back over the past several months, it is stunning the track record of with verses four. I failed the majority of time when I was living for God. I succeed and see growth almost every situation when I acknowledge He's with me. It's it's stunning. It's amazing. It's so freeing. Then there's the public versus personal in verses five and six. Everything they do, had everything they do is done to be seen by people. They make these fancy clothes, somebody goes, ooh, I look at you. They love the place of honor, somebody goes, oh, he must be important. They love to be called by this name. And and God is not about the public. Ever notice how many times Jesus heals somebody in private? And how he goes up to just one on one? It's about the personal touch. I remember when Kennedy was going through cancer. I'll never forget, we went to the doctor and we said, You know what? We just gotta ask you a question. And he goes, What is it? And he goes, We're like, Kennedy wants to play soccer. She wants to play soccer. And I mean, she's in the middle. Her coordination shot and she's got a bald head, and it's probably not best for her right now. And the doctor says, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. If she wants to play soccer, you let her play soccer. He said, I can fix a broken bone. He says, but the number one negative side effect of kids in cancer is diabetes because they become lethargic and they get overweight and then they never want to do anything. He says, You let her play soccer if she wants to play. And I can tell you, we got some serious criticism from people very close to us. You're out of your mind. Why would you let her go running around outside? That's crazy. Are you crazy? I mean, we've looked up on the internet. That can't be good for her. And it's like, whoa. And I literally had to go to someone and go, hey, I don't remember you getting your doctorate in pediatric oncology. I don't remember it. Maybe you did. But right now, I'm going to listen to my wife and my doctor. That's who I'm going to listen to. And he says, if she wants to play, she's playing. And we saw parents that were a little bit tentative, and I get that, but my daughter had a blast. I don't know if I've shared this or not, but I'll never forget one of her first games. She was not good. She, chemo, just destroys the nerves and the coordination, but she had so much fun wearing that uniform and running around that field. She's always trailing the pile. She got the ball two or three times. She missed it twice. The one time she ran up with the ball and got hit in the face. And I'm just like, oh, and she's like, huh. I'm like, you're okay, you're okay to go. She's like, okay, you know, she just runs the wrong way and like, wow. And then he put her in goal, and I'm like, don't put her in goal. Don't put her in goal. And I'm like, are you ready? It's coming. She's like, huh, it's coming. And then the ball goes right past her and she goes in the net and throws it out and looks and goes, huh? You know, I'm just like, oh man, she's not getting it. And then they put her back out. And the one time she kicked the ball, she kicked it the wrong way. And my heart's just breaking. It's breaking. Because I thought, I don't want her to be embarrassed. I'm so glad she's out here. Well, she goes to the group, they give the juice some cookies. They're coming back, and she's just got her head down. She doesn't have any of it open and her head, she just scuffling her feet. And I just, I'm, I'm like, hey, hey, you okay? And she goes, yeah. I said, you want me to open your juice? You love that juice? No, no, I'm good. I said, you want me to open the cookies? You love those cookies? No, Daddy. And I said, okay. She goes, Daddy, can I tell you something? And I'm thinking, oh, she's realizing this. And I said, Yeah, you can tell me anything. She goes, Dad, I'm so good at soccer. What? I said, Yes, you are. Apparently, she wasn't aware of how the game is played, but it's okay. Because that's not why she was out there. And see, when we are doing with, that personal is everything. When we are doing four, when we are doing four, it is only about the performance. It is only about, no, you're not. You're not good. You let three goals pass and you kicked it the wrong way, and you're not, and you're not, and you're not. That is four. With, with is the full big picture of going, you are incredible. And I told that story to the doctor, and he goes, She is good at soccer. Said most kids that have gone through and where they she is in treatment wouldn't be able to walk, much less run. She is incredible. It's that ability to see the big picture and see it from God's view, and God says, you know what? It's personal. I'm with you in this. I see the big picture. I don't see what you are, I see what you can become. And I'm with you until you get there. Until I come back, I'm gonna be with you, and then I'm gonna be with you. It's that can't lose. There's one more characteristic, and that is either I can be in power or I can be humble, and it's the switch of that. It's in verse 7. They love to be greeted as the rabbi in the marketplace. But he says in verses 11 and 12, this power. Power is inverted. Power is not in what we can do for God and who's done the most for God. Power is in the one who humbles himself and goes, God, here I am. I need your help. I need you with me through it all. I want to give you two biblical examples very quickly as we wrap up. One is Joseph of Arimathea. For those of you who don't know the story of the crucifixion, Jesus is, he dies. He dies on a cross. They bring him down in his body. And Joseph of Arimathea comes to put him in a grave. If you look and you don't look now, but in Isaiah 53, it talks about how he will be killed with thieves, but buried in a rich man's tomb hundreds of years before it happens. And sure enough, he is crucified with thieves and a rich man. And see, for those who are about doing for God, there's this hierarchy of, well, you must be this spiritual, but you can only have this much wealth, and you and there's all these unwritten rules that aren't really there. And well, you can't be rich and love God. Well, says Joseph Merrimathios rich. And not only that, but he was a disciple. He's the only disciple that showed up after Jesus was killed. The only one. The rest flee. He showed up and says, Well, you have to be completely committed. And it says, Well, he was a righteous man. But get this, if we do the study, Joseph of Arimathea was on the Sanhedrin. And if you look at the trial, he was one of the 71 who was in that group that voted to have Jesus crucified. He was sitting on that board. And here's his transformation. I love this. He's sitting doing for God. And then it became this transformation of I want to be with Jesus. And he takes the body and he buries it and he prepares it. But he does it. I love this. And people go, well, if you're doing for God, you can't be, you can't be an undercover Christian. You have to do this for God. Well, Joseph kind of messes that up because it says he went to he went to the leaders secretly and asked for the body. And he was a disciple and he asked secretly, and the whole move was towards being with Jesus instead of for God. And that with movement. If that's not enough for you, I love Peter. He's probably one of my favorites because he's the biggest screw up of all. And I love him. And I love this because here's Peter. I'll just give you a couple examples. Jesus says, This is the one I love. And everywhere, every time Jesus starts to give a lesson, Peter just jumps in. He's like, Jesus is like, I'm gonna wash your feet. No, dude, can't wash my feet. You're like the leader. Can't wash my feet, I'll wash your feet. And he's like, Peter, if I don't wash your feet, you have no part of me. Oh, okay. Well, wash my whole body then. And just and I just can't help but Jesus smiling. And then he's with him, and he's like, you know, I'm gonna be betrayed. And Jesus, and Peter's like, Well, I'm with you. I got your, I'm your wingman. I don't even know what that means. Planes haven't been invented, but I'm your wingman. And I'm here. And they go in the garden and he falls asleep, and Jesus says they're coming. And Peter jumps up with his sword and he's like, okay, it's on like Donkey Kong. Bring it! And he swings and he cuts a guy's ear off. And Jesus is like, What are you doing? That's not how this is gonna happen. He takes the guy's ear and he puts it back on his head and they go, Whoa! And Peter's like, What? I just I thought it was, I thought we were gonna no? Okay. And he's like, everybody else is gonna deny it. I'm not, I'm here, I'm with you. And Jesus is like, Peter, before the sun comes up, you're gonna die, deny you even knew me. You could do it three times. Peter's like, What? I'll never do that. And then he does it and even cusses out a little girl. And then Jesus is crucified and he comes back. And he sits down with Peter and he goes, Peter, you're you. You're it. I'm gonna build my rock on you. What? What? He didn't do anything right for Jesus. He did nothing right for Jesus. You know why God Jesus says, I'm gonna build my rock on you? Because he was always with him. I'm with you. I know I'm not perfect, but I'm with you. And I'm gonna let you work on me by being with you. And I'm gonna let you tell me what to do because I'm right here with you. That is the power of this parable. That is the power of Jesus. Jesus says, Hey, I don't need the perfect people. I came for the people who are willing to be with me. My encouragement to you and I is to start looking for that word. It's all throughout Scripture. At the very end, Jesus says, I am with you to the end of the earth. Psalm 23, it says, God, though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I fear no evil because you are with me. And it's over and over and over. God does not long for us to do for him, it's for us to experience him with us. And we do it through communion, we do it through giving, we do it through coming together. Is God with? And do I treat him that way? And you know what? As we we close out in prayer, I just want to ask. I love the song they did earlier. God, you're everything. You're everything. And when we start relating to God with us, we lose the pressure. We lose the hierarchy. We lose all the rules. Because when we're with Jesus, He's like, I'm gonna show you what you need, women. Will you pray with me as we kind of wrap up and then we're gonna sing and just let that sink in. God, thank you that you sent your comforter, your healer, your counselor. That it is you in the form of the Spirit. And Lord, I pray if there's anybody here that doesn't know you personally, we would realize it's as simple as saying, God, I need you. I confess I'm a sinner. I I don't have it figured out. I can't keep the rules. And Lord, I accept the fact you were perfect and you died for all the stuff that I should be punished for. I invite you into my life to completely forgive me. And I want you with me. Show me who you meant for me to be. Lord, that I don't have to live with powerful effort to try to do something for you, but I can just be with you every moment of every day and let you overcome me to the point of what you want to do through me. And it is only through the Creator God, the man Jesus, the power of your spirit that we pray. Amen. God bless you guys. I can't wait to see you next time.