Living In The Tension (Robert Madu)

0:00:02.120 --> 0:00:04.640 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:07.160 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:10.479 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:12.560 it builds your faith. Hope it gives you perspective to 0:00:12.560 --> 0:00:15.360 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message, 0:00:18.440 --> 0:00:21.200 and I get the distinct privilege too to introduce you 0:00:21.239 --> 0:00:23.840 to our guest. Today. We got a special guest. We 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:28.040 got Pastor Robert Madeu in the house. Him and his 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:34.720 wife Taylor are with us, and he spoke here three 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:36.839 months ago at the beginning of this pandemic, and he's 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:39.080 spoken here multiple times, so I think it's official. We 0:00:39.080 --> 0:00:42.240 no longer call him a special guest. We call him family. 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:45.280 Pastor Robert will do. Him and his wife, the Medusa 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:47.320 are having a ministry that's happening all around the world. 0:00:47.440 --> 0:00:50.320 If you haven't had a chance to meet Pastor Robert, 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:54.400 he's probably the sincerest, most genuine, and maybe one of 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:57.640 the nicest people you'll ever meet. But even more important 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:01.240 than that, he loves the Word of God. He's a preacher, 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:03.840 and we get the distinct privilege of him opening up 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:07.120 God's word and sharing it with us. Today, So Elevation Church, 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:09.440 you know how we do it. Let's put our hands together, 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:26.319 Let's get ready and welcome Pastor Roberts Madou. Come on, 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:31.240 somebody bless the Lord today. Wherever you're watching, Come on, 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:33.960 would you give God just the best praise that you're God. 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:37.280 If you're in your living room, give him praise. If 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:40.160 you're in your kitchen, give him praise. If you're in 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:42.959 the car, give him praise. Come on, No matter what 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:46.040 you're facing right now, his name is still worthy. He 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:49.480 deserves the glory, the honor, and the phrase God, we 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:57.960 lift you up because you are here Boom. I'm telling 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:01.000 you I sense the presence of the Lord right here. 0:02:01.080 --> 0:02:04.480 I don't know where you're watching from Elevation Church, but 0:02:04.560 --> 0:02:06.800 I want you to know God is with you. His 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:10.040 presence knows no limits, His presence knows no bounds. He 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:13.600 is there with you right now. He can I tell 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:18.000 you have a reason to give God praise today, He said, Robert, 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:20.200 what are you talking about? You don't know what I'm facing. 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:23.240 If there is still breath in your body, come on, 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:25.079 you got a reason to give Him praise. If you 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:28.440 woke up this morning, you still got a reason to 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:33.679 give him praise. I feel you. I've had moments, especially 0:02:33.720 --> 0:02:37.480 in this the last few weeks, I've just had to say, Lord, 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:38.800 I don't know if I got it in me to 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:41.919 lift up my voice. I had to talk to myself. 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:43.679 I mean, you know, you're only crazy if you don't 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:47.000 talk to yourself. Now, do like David did and say, 0:02:47.040 --> 0:02:49.960 Bless the Lord on my soul and all that is 0:02:49.960 --> 0:02:54.120 within me. Bless his Holy name. And I think in 0:02:54.200 --> 0:02:56.400 times like this you need to lean into his presence, 0:02:56.440 --> 0:02:59.040 lean into his word. And I'm believing He's going to 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:01.920 speak to you today and your life is never going 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:06.400 to be the same. Amen. Amen, we got some people 0:03:06.440 --> 0:03:10.040 in the room. Y'all can be seated. I'm absolutely honored 0:03:10.520 --> 0:03:13.440 to be back at Elevation Church. There is no place 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:17.200 like Elevation Church. I get tempted to move to Charlotte 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:20.640 every time that I come here, and it's pretty amazing. 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:22.600 Pastor LB mentioned that I am a part of the 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:25.520 family now and last time I was here. We're at 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:31.720 the beginning of COVID nineteen, this virus we're trying to 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:35.960 figure out. Then the challenge of the virus was how 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:40.720 do we stay apart? So we can stay together. Now 0:03:40.800 --> 0:03:46.240 here we are again back at elevation, and there's another virus, 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:51.920 virus of racism has been embedded in this nation. Now 0:03:51.960 --> 0:03:55.960 the challenge is we got to come together so we 0:03:56.000 --> 0:03:58.720 don't fall apart. And I'm telling you where my hope 0:03:58.800 --> 0:04:00.880 is in. My hope is in the Church of the 0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:03.840 Living God. Come on, if you're looking for hope and 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:06.160 look to Jesus and then look to you. We are 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:10.160 the hope of the world. And I'm believing what Jesus 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:13.040 prayed his last prayers, that we would be one, that 0:04:13.120 --> 0:04:16.240 we would come together. And to that end, I'm excited 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:18.520 to minister God's word to you today. It's gonna be good. 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:20.960 I want you to lean in. I hope you like 0:04:21.120 --> 0:04:23.360 who you're watching the Word of God with today. If 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:26.200 you don't, just move to another section e faan wherever 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:28.200 you are. But this word is gonna bless you, it's 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:31.000 gonna encourage you, and I want to jump straight into it. 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:34.920 I do bring your greetings from the country of Texas 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:38.599 where I live and there with my incredible wife who 0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:41.160 is here today help me. Thank God for my wife, Taylor. 0:04:41.560 --> 0:04:44.680 She's here with me. We left the kiddos at home. 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:48.280 And you know there's no seminary class you can take 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:51.520 on how to lead in a pandemic, how to lead 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:53.840 in so much turmoil. But here's what I love is 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:57.480 that Elevation Church is best blessed with the best of 0:04:57.520 --> 0:04:59.680 the best. I want you to help me thank God 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:03.680 for Sir Stephen and Holly Fredick, who have set the pace, 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:07.200 who have set the tone not just for Elevation but 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:12.279 for the church at large. If they're incredible leadership and 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:15.280 how they've led so well. And uh man, if you 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:17.600 got something to be thankful for, be thankful for the 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:21.680 gift that is in Pastor Stephen Fredick. Every word he 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:24.560 preaches has minister to our souls. This minister to me 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:27.200 and you will not find a better preacher. And I'm 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:29.479 thankful for his friendship. Come on one more time, even 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:33.120 in the chat, just say thank you so much, Elevation Church. 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:36.800 Thank you so much Pastor Steven and Holly, and I'm 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:38.359 glad to be here today. I want you to go 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:42.920 with me to the Gospel of John today, John chapter 0:05:43.520 --> 0:05:46.360 number eight, and I want to look at verses one 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:51.120 through eleven John Chapter eight one through eleven, and then 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:57.120 I want to look at John chapter one, verse fourteen. 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:05.040 After eight, starting at verse one, will land of verse 0:06:05.120 --> 0:06:08.640 number eleven, and then John chapter one, verse number four teen. 0:06:09.839 --> 0:06:14.039 It says, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:16.960 Now early in the morning he came again into the temple, 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:20.760 and all the people came to him, and he sat 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:24.440 down and taught them. The scribes and pharisees brought to 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:27.760 him a woman caught in adultery. And when they set 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:30.680 her in the midst they said to him, teacher, this 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:34.160 woman was caught in adultery in the very act. Now 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:36.800 Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stone. 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:41.400 But what do you say this, they said, testing him, 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:44.400 that they might have something of which to accuse him. 0:06:44.760 --> 0:06:47.960 But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:51.520 his finger, as though he did not hear, straight up, 0:06:51.520 --> 0:06:55.119 ignoring him. So when they continued asking him, he raised 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:57.720 himself up and said to them he was without sin 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:00.359 among you. Let him throw a stone at her first, 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:03.719 and again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:07.960 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:11.600 went out, one by one, beginning with the oldest even 0:07:11.760 --> 0:07:14.880 to the last, and Jesus was left alone, and the 0:07:14.880 --> 0:07:18.400 woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised himself 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:20.200 up and saw no one but the woman, he said 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:24.680 to her, woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:29.559 no one condemned you? She said, no one. Lord. Jesus 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:33.480 said to her, neither do I condemn you? Go and 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:36.960 sin no more? Can you say? Amen? He found wherever 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:40.400 you're watching. And then John chapter one, verse fourteen, just 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:43.280 one verse of scripture. Here it says, and the word 0:07:44.000 --> 0:07:49.280 became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld the glory. 0:07:49.360 --> 0:07:51.200 The glory is of the only begotten, of the Father, 0:07:52.120 --> 0:08:00.640 full of grace and truth, Full of grace and truth. 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:08.920 Jesus is full of grace and truth. Think of all 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:12.400 the adjectives that we could ascribe to Jesus. Come on, 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:14.240 we can say he's a provider. We can say he's 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:16.600 a protector. We can say he's our peace. We can 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:18.720 say he's our shelter. We could go on and on. 0:08:18.840 --> 0:08:22.840 But I love John because he skips the commas, makes 0:08:22.840 --> 0:08:26.040 it clear and concise, and says, when you see Jesus, 0:08:26.600 --> 0:08:31.840 you will see two things, grace and truth. I had 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:34.439 an encounter with Jesus. That means you had an encounter 0:08:34.520 --> 0:08:42.000 with grace and truth, the tension of grace. And I 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:44.760 want to talk to you today from this idea living 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:48.520 in the tension, living in the tension. There's so much 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:52.600 tension right now, political tension, economic tension, racial tensent. What 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:57.679 do you do with grace and tru living in the tension? 0:08:58.000 --> 0:09:00.320 I mean working out one time and I had my 0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:02.800 weights in my hand, and the trainer, while I was 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:05.600 holding the weights, put this thing as from the devil, 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:09.679 put one of those resistance bands on me. While I'm 0:09:09.679 --> 0:09:11.240 holding the weight, I said, I already got the weight 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:12.640 in my hand, what is this for? It just just 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:15.240 put the resistance band. And I had the resistance band 0:09:15.400 --> 0:09:16.840 on it, and I thought it was good because it 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:19.040 was already heavy. And the trainer said, no, no no, no, no, 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:22.480 you got to keep the tension in the resistance band. 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:24.880 That's what it's for. So here I am already holding 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:29.520 a weight but also having to deal with the tension. 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:33.120 What do you do when you're living in the tension. 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:35.320 That's what I want to talk about today. So let's 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:37.679 pray as we go into this. Father, thank you for 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:43.720 your word speak today all the Epham said, Amen, Amen. 0:09:43.800 --> 0:09:49.040 Living in the tension, like many preachers during this quarantine 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:52.680 and shelter in place and gathering restrictions, I've had to 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:57.760 adjust how I preach and how I communicate. I've learned 0:09:57.960 --> 0:10:02.319 to calm myself down and preach while sitting in the stool. 0:10:01.840 --> 0:10:06.200 I've learned not to say touch your neighbor, but to 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:10.160 say type in the chat. Because we've had gathering restrictions. 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:13.480 I've learned that although we have awesome people here in 0:10:13.520 --> 0:10:16.839 the room, I've learned to make sure I stay connected 0:10:16.960 --> 0:10:19.680 and locked in to the camera. In fact, in this 0:10:19.760 --> 0:10:22.240 room right now, we got camera. There's one, two, three, four, 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:26.120 about four, five, about eighty cameras in this room all over. 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:30.240 And these cameras are able to get different angles while 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:33.400 I'm preaching, different angles. While I'm preaching to be able 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:36.720 to connect to you different angles, these cameras will get 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:39.560 different shots. It doesn't change me. It just gives you 0:10:39.600 --> 0:10:43.439 a different angle of me, a different view. And this 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:46.760 is what I love about the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:50.560 and John because all four of these gospel writers are 0:10:50.640 --> 0:10:54.239 talking about the same Jesus, but they give us different angles. 0:10:54.320 --> 0:10:58.880 Say give us different views. These four cameramen, if you will, 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:02.400 They're all have their view on the same subject who 0:11:02.559 --> 0:11:05.760 is Jesus, but they're able to give us different angles 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:09.280 of who this Jesus is. I love almost like four 0:11:09.320 --> 0:11:12.160 film directors who've been given the same subject to film, 0:11:12.160 --> 0:11:15.880 but if given their own cinema cinematic license to film it, 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:18.720 they give us a different view of who Jesus is. 0:11:18.960 --> 0:11:21.760 That's why. If you like long documentaries, please read the 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:25.960 Book of Matthew. Because Matthew he's writing to a Jewish audience, 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:29.320 so he begins this long process of letting you know 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:33.440 that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies. 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:36.560 If you like sci fi movies, please read the Book 0:11:36.600 --> 0:11:40.080 of Luke, because Luke is the doctor, and so Luke 0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:43.920 goes into detail to explain these miracles that Christ did, 0:11:44.200 --> 0:11:47.200 how his miracles could do what medicine could not do. 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:50.920 If you like action pack movies, please stay in the 0:11:50.920 --> 0:11:55.280 Book of Mark, because Mark is all about Jesus in action, 0:11:55.520 --> 0:11:58.080 of Jesus who will roll up on you and does 0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:01.560 not play games with you. He's all about the actions 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:05.760 of Christ. But John, Oh, John, is a love story. 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:10.720 John is a romantic chick flick. I love the Gospel 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:14.800 of John. Who else but John, the disciple that always 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:17.880 had his head on the chest of Jesus. He can 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:22.160 hear his heart beat. That's why John's gospel pulsates with 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:26.520 the personality of Jesus Christ. He gives us insight that 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:29.520 none of the other gospel writers give us love. Who 0:12:29.600 --> 0:12:32.240 else but John would tell us that God so loved 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:35.240 the world that he gave his only begotten son, that 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:38.960 whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:44.240 everlasting life. I love John. John does not give you 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:48.480 Jesus earthly lineage. But John wants you to understand that 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:51.760 he is God in the flesh. He wants you to 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:54.880 understand that he is divined, that he is a deity. 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:57.800 That's why when he begins his gospel, it's almost like 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:01.000 he's retweeting the Book of Genesis, because he says, in 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:04.000 the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 0:13:04.040 --> 0:13:07.000 and the Word was God. All things were made by Him, 0:13:07.120 --> 0:13:09.920 and without him was not anything made that has been made. 0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:12.840 And in the verse fourteen he turns all the way 0:13:12.920 --> 0:13:17.600 up and says, and the Word became flesh and dwelt 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:23.120 among us the word. Let me pause, right there, the 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:27.240 word became flesh and it dwelt among us. How many 0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:29.760 you know there is power in that verse right there, 0:13:29.960 --> 0:13:33.600 that the word became flesh and it dwelt among us. 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:37.360 That is deeper than a Christmas verse. There is power 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:41.000 in the fact that the word became flesh and dwelt 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:43.440 among us. Hear me, The only way we can have 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:46.960 hope in the dark world is because the word became 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:50.480 flesh and dwelt among us. The only way we can 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:54.640 have life and hope is because the word became flesh 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:59.280 and it dwelt among us. You understand that the incarnation 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:03.080 is the greatest picture of empathy. People want to know, 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:05.680 how can we change what's going on in our world today? 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:08.959 We need empathy, and that's what Jesus did in his 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:13.080 carnation incarnation. He understood that he could not redeem us 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:16.240 from heaven. He had to put on human skin and 0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:19.280 feel what we feel and know what we go through. 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:23.600 And the word became flesh and it dwelt among us. 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:28.000 Thank God for a savior who can feel what I feel, 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:31.320 and know what I go through, and can understand when 0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:35.040 I'm weeping that night because I'm seeing senseless murders. Can 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:39.120 understand why tears come down my face and sometimes I 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:41.400 don't want to lift up my hands. He knows what 0:14:41.520 --> 0:14:44.280 it feels like to have heard and pain because the 0:14:44.440 --> 0:14:48.760 word became flesh and it dwelt among us, some of 0:14:48.840 --> 0:14:51.160 y'all and not getting to see if I'm sick. If 0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:55.360 I'm sick, please don't just throw me a medical book. No, 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:58.520 get me a doctor. You know why, because that doctor 0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:02.120 personifies the principle that are in the medical book. Soucie. 0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:05.080 If if I'm in trouble with the law, please don't 0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:07.920 just give me a law book. Give me a lawyer. 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:12.120 You know why. That lawyer personifies the principles that are 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:14.200 within the law book. Somebod y'all gonna get it in 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:17.920 a minute. If I'm about to lose my mind, please 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:21.600 don't give me a book on psychology. Give me a psychologist, 0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:25.640 because that psychologist is going to personify the principles that 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:29.360 are in the psychology book. Do you understand when humanity 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:32.720 was lost in our sin and we had no hope 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:36.040 of redemption, we needed more than just the law. We 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:39.840 needed more than the Ten Commandments. We needed Jesus because 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:44.080 Jesus personifies the principles in the Word of God. He 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:48.600 is the word made flesh. Oh, and it made it 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:53.600 dwelling among us. And the word was made flesh. That's 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:58.840 what empathy is. It's the word becoming flesh. He knew 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:02.040 he could not read EMUs and be removed from us. 0:16:02.200 --> 0:16:05.920 He had to come where we were, and he put 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:11.160 on human skin, and the word became flesh and dwelt 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:14.200 among us. Would you just slap your neighbor or whoever 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:16.880 you're watching with at home and make sure you know him, 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:20.640 and just say the word became flesh. Now tell him 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:25.640 the word became flesh and it dwelt among us. We 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:29.520 beheld the wonder of his glory, the only begonden of 0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:34.120 the Father. Then it says this that he's full of 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:41.120 grace and truth. He's full of grace and truth. And 0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:45.120 there is the tension. How in the world can Jesus 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:50.960 be full of grace and truth? Hold up John, Those 0:16:50.960 --> 0:16:55.560 two words don't go together, grace and truth. How can 0:16:55.680 --> 0:17:00.480 Jesus be full of grace and truth? On one of 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:04.600 these things is not like the other. Grace and truth. 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:08.320 This is beauty and the beast. How can Jesus be 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:12.800 full of grace and truth? On the surface, these two 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:17.479 words do not go together, grace and truth. Come on, 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:20.080 just for a moment, would you consider if you can 0:17:20.440 --> 0:17:23.600 the grace of God? Come on, if you can even 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:27.080 fathom the grace of our God, to think that, no 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:29.760 matter what you've done, no matter where you've been, that 0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:33.639 God's grace can meet you right where you are. How 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:37.440 many you know there's something incredible about God's grace. If 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:40.320 grace doesn't make tears well up in your eyes, you 0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:43.480 don't know what grace is to no matter where you've been, 0:17:43.760 --> 0:17:46.360 that God can reach you, no matter what you've done, 0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:49.080 that his grace can come to you. Come on, that 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:52.000 God would go through a hell that he didn't deserve 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:55.280 so that we can receive a heaven that we don't deserve. 0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:58.800 There is something about the grace of God to the 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:02.240 point that his grace has been lavish upon us. Ooh, 0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:04.600 some people are rich in other things. God is rich 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:08.119 and grace. His grace will never run out. His grace 0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:11.120 can meet you right where you are. That we can 0:18:11.160 --> 0:18:15.240 approach the throne of Grace with confidence, with boldness. There's 0:18:15.280 --> 0:18:19.520 nothing like the grace of God. Amazing grace, How sweet 0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:22.600 the sound that saved the wretch like me. His grace 0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:27.280 is powerful, His grace is intoxicating. His grace is wonderful 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:30.800 and the right. When you're resting in his grace, then 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:36.919 you got His truth, his standard, his holiness that is 0:18:37.000 --> 0:18:40.600 so high, that is so perfect, that is so flawless, 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:46.000 that on your best day, your righteousness is as filthy rags. 0:18:46.080 --> 0:18:50.119 On your best day, your righteousness is ratchet. How in 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:55.960 the world can you deal with grace and true truth? Oh? Yes, 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:58.920 His truth will set you free, But how many know 0:18:59.160 --> 0:19:02.919 it generally will tick you off before it does. People 0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:06.240 can't handle the truth. Come on, Amama, only one during 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:09.960 this COVID nineteen that was forced to look at yourself 0:19:10.160 --> 0:19:12.959 when everything went on pause and you begin to see 0:19:12.960 --> 0:19:16.600 some things, some truth that you did not like. Oh, 0:19:17.000 --> 0:19:20.240 I'm telling you a lot of us can't handle the truth. 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:22.840 Truth is appealed that everybody wants to give out, but 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:26.119 nobody wants to swallow. Even right now in the world, 0:19:26.320 --> 0:19:29.720 we're looking at some truth that is ugly. To deal 0:19:29.840 --> 0:19:35.040 with the truth hurts. His grace is wonderful, amazing grace. 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:39.359 But then you God truth how can he be full 0:19:40.200 --> 0:19:45.560 of grace and truth? This paradox attention is in the 0:19:45.640 --> 0:19:48.720 grace and the truth, And if we're honest, most of 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:53.720 us go to one of the extremities, grace or truth. Yeah, 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:55.280 you got the grace people, you know where you are. 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:58.200 You grace people cannot wait for the shelter in place 0:19:58.240 --> 0:20:00.600 and all these gather restrictions to be gone because you 0:20:00.680 --> 0:20:04.200 just want to hug everybody. You want to love on everybody. 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:07.080 All you grace people. You're like, grace, Grace, Come, why 0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:09.920 can't we all just get along? Can't we just hug 0:20:09.960 --> 0:20:13.440 it out? Oh grace. People are quick to forgive, they're 0:20:13.520 --> 0:20:16.320 quick to love. Always got a smile on your face, 0:20:16.520 --> 0:20:19.760 talking longer than you should. The people, oh grace, grace, 0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:22.720 grace all over the place, and they just want to love. 0:20:22.840 --> 0:20:26.080 But the problem with the grace people is sometimes in 0:20:26.160 --> 0:20:30.959 an effort to show grace, they lower the standard of truth. 0:20:32.040 --> 0:20:35.200 Then you got the truth people, and all you truth people, 0:20:35.240 --> 0:20:37.840 you will tell it like it is. Truth people aren't 0:20:37.880 --> 0:20:40.679 afraid of anybody. Truth people will let you know what 0:20:40.760 --> 0:20:43.280 they think about you. I mean, they will slap you 0:20:43.359 --> 0:20:45.600 and not wait to see you hit the ground. Truth 0:20:45.640 --> 0:20:48.280 people will get on your Instagram or your Facebook page 0:20:48.400 --> 0:20:51.119 and never like the picture or said anything nice, but 0:20:51.200 --> 0:20:53.280 they will let you know what they think about you. 0:20:53.520 --> 0:20:56.960 In one post truth people are so quick to put 0:20:57.000 --> 0:20:59.479 their finger in your face and let you know, I'm 0:20:59.520 --> 0:21:01.960 gonna tell you about you. I'm gonna tell you who 0:21:02.000 --> 0:21:04.960 you really are. But the problem with the truth people 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:08.720 that they're so busy touting their truth and pointing their 0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:12.520 finger that they forget they're gonna need the grace that 0:21:12.560 --> 0:21:17.960 they refuse to give the tension of life is how 0:21:18.720 --> 0:21:26.199 do you balance grace and truth? Because grace without truth 0:21:27.119 --> 0:21:33.080 ceases to be grace. Truth without grace crushes people and 0:21:33.160 --> 0:21:38.440 ceases to be truth. Let's say another way, Grace without 0:21:38.520 --> 0:21:49.000 truth is meaningless. Truth without grace is me. Grace and 0:21:49.119 --> 0:21:54.879 truth is medicine. And Jesus says, I Am the total 0:21:54.920 --> 0:22:01.119 amalgamation of grace and truth, and it brings and in 0:22:01.160 --> 0:22:05.280 the world where everything is divided, where there's chaos, how 0:22:05.280 --> 0:22:08.760 many know we need some believers who are tethered to 0:22:08.880 --> 0:22:14.119 the tension of grace and truth, showing grace when it's needed, 0:22:14.359 --> 0:22:18.040 speaking truth when you have to. Oh, not fifty percent truth, 0:22:18.119 --> 0:22:22.000 fifty percent grace but one hundred percent truth, one hundred 0:22:22.000 --> 0:22:26.119 percent grace, because hear me, the Gospel flies on the 0:22:26.160 --> 0:22:32.800 wings of grace and truth. We need both grace and truth, 0:22:32.920 --> 0:22:37.960 the tension of grace and truth. It's like the strings 0:22:38.000 --> 0:22:41.800 on a violin grace. If it's too loose. If it's 0:22:41.880 --> 0:22:44.280 too loose, how many are you gonna get an ugly 0:22:44.520 --> 0:22:47.040 sound out of that string? But if you tighten it 0:22:47.080 --> 0:22:50.480 too tight, truth, people, you're gonna pop the strings on 0:22:50.560 --> 0:22:54.120 the violin. But if you got the perfect tension, all 0:22:54.160 --> 0:22:58.000 of a sudden you will hear beautiful music. And the 0:22:58.040 --> 0:23:01.960 world right now is a list for believers who are 0:23:02.080 --> 0:23:10.240 full of grace and truth. Jesus lived in the tension 0:23:11.040 --> 0:23:14.280 of grace and truth. This is what the teachers of 0:23:14.320 --> 0:23:17.680 the law could not understand. They could not understand how 0:23:17.800 --> 0:23:21.800 this rabbi, this rabbi who was supposed to uphold the truth, 0:23:22.400 --> 0:23:27.399 how he kept hanging out with shady, messed up, disfunctional 0:23:27.960 --> 0:23:31.879 tax collectors and prostitutes. They could not comprehend that if 0:23:31.880 --> 0:23:34.480 he's supposed to uphold the truth, why in the world 0:23:34.560 --> 0:23:37.720 is he hanging out with mess up people. This is 0:23:37.760 --> 0:23:40.439 what the teachers of the law could not comprehend because 0:23:40.440 --> 0:23:43.359 you do know that Jesus had a reputation for hanging 0:23:43.400 --> 0:23:46.080 out with shady, messed up people. Come on, if you 0:23:46.119 --> 0:23:49.520 got issues, you are in great candidate to be connected 0:23:49.520 --> 0:23:53.480 to God because he always just had this draw, this 0:23:53.600 --> 0:23:59.280 pull of marginalized, messed up people they loved coming to Jesus. 0:23:59.359 --> 0:24:01.199 And I think we have to ask ourselves at the 0:24:01.200 --> 0:24:04.120 twenty first century church that if we are not attracting 0:24:04.160 --> 0:24:07.040 the type of people that Jesus attracted, are we really 0:24:07.080 --> 0:24:11.320 preaching the same gospel that Jesus preached Because sinners and 0:24:11.600 --> 0:24:15.520 tax collectors have messed up people that were just drawn 0:24:15.600 --> 0:24:20.480 to him. He loved them. And one day he's in 0:24:20.640 --> 0:24:26.040 the temple teaching and he sat down to teach, and 0:24:26.080 --> 0:24:29.879 it says all the people came to him as he 0:24:30.000 --> 0:24:32.720 sat down to teach. All of a sudden, in the 0:24:32.760 --> 0:24:39.159 middle of his message, the Pharisees, the pretentious, pompous, stuck 0:24:39.240 --> 0:24:42.480 up teachers of the law, they burst in the middle 0:24:42.560 --> 0:24:45.480 of the temple with the woman who has just been 0:24:45.600 --> 0:24:49.160 caught in the act of adultery. They come in, they 0:24:49.280 --> 0:24:53.280 throw the woman in the middle of Jesus preaching, and 0:24:53.320 --> 0:24:58.560 they say, Jesus stop the sermon. You know how religious 0:24:58.560 --> 0:25:00.639 people do. They always look like they smell something in 0:25:00.680 --> 0:25:02.119 the room. They always look like they just caught a 0:25:02.119 --> 0:25:06.600 whiff or something. Just Jesus, stop the sermon. In the 0:25:06.640 --> 0:25:09.280 middle of the message, they throw this woman in front 0:25:09.320 --> 0:25:11.679 of Jesus and say, we just caught her in the 0:25:11.880 --> 0:25:15.320 act of adultery. The law of Moses commands us that 0:25:15.359 --> 0:25:18.359 she should be stolen. But what do you have to 0:25:18.480 --> 0:25:22.080 say in the middle of his message. I don't know 0:25:22.119 --> 0:25:24.280 how you read the Bible. Here's how I read the Bible. 0:25:24.400 --> 0:25:26.280 When I read the Bible, I jump in the page 0:25:26.400 --> 0:25:28.600 of the Bible. Okay, I imagine what it would be 0:25:28.720 --> 0:25:31.600 like to be in that situation. Can you imagine on 0:25:31.640 --> 0:25:35.239 this illustrious Sunday morning, if while I'm preaching, all of 0:25:35.240 --> 0:25:38.800 a sudden, in this side door, somebody comes in and says, Robert, 0:25:39.960 --> 0:25:42.879 stop the sermon. We just caught a woman in the 0:25:42.960 --> 0:25:45.560 act of adultery. Throws her in the middle of the 0:25:45.560 --> 0:25:53.280 elevation church and says, what do you have to say? Hey, uh, 0:25:53.359 --> 0:25:56.200 you're looking for Pastor Ferdick. I'm a dou Ferdick gum. 0:25:56.280 --> 0:25:58.640 Now people get us confused all the time. Now can 0:25:58.760 --> 0:26:04.040 you imagine the shock, the tension in the room. See church, 0:26:04.080 --> 0:26:06.480 people don't know how to deal with tension. Can you 0:26:06.680 --> 0:26:10.400 imagine what the service would have looked like that day? 0:26:10.440 --> 0:26:15.399 Can you imagine the gas forever the people that turned 0:26:15.400 --> 0:26:18.240 their head. Can you imagine how many people say, oh, 0:26:18.320 --> 0:26:21.760 my goodness. Can you imagine the shock in the room. 0:26:21.800 --> 0:26:24.159 Can you imagine what it would have been like to 0:26:24.200 --> 0:26:30.320 have been her? Surely she wanted to meet Jesus, but 0:26:30.480 --> 0:26:35.880 not like this. She's forced in the middle of the 0:26:36.000 --> 0:26:41.080 temple in the church. And I submit to you, of 0:26:41.160 --> 0:26:42.919 all the people that were shocked that day, of all 0:26:42.920 --> 0:26:47.200 the people that sucked in air, there was one person 0:26:47.240 --> 0:26:51.680 who did it, and his name is Jesus. His name 0:26:51.760 --> 0:26:55.359 is Jesus. He was not shocked. In fact, I think 0:26:55.440 --> 0:26:58.080 the whole thing was a set up, not by them, 0:26:58.760 --> 0:27:01.199 but by an awesome God who is trying to reveal 0:27:01.480 --> 0:27:04.679 that I know how to live in the tension of 0:27:04.840 --> 0:27:08.879 grace and true. I think this is a good place 0:27:08.960 --> 0:27:13.840 to insert this thought that Jesus is not shocked by 0:27:13.880 --> 0:27:17.200 your sin. I don't know who needs to hear that today, 0:27:17.200 --> 0:27:20.919 but Jesus is not shocked by your sin. I know 0:27:21.119 --> 0:27:23.680 you're shocked by the messed up things that you did. 0:27:23.840 --> 0:27:25.800 Some of you did it last night. But can I 0:27:25.840 --> 0:27:29.199 tell you, Jesus is not shocked, nor is he appalled, 0:27:29.280 --> 0:27:32.520 nor is he going at your sin. He can handle it. 0:27:32.640 --> 0:27:36.880 In fact, he came from heaven to Earth to defeat sin, death, hell, 0:27:37.000 --> 0:27:40.679 and the grave. Jesus is not shocked, nor is he 0:27:40.760 --> 0:27:44.639 intimidated by your sin. I know you're shocked, but please 0:27:44.720 --> 0:27:48.400 don't think that he was. Oh, he is not shocked 0:27:48.440 --> 0:27:51.719 by your sin. See they thought they could get Jesus 0:27:51.960 --> 0:27:55.159 and pull a TMZ moment and make him go, oh my. 0:27:55.520 --> 0:27:59.360 He is not shocked by your sin. A we get shocked, 0:27:59.480 --> 0:28:02.639 yeahanity does. Because we have the tendency to look at 0:28:02.680 --> 0:28:05.680 sin in categories, don't we, feeling like there's big sin 0:28:05.760 --> 0:28:09.919 and there's little sin. With humans look at sin and categories. 0:28:09.920 --> 0:28:11.879 But that is not how Jesus looks at it. He 0:28:12.080 --> 0:28:14.199 just sees sin at sin. In fact, that is the 0:28:14.240 --> 0:28:18.480 great qualifier of life, that all have sin and fallen 0:28:18.560 --> 0:28:21.479 short of the glory of God. But we look at 0:28:21.520 --> 0:28:25.119 sin in categories, don't we. We look at sin and 0:28:25.119 --> 0:28:28.280 flavors and flavors. I'll never forget back when I could 0:28:28.320 --> 0:28:30.800 go to restaurants and eat and my father and I 0:28:30.840 --> 0:28:33.080 he travels with me sometimes and we try to hold 0:28:33.080 --> 0:28:34.840 each other accountable and we try to eat healthy, and 0:28:34.840 --> 0:28:36.840 I never forget. One day we said, hey, we're gonna 0:28:36.840 --> 0:28:38.600 eat right on this trip. We're not gonna eat bad. 0:28:39.000 --> 0:28:42.160 We go to this restaurant and I leave. The waiter says, hey, 0:28:42.200 --> 0:28:43.920 do you want to deserve? I said, oh, no, I'm good. 0:28:44.160 --> 0:28:46.280 I go to the restroom. I come back. My father 0:28:46.400 --> 0:28:49.080 is eating pecan pie. I said, man, when you do 0:28:49.160 --> 0:28:51.840 my Nigerian fathers, even Compa said what you're doing? What 0:28:51.920 --> 0:28:53.960 we said, we're gonna eat healthy? Why in the world 0:28:54.040 --> 0:28:55.960 are you eating this for Compile? Of course my dad, 0:28:56.040 --> 0:28:57.960 it's only he could do it. And Nigeria says, good 0:28:58.000 --> 0:29:00.680 wordy about me. Okay, don't worry about me. I said, okay, 0:29:00.680 --> 0:29:02.880 it's cool. And the waiter came back said do you 0:29:03.000 --> 0:29:05.840 want some dessert. I said no, I'm good. I'm good. 0:29:05.840 --> 0:29:07.080 She said are you sure. I was like, no, I'm 0:29:07.120 --> 0:29:08.959 good unless you got cheesecake or something. She said, oh, 0:29:08.960 --> 0:29:11.720 we got cheesecake. I said, oh, go ahead and bring 0:29:11.720 --> 0:29:14.720 that cheesecake out real quick, ken and she brings out 0:29:14.720 --> 0:29:17.760 the cheesecake, and there I am eating the cheesecake. Now, 0:29:17.880 --> 0:29:20.760 how crazy would it be for me to be judging 0:29:20.920 --> 0:29:26.280 my father eating pecan pies when I got cheesecake all 0:29:26.360 --> 0:29:29.160 on the side of my face. Wouldn't I look ridiculous 0:29:29.360 --> 0:29:32.120 to me? I can't believe you are eating that cheeseca. 0:29:32.120 --> 0:29:34.280 At least mine has a strawberry on it. I'm getting 0:29:34.320 --> 0:29:37.320 my fruit. Wouldn't that be crazy? Because I mean, my 0:29:37.400 --> 0:29:40.920 body does not care whether it's cheesecake or pecan pie 0:29:41.000 --> 0:29:43.520 or keelm pie. They don't care about the flavor. It's 0:29:43.560 --> 0:29:46.440 just counting the calories. And it's easy to look at 0:29:46.480 --> 0:29:49.680 somebody that doesn't have the sin that you have or 0:29:49.680 --> 0:29:52.600 the issue that you have and to judge them. But 0:29:52.640 --> 0:29:54.440 can I tell you what you make all of us 0:29:54.680 --> 0:29:56.800 just come to the Throne of Grace and said, know 0:29:56.880 --> 0:29:59.640 that all of us have sin, and all of us 0:29:59.680 --> 0:30:04.840 have all in short, and all of us have something. Oh, 0:30:04.880 --> 0:30:07.880 but it's easy to judge people that don't have the 0:30:07.920 --> 0:30:12.520 flavor of said that you have. And they came in 0:30:12.560 --> 0:30:15.240 and thought they were going to get a reaction out 0:30:15.280 --> 0:30:18.400 of Jesus said, we just caught this woman in the act. 0:30:18.600 --> 0:30:21.920 What do you have to say Jesus, and all of 0:30:21.920 --> 0:30:27.240 a sudden tension is in the room and they're waiting 0:30:27.960 --> 0:30:31.560 on Jesus' response because they had planned this out for 0:30:31.600 --> 0:30:35.200 a long time. Oh, they had been waiting for this trap. 0:30:35.280 --> 0:30:37.520 They were waiting to trap. In fact, that's what the 0:30:37.560 --> 0:30:41.640 text says. All this was to trap Jesus. And let 0:30:41.640 --> 0:30:43.640 me tell you why. I got to give the Pharisees 0:30:43.680 --> 0:30:45.760 and the teachers of the law a little bit of 0:30:45.760 --> 0:30:48.920 credit because this is a good trap. Oh, this is 0:30:49.040 --> 0:30:53.320 a brilliant trap. Because you understand that the teachers of 0:30:53.360 --> 0:30:57.680 the law were actually right, because Moses law was clear 0:30:57.720 --> 0:31:01.840 that the punishment for adultry was to be stone. It 0:31:01.840 --> 0:31:04.920 was in Leviticus, it was in Deuteronomy. They knew the word, 0:31:05.240 --> 0:31:07.640 or they had the word memorized, the first five books 0:31:07.640 --> 0:31:10.000 of the Old Testament, the whole Penitive they had it 0:31:10.080 --> 0:31:13.840 memorized because they knew the word. They were profound and 0:31:14.000 --> 0:31:16.720 the word. They knew it down to the letter. Or 0:31:16.800 --> 0:31:20.000 they knew the word. They knew they were right. But 0:31:20.080 --> 0:31:22.680 isn't it crazy how you can be right and wrong 0:31:23.040 --> 0:31:26.320 at the same time. Isn't it crazy how you can 0:31:26.360 --> 0:31:28.200 know the letter of the law but not know the 0:31:28.280 --> 0:31:31.960 spirit of the law, isn't it crazy? Like my grandmother said, 0:31:32.200 --> 0:31:34.760 you can know the word but not know the author. 0:31:36.200 --> 0:31:38.920 And they had forgotten who the author was, and they 0:31:39.120 --> 0:31:41.920 throw this woman down there like haha. We got them 0:31:42.040 --> 0:31:45.080 trapped with the law. We got them trapped in the world. 0:31:45.160 --> 0:31:48.520 And it is a good trap because if Jesus stands 0:31:48.600 --> 0:31:51.640 up and says, hold up, wait a minute, do not 0:31:51.880 --> 0:31:55.680 stone this woman, he is now trampling on the law 0:31:55.720 --> 0:31:59.760 of Moses. And they already downloaded his podcast where he said, 0:31:59.760 --> 0:32:01.560 I did I come to a boist the law. I 0:32:01.640 --> 0:32:05.360 came to fulfill it. On the other hand, if Jesus says, 0:32:05.400 --> 0:32:08.680 you know what you're right, get a big rock, knock 0:32:08.720 --> 0:32:12.800 her out. All of a sudden, this savior who's known 0:32:12.840 --> 0:32:17.720 for his grace and his mercy and his compassion, all 0:32:17.720 --> 0:32:20.320 of a sudden, this Savior says, come to me, no 0:32:20.360 --> 0:32:23.120 matter who you are, now the message has come to me, 0:32:23.280 --> 0:32:27.160 and get stoned to death. So what is Jesus gonna do? 0:32:27.800 --> 0:32:30.880 He's caught in this predicament of do I uphold the 0:32:30.960 --> 0:32:34.760 law or do I protect the woman? What do I do? 0:32:34.880 --> 0:32:38.160 He's caught in this tension of do I trample on 0:32:38.200 --> 0:32:41.800 the word, or do I trample on this woman? Can 0:32:41.840 --> 0:32:45.880 you see the tension that he is facing. Oh? If 0:32:45.920 --> 0:32:47.760 that was me, I don't know if life has ever 0:32:47.840 --> 0:32:49.920 hit you with a situation where you say, I don't 0:32:49.960 --> 0:32:52.280 know what in the world I'm gonna do about this. 0:32:52.360 --> 0:32:54.760 If this was me, I would have been nervous. I 0:32:54.800 --> 0:32:57.400 would have been sweating. I would have been looking for 0:32:57.640 --> 0:33:00.840 a theological book to help me out all. I would 0:33:00.840 --> 0:33:04.000 have been nervous because I am an ordinary man. But 0:33:04.080 --> 0:33:07.120 how many know Jesus was not an ordinary man. He 0:33:07.320 --> 0:33:10.680 was God in the flesh. He was the beginning and 0:33:10.760 --> 0:33:14.200 the end. He was the Alpha and the Omega. See, 0:33:14.240 --> 0:33:16.480 this is what I love about the God that we serve. 0:33:16.800 --> 0:33:19.160 It's not just that he has power. I'm glad that 0:33:19.200 --> 0:33:22.520 he has power and wisdom. Oh it's one thing to 0:33:22.600 --> 0:33:26.320 have power, it's another thing to have power and wisdom. 0:33:26.640 --> 0:33:29.840 Anytime you have somebody that has power and no wisdom, 0:33:30.040 --> 0:33:32.680 you need to be scared of that leader. But thank 0:33:32.720 --> 0:33:36.400 God that he has all power and he has infinite wisdom. 0:33:36.640 --> 0:33:38.920 And when you put that together, that's a god you 0:33:38.960 --> 0:33:41.800 should worship. That's a god you should turn. That's a 0:33:41.840 --> 0:33:45.240 god you can trust because He's got power and wisdom. 0:33:45.440 --> 0:33:48.320 So my question is, why are you stressing about what 0:33:48.360 --> 0:33:51.160 you're stressing about when you got a God who has 0:33:51.240 --> 0:33:54.520 all power and he has all wisdom. He knew before 0:33:54.560 --> 0:33:56.880 the pandemic you were going to be in that situation. 0:33:57.160 --> 0:33:59.160 But how many know He is working it out for 0:33:59.280 --> 0:34:02.280 your good. He's gonna make sure that in the end 0:34:02.400 --> 0:34:06.840 you are going to win. I'll thank God that all 0:34:06.920 --> 0:34:08.759 things work for the good of those that love the 0:34:08.800 --> 0:34:11.880 Lord and are called according to his purpose. I'm glad 0:34:11.880 --> 0:34:15.440 he has power, but I'm glad he has wisdom too. 0:34:15.480 --> 0:34:18.120 Can I just stay here for a minute. I love 0:34:18.280 --> 0:34:20.759 that he has wisdom. Do you realize that your God 0:34:20.920 --> 0:34:23.040 has never thought of anything that he didn't already think of. 0:34:24.280 --> 0:34:26.280 God has never thought of anything that he didn't already 0:34:26.320 --> 0:34:27.640 think of. Because if he could think of something that 0:34:27.640 --> 0:34:29.600 he hadn't already thought of, that means he could learn something. 0:34:29.680 --> 0:34:33.040 And he can't learn anything because he knows everything. He 0:34:33.280 --> 0:34:38.600 I'm saying another way, nothing has ever occurred to your God. 0:34:38.719 --> 0:34:41.759 God has never said, you know what just occurred to me? No, 0:34:41.960 --> 0:34:45.680 he knows everything. That means you can trust him even 0:34:45.719 --> 0:34:49.120 in the darkest season of your life. That he will 0:34:49.160 --> 0:34:52.960 work it out. They thought they had him trapped, so 0:34:53.000 --> 0:34:56.960 they demanded an answer. They said, Jesus, we caught it 0:34:57.000 --> 0:35:02.760 in the act. What do you to say? The Bible 0:35:02.800 --> 0:35:12.239 says Jesus standing there, Sez the woman, ashamed and embarrassed, 0:35:13.320 --> 0:35:19.239 sees the Pharisees with hatred in their eyes. What do 0:35:19.280 --> 0:35:27.879 you have to say, Jesus? His immediate response to get down, 0:35:32.440 --> 0:35:39.320 and he starts doodling in the dirt. All the while 0:35:40.040 --> 0:35:45.359 they're demanding an answer. Jesus, we ain't playing. Lord Moses says, 0:35:45.360 --> 0:35:50.920 you should be stronge. What do you have to say? 0:35:52.480 --> 0:35:55.520 She just starts doodling. It takes us. He acted as 0:35:55.560 --> 0:35:57.799 if he didn't hear. That's a cute way of saying. 0:35:57.960 --> 0:36:02.879 He ignored them and just starts doodling. And I think 0:36:02.920 --> 0:36:06.120 they thought his silence meant that they got him. They're like, oh, 0:36:06.280 --> 0:36:09.680 we got him. Come on, Jesus, tell me she should 0:36:09.680 --> 0:36:12.360 be stole. What do you have to say? What do 0:36:12.400 --> 0:36:19.040 I have? So he just starts doodling in the third 0:36:19.160 --> 0:36:20.840 And I don't know who this is for today, but 0:36:20.920 --> 0:36:23.040 some of you need to take a cue from Jesus 0:36:23.440 --> 0:36:27.000 and quit being so quick to react to your critics. 0:36:27.400 --> 0:36:29.880 Sometimes the best thing you can do when the enemy 0:36:29.920 --> 0:36:32.279 comes in your life with all kinds of drama and 0:36:32.320 --> 0:36:34.399 all kinds of chaos, sometimes the best thing you can 0:36:34.440 --> 0:36:36.879 do is just turn your back and get on your 0:36:36.960 --> 0:36:40.239 knee and remind yourself that God is the author and 0:36:40.320 --> 0:36:43.479 the finisher of your faith that He's got you. Quit 0:36:43.560 --> 0:36:47.400 being so quick to give a reaction to the enemy, 0:36:47.640 --> 0:36:49.440 because you do know that's what the enemy wants in 0:36:49.480 --> 0:36:51.520 your life. He loves to come in your life with 0:36:51.640 --> 0:36:55.160 chaos because he wants you to give a reaction. But 0:36:55.239 --> 0:36:57.200 how man you know you don't need to give a reaction. 0:36:57.480 --> 0:37:00.000 You need to give a response because there's a difference 0:37:00.400 --> 0:37:04.879 between a reaction and a response. Come on, somebody, There 0:37:04.960 --> 0:37:08.520 is a huge difference between a reaction and a response. 0:37:08.680 --> 0:37:13.000 The enemy wants a reaction. He wants you to react 0:37:13.120 --> 0:37:16.360 the chaos and the drama that came into your life. 0:37:16.440 --> 0:37:20.799 But don't be a reactor. Be a responder. Oh can 0:37:20.840 --> 0:37:23.719 I tell somebody in this season it is important that 0:37:23.840 --> 0:37:26.319 in all the chaos, you don't react, but you give 0:37:26.360 --> 0:37:30.000 a response. There's a difference between a reaction and a response. 0:37:30.600 --> 0:37:34.080 A reaction tends to be quick. It tends to be 0:37:34.120 --> 0:37:37.759 a knee jerker. It's fast. There's a difference between a 0:37:37.800 --> 0:37:42.680 reaction and response. A response is deliberate. You're slow when 0:37:42.719 --> 0:37:45.560 you respond. That's why. And this season is so critical 0:37:45.600 --> 0:37:48.040 to remember what God said and James says, he says, 0:37:48.080 --> 0:37:53.480 be slow to speak, slow to speak, slow to anger, 0:37:54.000 --> 0:37:56.520 because when you give a reaction, that's what the enemy wants. 0:37:56.560 --> 0:38:00.400 There's a difference between a reaction and a response. Enemy 0:38:00.440 --> 0:38:03.560 wants your reaction. Have you notice, thank God, a pandemic 0:38:03.560 --> 0:38:06.080 has shown us what the essential workers are. Have you 0:38:06.160 --> 0:38:10.239 notice that they call them an emergency response team, not 0:38:10.320 --> 0:38:13.840 an emergency reaction team. Can you imagine if it was 0:38:13.840 --> 0:38:17.000 an emergency reaction team and you called ninemal ones saying 0:38:17.480 --> 0:38:20.439 no one, hep, hep, hep, my daughter just got cut. 0:38:20.520 --> 0:38:22.799 Hap hot help, and the person along the line talking 0:38:22.800 --> 0:38:26.080 about want me go down, let me go down, we'd 0:38:26.120 --> 0:38:29.640 be like, oh, I called you. Now they don't give 0:38:29.640 --> 0:38:33.640 a reaction. They give you a response, and the enemy 0:38:33.680 --> 0:38:39.319 wants your reaction. But Jesus never reacted. He responded, he 0:38:39.400 --> 0:38:45.640 took a knee, and he just doodles in the dirt. 0:38:46.280 --> 0:38:48.080 Now we got a pause here because I'm about to 0:38:48.160 --> 0:38:51.640 land the plane. Everybody wants to know, right what was 0:38:51.760 --> 0:38:56.640 Jesus writing in the ground that day? Oh, come on, 0:38:56.680 --> 0:38:59.440 this is a hot topic in theology. Everybody wants to 0:38:59.440 --> 0:39:03.000 know he's Dolars and theologians have postulated what they think 0:39:03.040 --> 0:39:05.200 he wrote in the ground. There's so many different theories. 0:39:05.280 --> 0:39:09.160 Some people think that he wrote, love the Lord your God, 0:39:10.000 --> 0:39:12.080 though of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, Love your 0:39:12.080 --> 0:39:15.960 neighbor as yourself. Some people say that he wrote the 0:39:16.040 --> 0:39:20.120 Ten Commandments. Some people say that he wrote Jeremiah seventeen three. 0:39:20.200 --> 0:39:22.960 Those who forsake you are written in the dust. There's 0:39:23.000 --> 0:39:26.120 so many different theories. One theory is that he wrote 0:39:26.239 --> 0:39:29.240 the names of all of the men who gathered rocks 0:39:29.320 --> 0:39:32.040 that day, and next to their name he wrote their 0:39:32.040 --> 0:39:35.280 particular sin, so that when they looked in the ground 0:39:35.320 --> 0:39:38.479 and they saw their name and what they did next 0:39:38.520 --> 0:39:41.120 to their name, they were like, you know what, I 0:39:41.280 --> 0:39:42.959 wasn't even try to be here anyway. I have some stuff, 0:39:42.960 --> 0:39:45.840 how shy do I don't know if that's true, but 0:39:45.880 --> 0:39:49.920 I like that theory. After studying and reading everything I 0:39:49.960 --> 0:39:52.880 know to read, I have to be honest, I don't 0:39:52.880 --> 0:39:56.319 know what Jesus wrote that day. Which, by the way, 0:39:56.480 --> 0:39:57.920 you do know sometimes it's all right for you to 0:39:57.920 --> 0:40:01.759 say I don't know. I don't know what he wrote 0:40:01.840 --> 0:40:05.719 that day, And to be honest, I don't care, because 0:40:05.760 --> 0:40:07.560 I don't want to be so busy trying to figure 0:40:07.560 --> 0:40:11.640 out what he was writing that I miss out on 0:40:11.800 --> 0:40:17.560 how he was responding. Because when the law caught this 0:40:17.640 --> 0:40:23.120 woman in the act of her sin, Jesus' response to 0:40:23.200 --> 0:40:28.000 the law was to immediately get down on the ground 0:40:28.719 --> 0:40:32.880 and touch the dirt. And after he touched the dirt, 0:40:33.360 --> 0:40:37.680 Bob says something interesting. It says, he raised himself up 0:40:38.480 --> 0:40:42.960 and then he gave a response to the accusations of 0:40:43.080 --> 0:40:46.640 the law. When this woman was caught in the act 0:40:46.760 --> 0:40:50.800 of sin and the law wanted to destroy her, jesus 0:40:51.000 --> 0:40:55.480 immediate response to the law was to get down on 0:40:55.520 --> 0:40:58.640 the ground. He didn't say anything, He just got down 0:40:58.960 --> 0:41:01.759 and he touched the dirt, and then he says, he 0:41:02.080 --> 0:41:07.800 raised himself up and gave a response to the accusations 0:41:07.840 --> 0:41:10.359 of the law. Did you hear what I said? When 0:41:10.400 --> 0:41:13.600 this woman was caught in the act and the law 0:41:13.680 --> 0:41:17.960 wanted to destroy her, Jesus' immediate response was to get 0:41:18.080 --> 0:41:20.920 down on the ground. He was the only one that 0:41:21.080 --> 0:41:23.799 was willing to get down on her level and meet 0:41:23.840 --> 0:41:27.120 her where she was. And he touched the dirt, and 0:41:27.160 --> 0:41:31.440 then he raised himself up and gave a response to 0:41:31.520 --> 0:41:35.920 the accusation of the law. Come on, this is the gospel, 0:41:36.280 --> 0:41:39.800 this is you, this is me. Humanity is this woman. 0:41:40.080 --> 0:41:42.840 We were all caught in the act. And if the 0:41:42.920 --> 0:41:45.680 law had its way, it would have killed us, it 0:41:45.719 --> 0:41:49.600 would have destroyed us. But Jesus' response was to come 0:41:49.640 --> 0:41:54.319 down from heaven. He came down to earth and humbled himself. 0:41:54.560 --> 0:41:57.920 He touched the dirt. We are made of that dirt. 0:41:58.120 --> 0:42:02.160 He could feel our humanity. And then he raised himself 0:42:02.280 --> 0:42:05.680 up on a truss and gave a response to the 0:42:05.719 --> 0:42:11.799 accusation of the law. Oh I am that woman. You 0:42:12.200 --> 0:42:16.400 are that woman. We were caught in the act, and Jesus' 0:42:16.480 --> 0:42:21.000 response was to come down to where we were. Oh, 0:42:21.080 --> 0:42:23.520 what would our world look like if people would just 0:42:23.600 --> 0:42:27.720 come down and humble themself and relate to other people. 0:42:27.800 --> 0:42:31.759 He came down and touched the third and then he 0:42:31.960 --> 0:42:38.439 raised himself up. He raised himself up to the point 0:42:38.480 --> 0:42:41.960 that he says, no man takes my life, I lay 0:42:42.000 --> 0:42:45.960 it down. He raised himself up on the cross, and 0:42:46.000 --> 0:42:50.680 he offered a response to the accusation of the law. 0:42:51.320 --> 0:42:53.600 When he raised himself up, he looked at him and says, 0:42:53.680 --> 0:42:57.560 he who's without sin among you, you'd be the first 0:42:57.560 --> 0:43:03.560 to cast the stone, says One by one, starting with 0:43:03.640 --> 0:43:08.320 the oldest, even to the last, they dropped their rocks 0:43:09.200 --> 0:43:11.800 and walked away. He didn't even wait on him to 0:43:11.840 --> 0:43:14.360 drop the rock. He went right back down to doodling 0:43:14.880 --> 0:43:19.920 in the dirt, and every single one of them walked away. 0:43:20.360 --> 0:43:23.600 He who's without sin among you, you'd be the first 0:43:23.640 --> 0:43:29.000 to cast a stone. What is Jesus saying with that statement? 0:43:30.000 --> 0:43:34.400 What is he saying? You know what he's saying. He's saying, 0:43:34.840 --> 0:43:40.479 I see you, I know what you did. You think 0:43:41.360 --> 0:43:46.120 you want to uphold the law. You're using this woman, 0:43:47.000 --> 0:43:49.320 You've dehumanized her to trap me, and you want to 0:43:49.400 --> 0:43:53.000 uphold the law. I am the word, I am the law. 0:43:53.719 --> 0:43:56.560 And if you really cared about the law, the law 0:43:56.680 --> 0:43:59.920 was clear that if somebody was caught in the act 0:43:59.920 --> 0:44:04.680 of adultery, that there had to be two witnesses seeing 0:44:04.719 --> 0:44:08.920 them in that and the law was to bring the 0:44:09.000 --> 0:44:14.520 woman and the man and stone both of them. So, 0:44:14.600 --> 0:44:18.480 if you're really about upholding the law. Quick question, were 0:44:18.520 --> 0:44:23.360 the man where is it with? Many believes that this 0:44:23.400 --> 0:44:26.799 whole situation was a trap. It was a set up, 0:44:27.000 --> 0:44:29.360 not just to get Jesus, but they trapped this woman. 0:44:29.400 --> 0:44:31.680 And the reason the man wasn't there is because he 0:44:31.800 --> 0:44:34.879 was in on it. And Jesus could see to the 0:44:34.920 --> 0:44:37.359 core of who they were, and he says, I know 0:44:37.480 --> 0:44:41.400 what you did. You set this whole thing up. And 0:44:41.480 --> 0:44:44.040 in one statement, they were forced to do the most 0:44:44.080 --> 0:44:48.000 powerful thing any human can do, and that is to 0:44:48.120 --> 0:44:53.160 look at themselves. Oh what would our world look like 0:44:54.360 --> 0:45:00.360 if we all looked on the inside of us the 0:45:00.400 --> 0:45:06.759 truth asked for his grace. One by one they came 0:45:06.800 --> 0:45:11.120 to the understanding, I'm not different than this woman who's 0:45:11.160 --> 0:45:15.760 on the ground. They dropped their rocket and walked away, 0:45:16.640 --> 0:45:21.560 and Jesus was left alone with the woman left alone 0:45:22.200 --> 0:45:25.040 in his presence. And I can see her because I 0:45:25.040 --> 0:45:27.560 think her head was down the whole tome, tears coming 0:45:27.600 --> 0:45:31.000 down her face. I don't even think she noticed that 0:45:31.080 --> 0:45:34.759 they had left. Because sometimes you can go through so 0:45:34.880 --> 0:45:37.000 much and be beating down so much, and be so 0:45:37.280 --> 0:45:40.720 tired and so much pain, you don't even realize Jesus 0:45:40.719 --> 0:45:43.600 has already taken care of the thing that you've been 0:45:43.680 --> 0:45:46.680 crying about. I don't even think she noticed that they 0:45:46.680 --> 0:45:48.680 were gone, and I think he had to get her attention, 0:45:48.800 --> 0:45:53.160 say woman and A, hey, where are your accusers? I 0:45:53.200 --> 0:45:55.359 can see her going Jesus, you don't understand what's going 0:45:55.400 --> 0:46:04.600 on the world. You don't see all. She realized Jesus 0:46:04.600 --> 0:46:07.759 had taken care of the thing that she was weeping about. 0:46:07.760 --> 0:46:09.160 I don't know who this is for today, but you 0:46:09.160 --> 0:46:12.000 need to understand. Jesus is taking care of the thing 0:46:12.280 --> 0:46:15.279 that you're weeping about, that you're crying about that you 0:46:15.440 --> 0:46:20.799 keep beating yourself up about. Jesus is handling it. One 0:46:20.800 --> 0:46:22.920 by one, they dropped their rocks. She realized they were God. 0:46:22.960 --> 0:46:26.440 She said, I have no Lord. Are you gonna condemn me? 0:46:28.000 --> 0:46:32.600 Neither do I condemn. You? Go your way and sin 0:46:33.080 --> 0:46:38.040 no more, not sin no more. Neither do I condemn you. 0:46:39.320 --> 0:46:45.839 Walk shamefree, knowing that I did not come to condemn you. 0:46:46.800 --> 0:46:53.240 And that woman walked away after encountering grace and truth. 0:46:54.360 --> 0:46:57.600 You know what I wish those religious stuck up Pharisees 0:46:57.680 --> 0:47:00.480 would have done. They were right to check them and 0:47:00.560 --> 0:47:03.040 drop their rock, but they shouldn't have walked away. They 0:47:03.040 --> 0:47:06.200 should have came and knelt at the feet of this 0:47:06.440 --> 0:47:10.960 savior who is full of grace and truth and received 0:47:11.160 --> 0:47:15.640 him right where he was. Thank God for a savior 0:47:16.560 --> 0:47:24.399 who is full of grace and truth. This savior, he's 0:47:24.480 --> 0:47:27.920 reaching out to all of us today saying, have an 0:47:28.080 --> 0:47:32.120 encounter with my grace and truth. He's speaking to the 0:47:32.239 --> 0:47:37.600 church today saying, will you be tethered to my character 0:47:37.960 --> 0:47:42.560 and will you start to show grace and truth. Oh God, 0:47:42.800 --> 0:47:45.600 I'm praying in this season where the world is so dark, 0:47:45.800 --> 0:47:48.920 that we would respond with grace and truth to the 0:47:49.040 --> 0:47:52.120 people around us. Give us the wisdom of when to 0:47:52.160 --> 0:47:56.480 show grace and when to speak truth. That's what we 0:47:56.520 --> 0:48:02.000 need this time and in this season, living in the 0:48:02.160 --> 0:48:08.080 tension of grace and true. I'm just gonna ask, wherever 0:48:08.080 --> 0:48:10.920 you're watching this, that your head spowed, your eyes closed. 0:48:10.920 --> 0:48:16.560 No matter where you are, maybe you're watching and you 0:48:16.600 --> 0:48:26.200 feel like this woman so much shame, condemnation. Enemy has 0:48:26.239 --> 0:48:30.000 been tormenting you about mistakes in your past. Can I 0:48:30.080 --> 0:48:34.879 tell you that if Jesus was a condemner, God would 0:48:34.920 --> 0:48:36.880 have sent a condemner in the world. But he didn't. 0:48:36.880 --> 0:48:40.520 He sent a savior. No matter what you're facing, no 0:48:40.560 --> 0:48:44.080 matter what you're going through, This wonderful Savior who is 0:48:44.120 --> 0:48:49.200 full of grace and truth. His arms are open to 0:48:49.239 --> 0:48:52.560 you today. If you need to receive him. I want 0:48:52.600 --> 0:48:55.600 you just right where you're watching, maybe friends are there. 0:48:55.760 --> 0:48:57.760 Just lift up your hand and just as a response 0:48:57.800 --> 0:49:00.000 to say, I need to give this savior my life, 0:49:00.239 --> 0:49:06.359 my life. Thank you God. Maybe you're watching the day 0:49:06.360 --> 0:49:09.719 and you say, you know what I need to be 0:49:09.800 --> 0:49:13.600 a person that lives in the tension of grace and truth. 0:49:13.920 --> 0:49:17.160 You've surrendered your life to Jesus. But maybe you're too 0:49:17.239 --> 0:49:20.440 much grace and don't speak the truth when you need 0:49:20.480 --> 0:49:22.680 to it. Maybe it's too much truth and you're crushing 0:49:22.719 --> 0:49:24.719 people and you don't have the spirit of grace. But 0:49:25.760 --> 0:49:31.000 I'm believing in this season especially, the voice of the 0:49:31.000 --> 0:49:33.440 Holy Spirit is going to be so strong of the 0:49:33.480 --> 0:49:37.520 inside of you to let you know when to operate 0:49:37.600 --> 0:49:42.840 in grace and truth and live in the tension of both. 0:49:43.000 --> 0:49:45.400 If that's your heart's cry, you'll just lift up your 0:49:45.400 --> 0:49:48.200 head and say, Lord, let that be mean, Let that 0:49:48.239 --> 0:49:53.080 be mean. Father. I thank you for your word, but 0:49:53.239 --> 0:49:56.360 I thank you in the midst of a world that 0:49:56.400 --> 0:50:00.160 has so much tension. Father, we can get strong or 0:50:00.160 --> 0:50:05.920 as we live in the tension of grace and truth 0:50:06.719 --> 0:50:12.520 in Jesus' mighty matchless name. Come on, somebody, say amen 0:50:12.600 --> 0:50:20.160 and give God some praise to the Thank you for 0:50:20.280 --> 0:50:22.839 joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give 0:50:22.920 --> 0:50:25.799 generously to this ministry. Is because of you that this 0:50:25.920 --> 0:50:28.719 ministry is possible. You can click the link in the 0:50:28.760 --> 0:50:33.160 description to give now, or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash 0:50:33.200 --> 0:50:36.480 podcast for more information and if you enjoyed the podcast, 0:50:36.760 --> 0:50:39.480 you can subscribe. You can share it with your friends. 0:50:39.760 --> 0:50:42.040 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:50:42.120 --> 0:50:44.239 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:50:44.239 --> 0:50:51.839 Elevation Church. Thanks again for listening. God bless you.