If you have your Bible, would you turn to Luke chapter 12?
I'm going to get some helpers on here.
Can't see nothing.
And we've been looking through this, and Jesus has been offering some warnings.
He's saying, beware of hypocrisy and beware of covetousnessness.
and then he has another beware that we're going to look at today.
And so he, I used to tell my kids this all the time.
I said, listen, I don't tell you things to hear myself talk.
Right?
I used to tell my kids that.
And I tell you things because I expect you to do.
Now, my wife had this, this.
capacity to repeat herself like 30 times. I'm just like once or twice and then that comes the thunder.
Right? Do what I tell you to do and I'm not talking to hear me speak. So I'm talking for you to hear me.
And that's the way Jesus is. He's not he's not wasting his breath when he says these things.
He's telling us you had better stand up and pay attention to what he is saying to us.
and with these warnings against hypocrisy and covetousness,
it's a powerful thing.
We need to take it to heart because these things will deny you of the life that God has for you
if you let them run amok in your lives.
And so we're going to read, we're going to take a couple chunks.
We're going to take one big chunk and then a little bit at the end.
And so let's read the first one and we'll pray. It's starting in verse 22 of Luke
chapter 12. And my heading here in above the verse of Luke in Luke 1222 says, do not worry.
And it says here, then Jesus said to his disciples, therefore I say to you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or nor about.
the body what you will put on. Life is more than food and the body is more than clothing.
Consider the ravens for they neither sow nor reap which have neither storehouse nor barn
and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds and which of you by worrying
can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do
the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow, they neither toil nor
spin, and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
how much more will he clothe you, oh, you of little faith? And do not seek,
what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things,
the nations of the world seek after, and your father knows that you need these things,
but seek the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock,
for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms.
provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail
where no thief approaches nor moth destroys for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
So we pray.
Lord, thank you.
Thank you for your admonitions, Lord, your instructions, your corrections, Lord.
And all these words can have those effects on our lives of the people sitting in this room.
and Lord, I know that there's great conviction in my heart, Lord, that I've allowed some of these things
to take my attention away from you. And Lord, I want to turn and repent for that even now,
Lord, and just pray that you would, Lord, put our minds, our hearts, our focus, our purpose, Lord,
in the right place. Lord, knowing that we're called to be rich in you, you told us,
there last week, Lord, that we should have riches towards God, that our treasures truly should be
in heaven. So help us to set our mind on things above and teach us from your word today,
we pray in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Amen. And so he starts off here, right? He, well, verse 21 says,
so is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. This was the negative statement
of the guy that was building bigger and better barns.
And so the Lord's suggestion is here that,
no, your riches really should be towards God,
not towards Bank of Commerce.
And so he shifts gears as he tells him.
He says, then he said to his disciples,
therefore I say to you, don't worry about your life.
Some of your versions says, take no thought.
Right? Take no thought about your life. And so to be thinking about that, to be consumed in your mind about your life,
you see, that was the guy's problem in last week's study, the man who had a bumper crop. All he could say was I, me, my, mine.
And that's all he could think about was himself. And the Lord rebuked him.
for that and saying tonight, today, your soul is required of you. And that is the thought that you and I
should live our lives and today my soul may be required of me. Therefore, how will I live my life?
Because it does. It throws a whole different view on life when you realize, no, this could be the
day that I stand before God and give an account for everything I've done, everything I've said,
and everything I've thought.
Not about you,
but that sends shivers up and down my spine.
And so he's telling us, listen,
don't be anxious.
Last, you know, a couple weeks ago,
it was beware of hypocrisy.
Don't be a hypocrite.
Don't say and not do.
I know as a parent I've done that at.
My parents did it, right?
they say do as I say not as I do
right
because your parents tell you not
remember my dad telling me son never smoked cigarettes
right
do what I say not what I do
yeah but what you do is speaking so loud
that I can't hear what you're saying
right
I remember my stepdad telling me, boy, never do drugs.
As he snorting the line of cannabinol, you know.
Give me that dollar, you know, the rolled up one.
That's what they would use.
Well, if they were doing well, it'd be $100.
Hope none of you had that kind of experience, but that's the world.
That's what they do.
They say and they do.
don't do. Beware of hypocrisy. Then last week we looked at covetousness. I think it's covetousness.
But, right, it's in the top ten. It made the top ten, you shall not covet. Right? Desire something
that you have plenty of already. Or desire what your neighbor has. I want that.
you have to keep that in check right i mean daily i mean i was studying for this message and on my bible app there's a
little pop-up of this girl in really tight stuff right there is a there is a temptation to say i want that
i'm serious so what do i do there's actually a little button you can push the blocks it out
for a time, then it comes back up.
You know, they got this thing figured out, you guys.
These algorithms and these little pop-up things,
they know what makes us tick, us pig-headed men.
So it's a battle that you're in constantly, right?
It's not just say, I'm not going to covet.
And that's a done deal.
No.
You've got to walk that out every single day of your life
until the day that you're dead.
because it never goes away.
I don't care how old you get.
And I remember one time I was talking to my grandpa.
I said, Grandpa, I heard this statistic about men.
It was kind of shocking.
And my grandpa was 80.
I said, Grandpa, they said that a man can have a sexual thought every 90 seconds.
He said, yeah, or more.
I'm just like, that's what I've got to deal with the rest of my life.
When you get old, it doesn't go away.
Nope, don't go away, son.
So keep your dukes up.
Keep fighting the good fight.
Now Jesus says, beware of worry.
He says, do not worry.
The worry is a tyrant, right?
The rich farmer that we looked at last week, he was worried about how much he had.
What am I going to do with that all?
How am I going to take care of this so I can take a life of ease?
Well, that was his first mistake.
I'm sorry, you don't get out of this life by taking a life of ease.
That's when God said, you fool.
He says, it's a foolish.
to think that way. We're in a sojourn. We're in a pilgrimage that's not over. We keep going. You keep
moving forward with the Lord. You stop and you get skid marks on your back. We call it backsliding,
right? You don't stop. You keep going. You keep pressing towards the things of the Lord.
But then you have the disciples that follow Jesus and they're worried about because they don't have
enough. They're knocking themselves out, fishing and working hard. And we know this because when Jesus
tells the story of the rich young ruler, right, that it's impossible for, it's easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a sewing needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. And Peter goes,
well, who can be saved then? He's a poor man. He's not rich, but that was his desire. The Bible says,
be careful.
Those who desire riches fall into a temptation and a snare.
I don't have you ever seen any animal ever snared.
It ain't pretty, right?
Snares them around the neck, chokes them out.
That's what this desire can do.
And then worry just compounds it and makes it even more twisted.
but the Lord calls us, right?
Walk by Faye.
Really?
I'm convinced that every day God finds a way to ask you and me, do you trust me?
Every day I'm convinced that God asks you or puts you in this situation where that question just resonates in your heart and your mind.
Do you trust me?
I've been having that a lot lately
do you trust me
is there anything too hard for me
are you scared that I don't got you
if you're walking by faith
and he says
notice what he says here
he says therefore I say to you
do not worry about your life
what does that mean
don't worry about your life
You mean like, that part of my life?
Like breathing?
That's actually what the word literally means is breath or breathing.
Don't worry about your breath.
Don't I give you every breath?
God gives us every breath.
Why is it that we forget that?
That's what kills me about myself.
Because I forget this all the time.
How much I really enjoy breathing.
yesterday I was running a 5k and I'm not in very good shape
holy cow was I very I was very conscientious of my breathing
right because it just there wasn't enough coming in right
it was it was it was a battle very humiliating
then two girls beat me that was really humiliating
But it's about your life.
The word life here is a word in the Greek is called
Pescuhei, right?
Puscohe means connected to the act of breathing or soul,
which God gives.
And if we give back, if we give it back to him, we have nothing to worry about.
So God gives you breath and life.
If you'll give that breath and that life back to him, then you have nothing to worry about.
Don't worry about your life because you've given it to God.
Simple, right?
Elementary.
But worry comes, and it's like this thief.
Actually, the word comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word, the word worry, that means to strangle.
It strangles you, these life worries that we have.
A few thoughts here on this worry thing.
Chuck Missler said, and he couldn't remember who got this question.
quote from, but he says, it says this, worry is a trickle of fear running through the mind,
which eventually cuts a crevice so deep that it will drain all other thoughts away.
I'll say that again.
Worry is a trickle of fear running through the mind.
It's all in your head, man.
Which eventually cuts a crevice so deep that it will drain all other thoughts away.
Isn't that true?
What are we worried about?
Cortain Boom said,
worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow.
Duh.
It empties today of its strength.
A couple more.
Worry is assuming a responsibility
that God did not intend for you to have.
Right?
Worry is assuming a responsibility
that God did not intend for you to have.
And the last one.
Worry is like paying interest on a debt
never comes due, right? Worries like paying interest on a debt that never comes true. Notice what he
says to him. He says, don't worry about what you're going to eat. Are you guys worried about what
you're going to eat after church today? No. Flip a coin, man, Longhorn, Applebee's, Chili's,
Charles Jr.'s, maybe those make some of you, all of those make you puke. I don't know.
but the fact is we ain't got much of a issue there
shouldn't be too worried about that
but most of the world does worry about that
I remember when we were in Africa
some of the kids we saw in some of the villages
they would eat three to four times a week
it's just like
oh my gosh
how do these people survive
it was incredible
or what you wear.
I mean, how many times have I heard American women say,
I have nothing to wear?
Go look at their closets.
I'm just like, are you serious?
40 pairs of shoes, you know,
a limitless amount of outfits.
So maybe we're not worrying about those things like others do.
And so in verse 23, he goes down and he says,
for life is more than food and the body is more than clothing.
Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap,
which have neither a storehouse or bar.
barn and God feeds them of how much more value are you than the birds? God values us. Why? Because we're
his image bearers. God has relationship with us. God takes care of all the animals.
Right? Do you see any little, you know, robins standing out by the roadside holding a sign?
Thing, anything helps?
I mean, think about it.
And he says we're of more value.
Our job is not to chase after a buck or chased after new outfits or, you know, a porterhouse steak.
It's to chase after him.
Which of you, by worrying, verse 25, can add one cubit to his stature?
If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?
It's like some things are just too big for us.
We have to trust the Lord.
You can't even add one stature, you know, one cubit.
that'd make me probably about 6-6.
I used to think that would be cool.
But now because the ground has become so hard,
I want to stay as close to it as I can.
But your thought, your worry, it can't change anything,
except for maybe give you ulcers, right, destroy your health,
and maybe help your hair turn a little bit gray faster.
The psalmist, I think, puts it all in perspective in Psalm 39, verse 5.
It says, indeed, you have made my days as a handbreadth.
Like, my life is like this long.
And my age is as nothing before you.
Certainly every man at his best is but a vapor.
Sela. You and I are very best. We're just a... Well, that's what it says in the new, the good news
translation says, how short you have made my life in your sight, my lifetime seems nothing.
Indeed, every living being is no more than a puff of wind. I like that version. That's us.
It's like, yeah, not much.
That's why Paul said, don't think more highly of yourself than you ought to.
Because you ain't much.
Just a puff of wind.
That's all you are.
Whether you live six years or 60 or 160, we're not much.
And yet God shows this incredible interest in us.
In all of creation, we seem to be that thing that he focuses on the most.
Verse 28 says,
If then God so close the grass, which today is in the field
and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
how much more will he clothe you?
Oh, you of little faith.
I feel like that all the time.
I feel like the Lord's saying to me all the time.
Oh, you of little faith.
Scotty, what's up, Bubba?
Come on, you need to come talk to me.
Quit fretting so much.
Clean your act up.
That's what he's doing there at the end of the verse.
Jesus just puts his finger on the problem. No, it's your faith. It's a faith issue.
It's not a needs issue. Everyone has needs. The grass has needs. The birds have needs.
I supply those needs is what he's telling us. Do you believe that?
Do you believe that by faith?
Versus 39, excuse me, 30 and 31, for all these,
these things the nations of the world seek after and your father knows that you need these things
but seek the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you. God encourages us,
right? This is the version of Matthew 633. Seek ye first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
All these things will be added to you. What are you seeking? That's the issue.
Or who are you seeking?
because if you seek me, you'll not lack anything.
It's kind of like the whole manna thing.
You can go out and gather a lot.
You won't have any left over.
Or you can go out and have a little,
and you'll gather a little, and you'll have enough.
That's God's economy.
So much different than how we see the world.
So he says to him there in verse 32,
Do not fear little flock,
for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
But you've got to want it.
You don't want the kingdom.
You're not going to have any part of the kingdom.
You got to want it.
I remember a kid telling me that one time.
We were working together, and he was kind of a long greaser, you know, stoner dude.
And I could relate, right?
I used to run with his kind.
What a pompous pig I was.
Anyway.
And I was just, I was thinking, I mean, the first time I saw him, we were on this, I got this new job,
and we were on this work crew, the first time I saw him, I just thought,
Oh, Lord, never let me, please don't ever have me work with that guy.
Well, I think the Lord, when you start telling the Lord, right, how things should go,
you know, what do they say, tell God your plans and listen to him laugh?
Well, then very next day, guess what, me and him are in a transport,
transport and equipment together.
And I'm going, oh, I'm going to backslide all over this guy's face.
But we got to talk and the Lord, and I prayed, I did, I earnestly pray, I said, oh, Lord,
you got to help me today.
And I started praying for this guy.
And I mean, all of a sudden, as we started to talk, I was just overwhelmed with compassion
for this guy.
And man, I mean, the Lord opened the door.
I shared the whole plan of salvation and the gospel with him.
And, you know, he was kind of agreeable.
And then he looked at me and he goes, you know, you know, Scotty, all this stuff you're
saying about Jesus.
He says, you got to want it, don't you?
I said, yeah, Chris, you got to want it.
He said, I don't want it yet.
And I think he's changed his mind since then.
There's been some deaths in his family.
He's been faced with eternity.
And I think he's maybe, maybe, you know, stepped over the threshold
and accepted Jesus is his Lord and Savior.
If not, he's close.
But you've got to want it.
So many people don't want it.
Well, they want what God has to offer.
they just don't want to obey him.
They want all the blessings of God
and then to live their life the way they want to.
Jesus goes, it don't work like that.
Obedience is better than sacrifice.
Come to me. He who would come
and be my disciple must deny himself, pick up his cross,
his instrument of death,
die to himself every day and follow me.
And that's where a lot of people
they're done not going to do it so and and and these are these hard words he says little flock
i notice how he's speaking to him like a grandparent speaks to a three-year-old now come here
come here my widow one right he's he's enduring he's loving but he's really putting us
in our place when he says, little flock, oh, you poor little dumb sheep.
The lexicon, the Greek lexicon kind of puts this whole thought into perspective.
The word, the word that he uses there with little flock is micros.
I think it's where we get our word micro, you know, tiny.
Like it's insignificant.
And it appears 46 times in the New Testament.
That's how many times it occurs.
And it describes something quantitatively small or qualitatively least.
The Spirit employs the word, listen to this, to highlight humility, vulnerability, brevity, beginnings, apparent insignificance.
How does that make you feel?
and universal scope weaving these nuances into core Christian teaching and practices.
Humility, vulnerability, brevity, beginnings, apparent insignificance.
Do you feel that way sometimes being compared to God in the big picture?
When you start looking at the big picture, some of you have seen Louis Giglio's thing called LAM,
when he does that thing.
And he talks about the stars, right?
And Canis Majoris, you can fit seven quadrillion, get your head around that number,
seven quadrillion earths inside of the star that God spoke into existence into Canis Majoris.
That's seven quadrillion earths.
That's a speck, on a speck.
in a star
and you are a speck on one of those tiny specks.
Talk about insignificant.
Does our lives mean anything?
You have to ask ourselves.
And if it wasn't for God,
the answer would be, no.
You know, you're as insignificant as a grain of sand on the seashore.
you got nothing
isn't amazing
when you look of it
think of it that way
and how prideful we think
when we get saved
God you got quite a catch here
and he got
that's got quite a catch here
and he got nothing
it's that it's that flower
right it's like that flower
that he talks about
It's beautiful simply because of who God is.
And it's for His glory.
The very reason we exist, right?
Is for His glory.
This is why Jesus tells that rich young ruler,
you go and sell all that you got.
Go and sell it all.
And then you come follow me.
You remember what happened?
He went away sorrowful.
This says because he had many riches.
See, it's not a sin, folks, to have things, but it is beyond evil, beyond evil for things to have you.
Right?
It is not a sin to have things, but it is beyond evil to have things, have you.
And so, little flock, listen.
For it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
He's not giving it to us because we deserve it.
Right?
He's giving it to us since, because we have denied ourselves,
and we're picking up our cross and we're following him.
That's why God wants to give it to us.
or should I say that's why we would get is because we're willing to do that and so many are not
willing to do that so he says God wants to give you the kingdom what the riches are untold
they're unparalleled unprecedented unrivaled so sell what you have and give alms
sell what you have and give alms
oh
that's rough
means to be extremely generous
giving what you have
provide yourselves money bags
which do not grow old a treasure in the heavens
that does not fail
and this is that whole thought
and idea you and I we can
not out give God we give God 10% man we think we just cut a fat hog we should give it all to him it's all
of it so he tells us to give and when you think about this as believers when we give you know
Lee had just mentioned, you know, about some of our needs for the building.
And I believe that God is going to provide that according to his goodness.
And so there's three ways to give according to God's word where you don't get puffed up.
You don't think more highly of yourself than you ought to.
Or, you know, some people believe because they give a certain amount.
Well, then I need to call the shots here.
and so first of all we just need to give from a pure heart you know i know i've given homeless people
things before and people get after me see yeah you gave the guy 20 bucks he's just going to go down
and buy three bottles of wine and get drunk yeah but i gave him sincerity i gave because i felt like the
guy had a need if he goes and squanders as that's between him and god what i did was between me and god
God can sort all that out.
I need to give.
And so the first thought is to give in secrecy.
Jesus suggests that.
And in the sermon on the mount there in Matthew chapter 6, he says,
hey, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
Right?
So when you give, just do it.
You don't need any accolades.
Because why?
You're storing up your treasure.
in heaven. You know, Jesus said, well, if you give and then you want somebody to pat you on the
back, you got your reward. You're not getting nothing in heaven. Right? You got your reward.
No, you give without telling anyone. God sees in secret will reward you openly. So give
secretly. Give why? Because God's blessed you and you're able to do it. You recognize that.
God's really blessed us.
Me and my wife, we're super blessed.
We get 30 eggs a day.
I'm just like, wow, that's a lot of eggs.
I'm not lacking protein.
But we give.
Why?
Because God's given to us.
Secondly, give sincerely.
Give with sincerity.
because the attitude that you have either makes your gift an act of worship or hypocrisy.
It's an act of worship or hypocrisy.
So just be sincere.
Lord, you bless me.
How could I ever outgive you?
Just give from the abundance that God's given you.
You remember the story of the widow, right?
I remember years ago.
It was on a news station.
And they were talking about charity,
and I think it was a journalist interviewing a pastor,
and they were talking about charity and giving,
and the journalist said, hey, did you hear Bill Gates
just gave a million-dollar charitable gift,
the largest one in human history?
And the pastor goes, oh, I thought the widow's two mites were.
right because why because she gave the Bible says everything she had
Bill Gates gave out of his abundance
I don't know that we ever see anybody taking Jesus up on the hey
go sell all that you got and come and follow me
we see anonize and Sephora
right they sold some ground and then put up the hypocritical front that they were going to give
all the money but they kept some back and god killed them both just be sincere just be sincere
and honest last of all we give a reward because of the estological reward at the end of your life
right the father will reward in his his timing pointing the treasure to heaven you're storing up treasures in heaven
so in a sense we can take some of it with us we just pay it forward into heaven storing up treasures in
heaven where notice he says robbers can't break in and steal and it does not fail where no theme
If he approaches nor moth destroys, for where your treasure is, there where your heart be also.
I want to ask you today, just take a little quick analysis. What has your heart?
What has your heart? Or maybe who has your heart? And I think we can all say,
Relationally, yes, my wife or husband has my heart, my children, my grandchildren.
But ultimately, the Lord would have our heart.
And then it is interesting how that works.
When we give our heart to the Lord, our wife and husband have more of us.
Our children have more of us.
Our grandchildren have more of us.
Why?
Because God is an inexhaustible source that fills your heart and mind.
with a love that we cannot muster.
We don't have it within us.
But when we give our heart to him,
he can fill it up and there's an abundance.
That's the abundant life that Jesus was talking about.
Well, almost finished here.
Sorry.
Last, verse 35 through 40,
this is where we're going to end.
It says, let your waist be girded in your lamps burning.
Right?
And you yourselves be like men who wait for their master when he will return from the wedding
that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.
Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching.
Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat and will come and serve them.
and if he should come in the second watch or come in the third watch and find them so
so blessed are those servants.
But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would have come,
he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
Therefore, you also be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
So this here is a call to diligence. Get ready, be ready, and stay ready, right? For the Lord is coming.
That's why, right, hypocrisy, covetousness, and worry, right? He warns us against those three things,
because those are the three things that trip us up. The best way to overcome or to conquer these
things is to focus what? The Lord's coming.
Jesus is coming.
Guys, listen, it's the best way to live your life.
His return should be the overwhelming priority in your entire life daily.
Why? It sanitizes your life.
Right? I watch what I say. I watch what I do. Jesus might come back today.
And what do I want him to find me doing?
It keeps me in a really good place.
the apostles they taught this this is called the doctrine of eminence he is coming when you least
expect it so people who have this take that no jesus can't come until you just you're you just
denied the doctrine of imminence no you're saying oh this has to happen before jesus can come no he can
come at any time even the early church believed this right titus says in titus 213 looking for the blessed
open, glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. That appearing. Is there,
is there anything that can compare? Well, when you talk to Tina, did you have, I want to get my
driver's license first. No, nobody wants you to get your driver's license first. Okay? Absolutely
nobody. Or the girls. I want to get married.
I promise you
you don't want to get married
compared to Jesus is coming
you don't want to get married
or I want to have babies
are you crazy
my wife
just told me this morning
she goes last night
was having like having a newborn child
I says why is that
because her little dog got up and pooped
every hour on the hour
we think she might have parvo i don't pray for bonnie
compared to jesus coming back no you don't want to have children
colosians three four when christ who is our life amen and glory hallelujah appears
then you also will appear with him in glory
what better thing is there to focus on to keep us in the right place, right, mentally, spiritually, even physically, knowing that our Lord is going to come.
What do you want to present to him in your life?
What kind of life do you want to present to him?
Years ago, you know, I try to stay halfway in physical good shape, right?
because I know that I get tired as I get older,
so I'm in better shape that I don't get as tired as easy,
and I'm hopefully more effective.
But years ago, there was a college wrestler
who many of you know in Christendom as an incredible missionary
to the Aca Indians that was killed.
His name was Jim Elliott.
Jim wrestled at Wheaton College and was a national champion.
He was NCAA national champion wrestler.
That's quite a feat.
And Elliot said, I didn't wrestle to gain accolades.
I wrestled that I might present a better physical specimen to the Lord.
And she said, what an attitude.
God forgive me.
Right?
What a great attitude.
But more than that is a faithful heart.
That's what I want to present because Jesus,
says, he says, when the son of man returns, will he find faith on the earth? Will he find faith in you?
Will he find faith in us? Or we just can be in our, you know, just doing our thing?
There's five crowns mentioned in heaven. Five crowns. The one that I'm most concerned about,
and the one I think that keeps us on the right track is the crown of righteousness.
And it's, it's,
it's presented to those who loves Christ's return.
The crown of righteousness is those who love Christ's return.
I think any of them would do.
Just to get there is going to do.
Just to be in his presence.
And so this,
This doctrine of eminence is really important because it truly does affect how we live our lives.
If we truly believe that he's going to come like a thief.
In the scripture several times it says that Jesus is coming is like a thief when you least expect it.
Revelation 1615, behold, I am coming as a thief.
Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments lest he walk naked and they see his shame.
who's they?
The holy angels?
I don't know.
Maybe it's all the righteous dead who have gone before us and see our shame if we haven't kept ourselves.
So we can't live in a place where there's still some things that need to happen before Jesus can come.
A lot of people right now watching the world's scene.
Oh, as soon as Iran and Russia come together, then the Lord's, but that's Iran, Russia, Libya, Turkey, Sudan, Ethiopia, all these people have to come together before Jesus can come.
Not.
Right?
That is Ezekiel 38 and 39, but that doesn't have to happen before the raptor of the church.
It is important for us.
to live in a moment by moment expectation of his return.
It's the best way to live life.
He says here, keep your waist girded, right?
And what they would do is be ready to go, be ready to move,
be ready to do what God's called you to do, right?
So that what they would do is because back then, men wore dresses, okay, robes.
But what they would do is they'd pull their robe up and they would tuck,
in their belt so they could get high knees, right? So they could be on the move, go to battle,
go to work, whatever they had to do, they were ready. Keep your waist girded, he's saying,
and, right, what? Keep your lamp burning. Well, what's the lamp? Well, in the Old Testament,
the lamp is the word of God. Jesus talked about the eye here a few chapters ago,
that the eye is the lamp of the soul or the lamp of the body.
What do you want coming in?
It's the Word of God.
Stay tight to the Word of God.
Read it daily.
I'm a scumbag pastor because I didn't read this morning.
I read this, getting ready for this message,
but I didn't do my daily reading today.
That doesn't always happen, but it does happen sometimes on Sunday.
I get busy. Sunday's not over. I can do it tonight. So I'm just repenting in advance, okay?
But keep the lamp burning. Keep the Word of God coming into your heart. What does it do? It stirs you up, right?
It reminds you of the greatness of God. It reminds you of your depraved condition without him.
Right? It keeps you just in that good, that sweet spot being in the word. Keep your lamp burning and
your waist girded, be ready for the Lord's sake to do whatever he calls you to do.
I, I'm getting excited.
The Lord's coming, right?
We know that.
And it's getting, it's getting wild, right?
To watch.
You know, because Jesus said, watch.
Are you watching?
Are you watching all this stuff?
Have you been watching the winter in Idaho?
My wife just heard of a little report from Phoenix, Arizona.
They're going to be 105 degrees this week, and it's the first time they've been that hot in March in 137 years.
So what is that?
Is that climate change, global warming, signs of the time, or just a weather cycle?
because Atlanta, Georgia is going to be 22 degrees.
Go figure.
But it's cool to watch things, right?
And even if it isn't necessarily a sign of the time, at least, listen, you're watching.
And that's what he's called us to do.
Amen?
We're going to enter into communion.
So if you have the elements, go ahead and take that out.
If not, these guys have some coming around.
And we're just going to remember the Lord.
He tells us on the night that he was betrayed,
that he took the bread and the cup.
And he said he's never going to drink this thing
until he drinks in the kingdom.
And so I've, of course, as a pastor,
you got to watch that. I'm a teetotaler. I know Rob McCoy kind of shocked some people last year when he came and said,
oh, I drink a little bit. And I think he got that look that I'm getting right now. And at lunch, he asked me,
he said, are those people teetotlers? I said, well, I am. I'm a teetotaler. I ain't going to drink the fruit of the vine until I'm with Jesus.
and because number one, it's not a good witness.
Number two, I'm a terrible drunk.
But he said, as often as you do this, what?
Do it in remembrance of me.
There's a reason to take this little bit of juice
and this little bit of bread
and remember this incredible king that we have
that was willing to humble himself.
And how disgusting.
it was for him to become like us.
That's disgusting.
For the God of heaven, the king of glory,
to become like us?
That gives a whole new meeting
to get manure on your boots.
Right?
Actually, I was driving by a facility one day,
and it says free manure.
But they're not.
The URE had fallen off.
I said, oh, that's all we are.
Free man is what it said.
But it was green.
The first three letters of manure spells man.
Here we are.
Let's hold the bread before the Lord.
Lord, we thank you.
that you were not so disgusted that you wouldn't become like us, but you did.
And then you are willing to be ripped to shreds.
Your body beaten and broken.
Your flesh torn, your hair and whiskers torn out, Lord, and you did it all for us.
And so, Lord, we just want to remember that.
And, Lord, I pray that it would bring a humility to our lives.
Lord, as we remember you on that cross,
unrecognizable as a human being.
And you said it's finished,
that that sacrifice was enough to satisfy
the wrath of a righteous and a holy God.
And so, Lord, we just want to thank you for that.
And right now, as we partake of this bread,
I pray that you would bless it
and that it would sink deep into our hearts,
Lord, not just into our stomach,
but into our minds and our souls.
As we remember your body that was broken for us.
Bless it, we pray in Jesus' name.
Let's partake.
And then as he takes the cup,
saying this is the new covenant of my blood that was shed for you.
The cleansing power,
of the blood of Christ Jesus
that washes our sins away
and they never return.
They don't even leave a stain.
And so Lord, we just praise you
that you are willing to do that.
Lord, to be that drink offering poured out for your people.
And so Lord, we just pray that you would
remind us of the weight
of this side.
sacrifice. Lord, as that blood flowed and the water flowed, symbolic of our cleansing,
Lord, that we're washed and past, present and future, thank you for your faithfulness to go to
that cross, Lord, and to endure and to even give up your ghost for us. Lord, that you became
the conqueror of death, hell, and the grave, and sin.
And so we remember that.
And we thank you for it now in Jesus' holy name.
Bless the cup.
Let's partake.
Let's all stand, shall we?
If you need prayer, the prayer team's going to come up here.
Please feel free to come and be prayed for.
Have a quick counseling session with some.
some people that have been there and done that.
And would you pray with me?
Lord, we give you this week that is in front of us, Lord,
and there's so much going on in our world, Lord,
that we need to bring before you.
Lord, we just want to bring our families before you.
Bring our marriages and our children, our grandchildren, Lord.
Our communities, Lord, help us to be salt and light.
Lord, help us to not be a stick in the mud in the places which we live, Lord,
but that we would, in our neighborhoods, Lord,
that we would be full of the joy of the Lord,
and the love of the Lord.
Lord, not that we have to compromise,
but that we would truly be a, Lord, just palatable
for the world around us that is looking for hope.
And may we be your mouthpiece, Lord,
to encourage people that it's found in none other
than the Lord Jesus.
And so would you go before us this week
and help us in that manner?
Lord, we lifted up our soldiers overseas,
Lord, this conflict in Iran.
Lord, we pray for the Iranian people,
the families of,
U.S. servicemen that have lost their lives, Lord, be with them, be their comfort for the nation
of Israel, the peace of Jerusalem, Lord, all these things that, Lord, in of ourselves, we have no power,
Lord, but that we can petition you and pray that you would intervene, Lord, on the behalf of
your people. Lord, and you would show yourself strong, even to those who don't believe,
that they might turn to you. And so, Father, we give you this week. Pray that you would bless your
people. And we all agree. And we say in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. God bless you guys. Have a great week in Jesus.