Lessons About Kingdom of Heaven Expansion from Matthew 11 — Part 1"

Well, could we take our Bibles and open them

to Matthew chapter 11? We're going to be looking

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

at verses 1 through 18, but I don't think we're

going to focus on all that. I don't think we'll

make it all the way through, but we're going

to get started. Matthew chapter 11. Verse 1.

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

Let's read together. After Jesus had finished

instructing His 12 disciples, He went on from

there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.

That's John the Baptist. When John heard in prison

what God was doing, he sent his disciples to

ask Him, are You the One who was to come or should

we expect someone else? And Jesus replied, Go

back and report to John what you hear and see.

The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those

who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the

dead are raised, and the good news is preached

to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not

fall away on account of me. Some of your virgins

might say, be offended on account of me. Verse

7, as John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began

to speak to the crowd about John. What did you

go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by

the wind? If not, what did you go out to see?

A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who

wear fine clothes are in king's palaces. Then

what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I

tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the

one whom it is written, I will send my messenger

ahead of you who will prepare your way before

you. I tell you the truth, among those born of

women, there has not risen anyone greater than

John the Baptist. Yet, he who is least in the

kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the

days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom

of heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful

men lay hold of it. For all the prophets and

the law prophesied until John. And if you are

willing to accept it, He is the Elijah who was

to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

We're just going to stop there. So, in our journey

as a church family, we are continuing to learn

about the kingdom of heaven. We've received and

obeyed the mandate to supernaturally expand the

kingdom of heaven. on the earth as maverick was

talking about in matthew 6 jesus said this is

how you ought to pray our father who art in heaven

glory and honor hallowed be your name may your

kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven and

your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

and so we have received this mandate to be people

who are expanding the kingdom of heaven on the

earth And so today as we look at this passage,

I want to just point out a few lessons about

kingdom of heaven expansion from Matthew chapter

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

11. As we get started, I need a volunteer and

I need two qualifications for the volunteer.

They need to have a beard, number one. And number

two, they're willing to... take off their shoes

and their socks, and I need you to be quick about

it. Volunteer with a beard, take off your socks

and shoes, have a seat. All right. Okay, what

are we going to do? Because I only need one.

Oh, what? Okay, all right, all right. All right,

take off socks and shoes, have a seat. Oh, you

don't even wear socks, so it's easy peasy. All

right. Okay, you got ankle socks on. Alright.

Alright. Yay, Jeremy! What is your wife cheering

you on? Okay. For this moment, I'm just setting

Jeremy in this place. I know Jeremy would in

no way say I would ever take the place of Jesus.

Right? But I want to... create a visual. Okay?

Because as we've been reading these parables

about the kingdom that Jesus has been teaching,

He is over and over explaining through the parables

and teachings to His disciples that there is

a day that Jesus is going to return. And He is

going to be seated on a throne. at the right

hand of God. And we are going to present to Him,

this is what the parables of Jesus are, the interest

of what He has invested into our lives. We're

going to give back to Him based on what He put

into us through the kingdom of heaven, how we

stewarded that kingdom. We are then going to

return back to Him in that moment what He deserves.

Yes? Is this true? Is this what the parables

teach us? Alright, so I believe that when we

come to the return of Jesus, the only proper

response will be to fall at His feet. Do you?

I mean, I think we see it over and over again

in the Scriptures. Did you know your imagination

is a gift from God? It's holy and perfect. And

in that day, our King will be seated on a throne

and we will come before Him. And we will bow

down before the King of Kings. And in my imagination,

when I think about that, I think about reaching

out and touching His feet. And there will literally

be scar tissue on these feet. And we will worship.

We will bow down. We will put our hands on the

holy scars of our King. And in my mind, I just,

coming up to His knees, it just... Honoring the

King. Can I see your hand, Jeremy? Just embracing

these hands. Feeling the scars. Feeling the nail

holes. And just blessing Him. Can you imagine

it? Can you put yourself there at the throne?

Being able to touch the hands of the One. who

bled out on the cross for our forgiveness in

giving us life. And then just, can you imagine

just being able to put your hands on the face

of Jesus? Filling His beard. The scars on His

brow. And there's going to be a moment in which

we finally make eye contact with the eyes of

fire. And in that moment, what are we going to

give Him? You did a great job. Love you. No,

that's good. That's good. Do you see what I'm

saying? Every one of us are going to experience

something like that in such a much more glorious

fashion. You know, it won't be in a gym. On this

old... It will be the throne of the risen Savior.

But we will bow before Him. We will touch His

scars. And the Bible says every man's life at

that moment will be tested by fire. And what

was eternal, what was kingdom, what was holy

will be like gold and silver and precious jewels.

And what was not kingdom, will be burned up like

hay and stubble. Yes? And so when we're talking

about the kingdom of heaven, living for the kingdom,

being kingdom people, it ought to motivate us

to say, in that day, what will we give Him that

will last the fire? When I think about my life,

He will not care about the biggest trout I ever

caught in a Colorado stream. He won't. He won't

care about my reputation. He won't care about

the size of this church. He won't care about

what my name was ever able to accomplish on the

earth. What will matter in that moment is what

is kingdom. What He put in me that I stewarded

with blood, sweat, and tears on this short time

that is the earth like that. And then I'll be

before Him and what I will be able to give Him

is everything that was rewarded through that

kingdom that belongs to Him. And I think sometimes

we need to be Reminded that the kingdom of heaven

is not an option. It is our life. And when we

talk about being kingdom people and advancing

the kingdom on the earth, this is not just something

we study with a frivolous thought process. This

is our identity. This is who we are. is worthy

of the focus of our life day in and day out.

How will your name be glorified? How will your

world be saved? How will they be delivered and

set free? How will you be honored with my life?

And so when we're continuing to talk about the

kingdom of heaven, does that help you or is that

just me? To go through the mental process of

just This is what I want to give you, Jesus.

So with that in mind, we say, Lord, teach us

about this kingdom. Show us how to be people

that steward the kingdom of heaven well. So these

are a few things that we learn from this passage.

So number one, if you're writing them down or

you want to take notes, I think that would be

helpful. Helps us to remember things. Number

one in this passage. Disappointment and discouragement

are inevitable in the kingdom lifestyle. Refuse

to be offended at our glorious King. You're like,

Jesse, how many times are we going to talk about

this? Could you preach some other message? And

I'm just preaching what the Word of God says.

And this is a lesson that the kingdom -minded

church has to not just understand with their

mind, but so learn to become a part of who we

are at a core. We see here John the Baptist and

he's in prison. How many of you would think that

Well, I don't even want to go there. In the passage

it says, after Jesus had finished instructing

the twelve disciples, in verse 2, and when John

heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent

his disciples and asked him, are you the one

who was to come? Or should we expect someone

else? Jesus replied, go back and tell them all

the things you've seen in the kingdom, right?

And then in verse 6, he says, blessed is the

man who is not offended at me. I was doing a

little research on what the actual Greek language

here says, and it literally is defined as, blessed

is the man who is not offended at me. John had

a great opportunity to be offended at Jesus.

You think you've given your life for the kingdom,

and there's some of you that... You're my heroes.

I see the way that you live for the kingdom.

We're talking about a man who has lived in the

wilderness. Outcast from society. And his only

job in life is to preach the coming kingdom of

Jesus. Preparing the way for Jesus. Jesus. His

whole life has been devoted to the coming of

Jesus. And Jesus comes and what is His reward?

He is in prison. And not an American prison,

right? He is in prison suffering for the one

He has proclaimed would come as the victorious

King. I wrote on there, I don't know if it's

on the slide, but when we look at this... My

encouragement to you and me is to sacrifice your

personal expectations on the altar of total surrender.

Acknowledge that Jesus is the King and humbly

follow Him. Does that make sense? Sacrifice your

personal expectations on the altar of total surrender.

John, if you look at the way John the Baptist

taught about the coming of Jesus, John was looking

for fiery judgment. Jesus is going to come with

the winnowing fork in His hand. He's going to

bring judgment. John was looking for a zealous

victory of Jesus as a king. And instead, Jesus

is doing what? He's befriending the outcast.

He's teaching servant leadership. He's healing

the sick. He's casting out demons. And what was

John the Baptist's expectation? He was disappointed

in what he was expecting toward Jesus. And so,

John the Baptist himself sends his disciples

to say, Jesus, are you the one we're actually

looking for? Or should we look for someone else?

Can you imagine? So, I really mean on number

one when it talks about disappointment, discouragement

is inevitable. How many of you have been following

Jesus and you've encountered discouragement,

disappointment? Yes? Here's what I would suggest

to you. As kingdom people who have sacrificed

our personal expectations on the altar of total

surrender, Hey, if you call yourself a Christian,

a Christ follower, but you have never completely

surrendered everything in your life to Jesus

as King, I would challenge that you have experienced

biblical salvation. And I would say it would

be worth taking some time to commune with Jesus

and have that conversation with Him. It is a

requirement that we surrender everything to Jesus.

And here's what I would suggest. As we are people,

kingdom people, living for the kingdom of Jesus,

the kingdom of heaven on the earth, we're experiencing

hardship and difficulty. Here's what I would

like to encourage you in. We have no right to

be offended at King Jesus. Ever. We never have

a right. To be offended at King Jesus. Why? He's

the King. We're the slave. He tells us what to

do. We say, yes, sir. Are you with me? A couple

of years ago, my mom died. My wife's mom has

had cancer twice. Prayed, believed God, beat

cancer twice, healed, healthy, playing golf.

four or five times this past week. My mom gets

cancer. I pray. I fast. I declare. I memorize

the Word. I join with believers. I pray. And

I just see her wilt away and wilt away and wilt

away and die of cancer just in a few months.

And God absolutely is my witness and I think

Jill would testify. There is not one fraction

of a moment that I was offended at Jesus for

that. Not one time did I look at Him and say,

that is not fair. Not one time. And I'm not saying

that... To boast, what I'm saying is that that

is the reality of two decades ago, God said to

me, Jesse, become unoffendable. And two decades

ago, I made a commitment to God, I will not be

an offended person towards you. And you know

what I've done for two decades? I've stewarded

small disappointments in my life, refusing to

be offended at God. Get rejected for my letter

to be on the SWAT team. The chief says no. Okay.

Okay, God, I'm not going to be offended. I mean,

I can't even tell you the tax bill that comes

up and you're like, what? It's a continual process

of all these potential abilities to be offended.

But if you steward them day after day and say,

God, Jesus, You are my King. I will never be

offended at what You do or don't allow into my

life. I am totally surrendered to You. Then in

the days... And I know that losing my mom to

cancer is nothing like what John was experiencing

in that moment. I'm just relating it to my personal

life. But in the days where the biggest disappointments

and the biggest disasters come into our lives,

if we stewarded all these disappointments in

our life, in those days, we will not fall away.

Jesus said, blessed is the man who does not fall

away on account of me. And so I want to ask you

today, are you offended? Are you offended at

God? Are you offended at the Gospel? There's

people in this room that have experienced way

worse than I've ever dreamed of experiencing.

Can I ask you today, are you offended? Because

part of the DNA of a kingdom -minded person is

no matter what occurs in our life, We have surrendered

all things to the Lord Jesus and we refuse to

be offended at Him. Okay? Can we just take a

moment? Stop right here. Engage with the Scripture.

I think this is an important part of kingdom

living. If you are offended towards the Lord,

would you just be honest with Him? Just right

now, just tell Him right now in your heart, Lord,

I'm offended at You, but I want to move past

this. And then what I would encourage you to

do is right now, just bow your heart before the

Lord and say, I give You all things, Jesus. I

surrender everything to You. You are the King

of kings. And I lay everything down before You.

And I'd like to pray for You. Lord, I just pray

for the hearts of my friends even now as a fence

wants to be stirred in their hearts and be an

obstacle of their communion with You and their

effectiveness in Your kingdom. Father, would

You dismantle those things by Your Holy Spirit?

Would You allow them to be honest with their

pains and their hurts with You? Would You meet

them in that place? Bring healing, forgiveness,

and mercy. And Lord, we commit to You to be unoffended

people. As we work hard to advance Your kingdom

on the earth and we come against all kinds of

difficulties, it's our commitment now that we

will not be offended towards You. Can you pray

that to the Lord? Alright, good job. Number two,

you okay? Number two, lessons about kingdom of

heaven expansion on the earth. Number two, do

not settle for a powerless lifestyle. Remember,

the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but

of power. Okay, that's not a man's idea. That's

the Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 4, verse 20.

1 Corinthians 4:20

Talking about the kingdom of God is not a matter

of talk. but it's a matter of power. Listen to

Jesus' response when John says, are you the one

that we're looking for? Or should we look for

somebody else? Interesting what Jesus' response

is. He's like, hey, here's the deal. Sick or

healed. The lame walk. The dead are raised. The

good news of the Gospel is preached to the poor.

His response to John's question was the supernatural

fruit of his life in the Kingdom of Heaven on

the earth. I think we understand that we're in

a culture that is... Very critical in nature,

yes? I mean, we're in a culture special with

social media that's always looking a way to argue.

Always looking for a way to tear down, put down.

And if we're not careful, we as Christians can

literally waste large portions of our life in

online conversations about our theology and all

the reasons why, and yet, the most powerful thing

we can say is not a word at all, but the overflow

of the supernatural power of God through our

kingdom living. Yes? So let me ask you, why are

we settling for powerless lives in the kingdom?

You say, Jesse, I mean... I'm with you. I want

to be a person of the kingdom. I want to operate.

I want to glorify Jesus. But I'm not experiencing

supernatural power of God in my life. Okay, that's

a great point of intersection for you to be right

now. If you are saying, yes, I want to be a part

of the kingdom. Yes, I want to give Jesus in

that day all that He deserves to be rewarded

with. But I don't see any power in my life right

now. That's a great place to be. And I want to

ask you this question. Why not? If I ask you,

why do you not have the supernatural power of

God in your life as a lifestyle? What answer

would you give? Because here's what I want. And

I know we've talked about this so many times.

But Jesus... has made the kingdom of heaven available

to every follower of Christ. He has given us

everything we need for life and godliness. He

has promised that if we thirst for Him and drink

of Him, then out of us will flow rivers of living

water by the Holy Spirit. He actually promised

in John, right? Chapter 14, verse 16. He says,

if you believe on Me as the Scriptures say, you'll

do everything that I have done and do even greater

things. And if you read it in context, He says,

and He was speaking of the miracles. And so,

you and I, we have no valid reason for why we

are not operating in the supernatural power of

God as the fruit of our lives. So let's just

own it. Let's own it. I don't know about you,

but I'm not walking in the power of God like

I want to. Am I experiencing some amazing things?

Yes. Am I anywhere close to where I want to be

in Christ? Absolutely not. So what am I going

to do? Make excuses for why it's not there? Or

say, Jesus, You've made it available to me. I

will not stop pursuing in faith the lifestyle

that You led as an example for me. We read this

at the beginning of service, but in Luke 11,

Jesus is teaching His disciples how to pray.

The Lord's Prayer is in the context. But can

I bring you back to verse 9 again? So I say to

you, ask and it will be given to you. Seek and

you will find. Knock and the door will be opened

to you. For everyone who asks... Does anyone

believe when Jesus speaks? For everyone who asks,

receives. He who seeks, finds. And to him who

knocks, the door will be opened. We're not going

to get to it today, but... Next week we're going

to continue on this thought, but when Jesus says

the kingdom of heaven is suffering violence and

violent men take hold of it, this word for violence,

this is the only time Jesus ever uses it in all

of Scripture. The only time. Now, it's used in

Luke 16, 16, but it's the exact same passage.

It's the same teaching. It's just Luke's rendition

of it. But this teaching right here about the

kingdom is the only time that Jesus uses this

word in the Greek. And it literally means, when

it talks about violent men take hold of it, we're

going to look more deeply at this next week,

but it literally means to press oneself into

something. And when Jesus is saying, the kingdom

of heaven on the earth right now, and some people

have said, well, this is a negative connotation

that people are violently trying to take the

kingdom of God and raid it. Well, first of all,

no one's taking the kingdom from Jesus, number

one. And secondly, in Luke 16, 16, Jesus makes

it very clear. No, we're talking about the positive

nature of pressing into the kingdom of heaven.

We'll look at that in more depth later. But when

we talk about this pressing, here's what I want

to encourage you. There is absolutely nothing

prohibiting you from pressing into the supernatural

life of Jesus Christ on the earth. But it will

not be automatic and it will not be an accident.

It's something you're going to have to set your

heart towards and press into with the violent,

zealous nature of I will be like Him. I will

live like Him. I will sound like Him. I will

love like Him. And I will press myself into the

mold of Jesus in a zealous nature. Do we have

that photo? Should I put that photo up there?

Alright. This is a picture of my back porch.

Alright. This is a metal trash can. In the metal

trash can is cat food. Okay? This is cat food.

Because we have some outside cats. Alright? What

we also have is a raccoon named Ricky. We used

to just keep the cat food in a plastic tub. But

after a few nights, Ricky ripped that into nothing,

right? Then we're like, we'll put the cat food

in a metal trash can. Well, Ricky ripped right

through the lid on the metal trash can. Like

just takes it off in the middle of the night,

eats all the cat food, right? So then we're like,

we'll put a lid on and put these bungee. Do you

see the green bungee straps over the lid? Surely

this raccoon's not going to be able to get into

the cat food. You come out the next morning,

the trash can's knocked over, the lid's pried

open, and Ricky's had himself some cat food.

So do you see what I, this is my next evolution

of making this Fort Knox. I have taken a ratchet

strap and strapped it to the metal wall of the

porch so that it can't be knocked over by Ricky

and he can't pry. So I go out this morning and

I think, Ricky, I've beat you. This is this morning.

Strapped to the metal, the bungee straps, somehow

he has made his way into the trash can and eaten

the cat food. Now some of you have said, why

is Ricky still alive? Well, that was a clear

option, but Ricky, we actually find out, is more

like Raquel, and she has three baby raccoons.

And so the whole Ricky not living anymore option

is not a good one. So we're going through this

evolution, but the reality is that Raquel and

her babies... will not be put off of the cat

food. They're like, you do whatever you want,

humans. You want to ratchet strap that to the

world? You do that? All the things. But there's

a desire, there's a hunger in them that says,

nothing will stop me from pressing into what

feeds me. And there is an entire There's an entire

portion of my life and there's an entire portion

of Christianity in which we have been not hungering

and pressing into the kingdom of heaven. Yes?

And I just want to encourage you, don't settle

for a powerless life. I know you know this, but

can we just agree together, learn by repetition?

The devil is not overly concerned with religion

and church services. The world is not overly

concerned or interested in religion or church

services. I mean... We live in a country in which

we have all the freedom in the world to worship

openly. And we've got more than half of these

seats empty. The world's not interested in coming

into the church in these days. Now, I believe

that's going to change in this understanding

of revival and us beginning to live as kingdom

people. But where that's going to intersect their

world is out there. Out there. doing our jobs,

playing on the sports teams, being families,

the things outside these walls, and actually

living in the kingdom of heaven on the earth.

Here's my challenge to you. You ready? I'm in

a discipleship relationship with one of my dearest

friends right now. And we've been really stirring

each other up in the things of the Lord. And

we've made this commitment. It is our goal every

day to find at least one person to pray for in

the kingdom of heaven. Just one. Every day we

have committed. It's our goal to find one person

who needs the prayer and the power and the gospel

and the supernatural strength of the Lord. and

just be willing to pray for them. I know Brad

taught last week. He did a great job. I listened

on the live stream. But we were at this conference

and there was a gentleman there, Brother Yun.

I know he mentioned it. He's a Chinese pastor

who spent, I believe, 14 or 15 years in being

tortured in Chinese prison for the cause of Christ.

He currently... has in the underground Chinese

church, I believe they said 3 million people

under his leadership through an underground Chinese

church network. And he's currently discipling

1 ,300 plus Chinese pastors. Every day he does

four to six one -hour Zoom calls every day discipling

these pastors. And I thought it was so interesting

when they asked what his discipleship material

was. He said, I teach all my disciples. Number

one, he said they memorize a chapter of the Bible

per day or they don't eat. Just let that sink

in. Memorize a chapter of the Bible a day. And

if the pastors come to him and say, we got too

busy in the work of the ministry, he says, it's

okay, you just fast until you memorize it. But,

let's not meddle into things that convict us,

right? No offense, but we've been asking this

church to memorize the New Testament collectively

for about 15 years now. We haven't got it done,

but we're still working on it. But he says, my

five discipleship principles, I think Brad said

this, but act like you've never heard it. He

said, this is what I teach every one of my disciples.

Number one, every time and always be ready to

pray for someone. Boom. Number two, anytime and

every time, always be ready to release the power

of God through that prayer and share the Gospel.

Number three, every time and always be ready

to suffer for the cause of Christ. Number four,

every time and always be ready to die for the

cause of Christ. And number five, every time

and always be ready to run from the police so

you can share the Gospel at the next place. Alright,

so in our context, Number five is probably not

a good discipleship tool. Don't run from the

cops here just yet, right? But this whole understanding

of every time always be ready to pray for someone

and release the power of God. There's no reason

that we should not be living this way as a lifestyle.

Do you agree? Alright, who's willing to commit

to that? Is anyone willing to commit to say,

Jesse, I will not settle for a powerless lifestyle

and I'm going to set my gaze looking for people

to pray for and release the kingdom to. If that's

you, would you just raise your hand? That's you.

Alright? Okay, let me pray for you. Father, thank

You for my friends. This is our commitment to

You. We will not settle for a powerless lifestyle.

Help us. By faith, we have expectation through

Your words. That Your power will flow through

us for Your kingdom on the earth. Would You give

us eyes to see the needs of people around us?

May not one day this week go by that we did not

pray for and release Your power. Share the Gospel.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Alright. I've got

to just close with this. Number three, the kingdom

of heaven is a kingdom of honor. The kingdom

of heaven is a kingdom of honor. we will be relentless

in highly valuing each member of the body despite

personal disappointments and offenses. It should

say offenses, not defenses. I think this is so

important. We're closing with this. Jesus is

here. Can you even imagine how hurtful it would

be to Jesus for John the Baptist to openly question

Him. This isn't some acquaintance He barely knows,

right? You remember Mary and John the Baptist's

mom Elizabeth when they come together? John the

Baptist leaps in his mother's womb and Elizabeth

is filled with the Holy Spirit and begins to

prophesy. John the Baptist, I would say, is definitely

one of Jesus' most closest friendships, long

-term friendships. It's John the Baptist that

sees Jesus before the kingdom of heaven Jesus

has even established. And he says to the world,

behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins

of the world. Who gets to baptize Jesus? Can

you imagine baptizing the King of Glory? It's

John the Baptist. His whole life, his whole mission

life is to prepare the way for Jesus. And Jesus

is here and that man is openly questioning who

He is. And so how does Jesus respond? I'm not

talking about His... verbal response. He said,

hey, it's the power, right? We read that. But

then look at how Jesus responds to the offense.

As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began

to speak to the crowd about John. He says, what

did you go out to see in the desert? A reed swayed

by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see?

A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who

wear fine clothes are in king's palaces. then

what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I

tell you, more than a prophet. And then he goes

on to tell in verse 11, I tell you the truth,

among those born of women, there has not risen

anyone greater than John the Baptist. Jesus,

when faced with personal offense from someone

He considered extremely close, His response was

honor. That's what the kingdom of heaven looks

like. Yes, it should be filled with miracles.

Yes, we should be going to the nations and sharing

the story of Jesus and baptizing people in wells

and in darkness and discipling them to follow

Jesus. Yes, it's all of that. And it's also honoring

the people in this room. as valued members of

the body of Christ even when they hurt us, betray

us, discourage us, or openly question us. That's

what the kingdom of heaven looks like in an offended,

critical world. It looks like honor. Honoring

one another. There is not one person in the body

of Christ that is not worthy of honor despite

their failures, despite their struggles, despite

their weak moments, they're worthy of honor.

How did Jesus honor John the Baptist? Could I

just make a couple of suggestions? And then we're

going to close with this. These three things

I think are so important for the practical reality

of living the honor lifestyle. Number one, he

refuses to let current disappointment eclipse

John's value in the kingdom. Here's John questioning,

should we be looking for somebody? What? Are

you kidding me? Should we be looking for another

Messiah? How does Jesus respond? When he's talking

to the disciples, he does not even mention. John's

moment of weakness. He doesn't even verbalize

it. He says, what did you go out to see, man?

This guy is greater than a prophet. This man,

the greatest man ever born of woman. He refuses

to let that moment of weakness in John eclipse

his value to the kingdom. And there's so many

of us. That we are in this lifestyle and somebody

wounds us. Someone offends us. Someone says something

against us. And what do we do? We write them

off. We write them off for the kingdom. Well,

you're no value to me. The kingdom is a kingdom.

The kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of honor.

The father honors the son. The son honors the

spirit. The spirit honors the father. The church

honors the bride. The bridegroom honors the...

bride. It's a system of honor. And you think

you and I get to exist in the kingdom of heaven

and trash talk people and dishonor them and write

them off in the kingdom and get to be effective?

You know who's the biggest failure at this? You're

looking at them right here. There have been so

many times over these years that I've gone to

my wife as a safe place. And I have dishonored

many people in this church. I'm being so honest.

And I have repented before God. And I did again

this morning. And I apologize before my wife

and my own children who have heard me dishonor

people in the kingdom. because of my own offended

nature. This has to shift in us. Secondly, he

remembers and recounts John's sacrifices and

efforts for the kingdom when he's tempted. Because

you know Jesus was tempted in every way like

we are. Every single way that you're tempted,

He was tempted. So, he refuses. To let John be

discounted by his moment of weakness. But then

he remembers and recounts all the sacrifice that

John has made for the kingdom. So when you're

tempted to write off me or somebody else or somebody

else in the kingdom or someone that offends you,

number one, refuse to let the moment eclipse

their value in the kingdom. And then in your

own heart, begin to remember and recount. The

ways that person has been faithful. The way they've

given their life to the King and the Kingdom.

And then thirdly, He publicly confirms John's

purpose and value in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus

talks good about John behind His back. And if

our church could ever grasp this kind of honor,

I believe... We cannot even imagine the effect

we can have for the kingdom of heaven on the

earth. Alright? So, here's how we respond in

closing. Would it be okay if we stand? We're

done. Can I just ask this response? If you need

to repent for a lack of honor, would you just

do so now? Tell God you're sorry. Say, I repent

God. I want to change the way I think. I want

to value each member as completely invaluable

for your kingdom. Each one. Just repent before

the Lord. This is so important. Good job. Could

we commit to be relentless in valuing each member?

above ourselves. That's what the Scripture says.

Can we just make that commitment? God, I commit

to see each person as an invaluable member of

Your body and to put them above myself. Alright.

And how about this lastly? Can you commit to

live honorably so it's not so hard to honor you?

That's what I'm saying to myself. Like, live

in such a way that I'm not a stumbling block

to my brother and sister that they have to fight

through all my immaturity to give me honor. Lord,

we ask You to develop us into a culture of honor.

That the world may see You in us the way we treat

each other, the way we love each other. Father,

thank You for this time in Your presence. All

that was accomplished, thank You for Your Word.

May it be deeply planted in us to produce fruit

that will last. So that in that day when we see

You face to face, We will have many crowns to

crown you with because you're worthy. We love

you. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. I love

you. You're such a blessing. Have a wonderful

week.