Unapologetically Dependent | Ben Palmer

Heights Church, how we doing today? Good? Anybody

glad to be in church? Yeah? Okay, good. I'm in

the right place. If you're new, welcome. We always

want to slow down and welcome everyone online.

You are part of our Heights family, and we love

you and are so glad you're here. A couple things

I need to let you know right off the bat is,

one, me and my wife, Piper, just love y 'all

so much. We pray for you constantly. We're down

at our Prescott Valley Park collective location,

so we don't get to make it up here a lot. But

just please know that you are loved and prayed

over, not just by us, but our staff, and we just

care for you greatly. The other thing is, is

that Pastor John will be back next weekend. Okay?

Yep. I already know some of you are like, thank

you, Jesus. And that's okay. I don't take that

personal. I feel that way too. I'm like, I'm

so glad he's coming back. If you're new to Heights,

Pastor John is our lead pastor, okay? And he's

been on a three -month sabbatical. And it's been

a sabbatical of restoration, rest, and celebration

because we want to create longevity for John.

So he'll be here for decades to come. And so

I'm sure you're gonna get to hear more about

it when he speaks next weekend, okay? So I know

I don't need to tell y 'all this, but when y

'all see him, y 'all let him feel the love, okay?

Good, good. So have you ever been confronted

face -to -face? Have you ever felt the need like

you needed to confront someone face -to -face?

I actually had to do this a couple weeks ago

in churches. It's not easy. These are hard conversations.

They can be difficult. And the situation was,

is we were at our home and it was early in the

morning and our kids had got up earlier than

normal. And it was 5 .30. It was one of those

mornings where 5 .30 to 7 a .m. felt like 39

hours. I mean, we got a three and a two -year

-old. Kids are running around. Dogs are running

around. Wife's getting ready. I see my two toddlers

leave the kitchen table with half -eaten peanut

butter jelly sandwiches disappearing. That's

getting smeared somewhere. And I hear in their

back room, I hear this very aggressive sound

of my little girl Izzy going, no puppy, no puppy.

And then you hear the distinct sound of nails

on hardwood floor. And my dog runs around and

runs right past me down the hall. And my sweet

little princess is right behind that dog with

a toy kitchen kid's butcher knife chasing my

dog. And doing this motion. I had to confront

her. I said, you look crazy right now. You can't

be acting like that. But my hope is, is that

we all have people in our lives that can have

difficult, face -to -face, honest conversations.

You know, I hope we've had teachers, bosses,

mentors, friends. Spouses, one of the things

my wife Piper does really well is after we leave

whatever type of gathering it is, there are times

in the car or at home, she'll go, hey, did you

mean to come across like that? And I'll be like,

huh? Because I don't see things in my life. I

have blind spots. And if I'm being really honest,

church, there's things I don't want to see. And

so spouses are great, but church, we need more

than that. We need, I would say, anywhere from

three to five people in our lives that we have

given permission to, to have honest, hard conversations.

So the question I want to wrestle with today,

church, is do you give people the right to speak

into your life? Do you give people the right

to speak into your life? And we've been studying

the book of Galatians, and we've been talking

about, like, Paul's super direct with this church.

It's the early church. It's a young church. But

he's not being direct just because they're messing

up. He's also being direct because he loves them

dearly, and he wants to see them grow, and he

wants to see them to be able to mature. And we're

going to continue with Paul's directness in Galatians

Galatians 2:11

2, verses 11 and 12. When Peter came to Antioch,

I, Paul, opposed him to his face because he was

clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came

from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles.

But when they arrived, he began to draw back

and separate himself from the Gentiles because

he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision

group. Okay, so right off the bat, you hear words

like circumcision group, Gentiles. So there was

the Jewish people and anyone who wasn't Jewish

was considered a Gentile. And the circumcision

group were the Jewish people. But we see Paul

opposing Peter. This is the same Peter in Matthew

17 that was on the mountaintop with Jesus, James,

and John and heard God say, this is my son with

who I'm well pleased. This is the same Peter

that said, you are the Christ, the son of the

living God in Matthew 16. This is the same Peter

who denied knowing Jesus three times in Mark

14. And it's the same Peter who walked on water

with Jesus and then a few moments later began

to sink. One of the things we do at night is

we love to tell. stories to our children. And

my son loves Marvel comic stories and he loves

Bible stories. And his favorite Marvel comic

character is Spider -Man. Okay. And everyone

knows his true identity is Peter Parker. And

so one night we're telling this Bible story and

I'm talking to him about Jesus walking on water

and I'm telling him how Peter got to go out there

and he is... Hearing this story, and he's in

this deep thought, as much as a three -year -old

can be. And his face is squinched up, and I'm

like, what is it, son? And he goes, Peter Paca

can walk on water? Getting your genres mixed

up, son. We got to keep those straight. But this

is the same Peter who gave the first sermon in

Acts 2 when the church as we know it was birthed.

And it's the same Peter who got confronted by

Jesus. And Jesus told Peter, get behind me, Satan.

Because Peter was saying he wasn't going to let

him die on the cross. You could call Peter the

apostle of extremes. One of my favorite things

about the Bible is how it doesn't hide all the

scars and character defects that God chooses

to use. Because the story's not about them, is

it? It's about God and his character and his

interaction with humanity. But why do we have

these peaks and valleys in our walk with Christ?

Why are we still learning the same lessons today

that humanity's been learning for thousands of

years? In 1 Thessalonians 5, 23 -24, it says,

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you

through and through. May your spirit, soul, and

body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord

Jesus Christ, the one who calls you as faithful,

and he will do it. So you hear, may God sanctify

you through and through in your spirit, in your

soul, and in your body. We know as believers

that the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our

Lord and Savior and that he died on the cross

for our sins, and it was the only way, to be

in communion with God. The only way to pay for

sin was through Jesus. The moment that happens,

we're sealed with the Holy Spirit, it says. It's

a promise in Ephesians. And we're covered in

the blood of Jesus. And God sees us perfectly.

It says we are without blemish. We can approach

him with confidence, church. But then you also

still have your soul and body, and that's your

feelings, your thoughts, your emotions. You ask

any believer worth their weight in salt, they'll

go, I'm redeemed in Christ. But this is a work

in progress. We're continuously being worked

on until the day we die, church, we should not

stop growing. Because it's the age old question,

how do people sinful by nature come to God who

is holy by nature? See, it's not just a clash

between Paul and Peter. It's also a collision

against Christ and culture because there's all

these things that affect our feelings, thoughts,

and emotions. Our environments can affect it.

The people we're around can affect it. The traditions

we grew up in can affect it. Our old way of dealing

with problems and issues can come back in. And

so we see that here in these verses as these

Jewish Christians, and this is a church of believers.

So you have Paul, you have Peter, it says, People

from James were sent, which means that these

disciples were sent from the half brother of

Jesus. So this is a church letter, right? I mean,

these people are saved. We don't have any question

whether or not Peter was saved. And yet we see

him being pulled off center because of what's

going on around him. And these Jewish Christians

are saying, hey, I believe in Jesus. But man,

I really think a lot of this other stuff is super

important and it helps keep me clean. And so

we see where Peter starts to pull back from eating

with the Gentiles. And in our Western fast food

culture, we're like, Peter, go have a burger

with them. What's the big deal? But to the Jewish

culture, it was super significant. When you broke

bread with somebody over a meal, you were saying,

we're in alignment with God together. You have

the Mosaic law where you had ceremonial washing

of hands. No pork. You had a lot of other food

restrictions. No blood for the food. And so what

you see is these believers who have accepted

Christ start to pull in these old habits, these

old traditions, these old religions. And when

we do that, church, it becomes Jesus plus. Anytime

it is Jesus plus, we are off center. When it

becomes a what and not a who church, we have

lost our center bearing in Christ. So how does

that play out in today's culture? I mean, not

many of us, if any, grew up within those Jewish

customs. But let me ask you this, church. Have

you ever felt like God was disappointed in you

because you weren't reading your Bible like you

used to? You felt like God was frustrated with

you because you didn't pray or give or serve

as much as you did the month before. Anytime

you've done that, you've brought yourself back

under the power of the law, church. What about

the flip side of that coin? We've been redeemed

in Christ, but there's these things that used

to bring us relief. Whether they were chemicals

or substances, or maybe we found our worth within

a relationship or somebody we were dating. We

found our identity within our bank account and

our influence in the community. Church, all these

things means we've taken our eyes off all that

matters, which is Christ. In verses 13, 14, it

says, the other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy

so that by their hypocrisy, even Barnabas was

led astray. When I saw that they were not acting

in line with the truth of the gospel, I said

to Peter in front of them all, you are a Jew,

yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew.

How is it then that you force Gentiles to follow

Jewish customs? I mean, it says right here that

Paul confronted Peter in front of everyone. Church,

I don't want this to be our get out of jail free

card. This is something, there's one thing I

want us to catch is in the previous verses that

said Peter began to draw away, okay? So this

wasn't a one -time mistake. This wasn't a one

-time slip. It had become habitual sin, okay?

But the verse is also telling us sometimes it

is required for us to confront someone face -to

-face in a group setting, okay? But don't let

it be our get -out -of -jail -free card. Have

you ever heard someone say, I'm not being mean,

I'm just being honest? Hmm. Probably being mean

too. At least the times I've heard someone say

that. How about if we memorize Galatians 6? Someone

who's caught in a sin, we gently restore them.

How about we memorize that one? How about Matthew

18 when it says, if your brother or sister sins

against you, it says, go to them in private,

one -on -one and have an honest conversation

with them. Then it says, if that doesn't work,

bring a couple more. And then it escalates from

there. There's a bunch of different ways to have

hard face -to -face conversations. What we ought

to do is stay prayerful, always praying for God

to let us know what to say and when to say it.

What these do have in common, though, is they're

all built in relationships. within community

through honest conversations. Just as Jesus came

full of grace and truth in 114 John, our conversations

should be seasoned in grace and truth. Because

God designed us to be in community churches.

He's a God of relationships. Before creation,

God was in relationship with the Holy Spirit

and the Son. And he's designed our church to

be in a community that we're the body of Christ,

built up of many parts and many giftings. Church,

that's why we have Growth Track, so that we can

get to know you and you can get to know us. And

then you can step in somewhere to serve and you

can have a smaller community within a larger

community. That's why we have life groups, so

you can be part of a smaller community within

a larger community. That's why we have local

partners. That's why we just sent three teams

across the globe. That's why with our online

family, we have Baghdad and Paulding where people

gather together in communities because church,

we are better together. In 1 Peter 5, it says

to be self -controlled and alert because your

enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring

lion looking for someone to devour. What are

the traits of a lion when it hunts? Don't they

stand back and they look at and observe the herd

and they see who's on the outskirts? They see

who's unhealthy, who's sick, who's young, who's

not paying attention. And then they break them

off from the herd and devour them. Church, we

are at our strongest when we are together. as

a community centered on Christ. And we're at

our weakest when we're isolated. Verses 15 and

16. We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile

sinners know that a man is not justified by observing

the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we

too have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we

may be justified by faith in Christ and not by

observing the law. Because by observing the law,

no one will be justified. Okay, in verse 16,

you hear justified three times. And I know we're

familiar with these words, justification, sanctification,

reconciliation. But sometimes I wonder, like,

how well do we really know those words? We're

like reading through the Bible. We're like, I

think I can figure out exactly what it means.

But justification is declared righteous in God's

sight. I mean, is that not the best phrase? declared

righteous in God's sight. So I wanna reread verse

16 and I'm gonna replace justified with the definition.

Know that a man is not declared righteous in

God's sight by observing the law. but by faith

in Jesus Christ. So we too have put our faith

in Christ Jesus that we may be declared righteous

in God's sight by faith in Christ and not by

observing the law. Because by observing the law,

no one will be declared righteous in God's sight.

Doesn't that have a different ring to it? I mean,

think about it, church. In Genesis 2, we were

given just one command. Don't eat of the tree

of knowledge and good and evil. We broke that

one. Exodus 20, we were given the 10 commandments.

We've broke those. The Israelites were given

600 laws in Deuteronomy, and they didn't do very

well with those either. Does that make the law

bad, church? Absolutely not. The law was sent

by God. Paul goes, if I didn't know what coveting

was, if I wasn't told what coveting my neighbor's

things was, then how would I know about it? The

law is good, but we were never ever gonna fulfill

it. And it was never ever gonna be able to make

us clean. It was always meant to point us to

something greater, a final sacrifice, a final

answer. Because Jesus has perfectly fulfilled

the law. We have utterly failed to keep it, church.

So what Paul's teaching here within these verses

is justification by faith. So declared righteous

in God's sight by faith plus nothing, church.

That's what we put our hope in. And that faith

is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That in an instant, you can repent of your sins

and ask God to forgive you and put your faith

and trust and hope and a savior that came down

to earth and died on a cross for your sins and

my sins for all eternity. You just have to accept

it. When we have salvation based off works, it's

really our attempt to obligate God to save us

based off our performance. But when you see works

that are produced through grace and faith, that's

the fruit of a transformed heart. It doesn't

say how Peter responded here in these verses.

Reading about Peter, there's a good chance it

might not have been a very good response, Paul

calling him out, but that's nowhere in Scripture.

So we're not going to focus on that. That's just

a guess. But what do we know? For those of you

that like to dig deeper, I want to encourage

you this week to read 1 and 2 Peter. And keep

in mind, the Paul or the Peter rather, excuse

me, that you read about in the gospels and that

you read about here. And you tell me if that's

not the fruit of a transformed heart that is

being sanctified daily and growing in Christ.

Church, we gotta look different than we did.

It's the power of the Holy Spirit. Verses 17

through 19. If while we seek to be justified

in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves

are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes

sin? Absolutely not. If I rebuild what I destroy,

I prove that I am a lawbreaker. For through the

law, I died to the law so that I might live for

God. Okay, so Paul's really delivering the same

message in a different way, okay? Once you're

saved, you can't go back under the power of the

law. Really verses 15 through 21, he's just hammering

a point of what he just saw happen within this

church setting. I think these verses really would

have resonated with the Jewish Christians. It's

like speaking Klingon to Klingons, okay? So he's

just trying to get a point across because you

have Jewish Christians, you have Gentile Christians.

And I really believe these next ones are what's

gonna resonate with us as a church. Verses 20

and 21. I have been crucified with Christ and

I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The

life I live and the body I live by faith in the

son of God who loved me and gave himself for

me. I do not set aside the grace of God for if

righteousness could be gained through the law,

Christ died for nothing. I have been crucified

with Christ. It is no longer I that live, but

Christ that lives in me. 13 years ago, church,

I was crucified with Christ. I was saved from

a 20 -year drug addiction and radically transformed.

And 13 years later, I'm still being transformed.

I'm not as prideful as I was before Christ, but

I still have a bunch of pride that needs to get

out of me. I'm not as selfish as I was before

Christ, but I have a lot of selfishness that

needs to be removed from me because my emotions,

thoughts, and feelings get off center all the

time based off my surroundings. And I need the

Holy Spirit to guide me and direct me and prune

me. Why do we keep trying to resurrect our old

selves, church? The old person is buried in Christ.

The only type of person you bury is a dead person,

church. That means that addiction in Christ is

buried. That means that crushing anxiety and

worry has been buried. That means that need to

control every aspect of your life or think you

control your kids and your business and your

family has been buried. It means the need to

act sexually immoral and have anything sexual

outside of how God intended it with a man and

a woman in marriage has been buried. It means

that resentment That judgment, that unforgiveness,

that gossip, that mockery has all been buried

in Christ. We have to stop trying to dig up these

things that are dead and have no power over us,

church. Do you know what you call something when

you get on the ground and you dig up something

that was dead and you try to get it up moving

around? They're called zombies, church. Nobody

likes zombies. They're gross. They try to kill

you. They're not good for you. Church, let's

stop digging up zombies. And every time we try

to go back to that old way of living and try

to dig up something that is dead. We are no longer

a slave to sin, but a slave to righteousness.

Every time we do that, we've lost sight of what

Christ did on the cross and the power that is

there. In church, every time we know we're saved

by the grace of God and through Jesus on the

cross, but go, that can't be all there is to

it. I have to, I need to, I need to be in this

study more. I need to serve more. I need to,

I need to give more. I need to pray more. And

all those things are great, but there is no power

in them of themselves. We have come back under

the power of the law church. If this book right

here, this Bible feels weighty to you and like

its commands are restraining you, and they're

a burden to keep, and you don't like them, I

would say you've come back under the law. Because

Jesus' yoke is easy, and his burden is light,

church. We get to live this book out. We get

to obey these commands. We get to give, we get

to serve. We get to forgive because of what Christ

has done. Because it's no longer I that live,

but Christ that lives in me. So what does this

look like going through the weeks to come? If

you go, all right, Ben, I'm on board with that.

That all sounds good. How do we practically live

that out? We gotta know this book, church. We

gotta know this book. Because there are so many

things in our life that mess up our emotions,

thoughts, and feelings. We have to have this

word written on our heart. And what I mean by

that is we have to have it memorized. We have

to be able in a moment, no matter the stressful

situation, no matter the difficult people, I

can call on the word of God and the power of

Jesus Christ. And I can declare these truths

over my life and over my situation. And I'll

put my hope and trust in that and that alone.

I will not let my circumstances dictate my mood.

I will not match anger for anger or evil for

evil, but to be a light in the world so that

our deeds can be seen and that God can be glorified

in heaven, church. And so I wanna declare some

verses over you and they're gonna be up for a

while. And if you wanna take a picture of them

or write her down, you can, but I just wanna

declare these truths over you. In Christ, you

are without blemish and free from accusation.

You have been made holy through the sacrifice

of Jesus Christ once and for all, church. There

is now no condemnation for those of us that are

in Christ Jesus. You cannot be separated from

his love, church. We are without spot or wrinkle.

We are holy and without blemish. We have been

blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual

blessing in Christ. He who is in you is greater

than the one who is in the world. Where the spirit

of the Lord is, there is freedom, church. And

finally, the one we started with in 1 Thessalonians,

the one who calls you as faithful and he will

do it. These verses, church, are written in what's

called a perfect tense. It means they were true.

It means they are true. It means they will be

true. This is our anchor. What Christ did is

what we put our faith in, not our works. Jesus

said, truly I tell you, unless you change and

become like little children, you will not enter

the kingdom of heaven. What I used to think Jesus

was teaching was talking about kids' innocence.

Then I had kids. They're just a bunch of little

sinners running all over the place. Am I wrong?

I mean, come on. You don't have to teach a kid

to be selfish. You don't have to teach them the

word mine. You don't have to teach them to lie.

They come by it honestly. Because you see the

fall of humanity in a toddler. Honestly, I see

the fall of humanity in me trying to parent.

I'll tell you, though, what I have fully come

to believe Jesus was teaching was that of a little

kid is unapologetically dependent upon something

else to provide for. It's food, it's clothing,

it's shelter, it's protection, it's safety. Church,

let's be unapologetically dependent. upon what

Christ did on the cross. Amen? Let's pray. Heavenly

Father, I come before you, Lord, just with a

repentant heart of the times I've tried to do

things out of my own power and my own strength.

Lord, that you would ignite a fire within us

as individuals and as a community, Lord, to be

unapologetically dependent upon you. Lord, we

were saved by you. We were saved through you.

We were saved for you. Father, let us be reminded

of your goodness. Lord, let us have people in

our lives that we trust, that can have honest

face -to -face conversations. So Lord, there

will be no division, but we will be a unified

body together, supporting one another, lifting

one another up, Lord. Father, that you would

put people in our lives that would help carry

us and that we could also help carry, Lord. Lord,

forgive us for any time we have added to Christ.

Lord, any time we have gone and tried to dig

up our old selves, Lord. Lord, that we would

recognize those moments when our feelings, thoughts,

and emotions are off -center, Lord. Lord, and

we would be reminded of your word, Lord, that

does not change like sand, but is steadfast and

it is the truth, the way. You are the life and

the light of the world. Father, open our eyes

to that, Father. Father, if there is someone

in this room right now that does not know you,

Lord, that you would reveal yourselves to them,

that this... That we can be seen without blemish,

that we can be forgiven of our sins. You don't

hold these things against us, can be in a moment

of accepting you. And what Jesus did on the cross,

Lord, and everyone said, amen.