00;00;00;06 - 00;00;05;06
Brenton
Welcome back to further. I am Brenton Grim. Chris Carr. What's going on?

00;00;05;09 - 00;00;06;23
Chris
There's a lot going on. Don't you know.

00;00;06;24 - 00;00;14;01
Brenton
It's a few things. Yeah, yeah. So we just came out of advance commitment on Sunday. How do you feel that went.

00;00;14;03 - 00;00;26;21
Chris
Yeah I think it went great a great turnout. It was a long, busy day. It's probably at least as, long as I can remember. The longest day of ministry I've ever had.

00;00;26;23 - 00;00;27;25
Brenton
Really? What were your.

00;00;27;25 - 00;00;41;03
Chris
Hours? Well, I get up between five, 530 on Sunday, so, And I got home at eight m, so. Yeah.

00;00;41;06 - 00;00;41;23
Brenton
You made it?

00;00;41;26 - 00;01;03;03
Chris
Yeah, I made it. Even though it was really good. It was, It was a great day, and I enjoyed it. And the Lord just getting gave me energy and strength. And this is really, encouraging and helpful for me to just see everybody that came out and have some great conversations. And it was just a yeah, it was a great day away around.

00;01;03;03 - 00;01;08;10
Chris
So I slept better, Sunday night than I have for a long, long time. So maybe.

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Brenton
That's I think you.

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Chris
Sleep better.

00;01;10;14 - 00;01;12;01
Brenton
But you got any schedule?

00;01;12;01 - 00;01;14;21
Chris
Work down. Rain. Rain?

00;01;14;23 - 00;01;23;11
Brenton
Yeah. So coming out of advance commitment and coming in to commitment Sunday. I assume you're pretty excited about this. What should we expect?

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Chris
That's a good question. I mean, I've got a lot of, preparation for Sunday and, know how to answer that question in a much better way here in a few days. But, yeah, you know, we're going to we're going to do, what we always do and we're getting, you know, open up God's word and and see what, it has to say.

00;01;44;27 - 00;02;03;27
Chris
Looking forward to the passage we're going to look at. And I think it's, it's not only a great way to conclude this, this series, but it's also a great way to prepare us for what's coming next weekend, which, of course, is Good Friday and Easter. And, it's a passage that would suit very well for Good Friday and Easter.

00;02;03;29 - 00;02;21;00
Chris
So look forward to that. And then we're going to just, talk about, the commitments that the Lord is leading us to and how we can, bring those and offer him up to him and do it together and, and, Lord willing, and see this goal that he's put before us be reached, the financial goal.

00;02;21;00 - 00;02;40;21
Chris
But, in the context of that, really, what's more important is that we will, reach our primary goal, which is hopefully that everybody is hearing from the Lord about what it would mean for them to love him. More. And hopefully we'll all have something to offer. To him on, on Sunday. In that regard.

00;02;40;21 - 00;02;49;16
Chris
And I think if we do, if that primary goal, is reach, then the secondary goal largely take care of itself. Yeah.

00;02;49;18 - 00;03;22;14
Brenton
Yeah, yeah, it's been, it's been a good six weeks. I'm looking forward, to this last one, wrapping it up and seeing, seeing the fruit of it. So, all right, so jumping into the sermon, you know, like last week, this was another familiar story, the story of Zacchaeus. What kind of things? You know, you kind of you kind of mentioned at the beginning the flannel graph, view of this thing where where, you know, a lot of us are familiar with it from, from our childhood, but we don't really get into deep into these stories.

00;03;22;14 - 00;03;31;06
Brenton
And so what kind of things do we miss if we, if we kind of leave these stories at the flannel flannel graph level, if you will?

00;03;31;09 - 00;03;58;12
Chris
Yeah. I think what we can miss, especially like in this story, the story of Zacchaeus is like, our need for for Jesus and why he really, needed to come to seeking to save the lost if, if, if people are actually going to be saved. And, you know, obviously he was up the tree because he's short and couldn't see Jesus.

00;03;58;12 - 00;04;18;13
Chris
But that's kind of where that that song, a Sunday school song, kind of leaves it out. Yeah. Right. And by the way, there's nothing wrong with that song. Nothing wrong with, you know, teaching our kids that, I think it's it's it's all good. I just think, quite honestly, I think if we we leave it at that, we can.

00;04;18;13 - 00;04;48;03
Chris
We can, we can miss Jesus. And, what we can fail to do is fail to see that Jesus is in the story, and not just as the guy who comes, you know, walking by like he he's he's meant, we're meant to see him. And I, I, I think if we just understand the whole, the whole context of, you know, Luke is telling a, a story here that got the gospel is a story.

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Chris
And, in just a few chapters, you know, Jesus is going to be in a tree. And, and so I, I think if we just leave it at the kind of that baseline, baseline level, we fail to, to miss Jesus. I mean, there's other things that we miss. We might get into this a little bit later about like, why why was he considered to be a sinner?

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Chris
Is nobody else a sinner? Right. Yeah. Like and, and how does, how do religious people often, you know, judge or, or overly critical judgmental of people. So there's, there's a lot of different things if we just leave it. I really don't even get into that had I didn't have time to. But there's more. There's more to it.

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Brenton
Well, on that topic was kind of brought up last week too. We'll touch on it today too. But, but the story of the Good Samaritan, you know, we're we're kind of face to face with, you know, our judgment of other people. Right?

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Chris
So, yeah, I mean, there's something else I even thought about, since Sunday, you know, Zacchaeus, why didn't he just have his, like, he he would have had Roman soldiers at his disposal. He could have had them clear the way out for him. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I mean he's a wealthy guy. You get to pay people.

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Chris
But but so it's, it's like she's got to peer deeper in like what's what's going on in that man's heart. That and I didn't even use really that language if that's what we're really talking about. He's up the tree because of what's going on in his heart, not because of what's going on with his height, you know?

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Chris
Yeah, I mean, that that plays a part in it, but it but if his heart would have been, in a different place, then he may not have been up that tree for sure. To begin with.

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Brenton
Yeah. We see the Spirit's work in his life before. Before you even encountered Jesus. Right?

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Chris
Right. Yeah. So.

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Brenton
All right, so you you said that joy is something we often have to fight for. Why? Why do you think joy can be so hard to hold on to in the Christian life? And and how do we practically fight for it? You know, the way Paul talks about it in Philippians four.

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Chris
I think that there may be a lot of answers why it can be, so hard. I there's obviously our circumstances. Life's hard. I mean, just is. And sometimes for Christians, it's actually harder than for non-Christians. And I say that, because we we have an enemy who's prowling around looking to destroy us. And so he, he has a special affinity, I think, for trying to to attack, believers.

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Chris
So I just think that there are there are a lot of reasons. I mean, you you just go throughout your day in the various frustrations and difficulties and things that go and, you don't feel well, you don't get enough sleep, you know, I mean, there's like a myriad of things, relationships. I mean, we go on and on here.

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Chris
So I, I just think it's just really, really hard. And we're sin and we're sinful people, like, we don't we we we don't naturally tend to focus on the good things that we have in life. We tend to focus on the the negative things. How do we proactively fight for it? Well, I mean, one of the things I try to bring out on Sunday is like, eat rejoicing is actually a command.

00;08;15;07 - 00;08;33;28
Chris
So we see that in that Philippians four passage. But we also see it in, first us learning as five rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Just let's get to talk about this passage for a second. First of all, this is, first Thessalonians 516 and 17.

00;08;34;01 - 00;08;55;19
Chris
Paul ends this. He says, This is God's will was God's will for your life. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. Sometimes we make it overly complicated about what God's will is for our lives, which you'll notice there. Like those are all things like I would call them habits. Or in this series I've called them practices like we can give ourselves to.

00;08;55;19 - 00;09;23;07
Chris
How? How am I going to actually practice rejoicing? It's not a free rejoicing. It is not a feeling. Joy is is is more of a feeling rejoicing. It's an action. It's a choice. Like I'm going to give myself to that. And he says always which, which like and and in later I guess gives thanks in all circumstances where I think those things go to rejoicing and giving thanks are very closely related in circumstances.

00;09;23;07 - 00;09;42;19
Chris
So it's a choice where, like I'm in a, I'm going to give myself to this even when I don't feel like it. And the challenge is, is like, if you only do it when you feel like it, a lot of times you are going to find that you don't feel like it. So sometimes you have to act your way into your feelings.

00;09;42;22 - 00;10;26;20
Chris
I know that's an anathema in the world that we live in today. Right. And then of course, pray without ceasing, which is I think means like not just you're down on your hands and knees, without ceasing, but like you continually going to the Lord, or you're seeking to live in the God's presence, continually. So, I do I think it's like we've got to, give ourselves to the kind of things that are going to help us rejoice, which is, you know, things like reflecting on the gospel, spending time with other believers, singing, and, you know, most of the time, you know, I should say most of the

00;10;26;20 - 00;10;48;17
Chris
time, but people tend to be joyful when there's they're singing. There are different songs I will mention and like, and then there's country music. It was just a whole I know, I just fed it half the audience right there. But, but a lot of songs that are, yeah, are joyful and simple. So you'll find this interesting. Okay.

00;10;48;20 - 00;11;13;14
Chris
And just this is just I don't know, just so that we can have, hopefully a little enjoyment here. At some point, I literally have thought about showing the video of journey singing, Don't Stop Believin live. Okay, okay, here's the point is, like people screaming at the top of their lungs and they're just like, they're all into it.

00;11;13;14 - 00;11;53;01
Chris
And and I have a I have a sinking suspicion that if we played that song on a Sunday morning, that people, people would be be ready to, to sing more. No, I mean really like more. Yeah. Than they would when we're singing songs where we're, you know, rehearsing, responding, remembering the gospel. Okay. And so and I have a feeling that there may be people who don't sing or don't sing very much or loudly who they probably wouldn't do it because they, they know, but like, they're, they're more into it.

00;11;53;01 - 00;12;14;06
Chris
They're so, what's my point here? And my point is, is that we do rejoice. We know how to do this. You know, it's just a matter of whether we're going to choose to, to give ourselves to it and rejoice over the, the, the right things and let, let our hearts be open to that. Yeah. I don't know what you think about that.

00;12;14;07 - 00;12;15;19
Chris
Yeah. I mean, you're, you know, it.

00;12;15;19 - 00;12;20;22
Brenton
Sounds like we're working toward a karaoke night here.

00;12;20;25 - 00;12;47;19
Chris
Yeah. I'm. I don't think I'm going to. I don't think I do. You get to do this, that I may get worried, but I just, I, I, I've just been, you know, sometimes I go down to YouTube, you know, whatever you want to call it. And, and just like there's music videos and things like that, and, and you just see these concerts where there's a maybe 100,000 people and they're just just they're like, it's joy now.

00;12;47;19 - 00;12;53;29
Chris
It's maybe joy in the wrong things. And, and that's maybe they have substances to help them out with that.

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Brenton
But and maybe that's what I would point to a little bit because I think in some sense, yes, we want excitement, we want we want joy around things. But I think that, you know, a lot of when we look at something like that or even like a sporting event, like that's that's fleeting stuff, right? The, the, the joy or the happiness that comes from that.

00;13;13;23 - 00;13;39;10
Brenton
And so, yeah, I think there should be an expression of joy in our worship for sure. The other thing that I wanted to touch on, too, is just how, you know, how important it is to realize that joy is a command like you. You mentioned that, but it was such a big thing for me while I was, you know, I had a stretch for a time where I was really struggling to to be joyful.

00;13;39;10 - 00;14;08;01
Brenton
And that realization that, you know, this, it it's not a, a passive responsive or a passive feeling of, of happiness that I think that we get sucked into a lot where, you know, I wake up today and I feel really good. That's fun. That's not joy, that's, you know, it can be a result of joy, but but joy comes from understanding and abiding and rejoicing.

00;14;08;01 - 00;14;33;27
Brenton
And so, you know, just just the, the realization that we have to actually work for, for joy, we need to put our effort into that was was so important for me because that honestly, when I read, you know, years ago, when I, when I reread that from Paul, I was kind of like, what? You know, like it didn't really make sense to me because I had had it so twisted up in my mind.

00;14;33;27 - 00;14;37;26
Brenton
And so yeah, yeah, it was just such an important realization for me in my life.

00;14;37;26 - 00;15;03;00
Chris
Yeah, I just will will mention one thing that's been really key to me here, and I, I would recommend highly recommend it for for everybody is this this is why this songs are so I think so important. Yeah. And why the, the Bible gives us you know, God gives us 150 of them. And, and they're not all of the same, you know, kind of, for sure.

00;15;03;02 - 00;15;28;00
Chris
But they are, I think a way you can literally see the psalmist, especially David, just like, why why, why are you so downcast? Oh, my soul, hoping God and so, so like you okay, he's talking to himself. He's saying, why my soul? He's asking this. So, like, okay, why are you this way? Okay. It's not like he's judging.

00;15;28;01 - 00;15;46;27
Chris
Like like it, but it's like, okay, let's ask what? Let's listen. But but then like we're going to, we're going to turn to towards hope. And I think again, I think we so often like just we, we when like I don't feel joy. So you know life stinks and that's what that was I when I you know I'm not joyful.

00;15;46;27 - 00;16;06;11
Chris
But if I have something, be joyful about what you will. You do have something to be joyful about. And so how do you direct your heart toward the, Yeah. And the other thing I would say is I think there isn't a thing about personalities. I mean, some people are more, you know, you have more the the natural, the your personalities and more of the Tigger personalities.

00;16;06;11 - 00;16;08;12
Brenton
And so which one of my,

00;16;08;15 - 00;16;14;05
Chris
I'm. No, no, I, hear more of Winnie the Pooh, I think, you know.

00;16;14;06 - 00;16;14;26
Brenton
Yeah.

00;16;14;28 - 00;16;37;00
Chris
No, but but that doesn't mean, by the way, the two. Your personality is better. So. Because sometimes the Tigger personality is not real. Real joy. It's just like I'm. I'm actually trying to cover my, my sadness by being overly excited or whatever, but, I do think that there are some people who are who find it harder to to to do this.

00;16;37;02 - 00;16;37;19
Chris
Yeah.

00;16;37;22 - 00;17;01;28
Brenton
Yeah. Okay. On to repentance. So you said we must not give into the idea that repenting is a one time thing we do in order to be saved. No, it's also something we do in order to experience transformation. So, you know, this idea that repentance isn't only a one time thing, although it is, in the sense of our salvation.

00;17;01;28 - 00;17;07;05
Brenton
But what what should a life of repentance actually look like?

00;17;07;08 - 00;17;32;29
Chris
I think, if I can refer to the Psalms again, 32 and 51 in particular, David is expressing a non salvific repentance. If I can say that, like he's, he's he's already. Yeah. A believer, so to speak. He already has a relationship with God, but he has sinned. And in at least in Psalm 51, it may be true in Psalm 32.

00;17;32;29 - 00;17;57;15
Chris
So AD1 is very clearly the heading of the Psalm says is after he sin with Bathsheba, create in me a clean heart, oh God, and restore a right spirit in me. And there's a lot of other language, repentance, language of that. And so, I think it is it's comfort. I mean, like confession is key to this. So, so, maybe just to give three keys.

00;17;57;15 - 00;18;25;09
Chris
You know, I love alliteration. It's confession, contrition and change. Commitment to change. So confession, I'm omitting that what I've done is wrong or my attitude is wrong. My my heart is wrong. Here, there's a contrition, a sorrow over that. I talked about, you know, a Second Corinthians seven, a godly sorrow, which is a sorrow that I've harmed God and or others.

00;18;25;12 - 00;18;48;24
Chris
And, and then there's this commitment to, to change, like, okay, I'm going to use. Make effort to stop doing what I'm doing and or to start doing what I should be doing. And generally it's both, and yeah. So confession, contrition, commitment to change I think is it's kind of a little bit of a nutshell.

00;18;48;29 - 00;18;50;22
Chris
Theology of of repentance.

00;18;50;24 - 00;19;12;20
Brenton
Yeah. When we've talked about confession a little bit through this series and I, you know, I think that's the right place to start. And it's an important, you know, habit that we need to get into. I think it's easy to, to let that stuff go, and not deal with it. Rightly so. Yeah. Psalm 51 is a great one to to go to.

00;19;12;22 - 00;19;26;14
Brenton
We see the crowd grumbling when Jesus chooses Zacchaeus here. What what does that reveal about our own hearts? When when God gives grace to people that we don't think deserves it?

00;19;26;16 - 00;19;59;12
Chris
Well, it means that we, don't understand the grace that's been shown to us. I mean, I don't know that I got too much more. I mean, I could, as you know, always have more to say, but it's like if, if we look on somebody for exact kicks and, you know, just to use the, the analogy again and we don't see that we're up a tree without a ladder ourselves and we just don't that we're assuming they're calling the guy.

00;19;59;12 - 00;20;29;26
Chris
This is I say he's a sinner and and now we you probably today wouldn't say I'm not a sinner. It's really everybody. Oh, yeah, I'm a sinner. But we we we like in degrees, right? I'm not as bad of the sinners. I just don't understand the holiness of God. Yeah, yeah, and it doesn't. It doesn't matter. How simple you think you are, how many sins you know you've committed versus somebody else.

00;20;29;29 - 00;20;45;06
Chris
You still before. Holy God. Or, you know, you stand under his his judgment and, worthy of eternal death. So, you know.

00;20;45;08 - 00;20;47;16
Brenton
That's something we should be reminding ourselves of.

00;20;47;16 - 00;20;56;19
Chris
I think so, and I think it is. It's key to this repentance thing, too. It's just like, you know, are you are you a good swimmer?

00;20;56;22 - 00;20;57;17
Brenton
I'm average.

00;20;57;19 - 00;21;17;22
Chris
You're average. Okay. So, you know, let's let's suppose, you and I, we're going to go swim, try to swim across the Mississippi from Illinois to Iowa or vice versa. Probably. We go over to Illinois and swim back to Iowa to enjoy leaving Illinois for the going. Yeah. Sorry. Are you Illinois?

00;21;17;25 - 00;21;18;23
Brenton
I got family over there.

00;21;18;23 - 00;21;42;05
Chris
Yeah. You do. So it's more on you. You you might make it further than me. Probably would make it further than me. You're younger. We're both not making it all the way over, right? I mean, and and so you might be a better swimmer, but you ain't making it, and doesn't matter. We're both going to drown, so doesn't matter how far you get, you're going to.

00;21;42;05 - 00;22;05;12
Chris
And that's that's the one way I think to look at it. But and so I just like this is the, the chronic problem with the church. Like we can look down at these religious people here. But this is still happens today like somebody and and we're not immune to it to it either. And and just to be careful, if somebody walks in the door of a church, it's really easy.

00;22;05;12 - 00;22;34;12
Chris
They don't maybe look like we do, in terms of how they're dressed or something like that, or they, they, they, they do have a story that they've come from. They made some poor, poor choices or they've, whatever. And, and so it's easy to, to think, okay, well, we've got it more together than, than they do in that house somehow, you know, leads us to judge them in our hearts.

00;22;34;16 - 00;22;34;25
Chris
Yeah.

00;22;35;02 - 00;23;05;13
Brenton
Right. So for your giving principle this this week, it was salvation. You brought up second Corinthians eight nine, which says, for, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. Your point is that a right understanding of our generosity from Christ, shown on the cross, should lead us to to generosity in our own lives.

00;23;05;16 - 00;23;13;03
Brenton
My question is, what if it doesn't? What? What can that tell us about ourselves?

00;23;13;06 - 00;23;55;22
Chris
Well, I think that if we were to study Second Corinthians, the entire book, I think we would find that what what Paul is doing in, in the entire letter is he is trying to get the Corinthians to show evidence of their salvation. And, he hits on in regards to generosity in eight, eight, nine. And I think one thing that Paul would say is that, first of all, you know, you've got to, you know, ask yourself, are you really a believer?

00;23;55;24 - 00;24;18;28
Chris
And here's one of the reason I say this in second, Corinthians chapter 13, he says, test yourselves to see if you're in the faith. Don't you know that Christ Jesus is in you unless you fail to meet the tests and if you read the rest of like there's 13 chapter, see? So you read the first 12 plus chapters, there's all these tests and one of them is generosity.

00;24;19;00 - 00;24;46;28
Chris
So one thing I think Paul is saying not would say, but I'm sure he would. But it is in the letter saying like, if if we're not generous, you really need to to to question. Have you come to truly understand the grace of Jesus, what he says in that verse? For you know the grace of the Lord Jesus will we say, I think what he's actually saying is, you've heard about it like, do you really know it?

00;24;47;00 - 00;25;27;21
Chris
And but then I think also the question is, is like, if we are a believer, and that generosity is, is not there, or maybe it's been there in the past, but it's not so much there now or we're kind of fleeting then, then it, it should drive us back to, to, to the gospel where we confess that and we ask for God's mercy to, to actually give us a generous heart, which is, you know, Paul actually begins leading up to this verse, he, he actually tells the story of the Macedonians who, you know, Paul's taking this what he's doing is he's actually taking an offering for the poverty stricken church in

00;25;27;21 - 00;25;52;21
Chris
Jerusalem and the, the, the Corinthians, he's traveling all around the Union. So he's going to all these churches that he's planning and he's, the Corinthians, pretty wealthy church. Okay. But he had previously come from Macedonia. Whether the Macedonians were in in poverty. And he actually says, you know, the Macedonians, they just begged us earnestly for the favor of being able to give.

00;25;52;23 - 00;26;09;24
Chris
We didn't even he even he said, I didn't even he I'm paraphrasing. I don't even think to ask them because they're so impoverished. It wasn't an effort, but they wouldn't have any of it. And they he says they even gave, according to their means. And even more their than their means. Like, they they even gave what they couldn't afford, to give.

00;26;09;24 - 00;26;28;23
Chris
And he's using that to as an inspiration to, to motivate, the Corinthians. So I think when we, when that's not in our way, like we look and we, we, we try to give ourselves the things that are going to, shape and mold our heart, which is like this whole series as what we've been talking about.

00;26;28;26 - 00;26;55;22
Brenton
Yeah. I guess we'll end with this. It was, you know, part of the same topic. You said when we truly experienced the generosity of Jesus, when we truly get what he's done for us, then it will transform us into generous people. So how maybe the positive side of this, how do we how do we cultivate the kind of generosity that without turning it into just another religious duty?

00;26;55;24 - 00;26;59;14
Chris
Very carefully.

00;26;59;16 - 00;27;26;08
Chris
You know, you've you've heard me say, and I believe this more and more the longer I'm in, in ministry and just the older I get, the need for nuance and, the balance is like. Yeah, I mean, it can really easily turn into just a do, like I'm doing it in pride and pride in because I do do it and like and and all of that.

00;27;26;08 - 00;27;57;27
Chris
And so, I think that this is not to take the easy way out, but this is where again prayer and and spending time with the Lord and, and listening to him and, and even this repentance and confession and and acknowledge gene and and like one of the best things I think we can do for our spiritual growth and transformation is just simply to acknowledge that our hearts are, so, the old hymn goes prone to wander from the Lord, to leave the Lord we love is like.

00;27;57;27 - 00;28;21;25
Chris
And that's not, that's just not going to change until glory. Like our our hearts are always going to, I believe it was, was was C.S. Lewis, the prone to be idle factories that that's what our heart is. Calvin. Yeah, it was a Calvin. Yeah. I think maybe I see this quote again. Yeah, probably it probably actually is probably Tim Keller quoting C.S. Lewis, quoting Calvin.

00;28;21;27 - 00;28;52;29
Chris
That's quoting Augustine. And it's actually probably the J there, but I j that's just the way like we still have this old, like this old nature and it's just, just going to continue to go wonky, like it's just going to and if we if we're not aware of that or just willing to acknowledge that. And so just, just like recognizing that and, and and what that's meant to do though is to drive us back to Christ.

00;28;52;29 - 00;29;17;02
Chris
So let's go back to repentance one last, last time in repentance. We and I said this on Sunday, we turn from sin and we turn to Christ. So it's not just a to turn from sin. That's where it becomes like this. Religious religion is where we're just turning, like, I'm just stopping and absorbing something, and we're actually turning from one idol to another.

00;29;17;05 - 00;29;19;21
Chris
Yeah. Right. In my, our.

00;29;19;21 - 00;29;20;21
Brenton
Obedience as and I.

00;29;20;21 - 00;30;05;19
Chris
Know our self. Yeah. Self righteous or whatever you whatever word you want to put on it. But that's, that is that is religion is that. And that's, this is by the way why sometimes, religious people are the ugliest people that they are. And I talking about from a physical standpoint, I'm just talking about like the most judgmental and and then also now I'm getting on, soapbox here, but this is why they also, why we I want to say they why we also can, can find that people who claim Christ, get, involved in the at times, you know, sins like you're like, that really is because the heart on the

00;30;05;19 - 00;30;32;20
Chris
outside doing all the stuff. But on the inside, what, you're you're not actually, loving Christ or having faith in Christ or having faith in your your righteousness and the Pharisees treated, you know, the people who persecuted Jesus the most were the most religious and the most Bible believing people in the in the Bible, they were like, I mean, they were the fundamental like, and they were Bible people.

00;30;32;20 - 00;30;53;00
Chris
And yet their idol was they their their faith, what they were, they they were they weren't sinning in the sense like giving themselves of the kind of things like this tax collector was. Yes. But their, their idol was their, their, their self-righteousness. And that's I, I've seen it. You've seen it. Yeah. And yeah. Yeah.

00;30;53;03 - 00;30;59;14
Brenton
So yeah. Someone in this situation that is seeing it as a religious duty, the the answer is still repentance right.

00;30;59;16 - 00;31;23;02
Chris
Yeah. No no no no it is, it is. It's just like my my tendency is, is like and there's another passage. Yeah. It's nice. Give me an hour. Paul. Paul says, you know, those of you who stand, be careful lest you fall, lest I see your King James still comes up. But I slip into that every once in a while.

00;31;23;08 - 00;31;50;19
Chris
But it's like you just got to like the moment you think you have arrived in the Christian life. You just have proven that you have not. And that's where it's, you know, it's where it's it's it's tough, but, being humble and I, I quoted this on Sunday. God opposes the proud, but he he gives grace to the humble and just, you know, this is why the Bible is so important to it.

00;31;50;21 - 00;31;57;16
Chris
Because if you faithfully read and study the Bible, it will smack you over the head, over and over again.

00;31;57;19 - 00;32;17;20
Brenton
Well, I think money is one of those topics that we like to dance around, right? And and maybe the the call for repentance doesn't come out as much in, in the generosity conversation as it would in other in other areas. And so we need to still realize that, you know, a lack of generosity is is spoken about really poorly in the Bible and yet is still a sin.

00;32;17;20 - 00;32;18;01
Brenton
So.

00;32;18;08 - 00;32;50;03
Chris
Right. Well, I, I don't I didn't have this in my manuscript. So, this is probably I'm surprised you didn't ask me about this. But but remember, it's not in my manuscripts when my off script comments. Yeah. I've been I've been doing this for a quarter century now. I don't remember any, like, church member or church attender that I've, you know, been serving, with pastoring who's ever confessed to me like I'm greedy.

00;32;50;04 - 00;32;51;16
Brenton
Yeah. Right.

00;32;51;19 - 00;33;18;25
Chris
And, and and, I mean, like, their sins that that that, you would think that people have confessed and there's ones that I could. At least I won't that you would. People would be shocked at and and all kinds of things and people who but are willing to, to do that. But greed is one that just people because they don't think that they, they don't think that they are.

00;33;18;27 - 00;33;21;05
Chris
I mean, just think about that. I mean, like like.

00;33;21;08 - 00;33;27;06
Brenton
Well, I can go under the radar to you like, it's it's not necessarily going to be public. I can be, but.

00;33;27;08 - 00;33;56;18
Chris
Well, and this, this I probably had equip my head, but I, I think that I think that greed is actually admired in our culture. Yeah. And, and so, and, and I'm, I'm not so sure at times that it isn't like it's we wouldn't call agree. But like we, we, I mean that's what like the, the disciples in that Luke 18, they're like, well the rich man can't be saved.

00;33;56;18 - 00;34;07;14
Chris
Well who then can be saved? This thing like like rich people. Like that's a sign of God's blessing. And so, yeah, I'll leave it at that, but I, I.

00;34;07;15 - 00;34;08;16
Brenton
Leave you with a lot to think.

00;34;08;16 - 00;34;28;06
Chris
About. I do think it is a in the culture that we live in today. And I've been harping on a lot, but I just think it is very easy. This is the water that we swim in. It's just like the old, you know, illustration of a fish. A fish doesn't know that it's in water until you take it out of the water.

00;34;28;08 - 00;34;30;09
Chris
Yeah, yeah.

00;34;30;11 - 00;34;42;02
Brenton
Okay. All right. Well, thank you for all that. Do you have any questions? Let us know. Ask me further. Broadcast.com. And we're on a commitment Sunday next week, so look forward to seeing you there.