Matthew 1:1–6Scripture
Well, we've made it to Matthew. And this is going to be a little bit of a journey. I think somebody did the math. They said it would be two years and seven and a half months or something like that. So, it'll be a little while. I think it's going to be a fun journey. It will be filled with twists and turns.
I did not line this up perfectly because if I did, I would have hit some of these earlier. Versus somewhere around Christmas time, but I don't tend to do things by the book. Actually, I do that by this book. And you know, this is where we're at. So, it is what it is. You know that we tend to assign certain things we find in Scripture to particular seasons.
And I understand the reason for that. But there's there's not only specific seasons that we should celebrate what God has done, but we can do that in all seasons. So regardless of where it falls, it's still worthy of talking about. Doesn't have to be on the right exact schedule. If we're talking about it all, it's a good schedule.
Okay, we're going to do one through six. This seems hopefully you guys have met with your groups. I think that is helpful. It gives you a little bit of it helps me not to have to go into so much background to have so much more conversation. I can just kind of hit on what I need to hit on and I know that you guys are keeping up.
If you're not in a small group, we encourage you to do so because I'm not necessarily laying as much groundwork because our fellowship goes through this together in study, personal study, corporate study, and then in small group and then we have a final touch here. And so I'm I'm able to be freed to hit on what I want to hit on, what I feel like will be beneficial for us to hit on today because so much other groundwork is laid.
And so you won't be lost just coming on Sunday, but get in a small group.
Introduction
All right, there's my little sales pitch. All right. Matthew chapter 1, the book and the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
And Judah the father of Perez, and Zera, and Tamar, and Perez, and the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
And Ram the father of Aminadab and Aminadab the father of Neshon and Neshon the father of Sam Sammon. Sammon the father of Boaz by Rahab and Boaz the father of Oed by Ruth and Oed the father of Jesse. And Jesse the father of David the king and David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.
Man, that sounds like a really entertaining Scripture to talk about today, right? Just a list of names. Now, for those of you that are not Bible scholars, this may not seem like much. It might seem like a yawnworthy portion of Scripture, but the writer of Matthew is doing something here. He is laying a groundwork for where the seed, the Messiah, the king of the world is coming.
He is a part of a lineage and it isn't you would think it would be a royal lineage and it is in part but it isn't in part.
This lineage is not filled with people that you think a messiah would come from. It's broken like you. It's messed up like you. These people have problems like you or at least the neighbor beside you. But these people have issues. How is it that someone as good as Christ can come from someone as bad as these people?
Now, the Jews celebrated several people on this list and labeled them as great men of God. Yet when you look back at the history of their life, one of the things you notice is that their total problems. They are messups. They have issues. Abraham had some issues. David had some issues. We have some issues. We are about to open a book that does not simply tell a story.
It declares a rain.
Matthew's gospel is the voice of a herald and the sound of a kingdom.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 4:53
It's the shout of a promise kept and the arrival of a king and the unveiled glory that was long hidden but now stands in the open for all of you and me to see.
And what I think is hilarious about this book and why I chose it most honestly is that it does not begin with thunder or with miracles.
But it also doesn't begin with a whisper. It begins with a list. It's a genealogy that's too casual that the too casual reader may seem dry or forgettable.
But for those with eyes to see, it's a trumpet blast echoing through the centuries.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 5:41
In these names, we see the threads of mercy and judgment, exile and restoration, saints and sinners, all winding towards one name that is above every name, Jesus Christ.
Jesus the son of David. The gospel Matthew doesn't open with parable or with miracle. Now that's what we chase today. That's what we desire most often in our lives. God do something in my problem. God do something for my immediate problem. Give me a Scripture that solves my problem. God help my problem. And we think of this or that.
Think of our financial situation. We think of the illness in our house which we need eradicated immediately. And maybe God will do that and he does do that. God does heal. He does still move. But that is not your greatest problem. There is a greater problem. And this list reveals the problem and provides for us a hope for the greatest miracle that you could ever hope for.
So although it doesn't open with a temporal miracle which we long for today which we come to church for today which we hope for today not just for oursel but for our families for our children for our wives for our spouses for our friends for our acquaintances doesn't open with the miracle. It opens with names.
Names that to some may seem forgotten, but to the eyes of faith they shine like constellations in the sky.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 7:42
This is no mere list. It is a thread of redemption stretching across centuries.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 7:51
God has been doing his work for a little while now.
We're not waiting for him to show up for us. He has been showing up since the beginning.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 8:04
And that's the good news. He is the son of Abraham, the son of David. He is the heir of the covenant and the fulfillment of every sacred hope.
In this genealogy, we see divine pattern. Abraham the pilgrim, David the king, exiles and wonderer, saints and sinners. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bethsheba, these people.
The line of Christ runs through brokenness and beauty, through rebellion and restoration.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 8:42
As Bloomberg notes, this arrangement is not random. It is a witness to providence. Each generation points toward points forward with purpose and each name carries the weight of promise.
This is an important text. Now, whenever you meet somebody, gentlemen, let's talk to the men for a second. Whenever you meet somebody for the first time, what is the one thing men, what is the first thing that you ask the man that you meet besides his name?
And just shout it out there. What do you do for a living? That's our question. Because most of our life, men, is marked by accomplishments. We gauge ourself by what we have accomplished in our lives. Men, we love to achieve and accomplish something. Women, let me tell you how to get what you want from your man. Set a goal that he can achieve and he will achieve it.
Don't boss him around. That's different. That's different. That's not setting a goal for him to achieve. Express a desire and watch him achieve it. Men love to achieve something, right? They love to achieve something. It's important.
But in the gospel and when we talk about our relationship with Christ, achieving is not the pathway to communion.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 10:32
So then we have to divorce oursel men from the natural operation of this earthly life when we encounter the heavenly king because no matter how much you strive you will never achieve, no matter how much you reach, you will never be good enough.
There will never be a day, man, where you stand face to face with God and give him a list of your accomplishments and him go, "Wow.
Wow, that's amazing. I can't believe how awesome you are. I can't believe all the things you've accomplished. I am a My voice just cracked. Astounded at your accomplishments. This will never happen. This is why the gospel, the Bible says that when a men come, when a man comes to faith, the household often comes to faith. The reason for that is it is hard for a man to come to faith because he trusts in his own strength.
And today I'm speaking to everyone, but because I have the mic, I'm speaking to men today because I believe that it is the tactic of the enemy to weaken men by getting them to find their hope in their own strength. Our hope is in Christ. And if you look at this list, and I love this. If you look at this list, there are two types of people when they look at this list.
The way they re see it, there's one type of person. The Jew might look at the list and say, Abraham, the father of our faith, achieved all these wonderful things.
He was given a promise by God that he would have a nation be birthed out of him. These are wonderful things. God used him mightily. But we see then another person might look at Abraham and say he was a failure. He had problems. One man might look at David and see all the accomplishments that a young man he was anointed to be king.
He became king and he slayed his tens of thousands. He slayed a giant. He led a nation. God anointed him, chose him, ordained him. He had a heart after God. And then we see him fail, commit adultery, murder people, and he had problems. But there are two types of people. There are people who see this list and the people in it as people who have problems.
And there are people who glorify in the people who are there and say they are great men of God.
And then let's consider oursel as a part of the list. How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself as a great man or woman of God? Well, I'm I'm nowhere near as bad as those hooligans. I've never murdered anyone. I've never committed adultery. I've never done I hadn't been a prostitute lately. I haven't done any of the crazy things represented on this list.
That's not my story. I have something to celebrate in me. But if you look closely, you got problems, too. How do you see yourself and how do you see the names on this list?
Point 1God is good
My first point is this. You know what I see from this list? I see that God is good and we are not. And that quite honestly, here's the title of my sermon, a list of names that terrify. That's terrifying to me. It is terrifying to me that when we name the list of people that God used mightily for him that they got problems and when we compare that to the Messiah that came from him and his goodness, this list terrifies me because I identify with these people more than I identify with Christ.
And if I got problems and he is truly see listen we say things like this God is good all the time and all the time. God is good. You heard that saying in church. God is good all the time and all the time God is good and is flippant. But if God is good, he is judged. And if he is judge, he punishes.
And if he punishes those who are broken and sinners and are not good and you're not good and we got a problem. And that's terrifying because he's coming to deal with us. That's terrifying. Did you know that badness standing in the presence of goodness melts?
He eradicates not just the badness, but you. We live in a culture today. Listen to this. Listen to this. We live in a culture today, and this is why we can't understand phrases like God is good. We live in a culture today that tries to divorce what we do from who we are.
I'll get a letter from I'll get somebody will say something to me and be offended by this, but just track with me here. I ain't hating. I'm not trying to be mean. I'm trying to be truthful.
But who you are is what you do. And what you do is birthed out of who you are. God doesn't send what you did to hell.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 16:52
He sends you there. Are you with me? So, we need a savior. You can't go, "Well, I did this, but it's not who I am. I have a good heart. If you had a good heart, good stuff would come out of there. If you had good soil, good fruit would come out. You got bad fruit coming out because you got a bad heart.
The reality is you need a new heart. That's why Christ needs to redeem you, save you, restore you, and make you a new creation with a new heart.
Because you don't got a good one. Your ticker has a problem and you need help and that should terrify you.
You've heard it since childhood. God is good.
If God is truly good, then he cannot ignore evil. He cannot look away when you lie. He cannot shrug off your lust.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 18:02
It cannot pretend our pride isn't damning. A good judge must punish the guilty.
So if God is good, truly, purely, eternally good, what does he do with you?
Pastor Shawn Gray · 18:23
See there? See the problem that if God is good, what is he to do with you? That's the point of this list. It is presenting a problem that if we're not good, what is God going to do?
Yet, right inside of the list that presents the problem comes the solution to the problem.
And that's even crazier. How does the solution to the problem come from the problem? I'll tell you why. Because God is good. Only good God could do that. What does he do with the names on the list? You want a safe God. That's the problem. A tame God. But the Scripture does not. The script the God of the Scripture is not tame.
He's holy. And he's His goodness is a threat to every sinner. And that's all of you in here. Not every sinner away from you, but everyone in here. Let me ask you a question. We'll move on to point two. Do you want actually want God to be good or do would you just prefer him to be lenient?
Because there's a difference. See, listen to me today. Some people come to church and are faithful at church and have made a church a part of their life because they want and are hoping that God will be lenient to them on the last day. And if you want to throw in some bonus things while we're living today and be lenient to me every day today, that would be great.
But God isn't lenient. He's good. And there is a difference. He will deal with your iniquities. He will even he will either deal with you or he will deal with the Christ that overshadows you that you've believed. Put your faith in. But he will deal with it. He will not be lenient in this regard. The punishment and the price for your sin will be paid in full.
Track with me. Why? Because he's good.
Point 2You are not good
Non lenient. Number two, you are not good. It's just you are not. But I threw the good in there so you knew what I was talking about. I'm not sexy. I'm not cute. I'm not dressed well. What am I not? You're not good. You're not good. Stop pretending like you are. Listen to me. When I was younger, my sister and I played two different types of games.
This was before we had internet and stuff. People, when you had to use your imagination and your brain, it was your computing system. There's no You know what I mean? Like your bri brain fry it. Like we would run around like so here's what we do. We had a we had two buddies. One's name was Joel and the other name was Buddy because we couldn't remember my dad's second good friend's name.
So we just called him Buddy. But one was Joel, one was Buddy. And she would dress up like Joel and I'd be Buddy. And we would I don't know why we did this because neither one of them worked on cars nor did my father necessarily. He could do a few things, but he didn't work on cars. Definitely not like Kirk, right?
He could take the whole thing apart. And by the way, I've seen Kirk work and screws would be laying all over the driveway and it would go back into the same spot. I don't even know how that's possible. Not like that. Not like that. I'm like, don't we need a container? You know, he's like, "Oh, pocket here, juggling five here, and then they all go back in the holes." And so, okay, not like that.
They were mainly hunters, but we didn't figure we couldn't figure out how to hunt inside the house. So what we would do is we get my dad's clothes and we would put her on like flannel and stuff and we'd be like, you know, and she would be doing that Tiffany and you know, I don't even know why she would fake spitting in her bedroom, but we then we would roll up under the bed and we'd have tools we got from the garage and we pretend like we were working under a car under the bed.
It's like, "Pass me the thing." You know, we didn't even know it was a wrench or anything. Socket wrench, ratchet. We didn't know none of that. Pass me the thing that twists and I got to take this thing off and we would change fix the car. That was our one of the games. We pretended like we were an auto mechanic.
And then one time and track with me here. What we would also get all the vitamin C's in the house. We would have different types of vitamin C's. We didn't have any of the fun stuff because back when the kids, you know, they didn't have like when you fell off monkey bars, you died in my generation.
Today, in your generation, you've you just bounce off of fluffy junk, right? The reason why the church is the way it is today is because there's no consequences for stupid. You know what I mean? And so you like on my day, you died, so you never fell. It was amazing. It's amazing. Right. So, I don't know what that was all about, but So, but back to vitamin C.
None of the cute little Flintstone stuff, but just a circle of vitamin C that chewable that tasted like dirt.
It was gross. No flavor, no grape flavor, cherry flavor, none of that. Just straight vitamin C. You might as well just eat dirt, you know. But it had like a, you know, sour zing to it. You know what I mean? When you had the vitamin C. And we would pret like shirts and we would put them on and we would pretend like we were doctors.
Pretend. We weren't doctors. We had no degrees, no education, no learning, no nothing. We would dress up and we would go in the closet. We called it our dark room. I don't know why doctors needed a dark room because that's what photographers have. And we would get little glasses and we put water in the glasses just a little bit and we would use them like beers and we would take the vitamin C like bunches of them and we would crush them up because we were making a formula to save people from cancer.
So, we'd crush up the vitamin C and we'd put it in our beers in our dark room and we would mix it up and then we would run personal tests on it.
I'd say, "Drink. I will heal you with my concoction." And she would drink the vitamin C. The other day, we would pretend to be doctors. The other day, we went to a place. It was called 57 Sevenw Seven Brew.
By the way, their energy drink, their Seven Brew energy drink tastes just like the concoction we made the other day. We were driving. We were out shopping around. We pulled through a Seven Brew. I was like, "I want your energy drink. Do you want a Red Bull or do you want our Seven Brew energy drink?" I was like, "I'll try your Seven Brew energy drink." And so they gave it to me and I drank it and I went, "Oh my goodness, it's our concoction." I called my sister up.
I was like, "Go to Seven Brew right now." I just went back in time into a closet, our dark room, where we made cures for cancer. And it's the Seven Brew energy drink. You won't believe it. They've stole it. We need to sue them. Just kidding about the suing part, but I did. You know, we pretended to be doctors.
Let me ask you a question today. When you come to church and you go to small group and you walk through life, are you pretending to be a Christian or are you one?
Are let me ask you a question.
Are you pretending to be good or has Christ made you good through belief in him?
Pastor Shawn Gray · 27:27
Because there is a difference. See, there will be some people, and I say it all the time, Matthew 7, we're going to get to it, who stand before the Lord, and he'll say, "Depart from me. I didn't know you."
What he is saying there is, "You pretended to be mine, but you weren't. You pretended." And it'll be frustrating because you'll say, "Well, I had the coat. We had the dark room. We had the tools. We did all the things." And they'll say, "But I don't know you. I don't know you." You see, because you pretended to be that.
For those who are achievers, you can't will yourself there. We get there through belief and trust in his providential care, not our own doing.
He saves. We don't save by our concoctions. Are you pretending to be a Christian? Are you pretending to be good? You want a safe, tamed God, but he's holy. We are not good. Listen to this. Look at the list. Abraham lied to save his skin. Jacob tricked and manipulated his way through life. Judah thought Tam Tamar was a prostitute and paid her.
Rahab was one. David stole a man's wife and murdered her husband. Solomon was born from that scandal. And then track this then as God through the Holy Spirit.
This book is written for us. He does not hide their sin. He don't hide it. It is never hidden. Your sin's not hidden either. You think no one knows. It's not hidden. The only one that matters knows. God brings the sin to the forefront. Why does he do that? Why does God bring the sin to the forefront? Why does he want your sin to come to the forefront?
Because we He wants us to see where hope comes from. Not from men, but from Christ. But from Christ. He highlights the sin.
Why? Because the list is a mirror. And if you don't see yourself in it, you're blind.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 30:07
You may say, "Well, I've never done that." But listen, you've done worse. You've heard the gospel. You've sat under preaching.
You've read the word. And yet, you still live as though God is optional.
You're not better. You're just more polished and better at pretending than others.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 30:31
The cross was not The cross was not for monsters. It was for you. What secret sin are you excusing with the lie, "At least I'm not as bad as them.
Point 3Grace redeems
You're not good." And number three, grace redeems.
Well, what if the thing you're most ashamed of is the place God wants to display his glory?
Pastor Shawn Gray · 31:03
God doesn't avoid the mess. He enters into it.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 31:14
Now, I love this because my whole life, I'm trying to figure out how to get out of a mess.
You know why God is good? Because he's trying to figure out how to get into it. Because when good shows up in a mess, it fixes it.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 31:23
Okay? It's like if good and a mess got in a ring.
Good is where you place your bet because it wins 100% of the time. Are you with me today? A mess has nothing on God. A mess has nothing on God. And so, how does he fix it? He enters into it. We spend our life in as we're when we come to faith, we spend our life trying to figure out how to run away from a mess.
But if God, the creator of the universe, is now in you and he shows up in messes to help messes, where do you think he's sending you? Where do you think he's leading you? If the job of the Holy Spirit is to lead you, where do you think he's leading you? To all the wonderful things of the whole world and I'll never have a problem.
No, he shows up in messes. Track with me. Track with me. And we're moving into Christmas and some of us have to go spend time with our family and our family's a mess and that's hard. Christmas is hard. I know it's summer but we're we're getting there. It's coming quick. So, I'm telling you, prepare yourself now. And if you're filled with the Holy Spirit through belief in Jesus Christ and you've been filled with the Spirit, guess where he loves to show up in the places you might not like to go.
And if he's in you, maybe he'll use you in that mess. I know you want to pray for your family so they'll be saved. But maybe you should share the gospel with your family so they'll be saved. Well, God sends somebody in their life they'll listen to. They're listening to you.
Sometimes you got to stop running from a mess and understand that God wants to show up in the middle of it because that's what goodness does.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 33:41
He be because God wants see why not name Basheba. They don't actually name Bashibba. They just mention Uriah. Why does he do that? Because God wants the scandal remembered.
He doesn't sanitize the story. He redeems it. The list is not a trophy case of saints. It's a record of scandal, shame, and sin.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 34:02
Now, I thought it was funny in some of our small groups, people went to the list of women and talked about all the shameful things that happened, but they left out all the other people, like the men.
I thought that was I thought that was bizarre. I thought that was bizarre. It's almost like everybody got amnesia at all the dumb stuff the men did and they're like, "The men were good, the women were crazy." Right? I mean, that's what happened in Smoker. You know I'm true. You know I'm telling truth right here. You know I'm telling the truth.
And then my wife was like, "Yo, did you forget what David did? Did you forget what so and so did?" She wasn't trying to balance the scale. She was trying to My wife was trying to help. She wasn't women power. That's not what she was doing. She was trying to help us understand that no one's good but God.
And that's important. That's important. Every name screams, "Grace put me here." Grace redeemed a prostitute like Rahab.
Grace used a deceiver like Jacob. Grace covered the shame of Tamar. Grace called a king to repentance. Grace forgave the blood of his hands.
And that same grace can redeem you if you'll stop pretending that you're good.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 35:32
If you'll fall on your face and realize you need help.
What if God isn't asking you to bury your shame, which is a popular teaching today, but what if God is asking you to surrender it so that he can redeem it?
Pastor Shawn Gray · 35:55
Point 4The cross is the way
Number four, the cross is the way.
This list should have ended in wrath, but it ends in Jesus.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 36:13
Every time I read that in my notes this week, I almost just broke down because I think that is wonderful. This family line is stained. And if justice had its way, the line would have ended with David. The cursed the curse should have swallowed it whole. But instead, it produced for us a king. A king that was like no other king.
A king even that was nothing like what the people cried out for. Oh, the people already wanted a king and eventually God gave them one they didn't even want anymore and he was their hope of redemption because Jesus came not through this line.
Listen, he came for the line and to redeem every name on it.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 37:18
He would hang on a cross, pierced, crushed, and cursed. Isaiah 53:10 says it pleased the Lord to crush him. Why? Because that's what it takes to satisfy a good God and rescue a wicked people.
Jesus didn't die to inspire you. He died to absorb the wrath that should have fallen on Abraham, on David, and on you.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 37:49
There's no way in. There's no plan B.
There's no back door into this family. The cross is the only way.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 38:02
That's the only way. If you were the only name on the list, let me ask you a question. If you were the only name on this list, would the cross still have been necessary?
It would have been. It would have been number five.
Point 5Repent, for the kingdom is at hand
So then where do we go from here? Well, in the famous words of John the Baptist, repent for the kingdom of he of heaven is at hand.
This list is not just history. It's a holy invitation. Listen to me. This is important. It's an invitation. This list is an invitation for you today.
Don't admire the genealogy from a distance. Enter into it.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 38:59
This is not just a record of the past. It's an open door for sinners today. Christ is still adding names.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 39:05
But there's only one way in.
Repent. Listen. So what is that? What is that? Sean, stop using big words. Have no meaning to me today. This is not repent. Repentance is not tears. It's not raised hands. It's not church involvement. It's not penance. It's not being better. Repent. It's to turn. Die to self-ruule. To lay down every crown and confess Jesus is king, not me.
And here's where most men and women turn back.
Because deep down they want a savior and not a lord. They want freedom from guilt but not from sin. They want Christ to carry the cross but not command their life.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 40:04
So before you repent, know what you're getting into because there is a false repentance. So, here's the question, and don't dodge it.
What is your version of Christianity? What if your version of Christianity is fake? And you're not and you're and you are the last one to know about it. Did you know that's possible? That's terrifying. This is why many times in the epistles as we look later, we'll move into some epistles here maybe 15 years from now at this rate.
But that's why in many of the epistles they are warning you to evaluate your faith to see if it's true because there is a possibility that your version of Christianity is not a true version of Christianity.
Something you've concocted. Much like the concoction we made in our closet in the dark room that had no more healing power to kill cancer.
It was a concoction with no power. And many of our testimonies are that, too. Is it possible we're spending too much time training people how to give a testimony, not even knowing if their testimony is true yet?
And then we frustrate people because we train them in evangelism to go give a testimony, but there's no power behind the testimony because their testimony is not true and we discourage and dishearten them because they go out and that testimony has no power. Are you with me today? When rather instead of training them to go out without power to teach a testimony without power to share a testimony that's not true.
By the way, you should testify in him love more than you testified in yourself. But that's another subject for another day. We should spend more time helping them evaluate whether their testimony is true or not. Right. Right. You've cried during worship. You've repeated prayers. You've posted verses. But have you repented? Not felt conviction, not had a moment, but died.
The old you is dead. It's dead. The new you is alive.
Because Christ doesn't enter as your consultant. He comes as your king.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 42:54
The list is not for the proud. It's not for those who manage their sin well. It's for the broken, for the desperate, the done.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 43:06
It's for people who finally say, "I'm Rahab. I'm Judah. I'm David.
I need mercy." And heaven thunders back, "My grace is sufficient for even you." That's good news.
And finally, if God is good, you should be terrified. If God is good, you have no hope in yourself.
But if God is good, and he is, then his son is your only refuge this morning.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 43:51
Don't walk away untouched. Don't leave pretending this morning. Don't admire the gospel. Enter into it. Now, pause. Pause for a second.
For years from the establishment of this church and way before, I longed for moments like this for a response.
But the response is personal, folks. I'm not saying it can't be corporate, but it's personal. No one's going to be standing when you stand before the Lord. It's going to be you and him and you will be judged. Not you in this church and you all be. You know what I mean? It's you. And when you come to him, you can't come dragging somebody else.
You come alone. Come alone. This is a choice that only you can make. Listen, only you can make. We don't need theatrics. I don't need to twist your arm, but I cannot walk away from this opportunity for you to respond to the gospel.
Now, we could do that a thousand different ways. I hate the whole raise your hand, close your eyes thing. I hate the whole manipulating people to stand up thing. And I'm really even not even comfortable with people coming up front and it becomes a spectacle.
But I do think right where you sit that there's two things you should evaluate today because this list should terrify everyone in the house. And the first one is this. You should evaluate whether your version of Christianity is a true version of Christianity. You should ask the question, am I pretending to be a Christian or am I actually one?
Am I pretending to do all the right stuff or has he really transformed my life? And I'm not talking about you could have cried a tear and stood up and made a profession of faith. There going to be people who are turned away that did that. Only you can evaluate that. And let me tell you, if you look at your life and you don't see it any different than the day you came, your heart's not different.
Your mind isn't different. You think the same way, you act the same way, you dress it up, and you've put Christian as the label now.
You should repent for the kingdom is at hand. You should repent and you should truly do so in your seat. And this is serious business. And then there are people and let me say this too. There are people who grew up around the church but have never heard the gospel. And the extent of the gospel is not, well, Jesus loves you just the way you are.
It is he's coming to kill you because he's good and you're not and he wants to crush sin and you're a sinner. So, he's coming at you and you need a savior and his name is Jesus. That's more of the gospel. It's it's more extensive than that, but that's that's it. And all sin, you got a problem. You got a sin problem and you need Jesus to redeem you from the sin problem and you just need to evaluate what version of Christianity you have aligned yourself with.
Number two, there are people in here that have been on the fence wondering who Christ is, what this church business is. You feel something enough to get you to keep returning, but you just haven't repented of your sin and placed your faith in Christ.
Today's the day for that. Not by coercion, but by calling. So, I'm going to give a moment. You can close your eyes. You can keep them open. I don't care. You can kneel. You can sit. You can stand. You can do whatever you want. I don't care. It's your business. It's free country. Do what you want. But you should think about this for a moment.
And let me tell you, don't turn this into a thing of I'm good. I'm awesome. I'm I'm great. I'm going to pray for the soul next to me, the sinner next to me that needs to be saved. You're one, too. Think about you and stop praying about somebody else for just a moment. Stop diverting your responsibility by praying for somebody else to be better.
Because there's going to be somebody in here. Somebody in here is already doing that. You're already praying for somebody out there that you see that you think needs to be saved, that might be more saved than you. Are you track with me here? Because it's possible to pray for other souls and never even taken a look at your own.
Because praying for other souls is not necessarily birthed out of a person that's filled with the spirit. It might be somebody who's playing dress up in a dark room. And your prayer has no more healing power than the concoction we made in there. Are you with me today? Because you've never even taken a look at yourself and repented.
You just want everybody else. It's a diversion tactic of not having to look at you. It's amazing. It's amazing that many of the people who pray the most for others can't even tame their tongue in their house and not use profanity in it.
And they've been a Christian for 20 years. What is that? Could it be that your version of Christianity this moment? Consider you. Consider you. I'm going to give you a moment to visit with the Lord.
Okay, look at me for just a moment. I'm going to close. Okay. Some of us get disillusioned by coming to Christ and the method by which we do that to the degree that the church has concocted all kinds of ways to try to help people come to Christ through manipulation.
We've even provided incantations or saying that the Bible doesn't even necessarily tell us to do. Did you know that you can come to Christ without saying a word? It is a choice of the heart. Some of you are like, "What are we supposed to do right here? I don't I don't know." Okay. Oh, their eyes are closed. Okay. So, my eyes are closed.
And your brain is going, "Duh." But your heart's going, "I want Christ." You just don't know how to put that in words.
That's okay because God doesn't listen to your words. He looks at your heart.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 51:52
I'm trying to make this as simple as possible. We've muddied the waters. Your heart will get there faster than your words can catch up.
So when we tell people to say the words before their hearts here, we bring them into a false faith. That's not true. And that's the most dangerous thing ever because then you have somebody who said the words before their heart wants Christ and now they think they're saved and they never are stirred to want him.
They think they already have them. And we incubate people in a false confession of faith and they meet the Lord thinking they professed them with the right incantation and he rejects them because he listens to their heart not their mouth.
So be encouraged today if you couldn't find the words but you know your heart wants Christ. That's a good place to be.
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